Chapter 29: The Dark Age
November 13, 1997 – Thursday
Gateway High School
Philip Henry quickened his pace as he passed the sign that read Gateway High. There had been no one at the address he'd been given so this was his next port of call. He had to see him, to warn him, to get help…
"Can I help you?" asked the custodian who was emptying bins nearby.
Philip turned to him. Perhaps he could help. "Rupert Giles. I need to see him."
The custodian seemed taken aback by the question. "Mr. Giles…he's our librarian. Next building along, first door on the left." Philip immediately headed off in the direction indicated. "You're welcome!" the custodian called after him sarcastically.
But Philip had no time for politeness. He had heard stories about Giles, about what he was like now. Maybe he could help him. They were all in danger now.
The building was in sight when Philip froze, some sixth sense telling him something was wrong. He turned around and saw a woman standing in the shadows. "Oh god," he murmured. It had come for him. The woman stepped out of the shadows. She was dead, her skin decaying. And yet she was still upright, still dangerous, her eyes glowing with the power of the thing that possessed her. Worse, he knew her, as he knew he would. "Deirdre?"
Deirdre smiled a malicious smile. "Philip. "
He ran for the door but it was locked. He hammered on it. "Help! Help! Somebody, please!" But there was no answer. It suddenly occurred to him that Giles might not even be there. "God, no! Help!"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
In fact, Giles was in the library but there was a good reason why he hadn't heard Philip's banging. He was in the middle of a training session with Buffy. Buffy was currently doing her aerobics, jumping on and off a box. And there was music playing from her stereo as she did so.
"Must we have this noise during your callisthenics?" Giles complained, shouting above the music as he did so.
"It's not noise," Buffy corrected in between jumps. "It's music."
"I know music," Giles snapped. "Music has notes. This is noise."
"I'm aerobising! I must have a beat! Besides Piper wanted me to review the band, she's thinking about trying to get them for P4."
Giles gave up. "Wonderful. You work on your muscle tone while my brain dribbles out of my ears."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Help me, somebody, please!" Philip shouted.
Deirdre grabbed him and pulled him away from the door, her strength far superior to a human's. She grabbed him around the throat and began throttling him.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
At that moment, right when there was no longer anything to hear, Buffy finished her session and turned off the music. Giles breathed a sigh of relief. "Very good. And the rest is silence."
"I think they'll be good," Buffy said to herself. "Piper should be happy."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Deirdre dropped Philip's dead body to the floor. Then, she collapsed next to him. Her body dissolved into green goo…which then swirled around Philip.
November 14, 1997 – Friday
Gateway High School
Buffy considered her answer carefully. "I'm on a beach, but not an American beach, one of those island beaches where the water's way too blue. I'm laying on my towel and it's just before sunset and Gavin Rossdale is massaging my feet."
"Oh that's good," Willow gushed. She took a deep breath. "I'm in Florence, Italy. I've rented a scooter which is parked outside and I'm in a little restaurant eating ziti. And there are no other tables so they have to sit this guy with me and it's John Cusack."
"Very impressive," Buffy complimented."You have such an eye for detail."
Willow nodded enthusiastically. "'Cos with the ziti."
"What are you two doing?" Xander asked, as he joined them in the school yard.
"Just playing a quick game of Anywhere But Here," Buffy told him.
"Ah." Xander nodded approvingly. "Amy Yip at the water slide park."
"You never come up with anything new," Willow noted, amused.
"I'm just not fickle like you two, okay? I'm constant with my affections. Amy Yip. At the water slide park," he told the two girls.
Willow glanced across the yard to where Giles was talking with a student. "Do you think Giles ever played Anywhere But Here when he was at school?"
"Giles lived for school," Xander replied," He's still bitter that there were only twelve grades.
Buffy nodded in agreement. "He probably sat in maths thinking 'There should be more math. This could be mathier.'"
"C'mon, you don't think he ever got restless as a kid?" Willow persisted.
"Are you kidding?" Buffy retorted. "His diapers were tweed." She noticed Giles had finished his conversation. "Hi, Giles!"
"Hmm?" It took Giles a moment to realise who had called to him and come over. "There you are."
"Is that tweed?" Buffy asked, looking at his outfit knowingly.
"What? Oh. Yes." For a moment, Buffy thought there was something wrong. Giles being confused by what she said to him was nothing new but there seemed to be another level here, as if he wasn't quite with them. But then he went on. "Now, look, tonight is very important…"
"You know, Giles," Buffy told him. "I realize the Henry Higgins bit may have been the mod look for your generation, but a lot has happened since then. Like the 20th Century, for example."
"As an educator," Giles reproved his Slayer. "It behooves me to set myself apart from you students by my mode of dress and demeanor."
Buffy rolled her eyes as she glance at Willow and Xander. "Is it stuffy in here, or is it just you?" she asked Giles jokingly.
"Laugh all you want," Giles said, "but the problem with this culture is its disregard for decorum, which I believe has led to the current pursuit of feel-good nihilism."
"What have I been saying for years?" Xander joked.
"That you'll die a virgin?" Willow asked with a chuckle. "Oh. The nihilism thing. Sorry. Missed the funny there.
Buffy led the way into school. "So what's on tap tonight that's so important? Uprising? Prophesised ritual? Preordained deathfest? Is it a Power of Three or just little ole me deal?"
"Ah, the old standards," Xander mused.
"A medical transport is delivering the monthly supply of blood to San Francisco Memorial," Giles explained.
Buffy understood the implication. "Meals on wheels for vampires. Just a little ole me deal."
"Hopefully not. I'll meet you at the hospital at eight sharp. I'll bring the weapons," Giles stated.
"I'll bring the party mix," Buffy quipped as she stopped by her locker. "Giles, just bring weapons for yourself. Or have you forgotten?"
"No I have not forgotten," Giles told his Slayer. "But you need to remember your powers don't work on everything so I will bring weapons for you just incase. Now don't be late."
"Have I ever let you down?" Buffy returned.
Giles stared hard at her. "Do you want me to answer that or should I just glare?"
"Morning, England," Ms. Calendar remarked as she approached them.
"Good morning, Miss, er, Jenny," Giles responded.
"Feel the passion," Willow muttered under her breath.
Jenny gave Willow a mild look. "Willow."
Willow gave an exaggerated cough. "Just coughing, not talking "
"You still on for tomorrow?"
"What's happening tomorrow?" Xander asked.
"I'm reviewing computer basics for a couple of students who have fallen behind," Ms. Calendar explained, "Willow's helping me out for extra credit."
Xander laughed. "Those poor schlubs, having to come in to school on Saturday."
Ms. Calendar's expression was stony. "Nine o'clock okay for you, Xander?"
Buffy gave Xander an amused look. "I think you've got a bit of schlub on your shoe."
"Cordelia's meeting us there," Ms. Calendar offered.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Ooh, gang, did you hear that? A bonus day of school plus Cordelia. Throw in a bit of rectal surgery and it's my best day ever!"
