A/N: And another chapter bites the dust! I know it's been a while but I finish college in July so thanks to my work load fanfiction has unfortunately taken a backseat. Anyway, my apologies for any errors not found by my quick editing. It's been a long week and this chapter came out of nowhere so enjoy.

Chapter 48: Q & A

"This is entirely unnecessary."

"Oh, I don't know." Faith kept the gun causally trained on Richard's back as she led him through the center of the compound. Keeping tabs on exactly how far away he was from her, she glanced around at the houses littering the grounds. People were scattered everywhere but at a distance, their eyes locked on the two of them as they passed. "Seems kind of necessary to me Richard. Who's to say any of your groupies would let me walk by all calmly if I didn't have you at gun point?"

"No one here has any intention of harming you." He motioned a man back as he stepped forward and they kept walking. "I assure you Amelia will not have any weapons, she absolutely detests them."

Faith focused on Richard's backside again. "Good, I like having the advantage." She titled her head and smirked. "I see some things haven't changed over the years."

Richard shot her a smile over his shoulder. "Good memories I take it?"

"Nothing that stands out." She shot back.

He chuckled and slowed so she came up closer beside him. "I still remember quite clearly the night I met you. It was storming and you were soaked from head to toe."

"I remember you liked to talk too much." She eyed him. "Like I said, some things haven't changed."

"It was important that we find out what we could about you before you knew who we were. I only wanted-" He inhaled sharply as she jammed the end of the rifle into his side.

"News flash Dan Rather, I don't care."

"It's a handy excuse isn't Faith?"

She scowled at him and gripped the gun tighter. "Shut up." A movement spotted out of the corner of her eye had her looking over to see Juliet standing with Jack. She waved at Jack in the form of a one finger salute and kept going.

"He only is doing what he thinks is best." Richard smiled. "Unfortunately leaving the island isn't an option."

"You seem to do just fine."

"I always come back. Jacob knows this and he allows me the opportunity to bring more people to this island in the hopes of enriching it."

She cocked an eyebrow and just for the hell of it nudged him with the nose of the rifle again. "Who's Jacob?"

"It's more like what then who."

"Does this thing take the shape of dead people?"

Richard stopped short and faced her, no indication that he cared the rifle was digging into his stomach now in a position where a bullet would instantly kill him should the gun be fired. "What makes you ask that question?"

"Does it?"

"Did Jacob talk to you?"

"Does Jacob talk to you?"

"Jacob talks to all of us."

The new voice had Faith slapping her hand on Richard's shoulder to turn him, placing her body behind his with the rifle at his back. Her eyes locked on the person that had spoken, an elderly woman smiling at her from where she stood on the porch of a house. "And who might you be Grandma?"

The woman smiled and angled her body to motion towards the door. "I'm Amelia. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Faith. Would you like to come inside? I've made cookies."

"Let me guess, they're full of healthy vitamins and tranquilizers."

"Nonsense my child, they are made with chocolate and love." Amelia said nothing more before disappearing into the house, the door remaining wide open.

Richard began to take a step forward but feeling her grip tighten on his shoulder he turned his head to the side. "They're really good cookies."

"If this is a trick I promise you it's the last one you'll ever try."

"No tricks." He turned to face her. "You have my word on that." When he lifted up his hand to touch her face, she grabbed his wrist and twisted him back around, a low hiss escaping between his lips.

"Move."

He went forward as instructed but motioned her in first into the house. The urge to refuse was strong but the desire to find answers was stronger so she edged past him after only a second's hesitation. Richard shut the door behind them quietly. "There's no need for a weapon in here Faith."

"Consider it my insurance." She glanced around the tidy house before tilting her head at him.

"The kitchen is this way." He made his way past her and she followed, stopping in the doorway of the kitchen that was painted just as plainly as the rest of the house. The woman that had introduced herself as Amelia was humming as she stood by the stove, an oven mitt on her right hand. She had gray hair that was pulled back into a tight bun and was of short stature.

"Do have a seat child. It will be just a moment's wait."

Faith eyed the chair at her waist but remained standing. Richard however sat down into the seat next to it, his hands in plain sight on the table. Slowly Faith gazed around at the room and was surprised to see the numerous pictures hooked onto the walls. She stepped forward to gaze at one in particular, the image of Morana smiling back at her with Amelia beside the younger woman, a smile on her face as well.

"That was taken many summers ago." Amelia spoke softly. She turned with a plate of cookies in her hand and slid it gently onto the middle of the table. "Those were much happier times."

