TITLE: Episode 5-Disaster Spreads
SERIES: Faith, Rogue Slayer
AUTHOR: elizafan568
EMAIL: elizfaith568@yahoo.com
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.
ARCHIVE/DISTRIBUTION: This site. If you want to post
on on your site, just ask.
SUMMARY: Gwen joins the team; Zen encounters Kennedy
and Willow at the tomb of Zentai
SPOILERS: Buffy season 7 and Angel season 5
CONTENT/WARNINGS: Violence, Character Death
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".
Episode 5: Disaster Spreads
"So sorry to interject here, but isn't dealing with Faith your top priority right now. I don't see how running off to Europe is going to help matters. You'll be gone for days." Ethan reasoned to Zen. He didn't understand what the deal with this tomb was but Zen leaving at this time seemed like a bad idea to him.
"I'll be back within the day. This is not an option and you have no say in this. It doesn't concern you." Zen snarled back at Ethan, shooting him a look that froze the blood in his veins. Ethan backed down without another word. Never had he seen Zen so focused and full of rage.
"Fine, do what you wish. I will keep up surveillance on Faith until you return." Ethan said as he slinked away, perturbed at Zen's seemingly rash decision.
"You do that." Zen replied as he lifted his arm with his palm flat out away from him. Slowly a black portal shifted into existence in front of him, just big enough for him to pass through. Without another word, Zen stepped into the portal and disappeared. Afterward, the portal faded away.
***********************
"…and that's how I ended up in your room." Gwen breathed deep after finishing her explanation of why she was in the Hyperion to Faith and the others. She looked around nervously trying to get a feel of where everyone stood on the issue. Everyone seemed pretty satisfied, except for Faith who still looked at here with a hint of distrust.
"Well, can't say I trust you completely after all this, but if Angel trusted you, that's good enough for me I guess." Faith said, letting her guard down a little. She paced around the lobby of the hotel trying to decide what to do next. Connor sat on the sofa alone, he shoulder heavily bandaged. Lorne and Andrew sat behind the checking desk and Gwen stood in front of Faith.
"If what Gwen says is true, and seeing as how she sung for me I don't see how she could be lying, seems like this Ethan and the guy playing mind games on Faith are working together. Question is, what's there plan?" Lorne said as he contemplated the situation. He had already told Faith what he had learned from Vince, which just made her more uneasy after these recent events.
"Wow, this is all so exciting. Some big evil's brewing and it seems to be centered around Faith. I can't wait to get into the meat of this and see what we really got going on. I'm ready for anything." Andrew exclaimed in that ever cheery tone of his. The group shot him a look, however, shut him up before he could really get started.
Gwen walked over to the couch and plopped down next to Connor, who shifted uncomfortably, not wishing to share his space with Gwen. He really wasn't in the mood to be dealing with someone he didn't know. "Well, normally I'd split after hearing about something big getting ready to go down, but I can't let this go. I can't let someone try to use me as a sacrificial lamb and get away with it. I expect to get screwed, but not like this."
"Look, Gwen, looks like we are gonna have our hands full soon and we don't have time to be hosting guests right now, so if you don't mind…"Faith said, finding Gwen to be to much like her old self to be a good thing.
"Oh, don't worry. I'll make myself useful. Besides, looks like you guys could use all the help you can get. Come on, Faith, what can it hurt to have little old me around." Gwen said with a shit eating grin on her face, she was pushing Faith's buttons, and they both knew it. Faith shot her an icy look that only served to widen Gwen's grin. Faith was seething but kept her cool. She knew that Gwen was right, though she hated to admit it.
Faith walk away from the group and looked out one of the windows. "Fine, whatever. Stay if you want. Right now, we need to figure out what our next move is. The vibe I got from this guy was bad, really bad. And I get the feeling we've only seen the tip of the iceberg of whatever he's planning."
