Disclaimer: Don't own anything
A/N: Just dealing with the aftermath of the last chapter.
Chapter 7
For several moments no one moved. The shock of what had just happened leaving them frozen in place.
Buffy became fully conscious aware that something horrible had happened. The return of the slayer bond both a relief and terrible confirmation of who was affected by the situation. The moment the bond was back, Buffy had felt excruciating pain in her chest followed by the icy sensation of that she'd wished she would never feel again.
Making eye contact with Willow she mouthed. "Faith…?"
Willow looked at her sadly and nodded, touching two of her fingers to Buffy's forehead. Images flashed behind the blonde's eyelids. Buffy felt her heart clench as she processed everything. Something….someone had been if not controlling, then heavily influencing Buffy's mind. Possibly for years.
Robin?
Very likely. The normal tension she felt around Faith had slowly changed, become more hostile and had finally pushed Buffy into completely turning her back on Faith. She had become paranoid and ready to blame Faith for almost everything bad that ever happened. Now everything had finally exploded into this disaster.
The blonde slayer slowly stood up. Anger flowing through her veins at herself, at everyone else for not noticing something was very wrong. Years! This had been going on for years and it was only now that Robin had been revealed as a traitor.
…And Faith…
Faith's heart had been ripped out from her chest and instead of killing her, it had somehow brought the darkness back. The part of Faith that everyone feared. And it had been brought back by the mother of the woman Faith so obviously loved. The anger spiked at that thought and Buffy turned to face Regina, ready to rip into her about any possible involvement…only to stop abruptly at the sight of her.
The brunette was on her knees, gently holding Faith's heart…Oh God, Faith's heart!… to her chest. The woman was trembling and tears flowed down her cheeks, the heart glowing brighter as the woman placed a kiss against it.
…She really loves her.
A sudden scream of rage and a blur of movement startled everyone as Connor launched himself at Regina.
Angel stood numbly barely paying attention to anything going on around him after watching Faith disappear in a poof of black mist.
He only came back in time to see Buffy catch Connor's momentum. Blinking in surprise as Buffy reared back her fist and slammed it into Connor's face.
Moving towards the blonde, Angel collected his brother from her while asking, "Well what was that for?"
Seeing Buffy look at him, Angel saw that the blonde's eyes were clear and any pain lines that may have been on her brow had cleared. Studying her, he spoke again, "What caused the change Buffy?"
His question drew the attention of the Storybrooke folks to him and Buffy.
Buffy sighed looking at Angel sincerely. "Let's say that for the first time in years my thoughts are only mine…"
Angel closed his eyes in realization. "You were being controlled…"
Willow shook her head. "Not fully, the slayer was actively fighting it. But she was being heavily influenced…and by the kind of shielding I had to put on her, it wasn't the work of any regular sorcerer. "
"And most of it was directed at…at Faith…" Buffy cleared her throat. Turning her attention to the Storybrooke people she said. "We have wounded to tend to, but I think we need to talk….because something big is obviously going on and someone you know is involved."
Willow moved next to her friend. "And we really need you guys to explain about whatever magic that woman was using…because it didn't seem familiar at all… and…what about…?" She turned to look at the woman on her knees…the scene reminding her of the time Glory took Dawn and Buffy shut down.
Emma made to reach out to Regina, but her hand stopped before she could touch her. What could she possibly do to help…?
Henry grabbed her hand and squeezed for a second before he let go and moved to stand before Regina. "Mom?"
But Regina still held onto the heart her eyes closed tightly . She tried so hard to convince herself that it was all a nightmare. Just a nightmare.
"Mommy?" Henry's voice trembled at the sight of his mom's pain. And he wondered why bad things kept happening? "Mom…please, open your eyes…" His hand moved to caress her cheek and Regina let out a sob.
"Henry…"
"I'm here, mom. I'm here…" He trailed off for a moment holding back his own sob. "You…you have to get up, we have to find a way to help her…don't give up mom…"
Regina took a deep breath. Henry was right…she needed to help Faith. She had her heart, it was different than with Daniel. Faith she could save.
Seeing the woman calm down Angel moved slowly towards Regina before placing his hands on her shoulders asking in a gentle voice, "Regina, may I have Faith's heart please?" Locking eyes with the woman, "Just so that nothing bad happens to it, okay?"
He might not recognize whatever magic it was, but he was very sure the heart had to be kept safe or it would hurt Faith. Why the heart looked like glass he didn't know but he guessed it also made it fragile.
