Airlia's eyes opened slowly, and she drew in a pained breath. She could feel blood seeping from a cut somewhere on her face, and her body was jammed between her seat and the steering wheel.
She coughed, splatters of red hitting the dashboard in front of her, and one hand weakly reached to undo her seatbelt.
"Are you ok?" came a voice from outside her window.
Airlia turned her head slightly, and the door opened, a woman with dark hair and striking blue eyes standing in front of her. Airlia recoiled, the overwhelming scent of roses invading her nostrils.
"You're..." the woman paused, peering closer. "You're not her."
"Not... who?" Airlia managed to get out.
"Well, can't have loose ends."
The woman shrugged slightly, then slid her hands around Airlia's neck and squeezed ightly, bright blue eyes watching dull green ones.
~*~*~*~
Faith let out a pained cry, faint marks, bruises to match her daughter's wounds, appearing around her neck. Her hands flew to her throat.
"Lia," she breathed, just as her daughter breathed her last breath.
~*~*~*~
Tru gripped onto the handrail, suddenly feeling short of breath. One hand touched her neck gently, and she had an overwhelming sense of loss.
Dean & Sam
"Faith?" Dean looked up from where he was cleaning his double barrel shotgun.
Sam threw the chair he was sitting on aside and rushed to her, his hands on her shoulders.
"What happened?" he frowned.
Faith, Tru and Angel
Faith's fingers traced along the new marks on her neck and her hands shook slightly.
"Something's wrong. Really wrong."
~*~*~*~
Tru ran down the stairs, almost knocking over Wesley, who looked to Angel.
Angel sniffed the air, then took off after her.
Sam & Dean
"What can we do?" Sam asked, as Dean started putting the weapons back together.
Faith, Tru and Angel
"I... I'm not sure."
Faith's eyes focused on a spot on the wall, mind racing to figure out what was wrong.
"I'm not even sure what's wrong."
But she had a pretty bad feeling.
~*~*~*~
Tru shifted as she ran through the dark streets of LA, uncaring if anyone saw her. Her feet left the ground and she rose up into the air, wings extended as she flew to the wreckage.
Angel watched carefully from his car, following her movements.
Sam & Dean
Sam looked across at Dean helplessly.
Dean was barel payig attention, rather making sure they were armed up should anything come crashing through the door.
Tru, Angel and Faith
Tru landed, not too far from the wreckage, shifting seamlessly as she stepped into the flashing lights of the police cars. She immediately recognised the smashed car, and she felt her knees give out.
Angel wrapped his arms around her waist, catching her from collapsing on the spot.
"It's Lia," Tru whispered. "I could feel it."
The vampire nodded, silent, and they watched from a distance for a long moment, before Angel made a move.
"Tru?"
Tru's eyes were focused on the stretcher, she caught a glimpse of her sister's long brown hair from underneath the sheet.
Angel lifted Tru up and carried her back to his car, strapping her inside and closing the door, one hand fumbling for his phone.
~*~*~*~
"Angel, what's going on?" was Faith's greeting, her hands struggling to hold the phone steady.
A long pause was her answer, and Faith's lip trembled.
"Lia's gone, isn't she?"
Dean & Sam
Dean's head shot up, and Sam looked across at him silently.
Angel and Faith
"A car crash, from what I know so far," Angel said quietly. "I'm going to drop Tru off and then see what I can find out."
"No," Faith replied, hands balling into wrists.
"Faith, I'm so sorry," he told her.
"I'm on my way."
Faith hung up, eyes burning with unshed tears and she started packing her things up.
Sam & Dean
"I'll drive," Sam offered.
"Sam-" Dean stood up.
"I'll drive," Sam repeated, determined.
"I'll get there faster."
"And you'll get us all killed on the way," Sam argued, "give me the keys."
Dean stared his brother down for a moment, before giving in and thrwing his brother the keys. He packed up all the weaponry - Sam not bothering to pack anything as they'd already paid for two nights rent - and headed outside to the car.
Faith
Faith followed behind numbly, barely registering what was going on around her as she got into the car.
She stared straight ahead, focusing all of her energy on not hurting someone.
Sam & Dean
Once they were all in the car, Sam turned the engine on and took a deep breath.
"Where?" he asked, looking straight ahead.
Faith
"LA."
Faith's nails cut into her palm, she was clenching her fists so tight.
"Wolfram and Hart."