Inner Turmoil
by wicked
Inner Turmoil
[reviews]
Inner Turmoil
Slayer1252001
Part of Scotts' Challenge at Ikoly, this is only Part 1 so not all
criteria has been met yet.
One last challenge:
AU fic.
Buffy is 15, Willow is 21.
Buffy is the new slayer. Since being taken as a baby from her
mother, father, and sister (she knows them by name only) she has
been trained at a secret compound in England. Finally she is called
and sent to the town of Sunnydale with Rupert Giles, her watcher,
and Faith, a young potential sent to be basically the Slayer's
errand girl (takes care of the weapons, etc.) (Faith should be about
13).
Anyways, while she is in Sunnydale buffy begins to get terrible
headaches/stomach pain which is the result of her Slayer side going
into "heat". To aid the Slayer the coven in Devonshire at the
request of the council sends Willow to be mate to the slayer (Willow
is aware of her purpose though Buffy has no idea) and to aid the
slayer in her great battle. Meanwhile the Master is gathering all of
his forces to kill the Slayer and take over Sunnydale.
Anyways, the fic can be whatever rating, whatever season. However
the ages should be as above. Willow is the more "experienced"
because of her time with her fellow Witch Tara (they could have been
in love before..maybe Willow asked to go to the Slayer because she
was hurting over their break up?).
MUST HAVE:
B/W (obviously)
Faith
a lack of Xander
a strange smell
a wounded buffy
a great evil force
giles knocked out at least once
Willow remarking on her lack of singing ability
Buffy looked at the scenery passing before her eyes on the
train. Everything looked so different from what she was used to. She
was used to the colors of autumn, calmness. Everything here was so
loud and bright it was almost nauseating. How can the people here
stand this? The thoughts echoed in her mind as she heard Faith start
to awaken. Looking to her left, the young raven-haired girl yawned
and grinned at her.
"Are we there yet, B?" The blonde looked at her younger
counterpart and again felt resentment for the treatment the young
girl had encountered by the Council. She would never say anything to
the Council; she had learned that lesson a long time ago. It
actually seemed like forever. Memories of a lovely blonde mother and
an average father lingered vaguely in her mind. Also there was a
faint memory of a young brunette girl who was just a baby. They were
actually more of a name to her. There was Dawn, the sister, and
Joyce and Hank. Family really doesn't mean that much though, when it
is just a name. The emotions that should be attached, the emotions
the Slayer had read about weren't there.
She had been taken away at such a young age that she
couldn't remember what she felt for those names. Life with the
council had been a learning experience. She had more knowledge than
any Slayer before, mostly with weaponry and self-defense, some
internal balance. The only emotion she had felt was for Faith, the
girl had just turned thirteen last month. The Council had abused,
neglected and mistreated her since her arrival three years ago.
Buffy would sneak food into the girl not like the unhealthy pallor
to her skin. Also when the Slayer was given leave between training
sessions, Buffy would take Faith out and train her in self-defense.
Now she looked at the girl had managed to escape, with
Buffys' assistance. "Not quiet yet. You have a good nap?" She looked
around quickly as if expecting the council to be following her. "I
am sorry Buffy, I really didn't mean to leave you unattended."
Buffy tried to hide her exasperation, not at Faith, but at the
Council. They had turned this girl into nothing more than a whipped
puppy.
"Faith," the Slayer brushed back a strand of the young girls
raven hair. Somehow this girl only two years younger than her had
almost become like what most would call a sister. "I don't know why
the Council said they sent you with me but I want you to know you
are here as my..." She silently pondered what Faith was to her, a
Slayer is not supposed to rely on others for anything. "You are here
as my family." The younger girl looked up and Buffy smiled as she
saw the dimple appear on the younger girls cheek.
"Look!" Faith almost knocked Buffy over as she looked out
the train window and saw the ocean fill the vast majority of the
scenery. It was breathtaking although Buffy was not going to show
her excitement like her younger counterpart.
"Do you want to sit here, Faith?" Buffy got up and offered
her seat to the young girl.
"Are you sure?" The raven-haired girl asked out of
consideration although she was already leaning over the spot Buffy
had just previously occupied. "Yeah, Faith. Go ahead and watch away.
I need to study up on this new watcher."
The young girl looked at the Slayer studying her intently.
She had chosen to braid her hair as opposed to leaving it down. That
right there was a sure sign of the nervousness that she was feeling.
Another sure sign was the glint in her hazel eyes they were filled
with uncertainty. So far Faith was the only one who had witnessed
Buffy like that. The blonde Slayer hid emotions pretty well.
"How come you got sent here? And why did you talk the
Council into letting me come with you?" It wasn't that Faith was not
glad the Slayer had brought her but she wasn't one to trust easily.
