Miss Merrick

by Nitrowugs

Buffy gets help from an unexpected source and Quentin Travers gets what he deserves. Happens during the 'Helpless' episode in season 3. This story is a sort of prequel to 'The Last Living Slayer'.

Miss Merrick

Author: Nitrowugs

Rating: PG

Pairings: B/A hinted at

Feedback: Please. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with BtVS. Characters, plots and dialogue from the show are borrowed with no infringement intent whatsoever.

Distribution: Please ask and let me know where it's going.

Completed: 07/27/2014

Summary: Buffy gets help from an unexpected source and Quentin Travers gets what he deserves. Happens during the 'Helpless' episode in season 3. This story is a sort of prequel to 'The Last Living Slayer'.

A/N1: I changed the events of 'Helpless' so that someone that Quentin Travers thought he would never see again shows up and is not too happy with their former acquaintance.

A/N2: In a list of characters for Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie), Buffy's first watcher is listed Merrick Jamison-Smythe. Since I couldn't find where he was referred to as anything other than Merrick on the television show, for the sake of this story I assumed that Merrick was his last name. By all means let me know if you feel that I should change this.

A/N3: Thoughts are in single quotes (' ').

Overview

Janice Merrick was not an evil woman, she was, in fact, kind and generous and forgiving to a fault and she doted on her younger brother who had been a watcher before he was killed nearly three years ago. For this reason, and others, Janice was determined that her brother's slayer would receive whatever support and protection that she could provide, even if it meant going up against Quentin Travers to provide it.

Part 1

Buffy didn't know what to think about the rapid loss of her strength. At first she had thought she might be getting the flu again, but she realized that didn't make any sense. With the flu she had a fever, a cough and a sore throat in addition to feeling weak. Now she had no flu symptoms, she felt like she always did, with one major exception - she felt like she wasn't the slayer any more. Okay, so she had wished many time that she could go back to being a regular teenager and not the chosen one, but that was just wishful thinking. She didn't really want to lose all of her slayer strength and be totally vulnerable to Sunnydale's demon population.

Giles, her current watcher, didn't seem very concerned about it; that in itself was puzzling. Giles was always concerned, whether she stubbed a toe or missed a meal, what was up with his lack of concern now? True he had promised to look into it, but he had shown little or no concern as his slayer continued to grow weaker.

The same thing seemed to apply to Angel, her vampire boyfriend, and her friends. While they were all convinced that she would get her strength back, no one seemed to be aware of the immediate problem – she was still recognized as the slayer by all of the local baddies, which made her completely vulnerable and incapable of defending herself or anyone else.

Add all of this to their confrontation with Zachary Kralik last night and Buffy was more than concerned; she was scared. She and Giles had been in the high school library and she was again trying to get him to see the urgency of the situation that she faced.

Begin Flashback

"Giles, please, we have to figure out what is happening to me. I have no strength, I have no coordination, I throw knives like..."

"A girl?" Giles interrupted.

"Like I'm not the slayer," Buffy replied, her voice laced with concern. "Giles, what is happening to me?"

"Buffy I assure you that given enough time, I will get to the bottom of this."

In no way was this a sufficient answer and Buffy would not let it go.

"Giles, you told me that most slayers don't live past their eighteenth birthday. Is it because they lose their slayer powers before their birthday and they are killed? My eighteenth birthday is coming up in two days. Am I going to die in two days?"

Giles didn't answer and Buffy's voice rose in urgency.

"Giles, answer me. Am I going to die in two days?"

Before Giles could say anything in reply, Zachary Kralik, the insane vampire brought to Sunnydale by the Watchers Council to test Buffy's slayer abilities, stepped out of the stacks looking wild and unstable. When he spoke, his words were not reassuring, causing fear to rise in both Buffy and Giles.

"Answer her, Giles. Is she going to die in two days? No, wait, let me answer her." He turned his head to look at Buffy with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. "No, slayer, you're not going to die in two days; you're going to die tonight."

While Kralik was looking at Buffy, Giles grabbed the crossbow that he kept under the library counter and fired; Kralik turned just in time to cause the shot to miss its target, but hit him in the shoulder.

"Buffy, run."

