Financial Slavery.
By James Carmody.
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the property of Joss Whedon, and his, not mine. I will not accept a single red cent for this fanfic I am writing. Please enjoy this story.
Summary: Companion story to a "Buffy Re-Write" currently being produced by a friend of mine whose penname is .Dawn. This one is set in Season 3, and has Kennedy basically picking on Cordelia- and Kennedy is also Giles' adopted daughter here, so he's not likely to be too pleased with her doing that!
Characters: Fr. Gabriel, Buffy Summers, Oz Osborne, Willow Rosenberg, Kennedy, Cordelia, Rupert Giles, and various others.
Pairings: Kennedy/Cordelia, Giles/Kennedy, Giles/Buffy, Oz/Willow, Kennedy/Willow, previously: Xander/Faith.
Story Notes: Takes place in season 3. This: [text] refers to either telepathy, prayer, or temptation, based on the situations involved (perhaps all three!). The title is chosen because it depicts what Kennedy plans to do to poor Cordelia!
Please tell me what you think. Please read, review/comment, and enjoy.
Rupert Giles adopted Kennedy when her parents died in a car accident when she was ten, since then she's taken on his last name, but she's a bit too fascinated with the economic domination the wealthy perform over the poorer classes in South America, and she wants to do so to someone herself. He's also a bit, well, more than a bit actually, worried about her bullying streak that he noticed.
The thing about the First being the Devil is based on connotations made in the series: older than sin, older than death, older than demons, the thing that darkness itself fears, non-corporeal, in summary: the earliest villain ever to exist: pretty clearly the Devil itself. Besides: the town the story is set in is built on the mouth of Hell, so they live on the Devil's doorstep, so eventually the Evil One would come into play- besides: in interviews with the staff of the show, it was said clearly by one of them that eventually whoever of whatever runs the cause of Evil would show up and say "Alright, Everyone, I'm taking charge here, we're going to do this right and get it done", actually the person said "he or she is going to say "Enough with these second-rate beings, Time to bring in the Big Guns."." that kind of deal- well, who runs Perdition but the Evil One itself?
So therefore it only stands to reason that the First is the Devil.
Chapter 1.): Trapped in Relationships.
Beginning Chapter 1 Author's Notes: Set in Sunnydale High, late in the Scooby Gang's Senior Year. Prior to the episode, "The Prom", and about that time. Kennedy, the Scooby Gang, and the Cordettes are for the most part eighteen right now. Kennedy has been Giles' adopted daughter since she was ten. She's also a very fallen Catholic girl/woman right now- been away for quite a while- and her parents were pretty loose in the faith even before she was orphaned.
Kennedy Giles strode through the halls of Sunnydale High; she was looking for her romantic objective: Willow Rosenberg. Kennedy was a little disappointed, while she had tried sincerely to be Willow's girlfriend, and the redhead had rebuffed her every advance because she was currently going out with Oz, whom Willow was going out with steadily. "Well, if she won't be my girlfriend, I'll have to settle for a close friendship with her." The Latina considered to herself, as she strode through the halls with her hands in her pockets- it was in-between periods in the school day, and her next period was a study-hall.
As Kennedy strode silently through the crowd of students in the High School, she spotted another brunette walking towards her; and upon identifying her, this discovery set her off! Faith! Honestly: you'd think a girl would know better than to try to commit rape- but no! Faith had to be the stupidest brunette in Sunnydale High to actually sexually assault someone. Kennedy simply felt a very strong desire to just walk up to her, give her a grip as if she was about to hug her, then punch her in both the face and the stomach at almost the same time- she wanted to sucker-punch her for committing sexual assault! She simply couldn't grasp a girl forcibly kissing anybody- least of all a guy! It wasn't that Kennedy hated guys, it was that she didn't really understand them- despite having a lot in common with them; both in desires and entertainments: she was a tomboy, completely, and tended to like girls!
This hatred that Kennedy felt towards Faith she blamed at least in part on the fact that the other woman had raped somebody, but there was also a jealousy motive that, if internally honest with herself, Miss Giles couldn't ignore: they both coveted the same job: that of Slayer; and both had such gifts- how in the world this happened is anybody's guess.
