TITRE : Old Game suite de Fairy, Lullaby and Switch AUTEUR : Vincent Fretin FEEDBACK : vincef2001@yahoo.fr RATING : PG-13 DISCLAIMER : Belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc. RESUME : Après leur dernière rencontre avec Il Maestro, Buffy et Faith quittent Sunnydale pour en apprendre plus sur ceux qui ont engagé l'assassin. Tandis que les sentiments entre les deux tueuses se développent, le Scooby Gang se retrouve confronté à de terribles adversaires.

PARTS 1-4

PARTS 5-8

PARTS 9-13

PART 1

The car was parked just in front of the City Hall. The driver seemed to wait for someone and frequently looked at her watch, it was 11.05 AM. She sighed heavily, certain that the person she was waiting for would not come, she was already five minutes late.

Ten minutes later, Eona was rubbing her eyes, tired, the last few days had not been relaxing, the data they had discovered in the book Il Maestro gave them were too important to neglect. Then Buffy decided to fight back before another assassin tried to kill them. Faith and her had taken the bus to LA the same morning. Their plane would take off soon. Maybe leaving the Hellmouth without a slayer to guard it was a dumb idea but Buffy had been inflexible. The enemy had dealt with lots of opponents, even slayers and had won these battles. But nobody had ever faced two determined slayers. No one could be ready for this. Besides, it was pretty obvious their enemy wanted them dead before acting. Spike would do the patrols with the help of the Scoobies. If everything went well, the slayers would be back in a week.

The passenger door was quickly opened by the girl Eona was not expecting anymore. Faith, the double, sat in the car and closed the door. Both girls were looking right in front of them. An awkward silence followed Faith's entrance. Finally, Eona decided to say something.

"So... you came."

"Have a gift to state the obvious, girlfriend. Now if you don't mind I prefer when you shut your mouth."

Eona sighed once again then turned the ignition key. The journey to LA would be a long long one.

The two slayers were sitting and waiting for the permission to board. Faith looked at Buffy who had just closed her eyes. She was not asleep and Faith knew that. They had not had the time to discuss since that night. The night Buffy managed to make her accept her past. The night Buffy succeeded in bringing back hope in her heart.

"What are you thinking about ?"

"You!"

Buffy quickly opened her eyes, wide eyes and a blushing skin. Faith could not prevent herself to think that it was very cute, then she whispered:

"If just by saying it, I cause such a reaction, imagine what..."

"Fairy, don't go further."

"Or what B, you're gonna give me a spanking? I could like that you know."

Buffy's answer was cut by the speaker who announced that the passengers for the slayers' flight were asked to come on board. Faith quickly stood up, grabbed her bag and walked to the gates.

Buffy followed, lost in her thoughts. Then a smile crossed her face.

The slayers were gone. But they did not go unnoticed. Nara had watched them during the whole journey... And she was not the only one. A man, wearing a costume had done exactly the same thing and was leaving the airport. As he walked just in front of the toilets, Nara pushed him in and followed. Once inside, she stood before the exit and waited for the man's comments.

"Are you nuts?"

"No. In fact, I was waiting for you."

"What?"

A noise made them jump. A short woman went out of one of the toilets, looked at them as if they were some lunatics then left the room. Nara did nothing to stop her.

"You were waiting for me?"

"Yes, wasn't difficult you know. The slayers left Sunnydale. A watcher had to follow them, even if officially you have nothing to do with them anymore. You can't stay away from them. You spy on them, report on their moves."

"Who are you?"

"Nara. Your murderer."

"What? No no, you can't kill me, not here, not now."

"Why, because it's a public place? Because of the woman who has just left? What would she say? The poor man was discussing with a girl with dark hair who was wearing leather. Oh, wait a minute. I think there is another girl who corresponds to this description too."

The man's jaw opened wide. No sound came out of his mouth.

"Oh, I see you are beginning to understand. See (then she punched him on the face) they will find you lying on the floor, bathing in your own blood (a kick on his right leg followed by another one on his neck) probably killed by a brunette... The report will go straight to the Council (she grabbed him by his hair and threw him to the wall) that will analyze it. They probably know now that the slayers are on their way to England (she let him stood up) the time of your death will be approximately the time of their departure. So, as logical men, they will conclude that the slayers are responsible for this mess and track them in their own country."

