Ripper - Part 1; Chapters Prologue & Welcome to Westbury 1-3

[wakeupinacoma]

The first three chapters and the prologue act as one single episode in my head and I'm gonna post them as such here. On AO3, they are posted seperately

Title: Ripper

Summary: After the destruction of Sunnydale, the defeat of the first and the aftermath of the destruction of the Watcher's Council, Rupert Giles, the Scoobies and the Slayers return to England. Over 2 years later, the Watcher, living in his family home outside of London, is visited by an old ally, sent to aid him in the fight against evil.

Note: This story takes place 2 years after the events of Chosen and over a year after the events of Not Fade Away. Everything that happened during the run of both Buffyverse shows are canon. BtVS season 8, is not. Not for this story. This story is an AU that negates the events of the comics, though there are some elements that will be. The characters of the Fairweather sisters are prominent characters in this series. FCed by the Head sisters because a) I love Emily Head since she started in Emmerdale and b) I had her as a similar character in a different story but when I heard Joss's plans for the Ripper series I made some changes. This story is a work of fanfiction. Prominent characters belong to Joss Whedon. Though the Comics aren't a part of my universe (though I do still love them) because of certains actions taken by certain vampires against certain watchers, there are elements of the comics, especially season 8 that I will be using: little tidbits that such as the direction of characters since the end of the shows. Any chapter that contains any comic information will be noted in the chapter notes. I will also note any OCs. My head is a little fuzzy and my math is worse so if there's any confusion on timeline or anything at all call me up on it and feel free to ask :)

Rating: FRT Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the story.

Characters: Rupert Giles, Cordelia Chase, Lavinia Fairweather, Sophronia Fairweather, mentions of the Scoobies and Angel Investigations gang

Pairings: Rupert Giles/Cordelia Chase/Lavinia Fairweather/Sophronia Fairweather -- non-romantic.







~~
PROLOGUE
~~
The breeze rustled the curtains but she could have stopped it if she wanted to. She was in control. She was connected to the elements; the earth, the air. The Powers that Be. She could stop it all if she wanted to, the rush of water through the unfamiliar house. But where was it coming from? And why was she unaffected by it? She should be soaked to the bone by it, like the other figures around her, some familiar, some not. Like the others, she should be being pushed back by the swell of water gushing through the large window. So, why wasn't she?

And why wasn't she?
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She turned to look around; the other woman turned too, mirroring her movements. The same but different - both dark hair; different lengths, same movements, different inflections. Clearly neither of them expected to see the other. This was a new occurrence.

Suddenly the other woman looked away, looked towards the ceiling as if knowing it was about to cave in. She braced herself against the swell that was inevitable. And it was inevitable but as it hit her, something else took hold of her. A hand reached out to the shorter haired woman and held her hand tight. She look up into the face of the man who held tightly onto the hand of her almost doppleganger.
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The young brunette woman's eyes flew open. He sister rushed to her side. "What is it? What did you see?"

She sat up on the grass, her breathing relaxing. "I saw something. Someone. She's powerful." She wiped the sweat from her forehead as her older sister tended to her, stroking the long dark hair that grazed the grass. "She saw me."

"Saw you? Actually saw you?" Her sister stopped quickly. She took her chin in her hand and turned it to her, a little too roughly for most people but the younger of the two was used to this. This was an act of concern: her sister knew the toll these visions could take on her.

The dark haired woman nodded, looking off into the distance. "I'm fine. But she's connected to him." Her sister followed her gaze to the man walking towards them.

~~
WELCOME TO WESTBURY
~~

Oh, and you're welcome.

He turned his back on her and she knew this was her time. Cordelia walked peacefully out of Angel's office and into the light. She had always thought that the 'walking into the light' thing was a steaming pile of s- But apparently it was all true and she walked into it, for the second time, hoping that this experience would be a lot better than the last time she went into the light.

Inhale. And exhale. And Cordelia opened her eyes.