"Giles, I can't leave you."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be right behind you," Giles yelled as he fired the crossbow again, this time hitting Kralik in the abdomen.

"You'll pay for this watcher; as soon as I take care of your slayer, I'm coming after you." Kralik growled as he disappeared into the stacks.

Giles and Buffy both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the vampire leave. In the back of his mind Giles told himself that he had to secure the back entrance to the stacks to prevent free access to the library by others like Kralik. However, there was a matter of more pressing urgency that he had to address and he did not know what to do. Should he tell Buffy the truth regarding her loss of strength and risk losing her trust forever or should he continue to follow the Council's directives and administer the last few dosages of the disabling drug to his slayer?

Giles had a decision to make and since he wasn't sure what the right decision would be, he drove Buffy home and warned her to stay inside for the rest of the night.

End Flashback

Part 2

The morning after Buffy and Giles were confronted by Kralik, Buffy was awakened by the telephone. 'Mom must have left for work already,' she thought as she reached for the phone. She did not recognize the voice of the caller right away, but it did sound familiar.

The caller identified herself as Miss Janice Merrick.

Miss Merrick was the sister of Buffy's former watcher and, according to her, she had only recently returned to California. Buffy's father, Hank Summers, had refused to tell Miss Merrick where his daughter was. All he would say was that his wife and daughter had left Los Angeles and would not be coming back.

Miss Merrick sounded frantic over the phone. According to her, she had been trying to get in touch with Buffy since she arrived. Buffy could tell by the urgency in her voice that something was very wrong. Miss Merrick was this quiet, prim and proper English lady who never raised her voice and it took a lot to get her excited or scared. Whatever the reason for her call, it had to be something awfully urgent, possibly life threatening.

Buffy didn't know what had happened and she was almost afraid to ask why Miss Merrick was trying to reach her. Then, when she was told that the call was regarding a matter of utmost importance that could not be discussed over the phone, Buffy nearly panicked.

The caller was adamant about not discussing anything over the phone and equally adamant about seeing Buffy not later than that afternoon. When Buffy explained to the woman that she would have to take the bus to LA and would not get there before nightfall, Miss Merrick insisted that she stay at home.

When she learned that Buffy was in Sunnydale, she was both shocked and angry.

"On the hellmouth? With only your watcher for support? Good Lord. Whose idea was that? I knew they should have assigned me as your watcher after the death of my brother, but that Travers (current head of the Watchers Council) is a bastard to be sure. He wanted someone that he thought he could manipulate and he knew that I was as strong willed as my brother was. Give me your address, dear; I will come to you as soon as possible."

After giving Miss Merrick the address, Buffy was told that she would see her in not more than two hours. This led Buffy to believe that Miss Merrick would be coming in the family helicopter.

Part 3

After speaking with Buffy, Janice Merrick knew what she had to do, but she really did not want to contact Quentin Travers; the last thing she wanted was to have to face him. She knew that he had not changed – he was still as arrogant, as self-centered and as demanding as ever and she could not stand the thought of being in the same room with him.

'Of course there is another way to contact him,' she thought as she smiled to herself – and what fun that would be.

This week had been tiresome and troublesome for Travers; add that to the long uncomfortable trip from London and he was practically worn out. He knew that he needed to be refreshed and alert when he confronted Rupert Giles again regarding his slayer. Her eighteenth birthday was rapidly approaching and everything needed to be in place as soon as possible. Of course he knew that Giles did not approve of his visit, but he didn't care what Giles thought, after all, Giles reported to him, not the other way around.

Quentin was sound asleep in his hotel room when he was awakened by...something...he did not know what. Without opening his eyes he knew that he was no longer where he was supposed to be. The feel and smell of the air were different from before. He opened his eyes and sat straight up in bed when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hello, Quentin, remember me?"

"J-Janice? Janice Merrick? Is it really you?"

"Indeed it is, Quentin."

"Janice, where have you been? I have searched the globe for you."

Miss Merrick was very calm, unmoved by Travers' exuberance. "You would not've had to search if I had wanted you to find me."

Travers' whole demeanor seemed to deflate. "What do you mean? Janice, I love you. I have always loved you."

"Whatever happened between you and me was a long time ago, long before you became head of the Watchers Council. It happened in the past; it is best for all concerned to let it remain in the past."

