DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything!! BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon and the Heroes characters to Tim Kring. I don't make any money out of this and neither does this site.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: No particular timeline for Heroes. I'm just guessing somewhere between season 1 and season 2. In chapter 11 I took a small piece of text from Revelations and altered it just a little so it would fit my plot. I'm messing a little with the time thingy... 'Chosen' happened around June 2006 and 'How to Stop an Exploding Man' was around May 2007.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.

Heroes And Slayers
By Raven Morbisk

Chapter 10

Faith made her way down the stairs after she directed her lover's alter ego the way to Andrew's room where Micah was hanging out. She skipped the last few steps, sliding off the handrail. She landed with a small thud and whistled her way to the library.

"So, what's the what?" She asked, crashing in one of the sofas next to Willow, who was engrossed in studying her nails. The brunette slipped her arm around the redhead for comfort. Willow shot her a small smile, leaning into the Slayer. She took Faith's hand in hers, not noticing the glares coming from another certain brunette.

'If ya wanna talk to someone else than your buddy-buds, I'm here. For ass-kicking purposes as well.' Faith told the redhead through their mental link. Willow smiled to herself and squeezed the Slayer's hand appreciative of the offer. Faith looked around the room. Xander was feigning sleep in a single sofa, Dawn was sitting with Giles around the large table that was filled with books and papers and Kennedy was standing the farthest away from everyone but she couldn't see Buffy or Peter.

"Well, I have an idea of when it will all occur, but no exact location." Giles started as he got up, rubbing his temple weary. Buffy and Peter slipped into the library without being noticed, or so they hoped. "Abbadon is often linked to the winter, more specifically January. And would you care to explain why you two are late?" Giles turned to Buffy and Peter, standing near the door.

"We were checking on the girls." Buffy's answer was accompanied by a 'what else?' shrug. She would've gotten away with it if Peter didn't look at the older Brit with a meek expression.

"I'm sure." He simply said and turned his attention back to the book he was holding. "It is said here that when Abbadon is given the key to the abyss, it will be the end of times and he will unleash his demons on earth."

"Why does it always need to be a Key thing?" Dawn sighed "I'm not it." She crossed her arms and pouted.

"So if we find this key before they do, we're done? That's it?" Kennedy asked.

"Yes, I believe that is the case." Giles answered and sat down. "But I doubt it will be that easy to find this key."

"We've got 'til January, that's like four months. We got time, right?" Xander asked, startling everyone.

"Yes, but I think that once the followers know that we want to stop Abbadon's rising that we will not be safe anymore in the mansion." Giles sighed tired "The demons that attacked us earlier today were kin of the demons Kennedy and her group had slain a few days ago." A few pairs of eyes glanced towards Kennedy who stood by like this didn't affect her at all "Demons like that and stronger will show up once the followers find out about us, so I suggest that we only attack vampires for the time being and demons that you see attack humans." He held his hand up when the three Slayers began to object "For the time being, this will not be forever but we need to keep a low profile as long as we don't know the whereabouts of this key, the origin of these followers or what demons will be attacking us."

"We survived the First and those supervamps; we can survive this, too." Buffy said confidently.

"Yeah, B's right. We lived after takin' on the evil of all evil, no hell demon's gon' tear us down." Faith exclaimed with a smirk.

"On that note, I propose we call it a day and figure the rest out in the morning." Willow spoke up with a sleepy smile and got up, glancing at Kennedy.

"Well, I'm sure the new guests will have a room to sleep in, Faith?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, Niki and Micah are crashin' in my room." The Slayer replied. "By the way, Giles, if they sorta wanted to stay here, ya think I could get a room with like a door to another room or somethin'?"

"I'm sure we can manage that, with the help of Xander of course." Xander nodded in response and winked at Faith.

"Thanks." She grinned and jumped up. Giles smiled softly, remembering how heartbroken and reckless the brunette had been when Robin cheated on her and what effect the blonde woman and her child had on this young woman.

"I'm staying in Claire's room." Peter pointed out. "I mean Sandra's room." When several eyes stared at him he added "She's my niece."

"C'mon Red, we're crashin' B's room." Faith swung her arm around the shoulders of the redhead and threw a grin in Buffy's direction who rolled her eyes with a smile but motioned for the two to follow her.

"Xander, you coming?" Buffy asked the male brunette.

"Nah, you go have a girls night, I'm gonna hit the hay." He got up and kissed Dawn's temple goodnight.

"Don't stay up too long, okay Dawnie?" The teenager rolled her eyes at her sister "I'm not saying that to be bossy, I'm saying that to avoid having blue bags that match those blue eyes in the morning."

"G'night Giles." The four Scoobies said in unison and left the library.

