A/N: Oh yes, this is happening. I went there, brace yourselves. Basically I had this uber fangirl geek out of an idea and now it won't leave me alone. I have no idea if this is going to go anywhere or if it will even be any good (gotta say, I'm not entirely satisfied with it, but I'm holding out hope that other chapters will come far easier than this one) but I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl.

It goes without saying that this is AU (how can you do a crossover without it being AU? Seriously?). Back story is as follows:

Buffyverse: After season 7 but not really even remotely in the season 8 comic book canon (because the comic was bananas and very odd). Faith is living in Cleveland, Ohio (the location of the other American Hell mouth). So we have reformed Faith, not all murdering psychopathic Faith.

Dragon Age: No origin warden was recruited. All other characters are here though! Zev, Leliana, Morrigian, the entire band of misfits.

Basically I figured if anyone was pulled from a reality similar to ours into the world of DA who better than the slayer who can already kick butt, understands the concept of dimensions and magic, and doesn't so much as flinch from battling monsters? And if I was going to pull a slayer in, why not make it Faith, who is far more interesting and badass than Buffy ever was.

So yeah, hope you enjoy…R&R and all that jazz…

Also Bioware owns every bit of Dragon Age, I just merely fingerpaint all over their world. And the godlike Joss Whedon owns every bit of the buffyverse.

She was dreaming. Over the years Faith had learned to recognize the feel of one of her slayer-enchanted dreams creeping through her mind, and she most defiantly felt the presence of it now. Something in the way that she glides from image to image, seamlessly and with a purpose that tips her off to the nature of such things. So while there was a feeling of "been there done that" to it all, she had to admit that the scenery was something of a shocker.

There was a tower. And there was a dragon.

Well that's a new one, Faith thought as she glided through disjointed images of rubble and broken bodies. Usually her dreams consisted of vampires and demons, at least those that had the feel of prophecy about them. But a dragon? That was definitely a new player in the slayer-verse.

As she walked through the ruined streets she found herself slowly climbing a blood soaked stairway, leading ever higher towards the screeching beast. Upon reaching the apex she glanced around to find men and women dying all around her as the dragon screamed high and horrible. In the distance she noticed a small, bespectacled man in a tweed suit throwing what looked to be like cheese slices at the massive beast, a serene smile on his lips. Faith shrugged, figuring to each their own as she watched the massacre around her.

"Quite the spectacle, isn't it?" a voice said softly, somehow clear as a bell above the din of battle around her. She glanced around sharply, seeking out the bearer of the voice and her eyes fell on a rather striking old woman gliding sinuously towards her, her steps heedless of the corpses that lay at her feet. With every footfall, the sound of fighting faded away, leaving the two in a sudden and suspended silence.

"You talking about your outfit or the dragon?" Faith asked, gesturing a hand to the elaborately studded maroon corset and metal armor that covered the woman. "Cause I gotta say, pretty bitchin for a reject from the D&D house of fashion."

"How fascinating," the woman replied, ignoring Faith's barb, "such a power that crackles from you. I have not felt the likes of it before. It is an ancient magic, wonderful and terrible in its weight."

"Sorry sister, but I don't do the whole magic rap. Sure, dabble around in some spells, mayhem and chaos ensue, but for my money there's nothing better than a good old fashion beat down. If you want all that mystical-Gaia crap you want to talk to Red, she's your girl."

"I know of the witch," the old woman said dismissively as she circled the slayer slowly, eyes peering deep, "the time for her and I to meet is still some distance away. But you? You are a surprise. This power you carry…it is all blood and ashes. It covers you until you are one with it. The loneliness of it stretches back into distant worlds...it is a burden only few have known…those that have been…chosen."

"Clearly you're not up on your slayer history," Faith huffed, "We got ourselves a whole army of girls, just waitin' to do the right thing and die young."

"Ah yes, the end of the one and only, orchestrated by the other. Tell me, are you satisfied with your brave new world?"

"Never really thought of it," Faith said with a shrug as she watched the Dragon pick an armored man up in its massive jaws and bite down viciously. "Not like I have much choice. Blondie did an alright job of it, when you get down to it. Doesn't change the fact with hundreds of girls suddenly mad powerful you're bound to end up with a few who aren't in the fight for the right reasons."

