*************
**Chapter 5**
*************
Faith let her mind wander back to that time when she had received a parcel from the Bossman.
She was lying in her hospital bed, oblivious to the outside world. Her hospital room was bare, without anything personal in sight. There wasn't one get-well card, or teddy bear, or something similar that would signify that someone cared about her.
The only sound that could be heard were the rhythmic beeps, keeping time with her heart. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded and the monitor flat lined. Faith had disappeared from the bed.
When she had woken up from her coma, she was a little disorientated, although she knew enough to get out of the hospital.
A little later, she walked through the streets of Sunnydale, until she came across a shop selling weapons. Keeping an eye out for the police or any of the Scoobies, she looked at the display of knives in the shop window. Faith almost entered the shop, but she suddenly saw a police car headed her way.
Trying to avoid being recognized by Sunnydale's finest, she mingled with a group of students that were just crossing the street in front of her. Most of the time, Sunnydale had the most inept police force in the world, but even the dumbest can get lucky. Better safe than sorry.
Once she'd crossed the street, Faith slipped away from the group and ducked into a corner street, putting as much distance as possible between her and the police car.
Some kind of demon came up to her, oddly not attacking her, just talking. "Faith! Your friend sent me. I've got a little something for you to remember him by."
Faith was in no mood for talking so, before he could give her the case he was holding, Faith beat the demon up and took it from him just as another police car came around the corner. Spooked, she made her way quickly up a fire-escape, dodging his searchlight just in time. Once up the ladder and out of immediate danger, she opened the case and found a videocassette inside.
Not having a VCR of her own, she broke into a pawn store to find one. Quickly hooking an old VCR to a TV, she stuck the tape in and the Mayor's face appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Faith." The first kind words she heard since she woke up.
"If you are watching this tape, it can only mean one thing. I'm dead. And our noble campaign to bring order to the town of Sunnydale has failed. Utterly and completely. But, on the other hand, heck, maybe we won. And right now, I'm on the Richard Wilkins show surrounded by a bunch of kids sitting Indian style and looking up at my face filled with fear and wonder."
He laughed. " 'Hi kids!' "
Faith grinned at the idea, but became serious as his face lost its levity.
"But the realist in me tends to doubt it.
"Now, Faith, as I record this message, you're sleeping. The doctors tell me you might never wake up. I do not believe that. Sooner or later, you will wake up, and when you do, you'll find the world has gone and changed on you. I wish I could make the world a better place for you to wake up in. But, tough as it is to accept, we both have to understand that even my power to protect and watch over you has its limits. See, the hard pill to swallow is that once I'm gone, your days are just plain numbered.
"I know, you're a smart and capable young woman in charge of her own life, but the problem, Faith, is that there won't be a place in the world for you anymore. By now I bet you're feeling very much alone. But you're never alone. You'll always have me."
On the screen, she saw him pick up a box and hold it near the camera. "And you'll always have this. Go ahead. Open the box."
Faith took the box from the case and looked at it closely.
"Don't worry. It's not gonna bite. That's my job!" He laughed at his own joke. "Go ahead. Open it."
She did so.
"Surprise! You won't find these in any gumball machine! See, when you've been around as long as I have, you make friends. And some of them forge neat little gizmos. Just like the one you're holding right now."
She stared at the device she held in her hand.
"And here's the good news. Just because it's over for my Faith, doesn't mean she can't go out with a bang." He glanced away from the camera for a moment and laughed sadly before turning the camera off.
Faith just stared at the device.
*****
Snapping back to the present, Faith slowly turned over the envelope she was holding and carefully opened it. Inside were three, crisp white sheets of paper with the mayor's writing on them. She quickly found a personal letter and began to read.
"Hello, Faith,
If you're reading this, it means my Ascension failed and I'm dead. Damn, I had such high hopes about it; I guess nothing can't be done about it now. Also, our plan regarding Buffy must have failed. Too bad. Don't be sad: you did survive both plans.
Forget everything I told you on the tape; it's a new ball game now. If there isn't a place in the world for you anymore, then my Faith simply has to make one for herself. And I've got all the faith in the world that you'll succeed.
To do that you'll need to leave the past behind and make a fresh start somewhere else. You'll also need three things to succeed: money, weapons and knowledge. Those, I'll provide for you.
As you well know, I made a lot of acquaintances in my line of work and most of them owe me favours. I called all of them in, each and every favour that I had.
And a job that was, I can tell you! Trying to get a hold of them and get them to do the things I wanted...Lets say the Ascension will be a piece of cake compared to it.
An LA law firm--which has been in my service for over a century--helped me make sure that all legal or other troubles will be taken care by them. They are also to deliver these papers and a box to you.
