FF Hunting Tigers Chapter 18
Title: Hunting Tigers
Author: Dark Wyldchilde (wyldchilde37@yahoo.com)
Rating: I don't think I'll ever be anything other then NC-17.
Pairing:Faith/Tara, Abby/Ziva, Buffy/Angel
Setting: The Lock, if you don't know you need to start back at "Life on the Farm" otherwise you may wonder how all these familiar characters got into such unfamiliar situations.
Summary: An old enemy returns.
Spoilers: Buffy, Angel, NCIS, The Executioner all are fair game in this AU. As is Supernatural.
Disclaimers: This is a nonprofit work of fanfiction and is in no way a challenge to anyone's copyrights,intellectual properties, or similar.
Wyld's Notes: Seven stories in and eight is plotted out...
Chapter 18.
Riley was the first to protest, but tensions were rising in the conference room and people were picking sides.
"Look, I want to get Tara back as much as you do." At Faith's arched brow he amended his sentence. "Maybe not AS much, but damn it you know what I am saying! She would be the first person to protest this idea!"
Faith exhaled. "Point one, if I was the one in enemy hands don't bet on it. Point two, Lex is volunteering. Point three, she can't protest because she isn't here. Point four, this is NOT a democracy. Tara may be the head administrator, but I am and have always been the CO! This is happening!"
As she finished she was shouting, and everyone fell silent. While they all knew the amount of stress Faith was under it wasn't until that point they began to truly realize what she was going through.
Finn softened his tone. "Okay, and if this could tell us for sure where Tara was that would be one thing, but all she's doing is gathering intel on Ari. It might give us an idea of where he stashed her, or it could just fill in what happened between when his brains got blown out in Gibbs basement and when he drew his breath back on this side of the soil. Fact is the latter is more likely since he would have had to get a hideout AFTER getting back."
Abby interrupted. "Let's cut to the case. She's going to Hell. Going on the off chance that she MIGHT learn something that could lead us to Ari?"
Lex came right back. "I'm astrally projecting. My body will be here in a near-death state while my spirit goes to Hell, and not only did I volunteer, it was my damn idea."
Angel then spoke, his voice... well those that know him would have been on him for brooding in other circumstances. "That's because you have no idea what you are getting yourself into Lex."
The tension in the room cooled at that and everyone focused on Angel as he took a calming breath and kept going. "You can talking about rings, and the sins they represent, but no matter how close Dante came he didn't realize why he kept running into people he knew. Even for visitors like him, and you Hell has one purpose, destroying your humanity. It is a living force that's only purpose is to destroy the person that was tossed inside."
Buffy was sitting next to Angel as she then interrupted, but rather then doing so with volume she did so with the opposite, her voice quiet, and quaking. "You remember? When you came back..."
His reply was almost as quiet, but calmer. "I was in pieces, they broke me Buffy. I believe that was the first step, but whatever brought me back brought me back before they could finish the job."
He then looked back to Lex. "And that's what they will try to do to you. You will not walk out of there the same."
Lex looked the former vampire square in the eye. "Dante didn't just go there. He was sent. He was sent there to confront his humanity, to see evil in it's rawest form, to look past all the lies, obfuscation, and just plain bullshit everyone uses to justify their evil acts. The ritual I'll be using will be asking Isis to guide me through Duat and into the netherworld. If she agrees to bring me then I'm going to go, and I challenge anyone here to say they wouldn't be willing to march through Hell if they thought it had even the smallest chance to find Tara."
Proposing the idea had been the first challenge Lex had to face, but the fact that Faith was still the CO was the trump card that no one could beat. They could try to change the woman's mind, but most gave up quickly knowing that they wouldn't get Faith to abandon any possible lead to finding her lost love.
Though Ziva's support, and equating of the process to her own intelligence activities had been a nice boost to her side of the argument, as well as making Team Wet Dream a unified front.
No, Lex might not make it out of Hell the same person she went in, but Dante was better for the experience, and even if she came out worse for the trip she owed Tara too much not to try.
Ducky had been her next obstacle. Lex had been hoping for Sam, but she figured Sam and especially Cameron had counted on Lex hoping for a female opponent she could work her whiles on, because even if married Lex could easily charm Doctor Finn almost as well as she could the Doctor's lovely assistant Cameron.
