Part 9b, Identification: Friend or Foe
Early the next morning on his way to the shop, Giles was going over his conversation with Buffy a couple of nights ago. He was having second thoughts whether or not the advice he gave was any good. Had he inadvertently trivialized the tragic event and her emotional reaction? Could he have done more to help her, comfort her? Was there yet more he could do now for both Buffy and Dawn? Maybe he had read too much into Buffy's seeming ability to pull herself together before she went out for patrol? He pondered for a bit more but got nowhere and growled in frustration. He had to move onto the subject of Glory.
It was still two hours before the shop was to open for the day when he entered. Glancing up at the clock he saw there was another hour before Cordelia was due, whereupon he would have to attend to the mundane business of actually supporting himself. The Watcher stipend was extremely helpful but still didn't quite close the gap when all expenses were added up for the weapons and training equipment needed by the slayer, as well as costs of obtaining resources necessary for their research.
For the moment he would put aside his concerns for Buffy. Between now and Cordelia's arrival Giles wanted to do as much as possible and get to some necessary analysis. He went behind the sales counter to open the safe used to store the most critical items needed for their investigations. He pulled out the translated writings of Wen Fu and anything else he had related to the subjects of time and of alternate dimensions, including old notes from when Buffy had sent Angel to a Hell dimension. He spread out the documents and other materials on the large main table and brought over a bright reading light. Then he extracted a Thermos from his briefcase and poured hot tea into a cup. He stared glumly at the now cluttered tabletop before him and sighed.
Giles knew that time was becoming extremely critical. He was sure it was only a matter of weeks, a month or two at most, before they would have to act decisively, that the current passive defensive strategy would no longer work. When would they be able to "sting like a bee" rather than "float like a butterfly"? At the moment he still couldn't determine what needed to be done, what that sting should be, and was willing to settle for when it needed to be done, whatever the sting.
Sighing again he finally sat down and sipped his tea. He put his hands together, chin placed on his thumbs, as if he were praying to the information before him, that somewhere in this pile were the bits he needed. They believed they already knew which five dimensions or coordinates were involved: the three spatial dimensions, a temporal dimension, and Wen Fu's rather vague reference to a "phase". However, they needed more detail about all. Theory was all well and good but without specifics they wouldn't be able to formulate a plan to counter or even defeat Glory or, at the very least, keep Dawn safe.
All the research he and the rest of the group had been doing, with multiple re-translations and re-interpretations of several texts, now seemed to indicate their fifth dimension, the "phase", being intertwined with an alignment of other forces. What exactly those forces and influences were, and the nature of the alignment, was still the big mystery. As Giles moved papers and books about while trying to find a particular page he remembered reading, the scrap of Willow's lyrics fell to the floor. Huffing again at its silliness he crumpled it into a tight ball to toss in the waste bin. An odd caution stayed his hand. While Willow's notion was silly poppy-cock on the surface, anything she said should not be dismissed so readily. Slowly and carefully he peeled apart the crumpled mess, lay it on the table and tried to flatten it by running the side of his hand across it.
He pursed his lips as he glanced back and forth from the lyrics to the various texts and diagrams on the table. A thought about what needed alignment kept nagging at him and his frown deepened. After a few minutes he went over to a bookshelf devoted to practical physics rather than meta-physics or the supernatural. He riffled impatiently through several volumes, grunting in satisfaction when he found the one he wanted containing star and planetary charts. "Damn!" They weren't good enough, not having the necessary level of detail.
Giles walked behind the sales counter, reached down and pulled up an old battered Rolodex, setting it on the counter. He flipped through the cards until he found the one for Dr. Jason Stahl, a professor of astronomy at CalTech, whom he had previously worked with on details of lunar phases and their earthly effects. After exchanging pleasantries and inquiries of well-being he got down to business and asked about planetary charts for each day for the next three months. He wanted charts from two perspectives: one from above the ecliptic looking down at the planetary positions in their orbits, the other as seen from Earth, near Los Angeles, with all significant constellations labeled.
Dr. Stahl teased Giles about his newfound interest in astrology, then got serious and said they would ready the next day. Giles mentioned he would also like to discuss some topics on cosmology and asked if they could talk more when he picked up the charts. After a few seconds thought, Dr. Stahl agreed to meet Giles at noon tomorrow at Mt. Palomar and they could have lunch in the observatory's private cafeteria. Though loath to leave Sunnydale and Buffy at such a critical time, Giles believed the information could be equally or more important and he needed it as soon as possible.
He made the detailed arrangements, they said their good-byes, and Giles returned the handset to the cradle. He stared at the phone for several moments as he considered what he had just done. "Bollux," muttered Giles. Depending on what he might learn he may very well have to admit to Willow she had in fact been on to something. Worse yet, he might actually have to watch baseball with Xander. Assuming they survived Glory.
There were also some historical references Giles wanted to cross-check regarding characteristics of various past calamities to determine if there was evidence of Glory's actions or presence. Could they match what Glory was capable of and events she might have been involved in? The nearest, best source was at UCLA and normally he would have gone straight there and be back by evening. He decided to combine the two journeys, going to the university this afternoon, spend the night at a motel, meet the professor tomorrow for lunch, and be back in plenty of time to continue his analysis tomorrow evening. Decision made, he waited for Cordelia to arrive and have her take over the Magic Box.