The man saw with horror that Nara had just taken a stake from her pocket.

"Especially if I kill you with this toy. So, what do you think of this plan?"

Then, without waiting for an answer, she staked him in the heart. He fell on the floor lifeless.

Nara grinned.

"That was rude. You could have answered my question before dying."

She washed her hands and then left.

PART 2

The sun was shining in Sunnydale. It was the end of the afternoon and a dozen of children were playing on the beach. Among the children, a young girl enjoyed the moment under the amused eyes of her parents, Leo and Nara.

"I like to see her laugh like that. Without pressure, without lessons, just like every little girl."

Leo, hearing what his wife was telling him, kissed her lightly on the lips and said:

"I agree!"

Her eyes locked on her daughter and she sighed heavily, a tear appearing in the corner of her right eye. Leo, noticing it, put his arms around Nara who put her head on her husband chest. Then, Leo spoke again:

"You know there is no other choice. She has to go through the ritual. I have great plans for her."

"I know. I really do. But she is my baby and I have the feeling that I didn't see her grow. We've been engaged in the Old Game for so long that sometimes I feel as we have missed all the important things life can bring."

"Once again, I agree with you and that's the reason why we have to fulfil our goal. Once everything done, we could at last take advantage of life. No more pressure, no more pain, just life. Can you imagine that I don't even remember what a day off looks like? When was the last time I didn't spend a minute of the day thinking of the Game?"

"When I gave birth to Laura, honey."

Both Leo and Nara were looking at the sea, her eyes lost in the sight of smooth waves crushing on the rocks that surrounded their cove. Then Nara ended her sentence.

"800 years ago."

Leo nodded and swore that this mission would be his last... It had to.

They had left London by train two hours after their plane landed. They were now in a small town of East England, waiting for a bus that would finally lead them to their destination. As the bus would not be there before four hours, Buffy had decided that they could go picnic somewhere and they were going to the town's center place where most of the shops were situated. They did not want to be disturbed by their bags so they let them in lockers in the station.

"I'm not a real fan of picnic, you know B. Can't we go in a pub or some place?"

"Come on, Fairy. Where is your sense of adventure?"

"I think it's gone with the rain. Listen, B. I agree with you that it would probably not rain again today but-"

"With such a sun, the grass will be dry before we finished shopping. So don't worry, Fairy, your leathery backside won't be wet."

An evil grin crossed Faith's face, she went to whisper on Buffy's ear.

"With you around, B, my leathery backside is always wet."

To Faith's surprise, Buffy did not blush. Instead her smile grew wide when she said:

"That's perfect... So you won't bother about the picnic anymore, will you?"

"You... You..."

"Gotcha!", said a laughing Buffy.

Faith smiled.

"15-0 for the blond slayer. But beware, B, the game isn't over yet."

"I know. So picnic?"

"Picnic!"

Fifteen minutes later, they exited a grocery. They had enough food and drinks for their picnic but Buffy wanted some more fruits and a cover was still missing. So they decided to split up and meet fifteen minutes later on a place they had seen near the river.

Buffy was the first to arrive. She had the food but no cover as Faith was the one that had to buy it. She waited five minutes before the dark slayer showed herself. She had the cover on her shoulder and was coming slowly towards Buffy with a strange look in her eyes and a strange attitude as if she was ashamed. Buffy became worried as soon as she noticed it.

" Fairy, what's wrong? You seem so.."

Faith had her hands behind her and was not very comfortable with the situation. What could have caused it?

Buffy wanted to hug Faith but she avoided her and said, shyly:

"Look, B, don't freak out. There is nothing wrong. It's just... I mean... I'm not used to..."

Buffy put her right hand on Faith's shoulder, the one with the cover, and smiled at her friend. Then Faith did something totally unexpected. She gave a bunch of roses to Buffy. A simple gesture that meant so many things. The smile on Buffy's lips grew even wider.

"Look, B. I know it could seem pretentious, it's just that they were so beautiful... I... I couldn't resist I had to give them to you."

Faith was cut by Buffy's kiss on her cheek, a kiss that caused an increase of her heartbeat.

"They are magnificent. Thank you so much, Fairy."

"You... you really like them?"

"Of course I like them. How couldn't I?"