Regina gasped and held the heart even closer. "I…no…I can't…I can't!" she said as she pushed herself away from him, her body shaking with overwhelming emotion.
Buffy placed her hand on Angel's shoulder. She knew in a way the kind of emotional state the woman was in, it was better not to make it worse. "Let her keep it." She whispered low enough so that only he heard her.
"Will? Is there something we can keep it safe in?"
Willow nodded and magicked a small wooden chest to her hands. "Here…it has several enchantments….it can't be opened by someone other than the user and uh…well it has a lot of protections." She said, her face completely red making Buffy suspicious.
"Right…what did you use to keep in-
Willow shook her head desperately. "Don't ask…just don't."
Narrowing her eyes Buffy nodded. "Right…uh Ms. Mills? Here…you can keep it safe here." She kept calling the heart IT. Buffy just couldn't bring herself to say it…Faith's heart….it was just wrong.
Regina's eyes locked with Buffy's and she took the box slowly, still not fully trusting the woman. Once Buffy stepped back, Regina gave the heart one last kiss and gently placed it in the chest.
It was only temporary she told herself.
She'd find a way to save Faith if it was the last thing she did.
After about an hour of getting the injured to the infirmary, Giles double checked that Vi could handle, which seemed to annoy Faith's second in command. He then headed towards Faith's office where they all agree this much needed meeting would take place.
He was surprised to see that Regina had magic, but magic he had never knew existed. Either way questions will be answered in this meeting, including what caused Buffy's sudden change.
Upon opening the door, Giles saw Connor sulking in a corner alternating glares between Buffy and Regina. All while Regina held JD and Faith's heart in her lap and had her son Henry snuggled against her side. Giles couldn't help the thought that the boy would make a good older sibling as Henry wiped away the younger boy's tears.
Clearing his throat, he spoke while taking his glasses off to clean them, "Yes, well I do believe we need to figure out what just happened and who is behind it."
Willow cleared her throat. "I think I have a piece of the puzzle."
The eyes of most of the room focused on her, they figured she was going to talk about Buffy possibly being controlled and they were almost right. However the word that came out of her mouth surprised them.
"Robin." Willow grimaced at the frowns on everyone's faces. "I didn't make the connection until he stepped out and helped that other witch. When the slayers he brought with him started attacking us, I figured they weren't happy with Robin being fired…then the woman showed up and I thought it was her controlling them somehow, but then he showed up and it made sense then…"
"What exactly made sense? I think we all know he was allied to that woman and attempted a coup…" Angel asked with a frown.
"Well, yes. But I don't think taking over the school was the goal…" Willow trailed off, letting that sink in. "I think Faith was."
For the first time since the meeting began, Regina stopped looking at the heart box and let her eyes find the red headed witch.
"I think the goal was to bring back the Dark Slayer…and I think that has been the goal for years." She looked at everyone in the eyes.
"F-for years?" Giles took off his glasses and started cleaning them furiously, his mind making connections at full speed. How could he have missed this? "Good Lord…Willow are you insinuating…" His eyes moved to Buffy's slumped figure on her chair.
Ignoring Dawn's and Xander's alarmed whispers of "Oh no! He's good lording!" Willow continued. "Oh, I am definitely insinuating."
Willow started pacing and making gestures with her hands. Guilt over her inaction years ago ten times worse. "Think about it. Buffy came to me just before the attack, worried that there was something in her head…we…at first we had thought…" Willow looked at Buffy for a moment asking for permission. When the blonde nodded, she continued. "She's been having headaches over the last few years….she thought it was just stress, but lately they had become worse. Enough to almost make her faint. We thought it might have been…a-a brain tumor…"
Willow winced at Dawn's gasp of horror. "Like mom!?"
"It's not! At least we don't think so anymore. But at first with Buffy's behavior and mood changes and the headaches, we thought she should go see a doctor. But now that she was aware of her behavior changing she noticed it happened when Faith was around….and she heard a voice that she's sure wasn't hers so she came to me. And right before the fight started she heard it again! And she collapsed trying to resist and I could feel the darkness trying to overwhelm her!"
Neal was having a hard time keeping up with the red head's fast speech. Regina was looking at her intently and he thought she understood most of it, but he was sure Emma's eyelashes would fly off at any moment if she kept blinking so much. The people who knew the red head seemed to have no problem understanding, though.