"Mr. Giles, can I ask you something?" Peter spoke up. Kennedy had left the room without so much as a word seconds before her now ex-girlfriend and best friends left.

"Mr. Giles," The Head Watcher smiled at the young man "there's only one person who calls me that around here and I'm sure you wouldn't like to be compared with Andrew, so please call me Giles, like everyone else does." He turned to Dawn who nodded, taking a hint and left the room with a soft word of goodbye.

"What did you want to know, Peter?" Giles asked.

"How come I couldn't find my niece but I did find Faith, even though I used the same tracking system?" He asked curiously.

"The young Slayers are under special protection, so are Buffy and Dawn but Faith refused to be under that protection." He stood up, stacking some papers that were useless in their research "This protection is like a shield. No matter who or what tries to find them, they will not succeed. It's for their safety. Not only are the supernatural after these girls, Peter, there are governments that want to harm these girls and I for one would like to keep that from happening." He smiled at Peter who nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I know." He said softly "Thanks, Giles. Goodnight."

"Oh, Peter?" Giles spoke up before Peter disappeared in the hallway.

"Yes?" He put his hands in his pockets and looked at the Brit.

"I think it's very noble of you that you want to take care of Claire," he chuckled at the slightly confused look on the younger man's face "I know that Sandra isn't her real name, I know every fact about the girls in here." Peter nodded in comprehension "And I'm sorry for your loss." The older man referred to Nathan. Peter smiled grimly.

"He saved the world; the least I can do is take care of his daughter." He waved his goodbye and left.

"Remarkable young man." Giles mused.

Faith had just left her room after telling Micah and Jessica that she was staying with Buffy and Willow for the night. She didn't give a lot of explanation seeing as the boy and his aunt in her mother's body were busy playing Faith's X-Box™. She was carrying a pair of boxers and a tank top to sleep in, knowing that neither Buffy nor Willow would appreciate it if she slept in the nude, when she saw Kennedy standing outside the room that was hers and Willow's with her arms crossed, staring in the direction of Buffy's room.

"Ya blew it, Ken. There's no way she's comin' back so I suggest you make sure you're outta this room tomorrow and find a new place to sleep." Faith commented, pausing to look at Kennedy.

"She's overreacting. Anyone would've done what I did." The brunette huffed, turning to face Faith.

"Dude, you left her when some wizards were drainin' her power to save your own ass." Faith stated with a glare.

"To get help." She retorted angrily.

"Yeah, ya sent help but where were you? On a plane to Florida for cryin' out loud." Faith was struggling to keep her voice down.

"We were on our way to meet my parents, I couldn't let them wait. How the hell was I going to explain that we were late? 'Oh hey, mom and dad, sorry we're late. My witchy girlfriend was getting sucked off for her powers. Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm a Slayer and I'm dating a witch.' Yeah, that would've gone great." She snorted.

"Scared they were gon' disown you? Willow coulda died!" The older Slayer's eyes bore in Kennedy's.

"But she didn't, she's alive and she's safe and I covered for her with my parents." Kennedy quickly answered, her own voice rising.

"Y'know what, I'm pulling you off your rank. I don't want you leadin' my girls to their death." Faith said frustrated.

"What? You can't do that! I'm the best you got and you know it!" Kennedy was almost shouting.

"Yeah, like when you killed those demons the day before yesterday? Y'know, the demons whose kin attacked us in broad daylight this morning?" Faith retorted, taking a step closer to the brunette. "You know not all demons are evil, ya can't go attacking demons that weren't even remotely hostile."

"They were dangerous." Kennedy cried out.

"Not according to Sandra, who did a great job of describin' them. You took five girls and attacked their babies for God's sake. What's so dangerous about three Lister babies?" Faith asked with a small growl.

"Three what babies?" Kennedy asked in confusion.

"Lister, they're a half breed form of demons, they're harmless. And you killed them." Faith's voice calmed down when realization washed over Kennedy's face. "Like I said, I'm pulling you off your rank." Faith smirked and walked away.

"Just because Sandra was being a rat? And by the way, how can you trust Sandra? That's not even her real name." Kennedy called after the brunette.

"I know, but I'm bettin' she's better at leadin' my girls than you are." Faith simply said without turning.

"You're just giving her my spot because she's the same as that woman and her s-" Kennedy was cut off by Faith punching her in the face before she could even blink, knocking her on the ground.

"I'm not even gon' dignify that dumbass statement with an answer." She plainly said and made her way back to Buffy's room. She smirked at Xander who was standing outside his room in a pair of slacks and bare chest, scratching his head.

"I wasn't supposed to hit her but of course, you get a chance because she doubted you. So not fair." He grumbled and went back in his room. Faith shook her head with a soft chuckle, glancing back only to see Kennedy retreat in her room.

