r***@aol.com
2009-09-20 18:43:18 UTC
“Who..?”
Disclaimer: Not mine but thine...O, Joss!
Archived at the Cicelyverse page of the Buffy Rebecca verse,
http://www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html or direct to
story
at http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/buffyrebecca/who.html...
General audience level...
Summary: Events after the great Sunnydale battle have left Buffy
seeking her past and present...With help from an Immortal source.
Part XXVI...
“Well, she is confirmed and clearly with the Slayers to back her…”
Wyndham-Price quietly noted to Giles as they sat in his office…Open
bottle of scotch whiskey on table…
“She now is the real power of the Council…Yes…Though I can deal with
that…” Giles frowned…
“I was a bit disappointed that she learned of the cyborgs so quickly…
I’d hoped I’d made more of an impression on young Wells…”
“She backed the plan for a probing mission to LA…”
“If anything she was too enthusiastic…She may still try to go herself…
At least in borg virtual form…She wants Angelus dead, of course,
though…Not retrieved…You saw she was anything but disturbed by the
reports…A good excuse to the others for eliminating him…”
“We can’t permit that to happen…” Roger shook his head… “Will you tell
her what’s at stake?...”
“No…” Giles shook head… “She wants revenge and since we’re currently
too useful to her, the focus of that revenge will be Angel…As we hoped…
Even if we dared bring her into our plans, if I felt I could trust
her, we couldn’t risk that she might let her anger get the better of
her…Besides her sincere desire to believe in his acceptance of a
position with Wolfram-Hart and his corruption by them is the best
insurance for the plan’s success…She’ll do our work in convincing the
Partners…”
“But if she insists on joining the strike team…Even if only in a borg
copy?...”
“I don’t think she’ll do it…” he eyed Roger, leaning back… “Somewhere
there are memories of Angel and the rest of us, from Buffy’s time,
buried still in her…”
“She won’t want to confront him?...”
Giles sighed…No… “But it’s not that…She’ll know his best chance of
being retrieved for us lies with her…That if he truly is on the edge,
only Buffy Summers could drag him from the abyss…And she’ll refuse to
do it…At least under the conditions of our operation…Willow has
already made it clear she would insist on going as well…And she
wouldn’t wish to act with Willow present…”
“Cicely hates him that much?...”
“Oh, yes…” Giles nodded… “Just before she left for Europe she came to
me in secret and offered a promise of peace between us if I’d let her
deal with Angel herself…In her own way, without questions…”
“I see…And?...”
“I told her I would welcome it, if proof were obtained of his turning…
But without it, much as I might want him destroyed for my own reasons,
her friends would turn against us both…And should he not have turned,
we would lose too valuable an ally in the fight…At which point…She
very nearly killed me…” he smiled… “Though I must say she maintained
an admirable calm, it was very clear to me…But she agreed proof was
desirable and I promised to present it after she returned from Rome…It
was interesting…” he paused…
“She never asked if I thought Angel might be playing along…Or if we
could bring him back to our side…Cicely at least has no interest in
saving him, Roger…And going to LA herself, as Buffy, with Willow and
your people present, restraining her, there’s always the chance that
might be enough…” thoughtful look… “She’s afraid of Buffy…Buffy
returning to interfere…”
“If the mission did succeed as planned, we’d be bringing him back…”
Roger, hesitant… “She must know her friends at least would try to
reach him…Win him back…”
“I’ve promised…She’ll be the first to meet with him here if we
retrieve him…” Giles, coolly…
Roger was silent…
“So of course…She must not go with you…And we must fail…As planned…”
Giles nodded…
“Besides she has other matters to concern her right now…”
***
“Dawn…!”
“Amelia Dawn!!...” raised voice…No reply…
“Really…” Buffy sighed to Willow… “I do not believe that child
sometimes…Excuse me…” she rose from the dining room table at which
they sat and made for Dawn’s bedroom…Opening the door without
knocking…
“Mom!...” Dawn’s voice…The door closing behind Buffy…
Hmmn…Willow sat, a bit uncertain…Listening to the flow of voices…
Dawn’s rising, then Buffy’s…
The door opened…Buffy emerged…Face set…Closing door behind her…
“I blame myself…The girl’s had no discipline at all…” she frowned,
taking seat… “What was I thinking?...”