Desperation showed on his face and in his voice as he asked, "How can you say that? You loved me; I know you did, and you knew that I loved you. Why else would I have asked you to marry me?"

"You didn't love me, Quentin. You thought that by marrying me it would give you control of my magic and a leg-up in trying to control my sisters in the coven. Be glad that I didn't marry you, because considering where I am magically and considering how you misuse your authority in your position on the Council, by now you would have sorely regretted marrying me.

"I warned you long ago to stop the Cruciamentum. You didn't listen. I warn you now, and this is your last warning, if you are here to force the current slayer to participate in that barbaric ritual, I. Will. Stop. You ... Permanently."

"Stay out of it, Janice. Council affairs no longer concern you."

"This is your last warning. I will stop you by whatever means necessary. Goodbye, Quentin."

She disappeared leaving a bewildered and frustrated Quentin Travers staring into empty space. His surroundings slowly changed back to his hotel room and he found himself waking up from what, to him, seemed to be a very vivid dream.

'Could that really have been Janice? My Janice? I have to find her. No matter where she is, I have to find her.'

Part 4

An hour and a half after the call from Miss Merrick, Buffy heard the sound of a whirlybird and looked out her bedroom window to see Miss Merrick stepping out of the bird as it hovered over her front lawn. Before she could get down the stairs and to the front of the house, she heard an urgent knock on the door.

"Miss Merrick, come in." The two of them hugged; they had not seen each other in almost two years. "Have a seat; I'll make some tea," Buffy offered, but her guest wanted to get immediately down to the reason for her visit.

"Thank you, dear, no need for tea; this is not a social call."

After motioning for her guest to have a seat in the living room, Buffy was anxious to know the reason for her visit.

Miss Merrick explained that, as she had said on the phone, she had been trying frantically to get in touch with Buffy. Because Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother, was not listed in any local phone directory and she did not want to say anything to Joyce about the situation anyway, she had to use some of her old contacts to find the Summers' home phone number.

"Now, are you all right? Have you been feeling ill or weak at all recently?" Janice wanted to know.

Buffy explained that she had the flu a while back, but was fine now, but that she seemed to be coming down with something that was making her lose her slayer strength. Neither she nor her watcher knew what was going on.

Miss Merrick explained to her about the Cruciamentum and how a slayer approaching her eighteenth birthday was weakened and put at risk by her watcher at the commands of the Council. When she could not reach Buffy, she had hoped that Mr. Giles would not follow through with this test, that he would go against Council orders for once.

Buffy was livid.

"Are you telling me that Giles has injected me with some kind of poison to weaken me?"

"That is precisely what I'm telling you. Buffy, I don't know how you want to handle this, but as soon as I got off the phone with you, I sent a message to your great-grandmother on the east coast asking her to prepare an antidote for the poison and to teleport it to me here as soon as she has prepared it. I can only hope that she gets my message in time. She is much better at such things than I am. In my message I told her it needs to work instantly because Travers is already in town and he is probably planning the Cruciamentum for tomorrow night."

Buffy was not aware that Miss Merrick even knew Grand M (the name everyone called her great-grandmother), but Miss Merrick assured her that she and Grand M had been friends for many years.

Three hours later when her cell phone rang, it was not good news. Miss Merrick was told by the person that called that while Grand M was in the process of creating the antidote, her powers were bound and she could not continue. No one else there could make the antidote.

"That damned Travers." Miss Merrick was furious as she spat the name. "I know that he had something to do with this. I am sure that he had the coven in Devon do the binding; other than the Furies, Gerenea in Los Angeles and myself, they are the only ones on earth powerful enough to do this to your great-grandmother. It's time for me to take care of Travers once and for all."

Buffy was astounded by this news. The more she listened to and observed the woman in front of her, the more she realized how very little she knew about the seemingly innocent Miss Merrick. In the short span of time that her visitor had been in her house, Buffy had learned that the woman knew Giles and Quentin Travers, that she was good friends with Buffy's great-grandmother and that she was a former member of the witches coven in Devon.

When Merrick, Miss Merrick's brother, was chosen to be a watcher, she left the coven and came to America with him.