***********************
Kennedy watched as the last of the charges were planted at the entrance of the tomb. She and her troupe of new slayers had found the tomb by sheer accident here in Iceland. They had been searching the plains and hills for a group of nomads that where rumored to have a slayer traveling with them when Willow had noticed a half-covered tile next to their campsite at one of the few lakes they had managed to find. Two weeks later and they had uncovered what seemed to be some huge tomb that was definitely old and definitely demonic in origin.
"All right, we're all set up here Miss Kennedy." One of the workers they had hired shouted out to her. Willow had headed back into town with the other slayers for more supplies while she stayed behind to oversee the opening of the tomb. "Ok, clear the blast area and light this thing up."
Once everyone had taken cover, the foreman set off the detonator and the door to the tomb exploded, sending dust and debris showering down everywhere. Kennedy stood up from her cover and barked more orders to the workers. "Alright guys, lets get this debris cleaned up and start setting up for some tomb raiding." The crew quickly got to work under the iron fist of the slayer Kennedy.
Suddenly, Kennedy started getting a weird vibe from the inside of the tomb. Almost like something was calling to her. She grabbed a flashlight off one of the tables they had set up around the tomb during the excavation and started toward the entrance. "I'm gonna go in and look around a bit. You guys stay out here and get things cleaned up." With that, Kennedy disappeared into the tomb. The crew had been around her long enough to know better than to question her, unless they wanted to get a earful.
*********************
Kennedy couldn't tell how far in she had traveled or how in the world she seemed to know where she was going, but she found herself in front of a huge, ornate door made of stone. It had carvings of demons she didn't recognize all over it as well as some sort of demonic language that she couldn't begin to read.
As she reached out to touch the door, she felt a rush of wind come from behind her and the whole room seemed to light up. She spun around to find a black portal had appeared in the center of the room. And from it emerged a demon she didn't recognize from any of the books she had studied. He was black in color with red eyes and a sword at his waist. Demonic faces and parts covered his whole body and his fleshed seemed to almost be alive. It was Zen.
"Who the hell are you?" Kennedy demanded while taking a fighting stance and drawing a stake from her pocket.
"My name is Zen. I'm just here to retrieve something of importance. That, and take care of any vermin that might be sniffing about where they shouldn't." Zen replied in complete confidence. His stance and body language showing no hint of worry at being faced with a slayer. Kennedy watched as he took two small steps foward and she notice that the walls of the room lit up almost in response to his appearance.
"Oh ya, we'll see about that." Kennedy smirked as she prepared to charge him. As she took a step toward him, he seemed to vanish into thin air. Before she could register what was going on, she was hit hard in the back and sent flying forward, hitting the floor face first. She quickly regained her footing and turned to face Zen with a look of disbelief on her face.
"No way. No one's that fast. It's just not possible." she exclaimed, wiping the dirt from her face and the blood from her lip.
"I am." Zen replied with an utter lack of emotion. His face wore the same mask of motionlessness.
Kennedy came at him with a right cross but hit only air. She followed with a flurry of perfectly aimed punches and kicks that all hit air. She couldn't understand it. She detected no motion at all from Zen and she knew her aim couldn't be THAT bad.
"Getting tired slayer. Should I end it now." Zen said, still lacking emotion of any kind.
"Not a chance, you bastard. I'm just getting started." Kennedy spit back, coming at him again with a flurry of lighting fast kicks, making sure to perfectly aim each and every one of them. Once again she detected not even the slightest hint of motion from Zen but yet he still seemed to have dodged them all. Kennedy backed off and put some distance between them, trying to catch her breath and think of a plan.
"This is growing rather tiresome and I do have other matters to attend to, so I think I'll bring this little encounter to a close." Zen said as he took a fighting stance. Before Kennedy could brace herself, she was hit in the stomach by Zen's fist. He had closed the distance in the blink of an eye with seemingly no motion at all.
As Kennedy grabbed her stomach and doubled over, Zen brought his knee up hitting her in the face at the same time as he brought both of his fists down onto her back. Kennedy felt like she was being hit by a mach truck and hit the ground like a ton of bricks. As she tried to get to her feet, Zen slammed his foot down onto the small of her back, slamming her flat against the ground. All the while, it seemed to Kennedy as if Zen wasn't even moving.
