The Devil And All His Works
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are copyrighted (c)20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Dedicated: as usual to Cait who makes me write these stories. (So blame her!)
This story takes place at the beginning of the fifth season of Buffy and follows on from my previous stories - The Powers that be Intervene, Leaving Again, The Devil came down to Sunnydale, The Devil you Know and the Shape Shifter and Faith, Hope and Charity, Willow Through The Looking Glass and In the Blood.
Anya has left Xander to become a demon again, Xander has moved out of his parent's basement and is living at the Magic Box, rent free, as caretaker and part-time assistant. Angel has left in Sunnydale. Riley saw Buffy with Angel and they broke up.
Faith was released from prison to help Buffy with the situation in the Hellmouth and is staying at Buffy's house. Buffy and Faith have both decided that they want Xander. Amy has at last been de-ratted.
It is the millennium year (according to some the millennium year began on 1/1/2001 (not 2000) as the calendar went from 1AD to 1BC) and the devil is trying to materalise in Sunnydale (of course, where else?).
At the end of In The Blood Willow and Xander finally decided that they wanted to be together and it looked like a happy ending.....
(I did say 'looked like')
Chapter One
Willow and Xander walked down the street together, hand in hand. From time to time the pretty redhead would gaze up at him and he, somehow knowing that she was doing so, would turn his deep brown eyes on her, a contented smile on his face.
It was what he had wanted for a long time, to be with Willow, not as friends, but as a lot more than that. He had lost her so many times - to Oz, to Tara, to his own indifference, but now he had her, and he was keeping her.
Willow had no idea of the thoughts that were going through her boyfriend's mind. She knew only that she was happy, happier than she knew she could ever be. She said the word over and over in her mind - boyfriend. Xander was her boyfriend. And the world, even on the Hellmouth, was a beautiful place.
Even the sun had joined the conspiracy to give them a perfect day. It was quite warm, with just the hint of a breeze preventing it from becoming uncomfortably hot, the sky was blue and cloudless and it was the ideal day for a picnic lunch, which is what they had decided to have, each of them carrying a bag in their other hand. Willow had brought a blanket for them to sit on and a large beige canvas bag crammed with goodies.
Willow had also remembered to include plenty of Twinkies and Oreo's. She knew Xander's weakness for sweet, gooey food. There was also some soda and, of course some sandwiches. She didn't intend for Xander to gorge himself solely on sugary goodness.
And so they walked along the pavement of the busy street, oblivious to the world around them, as some of the more romantically inclined people passing them turned and smiled to see a couple so obviously in love.
Finally they arrived at their destination, admittedly a less than ideal location for their picnic. This was no Garden of Eden. It was Weatherly Park, after hour's home of vampires, demons and various assorted creatures of the night.
Still, it was all they had and in the daylight it was quite pretty, there were carefully planted displays of flowers and the grass was well cared for, a fresh and healthy shade of green despite the recent heat wave.
Willow, ever prepared, had insisted on bringing the blanket, despite the dry spell, in case the grass was still moist with dew. It wasn't, of course, but Xander indulged her, taking the blanket from the blue plastic bag and spreading it on the ground, eager to begin investigating the more interesting contents of the canvas bag.
Xander gave a cry of triumph as he delved into the bag, turning to a yelp as Willow prised the Twinkles from his hand, sternly handing him a bag of plastic wrapped sandwiches.
Ah well, thought Xander, tearing open the plastic wrapping and cramming a sandwich into his mouth, it's all food, and at least I know there are Twinkles for later. He had missed breakfast that morning, getting up too late even to grab some dry cereal from the box as he dashed out of the door, and his stomach had wasted to time in making its protest known to him.
He bit into his sandwich, the soft bread and meat filling bringing his taste buds to life and placating his complaining stomach.
Giving a contented sigh he looked around, noticing the flowers, a floral rainbow of blue, pink, crimson, white and yellow, the sky, cerulean blue without a trace of a cloud and the sound of the birds as they carolled their sweet harmonious songs to the world. Everything seemed perfect today, even the fragrant perfume of the flowers and the newly cut grass, for once not pricking his eyes with tears and clogging his nose with the effects of the pollen.
Willow's thoughts were much the same as she tucked into her sandwich, smiling at Xander as he quickly worked his way through the excessively large amount of food that she had brought with her. Excessive that was for anyone rather than Xander. She knew how much he was capable of eating and she had been determined to bring sufficient with her. She also gave a happy sigh, which drew his attention, and he stopped eating and leaned over, touching her lips gently with his own.
Willow closed her eyes, wishing that this moment could last forever, savouring the gentle touch of his lips upon hers, something she had believed would never happen. Her eyes flickered open as Xander drew away from her and she felt the warm sun once more on her face. She watched as his tongue licked over the crumbs of bread that he had stolen from around her mouth with his kiss.
If only, she thought longingly, it could always be like this. She opened her eyes and, looking at Xander with a rueful smile, repeated her words aloud.
But, of course, this was the Hellmouth and, no sooner had the words left her lips than the ground began to move beneath them. The birds ceased their beautiful song and began to chirp and shriek in panic and a smell of rotten eggs filled the air, overwhelming the gentle scent of grass and flowers.
