Slayers Journeys I: Gardens in the Desert
by Vincent
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: The characters belong to Joss, ME, Fox and UPN. Just borrowing.
Spoilers: The events occur in the beginning to Season 7. Willow has just come
back from England.
Note: This the first story of The Slayers Journeys Saga that will have 5
different parts. Hope you'll like it.
Feedback: Yes, please.
Buffy Anne Summers, the older part of the “Chosen two” was lying on her bed, after her last patrol, reading the file Principal Wood had given her the same morning. The file was about a young girl who had just arrived in town. She had been kicked out of her previous school and had been accepted in Sunnydale High. Principal Wood wanted Buffy to welcome the girl, part to make the girl comfortable inside her new school, part to judge her and see if she could be a “nuisance”.
She actually liked her new job. For once, she had the chance to help people just by being Buffy. The slayer part of her had nothing to do with it and it was good for her own inner balance. Being all mighty and constantly fighting evil things was important, she had no doubt about it, it was just that she needed something else in her life, something that proved her that her human side was also useful for something.
She closed the file, rubbed her eyes and heard someone walking in the hall. As Dawn was already asleep, it could only be Willow. Buffy thought about going in the hall to speak briefly with her best friend, to check if everything was all right but quickly changed her mind. Since her return from England, Willow was doing quite well. Both Xander and Buffy were trying to behave as if nothing had happened when the witch had gone all revenge girl, the previous summer and asking Willow if everything was alright wasn’t really the best way to show her their trust on her. So, she didn’t move from the bed. She switched off the light and quickly fell asleep.
At the same time, in LA, Faith, the rogue slayer, the other half of the “Chosen Two” had some trouble finding her way to dreamland. As it had always been the case since she had turned herself in, more than two years before, she was thinking about her situation, about the past and the errors she had done, about how to fix things, how she could find a redemption she so wanted to achieve. She was thinking about her future meeting with Buffy and the others, something that was risky but that she had to do.
Turning herself to the other side of her bed, if it could be called a bed, she sighed heavily and thought about her upcoming release, three days later. Part of her was happy to leave this place, another part wasn’t. Her own guilt was telling her that she didn’t deserve this release that she had earned more time in this cell, that she deserved to rot inside those walls for the rest of her life.
She let herself getting distracted by the snoring of her cellmate. She was a thief and didn’t seem affected by any kind of remorse, sleeping the sleep of the innocent. Lucky girl. Still, the steady rhythm the other girl was making slowly led her towards the arms of Morpheus, towards her first journey.
The first rays of a rising sun were bathing Buffy’s face. The petite slayer mumbled something unintelligible before covering herself with the sheets. But it was too late, she couldn’t find rest anymore. Wondering why the sun could reach her through her curtains, the blonde opened one eye, quickly followed by a second one and, fully awaken now, she gasped. What the hell was going on?
She wasn’t in her bedroom anymore. Instead, she was in a huge one, with tapestries, incenses, jewels and other objects that were pure beauty around her. The rays of the sun were coming from a huge opening that seemed to lead towards a balcony. Deciding that she wouldn’t discover what was happening to her by remaining in this bed, she stood up, found a dress or rather a toga that reminded her of the ones that the women living in the Middle East during Antiquity had worn. It was quality stuff though and she didn’t look bad at all in these clothes that covered her body from her shoulders to her knees. She also spotted sandals next to the bed and put her feet on them then, walked towards the balcony.
The sun was blinding and Buffy had to put her hand in front of her eyes to adapt them to the light. Once her eyes could support the brightness of the day, she could only contemplate her surroundings, stunned. What she had thought was only a balcony was in fact a huge platform, covered of plants, flowers, grass and even a few little trees. She could see other buildings that had the same gardens on their roofs or on platforms, similar to the one Buffy was standing on. She could notice that some building could have from one to three of these platforms. At that moment, a History speech she had had when she was still at Hemery came to her mind. This speech was about the Seven Wonders of the World…One of them was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon…and this place fitted to the description she had received then. But, it couldn’t be possible. This had to be a dream! How could she be in Babylon, a city that had been destroyed centuries ago? She pinched herself and felt it. It wasn’t a dream…what the hell was going on here?
Still stunned by what she was living, Buffy tried to remember the last events of the previous day. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep after having read some student files. If she had been kidnapped, the others would have heard her, wouldn’t they? She glanced downstairs, to the streets and could see lots of people, wearing the same kinds of Antique clothes as herself walking. There was no sign of cars or any “recent” inventions. There were some men riding horses, a soldier with a spear and an armour, two shops,… adding to that buildings covering most of the horizon, you would find a town labelled “Should be decrepit, ruined and buried for a long time” in front of your eyes. But it wasn’t the case. This was a living place, full of people who seemed normal and there wasn’t a chance that this place belonged to “her Earth”. So, where the hell was she? Was it a kind of Alternate Universe she had landed to, God knew how? And who brought her here? And Why? She had to find answers to those questions or she would become crazy.
She suddenly noticed someone coming from the other side of the platform. A woman wearing similar clothes as hers, visibly made from a less expensive tissue.. She was holding a plate with water and fruits on it. She stopped in front of a table and put the plate on it, smiling to Buffy. She then, pulled the chair next to the table and waited. Guessing that she was probably waiting for her to sit down, she walked towards the girl, decided to receive some answers. The girl has long dark hair but, as she went closer to her, Buffy was stunned by the colour of her eyes. They were blue, but a blue so clear that it made her irises almost transparent. She wasn’t expecting the girl to speak first, she wasn’t expecting what she said either.
“Good day, my lady! Your father asks you to join him at the harbour once you’ll be ready.”
Her father? Could it become any weirder? She was stuck in a place she had no idea how she had come in, in a town that, if her intuition was right, had disappeared for centuries and now, this woman spoke about her father. She wanted to talk to the girl who was retreating back towards the entrance she had come from but then noticed that the girl hadn’t spoken to her in English but in a language she couldn’t put a name on…then, why the hell had she understood everything the girl had said? As previously stated: Could it become any weirder?
While Buffy was waking up because of the sunlight, Faith was taken out of her sleep by a constant move of the place she was in. It was a strange feeling and, more disturbing, wasn’t the kind of feeling you should feel in your cell, in jail. Her instincts telling her that something was definitely not right, the brunette quickly threw herself out of bed, landed on her feet in a fighting position. She was in a dark room with an only door on her left. She had slept in what seemed like a self-made bed and was now standing naked in the middle of the place, alone.
She spotted some clothes on her left. A kind of toga with a belt that had a sword attached on it. That was a good point! Whoever had brought her here wasn’t considering her as a prisoner. Even if it wasn’t clothes that corresponded to her tastes, it was the only ones available so, she quickly put them on, checked the quality of the sword then opened the door.
The door led to stairs that she quickly climbed to reach an opening. She was blinded by the sun for a few seconds but quickly regained her ability to see. She was on a ship that was currently moving on a river. Men, wearing ancient outfits, were moving everywhere, transporting stuff, checking or correcting the way followed by the ship. On each side of the ship, Faith could see some trees but only thin lines as the desert seemed present everywhere else.
Focusing her attention towards the ship again, Faith noticed a man coming to her direction. He was wearing clothes that seemed more refined that the rest of the crew. Probably the captain. She let him come, ready to strike should something happen and determinate to receive answers for her questions.
“Slept well, Slayer?”
“Where the hell are we?”
“Oh! Straight to the point! That’s what I like in you, Nazra.”
“H…How did you call me?”
“Nazra! You told me I could call you by your name! Real honour! Is it a problem?”
“Err…OK what the fuck is happening?”
“Are you sure everything is alright, Slayer?”
At that moment, something clicked in Faith’s mind. She hadn’t noticed it at first, too confused by the situation. The man was talking to her in a language she shouldn’t be able to understand. But she did understand was the guy was saying and she was also able to speak to him in that same language!
“Slayer?”
“Huh! Sorry! Zoned out. Not used to this 1OO1 Nights kind of trip!”
Seeing the puzzled expression of the guy, she quickly added:
“I must have stayed under the sun way too long. I’m kinda confused now!”
“Oh, sure! Do you want some water. It helps clear the mind!”
Understanding that the guy couldn’t help her and that the best solution now was to enter his game, Faith replied:
“Yes, I’d like to. But first of all, Picard, answer me: Where are we?”
“Picard?”
“Never mind! Just answer!”
“Well, we’re still on the Euphrates and, as the winds are good with us, we will arrive at Babylon soon.”
“Babylon?”
“Yes, you can see the first building at the horizon. See them?”
Faith put her hand horizontally on her forehead to see the horizon without being hindered by the sun and indeed, she could see building growing in size, second by second!
“Yes!”
“I have already sent a messenger to warn him of your arrival.”
“Him?”
“Your new watcher of course! We may not disturb his majesty, only your watcher has this honour.”
Again with the honour. Geez, this guy should really attached importance to it. Wait a minute, what did he say?
“Majesty?”
“Yes, our Emperor, Nebuchadnezzar, the one that asked for your help, remember?”
Great! Lost in the middle of nowhere to help an emperor who had stolen his name from The Matrix ship. Could this damn dream become any fucking weirder?
Buffy couldn’t see the harbour yet and was seriously beginning to regret having climbed on this chariot. The driver, one of her servants, was driving it full speed in the streets of Babylon and seemed to have a complete control over the two horses galloping in front of the cart. Still, Buffy wasn’t used to this kind of transport and her stomach was seriously beginning to worry her.
She had thought about the events during long minutes while eating her breakfast. She was definitely lost somewhere. It didn’t seem to be a dream, it was too detailed. She could feel the wind in her hair, could taste fruits that were delicious, could hear lots of different noises, and notice many other things that dismissed the dream solution. But it was the only thing she was certain of.
She had also discovered few things during the morning. Indeed, after having eaten her breakfast, female servants slaves had quickly surrounded Buffy actually but she didn’t want to think about them that way. Slavery was very common at that age but her own XXIst century morality didn’t like it at all. The slaves didn’t seem unhappy though and, by discussing a little bit with them, she discovered that her “father” was very kind with them, treating them with respect so, they were definitely not slaves, they were servitors.
The servants who had surrounded her had led her towards the bathroom where they had given her a bath. At first, Buffy had been a bit ashamed by all this but the servants were behaving as if it was a standard practice and as if they had known her, or rather the person she was supposed to be, for a long time. Guessing that the best way to discover what was going on there was to play whatever game she was supposed to play, Buffy decided to enter the role that had been given to her and had tried to gather as much information as possible.
Her name here was Rana. She was the daughter of Sidouf, the personal scribe of the great Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon. They lived in a huge house, near the Royal Palace and were very famous in the city. Famous for their love for Babylon but also for the way they treated their slaves, too kindly for the taste of some people. The three servants that had bathed her were Sona, Liama and Husa. Husa was the girl who had brought her breakfast earlier this morning and she was also her personal sl…servant. She was barely older than Buffy and the two of them seemed to get along quite well.
After the bath, Husa had given her a new toga to wear. Then, she had escorted her towards the chariot that was now leading the driver, Husa and herself to the harbour she could now see in front of her. Coming back to the present time, Buffy felt the vehicle stop and a man on his forties approached them.
“Rana, honey! I’m so glad you could make it on time.”
Buffy descended the vehicle, smiled to the man who was visibly her “father” then let him embrace her.
“Well, I…I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.”
The man broke the embrace and, as if he was only 1O, pointed towards a ship that was approaching.
“That’s the ship she has travelled in. Oh by the gods, Rana. I hope that I will be up to this task.”
Buffy noticed the pleading look the man had in his eyes and guessed that he was probably expecting some words of comfort coming from his daughter.
“Well…daddy, I…I have no doubt about it. You’re the best!”
The man smiled before continuing:
“Thanks, sweetheart but…rhaa, guiding a Slayer isn’t easy stuff and…honey? Is it something wrong?”
Buffy’s face had turned pale when she had heard her “father” talking about the Slayer. She hadn’t thought about it yet but now, a question had come to her mind. If the girl who was in this boat was the Slayer…had she still her Slayer powers…or were they gone once she had landed in…well, in this Twilight Zone world?
“Rana? Is it anything wrong? You’re so pale!”
“What? Oh no, I’m fine! Just excited to finally meet the famous Slayer!”
The man gave her an understanding smile.
“Well, you wouldn’t have to long much longer. In a few minutes, she will descend from this ship and our lives will change.”
“Yeah!”