–––
"We believe we have found new useful information about the Key," Murk informed the minions around herself. "We think we know which human it is." She looked at Glory. "It's as you suggested, it is someone new in the slayer's life."
"Of course it is, I'm always right!" Glory did a little victory dance. "Speak on," she demanded.
"It is the 'Cordelia' human. Our extensive research has shown it first arrived in this town at almost exactly the same time you destroyed the last remnants of the Brotherhood, not far from here." Murk left out or didn't fully appreciate that, in their zeal to quickly appease Glory, the 'extensive' research was rather hurried. The search of available records only went back a year and only covered the geographic area immediately surrounding Sunnydale.
"Then what are you wasting my time for? Bring it to me!"
Knarf, one of Murk's loyalist comrades, bowed deeply. "It is often close to the slayer. We must apprehend it so the slayer cannot be able to protect it. Our thought was to continue following and snatch it when the first opportunity arrives."
Glory was already losing interest in the details. If they knew exactly how the Key was manifested and how to obtain it, then she didn't care as long as it was brought before her as soon as possible. "Whatever. Just bring it. And keep it alive!" Glory swept out to begin a bubble-bath.
The minions huddled together to plan out how to follow and snatch the presumed Key. They now understand Glory's order to mean only follow this 'Cordelia' human and no longer any of the others.
–––
Buffy went patrolling this night as like the previous, continuing her ongoing personal monologue about what Giles had said. With many of the demons scared off by Glory's presence, she knew it would be light, easy duty and, in a weird way, relaxing. Whatever worked. And she needed to do something to get out of her own head. Right now anything was better than sitting at home, mindlessly numb.
Despite Buffy's concerns, Dawn appeared to be handling mom's absence better than herself. Dawn was not actually happy as such, lightly skipping her way through fields of flowers, but she was dealing. Though Dawn occasionally had extreme mood swings, from maniacally chipper to tragically morose, she was always talking about how she was feeling. With each cycle she seemed to be getting more and more centered. Buffy on the other hand tended to keep her own feelings bottled up, putting on a brave and confident front for Dawn. Not healthy, she knew Giles would tell her, but she couldn't help that. However, she was willing to talk whenever it concerned Dawn's future. They talked a lot about that future, behaving as if Glory didn't exist, trying to figure out if they should stay in the large house or move, with good arguments either way. They even discussed where Dawn should consider going to university despite that being years away. Buffy was envious of Dawn in some ways. This supposedly merely "made" human seemed in some ways more human than she herself.
Buffy was also a bit jealous Dawn was spending so much time at Xander and Cordelia's place. It bothered her more than she would admit to. At least tonight Dawn was with Janice doing homework. Though Buffy was always a little anxious about being apart from Dawn, tonight she was glad for the time off.
She was on a final pass before heading home, going along the same path she and Xander had once trod soon after Cordelia's arrival in Sunnydale. As she passed by Baldwin's grave site (she now felt on a first-name basis with the deceased-but-not-a-vampire Mr. Carver, even comforted by his quiet non-judgmental presence) she felt a tingle of her slayer "Spidy" sense. Not the same as a vampire but it still had a sense of the familiar. Either she was just jumpy or whoever or whatever it was kept themselves at a goodly distance if she approached. If any demon was that scared of her mere presence then for just this night she wasn't going to worry about it.
Hearing a soft swishing sound close behind caused Buffy to suddenly stop. Must be a newbie to be this stupid, she thought. Hanging around Sunnydale while Glory was present and while the slayer was still active didn't speak much to this demon's intelligence, not that any but a few of them were intelligent. Again there was that familiar feel to it, but something definitely different than a vampire.
Buffy was quite surprised when she turned and saw two of Glory's minions appear from behind a tree and warily approach to within ten paces. She was ready to attack when she saw two more, further away in the direction she had been heading, also just standing. As she was figuring out a strategy to fight all four she got her second surprise. The one on the left tentatively held up a stick, a white cloth tied to the upper end, and slowly waved it. From behind its back, the minion next to the stick-waver brought out a bouquet of flowers.
"Whah?!" This was very confusing. Here was the enemy, or at least the accomplices of the enemy. Buffy knew she should attack immediately but something about the nervous way they stood there stayed her. She carefully watched them as the two originally behind her circled around to join the ones bearing gifts, all four slowly coming together in a tight cluster, carefully keeping a fair distance from her.
Flower-bearer held up the bouquet and approached Buffy one slow step at a time. It bowed deeply. "Here, slayer, we give you an offering. We are reliably told this might be a good 'ice-breaker'," it said in a growling but not menacing voice. "We wanted to offer you wine, but the human at the store wouldn't let us purchase without an Id. We informed it we are all hundreds of years old but it would not see reason." In keeping with their desire to not harm humans as Clem had advised, they restrained from hurting the uncooperative clerk. They mournfully shrugged their apology. Flower-bearer took another step toward Buffy and held up the bouquet. Buffy was so surprised she wordlessly stepped forward and accepted the offer, holding the flowers close. The minion sidled back quickly to rejoin his companions.
