Hours pass, and Faith waits laying on the bed of her room as if she were inside a jail cell. She was a potential prisoner of her own mind. They could turn her off and leave her their little secretary till she was 35 if they wanted to. They already proved they could take everything away from her, and probably worse.
Although, she considered, she escaped from the business dress code of blazers and skirts and pany hose and got to wear something that suited her a bit more favorably. There wasn't exactly a wide selection, but out of the mess she found her self some track pants and a tank top.It was cold and forced her to add a zipper sweatshirt over it. She found some boots her size to replace the heals they had shoved her in before. She kept her hair down like she liked it, and considered burning anything there that could be used to put her hair up with, but she had a feeling it would end up in a bun somehow.
She looked out the window and saw snow. She'd seen snow before, but it was wasn't like this. What she saw was like a cop out ending to cheesey christmas special snow. This was Snow. This was snow that caused people to put layers of clothing on. The kind that piles up in 3 foot piles from snow plows.
But it looked bueatiful. The sun was setting and casting a range of colors off the freshly falling snow and reflecting off the glass buildings. This was clearly the highlight of the day. She looked over at the clock and saw it was only 3:30pm. She looked back out side at the sun set.
"I can see why the vamps love this place. They have no body temperature and the sun sets mondo early. But not looking forward to patroling in that." Faith muttered aloud to her self.
A knock at the door shattered her thoughts. Faith rolled her eyes knowing who was at the door and sighed, "Here comes the ice bitch."
Faith crossed the room and opened the door. Annette stood there with a disapproving look and hands behind her back. A pair of discriminating eyes looked over Faith top to bottom.
"I don't know what he zees in you" She said pointedly.
"Take your finger off the brain dump button and I'll be happy to give you a demonstration" Faith gave back itching to hurt this girl. Even though she only reached Annette shoulder, it wouldn't have been much of a fight.
"Let'z go, " the blond stated and turned to head to the conference room. After a few paces down the hallway she spoke again, "You looked better with glasses covering your face."
Faith followed Annette into the conference room where she had found her self in before. At the table was Agent Linnel talking to a man in winter cammos about seomthing to do with a caveman and a space ship. She only caught the end of it. Linnel stopped his conversation upon Faith's entrace and stood. The military man at his side did the same.
"Faith," Linnel said welcoming before motioning over to the man at his side. "This is Agent Graham Miller. He's with the United State's departmant of….what's name this week?"
"We're still working on a name. Something to keep the conspirasy threorists away" Graham said with a half smile.
"Well, Graham, this is Faith," Linnel continued the introduction, "She's going to be helping you track down this demon of yours."
Graham extended a confident hand out to Faith. Faith gave the attempted handshake a look then reluctantly returned the gesture, if only to get this whole meeting over and done with.
Faith took a seat as well as the milliary men. Annette dimmed the lights and started a projector before taking her place standing at Linnel's side.
"We're looking for a demon that goes by the name of Berholtz," The new member of the group began as a image of a purple skinned demon took a place on the projecter screen. "He used to be human, but commited attrocities to mankind so wicked he was stricken from existance and was sent to hell. Which as it turns out wasn't all that bad of a punishment for this individual. He embraced it and loved every minute of it more then he ever had when he was alive.
Eventually his behavior banished him from hell. He was transformed into a demon with limited to no powers and sent back to this plane.
He's trying to recreate hell on earth, and has the hellmouth in Toronto set as his starting point."
Faith looks at the man increadulously. "Where do you get in information?"
"We have spies," Graham replied nonchilontly.
"In Hell?" Faith questioned.
"It's not the best assignment in the world." Graham continued, "A day ago I followed him up to this area were we has retrieving a final piece in a machine to turn humans into demons. A first step in his plans."
"I was unable to stop him"
"How can we locate the hostile?" Agent Linnel inquired, keeping the momentum of the meeting going.
"He'll want to trigger the device from the highest point nearest the hellmouth he can reach in order to affect the highest number of civilians." Graham answered. "We need to know where the hellmouth is."
"We have yet been unsuccesful in locating it" Linnel replied.
"Wait, you've been the super spies up here for who knows how long and you haven't found a giant hole of evil?" Faith interupted, "From past experience, I'd lay 20 bucks that we're sitting on it right now. US dollars not the funny Canadian stuff."
"If you don't mind, we'll use actual evidence to find the hellmouth" Annette shot out it almost felt like there should have been more of an insult on the end of that sentecne she omitted at the last moment. Annette picked a remote off the table and hit a blue button. Part of the ceiling slide aside as projecter lowered and shone an image of a photo on the wall.
