Destiny's Call

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: The Dark Age III

It was still early the next morning when Aria got up and headed over to the school for the computer tutorial. She didn't bother to check in with Buffy because she was probably still sleeping from the late night duty and Aria didn't want to wake her. Pushing her hair away from her eyes, Aria took one of the computers by the window as she waited for everyone else to take their seats and Ms. Calendar began the tutorial.

"All right, guys," she began as Aria noticed a certain blonde in the hallway, heading straight towards them. What was Buffy doing here? "The first thing we're going to do is . . . Buffy?"

Xander, who was in the seat next to her, jerked awake at the sudden exclamation. "Huh? Did I fall asleep already?"

"Yep," Aria said, glancing at him. "Uh . . . Xander, you've got a little drool right there." She nodded at his chin and he hastily wiped it away, causing Cordelia to make a noise of disgust.

"You miss your friends?" Willow asked, smiling.

"Sit here, Buff!" Xander offered, getting to his feet and gesturing towards the seat between him and Cordelia. "Demilitarise the zone between me and Cordelia!"

"Yeah and delouse him while you're at it," Cordelia grumbled. Aria shook her head, looking towards her sister.

"What's wrong?" she asked, immediately recognising the look that was written upon the senior Slayer's face. It was the one that said clearly that something was very wrong and possibly life-threatening or even apocalyptic. Or possibly both.

"Is there some crisis that requires instant action?" Xander asked hopefully. "Very far away from here?"

"It's Giles," Buffy answered.

"What about him?" Aria asked, alarmed. What could possibly have happened to their Watcher?

"He's all right, isn't he?" Ms. Calendar wanted to know, the concern written in her voice.

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. "He didn't show up when he was supposed to last night and then, when I went over to his place, he was acting . . . well, very anti-Giles. He wouldn't let me in and he looked really bad. I—I think he might've been . . . I think he was drinking."

"Giles?!" Aria said incredulously. She couldn't imagine the Watcher drinking anything that could possibly be served at a bar.

"He was home alone drinking?" Ms. Calendar sought to confirm and Buffy nodded.

"But . . . tea, right?"

Buffy looked sideways at Willow, shaking her head. "It wasn't tea, Will," she answered.

"Yeah, I knew this would happen," Xander said, not looking worried. "Nobody can be wound as straight and narrow as Giles without a dark side erupting. My Uncle Rory was the stodgiest taxidermist you've ever met by day. By night, it was booze, whores, and fur flying." He paused. "Were there whores?"

"He was alone," Buffy told him.

"Give it time."

"Xander," Aria said warningly as she stood up, walking over to her sister. "But why Giles be acting like that? I mean, the last time I saw him, he was perfectly normal, perfectly Giles."

"Yeah, he seemed perfectly normal yesterday when I saw him talking to the police," Cordelia agreed without looking up.

Aria turned around to look at her, eyebrows raised. Buffy folded her arms across her chest.

"And you waited until now to tell us this because . . .?"

"I didn't think it was important?" Cordelia asked, finally looking up at the two Slayers.

"Giles talking to some police doesn't strike you as important?" Aria demanded, glaring at the cheerleader. "You didn't think, 'hey, maybe he might be in some trouble and I should maybe tell somebody so they can help him'?"

"Nope."

"We understand," Xander said sarcastically. "It wasn't about you."

"What were the police talking to him about?" Ms. Calendar asked, joining the two Slayers as they stood side-by-side, glaring at Cordelia.

"Oh! Don't tell me, I know this one!" Cordelia scrunched up her face in concentration. "It was . . . something about . . . a homicide."

"A homicide?" Aria echoed.

"That's it," Buffy said, heading out the door. "I'm calling him right now."

"Yeah, I'm coming with you," Aria said flatly as she followed her sister out of the door, heading straight down the hall towards the library. Buffy was already there, reaching for the phone when Aria heard a noise coming from the stacks and she looked at Buffy meaningfully. The senior Slayer nodded and they split up, heading in different directions to cut the intruder off.

Aria turned the second that she heard a bookcase fall over. "Buffy!" she yelled, racing towards the noise just as a man came running out, nearly colliding into her and she punched him, sending him to the ground as Buffy came around the corner.

"You've got a good arm, for a girl," he said dryly.

"Thanks," Aria said sarcastically as Buffy narrowed her eyes, recognition in her eyes.

"Hey, I know you!" she said angrily. Aria looked at her in surprise. "You were in that costume shop!"

"Costume shop?" Aria wanted to know. "What costume shop?"

"I'm so pleased you remember," the man said as he got to his feet, trying to escape, but Buffy blocked him.

"Hi, what costume shop?" Aria asked.

"He sold me a dress on Halloween and every costume that was bought there turned people into what they had dressed up as," Buffy explained to her. "I turned into an eighteenth-century noblewoman, Willow turned into a ghost, and Xander was a soldier. It nearly got all of killed."

"But you looked great," the man offered. Buffy glared at him and punched him.

"Man, I missed some stuff before I came here," Aria mused as the man straightened.