Buffy’s mind was still focused on her power issue. Scanning the place, the blonde finally spotted a big box that seemed very heavy but that couldn’t be a problem to lift up for someone who had the power of a Slayer. Slowly, carefully in order to avoid any suspicious glances, she walked to the box, put her hands on both sides of it and pulled…without results, without even succeeding in moving the box for an inch. There were no more doubts now…in this place, she wasn’t a Slayer.
Standing next to the captain, Faith was lost in her thoughts. Sure, once Babylon had appeared in front oh her in all its glory, she had been amazed by the beauty of the place but she had quickly regained her focus. She had gone back to her “room” to gather whatever stuff could be useful for her. There hadn’t been much. It seemed that the Babylonian Slayer she was supposed to play and her real…well her, shared this taste for light travelling and bows. Indeed, hidden in a corner of the room, she had discovered a splendid ivory bow with a quiver containing 20 arrows. Another toga and the traditional bag of stakes completed her possessions.
Now, she was about to descend the ship thanks to the footbridge that had just hit the ground. After a last sign to the captain, she climbed the footbridge and made her way towards Babylonian ground. Once her right foot had left the rectangular piece of wood, she spotted three people approaching her. She didn’t know the first two but stayed stunned once she recognized the third one and, this person’s face was showing now a similar expression that the one the dark slayer was probably wearing now. What the fuck was Buffy doing here?
What the hell was Faith doing here? And how come she was still a Slayer? Had she something to do with all of this? All these questions were reasoning in her head but she couldn’t ask them to her darker counterpart because her “father”, barely able to control his excitement, was already welcoming the dark slayer.
“Nazra, I’m Sidouf, your new watcher. I hope you had a pleasant journey.”
Still unable to unlock her eyes from Buffy, Faith replied.
“I’ve known worse, don’t worry!”
“Yes, yes. Well, let me introduce my little family. This is my daughter, Rana (he showed Buffy with his hand) and this is Husa, her personal servitor (he did the same with the young servant).”
Faith grinned and extended her hand to Buffy who took it by reflex. They shook hands, still in a staring contest before finally pulling them apart.
“Well, we’ll discuss about how we will organize ourselves later, during dinner for instance. Now, I’m sorry but I absolutely have to report your arrival to the emperor. I’m sure he will be excited by the idea to finally meet you.” Then, he looked at Buffy before asking her:
“Rana, could you lead Nazra to our house and show her her bedroom?”
“Sure!” was Buffy’s reply. The slayers hadn’t stopped looking at each other since the instant their eyes had spotted each other.
“Good! See you later then!”
Sidouf then climbed in his chariot and left the harbour. Feeling the tension between the two women, Husa asked Faith: “Can I take your bag, my lady?”
“Huh? Oh, no. Thanks! I prefer to keep it.”
“As you wish, my lady. The chariot is this way!”
Husa began to move away followed by the slayers who walked side by side.
“So, B, you left your pastel wardrobe for peplum stuffs?” Faith whispered just for Buffy.
“I don’t know what’s going on here, Faith. But if it is one of your tricks, I swear that I…"
“Chill, B. I’m as lost as you are here. Last thing I remember was falling asleep in my cell then…”
“Ladies?”
They both looked at Husa who was in the chariot yet, waiting for them. Sighing, Buffy looked at Faith and said: “Later!”
Faith just nodded and they both climbed in the chariot.
The trip back to the house was weird at best. People were constantly looking at them intensely. It was as if they all knew who Faith was and it was probably the case. Noticing it, Faith whispered to Buffy:
“Think someone blew my cover!”
“Yeah! Incognito factor equals zero!”
“You think they would offer me big bucks for a commercial?”
Buffy couldn’t prevent a smile but quickly regained her cold façade without responding.
They stayed silent till the moment when they entered the house. They descended from the vehicle before Husa led them towards Faith’s room that was just in front of Buffy’s. Once inside the room, Buffy asked Husa to leave. The girl left the room and Buffy closed the door.
“Okay, Faith! You swear that you have nothing to do with this.”
“I’m as lost as you are here, B. All I can say is that I woke up in this ship this morning. It seems that I can now speak a language I can even named…and…well, we’re in friggin Babylon.”
“Oh, God. For a moment I thought…”
“That I was behind all that! Thanks for the vote of trust, girlfriend.” A bit of anger was perceptible in Faith’s voice.
“Hey, your track records don’t speak in your favour, girlfriend.”
“I agree! But you could at least leave me the benefit of the doubt. You haven’t heard of me for the last two years. My ass stayed in this fucking prison for this whole time, I didn’t make any kind of trouble. You should have known it, wouldn’t have known it if you had asked Soul Boy!”
Buffy remained silent for a few seconds then said: “I..I did!”
“What?”
“I did and I know you have done well in there.”
“I…I didn’t know, I…”
Not wanting to continue speaking about it, Buffy decided to come back to more urgent topics.
“That’s not the point. We’ll talk about it later. Yes, I thought it was you, old habits die hard and it will take time for us to be comfortable with each other again…but…”
“We’re on the same shit!”
“And we have to work together to find a way to get out of here. Wherever this here is.”
Faith nodded and added:
“The Chosen Two back on business?”
Buffy smiled. Faith had always had this capacity of making her feel better, even when she had no reason to.
“The Chosen Two back on business. So, have you noticed something that could be interesting since your awakening?”
“Nothing that you wouldn’t have noticed. You?”
“Well, maybe! See, Rana, the girl I’m supposed to be, I think she really exists.”
“Wow! Time out! You think that we have switched bodies with them? Last time I checked my reflection, it was Faith’s face I saw!”
“Yes, I know that there are some flaws in that theory but there are just too many people that seem to really believe we are Rana and Nazra for it not being genuine and…”
“And?”
“Well, when I was getting ready to come pick you up at the harbour, I found some scrolls. Rana’s scrolls and it was her handwriting.”
“And? Does it match yours?”
“No…and Yes!”
“Huh?”
“It wasn’t Sunnydale Buffy Summers handwriting but is Babylonian Buffy Summers one.”
“OK, if I understand it. You can write like Rana, right?”
“Yes! And that seems to confirm that I’m indeed in her body.”
Faith sighed before saying: “So, what are we gonna do now, B?”
“Well, we’re here for a reason. I suggest we stay here, play the roles we are supposed to play and wait. Whoever or whatever brought us here would probably make himself or itself know sooner or later.”
“And if he don’t?”
“Do we really have the choice?”
“Fraid not!”
“So, tell me what you know about your new you!”
And for the next hour, they exchanged data about their current alter egos.
Husa quietly left her master’s house. She didn’t want to be seen leaving the place. Checking regularly if someone was following her, she walked in the streets of Babylon before finally reaching her destination, a huge temple based on the left of the Royal Palace. She entered the temple, made a quick prayer to Baal before pushing a curtain, on the left side of a statue representing the god. She entered the room protected by the curtain and knelt before a man with grey hair who wore the toga of the priests of Baal. Damus, the oldest and the most influential of all the priests of Babylon.
“Stand up, worm! Do you have some news for me?”
“Yes, My lord! The Slayer has just arrived in my master’s house.”
The priest smiled and replied: “Good! Keep an eye on her, worm! And don’t disappoint me! Remember how I punish incompetence.”
Husa replied on a soft voice that betrayed her terror: “Yes, My Lord, I remember! I won’t disappoint you.”
“Baal doesn’t like the weak, worm, but he rewards those who serve him well.”
“Yes, My Lord!”
“Now, get back to your master’s house before anyone notice your absence.”
Husa nodded a last time and left the room.
Once alone, Damus pushed on one of the stone of the wall that stood on his left. A secret passage appeared next to the stone and Damus entered it. He descended the stairs, illuminated by torches and finally arrived in a huge room, full of people, no, full of vampires. The main nest, the nest whose leader was the oldest, mightiest vampire of Babylon: Zeishan.
Zeishan who was now coming to him, wearing his refined toga that never seemed dirty, a wonder for someone who was living in the tunnels below the city. Zeishan, with his dark hair and brown eyes, with his beard, perfectly cut, with his cruel smile that gave the wiggles to most people, Zeishan with his tattoo of Tiamat on his back, carefully hidden below the toga. Zeishan, the only being that truly scared him. Zeishan, his ally.
“Damus! It’s always a pleasure to see you, my friend.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Lord Zeishan.”
“I assume your presence here means that she has arrived.”
“My contact inside Sidouf’s house has just brought me the confirmation. The Slayer is in Babylon.”
“Damned! Tiamat curses this fool of Nebuchadnezzar. Why should he call the Slayer now? Now that we are so close to success!”
“Yes, the timing is bad! But I assure you that the neither the emperor, nor his scribe know anything about the Waves! It’s just that…well, your lackeys haven’t been that discreet lately and Nebuchadnezzar likes order.”
“Yes, I know. I didn’t have the choice though. I had to test things.”
“So?”
“So, we have to remain low profile till the end of the week and be sure to occupy the Slayer and lead her out of our way. I don’t want to waste my lackeys as you called them…could you take care of it, my friend?”
Damus smiled before responding.
“I’ll be honoured.”
“Thank you! You won’t regret it. When the Day will come, your reward will be at the level of your devotion.”
The night had come to the great Babylon and dinnertime had arrived. Sidouf, Buffy and Faith were now gathered around the table, waiting for the servants to bring the meal.
During the afternoon, the slayers had exchanged their information and their point of views about the current situation and one couldn’t say that they had found much. Except for this whole being in Babylon thing, the fact that everyone seemed to have known them, or they alter egos for a long time and that only one of them was a Slayer, they couldn’t say much.
They were eating now, with their hands, something that disturbed Buffy a little but didn’t seem to affect Faith at all. They were absentmindedly listening to Sidouf who had arranged a meeting with the emperor for the next morning. They heard him add that they would begin the training the next day too and that Faith could take the night off today but would patrol the next night. The dark slayer nodded but suddenly had her attention caught by Sidouf’s next sentence. Visibly, the man had noticed her lack of attention.
“Nazra, I know it’s hard for you. Sirius was a great man and I share your pain but you have a mission. The forces of evil won’t wait for you to get better. I will help, with all my knowledge but you have to stay focused on your task. It means listening to what I say with at least a bit of concern.”
“Sure!” Faith turned her head towards Buffy and, after having checked that the man was looking at his plate, moved her lips to form the word Sirius with an interrogative look in her eyes. Seeing the blonde answer by another puzzled look, Faith asked Sidouf:
“So, you knew Sirius?”
“Well, I met him. Twice. At a watcher meeting. He was a good and very sympathetic man. His death was a tragedy.”
The two slayers registered the information and, seeing that Sidouf wanted to add something, they let him continue his story, expecting new information that could be helpful for them.
“But you shouldn’t feel guilty about his death. There was nothing you could have done. Nothing. They were too many for you.”
At that moment, Buffy noticed something odd in Faith’s eyes. What was it? It seemed like fear, terror even. She was still analysing it when she saw Faith standing up then, excusing herself. She said that she was tired and wanted to take some rest. Once Faith was gone, she looked at Sidouf and asked him:
“Did you notice it?”
“What? The look? Yes! Some memories are very difficult to deal with. I hope we will be able to help her cope with it.”
“I hope so!”
“I told you, Rana. She had and is still going through difficult times. Human beings killed her watcher and she killed some of them. A Slayer is not allowed to kill humans. The Council had concluded that it was self-defence but some of them feared that it was revenge! She is walking a thin line, Rana. I just hope she will keep her balance.”
Buffy just nodded before standing up, excusing herself and making her way out. She was then stopped by Sidouf’s voice.
“Hey! Where is my goodnight kiss?”
Buffy turned around, couldn’t prevent a smile then, kissed the man’s forehead before leaving.
“Faith! It’s me, open the door!”
Buffy was knocking softly at the door of Faith’s bedroom. She thought she understood why the dark slayer had left the table and wanted to talk to her about it, wanted to do something she hadn’t tried harder three years before. Finally, after a couple of minutes of constant knocking, the door opened. Buffy quickly entered the room. Noticing that Faith had changed her clothes, Buffy asked:
“Going somewhere?”
“Out! I need some air!”
"Count me in!"
“B, you’re not a Slayer in this…whatever this is. You’re just a normal girl. It could be dangerous!”
“I know but I want to talk to you and as you want to go out, well, I just thought we could speak while we’ll be walking.”
“Talk about what?”
“What about your face getting ghost like when you noticed that Nazra’s story seemed very close to your own?”
“It’s not…Geez, here we go again!”
“Yeah! As soon as it gets personal, we close our walls and let nobody in!”
“Noticed too?”
“Oh yeah! You hide behind your attitude and a rebel behaviour. I hide behind the Slayer’s mission or sometimes behind General Buffy when I give orders. We both don’t like letting the other getting too close.”
