ONE NORMAL LIFE / TWO EXTRAORDINARY LIVES
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BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
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Adult ++
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210
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Category:
BtVS AU/AR › Het - Male/Female › Buffy/Spike(William)
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
210
Views:
11,873
Reviews:
182
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
ARE YOU READY TO DIE?
CHAPTER 154 - ARE YOU READY TO DIE?
LONDON
AUGUST 16, 2009
SATURDAY
3:00AM
Giles tossed and turned trying to find sleep, only to find it alluded him, as something disquietingly familiar about Sabrina nagged at his subconscious. Just as he had almost fallen asleep for the umpteenth time that night, it finally came to him clear as a bell, and of it, he had no doubt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6:30AM
‘What time is it? ”Willow asked sleepily, as she felt Kennedy roll away and start to sit up.
“It’s early honey, but I think someone’s knocking on the door.”
“Wha?”
“Someone’s knocking.”
“It’s probably a mistake, maybe they’ll go away,” Willow said, turning over, and pulling Kennedy back down.
“It’s pretty insistent, I’m going to go see who it is,” Kennedy said, getting up.
“I’ll come with you,” Willow said, starting to get up.
“No, you stay in bed,” Kennedy commanded, “If it’s important, I’ll let you know.”
“Kennedy,” Willow started to protest.
“I mean it!” Kennedy said in her most serious no-nonsense voice. She had been sick with worry, knowing what Willow had gone through at the coven, both during the attack, and since. She had every intention of spoiling Willow rotten, for the foreseeable future.
“Okay,” Willow relented, closing her eyes.
Kennedy grabbed her robe, and went downstairs. Someone was still pounding on the door.
“I’m coming! Hold your damn horses!”
She flung open the door, about to give the early morning interloper a piece of her mind, and her not at all shy tongue, when she stopped abruptly. “Giles?”
“Good morning, Kennedy. Could I please speak to Willow?”
“Giles?”
“Yes, it’s me…”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Of course, it’s…” Giles looked down at his watch. “Oh dear, it is quite early, isn’t it?”
Kennedy nodded, stepping aside to let him in, “So, what’s up?”
“I need to speak to Willow, Kennedy. It’s quite important.”
“Willow’s asleep, can it wait? I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me…”
“I’m up,” Willow said, yawning as she came down the stairs.
“Willow, I’m sorry to have come over so early. It’s just last night, it finally came to me.”
“What came to you.”
“Of course,” Giles said, “I guess I’m not making much sense myself.”
Kennedy walked over, handing Giles and Willow each a cup of tea.
Giles drank down about half of it, before continuing. “What came to me, was who Sabrina really is now. It was right there in front of my eyes the whole time; the way she held herself, the way she called me ‘Rupert’.”
“Who do you think she is, Giles?” Willow asked.
“Ethan.”
“Ethan?”
“Ethan Rayne.”
“Ethan? Band Candy, Ethan?”
“Yes, and Halloween Costume Shop owner Ethan, and turning-me-into-Fyarl-demon-Ethan, and my old chum from my Ripper days Ethan…the one and the same.”
“But how? Why do you think it’s him?”
“Ethan was broken out of jail, as you recall. After I saw you yesterday, Wes called me to tell me that Ethan’s body had been found in a park in Los Angeles. Apparently, a man walking his dog stumbled on it, and he called the police. The newspapers identified him as the escaped convict. Wes called the coroner, and told him that he was family, so he could make a positive ID on him. That’s when they turned over his personal belongings to him,” Giles said, looking triumphant.
Willow looked at him blankly, “And...?”
“Oh, of course!” Giles said, rubbing his hand over his forehead. “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a lot of sleep, well, none to speak of. Ah...where was I? Yes, of course. What do you think Ethan had in his possession?”
“What?”
“A Wolfram & Hart business card!” Giles said, triumphantly.
“But that doesn’t mean for sure…”
“Willow, I don’t know any other sorcerer who would have had the power to
summon demons to go up against the coven like they did, do you? I think that Ethan was broken out of jail, for the express purpose to help facilitate the attack on William and Buffy.”
“Angel knew about the protection spell surrounding them, from you, Willow. Once they found out where William and Buffy were, they needed him to send the coven into disarray for a while, so that Dru and whoever else was with her could get to William; it was a devious, well thought out plan.”
“Okay, I follow you that far, but how does that tie into Sabrina?” Willow asked.
