"Tell me about it," Anya commented, looking longingly at Giles' share of the fish. "I don't think I've ever been hungry before, and now there's just too much of it."
Riley looked over. Anya had finally stopped hugging him, for which he was very grateful, and he was finally starting to dry off despite the fun whirl through the weird machine. "You've lived 1100 years and you've never been hungry?"
She shook her head. "As a vengeance demon, I didn't need to eat. I did occasionally, but it was purely recreational, or reward for vengeance well carried out. Then when Cordelia made me human, I recognized the feeling for what it was and instantly found food the second I felt it. I don't like hunger."
"What about when you were human, before you became a demon?" Faith asked.
Anya's eyes widened and she looked at Faith accusingly. "Don't talk about that!" she yelled, and ran from her seat into the woods, still holding her plate.
They all watched her go, Faith looked especially suspicious, and eventually Riley turned to Cordelia. "I didn't know you were the one who made her human," he said.
She nodded. "Anya told Xander who later told me about it. He and I had just broken up, and I was pretty angry at him and my so-called friends like Harmony who hated me for dating a loser like him."
"Xander's not a loser!" came a strangled scream from deep inside the forest.
Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Anyway, there was a new girl named Anya at school, and she decided that Harmony was a dolt and that I was all right because I had a Prada bag." She sighed nostalgically. "She talked to me about Xander and I said, 'I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale'. The wish was carried out, but no one ever told me how it was reversed or how she lost her powers."
Riley frowned. "How did you get from 'I hate Xander and Harmony' to wishing about Buffy?"
Cordelia waved a hand and said simply, "Don't ask."
Angel took this opportunity to emerge from the forest carrying a very unconscious Giles. "Geez, Angel," Faith said huskily. "What'd he do, try and stake you?"
"Pretty much," he said, and set him on the sand. Anya, sensing that the conversation was no longer about her, tentatively came back out of the woods and sat down, avoiding Riley's eye.
"What was wrong with him, Angel?" Cordelia asked. "He was all, mad or something. Anya told him he had fish and he stormed off into the woods with you following him."
Angel glanced at Cordelia, and then at the rest of the people. "Cordy, remember Giles' history?"
Cordelia frowned. "Sure… bad-ass teenager, dropped out of Oxford to raise a demon that killed one and eventually three of his friends… kinda hard to forget." She looked up at the vampire and wrinkled her nose. "And since when do you call me Cordy?" she asked.
Angel frowned, too. "Force of habit. You'll find out eventually," he muttered. Then he sat down with the rest. "This island is damn weird. We're all from different time frames, the fruit are actually demons that I've never, ever heard of before in all my two and a half centuries of existence, and I'm not sensing things the way I usually do. It's all… clouded, or something." He beckoned at Giles. "He knows this firsthand; he's turning into an alternate reality version of himself; this is what would be of Giles if he'd never straightened himself out. He's Ripper at night."
"What does that mean? For him, I mean?" Riley asked. Anya made sure no one was looking and then grabbed Giles' plate and emptied it promptly.
Angel sighed and ran a hand through his slowly drooping hair, having no mousse or anything with him at all. "I'm not sure. I only know his history; I don't know any otherworldly stuff that he's feeding off." This term made his stomach scream, and he realized he hadn't eaten in 24 hours. He ignored the hungry sensation and shook his head. "I was watching him last night, catching the fish. Even I can't move that fast, including in L. A."
"What do you mean?" Faith asked.
"In Sunnydale, vampires can't move as quickly as they should be able to. I couldn't jump buildings or move faster than you can blink in Sunnydale, but I can in L. A. I think it's the Hellmouth, but it may also depend on the vampire. I haven't been to Sunnydale in a few months, so I haven't tried. It takes a lot of strength," he admitted. "Lots of vampires just don't bother with the fast moving." He cleared his throat and went back on topic. "So I approached Giles, and he seemed in his right mind, mostly. He and I went for a walk and talked. I thought he'd been turned, but he's still perfectly human."
"So… does that mean Ripper's human?" Riley asked.
"I think so," Angel responded slowly. "For the most part, anyway. Otherwise I'd be able to see, or under normal circumstances, sense his demon side." He hesitated. "But that doesn't mean that Ripper's not worshipping any demons that give him strength or speed." He rolled back his sleeve to reveal the arm that he'd blocked Giles' hand with. There was a huge black bruise on his arm. Cordelia winced and looked away. Faith nodded appreciatively.
"Vamps don't bruise easy," she said. "I'd have a hard time delivering a blow like that."