Jenny turned her attention to Giles. "Walk me to class?" she asked as Giles nodded in agreement and fell into step with her. "Nice coat."
"Tweed, you know," Giles said for Buffy's benefit.
"Aww, look at them," Buffy remarked as the pair walked away.
"A twosome of cuteness," Xander agreed.
"Can't you just imagine them getting together?" Willow gushed.
They did. Then they tried to think about something else.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Thank you for lending me the Forrester book," Ms. Calendar noted as they approached her classroom. "It's wonderful. "
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Giles answered.
"It was so romantic, so evocative."
"That edition was my father's. I must've read it twenty times."
"You know how you dog ear your favourite pages so you can go back to them?"
Giles froze. "What?"
"Well, I pretty much had to fold back every single page so finally I just started underlining the pages I really wanted to discuss…"
Giles' sense of horror was mounting. "Under—underlined?"
"…and then I split coffee all over it so now I can't even read it!"
Giles was as close to apoplectic as he had ever got around her. "It was a first edition," he thundered.
"I'm lying, Rupert. Your book's fine." Ms. Calendar produced it from her bag and handed it to him. "I just wanted to see you squirm."
Giles suspected that good form at this point would be to laugh and appreciate the joke that had been played on him. But Ms. Calendar knew how important his books were to him, despite her insistence that she could get the same information from her computers. "I trust I gave good…squirm," he responded coldly.
Ms. Calendar smiled at him. "Anyone ever tell you you're kind of a fuddy duddy?"
Giles sighed. "No one ever seems to tell me anything else."
"Anyone ever tell you you're a sexy fuddy duddy?"
"No, that part usually gets left out. I can't imagine why."
"This weekend."
Giles struggled to follow the non-sequitur. "Would you like to go out?"
"No, I'd like to stay in."
Giles stared at her, waiting for her to tell him she was joking. Then he realised she wasn't. He leaned in to kiss her, just as the bell rang. Their lips met but the kiss was cut short by the corridor filling with students. Giles reluctantly pulled back. "This Saturday then?" he remarked casually.
"Saturday night," Ms. Calendar confirmed. She smiled mischievously. "I'll see if I can make you squirm."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Giles was in a good mood as he arrived at the library, the memories of his disturbing dream the previous night fading. But his good mood evaporated when he found three people waiting for him there. Darryl and two uniformed police officers.
"Rupert Giles?" Darryl asked.
Giles stared at him cautiously. "Yes?"
Darryl flashed his badge. "Inspector Darryl Morris. You're going to have to come with me."
Giles remained cautious. "Why?"
"There was a homicide on campus last night. The victim had no identification but he was carrying a slip of paper with your name and address on him." Darryl held up an evidence bag.
Giles stepped forward to examine it. "My name?"
At that moment, Cordelia came barging through the door. "Well, evil just compounds evil, doesn't it?" she complained. "First I have an extra computer tutorial on Saturday. Now I have to read some computer book. There are books about computers? Aren't computers supposed to replace books?"
Giles sighed. "I'm a bit busy at the moment. "
Cordelia noticed the police officers and smiled. "Oh, great! You can help me out with my ticket. It's totally bogus. It was a one way street, I was only going one way…"
Darryl's expression was stony. "I'm with Homicide. I don't do parking tickets."
Giles had less patience. "Cordelia!" he snapped.
Cordelia turned to Giles, looking put out. "What? Why does everyone always yell my name? I'm not deaf! And I can take a hint!" She paused, confused. "What's the hint?"
"That you should come back later," Giles told her testily.
"Yeah, when you've visited decaf land." Cordelia exited the way she had come.
Giles turned back to Darryl and the police officers. "Where do you want me to go?"
San Francisco Police Station
Where they wanted him to go was, perhaps inevitably, the morgue. He and Darryl stood either side of one of the slots as the attendant pulled the tray out. "You have your breakfast?" the attendant asked.
"Er, no," Giles answered, his concentration fully focused on the tray rather than morgue humor.
"That's probably just as well." The attendant pulled back the sheets to reveal Philip's body.
"Do you know him?" asked Darryl.
"Yes," Giles confirmed,"I mean, I did. His name's Philip Henry. He was a friend in London. I haven't seen him in over twenty years."
"Can you think of any reason why he might've wanted to contact you?"
"No," Giles said quietly. But his gaze drifted down to the tattoo on Philip's arm, the tattoo from his dream. The Mark of Eyghon.
"Do you know what this is?" Darryl pressed. "The tattoo?"
Giles met the Inspector's gaze. "No. No, I don't."
"And this question might seem odd. But I know you know Payson Halliwell really well," Darryl said.
"Neither her or her cousins are involved in this," Giles interjected before Darryl could ask his question.
San Francisco Memorial
Buffy stood with Phoebe in the shadows outside the hospital, watching the entrance. "Don't be late,"she complained,"Sheesh."
Phoebe glanced at her cousin. "Why don't you try him, Buffy. I'll keep watch just in case."
Buffy nodded as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Giles' home number. "Damn, busy signal," she told Phoebe. She then ended the call and this time dialed the operator. "Operator, can you check a line for me..."
Phoebe saw the medical transport approaching. "Buffy," she said.
"Never mind, sorry," Buffy said ending the call.
Then they saw two men in scrubs exit the building. The delivery driver greeted them cheerily as he lifted the box of blood bags out of the back of the transport. "Hey, fellas."
Buffy began to breathe easily. "All's well that ends with cute ER doctors I always say."
It was then a thought occurred to Phoebe. "Buffy, since when do doctors take deliveries?" she asked her cousin.
The delivery man seemed to see nothing wrong with this. He drove off, leaving the box with the two doctors. At that point, a car in the car park turned on its lights and drove over to where the two doctors were waiting. The driver was a vampire…as were the two doctors. One of them took out one of the bags and ripped it open with his teeth. "Hey!" the driver snapped. "No sampling the product."
The vampire doctor looked at him mutinously, then replaced the bag.
Buffy and Phoebe broke cover, charging at the three vampires. Buffy kicked two of them to the ground as Phoebe tackled the third.
A fireball formed in Buffy's hand and just as the first one was getting back to his feet she had thrown it at the second one, who caught fire before exploding into ash. The first one, with a snarl, lifted Buffy up and threw her onto the hood of the car.
Phoebe noticed a forth figure charging in. "Buffy!" she called out.
Buffy turned to face him as another fireball formed in her hand. Then she saw who it was…"Angel!" she exclaimed.
"Buffy, look out!" Phoebe and Angel warned at the same time. Angel dove past Buffy at the vampire driver.
Phoebe turned her attention back toward her vampire. She punched him, sending him staggering back. She thrust her stake forward straight into his heart and he exploded into dust.
The driver seemed to realise he was on the losing side. Pushing Angel aside, he jumped up heading for the car. Buffy smirked as she flung the fireball at the vampire driver, who caught on fire and then exploded into dust.