“She was your sis, Buffy…Not your daughter…” Willow noted…
“That is the only reason I’m willing to be mild with her now…” Buffy,
grim look… “It’s not true defiance…Just my failure to be a good sister
and set a decent example…However, now that it’s established that I am
her mother…Things will be different…”
“Buffy…She’s not a child…”
“Even by the lax standards of this era, she’s not an adult, Willow…So
long as I have charge of her, she’ll be raised as I think
appropriate…”
“I don’t mean to interfere…”
“No…I understand…I appreciate you’re wanting to help me with her…”
The door opened and a frowning Dawn emerged…Bearing a folder…
“Nice of you to join us…” Buffy eyed her as she came to the table…
“I said I was working on them…” Dawn set the folder she’d carried down…
Opening it…
“Have you found a place?...” Willow, hastily…
“I got some picks…” Dawn nodded… “But I still like UCLA…”
“Out of the question…” Buffy shook her head… “I will be here in
England for some time…And I want you living nearby, if not with me…”
“It’s college, Mom…” Dawn, fuming a little… “I’d like to get used to
living on my own…”
“If I’m paying for it…And I am…” Buffy frowned…
“Just until I can get more scholarship money…” Dawn replied…
“I don’t mind the expense…Outrageous as it is…” Buffy shook her head…
“But I want you where I can keep an eye on you…I still have enemies
you know…One of whom recently tried to kill us…”
“We don’t know that…And this isn’t about your enemies…” Dawn replied…
Hard look… “You want me to be your little girl forever…”
“Certainly not…” Buffy was a bit less stern… “Though it’s only natural
I want a little more time with my daughter…”
“We’ll have time…But I gotta do what I wanna do…” Dawn, firmly…
“Ridiculous…” Buffy shook her head… “You’re my daughter…Under age…And
you’ll do as I say…Now show me one in Europe…What about Cambridge?...”
“You keep pushing Cambridge…I understand it was Dad’s university but I
don’t like the English schools…”
“What?...In my day, a girl would be grateful to have the chance to
study at the greatest university in the world…And your lack of ability
in languages doesn’t leave you with much other option…”
“I’d rather go to an American school…”
“But I say no…” Buffy, smiling coolly… “And I am not a modern mother
who delights to see her little spirit child fly free as on that
television program the other night…Which all I can say is the
flimsiest excuse for poor parenting…The liberation of women was
never…” she continued
“Yeah, yeah…You’re an old-fashioned mom…But I want some choice…” Dawn
cut in…
“And you have it…So long as you choose a school near me here in
Europe…”
God…Dawn fumed… “Willow…?”
“Miss Rosenberg isn’t your mother…And if you take the Lord’s name
again in that tone, I’ll lock you in your room until you are of age…
Then you may choose whatever school you can afford…”
“You never had to put up with this…” Dawn, sputtering now…
“I believe I went to university in Sunnydale…Barely two or three miles
from home…” Buffy looked to Willow…
“Four…” Willow said, helpfully…
“I’m offering you a chance to choose from dozens of schools…Just not
so far away as America…I need my daughter, Amelia…At least within
relatively easy reach…” somewhat plaintive tone at end…
“Oh, please…” Dawn frowned…But sighed…“Anywhere in Europe?...”…
“Assuming you can be accepted, yes…And I think that’s rather
generous…”
“And when I’m ‘of age’?...I can transfer if I want…?”
“Transfer?...” Buffy looked to Willow…
“Change schools midway…Kids do it all the time these days…”
Damn modern intercommunication…Buffy thought…
“Yes…Fine…” she snapped a little…
“I’ll think it over…” Dawn noted…
Buffy looked yet again to Willow…She’ll what?...
Willow giving Do Nothing look…
“So when do we call Dad up…Forth…Whatever?...” Dawn asked, problem
solved… “Are you set yet, Willow?...”
“I’ve gone over all the séances I know…Pooled the best of the best…
There’s a new moon coming up which for some cases helps, so I guess
so, if you guys are ready…”
“We have everything I could collect from the Council, plus Henri’s
contributions of my own things…” Buffy noted…Still cleared a bit
miffed…
She’ll graciously let me know?...