A swift kick to the gut sent Kennedy flying across the room, hitting the wall of the tomb with a loud thud. As Zen slowly approached her in the heap she was in against the wall, Kennedy gathered the last of her strength and stood up and swung her right fist right at Zen. He caught it with ease.
"So, this is all there is to the mighty vampire slayers I have heard soo much about all these years. It seems the reports of your power have been greatly exaggerated. Oh well." With that he broke her arm at the elbow. Kennedy screamed out in pain. Zen enjoyed the sound immensely. He picked her up and slammed her against the wall, pinning her there. Zen let loose with a flurry of punches and kicks as Kennedy coughed up blood against the wall.
Zen backed off and Kennedy slumped down against the wall. Her blood covered the wall and Zen's fists. She had nothing left. No strength to fight. Not even enough strength to speak or moan in pain. Zen looked down at her with utter disdain and almost disappointment. He slowly drew his sword from its sheath at his waist and slowly passed it in front of Kennedy, almost taunting her with it.
"Aren't you going to beg for your life, young slayer?" Zen asked with a hint of sarcasm. The first hint of emotion Kennedy had detected from him. She simply spit blood into his face in response.
As Zen raised his sword he detected motion behind him, someone entering the room. Before he could be interrupted, however, he slashed his sword across Kennedy's throat, blood spurting out over him. She was dead before her head fell back against the wall.
"Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!" Zen heard a female voice scream from behind him. He turned to see a red-headed young women standing a few feet into the room, staring at the bloody corpse of the former slayer that now lay at his feet. It was Willow.
"You bastard!" she yelled as her eyes went black and she brought her hands up towards him, magic power coursing over them. Zen could detect immense power coming from this women so he wasn't about to take any chances.
Willow let forth with two lighting bolts from her hands at Zen, who lifted his hand, palm toward her, and created a small portal that seemed to draw the lighting bolts in. Before Willow could realized what was going on, a small portal appeared behind her, releasing her bolts to hit her in the back. She was sent flying across the room straight toward Zen, who spun around and hit her with a spinning kick in mid-air. She hit the tomb wall and was out cold.
"I better get what I came for and go before more trouble arrives." Zen remarked to himself. He took out the amulet he had brought with his and placed it into an indention in the ornate door. It rumbled for a second and then slid upward, revealing the skeletal remains of Zentai, stretched out on a slab of marble, cradling a scroll in his hands.
After taking a second to take in the sight and recite a small honor prayer to his namesake, Zen grabbed the scroll and head back out of the tomb. He walked up to the unconscious Willow. "This witch has great power. I should kill her now lest she prove to be a problem later." However, before he could do the deed, he heard a commotion coming from outside. "Has to be around five more slayers on there way in here," he thought "and I don't have the time to deal with them. Best get going." Zen again created a portal and disappeared.
The slayer troupe and workmen rushed in just as the portal vanished from sight. The sight they found horrified them. The unconscious body of Willow and the bloody remains of Kennedy.
********************
Zen reappeared back in his sewer sanctuary in Los Angeles. Ethan wore a shocked expression on his face. "Wow, that was fast after all. I'm guessing things went well."
"Yes they did. Now get out, I need to be alone right now. No questions. Mo smart ass commits Ethan, understood?" Zen snarled. His demeanor different than Ethan had ever seen it. He did as asked and left the chamber without a word.
As soon as Zen was sure Ethan was out of earshot, Zen dropped to his knees, energy coursing all over his body and terrible pain hitting him. "Grr…Stupid. Creating a portal to travel such a distance then getting into that fight with a slayer and transporting that witch's blast. Too much at one time when I haven't used my powers in so long." He slowly got to his feet and sat at his desk.
"Better wait a few days before I make my next move. But soon, all of this will be a thing of the past and this dimension and every other one will be under the control of my race. Very soon indeed." With that, he unrolled the scroll and began to read. He already knew what it said, but he enjoyed it more every time.
End of Episode.