"We come in peace," intoned the one on the other side of Stick-waver.
Buffy quickly regained her equilibrium. "Where'd you learn that one? Late-night movies? Should I take you to our leader?"
The minions seemed completely confused by Buffy's queries. "Is this not your proper way of indicating peaceful intentions between two combatants on the field of battle? A gift and a white flag of truce? Are we not performing this correctly?" He looked up and pointed at the makeshift truce flag. "All the stories on your colorful flat light-boxes show this to be the way. And the flowers we've seen in other demonstrations. We were also told a peace offering of alcohol would be very appropriate as well, but were unable to obtain such, as we have said." He frowned in misery. Maybe they should have employed more effort or enticement to obtain the alcohol. Nevertheless he would continue and hope for the best. "Were we mis-informed? Can we make amends?"
Buffy shook her head. "Usually we just say 'Hey, how's it going?' But yeah, I suppose this can work too. For now." Getting over her initial surprise, Buffy reminded herself who these creature served. "Why are you, Glory's little evil gray elves, here? Why shouldn't I kill you right now? Flowers and flags otherwise?"
"We want to stay."
Buffy was surprised for the third time. "Stay? Here in the cemetery?"
"No." The spokes-demon raised his arms to indicate a larger perspective and swiveled left and right. "Here on this planet. We know demons are your enemy. But we have also seen you leave some in peace. We want to be like that."
Buffy was flabbergasted to say the least. "I'm supposed to give your whole hive of Glory worker-bees a free pass for all the threats, destruction and hurt Glory has done, and the things you've helped her do? And the things she intends to do?" She reminded herself to be careful not to reveal anything about The Key. "If you have minds anywhere in those heads of yours, are you out of them?"
More obsequious bowing were issued by the demons. "Of most of us you are correct. But not all. Some of our brethren wish to see her gone as much as you do. Perhaps more so. You have not been in her presence for your entire existence, for the entire existence of your family and bloodline, stretching back generations, only to watch her extinguish your brother or sister, or children, for the slightest mis-step or lack of subservience or quick action. We want your help."
"First let you live in peace. Now it's help you want?! Why would I ever do that?"
"We like John Wayne," Oeht offered the slayer.
Buffy did a double-take. "You want me to let you stay because you like the airport?"
The minions eyed each other, not understanding. Oeht tried rephrasing. "Mr. Wayne has a way of speaking we quite enjoy very much!"
This night must be setting some kind of record for bizarre surprises. "Oh, the actor, you mean?" She couldn't begin to fathom what they must be thinking.
A different minion chimed in. "Mister, you'd better find another line of work. This one sure don't suit your pistol."
Shaking off the paralyzing astonishment, Buffy responded in kind. Xander's "True Grit" jamboree—with a few other Duke films thrown in—was only a few weeks ago. It had not been a success, only Giles liking a few of the films. But a couple of lines were memorable enough to add to her repertoire of quips she planned on using at some point. Now seemed apropos. "Young fella, if you're looking for trouble, I'll accommodate ya." Despite the implicit threat the minions smiled broadly in joy. She made the threat a bit more explicit. "I haven't lost my temper with you guys yet, but pilgrim, your god has made lot of trouble these last few weeks."
"Leave us be, let us live in peace. We will never interfere with any humans. We will cause no trouble. We like humans." The others nodded eagerly.
Buffy waved her hand dismissively. "Because you toads have been setting such a fine example of the not interfering, right?"
The minions either didn't understand the danger they were in, choose to ignore it, or felt they didn't have a choice. But they knew what a toad was and being called such was something they didn't like at all. The one who hadn't spoken yet replied back to Buffy, "I wouldn't't make it a habit of calling me that, son."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "OK, OK, I get it. You like John Wayne. But will you knock it off already!" The minions nodded soberly. "Let's get back to the real question. Why should I let you stay? Liking John Wayne is not a reason."
"To help rid both of us of Glory. All we need is The Key and she'll be gone forever. We all will be safer with her absence. There will be peace."
"No dice. We can make a deal. And peace is always good. The Key is off the table."
This was very curious behavior to the minions. "Why is The Key so important to you?"
This is where Buffy had to be real careful. "It's important to Glory and that's all I need to know." Whew, she didn't make any reference to The Key as human. "If you expect me to help you guys, to leave you alone afterwards, the Key is not any part of the discussion. And I need a show of good faith, proof you can play well with humans. Or no deal."
They looked among themselves, not sure how to proceed with this request from the slayer. "We must confer before we can answer your demand."
"You better do that real soon. My patience with Glory is well worn out."
"How do we let you know we have an answer and should parlay with you?"
"We can meet here tomorrow night. Same time, same location."
Two of them shivered fearfully. "That is far too dangerous! We have already put ourselves at great risk to do this once. Twice again so soon is impossible. Would you consider a thought?"
She hesitated but decided to keep an open mind. "OK, let's hear it."
"We shall ask our Glory to let us trail the slayer, to see if she provides us useful information just by how you act and where you go, even if you won't say anything. We know Glory will agree. We will make certain only members of this group," he spread his arms out to indicate himself and the other three, "will follow you—"
"Nobody is going to follow me around!"