"I'm sure, Robin knew and was involved somehow. He was nowhere near powerful enough to use that kind of magic. And what he said to that woman…that Faith was 'the one they want'? Someone, some power wanted the Dark Slayer back. Don't you see!?" Willow was crying now as the weight of guilt she felt got worse.
"That's why Robin pretended Faith nearly killed him! And then the magic started influencing Buffy, making her reactions to everything Faith more extreme! The wanted us to abandon her! So she was alone and pregnant and with nowhere to go! They wanted her to feel like she did back in Sunnydale! Like she had no other choice but to turn!"
"And it almost worked…" Buffy whispered, but the silence in the room let her words reach everyone.
The reactions from Connor and Angel were expected. Both exploded because Faith is their sister, and to think some one or something was trying to derail her life. And in Angel's opinion destroy her entire redemption path that she had been on for the last 11 years.
Connor sneered, "So because you lot couldn't completely let go of the past Fai would have been put in a position where she was on the outs?"
Angel tensely corrected, "Not completely, because we," gesturing to himself, Giles and the rest of the Fang Gang, "wouldn't have let her on her own again."
Before anyone else could make any commentary on the past, Giles dropped one of the bigger tombs on the desk that stopped all short. "Enough, we can deal with the past once we have Faith back and whole again!"
Dawn watched Buffy as she once again shivered, the younger Summers noticed that Buffy seemed to shift closer towards Ms. Mills without being obvious about it. She couldn't stop from asking, "Um Buffy, why do you keep shivering? Are you cold?"
Buffy turned towards her sister before sighing, "I'm not going to lie and say it's nothing because that would just cause more distrust than we need right now." Running her hands through her hair, she explained, "Ever since that woman tore Faith's heart out, I've felt cold."
Neal raised his hand in confusion, "Um… Why?"
"Okay to explain that, you have to understand that even with all the slayers there are now. Faith and I were called the old way. We were Slayers before Wills did the mass awakening. Meaning there was a connection that bonded our inner Slayers together." Seeing the looks she was getting from even her friends, she rolled her eyes, "kind of like how a Slayer can sense a demon or vampire. Faith and I can feel one another… and well sense the whatever had been trying to influence me, neither of us could sense the other."
Henry perked up asking, "So even in a room full of other Slayers, you and Faith can still pin point where the other is?"
Buffy nodded her head, "Yeah, but today before the attack. I was in one of the training rooms and Faith entered but I didn't sense her. Which is why I thought that it wasn't me being sick."
Willow cut in before the frown on Ms. Mills could turn murderous, "So with any ways, with whomever is controlling all of this previous plans failing. They had to use force to bring the Dark Slayer back into being." Looking towards Regina asking, "So how did your mother do the heart trick thing?"
Regina closed her eyes tightly. Flashes of both Daniel's and Faith's hearts being taken, threatened to bring her to her knees. Only the chair she was sitting in and the children holding her kept her from falling. "It's magic from our world…"
Giles frowned. "You're not from this world? I thought you said you were from a small town in Maine?"
Regina nodded. "That is partly the truth. But before the town existed…we…" She trailed off with a sigh. The last thing she wanted was to even consider Rumple having anything to do with her. Mr. Cassidy at least wasn't so bad…and had done the sane thing and ran from that man. Even if a part of him still loved the man. Just like she still loved Cora. Mr…her brother? She would have to get used to that. She had to admit she didn't dislike the man…maybe that was because he immediately acknowledged her place in Henry's life. And he had that damn puppyish look that Henry made sometimes.
Reluctantly she continued. "That is…my…brother and his father…at least until Neal escaped into this world?" She looked at Neal for confirmation.
Neal nodded at her. A strange warmth spreading through him. He had a little sister…a little sister whose life his father had destroyed to find him. His centuries old anger against his father grew stronger. Neal had to blink to contain his tears. Now was not the time to rage at his father.
"Neal escaped and Rump-"
"Uh… Regina?" Emma interrupted. "Maybe, you should uh…explain about the…" She said whispering. "Fairytale thing…before you start using names…?"
Her whisper was still heard by Buffy, Angel and Connor. All of them wondering what the hell was the woman talking about.
Regina rolled her eyes, but nodded at the Savior. It wouldn't do to just get on with it and tell the story without explaining…true Faith had accepted it immediately but there was no guarantee that they all would as well. "Of course…I believe some context might be necessary…what do you know about fairy tales?"
