Hell Bound
Chapter 1- The Ground StateA/N: It get's much, much better in the third chapter I hope to have it done soon. Something I've never done before, these are long chapters for me so please be kind when/if you R&R. the pairings are as follows: Paris/Willow, Buffy/Achillees. I'm in a desperate search for a faith partner. I was thinking of may be using Hector, but he's married and I couldn't find a way of killing off his wife with out making him all hard inside. Also thought of making a love triangle, that ones still on the cuttingroom floor but I may revisit it. Or may be, a special guest appearence partner for our girl faith... you never know what I'm gonna pull next;)...
The Greek camps on the banks of Troy, three days after the decapitation of the statue of Apollo
Achilles looked into the sky, the sun was falling in the east, taking down with it the tones of red and purple, and in the west a new moon was rising. Silver, at first then white and a melted yellow.
"The god's are stirring, my friend. Preparing for the war." Informed Odysseus from behind him.
"And what have the god's to prepare?" Achilles asked bitterly. He'd lost his faith in the god's now. He'd desecrated the temple of Apollo and yet, nothing was different.
He'd come into this war believing that he would die, accepting it, hoping for it, yearning for it. Sweets release from his only known purpose. To kill. And what a glorious future that did hold, he mocked to himself.
"To accept the dead into the arms of the after life." Odysseus told him, and Achilles only just realized he was still there.
Achilles turned to face Odysseus, letting his cold eyes catch him in place.
"And if I kill a thousand? What will the gods do then?" Achilles asked.
"Nothing." Odysseus said blankly. "Nothing..." Achilles echoed his words, solemnly as if Odysseus where not in his presence.
"And if I kill so many, that the gates of Hades can not hold them and the earth expands beneath us, to make room the for the country of Troy and all it's fallen magnificence, what then Odysseus? Will they strike me down? Kill me? Will they slay me Odysseus? Will I finally have my peace?" He asked.
"There is no peace in killing, Achilles, there is only an unsettling loss and a drunken victory. That, my friend, is why we are not the foot soldiers to the king, but his moral superiors. Don't go trying to find peace in a land of hell." "Is that what this is?" Achilles asked. "A land of hell?"
"Perhaps. It is a land of many death's, so yes, you could call it hell." Odysseus said wisely.
He looked past Achilles now, and his eyes seemed to drift far past the sky he passed into.
"Don't fool your self, Odysseus, my friend," Achilles walked past Odysseus "You are but a pawn in this game." Achilles said.
After Achilles was gone and the sky bore the symbols of the eve, and his words still hung high in Odysseus's head, Odysseus spoke the words he didn't dare speak in the presence of his fellow warrior: "Then I suppose you are as well, Achilles, my ignorant friend. For the god's have yet to use you. And when they do, what a sight that will be."
Paris France, present day"Heads up, B!" Faith screamed to her sister-slayer Buffy, as she flung her axe at a vampire behind her. Buffy only just missed the swerving silver weapon as it flew by her with super-natural accuracy.
Three full-grown vamps surrounded her, and she grudgingly admired their strength as she dodged and blocked their powerful blows.
The one to her left made a shot for her jaw but she caught his fist in mid air and jolted it back ward, dislocating it.
He fell back, his hand disfigured and began to howl in pain.
"Lemme save ya the trouble." Buffy said and pounded her stake deep with in the steal pectorals.
Before he even turned to dust she was being hoisted in the air and thrown into the brick wall of the Chambre Des Ange, an expensive French boutique where they'd encountered a rich woman being mugged in the back. Come to find muggers here have a sort of brutish method, kill and steal = yummy.
And here I thought French people where refined... Says the girl who failed French, Buffy thought. She found herself being lifted again by the collar of her shirt
"Quelle belle petite enfant!" laughed one vampire to the other who chuckled heartily, "Belle mais tres fragile!" He said and pounded her back against the brick.
Her feet were kicking like crazy and she tried desperately to reach for his throat.
"J'aimerais jouer avec cette petite fleur, mais non, Jean?" He asked and turned to the second vampire, only to receive a fist in the face from the massively ticked off Faith.
"You know dude when you say that, you sound meagerly gay." Faith laughed.
Some where in between him falling and releasing Buffy, Faith staked him and he turned to dust.
"Ashes to ashes, Baby"
Faith shrugged and helped Buffy up.
"There goes my new shoes." Buffy said looking down at the broken heals of her brand new stilettos. Faith swung an arm around Buffy's shoulders as they walked away.
"Easy come, easy go." She said.
"Yeah but you ever notice how people only say that when there not the ones it happens to?" Buffy asked.
When the two Slayers arrived at Xander's condo where they and the rest of scoobies where assembling there was an eerie feeling of panic amongst them.
"You feel that?" Buffy asked.
