__Enlightenment__
By Gibberish



       Hank had left and they had managed to persuade Joyce to go with him. The extended Scooby Gang were all at Giles', including Spike, who had been smoking when he came in, since it was the middle of the day and even the heaviest blanket wasn't enough cover.

 "I watched over Joyce last night, what do you want?" Spike asked.

 "Who's the new guy?" Buffy asked.

 Spike glowered. "Colin."

 "Colin?" Buffy echoed. "That's it? Come on, Spike. I know this is hard, but ..."

 "What do you know about it, Slayer?" Spike asked harshly. "Dru sent people after me."

 "Yeah, what would I know about that?" Buffy asked sarcastically. "I've never had an ex that tried to kill me. Do you remember Angelus?"

 "How could I bloody forget?" Spike asked. "This is all his bloody fault, you know? We were supposed to be one big happy, evil family, then he had start shaggin' Dru."

 Buffy rubbed her forehead. "It's been two years Spike. Move on already."

 "Don't start with me, Slayer." Spike told her. "Just because you've shagged soldier boy, doesn't mean that you've moved on."

 Buffy moved lightening fast and had Spike by the throat. "This is not about Angel, it's about whether or not you see sunset. Do you understand me, Spike? That bitch is not getting near Giles again. Now, you are one chance away from a sunburn. Talk!" She released him none too gently.

 Spike grabbed his throat and glared at her. Giles watched her concerned. Willow and Xander were wide eyed and nervous. Tara watched Buffy warily and Anya watched Buffy with interest.

 "He's old, okay." Spike said. "Not sure exactly how old, but I know he's older than Darla. Maybe five hundred. I only met him once. He's methodical, calculating. He has a lot of power, knows magick."

 "Why is Druscilla so fascinated with Giles?" Buffy asked next.

 "What?" Giles asked.

 Spike shifted. "Did he ever tell you how Dru got him to talk?"

 "Yes." Buffy said through clenched teeth.

 "She kept trying to talk Angelus into turning him." Spike told them.

"Angelus wasn't about to ... Well, let's just say that he didn't want the competition. Dru said he was filled with power and anger. I heard about how she could taste it so many bloody times, I wanted to heave. One bloody kiss and she was obsessed."

 "Kiss?" Xander asked.

 "He thought it was Jenny." Buffy said quietly. She looked at Giles, who stood glaring down at the empty fireplace.

 "Oh." Xander said. He remembered what Giles had said to him about making him see things he wanted. "Oh." He said again and hurt for the older man.

 "It was better than the chainsaw that Angelus wanted to use." Spike said.

"She talked about that kiss incessantly. Said I let the Slayer send her Angel to Hell, she should at least get to keep the Watcher."

 "Tell me, Spike, why did you care when she left you?" Buffy asked.

 "I loved her, that's why." Spike said. "Why'd you care when Angel left?"

 Buffy's expression was far away. "Because I didn't know any better."


   Colin held Druscilla's face in his hands. "Concentrate. What do you see?" He asked in a hypnotic voice.

 "They failed." Druscilla told him. "Another failure. Wait. The stars." Druscilla squealed in delight. "The Slayer's hurt, my Colin. The Watcher guards her. Ooh, magick. I can feel power from the witches."

 "Witches? There's more than one?" Colin asked.

 "Yes," Druscilla told him in a sing songy voice. "Together, they are. Most powerful, together. I feel ..." Suddenly, she shook violently. "The stars are singing for them, too. They sing a different song. They move and change."

 "Change how?" Colin asked, but Druscilla looked at him blankly. "Does the Stone talk to you anymore?"

 Druscilla shook her head sadly. "I have angered it, I fear. It has been quiet."

 Colin caressed her cheek. "One of the others brought you dinner, enjoy her while she's fresh." Druscilla nodded happily and left Colin. "The stars are singing, but the Stone is quiet." He glared into a dark corner. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?"

 Ethan Rayne managed to lift his head from his position of being chained to the wall. "You made certain that I couldn't cast. I can't reach my magick. How could I *do* anything?"

 "Why am I not convinced?" Colin commented.

 Ethan leaned his head back against the wall. "Ripper doesn't need my help, he never has." He said tiredly.


   Tara shivered and looked around her. "Did you feel that?" She whispered to Willow. They were trying not to wake Buffy, who had fallen asleep during research.

