In the Space of a Journey
Chapter Nineteen
England: The Compound
Aidan looked around the huge table with trepidation. He was surrounded by the most important members of the Council. He knew them all by sight, but they didn't know him. Or they hadn't before today. And now they were sitting here discussing Giles's future as if the man had never done any good for the Council. The proconsul's first, easier recommendation of expulsion and banishment from the Council had been met with many approving nods, and worse penalties were still being discussed.
The young watcher let his mind drift from the matter at hand, and spent some time studying the others around the table. The Board of Directors was composed of twelve Watchers from different walks of life. All were distinguished in some form or fashion. There were three alchemists, five certified Ph.Ds. in demonology, one retired warlock and three former Active Watchers who had distinguished themselves in training, protecting and/or controlling their Slayers. The youngest member of the Board, at forty-three, was a female demonology professor who'd been flown in from her University in Australia for the proceedings. The eldest member was the warlock at ninety-seven. The amazing thing to Aidan was that he didn't look a day over seventy-five. Counting the three judges, there were five women and ten men in the group, and in none of their faces did Aidan find even one modicum of sympathy for Giles.
Aidan turned his gaze to the proconsul. The man had always seemed so nice from afar, but the more time Aidan spent with him, the less Aidan liked him. There was a funny gleam in Chamberlain's eyes that made Aidan's skin crawl. No one else seemed to notice, though.
He let himself drift back into the conversation just in time to hear one of the alchemists, John Warrington, announce, "Has any discussion been given to the idea of execution? In the Renaissance and beyond, rogue Watchers were exterminated on sight."
"Pish, posh, Warrington," Simon DuPris, a former Active Watcher,interrupted. "I'd like to think we aren't that barbaric anymore. Imprisonment would be much more humane."
Aidan shuddered, and let his mind drift again. He couldn't listen to the debates. It would make him ill. He wanted to help Giles, but how could he without getting into trouble himself? Aidan had been having this debate with himself ever since the situation with Doyle began. He'd played it safe every time. And what had it gotten him? Sure, he had the chance to continue to help the world at large, but it had also gotten him a missing friend and a condemned friend.
He tuned back in when the female demonology professor, Lynne Durvaine, spoke up vehemently. "Wait a moment, everyone! I think we're trying to use Mr. Giles as a scapegoat here, and that's just not right. Yes, he is in the wrong in this situation, but execution? Imprisonment? What's already been done -- removal as Active Watcher and being kept away from the Slayer, whom he obviously loves -- could be considered punishment enough."
A murmuring agreement rose up around the table in favor of Lynne's remarks. Aidan added his support as well, with a vigorous nod.
His gaze landed on the proconsul. Chamberlain was staring at Lynne angrily as he twisted a ring around his finger. Then, as if he remembered he could be watched, the furious expression vanished and his normal, nice-guy face was back. Chamberlain laid his hands down on the table, and Aidan focused in on the ring. It was one he'd never seen before. A black stone on a gold backing. But there was something familiar about the ring. Aidan just couldn't place it.
"Well, everyone," Chamberlain said abruptly, "I think we have had ample time for debate. I think we should take a vote to see how everyone stands. Then we can debate more, if need be, or make the necessary adjustments."
"Shall we vote by secret ballot?" Gwendolyn asked.
The proconsul shook his head. "No. I think we need to see where we all stand. Open and honest. That is what we should be."
Aidan swallowed nervously, wondering what he should say, and what he could say, and if the two were in any way compatible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sunnydale: The Warehouse
Amy stayed motionless until Terrance had finished untying the ropes binding her to the bed.
"All right, Ter," Faith said, gouging him in the back with her knife for good measure, "now we've got to decide what to do with you."
"You won't get away with this, you... you... necrophiliac," Terrance growled.
Amy's eyes widened when she realized what Terrance was implying. She looked at Faith. "Is he saying what I think he's saying?"
For a second Faith almost blushed, but then her normal belligerence took over. "If he means that Angel and I did the nasty a couple of times, yeah. Wanna make something of it?"
