Gunn dragged Angelus's body into the cage and secured him with leg irons and then wrist irons. He closed the door and locked it, standing guard.
~*~*~*~
Wesley walked through the doors, Faith in his arms. He head for the stairs to take her upstairs to her room.
"Is she ok?" Fred asked, looking up from her preparations.
"She should be. She heals quickly," Wesley answered, not pausing in his stride.
~*~*~*~
"Here," Lorne said, helping Wesley set Faith down onto her bed. He ran a hand over her cheek gently. "What happened to her?"
Wesley lay a blanket over her. "Angelus happened. She'll be ok, my guess is she'll wake up with a bit of a headache, but otherwise..."
Sam
Sam had gone to hunt down some painkillers. Once he'd found some and taken a few, he made his way back to Faith's quarters.
He slunk into her room, watching from behind everyone else as she lay motionless.
Angelus, Faith and Lorne
Angelus groaned, kicking the air in frustration. "Why am I stuck here with you?"
"Suck it up, princess," Faith replied, folding her arms over her chest.
"Don't get why you get to be all Marley's ghost."
"Coz I'm dying, dumbass," she replied.
"Not fast enough."
Faith rolled her eyes, then grinned at the new arrival. "Angel. Good to see you."
Angelus turned and groaned. "Oh great, soul boy is here."
"Faith, why are you still here?" Angel asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.
"Just waiting to see this pervert get stuffed back into the deep, crazy ground he came from," she replied.
"Then what? After that, what happens?" Angel questioned.
Angelus kicked Faith, and she was knocked onto the ground. "Probably something like that. I had a feeling the rules had changed."
~*~*~*~
Faith gasped, a gash appearing on her left cheek where Angelus had kicked her.
Lorne looked at Wesley. "What the...?"
"I'm not sure..." Wesley watched for a moment. "I should... I should go help Fred get ready."
Sam
A look of shock instantly crossed Sam's face, and he ducked around them to kneel at Faith's side.
"What's happening to her?" he demanded, looking up and between them, "why is this happening to her?!"
Faith, Lorne, Angelus and Angel
Faith smiled slightly, as if she was aware Sam was close by.
Lorne rubbed the bridge of his nose. "My guess is that this is a side effect from Orpheus. It's the reason a link remains between Faith's mind and Angel's. They must be stuck together on the astral plane."
"Sam," she mumbled.
~*~*~*~
"She's not who you're after," Angel said.
"No kidding, soul boy. The Slayer will just be gravy once I finish you off," Angelus grinned.
"I've been waiting a long time for this," they said in unison, before breaking out into a fight.
"Faith! Get up! Are you listening?" Angel asked, ducking a punch from Angelus.
Faith coughed. "Angel, I'm dying."
"Yeah, and it's a lot easier than redemption, huh?" he asked, kicking Angelus.
"Always so concerned with the human condition. It's no big mystery, man. They suffer, they die. That's what they're there for," Angelus cut in.
"I'm not perfect, Faith. Even with a soul, I've done things I wished one thousand times I could take back," Angel continued.
"Yeah, like those Manilow concerts, son of a bitch!" Angelus punched Angel hard.
"Faith, wake up!" Angel tried again.
Faith's eyes fluttered. "I've rolled the bones. You for me."
"I used to think that. That there'd be a point when I'd paid my dues," Angel told her.
"Anybody notice a battle with your alter-ego going on here?!" Angelus shouted.
"Faith, listen to me!" Angel yelled, rolling out of the way of Angelus.
"I did my time," Faith replied.
"Our time is never up, Faith. We pay for everything."
"It hurts."
"I know." Angel let out a cry as he was thrown a few metres away. "Get up! You have to get up now. Faith, you have to fight. You have to go back. For Sam. Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Sam."
"What won't I miss?" Angelus asked, kicking Angel in the ribs. "The moralizing. Soul's already in the ether, boyo. I can smell it. How about I send it to the big, puppy rescue in the sky?"
Sam
At the sound of his name, Sam took her hand in his.
"How do we fix it?" Sam demanded, voice hardening as he kept his eyes on her face.
Lorne, Faith and Angelus
Lorne paused, trying to think of a way to word this that wouldn't end in his decapitation. Although, that wouldn't kill him. Unless Sam knew that he would have to destroy the rest of his body.
"I'm not sure it can be fixed, sweetcake," he said finally, his tone gentle. "The problem with Orpheus is that it isn't entirely physical. It's an enchanted drug."
Faith twisted slightly, squeezing Sam's hand. "Have to. Go back. Sam."
Lorne's eyes were sad as he watched her. "It leads you down to hell. And it leaves you there."
