An endless succession of 'if onlys' passed through her mind as she sat on
his sleeping bag in their latest hideout, holding the small stuffed pig
tightly to her chest. It had been packed away with the rest of their stuff
ready for a quick getaway if need be, but she'd got it out when she'd
arrived back. Faith had made up her mind. She wasn't going to run anymore.
She was going to sit and remember all those who she had failed, who had
died because of her. She cast her mind back to before the Apocalypse..
Before the horror.
Everyone had been happy. Indeed, everyone had still been alive then. Maybe they hadn't known it, but all the usual petty worries; schoolwork, love lives . were part of this happiness. When the biggest problem in your life is a relationship, you're blessed with happiness.
And then she'd ruined it for the whole world.
She had turned the events of that day over in her mind time and time again. If only she'd killed that Sister of Jhe, if only she'd concentrated fully on the fight, like Buffy always had. If only she hadn't allowed herself to be distracted by.violence for violence's sake. "If only". Story of her life. She laughed bitterly.
The Apocalypse had been completely different to anything that anyone could ever have imagined or predicted.
It was Hell on earth. Literally.
The Hellmouth didn't just open, it shifted, moved and expanded like a living thing. It became the sky. Instead of the familiar innocence of the once blue expanse, a nightmare montage of swirling death and destruction from the Hell dimensions now stood in its place.
And through it poured the demons.
The flying ones had come first. Lethal. Their gracefulness belying their true natures. These were followed closely by the many others. The humans were utterly unprepared for the onslaught and millions of innocents were killed within the first few hours. Faith remembered watching them running mindlessly around in the streets in their absolute blind terror, only to picked off easily by the waiting demons. After the immediate widespread panic, and as the reality had begun to sink in, the few remaining people with any sense had gone into hiding.
Buffy had died within an hour of Armageddon, unable to stand by and let the innocent suffer; she'd tried to save everyone. It had been her downfall. As she had helplessly watched her secret hero fight her last battle, Faith had silently promised her that she'd keep everyone Buffy had cared about safe, without wasting her life on strangers. Buffy's death had demoralised the group and it was only by sheer force of will power that she'd got them all into hiding.
After somehow surviving the immediate mass annihilation that had followed, she managed to keep them hidden for a day or so inside the hidden basement complex of a semi-ruined warehouse she had found, what seemed like years ago, when patrolling one night. Now, it seemed like their group was huge compared to the numbers left, but she'd been tortured by the pitiful number of people she'd managed to save. Giles, Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, Jonathon and a small boy that Buffy had managed to save before dying. He said his name was Taylor but not much else, huddling in the corner with Willow trying to comfort him, in vain, for the destruction of his world.
Before the horror.
Everyone had been happy. Indeed, everyone had still been alive then. Maybe they hadn't known it, but all the usual petty worries; schoolwork, love lives . were part of this happiness. When the biggest problem in your life is a relationship, you're blessed with happiness.
And then she'd ruined it for the whole world.
She had turned the events of that day over in her mind time and time again. If only she'd killed that Sister of Jhe, if only she'd concentrated fully on the fight, like Buffy always had. If only she hadn't allowed herself to be distracted by.violence for violence's sake. "If only". Story of her life. She laughed bitterly.
The Apocalypse had been completely different to anything that anyone could ever have imagined or predicted.
It was Hell on earth. Literally.
The Hellmouth didn't just open, it shifted, moved and expanded like a living thing. It became the sky. Instead of the familiar innocence of the once blue expanse, a nightmare montage of swirling death and destruction from the Hell dimensions now stood in its place.
And through it poured the demons.
The flying ones had come first. Lethal. Their gracefulness belying their true natures. These were followed closely by the many others. The humans were utterly unprepared for the onslaught and millions of innocents were killed within the first few hours. Faith remembered watching them running mindlessly around in the streets in their absolute blind terror, only to picked off easily by the waiting demons. After the immediate widespread panic, and as the reality had begun to sink in, the few remaining people with any sense had gone into hiding.
Buffy had died within an hour of Armageddon, unable to stand by and let the innocent suffer; she'd tried to save everyone. It had been her downfall. As she had helplessly watched her secret hero fight her last battle, Faith had silently promised her that she'd keep everyone Buffy had cared about safe, without wasting her life on strangers. Buffy's death had demoralised the group and it was only by sheer force of will power that she'd got them all into hiding.
After somehow surviving the immediate mass annihilation that had followed, she managed to keep them hidden for a day or so inside the hidden basement complex of a semi-ruined warehouse she had found, what seemed like years ago, when patrolling one night. Now, it seemed like their group was huge compared to the numbers left, but she'd been tortured by the pitiful number of people she'd managed to save. Giles, Willow, Xander, Oz, Cordelia, Jonathon and a small boy that Buffy had managed to save before dying. He said his name was Taylor but not much else, huddling in the corner with Willow trying to comfort him, in vain, for the destruction of his world.