“I think that Ethan knew that once he was finished being used by Angel, he’d be killed. More than likely, he left his physical body behind while he was doing the spell. For one thing, he could invoke the utmost chaos being present himself, and another reason, is that Ethan has always liked to watch the carnage he created. Gives him a feeling of superiority, I suspect.”
“Sabrina running out into the night like she did, just gave him the perfect opportunity and the means to get out of that sticky situation.”
“So, you’re saying that Ethan’s spirit was present in the woods that night, and when Sabrina accidentally ran into him, he just randomly decided to use her body as his new vessel, leaving his old body to die in L.A.?”
“Precisely! Angel’s men seemed to have unceremoniously dumped it, and that’s
how Wes found out he was dead.”
“Poor Sabrina,” Willow said, tearing up.
“Yes, poor Sabrina. Willow, before I confront Ethan in any way, I need you to find out if Sabrina’s spirit is still alive. If it is, perhaps, we can expel Ethan from her body, and rejoin the two. If not, then I won’t have to worry about that.”
“What are you going to do, Giles?” Kennedy asked.
“What I should’ve done years ago. I’m going to have to kill him.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LONDON
AUGUST 16, 2009
SATURDAY
1:00AM
“Hello?”
“Kennedy? This is Buffy, is Willow there?”
“Hold on, let me see if she’s awake.”
“Who is it?” Willow whispered.
“It’s Buffy, are you awake?”
Willow nodded, taking the phone. “Buffy, how are things?”
“Oh, somewhere between really sucking and severely sucking, I’d say,” Buffy said, with a harsh laugh, as she leaned against the DeSoto. After what William had said to her, she’d gotten out of bed, pacing the house for a long while, before finally grabbing her cell phone and going outside.
“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sorry. What’s happened, you sound upset?”
“What’s happened? Well, let’s see, first off, I left William all alone on his birthday…”
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t mean to. It’s just...he’s been so distant to me,” Buffy said, trying to compose herself, “every time he learns something new; it just seems to divide us even more. After we talked about yet more ‘stuff’ today, he went to lie down; to get away from me, I suppose.”
“I was just going to get out for a while, go to the store, but then I…I just kept driving, and wound up in San Juan Capistrano. It’s where we went last year on his birthday.”
“Oh, Buffy, I’m sorry.”
“You haven’t even heard the half of it, Will. While I was there, I decided to go to L.A.; to confront Angel, and to kill him. Only, guess what? Once I get there, the Senior Partners tell me that the coven had just taken him into their custody this morning,” she said.
“Oh God, Buffy.”
“How could you not have told me this Willow?” Buffy asked, frustrated anger and pain, bubbling up.
“I only just found out about it myself today, Buffy. I swear I was going to call you tomorrow and let you know about it.”
“How is it that the Senior Partners and the coven are working together? I thought you said that the coven would destroy Angel and Wolfram & Hart, if they messed with William?”
“Um…I may have exaggerated my claim about what they would do, but I needed Angel to believe me, and I did believe that is what would happen. It seems that the Senior Partners and the coven have, what I guess could loosely be called a working relationship, uneasy alliance...or whatever. The Senior Partners don’t dare mess in the affairs of the coven, and the coven looks the other way for some of Wolfram & Hart’s activities.”
“That’s just great.”
“I wasn’t happy to hear about it either, Buffy. Believe me. I had no idea…but I guess that alliances, uneasy as they may be, aren’t totally unavoidable in the world, not even the mystical world.”
“It’s not fair, it should’ve been me that was allowed to deal with him.”
“I know, Buffy.”
“The Senior Partners told me that the coven had removed all his vampiric powers, whatever that means, and that they took him back to Ireland. Why didn’t they just kill him?”
“They won’t kill any creatures if they still have a soul, unless they absolutely have to. It’s a tenet of the coven. I guess he’s still Angel. Now, if Angel had turned back into Angelus, there would be no question.”
“Well, I don’t have that tenet. I would’ve killed him Willow.”
“You sure about that? I’m sort of glad that you didn’t Buffy. I know you have every reason to want to, every reason to do so, but it would still hurt you in the long run.”
“I doubt anything can hurt me more than what’s already happened,” Buffy said, resignedly. “Where did they take him?”
“I don’t know exactly where Buffy. Only Althanea and Caroline are privy to that information.”
“I see,” Buffy said, sighing.
“I really am sorry, Buffy. Does William know what you tried to do?”
“Yeah, he knows. He also asked me about what my past relationship was with Angel, so I told him. Even after…let’s just say, William thinks I slept with the entire vampire population of Sunnydale.”
