CHAPTER ELEVEN: the missing piece

"So you've fractured the hold of the Slayer then?" Lucinda noted when they had become settled in the study.

"Initially yes," Giles sighed pulling off his glasses. "But it is only temporary." Lucinda eyed Buffy closely trying to read into the girl's aura. Admittedly Tara was better at this than her but the destruction was extensive, to the point where she didn't have to look hard. She grimaced as she saw the damage there. The split down the center, the fractures. She sighed, breaking that type of tie could be deadly especially for a slayer.

"It's a miracle she's still alive…a spell such as that is like removing a limb, a piece that is very much a part of the whole." Giles shook his head as Tara shot the older man a look.

"So you knew the implications of such a spell?" Tara spat out angrily.

"Yes…but we had no other choice…she was dying…" Tara shook her head not wanting to think about it.

"Well what's done is done. Now we are left to find the solution." Lucinda said trying to smooth the edginess in the air.

"Agreed." He said still feeling an icy gaze coming from Tara.

"Did the books I sent you say anything about how it happened?" Lucinda asked not missing for a second the way Tara acted concerning Buffy. Giles was right she was quite protective of the Slayer. Tara rarely ever spoke out against anyone let alone an elder. She also noticed that the girl's stutter had disappeared when she had addressed Giles about Buffy. She laughed to herself thinking that they would be good for each other.

"No…there was nothing specific, just that if something was able to get through it could destroy the slayer from the inside out. It did not mention how it was able to get through though." He said pulling her from her thoughts.

"I see." She said hoping the books would have been more helpful. "But…perhaps this can be of help to us," she pulled a book from one of the shelves that lined the walls. "I came across this the day you called me to tell me what had happened…" she paused to open the book and began turning to find the appropriate scripture. Smiling when she found it with little trouble she passed it to Giles. "It says here that the slayer and host may become severed from each other, when the host refuses to accept the Slayer to her."

"So this has happened before?" Joyce asked leaning to read over Giles's shoulder.

"It would seem that way." Giles mumbled turning the page. "It says here that when a host is unable to connect with the Slayer within her the two instead of complimenting each other conflict and eventually wither away into nothing." He rubbed his hair. "It's rather interesting really." Tara looked from Giles to the book than to Buffy. "It would seem that there have been multiple Slayers in the past that have died from the lack of cooperation, there are even some dates marking the day of their calling to when they had died…" he paused looking at the dates more closely. "Huh?"

"So this is it then?" Joyce asked. "This is what's happening?"

"Perhaps." Lucinda said pointedly. "But it's more important to find why the tie was broken in the first place…if that is what has happened we need to know why." she broke off as Tara began to speak

"S-so what you're saying is Buffy just needs to accept the Slayer as p-part of herself?" she put her head in her hands. "I-It sounds too simple?" Buffy shook her head thinking the exact same thing than pulled the book from Giles's hands and began reading.

"That can't be right!" she said eyeing the book more closely. Giles looked at her bewildered.

"What do you mean?" the older watcher said. Himself thinking that it had made sense.

"I'm afraid she has a point." Lucinda said sadly, the group turned their attention back to Lucinda who was now standing and walking over to where Buffy was sitting on the floor. "More often than not these types of conflicts seem to take place at the beginning of a slayer's calling." Buffy nodded her head in agreement as she filtered through the pages. "Buffy on the other hand is in her forth and now almost fifth year."

"Buffy what is it?" Tara whispered scotching closer to the Slayer. Tara read the page Buffy was staring at. There were only a few names on it but she could easily see why Buffy was looking troubled. Not only had all the past slayers been considerably young, none of them had survived the separation. She looked to Lucinda pointedly. "H-How are we to know that this is what has happened? Most of these dates are showing to have happened within the first year of a Slayer's calling."

"We can't…but" Lucinda began then stopped as Buffy's eyes grew big. She became silent knowing Buffy had just found the lone exception.

"This one is different." She announced. "It says that about a hundred years ago a slayer and her host's ties began to unravel…" Buffy looked at the group "she wasn't a newbie either, she had been a slayer for nearly two years." she paused as she continued reading to herself. Tara took up where Buffy had left off.

