Part Six
London, England
Doyle's House
Monday One p.m
Cordelia was making dinner, which consisted of heating up a frozen
dinner, when Charlotte, Wesley, and Doyle walked in. She frowned at
the morose expressions of the men, and the sullen expression of the
Slayer.
"What's wrong?" she asked. She walked over and gave Doyle a peck on
the cheek, and it didn't even faze him.
"They won't tell me," Charlotte said irritatedly. "But whatever it
is, it's bad."
"What time is it in Sunnydale?" Doyle asked absent-mindedly. "Do you
think Spike's gone back there yet?" this to Wesley.
"It's around two or three in France," Wesley replied, checking his
watch. "So unless Spike wants to be a pile of dust--"
"The ring," Doyle reminded him.
"Well, yes, but Drusilla," Wesley reminded him.
"Oh, right. So they're probably not leaving til sundown," Doyle said.
"Unless they left last night," Charlotte pointed out. "Or the night
before that, or the night before that--"
"Not helping," Doyle cut her off moodily.
"Sorry," Charlotte huffed and walked to her room, slamming the door.
"Um, I'm still on 'what's wrong,'" Cordelia said to the two men.
*************
Sunnydale California
Giles' House
Monday 8 am
Everyone was sitting around Giles' apartment, waiting for Doyle and
Wesley to call. Nobody had spoken for fifteen minutes straight.
Angel had returned to brood-boy after the news that Spike had escaped
the Council Special Forces. Buffy gathered that he thought it was all
his fault that Spike and Dru were probably returning to Sunnydale to
cause more trouble. He hadn't spoken in more than mono-syllables all
morning, and that only upon threat of physical violence by Buffy.
She'd been half-kidding.
Angel's brooding had then, of course, put Buffy in a bad mood. She
sat next to Angel on the couch, glaring at him. He refused to meet
her eyes, instead finding a spot on the floor to study intently.
Oz and Willow had been okay before arriving at Giles' apartment, but
that quickly changed. Willow picked up on the tension between Buffy
and Angel, and it worried her, for Buffy's sake. The worrying had
destoyed her happy mood and she fell silent soon after arriving at
Giles' apartment.
Oz, well Oz was always quiet.
Xander and Anya arrived about five minutes after Willow and Oz, and
Xander's happy mood soon dissipated also. He too noticed Buffy's
mood, so he too was worried. This caused him to suffer from a lack of
his characteristic wit, so he fell silent after about five seconds in
the apartment.
Anya was irritated that Xander wasn't paying her the proper
attention, so she gazed sullenly at him, while occasionally trying to
distract him, embarrass him, or do something to return the happy
Xander she had gotten used to again. This wasn't working, so she too
fell silent, but stayed curled up on his lap on a chair in Giles'
living room.
Giles sat watching 'his children', as he'd grown to think of them,
and trying to come up with a way to cheer them up. As this was not a
role he was used to playing, he was lacking ideas.
They jumped when the phone rang, and Giles quickly put in on
Speakerphone. "Hello?"
"Giles Man, it's Doyle. Cordy, Charli..otte, and Wesley are here."
"Go ahead, Doyle. Everyone on our end is here."
"Okay, well, I've got ...uh, no good news, unfortunately," Doyle
said. "I'll cut right to the point. Is Angel there?"
"I'm here," Angel replied. Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. *Two words
in a row, that must've hurt.*
"Good, you can explain to them what I'm about to say, because you may
know things me and Wes don't about it. Wes and I've filled Cordy and
Charlotte in on what we know, but like I said--"
"DOYLE!" he was interrupted by the screams of frustration from all,
both in London and Sunnydale.
"Sorry," Doyle apologized. Angel smiled, he could see Doyle's
shrug/grin combination that came with that response.
"Okay, so we finally got an answer as to what Spike was looking for
here, and what he found. It was the Gem of Kieran."
Those in the room who were human, minus Angel and Giles, looked
around in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
"It can't be real," Angel spoke first.
Buffy was shocked by the worry she heard in his voice. *Whatever the
Gem of Ki.. whatever is, it must be a not-good thing for Spike to
have.*
"I'm afraid it is," it was Wesley's voice that answered. "Angel, do
you want to fill everyone in, or shall I?"
"I will," Angel said with a weary sigh. "I did grow up, figuratively
speaking on those stories."