'Stupid brat.' She thought and advanced to the last room in the hallway. She entered without knocking, already seeing Willow curled up against the blonde Slayer in the large bed, sound asleep.

"She cried herself to sleep." Buffy whispered. "You shouldn't have hit Kennedy." She added with a stern voice but a grin slowly crept its way up on her face.

"She asked for it." Faith shrugged and stripped. Buffy groaned and slapped a hand over her eyes. The brunette grinned and quickly put on her boxers and top before crawling in the bed next to Willow.

"Think she'll be alright?" Faith laid on her side, one hand propped under her head, looking at the witch.

"She's Will, she'll be fine." Buffy replied, smiling at her best friend against her side.

"Night, Faith." Buffy said softly.

"Night, B." It didn't take long before both Slayers dozed off with the redhead in between them.

Chapter 11

A few weeks had gone by uneventfully. Kennedy had moved out of the room and was now sharing a room with three young Slayers that practically kissed the ground she walked on. Claire was the leader of her group of Slayers, amongst them was Kennedy who was everything but happy about it. They would regularly fight while on patrol usually ending in a fight that sometimes drew the attention of either Faith or Buffy. When it was Buffy Kennedy was sent back to the mansion but if it was Faith that had to break them apart it ended with Kennedy getting her ass kicked and then sent back to the mansion. Today was no exception for Kennedy to start bitching to Claire.

"We should just attack them." Kennedy hissed. They were following a group of vampires and ended up watching from the bushes when the vampires went in an abandoned building.

"No, wait. We don't know how many are in there." Claire responded, pulling the older Slayer down.

"It can't be that much; we've had a good slay the last couple of days." Kennedy retorted disobediently.

"I don't care. I'm not going in there without knowing how many vamps are in there. Now shut up." Claire snapped.

"Then let's find out." Kennedy declared boldly and before Claire could say anything the brunette crept her way to the old building and swiftly climbed her way using a drainpipe to one of the windows. Not seeing enough, she made her way higher until she could climb on the roof.

"Gotcha." She mumbled as she looked through a sky window. It was a one floor building and inside were dozens of demons and vampires. The walls were covered with torches and writings. There was one individual standing in the middle and for all Kennedy could tell this was a human and he was holding a thick book. He was wearing dark green robes, which hung open. He seemed like a young man, not older than thirty years old. She leaned in a little closer and concentrated on her hearing, trying to hear what he was saying.

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Archangel of Armageddon, Abbadon, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should demolish the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." The human closed the book and slowly looked around the demons and vampires that surrounded him.

"What the hell?" Kennedy muttered, seeing something sparkle in the light of the torches.

"This, my loyal beings, is the Key. In three months time, Abbadon's imprisonment will be over and he will reign down on earth with his demon hordes. Our long awaited search has come to an end." He lifted a simply old-fashioned key. It resembled a key from the middle ages but this one gleamed and radiated a certain power, a dark power, but a power that was not to be underestimated. The demons and vampires roared and Kennedy thought she'd seen enough. She carefully made her way back down the building. Her trip down wasn't as silent as she went up, alerting several vampires in the building.

"I think we've got a little birdie on the roof, Master." A demon commented pointing a finger to the roof with an evil smile.

"What are you waiting for? See what it was." The human shouted. A few vampires growled and made their way out of the building, intending to find whatever was spying on them and kill it.

Outside Kennedy quickly made her way to the bushes were Claire was. The moment she was out of sight a hand covered her mouth, seeing Faith and Buffy she relaxed and Claire removed her hand. She glanced around and saw the other girls had left, probably an order from the two older Slayers.

"You alarmed them." Buffy whispered not looking away from the building. Kennedy was about to speak up when the blonde motioned for the two younger Slayers to stay down and keep quiet. One second later seven vampires emerged from the building and began looking around and sniffing the air.

'We have to get out of here.' Buffy thought, glancing around to sneak out without being heard. They were surrounded by branches and dry leaves that would crackle if they moved.

'Wait it out, B. We can take 'em if they spot us.' Faith shot through their mental link.

'Yeah, but they'll attack the mansion if the others realize we're the Slayers.' Buffy barely finished her thought when Kennedy shot up from the bushes running towards the vampires.

"Crap, stupid brat." Faith grumbled and quickly followed the stubborn brunette.

"Stay." Buffy hissed when Claire moved to get up as well.

"I promised Peter I'd look after Faith if he wasn't around." She countered, looking from Buffy to the fight.

"Faith can take care of herself." Buffy growled trying to keep her own promise to the same young man.