Amy shook her head as she stood up from the bed. "No, no. I just wanted to be... clear." She stamped her feet, trying to get the circulation back.
"Now, let's get out of here." Faith jabbed Terrance in the back again, this time drawing blood. "And you're coming with us."
"Not so fast!"
They all looked up to see Nicole walk in with Angel. Her lips were drawn in a tight smile. "One move out of any of you, and the vampire is ash."
Amy froze, but Faith just scowled at Nicole. "One bit of fire flies, and Terrance will be inside out."
"I don't think so," Nicole replied smugly. "You care about this one too much. You won't let me cook him."
"Just try me." Faith adjusted her stance so the blade of her knife rested against her hostage's throat. Amy spotted a drop of blood when Terrance swallowed.
Amy looked back and forth between Faith and Nicole. She had no idea who would win the battle of the hostage takers. She also wondered what she could do to help, but Nicole must have seen the feelings on her face.
"Don't try it, Amy. One poof of magic from you will also bring an early end to your vampire friend."
"Don't listen to her," Angel urged them.
"Shut up!" Nicole ordered, but Angel ignored her for the moment.
"If you have to sacrifice me to stop them, then do it..." Angel's selfless statement was cut off by the cracking sound of fire. His hand was on fire. Angel jerked and smothered the flame out with the edge of his trench coat before it could consume him.
"Next time," Nicole warned, "it will be more than your hand. Now shut up."
Terrance laughed, and Faith edged the knife closer to his throat. The blade bit into the tender skin enough to make him wince.
"That's it!" Nicole yelled at Faith. "I'm tired of waiting. Either let Terrance go this second, or I kill the vampire and come after you myself."
Faith's face went pale and then she did the unthinkable. She threw the knife aside, spewing a stream of obscenities, and let Terrance go.
Terrance turned and sneered at her. "I knew you were the weak link. When we report this, anything we did will be exonerated by the magnitude of your betrayal. A team leader and potential Slayer holding a team member at knife point and sacrificing herself because of her love for a vampire..."
Faith punched Terrance in the nose. Blood spurted between her fingers. She stepped back and looked Terrence in the eye as he danced around trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nostrils. "Next time, be more careful of how you address me."
Nicole just smiled as she watched this by-play.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned to see Rio in the doorway. "This is childish. We must put an end to it."
Terrance, who'd finally gotten the blood to stop running from his almost assuredly broken nose, leered at Faith. "Don't worry. I'll have my revenge."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Faith growled back, trying to keep all three of the commandos in her sight.
"Nicole!" Rio snapped. "Quit fiddling around with that vampire. Let me have him." Rio walked over to Nicole and grabbed Angel's arm.
"I thought you were going to work the ritual on Faith now," Nicole said, confused. She didn't let go of Angel's other arm.
"First I need Angel," Rio replied.
She had a doubtful look on her face, but Nicole finally let Angel go.
Now that no one was looking at her, Amy started edging to the door. She gasped when someone crashed into her from behind, sending her sprawling. She gasped again when she saw who it was.
"Terrance, Nicole. That's not me!"
A second version of Rio ran into the room. This one looked severely worse for the wear. His black hair was mussed, dust and grime streaked his face and clothes, and his garments were torn in several places. Terrance and Nicole stopped and stared at the two Rios. Amy got to her feet and started running for the door. She heard Terrance howl in protest, but he had too many new problems to deal with without chasing her down. Amy got outside and ran several blocks before stopping to take a breath. She glanced back at the warehouse wondering what to do now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
England: The Compound
Xander, Oz and Cordelia were on the trail of Blue Eyes. She was fast, but they caught enough glimpses of her to follow fairly accurately. The hard part was going to be surrounding and catching her without giving her the opportunity to hypnotize them and/or drain their life-force away. When she dodged through a door Xander had never seen before, he followed her, and found himself at the bottom of a staircase. They charged up it and found themselves in an empty hallway on the first floor. Blue Eyes must have gone either left or right, but she wasn't visible in either direction.
