Title: Manifest Darkness
Episode 11
Authors: Sovereign and Elizafan568
Rating: R - things get dark fast.
Notes: This story starts half way through season five of Angel in the episode "Damage". It goes AU from there with some cannon parts to it.
Summary: The inevitable clash is nigh, and when over, a new destiny will be written.
Feedback: Sovereign - xsovereignx@yahoo.com and
Elizafan - elizfaith568@yahoo.com
**
"What the...Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?" Miller said, completely caught off guard. His voice booming with a confidence he no longer had. The attack and the situation with Raven causing him to lose almost all of it.
The small black haired girl looked up at Colonel Miller's six foot muscular frame and dead into his eyes. One would almost have found it funny to see, unless they were in the Colonel's shoes. Samara had literally stuck the barrel of the gun up his left nostril, and kept sliding her finger up and down the trigger, within the trigger guard. "I'm Samara St John you rotten bastard, and unless you start telling me and my girls here some very interesting stories, I'm gonna empty your freaking brainpan all over the damned wall." she paused. then nodded. "Yeah, all over the damned wall. Where's Raven Raines?"
"You mean that little bitch who's the Empress' new Princess? She's around here somewhere. Please tell me you're here to kill her and do me a favor. She's getting way too much influence way to quickly." he sputtered out, extremely nervous but at the same time hoping this was his chance to oust Raven once and for all.
Samara eased the gun back enough that it wasn't making contact with the man anymore, but the half inch that was between the barrel and the Colonel's face meant nothing. "You know that is the second time someone has said that Raven had thrown in with you guys. The lie is getting pretty damned old." she pause, looking at the jacket the colonel was wearing. "Woah, do you guys all have jackets like that?"
Miller looked down at his jacket and then quickly back up at the barrel of the gun. "This? For the most part. Different ranks have slightly different departments. Mines one of the highest you can have. Why does it matter?" he said, unable to take his eyes off the gun in his face.
"Because it's mine." Samara said, stepping back a bit. "Jerre, take that form the nice man after he pulls it off would you?"
A short haired girl of nondescript features came and took the jacket once Miller had wiggled out of it. The other three girls just looked at Samara with bewildered looks. She replied defensively. "It's crime I know, but you can't feel bad during crime, only after, plus, he's evil anyway. not like a real person." Samara turned her attention back to Miller. "Now. I apologize for interrupting your brutal interrogation, now tell me where she's at!?"
Miller swallowed hard as sweat covered his face. "With the Empress last I heard. She was supposed to be getting new clothing...robes suitable for a dark princess and protégée of our empress. She can't stand for people to not be dressed the part, and with as close as the two of them have gotten, she's definitely taken an heightened interest in how others see her." He mumbled out, knowing that if the empress found out about his telling so much he would be dead, but with Raven around, he was dead anyways.
Samara felt a sinking in her chest. That answer was too detailed, and stunk of truth. Raven was now the number two in evilsville? The world was an unjust place, no one ever had to remind Samara of that but for Raven to change sides was just too much. Wasn't there a point where there was too much wrong in the world? Where something good had to happen? Samara stepped back. "You are... you're gonna lead us to where the door or gate or whatever is that you slugs slid through, and you're gonna help us turn it off real permanent like. Then you get to live." Samara furled her eyebrows for a moment, then continued. "Yeah. you get to live a good long while. well, maybe not good, and not that long, but longer than if I shoot you now.'
"I'll do it but you won't get far. There's several security check points along the way as well as all the technicians working there." Miller said as he stood up straight and dusted himself off. He also knew that an armored guard made up of some of the Empress' personal guard was there as well, but he wasn't going to tell them that. "Follow me, girls."
Samara stepped back as she let Miller take the lead. However, it wasn't much of a walk. As they ventured down a hallway that was rather long, they were caught out in the open when two figures came around the corner. The first was some horrid vision of a girl Samara could not remember the name of. Loudmouth Slayer back in the slayer keep. Willow's girlfriend. The name, however would not come. The second figure is what stopped them cold.
She had a sleek leather outfit, form fitting, that held all her curves perfectly. The hair had a beret in it that looked as if it could fetch a wonderful price at the pawn shop.. if Macy's was a pawn shop. Her face was heavily made up, with dark mascara and deep red lipstick, and the boots she wore were just the greatest thing Samara had ever seen.
