Title: Unforeseen Circumstances 7/27
Author: Jadedragon
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 4 up until Bad Beer, Angel Season 1, in my verse, Doyle didn't die!
Paring: B/G, B/P mentioned
Summary: Buffy has to face the consequences of her night with Parker
Notes: <> denotes thoughts
Thanks: To Wyrmbath for such a quick and through beta. Great work, Wyrmie!
Buffy lay in Rupert's arms, just waking up, but her thoughts were in Sunnydale. Wesley had left two days ago and should reach her home early this morning. She had been able to persuade Rupert to allow Wesley to take letters to her mom, Willow, and Xander. She missed them so much, especially her Mom. She wanted to tell her about her engagement, but wanted to tell her in person - but how was she going to do that when she was in Oklahoma and had to stay here. Buffy was still pondering this when she felt Giles stir.
"Good morning, Luv. What has you awake so early?" he asked, sleepily.
"Giles, I want to tell Mom about us, but I can't," she blurted out.
"Why ever not?" he asked, confused and not really awake.
"She's in Sunnydale and I'm here!" she pouted, and then continued. "I don't want to tell her in an email or on the phone. I only plan on getting married once and I want to tell her in person!"
"Oh, Buffy, I'm sorry."
"I know there's nothing you can do. I have to protect my baby and it's best if the Council believes that I'm dead. It's just a bummer, being `dead'!" she continued to pout.
"I understand, luv, being `dead' myself," he responded not really sure how to comfort her.
"I'm sorry. I'm just being hormonal Buffy this morning. I just really miss Mom. I've never been away from her where I couldn't even call her if I wanted to."
"Luv, I understand. It's only natural that you'd want your mother. You're expecting your first child and you've just become engaged. You and your mother are quite close and you want to share these moments with her," he told her as he held her close.
"I just…. I don't know how well she'll take our engagement," she finished as she looked into his eyes.
"Neither do I, but I'll do whatever you want."
"What do you mean, whatever I want?" she asked in a puzzled tone.
"If you change your mind about our engagement."
"Just one minute, bub, you proposed and I accepted. There's no backing out! Period!" she told him, once she comprehended what he meant. "I love you, Rupert. If Mom can't accept that, it's going to be her problem. I'm not giving you up! Now put that in your little pipe and smoke it!"
Giles looked at the woman in his arms and was content. His love for her was so great that it had killed him to think that she might not want to marry him after all. He scolded himself, for his negative thoughts regarding Buffy.
"Buffy, I'm sorry…"
"You should be!" she told him. "Now let's make up!" she told him, as she pulled his lips down to hers.
It was several hours later before they made their way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for themselves.
**********
Colin, Ria and Timothy had been looking for three days before Colin found a building with suitable space and location for his new dojo. Next door to the building was an empty storefront, which had been a bookstore previously and still had shelves lining the walls. He told Timothy about it and soon both buildings were rented. Timothy made arrangements to have his books shipped from England and the three of them with help from Xander and Willow, cleaned the spaces and prepared them for their new uses. Joyce helped occasionally, but she seemed very sad and uncomfortable around the new Slayer and never stayed very long if Ria was there. The five of them were there one morning when Joyce entered with a man dressed in biking leathers.
"Wesley?" Timothy asked as he approached the man standing beside Joyce.
"Timothy! Joyce said you were here with the new Slayer!" Wesley responded.
"What are you doing here?" Timothy asked his old friend.
"I came down to help Willow and Xander. Angel thought they might need help and sent me," Wesley responded, hoping that Willow and Xander would back up his story.
"Where is Angel?" he asked wanting to know more about this vampire with a soul that had helped Buffy and Giles.
"He's in LA. His investigation agency is there. If anything happens and we need him, we can call and they can be here in about two hours. Is this your Slayer?" Wesley asked, wanting to change the topic and meet the new Slayer.
"Yes, Ria McCallahan, this is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. We studied together at the Council," he introduced them.
"Aren't you the one who tried to take Giles place with Buffy?" Ria asked not really trusting the former Watcher.
"Yes, I tried, but never succeeded. Giles was always Buffy's Watcher, no matter what the Council and Travers said," Wesley assured the new Slayer. "Timothy how are things on the Hellmouth?"
"Still quiet, I haven't taken Ria out yet, we were going tonight. Would you like to come?"
"Yes, I haven't had a good demon hunt in several weeks," Wesley told his friend.
