The Fire of Thine Eyes, Giles/Wesley 11/17
Title: The Fire of Thine Eyes (Warmth & Heat Redux)
Author: Lostgirl
Pairing: Giles/Wesley
Rating: NC-17 (overall rating)
Part: 11/17
Feedback and concrit adored: lostgirlslair @ yahoo.com
Spoilers: Begins directly after 'Bad Girls', AU from there on out with bits and pieces taken from all over the end of BtVS season three.
Summary: Giles finds Wesley lying, badly beaten, on the library floor.
Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon and various corporate entities. I am neither
Big, huge thanks to beadtific, janedavitt, kyrieane, malnpudl, and psychoadept for their beta magic. Thanks to the Buffyverse Dialogue Database for, well, the dialogue. And thank you to everyone who read the first versions of these stories. Your interest and feedback have made this a pleasure to work on.
Previous parts located here.
At the library, Wesley found Faith waiting for them. It was earlier than she normally showed up. She most often patrolled with Buffy and then kept at it after Buffy had returned home, so she rose later in the day. She sat on the library table, kicking her legs into open air, twirling a pencil through the fingers of first one hand and then the other.
"Faith? Has something happened?" Wesley glanced back to make certain Rupert was right behind him and then went to put his briefcase on the check-in desk, eyes never leaving Faith.
"Uh, no, no. Just . . . you know that offer you made me?" Faith stood, pacing to the book cage and then back to the table once again, her hands moving with her words. "You, uh, you said you could help me. Uh, make-make me better, faster . . . I was gonna say 'easier' there, but . . ." Faith looked him in the eyes for the first time in a long time, the humor and smile on her face a relief to see.
"Uh, yes," Wesley didn't bother trying to hide his own smile.
"Hmm," came Rupert's amused voice from behind Wesley. "That would most definitely be my cue to leave you two alone." Rupert walked past him, shooting Wesley an encouraging smile before going into his office and shutting the door.
Wesley snorted and looked back to Faith. She shrugged, looking to the floor at his feet again. "So, uh . . . if your offer’s still open? I . . . I kinda think I'd like that." Her nervousness had returned and Wesley could only assume she believed he was going to take back the offer he'd made to help her, to train her.
"Of course it's open, Faith, all you had to do was ask. Would you like to get started now?"
Faith looked up at that, nodding. "Yeah, if you're up for it." She seemed truly excited. "What are we gonna be doing? Like calisthenics, or maybe martial arts? Oh, maybe weapons?"
Wesley smiled, shaking his head. "No, first . . . I think we'll work on teaching you how to be calm."
Faith lost her smile at that. "Huh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she grumbled, but Wesley could see it was only half-hearted.
"Give me an hour of your time. If you don't feel better after that, more at ease, then we'll move on to something else. All right?"
"One hour?" Faith seemed to think about it for a moment. "Okay, Jeeves," she said, taking on that teasing tone Wesley had come to recognize. "You got an hour to make me calm. Frankly, I don't think your boy--" she nodded to Rupert's office, "--is gonna be all too happy about that, but . . ."
Sighing and trying to hide his blush, Wesley nodded toward the stacks. "Let's go where it's quiet." He popped his head into Rupert's office to let him know where he'd be and then followed Faith back.
"Huh. Didn't know there was so much back here," she said with a shrug.
Wesley hid a smile and then took of his suit jacket, neatly folding it. "First, we'll work on breathing. He sat cross-legged on the floor in what he thought was a rather graceful maneuver until Faith copied him, muscles moving like silk.
Sighing, Wesley began the lesson. He took Faith through breathing exercises, beginning with the simple and then leading her into the more complex. He talked her through the first steps of tapping into her own power, channeling it into the slow, smooth motions of Tai Chi before moving her back into a cross-legged sitting position and going through the breathing exercises in reverse. By the end of the hour, Faith seemed calmer to him, but it would be up to her to decide.
She opened her eyes slowly, a smiling tilting up her lips. "That . . . wow. That was . . ." She shook her head, standing from the position without the use of her hands. "Wow."
Wesley smiled, raising his eyebrows in question. "I assume that means you'll be returning for your next lesson tomorrow?"
"Will I be doing that again?" Faith nodded to where she'd been sitting on the floor.
"For a few more lessons, until you've learned the sequence backward and forward. Then you'll perform the exercise every morning." Wesley explained, glad to see Faith's interest. It felt as if he were doing something, as if, with Faith's help, he'd begun to really do his job as a Watcher.
"That's the kick." Faith glanced over at one of the shelves, suddenly becoming quiet, more serious. "Does . . . does Buffy do this?"
Wesley raised his eyebrows at that, watching as Faith ran her fingers along the books' spines. More to fidget than out of interest, Wesley thought. "I don't believe so. Rupert has taken a rather less structured approach with Buffy." Because Buffy can already sit still when she needs to, Wesley added to himself.
"Huh." Wesley couldn't tell if that was a good sound or not, whether Faith wanted Buffy to be doing the same training she was or not.
"Okay. I'll be here tomorrow. Same time." Faith picked up her jacket and gave him a little wave. He watched her go with a growing sense of accomplishment. She stopped before leaving his line of sight, half turning back toward him. "Uh . . . thanks, Wes."
"No need to thank me, Faith. It's my duty and my pleasure." She snorted, but was smiling when she left.
Picking up his own jacket, Wesley started back toward the library proper. He had the strangest urge to go to Rupert's office and tell his lover how well it had gone. Though he snorted at himself for that, Wesley didn't curb the impulse.
****
Faith kept her appointments, Wesley was relieved to see. He and Rupert would get to the library and she'd already be there, waiting. Wesley was surprised, having assumed she'd want a later schedule, but Faith said she liked coming in for training before bed. It calmed her down, wore her out and she slept better.
He and Rupert had shared a drink to Faith's acquiescence. Her nervousness around him didn't seem to fade, however. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. There were times when she get a serious look upon her face, pause, as if she were about to say something and then simply shake her head. He never pushed her, thinking that was surely the quickest way to keep her silent. He hoped she would tell him whatever was bothering her in her own time. However, Wesley was unsure what else he could do, how he could forge the same bond with Faith that Rupert had with Buffy.
"I just don't know what else I can do," Wesley said with a sigh, leaning back against Rupert and letting the shower's warm water wash over him. Rupert paused in kissing his ear and Wesley could feel Rupert shrugging.
"My first year with Buffy was . . . a disaster in spots, but it was going through what we did that helped us to understand one another." Wesley glanced back a Rupert, knowing there was more coming. "Well, as much as anyone can ever understand a teenaged girl whose destiny is to kill the things that go bump in the night."
Wesley snorted, nodding. They'd spent too long in the shower. Well, no, they'd spent too long in bed before finally getting into the shower. Either way, they'd have to hurry if they were to make it to the library on time.
"We have to go," he said with sigh. As much as he enjoyed having found his place here, with Faith, he sometimes wished the mornings were longer. That was his favorite time. He and Rupert had fallen into such a comfortable routine, but routines never lasted and Wesley wanted to stretch out the time as much as he could.
"You're right," Rupert responded, reaching over Wesley's shoulder to turn off the water. The move was awkward, forcing Wesley to lean forward with Rupert plastered against his back. Wesley laughed, knowing Rupert had done it on purpose, a reminder of the night before. Shivering happily at the memory, Wesley slipped away and out of the shower.