As the High School Senior Prom was nearing, and most people in the school amongst the student body had already picked out dates; for the formal dance was only about a month away, Kennedy Giles set into motion a very wicked plan she had been cooking up in her noggin for the past few months- ever since, in fact, she learned that Cordelia *that b*tch!* had been bullying Willow ever since the two of them were in Kindergarten! She was going to teach that brunette b*tch a lesson she wouldn't soon forget, and then rub Cordy's beautiful nose right in it too!
As soon as she could do so in Study Hall, Kennedy pulled out her cellphone, and dialed a number she knew from her research online- her foster-father, Rupert Giles, may be completely computer illiterate "Incredible for a Librarian, eh?", but she sure wasn't. The number she dialed was an IRS reporting line, and she just may have let slip that Mr. Chase, Cordelia's father, hadn't paid his full income taxes for the past, I don't know, twelve years, maybe… or so that was the tale she would tell to anybody who managed to get near enough to find out the truth.
Kennedy snickered silently as she hung up her cellphone, more precisely her Dad's cellphone, but she was borrowing it, "Daddy" never used the darn thing anyways- he was just too old-fashioned to conceive of the changeover to this 'newfangled' thing, as he so often called the newer technology. She was going to have quite a surprise for him when the bill came in- sure she had just ruined Cordy's inheritance for good!
If this worked out just right, she could have Cordelia economically dependent upon her for life, but Kennedy had to play her cards just right; otherwise she would be in, let's say, tremendous trouble with her father, not to mention other authorities she didn't want to have to deal with.
Now she just had to act innocent for quite a while until the time came to reveal her plans, and Cordy would be the only one to learn of it; hopefully very gradually, and only once she learned she was in Kennedy's debt! The Latina smiled to herself; it was all just too easy. Cordelia was the perfect target: weaker than herself, so she couldn't fight back well enough to prevent her from doing whatever she wanted to do to her… and the stupid b*tch hadn't realized that by her bullying she had cut herself off from those who'd defend her from, well, her. And now, if things worked out right, Cordy would be desperate for money, and thereby under Kennedy's influence- or so Miss Giles hoped. Things were working out perfectly; now to prevent the local Dame by the name of Buffy Summers, who had taken on a mantle of a 'big sister' to Kennedy (despite them being of the same age) from finding out. Buffy may not be the most just girl in Sunnydale High- and that's saying something- but Kennedy doubted that she'd approve of her owning another human being. Same deal with her father, Kennedy realized. "Well, I'll just have to keep it secret from him, too." She thought to herself as she went through her studies, and then waited until the end of the school day. The next few days of the school year would bring some big surprises indeed!
"Now I just have to wait a few days, and see what happens… remember, Kenny, mind the gossips around the school, they're the fastest way to learn what's going on and if your little 'gamble' succeeded or not." She reminded herself the next day as she got dressed for school- luckily her foster father worked in the exact same building as she was studying in- but he'd warned her to let him work on his charge; she however, had distinctly sisterly feelings towards this other young woman: a certain Buffy Summers, or Elizabeth Summers, as, according to Kennedy's research: Buffy is a nickname for Elizabeth!
Rupert Giles knew his foster-daughter, and knew of her bulling streak, so he contacted Mr. Platt's replacement, a certain Mr. Eric Reginald, and had told him that he'd like him to arrange a meeting with his daughter, Kennedy, who he was concerned about. He knew well that Mr. Snyder seemed to have it in for Buffy, but oddly enough, his daughter was on the honor role herself- due to grades. However, Kennedy's bullying streak had caused some degree of concern in the staff of Sunnydale High. This was no mere "hanging out with the Football Jocks of the team" this was simply that she had a bad tendency to pick on other girls: to call names, to pick fights, et cetera… basically, in nature, his adopted daughter, however upstanding in grades, was a bully!
He was afraid that she liked to hang out on the Dark Side, to use American slang- in fact, he asked Eric if he got the terminology correct: He told him "I fear that she likes to hang out on the Dark Side. I hope I got the American Slang correct. Did I?"
Eric Reginald's answer was "Indeed, I got the gist, you're afraid of her bad tendencies taking over in her life and leading her out of a life worthy of higher learning- if I understand you right let me know."
"Exactly, can you arrange a meeting?" Giles said, relieved that he had phrased his problem to the School Councilor correctly about his little girl "Not so little any more, though." Giles thought to himself.