Annette continued her speech, "Satalite survilance shows that the demon in question had been occuping a local graveyard and leading us right to the hellmouth."
Faith scowled at the smug blonde and crossed her arms.
"Agent Graham, I'm going to send Faith with you to the graveyard to find Berholtz. I'll stay here and try to keep tabs on him. If anything changes we'll contact you." Angent Linnel stated before standing up signaling the two to leave.
Faith remained seated. "What? No cool Q gear?"
"You didn't need any before." Linnel replied.
"Yeah, but I wasn't part of some insane Canadian demon hunting before." A couple moments of silence pass where Linnel is waiting for Faith. "Ok ok, I'm going" she says before getting up and leaving the room after Graham.
Snow fell from the night sky making the world seem like a black and white movie. Anything of color appeared to be covered by the whiteness of the snow, and devoured by the night's sky. Faith was now sporting a thick furry parka and mittens. She still shivered as snow landed in her dark hair, being unacustomed to the cold.
Walking beside her was Graham, dressed head to toe in the white and greys of winter commos. She looked over and could tell Faith was cold dispite the layers of clothes. He wanted to the gentlemanly thing but the jumpsuit commos don't work well for that. Instead went for the aim of conversation. Keep her mind of the cold.
"So…you're Faith?" He finally said.
Faith turned and gave him a stupid look, "Yeah? The metting and introduction rotine wasn't enough for you?"
"No no, I didn't mean that..it's just..Guy I worked with in Sunnydale knew you. Riley Finn. He told me about you."
Faith's gut filled with dred. There really wasn't a part of that sentence that was good. "oh?"
Graham tried to put her at easy. "Nothing bad. He mentioned you were a slayer like Buffy. More like you are the actually slayer and kind of a fluke that Buffy is stil here. Or at least how I understood it. He thought you were interesting, but really didn't get a chance to get to know the real you."
Faith looked over at Graham with a little relief. That was far from what she was half expecting. "Yeah…I don't really like to talk about that if you don't mind"
They walked with a few more moments as akward silence filled the air. Graham's ice breaker kinda failed as was trying to think of something else to say. His salvation came from garbled screams coming from over his radio.
"Miller garbled screams Fait- static Tower now assorted demon noises"
Faith and Graham looked at each other for a moment before running back to the office.
"See I was right about the hellmouth" Faith said with out a smile.
Fifteen minutes ago; Agent Linnel stares out the window of his office watching the snow fall. Behind him the door opens.
"Sir? Can I have a word?" came a French accented female voice.
"Yes come in Annette. Have a seat." Linnel offered as he smiled and turned around to face her.
"I prefer to stand, sir" said the tall blonde as she did not return the smile.
Linnel took a limped step then sat in a chair behind his desk, "Annette, you've worked for me for 8 years now, I think. You can relax around me, and actually call me by my first name."
"That wouldn't be professional, sir," she started to say, "And neither was my behavior this morni-"
Her last words was lost in the blaring noise of alarms and flashing red lights. Television monitors unvield on the wall near the couple. Televisions glowed with images through out the building. Demons were rampaging through out the lobby. Other's showed cubicles where demons looked stunned, shocked and screaming. But there were no people. Another monitor showed Berholtz himself riding up to their level in the elevator.
"Annette, get shelter!" Linnel yelled as he opened a closet and pulled out a wicked looking ax. "I don't want you any where near this"
Linnel kicked open the door to the lobby in time to hear a ding from the arriving elevator. The doors opened and Linnel took a ready stance on the balls of his feet. Annette not listening to Linnel as normal simply stood behind the door in the next room watching. Berholtz stepped out casually holding the artifact he had taken from Graham earlier and began a undeciferable chant. Linnel raised the ax to an attack position and charged at the demon. His attack was cut short by a blast from the artifact that knocked him back on the ground.
"Alan!" yelled a shrill voice as Annette ran out of the office to Linnel's side. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't getting up anytime soon. She hugged him and held him protectively as she could hear the demon beginning the chant again. She looked up and saw a similar blast before everything went black.
A few days earlier in LA…
In the dark receses of an abandoned wearhouse demonic drool dripped down and landed on Annette's forhead. I finger then came down and smeared the drop across her head. She was wearing a white ceremonial gown and was struggling useless to be free.
Looking around she couldn't see much in the darkness. She could however make out several figures standing around her. From the sounds of heavy breathing and hard footsteps against the ground he wasn't opitmistic there was going to be an easy way out of this. The leader of demons said something in a language she could regonize, but she was slow to decipher. She had figured out the words 'this sacrifice' a split second before spotting the glint of a knife being raised above her.
