the Chronicles of Faith. [BtVS] 1/3

[amber]

the chronicles of faith, slayer of the vampyres.

fandom buffy the vampire slayer. [AU]
pairings faith/spike, amy/oz, warren/andrew.
notes part one of three, through the next two parts will probably never be written. an au in which Buffy died at the hands of the Master and Faith took the mantle.


a beginning.

i.
“I’m Faith.” She eyes the older man critically and her stake flashes out to pierce the heart of the vampire who had been creeping up behind her. “Now who the hell are you?”

“Rupert Giles. I take it you’re the new Slayer?”

“You’d better believe it, Rupert.” Faith flicks her dark hair out of her face and whirls around to face the next two. “They tell me you were once a Watcher.”

“I could be again,” he says, leaning on a large and ancient sword and watching the battle coolly. “If you’ll have me.”

“We’ll see,” Faith says. She cartwheels, staking two more vamps in quick succession, and comes to a halt in front of Giles, barely even breathing hard. “I got my last Watcher killed.”

“I got my last Slayer killed,” says Giles. “So I supposed we could be considered even.”

Another vampire lunges towards Faith and she goes to hit it but Giles is already there. He swings once and the vampire dusts as its head is rolling across the earth. “You’ve got some moves, Rupert,” says Faith. The approval is clear in her tone. Giles just smiles modestly and polishes his glasses.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night, then,” he says.


ii.
“Do you reckon you can get a detention for cutting detention?” The girl looks across at Faith, who flicks her cigarette butt into the gutter and lights another.

“Probably,” says Faith. “If you’re so worried about it, go back.”

“I’m really not.” The girl pulls out a cigarette of her own but she lights it with a few words muttered under her breath.

Faith raises an eyebrow. “Magicks, huh? Show-off. What did you say your name was again?”

“Amy.” She blows smoke out her nose slowly, glances at Faith. “Are you new? I don’t remember seeing you before.”

“I transferred a couple of months ago. I’m not really down with the whole institution thing. What do you people do for fun around here?”

“Well, there’s always the Bronze,” says Amy. “Dingoes Ate My Baby are playing tonight. They’re like, a local sensation. And their guitarist? Hot stuff.”

“Huh.” Faith shrugs, looks her up and down. She seems tough enough, and Faith wouldn’t mind a little Wicca power now and again. “I guess I’ll see you there.”


iii.
When Faith tells the guy he’s a lycanthrope, his expression doesn’t even flicker. “Oh,” he says, as though she’s told him he was failing gym. “Well, that sucks.”

“It does a bit,” Faith agrees. “Listen, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to have to lock you up in the library cage tonight.”

“Kinky,” he says. “Won’t the librarian mind?”

“Rupert? Yeah, he does what I tell him. So, Osbourne, I’m taking you in.”

“Friends call me Oz,” he says. “Do you spend all your nights hunting werewolves?”

“Only on the full moon, Oz,” she smirks. “Otherwise it’s vampires.”

“Cool,” he says.

“Yeah,” she agrees. “I think so too.”


iv.
“I don’t want a neutered vampire living in my spare bedroom!” Giles says assertively. “Why can’t he live here, with you and Amy?”

“Because she’d bloody well stake me when I was sleeping, that’s why. Please, Rupert, give a man a chance.” Spike pouts with calculated artifice.

“You’re not a man, you’re a monster on an electronic leash.” Giles glares at Faith. “Letting him live is one of your more outlandish ideas, I must say.”

“Until I bring down the Initiative, we need him around.” Faith slouches back in her chair. “Besides, Spike and me are getting to be buddies, aren’t we?”

“Sod off, hellbitch,” Spike spits, but it’s less vicious than it once might have been.

“I’m not taking him,” insists Giles. “What if Ms. Calender came over? Living with another man is hardly enticing behaviour.”

“Are you still seeing her?” Faith grins, mischief glinting in her eyes. “Ripper, you dog! When’s the wedding?”

“Don’t you start too,” says Giles with a long-suffering face. “And I told you not to call me that.”

“You know I never do as I’m told,” says Faith, fluttering her eyelashes. “Besides, it suits you.”

“Hm.” Giles ducks his head to hide a grin. “Nevertheless, what are we going to do with Spike?”

“I’ll take him,” says Oz, and the other three turn to stare at him. They had almost forgotten he was there – but then, that tended to happen with Oz.

“The puppy? Now wait just a minute,” says Spike, but Faith kicks him under the coffee table and he shuts up.

