Scorpion Veil by LilBit

Summary: New York is gripped by gruesome murders and Faith hits rock bottom. It's up to our favorite couple and Buffy to save both.

A scorpion and a frog meet on the bank of a stream. The scorpion asks the frog to carry him across on its back. The frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?" The scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too." The frog is satisfied, and they set out. In midstream, the scorpion stings the frog. The frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown. The frog has just enough time to gasp "Why?" Replies the scorpion, "…It's my nature."

"Here you go Lucy…This blanket will warm you right up." The teenage girl lifted the horse blanket over her favorite mare. It was colder than usual that January night on the farm, much colder. It hadn't been that freezing or snowy that early in the month in Lancaster, Pennsylvania for over twenty-five years. It was the severe temperature that brought the girl to her horse.

Elsie Horrock, though only sixteen, had a keen sense about animals. She'd noticed that Lucy had been acting different while out in the pasture that day. No one else noticed, not her father or two brothers; but Elsie did. That night, after making dinner for the others, she politely asked her father if she could go to the barn and wrap the horse in a blanket for the night. "It's too cold, Papa. I know Lucy'll get the sickness if I don't."

Her father hesitated at first but then gave in. "Be quick about it…Make sure you bring the big lantern. It's dark as molasses out there."

The girl kissed her father and went to her room to put on her high leather boots, bonnet and heavy cotton jacket. She tightly fastened each hook and eye of her outer clothing. The black, unadorned jacket was one of the fixtures for the Mennonite girl, that and the white bonnet. Once ready, Elsie took one of the kerosene lanterns from the kitchen and ran to the barn.

Elsie Horrock lived the life of the "Plain People" who inhabited the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Her family had lived on the same farm for over two hundred years. It was located in the heart of Lancaster, the 'seat' as it were of the Amish and Mennonite communities. The Pennsylvania Dutch region in south-central Pennsylvania, then and now, is a glorious part of the great land of the United States of America. It was brush stroked by God with breathtaking rolling farmland. Its inhabitants' existence is mostly known to the rest of the world through documentaries of those 'quaint' pacifists. This 'way of life' was the back drop for the Harrison Ford thriller "Witness." But the area is more than a postcard representation. The Pennsylvania Dutch, which include the Old Order Mennonites, are the common bonding element in the rural areas around the cities of Lancaster, York, and Harrisburg. The Plain People, as they are called, extend northeast to the Lehigh Valley and up the Susquehanna River valley.

In these communities, life moves at a slower pace and centers around time-honored conservative traditions and values. The landscape is dotted with one-room schoolhouses, wooden covered bridges and farm machinery being pulled behind four-and six-mule teams. These are the people of homespun clothing and handmade quilts that gently blow in the breeze on a clothesline regardless of the time of year. The loudest noise to disturb the serene quality of life is the clip-clop of horses' hooves echoing down quiet country roads.

These simple and graceful people trace their heritage back hundreds of years. And yet, despite all the time that has passed and the many changes that have taken place in world around them, they still live and work much as their forefathers did. Their families and their farms are their top priorities, second only to God.

The Old Order Mennonites, of which Elsie's family belonged, are very devout in their faith. They believe in the literal interpretation and application of Scripture as the Word of God. They take seriously the Biblical commands to separate themselves from the things of the world. They believe worldliness can keep them from being close to God, and can introduce influences that could be destructive to their communities and to their way of life. The Plain People lead a life of righteous austerity and seek only the pure love from God. They are a peaceful people who have never taken up arms against their neighbor, for they know all Mankind is one in the eyes of the Lord. The life they lead is testament to the true meaning of sacrifice to the will of God.

And so it was with the Horrock clan. The matriarch of the family had died when Elsie was only ten. Her father never remarried, an unusual situation for their Order. Their farm was on the western corner of the town. Far away from even the most avid sightseer. They had no electricity, no phone. They rose with the sun and bed with the rising moon. It was a simple, calm life devoted to God. Elsie embodied all that was right with that way of life. She was happy and content knowing she was loved by her family and her Lord.

Her joyfulness was evident as she tended to her mare that night. Cheerfully, "There you go…all snug as a bug. That nasty cold weather won't get to you now."

The girl finished and, stepping outside of the stall, grabbed the lantern to head back to the house. Despite her layers of clothes, she still felt the chilling draft of the cold air work its way up her long, ankle length dress. She'd been long enough in the barn and wanted to get back to the warmth of her home's big wood stove. She headed quickly to the barn door.

Elsie never heard her assailant enter the barn. She never knew she was in mortal danger until she was tackled to the ground from behind. As she forcibly hit the dirt floor face first, the lantern in her hand came loose and scuttled away from her.

Instantly, Elsie felt the excruciating pain as her attacker began to strike repeatedly at her head and body with hard, crushing blows. It all happened so quickly that Elsie was filled with terror and surprise. She heard the bone break in her upper arm and could feel a warm liquid flow down the back of her head and along the baseline of her neck. She didn't have to see it to know it was blood.

Through all the pain and turmoil, the teenager heard the menacing grunts and growls coming from the aggressor. It sounded hideous and soon mixed with the shrill of her own screams as she tried to force her way out of the brutal attack.

Elsie's actions only caused her assailant to become even more vicious. She felt the horrendous stab of teeth sinking into her shoulder. The girl flailed her head side to side trying to see her attacker. But she saw nothing clearly, dirt and hay pollen stinging her eyes' vision. All Elsie knew was that she was being beaten…to death, of that she was sure.

In her frantic attempts to get away, the Mennonite girl saw the lantern that had flown from her grip. The glass portion had broken and the fire from the flame was now embedded in the straw and hay that spattered the barn floor. Elsie's only thought was that the fire would ignite so boldly as to catch the attention of her men folk. She prayed that they would come to her rescue thinking her harm was in the form of a barn fire.

But Elsie also knew that she wouldn't last much longer if she didn't somehow manage to free herself from the massive beating she was receiving. She heard the cries of her mare as it watched its tender keeper being traumatized. She heard it kicking against the stall trying to protect its master. A quick thought entered her mind. With all her might left, Elsie bent her legs as far to the side as she could and, with one swift move, brought them back across like the swing of a bat.

Her thrust caught her attacker on the side and disrupted his barrage just long enough for Elsie to squirm on her belly away from certain death.

But her freedom didn't last long. She heard a piercing wail and within seconds she felt something grab her by the bonnet and hair and lift her up forcibly. She was shoved against another stall half wall, bent over it like a rug draped over a porch railing. Elsie couldn't straight herself because of the pain, but the hand pushing on her back wouldn't have let her up in any event. The terrified girl was on the verge of unconsciousness.

That's when she felt the body press against her and fingers scrape at her ankles, greedily hiking up her dress.

'Oh, God, no…not that!' she screamed in her head. The sixteen year old, as virginal as she was, knew what was happening. She felt her undergarment tear from her torso. Elsie couldn't move; she had no strength left to even cry for help.

She closed her eyes and prayed to God. Then she felt the agonizing pain upon being brutally violated. The ordeal was so incomprehensible to the gentle soul that Elsie felt a burst of bright light envelope her closed but tattered mind. All the while, the guttural moans and roars from the attacker continued.

Then there was a loud noise, the crashing of the barn door against its hinges as Elsie's father and two brothers came running in with buckets of water.

They came to a dead stop upon seeing the sight before them. Wooden pails dropped form their grips and spilled to the floor, far away from the now raging fire.

"Lord save us," were the only words spoken by Elsie's father as he stared, eyes flowing with fear.

In that second, the attacker loosened the grip on the girl just enough to let Elsie lift her head slightly. She saw nothing but a copper kettle listing on the sill of the barn window in front of her. What she saw reflecting off that bucket seemed impossible.

At that moment, Elsie knew her attacker was not of this flesh and bone world but some creature sent from the Devil himself. The 'thing' that had beaten her and taken her to the edge of death was the child of death itself.

The moments after that went in high speed. Elsie heard the charge of her father ordering his sons to get away while he tried to save his daughter. But the battle was already lost and retreat was no option.

The creature threw Elsie to the ground and lunged after the men. With two steps it was before them, beating its chest and bellowing like a ferocious bear. The creature stood there, hissing and thrusting in preparation for the kill.

It swung its head around, cringing its eyes when it looked directly at the raging fire. It almost seemed to step away from the intense glow of the rampage that was now engulfing the entire barn. It lifted one leg slightly off the ground, opposite the direction of the scared men, seemingly ready to leave the frenzy. Then its head cocked up and took a deep swirling breath of air. Just as quickly it snorted loudly, the white cold night's air shooting from its snout like a rifle. Its prey was in its grasp. Directing one last growl to the fire, it turned back to the men…and charged at them.

Elsie's father instinctively engaged the monster, shouting to his sons to save their sister. The battered girl saw nothing of the war that played itself out in those next few minutes. All she felt was the heat of the fire gaining strength and the grip of hands lifting her by the shoulders.

The next sensation Elsie had was feeling snowy coldness underneath her and on her face. She was able to move her vision just enough to see she was on the ground yards away from the barn. Struggling, she focused inside the open barn door. What she saw was the fuzzy view of the creature attacking her father as her brothers ran back in the midst of a torrent of fire.

Elsie shook her head and blinked several times. Peering around quickly, she remembered she was still tending to the chickens' evening feeding. She'd been busy that day and it was much later than she usually fed them. In fact, night had fallen. That's what brought on the memory in the first place.

But Elsie knew that it wasn't just the darkness outside that got her to her state. Everyday for nearly the last eighteen years, Elsie had relived that night in her mind. The only relief time brought was the ability to recall without also dredging up all the terror or the uncontrollable sobbing.

The tortured Mennonite was found unconscious that dreadful night in the snow by several neighbors who'd seen the fire from their properties and came to help. By the time they arrived, there was no saving the barn. Upon finding Elsie, the elder man in the group sent one of the others to an Amish farm several miles away that had a phone. Despite their vow of simplicity, the man knew that the bloodied and beaten girl in the snow needed medical care, as soon as possible. God would not have wanted the dear child to perish.

It wasn't until the morning light that the community elders discovered that three burned bodies, Elsie's father and brothers, lay in the ashen ruble of the barn. All the livestock perished also, including Elsie's favorite mare.

Elsie made it through several touch and go nights, but after much intense medical care, the doctors treating her said she would live. Once she was coherent and able to talk, she was asked about the night's events.

She wasn't going to tell anyone about the creature that had beaten and raped her. Her faith made the idea of an actual supernatural beast unthinkable. And yet, she knew it was true. Elsie merely said that her lantern had fallen, starting the fire. When she was told the heart wrenching news about her family dying in the blaze, she knew they hadn't perished trying to put out the inferno, but had instead been sent to their seat next to God at the hands of the beast.

It wasn't until Elsie was prodded by a nurse about her 'violation' that she knew she would have to say something. The medical personnel knew that she had been raped. The girl decided to say that an 'outsider' had attacked her in the barn and the fire started while her father and brothers were fighting the assailant. After that, the local police searched the area for any 'unusual' characters. Nothing ever came of the search.

After a week in the hospital, Elsie was picked up by relatives who lived in Ephrata, about forty minutes northeast of Lancaster, if one drove by modern transportation. By buggy, it seemed much farther away from the only home Elsie had ever known. She lived with an older sister of her father. They were also Mennonite and owned a smaller farm. Elsie shared a house with two female and three male cousins.

Two months after Elsie entered her new home life, she realized she was pregnant. She was carrying a child from that creature. But she had also been taught that children were a blessing from God. Her faith forbid her to destroy it; it was, after all, partly of her own flesh. Given the circumstances of the conception, Elsie thought it would not 'take.' She left it in the hands of God. After another month, the teenager knew that God wanted the child to be born. There were times when Elsie thought that she must have also been touched by God that night; how else could she explain the pregnancy. Somehow, she felt God had veiled the evil of that night. She was meant to have the child. Deep down in her soul, Elsie felt the only chance the child had was to be born to her and lifted into the light of God. Jesus' love would drown out any speck of the dark in the life she was to bring into the world.

However, the sixteen year old knew she could not keep her condition to herself. Eventually, her new family would know. So, Elsie told her Aunt, who immediately took the information as meaning that her niece had become pregnant by the 'outsider.' Such was a hard fact to accept in the devout community of the Mennonites. Bringing a 'bastard' child into the world was a sin and a disgrace worthy of shunning. But Elsie's circumstances were not of her own making. She had not defied God's Word of her own volition.

So Elsie's Uncle talked to the Elders and it was decided that she would be wed to a widower so that her child would be welcomed into God's garden. It was a marriage of necessity, not of love. Johan Van Gorsen was not a mean man to Elsie, but he was many years her senior, and she never acquired any real attachment to him. The wedding was held within the month and six months later, on October 1^st, Daniel Michael Van Gorsen was born. He looked and seemed to be every part of a normal baby.

Elsie did everything in her power after her son's birth to keep him on the path to God. There was nothing about the boy to indicate that he was anything but a sweet, quiet male. All his mother's worries about his 'genesis' were, over time, lessened by the observations that he never acted in any way other than human. With each passing year, Elsie became more convinced that God had protected her that unforgettable night. But that still didn't keep Elsie from watching her son's every move and guarding him from anything not pure and godly.

The Van Gorsen's lived an austere life of hard work on the farm. They socialized only when necessary and spent much of their time praying and reading the Bible. Elsie constantly taught her child the lesson's from the Good Book. She did all she could to fill the boy with love and respect for God and his fellow Man. The death of her husband five years into their marriage didn't deter Elsie from her mission with David. The mother and son spent their time caring for the farm and each other. Elsie could not have asked for a gentler or kinder boy.

Now, tending to her chickens, Elsie wiped from her mind the thoughts of the night of her son's conception. That was almost eighteen years ago. In the years since she'd had her child, the Mennonite woman never had a doubt that she had done the right thing. It was those years since the horrible night that on which the woman tried to focus.

The fact that Elsie was late in tending to her chickens was due to the fact that Daniel had turned seventeen that day. The son and mother spent part of the day fishing, something the young man loved to do. They had stayed longer than expected at the nearby pond and were late getting back home. Elsie hurried to feed the chickens as her son brought in some firewood for the house stove.

As she stood there, in the middle of the chicken coop, Elsie reminisced about her life and her son. She was satisfied with what she'd accomplished with each, although she knew that is was only through her faith in God that it was possible. Her son was filled with the love of Jesus despite the ungodly manner in which he was brought into existence.

Hearing the door to the coop open behind her, Elsie knew it had to be her son. She didn't turn around but kept feeding the chickens.

"You done with the wood, Daniel?…That was fast. You can go to the house and clean the fish you caught. I'm just finishing up here…I'll be there in a moment."

Elsie didn't hear a response to her statement. She thought she heard heavy breathing.

Thinking her son was out of breath from running to the coop, she turned while saying at the same time, "What's got you in such a hur…"

Standing by the door, huffing deeply, was her son Daniel. He looked like the loving boy she'd raised except for one detail.

They were the exact eyes that Elsie saw in the copper kettle on that horrible, bone-chilling winter night. There was the look of Evil in those orbs.

In the moment when she saw her son's eyes, Elsie knew that all she had tried to do for the good of her child was for naught. The years of sacrifice, of living in the light of God had not led her son to the pure life. The horror conceived all those years before had just lain dormant in the soul of the boy. She knew she had failed. But then she briefly wondered, while watching the boy before her come closer, if it was even possible to save Evil.

When the creature that had once been her beloved son began to charge her, Elsie closed her eyes and brought her hands together in prayer.

Those were the last words spoken by the woman before having the life ripped from her by the hands of her only child.

Elsie Van Gorsen's body was not found for two days. By then, Daniel Van Gorsen was over the Pennsylvania state line into New York.

Though not known at the time, his destiny would cross paths with not one, but three slayers. The journey to that face-off for all of the players would be an unforgettable experience.

The bedroom was dark except for the moonlight filtering through the window by the chair. It made a path across the floor and seemed to dust the room with a soft hazy light. In the grand scheme of life's sceneries, it was but a small anecdote. And yet, the serenity created by that view was captivating to anyone who took the time to ponder its effect.

Had the witch and slayer been in tune with their surrounding, they most certainly would have seen the beauty in the night. But the couple was not so inclined.

With a sultry, laboring voice, "Oh, God, Willow…there…yeah…Christ…Ohhh,…"

The witch and slayer were tangled together naked under the covers in their bed. Their bodies glistened with beads of sweat from the intensity of their actions. Willow lay on top of Kennedy. Her left hand was massaging her slayer's right breast. Her other hand was on the side of Kennedy holding up the witch's weight. The redhead's legs laced with the slayer's and she was grinding against the brunette. Willow's feet pushed on the bed, back and forth, to maintain her rhythmic intensifying motion. The redhead kept a slow and steady pace at first, trying to build the slayer's desire. Then as she heard the pleas and groans of her wife, the witch quickened her tempo. She rocked faster and harder. Willow felt her slayer's hands all over her body, caressing, rubbing. She felt the quivering body beneath her.

Then suddenly, "No…st-stop." Kennedy gasped the words as she took Willow by the shoulders and pushed her back while the slayer sat up. Just as quickly, the slayer took the witch by the waist and sat her on her lap so she was straddling the slayer.

The brunette was breathing heavily, mouth open, chocolate eyes fixed on the witch. She saw the surprise in her redhead's face. She cupped her hands on the sides of Willow's head and reeled her in for a passionate, raw kiss. She could feel the witch's breasts against her own, their bodies dancing through the interrupted breaths.

The brunette drew back out of the kiss and slowly brushed her lips across the redhead's and then gently up her delicate cheek on her way to her ear. As Kennedy's lips moved so did her hand. She carefully reached for the witch's hand which had been stroking her back.

Kennedy moved Willow's hand to between the slayer's legs, while at the same time whispering, "Together…" The slayer released the alabaster hand and moved her own hand to Willow's glorious mark. As soon as she touched the redhead, Kennedy felt a quiver run through her body. When she felt Willow's fingers upon her, another surge flew through. Kennedy closed her eyes and concentrated on quelling her body's tension. She wanted to ride the wave with her wife.

Willow instantly reacted to her wife's expert touch. She fought the influx of physical sensation from the strokes of the slayer's fingers and the kissing and suckling of the woman's mouth upon her neck. The redhead flowed into the rhythm started by the brunette.

Soon both women were rubbing and caressing, with fingers and hands, in the place perfection is found and on taut, supple skin flawlessly curved. Each woman was huffing, too engrossed in the feeling to speak. Each watching the other's eyes for a sign of blissful release. On they went, making the other writhe and shiver and reach for breath.

Finally, the crescendo came. Kennedy saw it first in the redhead's expression. She saw emerald eyes lift slightly upward, felt the witch trying to hold back. She heard the moan of a climax thundering to its destiny.

In that moment, the slayer let her control go. All she felt was the motion of Willow's fingers on her, inside her. That was all it took and the slayer could feel the same sense of glory that she knew was pounding on the redhead's door.

The brunette felt the shudder hit her witch and her own climax immediately struck with the same thundering intensity.

The slayer clutched her free hand around the redhead's back and pulled her in. She buried her face into the witch's shoulder.

The two women trembled as the waves of their release wracked through their bodies. They grabbed onto one another, their forms masking as one in the shade of the moonlight.

They didn't move until the last spasm had drained from them both. Even then, it took several more moments before they let go of their embrace and nestled back into the comfort of their bed.

They lay there, holding each other, absorbing the utter calm and relaxed state they felt at that moment.

Willow finally shifted and nuzzled her nose against the side of the slayer's still naked breast.

"Mmm…As much as I don't like you going away…the preflight benefits are almost worth it."

"Believe me, I don't need a airplane trip to make me want to do that with you." Kennedy squeezed Willow tighter.

Willow lifted her head enough to see the alarm clock on the bedstand. She grimaced in the dark. "It's late. You should get some sleep."

Kennedy smiled and seductively traced her fingers over Willow's stomach. Then she eased the redhead on her back and slid on top of her.

"Or, I don't and I sleep on the way to Cleveland." The slayer moved down on the witch and took a still erect nipple in her mouth.

Kennedy watched her redhead rifling through her carry-on bag. The slayer was lying on the bed, hands behind her head, grinning at the motherly actions of her wife.

It was 8am following their romantic night's antics. The slayer was preparing for her trip to Cleveland.

"Do you mean do I have enough underwear and money to make a collect call? Yes, mom…Ya know, you're worse than your mother when it comes to plane trips."

Willow stopped instantly and stood up, giving her slayer a feigned grimace. "How can you dare say that? I'm nothing like my Mom. She's a spazz when it comes to getting ready for a trip." The witch remembered growing up and the commotion around the house when her mother had to go out of town.

Kennedy raised an eyebrow, looked at her bag on the bed which had both of Willow's arms elbow deep in it, and then looked at the witch.

The redhead glanced down, yanked her hands out quickly and slid both in the back pockets of her jeans.

"Err…I just wanted to make sure you had your toothbrush," the witch said trying to defend herself. Then mumbling, "I'm so not like my mother."

Kennedy sat up and scooted to the end of the bed where her bag was. She grabbed Willow by the waist and pulled her down lying on the bed next to her.

"I do have my toothbrush, and except for stuffing you in my bag, I have everything." She kissed the redhead lightly on the cheek. Then sarcastically, "And you are right. You're nothing like your mom…You have a much better ass."

Willow started to act like she was gagging while she smacked Kennedy on the arms. "Oh, that is so sick…You are a very disturbed woman, Kennedy Prescott. I can't believe you said that."

The two women laughed and enjoyed the time they had left before they had to leave for the airport.

It had been about three months since the Popradva drug episode. During the time after the witch and slayer got their relationship back to normal, they had never been happier. The couple spent long hours, after Sammie went to bed, sitting on the couch together…talking. They embraced and talked about all the things that each wanted to do in life, the things from their past that they missed doing at times. The two mothers discussed the kind of future they wanted for their daughter, the type of person they hoped she'd become. The witch and slayer also reminisced about the events that got them to where they were today. The talks were intimate, provoking and real.

The couple and daughter also had grown closer as a family. They seemed to have a greater sense of unity after the tragic events with the Professor. No day was taken for granted, and the three girls often went for picnics, to the beach or some community event. There was no shortage of fun to be had, and the Prescott/Rosenberg family had it all.

There was another change that occurred for the couple. Willow had accepted a substitute teaching position at a local private high school. She was back to teaching, something that she had always loved. Even better, she was teaching a computer class. The regular teacher had to move back suddenly to Michigan due to a sick, aging parent. The redhead taught two sections of the intermediate computer class. It was only three days a week and even then only for two hours each time, but Willow couldn't have been happier. The position allowed her to gain some sense of independence and autonomy while at the same time giving her enough free time to continue with the studies of witchcraft.

Magick, for Willow, became a new frontier again. The ability she channeled into during Kennedy's 'illness' left the redhead in awe of her potential. She never thought she could have done the supernatural stunts she did. It amazed her that she was actually able to go back into another's memory to visualize a time in the past. She knew she wasn't literally in the past; she wasn't a part of the history, just an unseen observer. Yet, that in and of itself was remarkable. For the months after her accomplishments, she studied the Han Nurrabi Chronicles, trying to decipher if that hallowed tome held any secrets to her new magickal capabilities.

The witch attempted to make her own mind travel back in time to see if she could be an eaves dropper on her own memories. It took a while, but she was able to do it. Kennedy also allowed Willow to 'experiment' on her. "I trust you, Willow." The redhead never delved deep or that far back. She usually picked events that had happened recently and that were of no significance. Willow was trying to prove that she had the concentration to go to any point in time, without any dire reasons for it. The witch was, in reality, doing what all good students of any art, craft or hobby would do. She was practicing, that rote, time and time again venture, like a pianist doing scales until her hands ached. And like the artist, Willow became proficient in 'mind traveling.' She got to the level of much of her other witchcraft. The redhead knew what to do and when. It became second nature like her mindspeak. And though she knew she had that piece of artillery in her arsenal if needed, the witch didn't 'travel' in hers or anyone's mind just for the sake of doing it. Like all the rest of her magick, Willow handled this latest ability with the greatest respect.

It wasn't only Willow who was in an upswing. Kennedy was also very content in her life. She had a wonderful family and her slaying was going smoothly. She and Lee Gagno still got along well as a team. They had no quarrels or vying for power. Despite the fact that they were both slayers, a breed known for their need to be top dog, it was understood between them that Kennedy was, and would always be, the captain of the duo. Lee was fine with that. She was a competent and trustworthy slayer. Kennedy never had to put her in her place.

After the Professor and Traycee problem, Lee seemed to acquire even more respect for the brunette. The younger slayer saw the courage and strength it took for Kennedy to handle the effects of the drug the way she did. Like Willow and Kennedy, Lee also had an 'interview' with Dr. Charity Paingrille, the Council's resident expert on the Popradva seed. Lee was able to learn more about the drug, its history, side affects and dangers. After hearing all that Paingrille had to say, the younger slayer was amazed Kennedy hadn't gone totally psychotic. It was then she realized just how much control the older slayer had and the depth of her love for Willow.

There were many times during those subsequent months that the Prescott/Rosenberg family and Lee and her girlfriend, Paulette, got together. They had a few cookouts and spent Labor Day together.

Dawn had retuned from her trip to Italy in early September. She'd had a wonderful time in Florence despite being there with Andrew. She split her time shopping, sight-seeing and shopping some more, and even managed to get in a little work "here and there." At least that's how she tried to brush off her training to Willow.

But the redhead knew better. The witch had talked to Giles on many occasions about the importance of Dawn's stay in Italy. Buffy's sister was being trained to be a Watcher of sorts, but with a keen insight to demon etymology and species anthropology. She was becoming very valuable to the Council.

When Dawn got back to Massachusetts, she realized her apartment near Willow and Kennedy was farther away from the Boston Council office than she wanted to be. So, within a couple weeks after she returned, Dawn moved to Boston. She knew she would miss the witch and slayer, and especially Samantha. But with all her newly given responsibilities, she felt she had to be closer to work.

Though they didn't get to spend as much time together after the move, the three women were able to keep in touch with phone calls and multiple visits. There was no way that Willow was going to let a few miles keep her from her dear friend.

Most of the other people who made up the couple's extended 'family' were doing well. Willow's parents and Kennedy's were well and living their life. Gabriela, Kennedy's mother, was still in Florida. She, however, no longer had a beau. The man she was seeing turned out to be a gold digger. In her dark past, Gabriela had come across many such men. This time, instead of letting his charms cloud her vision, the woman kept focused on his dastardly ways and literally threw him out of her house. Kennedy had a long talk with her mother after it happened. Gabriela actually called her daughter and was practically bragging about how she got rid of the "bum." Kennedy smiled at her end of the phone, hearing the strength in her mother's voice. The slayer never worried about her mother's situation. The woman had literally been reborn after they reunited. She was a different person and Kennedy couldn't have been prouder of her.

The other Scoobies were just as well. Buffy and Jimmy were still engaged. The others had taken to riding them about it every time they were together. "Come on, guys, you have to get married," Kennedy would jibe. "You have to be as miserable as the rest of us."

The Cleveland Slayer Central was doing well as were the blonde slayer and the Watcher in their positions there.

Xander and Jessica were still in their jobs and pulling the hair out of their heads with the rambunctiousness of their two boys.

The reformed slayer had been having much stress in her life. Willow and Kennedy didn't know the full nature of her strife. But they had a good idea it wasn't "five by five" as Faith would have them believe.

Once Kennedy and Willow got their relationship in working order, the slayer immediately kept in better communication with the older slayer. It didn't take long before Kennedy was able to get the nod from Faith for her to tell Willow about Miguel's illness.

Kennedy found out that the Brazilian had a very bad strain of malaria, one that was known for its horrendous symptoms and recurrent episodes. The doctors couldn't pinpoint when the man had contracted the illness. Miguel's years of exposure to the Amazon jungle and its multitude of mosquitoes, both before and after he met Faith, made it impossible to tell for sure when he became infected. In fact, one doctor told him the disease could have been lying dormant in his system for years.

When it started was not important now. The main issue was his failing health. He'd been in the hospital several times. He had numerous trials of different medications and each brought some relief but always managed to cause some side effect that was almost as worse as the disease.

It took many attempts before the medical personnel were able to find a mixture of medicines that put him in 'remission.' Even that, though, was not a full recovery. The man never got back the strength and stamina he had before his first episode. He stayed well for a few weeks only to became sick again.

It was during a downswing after several occasions of relapses that Kennedy and Willow went to New York to give both Miguel and Faith their support. The two women were more than just friends with Miguel, and he knew that. They had shared much during their time in Sao Paulo. The man was as much family to them as were the other Scoobies.

Even though he tried to protest the couple's appearance at the hospital, the witch and both slayers could tell that Miguel did appreciate the visit.

Kennedy didn't know much about how Faith was coping in the other parts of her life. Kennedy knew that as stubborn as everyone told her she was, Faith was ten times worse. The older slayer was fiercely independent, both on a personal and professional level. It was that character trait that was the reason Faith didn't have a partner slayer. She and Miguel handled their area of New York City alone.

As much as Kennedy tried, she was only able to get Faith to tell her that her patrolling, for the most part, was being handled. "Sometimes, things have gotten shaky, but I've handled it…sooner or later, I've gotten the bad guy and dusted his ass." Kennedy could tell that her friend was juggling her slayer duties and her desire to help her man through his tough times.

The brunette never did get the impression that Faith was getting lost under the pressure. The woman had been through so much in her life that Kennedy knew she was probably the most resilient of all the slayers. It made her feel better that she was able to have talks with Faith where the older slayer opened up to let the younger know she was doing alright. There was always a tone of hope and resolve in the older slayer's voice. She continued to talk of what she and Miguel had planned once they got his health problem straightened out.

During the weeks after the Professor incident was finally over, Kennedy and Willow had numerous telephone conversations with Faith. She kept them up to date on Miguel's improving status.

By the time of Kennedy's trip to Cleveland, the witch and slayer understood Faith's situation to be rough but getting better. Their last actual contact with the woman had been several weeks prior. Since then, they'd gotten two quick, email messages letting them know she was "five-by-five" and might not be in contact for a while due to "slayer shit." The couple took that to mean that Faith was after some bad bumpies and would resurface when her job was completed.

On the morning that Kennedy headed to Cleveland, that was the state of the Scooby gang. The reason for the trip was so that key slayers could gather and update the Council on their slaying, recent increases in evil action. It was like a retreat of sorts. Giles was flying in from England to head the two day affair. It turned out that the Council often got wind of demon plans or forthcoming supernatural events before the slayers. The meeting allowed Giles to listen to his slayers, tell them of any potential problems and see if there was any type of pattern developing from the overall activity of the slayers. Not all slayers went to the meeting, just key ones around the United States, Canada and Mexico. Giles held similar meetings in other parts of the globe.

"One thing is at least Faith should be there. I talked to Giles and he said he sent her an email and that she received it. That means that she's done with her demon problem. I'll find out how Miguel's doing." Kennedy spoke to Willow as they headed down the stairs to leave for the airport.

"Yeah, I really want to know. We haven't heard form her in a few weeks…" Willow turned her head and looked back up the stairs. "Saaamm?" she shouted. "Come on, Sweetie, we gotta go now…I told you that five minutes ago. What are you doing?"

Samantha quickly came running to the top of the steps. She had on a pink tank top and green flowered shorts. "I was just changing."

Willow and Kennedy looked at each other and shook their heads. It was mid October in Massachusetts and even though global warming was having its affects, it wasn't so warm outside to allow for the girl's outfit.

Willow shrugged and laid her hand on the slayer's shoulder. "You go put the bag in the car and I'll get our fashion queen here in something that won't make her freeze."

Kennedy smiled and continued down the stairs. She chuckled when she heard the witch say, "Sammie, I don't care if your knees said you should wear shorts so they can see…I say it's too cold outside…"

Thirty-five minutes later, the Prescott/Rosenberg family was at Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island. They were at the security entrance for 'ticketed passengers only.'

Willow let out a small laugh. "So, it's expanded from baggage claim to anything having to do with airline travel, huh?"

The slayer grimaced slightly. "Yeah, pretty much. The airport basically blows now no matter how you look at it."

The two women stood there for a while longer, neither wanting to be the first to really say good-bye. Samantha was running in between them and around the brunette's carry-on bag resting on the floor.

Finally, the slayer was the one to bring the silence to an end. She tapped the ticket in her right hand against the palm of her left.

The redhead tried to lift the spirit of her wife. "You'll be back in a couple days…Sam and I will be waiting."

Willow smiled softly with the sincere remark. "Me too, baby…and I'll miss you. But you'll call, right?…We'll talk on the phone." The last several months had been such a good time in their lives that the witch really did feel sad about being apart from her slayer. A part of Willow felt glad that she still had that feeling.

"You call me, Momma?" Samantha had tired of her running and was back paying attention to her mother's conversation.

"Of course I'm gonna call you. You'll be the first one. Now give me a big hug and a kiss." The child complied happily.

"Say hi to everyone for me, let me know what juicy demon escapades are brewing…and have a good time."

The two women hugged a bit longer. Each knew that the few days apart was going to seem like weeks. Before the brunette ended the embrace she gave her wife a tender kiss.

Kennedy then bent over and grabbed her bag. Willow picked up Sammie and they watched as Kennedy went through the check-in security procedure. Willow once again chuckled when she noticed that the woman in front of Kennedy seemed to be unfamiliar with the security procedures. She saw the brunette look over her shoulder briefly toward the witch and roll her eyes.

The witch muttered, "She'll have a good trip so long as she doesn't slay someone before she gets on the plane."

Shaking her head, "Oh, nothing, Sweetie…just commenting on how patient your mother is."

Willow and her daughter waited there until they saw Kennedy disappear around the corner. The witch then turned and started walking to one of the exit doors of the airport.

"Kind of," Willow replied. "She gets to go see Aunty Buffy and Aunty Faith and Uncle Xander…and even Uncle Giles." That last comment made her smile.

Despite Giles' father figure status with all the Scooby gang, he wasn't so keen on being referred to as "uncle." Willow surmised that it made him feel older than he wanted to admit he was.