As a matter of fact it wouldn't surprise her if the Council had
people on the train, they wouldn't approve of Buffy treating her
kindly. She was less that what the Slayer was.
Buffy reached out and brushed a wild lock of hair out of the girls
face. "There has been a lot of demonic activity and the Council
believes it is the current active hell mouth. The new Watchers name
is Rupert Giles; I will be his second Slayer. The first one was
killed six years ago. He then started to drink and lost touch with
the Council, it seems they had a lot of difference in opinions."
Faith scoffed at that, she had seen the Slayer argue with
the Council on more than one matter. The amusing part was that Buffy
always won, no matter whom the argument was with. "It seems you have
a lot in common with him, then."
"He is a Watcher, Faith. I will do what I am supposed to do,
close the Hell mouth and move on. I can't allow myself the luxury of
caring for these people." Faith shook her head; the Slayer always
acted that way. The sight of the Ocean was no longer offering any
source of amusement. Now they were on a topic that really was of
interest to Faith.
"If you are not allowed to care, why am I here? What do you
want somebody like me to slow you down?" The blonde looked at the
younger girl "you don't want to be here?"
"I do." The girl shook her head eagerly causing Buffy to
laugh. "I just don't understand, if you don't like to care, what do
I mean to you?"
"I don't really know what you are to me but I know I care
and I will keep you around as long as you want to stay." Faith
jumped out of the seat and squealed in delight. That was actually
surprising since the younger girl was normally quiet. They were
brought out of the conversation when the train stopped and they saw
a sign outside the window "WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA." Her new watcher
was supposed to meet them and drive to Sunnydale. As soon as she
gathered her bags, the two girls exited the train.
"God! It is to bright here!" The Slayer winced and Faith
just giggled, "Isn't it great."
"Ahem!" Buffy turned to see an older gentleman rubbing his
glasses on his shirt. "I can tell already you are from England."
"Quiet right, Rupert Giles and you must be Buffy Summers,
and this is..." Faith stepped up glad to be included in any
conversation "Faith Spencer." She shook Giles hand furiously causing
Buffy to laugh. "You will have to excuse her, she gets excited easy."
"I am not a dog, B." Faith stepped away from the two out of
habit. "Well, it is a pleasure to meet you and I suppose we should
be going now." They climbed into a car Buffy had never imagined
herself being in. It was old and ragged, far beyond what she
expected a Watcher to be driving.
"You really should ask for a raise, you know."
The drive to Sunnydale was pretty short and the town was actually
kind of nice. "So this is home." Buffy took in the large trees that
overlapped the sidewalks. They pulled up into a large white house
with the whole white picket fence and everything.
Giles watched his new Slayer and the younger girl. Both of
them were amazed with what they were looking at. A home, a real home
something neither of them had ever had.
The blonde watched as Faith picked up her bags and
immediately stopped her. "Drop them."
"But."
"No, drop them Faith. This is going to be a learning
experience for you as well as me. I refuse to have you following me
around like some servant."
"Sorry." Both girls picked up their belongings and headed
into the spacious house. Giles showed both girls to their rooms and
both were surprised to see that Faiths room was just as nice as
Buffys. The blonde hugged Faith knowing she wouldn't want the
emotion on her face to be visible to anyone. She really tried to be
a strong, silent type as well.
"Thanks Mr. Giles."
"Oh, please don't call me that." Giles held his hand out to
Faith to see if she would accept a hug from him in which she
did. "Call me...R..Giles. Not R Giles just Giles, is that ok?"
Both girls nodded and Faith eyed the television. Buffy
looked questioningly at Giles and he nodded. The Slayer walked over
and turned the T.V on and handed the remote to Faith.
"Would you like to see your training room, and possibly show
me some moves?" When Buffy nodded excitedly Giles sighed in relief,
although the girl was very caring he was afraid she was going to be
rather stuffy. She came down from her room wearing sweats and a tank
top. They walked into the basement and the Slayer took in all of the
equipment. Several punching bags, swords, knifes, throwing stars,
gymnastics equipment.
"I can use all this at once? The Council would only allow me
to practice on what they wanted."
"This is all yours Buffy. You can use it whenever you would
like. There will be rules but I trust you to make the right
decisions and to respect me as well as everyone else."
"Yes, sir." They started with some light punches and Giles
quickly realized why the Council paid such special attention to her.
Her reflexes were extraordinary as well as the power. Even with the
protective gear Giles cold feel the blow deep in his bones. As he
tried to evade one of her punches only to end up with her landing a
leg sweep which caused him to fall.
"You are amazing." Giles really was shocked; no Slayer had
ever impressed him like her, not even his lost Slayer.
"I only did what they trained me to do." Buffy wiped her
face with the towel already feeling herself loosening up.
"No, it is so much more. I can't wait for you to learn all
the secrets of the Slayer."