Willow wrinkled her nose as Xander dropped his half eaten sandwich and jumped quickly to his feet, putting out his hand to help her up. "Oh, eww, sulphur!"
Willow started to cram their belongings into the bags despite Xander's frantic pleas to hurry. Stooping to push the blanket into the plastic bag he stumbled as another quake rippled through the park. Willow, her eyes wide with panic, abandoned her attempt to pack up the picnic, leaving their debris scattered carelessly on the ground and grabbing at his hand.
They ran together, past frightened people loudly exclaiming their terror, towards the place they knew they might find some answer to this alarming incident. Xander's feet pounded noisily against the pavement, his hand tightly holding Willow's, pulling her with him.
They weren't the only people running. Panic had broken out in the streets, crowds had assembled outside, gazing up nervously at the buildings around them in fear lest the edifices crumble, discharging missiles of brick and mortar. There was no fear of that, Xander was relieved to notice, although several of the larger buildings showed a network of cracks like giant spider webs dotted around the brickwork. Even though none of the buildings showed major damage clouds of dust had formed around them, particles of it finding its way into their lungs, making them wheeze as they ran.
While they were running there were no further quakes but as soon as they neared Giles apartment and, seeing their destination so close at hand stopped to drag some into their tortured lungs, they felt one begin. Willow, taken by surprise, stumbled and he grasped her to him, holding him in his arms as she looked up at him with frightened green eyes.
"What's happening?" She asked him, her fear and confusion thickening her voice.
He shook his head. "I don't know." He admitted, unable to resist planting a kiss on her furrowed forehead. "But the G-man will have some answers."
He spoke with more confidence than he felt. The Watcher, normally so au fait with the catastrophes predicted by the ancient books and manuscripts had made no mention of an upcoming prophecy. It was just possible that this event was natural.
Then Xander smelled once more the bitter scent of sulphur in the air and discounted that possibility. He knew that the scent of sulphur in the air was associated with earthquakes but this had a different odour. It wasn't just sulphur that was carried in the air, he could detect hints of an underlying odour, one that he had come to know all too well living on the Hellmouth. It was the odour of evil and death.
Giving his girlfriend one last reassuring hug he released all but her hand and pulled her with him towards the apartment where he hoped all their questions might be answered.
The door was unlocked and Xander flung it open, fully expecting to see Giles inside in his usual position, in his armchair, a book in his hand. There was no sign of him in the living room and Xander called out. "Giles, where are you?"
Giles appeared in the kitchen doorway, his face a mask of worry. "I was on the telephone to Buffy when it started. She's on her way over."
Xander nodded. "Is this natural, G-man, or something the Hellmouth has come up with?"
Willow wrinkled her nose. "There's a smell." She sniffed the air. "It's not so strong in here but I can still smell it."
Giles sniffed. "Ah yes, sulphur. That's interesting."
"Now I wouldn't have gone with interesting there, I would have said ew." Xander muttered.
Giles frowned at him, his mind had been elsewhere and he had not caught a word that he had said. "Sorry, what was that?"
Xander shook his head. "Nothing. So, any idea what this is, Giles?"
Giles raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm no expert but I would have said it was an earthquake, a minor one perhaps, but an earthquake non the less."
Xander sighed, exasperated. "But is it natural or it is something to do with the Hellmouth?"
"Ah." Giles nodded. "Now that's something that we obviously need to find out."
Xander shook his head. "G-man.." He began to protest at the former librarian's abnormally unhelpful answers.
Giles interrupted. "Please don't call me that. Xander, the truth is that I really don't know."
It was impossible to miss the annoyance in his tone as he spoke and as he took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he did so, Xander could see the worry in his face.
Somehow, the fact that Giles seemed to have no idea what was going on concerned him far more than the minor earthquakes they had experienced. But what worried Xander even more was the impression he had somehow received that Giles did in fact know more about this than he was prepared to say.
Looking at Giles' anxious expression Xander decided that the only reason that he could imagine Giles could have for not telling them was so that they wouldn't be frightened.
In which case, what was happening was really bad, worse than anything that had happened to them previously, if that could be possible. He swallowed nervously, hoping he was wrong.
By the time that the door opened once again to admit a very harassed looking Slayer, half an hour had passed. Giles had a pile of books open on the coffee table and had conscripted Xander and Willow to look through them, trying to discover any supernatural explanation for the earthquakes. There had been no further earthquakes since Xander and Willow had got to the house but none of them yet believed that the danger had passed.
Buffy threw herself down on the sofa next to Xander and Willow exclaiming loudly. "I never thought I'd get here. Everybody's out in the streets. And I had to go check on Mom first."
She glanced over to where Giles, sitting on the edge of his armchair, a book in his hand, was peering at her solemnly over the edge of his glasses. "So, what's going on?"
Before Giles could speak Xander told her. "We don't know. That's why we have homework."
Picking up a large black book from the table he pushed it towards her. She picked it up and opened it, a musty smell coming from the yellowed pages.
She scowled. "Ooh, it smells bad."
Xander gave a smug smile. "Saved it just for you."
She poked her tongue out at him then turned to Giles. "So, what exactly am I looking for?"
