Fic: RFJ 0: Before You 5/6

[beccaelizabeth]

Ripper
Fools Journey
0
Before You

Part: 5/6

Rating: I'm aiming for a tone much like Buffy or Angel, which are 15 to 18 rated in the UK.
Pairing(s): None. Yet.
Spoilers: Post Chosen, post Not Fade Away. Deals with the fallout.

Summary: Rupert Giles, Head of the Watchers Council, and ghosts.

Disclaimer: Joss told us to "Write fan fic."
So they're still his toys, but he seems to not mind us playing with them.
No money, no harm.

Thanks to pinkdormouse for beta.

Author's notes and warnings:
Once upon a time, there was to be a series called Ripper.
It would star Giles, and it would be about ghosts.
Well, I'm still waiting.
In the meantime, I figured I'd write it myself.
Since ghosts are a central feature, character death is going to happen throughout the series. But that doesn't always remove them from the story. So sometimes the warning is character death, and sometimes it is more character transformation.

This episode is 0 because it is the setup, a transitional episode getting all the characters in the right place. Also because I used Tarot cards as inspiration for the 22 episodes, hence 'Fools Journey', and the Fool is card 0.

Part One here
Part Two here
Part Three here
Part Four here


*** *** ***




On Monday, Vi's disciplinary committee was ready to meet.

“They have requested that you attend,” Ms Wayland informed him that morning.

“The new policies don't require the presence of the Head of the Council at every disciplinary meeting.” Giles dismissed the idea.

“They didn't ask for you in that capacity. Slayer Vi wants to call you as a character witness, after her stay in Sunnydale.” Ms Wayland saw Giles still looking doubtful, and pointed out, “If it were any other Watcher then refusal to attend for any reason below incapacitation or apocalypse would be grounds for dismissal. Is that policy not to apply to this office?”

Giles sighed. “No, it has to apply. There can't be one rule for everyone but me. Alright, clear my schedule for however long this is likely to take.”

“Including lunch? Your friend Edgar has that appointment today.”

“He's flying back this week, yes?” Giles considered. “Tell him where I am. Tell him if he wants to meet me we'll have to see when they take a break.”

The disciplinary committee was using the largest meeting room, and it was still packed. The dark wood walls were barely visible behind the people lining them and all the tables except the long one for the committee had been removed to leave room for chairs. Officially only those with a direct interest were allowed. It used to meet in secret, with sealed depositions, but the Slayers wouldn't accept that now. On the other hand, neither did they wish to have the details generally known. So, everyone in the room was at least a potential witness.

Giles realised this could take some time.

The room hushed when the Disciplinary Committee came in. Faith had a seat off to one side, next to a younger Slayer chosen at random from those living in London. The three Watchers that made up the rest of the committee took their seats with the most senior in the center of the table. Vi, Fiona and Mrs Rafferty were already seated in the front row. A certain faction of the Council had believed she should be sat in the center of the room in chains, but Giles had vetoed that. Giles had been urged to take a seat in the front, but had waved his phone vaguely and instead positioned himself at the back near the door.

“This meeting of the Disciplinary Committee of the Watchers Council of Britain is called to order. In attendance are Watchers Malcolm Nemets, Jeremy Higdon and Teresa Niebaum, and Slayers Crystal Heilman and Faith.” A slight pause. The older Watchers did not approve of Faith's refusal to use her family name. Most of the rest just stumbled on it. The speaker continued a little louder. “Watcher Niebaum presiding. Before the Committee today – Slayer Viola DePaulis, under the supervision of Watcher Amelia Rafferty.” Giles frowned at the phrasing. A bit too traditional. “Watcher Rafferty, would you please take a seat to answer the Committee.”

There was a stir from people all across the room. Almost all from Slayers.

“Vi can speak for herself!” Someone called out from against the back wall.

There were noises of assent from all over the room, but Watcher Niebaum didn't even raise her head.

Faith did, and also a hand. She used a quick signal from the system Slayers were developing – stay put.

The room quieted again.

Not an auspicious start.

The disciplinary process of the Watchers Council was intended as a fact-finding board. It was not meant to be an adversarial process. There was no formal prosecution, or defence.

In theory.

Today the witnesses learned to treat their answers like a tennis match. There was a question from the Watcher end of the table, they would answer, and then Faith would ask again, with different phrasing, or a new topic. Niebaum, who should have led the proceedings, simply called and dismissed the witnesses. Not quite what he'd had in mind when he had tried to choose a neutral party. Poor Rafferty was up there for an hour, answering questions that started with the night of the killing but ranged back to every aspect of Vi's training, or lack thereof.

