Part II
"What? Was it something I said?"
Buffy reacted with remarkable composure to Faith's confusion. "Nothing, Faith, there's just something on your lip." She reached out and dabbed at the nonexistent spot with a napkin, and continued, "There, that's got it. . .Hey, I just realized, Giles will want to talk to you about your time out on patrol alone, and about this whole stupid Council thing. Why don't you head over there, and we'll follow you in a few minutes."
Faith looked at Buffy for a long moment, and Buffy assumed a poker face. At length, Faith shrugged and replied, "Good idea, B. I want Giles to know I'm still on board, and I got in some righteous slaying while I was gone." She got up and breezily said, "Later, guys," before heading out. Sensing some major discussion was about to erupt, Buffy held her hand up until she was sure Faith had left, then she turned to her friends and whispered, "All right, is it me, or is Faith seriously playing Amnesia Girl?"
"I was waiting for the Twilight Zone music to start up," Xander commented, still looking dazed. "She didn't have a clue what happened, did she?"
Buffy frowned and replied, "No, I don't think so. When she left the table, she looked almost like she was in some sort of trance. Willow-" she turned to her friend, knowing that her memory was of legendary accuracy, "at what point in Xander's story did she stand up?"
Willow thought for a moment, then replied, "Xander had just said, 'It had gotten to the point where my love life consisted of looking into a mirror and saying seductively, "Up for some solitaire?"'" At that, they all looked over at the table where Faith had been sitting and saw the solitaire layout. Willow looked confused and whispered, "What's going on, Buffy? Xander mentions solitaire, and she goes off and plays it, followed by her crawling all over him? What kind of insanity is this?"
Oz snickered, and Willow turned to glare at him while Xander retorted, "Why is it that everyone thinks it requires some kind of cataclysmic event to make women be attracted to me. . ." He trailed off as he saw his friends looking at him, and he remembered the story he had been telling, together with some of his recent history, and he finished with, "I'm being quiet now."
Buffy gave him a sympathetic look, then turned to Willow and replied, "Xander told that story about the redhead where he used that lame line, and it seemed that Faith took it as some sort of command. . .she acted it out precisely, then stopped when Xander was able to tell her to. Something weird is going on here. . .and we need Giles' help. Willow, I want you to examine that solitaire layout so that you can duplicate it for Giles later. Oz, stay with her." She gestured at Xander and ordered, "All right, Hormone Boy, let's sit down over here. We need to have a talk."
Xander was confused. "What about, Buffy."
Buffy's expression was concerned as she explained, "I know you're in rebound mode right now, and I'm betting that you are suddenly seeing Faith as a pleasant alternative to your present situation regarding the wacky." Xander seemed ready to issue a heated denial, but Buffy's concerned stare seemed to demand the truth, and he nodded curtly as Buffy continued, " Look, I won't stand in your way if you're determined, but Faith told me some stuff about how she felt about guys in general, and I think you have a right to know. . ."
***
It was half an hour later when Buffy and the Scooby Gang got to the library. They found Giles busily taking notes as Faith described another slaying. She spotted the four of them and called out, "Hey, guys! Good idea to send me ahead, B. Giles and me, we had a lot of catching up to do. So how about I finish here and then we all go out and kick some vampire ass?"
Buffy managed a normal -looking smile as she replied, "Sounds good, Faith. Damn, I wanted to take my crossbow, with my strength still being low and all, and I left it at my house. Could you run over and grab it for me? I still don't feel comfortable heading over on my own, with my power level down and all."
Faith grinned and walked over to Buffy, squeezing her shoulder. "Sure, B. It's the least I can do, with you clueing me in on what those bastard Watchers were up to. I'll be back in a few." She darted out the door, and Giles looked confused. "Buffy, you went out alone last night with no problems. Is there something you haven't been telling me?" He looked guilty, apparently wondering whether his actions were still exposing Buffy to unnecessary danger.
She turned to him and replied, "I'm fine, although she's still quite a bit stronger than I am. No, the problem is Faith." She quickly explained what had happened at the Bronze, and Giles frowned as if he was trying to remember something. Buffy noticed it and asked, "What's wrong?"