Somebody else was quite pleased however, with Kennedy's bullying of other girls, even the more 'domesticated' bullying she was carrying on doing, that being was the one who lived below the basement of the High School: the First Evil; better known by his, or more precisely its other name: Lucifer!
That particular Prince of Darkness was quite pleased that this young woman was going down this particular path of badness; and he found it fun to watch her drift further and further into wickedness- besides, he found it fun to have her coveting Oz's girlfriend- that was fun to this particular monster who's best thought of as the "Secretary General of Perdition". While he hated her, he didn't want to kill her, he was having too much fun watching her behave in this highly hypocritical way: ostensibly respectful to her teachers and father, but in reality secretly cruel to her neighbors, while trying to steal a guy's girlfriend so they could commit fornication together- i. e. to satiate her lusts with another young woman!
That, the Evil One thought, was the best part: tricking his 'kid sister' as he saw her, into thinking she loved this other young woman when in reality it was all pure lust: that she really wanted to use her to satisfy her sexual desires! That would be the most fun of it: Corrupting his kid sis in this way! The bond, as he knew well, was one of Ontology, not Biology, but best thought of as "adoption", for in her infancy she had been baptized as a Catholic, but had fallen away soon after her parents' death.
The death of her parents had been a truly lucky break for this wicked spirit: otherwise he would never have gotten anywhere near to her!
Anyway, her inventiveness was heartening to him, and he loved to watch her weave her trap for Miss Chase- whom she had already gotten set up to impoverish massively of something that she hadn't gotten by ill-means, but that her father had! The injustice of this just made that evil spirit smile inside: he loved it!
"Even better" he realized "I hope she ends up owning her!" the wicked spirit thought happily, but he was concerned: if her Heavenly Father ever learned what he was up to, his gambit would no doubt come to naught and he'd be utterly defeated in an instant, so he had to be both quick and cautious about this move he was up to.
Kennedy, meanwhile, was planning on becoming Cordy's owner, and had already set in motion her plans to render the other brunette her personal slave- by means of economic pressure and then gifts to get her in her debt! She was thinking in the long term, but her goal was to become this other woman's Mistress! And therefore: her objective was already corrupted. She knew she'd have to hide her relationship with Cordelia from her foster father, knew it very deeply and very consciously, but if it worked out, this would be the most thrilling relationship she's ever had or could ever have… something about a relationship in the dark of night delighted the young Latina to no end. She loved the idea of having a hidden relationship that was forbidden. Later on she would probably read College documents and stories that show that this is a sign that the relationship is inherently wicked, but she was having too much fun to think about it.
In the dark of her mind, however, she had the niggling sensation that any relationship that one figures should not be known by one's parents is a relationship that you should not be engaged in; but that was part of the fun, wasn't it? She didn't know where this information came from, but she ignored it because it was inconvenient for her at this point: she was already prone to doing her own schoolwork and Patrolling, and her sports (martial arts, wrestling, track and field, boxing, and a number of others- she was a very physical girl, now a woman.) she also loved to engage in other activities, such as going to dance-clubs. Sometimes, at the Bronze, she liked to chat up Buffy about their jobs, or drink with Faith. However: Faith's misbehavior with Xander had ruined their relationship for the time being, as it had with most other girls at Sunnydale High- sexual assault tends to do that.
One of Kennedy's closest friends in High School was Larry. Off the Football Field, Larry was a bit of a, well, Kennedy couldn't think of the term, but, bastard wouldn't be much of a stretch, as he tended to ogle the girls in ways they didn't like or pick on them, but the two of them got on fine, mostly. Things had gotten better once Larry had stopped trying to go after the girls in the school, however, between them, but she didn't know what he saw in guys! I mean, Kennedy loved guys too, when they were nice enough and didn't pick on her, or pull her pony-tail (that tends to lead to her slamming them bodily up against lockers!), or knocking her books out of her hands- that is a pain, but if a guy treats her as his sister- she reciprocates by regarding him as a brother of hers. That's the rule she lived by regarding males.