"That's right. You and I will hang out together, and before you know, Momma will be back."

The mother and daughter walked out of the airport satisfied that they would be able to survive without their slayer for a few days.

Little did they know, Kennedy's absence would be longer than expected due to a very serious development.

"Ladies…ladies, we should get this meeting underway. If I can have your attention, please." Giles held his glasses in his hand and was waving them briskly in the air trying to get the room's attention.

He was standing in front of his chair at the head of the table. There were six other slayers sitting around the rectangular conference table in the study of Slayer Central in Cleveland, Ohio. They were all engrossed in talking to each other and completely ignoring Giles.

The elder Watcher put the back of his hand to his forehead and began to rub. 'This is going to be a long couple days,' he said internally. One thing that Giles had learned over the years of being not only the head of the new Watcher's Council but also a man, was that women, even if they are slayers, loved to gab.

Giles waited while the slayers got reacquainted, asked about the status of other slayers and other odds and ends. The six women that were present were Buffy and Kennedy and a slayer representative from Canada, Mexico, two from Central America. The women had been arriving all day. It was 6pm now.

Clearing his throat loudly, "Really, ladies, we need to get started. This first meeting won't take too long and then you can all get some supper…"

Kennedy stopped her conversation with Juanita, the slayer from Costa Rica. She turned to Giles. "Shouldn't we wait for Faith? You know she'll be pissed if she misses out on some good intel."

Buffy, who was talking to Sally the Canadian constituent, also brought her attention to Giles and Kennedy. "Yeah, Giles. You know she'll pretend like it's no big deal…but then we'll have to put up with her moaning about how 'everybody's in a rush' and 'you couldn't wait two seconds for me to get here'."

Giles put his arms by his side. "I have no idea when she'll get here. I left her a message several days ago reminding her of this meeting, and all I received back was an email that said 'five-by-five'."

Kennedy found Giles' answers perplexing. "Last time I talked to her, she said she was coming…but that was weeks ago. In her last email, Faith did mention some new baddie in town and how she might be unavailable for a while."

Buffy now had an expression of doubt. "But if she were going underground you'd think we'd be able to get a hold of Miguel. He's always around when Faith is on one of her missions."

Kennedy headed out the study door. "Giles, go ahead and start. I'm gonna get my phone and see if I can get in touch with either one of them. Something doesn't seem right here."

After Kennedy left the room, Giles and Buffy studied each other for a moment. Buffy gave him a look that let him know he needed to act like nothing was wrong for the other slayers even though the blonde had a gut feeling otherwise.

For twenty minutes, the elder Watcher spoke to the slayers about the posture of the Watcher's Council around the world. He went over the schedule for tomorrow's meetings and the next day. The purpose of the gathering was to coordinate as close as possible with the lead slayers in the upper Western Hemisphere concerning demon or otherwordly activities that appeared to have a 'multi-territorial' application. The idea was to gather information from all slayers to determine if the demon problems being addressed in different locations were really a concerted demon undertaking. Giles had learned to think globally as a result of the final battle at Sunnydale. Back then, the First had systematically killed potentials all over the world as part of its plan to destroy all the slayers and take over the world. Giles promised never to let that happen again.

The second and really the first full day of the meeting would consist of the actual fact gathering and assimilation. The last day was really for the non-United States slayers. The USA contingency, Buffy, Kennedy and Faith, were not mandated to appear. Being the 'old chicks' when it came to slayers, they had the experience, leadership and know-how. The United States of America was the most volatile area in the world for demon activity and had been for many years. The three main slayers had had more contact with evil creatures than their non-American counterparts. The third day of the meeting was the opportunity for Giles to get some real one-on-one with the other women.

The Watcher was winding down his introductory comments when Kennedy came back into the room. She looked worried.

"Kenn, did you talk to her?" Buffy didn't like the brunette's look and couldn't wait to ask.

"I got sent to voicemail on their apartment number and her cell. Miguel's cell was disconnected, just like you got, Giles. I even called her office and got the same thing." Then Kennedy's voice got a tone of nervousness. "So, I called down to Brazil, to some places I know they stay when they go down there to see if maybe Miguel or Faith was there…"

"He's gone. Miguel left Faith…I got his cousin, Juan, and he said Miguel was there in Sao Paulo, he'd gotten back a few weeks ago and didn't want to talk to anyone from the Council or any slayer…Juan said Miguel was adamant, no one."

The comment left everyone in the room speechless. Even those who were not that familiar with Faith understood that something serious was taking place.

Shaking her head again, Kennedy responded. "I asked and he said no one's heard from her. She hasn't called or showed up. I even called Will to see if maybe Faith called her and she said no." Putting her hand to her mouth and running her fingers across her chin, "Giles, other than that email you got, nobody's seen or heard from Faith in a couple weeks…no one. It's like she fell off the face of the earth."

Buffy started to walk about the room. "What the hell is going on? Why is Miguel in Brazil?…When did they split up?" She was completely dazed by the information.

Kennedy knew she'd have to tell them what she knew about Miguel's health and the hard time him and Faith had been having lately. "Giles? Can I talk to you and Buffy…alone?" she said quietly.

The Englishman instantly knew Kennedy had information. He looked around to the other women.

"Ladies, it seems we have a bit of a situation here that we need to clear up. I think it best if we close our discussion for this evening. I know there's a lovely meal waiting for you in the dining room. Please, if you would…go ahead and eat. You can have the rest of the night to settle in or do whatever. We'll pick this up again tomorrow morning at nine, sharp, here in the study."

The other slayers dutifully left the room. Kennedy heard them whispering on the way out. She was certain she heard one say something about the "rogue slayer'" being back.

"Shit. Faith's gonna kill me and then Miguel'll kill me." Kennedy glanced at Buffy and Giles staring at her in anticipation as if they were waiting to find out test results. She sighed.

"Ok, the thing is Miguel has had some health problems…" Kennedy then told Giles and Buffy everything she knew about Miguel and his illness, the strain it had put on him and Faith and their relationship. "…Last I heard, Miguel was out of the hospital and doing a lot better. Faith even felt that he was doing well enough for her to go after some new bad in town. In her email, she told me and Will that we might not hear from her but not to worry…That was a couple weeks ago."

Giles appeared visibly angry. "Why wasn't I told about this? Why wasn't I told about Miguel's condition? It was highly improper for all of you to keep this from me…or anyone else at the Council. You know how important it is that any issue of this magnitude be reported."

Kennedy took a defensive stance. She narrowed her eyes to face the confrontation. "Hold up! I promised Faith, Giles. She was trying to deal with Miguel. He got upset that she even told me. I didn't know what he'd do if anyone else knew…I was just trying to help a friend in a tight spot."

The Brit yanked off his glasses. Loudly, "That's no excuse and you should know better. The Council could have helped them. We could have sent a slayer to take some of Faith's load. This situation compromised not only Faith and Miguel but our operation and the public at large…"

When it seemed as if Giles was going to barrage Kennedy with another reprimand, Buffy jumped in.

"Alright, Giles. We get your point. Kennedy handled it the way she thought best. You know how hard it can be trying to deal with Faith. Why don't we just move on to something that we can do something about…which is to find Faith."

Hearing Buffy, Giles settled down and put his hand on the back of his neck. He glanced down and then at Kennedy.

"Buffy's quite right. My 'comments' aren't helping one bit. I didn't mean to sound off on you, Kennedy. I now you were only…" The tension in the slayer's posture eased. She waved him off.

"Forget it, Giles. Maybe if I had told someone, this wouldn't have happened. But we stuck here now and we need to figure out where the hell Faith is."

Giles began pacing. "Well, before we assume anything, I should call a few contacts in New York to see if any of them have information on this."

Buffy's expression lightened. "Great, Giles. I'll see if Jimmy has any contacts there too."

Kennedy joined the discussion. "I know some of Faith's and Miguel's contacts. I'll see what they know. And I'll call Willow and see if she can call Boston and do her own snooping around."

Giles clapped his hands. "Fine. Let's meet back here in…say, two hours. Hopefully, someone will have good news."

"Whatever. Here we are two hours later and we're at the same place as before. No one knows where Faith is."

"She's gotta be intentionally staying under the Council's radar." Kennedy walked over to the head of the table and sat on its edge.

The three Scoobies were back in the study after several hours of reaching out to their contacts to determine if anyone had heard from Faith. Everyone came up empty handed. Kennedy even asked Willow to try to do a slayer locator spell. The witch couldn't sense the woman. When questioned if that meant Faith was dead, Willow replied in the negative. "I'm getting interference…almost like I did with that Dalfort vampire in New York…I don't think she's dead or hurt. It feels like there's a wall up stopping me from seeing where she is."

During their research time, Buffy and Giles and no better luck. Although Giles did find out that that there had been several unusual murders in New York since the beginning of October. Though the manners of death were gory, they didn't even make the news because they involved either homeless or other undesirables and it was suspected that drug gangs were involved.

"So what do we do now?…Faith could be in real trouble." Buffy sounded worried.

Giles thought for a second and then took his glasses off and started to nervously clean them. "Or maybe something far worse."

Giles stopped cleaning. "Willow said there's a force keeping her from getting any type of information on Faith. If Faith put it there, then maybe…she's…" His voice trailed off.

"Faith has not lost it. She's a slayer and she wouldn't do anything to go against that…I can't believe you're even suggesting that, Giles."

Giles responded quickly. "I'm not saying Faith has gone back to the dark side…I wouldn't think that of Faith…I'm just suggesting that, perhaps, her fall out with Miguel has 'affected' her tremendously."

Buffy gave a disbelieving look. "Well of course Faith's been 'affected' by Miguel leaving. Jeez, Giles, you make it sound like Faith should be cold hearted and just carry on like no big deal. She and Miguel were together for a long time. She's probably really depressed and doesn't want anyone to see her like that."

"But she was on the trail of some new evil…" Kennedy noted. "What if that's the reason she's not been in touch?"

The three stared at each other for several moments. Finally, Kennedy broke the silence.

Buffy walked toward Kennedy. "I'm going with you." When she saw Kennedy about to speak, the blonde continued. "If she's locked herself up somewhere and is deep in the pity party, it's gonna take both of us to get her to come to her senses…And if she really is in demon trouble then it must be one tough demon and two slayers have a better chance to help her."

Kennedy folded her arms. She knew it was pointless to try to argue with Buffy. She nodded to the blonde. Then turning back to Giles, "Sorry, but it looks like we can't stay for your slayer workshop."

The Watcher saw the resolve in his slayers. They were a tight knit bunch and devoted to helping each other in times of crisis. He couldn't have asked for anything more.

Throwing his hands up, "I quite gathered that my weekend meeting would be short two more slayers. That's fine, I'll focus on the communication problems we've been having with some of the divisions. But I'll keep on my contacts and let you know as soon as I get anything…Of course, I need you to keep me updated."

Kennedy looked around and then rubbed her hands together. "Good. Buff, let's get our plane reservations…Then I need to call Willow and let her know we're going on a road trip."

"This has got me worried, babe. This is so unlike Faith. I just hope we find her fast."

Kennedy was in her room at Slayer Central talking on the phone to her witch. She'd already gotten tickets for her and Buffy to leave for New York in the morning. Her bags were packed and she was lying in her bed, under the sheets, having her last call with the redhead for the night.

On the other end of the line, "You will, baby. I just know that you and Buffy will find her and everything will be ok. She never had something like this happen before to her…at least I hope it's because of the break-up." Willow was silent for a second. "That sounded so horrible. I don't mean I want Faith to be depressed…but it's better than what she might be going through if a demon's involved…It would take something pretty nasty to get to Faith."

Kennedy shifted down a little on the bed and tucked the covers under her arms with one hand. "That's what's driving me crazy. We have no idea if this is her doing or some big bad." The slayer's tone was unsure.

"Kenn, there's nothing you can do tonight. You need to try to not let it get to you. Get a good night sleep and be ready for it in the morning."

The brunette smiled into the phone. "I know you're right. But it's hard. My mind is racing with a thousand things that could be wrong with Faith."

The witch said smugly, "Hey, I thought I was the one with the busy brain? Too bad I wasn't there or I could help with that."

The brunette chuckled. "That's true. You are pretty pathetic when you try to be a 'nasty' girl."

Feigning insult, "I'm not that bad…really…Ok, so I did start to giggle that one time I tried."

Kennedy said nothing. She stopped laughing and just listened to the sound of her wife's voice. She got serious.

"I love you, Willow…I miss you." Kennedy found it necessary to say those words right then.

Each woman knew what that moment was about. It was most likely that their friend was undergoing the worst heart-wrenching experience of her life, the end of a relationship. Kennedy and Willow stayed silent on the phone knowing that they were so lucky to have each other, to have weathered a similar storm and come out in the sunshine. They were hushed because they knew how much they loved each other and how fragile life really could be.

Kennedy fell asleep missing her witch and her daughter. Her last conscious thought was of Faith crying alone in an empty room.

What the two slayers would find when they got to New York couldn't have been farther from that thought.

"We might as well go back to the horse and buggy days. Flying has gotten so ridiculous."

Kennedy was ranting as she and Buffy made their way through LaGuardia Airport in New York City. The two slayers took a mid-morning flight which got delayed at the airport in Cleveland due to mechanical problems. When they finally were able to start the flight, their troubles did not end. Unexpected bad weather over the Big Apple made the pilot circle the plane for almost an hour. The resulting backup caused their plane to sit on the tarmac after it landed for just over two more hours. By the time the two slayers got off the plane, it was late afternoon. The women were very hungry and Kennedy was furious.

Buffy let the younger slayer vent. She'd had just as miserable time but somehow was able to get through it without completely disavowing the entire airline industry.

"Geez, calm down, Kennedy. You're gonna pop a vein." The blonde suddenly spotted a burger vendor and her mind instantly dropped the fuming brunette. "Ooo!…french fries…" She mumbled.

Kennedy walked about a minute longer before realizing that Buffy was not only no longer listening to her, but also nowhere near her. She scanned around and saw the blonde pointing at a picture of a burger on the vendor's lighted wall menu. Kennedy rolled her eyes and joined her.

"Look at the time. We shoulda gotten here a lot sooner." Kennedy was talking to Buffy as the slayers walked into the elevator lobby of Faith's apartment.

"I said I was sorry…but I'm not sure why. You ate at the airport, too. You're as responsible as I am." Buffy knew Kennedy was still aggravated over the delay, but she'd had enough of the woman's attitude. Kennedy pushed the button for the top floor.

Buffy stopped her. "Can we just drop this? We were both hungry and needed to eat. When we find Faith pissed off in her apartment, it won't matter that we got here twenty minutes later." Buffy, and Kennedy, had an unspoken assumption that Faith was hiding herself due to the break-up. Even though it was never uttered, neither slayer wanted to think that something bad had happened to their friend. The radical slayer had been through so much that it was easier to believe that she was nursing a broken heart than her being in serious demon trouble.

The two women rode the elevator to the top floor. The building where Faith and Miguel had lived together was an 'apartment' in the loosest sense. It was a converted textile mill that, though being quite large, had only a few tenants. It was in a rough section of town and not close to public transportation or restaurants. But it was perfect for Faith's and Miguel's needs. They were close to the 'action' but far enough away from 'normal' city dwellers that they could do what they needed without worry of causing interest in their actions.

Buffy tried the handle, but it was locked. "That's it…I'm kicking it in." The blonde took a step back and raised her leg readying for the assault.

Just as she started to lunge forward to blast the door in, Kennedy grabbed her leg.

"Keeeyy," she said dangling a silver key in her hand while Buffy hopped on one foot. "Faith gave me and Will this so we didn't have to wait on her when we came here." Kennedy let go of Buffy's leg and shook her head slightly. Putting the key in the lock, "A little speedy on the slayer destruction, don't you think, Buff?"

Trying to defend herself, "How was I supposed to know you had…" Buffy snorted when she realized she had acted hastily. "Oh, poo. Let's just go in."

The two slayers entered the apartment. It was dark. The window drapes were closed and there was no light coming in except for the small amount from the hallway. Kennedy reached over to the wall on the left side of the door and flicked on a switch.

Instantly, the slayers were washed in light. They could see every part of the main open plan design of their friend's place. Both stood there and looked around. Finally, they entered the room and shut the door behind them.

"Oscar…from the Odd Couple…You know Felix and Oscar. Felix was the obsessively clean one and Oscar was the slob…Don't you watch the TVLand channel?"

The place was a mess. There were dirty dishes in the sink. Empty beer bottles on the counter and floor. Pizza boxes covered most of the kitchen table and were also shoved in the trash. Opened Chinese food containers were scattered about.

"There's no way Faith's been gone for two weeks. These still have food in them. And they don't look like they've been here that long." Internally, Kennedy wondered what the hell was going on with Faith. She knew that the slayer didn't lead a typical life and wasn't into domestic chores, but she'd never seen anything like the sight before her.

Buffy walked around the rest of the place, checking the bedroom, bathroom and spare room. She came back out to the main room.

"She's not here." Then in a worried tone, "I'm getting the feeling that this isn't a demon thing. We really need to find Faith."

Kennedy agreed completely with Buffy. "We need to see if she's at her office or the store Miguel uses as his front." The Brazilian had kept his import business open. The day-to-day operations were run by someone else. He still owned it though for immigration and legal reasons.

The slayers dropped their bags by the door and wrote a note concerning their arrival in the event their friend came home after they left. They cleared off the kitchen table and placed the note there. After that, the women left Faith's apartment.

Buffy and Kennedy went to the slayer's 'office' and Miguel's store. The office looked like Faith hadn't been there for days. No one at Miguel's place had seen Faith after Miguel left to go back to Brazil.

Not having any luck at those locations, the slayers decided to pay a visit to some of the demon establishments about which Faith had told Kennedy. The two spent the next several hours questioning demons and humans alike about Faith. They made sure to wrap their questions in such a way as not to let the demon world know that Faith appeared to be AWOL from the slayer business.

It was late when Buffy and Kennedy called it quits. During their investigation, Kennedy repeatedly phoned the missing slayer but never got an answer. Not knowing what else to do, the slayers decided to go back to Faith's apartment and see if she was there or, alternatively, wait until the woman came back. Kennedy also wanted to call Willow to check in and to see if she'd had any luck 'sensing' the slayer.

Kennedy and Buffy were in Faith's apartment for about an hour and a half when they heard noises out in the hallway. It sounded like scuffling of shoes and laughter. It got louder and closer to the door. The blonde and brunette stood up in the middle of the room and cocked their heads to try to hear what was happening.

Then there was a 'thud' against the door. It sounded like someone had been thrown against it. The slayers hurried in that direction.

However, as they got to the door, the sounds became clearer. They heard moaning and kissing and it seemed as if a body was rubbing across the other side of the door.

Buffy and Kennedy stared at each other stunned. Kennedy mouthed 'Who is that?…What the hell?' to Buffy.

The noises on the other side of the door started to get more intense. The two women's eyes widened as they realized they were listening to their friend in the middle of foreplay.

The women didn't know what to do. Should they stay silent or open the door? Reacting without thinking, Buffy coughed…loudly. She looked at Kennedy and shrugged her shoulders.

The noises from the other side of the door stopped immediately for a few moments. Then the slayers heard the male voice. The tone had an edge to it.

Kennedy and Buffy knew that Faith heard the cough and knew someone was in her apartment. They didn't want her to think it was a burglar, so Kennedy grabbed the door handle and opened the door. While she did, she said "Don't worry, Faith. It's me and Buffy."

Buffy and Kennedy saw the two individuals lean off the door and stand up straight. Buffy's first thought, seeing the tight outfit the slayer wore, was that she was glimpsing back to the Faith of the Sunnydale days. The older brunette had a look of anger on her face while the man had one of surprise and discontent. He stared at the two women.

The guy traced his view up and down Buffy and Kennedy. Then he got a sleazy smile.

Kennedy's jaw clenched and she started to swing at the man. Faith stopped her punch and pushed her hand down.

Looking directly at Kennedy, the older brunette spoke to her 'date.' "I'd shut up now before you get your ass kicked."

The man got offended. "By that little thing?" he said glancing at Kennedy. Then in an irritated voice. "Look, Sweets, I'm not here to chit chat. We gonna fuck or what? These two can join in, watch or do their nails for all I care."

Faith closed her eyes briefly. Then she turned to the guy. "Sorry, 'Sweets', but you ain't getting shit tonight…plan's changed. You need to leave."

The man got angry. He went to grasp Faith's arm but she grabbed his hand and wrenched it behind his back, spinning him around as she did.

"I'll say it once more, asshole…Leave!" She shoved him down the hallway toward the elevator.

The three slayers watched him until he got in the elevator. As the doors closed they heard him mutter, "Cunts."

Faith walked into her apartment, passing her friends without looking at them. The necklaces she wore, one a gold chain and the other a silver chain with a black orb at the end, sparkled off the room's light. Kennedy closed the door.

Still not looking at them, the no longer missing slayer walked to the refrigerator, opened it and took out a beer. She unscrewed the cap and took a long swig.

Kennedy walked over to her. Both concerned and firm, "Faith, what the hell is going on?…Who was that guy?…No one's heard from you in weeks…We know about Miguel." The words kept gushing out.

"Miguel's old news. And you're checking up on me now?…I'm a big girl, Kennedy, I can do what I want. It's nobody's business."

Buffy butted in. "Faith, we were all worried about you. We thought that you were in trouble. You missed the meeting and no one could find you."

Faith laughed and wobbled a bit. "Yeah, Cleveland. Can't stand those things. Decided to ditch it."

Kennedy could see Faith was very drunk and defensive. "Why haven't you let anyone know where you are? Even Willow couldn't sense you. What'd you do?" It was obvious to the brunette that Faith was behind her own disappearance.

"See, I knew Red would try that." The drunken slayer finished her beer and dropped it on the floor. She took a deep breath and in a condescending tone, "Let's get this done with…As you can see, I'm fine. Not dead, but very much breathing. I don't need you two or Willow or the Council checking to make sure I'm ok. See…I'm five-by-five and just want to be left alone…Got it?…So you can go back home, tell Giles or whoever sent you here that you found me."

Faith shook her head. "Don't reinforce the dumb blonde stereotype, B. You heard me. I'm done…Let someone else play the slayer game. I'm doing my own thing now."

Kennedy became frustrated. "Miguel leaves and you do this? You drop everything?…You start fucking any jerk-off you find?"

"You don't know shit, Kennedy," Faith snapped. "And if I wanna fuck some random dick, then guess what?…I will." Faith went to the fridge, got another beer and guzzled it down.

The blonde looked at both women. "This is going nowhere. Faith, you're in no condition to talk about this…and Kennedy, you're starting to get mad. We all need to stop. It's too late to do this. We should all get some sleep and deal with this tomorrow."

Kennedy realized she was acting the wrong way. She calmed herself down and sympathetically said to her friend, "I'm sorry, Faith. I didn't mean to get upset…but I know you must be hurting…because of Miguel."

Faith turned her head slightly and looked down to the floor. After a moment, she turned her view back to Kennedy. "Miguel left cuz he was weak…because he thought I was weak…so fuck him."

Though neither Buffy nor Kennedy said a word, they both had the same impression. Faith was taking her break-up with Miguel much worse than they expected. They also knew there was more to the situation than Faith was letting on.

"Faith, Buffy and I don't want to argue with you. We were worried because we thought you were in trouble. We didn't know if it was a demon or something else. Giles told us about some murders here…and you had told me you were going under for a while to get some new baddie in town. We really didn't know what to think. We're glad you're ok."

The Faith stared at the two women. She saw their concern. She rubbed her hands over her face. "Shit! Fine. Ok…ok. You were worried." Then after a moment of silence, "So now what? You guys ruined my night…and I bet you were planning on staying here."

"No, stay here. I'm too drunk and too wired to give a shit. There's the spare room and the couch…you figure out who gets what…I'm taking a cold shower." Faith headed out of the room.

Buffy glanced at the sofa with clothes hanging on its arms and an empty beer can resting at one end.

Kennedy flopped down in the middle, away from all the debris. "This is going to be really bad, isn't it?"

Buffy knew she was referring to Faith and not sleeping on the couch. "Yes," she said in earnest. She started to walk to the spare room.

Kennedy reached into her back pocket and took out her cell phone. She pressed the number one to automatically dial Willow's cell. "Wait til Will finds out about this mess."

Daniel VanGorsen stood behind a large trash receptacle. It was the industrial sized kind used by construction companies or cities for building renovations. The teenager was in the seediest part of the warehouse district in New York City. For two hours he'd been there, still. Motionless only in the physical sense, that is. Inside, his mind and body raged a battle. The seventeen year old could feel the thundering urges coming on again. They started as soon as the sun set. The higher the moon rose, the fiercer the cravings got. Daniel could feel the blood surging through his veins, pounding in his ears. Every sense was heightened, and every emotion, including his desire.

Daniel wanted to kill. His mind and body were telling him to find a prey, hunt it down and destroy it piece by piece.

But the teenager knew those urges were from somewhere in the blackest part of his soul. They were from the Devil himself. He'd known that from the moment he broke his sweet mother's neck and held her dead body in his grip. That night had haunted him every day since. The scenes were there the second his eyes opened and they horrified his dreams every sleeping moment, not that he'd had many of those. Much had changed since the his seventeenth birthday. Daniel decided that Satan had taken over his soul. But there was a part of the boy that knew that Satan had always lived there dormant and had chosen that night to rise to its glory.

Daniel recounted that night on his birthday when a tidal wave of hate and violence came over him. One minute he was looking at the loving woman who had brought him into the world and nourished his soul, and the next he saw only living flesh that he had to destroy. He could taste the wave of vitriolic hatred and feel the eruption of the need to kill. It filled him up until it burst from his eyes and finger tips and heart.

In that moment when evil took control, Daniel VanGorsen, the devout follower of God, was dead. Killing engaged his every thought. It could not be controlled or directed. The creature he had become had to have death, that it took it in the form of his gentle mother was of no concern. The demon boy reveled in his attack.

Standing like a post now, still and silent, Daniel tried to keep the memories out, but he could not. He remembered every blow, every broken bone…every scream. No matter how he tried to make it leave him, the memories were there. He had killed his mother and he didn't know why. He only knew that he had to.

Daniel also knew that he had committed an unforgivable sin in the eyes of his God. For his Lord could only forgive if there was true repentance, and, as sick as it made him to think it, some small part of Daniel had exalted in the kill. It was that undeniable fact that had plagued the faithful boy in the days following.

After his ghastly deed that night sixteen days earlier, Daniel ran. The thing that he had become knew he had to get away. It wasn't until the next day that the teenager started to get his own mind and spirit back. As the sun rose, so did his heart to God. Daniel, however, remembered everything he did. He pined in guilt and remorse for his mother's death. He wailed to God for redemption and forgiveness. He struggled with going to the police but realized they'd think him crazy if he told them what had happened to him, to his soul. He knew he could not go to the Elders. What he did was incoherent to him; it would be incomprehensible to the holy men of his clan. Something deep inside also kept him from going. That part wanted and needed to be free.

The first day after his mother's death was hell on earth for the teenager. He was lost in a dense forest, frightened at what he'd done but he knew he could not go back.

And then night fell again. Once more as the moon rose, Daniel felt the rise of the curse in his soul. The need to kill enveloped him once more, the desire for blood palpable on his tongue. When he could withstand it no longer, the creature he had become went on the prowl. To satisfy his hunger, he feasted on a large buck that wasn't fast enough to escape the killing machine.

Again, a new day came and Daniel returned to his senses, what was left of them. Every moment of his existence once the sun dipped below the horizon was the epitome of all that he had vowed to shun. He was living his own damnation in the flesh. The teenager could not comprehend how evil could have taken such a hold when he had lived as close to God as he had. He could not block it out of his mind as if it were some terrible nightmare. For Daniel knew it was no dream and every night he would fight against the rage inside…and lose.

It didn't take much more time before the creature's hunger for human flesh returned. There was a force pulling the teenager away from the woods and out in the open. An urge for the familiar seeped in. But the boy fought it. He could not allow the evil he had become to infect his community. He had done enough damage to his people already.

So Daniel decided to get as far away from his home as possible. He tried to convince himself that he could somehow temper the beast within. He thought that he needed to go anywhere else until he could figure out how to dispel the evil that had taken residence in his soul. The teenager felt that his faith would be the cure of him. He knew it had to be stronger than the evil within. Daniel told himself that with guidance from God, he'd be able to get back into the Light and free himself from the shackle of the monster that had him in its grasp.

But there was still that urge for the flesh digging at his soul. Daniel knew he needed time and a place where he could lose himself. His resting place until his salvation had to be a patch of earth where even the most inhuman of living creatures could disappear in the masses. There was only one place Daniel knew fit his call.

The teenager made his way to New York City and instinctively knew where to hide. He stayed in the run down, forgotten parts of the city. Places where no one came looking for anybody. This was where the discarded went to be forgotten by the world. Daniel wanted nothing more than time to pray to God to make him understand his affliction and rid him of it. He ate out of trash cans and found an old abandoned building in which to sleep.

Despite his constant praying during the day, the urges came back as soon as darkness fell. As with the night he killed his mother, Daniel was not strong enough to resist the call to kill. As before, he experienced devouring the life of a human being; he wallowed in it. And like the first time, afterwards he felt confused and remorseful and ashamed in front of God.

Day after day he spent trying to make his Savior listen and unburden him of his unspeakable horror. The 'urges' came every night when the moon rose high in the sky. With each time, Daniel came to know the feelings better. He warred with himself to resist temptation, not to seek the hunt, but to let in God's love and keep him from sin. It never worked. Daniel had to kill. But he was able, on several occasions, to forgo human death. The teenager quelled his taste by killing birds, rodents, and dogs. That never lasted long. He spent time in Central Park and thought he'd found a solution. However, the urges only came on stronger, forcing him again to seek out human flesh.

His only control it seemed was his ability to stay away from killing anyone from 'real' society. His victims were the homeless, drug addicts or prostitutes; those who were not allowed in respectable areas. He killed those that were in the shadows, the ones that people walked around when met on the streets. Daniel knew his actions would still send him to Hell, but at least he wasn't doing more damage by taking someone with a loving family. At least, that's what he made himself believe.

So on this cold October night, Daniel stood once again, fighting with the need to kill. He lingered, hoping he could outlast the feelings like sweating out the flu. The desire flared in his body and the demon grew stronger within.

Daniel's mind reeled. He felt the need and craving build. He could already taste the blood in his mouth.

When he smelled perfume, he knew his battle was lost. The monster had won again. God would not save his soul this night.

"You have a good day today, and listen to Mommy. I'll see you soon, Sammie…Now give the phone back to Mommy."

Kennedy was talking to her family while she ate a bagel. It was mid morning and the slayer had been up for several hours. The uncomfortable couch was the reason for her less than sound sleep. When she finally realized she could no longer get any type of useful slumber, she got up and put on a change of clothes from her overnight bag left in the apartment when she and Buffy first arrived. The brunette then went out to find breakfast. She would have stayed in but there was literally nothing to eat except for coffee grounds and the 'leftovers' spread throughout the slayer's apartment.

Buffy was awake and watching television when Kennedy returned. The brunette put the bagels and cream cheese she bought on the table. Buffy had already made coffee. The younger woman poured herself a cup and called her wife.

Kennedy quickly recapped the previous day's and night's events to Willow. Buffy added a few more details loud enough for the redhead to hear. The brunette then spoke to her daughter and was in the process of continuing her call with the witch.

"She was so wasted, Will…and she brought this guy home…What a frickin' loser…"

Buffy listened while she watched tv. She heard the concern in the brunette's voice, a sentiment she shared. Buffy had seen Faith act the way she did the previous night. It was back in Sunnydale when the rogue slayer thought she was on her own and devoid of purpose. That scared the blonde. It was hard for Buffy to think that Faith's attitude was because of Miguel leaving. She found it difficult to accept that Faith had so entrenched her identity in a man as to let his departure affect her so deeply. Buffy always thought of Faith as too independent for that.

The blonde's attention drifted from her thoughts back to her surroundings. She saw that Kennedy had finished her call.

The brunette put down her cell and stared at her friend. "Willow says hello and told me to tell you that I should get the comfy bed tonight…if we're still here."

Buffy mockingly raised her eyebrows. "She's biased. You've completely corrupted her reasoning…You'll have to fight me for the bed. That couch looks as comfortable as a torture device." Then turning back to Kennedy and looking serious, "What do we do about sleeping beauty in there?" she said as she pointed her thumb to Faith's bedroom.

Kennedy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know. I just can't believe that she went over the bend like this. I mean I know she loved Miguel…but it looks like she hasn't even been patrolling or anything…Willow's got an idea on why she couldn't sense her. She thinks that Faith got an amulet or protective stone from someone with magickal powers. She wants us to see if Faith's wearing a new necklace or ring. We need to let Will know if she is and tell her what it looks like. Willow said she should be able to find out what spell or barrier's being used from that. I'm thinking Will might be able to keep tabs on Faith without her knowing."

"I'm on board with that," Buffy replied. "If anyone can find out how Faith's getting all ghosty, it's our Wils…Do you remember if faith was wearing jewelry?"

Kennedy thought for a moment. "I know she wears necklaces, and I think she was wearing one last night…Wasn't she?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "I pretty much was stuck on that slutty outifr she had on."

Kennedy snorted in agreement then got a disturbed look. "And what was up with that asshole she was with?"

Buffy shook her head. Softly, "You only knew Faith really after she cleaned up her act…She went from Robin to Miguel. I knew her way before that…when she was pretty wild. She used to pick up guys all the time. She did what she wanted, when she wanted and with whomever she wanted…That's what's got me worried now."

"But Buff, like you said, that 'was' Faith. Her acting that way now must mean something more. I can't help feeling that this isn't all about Miguel…Something else had to push her to this?"

Buffy was ready to reply when the voice from the television caught her and Kennedy's attention. They turned to the set and listened.