The box contains everything you'll need to make your place in the world. The box, like the gizmo, has special qualities when you touch it and will it to grow, it will shape itself into a large trunk. Only you can open it and use the box safely.
I had special weapons, gadgets and gizmos fashioned for you and placed within the box; you'll soon figure out what they can do and how to use them.
Inside, you'll also find a few hundred grand, jewels, precious metals, and precious artefacts plus papers which grant you access to a couple of bank accounts that contain millions of dollars. You put the money to good use. Have fun with it Faith, understand?.
Also "The Slayer Sword," which was created about five millennia back, is now yours. If it has to be handled by a slayer again, it will be by you. I only know that it's very, very powerful and can only be safely wielded by a slayer. You'll have to figure it out by yourself what it can do.
In addition, I got you a new blade to replace the one you lost; this one's called "Dragon Blade" and has all kinds of special features. It can create shields, enhance your Slayer abilities, and increase the sharpness of the blade in order to cut through anything and everything. And the best part? It's powered by the essence of demons and vamps you slay with it. Knowing my Fay, you'll love this new blade and put it to good use.
Another item you'll love is the "Twin Braces." They're blessed and cause vamps excruciating pain if they are within half a feet of the braces. However, if you break the braces up, you'll actually have to touch the vamps for it to work.
Now listen very carefully: the next item is the most valuable and powerful of all the items in the box. It's called the BOOK OF SLAYERS, and only Slayers can handle and use it safely. It contains all the knowledge of the ancient Slayers--those who went before you. It's meant to guide and train the next slayer.
Faith, you'll need to do two things when you use the box:
The first thing is to take the "BOOK OF SLAYERS" out of the box, open it, and read the first page out loud. This will signify that you're taking possession of the book. When that's done, only you can open and read the book. Take good care of it, Faith. It contains a lot of knowledge and powers that only can be used by you. I know my Faith doesn't like to read old, musty books, but this book shows where you came from. The actual roots of the Slayer, not the myth the Watcher believe and preach nowadays. It contains your heritage.
And now to the second thing: to make sure that your Dragon Blade can never be used against you, I included an incantation, with the letters, that you'll have to perform. When you follow it to the letter, the blade will become bonded to you and can never be used against you. The Blade, like the Book, will be a part of you, a living extension of yourself.
This is all I could do in the short time before my Ascension. I hope you'll never have to read it, and I'll hand it to you in person. Make yourself a nice place in the world.
Your Loving Bossmann
(PS. Do me favour and kick Buffy's and Angel's butt for me, for messing up my Ascension and putting my Faith in a coma.)"
As she slowly lowered the pages, her tears start to drip onto them. All her bottled-up emotions were finally being released. She wasn't alone anymore; she had two people who loved her: Mel, her first watcher who represented good/light, and the Mayor, who represented evil/darkness. Both of them were the extremes of the spectrum, complete opposites of each other but connected through Faith. She walked both ends of the spectrum, was part of both worlds, and now had to find her own way.
She felt as if she had lost both of her parents.
Clutching the letter and box to her chest--her final gifts from the Mayor-- she fell asleep on the couch.
*****
Slowly, Faith woke up as the warm sun shone through the window. Confused about where she was for a moment, she recalled that she finally had a place to stay. Scanning her immediate vicinity for threats, she registered 5 signatures--Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Leo she recognized from last night, but the fifth was unknown. However, since he was only human, so she knew he was no real threat to her, so she didn't dwell on it any further.
She took one last look at the letter from the Mayor then put it aside resolutely while she grabbed the box and set it gently on the floor. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves, she reached out and gently brushed the surface of the box, looking for any imperfections, marks, or openings, but found none. Next, she focused her heightened senses on the box which gave off powerful vibes of power and actually felt warm to her touch.
Putting both her hands on the box, she concentrated the word "grow" at it, and the box began to expend segment by segment, with intricate patterns emerging on the surface of the box. [A/N: Imagine the cubes in movie Hellraiser that open gateways to hell. Same principle, like some kind of lever was flipped and the box grew in a big chest.] Placing her hands on the now full-sized chest, she concentrated again. "Open."
Smoothly, it obeyed. Looking inside, Faith wanted to examine everything in the box, but the Mayor had made it very clear to her that it was of the utmost urgency that she take the book and read the incantation on the first page. Lifting the book carefully out of the chest, she examined it. The covers seemed to be made from a lot of things fused together, including demon hides, scales, nails, claws, metals like gold and silver, and some other things she wasn't able to recognize.