"All right," Xander said, taking command. It still felt natural to him, even though he'd stepped down from his role as Pseudo-Slayer on the advent of a new, whole Slayer. "Let's split up. Cordelia and I will go left. Oz, you go right."
"We're here, too!"
Xander grinned when he heard Sonya's disembodied voice. "Follow Oz," he said, "and make sure you two stay invisible. You're both kind of weak."
"I'll show you weak, Harris..." Sonya grumbled, but Xander knew she would do what he asked, and he was so glad to have her there challenging him again that it didn't matter.
He and Cordelia hurried down the hall, when suddenly things started to look familiar to Xander. "I've been here before."
"Then where are we going, smarty?" Cordelia asked, giving him a sidelong glance.
"Towards the tribunal," Xander replied. "I hope she went the other way." He had visions of Blue Eyes wrecking havoc and picking off Watchers one by one before they even noticed what was wrong because they were so distracted by whatever was going on with Giles.
"What are we going to do?" Cordelia asked. "Just tell me. I'm ready." Just as the words left her mouth, a wave of dizziness passed over her. She had to grab on to the wall for support.
"What's wrong?" Xander demanded, stopping next to her.
Cordelia felt Buffy's strength come rushing back and she got a handle on herself. "I think the spell is about to wear off. I've still got the Slayer powers, but I don't know for how much longer. Nigel said they would only last a few hours, and it's already been that."
Xander nodded. "Do what you can, while you can, and then, get out of the way..." His words trailed off when he heard footsteps behind them. He and Cordelia dropped into fighting stances, but straightened when they saw Oz.
"She's not down there," Oz told them.
"How can you be sure?" Cordelia asked. "This place is endless."
"At the end of the hallway there was a large room. Some people were there, talking," Sonya told them. "If she'd gone that way, either someone would have been dead or they would be chasing her or dealing with her."
Xander nodded. From around a corner, he heard a door open and close. He peered around the corner, and, just as he'd told Cordelia, there were the doors that led to the tribunal room. "She must have gone in there."
"How do ye suggest we do this, Xander?" Doyle asked.
The disembodied voice gave Xander an idea. "Sonya, Doyle, you two go in first and take a look around, then come back and tell us what's going on."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy still sat in her chair, trying to get up the gumption to do something, but she still felt weak and sick, not to mention disheartened. This waiting was destroying her nerves and her stomach lining. Suddenly, she felt a surge of strength. She was powerful! She could do anything! And, just as quickly, it was gone again, leaving her feeling more drained than before.
She wished she could ask Giles was that meant, but she couldn't even talk to him right now.
At the other table, Giles sat quietly. Wesley had gone to get a cup of coffee, but Giles suspected that the younger man just didn't want to sit there in a depressed silence any longer. Giles knew Wesley had tried his best. It was just too bad that Wesley's best hadn't been good enough. But with the proconsul of the Council against him, Giles didn't know what would have been enough.
Giles sighed deeply and looked around the room for something to distract him from his thoughts. Then he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He squinted and saw Ethan waving at him from behind the judges' podium. Giles tried to ignore him, but Ethan wouldn't stop waving. Deciding that he'd better take care of this before the miscreant made him look even worse, Giles got up and walked slowly over to the podium.
When the guard looked at him, Giles said, "Just stretching my feet." The guard nodded and went back to surveying the crowd. Giles walked over to the podium and positioned himself so he could talk to Ethan, but anyone who could see him would think he was just leaning against the podium.
"Ripper!" Ethan started, but Giles interrupted.
"What else could you possibly have to say, Ethan?" Giles demanded in a harsh whisper. "Haven't you massacred me enough? Do you have to make it look like we're still friends today? Not that it matters. They've already got more then enough to give me the worst possible sentence."
"I didn't meant to do it," Ethan blurted in the middle of Giles's tirade.
That stopped Giles mid-rant. "Excuse me?"
"That bloke, Chamberlain. He blackmailed me."
Giles stared at Ethan in disbelief, belatedly remembering that he wasn't supposed to draw attention to the man behind the podium. "What do you mean, Ethan, and if this is another one of your tricks, so help me I'll crush your bloody head with my bare hands!"
