Title: Manifest Darkness Episode 12
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
Illyria began to walk to the camp, watching as paramedics fought to save lives, others bandaged less serious wounds, while some somberly covered the dead with blankets. Illyria was feeling just about back to normal after her run in with the odd crystal. She knew it had no lasting effect, just a temporary one that was able to get forty percent of the attack wiped out with out a fight. As he turned a corner she was confronted by man lying on a cot. Blood was escaping his stomach and he was gasping horribly. Illyria knew death well enough to know that it was laying its claim on him, yet, she could not turn away. Mortality was not a problem she had, but it was something the Vampire Slayer, Faith had. She would learn. As she turned to walk away she got close enough for the young man to grab her arm. she turned to look at him, give him proper reproach for his actions, but he spoke first.
"Don't.. go.. please." he gasped, sweat dripping off his handsome features. Illyria kneeled down next to the man, and saw instantly that his face seemed a little easier.
"You do not wish to die alone." Illyria said, looking at another victim and the nurse next to him, then copied her movements and took the young man's hand in hers. "Does this aid you in your passing?"
"It just feels..safe..er." the mans face began to taka on a calm demeanor, and he had an almost pleasant smile on his face as he looked at her. As he shuddered one last time he managed a "Thank you." Then went still, his eyes still looking blankly at her.
Illyria found herself bothered by the event. She had done nothing, could do nothing yet this man had thanked her. She kneeled there, looking at his lifeless eyes, unsure of what to do. Something in her mind, however, told her to shut the eyes, and that is what she did, so tenderly in fact, that it was completely out of character for her. Some words came, unbidden into her mind. "You are welcome. Rest now."
"I don't care what it takes, just get me all the man power and fire power you can get to my coordinates ASAP!!" Riley yelled into the radio in the communications tent. He slammed it down and stormed out, taking note of Illyria seemingly comforting a dead man. "Has anyone seen Buffy!? Anyone!" he shouted to no one and everyone at once. He hadn't seen here since right before the battle and he was getting very anxious.
"What are you doing?" Spike asked Illyria as he walked up from behind her, giving Riley a knowing look as he did so. "He's dead. Nothing you can do for him now so just let him be." He turned his gaze toward Riley, noting the sweat on his face and the vibes of utter worry coming off of him. "No word from Buffy yet I take it?" Spike remarked, his tone becoming suddenly serious as well.
"None." Riley replied flatly. "Come on, people. Let's get this camp in order. Someone find Buffy, NOW!!!" he exclaimed, his composure faltering for the first time. Illyria gave the dead soldier one more look, taking a little piece of knowledge with her as she stood. "I have sent someone to retrieve her, and Faith as well." Illyria announced. "The small girl with the black hair has lead the Renegades back inside."
"WHAT!?" Riley and Spike exclaimed in unison. "Are you bloody insane? Allowing a bunch of rookies to go into a place like that alone! That's suicide for sure." Spike snarled, his face showing a mixture of anger and utter amazement.
"For once I have to agree with Spike. That was reckless. A small counter attack is sound strategy, but not like this. You should have consulted with the whole first." Riley commanded. Illyria looked at the man in font of her, and was about to say something, when the memory of the dead soldier came into her mind again, calming her urge to silence the man named Riley. "There is not a whole. Angel is yelling at people to find Buffy on his small talking device. You were doing the same." she paused and looked out. She then wobbled slightly, then badly, and eventually having to grab something to keep herself up.
The rest of the command began to come to the point. Angel, along with Willow and Giles watched as the blue girl, who they had been told was actually the Ancient One, acted as though she would throw up and pass out.
"Something is wrong, there is, there is so much power.. raw power, untainted power. It is being used to protect.. something." Illyria wobbled again. "Something important."
"Power? What power?" Angel asked, finally putting down his radio. "And what is it protecting?" "She's right, I think. I don't know any details, but I can feel it too. Something's not right here." Willow added, as she seemed to be picking up at least part of the vibes that Illyria was. Just then a huge explosion rocked the eastern part of the project below. The huge explosions were deafening and seemed to make the whole world roar in agony. People fell down, tents collapsed, one truck tipped over and spilled out its supplies all over the ground.
