Buffy awoke with the image of the horsemen fresh in her mind. As she got dressed more images of the field and the hall of mirrors flashed before her. She shook herself to clear her mind and went downstairs. She found Dawn in the kitchen talking to Xander. She noticed the dirty dishes in the sink and sighed. "Hey guys." Dawn and Xander smiled when they saw her. Xander spoke first "Hey there sleepyhead, Dawn been filling me in on last night's patrol. Sorry I missed it."
"I killed a vampire," said Dawn, beaming.
"I think you mentioned that," said Xander, smiling at Dawn. Xander's tone changed as he addressed Buffy "I just came over to check you were both okay after last night's quake. I wondered if we were jumping into research?" Buffy looked puzzled
"Quake?"
"Last night, the earthquake? You didn't feel it?"
"No…" Buffy trailed off into thought. Then Dawn spoke up
"I just went back to sleep afterwards. I figured it was just another quake until I saw the TV." Buffy left them and walked into the next room and turned on the TV. The headline scrolled across the bottom of the screen:
THE DAY THE WORLD SHOOK
She sat down and began to listen to the anchorwoman.
"A relatively small quake by some standards, it still caught many countries off guard. Reports have come in from several countries, including Britain, which are not prepared for such geological occurrences. So far the reports of deaths and injuries have been low. The cause of the earthquake is still unknown, but scientists at Sunnydale University have already announced their theory is that solar flares caused the incident. The earthquake causes similar damage in local areas to that of the last notable 'quake in January 2000. City officials tried to calm the fears of residents believing the earthquake is heralding the apocalypse. As he entered the town hall this morning, the major is quoted as saying "There is no reason to believe this event is a forerunner to any cataclysmic event. There has never been any proof of supernatural occurrences in our town, and I intend it to stay that way."
Buffy turned off the TV and turned to see Dawn and Xander standing in the doorway. "Buffy?" said Dawn concerned.
"It's probably nothing," said Xander trying to reassure her, "like she said, solar flares"
"Yeah," said Buffy weakly, looking up.
"I can probably take the rest of the day off if…"
"No, I'll be fine," said Buffy raising a smile. "I need to go and see Anya about something." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the ring from last night's patrol. When the sunlight touched the ring it began to glow, making it impossible to see the pattern on the inside. Dawn and Xander watched as she placed it on her index finger, but as she moved her other hand away, the ring was still in the palm of her hand. Confused, she tried again with the same effect. She tried again and again, every time the ring returned to the palm of her hand. "What the…" she was cut off when Dawn spoke.
"Buffy, what is that?"
"It's the ring we found last night… It's too small for my finger."
"Can I try?" Asked Dawn. Buffy hesitated but gave in and passed the ring to Dawn. She slid the ring onto her finger, but as she pulled away she looked in astonishment as it was back in the palm of her hand. "That is so cool," she said, and passed it, in turn, to Xander who couldn't get it past his knuckles. He smiled at Buffy. "My fingers are too big." He passed it back to Buffy. "It must be enchanted," said Buffy "Hopefully Anya will know something." She rolled the ring between her fingers, almost mesmerised. Xander snapped her out of it.
"Buff, you sure you're okay?" He asked.
"I'm sure" she said "don't you have some lifting you need to supervise?" She looked at the ring again and slid it into her pocket. A small glowing circle could be seen at her side until it faded away a second later.
"Actually I do. Call me if you need anything." He turned to leave.
"Wait" said Dawn "can you drop me off at the mall?"
"Sure" he said and shrugged his shoulders
"See you for dinner Buffy?"
"Yeah." Buffy said as Dawn picked up her coat. She and Xander left through the front door.
"See you at dinner" shouted Dawn after they had gone from view.
Buffy heard Xander's car start and pull off down the road. She went back into the kitchen and went to the cupboard to get a bowl for breakfast but found nothing. She sighed and set about washing the dishes.
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Willow approached Giles' house dirty and wet. The door opened and Giles appeared in the archway. "Willow," he said concerned. "I was worried, the earthquake…are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said downheartedly and brushed past him into the house. "I need to take a shower." Giles turned his head and watched her walk up the stairs. As he heard the bathroom door close he reached behind him and closed the door.
Giles walked into the kitchen and picked up the phone. After dialling the number he waited for someone to pick up and he asked to speak to Quentin Travers.
"Quentin it's Rupert Giles, I want to say again how bad an idea this is…"
"…Just because you lost your slayers doesn't give you an excuse to try and get councils hooks into her friends… Don't try and pretend that's not what you're doing…"
"…What happens if she fails your tests?" Listening to the reply he got angry
"Well that's just bloody marvellous isn't it?" He shouted and slammed the phone down. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow.
Willow came down the stairs and met Giles about an hour later. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Giles asked. Willow looked up at him "No," she smiled.
They left the house and walked in silence for about ten minutes until they reached Holborn, an underground train station. "We're taking the subway?" Willow asked when they got there.
"Wait and see," said Giles smiling. When they reached the ticket office Giles took a card out of his wallet and showed it to the man behind the desk. The man nodded slightly, and Willow noticed him reach under his desk and press a button. He handed the card back to Giles, who slid it back into his wallet. "Have a good ride" he said and smiled at them. Willow smiled weakly back and followed Giles through and down to the tube station. Willow was surprised how dirty the station was. England had always inspired images of green fields and men in tweed, but the reality was much the same as America. Lots of different kinds of people pushing and shoving their way to where they wanted to go. They boarded the train, and both of them grabbed a rail by the doors. "Hold on," said Giles.