"Keep that up, Rupert, and we won't make it to work at all. Buffy will come looking for you, only to find us both naked and passed out on the bathroom floor. Is that what you want?" Wesley tossed Rupert a towel, watching as his lover pretended to consider for a moment before giving an exaggerated shudder.
Breakfast was skipped as they both rushed to get their materials together. Wesley had found some interesting leads concerning the knife, but he had nothing on the Mayor. Unfortunately, neither did Rupert. The frustration had been keeping them both up later and later, books still laid scattered across the coffee table, Rupert's desk. Even the counter had its own burden. All of the texts lay open at particularly interesting bits, the rest marked with strips of paper.
They needed to narrow the scope, but neither he nor Rupert had come up with a way to do that. Wesley sent one more look at the flat, making sure he'd grabbed all the texts he'd need today. The knife, still on Rupert's desktop, but half covered by a volume of Merasian prophecies, caught his eye. He'd have to remind Rupert to put that away when they got back.
When they reached the library, Wesley was surprised not only because Faith wasn't there, but because Buffy, Willow and Xander were, all wearing thoughtful expressions.
"What's going on?" Both he and Rupert asked together.
"Demon," Buffy said with a shrug, "but not like, big, nasty, gonna watch the world go down in flames. He, uh, he said he had some books we'd want. The Books of Ascension? Wants five thousand dollars for them."
"Books?" Again, Wesley and Rupert spoke together.
"Okay, the Watcher in stereo thing's getting creepy," Buffy said, her face scrunching up. Wesley shot a covert, amused glance at Rupert and then asked his second question.
"And you say this demon wanted cash?" At Buffy's nod, Wesley bit his lip, thinking. "That's very unusual."
"Demons after money. Whatever happened to the still beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards anymore." Wesley glanced over at Rupert, swallowing hard when he realized the man was eating the banana he'd grabbed as breakfast. Forcing his eyes away from that picture, he turned back to Buffy and the others.
"What's this Ascension mean?" Xander asked. Wesley shrugged, glancing to Rupert when he couldn't provide an answer.
"I'm not sure," was all Rupert had to say.
"No, not really a common term in demonology," Wesley added, though it did seem familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it. He'd been over so many books in the past two weeks the information in each was beginning to blur a bit. He'd have to skim through the ones he knew he'd read and see if he could find the reference again.
"Ooh, ooh!" Willow piped up, drawing Wesley from his thoughts. "The Marenschadt Text, I think in the section on genocide, they mention Ascension." Wesley raised his eyebrows, wondering what Willow had been doing reading such an advanced book. Rupert didn't look too happy about that either.
"Well, we have a winner." Buffy said, smiling at her friend.
"And, more importantly, two losers," Xander snarked. Wesley didn't even bother to glare as he'd realized long ago that it did nothing to curb Xander's odd sense of humor. If humor it could be called.
"Where did you find that volume?" There was a slight edge to Rupert's voice and Wesley glanced back to Willow, finding the girl looking rather unrepentant when she answered.
"In the top of your book cabinet with the stuff you try to keep hidden."
Wesley tuned out the children then, his eyes following Rupert as he disappeared into the office, only to reemerge a moment later with the Marenschadt Text in hand. He was scanning the lines and Wesley could see the tension in his lover's body, could have spotted it from across the room. He didn't think anyone else could read Rupert so well, however. Certainly Willow couldn't, as she didn't even bother to apologize. She had to know Rupert was angry, didn't she? Of course, Wesley remembered a time we he'd have been blithely unaware of the signs himself.
"Ah, yes, yes, here we are. There's a reference here to the journal of Desmond Kane, pastor of a town called Sharpsville. 'May 26, 1723. Tomorrow is the Ascension. God help us all.' It was the last anyone heard."
"Of Kane?" Wesley asked, moving to Rupert's side to see for himself.
"Of Sharpsville. The town more or less disappeared," Rupert pointed out the lines he'd read, angling the book so that Wesley could easily read it over his shoulder.
"So Ascension possibly not a love-in," Buffy said and Wesley snorted.
"I think you should meet with this demon, Buffy," Rupert was saying, Wesley nodding his agreement with a sigh as he finished the lines.
"Yeah? Anybody got five thousand dollars?" Buffy snorted. Wesley considered calling the Council, but there were better ways to get the books, ways that wouldn't give the Council information before he was certain he wanted them to have it.
Once again, Wesley had to push aside that nagging little voice that asked him what his father would think, asked if his father would be proud of his conduct. It was growing louder, but Wesley was also becoming more adept at ignoring it. He wasn't sure which of those worried him the most.
He looked up when he realized Miss Chase was standing before him. He blinked, raising an eyebrow in question as she seemed to be focused on him specifically.
"I have something important to ask you," she said, which only made Wesley's eyebrow rise higher.
"Important?" Xander put in. "Let's start calculating those odds, people." Wesley ignored the young man as he'd gathered there was some sort of history between Xander and Miss Chase.
"What are you doing Friday night?" Cordelia asked, her intent gaze leaving no doubt that she was, indeed, talking to him.
Wesley felt his mouth drop open for a split second. His eyes darted quickly to Rupert, who looked surprised and faintly amused, before he began sputtering. "Uh, I, uh, as always my sacred duty as a Watcher prevents me from, ah . . . Why?"
"I have a paper to write for English and you're English, so I thought . . ." Cordelia seemed to think this a perfect reasonable explanation. In fact, when there was a snicker from the others, she turned toward them and snapped, "What? Is it so wrong to be getting an insider's perspective?" Wesley had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Surely, this was some kind of joke? "I study best in a good restaurant, around eightish? Think it over?"
Apparently not. Wesley stood, stunned speechless, as Cordelia turned and left. He glanced at Rupert, his confusion was apparently obvious. Rupert was stifling laughter.
"And on the day the words 'flimsy excuse' were redefined, we stood in awe and watched," Xander said and Wesley actually found himself agreeing with the young man, for once. Shaking his head, he tried to bring the meeting back on topic.
"Right. Books of Ascension, Mayor, slaughter. Tell you what. Why don't we try to find this demon sooner rather than later? Perhaps persuade him to lend us the books free of charge."
"I think Faith might be useful in that persuasion part," Buffy said, which only drew Wesley attention back to the fact that Faith wasn't there. She hadn't missed a training session yet, and despite her ability to take care of herself he was worried.
"I imagine so. Where is Faith anyway?"
Buffy's shrug did nothing at all to ease his mind.
****
"Find anything?" Wesley asked as he returned to his seat with a new book of his own. He glanced over Rupert's shoulder on the way. There was no one else about, but they still had to be careful. Regardless, Wesley couldn't resist a quick kiss to Rupert's ear, all the encouragement he could lend at the moment.
"Six course banquet of nothing with a scoop of sod-all as a palate cleanser," Rupert replied, glancing up at him with a small, tired smile. "Perhaps you should contact the Council, maybe run a search . . ."
Wesley nodded, sighing. He removed his glasses to rub at tired eyes. "I'd thought of that, but . . . we don't know where this is going to lead. Of course, it's, apparently, going to lead to the Ascension if we don't find out what's going on." Wesley replaced his glasses, looking up as Buffy entered the library, her demeanor strangely quiet. "Still, I think the most expedient plan would be to find these Books of Ascension themselves. Buffy, you and Faith must find this demon, and soon.”