"But unlike the other slayers this one was able to find her missing half and could retain the damaged to a whole." Tara looked up from what she had read and looked slightly perplexed.

"What does it mean by missing half?" Joyce said unsure.

"The slayer and host are meant to be as one, when they fall apart they must find each other again." Giles filled in assuming that to be what the text had meant.

"Perhaps." Lucinda commented pulling the book from the now silent Slayer.

"Well it does seem to fit doesn't it?" Giles said thoughtfully. "Does it say how or why it had happened though? Or how the Slayer was able to find and reconnect to her other half."

"No, unfortunately it does not, but it is something." Lucinda said having already read the text thoroughly. Giles nodded agreeing and the group grew silent in contemplation.

"What about the fluxations?" Tara asked noticing they had become less frequent since Buffy had been put in submission. "Did the books say anything about those and if the two were at all related?" Giles looked up having been thinking that they might be. Joyce raised her hand confused.

"What do you mean fluxations?" Giles blinked a couple times surprised he had forgotten Joyce would not have been able to feel them herself.

"I'm sorry my dear, let me explain. As you know there is a balance in this realm of good and of evil, of light and dark." Joyce nodded not unfamiliar with the term and motioned for him to continue. "The Slayer and those of us who fight, balance out the darkness that exists. But lately the powers have shifted and the scale has become unbalanced. In essence the darkness has grown stronger and just recently increasingly so."

"And all of you have felt this?" Joyce asked staring at the group in surprise.

"Yes." He said darkly, "In the book that Lucinda had sent me it described the imbalance and the threat it held against the slayer." He paused. "It said that if the scale became unbalanced the darkness would lash out and if it could get through to the slayer it could destroy her from the inside out. Though under normal circumstances that shouldn't be possible." He added as an after thought.

"Wait. So you knew before hand that this could happen?"

"No not exactly. Ancient texts are very cryptic and before reading that particular book everything in the Watchers diaries described the fluxations to be normal." Lucinda threw her hands up.

"Leave it to the Council to leave us to hang, bunch of useless bollocks."

"I think we are getting off topic here." Giles warned sharing similar feelings for his former employees but also wanting to stay on track.

"You're right." The older woman said. "This isn't the time. As you were saying?"

"Until then we didn't really know what the fluxations had meant. But after finding Buffy in the state she was in, it was obvious that the attacks had begun."

"Forgive me if this is a stupid question…but how did it become unbalanced and why now?" Joyce asked.

"We can't be sure but considering there are two slayers roaming the earth the scale has tipped towards the light considerably…meaning the darkness will rise as well. I may be off with this though because the fluxations hadn't begun until about a few months ago and have in the past week or so really heightened. So that theory doesn't seem to match up." He caught the puzzled look coming from Joyce and clarified. "First Kendra was a slayer for about six months before Faith. And she has been a slayer for nearly two years now, so you see it doesn't completely add up." Buffy finally spoke out, something finally clicking.

"No Giles I think you're right on target or at least close to it." She took a deep breath not knowing how to explain what she had just figured out. "Kendra was only on the Hellmouth for a short period of time...I don't think anyone even realized it was possiable to have two slayers. So perhaps she didn't have as great of an effect because she hadn't been active for that long and went unnoticed?" Lucinda nodded her head realizing that Faith had gotten much more notice than the previous slayer had. "But shortly after Faith was called remember what happened to Angel?" Tara raised her brow recognizing the name. "Faith was around when he was locked in that hell of a dimension…" she took a deep breath trying to keep herself together. Tara grabbed Buffy's hand offering her support, recognizing the anguish in the Slayers eyes. "But still everything was normal."

"And you're saying he's on the right track with this notion?" Lucinda asked confused.

"Yes in a way. Let me explain. Before Faith had been called Angel was an asset to us all, he fought for the light. And in that time the powers remained balanced correct."

"But Faith had been called at the end of your junior year hadn't she, the powers would have become unbalanced then if the two were connected." Joyce commented understanding why Giles felt this theory was unlikely. Buffy shook her head no.

"Not necessarily. Yes, Faith had been called," she turned to Giles, "but wasn't her first year as a Slayer an inactive one." Giles was thoughtful for a moment than realized Buffy was right and nodded for her to go on. "The council hadn't found Faith until almost a year after she had been called right?"