Joyce soon left to open the Gallery and Wesley stayed to help the others cleaning and setting up the dojo and the library/training area for the new Slayer. With Wesley's help the area took shape very quickly and soon the formerly empty store was transformed into library/research/training facility and the dojo was ready for the delivery of workout mats later that day. Tara came and brought them lunch then stayed to help.
**********
Travers was very leery of Smyth and McTavish. He suspected that the Chairman had them watching him; that was why he had asked them to join him. Better to keep your enemies close and know what they were doing. Once he reached LA, a Black Seer would meet him and he could then cover his plans from the Council Seers, but until then he planned to use the two Special Ops to send false information back to the idiot that had been placed in the position that he should have held!
Travers planned to capture the current Slayer and make her, his. He would make her toe the line and be the kind of Slayer the Council needed, a tool to kill vampires until she died and the next one was called. These girls needed no other life but slaying, friends and family just got in the way, confusing the girl and causing her to want more than she was allowed to have. Rupert's mistakes with Buffy Summers proved this, all too well.
As soon as he met the Seer in LA, he would have him enspell the two Special Ops and they would then help Travers with his plans. The Seer would also hide his actions behind a wall of mist, clouding the vision of anyone trying to watch his actions by magick.
Travers looked across the aisle at the two spies. Little did they know what awaited them when they arrived in LA in just three short hours.
**********
Giles looked up from the research and saw Buffy had fallen sleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful and calm. He hated to tell her what he had discovered, but knew that it couldn't wait for long. First he went and called Wesley to have him and Willow double check the information that he had discovered. If it were correct, he and Buffy would have to return to Sunnydale much sooner than expected. He let Buffy sleep while he waited for the return call from Wesley.
**********
That afternoon as soon as Wesley got the phone call from Rupert, he pulled Willow aside to discuss with her what needed to be researched. He had a decision to make. Wesley needed to use the books that they had arranged on the shelves that day and had to decide what to tell Timothy. The prophecy they needed to research might mention the spell that they had used on Buffy and he didn't want Timothy, Ria or Colin to know that Buffy and Giles were still alive, yet. He was still making his decision when Timothy came to him.
"Wesley, what was that phone call about?" he asked. "It seemed to upset you?"
"There is a prophecy I was researching and Angel has found some information that could be pertinent. It states in simple terms, that an enemy of the Watcher will come to take the Slayer and return her to the past. I think it means that Travers will try to kidnap Ria," the former Watcher told the current one.
Ria had come up and overheard the conversation. "What do you mean, return me to the past?"
"I believe that Mr. Travers wants you to be a typical Council Slayer, one who does what your Watcher says with no arguments. He wants to stop the changes in the Council and this is how he will attempt it," her Watcher enlightened her before continuing. "Ria, you've read how Buffy had a life outside slaying?"
"Yes, don't all Slayers?"
"No, most are taken from their families when they are quite young and raised by the Council and/or their Watchers. They have no life outside of Slaying. And once they die, the next is called. That has been the Council way for centuries."
"How barbaric!" Colin exclaimed as he joined the conversation.
"Angel, found references to a force that can be tapped by the Slayer to repel and defeat the `enemy' and restore the Council to itself. In the research that we have found, the Slayer bridges the `vortex of time' to connect with the essences of the Former Slayers and the combined knowledge all of them will bring the Council back to what it was originally."
"What are you talking about?" Colin asked, wanting to know just what kind of organization his daughter was caught up in.
"Over the years, the original purpose of the Council has been corrupted by people like Travers who wanted the power of the Slayer for themselves," Wesley started, still not sure just how much to tell them. "Up until three hundred years ago, the Council was the servant of the Slayer. It served as a repository for information on demons and the occult. Then something happened to change the focus of the Council and the Slayer became only a tool for those in power. The history of this time period is very vague, many journals and diaries are missing. I believe, those who wanted to take the power from the Slayer and her bonded Watcher destroyed them. If you study that period in Council history many of the Senior Council members suddenly disappeared or died and were replaced by younger less experienced ones. A core of older members became the new leaders and Travers family was very prevalent in this reformed Council."
"I didn't know that!" Timothy exclaimed in a surprised voice.
"That's the information that Angel just gave me. It seems that he found a journal of one of Rupert's ancestors who went into hiding to avoid being killed," he informed the group. Xander and Willow were the only ones who realized that it had been Giles who had called with this information, not Angel. "It appears from what Alistair Giles wrote, that there were several retired Slayers and their Watchers who were also killed in this coup. From what was written in the journal, it was a bloodbath that was hushed up by Travers' ancestors who wanted to control the Council and therefore the Slayers," he concluded.