"Well, I'll go back to the scene, see if I can track him," Buffy replied with a shrug.
"Wait for Faith," Wesley said, trying to get his mind to focus once more on the text before his eyes.
"That could be hours. The girl makes Godot look punctual. I'll just go myself."
Wesley did look up then, shaking his head. "Buffy, this is a job for the both of you. This demon could be anywhere. If these books are as important as he says, he has good reason to hide. Finding him is going to be extremely difficult."
"Found your demon," Xander announced as he strolled into the library. Wesley blinked, opening his mouth to ask how and simply staring instead.
"Fashion tip, Wes? Mouth looks better closed," Buffy commented. Wesley heard Rupert snort and gave the man a mock glare. Then, spotting the wicked sparkle in Rupert's eyes, and Rupert's slightly suggestive smile, Wesley almost choked on his next breath.
He missed whatever Xander had said as he surreptitiously tried to regain his composure. He did see Xander pass Buffy a slip of paper. He couldn't have missed it as it happened right in front of his blushing face.
"You beat up Willy?" Buffy's voice was oddly cheerful at the thought. Wesley blinked at her and then looked back to Xander.
"Sure! Well, actually, let's just say I applied some pressure, or more accurately, that I asked politely, and then, uh, okay, I bribed him." Wesley hid a smile at that, doubting Xander would appreciate that Wesley found it rather funny.
"How much?" Buffy asked, though Wesley tuned out Xander's answer, trying to get a look at the piece of paper she was holding. "I know this. It's down by the bus station. Not the nicest part of town."
"Again, see? No standards. I mean, any self-respecting demon should be living in a pit of filth or a nice crypt," Rupert said, turning back to his book.
"I'll remember to mention that," Buffy said, turning to go when Faith walked into the library. Though he was relieved to finally see the girl, Wesley didn't let that stop him from giving her a questioning glare.
He knew she'd seen it. She'd looked right at him before turning to Buffy. "Mention what? Where we going, girlfriend?" Faith slipped her arm into Buffy's, giving them all a smile. She didn't meet his eyes. Wesley knew intentional avoidance when he saw it. Something wasn't right here.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees and Buffy pulled away from Faith, saying, "Actually, I can handle this one solo."
"Why should you get to have all the fun? Share, share, that's fair, right?" Faith seemed a bit put out by Buffy's attitude and Wesley could hardly blame her. He blinked at Buffy, knowing something must have happened to cause her to react the way she was, but at a loss as to what it might be. He glanced over to find Rupert giving Buffy a worried look as well.
"Right." Buffy seemed further annoyed by Faith's words. "Got our demon."
"Oh, well, let's go look him up." Faith's smile was brittle somehow as she turned to follow Buffy, who marched from the library. For a moment, Wesley sat silent with Rupert and Xander, all of them clearly uneasy. Finally, Xander broke the hush.
"Is it me or did it just get really cold in here?"
Wesley said nothing, his mind turning over and over the tension between the Slayers, trying to divine its cause though he knew that was likely useless. Faith had been avoiding him, of that he was sure now, though he didn't understand why. He'd thought they'd been getting on well, thought that she might even be beginning to trust him.
He had to admit he was slightly hurt by her behavior, but more than anything he was even more worried than he had been when he hadn't seen her all day. Wesley glanced up to ask Rupert a question, only to find the man's attention focused on the stacks. Glancing in that direction, Wesley saw nothing, but Rupert obviously did.
Rupert looked back and their eyes met. Wesley was surprised at how serious his lover looked. Rupert's foot found his under the table and Wesley raised an eyebrow when Rupert muttered, 'follow my lead' in French.
"Wesley? Where's the Trassier Compendium?" Rupert asked a moment later. Xander didn't even look up from whatever book he was paging through.
"Uh . . . in the stacks?" Wesley didn't have to fake the confusion in his voice.
"It's not where it's supposed to be. I checked earlier and you were the last to have it. Where did you put it?"
"Oh." Wesley finally understood where Rupert was headed with the strange conversation. "Let me show you. Your system is flawed you know. It really doesn't fit where you had it." He followed Rupert into the stacks, about to ask what the hell Rupert was on about. He stopped without a word when he saw a dark shape disappear further into the stacks.
"He's a friend," Rupert muttered, nodding for Wesley to follow him. They found the 'friend' standing in the last aisle of the stacks, in the shadowed corner, his yellow eyes focusing at once on Rupert.
Wesley stared at the tall, black robed shape that took up far too much of the room in the narrow rows. Rupert seemed not at all bothered that they were face to face with an Alask demon, but Wesley was . . . more cautious, to say the least, especially given what the Alask was saying.
"I've been contracted to remove the soul of the vampire now known as Angel. Tonight. I am to work with a dark-haired Slayer, which is why I thought I should come to you."
"No," Wesley contradicted, shaking his head. "Faith . . ." he wanted to say that Faith wouldn't do that, wouldn't work with the Mayor. He even believed it, mostly. His mind kept throwing up images of Faith on the verge of telling him something, Faith's nervous behavior.
"Believe it or not, as you choose," the Alask's deep voice sent chills down Wesley's spine.
"I believe you," Rupert said sadly. His hand moved back to brush over Wesley's, though whether it was a warning not to speak or an attempt at comfort, Wesley wasn't certain. "Thank you for coming to me with this . . . I'd like for you to simply pretend to do such a spell."
The Alask nodded somberly. "To repay you, I will."
"Thank you."
The Alask backed into the shadows of the room and seemed to fade away. Wesley stood staring. It wasn't that he hadn't heard of such things, just that he'd never seen someone use magic so blatantly.
"Are you all right?" Rupert's voice was low in his ear. Wesley shook his head, trying to comprehend all that had been said.
"Why would the Mayor want to take Angel's soul? Why . . . why would Faith want to work with him to do it? I just . . . it makes no sense. I could have sworn I was getting through to her, Rupert! What did I do wrong?" Wesley felt as if his world was crumbling around him. He'd been so confident, so sure that he was doing the right thing, doing some good with Faith and now . . . those certainties laid at his feet in tiny pieces. He shook his head, swallowing hard at the burning behind his eyes.
Rupert's hand cupped his cheek and Wesley looked to his lover for an answer to his question. "Did I not push her hard enough? I told you about how it seemed she wanted to talk to me, but I thought . . . I didn't want her to think I was . . ." Wesley shook his head again.
"Wesley, listen to me. If this is true, we'll know soon. Even if it is, you did everything you could for her." Rupert gave him an intense look; as if he thought he could make Wesley believe him just by that alone.
Wesley shrugged, but more because he didn't want to discuss it right now. There wasn't time. If this was true, one of them was going to have to tell Angel and he didn't want Rupert to have to do it. They had to formulate a plan.
"What are we going to do? If the mage pretends to do the spell, Angel's going to have to pretend to be Angelus. I can go and tell him, but what then? He might be able to acquire some information, I suppose." Wesley saw Rupert start to object the change in topic and then stop. He blinked and sighed in a way that told Wesley the conversation wasn't over, just forestalled.
At the moment, it was enough. Wesley would deal with the rest later, after he ran out of things to distract him. Living on the Hellmouth, he might never have to think about it.