"Like yourself?" the woman replied with a wry smile.

"Time was. But that's long past, I pull for the good guys now."

"You speak as if you know what such a thing is," the old woman laughed before turning her attention back to the battle being played out silently before them. Faith followed her gaze and watched as a man covered in scratched and dented armor jabbed a sword into the dragon's flank, causing the monster to hiss in anger and swept a great arc with its massive tail. The man was knocked off his feet and thrown to the ground mere inches from were Faith stood. She stared down at him and felt a jolt course through her as they locked gazes. Though his face was covered in gore she could make out the honey blond of his hair and the proud, strong lines of his jaw. She felt an odd and instant kinship with this man, something in her finding a shared burden. It was all very confusing and she shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feeling. Faith began to hold a hand out in offering, intending to help him to his feet but the old woman stepped before her to bar the way, a stern look on her face.

"Do you desire to help him, child? To throw your strength behind his and slay the terrible beast?"

"Sure, why not?" Faith said shrugging, "He seems decent enough. And while I'm shaky on what's happening, I'm pretty sure dragons aren't the cuddle and share your feelings type."

"Remember those words. The drums are sounding and the old god's rise. There are other worlds besides yours that require a defender."

"Thanks for the dire warning, grandma," Faith replied with a roll of her eyes. She felt the dream begin to tear, edges curling in as she swam back to consciousness. "I know that the confusing prophetic dreams are just a fun little slayer bonus, but I've kinda had my fill of this one. So unless you got some plain spoken wisdom to offer, I think I'll just get on my merry and forget all about this."

"Very well, child; perhaps the reason you were chosen was for this," the woman's voice echoed as the battle before faded into nothing and she was left blinking rapidly at the ceiling of her bedroom. The dream would fade into a vague sort of memory, one she didn't ponder for very long, and eventually she would forget about it all together…at least until Willow came knocking on her door two months later.

~oOo~

"A timely finish wouldn't be out of the question here, Red!" Faith called out as she staked what felt like her tenth vampire of the evening. Like most things in her life the night had definitely not gone according to plan. It was supposed to be a simple walk in, kill the beasties, do a little hocus pocus and everyone goes about their merry way…well, as merry as you can get in Cleveland. But once again, something had gone wrong and now Faith and the three new slayerettes she had brought along for the job where furiously trying to battle a literal army of vampires as Willow went about performing her little light show of magic.

The witch had shown up two days before with the warning of bad things to come; apparently a group of vamps were trying to raise some big nasty from the beyond and had caused a rift in the dimensional walls. Willow's plan was to mend the tear and Faith's job was to protect her while she did it. Not the most glamorous of callings, but she'd take what she could get. They had been expecting no more than ten vampires total when they attacked the abandoned warehouse that night; imagine Faith's shock when she burst into the building and found four times that number milling about. Without thinking her and the girls and leapt into the fray, exploding one vamp after another into dust as Willow hastily set up and began the spell.

Twenty minutes had passed and the witch showed no sign of being even closed to done. One of the slayerettes was down for the count and Faith had a fleeting moment of remorse for the girl before she was forced to face the next enemy that rushed her. The vampire barreled into her chest sending her sprawling across the room to collide with Willow.

"No!" Willow shrieked as she was knocked from the trance she had slipped into in an effort to better see the dimensional walls. Faith rolled her eyes and began to get to her feet but was suddenly jerked upright by her forgotten opponent. The vamp set his teeth against her neck and began to worry at the flesh, tearing open the wound and lapping her blood greedily. Faith hissed in outrage and brought an elbow back hard against his abdomen. The vampire grunted in pain, his mouth releasing her as he bent over to cradle his stomach. Faith didn't miss a beat before whirling about to plant her stake deep in his chest.

"You have to keep them occupied," Willow said urgently, "the wall; it's so close to breaking, the slightest upset could cause it to crack open."

