A/N Giles participation in the Cruciamentum only makes sense if he, as one reviewer suggested, harbors some resentment toward Buffy. Not that he doesn't have grounds to resent her, at least the Giles on the show. Between Jenny's death, Angelus torturing him and Buffy leaving him there for hours, something he yelled at her about when he learned she was hiding Angel's return from them. In the end, he chose to help her and she forgave his involvement. And I can't help thinking Joyce was never told any details because otherwise she would have shot him, regardless of what Buffy's feelings might have been on the matter.

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"The Council killed the other Slayer and got a new one Called?!" Xander snarled, slamming a red Eldritch energy ball into the crystal on Giles' desk, shattering it. "So not happening with Buffy! What the Hell is going on, Giles?"

"The Cruciamentum is a test that was devised in, I believe, the twelfth century and discontinued over a century ago. The purpose, so it's claimed, is to test a Slayer's resourcefulness. She's prepared for the test by placing her in a trance, that crystal is used because the Slayer's mind is vulnerable to it. Once in that state she's injected with a combination mystical and organic compound of muscle relaxants and adrenal surpressants. She's then directed to the area chosen for the test where she faces off against a vampire or at least it used to be a vampire before they were all destroyed, now it could be any hostile demon. Kendra's death proves the line still exists, at least for now and they may wish to see if Buffy dying has created a second line or if she's, well, essentially a dead end. My contacts in the Council say, the main Council is scared, their influence has shrunk considerably since the total destruction of the vampires, there's little reason for them to exist anymore. They're scrambling to find a way to stay relevant."

"Important." Cordelia growled. "Powerful. They built their power based on the broken lives of little girls through the centuries, callously using them up and throwing them away, their lives mean nothing to them."

"But they do to us." Willow insisted. "Sure, we never met Kendra and we don't know this new girl that's been Called, but we care because as humans we're supposed to care and too many decide to care about other things instead. But we definitely care about Buffy and we're not going to let these big meanies just kill her!"

"Do you know where the new girl is, Rupert?" Joyce asked.

"Boston and her name is Faith Lahaine." He replied.

"Faith, huh?" Xander nodded. "Makes sense, we've run into a Faith the Slayer in a couple different realities."

"Including one where your counterpart got horizontal with her and one were Willow tried to drive her insane on orders from a demon boss." Cordelia raised an eyebrow at him.

"Happily private property." He assured her with a grin. "And our Willow's not getting messed up with a demon."

"Good answer." She flashed her own smile back at him.

"Okay, we need to deal with the current situation." Xander leaned against the desk. "Johnathan, you up for scouting around town, find where they're setting up Buff's surprise party?"

"Not a problem." Johnathan assured him. "Giles, you never told them any of us have powers, right?" He glanced at the older man.

"No, I felt it was none of their business as long as you were not a threat to anyone. You don't even kill the demons you feed on, you're most definitely not a threat."

"If I find the demon they're using should I do something about it?" Johnathan asked. "I could, maybe. I do have super strength, but I've never been in the position of choosing to kill anything." He was apprehensive at the possibility.

"Not unless it's an immediate threat, most especially to yourself." Xander shook his head, not wanting to put his friend in that position either. "Reconnaissance only, if you can. In and out and back before Harm has a chance to worry." Harmony gripped Johnathan's hand and smiled encouragingly at him, offering her support and confidence in him. "Besides, quite a few demons have a specific way to kill them, blunt force trauma isn't always the best answer. Use your communicator to get a picture of it so we can research it, once we know how to kill it, we can take care of it. As for the Council dudes, they're likely in the US on some kind of visitor's pass. I say, once we've disposed of the demon, we anonymously report their attempt to drug and murder a US citizen. Let them try to prove their innocence in a court of law, the charges themselves will cause them a lot of problems."

"And this Faith girl?" Joyce asked, clamping down on her anger. "I don't feel comfortable leaving her under their control. There has to be a way we can help her."

"Giles, do you know her Watcher?" Xander asked.

"Know of her, but never met her. Dr. Diana Dormer is a Harvard Professor."

"Do you think she knows the circumstances of Kendra's death?" Jenny asked. "Because they didn't tell you they were doing this test on Kendra, how likely is it that they've told Dr. Dormer anything? And I can't believe Kendra's Watcher went along with it."

"He didn't, they fired him and did it themselves, from what my contacts tell me." Giles answered. "And we don't have a lot of time as Miss Lahaine's eighteenth birthday is next month."

"Then once we're done with these idiots, I suggest you go to Boston and tell Dr. Dormer all about it." Xander suggested. "And offer her and Faith a place with the Scoobies, there really is safety in numbers."

"Sounds like a good plan." Giles agreed. "Let's get to it, shall we?"