A/N – This is a really weird plotline I came up with a while ago, which suddenly has decided to have a comeback.  This is third season of Buffy but there are no real spoilers (I don't think) except that Angel is around but Buffy and Him are no longer an item.  For HP, its after the fifth book 'cause Sirius is dead and Harry knows about that prophecy (which I haven't actually read, just been told the details so if anything is inconsistent its bloody AU aight?  THIS WILL NOT BE HARRY/BUFFY – there is no particular pairing as of yet.  It'll be a few chapters before we get to Hogwarts, but it is coming!

Disclaimer – You bloody gits, if Joss and R.K didn't own their respective works, and I did, do you think I'd be wasting my time with fanfiction?

Chains forged in Hellfires

Chapter 1 – All Good Things….

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It began as a normal night; vampires, demons, and the occasional screaming victim.  However, for the Chosen Two this was a typical night and a rather boring one at that.  

"Come on, B, the night is totally dead, and don't mean of the stake-worthy kind.  Let's blaze and go bronzing," the dark girl groaned to her smaller counterpart.  The blond smiled at her sister slayers antics and looking around at the empty cemetery nodded her assent.

"We came, we dusted, now I say we party."

The two turned to leave when a power surge from behind them tossed them forward.  Turning to their backs on the ground, the Slayers shielded their eyes from the light of the swirling energy portal.

"This is new," Faith drawled.

They rose to their feet just as five figures appeared through the gateway.  All four carried two swords a piece; one was equipped with a bow, and another with a weapon similar to a mace.  Though not huge, they were all over six feet and muscular, and though they appeared human the Slayers could sense demonic energy from them. 

The apparent leader stepped forward and looked at the diminutive slayers with disdain.  "You, slaves, who rules this world?"

Faith and Buffy looked at each other in amusement. 

"Well, I'm a slave to fashion and Faith here worships leather," Buffy quipped.

"No one rules us, Dorothy, so click your heels and go home," Faith chimed in with. 

The four looked at the slayers in shock.  Never in their travels had they come across humans such as this! 

Simultaneously, the slayers attacked the four strangers.  At first, the strangers merely blocked out of amusement, then in defense as they realized that they were unable to go on the offensive against these… these… humans!  Pushed back towards the gate, the leader signaled for a retreat.  The other three leapt through the gate, but the leader remained fighting the dark haired human. 

Finding a weakness in her defense, the leader knocked the girl to her knees and raised his sword for the killing blows.  Faith closed her eyes, and waited for the feel of steel, only to find herself being pushed to the side.  Falling, Faith opened her eyes in time to see Buffy receiving the sword's stroke through her shoulder.  Surprised, the leader made a quick decision and before either slayer could react he had the wounded slayer in his arms.

Faith was on her feet immediately but it was already too late.  The leader had disappeared along with the portal.  And Buffy.

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            Gawain, the leader of the Elite, bowed before his lord and wondered if he would ever rise again.  He wondered why he had obeyed the impulse to grab the human female and bring her to his dimension.  Perhaps, because she has the same essence as me and mine, the warrior mused.  His lord, the demon Caligula, bred humans and warrior demons to create an elite force that was considered disposable.  Out of the hundreds of children born, only a handful live it to adulthood, and even then they usually lived only a few years.

            Gawain and his men have served as the Elite for five years, the longest any Elite had lived, let alone a group.  It was only due to their deep devotion to each other that they had lasted so long.  That deep trust allowed them to fight better, stronger and longer.  Watching the small human sacrifice herself to save her comrade had reminded Gawain of his group.

            Now, that time may end if his lord does not come to see any value in the human.

            Caligula stared down at his mongrel general with distaste.  The only reason he bred these mistakes was because the products were strong but disposable for no one cared about the lives of humans, or worse halflings.  The success of this particular general rankled him.  However, Caligula admitted, if only to himself, that it would be wise to keep Gawain and his men alive.  In the last five years they had conquered more kingdoms for him than any one else at any other time.

            "Explain to me why you have returned, not with the head of a conquered king, but a female human!"

            Unable to find a lie that would satisfy his lord, Gawain settled for the truth.

            "My lord, upon our arrival we were greeted by two female humans.  We questioned them on the whereabouts of their master, but both seemed to find the query a joke.  After which, they attacked us and succeeded in driving me and mine back towards the Gate.  They have greater strength than any human I have ever seen, and when I injured one I decided to bring her back in order to study her in hopes of discovering why this was the case."

            Caligula frowned as he considered this.  A strong human female… where had he heard of one before?  He brushed the though aside as unimportant.  The demon gestured for a guard come forth.

            "Have the female human taken to the Chamber and have my best torturer work with her.  I do not want her to die until she has answered what she is, and whom she serves."

            The lord waves his hand in dismissal of Gawain and he made his exit but paused before he left the great hall.  Turning back to the king, but keeping his lowered, he requested that he be present for the human's interrogation.