Sitting down on the ground, she put the book in her lap and opened it to the first page where, written in amalgam of silver, gold and jade, were the words of the incantation she had to read--it was called "The Slayer's Claim Spell," according to the Mayor. Concentrating for a moment on the spell and calming herself down, Faith started to read spell out loud.
The Slayer's Claim Spell
Through Darkness we Walk In Darkness we Live Through the Darkness we Hunt In Darkness we Slay
Through Light we stand Guard In Light we Live Through the Light we Battle In Light we Protect
Both Light and Dark Touched by Both Belong to None Standing as One Standing as Many
The Slayer charts her own Path The Slayer owns her own Destiny The Slayer am I, protector of Innocence
As Slayer, I claim the Book of Slayers For Now and Ever
Having recited the last line of the incantation, the book and Faith became joined. Faith's name was added to the book; it was the first name in over two millennia.
The book was finally home again, where it belonged.
While Faith had read the Incantation, the air began to feel heavy and full of energy while a wind started to pick up. Growing strength and speed--and knocking down plenty of furniture in the process--a wall of moving wind slowly formed around Faith.
The house vibrated and trembled under the barrage. Slowly reaching its climax at the end of the spell, a powerful wave of energy was released, travelling at lightning speed in an expanding ring. It signalled the return of the Slayer and her guide to the World and, in particular, to San Francisco. A new, and yet ancient, player at last returned to the playing field.
The white, crackling ring surrounding Faith and her book had expanded slowly at first, but began picking up pace as it slid through the walls of the House and touched its occupants before expanding beyond the Manor.
From the sky, five points, equal distant from the Manor, lit up in five different bright colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, and Brown, which represented the five elements, and formed a Wicca and spiritual nexus with the Manor--which was also inside of a pentagram--at its centre.
Blue, signifying water, was in East Harbor/The Bay. Green, representing wood, was in Kenwood Park--a former park that was now a residential neighbourhood. Yellow, representing metal, was at Mountain Park--a former gold mine which now was a golf course close by at Presidio. Red, representing fire, ended up at Hot Springs--close to Rhode/Carolina--which, as the name suggested, contained natural hot springs. And lastly Brown, representing earth, was at Twin Peak, a mountain that was the highest point in San Francisco.
It was the signal that the first step in the battle for control of the Manor and the nexus had started at last.
*******
The End
*******
**Chapter 5**
*************
Faith let her mind wander back to that time when she had received a parcel from the Bossman.
She was lying in her hospital bed, oblivious to the outside world. Her hospital room was bare, without anything personal in sight. There wasn't one get-well card, or teddy bear, or something similar that would signify that someone cared about her.
The only sound that could be heard were the rhythmic beeps, keeping time with her heart. Suddenly, a loud screech sounded and the monitor flat lined. Faith had disappeared from the bed.
When she had woken up from her coma, she was a little disorientated, although she knew enough to get out of the hospital.
A little later, she walked through the streets of Sunnydale, until she came across a shop selling weapons. Keeping an eye out for the police or any of the Scoobies, she looked at the display of knives in the shop window. Faith almost entered the shop, but she suddenly saw a police car headed her way.
Trying to avoid being recognized by Sunnydale's finest, she mingled with a group of students that were just crossing the street in front of her. Most of the time, Sunnydale had the most inept police force in the world, but even the dumbest can get lucky. Better safe than sorry.
Once she'd crossed the street, Faith slipped away from the group and ducked into a corner street, putting as much distance as possible between her and the police car.
Some kind of demon came up to her, oddly not attacking her, just talking. "Faith! Your friend sent me. I've got a little something for you to remember him by."
Faith was in no mood for talking so, before he could give her the case he was holding, Faith beat the demon up and took it from him just as another police car came around the corner. Spooked, she made her way quickly up a fire-escape, dodging his searchlight just in time. Once up the ladder and out of immediate danger, she opened the case and found a videocassette inside.
Not having a VCR of her own, she broke into a pawn store to find one. Quickly hooking an old VCR to a TV, she stuck the tape in and the Mayor's face appeared on the screen.
"Hello, Faith." The first kind words she heard since she woke up.
"If you are watching this tape, it can only mean one thing. I'm dead. And our noble campaign to bring order to the town of Sunnydale has failed. Utterly and completely. But, on the other hand, heck, maybe we won. And right now, I'm on the Richard Wilkins show surrounded by a bunch of kids sitting Indian style and looking up at my face filled with fear and wonder."
He laughed. " 'Hi kids!' "
Faith grinned at the idea, but became serious as his face lost its levity.
"But the realist in me tends to doubt it.