They remained face to face without saying a word. A silence that was not awkward, nor wrong. They just wanted to enjoy the moment. Faith was the one who spoke first.

"Didn't we plan a picnic?"

Spike and Xander were patrolling that night. They were not the best buddies in the world and would probably never be but they had discovered they were a good team during the last days when the slayers were preparing their journey to England.

The atmosphere in Sunnydale was strange these days, vampires and other demons seemed to hide, even Willie complained about the fact that he had had fewer and fewer clients, and he could not discover why.

"I say it doesn't look good. What do you think, Spike?"

Spike did not have the time to answer, a horned shadow crossed the street in front of them to enter a wrecked house, a shadow they quickly followed. Thanks to his vampiric state, Spike was the first to catch the demon. When Xander joined him, he had the demon under control. The demon was... slimy but the most scaring thing about him was his glare. He was terrified.

"OK, pal. I know you have probably a wife and some kids waiting for you, but I need some answers."

"Let me go... let me go... they are coming. Don't you hear them? We have to hide... they'll kill us all... we can't fight them..."

Xander spoke for the first time since they had caught the demon.

"Who... who are they? We are the slayer's friends..., we can help you."

"No... no one can help me. We're... Oh my god... on the ground, quickly..."

They heard footsteps... Lots of footsteps. Then, following the demon's advice, they laid down on the ground. Curious, Spike watched briefly through the window, saw the army of demons and whispered:

"Bloody Hell!"

They were indeed in big trouble. The Scourge was in Sunnydale.

PART 3

It was a very well designed cottage, so British in fact but what else could he expect from Quentin Travers? It was around 3.30 PM when Giles entered his superior's residence and, after having introduced himself to the secretary, he was asked to wait in the living room. Five minutes later, Quentin Travers shook Giles' hand before asking him to sit down while the secretary brought them some tea.

"I'm glad to see you, Rupert. Unfortunately, I haven't very good news for you."

"As I've never been invited here before, I wasn't expecting such news, Quentin."

Calmly, Travers sipped his tea, put the cup on the table and continued the conversation.

"I know we didn't agree on many points in the past but this time, the threat is serious, Rupert. Nothing comparable with the forces you had had to fight against since your return to England."

Giles crossed his legs before pushing his glasses to the right place on his nose but did not say a word, waiting more information from Quentin.

"I presume that you've heard that the slayers are working together again."

"Yes, indeed, it seems that they have resolved their issues without the Council's intervention. Something you said was impossible to achieve."

"Touché, Rupert. But, even if both slayers are out of the Council's authority, it doesn't mean we have given up watching them. Besides, if Ms Faith hadn't showed such good will during her time in jail, we would have done something to prevent her from doing any further harm to the society. And, according to the last reports, we should have done it."

"Listen, Quentin. I know Faith's past doesn't speak on her favor but with Buffy to support her, I'm sure she could behave and -"

"You don't seem to understand, Rupert. I said according to the last reports, a woman corresponding to Faith's description killed one of our own a few hours ago. In the airport of Los Angeles."

"Are you sure it was her?"

"Not 100% certain. But his co-watcher who was waiting for her outside the airport confirmed that Faith was in the place when the... incident occurred."

Giles sighed heavily.

"It was too good to be true. I think we should call Buffy too."

"Ms Summers accompanied the other slayer in the airport."

"Oh... Quentin... I know what you are thinking about. And I assure you that -"

"Rupert. The facts are there. There has been a murder and the slayers were in the same place... together. Could you assure me that Faith couldn't have corrupted Buffy? You haven't seen her for months now and according to my sources, she wasn't really stable lately."

"Listen, Quentin. I trust Buffy. I know her better than you do and -"

"I know what you'll tell me, Rupert. You aren't very objective in this matter but I need you for this mission. You see... the slayers aren't in America anymore. They are in England. We almost caught them in the airport but we arrived five minutes after their departure. I don't know what they are planning to do, I warned every watcher of the country and asked them to call me if they saw them but there is a possibility they'll come to you. And I need to be sure that if they are indeed evil, you'll know where your duty is. Can I trust you, Rupert?"

Giles was washing his glasses with his handkerchief, the he put them back on his nose and said : " If they are evil.I will stop them.you have my word."