"Retired Slayers? Slayers can retire?" Colin asked.
"It appears that before this takeover of the Council, Slayers were able to retire. We don't know how, the Travers' family seems to be responsible for that knowledge being lost," Wesley told the Slayer's father.
"Is that why Travers is on his way here? To try and get the power back by kidnapping my daughter?" Colin asked, even angrier.
"Yes, I believe so. We must research to find the way to defeat him. It is rumored that the Travers family is aligned with a dark power and if this is the case, we will need to counter that power. We also need to know more about how Ria can tap into the `vortex of time' and how to use it," he finished.
Soon everyone was researching in the new library. It seemed very strange to Willow and Xander to be researching in a library that was not the Sunnydale High Library and not to have Giles and Buffy present to help. The research went slowly. Ria and Colin learning from the best, soon picked up how to hunt through the volumes for the information that was needed.
Once the sun set Ria, Timothy and Wesley prepared to go on patrol. Ria was excited at the chance to see her first (well, second) vampire and to make her first kill. Colin insisted on accompanying them and they left about 7:00.
Willow, Xander and Tara continued researching and about 8:30 found the information that they had been looking for. The connection to the `vortex of time' required a current and former Slayer to be activated. They would need Buffy. Wesley had mentioned that Rupert suspected this would be the case and had left instructions with Willow to call them as soon as she confirmed this.
**********
Black Raven looked to the heavens. He had seen the signs and now confirmed what they were telling him. He knew what was coming and welcomed the chance to repay Demon Hunter for his help. He would travel with Buffy and Rupert to help defeat the evil who wanted to destroy the Slayers and the Council of Watchers. He walked toward his home to join the Slayer and Watcher in his living room. They would be leaving soon.
**********
Giles was still researching when the phone rang and he quickly answered it, not wanting Buffy to wake up. Willow quickly told him what they had found and while he was speaking to her, Buffy woke, sat up and started stretching. As he put the phone down Black Raven walked into the room and sat on the couch near the Slayer.
"Buffy, I've discovered more about the prophecy. We have to return to Sunnydale, as soon as possible," he informed her.
"What's happened? What did you find?" she asked, sleepiness now forgotten.
"In order to complete the restoration of the Council and defeat Travers you and the new Slayer have to open a `vortex of time' and access the knowledge of the former Slayers and their Watchers. Willow just called to confirm this. We have to leave as quickly as possible. Wesley believes that Travers will be on his way to kidnap Ria and make her into a typical Council Slayer."
"How much time do we have?" she asked concerned for her Mom and friends in Sunnydale.
"I don't know. That's why I want to leave within 15 minutes," he responded as he started to leave the room to pack.
"There is no need to rush, someone is coming to take us where we are needed," Black Raven told them.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked, as there was a knock on the door.
Black Raven rose from the couch and went to the door and opened it. There stood the seer who had brought them the books and the spell. He quickly entered and turned to the Watcher and Slayer who were now standing side by side.
"I am here to transport you to the field where the battle shall commence in three nights," he told them in the same soft raspy voice they had heard before. "Gather your journals and whatever else you will need and we will be on our way," he concluded, as he stood near the door.
Buffy and Giles stood for a moment before quickly gathering the books and a few other items that Black Raven suggested. Within ten minutes the house was empty. Everyone had gone.
**********
Ria sat on the tombstone and looked around the deserted cemetery. Timothy had told her to stay there while he examined a crypt. Wesley and Colin were in another section of the same cemetery patrolling. Ria was getting bored. Nothing was happening and this was the 6th cemetery they had patrolled.
"I thought the Hellmouth was suppose to be so active," she said to herself as she heard a strange scratching behind her.
She turned and saw a creature digging its way out of a grave. Ria quickly realized that it was a vampire. She pulled the stake from her pocket just as the vamp rushed her trying to feed off her. She staked it, but it didn't turn to dust as Timothy had said it would. She realized that she had missed the heart and tried again. This time there was a quick whoosh and she was showered with dust.
"Wow, I killed my first vampire!" she exclaimed.
"You must be more careful next time to get the heart on the first try, or you might not have a second chance," Timothy instructed as he rejoined her. "Remember the heart is usually a little to the left of the center of the chest."
"Ah, yeah," she replied, still excited from her first kill.