"How did you know about this?" Buffy asked as she and Phoebe turned to Angel.
Angel shrugged. "It's delivery day, everyone knows." He stooped by the abandoned box of blood bags. "They only ruined one."
"Do you think you could make sure the hospital gets the rest?" Buffy couldn't help feeling suspicious. Angel had told her he hadn't fed on a living human since getting his soul but she wasn't sure how he felt about human blood that was no longer in a body. He nodded, seeming hurt that she'd doubted him. "Thanks." She looked at Phoebe. "I'm worried about Giles," she explained as Phoebe nodded in understanding. She looked back at Angel. "He was supposed to meet us here."
"Maybe he's just running late," Angel suggested.
"Giles?" Buffy asked. "He considers tardiness the eighth deadly sin."
"I have to agree with Buffy," Phoebe agreed. "This is unusual for him, Angel. In the half a year I've known the man, I've never known him to not be punctual."
Angel nodded. "You both are right. Go."
Giles' Apartment
Buffy and Phoebe approached Giles' apartment with a certain amount of trepidation, wondering what could have happened to keep him away. Buffy knocked and a moment later, he opened the door. He looked like hell. Not injured or anything demonic, but dishevelled…and Buffy and Phoebe thought they smelt alcohol on his breath.
"Buffy…Phoebe." He stared at the cousins in confusion. "It's late. Are you both all right?"
"We were gonna ask you the same thing," Buffy replied.
"Yes, I'm fine, fine. Look, I'm rather busy at the moment. So, Buffy, I'll see you on Monday at school." He made to close the door.
Buffy stopped him. "Giles, did you forget?" His expression didn't change so she went on. "Hospital, vampires, handy carry-out packets of blood?"
"Oh!" His eyes lit up and to their astonishment Buffy and Phoebe realized that he had forgotten. "Are you both all right, are either of you hurt?"
"No. I mean, my feelings a little," Buffy complained.
"We're fine, Giles," Phoebe interjected. "What's wrong?"
Giles tried to look and sound firm. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just in the middle of something extremely important. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to say good night now." He shut the door in their faces.
Buffy stared at it, not quite able to believe that that had just happened.
"Come on Buffy," Phoebe said as she turned and headed back for Prue's car. "There is obviously nothing we can do tonight."
Buffy took one last look at the door and then reluctantly followed her youngest cousin.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Giles turned his attention back to the phone calls he'd been making. He dialed the next number and waited until he received an answer. He had to try and contact them, warn them if possible. He heard a voice on the other end.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, I know its five in the morning over there. I'm trying to reach Deirdre Page. My name's Rupert Giles, she knows me. It's very important." He listened to the response and froze. "I'm terribly sorry, I had no idea. When did she pass away?"
The answer gave him no doubt that his worst fears had been realised. "That recently? Yes, we were friends when we were young. My condolences. "
Giles replaced the receiver and crossed another item off the list in front of him. Three names had been crossed off: Thomas Sutcliffe, Philip Henry and Deirdre Page. Only two remained: Ethan Rayne and Rupert Giles.
Giles rolled up his sleeve and looked at his tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon. "So. You're back."
San Francisco Police Station
In the morgue, the dead body of Philip Henry sat up straight and his eyes glowed.
November 15, 1997 – Saturday
San Francisco Police Station
The morgue attendant was doing his rounds. Checking the bodies was normally without incident and this time was no exception…until he reached the drawer that should have contained Philip Henry. It was empty. Moments later, someone behind him threw a sheet over his head. He would have been even more shocked if he could have seen who it was: The missing body.
Philip bundled him into the vacated drawer, slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he staggered from the building.
Gateway High School
"This is all wrong," Cordelia complained as she followed Willow, Xander and Ms. Calendar down the hallway. "School on a Saturday. It really throws off my internal clock."
"Yeah, when are we going to use computers for real life anyway?" Xander agreed.
"Hmm, let's see," Ms. Calendar mused. "Home, school, work, games."
Xander was not to be thrown off. "You know, computers are on the way out. I think paper's going to make a big comeback."
"And the abacus," Willow added sarcastically.
"Yeah, you don't see enough abaci."
They headed into the classroom and took their seats. "Right," Ms. Calendar told them, "the first thing I want you to do is…" She stopped at another, unexpected, arrival. "Payson? Ms. Halliwell?"
Xander, who had been staring at his computer screen, looked up in confusion. "Huh? Did I fall asleep already?"
"Aww, you missed your friends!" Willow decided.
Xander liked that idea as well. "Hey, Buffy, come and sit next to me. You can demilitarize the zone between me and Cordelia."
"Yeah and delouse you at the same time," Cordelia bit back.
Buffy hadn't looked at any of them. Instead, her attention was focused on Ms. Calendar. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you for a second."
Ms. Calendar looked at Piper with a raised eyebrow. "Buffy asked me to drive her over. She didn't say for what."
Ms. Calendar nodded as she turned her attention to Buffy. She could sense the Slayer's concern and instantly shared it. "Something wrong?"
"Is there some crisis that requires instant action?"Xander enquired hopefully,"Very far from here?"
Again, it was only Ms. Calendar that Buffy responded to. "It's Giles."
Piper looked at Buffy and then remembered the conversation she had with Phoebe after they Phoebe and Buffy had come home after patrol. She did admit his absence at the hospital did raise concerns. But she wasn't sure if it raised that much of a concern. Not yet anyways.
"A loved one, good..." Xander said.
"He's all right, isn't he?" Willow hoped.
"I don't know. He didn't show up last night and when Phoebe and I went to his apartment, he was acting very…anti-Giles. He wouldn't let us in and he looked really bad. I think he might've been…" Buffy paused, as though she couldn't quite believe it herself. "I think he was drinking."
"You went by his place? He has a place?" Willow asked her best friend. "Of course he has a... I just never think of him living anywhere outside the library."
"He was home alone drinking?" Piper asked finally understanding Buffy's concern.
"But tea, right?"Willow checked.
"It wasn't tea, Will," Buffy told her as gently as possible.
"Yep, yep, I knew this would happen," Xander said triumphantly. "No one can be wound as straight and narrow as Giles without a dark side etrupting. My Uncle Rory was the stodgiest taxidermist you've ever met by day. By night, it was booze, whores and fur flying. Were there whores?"
"Xander," Willow cried.
"He was alone," Buffy said firmly.
Again, Xander refused to drop it. "Give it time. "
Buffy looked around the group. "So none of you guys have noticed anything different lately?"
"No,"Willow insisted.
"Not really,"Jenny echoed.
"Sorry," Piper said reluctantly. "Haven't seen him since Parent/Teacher's night. Might ask Prue I think she talked to him at Halloween during that whole costume episode."
"Haven't seen anything weird?"Buffy persisted.
"Nope,"Xander answered.
"No, he seemed perfectly normal yesterday when I saw him talking to the police," Cordelia chimed in.
Everyone stared at her. "Was one of the people there a black man," Piper interjected. She then described Darryl for Cordelia.
