Disclaimer: I do not own any work by Joss Whedon or JRR Tolkien. The Angel Institute and Academy are my own creation.
"Come in," Giles said, when they heard a knock on the conference room door.
"Your guest has arrived Mr. Giles," a butler said, when he entered the conference room.
"Show her in," he replied.
"Yes sir," he said, and turned on his heels and walked out the conference room.
A minute later a woman walked into the conference room who appeared to be in her mid-thirties, was 5'6", had medium length brown hair with brown eyes. "Mr. Giles it's finally nice to meet you," she said.
"It's nice to finally meet you Mrs. Borne," Giles said, and got up to shake her hand.
"You can call me Diana," she told him.
"Call me Giles, please have a seat Diana," he said.
"Thank you," she replied, and sat next to Buffy. "Hello David, Angela."
"Hello Diana," they replied.
Buffy's slayer senses went off again and she could feel the power rolling off Mrs. Borne, but it wasn't as intense as Angela's and David's.
"My angelic powers are not as great as David's and Angela's," she turned and said to Buffy, as if reading her mind.
Giles explained to Buffy why Mrs. Borne was there.
Everyone watched as Buffy digested that information and finally nodded her head in understanding.
xxx
"Dinner will be served at 5:30 Mr. Giles," Angela said. "A tent will be set up outside."
"Fine," he said.
David then reminded Giles about the weapons for the Watchers and the Watcher Council armory.
"Yes, quite right. Thank you David," Giles said. "This meeting is over."
"Do you want Whistler to send your weapons and boots to your room at the Slayer Compound?" David asked Buffy.
"Yes," she answered.
"Whistler," David said.
"Your weapons and boots are now in your room at the Slayer Compound," Whistler told her after he snapped his fingers.
"Thank you," Buffy said.
"Let's go outside and watch your sister," Angela said to Buffy.
Buffy agreed.
"I'll see you at the meeting?" Whistler told Giles and then disappeared.
Everyone got up and left the conference room.
xxx
The other Watchers were surprised with their gifts from the elves and chose the weapon that was best suited for them, along with a set of daggers and elvish boots. They were also happy to hear that the Angel Institute had provided them with a private jet that would take them anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.
When Giles and David arrived at the Council's armory, Giles found all the old weapons gone and turned and looked at David, who had a sheepish grin on his face. After they stored the weapons they washed up and headed to the tent. When we entered, Giles saw lit candles everywhere and everyone was sitting at a large round table with flowers and candles as center pieces. He noticed the tent was warm and saw two waiters and looked at Angela, who only smiled at him. Giles sat next to Diana and David and decided not to ask any questions.
The first course was vegetable soup with bread and cheese. The main course was deer meat with stuffing and fresh vegetables. White elvish wine was served during the meal and fresh fruit was dessert.
Giles thought the meal was delicious and during the meal, he watched Dawn talk to Maglor in Sandarin and Aral and Maril in Elvish, and realized she finally had something of her own and he was happy for her. He was also glad to see Maglor have someone to converse with in his own language and during dinner, he heard Maglor tell Angela he wanted to live in the cottage closest to the river and not in the Manor. Giles knew that particular cottage was empty and told him he could move in tomorrow.
Maglor was grateful and thanked him.
xxx
When Angela, Maglor, Diana, Aral and I went outside and walked over to Dawn, Maril was teaching her how to listen to the trees and it seemed Dawn got it right away. She told us she could hear the trees and understood what they were saying and Angela and I both gave her a hug. I finally realized my friends were not her friends and when she goes to the Angel Academy, she'll meet others her own age and they'll become her friends.
