fic: Magister (pg) Ch. 3

[gilescandy.livejournal.com]

Another installment.

3.  Gone

Faith was alone in the lobby, idly testing the feel and balance of the weapons in Angel’s cabinet, when Buffy, Angel and the others came back that night.  She replaced the broadsword she’d been swinging and went to meet the exhausted looking bunch.

“Any trouble here?” Wesley asked as he walked toward the office to start some much needed tea.

“Five by five, Wes,” Faith smiled.  “You guys look like you had some fun though.”

“I’m not sure ‘fun’ is the word I’d pick,” Gunn sighed as he plopped onto a couch.

Buffy smiled as Dawn came down the stairs and headed for the small refrigerator behind the counter.  “Yeah,” she said to Angel.  “Next time you invite me here for a party, make it the food and ice cream kind instead of the evil demon cult kind.”

Angel shrugged.  “Client said we’d need a Slayer.  I wasn’t expecting both you and Faith to show up.”

“Dinner time,” Dawn announced to no one in particular as she placed a mug into the microwave.

Cordelia sighed, “Yes, food sounds wonderful.  I’m going to the kitchen to see what I can dig up.”

“I’ll go with,” Gunn jumped up and followed her.

Xander appeared on the stairs and stretched before strolling down.  “Hey gang.  Monster hunt go good?”  Buffy and Angel let out a simultaneous groan.  “That well, huh?  I just checked in on Willow.  She says the headaches are fewer now.  Another day or two and she’ll be right as rain.”

“That’s a relief,” Angel sighed.

“Uh…  Faith,” Wesley called as he set his teacup on the counter.  “Did you turn this monitor off?”

“No, Wes.  Never touched it.”

The ex-Watcher tried pushing the button, but nothing happened.

“Maybe it got unplugged or something,” Xander shrugged.

Buffy quickly scanned the room.  “Oh God, where’s Dawn.”

Angel, Buffy, Wesley, Faith and Xander sprinted for the basement.  As they reached the bottom of the steps, all froze in panic at the sight before them.

Giles was standing there, free and with a sympathetic smile curling his lips.  He had Dawn in front of him, holding her tightly to him with one arm around her middle as the other hand played gently along her neck.

“You see,” he whispered soothingly to his captive, “I told you big sister would be here soon.”

Dawn’s eyes sparkled with tears as she stared at the petrified onlookers.  “Buffy, I swear, I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know, Dawn.  Just stay calm.”  She gazed intently into the familiar, but cold eyes of her Watcher.  “Giles, you don’t want to do this.  You would never hurt Dawn.  You love her like your own heart.”

“You are correct, Luv.”  The vampire said as he nuzzled his cheek against the girl’s hair.  “Giles would give up his own life to see that no harm comes to this lovely, little flower.  In fact,” he chuckled, “he did.  Unfortunately for her, I am not he.  I would rather eat her.”

Buffy took a half-step forward.  “If you even touch her, I’ll dust you.”

“Touch her where?” the demon purred innocently as his hand slid slowly down over the girl’s hip and slipped between her thighs.

“Please…” Dawn whimpered, trying to squirm from his iron grip.

“Besides, Slayer, you’ve spent far too much effort trying to keep this body intact.  I doubt you would let it turn to ash so easily.”

Buffy’s eyes shimmered with anger.  “I will if you give me no other choice.”

“And I will accept that as a challenge.”  Giles’ soft features grinned.  “Truly, I only wanted to see all of your handsome faces before I made my exit.  Oh, and Wes, the exact date and time of the midpoint of the battle of Turacht Nallah.  Really, you should use more imagination, My Boy.  Also, Faith, Dear… my deepest thanks.”

The vampire bent to place his lips to Dawn’s neck, causing everyone to gasp.  His broad tongue appeared and traced the line of her jugular to her jaw.  Without warning, he lifted her and threw her bodily into the group of terrified onlookers.  They caught the girl, most falling back onto the steps.  By the time they made sure she was safe and glanced back up, Giles had vanished.

 Xander slid under the railing and went to check out the shackles.  “These are still locked,” he announced.  “And there’s no damage at all here.  I can’t see how he could have gotten free.”

Angel lifted the trembling form of Dawn into his arms and started up the stairs.  “None of that matters now.  He’s gone.”

As the vampire set the girl on a couch, Wesley appeared form the office.  “He took it,” the ex-Watcher commented evenly.  “Turacht Nallah…  He figured out my combination and stole the soul.”