Raven Raines saw the other girls and instantly went for the large caliber handgun she carried. The huge Desert Eagle easily diminished the Beretta Samara carried. In fact it pretty much was the kingfish of handguns, and was the reason the Empress had seen to it that Raven had it. It was royalty carrying a royal weapon.
Samara snapped to her senses and shoved Miller to the out of the way and raised her handgun as well. The two renegades stood, ten feet apart, allies around them, and glared down the barrels at each other. Mentor stared at Prodigy, Prodigy stared back at Mentor, and for a moment the two understood only one thing, Mexican Standoffs really sucked.
Neither, however, moved an inch, just staring at each other, while holding handguns trained between each others eyes.
Miller cowered against the wall, quickly deciding to side with Raven and Kennedy since he figured these girls where screwed. Miller's number one priority had always been to save his own ass and he knew when to abandon a sinking ship. "Look out, princess. They're here to wreck our portal capacities."
Kennedy snapped her head back and forth between the pathetic Miller, Samara, and Raven, a dumbfounded look on her face. "Okay, what the hell am I missing and who the hell are these chicks?" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of confusion and anger.
"This is Samara St John." Raven smoke, her voice haunted. "She leads a portion of my old group, the Renegades here." Raven never moved her eyes, but could tell that Kennedy was outmatched two to one on that side, and Miller, even being amped up, was having a two on one problem if it went that way.
"Raven Raines." Samara growled. "You really did turn into a worthless psycho. Hell, at least when Faith did it, she had the excuse of it being for someone." Samara cocked back the hammer on her gun. "Maybe I off you now, one Renegade for one piece of trash. Seems more than fair to me."
"Try it brat." Raven snapped. "You'll find that Kennedy here is a bit more than just a Hunter, Slayer in your terms, and Miller, he don't look much, but he's got something up his ..." Raven stopped. "You stole his jacket?"
"Yup" Samara replied.
Raven shook her head slightly, "You let her steal your jacket Colonel? Are you even 'trying' to be evil anymore?"
Miller looked up at Raven, a disappointed look on her face. "Well, what the hell was I supposed to do? Outnumbered and a gun to my face, I don't see where I had much of a choice." He exclaimed, trying to defend himself to a woman he knew he couldn't.
"Miller, you're just sad. So very sad." Kennedy said, spitting in his general direction.
"That gun has hindered you before if I'm not mistaken." Raven replied. She looked over at Samara, all while keeping a stern and cold look on her face, she felt very proud of the young woman in front of her. Leading the charge at what should be a tender age. However, it was fleeting and business had to be handled.
"Samara, we can't stand here all day." Raven spoke, getting a slight nod from the other girl.
"Rules of engagement then." Samara muttered.
Raven nodded, and spoke out of the corner of her mouth. "Kennedy back off slowly, with me. Miller you too." She said as she took a step back, as did Samara and her girls.
Kennedy gave Raven a what-the-hell look. "Back off? What the hell do you mean back off? We can't just let them go."
Miller slowly made his way away from the Renegades and over to Raven and Kennedy until finally he felt some confidence return.
"See that girl right there Kennedy? Can your eyes focus on the object in her hand? M92 Beretta. Now, if we don't back off.." Raven took a few more steps back, as did Samara. "...then she pulls the trigger, my brains get thrown all over the wall, and regardless of what happens, the Empress is short a princess. You wanna be the one to go tell her why?"
Kennedy processed that for a second and then relented. "Fine, whatever. But you're telling her we found this girls and that you let her go. I'll be damned if I am." Kennedy said in a hate filled tone as she grabbed Miller by the collar and pushed him away from the group to lead their little back peddle.
"Of course we're going to tell you idiot. Being dead kind of stops us from telling don't it?" She walked a couple of more step back, still keeping Samara in her eyesight. "And another thing. Miller?" Raven turned the gun on the man and fired point blank range, turning his head into gobbets of blood, brain, and bone as it splattered all over the wall and Kennedy. "I hate weak people." Raven giggled, then turned the corner quickly to avoid any possible shooting from Samara and company.
Kennedy followed her out of range and started wiping off the remains of Miller from her face and clothes. "Okay, yeah I hated Miller and would have loved to axe him myself but, was that really necessary? I mean, we usually let the Empress take care of things like that. She really enjoys it."