Giles pushed his glasses back to a more secure position on his nose and shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't really know. As far as I am aware there are no prophecies that predict this turn of events. It might just be a natural occurrence."
Xander regarded him closely as he spoke, remembering his earlier impression that Giles knew far more than he was saying.
Willow raised her eyebrows. "You said that before, when the Master killed Buffy and again when the Vahrall demons tried to bring about the end of the world."
Giles looked sheepish. "Point taken. That's why we're looking in these books."
Buffy nodded. "So I'm looking for anything to do with earthquakes, right?" She closed the book and turned it over in her hands to read the title on the front page. "'Earthquakes and Prophecies.' Thanks, guys. This one shouldn't take more than a week to read."
Xander gave her the smug look once again. "That's why we saved it for you."
She closed the book and held it up in her hand aiming for his head but a dark look from Giles stopped her and she put it down on the table, opening it once more and beginning to read. Her finger followed the line of faded writing as she read, her brow furrowed in a frown of concentration.
More than two hours had passed before they felt the next earthquake. They were gradually working through the pile of books collected on the table before them when Willow, who had got to her feet in an attempt to stretch her cramped muscles, was the first to detect the early signs of the tremor to come. She stumbled, holding on to Xander's shoulder to stay upright. All of them became aware of the sulphurous odour that permeated the air, on this occasion it was so foul that they had to try to breathe through their mouths.
"You know." Xander muttered, his eyes watering as the stench of sulphur grew even stronger. "This is one time when I'd consider becoming a vampire."
As Willow looked at him in puzzled horror he explained. "They don't breathe."
Willow rolled her eyes, smacking him lightly across his chest with one hand. The other hand was up to her face, pinching her nostrils closed.
"Is this normal?" Xander asked, wrinkling his nose. "I mean, I know the smell of sulphur is often associated with earthquakes but should it be this strong, Giles?"
"How should I bloody know?" Giles exploded.
They watched in total bewilderment, the odour momentarily forgotten as Giles pulled himself out of his chair and stormed into the kitchen.
"What did I say?" Xander asked, looking from Willow to Buffy and back again.
Buffy shrugged. "I dunno. Was he like that when you got here?"
Xander and Willow both thought for a moment. In the silence the sound of clattering china could be heard from the kitchen, then a muted crash and a muttered curse as something obviously fell to the kitchen floor. Buffy winced.
"Well, he did seem a little cranky." Willow said, thoughtfully.
Xander nodded in agreement. "Did he say anything on the phone to you?"
Buffy shook her head. "He was only on the phone to me for a few seconds. I was on my way over when the quakes started."
Xander frowned, trying to think what had been wrong with that last statement. "Wait a minute. What did you just say? You spoke to Giles before the quakes started?" He looked at Willow, wondering if she had understood the implications of what Buffy had just said.
Buffy looked bewildered. "Yeah, why?"
"Because the quakes had started before we got here and, when we came in, Giles was on the phone in the kitchen. He said he'd been talking to you."
Willow shook her head. "That wasn't quite what he said. He told us that he was on the phone to Buffy when it started. He was in the kitchen when we came in but we don't know that he was on the phone."
Buffy stared at them. "He rang and asked me to come over. I was on my way when the quakes began so I detoured to check on Mom."
"Did he say why he wanted you to come over?" Xander asked.
Buffy shook her head. "He just asked me to come. He said it was urgent. When the quakes started I thought it was something to do with that."
Willow stared at Xander. "It doesn't make sense. Why would Giles lie to us about something like that?"
Xander shrugged. "Why would Giles lie to us about anything?"
They heard footsteps softly approaching them and looked up to see Giles making his way though from the kitchen, a tray of teacups in his hand. They watched him in silence, all of them, for the first time since they had met him, finding it difficult to find something to say to him. Willow pushed some of the books to one side and Giles carefully placed the tray down onto the table. He straightened and looked around at them, his face solemn. He sighed.
"I think we need to talk." He said gravely as he sank heavily down into his armchair.
He picked up his cup from the tray and sipped at the hot sweet liquid, trying to rid himself of the cold chill that permeated his body. The other three followed his example, welcoming the distraction from their reading.
Three pairs of eyes were focussed on Giles as he began to speak.
"I know that I gave the impression today that I was on the telephone to Buffy when you arrived here this afternoon." He said, his eyes flickering to Willow and Xander as he spoke. "I was, in fact, on the telephone to the Watcher's Council."
Giles saw Xander's mouth open and anticipated the question he was about to ask.
"The reason that I did not tell you that was on the Council's instructions. They were due to ring back within the hour if they were able to give any assistance. As they have not done so I can only assume that they are unable to help and we are now, God help us, on our own."
The three of them sat patiently and waited for Giles to begin.
"Before I can tell you about the earthquake activity we are experiencing at the moment I need to disclose some other information to you. As you know we have seen increased activity in the Hellmouth as demons have been manifesting in order to achieve their ultimate aim and bring the Devil to Sunnydale."
As Giles paused and looked around he was gratified to see that they were all nodding in understanding. He sipped again at his tea, cupping his hands around the china cup.