"I don't know yo, but my spider-senses are tingling big time."
"Ditto." Buffy said.
They entered the house with caution, carefully opening and closing the door as they called out for their friends.
Xander rushed to Buffy first leading her threw the hall and saying something too fast for her to understand. Something about Willow and a demon, she couldn't really break the whole code. But then she saw Willow on the couch, her forehead moist, eyes closed, her bruised face twisted into a painful grimace, and everything cleared in Xander's voice.
"She's been like that for about an hour, we tried to call you but your number was out of service or something and we were all panicked and hey, did I mention Willow found a new slayer? But, that's not important... What's important is waking up Will, right Buff." Xander babbled, but Buffy walked past him, not answering, not really conscious herself.
"Buff? Are you...? Buffy?" His voice drifted off some where far.
And then she heard Willow's voice in her head.
Buffy... Thank the lord! I thought I was going to die... Or I thought I was dead. But I'm not... Am I?
"I don't know, Will. You've gotta wake up. What happened?" Buffy asked out loud.
I don't know one minute I'm going through the library, looking for a book on Troy... Because Kennedy wanted learn about ancient fighting styles and weaponry, she's making a book. Did I tell you? It's so cute how she has these little projects... But, uh off topic, way, way off right? Any way so I was getting' book-y with it and then this white light hit me, or like flashed infront of me like a camera in my face only about a million times worse and I was in a room, or a tent, and this girl asked for my help.
My help, she obviously didn't get the memo on the vein-y Willow special guest appearance two years ago huh? Willow laughed
I think I know what she want's Buff, I think she said she needed a fighter, or a warrior. May be she's being held captive by some one, or some thing. How else would she know how to summon a powerful wicca like me?
"What book were you looking in? May be we can look into it, get answer's, do some recon--"
No time, I know what to do, Buffy, I know how to help her. Buffy this might sting a little...
A blinding light shot before Buffy's eyes and she closed them immediately. When she opened them, the light had become a room with no walls, no doors or windows and no end. And yet she felt as though it must be a room.
Willow appeared before her. "Where are we?" Buffy asked. "Just a room, it's a mental place where you hold your mind and inner most thought's. I mastered the art of coming here that summer in England, Giles taught me." She said gleefully.
"Why are we here?" Buffy asked.
"I needed to talk to you. That girl, the one who summoned me she's being held captive by Achilles and the Greeks, she's from the past Buffy, the really, really past. You know the war between Troy and Greece? You know the whole 'gift horse, die in your sleep, Trojans are gullible' one? Well, Brieses , that's her name, she was praying to the goddess Hecate, but originally she worship's Apollo, any way, she called on Hecate to give her strength and Hecate told her to summon 'Willow of the deep magic's' AKA me." Buffy watched her glow as she said it.
"So Brieses called me to her tent, or Achilles' tent, and asked me to bless the Trojan army. But I know for a fact that Troy is gonna loose, on account of the gift horse thing. But, Buffy, if you and Faith and the other Slayers can help them, stop them from letting the horse in, you can save the entire city of Troy from destruction, you can re-write history." Willow said.
For a few minutes the room was quiet, silent as the grave, and Buffy contemplated Willow's words.
I can re-write history? I flunked out of History! she thought.
But there was a human need for glory and victory, and she could save a civilization.
Or could she?
The two stubborn contradicting reason's battled themselves out.
"So are you in or out?" Willow asked.
Buffy looked up "In." She said quietly.
Willow smiled "Coolies!" She giggled. "In two weeks I'll send a portal for you and the other slayers, it'll lead you to the city. You wont remember anything at first, but you'll start piecing things together sooner or later, let's hope it's sooner." She said.
"What about you?" Buffy asked. "I'm going to Troy right away to make preparations with the royal family and the warrior's."
"I meant what about your memory." Buffy said. "Oh, well at first, I'll remember everything, like I do now, and tell them what they need to know. But when you guy's get there I'll forget everything." Willow said.
She put an arm on Buffy's shoulder. "I'll be seeing you." She said and then the flash hit Buffy again.
She hadn't had time to close her eyes and prepare so she got the light straight in the eye. She fell backward and covered her eyes, the side table she landed on never stood a chance.
When the mild drowsiness wore off she opened her eyes and saw her friends around her.
"Damn, B you went down hard, you okay?" Faith asked as she offered her hand to Buffy.
"What happened?" Dawn asked.
"Willow... she... there was this place in her head and there's a portal in two weeks."
She looked around the room at the blank faces and Xander, who stood infront of the group, looked behind him and said something in a low voice to Dawn who shrugged.
Then he looked to Fait and she shook her head.
Xander looked to Buffy now and said, unforgettably
"Uh, Buff... Who's 'Willow'?"
(End Chapter)