"Yeah, well you had better get real used to understanding the chain of command here and that chain is the one I'm going to beat you to death with if you don't get it through your unattractive skull that I am in charge here." Raven growled. "I run the show, I answer to the empress, and you don't think for a second that it won't be you making the Empress very happy if you piss me off again." Raven started running toward the command center to let Faith know the renegades were here.
Kennedy, completely taken aback by Raven's little tirade and more than a little impressed and scared, swallowed hard and followed her. "Yes Ma'am!" she exclaimed, knowing for sure now that Raven was in control and nothing was going to change it. It wasn't so bad though to Kennedy, cause she did kill Miller and that was a great thing .
**
For all the fighting that had taken place recently in and around the Projects complex, it was realtivly undamaged for the most part compared to what one would expect. Jill was at the head of her group of Renegades and had decided that the way to do the most damage would be to blow up the ammo storage. Jill had easily been able to "convince" one of the few guards they had come across to tell them how to get there and what the combintation to to door was. Now they stood outside the huge steel door, two unconsious guards on the floor and a relativly dead atmosphere.
"Well, this sure has been easy. I would say too easy but these guys are so full of themselves that it actually makes sense. Now, what was thate code? 32648 I think it was." Jill said as she punched the numbers into the panel next to the door. Shortly after, a grating sounding could be heard behind the walls and the door began to slide open very slowly. Jill and the others braced themselves in case there was any one inside, but relazed when they found the huge room empty save for all the ammo. "Wow..Enough stuff here to fight another World War at least three times over." Jill remarked, leading the girls into the room.
"Fifty Cal ammo, seven sixty two's for the AK 47's. Greandes, frag nerve, smoke and otherwise. Five fifty six ammo, probably for M 16's. Looks like they got the M203 greande launchers too, definately reeks of a combo set up. Mortar rounds, looks to be the big 88 millimeter rounds too. I don't smell a single reload." the girl who had been muttering the stuff looked over at Jill, then put her head down. "Sorry, dad was a real guns and ammo kinda guy, taught it to me. I know about this stuff." she looked at the stuff in wonderment though, as a child in an amusment park. "We gotta be real careful how we blow this Jill, or we get to go straight to hell in a lot of tiny peices." she finished.
Serena "Siren" Trust knew her ammo, weapons and calibers better than most people knew thier own family. Since being raised alone by her father, after a tragic altercation with ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firarms) Agents killed her mother, Siren learned all she could, for fear of needing to defend herself one day. At least that is what she told everyone. She was taller than most slayers or Renegades, topping six foot by an inch, and had a head fullof bright flaxen hair. "Anyway you call it Jill, we gotta do this fast, but with triple care. Anything else won't do."
Jill nodded and smiled. "You're right there. So, since your our expert, what do you think is the best way to do this quickly and effectivly?" Jill asked, knowing next to nothing about guns and explosives.
Siren huffed out a deep breath, then played nervously with a scar on the edge of her jaw, just below her left ear. "Dynamite, Nitro, C-4..plastique.. hmmm.." she looked over the place, spotting a crate that caughther attention. "C-4 charges, easy to handle, safe-r, and also the only thing I would trust to take this mess out." she strode into the room, rippping open the crate to reveal carefully wrapped blocks of a clay looking substance. "We're in business."
"C-4, huh? Works for me. Can you set it to timed charge? So we can leave and get the hell out before this place blows. I don't like the idea of being swept of the floor." Jill said as she furrowed her brow in deep thought. She hoped that this would be enough to do some damage and deal this guys a serious blow. She hated being here and wanted out as quickly as possible.
"Go on then. Leave Trinty here to help me and I'll be done in about ten minutes. I'll give it a thirty minute timer, no twenty minutes. Should be enough time for us to be gone. If not, well, hope you all made confession last Sunday." She giggled slightly as he went about humming and tossing blocks of the C-4 charges around the room randomly.