“And it brings us lots of problems.”
“Yes! Faith, I…we have to work together to solve all this mess. We only have each other here. We have to let us trust each other and it won’t be possible if we keep our walls up.”
“I…I know! It’s just that hearing all this stuff reminds me so much things. When I came to Sunnydale, I had just lost my watcher and things turned bad and I kinda have the impression of doing a fucking replay here and…”
“It scares you!”
“Hell yeah! I don’t think I would stand a replay, B.”
“You won’t, Faith! We’ll make sure you won’t!”
“Would…would you help me?”
Wow, Faith actually asking for her help. That was a big surprise for Buffy…a good surprise that brought a smile on her face.
“Isn’t it what I’ve just said?”
“Yes, but, I…I just wanted to be sure!”
“Yes, I’ll help you!”
“Because you need me?”
“No, because I want to! I have been a little bit harsh with you earlier today but, well, as I said old habits die hard and I was kinda confused with the us being stuck in Babylon issue but…I wanted to tell you those stuffs for a long time. Never found the courage to go and discuss about it with you.”
Faith gave Buffy a weak smile then said:
“Yeah! I’ve wanted to talk to you for a long time too. Never found the balls to call or write you.”
“Well, it’s not that we have plenty of stuffs to do… and the night is still young!”
“Think they have something decent to drink in this place?” Faith asked winking.
“Well, we can have a look in the basement. I think I heard some servants speaking about amphora’s stocked there.”
“So, what are we waiting for?”
The next morning, Buffy found Faith already up, doing some exercise in the garden. Smiling to her dark alter ego or rather alternate universe dark alter ego, she sat on her chair and began eating her breakfast after having made a sign to Husa who was standing not far from her, probably waiting for her to finish her breakfast. Biting in a fruit, she watched as Faith was doing some push ups and couldn’t prevent herself for teasing her.
“So, you slept well?”
Still doing her push-ups, Faith smirked and replied.
“Had barely the time to close my eyes! Your damn brand new genitor pushed me out of bed for training three hours ago. I hadn’t had the time to eat something. I’m sure he treats me worse than his slaves. Why do I have to be the Slayer in this story? If I had known, I would have chosen your part of the deal. Much cooler than mine.”
“Changed your mind? I thought you were happy to be the only one to kick asses here.”
“If it involves spending the day training or making reverences in front of an emperor, it’s not worth it! I prefer less work and more fun.”
“Well, I don’t see “my father” around so, if you want to have a break…I won’t tell him!”
“Thanks, B. But you see, your father seems to have some James Bond guy spying on me when he’s not around. And I’m sure he is a frustrated kind of bastard who would gladly report my moves to his master to receive his candy bar.”
Following Faith’s eyes, Buffy quickly spotted the guy. He was one of the personal servant of Sidouf, one of the men she hadn’t had contact with yet. She then saw Faith stand up on her hands and beginning hand walking on the grass.
Knowing that this exercise needed concentration, Buffy didn’t add a word, her mind wandering to the previous night talk. They had spoken openly, explaining their versions of the past events. Faith’s feeling of being the sidekick, not considered a true Slayer, a true Scooby by the gang and the fatherly love she had found with the Mayor. Buffy feelings or betrayal when she had discovered that Faith had crossed the border then, her acceptation of her not so friendly behaviour towards the brunette. They had finished the talk (and the amphora) by talking about the recent events and Buffy was actually sincerely happy to learn about Faith imminent release. Dawn had been about to come when they had finished talking and both had felt that they had build the basis of a new start. Things were not forgiven yet but they were on the good way. The voice of Sidouf suddenly brought Buffy out of her thoughts.
“Hi, honey! Slept well?”
“Can’t complain! I’m not the one with the military schedule here!”
He smiled then said to Faith:
“You can stop now, Nazra! Come and join us for breakfast.”
The speed Faith used to stand up on her feet and join them at the table would have ashamed a sprinter and made Buffy burst into laugh. Sidouf was also kinda amused by it.
“You know what, Nazra? I was wondering if I should let you eat before or after your early trainings…I think I’ll stick with the after!”
“Yeah, Fa…Nazra! Remember the story of the donkey and the carrot?”
“Ain’t funny!”
“Yes it is!”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Is!”
“Isn’t.”
“Is!”
“Isn’t.”
Sidouf was pleased to see that the two girls were so comfortable with each other now. He had sensed a few frictions when the Slayer had arrived. They seemed uncomfortable around each other and, as they will live in the same house, he had been afraid that they wouldn’t be able to stand each other. Now, it seemed that things were on the good way and it was very satisfying. He decided to cut their “argument” though. He had important things to tell them.
“Is!”
“Isn’t.”
“Kids, please. Our appointment with the emperor is in three hours so, there is no time to loose. I asked the servants to prepare the best clothes and jewels we have for our meeting with his majesty. His personal guard will come to pick us up and escort us to the royal palace. So, finish your breakfast, then accompany the servants for your baths. Now, if you would like to excuse me. I have some things to deal with before the meeting.”
Once Sidouf had left the garden, Faith leaned forward to ask Buffy:
“Accompany?”
“Yeah. The guys here seem really lazy. They make the servants bathe them! Bet they read their newspaper or smoke their cigars during that time or they would if such things existed here.”
“Well, they could also…”
Buffy raised her finger to cut Faith of.
“That also! Me not saying it doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about that option!”
“Humm! We have a little vixen hidden in the head of yours!”
“Vixen? I wouldn’t have thought hearing you say such a word.”
“Well, I was just trying to spare your pure ears, B!”
“My ears aren’t that pure, F. And you know that.”
“You know you’ll regret saying that, right?”
“Oh yeah! Ready for bath time?”
“Yeah! Just need a cigar!”
“Thought you had stopped smoking in jail, F.”
“I didn’t intend to…”
“Don’t finish it!” Buffy said smiling in raising her finger.
They both laughed a minute before finishing their breakfast and heading towards their bathrooms.
“Fuck, I hate these things!”
Buffy smiled in seeing Faith removing another stone out of her sandals.
“You know raising your feet from the ground instead of “gliding” on it could help!”
“That’s what I do! It’s just that I hate sandals, I hate having my toes in open air like this. After that they’re dirty and stink…”
“Instead of being all compressed by boots and smelling for lack of fresh air…”
Faith threw an irritated glance to Buffy but couldn’t help but finish to match Buffy’s amused grin.
“OK, OK but at least, they’re not dirty!”
“You got a point! Guess, we’ll have to bathe them when we’ll get back home!”
Buffy had a hard time not to burst into laughs when she saw Faith’s panicked face. It seemed that Faith wasn’t too found about being bathed by other. At first, Buffy would have thought that Faith wouldn’t have any problem with it. After all, she was much more prude than the brunette and wasn’t bothered by it. But when she had heard Faith yelling at her servants to get out of the bathroom, calling them vicious perverts, sexually frustrated maniacs and other Faith like curses she would never repeat, she hadn’t had difficulties to guess that Faith hadn’t enjoyed it at all.
They had discussed about it while walking towards the Royal Palace, escorted by the guards. Faith hadn’t given her lots of details about the bathroom incident but it seemed that, while Buffy’s servants carefully avoided some parts of her body while bathing her, Faith’s didn’t seem to share this gentleness. Sidouf had tried to explain to her that important people did not take a bath without servants to look after them, Faith had made it perfectly clear that she wouldn’t tolerate anyone with her in the bathroom with such a vehemence that Sidouf had just nodded.
So, they were now inside the Royal Palace, waiting for Sidouf to return to lead them towards the emperor. She looked at Faith again and saw her looking to something or someone to her left. Following Faith’s glance, she quickly spotted three guys looking at her with interest. Buffy sighed. It had been like this since they had left the house. People looking at Faith with interest, respect, fear or even hatred all streets long. The impression they had had the day before everyone in Babylon knew that Faith’s identity was just confirmed by this.
The three guys were continuing staring at Faith. There was something definitely strange about them, some kind of evil aura thingy that gave Buffy a sick feeling. If these guys weren’t evil, they sure were close to it. They seemed wealthy though with jewels and golden patterns on their clothes. Three rings on their right hands, necklaces so shiny that Buffy couldn’t look at them without being blinded and daggers on their belts…in short terms, the kind of pals you so didn’t want to meet in a dark alley.
Buffy returned her attention to Faith just in time to see her blow a kiss towards the guys who quickly retreated in the corridors. She was about to say something to Faith when Sidouf came back to invite them to follow him inside Nebuchadnezzar private quarters.
“Now, girls, remember what I told you when we’ll be in front of the emperor. Nazra?”
“Yes, I remember!”
“Good! Rana?”
“Remember too!”
He nodded to her before stopping in front of a huge door guarded by two soldiers who opened the door and let them enter after requisitioning Faith’s weapons as no armed person was allowed to see the emperor.
To say that Nebuchadnezzar liked luxurious things would be an understatement. Once they got inside the room, shiny objects, pieces of art, expensive items or even exotic scents, had assaulted them. All of this sweated wealth and power. They quickly made their way towards a square of light on the north side of the room and soon entered what should be the largest balcony of Babylon and probably the most beautiful Hanging Garden. A table with various plates and drinks was on the middle of the area and four chairs were surrounding it. Facing them, a man was sitting on the most impressive chair: Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon.
As soon as they had come out of the dark, Sidouf had bowed his head, kneeling in front of his emperor. It was the way to salute him, and following Sidouf’s request even if she didn’t like it, Buffy followed the man’s lead…but Faith didn’t. Buffy had felt it, had known that Faith wouldn’t do it as soon as Sidouf had told them to bow and knee in front of the man. It wasn’t Faith’s style. She didn’t have the time to think further about what to do now cause she suddenly heard Sidouf’s exasperated voice calling from Faith.
“Nazra! You’ve just told me…”
“I told you I remembered. That’s all.” Then, walking towards Nebuchadnezzar, she said: “Sorry chap! Bowing and scaring, that’s just not my kind of crap. Besides, I don’t like to turn my back to someone I don’t know…or present it to him by licking the floor.”
“Nazra!”
But the emperor raised his hand and said:
“It doesn’t matter, Sidouf! I like her bravado. People who have the guts to come and treat me like their equal aren’t that common. They usually try to gain my favours with sweet talks or dream to stab my back when I turned it to them. I can’t see anything like that in Nazra’s eyes.”
“See Sid? Told you that all this bullshit was all show and stuff. So, Neb, I suppose that if you brought chairs and food here is because you wanted us to talk and eat at the same time. So, you wouldn’t mind if…” Faith made a gesture towards the table and a chair. The emperor nodded and Faith let herself fall on a chair, grabbing grapefruits that she began to bite. Glancing at Buffy and Sidouf, she winked at them before asking Nebuchadnezzar:
“I think, they’re waiting for you to greencard them for, you know, getting up and join us.”
“OH, so, I er…greencard you to get up and join us.”
Buffy and Sidouf stood up. In fact, Buffy would have stood up earlier but she had been too stunned by Faith’s behaviour and Neb’s reaction. Faith’s actions hadn’t really surprised her but she had waited Neb to be furious and now she had in front of her a charming guy that wasn’t that snobbish after all.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before Nebuchadnezzar began his speech.
“Nazra! I’m really glad to have you here. Fortunately, it hasn’t been very difficult to convince the Council to send me some back up, YOU.”
“Well, the Council was already worried about the situation here so, I think they would have sent you Nazra even without my pleads.”
“Don’t humble yourself, Sidouf. Your support was very helpful, as always. Back to the point. What do you know about the situation in Babylon, Nazra?”
Faith quickly looked to Buffy who gave her the same look she now knew as the “I don’t know anything useful about it” look so, after clearing her throat, she said:
“Well, there must be vamps and demons here…some cults too, I guess…well, seem like my data need some updating, guys.”
“Sirius didn’t told you about Babylon?”
“Well, yes he did, Sid! It’s just that I’d prefer to have the news coming out of a native mouth. It seems fresher and more accurate to me.”
“I perfectly understand it. Sometimes, things are so deformed when coming from someone who hasn’t seen it by himself. So, this is the story, Nazra. Babylon has become the nest of lots of evil forces, it is as if they’re attracted to this city and it’s maybe due to the evil aura left by Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of evil that lay buried in the sands not far from here.”
“Sodom and Gomorrah?”
“Two cities that were completely under control of evil forces. The gods had no other choices that destroying it.”
“Oh, and you’re scared that such a fate could happen to Babylon?”
