Chapter Two
Faith stared at her reflection in the mirror. A satisfied smirk appeared on her face as she looked at her much cleaner appearance and rubbed her full stomach. It felt like she had never been full before and the two trolls were slightly perturbed at the large amounts of food she ate. Before Faith agreed to do anything else, she also requested a bath of any kind. She was at first put off by the hole in the ground filled with steaming water.
"What the hell is up with you things and underground," Faith remembered saying to them before she relented and dived in. It was like a naturally built sauna. She was given nothing to soap herself with and Faith regrettably found herself missing even the prison's disinfectant shampoo and conditioners. However, she made use of the cloth they provided her and scrubbed out the filth from her skin as best she could.
She had refused to wear the soiled sackcloth and stood there, wet and naked, flustering both trolls, until Bogs muttered under his breath and gave up his red cape. She wrapped it around her like a sheet after screwing somebody before tossing them out. She never was the shy type.
"So," Faith finally replied, moving away from the mirror to face the two trolls. "What exactly do I have to do? Impersonate?" She snorted derisively. "I don't have that kind of power. And you see these…" She gestured emphatically towards her eyes. "Not exactly brimming with glowy energy."
"It won't matter," Bogs replied. "I just need you to break up her armies. Maybe they'll be too scared at the sight of you to question you."
"Armies? With that kind of power, she doesn't need armies to do damage for her," Faith said incredulously. "Why would she do that?"
"Why not?" Bogs shot back; his tone was low and heated. He stared hard at her as if it were all her fault. "She loves to be the cause of pain and chaos. She revels in blood and suffering." His eyes narrowed. "And more importantly, she likes to watch." He blinked his eyes and the hate went away. "We're nothing more but pawns to her. Toys for her own amusement."
Lim nodded in agreement. "That much power can be a dangerous thing. Anybody would get carried away and abuse it. She could end us all very quickly if she wanted to." He gave a bitter laugh. "Lucky for us she doesn't misuse hers."
Faith looked away. She did have power and she did misuse it. "Where'd she get that much power?"
Bogs laughed. "Don't know! She's always had it. She just appeared one day, decided to meddle, and pit all us Ancients against each other until we all wipe each other off the face of the planet. The gods are even quarreling amongst each other, too."
Faith raised a curious eyebrow. "The Ancients?"
"Yes, the Ancients." Lim sighed. His gaze looked nostalgic. "The ones that have hidden from the world of humans since the Fall of the Titans. The elves and dwarves, the nymphs and trolls, the mighty dragons and the lumbering giants, the beasts of the rivers and oceans as well as the mountains and forests. We're all at war now and some, like us, continue to hide." He shrugged callously.
Faith nodded, trying to understand everything. "And she…" She paused and her gaze flickered towards the mirror as if to make sure it was really her standing there. "I mean, her friends. They can't find you?"
"Not without help they can't," Lim answered. His gaze fell on the collar still attached around Faith's neck. "One of her kind didn't like how things were going down and she gave us a little protection."
"She?" Faith fingered the metal intrusion automatically, as if it were a precious necklace. "You don't know what this is and you still put it on me?"
Lim laughed. "Yes. I didn't know what it was until Mormeth and his men dragged you into my home and the thing just turned up around your neck." He gave the collar a thoughtful glance. "You should be lucky that she isn't as cruel as the one that looks like you. Who knows, maybe she has equal power and it could have killed you."
"Yah, lucky me," Faith replied dryly.