Willow was still confused. She had no idea where they were going, all she knew was why they were going there, and that scared her more than anything. The train stopped a few moments after it had started and the doors opened. No passengers got off apart from Giles, who beckoned Willow to step off the train. As she did so the doors closed behind her and the train left the station. She noticed a London underground sign painted on the wall. It was faded from lack of care over the years but Willow could make it out as reading 'British Museum'. It was quite dark on the platform, with small yellow lights along the wall illuminated the small space. There were old posters peeling off the walls, and all the entrances and exits seemed to be bricked up except one large wooden door on the far left hand side which has a 'maintenance only' sign at the side of it. Giles walked up to it and as he put his hand on the handle, he looked to Willow. "Are you ready?" he asked. She nodded and Giles turned the handle and pushed the door. He walked through the archway and beckoned Willow to follow him. She walked through.
What Willow saw next amazed her. She was in a large well lit room, the walls were wood panelled and there was a thick carpet beneath her feet. On the far wall there was a landscape, in front of which there was a rounded wooden desk and a woman sitting behind it. Willow guessed correctly that she was in her late fifties. There was a man talking to her so Giles and Willow sat down on the bench that ran down one of the walls. As she sat down Willow was able to take in the whole room. Paintings lined the walls, mostly of middle aged men or women. On closer inspection she saw small golden plaques beneath them, on which there was a name and two dates, which were mostly very close together. She turned to Giles. "Why is there no earthquake damage down here?" She asked.
"The headquarters are protected from most forms of natural and un-natural disaster, I assume the rest of the underground is too." He hesitated for a second and added: "The natural ones at least."
Willow saw the man at the desk leave and exit the way they had come in. He nodded to Giles who nodded in return. Giles got up and approached the desk. The woman looked up and smiled. "Ah Mr. Giles, we haven't seen you in an age. Mr. Travers is expecting you; I trust you remember the way?" She continued to smile and Giles reciprocated "Yes, thank you Mrs. Hayes." He walked forward and opened one of the double doors and Willow followed, still too bewildered to say anything.
They walked into a series of interconnecting corridors. The décor was much the same as in the previous room, with more portraits. As they walked on Willow began to feel daunted by her upcoming trial, and the shadows and paintings seemed to loom towards her. Eventually she spoke. "Who are all these people Giles?" She asked.
"They're all of the people who have been watcher to a slayer. The dates below are the years their slayer, um…"
"Survived?" Asked Willow.
"Fought," he said. Willow noticed Giles always had a problem talking about the deaths of slayers. She wondered if he knew any before Buffy.
When they passed the next paining, Willow looked at the plaque:
Dr. John Dee
1572 - 1572
His slayer hadn't even lived out the year. Willow wondered whether there was a painting of Giles somewhere in the labyrinth. They walked on turning every so often. Every twenty feet or so they passed a doorway, each had a small golden plate on it, similar to the paintings. These plates had on them the names of people or departments. She passed two doors on either side of her; to her left the door was labelled '321. Jacob Stevens' and to her right '322. Mystical chants and bacchanals'.
"And I thought the initiative was big," she thought. She looked over at Giles who appeared to her as a small child in a theme park. "He must really love it here," she thought.
Noticing Willow's silence, Giles tried to think of something to say. "We're actually directly below the British Museum," he said. "The council had the station closed down in the thirties to allow for easier access. In fact, before I moved to Sunnydale I used to work," he paused to think, "about ten feet about your head." Willow looked up and her eyes met with the white ceiling. "I used to be museum curator," he said proudly. When Willow looked down she saw another painting of a man, probably late thirties, who looked vaguely familiar. She looked at the gold plate below it.
Quentin Travers
1972 - 1976
"Four years," thought Willow. Giles stopped at the door beside the painting
"Here we are," he said to Willow.
"What happens if I can't pass their tests?" She asked.
"I honestly don't know." He opened the door and beckoned her through it. She took a deep breath and passed in front of him. Giles smiled as she looked at him and closed the door behind them.
Willow couldn't help but be impressed by the room she now stood in. The ceiling was much higher than of those in the corridor, and a large chandelier hung from the centre. At the far end of the room was a large mahogany fireplace with a family photo hanging over the mantelpiece. It was lined with artefacts from all over the ancient world. Willow recognised some were Egyptian and Babylonian, but she couldn't identify the others. There were other tables and cabinets around the room, each with photos or artefacts on them. In the centre of the room there sat a large ornate three person seat, and matching chair. In the chair sat a man Willow instantly recognised as Quentin Travers. He appeared quite relaxed, but his presence there dominated the room and filled Willow with an inexplicable sense of fear. He stood up. "Mr. Giles, Miss Roseburg." He offered his hand out to Giles but he didn't take it.
"Quentin," said Giles coldly.
"Won't you sit down?" Quentin indicated the seat in front of him and they both sat down. As he took his chair he poured himself a glass of brandy, which was sitting on the table between them. Two empty glasses sat on Giles and Willow's side of the table. "Care for a drop?" He asked, they both declined. "Down to business then." He addressed Willow, "Miss Rosenberg, do you understand what's going to happen?" Willow shook her head.
"Not completely," she said honestly.
"It's quite painless." he smiled; Willow didn't. He continued, "I'm going to be candid with you. You have the capacity within you to be one of the most malevolent forces of darkness this world has ever known and we have to do everything within our power to stop that. You have to pass three trials, each one will test a different aspect of your powers so we can assess the risk you pose and make sure it's safe for you to return to Sunnydale."
"What if it's not safe?" Asked Willow worried.
"We'll discuss that later," he said and stood up. "Follow me please." He walked over to another set of double doors on the right hand side of the room. Willow and Giles got up to follow. "Rupert, you'll have to stay here, have a drink, it's quite a nice drop." Giles glared at him for a moment and turned to Willow.
"I'll be right here when you've finished," he said. Quentin opened one of the doors. Willow looked back to Giles and smiled weakly. Turning she walked through the door.