"I-I beg you pardon? What does this have to do with the matter at hand?" Giles asked confused.
"Faith told me you believed that fairy tales and myths were based on true stories." She asked raising her eyebrow at Giles and ignoring everyone's confused or annoyed faces.
"W-well yes, but again I don't see how…"
"They're real!" Henry spoke from his place next to Regina, who smiled at him but signaled to let her continue.
"My son is right…these fairy tales as you call them, are real…or a version of them is real anyway. And that is the world we come from…"
The room burst into chaos as everyone tried to speak at the same time. Some were outraged that this woman would come up with such fantasies when Faith was in danger, others thought she was crazy, while Willow and Giles looked at her considering her seriousness and what they knew about old stories like fairy tales…
Regina sighed at the noise and tried to calm JD and Henry who were upset at the reactions. Neal and Emma made eye contact for a moment before they moved closer to Regina in a show of support.
Giles had enough of the situation. "That's enough!"
The room went quiet again. It was always scary when Ripper came out and there was no mistaking the tone of his voice. Looking back at Regina, he took a deep breath. "Are you saying that you come from a world where the stories are real?"
"I'm saying that the stories in this world very likely come from portal travelers, who brought our history with them…of course the stories where changed over and over until all people seem to recognize are those…" She made a face of disgust. "…pathetic, sanitized, completely twisted things that man Disney called stories…"
"Wait…is she serious?" Xander asked wide eyed. "Holy Batman pajamas…she's serious…" Then he suddenly gasped. "…Is Batman real?"
Regina rolled her eyes. "I don't know, Mr. Harris. I have never met him…however I suppose everything is possible…Frankenstein is real after all." By this point Andrew had passed out on his chair and Regina let out a sigh.
Goodness…she was dealing with children.
Willow raised her hand. She felt like she was back in high school…so excited at the prospect of new information… "He is? And you've met him? And are you a fairy tale character too?"
"Yes…to all your questions." Regina sighed and hoped they wouldn't overreact at her identity.
"Who are you then?" Buffy asked keeping her eyes on Regina.
The former Mayor glared at her for a moment. "I'm the Evil Queen."
Her statement was immediately followed by wide eyes from the Scoobies and a loud 'Was!' from Henry, Emma and Neal. She smiled at them for a second before looking back at Rupert and the others. "Was…I was the Evil Queen…but I've found my heart is not as black as I thought and that redemption is not impossible for me…"
Angel looked closely at the woman and a look of comprehension crossed his face. There was something about the woman that always seemed familiar. Now he knew it was remorse. A lot of it, but maybe not regret.
"The Evil Queen? Like from Snow White?" Buffy asked bewildered.
Connor moved to get to her. "I knew you were bad news! I-"
Angel grabbed him by the shoulder and made him sit down. "Connor…shut up."
"What!? Why-"
"You should know better that there's usually more to a story." Angel said turning to face Regina. "Did Faith know about this?"
Regina nodded. "Yes, she learned recently."
"But she still trusted you. She still believed you were trying to redeem yourself…That's good enough for me. I think I know enough about redemption to recognize when someone is in the path."
Connor frowned but kept quiet.
"Who are the others then? If you are…were the Evil Queen?" Willow asked wanting to know who else they were dealing with?
Neal raised his hand. "Uh…My original name was Baelfire…and my father is the Dark One…Rumpelstiltskin."
Willow almost fell at the news. "You mean the I'll help you if you give me your first born, guy?"
"The same, Ms. Rosenberg. And if I'm not mistaken, my mother was the miller's daughter…"
Emma and Henry's eyes widened. "What?!" They asked in unison.
"B-but mom? That means you're…?" Henry trailed off shocked. Did that mean Mr. Gold owned his mom?
Emma finished his question. "The first born he wanted…you're that child?"
Neal's eyes narrowed. No way…it couldn't be. He took a deep breath, trying very hard to keep from rushing to the infirmary and shaking his father and ask him what the hell was wrong with him.
"…Yes. I suppose I am. Believe me, when I read that story I wanted to…well it's better if you don't know. However that's the tale here and as we know they tend to be different from reality. Even if the deal was real, my mother obviously found some way around it as Rumple does not have full control of my actions. Besides that does not matter at the moment…can we continue?"