It was a lot harder than she had anticipated. Her eyes fluttered open slowly trying to acclimatise to the light in her eyes. Sunlight. Cordelia sat up quickly, squinting as the world started to take shape around her. The blue sky and sun that seeped through the conveniently placed space in the trees that surrounded her. The ground beneath her was brown, twiggy and mulchy. This was nothing like the last time. She didn't expect this afterlife to be so woodland-y. She eased herself up off the ground and dusted off her clothes. The clothes, she noted, that she had been wearing when she was with Angel. Her hair didn't seem to have changed since she left Angel either. This must be what the AfterLife is like… But things were off, she thought as she began to walk around, slowly at first, stretching her limbs, then getting used to it.

First, shouldn't she be dressed in white? Last time, it was all white, all the time. The Powers That Be weren't doing anything else; they could have added a pop of colour here and there.

Second, why was her body aching? Isn't the afterlife supposed to be calm and peaceful?

She finally came to a clearing.

And third… why was the afterlife taking the shape of something smaller than a town?

Frowning, Cordelia broke into a jog, stiffness be damned. She passed a few houses, thinking better than to knock on someone's door, until she reached what she deemed to be the middle of the town and looked around for somewhere inviting.

The Adventure Bookshop. The Little Tea Room. Travelling … "…pub?" I'm not in America anymore, that's for sure. Deciding the bar to be her best bet, Cordelia walked briskly over to it and pushed open the door.

The smell that hit her when she opened the door was not what she expected. Bars she had frequented in LA had one distinct smell: alcohol. And sometimes urine, she conceded. This place smelled… nicer. Warmer, cosier. The smell of fresh cooking wafting out to her. She stepped inside and looked around. It was quiet. Two groups of two or three, one man at the bar, and the landlady.

Unsure of her next more, she sat down at a table to think.

"Oi." Her head shot up. "You better be ordering something?"

Cordelia stood up and walked up to the counter, pushing her hands into her pockets, hoping for money. She pulled out $5 cash and placed it on the counter. "Coffee. "

The landlady held up the American money. "You're in England now, sweetheart, this isn't good here."

"I'll get it for the lady," the man at the bar offered, shooting Cordelia a smile. The landlady slid a cup of coffee over the counter, with the dollars.

Cordelia stuffed the money back into her pockets, took the coffee and returned to her seat. Her mind was racing. She was pretty sure this wasn't the afterlife. She brought the coffee up to her lips and, as she was about to take a sip, noticed her hand was shaking. I'm not scared. I'm Cordelia Chase. Cheerleader, Princess, Warrior, Higher Being… I'm not scared.

She jumped when she realised that the man from the counter was sitting across from her, sliding a glass of water over to her. "You look like you could use this more than the coffee. You seem jumpy enough."

"Maybe, but I'm not stupid enough to accept a drink from a stranger."

"So, you're American?" She nodded. "Welcome to Westbury. Been here long? Only, you don't seem too prepared for British culture." The landlady was looking at her too.

"This was sort of a last minute trip." Suddenly the lies came flowing. "I have friends in the area and I wanted to surprise them."

"So you hopped on a plane, no bags, no money, nothing?" The landlady raised a suspicious eyebrow. Cordelia smiled.

The man sitting across from her chuckled. "I'm Colin. Colin Broderick."

"Cordelia Chase."

The landlady leaned over the counter, her elbows resting on the surface. "Careful, he's a regular Casanova."

Cordelia straightened up. "Thing is I'm not sure where exactly I'm headed. Could you guys tell me where I can find the Pryces?" The two locals looked blankly at her. "The Wyndam-Pryces?" Again, she was given blank stares and head shakes. She sighed and buried her head in her hands. The panic that had been subsiding was starting to rise again. She was alone and confused. The last time this had happened to her was the first time she had been sent back but back then she couldn't remember anything. And she hadn't been entirely alone. Suddenly, she looked back up. "The Giles-Es…"

"Aye, Rupert Giles?"

"Yes!" The rest of the patrons of the pub looked at her as she squealed: she couldn't remember a time she had ever felt happy hearing that name.

The landlady nodded. "He lives up on the estate."

Colin stood up. "I'm heading up there now actually to discuss some business. I can give you a lift if you'd like."

"Yes. Thank you, that would be… incredible!" Cordelia took a sip of her water and followed Colin out. As Cordelia sat into the car, the fear and panic subsided, and she could begin to appreciate the beautiful scenery as they drove.

