Kennedy suddenly sat up where she was seated. She had heard a scream...and she knew that voice. “CHRISTINE!!!” Kennedy yelled sprinting off the coach running to the front door. Willow and Buffy, having heard Kennedy, came into the front hallway to see what the matter was.
“What the...” Willow started as she saw Kennedy throw open the front door and sprint out. Buffy looked at her best friend then back to where the potential had gone. The blonde then started sprinting after her.
Faith opened her eyes shaking her head. “Where am I?” she asked out loud. The brunette slayer was laying in a hall way at some school. That much was obvious. She then heard footsteps.
Right then, Faith saw a younger version of Christine running down the hall and ducking in the girl’s bathroom. Faith, totally confused followed Christine, slipping through the rest of the door that was opened.
“Christine?” Faith asked, seeing the younger girl looking at herself in the mirror. Christine didn’t turn around.
“She can’t hear you,” Came a voice behind the brunette slayer. Faith slowly turned around seeing The First in the form of Christine again. “Don’t worry. I can’t touch you here.”
“What have you done?” Faith asked angry. She didn’t understand where she was and what she was seeing.
“You’re in her head...seeing her memories,” The First concluded.
Kennedy ran down the street keeping her eyes opened. She heard Buffy shouting and catching up to her behind her but she didn’t care. Christine was in trouble. Kennedy then saw the crumpled form of Faith in front of a tree, blood seeping from cut on her head.
Buffy had caught up to the potential. “Over there,” Kennedy announced before the slayer could say anything and pointed towards Faith. Buffy’s heart fell, a lump forming in her throat as she quickly ran over to her fallen sister slayer. Kennedy looked around. “CHRISTINE?” she shouted looking left and right.
Kennedy then caught something in the corner of her eye. “CHRISTINE!” The potential yelled, running to the fallen body that lay partly crushed by a tree.
Faith studied Christine carefully. She looked to be a sophomore or junior in high school. The First did this to them, the brunette knew it...but why? And why bother them so much? Why go through all the trouble? When Faith turned around to check behind her, The First was gone, and she turned back around.
The brunette slayer watched, a little confused on what was going on, as the younger version of Christine locked the bathroom door, creeping into one of the stalls and sitting on the ground. She then rummaged through her purse, that she had set besides her, and pulled out a small pocket knife.
“Christine...no...” Faith whispered figuring out what Christine was about to do. Flipping the blade up, the younger version of Christine brought the blade to her wrist slicing it over and over, splattering blood on the floor. Faith looked away in pain.
Kennedy and Buffy ran into the house, both carrying one of the girls. Faith in Buffy’s arms and Christine’s in Kennedy’s. “My Goddess, what happened?” Willow asked seeing the two bodies.
“I thought I heard Christine scream, so I went out side...Willow please do something,” Kennedy pleaded, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The potential was scared for Christine and her well being. Her body jerked every now and then in her arms. Willow took in the look of Kennedy’s face and looked at Buffy. The blonde looked down at the dark slayer in her arms and carefully carried her to one of the couches in the living room. The older slayer smoothed the hair away from the younger girl’s face.
“Put Christine on the other couch Kennedy and we will see what we can do, ok?” The redhead instructed. Kennedy gently carried the motionless body in her arms to the opposite couch laying the potential down.
Faith noticed she was somewhere else now. Plain walls, pastel bed covering. Looking around, the brunette noticed Christine in the corner of the room sitting on the ground huddled all up with her arms around her knees.
“Make it stop,” Christine said somehow looking Faith in the eye. The brunette slayer was surprised and disturbed. She carefully walked over to the younger potential, crouching down next to her.
“Can you see me?” she asked looking at the girl.
“Yeah...not totally but you are there...what’s going on...I’m reliving my worst memories...” Christine stated. Faith could tell that the potential was confused and scared. The brunette could relate. Sometimes your inner demons are far worse then anything ever imaginable.
“The First is behind this. But The First said that you weren’t supposed to hear or see me...I’m not really sure Chris...There’s something that’s not right about all of this,” Faith stated.