A lovely assistant who everyone knew would have had a snowball's chance on her impending trip of denying Lex anything.
So the charming, and MALE Doctor Mallard was the only one in the medical bay to greet Lex.
"I fail to see why we can't have you hooked up to a heart monitor as you undergo this ritual."
"First Ducky, I can tell you what you would read. I would be in what you would call a coma in a state on the verge of death. The reason for that is my spirit, my animating force, has stepped out of my body for a moment. The problem would be that I can't see you guys not seeing SOME sort of fluctuation and getting it into your heads to try to 'help' me, and doing additional damage."
Seeing Ducky ready to protest Lex carried on. "And even if you managed to not do that the ritual has strict requirements for me to slip my soul out of my body, as well as request passage on Isis' Barge, and I won't risk offending my goddess to satisfy your intellectual curiosity."
He harrumphed, and scowled slightly, and then got a small smile. "And third?"
She gave him her own small smile. "No third, even the first was more your benefit. I could have simply said 'Isis says I should do it this way.' and that would be that... we've got enough shit to worry about then to go offending the gods."
That got a small short of laughter out of the Doctor, who then walked over to a table.
There he picked up a folded up body bag. "It's been modified to be able to be opened and closed from the inside as you requested, but may I ask why?"
That first got a sigh in reply. "Because I am undergoing a simulated death ritual. Back when it was first being performed the priest or priestess would be sealed in a sarcophagus, but since I am a twenty-first century kind of gal I made this adjustment because it would be the image that impacts ME psychologically."
Ducky's brow fist scrunched in confusion, and then smoothed in understanding. "So you are saying that being put in a sarcophagus wouldn't feel 'real' to you, but being zippered into a body bag would?"
Lex was taken back. "Actually that's exactly it."
Doctor Mallard smiled. "When I came on here at the Lock I expanded my studies to the places where traditional science did recognize occult matters, and while they obviously don't recognize the full impact of magick the importance of ritual has been studied to some depth."
He then walked over, getting an oxygen tank and mask. "And while I will give you that heart monitoring might disrupt your own mental processes I will put my foot down on this because body bags are NOT constructed for occupants that still need to breathe."
She couldn't argue that point, and didn't truly want to as she took the small oxygen tank and attached mask, and left to finish her preparations.
Yes, those preparations involved getting naked, but this time it wasn't just Lex's normal proclivity to nudity. No, while Lex's normal proclivity to nudity centered around a celebration of life this ritual was about death... and when bodies were being prepared for internment they were naked.
Of course the ritual didn't demand things like the famous metal hook to yank out her brain, or the removal of her organs, but Lex still worked in the empty, quiet, darkened ritual room as she rubbed various anointing oils into her skin.
Then she began her breathing preparations. She needed them as she looked over to the body bag unrolled on the floor.
It was the likely fate of the war witch, just as it had been the fate of so many of her fellow soldiers so short a time ago, but standing here looking at it she felt her pulse rate jump.
Her training however planned for that sort of thing, and she was able to basically will herself to a state of calm, even if that meant more accepting the fear, letting it wash over and then past her.
Picking up her cellphone she sent the text that said she was beginning the ritual, and then she shut the device off.
The bag was already unzipped, opened, and waiting for her to slide inside. The oxygen tank was there as well, and she shifted the cooled metal away from her as she slipped inside. The mask was affixed, and the life giving oxygen flowing before she sat up enough to reach for the zipper.
Now sealed inside the absolute black of what Lex's mind told her would be the end of her mortal existence she had to work past that all too mortal fear of death. Fuck, she had to face it, maybe even fight it to bring herself to a state of calm necessary for the next part of the ritual, but that was part of the process.
A process she completed as she felt her pulse settle, and her mind, nay spirit, reach that point of clarity where she worked her art from.
It was there she felt herself laying on something other then the hard floor. It was soft, and warm, and as Lex's other skill set told her female.
Opening her eyes Lex looked up into the face of her goddess, who Lex was now reclining in the arms of.
Looking to the left, and then to the right she saw she was on an Egyptian barge.
She had done it! She was on the Barge of Isis!
Which meant she was now on her way to Hell.
Isis showed she could read the mind of her priestess still, and her smile was both proud and sad. "Welcome my child. This is your last chance to turn back."