Bogs slammed his fist angrily down on the table, causing the vials on top of it to shudder. "I've had a taste of her cruelty," he spat bitterly. "She was there in that first battle, watching us like a child at a fair. Before I could make my men retreat, they all fell, dead within moments until I was the only one left standing. A general in charge of the dead." He shook his head, holding back angry tears. "And then the bitch was in front of me. Staring down at me with her flashing white eyes and she smiled. Smiled like she was receiving a gift. Then something hit my chest…"
He stopped and stood up from the wooden chair. His eyes met Faith's and they just stared at each other for a moment before Bogs lifted the armor plate off his chest. Faith's eyes widened at the sight. It looked as if someone had ripped the skin and tissue around his chest until every bone and organ was visible, like a walking skeletal model. However, Bogs was miraculously still alive. He glared hard at her and Faith couldn't help but feel like he was blaming her. She couldn't blame him and she did feel guilty. She was wearing the face of the person who did this to him and brought him and countless others so much pain.
Bogs broke his gaze, as if unable to bear looking at her any longer. "I can no longer sleep, bathe, or eat without the help of the right equipment."
Faith grinned. "Well, you guys should be lucky, too." They both stared at her dumbly. "That I don't have that kind of power."
Lim glared at her, his bulging big eyes narrowing, making his appearance look even more toadish. "What kind of power do you have?"
Faith froze. She almost forgot about her newly acquired powers. She barely gave them a second thought since she woke up in this place. She looked at the old troll questioningly and he gestured encouragingly while Bogs tensed. She nodded and walked towards a darkened corner where the candle's light didn't touch. She threw a wink and a grin over her shoulder at them, before she disappeared into the shadows.
Lim and Bogs exchanged worried glances and focused back on the corner. It was too dark to see what was happening and they both started to get nervous. Suddenly, there was a loud animalistic roar that surprised them so bad Lim tipped over in his chair and Bogs stumbled onto the table, clutching his chest as if his heart were to fall out. Their eyes widened to an impossible size as a large black panther casually strode out of the shadows. It was wearing the metal collar.
Wicked cool, huh? came Faith's amused voice from inside both their heads.
The panther sat back on its hind legs, its mouth gaping open to reveal rows of sharp teeth and a long pink tongue, its intense green eyes moving back and forth between them, and its tail wagged happily behind it. They watched in shock as the shadows seem to burst forth from the panther and cover it like a moving blanket. It twisted and convulsed until it formed back into the familiar feminine figure. In the panther's place stood Faith, with a wide grin plastered on her face.
"You know, I just thought of something," Faith stated as she looked down at the red cape covering her.
The two trolls remained speechless as the inky blackness again seemed to leak out of her and cover her body until it formed into comfortable looking clothes. Black leather pants and a matching top. Faith's smile grew wider.
"Damn, if I knew I could do that, I woulda saved the trip to the mall." Faith looked back up the trolls with a pleased smirk. "Oh and hey! I could do this, too." Her tone sounded like a child trying impress their parent.
She strutted towards them, their mouth's agape in shock and awe, and she leaned down and reached towards a large vial. However, her hand went past the vial but grasped the shadow it casted and drew out a small black dagger from who knows where.
Faith faced them again, her grin still large, and placed the tip of the dagger against Lim's throat. "Boo." She grinned playfully.
However, the grin was replaced by a grimace as pain and heat shot out from the collar. She dropped the knife and clutched around the collar. The knife sank back into the shadows.
"All right, I get it! No violence," Faith gasped. The pain immediately died down to nothing. "For fuck sake's is this chick trying to kill me?" She glared at them as she rubbed what little part of her throat she could. "I was only doing what you asked, geez." They just stared at her idiotically. "Hello? Cat got your tongue?" She smiled inwardly at the pun.
Lim gathered his wits first. "How did you…that was…" He stammered, trying to let go of his initial shock and form a full sentence. "I thought…" He looked desperately at Bogs.
Faith followed his gaze. "What's the big?"
Bogs blinked rapidly, getting rid of the shock. "She…she has that power too." He took a deep calming breath. "It's just a little disconcerting to see it again." He raised an eyebrow. "Especially coming from someone who we thought wasn't her or a killer."
Faith frowned. "I'm not her." But I am a killer.
Lim cleared his throat. "Yes, well, that's interesting." He stroked his beard and Faith swore that if he were a man with a British accent, he would have been a Watcher. "Follow me."