Kennedy waited a few months, all the while trying to arrange a date with Willow- the redhead who'd caught her eye, then one day, close to the Senior Prom, she heard something that perked her ears up: Cordy's 'stock' had taken a severe downturn and the brunette had been rendered homeless and was now living in a motel room- perfect prey! Kennedy smiled inwardly as she went for a meeting with the School Councilor: a fellow named Dr. Eric Reginald…
Kennedy had gotten up that day in Spring at about 5:45am to 6:00am, made herself a breakfast filled to the brim with protein and orange juice, then, after getting her teeth brushed, gotten dressed by at latest 6:15am. She had studied for classes. Kennedy loved science lab, and the military history chapters they were studying in world history were a true delight to read. She had her books packed easily by the time the bus came to pick her up for class. Giles (as she called him) had already left for work a little while ago, and she locked the door when the bus came.
First clue she had that the bus was there was the beep of the horn, she'd been waiting at the doorstep- vampires and other monsters rarely came out in the daylight: too many witnesses for the other monsters (aside from the human monsters or those who could pass for human), and Vampires- the 'scum' of the preternatural world- rarely came out into daylight: they burn too easily. She sat down on his front step, twirling her house-key on her index finger as she read a novel she was into: it was a silly little thing, a girl's story, but she loved the material- a nice break from her daily life. Little did she know this break would be even more necessary as time goes on; regarding the direction her life would take!
When they showed up at a motel: Kennedy was in for the surprise of her life: None other than the arrogant "Queen C" came out to the bus from the front of the motel, and wow did she have a sour look on her face! Cordelia's arrogance had been the main thing that had made Kennedy want to dominate her in the first place, but this was even better: even more tempting: her sour, angry look just made the Latina want to walk right up to her when she got on the bus and, after seizing her face so she couldn't move, give her a buss! Perhaps with an insult prefacing the kiss, and in her mind: that's exactly what she did, to the applause and laughter of all the other students on the school bus! They were laughing at her! In Kennedy's daydream: Cordy was shocked when she saw Kennedy walk up to her, say to her "Hey, B*tch! How's it feel to be just like everyone else?" and then she could feel this girl's lips press together with hers! - This was just too perfect! The only thing that brought her out of the daydream was when her friend, Willow Rosenberg and Willow's friend, Oz, asked her simultaneously "What's so much fun?" with voices that indicated that they wanted in on the fun. That woke her up to the fact that she had been sitting down, with her head back, hair with a clip on one side, and grinning like a maniac! "This is perfect!" Kennedy exclaimed to herself in her head "Now I know that what I heard a while ago has, in fact, come true. Besides: my money is now in my account, or soon will be, while hers is all gone- this is just too perfect!" Kennedy was happy that such an event had occurred to this woman she hated- and that she'd caused it to happen was even better!
Kennedy was wearing her light blue denim jacket, black sleeveless t-shirt, and beige pants, with shoe-boots that she loved so much, aside from her hair-clip; she also wore a scarlet headband around her long black hair.
Kennedy smiled to herself, she was going to be attending Driver's Ed that day, and she felt confident that with these newfound abilities to do physical sports, she'd do fine with her driving tests when they came up- she was happy, and things were going just about right for her. Besides, these days she was just counting down the days, year by year until she became a multi-millionaire; and imagining what she'd do with all that money!
Yes, life was pretty darn good to her these days, here in Sunnydale California.
TBC.
End Chapter 1 Author's Notes: For some odd reason: there seems to have been another mystical mix-up, this one leading to yet another potential being activated. That'll be explained later on.
This rendition of Kennedy was indeed fun, as was making her have a bullying streak- that'll come out far more later on in the story, you just wait and see.
Next chapter will likely be titled "Enforcing my ownership of her", and deal with Kennedy using gifts to remind Cordy that she is her mistress now. Don't worry, Kennedy doesn't want to date Cordy, she wants to date Willow, so she's also misbehaving in the realm of trying to steal someone's girlfriend for herself to enjoy- and in this case in a bad way.
The part about a human girl and the Evil One being siblings by adoption has to do with Christian social teaching and theology- to be blunt: you can't be fully accountable for someone else's actions, only they can, and the Evil One *apparently* was 'adopted' by God, but simply rebelled.
By the way: Kennedy's desire to commit the marital act with another girl is, if acted upon, an act of rebellion in and of itself. By the way: speaking of rebellion- same deal with the treatment she's giving Cordy too!
Now, what do you think of the story?
