B/G friendship? We'll see. Giles hurts buffy the girl, not buffy the slayer in the most horrible way. Determined to pull both of them through, the scoobie gang fights to keep both Giles and Buffy from drowning. DARK, Rape, angst, violence.
READ BEFORE STARTING
A/N so here is the delio, all the seasons sort of blur together for me at the moment, so this is going to be a little bit of everything. It will not follow the buffy timeline. I guess you could say this is a bit AU. I would put this maybe in the season with Glory? Tara and Dawn are there, but buffy will be single (can't remember who/if she was with anyone then.) Joyce is dead though. Spike is chipped and in love with buffy, and Giles is in town and owns the magic box.
Disclaimer: Mr. Pointy and I got rid of Joss Whedon, so I guess everyone belongs to me now? Ah Darn, I missed the heart AGAIN. Looks like I don't own them after all. Just don't sleep buddy...
How will the gang react to something they can't fight? To the betrayal of one of their own? To the loss of control, to the loss of their slayer?
CALL ME RIPPER
Ripper. The name tasted so good on his lips. He whispers it over and over to himself, rolling it around on his tongue like fine wine. Why had he stopped being called that? When did he loose his sense of mystery and thrill? For surely this man, in all his glory, was far more Ripper then he was Rupert Giles. He felt alive, as if something primal had opened up in him overnight. At first, sitting in his bed eyeing his comfortable British living space, he thought that surely he had been bitten, and this was what a vampire felt like. Blood. A vampire was supposed to crave blood wasn't it? Perhaps he had simply slept well and how he was feeling more refreshed, more exhilarated then he had in months.
Unconcerned with his current state, Ripper slid the covers off himself and padded in to the bathroom. Every muscle in his body hummed, ready for action. He leaned against the counter to exam himself in the mirror. Did he look different? Maybe his eyes were just a little darker, and suddenly he seemed younger, stress lines disappearing from the inside out. And yet It was what you couldn't see in the mirror that had changed in Giles. A vampire? No. But something more evil lurked within. This, Ripper was sure of, and yet he found himself thrilled by the prospect of giving in to the darkness that was threatening to consume him, giving in to the feel and power that is Ripper.
Shaved and dressed Ripper started out his door in to the brilliant sunshine, squinting at the light that seemed brighter than normal. Where would he go now? The day was too nice to spend holed up at the magic box. Today was a day to go out and DO something. Ripper walked briskly to the park in search of something to do, someone to interact with. Although early, he yearned for a fight. Muscles twitching, magic pulsing. Blackness seeped in to his veins without resistance. Never had he felt so alive. Everything crackled with energy at his very fingertips.
It was time to start some chaos.
A jogger came down the path, blond hair falling out of her messy ponytail. She wasn't like Buffy at all; this girl was bigger boned and well endowed. Everyone these days, to both Ripper and Giles, was to be compared to Buffy. After all, there was no other woman so important in his life. He eyed the jogger appreciatively now; her eyes were at least similar. "No, wait, stop it! Stop it! You are Giles, not Ripper. What are you thinking? She's your daughter; you're pride and joy!" His facial features changed to a smirk, the rational Giles was lost on the man who now controlled the body. A whisper in Giles mind said "so? What's so wrong about admiring a young woman? Or have you gotten so old Giles that you've forgotten the charm that Ripper once had?" After the brief and slightly terrifying inner monologue, Ripper strided towards the middle of the path, trying to catch the jogger's attention. YIP! "What the hell was that!?" so focused on the beauty coming towards him that Ripper had failed to notice a yorky, a small yappy dog, had wove it's way under his feet.
From several feet away a family was making their way towards him, frantically calling for Lucy. The dog, seemingly lost but now found, perked up instantly. He picked up the Yorky now, holding her out as a peace offering to the family.
"are you looking for your dog sir?" Ripper talked to the man who was out of breath, followed by two small children and a dowdy looking broad...he meant wife.
The children beamed and the dog squirmed. "you found her!"
" Yes, she seems to have found her way to me. She's very cute you know."
The man glanced towards his children and smiled. She was cute, she was Lucy. The idea of a yorky made him puke, but the look on his children's face was worth the fact that he paid a thousand dollars for a useless toy dog. The children were obviously waiting for him to return the dog, so dutifully he knelt before them and went to place the dog on the ground within their reach
Snap
Neck broken. Ripper grinned and put the lifeless dog down. "See..." he said to the father, so in shock that he couldn't even move to comfort his children, "Now you'll never have to worry about losing her again." With that Ripper dusted off his hands and walked away, grinning like the mad fool he had become. He scanned not for the jogger, who was now long gone, but for another family to torment. "This could be a fun morning" he said out loud to no one in particular.
Trapped in the shadows was another man who was accustom to killing things without remorse. He watched as Giles, the only thing he knew him as, walk away from the family who were wailing over the loss of their pet. Something was wrong, something was very very wrong. The sun was still shining bright and he could only hope that his beloved Buffy would stay clear of this monster before he could warn her.
