A/N: Sorry for the short chapter…work is kicking my ass!!!
Chapter Four
Faith stared at the fields before her. Bodies were everywhere, some cut to pieces, some missing limbs, some had large bloody holes, some had weapons still embedded into them, and all their faces were etched in pain as they died. The land was scorched, no sign of green amongst the bodies, amongst the blood, limbs, and gore. The stench was unbearable, but she was used to the stench of the dead. However, it was never this thick and strong before. She had never seen so many bodies all at once before, maybe she and Buffy didn't even kill a tenth of this amount during their life as a Slayer.
Hell, even Angel and his posse didn't come close to this body count during their glory days, Faith thought vaguely.
She studied one body. It looked like a tall, dark-haired man, with long pointed ears and a prominent nose. His eyes were fixed, unseeing, to the sky, blood was spattered on it, and his mouth hung open and his eyes wide. He would have looked human if it weren't for the purplish blue tint of his skin. There were two types of bodies that littered the land. The purplish-blue ones with long dark hair and sharp, pointy ears. The other type of body was short yet bulky, rounded looking creatures covered in heavy armor. What little of skin she could see was covered in coarse thick hair.
"A battle was waged here," the brunette beside her finally replied. Faith glanced at her from the corner of her eye. "Not too long ago, perhaps a few days ago." She gestured to the land coated with corpses. "This is all that remains."
Faith shrugged indifferently. "There's nothing we could do here then." She turned to face her. "Why the hell did you bring me here?"
"I wanted you to see." Cordelia raised a curious, dark eyebrow. "And do you like what you see?"
Faith looked again at the bodies, spotting a small human-looking figure that couldn't even be less than ten years old. It was missing a head so she couldn't tell. She shifted uncomfortably, moving her gaze away from the body and onto the next one. This one had a head, but was missing half its body; guts spilling out like a grotesque cornucopia. She couldn't get over the expressions on their faces. It was the same as Allan's, the same as Lester's. It was probably what she looked like, for a split second, when she felt her own knife slid into her belly. She stared straight ahead into the gray horizon, not wanting to see the bodies.
"Not really…" She crossed her arms, hugging herself.
Cordelia grinned at that. "Good."
She started walking amongst the bodies, not stepping over them but going through them as if she wasn't really there. Faith followed behind her, her eyes rooted to the ground as she concentrated on not stepping on anything more or less bloody. Her feet were still bare, but so were the other Faith's. She could do nothing about it. The dark Slayer found herself missing her steel-toed Docs. She stopped when Cordelia stopped and watched as Cordelia looked around her as if really seeing the carnage for the first time, a small upsetting frown playing across her face.
"Now what are you doing," Faith asked hesitantly.
"I am seeing," came the distant reply.
Faith looked around, not noticing anything unusual. "Nothing much to see."
Cordelia's turned her head sharply to hers, eyes glowing angrily. "I am Sight." Her gaze wandered the fields around her, a hand went up to carelessly finger the silver necklace around her. "You would not understand." She gave a soft sigh, her gaze lowering. "I see what could have been, the possibilities…endless…" Her gaze went back up to Faith's, her eyes searching hers. "You could have made a difference…there would not be so much needless death." Her eyes again roamed the fields. "But this is the outcome…there is no change."
"So you could see the future? Not just the weird vision thing?" Faith looked around her. "I could have prevented this?"
Cordelia frowned. "I can not see the future. I can only see the many paths you can choose to take, the results infinite, always changing." She cocked her head to the side in a curious gesture. "I see the paths you chose…the paths you could have taken…" A small smile playful smile formed not unlike the ones Faith was used to. "Interesting." The smile disappeared leaving her expression unreadable as she gazed once more at the bodies. "There is no Fate…no Destiny…Everything happens because of choices…"
~ "Or is it just like Fate. You know, there is no choice. You were gonna be here no matter what. You ever think about that stuff? Fate…and Destiny…I don't…" ~
Faith nodded slowly. "So you see all that shit in your head?" Cordelia nodded. "Damn, and I thought I had problems."
Faith met Cordelia's gaze with a wry smile. After Cordelia stared at her with a somewhat confused look, a grin of her own formed. "Very interesting," she whispered softly, amusingly to herself.
Before Faith could question what she meant, Cordelia was in front of her again, grasping one of her wrists in a vice-like grip. The world again blurred and melted into each other like water splashed on wet paint. Soon she found herself in a tent of some sort, it wasn't small yet it was easy to collapse for quick traveling. There was a bedroll on one corner, haphazardly made and a desk at the far end the size of a minivan. At this desk was some kind of creature. He looked human for the most part, with a long gruff red beard that made him look like a mountaineer. However, he had little horns protruding from his coarse red hair and he seemed to be about as wide as she was tall and if he stood, Faith guessed him to be close to twenty feet tall. He was engrossed with a large, tattered map with many large X's and red marks. Beside him was a large axe that made Dionysus' sword look like a mere plaything. He did not seem to notice them, which Faith was grateful for. She didn't want to see him in action with that outsized weapon.