Richard nodded. "Indeed." He smiled in thanks as Amelia slid him a napkin before moving to retrieve glasses from the cabinet.

"And the other girls?" Faith eyed the two as Richard scooped up a cookie to place on his napkin and Amelia poured milk into each of the three glasses.

"Girls like you." Amelia handed Richard his glass and directed her smile to Faith. "Milk?"

"Cut the crap, who are you?"

"As I have already said, I am Amelia." The elderly woman sat down at the table and slid the glass intended for Faith towards her along with a napkin. "Sit down Faith." She picked up a cookie and paused. "I insist that you sit down if we are going to talk."

Faith kicked out the chair and sat down with the back of it facing the table. Placing the gun in her lap, she folded her arms on top of the chair and kept her eyes on Amelia. Amelia smiled and pushed the plate of cookies towards her but ignored the fact that Faith remained perfectly still.

"I am simply called Amelia but my name is Amelia Davenport. I'm known as the mother around here." She smiled softly and bit into a cookie, a sigh escaping as she chewed the food slowly. "Now that is delicious. Surely you're hungry." She eyed Faith. "Perhaps you would prefer something else."

"I'd prefer answers, not bullshit."

"Of course you do. You're a lost soul aren't you Faith?" Amelia lowered the cookie back to her napkin. "Answers bring enlightenment and a sense of belonging to a cause or place. You sense you belong but without the reasoning behind it there is just chaos and more questions." She smiled again softly and clasped her hands together. "You question why Richard has brought you here to me and not to Ben."

"Something like that."

"I was told you would come. I was told it was my duty to inform you of your place and that I would help show you a true sense of belonging. This is the task given to me by Jacob as it has been given for many years."

"Jacob… as in a spirit?"

Amelia tilted her head. "Jacob as in the island Faith, as in the sand and the trees, and the air; as in the force that keeps us hidden from the outside world that would taint and infect us like some rabid disease." She sat back in her chair. "I came here almost fifty years ago but it seems only yesterday I was breathing in the salty air for the very first time."

"That doesn't tell me why-"

"I came from fresh from England, a young girl of twenty-five with dreams of saving the world. I arrived here with a friend who had been approached as well by the Dharma Initiative. I called her M but you would know her as Maggie Walsh."

Faith kept her eyes on Amelia despite the knowledge that Richard was watching her closely. "You're a watcher."

"Ex-watcher." Amelia corrected. "This is how I knew of your kind, of slayers and the real evils of the world. When the decision to branch out occurred, Maggie relocated to California to continue research for Dharma. I however stayed behind to monitor the activity of the potentials and assist them in their development." She smiled again. "That is why I am the mother. I have grown to care and love for each one of the girls that have come to this island looking for a place to belong and to find a true sense of worth."

"You're a traitor to your kind. How can any watcher want to turn slayers into lab rats?"

"That was never the intention behind my work Faith. These potentials volunteered to come to this island as did the rest of the inhabitants. They came with the sole intention of finding their full potential as humans, not just warriors. Many knew and accepted the fact that they would never truly be the one chosen to fight but here they could all be important."

"You tested on them and forced them to do things."

"Dharma forced them to do things, horrible and unkind things." Amelia frowned. "Things that made my heart weep and when I realized this, I knew a change would have to happen in order to save them." Slowly she lifted up her glass and sipped the milk there. The glass lowered again just as slowly. "Your father more than agreed with me on this."

"My father…"

"Your father was a brave and intelligent scientist. Together we helped these people find peace here." She smiled over at Richard who smiled back and placed her hand on top of his. "But it all could not have been accomplished without the help of those that truly belong to the island."

Faith leaned back and dropped her hands to the rifle in her lap. "What happened that day?"

"Your father was tired of working for a corrupt organization as was I. Together with Ben we devised a plan to use gas to rid this island of those that would do it harm. It was not an easy task," She smiled at Richard again, "But in the end the true believers came out with their faith strongly intact."

"And the potentials?"

"Dharma was an organization that believed in the manipulation of the human mind in order for selfish gain. Several of the girls unfortunately had already been programmed to fight us. Those that did not were given the chance to join us in exchange for rehabilitation and care." Amelia sighed. "Ben believed it best to tell them stories of abandonment due to the fact they were underground in stations during the purge. We informed them that Dharma had simple run low on funds and abandoned them to the island. We became a family this way, the abandoned ones."