"So, how does a man like Rupert Giles meet a beautiful woman like Cordelia Chase?"

Cordelia laughed. Casanova, indeed. "We met when Giles moved to America. He worked at my High School. When I left, my - colleagues - and I would ask Giles for advice. He was always there for us. Even when he didn't want to be." A lifetime ago… Cordelia looked out the window and frowned. The village had disappeared, the fields, the horizon. All she could see were trees and a winding road and she was beginning to regret accepting a lift from a stranger. "Where are we?"

"Heading to the Giles' estate."

"The Giles' esta- … the Giles' estate!?" Cordelia looked from her driver to the huge house that was coming into view, her jaw dropped. "Holy. Sh-"

Colin pulled into the drive way. Cordelia jumped out of the car before it had fully stopped. She wasn't sure if it was because she was this close to answers or this close to a HUGE house, she couldn't wait to see Giles. She bounded up the steps of the veranda to the front door and knocked.

Colin came up behind her. "You won't find him in there."

He walked over to a waist high stone wall that had steps leading to a large back yard and pointed. She followed him over and looked out. She couldn't help but laugh. There, riding towards the house was the most majestic horse she'd ever seen, and on it's back was Giles. She looked down at him and waved, smiling. He stopped the horse, dismounted and slowly made his way up the garden. He reached the steps and, to Cordelia's amazement, took the set of 7 in two bounds. She beamed at him. "Surprise."

"Cordelia..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, overcome with happiness and relief. She pulled away quickly as the awkward hug remained unreturned. "Cordelia."

"Don't look too happy to see me."

She looked at him but he simply returned her gaze, a gaze filled with shock. "Cordelia."

"I think you've been hit on the head too many times." She softened her smile, but the look he was giving her was unsettling.

He continued to stare. "It's not possible."

"It's a… very long story." She began shifting her eyes from Giles to Colin and back.

"Cordelia," he repeated. Something was wrong. He had gone rigid, his face drained of colour.

Colin, sensing the tension, stepped forward. "I found her in the pub. She looked very lost."

Cordelia and Giles never dropped their eyes. "Giles, what's-" He placed a hand on her shoulder but quickly pulled away again, bringing his hand up to his mouth. This was a look very familiar to her. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

He took her by the elbow and turned her to the house. "Colin, we're going to have to discuss the accounts later. Can you make sure Mabel is put in and seen to, please? Excuse us." He shut the door behind them, allowing Cordelia one final look at Colin waving before the door shut.

"Hey, can you stop doing that and tell me what's going on?" He led her down a hall and into a study. "Giles, stop that." She pulled herself free. "What is the matter with you? God."

He grabbed her by both shoulder and looked at her hard. "Cordelia. What are you doing here?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I just… ended up here."

He let go of her. "What do you remember?"

Cordelia sat down in an oversized chair. "I got possessed, impregnated, put into a coma. The Powers that Be woke me up to help Angel with something and they told me that if I did this they'd put me on a different path. I thought they meant: Rest in Peace. I left his office and I ended up in the woods." She turned her hands over in her lap. "I thought maybe they wanted me to help Wesley but…"

Giles swallowed hard. "Wes… He's not from these parts."

"Giles, I know I'm probably the last person you expected to see but- Something's wrong. I can feel it. I know that this isn't the afterlife, that became pretty clear after a while but I don't know what I'm doing here. Please, you have to help me. I know we didn't always get along before but I've changed a lot since the last time we saw each other."

Giles ran his finger along a clock on the mantelpiece, his back to Cordelia. "It's been a while." He flicked off the dust on his index finger with his thumb.

Cordelia smiled. "What like, 5 years?" Giles' looked sadly at her. "Giles. What is going on?"

She wasn't the child he once knew in Sunnydale. Being honest, he had never really known her as a child. She was more mature than the rest of the gang in some ways but also more selfish, more entitled. But he'd heard the stories, from Willow, from Angel.

No, she wasn't the Cordelia Chase he had known.

Giles sat on the coffee table in front of Cordelia. "Cordelia, you did indeed help Angel, and impart on him a vision. And you said goodbye to him and the others. You helped him a great deal. But after you left, Angel received a telephone call from the hospital." He still shivered at the recollection of Wesley on the telephone to Willow, the cold he felt seeing Willow tense, asking if she'd woken up at all, if she'd been peaceful. "They said you'd died without waking."