"…the body was found early this morning…An African-American woman who we are told was homeless and possibly a prostitute. There are many homeless people that live in that area of the city. It's a high crime section. Lots of drugs, prostitution, but it's not where many people go to buy drugs or obtain sex. What makes this even more urgent is the fact that the body was…and let me quote the comment form the police, 'the victim had multiple lacerations over most of her body and was beaten and bitten over her appendages and torso.' Off the record, I was told by one officer that it was the most gruesome homicide he'd seen…"

Buffy and Kennedy fixed on the reporter. They found out that the dead woman had been discovered accidentally by a third shift city employee who took a wrong turn with his truck. Had it not been for that, the reporter said, the body might not have been found for weeks.

Kennedy spoke first. "Seems a little too messy for the average bad guy. Ya think this might fit in with those murders Giles told us about?"

Buffy slowly nodded. "They sorta fit. But the others weren't spread all over the news. Giles said that 'word' got to the Council that they happened. An anonymous tip old them where the bodies were."

The brunette glanced at Faith's closed bedroom door. "Well, she'd know something. Maybe this is what she went underground for. Faith told me a few weeks ago she was on the lead to some new baddie…Shit, she better wake up soon or I'm gonna go in and kick her ass outta bed."

"You couldn't kick you're way out of a paper bag" The words came out of the room the same time the door opened. Faith walked out wearing a t-shirt and underwear. Around her neck were the same two necklaces from the night before. She squinted at the brightness from the daylight flooding in the room. Her hair was tussled and she had dark circles under her eyes.

Kennedy stared at the chains around the slayer's neck and then glanced quickly at Buffy. The blonde looked at Kennedy letting her know she saw them too.

Faith walked over to the coffeemaker, "Guess you two weren't just a bad dream…At least you made coffee." The slayer poured a cup and sat at a kitchen counter barstool.

"See you're in a lovely hang-over mood this morning," Buffy said snipping. Faith got a sour expression and was ready to reply when Kennedy interrupted.

"I don't think any of us are at our best this morning. So let's talk about something else." Trying to bring some interest into the discussion, "Faith, there was a murder last night. We just heard about on the news…some homeless woman. Pretty much sliced and diced. What do you make of it?"

There was a slight hesitation as Faith sipped her coffee. Then flatly, "I don't." She drank looking blankly at the counter.

Buffy creased her brows. "You must have some opinion. Do you think this is related to the other murders here?…Giles said there's been several in the past few weeks."

Again, Faith didn't look up. "Don't know what you're talking about. That's not my concern anymore."

Kennedy's eyes widened with disbelief. "Huh? Faith, you're the slayer here. I know Giles must have told you about this. You must know…You told me you were on to some new bad in town."

Faith put down her cup and looked squarely at Kennedy. "I'm only gonna say this once, so listen up. What I said to you about a new bad guy was nothing. It was to get you and everyone else off my back. I don't know anything about any murders and I don't wanna know. I'm finished slaying. I'm out. I just wanna live my life without having to deal with this shit anymore."

Buffy and Kennedy almost fell out of their seats. They both jumped to their feet.

In unison, "What the?…I thought you were just pissed last night when you talked about ditching this." Kennedy added a few more choice words, "Are you out of your frickin' mind?"

Faith went back to her coffee. She pretended like the outburst had not occurred. Answering the brunette's question, "No…I've come to my senses. You two wanna keep doing the slayer gig, fine by me…Go deal with that shit and get the baddies all you want. I've put in my time and I'm done."

Kennedy briskly walked over to Faith. "There's no way you can be serious…Jesus, just because Miguel left…" Faith turned to her sharply with a scowl.

"This isn't about Mickey. It woulda happened sooner or later. I'm not the 'do anything for the cause' kind of person…We all know that. I tried. I did it for as long as I could."

Buffy also had walked over to Faith. "Faith, you've hit a hard time…What you've gone through…lately…" Buffy didn't want to mention Miguel, "has messed up a lot of things for you. I understand that." Glancing at Kennedy, "We all understand having doubts…We've all had them. Hell, you've helped both of us when we had them."

Faith shook her head. "No, B. This isn't the same. I'm not the same as you and her. I don't have that same loyalty to the Council or Giles or even our so-called destiny. I just wanna do my own thing…and that doesn't include slaying anymore."

Kennedy was stunned. "How can you just walk away? Do you really think it's that easy?…What about all the innocents out there who need you?…What about all the demons that are gonna kill those innocents if you're not there to stop them?"

Faith snorted slightly. "It's not like there's only one slayer. The Council can send someone else here. There're lots of newbies that would love a chance to kill some New York demon ass. Let one of those gung-ho slayers deal with it."

"But Faith…?" Buffy was a lost for words. She knew her friend was being irrational despite the calmness in her voice. She couldn't believe what she was hearing coming from the slayer's mouth. She didn't know where to start to knock some sense into the woman's head. She needed to reconnect Faith with all the positives about being a slayer, the pride in defeating evil, the joy in saving an innocent, the sense of accomplishment when an evil plan was thwarted.

As if the younger slayer had read her thoughts, Kennedy sat down by Faith. "Ok, I understand that you've hit a wall…that you don't feel like you can keep doing this…but don't shut out everything…help us figure out who killed that homeless woman. Who knows? It might just be some regular sicko. Why don't we all go check out where they found her? See if…" Faith waved her off.

Strongly, "No. I said no. I know you guys think you're trying to help me, but you're not. I know what I'm doing. We always give new slayers the speech about having the option to join the slayer network or go back to their lives. All I'm doing is letting me have that same choice…Sorry, but if you wanna look into this murder…you're on your own."

Faith got off the stool, grabbed her coffee and a bagel and started to walk toward her bedroom. "I'm tired, feel like shit and don't wanna talk anymore. Thanks for dropping by, but you can go back to your lives now. I'm fine." The slayer walked into her room and shut the door.

Kennedy rubbed her eyes. "Jesus, Faith is worse off than I thought. She's acting like what she said makes perfect sense. I should go in there and…"

Buffy shook her head in disapproval. The blonde had a very concerned look. "No. Leave her alone. She'll just get pissed off. God, she sounds like she did during her bad days in Sunnydale…This isn't good…not good at all. Should we tell Giles?"

Kennedy's look changed to worry. "No. Faith's just confused. She hasn't reverted to anything. If we tell Giles, he'll have to say something to the other Council members…It's his duty to. I don't want them thinking they may have a rogue Faith on their hands again. We need to bring Faith to her senses." Then contemplatively, "I still think there's more to her new attitude. She's obviously not admitting that Mickey leaving has messed her up as much as it has…but I get the feeling that something else got her to weird out."

Buffy nodded in agreement. "Ok, we don't tell Giles for now. But how do we get her to want to get back to her old life?"

Hedging, "Maybe, if we get the ball rolling and keep it in her face, she'll see she really does care and come around."

"Buff, if we investigate this murder and go to her with leads and questions, I bet she won't be able to just brush it away. She's as much a slayer as we are. Faith can't turn her back on getting rid of demons."

The blonde's face lit up. "Yeah. It's like saying you're never going to eat another piece of chocolate, and then you're at someone's house and they're offering you Godiva double chocolate squares…You try to ignore them…You tell yourself you don't need them…But in the end, you eat so many that everyone else in the room looks at you like you just ate a baby."

Kennedy took a deep breath. "Not the analogy I would have used…but it makes the point." The brunette got off her stool. "So let's go. Let's get some info on this murder and drag Faith back to the Good side."

The women walked over to the door and opened it. As Kennedy closed the door behind them, "Really, Buffy, you gotta let that go. It was just a dumb get together. None of us thought you were wiggin for the chocolate."

Kennedy and Buffy walked around the crime site trying not to seem conspicuous. The dead woman had been found around two am and the police were still at the scene even though it was after noon. The slayers weren't the only ones there. Lots of reporters, cameramen and inquisitive citizens were also mulling around, all doing their best to get a view of the "crime scene" or a fresh piece of news. Even though the body had been removed and sent to the morgue for an autopsy hours earlier, a massive bloody puddle was still present inside the bright yellow "CRIME SCENE: DO NOT ENTER" tape boundary.

"There's no way we can get any closer," Kennedy said frustrated as she and Buffy walked along the outer edge of the crowd. "There're too many people here."

Buffy scanned the area. "You're right. We're going to have to give it some time."

"But could mean we lose evidence. The cops don't know what to look for when it comes to demon activity…Hell, that's not even a possibility for them." The brunette stood there and tried to think of a way to get closer.

Then she saw a familiar sight. She smiled and, as she walked toward a police officer, said to Buffy, "I just saw our ticket in."

The blonde watched as Kennedy walked over to a tall dark haired officer. They shook hands and, by the way they interacted, Buffy could tell the officer and Kennedy knew each other. She waited, not being able to tell what they were saying. But Buffy saw the conversation turn serious and soon the brunette was back with the cop.

The older slayer watched the officer take a good look at her. Then he turned to Kennedy. "Yeah, the 'original' slayer. Hmm…I thought she'd be taller."

Kennedy slapped Ron on the back. "Buffy, Ron here is our new bestest friend. So treat him nice. He's gonna get us up close and personal inside that yellow tape over there."

Ron held out his hand in the direction of the crime scene. "Well, let's go, ladies."

The three walked toward the area of the killing. As they went, the officer told the slayers what the cops knew about the murder. The woman had been killed where she was found, behind a dumpster and up against an old abandoned building. The only reason she was found was because her arm stuck out from behind the metal bin. Even though the area did have 'inhabitants', the particular place the body was found was more of a back way passage only used by the fewest of people. "If she hadn't been found by that night worker, the rats woulda taken care of her in a day or so."

When the three got to the main crime scene, they were met with curious eyes from several of the uniformed and plain clothes police officers. Ron nonchalantly walked passed them, muttering, "Fucking FBI forensic trainees…Lieutenant says I gotta play nurse maid while they check out the scene for their boss." It was said with an air of insult and indignation. The other officers nodded slightly in understanding to Ron and gave the two 'agents' a quick, disrespectful once-over. True to form, the local law enforcement hated the Feds treading on their territory.

Buffy and Kennedy went to work. They were scouring the scene for the exact opposite of the police. They didn't care about fingerprints, weapons, blood splatter patterns or physical clues like cigarette butts or hair follicles. The slayers were searching for the unobvious, A color variation to the ground or wall, a mark or substance that seemed like dirt or grime, but not quite. They were trying to find any clue that a demon was there, maybe a smell or a slight temperature difference in a spot. Anything, anything at all.

As they scanned the area, Buffy got curious. "How come that Ron guy is so friendly?"

Kennedy smirked. "Faith saved his ass from a vamp one night…Before then, he thought Faith was a private eye doing 'catch the cheating husband' stuff…She got a lot of leads from him. Then one night, he got attacked…would have been dead if it wasn't for Faith. After that, he was a true believer…Faith doesn't bother the guy that much. Only taps him for info when she really needs to. In fact, he said he hasn't seen or heard form Faith in about four months. I doubt he even knows about the other murders Giles told us about."

Buffy shook her head as she kept looking. "I tell you, as much as people like to think Faith did everything on her own, that is so not true. She really knows how to set up a network. Best part is she's got people helping her who don't even know what's really going on."

Brown eyes never left its searching, "That's why Faith needs to come to her senses."

The brunette looked up startled at the blonde. Buffy was standing over a spot on the asphalt ground. Kennedy hurried over and squatted down.

On the ground was a slight hew of yellow to a very small moist patch. It wasn't a puddle or even dew. It hadn't rained and the spot was around ten feet from where the woman was killed.

"Buffy, there's no reason for this to be here." Kennedy, still squatting looked up at the blonde. "I believe we have found what they call in the po-lice business as a clue."

"I believe you are right." Buffy glanced in Ron's direction and saw him motioning for them to hurry up. "So, get your butt in gear and get a sample. Ron's giving us the squirrelly eyes."

Kennedy took a small glass container from her jacket pocket and her jackknife. She opened a blade and the container's top then scraped some of the liquid in the jar. She stood up as she was closing the lid.

They both walked over to Ron and within a few seconds they were well away from the crime scene.

The officer looked embarrassed. "No problem. Faith knows if she or her friends need help, I'm there."

"Well, we may have to bother you some more." Kennedy wanted the man prepared in case they needed additional assistance.

The slayers thanked him again and said their good-byes. They headed back to Faith's. On the way, Kennedy called Willow.

"Hey, babe. How's my perfect daughter and my sexy wife doing today?" No matter where Kennedy was or what she was doing, her first question whenever she called home was to see how her family was.

"We miss you, but managing to hang on," Willow teased. "How are things at your end?" The witch had talked to Kennedy the night before and earlier that morning while the brunette was out getting breakfast.

"Glad you asked. Buff and I found some weird liquidy stuff at a murder scene and I need you to see what you can find out about it."

There was a slight gasp on the other end. "Murder scene? How on earth did you end up at a murder scene? Are you ok? Is Buffy?…Faith?"

"Red…Red…relax. We're all fine here. A woman got murdered last night and the way it happened doesn't sound man-made if you get my drift. We thought that maybe it might be related to the killings Giles told us about. We checked out the crime scene and found this…stuff."

Kennedy could hear Willow give a sigh of relief. "Ok. That sounds much better. So you got Faith to go?" the witch said cheerfully.

"Uh, no. I can't tell you all of it right now, but it's really bad, Will. Faith says she's done with slaying. She's quitting."

"That's exactly what Buff and I said." Kennedy glanced at Buffy and saw that the blonde knew what she was telling Willow. "I know we can get Faith to come around. We think if we work on this murder and link it to a demon, she won't be able to turn her back on it…So it's really important for us to get as much info on this goop as possible."

Confused, "But, Kenn, why don't you send it to the Council? Their lab will be able to find out a lot more."

"Buff and I think we need to keep this very low key. They'll ask too many questions and we need to keep Faith's 'problem' off the radar."

The line was silent for a few moments. "She's that bad?" Kennedy heard the concern in Willow's voice.

Willow immediately knew Kennedy wanted her to teleport. She knew the situation with Faith had to be worse than she thought.

"I know you need to find someone to be there for Sam…" Kennedy knew that Willow would never teleport if she were alone with Samantha. There was no way the witch would take the chance of something going wrong with her teleporting and leaving her toddler daughter alone in the house.

Willow quickly answered. "You're in luck. Dawnie's here. Oh, by the way, she said to say hi and to tell Buffy she will be able to get to Buff's this year for Thanksgiving…But I'm getting off the point. Dawn's here; so I can teleport whenever you're ready. Just tell me where to go."

Kennedy turned to Buffy and gave her a thumb's up. "Great, babe. We're just arriving at Faith's. Oh, by the way, Faith was wearing a couple necklaces…had them on this morning and I'm pretty sure last night. You should be able to see them for yourself. Give us ten minutes and aim for her living room…No, wait. Make that the spare bedroom…You'll have trouble finding a clear spot in the other room."

"Don't ask…except I will need you to pressure Buffy into giving me the spare bed tonight."

"I don't have any idea what you're babbling about and I'm pretty sure I don't want to know. I'll see you in ten minutes. Bye, baby."

Kennedy looked at Buffy. "Ten minutes and counting. Let's get back and see how Faith reacts to Willow making the trip."

Faith's reaction was nonexistent, because the slayer wasn't home when the blonde and brunette got back to her apartment. They searched, but the older brunette had left.

Coming out of her bedroom, Kennedy held a plastic bottle in her hand. She poured out a few pills as she showed them to Buffy.

"I know enough about drugs from my stepmom to know these are sleeping pills. When has Faith ever had trouble sleeping? These don't even have a prescription label on them. Who knows where she got them."

"Wil's here," the blonde said happily. Just then Willow walked into the living room. "Hey, Willow. You know that FedEX and UPS have nothing on you."

Walking over and hugging Buffy, "True. But I don't get wear a cheesy uniform…Hi, Buff." Willow walked over to her wife and gave her a kiss. "Hey, baby."

Kennedy hugged her wife. "Thanks for the fast response." Kennedy was still aware that Willow was cautious in her use of magick. "Bad news…Faith's not here. But we can tell you about the necklaces she was wearing."

Willow scanned the apartment. "From the looks of this place, how can you tell she's not buried under the debris? Gee, if the place looks this bad, I'm not sure I want to know how Faith's doing."

Buffy sat down on the couch. "Picture, Sunnydale…a combination of the Faith that slept with Xander and the Faith just after she killed the Mayor's assistant."

Kennedy interjected. "That's why we need you to do your geeky science voodoo on this." She held the glass container with the crime scene liquid in her hand.

Willow took it and moved the jar around between her fingers. She examined the fluid inside. "So you think this is from a demon?"

Kennedy interjected. "I gave Faith the once over when she got up this morning and I can't say for sure she had on anything new. She did have on a gold chain necklace and a silver one with what looked like a black pearl. Did she have those before? I didn't notice anything else…like a new ring."

Willow thought for a moment. "Black pearl, huh? That sounds fishy." She examined the container again. "And demon goo…Sounds like a busy time ahead." Bringing her attention to the slayers, "Okey, dokey, then. Let me get back home and I'll start right away. Dawnie's gonna help…" Willow knew that neither slayer would take issue with Dawn knowing about Faith.

Willow kissed Kennedy again. "Sammie misses you…So do I," she said quietly. Kennedy smiled. "I miss you both too."

Willow gave Kennedy once last peck on the cheek and got ready to leave. Buffy stopped her.

"Tell Dawn that it wouldn't kill her to call her big sister more than just once a week."

Before the slayers knew it, Willow was gone. Her ability to teleport still amazed the brunette. Talking out loud to herself, "That's my girl."

"You got it, Buff. When Faith comes back, we tell her what we found and get her to come with us to the other murder scenes. We need to find out if that yellowy stuff is there too."

The two slayers waited for some time before their friend came back home. Faith looked disappointed when she saw that Kennedy and Buffy were still there.

Kennedy noticed that the necklace with the black orb seemed to be almost shining.

"Can't get enough of the Big Apple? I hope you aren't planning to stay much longer." Faith's tone was perturbed.

"Sorry, but yeah, we are staying and if you really want us gone then you need to help us with the murder from this morning." Kennedy decided to get straight to the meat of the situation for Faith. She thought she saw a slight interest in the other brunette's expression. But then it was gone.

"Gee, let me guess. You're sure it's a demon that did it and you want me to help you catch the thing." Faith said it in a very matter of fact way.

Buffy could hear the sarcasm in Faith's voice. She wasn't amused. "That's exactly what we think and want. Faith, you know this town better than anybody. If you saw how that woman was killed you'd be just as upset. There's a demon out there and we need to stop it."

Kennedy was getting angry by now. "Stop the bullshit, Faith. We know there's a demon. It left some kind of liquid behind. We need to see if the other murder scenes have that stuff there too. That's where you come in. We need your connection with the police evidence department in case the actual scenes are clean. There might be something in the evidence or the pictures they took to connect all these murders."

Faith listened but looked unaffected. "Like I said, you don't need me for this. I don't know a damn thing about the other murders and I told you I'm out of this now."

Kennedy couldn't believe Faith's demeanor. It was like they were talking about going to a shoe sale. "Faith, people are dying and we're pretty sure a demon is doing it. Don't you care about that? Doesn't it bother you that innocent people are dying?"

"Don't you tell me about caring, Kennedy. I've done this for a lot more years than you. I've seen more shit than I care to remember. But I've done my time. I'm entitled to be my own person…and that means no more slayer shit. You think this demon needs to be killed, then go and kill it…or get another slayer to do it…I told you I'm done. You go be the heroes."

Before Buffy or Kennedy could say another word, Faith stormed out of the apartment. In a second she was gone.

"Should we go after her?" Buffy had mixed feelings about the scene Faith just made. Part of her knew the slayer had to be going through some tough times. However, another part told her that Faith had done this too long to take such a cavalier attitude despite the circumstances. The blonde wanted to hug or punch Faith. She just didn't know which would work.

Kennedy stared at the front door with a blank expression. "Jesus, she really doesn't give a shit about anything anymore." Then turning back to Buffy, "I don't think we should try to find her. Maybe she needs to let off steam…or let this sink in. She hasn't had anyone confront her 'new' way of life until we got here. Maybe letting her brew about it will help…Besides, we need to go to the other crime scenes."

Buffy nodded. "Ok. We let Faith stew and we go try to connect the other murders to last night's. We still have some daylight left and if that doesn't work, you can always schmooze Ron again."

Kennedy raised her brows and looked innocently at the blonde. "I did not schmooze him…And you really need to get a better vocabulary, Buff. You're so Friday night tv."

"You're just jealous that I have time to watch real tv and you're stuck having to spend all your time watching Dora the Explorer with Sammie."

Kennedy replied quickly. "Speaking about kids, when are you and Jimmy…" Buffy cut her off.

"End of discussion, Kenn!…We have to fight evil now. Let's go." Buffy headed out the door.

The slayers were on their way to see if they could piece together any more of the mysterious murder. What they would find would cement their opinion that a demon was feasting off the underbelly of New York. What that would mean to Faith was another matter altogether.

It took Kennedy and Buffy longer than they anticipated gathering more information. They didn't want to call Giles because they knew he would request details about Faith. Both slayers hoped to put off talking to him until the latest time possible. "Let him call us, then we'll figure out what to say." That sounded like a good plan to Buffy.

The problem with not calling Giles was that the slayers didn't have much concrete information when it came to the other murders. Giles had told them there were "a few" and that they happened in "different locations" in the city's poorer sections. The women didn't even know what days the murders took place.

Kennedy did remember that the Englishman said that the Council was tipped off to the murders. She also recalled Giles saying that the murders were known by the local police. Because of the victims' locations and backgrounds, there wasn't too much hype or publicity despite the gory manners of death. The police suspected that the murders were drug related, competing kingpins trying to 'make a point' about the expanse of his territory. The media never got wind of the deaths and the police were conducting a very low key and slow investigation. The Homicide Department was never in a rush when it appeared that bad guys were offing each other.

The slayers were forced to contact Ron, the officer who had helped them earlier in the day. They called him and met him at a doughnut shop.

"Ron," Kennedy said as she and Buffy sat next to the man at the counter, "if cops don't want to be stereotyped, then meeting people in a doughnut shop…maybe not a good idea."

"Hey, they've got the best coffee here…besides, you got something against doughnuts?"

The brunette shook her head. "No, some of my best meals have been a dozen or two."

Kennedy gave the blonde a quick dirty look then brought her attention back to Ron.

"Ron, we hate to bother you again, but we need information. We need to find out about some murders that have occurred in the city in the last few weeks."

The officer snorted. "Jesus, we have people getting killed every night. Can you be more specific?"

"Yes," said Buffy. "These were kept quiet. The detectives thought they were drug related…and they were pretty bad…kinda like today's victim."

That statement made Ron stop in mid bite. He put his doughnut down and nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about. Because of Faith, I try to keep eye open for 'weird' stuff…just in case. What you're talking about, I know."

Kennedy leaned in. "Good. What we need is how many, where, when…the whole package. And we need to see the crime scenes and any photos that were taken…Is there a way to see any evidence that got tagged?"

The cop laughed. "Yeah, go through six months of the police academy, get a badge and gun and you can see all you want." Then shaking his head. "I see why you're such good friends with Faith…pushy." He looked at Buffy. "She always like this? Gets what she wants like Faith?"

Buffy smiled. "Most times." She chuckled to herself how coy Kennedy could be, much like Faith. They both had a way of getting to guys. The blonde knew it was their overt confidence in their self image. That and they both knew they were 'hot.'

Ron thought for a second, turned his eyes upward and then nodded. "Fine, I can get you the files…but you have to be quick and we need to do it pronto."

Kennedy got a big smile. "Perfect, because I was gonna say we needed to get the info now."

The police officer laughed again and stood up. He went to get some money out of his pocket but the brunette grabbed his arm.

The blonde stared at the other slayer for a second then took the bill. "She is so still a brat," she said mockingly.

Several hours later, Kennedy and Buffy were heading back to Faith's apartment. Their outing had led to much new information. They found out that there had been six previous murders, all since the beginning of October. Three were by the ship yards, one in an area they called the "wasteland" because of the dilapidated condition of the abandoned apartment buildings. The last two were not far from the location of the victim that made it on the news. The killings took place almost every other day. It wasn't until the police received an anonymous tip that they located the first body. It was nearly completely decomposed. Another tip led them to three other bodies. The police had tried to identify the caller, but the voice was too well masked and too quick.

All the murders happened after midnight, and all were nearly as grisly as the homeless woman's death. It surprised the slayers that killings of that severity could be kept out of the media.

The women saw the evidence inventory for each murder and viewed the photos of the crime scenes. In one of the pictures, Kennedy thought she saw a strange 'puddle' near the victim. There was nothing in the physical evidence they saw that connected the murders with the one from that morning. There was no connection that is until they visited the actual murder scenes.

Buffy and Kennedy scoured the surroundings of the other murders. Though it had been weeks for several of the murders, they didn't give up hope that they could find some clue. They knew demons were a different breed than the human criminal. The 'otherwordly' bad guys often left markers to their presence in this dimension, clues that didn't necessarily go away with the passage of a few days.

The slayers' assumption was right. At each scene, they found the same distinct yet hardly noticeable liquidy compound that Kennedy found earlier. It was not a prevalent as in the most recent murder, but it was there. Kennedy knew it was the same thing.

Buffy agreed with her friend's assessment. "Definitely. But which demon and how do we find and kill it?"

Kennedy motioned Buffy to walk. "I know a cute little redhead who can help us with that. Now, I think it's time we head back to Faith's and unload this on her. Let's see how she handles this news."

Buffy and Kennedy went back to the apartment hoping that this would help to bring Faith to her senses.

The plan didn't work because Faith wasn't home, again. At midnight, she still wasn't there. By that time, Kennedy had called Willow and told her all that she and Buffy had uncovered. Willow told her wife that she and Dawn were still trying to identify the demon but had had no luck. "We'll keep working at this end."

The redhead did have some good news. "I found out how Faith is hiding from everybody. That black pearl isn't really a pearl. It's called a Mantel stone. It's only found in the highest mountain ranges in Germany. There was a warlock during the time of Martin Luther who came up with a spell using that stone that basically made a person invisible…in the cosmic aura sense." Kennedy relayed the information to Buffy.

Willow heard the question at her end and signed. "Uh, tell her not exactly," replied Willow. "Obviously, Faith isn't invisible but the spell does make her impervious to being tracked magickally or demon-ly. But now that I know how she's doing it, I can do a counterspell and locate her if we need to." Finally adding, "And Buffy does know that Harry Potter were books first, right?"

This time it was Buffy who overheard the comment. "Yes, I know. I tried reading one, but when the movies came out, I said why bother?"

Kennedy tried to ignore that comment. Buffy was never the bookworm that her redhead was.

The late night call ended soon thereafter and the brunette said good night her wife. "Night, baby. Give Sammie a kiss for me…and one for you, too."

A couple hours passed since Kennedy's call with Willow. She and Buffy waited for the other slayer to show. When she didn't, they got worried. Despite the time, Kennedy called the witch again and asked her to do a locator spell. It took some time but Willow was able to tell the slayers that she sensed Faith was not in trouble. "I can't get a definite location…There's still some static. Boy, whoever did that spell for her is pretty good…Her spell is really strong…stronger than I thought it would be…but she is definitely in the city and she's not in distress…Oh, wait. I just got a flash…A bar?…Faith's at a nightclub…on the lower East Side."

Kennedy didn't press the redhead for more. She wanted Willow to keep her strength and concentration for identifying the demon. Besides, if Faith was at a club then Kennedy knew she wasn't in trouble. The woman was having another wild night out.

"Thanks, babe. I'm sorry I woke you up. You are more help than you know. I'll let you know what happens."

"We know Faith's not in trouble, so there's no point in going to the bar. She obviously doesn't care what we might have found, and frankly, I don't know if I want to deal with her right now anyway. I'm tired and I think we should just let her do what she wants. She'll come home when she's ready and then we'll talk to her." Buffy had decided she was done for the day. She wanted a good night's sleep so she'd be better prepared to deal with Faith when the time came.

Kennedy let out a big sigh. "Yeah, you're right. Faith does what she wants. We'll talk to her in the morning."

The blonde put her hand to the side of her head like she was thinking. Abruptly, "Uh, no. It'll take more than a plea from Willow to make me sleep on that rock hard couch…Besides, using your wife to plead your case…very cheesy." Buffy kept walking to the room.

Sarcastically, "I hope you dream about having twenty kids…and they all look like Xander!" Kennedy heard Buffy laughing inside the room.

With nothing left to do, the brunette turned off the lights and lay down on the couch. Her mind was reeling about the facts she and Buffy had uncovered. The pictures of the victims kept coming back to her. She went through imaginary scenarios with different demons being the culprit. The slayer also thought about Faith and all the worry she had for the state of her friend. As much as she tried, sleep would not come.

'If only Willow were here', she thought. Her wife always had the ability to calm her nerves, her mood and mind.

Kennedy instinctively knew to respond in like fashion. [You caught me off guard, babe.] And then as any mother would do, [Is Sam ok? Did something happen to her?]

Kennedy heard her witch chuckle slightly in her head. [No, Sammie's fine. She's sleeping very soundly in her bed.]

[Not that I'm complaining, but why the head visit? I thought you were going back to bed. It's pretty late.]

[I tried, but you sounded stressed out in your calls, especially the last one. I was in bed, head on the pillow, waiting for dreamy land to come when I felt you call for me…I must be in high gear with the sensing because of locating Faith. You did call me, didn't you?]

Kennedy smiled in the darkness. [Yes. I've been laying here with everything running through my head…and I wished you were here cuz I know I'd be able to get to sleep then.]

The brunette heard a sigh. She knew that her remark was taken as a compliment by the witch. [Aw, baby, you are so sweet. I wish I could be there, too.]

Kennedy frowned. [Too bad, I could really use the distraction.] Even though she was thinking it, there was still a devilish tone to the words.

[You never stop do you?…] Then, Willow's voice got serious. [Well, you know, just because I'm not physically there doesn't mean I can't help to calm you down.]

The slayer was intrigued. [Whatda ya mean? You're not teasing me are you woman?] She was still partly joking with her witch.

Innocently, [Me? Never. No, I'm serious, Kenn, I can feel this tension from you. I know you're worried about what's going on…with Faith and the murders…I know I can help you relax if you want.] The last statement was said with a heartfelt tone.

The brunette still didn't understand what her wife was trying to say. However, she was already starting to feel better. Happy just to be able to talk to Willow, Kennedy decided to keep the playful banter going a little longer. [Are you trying to get fresh with me?]

There was a deep breath and then [Err…Oh, I know what you're…I…I…wasn't thinking of that…but I guess…It could be possible…but I really was just….]

[Easy, Will. I'm just messing with ya. I'm not expecting sex…Besides, you're a little too far away for that, don't you think?]

Kennedy heard Willow begin to talk and then stop. Finally, [Actually…maybe not.] Then the redhead added quickly, [But that's not what I was thinking about.]

[You know I still have a 'connection' with slayers…and with you it's so much more than just that. We can talk to each other like this…We've been able to cross dimensions…In the reading I've been doing lately…] Willow continued to talk to Kennedy.

The slayer listened as her wife described her recent studies in witchcraft and the discoveries she'd made with the mind continuum. Kennedy loved the sound of Willow's voice, even when it was just in her head, especially then. There was such an intimate quality to it. She could also hear the excitement and command in the witch's voice, something that always showed up when Willow was deep in discussion. The soothing voice was almost like a lullaby.

Kennedy's attention came back when she heard Willow in her head say, [Why don't you just try to relax and I'll show you.]

Ever the trusting wife, Kennedy quickly agreed without even really understanding what Willow was about to do. [Ok. I'm all yours.]

Kennedy hadn't spoken a word out loud during her entire conversation with Willow. To anyone looking at her, she was merely lying on the couch with her eyes closed.

The slayer moved a bit, trying to get as comfortable as possible. When she was, the brunette attempted to let the day's events flow from her mind. Instead, she thought about the warm, sweet voice of her redhead.

Soon, Kennedy found her body relaxing. But she felt that she was being helped to that state, like someone was carrying some of the weight of the day for her. The slayer knew it had to be her witch. It didn't take too long for the brunette to feel relaxed and calm.

It was the unmistakable feel of Willow's hands on her shoulders, massaging them. It was gentle but firm. She felt her tight muscles being kneaded, the tension releasing. Then she felt those hands ever so gently travel up to her neck and, again, they caressed the day's concern away. Without actually being touched, Kennedy felt wonderful.

The slayer let her mind free again. Instantly, she could feel Willow's hands trace down her back. It seemed strange for a second because Kennedy knew she was lying on her back. She forced reality out of her thoughts and focused on the sensation that felt so real. 'They are real,' she told herself. The slayer gave in to the feeling of warm hands on her bronzed skin. Up and down, the caresses traveled on her back, rolling out the tension and replacing it with blissful calm.

Kennedy didn't know how long she'd been experiencing her witch's latest talent. But somewhere during Willow's psychic back rub, Kennedy's body and mind began to react in a different way. The serene began to turn to desire, the massage to foreplay. Without even realizing it, the slayer's disposition had turned to a simmering passion.

Kennedy's mind let out a slow and sensuous moan. She didn't mindspeak it to Willow, but the thought running through the slayer's head that very second was how she wished she could make love with her wife.

There was a slight reprieve of sensation and then she felt the gentle brush of lips across her own. It was so soft that it almost tickled. Then there was the sensation of the silky skin of Willow's cheek gliding along her own. For a second, Kennedy thought she smelled a hint of vanilla, the delicate scent from Willow's facial cream.

The slayer sent no words to her wife. She didn't have to. Kennedy knew that Willow had received her message and was making it come true. The significance of what was happening wasn't lost on the woman. She realized that she and Willow were mentally connecting to produce a physical reaction. The depth of her witch's magickal abilities never ceased to amaze her.

Kennedy let her mind and body go. She didn't care that she was lying on Faith's sofa. It didn't matter that the other slayers were separated from her only by closed doors. She wanted Willow to take her away.

