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Author's Chapter Notes:
many thanks to my faithful and wonderful reviewers Ariadne, cordykitten,dusty and scaryscouse. And to answer one question. yes this will be spuffy but telling how would be telling:)
Giles was fuming. He’d looked everywhere for the slayers, and they were gone. So was that little ant, Andrew. The other staff members were hiding from the usually supposedly gentle watcher. Whatever had happened had made Mr. Giles furious. His visitor was searching the whole building thoroughly. Ethan Rayne was casting spells left, right and centre, trying to find any and all traces of the slayers. They seemed to have vanished into thin air. The state Andrew was in should have stopped them moving anywhere for days. Andrew should have needed urgent medical care, and he certainly shouldn’t have been able to be carted off somewhere even if it was by super-strong amazons.

Giles felt his hatred for the slayers rising again. He hated their strength, he hated their duty, he hated their dedication to the cause. Watchers should be in charge, Watchers should rule and those silly little girls should just do as they are told. His only argument with Travers was that Travers headed the council and he didn’t. Well he did now.

Giles thought back to his years with Willow. He’d tried so hard to let the witch find her own path, knowing how hard it was to stay on the correct path with little help. Let her experiment with the power, it always corrupts, and he was doing well until the coven stepped in and aided her. The coven were excellent, a true source of white magic. Giles smiled again. A source of white magic; although the witch was incredibly strong she would never gain her full strength because she would never tap into the power that was neutral magic. She had been taught white magic; such a clever plot. There was only one witch in the world stronger than Willow could have been, and he made sure they never met. Morgana, the last true neutral witch alive. She had died along with most of the council in the explosions, and to think Buffy still thought that had been the work of the First.

Xander and his petty jealousy were the next thoughts in his head. It had been so easy to stir the jealousy into a fire that burnt into the boy’s heart. Xander who could see everything so clearly, except where it came to Buffy. He loved Buffy and a simple spell left him feeling he would have a chance as soon as the opposition were out of the way. Giles smiled again. There was no warmth in the smile. Oh yes. He had tried his best, but the wish he made all those years ago still ruled his life. He would give anything to rule the Council and he had. He’d given his soul, and now he was in a position to give the Slayers’ souls. He had managed to collect blood from each and every slayer found. Blood that could be used against them when the time came. All safe in his hidden vault, tucked away in a black bag, away from everyone’s sight, even Ethan’s.

Dawn was his only problem until today, but she’d been made from Buffy’s blood so any spell on Buffy should work on the key as well. He would use Ethan for as long as he needed: then he would rule them all. Giles felt his headache getting worse again. The drugs would help. Giles looked in the drawer by his bed. There was that small leather case. He caressed its dark leather and opened it up. There lay the syringe, preloaded with its elixir. He slipped the syringe into his vein and pushed the plunger. Just a little morphine always helped.




Faith thought the girls had looked awful when they arrived in Cleveland. She hurried them into Slayer HQ. Cathy’s magic had held their memories intact, they had even taken turns in sleeping, writing down everything they had learned. She’d even managed to heal Andrew a little, but the flight had not been easy on him. Every bump and jolt had hurt. He’d bled again and they’d had to hide it. Again they were grateful for Cathy’s magic and Mary’s light fingers. She’d managed to get what they needed from a first aid box left unattended for a few minutes. Cathy eventually put a sleep spell on the poor man. He was exhausted and so were the girls, and they needed to stay awake. If you’d asked any of them when they’d landed what the film was they couldn’t have told you. They were exhausted. They looked like zombies arriving, grateful to see both Faith and Robin.


Faith’s first job had been to make them all comfortable on their arrival. A doctor well used to helping slayers had been waiting at the airport and whisked the man away to a private hospital they regularly used, thanks to Kennedy’s dad and Giles paying for a decent insurance scheme. Giles had used it to keep up the appearances of caring for the girls.


Faith rang far too early in the morning for Buffy’s liking. Things had never been peaceful between the two senior slayers but they had learnt to be civil and had become reluctant friends. Mutually respecting each other’s strength, and learning to understand the way the other one worked. But that didn’t mean Buffy had to like an early morning call.

Faith was hours ahead due to the time zones; she laughed at the groggy-sounding Buffy answering the call.

‘Hi B, how’s it hanging?’

‘Wha? Who is this, and what time is it?’

‘It’s ten AM here, so it’s not that early,’ Faith answered with a laugh.

Faith had quickly filled her in on all the developments, including Andrew.
Buffy didn’t want to be nice about Andrew on the phone: he’d killed Anya and Buffy was in no mood for forgiveness. Faith had found herself arguing for their hostage soon after their arrival. God that seemed so many years ago: guestage, that had been the word they’d all used, poor Andrew. He’d only wanted to belong. Giles had managed to persuade the lad that Anya had been about to turn demon on them all, he’d honestly thought he’d been doing the right thing. Andrew had sobbed most of the night when he realised what he’d done. He was sleeping now, thanks to Cathy and her gentle magic.

Mary was a girl after Faith’s own heart. She’d managed to relieve Giles of a nice pile of cash and a case full of vials of blood. Each vial labelled with a name, mostly slayers, but Xander and Willow were there as well as Robin.