"Actually," Miss Merrick told Buffy, "I just used my brother as an excuse. For some time I had wanted to leave; I was sick and tired of the influence that Travers wielded over the coven. He and I had clashed several times and the others always sided with him. He could see how rapidly my powers were increasing so he was more than happy when I left. When I last spoke to him, I warned him that I would not allow him to perform the Cruciamentum on my brother's slayer. I meant that."

Miss Merrick asked to use the phone and was directed to the wall phone in the kitchen. When she returned to the living room, she told Buffy that Travers was not in his hotel room. That meant that he was probably with Giles. It was time for a show-down.

Without asking permission, Buffy said, "I'm going with you."

"Very well. My car should be here shortly." She looked out the living room window. "My driver was supposed to drive up to Sunnydale, book rooms for us at the Sunnydale Inn and then come here. He should be pulling up any minute."

They arrived at the library in time to overhear a conversation between Travers and Giles, during which Giles told him he would tell Buffy about the test so that it would be invalidated. Travers informed Giles that the test had already begun.

"If your slayer wants to save her mother, she'd better get going. Kralik knows where the Summers' gallery is located."

After hearing this, Miss Merrick quickly whispered to Buffy to give her the address of the gallery; she told the slayer that she would make sure that her mother was safe and then return to the library. She then left immediately and rushed to her car.

Buffy entered the library to confront Giles and Travers. She did not understand how Giles could willingly follow commands from such an awful person as Quentin Travers. When she stepped into the library and faced Giles, he could see the look of hurt and betrayal on her face.

"How could you, Giles? How could you? I trusted you and you poisoned me. You saw what it was doing to me and you didn't say a word. You are not the person I thought you were. I don't know you at all."

By the time she stopped speaking there were tears running down her face and she was nearly choking on her words.

"Buffy, please, you heard what I said to Quentin; I meant that and I am willing to do whatever it takes to win back your trust."

She repeated her last words to him, "You are not the person I thought you were. I don't know you at all," and turned to walk out.

"Buffy, you can't walk home alone. It isn't safe. Let me drive you."

Buffy stopped. In her heart she knew that Giles was right. She could not defend herself in her weakened state. Giles verified that he had his keys and a stake and the two of them left the library.

Travers was silent the whole time, listening to what he considered the most troublesome pair he had encountered since he took over the Watchers Council. However, it looked like things were working out just as he had expected. There would be quite a little surprise awaiting them when Giles and his slayer arrived at her house.

The drive to the Summers' house was quiet; neither spoke until Giles pulled the car to a stop behind Joyce's jeep that was parked in the driveway. "Buffy I don't trust Travers. He didn't voice a single complaint the whole time you were in the library and that's not like him. He has something up his sleeve that we don't know about. Let's make sure that your mother is all right and then do a thorough check of your house. I won't leave you and your mother alone. I will stay with you until we can get Angel here."

Buffy forced herself not to reply. She knew that she should be grateful for Giles' offer of protection for herself and her mother, but she felt that they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if it hadn't been for Giles' betrayal over the past week. She got out of the car and headed up the walk toward house. Before she knew what was happening, a vampire jumped from behind Joyce's car and easily knocked Buffy to the ground. Giles recognized the vamp as Blair, one of the men who came to Sunnydale with Travers. As the vamp bent over to bite Buffy, Giles easily staked him in the back with the stake that he carried in his jacket pocket, leaving Buffy covered with vamp dust.

Giles helped her up and they proceeded into the house. The entire incidence had happened so fast that Buffy didn't have time to be afraid. She panicked when she called for her mother and got no answer. As the two of them started to search the house, Buffy headed for the kitchen where she found a picture of Kralik with her mother tied and gagged. She knew exactly what had happened - her mother had left the gallery early since she had gone in early that morning and had been captured by Kralik.

She yelled for Giles and handed him the photograph when he came running into the kitchen. Without a word, she turned and headed upstairs to her bedroom where she changed into coveralls and a tee shirt; she then placed various weapons into her weapons duffle.

While Buffy was upstairs, Giles called Oz, one of the slayer's friends, and asked him to drive to the mansion to get Angel and bring him to the old Sunnydale boarding house on Prescott Lane. Giles wasn't sure what kind of help he and his slayer would need, but he wasn't taking any chances on facing Kralik, and who knows how many other vamps, alone; he knew for sure that he could depend on Angel to defend Buffy at all costs. When this was over there would be fences for him to mend with more than just Buffy.