That made Ethan smirk. "There's the Ripper I remember." The smirk disappeared and was replaced by something almost like fear. "This isn't my first dealing with the man. He hired me for a job a while back. I had to go and find something for him. Something in Sunnydale. While I was there, after I did the job, I decided to have a little fun, but this vampire named Spike ruined it all."
"You were in Sunnydale? When?"
"Halloween, two years past."
Giles's eyes widened in comprehension. "Xander said he saw a man running from the place where the Chaos demon emerged. You did that?"
"I had to put the vampire in his place," Ethan explained in self-defense.
"What does this have to do with Chamberlain?" Giles demanded. "Get to the point!"
"He had me get something for him, like I said. Something he wanted badly enough to pay me triple the value. I had to go underground to get it, in this vault under the city."
"What was it?" Giles pronounced each word deliberately. "That guard keeps looking over here. I can't stay here much longer without making him suspicious."
Ethan leaned over and whispered something in Giles's ear. Giles looked at the shorter man in shock. "You can't be serious. That would mean Chamberlain..."
"You're right," Ethan assured him. "And I'm deadly serious. Now the bloke's got a hold on me. He knows all about me, Ripper. He could kill me. Or have me killed. I'm his bloody lackey now, just like that Marcus twerp."
"Then why tell me? Chamberlain won't like that if he finds out."
"Because, you getting free means his downfall, and that's the only way I can be safe. And, you've got much more of an in with the Slayer than I do." Ethan smiled mysteriously. "Good luck, Ripper." Then he disappeared into the shadows.
Giles turned and walked back to the table. The guard looked relieved, but Giles was far from it. His mind turned over everything Ethan had said, wondering if it were true, and actually believing it was. Only fear for his life would bring Ethan to him. Chamberlain stood nothing to gain by sending Ethan to feed him a pack of lies. The proconsul had Giles right where he wanted him, he had nothing to gain by lying to Giles.
Giles shot a glance at Buffy. Now, how could he tell her?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the first vote, things in the sentencing chamber were almost tied. Eight voted for the extreme methods advocated by the proconsul and others, and seven voted for less severe punishments. Aidan had been able to vote his conscience, at least somewhat, by going along with a group of demonology professors and two of the former Active Watchers. The surprising vote, to Aidan, was when Gwendolyn Post also advocated for the lesser penalties.
Aidan knew that there was no way he could get the verdict reversed. Once a tribunal decided something, it was irreversible. Not even the Proconsul himself could make Giles Active Watcher again, even if he had a mind to. But Aidan knew he couldn't vote for what the proconsul wanted, even at the expense of his standing.
As the advocates for either side negotiated, ideas were brought up and discarded. The execution idea was eliminated quickly, for which Aidan was grateful. But the leaving-things-as-they-were idea was also eliminated. The debate heated up between banishment and a monetary settlement by Giles to supply the Council's coffers and some degree of imprisonment, from life-long to a mere decade.
It took an arduous hour, but finally the group settled on the banishment/monetary settlement plan.
Chamberlain did not look pleased. Aidan was glad that evil glare wasn't focused on him personally.
"All right, now that we have decided, shall we adjourn and re-start the proceedings?" Chamberlain asked the table at large.
There were nods all around. The guard was called to make the announcement, and the judges and the Board processed back into the main room.
"Mr. Giles," the proconsul called as soon as everyone was seated and the room was acceptably quiet. "We have reached agreement on your sentence. Please stand and face us."
Giles did so, glaring at Chamberlain the whole time. Aidan wondered what could be in Giles's mind. Simply anger at his predicament, or could it be something else?
The proconsul took a deep breath and was about to make his speech, when Giles interrupted him.
"No, Chamberlain! You cannot pronounce a sentence on me! I will pronounce one on you, you despicable fiend!"
Mouths dropped open around the room at Giles's gall. Buffy got to her feet, staring at her former Watcher with a mixture of disbelief and hope.
But before Giles could say anything else, a scream echoed around the cavernous room...