Cordelia nodded. "I know. The Powers woke me, they made me corporeal so I could help Angel. When I left I was supposed to ascend or whatever but now I'm back here."

"Cordelia, this happened over a year ago. You've been dead for 17 months.

___________________________________________________________

Cordelia had a vague recollection of Giles asking her if she wanted tea, nodding and then following Giles down a hallway into a kitchen. She sat at the counter in silence. Neither spoke until Giles placed a cup of tan coloured tea in front of her. "So, I was buried?"

"Angel and the others gave you a very fitting send off. Willow and Xander were there. I would have b--"

Cordelia shot him a bland stare, a look he had been expecting. "Really? I think we both know that's not true."

Giles cleared his throat, not admitting that she was right. "I was here with Dawn and Buffy was in Italy."

She looked up at him from her tea, her shoulders hunched. "Did he do it? Angel? Did he do what he was supposed to do."

Giles nodded. "They attacked the senior partners. It had repercussions. On all sides."

Cordelia let a sad smile creep onto her lips. "My guy did," she whispered into her cup. He did it but she wished she could have been with him. She blinked away tears that were welling up for the past. "So where is everyone? Xander, Willow, Buffy? Why aren't they here with you?"

"Willow's in Tibet for a few weeks, studying an ancient form of Magicks. Buffy's still in Italy and Xander is in London. He's been working as a tactical expert for the Watcher's Council and Slayer Organization. Since Buffy activated all the Slayers, we've needed everyone on board that we could get. Dawn's in London too, studying. They both come down here as much as they can. And I travel up to the council for Watcher's business, so I get to see them a lot. I probably see Anya and Andrew the most. They're in London too but they have more free time than Xander and Dawn so they come down more often. " He took a sip of tea. "Cordelia. I know you have a lot of questions and I promise, I will answer then all but I think the most important thing at the moment is why you're here - why you were sent back. There's part of a coven in the area. I work closely with them. They helped Willow after her problems with magic. One of them: she's a seer, of sorts. She's like you. She's connected to the Powers. She may be able to find out why you were sent back."

"How?"

"I'm not sure how she would go about it. I never cared for their methods. But she's powerful. And if I trust anyone to find this out, it's her."

"When would we leave?"

"Now, if you like. It's a short walk from here. Just back onto the main road and down a little. You wouldn't have passed it on the way here."

Cordelia nodded. "Fine." She stood up, wiped her hands on the midriff of her shirt and headed out the door. Giles stared after her, concerned. "Are you coming?"

__________________________________________________________________________________

"Jeez, you weren't kidding when you said they lived nearby." They'd been walking in silence for less than 5 minutes, Cordelia, picking flowers here and there, pulling off the petals, not calling Giles out on the glances he kept sneaking at her.

"Yes, they, um, they like to be close to the estate."

Cordelia looked at the little cottage. "Does the whole coven live here? Like isn't a coven… more than one?"

"There's 15 in this particular one, but not all are in Westbury." Giles knocked on the door. "This house is inhabited by two, uh… sisters."

The door swung open and a young blonde woman met them. "Wh-" She looked from Giles to Cordelia, her lips shifting from a scowl to an amused smile. "Vin," she called into the other room, a smile creeping onto her lips. "Ripper's brought a girl. She's young." She turned and walked into the house.

Cordelia raised an eyebrow and tried to stop a smirk forming on her lips. Giles rolled his eyes and gestured Cordelia to follow the woman into the house. As she did, she took in the other woman's appearance: a multicoloured sort of 1920's style turban hat sat on her head worn with a buttercup yellow chiffon dress and slip and black boots. The look on anyone else would have looked outrageous but whether it was luck or confidence, this woman pulled it off and Cordelia was impressed. She couldn't be much older than Cordelia. She led them into a room off the kitchen, where another woman, about the same age was sitting, less extravagantly dressed.

She theatrically dropped onto the couch beside her dark haired sister. "Look, Vin, isn't she pretty?" The brunette looked up from her book.

Cordelia gasped.