"Yes you do have a point…but are you sure the two are connected. After she started fighting the powers were still balanced?" Buffy put her finger up signaling that she needed a minute more to explain.

"When Angel went evil…" she paused trying to calm herself. "Faith had begun her training and was fighting off the darkness while Angel added to it, and yes at that point the powers were still balanced. And when he was in hell and Faith came to Sunnydale nothing had changed."

"Go on." Giles said realizing that Buffy very well might be on to something with this. So far it made sense.

"But when Angel came back, his soul intact do you remember what happened?" she asked pointedly.

"Oh my dear lord!" Giles exclaimed understanding. "You're right! This is remarkable Buffy." Buffy grinned at Tara.

"Just call me Nancy drew." She said lightly surprised herself that she had figured it out.

"I think I've missed something, because you've just lost me." The older Summers said while Tara nodded her agreement. "What happened to Angel?"

"The First made an attack on his mind?" Lucinda filled in remembering Giles telling her what had happened. "This is very interesting indeed, I'm surprised I hadn't thought of it."

"The First?" Tara said thoughtfully.

"The ultimate Evil, or the core for lack of a better word. Though because it has no physical form, is known for playing into a person's fear. It uses the forms of those who have perished to haunt its' victims. More often than not leading to the person it's attacking to go mad or commit suicide whichever comes first." Tara frowned. That being exactly what Buffy had described happening. She hadn't gone in detail and Tara wasn't about to push, but it added up.

"But what attacked Buffy must have had a physical form if it was able to stab her right?" Joyce asked.

"That's the problem." She paused. "But Buffy does have a point, the dates match to when the fluxations began." She looked to Buffy. "As for what attacked you, you said they were all people who have passed away correct and Tara you were unable to see the apparitions?" Tara nodded her head confirming what Lucinda said to be true.

"Yes." Buffy said shaking at the memory of what that thing had shown her. Tara tightened her grip on Buffy's hand. Buffy smiled at the gesture and squeezed back.

"Everything adds up…except for the wound." Lucinda's brow creased. "But if something like the First was able to penetrate the mental walls of the Slayer who knows what could happen. What it would be capable of." Joyce sighed rubbing her face.

"This is a lot to take in."

"Indeed…" Giles grew silent "Do you suppose if the powers became so imbalanced the First could muster enough energy to take on a physical form…for a short period of time at least?"

"I suppose it's possible." She also grew quite. "Perhaps something else has happened to deepen the imbalance." All eyes turned to Tara who was paling exceptionally. "Tara…" the older woman began knowing what the aspiring sorceress must be thinking.

"I-I think I need to be a-alone r-right n-now. E-Excuse me." Tara said abruptly standing tears coming to her eyes. "S-Sorry." She whispered fleeing from the room. Buffy looked from Tara's retreating back to Lucinda.

"What just happened?" Lucinda sighed, realizing if Tara cared as much for Buffy as she thought the woman was probably taking the possibility that she was the missing piece pretty hard.

"I'm thinking she is feeling to blame right now." Lucinda said softy.

"To blame?" Buffy shook her head. "For what she hasn't done anything…"

"But that's not how she feels…she thinks she's to blame for what happened to you?"

"To blame?" Buffy said then realized what the woman had meant. "You think she threw the balance?" Lucinda sighed then nodded. "But what happened isn't her fault. It wouldn't have been able to get through if the tie between me and the slayer part of me hadn't been damaged. It isn't her fault." Lucinda smiled weakly at Buffy glad she saw it that way.

"That poor girl…" Joyce said her heart aching for the shy woman. "She's probably torturing herself over this." Buffy growled standing up.

"Not if I have anything to say about it." She began to leave the room when Lucinda called out to her.

"Buffy." Buffy turned already halfway through the door and looked at Lucinda urgency written across her face. "Remember what I told you." Buffy gave a sharp nod, and sprinted up the stairs after the blonde.

Once again thanks everyone who has reviewed! Especially shadow high angel! I think the last review you had sent me was the best I have ever gotten. You are an extremely insightful reader. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint anyone and hopefully I'll get another up soon. TT4N