When she came down the stairs struggling with the duffle bag, Giles took it from her; she started to protest, but he said firmly, "We will face him together, Buffy - watcher and slayer together."

Less than five seconds after they got to the old boarding house, they saw Oz's van pull up. Oz and Angel got out and approached Giles' car where Giles briefly explained what was about to happen.

"I'll take care of Kralik," Angel told them, but Buffy insisted -

"No. I have to do this myself; just make sure that you get my mother out safely."

All three of the males started to protest, but the look on Buffy's face stopped them.

Angel spoke up again. "I sense about six vampires standing guard at the back of the building. I'll take care of them. I sense one human near the back of the building on the first floor; I assume that is Mrs. Summers. Giles, you and Oz get her out of there." He reached down and pulled a deadly looking knife out of his right boot and handed it to Oz. "Here, take this; she's probably tied up. There is another vampire moving around on the second floor; Buffy, I assume that is Kralik."

Giles started again to protest, but Angel shook his head and Giles reluctantly kept quiet. He simply nodded and watched as Buffy headed for the front of the building alone.

"Don't worry, Giles," Angel told him; "it won't take me two minutes to take care of the guards, then I'll go in to help Buffy."

Giles hoped in his heart that this would not be the last time that he saw his slayer alive and he vowed to himself that if Buffy died this night, so would Quentin Travers.

Part 5

In the meantime, when Miss Merrick arrived at the art gallery, she was told that Joyce had left for the day. She returned to her car and tried calling the Summers' house, but got no answer. She told her driver to return her to the high school.

Travers turned as he heard someone enter the library. He was elated to see Janice and started toward her with his arms out-stretched. He halted when he saw the unwelcoming look on her face, a look that in no way betrayed her true feelings of hatred for her former acquaintance.

"Where is she, Quentin? Where is the slayer?"

"What? Why would you be interested in the slayer, Janice?"

"Where...Is...She?"

"If you must know, right about now she should be facing the fight of her life. This fight will show us if she is indeed the quality of slayer that her watcher proclaims her to be. This is Council business, Janice, and does not concern you. Stay out of it."

"When my brother was assigned to a slayer, I warned you, Quentin. If you ever tried this horrid test again, I would stop you and I would put an end to your maniacal influence over the Council and the coven at Devon. You didn't listen. Did you think I wouldn't or couldn't follow through on what I said?"

"And I warned you not to ever interfere with Council affairs. You don't control me, Janice, and you don't control the Council."

"For your sake, you had better hope that Buffy is safe and no harm comes to her this night, because if one hair on her head is harmed, you will pay dearly. Now where is she?"

"Stay out of this, Janice."

Ignoring his words Miss Merrick made her demand. "Either you stop this Cruciamentum or I will, and I'm warning you, you will not like the way I stop it."

"You're warning me?" He spat the words. "You're just like your brother, always going against the Council; you see what happened to him."

Janice Merrick's blood was boiling. "You bloody bastard, I always suspected that you had something to do with my brother's death, I believed in my heart that you did – and now I know for sure."

"You know nothing. You just better be careful you don't allow your interfering to cause something to happen to you. I mean it, Janice; no matter how much you mean to me personally, the Council is bigger than both of us and I will not permit you to interfere."

Miss Merrick was furious. "Permit me? You dare threaten me?" Her voice boomed in the room and Travers looked around nervously. He had heard that she was very powerful, but he had never experienced her wrath first hand.

Seeing that she would not get the information she was seeking, Janice turned and walked out of the library, returned to her car and told the driver to head for the Summers' house. If Buffy indeed was not there, she would need something that belonged to the slayer in order to track her.

She found Joyce's jeep in the driveway and the front door locked. After knocking and getting no answer, she used her magic to unlock the door; she found the picture of Joyce and Kralik on the coffee table where Giles had left it and headed upstairs to get something that would help her find Buffy. She picked up a hair brush from the dresser and whispered a few words. She then put the brush down and headed back downstairs. She hoped she was not too late to save her brother's slayer.