The other woman, Vin, stood up. "You!"

Giles looked from one to the other. "What's going on?"

Cordelia pointed. "You were in my vision."

"No, you were in mine."

"What vision?" Giles frowned.

"Before I woke up here. I completely forgot. You were there." She looked at Giles. "And you. And there was a flood and…" She paused, then sighed. "I don't remember. But it was strange. I was in control of myself - that's never happened in one of my visions before."

"Maybe because it wasn't your visi-"

"It doesn't matter whose damned vision it was," Giles interjected exasperated. "You being in each other's visions, it's unprecedented but it makes it very clear that you are supposed to be here. Cordelia, this is Lavinia - Vin - and Sophrinia - Sophie - Fairweather. They're… my aunts."

Cordelia cocked an eyebrow. "Aunts, but they're-"

"Magic, darling. It works wonders for the skin." Sophie was sitting up straight now, no longer languishing in teasing Giles. "And great aunts, Ripper, we have double seniority over you."

"Hi," Cordelia raised a hand, "as much as I would love to hear all the embarrassing stories about little Giles, can we focus on me please? I'm supposed to be dead."

"You're that Cordelia?"

Cordelia looked at Giles. "You've been talking about me?" Her smile fell when she realised how serious everyone in the room looked. She turned back to his aunts. "Giles said you could help me. You can find out why I'm back."

"No." Sophie stood up and walked over to the liquor cabinet, all eyes following her. She tilted her head back, drinking something in one go. Then she turned back to the room and spoke to Giles. "Are you really so selfish that you would ask her to go through all that? All to satisfy your own knowledge? That's incredibly advanced magic that you're asking her to do."

"Willow did something a lot more invasive once and everyone came out unharmed."

"Then wait for Willow. Willow's more powerful than both of us combined and she turned evil."

"And you helped restore her to who she was. See the beauty of magic, not the pain in it. Willow might have power but Vin has strength. She can do this."

"Do what exactly?" Cordelia asked.

"Take you on a journey." Vin gestured for everyone to sit down, taking Cordelia's hand and guiding her to the sofa next to her. Sophie did so reluctantly, placing herself in the seat between Vin and Giles. "It's sort of an out of body experience. I'd take you to another plane, to see your visions." She looked at Giles. "I suppose it's almost like the Slayer's Vision Quest." Giles nodded. "It's more dangerous. Because your body and your soul will be in two different planes, if you die in your vision, you die. You can't come back. Either of us. If two go in, two come out and no matter how much the Powers might want to bring us back, not even they are powerful enough . We'd both be dead. It's a great risk."

Cordelia looked at no one as she agreed. "Let's do it." The stunned silence radiated the room. "What? Did everyone expect me to say no?"

Vin nodded. "Yes," Sophie said.

"Pretty much," Giles agreed.

Vin looked at Cordelia and tilted her head down, as though sharing a secret. "I had an argument to sway you're decision."

"I have been hopped around more times than I would have liked and the last time - that was supposed to be the LAST time - wasn't. I ended back here. I want to know what I'm doing here. What I'm fighting. What I am."

Vin looked confused. "You're Cordelia Chase. The Warrior. The Higher Being."

Cordelia looked fondly at the girl who reminded her of Fred and her heart ached for her friends. "The last time I came back, I came back with no memory of who I was or why I was here. And when I got my memories back, my body had been hijacked by a higher bitch who would have ended the world. I don't want to take any chances that I could hurt any one else that I care about."

Vin took Cordelia's hand in her own. "But that wasn't-"

"Really me. Yeah, heard that before. But I'm still living with that guilt. I want to be sure I'm not a time-bomb."

"This isn't wholly invasive," Sophie said, "but if you're not sure you can handle this, say now because if anything happens to my sister I will kill you."

"I grew up on the Hellmouth and I've faced a lot of crap in the last 8 years. I could floor you if I wanted to but I'd hate to waste my energy. There is nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"We'll put a timer on it." Everyone looked at Giles. "Half an hour, in and out. At least you stand a chance of finding out what's happening and if you do run into anything, you'll be pulled back after 30 minutes. Ultimately, it's your decision."