“Yeah! I don’t want it to happen. My informants told me that the situation is getting worse. Evil comes from everywhere…old and powerful as well as young and bloodthirsty. It’s completely out of control, Nazra and I don’t like things I can’t control. My soldiers are brave and skilled but are not trained or equipped to deal with these things. I need the Slayer to do this job, Nazra. I need you. Would you help me?”
Faith smirked before replying: “That’s my job!”
Buffy who had remained silent till then said:
“There is one thing that might be a problem though!”
The two men looked at Buffy, waiting for her to tell them what she was talking about. Faith was waiting too but already knew what Buffy was about to say.
“The news about F…Nazra’s arrival here is not a secret. People constantly stare at her and I’m…no, we’re sure that they know who she is! I don’t know who told them but…”
“Well, that’s easy. I told them!”
The three guests stared at the emperor, completely stunned by this revelation.
“As emperor of Babylon, it’s my duty to tell my fellow people that I can take care of things. They’re no fools, they know about vampires, demons and other things crawling in the dark and they are scared. I had to let them know I understand their fears, to let them know I would do anything to solve this problem. So, I told them that the mighty Slayer would soon be here to deal with it.”
“You, son of a bitch!”
Faith had just stood up and was looking at Nebuchadnezzar furious. And Buffy wasn’t in a very compassionate mood either. The only one that didn’t seem too angry with this was Sidouf who had reacted as soon as her had seen Faith stood up.
“Nazra! Calm down! His majesty explained his reasons and I don’t think insulting him would…”
“The hell with his reasons, Sid. If the guy had a brain he would have guessed that Slayers work better incognito but now, he just put a target on me so now, every bloodsucker would either run his ass out of my way or try to have a quick shot on me. So, don’t tell me to fucking calm down!”
Nebuchadnezzar chose that moment to raise his voice wondering how this girl could openly complain about his deeds. He was the emperor, he was the one to know what was the best for his country, his people. “That’s enough, Slayer. I told you I liked your bravado. Don’t push it!”
“Bite me, Neb. You’ve just said it: You need me. Hell, you’ve even announced it everywhere. I’m the one who would destroy evil monsters. See, Crowned Ass, you might be a good politician but I know some stuff too. I’m your big gun here and even if you’ll regret it and count on me, you will, you need me so bad that you won’t do anything against me. Now, if you’d excuse me, I’m not hungry anymore!”
Faith then made her way towards the exit, leaving a furious emperor behind her. But he didn’t do anything because he knew that Faith was right. Still, Sidouf tried to calm him.
“I’m sorry, my emperor! She is just…bad educated but I swear that she’ll come and apologize to you and…”
“No she won’t!”
The two men looked at Buffy who had left the table too. They hadn’t seen the girl leaving the table too focused on Faith’s comments and their consequences.
“Rana! It’s not the…”
“She is right! You know it, “dad” and I’m sure HE knows it too. You can try to convince her to apologize, but don’t count on me here…I’m backing her up fully here!”
“Rana! You don’t understand!”
“Yes, child. Being an emperor requests taking some unfair decisions. You have no idea of the weight it is.”
“I’d rather not! I wouldn’t be able to see my face in a mirror.”
And, without letting them answer, she ran, hoping to catch Faith up before she left the palace.
As soon as she had left the room, Buffy could see Faith at the other side of the corridor. She was busy putting her belt, the one with the sword on it. She should have lost some time getting it back from the soldiers. That was a good thing as Buffy wouldn’t have trouble in joining her. She began running after her. The dark slayer had gone through the door that were separating the emperor’s private quarters from the rest of the palace and Buffy didn’t want to loose her between this point and the exit.
It was her turn to pass the doors. Faith was just a few step ahead from her. Buffy didn’t want to raise her voice, she didn’t think a palace was the kind of place where you raise your voice. She could see that Faith was still nervous and that her head was probably full with various thoughts. Her being stuck in this place and now knowing that she was a living target of evil monsters, well much more a target than she usually was.
She was only four feet away from Faith when she felt a dizzy sensation suddenly taking control of her head. Then, she saw, yes, she really saw Faith walking under an arch, not far from the palace exit. Then, she saw a hand with three rings on its fingers pushing a stoned vase that fell on Faith. Seeing it, Buffy felt as if her heart was squeezed, no, it couldn’t happen, not to Faith, not to her Faith. At that moment, coming from the depth of her throat, Buffy screamed.
“Faith! No!”
Hearing Buffy’s scream, Faith stopped walking and turned her head towards the blonde. This scream had made her worry. There was so much distress in this scream. It was the scream of someone who had just lost someone dear. And she hadn’t had trouble in recognizing Buffy’s voice. She saw Buffy a few steps back, on her knees, crying. She was about to walk towards her when a loud noise made her jump. She quickly looked at what had made this noise only to see what remained of a vase, scattered next to her. And suddenly, Faith paled. If she hadn’t been stopped by Buffy’s scream, she would have received this vase on her head. Instinctively, she raised her head towards the arch that was above her but couldn’t see anything or anyone on the balcony that was there.
In the meantime, the sound of the shock had somehow driven Buffy out of her stasis. The sight of a healthy Faith not far from her was pure joy for her. She quickly stood up, calling the dark slayer.
“Faith!”
Faith had just the time to turn towards the blonde before being pulled in a breathtaking hug.
“Oufff!”
“You’re safe! Thank god, you’re safe!”
“Yeah! Thanks to you! Why did you scream like crazy, B?”
“I saw you hit by that vase, Faith. Saw you lying on the floor, dead. Thought I lost you!”
Smiling, Faith pushed Buffy to look into her eyes, whiping the tears that had been rolling on the blonde checks with her thumbs. She put her forehead on Buffy’s and asked softly:
“What do you mean by seeing me, B? You had a vision or something?”
“What? Rana had a vision?”
Both girls were surprised to see that Sidouf had joined them here and, even if he looked worried, he didn’t seem surprised to hear that his daughter had just had a vision.
They were back at the house now. After having learned that his “daughter” had just had a vision, Sidouf had asked them to get to the house quickly. He wanted to discuss the matter in a safe place. He didn’t seem surprised by this vision thing so the slayers had assumed that it wasn’t probably Rana’s first try in the seer department. Still, Buffy had asked Faith to ask Sidouf about it during their whispering session, on their way back to the house. Now, they were all sitting in the living room while Buffy was finishing explaining her vision.
“And God, I really thought she had been killed. It was after hearing the big boom that I realised that she was unhurt.”
“Honey! Back to the rings you saw. Are you sure they were the same you saw on the priest’s hands? These are huge accusations you know?”
“I know what I saw! It was the exact same rings!”
“I believe you, darling! Don’t get mad at me, just checking here!”
“Who are these priest guys?” Faith asked.
“Followers of Baal!”
“Why the fuck do these priest want me death? Aren’t they supposed to be pleased I’m here. Seems a bit chaotic in their heads.”
“Well, Baal isn’t exactly a stable god either. He is bloodthirsty, loves wars and fights, treats his followers like slaves… Baal had been the most important god of Babylon for a long time. Fortunately, Marduk’s cult has replaced him now.”
“So, now that I have seen them try to kill Fa…Nazra, what are we gonna do?”
“I’ll report it to the emperor but I doubt we could do anything now.”
“What?” said the two girls at the exact same time.
“Well, even if their god isn’t the most popular here anymore, the priests of Baal have still lots of influence on Babylon and besides, you just saw a hand, Rana! We don’t even know to whom it belongs.”
“And now again with the politics! Can you even fucking pee without asking permission to a bloody politician?”
“That’s what I’m beginning to doubt!”
Sidouf looked at his daughter, troubled by her remark. He bowed his head and said.
“Look! I know the system is far from being perfect but we have to follow its rules. There are people who control others through religious cults, commerce, the army, etc… to rule a city is to get along with these people or they could make of your life a real hell…and that’s why we have to follow it too. It’s also the reason why your outburst of earlier today wasn’t a very wise reaction, Nazra!”
“Sorry, don’t like being played with! And don’t even think I’ll apologize to Mr Politics cause it ain’t gonna happen!”
“I feared you would say this! So, you won’t be allowed to see him again!”
“Good! Didn’t intend to!”
“Getting in Nebuchadnezzar good graces would have given you a kind of protection. Now, our enemies will soon know that the emperor doesn’t like you…Well, they won’t hesitate to attack you if you are on their way!”
Buffy who had been silent until now replied:
“Do you really think he would tell them he doesn’t like her? Don’t forget that he needs her, needs the Slayer. He promised his citizens that she’ll kill the monsters! Neb would loose the face if she gets killed too quickly, don’t you think, “dad”?”
“You have a point there, honey! Still, I have to report to him about the priests of Baal. I gotta go. Nazra?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ll ask Mansur to go with you to the harbour. I prepared some exercise for you there. He’ll train you till I came back from my meeting. Understood?”
“What if I say no?”
He just stared at her before she gave up and said: “OK, OK, I’m going.”
At that moment, Faith noticed Buffy’s look at her. She was mouthing something too and she hadn’t trouble deciphering what she was saying: Ask him! Geez, she had almost forgotten.
“Sidouf?”
“What again?”
Geez, the guy hasn’t an inch of patience. Watcher, yes but definitely not English!
“You haven’t told me where Rana’s visions come from!”
“Oh, she has had them since her childhood. Short time vision. The events she see usually happen 10 seconds to a minute after she sees it. Sometimes, she can change it. Now, I have to go.”
At that moment, Faith looked at Buffy with gratefulness in her eyes. She let her fellow slayer clearly see this feeling, opening herself completely to her and Buffy smiled, accepting this gift from Faith. Then, seeing that Sidouf had now left the room, Buffy said to her in a soft voice.
“I forgive you!”
And then she left the room, letting a puzzled Faith go to the harbour.
“That was very unwise of you, Damus!”
The hit made Damus fly across the grotto that was Zeishan’s nest. When the vampire had asked him to come to his lair, Damus had known that he would have to pay for the failure of the assassination attempt on the Slayer. Spitting his teeth, the priest replied:
“But, mighty Zeishan! I…how could I have known that Sidouf’s daughter would have had a vision?”
“I’m not talking about your lame plot to kill the Slayer, pathetic excrement! What I’m talking about is your lack of discipline, your inability to follow my orders!”
“But I did! I…I tried to take care of the Slayer as you ordered me…I..”
“You’re an idiot, Damus! Sometimes I wonder how a light brain like yours has succeeded to reach such an important position in this town! I asked you to keep the Slayer away from us! I’ve never said you should kill her, moron!”
“But…but I thought!”
“Shut up, larva! And try to think for once! Do you prefer that we kill the Slayer so the emperor gets suspicious and reinforces his controls in the city…or should we keep our low profile and let her eliminate some unimportant demons or vampires? You see my point?”
Seeing the puzzled look on the man’s face, Zeishan grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the wall. Damus landed heavily on the ground but quickly stood up, knowing full well that laying on the ground too long would only bring him more hits. His face hurt from the cuts and the bruises he had received from the vampire but he managed to control his pain and listened to his master who continued his lecture.
“If the Slayer kills monsters, the citizens feel safer in this town. If the citizens feel safer, Nebuchadnezzar is happy. If the crowned dork is happy, he will lighten up his grip on the city. If he lightens his grip, it’s all bonus for us and for our project. Now, the sun has come back in your clouded head?”
“Yes, yes! I understand now!”
“So, what are you waiting for. Go back to the temple, keep an eye on the Slayer and make sure she won’t come to mess up with our plans.”
Damus nodded before climbing the stairs as quickly as possible to join the safety of his temple.
Husa had left the house right after Faith had began her patrol. She had heard the conversation between Sidouf and the two women and she had to report it to the priest. She hadn’t had the time to do it sooner. She had indeed spent the rest of the afternoon with Rana.
Now, Sidouf and Nazra had just come back and the first thing the man had done was to order the Slayer to go on patrol.
Still carefully, she slowly made her way to the temple, the place she had always considered as her home.
Damus had bought her as a slave when she was just a kid, more than 20 years ago. Damus had needed a personal slave, a punching ball, someone to exert himself out of his rage. She had had countless of cuts, bruises, and broken bones during her years at Damus side but it was her role, it was what Baal wanted for her. Baal, the god who had given her a shelter in its temple. Now, she was Baal’s spy, a promotion in the ranks of the servitors of the God and she wasn’t going to disappoint him…especially with what she had learned tonight.
She finally reached the temple and quickly made her way towards Damus room. Once she arrived in front of him, she noticed that his nose was broken and that he had blood on his clothes. What could have happened to him?
“What? What are you looking at, worm?”