"There are things that you don't know. Last year a number of unusual and worrying incidents began to occur. In Japan there were over 70,000 earthquakes and the sulphur dioxide level there is now ten times the norm. Many countries suffered flooding, the like of which had not been seen since records began. These included Japan, Spain, Israel, Italy, Brazil and Britain, my homeland. Also last year plagues of jellyfish made their way into the sea in Mexico and Israel, completely devastating the fish population. At the same time a feature known as the red tide spread over 300 miles of Texas coastline, turning the water brownish-red. In the desert of Southern Ethiopia it rained fish. I have only given you a few of many examples."
Once again he paused, drained the cup and replaced it on the tray.
"I'm talking about signs, signs that indicate that the end of the world is coming.
The faces of the three in front of him had changed as he had been speaking. Bewilderment had given way to understanding but now he could detect relief in their faces.
"So, it's the end of the world." Willow said slowly.
"Again?" Xander raised his eyebrows.
"That's okay. We can deal with it." Buffy said with confidence.
"Yeah, been there, done that, no probs." Xander added.
"So, what's the plan, Giles?" Willow said with a smile.
Giles sank his head in his hands.
Buffy looked at the others then got to her feet and walked over to Giles. She sat on the arm of his chair and began gently patting his shoulder. "Giles, we've done this before. We can do it again."
When he looked up at her she was shocked. He seemed to have aged ten years in front of her eyes.
He shook his head. "I don't know if we can. There are prophecies..."
Buffy wouldn't let him finish. "Huh! I know all about prophecies. I died, remember? We can do this, Giles."
Giles looked from Buffy to Willow and Xander. All three of them were looking at him expectantly. It was too much. They had all been through too much. He wanted to shake his head, tell them that they couldn't go on fighting any longer. It was wearing them all down. He was tired of it all and he just wanted to rest, to lie down quietly and wait for the end. He didn't have their courage, their youth, their optimism.
He sighed. "We can do this." He repeated, and he even managed to sound positive, even to himself. Their smiles rewarded him. Well, he thought to himself, we can try.
"Willow, we're going to need all the help we can get. Would you ring Faith and Amy please?"
As Willow went to the telephone Xander picked up the book that he had been reading and resumed his research. Buffy got up from the arm of the chair as if to join him but Giles caught her arm.
"I need to speak to you." Giles told her, quietly. "In private."
Buffy nodded.
Giles got up from his chair and picked up the tray from the table. "I'll take this into the kitchen."
"I'll come too."
Xander looked up at her, aware that something was amiss.
"I want a glass of water." She told him.
Xander didn't believe her for a moment but he nodded and turned his attention back to his book. One of those Watcher/Slayer moments, he reasoned, she'll tell me about it later.
Willow, speaking in low urgent tones on the telephone, watched as Giles and Buffy went into the small kitchen, but had much the same thought as Xander as she continued her conversation with Faith.
Giles entered the kitchen first, closely followed by Buffy. He put the tray down on the kitchen counter and turned to face her.
"Buffy, when I asked you to come here there was something that I needed to tell you. I wanted to speak to you before the others got here because there are things that I needed to talk to you about."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I understand. This is the big one, Giles."
Giles shook his head, then nodded. "Yes, yes it is, but that's not it.
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "It's not?"
"No, Buffy, that was not the reason that I asked you to call here."
"No? There's more?"
Buffy followed Giles eyes as he watched the living room through the open door. Willow had finally finished her telephone conversation and had joined Xander on the sofa. As she sat down beside him Xander smiled at her, putting his arm around her and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. Buffy swallowed down her sudden pang of jealousy and tried to force herself to feel happy for her friends.
"It's Tara. When she went home I asked the Council to send someone to monitor her condition. The state of the wound to her shoulder was so bad that it was difficult to tell whether or not she had been bitten as well as clawed. And, of course, there was Ozs condition at the time. I couldn't be sure about the implications of the curse."
"And?"
"I'm afraid she had. Tara turned for the first time last night. She's a werewolf."
Buffy looked across at where Willow was sitting, her head leaning on Xander's shoulder. "Oh, no. We can't tell Willow, Giles. It will ruin things between her and Xander."
Giles sighed. "We have no choice, Buffy. Tara's coming back to Sunnydale. She'll be here later today. The Council thought it best as we have had some experience with werewolves."
Buffy shook her head, her heart sinking as she glanced over at her friends, their heads bowed, nearly touching as they sat together on the sofa, reading. The pang of jealousy had gone, chased away by the certainty that, should Tara return to Sunnydale, Willow and Xander's new found relationship would be damaged beyond repair.
"Willow feels so guilty about it all, Giles. She'll think that she has to help Tara. It'll break them up. Look at them, they're so happy, I don't want anything to interfere with that."
Giles nodded. "I know, but there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry but I have to agree with what the Council says. We are the only ones to have had experience of dealing with werewolves. They think that we might be able to help her come to terms with her condition."
Buffy bit her lip. "Yes, I suppose we owe her that." She admitted reluctantly. "Well, we'd better get this over with." She said as she began to walk back into the living room.
Giles put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "One more thing."
She stopped. "Yes?"
"Somehow the Council managed to contact Oz in Sierra Leone. They thought he might be able to help her. He's coming here too."