________________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia took a deep breath, deeper than she had ever taken before, the country air soothing her. She missed Angel. She wanted to see him. Not just because she loved him. She had and she always would. And she missed Wesley, how much he had become her confidante and how easy it had all been before she became half demon. The headaches were awful but their jobs were clear.

She looked over as Fred laughed at Angel and Gunn playing video games. "The initiative you've shown, training with Angel -" She turned to Wesley, who was helping her with the refreshments. "-I'm proud of you."

Everything seemed to go to hell from there. Darla showing up, pregnant… Things were never be the same after that.

Cordelia turned, the presence stirring her. She smiled at Giles. "Tell me again."

Giles came up to her and leaned against the fence that she was standing by. "You and Vin and will sit in a circle. Sophie and I will recite a spell, which will take you out of this plane and into another. You'll be corporeal, you'll be able to die but with the time limit, hopefully you'll have enough time to find out what you need to know and not meet anything." He frowned. "Cordelia, if you do meet anything in there… Vin's not the strongest fighter. She's more of a healer."

"I'll look after her. Will it be the vision I had before?" she asked as they walked back to the cottage.

"It's hard to say. It could be something old with cryptic messages about the future. It could be something entirely new." He pushed open the door and let her pass before him.

In the living room, Vin and Sophie were standing over a bowl of something. Cordelia felt heady as they walked into the room. "What is that?"

"Just a few herbs and flower to put you in the trance," Sophie answered.

"Wait till we light the candle, it gets more intense," Vin added , beaming.

"You've both done this before right?"

"No," Vin answered, "this is entirely new."

Cordelia looked back at Giles. "I've done something very similar to this dosens of times, you'll be fine."

"Was one of those dozens the time you summoned that demon who killed all those people?"

Sophie smiled. "Cordelia, I think I'm beginning to like you. Out of curiosity: What can you do? What are your powers?"

"Why?"

"You won't have them on this plane. Just curious." Sophie handed Giles a piece of chalk and the two began drawing a circle on the floor.

"I made traffic stop once."

Vin nodded. "Anything else?"

"Light? Before I ascended the only real power I had was that I could create light. And heat."

"We're ready," Sophie said, as Giles walked over to her, book in hand, crouching beside her.

Vin took Cordelia's hand and walked her into the circle. "You sit here." Cordelia mimicked the witch as she sat cross-legged on the floor, the seers facing each other, hand in hand and a bowl between them.

Sophie clicked her fingers. The candle in the middle of the bowl lit. "Good luck."

"We need to look into the flame, block everything else out," Vin hurriedly explained to Cordelia. Cordelia nodded and did so. Vin was right: once the candle had been lit, the smells that had been already so intoxicating became amplified.

Giles and Sophie looked at one another, and began to recite:

Ex hoc usque ad media hora

Et mitte ibi te non habes potestatem

Miserunt ita ut possunt videre,

Quid est, quod necesse est esse *

Cordelia waited but nothing seemed to happen. She looked up from the flame and gasped when she saw Vin, sitting where she had been gazing at the flame, but also laying flat on the floor. Cordelia jumped up and saw herself mirroring Vin's seemingly lifeless body. The room had darkened and there was no sign of Giles and Sophie.

"They're not of this plane." Cordelia look at Vin. Who was beginning to stand. "We have half an hour."

"Where do start?"

Vin pointed at the door. "Let's start with walking."

_________________________________________________________________

"I wonder how they're doing."

Giles shrugged though she couldn't see him. "It's only been ten minutes."

"I know how long its been, Rupert. I've heard the seconds ticking by incessantly. Horologium incendere.** What?" Giles shrugged his shoulders, knowing berating her for using magic so casually would do nothing. "It was getting on my last nerve." Giles walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured two glasses of whiskey, both neat, probably the one thing he and Sophie had in common. He sat beside her, handing her the glass. "Cheers." She touched her glass off his and took a sip. " I know why I need a drink but you… I was under the impression you never really cared for Cordelia."

"She's not the girl I used to know. Besides I've fa-" He looked deep into this glass and took a deep breath, burying what feelings were ready to rear their heads. He sipped his drink. " I've let down too many people in the past."