"And I was just blocking his stake," he said. "If he'd gotten me, I think I would have flown about fifty feet before turning to dust." He rolled his sleeve back down and Cordelia could look again.
"But then why is he unconscious?" she asked.
Angel shook his head. "I don't know. I think probably Ripper tried to stake me, but I hit Giles, who was already weak from the multi-worldly expedition." He turned and sighed at Giles. "Poor man. I don't think he's going to last very long."
"Well, as long as he keeps bringing us food, he can't be all evil," Anya proclaimed, putting Giles' now empty plate down.
Angel looked up at her. "The problem is, though, that next time, it won't be so easy to get him to give up the food. Those fish were meant to be all from him; I heard him muttering to himself about it. If he's this strong, and if he ever realizes it, then we're all in big trouble, because I'm not sure I can stop him."
"Without hitting him," Faith added.
"If he's unconscious, then he's not going to be a help to anyone," Angel pointed out.
"But he was Giles earlier," Cordelia said. "During the day, he was fine."
Angel nodded. "Giles said something about it being at night. He's probably fine during the day."
"So he can still get us food!" Anya said.
"Unless he has a concussion," Faith said again, enjoying the conversation. "Besides, he can't move that fast during the day. I'd have to do it, and I'm not real enthused about jumping in the water to grab fish."
Angel looked around at all of them. "There's another discussion we need to have," he said quietly, "about if we lose immunity."
"There's an optimist for you," Cordelia said, looking weary about the whole thing.
"Cordy, it's fifty-fifty. We have to plan." He looked at all of them again and spoke softly. "If we go to tribal council tomorrow night, I won't be voting for any of you." Near the end of the phrase he looked right at Riley, so he understood that despite their conflicts, they were on decent terms here. "I think that we should make a temporary pact that we'll vote for Giles. He's a good man, but not here. We're all in danger if he stays."
Anya swore. It was a tad uncharacteristic. Everyone looked up and she looked back at them all as though challenging them. "Oh, sorry," she said sarcastically. "I'd… already thought about this, that's all. I was going to vote for Drusilla."
Angel sat up straight and looked around, frowning. "Where is Drusilla?" he asked.
"I haven't seen her since the challenge," Faith said. "I don't think she came back with us."
"Shit," Angel muttered and got up from his seat quickly. "I'm going looking for her." He regarded Faith and Riley carefully. "If Ripper wakes up, hit him before he can hit you. He's best unconscious right now. If Giles wakes up, which I find doubtful until morning, give him water and time, and explain what I explained to you." He started to walk swiftly into the woods when Cordelia called after him.
"Angel, why aren't you evil?"
He turned around and looked at her. "I mean, I'm not complaining," she added hastily, "but it's weird. If Giles is evil, why aren't you?"
He shook his head. "I don't know," he said simply, and turned away.
DAY TWO
Giles sat up abruptly. His eyes darted around as he realized that the sun had only just come up. Most of the tribe was sleeping beneath the no-vampires-allowed blanket, but Riley and Faith remained awake by the last cinders of the fire."Good morning," Riley greeted, less than convincingly. "How're you feeling?"
"Like I've been hit in the head with an anvil."
Faith shook her head. "Just headbutted by a vampire who you tried to stake."
Giles' memories of the night before came rushing back. "Oh, God," he said, and buried his face in his hands. "Where is he?"
"Went to look for Drusilla. She disappeared."
Giles shook his head and looked up at the Slayer. "I'm very sorry to the both of you. I can't… help it. It just happens. I'd understand if you voted me off."
Riley shook his head. "I'm voting for Drusilla. Angel made a very convincing case that we should vote for you because otherwise we're all in danger, but I don't like Angel, so I'm not going to do as he says. Besides, I think that an insane vampire is quite a bit more threatening than Ripper."
Giles shook his head. "You're wrong."
Faith sighed. "Well, whatever, Giles. We've always been five by five, you know? Even when I went evil, you didn't do anything rash. I ain't votin' for ya just because you go crazy at night. You pitch in and get us food, while Drusilla hangs her head and squeals about nothing. In my eyes, we're good. Me and Angel and soldier boy here will keep an eye out for ya, stop ya if you do anything wrong."
Giles nodded sullenly. "Thank you."
"Do you want anything? Anya ate your fish."
Giles shook his head and lay back down. "I think I'd rather sleep at this point."
Riley nodded. "I think I'll do the same."
"I'm good here. Keep an eye out for the rest of the tribe, y'know? Just
in case somethin' comes up," Faith said as she sat down on the sand.
Riley nodded and left the Slayer to her own devices.