“No…nothing, master!”
“So? You learned something of interest?”
“Yes! Rana saw a hand in her vision. A hand pushing the vase! A hand with three rings on the fingers.”
“And I suppose Sidouf made the link with the order of Baal.”
“Unfortunately!”
“Rhaaa! Why do you make things so complicated, Baal? Need to think! Does the girl see whose hand it was?”
“No! I’m sure of it!”
“Good, so the emperor and his scribe won’t do anything against us. Too few proofs. Thanks Baal for it…and thanks Baal for you being here.”
Husa’s eyes grew wide when she saw Damus take the whip she knew too well. Tears were menacing to fall but she didn’t let them…it was her duty, she had to help her master to relax…it was her purpose on Earth. So, she stared straight into his eyes while he was beginning to beat her up.
Faith was walking the streets near Sidouf’s house, finishing her patrol. She hadn’t patrolled the whole city, one night wouldn’t be enough for it and she didn’t know the city well enough for it. She and Sidouf had made a schedule though, a kind of program of patrol that would often change to avoid the routine.
Tonight had been a calm one. One vamp and two slow demons. Still, it was better than nothing and it had also given her some time to think. At first, she had thought about her situation here. Why was she now playing the Slayer in the Antique Babylon? How had she landed here? Still the same questions, still no answer. Then, her thoughts had changed to focus only on a certain blond girl and her relationship with her.
They were both stuck there for almost 48 hours and things seemed to go so quickly between the two of them. There had first been some tensions, sure. But the friendship they had before seemed to come back. Buffy had saved her and she had forgiven her, two big plus in the friendship possible with Buffy column. She just hoped that she wouldn’t screw things up this time. She wasn’t a fool. She knew that there were still a lot to do before they could really trust each other…but they were doing it, step by step and once again, Faith wished to not screw things up…well, she also wished that Sidouf got a lumbago for making her train like crazy but she sincerely doubted that she would be lucky enough for it to happen.
Buffy was getting ready for dinner. She had changed her toga for a new, darker one. The nights here were much colder than the days and she had read somewhere that dark colours were keeping the warm better than bright ones. It was maybe some divagation but hell, who knew?
She hadn’t seen Faith since the meeting with Sidouf. She knew that Faith would probably question her about the “I forgive you” thing and she was ready to confirm to her friend that she had indeed forgiven her for her past deeds. She didn’t know why it was so easy now to make things better with Faith. Was it the fact that they had only each other to try to get out of this place? Probably! But it was more than that! Deeper than that! Even when she had tried to convince herself that she hated Faith, Buffy had never been able to completely shut off the hope that one day, Faith would find the right path back, the hope that one day they would fight side by side again. And when she had seen Faith the day before, somehow, she had seen in her eyes that she had finally found this path and this secret hope of hers had won the internal struggle with her mind. Yes, she wanted to give Faith a second chance! Yes, she knew that the road to trust was still a long one but hell, she was sure that it was gonna be worth it.
“God, I’m so bored here!”
Buffy smirked and looked at Faith. The younger woman was laying on the grass of the garden next to her room. It had been two days since the assassination attempt and nothing seemed to change or to move forward. Sidouf spent his days at the Royal palace, no one had bothered the priests of Baal or even asked some basic questions about their deeds at the moment of the “vase incident” and the slayers had still no idea about what they were supposed to do in Babylon. The blonde was sitting on a chair, not far from Faith who had just a break in her training schedule.
“No disco, no cool music, no TV…there is just the slaying that brings some fun here.”
“Speak for yourself! I don’t even have this fun factor!”
“Yeah, but you don’t have Sergeant Slaughter Diet Program to follow either!”
“Agreed! Instead, I have to play Giles girl examining scrolls in Sidouf’s “library” during your diet sessions! Wanna switch?”
“Nope! I’m as fond of research as you are!”
“If only I could find a clue about all of this! But nothing, nada! I don’t know if we are in an alternate universe or if we have really turned back time to Babylon! I don’t even know why we are here.”
“Stop thinking about it, B! At least, there are some good points! The Chosen Two are back in the same team!”
“Yes! You’re right! Just for that, the trip was worth it!”
Buffy looked at Faith while saying it, knowing that a smile would appear on her face. Faith was a very insecure person under her tough girl mask and she needed some reassurance from time to time. And each time Buffy had given it to Faith, the dark slayer had showed a bright smile Buffy liked to see. And this time, it didn’t change. The smile was there, as shining as ever on Faith’s face.
“You know what! Drop the Giles girl outfit! Today, we’ll have fun!”
“Well, I don’t think Sidouf or Mansur would like it! Diet program, remember?”
“Don’t care, girlfriend! Do you?”
“Let me think! On the one hand, old scrolls, dust and hours of boring reading…on the other hand, a whole day having fun with a friend! Is there really a choice?”
“Nope! Besides, tweed doesn’t suit you, B!”
And they both moved towards the stairs giggling.
They spent the rest of the morning wandering in Babylon, discovering the city and its beauties. People were still looking at Faith but they were acting differently than the first day now. Since Faith’s arrival, the demonic activity had slowed down in Babylon and the citizens were grateful to the brunette for that. They had even received some food to eat while they were walking in the souk. They were just making a sightseeing tour like tourists, smiling, teasing each other, really enjoying being friends again for the first time since a long while.
They made a quick trip to the harbour, playing between the pillars, the ships, talking with the sailors, wondering about the other civilisations they knew were hiding behind the horizon. Then, in the middle of the afternoon, they made their way back towards the house, walked in front of the Royal Palace noticing that lots of people were entering a temple next to it. The temple of Baal!
“Now, I understand what Sid said about Baal still being popular! There are more people going in there than sailors in brothel after a long journey on the seas.”
“Faith! Look!”
Turning her head to the direction Buffy was pointing to her, Faith saw a young woman join the believers. A young woman she knew.
“Husa?”
“Bruised face Husa but still Husa!”
“I thought she was ill!”
“Babylonian air does miracles!”
“You know what, B? I’ve just had an illumination! I believe in good ol’Baal now!”
“No kidding? That a coincidence because me too!”
“We definitely should meet the guy and pay him some respect!”
“Like listening to his words coming out of the priest’s mouth.”
Spotting a bunch of people going to the temple, they quietly joined them in order to enter the place without being noticed.
The ceremony was held by the high priest Damus himself. The slayers had positioned themselves on the right corner of the temple, not far from the exit, in a place where they could see but weren’t really visible, even from the priest. This place had also a direct view on a row of banks were Husa was sitting.
The ceremony had began for 20 minutes now and the slayers were getting bored. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea after all. Maybe Husa was just attending a common ceremony that had nothing to do with whatever plot the priests of Baal were into. Damus lecture was also pretty boring! He spoke about the highness of Baal and about how standard humans were just worms, unworthy of the god’s blessings over and over again and both slayers wondered what benefit these men and women could see in such a cult.
Suddenly, the lecture change as Damus began to speak about a new beginning:
“Baal talked to me last night! He confirmed that the time of the Great Change is coming, said that the worthies would be chosen soon, that they and they only would accomplish the Great Ritual when the time would come! Baal will give me their names in a few days, I’m sure of it. In the meantime, be sure to serve him well!”
Damus had just finished his lecture and left the place. He entered a small opening next to a huge statue of Baal while the believers were leaving the place. The slayers didn’t move, still looking to Husa who hadn’t moved yet. The young servant waited a few minutes before finally getting up and going to the exit. Hidden behind a pillar, the slayers were about to move out too, when a voice stopped them and Husa.
“Worm!”
The two slayers didn’t move and were looking at Damus walking towards Husa, ready to catch every word of the conversation to be. Damus looked around them, unable to see the slayers from his position then, when the last of the believers exited, he said:
“Anything new?”
“No! Mansur was very upset this morning. The Slayer and Rana are out, in the city, without Sidouf’s permission and the master didn’t like it at all! As Mansur had to keep an eye on Nazra…”
“Not important, worm! What about their suspicions?”
“They have no real clue. Just a vision! They don’t even speak about it now.”
“Good!” He turned around and walked towards the opening without even looking at Husa again. The young servant walked away, followed by the slayers who exited the place carefully in order to avoid any unpleasant encounter.
Sidouf was furious. The Slayer had disobeyed his orders, she had left the house without explanation, without finishing her training session and Rana was with her. He didn’t even recognise his daughter anymore. She who was usually so gentle, she who never disobeyed. Now, since the Slayer’s arrival, she seemed completely transformed, she retorted to what he said, to what the emperor said and spent every possible minute of the day with Nazra. He was really beginning the think that the Slayer had a bad influence on his daughter. The noise of the front door opening brought him out of his thoughts. Angry, he walked towards it shouting.
“RANA, NAZRA!”
But the girl in front of him wasn’t one of them.
“Oh, sorry, Husa! I…I thought…” noticing the bruises, he then added: “Husa, but, what happened?”
“It’s nothing, just…”
“Some beatings done by a fellow Baal groupie?”
Sidouf and Husa jumped when they heard Faith’s voice. They hadn’t heard the slayers coming in, Sidouf too concerned about the bruises, Husa too busy trying to cover them. Seeing the two girls back should have raised Sidouf’s anger but he was very intrigued by what Faith had just said.
“Nazra, what did you said?”
It was Buffy who answered: “We saw her “dad”! In the temple of Baal, talking to Damus. Thanks to her power F…Nazra heard what they said. She is spying on us, reporting our moves and words to him. It’s Damus who tried to kill Nazra two days ago.”
“Is it true, Husa?”
The young servant was looking for a way out but it wasn’t possible. Sidouf was in front of her, blocking the stairs and the others were blocking the exit. She didn’t know what to reply either, she hadn’t thought about a story to say if she was discovered, she hadn’t wanted to even think about that. She remained thus silent.
“Your silence is a proof, Husa! You know that?”
“I…I know but I’ll be rewarded by the mighty Baal for my work.”
“Pff! Mighty Baal. Telling his disciples they are shits and letting them beating girls like you, that’s surely really mighty stuff. You know what? Your Baal is just a coward, a reject god with an inferiority complex who says that people are nothing cause it’s his only way to feel superior!”
“How dare you to insult the great Baal? You blasphemed!”
“And I’ll continue! What about your Baal has no balls?”
“Stop it or you’ll regret it when the wrath of Baal will strike you!”
“Booo! Jeez, you almost scared me to death! I’m the Slayer, Hu, loser gods like that won’t be a problem for me. I’ll show you how to kick some serious god’s ass. If he dares to come to me!”
“Oh he will and sooner that you thought, bitch! When the great Zeishan will…”
“Will what, Husa.” For the first time, Buffy intervened in the talk. She had remained silent when she had understood what Faith wanted to do but now that Husa had discovered she had been played with, there was no more reason not to speak.
The young servant didn’t say a word and they all knew that she wouldn’t add anything. Sidouf then asked Mansur and another trusted servant to escort Husa to the palace to deliver her to the guards then, showed the way of the living room to the slayers. Once inside the place, he said:
“This Zeishan, I’ve heard lots of rumours about him. He is the leader of the Babylonian vampires. Some think that he is as old as the city itself. Did you hear anything else?”
“Only something about a new beginnings and worthy people, nothing else except that whatever they are preparing, it will happen soon.”
“Well, I have to check with…”
“The emperor, blahblahblah, we know the disk!”
“I follow the rules and avoid trouble, Nazra. Not like some girls I know!”
“Well, “daddy”! Look what we’ve found while we were not following rules!”
“I…We’ll discuss about that later!”
Sidouf looked at them one more time before exiting the room.
“This game for the slayers, B.”
“Yep, but beware to Sidouf II, the revenge. I don’t think he would spare us this time!”
“We’ve known worse!”
“Yes! By the way, nicely done, the whole badass Faith crushes Baal thing!”
Opening her arms matter of factly, Faith replied: “People have to use what they are good at! I’m good at pissing people off so…”
“All right, all right! Please, stop throwing flowers to yourself. Soon, you’ll be stuck under them.”
“You’re just jealous!”
Buffy rolled her eyes, which made Faith smirked. Then, Buffy took one of the scrolls she had read previously and began to look at it.
“Er..B? What are you doing?”
“This Zeishan guy! I’m sure I’ve seen his name in one of these scrolls.”
“Oh!”
Buffy raised her eyes and looked at her friend seriously.
“You say anything about books, scrolls, British or tweed and I kick you ass!”
Faith smirked again then also took a scroll.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping! If you don’t find anything quickly, I’ll be the one who would have to support you whining…just not in the mood.”
