OuroborosTeaser

Story by Robert Kidman, CN Winters and Zahir al DaoudWritten by Robert Kidman and CN Winters

Produced and Directed by CN WintersEdited by Dan Joslyn

Sounds by CSRArt Direction by Robert Kidman

Artists – Robert Kidman and CN Winters

Black

Voiceover Giles: "Who are we?"

Fade To:Int.Council Library – Evening

The library was packed with watchers, some racing up and down aisles to collect books; others brainstorming on a fold-up whiteboard; some others sat at tables, the surfaces strewn with piles upon piles of books.

Rowena leaned forward in her chair, elbow on the table with her head supported by her hand. Her red vacant eyes stared down at an array of glossy pictures of ancient text.

A hand out reached to touch her arm; it was Robin. She sniffed, blinking back her tears. Robin squeezed her arm lightly with a reassuring smile and looked back to his research.

Voiceover Giles: "A question much debated. Supposedly answered in a round-about-way by philosophers or through religious teachings. Mind you, interpretation of religious meaning normally leaves you with more of a headache than I have now."

Willow limped into the library on crutches, with a bandage covering part of her forehead. She paced down to the table where Rowena and Robin sat and

took a seat next to Rowena, propping her crutches against her chair before lacing her fingers through Rowena’s. Surprised, Rowena looked up and began to sob at the sight of Willow's hand on hers. Willow softly smiled and turned her attention back to the research. Rowena followed suit, all the while their hands still locked.

Fade To:Int.Slayer Gym – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "Still the answer has never been verified, nor is it likely that it ever will."

Faith struck the Slam Man with a barrage of hard-hitting punches on the spots that lit up in sequence. With each strike the model-like device swayed back and forth, the weights in the bottom keeping it stable despite the strength behind the slayer’s hits.

"It’s sad, unfair; many more things under the sun to say the least, though you do have to give it to them."

Beads of sweat erupted from her pores; her tank-top was damp, sticking to her skin. Faith continued to beat the device, harder, faster as the length between each light decreased. She grit her teeth, her knuckles becoming sorer with each connection with the hard plastic. Faith began to let out a scream that quickly grew louder.

"Such an answer is what drives us, gives us aim, gives us purpose."

The sequence finished and Faith doubled over, resting her hands on her knees, breathing in heavily. Another light flashed on the forehead of the Slam Man a moment later, and in a heart-beat Faith stood and delivered a round-house kick to the head of the device, sending the heavy contraption crashing to the laminate floor.

Fade To:Int.Giles’s House - Continuous

Dawn sat on the couch, books and black and white photocopies of the pictures of ancient symbols on the seat next to her. Sitting across from her in

a highchair was Elizabeth, seemingly content playing with her toys. Shannon walked into the room, her arms filled with books.

Voiceover Giles: "I feel lucky that I’ve been granted such a life where this answer seems, if only, slightly more attainable."

Dawn gave Shannon a slight grin to convey thanks but again started to scan the books in front of her along with the photocopies. On her large notepad she jotted down possible words and sentences but the amount of scribbling outweighed the amount of actual accurate translations.

"What’s sad is that many wander this life void of such aim, and inevitably forget what it is they wanted to ask in the first place."

Fade To:Int.Watchers Council Cellblock - Continuous

Skye lay back on her bunk with her hands behind her head, staring up at the cracked stone ceiling.

Voiceover Giles: "Such is life I suppose."

Fade To:Int.Xanders’ Warehouse – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "But again you have to ask yourself; put yourself in the shoes of whatever higher power holds the answer to such a question."

Large black trucks bearing the Council’s logo backed up into the entrance of the large depot. As they came to a stop, slayers and crew members of Xander’s workshop opened the backs of the vehicles, retracting the ramps to reveal large industry equipment: diggers, drills, floodlights. They proceeded to unload the equipment, placing certain items on trolleys or just leaving them in the warehouse.

"How do you even begin to conjure the words to an answer so tightly clandestine and primordial and mould it for human comprehension?"

Kennedy and Kadin were two of those unloading the trucks. Coming down the ramp of a truck, Kennedy wheeled a floodlight down to the floor, maneuvering the trolley around other people who weaved past her.

"I suppose it’s not unlike when your child looks up upon your life-wizened face, and asks, ‘Daddy, why do people die?’"

She continued across the active warehouse floor to where other lights stood within a masking tape section. Kennedy placed the trolley inside the border and put her foot down on the brake.

"Maybe you can’t tell them because you don’t fully know yourself."

She clapped her hands together for a job well done, but more to get rid of the dirt from the trolley handle. She wiped her hands on her jeans and looked back to the other trucks. With a sigh, she put a foot forward and began to take a slow walk back over to help unload.

Fade To:Int.Infirmary – Dr. Miller’s Office – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "Quantifiable evidence has told us who we are; a flesh woven bag of bones, organs and blood. Charming."

The door to the office pushed open and Willow walked inside with a pair of crutches. Dr. Miller sat at his desk and glanced up at her, giving her an awkward smile which faded as he looked back to Becca who sat opposite him, biting her nails. Her eyes were glassy and her body trembled slightly. To her left sat Buffy, her hand on top of Becca’s as it gripped the chair.

Dr. Miller began to speak as Willow took a seat to Becca’s right, reaching out and placing her hand on top of hers in a similar fashion to Buffy.

"Even those doctors in white lab coats wonder who they are, but like many they contradict themselves."

With each word he spoke, Willow swallowed hard and her hold on Becca grew stronger.

"They believe that our physical body is just a mere vessel that we exist in, but at the slightest inclination that our body is the vessel for a soul or of something bigger than us, they won’t have it."

Dr. Miller stood taking a folder into his hand. He walked over to a wall light and produced semi-transparent, shiny black scans. He flicked the switch and the light illuminated the scans as he held them up, revealing a brain scan. He pointed to certain areas on the scan, areas that were black and gray.

"It’s a vessel, it’s not a vessel; not for ‘that’ anyway. Unbelievable some people."

As he finished speaking, tears fell from Becca’s eyes. She brought her hands up to cover her face. Willow rubbed her back and looked up to Dr. Miller who took his glasses off and threw them on his desk. Buffy and Willow looked at each other but said nothing.

Fade To:Int.Buffy’s Office – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "You can’t define an answer the likes of this one with a beginning and an end, in one clear statement, with so many connotations you can’t measure, for how long is a piece of string?"

Buffy sat at her large desk with her diary open at the entry for the next day. At the top of the page she had wrote ‘Council Meeting Agenda’, and had begun to write down key points.

"Has anyone ever considered that it’s an answer that we as a species simply aren’t able to comprehend, nor are we even ready to?"

As she wrote the text became mottled, the ink running as a small pool of water fell onto the page.

"What if it’s an answer we’re not allowed by divine right? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s an answer that we don’t want to know?"

Buffy broke down, the tears falling heavily down onto the page. She slammed the diary shut and pushed it away from her, collapsing forward onto the table, wrapping her arms round her head.

Fade To:Int.Kitchen – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "Perhaps the question we should be asking is: how have we come to where we are today? And where are we going?"

Sweaty, fatigued, Xander stalked into the kitchen straight to the fridge. Once he had opened it, he brought out an icy can of soda pop and snapped back the tab, guzzling the refreshing drink down. As he closed the fridge and turned to leave Vi walked in, the pair of them jumping a little, not expecting the other to be there.

"No matter how any book-bound philosopher attempts to interpret the answer; I can tell you, with absolute certainty and honesty of heart, that we are where we are today because of knowledge and intuition."

The two lovers gazed back at each other for a brief moment. As if instinctively knowing what was next, they walked to each other and pulled one another into a tight embrace.

Fade To:Int.Council Hallway – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "Knowledge and intuition are a double-edged sword with a blade so sharp."

The doors to the library swung open as Rowena walked out into the empty hallway. She wandered down the hallway, further away from the library until she came to a stop and leaned up against the wall, resting her head back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"They can be our savior on one hand or, on the other, our downfall."

Fade To:Int.Coven Room – Continuous

Mirroring the bustle of the library, the Coven members were working hard. Whiteboards were scattered round the room with groups of four to each board, with little or no white visible between the scribbles in red marker.

Voiceover Giles: "Those are the two factors behind the progression of mankind, and behind what drives us as a species, as individuals."

Andrew and Jeff jotted down something on one of the whiteboards. More pictures of ancient text and symbols were pinned up and stuck to the edges of the boards.

"It is these factors that have brought us to where we are now, and they will lead us to our next destination, be it good or bad."

They took a step back, examining what they had scribed. Both grimaced, then stepped forward and wiped parts of the board clean and began to fill in the gaps, their eyes darting between the pictures of the text and symbols and the whiteboard.

Fade To:Int.Infirmary – Continuous

Voiceover Giles: "It’s not the destination that will ultimately shape and change us; it’s the journey."

An incessant, slow beep from various medical instruments reverberated through the room.

"It’s a fallacy to believe that we walk this life unscathed by change; equally is it that we don’t change those around us."

ECG readings repeated in neon green waves from one side of the black screen to the other before restarting. The length of the line was shallow and small but still very much alive.

"And so I reprise as I lie here, heart torn, mind racing…"

Close-up of Giles lying on a hospital bed, his body rigged up to various machines. His eyes were closed, his chest cavity leisurely filling up with air aided by a breathing apparatus.

"…I’ve come to truly understand and appreciate one fact above all others…knowledge is power."

 

Fade To Black

 

The Day Before Last

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley – Landscaping Site

A thunderous crash filled the valley as a mechanical digger pierced the earth, the vehicle arching up as the claw tore into the dark earth creating a gaping black hole.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" The foreman yelled, racing over to the digger. He slammed his fist against the dull metallic body of the vehicle. "Tony! Tony! Back it up! Back it up!" His voice competed with the sound of other drilling and digging as well as the churning sound of the drill head, which seemed to echo up from the hole in the earth.

Putting the gear stick in reverse, Tony pulled against gravity and managed to back the vehicle up, bringing the drill head out of the ground.

At a safe distance, Tony stopped the engine. He was greeted by the foreman who nearly ripped the door off of the digger’s cab.

"What in the hell did you do?"

"I didn’t do nothin’ Pete. I was just diggin’ and the drill head just fell through somethin’."

"Through somethin’?!" Pete questioned. By now the other men had started to gather by the digger and the fissure in the ground. "Hey, hey!" He paced away from the digger.

"It was like it hit stone!" Tony called out after him, taking off his hard hat and throwing it on the other seat in the cab.

Pete ran to the hole, parting the others as he tried to get nearer. "Okay guys, move back, move back."

As he reached the fissure, he bent down, teetering on the edge as he peered over. "Jeez what the…"

One of the other men bent down too, gazing into the endless black below. "Wanna drop a penny?"

Pete looked round the disturbed earth and found a rock. Placing his hand out over the hole, he held it there for a moment and then let go. With bated breath the crew watched as the stone was engulfed by the black and listened intently for the sound of it hitting the ground. Eyes shifted, looking from one another back to the hole; an eerie silence had descended over the site. Moments later they heard the faintest sound of the rock hitting the ground inside the hole.

"How far down do you think that is?" One of them asked.

"Far."

"Guys, you might wanna look at this," said one of them as he began to shift the earth away from around the fissure.

The crew carefully moved towards the man; with each handful of dirt he lifted and cast to one side he began to uncover what looked like a stone tablet with strange carvings almost resembling letters. As he continued to part the earth he found more strange carvings in what now seemed like a section of roof.

"What the…what the hell is this?" Pete let out. His eyes, as well as those of the others around him, moved back to the fissure in the earth.

Tony pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"Who you calling?" Pete asked.

"My cousin, Gene. He’s a cop," he said before turning toward the phone. "Yeah, Gene. I’m on a site and got something that might be interesting to that friend of yours at that Council place. You gotta check this out."

Pan into the fissure

Black

End of Teaser

Act One

Starring:

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Helen Shaver as Becca Giles, Lacey Chabert as Skye, Elijah Wood as Jeff, Robert Picardo as Dr.Miller and Steffani

Brass as Shannon

Guest Staring:

Amanda Tapping as Dr. Regina Wagner, Mandy Patinkin as Detective Vaughn, Dean Winters as Detective Daniels, Richard Belzer as Mr. Lewis

Mitchell, Claudia Black as Ms. Lynnette Doran, Torri Higginson as Ms. McGraw, Terry O’Quinn as Mr. Black, Charlie Weber as Ben, Peter Woodward

as Jordon Tyrell, Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne and Natalie Portman as Celestas

Fade In:Int.Council Lobby – Morning

Andrew sat at the reception desk, his fingers skillfully gliding across the keyboard as he typed. Next to the keyboard was a writing pad which was graced with frantic, almost incoherent scribbles, underscores, exclamation marks, and doodled stick figures of what appeared to be him and Tracey.

The document he was typing into was tentatively titled ‘Tales of the Slayers of the Vampyres’, though underneath was another title, ‘The Council of Watchers – Will There Ever Be A Rainbow’.

Two gentlemen, one taller than the other, walked into the lobby and took in the sights of the large reception area. They strolled over to the desk, both reaching inside their coats.

"Excuse me, you work here?" the taller gentlemen asked Andrew.

Andrew quickly raised a finger to tell them to wait, his eyes never leaving the screen. The two men exchanged a brief glance and turned back to Andrew who had now finished typing and clicked ‘Save’ three or four times.

"Sorry, you caught me penning my mov …" he cut himself short when he looked up at their impatient faces. "Right, what can I do for you? Keep in

mind I’m the cook, I’m just sitting in for Linda while she goes to the dentist, so I’m not used to filing stuff."

"Well, can you use the phone?" the shorter man sarcastically asked as he flipped open his leather wallet. "I’m Detective Daniels and this is Detective Vaughn, we need to speak with whoever’s in charge"

"Oh, umm…wait a sec," Andrew told them as he picked up the phone and dialed in Buffy’s extension number. His eyes wandered back to the two detectives as he hung on the line. He gave them a somewhat small, nervous smile as he waited. Andrew bobbed his head, quietly humming ‘Don’t leave me hanging on the …’, but was interrupted by Buffy picking up.

"Hey Buffy I’ve got two detectives down in the lobby who want to see you…okay, hang on." Andrew leaned out of the handset and looked to the detectives. "What’s this about?"

"Something very urgent, something that we’d rather tell to all than to one," Detective Daniels said.

Andrew put the handset back to his ear, "You get that? Okay, everyone to conference room one. Five minutes. Got it." He placed the handset back in the dock and pressed the PA intercom button, "Attention, all Heads of Department and senior members of staff please make your way to conference room one immediately. Faith, do not come to the conference room. Thank you," he released the button and stood, "Come with me, please. Lemme take you on a little tour while the heads gathers together."

The detectives exchanged another glance. They appeared reluctant but followed Andrew.

Cut To:Int.Council Conference Room One – Five minutes later

Heads of department and the other senior members of the council were now more or less seated around the table. Robin and Rowena sat with a variety of files and folders in front of them that were completely irrelevant to the meeting, having just been ripped out of their departmental meeting. Ken and Vi sat back in their chairs, still sweating and in their gym clothes from the early morning workout classes. Faith, in all her unofficial capacity, sat on the other side of Kennedy, her arms folded across her.

Not trying to be fashionably late in the slightest, Willow walked in with her cup of coffee in one hand and a couple of large tan folders in the other tucked at her side.

"Am I late?" she sighed as she paced to the table to put her hot cup down.

"No, I swung by Buffy’s office on the way and she’s as clueless as us. She said something about two detectives but that was it. She was just going to finish up and she’d be here," Rowena answered.

"Any idea what this is about?" Kennedy asked the group.

"I was going for surprise spot check, but then I remain spotless, so beats me," Faith replied. "Just sounds like another day at the office; police seen something they don’t understand and they come to the experts."

Xander skidded into the conference room looking a little distressed. "Am I late?" he wheezed.

"Nope," Willow clarified, "we’re early for once. Bustin’ a gut, right there with you." She smiled as she took a drink of her coffee.

Behind Xander, Buffy entered with the two detectives and Andrew in tow. Xander moved out of the way and took a seat beside Vi. Once the detectives had been ushered in Andrew closed the door and sat next to Xander.

"Thank you all for convening in such a hurry, and I’m sorry to break you away from your other duties," Buffy addressed the group.

"What’s this about, Buffy?" Robin asked.

She cocked her head to one side. "Honestly, I don’t know." She turned to the detectives. "These are Detectives Vaughn and Daniels. So, gentlemen you have our attention." She offered them the front of the table as she stepped aside and took a seat next to Rowena.

"Thank you Miss. Summers." Detective Daniels took the proverbial stand. "Okay we’ll keep this brief, ‘cus to be honest we don’t know much ourselves."

"Early this morning," Detective Vaughn began, "just before dawn, a construction team working just off of Gorge Parkway, near the Bedford Reservation in Cuyahoga Valley, broke through into…something …something big." The eyes of all those sitting around the table went wide; heads turned with an eclectic tableau of emotions painted on their faces. "From what the

team uncovered so far it appears to be some kind of massive structure beneath the Valley."

"Excuse me," Buffy interrupted, claming the brief pause between Vaughn’s next sentence, "but where do we fit in?"

"Because you people got a reputation for being experienced in these sorta things," Detective Daniels answered.

"The paranormal," Vaughn added in further explanation.

"What suggests that the structure beneath the Valley is paranormal?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, maybe it’s an archeology issue; an old ‘hut’ or something?" Robin added.

"I seriously doubt it’s a ‘hut’," Daniels replied.

"Look, there are markings, scripts," Vaughn commented. "I dunno of what. From what we saw it looks…mythical and we’re not talking bits of broken pottery and plates from a Native American tribe. This stuff looks weird."

"What do you want us to do?" Buffy asked.

"That’s up to you." Vaughn reached into his coat pocket and produced a file sliding it across the table to her. "But I say you get moving on it before they give away the university rights to the site. If it turns out to be nothing, sorry we wasted your time. But if it turns out to be something, you’re welcome."

Shocked, Buffy opened the file and scanned the page. "What’s all this?"

"The legal paperwork to stop construction. You’re a school after all - you can demand crews stop so you can examine the site," Vaughn finished, stealing a glance at Daniels before turning back to Buffy.

The detectives gave the group a nod and headed for the door.

"Andrew?" Buffy muttered.

"On it – right this way gentlemen." Andrew escorted them out.

Silence and disbelief fell over the group. Each of them tried to muster the words, but every time they did they were taken back.

Buffy slid the file over to Robin. "Double checker guy…thoughts?"

He opened the file and began to read. "Looks genuine. The investigation is ours." Robin slid the file back to Buffy who took in a deep breath before she stood up and walked round to the front of the table.

"Okay," Buffy began, "Will, Ro - you’re our biggest brains here. Head down to the site to see what we’re dealing with. Faith? Do you mind playing chauffeur for our ladies and sticking close by them…not official council business of course but as a favor? In case they need some ex-slayer muscle?" she asked knowingly.

Faith grinned and shrugged. "Boy, I don’t know. My dance card is just overflowing with activities lately." Buffy just rolled her eyes and Faith gave a snort. "Yeah, I’m there."

"Good," Buffy answered, "After you’ve snooped around, give me a call. You might want to be ready, Xander. Your years in construction might come in handy."

"You got it, Buff," he replied.

"Cool. Meeting adjourned then." Buffy realized she was short of the gavel at this meeting, so she knocked on the table instead.

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley – Construction Site - Later

Willow, Rowena and Faith walked across the plains of the Valley, ushered by two police officers.

"So you guys are the specialists that’s taking over, right?" one of the officers remarked.

"Yeah, something like that," Ro answered.

"Ehh, you two look like the bookish type," the other officer commented as he pointed to Willow and Rowena.

The two women glanced at each other with a smirk while Faith stifled a laugh.

"We’re not let out that much, only so much vitamin D you can get from a table-top lamp in the library," Willow joked, smiling at Ro.

"It is a little strange us being the ones to do recon. Normally we’d send the dispensable ‘red uniform’ guys that always die at the beginning of Star Trek episodes. Should we be worried?" Ro said.

"You mean should I be worried that you’re spending too much time in the kitchen with Andrew in the mornings, or that we should be worried that we’re just the most qualified," Willow added coolly.

Rowena smirked. "When you put it like that..."

"Here we are," the officer to their right said.

