Hi, readers! I think you all are beautiful.
The Scooby Gang all stared unwelcomingly at Angel as he walked through the door of Giles' apartment. They were all seated on any surface that would take them, not leaving much room for the large vampire. His eyes settled painfully on Buffy, who offered him the loveseat she was ensconced in. He demurred, preferring to stand in a corner.
"What do you know about Faith?" Buffy asked, breaking the oppressive silence that had settled down upon the group. The vampire shifted, clearly uneasy about divulging whatever information he held.
"I went to go visit Faith the first day she was locked up. She was happy—excited, almost. She told me a woman had visited her and presented her with an alternative to jail: she could instead sign away five years of her life. She wouldn't remember any of it. They would also erase any memory she had of killing Allan Finch," he paused, letting his words sink in.
"She said she told the woman she would think about it. I could tell she was leaning toward it and I begged her not to sign her life away like that. At that time I hadn't really heard of Rossum, so I wasn't aware of what she would be getting herself into. I left, telling her not to make any decision before I did some recon. I came back the next day and she was gone."
The room was quiet again. Giles pulled off his glasses and began polishing them. Xander was studying the map Dawn had so thoughtfully furnished him with. Buffy curled her legs underneath herself in the loveseat and stared thoughtfully at a speck on the carpet. Willow shifted nervously in her seat on the couch.
Unable to handle the silence any longer she said, "So…Faith signed five years of her life away to some mysterious lady who showed up at jail?"
"Yes. She's been taken to some sort of high-tech brothel, where rich people and governments hire her out to fulfill their fantasies or do their dirty work. I think they did something to her. She isn't normal. She's…empty."
Finally, Buffy stood up angrily. "And you didn't tell us this WHY, Angel?" She looked him in the eye for the first time since he arrived. She stood, arms crossed, glaring at him defiantly and waiting for an answer.
"You didn't call her or try to visit her. I didn't think you cared," Angel said softly.
Angel had immediately taken to the younger slayer, who had a darkness about her that he could easily relate to. After Allen, he could tell Faith was at a dangerous crossroads. He felt compelled to do everything he could to set her down the good path. He convinced her to turn herself in, and then visited her every day as she went through the lengthy process of trial and conviction. Throughout that, they had formed an unlikely friendship. And for two years now he had been trying to break her out of that Rossum place.
Buffy ran a frustrated hand through her hair. How could she have been such an awful friend? Sure, Faith had been on her mind plenty the last two years. Every day, in fact. But the thought had never even crossed her mind to visit the girl. It made her heart ache.
"Willow?" Buffy asked, turning to her best friend. "Can you do a summoning spell?" The redhead nodded vigorously. "Good," she said, looking at the vampire standing in the corner. "Angel, you are welcome to stay or to go. Just don't tell me I can't do this."
The dark-haired vampire looked conflicted, but kept his mouth shut. Buffy would just have to see for herself the shell that was now Faith. They cleared a space for Willow and gathered the appropriate supplies. When everything was prepared, Buffy turned to her friends.
"Do you guys mind? I think she might be a bit overwhelmed if we're all here."
Xander, Anya, Dawn, Giles and Angel all shuffled huffily out the door.
"Kicked out of my own apartment…" Giles muttered, grabbing a book to pass the time.
With the door closed and the small apartment empty, Buffy and Willow sat down facing each other. With a nod from Buffy, Willow began the encantation.
"DEA PRO MIHI, AUDITE MEUS DICO.
PATEFACIO PRODIGIUM PRO NOS TOTUS."
Willow rose in the air as different colors of light surrounded her. The lights grew in strength and brilliance, reaching an apex before spitting out a certain brunette. She landed on the carpet with a loud thud that knocked the wind out of her. Buffy took note of Faith's uncharacteristically light clothing as she lay splayed out on the carpet. A light tank top and yoga pants were simply not in true Faith style. Maybe she had changed?
Slowly, Faith pushed herself to her feet, observing her new surroundings with a look of mild concern. "This is not the Dollhouse," she said softly.
"No, Faith. This is Giles' apartment. You remember Giles, right?" Willow asked Faith gently, quickly picking up that this being was not their old rough-and-tumble Faith.
"Giles? No." Her gaze settled on Buffy, who had gone completely white at this point. Her head cocked to the side a little as she scrutinized the pale blonde. There was something there…
"My blood runs quicker when I see you. Who are you?" Faith asked her, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as she tried to remember something—anything—about the girl in front of her.
"I'm Buffy. We used to…work together," Buffy said, trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall. She wanted so badly to reach out and touch the brunette in front of her, but felt almost as if a touch would shatter the fragile illusion.
"Were we friends?"
Though it was asked in innocence, Buffy couldn't stem the torrent of feelings that burst through her carefully fashioned dams. Anger, hurt, regret, loss…they slammed against her and made her feel sick to her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her middle, trying desperately to hold everything in but failing miserably as a loud sob racked through her frame. The tears came in hot pursuit, falling ungracefully down her cheeks as her face contorted with grief.
She felt a cool hand press itself to her shoulder. Faith was kneeling in front of her, looking sadly into her eyes. "I am sorry."
Again the words were so innocent, they only made Buffy cry more. The apology Buffy so desperately had needed to hear had come from a Faith-husk. The usual passion, defiance, swarthiness and lust were all gone. It was Faith stripped bare, and Buffy had not prepared herself for anything like this.
She got up suddenly, leaving the room with a swiftness surprised Willow but left Faith completely expressionless.
"Faith?" Willow asked timidly.
The girl turned around, looking at Willow curiously. "Why do you call me Faith? Everyone else calls me Echo or one of my imprinted names. I have never been imprinted with a Faith."
"Imprinted?" Willow was completely confused. What sort of thing did they do at this Dollhouse?
Faith took a deep breath. "They wipe our brains clear and install hardware into them. They can then download different personalities into our brains and send us on engagements that people hire us for."
Willow found herself completely floored. There was technology for this sort of thing? It was fascinating.
"Do you remember anything about your past?" Willow asked.
"Nothing. I already know more than I should. My brain somehow is able to hold on to all the personalities they put in me. Right now, there are about forty in my head."
"But no Faith?"
"No. Was I Faith before I was Echo?"
Willow looked at Faith sadly. "Yes. You were Faith."
Echo's eyes brightened a little, glad to have found some semblance of the past that was so blank to her. They quickly fell flat. She was so much more than Faith now, whoever Faith was. And she could never go back to being just Faith ever again.