“I don’t…” seeing Faith’s smile, Buffy didn’t finish her sentence and turned her attention back to her scroll.
Escorted by the two servants, Husa was in deep thoughts. She was completely oblivious of her surroundings. Granted, she knew where they were leading her but didn’t really care right now. No, she had failed Baal in revealing Zeishan’s name and it depressed her. She had always hoped that, one day, the mighty god would reward her devotion, that she would finally be more than a mere individual, a worm as Damus always called her. But this failure wouldn’t be unnoticed, on the contrary, this failure would probably ruin all her hopes.
She just hoped that Zeishan wouldn’t suffer from what she had said. She had seen the guy only once. He was handsome and noble. She had met him the day Damus had sent her to Sidouf. It was this day that she had been honoured to see the Higher Priest of Baal that existed as her master had introduced him. In her heart, he represented everything she desired to achieve, beauty, charisma, devotion and prestige…and now, she had failed him. No, she couldn’t let her mistake ruin everything, she had to do something to repair what she had done.
The two servants weren’t really soldiers, besides, they knew her as the sweet, shy servant of Rana. They hadn’t even checked if she had weapons on her. Slowly returning back to the present moment, she noticed that the night had come and that they were very close to the Palace now. They just had to go through a dark alley to join the place around it. It was now or never for Husa.
Once they had done a few steps inside the alley, Husa took the small knife that she hid in her sleeve and quickly attacked Mansur who she knew was the most dangerous of the two men. Surprised by the move, Mansur didn’t react and wouldn’t anymore. The knife cut his throat open as Husa had wanted to. Terrified by the sight of his ally falling on the ground, lifeless, the second servants stayed frozen from the shock and didn’t react either when Husa repeated her performance on his own throat. Sweating both from the physical action she had done and the anxiety that was hers, Husa didn’t let fear take possession of her. The two servants were laying in the alley and sooner or later, someone would find them. She had to go to the temple and warn the priests. It was her duty as follower of Baal.
“Faith! I got him!”
The brunette happily let her scroll fall on the floor and nodded to Buffy.
"Zeishan. One of the oldest vampire in action. According to the legend, he was a disciple of Baal himself, a powerful mage with lots of occult lore. A vampire that led a cult that honoured Tiamat, the evil dragon, sired him. Great charisma, blablabla, nothing else."
“So, big bad vampire with kick ass powers who is organising something big for the following days…is it me or is there a kind of déjà vu in this?”
“New baddies, new slayers but always the same goals.”
“Only now, we don’t have to battle the present baddies but their grannies and pappies as well!”
“Do you think that’s the reason we’re here? To stop Zeishan and his apocalypse team?”
“Don’t know but someone has to stop them and as they are vampires and I’m the Slayer…Well, seems like I have to stop them.”
“We have to stop them!”
“B! You’re not a slayer here!”
“But I’m still a slayer in my heart, in my head, Faith! I feel like a slayer! I have to do something to help!”
“OK, OK so, what now?”
“Two options! Staying here waiting for Sidouf or going out and pay a visit to the priests of Baal.”
“You know me, B. Never been the one who waits.”
“Let’s go then!”
“Yeah, but stay behind me, OK?”
Buffy sighed but nodded as Faith and her moved towards the exit.
Husa was now inside the temple, in the room where Damus prepared his material for the rituals. She had just seen two priests enter the room and had wanted to join them, to ask them where Damus was. But, once she had reached the room, they weren’t there anymore. The room was empty and it was strange, as the entrance she had taken was the only exit! Or, at least, the only visible exit! That should be the solution! She began to scan the walls and soon found the stone that opened the passage. Carefully, she began to descend the stairs and stopped when she reached the final one.
In front of her, illuminated by the light of the torches, she could see the priests of Baal and other people, stocking material in chariots. She could hear conversations from her observation point, learned that Damus was currently out, gathering the Baal’s chosen… she wasn’t one of them thus but, it didn’t mean that she had to forget her mission. She had to warn them. She was about to make her presence known when, suddenly, one of the priests let a huge vase fall on the right foot of another person. That person’s face was automatically transformed to a face that had nothing human. It was a monster. The priests of Baal were allies with monsters. While the vase was rolling on the dust, the vampire, furious, grabbed the priest and twisted his head before throwing him away, next to the vase. Then, he ordered some servants to take the vase away carefully as it appeared that it was very important for the ceremony.
Panic took possession on her now and, quickly, she climbed the stairs back to the temple. She had to run out of this place, run far away from these monsters but, as she reached the room, she felt something, no someone, grab her hair. Then, without having the time to think, she was thrown to the wall and fell on the floor. She raised her head, scared as hell to meet Zeishan’s eyes.
“Well, well! Curiosity killed the cat…guess who the cat is?”
“No, don’t hurt me, please!”
Putting his vamp face, he approached the terrified girl.
“And why shouldn’t I hurt you? You’ve discovered too much for your own good!”
Struggling with words, trying to save her life, Husa babbled:
“The Slayer, Sidouf…They know about the Great Ceremony, they know your name…they…they were at the meeting this afternoon, they will soon be here and…”
“They’ll be too late but, thanks for the info! It’s another proof of Damus incompetence. As soon as the Ceremony will be over, he’ll regret it.”
“Does…Can I leave? Please, I don’t want to die!”
“Well, no! See, I want to see the sunrise sometimes but can’t…sorry, pretty face, people don’t get what they want every time.”
The Master Vampire took the girl by the shoulders and dig his fangs in her neck, savouring the girl’s blood.
Sidouf finally reached the doors of the emperor personal quarters. A few minutes before, he had discovered the bodies of his servants in the alley. Husa was gone and she would probably warn Damus now. She had to see Nebuchadnezzar. He was the only one who could order the soldiers to arrest the priests of Baal. Inside of him, Sidouf knew that they had to be quick…something huge was coming and it wasn’t a happy something. They had to prevent or stop it. Nervously, Sidouf waited for the soldier he had just talked about to come back to lead him to the emperor…he just hoped that he would be back quickly.
The nest was now completely empty. The last chariot had just left the cave through a tunnel that surfaced outside the city. Zeishan had left the place in this chariot after having ordered three of his minions to clean the temple and the cave. He didn’t want his enemies to find any clue that could lead them to him. One of them had gone to the temple to do a rapid check while the two remaining vampires were scanning the cave just in case.
“It’s stupid! The chariots have brought any evidence away from here. There is nothing left in this nest except this fool.”
Looking at the direction indicated by his partner, the second vampire saw the body of the man who had unwillingly let fall the vase a little less than an hour before. Smiling, he then noticed something on the ground, next to the body.
“Hey, what’s this?”
He pointed his finger to what he had seen in order for the other vampire to spot it too. It looked like traces on the sand. They began walking towards these traces when they heard something falling from the stairs that led to the temple. They quickly looked into that direction just in time to see someone hitting the ground at the end of the stairs before vanishing into dust.
They had just had the time to recognize the vampire that had left them to check the temple before hearing someone descend the stairs. Stunned by what had just happened, they stayed at the same place, ready to fight whoever was coming. After a few seconds, a young woman with dark hair appeared in front of them. The Slayer. Scanning the place, the brunette said:
“Nice place! I’ve seen worse, you know.”
“Slayer!”
“OK, that remark…not very original!
“How did you…”
“…find the secret entry? Thanks to Mister Dust Now! We were in the room when he came so…By the way, I came to meet a fucking celebrity, some nasty guy named Zeishan! You know where I could find him?”
The two vampires didn’t reply, instead, they charged her, vamp faced. Faith was expecting the move. These vampires were lackeys and lackeys usually charged without double thinking. She dodged the fist of the first one and pushed him away while squatting down. She kicked then the second vampire in the legs, a move that made him fall backwards before standing up again just in time to block a second attack from her other opponent. She then rotated enough to throw him on her partner who was standing up and didn’t see him coming.
Both bloodsuckers fell on the ground. At that moment, Faith took one stake in each hand and jumped on them, dusting them in the move. She then stood up and suddenly heard someone clapping in her hands. She slowly turned around and saluted Buffy, who was coming, as a comedian would salute his public at the end of his representation.
“Precision, rapidity and strength! Sidouf would be proud.”
“Well, they weren’t that tough!”
“Seems like the bad boys have taken the French leave!”
Noticing the puzzled look she was receiving from Faith, Buffy asked: “What?”
“You know, you’re beginning to get creepy! Talking like a damn British tweed guy. Listen to you, you sounds like a fucking watcher with your ‘Precision, rapidity and strength’ or your ‘French leave’.”
“Now that you speak about it…looks like Rana is very fond of research. Oh God, I’m turning into her…I’m turning into Giles!”
Faith couldn’t prevent a laugh from escaping her lips when she noticed the horrified look Buffy was giving her. She was expecting a slap in the arm or a retort but didn’t receive any. Instead, she saw Buffy looking at something to her right. She turned her head and spotted the body of a man. They slowly approached it and stopped just in time to avoid the traces in the sand. They both knelt next to them. There were five different symbols printed in the sand, surrounded by lines.
“Look at this, B! Something heavy had rolled from the place I dusted the vamps to here.”
“Yes, a vase I guess, I don’t see any other circular thingies with symbols on them. We’re lucky they hadn’t had the time to erase them.”
“And with your new super Giles power, can you translate them?” Faith asked smiling.
“Actually, I think so, oh uneducated one…” she stopped then continued. “I didn’t say that, right?”
“Yes, you said uneducated!”
“OK, I’ll copy the symbols, we go back to the house so I can translate them, then we kicked Zeishan’s ass and find a way home before I sing the "God save the Queen". Deal?”
Faith smirked and nodded, too busy trying not to laugh. She let Buffy carefully drawing the symbols on a scroll to check the rest of the nest but found nothing. So, when the blonde had finished her task, they moved to the stairs. They were on their way to reach Damus’ room when they heard voices coming into their direction. They quickly made their way back to the cave and, while Buffy hid herself in a corner, Faith waited next to the door, ready to strike the first person that passed the entry. They waited a few minutes before seeing one of Nebuchadnezzar’s guard appearing, quickly followed by other guards and Sidouf.
“Better late than never. Hi Sid! How are you doing?”
The watcher didn’t seem very happy to see Faith here and seeing his daughter in the place didn’t make things better. Loosing his temper, he shouted at the girls who had, one again, disobeyed his orders.
“Nazra! Rana! I told you to wait in the house!”
“Got bored so we went to check the place!”
“That was not my orders!”
“Daddy.”
“There is no daddy that matters! You disobeyed and…”
“Excuse me, your excellence!”
“What?” said Sidouf turning his attention to the guard who had just spoken.
“There is no one in this place, just a body, there!”
The watcher and the slayers looked at the body by reflex. The guards were surrounding the poor guy, erasing the traces at the same time.
“Fuck! Could these guys be any dumber?”
“Nazra, shut up! Captain, keep a few men here and go back to the emperor! Tell him, I’ll make my report as…”
“SCREW THIS!”
Everyone, Sidouf, the guards and Buffy looked at Faith stunned by what she had just said and by the tone she had used. She pointed her finger to Sidouf and continued.
“YOU! You’re a fucking watcher so, do your job! I’m fed up with your orders and your politics, fed up that you have to report to your damn emperor about every fucking shit! I say screw him! So, you’re gonna follow me and B and help her translate the symbols.”
“Err…Nazra…B, symbols and…who gave you the right to…”
“Shut the fuck up! It’s your daughter I’m calling B. I call her B if I want to call her B, she doesn’t matter! The symbols were in the sand but your boys erased them when the came in. Fortunately, B copied them before. So, you’re gonna help her find a translation and right now. No report or anything to the lazy bastard. Understood?”
Sidouf nodded but the captain didn’t seem pleased by Faith’s words.
“Slayer, I…”
"Did I tell you to speak? No! So, no word or you’ll regret it! Go back to the palace, get ready in case we call you!"
“But you insulted…”
“Yes and what? Who fights the vampires and the demons? His royal ass or me?”
“Er…you!”
“Damn right! So, who is the more capable to track them a prevent a bloody ritual that could bring an apocalypse? His royal asshole or me?”
“Er…you!”
“Do you want an apocalypse?”
“NO!”
“So, who are you going to follow?”
The guard put his head down then ordered his men to go back to the palace. Faith smiled then looked at Sidouf and said:
“So? What are you waiting for? Scrolls are waiting for us!”
Completely taken aback by the events, Sidouf nodded and moved to the stairs. The slayers followed him and while climbing the stairs, Buffy said to Faith.
“That was impressive!”
“Came naturally! Looks like this Nazra chick knows how to lead troops!”
