PART 20

Kennedy returned home a while ago and sat with Willow in the family room. They were waiting for Buffy and were talking and laughing. Upon hearing the front door open, Kennedy turned smiling to see who it was. Her smile immediately fell. Willow, who was watching her, looked behind her.

There stood Buffy, in the doorway, with Faith in her arms. Kennedy immediately got up and stood not to far away from Buffy. Kennedy and Willow became silent. They could see that Buffy had been crying and was emotionally drained.

"What happened? Is she alright?" Kennedy asked. She couldn't see Faith all that well. Buffy had her clutch to her body. At that question, Buffy collapsed on the ground, holding Faith to her crying.

"No...She's dead Kennedy...she's dead..." Buffy sobbed.

Kennedy basically had to pry the dead body of Faith from Buffy. The morgue people just left from picking her up. Buffy sat on her bed in her room, staring off into space like a zombie. She heard voices downstairs but nothing registered in her head.

She even jumped when Willow came to her door.

"Buffy...you may want to come downstairs...there are some...people here to see you," Willow told the slayer. Buffy got up expecting to see morgue people or police wondering about Faith's death. But instead, there were 3 knights. Yes you heard right...knights.

Buffy looked at them skeptically as she approached them. It was weird to see knights in her family room. Although the family room has had its fair share of weird people in it. One of the knights looked at Buffy.

"You must be Buffy?" He asked. His armor shined bright and reflected off the walls. Buffy crossed her arms and nodded.

"I know you had a trying battle earlier. I am aware of your loss. But this realm you are in," the knight explained opening his hands and arms, indicating the room, "Is not really all that real."

Buffy looked at the knight like he was crazy. The knight noticed this. "Aw, let me explain...do you know what wishgivers are?"

Buffy, Willow, Kennedy, as well as the three knights sat in the family room as the leading knight explained his whole story. About being the Kightriders, from a kingdom long ago, and about how their kingdom fell apart. A gypsy, scorned and dying, cursed the group to live till the end of all wishgivers. A curse in which the Kightriders accepted. They wouldn't stop till all the wishgivers were gone. Expressly the one that destroyed their kingdom. Lives were lost and destroyed due to this one demon. They would not rest till they broke the curse.

"So you're saying...if I kill this Enya, the last wishgiver, that has done all these wishes and everything...everything will go back to normal from before the first wish?" Buffy asked. The knights nodded.

"In your realm, it will be turned back to when the first wish was in your time. For ours," the knight smiled looking at his common men, "Time will go back to our era in another realm."

Buffy thought about this. That would probably mean that Angel will go...But Faith would be alive again. Many things went through Buffy's head. But only one thing mattered...Faith would be alive.

Buffy threw open the factory's door pissed as Kennedy followed her in. They had finally located where Enya was with the help of the knights and after beating the crap out of a few vampires and demons as well as talking with Willy. Kennedy had to basically force Buffy to take her a long with her.

Buffy was determined. Someone was going to pay for what they have done. Nothing was going to stand between Buffy and her Faith. Buffy already missed the girl terribly, even though some kind of spell was on her to love Angel.

The way Buffy saw it was that nothing could mask true love...and that was what she felt for the other girl. So the feeling she had for Faith kept her going. Faith was worth it and Enya was going to go straight to hell for all Buffy cared. The first part of the factory looked just as it should. Dull, dark, and dirty. But as Buffy and

Kennedy moved down into the lower part of the factory, things started to change.

The walls were lined with drapes and various objects were here and there. Buffy's face was set in a stern calm scowl. Kennedy knew exactly why too. Buffy was there to do one thing. To kill Enya and she was determined to do it.

Kennedy kept her distance behind Buffy as they walked further into the factory. They did come across a few vampires that were stationed as guards but Buffy just threw them aside and broke their necks within seconds. Kennedy knew it was wise for her to stay out of the blonde's way. She was on a mission.

The dark halls of the factory seemed to get brighter as they neared a room. Everything happened in a flash. Buffy strides into the room and a very surprised Enya yelped as Buffy seized her by the throat lifting her a couple feet. A few vampires rushed into the room and Kennedy fought them.

Buffy threw Enya across the room and she smacked into a concrete wall falling to the ground. Buffy stormed over to her grabbing her by the neck again and pinning her against the wall with a fist raised. Anger was written all over Buffy's face as her eyes burned into Enya's.

"Don't ever fuck with me again," Buffy growled bringing back her fist preparing to throw it forward. Enya's eyes went wide and she knew she had made a mistake.

"Goodnight," Buffy said through clenched teeth as she shot her fist forward with all her slayer might. Then suddenly...everything went white...

Buffy saw flashes of memories of her and Faith. Then came the memory of The First. It dawned on Buffy that what The First said was true. "She will die protecting and loving you". It made sense now, what it was saying.

Then there came flashes of Faith's smile, the musical, their first kiss, the first time they made love. No one had ever made Buffy feel the way Faith made her feel. Buffy felt as though Faith made her more alive. More memories of her and Faith went through her mind then everything was dark.

Buffy slowly opened her eyes to a feeling of a warm body wrapped around her. A smile stretched upon Buffy's face as Faith's grip on her tightened. Faith was here, not dead, and very much alive...

The End