Carefully, Willow and Rowena approached the fissure in the ground. The hole in the earth was larger now, more of the surrounding soil moved aside to show a greater surface area of the roof.

"Holey moley," Willow gasped, her eyes wandering from the reddish, rune-ridden roof to the gaping black hole.

Rowena looked to her in jest. "That was just bad."

"Bad puns and Red are like peas and carrots," Faith remarked.

"That was an exclamation. No pun intended," Willow retorted.

They bent to their knees to get closer to the roof. Thousands of carvings, engravings, symbols, and bits of text adorned the stone.

Willow went to her jacket pocket, pulled out her digital camera, and took a picture of the roof, lining the markings up as best she could so as not to cut them off. After the click of the shutter, she put the camera away.

"Faith, hold my legs," Rowena said as she began to lean in further. Her eyes skimmed around the area as Faith kept a secure hold on her. She leaned back up and looked to Willow, shaking her head.

"You able to read any of that?" the witch asked.

"Not from up here. There’re a lot of different symbols though. What do you think?" Rowena glanced from the black hole back to Willow. "I think we’ve got to get down there."

Willow nodded in agreement.

"Gee, your one trip out of the library and you guys still won’t be getting any sun," Faith teased. Willow and Rowena just grinned and shook their heads.

Cut To:Int.Buffy’s Office – Moments Later

Buffy put her phone down and sat back in her chair, looking to Xander and Kennedy who sat opposite her.

"We’ve got a green light," she told them, "Kennedy, organize slayer details to get down to the site immediately, ideally as many girls as you can pull without leaving us dry here." She checked something off on her list.

"Sure. What about Faith?" Kennedy asked.

"If she wants to go no one’s stopping her, but you’re going to be on site so I’ll talk to her after this and see if she wants to stay on, just in case, you know," Buffy replied. "Xander, you know the drill: man power, equipment, supplies, all that stuff."

"Check." He clapped his hands.

"I’ll speak with Robin about getting books and watcher stuff down to the site. From the way Ro was talking, translating whatever’s written on the roof is gonna be a brainteaser, not to mention whatever they find inside. So we need our best resources down there, and that means …"

Cut To:Int.Giles’s House – Later

The front doorbell rang a couple of times, the wait between buzzes becoming shorter as the ringer grew impatient. So impatient in fact that the person behind the front door resorted to knocking.

Giles shuffled out of the kitchen, tea towel in hand, making his way to the front door. "Hold on! Hold on!"

He unlocked the door and opened it to catch Buffy in the act about to knock once again.

Her slightly awkward face beamed a large smile within a second. "Ah, Giles, so the very person I wanted to see."

"Well, this is my house"

"Can I-"

"Oh yes, come in," Giles moved aside and welcomed Buffy inside. Closing the door he turned to her, "the kettle’s just boiled, would you like a cup?"

"Well, this was going to be somewhat of a fleeting visit, but sure."

Cut To:Int.Giles’s House – Kitchen - Continuous

Buffy followed Giles into the kitchen. Pouring the boiling water into two cups, Giles quickly glanced at his former slayer. "I presume there was something you wanted?" he asked as he handed her a cup.

"Actually there is." Buffy warmed her hands around the mug, "We had a visit from the local PD earlier this morning."

"Really?" Giles took a sip.

"A construction team working in Cuyahoga Valley, found ‘something’ buried beneath the ground. Ro and Will think its a temple of some kind."

Giles leaned back in his chair, mug in hand, "Do we have the resources, the numbers to do an excavation like this?"

"I’ve already got Xander and his crew sending equipment and Kennedy organizing slayer rotations as guards there."

"I don’t need to tell you about spreading yourself too thin, do I?" Giles advised.

Buffy smiled. "No, you don’t. I’m on top it"

"Good," Giles gave a slight nod, "and at least we’ll be able to keep tabs and the situation quiet."

"See Giles, you get it. But I need a favor. Will and Rowena can only do so much. The place is loaded with carving, symbols, ancient text, blah, blah, blah."

Giles arched a brow, "And you want me to go too?"

"If it’s not too much trouble. We’re only talking a couple of days probably…So…should I ask Becca if you can come out and play or would you like to?"

The elder watcher smiled. "Consider me there."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Hall - Later

In full rock climbing gear, Vi was slowly lowered further down into the dark, supposedly endless, chasm. Her gloved hands grasped tightly onto the dynamic rope connected to her belt. As she furthered her descent, Vi went to a pouch on her belt and withdrew a flare. Bending the bioluminescent stick in her powerful palm she threw it beneath her.

The sound of the stick hitting and rolling across the floor beneath nearly 20 seconds later told her that she still had a way to go down.

Vi radioed up to the others to slowly lower her. Stretching out with her pointed sneaker she finally felt the hard surface below.

"Easy does it, just a little more …a little more …" she spoke into her shoulder mounted radio. With feet firmly on the floor, Vi breathed a sigh of relief. "I’m down!" she called out, looking back up to the distant crack in the ceiling. Vi tugged on the rope and unclipped the carabiner on her harness from the rope.

Vi withdrew her flashlight from its hip holster and began to examine the pitch-black void around her.

"I know I shouldn’t have gone to see The Descent," the auburn-haired slayer sighed as she took cautious steps further into the black.

The vivid beam of light from the flashlight cast onto walls around her, suggesting that she was in a hall of sorts. The silence was deathly, air thick with dust and the bitter stale taste that time imbues on enclosed spaces. With each step Vi took, the sound reverberated through the empty space, again indicating the size of the temple.

She pointed her flashlight in front of her to see a parting in the stone walls - an archway leading further into the temple. Vi proceeded down to the archway and through the tunnel-like passage until she came to an opening to what appeared to be the next chamber. She squinted her eyes and she focused on what seemed like a shaft of strange white light.

Inquisitively, Vi took a step inside the next chamber and continued ahead up to what now appeared to be a raised stone platform with a beam of unnatural light cast down upon it from a giant, inverted, spire-like needle.

Vi trained the flashlight at the base of the platform to see the engravings. Her face indicating what might have been fear, she did not take a step further. Instead, Vi turned and left the chamber heading back to the hall.

Upon getting back to the hall, Vi reattached her carabiner to the rope and activated her radio.

"All clear by the looks of it, but I really think we need to get the Indy’s down here – I’ve found something."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Hall - Later

The once pitch hallway was now lit up from mounted lights. With the new light shed it was revealed that the hall where the digger had broken in was an antechamber – highly decorated with patterned stone blocks, wall adorned ornaments and statues of women. Presumably these were statues of the temple masters or iconic figures in whatever culture and time this temple was from.

Inside the grand hall, a small group of slayers ordered to stand guard stood in formation around the hoisting system. Giles helped Rowena step out of her harness. Rowena unclipped her helmet and ran her hands through her wavy hair, bringing back the bounce and life that the helmet had so cruelly taken away.

"Reminds me of the time when we went to Wales for the annual retreat."

"Wales?" Giles asked, buffing his glasses on his clean hanky.

"Yes. The last retreat before the old Council was destroyed. You had prior commitments with –." She nodded up to Willow as she made her descent into the temple.

Willow nervously took in breath, her eyes firmly closed in a futile attempt to imagine she was elsewhere rather than suspended in mid-air.

"Ah, yes," Giles smiled nervously. "Well, she was worth the trade off."

When Willow was a few feet above the ground, Giles reached up, opening his arms so she would be lowered into his hold.

Willow jumped slightly as she felt Giles’s arms wrap around her. "Oh!" she opened her eyes to see Giles’s soft smile. Willow’s cheeks grew a little red. "Thanks. Charlie’s tattoos are right - living is easy with eyes closed." Upon seeing Giles’s inquisitive frown, Willow batted away his confusion with her hand. "Bah, me and my pop culture references again. Heights really aren’t my thing. I didn’t make the honor roll one year because I refused to climb the rope in gym class."

Once Willow was free of her harness, the three watchers proceeded down the tunnel to the inner chamber where the rest of the lights were set up. As they emerged the three of them were completely taken back by the enormity and grandeur of the domed chamber.

Ancient glyphs adorned the walls from floor to ceiling. Symbols, drawings, texts – an entire library of long forgotten knowledge was engraved into the red stone walls. In the center of the room stood a large podium; the shaft of light from before was now drowned out with the artificial glare from the mounted flashlights. Housed on the ceiling directly above the podium platform, the large needle hung tipped with a magnificent cut-glass angled crystal.

"Jinkies…" Willow’s eyes widened in astonishment.

ResumeInt.Temple – Domed Chamber – Minutes Later

Particles of dust danced a lonely waltz in the slight breeze wafting through to the chamber from the tear in the ceiling in the previous hall. Wide-angled beams of ashen light cast across the chamber, adorning the walls with shadows and giving even more life to the grand chamber. The light also revealed more ancient scribes.

"Good…god….this is…this is incredible?!" Rowena gasped as she took a slow walk around the left side of the large cylindrical chamber. She ran her hands across the burgundy stone walls. "The glyphs and symbols continue all the way up the walls to the center of the dome. It even spills over onto the floor." She lifted one of her boots to see the hieroglyphs beneath.

"I just can’t get over how this temple wasn’t discovered before," Willow added, standing in another corner of the room and examining another section of wall.

"It was only recently that the local government gave permission for housing to be built in Cuyahoga Valley National Park," Giles explained. "The members of one of the local country clubs wanted luxury apartments out here to get away from the pace of life in the city – can’t blame them much; but more likely they wanted to be out here to be within a stones throw of the country club and golf courses…lucky gits." Giles mumbled the latter. "Though, if they had given permission twenty years ago, it’s likely they would have still found this temple. Fact is that if the temple was discovered back then, the old Council would have been involved, and all the information here would have been lost when Caleb destroyed The Council," Giles spoke up as he held his flashlight up to the wall in front of him, his eyes narrowing on certain glyphs.

"The more I think about it," Willow added, "the more I believe we were pre-ordained to find the temple. You just don’t not find something like this, especially with a local populous sitting right on top of it."

Giles rubbed his chin. "Perhaps, but I try not to believe that our life is planned out for us. Though I admit it sounds rather odd for me to say such a thing considering the life I’ve led."

Silence fell over the three watchers once again as each of them moved across their chosen walls. The archaic glyphs, symbols, and texts engraved into the walls seemed to be divided up into sections, but what each section and the individual glyphs denoted still eluded them.

"Seems we’ll be in here for quite some time. There’s much to uncover," Giles remarked.

Willow and Rowena looked at each other for a moment and grinned slightly.

"Yeah," Willow began, "there’s the dark and dank option or we could take some digital photos of everything, shoot some videotape. It is the twenty-first century Giles," she teased.

Rowena stifled a small chuckle.

"Where’s the bloody fun in that?" Giles asked. He continued to look at his surroundings and not directly at the young women whose smiles got wider at the comment.

Giles scanned tiny sections of the wall before him. Certain symbols and words made sense to him; he jotted these down in his journal.

Picking up his flashlight and slowly moving sideways he came to a certain panel, recessed into the wall. Taking a curious step forward and raising his flashlight, he cast light onto what seemed to be an elaborate graphic depiction. The panel illustrated a grand battle between winged beings from the sky and ghastly beings from the earth. The two rivals clashed both on the rocky ground in their thousands and high above an ancient stone city surrounded by sun-drenched sands. Stuck between the two warring opposites were several figures - people - running and hiding and sobbing out for help. The sky was colored a blood red along with parts of the ground.

Below the main illustration was a small symbol, a circle. Giles bent down and brushed the circle with his hand. As the dust was cast away he noticed the circle to be the image of a snake eating its own tail. His brow creased; he

knew what it was and what it meant. He ran his fingers around the image of the snake, then glanced back up at the image of the ancient war.

"Can you make out any of this?" Willow’s voice echoed through the chamber.

Broken out of concerned thought by her voice, Giles stood up and stared back at the image, taking steps back before turning to the other watchers.

Rowena sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. "No. I can’t make head or tails out of some of this. There is the odd glyph...‘fire’…‘bad’…‘tree pretty’? There are at least," Rowena paused as she looked at the walls and pointed with her finger, "four different languages it looks like. Possibly more."

Giles walked over to the blonde watcher, "Yes, at least. From what I’ve examined the information scribed on these walls is encoded in multiple dialects and codes, as well. You’ve just got to know how to read them all."

"I take it you understand some of it then?" Rowena replied.

"Yes, but some being the apt word," he answered with a nod.

"Guys? You might want to take a look at this?" Willow called, catching the other two’s attention. As Giles and Rowena came closer, Willow turned to them, her hand on one section of the wall as if to bookmark where she was reading. "This section I can understand, well, partly. It’s in Hebrew."

"Hebrew?" Rowena mused.

"To say my Hebrew’s more than a little rusty is an understatement but one thing caught my eye." Willow moved her hand off of the wall and revealed a symbol where her palm had covered. "It’s the symbol for scythe. Y’know, the funky ‘m’ question mark thing."

Giles leaned in and peered at the symbol. "Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised. It was used throughout the ancient world."

"Oh I know, but here’s where it gets interesting," Willow replied, pointing her finger to a particular Hebrew word. "‘Shomer’ - it means ‘Guardian’ or ‘Watcher’. Coincidence, no?"

"Wait a second, what are you suggesting? That maybe there’s some link here between what’s on these walls and the people who forged the scythe?" Rowena asked.

"Well, between this and the statues of those women back in the antechamber…" Willow answered, nodding her head.

"Let me take a look." Giles stepped forward and examined the section scribed in Hebrew. "Willow’s right. This is about the Guardians, though this section is an extract, an account of..." Giles straightened up and looked back at the two women in surprise. "It’s an account of a fallen Guardian."

"Huh?" Willow deadpanned.

"It-it tells of a Guardian who abused her power; who lost sight…not as in go blind, but as in losing sight of their cause, their goal. As a result she was stripped of her powers and title as Guardian and banished from the…temples."

"Temples?" Rowena reiterated.

"Yes…" Giles read on silently to himself for a moment. "…This temple belongs to The Guardians. This site was where they recorded their knowledge and the happenings of the ancient world…" He continued to read on. "This is interesting; the Guardian that was banished was stripped of her title and privileges – that word I’m unsure of but in any case...A punishment if you will. Bitter and angry, this Guardian wandered aimlessly but eventually turned to …‘Satan’," Giles said in a soft voice.

"This is a very upsetting story," Willow remarked quietly.

"It says she pleaded with him to take her in. She offered herself and what she knew to the cause of evil and Satan accepted her with open arms under the condition of total loyalty, granting her eternal life."

It was at that point Shannon entered the chamber, her presence made known by the loud echo of "Woah!" that made the three watchers jump.

"Shannon, what are you doing-?" Rowena began only to be cut off.

"Man! This place is huge! HELLO!" she called out, easily amused by the reverberating acoustics.

"Shannon," Rowena reaffirmed in a sterner tone.

The young slayer giggled. "Sorry! Umm…yeah, Xander tried to get you on the radio but for some reason he couldn’t. Said it must be something to do with this chamber and its structure? Either that or a solar flare or something. I don’t know about that radio junk."

"What did he want?" Giles asked.

"Oh yeah, there’s a couple of suits up on the surface to see you guys."

"What do you mean ‘suits’?" Rowena said. "Like lawyers?"

Shannon shrugged. "I dunno. They just showed up in a stretch black limo a few minutes ago. They only want to talk to who’s in charge. They’re pretty snotty so, my guess, yeah, lawyers."

The three watchers exchanged confounded glances and then Giles looked back at Shannon.

"Thank you Shannon, we’ll be right behind you."

The pint-sized slayer gave a nod and bounced out of the chamber.

Rowena caught Giles’ glance as he looked back at them, "‘Suits’, eh? This’ll be interesting"

"Here’s hoping it’s the golfers’ lawyers trying to stop the excavation so they can hurry along their shiny new apartments?" Willow quipped.

"Wouldn’t be surprised," Giles added with a sigh. "Come on then, let’s see what this is all about."

Cut To:Int.Command Tent – Moments Later

Back on the surface, the Council had now assumed full control of the site. Various tents had been set up around the area. Equipment cases, cables, and lights littered the site, either standing or piled up outside of tents, or just left on the ground. There was a large number of people milling around: maintenance crews, watchers, slayers standing guard. Further back, near the Gorge Parkway access road, a temporary car lot had been set up where cars and black vans and trucks were parked. A cordon blocked off access to the site; a couple of watchers and slayers stood next to it to prevent anyone from getting through.

Giles, Willow, and Rowena marched into the command tent, passing two young slayers who stood just outside. At the other end of the tent stood two lawyers dressed in black, one male and the other female. They smiled upon seeing the three walking in.

"I’m Mr. Giles." Giles said, shaking the hands of both the lawyers. "This is Miss Rosenberg and Miss Allister."

"Pleasure. I’m Mr. Lewis Mitchell and this is Ms. Lynnette Doran."

"Thank you for seeing us," Ms. Doran added.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, I’m sure you can appreciate just how busy we are, so I apologize if this sounds rude but what are you here for?" Giles said.

The lawyers looked at each other and Mr. Mitchell stepped up. "Of course, time is precious and not just your own. We represent an organization that deals in such matters-."

"Such matters?" Rowena interjected.

"Such matters as unearthing an ancient temple," Ms. Doran replied, exchanging a nod with Mr. Mitchell.

"How do you know what we’re excavating?" Giles asked.

"Because," Mr. Mitchell replied coolly.

"The trees have eyes?" Willow answered.

Mr. Mitchell smiled. "Something like that."

"Exactly, what is it you want?" Giles pried, his tone firm.

"We wish to take over control of the excavation, to ensure that the temple remains intact and whatever is inside preserved." Mr. Mitchell replied.

"This incident was reported to the local police, and they have since handed over the rights to this investigation to our school," Rowena answered. "We have jurisdiction over this site and we are not looking for help but thank you for the offer."

"Who said we were offering?" Mr. Mitchell glared at her with a slight unsettling smile.

Giles stepped between Rowena and the lawyer. "Are you threatening us?"

"Oh, I never threaten, Mr. Giles," Mr. Mitchell answered. "I simply mediate conflicts. And right now you are in conflict with my employer."

Giles stared down at the lawyer. "Girls!" the watcher called out. Two young slayers entered the tent as Giles kept his eyes on the stranger. "You have a choice Mr. Mitchell – walk out of here now, or be forcefully escorted off this site."

The pair locked gazes for a few moments before Mr. Mitchell turned his head and nodded for Ms. Doran and him to leave.

Ms. Doran walked past Rowena and Willow. She looked at them coldly and stood by the tent entrance where the two slayers stood guard.

Mr. Mitchell stared back at Giles. "It really would be in the best interests of everyone if we assumed control of the excavation."

Giles lent forward, his breath on the other man’s face. "Get…out."

He smirked and walked round Giles, nodding his head at Willow and Rowena, and stepped aside for Ms. Doran to leave first. He took a step outside, but then turned and walked back to Giles. Reaching into his inside breast pocket of his black blazer, Mr. Mitchell produced a small white card and extended it to Giles.

In a heartbeat Giles snatched at the card, never taking his eyes off of the man.

"In case you change your mind." With a final smile, Mr. Mitchell returned to Ms. Doran and the pair left the tent.

Rowena quickly turned to the two slayers standing by the entrance of the tent. "Escort them off-site and to their car. If they return anywhere near this site notify us immediately." Obeying, they left the tent too.

Giles averted his stare from where the lawyers had just left to the card. His eyes widened as he read the name on the card. Vexed, he looked back up. In his fist he crumpled the card into a ball and threw it to the ground.

Willow walked to him, as did Rowena.

"Giles, who are they?" Rowena asked hesitantly, swallowing hard.

Giles looked at the two women, stepping forward to crush the ball of card further beneath his foot. He quickly left the tent.

Willow picked up the card and opened it to see name of Wolfram and Hart. Her eyes went wide and she motioned for Rowena to follow her.

End of Act One

End of Act One

Act TwoFade To:Int.Command Tent – Moments later

Giles, Willow and Rowena stood around the table, as did Kennedy and Xander. Rowena dialed her cell phone and waited for an answer.

"Hey Buffy, it’s Rowena. I’m going to put you on speakerphone, hang on." Rowena placed the phone down on the table and pressed a button next to the d-pad. "Okay, present is Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Xander, and myself."

"So what’s there to report?" Buffy’s voice filled the tent.

Arms folded, Giles came closer to the table. He still looked pretty peeved. "Much. The structure beneath the Valley is in fact a temple that we believe to be related to the Guardians."

