Title: Matters of Fayth
Author: Paradigm Shifter
Rating: I initially thought this wasn't going to warrant a 15, but better safe than sorry, in my opinion.
Feedback: Feedback is extremely important. You want fic, and I want feedback. So it should be a mutually agreeable arrangement. ;-)
Thanks: Go to the unusual suspects: Bobby Cox, Teri, and Trevelyan.
Dedication: This one's for Matt.
Written To: Quite a few things, The Cure predominantly, 'Faith' and 'Bloodflowers'.
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Final Fantasy X.
Continuity: All seven series of Buffy, but only up to the beginning of the First Evil's mental attacks on the Scoobies. I've never seen series 7, so if some things are slightly out of order in canon timeline, forgive me. ;-) Xander hasn't lost his eye yet, either. But basically, it's a slight AU. If something doesn't mesh completely with the series, that's just the way it's gonna be. For Final Fantasy X, not an awful lot: this begins pre-game by quite a large margin, although it will become vaguely game canon eventually. Basic familiarisation with Auron, Jecht, Braska and the FFX storyline would be useful, but not essential, however. There were a couple of extremely good fics that dealt with Auron pre-game, but they've vanished from the 'net because the author has pulled out of fanfic.
Notes: Yeah, I know, another fic. You'd have thought I had enough started already, but it seems one more wants to join the mix. I hope you enjoy it.
And yeah, the First in this fic is actually Evil, rather than a pathetic waste. So expect it to do some nasty things... it's not above psychological torture in the series, but that was tame. Here, it's gonna be pulling out all the stops...
"Speech"; 'Thoughts' (or quotes, if it's in "speech"); emphasis
Also, this is somewhat of a departure for me: it's Faith friendly. At least, more than my fics usually are. Which isn't much. She survives. Which is more than can be said in a lot of my other fics. ;-)
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Let the games begin...
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Xander backed up as the First Evil sneered at him. Even though it was ethereal, he couldn't shake the feeling that it knew a lot of things that were going to be bad for the Scoobies in general, and him in particular. It was the way it looked at you.
"You know, young man, you are definitely becoming a far greater thorn in my side than I ever expected you to be."
'Bluff you way out of this, Xander... it's the only way to get it to go away.' "Yeah, well, all it takes is a little compassion to undo what you enjoy trying so much on the others. I mean, Faith: come on! She might have worked for the Mayor for a while, but he's dead and gone – and she's seen the error of her ways. That's why she's here. Unlike Buffy, we won't be bringing the Mayor back."
"Faith was just a trial run, boy," the First stepped closer, and Xander took another step back. "Along with all you're other little friends that have had visits from me. No, it might look like I go for the vulnerable ones... the ones who can't defend themselves... but that's no fun, now is it? No, 'save the best for last' as many have said. It gives me the opportunity to savour your defeat. Because defeat you I shall."
While speaking, it had backed Xander against a wall.
"Nowhere left to run, Zeppo. What are you going to do this time? Force me at cross-point down to a cave?"
It turned into Angel – but the look in the apparitions' eyes was that of Angelus, not Angel.
"Give me CPR and hope I jump into your arms as a thank you?"
Buffy stood there in a diaphanous gown that was somehow more lewd than if she had been naked.
"Back me down in a hospital?"
Angel again.
"Defuse a bomb? Stand me down?"
The First flashed into an image of Jack O'Toole, razor sharp 'Katie' and all.
"Run me over in a car?"
A perfect replica of one of the Sisters of Jhe stood there.
"C-can you save me this t-time?"
Tara stood there, shaking her head in disgust.
"Tell me you love me?"
It flashed into Willow, dark and veiny.
Xander closed his eyes. It wasn't real. That was the past. He'd listened when the others told him that it stopped hurting... but they were wrong. It never really went away. It just got lost among new pain.
"-Scared- of me, boy? What do you want; to go crying to your mother? Your mother couldn't save you before, and she can't save you now." Now the First was in the form of his father. Somehow, both it and the room had grown, or Xander had shrunk. He wasn't seeing his father from the perspective of an adult that could defend himself, but the perspective of a young child that still hadn't had the idealism ground out by repeated mistreatment. Xander knew he hadn't shrunk, so the First was playing tricks with perspective. Xander shut his eyes tightly to block out whatever the First had done, but it continued, "No good useless whore. She never could get anything right. It's only fair that you follow in her footsteps, you piece of shit."
"Go away." The words were quiet, not frightened, and not angry. But there was a quiet understatement that angry could be there in the very near future.
The First paused in its tirade. "...What?"
Xander opened his eyes. The illusion had gone. "I said go away. Go on, you heard me. Make tracks."
The First smiled. "Very well."
It turned into an image of the Mayor. "Just remember this, boy. I was around before you were born, and I'll be around long after you're dead, too. I'm unkillable."
"We will defeat you. Buffy and the Slayers in Training have a plan now."
"A plan?" The First spat. "That waste of bleach? A plan? She didn't even have the strength to stop her undead fuckbuddy from raping her!" The First saw a look of shock and revulsion appear on Xander's face, to be quickly covered with indifference again. "Oh, you mean you didn't know? She didn't tell you?" Its voice became wheedling.
"You have a truly wonderful General." It stood bold upright and extended its arm. "Hail, Buffy!"
"Or maybe it should be something more classical? Ave Buffy! Morituri te Salutant!" 1: Call of gladiators in Rome; normally to Caesar, although occasionally to the crowd if Caesar not present. Lit: "We who are about to die salute you."
"We will beat you." Xander said it quietly.
"You will? Really?"
The First turned into a small child, bouncing up and down excitedly, clapping its hands together. "Ooo! I can't wait!" Then it laughed loudly.