The slayers were sitting on the grass, they had no food anymore and the sodas were almost empty. Faith did not know what to do. Buffy was once more lost in her thoughts. She had been thinking a lot lately, especially since their flight had taken off and each time Faith had tried to begin a talk, Buffy had only answered by short sentences. There had been only one exception, just before the picnic while they had been looking for food. Otherwise she had had Thinking Buffy all the time. In the plane, the train and during the picnic. She did not want to deal with Thinking Buffy anymore. She wanted her Babbling and Laughing Buffy back. Moreover, she could not prevent herself from thinking that she was the cause of such a strange behavior. Cursing herself once more for the flowers, she decided to discuss the problem with the older slayer. She was not used to it but she was not the same anymore, was she?

"B?"

"Huh?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"And I'm a loony toon. Look, B, if it is about the flowers... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -"

"No, no... I like your flowers. That was so sweet of you..."

"So, what's the problem? I thought that there would be no more secrets between us and you've been acting like Mystery Girl since we left LA and what about this picnic you wanted to have so much? We are in it, the ground is not so dry, my pants are full of water and you didn't say a fucking word while we were eating. So WHAT - IS - WRONG - BUFFY?"

Buffy flinched. Faith had called her Buffy meaning that she was dead serious, meaning that waiting time was over.

"There is nothing wrong, Fairy. I know I was lost in my mind a lot of time and I'm sorry if I hurt you. I never meant to. It's just weird... I wanted this picnic to be an enjoyable activity and I made it dull and lifeless... again, I'm sorry."

Faith took Buffy's hand in hers, thinking that for once, she was the one doing the encouraging gestures then smiled.

"So, what's in your head? Must be something very important... Afraid to see Giles?"

Buffy shook her head.

"No, you see, I thought that this trip to England could be a very good opportunity to enjoy being just the two of us... the Chosen Two visiting England... a kind of mix between duty and pleasure. I know I should only think about the mission..."

"I won't judge you, B. Kinda like your idea."

"Thanks, I wanted to visit things with you, I wanted you to discover things you've never had the possibility to do. I wanted to laugh with you, to run with you just for fun, to picnic with you."

"We have just tried this one, but now I understand your intentions, I think we could give picnic another try."

"Wanted to date you."

"Tomorrow would be a good idea, I presume G-Man... Woh, woh, woh... STOP. Rewind, girlfriend... to date me?"

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand a little, blushed completely, smiled widely then answered.

"Yes... I didn't know how to say it to you. I know it could sound lame for you to hear me say that I was scared but... I was."

Buffy noticed Faith's emotion, tears of joy were about to fall soon and she did not know if she could continue when they would fall so, she launched herself. She took Faith's other hand then said:

"I told you that I've always had feelings for you. Three years ago... I was too busy with the Mayor and Angel to analyze these feelings... probably too young too. But the last weeks I realized how much you're important to me. How much I need you... I... It was so good to be with you again that I was a bit scared and convinced myself that I needed some time to cope with all the feelings that had come back after we defeated my beast. I was a fool. And sharing the hell that was your childhood with you, that was so bewildering. I suffered with you and I know you know that. I wish I could erase it to your memories but all I can do is to offer you a happy future. I want to be your future as much as I want me to be yours. I know it could sound selfish but -"

Suddenly, Faith's finger was on Buffy's lip. Faith's crying face in front of her increased Buffy's emotion. And she did not think it was possible yet. But what caught her attention and filled up her heart with joy was that Faith's crying face did not show any sign of pain, fear. Just happiness. And Buffy had never seen Faith that happy in her life. She took Faith's finger out of her lips, gently and said with a very soft voice:

"I'm in love with you, Faith... See, I'm not scared to say it anymore. I love you, my Fairy."

Buffy's voice was as charged with emotion as Faith's but she could hear the dark slayer say:

"And I love you, my B."

Then, without any hesitation, without any other word, as if it was the most natural thing to do, they kissed, slowly, gently... There was no need to rush. They have finally found each other. The path had been long and painful but it did not matter anymore. Just soft kisses but they meant so much for them.

PART 4

They were all gathered in the Summers' house, listening to Spike who was finishing relating the events they had witnessed during their patrol. Demons hunting half-demon, demons dusting vampires or dismembering the unfortunate humans who had crossed their path. Spike was telling them the few things he knew about the "Scourge".