Cordelia nudged her with her elbow. "General of the valley giants," she spoke to her softly.
"What? Giants?" Faith stared at her incredulously.
Cordelia grinned evilly. "We are in their camp. There are thousands more just outside. All armed. All eager to fight. Just beyond their camp borders, a lair of dragons, which they are about to battle." She strolled to the desk, perching herself on top of it, the giant didn't even acknowledge her presence. "So if you fail…" She smiled. "Well…I'd like to watch you try to fight your way out of here." She studied the dark Slayer. "It is a possibility, you know." Her eyes glinted maliciously.
"He can't even see me," Faith stammered, suddenly aware of her position.
The grin grew wider and Faith was vaguely reminded of the bitch queen of Sunnydale. "Not yet." She pointed behind her. "From the shadows she comes. Can you do it?"
Faith straightened, taking on her cocky stance. She never was one to back down from a challenge. "What do you see?" Her tone was brash as always, flipping the other brunette the bird, before sauntering off into the shadows of the tent.
Cordelia raised an eyebrow at the curious gesture then watched, a bored look on her face, as darkness swallowed the young girl. There was a ferocious growl and at the sudden noise the giant leapt out of his chair, an alarmed and terrified look immediately covering his expression. His beady dark eyes watched as a large black panther emerged from the shadows of his tent and he tried not to tremble. His gaze flickered to his large axe.
Don't even think about it, you naughty boy Faith scolded as if she were reprimanding a child.
"S-sorry, I was not expecting you to be back so soon," he stammered, fear obvious in his deep gruff voice. He spoke in a different language, but for some reason Faith understood it and she spoke it as well. "I swear…the vermin will be dead by sunrise tomorrow." This time his voice carried loathing.
Faith stalked closer, quickly changing her form to human. Cordelia watched, slightly amused, and still perched atop the desk like a child waiting for a treat. The giant looked like he was about to wet his very tremendous sized trousers. He watched as she paced around in front of the desk, her eyes roaming every inch of the tent as if weighing her options about what to do with him. She looked bored and uninterested; more like an animal getting aware of its surroundings.
"You will not kill them," she finally stated flatly, her hands reached out to snatch the map off the desk.
She stared at it with a bored expression before throwing it into the air behind her. Immediately after, a black spike shot out of a corner, impaling the map against one of the poles holding the tent up. The giant swallowed in fear, then fixed a confused gaze at the small brunette. Faith knew he could easily crush her with his hands, but he didn't know that. He was too scared of who she thought she was. For a moment, she relished in that fear before reminding herself this was not a demon.
"Wh-what? They ought to be killed!" His voice boomed angrily. "They pollute the skies with their very breath! They lay waste to our lands and…"
His mouth snapped shut as long, inky black spears sprang out of the corners on both sides of him. He could feel them prodding his skin enough to draw blood. If he moved an inch he would be impaled. Sweat beads formed on his brow, his bottom lip quivering in both fear and rage, making his red beard shake slightly. He watched as the dark-haired beauty casually picked up one sharp point from the shadows. Her hands delicately ran across the smooth, black surface, her eyes examining it as if it were something very important.
"Are you talking back to me?" Faith asked with a somewhat amused tone. Her eyes never left her new weapon.
The giant sucked in his large belly as he felt a spear poke him uncomfortably. "N-no, mistress…never…"
"Never?" She sounded amused. "I thought I just heard you…"
"No, please, forgive me," the giant begged.
Faith slammed her spear hard into the ground. "Are you calling me a liar?"
Large beads of sweat ran down the giants face. "No…"
"Good," Faith replied happily, with a cheeky smile. "So…no killing…in fact, send the troops home, I'm sure they're missing their honeys and are craving for a little after hours of…" She smiled before she could do the little provocative gesture and grunt. Lost in memory for a brief moment.
~ "I mean, I'm sorry, it's just, all this sweating nightly, side-by-side action, and you never put in for a little after-hours of UGNH!?" ~
She snapped her head to the side, the memory quickly gone, replaced by a cruel familiar grin. "Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?"
The giant nodded his head ardently, his brow and beard practically dripping with sweat. "But, the fire-breathers, they will still come after us…they will not stop till our kind is extinct."