“So we gotta do this at night?...” Dawn asked…
“Maybe it’s old-witches-and-wives…Witches do get married like other
people you know…Tales…But the general opinion is it’s better…The new
moon thing seems to have a lot of support as well…”
“Tomorrow night, then…” Buffy nodded…
“Ok…” Dawn’s attitude became rather more somber…Even apprehensive…
“Mom?...If Daddy…”
“I’ll go and get him then…” Buffy said, quietly…Then relaxing…A smile…
“But he’s not in Hell, Dawn…That much I’m sure of…Lost somewhere, yes…
But not in Hell…”
She nodded firmly and Dawn, slowly…Ok…
“I do kinda like Milan…” she smiled a bit…And got up… “I’m meeting
Stephanie to go shopping downtown…”
“Back for dinner…” Buffy, firmly…
“Yeah…”
“And be careful…London’s not the best place for two young girls…”
“Girl and Slayer girl…” Dawn corrected…“I’m covered, Mom…You said
yourself Stephanie’s one of the brightest…”
“Just be careful…Dawn?...” hurt tone as Dawn headed for the front door
in a rush, grabbing for the hallway closet door…
“Right…You know I feel ridiculous doing this…” Dawn frowned…But taking
out a jacket from the closet, returned quickly to them and pecked at
Buffy’s cheek with hasty kiss… “See ya at dinner…Bye, Wil’…I’ll let
you know what we find…” she hurried to the door and went out…Closing
door firmly…
“She’ll think it over?...” Buffy frowned at Willow…
“You won, she’s staying in Europe…Take the silver and go home…” Willow
shook her head…
Hmmmn…
“So…You know he’s not in Hell…?” Willow, diverting…
“Not if there is even a moderately just God…” Buffy eyed her friend…
“But of course I don’t ‘know’…Whatever I feel…But what did you expect
me to tell her?...”
“And we’re bound for Hell if he is?...I mean, ‘cause there’s no way
you’d go without me…”
“We are…And I’d need you to open a portal anyway…” Buffy, wry smile…
“Giles’ll love that…”
“That grieves me…”
“He did help you out at the meeting…”
“He saved his Council from an irreparable split that would have left
it powerless and did the minimum possible for those who’ve done the
real fighting for centuries…But…I’ll keep my end of the bargain if he
does his…”
“And if he objects to you…To us…Going after William?...”
“Then I pray he does nothing more than object…”
***
Disclaimer: Not mine but thine...O, Joss!
Archived at the Cicelyverse page of the Buffy Rebecca verse,
http://www.geocities.com/buffyrebecca/Cicelypg.html or direct to
story
at http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/buffyrebecca/who.html...
General audience level...
Summary: Events after the great Sunnydale battle have left Buffy
seeking her past and present...With help from an Immortal source.
Part XXVI...
“Well, she is confirmed and clearly with the Slayers to back her…”
Wyndham-Price quietly noted to Giles as they sat in his office…Open
bottle of scotch whiskey on table…
“She now is the real power of the Council…Yes…Though I can deal with
that…” Giles frowned…
“I was a bit disappointed that she learned of the cyborgs so quickly…
I’d hoped I’d made more of an impression on young Wells…”
“She backed the plan for a probing mission to LA…”
“If anything she was too enthusiastic…She may still try to go herself…
At least in borg virtual form…She wants Angelus dead, of course,
though…Not retrieved…You saw she was anything but disturbed by the
reports…A good excuse to the others for eliminating him…”
“We can’t permit that to happen…” Roger shook his head… “Will you tell
her what’s at stake?...”
“No…” Giles shook head… “She wants revenge and since we’re currently
too useful to her, the focus of that revenge will be Angel…As we hoped…
Even if we dared bring her into our plans, if I felt I could trust
her, we couldn’t risk that she might let her anger get the better of
her…Besides her sincere desire to believe in his acceptance of a
position with Wolfram-Hart and his corruption by them is the best
insurance for the plan’s success…She’ll do our work in convincing the
Partners…”
“But if she insists on joining the strike team…Even if only in a borg
copy?...”
“I don’t think she’ll do it…” he eyed Roger, leaning back… “Somewhere
there are memories of Angel and the rest of us, from Buffy’s time,
buried still in her…”
“She won’t want to confront him?...”
Giles sighed…No… “But it’s not that…She’ll know his best chance of
being retrieved for us lies with her…That if he truly is on the edge,
only Buffy Summers could drag him from the abyss…And she’ll refuse to
do it…At least under the conditions of our operation…Willow has
already made it clear she would insist on going as well…And she
wouldn’t wish to act with Willow present…”
“Cicely hates him that much?...”