“Brilliant,” says Giles. “Now that we’ve got that sorted can I please have a bloody cup of tea?”


v.
“My sister is such a drag,” says Dawn, slurping her milkshake. “She would totally freak if I knew I had some boy I met on the internet over.” She thinks for a minute. “Her friend’s pretty cool, though. She’s teaching me real magic.”

“Um, that’s pretty awesome. My brother Tucker taught me how to like, summon demons,” says Andrew. “I can only get really small ones,” he says quickly at the look on Dawn’s face. “I tried one from the Monster Manual and it didn’t work.”

“The Monster Manual’s not real,” laughs Dawn. “Hang out with me some more and I’ll show you some real demons.”

“Will they be scary?” Andrew stirs his milkshake with his straw. “’Cause I’m not too good with scary.”

“You are such a wimp!” Dawn smiles, though. “Come on, you wanna watch Star Wars? Faith said she threw it out, but I know she only hid it at the back of the linen cupboard.”

“Sure,” says Andrew. “Which one?”

“Let’s go crazy, try all three.” Dawn takes their empty glasses to the crowded sink. “God, am I the only one around here who knows how to do dishes?”

“I can clean,” Andrew says, getting up to help her. “I kinda live by myself these days, my Aunt’s away a lot.”

“Yeah, Faith and I live by ourselves, too. Well, there’s Amy, and sometimes her werewolf boyfriend, when he’s in Sunnydale. Oh, and Mr. Giles, and uh, Spike – he’s kinda in love with my sister – but apart from that it’s just us. And Faith’s busy a lot, with… work, and stuff.”

“Sounds like a crowd,” Andrew says, running hot water into the sink. “But fun. Where do you keep the detergent?”


vi.
“Aren’t you that guy that built the sexbot?” Faith asks when Andrew brings his new friend around.

“My name is Warren,” he says. “Y’know, my girlfriend went to a different country after that.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” Andrew reminds him.

“Yeah, well, she shouldn’t have hit Katrina,” says Warren.

Giles glances at Faith. “What did we discuss about hitting non-demons?”

“Oh, come on, Ripper, she was a whiny bitch. It was fully deserved,” Faith says, and Amy nods her head in agreement.

“Does, um, anyone want some tea?” says Dawn, disliking the rising tension.

“I’d love some,” says Giles, polishing his glasses. “It’s very nice to meet you, Warren. Are you staying for dinner?”

“Uh,” Warren glances to Andrew, who nods. “Sure, yeah, thanks.” He looks around at the assembled group. “Do you all live here?”

“A man’s gotta live somewhere,” says Spike, who had been ignoring them all pointedly up until now.

“It’s a big house,” says Faith.

“Thanks to Giles,” adds Amy, breaking away from nuzzling Oz’s neck. “My place was getting a little too crowded.”

“Now we’re all one big happy Slayer family.” Faith rolls her eyes and flicks the mugshot book shut. “This is impossible. I hate research.”

“I could take a look for you?” says Andrew. “What did the demon look like?”

“Big, red, tusks, spikes, and a stomach like iron.” Faith glances at her bandaged hands. Andrew flips through the book and hands it back to her almost immediately.

“That’s because it was iron,” he says. “Or something like it, anyway, if that’s your man.” He points to a creature that resembles Faith’s description.

“That’s him,” says Faith, dog-earing the page and ignoring Giles’s wince. She stood up. “Come on, team, get your weapons. We’re going hunting.”

“I’ll do a tracking spell,” says Amy, ignoring the look Oz gave her and getting up.

“Can I come?” asks Andrew.

“You can stay here and look after Dawn.” Faith slings a double-headed axe over her shoulder.

“I don’t need looking after!” came Dawn’s voice from the kitchen. “Besides,” she said, re-emerging. “They’ll be too busy making out to care what I’m doing.” Warren looks awkward, but she continues. “I could burn down the house and they wouldn’t notice.”

“Fair point,” says Faith. “If I come back and the house is burned down, you can work off the cost.”

Andrew tries to protest. “We really won’t- I mean, Warren and I are just-”

“Found it,” says Amy, walking back into the room.

“Five by five,” says Faith, barely glancing her way. “Let’s go.”


vii.
Faith awakes with a start, sitting bolt upright in bed. She has been dreaming of the blonde Slayer again. Of the girls getting murdered. Of the sword in the stone. At least it is better than her fragmented dreams of heaven. She reaches to the side before remembering Spike left town months ago.

“From beneath you,” she whispers, turning the words over in her mind, “It devours.”