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are copyrighted (c)20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and the WB, and are used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Dedicated: as usual to Cait who makes me write these stories. (So blame her!)
This story takes place at the beginning of the fifth season of Buffy and follows on from my previous stories - The Powers that be Intervene, Leaving Again, The Devil came down to Sunnydale, The Devil you Know and the Shape Shifter and Faith, Hope and Charity, Willow Through The Looking Glass and In the Blood.
Anya has left Xander to become a demon again, Xander has moved out of his parent's basement and is living at the Magic Box, rent free, as caretaker and part-time assistant. Angel has left in Sunnydale. Riley saw Buffy with Angel and they broke up.
Faith was released from prison to help Buffy with the situation in the Hellmouth and is staying at Buffy's house. Buffy and Faith have both decided that they want Xander. Amy has at last been de-ratted.
It is the millennium year (according to some the millennium year began on 1/1/2001 (not 2000) as the calendar went from 1AD to 1BC) and the devil is trying to materalise in Sunnydale (of course, where else?).
At the end of In The Blood Willow and Xander finally decided that they wanted to be together and it looked like a happy ending.....
(I did say 'looked like')
Chapter One
Willow and Xander walked down the street together, hand in hand. From time to time the pretty redhead would gaze up at him and he, somehow knowing that she was doing so, would turn his deep brown eyes on her, a contented smile on his face.
It was what he had wanted for a long time, to be with Willow, not as friends, but as a lot more than that. He had lost her so many times - to Oz, to Tara, to his own indifference, but now he had her, and he was keeping her.
Willow had no idea of the thoughts that were going through her boyfriend's mind. She knew only that she was happy, happier than she knew she could ever be. She said the word over and over in her mind - boyfriend. Xander was her boyfriend. And the world, even on the Hellmouth, was a beautiful place.
Even the sun had joined the conspiracy to give them a perfect day. It was quite warm, with just the hint of a breeze preventing it from becoming uncomfortably hot, the sky was blue and cloudless and it was the ideal day for a picnic lunch, which is what they had decided to have, each of them carrying a bag in their other hand. Willow had brought a blanket for them to sit on and a large beige canvas bag crammed with goodies.
Willow had also remembered to include plenty of Twinkies and Oreo's. She knew Xander's weakness for sweet, gooey food. There was also some soda and, of course some sandwiches. She didn't intend for Xander to gorge himself solely on sugary goodness.
And so they walked along the pavement of the busy street, oblivious to the world around them, as some of the more romantically inclined people passing them turned and smiled to see a couple so obviously in love.
Finally they arrived at their destination, admittedly a less than ideal location for their picnic. This was no Garden of Eden. It was Weatherly Park, after hour's home of vampires, demons and various assorted creatures of the night.
Still, it was all they had and in the daylight it was quite pretty, there were carefully planted displays of flowers and the grass was well cared for, a fresh and healthy shade of green despite the recent heat wave.
Willow, ever prepared, had insisted on bringing the blanket, despite the dry spell, in case the grass was still moist with dew. It wasn't, of course, but Xander indulged her, taking the blanket from the blue plastic bag and spreading it on the ground, eager to begin investigating the more interesting contents of the canvas bag.
Xander gave a cry of triumph as he delved into the bag, turning to a yelp as Willow prised the Twinkles from his hand, sternly handing him a bag of plastic wrapped sandwiches.
Ah well, thought Xander, tearing open the plastic wrapping and cramming a sandwich into his mouth, it's all food, and at least I know there are Twinkles for later. He had missed breakfast that morning, getting up too late even to grab some dry cereal from the box as he dashed out of the door, and his stomach had wasted to time in making its protest known to him.
He bit into his sandwich, the soft bread and meat filling bringing his taste buds to life and placating his complaining stomach.
Giving a contented sigh he looked around, noticing the flowers, a floral rainbow of blue, pink, crimson, white and yellow, the sky, cerulean blue without a trace of a cloud and the sound of the birds as they carolled their sweet harmonious songs to the world. Everything seemed perfect today, even the fragrant perfume of the flowers and the newly cut grass, for once not pricking his eyes with tears and clogging his nose with the effects of the pollen.
Willow's thoughts were much the same as she tucked into her sandwich, smiling at Xander as he quickly worked his way through the excessively large amount of food that she had brought with her. Excessive that was for anyone rather than Xander. She knew how much he was capable of eating and she had been determined to bring sufficient with her. She also gave a happy sigh, which drew his attention, and he stopped eating and leaned over, touching her lips gently with his own.
Willow closed her eyes, wishing that this moment could last forever, savouring the gentle touch of his lips upon hers, something she had believed would never happen. Her eyes flickered open as Xander drew away from her and she felt the warm sun once more on her face. She watched as his tongue licked over the crumbs of bread that he had stolen from around her mouth with his kiss.
If only, she thought longingly, it could always be like this. She opened her eyes and, looking at Xander with a rueful smile, repeated her words aloud.
But, of course, this was the Hellmouth and, no sooner had the words left her lips than the ground began to move beneath them. The birds ceased their beautiful song and began to chirp and shriek in panic and a smell of rotten eggs filled the air, overwhelming the gentle scent of grass and flowers.