And Giles couldn't intervene. He couldn't even give the appearance of it. The Head of the Watchers Council had set all this in motion. The only way for the process to retain credibility was to let it play out.

Rafferty was dismissed. And Inspector Hornbeck was called.

There was a stir again, and again Faith's signal kept it down.

Hornbeck kept his answers to the point, but he was the one to tell the committee everything the police had to say about the matter. That took some time. They were still with him past 1130. Higdon, the man Giles was most wary of assigning to this, asked their last question.

“These murders – ritual, magical, Watcher business. Did you make Headquarters aware of them?”

“I make regular reports to the Council, yes.”

“And to the office of the Head of the Council?”

Giles tried to give no visible reaction. He was aware of curious stares. He just waited for Hornbeck.

“The Council Head meets with all the more senior Watchers, to keep up with all the doings of the various departments. Watcher police are a pretty small department, but I am senior within it. He has full confidence in me and my men.”

Giles had probably said that too. Possibly more than once. It was a fine answer in the short term, but if someone chose to push the matter, it could look a little odd, when the men in question did not in fact solve the crime. Well, it still looked better than saying he'd sent the man away empty handed.

Higdon made a careful note. He looked up and focused on Giles for a moment. As did half the audience. Then Higdon smiled pleasantly and said, “No more questions. Thank you, Inspector.”

Niebaum formally dismissed the man.

The next one she called was Giles.

The chair for witnesses was in the center of the table, set back several feet. There were actually regulations about it. A distance far enough that neither party could reach the other in a single lunge.

The records of some previous Watcher Disciplinaries were... colourful.

“Mr Giles, thank you for joining us here,” Niebaum began. “For the record, let us state that Mr Rupert Giles currently holds the post of Head of the Watchers Council. This has been the case for slightly more than one calendar year. Some of the questions we will present refer to times prior to this appointment. In that case, he held the position of Watcher to the then current Slayer, at the time the Chosen One.”

“Chosen two.” Faith broke protocol to interrupt. There were giggles from the audience.

“One of the Chosen Two.” Niebaum corrected in exactly the same tone of voice she had used for every other introduction.

“If we're being precise, it should go on the record that this position was in fact rather unofficial. Unless you have... retroactively corrected that?” Higdon enquired politely.

“No. I was not always paid or appointed to be Buffy's Watcher. I simply did the job.”

Niebaum stayed as unruffled as she had been all morning. She simply stated, “The committee has questions for Mr Giles. First question?”

“Muh- Mister Giles.”

The whole room turned and stared, as Crystal, the other Slayer, spoke for the first time.

This did not help her with her stutter. She continued somewhat unsteadily.

“You knew S-slayer Vi before she was Ch-chosen?”

“Yes, I did. When her Watcher fell to Bringers, I took Vi to America. The Potential Slayers were being protected by Buffy, the empowered Slayer in Sunnydale at the time.”

“How would you c-characterise Vi?” Crystal got to the end of the question, put her paper down, and retreated in her seat, relieved.

Giles smiled at her briefly then addressed his answer to the whole table.

“Vi was like every Potential in Sunnydale at the time – very hard working, and very brave.” And his answer was very generic. By necessity. He spent a lot of time travelling, and saved a lot of girls, but he hadn't spent much time with any one in particular.

Higdon spoke next. “You call her hard working. Reliable?” The tone was still polite, but the questions never had been.

“When the world might have been ending, she turned up.” Giles deliberately looked over at Faith, then back at Vi. The three of them being the only ones in the room with that distinction. He turned back to the bench. “I think that qualifies.”

There was a ripple of approval from the audience, and someone started to clap.

Now Niebaum looked up. “The room will please be silent!” she said, staring around. Wherever she wasn't looking kept on whispering, and people shifted in their seats.

Higdon shuffled papers and moved on.

“Now, Mr Giles. About the Inspectors evidence...”

“Hey! Faith's turn!” someone called from the back, and others laughed.

“The committee procedures do not require that kind of turn taking,” Niebaum corrected them. “Really, if you cannot be quiet I shall have to clear the room. What are all of you doing here anyway?”

“We're here for Vi!”

“Yeah! Vi! You did great Vi!”

Similar calls came from all over the room and Niebaum realised she was losing control. Faith made the hush gesture, but got limited response. The room was hot, many Slayers had been on their feet all morning, and the proceedings had already gone on longer than a film.

Then Crystal and Faith started to beep. Their watches were going off.

