Willow was nearly apoplectic. "What? I did the research myself! The only antidote for Killer of the Dead is the blood of a Slayer!"

Travers frowned again as he slowly, calmly answered Willow's outburst. "Yes, Miss Rosenberg, the only antidote for Killer of the Dead is, in fact, the blood of a Slayer. However, remember that we have an exhaustive database of poisons and antidotes. Killer of the Dead is a substance that is so tightly controlled, there are only three locations for any of the ingredients, and the Council has teams living on each site, in constant contact with one another, so that no one can be ambushed by a group wanting to assemble the ingredients to put the poison in play. Now, Miss Rosenberg, have you heard of a substance called 'custos mortuorum?'"

Willow shook her head. "I don't know what that is," she said defiantly.

"I'm not surprised. It means…"

"Keeper of the Dead," Giles interrupted. "It is, in essence, a vampiric biological weapon. It is similar to anthrax's effects on humans, only obviously, affects vampires. It was always used as a temporary immobilizer, since its affects would wear off after 48 to 72 hours. That is to say, if one wanted to immobilize, not simply kill, a vampire."

Giles lowered his head. He saw where this might be headed. "Of course, the blood of a Slayer would have jump-started a vampire's system, given the supernatural nature of the Slayer."

He mentally kicked himself. He'd been so focused on other things, he did not bother to try to verify the symptoms Angel had experienced, to make sure that Willow's research was correct. He wondered if, perhaps subconsciously, he wanted to believe that Angel might be put out of the picture, permanently. Travers, however, would not let him beat himself up.

"Rupert, stop what you're thinking. I've considered that your issues with Angel could have biased you, but I don't believe that is the case. More accurately, I think that there is enough culpability to go around."

Buffy began to get defensive. "Look, I know things got messed up, but what do you mean?"

"Miss Summers, I believe that as things spiraled out of control, certain things were revealed. Weaknesses, if you will. It is my opinion that, given the secretive nature of what we do, we inherently sabotage our trust of others, and their trust of us. Personality quirks that would not be an issue suddenly contribute to how we define ourselves."

At this point, he turned to face Willow. "Miss Rosenberg, into how much depth did you go to research the poison affecting Angel?"

Willow thought back to the research she did to help Buffy. It always came so easy to her that she didn't stop to think that she could be wrong.

"Well, I looked in Giles' books, and found what I found."

Travers nodded, and continued. "How did you verify that Killer of the Dead was the poison in question?"

Willow did not speak for a while, and Travers filled the silence. "Please hear this in the spirit in which this is intended. I do not think that you took the time to consult anyone who could have confirmed or disproven that Killer of the Dead was involved. I believe this happened for a number of reasons. First, I think the crisis of the looming ascension led to carelessness. Second, the ease with which research comes to you led you to be overconfident, and to not bother with checking with Rupert, who has years of research training and experience. Third, and possibly the most damaging, was the fact that your jealousy towards Faith led you to be overprotective, judgmental, and petty."

Fearing that he'd be interrupted, Travers went on. "Miss Rosenberg, these things were not ultimately catastrophic. I do not believe that you are a danger to innocent lives. It is not the opinion of the Council that these were malevolent actions in the slightest. But the fact remains that issues that could have been resolved led to potentially fatal errors in judgment. It is, sadly, in part due to how we as the Council has acted that the pattern of secrecy and emotional immaturity has been perpetuated."

"Could you repeat that for our English-speaking audience?" Buffy quipped. She didn't like the sound of what Travers was saying, but she wanted to understand it before popping off.

"Yes. There has been too much 'drama,' as you Americans put it. Your personal issues have been ignored and overlooked, and as a result, these past few months have led to major problems for you all. The Council has been a part of this, and we want to help fix the mess we helped cause."

"Quinton, does the entire Council feel this way? This is a major shift from the Council I remember."

"To be blunt, Rupert, no, the Council was not unanimous. I currently am able to hold a majority, but, on top of a few vocal opponents who simply spoke their piece for the record, and have been fuming ever since. In some ways, I am having to call in some rather serious markers to keep some of the more... antagonistic members of my coalition on board. To say it is a very tense situation for us right now would be an understatement. On top of that, several factions which are currently amongst my supporters came onboard with no prodding on my part, despite somewhat antagonistic views we have clashed on previously. Their motivations are, I fear, not the same as mine, which may have ramifications down the road."

"Regardless, they are our concern; your focus needs to be on healing the emotional damage the past few years have caused, while working together with Wesley, Faith, and Derek, when they return to the Hellmouth."

This last comment was met with shock from Buffy and Willow. "They're coming back? How are we going to deal with that? I mean, I nearly killed Faith! She'll want to return the favor."