Oeht bowed. "We only tell Glory so. We will merely observe a location where you can leave a mark when you are ready to parley. We can arrange to be here on that same night."
Buffy nodded her head. It seemed a bit too 'whodunnit-ish', but it could work. "OK, I can do that." They made arrangements for the signal—that the open/closed sign hanging in the Magic Box door be set a certain way and the plastic clock-hands to indicate the meeting time.
They all seemed ready to go their respective ways when a thought occurred to Buffy. "Hey! Hold up a second," she called out.
The minions stopped and turned back nervously, unsure of this new development. Perhaps the slayer had changed her mind and was going to attack?
Buffy looked at them quizzically. "Who exactly are you guys? What should I be calling you?"
They looked at each, perplexed by the question. When they turned back Oeht simply said, "We are Glory's."
"Yes, I know you're her little gray minions. But if we're going to be best friends, even possibly neighbors if I let you live here, then I need to call you something besides an LGM. So what do you call yourselves?"
"I am Oeht. That is Semaj. And this one is—"
"No, I don't need to know your names. My name is Buffy, but I'm a human being. You can call me a human or a person."
They nodded in evident understanding. "A person human, yes. You are a strong human! With long yellow fur on top." They smiled at her, happy to show that they could be cooperative and peaceful.
Buffy puffed an exasperated breath. "No, that's not what I mean. I'm a human. And you are...?" Buffy made a rolling motion with her hand to encourage them.
Again they looked at each other, a bit lost as to what the slayer wanted. "We are Glory's. What else is possible?" Though the heretics believed their lives and existence had a worth separate from Glory's, they were not yet ready or able to think of themselves as a group with their own collective identity, one entirely detached from Glory.
Buffy sighed. "I've got to call you something." An idea came to her and she snapped her fingers. "I got it! Since you like John Wayne so much and you're kinda like wanting to start a new life here, I'll call you 'Pilgrims'. Yeah, Pilgrim Demons." Buffy smiled and nodded to herself in satisfaction.
They seemed startled that someone could view them in this way. After another moment they nodded and smiled at each other. "We like that," affirmed Oeht. "Yes, we are Pilgrim Demons!" They bowed once more to Buffy and, now that all parties were satisfied, they each went in their own direction.
–––
Cordelia entered the Magic Box a full hour before opening, a bit earlier than usual. Giles noted she was in a foul mood. From painful experience he had learned mornings were never her best time of day but this seemed extreme compared to her usual irritability. "May I say 'Morning, Cordelia'? Or would even a 'Hello' be too much?"
Cordelia at first tried to glare holes into Giles then sighed and stretched her arms above her head. She next tried to assume her more usual and normal aggravated-with-early-morning attitude. "Bad dreams. And Xander's stupid alarm clock. And we're out of coffee. Cordy is cranky and going stir-crazy for a cup of that comforting caffeine."
Giles frowned in concern. It seemed far too early in her and Xander's new relationship for this much trouble. "Is everything all right with you and Xander?"
Cordelia waved her hand, dismissing the notion. "Oh, that. Yes, everything is fine. It's just me and the alarm clock are having a serious falling out. He promised to get a quieter one."
"And the other night was a success? Or at least not a complete disaster?" Giles avoided getting too involved in the personal business of Buffy's friends, but because of Spike's involvement he was well aware of the events leading up to Xander and Cordelia's previous break-up. Having been one himself, perhaps an even worse case, he knew well of teenage boys and immaturity. He hoped Xander had learned a valuable lessen. He was pleased with what he saw so far of Xander's growth, Cordelia's too, and sincerely believed they would be good together. But a repeat of the conditions from before, going on a date together with Willow, had the potential to be a lot of trouble.
Cordelia smiled. "Well the start was a little rough, but it turned out to be a really good time. No arguing with Willow, no smacking Xander into place, Dawn behaved herself, and Tara is a gem. In fact we're going riding together this weekend. I'm not even worried about leaving Xander behind with Willow."
Giles returned her smile. "That's good then? I'm really happy for you and Xander." He returned to the issue he was dealing with before her arrival. "Cordelia, I'll need you to take over the shop later this morning and most of tomorrow. Will that be alright?" Now that Cordelia had proven herself well capable of handling any and all business issues that might arise he wanted to move on to preparing for the Watcher side of his duties today.
"Sure." In terms of the shop's business, she had easily managed before while Giles was away for several days. She was confident there would be no problems this time around. Certainly not a cuckoo vampire wrecking the place.
Knowing the Magic Box would be in good hands he proceeded to gather his papers together into neat piles on the table. Then he went back behind the counter and returned with a very old, very battered briefcase. He doubled-checked each packet of notes, clipped them together, inserted each in its own folder and finally placed the folder into the briefcase, one at a time.
Cordelia looked on curiously. "What's all that? Anything to do with your disappearing act?"
Chagrined, Giles looked up. "It's the reason I have to leave for a time." He hefted one of the folders before dropping it in the briefcase. "I've some new leads on the circumstances and conditions when Glory may intend to use Dawn's characteristic as the Key. But the necessary resources are out of town and will need time to gather. As I said, I'll be back tomorrow. Would you be kind enough to let Buffy and the others know?"