Author: Dark Wyldchilde (wyldchilde37@yahoo.com)
Rating: I don't think I'll ever be anything other then NC-17.
Pairing:Faith/Tara, Abby/Ziva, Buffy/Angel
Setting: The Lock, if you don't know you need to start back at "Life on the Farm" otherwise you may wonder how all these familiar characters got into such unfamiliar situations.
Summary: An old enemy returns.
Spoilers: Buffy, Angel, NCIS, The Executioner all are fair game in this AU. As is Supernatural.
Disclaimers: This is a nonprofit work of fanfiction and is in no way a challenge to anyone's copyrights,intellectual properties, or similar.
Wyld's Notes: Seven stories in and eight is plotted out...
Chapter 18.
Riley was the first to protest, but tensions were rising in the conference room and people were picking sides.
"Look, I want to get Tara back as much as you do." At Faith's arched brow he amended his sentence. "Maybe not AS much, but damn it you know what I am saying! She would be the first person to protest this idea!"
Faith exhaled. "Point one, if I was the one in enemy hands don't bet on it. Point two, Lex is volunteering. Point three, she can't protest because she isn't here. Point four, this is NOT a democracy. Tara may be the head administrator, but I am and have always been the CO! This is happening!"
As she finished she was shouting, and everyone fell silent. While they all knew the amount of stress Faith was under it wasn't until that point they began to truly realize what she was going through.
Finn softened his tone. "Okay, and if this could tell us for sure where Tara was that would be one thing, but all she's doing is gathering intel on Ari. It might give us an idea of where he stashed her, or it could just fill in what happened between when his brains got blown out in Gibbs basement and when he drew his breath back on this side of the soil. Fact is the latter is more likely since he would have had to get a hideout AFTER getting back."
Abby interrupted. "Let's cut to the case. She's going to Hell. Going on the off chance that she MIGHT learn something that could lead us to Ari?"
Lex came right back. "I'm astrally projecting. My body will be here in a near-death state while my spirit goes to Hell, and not only did I volunteer, it was my damn idea."
Angel then spoke, his voice... well those that know him would have been on him for brooding in other circumstances. "That's because you have no idea what you are getting yourself into Lex."
The tension in the room cooled at that and everyone focused on Angel as he took a calming breath and kept going. "You can talking about rings, and the sins they represent, but no matter how close Dante came he didn't realize why he kept running into people he knew. Even for visitors like him, and you Hell has one purpose, destroying your humanity. It is a living force that's only purpose is to destroy the person that was tossed inside."
Buffy was sitting next to Angel as she then interrupted, but rather then doing so with volume she did so with the opposite, her voice quiet, and quaking. "You remember? When you came back..."
His reply was almost as quiet, but calmer. "I was in pieces, they broke me Buffy. I believe that was the first step, but whatever brought me back brought me back before they could finish the job."
He then looked back to Lex. "And that's what they will try to do to you. You will not walk out of there the same."
Lex looked the former vampire square in the eye. "Dante didn't just go there. He was sent. He was sent there to confront his humanity, to see evil in it's rawest form, to look past all the lies, obfuscation, and just plain bullshit everyone uses to justify their evil acts. The ritual I'll be using will be asking Isis to guide me through Duat and into the netherworld. If she agrees to bring me then I'm going to go, and I challenge anyone here to say they wouldn't be willing to march through Hell if they thought it had even the smallest chance to find Tara."
Proposing the idea had been the first challenge Lex had to face, but the fact that Faith was still the CO was the trump card that no one could beat. They could try to change the woman's mind, but most gave up quickly knowing that they wouldn't get Faith to abandon any possible lead to finding her lost love.
Though Ziva's support, and equating of the process to her own intelligence activities had been a nice boost to her side of the argument, as well as making Team Wet Dream a unified front.
No, Lex might not make it out of Hell the same person she went in, but Dante was better for the experience, and even if she came out worse for the trip she owed Tara too much not to try.
Ducky had been her next obstacle. Lex had been hoping for Sam, but she figured Sam and especially Cameron had counted on Lex hoping for a female opponent she could work her whiles on, because even if married Lex could easily charm Doctor Finn almost as well as she could the Doctor's lovely assistant Cameron.