During dinner, I noticed Dawn was glowing and I've never seen her so happy and she had a light in her eyes I've never seen before and Ama sat in her lap during the entire meal. I realized then how much I loved my sister.
xxx
Dawn is a very smart, bright and pleasant young girl and learns quickly. I told her after dinner that Aral and I will go back to her cottage to continue her magic lessons until 10:00 p.m. and we wanted her in bed by 10:30 p.m. She started to protest until she saw the look on my husband's face. I then told her that her lessons will begin tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m. and won't end until 6:00 p.m., which is the same schedule she'll have at the Academy.
xxx
I'm angry that my magic is dormant...and I'm a little jealous of Dawn because she's learning two new types of magic – magic that's totally different from what I know and much more powerful. When I heard what Dawn will learn, it boggled my mind. I don't know anything about Divination nor Transfiguration, and I've never heard of Charms. She'll also learn a few level 40 elvish spells and I'll never know what they are. She'll never have to use another spell book again and that's unheard of to me. I also never knew there were magical birds.
Today was the first time any of us have met a real elf, and we all thought elves were only in fairy tales. To learn they were immortal and magical was another surprise. I still can't believe they're humans on our world with angelic power and magic; and the power that radiated from Angela and David was terrifying. To learn that their magic was the most powerful in existence was frightening – and I can't image what they can do.
I noticed Buffy and the others, along with a strange woman I've never seen before, walk out the door and over to Maril and Dawn. When a tent suddenly appeared lit by many candles, I wondered who did it and if it was done by magic. I feel left out, Willow thought, when she walked away from the window to get something to eat.
xxx
SWORD OF DAMOCLES
"Come in," Giles said, when he heard a knock on his office door.
When Willow entered, she was surprised to see the others in Giles' office.
"Have a seat Willow," Giles said.
Willow sat on the sofa in-between Buffy and the strange woman she saw earlier...and when she turned and looked at Buffy, Willow saw her looking straight ahead and didn't acknowledge her.
Giles could see she was nervous. "Willow, the woman on your right is Mrs. Diana Borne."
"Hello Willow," she said, with a kind smile on her face.
"Hello Mrs. Borne," she replied.
"Angela is here to deliver a message to you from the Powers," Giles told her, wiping his glasses on his tie.
"Oh," Willow said, looking at Angela.
"I'm going to start from the beginning," Angela told her. "During the Acathla incident, the Powers sent Whistler to tell Buffy how to destroy Acathla and he supervised her to make sure she did. That was a direct intervention on their part...and they did that because they received orders from a higher authority – namely, the Lord. The Lord was supervising the Acathla incident because for whatever reason, the First Evil came to our world during that time and was going to use Acathla to try to destroy us; and the First Evil is the Lord's domain and no one else's. The Lord sets all dooms on our world, either directly or indirectly. During the Acathla incident you used magic you should never have used...and when you tried to take that doom off, you stepped into the Lord's domain and tried to undo His work."
"I didn't know that," Willow said, with a shocked look on her face.
"I warned you then about the magic you were using," Giles told her. "Now you know why you failed."
"No one can take a doom off anyone Willow," David told her.
"I know that now," she replied, nervously.
"A few months later the Lord pronounced your doom to you," Angela told her.
"How?" Willow asked, with wide-eyed surprise.
"You doppelgänger," Angela answered.
"She appeared after Anya and I . . .," Willow said, still reeling.
"The Lord did it through Anya – that's why she was sent to Sunnydale. He showed you what you were to become...and He was always coming after you Willow."
"Why?" she asked, still not understanding, looking at everyone in the room with a stunned look on her face.
"When you used Osiris and thought you could raise Buffy from the dead, you stepped into the Lord's domain again. Only the Lord can raise someone from the dead and not Willow Rosenberg. That spell also had a doom attached, which the Lord had set. After you used that spell, the angel Michael was sent to the Angel Institute and told us God had stepped in and told us His Will, which we carried out. Osiris only reanimated Buffy's corpse, that's when the Lord put her soul back into her body. You nor anyone else have the power to raise the dead or take a soul from heaven" Angela told her.
Tears were running down Buffy's cheeks and Giles handed her a few tissues.
"I'm sorry Buffy," Willow turned and said to her, choking back her own tears...and noticed Buffy kept looking straight ahead.
