Initiative, Watchers and Angelus Oh My!
By Weasy

DISCLAIMER: They belong to Joss et al. Initial plot comes from a challenge by Carol Ann.
SUMMARY: Half AU, Slayers Buffy and Faith and two of many Council trained slayers, but they don't follow the rules and the council's had enough.
RATING: It should be at least an R, depending how the plot develops it might not get that far, or it might go over.
PAIRING: B/Aus
DEDICATION: Hmm, I think this one goes to Jo, because I still haven't got her a birthday present. To everyone who sends feedback, to anyone, because I always forget. Finally to Glenn Quinn.
DISTRIBUTION: If you want it you can have it just tell me.
FEEDBACK: Please!
AUTHORS NOTE: There are a lot more slayers than just one, in fact nearly every town has one. Buffy is the Slayer (With Giles as her unofficial Watcher) for Los Angeles and Faith is the slayer (With Wesley as the unofficial Watcher) for Sunnydale. Both Wes and Giles were fired after their handling of Buffy and Faith's 18th birthday tests. Angelus never had his little run in with the gypsies so he's still soulless, some things in the Buffyverse happened others didn't. They should be explained as I go along. Lyrics are,


Part One –
//The fuse is burning somewhere//
Buffy leaned over the handrail of the balcony and glared at the gloom below her. The creaking building she was presently risking her life in used to be the Hyperion Hotel and it was giving her the creeps. With her spider sense on full alert the sight of Giles tweed-clad form scuttling around below her was absurdly reassuring. She and Giles had stopped here on patrol because there'd been rumours of demon squatters here. It wasn't just a few demons, but several nests from a particularly nasty breed of fire breathing demon. She couldn't quite remember the name, it was something with too many vowels and at least one apostrophe. It was probably easier to say if you had a forked tongue. But she'd came, seen and slain and she really wanted to say adios to the cobwebs and go to the party on Ashford Avenue.

It wasn't just the party that made her want to leave though, the hotel was dank and depressing, with rusty hinges and broken floorboards. The worst think about it was that under the sheen of grey dust there were tiny reminders that this had once been a beautiful five star hotel. In some places fragments of wall paintings hadn't faded from the walls, and you could see the details on the people's smiling faces and the exotic birds weaving their way through knotted green woods. The cherubs smiling down from the ceiling had gold gilded halos and sat on plump fluffy white clouds. Queen Anne chairs lay smashed and broken on the floors next to the slashed remains of their red velvet covers, the curtains still hung loosely from big brass curtain rings. It was disturbing that something, which so obviously had once been elegant and refined, could be vandalised and ravaged so easily. And she in her own way had contributed to the building's desecration. The demons had blackened the walls with there breath and set fire to quite a few chairs, and their bodies were now strewn over the lobby, splayed staining blood and gore into the floor boards.
It seemed sad that if she had done exactly the same thing in the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel, by daybreak tomorrow no evidence would be left. But in this building, every action marked it forever, no benefactor with millions of dollars was going to pick it up and start it going again.
"Buffy?" Giles, was standing at her shoulder, having come to fetch her when she didn't answer his calls. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Huh? Oh Giles. Sorry, just spaced. No big." She put on a smile for her Watcher. "Are we done now. I wanna party!"
Slightly worried by her behaviour before, a small frown settled on his face. "Are you sure Buffy, you look tired… and that'll slow your reaction times and alertness… and that could really be rather perilous."
"That's Giles babble for; there's another big bad after me, isn't it?"
"Well. Yes." He shook his head a wry smile on his face. "I don't know very much yet though, and since nothing terrible had happened yet. I think we have some time."
"Giles! You just jinxed it!" Giles shrugged apologetically and gestured for her to move down the stairs out of the hotel. "And anyway why can't the bad guys go after any of the other slayers. But
no… it's always Faith or me. It doesn't seem fair."

"It isn't Buffy, but very little in life is. Besides I'm afraid the council are rather more lax about protecting the identities of yourself and Faith compared to the other slayers. It's rather a disadvantage of being rogue."
"It's okay Giles, sometimes back-up would be nice. But I don't want it if it means I have to follow council rules, and they'd replace you!"
"Buffy I rather doubt you'd be able to follow council rules even if you were trying to." The bright sunlight hit the pair as they left the lot of the Hyperion, making them squint as there irises readjusted themselves. Stepping out of the shadows of the Hyperion Hotel relived some of the physical tension of being there, but the feeling of despair and isolation lingered slightly under the surface.

Faith busied herself with straightening her clothes, it was a routine action that allowed her to concentrate on the slightly muffled rustling sounds behind her. They'd been following her for a while now, but they'd made no move to do anything more than that. Still she should probably go beat whatever it was up so it didn't follow her home. Besides it was starting to piss her off, and the constant sounds of unskilled tracking was putting her off her game.
Straightening and turning to face her attackers in one smooth twisting movement she faced the source of her agitation. Swiftly she ran to the clump of bushes and trees she deduced her prey had been hiding in.
When she reached the trees there was nothing there, but a patch of flattened grass and broken twigs. Cautiously Faith headed out of the clearing, constantly scanning the area around her for any sign of her stalkers, or how they could have escaped. The night had returned to it's normal blanket of nothing and suddenly feeling very alone Faith decided she'd check back with Wes before she finished her patrol. Sunnydale's cemeteries were far to empty for there not to be
something going on.

The Initiative was heaving, HST's were being brought in from all over Sunnydale. It was beyond strange, he'd heard from the other soldiers that even the strongest demons were barely putting up a fight before being captured. It was almost as if they, knew something bad was coming and thought they would be safe within the confines of the Initiative laboratories. The door Riley was standing guard at the entrance to 314, swung open quietly behind him and he stood a little taller as he nodded stiffly to the man in the pin-stripe suit who had just exited the room behind him. "Mr Travers." Riley addressed him. Dismissing the older man's presence almost as soon as he saw him. He was just government, they didn't know anything about the front line in demon fighting, but they were still in charge. It seemed a little ridiculous.
The half-nod was returned, and Quentin Travers complete with official looking suitcase turned to leave. Pausing in his tracks he back-peddled and turned back to Riley. "Tell me agent…"
"Finn." Riley supplied.
"Agent Finn… do you prefer blondes or brunettes?"
Riley's eyes widened for a moment as he tried to comprehend the question. He quickly noted that Travers' hair was grey and had to hold back a sigh of relief. "Uh… blonde. Sir."
Travers nodded thoughtfully, a little smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he turned to leave. A cell phone all ready out of his pocket and in his hand.