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illustrationillustrationWitch's Faith
Episode 9 – Caught

Beginning of story ~ List of all 32 episodes

 

Dawn noticed first.

"Willow? What are you supposed to be?"

Willow didn't answer, but hurried through the living room to the hall closet, grabbed some of her things, and vanished blushing into the bathroom.

Buffy and Tara exchanged bewildered glances. Willow had returned from the library wearing a black leather bikini top and an extremely short black skirt. They were virtually certain she hadn't been dressed that way when she left.

"Is she trying to dress like...?" Buffy trailed off.

"Faith," said Tara. "On a bad day."

In the bathroom, Willow removed what she had been forced to borrow from Faith, and slipped gratefully into her own clothing. Faith's passion could prove to be a real problem....

 


 

Tara could not believe how nervous she was. She and Willow lived in the same house. Tensions between them had eased a bit in recent days. Going out to dinner together was just a casual suggestion. But it suddenly seemed like a big step. A step Tara wanted to go perfectly.

Willow was just as nervous. She changed her clothes five times–hopefully without Tara noticing. She picked the restaurant carefully. Intimate, but nothing too fancy.

"So you've almost tracked down Elise?" said Willow after they ordered, starting out with small talk.

"I think so. Spike and Buffy have found several vampires who seem to know something about her plans. So far, they're more afraid of Elise than they are of us. But that won't last."

."Good. She's somebody to watch out for. What she lacks in strength, she makes up for in pure ambition. It's hard to believe I used to have anything to do with her."

"It's been a very strange time. But... you know, it's been nice having you around." Tara smiled nervously. No more small talk. "How are you doing with the magic thing? It doesn't seem like you've been doing any spells at all lately except for helping me out sometimes."

"Yeah. I've stayed away from it. It's been hard, but I have... I have ways to deal with it I think." Willow still couldn't bear to tell Tara about her and Faith. But, so far, Faith's understanding had kept her away from magic's temptation.

"You've really seemed like your old self again, if you don't mind me saying." Tara was encouraged when Willow smiled. "I've missed you, Willow."

Willow put her hand on Tara's. She was about to speak, when their meals arrived and the moment passed. But with or without words, both girls had felt the same thing in that brief touch. They had felt love that had never faded, and never would.

That night, Willow and Tara retired to their separate couch and bed as always, missing each other more than ever. But for once, they both drifted off to sleep smiling.

 


 

"Willow, you know how much your opinion means to me. Especially now... you're really beating this magic thing and I can't tell you how cool that is. But the answer will always be no!" Buffy was considering asking Willow to come on patrol again. But Willow's suggestion that Faith could just be part of the gang–that was beyond absurd! Faith screwed up one attack on Buffy–probably not even on purpose–and suddenly Willow seemed to think Faith was a harmless kitten. It was so inexplicable that Buffy could not help being suspicious.

"Willow... have you seen Faith since the attack?"

"Of course not!" Willow answered, a little too quickly. "I would tell you if I had!"

Buffy's eyes narrowed. "I hope you would, Willow... she may be beautiful, she may be persuasive... but she is an immoral killer."

Offended, Willow lost her patience. There was no reason for Faith to be alone and in hiding. Faith was becoming quite the Slayer, and she and Buffy ought to be on the same side. "Buffy, the Captain Ahab thing is getting a little old!"

 


 

Tara had her own suspicions. Especially about the day Willow came back dressed up as Faith. And Willow was always going out for hours at a time, for reasons that didn't quite add up. But Tara would never have sunk to the level of following her ex-lover around. Not unless Buffy had asked her to. "What if–just what if–Willow is involved in something dangerous again? You know it's possible. I think we need to know. For her sake as much as ours." Buffy finally persuaded her, and for the first time ever, Tara used magic against Willow. She used a concealment spell to prevent Willow from noticing as Tara followed her movements.

Two days in a row, Willow went directly to the same basement apartment. Not to the library or the park as she had told her friends. Tara had only two theories: either it was Faith down there, or a dealer in black magic. She didn't know which scared her worse.