"So now we're even?"

"I'll let you know when we're even," Buffy assured him. "What are you doing here?"

"Snooping around," he replied.

"Well, I have to admit, we have to give him points for honesty," Aria said, looking at Buffy.

"Yeah, it's a nice touch," Buffy agreed.

"It's one of my virtues," he answered, then smiled. "Not really."

"I've got a great idea: why don't I just call the police, have you arrested for breaking and entering, and then I can get back to my fun Saturday?" Buffy suggested.

"And I can get back to getting caught up in school," Aria added. "Worst part about moving, you're always behind."

"Well, the police will have all those questions and they'll really need Rupert to answer them all," the man told them.

"You know Giles," Buffy said slowly.

"We go back," he answered. "Way back. You girls wouldn't happen to know where he is, do you?"

"And who would want to know?" Aria asked.

"Ethan Rayne," he said with a smile. "Go ahead and give him a call, see if he remembers. Ask him about the Mark of Eyghon."

Aria and Buffy exchanged a look and Aria shrugged. There was probably no harm and besides, if this guy could help with what was wrong with Giles, then she was willing to give him a chance.

Pushing Ethan into a chair, Aria sat watching him carefully with her arms crossed while Buffy dialled Giles' number on the library phone, waiting for him to answer. "Giles, it's me," she said into the phone when he picked up on the other end. "What's the Mark of Eyghon? Giles?" she added after a minute.

"Cat got his tongue?" Ethan asked smugly.

"I'm in your office with someone who claims to be an old friend of yours," Buffy said into the phone, ignoring him. "Ethan Rayne?" She paused, listening carefully. "No, I'm not going anywhere until you give me some answers!"

At that moment, a crash came through a window and Aria spun around, feeling Ethan jump up, pushing her in front of him like a shield.

"Oh, yeah, you've got the heart of a lion," she muttered darkly as a guy—or at least she thought it was, because he looked mutilated—came into the office, heading for Buffy, who kicked him back and jumped over the counter, joining Aria and Ethan.

"Ethan!" the man growled and he began to run as Xander came into the library, followed by the others.

"Stop him!" Aria yelled as she somersaulted over the man and yanked the cage door open. "Buffy, in here!"

Catching the hint, Buffy raced to her and the man gave pursuit until she dove out of the way, sending him into the cage and Aria shut the door. "Nice teamwork," she said, slapping her sister's palm. Meanwhile, Ethan was still lying on the floor where Cordelia had downed him. "Come on, let's get him."

"I'm not gonna get close enough to feel his pulse," Willow said when they had Ethan in a chair. "But he looks dead."

"Except for the walking and attacking two Slayers part," Xander pointed out dryly.

"He's dead," Ethan confirmed. "Sorry, Philip. Really, I am."

Aria looked around as Giles came barging into the library. "Is everyone all right?"

"Super!" Cordelia answered, sounding pleased. "I kicked a guy!"

"Dead guy here interrupted our tutorial," Xander explained before he turned to the newly dubbed Philip. "Been meaning to thank you for that." He jumped back as Philip tried to tackle him, but the cage prevented that.

Giles stared at the man in the cage. "It can't be."

"Yes, it can," Ethan assured him. Aria glanced at him, then at Giles as he turned to look at Ethan. "Hello, Ripper."

"Ripper?" Aria whispered to Buffy, who shrugged, obviously as much in the dark as she was.

"I thought I told you to leave town," Giles said.

"You did," Ethan agreed. "I didn't. Shop's lease is paid until the end of the month."

Giles walked towards him, grabbing him by the hair and lifted him out of the chair. Aria gawked at him, astonished to see this side of Giles, a side she had never seen before. "You should have left when I told you," Giles said dangerously. The sound of it made Aria's blood go cold. "You put these people in danger. The people I care about."

"If you cared so much about them, why didn't you leave town?" Ethan taunted him. Aria stared at the two men, confused. What was going on? "You've been having the dreams, I know. We both know what's coming."

"What dreams?" Buffy demanded. "What is going on here?"

Before anyone could explain, however, the cage door was thrown open by Philip, knocking Ms. Calendar unconscious. Aria and Buffy moved as one, fighting side-by-side as they tackled Philip, sending him back towards the cage before he tried to get up. Aria gasped as he shuddered and collapsed before slowly disintegrating into a puddle of slime.

"Now there's something that you don't see every day," Willow muttered.

"Unless you're us," Aria pointed out.

"Where's Ethan?" Buffy asked, looking around but the man had vanished in the chaos. "Where'd he go?" She vanished out of the library to find him as Ms. Calendar slowly regained consciousness.

"Careful," Giles instructed as he helped her to her feet. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

"This is what happens when you have school on Saturday," Cordelia mused and Aria shot her a look before looking back at the two teachers. Giles was holding Ms. Calendar against him.

And as she looked at them, Aria could've sworn that she saw Ms. Calendar's eyes flashed green for a second before they returned to normal. But it happened so fast, that she thought she imagined it.