“Oh, yes…” Giles nodded… “Just before she left for Europe she came to
me in secret and offered a promise of peace between us if I’d let her
deal with Angel herself…In her own way, without questions…”
“I see…And?...”
“I told her I would welcome it, if proof were obtained of his turning…
But without it, much as I might want him destroyed for my own reasons,
her friends would turn against us both…And should he not have turned,
we would lose too valuable an ally in the fight…At which point…She
very nearly killed me…” he smiled… “Though I must say she maintained
an admirable calm, it was very clear to me…But she agreed proof was
desirable and I promised to present it after she returned from Rome…It
was interesting…” he paused…
“She never asked if I thought Angel might be playing along…Or if we
could bring him back to our side…Cicely at least has no interest in
saving him, Roger…And going to LA herself, as Buffy, with Willow and
your people present, restraining her, there’s always the chance that
might be enough…” thoughtful look… “She’s afraid of Buffy…Buffy
returning to interfere…”
“If the mission did succeed as planned, we’d be bringing him back…”
Roger, hesitant… “She must know her friends at least would try to
reach him…Win him back…”
“I’ve promised…She’ll be the first to meet with him here if we
retrieve him…” Giles, coolly…
Roger was silent…
“So of course…She must not go with you…And we must fail…As planned…”
Giles nodded…
“Besides she has other matters to concern her right now…”
***
“Dawn…!”
“Amelia Dawn!!...” raised voice…No reply…
“Really…” Buffy sighed to Willow… “I do not believe that child
sometimes…Excuse me…” she rose from the dining room table at which
they sat and made for Dawn’s bedroom…Opening the door without
knocking…
“Mom!...” Dawn’s voice…The door closing behind Buffy…
Hmmn…Willow sat, a bit uncertain…Listening to the flow of voices…
Dawn’s rising, then Buffy’s…
The door opened…Buffy emerged…Face set…Closing door behind her…
“I blame myself…The girl’s had no discipline at all…” she frowned,
taking seat… “What was I thinking?...”
“She was your sis, Buffy…Not your daughter…” Willow noted…
“That is the only reason I’m willing to be mild with her now…” Buffy,
grim look… “It’s not true defiance…Just my failure to be a good sister
and set a decent example…However, now that it’s established that I am
her mother…Things will be different…”
“Buffy…She’s not a child…”
“Even by the lax standards of this era, she’s not an adult, Willow…So
long as I have charge of her, she’ll be raised as I think
appropriate…”
“I don’t mean to interfere…”
“No…I understand…I appreciate you’re wanting to help me with her…”
The door opened and a frowning Dawn emerged…Bearing a folder…
“Nice of you to join us…” Buffy eyed her as she came to the table…
“I said I was working on them…” Dawn set the folder she’d carried down…
Opening it…
“Have you found a place?...” Willow, hastily…
“I got some picks…” Dawn nodded… “But I still like UCLA…”
“Out of the question…” Buffy shook her head… “I will be here in
England for some time…And I want you living nearby, if not with me…”
“It’s college, Mom…” Dawn, fuming a little… “I’d like to get used to
living on my own…”
“If I’m paying for it…And I am…” Buffy frowned…
“Just until I can get more scholarship money…” Dawn replied…
“I don’t mind the expense…Outrageous as it is…” Buffy shook her head…
“But I want you where I can keep an eye on you…I still have enemies
you know…One of whom recently tried to kill us…”
“We don’t know that…And this isn’t about your enemies…” Dawn replied…
Hard look… “You want me to be your little girl forever…”
“Certainly not…” Buffy was a bit less stern… “Though it’s only natural
I want a little more time with my daughter…”
“We’ll have time…But I gotta do what I wanna do…” Dawn, firmly…
“Ridiculous…” Buffy shook her head… “You’re my daughter…Under age…And
you’ll do as I say…Now show me one in Europe…What about Cambridge?...”