**********
"Well," Angel said. "There's two stories about Amarra. In both, she
was a very powerful Vampire. She'd been a witch before she was turned
by a Master, and those two meant a very bad combination. She
wasincredibly beautiful as a woman, and she used that beauty later as
a Vampire against her victims, usually the most powerful men of the
town she inhabited at the time.
The story of Amarra that you are already familiar with only speaks of
the fact that she had a gem, a ring, which protected any vampire who
wore it from all possible methods of death. You know that ring ended
up in Sunnydale, obviously, because Spike found it a few months ago."
Angel stopped, and considered, *had it really only been? It had, just
three months since the run in with Spike and the Ring of Amarra.*
He caught everyone looking at him, and he continued. "That's all
there is to that story. There's another one, though, that isn't as
well-known anymore. In this one, Amarra ended up in what is now
Ireland, and proceeded to terrorize a small town there. She had
killed off sixty percent of the population when the Watchers' Council
sent a Slayer to stop her.
The Slayer's name was Cassandra, her Watcher's name was Kieran. The
first few run-ins between Cassandra and Amarra were under the
watchful eye of Kieran, as he had been told of Amarra's power.
However, he was entranced by Amarra's beauty from the moment he laid
eyes on her. Perhaps it was a spell, perhaps not. Either way, the
next night he was visited by Amarra, and they had a lengthy
discussion about her and her history. She visted him every night for
two weeks. He didn't try to kill her, and neither did she try to kill
him. He kept Cassandra from finding out about this situation, of
course. At first, it was most likely because of curiousity about
Amarra and the knowledge she had. Eventually, though he began to fall
in love with her.
At the end of the two weeks, Cassandra and Kieran came upon Amarra
one night. Amarra and Cassandra fought, but this time Cassandra began
to get the upper-hand. She was at the point of staking Amarra, but
Kieran intervened. He approached his Slayer, catching her by
surprise, and slit her throat, killing her instantly.
Kieran and Amarra left that town, and traveled to one on the other
side of the isle. They lived together as lovers, Kieran apparently
not having any moral objections to the fact Amarra was a soulless
killer. She wanted to turn him, but he held her off. He wasn't
willing to give up the sunlight yet, he told her.
So, given that challenge, Amarra put her magic to the task. She got
hold of several ancient spells, convinced she could come up with a
way to enchant a personal object. Her intent was to create a spell so
that if a vampire wore that object, that vampire would be invincible.
She decided on a ring, and she tested the different spells on her
fledglings. It took her a year, and hundreds of slain fledglings, but
she finally succeeded. During that time, though, they were hunted all
over Ireland and later Continental Europe by the new Slayer sent by
the Watchers' Council. They had found out about Cassandra's death, of
course, and once word got to them that Kieran was not dead as well,
they'd deduced that Kieran was also responsible for his Slayer's
death. So the new Slayer was sent to kill Amarra and Kieran.
The night that Amarra finally perfected the spell, she cast it on two
rings, one for herself, and one for Kieran. Kieran was out and she
waited eagerly for his return. When midnight had come six hours
later, she was worried. She went in search of him. Finally, she found
him in a local cemetery, lying dead. His throat had been cut,
apparently the current Slayer found that a fitting revenge for what
he'd done to his Slayer.
Amarra buried him in a grave she dug herself. She buried the ring
with him, but not before cursing it. 'Whoever wears the ring will
suffer the fate I have,' she said. She was heartbroken, but knowing
Kieran wouldn't want her to accept defeat she left the continent.
Apparently she ended up here in Sunnydale, since Spike found her ring
here."
Now, before you ask me how this story originated to begin with,
supposedly it's because the journals of Kieran were found by the
Watchers who killed him. Of course, none of them exist now. So
although the story has been passed along as History among the
vampires, to the intelligent ones it's been dismissed as myth.
Especially since the grave of Kieran was supposedly never found.
But I guess it has been, Doyle?"
"I don't know how long they've had it, but Kieran's body was buried
under the floor of one of the rooms of the Council Headquarters. With
the ring," Doyle replied.
"Leave it to Spike to find the one thing that we should all be scared
of him having," Xander spoke up.
"So how do we stop him?" Buffy asked.
"Get the ring away from him, somehow," Angel replied.
"Gee, Angel, great plan," Buffy sighed.