Emma sighed. Great, this was just great. Now they weren't sure if Gold was able to control Regina or not. She cringed knowing it was her turn to introduce herself. Great. "Uh…I'm not actually in any fairy tale you know…and I've been in this world since I was a baby, so I grew up here but…uh…"
"She's the Savior! Her parents are Snow White and Prince Charming!" Henry finished for her.
Suddenly Xander started to laugh. "Oh God…Sorry…sorry." He said at the glare from the kid. "It's just that I believe what you're saying but it still sounds ridiculous! Prince Charming! I hope that's not his real name!"
Henry frowned at the insult to his grandfather… Emma was completely red in the face. Neal and Regina were trying hard not to laugh. Or well Neal was. Regina was smirking…even if it didn't reach her eyes.
"You don't think I know?" Groaned Emma. "How do you think I feel? They were fairy tales to me!"
"Sorry. Really I am …but it is of the funny you have to admit…"
Emma let out a chuckle. "Yeah…it's okay I know how it sounds."
"So…uh why are you in this world then?" Dawn asked curious as to why they would come here.
"…I wanted revenge on Snow White."
"Because she was prettier than you?" Willow asked frowning. This Snow must be really hot if she was prettier than Ms. Mills. The red head chastised herself at her thoughts, she didn't ogle Faith's girlfriend pff!…she wouldn't do that. Nope. No way.
"What!? Of course not! Because she cause the death of the man I loved! She couldn't keep her mouth shut even though she promised she wouldn't say anything! And Daniel died because of her!" Regina exploded in anger. That damn Disney was lucky he was dead already!
The Sunnydale veterans and Emma and Henry were startled by her anger and her words. They didn't know this. Henry frowned thinking back to his book and his eyes widened. The stable boy? That Daniel? B-but…if it was that Daniel then that meant….his mom was the princess from that story!?
The book had never mentioned the princess' name! Just said she was a princess who lost her title when her King grandfather had died…
"He was killed and I was condemned to a marriage to a man old enough to be my father! I was 18! And that man did with me whatever he wanted and I was force to stay quiet and watch as Snow was happy while I was miserable because of her!"
Taking a deep breath Regina calmed down as she felt JD tighten his hold around her. Henry buried his face against her neck. Why hadn't his book said any of this!?
Emma gulped. Snow hadn't said anything about why Regina hated her. And any question Emma had was directed to the book.
Neal narrowed his eyes. He knew full well what was expected from a wife back in the Enchanted Forest….and the wife of a King…
For the others, all this was surprising. Disney really got it wrong didn't he?
"Rumple trained me in magic. At first I wanted to protect myself….but eventually my heart was darkened and it became all about vengeance. Years later I cast a curse he provided…hoping to find my happy ending in ruining everyone's lives. As it turns out the curse that brought us all here was more a curse to me who remembered everything…"
She continued, explaining how she had adopted a child who brought light back into her heart. How eventually Emma broke the curse and everyone remembered. How she had to leave town when she was framed for Archie's murder.
Neal intervened at then end. Apologizing for his father's manipulations. "He wanted you broken so you'd cast his curse and he could find me…"
As much as she wanted to be angry Regina just shook her head. "You were just brave enough to do what I couldn't and escape your parent. Anything he did to get you back was his choice…as it was my choice what I did…manipulated or not."
"But what really matters at the moment is that magic from our world can extract the heart of a living being and that enchanted heart can be used to control a person as long as someone is holding the heart, or to kill them if they crush it… a heartless is unable to feel their emotions, not unless they are strong ones like love, hate anger. They are unable to feel remorse or guilt…"
Buffy blinked and made eye contact with Angel. "Like losing your soul…"
"In a way, it should be similar…only losing a soul would not take away the ability to feel emotions, but they would be twisted, love would be more like obsession, as would hate. The heart is tied to the soul but not the soul itself, or at least not all of it."
"I don't get it. Why would the miller's daughter of all fairy tale characters, want to help Robin turn Faith into the Dark Slayer?"
"Right….perhaps I should have mentioned that she's also know as the Queen of Hearts."
"Wait, like the Off With their head!Queen of Hearts?" Dawn asked. This whole thing kept getting more complicated. The Queen of Hearts who was also the Miller's daughter, had a child with Rumpelstiltskin and that child was the Evil Queen from Snow White? And she cursed everyone to Maine?
What the hell?