Part 6

Giles could hear the sound of Angel fighting the guards as he and Oz quietly entered the front of the building. They quickly found a very frightened Joyce who was tied to a chair and gagged. She was so relieved to see them that she burst into tears. Giles removed the gag from her mouth as Oz proceeded to cut the bindings that held her to the chair.

"Rupert, Oz, I am so relieved to see you both. I thought you were those men from outside coming to kill me. Oh gods, where is Buffy? Please don't tell me she is here to fight these creatures."

When she tried to stand, Joyce nearly fell but was caught by Giles.

"Don't worry, dear, Angel is here to help Buffy. Let's get you out of here." He picked her up to carry her to his car just as he heard Angel enter the back of the building.

Angel reached Buffy just in time to hear her say, "If I was at full slayer power, I'd be punning right about now," and to see Kralik burst into dust.

She had felt him enter the building and when he said, "You did it, Buffy; you did it," relief flooded her body and she collapsed into his arms.

"Come on, Love, let's get you out of here. Giles and Oz have your mom outside."

Buffy and Angel walked out of the building just as Miss Merrick was getting out of her car. She hurried over to Buffy and took her into a bear hug as she said, "Thank the Powers you are all right."

Giles scoffed. "The Powers? What do they have to do with this?"

"I'm surprised at you, Rupert; you haven't figured it out yet?" She gave a little smirk. "Come along everyone, we have one more stop to make," she said as she headed back to her car. "Joyce, dear, why don't you ride with me? You'll be more comfortable."

Giles helped Joyce over to Miss Merrick's car and the others returned to the vehicles they had arrived in; the same thought went through the minds of the Sunnydale residents - 'Where is this one stop and what is this woman up to?'

Joyce remembered meeting Miss Merrick in LA, but she did not know of her relationship with Buffy's first watcher. During their short ride that ended at Sunnydale High School, Janice filled Joyce in on what was happening and who was responsible for what had happened tonight.

The vehicles pulled up in front of the high school and all of the occupants, except Oz, got out and headed inside. Giles thanked Oz for his help and informed him that he would see him at school later. This was fine with Oz since he had seen enough drama for one night; he returned Angel's knife to him, pulled his van away from the curb and headed home.

The others followed Giles into the school where Miss Merrick asked them to allow her to meet with Travers first and they agreed. She knew that he was waiting for the results of the Cruciamentum.

"I see you're back, Janice," Travers greeted her as she entered the library. His face screwed up in a most heinous smile when he said, "I see the slayer and her watcher aren't with you. I guess they didn't make it. You see, this slayer wasn't so special after all. Oh well, on to the next one."

"On the contrary, they, along with the slayer's mother, are all well." She motioned toward the door. "I warned you, Quentin; I warned you."

Travers took several steps back as Giles, Buffy, Angel and Joyce entered the library.

"You think I don't know what you've done," Miss Merrick continued; "you knew what the next slayer was supposed to be, what she was supposed to accomplish, and you wanted her for yourself; you wanted the glory that she would bring attributed to you and your training. Why do you think that you and the Council didn't know about her until she was fifteen years old? Because, following the directions of The Powers That Be, I kept her hidden from you.

"I know the real reason you hated my brother and it wasn't because he wouldn't tell you where I was; it was because the Council over-ruled you and chose him to be Buffy's watcher instead of you. I also know what you did to the slayer that preceded Buffy - you murdered her. She was badly injured during the Cruciamentum, but she would have recovered; you saw her death as your chance to get to Buffy, so you murdered her while she slept. I didn't figure it out until after the autopsy."

At this, Travers thought for sure he had caught Janice in a lie.

"There was no autopsy. The girl was cremated."

He spoke with the pompous air everyone was used to hearing from him.

"That's what you think. As her closest family member, supposedly, (she smiled deviously) I demanded that the hospital send her body to London where I had an autopsy performed. That's when I realized what you had done. You killed that slayer while she slept and you sent Winslow, her watcher, to Third Quor.

"How could you do that, Quentin? How could you murder a slayer and then condemn a human being to such a horrible place?"

Even though Janice Merrick was not just figuring out what Travers had done, she was still appalled that a member of the Watchers Council could be a murderer, or worse. Third Quor was a demon dimension where humans aged much slower than they do here and they had no way out. The exit portal on Third Quor only opened once every five hundred years. Once there, there was no escape until the exit portal opened again, and Travers knew that.