"Damn." Illyria reached out with one hand towards Willow, a gesture to take her hand. "The battle has weakened me, and I need more power to save those who are trying to return. Help me Hecate's servant, help me." She offered her hand a bit more forcefully as she began to open up a portal in front of her, but it was small and seemed unstable at best.
Willow looked at Giles, unsure of what to do. Giles didn't know much more, but he gave her a nod to do as Illyria requested. Willow took Illyria's hand in hers and concentrated all her power towards her, putting herself at Illyria's disposal. A shock went through her body and her eyes went black as she felt power course through her body and mix with Illyria's. The portal began to grow in size and solidify as the rest looked on in amazement.
A horde of girls came running through, some looking slightly cooked with singed hair and black soot all over them. One by one until twenty two of the remaining twenty three Renegades were safely there. Jill Bradford stood looking back at the portal, almost in a shock. Siren was laying on the ground giggling out of tune, as if someone were inconsistently stepping on her throat every so often. There was no Faith, no Buffy, and no Samara.
"Damn that was.. bigger than I though it would be." Siren gasped as another explosion ignited from the valley below, but no near as large as the first earth shattering one.
"Thanks for telling us that now, Siren. Nearly barbequed us all." Jill said, looking down at the girl as she dusted herself off and looked back toward the complex one more time before turning and facing the group of onlookers, all who were wearing angry looks. "Hey guys, what's up?" she said in that almost ever present cheery way she almost always seemed to posses.
"What's up is that you girls went out on your own without consulting us and nearly got yourselves killed. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?" Riley said, looking down at Jill with a steely glare.
"Yeah, we blew up half their base and we made it back just fine. We also got some information too and..."Jill stopped looking down as fresh tears started to well up in her eyes once again.
"And what?" Spike asked in anticipation.
"It's Buffy ...she....she's dead." Jill said in a whisper that was barely audible. A hush fell over everyone as all sound seemed to disappear from the world. Looks of shock, sorrow, and disbelief where exchanged between all those who were there.
"You can't be right." Angel said in disbelief. He looked at the others, who did not believe it. Willow only missed hearing it as she was concentrating on keeping the portal open. A moment later Samara St John stepped through, looking pissed as a wet cat and only holding a scrap of white cloth in her hand. "Don't close that portal, Faith is coming, and we snagged us a Project higher up too." she looked around, then noticed the down trodden looks on everyone's face. "Damn it Jill. I told you we should wait to say anything about Buffy." Samara growled at the girl in a undertone that menaced. "Why in the hell Raven made you the two shot around these parts is just proof that she is a psycho."
"Girls, girls calm down. Now, tell us everything. Are you sure about this?" Giles asked, putting his hand on Jill's shoulder and looking her in the eye.
Jill looked right back into Giles eyes and answer ans truly and with as much certainty as she was capable of. "Yes, I'm sure. I saw her...her body....bloody and beaten. Faith was there and she...my god...Faith....I've never seen her like this....the way she was towards Buffy...it was just...." Jill mumbled out, her head still swimming with a swirl of emotions and flashes of the recent events. It was all she could do to maintain some semblance of composure.
"She was gone when Jill got there Mister Giles." Samara said, a somber and respectful tone in her voice. "We, us, We're very sorry. We liked her a lot, couldn't agree, but we really liked her and she.." Samara took a moment to put a comforting hand on Jill's shoulder. "She went out like a warrior sir, a brave warrior."
The renegades all became quiet, bowing their heads in silence out of respect for the fallen blonde. None said a word.
"DAMN IT ALL TO BLOODY HELL!!!" Spike yelled out of nowhere before storming off, not giving anyone a chance to stop him or even speak to him. Angel hung his head for a moment, memories of all of his good times with Buffy circling through his head. He knew, however, that grief would get them nowhere fast right now. As much as he hated it, there wasn't really time to mourn Buffy's passing...not yet anyways. He walked up to the Renegades and turned his attention toward Jill. "You said Faith was there. Is she alright? Where is she?"
"I think she saw Buffy die...saw whoever did it too. I think it did something to her...something big. She's still Faith but she's different. Something I can't even begin to understand has happened to her and I'm worried. I think..." Jill was cut off when a swirling wind came from the portal and Faith appeared from it. Faith's appearance brought yet another ominous silence to the group as she stepped forward.