Willow wrinkled her nose as Xander dropped his half eaten sandwich and jumped quickly to his feet, putting out his hand to help her up. "Oh, eww, sulphur!"
Willow started to cram their belongings into the bags despite Xander's frantic pleas to hurry. Stooping to push the blanket into the plastic bag he stumbled as another quake rippled through the park. Willow, her eyes wide with panic, abandoned her attempt to pack up the picnic, leaving their debris scattered carelessly on the ground and grabbing at his hand.
They ran together, past frightened people loudly exclaiming their terror, towards the place they knew they might find some answer to this alarming incident. Xander's feet pounded noisily against the pavement, his hand tightly holding Willow's, pulling her with him.
They weren't the only people running. Panic had broken out in the streets, crowds had assembled outside, gazing up nervously at the buildings around them in fear lest the edifices crumble, discharging missiles of brick and mortar. There was no fear of that, Xander was relieved to notice, although several of the larger buildings showed a network of cracks like giant spider webs dotted around the brickwork. Even though none of the buildings showed major damage clouds of dust had formed around them, particles of it finding its way into their lungs, making them wheeze as they ran.
While they were running there were no further quakes but as soon as they neared Giles apartment and, seeing their destination so close at hand stopped to drag some into their tortured lungs, they felt one begin. Willow, taken by surprise, stumbled and he grasped her to him, holding him in his arms as she looked up at him with frightened green eyes.
"What's happening?" She asked him, her fear and confusion thickening her voice.
He shook his head. "I don't know." He admitted, unable to resist planting a kiss on her furrowed forehead. "But the G-man will have some answers."
He spoke with more confidence than he felt. The Watcher, normally so au fait with the catastrophes predicted by the ancient books and manuscripts had made no mention of an upcoming prophecy. It was just possible that this event was natural.
Then Xander smelled once more the bitter scent of sulphur in the air and discounted that possibility. He knew that the scent of sulphur in the air was associated with earthquakes but this had a different odour. It wasn't just sulphur that was carried in the air, he could detect hints of an underlying odour, one that he had come to know all too well living on the Hellmouth. It was the odour of evil and death.
Giving his girlfriend one last reassuring hug he released all but her hand and pulled her with him towards the apartment where he hoped all their questions might be answered.
The door was unlocked and Xander flung it open, fully expecting to see Giles inside in his usual position, in his armchair, a book in his hand. There was no sign of him in the living room and Xander called out. "Giles, where are you?"
Giles appeared in the kitchen doorway, his face a mask of worry. "I was on the telephone to Buffy when it started. She's on her way over."
Xander nodded. "Is this natural, G-man, or something the Hellmouth has come up with?"
Willow wrinkled her nose. "There's a smell." She sniffed the air. "It's not so strong in here but I can still smell it."
Giles sniffed. "Ah yes, sulphur. That's interesting."
"Now I wouldn't have gone with interesting there, I would have said ew." Xander muttered.
Giles frowned at him, his mind had been elsewhere and he had not caught a word that he had said. "Sorry, what was that?"
Xander shook his head. "Nothing. So, any idea what this is, Giles?"
Giles raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm no expert but I would have said it was an earthquake, a minor one perhaps, but an earthquake non the less."
Xander sighed, exasperated. "But is it natural or it is something to do with the Hellmouth?"
"Ah." Giles nodded. "Now that's something that we obviously need to find out."
Xander shook his head. "G-man.." He began to protest at the former librarian's abnormally unhelpful answers.
Giles interrupted. "Please don't call me that. Xander, the truth is that I really don't know."
It was impossible to miss the annoyance in his tone as he spoke and as he took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fingers as he did so, Xander could see the worry in his face.
Somehow, the fact that Giles seemed to have no idea what was going on concerned him far more than the minor earthquakes they had experienced. But what worried Xander even more was the impression he had somehow received that Giles did in fact know more about this than he was prepared to say.
Looking at Giles' anxious expression Xander decided that the only reason that he could imagine Giles could have for not telling them was so that they wouldn't be frightened.
In which case, what was happening was really bad, worse than anything that had happened to them previously, if that could be possible. He swallowed nervously, hoping he was wrong.
By the time that the door opened once again to admit a very harassed looking Slayer, half an hour had passed. Giles had a pile of books open on the coffee table and had conscripted Xander and Willow to look through them, trying to discover any supernatural explanation for the earthquakes. There had been no further earthquakes since Xander and Willow had got to the house but none of them yet believed that the danger had passed.
Buffy threw herself down on the sofa next to Xander and Willow exclaiming loudly. "I never thought I'd get here. Everybody's out in the streets. And I had to go check on Mom first."
She glanced over to where Giles, sitting on the edge of his armchair, a book in his hand, was peering at her solemnly over the edge of his glasses. "So, what's going on?"
Before Giles could speak Xander told her. "We don't know. That's why we have homework."
Picking up a large black book from the table he pushed it towards her. She picked it up and opened it, a musty smell coming from the yellowed pages.
She scowled. "Ooh, it smells bad."
Xander gave a smug smile. "Saved it just for you."
She poked her tongue out at him then turned to Giles. "So, what exactly am I looking for?"