“Watcher Niebaum,” Faith said loudly. “Respectfully reminding you – lunch break was scheduled for twelve. That's now.” She added, quieter, “Pretty good time for it. If Giles doesn't mind waiting.”

Niebaum paused, looked at Faith, then nodded. “Mr Giles? The committee will hear your testimony after lunch.” She raised her voice. “We will take a short recess for lunch! Reconvene at twelve thirty!” Then she got up and led the other Watchers out, through the door behind the table.

Giles was going to have to go back through the audience. Who were becoming a chaotic crush, half pressing towards the door, the other half forwards to Vi.

Faith stood with the back door open. “Any witness who has already testified, come and sign your reports,” she announced. Rafferty and Hornbeck moved towards her, but Vi held back. Faith signed for her, quick. Then glanced over and waved the same at Giles.

He smiled and played rearguard while they ushered Vi out.

The clock in the back room still read ten to twelve. Faith closed the door and came in, and saw Giles looking. “Yeah, well. Close enough.” She grinned. Then she went to talk to Crystal. “Crys, you did great.”

Giles was cornered by Hornbeck. “Sir. You heard my report, sir?”

“Yes. Yes, it was fine.”

“Good. Those, ah, regular meetings... We can step them back to once a month, if you'd like, sir.” Inspector Hornbeck grinned slightly.

“I'll have to see about getting your, ah, department, organised more formally. Areas outside London need a representative too. I'm sure it wouldn't be more than a few extra hours a week.” Giles smiled pleasantly in return.

Hornbeck kept the grin with some effort. “Of course, sir. However I can be most useful.”

The fact was, since Sunnydale, this had rather become the normal way to get a department – do the work until somebody noticed. Giles was all too aware of the shortcomings. He wasn't even sure who else worked in the police, let alone if any of them would be better at the job. But as long as it got done, that was progress.

“Your efforts are noted and appreciated.” Giles smiled and nodded. Oddly, Hornbeck did actually perk up at that. Strange how much weight Rupert's opinion had these days.

With some people.

“Ah, Mr Giles.” Higdon appeared next to them, eating sandwiches from a paper plate. “Couldn't wait to get at the food, hmm? You realise your statement can't be signed until it is finished. And typed up. Miss Faith was a little premature.”

Giles smiled the diplomatic smile – the one that took least effort and didn't reach his eyes. “If you'll excuse me – I should get a plate.” He headed towards the food table.

Higdon followed him.

Nemets was at the table already. He turned around, plate in hand, and noticed Giles for the first time.

“Ah, Rupert. Good to see you. Glad you could make time for us today,” Nemets greeted him pleasantly.

“Malcolm. Of course I had time. One needs facts before one can pass judgement.” One very much hoped.

Nemets nodded and smiled. “Knowing the truth. Basic duty of a Watcher.”

“That and bringing discipline to the Slayers,” Higdon added. “Or was that the old Council, Rupert?”

Nemets looked at him and frowned. Higdon appeared not to notice.

“Excuse me,” Nemets said. “Not long to eat. I'll just take a seat...” He left to find a chair at the side of the room.

Giles attempted to get food onto a plate. Higdon crowded him enough to make it awkward.

He leaned in and spoke confidentially to Giles. “Not going quite the way you hoped, hmm? Not a whitewash. You've given us the venue, now we'll get the truth into the light.”

“That was rather the point of the hearings,” Giles agreed. He turned away, plate half empty still, and headed for the chairs.

“Oh yes, I'm sure. And that was why you set a criminal up as a judge?” Higdon said this loud enough for Faith to hear.

She frowned and swallowed her food.

Before she could start, Giles replied, “Faith has the most relevant experience of any Slayer.”

Higdon laughed. Giles glared at him icily.

“This is not a laughing matter. Faith knows what it is like to make split second decisions in conditions of darkness and confusion. She knows the consequences of letting your guard slip. And yes, she knows what it is like to make a wrong call. She isn't the only Slayer in history to have done that, just the only one still alive.”

“Don't sugar coat it Giles. The other thing I know is what it takes to be a murderer,” Faith corrected him. She turned to look at Higdon. “I know what it does to someone. What it takes to make that decision. To kill a human being.” Faith stepped forwards, and Higdon backed up. “See, you look at a Slayer, and you see someone dangerous. Because of what she can do, you want to lock her down, just in case she does what you're afraid of. But I can tell you, most of them couldn't. It isn't in them to make that decision. They aren't murderers. And you can't see that. You don't know what you're looking for. Me, I see it in the mirror.”