“NO!”
Buffy laughed mirthlessly, “Yep, that’s me, Buffy the Vampire Layer.”
LONDON
AUGUST 18, 2009
MONDAY
10:00PM
“I’m coming,” Giles said, opening the door to his flat.
“Hey Giles,” Willow said, “sorry to stop by so late.”
“No apology needed, Willow. Besides, think I may have you beat at coming over at an unreasonable hour.”
“So, do you have news?” Giles asked.
“It’s not good. I just got back from spending the day with the coven. We were able to do a séance, using a few of Sabrina’s belongings, which ‘Ethan’ didn’t know were hers when he packed up. But it didn’t matter; her spirit is no longer in this world, Giles. She’s really dead. There’s only her body, being inhabited by Ethan.”
“I’m sorry,” Giles said.
“Yeah, me too. She was a sweet girl, and she had so much potential…God, there’s a word that I’m never going to be able to use on it’s own anymore, is it?”
“I suppose not. I truly am sorry that there’s nothing to be done for poor Sabrina, but it’ll make what I have to do a lot easier.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LONDON
AUGUST 20, 2009
WEDNESDAY
12:30PM
“Is it in place?” Giles asked Willow.
“It will be as soon as you start. If I did it any sooner, she might be able to feel it.”
Giles nodded, “Yes, of course. Did you give them their assignments?”
“Yesterday. They should all be waiting for you in training room #1.”
“And, Angela? She knows what to say?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Did she question it?”
“No, she just went along with it. I told her there was a good reason, and she accepted that.”
“Good, then. Shall we?”
“Ready when you are.”
Willow and Giles stopped in front of the room. “I’ll be watching from the other room, as soon as I see you and Sabrina start to spar, I’ll do the ward.”
Giles nodded, “Here goes.”
“Good luck,” Willow said.
“You, too.”
Giles entered the room, “Good, glad you’re all here. As you know, as part of your training, the use of swords in fighting demons can’t be underestimated. It’s not just about brute slayer strength, but agility, and finesse.”
Giles spoke for a while longer, then reminded them that after they had fenced, they should then go on next door to training room #2, and have a go at boxing, as well.”
“Any questions?”
They all shook their head, except for Angela, who held up her hand.
“Angela?”
“Mr. Giles, I already sparred against you last month. Shouldn’t I be sparring against a new partner? Isn’t that what you spoke of then; of not getting too comfortable with one opponent, because each demon and vampire will be different?”
Giles sighed. “If I didn’t know any better, Angela, I’d think that you didn’t like me as a partner.”
“No, no, it isn’t that at all…”
“I’m just kidding. Angela, you go with Catherine, and…who were you with again?”
Sabrina raised her hand.
“Ah, Sabrina, guess you’ll be ‘stuck’ with the old man.”
“I don’t feel I’m ‘stuck’ at all. It will be an honor to fence with you,” she said, inwardly excited by the prospect of going up against him.
“Why thank you, Sabrina,” Giles said, nodding towards her.
Those not participating yet, all watched the fencing matches, which were generally less than 5 minutes each. With 16 potentials before it came to Giles and Sabrina, it still took less than an hour.
As the room cleared of all others, Giles’ cell phone vibrated, stopped, vibrated again, then one more time, 30-seconds later. It was the signal between him and Willow, to let him know that she’d cast the spell, making the room magic-proof. It would now be all up to and and Ethan, to see who came out on top.
“Which sword do you want to use Ru…I mean Mr. Giles?”
"That's alright, you can call me Rupert, it’s what you’re most comfortable with, isn’t it?” Giles asked, matter-of-factly.
"I guess it is, I was never much one for authority. I believe that any two people should be considered equals, no matter what their rank in society is, don’t you agree?"
Giles smarted from the remark. He’d always tried his hardest to minimize the fact that he’d come from a well-heeled family, who had connections with the Council for many generations. Ethan, on the other hand, had come from the working class, as did Sabrina’s own family. Not that it mattered now.
After his temporary walk on the dark side in his youth, Giles had a career with the Counsel waiting for him. Ethan, on the other hand, had been left to fend for himself. He’d turned to the dark arts, having no intention of going back to formformer station in life and becoming a lorry driver, or some other such thing.
Giles walked over to the swords, pretending to look them over. “Sabrina, as I recall from a couple of weeks ago, you were pretty good using these. What do you say we just use the longswords, rather than the epees?”