Faith was not happy to say the least. The case, with Mary, was on its way to LA, to be delivered to Buffy. Faith had kept the rest of the slayers with her. If they were needed Dawn would open up a doorway and fetch them.

Faith knew Buffy would come round. She was logical, and thought things through, eventually at least. Faith could understand the anger though. It had taken her hours to calm down enough to stay in the same room as Andrew without ripping him a new one: the state the man was in helped. No-one likes to see the result of rape, and the thought that Giles could do that had made Faith lose her supper. Robin had been cool, calm and collected. He’d organised everything while Faith had ranted and raved, and destroyed the training room.

Buffy and Faith talked for hours, sorting through what had to be done. Faith wanted desperately to be in on the action but knew she had to keep up appearances: a phone call to watcher central, with her sweet-talking Giles and complaining that Buffy had a holiday when she didn’t lay enough false trails for the girls to be safe. They could use their famous antipathy of each other as a cover for them working together.

The plan was laid. Faith would play good slayer to Buffy’s rebel. The table was to be turned on Giles!

Buffy and Xander were ploughing through the hundreds of watchers’ diaries and records that Septamus had brought with him. The dear old man had tried to help; actually that hadn’t been fair, he was helping as much as he could. He’d brought access codes to all the council’s accounts, and had brought all the files and books he could manage and he was trying to look through them but he was unused to rushing research. For Septamus, research was something to be savoured, to be relished, not hurried and rushed. He was likely to get research indigestion at this rate.


Xander threw another diary down in disgust. Another Slayer killed: this one was getting too close to the truth about the council. ‘Did none of them live beyond 23?’ He asked, exasperatedly.

‘Only Buffy.’ Came the quiet reply. ‘They were killed before they hit their full power. No-one could stop them if they got all their gifts,’ Morgana replied, coming into the room slowly, with Willow. She’d been helping the younger witch again.

They needed that case of blood samples; as soon as they had it they could break the spell on every slayer there was. Then they could go after Giles once and for all.

‘All their gifts?’ Asked Buffy ‘what can I expect?’

‘Oh the usual: heightened sense of smell, hearing, sight. Speed, strength, etc… and the ability to see into other dimensions. With Dawn around there is no-where you couldn’t reach,’ answered Septamus, surprised that she hadn’t known. ‘It’s in the slayer handbook.’

‘Never saw that,’ replied Buffy.

‘You should have been given a copy when you started…’

‘Never was: suppose it would have given me all sorts of help.’

‘All this money; we need Anya, she’d sort through it in a day.’ Xander’s voice cracked at the thought of his beloved Anya. He missed her so much, even now. He was trying to stay strong. The information that Faith had given them didn’t help, yet, but he supposed it would. That Andrew had been tricked into his crime, poor dumb Andrew, it wasn’t the first time he’d killed someone, and each time he’d been tricked into it. His mind was so weak. Faith’s description of his injuries had softened even Xander’s heart.

Dawn put a hand on his shoulder. ‘I don’t know if Septamus would be able to cope with all the sex talk though,’ she whispered.

Xander looked across at the bumbling old man and laughed.

‘I don’t think so either. I hope she’s happy where ever she is.’

‘So do I,’ Dawn answered.

‘This is ridiculous, we have everything we need to put things right and I can’t see what to do.’ Buffy was exasperated.

‘We could make a list…’

Septamus interrupted Dawn. ‘Why didn’t you use the ring of Amara when William wore the charm to kill off all the Turok khan?’

‘Wha?’

‘The ring of Amara, the legendary jewel given to redeemed demons to allow them to walk in the light,’ he explained patiently. ‘Giles’ diary says you had it in Sunnydale and I was wondering why you didn’t use it?’

‘Because we had sent it to Angel and he destroyed it, so it couldn’t be used by evil.’

‘It can’t be used by evil, it can only be worn by the redeemable. Any other vampire wearing it will die within an hour or so.’

‘So Spike would have lived?’

‘Oh yes, anyway we couldn’t understand why you didn’t wear the gem. You’re part Angel and wouldn’t have been affected at all: the instructions were sent to Giles…’

‘Another crime he has to answer for.’

Septamus looked at Buffy, obviously there was more upset. ‘Weren’t you told?’

‘No I wasn’t,’ Buffy fumed.

Dawn had been making the list:

Fetch the gem of Amara;

Rescue Spike;

Rescue Anya;

Kill Giles.

It all seemed very easy. But when she read it out loud, Willow started shaking.

‘I’m not doing that!’ she shouted so loudly Kennedy came running in. They had a deep connection and could feel each other’s pain.

‘What?’ Dawn was puzzled. What had she said that would upset Willow so much?

‘I’m not pulling anyone out of heaven, not again.’

Dawn hadn’t thought of that, it never occurred to her that Anya or Spike could be in heaven.

‘We won’t sweetie, we won’t,’ Kennedy whispered. They were interrupted by a bright light and the sound of Cordy making vomiting noises from behind her hand.

‘Hi plebeians, you are graced by my presence again.’ She grinned. ‘And still no decent shoes.’





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