"No problem."
While Giles continued gathering necessities together, Cordelia busied herself getting ready for the day's opening, starting with a cup of her own very strong brew. While the water was heating up she called Hunter Creek Stables to talk to the owner, Christine. She wanted to make sure all was set for Saturday and would be there any problem if she brought a guest along? She gave Tara's name, assuring Christine that Tara already had riding experience. She also promised both of them would help with some work around the barn before and after the riding. Christine quickly agreed. Always good to have help and another potential rider.
Once the personal items were out of the way Cordelia began her duties as general manager, Giles having officially promoted her, with a pay raise, when he realized she was quite a bit better and definitely more interested in the actual business of being in business. While Giles flit around the shop investigating various papers and books, keeping some to take with him, putting back most, Cordelia started the usual checking of bills due, deliveries scheduled for the day and others still to order. She also physically inspected the premises, making sure all was in order, that every item was in its place, correctly displayed, properly labeled and priced. She was in particular following Giles to make sure his ransacking didn't leave anything disturbed.
When Giles next checked his watch he saw there was still some time before he needed to leave and he remained for the day's opening, helping out with some of the more interesting choices made by customers. A few customers Giles had to dissuade from their purchase, knowing that a dead customer would likely not return to buy more. Those that did die and return to the shop would not be the kind he wanted to deal with. All in all, best not to have dead customers.
After handling a last customer, it was time to go. Giles retrieved his briefcase, gave Cordelia a quick goodbye, bounded up the steps to the door and disappeared. Once settled in his car, the one Buffy and Riley had made fun of, he decided the top should be down. It was a beautiful day for a drive down the coast and then again tomorrow, winding around the mountain roads to get to the observatory. Although he truly did believe Buffy and 'Team Slayer' would somehow prevail against Glory, all the same, just in case they didn't and the world was going to end soon, he wanted to enjoy the little things while there was still opportunity to. Flashing a 'Ripper' smile, thinking it was unfortunate the car didn't have a manual transmission, he mashed the pedal to the floorboards, the acceleration jerking his head back. He enjoyed both the blare of horns from the other cars and the wind whipping through his hair as he snapped the car through the turns.
Back in the shop, for the remainder of the day Cordelia easily handled all the business, blissfully unaware how closely she was being watched by Glory's minions. Some hours later, during a quiet part of the day, the door opened and Buffy entered. "Hello, Buffy," greeted Cordelia, looking up from the receipts and orders. "If you're looking for Giles he took off a few hours ago."
"Do you know when he'll be back?" she asked hopefully.
Cordelia shrugged and returned most of her attention back to the paperwork. "He said tomorrow afternoon." She absently waved her hand. "Some research-y things he said needed researching."
Buffy sighed and her shoulders sagged as she started to pace around the shop. She really wanted to talk to him about last night and the 'Pilgrims' she had encountered. How could she utilize this opportunity with these demons? Or avoid a potential trap. With Giles unavailable she wasn't sure what to do other than wait for his return. Potentially she could use whatever help these rebel minions might be able to give, even if it might be not entirely trustworthy help from inside the enemy's camp. Giles advice on the matter would be very welcome. After a bit more pacing, with sour looks from Cordelia, Buffy decided to continue the ongoing effort of returning to a semblance of normal routine. Ignoring Cordelia, she went to the back room to get in some training and maybe use the exertion and exhaustion to help clear her mind.
–––
In Glory's penthouse suite, heads bowed toward each other, the upper echelon of Glory's minions gathered. From evidence collected the previous night, both the human's statements on the beach below the public eating trough, and subsequent research, it was clear the human with the long dark fur on top was the new thing in the slayer's life. If their research were correct then that particularly bumpy human had arrived in Sunnydale within days of the monk Glory had killed. This could not be coincidence! It was also discovered from sources in the nearby large city that it had abilities and senses beyond the merely human. Surely the 'Cordelia' must be what they had been seeking all this time.
At Glory's command they had ordered the rank-and-file to watch the human. Now that the target human was being followed to the utmost every hour of the day, this gathering was to create a plan for obtaining it. Most of those present were bouncing with excitement.
Outside the Magic Box, the enclosure where this human spent much of the day, minions were decamped as ordered. They were in several locations to ensure the human could not go anywhere without being seen and then followed. Most of the minions were watching the main entrance, a few were in the back alleys keeping an eye on the small entrance there, others watched the windows and one was assigned to watch the roof. This human would not be able to evade them! It was just a matter of finding the optimal opportunity to acquire it.
Fortunately for the rebels one of their own were among the leaders of those tasked to find that opportunity. A couple more were with the observing teams. They were too few in number, with no guarantee of success, for them to make any active effort to save the target. Instead they would report back and hopefully find a time when they could intervene in some more active way, presenting that as the show of good faith desired by the slayer.
–––
Business at the shop had gone flawlessly the previous day in Giles' absence and at the start of this day Cordelia didn't expect anything different. When Willow eventually came in and learned of Giles whereabouts she smirked knowingly but wouldn't comment until she heard what Giles had when he came back. Tara came later in the afternoon after class. She and Cordelia got together to continue their discussion from the other night and make specific arrangements. Cordelia let her know that Chris was fine with her riding but did insist on a waiver faxed to the shop. Chris would also watch Tara for awhile to make sure she knew her stuff. Tara readily agreed.