"Now, Faith, as I record this message, you're sleeping. The doctors tell me you might never wake up. I do not believe that. Sooner or later, you will wake up, and when you do, you'll find the world has gone and changed on you. I wish I could make the world a better place for you to wake up in. But, tough as it is to accept, we both have to understand that even my power to protect and watch over you has its limits. See, the hard pill to swallow is that once I'm gone, your days are just plain numbered.
"I know, you're a smart and capable young woman in charge of her own life, but the problem, Faith, is that there won't be a place in the world for you anymore. By now I bet you're feeling very much alone. But you're never alone. You'll always have me."
On the screen, she saw him pick up a box and hold it near the camera. "And you'll always have this. Go ahead. Open the box."
Faith took the box from the case and looked at it closely.
"Don't worry. It's not gonna bite. That's my job!" He laughed at his own joke. "Go ahead. Open it."
She did so.
"Surprise! You won't find these in any gumball machine! See, when you've been around as long as I have, you make friends. And some of them forge neat little gizmos. Just like the one you're holding right now."
She stared at the device she held in her hand.
"And here's the good news. Just because it's over for my Faith, doesn't mean she can't go out with a bang." He glanced away from the camera for a moment and laughed sadly before turning the camera off.
Faith just stared at the device.
*****
Snapping back to the present, Faith slowly turned over the envelope she was holding and carefully opened it. Inside were three, crisp white sheets of paper with the mayor's writing on them. She quickly found a personal letter and began to read.
"Hello, Faith,
If you're reading this, it means my Ascension failed and I'm dead. Damn, I had such high hopes about it; I guess nothing can't be done about it now. Also, our plan regarding Buffy must have failed. Too bad. Don't be sad: you did survive both plans.
Forget everything I told you on the tape; it's a new ball game now. If there isn't a place in the world for you anymore, then my Faith simply has to make one for herself. And I've got all the faith in the world that you'll succeed.
To do that you'll need to leave the past behind and make a fresh start somewhere else. You'll also need three things to succeed: money, weapons and knowledge. Those, I'll provide for you.
As you well know, I made a lot of acquaintances in my line of work and most of them owe me favours. I called all of them in, each and every favour that I had.
And a job that was, I can tell you! Trying to get a hold of them and get them to do the things I wanted...Lets say the Ascension will be a piece of cake compared to it.
An LA law firm--which has been in my service for over a century--helped me make sure that all legal or other troubles will be taken care by them. They are also to deliver these papers and a box to you.
The box contains everything you'll need to make your place in the world. The box, like the gizmo, has special qualities when you touch it and will it to grow, it will shape itself into a large trunk. Only you can open it and use the box safely.
I had special weapons, gadgets and gizmos fashioned for you and placed within the box; you'll soon figure out what they can do and how to use them.
Inside, you'll also find a few hundred grand, jewels, precious metals, and precious artefacts plus papers which grant you access to a couple of bank accounts that contain millions of dollars. You put the money to good use. Have fun with it Faith, understand?.
Also "The Slayer Sword," which was created about five millennia back, is now yours. If it has to be handled by a slayer again, it will be by you. I only know that it's very, very powerful and can only be safely wielded by a slayer. You'll have to figure it out by yourself what it can do.
In addition, I got you a new blade to replace the one you lost; this one's called "Dragon Blade" and has all kinds of special features. It can create shields, enhance your Slayer abilities, and increase the sharpness of the blade in order to cut through anything and everything. And the best part? It's powered by the essence of demons and vamps you slay with it. Knowing my Fay, you'll love this new blade and put it to good use.
Another item you'll love is the "Twin Braces." They're blessed and cause vamps excruciating pain if they are within half a feet of the braces. However, if you break the braces up, you'll actually have to touch the vamps for it to work.
Now listen very carefully: the next item is the most valuable and powerful of all the items in the box. It's called the BOOK OF SLAYERS, and only Slayers can handle and use it safely. It contains all the knowledge of the ancient Slayers--those who went before you. It's meant to guide and train the next slayer.
Faith, you'll need to do two things when you use the box:
The first thing is to take the "BOOK OF SLAYERS" out of the box, open it, and read the first page out loud. This will signify that you're taking possession of the book. When that's done, only you can open and read the book. Take good care of it, Faith. It contains a lot of knowledge and powers that only can be used by you. I know my Faith doesn't like to read old, musty books, but this book shows where you came from. The actual roots of the Slayer, not the myth the Watcher believe and preach nowadays. It contains your heritage.
And now to the second thing: to make sure that your Dragon Blade can never be used against you, I included an incantation, with the letters, that you'll have to perform. When you follow it to the letter, the blade will become bonded to you and can never be used against you. The Blade, like the Book, will be a part of you, a living extension of yourself.