"That spell had consequences no one could foresee. When you used Osiris the First Evil saw the residue of that magic and turned its eyes to our world. After it did that, the First recruited Caleb and the Bringers, who in turn proceeded to kill many potential slayers around the world and in some cases, their entire families. Those were Buffy's sisters. We were dispatched world-wide and helped the authorities, in our way, to identify their bodies so their families could claim their bodies. We also helped many of those families financially and with counseling. The Lord also had to open a Seal – which is the number one thing He can do on our world – to seal the hellmouth to protect everyone and everything. Opening a Seal portends the end times on our world, which it almost was," Angela told her.
"That's why the hellmouth was sealed,"Buffy said, through her tears.
"Yes, and that Seal came from heaven, that's why no one could open it," Angela replied.
"That's why I was in heaven," Buffy said, with a stunned look on her face.
Willow looked confused.
"That spell also caused the Lord had to go to war by using His power. The slayer scythe has His power in it and it's also hallowed; and the amulet spoke wore during the Battle in the Hellmouth also had His power in it. That's why the Sunnydale hellmouth was closed forever; now all of you know what kind of power it takes to close a hellmouth," Angela told them.
"I never knew the slayer scythe has God's power in it, nor the amulet," Buffy said, surprised.
"Only His power could call all the slayers world-wide Buffy," Angela told her.
Buffy nodded her head in understanding, wiping tears from her eyes.
"What was the doom on Osiris?" Willow asked meekly, with tears running down her cheeks.
"It was about your stain Willow, as the demon told you when he confronted you," she answered. "You used blood magic and when you did that, you caused many deaths world-wide. When Tara was shot, you were stained you in the process."
"I told you that you that you used the most primal and ferocious magic that night and that the magic you were using would be your undoing," Giles told her. "Now you know the consequences of your actions."
"I was the cause of Tara's death?" Willow asked, through teary eyes.
"Yes, along with many others," Angela answered. "When the Lord hit you, He did it through Tara."
"Why?" Willow asked, ready to break down.
"You reap what you sow and what goes around comes around and everything came back around to you. Blood begets blood Willow and you have a lot of blood on your hands," Angela answered.
"When Tara was killed, you never stopped to think that it was Divine retribution, which it was," David told her.
Willow finally broke down and wailed to the high heavens. She thought about Tara and the other deaths she caused and kept saying: I'm sorry.
Buffy watched her friend, but didn't feel as much sympathy towards her as she thought she might. She knew Giles was right, in that he warned her repeatedly about the magic she was using...and even Tara warned her, but to no avail and she reaped the whirlwind.
Everyone waited until Willow composed herself and Giles handed her tissues.
"You now have a doom handing over your head Willow," Angela told her.
"What?" she asked, blinking tears from her eyes.
"As you now know, He's made your magic dormant. The second part of the doom is that you're never to go near the hellmouth, or even to the State of Ohio again," Angela told her. "You'll be killed instantly if you do."
"You now have the SWORD OF DAMOCLES hanging over your head Willow," Giles told her.
"This is your doom," Angela told her.
Everyone saw the ashen look on Willow's face and the tears running down her cheeks. However, no one felt sorry for her and knew she did it to herself, including Maglor, who knew something about dooms.
xxx
"The Powers want Angela to take most of the black magic out of you tonight," Giles told her.
Willow looked at Angela, but didn't say anything, and was still in a state of shock.
"Mrs. Borne is here to help you though everything you've been through," Giles told Willow.
"How," she finally asked, in barely a whisper.
"I'm a Psychologist and the Powers want you to have therapy," Mrs. Borne answered.
"I'm not crazy," Willow said.
"No one said you were crazy Willow. This is one of the conditions that has been laid down for you," Mrs. Borne told her.
"How long will it take?" Willow asked, with tears still running down her cheeks.
"That depends on you Willow," she answered.
