Patefacio Luminis

"I feel like we're being naughty. Doing something we shouldn't be."

Willow's eyes were round and bright as she watched her girlfriend scribble symbols on the clean floor with washable black marker. She was practically bouncing in her cute sandals.

Buffy stood off to the side with a small smile, her arms folded over her simple tank top. It was one in the morning and they were at the Magic Box...after stealthily stealing the keys from Anya so that they could get in. It seemed like the best place to do a spell where they needed peace and quiet. She just hoped it was a perfect time back in her dimension for Faith to be asleep. She wasn't sure when bed time occurred in jail, but she really hoped it was about nowish.

She'd asked Tara for help, and in turn Tara had requested that Willow come along since she was more the accomplished witch. At first she wasn't sure that had been a good idea, but she later supposed it didn't really matter. No one here knew her history with Faith so they wouldn't have anything snarky to say about her sudden interest in the other girl's well being. And if they did it's not like it would matter. She just wanted to know if she was alright.

Mostly.

"Okay so the spell will last as long as one of you are still asleep." Willow flicked with the lighter in her hands, trying to light the four candles that surrounded the large circle. "But you know how dreams are. Five minutes there is like an hour in the real world. So I--I'd talk fast."

"Noted." Buffy nodded, itching at her cheek. "Thanks for helping with this."

"Oh don't mention it. Any time I get to do magic, I'm one happy camper."

"So just so we're clear, this isn't dangerous right? I'm not gonna end up in a coma or something, am I?"

"No. If she wakes up in the real world, you'll wake up here and vice versa. You won't get trapped in a scary nightmare where your socks try to eat your feet."

The blonde arched a brow. "Good to know. I guess."

Tara giggled, tucking hair behind her ear. She straightened up and rubbed her lower back, glancing at her artwork. "Alright I--I think we're ready."

Wetting her lips, Buffy sighed and slowly laid down on the drawings, careful not to set her pajamas on fire from the candles. She clasped her hands on her stomach and stared up at the ceiling, running the different ways things could go in her mind. She hoped things didn't end on a bad note, with the kicking and the punching. And she really hoped those strange dream things didn't happen, like suddenly being in class naked or suddenly being on a date with that Jonathan guy.

"Choose a place where she feels safe." Tara whispered. "Somewhere familiar. It--it'll make things easier."

"Okay." The blonde closed her eyes. "Safe..."

The room fell quiet and Willow began the spell. "I call upon Hypnos, god of sleep. Take the deserving one and bid her entrance to your castle of forever night." She sunk to her knees beside her friend and picked up a brown bowl, dipping her finger inside the solution of crushed poppy flowers and oils. She waved them under the blonde's nose and continued as her eyes began to droop. "Morpheus, god of dreams, guide her through your endless maze to the one that she seeks. Dim lux lucis. Rector via. Tollo veil."

Yawning loudly as tiny lights started to dance in front of her eyes, Buffy felt a thick fog enter her mind. It sucked away her energy and the walls of the Magic Box began to fade and contract, throbbing like a sore thumb. The voices of the two witches grew deeper and then more distant as she was pulled away from consciousness into a black void of silence.

The apartment was nicely furnished, with clean hardwood floors and decorative paintings on the walls. Across from the cement stairs to the right was a bed with brass posts and two flowered pillows, with a large chest at the foot. Beside it was a small dresser with some odd sculpture on it and a single lamp with a yellow lamp shade. To the left was a small kitchen with a square green table and pale colored fridge.

Buffy was surprised by how much she could remembered about the place, considering she'd only been there for a few moments. Maybe it didn't matter though. Maybe the blanks filled themselves in now that the spell was in full affect.

At first everything had been blurry, and for a moment she thought she'd lose her non corporeal cookies. But then the edges evened out and she'd suddenly found herself standing in Angel's basement apartment. Or his apartment in her mind at least. Tara had said some place where Faith would feel comfortable, and considering everything Angel had done for her, it seemed like the logical choice.

She just hoped it didn't bring back bad memories.

Smoothing her hand along the banister of the staircase, she wet her lips and tried to calm down. She wasn't sure why she felt so...wiggy. There was no reason to but she couldn't shake the wig that was running up and down her spine. Maybe it was the whole dream aspect; too bad they couldn't just use a phone. Did they have outer-dimension calling plans? The bill would probably be through the roof if they did.

Here goes. "Faith? Ar--are you here?"

Silence.

She waited a moment, peeping into the elevator. "I um--I kinda need to talk to you. Again."

Silence.

"What is it with us and beds?" Asked a whiskey on the rocks voice after a few minutes. "We make 'em. They're around. Ya stab me in front of one; think they're tryin' to tell us somethin'?"