On the second day, she didn't follow Willow back, but stayed to watch the apartment. After about forty-five minutes, as dusk was starting to fall, Faith emerged. Tara inhaled sharply and sunk low in the seat of Xander's car, which she had borrowed because Faith would not recognize it from the night of her attack. Faith set out on foot, carrying a shovel. Tara followed several minutes later, and almost missed seeing Faith enter a sprawling, unkempt cemetery on the side of a hill.

The witch left the car and crept to a hiding spot in the shrubs beside the cemetery wall. She watched, wide-eyed, as Faith dug a large hole in the ground. Then another, and another. Then suddenly she abandoned digging and ran off in a hurry. Tara followed, stealthily, and saw Faith hitting a vampire with the shovel. It tried to get up and rush her again, but she took out a stake and killed the monster. Faith moved off deeper into the night, and Tara backtracked to investigate the holes Faith had dug. They looked like open graves. Faith was up to something–and it looked like Willow was mixed up in it. Why, Willow? Why?

Tara decided to wait one more day before telling Buffy and unleashing the Slayer's wrath on Willow. She wanted to find out just what Faith and Willow were meeting about. Tara felt guilty spying on her friend, but she was beginning to agree with Buffy that Willow was getting herself into some serious trouble. So the next day, she waited until Willow was inside Faith's apartment, watched the clock for five minutes, and then crept stealthily up to one of the thin basement windows.

At first she thought Faith was raping Willow. She had Willow held down and was licking her breasts. Tara almost lost control then and there. But then she noticed the candles... and the wine... and the music. And a shameful little part of her, deep down inside, wished Willow were being raped after all.

Tara ran away, vomited beside Xander's car, and crawled inside to cry, balled up on the back seat.

 


 

Buffy did not fly into a rage as Tara expected. Instead, she was very still, her eyes cold and deadly. "I'm going after Faith. Now. While Willow and Dawn are still out. I want you to find them and keep an eye on Dawn–Willow can't be trusted after all."

Tara didn't think Dawn was in any danger around Willow, but she nodded silently. Then she did something very difficult. She fulfilled her promise to Willow. "Buffy... please promise you'll try to talk to Faith before you do anything drastic."

"Don't worry, we'll talk. But there's no way this thing is going to end with hugs and handshakes. Faith is still in league with Elise."

"Why? What are they up to?"

"Elise is recruiting new followers by the dozen, promising them Faith's protection. I don't know what they plan to do next. But you can be sure I'm about to find out."

Buffy walked out to her car carrying an alarming assortment of weaponry.

 


 

Faith wasn't at home, and when Buffy broke into her apartment, there was no evidence of any crimes–although the pan of cold macaroni and cheese mixed with applesauce was darned close. So Buffy drove on to the cemetery where Tara had seen Faith.

Buffy tucked a few stakes into her belt, selected a large club to carry, and slipped inside the gates. It wasn't long before she came upon Faith. The dark Slayer was filling in a hole this time. Burying something.

Buffy stood behind her with her club raised. Only another Slayer could have crept so close undetected. "Put the shovel down, Faith. Slowly."

The muscles of Faith's back tensed. "It's been a long time, B."

"Not long enough. Put it down!"

"I'm not going to fight you," Faith said. Buffy didn't answer. Faith swung around swiftly, swinging the shovel. Buffy blocked the blow with her club, as Faith anticipated, and the club was knocked away. Buffy fell into a crouch, ready to fight with her bare hands. Faith threw the shovel aside and repeated, "I'm not going to fight you." But she too fell into a crouch, ready to defend herself.

"OK," Buffy snarled, "You're going to tell me what you and Elise are planning. Right now."

"I haven't seen Elise in weeks. Not since the day I turned on her and spared your life. I'm a Slayer now, same as you. No more schemes. That's the truth."

Enraged, Buffy attacked. At first, Faith did not fight back with full force, trying mainly to defend herself from Buffy's punches and kicks. But she soon realized that Buffy was out of control, and that she was fighting for her life. So she fought back desperately, with everything she had. It wasn't difficult to slip back into her feelings of rage towards Buffy.