"Thanks, that will keep worrying forever. Alright girls, lets move out. Secure an exit route and see if there's any other damage we can cause while we're here, but remember, stay low and quiet or answer to me." Jill said, making a muscle and her best face. Jill and the girls filed out of the room, keeping their heads down and moving as stealthily. as possible. As they came to a fork in the hallway, Jill sensed something...something powerful and familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. Whatever it was it was getting closer and it was making Jill nervous. "Wait. Something's up. We gotta check it out, its just...I don't know...I feel like some thing is calling me. Weird I know but its unmistakable."
"Lead the way then." Rachael replied. The mechanically inclined Renegade found a lot of machines that she would have died to tinker with, but could not be bothered for fact hat she would have actually died doing it. However, Jill said they should go this way, and Rachael wasn't going to argue, last time she did it was with Raven at some little store in Georgia, and she wasn't in the mood for any more drama then what was going on right now.
Jill lead the way down an extremely damaged and darkened hallway until they came a large hole in the wall. Jill could tell it used to be a door but as to what could have done it, she was at a lost. Sounds of a slaughter could be heard from inside the room as a body flew out and slammed into the wall across the way, leaving a bloody smear on the wall. Jill motioned for the other girls to duck down as she continued ahead and peaked her head into the room. What she saw, horrified her. The rooms was almost covered compleltely in blood and body parts. A few guards cowered in the corner and in the center of the room stood a being that she could only barely recognize. It was Faith, or at least it used to be. "What the hell?" Jill said aloud, in spite of herself.
The creature, just having finished crushing the skull of a soldier in one palm turned at the sound and took a step forward. Coveredin blood, it looked to almost be made of blood, the single step making a ghoulishly sickening sound as it sloshed in the spilt life fluid. She stopped, keeping the guards pinned in the corner, unable to make a break without being caught. The creature turned, now confirming that it had a resemblence of Faith, but the voice gave the notion full credibility. "Jill Bradford? Why are you here?" the voice was quadrippled still but Faith's tone seemed to dominate the effect enough to be recognizable.
Jill nervously stepped out from her hiding spot into the room, her eyes wide and her face in a state of sheer shock. "Faith!? Is that you? What the hell happened to you? What's going on?" she asked, her heart sinking at the almost grotesgue scene in front of her.
"Vengeance. For all the suffering. It's fair." Faith looked like she was tryig to smile, but all that happened was a slight twitch. "They've hurt too many, and the blood of the victims, it screams so loudly. Screams for vengeance." she replied. Then looked at the floor. "Careful, it's wet."
"Sure, I agree they deserve it but, Faith, look at you. You've lost yourself in the pain and the anger. Last time that happened you lost yourself completely and became an evil monster. Do you really want that to happen again? Faith, please, stop this." Jill exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. She had always felt a closeness to Faith even though she hadn't spent much time with her and to see her like this, knowing her past and how much progress she had been making...it broke her heart.
Faith blinked a couple of times, looking unsure for a moment. "We do not... I mean I don't understand this." she spoke, watching almost with amazement as the Scythe emerged from the arm covering of her new suit. It wasn't the same Scythe, it was a horrific version of itself, and it was covered in blood, as well as seeming to have its own vascular system that tied directly into Faiths arm. "I.. we have not been this way for long ya know?"
"Good, that's good. You have to stop Faith. Your on the edge, I can tell. So please, stop. At least for now. Come back with us." Jill said as she slowly stepped toward her, offering her hand.
Faith let loose a earth shattering scream and flew backwards onto the blood sodden floor as if hit by a truck. Slowly, as she lay there convulsing, the blood from the floor as well as the suit shed into a poll to one side. From her chest rose a strange looking crystal that floated above her body, a like pink color from it. From her mouth erupted a red fog that seemed to move above her head, the Scythe itself seemed to glow and float away from the hand of the slayer, retaining its scarier appearance. Finally a small, rainbow colored glitter emerged and hovered by Faith's feet.
They hovered in their respective points around Faith for a moments, then one by one reentered the body of the prone slayer, leaving no proof they had ever been there, and the Scythe was back to its normal appearance. Besides the blue hair streak and the blue mark on her chest, faith had returned to her normal state as well, and laid there eyes opening, looking disoriented on the now oddly very clean floor.
"Ow." she huffed.
Jill ran over to Faith and helped her to her feet. "Faith!? Faith, are you alright?" she exclaimed, taking note of the change in her aura but still aware that the power was still there, only retracted for now. "We need to get out of here. Times not on our side."