"You knew that humans sent there were doomed to a life of torture at the hands of demons. You are a monster Quentin and I'm putting a stop to you right now. Buffy was your last chance to turn around; you failed."

Her hair and her eyes turned milky white as she pointed a finger at Travers and made a small circle in the air as she spoke.

"From this moment forward you and all Council members who willingly follow you are banished to Third Quor. You will remain there for the rest of your natural lives. You will never, ever, return to this or any other human dimension. Be gone."

The circle expanded in size until it completely covered Travers. The last thing anyone heard from him was his voice as he screamed, "Janice, please no, nooooo."

Her appearance returned to normal as she thought, 'See how you fare against the type of creatures that you've sent innocent and weakened young girls to face. I would love to be there when you have to face Winslow.'

She turned to Giles. "The reason you did not accompany him was because you tried to correct your error. Stay with your slayer, Rupert. She, more than anything else, is your priority. There are bad times ahead and your slayer will need you more than ever before." She looked at Angel. "The same applies to you, Angelus. The slayer needs you now and will need you even more in the future. Your actions regarding her may very well determine both your futures. Be careful of the decisions you make, Angelus; be very careful."

Then to the group she said, "I am taking over the Watchers Council. Changes are going to be made and those who want to stick with the old ways will be left behind.

"I'm stopping on the east coast on my way back to London. There's an old friend there that I need to see. Buffy, I'll tell her that you said, 'hello'. Joyce, let's keep in touch."

She smiled at the stunned faces and walked out of the library.

Part 7

Janice Merrick kept her word. Her first stop was on the east coast where she visited Grand M and restored her gift of magic. She stayed with her old friend for several days as they caught each other up on the past and made plans for the future, a future that very much centered around Buffy and Angel, a future that those two warriors had no inkling about.

Her next stop was the coven in Devon who, to her surprise, welcomed her warmly. They had felt their release from the power of Quentin Travers and they knew it had to be Janice who freed them. They explained to her that before she left the coven, Travers controlled them with the power of a demon that owed him a great favor; then after she left, he was convinced that they were withholding information from him regarding her whereabouts and since they would not, actually could not, reveal that information, he made their lives a living hell.

What Travers had found out was that Miss Merrick was actually the strongest one in the coven and without her, they were easily controlled by the demon's magic. Now without his control, they returned to the productive and supportive coven that they had been before he took over the Watchers Council. She let them know of her plans to take over the Council and how it would be changed to train and protect the potential slayers and to support the current slayer and her watcher. The coven was overjoyed to hear this and volunteered their support as it had been before Travers came on the scene.

Without letting anyone know that it was not from Quentin Travers, Miss Merrick then sent a communication to all current watchers, retrieval teams and support personnel calling for a "meeting of utmost importance" to be held in two days at the Council headquarters building in London. She fully expected everyone to attend.

Everyone did attend.

They were all gathered in the large meeting room anxiously awaiting Travers' appearance when the door opened and Janice Merrick entered. Many of her old friends and acquaintances greeted her with welcoming smiles and applause, while more than a few others showed either shock or downright scowls of disapproval.

Janice approached the podium, addressed the audience and identified herself, but was interrupted when she heard someone in the audience ask, "Where is Quentin? Does he know that you are here?"

Calmly she addressed the audience. "Quentin Travers is no longer head of the Watchers Council and he will not be returning to the Council in any capacity. As of two days ago I have taken complete control of the Council and all of its resources."

At first there was bedlam in the auditorium until she held up her hand indicating the need for a return to order. When it appeared that some in the audience refused to recognize her authority, Janice turned up the microphone a notch and spoke with no uncertainty.

"You have two minutes to decide to recognize my authority and conduct yourselves with decorum or to leave. Know this: Those of you who decide to leave, continue out of this building; your personal property will be sent to you for you will not be allowed to return."

She turned off the mike and stepped a few feet back from the podium where she stood quietly for two minutes. There was much grumbling from the floor during most of those two minutes, but no one left the room. When the two minutes were up, she returned to the podium and addressed the group again.