"That's him," Cordelia confirmed.
Buffy and Piper looked at each other. "Darryl," they said simultaneously.
"What were they talking to him about?" Ms. Calendar asked.
"If it was Darryl," Piper said looking at the computer teacher. "A homicide. Darryl works in homicide."
"It was a homicide," Cordelia stated.
Buffy frowned as she looked at Piper. "I'm calling him right now," she told her cousin.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy and Piper headed straight for the library. To Buffy somehow it felt right to call Giles from the place that was a second home to him. Buffy was about to reach for the phone behind the counter Piper saw a shadow flitter across the upper level of the library.
"Buffy," Piper whispered to her cousin. "We're not alone."
Buffy turned and followed Piper's gaze. "Do you think?" she whispered.
"I don't know," Piper replied. "I don't think so. Not with what Phoebe told me last night and I learned just a little bit ago."
Buffy and Piper crept up the stairs and moved between the shelves, looking closely about them. They only caught a glimpse of Ethan Rayne standing on the other side of a bookcase…just before he pushed it over toward them.
Upon instinct Piper flicked her wrists and froze the bookshelf to keep it from falling on top of them.
"I really am glad you have that power," Buffy said as she smiled at her cousin.
"So am I," Piper agreed.
They ran around the frozen bookshelf and found Ethan similarly frozen. Buffy glanced at Piper and nodded as she grabbed Ethan's arm. Piper flicked her wrist unfreezing everything as the bookshelf crashed to the floor. Buffy smirked as she twisted his arm behind his back. She turned him round to face her and Piper.
Then recognition dawned on Buffy. "I know you! You run that costume shop."
"The one that sold you and Phoebe those costumes?" Piper asked as Buffy nodded. "And the one that cast the spell that turned you both into said costumes?" Again Buffy nodded. She turned her gaze on Ethan glaring at the man.
"I'm pleased you remember me," Ethan remarked. He then looked directly at Piper. "Though I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting a Charmed One before." He smiled. "Rumor had it that Rupert was not only working with a Slayer but with your family."
"You sold me and Phoebe those Halloween dresses and nearly got us all killed," Buffy persisted.
Ethan looked unrepentant. "But you both looked great."
Piper glanced at Buffy, she did admit that both Buffy and Phoebe had looked great in their dresses. Still she couldn't just let what happened to both her sister and her cousin go either. She turned her attention back to Ethan and flicked her wrist, freezing the man. She then punched him before she unfroze him.
"Ow," he said rubbing his nose. He looked at Piper. "I take it you're the one with the power to freeze?"
"That's right," Piper snarled. "You better start talking. What are you doing here? And before you try and weasel out, if you know I'm a Charmed One then you know that Buffy is the Charmed Slayer. And I think she might like to hit you until you bleed for what happened on Halloween."
"I know," Ethan admitted. "I was snooping around."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Honesty. Nice touch."
Ethan smiled. "It's one of my virtues." He paused. "Not really. "
Piper and Buffy glanced at each other. They were in the mood for playing games. "I've got a great idea," Buffy said. "Why don't Piper and I just call the police and have you arrested for breaking and entering, then we can get back to our fun Saturday?"
"Ah, the police," Ethan mused. "Well, they'll have a lot of questions and they'll really need Rupert to answer them all."
Piper and Buffy looked at each other and then back at Ethan. "You know Giles?" Piper asked.
Ethan smiled. "Oh, we go back. Way back. You two don't happen to know where he is, do you?"
Giles' Apartment / Gateway High School
Giles' sleeping mind was again assaulted with images. Images of rituals and tattoos and a phone ringing…Then he realized the latter wasn't a part of the dream. He had fallen asleep at his desk and the phone was ringing next to him. He picked it up. "Hello."
"Giles, it's me," came a familiar voice.
Giles sighed. "Buffy, unless this is an emergency, I'll see you on Monday."
He was about to put the phone down but Buffy's next words turned him cold. "What's the Mark of Eyghon?" She paused, waiting for him to answer. "Giles?"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Standing next to Buffy at the library counter, Ethan smirked. "Cat got his tongue?"
"Shut up," Piper said as she glared at the man. "Or I can shut you up."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"Giles, Piper and I are in your office with someone who claims to be an old friend of yours," Buffy persisted. "Ethan Rayne?"
Giles' fears were only increasing. "He's there with you now? Buffy, listen to me, you and Piper are in danger so long as you both are with Ethan. I need you to put down the phone and you both get out of the library as soon as possible."
Unfortunately, Buffy took after her cousins. "Piper can freeze him if he tries anything. Besides we're not going anywhere until you tell us what's going on."
Then there was the sound of breaking glass. "Buffy? Piper?" Giles asked but Buffy had put the phone down. He tried to replace the phone in the cradle, missed and left it on the desk as he dashed out the door.
Gateway High School
The noise had come from the library office: The sound of someone breaking in through the window. Buffy vaulted over the library counter, Ethan and Piper taking the long way round. Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Ms. Calendar, obviously attracted by the sound of breaking glass, came hurrying in.
Philip came staggering out of the office. Buffy blocked his path.
Piper flicked her wrists and then frowned. She tried again with the same results…Philip wasn't freezing. "Buffy, he's not freezing," she told her cousin.
Philip's attention focused past Buffy and Piper. "Ethan!" he snarled.
That was enough to have Ethan running for the door. "Don't let him get away!" Buffy snapped. Xander grabbed hold of Ethan but he managed to wriggle free…only for Piper to flick her wrists and freeze him.
Philip swung punches at Buffy, which she dodged. She backed away toward the library cage. Philip charged and Buffy leapt aside. Philip crashed through the open cage door and Buffy slammed it shut and locked it.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
When Piper unfroze Ethan, he was sat in a chair with Buffy and Piper standing close by. Philip prowled around the inside of the cage. Willow looked at him. "I'm not getting close enough to check for a pulse but he looks dead."
"Except for the walking and attacking Buffy part," Xander pointed out.
"Oh no, he's dead," Ethan confirmed. "Sorry, Philip. I really am."
"You know him?" Piper questioned.
"Knew him," Ethan corrected.
"Hey, you don't speak until we tell you to speak," Cordelia snarled at Ethan.
"Uh, Cordelia," Buffy interjected. "Piper did tell him to speak."
At that moment, Giles came rushing in. "Is everyone all right?"
"We're okay," Ms. Calendar assured him.
"Dead guy here interrupted our tutorial," Xander explained. He leaned in toward the cage where Philip was held. "I've been meaning to thank you for that, by the way." Philip clattered against the cage, snarling, and Xander backed off.
Giles stared at the animated corpse of his old friend in horror. "It can't be. "
"Oh yes, it can," Ethan replied. "Hello, Ripper."
Giles turned on him in fury. "I told you to leave town."
Piper glared at Ethan. "If he told you to leave why didn't you?"
"Shop lease is paid till the end of the month," Ethan explained.