"Before I leave, Zeppo. There's one more thing I think you should know for future reference: just because I haven't influenced the physical world doesn't mean that I can't." It flicked its hand carelessly, and the air burst from Xander's lungs as something hit him in the gut. Hard.
"I have plans for you, Zeppo." It leaned down to where Xander was now kneeling, trying to get air back into his lungs. "Make sure you don't go too far... because you've got a long way still to go."
Xander tried to respond, but all that came out what a retching cough.
Then the First vanished.
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It was a shaken Xander that walked down the stairs the next morning. Quieter than normal, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, and avoiding large groups. OK, so the third thing was almost impossible with the number of SiT's in the house, but the point was that he was avoiding them.
People noticed changes like that.
Well, some people.
People who actually noticed anything any more, at least.
Maybe.
It turned out that it was Dawn, Faith and a couple of the Slayers in Training that cornered him after breakfast. Buffy was outside running the rest of the SiT's ragged, Giles and Andrew were out shopping, Wood was still asleep, and Spike had vanished off in the early hours of the morning.
Fixing the sink in the bathroom for the fourth time in a week was starting to wear at Xander's patience. So, grinning widely at the choice and variety of swearing floating down the stairwell, Faith approached the door with Dawn in her wake. Buffy had had several words with Xander – none of them overly polite – about swearing when the SiT's could hear. Xander had mildly replied she should teach them that only water goes down a sink: not hair. Among with other joys of plumbing. Buffy had gone off in a huff.
Following Faith's instructions, the two SiT's guarded the door to make sure there were no interruptions.
Xander looked up when the door closed quietly and snapped, "What do you want?"
Faith was momentarily taken aback. The last thing she was used to was Xander snapping at her... er, anyone. If he snapped at her, she could probably understand it. "Whoa, X-man... what, did you get a package of hostility from home last night? I'm here to talk. Peace, an' all that."
Xander stood up with the U-bend of the sink in one hand and the matted wad of hair that had jammed it up in the other. "Alright. You're here to talk. So fine. Talk. Then go away."
Dawn frowned. "What happened, last night, Xan? Why won't you talk about it?"
"Nothing happened last night." Xander snapped, and then looked contrite. "Sorry, Dawn Patrol. Didn't mean to snap at you."
"But you meant to snap at me?" Faith asked with a smirk.
"Yeah." Xander rolled his eyes. "You can take it. You're a big girl."
"I'm not a kid any more, Xander LaVelle Harris!" Dawn's indignant cry made Xander wince.
"Who told you my middle name? If it was Willow, I'll kill her. I told her never to tell anyone." His tone was joking, but with the singularly unhappy look on his face, it was difficult to tell if he was serious or not.
Faith turned to look at Dawn appraisingly. "Y'know, I think anyone with eyes can tell you aren't a kid anymore, Dawnmeister." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Dawn blushed. "That is so not the point and you know it!" She looked daggers at Xander. "And you managed to divert us, but I'm wise to you! Xander. Tell us. What happened?"
Xander sighed angrily, and turned back to the sink. "I got a visit from the First, OK? It's obviously had enough tormenting the big leagues, and it's now going after me."
Faith paused. When the First had come to her, Xander had been the one to talk her through it: the First certainly knew how to mess with peoples heads... she was close to a breakdown after just a couple of minutes. "What did it say, X? I know you... you're the rock we all cry on. To work you over this good, it must have been gunning for ages!"
When he'd finished wrapping Teflon tape around the threads of the seals, he screwed the U-bend back on. Then he stood up and turned to the two girls.
"It wasn't how long it went on for. 'Cause while it's plenty lippy, it wasn't there for more than a few minutes. It was what it did. What it said. Who it played."
"Who did it play?" Dawn asked.
"Tara. And others. Willow too. The whole hit parade. Angel, Buffy, Jack O'Toole... the Mayor, loads of them. I'm surprised it didn't turn up as Jenny Calendar. Or Jesse..."
Dawn looked confused for a second. "You said that it played Willow? And Angel? How? Willow's not dead. Neither is Angel..."
"How stupid are all of you? Angel's a vampire. Of course he's dead!" A sneering voice came from the wall, and the First Evil appeared. "First you say I can only appear as people who are dead... and I disprove that one." It turned into veiny Willow. "Then you say that since I'm incorporeal... oh, and by the way, that should be ethereal you schmucks... I can't affect the material world – and I prove you wrong there again! With your track record, I'd give up and give me your soul's now. It'll be easier for all of us."
"Get lost!" Faith shouted.
"Oh, please." The First smiled, and turned into an exact copy of Faith. It turned to Xander. "Tell me the truth, boy toy. Did you like it inside me? Would you like to try me again? 'Cause I tell ya, I'm all hot for ya here, X..." The First licked its lips lasciviously. "Or would you like to try something different? How about here..." it sucked on a finger, "or here..." it pressed its breasts together enticingly, "...or something else entirely?"
Faith attacked.
Unfortunately, she sailed right through and landed in the shower unit, cracking her head on the tiles as she did so.
"Always solving problems with your fists, you Slayers... you'd have thought you'd learnt your lessons by now... staking the wrong man." Faith looked up groggily, and Xander and Dawn could see tears glittering in her eyes. "And as for your lovely Buffy... I'm surprised she can keep it in the same species!"
Dawn gasped, sniffed, and tried not to cry. She failed.
The First looked around satisfied. "Ah, well, looks like my work here is done, buddy." Jesse stepped forward, moving close up to Xander. Non-existent lips pressed themselves to Xander's and vanished. Xander was too shocked to do more than stare dumbly at the spot where the image of his friend had been.
Three words echoed the room in Jesse's voice. "Think of me."
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Continued in Part 2
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