"You lied." Faith tightened her grip on the rifle. "You killed men, women, and children and then you lied to the same people Dharma had lied to countless times before. You manipulated these girls into thinking they had no one else and for what? More testing? How does that make you any better than Dharma?"

"The powers behind Dharma are full of greed and hate Faith. They want to take island's power and use it for evil purposes and that simply cannot be! We live here and make this our home and through the strength of slayers, we will find a way to populate this island and keep it strong!"

"You keep people here against their will, people that want to go home and see their families." Faith slammed the gun down onto the table and stood up. The decision to remain where she stood was easily made as two women flanked her from behind. Her eyes moved to Richard's. "Let me guess, this is the part where you tell me it wasn't all lies."

Amelia rose to her feet. "Faith, I would like for you to meet Shannon and Kimberly." She smiled as the brunette and blonde made their way to her side of the table, one on either side of her. "To Dharma they were nothing more than test subjects, known only as Project Four and Project Fifteen but we gave them a new purpose; we helped them find completion." She placed her hands on the two women's shoulders. "Out of the original six, they are the only two that have survived."

"What happened to the other four?"

"We lost Project forty-two during the purge. Project Sixteen reborn as Violet died during childbirth and you know of the fates of Colleen and Morana."

Richard rose calmly to his feet. "We had hopes when the time was right you would take Project forty-two's place. The loss of Violet was unexpected but with the discovery that Ana-Lucia is a slayer…"

"If you think for a second we're going to volunteer for this little project you're sadly mistaken."

"We need you."

Faith's head snapped to the side so her eyes focused on the one Amelia had introduced as Shannon. "You need me for what?"

"Survival." The brunette spoke softly. "This is our home now, this is your home; the place we truly belong. Surely you can feel the power of the island flowing through you?"

Kimberly nodded. "We all feel it now especially after the awakening of our powers Faith. To be here is to truly be connected to power and with our help the people here can flourish in peace. All we wish is to be respected for our wishes of solitude and peace."

"And how do you expect me to help you do that?"

"The women here cannot have children." Richard answered. "Something about the island and their immune systems make it impossible. Each time the attempt is made we lose the mother and the child." He focused solely on her. "With your blood, we hope to bridge together the DNA that will strengthen the immune systems of both."

Faith stared at him with narrowed eyes. "One big happy baby making factory is that it?"

"You were chosen to come here for a reason Faith and you know it!" Kimberly snapped. "We all were and we all have accepted the responsibility! We can never experience what it was to be truly called to duty but with your help we can finally know what it is like to truly live a normal life!"

"If you think that by hiding away on some secluded island that you're living your destiny, you're sadly mistaken." Faith shook her head. "We didn't do that spell to share the powers so that you could isolate yourself, we did it so that girls all over the world could fight evil and know they were alone. This isn't what normal life is." She gestured to the room around them. "Nothing here is normal."

Slowly Shannon nodded. "But that is our life. We are chosen because we will never truly be normal Faith. There will always be something that makes us different from the rest and no spell will ever change that. Here we can truly do something good. Isolation isn't a negative; it's merely a way to find peace."

"And keeping people here against their will is what? Just another way you're finding peace?"

"To let them simply leave would put us endanger to those that wish to harm us. It would expose us to those that still wish to control the island and we cannot have that, organizations like Dharma."

"Please help us." Kimberly spoke up softly. "Please help us Sister."

"Come with us." Amelia spoke up and slipped her hands into the girls. "We will show you where we work. We will show you were we live and introduce you to those that ask for your help as well."

Richard nodded at that. "There is so much to show you Faith, so much for you to learn about the island and about yourself. There is great potential in you if you'd only let us show you."

"And my friends?"

"We'll let them go."

Faith shifted to put her back to the refrigerator door, the rifle still held firmly in her hands. "You expect me to simply take your word Wheels?"

Ben smiled and readjusted his glasses as he pulled his wheelchair to a stop. "I do."

"Why?"

"Because it's for the greater good." He answered shortly. "And because that is what the island wants. You've experienced it haven't you, the change."

Faith frowned and didn't lower the rifle. "The change?"

"The change that occurred when the island accepted you as one of its own."

"You experienced the change?" Kimberly and Shannon were both literally buzzing with energy. "When? When were you accepted?"

She glanced between them quickly. "What the hell are you talking…" Her attention went back to Ben. "You mean the smoke."

Ben smiled softly and nodded. "I mean the smoke."

