CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN: DAGON

Saturday: 4pm

21st August 1999

California: Sunnydale

Buffy flicked through the ancient tome, not looking for anything in specific, just perusing through the volume. 

"Found anything?" Giles asked, coming out of the kitchen, a cup of tea in his hands.

"No.  I'm not even sure what I'm looking for anymore.  The words seem to just be blurring into one another," she said.

He sat beside her and handed her the cup.  She took it with a grateful smile, sipping at the warm liquid and letting it filter through her body.  She closed her eyes tiredly and leant her head against her hand, her elbow on the arm of the couch.

"So, where's Ethan anyway?  He's never been this late before on the weekends.  Not without calling at least," Buffy said.

Giles frowned and checked his watch.

"He hasn't phoned.  I was hoping he might have found out a little more about this woman you've had dealings with," Giles said.

Buffy scrunched up her nose at his phrasing.

"Had dealings with?  You make it sound so…sordid," Buffy commented.

"Sorry.  I'm just…I have to admit I'm a little worried."

Buffy sighed and glanced down at the book in her lap again, flicking through the pages randomly.  She took another sip from her tea and looked around the apartment, trying to get her eyesight to stop playing up.

She blinked hard and looked back down at the book, a familiar word causing her to have another look at a particular paragraph.  Giles saw her sudden interest in the book and moved himself closer to his Slayer to read over her shoulder.

And thus, the Order of the Brethren of Dagon created through their majicks a Sphere to repel that which cannot be named.  The Dagonsphere, blessed by all that is pure and holy, ensured for the Brethren safety from ancient and primordial evils. 

"Uh…Giles.  That monk, Gloutier…he was from the Order of Dagon, right?" Buffy asked.

Giles nodded and finished reading the paragraph.

"You don't think…" he trailed off.

Buffy stood up and walked over to Giles' desk, picking up the orb that was being used as some sort of a paperweight.

"The Dagonsphere.  I think this is it," Buffy said, holding it up at eye level.

"To repel that which cannot be named," Giles mused.

"Cannot be named…that doesn't make sense," Buffy commented.  "What, were they afraid to call it by a name?"

"Unless they weren't able to call it by name…suppose it didn't have a name at all," Giles added.

"I'm sure they could have made a better name than 'that which cannot be named'.  It sounds…well, a little too Voldemort-ish."

"A little too what?" Giles asked.

"Oh…uh.  Never mind," Buffy said, flushing a little.  Dawn was definitely rubbing off on Buffy, and the evil villain of Dawn's favourite books was a name that had stuck in Buffy's mind.

Buffy looked at the orb, silently contemplating what it could possibly do.

"Uh…Giles…you know how I said I rescued a monk," Buffy started.  "What if he was from the Order of Dagon?"

"You think he might have planted the orb?  In hopes that you would find it."

"And…if it was him that put the Dagonsphere there, then…what if that woman is that which cannot be named?" Buffy asked.

"Some sort of uh…'ancient and primordial' evil you mean?"

Buffy nodded. 

"It's…possible I suppose."

"But she had a name.  She called herself Glorificus," Buffy said.

"We still haven't been able to find out anything else about any demons or creatures of any sort named Glorificus," Giles said.

Buffy sighed and set the orb back on the desk and went to take her seat on the couch again, but before she had a chance to move, the door opened abruptly.  Buffy turned, almost going into battle mode, startled by the sudden intrusion.  She relaxed immediately when she saw her brother and her best friend.

"Hey guys," Buffy greeted.

She grinned at her brother and the smile almost instantly faded.  This boy…man…her brother, was the Key.  It didn't make sense.  She shook off those thoughts immediately.  She didn't care if it didn't make sense.  Jay was her brother in every sense of the word, and there was no way she was going to give that up.

"Hey B, G.  Where's Ethan?" Faith asked.

"We're not exactly sure," Giles replied.  He stood and motioned for the two new-comers to have seats.  "Tea?"

"Water?" Jay asked.

"Faith?"

"Nah, I'm good."

Giles nodded and moved into the kitchen.  Buffy took her seat on the couch beside Jay.

"What are you guys doing?" Buffy asked.

"Visiting you.  Seeing if Ethan was here," Faith replied.  "I'm kinda worried.  He was meant to call if he wasn't going to be here this weekend."

"You knew there was a possibility of him not being here?" Buffy asked.

Faith nodded.  "Yeah, he…oh.  Oops.  He told me not to tell you that part."

Buffy rolled her eyes and leant forward in her seat, suddenly desperately worried about her 'dad'.

"Where'd he go?" Buffy asked.

"He told me not to tell you that part either," Faith replied.

"Faith!"

Faith sighed and took out a piece of paper with an address on it.  She handed the slip of paper to Buffy who read it, her worry increasing further.

"Why'd he go back there?" Buffy asked.

"He was hoping he could get more information about this chick you've been fighting," Faith said.  "He figured that if anyone was going to know anything about it, it would be the Council."

"Like the Council has a clue about anything," Buffy scoffed.

Giles returned, handing a glass of chilled water to Jay and retook his seat across from the three teens.

"Buffy, I know you believe that the Council is…well, filled with pompous old Brits who do nothing but drink tea and eat scones, but…contrary to popular belief, they are incredibly good at finding out what is happening in the demon world," Giles said gently.

"They may be good at finding out about it, but what the hell do they do about it?  Where are all their resources going?  They should be trying to stop the evil that happens rather than just telling me about it," Buffy said.

"Buffy, you are the Slayer-"

Buffy held up a hand to stop her Watcher from bursting into the spiel that had been ingrained into her since she could remember.

"I know.  I'm just…griping.  But that still doesn't change anything.  Ethan knows how I feel about the Council," Buffy said.

"That's why he didn't tell you, B," Faith said.

Buffy sat back in her chair, her fingers going to her mouth, her teeth nervously biting at the ends of her nails. 

"He'll be okay Buffy," Jay assured her.  "You know him.  He won't get himself into trouble."

"I do know him," Buffy agreed.  "And that's why I'm so worried."

----

Dedicated to Nikki…just cos.  ;)  Even though it's another non-chapter really.  I swear, I'm working on finishing this thing. 

Toodles.

K.