A momentary silence filled the tent. "Excuse me?" Buffy spluttered out surprise.

"We know, but we have evidence to support it. Buffy, there is an incredible amount of information down in the temple. It’ll take a while to decipher, but believe me, and I don’t say this lightly, this is the find of the century, if not of all time." Giles continued to speak, almost giddy with excitement. "There’s a podium-like device in the center of the main chamber. We’re unsure what it is yet, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s important."

"Well, don’t go standing on it before you know a hundred percent what it is. Sounds like not my kind of fun down there," Buffy replied.

"You’re telling me," Kennedy added. "I haven’t killed anything yet today."

"Is there anything else?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked to Rowena and Willow and then back at the phone on the table. "No, that’s all."

"Cool, well, keep the boss-lady updated," Buffy joked.

Rowena gave Giles a strange look and picked her phone up. "Will do. Talk to you later." She hung up and turned to Giles. "Why didn’t you tell her about the lawyers?"

"Because there was nothing to tell. They came and we sent them away. That’s it," he replied calmly.

"But Giles–." Willow started, but she was cut off by Giles.

"Willow, I know. But what do you think Buffy would do if we told her that they where sniffing about?"

"I know what she’d do, she’d get worried, and for good reason," Willow came back.

"Yes, but for the wrong reasons," Giles countered.

"Okay, enough you two," Rowena mediated, "Giles made his decision, and I’m not saying it’s the right one by a long shot, but we’ve got work to do here that won’t get done if we bicker. Now, you two head back down into the temple. I’m going to stay up here and get up to speed with what, if anything, the other watchers have found out. Okay?"

"Yeah," Willow replied as she moved aside to allow Rowena to leave. Once she had gone, Willow stepped forward again. "Look I get it, and maybe this isn’t the right time when we’ve got other things on our minds, but you’ve got to tell her."

Giles stared down at Willow. "You’re right, however, now’s not the time, but I will." He smiled, which seemed to quell Willow’s worry. She returned his smile. "Come on, let’s head back down there."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Domed Chamber - Later

The walls of the temple were sectioned off with yellow rope. The bright flash from Willow’s digital camera spread across the chamber, followed by a short beep to indicate that a picture had been taken. She was busy recording images of the nearest section of the wall. The images automatically fed into her open laptop resting on the stone floor, revealing image after image of obscure text.

Across the room, Giles laid sprawled out across the floor with his reference books and charts and his notepad, deciphering more of the etchings around the base and steps of the podium. Pages upon pages of the notebook were filled with scribbles, almost as illegible as the ancient engravings on the walls. Underscores, scrub outs, exclamation and question marks— certain lines of text were written over and over again, each with a slightly different wording and overall meaning.

The task of deciphering and preserving the knowledge inside the temple looked immense, something that could take months, if not years, to decipher.

Giles sat up, groaning slightly as he willed his sluggish limbs out of lethargy. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a few comforting moments.

As he rested his glasses back in their rightful place on his nose, Giles noticed that Willow was looking at him with a smile.

He began to grin as well. "Something interesting?" he asked.

"Rowena does that – pinches her nose when she’s trying to refocus. Must be a genetic watcher thing," she commented.

Giles grinned and his eyes once again fell upon a depiction of an ancient battle. With a final struggle to get to his feet, Giles brushed himself down, took his camera, sans laptop, and walked over to the illustration.

His eyes focused on the Ouroboros carved beneath the depiction and an intrigued look crossed his face. He pressed a button on the camera and the optical zoom lens protruded, doubling in length from its slim-line metallic housing. Giles readied the camera and raised the device so that the illustration before him appeared on the large LCD screen on the back of the camera. With a few adjustments to the zoom, more of the image fit inside the boundaries of the LCD screen. Giles pressed down on the capture button, the flash flickering for a second before the picture was taken. Giles turned the camera off and stared back at the image on the panel for a few more moments before returning to his books by the podium.

Willow took a brief rest from taking pictures and wandered over to Giles. "How’s it going? Any clue what this thing is yet?" she enquired.

"Well...it’s clearly mystical," Giles answered.

"What makes you say that?" Willow asked.

"Well…look at it," he replied, pointing at the podium. "Not to mention that it’s got that eerie light coming from it, and notice the lack of a light bulb."

"I’ll give ya that. Eerie light usually equals mystical."

Willow looked at the podium. Taking a step up, she placed her hand just a few millimeters from the shaft of light and closed her eyes. When nothing happened, she opened her eyes and moved her hand away.

"It’s not giving off any magical emissions. There doesn’t even seem to be any power supply or energy running through it. If there’s one thing the many hours of watching Indiana Jones with Xander and Andrew have taught me, it’s that Indy always took a risk for the golden idol. Just so ya know, you can substitute the search for knowledge for the idol."

"I’ll take the risk!" Shannon boldly proclaimed, appearing out of nowhere again. She was about to take a step onto the podium.

"Wait!" Giles commanded, pretty much at the last moment. Willow’s protest was also on the tip of her tongue, her hands about to grab the slayer.

Luckily, Shannon had only just lifted her foot off the ground. "Please, no heroics today."

"Yes, please," Willow scowled. "And there’s another thing that I’ve learned from gallant films like Indiana Jones; there’s always a Satipo." Shannon gave slightly perplexed look. With a sigh, Willow ignored her charge and turned to Giles. "What is it?"

"There are engravings on these steps. If we weren’t so enthralled by the rest of this structure we would have seen these first." Giles released a breath and wiped away more of the ancient dust, trying to make the text more legible. "Now don’t hold me to this, but it loosely translates to ‘Plinth of knowledge’." He read carefully before casting a glance up at the two girls. "It’s a repository of sorts, of ancient, forgotten knowledge. T-to say this find is-is remarkable is an understatement. The discovery of this temple is extraordinary, and it is essential that we must proceed with caution and go over everything with a fine tooth comb." With creaking knees, Giles got to his feet and glared at Shannon. "What is it now?"

"More suits," she replied nonchalantly.

"You’re kidding?" Willow sighed.

She shook her head. "This time they came in a red 4x4. They’re less snotty than the last pair."

"Shannon, go back up and tell Xander to get Rowena to deal with them." Giles said.

"Yeah, but she wants you up there with her," Shannon insisted.

Upon seeing Giles roll his eyes, Willow spoke up. "No, it’s okay, tell her I’ll be up in a sec, ‘kay?"

Shannon looked between the two of them, then left.

Willow stared at Giles; he arched a brow. "What?"

"I know why you’re antsy about going back to the surface. You wanna stay down here and have all the fun," she smirked.

"Well I’ve managed to decipher the majority of what was scribed on the steps. It’s exactly what it says - an ancient repository of knowledge. There’s a section I don’t understand, though: ‘Apparatus cumu fallatus transtulic menuis mentvas lochus periclitor scientia curuatoros’," he read off his notes before shaking his head. "But on the final step before the podium it says that

one who stands upon the platform, with intentions ‘Euga’, which I believe to mean ‘good’, will be imbued with a great wealth of knowledge."

"No."

"No what?" he asked.

"You know what."

"If I knew what, I wouldn’t be asking you."

"I know you," Willow replied. "You wanna hop right up onto that podium, don’tcha?"

"Well…yes," Giles answered honestly. "As far as I can tell it’s perfectly safe."

"Perfectly safe, huh?" Willow answered. She picked her foot up to place it on the first step but Giles pulled her back.

"Alright," Giles conceded. "I’m not sure what could happen if either one of us stands upon that platform."

"Which is why I should do it. I’m an official council member and you’re not."

"Pulling rank are you?" Giles asked.

"If I have to, yeah."

Giles sighed in frustration. "You have years ahead of you, Willow. You haven’t experienced nearly half of what I have, and I couldn’t live out the rest of my days knowing that I could have taken away yours."

"Yeah, but I don’t have a wife and daughter at home that need me. What if something happens to you?"

"You’ve got Rowena, haven’t you?" Giles nudged.

"I-I haven’t had Ro in nearly two months now." Willow fell quiet for a second. "But more importantly, I don’t have a daughter who will grow up wondering who I was." She folded her arms and pursed her lips.

The pair stared at each other until Giles broke the silence. "I fold," he sighed.

Willow smiled and put her hand on Giles’s arm. "Good answer," she grinned. "Pinky swear you won’t do anything while I’m gone?" she asked as she held out her pinky. Giles rolled his eyes but took her finger in his. "I’ll take that as a yes," she answered before leaving the chamber.

Cut To:Int.Command Tent – Moments Later

Willow and Rowena walked into the command tent to find a familiar scene. Two more lawyers, again a man and a woman, stood at the back of the tent.

The woman noticed the pair walk in and straightened her coat as she walked to greet them.

"We’re so sorry to bother you." She offered her hand, which both Willow and Rowena took despite the reservation showing on their faces. "I’m Ms. McGraw and this is Mr. Black. We’re with Ouroboros Law Offices. You know our associate Ms. Neel?"

Willow glanced at Rowena, somewhat surprised. "Oh yes, Alex. Well, umm…what can we do for you?"

"As you know, our firm deals in matters such as these, in somewhat of a specialized capacity," Mr. Black replied.

Rowena quickly glanced at Willow, pouting a little before turning back to the two lawyers.

"Our firm has handled many similar excavations in the past, and we feel we’re equipped to handle the situation at hand more effectively than the Council."

Rowena nibbled on her bottom lip, arms folded. She glanced at the ground before looking back up to Ms. McGraw’s inviting face.

"Are you offering us your help in excavating the temple?"

Ms. McGraw, her hands held in front of her, looked at Mr. Black and then back at Willow and Rowena, cocking her head to one side. "No, we–."

"Sorry, but we’re not interested," Rowena quickly replied.

Ms. McGraw was so stunned at Rowena’s reaction that she was speechless for a moment. "Excuse me?"

"You were going to say that your firm wants to take control of this site, right?" Rowena continued.

"Well, I–," Ms. McGraw stammered.

"We’ve already had our fair share of people telling us that we’re not good enough to do this job. We’ve already had this talk earlier with the Yin to your Yang-."

Hastily the two lawyers shot one another a rather concerned glance.

"…and we’re not changing our–." Willow put her hand on Rowena’s arm to stop her when she saw the worried looks on the lawyers’ faces.

"What is it?" Willow asked puzzled.

"There were others here before us?" Mr. Black asked.

"Yes. Two from–" Rowena began, only to be cut off by Ms. McGraw.

"Forgive us, but we have to go. Thank you for your time," she said. The two lawyers hurried out of the command tent, leaving Willow and Rowena standing mystified.

"That was..." Willow started.

"Odd?" Rowena finished.

Willow nodded.

Cut To:Int.Cuyahoga Valley – Surface – Outside Command Tent - Moments later

Willow and Rowena walked out of the tent. The soothing, warm afternoon breeze blew past them.

"This day just can’t get any weirder," Rowena sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"You’re telling me. And Andrew wasn’t around to cook breakfast this morning. Not that I’m knocking the other chef, but Andrew does this thing with the scrambled eggs."

"All I want to do is curl up at home with a movie and Marco and Polo. Books are out for me today. Anywho, it’s my turn to head down into the temple now. You rest up."

Willow stopped and turned to Rowena. "No, honestly I don’t mind. This is kinda fun – a field trip like the good ole days."

Rowena smiled. "Don’t punish me by making me go back into the watchers tent," she pleaded. "So many theories, so many books…"

"So you want to put me through that?" Willow teased. "Nah, I’m kidding. Go take a break and grab some lunch or something."

It was then that Rowena’s cell phone rang. "Sorry, one sec," she told Willow before answering, "Hello…what time is it? Jeez, okay, I will. Thanks so much Robin. See you in a bit." She hung up. "No rest for the wicked apparently. That was Robin, I totally forgot about my tele-conference with Ayaka Hazuki from the Tokyo branch. Look, I’ve…"

Willow nodded. "No, go. Honestly, it’s fine, I’ll cover for you. Besides I had an agreement with Giles to help him out with this translation he’s having trouble with."

Rowena frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of course, go, go," Willow waved Rowena off

"Thanks, Will," Rowena smiled slightly sheepishly, before she turned and paced to her car.

Willow watched as Rowena disappeared behind one of the tents. Once she was gone, Willow headed for the temple entrance.

Rowena walked to the temporary car lot and scanned the array of cars for her own. She looked back to see Xander hook up the last of Willow’s gear before lowering her down into the hole. Rowena smiled softly before she began to weave between the vehicles to her car. She took the keys out of her pocket.

As she was about to put the key in lock, there was the slightest tremor beneath her feet. She pulled back and looked around, but there were no

trucks coming up the pass. Confused, Rowena went to put the key in the lock again, but this time a tremendous earthquake rocked the Valley, knocking Rowena off her feet and over the hood of another car.

The earthquake violently shook the entire Valley, sending people to the ground and stripping them of their balance. Equipment toppled over and crashed to the earth. The bulbs of the large electrical lights shattered as they connected with the ground.

Beneath the feet of those in close proximity to the fissure the ground began to dip on a harsh incline towards the entrance of the temple. Some began to slip down the inclined earth, but the hands of others saved them from a deadly fate.

Rowena rolled off of the hood and managed to find her footing on the shaking ground. Over the shaking earth, screams and shouting could be heard coming from the excavation site. Without thinking she sprinted back towards the epicenter, dodging out the way of the tent poles and other equipment falling around her.

"WILLOW!!" she screamed frantically.

Plumes of dust erupted from the fissure, and as Rowena neared the temple entrance her eyes darted from one person to the other, trying to sort Willow out from the crowd.

A cable connected to one of the large floodlights snapped out of its socket and flared up, hissing like a snake.

Xander ran from the safety of one of the tents and grabbed Rowena, narrowly pulling her out of the path of the sparking electrical cable.

Together they fell back onto the ground. Kennedy and Vi ran to the pair, helping them get back up to their feet.

Rowena clutched onto Xander’s shirt. "Where’s Willow?" she shouted, struggling to be heard over the earthquake.

"She…she was being lowered down…we can’t get near the hoisting device." Rowena tried to run but Xander grabbed her by the waist. "It’s too close to the fissure," he yelled.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Domed Chamber – Same Time

As Willow was lowered back down into the temple, the earthquake began to shake the temple. Locked into her harness, she was violently swung about in mid-air. Willow held onto the rope for dear life, the chamber spinning before her eyes. Suddenly she dropped a few yards, sending her stomach into her mouth. The rope snagged and became taut again, stopping her fast descent with a jolt.

She heard a churning above her. When Willow looked up she saw the rope beginning to snap. She stole a hasty look below, finding herself too far above the ground to land safely.

Her hands groped aimlessly for something, anything. Then the rope gave way, sending Willow falling through the air to the hard stone ground.

As Willow fell, the air whistling in her ears, she screamed out, "Maceros!"

A green, vapor-like cloud erupted out of the ether above the ground directly beneath her. As if a wind had picked it up, the cloud spun and shot up into the air, engulfing Willow and slowing her rapid descent. The cloud gently carried Willow down to the ground, feet first. When she touched down the cloud evaporated around her.

Slightly weak in the knees, Willow looked down the shaking hall into the main chamber to see Giles stumbling around the podium.

"Giles!" Her call was drowned out by the wailing of the earth.

It was then that a large pillar broke away from the ceiling and crashed down behind her; the temple was falling to pieces around her.

Willow ran out of the antechamber and down into the hallway, still calling out after Giles.

Cracks in the once perfectly-preserved domed chamber began to show; huge chunks of the stone ceiling fell to the ground. Giles looked at the podium as he tried to stay on his feet. He looked at the circular walls, the knowledge they held now defiled by large gashes in the stone. As his gaze returned to the podium, he took a deep breath and took the steps up, stopping directly in the center of the podium.

"Giles, no!" Willow cried out.

Beneath his feet the platform pressed down, like he was standing on a pressure pad. A low drone sounded as rings of lights began to glow on the housing of the needle directly above Giles. The drone continued to get louder, indicating that the device was powering up.

Giles clenched his fists and closed his eyes. Less than a second later a beam of brilliant white light shot out of the needle above him, washing over his head before dissipating as quickly as it had come.

A beam on the ceiling of the domed chamber began to jerk free of its housing. Willow raced into the chamber and headed straight for Giles, who stood perfectly still on the podium. The sound of the beam giving way caught Willow’s attention. The beam came free and plummeted down onto the device above Giles.

Gritting her teeth Willow picked up speed and dive-tackled Giles off of the podium, sending both of them crashing to the hard stone floor mere seconds before the device and the razor sharp needle hit the podium base where Giles had stood.

The roof of the domed chamber caved in, the structure completely collapsing down on top of Willow and Giles. The antechamber lay in utter ruins, and the entrance to the domed chamber was decimated, hidden under meters of stone and rock.

Black

Cut To:Ext.Gorge - Bridge

A grand bridge spanned a vast, seemingly bottomless gorge. The bridge led to a platform where an enormous pair of doors was set into the rock. On the end of the bridge was a round podium. A beam of white light shone from the podium and in the beam Giles’s body rematerialized. As the light shut off he stumbled forward, only then becoming aware of where he was.

Bewildered, Giles glanced around him. Above was a starry night sky, thousands of twinkling diamonds casting their starlight down onto the gorge. Carefully looking over the edge, he saw nothing below, just endless black. Ahead of him he saw the bridge and, in the not too far distance, the large doors in the rock face.

"Willow?!" he called out, his voice ringing throughout the gorge. Giles stepped off of the podium onto the bridge. "HELLO?!" he bellowed, his cry filtering into the endless nothingness below.

"If a tree falls in a forest and no one’s there to hear it, does it make a sound?" a voice replied to his calls.

Curious and careful, Giles took a step forward and made out the outline of a figure leaning against the railings of the bridge. It was too dark to see clearly who or what it was.

"Hello?" Giles ventured.

"What if you hear the sound, but you don’t see the tree fall. Is it the sound of the fallen tree, or is it just a sound?"

"It makes a sound, regardless if anyone’s present to hear it or if they don’t know what it is," Giles replied as he walked closer.

"Exactly. But I heard you."

"Who are you?" Giles inquired, brow arched.

"Has it really been that long that you’ve forgotten my voice?" The figure stood at its full height and walked out of the shadows into the starlight, "Hello, Mr. Giles."

Giles’ utterly dumbfounded gaze fell upon the smiling face of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.

"We-Wesley?!" Giles stammered.

"It would appear so, yes," Wesley agreed.

"Wh-what’s happening? Where are we? What the bloody hell is that?" He pointed back to the podium at the far end of the bridge. "And what are you

of all people doing here?" Giles questioned, placing his hand to his forehead as if to comfort his brain.

Wesley arched a brow, clasped his hands, and shrugged his shoulders, "Would you accept that I was in the area?" He shook his head at seeing Giles’s less than sarcastic look, "No? Thought that wouldn’t wash. Never mind." Carefully, he took a breath. "All very good questions, and luckily for you questions I’m not allowed to answer."

"Allowed?" Giles asked taking a step closer.

Nodding in reply, he said, "Yes. I suppose you can say I’m under…‘new management’. And this management is more than a little finicky about who I talk to, what I do, and what I know."

"Wolfram and Hart not working out for you then?"

"Not really, no."

Giles walked over to Wesley. The younger man stood formally, about to give his hand in friendship, but Giles continued past him; his eye had caught sight of markings on the surface of the bridge. They were scribed in a text that he had seen back in the temple.

Wesley’s smiling demeanor quickly changed from one of friendship to deadpan. Composing himself with a slight cough, he turned around and looked at Giles, who was now bent over and peering at the stone surface.

"I told you that place would be the death of you," Giles finally replied, sounding more than a little surprised as he noticed his back didn’t pull when he stood upright.

"Well, you weren’t wrong there." Wesley let out a slight snort.

Giles spun back to Wesley, confounded by his remark. "I’m…I’m sorry?"

"Oh, don’t be. I’m not."

Words hung from the tip of his tongue, but Giles’s inner tongue was having trouble forming coherent sentences. He cocked his head to one side, pursing his lips, staring back at Wesley. The other man didn’t falter in his stance or his expressionless look. Giles’s eyes became tainted with a faint glassy tinge as he took small steps towards Wesley, "Are you…no, you can’t be…"

"Yes, I am. I’m dead." Wesley exhaled with the slightest curl of his lips, perhaps enjoying his friend’s disbelieving face.