"Yes, dear. That Queen of Hearts. As to why she helped Robin…those three said she had joined with an old enemy of Faith and Angel. But the attack came before we could know more…"
All in the room turn towards the sisters, whom looked right back at them. This caused some of those in the room to fidget. Cordelia glared at the three from her place leaning into Gunn's side. She always hated those three especially with the way they seemed to enjoy knowing more than everyone else does.
Wesley was entertained watching the Storybrooke people learn first hand about the Scoobies way of dealing with stuff, while thinking he shouldn't have let Fred talk him out of dealing with Robin years ago.
Lorne cleared his throat, "Ladies, will you continue your explanation?"
The sisters spoke as one, "We require another form of payment for the information."
Neal bit out, "Didn't you get what you needed when you asked after my sister?"
Humming in unison, "True, but what you all want to know requires something else."
Giles spoke in his Ripper tone, "You will tell us what we want to know, if and only if what you tell us helps us, will you be able to ask for payment."
The three witches studied the Watcher before noticing the Red Witch and the Slayer flank him. Conferring between themselves, "Very well, Watcher. Your terms are acceptable."
Willow nodded, "Good, now who has been trying to bring the Dark Slayer back?"
One of the sisters answered, "We don't know specifics only that they were an enemy from Angel's and Faith's past."
Angel asked, "Is that all you know?"
"No, we know that there is a reason they need the Dark Slayer back…" Looking around the Sisters continued, "There will come a time when there will be new champions that will have ties to the dark but raise in the light. It is believed that by bringing the Dark Slayer back your enemy will gain the champions instead. These champions are tied to all of you through the strings of fate."
Neal asked, "The very strings that derailed the last conversation?"
One of the sisters spoke, "Strings tie Slayers together, Saviors to Queens. White to Dark to Light to Evil… so many strings in this room bringing together many different figures Good and Evil, Light and Dark."
Regina barely heard anything after 'Strings tie Slayers together'. No that damn woman couldn't be tied to Faith THAT way. She was tired of these women telling her their supposed destiny. Regina wanted freedom. She chose Faith and Faith had chosen her. All these strings could go to hell.
"You keep babbling and babbling about strings of fate. What is it that you want? You only made Faith pull away and bring up her walls!"
The sisters shared a silent conversation and looked at Regina again. "You misunderstand our intention and our words. Fate connects the souls of those who given the right circumstances can be right for each other. But it is not only two souls…every being can be tied to many others. They might never meet any of his mates, or they could meet them all. They might love or hate them. They might be family or lovers. Who they want, who they choose and what they become depends on them alone."
Emma blinked and looked at Regina for a moment, before addressing the sisters. "So, just because two people are soul mates doesn't mean they have to be involved romantically?"
"That is correct Savior." The sisters moved towards Neal and to his surprised began fondling him.
"Wait…ladies…I."
"Mmm…your own strings tie you to this man. But the string is damaged, trust may never be fully recovered. True Love had not been achieved when it was hurt…the Queen's string is as the others only it shines with magic. Never seen before two magic users tied together…but not only to themselves…"
Emma gulped. "So Neal is also tied to me…like Regina. Wait what about them….they're siblings!"
"They are tied to you…but not each other….just as he's tied to others you're not tied to."
"And now my head hurts!" Emma slumped into her chair. Why couldn't these thing be more simple?
"What about me? You said I'm tied to Miss Swan…but what about…?" Regina asked worried about the answers she would get.
The sisters were still wrapped around Neal, who much to everyone's amusement had stopped trying to get away. Whether from shock or something else, they didn't know.
"You fear…you're not bound to the Last Slayer. You need not worry, your destinies are intertwined… they would still be, even if there was no string." One of them said before she turned her attention back to the man…they could sense experience in this one.
"There is one then?"
"Strong, powerful string. Unbreakable." Neal suddenly jumped and moved away from them when hands began to stray to dangerous places.
Regina sighed with relief for a second before she remembered that Summers was also tied to Faith. Looking at the woman herself she noticed she looked confused.
Buffy was thinking. Or she was trying to because her mind kept rewinding what she heard over and over, trying to come up with an explanation… it was about soul mates…not really for her and Faith it was all about the slayer bond. That's it. No more. No sir. Just slayerness. There's no way Faith could have been her soul mate, nah-uh… or well couldn't be one of them anyway. Buffy thought nodding along with her thoughts as if trying to convince herself.