Giles frowned and began pacing, trying to stimulate his memory; after a moment, it came to him and he paused with a deeply concerned look on his face. Seeing that the others were on pins and needles waiting for him to say something, he did not delay further: "You all know that my father and grandmother were both Watchers. Well, there were other members of my family that were involved in matters involving a great deal of discretion. My maternal grandfather was a field agent for British Intelligence, and occasionally he would tell me some things that were no longer serious matters for state secrecy, though he always swore me to silence. I think he'd forgive my letting this one out, though." He cleared his throat, then continued, "During the Korean War, a group of American soldiers was seized by a North Korean patrol and taken to a place where they were brainwashed by a Chinese doctor named Yen Lo. One of the soldiers, the stepson of a United States Senator, was brainwashed to do whatever he was told when exposed to certain stimuli. The others were simply brainwashed to tell a story that would guarantee the soldier would be awarded the Medal of Honor, which would improve his access to high level targets later on. Eventually, the plot was uncovered and the soldier's programming undone. . .but he chose to go on his own to eliminate the Americans involved in the assassination conspiracy. . .his own mother and stepfather. . .before committing suicide."
There was silence in the room for a long moment before Buffy spoke. "Yuck. I could have gone my whole life without hearing that story. What's the connection to Faith?"
Giles frowned and replied, "The initial triggering mechanism was the phrase, "Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?", after which the soldier would play solitaire until the queen of diamonds was turned up, after which he would be subject to commands that he would inevitably obey."
Willow had been laying out the cards as she remembered them and turned to Giles. "The last card she turned was the King of Hearts." She shook her head and commented sadly, "We've got a big problem, don't we?"
Giles smiled reassuringly and replied, "Not necessarily, Willow. If I'm right, and something similar has been done to Faith, we've had a tremendous stroke of luck. If we can use the triggering phrase on Faith, she will be as obedient to us as to her intended masters. We can find out what happened to her and who did it to her ."
Buffy's face was concerned, but the concern rapidly turned to anger as she commented, "I don't like doing this to Faith, but if someone has been messing with her brain, we need to find out, for her sake and ours." They all sat down and quietly waited for her to return. A few minutes later, Faith walked in carrying the crossbow and a quiver of bolts. "All right, B, we're ready to party. Want to take off now?"
Buffy looked sadly at Faith as she replied, "In a minute, Faith." She took a deep breath and spoke in a clear voice, "Up for some solitaire?"
Faith's face went blank, and she began to scan the room for a deck of cards. She saw it at one of the tables and sat down, shuffling the deck and setting out the Klondike layout. As the others watched in fascination and horror, she continued playing for some time, then stopped. All present could see that the last card she had turned was the King of Hearts. She sat patiently, breathing slowly and staring blankly. Buffy turned to Giles and whispered, "Okay, one brainwashed Slayer. Now what?"
Giles whispered back, "You should order her to do something she would ordinarily find offensive, but nothing that would be harmful or traumatic to her should she remember it later." Buffy thought a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her face as she walked over to Faith and whispered in her ear for a moment. Faith stood up, walked to the middle of the floor of the library and began singing: "I love you. . .you love me. . ." and went on from there, singing the Barney song. Xander winced and whispered, "I thought you weren't supposed to traumatize her?" Buffy smiled grimly at him as Faith walked over to Oz and gave him a big, friendly hug with a goofy expression on her face. Willow looked outraged for a moment, then subsided as she reflected on how un-Faith this was. Oz, amazingly, kept his composure both during and after the hug: it was moments like this when Buffy wondered if Oz was more Vulcan than werewolf.
Faith sat down and waited patiently. Giles walked over to the grim Buffy and suggested, "Now that we know how the mechanism works, we should find out what happened to her." Buffy nodded reluctantly and called out to Faith, "Faith, come over here and sit down. . .good, thank you. Now, Faith, I want you to tell us what happened to you since we saw you last just after Christmas."