"Buffy," Giles said. "Faith's going to want to go after her, as would . . . Angelus. The Mayor's likely to want her out of the way, so we'll need to make certain she's prepared."
Wesley nodded, swallowing hard. He didn't like this at all, but they had to know why the Mayor would want this. He had to know that Angelus would turn on him in an instant and, if he didn't, Faith should surely know it. Why would they play with such a dangerous thing as that?
****
"Our enemy has us at a disadvantage. We seem to be consistently one step behind him. Now he has the Books of Ascension." Wesley hoped no one noticed the twitch of his eye as he said those words. He knew why Mayor Wilkins had the upper hand, but he couldn't say anything. Rupert, Buffy, Angel, and he had all agreed that it was best to have as few people in on what was happening as possible. Now they had to keep the children out of Buffy's way, let her and Angel have space to perform. "We must take definitive action."
"You have the greatest voice. Have you ever thought about doing books on tape?" Wesley blinked at Cordelia, attempting to formulate a reply when Xander spoke up.
"Way to focus CC."
"Yes, let's, uh . . ." Wesley sighed softly to himself. "Let's try to stay on track. We need everyone working together here."
"What should we do?" Buffy asked, uncharacteristically quiet, though Wesley more than understood the reasons.
"Buffy, I think you should try to retrieve the Books of Ascension," Rupert said, laying the foundation. "Check out the Mayor's office, but be damned careful. Do not confront the Mayor. We don't know a thing about him." Wesley nodded his agreement, trying to keep himself focused on the details in order not to have to look at the bigger picture for once.
"I'll go home and stock up on weapons. Slip into something a little more break-and-enterish." Buffy stood and left without a glance backward.
"Right," Rupert continued, though Wesley had seen the worried glance he'd given Buffy as she'd left. "Willow, how far did you get with the Mayor's files?"
"Excuse me," Cordelia piped in again. "I believe Wesley is running this meeting."
"It's, uh, it's quite all right," Wesley said, shooting an apologetic look to Rupert. "Willow?"
"It's all bad news." Willow shrugged. "By the time I got through the encryptions, the files were empty. Guess he saw me coming."
"What about the Hall of Records?" Oz suggested. "Go to the source."
"Good idea. There must be information on the Mayor there." Wesley nodded, turning the notion over in his mind. It was, actually, a wonderful idea. They might be able to find something on the bastard. Wesley found himself quite invested in stopping Mayor Wilkins.
"Wesley, why don't you take the group and start looking?" Rupert walked behind him, his fingers pressing lightly against Wesley's back for only a moment, though their warmth lingered.
"Right." Wesley would have liked for that small touch to have been enough, but his head was a riot of thoughts he had to ignore, things he couldn't even begin to sort through until this night was over.
Cordelia stood quickly, saying, "I'm in Wesley's group."
"There is just the one group," Rupert snapped, much to Wesley's surprise. He glanced over to find Rupert taking slow breaths.
"Yes, and I'm in it," was Cordelia's reply.
"Anyone mind if I skip the trip?" Xander sent a hostile glance toward him and Wesley blinked, unsure what Xander thought he'd done to earn it. "I'm gonna cruise town, keep my ear to the ground, and I think five's a crowd."
"It really is," Cordelia said breezily as she followed Oz and Willow.
When they reached the Hall of Records Wesley buried himself in the research. It was easy, all written in one language, all neat and orderly, all useless. Wesley sighed as he laid a few pages aside for later examination.
"Hey! I know a way to make investigating the Mayor even more boring." Cordelia interrupted the quiet for at least the third time, sighing. "On second thought, no, I don't."
Wesley looked back to his own work, agreeing with Cordelia more than he'd have admitted. He glanced up at Oz's footsteps and found him standing at the table. He was holding what looked like a picture and leaned forward over Willow's shoulder to hold it next to a current picture of Mayor Wilkins. Wesley leaned forward, examining the two pictures closely, his eyes going wide at the resemblance.
"Guys, check this out. Wow, like father, like son," Willow said.
A moment later Oz shook his head. "How about like exact same guy, like exact same guy?"
"Mayor Wilkins is over one hundred years old," Wesley sighed, sitting back in his chair as he considered this, turning the man over and over in his mind in the hopes of identifying something, some quirk. "He's not human."
"I, uh, hate to spoil the mood, but this is so much worse than you think." Xander entered the room and Wesley stood, the worry he'd been attempting to hold back now surging forward.
"Xander, what happened to you?" Willow asked.
"You know how some people hate to say I told you so? Not me. I told you so. Angel's back in the really bad sense, and uh, I told you so." Xander's voice was so smug Wesley felt his teeth grinding just at the sound.
"No, he isn't," Wesley began to explain, only to get cut off by Xander once again.
"How about you shutting up. I was the one who caught the business end of his fist," Xander snarled, motioning to his face. "And just so you know? Faith? Your responsibility? His new playmate."
Wesley couldn't help but flinch at that, his stomach clenching.
"Faith and Angel? Together?" Willow's voice was higher than usual.
"No," Wesley contradicted. "It's a ruse."
"A ruse?" Xander stepped toward Wesley, motioning toward his eye. "Does this look like a ruse to you? Angelus is--"
"Angel is playacting," Wesley ground out, refusing to back down when Xander stepped closer. "To lure Faith out," he admitted with a sigh. "Buffy knows. She and Angel are trying to get whatever information they can out of Faith."
All except for Xander looked relieved, or mostly so. Xander just stared at him and Wesley threw his hands up. "What? You don't believe me? Perhaps I'm in with Faith and Angelus. Why don't you bloody well call Rupert if you won't take my word for it!"
Wesley stalked off down the hall, refusing to look back when Willow and Cordelia called after him. Stopping in the hall, he dialed the number to the library, hearing reluctant footsteps as the others came after him. The sound of Rupert's voice calmed some of his frazzled nerves, enough to let him speak.
"It's happening. Meet us at the mansion? Yes. You'll, uh, perhaps have to convince Xander." He handed the phone to the young man, turning to lean against the wall as Xander spoke with Rupert. He didn't bother listening, instead breathing deeply in and out in order to quash the anger and hurt.
"Let's go," Willow said softly, nudging his shoulder and giving him a tentative smile.
Wesley blinked and then nodded, following after them as they headed for Oz's van. He felt numb. Once he'd managed to suppress one thing, it had all gone. He was silent in the van on the way over, ignoring Willow's attempts at conversation. When they finally reached the mansion, he saw Xander grabbing a cross and shook his head.
They charged in without a plan. Had they really been dealing with Faith and Angelus, without Buffy's help, they'd likely have gotten themselves killed. Not that Wesley had much room to talk on that front. Every one of these children had more field experience than he. It was a depressing thought, not that he could feel much lower.
At least he hadn't thought it was possible. Then he saw Faith, saw for himself that she truly had chosen the other side as she grabbed Angel and flung him toward the children and himself. Xander was on Angel in a moment, holding his cross out to keep the vampire back.
Wesley, however, couldn't take his eyes off Faith and Buffy. He couldn't help but assess every punch and kick and spin Faith made. Her movements were more controlled than the last time he'd seen her fight, each blow using the full potential of her weight and momentum. He watched as it came down to two knives, two throats. He watched Faith kiss Buffy's forehead and flee without ever looking back.
He'd made her better. It made him sick. Wesley stumbled outside and retched, his stomach roiling and sending him to his knees. What had he done?