"Miss Summers, I cannot speak for Faith, nor would I want to put words in her mouth. I think, though, that you might find that by simply confronting a problem openly and honestly, you will wind up better off, even if it seems slow going. I do know for a fact that Faith will not require reciprocity, or payback, as you would know it. Mr. James has been a valuable resource for both Wesley and Faith, and I suspect he could be an asset to you all, if you can all get together to work to a common goal."

Willow thought as Buffy and Travers spoke. She had, it appeared, been grossly arrogant in how she handled Angel's poisoning. Travers had been more correct than she wanted to admit. However, something popped into her mind, and she spoke before she could stop herself.

"Xander! Do you know anything about Xander? Did he go with Faith and Wesley?" She forgot the third member of the group, but he would have been in the party as well.

Travers nodded. "It is my understanding that Faith met with Mr. Harris late last night, along with Wesley, and laid out the truth of the entire operation. She and Wesley asked Mr. Harris to accompany them out of town for a time, along with Mr. James, and Mr. Harris agreed. I believe Mr. Harris had a trip planned anyway; he simply changed his destination, and his traveling companions."

Willow flinched as she realized what Travers had said. Faith had trusted Xander enough to tell him the truth, and he, in turn, had decided to leave town with her. She knew her friend had been enamored with Faith, and that he had tried to reach out to her when she was "turning bad," but she had no idea he'd be willing to leave Sunnydale, leave her, to be with Faith. Faith, of all people.

As she was thinking, Buffy saw her face begin to change. "Wills, remember that the Faith that we knew isn't real. We don't know who the real Faith is.".

Joyce Summers had been quiet for a long time. She had a rough idea of what had gone on with Faith and how Buffy's attitude had descended into a place she'd rather not see it. Now, having heard that the whole thing had been a ruse, she was more than a little upset.

"Mr. Travers, I'm blown away by all of this. My daughter, not to mention Rupert and these other kids, KIDS, mind you, has been involved in this 'war' for three years! You at the Council are adults! I just can't believe the things my girl has had to face, nearly alone! It's bad enough that I've been in the dark, and I feel awful that I've made Buffy had to choose between her love for me and her call to save the world! I just don't know what else to say! Is it any wonder that these kids are having problems, if the adults in their lives act like they don't care?"

Quinton Travers, to his credit, did not try to explain anything away. "Mrs. Summers, it is no surprise that these problems are in our face now. In the past, the Council would have swept in and acted heavy handedly. That, I see now, is part of the problem. I've made my apology, and I don't intend to act as though just apologizing fixes things. We at the Council do want to help, and we will work to that end. You are right to be upset, and you are right to be upset with us."

It was as simple as that, Rupert thought. So many people have been hurt because of needless secrecy and petty power plays. It was remarkable, in its own way, to see this proud man show humility in the face of these women. Things might not be right for a while, but it was, in Giles' estimation, a good first step.

Willow was still unconvinced. "So Faith, Wesley, Xander, and this other guy are coming back to the Hellmouth. What about us?"

"What about you, Miss Rosenberg? Have you decided to stop fighting?"

"No," Willow said with a touch of defiance.

"Good. I can't answer for them, but I do know that they have expressed a desire to sit down and talk with all of you, to find out how you all can coexist in Sunnydale." He smiled a wry smile. "Surely there is enough evil in this town for everyone."

This brought out a little smile from Willow, and laughter from the others. It served to lighten the mood just enough to put everyone's minds at ease.

"I think that I've given you enough to consider for a while. I must be going. Mrs. Summers, thank you for the tea and the honesty. Miss Summers, you will be receiving a package from the Council with all of the pertinent details of our new arrangement. I assume, of course, that you'll at least consider our offer?"

"Yes. Thank you, Mr. Travers." Buffy wasn't entirely trusting of the Head Watcher, but she'd have to start somewhere. The Faith situation, however, might take a little bit of time. She was still pretty upset about Faith, and now confusion was added to the mix, and Buffy just didn't know how to handle the whole thing. When you added Willow's overall attitude, coupled with her hatred of Faith, Buffy was beginning to see that there were real problems in her life with which she had to deal.

"Excellent. Rupert, it hasn't always been a pleasure, but it is one on this day."

Giles smiled as he stood, walking Travers to the door. "I feel the same way, Quinton. Thank you for taking the time to come and talk, face to face."

"It is the least I could do, given our past. Rupert," Travers leaned close as he was walking out of the door, "you have good people here. We didn't always see that, but we do now. Please let us know how we can help you, as a Watcher, and as a fellow traveller down this path."

Giles was taken aback. "W-Watcher? I'm to be reinstated?"

Travers stopped, and turned back to address the group. "Ladies, one more word, if I may. I nearly forgot this point, but the Council has reinstated Rupert as Miss Summers' Watcher, with pay retroactive to the point at which he was terminated. Thank you for your time, and good hunting."

With a curt nod, Travers walked to his rental car, got in, and left. It was as simple as that.

Rupert Giles went back inside, and sat at the table with the three women who had, as he had, been blown away by the last hour.