It wasn't enough. With dismay, Faith realized that Buffy was even stronger than when Faith had known her before. Not to mention being two years older than Faith. Buffy was twice the Slayer she was. One more gift fate had handed the fortunate Buffy! Before long, although each Slayer bore some bruises, it was Faith who was pinned to the ground beneath Buffy's incredible strength. Every instinct told Faith's body to fight, flee, kill... anything! But Faith could not free her wrists from Buffy's steel grip.

Buffy wanted to kill Faith. The calm reason she normally valued just seemed to evaporate when it came to her old enemy. But now that she had Faith pinned, she was regaining some self-control. "You and Elise... tell me!"

"I told you. I have nothing to do with Elise. If I knew what she was up to I'd tell you. But I don't!" Faith fought down panic and forced her body to stillness, building her strength to break free as soon as she got the chance.

"Yeah, whatever, Faith. Then you get the hell out of Sunnydale tonight and you don't come back!"

"I can't do that. I love Willow. And Willow loves me."

Buffy slammed Faith's head and shoulders into the ground brutally. "Willow loves Tara!" Her own reaction surprised her, and told her two things. First, that she wanted Willow and Tara back together more than she had realized. And second, that she believed Faith. As twisted as it seemed, Faith and Willow were in love.

A tear trickled from Faith's eye. From pain? Or the comment about Tara?

"We don't need to be enemies, B. But if that's all you can understand, then we have nothing more to talk about. Kill me or leave me the hell alone!"

Buffy just glared down at her nemesis, trying to decide what to do next. After searching for Faith for so long, imagining defeating her in a million different ways, she now had the other Slayer trapped–and she was finding it difficult to think straight. Faith was clearly not going to back down and admit what she was up to. So... kill her now? That just didn't seem right. That's the kind of thing Faith would do. She could let her go and deal with her later... maybe turn her over to the police. But letting her go could be a deadly mistake as well... The only thing Buffy knew was that it felt good to have Faith at her mercy at last.

Faith had a wild look in her eyes. She was nearing the end of her own control, and the panic at being trapped under Buffy was threatening to rise up and seize her.

"Get off of me Buffy, and we'll talk."

The Slayer did not move. Her weight continued to press down where she sat on Faith's exposed stomach. The skin of Buffy's legs was sweaty under her skirt where they wrapped around Faith's sides. Slippery enough to wriggle free? Faith tried a sudden twist to the left and then the right. No such luck. Buffy squeezed her wrists tighter. It hurt like hell.

Faith tried one last tactic. "Silk?"

"What?" Buffy hissed.

"Your panties. They don't feel like cotton, are they silk?"

That did the trick! Buffy jumped up and stood back a pace, ready to fight again. "You're disgusting!"

Faith leapt to her feet as well, but immediately began backing away. "Just stay away from me," she said quietly, and walked swiftly towards the gates. Buffy watched her until she was gone, but did not follow.

The hole Faith had been filling contained only a coffin. Tightly sealed. Buffy considered breaking it open, but decided against it. She memorized the location, though.

 


 

"This is the place," said Spike. "Whatever she's doing for Elise, she's doing it here."

Tara picked the lock with magic, and slipped inside the mansion with Spike and Buffy. The house was large and lavishly furnished–the witch who lived here was well off indeed. They followed the scent of burning herbs down a flight of stairs into a large, dark basement.

An evil-looking white fungus was growing out of what could only be a coffin. The coffin was filled with powders, dried plants, disturbing liquids–all manner of foul ingredients. The toes of a skeleton foot protruded near one end of the box. Buffy and Tara looked at one another. This was surely something to do with Faith's digging in the cemetery.

As the three became more used to the dark, they could see a dim, greenish energy coming from the fungus, like slowly writhing lightning. It arced through the air and focussed on the chest of a cloaked and hooded form seated cross-legged on the ground at the far end of the large room.

"She's building the spell, exchanging energy with that fungus thing," Tara observed. "I don't think she even knows we're here."

"What's the spell for? Why does Elise want it?"

"We'll have to ask the witch."

"Can you stop it?"

"I think all we have to do is take her away from here. That should halt the spell."

Buffy thought a moment. "This is what we've been waiting for. This is where we trap Elise. When she comes to collect her spell."

 


 

"Tara... I don't know what to say. You should hate me." She sat beside Tara on the bed they had once shared, not making eye contact.

