Categories: Season 3
Characters: Buffy, Spike, Faith Lehane, Maggie Walsh
Summary:
Let's suppose a version of Dr Walsh who was formerly affiliated with the Council, and parted ways with them because they weren't interested in pursuing her new and modern research projects about "what if we could get more Slayers?"
Let's also suppose the Slayer line is still with Buffy. Kendra was called when Buffy flatlined, but since Buffy didn't stay dead, Kendra's death doesn't call anyone new.
So Walsh is setting up her project in the US, and the Watcher monitoring Boston-area potentials is still an ally of hers, and so she takes Faith Lehane, whom nobody will miss very much, and puts her in the super-soldier procedure Slayer awakening procedure. This does require a vampire to "donate" its power, but luckily her field team has captured Angelus, fresh out of hell and very confused. (We might say here that he returned to Earth in late summer, when Buffy was still being very miserable in LA.)
The procedure has machines and modern restraints and a lot of technical terminology, instead of chains and three magic dudes with their magic sticks, but it's still basically the same process; get hold of the demon, twist it up just right, and infuse it into the girl. And the result is Faith the Vampire Slayer.
Walsh has a handful of soldiers on loan, to help Faith train and get used to her new strength, under the guidance of that Watcher from before. And then she goes out for the field test, and things go very badly wrong when she gets the attention of Kakistos. And season 3's plot unfolds from there, except of course there's no Angel in Sunnydale. But when Spike comes to town, he thinks there must be, because his demon can sense Angel's demon in town…
(Bonus points if Walsh still tries to set up shop in Sunnydale, and Spike has to escape from her facility and is like "listen to me, they've got girls in there and they've got vampires, and i don't know what they're doing but it's Not Good".)
![When the World Went Cold, You Were Brighter than Gold](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1096483536770433137/1114271222205792266/when_the_world_went_cold.png)
Then Spike shows up in town, and well...things go downhill from there. But like, in an 'entertaining to watch' sort of way.
Oh yeah, and Mayor Wilkins does his thing, and the Initiative gets involved in that. Another train wreck, but again, entertaining to watch.
An exploration of the grey area of morality that the Initiative lives in, the possible backstory of Maggie Walsh, and...Spike and Buffy helping each other get over their exes with healthy coping strategies and friendship?
It's angsty especially at first but tries not to get too dark, and will get lighter in tone and content as it goes along. Hence the 'dramedy' genre.
Artists: None
Characters: Buffy, Spike, Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel, Cordelia, Faith Lehane, Joyce, Maggie Walsh, Mayor Richard Wilkins III, Original Characters, Oz
Genres: Angst, Dramedy, HEA/HFN, Slow-Burn
Warnings: Adult Language, Mental Health Issues, Suicidal Ideation, Violence
Challenges: Walsh's Project Rebirth, The Initiative versus... (author's choice of title)
Completed: No Chapters: 4 Table of Contents
Word count: 4,935 Hit Count: 616 ePub Downloads: 6
Published: May 09, 2023 Updated: June 13, 2023