Fait hesitated for one moment, before finally deciding to follow the two departuring trolls. "So…uh…where are we going now?"
"The one that's protecting us…she'll lead you back," Lim replied.
Faith strode next to them, taking smaller steps to match their regular ones. "She does know I'm not…I'm not the other one, right?" Lim faltered in his steps and Bogs coughed conspicuously. Faith immediately halted in her steps and placed her hands on her hips. "You gotta be shitting me!"
"I don't know if she knows, but I'll make sure she does," Lim said reassuringly. Then his tone got dead and serious. "That's if she doesn't kill me first."
They continued down the hall in silence. With Faith glaring angrily at the back of both the trolls' heads, before receiving a warning squeeze from the collar around her neck.
* * *
"What is she Giles," Buffy asked meekly, her head resting against a musty book. "She gave you this…" Her eyes roamed the never-ending shelves of books. "…and you still found nothing?"
Giles sighed, removing his glasses and placing them on top of one of the books lying scattered on the desk. "We're trying, Buffy, but…" He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "…why would she give me all this if she just wants us to find out who she is?"
Buffy frowned. "I don't know…" She got up from her position and slammed a book closed, the sound echoing in the large room. "None of these tell you what alternate universe she's from?" She turned to Willow pleadingly. "You and Anya did a spell once…remember? Vamp Willow and Olaf?"
"We've been through all this before," Giles said sternly. "If…if we can't find where she's from we can't perform the spell."
Buffy turned to Willow for confirmation or help. Instead, Willow's gaze fell on her hands. "Buffy…guys." She hesitated. "I don't think she's from an alternate dimension." They were silent for a moment, both the Slayer and the Watcher utterly confused. "Tara and I…we've already tried performing spells…"
Buffy's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Will, are you crazy? If she ever found out…"
"She knows," Willow cut her off solemnly. Both Giles' and Buffy's eyes got even bigger. "I don't think she cares." She gazed blankly at the book in front of her. "None of them worked. We tried sending her to every alternate dimension…even the world without shrimp…" She shook her head helplessly. "…nothing…"
"Maybe she's immune to magic?" Giles questioned, carefully smoothing out a page in a book.
Willow swallowed. "She's not." She sighed hopelessly. "It's like…she doesn't belong anywhere else but here. It's like the other dimensions are rejecting her presence."
Giles pondered for a moment. "Could it be that this is the Faith of the future?"
Willow shook her head. "No, if it were…she would remember us, but the "us's" she knows are kinda different. Plus, she's got that weird, indistinguishable yet sultry accent."
Buffy snorted. "Kinda evil, you mean."
"You think her accent is evil," Giles questioned, suddenly conscious of his own.
Buffy smiled softly and shook her head. "No…I mean the "us's" she knows are kinda…" She straightened in her seat as if she were prodded in the back. "…evil…"
Giles gave her a concerned look. "Buffy, are you all right."
"No," Buffy said airily. She got up and started off towards the doors, looking kind of dazed.
Willow's brows furrowed. "Buffy…"
Buffy gestured her to be quiet. "Shh…she's calling me. She wants me by her side right now."
And with that, she disappeared out the door leaving the Wicca and the Watcher to stare at the closed doors. They met each other's worried glances and Willow raised an eyebrow.
"Anyone find that odd? The whole 'my-mistress-is-beckoning-to-me' thing?" Willow looked expectantly at Giles, who coughed uncomfortably.
"Yes, well, they…um…share a bond…" Giles began to explain, before he realized Willow just said it for dry humor. He smiled affectionately. "How are you doing?"
Willow sighed wearily. "Other than seeing Sunnydale and the most part of California being overruled by demons?" She shrugged. "I'm doing fine. Although I think I need to cleanse my brain of all the blood and gore, kinda gives me nightmares. I'm kinda missing the whole 'Glory hellgod thing' right now. At least then, we knew what we were dealing with." She smiled half-heartedly.