Continued here.
Author: Lostgirl
Pairing: Giles/Wesley
Rating: NC-17 (overall rating)
Part: 11/17
Feedback and concrit adored: lostgirlslair @ yahoo.com
Spoilers: Begins directly after 'Bad Girls', AU from there on out with bits and pieces taken from all over the end of BtVS season three.
Summary: Giles finds Wesley lying, badly beaten, on the library floor.
Disclaimer: All things BtVS belong to Joss Whedon and various corporate entities. I am neither
Big, huge thanks to beadtific, janedavitt, kyrieane, malnpudl, and psychoadept for their beta magic. Thanks to the Buffyverse Dialogue Database for, well, the dialogue. And thank you to everyone who read the first versions of these stories. Your interest and feedback have made this a pleasure to work on.
Previous parts located here.
At the library, Wesley found Faith waiting for them. It was earlier than she normally showed up. She most often patrolled with Buffy and then kept at it after Buffy had returned home, so she rose later in the day. She sat on the library table, kicking her legs into open air, twirling a pencil through the fingers of first one hand and then the other.
"Faith? Has something happened?" Wesley glanced back to make certain Rupert was right behind him and then went to put his briefcase on the check-in desk, eyes never leaving Faith.
"Uh, no, no. Just . . . you know that offer you made me?" Faith stood, pacing to the book cage and then back to the table once again, her hands moving with her words. "You, uh, you said you could help me. Uh, make-make me better, faster . . . I was gonna say 'easier' there, but . . ." Faith looked him in the eyes for the first time in a long time, the humor and smile on her face a relief to see.
"Uh, yes," Wesley didn't bother trying to hide his own smile.
"Hmm," came Rupert's amused voice from behind Wesley. "That would most definitely be my cue to leave you two alone." Rupert walked past him, shooting Wesley an encouraging smile before going into his office and shutting the door.
Wesley snorted and looked back to Faith. She shrugged, looking to the floor at his feet again. "So, uh . . . if your offer’s still open? I . . . I kinda think I'd like that." Her nervousness had returned and Wesley could only assume she believed he was going to take back the offer he'd made to help her, to train her.
"Of course it's open, Faith, all you had to do was ask. Would you like to get started now?"
Faith looked up at that, nodding. "Yeah, if you're up for it." She seemed truly excited. "What are we gonna be doing? Like calisthenics, or maybe martial arts? Oh, maybe weapons?"
Wesley smiled, shaking his head. "No, first . . . I think we'll work on teaching you how to be calm."
Faith lost her smile at that. "Huh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," she grumbled, but Wesley could see it was only half-hearted.
"Give me an hour of your time. If you don't feel better after that, more at ease, then we'll move on to something else. All right?"
"One hour?" Faith seemed to think about it for a moment. "Okay, Jeeves," she said, taking on that teasing tone Wesley had come to recognize. "You got an hour to make me calm. Frankly, I don't think your boy--" she nodded to Rupert's office, "--is gonna be all too happy about that, but . . ."
Sighing and trying to hide his blush, Wesley nodded toward the stacks. "Let's go where it's quiet." He popped his head into Rupert's office to let him know where he'd be and then followed Faith back.
"Huh. Didn't know there was so much back here," she said with a shrug.
Wesley hid a smile and then took of his suit jacket, neatly folding it. "First, we'll work on breathing. He sat cross-legged on the floor in what he thought was a rather graceful maneuver until Faith copied him, muscles moving like silk.
Sighing, Wesley began the lesson. He took Faith through breathing exercises, beginning with the simple and then leading her into the more complex. He talked her through the first steps of tapping into her own power, channeling it into the slow, smooth motions of Tai Chi before moving her back into a cross-legged sitting position and going through the breathing exercises in reverse. By the end of the hour, Faith seemed calmer to him, but it would be up to her to decide.
She opened her eyes slowly, a smiling tilting up her lips. "That . . . wow. That was . . ." She shook her head, standing from the position without the use of her hands. "Wow."
Wesley smiled, raising his eyebrows in question. "I assume that means you'll be returning for your next lesson tomorrow?"
"Will I be doing that again?" Faith nodded to where she'd been sitting on the floor.
"For a few more lessons, until you've learned the sequence backward and forward. Then you'll perform the exercise every morning." Wesley explained, glad to see Faith's interest. It felt as if he were doing something, as if, with Faith's help, he'd begun to really do his job as a Watcher.
"That's the kick." Faith glanced over at one of the shelves, suddenly becoming quiet, more serious. "Does . . . does Buffy do this?"
Wesley raised his eyebrows at that, watching as Faith ran her fingers along the books' spines. More to fidget than out of interest, Wesley thought. "I don't believe so. Rupert has taken a rather less structured approach with Buffy." Because Buffy can already sit still when she needs to, Wesley added to himself.
"Huh." Wesley couldn't tell if that was a good sound or not, whether Faith wanted Buffy to be doing the same training she was or not.
"Okay. I'll be here tomorrow. Same time." Faith picked up her jacket and gave him a little wave. He watched her go with a growing sense of accomplishment. She stopped before leaving his line of sight, half turning back toward him. "Uh . . . thanks, Wes."
"No need to thank me, Faith. It's my duty and my pleasure." She snorted, but was smiling when she left.
Picking up his own jacket, Wesley started back toward the library proper. He had the strangest urge to go to Rupert's office and tell his lover how well it had gone. Though he snorted at himself for that, Wesley didn't curb the impulse.
****
Faith kept her appointments, Wesley was relieved to see. He and Rupert would get to the library and she'd already be there, waiting. Wesley was surprised, having assumed she'd want a later schedule, but Faith said she liked coming in for training before bed. It calmed her down, wore her out and she slept better.
He and Rupert had shared a drink to Faith's acquiescence. Her nervousness around him didn't seem to fade, however. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. There were times when she get a serious look upon her face, pause, as if she were about to say something and then simply shake her head. He never pushed her, thinking that was surely the quickest way to keep her silent. He hoped she would tell him whatever was bothering her in her own time. However, Wesley was unsure what else he could do, how he could forge the same bond with Faith that Rupert had with Buffy.
"I just don't know what else I can do," Wesley said with a sigh, leaning back against Rupert and letting the shower's warm water wash over him. Rupert paused in kissing his ear and Wesley could feel Rupert shrugging.
"My first year with Buffy was . . . a disaster in spots, but it was going through what we did that helped us to understand one another." Wesley glanced back a Rupert, knowing there was more coming. "Well, as much as anyone can ever understand a teenaged girl whose destiny is to kill the things that go bump in the night."
Wesley snorted, nodding. They'd spent too long in the shower. Well, no, they'd spent too long in bed before finally getting into the shower. Either way, they'd have to hurry if they were to make it to the library on time.
"We have to go," he said with sigh. As much as he enjoyed having found his place here, with Faith, he sometimes wished the mornings were longer. That was his favorite time. He and Rupert had fallen into such a comfortable routine, but routines never lasted and Wesley wanted to stretch out the time as much as he could.
"You're right," Rupert responded, reaching over Wesley's shoulder to turn off the water. The move was awkward, forcing Wesley to lean forward with Rupert plastered against his back. Wesley laughed, knowing Rupert had done it on purpose, a reminder of the night before. Shivering happily at the memory, Wesley slipped away and out of the shower.