Buffy whirled around, surprised to actually be surprised to see her. Faith smirked up at her from her place on said bed. She was leaning back on her elbows, dressed in a white tank top and blue sweat pants. Beside her was the matching coat for the pants, and she noticed the numbers across the pocket.

"Hey." She smiled, folding her arms across her chest. "Didn't know if this would work. If you were asleep or not."

Faith shrugged slowly. "Ya caught me durin' our lights out. Kinda surprised ya summoned me and all that."

"Yeah well, you showing up in my dream out of nowhere made me wonder if everything was alright."

"Five by five."

"So why--I mean that was you right?"

"Yup. Not unless there is another me runnin' around out there. Oh wait, there is."

"You know about that, huh?"

"A little bit."

"How?"

"Dunno. Must be one of our weird connection things." The brunette chuckled and stood. "Freaky, ain't it? Makes ya wonder how many others are around. And which are the real ones." Cracking her neck, she rocked back on her heels. "Yet you seem to be right at home."

The blonde arched a brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothin' really. Just, well ya know ya don't belong there." She replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" Buffy blinked in confusion. "Am I really hearing this? I--I mean here I am thinking you are in trouble and I'm actually worried, yet you're what? Jealous that I'm in another dimension? Or is it that the Faith 'here' is normal?"

"Didn't say I was jealous. Said you don't belong there." She tilted her head to the side with a little grin.

"Oh. Right. Alright then, enlighten me. Why don't I belong here?" The older Slayer asked with a scowl. "Why shouldn't I just hang up my six shooters and rest in a world where Buffy Summers isn't needed?"

"Cause Buffy Summers is needed in 'this' world." A pause. "You think evil's took a day off cause you ain't around? Think again sweetheart. If anythin' it's gonna step up its game, and I can't exactly do jack from behind bars. Not that ya Scoobs would want me to..."

Chewing on her bottom lip, the blonde waved a hand. "I'm sure Willow and the others can handle it. They're smart and she is very good with the magics now."

Faith appeared amused by that statement. "Oh, aight. Whatever you say, B." She strutted into the kitchen and peered in the fridge. "If you're sure and all..."

Frowning, the older girl grumbled. "Since when do you care about how my friends are doing? Once upon a time, you tried to kill them! And me. What? You spend a few days in the big house and suddenly you're Mother Teresa?"

"Wanna know what the definition of insanity is? Performin' the same task over and over, and expectin' a different outcome." The brunette recited. "I can't change the shit I did, but a part of me hopes I can make up for it. Someday. Givin' a damn bout the people I wronged seems like a good a place as any to start."

Buffy watched her for a moment, trying to figure if she were being sincere. "You wanna be Miss. Stable?"

Faith snickered and hopped up onto the counter, swinging her legs. "Somethin' like that." Then she smirked. "That's what you dig, ain't it? A more 'normal' me?"

Um... "Why would you say that? Wh--why would you even think that?"

"Dunno." Running a hand up through her curls, she sighed and changed the subject completely. "I miss you."

Okay that was not something she'd expected to hear. "I haven't seen you in like nearly two years, yet you suddenly miss me?"

"I didn't say I missed seein' ya. I said I missed ya." The younger female met her gaze. "Might surprise ya to hear B, but I can feel you. Even when you're like, not around."

"What?"

"You didn't know?"

"I--um--huh?" The blonde stammered. Nobody would know a thing like that!

"Not sure what it is, but bein' locked up didn't change it. I could sense somethin'. Now? Not so much." Faith revealed idly.

Buffy swallowed hard; was it possible to pass out if technically you were already out? "An--and you miss it?"

She gave a dimpled grin. "Yeah. It tingled."

Alright this was getting to wiggy, even for her. She needed to wake up and get back to civilization, because being stuck in her mind with Faith would surely drive her to the brink of crazy town. "I--um--well this has been fun. And I--I'm glad you're not in horrible pain. So I--I'm just gonna go..."

Faith jumped down and walked up to her. "Since when did you become a runner? Aren't cha the one who usually faces shit head on?"

Usually. "And what am I supposed to be facing here?"

"I'd think it was obvious." The brunette's expression was stoic. "Check the signs."

"What signs?" She asked, irritated. "I want you to explain to me with in depthy detail what 'signs' I should be looking for. No double talky crap."

"But that's how it goes, ya know? That's how it always goes." The other girl chuckled, bringing back her words from the earlier dream. "I can't draw ya a map, B. I'll give ya a hint...three libras."

"Hints are supposed to make sense. That doesn't make any." Buffy threw her hands up into the air. "You're useless."

Snickering, Faith glanced over her shoulder at something and then made her way back to the bed. She put on the long sleeved shirt and fiddled with the draw string to her pants. "You're all about control. You have no idea what it's like on the other side. Nothin's in control. Nothin' makes sense. There's just pain and hate, and nothin' you do means anythin'." Her voice was soft, just above a whisper. "Just tell me how to make it better..."

