Foundation (Challenge)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. All characters belong to Joss Whedon.
Title: Foundation
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Faith
Rating: PG-13
Emotion: Angry
Spoilers: Set during season 4's 'This Year's Girl'.
Summary: Faith's thoughts while looking at the highschool.
So much ash. That was the first thing Faith noticed. She had been in a coma for eight months, so the school must have been burned down for that long. Yet there it was. Ash. You'd think that the wind would've carried it away, or maybe construction workers. A clean-up crew. Someone. But, no. Maybe they planned on just forgetting about the place. The town would turn their faces away from the eye-sore and convince themselves it wasn't there. "Such a tragedy," they'd say, but no one would look back.
Much like they had with her.
When she woke up, the first thing she'd noticed was that the light in her room was absolute shit. Just barely enough to be able to see what you were doing. And the condition of the floor she was on? Shit. The floorw were cracked. Staff was practically non-existent. There were no paintings hanging in the hallways. No chairs. No windows. And there were certainly no flowers or 'Get Well Soon' balloons or teddy bears next to her bed when she came to. No, the room was completely bare.
She knew in her gut that the Mayor was dead. If he was alive she would've woken up in a fucking spa somewhere, pampered and well-cared for. He would've been there when she woke up, that happy smile on his face. He'd tell her that, golly, she sure looked good! Must've been all that beauty sleep! And she would've found eight months worth of cards and other little gifts. And he would've told her how worried he'd been about her, but how he knew she'd pull through, because that's the kind of girl she was: strong and a survivor. And he'd tell her not to worry because she was safe now and no one would hurt her ever again.
But there was no one there when she woke up. No one told her she was alright. That the nightmares were over. That she was safe. No, she was on her own again. The streets were the same. Nothing had changed. The only things worse for wear were her, and the building in front of her. It was completely and utterly destroyed. The only thing left standing, really, was the foundation.
She imagined her boss there, giving his speech to the graduating class. She wondered if he mentioned her. If he thought about her much before he died. If maybe she was the last thought he had before he died. Had he been proud of her? Had he missed her? Had he saught revenge on Buffy and the others?
Her blood boiled at the thought. Buffy had taken everything from her. Her rightful calling, her own life, and the only person who'd ever really cared for her at all after her Watcher died. She had taken everything and left Faith with nothing. Nothing but a bare hospital room and the foundations of an old high school.
She inhaled deeply, feeling the wind pick up a bit and toss her hair. She would make the other woman suffer as much as she'd suffer. Somehow, she'd get it done. Misery loves company, and Faith was looking to share.