Buffy was glad to hear this and was happy to know that there won't be anymore Dark Willow running around. Willow will never understand how I felt when I crawled out of my grave and what she took from me. I finally understand the consequences of Willow's actions and I believe Willow finally gets it. She's been reigned in for her own good, Buffy thought.
"Buffy" Willow said, looking at her friend, with a sad look on her face.
"I can't help you Willow," she said. "You did this to yourself and you have no one to blame but yourself."
"Let's go outside and take that black magic out of you," Angela said.
When Willow got up from the sofa, they were instantly outside and away from the New Watchers' Council Headquarters. They were standing in a circle, including Whistler.
"What happened?" Buffy asked.
"I did that," David answered.
It was cold outside, but none of them felt the chill and Buffy and Giles knew not to ask any questions.
"I've put a sight spell around your eyes for your protection," Angela told Giles, Buffy, Maglor and Willow.
They nodded their heads and saw Willow lying on the ground.
"You can't move Willow," David told her, when he and Angela walked up to her.
"This is going to hurt," Angela said.
Everyone, except Whistler, David and Mrs. Borne, gasped when Angela turn into a white glow. They could still see the outline of her body and the power coming from that light made their teeth and bones hurt. Their teeth started to chatter and they knew if she hadn't put the sight spell around their eyes, they would go blind or worse.
Maglor was taken completely by surprised, but didn't show it.
Willow was totally paralyzed...and when she looked at Angela's light, it made her bones, teeth and body ache. All that power she thought, and she could barely look at her and thought she would go blind at any moment.
Everyone watched as Angela bent down and touched Willow's stomach, and spoke words none of them understood. As the white glow went through Willow's body, she screamed in agony. Willow felt as if all her blood vessels were about to burst and the pain was excruciating. It seemed to her that it went on forever and she wanted the pain to stop.
After Angela finished, everyone saw the black magic hovering above Willow like a black cloud. Then, a great wind blow it upwards towards the sky and Willow passed out.
That was disgusting Buffy thought after seeing that black cloud.
Giles was sicken by the sight.
Maglor knew what black magic was, but this was the first time he had ever seen it in its true form...and thought it was truly evil.
"It's done," Angela said to everyone, when she turned back into her normal self.
Whistler disappeared.
xxx
David picked up Willow and they instantly appeared inside her cottage.
"Where's her bedroom Mr. Giles?" David asked..
"Follow me," Giles said, and David followed him upstairs to Willow's bedroom.
When they entered, David laid her on her bed, put the covers over her and placed his right hand on her forehead. "She'll sleep for the next twelve hours," he told Giles.
Giles nodded his head and before left the bedroom, Giles turned out the lights. When they walked down the stairs to the sitting room, they saw Angela, Buffy, Maglor and Mrs. Borne talking.
"When will Willow start therapy?" Giles asked Mrs. Borne, when he sat next to her on the sofa.
"A week from Monday. I want her to get some rest," she answered.
"I think that's a good idea," Giles said.
"Will she be alright?" Buffy asked.
"She'll be fine. Willow needs rest right now," Mrs. Borne answered.
Buffy nodded.
"I want to have Willow's therapy sessions in her cottage, which will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 10:00 a.m., with weekends off," Diana told Giles.
"Agreed, good night and thank you for coming,"Giles said.
"Good night," Mrs. Borne, said and disappeared.
"It's time for me to get back to the Compound," Buffy said.
"How do you feel about all this?" Giles asked her.
"It had to be done. Willow crossed to many lines," she answered.
"I agree. I'll see you tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.," Giles said.
"Would you like me to send you back to the Compound?" Angela asked Buffy.
"Yes, thank you," Buffy answered.
Angela waved her hand and Buffy disappeared.
"I would like to have breakfast with the three of you tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m.," Giles said to Angela, David and Maglor.
They agreed and said good night.
Giles returned to his office and made a phone call to housekeeping and then retired to his suite. It had been a long tiring day.