"Onint dunoem wumons kutak not!" The demon yelled with the knife over Annette's body. She had managed to translate it to 'debase the beef canoe' which she was confident wasn't correct when a large shattering noise streamed light into the room.
The demons turned and saw three figures standing in the doorway. In front was an extreamly angry man who looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"My name is Agent Linnel. Step away from the girl or feel my wrath!" He reached down and turned a knob on his belt which started a strange electonic hum. He turned to the two man behind him. "Angel, Gunn. I thank you for your help. But the big one is mine."
With that he faced the beasts again and charged in attack. He let out a pained yell as he charge him. Combined with the hum of the belt it was completely hellish. It sent shivers down everyone's spine in the room. Even Angel's who has actually been to hell.
The lead demon looked at the little man and laughed at his pathetic attack. As Linnel got closer he pulled back to through a punch and his upper body started to glow. A Brillant white started from his hands and began to encase the man. His shirt started to burn away in places in places making yellow and orange flames appear here and there.
Confident the demon stood stoic, unafraid of this nuesence. He did until Linnel threw a punch. At first the demon was unaware anything had happened, but started to worry when the man stepped back with a grin on his face and a fading glow. The demon started to feel a pain a looked down. There was now a large hole burned through the middle of his chest. Perhaps he had underestimated the human he thought before he fell over dead.
The other demons blinked and looked stunned at the site of their leader being taken out so easy. They weren't going to make the same mistake and started running for the nearest exit. Angel and Gunn here on top of things.
"Let's get to work" Angel said before the two took off after the others.
"Can we get one of those toys?" Gunn joked following Angel's lead.
Linnel grimaced in pain as his took off the belt. The charred remains of his shirt fell to the ground around him.
"Alan?" Annette asked as she turned to face him from where she was tied to the altar. "You used that device. You said it was suicidal."
"I couldn't live with out you," Linnel said as he approach the altar and cut her free. "It was well worth the risk."
Linnel helped her off the altar. As Annette's feet reached the ground she slipped and fell into the worn agant of whom she's worked with for years now. She looked up into his eyes and he looked into hers. There was something there each of them had been trying to repress and hide. They didn't want to give into the tempation. They knew what it would mean. They also knew what they ment to each other.
Their eyes lost in love they moved closer and closer to embrace one another. Annette was only mere moment away from the experience she had been waiting for her entire life for.
"Beep! Beep!"
Both of the repressed lovers were startled.
"Beep! Beep!" a repeat of the soft beeping shattered the mood.
Linnel recognized the sound and took a beeper out of his pocket.
"Oh hell, we're late to pick up our new recruit." Linnel said as he put the beeper in Annette's hands and stepped away from her to pick up the belt he was using. "We need to keep moving"
Annette was shatttered and furious. After 8 years and countless near death experiences; who could possiblily had been so important it couldn't have waited eight more seconds. The blonde looked down at the pager in her hands and read the name that glowed across the tiny screen of the pager. "Faith"
Present day….
Annette started to stir. She was sore all over a little reluctant to get up quite yet. She was started when she felt something grab her and start to yell at her. Annette's eyes opened to a demon yelling in her face. Fangs and scales and red eyes assulting her vision she screamed and backed away, "What do you want from me?"
"Annette, Annette," the demon said steeping back from Annette, "calm down. It's me."
"Sir?" she questioned, "How do I know?"
The demon walked over to Linnel's desk, took a mirror out of a drawer and tossed to Annette. "Cause you're a demon too"
Annette took the mirror and peered at her reflection. Looking back was a white female demon clearly resemebling herself. Her hair was gone and her skin was stark white. Her eyes were completely red and matched a series of small red markings all over her body. She stood up and put the mirror on the desk and found a couple more obvious changes. For instance she now only possessed three fingers on each hand and a taqil had poked a hole in the back of her skirt.
The elevator dung and Faith ran out followed by Graham.
"Bald is a good look for you" Faith smirked to the demon Annette. "And the tail, sexy I tell you."
Annette simply glared back. She wanted to kill her.
Faith wanted to lay into her more, but time was short. Linnell looked up at Faith behind new red eyes. , "Faith how did you know it was us?"
"Well entire place roaming of demons and wearing your clothes. I'm not an 'A' student, but I'm not dumb." Faith replied, not losing a beat. "Where's big bad?"
"Not sure completely, but he'll probably want to be on the roof to complete the spell in order to effect the entire city."
"Roof got it." Faith nodded, and stepped up to take control of the situation. "Graham, take care of them I'm heading up to take care of Demon Lover."