Giles nodded in understanding. He was very grateful that they all had retained their sanity despite the events of the past week. It was hard, especially for Buffy and Dawn. They were still grieving over their mother and now this.
Faith was cold and callous. No one could predict what she would do next. She had opened the Hellmouth, unleashing many evils into the world. Most of the state was already controlled by demons and were slowly spreading across the country. She had then started conflict around the globe, causing skirmishes amongst many countries. They had no doubt there would be a World War III sometime in the near future. How she did it? One can only guess she manipulated leaders with her mind.
He was, however, very confused over the fact that she didn't kill them. Instead, she had built them a fantastical castle for all of them to live in quite comfortably. They didn't know whether it was a game or not. They didn't know if she was just pretending to care for them just to get their hopes high and then slowly pick them off one by one, undoubtedly leaving Buffy last to suffer the great loss of everyone she ever loved. Everyday was like waking up questioning if this was the day she would get tired of them all and just kill them. Everyday was hard because they never knew what Faith had in store for them. Everyday of waking up in this place lost them a bit more hope. Everybody was always tense. Everybody was always weary and scared. And it had only been a week. He didn't know what would happen if they were to live like this for another one. He didn't know if they would survive it. If the world wasn't destroyed yet by demons or nuclear weapons or if Faith would just end it very quickly or very slowly.
She was too powerful. She had no need for them, yet she still kept them around. Sometimes talking with them as if they were her old friends or sometimes just standing there watching them, like an eerie realistic looking statue and sometimes she would play games on them, just for her own amusement. Mostly she went away to deal with other affairs across the world. She loved to watch the chaos she made.
He glanced across the table to a very tired-looking Willow. "I think there's nothing else we can do here. Let's try to get some rest."
Buffy steadily entered her room, her eyes immediately finding the dark statuesque figure on the balcony. She went to her side, not looking at her, but staring off into the distance and basking in the peace that settled on her from their bond. Below them, there were demons and humans scavenging for food or fighting or trying to survive. She took a deep breath as she suppressed her Slayer instinct urge to help them. A surprisingly warm hand gently found its way to hers and she looked sideways at Faith, whose gaze was still fixed below them.
"Beautiful, is it not?" A lazy smile formed on Faith's features as she continued to watch the suffering and carnage below them.
Bodies both demon and human lay rotting on the streets. The buildings looked like they had been shelled and the roads themselves had great fissures and cracks issuing forth from the great hole that was once Sunnydale High School. The town was nowhere near what it had looked like before. It was more of a ghost town with the occasional guerrilla warfare between demons and humans alike. It was a wonder there were even any humans left in this town. The residents here were always kind of stupid.
"Depends on your definition of 'beautiful'," Buffy answered bluntly.
She turned away from the balcony to look inside her lavish room, slowly taking her hand away from Faith's. She shivered in some unseen breeze and wrapped her arms protectively around her. She briefly wondered why Faith even bothered to ask questions when she could easily find the answer by just reading her mind.
Buffy stiffened as Faith stood behind her and placed her hands gently on Buffy's shoulder and leaned in so her lips were by her ear. "Because I choose not to invade your thoughts," Faith answered into her ear. She moved away and placed her hands on the edge of the balcony as she stared back out into what was left of the town. "She always thought it was beautiful." Buffy swore her tone was almost wistful. Almost. "She would be laughing at their futility by now."
"I'm not her," Buffy said quietly. She slowly approached her again, facing her. She took a deep breath. "But…"
"Why am I doing this," Faith asked for her, with an evil glint in her eyes. "Why not?" She gestured to two humans fleeing from some demons. One selfishly tossed the other towards the demons while he made a safe retreat. "Do you think they deserve to live?" She raised an eyebrow at Buffy's look. "I know not all humans are bad, but do you know why they exist to begin with?"
Buffy shook her head. "Someone said 'let there be light'?"
Faith let out a soft chuckle. "Because 'someone' got bored and needed something to play with."