Mid-afternoon, with only a few customers about, Giles returned from his trip and greeted everyone as he shrugged out of his light jacket and laid down the briefcase. Neither Tara, Willow nor Cordelia could tell from his demeanor if his mission had been successful or not.
"Well?" demanded Cordelia.
Giles ignored her while he finished shedding all his accouterments and getting a cup of tea. After taking his first sip Giles sighed, grimaced and gave Willow a long resigned look. "It pains me to inform you that your silliness may have had a nugget of truth."
Willow bounced on her toes, basking in her victory.
Giles then heard thumping from the back room. "Buffy is in back?" he asked no one in particular.
"No, it's the Pillsbury Doughboy," snapped Cordelia, annoyed at Giles for brushing her off.
Chagrined, realizing he may have been a little rude when he ignored Cordelia, he offered his apology. "Touché, Cordelia. The answer is yes, I did indeed have some luck. Since Buffy's already here please ring Xander and I'll tell everything when we're all gathered together."
"What about Dawn?" Willow wanted to know. "Should she be included? I mean, all this stuff, it's all about her, yes?"
"I'll leave that to Buffy." Giles turned and headed toward the back training room.
Buffy didn't hear Giles enter the training room and continued pounding on the heavy bag, sweating, chest heaving with exertion. Looking on, Giles wondered if she was trying to pulverize the inanimate object to relieve some of her grief.
Once over her initial reluctance, Buffy discovered that Giles was right about returning to slayer routine, at least in part. Working out, weapons practice, the few nights of patrolling, they were like a salve. During the minutes and hours when she had to focus on that part of her life, focused on the needs of protecting Dawn, she actually didn't feel too bad. She found she was able set aside the grief when the situation called for it. Sometimes just exerting herself to exhaustion was the most blessed relief of all.
Reaching a stage of weakness in the limbs, her mind blank, she gave one final soft punch before placing her wrapped hands on her knees while she got her breath back. She noticed Giles when she looked up at a slight sound from the doorway to the shop. "Giles, you're back."
Giles looked around his feet, behind himself, then at his reflection in the mirror on the wall. "Yes, it appears I am. And how are you, Buffy?"
"I'm...I'm OK. Not great. Not even good. But not immobile in misery. Just...OK. Which will do for now." She stepped back from the bag. Even with just a few moments rest her slayer resources were coming back and she began light jabs as she continued. "I think what you said the other night helped. I just have to keep reminding myself to be patient." Now she gave the bag a strong right upper-cut.
Giles reached out to steady the bag. "And Dawn?"
With the slayer second-wind energy now fully kicking in she gave the bag a front kick in its midriff. "I think she's." Buffy kneed the bag down low, causing Giles to wince. "Handling it." This time she did a spinning back-kick to where a short demon's head might be. "A bit better." Buffy topped off the attack with an elbow into the throat. "Than I am." Now truly exhausted and spent, Buffy stopped and slumped against the bag, letting it hold her weight. "Of course there are still moments when we're both crying wrecks." Buffy shrugged. "But she seems to get over them quicker then me. Or maybe she's just better at hiding how she's really feeling?"
"Possibly. But I think both of you are very resilient, more than you know. It helps you have each other as well as your friends."
Buffy nodded. "She said she actually had a good time with the gang the other night."
"That's good, then. But remember," he cautioned, "there will be a lot of ups and downs, times where things feel awful forever."
"I thought you were supposed to be helping me feel better, not more depressed."
Giles smiled ruefully. "I just want you to have realistic expectations."
"Expectations are duly set to 'realistic' in Buffy-world." She remembered he'd had a reason for taking off for a day. "So what did you discover? Anything useful?"
"Very possibly," Giles answered vaguely, though he did seem confident. "Cordelia is getting Xander. When he gets here I'll explain everything."
"What about Dawn?"
"Naturally it does concern her, though I'm not sure the information would be directly helpful to her. And possibly upsetting. I leave it to you to decide if she should be here."
Buffy looked away and chewed on her lower lip. "OK, I'll hear what you have to say. Then if it's actually helpful for her to know I'll tell her. Otherwise no point in making her more aware of how central she is in all this. I think she feels more than guilty enough." Buffy took a quick shower and then joined Giles and the others in the store. As impatient as they were Giles refused to speak until Xander showed up.
"What's up?" he asked when he finally arrived, plopping down next to Cordelia, giving her a quick, light kiss.
Without initially saying anything, Giles extracted several large sheaves of paper and laid them out on the table. "As you recall we had earlier discussed Wen Fu's writings on extra dimensions and alignments of forces. What wasn't indicated in his writing was exactly which forces and alignments. As much as it pains me to admit, Willow hit on an idea that turns out had some merit and may be a crucial key—pardon the pun—to the problem." Willow grinned, still basking in her discovery and pleased her ideas bested Giles disappointing skepticism. Giles looked crossly at Willow. "Before you get too happy, it's not any of the specifics you discovered from the 'ancient' lyrics, but rather the basic concept."