‘Sabrina’ tingled with excitement, but kept it out of ‘her’ voice. “If you think I’m ready for that, I’ll be glad to giv a g a go, Rupert.”
Giles nodded, “I do, I think you’re ready,” he said, handing her a sword. “Besides, makes it a bit more real, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would,” Sabrina said, taking the sword, and slicing through the air with it, to get the feel of it. Rupert didn’t know what he was in for.
Giles, started to put on his fencing mask, then decided against it. If he was going to kill Ethan, he wanted him to fully see his face, as he did.
Sabrina looked over at Giles, the tingling sensation growing ever stronger, as she saw what he’d done.
“You’re really not afraid at all, are you?” she asked, admiringly.
“Just know I can handle myself,” Giles said, “En garde!”
“En garde!” Sabrina returned, advancing towards Giles quicker than he'd anticipated.
“Should’ve known.”
“What’s that?”
“That you’d give no quarter.”
“Was I supposed to?” Sabrina asked, again advancing, and catching Giles in the arm.
Giles registered surprise for only half a second, before regaining the advantage and a cut, which itself drew blood.
Sabrina looked at her shoulder, and a slow smirk came to her. “I see you give no quarter either.”
“That would be disingenuous of me, wouldn’t you say, Ethan?” Giles asked, his eyes cold as he advanced.
Sabrina laughed as she backed away from his advance, on the defensive. “Should’ve known you’d catch on quickly.”
“Especially, when you took to calling me Rupert; that and your handiwork was all over the attack on the coven.”
Ethan, in lithe Sabrina’s body, feigned right, and got behind Giles. Just in time, he turned, to defend himself from the sword aimed at his heart.
"Always were a dirty fighter, Ethan.”
“For your information, Rupert. I didn’t have much choice in the manner this time. Angel and his lackeys would’ve killed me, as soon as I’d finished the job.”
“So you just decided to kill an innocent girl in the process?”
“It was kill or be killed, what would you have done?”
“I wouldn’t have killed her.”
“You’re so sure about that, are you? Then again, you’ve always been full of your own good intentions, haven’t you? But I know what you really are, don’t I?”
Giles stopped and looked at her. He could clearly see Ethan’s old anger in Sabrina’s eyes.
“You do know me, Ethan. You probably knew a part of me better than anyone ever did. But what you never took into account, is that it wasn’t the only part. Yes, I erred; yes I did evil myself, but not for a long time, and not without guilt, which I still carry with me to this day. I didn’t enjoy it, and gaining that sort of power holds no allure for me, not like it does for you.”
“That’s right,” Sabrina said, viciously swinging the sword with all her might, fueled by Ethan’s anger, “give me your self-righteous speeches again. Ethan is only out for himself, while Rupert is out for the good of mankind; sing me another one."
Sabrina veered off to one side, and stopped suddenly, his hands up in the air in supplication, “Janus, I call upon your spirit. Heed my plea. Make my old nemesis helpless against my sword,” Ethan paused, waiting to feel the old power surging through his veins. Curiously, he felt nothing. Again, he started to invoke Janus.
“Won’t do you any good. There’s an anti-magic ward on this room. It’s just you and me, Ethan - fair and square.”
“You bastard!”
“That’s right, Ethan. I’m a bastard. The bastard, in fact, who is going to take you down, once and for all.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“We shall. It’s just you and me, so what do you say we just get on with it?”
“You willing to die to settle this once and for all?”
“I am. Only I’m not the one who’s going to die, Ethan. You are.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Well, old man, looks like it’s your call,” Ethan said, lying on the floor at Giles’ feet. They had fought with all they had for over 15 minutes, each wounding the other numerous times, until finally, ‘Sabrina,’ had fallen backwards over the edge of the mat. Giles quickly kicked the sword out of her hand.
“You ready to die?” Giles asked.
“You ready to kill me? To be a cold-hearted murderer?”
Giles looked down on the small figure of Sabrina, and reminded himself once more, that it wasn’t her in any way or shape, only form. If he didn’t kill her, he would only live to regret it, as Ethan would use his power to hurt those Giles cared about.
“You give me no choice,” Giles said, plunging the sword into Ethan’s heart.
Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise, as he looked up at Rupert’s face.
“I’m sorry,” Giles said.
“Figures,” Ethan said smiling wryly, then closed his eyes for the last time.
“Good-bye old friend,” Giles said, knees buckling, as he slid down the wall next to him.