Giles pushed his glasses back to a more secure position on his nose and shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't really know. As far as I am aware there are no prophecies that predict this turn of events. It might just be a natural occurrence."
Xander regarded him closely as he spoke, remembering his earlier impression that Giles knew far more than he was saying.
Willow raised her eyebrows. "You said that before, when the Master killed Buffy and again when the Vahrall demons tried to bring about the end of the world."
Giles looked sheepish. "Point taken. That's why we're looking in these books."
Buffy nodded. "So I'm looking for anything to do with earthquakes, right?" She closed the book and turned it over in her hands to read the title on the front page. "'Earthquakes and Prophecies.' Thanks, guys. This one shouldn't take more than a week to read."
Xander gave her the smug look once again. "That's why we saved it for you."
She closed the book and held it up in her hand aiming for his head but a dark look from Giles stopped her and she put it down on the table, opening it once more and beginning to read. Her finger followed the line of faded writing as she read, her brow furrowed in a frown of concentration.
More than two hours had passed before they felt the next earthquake. They were gradually working through the pile of books collected on the table before them when Willow, who had got to her feet in an attempt to stretch her cramped muscles, was the first to detect the early signs of the tremor to come. She stumbled, holding on to Xander's shoulder to stay upright. All of them became aware of the sulphurous odour that permeated the air, on this occasion it was so foul that they had to try to breathe through their mouths.
"You know." Xander muttered, his eyes watering as the stench of sulphur grew even stronger. "This is one time when I'd consider becoming a vampire."
As Willow looked at him in puzzled horror he explained. "They don't breathe."
Willow rolled her eyes, smacking him lightly across his chest with one hand. The other hand was up to her face, pinching her nostrils closed.
"Is this normal?" Xander asked, wrinkling his nose. "I mean, I know the smell of sulphur is often associated with earthquakes but should it be this strong, Giles?"
"How should I bloody know?" Giles exploded.
They watched in total bewilderment, the odour momentarily forgotten as Giles pulled himself out of his chair and stormed into the kitchen.
"What did I say?" Xander asked, looking from Willow to Buffy and back again.
Buffy shrugged. "I dunno. Was he like that when you got here?"
Xander and Willow both thought for a moment. In the silence the sound of clattering china could be heard from the kitchen, then a muted crash and a muttered curse as something obviously fell to the kitchen floor. Buffy winced.
"Well, he did seem a little cranky." Willow said, thoughtfully.
Xander nodded in agreement. "Did he say anything on the phone to you?"
Buffy shook her head. "He was only on the phone to me for a few seconds. I was on my way over when the quakes started."
Xander frowned, trying to think what had been wrong with that last statement. "Wait a minute. What did you just say? You spoke to Giles before the quakes started?" He looked at Willow, wondering if she had understood the implications of what Buffy had just said.
Buffy looked bewildered. "Yeah, why?"
"Because the quakes had started before we got here and, when we came in, Giles was on the phone in the kitchen. He said he'd been talking to you."
Willow shook her head. "That wasn't quite what he said. He told us that he was on the phone to Buffy when it started. He was in the kitchen when we came in but we don't know that he was on the phone."
Buffy stared at them. "He rang and asked me to come over. I was on my way when the quakes began so I detoured to check on Mom."
"Did he say why he wanted you to come over?" Xander asked.
Buffy shook her head. "He just asked me to come. He said it was urgent. When the quakes started I thought it was something to do with that."
Willow stared at Xander. "It doesn't make sense. Why would Giles lie to us about something like that?"
Xander shrugged. "Why would Giles lie to us about anything?"
They heard footsteps softly approaching them and looked up to see Giles making his way though from the kitchen, a tray of teacups in his hand. They watched him in silence, all of them, for the first time since they had met him, finding it difficult to find something to say to him. Willow pushed some of the books to one side and Giles carefully placed the tray down onto the table. He straightened and looked around at them, his face solemn. He sighed.
"I think we need to talk." He said gravely as he sank heavily down into his armchair.
He picked up his cup from the tray and sipped at the hot sweet liquid, trying to rid himself of the cold chill that permeated his body. The other three followed his example, welcoming the distraction from their reading.
Three pairs of eyes were focussed on Giles as he began to speak.
"I know that I gave the impression today that I was on the telephone to Buffy when you arrived here this afternoon." He said, his eyes flickering to Willow and Xander as he spoke. "I was, in fact, on the telephone to the Watcher's Council."
Giles saw Xander's mouth open and anticipated the question he was about to ask.
"The reason that I did not tell you that was on the Council's instructions. They were due to ring back within the hour if they were able to give any assistance. As they have not done so I can only assume that they are unable to help and we are now, God help us, on our own."
The three of them sat patiently and waited for Giles to begin.
"Before I can tell you about the earthquake activity we are experiencing at the moment I need to disclose some other information to you. As you know we have seen increased activity in the Hellmouth as demons have been manifesting in order to achieve their ultimate aim and bring the Devil to Sunnydale."
As Giles paused and looked around he was gratified to see that they were all nodding in understanding. He sipped again at his tea, cupping his hands around the china cup.