“No shit,” Christine mumbled starting to shake.
“What’s wrong?” Faith asked.
“It’s about to happen,” Christine answered.
“What is?” Faith answered confused. Then you could hear screaming. Screaming of complete utter horror. Christine covered her ears shutting her eyes really tight as she began to rock back and foreword.
“Where are we?” Faith asked, shouting in Christine’s ear, shaking her. The potential opened her eyes and looked at Faith. She didn’t want to tell her but had to. She opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. She tried again.
“A mental hospital...”
Willow came back into the living room with an old book. “This one spell should help us see what happened so we can help them,” Willow stated, setting the book down.
“What?” Kennedy asked harshly. Buffy sighed and placed a hand on the potential’s shoulder.
“I know you care about Christine and that you are really worried but just trust her. She knows what she is doing,” Buffy said trying o comfort her.
Buffy then turned to her best friend. “Ok Willow, what exactly is going on?” She asked. The redhead sighed and rubbed her face.
“Someone had to of attacked them. But they both seem to be in a coma like state,” Willow explained. Buffy grimaced looking at the other slayer. Faith had her share of comas and didn’t need another one. Guilt came over the older slayer as she knelt beside the younger slayer. Christine was right; she needed to treat Faith better. Things were just so complicated when it came to Faith.
“So there is no telling when they will wake up. I mean, I am not talking they would be out for months but it very well could be a couple days...I don’t know. But it looks like they were also affected by magic of some kind. Look,” Willow said pointing over towards Christine. The potential started to shake her head violently.
“They are reacting to something in their minds. A magic mind field of some kind. Maybe something The First had someone do to them. I don’t know. So this spell will help us see what happened so we can better help them...” Willow explained.
“What?” came Faith’s voice jarring Christine. “I I I I ...don’t want you to see this...Faith...help me,” Christine pleaded as tears formed in her eyes. As the shaking potential reached out her hand towards Faith, a stream of flashes went through the brunette slayer.
A man choking a child version of Christine, Nurses injecting her with liquids, a man pinning a young Christine down unbuckling his belt...
Faith shook her head. She then realized all the images she saw were from Christine’s life. “My God...What have people done to you...”
Willow, Buffy, and Kennedy sat in a triangle in-between Faith and Christine. “I’ve never done a spell like this before...” Willow said looking up form the book in front of her.
“Well hurry up...” Kennedy grumbled. Buffy looked over at the agitated brunette a little shocked.
“Kennedy!” Buffy scolded.
“Buffy, don’t worry about it. Let’s get this done,” Willow answered for Kennedy, looking at the potential a little irked.
“Christine,” Faith called out her name.
“Faith?! I I can’t see you! Where did you go!? Please don’t leave me here alone!!” Christine yelled panicked. The young potential couldn’t see the brunette slayer anymore. Faith still knelt right next to her but as Christine got up, she walked right through her.
“Faith? FAITH!?!” Christine yelled. Tears rolled down her face as she looked around, what she saw as, an empty room. Meanwhile, Faith tried to get Christine’s attention not succeeding what so ever. Something really weird was going on.
Buffy, Willow, and Kennedy chanted the remaining words of the spell. A sudden flash of blinding light came from both girls on the couch blinding the three other people in the room.
The three girls then appeared in some room where a younger Christine sat in a huddled ball in the corner. Willow looked around as Kennedy ran towards Christine, only to go through her.
“Something’s wrong,” the redhead stated. Buffy then noticed Faith, who was crouched down next to Christine.
“Where are we?” Faith asked the young potential. Willow, Kennedy, and Buffy froze where they were at.
“A mental hospital...” Christine replied. Then things went fast forwarding showing all three girls the conversation between Faith and Christine. Then things went in slow motion. A horrible haunting laugh rippled through the air causing all 5 girls to look, noticing each other.