"Bu-but how? When? Why weren’t we-?"

Wesley took a step forward, interjecting. "The fact that you didn’t hear of my death means that I didn’t die in vain."

"‘In vain? In vain of what?"

"Giles–"

"An-and Angel?"

"Giles!" Wesley raised the tone of his voice in an attempt to get through to Giles’s racing mind, "Those are questions you shouldn’t be asking, and answers that, as much as I want to tell you, I can’t. Please make this be enough: they’re fine. That’s all you need to know."

Now even more perplexed, Giles still managed to find his words. "You can’t even tell me if they are alive or-."

"Giles!"

"Yes, I know. Rules and regulations about keeping your mouth shut," Giles barked.

Wesley grunted, folding his arms. "Oh, so you do know about the rules," he grated in a sarcastic tone that was received by a glare from the elder watcher. "Look, you know me, or obviously you don’t, but if I could tell you, believe me, I would. My words and actions are bound now, and insubordination really isn’t a good idea."

Giles sighed, "I can appreciate that, to an extent…Okay then, what are the questions that I should be asking?"

Wesley gave a nod. "Go back to the beginning."

"What are you doing here?" Giles’s eyes never left Wesley’s face.

"Good question. I’ve been sent by The Powers to help you."

"Help me with what?" Giles pried.

"To fully understand the choices you’ve made."

"And what would they be? Because from where I’m standing…well…" Giles folded his arms, his fingers tapping against his jacket as he waited for an answer.

"You’re here because you made a decision, and a tough one at that. Do I, A – cower in the doorway and watch a priceless asset be destroyed by an earthquake; or do I, B – take the risk and brave the unknown for said priceless asset, and for whomever it might save. Noble choice of you, I must say."

"Now I’m wondering whether or not it was the right choice?" Giles replied.

"Is any decision the right one? There are no absolutes in the decisions anyone makes. That’s what makes it a risk. That’s what can make you noble, or on the other hand make you lament. It’s just chance, unfortunately."

"And was it chance that you died?"

Wesley smirked. "Prying again, are we? There was more certainty that I would perish, considering the circumstances – and don’t ask what they were - but yes, it was chance."

"And am I to believe that it was chance that we found the temple?" Giles continued.

"If you want to believe that. But if you don’t…" he raised his brows in answer, daring not to speak the actual words himself. "Though the earthquake – not us, I mean, not ‘them’. That’s the price you pay for shoddy builders."

Giles shook his head. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his tired, heavy eyes. "This is…this is…"

"Too much?" A small voice echoed throughout the gorge.

Startled, Giles and Wesley turned to see a petite woman standing further down the bridge towards the platform. The majority of her body was concealed in long, olive, velvet-like gown, with only her head visible under a hood. Her long, flowing brown locks swayed over her tiny porcelain face. There seemed a glow about her that radiated through the half-light.

"I’d understand if it were," she spoke softly.

Giles looked to Wesley for answers, but he looked equally as surprised. Turning back to the woman, who continued to stand perfectly still ahead of them, Giles, with Wesley in tow, walked towards her.

"Realization can be such an overwhelming hurdle to overcome," she continued as they approached.

Giles and Wesley stood before her, dwarfing her small form.

"If you wish to leave, the choice is yours," She presented a hand that lead back to the podium.

Giles examined her, but she just smiled plainly. "If I was going to give into fear of the unknown then I would not have stood upon the podium."

"Good answer," she replied.

"Forgive the bluntness, but, who are you?" Wesley asked.

"Yes, of course. Where are my manners? I am Celestas – a Guardian."

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley - Surface – Moments Later

"Get some riggings!" Xander shouted to his crew. "We need-" He stopped as he watched Faith jump into the dark abyss. "Faith!" he yelled fruitlessly.

Cut to:Int.Collapsed Temple – Same Time

Faith could hear her name being shouted by Xander. As she hit the ground she went into a roll to soften the blow.

Once stopped, she stood up and grabbed her knee.

"Damn it," she sighed to herself as she hobbled along. "I’m okay," she shouted up. She turned to see a wall of rocks piled up where once there had been the cave’s main entrance.

"Red! Can you hear me?" Faith shouted. "Willow!" She paused a moment but heard nothing on the other side. "Damn," she swore again.

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley - Surface – Continuous

"Faith!" Rowena shouted down. "Can you see them?"

Cut to:Int.Collapsed Temple – Continuous

"No," the slayer yelled back up. "Looks like the cave-in’s got ‘em blocked off." In a quiet tone she added, "Or buried." She looked up to the top again. "We’re gonna have to find another way inside. We can get the slayers down here and maybe start moving some of the stones from top to bottom. It might be tricky but at least we can maybe pipe some air in there until we can get them out."

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley - Surface – Continuous

"We hear you!" Xander answered. "I’ve got more girls with supplies on the way. Hang on!"

Cut to:Int.Collapsed Temple – Continuous

"None of us are going anywhere," Faith said softly to herself.

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley - Surface – Continuous

Rowena already had her cell phone snapped open. She listened for a response.

"Buffy, we’ve got an emergency here at the site. Willow and Giles are trapped in the cave. We need all the girls you can get down here to try to

move the stones, understand?…We don’t know yet. Just…get them here quick okay…a-and call Becca to tell her what’s happened…Okay."

Rowena hung up and looked back to Xander. "I need a rigging to get down there."

"Ro, the slayers are—"

"It should have been me," she told him, cutting him short.

"Ro," he began, "there’s nothing that says that if you were there you could have stopped it."

"No, I mean literally. Willow switched to go back down when it was my turn. It should be me down there right now."

"We’ll get ‘em out," Xander told her.

"Let’s not pull any punches here Xander," she told him. "We both know damn well there’s a good chance she and Giles are buried under that rock slide and all the slayers in the world won’t be able to help."

Xander looked taken back by the comment but steadied his shoulders. "Will’s pretty bright and pretty powerful. I’m sure she thought of something. It’s just a matter of getting to the other side and we’ll do that. You have to have faith."

"Just get me rigged up, okay? I need to get down there," she said, her voice near a sob.

"Okay," Xander said softly and gently took her by the arm, walking her away.

Cut To:Ext.Gorge – Bridge - Resume

"You’re a-a Guardian?" Giles asked, eyes wide.

Celestas bowed her head. "Yes."

"I must say you’re…you’re not what I expected a Guardian to look like. To that, I never thought I’d ever meet one," Giles waved.

"You expected wrinkles, white hair and liver spots? Oh, you know how to flatter a woman," Celestas cracked.

"To be honest, I’m not sure what I expected, but I guess I thought the Guardians would be older."

"Looks can be deceiving," she stated.

"And is this a deception?" Giles continued.

"No. It really isn’t," Celestas answered.

"Pardon the quiet, dense one at the back of the class, but what’s a Guardian?" Wesley asked with a frown.

"A race of women whose sole goal in life was to support the Slayer and ensure the legacy of the Slayer line remained safe," Giles replied.

An air of confusion hung over Wesley. "So they’re – you’re watchers?"

"Not exactly. We’re – we were – the ‘watchers’ of the watchers. Just another layer of this very large lattice work that is life," Celestas answered.

"Why with the past tense?" Wesley questioned.

Celestas took a slight breath, "Once we were many. We crossed continents, from one region of the Earth to the next. Along the way we grew, as does any with experience. The darkness rose from beneath the dirt with such force and number, and despite our power, we had no choice but to hide. We constructed temples to keep ourselves and our knowledge safe. All the while we kept our presence shrouded in secrecy. One of the reasons you know of already; to keep the Slayer’s Scythe hidden from fearful hands. The Shadow Men gave rise to the Watchers Council, and with it paved a new direction for the Slayer. As the Watchers’ power grew, our secrecy was in jeopardy. With the Scythe complete, balance began to be restored. The darkness began to pour back into the ground, and the Slayer of the time wielded the Scythe and brought the last pure demon to its knees. For the most part out goal was done; we placed the Scythe where we knew it would be used once more; we closed the doors to our temples and left. One remained on Earth, waiting for the day to come when the Slayer would come to her. The others moved onto another plane of existence."

"And you?" Giles asked.

"I was amongst those who left the human world long ago, but my task was far from over. I was appointed to watch over our temples. The others – they still watch, but now lack the means to directly interact with affairs," Celestas clarified. "To a degree we still have the ability to whisper and influence, but only if it’s truly necessary."

"I’ve got questions, more questions," Giles half-looked to Wesley.

"I’m sure you have, and I’ll be more than happy to fill in the gaps that Mr.Wyndam-Pryce can’t."

"Won’t, don’t you mean?" Giles snapped.

"Not this again," Wesley sighed.

Celestas giggled. "Mr.Giles, please; Mr.Wyndam-Pryce does not know all the answers - who does?" she questioned rhetorically. "It’s admirable that with what he does know, he has a cautious tongue; balance is vital after all. You know that he has been sent to guide you, to help you understand your choices, no?"

"Yes, but what for? We all have reason behind our decisions," Giles said.

"Yes. That’s what determines the tangent you pick. Isn’t reason why you stood upon the plinth in the temple? To understand, to be imbued with the Knowledge of The Guardians?" Celestas smiled.

"Yes, but–"

"What? You believed that it would be as simple as standing upon the plinth?" she remarked.

"Actually, for a moment there, yes, I believe I did. I know its naïve of me, but what I could translate said that those with intentions good will be imbued the knowledge."

"It’s never that simple," she replied.

"It rarely is," Wesley commented.

"What you failed to translate is that the plinth in the temple is merely a way of transporting the mind to this plane. And that those who choose to

stand upon the plinth are to endure a trial of the soul to prove themselves," Celestas said, almost flatly.

"For what purpose?" Giles asked.

Celestas stepped forward. "You see, this is what you lack – depth."

"Excuse me?" Giles replied, indignant.

"Some answers you must find out for yourself," she continued, "otherwise what is the point of wanting to learn?" Giles began to speak but was cut off by Celestas raising a hand, "Understand is such a complex word; never take anything at face value. The answers you seek lay beyond connotation. Now if you wish to pursue this task then you must proceed. Please, a simple answer to a simple question. Do you accept?"

"Why give me a choice now after I’ve essentially signed the deed?" Giles returned.

"Because everyone has a choice, that’s the point." Celestas stared up to Giles, their eyes locked on each other.

His eyes still fixated on her, Giles replied, "I accept."

Celestas bowed her head as a glowing arch of light appeared out of the ether behind her.

"Wait…what about Willow? What about the real world?" Giles questioned.

"Time will proceed as normal, for however long the trial takes you," Celestas said.

Giles looked to Wesley who was standing idly to his side, watching they’re exchange of words. Celestas moved, clearing a path for Giles and Wesley to the arch.

Releasing the faintest sigh, Giles took the first step towards the arch. Wesley turned to Celestas who gave a slight nod of approval; and with that he stepped up the pace to walk alongside Giles.

"Giles are you sure about this? These trials of the soul are sometimes …well, a little extreme. I’ve seen it first hand," Wesley cautioned.

"As have I, but I’m ready. The good of what we can accomplish with the knowledge outweighs my reservations." Now standing before the glowing,

two-dimensional arch, they gazed into the white void ahead of them. "Shall we?" Giles offered.

"After you," Wesley said.

Composing himself, Giles stepped into the glowing arch. The light blanketed his figure.

Wesley took in a deep breath. "In for a penny, in for a pound," he muttered as he walked into the arch.

The light from the arch diminished, fading back into the ether.

Celestas watched as the last flicker of light disappeared. "Good luck."

White Fade Out

End of Act Two

Act ThreeFade In:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Moments Later

Slowly, Willow began to stir. She sat up, holding her head. She touched a large gash on her forehead. She inspected the blood on her hand for only a moment before wiping it on her pants.

She looked over to see her digital camera and laptop lying under a small boulder, completely destroyed. A little further away in the cave sat Giles’ film camera and notepad; his notes were perfectly intact. Her eyes continued to search the cave and she saw Giles lying flat on his back, unconscious.

"Giles?" she called over to him. Not getting a response, she tried to move to her feet but she realized that her foot, like her equipment, was under a boulder.

"Agito," she said as she waved her hand. The rock rolled, allowing her foot to move free. However, the motion caused the rocks above her to vibrate in response. She scurried on her hands and knees as a few more rocks shifted and began to move toward her.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Other Side - Same Time

Faith and the slayers felt the rock wall begin to shift as they stood at the very top.

"Everybody back!" Faith ordered. The slayers all moved as quickly as possible down the rock pile. They waited a moment to see if any other movement would follow. When all seemed safe, Faith motioned the slayers to follow her back to the pile.

"Willow!" Rowena yelled as she unhooked her riggings, letting them fall to the ground. "Can you hear me? Will, please answer."

"Xander still trying on the radio?" Faith asked the watcher as she and the other slayers tried to determine which rock to move next.

"Yeah, but no answer so far," she replied. "He’s on his way down. He said not to touch too much. He’ll give you an idea of what rocks are supporting the wall and we can go from there."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

"Giles?" Willow called out as she crawled over to him. She felt his face and then put her head against his chest, taking his wrist in her fingers. "Okay," she said softly. "Hang on Giles. Magic is out but I’ll find some way to get us out of here."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Other Side - Same Time

"Willow!" Rowena yelled again.

"I’m not sure that shouting is gonna help," Faith said.

"We’ll the radio isn’t doing jack, so we have to try something," Rowena answered. "Willow!"

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

The witch cocked her head for a moment and listened.

"Rowena?" Willow shouted back.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Other Side - Same Time

Faith and Rowena looked at each other.

"That wasn’t just my imagination, was it?" the watcher asked.

"Not unless we share the same imagination, which I doubt," Faith answered with a smile.

"On three, yell ‘Willow’," Rowena told her. "One, two, three…"

"Willlllow!!" Faith and Rowena both shouted at the same time.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

"Hey guys!" Willow shouted. She looked at Giles for a moment. "I’ve gotta talk to them," she told Giles. "I’ll be back."

Willow awkwardly rose to her feet and began to hop on one leg toward the rock pile again, wincing all the while.

"Can you hear me?" she shouted.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

From the other side, Faith and Rowena both smiled.

"Yes!" Rowena answered. "Are you okay? Is Giles there?"

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

"My foot or ankle’s broken," she answered. "But Giles is in bad shape. He’s out a-and his breathing’s shallow, but at least he’s breathing. We need out of here quick, guys."

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

"You guys get as far from the pile as possible. Understand?" Faith yelled.

"Will do," they heard Willow answer.

"Give us a few minutes, Red," Faith shouted back.

Xander had now arrived and Rowena and Faith both turned to him. He pointed up toward the ceiling at the right side of the chamber.

"Let’s start there," he told them. "Shift everything left. We don’t need a large space, just something big enough to get a body through. But go slowly."

Faith nodded, but Rowena shook her head. "Willow is hurt and Giles is worse," she told him. "We can’t wait—."

"Crushing them, and us, won’t help anyone," Xander told her. "Trust me, everyone will make it out. Alright?"

With a ragged sigh, Rowena nodded. Faith motioned the slayers up the rock pile.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

Willow jumped back on one foot. She took Giles by the shoulders and pulled him toward the wall as gently as she could, trying to keep his neck steady in the process.

"Hang in there, Giles," she told him as she sat down next to him. "You’ll have to rib 21st Century me about how only your information survived this. You don’t want to miss an opportunity like that, do ya?" she said with a smile. The smile slowly slipped from her face as her fingers repeatedly caressed his cheek. "Really, hold on. Okay? Please?"

Fade Out

Fade In:Ext.Construction Site – Night

The white void began to fade around Giles and Wesley, revealing that they were now standing in a completely opposite location to where they had been previously. There was still rubble and slabs of stone, just not of the ancient gothic variety.

"Let me guess, this is the exact moment that you were faced with the perilous decision of whether or not to build a barbeque pit." Wesley’s jibe did not particularly register with Giles.

Giles viewed the surroundings with a careful eye. He took a step forward, peering around the yard. Everything was oddly familiar; there was a certain buzz in the atmosphere, and dingy, flickering bulbs from outdoor lights bathed the two men in an orange grungy twilight.

"I know this place," Giles spoke before walking on. Wesley was about to follow when Giles stopped dead in his tracks. The elder watcher slowly turned to face Wesley, but his eyes didn’t focus on the other man’s face. Instead, they looked up into the sky and onto the flimsy scaffolding of the tower that loomed high above the rooftops of Sunnydale. "We’re back in Sunnydale…some six years ago." He blinked, trying to sharpen his focus on the plank that hung over the construction site. He could just about make out someone standing on the very end of the plank.

As his gaze fell back down upon Wesley, screaming and shouting became apparent from the other side of the yard.

"Where are we?" Wesley asked, but Giles either chose to ignore or honestly didn’t hear his question as he walked away, his attention obviously elsewhere. "Giles?"

Giles continued around to a collapsed wall that opened out into an old disused warehouse. He gasped at what he saw, his hands quaking as he proceeded into the warehouse where Buffy stood, a large and, by the looks

of it, very heavy hammer in her hands. The body of a young man, bloodied and beaten, lay on the cracked stone floor.

"I’m sorry," the young man spluttered. Blood sputtered out of his mouth, adding to the copious amounts already on his face.

Buffy’s grip tightened on the hammer’s handle. "Tell her it’s over. She missed her shot. She goes. She ever, ever comes near me and mine again…" She spat the words down at him.

"We won’t. I swear," the young man hastily replied.

Buffy released the hammer from her powerful grip, dropping it to the floor with a loud clang before turning and running away.

Wesley moved in closer to stand beside Giles, "This is it, isn’t it? The night that Buffy died?" He didn’t need clarification, he knew.

Giles swallowed. "Not only that."

As if prompted to enter stage left, a younger Giles sauntered into the warehouse, almost appearing out of nowhere. He came over to the man lying on the floor and knelt beside him.

"Can you move?" the other Giles asked softly, almost comfortingly.

The man stuttered, "Need a…a minute. She could’ve killed me."

The other Giles shook his head. "No, she couldn’t. Never. And sooner or later Glory will re-emerge, and…make Buffy pay for that mercy. And the world with her. Buffy even knows that…" he reached into his pocket and withdrew his glasses, "…and still she couldn’t take a human life."

Wesley shot Giles a sharp glance. "Giles…" he asked cautiously.

Giles’ eyes where transfixed on the image of his former self and Ben.

"She’s a hero, you see…She’s not like us."

"Giles," Wesley repeated sternly.

"… us?" Ben asked, confused.

Like an eagle swooping from great heights to catch its prey, the other Giles’s hand slapped down onto Ben’s face, covering his mouth and pinching his nose tightly shut.

The two men stood watch over Giles’ merciless action. Giles looked on with the same cool, calm, and collected expression that his former self looked down upon Ben’s struggling face with.

Arms folded, Wesley continued to watch intently until Ben’s weak human body lost the fight.

The younger Giles rose, staring down at Ben’s dead body, the doctor’s eyes still locked onto his last image of the dirty warehouse ceiling. He simply walked away, as if he had never seen Ben lying there.

Casually, Giles moved to stand over Ben, looking down on his victim.

"It was necessary," Wesley said, "and it was honorable. If it’s anything, I would have done the same; but I fear my gift to him would have been far less humane."

"It was a sin. No matter how you try to justify it, it will still remain a sin. It was far from honorable."

"What would you have preferred, take five steps, turn and first to their pistol? No, you did what you had to…you did what was right."

Giles turned to face Wesley. "In an ideal world, we wouldn’t be faced with decisions such as these."

"No, we wouldn’t, but this world is far from ideal. We do what we have to, because we have to do what we do."

Giles smiled. "Such a well crafted reply. Benefit of knowing the universe’s secrets?"

"Benefit of a less than well crafted life," Wesley replied.

The older watcher turned back to Ben, examining his still face. "Am I to be allowed into Heaven, considering I’ve committed such a sin?" he asked Wesley.

Wesley took a step forward, so that he too stood over Ben’s body, "There will never be another in all of existence that was more surprised than I when I

found myself not in the very hot place down below, where they shove red-hot pokers up you arse. What did I tell you earlier, Rupert? There’s always chance."

A brilliant white light poured out of Ben’s body, washing over the two men and engulfing the warehouse.

White Out

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Other Side - Same Time

"Red?" Faith yelled through a small opening. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Willow answered, her voice echoing. "Where are you?"

"Tell me if you see the light," Faith replied.