“But, with what he was wearing, were could he have hidden it?  It’s not like that jar was pocket sized.”  Faith crossed her arms over her midsection.

Buffy turned on the other Slayer.  “You were supposed to be watching him!  How did you let this happen?  You let him get away from us!”

“All I did was take care of him!  You had him chained up down there all alone.  Keeping him weak.   He was in so much pain he couldn’t move without screaming!”  Faith began to advance for a confrontation, but Angel caught her by the arm, causing her to wince and pull away.

“What do you mean he was in pain?” Dawn’s small voice asked.

“It was a safety measure,” Angel growled.  “I decided it was needed to keep all of us safe, including him.  Trust me, Giles was a strong man.  He could take a little pain.”

“Don’t you dare,” Buffy rumbled.  “Don’t you dare start referring to him in the past tense.”

Ignoring her, Angel caught Faith’s arm again and lifted the long sleeve of the uncharacteristically modest shirt she was wearing.  “You fed him, didn’t you?  You gave him his first taste of human blood, Slayer blood.”

“Like you’ve never tasted Slayer blood,” Faith defended, pulling her arm away and covering her wound.

“We had a chance until--”

The arguing was silenced by the sound of a teacup smashing against a wall.  Wesley leaned hard on the counter, holding his weight on tensed arms.  “This is all pointless now,” he said in a disturbingly calm voice.  “He has grown to full strength.  He has completely turned.  And he has escaped our custody.  These are the truths we must deal with, and trying to place blame will help nothing.  Our course now is to prepare.”

“But shouldn’t we go after him?  Try to bring him back?” Xander offered.

“Wes is right,” Angel sighed.  “If he follows the normal behavior of fledgling vampires, he will come after the ones he loved in life first.  The demon will try to purge every bit of Giles’ humanity.  He’ll be back soon enough.”

“But,” Dawn squeaked quietly, “this is Giles we’re talking about.  Wouldn’t he make like a gentle vampire?  I mean, he could have just killed me.  But he didn’t.”

“A calculation, I’m afraid,” Wesley came out from behind the counter.  “Meant to throw us off, likely.  Make us think there’s still hope.  Make us hesitate at a crucial moment and give him the advantage.”

“He already has all the advantage he needs,” Angel muttered.

Faith frowned, “What do you mean?”

“She’s right,” Xander commented.  “I’d count the odds in our favor.  I mean, we got two Slayers, a vamp, a witch, and a Watcher-type on our roster.  He’s still just one vampire.”

“He’s not just another--”

“If I may, Angel,” Wesley tried to stem his friend’s growing anger.  “All of you must pay careful attention.  It’s time you understand what you… what we have done.  We have taken not just the body, but the memories, training, experience, and intelligence of Rupert Giles, and put it all in the hands of a demon.  Not only that, but he has had the chance to study each and every one of us at some point.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he can deduce our actions before we can figure them out ourselves.”

“Giles studied us?”  Xander made a creeped-out face.

“It was the nature of the man.  The nature of a Watcher.”  Wesley sighed.  “It’s what made him such a good teacher to all of you.  He knew what you needed before you did.”

“Listen,” Angel added, calmer now.  “Back before Darla turned me, I was nothing but a no-good, lay-about drunkard.  Angelus took that personality and cut a swath of destruction across every continent on Earth for a hundred years.  Think of what a demon can accomplish with a personality like Giles’.”  The room fell quiet for a few moments.

“All we could find was bologna, but we made enough sandwiches for all,” Cordelia announced as she and Gunn re-entered with a tray of food.  “Hey, what’s with the major bad vibage?”

“He’s gone,” Dawn whispered.

“What!?!  You mean him, as in Him with the capital H!”  Cordelia began to pace.  “Oh God…  I told you.  I tried to warn you.  This is bad…  We’re all gonna die.  He’s gonna be worse than you,” she shoved a finger at Angel.

“I know.  That’s why, Gunn, I want you to take Cordy and get out of here.  Take her to Caritas.  Tell the Host, if he hides you out, I’ll owe him a big favor.”

“Like hell I’m going anywhere!” Cordelia screamed.

“I’m hoping you’ll be low on his hit list.  If he manages to wipe us out, I need you two to know what’s going on.”

“Oh God,” Xander moaned.  “I need to warn Anya.  She stayed behind to work on fixing up the Magic Box.  What if he makes his way back to Sunnydale?”