They exited the temple and went straight to the house for a long night of research.
At the same time, Damus had gathered the last chosen. At first, he had wanted to return to the temple to take some of his personal items with him but he had just been warned by one of vampires that the imperial guard would probably be there, waiting for him. It was a pity to let some of his most expensive possessions there but soon, he would come back, powerful and worshiped like a god. What was personal wealth when you’d be a god’s equal?
Savouring the thought, Damus waved his hands and the chariots moved towards one of the city’s exit.
Hours later, Faith was sleeping on her chair. She wasn’t a research type of girl as a majority of slayers except Buffy when she was forced to live with the personality of a girl who liked it. Faith found it funny. Sometimes, she spotted a horrified look cross the blonde’s face when she said or did something that wasn’t Buffy Summers like but rather old and boring watcher stuff. Yes, she definitely preferred being the one with the slayer’s heritage in this story. She was thus now enjoying a dreamless sleep when she felt a hand gently rocking her to wake her up.
“Faith! Wake up! We’ve found something!”
“Mmm!”
Faith opened her eyes and looked at Buffy. She was seeing the blond slayer surrounded by the cloud’s mist only a brutal awakening could cause and the first thing that came to her mind was how cute Buffy looked right now. She felt Buffy push some of her dark hair behind her ear and definitely liked it. Then, they heard Sidouf coming and the moment was lost.
“Ah, Nazra, you’re back among us! Good, now you’d see that we did our job. We have interesting stuff to tell you…as well as scary ones.”
“OK, I’m awake now. Shoot!”
Sidouf sat on a chair and began his explanation.
“One of the symbols we found is related to an ancient ritual called “The Evil Waves!” With this ritual, a master vampire receives the power to awaken the evil present in each person. Because of it, the person is thus completely under the control of his evil side, he has become pure evilness.”
“And there is more, Faith! The ritual usually awakens the evil side of his participants but if some of them willingly sacrifice themselves, the person's living in a certain area undergo the same changes.”
“An area of…”
“50 km² by sacrifice.”
“In other words, Nazra, Zeishan could easily infect the whole empire, even the neighbour ones and find himself at the head of an army of pure evil beings with whom he could easily conquer the whole world.”
“OK, so we know the what, what about the where?”
“There was a kind of plan among the symbols. We think we know where Zeishan will do his ritual. In a cavern, between Sodom and Gomorrah.”
“Why?”
“There is a kind of hellmouthy energy coming from these places, Faith. We think that Zeishan will use it to strengthen the ritual.”
“When will the ritual begin?”
“The sun will rise soon! As a vampire, Zeishan will surely not perform it in daytime.”
“So, we have till the night to go there and finish them off! Ok, Sidouf, I think we’ll need the soldiers here.”
“I think so too. But before I go there…I have questions.”
“Yeah?”
“Why do you call Rana, B? And why did she call you Faith twice during the five last minutes? And what is a hellmouthy energy?”
The slayers looked at each other, puzzled. What would they answer to Sidouf’s questions?
Damus looked at the sunrise and thought about the upcoming hours. He liked the pure beauty of a rising sun, the orange taint that coloured the landscape when the first rays appeared, the intensity of the light. So beautiful and so powerful, two points he had always worshiped. Each sunrise was the same…but each sunrise was also different! The mood of the viewer, the events surrounding him, and various other factors influenced the perception of it. Damus thought about the next sunrise he would see and knew that it would be even more splendid than the one he had just seen because in 24 hours, he would have more power he had never imagined. The thought made him smile.
He had arrived at this cave an hour before accompanied by the last chosen, the ones who would sacrifice their lives for their cause. He had been quite surprised by how Zeishan and his minions had arranged the place. Almost everything was ready for the ritual. The vase was at its place, on the highest of the two natural platforms of the cave, platforms reachable only thanks to ladders. Zeishan and Damus himself would perform the ritual on the second platform, situated 7 to 8 meters on the left of the other one.
Chairs had been placed for the followers. They surrounded the well where the sacrificed would jump to offer their lives to Baal. The first thing Damus had done after entering the cave was verify all the ingredients necessary for the ritual. Now, everything was ready…even Canos, the vampire chosen by Zeishan to accomplish the last part of the ritual was already wearing his sacred toga. Oh, yes, Damus was very impatient to see the next sunrise.
“Do you think we made the right decision?”
“About what? Telling him the truth?”
Buffy nodded before turning her attention back to the horse she was riding. They had just left Babylon at the head of a legion of soldiers, determined to stop Zeishan and Damus before the ritual. It was a strange feeling for both Slayers as they had never had an army to lead before. Focusing on Faith again, Buffy waited for her friend’s answer.
“Don’t know! But I don’t think we really had the choice! Rana is his daughter, you’re not. Sooner or later, he would have found the truth by himself!”
“At least, he believes us! Frankly I had doubts about it…our story is so weird and well, unexplainable.”
“We gave him details we couldn’t have imagined, B! Besides, he said he would help us going back home…the fact that he would have his girl back might have helped convincing him though.”
“Yes, I so want to find my life back, you know, the gang, my job, XXIst century vampires and demons…standard life things.”
“Still worried about turning into super-research girl?”
“It’s kinda scary. It is as if the real Rana was trying to get her body back by imposing her personality, piece by piece…I so don’t want to be there when she’ll succeed in having it back!”
“Know the feeling! I’ve never given order. I usually follow others or react on instinct but here, it’s as if I have been labelled general…it just comes naturally! And that day, in the bath…I…”
Buffy spotted Faith’s cheeks changing colours. Was she blushing? Yes, she definitely was…what was that?
“You?”
“Nothing, forget it!”
Faith tried not to look at Buffy, knowing that the blonde was looking at her and would probably do it till the moment she would tell her what she had began to say. Why was her mouth quicker than her brain sometimes?
“Faith?”
No, she wouldn’t look at Buffy!
“Faith!”
Geez! She could be such a pain in the ass sometimes.
“What?”
Fuck! She had done it, she had looked at Buffy and she was pouting, her eyes pleading Faith to tell her what she had wanted to tell a few minutes earlier. Sighing, she said:
“OK, OK! Drop the weapons!” She saw a smile appeared on the blond slayer’s mouth and felt her own smile appear too.
“It’s just…remember the bathing thing? When I threw the girls out to bathe alone?”
“Yes!”
“Well, it shouldn’t have bothered me! I mean, hot chicks groping me in a bath is a big yeah for me…the real me. And I jumped like a friggin virgin when they touched me…brrr, creepy!”
“Oh!”
Seeing the puzzled look Buffy was giving her, and guessing what she was thinking, Faith continued:
“Didn’t know I played both sides, did you?”
“Well, let’s just say that it’s part of the things I still have to discover about you, F.”
“What? You want to try me?”
“What? Nooooo! It’s just that I want to know you more, Faith! There are still so many things I don’t know about you!”
"There isn’t much to tell, B!"
Buffy smiled to the brunette and added:
“Still, I want to know!”
Faith returned the smile then the slayers heard a horse galloping to join them. They turned their heads to see Sidouf coming.
“Hey Sid!”
“Na…Faith, Buffy! According to the captain, we should arrive shortly before sunset!”
“Why am I not surprised? Timing always sucks when it’s an apocalypse.”
“Sure thing, B. The PTB up there must be fond of suspense.”
“Sorry!” Sidouf replied. “Getting a legion ready for hours of horse riding involves organisation and thus time.”
“Spare the saliva, Sid! We know it! I’d rather wait a little and be sure we have a chance than rush into the lion’s mouth and get crushed!”
She then saw Buffy pointing her index towards her saying: “That was Nazra’s!”
“Em…probably! Told you, B, creepy!”
The petite slayer nodded knowing full well what Faith meant.
Zeishan woke up in the tiny cavern he had chosen to sleep in. It had been the first thing he had checked when he had discovered this place, years ago: to find an isolated cavern inside the cave. A cavern where he could enjoy isolation and a safe exit, known only by himself. The cavern had indeed an opening that led to the other side of the hill in which the cave was. He had just ordered Canos to put a horse there…just in case things would turn bad during the night.
Slowly, elegantly, he stood up, checked his “gift” hidden under a sheet and smiled…still there, immobile. A cruel smile appeared on his lips when he remembered the gift’s purpose. Some people would really be surprised after the Ceremony.
He could feel the last rays of the sun slowly disappearing on the desert. It was showtime. He put his toga and exited the cavern. The main cave was now full of faithful followers, waiting for the ritual, half of them ready to sacrifice their lives for Baal’s glory…at least for what they thought being Baal’s glory. Religious fanatics had always been the best pawns to achieve ones goals and he doubted that it would ever change.
He raised his head and spotted the vase of Baal standing up in the platform, alone. No one would be allowed to stay in this platform before the end of the ritual, no one could. The first part of the ritual involved so much energy that anyone near the vase would be destroyed. He then turned his head to the left and saw the second platform. Damus was already, impatient. The guy was becoming less and less bearable…he would have kill him for long if he didn’t need him for the ritual…fortunately, he could get rid of him after it…happy thoughts…very happy thoughts. Shaking his head to come out of his reverie, he began to climb the ladder to join the high priest. As he had already said, it was showtime.
The legion had finally reached the hill. It was a sandy tiny hill, lost in the middle of the desert that hadn’t been difficult to notice. The entry of the cave was also clearly visible. Horses and chariots were “parked” in front of it. The horses seemed nervous, probably because of the ritual, animals didn’t like evil vibes. It was a plus for them though, the noise would help them to approach the enemy discreetly. There was no guard in sight, which could only confirm the fact that the ritual was about to begin. All the followers had to be attending it. As Zeishan thought that he had erased all clues that could lead them to him, he had no reason to post sentinels. The sun had now completely disappeared. Wasting time wasn’t an option now.
Waving her hand to launch the progression of the soldiers, Faith quickly let it fall before moving towards the entry, followed by Buffy and Sidouf. They carefully passed round the paddock and finally reached their goal. There was still no guard in sight so, they slowly entered the place, followed by the guards.
They walked through a few caverns when they finally heard voice coming from a huge opening to their right. Silencing the guards with her hand then, ordering them to wait for her, Faith walked to the opening to see what was going on without trying to stop Buffy who had followed her. If she had been in the blonde’s shoes right now, she too would have come.
The cave was huge and lots of people were there. Some of them were next to a well waiting for something. Damus was giving a lecture to the followers. Next to him stood a vampire the Slayers didn’t have pain to identify as Zeishan.
“Faith! Look up there!”
Following the direction whispered by Buffy, Faith saw a vase standing on a platform. The vase was big but the most scary thing about it was the black cloud that was gravitating around it, a cloud that was entering it and that was automatically replaced by another one when it disappeared inside the vase.
“Fuck! It has begun!”
Faith looked at Buffy and said: “Go and explain the situation to the pals! Tell them to wait for the signal before charging in!”
“What signal? What are you going to do?”
“Slaloming between the freaks! They are so focused on the Ceremony that they won’t see me.”
“Faith! It’s dang…”
“I know but if we charge right now, their pawns would stop us long enough for the bastards to end the ritual. We’ll be screwed! I have to be next to them to stop them. You know I’m right, B!”
“Promise me to be careful, Faith!”
The dark Slayer smiled: “I’ll do my best, B. I promise!”
Reluctantly, Buffy walked back to the legion while Faith, innocently, entered the cave.
The dark clouds that were surrounding the vase now fascinated Zeishan. He was so close of this power he had dreamed about so many times. Damus had finished the incantations, incantations that only a human being could do. Now, it was time for his speech.
“Baal and Tiamat are the true gods, the true masters of our lives, our destinies. We have all been chosen for tonight’s ceremony and soon, we’ll all feel their powers in our bodies. But this world is full of infidels whose minds are lost or corrupted by other so-called divinities. They have to see the light, we can make them see the light. Unfortunately, this has a cost, a cost that some of you willingly agree to pay. Just remember that your sacrifice will not be vain.”
At these words, the individuals gathered next to the well screamed before jumping into it, sacrificing themselves and for each sacrifice, a new cloud came circling around the vase that was now almost entirely surrounded by it.
Faith didn’t look at the sacrifices. Her heart bled because of these stupid deaths but she had a mission to accomplish. Besides, the sacrifices wouldn’t be there to battle the soldiers when she would give them the signal. She was currently climbing the ladder and arrived at the top of it. The crowd was completely oblivious of the presence, too focus on the sacrifices.
She silently put her right foot on the platform. There were three people on the platform. Damus, Zeishan and a third vampire. She took her sword out of her belt and slowly walked towards the nearest vampire. It wasn’t Zeishan but he had big muscles and was probably the older vampire’s bodyguard, which meant that he was a dangerous foe.