"Keep that up, Rupert, and we won't make it to work at all. Buffy will come looking for you, only to find us both naked and passed out on the bathroom floor. Is that what you want?" Wesley tossed Rupert a towel, watching as his lover pretended to consider for a moment before giving an exaggerated shudder.
Breakfast was skipped as they both rushed to get their materials together. Wesley had found some interesting leads concerning the knife, but he had nothing on the Mayor. Unfortunately, neither did Rupert. The frustration had been keeping them both up later and later, books still laid scattered across the coffee table, Rupert's desk. Even the counter had its own burden. All of the texts lay open at particularly interesting bits, the rest marked with strips of paper.
They needed to narrow the scope, but neither he nor Rupert had come up with a way to do that. Wesley sent one more look at the flat, making sure he'd grabbed all the texts he'd need today. The knife, still on Rupert's desktop, but half covered by a volume of Merasian prophecies, caught his eye. He'd have to remind Rupert to put that away when they got back.
When they reached the library, Wesley was surprised not only because Faith wasn't there, but because Buffy, Willow and Xander were, all wearing thoughtful expressions.
"What's going on?" Both he and Rupert asked together.
"Demon," Buffy said with a shrug, "but not like, big, nasty, gonna watch the world go down in flames. He, uh, he said he had some books we'd want. The Books of Ascension? Wants five thousand dollars for them."
"Books?" Again, Wesley and Rupert spoke together.
"Okay, the Watcher in stereo thing's getting creepy," Buffy said, her face scrunching up. Wesley shot a covert, amused glance at Rupert and then asked his second question.
"And you say this demon wanted cash?" At Buffy's nod, Wesley bit his lip, thinking. "That's very unusual."
"Demons after money. Whatever happened to the still beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards anymore." Wesley glanced over at Rupert, swallowing hard when he realized the man was eating the banana he'd grabbed as breakfast. Forcing his eyes away from that picture, he turned back to Buffy and the others.
"What's this Ascension mean?" Xander asked. Wesley shrugged, glancing to Rupert when he couldn't provide an answer.
"I'm not sure," was all Rupert had to say.
"No, not really a common term in demonology," Wesley added, though it did seem familiar, but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it. He'd been over so many books in the past two weeks the information in each was beginning to blur a bit. He'd have to skim through the ones he knew he'd read and see if he could find the reference again.
"Ooh, ooh!" Willow piped up, drawing Wesley from his thoughts. "The Marenschadt Text, I think in the section on genocide, they mention Ascension." Wesley raised his eyebrows, wondering what Willow had been doing reading such an advanced book. Rupert didn't look too happy about that either.
"Well, we have a winner." Buffy said, smiling at her friend.
"And, more importantly, two losers," Xander snarked. Wesley didn't even bother to glare as he'd realized long ago that it did nothing to curb Xander's odd sense of humor. If humor it could be called.
"Where did you find that volume?" There was a slight edge to Rupert's voice and Wesley glanced back to Willow, finding the girl looking rather unrepentant when she answered.
"In the top of your book cabinet with the stuff you try to keep hidden."
Wesley tuned out the children then, his eyes following Rupert as he disappeared into the office, only to reemerge a moment later with the Marenschadt Text in hand. He was scanning the lines and Wesley could see the tension in his lover's body, could have spotted it from across the room. He didn't think anyone else could read Rupert so well, however. Certainly Willow couldn't, as she didn't even bother to apologize. She had to know Rupert was angry, didn't she? Of course, Wesley remembered a time we he'd have been blithely unaware of the signs himself.
"Ah, yes, yes, here we are. There's a reference here to the journal of Desmond Kane, pastor of a town called Sharpsville. 'May 26, 1723. Tomorrow is the Ascension. God help us all.' It was the last anyone heard."
"Of Kane?" Wesley asked, moving to Rupert's side to see for himself.
"Of Sharpsville. The town more or less disappeared," Rupert pointed out the lines he'd read, angling the book so that Wesley could easily read it over his shoulder.
"So Ascension possibly not a love-in," Buffy said and Wesley snorted.
"I think you should meet with this demon, Buffy," Rupert was saying, Wesley nodding his agreement with a sigh as he finished the lines.
"Yeah? Anybody got five thousand dollars?" Buffy snorted. Wesley considered calling the Council, but there were better ways to get the books, ways that wouldn't give the Council information before he was certain he wanted them to have it.
Once again, Wesley had to push aside that nagging little voice that asked him what his father would think, asked if his father would be proud of his conduct. It was growing louder, but Wesley was also becoming more adept at ignoring it. He wasn't sure which of those worried him the most.
He looked up when he realized Miss Chase was standing before him. He blinked, raising an eyebrow in question as she seemed to be focused on him specifically.
"I have something important to ask you," she said, which only made Wesley's eyebrow rise higher.
"Important?" Xander put in. "Let's start calculating those odds, people." Wesley ignored the young man as he'd gathered there was some sort of history between Xander and Miss Chase.
"What are you doing Friday night?" Cordelia asked, her intent gaze leaving no doubt that she was, indeed, talking to him.
Wesley felt his mouth drop open for a split second. His eyes darted quickly to Rupert, who looked surprised and faintly amused, before he began sputtering. "Uh, I, uh, as always my sacred duty as a Watcher prevents me from, ah . . . Why?"
"I have a paper to write for English and you're English, so I thought . . ." Cordelia seemed to think this a perfect reasonable explanation. In fact, when there was a snicker from the others, she turned toward them and snapped, "What? Is it so wrong to be getting an insider's perspective?" Wesley had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Surely, this was some kind of joke? "I study best in a good restaurant, around eightish? Think it over?"
Apparently not. Wesley stood, stunned speechless, as Cordelia turned and left. He glanced at Rupert, his confusion was apparently obvious. Rupert was stifling laughter.
"And on the day the words 'flimsy excuse' were redefined, we stood in awe and watched," Xander said and Wesley actually found himself agreeing with the young man, for once. Shaking his head, he tried to bring the meeting back on topic.
"Right. Books of Ascension, Mayor, slaughter. Tell you what. Why don't we try to find this demon sooner rather than later? Perhaps persuade him to lend us the books free of charge."
"I think Faith might be useful in that persuasion part," Buffy said, which only drew Wesley attention back to the fact that Faith wasn't there. She hadn't missed a training session yet, and despite her ability to take care of herself he was worried.
"I imagine so. Where is Faith anyway?"
Buffy's shrug did nothing at all to ease his mind.
****
"Find anything?" Wesley asked as he returned to his seat with a new book of his own. He glanced over Rupert's shoulder on the way. There was no one else about, but they still had to be careful. Regardless, Wesley couldn't resist a quick kiss to Rupert's ear, all the encouragement he could lend at the moment.
"Six course banquet of nothing with a scoop of sod-all as a palate cleanser," Rupert replied, glancing up at him with a small, tired smile. "Perhaps you should contact the Council, maybe run a search . . ."
Wesley nodded, sighing. He removed his glasses to rub at tired eyes. "I'd thought of that, but . . . we don't know where this is going to lead. Of course, it's, apparently, going to lead to the Ascension if we don't find out what's going on." Wesley replaced his glasses, looking up as Buffy entered the library, her demeanor strangely quiet. "Still, I think the most expedient plan would be to find these Books of Ascension themselves. Buffy, you and Faith must find this demon, and soon.”