"Why did he call him Ripper?" Cordelia wondered to no one in particular.
Giles grabbed Ethan by the hair and dragged him to his feet. "You should have left when I told you."
"Oh," Cordelia noted in realisation.
"Giles!"Buffy protested but Giles was in no mood to be chastised.
"You are putting these people in danger," Giles said angrily. "People I care about."
Cordelia looked at Xander. "Wow, even me?" she asked as Xander gave a quick shake of his head.
Ethan pulled free from Giles' grip. "If you care so much about them, why didn't you leave town? You've been having the dreams. I know. I have. We both know what's coming." He looked directly at Piper and Buffy. "This isn't even something they can take care of. And you know it."
Buffy and Piper looked at each other with the mention of dreams. When Buffy's premonition power had first manifested, it had manifested in the form of dreams. "What dreams?" Buffy demanded. "What's going on?"
"I second those questions," Piper added.
"Tell them, Ripper," Ethan suggested smugly.
It wasn't clear if Giles was going to answer, but ultimately he didn't get a chance. At that moment, Philip burst out of the cage. Jenny was in the path of the door: It hit her and sent her flying. "Jenny!" Giles shouted, rushing to her side.
"I can't freeze it!" Piper reminded Buffy.
Buffy kicked Philip away but there was no lengthy fight this time. Philip started convulsing, then collapsed. As with Deirdre earlier, he dissolved into goo.
"That's something you don't see every day," Willow commented.
"I've going to be in therapy until I'm thirty," Cordelia complained.
Piper rolled her eyes. "Cordelia, believe me what little you've seen since you've known Buffy is nothing compared to what Buffy, my sisters and I see on an almost daily basis."
Buffy suddenly realized the space next to her and Piper was empty. "Where's Ethan? Where did he go?"
Everyone was so focused that they didn't notice the goo spread until it touched Jenny's hand. She convulsed once, then woke up. "Are you all right, Jenny?" Giles asked her gently.
"Ow!" Ms. Calendar moaned, clutching her head.
"Careful. Can you stand?" Giles asked her.
"I think so. "
"This is what happens when you have school on Saturday," Cordelia sighed.
Giles helped Ms. Calendar to her feet. "Lean on me," he insisted. "It'll be all right."
"Promise?" Ms. Calendar asked.
"I promise," Giles replied.
"I believe you." Ms. Calendar buried her head in his chest.
"How's your head?" Piper asked.
"Throbbing," Ms. Calendar admitted.
Giles led Ms. Calendar toward the door, hoping to make a quick exit. No such luck. "Giles, what's going on?" Buffy questioned.
"It's complicated," Giles replied, "and, quite frankly, it's private."
"What?" Piper said shocked. "A demon attacked us. I'm sorry Giles, but private won't cut it."
"I have to agree with Piper," Buffy snapped. "I care about a dead guy attacking us. I care about you Lost Weekending in your apartment."
"I wasn't…" Giles broke off. "I was just trying to find a solution," he attempted, realizing it sounded feeble even to him.
"Giles, share," Buffy persisted. "What is the Mark of Eyghon?"
"Hey!" Giles snapped. "This is not your battle. And as your Watcher, I am telling you unquivocally to stay out of it." He turned toward Piper. "Piper this is not a Charmed problem, I don't need your help either. Now I need to get Jenny home."
This time Buffy and Piper made no attempt to stop him leaving. But that didn't mean they considered it finished. As soon as Giles and Ms. Calendar were gone, she turned to Xander, Willow and Cordelia were sitting in a row on the counter. "We've got work to do," she told them. "Willow, I need you to find out anything you can about the Mark of Eyghon."
"I will call Prue and Phoebe," Piper said drawing her cousin's attention to her. "See if they can find anything in either book."
"Good," Buffy agreed.
"So what Giles just said about staying out of it –" Willow said.
"We're ignoring it," Piper answered. "He needs our help and he's going to get it."
"I can look it up on the net," Willow offered as she jumped down and headed towards the table, "but Mark of Eyghon sounds more like Giles and his books sorta deal."
"Then hit the books. Xander, how do you feel about going through Giles' personal files and seeing what you can find?" Buffy asked.
"I feel pretty good about it," Xander replied smoothly. "Does that make me some sort of sociopath?" He headed for the office.
Cordelia jumped down and waited for her instructions. Then she waited some more.
"What?"Buffy asked, confused.
"What about me? I care about Giles too," Cordelia protested.
"We can use all the help we can get," Piper told her cousin. "And she is good at research. She helped me on Halloween."
Buffy nodded. "Help Xander."
"A little reluctantly," Cordelia admitted. "But under the circumstances at the time I understood when your sister had me help you, Piper." She turned and headed into the office.
Piper reached behind the counter and grabbed the phone and dialed.
"Halliwell Residence, Prue speaking."
"Prue, it's Piper," Piper said. "Buffy and I need you checking the books for something called the Mark of Eyghon."
Giles' Apartment
Ms. Calendar was sitting on the couch. "Thanks for bringing me back here. I'm not ready to be home alone right now."
Giles poured her a drink and brought it over to her, before kissing her softly on the side of the head. "Jenny…I'm very sorry about all of this. I never meant for you to be involved in any of this."
Ms. Calendar just smiled. "Well, I got involved. I guess that's what happens when two people…get involved." She leaned in and kissed him.
It wasn't unwelcome by any means but Giles knew there were weightier issues. "I really should get you home," he told her. "I'm not a very safe person to be around at the moment."
Ms. Calendar looked at him and for one awkward moment he had a feeling she knew more than she should. "Nothing's safe in this world, Rupert," she told him. "Haven't you worked that out by now?"
Gateway High School
Prue walked into the library carrying the Charmed Ones' Book of Shadows. She set the book down in front of Buffy and Piper as Xander, Cordelia and Willow gathered around them. She pointed to the drawing on a page. "Egyphon, also known as the Sleepwalker, can only exist in this reality by possessing an unconscious host. Temporary possession embues the host with a euphoric feeling of power."
"What about non-temporary?" Buffy asked.
Prue read on. "Unless the proper rituals are observed, the possession is permanent and Eyghon will be born from within the host."
"I'm guessing eww," Cordelia noted.
"Once called forth, Eyghon can also possess the dead," Prue continued. "However,its demonic energy soon disintegrates the host, at which point Eyghon must jump into the nearest unconscious or dead person."
Buffy shook her head. "I still don't get what this has got to do with Giles."
"I don't know about Giles," Willow replied. "But ancient sects used to induce possession for bacchanls and orgies."
"And how did you know that?" Prue questioned as she narrowed her eyes at Willow.
"I read, Prue," Willow admitted a little sheepishly. "Giles does have a pretty good occult collection."
Xander winced. "I was not ready to hear the words 'Giles' and 'orgies' in the same sentence."
"Wait a minute, the dead guy's all puddly now," Buffy pointed out.
"So that means the demon's gone, right?" Cordelia asked. "There wasn't anyone else dead for it to jump into. I mean, we're all not dead right?"
