Like Silver Glass
Title: Like Silver Glass
Authors: Aly & Katrina
Genre: Dark Drama, mostly. Warning: not a fluffy story.
Rating: T, for torture, adult content and adult themes
Pairings: We have decided if there will be a pairing/pairings or not. You will be told at a much, much later time.
Teaser: She lost everything… her love, her life, her family… now she's in danger of losing her soul.
Excuse: Okay, so we decided to write another story together. We decided that we wanted to try something a little different. Or, rather, she talked me into it and after a lot of prodding and basic pleading; I finally decided to add a third project to my over-heaped little plate. This story will be updated (hopefully) twice a month, probably on Sundays. Those seem to be the least busy for us. Also, if things go according to plan, this will be a trilogy.
Summary: Faith sent Buffy away using her demonic contacts, one that landed her literally in the sea of hell. Trapped, furious, in Dol Amroth, Buffy silently plots the demise of her sister Slayer. But after a daring escape from her prison, she's trapped by the dark foes of Sauron. After months of torture at the hands of her captors, her only salvation comes in the form of the son of the Steward of Gondor…
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. The 'Lord of the Rings' book series belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. The plot is (hopefully) our own.
Timeline: In Buffy fandom, this would be set during the Season 3 episode 'Enemies'. In the Lord of the Rings fandom, it would be set approximately five years before the start of the Fellowship of the Ring (as in the actual group… not the movie. Sheesh!). So, technically, whilst the Fellowship was begun in 3018, this story will begin in the latter part of May of 3014.
Notes: The episode mentioned and transcribed a bit in the first chapter is from Buffy Season 3, Enemies. Well, the first part was…
Thank you for taking the time to read the legal tender. Now onwards with the story!
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Chapter 1
By Alyson Kay and Katrina Claire
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Faith watched calmly as Angel strung Buffy up in chains. It was a great, kinky idea… one she should have come up with on her own. Finally, Angel stepped back to admire his handy work. As he moved away, Buffy came to, glancing around drowsily.
"Morning, sleepyhead," came Angel's bored voice as he pushed the chains slightly, admiring the way the blonde Slayer's body trembled at the motion. "You know what I just can't believe? All of our time together and we never tried chains. Well, can't dwell on the past, especially with the future we have ahead."
Faith smirked, crossing her arms as she stepped forward. "Bondage looks good on you, B. The outfit's all wrong, but, hey!"
"You don't know what you're doing," Buffy breathed, trying her left hand, and then her right. Both were locked pretty securely behind her back. Desperate eyes appealed to her sister Slayer, but Faith was completely ignoring her.
"Really? Weird, because something about all this just feels so right," Faith replied coldly. Then her face broke into a malicious grin, her eyes sparkling in the dangerous cross between delight and psychosis. "Maybe it's one of those unhappy childhood things. See, when I was a kid I used to beg my mom for a dog. Didn't matter what kind. I just wanted, you know, something to love." Turning, she seized the front of Angel's coat and pulled him to her. As their lips met, she felt the cool touch of his kiss before she broke away. As her eyes met Buffy's, she reveled in the fact that the blonde looked wounded. "A dog's all I wanted. Well, that and toys." Stepping over, she flipped the edge of the blanket on the table at her knees, watching Buffy's eyes widen at the assortment of instruments scattered nearly about. To torture her... "But mom was so busy, you know, enjoying the drinking and passing out parts of life, that I never really got what I wanted, until now."
"Faith, listen to me very closely. Angel's a killer. When he's done with me, he'll turn on you." The desperation was evident in her voice, but she felt she had to do something.
"She's right. I probably will," Angel sneered, his fingers closing around Faith's biceps as the younger Slayer smirked eagerly towards the blonde now chained to the wall.
"Yeah?" Faith preened, obviously enjoying her power. "Huh. Guess we'll just have to keep you around for a while then. Before we get started, I just want you to know, if you're a screamer, feel free."
"Why, Faith?" she asked. "What's in it for you?"
Faith grinned at her, throwing her arms out in a casual gesture. "What isn't? You know, I come to Sunnydale. I'm the Slayer. I do my job kicking ass better than anyone. What do I hear about everywhere I go? Buffy. So I slay, I behave, I do the good little girl routine. And who's everybody thank? Buffy."