~*~*~*~
Connor threw open the door and walked down the stairs. He punched Gunn in the face, knocking him out, then unlocked the cage, a stake in his hand.
"Need you to fight," Angelus said.
"Yeah, I'm pretty clear on what you need."
~*~*~*~
Fred looked at Wesley and nodded.
"Quod perditum est invenietur..." Wesley read.
"Nisi mort. Nisi al finitei. Te invoc, spirit al trecerii..." Fred recited.
"Te implor doamne. Nu ignora accasta rugaminte lasa orbita sa fie vasul care-i va transporta sufletul la el," Wesley continued. "Este scris aceasta putere este dreptul poporuil meu de a conduce. Asa sa fie, acum."
Sam
"Yet apparently people come back from there all the time, so there's going to be a way," Sam said forcefully, squeezing Faith's hand.
Lorne, Faith, Angelus and Angel
Lorne ran his hand over Faith's hair, ghosting against her neck.
Faith turned her head away from him and in the direction of Sam. She writhed on the bed, a tear seeping out from under her eyelid.
~*~*~*~
Angelus grinned and licked his lips as Faith stood up. He grabbed her and brought his knee up to her face.
"Faith!" Angel shouted. "What did I tell you?"
~*~*~*~
Faith's head jerked back and a welt started to appear on her chin.
"That Sam was waiting," she mumbled.
Sam
Sam cringed as he watched the welt appear, fighting the urge to stand and leave. To go to Welsey's office and find anything he could use...
One of Faith's weights in the corner suddnely flew out the window, and Sam barely even flinched.
Lorne, Faith, Angelus and Angel
Lorne stared in disbelief. "Um... ok, I didn't imagine that, did I?"
He looked between Sam and the window.
~*~*~*~
"Arf arf, psycho," Faith said, standing behind Angelus.
Angelus turned and grinned. "Faith, getting back in the game."
"I guess I am," she replied.
Angelus made move to kick her, but she promptly disappeared. "HEY!"
~*~*~*~
Faith's eyes shot open and she got up, jumping off the bed and ran out of the room. She jumped from the level above down into the lobby, then headed for the basement entrance and threw open the door.
Lorne watched in shock, then ran after her.
Connor raised his arm to stake Angel and Faith grabbed his wrist, stopping him.
"Break me off a switch, son." She threw him against the wall of the cage. "There's about to be a whoopin."
Sam
Sam watched after Lorne, standing up solemnly.
He walked at a normal pace, following the leaders. When he came to the basement, he decided to stand back and watch.
Faith, Lorne and Angel
Faith albowed Connor in the face, throwing him off balance before kicking him out of the cage. She jumped up and grabbed the bars above the doorway and kicked him again before dropping to the ground and walking after him.
"She's alive! It's a miracle!" Lorne exclaimed to Wesley and Fred, who were watching on.
Connor pushed Faith back and she backhanded him, then kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back against the side of the cage.
Angel stood up and grabbed the back of Connor's neck.
"Connor, it's ok. It's me. Really."
Connor was breathing heavily, blood dripping from his nose.
Sam
"That was quick," Sam muttered.
Gunn, Faith, Angel and Lorne
"Ugh, my head," Gunn interrupted suddenly, sitting up.
"Charles!" Fred exclaimed, going to help him up.
Gunn glared at Connor.
Faith touched her cheek gingerly, then looked up at Angel. "You wanna give us a rousing rendition of Mandy?"
Angel looked confused.
"So Lorne can read you," she went on.
"Oh um... I remember all my life, raining down as cold as - "
"It's him!" Lorne announced. "Please, stop him."
Faith grinned, then went into the cage to unlock the chains.
"Still think we should've killed him," Connor muttered.
"You want another beating, kid?" Faith asked. "Coz I could go again, if you're offering..."
Sam
"Faith, you cool?" Sam called out.
Faith and Lorne
Faith turned around at the sound of Sam's voice. She smiled faintly.
"Five by five."
Lorne looked between the pair and his his own smile, enjoying the warm fuzzy vibes he was picking up.
Sam
"Great," Sam nodded.
He turned to leave, deciding to leave them to their own devices. He left the basement and started making his way back to her room.
Angel and Faith
Angel touched Faith's cheek and she winced, pulling away. "Sorry."
"It's ok," she replied.
"I'll get the bandages," Fred offered.
Faith shook her head. "No trauma. I'm fine. Could use a shower."
"Are you sure?" Wesley asked. "How are you feeling?"
"A little sticky. It's cool. I'll just go get cleaned up," Faith replied. She looked up at Angel. "And it's ok."
Angel nodded.