Without hesitation, Faith began to tell the story in a flat, quiet voice. Everyone was spellbound as she told how she had been captured, programmed, and released to be a hidden weapon against her friends. As Buffy listened, her grip on the heavy wood table grew tighter and tighter, and her face assumed an angrier and angrier expression. At the point where Yen Lo was putting into place Faith's final programming, the wood gave way with a loud snap, and Giles and the others turned to find a foot long section of wood had broken free and was in her hands for a moment before she tossed it away in disgust.
Faith finished her narrative, then sat there blankly, in accordance with Buffy's initial order. Buffy was in a state of total outrage: the Mayor was some sort of evil scumbag who had been involved with some demonic conspiracy, and now he was messing with Faith? She would single-handedly tear down City Hall brick by brick to get those bastards. She had actually gotten up and was striding quickly to the door when Giles, divining her intent, called out, "Buffy, wait! Don't be rash. . ."
Buffy turned on him and snapped, "Don't you tell me how I should be feeling about this! Do you have any idea what kind of violation we're talking about here? That goddamned thing with the Council was nothing compared to this! Giles, they were messing with her SOUL! I'm going to take them apart at the seams, and there's not a damned thing you can say to stop me."
Giles' face took on a look of utter sympathy as he replied, "Buffy, believe me, I know what you're feeling. . .because I'm feeling it too." Buffy looked at him and saw the anger in his face as he looked over at his other Slayer, the one he had been unable to protect, and felt briefly guilty about snapping at him before listening to him continue, "But if the Mayor is controlling the vampires in town, and has Mr. Trick as an assistant, you would be walking into a deathtrap just as if you'd strolled into the Factory last year. . .it's bad enough what has happened to Faith. . .I won't lose you too on a reckless venture."
Buffy had to acknowledge the truth of his words, and her frustration was evident. "Then what do we do, Giles?"
Giles frowned and replied, "We can use the triggering phrase and cards to dismantle the programming. . .that would be one way, but it might leave Faith feeling a huge amount of remorse for her situation without any way to deal with it. . .on the other hand, perhaps we might leave her in place to wait for the inevitable call from the Mayor. . .and give His Honor a little surprise from his perfect assassin."
He smiled coldly and elaborated, "Here's what we do..."
. . .to be continued.
As always, comments are welcomed and desired
"What? Was it something I said?"
Buffy reacted with remarkable composure to Faith's confusion. "Nothing, Faith, there's just something on your lip." She reached out and dabbed at the nonexistent spot with a napkin, and continued, "There, that's got it. . .Hey, I just realized, Giles will want to talk to you about your time out on patrol alone, and about this whole stupid Council thing. Why don't you head over there, and we'll follow you in a few minutes."
Faith looked at Buffy for a long moment, and Buffy assumed a poker face. At length, Faith shrugged and replied, "Good idea, B. I want Giles to know I'm still on board, and I got in some righteous slaying while I was gone." She got up and breezily said, "Later, guys," before heading out. Sensing some major discussion was about to erupt, Buffy held her hand up until she was sure Faith had left, then she turned to her friends and whispered, "All right, is it me, or is Faith seriously playing Amnesia Girl?"
"I was waiting for the Twilight Zone music to start up," Xander commented, still looking dazed. "She didn't have a clue what happened, did she?"
Buffy frowned and replied, "No, I don't think so. When she left the table, she looked almost like she was in some sort of trance. Willow-" she turned to her friend, knowing that her memory was of legendary accuracy, "at what point in Xander's story did she stand up?"
Willow thought for a moment, then replied, "Xander had just said, 'It had gotten to the point where my love life consisted of looking into a mirror and saying seductively, "Up for some solitaire?"'" At that, they all looked over at the table where Faith had been sitting and saw the solitaire layout. Willow looked confused and whispered, "What's going on, Buffy? Xander mentions solitaire, and she goes off and plays it, followed by her crawling all over him? What kind of insanity is this?"
Oz snickered, and Willow turned to glare at him while Xander retorted, "Why is it that everyone thinks it requires some kind of cataclysmic event to make women be attracted to me. . ." He trailed off as he saw his friends looking at him, and he remembered the story he had been telling, together with some of his recent history, and he finished with, "I'm being quiet now."
