TITLE: Season 2, Episode 2(Ep. 13 Overall)-A Rogue Begets a Rogue
SERIES: Faith, Rogue Slayer
AUTHOR: elizafan568
EMAIL: elizfaith568@yahoo.com
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.
ARCHIVE/DISTRIBUTION: This site. If you want to post on your site, just ask.
SUMMARY: A happy moment between Connor and Faith is overshadow by the true twistedness that is Scorn.
SPOILERS: Buffy season 7 and Angel season 5
CONTENT/WARNINGS: Violence
RATING: R
DISCLAIMER: All character are property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. I do not own them. Written for fun not profit.
NOTE: Set post-"Not Fade Away".
Season 2, Episode 2(13 Overall): A Rogue begets a Rogue
Faith sat alone in her room, quietly contemplating the events of the previous night. She had called into work, much to the chagrin of her boss, to give herself time to figure out exactly how to handle this situation. *Now I know how B and the others felt when I went all Dark Jedi on them. I just don't know what to do about it. Maybe I shouldn't do anything? I'm the reason she is what she is in the first place.* Faith thought.
A sudden knock at the door snapped Faith out of her lament. Connor walked in, closing the door quietly behind him. She could she the concern written all over his face, a concern for her. That was something she never thought she'd receive from others…let alone love. Here it was, staring her in the face in one hot little package. She smiled up at him as Connor sat down behind her on the bed, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
After giving her a light kiss on the cheek, he asked spoke. "Are you okay?"
Faith laughed in response. "Okay? No, not even. There's a sadistic Slayer in town who wants to kill me and all those close to me. I don't know what to do about her, or even if I should do anything considering I essentially made her. Maybe I should just let her kill me and save everyone the trouble." Faith said in a voice the reeked of frustration.
Connor turned Faith around so she was facing him and looked into her eyes. "Listen, Faith. You can't do that. You've done a lot of good in the world and still have a lot more to do. You deserve to live, deserve a chance to make amends. You're doing a hell of a job and you can't give up and quite now. Remember, death is just the easy way out."
Tears streamed down Faith face at Connor's words. He was the spitting image of his father. He knew just what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. "But Connor, I killed her Uncle in cold blood. Didn't even know the reason the Mayor wanted him dead at the time. She has every reason to hate me and want me dead. If she was to kill me, wouldn't it set her free? Make her give up this life and maybe have a chance at something more?"
"No, it wouldn't and you know that." Connor said, sternly but friendly. "If anything, killing you in cold blood would just push her over the edge. You know what it is to take a life. It changes you. She'd become a ruthless killer that would need to be put down."
Faith looked down at the bed, sheets wet from her tears. "You're right, but she can't go on like this. Trust me I know. Even if she doesn't kill me, the longer she hunts me, the more obsessed she'll become until they'll be nothing left. I made her and now I have to save her from herself and the thing she's turned into because of me." Faith said with conviction. It would be extremely difficult and dangerous, but Faith had to try.
"Maybe you can help her. You, more than anyone, knows where she's headed. But remember, she can't change unless she wants to…Until she truly believes that you've changes and murderous revenge isn't the answer, then there's nothing you can do. She may already be a lost cause." Connor said, knowing that their was hope for everyone, but after seeing that girl and the look in her eyes, he felt she was beyond all help.
"It doesn't matter, Connor. I have to try. It's all I can do. I owe her that and a lot more. It's the least I can do." Faith said as she leant forward and gave Connor a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and started to get up from the bed but was pulled back down by Faith. "That's not all I wanted to talk about. About last night, what we ere talking about…"
"It's alright, Faith. I can wait until your sure. Your more than worth it." Connor said with a smile.
"And there is something you deserve too…the truth. I can't promise you anything, but as far as I understand love, which granted isn't very well, I can say with conviction that I love you. I love you, Connor. Where we go from here, I have no idea, but I'm willing to try. I think your worth it." Faith exclaimed, a little faster and blunter than she had intended. She had never been one for being subtle.
Connor looked at her slightly shocked, but that look quickly melted away to a smile. He gave her a kiss on the lips and wiped the tears from her face. "Thank you, Faith. I love you too. I'm willing to move Heaven and Hell to make this work. Well, I figure you wanna be alone for now, so I'll…" he said as he started to leave but found himself flat on his back on the bed before he knew what was going on.
Faith climbed on top of Connor, straddling him. "Not so fast, boy wonder. Your not getting off that easy." With that, they were at it again, for their second time. The worries of Scorn and what to do about her faded away with their lovemaking, at least temporarily. Now was the time for love, not hate.
******************
Scorn sat atop the roof of an apartment building, looking out across the cityscape, contemplating her next move. He lifted her right hand to her face, tracing the outlines of the scars there. The scars she had made herself, to remember her mission so that it would be ever present. It was all she had, it was all she needed. The cross-shaped scar on her right cheek represented her lust for the destruction of all creatures of the night, be they vampires, demons, or anything else. They had been the things to take her parents away and she would hunt them forever.
Moving her hand to her other cheek, she traced the outline of the scar there. It was series of jagged lines intersecting with each other. This scar was for Faith, the one who stole her uncle from her. He had been the one to take her in after her parents' death. He was the kindest, gentlest person in the world. He had meant everything to her, and then Faith came along a took him away, killing him in cold blood. Now, she would make Faith suffer the same fate, only much, much worse.
