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A/N For those of you who don’t know, Joss chose ‘Lehane’ to be Faith’s last name for comic books and merchandising a few months ago. I thought it should be mentioned because I use the name in this chapter.



Chapter 27 – Prophetic Future


Slowly opening her eyes, Buffy repressed the groan of pain as she looked around the dank room. She realized that she was in a basement somewhere and her arms were chained to a wall on each side of her. Testing the chains for a moment, Buffy gritted her teeth when she felt another presence in the room. Both unfamiliar and unforgettable at the same time.

“I should have known it would be you,” Buffy said through clenched teeth, turning toward the shadowy figure. There was only one person who could cause the intense reaction that she was having, and he was currently walking into the light where she could see him. “You’ve tried to kill me twice already. It figures you would think the third time is the charm.”

“It would have been,” Quentin Travers said, pacing lazily in front of her. “If you didn’t have such a resistance to the venom.”

Against her better judgment, Buffy knew she had to ask. “What venom?”

“Did you happen to research the demon that you fought?”

“I’ve fought a lot of demons. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I’ve fought hundreds, so you’re going to have to narrow down that list a little bit, Jeeves.”

Resisting the urge to backhand the Slayer, Travers continued, “The Tacora demon.”

“Leave it to you to not be able to kidnap anyone the right way,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes. “I should have known that you were planning on boring me to death. Can I request something a little quicker?”

“Oh, don’t worry, Miss Summers. The pain will come in time. But the fact remains…did you research the demon?”

“What’s the difference? Whether I did or not, you’ll just tell me the same thing anyway, so get on with it.”

Tightening his jaw at the insolent Slayer, Travers stared at her for a moment. “What do you remember about the night you lost your hearing?”

“Fought a demon, got hit real hard, fell down, lost hearing,” she said as if she was talking to an idiot, a bored expression on her face the entire time.

“No pain in your arm? No strange side effects?”

“I’m deaf. I’d call that a strange side effect.”

“No screams?”

Buffy paused, remembering the shrill screams that reverberated through her head. “What are you getting at, Travers?”

“The Tacora demon is supremely intelligent,” Travers said, resuming his slow pacing, making it harder for Buffy to read his lips. “It is a demon that prefers to be paid for its work. Especially when the work is to take out the Slayer.”

Her eyes widened a fraction when she remembered the slight pain in her arm, seconds before the powerful blow that the demon had given her. “You injected something into me,” she said, her eyes flashing in anger. “Why?”

“A number of reasons,” Travers said, giving her a hard look. “Not the least of which being how much I dislike you.”

“I guess that’s fair. If I didn’t have a conscience, I would have killed you years ago,” Buffy said, tilting her head in boredom. “Reason number two?”

“I want the Slayer line back.”

“Aww, does poor little Quent miss having a job to do?” she asked with a small pout, nearly smiling when he started to approach her.

‘Just try it,’ she thought. ‘You’ll wish you’d chained my legs when I’m breaking your back.’

Realizing that it wouldn’t be in his wisest interest, Quentin stayed away from her.

“I always hated you,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

“And you know why?” Buffy challenged in a low, calm voice as she stared him down. “Because I’m the strongest Slayer you’ve ever known and that scares the hell out of you.”

“Always were the cocky one, weren’t you, Miss Summers?”

“Not cocky. I just know my strength. And something tells me that there’s a bigger reason for your elaborate plan. Why go through all this? I’ve been a Slayer for six years. Surely you must know that I can’t last forever. And Faith is safely tucked away in prison.”

“Yes, Miss Lehane will prove to be more of a challenge,” he replied. “But I have confidence in our resources.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I just told you,” he said with a cold gaze. “I want my line back and I’m willing to go through any means to get it.”

“You’re going after Faith,” she whispered almost to herself. “Why?” she asked again. “What’s the big payoff for you, Travers?”

“A prophecy.”

“My favorite word,” Buffy replied sarcastically. “So what’s the ‘Prophecy Book for Dummies’ say this time? I’m going to die? I’m going to turn evil and blow up the Watcher’s Council? Come to think of it, I wouldn’t have to be evil to do that.”

“Tell me, Miss Summers, how is your relationship with the vampire population these days?”

“Fairly short-term,” she said with a raised eyebrow, trying to suppress the smirk on her lips. “They just never seem to stick around the morning after. Always blaming it on the sunrise, but I think they just have commitment issues.”