The brunette felt the witch's tongue trace her bottom lip and then felt Willow's lips again on hers. The witch's tongue was inside her mouth, canvassing and caressing her own. She was in a passionate kiss with her wife, even though in reality she was still motionless with her mouth closed. The slayer was experiencing the actions with Willow through her mind only. And yet, she felt all the same emotions and had the same physical reactions as if she were really engaged in the activity with the redhead. Kennedy could feel her heart quicken, her temperature rise. She could feel her body react to the touches, the quivers that were beginning deep inside.

The emotions intensified when she felt hands on her breasts. The slayer still had her clothes on, but she felt as if the witch's hands were touching her naked flesh. The slayer's nipples hardened and Kennedy could feel her breath starting to labor.

Kennedy stayed still and let the feelings of her telepathic seduction over power her. Willow was doing to her through her mind what she did to the slayer when they were together. The witch took Kennedy for a sensuous ride. The slayer felt lips and tongue and hands on her skin, enticing it, bringing it to excitement. There were a few times when Kennedy had to control her emotions for fear of moaning out loud. Kennedy understood that this was a very intimate experience for the two women. She was being brought to her release through the mindpower of her witch. Willow had been able to span their distance and make Kennedy not only think she was being made love to but actually make love to her.

What Kennedy couldn't see was her witch all those hundreds of miles away, lying in their bed just as motionless as her slayer. Willow too had eyes closed. She was concentrating on seeing her slayer's naked body and pictured herself touching her and kissing and caressing. Willow's seduction was painstakingly thorough. She could sense each reaction to her imaginary touches. Willow could feel the slayer's breath quicken and her heart beat faster. She visualized the sweat on the brow and the dilating pupils.

When Willow pictured her hand going in between the slayer's legs, she felt the thrust of the hips and heard the moan of delight.

When Kennedy felt her witch inside of her, the release poured out quickly. The slayer crushed her eyes closed, feeling a river of electricity run through her. So as not to disturb the quiet that filled the room, she had to force her body to stay still despite the spasms she felt. Those were real. Her orgasm was not one produced only for her mind. The witch's magickal mind journey had brought her to an astounding fall.

It took a few moments after the last spasm for Kennedy to respond to her witch's gift.

[I didn't. I mean the other stuff I thought maybe I could do…but this…It just kinda took over by itself.]

[That was incredible. I don't know how to describe it…Much better than phone sex.] The playful banter had returned.

Kennedy heard Willow chuckle. [And no dirty talk to make me blush…I guess our connection was strong enough…Wow, psychic sex. Who'da thunk it?]

A thought shot in Kennedy's mind. She laughed. [It's a mental mind fuck. Ha, ha. Remember that time we went with Xander and Jessie to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Tim Curry's character, Franky, sang that song…it had the line 'a mental mind fuck can be nice'…And we thought it was just a just a movie. I betcha whoever wrote that song is a witch.]

[That might be stretching it a bit. Probably just a good guess on their part…But from your enthusiastic reaction, I take it that you enjoyed our little out-of-body rendezvous?]

Without hesitation, [Most definitely an unexpected treat. You should show me how to do it so I can return the favor…You will freak out how real it all feels.]

[Actually, no hurry. As great as it was, you're still not here, so we can't smooch or snuggle for real.] A relaxed tone was evident in the slayer's voice.

Kennedy took a deep breath. She was completely relaxed and calm…and sleepy. [Yeah.]

[You sound tired now. It's late and we both need to get some sleep. Dawn stayed over. She and I are going to start early tomorrow researching and doing some more tests on that stuff you gave me.]

[Ok, Will. I don't want to keep you up. I know you're working hard on this. You go to bed and I'll call you tomorrow morning…I love you.]

With that, Kennedy's mind encounter with her redhead was over. It had been an incredible day capped off with a mind blowing virtual sexual encounter.

As she rolled on her side, the slayer thought, 'Gee, I wonder what'll happen tomorrow?"

The pulsating beat of the dance music filled the tiled room, bouncing off the walls like a pinball, reverberating the music with a muffled effect. The noise didn't seep into the room from the main part of the club; it was a part of it. There were times when it seemed as if the metal bathroom stall shook with each hard beat.

The individuals lingering in the restroom, the men emptying their bladders so they could fill them up again with cheap beer, added to the busy noise. They chided each other about their "sure fuck" and the waitress with the "huge tits and tight ass." The men's rambunctious chatter was loud and crude and exactly what was expected from wolves on the prowl.

If any of the patrons heard the couple in the far end stall, they made no outward sign of it. The level of sound in the place made it likely that the man and woman behind the bathroom stall door were nonexistent to the rest.

And that was just the way Faith wanted it to be for her and the blonde buck that were within those partitioned walls.

The slayer had the Adonis pinned back against the cold steel side wall. She had one hand pushing on his shoulder to keep him from getting too close to her. Faith was intent on making sure this man had no control over her actions.

The brunette's other hand was cupping the man's groin, rubbing hard against his tight blue jeans. She could feel his excitement pressing firm on her palm, getting harder with each stroke.

The man was busy in his own right. His hands were frantically kneading Faith's breasts, coaxing her nipples to peak under her skin tight blouse.

A muscular hand left one breast and reached behind the slayer's neck. When Faith felt herself being reeled in to a waiting mouth, she tensed and fought the pressure like a fish battling the hooked line. Faith jerked her head, unleashing her partner's grip around her neck.

Faith didn't want to feel the closeness of the man's breath upon her skin; she didn't want to hear his emotions escape. The slayer was steeped in the physical need to fuck. She had to have contact. But it was to be only that. Faith wanted nothing more than a release. Emotion was dead to her.

The blonde man pierced his view to Faith. "Fucking's ok…but no kissing?" His tone was not one of disappointment.

With that, Faith's 'date' placed his hand in between her legs and pressed up against her leather pants. "This more to your liking?"

"I thought so," the man said proudly. "You're the kind that likes it nasty." He quickly moved his hand up the front of Faith's pants and down inside.

The slayer arched when she felt his fingers on her. She wasn't even listening to his words. She tried to block everything else out except for the feeling. That was the one thing that Faith could trust…the pure, feral sensation of sexual gratification. It was the one thing that she could count on. The slayer's body was always truthful. Emotions could be twisted, words spoken without cause.

Fucking was Faith's sanctuary. It was the home that she knew would always welcome her. Sex was the situation where the slayer could demand control, get that primal contact and come out feeling something, even if it was shallow and fleeting. That was all Faith wanted at the moment; to feel like 'she' had the control in her life.

The brunette eased just enough to allow the rough hand to investigate further into her domain. 'Take me away' she told her body. The slayer wanted to forget the blackness that had become her life. She wanted a reprieve, the glorious release of her sexual being.

The slayer's mind refocused when she felt herself being pushed back. In a second, she was against the opposite partition wall. Faith opened her eyes and saw and felt her night's distraction unzipping her pants. There was a look of hunger in his expression. She heard his grunts as he worked her trousers down to her thighs.

The man hurriedly undid his jeans, lowering them enough to free his hardness. He placed his hand on the slayer's lower back and quickly guided his shaft.

Faith's euphoria abruptly ended. All she felt now was trapped. This was not being done on her terms. She stood upright and pushed the man away.

"Yo, loverboy. I ain't no toaster. You don't just stick it in when you feel like it."

Frustrated, "Come on. I see that glazed look you got. You're as ready as I am." He took a step toward Faith.

Anger wiped away the feral expression on the blonde man's face. Tersely, "Hey, you picked me up…You're the one who wanted to come in here…Now you're gonna act shy?"

He never saw Faith's knee to the groin until the pain winded him and buckled his knees. He instantly clutched his hands between his legs, his eyelids fluttering from the excruciating pain.

Faith grabbed his shirt by the shoulders and shoved him into the toilet. She fixed her pants and stepped around him. Before touching the door handle, the brunette turned and stared at the figure, his mouth gaping like a fish.

Faith unlocked the door and walked out of the restroom, impervious to the multiple pairs of startled eyes following her out the entrance.

Once back in the dance area of the nightclub Faith wondered why she'd bothered to go there at all that night. "Cuz you can't go back to your apartment, that's why,' she answered herself. She didn't want to face her two fellow slayers. The brunette had purposely stayed out all day so as not to have to be confronted by Kennedy and Buffy.

'At least they can't find me,' she thought as she touched the black stone hanging around her neck. One of Faith's 'errands' during the day was to see one of her snitches. He was an old Russian immigrant with a shady past and an even shadier present.

The man, Rudnya, was a warlock who had been literally run out of the country because of excesses in his wizardry. The old man had lost family members due to feuding with a rival wizard. It was the death of his four year old granddaughter that sent him over the edge and into the Dark Arts. Rudnya went on a magickal rampage. He barely made it out of Russia alive. Without family or friends, the warlock settled in New York and made ends meet the only way he knew how, by peddling his magickal wares. By the time Faith met him, Rudnya had a small, discrete reputation. Faith helped him out financially and he assisted her when ever she needed a little paranormal help. When Faith went to him seeking to 'be invisable', the old Russian knew just what to do. "I know of a spell…" The slayer had been wearing the black stone necklace for several weeks and revisiting the warlock every so often to make sure the 'barrier' was at its most potent.

Sitting at the bar, Faith spent the next few minutes drinking Jack Daniels, straight up, and rerunning her dilemma in her head. 'Why the hell did Kennedy and Buffy come here? Why the fuck won't they leave me alone?' The slayer had been 'coping' in her own way the past several weeks. She handled it how she knew best, by reverting to her old hard self. It was the streetwise, self-sufficient Faith that had taken over. The brunette had become a loner again, to everyone and every part of her life. 'I'm not dealing with that shit anymore. It all got fucked up. I can't do it anymore.' Faith didn't have to explain to herself the events that had led to her present state of mind. She had lived them; they had left her beaten down. No one knew what the slayer had been through, why her view was clouded with disappointment and resignation. She wouldn't dare tell anyone. 'It's in the past.'

The brunette wouldn't let herself think about the event that had sent her sailing over into the abyss of uncertainty. It was too painful and shameful. But, the more she tried to forget it, the stronger it pushed into the front of her mind. Faith saw the vampire, saw its victim being drained of life. Swirling around those scenes was the sense of her cell phone screaming for her attention. She saw herself answering the call while the demon tortured its prey. In the midst of the images and the sounds was a quivering, frightened voice, one she knew as well as her own. "Help…" The plea ran over and over in her mind in a continuous loop. Faith's memory always ended with the same event, her turning her back on the carnage and running to the man she loved.

That's when the images stopped and the remorse and disappointment set in. For Faith knew how it all ended. Everyone died that night in some way. For the innocent, it was a truly painful death. For Faith and Miguel, it took the form of smothering guilt which overshadowed and overwhelmed their bond. Because of that night, Faith knew she had failed as a slayer. She could have saved the innocent being murdered; she should have, but she didn't. She didn't hesitate to even consider her options. The slayer's reaction was to run to the man on the other end of the call.

But Faith knew it was worse than that. She knew she would do it again, and again…and again, if placed in the same circumstance. But she never would be because Miguel found out about the choice Faith made. He decided she would never be left with the quandary again. The day after Miguel was released from the hospital, he left for Brazil. He didn't talk to Faith. His note only read, "Be a slayer."

Faith shuddered and shook the memories from her head. She had had enough of the past. After another drink, the slayer looked around. All she saw were the shadows of a life she used to have, that she thought she had earned. She saw strangers happily playing their roles, intentionally ignorant of the cruelty of the world in which they lived. Faith had decided not to play the fool any longer. She would control her own destiny and not have it shoved down her throat by society's rules or the slayer powers that for which she had never asked.

Just then, Faith glimpsed the man with whom she had not so long before 'broken a date.' It took her a moment to remember his name. 'J-Jake,' she finally said to herself, pleased that she was not so animalistic in her pursuit for sex as to not get a name. The man was on the other side of the bar, so many people between him and the slayer that she knew he didn't see her. 'He's walking ok,' she noticed. She laughed internally at the 'weak spot' of men. 'Makes you think God had a design flaw, sticking the dick out front like that.' Faith smiled. It dawned on her that it was the first time that day that she was amused. 'Great, my chuckle for the day comes from probably ruining a guy from having kids.' The slayer saw the vindictiveness in that.

Faith kept a low profile and downed several more drinks. She'd lost her need for sex and merely wanted to sit until it was late enough to go back to her apartment. The one thing for which the slayer was grateful was that she was in New York City, the city that never slept. The establishment she was at did not close until 5am. Faith knew some time during the wee hours she would be able to slink back to her place and find only sleeping slayers.

Once more Faith spotted Jake. This time he was talking to a woman. The two were engrossed in conversation. The slayer watched as the man used the same body language on his new target as he did with her. But the slayer's attention drifted to the woman. Faith carefully examined her posture, her moves and demeanor. There was something 'off' about the woman. It wasn't her long blonde hair or her stylish dress. It wasn't her Paris Hilton looks.

The woman flirting with the Adonis lacked a quality in her visual presence. Faith knew that it was not noticeable to the average person, or to any person not a slayer.

The slayer's immediate reaction concerned her situation. 'I can't get away from that shit for one night.' Her second thought was more malicious. 'Just what he deserves.'

Faith couldn't keep from studying their interaction. She watched as the vampire coaxed her prey into friendly discussion, saw her place an inviting hand on the man's shoulder. The slayer examined the demon's game of winning over her victim.

Not much time had past when Faith saw Jake and the vampire leave the club from a side door. She caught a sly smile on the corner of the vamp's mouth just as the door closed.

The slayer shut her eyes. She tried to put out of her mind what she knew was about to happen. 'It's not my problem anymore,' she told herself. 'I'm not responsible for saving them.' Like a mantra, her mind kept repeating it.

"Fuck!" she said sharply. The slayer slapped her palms on the bar and got out of her chair.

Faith hurried to the same exit as used by the vampire and the man. She quickly went outside and scanned the area. When she saw the entrance to a dark alley, the slayer knew exactly where the couple was.

By the time she was half way down the alley, Faith could hear the struggle. A few more strides and she saw the blonde man attempting to fight his way free from the grip of his assailant. Before the slayer was able to get to the fray, she saw the vamp forcefully strike the man, sending him sailing through the air and landing against some empty boxes unconscious.

"What's up? You don't like to feel 'em squirm when you bleed 'em? What a fucking pussy you are."

Faith laughed. "Holy shit. Up close you really do have the whole slutty Paris Hilton thing going on…Looks bad enough on her…on you, pretty much a horror show."

The vampire hissed. "You're about to die, so talk all you want…you'll be screaming when I get my hands on you."

The slayer realized that the demon didn't know what she was. Faith rolled her eyes.

"Are you even from New York? I know that shit may play in Wisconsin, but here, Paris, that wouldn't even scare an old Jewish grandmother."

Faith put on a dumb smile and nodded theatrically. "Ahhh, there you go. See, I knew you couldn't be as dumb as you look."

The slayer's comments had infuriated the demon. She forgot about her 'meal' and went after Faith.

Just as the vampire was lunging at her, Faith barbed, "Ooo, you are as dumb as you look."

The slayer and vampire battled. They engaged in the fight, punching and kicking, each using their skill to conquer the other. Faith was never in mortal danger, though the demon did have a few good shots that dazed the slayer a few times. However, in the end, Faith was the better soldier. She finished off the vamp by lancing her through the heart with a broken slat from a discarded, wooden container.

The two stood right next to the lying Jake as the slayer went in for the final assault. As she thrust the jagged wood into the demon's flesh, Faith heard the blonde man moan. As the vampire turned to dust, the man opened his eyes.

It took a few moments for Jake to come full to his senses. He saw Faith in front of him.

He got up and rubbed the back of his head. "What the hell just happened? What are you doing here?"

Trying to lighten up the serious tone of the night, "Yeah, you're not having the best of luck with the ladies tonight."

By the change in expression, Faith knew Jake didn't appreciate the comment. Defensively, "I was handling things fine. I don't need some fucking tease like you giving me shit."

Faith became angry. "Hold on there, Rambo. You were getting your ass kicked and would have gotten a whole lot more if it wasn't for me."

The man snorted. "Fuck you. I didn't ask for your help. I had it under control."

Faith stopped. She slowly shook her head and took a deep breath. A disgusted look crept over her.

That one tirade by the man had brought Faith back her present reality and reinforced her belief in the treachery of Mankind. She told herself she should have known better than to try to 'help' again. But she did and was bitten by the sad truth. People were liars and small, and worst of all, they were ungrateful. This night had done nothing but strengthen the slayer's resolve to live her own life, not beholding to her slayer destiny or anyone but herself.

Faith said nothing else. She simply turned around and started to walk away. Without emotion, "Have a nice life…try not to die."

After leaving the alley where she saved her most ungrateful pick-up, Faith walked the streets of New York City for hours. Her need for sex had disappeared with the ingratitude from the man she'd kept from the fangs of death. The slayer got lost in the sea of bodies mingling in the robust nightlife. Faith knew that each person she passed was ignorant of the true harshness of the human race. 'They all think they're safe, that nothing can get to them.' However, she knew differently. 'They don't see how fucked they are if they can't keep all the balls in the air.'

Faith's internal examination was much like those she had while in prison back in California. There were many long hours then where the slayer contemplated her life, what she had done wrong and how she had gotten to some sort of peace with it. There was no solitude now, though. Faith was seeped in the confusion and uncertainty of a life that had turned her upside down. She coped in the only way she knew how. She retreated to the 'lone wolf' who had kept her alive and functioning all those years before. That Faith could shield out the pain and disappointment. That version of herself could survive and make it through the day counting only on her own actions, never to be let down and never letting down anyone else. It was something she'd learn to do even before she became a slayer. The brunette's life had been filled with many disappointments. With an alcoholic, neglectful mother and a nonexistent father, Faith had learned early on that life was not fair and she was on her own.

As the night hours thickened, Faith's belief in the futility of 'helping thy fellow Man' became more entrenched. She was even more certain her decision to shred her life of 'fighting Evil' was her best and only choice. She wanted nothing now except to live on her terms, to come and go as she pleased, to be neither beholding to nor reliant on anyone.

Faith had that state of mind when she finally returned home well after 7:00am. She walked in to find Buffy and Kennedy sitting at the kitchen table with mugs of coffee in their hands and concern on their faces.

"Are you ok, Faith?" Kennedy tried to sound as calm as possible. She knew that her friend was going through a very serious time in her life. Jumping all over the slayer for staying out all night and worrying them was the last thing Kennedy wanted to do. Her flared emotions hadn't worked well before, so she decided to take a different approach.

Faith looked at her and Buffy, who was intently waiting for an answer. She could see their unease. That gave her a moment of guilt which was quickly replaced with defensive anger.

"Hey, I didn't mean…You just didn't…Uh…I…I'm…" Kennedy didn't know what to say to keep her friend from getting more defensive. "You're back…Want some coffee?" She started to stand.

Faith shook her head. "Don't bother. I'm heading to bed." She started to walk to her bedroom.

Buffy put down her coffee and got a disapproving look. "I'm not going to bother asking you what…or who you did last night…I'm not really sure I want to know. But don't you want to know what we found out yesterday?…About the murders?"

Faith stopped for a second. "No," she said, not even looking at Buffy when she spoke. She was at least thankful she wouldn't have to deal with her late arrival home. The slayer started to walk again to her room.

Buffy got up and hurried to Faith's bedroom door. She stood in front, blocking the brunette's entry. "Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. So your beauty sleep's going have to wait for a bit." The blonde's tone was part joking and part sarcastic.

Kennedy watched Buffy's demeanor and body language. She could tell that Buffy was upset and was trying to keep from chastising Faith. It was obvious to Kennedy that the blonde was as concerned, if not more so, than she. Kennedy noticed that Buffy wasn't backing down to Faith's sour behavior. Given the craziness of the circumstances, she decided that maybe Buffy's tactic might get through. If nothing else, they would come off as "good cop, bad cop" and hopefully drive Faith to open up to one of them.

"No. Faith, I don't want to do this, but you leave my no choice. People are dying and you, more than anyone else, should be all over this. You need to hear what's happened."

Buffy knew Faith was being crafty. She was also willing to do anything to see if the obstinate slayer would help them. "This is not a game. What we saw was pretty gruesome. New York is your territory, Faith. You might be able to make some sense out with what we found."

Buffy took a deep breath. "Well, Kenn and I first went to the murder scene of the woman we saw on the news. We ran into your cop friend, Ron, and…." Buffy proceeded to tell Faith everything that she and Kennedy had done the day before. The blonde told her of the different crime scenes, the pictures, forensic evidence and the unknown liquid. She went into great detail about the liquid. Buffy told Faith about Willow's and Dawn's long distance role in their investigation. That drew a scowl from the slayer.

As Buffy talked, Kennedy watched Faith's reaction. For much of the time, it appeared that Faith took no interest at all. There were times when Kennedy wondered if her friend was even paying attention. However, the older brunette's attention occasionally perked. It was barely noticeable and Kennedy could tell that Faith was trying to hide the fact. But it was there. Somehow, Kennedy felt that Faith wasn't as distant from her slayer responsibilities as she was attempting to be. That gave her some hope.

When done, Buffy stared at Faith waiting for her response. It took only a few seconds for Faith to back up a couple steps from her position in front of the blonde.

"You're right, it does sound like a demon. It also sounds like you and the kid have it under control. You don't need me."

"B, there's nothing I can help with. You've got my contact at the police. You've done the leg work on the murders. Now, just wait for Willow to tell you what demon it is and you and Kennedy can go kill it and save the world…It's what you do."

Kennedy walked closer to the other two slayers. "Faith, you have to help us. We don't know this city like you do…You're the one with all the underworld connections. You know the layout, everything…You can't just do nothing."

Faith looked ready to tell her friend that she was doing exactly that. But then she closed her eyes for a moment. She looked Kennedy squarely in the eyes and exhaled.

"Christ. Listen, I'm not doing this with you…but I will give you my snitches and tell you where to look for information."

The 'help' given by the older brunette was quick but substantial. "…There, that's all I know…I'd start at the old docks. Lots of baddies like to hang there." Turning to Buffy, "I did my part. Now will you get out of my way so I can get some sleep?"

Buffy didn't move. "You have to come with us, Faith. You can't just ignore everything." Sympathetically, "I know what you're going through. I know you just want to disappear from all the crap. But you can't, Faith. It's terrible what Miguel did to you…but we're slayers. We have to protect people. We have to find this demon and stop it."

Kennedy agreed with all that Buffy said, but she stayed silent and examined Faith's reaction to it. She saw her friend's posture get defensive again. Kennedy knew that whatever progress had been made with Faith was just lost.

Harshly, "I don't 'have' to do a damn thing, B. That's what I've been saying to you since you two got here. I'm out. I can't say it any easier than that. You and Kenn go fight the battle. If you really think you two can't do it…then go find another slayer to be the third musketeer."

Buffy had had enough. She couldn't hold back her frustration any longer. "I've had just about as much as I can take of your attitude. We are sorry that you and Miguel broke up…but being a slayer comes first…and you know that…or you need to be reminded." Then out of her irritation, "Geez, you're acting like the old Faith…take off when it really gets tough."

Faith went off on that comment. "Screw you, Buffy! It's real easy for you to stand there and judge me. Tell me that I'm not 'living up' to the slayer credo. Who the hell are you to say anything? Since you set up in Cleveland you've done nothing but sit on your little white ass and let the new slayers do the work. You're life has been cushy while the rest of us were out there risking our necks everyday…I've been here for how many years?…Killing the bad guys…and I didn't need a classroom of slayers to do it. I did it alone."

Buffy took direct offense to Faith's accusations. "First off, I haven't been sitting on my 'little white ass'…I've been doing my part just like you. And don't talk to me about Faith 'the loner.' You've wanted it that way…and besides, you weren't alone, you had Miguel. Remember?…Or do you want to act like he never existed? Now that would be like the old Faith…deny that she got help from anyone…That's the 'lone wolf' way, isn't it?"

Kennedy stared at Faith who looked like she was ready to explode. The younger brunette wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

Faith got red in the face from anger. "The old Faith didn't get shit on. I got the job done without relying on anyone else…and if I recall, I had a fucking good time while I did it."

Buffy's voice got level. "Until you killed someone. Then you went off the deep end." Buffy regretted saying that the moment it came out of her mouth. She lowered her head for a second. Looking again at Faith, "This can't be fun for you. Screwing around…with any ol' guy. Are you even being safe?…Slayers are strong but we're not indestructible…We're not immune from AIDS." Buffy was concerned for the well being of her friend.

Faith put her hands out in front of her. "That's it. I am not getting sex advice from you. We are done…and for the last time, I am done with slaying. I can't do it anymore. Too bad if it's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth." She looked at both slayers. "I've had it with you two. I've had it with you taking over my life and my apartment. You either stop or you need to get out."

Buffy was ready to yell at Faith when Kennedy held her back and spoke. "Ok. We'll stop. We won't try to change your mind. Just let us stay here." She glanced at Buffy. "The thought of sharing a room with Buff…not high on my list. She snores like a lumberjack."

Kennedy waited for both Buffy and Faith to calm down. Finally, Faith nodded. "Ok then, you can stay," she said somewhat reluctantly. "You leave me alone and you can go and do what you need to. Just don't bring me into it."

Sensing that she'd made her point, Faith said firmly, "I'm gonna go get some shut eye, now." She went into her bedroom and shut the door.

Buffy spun around to face Kennedy. "What the hell did you just do? You gave in? We're supposed to let her get away with this?"

The brunette shook her head. Whispering, "No, but I also didn't want us to get thrown out. We need to be close to Faith. I can tell she wants us here…that she wants our help. She coulda just told us to get out. It would have been the logical thing to do if she really wanted to be left alone. She could have done it that first night." Kennedy leaned in closer to Buffy. "This is the only way Faith knows how to ask for help…Pretending that she wants us out of the way. She doesn't want to be alone, Buffy. There's something that Faith is afraid to tell us…that she can't just come out and say. We have to stay here and find a way to get her to. When she does, we'll know why she's acting like she wants out…and we'll be able to bring her back."

"Buff, you gotta trust me on this. You may have known Faith longer than me, but I'm pretty sure I know her better. She and I share some character 'traits.'"

Buffy stayed silent while she considered Kennedy's words. She knew the younger slayer was right. Despite having known Faith the longest, Buffy understood the two brunettes had a connection not shared by her. Kennedy and Faith were kindred spirits in a sense. If she were honest with herself, Buffy would have to admit there were still times that she found Faith unexplainable.

Kennedy smiled. "It will. Now come on, let's go. There are some things we need to take care of and I don't want to do it from here."

The brunette looked to the bedroom door. "Yeah…a call in particular. It's time we get the real scoop on what Faith's been going through. I want to hear it from the horse's mouth…a Brazilian's mouth that is." She turned to Buffy. "There's lots else we need to do."

Buffy could see that Kennedy had a plan formed in her head. "Then let's get started."

Over the next twelve hours, the two slayers gathered more information on the murders and more importantly on Faith's life over the last few months.

Daniel Van Gorsen sat in the corner of a run-down, abandoned store. The rising sun from the new October day was barely creeping through the slits of the boarded up windows. The rays were just strong enough to reach the teenager's shoe. They illuminated the blood that rested on the surface of the leather object.

The blood didn't stop on the shoe though. It left a splattered trail up his cotton pants. Blood reappeared near the collar of the boy's shirt. There was a part of Daniel's garment, in the mid section of the shirt, that had no stains at all. That was because the demon Daniel had been bent over when he killed his latest victim.

Sitting alone in his damnation, Daniel contemplated ending his life. It wasn't the first time since the onset of his 'affliction' that he'd thought about suicide. He had many times before, but always during the day, always after the kill when his guilt overcame him.

The thought of death never got any farther than that, just a thought. Part of Daniel, the devout faithful, believed that suicide was immoral. The teenager didn't see the irony in that belief to his present circumstances. Another part of the young man, though, would never let him do it for a completely different reason. That part didn't believe he was doing evil. Over the days since his birthday, Daniel had gone from desiring the kill, to needing it, to accepting it as necessary for his sustenance. Daniel knew his need to kill was as entrenched in his DNA as breathing. Death and oxygen, he could not do without either.

So as he sat in his corner, Daniel mourned his latest prey. The victim was not an old man, but life had beaten him down to the point of making him look as old as the city itself. The man had been standing by a metal barrel, warming his cold form by the fire blazing within. He was alone, alone where he stood and alone in life.

Watching the man, the desire to kill flared in Daniel's head. He felt his insides change, turning once again into the demon borne from the devil. In the last few nights, he had noticed physical alterations to his skin. He could also see differently. It was as if he could see the fear oozing off his prey. It was visible to him like a yellow bubble surrounding his victims. The teenager remembered catching his reflection in a window as he waited on his prey. Though seeing them for the first time, Daniel was not shocked to capture yellow eyes staring back at him. Those yellow orbs had tracked the man at the barrel. They relished to see him bleed and cry until death quieted his plea.

The demon Daniel recalled how he got closer to his target. He was ready to attack when the man put more paper on the fire which sent it towering upward over the barrel opening. Daniel stared at the fire momentarily, then quickly shielded his eyes. There was an intense burning which caused the demon boy to back up a few steps. It took several minutes before Daniel opened his eyes. His interruption made his anger and desire for the kill grow. However, he kept his distance and glanced sparingly at the fire.

Without reason, the man then moved away from the warmth of the barrel. He never knew that the few steps he took were the difference between life and tragic death.

Daniel's most brilliant memory was pouncing on the man as soon as he was within striking distance. The yellow eyes exalted when the deed was done. This kill had been particularly thorough. There was little more than bone left. The rats and bugs were upon the mass even before the demon left the scene. This was one victim that no one would ever know was murdered. There had been others like that as well.

The kill wouldn't leave Van Gorsen's mind. It was vivid. They were all becoming more stunning and accepted. Despite the praying and recitation of Scripture, Daniel found himself losing out to the demon within. The guilt was there, but not as pronounced, the need to repent not as stern. Little by little, Daniel was becoming the demon and his pleas to Jesus Christ for salvation were going unanswered.

Willow sat at her desk staring at the LCD screen of her laptop. The concentration was so evident that even an explosion next to her probably wouldn't have broken her thought. The object of the witch's undivided attention was an obscure web site. It was the kind of site that would exude only ridicule from the 'average' person due to the mystical and far-fetched topics contained therein. Of course, Willow knew the information documented on the site wasn't fiction. The spells, demons and historical facts listed were all too genuine. It was modern day society's disdain and repudiation of their authenticity that was the farce.

The witch had been researching ever since she got back to her house with Kennedy's mysterious ooze. Her and Dawn spent endless hours performing experiments in an attempt to isolate the compounds that formed the liquid. Willow was looking for any type of chemical marker that would assist her in identifying to which demon the ooze belonged. In her make -shift office, numerous reference books surrounded her and her trusty laptop. They formed an impervious wall of knowledge around her. Some of the books were opened, others tabbed with post-it notes for quick future reference if needed.

After the many hours of playing scientists, Willow and Dawn were able to find one chemical that had no explanation for being part of the liquid's make-up. Luckily, being connected with the Council, the witch had at her disposal equipment that did more than just identify the elements of the Periodic Table. The machine Willow had was able to also isolate known 'non-earth' compounds, those that weren't found on this plane of planet earth. It was the combination of elements unnatural to this reality for which the redhead searched and found.

What Willow and Dawn discovered was that the ooze contained Astatine. Element Number 85 of the Periodic Table, Astatine is a member of the Halogen group of elements. The astounding nature of the discovery by Willow was partly due to the fact that Astatine did not occur naturally. As far as the scientific world knew, the element could only be produced by bombarding Bismuth with alpha particles. The other critical find was that the Astatine in the sample was not radioactive, unlike its man-made counterpart. These two facts led the two women to the definite conclusion that a demon produced the ooze. The next part was to identify which demon or demons produced that specific chemical mixture with that exact type and amount of Astatine.

That job proved to be the sticking point. The ability to identify the demon relied mostly on the creature being one with which the Council had had relatively recent contact. The scientific methods used for 'tagging' demons hadn't been around for very long versus the length of time that demons had been in existence. If the demon was one that only had sporadic contact with the human race, and if the last contact was before the Council's methods started, knowing about Astatine was useless.

Additionally, Willow and Dawn's research into the Council's archived records could not be done out in the open. Their inquiry was so specific that any involvement by anyone at the Council would become curious. Luckily, Willow had access to the Council's computer databases and was savvy enough to be able to formulate a search program that would examine the relevant data cores in such a way so as not to raise suspicion. To any onlooker at the Council, it would appear that Willow was merely trying to bone up on her demon knowledge.

The creativity needed to keep the actions under wraps unfortunately meant that the search couldn't go as fast as it would have otherwise taken. Willow and Dawn found themselves waiting patiently to see if their search turned up any demon candidates. This caused much anxiety for the two women. They didn't like feeling as if they weren't holing up their end of the mission.

If it wasn't for the black orb matter, Willow would have felt like a complete let-down. When Kennedy told her about the silver chained necklace with the black pearl-like object, the witch knew she would be able to solve at least one puzzle given to her. While she waited on her demon research, Willow dug deep into her witchcraft books and tomes to decipher the origin of the stone and the reason for Faith's 'disappearing' ability. It didn't take her that long to determine the identity of the stone and its powers. With only a little more time, she had the spell to counteract the stone and the spell which gave Faith her 'cosmic' barrier.

As it turned out, Willow ended up with another project she had to handle. This one went deep into the reason for Faith's change of personality and necessitated her to loosen her rules on the use of her powers.

After Kennedy and Buffy had their 'discussion' with Faith and almost got kicked out of her apartment, Kennedy decided to call Miguel to find out what really happened between him and Faith. It took several attempts and a persistent "I'll just keep calling until Miguel speaks to me" before the brunette actually spoke to the distant Brazilian. Kennedy tried not to be upset with the man or push him too hard for his reason for leaving Faith. Her main intent was to find out from Miguel what had happened to send her friend inside herself or to determine if he even knew that Faith was that bad.