The slayer began to shine a flashlight into the cave.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

The light shown through and Willow grinned.

"Yeah, a little to your left," Willow instructed. "Down a little more." When the light shined in her eyes she held up her hands in front of her face.

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Other Side - Same Time

Faith turned back to the team below the rock pile.

"I see ‘em," she told them with a grin before turning back to Willow. "Stay put, Red," she told the witch. "We’re gonna send skinny-ass Ken through with a neck brace and a pallet for Giles."

"Hey," Kennedy shouted up to Faith.

"We don’t want to move anything more if we don’t have to," Faith explained to Willow, ignoring Kennedy’s retort. "After he’s clear, we’ll get you, okay?"

"Fine," Willow replied. "Just hurry."

"We’re on it," Faith said, moving away. Kennedy was already shimmying through the small hole.

Fade In:Int.Destroyed Magic Box – Night

The locale had changed once again as the light dissolved around Giles and Wesley, giving way to shadows and sparks of electricity from broken lights and cables.

The two men were still looking at the floor to where Ben’s body once was. Blinking, they soon realized they were no longer in the warehouse. They glanced at each other briefly before averting their gazes to their surroundings. It was dark and the air was thick with smoke.

From behind them they heard footsteps, and as Giles’s vision panned around the room, it struck him where they were.

"You’re such a hypocrite." Willow’s voice rang throughout the decimated shop.

"Blimey," Wesley uttered as he saw Willow, dressed head to toe in black, her once silky red hair a jet black. Spider-like veins spread across her face. "When Willow said she went to a dark place she wasn’t understating the fact, was she?"

"She’s been through a hell of a lot for someone so young. But she’s seen the light at the end of it all and pulled through," Giles added.

Willow looked up at the ceiling. Giles and Wesley followed suit to see an earlier memory of Giles pinned to the roof by an unseen force.

"…Do you?" With one finger she pointed to the floor, sending the other Giles crashing down face-first.

Wesley squirmed, shrinking away from seeing the other Giles connect with the floor. He looked back once he heard the thud.

"I used to think you had all the answers," Willow said contemptuously, "that I had so much to learn from you."

"W-Willow…" the other Giles wheezed weakly.

The witch gestured again, this time upwards, and, as if hoisted by puppet strings, his body was violently picked up and slung back onto the ceiling. He let out a pained groan.

"What caused her to turn?" Wesley asked, his tone suggesting that he was wary of the answer.

"Her lover, Tara, was killed. And in her pure and utter devastation she turned to fury and vengeance. She wanted blood on her hands, the blood of the man responsible. And she got it."

Wesley looked at the ground, adjusting his stance. "It’s never quite as satisfying as you think," he said quietly.

Giles gave Wesley a slightly puzzled look, but was interrupted by a bright flash of green light that hit Willow, knocking her off-balance. The other Giles was released from her clutches and fell back to the floor below.

Willow panted, reeling from the other Giles’ magical attack. "That…was rude! Now I forgot what I was saying."

"You’re not as I remember you," Giles said to Wesley. "You seem…I don’t know, harder."

Wesley stared back to Giles. "A lot can happen in four years."

"True, you seemed…happier then, but still, even when we arrived at the Hyperion there was something…‘off’ about you."

"-Blah, blah, blah." Willow’s voice could be heard above their conversation.

The younger man smirked slightly at Willow’s sarcastic remark. "C’est la vie."

"Willow, you need to stop," the other Giles rasped as he got to his knees.

"What I need—" In one swift movement, Willow was standing over the other Giles. "—is a little pick-me-up." She thrust her hand onto the old man’s chest. An electric orange glow crackled under her palm, drawing his essence from his body. Abruptly, she let go of him and staggered back as the other Giles fell hard to the floor.

"What did you do?" Wesley asked.

"Not I, not entirely. The Devonshire Coven contacted me and imbued me with healing magicks, knowing full well that Willow would try to drain me."

"Effective delivery system. I would have thought she’d have considered your magic ‘tainted’," he commented.

Giles shrugged. "You’d think — but then again you don’t think in situations like these, do you?"

Wesley smiled. "You’re telling me."

Giles caught Wesley’s grin, but was again interrupted by Willow.

"Oh, you poor bastards!" Clouds of magic began to circle Willow as she was lifted from the floor, a storm encasing her body. Spines of lightning linked with the environment and Willow herself. "Your suffering has to end." Her voice echoed throughout the shop as she disappeared in a funnel of magic.

"She wanted justice, and that’s what she got; justice for her actions, not for those of her lover’s killer," Wesley said.

Perplexed, Giles looked back at Wesley. "I understand what you’re saying, and though I don’t condone Willow’s actions, she did bring justice to Tara."

"Did she? By flaying alive the man responsible for her death? You said it yourself, you don’t think in these kind of situations. Thus the way is paved to confusion. Tara’s death has been brought to justice, but don’t believe via Willow’s actions. Willow had brought justice upon herself with her actions, and even then justice doesn’t mean that her slate is clean. What counts is atonement and atonement will give you leverage when it comes to your judgment day," Wesley told Giles.

"What would you consider justice for Tara’s death then?"

"True justice isn’t for us to decide. We can only deal what we think is the right punishment in the physical life, but if we commit sin in order to punish sin, one life for another, then what divides us from them?"

"So what divides me from Ben, from Glory?"

"It’s complicated, isn’t it? What do you think divides you?"

Giles pondered this, staring back at Wesley. "Reason."

Wesley nodded. "Reason. You had reason to kill Ben, true, devout reason. Willow didn’t have true reason to kill Tara’s murderer. She may have thought it to be reason, but it was merely pure revenge. That is never a true reason to pardon your actions."

"No. It isn’t," Giles replied.

Out of one of the many small fires that were burning quietly around the Magic Box, a gleaming white light swept over the shop.

White Out

Cut To:Int.Temple – Destroyed Dome Chamber – Same Time

Willow smiled up at Kennedy as she made her way over on with the neck brace and pallet. She tossed Willow the neck brace and the witch began to fix it around Giles.

"How you doin’, Will?" Kennedy asked.

"I’ve been better. We’ve gotta get him outta here," she said, motioning to Giles.

"That’s a nasty gash you’ve got there," Kennedy replied as she nodded toward Willow’s head.

Almost as an after-thought Willow touched it again. "Yeah."

"Here," Kennedy said, handing her a bottled water from the pack and a rag. "Take a long drink and clean yourself up. You’re ex-not-so-ex-girlfriend might spaz when she sees you like this. First, though, push this under while I lift him," Kennedy motioned.

Willow waited on Kennedy’s command and pushed the pallet under Giles as the slayer held him as steady as possible. After that was finished, Willow took a drink and then splashed water on her face as Kennedy secured the pallet.

"Okay guys, go slow," Kennedy shouted back toward the small hole. She tugged on the line to let them know they were ready.

Willow hopped over to their equipment and notes. She began to gather it as Kennedy eased Giles up the rocky slope. Once his feet were through, Kennedy steered the pallet from her side so Giles could make it clear through the hole without hitting the top.

"We got him," Faith shouted from the other side as Kennedy and Willow watched Giles slip through. Kennedy moved back down the rock pile.

"Your turn," she told Willow as she walked over.

"No, I can’t leave this in here," Willow told her.

Kennedy promptly emptied her bag of supplies in one swift movement and began to put Giles notes and camera inside the backpack.

"Jeez, did he write a novel while he was down here or what?" she teased as she gathered all his supplies.

"Don’t laugh," Willow told her. "Instead, thank the gods he did. All of my stuff got destroyed." Willow paused a moment. "Bloody technology," she sighed.

Kennedy pointed to the ceiling. "Look up."

"What is it?" Willow asked as she looked above them. "Owwww!" she yelled. Her eyes immediately shot to her foot. Kennedy had quickly bound it with a brace from her pack.

"Willow!" they could hear Rowena yell in a scared voice.

"Told ya - spaz," Kennedy answered. "She’s okay," Kennedy shouted. "Tell her you’re okay," the slayer ordered.

"I’m okay! We’re coming out now," Willow replied.

"Here," Kennedy said, handing Willow the pack.

"Great, make the injured woman hobble up the rock mountain with leg brace and a pack and – whoa!" Willow ended with an exclamation as Kennedy swept her off her feet and turned toward the open space.

"You carry that and I’ll carry you. Try to keep that foot as steady as possible," Kennedy told her. "Deal?"

"Do I have a choice?" Willow asked as Kennedy began to walk.

"No," Kennedy answered.

"Alrighty then," Willow replied.

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley – Surface – Higher Ground – Tree Line

"This…this won’t do. This won’t do at all," Wagner stood atop a cliff, staring at the excavation site below.

The two lawyers from Wolfram and Hart, Mr. Mitchell and Ms. Doran, stood a few feet behind her.

"Do you know why I left the temple beneath the filthy earth? Because its discovery would draw attention to what I want hid. This is why we have you people in power. To stop human acts with human acts. Tell me, how did this happen?" Wagner asked in an uncomfortably calm tone.

"We’re still unsure," Mr. Mitchell replied. "Despite the red flag on this valley, and our affiliation with the local government, an act still passed to allow construction of a new set of apartments on this site"

"You didn’t answer my question." Wagner grit her teeth in anger.

"We-we don’t know. There are counter measures in place to prevent-," Ms. Doran answered, only to be cut off by Wagner as she spun round to face them.

"But it did. The rights were cleared and you have no idea how," she spat back.

The two lawyers quivered slightly in Wagner’s raging presence. Mr. Mitchell shook his head.

Wagner grunted and approached them with slow, small steps.

"Unbelievable. Tell me, why do rely on your firm? Why do we still allow you to operate in spite of your constant insolence?" She turned away from the

two lawyers, bringing her anger under control. "If it were up to me, I’d kill you where you stand and bring your firm to its knees within a blink of an eye. But lucky for you, it isn’t up to me. I have a boss and rules I have to follow."

"It is also in our best interests that the knowledge held within the temple not fall into the wrong hands," Mr. Mitchell supplied.

"The wrong hands not being your own?" Wagner spun towards the male lawyer, causing him to step back. "I care not about the Wolf, Ram, and Hart. They have always been power hungry, but like so many in power they crave more and more until it becomes distasteful and inevitably becomes their downfall. With power comes complacency and the idea that you are indestructible. What you fail to understand is that, if anything, it makes you more vulnerable. You are but children who all too easily know how to throw your toys out of your cradle and get away with it."

"That’s because the firm is integral to the stability of this world," Mr. Mitchell retorted.

"No, you still have your wicked lives because you are useful, nothing more. The Wolf, Ram, and Hart do not control this world; they serve as a means to get things done." Wagner’s voice grew quiet. "Perhaps they don’t remember what happened the last time they acted like a spoiled child? It never occurs to lawyers that one can make one machination too many. And when they didn’t get their way…sometimes, when you throw your toys, mommy takes them away for good. Temporal manipulation, Orlon windows, these are so convenient, and such a wonderful skills to possess, but they’re not the answer to everything. Then again, this world has been altered so many times one way or another it’s hard to determine if this reality was in actual fact supposed to happen," Wagner trailed off for a brief moment, casting her eye back to the valley and the temple below. "Have you asked yourselves why The Wolf, Ram and Hart were ordered to stop?"

"Yes," Mitchell answered. "They saw the world begin to crumble as their legions swept across Los Angeles, and they realized that what they where doing was going against everything that they had been planning for for so long."

Wagner shook her head, "No, not their plans. Ours. A plan so long pre-ordained that it has been interpreted as myth."

"The cave-in?" Ms. Doran asked.

"Let’s just hope it killed them and destroyed what’s inside," Wagner replied bluntly.

"But…the temple, it’s invaluable. You would destroy it?" Mr. Mitchell challenged.

"Yes, I would. The Watchers should not have it, nor should Ouroboros Law Offices, and especially not you incompetent bastards at Wolfram and Hart."

"How can you just throw away something like that? It’s one of the greatest finds in history," Mr. Mitchell argued.

"For you, perhaps; for me, not so much. Whoever has control of the temple and of what is inside will have an unfair advantage, thus corrupting the balance. And giving away secrets to the enemy is not in my nature. So that means that none of you should have what’s inside."

Ms. Doran sniggered. "But you should?"

"No," Wagner smirked, "not me, only my master. I suppose I should say I only care for balance where it concerns my plans and those of my boss. Not yours. You fear your employers and they fear me. Now go back to your castle and tell your kings that you failed. And if you dare attempt anything to procure what is inside – well, I don’t want to think about that. Or maybe I do, but you certainly don’t."

Fade In:Int.Old Guard Mansion - Cell

"Grab her," Jordon sneered at Rowena, before ordering his men forward with a nod in her direction.

Giles and Wesley stood in the hallway, backs to the wall as his men walked into the room.

Rowena started to back up and the other Giles stepped in front of her, blocking their path as they moved toward her.

"Isn’t that Tyrell’s son?" Wesley asked.

The other Giles charged towards the closest approaching man and hit him squarely in the jaw, sending him backward. But the other man managed to get in a hit as well, sending Giles to the floor. As the guards regrouped they began to bring out their bludgeons. The other Giles tried to get up, but one of the men slammed his stick into his arm, knocking him back. Rowena dove on top of Giles as he lay sprawled on the floor.

"I’ll go," she told them. "Just leave him alone."

"Don’t," Giles insisted.

"I’ll be okay," Rowena replied.

Jordon picked her up roughly by the arm and pushed her out the door. Both Giles and Wesley hugged the wall as she stumbled past them. The other two guards each took a swing at the other Giles before shutting the door to leave.

Rowena looked back a final time at Giles and saw him move to his feet, clutching his arm. Despite her bravery, Giles could see the fear in her eyes. When the door slammed shut and locked, slapping against the door could be heard from the other side.

His hold on Rowena tight, nearing unbearable, Jordon literally dragged her down the hall while the guards trailing behind.

Giles approached the locked door. "I wished I could have knocked the door down, beat the guards and that nut Tyrell until he begged me to stop." He placed his hand on the handle, as if somehow expecting the lock to open. Not unexpectedly, his hand moved through the metal door handle.

"Wishful thinking. I don’t like preying on the past, the what-ifs, the shoulda-woulda-coulda’s. It can ruin you," Wesley supplied.

"I know. Still…I remember sitting in that room, my mind racing about what was happening to Rowena, about how I couldn’t do a damned thing to stop it."

"Well she can handle herself. Care to see?" Wesley’s words got Giles’ attention.

Cut To:Int.Old Guard Mansion – Moments Later

Giles and Wesley entered one of the rooms at the end of the hall to find a badly beaten Rowena tied to a wooden chair in the center of the room. Jordon circled her, taking drags on a cigarette.

"I didn’t realize we could see this. Isn’t this trial about me?" Giles said to Wesley.

"This scene involves you, doesn’t it?" Wesley replied.

"I’m getting tired of asking this question, Rowena," Jordon told her as he paused in front of her. He brought the cigarette down until it barely touched her skin; a small groan escaped her mouth as she felt the heat. A series of burns already lined her arm. "Where is the book?"

"What book?" she retorted smugly.

Jordon clenched his teeth in frustration and slowly pushed the cigarette into her skin, making her scream.

"The Opus Obscurum! Where is it?!" he yelled.

"The Opus Obscurum? The book containing all the original watcher lore…among other interesting tidbits?" Wesley seemed almost in awe at the thought of the book.

"The very one," Giles said. "Rowena was on a mission to retrieve the Opus when the Bringers started to cull the Potentials right under the Council’s nose. Unfortunately, Rowena’s Potential was amongst the first to be murdered."

"Let me guess, The Old Guard was lost without their ‘Holy Grail’?" Wesley remarked with an arch of his brow.

Giles cocked his head to the side. "Something like that."

"Tell me!" Jordon screamed at Rowena as he held her throat. After a moment, he released her.

"You know—" Rowena coughed briefly before continuing, "—this isn’t the first time I’ve been choked this week. But I gotta admit, the woman who had me by the throat, she was more man than you. Probably better in bed, too," she added with a chuckle.

Jordon howled in frustration and reached into his jacket, pulling out his 9 mm handgun from his shoulder holster and cocking it. He raised it to her forehead as one of the guards rushed up to his side. Rowena didn’t flinch. Instead, her good eye bore rebelliously into Jordon’s, refusing to break contact. It was as if she was challenging him to do it.

"James said we can’t kill her," the guard reminded him.

"That’s right," Rowena smirked. "Ask Daddy Jordon and he’ll tell you, knowledge is power."

Wesley couldn’t help but smile at her comeback. "She’s got that right. It’s a shame, I always wanted to meet Rowena. She was only starting out when I left for Sunnydale; a lot of promise, a lot of talent – she’s had it tough, more than most. She’s made a lot of bad calls, but yet she managed to rectify them."

Giles started to speak as the guards untied Rowena and dragged her out of the room. "Yes, she has,...yet still she muddles through. I don’t know if I should be proud or envious of her strength."

"Suppose you can always learn from her," Wesley commented.

The pair watched Jordon holster his gun, slamming the weapon into its leather case. He paced up and down in a fit of rage, mumbling incoherent invective. He kicked Rowena’s empty chair to the carpet, then lit another cigarette and took a seat on the windowsill.

Hearing Rowena’s loud protests, Giles and Wesley exited back into the hall and walked back to the cell.

Cut To:Int.Old Guard Mansion – Cell – Same Time

They followed the two guards inside and stood in the corner of the room. The pair watched them drop her battered body to the floor, then turn and leave.

"She’s in a bad way," the younger man said as the other Giles moved to comfort her.

Giles smiled softly. "She’s got spirit."

Rowena motioned the other Giles closer with a crooked finger and whispered in his ear. "They think I have the Opus Obscurum. Ever heard of it?" she asked with a knowing grin. The other Giles pulled back with a look of surprise but quickly nodded. Rowena pulled him closer again. "They’re only half right."

"Meaning?" Giles asked.

"I figured they were on to me so I pulled a switch. It’s in your library. Third floor. Third bookcase. Behind the third row. So if I make it out alive and no matter of what you decide regarding my place in your Council, it’s yours Mr. Giles. I heard what you told Tyrell that night – it’s not about control or status. It’s about fighting evil. You and your Cleveland crew are trying to do that.

Tyrell and the Old Guard don’t deserve the information that’s inside…I'd like to not screw up. I'd like it to be something that I get right for once."

"She’s nailed it on the head. It’s about fighting evil. It always has been, and it always should be," Wesley noted.

Giles turned to Wesley, about to speak, when the white light shone out from the other Giles and Rowena.

White Out

Cut To:Ext.Cuyahoga Valley - Surface – Moments later

Buffy and Becca stood by the waiting ambulance. They rushed over when they watched the pallet come above the surface.

Xander, now above ground, directed the crews carefully, He turned in time to see Becca running over.

"Hold up," he told her, putting his hands on her shoulders. Buffy began to move past him. "Buffy, wait!" Xander yelled.

"Rupert?" Becca yelled from Xander’s grip as Buffy turned to face the builder.

"He’s out cold," Xander told them. "Go wait by the ambulance, guys. We’ll be there in a few seconds."

"Where’s Will?" Buffy asked.

"Getting her now," Xander told them. "She’s going in the second ambulance." Xander pointed. "You can ride along with Giles in that one and see them both at the council."

Buffy nodded and motioned Becca to follow her.

"No," Becca replied. "I’m staying with him."

"Are you gonna make me pick you up and carry you there, because I can you know? Still got the slayer strength," she told her. Becca still refused to move as she watched them put Giles on a gurney. "Come on, before they end up waiting on us," she told her. "Let’s get on board."

Reluctantly, Becca finally agreed and started toward the ambulance.

"You coming?" Buffy asked Xander.

"I’ll be right behind you. I’m gonna wait on Will. You stay with Becca and Giles," he told her.

Buffy nodded and jogged a short distance to catch up to Becca.

Fade In:Int.Giles’ Office

Within a blink, Giles and Wesley found themselves standing in an empty small office.

"This is my office," Giles said as he walked over to the table, his hand barely skimming over the polished wooden surface. "My old office."

"I know," Wesley added, almost too bluntly.

Thrown by this comment, Giles changed his stare from the group before him to Wesley. "Pardon?"

"Oh yes, I’ve been known to ‘drop-in’ from time to time."

"Why, keeping tabs?"