"And take a picture of this. I want something to laugh about later." Faith added before disappearing into the stairwell.
The roof contained a cornacopia of special effects. Chimineys, air ducts, vents, all were cast in a green light which came from an artifact the demon held above his head. He looked focus as it chanted the transformation spell.
"You know, I don't think everyone is going to enjoy being a demon as much as you do, Scaley." Faith said interupting, standing the doorway of the roof access stairwell. Wind blowing through her hair making the scene quite magestic.
The demons eyes open and glare back at the girl. "Who do you think you are?" He turns and the artifact shoots a blast at Faith.
Faith dives out of the path as the beam rips apart the door behind her. She readies her self and looks up at the demon. "I tend to think I'm the Slay-"
The demon having no respect for witty banter sent a second blast before Faith could even finish her sentence. The green beam knocked Faith back sending her tumbling across the roof.
"You'll be a demon like everyone else." Berholtz coldly stated before turning back around for his chanting.
An Air duct jutting out of the roof stopped Faith's tumbling as she slammed into it back first. Faith winced in pain and opened her eyes to look her self over. She wasn't a demon. She quickly checked her ears, forhead and rear. No tips, horns or tails.
She muttered to her self, "Damn slayer powers might actually cancel this thing out?" She picked her self up and was ready for a second round. Looking around for a weapon she ripped off one of the blades of the Air ducts and made her way twards her nemisis.
Berholtz was back into his trance like chanting. The artifact above his head is glowing brighter and brighter with each passing verse. Then with a short force and a splash of blood it all ended in a moment. The demon looked down to see a hunk of metal through his body. Faith stood behind him holding the blade to see if the demon was going to go down.
The glowing in the artifact started the go chaotic. With the chanting stopped it had no direction and it summed up and started to travel back into the demon's body until it hit the metal in it's body. At which point Faith swore before the energy changed course and channeled into herself, knocking her backwards.
She was sore all over, but got up in time to see the demon fall over dead. She looked her self over again and seeing no demon side-effects got up to fetch the artifact.
Faith returned down to the office rubbing her neck with on hand and the artifact in the other.
"So smashy-smashy and spell reversed, everyone's cool. Right?" Faith said as she got ready to destroy the item.
"NO!" Graham shot out quickly and run to Faith stopping her. "It Doesn't quite work that way. The only thing that reverses the effects is the artifact it self. Destroy it and everyone is stuck, forever."
"Ok so we destroy it after and this wackiness never happens again?" Faith tilted her head and asked.
"Yes" Graham smiled at Faith and took the artifact from her to start the reversal spell.
Hours later Graham reverted the last of the demon's victims to their normal states. "Anyone I miss?"
Linnell comes from behind him, and puts a hand on Graham's shoulder, "Think that is everyone. Good work. Both of you"
Graham gives a small smile, and Faith sitting across the way with her feet up on a table kinda nods.
"Faith, since that's the last of them you want to do the honors and break the artifact. It's thousands of years old." Graham says holding it out to her
Faith smiles, "I like the offer, but your mission army guy. You can have the fun."
With that Graham smashes it on the ground and with a small amount of green smoke it's all over.
"Well, that was kinda anti-climantical. I need a shower." Faith said standing up. She stopped for a moment and looked at Graham. "You still going to be here tomorrow?"
Graham smiles to her, "I have a couple small missions I need to take car of before I go back stateside."
"Good, kinda nice having an other non-canadian around." Faith replied with a small smile before heading off to her room.
In Faith's quarters she streached to get the kicks out from the fight earlier. She peals off her clothes and tosses them on the bed revealing a couple of small purple scales growing on her back. She kinda feels something off back there, but can't quite reach the spot and shrugs it of before entering the shower.
Elsewhere, in Sunnydale…
The glow and sounds of television bounce off the walls of a crypt as Spike sits infront of it flipping through channels.
"Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap crap. Nothing worth watching on the soddin telly."
Spike stands up and tosses the remote on the chair and starts to head out for a drink. Stops at the sound of his name.
"Spike."
The vampire turns about to the television to the image of a demon, Berholtz on the screen.
"Whut's all this? Bloody TV demons now?" Spike comments before walking over to the TV to turn it off.
"Spike, don't! I got a job for you. I need you to kill the slayer."
Spike give the box a look, "Sure, nice offer and all, but 1) you're a box, 2) I can't hurt her cause of the bloody chip in me head, and 3) I've kind of had it with the trying to kill Buffy. Not as easy as it seems."
The image on the TV smiles, "Well I had a different slayer in mind. Don't worry about the chip, It won't work on this slayer."
Image on the TV changes to that of Faith showering.