Screams from the alley below pulled Scorn out of her deep thoughts. Looking down, she could make out a middle-couple being attacked by a pair of demons. Grapplers she knew from her slayer studies. Ruthless killing machines that usually worked for higher ups in the demon world. She saw the woman go down and the man on his knees, seemingly begging for his life. She then saw her, a little girl no more than nine years old, their daughter, cowering behind him. Scorn leapt onto the fire escape, and made her way down as fast as she could.
Reaching the bottom, she found the girl cowering behind a dumpster as the Grapplers closed in. The man was laying prostrate on the ground, his throat ripped out. "Stay away from the girl you unholy, sons of bitches!" Scorn exclaimed as she charged them from behind, consumed with rage and hatred.
Leaping into the air, Scorn hit one in the back with a flying kicking, sending him flying forward, face first into the brick wall. The second turned to face her, but was too slow. Scorn grabbed his arm and flipped him over onto the ground. As she grabbed his head in both hand she screamed, "You won't do this to me! Not again! NEVER AGAIN!", and then snapped his neck with a quick twist of her arms, relishing the cracking noise.
Recovering from the earlier assault, the first Grappler saw his comrade dead at Scorn's feet and let out a roar as he charged her back. As he reached her, Scorn spun around and kicked him in the neck, sending him flying into the wall. Tears streaming and voice screaming, Scorn grabbed his head and slammed it against the wall, again, and again, and again.
The Grappler fell limp but she continued to ram his head into the wall, an icy cold composure coming over her again as a sadistic look came over her face. The screaming stopped but the tears still flowed. They flowed over a mask of rage, hatred, and sadism. Despite herself, she got a sick joy out of it. It was something she could not deny nor overcome, so she just let it over take her…better that than emotions. She had to keep them in check. They were for the weak and if becoming a single-minded sadist was what it took to kill Faith, then she would do it without regret. Emotions be damned.
As the conflict between her enjoyment of the kill and the memories of her parents death circled through her head, the little girl, now an orphan, came out from her hiding place. She crawled over to the bodies of her parents and cried, hard and loud. Looking at the girl, Scorn flashed back to when she had found out about her parent's death. She had cried just like this girl, but it didn't help. When she found out about her uncle Lester, she had cried again, and again it didn't help. Crying just made things worse and helped nothing. It was a weakness, one people would do well to eliminate.
"Hey kid," Scorn shouted to the girl, her own tears gone and forgotten. "Stop that now. It won't help. You're wasting your time. They're dead and they ain't comin' back. Better get used to it." True she still cried at times, but it wasn't by choice and it never lasted. Always, the lust for the kill overtook the weak, useless emotions.
The girl looked at her. "I can't. You can't just do that. They're dead. I saw those monsters kill them. I love them. They can't be gone!" she blabbered through her sobs. She had only recently been told about death by her parents and it had scared her. Now here it was, staring her in the face in the from of her parents' lifeless bodies. She cried even harder.
"Kid, I said knock it off…NOW!!!" Scorn yelled, the image of the crying little girl causing her memories to play in a continuous loop, attempting to chip away at the person she was now, and return her to the whiny little girl she had once been. Whiny like this little girl. Then, over all the commotion in her head, one voice thought came through loud and clear above everything else. *Kill her. Kill her now and put her out of her misery and save her from the life you now lead*
Scorn grabbed at her head and face, struggling with these thoughts and emotions that seemed to always be there, but had only recently manifested. She dropped to her knees, struggling with a decision that all of her knew would be the final push…one way or another.
Finally, the pain went away and her senses returned. She was solid in her course. Humanity wasn't important for her to retain anymore. It would only get in the way of her mission in the long run. If losing her humanity meant achieving her vengeance, then she would become the thing she hunted. A Dark Slayer.
Reaching into her jacket, she pulled a knife. One she had recovered from Sunnydale before she had left to hunt Faith. She had learned the history of it while training at the Slayer Academy, having kept her true self and intentions hidden from everyone there, even Buffy. It was a jackal dagger, Faith's weapon of choice while serving Mayor Wilkins. It was fitting that Faith would die by that which she once wielded. Scorn stood over the girl, knife in hand as she continued to cry. Again, unnoticed tears streamed down her face as a sadistic smile crossed her face. "Don't worry, kid. I'll stop the pain, then you'll get to see them again."
The girl saw the knife in Scorn's hand and screamed as she tried to crawl away but was pinned to the ground by Scorn. "Why….why?" she sobbed.
"Trust me. It's better this way." Scorn said as she stabbed the knife deep into the girls chest, then again, and again. Pulling the knife from the girl's body, she stared at it, the blood covering it and her hands. Instantly, she slammed her head and fists against the ground, next to the girl's body. "Damn you, Faith. Damn you for making me do this…forcing me to do this. This is another life on your hands., not mine. I'm simply your creation. A Rogue begets a Rogue." Regaining her composure, Scorn returned the knife to its sheath in her jacket and started back up the fire escape.
"Soon, Faith, very soon, I'll kill you. Then, once I've had my revenge, I'll take my own life. I deserve to die just as much as you do but only after you. Until then, any life I am forced to take is on you, for I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you." Scorn said to herself with total conviction. She completely believed in what she was doing and her reasons for doing. A vengeance driven Slayer with utter conviction and an extremely sadistic joy of killing. *Oh Faith…Aren't you proud of your creation. It's just like you…only worse.*
End of Episode.