What she found out startled her, not due to any horrible actions committed by Miguel against Faith, but because of the immature way in which he and Faith had handled their problems. Miguel told her he left because it was clear that Faith couldn't do her job having to care for him in his declined health. The truth he said hit home during his last relapse before he went back to Brazil. "I just collapsed. I couldn't get up or move hardly. I felt like I was dying. I couldn't think of anything else to do except call Faith. I was lucky I had my cell in my pocket." Miguel didn't go into the details of his malady. His point was that he knew he had taken Faith away from her slaying at a critical time. Though he never asked her, and she never said a word, he could "see it in her eyes." Miguel had the gut feeling that something terrible happened that night because he tore Faith away from her destiny. "I can't live with that…and I won't make Faith do it either…So I left after I got out of the hospital."

The part that astounded Kennedy was the fact that the couple hadn't tried to talk things out or to examine their situation for a solution. "Miguel, are you telling me you just left?…You never talked to Faith about how you felt or how she felt?"

Kennedy found out that Faith and Miguel never really discussed his health problems and the affect it had had on their lives or their work. The two merely took each day as it came and did the best they could.

When the brunette indicated that Miguel should return, he flatly refused. No matter what Kennedy said the Brazilian was convinced that he'd done the right thing, there was no use in talking to Faith and she would be better not seeing him again. Even when Kennedy told him about Faith's disavowal of her slaying destiny, Miguel was not persuaded. He only replied that "I didn't say this wouldn't be tough on her, but she'll go back…she has to go back."

Nothing said to Miguel had any effect and soon Kennedy knew that talking over the phone was not going to produce any progress. She reluctantly told Miguel that she wasn't through trying to "knock some sense into his head" but that she would stop calling.

After hanging up, Kennedy's mind reeled with the ridiculous way that her friends had handled this crisis. She never knew that Faith and Miguel were amateurs when it came to really opening up and sharing their fears. But then, the slayer remembered that it hadn't been that long ago that she might have acted the same way. Kennedy knew that had she not fallen in love with Willow, she too might have been someone with just as tough of an emotional shell. It was because of her redhead that Kennedy had become someone better.

Thinking of how her witch had changed her mindset and life, Kennedy got an inspiration. She etched a plan in her head that had a chance of making Miguel see the errors of his ways. Her plan involved Willow. In fact, it was all about Willow.

"You want me to what?" There was surprise and a hint of confusion in Willow's voice as she talked long distance to her slayer.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I think if you go to Brazil and talk to Miguel, you can make him see that he needs to come back." Kennedy knew if anyone could show Miguel he was wrong, it was Willow.

"But Brazil? What about the demon?…I'm in the middle of the research to find out which nasty it is. It'll take me two days just to get there."

Kennedy hesitated. "Umm, yeah, about that. I wasn't thinking you'd fly…at least not on a commercial plane."

"You want me to teleport? Just to tell Miguel that he's acting like a child and needs to come back so he can work things out with his likewise childish girlfriend?…Do you realize what you're asking?"

Kennedy knew her witch wasn't accepting her idea. "Willow, you know I'd never ask you to do magick just for the kick of it. But this is serious."

"Kennedy, life and death is serious. Being trapped somewhere and on the verge of death or having a split second to save a life is serious. Faith and Miguel aren't in physical trouble. They just never learned how to deal with the bad times."

The brunette knew she had to come up with a better rationalization to get Willow to even consider her proposal. "I know that they're not being attacked…but what's going on might be just as bad. What if Faith gives up?…What if she really does just walk away? We could lose her Willow…and I mean really lose her, not just the slayer…but every part of who we know she is."

Kennedy waited for a response. She could hear the witch breathing on the other end of the phone call. 'That's a good sign,' she thought.

Finally, she heard Willow take on a deep breath and let it out very slowly. "I don't want to lose Faith either. But teleporting…so far…Geez, if she and Miguel weren't so stinking hardheaded. I have half a mind to turn them into goats and let them butt heads all day long…" There was another long pause. "Fine, I'll do it. I'll teleport and see if I can get Miguel to change his mind."

"Yes I am, and I expect many numerous and lengthy foot massages as sign of your gratitude."

In a devilish tone, "It won't just be your feet that get massaged…" Then seriously, "I do realize what I'm asking you to do…but I wouldn't ask if I had any doubt you could do it."

Willow realized that her magickal power was needed to save Faith. She decided that she had to have confidence in her abilities and unclench the grip held on keeping her craft under her thumb. It was time to loosen the pressure.

As quick as that, Willow had agreed to teleport to Brazil. Kennedy told her where Miguel was staying. They'd been there before while they lived in Sao Paulo. The witch didn't think she'd be gone for too long. Willow told Dawn what she was going to do and Dawn let her know that she would stay with Samantha and keep processing their research into the demon identity.

By early afternoon, Willow was ready to go. She had kissed her daughter and, as mothers are prone to do, gave Dawn the number of where she was going to be…just in case.

After speaking to Willow, Kennedy got into interrogation mode. She and Buffy spent the afternoon trying to find out more about any new baddies in town and also any information as to the identity of the anonymous 'tipper' who had turned the Council onto the recent murders. Kennedy had a strong hunch that whoever sent in the tips had to have some knowledge concerning who was carrying out the killings.

The two slayers took turns visiting the same locations they had gone to earlier in their stay in New York. They also 'dropped by' other establishments given to them in their interrogations. Though no demon or demon-human barterer confessed to knowing the killer, many had either heard rumors of a 'killer' in town or had a demon sense of one's presence. However, being demons, because it was only humans being targeted, they could have cared less. The rumors floating around didn't involve an attempted demon power play for territory or a demon against demon slaughter. As a result, many of the underworld who talked to Kennedy and Buffy hadn't given the murders all that much consideration or attention.

"Well, I hope Willow has more luck getting through to Miguel than we had finding this demon." Buffy was beginning to become frustrated. There was a demon ravaging the underbelly of New York and they were no closer to knowing what it was than when they found that first patch of yellow ooze.

"My Red will get him to see the light. She is gifted when it comes to making people feel guilty. She is a Jewish mother after all…We should see if Dawn's got anything new for us."

Buffy darted her eyes up. "Talk about feeling guilty…Dawn should be asking for my forgiveness for hardly calling me. She was gone for how long in Italy?…and I got three calls the whole time she was there." Then jokingly, "After all I did for her…keeping her from being turned back to a ball of green energy…"

Kennedy laughed. "Yeah, those ungrateful kids. Why don't you call her and unload on her…Oh, and while you're at it, see what's new."

"Yes, Buffy…I know, Buffy…Of course, Buffy…Yes, you are the best…not every sister would jump into a cosmic tear in the dimensional plane to save her little sister…" Dawn was trying to placate Buffy. The older sister had called several hours after Willow left and instantly began to make her feel guilty for not staying in contact. "Buffy? Was there a reason you called other than to say I don't call or visit you enough?"

Dawn heard her sister stop her speech. There was a moment of silence and then, "Well, yes, actually. Me and Kenn want to know if you've got anything new on the puddle of ooze."

"Unfortunately, no. But I have been able to rule out a wide variety of demon species which helps narrow our search. Plus, I'm waiting to hear back from several contacts I have. I know a few people who deal exclusively with a particular sub-class of geifer type demons, particularly of the pre-sixteenth century variety…"

"Huh?…I swear, Dawnie, you come back sounding more like a Willow brainiac every time Giles sends you on a mission somewhere. In English, please."

Dawn smiled. She knew Buffy was giving her a compliment. There was a time when Buffy thought her as nothing but the annoying little sis that she had to protect. But Buffy's sister had become so much more. She knew that Buffy understood how valuable she'd become to the Council.

"Ok, in English. I'll use words even a slayer can understand. I'm trying to find out about demons that have…a drooling problem of some sort. I'm guessing this thing doing the killing has got to be pretty old and scarce or we woulda picked up on it already. It's just that there really are a bunch of demons out there…It's like trying to find a Gucci pink mini handbag in a warehouse full of designer bags." Dawn knew that analogy would make sense to her sister.

"Wow, that is hard. I know you're doing the best you can and I'm sure you'll find out who our demon is. Besides that, how are you holding down the fort?"

Dawn knew she meant how was she doing handling Sammie. "Oh, the fort is fine. Sam and I are having fun…I like being an aunt…By the way, when are you and Jimm…" She didn't finish because Buffy coughed, loudly.

As Dawn hung up the phone, Samantha came walking into the room from watching cartoons. The little girl stared at her 'Aunty.'

"Because I found her weak spot…Let's go in the other room Sammie." As they turned and headed out of the kitchen, "Sammie, have I ever told you how to play 'getting revenge on big sister for making you feel guilty'…"

"Oo, a little woozy here." Willow had a sense of queasiness flush over her momentarily.

The witch was standing in the bean field next to Miguel's cousin's house. Kennedy had told her that Miguel was staying there for a few days. Willow bent over and put her hands on her knees. She took deep breaths and waited for the ill feeling to pass. "Kennedy owes me big time for this," she mumbled.

Willow's physical status did not take her completely by surprise. She knew that teleporting the way she did was bound to take a toll on her body.

When Kennedy asked her to teleport to see Miguel, the redhead initially had doubts she could do it. Sure, she had teleported before. She had even teleported with Kennedy as a 'passenger.' But this was different. Willow was being asked to teleport thousands of miles at a time when she had already expended energy sensing Faith, indulged in virtual sex with Kennedy and spent countless hours researching the unknown demon's identity. Willow was not 'topped off' magickally when she heard the pained request from her wife.

Despite her doubts, Willow agreed. She could hear the deep concern in Kennedy's voice and knew that something drastic had to be done to help save Faith.

Willow quickly decided to do the trip in several legs. She knew teleporting took a significant amount of concentration and energy. Though she had teleported enough times to get the "hang of it," she still couldn't do it on command as with some of her other magickal abilities. Willow didn't want to try to make the entire trip in one effort. Even though teleporting seemed like instantaneous travel, it was not. On the time plane of earth, no time passed. However, time really was relative and time travel in the cosmic plane did involve the passage of what earth beings considered as time. There was a bending of the space-time continuum which still needed a 'jump' by the traveler to go from point A to point B.

It was that infinitesimal passage of 'time' that worried Willow. She did not want to lose grip on her power or concentration during that period. If that happened, the witch didn't know where she'd end up.

So, like a major airline, Willow decided to 'land' at two chosen hubs before her final trip to Sao Paulo. She picked Naples, Florida and Caracas, Venezuela. Naples was where Kennedy's mother lived and Caracas was the site of a Council outpost. Both locations allowed her free access and the surety that she wouldn't be seen or bothered. She knew her 'stay' wouldn't even register to the inhabitants there. The stops were more safe-havens and spring boards to the next leg of her 'flight.'

After Willow made her plans, she started to wonder if she wasn't giving herself enough credit when it came to teleporting. The witch recalled that she had teleported a farther distance before. She had traveled from London to Sao Paulo when Kennedy was in crisis with her slaying. But the witch knew that was a different situation. Though her first time to teleport, the circumstances had put her in such an emotional frenzy that she was internally a nuclear bomb of magickal energy. That night Willow felt like she could have done anything to be with Kennedy.

This travel was different. Just the fact that she questioned her ability to make the trip was enough for her to know that she had to follow her cautious attitude.

Standing in the field now, Willow was thankful that she listened to her safer side. She looked around and headed toward the Spanish style house. She'd made it to the front yard when a tall man exited the front door.

"Who are you and how did y…" When the man was finally able to get a good view of Willow, his eyes widened and he got a huge smile. "Senhorita Willow! Que você está fazendo aqui?"

Willow didn't answer right away. It took her a few moments to translate the Portuguese statement in her head. Her exposure to the language in the previous several years was the occasional telephone call to her friends in the South American country.

Finally, Willow deciphered the question. "Jorge, I came to see Miguel." She kept walking toward the house.

The smile dropped from the man's face. In broken English, "Meess Willow, Miguel duz not wont to see jou."

The redhead was not deterred and she walked up on the porch and stood directly in front of Miguel's cousin. "Jorge, it's really nice to see you and I wish I had time to visit…but I have to talk to Miguel. There're some really bad things happening back in New York and someone has to talk some sense into him."

"You know I didn't have to come here this way…walking up the front yard. Jorge, you know I could have gone right in and seen him." The man was one person that Willow knew about the Council, slayers and her powers.

Willow's tone got serious. "I 'have' to talk to Miguel. You know he shouldn't be hiding out like this. You know him, Jorge. This isn't right."

Miguel's cousin said nothing and thought for a few moments. Then he nodded his head slightly. He knew that one way or another, Willow would see Miguel. He also thought that his cousin's return had an air of unease to it. Jorge knew how much Miguel loved Faith and his life in New York. But he couldn't get his cousin to really talk about his reason for leaving.

When she got to the closed door to the back room, the witch could feel her heart beating fast. She was not one for confrontation and she wasn't certain how Miguel would take her unexpected, and most assuredly, unwanted visit. Willow took a deep breath and held it as she knocked on the door.

She heard Miguel's voice respond in Portuguese to the knock. "Jorge, I told you I didn't want to be disturbed."

Before she could answer, the Brazilian continued in a harsh tone. "Did Kennedy send you?…She did, didn't she? I told her…" Willow interrupted him.

"Miguel. Yes, Kennedy asked me to come here. You wouldn't tell her what had happened, so we had to do something."

"She…none of us can do that. You and Faith are too important to us to let you guys do this."

"I told Kennedy that Faith is better with me gone. I know about her having problems, but she's strong. She'll get over it."

Willow shook her head in disagreement. "You don't understand. We're not sure she will. We need to know what happened with you two. How could you just leave and what made you so certain that you had to come back here?"

Miguel sounded almost apologetic. "What difference does it make? It's better this way, for everyone…for the world." Miguel could see the confused look on the witch's face. "I won't hold her back."

Sympathetically, "Miguel, we now about your malaria. We know you've been sick. But that's no reason to think that…" Miguel stopped her.

"Yes it is, Willow. Faith is a slayer. That comes first. Period." Miguel was surprised how much he had already said to Willow. He hadn't said as much to his cousin the entire time he'd been back. But there was something about Willow's nature that made it so easy for him to talk to her. She was so warm and compassionate that she made him believe that he could open up.

Willow examined the man. She saw before her a proud associate of the Council who had found his identity in helping to stamp out evil in the world. She could see that he was letting his loyalty to the mission get in the way of his loyalty to Faith. She was certain that he must have felt guilty just thinking that his thoughts should be otherwise.

Willow responded quickly and just as seriously, "No it isn't. Both you and Faith have got such messed up attitudes that you both think not dealing with your problems is the best way. I used to think you two really did know a thing or two about love and relationships…but now I see you're both cowards. You hide behind you're 'duty' to the Council and Faith hides behind her loner persona."

Miguel got angered by the redhead's comments. "You have no right…I do love Faith. That's why I…"

"Ran away," Willow blurted. "That's why you ran away? Did you even talk to Faith about how you felt? How it made you feel thinking that you were 'holding' her back from doing her slaying?"

"So? Just because she's hardheaded, that means you don't have to even try?…like I said, you two don't get it."

Willow nodded her head with a sarcastic expression. "Well you didn't and let me tell you why and how you need to fix it…"

Willow proceeded to talk to Miguel about his and Faith's life since he got sick. To her amazement, the more she talked frankly to him about the struggles of relationships during difficult times, the more information she gathered. It seemed as if the man had been waiting for someone that he could unload his sad tale. Miguel told her about his illness and how it had led to Faith having to sacrifice time from slaying to be with him. He knew that demons had gotten away because Faith wasn't able to give as much time as she wanted to her slaying. He felt so guilty knowing that he was the cause of that.

His last sudden onset of symptoms was the final blow. He had known that Faith was hot on the trail of a vampire that had caused some havoc in the city. "I knew that she was close to catching him…that's why she went underground." When the Brazilian got vehemently ill that night, he let all that go. He felt like he was dying and he only had his cell. "My only thought was to call Faith. That she was the only one who could save me…I knew I was dying. When she got to me, I could tell instantly that I'd kept her form getting the vamp…I knew something terrible had happened."

Willow listened to the Brazilian confess. She heard the words of a man who didn't want to be weak in front of the woman he loved, who didn't want her to see him in that way. Neither discussed the matter. They hid their emotions, hoping that by not talking about them, the elephant in the room would disappear.

When done, Willow asked one simple question. "Do you think Faith shouldn't have saved you?"

Willow waved him off. "She put you first…That's what she did. She knew you were dying and she decided to save the person she loved. Wouldn't you do the same if Faith was in trouble?"

"But Faith's only human…She loves you, Miguel. In a crisis, she'll always pick you…and she should. That's not betraying her slayer destiny. It's being in love…and wanting to protect your family."

"How can I let her…" Miguel was having difficulty holding on to his belief that he had done the only right thing.

"God, if you expect slayers to live only for the duty…to expect them to put that above everyone in their lives…then you're taking away their humanity. Slayers, more than anyone else, need to know that they're tied to something more. They need it most during the tough times."

Willow explained that, if in Faith's position, she too would have protected her family first. "If Faith can't be more than a slayer, then she'll turn her back on it…She's already started."

The witch told Miguel how Faith was reverting to her old ways. "She doesn't want to get hurt, but she doesn't want to be just a slayer…So she's pretending like none of it matters."

The two talked some more. Willow thought that she was making progress with the man. She explained how important it was for him to go back and try to talk to Faith about his fears and concerns. She attempted to make him understand that Faith would be a better slayer with him than without him.

"And if you think that your malaria won't be manageable, I may be able to help with that. I don't know why you didn't come to me in the first place."

"This isn't mystical. This is a real disease…caused naturally. You shouldn't get involved with trying to alter this type of thing."

Willow raised a brow. "Are you kidding me? I kept Xander form losing his eye…I brought Buffy, and Kennedy I might add, back to life. I figured out how two women could have their own child. Most importantly, I helped Sammie when she was born. I think seeing if I can help ease or get rid of your malaria isn't going to topple the cosmic order of things."

Willow glanced at her watch. She and Miguel had been talking for several hours. She knew that she had said all she could. It was now up to Miguel to decide if he was brave enough to open up to Faith. The witch decided not to push the Brazilian.

"Miguel, there's nothing else I can say to make you understand how much you need to come back and try to work it out with Faith. She loves you. She may be just as lost in outer space as you are when it comes to grasping what love entails…but she does love you. It's up to you. I can't force you, but I can say I think you'd be a fool not to try."

The witch started to walk to the door. "I'm going now. I hope to hear from you…in New York." Willow walked out the door and closed it behind her. She kept walking and passed Jorge as she moved across the porch. The man said nothing but gave her a hopeful look. She shrugged her shoulders to let him know she really didn't know what Miguel would decide.

Soon, the witch was standing on the same spot in the field as she had when she arrived. She closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Her last thought before she teleported was 'I hope I got through to him.'

"Ok, Will. I understand. I guess we'll have to wait and see if Miguel wises up. I know you did your best…I'm really sorry that you have a migraine. I didn't know…"

It was 6pm and Kennedy was on her cell phone talking to her witch. Willow had been back from her 'trip' to Brazil for about a half hour. She called Kennedy and told her everything that had transpired with Miguel. Only when questioned did she let the brunette know about the physical issues she had with teleporting which included at the present time a doozy of a migraine.

Willow heard the regret in Kennedy's voice. She knew her slayer felt awful for making her go and having to suffer the side effects.

"Oh, baby, it's not your fault. I didn't even think this would happen. I guess I was more run down on my energy than I thought. Just makes me realize how far I have to go with my magick. I'm still in the learning and growing stages."

Willow interrupted. "But nothing did. I knew I could teleport. The headache kinda caught me by surprise, too. Don't worry, Kenn. I'm alright…We know I had to do this. It's our only chance with Faith…and Miguel. He's as messed up as she is. What a pair."

"I know," Kennedy concurred. "I thought those two were rock solid. Man, did they prove me wrong."

"Hopefully, they will work it out. But it's up to them. We can only do so much. Besides, we still need to find the demon that's doing all those murders."

Once again Kennedy agreed. "Yeah, we've gotten some info on this end. There's definitely a new baddie in town. Only been here a few weeks. Keeping a low profile and only going after mortals, no demon rivalry issues. We did find out that the cops found some bones closer to the warehouse district. I've already emailed you the location and stuff. There wasn't much left to the bones but they were human and seem to be from one person. That cop Ron called me and told me about it. They don't know how long the bones were there…probably not that long he said…but they don't know if the victim was male or female yet."

Willow listened intently to Kennedy. She knew their demon wouldn't stop killing until it was terminated. She didn't know how many more innocents would lose their life before that goal was reached. "Geez, how many is that now?"

Frustrated, Kennedy huffed. "Too many. Buff and I charted out the locations of the murder scenes and order of when the forensics people said the killings took place and also when the bodies were found. We're trying to see if there's a pattern…I've emailed that to you, too."

"You said the cops found the last victim. Did they get a tip like with the others?"

"That's the strange thing. The last two bodies have been found by chance…No anonymous caller. Ron said the detectives on the case thought that maybe the caller was the murderer. You know, letting them know where to find the bodies as a way to brag and gloat. But now that the calls have stopped, they don't think so. If the murderer wanted them to know how 'good' he was, he wouldn't stop calling."

"But we know it's a demon. How do the tips fit in then? Demons don't care about bragging, unless it's to vie for power, which you said isn't happening."

"That's right. We don't think that a demon was trying to turn in another demon. From what Buffy and I learned today, the demon underground doesn't give a hoot about whoever's doing this. It has to be a rogue demon going off the deep end. I don't know where the calls fit in. The Council found out about them so we have to assume the caller knows about it and probably slayers…Maybe the calls were to get Faith on this since she's the slayer here."

Willow thought for a moment. "Could it be a good demon?…Remember me telling you about Lorne, Angel's demon buddy? Maybe some demon wants the killer caught but can't come out and tell us because it's scared of the repercussions."

"That sounds very plausible. I'll pass that on to Buff." Kennedy's tone got lighter. "See, that's why I married you. I knew that sexy brain of yours would figure out a sensible explanation."

The couple talked further and Willow let her wife know that her and Dawn still did not have an identity to their murdering demon. Kennedy understood they were doing all they could and that as soon as the answer was found, Willow would instantly call.

The conversation continued with the slayer telling Willow that she and Buffy were at Faith's apartment waiting for her to wake up. "I'm pretty sure the reason she's been out so long is because of those pills in her room. I think Faith's taking them so she can check out for a while."

The slayer told her wife that as soon as Faith woke she and Buffy would discuss their findings hoping that Faith would overhear and get interested. "I'm also gonna tell her you went to see Miguel. I want to see how she reacts. Maybe that'll make her open up a bit."

The slayer and witch finally brought their call to an end. Kennedy told Willow to give Sam a kiss for her and they both said good night. Before she hung up, Kennedy softly said, "I really miss you. I just wanna be at home snuggled up with you in bed."

Willow understood that her slayer was having a tough time seeing her friend in such a dire way because of a relationship gone wrong. The redhead knew that, had she and Kennedy not been open enough to talk just several months ago, they too could have ended in the same fashion. "I want you home too, baby. I know you're doing what you need to do…You'll be home as soon as youcan."

"That's why you're my girl, Red…so understanding. You go be a brainiac now with the research. But don't stay up too late. I don't want you overdoing things. We'll figure out who the demon is, but I don't want your pretty little head exploding over it."

"Yes, Kenn," Willow said like an obedient school child. "Same with you. Slayer or not, you still need rest."

The call was over and each woman felt better knowing that the other understood how much she cared. However, both also knew that the other would get a call no matter what time it was if any fresh developments occurred.

After Kennedy ended her call with Willow she went to the spare room where Buffy was sitting on the bed talking on her cell phone to Jimmy. She too was just ending her call. She looked worried.

Looking at Kennedy, "You missed it. Giles called me before while you were talking to Wils. I had to tell him we found Faith. I said that she wasn't really missing, just working on a case. He kept asking how she was, and…I lied. I told him she was grouchy because of the split-up but otherwise fine." The slayer glanced to the floor then to Kennedy again. "I hate lying to him. It's not right."

Kennedy felt bad for Buffy. She had as much misgivings about shielding the truth from Giles as Buffy did. But she realized that Buffy's bond to Giles went so much deeper than any other slayer. For Buffy, it was like lying to a parent, mentor and friend all at the same time.

"We can't take the chance of telling him, Buff…of others on the Council finding out. We need to get through to Faith."

Buffy gave Kennedy a resigned look. "I know. Jimmy said that, too. He's been keeping an eye out for anything from the Council that might seem like they know something's up. He said so far only Giles has been concerned, and even he's keeping it low key."

The blonde shook her head. Strongly, "This would be so much easier if our lovely hostess would take her head out of her butt and come to her senses."

Kennedy laughed. She had trouble taking Buffy serious when the blonde tried to 'get tough' and talk 'mean.'

Buffy got up from the edge of the bed. "It's about time. I was starting think she died in there. Those pills she has must be horse tranquilizers."

Turning to go out the door, "Ok, Buff, remember…be nice. We chit chat with her but any talk about the murders is between just us. I'll tell her about Miguel when I think it's the best time."

The two slayers went to the living room and saw Faith sitting in a recliner, drinking a beer and watching the show Survivor on tv. She still wore the black orb necklace and had on blue jeans and a black t-shirt.

Kennedy noticed that Buffy looked upset when she saw the beer in Faith's hand. She gave the blonde a quick stare and Buffy motioned her hand to let Kennedy knew she wasn't going to comment to Faith.

Kennedy took a beer form the fridge and went and sat on the couch next to Faith. Buffy sat on the other side without any refreshment.

"This show is so pathetic," Buffy said. "They think it's hard living in the jungle for a few months…with a bunch of other people. If they really wanted to make the name of the show have some relevance, stick a vamp or a bringer on the island with them."

Kennedy kept the barb up. "Too bad Sunnydale is gone. That would make the best location for the show. They wouldn't last two nights."

The women kept the conversation light and for the next half hour seemed to have a good time. When the mood got relaxed, Kennedy made a stray comment to Buffy about a meeting with the police officer, Ron, the next morning.

"Uh, yeah, I almost forgot. He's taking us to another possible crime scene. This one is even older than the ones we saw before."

"Sorry," Buffy responded. She looked at Kennedy who motioned her to go to the kitchen table.

The two slayers got up and sat not thirty feet farther away. They started talking about their day, the information they got and what they planned to do next. Both women occasionally quickly drew their eyes to see what Faith was doing. They both knew Faith well enough to know that she was acting like she was watching television. However, Kennedy and Buffy could tell that their friend was actively listening to what they were saying.

"No," Faith answered tersely. She pretended that her prior activity was directed to trying to concentrate on the show and not her fellow slayers.

Buffy then took the lead. She talked a bit more about their day and then mentioned that Miguel might have information about a particular foreign snitch. "Maybe Willow can talk to him…again."

Faith stared at Kennedy and Buffy and then slowly got out of her chair. She began to walk over to the other two.

Kennedy squinted her eyes. Softly, "Ya think? Thanks for letting me pick the moment. You'd probably push me over a ledge, too."

Standing in front of Buffy and Kennedy, with an angry expression, Faith spoke through clenched teeth. "Willow 'spoke' to Miguel?"

Gritting her teeth as she talked, "Did you send Red down there? Huh, you send her to try to get Mickey to make me change my mind?"

"Faith," Kennedy said trying to buy some time to find the right way to tell her friend.

"What right do you have to stick your nose in my business? I don't want him knowing anything about what I'm doing. This isn't you and Willow. It's not for you to try to 'fix.' Ever think I don't want Mickey involved anymore…Hell, no. You just get some wild hair up your ass and send Red down to play therapist. Jesus, Kennedy, you don't know when enough is enough."

"Come on, Faith. She was only trying to help you." Buffy had come to Kennedy's defense. "You are acting completely bizarre and you expect Kennedy not to give a crap. She's your friend…we're your friends. This is what friends do. Willow went to Miguel to see if she could find out what happened to you and him."

Faith began to pace around. "I don't want anyone's help. Don't you get that? Me and Mick are done…over. That's fine with me…Five-by…."

Buffy got up out of her chair. "Oh, don't start with the five-by-five nonsense. You aren't and we can all see it. Hell, Willow knew and all she saw was your filthy apartment."

Faith stopped. She turned at once to Kennedy. "Willow was here? When? You didn't tell me that. You said you gave her the goop from the crime scene on the way here?" The defensive, cautious tone was back.

"She was here for a couple minutes, that's all," Kennedy replied. "I thought you'd get pissed if she saw this."

Faith looked disappointed at Kennedy. "Nice. Now you're lying to me…some friend."

Buffy jumped in. "Oh, please, I can't believe you have the guts to even say that? After all the lies you've been telling us?"

Buffy gave her a sarcastically surprised look. "Where should I start? Oh, how 'bout here…I'm fine with Miguel being gone. It's no big deal. I don't want to be a slayer anymore. I like running around like a hussy…"

That comment by Faith was the beginning of the confrontation upon which Faith and Buffy would look back on years from now and cringe. It started a battle of words that soon led to something much worse.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot. You're as pure as the driven snow. Reality check, B. You've been as down in the mud as I have. You just hide it better."

"Yeah, that's right. You weren't an ass when the First was killing off the potentials. You weren't an ass that summer you ran off. You weren't ever an ass to me, huh? Or Kennedy?…Or any other slayer that you thought was a threat to your position?"

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "You must be taking too many pills. They're turning your brain to mush…"

Buffy and Faith kept badgering each other and telling Kennedy to "be quiet" and "keep out of it" whenever she tried to get a word in. Kennedy didn't understand what was happening. She thought Buffy understood the plan to try to coax Faith back to the fold. But there she was watching the two older slayers engage in a verbal assault that was on the verge of becoming an all out brawl.

The one thing Kennedy knew to do, though, was to stay out of their way. She didn't want to do anything that might set off a physical confrontation. Kennedy stood there viewing her friends' relationship, which she thought had been solid, quickly disintegrate.

"All we're trying to do is help you through this. I thought you'd see that and be grateful that your friends cared that much…I thought you'd grown up, Faith. But you really haven't. You're acting no different than when you were in Sunnydale. You haven't learned a thing." Buffy practically shouted the words she was so angry.

Buffy realized she was in the middle of a tirade against Faith, and she didn't care. She'd reached her limit on putting up with the woman. Since the moment Faith saw her and Kennedy standing in her apartment, she had been nothing but disingenuous, callous and down right mean to them. Gone was the Faith that Buffy thought she'd known for the last several years. In a flash, the blonde saw the bond that she and her fellow slayer had built from the ashes of their prior discontent vanish.

Buffy was disappointed in Faith. She felt betrayed that all the hard work that they'd done to overcome their past had been so easily thrown away by the belligerent slayer. Buffy lashed out because when Faith hit bottom she turned to her old ways instead of her friends. It was like life after the Sunnydale battle with the First had never occurred.

The blonde slayer spewed at Faith because her alternative was to cry for the loss she felt seeing her friend slip away. In the end, Buffy decided that if Faith wanted a conflict, she would get one. The slayer in Buffy wouldn't let herself lay low; she would fight to make Faith see she was wrong.

"Will you get out of the fucking past, B? That's all everything is to you…some connection to the old days when you were the big, bad slayer. And talk about never changing, you still think you know everything…only your way is the right way. Well, guess what? I'm not you and I can live the way 'I' want."

Back and forth the slayers went, the retorts getting more pointed and vicious. Kennedy continued to try to stop the fray to no avail.

Faith had had enough of Buffy's accusations. "Screw you, B. I'm done listening to your shit. Get your stuff and get the hell out of here!." Faith started to march to the door when she bumped into Buffy.

Buffy reacted instantly. "Hey, get away from me." The blonde pushed Faith from behind.

That caused the brunette to stop and turn quickly, facing Buffy with disdain on her face. "Don't you fucking touch me," she said as she shoved her hand against Buffy's shoulder.

Kennedy knew where this was heading. She tried to step in between the two. Faith pushed her away.

Buffy's tone was stern. "What the hell are you hitting her for? Knock it off." She responded by shoving Faith away from Kennedy.

Soon the two older slayers were fighting. This was no sparing match. The two women went at each other like enemies. Faith was letting out all the repressed sadness and fear and anger she'd held since Miguel left. Buffy was channeling her frustration and disappointment in her friend.

The two women knocked over furniture, shattered glasses and mirrors and finally ended squaring off, face to face.

"This looks familiar, huh, B?…You trying to stop me…No knife this time, though. Guess you won't be stabbing me."

That remark recalling the horrible fight they had which put Faith in the hospital infuriated Buffy. "As much of a bitch as you are right now, you in a coma again would be a good thing."

Buffy sprang at Faith. They slammed against the front door knocking it off its hinges. The slayers poured out of the apartment and onto the hallway floor.

Kennedy was in shock with the actions of her friends. She knew that Buffy and Faith had had problems, serious ones, in the past but she thought that was history. She never would have imagined that such strong underlying feelings still existed. The brunette also knew that she had to do something to stop the women before real damaged happened.

Kennedy went to the door. The two warring slayers were already at the far end of the hall, still engaged in fierce combat.

Just as she went to step out of the room, her cell phone rang. The ring tone let her know it was Willow calling.

Kennedy halted and took out her phone. The only reason Kennedy didn't ignore the phone was because it was a call from her wife.

Hurriedly she answered. "Will, this better be good. Faith and Buffy are trying to kill each other."

Kennedy stared at the phone, then "Wait a sec." She ran into the hallway to find Buffy and Faith standing in front of each other, positioned like boxers ready to start punching.

Buffy and Faith stopped and both turned their heads to look at Kennedy. Buffy lowered her arms as did Faith.

Kennedy smiled slightly thinking that she'd finally found a way to stop the carnage. She started to walk toward them. "This is what we needed. Now we can go and find this thing." She darted her eyes back and forth between Buffy and Faith.

Faith watched Kennedy come closer. It was more than clear to her that the "we" referred to by Kennedy included her. Faith suddenly felt her chest tighten and her breathing get pained. All the memories came flooding back. She knew she was being pulled back to a life that she desperately tried to leave behind. Faith winced and then closed her eyes. She heard Kennedy's footsteps getting closer. It was all coming back, the lack of control, the inability to live up to what was expected of her.