Higdon just stood there. Frankly he looked about ready to wet himself. Giles tried to think of a helpful way to intervene, but Faith moved on.

“I know what kind of damage a Slayer can do if she goes dark side. I'm not going to allow that,” Faith told him. “But I remember what the Council used to do. Drugs, guns, helicopters – that's Old Council. That's what we won't put up with. We can't, we're Slayers, we fight. But if we have to, we can fight our own. That's why we have to be here.” Faith stared at Higdon a moment more, then blinked and looked at Vi, now pale and shrinking in a corner. “Not for you, Vi. Don't worry. I just meant on principle.”

Vi looked only marginally reassured.

“I take it you've made your decision already then?” Nemets enquired.

“Sure. We've read all the reports already. I heard the story from Vi right after it happened, and everything backs her up. Bad guy doing bad things. Slayer stopped him. No foul,” Faith replied.

“In that case, one wonders why we have so many people in that hall. Witnesses, aren't they?”

“Character witnesses, mostly. A few Watchers Higdon called, I don't know what they're here for.”

“To testify about the wider events leading up to this incident.”

“Wider events?” Giles enquired.

“The trends in training and discipline, the policies and exemptions being handed down to us from the Head office...”

“Mr Higdon, that is not the subject of this enquiry,” Niebaum intervened.

“Teresa, you aren't in charge back here. You can at least let me finish my sentence.”

“I think I may have let you finish too many already. I trusted you had some point to your questions, but if they are not in fact relevant to Viola...”

“Of course they are relevant! A Watcher is always responsible for the conduct of their Slayer. The hearing in absentia for Faith here resulted in the dismissal of the Wyndam-Pryce boy. Hardly the only precedent.”

“You can't fire Mrs Rafferty, she didn't do anything wrong!” Vi objected.

“No, she didn't. Her reprimands are a matter of record. As is the response of Mr Giles. Tell me, how is a Watcher supposed to do their job if any Slayer can just run to you and have it all quashed? And what exactly was the point of keeping Mrs Rafferty in place if you order her to stay at home? Just to have someone to blame?”

The room erupted into contradictions as everyone tried to answer at once. Except Giles. He'd been to too many meetings to bother trying to shout it down. He simply stood there silently, looking at Higdon. Who began to smile, thinking Giles had nothing to say.

Then the room got quiet.

“You intend to ask these questions in the full inquiry?” Giles asked mildly.

“Of course.”

“Then I will reserve my answers for there. I wouldn't want to repeat myself. Not that I'd have much new information to add. It is, as you say, a matter of record. The order for new communications equipment to allow Amelia to supervise from home. The note on Vi's file that she should be reminded of the chain of command. My order for Vi's suspension and this enquiry. If you want to try and contradict all that it is up to you. I've no problems with you making a fool of yourself.” Giles shrugged and bit into his sandwich.

It was slightly stale. He wasn't surprised. Too much hot air.

Higdon paused only briefly, then rallied. “Communications? You don't think a Watcher should be in the field? I shouldn't be surprised, you 'watch' your Buffy from another country.”

“Mr Higdon,” Rafferty intervened frostily. “I hardly find that relevant. My Slayer reports to me in person every night. And it has never been the policy of the Watchers Council to take an active hand in the fight. A Slayer slays, a Watcher watches. If they can do that from a seated position in their own home, so much the better. It could put generations of us back to work. I'm hardly the only Watcher facing problems of... disability.” She barely hesitated saying the last word, then frowned and thumped the stick on the floor for emphasis.

“Is that all you've got, Jeremy?” Watcher Niebaum asked icily. She didn't wait for an answer. “I thought I was working with professionals. If your questions aren't going to contribute anything substantial to this inquiry I think we can move on. Call the next witness after lunch. I think Vi has the most left to say?”

“But Mr Giles...”

“Has no more knowledge of this than we do. He works from the same reports,” Nemets agreed with Niebaum.

Higdon looked around at a room united against him. “I see. This is how it is going to be then. Slayers kick up a fuss to get these 'open' hearings, but they don't mind the shortcuts if they are in their favour.”

“There's still a hearing. We can just skip the repeats. Nothing new happened back here,” Faith said.

“How very true. Nothing really changes. Decisions made behind closed doors. Wasn't that how it worked for you, 'Ripper'? No formal inquiry, no punishment on record. But then, they never found the body.”

Giles looked down and dropped the food back to his plate. He took a breath and looked up again. “No, they didn't find it. Victims of that demon turn to blue slime once it has left. I believe he ended up washed down the drain. There was no inquiry – I made a full confession. But if you think there was no penalty you are very sorely mistaken.”