***

The demon who wore Giles’ body began to chuckle as he strolled down a dark, empty alley.  Soon the chuckle grew into laughter, and the laughter into full body spasms that forced him to stop and lean against a wall for support.  Foolish children.  Foolish, naive, selfish children.  Thinking they could catch the Devil in a snare and make him dance.  But now they would learn.  Their lessons would be slow and agonizing.  He would teach them what it meant to fear once again.  And with the last breath of each, they would apologize to the man they had done this to…  The one spending eternity trapped in his little jar.

He continued on.  This city was vast and unfamiliar, but he would soon learn it, soon know the ins and outs, the nooks and crannies of this land of life, land of prey.  As he turned down yet another empty alley, he knew the morning would be approaching, but there was another part of the city to explore.  The highways of his kind.  The city beneath.  He came to an open manhole and, without a second thought, dropped in.

He could hear them long before he came upon them.  Laughing and trying to one up each other with stories of fights and conquests that would really only impress the more pathetic elements of young male society.  He found their lair in one of the wider parts of a tunnel where concrete was crumbling and tree roots were growing through the roof and walls.  Standing, leaning against the wall with hands in his pockets, in the shadows of the entrance he watched them and waited to be noticed.  It looked as if someone had decided to vamp an entire frat house.  A group of young, male bucks, forced together for company because no other group would have them.

After a couple more stories that threatened to put him to sleep, he stepped fully into the room and waited a bit more.  Finally, he was detected.

“Hey!  This is our spot,” the largest of the young bucks called.  “Anyone wandering in here is askin’ to get beat down.”

“Oh, really,” he said calmly.  “Would you please direct me to one who might offer said beating?”

“Wow, geezer has balls. I’ve got this one, Boys.”  The young leader leapt off his perch as his gang laughed.  He circled the older man, looking him up and down.  “Geez, where did you dig yourself outta?  What’s happened to the standards of our kind anymore?  Now we’re turning guys who are already half dead?”

The intruder smiled cordially at him and politely commented, “I like your jacket.”

“Thanks,” the young leader snorted.  “Took it off a biker.  You know, one of those Hell’s Angels.  Guy was like seven feet tall.  Thought he was the toughest guy around.  ‘Til he met me, of course.”

“Come on, Matt.  Just take him out already.”

“Sorry, Dude.  My boys are getting bored now.  But, seems like you have some good taste, so I’ll give you this one chance to move on.”

His green eyes gleamed at the tingle of upcoming conflict.  “Actually, I’ve come to make your ‘boys’ an offer.  Perhaps, show them something they’ve never considered before.”

“And what kind of offer could you possibly make them?” Matt scoffed.

“I’m offering them a chance move up in the world.  To follow a leader who will teach them how to be more than animals wandering the streets.”

“You expect my guys to just take off on me and follow some middle-aged wanna-be Dracula?  What do you think you are, some kinda vampire savior?”  The crumbling room filled with laughter.

“No,” the vampiric Watcher smiled.  “Merely a teacher, of sorts.  Besides, they’ll need someone to follow after I’ve dispatched you.”

Matt’s eyes blazed yellow, but his opponent’s appearance and demeanor never changed.  “That’s it, you old bastard.  You’ve officially worn out your welcome.”

The young buck lunged at the intruder, who calmly dodged the attack without even removing his hands from his pockets.  “Thus the lesson begins,” he announced.  “You see, the problem with vampires is being demonstrated right here.  No training, no discipline.”  A flurry of punches and kicks were being easily avoided.  “Most of you were turned before you had the chance to learn anything during your short lives.  And now, you depend on your improved strength and senses to get by.  But, truly, you’re nothing but scavengers, preying on the weak and helpless.  Thinking you are creatures to be feared when you are really just animals cowering in the darkness.”

A hand emerged from a pocket as the young vampire lunged again.  He was sent past with a flick of the wrist and tumbled headlong into a wall with a howl.  “You broke my arm, you fucker!”

“I know all of this because I’ve spent my life studying our kind.  I’ve taught simple children to kill us one by one like the vermin we are.”  Another attack, and with two hands and a twist that could have been found on a dance floor, Matt was minus his jacket and his strange opponent was wearing it.  “However, those same children have made a crucial mistake.  They have sent the teacher to you.  I can show you discipline.”  He slammed a fist into Matt’s middle, doubling the young man over.  “I can show you true power.”  A knee trust upward and there was the sound of cracking ribs.  “I can turn you from scavengers into hunters.  From animals into soldiers.”  A kick sent their leader sliding across the floor.  “We will be a force before which armies will tremble.  And each of you will be able to kill a Slayer if and when you choose.  I offer you this opportunity, and leave it up to you to join me.”  One more rage filled attack from Matt and he was lifted and thrown onto one of the roots that penetrated the wall near the ceiling.  A surprised look crossed his face as he disintegrated into dust.