“Giles!” Willow said, running into the room.
“I’m okay,” he replied weakly. “I’m okay.”
END CHAPTER 154
LONDON
AUGUST 16, 2009
SATURDAY
3:00AM
Giles tossed and turned trying to find sleep, only to find it alluded him, as something disquietingly familiar about Sabrina nagged at his subconscious. Just as he had almost fallen asleep for the umpteenth time that night, it finally came to him clear as a bell, and of it, he had no doubt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6:30AM
‘What time is it? ”Willow asked sleepily, as she felt Kennedy roll away and start to sit up.
“It’s early honey, but I think someone’s knocking on the door.”
“Wha?”
“Someone’s knocking.”
“It’s probably a mistake, maybe they’ll go away,” Willow said, turning over, and pulling Kennedy back down.
“It’s pretty insistent, I’m going to go see who it is,” Kennedy said, getting up.
“I’ll come with you,” Willow said, starting to get up.
“No, you stay in bed,” Kennedy commanded, “If it’s important, I’ll let you know.”
“Kennedy,” Willow started to protest.
“I mean it!” Kennedy said in her most serious no-nonsense voice. She had been sick with worry, knowing what Willow had gone through at the coven, both during the attack, and since. She had every intention of spoiling Willow rotten, for the foreseeable future.
“Okay,” Willow relented, closing her eyes.
Kennedy grabbed her robe, and went downstairs. Someone was still pounding on the door.
“I’m coming! Hold your damn horses!”
She flung open the door, about to give the early morning interloper a piece of her mind, and her not at all shy tongue, when she stopped abruptly. “Giles?”
“Good morning, Kennedy. Could I please speak to Willow?”
“Giles?”
“Yes, it’s me…”
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Of course, it’s…” Giles looked down at his watch. “Oh dear, it is quite early, isn’t it?”
Kennedy nodded, stepping aside to let him in, “So, what’s up?”
“I need to speak to Willow, Kennedy. It’s quite important.”
“Willow’s asleep, can it wait? I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me…”
“I’m up,” Willow said, yawning as she came down the stairs.
“Willow, I’m sorry to have come over so early. It’s just last night, it finally came to me.”
“What came to you.”
“Of course,” Giles said, “I guess I’m not making much sense myself.”
Kennedy walked over, handing Giles and Willow each a cup of tea.
Giles drank down about half of it, before continuing. “What came to me, was who Sabrina really is now. It was right there in front of my eyes the whole time; the way she held herself, the way she called me ‘Rupert’.”
“Who do you think she is, Giles?” Willow asked.
“Ethan.”
“Ethan?”
“Ethan Rayne.”
“Ethan? Band Candy, Ethan?”
“Yes, and Halloween Costume Shop owner Ethan, and turning-me-into-Fyarl-demon-Ethan, and my old chum from my Ripper days Ethan…the one and the same.”
“But how? Why do you think it’s him?”
“Ethan was broken out of jail, as you recall. After I saw you yesterday, Wes called me to tell me that Ethan’s body had been found in a park in Los Angeles. Apparently, a man walking his dog stumbled on it, and he called the police. The newspapers identified him as the escaped convict. Wes called the coroner, and told him that he was family, so he could make a positive ID on him. That’s when they turned over his personal belongings to him,” Giles said, looking triumphant.
Willow looked at him blankly, “And...?”
“Oh, of course!” Giles said, rubbing his hand over his forehead. “I’m sorry, I haven’t had a lot of sleep, well, none to speak of. Ah...where was I? Yes, of course. What do you think Ethan had in his possession?”
“What?”
“A Wolfram & Hart business card!” Giles said, triumphantly.
“But that doesn’t mean for sure…”
“Willow, I don’t know any other sorcerer who would have had the power to
summon demons to go up against the coven like they did, do you? I think that Ethan was broken out of jail, for the express purpose to help facilitate the attack on William and Buffy.”
“Angel knew about the protection spell surrounding them, from you, Willow. Once they found out where William and Buffy were, they needed him to send the coven into disarray for a while, so that Dru and whoever else was with her could get to William; it was a devious, well thought out plan.”
“Okay, I follow you that far, but how does that tie into Sabrina?” Willow asked.
“I think that Ethan knew that once he was finished being used by Angel, he’d be killed. More than likely, he left his physical body behind while he was doing the spell. For one thing, he could invoke the utmost chaos being present himself, and another reason, is that Ethan has always liked to watch the carnage he created. Gives him a feeling of superiority, I suspect.”