"Usually, they don't care about human or vampires. They are focused on their bloody mission: killing the half-bread. They seem to have changed their mind."

Then Xander who had remained silent during Spike's speech said:

"So, some Big bad had just tried to kill Buffy and Faith, his employer is not known, there is an army of demons who want to erase all humanity in Sunnydale and... there is no slayer to fight them. So my suggestion is: we find a hole, we jump into it and wait till the pros win the game against the cons?"

Willow stood up from the chair she had be sitting on since the beginning of the report.

"We do not know enough to react. Spike, do you know anything else about the "Scourge"?"

"No! Usually when I heard they were coming in the town I was staying in, I moved away. They have a Frankenstein look that could even give nightmares to Lucifer."

"Ok, then, we do not have the choice. Research time guys."

Willow could not prevent a smile on her lips when she saw the resigned look on the Scoobies' faces. Except Dawn who was the only one who liked books as much as her.

Giles was driving toward his house. Usually, thinking of his place, a very charming little cottage in a no less charming little village, in the British countryside, calmed him. All he had to do was to think about the silence that ruled the place, only the soft noise of the paddle wheel that was in his garden troubled this peace. But not today, not after what Quentin had just told him.

Was it possible that Faith had corrupted Buffy? No, every inch of his brain told him it was impossible. He knew Buffy so well, he had trained her, considered her like his own daughter. She could not be evil. It was not in her personality. She had called him after her beast had taken control of her. She had explained her fear to become this primal being again. And had told him how Faith had saved her... how she had risked her life to bring her back to the light. And for this reason, he could not believe that Faith had killed the man, not after what she had done for Buffy, not after she had proved she had changed. Then, who had killed the watcher?

A move interrupted his thoughts. He had forgotten Nigel, Quentin's faithful dog. He was in charge of protecting him or that was what Quentin told him. The real reason was not difficult to guess, Quentin did not trust him.

"You live in a very poetic landscape, Mr Giles."

" Yes, indeed.according to this statement, I assume you live in London?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I lived in the countryside during my childhood. Then, I followed my watcher studies in London. Mr Travers was my professor and as he was in charge of the London chapter at that time."

"Oh, he wasn't in the Inner Council yet."

"No, he joined them two years later but he asked me to be his contact with the London chapter, something I'm very proud of."

"But, you must stay in London."

"Yes, life is not perfect."

Giles turned to the left and was lost in his thoughts once again. In almost two hours, he would be at home. What if Buffy was waiting for him there?

Buffy watched as Faith was waking up. She had looked at the sleeping form of her girlfriend during the whole journey. She remembered their kiss, then the ones that followed, the wish they had shared to go step by step with their relationship, not to rush things. Then she remembered their running when they had realized that they had been close to miss the bus. Then, the journey had begun and she had noticed that Faith was exhausted but stared at her as much as she did. It was then that she had told her she could sleep if she wanted. She then remembered two strong arms on her waist when Faith had put her head on her thighs and her reaction to this gesture.

"Hey, don't break the girlfriend. I'm not going anywhere."

"I'll never do that. But now that I've found you, B, I keep you."

She was driven out of her thoughts by a now awaken Faith.

" Almost there?"

" Almost... We'll be there in ten minutes."

"Mind if I kiss a wicked sexy blond?", Faith asked with a grin.

Buffy did not answer, she just put her hand on Faith's cheek, then laid down to meet her girlfriend lips with her own. She was the first surprised by how easy it was, no shame, no rush. Just two persons in love.

A man coughed behind them but they did not care, the kiss lasted till they both needed air. At the same time, the bus stopped, they were in destination under a magnificent sunset.

Nara entered the Sunnydale Museum at 2.00 AM. She gave a brief nod to the guard then followed the corridors she knew perfectly now. She went downstairs and joined the director in the basement.

"Ah, lady Nara. I'm so pleased to see you again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Everything is there?"

"Yes, twenty-one boxes as you told me. Twenty have the same shape while the last one is clearly different."

"Yes, I know. It's this one I want. You are gonna keep the others and wait for the twenty-two remaining boxes. They should be here in three days."

"As you wish. I will warn my men. Do you want a cup of -"

But Nara was already gone to supervise the work. God, she hated that guy... too smooth to be honest.

Suite PARTS 5-8