"Well, not for official business such as this. More for my own personal peace of mind, just to make sure that you lot are okay. To be honest I’ve haven’t descended in quite a while. Restrictions and such. Don’t worry, I keep out of the apartments; but from the noises and creaking floorboards I’m surprised you get any work done." He smirked.

Giles scratched his head, turning away from Wesley and looking back at his empty chair.

"So what’s this supposed to mean? A foreshadowing of my heart condition if I don’t lay off the fried foods?"

Wesley shrugged his shoulders. "Don’t ask me. This is your mind, remember. I’m only visiting."

Giles rolled his eyes. "Well then, who am I supposed to ask? The other Ghost of Christmas Past to my left?" The sarcasm dripped from his voice.

Wesley smiled. "You think I’m in charge of this, do you? That I’m sitting in front of some divine chessboard moving the pieces?"

"That’s another story," Giles stated, curbing that line of conversation

"What?" Wesley frowned, confounded.

"—I didn’t know she had the swarm information!" Willow countered as her and another Giles burst into the office, slamming the door behind them.

"Not the swarm – the two of you! Not more than 48 hours ago I praised you both for your maturity and now…How can we trust you? Trust Rowena? You’ve lied to everyone here about the file and about the two of you!" the other Giles argued.

"Messing with the files was wrong, but as for our personal life, that’s none of your damn business Giles."

"It is so!" he said, wiping his sweating forehead.

"Foreshadowing was right," Giles now uttered from the back of the room.

"How do you figure?" Willow asked angrily.

"Because your personal life now has come in direct conflict with the Council!"

"Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest," Wesley said thoughtfully.

"Paul Simon," Giles said.

"Wise words from a wise man."

"I can’t help but feel that there’s some truth to that," Giles answered with a small sigh. "Earlier – in this time – Rowena told me that she knows how The Council operates; that one life for thousands isn’t too high of a price."

Wesley swallowed hard, his eyes turning to the floor for a moment before glancing back up to Giles. Wesley’s eyes lingered on the older man for a few moments, before moving on to Willow and the other Giles.

"It is and it isn’t," Wesley commented. "It’s a double-edged sword that’s too sharp and too heavy for us to carry on our backs, but the unfortunate truth is we must."

"Why must we?"

"Because this is who we are."

Giles turned to Wesley, their eyes meeting for an instant before they were interrupted. The other Giles clutched his arm and staggered back towards the desk. Willow caught him but the pair fell to the floor with a ...

White Out

Fade In:Int.Coven Room - Later

…thud. At the exact moment Willow and the other Giles fell to the floor, a quick flash of white light swept over them. As it dissipated, Giles and Wesley were in another location.

This time the two men found themselves standing at the back of the dark Coven room. The curtains were drawn and the light from the glass pane in the door was blotted out by a large piece of sugar paper.

"Abatha!" five voices shouted at the top of their lungs, startling Giles and Wesley. As the final resonance of the word rung, the sound of a crack of thunder erupted, so loud that it might have been inside the room.

As they turned, dead center in their line of sight sat five people – Andrew, Skye, Jeff, Dawn and Xander – in a circle with Willow sitting in the center.

Concerned, Wesley turned to face Giles. "What’s happening? What are they doing to her?"

"They’re stripping her of her magic," Giles replied, shuddering as a low rumbling sound began to fill the room.

Willow grew rigid. Her eyes shut, squinting in pain. Her mouth opened, and from it a stream of light flowed out. Tiny motes of bright light, like stars the size of sand grains, swirled amid the flow. With the light came gasping, horrible groans from her throat. Muscles in her mouth strained, locking her mouth open as the light continued to pour out and up.

She opened her eyes, tears pouring from them. As the last of the light left her, she let out a great, croaking sigh and collapsed.

Dreadfully pale, Willow gasped from her fetal position inside the circle. Each gasp had the undercurrent of a whimper.

"Oh, goddess..." she whispered, "...it’s gone...I'm gone..."

"My god," Wesley breathed as he took a step forward, standing over the circle. He stared down at Willow’s fragile form.

"It was the only way to stop the Mizors: get rid of what attracts them to The Hellmouth," Giles informed him.

"It’s cruel, it’s sadistic, and it’s depraved to strip a witch of her powers. It can be fatal, too."

Giles closed the gap between him and Wesley, while those sitting in the circle prepared for the next stage of the ritual. "You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know."

Wesley’s eyes still locked on Willow as tears continued to stream down her face. "Aren’t I? She knew the risks."

"As did we."

"But she chose this fate for herself. She chose this despite what it would do to her, what she would lose. She sacrificed herself," Wesley looked back to Giles. "Why did she?"

"Because she had to. Because it was the only solution."

Wesley shook his head. "Not had to, not because it was the only solution; because it was right."

"Duroc! Melankurion! Abatha!"

Like some kind of slow-motion lightning bolt, a rainbow-hued ribbon of light appeared in the air above the circle. It wound its way to Willow, enveloping her shuddering form, causing her to glow.

Out of this glow, a bright burst of white light swept over the room.

Fade In:Int.Vor Hell Dimension – The Hub

Cries, shouting, screaming, the clash of weapons and fists, and the various other sounds of war flashed down the catacombs. Giles and Wesley stumbled into the fray as an explosion from one of the many tunnels rocked the cavern.

"Where…where are we?" Wesley leaned towards Giles and shouted in his ear, trying to get his voice heard over the sounds of the tunnels behind them collapsing.

"We’re in Vor. Hell dimension. Last year," Giles panted.

"That’s it!" Robin shouted over the distant sounds of battle and destruction. "Just us and the two hooded fellows."

"They’re covering our retreat," another Giles said. "So, go."

"You’re going too!" Robin insisted.

"This is a direct order. Get through that portal!" Giles shouted.

Wesley smirked. "You certainly get around, don’t you?"

Robin gave an exasperated sigh, then picked up as many bags as he could from the supplies scattered around and joined the last of the slayers going through the portal, leaving only Faith, Giles, Jeff, Dawn, Ethan, and Rupert the dog in the chamber.

"Dawn," Giles said, "pull back. We’ll hold the portal open while you go."

"It’ll kill you," she shook her head, tears streaking her face.

"We are not leaving you here!" Giles insisted. "This is a direct — Ooof!"

He broke off as Ethan shoved him backwards through the portal.

"He’s getting too fond of his direct orders, if you ask me," he said grimly.

"Ah, Ethan…" Wesley began as he glanced the old mage up and down. "Always knew he was buttered on both sides – well, for you, anyway."

Giles frowned at Wesley. "I…um–."

"Oh for god’s sake, what is it with you people?" Ethan yelled. "Right, have you ever opened and maintained a transdimensional portal?"

"No, but—" Jeff began to say.

"Well, I have," Ethan interrupted, "so bugger off!"

"I can’t quite get over what he did for me, for us," Giles said quietly, the explosions and roars from behind diminishing as the battle was lost.

"All jokes aside, he did it for you; because he cares about you. He didn’t want to see you in harm’s way," Wesley told Giles.

"Go!" Ethan yelled.

The slayer turned and ran for the portal, which was closing rapidly, while Ethan gripped the pillars and gritted his teeth. The portal’s closure slowed, just long enough for Faith and Dawn to get through, then Ethan fell back from the pillars, and it closed at last.

"Oh bugger," he muttered, staring at the empty space where the portal had been.

Wesley walked over to Ethan, standing only a few steps away from him as he used the craggy surfaces to get to his feet, "For someone so ignorant, arrogant – for Ethan to be selfless…Well, maybe there’s hope for all of us then," he said, looking back at Giles. Then the pillars shone with a white light.

White Out

Fade In:Int.Council Conference Room One – Late Morning

All the chairs at the table were taken as the council convened for a meeting. There was an uneasy air about the conference room, as each member seemed to sit on the edge of their seats.

Giles and Wesley stood up against the wall at the far end of the conference room, looking straight down the table to Rowena sitting in the head chair.

"I think I may have a solution," the blonde watcher continued, ignoring Faith, pulling a thick volume out of her briefcase, and placing it on the table. "There is a spell, the ‘Tabula Rasa’, that can erase specific memories from a certain subject. It involves an…"

"The Tabula Rasa?" Wesley restated, leaning off of the wall. He stared at Rowena as she continued.

"—I propose that we perform this spell on Mr. Devlin," she announced.

Wesley cackled before folding his arms and taking a slow walk around the outskirts of the table.

"Ah yes, Mr. Robert Devlin and that spell. She certainly screwed this one up."

"Exactly," Rowena replied to Kennedy at the very moment Wesley finished, as if answering both of them.

"As much as I agree with you Wesley, what else could she have done? What else could anyone have done in this situation?" Giles defended.

"Have you ever thought about what would have happened if the Council had just let it be? Let Mr. Devlin have his story?"

"Yes, and it would have been chaos," Giles answered across the conference room.

"But how do you know? He could have run this story and, even with what evidence he had, you’d be surprised at people’s readiness to glaze over situations that they choose not to believe," Wesley said.

Giles stifled a cough before walking around the opposite side of the table to Wesley. "So you’re saying that if you were in that position you’d just let it be, whatever the outcome?"

Wesley shook his head with a smirk. "You’ve got me there. All I’m saying is that it’s a possibility that he might have been frowned upon by his peers and the story dropped or disproved by lies. I’m just throwing in my two pence. It was a choice, it was her choice and look at the outcome. Peachy."

"So it did work out for the best?" Giles asked, the pair of them meeting at the head of the table behind Rowena.

"You’ll never know either way, will you?" Wesley gave Giles a small smile.

White Out

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council Infirmary - Later

"Please stand back," Dr. Miller told Becca and Buffy as they stood by Giles bedside. Carefully, Buffy pulled Becca toward the far wall to give the medical crew space.

As the nurses began to hook the equipment up to monitor Giles, Willow wheeled inside the room on another gurney.

"It’s a little cut," Willow told them. "I’m fine. Just look after Giles."

"That’s why he’s with Dr. Miller and you’re with me," the nurse smiled. "Just sit there while we look at that gash and your leg. Okay?"

Willow sighed. "Fine," she relented. Done arguing, she noticed Buffy and Becca make their way over to her bed.

"You were there?" Becca asked Willow. "Did you see anything? Did he say anything? What happened?"

Willow appeared to be trying to form a reply when they heard Dr. Miller give a heavy sigh and say, "Get me an NTG tablet and oxygen started STAT."

All three women looked at each other but said nothing.

Fade In:Int.Hotel Lobby – Day

The white light grew fainter, and as it did Giles and Wesley found themselves in the large cream marble lobby, the bright sunlight flittering through the double floor windows and glass doors.

Giles frowned as he looked around him, "The Hyperion? What are we doing here? Where are Buffy and Willow and the others?"

Wesley walked towards the reception desk. He glanced around but didn’t see any of the bags or weapons that Giles and the others had brought with them from Sunnydale.

"This isn’t your past Giles," Wesley replied with more than a little confusion. "This is mine."

Fade to Black

 

End of Act Three

Act Four

Fade In:Int.Hotel Lobby – Resume

"I’m sorry, come again?" Giles inquired, walking over to Wesley. "How can this be your past? You’re my spirit guide; you’re here to help me uncover whatever the bloody hell it is I’m supposed to make sense of. How can we be seeing your past?"

"Perhaps you’re not the only one who’s supposed to learn something?" Wesley turned back to Giles.

The barely audible sound of Wesley scribbling could be heard coming from his former office. He opened his eyes and walked through the open door into the dimly lit office. Giles followed once he realized that Wesley was on the move.

A younger Wesley sat at the table opposite them. Dozens of books completely covered the green tarnished leather surface of the table. He sat with one hand on a thick book, his fingers tracing a sentence as his other hand jotted something down on a pad. As he finished writing, his pen

dropped from his hand. Moments passed as other Wesley stared at the pad, awe-stricken.

"What is it?" Giles asked Wesley.

"‘The Father will kill The Son’," Wesley muttered.

"Sorry?" Giles said, confused.

Wesley turned to Giles and nodded for him to look over his shoulder. When he complied, Giles saw a bassinet and heard the sounds of a baby gurgling and fussing.

He glanced back to Wesley. "Yours?"

The other Wesley closed his book and his notepad and went over to the bassinet where the baby was now crying, flailing about with his tiny arms. He simply stared at the child.

"Geez, Wes! Don’t you know what you’re supposed to do?" Angel called out from the doorway, where he was sipping on a tall glass of claret.

The sound of his voice surprised Giles. Stepping back so as not to get in the way, Giles trained his eyes on Angel. Setting the glass on a tabletop, Angel walked over to the bassinet. "You pick ‘em up when they fuss." He leaned over and picked the baby up in his arms, attempting to quell its distress. "Daddy’s here."

Shooting a look at Wesley, Giles’ brow furrowed. "Daddy?!" he gasped.

"Willow knows," Wesley explained, "though I doubt she would have said anything considering the current state of affairs back in Sunnydale at the time. By now she’s probably got other things on her mind. But that isn’t the point."

The sound of a guitar accompanied by a woman singing broke the other Wesley and Angel out of their conversation. They left the office and went across the lobby to the garden door.

Giles watched them go. "Should we follow?"

Wesley shook his head. "No, I don’t think so. That doesn’t matter."

"Then what does?"

Wesley took a breath. "This was the moment when I knew what I had to do. I knew I had to take Connor away from Angel."

"’The Father will kill The Son’," Giles reiterated, understanding in his voice.

"Yes, though the prophecy was only a ploy that I was meant to find. They knew that as soon as I translated the prophecy I’d act; I’d do what needed to be done, because in my eyes I was doing good. I was just another cog in the grand pre-ordained wheel of some former Higher Power’s plan. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing, isn’t it? I did it, I took Connor away, but my actions didn’t work out for the best, not for anyone. I just don’t understand why I’m being shown this."

"That makes two of us," Giles said.

White Out

Fade In:Ext.Apartment Grounds – Night

A cool night breeze billowed through the air and gently rustled the leaves on the tree that Giles and Wesley now stood under.

"Yours again?" Giles asked, already knowing the answer.

"Indeed. This is my old apartment. I think I get it. I’ve been sent to you to help you understand your choices and those of others around you; but what if I must do the same?"

"But why?"

Wesley shook his head. "I don’t know." He looked around at the setting, the time of day, the position of where they where standing. "This is the exact moment where my actions, though my intentions were pure of heart, started a downward spiral which would ultimately affect the rest of our lives. In a roundabout way, I am responsible for everything."

"Wesley, you can’t say that. You can’t know for sure what’s going to happen an hour later, or even five minutes down the line," Giles said, raising a brow.

Voices could be heard just off to their left, by the parking lot. Leaning forward they saw the other Wesley, holding the baby in one arm while he aimed a handgun at a distraught, beaten woman on her knees. After the pair exchanged a few words, the other Wesley latched the safety switch on his weapon and holstered the gun under his jacket.

"Who is she?" Giles asked.

"A woman who was tainted by a harsh life. I kept her in my closet once," Wesley said matter-of-factly.

Giles shot Wesley a strange stare. "I can imagine that would be harsh. If it’s alright with you I think I’ll choose to forget that last comment." Giles looked distinctly uncomfortable. "A lover of yours?"

"She should be so lucky," Wesley sniggered mockingly. "Justine sought guidance in a man called Holtz - the vampire hunter who famously pursued Angel and Darla across Europe," he continued.

"Holtz? But shouldn’t he be dead in this time?"

"Don’t ask," Wesley shrugged.

"You have to get to a hospital," the other Wesley told Justine as she fell against him.

"No," she coughed. "I just…" Out of nowhere, Justine swiftly pulled a knife and sliced it across the other Wesley’s neck.

"Oh my god!" Giles started at the sight.

The other Wesley fell to his knees, frantically gasping for air with one hand pressed against his cut and his other arm clutching baby Connor close to his chest. His grip wavered as more of his blood poured from his wound. Justine managed to grab hold of Connor and raced to Wesley’s car to make an escape. The other Wesley toppled over onto his side, blood profusely flowing between his fingers. All the while his eyes were locked onto the car as it sped out of sight.

"And that’s not the best part. Next I get mugged as I lie there on death’s door by a tramp, and then…"

White Out

Fade In:Int.Hospital Room – Night

"I want you to know I understand why you did what you did," Angel told the other Wesley as he looked down at him. The ex-watcher lay in his hospital bed with a bandage wound around his neck.

Giles and Wesley stood at the foot of the hospital bed. Giles inquisitively scanned his surroundings before looking back to Angel and the other Wesley.

"Who’d have thought that the Powers would be consistent for once," Wesley wisecracked.

"—I know how hard it must have been for you to…do what you did," Angel continued.

"He seems oddly placid about this. Perhaps I got Angel wrong?" Giles remarked.

"I think you have, but you’re wrong about him now. Look at his eyes, look how he stands, how he holds himself. Feel it, listen to what’s not being said. He’s not placid; he’s raging," Wesley replied.

"—This isn’t Angelus talking to you, it’s me, Angel. You know that right?" Angel finished.

The other Wesley nodded, closing his eyes in slight relief.

"Good," Angel smiled, picking up a pillow.

"Hindsight," Wesley added.

"That’s good," Angel moved closer, almost lovingly, and then abruptly rammed the pillow over the other Wesley’s face. The tremendous strength of Angel’s arm coupled with the other Wesley’s weak state made it impossible for him to move.

Giles looked away, turning his back to the vile tableau of his friend’s suffering. Wesley faced the other way, watching as Angel punished him.

"Sometimes I wonder whether it would have been best if he had finished me then," Wesley said.

"No one should ever say that," Giles answered. "I can’t be hypocritical and say that I haven’t thought that in the past, that it doesn’t sometimes feel like it would have been easier to just slip away. But I’ve learnt that it’s selfish to think such things of your life. No matter how your life is painted, it’s a gift nonetheless – a gift that, since my daughter, I now truly appreciate."

Wesley turned to Giles, a soft smile creeping over his face. "Daughter. I only wish that I could have granted life to another, my own. But I know that my death, my sacrifice has given life to countless others. So I am appreciative of my life." Wesley suddenly donned a frown. "Back up a second, you’ve got a daughter and yet you’re still doing this job? You are two sandwiches short, aren’t you?"

Alarms sounded, and footsteps could be heard outside the room. Then, as the door burst open, white light engulfed the room.

White Out

Cut To:Int.Infirmary – Dr. Miller’s Office – Later

The door to the office pushed open and Willow hobbled inside with a pair of crutches. Dr. Miller sat at his desk, glancing up at her with an awkward smile that faded when he looked back at Becca. She sat opposite him, biting her nails. Her eyes were glassy and her body trembled slightly. To her left sat Buffy, her hand on top of Becca’s as it gripped the chair.

Willow took a seat to Becca’s right reaching out to place her hand on Becca’s in a similar fashion to Buffy. "To be honest, I don’t know where to start," Dr. Miller said.

He cleared his throat. "I’ve conducted a thorough exam of Rupert, twice – CAT scans, X-Rays, blood labs, the works – and I just…" Dr. Miller exhaled in frustration. "I can’t seem to diagnose his condition. I spoke with Miss Rosenberg earlier when they were brought in, and she mentioned that some ‘magical light’ swept over his head moments before you reached him," he stammered, trying to piece his words

together carefully and coherently. "My best guess is that’s the cause, and from what Miss Allister told me their research isn’t coming up with anything to suggest otherwise." Dr. Miller rubbed his forehead and took a breath. "However, Miss Rosenberg, you did say that thing he stood on, the ‘podium’, was a device of sorts that ‘downloaded’ knowledge into his brain, right?" Willow nodded her head in acknowledgement, her grip on Becca growing tighter with every word.

Dr. Miller grabbed a folder and stood up. He walked over to a wall light and produced several semi-transparent, shiny black scans. He flicked a switch and light illuminated the sheets as he held them up, revealing a brain scan. He indicated certain black and gray portions of the scan.

"This scan was taken when he first came into the infirmary." The image he pointed to showed a few black and gray patches. He switched to another scan, holding it up to the light. "This was taken half an hour ago." The black and gray patches had spread, "The sections of his brain that are black and gray…these sections are…dying, collapsing, the same thing, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. At the current rate of deterioration he probably won’t make it through the night," he sighed, looking down at Buffy and Willow’s white, expressionless faces. Becca just sat as she had done, transfixed to the wall in front of her. "It’s plausible that this is a result of interrupting the ‘download’ process. Though, if you had done nothing he would have been killed for sure, crushed under the rock ..." The doctor glanced at Willow. "It isn’t you’re fault. These things are…nothing I can say will make the pain any easier, but you haven’t…you’re not responsible. You did what you had to do to save him; it’s just unfortunate that it worked out this way."