"Jill. Stop alright. Shit!" Faith clutched at her head. She shook it a couple of times. Then came the slight sob. Finally, the hollowed words that were so broken in tone, and so final in their message. "Oh my God. B, they killed B. They killed B."
Jill stopped cold, an intense numbness overtaking her body and soul. "They what?" she whispered, knowing that it was true and realizing that must have been what pushed Faith over the edge. "My god...we really need to get out of here, your in no shape to fight right now and this place is about to blow, literally. I know it hurts but we have to go." Jill said, trying to be strong for Faith and the others who had finally made their way into the room. She knew Buffy and Faith's history and knew somewhat about how Faith felt towards her, but she could only imagine what she was going through.
"No." sobbed, scrambling away across the room until she was able to get to where Buffy lay motionless. She scooped the cold body of her friend carefully, taking time to move the hair from her face. She began to rock back and forth ever so slowly, talking as if the blonde could hear her. "Please come back. Please. Don't leave me Buffy. Please don't go. I'm sorry.." the words began to get more anguished and more loud as she begged and pleased, like her partner was simply going out of town and Faith was unable to allow it. "Oh God Please come back Buffy, please, I'll do better just, please don't go. I don't want you to go, Come back, just. please...come....back." she turned to sob into the dead girls shoulder, holding her so very close as she did.
Jill was lost for words...lost in what to do. She knew there was nothing she could do to help the pain or to make things right, but they had to get out of here..they had to live. It was the only thing they could do and its what Buffy would want. For them to continue the fight and to live their lives the best way they could. Jill put her hand on Faith's shoulder and hung her head, tears flowing down her own face. "Faith...we have to go. If we don't, we'll all dies and Buffy wouldn't want that for us or you. We have to stay alive and keep fighting...its all we can do. Please, Faith, don't do this."
Faith shook her head. "I'll get to see her again. If I die. I can tell her I'm sorry and .."Faith flew back across the room again, and an exact reverse effect of what happened earlier took place, and this time, when it was over, the scary visage was back, although its time not as scary since there was no blood covering over it. It looked like Faith, had red marking similar to Illyria's blue ones, the scary looking Scythe slowly merging back into the arm ir seemed to erupt from until gone. The freakish black with red iris and white pupil eyes. It look at Jill as it sat up. "Now you understand our presence and purpose here." The being then walked over and carefully, and so very tenderly picked up the body of the deceased blonde.
Jill took a step back, tears steadily flowing down her cheeks and overrun with intense, conflicting emotions. "Faith, what are you doing? Please, we have to get out of her now! Faith, Please!" she exclaimed, throwing caution to the wind and losing all composure as the other Renegades looked on dumbfounded and shocked.
The being nodded, then reached a hand up and created a ripple that was similar but different to the ones Illyria made. She gently placed the body of Buffy Summers within it, then waved it away. "Yes, we should leave."
Just then Siren came running into the room. "I found a main next to eh armory so we hooked it to blow too, along with a water cooler and two tankers full of fuel. I rigged it with a massive charge, but we are so out of time now. We gotta run for it now, cuz half this base is gonna disappear."
Jill quickly tried to regain her composure and take charge once again. "Okay, then lets get the hell out of her. Girls, move out double time." she barked as the girls jumped and then headed out at top speed. Jill was left alone with Faith, who she turned to face. "Faith, are you coming with us?" she asked, her eyes showing her concern.
"Yes." Faith replied, grabbing Jill and hefting her over her shoulder and then darting out of the room, leaving the surviving three men from the assault team to die as babbling idiots.
Faith, with Jill in tow, reached the outside of the base right along side the rest of the group. Jill was happy to see that Samara and her group had also made it out in one piece, with someone she didn't recognize in tow. It wasn't the time to talk now though, they needed to get away as fast as possible. Faith, with Jill still on her shoulder, took the lead without word and the reunited Renegades charged forward, away from the complex.
They were not more than maybe half a mile when they saw a flash coming from behind them and heard the massive explosion. It caused some of the girls to stumbling all fall down due to its power but they were quickly helped up by their fellow Slayers. Jill knew that once they got back to camp, a lot of talking was going to have to be done. About Faith...About Buffy..and about what was going to happen next. Jill knew that this story had only just begun.