Both girls came around the table towards her, neither of them seeming to care that she had a loaded weapon in her hands. "It showed you a vision didn't it?" Kimberly questioned.

"You saw someone of importance from your life."

"I saw… I saw a friend."

"And afterwards you were filled with such power that it seemed to press the very walls of reality around you." Shannon smiled. "It overtook every part of you until nothing but darkness lingered…" She reached out to nudge down the nose of the gun. "But it wasn't evil. It was power that comes from understanding the demon inside of you. The smoke is power. It is the very essence of what the slayer is and has been since the sands ruled the Earth."

Faith lowered the gun but didn't loosen her grip on it. "The first slayer…"

"The Shaman filled her with the demon and over time it became the very core of the slayer, the very source of her power. Here that power roams free, the demon is what protects this island." Kimberly whispered. "Evil must be fought with another kind of evil, it is the way our wars have always been fought."

"I'm not evil." Faith whispered.

"There is no such thing as good and evil." Kimberly answered. "There is only what you believe to be truth. There is only the side you fight on."

Faith studied each of their faces slowly. "If I go with you, you'll let my friends go and you'll tell me everything I want to know?"

"Of course." Richard nodded. He looked over at Ben. "Agreed?"

Ben kept his eyes on Faith and nodded. "I believe we can both benefit greatly from this. Whether or not you wanted to be Faith you are connected to this island."

His words had her momentarily distracted and Faith slowly lowered the gun back onto the table.

"You're connected to this island Faith, you know that now. The energy here, it's a part of you, a part of the Slayer lineage. Buffy saw it before, the essence of evil when she needed to fight the first but she denied it. I'm afraid you weren't given that choice."

"You'll tell me more about this power?"

"I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability Faith." Ben smiled thinly. "You have my word."

"I don't want your word." She directed her attention to Richard. "I want yours."

Richard looked slightly surprised but he nodded. "You know you do."

The chances of successfully playing either of the two men intellectually were slim at best but in the current situation it seemed that angle was the only choice she had to go on at the moment. There was something about her that Richard had invested himself in and the tension between him and Ben was obvious even at that very moment. Without a doubt, there was a definite advantage to be found in that.

"Alright." She let go of the gun completely. "I'll go."

Richard smiled and his satisfied expression echoed on all of their faces except for Ben's. The man kept his somber eyes locked on her, no expression of any kind on his face. "If you'd like, Richard can escort you to see your friends now so you can say goodbye." Ben turned his chair slowly. "There won't be a need for you to say goodbye to Locke."

"And why is that?"

"Because he's be coming with us."

&

Richard stayed close as he escorted her through the houses. It had grown dark so torches had been lit and without looking she knew they were being shadowed by several figures with guns. They turned a corner together and her eyes narrowed on the sight of Sayid handcuffed to a swing set, one man with a gun trained on him.

He looked up as she approached and immediately rose to his feet, his restraints not allowing him much room for movement. "Faith, are you okay?" His eyes flickered momentarily to Richard who lingered behind. "They separated us and wouldn't tell me anything."

"I'm fine." She motioned towards the handcuffs. "I had a dream like this the other night but I'm pretty sure there were less people around."

"As always, I see the situation hasn't affected your wit." He leaned forward. "Whatever they're offering it's a lie."

"That might be true but right now it's the only offer I got."

"Locke came by earlier to give his regards. You can't possibly be thinking of going with these people!"

Faith shoved her hands into her pockets. "If you want to get out of here with the rest of our group in one piece I don't see any other option. The people at the beach are going to need a leader, that's you." She glanced around. "I need you to go back and help the others while I sort things out on this end."

"By sort out…"

She smirked at him and shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm not much for diplomatic approaches. These people have answers to questions I have and the only way I'm going to get them is if I go with them."

"What makes you think you can trust them?"

"I can't." She glanced over her shoulder to see Richard watching them. "But like I said, right now it's the only option that I got."

"Faith, please…"

"No offense Sayid but some things a girl has to do on her own. Take care of yourself and the others."

"Faith."

She turned and headed back towards Richard with steady steps.

"Faith!"

"Ready to go?"

She ignored Sayid in the background and nodded. "As I'll ever be." She answered. "What about Ana-Lucia?"

"She's already with the rest of our group. I do believe they're simply waiting on us." Richard extended his hand but lowered it as she merely cocked an eyebrow and marched past him. His eyes met Sayid's without flinching, both men sizing each other up.

"Well, are you coming or not?"

A small smile appeared on Richard's face and he immediately turned to follow.