“Sabrina running out into the night like she did, just gave him the perfect opportunity and the means to get out of that sticky situation.”
“So, you’re saying that Ethan’s spirit was present in the woods that night, and when Sabrina accidentally ran into him, he just randomly decided to use her body as his new vessel, leaving his old body to die in L.A.?”
“Precisely! Angel’s men seemed to have unceremoniously dumped it, and that’s
how Wes found out he was dead.”
“Poor Sabrina,” Willow said, tearing up.
“Yes, poor Sabrina. Willow, before I confront Ethan in any way, I need you to find out if Sabrina’s spirit is still alive. If it is, perhaps, we can expel Ethan from her body, and rejoin the two. If not, then I won’t have to worry about that.”
“What are you going to do, Giles?” Kennedy asked.
“What I should’ve done years ago. I’m going to have to kill him.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LONDON
AUGUST 16, 2009
SATURDAY
1:00AM
“Hello?”
“Kennedy? This is Buffy, is Willow there?”
“Hold on, let me see if she’s awake.”
“Who is it?” Willow whispered.
“It’s Buffy, are you awake?”
Willow nodded, taking the phone. “Buffy, how are things?”
“Oh, somewhere between really sucking and severely sucking, I’d say,” Buffy said, with a harsh laugh, as she leaned against the DeSoto. After what William had said to her, she’d gotten out of bed, pacing the house for a long while, before finally grabbing her cell phone and going outside.
“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sorry. What’s happened, you sound upset?”
“What’s happened? Well, let’s see, first off, I left William all alone on his birthday…”
“What? Why?”
“I didn’t mean to. It’s just...he’s been so distant to me,” Buffy said, trying to compose herself, “every time he learns something new; it just seems to divide us even more. After we talked about yet more ‘stuff’ today, he went to lie down; to get away from me, I suppose.”
“I was just going to get out for a while, go to the store, but then I…I just kept driving, and wound up in San Juan Capistrano. It’s where we went last year on his birthday.”
“Oh, Buffy, I’m sorry.”
“You haven’t even heard the half of it, Will. While I was there, I decided to go to L.A.; to confront Angel, and to kill him. Only, guess what? Once I get there, the Senior Partners tell me that the coven had just taken him into their custody this morning,” she said.
“Oh God, Buffy.”
“How could you not have told me this Willow?” Buffy asked, frustrated anger and pain, bubbling up.
“I only just found out about it myself today, Buffy. I swear I was going to call you tomorrow and let you know about it.”
“How is it that the Senior Partners and the coven are working together? I thought you said that the coven would destroy Angel and Wolfram & Hart, if they messed with William?”
“Um…I may have exaggerated my claim about what they would do, but I needed Angel to believe me, and I did believe that is what would happen. It seems that the Senior Partners and the coven have, what I guess could loosely be called a working relationship, uneasy alliance...or whatever. The Senior Partners don’t dare mess in the affairs of the coven, and the coven looks the other way for some of Wolfram & Hart’s activities.”
“That’s just great.”
“I wasn’t happy to hear about it either, Buffy. Believe me. I had no idea…but I guess that alliances, uneasy as they may be, aren’t totally unavoidable in the world, not even the mystical world.”
“It’s not fair, it should’ve been me that was allowed to deal with him.”
“I know, Buffy.”
“The Senior Partners told me that the coven had removed all his vampiric powers, whatever that means, and that they took him back to Ireland. Why didn’t they just kill him?”
“They won’t kill any creatures if they still have a soul, unless they absolutely have to. It’s a tenet of the coven. I guess he’s still Angel. Now, if Angel had turned back into Angelus, there would be no question.”
“Well, I don’t have that tenet. I would’ve killed him Willow.”
“You sure about that? I’m sort of glad that you didn’t Buffy. I know you have every reason to want to, every reason to do so, but it would still hurt you in the long run.”
“I doubt anything can hurt me more than what’s already happened,” Buffy said, resignedly. “Where did they take him?”
“I don’t know exactly where Buffy. Only Althanea and Caroline are privy to that information.”
“I see,” Buffy said, sighing.
“I really am sorry, Buffy. Does William know what you tried to do?”
“Yeah, he knows. He also asked me about what my past relationship was with Angel, so I told him. Even after…let’s just say, William thinks I slept with the entire vampire population of Sunnydale.”
“NO!”
Buffy laughed mirthlessly, “Yep, that’s me, Buffy the Vampire Layer.”