A lovely assistant who everyone knew would have had a snowball's chance on her impending trip of denying Lex anything.
So the charming, and MALE Doctor Mallard was the only one in the medical bay to greet Lex.
"I fail to see why we can't have you hooked up to a heart monitor as you undergo this ritual."
"First Ducky, I can tell you what you would read. I would be in what you would call a coma in a state on the verge of death. The reason for that is my spirit, my animating force, has stepped out of my body for a moment. The problem would be that I can't see you guys not seeing SOME sort of fluctuation and getting it into your heads to try to 'help' me, and doing additional damage."
Seeing Ducky ready to protest Lex carried on. "And even if you managed to not do that the ritual has strict requirements for me to slip my soul out of my body, as well as request passage on Isis' Barge, and I won't risk offending my goddess to satisfy your intellectual curiosity."
He harrumphed, and scowled slightly, and then got a small smile. "And third?"
She gave him her own small smile. "No third, even the first was more your benefit. I could have simply said 'Isis says I should do it this way.' and that would be that... we've got enough shit to worry about then to go offending the gods."
That got a small short of laughter out of the Doctor, who then walked over to a table.
There he picked up a folded up body bag. "It's been modified to be able to be opened and closed from the inside as you requested, but may I ask why?"
That first got a sigh in reply. "Because I am undergoing a simulated death ritual. Back when it was first being performed the priest or priestess would be sealed in a sarcophagus, but since I am a twenty-first century kind of gal I made this adjustment because it would be the image that impacts ME psychologically."
Ducky's brow fist scrunched in confusion, and then smoothed in understanding. "So you are saying that being put in a sarcophagus wouldn't feel 'real' to you, but being zippered into a body bag would?"
Lex was taken back. "Actually that's exactly it."
Doctor Mallard smiled. "When I came on here at the Lock I expanded my studies to the places where traditional science did recognize occult matters, and while they obviously don't recognize the full impact of magick the importance of ritual has been studied to some depth."
He then walked over, getting an oxygen tank and mask. "And while I will give you that heart monitoring might disrupt your own mental processes I will put my foot down on this because body bags are NOT constructed for occupants that still need to breathe."
She couldn't argue that point, and didn't truly want to as she took the small oxygen tank and attached mask, and left to finish her preparations.
Yes, those preparations involved getting naked, but this time it wasn't just Lex's normal proclivity to nudity. No, while Lex's normal proclivity to nudity centered around a celebration of life this ritual was about death... and when bodies were being prepared for internment they were naked.
Of course the ritual didn't demand things like the famous metal hook to yank out her brain, or the removal of her organs, but Lex still worked in the empty, quiet, darkened ritual room as she rubbed various anointing oils into her skin.
Then she began her breathing preparations. She needed them as she looked over to the body bag unrolled on the floor.
It was the likely fate of the war witch, just as it had been the fate of so many of her fellow soldiers so short a time ago, but standing here looking at it she felt her pulse rate jump.
Her training however planned for that sort of thing, and she was able to basically will herself to a state of calm, even if that meant more accepting the fear, letting it wash over and then past her.
Picking up her cellphone she sent the text that said she was beginning the ritual, and then she shut the device off.
The bag was already unzipped, opened, and waiting for her to slide inside. The oxygen tank was there as well, and she shifted the cooled metal away from her as she slipped inside. The mask was affixed, and the life giving oxygen flowing before she sat up enough to reach for the zipper.
Now sealed inside the absolute black of what Lex's mind told her would be the end of her mortal existence she had to work past that all too mortal fear of death. Fuck, she had to face it, maybe even fight it to bring herself to a state of calm necessary for the next part of the ritual, but that was part of the process.
A process she completed as she felt her pulse settle, and her mind, nay spirit, reach that point of clarity where she worked her art from.
It was there she felt herself laying on something other then the hard floor. It was soft, and warm, and as Lex's other skill set told her female.
Opening her eyes Lex looked up into the face of her goddess, who Lex was now reclining in the arms of.
Looking to the left, and then to the right she saw she was on an Egyptian barge.
She had done it! She was on the Barge of Isis!
Which meant she was now on her way to Hell.
Isis showed she could read the mind of her priestess still, and her smile was both proud and sad. "Welcome my child. This is your last chance to turn back."