Simple Choices
by rebelrsr
Chapter 26
[reviews]
Disclaimer: All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and lots of people in expensive suits. I'm not making any money here, just trying to create a happier Buffyverse for my favorite characters.
Spoilers: General spoilers for S5, starting with "The I in Team." Eh, who am I kidding? This is really AU now.
A/N: Thanks to Ivy for pre-reading and Zigpal and Lilly for the beta. There would be no writing without you guys.
"Can you say Faith and control in the same sentence?" Buffy asked, food forgotten. "Are you sure we can't do this with just me?" No way was she turning Faith — and her Slayer — loose.
"It is possible," Giles answered, crossing the room and sitting next to Buffy. "However, Faith is very much our secret weapon. As far as we know, Adam doesn't know she exists. I don't think we can afford to leave her behind."
Absently taking a bite of her now-cold eggs, Buffy thought about that. She trusted Faith — didn't she? Her right leg began to bounce. A thin hand moved to grip her thigh, slowing the frenetic motion. "Faith was able to control her Slayer, a little anyway, at Willie's," she finally admitted grudgingly. "Could you help her during the fight, Giles? I mean, you were her Watcher for a while."
"No." Giles sounded certain. He cleared his throat, fidgeting slightly. "That kind of assistance requires...shall we say, a much deeper connection than Faith and I ever shared."
"You mean-" Willow broke off, eyes wide. At Giles nod, she mumbled, "We're in so much trouble."
Leaning against Willow, Buffy considered that. "Yes and no." She pushed her plate out of the way. "Faith already knows how to establish some control over her Slayer. That means we may not need a permanent pairing." She looked up at Willow and Giles. "We find a willing and able bed partner, show them the bed, and close the door. Once Adam's out of the way, she and whoever can go their separate ways."
"Buffy, that's...that's cold," Willow complained. "Faith may be more open about her exploits, but you're acting like her pimp, not her friend or her sister Slayer."
Buffy grimaced. "Better her pimp than her jailor — or worse." Taking Willow's hand, she tried to explain, to rationalize. "We need her. Or, we think we do. You didn't feel what I did, Will. If we turn on her Slayer, and she can't keep control, Adam will be the least of our worries."
"I can do it," Tara's quiet voice interrupted.
Buffy spun in her chair. Tara huddled in shadows at the far end of the narrow kitchen. "Tara, no. I wasn't talking about you." No way. Tara and Faith? Just the thought of the shy witch paired with the so non-shy Faith had her stomach roiling.
Smiling crookedly, Tara walked forward and leaned against the island. "Buffy, I already have a con-connection with Faith."
Not really sure how to respond, Buffy muttered a quiet, "Um, OK." Had she missed something? She looked at Willow and got a tiny, rapid headshake in response.
Tara must have noticed the exchange. "I d-didn't sl-sleep with her," she stuttered. "I was in her he-head, remember?"
"Oh, right." Buffy blushed. "That part's still a little fuzzy." She looked at Giles. "Would that be enough? 'Cause if it's not, maybe Xander could do it. He and Faith have already...ah, connected." She felt Willow stiffen at that and held back a sigh. Damn it. This was opening a lot of old wounds.
"I said I'd do it." Buffy's eyebrows rose at Tara's brusque and confident statement. "Think about it," Tara continued, "if Faith starts to lose control, what is Xander going to do? Grab her arm? Tackle her? Beg her to stop?"
Suddenly very tired, Buffy bowed her head. Why did everyone always ask her the hard questions? She was a Slayer, not a military commander. She killed things. Period.
Willow sat forward abruptly. She was flushed, animated. "You think it's more than having sex, don't you?" she snapped at Tara.
Sensing more troubling news, Buffy rested her elbows on her knees and rubbed her hands over her face, waiting for Tara's response.
"Maybe," Tara said softly. "Slayers are mystical entities — magical creations, bound to a human form. Buffy and Faith, at least, seem to operate as separate entities from their Slayers. What if that wasn't always the case? What if, when the Slayer Line was created, the Slayer and human parts were closer together? How would you control that?"
Buffy dropped her hands. "Isn't that what the Council was supposed to be for? Controlling and training Slayers?"
"Indirectly, Buffy." Giles sighed. "The Council, despite it's protestations, is a relatively new institution. Before it was organized, Slayers were sent out on their own. Simply pointed in the right direction and told to kill evil."
"You haven't answered my question," Tara reminded them. "How do you control a magical being?"