"No," Buffy and Piper agreed as they looked at each other. They were beginning to get a sinking feeling,
"No one dead," Buffy finished. "But someone unconscious." She looked at Prue. "Vanquish?"
Prue sighed as she shook her head. "The Book doesn't list one and I looked in yours and ours. So I'm guessing this isn't something we can vanquish with the Power of Three."
"That doesn't mean anything," Piper admitted. "Remember Jeremy. The spell to vanquish him wasn't in our book. We vanquished him by technically making up our own spell. The Power of Three and the Charmed Slayer, remember?"
"I know, Piper," Prue said. "But for this demon. I'm not sure we can vanquish it ourselves. Which means it may have to be something the Slayer has to deal with alone."
"Well relatively alone," Buffy said as she smiled at Prue and Piper.
Giles' Apartment / Gateway High School
Ms. Calendar looked carefully at the phone and then yanked the cord out of the wall. The last thing she needed was the pesky Slayer, the Charmed Ones and their friends getting the right idea and interrupting them. Giles poked his head round from the kitchen. "What was that?"
"What was what?" Ms. Calendar asked innocently.
"I thought I heard something."
Ms. Calendar shrugged. "I didn't."
Giles came back through with a cup of tea. "Drink this," he told her, "and then I'll drive you home."
"You could drive me home," Ms. Calendar agreed. "Or you could take advantage of me in my weakened state."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Ms. Calendar's intervention had not come a moment too soon. At that moment, Buffy was trying to get through on the phone without success. "Thank you, operator." She put the phone down and turned to her cousins and her friends. "There's no answer from Miss Calendar's and Giles has been cut off. I'm going to go over there. Prue…Piper, find anything you can on how to vanquish this thing. There has to be something regardless if its Slayer or Power of Three Augmented."
"Were on it, Buffy," Piper said as she smiled at her cousin.
Giles' Apartment
Giles was feeling increasingly flustered. The attention was welcome but the situation was far from ideal. "Jenny, I…I'm very attracted to you."
"Good," Ms. Calendar answered.
"But now really isn't the right time."
"Oh, there's never been a better time." Ms. Calendar flipped him so she was sitting in his lap, then brought her lips down on his.
Giles responded naturally but eventually found the strength to pull away. "It's not right, I would be taking advantage," he insisted firmly.
Ms. Calendar scoffed. "Oh, you never change, do you?"
Giles looked at her, confused. "What?"
"It's not right. It's not proper. People might get hurt. You're like a woman, Ripper. You cry at every funeral. "
Giles wasn't quite sure what made him realize. Maybe it was the sudden hostile tone, the mocking words. Maybe it was that name, the one he'd used when trying to be someone else, someone he was now ashamed of. But suddenly he was quite aware that this wasn't Ms. Calendar talking.
"You were never strong enough for me," she taunted. "You never deserved me. But guess what? You've got me."
Even though he knew it, it was still a shock when the next voice that came out of Ms. Calendar's mouth was not her own. It was the voice of Eyghon.
"Under your skin."
Her lips came down on his again, but when he pulled her away Ms. Calendar was changed. Not just her voice but her face. It had become fully demonic, showing the aspect of Eyghon. "Was it good for you?" she asked, then threw him away across the room, causing him to bang his head on the desk. "You never had the stomach for it. But that's okay. I'm going to rip it out." Giles tried to put up a fight but even if Eyghon hadn't been stronger than him, the knowledge that the woman he loved was in there somewhere held him back. Eyghon hurled him into a corner.
And then Buffy burst through the door. One look at what Ms. Calendar had become confirmed the theory. She kicked the demon away. "Back off," she instructed.
Eyghon looked at her for a moment, then evidently decided it wasn't worth it. "Three down, two to go. Be seeing you." She turned and leaped through the window.
Buffy considered following her, but the crumpled heap on the floor drew her attention first. "Giles, are you all right?"
"Jenny," Giles moaned. "Oh god!"
For a moment, Buffy was lost. However much she might make fun of him, Giles was, along with Prue, Piper and Phoebe, one of the few people she'd always counted on to stay calm and tell her what to do. Now… "Giles, how do we stop this?"
Giles was in no mood to answer the question. "Oh god, what have I done?"
"Talk to me!" Buffy begged. "Giles, you're scaring me."
That seemed to have an effect on him, just a bit. "I'm sorry."
"I don't need you to be sorry, I need you to be Giles," Buffy struggled to get through to him. "Come on, Giles, we fight monsters. They show up, they scare us, I beat them up or I vanquish them with Prue, Piper and Phoebe and they go away. This time is no different."
"Yes, it is," Giles insisted.
"Because you don't know how to stop it?"
When he looked at her, his eyes were full of guilt. "Because I created it."
What had happened to Ms. Calendar had robbed Giles of any remaining reluctance to accept help or keep his secrets. Buffy sat and listened as he told her his story. "I was twenty-one, studying history at Oxford. And, of course, the occult by night. I hated it. The tedious grind of study, the overwhelming pressure of my destiny. I dropped out and went to London. Fell in with the worst crowd that would have me. We performed magicks. Small things for pleasure or gain. But Ethan and I discovered something…bigger."
"Eyghon," Buffy supplied.
"Yes," Giles confirmed. "One of us would go into a deep sleep and the others would summon him. It was an incredible high." For a moment, he sounded nostalgic. Then he shook his head in disgust. "God, we were idiots."
"You couldn't control him," Buffy realized.
"One of us, Randall…he lost control. Eyghon took him whole. We tried to drive the demon out…but it killed him. No. We killed him."
"Goddess," Buffy whispered with a look of shock.
Giles shook his head. "We thought we were free of the demon after that. Now it's back. And one by one, he will kill us all."
"Three down, two to go," Buffy quoted. "It's going after Ethan." She got to her feet. At least that was something she could do. "I'd better beat it there."
"We'd better," Giles corrected, getting up as well.
"I'd better," Buffy reiterated. "You're barely mobile and speed is of the essence."
Giles sank back into his chair, robbed of even that piece of worthiness. "I don't know how to stop him without killing Jenny."
Buffy looked at him with sympathy. He must have been her age or younger when he'd been told his future was mapped out for him, that he was destined to fight demons and evil as a Watcher. She could understand the desire to avoid that destiny, to rebel against it. She remembered after Merrick had died and she had slayed Lothos. She had tried to run from it then. It wasn't till after she had finally received her witch powers and she had met Prue, Piper and Phoebe that she had finally started to accept her destiny as the Charmed Slayer.
"Got the guys, Prue and Piper working on it," she told him. "I'll try and contain it until we work something out." She wasn't sure if she could do it. But she'd try.
"Buffy…I'm sorry."
Buffy gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I know." Then she hurried away.
Ethan's Costume Shop
Buffy remembered what Ethan had said about the shop being leased. It wasn't open anymore but that just made it more likely that he'd be there. She pushed open the door. "Ethan?" She ventured inside and headed towards the back. "Ethan? I'm not here to hurt you... I'm sorry to say. Giles told me everything. Eyghon's coming for you."