The whole room kept listening, but Giles just turned around and took the plate back to the food table. He got himself a small glass of water instead.

“Well...” someone said, uncertainly.

“Inspector, did you hear that?” Higdon asked.

Niebaum interrupted, furious. “Jeremy Higdon, I think we have heard quite enough. I can think of absolutely no reason to dredge up ancient history at this juncture. I will not call Mr Giles back to testify after lunch. I will call Slayer Vi. And if I hear one more word out of you that is not directly relevant to the task at hand, I will not hesitate to kick you off my committee. I can, you know, if it is unanimous.”

“Malcolm, you can't agree with that?”

Nemets hesitated, then asked, “There was a Slayer Fiona scheduled to answer...” he trailed off and looked at Higdon, then finished, “But we have her report in writing. As long as there is nothing contradictory in Vi's testimony, I think we can do without her.”

“I meant...” Higdon started, but Nemets turned his back. Higdon looked around the room and found this was a general condition. He subsided. “Right. A cover up it is then.” He threw his plate down at the table and stormed out.

There was a moment's silence.

Niebaum looked at her watch. “Alright. I think we all might benefit from a, ah, little break. Ladies, the ladies is this way...” She held the door open and smiled carefully. With various degrees of amuse or bemusement the other four followed her out.

That left Giles, Nemets and Hornbeck.

Nemets stared at the food with brief longing, sighed, and dumped his plate. He left without further comment.

Hornbeck came over to Giles first. “Sir... This shouldn't even need saying, but nothing I heard here was my business. And if it ever was, it was Watcher business. Police wouldn't understand.”

“Thank you,” Giles acknowledged, and managed a smile. The Inspector nodded, turned, and left.

Giles stood a moment. There were a great many reasons he'd never wanted to have that conversation again. Not least the hypocrisy. Of course it had been police business. They just hadn't caught him.

A figure wandered through the closed door, file in hand, and paused. It probably looked at Giles. The main effect of Wards and Cleansings lately seemed to be to make some of them blurry. You couldn't quite be sure if they were male or female, and their legs ended above the knees. But they were wearing tweed.

The ghost started over towards Giles, so he left. Quickly. Through the meeting room door.

The room was still packed. Or possibly packed again, since there had been time. There were only a few seats left, in the front row. Giles sat where Hornbeck had been, fairly sure he wouldn't mind. And then he dodged conversations while they all waited.

After lunch, the rest was anticlimactic. The committee came back, only a little late. Vi was called, to much applause, which died down at Faith's command once more. Her account of the night in question was short and clear. Nemets handled most of the questions. Higdon didn't say another word. When Vi was done the committee retired to the other room to deliberate. For all of five minutes.

Niebaum announced the verdict in the same flat calm manner she had used all day.

“The ruling of this disciplinary committee is that the Slayer took only those actions necessary in the execution of her duty. She is therefore returned to said duties, effective immediately.”

The subsequent cheer had everyone's ears ringing.

The tribunal rose. The Watchers retired through the back door, but Faith and Crystal came over to Vi. As did the vast majority of those in attendance. Giles was crowded into the circle of their conversation.

“Congratulations, Vi. You get to risk your life for the safety of the world. How do you feel?” Faith asked.

“I feel pretty good about it, actually,” Vi replied, grinning.

“Rafferty doesn't have satellite. Vi's been climbing the walls,” Fiona supplied, then looked guiltily at their Watcher.

Mrs Rafferty apparently didn't hear her. “Well done, Vi,” she said, and patted her on the shoulder. “Well done. Well, shall we go? Home might only have five channels, but it also has chocolate cake for tea.”

“To celebrate? You knew we'd win?” Fiona asked.

“Well even if we lost, we'd still need chocolate,” Amelia replied with a smile.

“That sounds good,” Vi said, then looked around. “But how many of this lot can we fit in your parlour?”

“Ah.” Mrs Rafferty looked around, getting jostled and using her stick for balance. “Yes. That would be... a complication.”

“Don't sweat it, Vi. I know just the place.” Faith looked around for familiar faces. “Zakia, Deetta, Elle! We're taking this down the pub. Ride herd on the rest of them.”

The girls started to get organised and pour out through the main door.

“I'm not really a 'pub' sort of person,” Mrs Rafferty said. “I think I'll head home.”

“Oh come on. Just for a little while?” Fiona asked.

“You are of course welcome to go and share some lemonade,” her Watcher told her. She addressed Faith. “You will remember, not all these girls are 18 yet?”