"Doing my best here, Red, it's not like I'm playing tiddlywinks with my gal pals," she replied as she blocked a punch from an overweight, pock marked vampire and responded with one of her own. As Willow turned to restart the ritual, the chubby vamp got a lucky hit in and Faith's head cracked to the side, blood flying from her mouth to land upon the arcane symbol the witch had sketched on the floor. Willow's eyes widened as she felt the magic tremble and she barely had the time to choke out a warning as the world around them shifted.

Faith's eyes widened in shock as the ground shook below her, causing her to stumble back and into the circle of candles and herbs Willow had set up. Above her the air cracked open in a burst of electric purple, a violent wind whipping down. She had the barest moment to think oh shit before she felt the pull of magic surround her and she was wrenched into the chasm.

Willow called out a frantic phrase in Sumerian, the power crackling along her hands as her eyes bled to black. With a sharp and fierce snap a barrier between the now open dimension and their world materialized in a ripple of shining blue. Within seconds it was plain to see that Faith had disappeared and something else altogether had taken her place.

~oOo~

"I still don't think we should trust her," Jory whispered as their little trio followed the strange woman back to Ostegar, "she's a witch after all."

"Yes, a witch who could very easily lead us to our destination, oh the horror," Daveth replied sarcastically, his dislike for the knight showing with every syllable.

Alistair himself kept him own counsel and ignored the two recruits constant bickering. It had been a long day full of darkspawn and creepy witch women and more than anything he wanted to crawl into his bed roll and let the fade claim him for a few blissful hours. However, he knew that Duncan would want him to stick around and help with the joining ritual so he tried to find what little reserve of energy he had and focus on the task ahead; he had a feeling it wouldn't end as well as Duncan hoped.

It wasn't that he had anything against Jory and Daveth personally, it was just…something was missing from both of them. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was definitely off. He had a sneaking, ill, sort of feeling that at least one of these men, if not both, would not come out of the joining alive. Such thoughts were kept to himself as they trudged through the thick underbrush of the Kocari wilds, following the decidedly unfriendly and cold Morrigan as they made their way within sight of the Ostegar ruins.

Just as the broken towers came into view he felt a wave of otherness sweep through him and he pulled his sword free calling out a warning to his companions.

"Darkspawn!"

Jory and Daveth froze, eyes searching for the foul creatures. Alistair swore at their hesitance as a genlock emissary and two shrieks ran at them from behind a copse of trees. The two men eventually remembered themselves and quickly drew their blades. Alistair was somewhat surprised to see Morrigan sigh and whip a staff from her back, sending bolts of magic towards their foes.

The skirmish was tense and sloppy, and Alistair found himself in the position of calling out orders in the hopes that at least some of them were followed. He watched as Daveth fell, knocked unconscious by a pommel hit to the head. Jory was firmly on the defensive against a shriek, his massive sword too slow for the quick and lethal movements of the darkspawn before him. Clenching his teeth he swung at the Emissary, ruthlessly pressing his attack until he found victory.

Without warning the earth beneath his feet began to tremble and he felt magic suffuse the air around him. Convinced that his adversary was attempting to tear the veil he roared loud and long as he arced his sword high, severing the darkspawn's gruesome head from its shoulders. When the trembling did not stop, in fact grew stronger, he realized that some other force was at work around them, and he whipped his head furiously about, eyes seeking the only other mage nearby. The witch looked back at him, surprise plain on her face as she struggled to keep her footing as the dirt lurched and buckled below her.

The world exploded around them in a riot of power and light as the veil to the fade stretched and ripped open. Alistair shuddered as he prepared for the onslaught of demons that would pour though. He was shocked when no such creatures were forth coming and the veil snapped closed within seconds of its opening. Blinking rapidly at the space where just before a great act of magic had taken place he was startled to find himself staring at young woman, bleeding from her neck and dressed in little more than a short, tight fitting tunic and odd leather breeches. The woman's deep brown eyes locked with his and he felt the punch of her gaze hit him hard. Before he could inquire as to who or what exactly she was a large Ogre shambled into view, a sick smile on its face. Alistair watched in horror as the beast crouched down and set his horn directly in the path of the strange woman.

"Look out!" he cried as the massive beast pushed itself into a stampeding run.