Ch.81

Faith and I missed Buffy's fucked up birthday and the witch hunt before that because we were clearing out a nest of fire demons by the coast and a nest of vamps out by the college amongst other things. Our motorcycle was legally ours now so we had a wide range of hunting grounds to get to with ease. Unfortunately ease didn't mean we could be everywhere at once. We were there for the hellmouth battle though and beat the sisters of Jhe or whatever they were called.

Freaking apocalypse demons and their shit. I killed a group of zombies Xander had been hanging out with beforehand and got a sweet buck knife out of it which I gave to Faith cause she liked her knives. Once the hellmouth beastie was dead, the others lightened up on Xander and he rejoined the hunt or whatever. Wesley Wyndham-Pryce showed up a few weeks later and said he was our new watcher, for all three of us.

He patted me on the shoulder and I broke a table with him before Faith could pull me off of him. He hadn't been injured much, mostly due to Faith's quick reaction time, but he took the blame saying he'd been hoping my condition was more stable and decided to test me. I panted and Faith said we were working on it, but she totally blamed him for setting me off.

He apologized and asked for an ice pack which Giles provided smugly. Buffy gave her report on the previous night's hunt where vamps with swords attacked us. I tossed a pair on the counter when I was calmer and Wesley mentioned a sixteenth century dueling cult of vampires that followed the demon Belthazar. He mentioned an amulet and Giles said it was already found and destroyed so we were hunting vamps who were hunting nothing.

We set a trap, killed all but one and followed it back to Belthazar the next night, killing the rest of the cult and Belthazar then. I collected the weapons and when we left, the mayor's assistant tried to stop us. I barely managed to not kill him in time before we took him back to the school. There he told us about the mayor, the ascension and everything he knew, begging us to stop the mayor.

Wesley said the mayor was human for now when I told him I'd take his head. We argued and I nearly took his head before telling him to call the council and tell Quinten Travers I wanted to talk with him. I got my call and he gave us marching orders to kill the mayor before the dedication if possible. I set my scythe down and we Buffy argued that it was wrong to kill humans.

I told her I'd do whatever I had to, to protect this world and that's what it meant to be the slayer, to be forced to make those decisions because that's what we were, executioners, not superheroes. I turned to Faith and asked if she was with me. She nodded so we geared up and left, getting through the three dozen vamps the mayor had on guard only to fail because he'd completed the dedication. I buried my scythe in his head and it slit only to reform when I removed my scythe.

He said he was invincible now before blasting me across the room and scorching half my chest with my left arm. Faith grabbed me and we fled as fast as we were able, getting to the high school as Faith wrecked our motorcycle before limping and half carrying me to the library. I was in and out of it while they patched us up, hearing that the mayor was truly invincible. The deputy mayor fled town like a coward and I woke up on the table that Giles replaced, covered in bandages.

The pain was gone so I removed the bandages and found I was scarred but it was fading quickly. Angel spoke up from not far away saying the others were in Giles's office. He asked what I was because no slayer male or not could heal like me. I shrugged and told him. "I don't know anymore. All I know is that I am a slayer, I just don't know what else there is."

He nodded before sighing. "Thanks for before, with the First and putting things in perspective for me. I'd been blaming myself for so long."

I shrugged again. "Don't take it personally, but just because you aren't Angelous doesn't mean you're a good guy. I don't know you and even if you aren't the homicidal demon, it doesn't mean those memories it chooses to share to torment you haven't changed you even if you were a good man once."

I got off the table and grunted, wincing. He sighed. "Your side and leg were worse. You've been out almost a full day but your healing isn't finished. Still, the muscle, blood and bones are healing which is a miracle in and of itself. Just take it slow, and for whatever it's worth, thanks."

I grunted and nodded before Faith noticed I was up. They came out and Faith hugged me before slugging my good arm. "Dr.Angel says you're going to make a full recovery. don't scare me like that again."

I snorted lightly and asked. "Did you get Trick?"

She shook her head. "He ran when you went down and you were a bit more important than a single vamp."

I smiled lightly before getting serious and telling Wesley and Giles. "The mayor's dedication went through. We were too late. His thirty odd vamp goons except two or three are dust. The mayor is invincible. I split his heal and half his torso with my weapon and he healed instantly before blasting me with fire and sending me across the room. I don't remember much after that."