"They taught me all of that in England." She bent down and started
to stretch out her muscles.
"There are a lot of things I would like to teach you that
they never would. Did they ever once tell you what your weaknesses
are?" After thinking Buffy shook her head no and Giles smiled. "It
will be my pleasure to teach you. Care for lunch?" They walked up
the stairs to the kitchen. Buffy looked out to see Faith sprawled
out on the couch sound asleep.
"Thanks for treating her good." It impressed her a lot that
he actually treated the girl with some dignity. "I know what the
Council is like. She is safe here just as you are."
The girls started school the next day and as time passed
Giles watched both girls start to grow and become just what they
were. They were both amazing in the physical and emotional
capacities. Buffys grades didn't go below a B while Faith struggled
more but she excelled in writing and gymnastics.
Faith had chosen to walk with Buffy while she patrolled and
look after her. "Can you be my sister?"
"What?" Buffy looked confused.
"No, I know you can't really be my sister but if my friends ask, can
I tell then you are my sister and Giles is my dad?"
The Slayer reached out and hugged Faith tight "Definitely
kiddo, I would be proud to have you as a sister. As for Giles I
think you have to ask him but I am sure if you can handle it so can
he." The emotional moment was interrupted by a strange change in the
atmosphere.
A strange mist appeared in the graveyard and faith nearly
gagged at the strange odor. The stench caused a sense of
nausea "God, Buffy...It smells like."
"Sulfur." The blonde supplied. Then a shadow formed and
before either knew what was happening Faith found herself thrown
across the graveyard. Multiple vamps surrounded Buffy and the black
shadow took form. Faith started to scream as the Slayer took a blow
from behind. She lunged up after the hit and threw herself backwards
kicking the vampire into a tree. Another one grabbed her arm as she
tried to stake the previous vampire. She kicked one leg out and
swept both vampires down.
Just as the Slayer thought she had gotten the upper hand she
felt a strange sense of nausea overwhelm her. The contents of her
stomach spewed forward onto the ground while the Vampire, about to
attack, backed away in disgust.
"Buffy." Faith quickly paged Giles with a 911 and a four to
indicate what their location was. Then she bolted forward
courageously and threw herself between the Vampire and Buffy. A kick
landed in the younger girls face causing her nose to spew blood. She
spit it in the vampires face and then punched him in the groin
laughing when he squealed like a girl. Just as the moon disappeared
behind a thick patch of clouds, the Vampires surrounded Faith and
Buffy. Looking around the raven-haired girl breathed a huge sigh of
relief as Giles charged through the graveyard. The Watcher was armed
with stakes, holy water, and a crossbow.
"I say." Giles pointed his cross bow at the Vampire closest
to Faith. The girl didn't appear to be scared while Buffy seemed to
be ill. "Back away from them or I will shoot you and don't think
that I won't." The Vampire was at least six foot tall and very broad
shouldered.
"I don't think you will shoot and you must be a Watcher
because you just can't see the big picture, you know the one where
I..."
"Giles, watch out!" Buffy staggered upright and flung her
fist up into the Vamps nose, then staked him quickly. The warning
was to late as the shadow stepped forward and rendered Giles
unconscious with a blow to the head. Buffy grabbed Faiths hand and
swung her in a circle knocking two Vamps down in the process.
"Faith, stake them...I am going to go after...hey, where did he
go?" Taking in her surroundings she realized everyone had
disappeared. Rubbing her fingers on the bridge of her nose the
Slayer helped Faith up then carried Giles to the car. In the last
few months the watcher had been knocked unconscious more times than
herself.
"You ok, B?" Faith looked worriedly at her sister. "Fine
just these damn headaches are not easing up, maybe it is migraines
or something." Looking skeptically at the older girl she scoffed
loudly.
"Yeah and that explains the throwing up and the cramps too
hunh. Have you told Giles yet?"
Before the blonde could answer a groan was issued from the
backseat "No she hasn't but I know what the problem is and it could
become a potentially larger problem."
"Care to share, Geeves?" Faith asked before the blonde could
make a comment. "Well, I am not really sure she would want you to
hear..."
"What is it, Giles? You both are the closest thing to a
family I have so if something is wrong she should know as well."
"Well, to put it quiet bluntly..." he paused and Buffy could
have swore he was red in the backseat "you need to find your mate."
Faith cursed loudly as the car swerved.
The Slayer wasted no time of informing the Watcher of his lack of
sanity "I need a mate? Giles, I am only 15 years old I don't need to
mate. Come on man, catch up with the times...I am not even allowed to
date yet." They pulled up in front of the house and Giles excused
himself on the pretense of cleaning his wound. As soon as he was in
his room he made the call to England. "Yes, this is Rupert. It is
time."
TBC