Sophie's features softened. "Your only responsibility was to the Slayer. Those kids should never have been a part of that. You stuck with them through so much that you didn't have to. And Cordelia survived without you for long enough. You tried to help her. It wasn't your fault she was being used."

"And what about Fred? Wesley?"

Sophie frowned, for the first time since he returned to England, truly seeing her nephew. "You failed no one. Buffy, Faith, they've survived this long under your tutelage. No other Watcher can say that. When are you going to stop taking responsibility for other people's mistakes."

Giles shook his head and looked at her. "When are you?"

Together, they finished their drinks.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

"We're getting nowhere." Cordelia said. She had not worn the right shoes for a day of walking.

"All we need to do is keep out of any huge danger for the next 20 minutes - "

"And find out why we were in each other's visions?"

"Exactly." Vin smiled. "Easy as pie." Vin frowned and rubbed her stomach. "I just realised I'm starving."

"So, Giles seemed thrilled to have me back."

"He's just surprised."

"No need to sugar coat it. I was never his favourite."

"Cordelia." Vin grabbed her elbow and spun her around. "He grieved for you. When he heard you'd died, this… change came over him." Cordelia looked unconvinced. "It's true. I've known him his whole life and after he heard about you this… reservation came over him. He took a lot hits in a short time. It's a lot of the reason why he turned his back on Angel. He thought it would be better."

Cordelia frowned, no longer looking at Vin. "When you say grieved, do you mean like that?" Cordelia pointed to a bench, where a layered Giles was sitting, small crosses in front of him.

Vin pushed open a gate and led Cordelia over to the two crosses that sat before him. One bore the name Tara MacClay - "Lover, Friend, Sister. Selfless"; the second one read Cordelia Roseline Chase - "Cheerleader, Princess, Warrior".

"He created this when Willow was here. He thought it would be therapeutic for her. I… I think you were for him."

Cordelia felt a pain in her heart. She walked up and sat beside him. "Giles, I---" She felt the tears building up in her eyes. For the first time, Cordelia was lost for words. So instead, she placed her hand around his and looked out at her name on the grave. Something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. "Vin…" She strained to see. "What- What is that?" She could just make out an outline of something."

"Cordy." Vin had moved off towards a warehouse where noise was coming from. Banging and shouts. "Is that-?"

"Giles!?"

They both took off at a sprint. When they reached the warehouse, they found some Thing pummeling Giles. Sophie was lying on the ground, bleeding. Unexpectedly, Giles and the demon both looked right at the girls. "Can they see us?" Vin asked, The demon, done with Giles, dropped his bloodied, almost lifeless body on the ground.

"Uh, yeah, looks like. Get Sophie out of here, I'll look after Giles." The orders flew out before she had come up with a stable plan and she was running at the demon before she could stop herself. Vin ran to Sophie first to check on her. The demon threw the first punch, but Cordelia ducked and landed a kick to what she assumed was it's face. It had no effect: the demon grabbed Cordelia by the leg, and twisted her around, sending her face first onto the ground. The demon suddenly lurched forward, and Cordelia saw Giles standing behind it with a steel pole in his hand, the other arm holding his torso. The demon, again unfazed, swung out an arm, flinging Giles into the wall, shaking the building, dropping several of the wooden beams. Cordelia caught sight of one of the beams and smiled. Giles, you sly fox.

The demon was still distracted by Giles so Cordelia took her chance. The distraction didn't last long, though, and it quickly turned back to Cordelia. She ran as fast as she could to the nearest beam, spun it in her hand, like a baton, so the jagged end was pointing behind her and jerked it backwards. She heard the sound of it piercing the flesh, and soon smelled the rotting flesh. Giles began reciting something, but it was becoming faint, and he was fading slowly; the entire warehouse was: demon, Giles and Sophie.

"Vin, what's going on?" Vin just shrugged, clinging onto her sister.

______________________________________________________________________________

Cordelia turned around. "There's something you need to see." The woman put her hand to Cordelia's forehead, a white light emitted from between them. "There are many paths to who you were meant to be." Cordelia saw her friends, not just Angel and Lorne and Gunn but Buffy and Xander and Willow and Giles. All fighting to make the world a better place. She saw Giles, sitting in a big library, nothing like the high school one. She saw herself, a teenager, sitting with Giles in the school library, searching.