"And you came to protect me," the voice came from behind her. Buffy wasn't sure where Ethan had been hiding but she suspected it was something he did very often. "I'm touched."
"Don't worry, it's nothing personal," Buffy replied scornfully. "To protect Giles, I need to protect you."
Ethan sighed with mock weariness. "How does Ripper inspire such goodness?"
"Because he's Giles," Buffy told him simply. "Besides I'm the Charmed Slayer. It's kind of in my job description to protect the innocent. And in this I'm sad to say you are an innocent."
"Lucky me!"
Buffy did nothing to hide her disgust. "Lucky you."
"Well, there's no point running. Eyghon will find us. This mark's like a homing beacon."
"I'm not much into running away anyway," she admitted.
"Aren't we manly?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "One of us is. You're going to hide until it's over."
Ethan smiled broadly. "Excellent plan!"
She looked at the rear of the shop. "Is there a way in the back?"
"There's a door," Ethan confirmed. "It's locked. I think it's solid."
"That's where we'll set up then." Buffy gestured for Ethan to lead the way but he simply repeated the gesture to her.
"Oh no, please." Ethan waited until Buffy had walked past him, then struck her across the back with part of a mannequin. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. "Ladies first."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Ethan sang to himself happily as he mixed the ink together. Not just ordinary ink, of course. Ink infused with the essence of the demon. Buffy was tied face down on a bench, her hands underneath it and her upper back exposed. "Wakey wakey," he said cheerily. "You're missing all the fun."
"What fun?" Buffy asked drearily.
"Your initiation. And don't try using your powers on the ropes. I would hate to hit you again and start over."
Buffy fought her way back into consciousness and immediately understood the situation. "You know what? I'm not really interested in joining your club," she admitted. She tried to form a fireball but she realized her hands were tied to closely together. While she couldn't burn herself with her own power, it as still a case of it wouldn't completely form if it formed at all.
"Too late," Ethan retorted. "I already voted you in. Don't take this personally, Buffy. I actually quite like you. It's just I like myself a lot more."
Buffy groped around and felt a sharp nail on the underside of the bench. She began rubbing her bonds against it, trying to sever them.
The fact that Ethan liked the sound of his own voice was helping. "If you think about it karmically, this is really big for your soul. Taking my place with the demon. Giving so that others can live."
Buffy shot him a look of pure hatred. "I'm going to kill you. Will that blow the whole karma thing?"
Ethan simply smirked. "Sweet child." He dipped the needle in the ink. "Now this may sting a bit. At first. But don't worry, that'll soon fade once the seering pain kicks in. You can go ahead and scream if you like."
The needle touched Buffy's back and she whimpered with pain.
Gateway High School
Willow took a long sip of a cup of tea. She'd found it in Giles's cabinet in his office and hoped it would make her feel like him. "We need to come up with a way to kill this thing and we need to do it fast," she announced.
Xander checked the book in front of him. "Hot lava."
"That's for a heretic," Willow informed him testily.
Prue and Piper glanced at each other and rolled their eyes.
Xander looked at the book again. He read further. "Bury a potato. No, that's for warts." He shook his head in disgust. "Who writes this stuff?"
"Now you see why most of our research comes from our books," Piper said as she motioned toward the Book of Shadows that Prue was flipping through for the fiftieth time.
"I've got the answer right here," Cordelia announced. "To kill the demon…" she paused, "…cut off its head," she finished awkwardly.
Xander looked at her scornfully. "Oh yeah. That's good. We'll just decapitate Ms. Calendar. She can be the world's first headless computer teacher. No one will notice."
Cordelia had never taken Xander's sarcasm lying down and she wasn't about to start now. "You know what you need, Xander, apart from a year's supply of acne cream? A brain."
Xander jumped to his feet. "That's it. Twelve years of you and I'm snapping. I don't care if you're a girl or not, I'm throwing down. Come on!"
Cordelia marched over to him. "I've seen you fight. And don't think I couldn't take you."
"Give it your best shot,"Xander retorted.
"Enough!" Prue shouted angrily. "We need to solve this now. If you want to fight, go home." She pointed toward the door. "Leave this to us who want to help Buffy and Rupert."
Xander and Cordelia looked shamefaced. "We're sorry," said Cordelia.
"We'll be good," Xander added.
Piper thought back on when Eyghon had possessed Ms. Calendar. And then her eyes went wide in realization. "Prue, would Eyghon transfer to a new host if it thought its life was in danger?"
Prue flipped back to the page on Eyghon and she skimmed the page. She looked up at Piper and smiled. "Yes," she replied.
"I have a plan then," Piper said. "It's a good thing you never chased Angel away from Buffy. Because we're going to need him."
"I see where your going," Prue said as she smiled at her sister. "Angel is technically dead since he's a vampire. He threatens Jenny's life and…"
"Eyghon will jump into him," Piper concluded. "But he already has a demon inside of him…so…"
"They will fight and the best demon will win," Prue said. They all got up and headed out of the library.
Ethan's Costume Shop
Ethan finished the tattoo of the Mark of Eyghon on Buffy's back. "I think I missed my calling as an artist."
Buffy was beginning to recover from the pain. "Ethan, listen to me. This is a bad idea. You're dealing with something very dangerous."
"But it will get Eyghon off my scent." Ethan took out a bottle of acid and Buffy flinched away in fright. "Relax. I've finished with you. This is for me."
Ethan rolled up his sleeve to reveal his own tattoo…and poured the acid over his own arm. He cried out in pain but kept pouring. The smell of burning flesh assailed Buffy's nostrils. She closed her eyes and redoubled her efforts in severing her bonds.
Giles' Apartment
Giles was still slumped on the floor in his flat when another flood of images hit him. The ceremony they'd performed all those years ago. The tattoos. Eyghon. But this time there was something new. Someone else adorned with the tattoo.
"Buffy," he realized. "Ethan! Oh no…"
He staggered from the apartment.
Ethan's Costume Shop
Ethan was tying a crude bandage around his burnt arm. "Well, I hate to multilate and run," he commented but then he stopped. A green glow was playing across the shop door. A figure was silhouetted on the far side. Eyghon. With a flick of its arm, the door sprang open.
Eyghon fixed its gaze on Ethan. "It's your time." Then it stopped and sniffed the air. Its gaze went from Ethan to Buffy. Then it threw Ethan aside, leaving him in a heap in the corner, and advanced on the Charned Slayer.
Buffy snapped her bonds and jumped to her feet. She held out the bench that she had been strapped to like a shield between them, knocking Eyghon back. Eyghon pummelled the shield and eventually knocked it aside.
Then Giles ran in. He stood in the centre of the shop, arms held out in submission. "Eyghon," he said as Buffy was suddenly engulfed in bright flames. "Take me!"