"It's not my fault," Buffy muttered.
"Everybody always asks, why can't you be more like Buffy? But did anyone ever ask if you could be more like me?" Faith asked, the rage in her tone strengthening as she stormed towards the blonde. "Did they? Did anyone?"
"I know I didn't."
Both Slayers glanced over at Angel. Faith's lips twitched as she struggled to control her anger. But the look in Buffy's eyes was different. She was fearful of what Faith could potentially do. She was afraid of what Faith really was. She was just afraid.
"You get the Watcher. You get the mom. You get the little Scooby gang. What do I get? Jack squat. This is supposed to be my town!"
"Faith, listen to me!" Buffy pleaded, struggling again with her chains.
"Why? So you can impart some special Buffy wisdom, that it?" Faith scoffed, shaking her head. "Do you think you're better than me? Do you? Say it, you think you're better than me."
"I am," Buffy replied tearfully. "Always have been."
"Um, maybe you didn't notice. Angel's with me." To prove her point, she wandered back to where Angel was standing; lovingly caressing one of the knives Faith had set on the table. His eyes flickered casually towards her as Faith's arm slipped provacatively around his waist and slid lower below his hips.
"And how did you get him, Faith? Magic? Cast some sort of spell? Cause in the real world, Angel would never touch you and we both know it."
There. She had finally said the magic words that made Faith snap. She stormed away from Angel, lifting her arm. Buffy barely felt the blow as her head snapped over, her ears ringing from the shot. Blinking, she forced herself to meet Faith's gaze.
"You had to tie me up to beat me. There's a word for people like you, Faith. Loser."
After a moment, Faith smiled again. "Uh huh. You're just trying to make me mad so I'll kill you. I'm too smart for that. Stick around. There's a big show yet to come." Her eyes sparkled as she cupped Buffy's chin in her fist.
"For what? Your boss's lame Ascension. Like I couldn't stop it," Buffy taunted. She knew she was buying time. Someone had to come soon. Didn't they?
"You can't." The tone in her voice held a final note, like the coda of a well-played tune. The look on her face was beyond obvious. She was in control and she knew she held the ace.
"I will." Those words were spoken from years of fighting and the determination to defeat anything bad that came her way.
But Faith wasn't buying it. "Keep dreaming. No one can stop the Ascension. Mayor's got it wired, B. He built this town for demons to feed on and come graduation day, he's getting paid. And I'll be sitting at his right hand. Assuming he has hands after the transformation. I'm not too clear on that part. And all your little lame ass friends are going to be kibbles 'n' bits. Think about that when your boyfriends cutting into you."
Her gaze transforming from her calm determination to pity, Buffy forced herself to meet Faith's gaze one last time. "I never knew you had so much rage in you."
"What can I say?" Faith shrugged, stepping backwards and sighing contentedly. "I'm the world's best actor."
"Second best."
Faith slowly turned her head to gaze at Angel, surprise marring her pale features. As she saw the gloating look on his face, however, she knew that the Mayor had been correct all along; Buffy and Angel were in this together. No matter what they did magically to Angel, they would never be able to get him on their side unless Faith managed to sleep with him. So, apparently, it wasn't meant to be.
Buffy, on the other hand...
"Graduation day. You think we missed anything?"
"I think we know everything she knows," Angel replied, the dark smile gone from his face only to be replaced by the brooding scowl he normally wore. "But it never hurts to get it all."
"May I say something?" Buffy wrenched her hands free of the chains, wiggling her fingers in clear view of her sister Slayer. "Psych."
"And may I say something?" Faith asked, the smile growing on her face. She walked towards the table with the torture instruments and lifted a knife as both Buffy and Angel watched her, waiting for her to make the next move. "I knew you would never turn on her, no matter what I did. So I thought about it and thought some more and you know what? You may have played me, but I'm still the best." Her eyes sparkled as she unscrewed the base of the knife and removed a tiny crystal vial. "See this? It solves anything. It even solves this."
Even as Angel lunged for her, Faith managed to pull her arm back and forward, quickly releasing the vial. As it hurtled towards Buffy, the Slayer attempted to move out of the way, but the small crystal piece exploded at her feet. As Angel grabbed onto Faith, the Slayer gave one last triumphant scream as the blonde Slayer screamed in agony, green smoke surrounding her.