"He won't be able to fight the rest of the fight without you. He'll need your drive, your spirit, your strength."

"You can fight or you can rest. The choice is your. And yours alone." The woman smiled kindly at Cordelia.

Cordelia opened her eyes. "The hell with resting, I want to fight."

__________________________________________________________________________

"How long more?"

"I don't know. You incinerated the clock."

"And you don't wear a watch?"

Giles lifted the sleeve of his shirt and glanced at his watch. "They have just under 7 minutes."

Sophie reached forward and filled their glasses with their third helping of whiskey. "Have you told the others that she's back?"

"No. We talked for a little while and then came here."

"What does she know about what's happened since she… 'died'? 'Ascended'?"

Giles took a sip of his drink. "I told her that Angel attacked the senior partners at Wolfram and Hart and where Buffy, Xander, Willow and Dawn are now. We'll talk more after they get back."

Sophie looked at him incredulously. "Ripper! She has a right to--"

"I know. It just wasn't the right time. I'll tell her when we get back to the--"

Something changed within the room. Suddenly, simultaneously, Cordelia and Vin sat up, breathing heavily. Sophie rushed into the circle, kneeling by her sister. Giles stood just outside the circle. "What happened?" He reached out an arm to Cordelia and helped her up. "The spell shouldn't have finished for another 4, 5 minutes unless…" She looked up at Giles. "Someone got it wrong?"

" I think - I think we know what we're supposed to do." Vin rested her head on Sophie's shoulder. "All of us."

"What's that?" Sophie asked, stroking her little sister's cheek.

"Oh, you know, save the world, yadda yadda yadda. Y'know Vin, I'm pretty hungry too."

Vin stood up smiling and pulled up Sophie, her arm wrapping around her sister. "Help each other, protect each other. Be… family."

"Are you feeling alright?" Sophie asked, checking Vin's forehead.

"I'm serious. We're supposed to help Cordelia, Cordelia's supposed to help Giles. You and Giles are supposed to bury the hatchet. It all makes sense now."

Cordelia frowned. "You got all that from the vision?"

"You didn't?"

"I got the helping Giles part."

Sophie suddenly brightened and smirked. "What better way to help each other than to be close? At all times?"

Giles smiled fondly at his two aunts. "Not a hope in hell."

"Ripper..."

Vin looked from one to the other. "We need to be able to contact Cordelia at all times. It's easier if we're on the estate. We don't know what powers she has or how advanced her powers will be."

Cordelia nodded. "I could use the extra guidance."

Giles shook his head, beaten "Fine. But one wrong step and you're gone."

Even if it was just her mission to make Giles life miserable, Cordelia knew she was going to like it here.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Do you think we can?" Sophie asked. "Bury the hatchet?"

"We'll probably have to find out what the hatchet was in the first place."

"Do you think you and Cordelia will work it out?"

Giles stopped walking. "For heaven's sake Soph, I'll tell her when we get back to the house."

"If she doesn't find out before."

"Are you threatening to tell her?"

"No." Sophie, pointed down the road, where Vin and Cordelia were not far behind them. "But look where she's stopped." Giles looked at them and realized too late what was on the other side of the gate.

"Cordelia!"

But she was already pushing in the gate. "Oh, don't worry," she called back. "I know about the memorial, you big softie. I just need to check something."

As she disappeared into the grove, Giles sprinted after her.

It jarred her, seeing her name on a gravestone. But what was more unsettling was seeing the two names that had been in her vision.

She read the names and collapsed in front of the graves of Winifred Burkle and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

*From now until the half hour
Send them where they'll have no power,
Send so that they can see,
What it is that needs to be

**Clock incinerate (translated from that time Xander spoke Latin in front of the books.)

Comments

[dhw]

oh, thus was great! I really enjoyed Cordy in this, and I can't wait to see how it's all going to unfold. Very intriguing!

And I loved that you have Giles aunts here!

(also, apologies for taking so long to get round to reading this. Life, you know? But it was absolutely worth the wait!)

[wakeupinacoma]

Thanks for the comments :))

And don't worry, I've only recently gotten round to writing more of it :)