Faith raised an eyebrow, looking almost surprised he actually spoke again, but instead gave a crooked half-smile. "Then make a truce…end this war now…" She quickly threw the spear into his left leg and he cried out in agony. She almost enjoyed the sound. "…or I'll end you and your kind myself." Her tone was dark, leaving no note of speculation whether she would do it or not, then her face quickly brightened and she leapt onto the table so she was nearer to his height. She patted his chest. "Understand?"
The giant took a deep breath. "Y-yes…I understand," he managed to say through his pain.
"Good." She smiled happily and gave his leg a teasing pat. He groaned in pain. "I'll see you around."
She sauntered back into the shadows, to his eyes she disappeared in them. She strutted back out with a triumphant grin. Cordelia watched with only an amused look.
"Soooo?" She gestured around her. "How'd I do?"
Cordelia moved down from her perch on the table, closing her eyes as if thinking of something before opening them again. "Your methods are different." Faith's brow creased slightly, her smile faltered. "But well." She looked back at the giant, now free from the spikes surrounding him and gingerly taking care of the wound in his leg. "He now has that path of peace open to him, which wasn't before." Faith's smile brightened again. "He will try that path because of his fear for you, but it will be hard."
"Yah," Faith replied sarcastically. "Peace is a bitch to find."
Cordelia raised an eyebrow, still trying to adjust to this new Faith's language. "Yes, well, I doubt you can fool them."
Faith frowned. "Who?"
Cordelia gave her a sinister smile before touching her shoulder. Again the world melded together in a blur of colors. When the world became clear again, the dark Slayer found herself in a very large, lavish room. It was made out of cold, marble stones with lush exotic rugs and plush furniture. There wasn't much in the room except a bed, too large to be king-sized, with red silk sheets, fur blankets, and many puffy pillows. Facing the bed was a large balcony overlooking the landscape outside.
Faith gave an inquiring look at Cordelia, who watched her closely. The constant watching was beginning to become annoying. "Now where are we?"
She was rewarded by another evil grin and glint of her red eyes. "Home."
Faith froze, not by her words, but by a strong familiar tingling in her chest that seemed to be getting stronger as the seconds ticked past. Her heart started to beat faster in her chest with a mix of anxiety and dread. She nearly jumped as the large double-doors slammed open and a familiar figure stood at the opening.
Faith's eyes grew even wider than she thought possible as she gaped at her. Oh my god…Buffy!
Before she could utter a word, she felt a strong wave of peace and calm engulf her. The sudden shock of feeling so much serenity, something that was so foreign to her, was so overwhelming that she didn't even notice the warm arms that slid around her neck in a loving embrace. Her eyes slid shut, momentarily losing herself in the tranquility that surrounded her. After a second, did she realize a familiar presence was in her arms, their bodies crushing each other in a fierce hug.
Faith quickly pulled away, almost as if she had been burned, and looked into pure white, unfamiliar eyes that cracked light blue energy. These eyes were now staring at her, light eyebrows cocked questioningly. A frown slowly formed on the all-too familiar face.
My love? came Buffy's voice inside Faith's head, filled with curiosity.
Only this wasn't Buffy. Faith knew instantly. This bond she felt was different. It was stronger than the Slayer connection. The voice sounded the same only it had a soft, lilting accent that she didn't recognize. The dark Slayer swallowed the lump in her throat and her gaze flickered behind Buffy to give Cordelia a dark look. The seer only gazed at her coldly, an eyebrow slightly raised as if wondering what she was going to do.
Buffy followed Faith's gaze with a questioning look. "You both have been gone for awhile. Nearly a week…" She turned back to Faith, reaching up to tenderly stroke Faith's cheek. I missed you.
Faith backed away, emotions long buried confusing her and the bond she was feeling from this Buffy wasn't making it any easier. "I…um…I-I missed you, too." This isn't B, B would never…would she? No! She wouldn't, of course not you fucking idiot! Faith thought frantically as she stumbled further away, nearly tripping over a throw rug.
Buffy's brows creased as she watched Faith slowly back away, confusion written clearly on her face, but her gaze looking distant and far away. Her glowing colorless eyes narrowed dangerously and she whirled around to face Cordelia. The tall brunette flinched, but kept her steady gaze. They glared at each other for a moment, obviously exchanging words mentally.
"It probably made her disoriented," Cordelia snapped out loud, her crimson eyes flaring angrily. "The point is, he's dead. The gods are now feuding. This world is at its end." She gave a bitter smile. "As you two wished."
Faith snapped her attention back as she heard Cordelia's angry voice. She took a deep breath. Okay, still gotta play pretend…the other me and this…B musta been some crazy, psycho lovers…All right, I can do that, I've done it before…
~ "Bondage looks good on ya, B. The outfit's all wrong, but, hey!" ~
Buffy frowned at Cordelia's words. "I do not wish it. You know that!"