Her words cut through Buffy's brain like a knife, and that night on the roof flashed before her eyes. She stared at her fellow Slayer as different emotions swelled in her chest, confusing her even more than she already was. Reaching out a hand, she jerked when a loud clanking sound suddenly filled the air. The room filtered with bright lights and she shielded her face, shouting out the question of what is going on?

"Time to go make license plates for seven cents an hour." Faith remarked peacefully. "See ya around...B."

And just like that the dream was disappearing, breaking a part like misty rain.

Buffy woke up feeling sluggish with heavy limbs. She groaned and slowly rolled over, resting her face to the cold tiles of the floor. She had wanted to talk to Faith and hopefully shed some light on the Pandora's Box that was their relationship. Instead she was left with even more questions and even more feelings that she felt like she shouldn't be feeling. Just tell me how to make it better; those words hadn't meant much back then because she'd been consumed with anger and rage. She'd decided the moment that she walked in on Angel hugging the brunette that there was no possible way for her to ever make anything better.

Now, especially considering her new circumstances and seeing how Faith could have turned out, she wasn't sure of anything anymore. Well except that sinking feeling of dread that she usually got before something scaly or slimy tried to kill her. Funny how that sensation was totally the same to the ones dealing with mid terms and running out of her favorite lipstick.

~*~

"I did not have a lot of luck with the spell I performed. It became more of a uh--uh information source at best. However I did learn that the energy which sent you here is called spadsere and loosely translated it means 'walk'. Which I would think signifies a journey or some sort." Giles explained, his glasses hanging between his finger tips. "Could it be possible that the portal was not a doorway home, but a manifestation to a plane of enlightenment?"

Silence.

"Buffy, are you listening to me?" He cleared his throat. "Buffy?"

"What?" Snapping to attention, she blushed. "Oh um--yeah. Planes."

He sent her a perturbed expression. "Should I repeat myself?"

Shaking her head, she managed a little smile. "No I heard what you said. But I don't see how I--I mean this isn't--where's Buddha? Or Ghandi or someone in a robe with a bald head to explain..."

"Perhaps it does not work that way. Perhaps you were sent here to learn a specific lesson." He sat down on his couch. "I have been pondering what you told me about Glory, and it appears to me that a God with her power would be very much capable of creating the correct portal to send her home. The energy it takes to travel through dimensions is highly extensive--it should have killed you."

"That's what I said!" She agreed with him. "So--wait. You're saying that since I'm not dead this is some weird questy kinda thing?"

"I am saying that it may be possible."

"What am I supposed to learn?"

"That I do not know."

"Great."

"I will consult my texts. Do not worry, Buffy. I will uh--help you discover what it is if that is what we are dealing with."

Nodding, she ran both hands through her hair and lapsed back into staring into space. She already knew that death was her gift; that had been way more than enough knowledge for her. She didn't need to learn anything else. As a matter of fact, she'd be happy spending the rest of her life never knowing anything new. Why did the universe insist on the cryptic? Couldn't it just write down everything she was supposed to absorb and fold it between the pages of a fashion magazine? Or put it on the bottom of a yogurt cup! Problem solved.

The kick in the pants this time however seemed to be that her Faith knew the answer to the question. Hell she probably knew the question, but apparently she was not going to tell. Or couldn't tell if that were to be believed.

I was right. I am in hell. I'm in hell with none of my own clothes. She thought, rolling her eyes.

The front door opened and Carly breezed in, wearing a yellow sun dress and carrying a cotton bag full of food. She smiled at Buffy and headed into the kitchen, putting things away. "Giles I went on a grocery run for you while I was at the mall. I saw you were out of stuff."

"Oh um, thank you..." He said absently, now reading a thick book with a black stem.

She chuckled, sticking a box of Wheatabix up in the cabinet. As she opened the fridge and stuck in the carton of milk, she started to sing lightly to herself. "But I threw you the obvious...just to see if there's more behind the eyes of a fallen angel, the eyes of a tragedy..."

"That song sounds familiar." Buffy related. She stood and moved to the counter, leaning over it. "Vaguely. Like one you haven't heard in years, then you hear it and can't remember anything but one verse. Gah it's gonna get stuck in my head." Pausing, she thought hard but couldn't come up with anything about it. "Who sings it?"

"Oh, A Perfect Circle. It's a lovely song, kinda sad I guess. I heard it in the car on the way over."

"Ah right! I was thinking square for some reason..."

"Haha. I can see how the two would get mixed up."

"Don't mind me, I'm a spazz. Um, what's the name of it?"

"3 Libras."