Chapter Nineteen
England: The Compound
Aidan looked around the huge table with trepidation. He was surrounded by the most important members of the Council. He knew them all by sight, but they didn't know him. Or they hadn't before today. And now they were sitting here discussing Giles's future as if the man had never done any good for the Council. The proconsul's first, easier recommendation of expulsion and banishment from the Council had been met with many approving nods, and worse penalties were still being discussed.
The young watcher let his mind drift from the matter at hand, and spent some time studying the others around the table. The Board of Directors was composed of twelve Watchers from different walks of life. All were distinguished in some form or fashion. There were three alchemists, five certified Ph.Ds. in demonology, one retired warlock and three former Active Watchers who had distinguished themselves in training, protecting and/or controlling their Slayers. The youngest member of the Board, at forty-three, was a female demonology professor who'd been flown in from her University in Australia for the proceedings. The eldest member was the warlock at ninety-seven. The amazing thing to Aidan was that he didn't look a day over seventy-five. Counting the three judges, there were five women and ten men in the group, and in none of their faces did Aidan find even one modicum of sympathy for Giles.
Aidan turned his gaze to the proconsul. The man had always seemed so nice from afar, but the more time Aidan spent with him, the less Aidan liked him. There was a funny gleam in Chamberlain's eyes that made Aidan's skin crawl. No one else seemed to notice, though.
He let himself drift back into the conversation just in time to hear one of the alchemists, John Warrington, announce, "Has any discussion been given to the idea of execution? In the Renaissance and beyond, rogue Watchers were exterminated on sight."
"Pish, posh, Warrington," Simon DuPris, a former Active Watcher,interrupted. "I'd like to think we aren't that barbaric anymore. Imprisonment would be much more humane."
Aidan shuddered, and let his mind drift again. He couldn't listen to the debates. It would make him ill. He wanted to help Giles, but how could he without getting into trouble himself? Aidan had been having this debate with himself ever since the situation with Doyle began. He'd played it safe every time. And what had it gotten him? Sure, he had the chance to continue to help the world at large, but it had also gotten him a missing friend and a condemned friend.
He tuned back in when the female demonology professor, Lynne Durvaine, spoke up vehemently. "Wait a moment, everyone! I think we're trying to use Mr. Giles as a scapegoat here, and that's just not right. Yes, he is in the wrong in this situation, but execution? Imprisonment? What's already been done -- removal as Active Watcher and being kept away from the Slayer, whom he obviously loves -- could be considered punishment enough."
A murmuring agreement rose up around the table in favor of Lynne's remarks. Aidan added his support as well, with a vigorous nod.
His gaze landed on the proconsul. Chamberlain was staring at Lynne angrily as he twisted a ring around his finger. Then, as if he remembered he could be watched, the furious expression vanished and his normal, nice-guy face was back. Chamberlain laid his hands down on the table, and Aidan focused in on the ring. It was one he'd never seen before. A black stone on a gold backing. But there was something familiar about the ring. Aidan just couldn't place it.
"Well, everyone," Chamberlain said abruptly, "I think we have had ample time for debate. I think we should take a vote to see how everyone stands. Then we can debate more, if need be, or make the necessary adjustments."
"Shall we vote by secret ballot?" Gwendolyn asked.
The proconsul shook his head. "No. I think we need to see where we all stand. Open and honest. That is what we should be."
Aidan swallowed nervously, wondering what he should say, and what he could say, and if the two were in any way compatible.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sunnydale: The Warehouse
Amy stayed motionless until Terrance had finished untying the ropes binding her to the bed.
"All right, Ter," Faith said, gouging him in the back with her knife for good measure, "now we've got to decide what to do with you."
"You won't get away with this, you... you... necrophiliac," Terrance growled.
Amy's eyes widened when she realized what Terrance was implying. She looked at Faith. "Is he saying what I think he's saying?"
For a second Faith almost blushed, but then her normal belligerence took over. "If he means that Angel and I did the nasty a couple of times, yeah. Wanna make something of it?"
Amy shook her head as she stood up from the bed. "No, no. I just wanted to be... clear." She stamped her feet, trying to get the circulation back.
