“Hey Red. You keepin’ everyone in line here?” Faith questioned as she hugged Willow as well.

“Trying to. But you know how it is with these two,” Willow replied smiling.

“SO… who do we have here?” Faith asked eyeing the new recruits.

“This is Lisa, Julie, and Tanya.” Kennedy pointed at each girl as she said their names. “Girls… this is Faith.” The three on the bed looked at Faith.

“So this is the person that’s gonna keep us from becoming hamburger?” Tanya questioned uneasily.

“Yep… that’s me. Got a problem with that?” Faith questioned menacingly. Tanya recoiled visibly and Kennedy laughed remembering how intimidating Faith could be when she wanted to be.

“No,” the girl squeaked out.

“Good… then let’s get going. Why don’t all of you get showers and get dressed. There’s definitely a funk in here,” Faith joked waving her hand in front of her face. “When you’re done, we’ll start on a plan.”

“Good idea!” Dawn half yelled. “Me first!!!!!” Dawn raced into her room with the three girls following quickly behind.

Turning to Willow, Faith continued, “I brought something for you.” Faith sat her bag on the bed and rummaged in it for a few seconds before producing a small brown package. Handing it to Willow, the Slayer continued, “I had a brief layover in L.A. and Giles brought it to me. He said you’d know what it was.”

Willow carefully unwrapped the parcel. It contained a round stone about three inches in diameter. The stone was a glossy black with deep purple lines marbled throughout its surface. Willow’s face lit up with awed surprise. “The Stone of Bastet,” Willow whispered.

“The stone of who what?” Faith asked.

“The Stone of Bastet,” Willow repeated louder. “She was a sun goddess in ancient Egypt. I thought this was lost when the council blew up.”

“Apparently not,” Kennedy said as she sat on the bed and leaned back on her elbows. “So what does it do?”

“Well… it has several uses. But… there’s only one reason I can think of that would explain why Giles sent it.”

“Yes?” Faith questioned as she sat down next to Kennedy and mimicked her position.

“With the right spell… this little baby could project sunlight. Real… true sunlight. Anywhere… anytime.” Both of the Slayers sat up at this.