"There are things that you don't know. Last year a number of unusual and worrying incidents began to occur. In Japan there were over 70,000 earthquakes and the sulphur dioxide level there is now ten times the norm. Many countries suffered flooding, the like of which had not been seen since records began. These included Japan, Spain, Israel, Italy, Brazil and Britain, my homeland. Also last year plagues of jellyfish made their way into the sea in Mexico and Israel, completely devastating the fish population. At the same time a feature known as the red tide spread over 300 miles of Texas coastline, turning the water brownish-red. In the desert of Southern Ethiopia it rained fish. I have only given you a few of many examples."
Once again he paused, drained the cup and replaced it on the tray.
"I'm talking about signs, signs that indicate that the end of the world is coming.
The faces of the three in front of him had changed as he had been speaking. Bewilderment had given way to understanding but now he could detect relief in their faces.
"So, it's the end of the world." Willow said slowly.
"Again?" Xander raised his eyebrows.
"That's okay. We can deal with it." Buffy said with confidence.
"Yeah, been there, done that, no probs." Xander added.
"So, what's the plan, Giles?" Willow said with a smile.
Giles sank his head in his hands.
Buffy looked at the others then got to her feet and walked over to Giles. She sat on the arm of his chair and began gently patting his shoulder. "Giles, we've done this before. We can do it again."
When he looked up at her she was shocked. He seemed to have aged ten years in front of her eyes.
He shook his head. "I don't know if we can. There are prophecies..."
Buffy wouldn't let him finish. "Huh! I know all about prophecies. I died, remember? We can do this, Giles."
Giles looked from Buffy to Willow and Xander. All three of them were looking at him expectantly. It was too much. They had all been through too much. He wanted to shake his head, tell them that they couldn't go on fighting any longer. It was wearing them all down. He was tired of it all and he just wanted to rest, to lie down quietly and wait for the end. He didn't have their courage, their youth, their optimism.
He sighed. "We can do this." He repeated, and he even managed to sound positive, even to himself. Their smiles rewarded him. Well, he thought to himself, we can try.
"Willow, we're going to need all the help we can get. Would you ring Faith and Amy please?"
As Willow went to the telephone Xander picked up the book that he had been reading and resumed his research. Buffy got up from the arm of the chair as if to join him but Giles caught her arm.
"I need to speak to you." Giles told her, quietly. "In private."
Buffy nodded.
Giles got up from his chair and picked up the tray from the table. "I'll take this into the kitchen."
"I'll come too."
Xander looked up at her, aware that something was amiss.
"I want a glass of water." She told him.
Xander didn't believe her for a moment but he nodded and turned his attention back to his book. One of those Watcher/Slayer moments, he reasoned, she'll tell me about it later.
Willow, speaking in low urgent tones on the telephone, watched as Giles and Buffy went into the small kitchen, but had much the same thought as Xander as she continued her conversation with Faith.
Giles entered the kitchen first, closely followed by Buffy. He put the tray down on the kitchen counter and turned to face her.
"Buffy, when I asked you to come here there was something that I needed to tell you. I wanted to speak to you before the others got here because there are things that I needed to talk to you about."
Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I understand. This is the big one, Giles."
Giles shook his head, then nodded. "Yes, yes it is, but that's not it.
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "It's not?"
"No, Buffy, that was not the reason that I asked you to call here."
"No? There's more?"
Buffy followed Giles eyes as he watched the living room through the open door. Willow had finally finished her telephone conversation and had joined Xander on the sofa. As she sat down beside him Xander smiled at her, putting his arm around her and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. Buffy swallowed down her sudden pang of jealousy and tried to force herself to feel happy for her friends.
"It's Tara. When she went home I asked the Council to send someone to monitor her condition. The state of the wound to her shoulder was so bad that it was difficult to tell whether or not she had been bitten as well as clawed. And, of course, there was Ozs condition at the time. I couldn't be sure about the implications of the curse."
"And?"
"I'm afraid she had. Tara turned for the first time last night. She's a werewolf."
Buffy looked across at where Willow was sitting, her head leaning on Xander's shoulder. "Oh, no. We can't tell Willow, Giles. It will ruin things between her and Xander."
Giles sighed. "We have no choice, Buffy. Tara's coming back to Sunnydale. She'll be here later today. The Council thought it best as we have had some experience with werewolves."
Buffy shook her head, her heart sinking as she glanced over at her friends, their heads bowed, nearly touching as they sat together on the sofa, reading. The pang of jealousy had gone, chased away by the certainty that, should Tara return to Sunnydale, Willow and Xander's new found relationship would be damaged beyond repair.
"Willow feels so guilty about it all, Giles. She'll think that she has to help Tara. It'll break them up. Look at them, they're so happy, I don't want anything to interfere with that."
Giles nodded. "I know, but there's nothing I can do. I'm sorry but I have to agree with what the Council says. We are the only ones to have had experience of dealing with werewolves. They think that we might be able to help her come to terms with her condition."
Buffy bit her lip. "Yes, I suppose we owe her that." She admitted reluctantly. "Well, we'd better get this over with." She said as she began to walk back into the living room.
Giles put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "One more thing."
She stopped. "Yes?"
"Somehow the Council managed to contact Oz in Sierra Leone. They thought he might be able to help her. He's coming here too."