"Now, let's get out of here." Faith jabbed Terrance in the back again, this time drawing blood. "And you're coming with us."
"Not so fast!"
They all looked up to see Nicole walk in with Angel. Her lips were drawn in a tight smile. "One move out of any of you, and the vampire is ash."
Amy froze, but Faith just scowled at Nicole. "One bit of fire flies, and Terrance will be inside out."
"I don't think so," Nicole replied smugly. "You care about this one too much. You won't let me cook him."
"Just try me." Faith adjusted her stance so the blade of her knife rested against her hostage's throat. Amy spotted a drop of blood when Terrance swallowed.
Amy looked back and forth between Faith and Nicole. She had no idea who would win the battle of the hostage takers. She also wondered what she could do to help, but Nicole must have seen the feelings on her face.
"Don't try it, Amy. One poof of magic from you will also bring an early end to your vampire friend."
"Don't listen to her," Angel urged them.
"Shut up!" Nicole ordered, but Angel ignored her for the moment.
"If you have to sacrifice me to stop them, then do it..." Angel's selfless statement was cut off by the cracking sound of fire. His hand was on fire. Angel jerked and smothered the flame out with the edge of his trench coat before it could consume him.
"Next time," Nicole warned, "it will be more than your hand. Now shut up."
Terrance laughed, and Faith edged the knife closer to his throat. The blade bit into the tender skin enough to make him wince.
"That's it!" Nicole yelled at Faith. "I'm tired of waiting. Either let Terrance go this second, or I kill the vampire and come after you myself."
Faith's face went pale and then she did the unthinkable. She threw the knife aside, spewing a stream of obscenities, and let Terrance go.
Terrance turned and sneered at her. "I knew you were the weak link. When we report this, anything we did will be exonerated by the magnitude of your betrayal. A team leader and potential Slayer holding a team member at knife point and sacrificing herself because of her love for a vampire..."
Faith punched Terrance in the nose. Blood spurted between her fingers. She stepped back and looked Terrence in the eye as he danced around trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nostrils. "Next time, be more careful of how you address me."
Nicole just smiled as she watched this by-play.
"Enough!"
Everyone turned to see Rio in the doorway. "This is childish. We must put an end to it."
Terrance, who'd finally gotten the blood to stop running from his almost assuredly broken nose, leered at Faith. "Don't worry. I'll have my revenge."
"I wouldn't bet on it," Faith growled back, trying to keep all three of the commandos in her sight.
"Nicole!" Rio snapped. "Quit fiddling around with that vampire. Let me have him." Rio walked over to Nicole and grabbed Angel's arm.
"I thought you were going to work the ritual on Faith now," Nicole said, confused. She didn't let go of Angel's other arm.
"First I need Angel," Rio replied.
She had a doubtful look on her face, but Nicole finally let Angel go.
Now that no one was looking at her, Amy started edging to the door. She gasped when someone crashed into her from behind, sending her sprawling. She gasped again when she saw who it was.
"Terrance, Nicole. That's not me!"
A second version of Rio ran into the room. This one looked severely worse for the wear. His black hair was mussed, dust and grime streaked his face and clothes, and his garments were torn in several places. Terrance and Nicole stopped and stared at the two Rios. Amy got to her feet and started running for the door. She heard Terrance howl in protest, but he had too many new problems to deal with without chasing her down. Amy got outside and ran several blocks before stopping to take a breath. She glanced back at the warehouse wondering what to do now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
England: The Compound
Xander, Oz and Cordelia were on the trail of Blue Eyes. She was fast, but they caught enough glimpses of her to follow fairly accurately. The hard part was going to be surrounding and catching her without giving her the opportunity to hypnotize them and/or drain their life-force away. When she dodged through a door Xander had never seen before, he followed her, and found himself at the bottom of a staircase. They charged up it and found themselves in an empty hallway on the first floor. Blue Eyes must have gone either left or right, but she wasn't visible in either direction.