The First stood at the doorway in the form of Christine. “Now you all get to witness hell...” The First stated with an evil smirk. No one had time to move, act, nothing. All at once, memories of Christine as well as Faith rushed through everyone like they were physically there. The magic force of it was so strong; it threw Willow out of the magic conscience window almost immediately.
Willow willed herself to be free from both girls’ minds knowing that the spell was tampered with. This was The First’s doing. And if Willow didn’t hurry and do something fast...Buffy, Kennedy, Faith, and Christine were going to be trapped in the magic conscience plain for a very long time...causing damaging affects on their minds as well as bodies.
Willow was convinced that The First somehow knew she was going to do this and that some how this was all a part of some kind of twisted plan.
Kennedy knew she was witnessing Christine’s memories right now. She had somehow got separated from the others. Memories upon memories good and bad, Kennedy witnessed.
A guy about in his 20s had Christine pinned under him. “No! Stop it!” Christine screamed. A rage went through Kennedy and she charged at the man.
“GET OFF OF HER YOU BASTARD!!!” She yelled flying through the air only to go through them.
Buffy recognized where she was. She was on the roof top where she stabbed Faith. She knew she was seeing the dark slayer’s memories. The scene unfolded before her and she was helpless and left to only watch the scene she knew all too well.
FLASH
Buffy was now in Faith’s motel room seeing Faith look out the window with blood on her hands.
“She never comes...Why do I care? She never cares any way. She probably wouldn’t notice if I died one day,” Faith stated sadly to herself looking away from the window. Buffy’s heart torn in two. She knew Faith was referring to her.
Flash upon flash of memories Buffy witnessed. She knew she shouldn't be seeing these personal memories belonging to the two girls. And Buffy was frightened on when it would all end...for she had no idea where Willow or Kennedy was.
Willow knew that Buffy and Kennedy were pulled into the madness that The First was putting Christine and Faith through. She quickly threw ingredients to the spell she was working on on the floor wanting to get Kennedy and Buffy out of there as soon as possible.
Faith was reliving her worst moments. That and going between Christine’s memories. Every now and then their conscience would become one and Faith could hear Christine crying trying as hard as she could to hold onto Faith so she wouldn’t be alone in her own head again.
What concerned Faith was that she swore she saw Willow, Buffy, and Kennedy near the beginning of this mess. If that was true...then Buffy could be in her head right now...seeing things...things that the older blonde was never meant to see.
Buffy recognized that she was in prison where Faith was at. The walls were plain brick except one picture above Faith’s cot. The brunette slayer was laying upon it, looking into nothingness. As Buffy got closer, she realized that the picture was of her. A picture that she noticed was missing from her house.
Why would Faith have a picture of her in the prison?
FLASH, Buffy saw Faith being beaten up by other prisoners. The only thing she heard coming from the dark slayer, who did nothing to stop the others from hurting her, was “I am doing this for you, B. I deserve this.”
Willow chanted the last few sentences to the spell and the same blinding light came, causing the witch to fall over blind. When she opened her eyes she saw Buffy and Kennedy lying on the ground slowly opening their eyes.
Tears started to form in Kennedy’s eyes as she remembered all that she had seen from Faith and Christine. “What...Why...” Kennedy voiced barley saying the words.
Buffy crawled over to where the dark slayer lay, still in her nightmare. Willow noticed that Buffy was crying as she gathered the younger slayer into her arms saying, “I am sorry Faith...I’m so sorry.”
Faith swore she heard Buffy talking to her. She thought she heard her saying sorry in the distance...but it couldn’t be. She knew she had to get out of this weird bizarre mind trap that The First put them in.
Buffy’s tears hit Faith’s face as she cradled the dark slayer in her arms. Willow saw Faith slowly opened her eyes.
“Faith!” Willow yelled happily. Buffy looked down at the slayer she held while stroking her hair.
“I thought I lost you,” she whispered softly. Faith just looked up at her, a little disoriented, wondering just how much the blonde saw of her memories.
“I heard you...” Faith whispered very weak from the battle her mind went through.
Christine was still trapped in her own head. She thought she felt someone there a few times but no one was there...