"Potatoes are tomatoes!" exclaimed Willow as she help spread the sheets out across the table.
Buffy, Xander and Cordelia were already leaning over the table, taking in the diagrams on some of the pages and ignoring the tables of numbers on others. Giles decided it was best to ignore Willow's gloating and instead pointed to one of the pages filled with concentric circles. Cordelia looked thoughtful but Xander and Buffy just looked confused. Buffy waved at the page nearest Giles. "What am I looking at and how is it helpful?"
"These are schematics of the solar system from two different points of view. First from above looking down at the planets in their orbits. This second set," he informed them, holding up a different pile of paper, "is the sky as seen from Sunnydale with the planetary positions highlighted among some of the more prominent constellations."
"Why so many copies?" asked Cordelia, as she fingered through some that Giles had left on the table. They all looked identical.
"Yeah," agreed Xander, "did the copier go all Sorcerer's Apprentice on you?"
"Ah, yes." Giles nodded. "No, they in fact are all a bit different. You see, each page shows the respective point of view for a different date, ranging from a few days ago to two months from now. See how the positions change?" Giles put down the pages in his hand and waved his hand over the dots labeled with curious symbols. "Let's use Jupiter as an example, this from the point of view on Earth." He flipped through a sequence of pages, each time pointing to the large ' ' symbol representing Jupiter. To Xander it looked like a very badly drawn '4'. "See how its position slightly changes compared to the unmoving stars behind it? The same will be true for the others. Some orbit faster than Jupiter and some slower in an intricate dance with each other," he finished, borrowing a phrase his friend Dr. Stahl had used.
Buffy huffed, already impatient with this star stuff she didn't understood. "And these dancing stars and planets have what to do with Glory? Or Dawn?"
"Let me show you a particular set of these." They waited as he flipped through all the pages, carefully checking the date listed in the corner legend. After some time he pulled out a group of pages and laid them out very carefully in order in two rows along the length of the table. The top row were the charts showing the view from above the solar system while the bottom row were the view from the Earth. Each column of two charts was for a particular date.
When he was done laying them out he spread his arms to encompass them. "These start from about two weeks from now." He indicated the left-most column. "Continuing on for the next ten days." He pointed to the right-most column. "Notice that for this range of dates the 'dancing' planets all come together with a very interesting relationship to each other..." Now he circled his hands above the whole thing. "All the major planets, and the moon too, are lined up on one side of the solar system as viewed from the earth, with one exception. See here? Mars is 180 degrees opposite those, as seen from Earth."
"They don't look lined up at all," commented Buffy. "See, they're all over the place."
"Visually to you they don't look near, but in astronomical terms they are in near perfect harmony." Again he used his friend's phrasing. "It's a quite rare occurrence." Giles stood back as if he had just explained everything.
"Let me bring this back to the all important 'Gee, Mr. White, what does it all mean? Will the Earth fall down the well like Timmy?'"
For a moment Giles looked at Xander, extremely irritated, before turning back to the others. "Just this. The literal physical effects of these alignments are not remotely close to the cataclysmic predictions made by fringe cultists, having absolutely no impact on our normal physical world." He raised his hand to get more attention. "However, this particular arrangement of planets and moon," he continued, pointing at the pages, "definitely has a large impact on the supernatural in very much the way described by Wen Fu." He looked directly at Buffy then swept his view from one person to the next, finally settling on Buffy again. "That would include that fifth-dimension, the phase, and channeling the Key's energy into creating some kind of portal." Giles took a deep breath, turning to face the table and leaning over the charts and diagrams spread out. He picked up one pair. "The effect will be greatest on this date. May 21st."
Giles let them all look for awhile before resuming his lecture. "Accounting for errors and possible unknown factors, I believe the range of likely dates could be at least a week on either side of that day, essentially the latter half of May. Not very precise I'm afraid, but it does narrow down the window of greatest concern. It also tells us we have a certain amount of time to devise a strategy to take advantage of this." He turned to directly face Buffy. "Buffy, I believe this gives us an idea when Glory will want to open her portal. At some point during this time frame." He leaned down over the pair of charts, weight supported by hands spread on either side of the pages. "We need to be more certain of the timing. We don't need to be as precise as to the hour but still need to be confident of a smaller range of days."
"Then let's all grab Dawn, the gang, and go!"
"Too a galaxy far, far away," suggested Xander.
Cordelia gave him a disgusted look before returning her attention Giles.
Giles stood straight and shook his head in the negative. "Unfortunately, right now—even with this new information—it's still basically the same situation as before. Glory and her spies will know the moment we make a run for it. She would immediately know Dawn was the Key. This is a damned if we do, damned if we don't situation. Escape too soon and Glory will have the time to hunt us down, wrest Dawn away and kill her to successfully open the portal. Wait too long and she will have more time to figure things out on her own or just grab everyone near you. We may not actually get away and again she has the Key."
"We still haven't figured out a way to beat her. I don't like it," growled Buffy, "not at all! All this does, all this information, everything we've learned so far, tells me that we should run." She looked up at Giles. "But alright. I'll be patient while you figure this out. And then can we run? Mexico? Canada? Timbuktu?" Buffy waved at the sheets Giles was still holding. "Mars?"
