Faith loaded the tranquiliser gun and placed it next to the other weapons that were sprawled on the bed.
"God," she whispered.
Sam
Sam looked up, thinking nw would have been a great time for one of his visions.
"What?" he asked.
Faith
"Nothing," Faith replied softly, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Sam
"We'll find him," Sam insisted.
"And I'm not just saying that as a reassurance. It's what we were made to do."
Faith
Faith nodded and cleared her throat.
"I know."
She tucked a knife into her boot.
"It's just... I'm... a little... nevermind."
Sam
"Worried? Unsure?" Sam tried to help her out.
"Because I'm all those things too, and it's natural."
Faith
Faith gave a small smile, avoiding his eyes.
"Would it dimish your exceptionally high opinion of me if I admitted that I was actually scared?"
Sam
"Of couse not," Sam resisted the urge to give her a hug.
"You've got a lot riding on this."
Faith
"Yeah, if it doesn't go to plan, I might actually have to get a job to make money."
Faith decided being light hearted was better than breaking down and crying.
Sam
"Or you could just do what we- I do," Sam corrected himself.
"Not that it's very honest, but hey. We're both running from the law, right?"
Faith
"True."
Faith made a face.
"Or I could take up stripping. I was... unnervingly good at that."
Sam
"Yeah I saw..." Sam murmured, before realising what he'd said.
"I mean, in my dreams. Visions. Vision. I saw you... stripping, in a vision. Yeah. When I was on the trail of your... demon. Nevermind."
Faith
Faith looked over at him and a smile started to slowly spread over her face.
"Well... I suppose... you've seen it all now anyway."
Sam
"Yeah I guess I have," Sam cleared his throat, attempting to hide his blush.
"So. Angelus. Downtown?"
Faith
"Where everything's waiting for you," Faith quipped.
She loaded herself up with weapons.
Sam
Sam strapped his newly sharpened machete to his waist, hid a bottle of Holy water in his jacket, and added a couple of syringes of dead man's blood just in case he managed to get close enough at some point.
"Ready?" he backed over to the door and opened it for her.
Faith
"As I'll ever be."
Faith walked through the door and started in the direction of the exit.
Sam
Sam closed the door behind them and flanked her, staying close behind as they made their way to the exit.
He kept his eye on her the entire time, for moe than one obvious reason.
Faith
Wesley picked up his shotgun as he saw Faith and Sam approaching. He had to admit, they both looked pretty menacing.
He fell in line behind them.
Connor stood up to follow, but at a look from Faith, he sat back down.
Sam
"Lets do this," Sam said as they exited the main doors.
"So he's impervious to sunlight now right? What else?"
Faith
"Staking," Wesley said, scanning the city.
"Still," Faith replied, stopping for a moment. "If it's not challenging, it's not as much fun."
She continued on, down the main steps.
Sam
"That's true," Sam smirked.
He stepped down onto the sidewalk and began down the street.
"So seeing as I know absolutely nothing about him, where would he be most likely to go? Dark corners or the nearest buffet?"
Faith
Wesley looked at Sam and then at Faith.
"The docks," Faith said. "That old warehouse there. Seems like this sort of thing. Plus... I can sorta feel it in my head."
Wesley nodded. "He's biding his time. Waiting for us to come to him. Angelus... he targets the people closest to Angel. And right now, that's - "
"Little old me." Faith started in the direction of the docks. "Gotta love being bait."
Sam
"Great," Sam nodded to himself.
"So you go in and we take the other exits?"
Faith and Angelus
"Yep, and then we play."
~*~*~*~
Faith walked slowly, a knife in her hand, then ducked suddenly as a bolt from a crossbow went flying in her direction.
"Oooh, a swing and a miss, Faithy!" Angelus's voice rang out through the warehouse. "Can you see me?"
"Not going to come out and play face to face? Takes the fun out of it, don't you think?" she asked, looking around.
Wesley came running at him from behind, tackling him off the higher platform. They both landed on the ground, hard.
Angelus jumped up and grabbed Wesley, punching him hard and taking the shotgun from him. He threw Wesley against a large wooden crate and it splintered, Wesley slumping down slightly.