Faith had to get out. Suddenly, she turned on her heels and ran down the stairs.

Kennedy was just as startled. She heard Willow talking and put the phone to her ear. "Will? Sorry…Faith just took off. I told them you found the demon…and she bolted."

Willow overheard Buffy's comments. "Kenn? I think you need to hear what me and Dawnie found out…Then you and Buffy can decide what to do about Faith."

"Of course. The way this night's going I knew it wouldn't be pink bunnies and flowers…Let me have it, Will."

What Willow told Kennedy made her cringe and shiver. When done, the brunette knew that she and Buffy would have to find their demon that night before another innocent was lost.

She also knew that they might not be able to succeed if they couldn't find Faith.

Upon returning from Brazil and after talking to Kennedy, Willow didn't relax. She didn't "take it slow" like her slayer told her to. Instead, the redhead dove back into her research. Willow understood how crucial it was to identify the demon that was killing innocents in New York. The fact that she and Dawn had come up empty so far made her feel like she was letting down Kennedy and Buffy. That she hadn't been alb to convince Miguel to come back just added to her feeling of defeat.

For several hours, Dawn watched Willow become lost in her quest for the truth. Buffy's sister saw Willow's fingers pounding on the keyboard of her laptop, examining every possible site for a clue to their killer. When the witch wasn't on the computer, she was scouring many of the treatises she had on otherwordly creatures.

Dawn was also busy checking books and making phone calls. She additionally took it upon herself to keep Samantha out of Willow's way. Dawn had seen the redhead in such a concentrated manner numerous times before. It was like Willow was in a trance with her research. Dawn knew that the witch could work wonders when she was in that state. So, she kept Samantha amused and told the little girl how important it was for her not to disturb her mother.

Despite her tender years, Sammie somehow understood the magnitude of her mother's actions. "She's gonna find the bad man." Dawn heard a tone of certainty in the child's voice. "We just need to leave her alone," Sam said. Never once did the girl bother Willow. If she needed juice or a snack, she went directly to Dawn. The toddler's maturity to the situation astounded Buffy's sister. She thought to herself how she was never that obedient, even when she was much older.

On and on Willow searched. She had been able to rule out many demons. That was a plus. From the lack of success she and Dawn were having, Willow deduced that their demon was one that was very scarce. The two women decided to concentrate on demons that had only made sporadic contact with the human race.

Another part of the mystery challenging the witch was the timing, location and method of the killings. Kennedy had told Willow she was trying to find a pattern in the locations of the murder victims and in the interval between killings. To the slayer, it all seemed unfinished, as if pieces were missing. Willow knew if she could find some pattern or continuity in the murders that information might also lead her to the creature's identity.

By late evening, both women were still working on the problem. Willow was reading from an old textbook on rare demons of the 'outer realm.' Dawn was on her laptop trying to correlate the present vicious murders with ones from distant times.

Willow was almost about ready to take a break for a cup of coffee when a notation in her digest caught her attention. There wasn't anything specific that made her stop and read the entry. She got a 'sense' that kept her fingers from turning the page.

There was a familiar ring to what she took in. And yet, the information on the demon didn't seem to fit there unknown killer.

Confused, Willow looked up to ponder. She saw Samantha, on her side, lying on top of her 'blankie' on the floor. For the first time, Willow glanced at her watch and realized how late it was. She got a twitch of guilt for not having put her child properly to bed.

Sammie was staring right at her mother, saying nothing. But her expression shouted to Willow. Samantha's face had a look of pride and certainty. The witch's daughter, without uttering a word, let her mother know that she had found the answer to the mystery.

Curiously, "How…?" Willow didn't know if she wanted to get into a discussion with her daughter. Somehow the child knew. The specifics of how she knew would have to wait for another day

The witch wasn't sure she understood her daughter's certainty of expression. The child had been growing increasingly 'perceptive' as she grew older. Willow knew that Samantha had to have some sort of premonition power. To what extent it was and how much the child was aware of it and able to have control were not known. Willow didn't want to push any 'talent' that her little girl might have.

The redhead accepted her daughter's decision and continued to review the text she found.

"Moor D'naar demon?" Willow mumbled as she read the text. As she examined the entry, the witch recognized that many of the actions and results of this demon fit the information given to her by Kennedy about their unidentified killer. However, there was a significant amount that didn't seem to fit.

The Moor D'naar demon, Willow found out, was nothing more than a pure killing machine. It was a creature that sustained itself it seemed by the murdering of other living beings. In the few pages of text written about the demon, Willow learned of an unknown and secretive origin and a thirst for death that even completely stunned the redhead whose life had seen more than its fair share of horrendous killers. The demon that was referenced in the pages before her left a knot in the pit of the witch's stomach. The description read like a horror story penned by the Devil himself.

The Moor D'naar demon had no known birthplace or dimensional residence. It was unknown whether the beast was created from some demonic evolutionary plan or was the brainchild of original evil itself. The most that could be said was that the first known evidence of the creature's appearance was several thousand years before the written word of history. There was a demon of lore, on rare occasions spoken about in public gatherings, whose atrocities against Mankind were almost too unbelievable to say out loud. The horrific acts committed were originally handed down by primitive hand gesture and sign language. Eventually, they made their way into the stories of the spoken word. The initial 'written' identification of the beast was through crude drawings on cave walls. There was no 'picture' of the thing, just a collection of bones as its representation. However, whatever form the message took, the point was the same. The mystical beast craved the kill and could not be stopped by mortal means.

As Willow read she discovered that the demon had appeared only several times since the existence of the world. How it came to be, why it was here and why it needed to kill were never deciphered. What was known was that the beast was definitely of a different dimensional existence and had one purpose which was to kill. When it appeared, it instantly took to devouring everything in its path. It not only murdered and raped and tortured, but appeared to relish in the extreme to which it could perform. Men, women and children were not so much murdered as they were torn apart, flesh ripped from bone, raped and dissected in the most appalling method. The extent of the carnage was so outlandish that the only reasonable conclusion was that the creature had to kill for its survival.

Willow was shocked to discover that there was a theory that the "Black Plague" of the Middle Ages was initiated by one such demon. There had been indications early on that mutilated corpses, or in some instances parts of bodies, were found spotting European cities and countryside. It was from the rotting corpses that rats with their diseases took over and spread the "plague" to the rest of civilization.

The entry went on to tell Willow that there had been no real contact with the demon; no exalted battles, no defeated demon to examine. In fact, no one survived who had battled the beast. Those that said they 'saw' the creature were never able to give a definite description. The only depiction that was ever forwarded was that the demon had 'man-like' qualities. As a result, the book entry from which Willow read did not include a picture or even a sketch of their killer. Though she was learning everything known about the Moor D'naar demon, the witch couldn't even say what one looked like.

As unexpectedly as it appeared, the Moor D'naar demon likewise disappeared. The most innocuous detail Willow read was that the beast's disappearance always came after near destruction of the city in which it was feeding. From the great fire of Rome before the asserted birth of Christ to the great fire that ransacked London in 1666 and several in between; they all marked the vanishing of the Moor D'naar demon and the survival of the human race. Some legends had it that the forces of Good sent the fires as the only way to defeat the demon. Others opined that The Great Mystery itself brought forth the disasters in order to right the unbalanced nature of existence. The one fact that still remained unknown was the exact method of the beast's demise. In fact, it was not known if the demon in fact did die or maybe used the chaos as the means to escape or as its vessel home.

When Willow finished absorbing all the information on the beast, she unwillingly wanted to believe that the creature in New York was a Moor D'naar. The manner of killing, the ferociousness of the kill and its solidarity made what she read fit. As horrible as demon was, at least the witch seemed to have identification. And yet, the facts as she knew them were still askew to the creature written about on the pages before her.

Talking to herself, "There aren't enough victims. This thing kills like the Terminator…We don't have that many dead people." Willow's mind kept juggling the facts, sifting through her thought processes to make a conclusion that fit. She worked through the puzzle, changing facts like pieces to see if one fit into a needed slot.

It made sense to Willow that there must be victims that had been so torn apart or mutilated that their bodies could never be found. However, that conclusion was a stretch. What Willow had just read showed a demon on a blitzkrieg of killing. There were dozens or hundreds of murders a day until the beast vanished. Even given her assumption of 'unfindable' victims, Willow confessed that it seemed unlikely that there could be that many untraceable bodies.

Willow found herself in a quagmire. She knew that she was on the right track, that the Moor D'naar demon was the evil creature murdering innocents in New York. But she was missing something.

Dawn looked up form her laptop startled. The witch hadn't made a sound in quite some time.

In a tone couched in frustration and uncertainty, "Dawnie, I think…I know I found our demon…but something's not making sense."

Dawn got an elated expression. "Will! You found it? That's great. I knew you'd find it."

The witch appreciated her friend's support but she knew that Dawn hadn't really heard her answer.

That made Dawn realize that Willow was trying to tell her that there was a snag in the find. "What do you mean 'something's not right?"

Disappointedly, "This is going to sound weird…but our demon isn't gruesome enough."

Willow understood it would be hard for anyone to believe that the demon that had performed the indescribable acts of which they knew could be 'too nice.'

"Look…this is our demon…" The redhead showed Dawn the passage on the Moor D'naar demon and then explained the similarities and the nagging differences to their demon. "…You see, our guy kills just like this, but doesn't kill enough…Where are all the victims?"

The two women discussed the potential answers to that question. They tried to develop a theory that was not only plausible but reasonable and feasible. They kept coming up blank.

"Maybe there's a reason for less killing…Maybe a mutation over the centuries…maybe it has different orders from whoever has control…There could be a thousand reasons." Dawn was very perplexed.

Willow spoke her train of thought out loud. "What would make a demon act differently?…What would make a demon act less demonly?"

Willow nodded. "That's a possibility…but I doubt it went out and got a soul like Spike did. There's no evidence it doesn't want to kill…and there's nothing about it coming into contact with anything that could give it a soul…I don't think a gypsy would last long enough around it to do a curse."

The witch struggled for an explanation. She drilled the facts known about the demon over and over through her mind.

Then her head shot up and she stared directly at Dawn. Willow jumped from her chair and headed for the dining room.

Willow examined the map of New York City that was spread open across the table. "Oh my God…Why didn't I see that before? It was right under our noses."

"What is it, Willow?…What's under our noses?" Dawn said excitedly as she followed the redhead.

The witch studied the map. It had an "X" in red pen marking every murder scene of which Kennedy had informed her. Willow shook her head as she answered. "I can't believe it took me so long to figure it out." In a confident tone, "It's not all demon…It's part human."

Willow scanned her finger over each murder location. Looking back to Dawn. "I'm certain of it. Come here."

"See here, Dawnie? Each murder is marked. We know the Moor D'Naar demon's supposed to be like the Energizer Bunny…It keeps on killing…But not our guy. Why? It's not because he has a soul…It's because he had a soul all along. If this thing is part human then that explains why there aren't dead people everywhere. The human part must be able to have some control over the killing."

That explanation made sense to Dawn. "But what does the map have to do with anything?"

Willow ran her finger vertical down one series of murder spots. Then she ran it horizontally across another set. "What does this look like to you?"

Dawn studies the points. She didn't see the witch's point. "I don't see anything."

The redhead turned the map a quarter turn. "Look," she said as she once again traced the imaginary lines with her finger.

Willow nodded. "Yup. There are some points missing but it is definitely a cross."

"I'm not sure. There is a pattern here. The places where it looks like we're missing a mark I think may just be that we haven't found the victim yet. Some of the bodies were pretty chewed up…It could be that maybe our demon did such a nasty job that there wasn't enough left over to find."

The reasonableness of their discovery was really starting to sink in for Dawn. "But why a cross? Of all things. It must mean something."

Willow got perplexed. "I haven't got an answer for that yet. Maybe the demon is hiding out in a church…or it only kills what it thinks are holy people…or it's final target is a holy person."

Both stared at the map and the 'cross' for a while. Then it was Dawn's turn to make a discovery.

"Wait a minute…I remember…" Dawn's voiced trailed off as she turned and went back to her laptop in the living room. "There was a report…" She mumbled as she worked at the keys of her computer. "Where was that?" She kept tapping the keys, skirting through numerous websites. She didn't even notice Willow walk up behind her.

Finally, "Yes! Here it is. I knew I read this." Dawn moved her head as if to call Willow and was slightly surprised to see her right there. "You're a little sneaky aren't you? That's ok because you need to look at this." Dawn moved her laptop so Willow could read the article on the screen.

The witch read the news piece from the Lancaster Journal. It was dated just over two weeks earlier. The story was about a Mennonite woman named Elsie Van Gorsen in Pennsylvania that had been found dead on her small farm. There wasn't much detail except to say that the local sect was trying to keep the police activity to a minor role. It was reported as a homicide and there wasn't much of a description of the murder other than it was "unusual." The article said that details were scarce because the Mennonite sect didn't want the public attention like their Amish neighbors had received several years earlier when several girls were killed execution style in their one room schoolhouse. Another detail given in the article was that the family of that same woman had been killed eighteen years earlier by an outsider who was never caught. The only other information given was that the woman's son could not be found and it was feared that he too had come in harm's way.

"Holy cow," Willow said flabbergasted. "Could this be our demon?…Kill these people in Pennsylvania and then go to New York?" Something about that didn't seem right. "We need to get more info on this and the first murders."

The two women spent some time on their laptops hacking into the police database that handled the original crime and the most recent. Willow's ability to 'enter' into protected and classified databases amazed even herself at times. That led them to examine the records from the hospital where the Elsie woman was admitted when she was sixteen. They studied all the available information on the two crimes. When done, Willow had a revised scenario.

Both were back looking at the map. "It's him, Dawn…the son, Daniel. He's our demon." Willow was mortified that her examination had led to that conclusion.

From their research, Willow and Dawn were able to discover names, pictures, suspects and a host of other facts. They learned much more about the most recent murder of Elsie Van Gorsen. They found out that the teenage Elsie Horrock lost her father and two brothers to a deranged outsider who burnt down their barn. They learned that Elsie had a baby about nine months later. The women deduced that she had gotten raped by the intruder. Daniel, the now missing son, was the product of that horrible event.

However, it was in the pictures of the two crime scenes that Willow and Dawn linked these gentle people to their monstrous demon. Thanks to modern electronic technology and the urge for governmental facilities to go 'paperless', Willow and Dawn were able to view the crime scene pictures. Unnoticed by every crime official who touched the case was a similar find at each scene. As the two women studied the forensic digital photos, each saw what appeared to be a small pool of liquid by the victims. It was near Elsie and it was by the cinder barn door in the first crimescene. It was hardly noticeable, but it was there at each scene.

"No one saw this, Dawn." Willow was now convinced they had their demon identified. "I obviously can't say it has our chemical in it, but what else could it be? At the first scene, the puddle looks different. It's not water from when the fire department put the fire out in the barn. And the location in the second murder is too much of a coincidence…Look, it's right near the woman. There's no reason for a puddle of any kind to be there."

It was at that point that Willow knew that Elsie Horrock had been impregnated by a Moor D'naar demon. That offspring was Daniel. She surmised that his demon genes had stayed dormant until his recent birthday when all the killings began.

"He's killing but it looks like he can control it somehow so that he kills only one person a night…His religious background explains the cross…Maybe he's trying to use it as a way to repent or as an S.O.S. to God." Really, the witch had no idea why Daniel was killing in the pattern of a cross.

"But what happened to the original demon, the one that killed Elsie's family?" Dawn knew there had been no further killings after that mass endeavor on the farm.

"It must have died…or maybe it did what it needed to do and it went home." Willow knew the answer to that question was important.

There were enough of the pieces to let Willow know it was time to call Kennedy. "We've got to tell her and Buffy that we know who the demon is…They need to find him before he kills again."

Within minutes, Willow was on the phone to Kennedy. She was startled and distressed when her slayer told her that Faith and Buffy were having a physical altercation. She was even more upset when Kennedy told her Faith had run away.

Knowing what she did of the Moor D'naar demon, the witch realized that it might take all three slayers to find it and kill it.

Amid the confusion, "Kenn? I think you need to hear what me and Dawnie found out…Then you and Buffy can decide what to do about Faith."

"Of course. The way this night's going I knew it wouldn't be pink bunnies and flowers…Let me have it, Will."

Before Willow started her explanation, Dawn said in a soft voice, "How're they going to know where to find this guy?"

"I've got a good guess on that one, too." Willow gave her attention back to the slayer on the other end of the line. "You ready, Kenn? You're not going to believe this one…"

Willow told everything that she and Dawn found out. She also told the slayer her idea of where the demon would strike next.

Now it was up to Kennedy and Buffy to put an end to the evil besieging New York City. Whether they would be able to do it alone or convince Faith to stand by their side was the outcome that was still unknown.

The night blanketed the space around the kneeling teenager. The temperature was dipping lower than usual for that time of year, but Daniel Van Gorsen didn't notice. Frankly, it could have been well in the negative digits and the boy still would not have felt the effects of the night. There was only one thought capturing the mind, soul and body of Daniel…kill.

Van Gorsen knelt on hard cement. He was hidden behind a large cargo container, nestled between the box and the side of an old shipyard unloading station. During the course of the day, he had migrated there from his previous hide out. Something pulled him to his present location. It was a force he could not control, nor did he want to. In his trek to his newest location, however, Daniel felt a conflicting pull. Part seemed to move him there in anticipation of the kill he knew would most surely come that night. Another part, though, pushed him there for a reason unknown to him. It was as if he was being guided by an invisible hand, gently but firmly directing him to that very spot. It was not the first time he felt that presence. It was, however, the only time that his thirst for the best location for the kill overpowered the other.

It was still daylight when Daniel reached his location. He spent the waking hours of the day praying that the 'desire' would not overtake that night. As the sun grew older and the city's shadows cast over him, the teenager once again knew his pleas were useless sounds in his head. The 'want' returned with a vengeance, the taste of the kill filled his mouth and senses. In not too much time, the monster was out and it couldn't wait to dismantle its next victim.

It was not just a psychological evolution for the teenager. Each night that the 'need' came, Daniel felt his physical self change. He dared not search out his reflection. He felt his skin altering, his structure. The young man made certain he came into no contact with people during the sunlit hours. Daniel felt the demon taking over every part of him. The further the sun fell, the more the demon took over, until it was only night. Then the demon came out in all its glory. Darkness had fallen and it was time to kill.

And so it waited. Yellow eyes pierced through the blackness, searching for any sign of life that could be snuffed out viciously. Just thinking about the slaughter caused the demon boy's mouth to fill with saliva, a pale yellow color to match the evil eyes. As much as the demon had the urge to hunt and kill, it did not. Some speck of the teenager's soul still existed, even in that realm of the creature, and squelched the need to go and seek the kill.

So the demon knelt and anticipated the glorious exhilaration of tearing the life out of a living being. Its ears were on high alert for the clitter clatter of shoes hitting cement, its nose a blood hound for the scent of human pheromones or a manufactured scent.

Daniel Van Gorsen had evolved into the Moor D'naar demon, or the closest thing to it given the dichotomy of its origin. It knelt, unknowingly, in the exact spot that continued the pattern of the cross discovered by Willow.

The question still to be answered was whether, by sunrise of the coming day, there would be another mangled and dismantled dead innocent inhabiting that very spot.

"Right here, Buff. This is where Will thinks the next murder will be…tonight."

Kennedy was pointing to a spot on the city map that the slayers had used to track the demon murders. She had finished talking to Willow about the discovery of the identity of their demon. Kennedy almost couldn't believe it when her wife told her their killer was the 'Pennsylvania Dutch Boy.' However, when the rest of the story unfolded, Kennedy was certain Willow had gotten as close to the truth as possible. Though it was not one hundred percent proven, the witch's theory was the most reasonable and plausible, and it fit all the elements of the crime and demon facts. Kennedy wished it had been possible to determine of Astatine was present at Elsie Van Gorsen's crime scene.

At the present time, Kennedy was explaining Willow's theory on the location for the next murder. "Willow did some math mumbo jumbo on the distances, the points that seemed to be missing and developed an equation to spit out the next probable mark. The first body was found here…the next here…See, if you follow the age of the murder and go forward, Willow says the next place this Daniel kid…um, demon should hit is here." Kennedy was pointing to a cargo area of the shipyard section of the city.

"Yeah, I don't get it, but you shoulda heard her…She was rattling off math terms and 'x does this and then y does that'…She even used some number symbol called phi."

Kennedy tried not to roll her eyes. "No, phi with an F sound, not pie..and it's not pie as in dessert; it's pi as in three point one four…Do you remember anything about high school math?"

Buffy scowled her lips. "Yeah, I had to buy a calculator and I always had some guy sitting in front of me who made fart sounds with his hands."

Kennedy went to reply but didn't. She understood better why Buffy was such a great slayer but quite the 'California girl' when it came to smarts.

The younger slayer tried to get the conversation back on track. "Aaanyway…This demon guy has been leaving a track that we didn't see until now. I don't know why, but he…um, it is."

Buffy studied the map. "We know he's going to kill sometime tonight…That's what the More Dinner demon does."

Kennedy closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "Mooor Dinnarr, Buff…Are you hearing impaired?"

"Oh please, what difference does it make if I say the stupid name wrong so long as I kill the dumb thing…I've always been able to slay the nasties and I hardly ever got their names right."

Buffy continued. "What's important is that we know what kind of demon this is…This guy is a pure killer…he won't stop unless we stop him."

The conflict for Kennedy rose to the forefront. "But Will said this guy is only part demon…and he isn't even a guy. He's a teenager. How can we just…" The brunette didn't want to say 'murder a kid.'

Buffy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I know what you mean. But I also know that we can't just let him go free. We need to find him before he attacks again. Maybe we won't have to kill him. Maybe we can confine him and get the Council in on this."

That sounded like a good plan to Kennedy. Then she got a pensive look. "What if we only find the demon…You know, what if the human part disappears when it kills? This demon is ferocious. It kills anything in its path."

"How? That's the one thing Willow has no information on. She said her and Dawn could find nothing on how the demon dies…no vulnerabilities…no soft spot…no magic word to make it turn into a frog…not that Will would like that to happen…turning into a frog I mean."

Buffy thought for a moment. "We'll have to work on that when we find him. But, generally, I say go for the groin…if it has one." Chuckling, "That seems to work with most species."

Kennedy let out a faint "Ooo" and then, "Remind me to tell Jimmy he has my condolences."

Knowing that they were wasting time, Buffy got serious again. "Ok, so we have to find this demon and we go with the spot Willow gave us…Now the million dollar question. What about Faith?"

What about Faith? That query had been tugging at Kennedy's thoughts since her friend ran away. She didn't understand how the woman could desert them at the moment they needed her most.

"Part of me wants to just say the hell with her. She stood right there, heard me say we know who the demon is…and she bails. How could she do that?" Kennedy got silent for a moment. "But then, I remember how freaked she looked right before she took off…like something was eating at her. That's not the Faith we know…Besides, if we find this demon guy, we might need her to help kill it."

Buffy saw the truth in that statement. The issue was whether to take the time to find Faith and chance letting their demon kill again. "It would be great to have Faith with us, but how do we know we can find her in time and still get to Daniel before he kills another person? We have to set our priorities."

Kennedy knew Buffy was right. They didn't have the luxury of taking as much time as they wanted to find their friend. Van Gorsen was going to kill again, and from the times of death of the other victims, they didn't have a lot of spare time to find him. Kennedy thought intently at a solution.

"How 'bout this?…We know we need to find Daniel. But we also need to find Faith and get her to help us. So, one of us goes and tracks down the demon kid and the other finds Faith. We can get Willow to tell us where Faith is. That'll save time. Hopefully, we find out where the demon is and get Faith with us there before he goes all freaky-killer."

Having been used to slaying by herself for all those years, the idea of one slayer tracking down the demon didn't sound too hair-brained to Buffy. Splitting up was their best chance at putting all the pieces in place. She knew that if the demon was found and tried to kill before the other slayers appeared, it would be possible to engage it in a credible enough fight to bide some time.

Buffy gave an approving look. "Sounds like the best chance we have…Now, who goes after the demon and who goes after Faith?"

Kennedy raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Do you have amnesia? Can't you remember you and Faith going for each other's throats just a little while ago?"

"Oh…yeah," the blonde said awkwardly. As strange as it seemed, Buffy's desire to stop the demon and her realization that Faith would be a key component put her recent tirade with the other slayer to the back of her mind.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "You'd have as much luck getting Faith to listen to you as you would finding a straight guy at a Melissa Etheridge concert." She stared questioningly at Buffy. "What is it with you two? You have got the most fucked up friendship in the world."

Buffy tilted her head slightly acknowledging the truth in Kennedy's words. Her relationship with Faith had always been rocky and strained. Even when they got along well in the beginning there was an underlying current of jealousy and misunderstanding, on both their parts. But, Buffy also knew that Kennedy really didn't know all that she and Faith had gone through over the years. Buffy felt justified to some extent for the unusual bond she had with Faith because of the extreme life they lived.

"Let's see…She tried to kill me and all my friends…I've tried to kill her…She turned into me and had sex with my boyfriend…Gee, maybe that had something to do with it?"

Rubbing the spot of contact, "Hey! I think that answers your original question. I'll find Faith and you get our demon boy and don't let him kill you."

It had only been twenty minutes since Kennedy and Buffy finished their plan. Buffy was on her way to the area identified by Willow with the hope that she would find their demon tormentor. Kennedy, having contacted Willow and received Faith's whereabouts, was on her way to confront the woman and get her to join in the fight with the demon teenager.

"This better be fast. And she better not try to punch me. Man, if we get in a fight, I'm gonna be pissed…" Kennedy was talking to herself as she walked to the place where Willow located the older slayer. Much to Kennedy's benefit, Faith was in a bar not too far away, in slayer running distance.

Kennedy walked into the seedy, smoke-filled establishment. "Oh, great. I won't have to worry about that demon-boy killing me, this frickin' smoke'll do it." She scanned the interior and saw Faith in a corner booth with her back to the younger slayer. She couldn't tell if Faith already knew she was there. Kennedy walked calmly over and sat opposite to Faith.

Faith slowly guided her empty shot glass to the table top. She closed her eyes for several moments and then opened them, staring intently at Kennedy.

The way the words came out, Kennedy knew that Faith was ready to back them up with a couple of hard fists.

Kennedy had no option here. There was no time to waste. "I can't do that, Faith. So if you think fighting me will prove anything…let's do it."

Faith let out a loud and heavy sigh of frustration. She didn't want to fight; she didn't want to talk. She wanted to be left alone.

"That's the problem. What Willow told us about this thing…I don't think just me and Buffy can kill it. We need you, Faith."

At first Kennedy noticed a look in Faith's eyes that seemed to show she already knew that fact.

Then the older slayer got an angry expression. She opened her mouth to reply and then stopped, her expression turning to one of curiosity. "How the hell did you find me?" The black orb necklace was still around the older slayer's neck. It should have 'shielded' her from being found.

Faith thought about the response for a second and then shook her head. She grabbed the black orb and yanked it off its chain. "That asshole! He told me this thing would stop anybody from locating me…even Red. When I get my hands on that jag-off…"

Kennedy smiled. "You know better than to think you can out-witch my sweet little redhead. But I will say, Willow told me she had a hard time at first getting the right spell to break the one that's from that thing."

Faith almost felt as if she were having a friendly get together with Kennedy. Then she remembered why her friend was there. "I'm not helping you. You and the blonde bomber can handle this."

Sternly, "No we can't…Besides, even if we could, we'd still want you with us. You should be with us."

Kennedy realized the only hope of getting through to Faith was to take the offense. She had to let her friend know exactly what they were up against so that it would be harder to shut out the probability of devastation if she did nothing.

"Faith, you can't sit this one out. This demon's been unstoppable so far…" Kennedy hurriedly spilled out the highlights of the horror that was the Moor D'naar demon. She also quickly said how their demon was part human…a seventeen year old boy.

Faith didn't respond right away. She didn't spout off about being left alone like Kennedy thought she would. Instead, Faith stared, stared at nothing. Kennedy knew that what she said had made some impression. Maybe it was the atrociousness of their demon or the fact that a human being was caught in the mix. Kennedy didn't know which or if some other fact she'd espoused got her friend to thinking.

Just when Kennedy thought Faith might have seconds thought, the older slayer shook her body as if waking up from sleep.

"No…I can't…I did what I could…I even helped you and B when I told myself not to."

Kennedy saw the wall building back up. "But Faith…" She didn't know what to say. She repeated Faith's answer in her head over and over. It took a minute or so, but Kennedy discovered a peculiarity in the older slayer's response. Something wasn't right.

Kennedy thought for a second. She got a hunch. "You said you did what you could…and then you said you even helped me and Buffy. But you told us you didn't know about the demon or the murders." Kennedy waited for Faith's answer.

"Oh yes it is. You told us you didn't know a thing and wouldn't help us. Then you said you would but only to give us the names of your snitches." Kennedy locked onto Faith's eyes. "You lied to us. Didn't you? You did know what was going on…You did something, right?"

The quiet continued until Kennedy exclaimed, "Shit! You were the anonymous caller. That was you, wasn't it?"

Before she could say anymore, Faith bolted from her seat and ran out of the bar. Kennedy sprinted to catch her. She grabbed her friend by the arm and turned her around.

"What the hell is going on, Faith? You knew about these murders and did nothing."

Defensively, "I didn't do nothing. I let the Council know…I knew they'd send somebody."

"That's ridiculous. You make a few calls instead of hunting this killer yourself?" Now Kennedy had reached her saturation point with Faith's behavior. "That is fucked up. How could you let innocent people die?"

That was the trigger for Faith. She'd had enough of being judged. The emotion wouldn't stay hidden any longer.

Furiously, "Because that's the kind of slayer I am. I fuck up and people die. I try to do the right thing and people die. If I come back in, nothing will change. Eventually, innocent people will still die because of me…because I won't make the right choice."

Kennedy stood stunned as Faith bellowed out at her. It was the first time that Faith's response wasn't the standard 'I want to live my own life.' For certain, what Kennedy was hearing now was getting to the heart of Faith's real torment. She took a moment and tried to make sense of Faith's tirade.

"Faith, we all make mistakes. Hell, you're the one that told me that. We can't save everyone."

Kennedy recalled her discussion with Willow and what Miguel had told the witch. He had talked about not wanting to put Faith in a position to have to choose between him and her slaying. She knew Faith's rambling had to do with that somehow.

"Is this about Miguel? About taking care of him and not being able to patrol the way you want?"

Faith gave Kennedy a cynical glance, as if to say the younger slayer had no idea how deep the issue went.

"For Christ's sake, Faith, what is it then? Did you let a demon go free because you had to go to Miguel?"

"You heard me. I let someone die…Not just die, but murdered…by a vamp…I watched some schmuck be tortured to death and did absolutely nothing."

Faith looked out into the night sky. "I found a vamp bleeding some poor bastard and right when I went to go after it, my cell buzzed." Faith always put her phone on vibrate during her patrols. "I got this sinking feeling…like somehow I knew it was Mick…and he was in trouble. I got my phone out and answered the call. It was Mickey…All I heard was 'help me.'" Faith's voice cracked. "He sounded like he was gonna die any second…I've never heard his voice like that." She took a deep breath, held it for a moment and then slowly exhaled. "I didn't care about anything else from then on except getting to Mickey. I looked right at that guy getting the life sucked out of him…and I didn't care…I didn't even try to save him. I turned around and ran back to Mick." Faith remained still after she was done.

Kennedy examined her friend. She saw how much this tore her up. "Faith? What happened when you got to Miguel?"

The older slayer turned to face Kennedy. "He was on the floor of the apartment…He'd had a severe relapse…convulsions, and…It looked like he hurled up his insides." She winced with the memory.

Kennedy put her hand on Faith's shoulder. In a soothing tone, "You didn't do anything wrong, Faith. Miguel needed you. You had no choice."

"But I didn't even let it enter my mind to save that guy," Faith said disgusted with her actions.

"Miguel was very sick. You knew that. You were putting the guy you love first. That's called protecting your family."

Kennedy didn't let her continue. "You're not only a slayer. You love Miguel. He should come first in a crisis. That's what keeps us from being like the first slayer, all killer even if it is evil we go after."

Faith got a worried expression. "The thing is…it wasn't just the situation. I know I could do that now…just turn my back…It was so easy to say he mattered more than some other person…That's why I can't go back to slaying."

"For Miguel, I would. How do I know I wouldn't if it wasn't him? It could be some other guy with a different problem I have to deal with…Next time, it might not even deal with a guy. It could be because I think the demon's too strong."

Kennedy stopped her. "Whoa. Hold on. You know that you'd never back down to a demon for that reason. As for someone you love…I know this isn't very slayer-like but, yeah, they come first. I'd never let anything happen to Sammie or Willow. I'll always make sure they're safe. If I had to choose, my loyalty is to my family."

"I never told you what happened when I found Willow after her car accident…" Kennedy recounted the events when she thought Willow had died from her automobile accident that horrible Labor Day. She told Faith how she asked the Powers-That-be to take her slayer power and give it to her wife to start her heart beating again. Kennedy recalled how she met with the men who infused the original slayer with her slayer abilities and stated how they had showed her what her slayer life would be like if she reconsidered giving up her powers. "They let me see what I would have accomplished as a slayer if I kept my powers and let Willow stay dead. I knew how many innocents I saved, how many demons were killed, how better the world was because of what I would do as a slayer." Then she told Faith how easy it was for her to give it all up so that Willow could live. "Nothing mattered but bringing Willow back. I couldn't live without her…I didn't care how many people were affected. I wanted my wife back."

When she was done, Kennedy got a serene look. "I don't regret what I did and I would do it again in a heartbeat. That doesn't make me a bad slayer…It makes me human. Just like you are, Faith."