"I promised him. Plus I can't die." Claire stated and then ran out of the bushes. Buffy rolled her eyes and joined the fight. She took on two vampires at once, relieving Faith of a third.

"Kennedy, you stupid bitch." Faith groaned, delivering a right hook to one of the vampires before staking him. It wasn't long before the vampires were all dusted. Not taking the chance of waiting to see if the others had heard the commotion, Faith picked up Kennedy and threw her over her shoulder, kicking and screaming. Buffy nodded in agreement at Faith's nonverbal plan to bail and motioned for Claire to follow them back to the mansion. They took the long way on purpose, hoping that it would throw off the vampires if their scent was all over the place.

They finally arrived at the mansion, stopping just outside the door Faith put Kennedy back on the ground who immediately tried to take a swing at the older Slayer. Faith caught her fist and head butted her on the nose. Kennedy let out a howl of pain and grabbed her nose.

"You self-righteous, conceited, immature little bitch." Faith said, voice dripping with anger "You wanna get us all killed? If they find out that this is where we are, they'll attack the mansion." Faith was fuming "Don't ya ever think 'bout someone else's life than your own?"

"Faith, calm down." Buffy tried to ease the fuming Slayer, stepping in between Faith and Kennedy who was holding her nose. Claire just stood by and watched.

"Calm down? B, they could get in here and kill Micah, and Dawn for that matter!" Faith was almost shouting.

"I know, but if you don't calm down you're going to wake some Slayers and you know how cranky they can get." Buffy said calmly. Faith nodded and started pacing, occasionally glancing at Kennedy, who had tears brimming in her eyes from the pain but was of course too stubborn to let them out.

"Kennedy, get inside and I wanna talk to you in the morning." Buffy ordered. Kennedy nodded and quietly opened the front door, slipping inside.

"You go too, Claire." Faith said a little more calm now that Kennedy was gone.

"I just wanna say I'm sorry. You trusted me and I blew it. I understand if you want to replace me." Claire told the older Slayers, staring at the ground, voice thick with guilt.

"It's not your fault. If you hadn't made the girls go back to the mansion it could've gotten worse. That was good thinking." Buffy replied and smiled at the young girl.

"Yeah, go and get some sleep, we'll talk 'bout it in the morning." Faith was almost her calm self again. Claire nodded sullenly and disappeared in the mansion.

"Are you calm now?" Buffy turned to her sister Slayer.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good." Faith waved it off. The blonde smiled and linked her arm in Faith's. They both entered the mansion and headed up the stairs.

"Two weeks! Two weeks we been watching the place, tryin' to figure out how to get in there and that brat just messed everythin' up." Faith groaned.

"She didn't mess anything up," Faith lifted her eyebrow and Buffy sighed "okay, she did but she didn't know we were watching the place. Maybe she thought it would help us or something."

"No, she just thought she could be a hero and save the day. There was no way she coulda known that that was the place were Abbadon's followers gathered." Faith fumed softly "She probably figured it was a nest and she wanted to outsmart Claire."

"You're going to be okay, right? I'm not going to find a dead Kennedy buried in the backyard in the morning?" Buffy asked when they had to split up.

"Five-by-five, B." Faith simply said and went to her room. Xander had finished the last touches on Micah's add-on room the week before but that didn't stop Micah from sometimes sleeping in bed with her and Niki. The poor boy sometimes still had nightmares about Sylar and about his father's death.

"Hey, baby. Had a rough night?" Niki spoke up groggily when the brunette crawled in their bed.

"Yeah, ya could say that. Where's Micah?" She asked, noticing it was just the blonde in the bed.

"He's asleep in his room. He's wiped. He helped Xander and Andrew set up the new game room and helped Willow fix some computers Dawn had accidentally knocked over practicing her magic." The blonde replied with a yawn, shifting in the bed so she could place her head on Faith's shoulder.

"Baby," Faith whispered. When Niki murmured something incoherent but showing she was still somewhat awake Faith continued "why didn't ya ever tell me that Jessica isn't the only one with enhanced strength?"

"Because I'm scared she might disappear if I didn't need her anymore." Niki murmured sleepily.

"And you don't want that?" Faith's hand stroked the soft blonde hair gently.

"No, I still need my sister even if she is a pain in the ass." The blonde replied then lifted her head and stared with sleepy eyes at her girlfriend. "I know it's weird but when she died I felt lost and now she's always with me, literally."

"Whatever makes you happy, baby." Faith planted a sweet kiss on her lover's lips. Niki smiled and laid back down, nodding off. Hearing her lover's breath even out she looked at the mirror across her bed.

"See, Jessie, she still needs ya." She whispered then closed her eyes, falling asleep as well. She pulled Niki closer in her sleep while Jessica stared at both of them with a small smile on her face.