            Caligula considered briefly, then nodded.

            Gawain walked toward the Chambers wondering why he felt such kinship with the small human.

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            Buffy awoke to pain – her shoulders ached as dangled in the air from the tethered wrist.  Through the curtain of her hair, coated with grime and blood, she saw two figures in conversation.  She recognized one as the demon who had skewed her shoulder; the other was unrecognizable. 

            "Ah, you are awake, excellent, now we can begin."  Though the stranger wore a benign smile, and voice was pleasant, Buffy sensed danger and watched him in fear. 

            Gawain noticed her reaction with interest.  She's intelligent; she realizes that although I am the one who injured her, Danann is the more dangerous one in this situation.

            The torture lasted several hours, but had revealed few answers.  Gawain was impressed with the human's … no, Slayer's … resistance.  The girl refused to say anything beyond that she was a Slayer, there was another Slayer, and that if a demon messed with either one they would end up dead.  She refused to give details about her home dimension, its defensives, or possible targets.   

            Though Gawain had never heard of the Slayer, his master had and appeared pleased with the idea of being the master of one.  Caligula had gone so far as to venture into the Chamber, which he never had before, to meet this Slayer.  The experience had been enlightening for all involved.  Although the slayer had been tortured for several days, she had enough strength to break her chains and had almost succeeded in killing the king. 

            Far from being angry, Caligula was pleased.  The prestige involved with owning a Slayer would grant him fame and power over other demon lords.  The only problem was breaking the slayer to his wishes, but maintaining her ability to fight. 

The days passed into weeks, then into months, and then into a year.  

Danann had used a wide variety of tortures: physical, emotional and psychological.  The Slayer had long since lost her memories of her world, family, and even her name.  However, she had not lost her spirit and repeatedly attempted to kill anyone, demon or human, who came near her.  In some instances, succeeding.

The demon king was growing impatient.  If this continued he would become the target of ridicule; a demon lord unable to break the will of a single human female.  Low-level demons vying for power began concocting ways to bring the slayer under their master's power.  All failed, many resulting in the deaths of the enterprising demons by the slayer herself or the irate king.

The only being able to get close to an unbound Slayer was Gawain.  Though the slayer remembered that it was Gawain who had brought her to this hell, he was also the only one whom offered her no violence or hatred.  Eventually, Gawain had told her about himself and his men and now the slayer felt a kind of kinship with the warrior.  Chains to their master bound both of them, though his were metaphorical while hers were very real.

Realizing his master was close to ordering the death of the Slayer, he thought hard on a way to save her life without sacrificing who she was – well, what was left of who she was.  His men, though having never met the slayer after their initial confrontation, offered him a solution.  Emrys, whose arm was broken by the slayer in the encounter, was also a mage of great strength.  He mentioned a spell he had encountered during a previous battle.

"During the battle for Kora, I encountered a fellow mage of some power.  Instead of learning to fight himself, he bound a powerful demon to his will to fight for him.  As long as he wore an item connected to the demon, the demon was forced to always obey his commands.  By accident, I destroyed the item, a bracelet, and the demon turned on his master and destroyed him.  Obviously, that means the demon had retained its will and mind, but was unable to act upon against his master's wishes.  I believe I can duplicate the spell."

That night, Gawain went to the Chamber to visit the slayer and as usual, found her collapsed on the floor covered in wounds and blood.  Even her accelerated healing could not prevent the myriad of scars that now laced her flesh.  The sound of footsteps caused the slayer to leap back into the corner before she was fully awake.  But then relaxed when she realized in was her friend.

"I'd offer you a seat but as you can see…" she trailed off dryly.

Gawain chuckled.  How she managed to keep her sense of humour, odd though it was, was beyond him.  But soon regained his serious expression.

"You know the king is going to order your death if you do not submit to him."  The slayer merely shrugged, then winced as the movement reopened healing wounds.

"But… there might be another way"

The hesitancy in which Gawain spoke sparked the slayers interest.  The slayer knew she had lost her memories of her life before coming to Codan.  Her earliest memory, in fact, was that of Gawain stabbing and capturing her.  Vaguely, she realized she should hate Gawain, but he was the only person who truly knew her.  Even though he did not know her name, having not learnt it before she herself had forgotten.  She now counted him a friend, as well as his men although they had never met.  It was only their conversations about life and war and death that kept her sane.

"Emrys can perform a spell that will bind you to an item that will be worn by your master.  Your master will be able to force you to do whatever he orders, but you will retain your own will and mind."  

Gawain saw the refusal on the slayer's face, and pleaded with her.

"Slayer, it is the only way for you to survive intact," at her rueful glance, he amended, "mostly intact."

Silence covered the pair.  The slayer bowed her head in thought, wondering if she truly wished to live or not.  When she looked up, Gawain saw in her eyes a fire that he thought had been lost.

"Only under one condition."

To Be Continued

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