"Gotta do better than that, Wes. Come on, I'll give you one more, strike three," Angelus grinned, then turned back to Faith. "I can see why he likes this thing. Wow."
He pointed the gun in Faith's face.
"You really have gone soft now, haven't you? Hey, you remember that time you tried to get Angel to kill you because you felt all weepy over being such a bad little girl. Huh? Do you still feel that way? Do you still wanna die?"
Faith grabbed the gun and angled it up, smacking him in the face.
"Nope."
Sam
Sam remained watching from the sidelines, biding his time. If the vampire didn't know he was there, he had less reason to be involved.
He scoped out the layout of the building, working out how to barricade the four of them in without being noticed.
Angelus and Faith
Angelus grinned slightly. "You brought the new toy, didn't you?"
Faith punched him, and he followed by kicking her in the stomach.
"Looks like we got a live one. For now. A little tired, sweetie? You wanna take a break? Now, this is disappointing. You never used to bleed so easy." Angelus threw her back.
"Screw you," Faith spat.
"Maybe after," Angelus grinned. "Oh wait, we played that game before, didn't we? Hey Wes! How's it goin' in there? Good old Wes. Always count on him to tackle a bad situation and make it worse. I mean, hey, look how you turned out. But then again, I guess he really didn't have much to work with now."
Faith lunged at him and the two exchanged more punches and kicks.
"Save the head trip, GQ. Wes told me you'd try to get under my skin. Gave me just what I need to scratch you out."
Angelus laughed. "Oh ho. Don't tell me. The rousing stiff upper lip speech. Rah rah. Good over evil. Do what must be done. Hang in there, kitten, it's almost Friday. Is that what the scraggly little ponce armed you with to fight the big, bad boogey man? "
"Yeah," Faith said, pulling out a knife. "And this."
She hurled the knife at him, and it embedded in his chest. Angelus winced and pulled it out.
"That hurt, baby. Kinda liked it." He chuckled. "How 'bout you? There's my girl. I knew she was in there somewhere dying to come out and play again."
"Shut up," Faith said, roundhouse kicking him.
"I know how it feels—forced to be someone you're not. Hurts to the bone. You try to bury the pain, but you can't get the hole deep enough, can you? No matter how much you dig, it's still there. Broken shards stabbing every time you breathe, cutting you up inside. You know, there's only one way to make the pain stop. Hurt someone else." Angelus grabbed her by the hair and smashed her face against a wall.
"You know what? You still mouth off about things you don't even understand." Faith kicked backwards and rolled out of his grasp.
"Come on, Faith, you're not even trying. Or is that why you really came back, huh? Not enough to punish yourself in prison? Is that it? Still looking for someone to help beat the bad out of you? You know what the funny part is, darling? I could beat you death, and it wouldn't make a difference. Nothing will ever change who you are, Faith. You're a murderer, an animal, and you enjoy it. Just like me!"
Enraged, Faith charged at him, pushing him down and straddling his waist, punching him repeatedly.
"You're wrong. I'm nothing like you."
Angelus slipped into game face and kicked her off him. "No? You will be."
Sam
"She puts down animals like you. That's her job. And she's not the only one that enjoys it," Sam spoke up finally, having ducked around and sealed the perimeter already.
He stood about twenty feet away, machete in hand glinting in the light.
Angelus and Faith
"Flavour of the week speaks!" Angelus laughed. "Tell me, Sam, does it feel good, nailing your brother's leftovers?"
Faith kicked him hard in the face, and went to do it again, before Angelus caught her leg and flipped her over.
"No really," he said, kicking her in the stomach. "Stay down."
Sam
"Like you wouldn't," Sam stepped closer.
"Admit it. You're like a filthy little pack rabbit just wanting to get laid. Does it hurt to know someone else is getting the action?"
Angelus and Faith
"Actually," Angelus said, kicking Faith again. "Did that one. Wasn't very good."
Faith coughed up some blood.
"Oh honey, don't pike out on me now, you've gotta live to see the big finish!"
He turned back to Sam.