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After completing his reign of terror at the park Ripper began to walk the streets of Sunnydale, setting cars on fire with a flick from his hand. Latin was needed to destroy bigger objections, something Ripper was now doing with relish. Disaster and chaos were left behind in his wake, magicked traffic lights causing accidents, fire hydrants going off as people walked by, bank machines shredding money. His feet led him to the place he knew best. Oh what damage he could cause! Ripper stood in front of the magic box trying to get rid of the stupid grin off his face. Who was he kidding? Ripper was on top of the world, and with the right supplies he could soon be there too.
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Willow glanced up at the sound of the bell that jingled every time the shop door was open. She was hopeful, but customer after customer arrived with no sign of Giles. Tara clasped her hand tightly; she too knew that something felt wrong. Anya worked the counter while yelling at Willow to work the floor. Giles had not shown up, short staffing meant unhappy customers, and unhappy customers meant no money.
"Where is he! I refuse to run this store on my own. Although, this does mean that he doesn't get paid. And less pay means more money for the shop. Okay, Good. I'm glad Mr. Giles didn't show up today. "
Willow glanced up from her book. There was a lull in the customers and she was taking the moment to set up a locater spell. "Anya, I'm not sure it works that way. It doesn't matter though; can you pass me that crystal? If Buffy couldn't find him then well, I'm worried." Willow began to clear the table, setting up a map. Tara sat, still in thought, and did something she only did rarely, voiced her opinion.
"Will, w-w-what if he doesn't want to be found? "
"It's true Willow. Maybe this is a test to see if I can run the shop!" Willow rolled her eyes and continued on, shrugging off the idea that all is well. It didn't feel well, it felt... dark.
"t-t-that's w-weird" Tara said, her hand smoothing over the map to make sure they were right.
"what!?" Anya scurried away from the cash register and joined Tara who was peering over Will's shoulder. "maybe he's in the basement?" The map showed Ripper there, at the shop.
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Ripper blew the door strait off its hinges to reveal 3 women peering over a map. "Looking for me?" he chuckled. No one spoke at first, too stunned and not sure what to make of the situation. Anya, never one to understand awkward moments, dove right in to the heart of the issue... or not.
"Giles, you said you would work today. People who say they will work mu.."
"Anya shut up!" Willow pushed the girls back from her chair and stood up to meet Giles in the eye. The darkness pulsated off of him so strong that even Anya, who no longer had any magic, felt the need to take a step back. Tara reached for Willow's hands but she gently pushed her back, stepping in front. She cautiously tested the waters-
"Are you okay Giles? I mean you seem a little...different this afternoon. " Ripper looked up from the artefact he was admiring turning it over in his hand. With a sudden impulse to destroy he threw it across the room; it shattered as it hit the back wall. The yelp, the fright, only made him crave more. He towered over Willow, who was frozen in her spot via magic that she never knew Giles possessed, and whispered in to her ear:
"Call me Ripper." with that he spun and began to pull books off the shelf, looking for something. Nobody was sure what to do besides sit and watch him. The silence was only broken by the appearance of Dawn, back from school. She coughed, trying to get their attention.
"woah guys what happened to the door? Hey have you seen buffy? She said she was going to meet me after school but she never came so I figured some big bad was going on. So, what's the big bad?" Giles turned towards her then back to the girls, ignoring Dawn's questions.
"Where is the book of Acraia?" Ripper's eyes blackened. He was so close, so close to destroying what human self he had left, so close to banishing his infected soul from his body for good.
"um isn't it at our house? I thought you guys used that last week to get rid of some parasite demon. What'd it do again?" Always the helpful one, Dawnie is.
"DAWN!!!" Willow flew towards the door but it was too late. Ripper was already there pushing both girl out of the way. He strode out the door with confidence. Willow tried to stop him with magic, borrowing Tara's powers as well. But he was too determined, the darkness too strong to be stopped. "To Buffy's house I go" he hummed to himself in delight.
Anya was on the phone the moment he was gone.
"Buffy? We found Giles for you. He's on his way to your house. He's evil" even Willow, Tara and Dawn could hear the cries of "WHAT!?" through the phone.
"u-u-umm Will?" Tara tugged at her sleeve, hushed so not to disturb Anya on the phone. "That parasite demon, didn't it feed off souls? I-If he's been infected then pretty soon he won't have any more soul to restore."
"Of course Tara, that makes total sense. Why would he want the book though?"
"I know." All heads turned to Dawn. Since when did Dawn know anything about the mystical? Or anything about anything really. "I kinda read the book, but Plleaase don't tell buffy. I mean it was just sitting there on the table..."
"Dawn." Willow said in all seriousness. "Out with it now."
"you guys thought you had killed the parasite before it had infected anyone right? Well the book talked about how to kill it in someone... seems to me that Giles probably wants to destroy the book so that you don't kill it before it gets his whole soul."
"Your right Dawnie, Anya will you stay here? I th-th-ink Willow and I should probably meet buffy at the house."
"Guys i'm perfectly old enough to com..." Willow was doing her nice try stare, the one that she had learned from Buffy.
"...enough to stay here by myself! Yeah that. I don't need a baby sitter"
Willow's glare softened as she came up with the best way to convince Dawn that she was still mature. "Anya has to stay here anyways Dawnie, someone has to mind the shop." She seemed to accept the reply and let them go without any more trouble.
"guess it's just you and me Dawn, wanna learn how to up-sell?" Dawn sighed. She never got to do the fun stuff.