"Angel!"
"Buffy!"
Faith grinned over Angel's forearm as it crushed into her throat. Pushing forward, her fingers yanked the stake that was beneath her leather coat. Seeing the stunned look on Buffy's face as she vanished, Faith turned just as the Scooby gang rushed into the mansion, armed to the teeth. After Angel had punched Xander, she was sure the stupid Zeppo had gone back and blabbed that Angel was evil. And here they were, lifting stakes and crosses to take him down.
Not if she was going to do it first.
Using her free arm, she punched Angel across the jaw, sending him sprawling away from her. Lifting the stake in her hand, she aimed for his chest, her eyes gleaming. "Psych this," she whispered, and she lunged forward...
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It was the most painful sensation of her entire life.
Buffy gasped as she was plunged into the coldest saltwater she had ever felt. It was far worse than the Pacific. As she broke the surface and gasped for breath, her exhale misted and floated away. Before she could take another lungful of lifesaving oxygen, she felt something grasp at her feet and tug her down beneath the surface.
Each molecule pressed into her skin like a thousand knives. It was far worse than anything she could have expected from Faith, but she had to hand it to her sister Slayer. Drowning again in a vast pool of freezing water was definitely a good way to scare her.
Scare her… but not kill her, right?
Buffy broke the surface again, feeling her frustration mounting as her hands slapped the surface. Every single cell in her body screamed in protest as the undercurrent tugged at her feet again, threatening her with certain death should she drag under again. Holding her breath and searching about her, she saw that it was nighttime in the middle of a large ice-cold body of saltwater.
"Faith!" she rasped, struggling to stay afloat as the current passed. She spun in a circle, taking short, painful breaths. "Faith!"
But there was nothing except the silence and the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears. She spun again, feeling her muscles seizing at the motion. "No!"
The last thing she had seen was Faith with a stake and that dangerous look in her eye. She should never have underestimated her. The Mayor always had a backup plan. Apparently the plan was not to scare the eldest Slayer but to get rid of her. Permanently.
She felt a dull ache in her heart. After seeing Faith and Angel together, it had stirred up the hornet's nest of emotions deep within her. It was beyond jealousy. How could she be envious when she knew the only reason Angel would ever touch the traitor would be through the use of something like demonic magic? But this… this was something else entirely.
The current tugged at her feet. She could barely feel the sensation as her legs were growing numb from the cold. Sucking in a final breath, she felt her body plunge beneath the surface. Her Slayer-enhanced eyes searched through the water and saw how endlessly deep it was.
And then it struck her – Faith had sent her to her death.
She cried out, cold water filling her lungs. She wanted to scream, but no sound would come out. She clawed her way to the surface, choking as the salt water spluttered from her mouth, her lungs screaming for release. She knew she couldn't take much more of this. Even with Slayer strength and stamina, she wouldn't last long in an unknown sea, trapped what could be thousands of miles from land. She had no idea where she was and no idea where else to go.
The current tipped at her feet again. Hopelessness was starting to settle in along with a feeling of great incredulity. "How could have I been so wrong?" she whispered between chattering teeth.
If only she had been stronger…
If only she had been quicker…
If only Faith hadn't gone psychotic and joined the Mayor pre-Ascension…
These questions weren't going to help her here. She had to do something, she had to move! But where in the hell was she supposed to go?
The current was strong again. She was fighting a losing battle. After claiming that she was better than Faith, she was bested by her at one thing. Faith definitely beat her in the insidious planning department. She was going to pay dearly if Buffy ever saw her again.
She felt her left foot pull violently down and her arms raised in a futile attempt to keep her frame above the surface. As she splashed underneath, she felt a sudden, great calm overwhelm her. It scared her. In that moment, she knew she was going to die. She felt the sleepiness come and unconsciousness welcomed her into its warm arms.
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And now, for a shameless plug of my own. Well, not so shameless. I've spent a lot of time on this as compared to its predecessor. This was the story I wanted to tell, but I had to get to that point first. Now, for your viewing pleasure, I give you a part of the first chapter of the next story…
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I, Alone
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…
In the two months since they'd journeyed out from Rohan, they had rarely spent time apart. They rode mostly in silence and mostly at full speed. Since neither really required rest, they stopped mostly for the benefit of their steeds. In the few conversations they had, he had politely inquired where they were going.