Buffy gave him a sympathetic look, then turned to Willow and replied, "Xander told that story about the redhead where he used that lame line, and it seemed that Faith took it as some sort of command. . .she acted it out precisely, then stopped when Xander was able to tell her to. Something weird is going on here. . .and we need Giles' help. Willow, I want you to examine that solitaire layout so that you can duplicate it for Giles later. Oz, stay with her." She gestured at Xander and ordered, "All right, Hormone Boy, let's sit down over here. We need to have a talk."
Xander was confused. "What about, Buffy."
Buffy's expression was concerned as she explained, "I know you're in rebound mode right now, and I'm betting that you are suddenly seeing Faith as a pleasant alternative to your present situation regarding the wacky." Xander seemed ready to issue a heated denial, but Buffy's concerned stare seemed to demand the truth, and he nodded curtly as Buffy continued, " Look, I won't stand in your way if you're determined, but Faith told me some stuff about how she felt about guys in general, and I think you have a right to know. . ."
***
It was half an hour later when Buffy and the Scooby Gang got to the library. They found Giles busily taking notes as Faith described another slaying. She spotted the four of them and called out, "Hey, guys! Good idea to send me ahead, B. Giles and me, we had a lot of catching up to do. So how about I finish here and then we all go out and kick some vampire ass?"
Buffy managed a normal -looking smile as she replied, "Sounds good, Faith. Damn, I wanted to take my crossbow, with my strength still being low and all, and I left it at my house. Could you run over and grab it for me? I still don't feel comfortable heading over on my own, with my power level down and all."
Faith grinned and walked over to Buffy, squeezing her shoulder. "Sure, B. It's the least I can do, with you clueing me in on what those bastard Watchers were up to. I'll be back in a few." She darted out the door, and Giles looked confused. "Buffy, you went out alone last night with no problems. Is there something you haven't been telling me?" He looked guilty, apparently wondering whether his actions were still exposing Buffy to unnecessary danger.
She turned to him and replied, "I'm fine, although she's still quite a bit stronger than I am. No, the problem is Faith." She quickly explained what had happened at the Bronze, and Giles frowned as if he was trying to remember something. Buffy noticed it and asked, "What's wrong?"
Giles frowned and began pacing, trying to stimulate his memory; after a moment, it came to him and he paused with a deeply concerned look on his face. Seeing that the others were on pins and needles waiting for him to say something, he did not delay further: "You all know that my father and grandmother were both Watchers. Well, there were other members of my family that were involved in matters involving a great deal of discretion. My maternal grandfather was a field agent for British Intelligence, and occasionally he would tell me some things that were no longer serious matters for state secrecy, though he always swore me to silence. I think he'd forgive my letting this one out, though." He cleared his throat, then continued, "During the Korean War, a group of American soldiers was seized by a North Korean patrol and taken to a place where they were brainwashed by a Chinese doctor named Yen Lo. One of the soldiers, the stepson of a United States Senator, was brainwashed to do whatever he was told when exposed to certain stimuli. The others were simply brainwashed to tell a story that would guarantee the soldier would be awarded the Medal of Honor, which would improve his access to high level targets later on. Eventually, the plot was uncovered and the soldier's programming undone. . .but he chose to go on his own to eliminate the Americans involved in the assassination conspiracy. . .his own mother and stepfather. . .before committing suicide."
There was silence in the room for a long moment before Buffy spoke. "Yuck. I could have gone my whole life without hearing that story. What's the connection to Faith?"
Giles frowned and replied, "The initial triggering mechanism was the phrase, "Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?", after which the soldier would play solitaire until the queen of diamonds was turned up, after which he would be subject to commands that he would inevitably obey."
Willow had been laying out the cards as she remembered them and turned to Giles. "The last card she turned was the King of Hearts." She shook her head and commented sadly, "We've got a big problem, don't we?"
Giles smiled reassuringly and replied, "Not necessarily, Willow. If I'm right, and something similar has been done to Faith, we've had a tremendous stroke of luck. If we can use the triggering phrase on Faith, she will be as obedient to us as to her intended masters. We can find out what happened to her and who did it to her ."