Faith said nothing. She pondered Kennedy's story. It was hard for the older slayer to admit that she had been so absolutely affected by Miguel. She ached for him. The only way to bare the day was to try to block him from her mind. She tried to fill her loss with other men, with drink, with pills. Faith felt like she had to get him out of her mind and never let another in because she hated feeling so out of control. It felt foreign to have such a visceral reaction to a lover in need. To Faith, her immediate desire to save Miguel to the exclusion of all else brought back memories of her mother. It was her mother that always gave in to men, that allowed them every dishonesty. Her mother gave to them to the exclusion of all else, including her own daughter. It was that sense of total abandonment of one's self that terrified Faith. She had done it for Miguel. She'd given in, even if the circumstances were different than when her mother did it.

It was that fear that Faith couldn't put into words. She was determined never to be her mother. It was a credo that she lived by stringently. That wall of determination had cracked…and it scared Faith to death.

Without looking at Kennedy, "I'm not you, K. Maybe I don't want to be so ready to let someone else control me like that…even if they are family."

That remark stung Kennedy. She was certain she had gotten through to her fellow slayer. Sadly, "Don't say that, Faith. I know you. You may be scared or confused right now…but you're not some slayer machine. Nobody's controlling you. You made the decision to save Miguel. You were in complete control."

Faith couldn't explain further. She repeated, "You don't really know me, Kennedy."

The younger slayer felt defeated. That tone was back in Faith's voice that sounded like resignation. Kennedy, sensing there was nothing else to say, looked at her watch. It was getting later and she knew she had to find Buffy.

"Faith, I know you understand what I said…how you're still the same slayer as before. You are not a quitter. Deep down you know what you should do…But I can't keep trying to make you see that…There's a demon out there that is going to kill again if it isn't stopped. I know you're struggling, but…we need you. Buffy and I need your help. We don't know how to kill it or even if it can be. It would be a lot safer having you with us on this one….Faith?"

Faith wouldn't look at Kennedy. She turned so she was facing away from her friend. As much as she heard the plea, Faith couldn't let herself go. She knew if she went back for this, she'd be pulled in and eventually she'd lose it all again.

Kennedy waited, hoping for a change of heart. But she got nothing. Finally, her shoulders slumped. Disappointedly, "I guess that's your answer."

Kennedy stared at Faith's back for a few more moments and then turned and left. She felt a great sense of loss.

"I'll be as careful as I can be, Dawn. You know that. I don't want to hurt this kid if I don't have to." Buffy was walking down a dark, desolate street heading toward the place Willow determined was where the next murder would occur. "Listen, I gotta go. I'm getting too close to be talking on the phone." Buffy hesitated a moment. "Don't worry baby sis," she tried to say confidently. "The demons haven't gotten to me yet…err, well…ok, they have, but I keep coming back. So there's no reason to think anything bad will happen to me."

Buffy listened to her sister's worried voice tell her she knew all would be fine but that the blonde needed to be careful "just in case." The call ended with Buffy telling Dawn that she'd call as soon as there was a resolution to the case, regardless of outcome of that resolution.

Buffy continued to travel to the destination given to her by Willow's research and deductions. As she got closer, Buffy's slayer senses kicked into high gear. She was like a lightning rod to every sound and scene around her. She was 'aware' of everything, in every direction. Having been told about the ferociousness of the Moor D'naar demon, Buffy knew that this would be one of the toughest demons she'd encountered. There was no way that the 'oldest slayer' would be caught off guard or taken by ambush. She grabbed the knife she brought tightly in her hand.

However, there was a struggle going on in Buffy's mind. Each conscience thought she had about the demon and what it was capable of doing was immediately coupled with the fact that the demon was also human. Buffy's conflict was that she was tracking a mere teenager, a boy who had led a very secluded and sheltered life. Buffy knew enough about the Amish and the others in the Pennsylvania Dutch country to understand that Daniel Van Gorsen cold not have been doing the killings. The religious purity infused in those of that culture would not have fathomed, let alone allow, such evil and damned actions. Buffy knew that whoever the Mennonite had been, he no longer existed in that form. The demon must have taken over the teenager in some manner. Though it was in his DNA, Buffy wanted to believe that there was somewhere inside an innocent boy trapped by the demon. What the blonde hoped was that she would be able to conquer the demon so that she or the Council could shred its grip on the boy.

Buffy had to believe that there were two entities in the Van Gorsen body; she had to hope that Daniel could be saved. She had to because the alternative was horrifying. Buffy understood that if she was wrong, it meant that Daniel was in fact a Moor D'naar demon. Regardless of the manner of his conception, irrespective of the human DNA that was in every cell of his being, if Buffy was wrong then the mild Mennonite boy had evolved into an unstoppable killing machine. Buffy knew that if only a demon remained, she would have to kill it, even if it looked like 'the boy next door.'

Buffy made her way closer and closer to her given mark. There was no one around. The night was as still as death. The slayer slowed her pace and methodically examined her surroundings with every step she took. She looked and listened for any type of sign that someone else was in the vicinity. The suspense hung in the air like thick molasses. She saw a large cargo container up ahead and to her right.

Buffy stopped. She scrutinized the area with the metal box. Closing blue eyes, the slayer let her hearing scan for any infinitesimal change in sound. The moments seemed like hours.

The teenager quietly squatted as he had been for hours. The area was secluded but not completely abandoned. Despite the bleakness of the part of the city, there was always some stray soul looking for the back way to nowhere or for a peaceful site to mainline a short lived stint of happiness. It was inevitable that sometime during the night, a beating heart would cross his path and beat no more.

Daniel Van Gorsen was but a memory. The creature that lay waiting for its next kill was lost to its human frailties. Nothing of the sweet boy was left, save a faint recollection of a life shaded in light buried as deep as possible in the collective conscience of the beast. The being that was Daniel Van Gorsen was now a Moor D'naar demon, bent on destruction of needed human flesh. There was no mission, no reason for its need. The demon was pure Hell created, molded by the Devil itself like a piece of art from virgin clay.

In some respects, the Moor D'naar demon was a piece close to perfection. It was the most single-minded entity ever to exist in any dimension. It appeared on earth, and then murdered until it died. It killed not for a superior or for personal power. It held no grudge nor sought revenge. The creature devoured because that was its nature, pure and simple. It was a demonic cancer on the world, no more or less; a created mutation the likes of which were ever seldom seen.

The demon's weakness, and the reason it had not decimated the mortal world, was an unexpected setback for Evil, but one seemingly necessary in the Great Mystery, known by mere mortals as the infinite Universe. For it has always been that the force of all that 'is' injects in the very essence of all evil beings the inevitable self destruction that precludes it from dominance. The Great Mystery, in effect, manifests its own safeguards on those segments created only to disturb the delicate balance the dimensions.

The Moor D'naar demon too had its weakness, one so surprisingly simple considering its otherwise granite-like defenses. Its need to kill had always overpowered its intrinsic fault. The massive fires at Rome and London, the burning of the Horrock barn, even the innocent blaze in a homeless man's metal drum; all these events carried the demon's fated demise. But even when the demon's straining eyes foreshadowed its end, the Moor D'naar pressed for the kill. For that was its nature, even to its death.

The legacy of its being was not known by the Daniel beast nor would it have cared to be informed. Its only thought was destruction of a human life. It waited in its lair, like a finger gently pressing on the trigger, waiting for the sign to add that feather's touch of additional pressure to send the bullet beast to its destiny.

Then the demon sensed a variation in the air. It set its vision into the night. The yellow glowing eyes set like a laser beam and waited. It didn't take long for them to see the disturbance in the air molecules. The demon's vision was actually able to capture the vibrational interference in the atmosphere caused by a moving object, in this case a human being. Knowing that prey was in the vicinity, the beast raised its head up and caught a wisp of a scent in its nostrils…mortal flesh.

The beast breathed in slightly and slowly shut its glowing yellow eyes. It had found its prey.

Buffy instantly knew the demon was near. Her slayer senses had informed her as clearly as a loudest bell. But before she had the chance to ready herself, she saw a figure charging at her from ahead.

All Buffy could see at first was the black silhouette of the being. But it was charging fast and almost immediately was within striking distance. The blonde had never seen anything move that fast.

Though it happened in seconds, Buffy was able to get a quick view of her assailant just before it got to her. The image shocked her. All she saw were two glowing yellow eyes that were filled with death. Those eyes seemed to tear right into her.

There was no time to react as the beast lunged on top of the slayer, knocking her to the pavement. The knife in her hand dislodged and slid into the darkness. Buffy felt razor-like nails dig into her shoulder. The beast was heavy and she could hear its weighty breath.

Finally, though in reality it was only a few seconds, Buffy gathered her bearings. She struck her fists at the demon repeatedly and was able to grasp its arms that had her pinned to the ground on her back. Buffy pushed up with all her might, doing everything in her power to push the demon back so its mouth could not reach her face or neck. At the same time, the blonde kicked her feet and shuffled them to situate her legs under the beast, her knees to her chest.

In one monumental thrust, Buffy hoisted her legs out, her feet catching the demon on its mid-section. At the same time, she yanked the demon's hands off her thereby freeing the thing from her and sending it through the air, landing with a loud thud twenty feet away. Buffy automatically jumped to a fighting stance. She glanced for her knife. "Shoulda known better. That always happens in horror movies too," she mumbled.

The blonde took inventory of the creature that was bent on her demise. What she saw stunned her.

On the ground before the slayer was a being unlike anything she'd seen before. The closest she could compare were the demons that tried to take over Sunnydale during the time of her resurrection by Willow. But even that didn't come close to the thing she looked upon now.

Buffy stared upon a being that had the outward characteristics of a human. The demon had two arms and legs. It stood as mortals did. Its size was that of a regular person and its head left no doubt this wasn't some ET Sci-Fi creature. But the human similarities ended there. Its unclothed sections were covered in skin that looked like that belonging to a severe burn victim. The creature had on tattered clothes, which Buffy knew had to be the simple clothing of the Mennonites. The hands and feet of the beast were larger than a human's counterpart and they ended with long talon-like nails. The demon had only patches of hair, again assumed by the slayer to be the fossil remains of its mortal segment.

But it was the face that was most disconcerting. The beast had lumpy skin on its face and a gaping mouth with fangs to match its nails. It oozed a yellowy stringy phlegm from its mouth. The slayer knew that had to be the source of the liquid at the crime scenes. There was no longer a nose on the demon; only a small nub that jetted air in and out. A nose wouldn't have been noticeable in any event because of the eyes. Buffy saw that they actually glowed. The night was black as tar, no security or street lights to lighten their view. And yet, those eyes radiated a glow that flooded the immediate area surrounding them. It took only moments, but Buffy was certain that the Mennonite boy who shared his body with the demon was gone. The genetic make-up of the Moor D'naar demon was too strong. The slayer realized the beast had in fact already added to the toll of the innocent dead that night, the Mennonite had perished. Buffy promised herself that Daniel Van Gorsen would be the last victim.

Buffy could have stared at the demon much longer but it soon righted itself and was standing once more with a look of pure evil. She saw it cock its head and took it to mean that the demon was surprised by her ability to thwart his attack. That was short lived because, in a heartbeat, it came after her again.

Leaping out of its way, "Great! It's the stinkin' Terminator. Why didn't I pay attention to the ending of that movie?" Buffy landed several feet to the side of the demon and tried to think of a plan. She knew she had to give herself time to observe the demon's moves. The blonde needed to see if it had any preference for attack or weakness. "Like a game of demon tag. Stay away from it…Don't let it touch you…and don't get killed."

Buffy played a precise game of cat and mouse. She worked the area like a prize fighter commanded the ring. The demon never got close enough to her to sink in a claw or jump on her. Buffy ducked and swayed out of its way, internalizing every move the demon made. She memorized its every move and reaction until she began to understand its fighting style. It had none. The demon fought on pure rage. There was no strategy, no master plan to succumb its victims. The demon overpowered its kills; it never had to use finesse…until now.

The more the beast failed, the more determined it became. It started to lunge harder and faster. It soon discovered that it had to anticipate its prey's next move. Little by little, the demon learned that the human before it wasn't afraid of it nor was she ready to die.

The demon stopped its assault and waited. It saw that the prey did not move. She did not run away. It was then the demon understood that the human was after it. Some deep instinctive recall let the demon know that never had it been the hunted. It preyed; it was never the prey. That fact made the beast even more intent on destruction of the human.

Buffy stood still as the demon ceased its attack. She could tell it was pondering its circumstances. Buffy could almost hear it thinking and realizing what precisely was happening. The beast now knew it was in a battle.

"Oh crap," Buffy muttered. Her time for examination was over. She would now have to engage the demon. The blonde shifted her eyes around. She was alone; no sign of Kennedy or Faith. Having been told what Willow knew about the creature, Buffy understood this fight would be one of the toughest she'd faced. Though only one demon, the Moor D'naar was as deadly and ferocious as a legion of bringers and vamps combined.

Yellow eyes squinted and the battle resumed. The two adversaries paraded their expert fighting skills, each giving and receiving blow after blow. They danced to the march of antagonists bent on other's destruction. Buffy never allowed herself to get too injured but the battle was taking its toll. Her body looked like a punching bag while the demon's weathered the storm as if it wore armor made of the hardest metals on earth. This was not a fight of the weak of heart; it was formidable.

The demon attacked Buffy again and this time anticipated her reaction. It was able to grasp the slayer's side in its hand and cut a gash in her skin. Buffy swung around with her free hand and, despite the intense pain, back-handed her adversary on the backside of its skull sending the demon falling like a mighty oak to the ground. Buffy didn't wait; she jumped at the beast, landing both feet on its neck. She bore down with all her strength trying to sever the demon's head from its torso. The creature let out a scream as it wrenched its arms behind it clutching for the blonde's legs.

The demon squirmed enough to set Buffy slightly off balance. That was all it took. The creature clasped onto one of Buffy's shoes and churned her leg. She heard a grinding sound and Buffy twisted like a flag on a windy day. She fell off the demon and hurled to the pavement. She got up and retreated from the advancing demon. The creature was so fast and strong. Buffy's side was bleeding freely and she was certain her leg was severely strained if not broken. As she hobbled, Buffy could hear the creature follow her.

Buffy ran to the nearest building. She hoped the abandoned structure would give her added shelter and defense from the assailant. She ran past a large metal container, the place's main electrical box which, though shut off, still had connections to the electrical pole next to it.

The slayer hurried to the only entranceway she could see. Even in the night, Buffy's slayer senses showed her the faint outline of a doorway. The closer she got to the door the louder she heard the demon on her trial. She didn't know if she'd make it in time.

Buffy threw herself up the few steps to the door. She landed hard against it and frantically turned the handle. Though locked, she heard the mechanism shatter from her force and the door open.

Just as she pushed the door in, Buffy heard the guttural sounds of the demon and felt its claws dig into her upper left arm. The beast was on her once again. It tore her from her grasp on the handle and threw her down the stairs. Buffy landed and instantly felt the wincing pain in her leg. There was no doubt now; the leg was broken.

Buffy got on her back and saw the demon standing above her. She was bleeding from several deep gashes and couldn't put pressure on her bad leg. The demon placed his foot on her good leg, bearing down its weight so that the slayer couldn't escape.

Blue eyes stared at the yellow ones glowing back at her. She saw victory in them. In that very moment, Buffy knew that she could not escape. She found it hard to believe that this might be the end, death by a mostly unknown demon. All she'd been through, all she'd done as a slayer would end at the hands of a creature that had no motive but to kill.

The demon lurched forward, closer to her, still searing its glowing eyes into her.

Buffy thought of Jimmy and Dawn and all the others she considered her family. In that split second, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, "The Slayer", became serene. It wasn't the first time. She'd had the same sense of calm when she leapt off the tower to save her beloved sister.

Buffy looked the demon squarely in the eyes. She saw its hand come sailing down. Her thoughts were shut out by what sounded like a drowning scream and a crushing blow to the side of her head.

Kennedy ran as fast as she could once she left Faith. She was quite a distance from the location where Willow thought the demon would be. The slayer pushed herself not to slow down. She had no idea whether or not Buffy had found Daniel Van Gorsen. But she felt she'd be letting Buffy down if she didn't get to her as soon as possible. If the demon hadn't been located then she could assist in its tracking. If it had been found, then she was certain Buffy would need her help. Kennedy had a sinking feeling that they would not be so lucky as to find the teenage boy with most of his human qualities in tact.

That intuition saddened the brunette. From what Willow had told her of Daniel Van Gorsen, he was a good kid, a sheltered teenager who had never done anyone harm. As she made her way to the 'spot,' Kennedy started to get very angry with the young man's circumstance. She knew that Daniel was a victim of the extreme cruelty of the forces in the cosmic universe. His very existence was due to the worse kind of evil. Kennedy thought that the worst aspect of the situation was that Daniel had known Goodness; he'd lived it. That was torn from him when his demon self made its rebirth. The teenager had gone from being enveloped in the Light to being immersed in the Dark. What Kennedy didn't know, and wasn't sure she cared to know, was whether Daniel understood the transformation and eventually had come to accept and need it.

All this ran through the slayer's mind as she charged closer to meet Buffy. Kennedy didn't want to battle a human. The idea of harming 'Daniel' repulsed her. If there was part of the Mennonite that was still recognizable to her, though clouded by the demon's force, the brunette knew she would have trouble disabling him. In one regard, Kennedy hoped that the demon was just that, all demon, so that fighting it would be easier. Thinking that made her feel guilty for she knew the only way for that scenario to happen was if Daniel Van Gorsen really was gone to the world for good.

The slayer kept running. From the street signs and the desolate surroundings, Kennedy knew she was getting closer. She began to look around making sure that nothing was out of order. Though the area was dark and there was no moon to light the way, the brunette's slayer vision allowed her to see enough around her. Kennedy saw another street sign and realized she was almost there.

That's when the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she got a flushed feeling. Her slayer senses were telling her, shouting to her, that trouble was near. Just as instantly, Kennedy heard yelling and animal-like sounds.

The name wasn't shouted or whispered. It wasn't said with uncertainty. That one word was uttered in a tone that knew its owner was in serious danger.

Without hesitation, Kennedy bolted to the direction of the noise. The closer she got, the louder the sounds were. She began to hear grunts and groans, both human and demon. She listened to objects, obviously bodies, crashing into hard objects.

Finally, Kennedy rounded the corner of an old brick building. She could see across the street another building and light emanating near what appeared to be a doorway. At first, the slayer couldn't tell what was causing the light. All she could see were figures moving. Then Kennedy realized that the light was coming from one of the figures…from its head…its eyes.

Kennedy also saw Buffy. Even from her distance away, the brunette could see that Buffy was in dire condition. Kennedy started to run toward her fellow slayer. As she got closer she saw the demon throw Buffy from the doorway steps. She watched as the blonde landed like a rag doll on the cold asphalt.

Kennedy started to yell, trying to distract the demon. However, it had Buffy pinned to the ground and it was hovering over the blonde ready to attack. Kennedy saw that Buffy was unable to mount a defense. There was blood on her clothes which Kennedy suspected covered deep wounds or broken bones.

It was at that time that Kennedy got her first clear view of the demon. Had she not been running to save Buffy, she would have stopped dead in her tracks. The creature she saw was hideous. Its form was of a human-like being that had been dipped in a heavy coat of wax and hung to dry. In that split second, Kennedy had been given her answer to the status of Daniel Van Gorsen. The demon was too much for the teenager's body and soul. The Mennonite was gone. Kennedy hoped that somehow his soul had been able to escape and delivered to his God.

Kennedy was almost upon the demon and Buffy. The beast had not been affected in the least by her cries. It was concentrating on Buffy and all else was blocked out to it. Kennedy knew she had to get to the demon. Knock it away from Buffy.

From that moment, all life switched to slow motion. Kennedy would realize later that nothing had changed. Her actions and that of the demon took but a few seconds. But while it was happening, time seemed to slow to a snail's crawl. Each step by the slayer was taken as if deep in molasses. Her eyes slowly followed the demon's arm raise further. The brunette's arms pumped for more speed even as the creature's arm began to make its descent towards Buffy's head. Kennedy heard herself scream.

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!…" The word projected from her mouth seemingly as slow as everything occurring around her.

Kennedy watched as the demon's head lifted to look at her and its hand smacked against the side of Buffy's face. The blow didn't strike as firm as it could have because of the slight distraction of the demon moving to Kennedy's scream.

In that flash of a second, life was at full speed again. The moment the demon's hand left its contact with Buffy's head, Kennedy's body careened into the demon launching it into the night air.

The demon hit the large electrical box, crushing the metal and knocking the entire container off its base. The demon and the metal box fell into the electrical pole cracking it.

After crashing into the demon, Kennedy twisted her body so she tumbled off to one side away from the beast. She was on her feet instantly. The brunette looked over to Buffy and saw blood on the side of her face. Intensely scanning the blonde, Kennedy couldn't tell if Buffy was dead. She didn't have the luxury of going to her friend and thoroughly checking her out. The creature was getting up from its fall and Kennedy knew she would have to engage it in battle. The only thing the slayer could do was hope Buffy was still alive and could hang on until she brought the beast to its demise.

The demon flung his head back and let out a loud shrill. It twisted and turned its head as if it was a wild horse readying for a charge.

Kennedy stood her ground and scanned the area quickly to see if there were any objects close that could be used as weapons. Being an abandoned spot in the city, there were discarded trash and other old boxes and bags. The sporadic foot traffic the area did get left discarded drug needles, empty broken booze bottles and the occasional used condom. There was nothing amongst the refuse that Kennedy could use against the demon.

"All slayer this time," the brunette muttered as she yanked her trusty spike from her boot. Kennedy realized she would have to fight the creature with only her spike, her slayer powers and her cunning. Though she had fought as such many times before, too many times to remember, this fight was different. This demon was a creature that was all but completely unknown to civilization. Vampires she could battle with her eyes closed; Kennedy knew so much about them, their thought processes, that she knew how they would react. The same was true for numerous other demons. She had personal knowledge of so many or was able to gather fathoms of information from Willow's research or that of the Council.

Kennedy examined her adversary. She was furious that Buffy lay helpless on the ground, perhaps dead even. The slayer's anger built to a quick raging boil. She saw the creature positioning itself to lunge.

Kennedy didn't wait. She went after the creature. She decided to attack the attacker. The slayer charged into the demon and both toppled backwards forcefully. They landed against the stairs of the doorway where only seconds before Buffy stood. The two swung and kicked at each other. The demon tried to slash Kennedy's skin with his quill-like nails. He only had the fortune to knock the stake from the slayer's hand. Kennedy was able to get in a few hard punches before the demon struck her across her back, leaving a large cut.

The slayer retreated only far enough to be out of reach. She would not run away; she would not leave Buffy. Her mission was to kill the beast and help Buffy or die trying. She was connected to Buffy. Slayer blood ran through their veins. They were family in destiny and as any good soldier knew, no one was left behind in battle.

The demon and slayer continued to fight. Kennedy never got an advantage and several times seemed on the verge of defeat. But she would always find a move or tactic that got her out of death's path. The slayer, though not winning the fight, was able to do some damage to the beast. Kennedy couldn't believe how immune the demon was to injury. She'd stabbed it, hit it, kicked it; she did all the things that would have broken other demons in two. Her actions had little effect on the Moor D'naar demon. It only seemed to get bolder, more enticed by the battling.

In the midst of one forward attack, Kennedy caught the demon's glowing eyes directly in her view. It was like looking into the sun. The slayer had to blink several times. That momentary stutter in her siege was enough for the Moor D'naar. The thing grabbed the opportunity and hurled itself at the brunette. It made contact squarely and Kennedy was forcibly knocked backwards. She fumbled her way trying to gain her balance but smashed into the light pole instead.

The massive wooden post, already weak from the crack caused by the demon in its fight with Buffy, faltered altogether and the pole came crashing down into the crushed electrical box. Sparks and bolts of light came careening out of the mix. Within seconds the smell of burning electrical wires and conduit began to fill the air.

Kennedy, luckily, had landed away from where the pole landed. As she scurried on the ground to stand up, the slayer with brown eyes wide with shock witnessed the sparks turned to fire.

The brunette's attention to the accidental fire was short lived because she heard and saw the demon come after her once more. It hurled itself at her, stomping on her with its claw-like feet. Kennedy felt the nails sink into her side. The pain was immediate, as was the blood.

The foot came crushing down again, this time on her thigh. Kennedy heard the fabric of her pants tear. She again felt the surge of blinding pain as her flesh split apart from the surgical precision of the demon's nails. If any one had been near enough to hear, they would have thought she was being quartered. As still and dead as the night was, the slayer's screams pierced through the evening's shroud and filled up the space around them.

But the demon wasn't finished. It momentarily glanced at the growing fire and quinced. It then grabbed the slayer by her 'good' leg and dragged her away from it, back towards the spot it had occupied earlier in the evening.

Kennedy tried as best she could to free herself from the grip of the beast. However, each time she twisted, pushed or pulled her torso or leg, it worsened her injuries causing more bleeding and pain. The slayer frantically looked around to try to determine what her adversary was doing. As she was dragged, she glanced back and saw the fire had spread from the downed light pole to the abandoned building. Leftover debris had caught fire and paved a fiery path to the structure's doorsteps. Brown eyes stuck to the scene of Buffy's still body lying away from, but not out of harm's way to, the fire. There was still no movement by the blonde.

Kennedy knew that if Buffy were still alive she wouldn't stay that way for long unless she got distance from the fire. It was one more reason for the brunette to rail against her enemy. Despite the excruciating pain, Kennedy made another all out effort to gain freedom from the demon. She kicked the beast behind its knee with her bad leg while she jerked her good leg toward her. That was enough to get the demon slightly off balance and loosen its grip on the slayer's leg. Kennedy was able to pull herself free and she quickly got up and started to run back to Buffy.

The demon was momentarily affected and almost immediately was after the brunette. Kennedy's speed got her to Buffy and she was able to move the unconscious blonde farther away from the fire's reach. That action didn't come without a price, for the demon was upon her just as quickly and once again Kennedy found herself trying to battle the creature.

It cornered her in the opposite direction of the fire and had corralled the slayer so that her only move was in the direction toward the demon's prior hiding spot. As much as Kennedy didn't want to go there, she had no choice. At least she knew that it would be another several seconds before the demon had her at its 'place.' In that brief time, Kennedy hoped she could come up with a plan to free herself once more.

The beast moved her closer and closer to its lair. Inch by inch Kennedy felt her time running out. She was barely able to put weight on her leg and she knew she had lost a lot of blood. The slayer watched as the demon's eyes grew brighter; she saw the oozing drool start to flow freely from its mouth.

Kennedy knew her luck and skill were nearing their end. There was no where to run, nothing to fight with and her slayer body had taken much punishment. The brunette had run out of ideas. As she backed into the large storage container that had been part of the demon's hide out, Kennedy could think of only one thing to do…fight.

As the beast came closer, Kennedy saw the faces of Willow and Samantha. The slayer knew that she would battle the beast until her last breath because she would never give up on returning home to her family. No one and nothing would take Kennedy easily out of this world. She would use every ounce of slayer strength she had to defeat the evil forces that tried to take her from the ones she loved.

In a last defiant stance, Kennedy stood up, and place both feet firmly on the ground. She assumed the fighting position she had in all her other previous victorious battles.

With all the hatred and indignation she could muster, "One more round you cosmic piece of shit!"

In the split second before it reached Kennedy, a large jagged slab of concrete came from out of the darkness and hit the demon hard. It literally knocked the feet from out under the beast and sent it crashing to the ground on its back with the heavy slab on top of it.

Kennedy quickly turned to the direction from where the projectile came. Brown eyes pierced into the darkness.

Suddenly, from the thick of the night, a silhouette formed. The form stepped into the light.

"One more round you cosmic piece of shit?…That's the best you could do? You're insults are getting pathetic, Kid."

After locating Faith and telling Kennedy where the slayer was, Willow made her wife promise to be careful. Kennedy told the witch that whether or not Faith decided to help, she planned to go to the site of the purported next killing and work with Buffy to find the demon. Willow knew that her slayer would do no less. Protecting the innocents of the world and standing side-by-side her fellow slayer while doing it was in the brunette's genetic make-up. But the facts the redhead had gathered about the present demon gave her much anxiety. Even if all three slayers were acting together, they would still have an uphill battle to rid the earth of the Moor D'naar demon. The virtual blank slate of knowledge about the creature was the slayer's worst enemy.

Willow's apprehension only grew once she ended her call. Left to her imagination, the witch began to conjure all sorts of horrible scenarios for her slayer. Not being able to be with Kennedy merely added to the frustration and unease. Minutes seemed like hours. All Willow wanted was to get a call from her girl and be told the demon was dead and she and the rest were unhurt. As the minutes ticked on, the call didn't come.

Dawn watched Willow pace the floor. Luckily, Sammie didn't have to see the worry pouring off her mother. Dawn had put the child to bed while Willow was locating Faith for Kennedy. The little girl didn't fight going to sleep. She'd had a full day. Dawn saw the drowsiness on Samantha's face but had no idea it was caused, in part, due to her own 'unusual' assistance in finding the demon. It wouldn't be until days later that Willow would tell Dawn about Samantha's affirmative 'look' when her mother found the Moor D'naar demon entry.

Knowing Sam was sound asleep helped Willow's nervousness slightly. At least she didn't have her daughter in a state of panic. As the time passed, Willow became more and more uneasy. Nothing Dawn said about Kennedy's competence or that of Buffy's did a thing to alleviate it.

Comforting, "Will, you'd know if something was wrong. You'd be the first to feel it. You know Kennedy will call as soon as she can. She's probably with Buffy right now beating the snot outta that demon. I bet she even got Faith to come to her senses." Dawn wanted to say anything that would make Willow feel more relaxed. It didn't work.

"If Faith hadn't run out on them, I'd at least know that the three of them were together. We don't even know where they are."

Willow shook her head. "No, I know I'm too drained for that. But that's not the only way I can find out what's happening." The witch headed for the living room with Dawn right behind her.

Minutes later, Willow was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the living room. The lights were off and seven short maze yellow candles surrounded the witch. The flames flickered softly. Willow had her eyes closed, head tilted down slightly and arms resting on her thighs, palms facing down. There was a concentrated yet calm expression on Willow's face.

Dawn sat to the side on Kennedy's favorite recliner. She studied Willow intently. She'd been watching for about ten minutes. She noticed hardly any change in the witch during that time and wasn't sure if Willow's plan was working.

In order to determine the status of Kennedy's well-being and that of the others, Willow planned to 'connect' with the slayers. Ever since she did the slayer spell, Willow had a 'sense' of all the slayers that existed. In the beginning, it was used to locate all the newly empowered slayers in the United States and then Brazil. To be sure, early on the feeling the redhead had was disconcerting at times. There was a period of time that her ability to 'sense' the slayers overwhelmed her. It took guidance from Giles and patience for Willow to come to terms with it. Over time, Willow became at home with the feeling. It became a part of her like Kennedy's slayer powers. Before long, she consciously forgot about her 'sense' and was able to go live her life without that fact always in the front of her thoughts.

But when needed, Willow could bring out that feeling. If she concentrated enough, she was able to locate slayers generally and some specifically. When it came to the slayers with which she had a close relationship, she was able to find them and 'feel' their emotions. Kennedy was the easiest for Willow. If necessary, she was able to pinpoint the whereabouts of her wife and sense exactly the frame of mind of her slayer. She could also do the same for Buffy. Though she had never tried to make the complete connection with Faith, Willow was certain she could.

So there Willow sat, delving into her bag of magickal tricks. It didn't strike the witch that what she was trying to do was a major feat of mystical ability. She had gotten so advanced in her craft that nothing seemed out of the realm of possibility to her. When the need came for a particular magickal act, Willow would examine the problem and find an answer. That the solution often defied the laws of nature was, though not lost on the witch, secondary to her.

And there was no mistaking that Willow's quest was an act of extreme mystical proportions. She was attempting to simultaneously locate and connect psychologically and emotionally with three slayers. She wanted to know exactly where the three were and how they were doing.

It took some time before Willow was able to sense her targets. The vibes she got scared her. She knew Kennedy and Buffy were together. But there was something wrong with her dearest friend. She didn't sense the rush of battle or the cautiousness of a prowl. There was a lost and empty feel to her sense of Buffy. The blonde was definitely alive but she was not of conscious thought. Willow also felt a weakness from Buffy like her physical self was drained. The only conclusion the redhead could make was that Buffy was hurt and unconscious.

Her sense of Kennedy was in stark contrast to that of Buffy. The brunette's mind was swirling with emotion. There was a feeling of adrenaline coursing through her senses. That glimpse was mixed with fear and uncertainty. Willow was stunned. She got a sense from Kennedy that her slayer was questioning her ability to succeed. The witch didn't expect to sense that emotion. Never did she think that Kennedy would doubt her prowess to conquer a foe. But that was exactly what she felt when her connection to Kennedy's slayer essence took hold.

At that moment Willow was frightened, very frightened. She knew Buffy was incapacitated and Kennedy was fighting for her life.

Willow instantly switched her focus and was able to 'connect' to Faith's presence. Oddly enough, Willow got a burst of confusion, disappointment and a sense of loss. She had thought that Faith's emotional state would be one of relief or lack of concern. But that was far from the truth. The witch could feel that Faith was struggling with her emotions and actions.

However, introspection was the least of Willow's desires for the fallen slayer. She could care less that Faith was in an emotional quagmire. Willow knew that Kennedy and Buffy needed Faith's help and that's all that mattered. The redhead realized that she had to get through to Faith, to make her understand what was at stake.

Through closed eyes and active mind, Willow decided that Faith deserved to know the results of her decision to walk away. She had to feel what Kennedy and Buffy were going through in the hope that it would make her see the dire consequences of her choices.

In the channels of her mind, Willow focused on reigning in her senses of Kennedy and Buffy and connecting them to Faith's conscious being. The witch was going to bridge the cognizant present of the two troubled slayers to that of Faith's. As she concentrated, Willow said to herself, 'It's time for Faith to feel what she's done.'