Raising her hand as if in class, Willow wiggled excitedly next to Buffy. She dropped her hand when the other three looked at her. "Sorry about that." She grinned, showing all her teeth. "Magic. You'd use magic to control the Slayer."
"Physical strength wouldn't be enough." Buffy sat up, mind racing. "When we were at Willie's, the Slayer saw Faith as a threat, a challenger. She responded to that with a physical challenge. Whatever they used to build us, Slayer's don't do magic — we are magic. Or, magical."
"Exactly. Pairing a Slayer with someone physically able to control them would be disaster. It would call up that primal response. They'd view their 'handler' as a challenger, someone to fight and dominate." Tara smiled shyly. "I'm no threat to Faith."
***
The small room grew silent. Booted footsteps sounded from the alley. Ready for action, Faith leaned forward slightly, letting her senses roam. Through the heavy metal door to their hiding place, she picked up bits of conversation.
"Anything?" a male voice barked.
"They were here, sir." Damn it.
Faith looked at Xander, whispering intently, "They know we came this way. Get ready." He scrambled to his feet, moving next to her. "Look around. See if I left any weapons in here."
She turned back to the group in the alley as Xander and Graham began hunting through the room. The footsteps were slower now. Closer, too. If the blind was discovered, they were trapped.
She sensed more than heard the bodies just outside the door. Hands scraped over the thick metal. "Xan!" Faith made a decision. "I don't think the whole platoon's outside. We're not sitting here until they find a way in."
When Xander started to object, Faith grabbed him by the shirt, lifting him until his feet barely touched the ground.
"Think about it with that soldier brain of yours. We can't fight in here. It's too tight, and there's no way out." Releasing him, she turned to a poised Graham. "Listen up, boys. Here's the plan. I lead us out. They may have guns, but they aren't expecting a Slayer. I'll have a little head start."
"Damn it, Faith." Xander sprang forward, voice low and angry. "They're human! Do you really want to kill another one?"
Flinching only a little, Faith ignored the bile burning her throat at the question. "It's the only way, Xan. And, if we're lucky, no one'll get hurt," she said as calmly as she could.
"She's right." Graham stood at quasi-attention. "They won't expect us to attack." He met Faith's eyes steadily. "What do you want us to do once the shooting starts?"
"Run for the house." She cleared her throat when her voice wavered slightly. "You have to get that file to Red and the gang. It might be the only way to beat Adam." Turning away, she took a deep breath and rolled her neck to loosen the tight muscles. One hand reached out, gripping the metal door handle. "Ready or not, boys, we're going."
Throwing the door open, Faith dove forward, tackling one of the armed men examining the alley. "Go!" she shouted to the two men behind her. She didn't have a chance to see if they'd followed her order.
Punching the Marine under her in the face, Faith held his body in front of her as a shield and rolled. In a move only a Slayer could perform, Faith planted her feet on the grimy asphalt and jackknifed erect, still holding her human armor. She moved so quickly the shouts of the rest of the group blurred crazily, a soundtrack on slow play. Faith tossed her bundle into two more men. They went down in a tangle of arms and legs.
There was no time to celebrate. Faith jumped to her right, kicking off the wall of the building there, and somersaulted over the heads of the three remaining Marines. The chase was on. Muscles straining, heart beat pounding in her ears, Faith ran. Now that she was no longer afraid of even accidentally killing one of the Marines, Faith called out to her Slayer. Starting with a slow trickle, the energy uncoiled inside. By the time the bullets began bouncing off the walls around her, Faith's body tingled and stretched from the power flooding through her. Her stride lengthened, and she pulled away from her hunters.
Xander and Graham were still vulnerable. Faith turned right out of the alley and slowed, ignoring the scream of her Slayer. She had to lead the Marines away from the safe house, give the boys time to get the information to Willow. Then she could lose her pursuers and go back there herself.
Ducking into a doorway, Faith peered behind her. Uniformed men scrambled out of the alley. Faith counted five. One of them must still be down. A tall black man looked up and down the street and spoke into a mic looped over his shoulder. Muscles twitching from the need to run, Faith waited. Another team joined the first.
Faith stepped out of her hidden location and began a slow jog down the street. She grinned humorlessly when a shout rang out behind her. Four blocks of listening to the dull pop of gunfire and the sharp snap of concrete exploding from the impact of bullets later, Faith gratefully entered the wooded area at the edge of town. They were on the opposite side of Sunnydale from the safe house. Letting the Slayer loose again, Faith widened the gap.