“You keep pushing Cambridge…I understand it was Dad’s university but I
don’t like the English schools…”
“What?...In my day, a girl would be grateful to have the chance to
study at the greatest university in the world…And your lack of ability
in languages doesn’t leave you with much other option…”
“I’d rather go to an American school…”
“But I say no…” Buffy, smiling coolly… “And I am not a modern mother
who delights to see her little spirit child fly free as on that
television program the other night…Which all I can say is the
flimsiest excuse for poor parenting…The liberation of women was
never…” she continued
“Yeah, yeah…You’re an old-fashioned mom…But I want some choice…” Dawn
cut in…
“And you have it…So long as you choose a school near me here in
Europe…”
God…Dawn fumed… “Willow…?”
“Miss Rosenberg isn’t your mother…And if you take the Lord’s name
again in that tone, I’ll lock you in your room until you are of age…
Then you may choose whatever school you can afford…”
“You never had to put up with this…” Dawn, sputtering now…
“I believe I went to university in Sunnydale…Barely two or three miles
from home…” Buffy looked to Willow…
“Four…” Willow said, helpfully…
“I’m offering you a chance to choose from dozens of schools…Just not
so far away as America…I need my daughter, Amelia…At least within
relatively easy reach…” somewhat plaintive tone at end…
“Oh, please…” Dawn frowned…But sighed…“Anywhere in Europe?...”…
“Assuming you can be accepted, yes…And I think that’s rather
generous…”
“And when I’m ‘of age’?...I can transfer if I want…?”
“Transfer?...” Buffy looked to Willow…
“Change schools midway…Kids do it all the time these days…”
Damn modern intercommunication…Buffy thought…
“Yes…Fine…” she snapped a little…
“I’ll think it over…” Dawn noted…
Buffy looked yet again to Willow…She’ll what?...
Willow giving Do Nothing look…
“So when do we call Dad up…Forth…Whatever?...” Dawn asked, problem
solved… “Are you set yet, Willow?...”
“I’ve gone over all the séances I know…Pooled the best of the best…
There’s a new moon coming up which for some cases helps, so I guess
so, if you guys are ready…”
“We have everything I could collect from the Council, plus Henri’s
contributions of my own things…” Buffy noted…Still cleared a bit
miffed…
She’ll graciously let me know?...
“So we gotta do this at night?...” Dawn asked…
“Maybe it’s old-witches-and-wives…Witches do get married like other
people you know…Tales…But the general opinion is it’s better…The new
moon thing seems to have a lot of support as well…”
“Tomorrow night, then…” Buffy nodded…
“Ok…” Dawn’s attitude became rather more somber…Even apprehensive…
“Mom?...If Daddy…”
“I’ll go and get him then…” Buffy said, quietly…Then relaxing…A smile…
“But he’s not in Hell, Dawn…That much I’m sure of…Lost somewhere, yes…
But not in Hell…”
She nodded firmly and Dawn, slowly…Ok…
“I do kinda like Milan…” she smiled a bit…And got up… “I’m meeting
Stephanie to go shopping downtown…”
“Back for dinner…” Buffy, firmly…
“Yeah…”
“And be careful…London’s not the best place for two young girls…”
“Girl and Slayer girl…” Dawn corrected…“I’m covered, Mom…You said
yourself Stephanie’s one of the brightest…”
“Just be careful…Dawn?...” hurt tone as Dawn headed for the front door
in a rush, grabbing for the hallway closet door…
“Right…You know I feel ridiculous doing this…” Dawn frowned…But taking
out a jacket from the closet, returned quickly to them and pecked at
Buffy’s cheek with hasty kiss… “See ya at dinner…Bye, Wil’…I’ll let
you know what we find…” she hurried to the door and went out…Closing
door firmly…
“She’ll think it over?...” Buffy frowned at Willow…
“You won, she’s staying in Europe…Take the silver and go home…” Willow
shook her head…
Hmmmn…
“So…You know he’s not in Hell…?” Willow, diverting…
“Not if there is even a moderately just God…” Buffy eyed her friend…
“But of course I don’t ‘know’…Whatever I feel…But what did you expect
me to tell her?...”
“And we’re bound for Hell if he is?...I mean, ‘cause there’s no way
you’d go without me…”
“We are…And I’d need you to open a portal anyway…” Buffy, wry smile…
“Giles’ll love that…”
“That grieves me…”
“He did help you out at the meeting…”
“He saved his Council from an irreparable split that would have left
it powerless and did the minimum possible for those who’ve done the
real fighting for centuries…But…I’ll keep my end of the bargain if he
does his…”
“And if he objects to you…To us…Going after William?...”
“Then I pray he does nothing more than object…”
***