The truth was… she didn't have a clue.
Their journey had taken them through Ithilien and to the north of Mordor. Black mountains lined the south with wide expanses of dried, cracked ground. Twisted remnants of trees stuck out at odd angles, snarling the clear desert pass. Thin bits of ash still fell from the sky, the last hurrah by the great Mount Doom.
Buffy rolled onto her back, her gaze moving from the pitch darkness to the sky. Through the slight haze that seemed to permeate every single moment of every day, she saw the glittering orbs of thousands of stars above. Through their silent nights, she had started to count the glowing orbs above, but lost count around sixty due to boredom. She really never had been good at math.
Tonight was no different. He had disappeared to parts unknown and she had fallen into a pitiful slumber, resting only her eyes to calm her nerves. The farther east they traveled, the most she felt like she was leading her companion to his death, not that she didn't try to talk him out of it. She had tried to tell him to go back. But the farther they went, the more he resisted her pleas. She didn't want him getting into something that was meant for her alone.
Maybe this was why he left at night; to get away from her incessant nagging. He was too polite to tell her that she was irritating him. Instead, he just took off, leaving her on her sleeping mat with thousands of stars glowing above.
Tonight, however, felt different. There was something new in the breeze, something in the decay surrounding them.
Something was watching their movements closely. And, if her growing suspicions were correct, that something wouldn't leave them be until they reached the hills on the far northern side of Mordor and continued eastward still. Neither one really knew what lay beyond the borders of Mordor. The one who did was Elessar and he hadn't come with them. He had a new wife and country to worry about.
She turned to her side again in an attempt to close her eyes when she heard the sound. Her body froze, perfectly poised. She heard the wind blowing. She heard the horses rustling. And, in the depths of the darkness, she heard a growl. Her hand moved silently beneath her mat, retrieving the knife she kept hidden beneath her body just for this very moment. Her eyes pierced through the darkness, spying the two forms of horses tethered a short distance away. The dying fire was nothing more than lustrous red embers.
Her fingers grasped the cold hilt of the blade and pulled it to the ground. The growl grew more menacing. Through the darkness, she saw the horses begin to rustle, as though they too sensed the danger was near.
And there, in the silence of the night, she saw a pair of glowing eyes…
"Legolas?" she murmured quietly. She hoped his keen Elven ears would pick up the danger or at least those intuitive senses would.
The growl was followed by a low shriek.
"Crap," she hissed, pushing off of her mat and casting the blanket aside. She ran away from the camp just as the being with the glowing eyes leapt after her. It took her a few moments to realize it was a warg. But instead of heading for her, it went for the horses. Once she realized that it had changed directions, she then ran to intercept, but not before she heard a loud squeal and the sound of flesh being ripped from bone. She reached the warg, which was tearing into her horse, just as a large arrow whistled over her shoulder and landed in its neck.
Turning around, she saw a familiar Eldar-lit form strolling towards her, his passive face almost pitying as he gazed at the toppled warg and the horse that lay at its side.
"Took you long enough," Buffy said huffily, crossing her arms as Legolas joined her.
"You were sleeping and I did not want to disturb you," he replied calmly.
"Where did that come from?" she asked, kicking at the warg's corpse.
"Mordor," Legolas replied, staring at the black mountains that rose to the south, blocking their view of the horizon. "And it is unlikely it was alone."
To prove his point, she heard another deep rumbling and spun about; catching several other pairs of eyes blinking in the distance. Letting out a soft gasp, she spun around and stared in disbelief at Legolas's knowing look. He stepped forward, moving beside her with his hands on his Elven knives strapped to his hips. Buffy slipped her knife into her opposite hand, prepared to do whatever it took to protect them both.
It was hard to believe that after all these weeks of travel, it had come down to the two of them and half-dozen wild wolves…
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I, Alone summary - Buffy has been given a great gift – her old Slayer dreams. Now trapped with the knowledge of a great land to the east, she travels to the east and comes upon a land ruled by an iron fist. But there she learns a terrible truth and the bitterness of her fate. Cascading events are about to change her life forever, but she's not so willing to release the past either.
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And just so you actually know what this story is about, we've included the next part. Please review what you've read so far, for we like your opinions on whether or not this is a colossal waste of time or the beginnings of a dark adventure.