************
London, England
Doyle's House
Monday One p.m
Cordelia was making dinner, which consisted of heating up a frozen
dinner, when Charlotte, Wesley, and Doyle walked in. She frowned at
the morose expressions of the men, and the sullen expression of the
Slayer.
"What's wrong?" she asked. She walked over and gave Doyle a peck on
the cheek, and it didn't even faze him.
"They won't tell me," Charlotte said irritatedly. "But whatever it
is, it's bad."
"What time is it in Sunnydale?" Doyle asked absent-mindedly. "Do you
think Spike's gone back there yet?" this to Wesley.
"It's around two or three in France," Wesley replied, checking his
watch. "So unless Spike wants to be a pile of dust--"
"The ring," Doyle reminded him.
"Well, yes, but Drusilla," Wesley reminded him.
"Oh, right. So they're probably not leaving til sundown," Doyle said.
"Unless they left last night," Charlotte pointed out. "Or the night
before that, or the night before that--"
"Not helping," Doyle cut her off moodily.
"Sorry," Charlotte huffed and walked to her room, slamming the door.
"Um, I'm still on 'what's wrong,'" Cordelia said to the two men.
*************
Sunnydale California
Giles' House
Monday 8 am
Everyone was sitting around Giles' apartment, waiting for Doyle and
Wesley to call. Nobody had spoken for fifteen minutes straight.
Angel had returned to brood-boy after the news that Spike had escaped
the Council Special Forces. Buffy gathered that he thought it was all
his fault that Spike and Dru were probably returning to Sunnydale to
cause more trouble. He hadn't spoken in more than mono-syllables all
morning, and that only upon threat of physical violence by Buffy.
She'd been half-kidding.
Angel's brooding had then, of course, put Buffy in a bad mood. She
sat next to Angel on the couch, glaring at him. He refused to meet
her eyes, instead finding a spot on the floor to study intently.
Oz and Willow had been okay before arriving at Giles' apartment, but
that quickly changed. Willow picked up on the tension between Buffy
and Angel, and it worried her, for Buffy's sake. The worrying had
destoyed her happy mood and she fell silent soon after arriving at
Giles' apartment.
Oz, well Oz was always quiet.
Xander and Anya arrived about five minutes after Willow and Oz, and
Xander's happy mood soon dissipated also. He too noticed Buffy's
mood, so he too was worried. This caused him to suffer from a lack of
his characteristic wit, so he fell silent after about five seconds in
the apartment.
Anya was irritated that Xander wasn't paying her the proper
attention, so she gazed sullenly at him, while occasionally trying to
distract him, embarrass him, or do something to return the happy
Xander she had gotten used to again. This wasn't working, so she too
fell silent, but stayed curled up on his lap on a chair in Giles'
living room.
Giles sat watching 'his children', as he'd grown to think of them,
and trying to come up with a way to cheer them up. As this was not a
role he was used to playing, he was lacking ideas.
They jumped when the phone rang, and Giles quickly put in on
Speakerphone. "Hello?"
"Giles Man, it's Doyle. Cordy, Charli..otte, and Wesley are here."
"Go ahead, Doyle. Everyone on our end is here."
"Okay, well, I've got ...uh, no good news, unfortunately," Doyle
said. "I'll cut right to the point. Is Angel there?"
"I'm here," Angel replied. Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. *Two words
in a row, that must've hurt.*
"Good, you can explain to them what I'm about to say, because you may
know things me and Wes don't about it. Wes and I've filled Cordy and
Charlotte in on what we know, but like I said--"
"DOYLE!" he was interrupted by the screams of frustration from all,
both in London and Sunnydale.
"Sorry," Doyle apologized. Angel smiled, he could see Doyle's
shrug/grin combination that came with that response.
"Okay, so we finally got an answer as to what Spike was looking for
here, and what he found. It was the Gem of Kieran."
Those in the room who were human, minus Angel and Giles, looked
around in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
"It can't be real," Angel spoke first.
Buffy was shocked by the worry she heard in his voice. *Whatever the
Gem of Ki.. whatever is, it must be a not-good thing for Spike to
have.*
"I'm afraid it is," it was Wesley's voice that answered. "Angel, do
you want to fill everyone in, or shall I?"
"I will," Angel said with a weary sigh. "I did grow up, figuratively
speaking on those stories."