Buffy's face was concerned, but the concern rapidly turned to anger as she commented, "I don't like doing this to Faith, but if someone has been messing with her brain, we need to find out, for her sake and ours." They all sat down and quietly waited for her to return. A few minutes later, Faith walked in carrying the crossbow and a quiver of bolts. "All right, B, we're ready to party. Want to take off now?"
Buffy looked sadly at Faith as she replied, "In a minute, Faith." She took a deep breath and spoke in a clear voice, "Up for some solitaire?"
Faith's face went blank, and she began to scan the room for a deck of cards. She saw it at one of the tables and sat down, shuffling the deck and setting out the Klondike layout. As the others watched in fascination and horror, she continued playing for some time, then stopped. All present could see that the last card she had turned was the King of Hearts. She sat patiently, breathing slowly and staring blankly. Buffy turned to Giles and whispered, "Okay, one brainwashed Slayer. Now what?"
Giles whispered back, "You should order her to do something she would ordinarily find offensive, but nothing that would be harmful or traumatic to her should she remember it later." Buffy thought a moment, then a faint smile appeared on her face as she walked over to Faith and whispered in her ear for a moment. Faith stood up, walked to the middle of the floor of the library and began singing: "I love you. . .you love me. . ." and went on from there, singing the Barney song. Xander winced and whispered, "I thought you weren't supposed to traumatize her?" Buffy smiled grimly at him as Faith walked over to Oz and gave him a big, friendly hug with a goofy expression on her face. Willow looked outraged for a moment, then subsided as she reflected on how un-Faith this was. Oz, amazingly, kept his composure both during and after the hug: it was moments like this when Buffy wondered if Oz was more Vulcan than werewolf.
Faith sat down and waited patiently. Giles walked over to the grim Buffy and suggested, "Now that we know how the mechanism works, we should find out what happened to her." Buffy nodded reluctantly and called out to Faith, "Faith, come over here and sit down. . .good, thank you. Now, Faith, I want you to tell us what happened to you since we saw you last just after Christmas."
Without hesitation, Faith began to tell the story in a flat, quiet voice. Everyone was spellbound as she told how she had been captured, programmed, and released to be a hidden weapon against her friends. As Buffy listened, her grip on the heavy wood table grew tighter and tighter, and her face assumed an angrier and angrier expression. At the point where Yen Lo was putting into place Faith's final programming, the wood gave way with a loud snap, and Giles and the others turned to find a foot long section of wood had broken free and was in her hands for a moment before she tossed it away in disgust.
Faith finished her narrative, then sat there blankly, in accordance with Buffy's initial order. Buffy was in a state of total outrage: the Mayor was some sort of evil scumbag who had been involved with some demonic conspiracy, and now he was messing with Faith? She would single-handedly tear down City Hall brick by brick to get those bastards. She had actually gotten up and was striding quickly to the door when Giles, divining her intent, called out, "Buffy, wait! Don't be rash. . ."
Buffy turned on him and snapped, "Don't you tell me how I should be feeling about this! Do you have any idea what kind of violation we're talking about here? That goddamned thing with the Council was nothing compared to this! Giles, they were messing with her SOUL! I'm going to take them apart at the seams, and there's not a damned thing you can say to stop me."
Giles' face took on a look of utter sympathy as he replied, "Buffy, believe me, I know what you're feeling. . .because I'm feeling it too." Buffy looked at him and saw the anger in his face as he looked over at his other Slayer, the one he had been unable to protect, and felt briefly guilty about snapping at him before listening to him continue, "But if the Mayor is controlling the vampires in town, and has Mr. Trick as an assistant, you would be walking into a deathtrap just as if you'd strolled into the Factory last year. . .it's bad enough what has happened to Faith. . .I won't lose you too on a reckless venture."
Buffy had to acknowledge the truth of his words, and her frustration was evident. "Then what do we do, Giles?"
Giles frowned and replied, "We can use the triggering phrase and cards to dismantle the programming. . .that would be one way, but it might leave Faith feeling a huge amount of remorse for her situation without any way to deal with it. . .on the other hand, perhaps we might leave her in place to wait for the inevitable call from the Mayor. . .and give His Honor a little surprise from his perfect assassin."
He smiled coldly and elaborated, "Here's what we do..."
. . .to be continued.
As always, comments are welcomed and desired