Zeishan had a hard time trying to keep his concentration. There was just the final part of the ritual to perform, just a single part and he would rule. The world would know a new beginning…an evil rebirth. He looked at Canos, ready to give him the signal when dust came into his eyes after a soft noise. What the hell was happening? Rubbing his eyes to take the dust away he looked at his right and saw her…the Slayer, the person he didn’t want to see, especially now, the person who had just dusted his bodyguard. She had an insolent smile on her face when she said:
“You know, I came here, expecting some aggressive music and cute singers and, bam, instead, I have some fucking cultist vamp sermon. Tss, tss…this would never work, chap, people like when it moves, when it's loud, dirty and messy…your show…boring!”
“Trying to humour us, Slayer? Do I have to remind you that you are alone against us?”
Keeping her insolent smile, Faith put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. As the followers had kept a religious silence, stunned by Faith’s arrival, the sound resounded in the cave and no one could ignore it. The whistle faded away soon replaced by a loud noise…and suddenly, chaos came in the cave as the soldiers rushed in the place, charging the followers.
“You were saying, Z?”
No, it couldn’t be possible. No, it couldn’t happen, he was so close…then, Zeishan remembered something. Even if the ritual wasn’t completely finished, there was still something he could do. Carefully watching Faith, he shouted quickly the following lines.
“Evil is in their hearts. Baal is their masters. Evil will rise and Baal’s power will guide them and they will become his prophets. May their hearts darken now!”
Faith was puzzled by what Zeishan had said. Suddenly, horrified, she saw some clouds quit the vase and flew towards some of Zeishan’s followers, going through them.
“What the hell!”
“The followers have now the touch of Baal. Every person they will touch now will see his evil part take control of him. Then, he will join my followers in fighting your soldiers, gaining this ability to turn the others too. It’s a pity it only worked on humans but hell, as long as I command them.”
Understanding the consequences of what Zeishan had just said, Faith shouted to her men to kill the opponents, ordered them not to be touched.
“They can’t hear you. Too much noise!”
“Probably but they’ll understand. They are trained to fight without mercy. They are trained and your sheep isn’t. They’ll lose.”
Taking his own sword out of his toga. Zeishan laughed, ready to strike Faith.
“You’re probably right, Slayer but at that moment, it would be too late. The ritual would be done.”
And, without adding a word, Zeishan charged Faith.
Targeting another vampire, Buffy let the chord of the bow go, sending an arrow right in the bloodsucker heart, dusting him. Rana seemed very skilled with a bow and it was a good thing. Without slayer powers, Buffy wasn’t very useful in hand to hand fight and she was glad to have this possibility to help Faith. She kept targeting the vampires though. She was still a Slayer in her mind and killing humans was definitely not an option. She had noticed the new skills of the followers though and it worried her. But she had to keep her mind clear now. One moment of inattention and everything would be over.
The battle was raging near the well, in the middle of the cave. The good point about it was that some places were completely devoid of people, as the place she was standing in, just between the two platforms.
“Buffy?”
Recognizing Sidouf’s voice, Buffy turned her head. It was indeed the watcher, escorted by two guards. The smile she had one her lips quickly vanished when she saw the dark spots in the three men’s eyes.
“Oh God! No, not you!”
“Come and join us, Buffy! We were fools, Baal showed me the light, let me show it to you too.”
Buffy wanted to run but the battle was still continuing on the other side while Sidouf and the guards had spread to completely block any escaping attempt. She couldn’t let them touch her, she knew what it would mean. She put an arrow in her bow and threatened them with it. They hesitated a moment. Buffy was ready to shoot the one who would make the first step but she also knew that she wouldn’t have the time to shoot another arrow. That as soon as her arrow would reach her target, the other men would jump on her.
Faith had seen the dangerous situation Buffy was facing. She had almost fallen when she had noticed it. Zeishan was good with a sword, pushing her to the edge. It wouldn’t be easy to beat him and now, she had also to find a way to save Buffy. Analysing the situation, she suddenly saw Zeishan looking towards the other platform. No, his eyes were looking too low for it. It wasn’t the first time he looked that way. At first, she had thought that he was looking at the vase but no, he wasn’t.
Taking advantage of a moment of relief, she looked at the same direction and spotted him. A vampire with a golden toga was climbing the ladder that led to the vase. Noticing that she had seen him, Zeishan said:
“His name is Canos! He is the one that will seal your defeat!”
“What do you mean?”
“The last ingredient for the ritual is fresh vampire dust. Canos will sacrifice himself above the vase and the waves will infect the whole Middle East. Will infect the hearts of every human beings, not only Baal’s followers. And I will have my army of chaos. I will rule the world. It’s too late, Slayer. You can’t stop him, I won.”
Faith didn’t know what to do. She looked at Buffy. The blonde had just shot an arrow on one of the guards but Sidouf and the other soldier were very close right now. Soon, they would touch her. And this Canos guy was close to the platform now…and Zeishan was still in front of her, certain of his victory. She had to save Buffy, had to stop Canos, had to fight Zeishan, all at once…they were screwed…or not! An idea had come to her mind. It was crazy, too Xena like but hell, she didn’t have many options. She had to try.
She threw her sword to Zeishan who easily dodged it but couldn’t avoid Faith’s foot connecting with his stomach. The hit was painful and Zeishan bowed because of it. Taking advantage of her speed, Faith jumped on his back and, using it as a springboard, she jumped in the void. The jump seemed eternal but she finally reached her goal. She landed on the middle of the ladder Canos was currently climbing.
She had just landed on the ladder but she didn’t try to smooth the shock. Instead, she used it and her speed to break the ladder’s balance. It was all or nothing. If the shock hadn’t been strong enough, she wouldn’t be able to do it and everything would be lost. Silently praying, Faith suddenly felt the ladder move. Looking at Canos, she saw the vampire loosing his balance too but he didn’t fall. She didn’t care and focus her attention towards the ladder that wasn’t standing against the stone anymore. It was now balancing to the right.
Using her weight to lead the ladder into the direction she wished it to go, Faith looked towards the place Buffy was standing. Her opponents hadn’t reached her yet. She still had time. She knew that Canos was still on the ladder too, she could feel his weight on it. It was a good thing, it meant that he couldn’t reach the vase anymore. The ladder was in the good angle now, a simple push and it would fall on Buffy’s enemies.
Suddenly, she felt another weight, a new one, she raised her head but hadn’t the time to see much as a foot connected with it. She almost lost her balance but managed to stay on the ladder. She avoided another kick and finally grabbed the wrist of her opponent. It was Zeishan who, following her example, had jumped on the ladder.
“I won’t let you ruin my dream!”
“Too late, Z!” struggling with the vampire, Faith succeeded in pushing the ladder just enough for it to fall. She didn’t care about what would follow, the vase was unreachable now and Buffy would be safe after the fall. Smiling, she then said to Zeishan.
“I win!”
Buffy barely avoided Sidouf’s hand but knew that it was just a matter of time now before the watcher or the soldier would touch her, transforming her into evil Buffy, someone she didn’t want to meet at all. Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared on her. She saw the two men raise their heads, puzzled about this apparition. She imitated them and saw a ladder falling on them. Jumping to her left, she landed roughly on her side and was soon covered by dust, flying everywhere further to the shock. Coughing and crying, she stood up and looked at the mess caused by the fall.
Sidouf had his leg caught under the ladder. The soldier hadn’t had his chance though. His body was laying under the thing, lifeless. A vampire was also trying to get out of the ladder, visibly injured by the fall. He should have been at the top of the ladder when it had fallen. Then, Buffy spotted the person who had probably saved her life. Faith who was rolling on the ground fighting Zeishan. Spotting her arrows on her left, Buffy grabbed them, kept one of them then threw the others towards Faith, hoping that the brunette would notice them. Then, she ran to the injured vampire and staked him easily.
Faith and Zeishan were rolling on the sand. He was trying to put his hands around her throat to strangle her but Faith’s hands were holding his wrist to push him away. The vampire had probably lost his sword in the fall. Taking advantage of an opening in the vampire’s guards, she headed him then used her feet to throw him away. She didn’t waste time then and grabbed one of the arrows she had seen Buffy throw.
The vampire and the Slayer were now facing each other for what they both knew would be the last strike. Around them, the battle was ending. As Faith had said, the soldiers were too well trained to loose.
“You have a last word, Z? You know, posterity and shits.”
“Go to hell, Slayer!”
He charged her, full speed, tried to hit her with a punch she easily blocked before giving him an uppercut that send him backwards. He regained his balance but knew he had lost. He tried to punch Faith one more time but she wasn’t there anymore, she was on his other side, digging her arrow in his chest, in his heart. As he transformed into dust, Zeishan cried, cried his lost dream.
Entering Zeishan’s place, Damus smiled for the first time since the Slayer’s arrival. He had made it, had avoided the soldiers, the battle, had even gained the power of Baal. With his knowledge and his new power, he could start over, gather new followers and try the ritual again. And for that, he had to exit the hill. As Zeishan was a very intelligent planer, Damus was sure he had an emergency exit somewhere in this cavern, an exit to future. The place was dark but he could feel some fresh air coming from the back. That had to be it.
Suddenly, he saw the sheets, next to Zeishan’s bed move. Someone was there. Frozen by surprise, Damus saw someone coming out of the sheets, a vampire, a woman…a woman he knew too well.
“Hu…Husa!”
The woman smiled.
“Master Damus! What’s wrong?”
“The Slayer and the soldiers…they’ve stopped the ritual, worm! The others are dead? We have to get out of here.”
He tried to push her out of his way but she dodged and grabbed him by the neck. Completely surprised by the move, Damus didn’t know what to do. Then, he felt an incommensurable pain in his mouth. Husa let him fall on the ground, still holding the priest tongue in her hand.
“Yes, we should go. Show me the way, WORM and maybe, maybe I’ll let you leave!”
Damus had rarely been afraid. True, Zeishan had scared him but he had never feared someone as he was fearing Husa right now. The girl he had used all her life, the slave he had beaten and abused for his pleasure. The girl who would kill him painfully. He knew it but he had to obey. After all, as long as he lived, there was still hope.
The slayers were back at Sidouf’s house. Part of them was happy to have, once again, won, the other part wasn’t as the price to pay had been heavy. A quarter of the soldiers was dead…and Sidouf hadn’t survived his injuries. The sadness was visible on their face and on those of the servants when they had told them the news. They were now watching the sunrise on their balcony, laying on the grass, side by side.
“It’s so unfair! He didn’t deserve it.”
“Life is unfair, B. You should know that now.”
“I know! Still, losing someone always hurts.”
“That’s what makes us different from monsters.”
“Yeah!”
They remained silent for a while before Faith asked.“What are we gonna do now? I mean how do we go back home now? We have beaten Zeishan and now…Our theory that said we were here for it doesn’t seem to be the good one.”
“Don’t know! I think I’ll play research girl, trying to find something in Sid’s scrolls. He showed me some of them that might help us…but I’ll do it later. Now, I’m too tired to do anything good.”
“So am I! I don’t think I’ll have the courage to go to bed. I’ll stay here, sleep under the stars.”
Buffy smiled. “Who would have guessed, badass Faith is a romantic!”
“Every girl has secrets!”
“Faith!”
“Mmh?”
“Thanks! For saving my life!”
“You would have done the same!”
“Yes but, thanks anyway!”
“You’re welcome. Night B.”
Buffy saw Faith close her eyes before replying “Night Faith.” She then went to her room and fell asleep instantly.
Faith woke up suddenly. Someone was shaking her.
“Faith! Faith! Get up! It’s time.”
She took a few minutes to recognize who the girl in front of her was. It was Magda, her cellmate. What the hell was going on? She was still in jail. Was it just a dream? Had she dreamt about all of this, about Babylon, Zeishan, etc…Had…had she dreamed about her new friendship with Buffy? Now, it couldn’t be a dream! No! It was too real, felt too real! It couldn’t have been a dream. That was so unfair!
The alarm rang, waking Buffy up. An alarm, in Babylon? Something was definitely wrong! She opened her eyes and realized that she was back home! Had she dreamt? Even if her mind was telling her that it had felt too real to be a dream, she had just woken up in her bed and, she checked the date on her watch, she remembered having spend more than a week in Babylon…and her watch indicated that she had read the student file only yesterday! So, was it a dream? And Faith? Was she a part of this dream? Was their friendship really starting over? Oh God, she hoped so!
...continued in Slayers Journeys II: And a Fire Burned the Night...