As he finished speaking, tears fell from Becca’s eyes. She brought her hands up to cover her face. Willow rubbed her back and looked up at Dr. Miller, who took his glasses off and threw them on his desk. Buffy and Willow looked at each other but said nothing.

White Out

Fade In:Int.Apartment – Night

The room had changed once again, this time to a bedroom.

Wesley gasped, taking a step back. His eyes went wide at the scene before him.

"No, please no," he uttered.

Giles looked over to the bed where another Wesley sat, his arms wrapped round a sickly, frail woman.

"Wh-what is this?" Giles asked hesitantly.

"The price," Wesley croaked his reply. His voice was raspy, and his eyes welled with tears.

"Will you kiss me?" the woman wheezed.

The other Wesley leaned toward the woman and placed a soft, yet passionate kiss on her lips. Her arms grew tighter around his neck.

"Would you have loved me?" the woman asked.

Simultaneously, both versions of Wesley replied to her question with the exact same words. "I’ve loved you since I’ve known you. No, that’s not – I think maybe even before."

The other Wesley shifted his weight slightly, revealing the identity of the woman.

Mortified, Giles realized who she was. "Oh my god, Wesley. Fred."

"My love; mind, body and soul," Wesley sniffed, trying to keep his composure, "Why am I being—."

Suddenly, Fred started to convulse, her entire body violently shaking not only her but the other Wesley too.

"I-I-I...I can’t watch…I’ve already seen her die once, I can’t again. Why are you doing this?" Wesley pleaded, looking up to the ceiling.

"Wesley!" Giles tried to calm him down, turn him away from the memory of himself and Fred; but despite his protests, Wesley couldn’t seem to turn away.

"Please, Wesley." Lacking the strength to hold herself up, Fred slowly fell back onto the bed, her breathing growing fast and shallow, "Why can’t I stay?" Her harrowing final words faded into silence and she finally became still, her eyes frozen on her love.

The other Wesley held her in his arms, pulled her limp body closer to him.

At the moment that Fred passed, so did Wesley’s frantic tears.

"Wesley, I’m so—" Giles began, only to be startled by the sight and sound of Fred’s dead body convulsing once more. She shook with so much force that she kicked the other Wesley half-way across the room and pushed herself onto the floor.

The other Wesley got to his feet and stood side-by-side with to himself; both Wesleys watching Fred’s corpse twitch and shake on the bedroom floor. Giles stood on the other side of Wesley, his horrified eyes wide.

Eerily, Fred rose majestically once again, much to the surprise of Giles and the other Wesley. Fred stood differently. Her hair and the sides of her face were a royal blue, her eyes deep glaciers of impenetrable blue ice.

Inquisitively, Fred looked down at her arm and examined her hand, flexing her fingers. Curling her hand into a fist she spoke in a toneless voice. "This will do."

The room fell quiet as the three men watched Fred. She walked over to the mirror to the other Wesley. Giles hurriedly stepped out of the way, but Wesley stood staring as the visage of Fred grew ever closer. She stepped through him and glared at her reflection in the mirror, almost child-like.

"Fred?" The other Wesley asked. When he got no response his countenance darkened. "Illyria?"

"Illyria?" Giles muttered pensively, his gaze falling upon Wesley. "I’ve heard that name before."

Wesley swallowed hard, taking a walk around Illyria as she spoke to the other Wesley. "Illyria. Demon monarch of the old world. An Old One."

"My god," Giles breathed.

"Illyria’s sarcophagus, believe it or not, was stuck in customs, and all that was needed to free it was a simple signature. Gunn’s actions only go to show how weak and frail we truly are. How we’ll do anything to get what we want."

"—Bleat at me no longer. We’re done," Illyria commanded the other Wesley, turning away from him.

"Yes…" The other Wesley bent to pick up a battle-axe. "…we are." With his final words, the other Wesley swung the axe at the back of Illyria’s neck.

The razor-sharp blade shattered into thousands of shards with a loud metallic clank as it connected with Illyria’s stone-like skin. She didn’t even finch.

Giles flinched as the axe splintered, a terrified look upon his face.

"I honestly thought that it would be that easy," Wesley said. "The fact that I was willing to destroy something in the image of my love is what counts."

White Out

Fade In:Int. Watchers Council Infirmary 

“I can’t believe our little girl’s going to be one next week. Where’s the time gone, huh? She’s growing up so fast. Soon she’ll be able to talk more, walk more, and read on her own – I know you’re looking forward to that. You always said the sooner we wean her off the bottle and onto books the better,” Becca struggled with a smile as she sat by Giles’s beside, holding his hand; her thumb caressed the back of his hand. “I finished writing her birthday song this morning. Okay, perhaps not the greatest lyrical song ever written...but I can’t put into words how much she means to me; how much ...” her eyes fixated on Giles’s slumbering face.

Becca cleared her throat. “That Taylor guitar you got me certainly is a charm to play. I’m going to teach Liz to play when she’s older. I’ll teach her to play guitar, and you teach her..." It was as if her mouth suddenly became dry, the

opposite of her eyes. She swallowed and gripped Giles’s hand tighter as the tears filled her eyes. “You – you stubborn man. I know I’ll never change you. I know you’ll always go and do the right thing. Fight the good fight. I know you don’t just do it to make this world a safer place for us; you do it for everyone else; people you don’t even know. You’re too noble for your own good if you ask me,” carefully Becca leant forward and began to stroke Giles’s forehead with her other hand. 

“But that’s why I love you Rupert...with the whole of my heart, and I can’t...I can’t lose you. I can’t do this alone…I...I need you. Our family needs you. So just think about our plans, alright? What about that saying, ‘all good things come to he who waits’? Just...just wait a little longer…please? For me, for all of us? Don't give up yet because we've got more to do - a lot more to do and you know what I mean...think of all the things we’ve got planned? All the joy to come...I can’t go it on my own. I’m getting older and I need you by my side to pick up the slack. I’ve got this picture painted of us in my mind. You and I sitting out on the porch in the early evening with a glass of lemonade, watching the world go by before us. Clichéd I know, but what I wouldn’t give for a cliché right about now. One of those from a god awful TV movies you hate, where a single prayer is heard amongst all those in the world, and you come back to me. Please, come back, for me, for all of us,” Becca’s rasping voice eventually broke as she laid her head softly on Giles’s chest, her hand still holding onto his. "I'd make this all go away if I could wave a magic wand and..." Becca trailed off and quickly wiped her eyes before rising from her chair and quickly leaving the room. 

Fade In:Int.Office – Day

Again the two men found themselves in another location, this time an office that overlooked a lab with high-tech equipment.

Giles and Wesley stood in the corner of the room by a bookcase, looking on as the other Wesley and Illyria stood talking next to a window that looked on the lab below.

"I’m probably the last man in the world to teach you what’s right," the other Wesley sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

"But you will. If I abide, you will help me," Illyria said.

"Yes," the other Wesley replied softly.

"Because I look like her?" Illyria asked.

The other Wesley looked at her with tears burning in his eyes. In a whisper he answered, "Yes."

"You see. I’m no different," Wesley explained to Giles. "I left it too long to do anything. I couldn’t do the deed. Despite Illyria retaining some of Fred’s memories I knew it wasn’t her, nor could it ever be her. And yet I just couldn’t kill it." Wesley’s tears had run dry. "It’s the initial, gut reaction that will ultimately decide your actions. If you leave it too long you’ll either say no or just leave it."

"Don’t blame yourself, Wesley," Giles said.

"Oh I don’t. At least not now," Wesley answered, looking from Giles over to where the other Wesley and Illyria now stood.

"We cling to what is gone. Is there anything in this life but grief?" Illyria turned to her mentor, almost begging for an answer.

White Out

Cut to:Int.Coven Room – Same Time

"There must be something you can do," Becca pleaded with Willow.

Willow looked torn. "Medically, I can do magic with some things, but others…" Sadly, she shook her head. "In Giles’ case, I might make it worse."

"Worse than certain death?!"

"Yes," Willow answered firmly.

"I don’t believe that," Becca said, holding back her tears.

Willow broke down at that point and began to cry herself.

"You think I don’t want to save him? You–you think I wouldn’t do a spell that might improve his chances? Giles is family to me, Becca. He's been more my dad than my own father. I love him, I admire him, a-and if I could help I would, so don’t stand there a-and act like I don’t give a damn."

Becca took a ragged breath. "I’m sorry, Willow. I know you're hurting too...I just…He and I have plans…Things I don’t think I can do on my own without him."

"No," Willow said, regrouping. "I’m sorry. You’re losing a husband right now; Liz is losing a dad she'll never know." Becca looked like she was going to say something but stopped as Willow continued.  "I understand where you're coming from but try to realize…it feels like I’m losing a father too. A-and from what Dr. Miller said…it's obvious I’ve done enough already."

"He also said it’s not your fault," Becca told him. "Rupert would have been crushed if you hadn't pulled him away. I don’t blame you for this, so don’t blame yourself. It's just…there’s nothing I can do, and the way Rupert talks about you - let’s just say he's proud of his daughter and thinks there isn’t anything in the world you can’t do."

Willow gave her a melancholy grin. "Right now, I wish he was right," she replied softly.

Fade In:Int.Cyrus Vail’s Mansion – Night

Wesley stumbled backwards, tripping over his feet he fell back into Illyria’s arms. She held him tight as the pair slid to the floor. Wesley’s eyes widened as everything around him intensified and sharpened.

"Wesley," Illyria exclaimed. Her ice-blue eyes moving down from his face to the wound in his stomach. "This wound is mortal."

Curiously, his fingers worked their way down to his bloodied, damp shirt. "Aren’t we all", he smiled. "It was good…that you came."

"I killed all mine, and I was…"

"Concerned?"

"I think so. But I can’t help. You’ll be dead within minutes," Illyria added coldly.

"I know," Wesley managed.

Illyria stared down at him, her grip tightening. "Would you like me to lie to you now?" she asked quietly.

Wesley weakly looked up at her. "Yes," he uttered, closing his eyes in a slow, pained blink. "Thank you. Yes." It was then that he felt Fred’s soft touch on his cheek, and when he opened his eyes once again, he looked up at Fred’s smiling face. "Hello there."

Struggling through her tears, Fred smiled. "Oh Wesley. My Wesley."

"Fred," Wesley whispered, his eye lids fluttering as they fought to stay open, "I’ve missed you."

She bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, then she planted another on his forehead. "It’s going to be okay. It won’t hurt much longer, and then you’ll be where I am," she broke down into tears, the droplets falling onto Wesley. "We’ll be together."

"I-I love you." Wesley’s voice grew softer, now barely above a whisper.

"I love you. My Love. Oh, my love," Fred cried, watching as Wesley’s body slowly gave up the fight. He went limp. his motionless eyes staring back up at Fred.

Fred looked down at his lifeless body and let him go, carefully resting his head on the cold marble floor. In the guise of Fred, Illyria blinked, inquisitively staring down at Wesley body. Through gritted teeth she released a heavy sigh as she got to her feet.

Behind her stood an old, leathery red demon. "How very touching his meaningless death was, but this fight was never for mortals."

Still in the form of Fred, Illyria turned to Vail angrily. Her fury could be seen just beneath her cold, concrete exterior.

"Oh," Vail chuckled, "take your best shot, little girl."

In a heartbeat, Illyria swung an incredibly powerful punch straight at Vail’s head, her form changing mid-swing from that of Fred into icy-blue Illyria. The

tremendous force sent her fist straight through Vail’s head, completely obliterating his skull.

Swiftly, she retracted her fist, and as the demon’s dead, headless corpse fell to the ground, it revealed Giles and Wesley standing behind.

"And that’s how it happened," Wesley said. "That’s how I died."

The two men watched as Illyria turned and stood over Wesley’s body. She stared at it for the briefest of moments, her fists clenched, before pacing out of the dining room.

"Vail was wrong, my death wasn’t meaningless," Wesley said.

"Why did you ask her to lie to you?" Giles asked.

"Because sometimes lies are more palatable than the truth."

"You mean easier."

"Yes."

"Wesley, be straight with me please. What did you die for? What cause would warrant such a lonely, undercut death?"

"Again, not a question you should be asking."

"Then what questions am I suppose to ask?"

Wesley sniggered, shaking his head in disbelief. "All of them, if you haven’t figured that out already," he said, slowly walking away from Giles.

"Don’t get cryptic with me," Giles remarked in a tired, weak voice.

"Well, don’t ask stupid bloody questions that you already know the answer to!" Wesley spun round and roared at Giles, surprising the older man somewhat with his drastic change in attitude. "Look, I’m sorry, but you asking me in spite of everything you and I have relived only underscores what I’ve seen."

Giles stood his ground and narrowed the gap between himself and Wesley. "And what exactly is it that you’ve seen, Wesley?"

"Everything you’ve seen this year, and everything that you’ve so aptly failed to see."

"What are you talking about?"

"Earlier I told you I was cautious about what I let slip – well I’ve bit my tongue, given you a chance to see, to understand, and yet you still ask me that question? You know full well what I’m talking about. The…" Wesley would have continued his tirade, but suddenly his eyes darted to the corner of the regally furnished room.

Bewildered, Giles turned to see nothing. "Cat got your tongue," he remarked sarcastically as he turned back to Wesley.

Wesley glared at Giles. "In a manner of speaking"

"Let me guess, you were about to spill the figurative beans, weren’t you? About the Council? About our decisions? But nanny got her slipper out just in time, didn’t she?" he mocked.

"I’m surprised you actually want to hear the truth."

"What gives you the right to criticize us for our choices and decisions when yours have been less than stellar!" Giles stung.

"I’m presuming you’re referring to Angel’s decision to go to Wolfram and Hart. Christ almighty, there’s a world of difference between our decision to go there and your decisions to…" Wesley tried to get out his words, but his eyes were drawn back to the corner. He turned his attention back to Giles and released his held breath. "—so don’t you criticise me!"

Still rather surprised at Wesley’s stance, Giles added, "Who are you? What have you become?"

"The question isn’t what I’ve become; it’s who you’ve become. But if you had taken the time to at least speak with me over the years you would know who I am now. No, instead you furrowed your brow and turned your back on Angel and us because we went to Wolfram and Hart."

"Can you blame us?"

"No, I can’t," Wesley supplied honestly, both his tone and the atmosphere beginning to lighten. "We would have been suspicious of you if you had done

the same; but the difference between you and us is that we would have at least taken the time to find out why you suddenly changed your supposed allegiance. Instead, you completely shut us out; you lied to us about your whereabouts when we really needed you, and only made yourselves known when you wanted something – Dana and look how that turned out."

Giles swallowed hard at the mention of the fallen slayer. "Dana was... she was a very disturbed woman…" Wesley raised a brow as if expecting Giles to leave it at that. "…but her death was something I don’t wish on anyone."

"Of course not, but we needed you Giles. We really did. Bloody hell, Angel spoke to you directly trying to reach Willow and…"

An uncomfortable silence overcame them. "…Fred? You’re not with her, are you?"

"No. Her soul was destroyed during Illyria’s resurrection." Wesley saw Giles’ look. "Please – don’t. I’m sorry for my outburst. I’ve learned that forgiveness is a quality that tries you, but a quality you can’t do without. I guess I really do have something to learn."

Giles took a step forward. "We both do"

White Out

Fade In:Ext.London Street - Night

The light dissipated once again and revealed that Giles and Wesley were now standing in a street in the dead of night. Densely packed rows of houses and other buildings of Victorian design lined the vacant street. Lampposts emitted a dim, orange, flickering light, suspending the streets in a sort of peculiar twilight.

"Does this look familiar to you?" Wesley asked Giles as he glanced at the houses.

"Strangely…yes." Giles walked away from Wesley down the street.

"Giles!" Wesley called after him, but when Giles didn’t stop Wesley ran to catch up to him.

Walking past the houses, Giles noticed that each of the windows had the curtains drawn, with strips of diagonal white tape on the inside. The front gates of some of the houses were ajar.

"I’ve been here before, but this memory isn’t mine. I remember these streets in a different way. Without that distinct thick smell or sulfur in the air. I remember people walking without a care in the world, the doors to people’s houses open on the latch."

A high-pitched, wailing air raid siren began to sound as Giles and Wesley stalked the barren streets. Wesley stopped to listen to the siren’s call grow progressively louder. Giles continued pacing down to the corner of the street, where he froze on the spot. Picking up the trail, Wesley ran down to the end of the street. He followed Giles’ gaze up to the night sky.

Dozen’s of planes flew in formation, approaching the shadowy, fearful city. Several quiet bright flashes of light could be seen, shortly followed by a rumbling sound that filled the air. Plumes of thick black smoke billowed up from the city. Amongst the various sounds of war rose the cries of people racing to the air raid shelters.

Beams of white light struck the gray sky, searchlights fixating on the enemy. Then the roaring sound of spitfires could be heard as they darted towards the flank of the German bombers.

The bombers broke from formation and headed for the residential areas of central London. Mere streets away from where Giles and Wesley stood, the only denizens of the area impervious to harm, a German bomber swooped overhead, releasing a bomb from the bowl of the ship. On impact, the bomb completely obliterated the surrounding houses. Bricks and concrete became violent ballistic projectiles as they spewed into the air. Structures buckled, tumbling to the pavement. Clouds of dust and ash spiraled up from the ground. Bursts of fire raged violently, fueled by ruptured gas pipes. Shrapnel littered the desolate, decimated streets.

Overhead the battle raged; some of the bombers were shot out of the air, some continued raining death and destruction down upon London.

"That’s my street…where I lived as a boy," Giles gasped as he stared at the flames and smoke rising above the unscathed houses.

He ran across the street with Wesley in tow, ducking and diving between the houses to reach the street where he used to live.

"Giles…Giles!" Wesley called again futilely, trying to slow him down.

They emerged into the decimated street as the air raid siren ceased. Before them was a wasteland of rubble. Miraculously, the houses further up the street still stood more or less untouched. Fire engines could be heard amidst the wailing cries of people coming out of their houses to find they had lost everything.

"Georgie! Georgie!" Giles heard a familiar voice to his right. Turning, he saw a man sprint toward the ruins of the houses. "GEORGIE!" He cried out, his hand reaching for his forehead as he came to the realization that his friend was likely dead.

Others came running down the street from behind him, the noise of the fire engines getting ever nearer. The man stood for a moment before traversing the ruins to search for his lost friend, completely disregarding his own well being.

"That’s my father," Giles told Wesley, following. Wesley blinked, hearing Giles’s voice having broken him out of his daze, then followed suit.

Giles’ father tread carefully, continuing until he came to a sudden stop, his eyes widening in fear. The tears burned in his eyes as he fell to his knees. Giles and Wesley stood over him and saw the body of Giles’ father’s friend lying in the rubble, bloodied and beaten.

Giles’s father crawled forward and pulled Georgie’s body up into his lap. "No…no…" He broke down as Giles and Wesley watched wretchedly from behind.

"Is there anything in this life but grief?" Giles asked rhetorically as the white light exploded out of the ruins of the houses.

White Out

Fade In:Ext.Russian Back Streets – Night

A young woman, her jet black hair held up in a bun, dashed through the narrow back streets. Military officers carrying firearms followed in hot pursuit. She jumped over wooden crates left outside the back doors of restaurants. As she skidded around corner, she pulled over one of the bins to the ground and kicked it back down the alley with tremendous strength. The soldiers turned into the alley and the first wave of offices were floored by the rolling bin. The girl sped down another alley, vaulting over dumpsters with a perfected grace. She landed solidly on the ground and continued, though

upon her landing an object fell from her belt and rolled across the damp cobbles – a wooden stake.

Determination etched on her small face, she controlled her breathing, pacing herself as she rolled into another alley. Despite her attempts to stop, she crashed into a wall at the end of the alley. Dead end. Frantically, she scanned her surrounding, clawing at the brick wall as she tried to find a groove.

Giles and Wesley stood at the other end of the alley, concealed in the shadows of the towering buildings.

Perplexed at the dramatic change of venue, Giles asked, "Where are we now?"

Running his hand just millimeters above the stone walls of the alley, Wesley discovered a poster written in Russian. "Russia," he replied. They looked back to the young woman, who had now found a thick pipe. "I know her," he added.