"New standards for rules and regulations regarding Council activities have been produced. A general overview of these are in the binders that you see in front of you; detailed explanations of each standard can be found in the Council's library. I will give you one week to acquaint yourselves with these new standards and we will meet at this time in one week to discuss your concerns.

"Are there any immediate issues that you wish to address at this time?"

A man in the middle of the audience raised his hand and Janice acknowledged him. She had never met him in person before, but she recognized him from her review of Council personnel over the past two days.

The man stood and addressed Janice. "My name is Timothy Blevvins. I have been assigned as watcher for one of the potential slayers for about a year. When she first came to me she was a nervous wreck and afraid of everything and everyone, thanks to Quentin. I don't know who you are or what your plans are for the Council, but in my mind, getting rid of Travers was a step in the right direction. I hope that he never comes back and I stand in support of your efforts to make this a true Watchers Council."

As Blevvins took his seat there was loud applause and verbal support for his words and there were others in the room who wished they had the courage to voice their thoughts as he had.

Miss Merrick thanked Blevvins for his support and proceeded to give a general overview of the major policy changes that she had outlined. She ended with an invitation to a second meeting to be held in one week and made it clear for those who did not attend the second meeting, it would be taken as their resignation from the Council.

One week hence Miss Merrick stood on the same podium and addressed her supporters. Each had studied in detail her plans for the future of the Watchers Council and, after all questions were answered and all issues were resolved, she faced a group of people that was anxious to get started working with an organization that was defined as they felt it should have always been. A full twenty-five percent of the old Council was not present, including Roger Wyndam-Pryce, Wesley's father; these were the die-hard supporters of Quentin Travers and his way of doing things. They would not be missed.

Part 8

Joyce Summers and Janice Merrick became good friends over the next few years. The two of them met several times at Grand M's home in Massachusetts where they assisted in preparations for an upcoming event that would prepare one of the Powers' warriors for a world changing assignment.

Having forgotten Miss Merrick's warning about the decisions that he made, or completely disregarding her warning, Angel left Sunnydale and moved to Los Angeles where he, with the support of two others, started his own investigations company. After the first six months or so, he made no effort to keep in touch with Buffy.

With support from the coven in Devon, Miss Merrick was able to see ahead of time certain events that related to the slayer and she relayed this information to Giles in Sunnydale. For example, information about Glorificus, a god from another dimension seeking the key that would allow her to return home, was provided in advance, allowing Giles and Buffy sufficient time to prepare for her arrival.

Unfortunately, the coven saw no way of identifying the god. All they knew was that her identity was shrouded in mystery; it was not until the last minute that they, actually Spike, finally realized the identity of her human host. Shortly after it was determined that Dawn, Buffy's little sister, was actually the key that Glorificus was seeking, Joyce died a few weeks after having, what everyone thought, was successful brain surgery. Everything possible was done to protect Dawn. It was too late. Buffy had to sacrifice her own life in order to save Dawn. This meant that within a matter of three and a half months, Dawn lost her mother and her sister.

Without his slayer, Giles found it impossible to remain in Sunnydale. However, unknown to him, on the day that he left for London, Buffy's friends were already planning to attempt bringing the slayer back. Also, unknown to her friends, The Powers That Be would make sure that their attempt was successful.

Thanks to her relationship with the coven, Janice was made aware of the threat to eliminate the potential slayers and their watchers and about the planned attack on the Watchers Council headquarters. This information helped to save many lives; the headquarters building was practically empty when it was attacked. However, this attack was more wide-spread than originally anticipated. Many potential slayers and their watchers around the world were slaughtered before Miss Merrick knew what was going on.

Giles brought what he could find of the remaining potential slayers to Sunnydale for Buffy to protect; he did this without contacting Janice Merrick or any of the remaining watchers. It was not made clear how Buffy was supposed to protect and train a house full of lazy and disrespectful girls while working a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant. This situation left Buffy, her entire household in fact, in a very precarious predicament. The First Evil had once again set its sights on Sunnydale; this time, though, it was better organized and a much more dangerous threat, and its primary target seemed to be the remaining slayer line. The situation had become very tense in Buffy's house, nerves were on edge and trust among friends was becoming completely eroded.

The end.

A/N: This story continues in 'The Last Living Slayer'.