This is all I could do in the short time before my Ascension. I hope you'll never have to read it, and I'll hand it to you in person. Make yourself a nice place in the world.
Your Loving Bossmann
(PS. Do me favour and kick Buffy's and Angel's butt for me, for messing up my Ascension and putting my Faith in a coma.)"
As she slowly lowered the pages, her tears start to drip onto them. All her bottled-up emotions were finally being released. She wasn't alone anymore; she had two people who loved her: Mel, her first watcher who represented good/light, and the Mayor, who represented evil/darkness. Both of them were the extremes of the spectrum, complete opposites of each other but connected through Faith. She walked both ends of the spectrum, was part of both worlds, and now had to find her own way.
She felt as if she had lost both of her parents.
Clutching the letter and box to her chest--her final gifts from the Mayor-- she fell asleep on the couch.
*****
Slowly, Faith woke up as the warm sun shone through the window. Confused about where she was for a moment, she recalled that she finally had a place to stay. Scanning her immediate vicinity for threats, she registered 5 signatures--Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Leo she recognized from last night, but the fifth was unknown. However, since he was only human, so she knew he was no real threat to her, so she didn't dwell on it any further.
She took one last look at the letter from the Mayor then put it aside resolutely while she grabbed the box and set it gently on the floor. Taking a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves, she reached out and gently brushed the surface of the box, looking for any imperfections, marks, or openings, but found none. Next, she focused her heightened senses on the box which gave off powerful vibes of power and actually felt warm to her touch.
Putting both her hands on the box, she concentrated the word "grow" at it, and the box began to expend segment by segment, with intricate patterns emerging on the surface of the box. [A/N: Imagine the cubes in movie Hellraiser that open gateways to hell. Same principle, like some kind of lever was flipped and the box grew in a big chest.] Placing her hands on the now full-sized chest, she concentrated again. "Open."
Smoothly, it obeyed. Looking inside, Faith wanted to examine everything in the box, but the Mayor had made it very clear to her that it was of the utmost urgency that she take the book and read the incantation on the first page. Lifting the book carefully out of the chest, she examined it. The covers seemed to be made from a lot of things fused together, including demon hides, scales, nails, claws, metals like gold and silver, and some other things she wasn't able to recognize.
Sitting down on the ground, she put the book in her lap and opened it to the first page where, written in amalgam of silver, gold and jade, were the words of the incantation she had to read--it was called "The Slayer's Claim Spell," according to the Mayor. Concentrating for a moment on the spell and calming herself down, Faith started to read spell out loud.
The Slayer's Claim Spell
Through Darkness we Walk In Darkness we Live Through the Darkness we Hunt In Darkness we Slay
Through Light we stand Guard In Light we Live Through the Light we Battle In Light we Protect
Both Light and Dark Touched by Both Belong to None Standing as One Standing as Many
The Slayer charts her own Path The Slayer owns her own Destiny The Slayer am I, protector of Innocence
As Slayer, I claim the Book of Slayers For Now and Ever
Having recited the last line of the incantation, the book and Faith became joined. Faith's name was added to the book; it was the first name in over two millennia.
The book was finally home again, where it belonged.
While Faith had read the Incantation, the air began to feel heavy and full of energy while a wind started to pick up. Growing strength and speed--and knocking down plenty of furniture in the process--a wall of moving wind slowly formed around Faith.
The house vibrated and trembled under the barrage. Slowly reaching its climax at the end of the spell, a powerful wave of energy was released, travelling at lightning speed in an expanding ring. It signalled the return of the Slayer and her guide to the World and, in particular, to San Francisco. A new, and yet ancient, player at last returned to the playing field.
The white, crackling ring surrounding Faith and her book had expanded slowly at first, but began picking up pace as it slid through the walls of the House and touched its occupants before expanding beyond the Manor.
From the sky, five points, equal distant from the Manor, lit up in five different bright colours: Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, and Brown, which represented the five elements, and formed a Wicca and spiritual nexus with the Manor--which was also inside of a pentagram--at its centre.
Blue, signifying water, was in East Harbor/The Bay. Green, representing wood, was in Kenwood Park--a former park that was now a residential neighbourhood. Yellow, representing metal, was at Mountain Park--a former gold mine which now was a golf course close by at Presidio. Red, representing fire, ended up at Hot Springs--close to Rhode/Carolina--which, as the name suggested, contained natural hot springs. And lastly Brown, representing earth, was at Twin Peak, a mountain that was the highest point in San Francisco.
It was the signal that the first step in the battle for control of the Manor and the nexus had started at last.
*******
The End
*******