"Well, I'll go back to the scene, see if I can track him," Buffy replied with a shrug.
"Wait for Faith," Wesley said, trying to get his mind to focus once more on the text before his eyes.
"That could be hours. The girl makes Godot look punctual. I'll just go myself."
Wesley did look up then, shaking his head. "Buffy, this is a job for the both of you. This demon could be anywhere. If these books are as important as he says, he has good reason to hide. Finding him is going to be extremely difficult."
"Found your demon," Xander announced as he strolled into the library. Wesley blinked, opening his mouth to ask how and simply staring instead.
"Fashion tip, Wes? Mouth looks better closed," Buffy commented. Wesley heard Rupert snort and gave the man a mock glare. Then, spotting the wicked sparkle in Rupert's eyes, and Rupert's slightly suggestive smile, Wesley almost choked on his next breath.
He missed whatever Xander had said as he surreptitiously tried to regain his composure. He did see Xander pass Buffy a slip of paper. He couldn't have missed it as it happened right in front of his blushing face.
"You beat up Willy?" Buffy's voice was oddly cheerful at the thought. Wesley blinked at her and then looked back to Xander.
"Sure! Well, actually, let's just say I applied some pressure, or more accurately, that I asked politely, and then, uh, okay, I bribed him." Wesley hid a smile at that, doubting Xander would appreciate that Wesley found it rather funny.
"How much?" Buffy asked, though Wesley tuned out Xander's answer, trying to get a look at the piece of paper she was holding. "I know this. It's down by the bus station. Not the nicest part of town."
"Again, see? No standards. I mean, any self-respecting demon should be living in a pit of filth or a nice crypt," Rupert said, turning back to his book.
"I'll remember to mention that," Buffy said, turning to go when Faith walked into the library. Though he was relieved to finally see the girl, Wesley didn't let that stop him from giving her a questioning glare.
He knew she'd seen it. She'd looked right at him before turning to Buffy. "Mention what? Where we going, girlfriend?" Faith slipped her arm into Buffy's, giving them all a smile. She didn't meet his eyes. Wesley knew intentional avoidance when he saw it. Something wasn't right here.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees and Buffy pulled away from Faith, saying, "Actually, I can handle this one solo."
"Why should you get to have all the fun? Share, share, that's fair, right?" Faith seemed a bit put out by Buffy's attitude and Wesley could hardly blame her. He blinked at Buffy, knowing something must have happened to cause her to react the way she was, but at a loss as to what it might be. He glanced over to find Rupert giving Buffy a worried look as well.
"Right." Buffy seemed further annoyed by Faith's words. "Got our demon."
"Oh, well, let's go look him up." Faith's smile was brittle somehow as she turned to follow Buffy, who marched from the library. For a moment, Wesley sat silent with Rupert and Xander, all of them clearly uneasy. Finally, Xander broke the hush.
"Is it me or did it just get really cold in here?"
Wesley said nothing, his mind turning over and over the tension between the Slayers, trying to divine its cause though he knew that was likely useless. Faith had been avoiding him, of that he was sure now, though he didn't understand why. He'd thought they'd been getting on well, thought that she might even be beginning to trust him.
He had to admit he was slightly hurt by her behavior, but more than anything he was even more worried than he had been when he hadn't seen her all day. Wesley glanced up to ask Rupert a question, only to find the man's attention focused on the stacks. Glancing in that direction, Wesley saw nothing, but Rupert obviously did.
Rupert looked back and their eyes met. Wesley was surprised at how serious his lover looked. Rupert's foot found his under the table and Wesley raised an eyebrow when Rupert muttered, 'follow my lead' in French.
"Wesley? Where's the Trassier Compendium?" Rupert asked a moment later. Xander didn't even look up from whatever book he was paging through.
"Uh . . . in the stacks?" Wesley didn't have to fake the confusion in his voice.
"It's not where it's supposed to be. I checked earlier and you were the last to have it. Where did you put it?"
"Oh." Wesley finally understood where Rupert was headed with the strange conversation. "Let me show you. Your system is flawed you know. It really doesn't fit where you had it." He followed Rupert into the stacks, about to ask what the hell Rupert was on about. He stopped without a word when he saw a dark shape disappear further into the stacks.
"He's a friend," Rupert muttered, nodding for Wesley to follow him. They found the 'friend' standing in the last aisle of the stacks, in the shadowed corner, his yellow eyes focusing at once on Rupert.
Wesley stared at the tall, black robed shape that took up far too much of the room in the narrow rows. Rupert seemed not at all bothered that they were face to face with an Alask demon, but Wesley was . . . more cautious, to say the least, especially given what the Alask was saying.
"I've been contracted to remove the soul of the vampire now known as Angel. Tonight. I am to work with a dark-haired Slayer, which is why I thought I should come to you."
"No," Wesley contradicted, shaking his head. "Faith . . ." he wanted to say that Faith wouldn't do that, wouldn't work with the Mayor. He even believed it, mostly. His mind kept throwing up images of Faith on the verge of telling him something, Faith's nervous behavior.
"Believe it or not, as you choose," the Alask's deep voice sent chills down Wesley's spine.
"I believe you," Rupert said sadly. His hand moved back to brush over Wesley's, though whether it was a warning not to speak or an attempt at comfort, Wesley wasn't certain. "Thank you for coming to me with this . . . I'd like for you to simply pretend to do such a spell."
The Alask nodded somberly. "To repay you, I will."
"Thank you."
The Alask backed into the shadows of the room and seemed to fade away. Wesley stood staring. It wasn't that he hadn't heard of such things, just that he'd never seen someone use magic so blatantly.
"Are you all right?" Rupert's voice was low in his ear. Wesley shook his head, trying to comprehend all that had been said.
"Why would the Mayor want to take Angel's soul? Why . . . why would Faith want to work with him to do it? I just . . . it makes no sense. I could have sworn I was getting through to her, Rupert! What did I do wrong?" Wesley felt as if his world was crumbling around him. He'd been so confident, so sure that he was doing the right thing, doing some good with Faith and now . . . those certainties laid at his feet in tiny pieces. He shook his head, swallowing hard at the burning behind his eyes.
Rupert's hand cupped his cheek and Wesley looked to his lover for an answer to his question. "Did I not push her hard enough? I told you about how it seemed she wanted to talk to me, but I thought . . . I didn't want her to think I was . . ." Wesley shook his head again.
"Wesley, listen to me. If this is true, we'll know soon. Even if it is, you did everything you could for her." Rupert gave him an intense look; as if he thought he could make Wesley believe him just by that alone.
Wesley shrugged, but more because he didn't want to discuss it right now. There wasn't time. If this was true, one of them was going to have to tell Angel and he didn't want Rupert to have to do it. They had to formulate a plan.
"What are we going to do? If the mage pretends to do the spell, Angel's going to have to pretend to be Angelus. I can go and tell him, but what then? He might be able to acquire some information, I suppose." Wesley saw Rupert start to object the change in topic and then stop. He blinked and sighed in a way that told Wesley the conversation wasn't over, just forestalled.
At the moment, it was enough. Wesley would deal with the rest later, after he ran out of things to distract him. Living on the Hellmouth, he might never have to think about it.
"Buffy," Giles said. "Faith's going to want to go after her, as would . . . Angelus. The Mayor's likely to want her out of the way, so we'll need to make certain she's prepared."