"All right," Xander said, taking command. It still felt natural to him, even though he'd stepped down from his role as Pseudo-Slayer on the advent of a new, whole Slayer. "Let's split up. Cordelia and I will go left. Oz, you go right."
"We're here, too!"
Xander grinned when he heard Sonya's disembodied voice. "Follow Oz," he said, "and make sure you two stay invisible. You're both kind of weak."
"I'll show you weak, Harris..." Sonya grumbled, but Xander knew she would do what he asked, and he was so glad to have her there challenging him again that it didn't matter.
He and Cordelia hurried down the hall, when suddenly things started to look familiar to Xander. "I've been here before."
"Then where are we going, smarty?" Cordelia asked, giving him a sidelong glance.
"Towards the tribunal," Xander replied. "I hope she went the other way." He had visions of Blue Eyes wrecking havoc and picking off Watchers one by one before they even noticed what was wrong because they were so distracted by whatever was going on with Giles.
"What are we going to do?" Cordelia asked. "Just tell me. I'm ready." Just as the words left her mouth, a wave of dizziness passed over her. She had to grab on to the wall for support.
"What's wrong?" Xander demanded, stopping next to her.
Cordelia felt Buffy's strength come rushing back and she got a handle on herself. "I think the spell is about to wear off. I've still got the Slayer powers, but I don't know for how much longer. Nigel said they would only last a few hours, and it's already been that."
Xander nodded. "Do what you can, while you can, and then, get out of the way..." His words trailed off when he heard footsteps behind them. He and Cordelia dropped into fighting stances, but straightened when they saw Oz.
"She's not down there," Oz told them.
"How can you be sure?" Cordelia asked. "This place is endless."
"At the end of the hallway there was a large room. Some people were there, talking," Sonya told them. "If she'd gone that way, either someone would have been dead or they would be chasing her or dealing with her."
Xander nodded. From around a corner, he heard a door open and close. He peered around the corner, and, just as he'd told Cordelia, there were the doors that led to the tribunal room. "She must have gone in there."
"How do ye suggest we do this, Xander?" Doyle asked.
The disembodied voice gave Xander an idea. "Sonya, Doyle, you two go in first and take a look around, then come back and tell us what's going on."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buffy still sat in her chair, trying to get up the gumption to do something, but she still felt weak and sick, not to mention disheartened. This waiting was destroying her nerves and her stomach lining. Suddenly, she felt a surge of strength. She was powerful! She could do anything! And, just as quickly, it was gone again, leaving her feeling more drained than before.
She wished she could ask Giles was that meant, but she couldn't even talk to him right now.
At the other table, Giles sat quietly. Wesley had gone to get a cup of coffee, but Giles suspected that the younger man just didn't want to sit there in a depressed silence any longer. Giles knew Wesley had tried his best. It was just too bad that Wesley's best hadn't been good enough. But with the proconsul of the Council against him, Giles didn't know what would have been enough.
Giles sighed deeply and looked around the room for something to distract him from his thoughts. Then he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. He squinted and saw Ethan waving at him from behind the judges' podium. Giles tried to ignore him, but Ethan wouldn't stop waving. Deciding that he'd better take care of this before the miscreant made him look even worse, Giles got up and walked slowly over to the podium.
When the guard looked at him, Giles said, "Just stretching my feet." The guard nodded and went back to surveying the crowd. Giles walked over to the podium and positioned himself so he could talk to Ethan, but anyone who could see him would think he was just leaning against the podium.
"Ripper!" Ethan started, but Giles interrupted.
"What else could you possibly have to say, Ethan?" Giles demanded in a harsh whisper. "Haven't you massacred me enough? Do you have to make it look like we're still friends today? Not that it matters. They've already got more then enough to give me the worst possible sentence."
"I didn't meant to do it," Ethan blurted in the middle of Giles's tirade.
That stopped Giles mid-rant. "Excuse me?"
"That bloke, Chamberlain. He blackmailed me."
Giles stared at Ethan in disbelief, belatedly remembering that he wasn't supposed to draw attention to the man behind the podium. "What do you mean, Ethan, and if this is another one of your tricks, so help me I'll crush your bloody head with my bare hands!"
