Disclaimer: All hail Joss.

Author’s note: Much love to Bloodytearsoflife for the betaing! *huggles*
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Chapter 28: The Fledge

The minions had all gathered waiting for what would happen to Riley Finn, the commando that had once hunted them all. Naked, bound and gagged, the soldier’s eyes looked terrified at his captor.

Buffy imagined that it must be slightly better now that he wasn’t being raped by Harmony. Only slightly better, ‘cause he had no idea what was in store for him now that she was in charge.

Spike was safely asleep upstairs, recovering from whatever horrors he had to endure while he was captured. For that Riley had to pay, and pay for a good long time.

“You said he was mine to take care of!” whined Harmony from her bunk, now fully clothed and as annoying as usual.

“I said to take care of him, not do as you’d like to him,” Buffy growled back.

“But I-” Harmony began.

“One more word out of you and you will be nothing more than dust beneath my feet, you got that?” Buffy asked, Harmony giving a tiny nod at her tone. “Good. Marcus, bring me the tazer.”

Riley’s eyes went wide as a dark haired minion handed Buffy the tazer.

“It’s only fitting that I do to you what you did to him,” the mistress of the clan stated.

All around her, minions, except Harmony, were smiling at their mistress’ harsh punishment of the fledge. Mistress Elizabeth would get first crack at the fledge, and then Master Spike, once he regained his strength. Then, hopefully each of them in turn would get their chance to make the soldier suffer.

Riley tried to scream through his gag. The smell of singed flesh filled the air of the minion quarters’. Buffy had made sure that the voltage was just enough to inflict pain but not to render Riley unconscious. It was more fun that way.

Another tazer shock and a few kicks to the head, and Buffy was bored. Riley’s screams had turned to sobs and there was nothing more pathetic than a vamp that couldn’t handle pain. Buffy dropped the tazer and turned her back on her new fledge, silently giving the minions license to do what they wanted with him.

She stopped at the bottom of the steps leading to the main floor of the mansion and turned her head slightly, addressing the minions.

“He doesn’t dust until Spike’s had a go at him, ’kay,” she ordered cheerfully.

Buffy ascended the stairs to the main level, regret only just floating into her consciousness.

What would Willow think?
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Spike clung desperately to the handrail as he descended the steps from the second floor. Buffy looked up from her lounge chair and her Psychology assignment, a smile lighting up her face as she took in her mate, vertical and only a little worse for wear.

His hand went to the bald patch on his head the moment he saw Buffy. She stifled a giggle at his vanity. She would still love him even if his hair was completely gone.

“Don’t know what those bastards bloody did to my head,” he breathed, embarrassed.

Buffy set down her textbook and stood up, opening her arms to comfort her mate as he mourned his hair.

“I know what will make you feel better,” she said with glee in her eyes, planting a kiss on the bald spot.

Buffy took Spike by the hand and led him downstairs. It had only been a few hours since she’d let the minions have free reign on her fledge, but she knew that he was still undead.

As she and Spike stepped on to the floor, Buffy could see just what the minions had been up to. Riley was still gagged and bound, but the smell of burnt flesh was overpowering in the enclosed space.

Spike took in the image of Riley, bleeding, bound and burnt, lying on the floor.

“You turned the soldier boy?” he asked, uncertain as to what was going on.

Riley had Buffy’s mark on his neck and Harmony’s smell all over him.

“I did,” noted Buffy happily, as if seeking approval from her sire.

He looked at her curiously, the minions hanging on every word. “You sired a fledge?”

Buffy nodded her head enthusiastically.

“She, who drinks out of blood bags? My Goldilocks?” he questioned again.

“Yes! already!” she cried, exasperated. “I made a fledge. He hurt you, so I turned him. You can hurt him for all eternity if you want. Or, you know, dress him up in drag and leave him in the middle of campus for the sun to set him on fire.” Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”

“It is a big deal,” Spike whispered to his mate lovingly.

“I hope you like your present,” she added with a smile.
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Leaving Spike with Riley in the minion quarters’, Buffy decided it was a good time to check up on her marked humans.

She found Willow still in the hospital, but the doctors were sure that she would be released soon. The sad faces of Giles, Xander, Amy, and now Oz in the waiting room tore at her unbeating heart. The military could have killed Willow, all because she was a true friend.

She couldn’t let that happen again. She just hoped that now that Riley was dead and being tortured, that she hadn’t impulsively declared war. That would really suck.

She’d turned Riley. She had taken a life.

And Spike was proud of her for it. That thought alone stemmed the potential flow of tears. Somehow, though, it wasn’t enough to keep her from feeling bad. She’d murdered. She’d become the thing that she’d once fought against. The thing that she’d been so careful to avoid becoming, despite sires, grandsires and watchers, had taken over.

Would Faith be broken up at Riley’s disappearance? Would the cold Slayer, that used men for her amusement, who’d used Xander mercilessly, show some emotion over his death?

In some way, Buffy hoped that she wouldn’t. It would make things easier for the two of them. Not that things would ever be easy between them ever again. Thrall wasn’t a relationship builder in this case.

Buffy walked up and down the streets of Sunnydale, hoping to get a location for her other future childe. Suddenly, Buffy felt a brief longing for help. Not from Spike, ‘cause he was having lots of fun torturing vamp!Riley at the moment, and not from Willow ‘cause she was peacefully sedated. The only other conclusion, was that it was coming from Faith.