Wesley nodded, swallowing hard. He didn't like this at all, but they had to know why the Mayor would want this. He had to know that Angelus would turn on him in an instant and, if he didn't, Faith should surely know it. Why would they play with such a dangerous thing as that?
****
"Our enemy has us at a disadvantage. We seem to be consistently one step behind him. Now he has the Books of Ascension." Wesley hoped no one noticed the twitch of his eye as he said those words. He knew why Mayor Wilkins had the upper hand, but he couldn't say anything. Rupert, Buffy, Angel, and he had all agreed that it was best to have as few people in on what was happening as possible. Now they had to keep the children out of Buffy's way, let her and Angel have space to perform. "We must take definitive action."
"You have the greatest voice. Have you ever thought about doing books on tape?" Wesley blinked at Cordelia, attempting to formulate a reply when Xander spoke up.
"Way to focus CC."
"Yes, let's, uh . . ." Wesley sighed softly to himself. "Let's try to stay on track. We need everyone working together here."
"What should we do?" Buffy asked, uncharacteristically quiet, though Wesley more than understood the reasons.
"Buffy, I think you should try to retrieve the Books of Ascension," Rupert said, laying the foundation. "Check out the Mayor's office, but be damned careful. Do not confront the Mayor. We don't know a thing about him." Wesley nodded his agreement, trying to keep himself focused on the details in order not to have to look at the bigger picture for once.
"I'll go home and stock up on weapons. Slip into something a little more break-and-enterish." Buffy stood and left without a glance backward.
"Right," Rupert continued, though Wesley had seen the worried glance he'd given Buffy as she'd left. "Willow, how far did you get with the Mayor's files?"
"Excuse me," Cordelia piped in again. "I believe Wesley is running this meeting."
"It's, uh, it's quite all right," Wesley said, shooting an apologetic look to Rupert. "Willow?"
"It's all bad news." Willow shrugged. "By the time I got through the encryptions, the files were empty. Guess he saw me coming."
"What about the Hall of Records?" Oz suggested. "Go to the source."
"Good idea. There must be information on the Mayor there." Wesley nodded, turning the notion over in his mind. It was, actually, a wonderful idea. They might be able to find something on the bastard. Wesley found himself quite invested in stopping Mayor Wilkins.
"Wesley, why don't you take the group and start looking?" Rupert walked behind him, his fingers pressing lightly against Wesley's back for only a moment, though their warmth lingered.
"Right." Wesley would have liked for that small touch to have been enough, but his head was a riot of thoughts he had to ignore, things he couldn't even begin to sort through until this night was over.
Cordelia stood quickly, saying, "I'm in Wesley's group."
"There is just the one group," Rupert snapped, much to Wesley's surprise. He glanced over to find Rupert taking slow breaths.
"Yes, and I'm in it," was Cordelia's reply.
"Anyone mind if I skip the trip?" Xander sent a hostile glance toward him and Wesley blinked, unsure what Xander thought he'd done to earn it. "I'm gonna cruise town, keep my ear to the ground, and I think five's a crowd."
"It really is," Cordelia said breezily as she followed Oz and Willow.
When they reached the Hall of Records Wesley buried himself in the research. It was easy, all written in one language, all neat and orderly, all useless. Wesley sighed as he laid a few pages aside for later examination.
"Hey! I know a way to make investigating the Mayor even more boring." Cordelia interrupted the quiet for at least the third time, sighing. "On second thought, no, I don't."
Wesley looked back to his own work, agreeing with Cordelia more than he'd have admitted. He glanced up at Oz's footsteps and found him standing at the table. He was holding what looked like a picture and leaned forward over Willow's shoulder to hold it next to a current picture of Mayor Wilkins. Wesley leaned forward, examining the two pictures closely, his eyes going wide at the resemblance.
"Guys, check this out. Wow, like father, like son," Willow said.
A moment later Oz shook his head. "How about like exact same guy, like exact same guy?"
"Mayor Wilkins is over one hundred years old," Wesley sighed, sitting back in his chair as he considered this, turning the man over and over in his mind in the hopes of identifying something, some quirk. "He's not human."
"I, uh, hate to spoil the mood, but this is so much worse than you think." Xander entered the room and Wesley stood, the worry he'd been attempting to hold back now surging forward.
"Xander, what happened to you?" Willow asked.
"You know how some people hate to say I told you so? Not me. I told you so. Angel's back in the really bad sense, and uh, I told you so." Xander's voice was so smug Wesley felt his teeth grinding just at the sound.
"No, he isn't," Wesley began to explain, only to get cut off by Xander once again.
"How about you shutting up. I was the one who caught the business end of his fist," Xander snarled, motioning to his face. "And just so you know? Faith? Your responsibility? His new playmate."
Wesley couldn't help but flinch at that, his stomach clenching.
"Faith and Angel? Together?" Willow's voice was higher than usual.
"No," Wesley contradicted. "It's a ruse."
"A ruse?" Xander stepped toward Wesley, motioning toward his eye. "Does this look like a ruse to you? Angelus is--"
"Angel is playacting," Wesley ground out, refusing to back down when Xander stepped closer. "To lure Faith out," he admitted with a sigh. "Buffy knows. She and Angel are trying to get whatever information they can out of Faith."
All except for Xander looked relieved, or mostly so. Xander just stared at him and Wesley threw his hands up. "What? You don't believe me? Perhaps I'm in with Faith and Angelus. Why don't you bloody well call Rupert if you won't take my word for it!"
Wesley stalked off down the hall, refusing to look back when Willow and Cordelia called after him. Stopping in the hall, he dialed the number to the library, hearing reluctant footsteps as the others came after him. The sound of Rupert's voice calmed some of his frazzled nerves, enough to let him speak.
"It's happening. Meet us at the mansion? Yes. You'll, uh, perhaps have to convince Xander." He handed the phone to the young man, turning to lean against the wall as Xander spoke with Rupert. He didn't bother listening, instead breathing deeply in and out in order to quash the anger and hurt.
"Let's go," Willow said softly, nudging his shoulder and giving him a tentative smile.
Wesley blinked and then nodded, following after them as they headed for Oz's van. He felt numb. Once he'd managed to suppress one thing, it had all gone. He was silent in the van on the way over, ignoring Willow's attempts at conversation. When they finally reached the mansion, he saw Xander grabbing a cross and shook his head.
They charged in without a plan. Had they really been dealing with Faith and Angelus, without Buffy's help, they'd likely have gotten themselves killed. Not that Wesley had much room to talk on that front. Every one of these children had more field experience than he. It was a depressing thought, not that he could feel much lower.
At least he hadn't thought it was possible. Then he saw Faith, saw for himself that she truly had chosen the other side as she grabbed Angel and flung him toward the children and himself. Xander was on Angel in a moment, holding his cross out to keep the vampire back.
Wesley, however, couldn't take his eyes off Faith and Buffy. He couldn't help but assess every punch and kick and spin Faith made. Her movements were more controlled than the last time he'd seen her fight, each blow using the full potential of her weight and momentum. He watched as it came down to two knives, two throats. He watched Faith kiss Buffy's forehead and flee without ever looking back.
He'd made her better. It made him sick. Wesley stumbled outside and retched, his stomach roiling and sending him to his knees. What had he done?
Continued here.