That made Ethan smirk. "There's the Ripper I remember." The smirk disappeared and was replaced by something almost like fear. "This isn't my first dealing with the man. He hired me for a job a while back. I had to go and find something for him. Something in Sunnydale. While I was there, after I did the job, I decided to have a little fun, but this vampire named Spike ruined it all."
"You were in Sunnydale? When?"
"Halloween, two years past."
Giles's eyes widened in comprehension. "Xander said he saw a man running from the place where the Chaos demon emerged. You did that?"
"I had to put the vampire in his place," Ethan explained in self-defense.
"What does this have to do with Chamberlain?" Giles demanded. "Get to the point!"
"He had me get something for him, like I said. Something he wanted badly enough to pay me triple the value. I had to go underground to get it, in this vault under the city."
"What was it?" Giles pronounced each word deliberately. "That guard keeps looking over here. I can't stay here much longer without making him suspicious."
Ethan leaned over and whispered something in Giles's ear. Giles looked at the shorter man in shock. "You can't be serious. That would mean Chamberlain..."
"You're right," Ethan assured him. "And I'm deadly serious. Now the bloke's got a hold on me. He knows all about me, Ripper. He could kill me. Or have me killed. I'm his bloody lackey now, just like that Marcus twerp."
"Then why tell me? Chamberlain won't like that if he finds out."
"Because, you getting free means his downfall, and that's the only way I can be safe. And, you've got much more of an in with the Slayer than I do." Ethan smiled mysteriously. "Good luck, Ripper." Then he disappeared into the shadows.
Giles turned and walked back to the table. The guard looked relieved, but Giles was far from it. His mind turned over everything Ethan had said, wondering if it were true, and actually believing it was. Only fear for his life would bring Ethan to him. Chamberlain stood nothing to gain by sending Ethan to feed him a pack of lies. The proconsul had Giles right where he wanted him, he had nothing to gain by lying to Giles.
Giles shot a glance at Buffy. Now, how could he tell her?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the first vote, things in the sentencing chamber were almost tied. Eight voted for the extreme methods advocated by the proconsul and others, and seven voted for less severe punishments. Aidan had been able to vote his conscience, at least somewhat, by going along with a group of demonology professors and two of the former Active Watchers. The surprising vote, to Aidan, was when Gwendolyn Post also advocated for the lesser penalties.
Aidan knew that there was no way he could get the verdict reversed. Once a tribunal decided something, it was irreversible. Not even the Proconsul himself could make Giles Active Watcher again, even if he had a mind to. But Aidan knew he couldn't vote for what the proconsul wanted, even at the expense of his standing.
As the advocates for either side negotiated, ideas were brought up and discarded. The execution idea was eliminated quickly, for which Aidan was grateful. But the leaving-things-as-they-were idea was also eliminated. The debate heated up between banishment and a monetary settlement by Giles to supply the Council's coffers and some degree of imprisonment, from life-long to a mere decade.
It took an arduous hour, but finally the group settled on the banishment/monetary settlement plan.
Chamberlain did not look pleased. Aidan was glad that evil glare wasn't focused on him personally.
"All right, now that we have decided, shall we adjourn and re-start the proceedings?" Chamberlain asked the table at large.
There were nods all around. The guard was called to make the announcement, and the judges and the Board processed back into the main room.
"Mr. Giles," the proconsul called as soon as everyone was seated and the room was acceptably quiet. "We have reached agreement on your sentence. Please stand and face us."
Giles did so, glaring at Chamberlain the whole time. Aidan wondered what could be in Giles's mind. Simply anger at his predicament, or could it be something else?
The proconsul took a deep breath and was about to make his speech, when Giles interrupted him.
"No, Chamberlain! You cannot pronounce a sentence on me! I will pronounce one on you, you despicable fiend!"
Mouths dropped open around the room at Giles's gall. Buffy got to her feet, staring at her former Watcher with a mixture of disbelief and hope.
But before Giles could say anything else, a scream echoed around the cavernous room...