"I don't hate you, Willow. I just... I don't know what I feel."

"I know what I would feel if I were you."

Tara did not answer at first. "It's just... I thought things were finally going to work out with us... I thought you were OK again. And now... you and Faith... I just don't understand. I thought... we were meant to be together."

"Tara, you have to believe me, I love you more than ever! And I love Faith, too... I can't explain how it happened. But... Tara... I'm OK because of her. She's a lot like me in some ways. She has the same evil in her. I guess we found we could fight it together. And there's so much good in her, that nobody can see but me."

"Do you still want to be with me?"

"For the rest of my life, Tara! If you still love me..."

"I can't help but love you, Willow."

"...but I don't know how to stop loving Faith. I don't think I can. I... don't think I can honestly say I want to."

Tara began to cry, and so Willow did as well.

"I'm so sorry, Tara. I would do anything not to hurt you! I wish I didn't love both of you. But I do. And I know you both love me, and I know I'm hurting both of you."

"I need you, Willow!"

"And I need you..." She kissed Tara's lips and the witch responded, sadly but passionately.

The witches held one another silently, anger, guilt, and love warring in their hearts, until finally they drifted off to sleep, sideways on top of the covers. It was the first time in many weeks that they had slept together in the same bed.

 


 

"I've talked to Willow."

"And?"

"We should ask her to join us." Tara knew this was a big step for Buffy to take, after so many dangerous close calls with Willow. It was a big step for Tara herself.

"She's not working with Faith and Elise?"

"She's not. I'm sure of it. I almost wish she was. In fact, she doesn't even know that Faith and Elise are still in league. She's been visiting Faith for only one reason." Tara took a deep breath. "She loves Faith. And she's convinced Faith loves her."

"Oh, Tara... I'm so sorry." Buffy decided not to tell Tara what she had sensed from Faith–that the dark Slayer really did love Willow in return. "I really hope that... I hope things work out with you and Willow. You were meant to be. Like me and Angel. Only... less impossible."

Tara nodded. She agreed. And she too saw a similarity to Buffy and Angel. Her relationship with Willow seemed equally doomed, despite both parties' best intentions.

"Tara, we may have to kill Faith."

"I know."

"I could really use your help, now more than ever. But if you want to step away from this now, for Willow's sake, that is totally OK with me."

"Thanks, Buffy. I... think I may need to do that. But I know you need my help to catch Elise. I'll help you that far at least."

"You know how to maintain the fungus and the spell until Elise shows up?"

"Yes. Any witch can take Greta's place," said Tara, referring to the witch who had been preparing Elise's spell. "But it could be dangerous. Having a witch on the outside ready to intervene will be important."

"In other words," said Buffy, "we need Willow's help too."

"Yes. We need her to be the bait while we learn what Elise is up to."

Buffy badly wanted Willow by her side again. But... would her old friend want to be there?

 


 

"So... you need me back in the gang," said Willow. It was the best news she had had a long time, and it meant a lot to hear it from Tara's lips.

"We do. But more than that, Willow. We want you back. All of us. If you are willing to help ambush Elise."

"Of course! Why would I care about Elise?" Willow fell silent. "Tara, seriously, Faith is not working with Elise anymore."

"We have heard more than a few reports that she is, Willow. I'm sorry."

"Rumors started by Elise herself, no doubt!"

"OK, Willow, but... just in case... will you promise to be very careful of Faith? If you're wrong, and she finds out you're fighting on our side again... I'm afraid for you!"

"I appreciate you caring, Tara, but... no... I won't be careful of Faith. I trust Faith. That's all there is to it."

"Will you at least promise not to tell Faith what we are doing? You know Buffy can't take any chances with you otherwise."

"I will promise to keep our plans completely safe from anyone who might interfere. You shouldn't even have to ask."

 

Continue to Episode 10 – Healing.

She thought of her life a month ago–an empty existence with no end in sight, imprisoned with her own inner darkness for company, dreaming each night of power, and of revenge against Buffy for things that were nobody's fault. Now she dreamed each night of Willow, and woke up happy, for the first time she could remember in her entire life.

 

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