Illyria looked at the strange apparition as it stood before her, a unconscious female draped over her shoulder. She could sense The Ancient Power within, as well as the scythe and the Slayer, but there was something else, and Illyria could not help but be a bit disturbed at the aberration.
Willow released the hand of Illyria as she stared at Faith. Disregarding the female that Faith carelessly lumped off her shoulder in a heap, Willow looked at the suit, which seemed to shift and move the whole time, while seeming to be inanimate the whole time.
As everyone stood unsurely, reeling with the bad news and unsure what happened to Faith, Samara spoke first. "Jill told me that it had to have happened after Buffy died. Faith was just like this and was apparently slaughtering troopers on the other side wholesale. There was..' Samara drifted off, looking at Jill.
"Four or five dozen" Jill replied, shuddering and she wrapped her arms around herself. "Bodies in the room, hacked up. Slaughtered. I mean the ugly Texas Chainsaw Massacre meets Saw kinda way. When the effect wore off, well , Jill said Faith couldn't deal. Kept babbling on about Buffy coming back and how sorry she was and she would do better if Buffy would just come back." Samara looked at Faith for a moment, the sighed. "She can talk and everything, but its really weird and I don't think she is alone in that body either."
Angel walked up to Faith, trying his best to keep a warm _expression on his face and in his demeanor as the being standing before him seemed to radiate a totally different aura. "Faith, its me, Angel. Are you alright?" he asked somberly.
Faith titled her head in a very Illyria-like fashion and spoke, "Yes, we...I mean, I am alright. It's good to see you again. Glad to see you and everyone else here made it through the fight. Everyone but B that is..." she trailed off, looking downward as she seemed to be searching for the right words to convey her feelings and situation and seemingly unable to do so. She knelt down to the ground, digging her hands into the soil as she seemed to want to disappear from sight. Illyria knelt down in front of Faith, looking at her with what most could swear was concern and great care. Illyria came forth with her new bit of knowledge about the human species, and laid a hand on top of Faith's. "She is, safe, safer where she has gone now." Illyria said, almost making her usual dead voice sound warm.
Faith looked up from the ground and into Illyria's eyes. She found truth and a hint of comfort in her words but still the pain would not subside. It was almost more than Faith could bear and looking at all the people surrounding her seemed to make the burden feel all the more heavier. "I know. She is in a much better place...Where she belongs but I feel like everything I've been working towards...any hope of redemption has died with her and I...." she trailed off. "..Am still just Faith." Angel replied, knowing the conversation had turned into his ball park. "I feel the same. I'm still just Angel, still guilty of it all, and no better for everything I tried to do." Angel knelt there with her. "Sometimes, it feels like it's just going to rise right in front of me all of a sudden."
It was then that Jenny Calendar got up, and still rubbing her head she said. "I think being dead would be better."
**
The group, at least those who had been there when the terror of Angelus had reigned down upon Sunnydale, stared at the figure in front of them. Janna Kalderash, a.k.a. Jenny Calendar had been killed on the second floor of the high school, a broken neck, by Angelus himself when she attempted to replace his lost soul. There had been grief, loss, a funeral, some measure of vengeance, and finally closure, leaving only the memory of the beautiful woman who might have, given time, become a maternal figure for the scooby gang.
Now, reality, or rather alternate reality had dealt them a stinging pop right in the face. She was alive again. Her hair was longer, as it might have been and she had a little more age to her face, but still lovely. She still stood with poise, and she her soulful eyes were alive again with intelligence and life. As she stared looked back at the group of amazed scoobies, she reflected their amazement, for she too had last only seen any of them long after life had passed from them.
Having witnessed some of the most brutal deaths that could be suffered by any human being perpetrated upon them, Jenny found herself with tears that they were back again, here, looking at her in wonder. She had missed them a lot and even if they were not truly the ones she remembered, still they were close enough. Willow, Xander, and... The silence in the room seemed to almost make the reading of thoughts possible as the gypsy looked upon the scooby gang, and they in part, looked up on her, unsure of what to say, and so many emotions running on high. As the silence seemed to increase both in length and depth, Xander finally piped up to break, seeing that no one else seemed to be jumping at the chance. "Mrs. Calender, I mean, if that is your name and if its alright to call you that, it's great to see you and all but....well...not really sure how to react to it. I mean, all the Alties we know where evil to the core, total opposites of the ones here, but you seem exactly the same as I remember you." Xander babbled out, stumbling over his words in an attempt to break the ice and smooth things over and realizing he wasn't doing much good.