"It's pretty quiet tonight. Lets find your father and Wesley and head back. Willow, Xander and Tara may have found something."
"Ok," Ria answered, still enthusiastic about her first kill.
They soon met up with Colin and Wesley and made their way back to the new headquarters where Willow quietly told Wesley what she had confirmed and that Buffy and Giles would be coming back to help open the `vortex of time'.
**********
Why did it always have to take so long to get through Customs? Quentin Travers thought to himself. It had been two hours before they had even been waited on and another hour and a half before they could leave the terminal. He had been glad to finally reach the hotel where they would be spending the next couple of days before leaving for Sunnydale.
The Seer would be contacting him soon and it couldn't be soon enough for him. He had hated the delay before he could start planning his actual assault on the new Slayer and her incompetent Watcher. Keeping his true plans secret from Smyth and McTavish had caused him some problems, but soon that would be over and he could meet up with the others who would be helping him kidnap the Slayer.
He was brought out of his plotting by the materialization of the Dark Seer who had helped his family over the centuries. The Seer had helped his ancestors to reorganize the Council to their benefit over three hundred years ago and he would help Travers to now put the balance of power back into his hands.
"Greeting, Wise and Exalted one," Travers addressed the dark magickian with reverence.
"I have come as requested. Do you have the items I need?" he asked in a soft grating tone.
"Yes," Travers answered as he handed the Seer two envelopes containing hair of each of the two Special Ops.
"You do realize that if the spell is broken before you kill them, they will remember everything that has happened," the Seer reminded him.
"I understand, but they won't have a chance to tell anyone about what they know," he assured him.
The Seer went to the table across from Travers, which had been prepared for his arrival. He lit the brown candles and the incense charcoal adding black copal to it once it was glowing. As the scented smoke rose the Seer opened the envelope labeled Smyth and began an incantation.
The smoke will cloud and bind your mind,
Your purpose now not your own to find,
Smyth, will listen to another's will
Or it will be all for nil.
He then placed the hair from the open envelope onto the burning charcoal. When the hair began to smolder, a strange glow rose and moved from the room toward the next.
He quickly repeated the incantation, substituting McTavish for Smyth and using the hair from the envelope labeled with that name.
Moments later the two Special Ops came into Travers room looking dazed. They asked Travers what he wanted them to do and he sent them to bed telling them that they would meet the rest of the group in the morning.
Before he left, the Dark Seer cast the spell to cloud Travers' actions from the Council Seers. It was a fairly simple spell and didn't take him very long to complete. Soon Travers was left to get a good nights rest before beginning his plans to capture the Slayer.
**********
The phone awakened the Chairman, which he quickly answered and gave his ok to the Senior Mage. It seemed like everything was falling into place as he had thought it would. The magickian he had placed on Travers' tail had just confirmed the presence of magickal spells to cloud the minds of the Special Ops and would cast the counter spell within the hour, giving the Dark Seer time to leave Travers' room. He would then cast the spell to counteract the masking spell so they could continue to watch Travers.
**********
"Wesley, does that mean that we need a second Slayer to cast this spell?" Timothy asked as he overheard Wesley and Willow discussing the `vortex of time' spell.
"Yes, it does."
"How…wait, can we get the help of the Slayer in prison?" he asked remembering that the second slayer was serving a prison sentence for murder.
"I'm afraid it would take too long and I don't know if we could even get Faith released," Wesley informed him.
"Faith, second Slayer? Who is she?" Ria asked.
"Faith was a Slayer who was called after Kendra's death. She killed a man and is in prison," he quickly explained.
"I thought there was only one Slayer at a time?"
"Yes, Ria, there is usually only one. Buffy died briefly and was revived by Xander her first year here and a second Slayer, Kendra was called. Faith was called when Kendra died."
"So there can be more than one Slayer at a time!" Colin joined the discussion wanting all the advantages he could give his daughter.
"Yes, and if we manage to defeat Travers there will be more former Slayers," Wesley replied in frustration, before he realized what he had said.
Suddenly there was a strange light in the middle of the room. As the light dimmed, four figures were seen standing there. Willow, Xander, Tara, and Wesley recognizing the Seer that had brought them the books and spell; Black Raven, who had appeared during the spell and Buffy and Giles.
Ria and Colin looked at each other not knowing what was going on, nor who had just appeared in the shop.
Timothy couldn't believe his eyes. But Rupert and his Slayer were supposed to be dead!
"Rupert?" he asked.