After Kennedy left to find Buffy, Faith didn't move right away. Her feet were stones in cement. The slayer just stood there, ashamed of the fact that she had turned her back on her best friend and on her destiny. She kept telling herself that she had to deny her friend and fellow slayer because her life was at stake. The feeling of lack of control and degradation from giving in to another's needs gnawed at her; it festered in her psyche like a bad infection. In one breath, she chastised herself for even listening to Kennedy instead of just walking away from that life. In the next breath, Faith saw herself as a coward and a traitor for allowing her friends to go into sure hell fire battle without her. 'Who am I?' she kept hearing in the back of her mind, whispering as if the true answer would shatter her world.

Then, out of the blue, Faith's mind was flooded with senses that were not her own. It was as if a bushel of emotions had been shoved into her brain and had pushed out all else.

At first, the slayer didn't know what to make of the confusion. She thought she was going mad for a moment. But within a short time, Faith was accosted with a litany of senses. She felt intense fear and uncertainty; she sensed defeat and physical weakness. It took hardly much more for Faith to realize that the soup of emotions that bombarded her belonged to Kennedy and Buffy.

The experience stunned Faith. She was sickened by the calamitous circumstances of her sister slayers. She could almost feel a sense of betrayal in the emotions she got. How could she let that happen? How could her life have gotten so lost when her goal had been to keep it in control?

When she thought she could take no more, a voice came to her. It was not so much a real voice but the kind that one gets when one is talking to oneself. Or so that's what Faith initially determined it to be. It wasn't until the voice came again, louder and clearer that the slayer understood what was happening.

[Faith? Kennedy and Buffy need you. You can't let them down. You can change this. You're stronger than you think.]

The witch had never attempted to mindspeak with Faith before and the action caught the slayer completely by surprise. Faith didn't know what to do. She was too caught up in the turmoil in her head to think about conversing with Willow. She didn't have time to respond when the voice came again.

As Faith struggled, the connection with Buffy and Kennedy got stronger. She began to sense the beating of their hearts, the blood pounding through their veins. In some ethereal surreal moment, Faith felt the convergence of the slayers' life force. She felt their bodies become one.

In that speck of immortalized time, clarity reigned. All the doubt and fear was swept from Faith's mind. There was no more uncertainty or dread of falling into the pit of her upbringing.

Faith woke up to the reality that was her life. She was a slayer and a friend. Her only thought now was to save the people that had been trying to make her see that fact.

Willow's eyes sprang open. She was drenched in sweat and looked like she hadn't slept in days. She staggered to keep herself from falling over.

Willow turned to her and gave a tired response. "Yeah…" It took a few seconds for her to notice that Dawn was anxiously waiting further response. Willow's expression turned to fright. "Buffy and Kennedy are in serious trouble."

When the witch saw the stunned reaction form Dawn, she quickly added with a tone of encouragement, "But Faith's on the way…She's back."

"It's about time you got here. Whatd'ya do, Faith, go shopping on the way?" There was a mixture of extreme relief, joy and physical pain in Kennedy's voice. As she glanced at the fallen demon, she knew that Faith had saved her life with her most opportune sense of timing. As much as she wanted to hug her friend for 'seeing the light' now was not the time.

Faith quickly made her way to Kennedy. "Yeah. I picked you up some sarcasm…You're obviously out." Faith joked. The older slayer had actually ran as fast as she could to get to Kennedy and immediately reacted when she saw her sister slayer in such a grim situation. Luckily for Faith, the paved road had not been maintained and large portions of it were breaking apart.

She examined Kennedy's wounds. "Shit, that thing got you pretty good, Kid. I'm surprised you're still standing." Kennedy knew that was Faith's way of giving a compliment.

The younger slayer winced when Faith touched her leg. "Ouch! That one really hurts." Kennedy didn't spend another second on her injuries. "Forget that. You've gotta go get Buffy. She's back there…near the fire. You've got to get her outta there."

Just then, the demon, which had been pinned and motionless under the concrete slab, began to move. Both slayers turned to the movement and then back to each other.

"Fuck! I thought I really killed that thing with that hunk of road…It was damn heavy." Faith looked at the cut on Kennedy's leg. It was still bleeding. She also saw the ones on her friend's side and back. They weren't bleeding. Faith then noticed that the demon had gotten one arm free from under the slab. "Fine, but you can't stay here. That thing won't stay under there much longer."

With that said, Faith grabbed Kennedy's belt. "Don't get any ideas, kid," she mocked as she took the slayer's belt off. "This is gonna hurt a little." Faith strapped the belt around Kennedy's leg, above the wound, and cinched it as tight as she could make it.

"I warned you…What a cry baby. That'll stop the bleeding." Faith tried to make light of the pain she knew she caused. "Come on, let's go." She took Kennedy's arm and placed it around her shoulder. "Lean as much as you need to." Faith grabbed Kennedy about the waist and the two headed back toward the now raging fire.

They hadn't taken more than twenty steps when they heard a loud "THUMP!" The slayers momentarily stopped and looked back. They saw the huge concrete slab on the ground to the side of the beast which was struggling to get up.

The slayers began to run as fast as they could. Kennedy steered them toward the spot where she had left Buffy. As they ran, they could hear the footsteps and grunts of the Moor D'naar demon tracking behind them.

"Over there, Faith! She's over there, on the other side of that metal box!" Kennedy shouted as they got closer. The skirted around the heat from the blazing fire and went to the place to which Kennedy pointed.

"What the hell? She was right here…I wasn't even sure she was alive." Kennedy scanned the area haphazardly, confused by the absence of the blonde. "She was here…The demon didn't get her." Kennedy wondered if somehow, the creature had gotten to Buffy.

"Kid, we don't have time to stand here and discuss this." Faith saw the demon gaining ground on them quickly. "Buffy mustuv woke up." The demon was getting closer.

Then the two brunettes heard a voice behind them, in the darkness. It was groggy but they recognized it instantly.

Buffy stumbled into the light of the fire, rubbing the side of her head which had a large patch of blood matted to her hair. "Look what it did to my hair. I just got it styled." She too saw the demon coming at them. "That bitch."

There was a split second of eye contact between Faith and Buffy. Their entire complicated friendship passed between them in that brief moment. But this was a time for slayers, not friends. Whatever difficulties they had with one another would have to wait. Both knew that all their lives hung in the balance right now. It was time to discard differences and work as a team.

Faith pulled Kennedy toward Buffy. "See, K. Now that's a decent wise-ass remark."

The three slayer stood side-by-side. Faith scanned her two partners in battle. They were bruised, injured and tired, but she wouldn't have wanted to go to battle with any others. "We need to divert and conquer." She knew that their best chance to defeat the beast was to get it engaged with one slayer so the other two could ambush it.

The slayers got ready to attack. Buffy leaned in slightly so she could see Faith's face. Faith glanced her way.

"Willow, you need to rest some more…You look horrible." Dawn was chastising the witch for attempting to get off the couch where she had been for some time after her 'slayer convergence.'

"I have to try to…." Willow started to sway and fell back on the couch. Staring guiltily at Dawn, "Uh, kinda weebly-wobbly…Maybe I will stay here just a little longer."

After ending her sensing of Kennedy and Buffy and the 'connection' with Faith, Willow came close to passing out. She was in the middle of telling Dawn about the experience when she felt a queasy feeling flush from head to toe. It seemed like all the blood ran down to her feet. The redhead would have fallen to the floor, but Dawn saw her ghost white complexion and caught her as she went limp. Willow didn't lose consciousness; however, she was so drained of power that she could hardly speak. Dawn made her lie on the couch and drink lots of fluids.

Eventually, and to the relief of Dawn, Willow began to regain her senses. She still looked very tired but she was at least able to talk to Dawn. Of course, the witch's foremost concern was the status of her wife and her friends. Willow was extremely distraught at the possibility that Buffy could be seriously injured and Kennedy on the brink of becoming so. She tried several times to 'sense' her slayer to no avail. Willow tried even though she knew she was too depleted of mystical energy.

When she realized that she would not be able to immediately determine how the slayers were doing, Willow began to question Dawn about what they could do that might help the women. "We still don't know why the demon disappears or how to kill it." It pained Willow to know that her slayer was in the middle of an enormous battle without the slightest clue as to how to kill the creature. It was that feeling of helplessness that made the witch try to stand up. Now, she was back to being relegated to the sofa.

Dawn saw Willow's frustration and fear. She had it too. The thought of losing Buffy a second time chilled her to the bones. The feeling of uselessness was not solely Willow's domain. As much as she'd learned from the Council in the years since the implosion of Sunnydale, Dawn still was at a loss on how to help Buffy and the others.

"Willow, we'll figure out something. But you need to rest. It won't do us any good if I have to take you to the hospital. Let's try to calm down and think this through again."

Dawn stood up and started to pace. "Ok, we don't have any writings on how the Moor D'naar demon dies or is killed. But, we know something happens to it because it's never kept on killing. It always stops…or is stopped."

Sitting up, Willow continued the stream of thought. "Right. The information we have is that the demon kills and kills and then…nothing. It's gone."

Walking around the couch, Dawn got a more intense expression. "No one's ever gotten a good look at this thing. So we don't know if it dies naturally and then disintegrates or if it does a Star Trek "Beam me up, Scotty" and goes back to the Mothership."

Dawn looked at her quickly. She knew what the laugh was for. "I've hung around Andrew too much. So sue me."

The redhead put her hand to her chin. "There was no real description…but there was a reference to light. It was cryptic and I don't think the passage meant the sun or manufactured light. The paragraph seemed to imply that the demon gave off light or produced light somehow."

Intrigued, "Did it give any reference to time…like was the light only during the killings or was it always there?"

Willow grimaced with uncertainty. "Nah, nothing that specific. It just mentioned that there were sightings of light in the areas where the dead bodies were later found. We can assume that it came from the Moor D'naar." Willow was quiet for a moment trying to recall what she read. "Oh, wait. There was a story that people would see the yellow eyes of a black cat when the demon was on a killing spree…It sounded like that was just some spooky old tale added to the whole mystery of this nasty guy."

Both women contemplated the information they had. It didn't make much sense and there wasn't much to use as a foundation. Willow churned the facts in her head. She glanced around as she thought. Her view caught the cable box sitting on the shelf of the flat panel tv stand. She stared at the time on it as she worked her brain. She more she thought, the harder her stare at the bright green LCD numbers looking back at her.

After several moments, Willow gingerly got up off the couch. Dawn watched as she slowly walked to the cable box and bent down to it. Her head tilted slightly.

In the dark of the living room, the clock numbers showed brightly, illuminating the area around the electronic.

Willow snorted. "Well I'll be…" She said quietly. She stood up and turned to Dawn. "I know what the glow is…It's the demon's eyes. They glow yellow…the cat was really the demon…the bright light was its eyes giving off a glow."

Dawn immediately turned the lights back on. "That's amazing. How did you figure that out?"

Willow looked at her. "It's the only thing that makes sense. This demon's trademark must be its eyes."

"So we know it has glowing eyes, but we still don't know how it uses them and we still don't know how it disappears."

Willow's momentary triumph ended. "We've got to make a huge assumption…that its eyes are the key. It wouldn't be the first time for a demon. We know it doesn't use its eyes to stun or kill its victims…It uses good old fashion slashing and gashing for that. From the pictures we've seen, it uses its hands and feet and teeth."

"Maybe that's how it finds its victims…it's got really good eyesight," Dawn added.

"That's a good guess. I bet it has very sensitive eyes…" Willow stopped and thought about what she'd just said. "Sensitive," she mumbled.

Then the witch stiffened and stared directly at Dawn. "And what would hurt sensitive eyes?"

Dawn squinted and examined Willow. She saw the intense look on the witch's face. She sensed that Willow already had the answer. Then it came to her.

Willow nodded and smiled. "Each time the demon disappeared there was a big fire…every time. The fire either kills it or it's the way the thing leaves earth…like a portal."

"Yes, it does. If fire kills it then Kennedy, Buff and Faith can kill it that way. If it uses fire as an escape, then the three of them are still in real danger…They can't make it use the fire to disappear…We need to figure out which it is."

Dawn spoke up. "Maybe that's what the yellow icky stuff is. Maybe it melts and leaves that behind. It's at every murder location. There's no other explanation."

Willow put their theory together. "The demon has glowing yellow eyes that are really sensitive. So sensitive that fire can hurt them and kill the demon. When it dies, it melts into the icky stuff." Willow gave a half-hearted smile. "I can live with that."

Dawn was more supportive of the idea. "We've got nothing better and time is running out. We need to tell Buffy and Kennedy."

"I'm going to tell Kennedy what we came up with…I should be able to 'talk' to her."

"I've got to try, Dawnie. They're in trouble and we've got no other way…We have to…" Willow stopped when she saw Dawn grab her cellphone and hit a button.

"Shit! What the hell is this thing made of?" Faith shouted her frustration while defending herself from the demon.

The three slayers had been engaged in battle with the beast and were no closer to killing it than when they first charged at it. The fight had gone on for what seemed like hours. No matter what the slayers did to the Moor D'naar, it was not mortally wounded. The injuries that were inflicted were treated like nothing more than bee stings by the creature. Having no real weapons, the women improvised and used whatever objects they could find.

The slayers had all, in separate ways, tried to decapitate the beast, but it was always too fast and able to retreat. Buffy got in a good kick to what she thought was a groin; however, that act didn't even make the beast flinch. The women had attempted to attack it with broken off pieces of sharp boards, stone it with hunks of concrete and even charge it with an all out flurry of slayer punches and kicks. Nothing slowed the monster. It kept defending itself. In the process, the Moor D'naar was able to inflict several decent wounds on the slayers.

While the women battled their unbeatable foe, the fire ignited by the downed electrical pole began to increase in size and intensity. It had spread and now was inside the old building. Outside, the blaze had made its way to discarded boxes, paper trash and any other object that could catch fire. The slayers hadn't paid attention to the flames.

Their battle with the demon was mainly out of the reach from the heat of the adolescent inferno. In fact, since the war began, the participants had moved away from the blaze.

"Faith! Turn 'em around this way!" Kennedy was behind the beast and had a large piece of thick sheet metal that she had ripped off a smaller cargo container not far away.

Faith struggled to do as Kennedy asked, but was able to keep herself protected while she managed to turn the demon on its heels. As soon as Kennedy got a view of the creature's face, she swung with all her strength and struck the thing squarely and brutally. The demon bolted in the air like it had been shot from a cannon. It sailed into the air and landed with a crushing sound to the ground and slid. It kept sliding until it came to rest near the crushed electrical box which was now totally encased in a blaze.

The Moor D'naar demon didn't lie still in a daze. It twisted its head and came face to face with the raging flames. Its yellow eyes were focused on the red hot glow. Instantly, it let out a shriek and clawed at the ground with its nails, trying to grasp the ground so it could move away from the burning fingers of the fire. It acted like a terrified animal. The entire time it jostled around, its hard lids protected those yellow glowing orbs.

It took but seconds for the demon to dislodge itself from danger. It gave the fire one more hiss before it turned its attention back to the slayers. The demon was more infuriated than ever. Its eyes glowed brighter and its frenzied screams and movements proved that it was ready to put an end to the humans who had put it in harm's way.

The three slayers witnessed every detail of the creature's recent actions. They saw, for the first time, fear in the demon's movements.

"Did you see that?" Buffy exclaimed. The women were positioned about thirty feet away from the beast and as far as that from each other. "Fire! It didn't like the fire!"

Buffy didn't have time to say another word because the demon charged her as soon as it heard her speak.

"Run toward the fire, Buff!" Kennedy yelled. She too had seen the creature's reaction and knew they had just been given a reprieve. She realized that they had to get near the fire. That would give them a defense until they figured out their next move.

Buffy ran as directed and got as close to the blaze as she could without blistering from the heat. She, along with Faith and Kennedy, watched as the demon ran after her and stopped short as it got nearer the inferno. They saw it wince and bite into the air. It went to go closer but then pulled back as if on a leash. The beast kept thrashing its head from side to side, and up and down. Its glowing eyes blinked as if sending Morse Code. The yellow ooze flowed freely from its mouth, the increasing rage a catalyst for the gooey liquid. But the demon never backed off. It kept trying to get to Buffy.

"Ok, guys…Now whatta we do?" Buffy appreciated the fact that she wasn't being attacked. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay where she was much longer.

Kennedy looked on as the thoughts shot like bullets through her brain. She knew the answer had to be fire. "It can't stand the fire! That has to be what kills it!" She knew what had to be done. They had to throw the beast into the fire. She and Faith had to tackle the beast and throw it into the blaze. She turned to shout her plan to Faith.

That's when she heard a loud groan and then the sound of gushing water. Kennedy looked in the direction of the noise and could make out the outline of Faith holding a large object while a torrent of water cascaded down on her. Then Faith dropped the thing in her arms which made a loud clanking sound as it hit the ground. Kennedy recognized it as a fire hydrant. In that same moment, Faith started running toward the demon. When she was far enough into the light of the fire, Kennedy could see the slayer was completely drenched in water.

Faith ran right at the demon and tackled it to the ground. She quickly got up and stood above the demon. "Come on you cosmic piece of shit!" she shouted at it.

The creature scrambled to get up, and as it did, Faith headed for the burning building. The demon followed. Faith got to the steps of the engulfed building, stopped and turned to the demon.

It kept pace with her but stopped as it neared the blinding flames. As with Buffy, the beast acted like it had an invisible barrier in front of it, keeping it from going further.

Faith started to wave her arms. "Come on! Come get me!" She held out her arm. "You know you want this nice flesh…I see it in your eyes, you drooling bastard…Stop being a pussy, and come kill me!"

The Moor D'naar demon could hold out no longer. As with all its kind before, its nature was too strong. The need to kill was more powerful than the need for survival.

"FAAAAAAAITH!" Kennedy and Buffy screamed together. Kennedy was running to help Faith when she saw the slayer and the demon fall into the blaze.

Both women instantly started to the stairs but the heat halted them. As they were starting to try again, they saw Faith leap out form the inferno. She tumbled down to the ground her clothes and hair on fire. Buffy and Kennedy ran to her and threw themselves on her to put out the flames. Each took a hand and dragged her away from the flames to safety.

Faith was on her back, every inch of her singed or burned. She didn't move for a few moments and then began to cough. Slowly, she opened her eyes and sat up on her elbows. "Christ, no need to yell. I'm crispy, not deaf."

There was a loud noise and the slayers put their view to the blazing building. Out of the doorway came the demon, encased in a shroud of white hot fire. Its yellow eyes still glowed, but the color was changing. It was deepening. The thing fell and rolled down the steps onto the concrete ground. It was thrashing and kicking. Finally, it spewed a large piece of yellow phlegm from its mouth and its deep golden eyes burst into a thousand specks of fluorescent light. The fire engulfing the creature ended as if it had been put out with an extinguisher.

In a blink of the eye, the Moor D'naar demon was dead and gone. Nothing remained but a puddle of yellow ooze.

The slayers watched the death of the demon unfold. They didn't move their attention for some time after the creature's demise. To any other observer, it appeared as if they were gazing at the fire.

Finally, Kennedy broke the silence. Glancing down at Faith, "Come on you cosmic piece of shit?…I thought you said that was lame?"

Before Faith had a chance to laugh, Kennedy's cell phone rang. Buffy and Faith looked at Kennedy like she'd been caught getting a call at a movie theater during a crucial part in the story line.

Kennedy took the phone from her pocket. She knew the ring tone. "It's Will." The slayer answered. "Hey, babe." She didn't speak further but listened to her wife. After a few moments, she said calmly, "I'll tell them." She turned to her sister slayers and said matter-of-factly, "Willow says we can kill the demon with fire."

Kennedy started laughing. "Thanks for the advice…but we found that out the hard way."

The call with Willow was over quickly after Kennedy informed her that the demon was dead and all the slayers were alive. Kennedy told her wife she'd call as soon as they got out of there and got Faith some medical attention. Of course, a hospital was out of the question. Buffy and Kennedy had blood stains and cuts that were still serious. If they walked into an emergency room with Faith, who looked like she was put through a furnace, the medical personnel would surely have called the authorities in addition to asking too many questions. Kennedy insisted though that Faith see someone. "My leg's healing up already but we need to make sure your lungs aren't scorched." Finally, Faith acquiesced and told them they could go to a shaman she knew who would help and not notify the police.

As they walked away from the scene, they heard the sirens of fire trucks in the background. Buffy joked, "Here comes the cavalry…too late as usual."

Kennedy deep down knew she had never really left. As much as Faith tried to convince herself otherwise, she was a slayer…heart and soul. That was her nature.

The first few hours after killing the Moor D'naar demon went by quickly. The slayers arrived at the house of the shaman Faith knew and she examined not only Faith but Buffy and Kennedy too to make sure their injuries were not life threatening. Buffy's leg was indeed broken and she was fitted with a soft cast. Because of her slayer healing, she would only have to wear it for a few days. Her head wound did not cause serious damage except for the concussion that knocked her out during the fight. Kennedy told her that the demon must not have hit her with its full force because of her yelling at it. Buffy understood that Kennedy's scream most likely saved her life.

The healer told the slayers that Faith was smart to soak herself down with water. That wet coating was just enough to keep her skin from crisping up like bacon in the tremendous heat of the blaze. Faith stated that she thought of the idea after remembering seeing a news story of firefighters soaking down houses during California wildfires. After some antiseptic cleansing and bandages, the women were ready leave.

Awkwardness set in on the way back to Faith's apartment. It was during the walk home that the slayers were able to let the events of the night sink in. Their discussion of the demon battle soon crept into talk about earlier happenings. Somewhere in that timeframe, the words uttered and actions taken by Faith came to the forefront. Buffy became noticeably quiet and she didn't even speak for stretches at a time. No one mentioned the fight between the two older slayers nor the vicious remarks made by each.

By the time they reached the apartment, an invisible wall seemed to be erected between Faith and Buffy. Whatever camaraderie blossomed during the demon confrontation had extinguished like a stepped-on lit cigarette.

Kennedy was as aware of the mood as were Buffy and Faith. What she found interesting was that she held no animosity towards Faith. Some of the older slayer's comments still stung a bit but she couldn't stay mad at her friend. She had hoped that Buffy would be able to do the same. However, she knew that Faith had been much more horrible to Buffy than she was to her. Given the history of the two women, Kennedy couldn't really say she was surprised by their distance to each other. Kennedy concluded that this was something that would have to be worked out by Faith and Buffy alone. Though she didn't want to see her friends act that way, Kennedy wasn't about to get in the middle again and potentially get the wrath from both.

Once inside the apartment, the three women didn't even bother to undress. Exhaustion had set in and none wanted to start any type of a discussion. Buffy muttered "good night" and hobbled into the spare bedroom. Kennedy sat on the couch and tried to relax. She saw Faith looking at her image in a mirror in the living room.

"No more trade mark long hair for a while, huh Faith?" Kennedy was viewing the new style given to the slayer by the fire.

Faith raked her fingers through the still ash filled and scorched hair. Mumbling, "Mick woulda hated this."

Kennedy cleared her throat. "Faith?" She waited for the slayer to stop and turn to face her. "Thanks for saving my life."

Faith was silent for a second. "Just returning the favor, K." She walked into her room and closed the door.

The next day, Buffy went back to Cleveland. She gave the excuse of having to inform Giles about Faith being fine and the specifics of the Moor D'naar demon. But everyone knew that she wanted to put some space between her and Faith. The two women weren't starting at square one trying to rebuild their friendship but it wasn't that much farther away.

As Buffy stood by the front door, waiting for the sound of her taxi's car horn to let her know it was ready to take her to the airport, Faith walked over to her.

With complete honesty, "B…I don't know how…I mean, I shouldn't have…" The slayer didn't know how to apologize for her behavior.

Buffy stopped her. "I'm glad you're back, Faith." She sincerely meant that. Buffy knew that Faith was one of the best slayers they had. She also now knew that Faith would never lose her way in that regard again. As sure as she was of that, Buffy still had doubts as to where their friendship would end up.

Once Buffy left, Kennedy called Willow and talked to her for several minutes while Faith was watching tv. She had called the witch the night before after faith and Buffy went to bed. Her call this time was to confirm their earlier conversation and to update the witch on Buffy's departure.

After she finished, Kennedy went and sat on the couch to join Faith in watching the television.

Kennedy wanted to stay and help Faith through the next few days. She wanted to give her the support that always seemed to have eluded the older slayer. But part of her desire to stay was based on her gratefulness for having been saved once again by Faith. This was the second time that her friend had carried her out of the path of sure death. The first was when Faith carried her away from the angry Trudeiro clan when Kennedy almost died to save Willow. She never would have made it out of the woods that night on her broken ankle if it hadn't been for Faith. Last night, the slayer again took her by the arm and led her to safety. Kennedy wanted to be with Faith to build a stronger bond between them. Her calls to Willow had been about that very thing. Kennedy had made sure that Willow understood and agreed with her need. "Baby, you take however long you and Faith need. So long as I know you're ok, I can handle not seeing you for a few more days." Kennedy also called Lee, her slayer partner in Middleton, to make sure all was running well if an extended stay would bother the slayer. "Heck no, Kennedy. I can handle things."

Kennedy and Faith spent the time talking and regaining their strength. Kennedy got a call from Buffy and was told that Giles wasn't as clueless as they thought. "When I came clean to him, he just smirked…like a cat that ate a canary." Buffy explained that Giles had not been fooled by the blonde's vague comments about Faith in their previous telephone discussions. He had known that Faith was missing. He also had finally got word that the anonymous caller was Faith. Unknown to the slayers was the fact that any call to the Council, at any location in the world, was recorded. It had taken some time, but the recordings were analyzed for voice recognition. Giles had thought that the voice pattern might identify a demon snitch. When he was told it was Faith, he knew something was terribly wrong. However, he told Buffy, "When you told me about Faith, I knew you were holding something back. I could hear it in your tone. But after all these years, I trusted that you had good reason not to tell me. I knew you and Kennedy would do what was best for Faith and the Council."

The two brunettes also had other discussions. They talked openly about their relationships. Kennedy shared her hard times and how she grew out of her emotionally stunted ways. Faith told her how she just let Miguel without even trying to call him. "I was so relieved and pissed at the same time. It was easier for me to say he was the asshole for picking up and leaving…for giving up. But I'm just as bad."

Kennedy was surprised. "You're telling me you never called him…never thought about getting on a plane to Sao Paulo?" Faith shook her head in shame. Kennedy chuckled lightly, "Holy shit. You are way more pathetic than I am in the relationship department…Both of you really."

Faith hung her head down. "I know. At least you smartened up enough so you didn't lose Willow."

With that sentence, Kennedy knew Faith missed Miguel terribly, still loved him deeply. That was a pain that would take a long time to heal.

Kennedy had been with Faith for several. By that time, their bodies had healed from the battle with the Moor D'naar demon. They went on runs and training sessions. They even patrolled. They had talked to Giles and given him and Willow as much information they could on the demon.

Kennedy called Willow several times a day and talked to her daughter just as often. There was a big part of Kennedy that truly missed them and wanted to rush right home. But she didn't want to leave Faith until she knew in her gut that the older slayer had a firm grip on her 'new' life. Though Faith had been alone for most of her life, the time with Miguel had changed her. She had become used to the presence of another person. She was accustomed to being his partner, in life and work. With all the turmoil Faith had been through, Kennedy wanted to make sure that she could get through a lonely night without trying to fill the void with pills or booze or some incidental one night stand.

It was late morning and they were getting ready to head downtown to meet Faith's cop friend, Ron, to thank him for his help.

Both slayers stopped what they were doing immediately and eyed the door. No one ever came to the apartment that wasn't invited. Only a tight circle of slayers and Council members even knew where she lived. Neither slayer moved for quite some time. They heard more noise and then the door opened.

There stood Miguel. The two suitcases he left with were resting on the floor beside him.

Kennedy stared at Miguel briefly and then shifted her view to see Faith's reaction. Her brown eyes were staring as intently on him. A small smile crept to the corner of Kennedy's mouth.

Kennedy turned off the headlights to the rental as she drove into her driveway. She stopped the car as soon as it got out of the street. The slayer studied her house. It was night. She had watched the sun go down as she drove from the airport. The only light on in the house was in the living room. She knew Willow had to be sitting in her chair reading. Kennedy got a warm and content feeling. She was home.

The slayer had driven non-stop from New York to her house. After Miguel returned, Kennedy knew it was time to leave. She didn't know how things would turn out for Miguel and Faith but she was certain they needed to deal with each other without her around. She was going to take a flight back bur decided not to put her faith in air travel. She wanted to be home and didn't trust the airlines to have an on time departure.

So she rented a car and started driving. At first she was going to call Willow to let her know. Then Kennedy got the romantic notion to surprise her wife. She was now sitting in the car in her driveway, a mere several hundred feet away from the life she'd missed so much.

Kennedy got her cell phone and punched the speed dial number, "1", for her home phone. She waited and saw a shadow go across the living room bay window. She knew it was Willow getting up to answer the phone.

"Weird…but good, I think. Anyway, I felt like a third wheel real fast, so I packed my things and left them alone."

Kennedy sat there almost giggling until she saw Willow walk up to the window with the cordless phone still to her ear. As soon as she was sure the redhead was looking outside, she flicked the headlights on and off.

Willow quickly left the window and moments later the door opened with the witch sprinting out of it.

Kennedy shut off the car's engine and bolted out of it, right into the witch's outspread arms.

Willow eventually looked at her slayer and gave her a fake grimace. "You stinker. I can't believe you didn't call. Sam is going to be so happy you're home. She missed you so much. She's in bed already but she'll be so happy to see you tomorrow morning…How long did it take you?…Did you fly?…"

Kennedy listened to her witch babble. It was music to her. Kennedy didn't realize how much she missed listening to Willow, feeling her arms around her. It had been a difficult and, at times, debilitating time away from her family. She had once again faced death and somehow come out alive. Holding Willow now, Kennedy felt like she never wanted to let go. The whole impact of the experience hit her.

Holding tightly to Willow, "I'll answer every question tomorrow. But for right now, I just want to go into our house, kiss our daughter and snuggle with you in bed."

Willow leaned back from the embraced and saw the serious look. Understanding that there was more to her slayer's trip yet to be told, the redhead caressed her slayer's cheek.

"Sure, baby. We've got plenty of time to talk. Let's get you inside." She led Kennedy by the hand up to the porch and inside, closing the door behind her.

The instant the door closed, Kennedy's harrowing few weeks melted away. She was home now. Back with her loved ones, the people who mattered more to her than her own life. Witnessing Willow dote over her as they walked upstairs brought on the calm that always engulfed the slayer after a big fight. It was a serenity created by the tender ways of her redhead. It made Kennedy feel safe and protected even though she possessed the strength of a slayer. Willow's actions were an emotional safe-house for Kennedy; it had nothing to do with her slayer abilities.

The witch and slayer softly and quietly walked into Samantha's room. Kennedy stared at her daughter sleeping, so soundly, so innocently. In that moment, the slayer felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for Daniel Van Gorsen; not for the beast that he had become, but for the teenager who never knew that his life was not his own. Imagining Samantha undergoing such an event made Kennedy almost thankful that Daniel's mother was not alive. She would not be able to bear seeing her own flesh turn evil; she doubted the devout Mennonite who bore Daniel could have also.

Kennedy felt a light touch on her shoulder and came out of her thoughts. She turned her head and saw Willow's hand gently caressing her. She knew her redhead saw the weightiness to her stare. Kennedy let her concerns go. Samantha wasn't on the firing line to evil; she was snug in her bed, looked upon by her two dedicated mothers. No bad would come to the child that night.

Kennedy placed her hand on top her wife's and led them both out of their child's room. The door was gingerly closed. Kennedy looked at her wife and smiled.

Willow led Kennedy into their bedroom. She closed the door and took her slayer into a strong embrace. The couple remained that way for some time. The contact was all that was needed to communicate their relief that they were together again.

Kennedy's gratefulness to be back in her witch's arms soon took a more physical turn. She wanted to be close to Willow, to hold her, to feel her heartbeat. It wasn't a sexual reaction per se. She just needed to touch Willow, to know that her life was real and hadn't almost ended at the hands of a Moor D'naar demon.

"Let's go to bed." It seemed as if Willow had been in her head. But she hadn't. Her witch just knew her that well.

Kennedy didn't say a word. She didn't have to. The women quietly got undressed and slipped under the bed covers. There was no conversation, no tv or other distraction. Willow turned off the light and took her slayer in her arms.

For Kennedy, for that night, there were no more concerns for Faith and Miguel. She somehow knew they would get past this. She let the Moor D'naar demon and the tragedy that befell Daniel Van Gorsen leave her thoughts. All she concentrated on was being home again, being with Willow. For part of the night she was soothed by Willow's loving arms holding her.

But as the hours wore on, Kennedy's need 'of' Willow became a need 'for' Willow. Feeling the witch's soft skin on her cheek and the slight fragrance in her hair brought about a deep desire. The time without 'being' with her redhead came crushing down. Kennedy felt it start in the pit of her stomach and it quickly flowered to between her legs. Before long, the brunette began to show Willow just how much she was missed. There would be no psychic connection that night. It was pure physical contact.

And it was returned with as much fervor by Willow. She too was kidnapped by her physical need to make love with Kennedy. That act brought the reality of having her wife home safe and sound to her as much as any embrace. Willow's desire was fueled by the yet unspoken knowledge of how close she came to losing her slayer. Willow needed the moans and groping hands to prove that she still had her wife, that they had side-stepped death once again.

Each woman's emotional trepidation would be squelched the moment they arrived at their release together. Clinging to each other, inside each other, Willow and Kennedy gasped for breath as the tremors ran through their bodies. The slayer burrowed her head in Willow's neck. She felt the pounding of her wife's heart. She was home.

For those few hours, Kennedy was at peace. Though she knew she would face harrowing times in the future, too near in the future of that she was certain, those precious hours let her again know she was more than just a slayer. Every time she relearned that fact, Kennedy realized that she would never feel like she was trying to be someone she wasn't. She would never feel as if she was being forced to do anything against her true nature.

That night, in the sanctity of Willow's arms, Kennedy Prescott knew her place in the world.

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Scorpion Veil

by LilBit

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