“Of course,” Faith assured her. And winked at Fiona.

Giles tried not to wince. “Vi. I'm glad this has been resolved. I will see you in the usual course of our duties, perhaps.”

“Oh no, G. You don't get out of this. You're the man of the hour, and I know you've got time.” Faith grinned at him. Then she leaned closer. “Giles, you haven't had a day off this month. You wouldn't let a Slayer get pushed that hard. Give yourself a break.” She looked at him seriously.

He paused. “Well, I... I suppose... I was going to be meeting a friend of mine. For lunch. He's probably gone...”

But, as fate would have it, that was when the flow out the door ebbed enough for Edgar to look in.

He spotted Giles and stepped inside, getting out of the way quickly as the remaining groups left.

Giles raised a hand in acknowledgement, and Faith noticed the other Watcher.

“That him? The Australian branch guy. No worries.” She grinned. “Invite him along.”

As Giles still hesitated, she added, “Look, you have your phone. You have nothing else to do today unless you go looking for it. And hey, if you feel guilty taking time off, just tell yourself you're the chaperone.”

Giles smiled at that. “I, ah, think I can manage without adding to my duties, thanks. Ah, Edgar!”

“Ripper! Finally caught up with you. Is this one of your Slayers?” Ed asked, looking at Faith.

Giles had to think about it. “Ah, yes. Briefly. More Wyndam-Pryce's. Wesley, I mean. Faith, this is Edgar...”

“Ed. Please. I keep telling him.”

“Ed, pleased to meet you. We're going out to celebrate. But you two are welcome to come along.”

“Wouldn't want to steal Giles away from you,” Edgar agreed. “I'd be delighted.”

“Great,” Faith said, and linked arms with Giles. He found himself being towed along by the Slayer, trailing in the wake of the rest of their party. He finally decided it would be much more effort to try not to go. He could always just leave early.

They waited in groups for the lifts. Edgar started to regale Faith with tales of Ripper's school days. By the time they got in the lift Faith was laughing and Giles was mortified. The other Slayers chatted around them. Then they reached the ground floor, and Ed reached his punchline.

The door chimed.

“...and Ripper was stood there with the snooker cue up...” Ed ground to a halt, harshly shushed by Slayers both in the lift with them and waiting in the hall.

The Memorial Hall.

The main entrance. Giles didn't use it much, but the Slayers...

They got out of the lifts and turned to face the area between them. The central panel, where the names of the dead were written. Some of them bobbed or crossed themselves, as if before an altar. And there was a kind of altar there, covered in candles. It was no-one's job to keep the candles lit, but they were always burning here. The table had appeared to support them when some Watcher worried about fire hazards from the first few. It was full now.

Slayers always came through here, even if they had to cross the whole building and back to do so.

“I'm sorry, I didn't realise,” Ed said quietly.

“Only walked in with Watchers?” Giles asked just as quietly, knowing the answer. Ed nodded, and Giles explained. “The Slayers... this is their place.”

“Not ours,” Faith corrected him, “Theirs. On the wall. Every Slayer down since the Choice.”

She swung around to nod to them, and pulled Giles with her.

He looked up, but didn't have to read. He knew all the names. Two groups. Two dates, so far. The last battle of Sunnydale – with every girl listed who fell there, before or after the Choice. And the day Los Angeles fell. They weren't quite sure every girl died on that first day. In fact a lot of Slayers had wanted them to write it much later. Those twelve girls bought time, for the US Army, for the evacuation. But that day was the event that killed them, so as with Sunnydale, they kept them as one group.

These were the ones that had died on his watch.

He usually used the Long Hall.

They turned again as Faith pulled him out the front door, and once they got outside Ed started up again with the stories. Thankfully, starting with a different one. He'd have to have a word with him about what was appropriate around young women.

Any quiet words had to wait for the pub, and even then they had to compete with a lot of happy teenagers. Giles and Ed ended up in the corner, talking over old times.

It was a minefield of a conversation. Ed was the kind of man who could run a whole dialogue by himself, given half a chance. But he also had a sense of tact. Whenever he saw Giles go cold, or too quiet, or wince at a particular name, he changed the topic.

After the first hour or so they were reduced to sports, books, and the weather.

An hour after that they'd established that they shared no common tastes in books, supported opposing teams, and didn't especially want to talk about the weather.

Ed let himself be drawn into conversation with a group of Slayers, and Giles sat in the corner finishing his pint.

All in all a typical reunion, really.

