Cleveland, Ohio
"Giles! I think I found it!"
Giles raised a single finger at Willow, the universal gesture for "Hang on a second. I'm on the phone." She quickly silenced herself , noting the somber look on his face.
"How many others?"
Willow didn't like this at all. She was accustomed to the the look of worry that perpetually played across his face, but there was something else mixed in with his concern, something she wasn't used to at all. Fear.
"Seven! That you know of?! Well how many are missing?"
Giles face was a mixture of emotion. Fear. Concern. Anger. As much as the fear troubled Willow, the newly displayed anger made her realize how bad this situation must really be. She had only seen him lose his temper a few times in her life and it looked like she would be adding another notch to that belt very shortly.
"Find them. I don't care how you do it. Exhaust all resources, if necessary. We need to know if they're dead or alive. If they're dead, I need to know how. It is imperative that we keep this quiet. If anyone asks, they are on Council business. If your cover story doesn't deter someone, have them call me. I'll handle it."
Giles hung up the phone and removed his glasses, pinching the top of his nose in obvious distress. Willow watched him silently until he turned to her, visibly composed himself, and spoke.
"Willow, I'm afraid we have a serious problem. It seems that somebody is targeting Slayers. I've just been informed that at least seven Slayers are confirmed as dead and an additional six are missing."
"Giles, how can this be happening? Who or what could possibly have that kind of power?" Willow asked.
"If my guess is right, you already ran into him," Giles stated.
"But he wasn't targeting Buffy. It was Dawn he was after. Why wouldn't he have taken down Buffy that night?"
"I don't know. Maybe Buffy will have the answer to that question when she returns from Los Angeles. There's an even larger problem we need to worry about."
"Larger than a big bad who can take out Slayers at will," she asked incredulously. "Like what?"
"We have confirmed that seven Slayers have been murdered and six more are missing. The coven did a locater spell and only turned up 135 Slayers."
"But--there should be 148," Willow replied. "That's how many there have always been since I did the spell to unlock the Potentials."
"I don't know how, but the lines been stopped," Giles resigned. "Willow, there are no new Slayers being called."
End Chapter Six
"Giles! I think I found it!"
Giles raised a single finger at Willow, the universal gesture for "Hang on a second. I'm on the phone." She quickly silenced herself , noting the somber look on his face.
"How many others?"
Willow didn't like this at all. She was accustomed to the the look of worry that perpetually played across his face, but there was something else mixed in with his concern, something she wasn't used to at all. Fear.
"Seven! That you know of?! Well how many are missing?"
Giles face was a mixture of emotion. Fear. Concern. Anger. As much as the fear troubled Willow, the newly displayed anger made her realize how bad this situation must really be. She had only seen him lose his temper a few times in her life and it looked like she would be adding another notch to that belt very shortly.
"Find them. I don't care how you do it. Exhaust all resources, if necessary. We need to know if they're dead or alive. If they're dead, I need to know how. It is imperative that we keep this quiet. If anyone asks, they are on Council business. If your cover story doesn't deter someone, have them call me. I'll handle it."
Giles hung up the phone and removed his glasses, pinching the top of his nose in obvious distress. Willow watched him silently until he turned to her, visibly composed himself, and spoke.
"Willow, I'm afraid we have a serious problem. It seems that somebody is targeting Slayers. I've just been informed that at least seven Slayers are confirmed as dead and an additional six are missing."
"Giles, how can this be happening? Who or what could possibly have that kind of power?" Willow asked.
"If my guess is right, you already ran into him," Giles stated.
"But he wasn't targeting Buffy. It was Dawn he was after. Why wouldn't he have taken down Buffy that night?"
"I don't know. Maybe Buffy will have the answer to that question when she returns from Los Angeles. There's an even larger problem we need to worry about."
"Larger than a big bad who can take out Slayers at will," she asked incredulously. "Like what?"
"We have confirmed that seven Slayers have been murdered and six more are missing. The coven did a locater spell and only turned up 135 Slayers."
"But--there should be 148," Willow replied. "That's how many there have always been since I did the spell to unlock the Potentials."
"I don't know how, but the lines been stopped," Giles resigned. "Willow, there are no new Slayers being called."
End Chapter Six