LONDON
AUGUST 18, 2009
MONDAY
10:00PM
“I’m coming,” Giles said, opening the door to his flat.
“Hey Giles,” Willow said, “sorry to stop by so late.”
“No apology needed, Willow. Besides, think I may have you beat at coming over at an unreasonable hour.”
“So, do you have news?” Giles asked.
“It’s not good. I just got back from spending the day with the coven. We were able to do a séance, using a few of Sabrina’s belongings, which ‘Ethan’ didn’t know were hers when he packed up. But it didn’t matter; her spirit is no longer in this world, Giles. She’s really dead. There’s only her body, being inhabited by Ethan.”
“I’m sorry,” Giles said.
“Yeah, me too. She was a sweet girl, and she had so much potential…God, there’s a word that I’m never going to be able to use on it’s own anymore, is it?”
“I suppose not. I truly am sorry that there’s nothing to be done for poor Sabrina, but it’ll make what I have to do a lot easier.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LONDON
AUGUST 20, 2009
WEDNESDAY
12:30PM
“Is it in place?” Giles asked Willow.
“It will be as soon as you start. If I did it any sooner, she might be able to feel it.”
Giles nodded, “Yes, of course. Did you give them their assignments?”
“Yesterday. They should all be waiting for you in training room #1.”
“And, Angela? She knows what to say?”
“Yes, she does.”
“Did she question it?”
“No, she just went along with it. I told her there was a good reason, and she accepted that.”
“Good, then. Shall we?”
“Ready when you are.”
Willow and Giles stopped in front of the room. “I’ll be watching from the other room, as soon as I see you and Sabrina start to spar, I’ll do the ward.”
Giles nodded, “Here goes.”
“Good luck,” Willow said.
“You, too.”
Giles entered the room, “Good, glad you’re all here. As you know, as part of your training, the use of swords in fighting demons can’t be underestimated. It’s not just about brute slayer strength, but agility, and finesse.”
Giles spoke for a while longer, then reminded them that after they had fenced, they should then go on next door to training room #2, and have a go at boxing, as well.”
“Any questions?”
They all shook their head, except for Angela, who held up her hand.
“Angela?”
“Mr. Giles, I already sparred against you last month. Shouldn’t I be sparring against a new partner? Isn’t that what you spoke of then; of not getting too comfortable with one opponent, because each demon and vampire will be different?”
Giles sighed. “If I didn’t know any better, Angela, I’d think that you didn’t like me as a partner.”
“No, no, it isn’t that at all…”
“I’m just kidding. Angela, you go with Catherine, and…who were you with again?”
Sabrina raised her hand.
“Ah, Sabrina, guess you’ll be ‘stuck’ with the old man.”
“I don’t feel I’m ‘stuck’ at all. It will be an honor to fence with you,” she said, inwardly excited by the prospect of going up against him.
“Why thank you, Sabrina,” Giles said, nodding towards her.
Those not participating yet, all watched the fencing matches, which were generally less than 5 minutes each. With 16 potentials before it came to Giles and Sabrina, it still took less than an hour.
As the room cleared of all others, Giles’ cell phone vibrated, stopped, vibrated again, then one more time, 30-seconds later. It was the signal between him and Willow, to let him know that she’d cast the spell, making the room magic-proof. It would now be all up to and and Ethan, to see who came out on top.
“Which sword do you want to use Ru…I mean Mr. Giles?”
"That's alright, you can call me Rupert, it’s what you’re most comfortable with, isn’t it?” Giles asked, matter-of-factly.
"I guess it is, I was never much one for authority. I believe that any two people should be considered equals, no matter what their rank in society is, don’t you agree?"
Giles smarted from the remark. He’d always tried his hardest to minimize the fact that he’d come from a well-heeled family, who had connections with the Council for many generations. Ethan, on the other hand, had come from the working class, as did Sabrina’s own family. Not that it mattered now.
After his temporary walk on the dark side in his youth, Giles had a career with the Counsel waiting for him. Ethan, on the other hand, had been left to fend for himself. He’d turned to the dark arts, having no intention of going back to formformer station in life and becoming a lorry driver, or some other such thing.
Giles walked over to the swords, pretending to look them over. “Sabrina, as I recall from a couple of weeks ago, you were pretty good using these. What do you say we just use the longswords, rather than the epees?”
‘Sabrina’ tingled with excitement, but kept it out of ‘her’ voice. “If you think I’m ready for that, I’ll be glad to giv a g a go, Rupert.”