As the afternoon wore on the celebration got more rowdy, and Giles had two choices. Stay, and wince at every moment that looked to turn into a repair bill or perhaps start playing chaperone for real, or leave them to it.

He got his coat, said his goodbyes to Edgar, and wound his way through the celebrants to the exit.

Outside he paused, took a breath of what in London passed for fresh air, and pulled his coat on. He thought about going back to the office. Thought of going home. Then he thought about all the other pubs he could be in, and smiled.

“Mr Giles?” a female voice asked hesitantly.

He sighed and looked serious again. He turned towards the voice.

“Fiona?” She stood there looking small, and young, and rather lost. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I am. But Vi... I'm not sure. Mr Giles, she told me not to tell.” She bit her lip and looked away down the street, “She told me to stay here. But I think I know where she's going. I don't think she should go back there alone.”

“Back there? To the, ah, scene...”

“The brewery, yeah.” She looked back at Giles. “Should I follow her? Should I get Miss Faith?”

Giles glanced back at the pub, where he'd last seen Faith doing shots with some of the older Slayers.

“No. Faith is... otherwise engaged, right now.” He turned back and smiled reassuringly. “We'll go after her. She just left?”

“Yeah,” Fiona said. “Yes, this way.” She sounded much relieved, the Voice of Authority safely involved now.

Giles wasn't sure what he'd do for the girl, but that wasn't exactly new. He'd find her, then find out what needed doing.

They headed off towards the nearest tube station.

“It isn't that I don't think she can handle it.” She tried to reassure him. “I know she survived Sunnydale and everything. But she wasn't alone. You know? I just don't think she should be telling everyone how fine she is and then be all... all strange about it on her own.”

It wasn't far, and they had their travel cards. They swiped the barrier open and went towards the platforms, down the stairs.

They got there just in time to see Vi through a window, pulling away.

Fiona checked the signs, and the tube map. “Couple of minutes to the next one,” she told him.

Giles was glad she knew where they were going. He didn't really remember their patrol area, or how to get there.

And no-one knew where he was going.

“I'm sure we'll catch up with her,” he told Fiona, and patted her on the shoulder.

So, corporeal at least.

He reached for his phone, but then their train pulled up and he had to 'mind the gap'. The doors closed behind them. Fiona didn't take a seat, but Giles sat down near the door. He was lucky to get the space – they were between the last of the school children and the first commuters. The Slayer moved in close to him.

Giles had his hand on his phone when Fiona started talking.

“She hasn't been sleeping,” she told him in the loud quiet voice necessary to an illusion of privacy with this much background noise. As usual the rest of the train made sure not to hear.

“Since the, ah, incident?” Giles asked.

“Yeah. Since that.” Fiona kept looking around the crowd. There wasn't any way she could stand without having someone behind her, and she kept moving around to compensate. “She had all this energy. Twitchy.” She noticed her own state and kind of grinned at Giles. “Even for one of us. She kept going back to the training room and working the bags.”

“A reaction to enforced rest?” Giles asked.

Fiona shook her head. “Two in the morning, two in the afternoon, all the hours in between. That isn't just about being grounded. She wasn't sleeping right. I mean, I don't know if she was sleeping at all. I didn't see her.”

Damn. Slayers could push themselves further than normal humans, but the negative effects of lack of sleep caught up sooner or later.

“Was she... were there any other, ah, effects?”

“Well... she was jumpy. Like I said. But... but I didn't always notice what made her jump.”

Or couldn't see it. Damn.

They stopped briefly, shuffled a little as passengers sorted themselves, then the train went on.

Fiona was quiet for a while, until, “Nearly there. Two more stops.”

Giles nodded, and asked her, “You are sure of where she would be going?”

Fiona nodded. “She said the brewery. Actually, she said about vineyards and breweries. I didn't get that.”

Giles sat up. “Vineyards? Fiona, this is important. Tell me exactly what she said.”

Fiona looked surprised, then closed her eyes briefly and settled her shoulders back, trained to report. “Vi said... We were outside the pub. She was leaving, without telling anybody. So I followed her out. And she said she'd 'had enough of drinks. Vineyards and breweries, they were their kinds of places. Well she wasn't a'... a cry Chloe?” She looked at Giles again. “That didn't make sense but I think she said that.”

Giles became grim. “It makes sense. Someone from Sunnydale... Was that all she said?”

“She said she was going to go put their blind eyes out. I asked who, but she wouldn't tell me. Then I said I'd come with her, and she said no, to stay with the other Slayers. She said not to worry them, not to tell. See, when people tell me not to worry, I think I should worry.”