They continued to discuss the effects of alignments, citing Oz as an example, though with far less associated dire. Willow poured through the pages, trying to see if there was any additional detail buried within that might help. "Can I keep these," she asked Giles.
"Oh yes, Willow, I've got copies of everything." In a lower sad tone he add, "And I have to arrange with Xander attending a baseball game, assuming we survive all this."
"If there was not yet enough incentive to defeat this Hell Bitch then a Dodger's double-header is more than enough!" crowed Xander.
Giles sighed. Yes, he wanted to defeat Glory, to save Dawn, to save 'Team Slayer', and what the hell, even save the whole world. But he wasn't absolutely, positively certain a day with Xander at a Dodger's game was a worthwhile trade-off.
There wasn't much more Giles had to say and eventually the others went about their business and left. Tara and Willow returned to campus, Willow excitedly explaining about 'The Age of Aquarius'. Cordelia and Xander also left together, right behind them, not knowing Cordelia was being followed by a team of Glory's minions. The minions were confident the 'Cordelia' was the Key and therefore only she was worth any effort. They left the Magic Box completely unwatched.
Giles soon noticed Buffy hadn't budged from her spot at he table. "What is it Buffy? Do you have something to add to this?"
She stared at the table, not really seeing the diagrams possibly predicting when doom might arrive. "It's a something that's not completely different."
"Yes?" Giles took the seat next to Buffy, turning so he faced her profile.
Buffy's demeanor changed immediately, able to shove aside the depressing introspection. "You would not believe who I ran into the other night."
"No?" Giles inquired. He was pleased by Buffy's show of strength and her ability to deal, even being a bit light-hearted. "I'll make the bold assumption it was not Glory. Hmm, I'll go with...Tom Hanks?"
Buffy snorted in amusement.
"Not Tom Hanks, then?"
"I ran into some of Glory's little elves, the spies you mentioned. We had a very interesting exchange." She shook her head. "For one thing, these guys have a really weird thing about John Wayne. They watch way too much TV." She impatiently waved off that triviality. "But that's beside the point."
"Other than the point has nothing to do with Hollywood actors, what exactly is the point?"
"This will be really interesting to you and could be very helpful to us..." She reviewed the events of the previous night, that there were those among Glory's helpers who wanted away from Glory. They wanted to live peacefully on Earth in her absence. It was even barely possible they might help the slayer in some way, though that was far less certain and far from a reliable conclusion.
Giles mulled this over. "This could be very important, Buffy. Even if they refuse to directly help us fight Glory, as 'insiders' they might at least be willing, or enticed, to tell us of her intent and maybe even specifics of her plans. Perhaps tell us exactly the how and when of all this."
Buffy seemed dubious. "I don't know. I don't think we'll be able to get that much out of them. They seemed really skittish and afraid and were thinking more in terms of saving their own warty butts than willing to provide actual help. In any form."
Giles nodded his head in understanding. "Yes, I could understand that, given the wanton violence Glory is prone to. Still, there might be ways we can take advantage of it." He nodded in thought. "Perhaps we could use them to at least plant mis-information if it comes to that. But let's go forward with this, see how far we can push them and how much we can get. We'll work on a response for the next time you meet them."
–––
It was an odd feeling for Xander as he puttered about their apartment mid-morning Saturday. Only a few hours ago Cordelia had left with Tara to go riding at Hunter Creek. During the time since she had returned to Sunnydale, Xander and Cordelia were frequently apart for long stretches of the day, but her lack of presence was now having a greater impact on his emotions than he ever could have guessed. He didn't believe he was being needy or desperate but the day always seemed more lively, full, and interesting when she was around. For awhile he kept busy cleaning and straightening the apartment, doing laundry and other activities he normally avoided. When he had done all the fussing about he could he then reviewed some of the copied notes from the shop.
As afternoon became late afternoon and then into early evening he wasn't worried yet she and Tara hadn't returned when he originally expected. He knew Cordelia would use any excuse to stay with Keanu. Maybe she was just being extra careful picking the horse's hooves or something. He was also very aware how tricky the narrow winding road could be, especially when driving from the bright open areas into dark shadows when the road re-entered the woods, or the hair-pin turns descending the steep hillsides. He appreciated and approved that she might be going slower and more carefully than her usual insane (to him) driving style.
Instead of bouncing off the walls by himself he decided to see who might be at the Magic Box. On his way out the door to begin the walk over he grimaced when it occurred to him how much of his life was spent in that one room of the shop. He tried to imagine a day, just one, when Glory was far in the past and he could spend a simple ordinary afternoon at the beach with Cordelia, without a care or worry. He sighed. In reality he knew if it wasn't Glory than it would just be something else, the next blood-thirsty demon or the next big-bad with world domination and destruction as its goal. He just simply could not run away from it. Especially not if Cordelia were involved.
Arriving at the Magic Box he noticed he was not the only person besides Giles. He shared a look with Willow confirming she was there for pretty much the same reason as himself. After grabbing something to drink at Giles sideboard he sat across from her. "What'cha doing?"
Just as Willow was about to answer, her cell-phone rang.