"Come on Sam, take your best shot. Or is there more to you? Filled with demon blood, right? Come on, don't you just want to taste the dark side?"
Sam
Sam took hold of Angelus with his telekinesis, lifting him two feet from the floor as he walked closer.
"I had a taste. Didn't like it very much," his eyes narrowed, readying his machete.
Angelus and Faith
"Tricky," Angelus grinned. "Surprising you don't like it, me? Love the ride."
Wesley reached for the gun and shot Angelus, a tiny dart poking out of his back.
Faith managed to sit up, holding her stomach.
"You ok?" Wesley asked the pair.
"Five by five," she replied, then slumped over again.
Sam
Sam waited until Angelus was out, then dropped him to the ground rather suddenly.
He then collapsed himself, no realising until he'd let go how hard it had been to hold up something of Angelus' mass.
Faith and Angelus
Wesley looked between the trio on the ground.
"Sam?" he asked tentatively. "I can carry Angelus back, but if you could get Faith? I know you must be quite worn out..."
~*~*~*~
"What is this?" Angelus asked, kicking a trashcan.
"Hmmm, leftover side effects," Faith said, looking around. "From my incredibly simple ruse."
"So what, we throw down again?" Angelus charged at her and went right through her.
Faith laughed. "Guess not, baby. Way I figure, I got one last job. Baby-sit the psycho while they shove a soul up your - "
"Not gonna happen," Angelus replied smugly.
"Then I'm, whatever. Dust in the wind. Candle in the wind." Faith pointed. "There will be a general wind theme. And it'll all be worth it."
"Thought those suicidal tendencies got squashed in the big enlightenment," Angelus replied. "And being worth it? Is that what you tell yourself? Is that the nastly little lie that kept those thighs nice and warm in your prison bunk?"
"You kiss your mama with that mouth?" Faith asked.
"No, but I ate her with it," Angelus answered. "And now for a poem. Faith goes gently into that good night. You're fading fast, baby. I can feel it."
"All the same," Faith said. "I hear this holler in the distance."
~*~*~*~
Wesley bound Angelus's hands and feet with rope.
~*~*~*~
"Tells me you're about to get what's coming to you," Faith told him.
Sam
"Sorry," Sam said as he sat up, cringing.
"Probably not just yet..."
Gunn, Angelus and Faith
"It's ok," Wesley reassured him, before taking out his cell phone.
"You got him?" Gunn asked immediately.
"Yeah," Wesley replied. "I need you to bring a car."
He rattled off the details, while keeping an eye on Angelus.
~*~*~*~
"This is the big plan?" Angelus scoffed. "Please."
"Yeah, well, don't see you being able to stop it, with you being all... you know, unconscious," Faith replied.
"What if I wake up, Faithy? You think I can't take the two of those boys out?"
"Pretty much."
Sam
Sam lay back on the ground again and covered his eyes with his hands, waiting for his head to stop throbbing with pain.
He didn't even remember the visions being this bad. But maybe they were.
Wesley
Wesley knelt down beside Faith and lay her head against his arm.
"I'm sorry, I wish I had an aspirin or something for you..."
Sam
"It's ok," Sam insisted.
He waited a moment loger, then sat up again.
"I'm just glad you stopped me in time. Thanks."
Gunn, Faith and Angelus
"It's ok," Wesley replied. "He does... push buttons."
He jumped slightly as his phone rang, signalling that Gunn had arrived.
"You're outside? Ok. Ok."
Wesley hung up.
"He's coming in."
~*~*~*~
"Uh oh," Faith grinned. "Cavalry is here."
"Please," Angelus dismissed. "What are you going to do?"
Sam
"Cool," Sam nodded.
"And don't worry. 'Angelus' is tame compared to some demons we've messed with."
He finally managed to pull himself to his feet and stagger over to where Faith lay.
Sam
"Need any help?" Sam offered, even though he was barely standing straight.
Gunn, Angelus and Faith
Gunn shook his head and started dragging Angelus out of the warehouse.
"I can take her," Wesley told Sam, lifting the still unconscious Faith into his arms.
Her head fell back lifelessly.
Sam
"Great. Ok," Sam nodded to himself, following them out.