“Clever girl,” he muttered. “I’ll get right to the point. Judging from the research on you, there are only two vampires in your life- Angelus and William the Bloody.”

“Wrong,” Buffy said, her voice ringing out and echoing in the loud room as she turned her head and checked her nails, putting more pressure on her chains without drawing attention to herself, before looking back at him. “First of all, it’s Angel and Spike. Secondly, Angel is in Los Angeles. Maybe you should get a better group of researchers because that’s fairly common news.”

“Yes,” Travers practically purred. “And this…Spike?” he said, spitting out the words. “Tell me…have you engaged in a sexual relationship with him?”

“Explain to me how that’s your business?”

“When you could be pregnant with the child of a vampire, we make it our business.”

This finally seemed to get Buffy’s undivided attention. “What?”

“Yes. It seems that the prophecy in question mentions the birth of a baby, born of the Slayer and vampire who will-“

“Let me guess- who will bring light to the world or cloak it in darkness.”

“Something like that. How did you know?” Travers asked skeptically.

“It’s a little thing called using your brain. Try it sometime, Quenty. There’s obviously something in your body that needs uncorking.”

“Careful,” he said in a low voice. “You’re starting to sound like Miss Lehane.”

“And how do you know it’s not Faith you should be looking for with this prophecy? The last time I saw her, she and Angel were looking pretty cozy. For all I know, he’s been make conjugal visits to the prison.”

Surprisingly, this thought didn’t unsettle Buffy the way she thought it would have.

“That’s why we’re going after her as well. We can’t have a child walking around that could be the end of humanity.”

“Bullshit,” Buffy replied in a low voice. “You don’t give a damn about the end of humanity. You’re worried a future child of the Slayer would put you out of a job.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked in a gruff voice.

“Admit it, Travers,” she continued. “A child of a vampire and a Slayer would be nearly unstoppable. That’s why they make prophecies about them and it’s not the natural thing that happens. If that happens, the Watcher’s Council will cease to exist. Especially considering you had two Slayers and your current record is zero for two.”

“Just because we were dealt two stubborn and willful Slayers does not mean that the line can’t change.”

“Better men, or more accurately, creatures, have tried to kill me,” she said, setting her jaw. “You really think you have a chance?”

“I do,” he replied, extracting a gun from behind his back and aiming it at Buffy’s abdomen before pulling the trigger.



“We need to know everything you’re feeling, Spike,” Giles said, keeping a close eye on the vampire. “You said that Buffy could sense you when you were in pain after Riley attacked you. It’s significant to know everything that she might be going through.”

“I can’t…I’m not feeling anything,” Spike said miserably. “Don’t know if…bloody hell,” he groaned, clutching his stomach and feeling a dull pain radiate through his body.

“What?” Giles asked frantically. “What is it?”

“She’s in pain, Giles,” Spike whispered, closing his eyes when he felt a fraction of the agony that Buffy was in.

Giles’ eyes widened, realizing how much she must be hurting considering Spike had just called him by his actual name. “We’ll get to her,” he said, looking over at Willow as she and Tara continued to work on the spell.



Buffy gasped for air as she looked at her stomach, seeing the tranquilizer dart that was imbedded in her abdomen. “What-“

Not even able to finish the question before a stinging sensation spread through her.

“I’m sure you’re wondering what I’ve just injected into you,” Travers said, walking toward her and quickly pulling out the dart before stepping out of her reach.

Buffy refused to admit the extent of pain that she was in as she opened her eyes to look at the smug man, realizing a moment later that she could hear him. She could hear everything in the room- the slight rattling of the chains around her wrists, the distant dripping of water and the creaking of the house.

“I’ve given you something to effectively incapacitate you while I prepare the final dose of venom. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this has also inadvertently counteracted your hearing loss,” he said with a distant smile. “Don’t get too excited. I’ll be back shortly with your final dose.”

Buffy watched him leave, feeling her legs give out as she hung limply from the chains, her body trying to curl into itself to get away from the burning that was running through it. A sense of dread threatened to overwhelm her, but it was slightly alleviated as she listened to sounds she never thought she’d hear again.





Thanks so much to: Ebontier, pj, gypsy_jin, S.P. Hudson, parisian, Rana, Rachel, Mari, gattaca, blondiebear, spufette, Pipergirl, Bernardette, Franchesca, Kar, Jennice, Juanita, BuffyandSpikeForever, vampkiss, Isabel, songgal1, Revello_1620, Esther, Crystal Pegasus, Alicia & Seraiza for reviewing!





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