Jenny couldn't help but smile at Xander's little escapades and let out a sigh. "The same goes for you. You're pretty much the same as the Xander I remember, except he wasn't missing an eye. It's good to see you all to, although I'm not sure what to do or say at this point. I'm kind of at a loss myself."
"Yeah, cuz.. yeah." Willow tried, but her mind to be stuck in park. "Why are you evil?" She spat out and drew attentions to herself. "I mean.. uh why are you working with evil people?"
Samara entered, but said nothing taking a seat in the back of the large tent. She was simply here to pick up any info the Medic might spew forth. Personally, she felt the woman was worth the effort to bring back here, she was unaware of any other circumstances that were going to occur. She did have her own questions however. Oddly, Rupert Giles, while present, seemed mentally absent, save for his facial expressions of wonder and confusion as he looked at her in awe.
Jenny took a deep breathe before answer Willow's difficult yet necessary question. "I'm not going to make excuses for myself because there are none. I have helped them and because of my actions, innocent people have died. At the same time, I have been able to save thousands of lives that would have otherwise been ended. Any lives I can save and spare from the horror that is the project is worth being in the belly of the beast to me. It was all I could do and it gave me a chance to work from the inside whenever possible against them." Jenny stopped, staring at the ground. The mix of both good and evil that had happened because of her since joining the project swirling around her head. She then looked over at Giles for, well, she wasn't sure what for, but got little.
The woman was left in silence for a moment as a man dressed in military fatigues came and also sat at he back of the large tent. There seemed a moment in which every one was frozen, then came a quiet, but gentle voice. "I'm sure you did all you could to help. I have, no doubt of that." Giles spoke, giving the woman what she was looking for, she might not be his Jenny, but she was Jenny and some things hadn't changed at all.
Samara looked over at Riley, who had come in, and gave a hushing gesture to him as he was about to ask a question. She understood somewhat what was going on, and now was not the time for questions about troop strength or strategy.
"Are you going to be on our side now? I mean, really help? Because if you are just some kind of prank or really vicious attempt to get at us using someone special to us then you should know that cliff tossing can get to be really popular around here." Xander said. Willow tried to calm him, but his emotions were raw from the loss of Buffy. "No I mean it, I am so tired of my friends getting hurt and killed because stupid evil things. I need to know that this isn't some really horrible trick. I cant. " he trailed off, tears running down his face as willow attempted to comfort him. Jenny opened and closed her mouth several times in an attempt to respond, but the words just wouldn't come. At last, she forced out a response, as she felt they both needed and deserved one. "I'm sorry about Buffy. I really am, but rest assured I have no other intentions but to help you however I can. I know my word means nothing though. There isn't anything I can really do or say to prove it. All I can ask is that you try to trust me and give me a chance to prove it. That's all I can do."
Another lengthy silence fell over the group as everyone fell into deep thought once again. Giles slowly made his way over to Jenny and put his hand on his shoulder. "I can't speak for everyone, but I trust and I'm sure, given time, the rest will too. I look into your eyes and I see no hint of deception...only concern and a deep feeling of regret and desire to help." Giles said with a warm smile, which Jenny returned in kind.
Samara felt that it was time to do the nasty questions next. "Not trying to cut in but we need to get a little more info then just intentions." Samara said kindly as she could before turning towards Jenny. "I wanna know what's Raven's deal, seeing as she had a gun jammed in my face, I'm thinking she's real special to that wack job leader down there." Jenny turned her gaze toward the young Slayer, the mention of Raven and the empress snapping her back to the harshness of reality. "That's a bit of an understatement. Raven is the empress' new princess. She's gained a lot of power and influence in a short period of time and the empress is completely taken with her. They've spent a lot of time together, both in front of others and in private." Jenny stopped, seeing the shocked and hurt looks on the faces of those around her. "But don't worry, Raven has not turned. She's working form the inside, doing what she can to help you people bring the Project down, whatever it takes. She's willing to sacrifice herself and the person she was to stop them and save this world. I trust her...you all should do the same."