When the stranger turned to leave, one of the others jumped to the floor, blocking his path.  Soon all of the gang surrounded him.  The vampire Watcher waited calmly as they studied him.  Then the youth blocking him parted his wickedly curled lips to speak.  “What do we call you?”

“For now, you may call me simply Teacher.”

***

Xander’s hands were shaking so badly that he couldn’t dial the phone.

“Here, let me,” Angel gently took the receiver from him.  “What’s the number?”

“I can’t…  If anything happens to her…  I can’t remember…”

Buffy called gently.  “Angel, try my house.  Spike’s probably skulking around.  He’s the only one there that might have a chance of protecting anyone.”

“Why would Spike be at your house?” Angel asked with an annoyed huff.

“Either you talk to him or I will.”

Angel pulled the phone away as Buffy reached for it and dialed the number.

“Summer’s residence.”

“Spike?  Is that you?”

“Yeah.  What’s it to ya?”

“It’s Angel.  I need to talk to--”

“Great.  Poof of the hour.  Girl went to see you, Mate.  What d’ya lose her already?”

“Would you just shut up and listen!”

Xander began to pace.  “I can’t take this.  I need to talk to Anya!”

“Here,” Cordelia leaned over the counter and retrieved a cellular phone.  “Use this.  It should work fine.  Angel hasn’t figured out how to use it yet.  Do you need me to dial for you?”

“Bloody hell.  This was supposed to be a vacation for them.  His death must be tearing the Little Bit apart.”

“I’m not finished, Spike.  Sad to say, but I wish that was the bad news.”

“Hey, Anya?  Can you here me, Hun?”

“I can hear you.  Why are you calling me at this hour?  I’m tired, Xander.  A lot of work to do if I’m ever going to get my store back to how it was before Willow destroyed it.”

“I know.  But this couldn’t wait.  I need you to listen to me carefully.”

“They did what!?!” 

“You know how it is when Buffy sets her mind to something.  Did you really expect them to let him go without a fight?”

“Listen.  The old man never did like me much.  Never gave him any reason to really.  But even I know enough to give him the respect he deserved.  Giles fought the good fight and did it well.  He earned his right to rest in peace.”

“They acted out of love for the man.  It blinded them to the possibility of the monster.”

“Yeah.  Always a big blind spot with that lot.”

 

"Are you all fucking morons!?!"

“Please, An.  If you were here…  If you had seen…  We just couldn’t let him go out like that.”

“But your plan failed, Xander.  And now Buffy is going to have to hunt him down and kill him with her own hands.  Did any of you even think of that?  If these are the decisions you make, I’m getting more and more glad I didn’t marry you.”

“We get it now, Anya.  It’s been explained to us very plainly.  I needed to call to warn you because--”

“Because even though it was technically his fault that I ended up with this pathetic existence, we eventually became friends and he let me own the shop with him and we even kissed once and now he might want to kill me for fun?”

“Um…  Yeah…  Wait, you kissed him?”

“Do you want me to come out there and help you hunt him down?”

“Actually, they are worried that he might see Anya alone as an easy target.  Personally, I’d feel better having some extra fronts out there in case… you know.”

“Sound plan.  Just answer me one thing.  Was it you?  ‘Cause, I know we’ve got history and used to be mates and all…  But, if you did this to that man, I’m going to have to dust you on his behalf.  It’s the principle of the thing is all.”

“I’d expect no less.  And, no, I refused.  They went out and got someone who didn’t know any better.”

A sharp cry of anguish echoed through the building followed by an almost tangible shockwave of grief.

“What was that?”

“I think Dawn just told Willow.  Listen, we’ve called Spike and he’ll help protect you.  Just be careful until we get this thing resolved.”

“You know you’re going to have to be the one, right?  Angel, none of them will be able to.  They’ll hesitate, and he’ll kill them.”

“I know.  We’ll try to keep you up to date.  Just make sure to stay alert out there.”

Both phones were hung up, and silence filled the shock stricken room.

Chapter 4