Faith grimaced. "That's a good thing. You were a crispy critter. I barely got you and the weapons out. The mayor was not happy his goons are dead it seems and we came close to actually killing him before he could finish."

I sighed and pulled her into my healing arms. I grabbed my scythe from the table where it'd laid beside me before and felt the power helping me heal faster. I leaned on it a bit while Faith stroked my arm while the scars disappeared, fading into nothing faster. Even the hair grew back like new while Faith sighed in relief.

Wesley and Giles said they'd do more research on the ascension because the assistant hadn't given us much before he'd run off to flee town. For now I was on the mend and they were left to deal with a vamp Willow that became a thing. Faith stayed with me playing doctor and even wearing a naughty nurse outfit. A couple weeks later I was back in the field with Faith and Buffy.

We met a demon selling the books of ascension and he wanted five large for them. I told him to get them and I'd pay him the cash right now, but I wasn't waiting a day. I told him to meet us back here in an hour with the books and the cash was his. He wanted to see the cash so I took it out and he left saying he'd be right back.

We did a couple loops and met him back at the mausoleum where he'd found us before. The cash was his and the books were ours. Faith wanted to kill him, but Buffy stopped her so the demon fled with the money. Giles and Wesley went over the books with Willow and the gang.

We learned from the books that it'd be a hundred days from the dedication to the ascension. Beyond that the demon he'd become depends on what creatures he consumes until then or what rituals he adheres to so we were at a loss there. In the meantime Faith, Buffy and I patrolled, brought down two telepathic demons and Buffy got an aspect of the demon from it's blood that got on her.

We had to dig up the dead demons and feed Buffy the heart of one in a potion to fix her when she was nearly driven mad. Before she thought it was cool until she heard my thoughts and saw my memories. She'd collapsed, threw up and nearly tried to kill herself to make it stop. I grimaced and tightened my mental defenses, kicking her out where she recovered, looking haggard.

She knew it wasn't all fun stuff and asked what happened to me. I grunted. "My mind is my own so stay out if you know what's good for you. My memories aren't pleasant fun like yours."

I stood up and left while Faith sighed. "You should be more careful B. Not everyone had happy childhoods and poking around in their heads isn't going to be fun."

Buffy wiped her mouth and sighed. "Kinda getting that now, thanks. What happened-"

Faith shook her head. "I try not to ask myself so I don't know the full details. Let's just say his step parents deserved to die in the fire that legally killed him even if they hadn't."

Wesley spoke up. "I hardly think we should judge them for a rough childhood. It isn't all fun an games in Britain either."

Giles spoke up. "No, Faith's right, Oz has every reason to want them dead and they deserve a far more painful death than being burned alive. One of the things he did when he came here was give me a full detailed description of his childhood and the time leading up to them coming to Sunnydale. His reaction to human touch alone is heavily warranted and surprising that he's working to fix it in and of itself."

Wesley asked Giles what happened and he told him it was best he not say, but the details were in his notes on me in his office. I closed my eyes and stopped listening outside the library, heading outside to wait for Faith by the motorcycle. I got some air and suppressed the fresh hell as best I could as revulsion and bile rose in the back of my throat. I stayed away from Buffy and the rest until it was time to feed Buffy demon heart soup.

After that I pretty much stayed away on a case by case bases cause I didn't want to see their looks of pity. Wesley hadn't kept his fucking mouth shut which Cordelia took advantage of so the whole group knew mine and Faith's story as well as Helena's ending. Anyways, they attacked the mayor's office, killed some vamps and got a box of Gavrok demons only to lose Willow who barely survived the experience long enough to get her back in a trade for the box.

With that they narrowed down the demon he was to become to a snake like one called an Olvikan. So come graduation day and a mix up with a volcanologist, we had shit planned out. Faith and I helped Angel's team bring down the vamps that came, limiting the civilian casualties to three, a school kid named Larry, Snyder and Harmony Kendall. Larry and Snyder were killed by the mayor while Harmony ran off and ended up hunted by the few vamps that got away.

The school blew up and shit happened, ending in Faith coming with me to get food and get bouncy. The rest of the summer was very slay heavy after that with Trick finally dead. Buffy, Faith and I quit the council because they'd refused to help in any way when Angel was poisoned and I'd given him my blood, actually dying temporarily from what I was told, only I healed which Giles called extraordinary, especially considering I didn't turn into a vamp.