Samara leaned back to consider that statement. Riley, still burning over with the loss of Buffy, was next in line. "What makes the Empress so special? I mean, from reports, she doesn't even seem to really be human. Is she or not? What is she?"
Jenny paused, hesitant to answer that question given that this world's version of the empress was one of their own. Given the situation, however, she realized it would be better for them to know now, than find out at some crucial point in time. "The Empress is none other than the Faith of my world. She killed the Buffy of my world and won the battle at Graduation along side Mayor Wilkins. To help protect her, the mayor, now Olvican, endowed her with some of his own Old One powers. She became nearly invincible and was completely sent over the edge of sanity by that. She is the most vile human being to ever exist. I have never known anyone more evil than she. She is, however, still human albeit the most powerful human to ever exist."
"Buffy stopped that." Xander said, rasing his reddened eye to her, but was cut off when Faith entered, looking normal, but being followed closely by Illyria. "No Xander. She didn't. Buffy and I fought tooth and nail, both trying to save someone we cared about. She blew it, just for a moment, but she did. I had the opportunity to toss her off the roof and make myself into the Faith that the medic here is talking about. Our realities get different here. That Faith was able to do it. I couldn't bring myself to kill B. She stabbed me then, and I took the dive, making the world a better place. That psycho down there is the result of the other choice." Faith then sat at the side of the large tent, Illyria being silent, and just watching the girl.
"Faith is right. That one little thing different caused so much to change in my world. She has decimated countless worlds. Killed millions of innocent people. She has to be stopped, here and now." Jenny said, turning her gaze the Faith as she sat, her mind seemingly on other matters at the time. "I'm afraid the only one here who has a chance of defeating her, is you Faith. To save this and other worlds, you must defeat your darkside. It's the only chance we have. There is still a lot of work ahead of us, but for the first time, I think there is a chance for the Project to be stopped, once and for all. That thought alone gives me hope." Jenny said with a slight smile, trying her best to rouse Faith and the others.
"She's right." Samara said, standing up. "I knew Buffy only a little and was never going to be a big supporter of hers. She had a point though, and that was the fight has to go on, even after us toy soldiers are long gone. Raven once said that the whole point of death was 'to get on with the business of living'. I'm gonna do that, so that no one here dies for nothing. I think that's the way its gotta be, else that or we let that looney tunes down there take over the world." "Yes. To fight is the only way. Anything less would be suicide." Riley joined Samara. "Because I wont be the one who gave up on Buffy's cause, not now not ever. I think that everyone here understands what I am saying." "There will be plenty of time for grief later," Faith piped up, looking at Jenny, then at the group as a whole, "Look, I miss B just as much as the rest of you. And seeing myself commit the act..it..it hurts me to the core and is something none of you could ever understand." Faith said, fighting back tears and strengthening her resolving as she stood up, followed by Illyria. "Jenny is right. We have to fight and we have to win...to save the world...and for B. It's all we can do. Spend the next couple of hours however you like. I have a few things I need to talk about with Illyria about these changes of mine. After that, we need to plan out next move. They're in a weakened state right now. We have to take the chance now or lose it all." With that, Faith walked briskly out of the tent.
Illyria nodded, then followed her out. Riley looked at he group. "Siege mentality, but for that I'm gonna need Willow's help." the red head nodded, and Xander went with them.
Samara looked at Jenny in her eyes, a hopeful look in her eyes. "Raven really isn't evil?" she asked. Jenny shook her head. "No, I don't believe she is. At the same time, she's not the same person you once knew either. She's had to do a lot of questionable things since being there and you might not see her the same way once she returns. Just believe this: She's doing it with everyone's best intentions in mind...to save the world and you people." Jenny smiled a warm smile, offer Samara at least some semblance of comfort.
The girl nodded, then left, a bit more hope in her eyes, leaving Jenny alone with Giles. Giles stood in front of her and took his glasses off, cleaning them, his hands shaking terribly. "When... when you were taken from me here, in this reality, it took me a long time to just learn to deal with it. Finally, one day, I had to accept the fact that I was never going to see you again. Now, you are here, and my mind knows you are not her, but you are, and I .. am unsure how to behave, or what to say.." he kept trying to clean his glasses though his hands shook horribly, and prevented him from doing it properly.
T B C. . .