Giles nodded, “I do, I think you’re ready,” he said, handing her a sword. “Besides, makes it a bit more real, wouldn’t you say?”
“I would,” Sabrina said, taking the sword, and slicing through the air with it, to get the feel of it. Rupert didn’t know what he was in for.
Giles, started to put on his fencing mask, then decided against it. If he was going to kill Ethan, he wanted him to fully see his face, as he did.
Sabrina looked over at Giles, the tingling sensation growing ever stronger, as she saw what he’d done.
“You’re really not afraid at all, are you?” she asked, admiringly.
“Just know I can handle myself,” Giles said, “En garde!”
“En garde!” Sabrina returned, advancing towards Giles quicker than he'd anticipated.
“Should’ve known.”
“What’s that?”
“That you’d give no quarter.”
“Was I supposed to?” Sabrina asked, again advancing, and catching Giles in the arm.
Giles registered surprise for only half a second, before regaining the advantage and a cut, which itself drew blood.
Sabrina looked at her shoulder, and a slow smirk came to her. “I see you give no quarter either.”
“That would be disingenuous of me, wouldn’t you say, Ethan?” Giles asked, his eyes cold as he advanced.
Sabrina laughed as she backed away from his advance, on the defensive. “Should’ve known you’d catch on quickly.”
“Especially, when you took to calling me Rupert; that and your handiwork was all over the attack on the coven.”
Ethan, in lithe Sabrina’s body, feigned right, and got behind Giles. Just in time, he turned, to defend himself from the sword aimed at his heart.
"Always were a dirty fighter, Ethan.”
“For your information, Rupert. I didn’t have much choice in the manner this time. Angel and his lackeys would’ve killed me, as soon as I’d finished the job.”
“So you just decided to kill an innocent girl in the process?”
“It was kill or be killed, what would you have done?”
“I wouldn’t have killed her.”
“You’re so sure about that, are you? Then again, you’ve always been full of your own good intentions, haven’t you? But I know what you really are, don’t I?”
Giles stopped and looked at her. He could clearly see Ethan’s old anger in Sabrina’s eyes.
“You do know me, Ethan. You probably knew a part of me better than anyone ever did. But what you never took into account, is that it wasn’t the only part. Yes, I erred; yes I did evil myself, but not for a long time, and not without guilt, which I still carry with me to this day. I didn’t enjoy it, and gaining that sort of power holds no allure for me, not like it does for you.”
“That’s right,” Sabrina said, viciously swinging the sword with all her might, fueled by Ethan’s anger, “give me your self-righteous speeches again. Ethan is only out for himself, while Rupert is out for the good of mankind; sing me another one."
Sabrina veered off to one side, and stopped suddenly, his hands up in the air in supplication, “Janus, I call upon your spirit. Heed my plea. Make my old nemesis helpless against my sword,” Ethan paused, waiting to feel the old power surging through his veins. Curiously, he felt nothing. Again, he started to invoke Janus.
“Won’t do you any good. There’s an anti-magic ward on this room. It’s just you and me, Ethan - fair and square.”
“You bastard!”
“That’s right, Ethan. I’m a bastard. The bastard, in fact, who is going to take you down, once and for all.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“We shall. It’s just you and me, so what do you say we just get on with it?”
“You willing to die to settle this once and for all?”
“I am. Only I’m not the one who’s going to die, Ethan. You are.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Well, old man, looks like it’s your call,” Ethan said, lying on the floor at Giles’ feet. They had fought with all they had for over 15 minutes, each wounding the other numerous times, until finally, ‘Sabrina,’ had fallen backwards over the edge of the mat. Giles quickly kicked the sword out of her hand.
“You ready to die?” Giles asked.
“You ready to kill me? To be a cold-hearted murderer?”
Giles looked down on the small figure of Sabrina, and reminded himself once more, that it wasn’t her in any way or shape, only form. If he didn’t kill her, he would only live to regret it, as Ethan would use his power to hurt those Giles cared about.
“You give me no choice,” Giles said, plunging the sword into Ethan’s heart.
Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise, as he looked up at Rupert’s face.
“I’m sorry,” Giles said.
“Figures,” Ethan said smiling wryly, then closed his eyes for the last time.
“Good-bye old friend,” Giles said, knees buckling, as he slid down the wall next to him.
“Giles!” Willow said, running into the room.
“I’m okay,” he replied weakly. “I’m okay.”
END CHAPTER 154