**********
"Well," Angel said. "There's two stories about Amarra. In both, she
was a very powerful Vampire. She'd been a witch before she was turned
by a Master, and those two meant a very bad combination. She
wasincredibly beautiful as a woman, and she used that beauty later as
a Vampire against her victims, usually the most powerful men of the
town she inhabited at the time.
The story of Amarra that you are already familiar with only speaks of
the fact that she had a gem, a ring, which protected any vampire who
wore it from all possible methods of death. You know that ring ended
up in Sunnydale, obviously, because Spike found it a few months ago."
Angel stopped, and considered, *had it really only been? It had, just
three months since the run in with Spike and the Ring of Amarra.*
He caught everyone looking at him, and he continued. "That's all
there is to that story. There's another one, though, that isn't as
well-known anymore. In this one, Amarra ended up in what is now
Ireland, and proceeded to terrorize a small town there. She had
killed off sixty percent of the population when the Watchers' Council
sent a Slayer to stop her.
The Slayer's name was Cassandra, her Watcher's name was Kieran. The
first few run-ins between Cassandra and Amarra were under the
watchful eye of Kieran, as he had been told of Amarra's power.
However, he was entranced by Amarra's beauty from the moment he laid
eyes on her. Perhaps it was a spell, perhaps not. Either way, the
next night he was visited by Amarra, and they had a lengthy
discussion about her and her history. She visted him every night for
two weeks. He didn't try to kill her, and neither did she try to kill
him. He kept Cassandra from finding out about this situation, of
course. At first, it was most likely because of curiousity about
Amarra and the knowledge she had. Eventually, though he began to fall
in love with her.
At the end of the two weeks, Cassandra and Kieran came upon Amarra
one night. Amarra and Cassandra fought, but this time Cassandra began
to get the upper-hand. She was at the point of staking Amarra, but
Kieran intervened. He approached his Slayer, catching her by
surprise, and slit her throat, killing her instantly.
Kieran and Amarra left that town, and traveled to one on the other
side of the isle. They lived together as lovers, Kieran apparently
not having any moral objections to the fact Amarra was a soulless
killer. She wanted to turn him, but he held her off. He wasn't
willing to give up the sunlight yet, he told her.
So, given that challenge, Amarra put her magic to the task. She got
hold of several ancient spells, convinced she could come up with a
way to enchant a personal object. Her intent was to create a spell so
that if a vampire wore that object, that vampire would be invincible.
She decided on a ring, and she tested the different spells on her
fledglings. It took her a year, and hundreds of slain fledglings, but
she finally succeeded. During that time, though, they were hunted all
over Ireland and later Continental Europe by the new Slayer sent by
the Watchers' Council. They had found out about Cassandra's death, of
course, and once word got to them that Kieran was not dead as well,
they'd deduced that Kieran was also responsible for his Slayer's
death. So the new Slayer was sent to kill Amarra and Kieran.
The night that Amarra finally perfected the spell, she cast it on two
rings, one for herself, and one for Kieran. Kieran was out and she
waited eagerly for his return. When midnight had come six hours
later, she was worried. She went in search of him. Finally, she found
him in a local cemetery, lying dead. His throat had been cut,
apparently the current Slayer found that a fitting revenge for what
he'd done to his Slayer.
Amarra buried him in a grave she dug herself. She buried the ring
with him, but not before cursing it. 'Whoever wears the ring will
suffer the fate I have,' she said. She was heartbroken, but knowing
Kieran wouldn't want her to accept defeat she left the continent.
Apparently she ended up here in Sunnydale, since Spike found her ring
here."
Now, before you ask me how this story originated to begin with,
supposedly it's because the journals of Kieran were found by the
Watchers who killed him. Of course, none of them exist now. So
although the story has been passed along as History among the
vampires, to the intelligent ones it's been dismissed as myth.
Especially since the grave of Kieran was supposedly never found.
But I guess it has been, Doyle?"
"I don't know how long they've had it, but Kieran's body was buried
under the floor of one of the rooms of the Council Headquarters. With
the ring," Doyle replied.
"Leave it to Spike to find the one thing that we should all be scared
of him having," Xander spoke up.
"So how do we stop him?" Buffy asked.
"Get the ring away from him, somehow," Angel replied.
"Gee, Angel, great plan," Buffy sighed.
************