"As do I," Giles replied.

Testing the pipe for stability, the woman wrapped her hands round the conduit and began to pull herself up, wrapping her legs around it as well.

"She’s the slayer that slew the Russian KGB officer who was a vampire," Giles recalled. "What was her name…Arina?"

"Yes. She was my father’s slayer," Wesley revealed, glancing over to Giles.

The KGB officers turned into the alley and Arina began to climb faster, but the pipe was hot and slick and impeded her attempt at a quick escape. The officers grabbed at her legs, which she kicked about as she tried to climb higher. The officers managed to grab a hold of her legs and pulled her down. The girl crashed to the hard stone ground and smashed her head against a crate.

Despite her injuries and her dazed perception, Arina got to her feet and ran up the wall, kicking off the vertical surface and slamming her foot into an officer’s face. She tried her best to keep in close quarters with them to prevent them from firing their weapons. One officer went at her, but she ducked and delivered an upper-cut to his chin, sending him flying over her.

Another officer landed a punch square in her face that sent her reeling backwards. Blood gushing from her nose, she peered up to see them readying their guns. Arina raced forward, grabbing one gun and shoving it into the officer’s stomach and then up into his face. Another advanced from behind, but she spun round, grabbed his shirt, and threw him into the others.

With the majority of the officers stunned or floored, Arina went back to the pipe, jumping into the air and grabbing hold of it. She pulled herself up, the adrenaline pumping throughout her body.

An officer got to his feet, grabbed his machine gun and fired a shot into her leg. The bullet pierced her muscle and splintered the bone, causing Arina to fall back to the ground. She cried out at the pain as her body cracked against the cold, hard ground. The rest of the officers were now on their feet, readying their guns. With the help of another set of pipes, Arina struggled to get up, but as she attempted to do so the KGB officers slammed their fingers down on the triggers and released a barrage of bullets into her body.

The machine gun fire illuminated the alley way, and the white light emerged out of the bursts to swallow Giles and Wesley.

White Out

Fade In:Int.Shack – Day

Floorboards creaked beneath Giles and Wesley’s feet as they seemed suddenly appeared in yet another location – inside an old wooden shack. The atmosphere was strangely still; there was little sound bar that of the crackling from a wood fire burning in the fireplace of the lonely, empty room they stood in.

Something caught Giles’s eye, a picture hanging on the splintered wooden wall next to the fireplace.

Wesley walked over to the window. It was daylight out and it bathed him in a pale hue.

"We’re in Russia again," Giles spoke up, "only back when it was the Russian Empire," the younger watcher looked over to Giles to see

him pointing to a picture of the Great Coat of Arms of the Russian Empire that hung on the wall.

"Well, I know I wasn’t born in this time," Wesley quipped.

Giles rolled his eyes and was about to comment when he heard a baby’s gurgle coming from a crib in the corner of the room. Suddenly, voices could be heard from outside, growing closer to the door. Wesley pressed his finger against his lips, telling Giles to be quiet as he eavesdropped on the conversation. It wasn’t of any particular interest or relevance, but a name caught his attention – Dzhugashvili. Then another name was mentioned in relation to a baby – losif.

Both men’s eyes went wide in awe at the revelation. Wesley stepped forward, but knocked his leg hard against the table leg.

"Blo—" he grabbed at his knee and then realized what he had in fact done; he had interacted with their environment.

Giles shot him a baffled look, but the voices outside had heard the noise. Giles grabbed Wesley and pressed him and himself up against the wall. The voices grew closer and the shadow of someone peering through the window appeared across the wooden floor.

After a moment, the shadows withdrew and the voices trailed off into the distance.

The two watchers pulled away from the wall and stood in the center of the room for a moment before the sound of the baby drew their attention.

Giles and Wesley stood over the crib, staring down at the baby.

"This is…" Giles stuttered.

"…Josef Stalin," Wesley replied.

"To think what this baby will do. The deaths he’ll cause. The evil he’ll commit. Hindsight," Giles said with some resentment. "And yet he started out like this, as an innocent."

"We all did."

"Not the point. What – what causes an innocent to change into something so vulgar and to commit atrocities of the likes that this one will?"

"To be fair, I don’t think most who choose evil will ever come close to what Stalin did – does – will do…you get the picture"

"Still…so innocent," Giles’s eyes stared down into the baby’s, but the baby’s couldn’t stay still.

Giles leaned back from over the crib, turning his back to it and Wesley and walking across the room. Wesley watched him and rested back against the wall.

The older man stopped in front of the fire, arms folded; the red and orange flickers reflected in his glasses. He glanced up at the mantle above the fireplace. Taking a step forward he reached out to an old brass ornament and picked it up, testing whether he too could interact with his environment. As he placed it back down he laid his eyes on a hunting knife that rested at the furthest end of mantle.

"There are so many things we could have done differently in our lives. So many things. And we’ve been allowed by some divine right to relive them in order to shape and change our future. But what if we could change the past? Right here, right now?"

Wesley leaned forward off of the wall. "What?"

"This is what this whole experience has been about, right? Knowing and understanding what it takes to do the right thing," Giles picked up the knife. Wesley’s eyes widened at the weapon and glared up at Giles. "What if this is our chance, our choice to do the right thing?"

"You mean kill…kill the baby?"

"I mean to say, save millions, end the Second World War early, maybe avoid the Cold War altogether."

"I can’t believe you’re talking about this, let alone contemplating it!"

"Neither can I," Giles added. Unsure, he looked down at the knife in his hands. "It’s worrying, it’s frightening, and I can’t believe that as the person I am now I’m thinking about it."

"You think that killing the baby will make this world a better place? For all you know killing him could make the world even worse! An even greater evil dictator could rise to power. Not to mention temporal causality. You talk of doing a great good here and the lives you’ll save, but think of the lives that will be lost through this. The parents who won’t meet, who won’t give birth

to the generations to come. You don’t know that killing him won’t alter your birth, mine, Buffy’s, the slayer line?"

"And you think I don’t know that?!" Giles raised his voice. "You honestly believe that I don’t understand that killing him might do more harm than good?"

"Then why are you even considering it?!"

"Because…it’s…I’m trying to weigh both sides. The good and the bad."

"What, all of a sudden? How can anyone gauge such things?"

"Wasn’t it you who told me that it’s that gut reaction that will ultimately decide what you do? Umm...this child— no, the man this child will become is the man who will commit all of the crimes and the man who I’m considering killing."

"Murdering," Wesley added bluntly.

"But then the child hasn’t become that man yet and I’m left…I’m left unsure. I’m not saying that I know the future, and I know that with any choice I make, whether it be this one or something completely different, I will have to face consequences that I cannot know in advance. But you see, this is where this situation is different - I know, you know what crimes he will commit and the lives that will be destroyed directly or indirectly because of his choices. I’m talking about making a choice to kill a murderer who will choose to murder without justice. I have justice, I have reason."

"And his actions make your choice just?" Wesley replied, somewhat rhetorically, "Why do you feel that you must take it upon yourself to do the deed?"

"Because I stand for doing the right thing."

Wesley stared back at Giles. "And so do I. Giles, if you do this, then you will damn yourself for all of eternity, and I can’t rest in mine knowing that you’ll be sentenced to hell for a decision that you felt in your heart was the right thing to do." Wesley offered his hand.

"What are–?"

"I agree with you. I’m just as conflicted about this as you are, but how are we to know what the consequences are if he dies now? All we know is that there are two roads that could stem from this decision. The future could proceed as normal and millions will die. Or we could kill him and those lives and

countless others can be saved, those tragedies averted. Even then we can’t be sure that things will play out like that. I understand where you’re coming from, I really do, and the more I think about it, the more I’m willing to do this. Regardless of how future events will play out, I know that my life will still be the same; that I won’t amount to anything. I have no constraints because I have no one. Now, you need to think, if we proceed with this, all of what you have – a wife, a daughter – might not happen. Are you willing to sacrifice them?"

Giles’s eyes glazed over, and he swallowed hard. "I’m not willing to sacrifice them, but I’m willing to sacrifice myself for them. I’m willing to do what needs to be done for the greater good in order to keep them safe."

Giles placed the knife back down on the mantle, directly between the two men.

"So who-?" Giles began, only to have Wesley cut him short.

"Me."

"You’re saying that you’re the one to do it? You’re saying that–"

"I’m saying that because I’ve already damned myself in the past and I am prepared to do it again. Face it - I’m dead, whatever the outcome it won’t really matter to me as long as I know I’ve done something good. Granted, I’m not chained and living in fire and brimstone now, but I’ve got to live with what I’ve done in the past for all of eternity."

"And I don’t? Look at who I was, what I’ve done in the past; look at who you were. We’ve grown, we’ve dealt, but we’ve never been faced with a choice like this."

Giles snatched the knife.

"I won’t–"

Cut To:Ext.Gorge – Platform

"—let…you," Giles trailed off upon seeing that they where now back on the platform in the gorge.

"What?" Wesley began, but he was silenced by the appearance of Celestas. She walked towards the pair from the shadows.

Giles looked down to his open hand, but the knife was gone. Confused, he looked back up at the Guardian.

"Well done gentlemen," she said. "You made a decision."

"Yes, a decision that was–"

"That was tremendously difficult and had so many possible outcomes and repercussions," Celestas answered immediately.

"We decided to kill an innocent child who at that time had done nothing wrong! How can you praise us for a job well done?" Giles barked.

"I don’t praise you for your decision to kill an innocent, Mr. Giles. I praise and applaud your decision to do what must be done."

"What must be done?" Wesley remarked.

"Yes. You did what must be done for the greater good," she put up her finger, stopping Giles and Wesley from arguing. "Before you two start on about connotations of your actions that I am fully aware of, I’m going to tell you the point. The point is that you two were faced with the possibility of slaying a great evil. That the guise of evil was an innocent child was inconsequential to the test. I understand that it was more than a little…extreme, but when aren’t these decisions? It was merely a test with the harshest and most vulgar example at hand, it had to be. But the test was to see whether or not you two could make an absolutely selfless choice about fighting evil, be it in the appearance of a loved one, be it in the appearance of a child. And you passed. With flying colors, might I add"

"And the point of us reliving our past?" Wesley asked bluntly.

"A precursor to the final trial. A remembrance of times and decisions in your lives that proved hard, that were noble and selfless…and examples of how one single decision can have so many cumulative repercussions."

"Were they really necessary? We remember our past decisions, our mistakes," Giles argued. "What you put the two of us through was cruel."

"It was not unnecessary; those moments were not only pivotal in shaping who you are today, but in preparing you for a final decision so far beyond your capabilities." Celestas smiled and took a breath. "Now, your rewards."

"Rewards?" Giles snarled. "Rewards?!"

"Call it whatever you like, but you came here for a reason. I am about to give you what you wanted."

"What if I choose not to accept it after what we’ve been through?" the older man asked. "After all, I have a choice, don’t I?"

"Yes, you do, but believe me, you do not want to leave here without our knowledge. You’ll need that power," Celestas insisted. She stared Giles down, her eyes telling what she could not voice. Then, surprisingly, she smiled, "Mr. Giles, as you intended when you stepped upon the plinth, you are to be bestowed with the knowledge of the Guardians."

"Humor the old man one more time, and don’t answer my question with another question. Why put me on trial?" Giles asked.

"Do not think yourself special. If it were any other who stood upon the plinth, they would still have be tested. It’s necessary to determine whether or not the person is worthy and enlightened enough to have our knowledge."

"Worthy? I can understand you testing others for worthiness, but us? The Watchers?" Giles queried.

"I’m sure you can appreciate that the actions of the Watchers Council in the last year have been less than…well, they have been appalling in some respects." Celestas did not once raise or lower her tone. "You lost sight of what was important, your eyes that were more focused on selfish matters and they neglected to see what was in plain sight. There are certain beings in your world and the next that no longer seek protection nor see goodness behind your actions. They lost faith in you when they saw you lose faith in yourselves. I cannot say that you haven’t seen the error or your ways, that you haven’t been working to amend them, or that you are not working to ensure that slips do not happen again. What you need is balance, and I hope you’ve learned that. I think you forget that though you are the Watchers, we watch you. Like any other, we need assurances that our knowledge would not be misused."

"You honestly thought that we might abuse it?" Giles questioned.

"Honestly? Yes, yes we did; but you can’t honestly say that you didn’t have some reservations about your Council, as well. There are so many

forces at work that we were unsure whether or not you’d been corrupted, but what we found was even more worrying; you corrupted yourselves. But now we have faith in you once again."

"If you thought us unworthy, then why give us a chance?"

"Because everyone needs a chance to prove themselves. If we and the Powers didn’t give anyone a chance then there would be no hope for the best possible outcome."

"Outcome for what?"

"Can it not be general?"

"It never is," Wesley commented.

Celestas’s once soft smile was now replaced with one of concern. "There is but a slight problem Mr. Giles. On the physical plane your body was disturbed and removed from the plinth. You body is dying." All the color drained from Giles’ face. "Time is of the essence and if you go back now, we can amend the damage." Before she could even finish her sentence Giles began to make his way off the bridge. "Wait!" she called out. "Mr. Giles, there is more you need to know."

Giles tucked the heels of his shoes into the stone below and skid to a halt. "But you said—"

"Because your body was disturbed, the knowledge you leave here with will be reduced. What you will have will be fragmented in your mind. It will gradually become more accessible as time passes, but regrettably there will be some loss, certain parts that will be not be transferred into your mind."

"What of the knowledge that won’t be transferred to me?"

"If it is essential you will find it, and the key to it will be in your mind. When you leave here, stand upon the plinth at the end of the bridge and our knowledge will be transferred as your mind is reintegrated with your body." Celestas looked at Wesley. "And now for Mr. Wyndham-Pryce, answers. As you probably deduced, Mr. Giles’ trial was as much about you as it was about him."

"I figured that much, but I still don’t fully understand why?"

"You overcame so much in your human life, and the fact is you died with a near balanced life. Something that is rarely ever achieved by a mortal. Yes,

balance is essential, but there was still much you needed to learn in order to truly rest."

"And I couldn’t have learned my lesson before now? No offense Rupert, nice to see you again and all."

"Thank you," Giles replied sarcastically.

"Fate has a way of interlinking with others," Celestas explained enigmatically. It was simply your fate to cross paths with Mr. Giles again. You two know better than any that death is never the end. Your gift, Mr. Wyndham-Pryce, is ascension to the highest plane of existence, true Heaven."

Celestas looked to her right to see a young woman with long, flowing brown curls walk towards them. As she came closer, a large set of angelic wings sprouted out of her back.

"True Heaven?" Wesley uttered, his eyes focused on the Angel.

"There are many Heavenly planes, but the one you’re destined to go to now is one of great beauty and resolve. It is the highest plane attainable, reserved only for a select few," Celestas told him.

Wesley’s face grew sad and cold as he turned to face Celestas. "I can’t rest, not truly. I’m not complete. I never will be."

Celestas took a step forward and placed her tiny hand on Wesley’s arm. "You believe her soul to be destroyed, but The Powers would never allowed one of such purity to succumb to such evil."

"Fr-Fred?"

The Guardian bowed her head, "Her soul was broken, tortured and weakened to the point that it could not bare - the Powers would not bare. Her sprit’s energy was used to fuel the Old One’s return; but at the precise moment her body lost the war, the smallest breach was made that enabled her soul to be set free. It was also in this breach that Illyria assumed control. Winifred’s soul was so badly damaged that it has taken time for her to heal. That is the reason she could not have been with you. But now you can go to her. Now you can rest, together."

Tears fell from Wesley’s eyes as he tried to speak, "I thought…I thought she was gone…"

The angel extended her hand. "Come," she said softly.

Shakily, Wesley raised his hand and began to lower it into hers; but then at the last moment he curled his hand into a ball and pulled it back. Wesley turned around to face Giles who smiled plainly back at him.

Wesley walked over to Giles, a true smile beginning to shine on his face.

"So," Wesley grinned.

"So," Giles reiterated.

"It’s been…"

"… an experience."

"Yes, so much is for sure"

"But it’s been a pleasure," Giles said.

"No, the pleasure has been all mine," Wesley stated.

Simultaneously, the two men offered hand shakes. Each stammered, having to change hands as the other did the opposite. In the end they stopped, and with a smirk Giles and Wesley instead pulled each other into a clinch, patting each other on the back. They pulled away and exchanged a nod.

"Well, time’s pressing on. Miles to go, many roads to walk down and all that jazz. Haven’t you got a life to get back to?" Wesley joked.

Giles smiled. "Yes, yes I do."

Wesley beamed, and with reassuring bow of his head he backed away from Giles. "Take care, old friend. Please, take care." He clasped his hands together in prayer and backed away before turning to Celestas and the angel.

"Wesley," Giles called out. The younger watcher looked over his shoulder. "Thank you."

Wesley smiled and gave a final nod. "You’re welcome. Oh and, umm…congratulations," he grinned, arching a brow as he turned to the angel. Giles stood in the background, slightly bemused.

"Ready?" she said.

"Am I ever." As Wesley took her hand, a ray of sparkling sliver light shone down upon him and the angel. He stared up into the light with a curl of his lips. Wesley closed his eyes as the light intensified, and at its peak it engulfed him and the angel. When it faded away, they were gone.

Giles blinked the dancing spots away from his eyes. With a slight smile he turned to Celestas. They held gazes once more, neither one of them sure what to say, or even if there was anything to say.

Giles spoke plainly and sincerely. "Thank you, for everything."

She cracked a smile. "I think it’s I who should be thanking you. I haven’t had company in ages. Seriously, you do a great service and none of us would be where we stand without you. Mr. Wyndham-Pryce is correct, you’ve got a life to get back to – lives."

The watcher bowed before the Guardian and without a second look turned and walked back over the bridge, leaving Celestas standing alone behind. Giles reached the plinth and stepped up on it, facing back down the bridge. Releasing a small breath, he closed his eyes.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Infirmary

Giles’ eyes opened wide before squinting closed again as the harsh, fluorescent light overwhelmed his vision.

"Oh my god, Rupert!" Becca cried out in elation. She wriggled free from Buffy’s hold and flung her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.

Shaking, Buffy put her hand to her chest in relief and looked up at the white ceiling.

"Thank you," she said softly.

She turned to Willow, who was equally overcome by her emotions, and the pair pulled themselves into a hug. A larger set of arms folded around the two women; it was Xander, his eyes swollen and red.

"But… but how…" Dr. Miller stammered, at a loss for words, "Willow…I mean, Miss Rosenberg." He got the red-eyed witch’s attention. "Did you?"

Willow shook her head as best she could while locked in Xander’s bear hug. "No…it’s a miracle."

Utterly stunned, Dr. Miller took off his glasses and placed them in his coat pocket. "Yes…it is."

Rowena stood on the other side of Giles’ bed, her mascara now trickling down her cheeks. With the back of her hand she wiped the tears away and placed a hand on Giles’ shoulder.

"I thought we’d lost you there," she rasped.

A crowd gathered around Giles’ bed. Becca clung to his neck. Giles’ eyes, however, scanned the crowd for a face. His head moved from side to side as he tried to see around the crush of loved ones.

As someone moved to one side, the crowd parted and Giles’ eyes landed on Wesley, smiling softly as he stood at the back of room by the open door.

The two watchers stared at each other and a smile appeared on Giles’s face, his own eyes becoming teary but also laden with pride and warmth and strength. As they stared at one another, Wesley’s image began to fade away into the ether. Giles watched until he was gone. A single bead of tear formed in the corner of his eye and fell, coursing down the curvature of his face, tapering on his chin, and dripping onto the bed clothes.

Faith was standing off to one side, her arms folded, relieved that Giles was safe. She noticed his faraway gaze. She studied his face and curiously followed his stare to the back of the room by the door. There was no one there, but the ajar door closed as a slight cool breeze wafted out of the

room. Faith looked at the door with an unsure frown, then turned back to Giles, his smiling face still turned towards the closed door. She couldn’t help it. She smiled, too.

Giles blinked, and with a breath he suddenly became aware of Becca and the others around him.

Becca pulled herself away from his body and looked down into his eyes, placing her hand on the side of his face. Giles looked back at her. He reached up and brushed a strain of her hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. He pulled her tightly into an embrace and buried his head against hers.

Fade to black

Special Guest Stars

Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, David Boreanaz as Angel and

Amy Acker as Winifred Burkle and Illyria

 

End of Ouroboros