“Usually,” Giles agreed. He got his cellphone out. “Damn, no signal,” he muttered.

“Mr Giles? Is something... there's something wrong?”

The train pulled in to the next to last stop, and they had to make way for other passengers again. Giles briefly considered getting out there and calling in backup, but Vi was already too far ahead. If it was Bringers... Well, he had one more Slayer with him than he'd had when he was racing them to Potentials. He had a stake in his pocket, and a knife, albeit a small one. They'd manage.

“Chloe was a girl in Sunnydale... she killed herself,” Giles told her.

Fiona's jaw dropped, and then she looked sick. “Vi isn't going to...”

“No, not that. She's decided to fight back. Blind eyes in vineyards - Bringers. They have to chant to bring the First.” He left off, not wanting to rely on commuter selective deafness.

Fiona finished for him. “She's been seeing things. She's been seeing dead people.”

Giles nodded once, and did not look around. He did stand up, as the train slowed for their stop. Mind the gap, then up the stairs and out into the air. No warehouses here, so they still had some way to go. Fiona led.

Giles finally got the phone working. “HQ, Giles – emergency. Yes. Local. The area Slayers Vi and Fiona patrol...” He looked around for a street sign, gave the tube station instead. “We have either Bringers, ghosts, or a disturbed Slayer on our hands. Fiona is with me, she reported this. Vi is out there alone and we think she's been seeing the dead, probably the man she killed... Yes, send everyone. Yes I know it's tea time, just get them here as fast as you can... right. Call me back only if you have to. I'm going in.” He hung up before they could get eloquent in their response to that idea, then switched the phone to vibrate, all the while hurrying after Fiona.

He would not admit he was getting out of breath.

“This way,” Fiona called back to him, then took off down an alleyway at a trot. A Slayer trot. Giles started to run.

The next few minutes had more twists and turns than Giles could keep track of. It was only evening, but down between buildings the shadows were already deep. Gaps slashed the darkness just often enough to keep his eyes from quite adjusting and he had to concentrate more on footing than direction.

Then they spilled out into a loading bay between buildings, the one in front of them with a door still partly covered in police tape. Fiona stopped in the clear space, waiting for him. He paused too. He tried to catch his breath and assess the situation.

He couldn't see inside. Lower windows were boarded up, and the upper ones burned bright with sunset.

Then smashed.

A tiny ragdoll girl came through the glass, shining shards a halo around her. She seemed to hang in the air a moment, slow motion.

“No! Buffy!” Giles cried out.

Then the Slayer fell, and there was just blood in the dark.



***
Part Six here

completed, 30890 words

Comments

[onjel-b.livejournal.com]

Oooooooh! This was GOOD!!! The ending! Such a cliffhanger! Faith talking about what it's like to see a murderer in the mirror! So good!

When is the next chapter?

[beccaelizabeth]

thanksyou :)
next chapter is up now

[sparklebutch.livejournal.com]

You have so much *detail*. So much view of the story. I envy that - you're doing great!

[beccaelizabeth]

*beams*
:D

[(Anonymous)]

Love your description of the disciplinary session. Such hints to it's ... roots. The idea that the slayer should be in chains, the witnesses placed where no one can get to them in a single lunge.

Both Giles explanation for Faith's presense and Faith's lines about being able to see a murderer were just perfect. So ... real. And an understanding of messy reality is really the one new thing that the Watchers needed most.

Excellent story, be. The brutal conversation about Ripper's past, the brief glimpse of a ghost going by, the slayer memorial area - all the past coming back in different ways.

And then the truly scary worries about Vi - the stuff about not being a "cry Chloe" and the mumblings about vineyards and so on. Very effectively sad and creepy. I'm getting awfully suspicious of the "no signal" cell phone area and wondering what's attached itself to Vi. Which brings me back to worrying about Wes as well.

And then you cliff hanger me! Eeeeep!

They SO need to film this.

Lola

[beccaelizabeth]

Glad you like the disciplinary stuff. The thing with tradition is it is much easier to make a rule than unmake one, so the more extreme moments accumulate.

Reality, very messy. I'm pretty sure some Watchers know that, since we've seen them all machiavellian, but other Watchers would be idealists of various types.

story theme works, cool.

sad scary and creepy. excellent!

cliff hangers are fun. aren't they fun? ;)

Filming this would be kind of cool.

thanks :)

[wendylouwho.livejournal.com]

be, once again you have written an excellent chapter. The cliffhanger - Gaaahhh. I have to hurry to the next chapter.

I am LOVING this.

[beccaelizabeth]

cool :)