Concentrating on the whisper on the edge of her perceptions, she let her feet lead her to Faith.

Minutes later Buffy was standing in front of an unimposing house on the edge of town, nestled beneath large trees and surrounded by flowering bushes. A cat sat on the front porch, sleeping in the early morning light. Buffy half expected a little old lady to walk out the front door bearing milk and cookies.

There was no little old lady though. Buffy could hear the sound of four heartbeats inside, one of which was Faith’s. The other three Buffy was unsure of.

The problem she was now faced with was how to get into the house. The tacky green gem she wore on her finger didn’t change the fact that she still needed an invite to get into houses.

So just how would she get into this house and save Faith, if she needed saving?

Thoughts swirled around in her head, and Buffy dismissed each idea as it flitted over her grey matter. Luckily the side door opened and out walked a few dark haired men and Wesley.

Buffy growled. Wesley had her Faith. Her Faith.

The men opened the sliding door of the black van in the driveway of the little inconspicuous house, and returned to the house, Wesley in tow. They didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to.

They had her Faith.

Buffy slunk through the bushes and towards the house. She was going to get Faith back.

The van was wide open, as if prepared for a struggle. No doubt that wherever these guys in league with Wesley were taking Faith, the slayer didn’t really want to go there. Only seconds later, Faith was brought out, kicking and moaning, through a gag, by two large men. Faith was bound tightly around the wrists but they had left off binding her feet, possibly so they could move her more easily.

Whatever sedative they had given her apparently was wearing off; She pretty violently protested going with them. One man finally hoisted Faith up into the van, Wesley followed in behind. As the door slid closed, Buffy stepped forward and clocked the remaining man in the head. He crumpled to the ground beside the van with little noise, certainly not enough to alert the captors in the van.

Buffy plucked the keys from his hand and headed toward the driver’s seat. With a wicked smile on her face, Buffy put the key in the ignition and started the van up. She threw the vehicle into drive and peeled off in the direction of her home.

Mistress Elizabeth of the Auralius Clan pulled the black van into the garage of the Crawford Street mansion and slid out of the driver’s seat. As the garage door came down with a controlled crash, Buffy turned her attention to the sliding door and the two occupants within.

A few minions filed into the garage, curious as to what their mistress had brought home.

Buffy threw the door wide, half expecting to be attacked as the door opened. Instead, Buffy found two unconscious watchers and an irate Faith.

“I guess you don’t need help then,” Buffy noted, staring at Faith, who was still gagged.

Wesley’s body lay crumpled on the floor, a large swelling bump on his head. The other watcher clearly had a broken arm and an equally large bump on his head.

Buffy reached over into the van and pulled the gag from Faith’s mouth.

“Where were they taking you?” Buffy inquired.

“England, for re-education,” explained Faith.

“Re-education?” asked Buffy with a quirked eyebrow.

“Brain washing for Slayers, it’s all the rage right now,” said Faith with a shrug. “Where am I?” she asked peering into the darkness of the garage.

The inside door to the garage, from the house, opened and closed noisily. The click-clack of high heels sounded across the cement floor. Buffy suppressed a smile as Anya poked her head into the van, curious as to whom was in there and exuding the wish for vengeance.

“Oh, Faith, it’s just you. No vengeance for she who used my Xander,” pronounced Anya, walking away, parting the minions as she did so.

Buffy laughed. “She’s a little bitter that you had him first I think,” mentioned the vampire.

Faith held up her hands. “Would you mind cutting me loose?”

Buffy cocked an eyebrow at that. “How do I know you aren’t going to stake me?”

“How do I know you aren’t going to bite me again?” asked Faith.

“Good point,” conceded Buffy. “So maybe I’ll just leave you in the van. I’ll just take the watcher boys here and leave you in the dark.”

Buffy grabbed the collars of Wesley and his compatriot and lifted them out of the van, placing them none too gently on the cement floor of the garage. She moved her hand to the handle of the sliding door.

“Wait!” exclaimed the trapped Slayer. “I’ll come out. I don’t want you snacking on Wesley. Scum bag that he is, he doesn’t deserve to die for doing what the Council wants.”

“And I deserve to die because I didn’t do what the Council wanted?” asked Buffy carefully.

“You are already dead. And hanging with evil vamps.”

There was a murmur from the assembled minions. It was possible that they didn’t like being called evil.

“Awww,” Buffy started with fake concern. “Are you implying that I’m not evil?”

“Will it get me untied?” asked Faith.

Buffy turned away from Faith and looked at a couple of minions nearby. “Leave us,” Buffy ordered.

On command, the minions left the room and shut the door behind them. Buffy turned back to Faith without the smile she had been wearing.

“We need to talk,” Buffy started.

“And I need to be tied up for this conversation?” asked Faith.

“I think yes,. I don’t want to get staked.”

“So talk already,” spat Faith, her tone annoyed.

Buffy exhaled an unneeded breath. “About the thrall...”

Faith’s eyes flashed.

“Oh so you remember that,” continued Buffy. “You’d have done the same, if someone you’d cared about was in danger. Done what you needed to do. If Riley for example...”

“No,” spat Faith. “Not for him.”

“Oh?” asked Buffy suddenly curious. “Something happened between you and him?”

“No, nothing’s happened. He was just another lay,” admitted Faith, with renewed interest in the rope around her wrists. “He could be dead in a ditch somewhere and I wouldn’t care.”

“Oh?” asked Buffy again.
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tbc...