Buffy appeared amongst the same bright flames that had heralded her departure a second ago. "What happened?" she asked with confusion.
"Buffy, get out of here," Giles instructed.
Eyghon turned from Buffy, quite happy to take the offer. "No!" Buffy shouted as she once again was engulfed in bright flames. This time instead of reappearing in the same spot she appeared amongst bright flames between Eyghon and Giles. "No!"
Eyghon threw Buffy aside and she landed next to Ethan. The demon grabbed Giles by the neck. "I've been waiting a long time for this."
Then someone else entered the fight, pushing Eyghon away from Giles…Angel. Prue, Piper, Xander, Willow and Cordelia piled into the shop after him. The vampire and the demon tussled and Angel grabbed Ms. Calendar by the throat.
"He's killing her!" Giles protested.
"No, trust me, this is going to work," Piper assured him as she and Prue rushed over to Buffy.
"Are you okay?" Prue asked as she and Piper helped their cousin to her feet.
Buffy smiled. "Yeah I'm fine. Remind me later to try and show you my new power."
Then the demon left Ms. Calender. She slumped to the floor, free of possession. "Jenny?" Giles asked in wonder.
Everyone's gaze turned to Eyghon's new host. Angel's features began to change into that of the demon. Then they turned into that of his vampiric self.
Angel's features changed again and again: His human self, his vampire self, Eyghon. Finally, the Eyghon part fell away and crumbled to dust.
Ms. Calendar began to stir and Giles hurried to her side. "Jenny?"
Ms Calendar's eyes cleared. "Rupert?"
Ethan watched the scene. With Eyghon dead, attention would soon be shifting back to him…and that wasn't an idea he liked very much. He slipped out of the shop.
Buffy looked at Prue and Piper with understanding. "You knew if you put the demon in danger it would jump to the nearest dead person."
"I put it in danger,"Angel confirmed.
"And it jumped!" Piper concluded.
"But I've had a demon inside me for two hundred years," Angel explained. "Just waiting for a good fight."
Buffy smiled at Angel fondly. "Winner and still champion."
Xander was looking around the shop. "Er, I think that Ethan guy disappeared again."
"Darn," Buffy sighed. "I was really looking forward to hitting him until he bled."
Prue and Piper looked at each other and then nodded. The man may be mortal, but for what he had done on Halloween he deserved it.
"At least it's over," Cordelia noted.
Buffy looked at Jenny, sobbing in Giles' arms. She had a feeling that for some people it wouldn't be over for a long time.
Prue looked at Buffy's back shaking her head. "We're going to have to get that removed."
"I know," Buffy admitted. "Besides the only tattoo I probably would want is on the cover of the Books."
Prue and Piper looked at each other and nodded.
"Well I think you can wait till your eighteen, for that." Prue admitted. "But I think that would be perfect."
"So what's this new power?" Piper asked.
"I wonder if I can do it," Buffy wondered. "Hold on." She smiles at Piper and Prue as she grabbed their hands and then they were engulfed in bright flames.
November 17, 1997 – Monday
Gateway High School
"You know the worst part?" Buffy complained to Xander and Willow when they met up in the school yard. "I was saving up for some really important shoes and now I have to blow my whole allowance paying Prue back for getting that stupid tattoo removed."
"Putting that demon into Angel was pretty brill,"Xander commented.
"Yeah, sadly, when Piper came up with it, she wasn't sure it would work," Buffy admitted. "But thankfully for us it did."
"Like a charm," Xander chimed in.
Buffy looked across the yard in time to see Giles disappearing into the school building. The responsibility of destiny. She understood it well. But now perhaps, she understood Giles a bit better as well.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Giles hurried down the corridor, seeing Ms. Calendar about to climb the stairs. "Jenny…Jenny!"
Ms. Calender turned round. Polite. "Oh, hi, Rupert."
"I tried to call you last night, see how you were. "
"I had the phone off the hook. I seem to need a lot of sleep lately. "
It had been a very different weekend to the one they'd had planned. "But you're all right? Is there anything you need?"
"I'm fine." The mask dropped a bit and he saw a glimpse of the pain in her eyes, the memory of being violated the way she had. "I mean, I'm not running-around-wind-in-my-hair-the-hills-are-alive-with-the-sound-of-music fine, but I'm coping."
"I would like to help," Giles ventured.
Jenny looked at him with understanding. "I know."
"Perhaps we could talk some time," Giles suggested hopefully. "Dinner or a drink? When you're feeling stronger. "
"Sure, some time," Jenny agreed without any real conviction. Giles reaching out for her hand but she pulled away. "Yeah. Some time." Maybe she even meant it. But one thing was clear: She didn't want to be around him at that moment. "I need to get to class." She hurried up the stairs.
"Yes, of course," Giles replied. There was no hate or fear in her. Perhaps that would have been easier to deal with. In a way, she probably understood. But she'd gone through what she'd gone through because of him. She understood that as well. They both did.
Buffy came over. "Is she okay?"
Giles sighed. "The hills are not alive."
Buffy looked bemused. "I'm sorry to hear that. I think."
She deserved more than that, Giles knew. She and the others had risked their lives to save him and Ms. Calender, despite all his attempts to push them away. "I don't think she'll ever really forgive me. Perhaps she shouldn't."
"Perhaps you should," Buffy said quietly.
She suddenly seemed a lot more grown up. Not the frivolous young girl he'd spent so long trying to mold. An equal. "I never wanted you to see that side of me."
"I'm not going to lie to you, it was scary," Buffy admitted. "I'm so used to you being the grown-up. Then I find out you're a person."
Giles smiled at that. He knew the feeling well. "Most grown-ups are."
"Who would've thought?"
Giles sighed. The guilt still lingered, the deaths he'd helped cause. Nearly everyone else who'd summoned Eyghon was dead. "Some are even short-sighted, foolish people," he said sadly.
"So, after all this time, we finally find out that we have something in common," Buffy commented. "Which apart from being a little weird is kind of okay."
Giles looked at her, saw the understanding in her eyes, and reflected on how extremely fond of her he'd become.
Buffy cleared her throat. "I think we're meant to be having a training session now."
Giles understood it for what it was. An attempt to get things back to normal. He appreciated it. "Yes, we need to concentrate on your flexibility. And I believe Prue wanted me help train you on your new power."
Buffy held up a CD. "And you know what? I've got the perfect music for it. Another band Piper wants me to check out." She waved the case in front of his face. "Come on, say it. You know you want to…"
"It's not music, it's just meaningless sounds," Giles provided.
Buffy smiled at him. "There. Feel better?"
"Yes. Thanks." The surprising thing was, he did feel a bit better. "The Bay City Rollers. Now, that's music."
Buffy shot him a withering look. "Oh, goddess..."
"About this new power?" Giles asked.
Buffy looked around making sure there was no one watching. She smiled and grabbed his hand. "Let's hope I get it right this time," she told him. "I missed the Manor by about I think a mile or so last night." She and Giles were suddenly engulfed in bright flames as they disappeared.