It wasn't possible, because that would mean that they wasted over a decade hating each other and with the defensiveness and weird mixed signals, and now Faith had someone else she obviously really loved and Buffy was still pathetically single and unable to connect with anyone. Not to mention Faith was all with the badness again even if it wasn't her fault.
So no…it wasn't a soul matey thing. It wasn't even a thing. Just slayerness. And she wasn't going to bother asking about it.
Nope.
She wasn't interested.
Not one bit.
Buffy bit her lips and opened her mouth to speak, when she was interrupted by Giles.
Clearing his throat, Giles called attention to the part that he thought was more important, "Ladies, what did you mean by new champions?"
Turning as one towards the older Watcher, they spoke as one, "When the new Generation of Champions rise, two different worlds heroes will come together to guide them."
Willow asked, "Do we know who the new champions will be?"
One of the sisters answered, "They will be the Believer, the Elemental, the Warrior, and the Empath. These four together can save worlds or burn them depending on if they are raised in the light or taken by the dark."
Giles nodded his head as he spoke again, "Well Wesley, Winifred, and Willow will help me research more on this prophecy. Cordelia, Charles you two will work with Andrew and Dawn to deal with the girls day to day activities and get them back into their routines. Buffy, Xander and Angel, head up to the infirmary with Mr. Cassiady so that he can speak with his father."
One of the Sisters spoke up, "There is still our payment watcher."
Giles took his glasses off asking, "What do you want?"
Moving as one, the sisters pointed at Connor, "Him."
Angel snorted, "Why?"
"We wonder if satisfaction is a family trait… mmm."
Connor's eyes widened as Giles answered, "Only if he agrees. Now Ms. Mills I believe you would like to deal with our new guest and find out what he knows from working with your mother, yes?"
Regina gave a shark of a smile as she replied, "I'm sure the good Captain will be more than willing to answer me."
As they left the room Emma grabbed Regina's wrist. "Regina wait…I can we talk for a minute?"
They made eye contact and so many things passed through their eyes in that moment.
With a sigh, Regina nodded. "Give me a minute." And she moved away from Emma. Calling Henry to her side she gave him the box with Faith's heart asking him to take it to Faith's room and protect it for her until she returned. He promised to be careful with it
He was conflicted. His moms had were soul mates, but so were mom and Faith…Henry wouldn't mind to have another mother in Faith if she married his mom. He liked the idea of having more family…but still. Shaking his head he walked away.
It didn't matter right now. They had to save Faith before they could think about that. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Neal. "Hey, come on I'll walk you back to the suite on my way to the infirmary."
Henry smiled. "Thanks Neal." He didn't notice how Neal looked back at his moms.
Emma and Regina stepped back into the now empty office. The savior just stood there fidgeting. "So…uh…I what does it mean?"
She wasn't sure how to feel. A part of her was hopeful, yet she was terrified of the idea of Fate. Emma wanted choice but the other was Neal of all people…and the nympho witches were right…that bond was damaged, trust would never be a thing there again. The other part of her was resigned. Regina had choice too and her options were better than Emma's. Faith at least had never purposely hurt Regina. Hell, even scary Faith obviously still wanted her.
"It means…nothing Miss Swan. I'm in love with Faith….the moment I met her she was my choice. Anything that could have happened between you and I, was already damaged even before I met Faith, but afterwards it was simply gone." She trailed off at the hurt look in Emma's face. She sighed. While any romantic relationship between them was out of the question, they were still connected via Henry and it wouldn't do to go back to the awkwardness and hostility.
Besides…once upon a time there was a strong chance of them being something more. Even if that was gone now, Regina loathed to admit that she was somewhat fond of the woman. Maybe they could even be friends one day. "Perhaps in another life, I never left Storybrooke and we could find a way, but…"
"This is not that life…" Emma said sadly.
"I understand. For whatever it's worth….I'm really sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean what I said Regina, I let the dream catcher and everyone's opinion make me doubt my instincts. I knew in my gut you weren't lying, but then I stopped trusting my gut and felt betrayed, so I lashed out to hurt you….when in truth I was the one who betrayed you."
Regina gulped at the words. "Miss-Emma…"
"I'm not in love with you…I don't think either of us was anywhere near there….but Regina, I do care about you and I hope maybe one day we at least can be friends…"
Regina smiled at the Savior. The blonde was looking at her so earnestly and Regina felt her anger at the woman fade away. "I think we're almost there on the friends front."
Emma returned the smile. Yeah…maybe in another life.