 Willow shook her head. "What is it?"

 Tara opened her mouth to tell Willow that she wasn't certain, when Buffy sat straight up and called out.

 "Ethan!" Buffy called as she awoke from her nightmare. She looked around in an attempt to orient herself.

 Giles was at her side in an instant. "Buffy, what is it? A nightmare about Ethan?" He asked, as he took her hand without a thought.

 Buffy shook herself as the others moved so that they stood in a semi circle around the front of the couch. "Ethan's in trouble."

 "What did he do?" Giles practically growled.

 "Nothing. I mean, he ..." Buffy took a breath. She looked at Giles. "I felt like I was floating. Outside of myself, not really asleep. Above everything. The stars, they were talking."

 "Great," Spike muttered. "Now she bloody sounds like Dru."

 "Then, Ethan was there." Buffy went on ignoring Spike. "He didn't look right. He was chained up to a ... But there was no wall."

 "Ethan Rayne chained up doesn't sound so bad to me." Xander commented.

 "No." Buffy exclaimed. "He was trying to tell me something. He ..." She seemed to deflate. "I don't know. They've taken his magick, but then how did he ...?"

 "It's not magick." Giles told her. "Not exactly. It's left over from Eyghon. Ethan can use the dream world. It's hard on him, though. Whatever he's trying to tell you must be important."

 "Why would he tell me anything?" Buffy asked.

 "Depends on what he told you." Giles answered.

 "He kept telling me that 'he' was trapped." Buffy said.

 "Someone other than Ethan?" Giles asked.

 Buffy nodded. "Captured. The only way to end this was to free him. Ethan held out a stone, it was dark."

 "The Caulter Stone?" Giles asked.

 "Maybe." Buffy said uncertainly. "Can you trap someone inside a stone?"

 "Well, yeah." Anya said. "If you know how."

 "He was old, ancient maybe." Buffy said.

 "Older than me, then?" Giles asked with a twitch to his lips.

 Buffy looked at him, she squeezed his hand. "I mean, literally ancient. Older than Spike, Angel, older than the Master."

 "Why would they trap a vampire?" Willow asked.

 "Not a vampire." Buffy said. "Just ... Old. His eyes held lifetimes that you can't begin to imagine."

 "Old like, say, Merlin was supposed to be old?" Xander asked. Silence.

 "They've trapped Caulter in the Stone." Giles said.

 "How do you trap someone in their own stone?" Buffy asked. "They can't use the magick in the Stone."

 "How long as he been in there, you think?" Willow asked.

 "Anya, you said that the last time the Stone was used successfully was 1532." Buffy said. "What happened in 1532?"

 "I wasn't there." Anya said. "I only know what I've heard." Buffy stared at her. "Okay. It was vampires. They turned Emmaline Caulter. Her sister Angeline couldn't let her run loose, but she couldn't bring herself to kill her, either, so she turned Emmaline to stone. It was said that Emmaline worked magick from inside her stone prison. It was said that a Sorcerer finally arrived and destroyed Emmaline, since Angeline was quite mad by then."

 "Vampires." Buffy said. "Could one have them have been this Colin?"

 "I don't know." Anya said. "Could have been, I guess."

 "Buffy, what are you thinking?" Giles asked.

 Buffy smiled at him ruefully. "I don't know. It's just beyond my grasp, but I think we're looking at two different agendas. Druscilla wants you." She saw Giles flush and grinned. The grin faded, though. "Colin needs you to work the Stone."


   Ethan sagged against the chains. Contacting the Slayer hadn't been easy. Ethan could hear him calling to him. He wondered if Colin heard it and if he did, why did he let it continue? Ethan had heard of Caulter, of course. He was a legend among sorcerers. Ethan hadn't really believed everything, though. He believed, now. Ethan wanted him to stop calling.

 Colin, himself, was coldly furious. Every attempt they had made for the Watcher had failed.

 Druscilla watched Colin as his anger flowed through her, exciting her as nothing else could. Anger was such a lovely, strong emotion.

 Harmony watched them both warily. She knew that the only reason she was here, was because she knew Sunnydale. "It's too bad you can't just grab Buffy. Then Mr. Giles would come after her."

 Colin stopped pacing and looked at Harmony. "The beauty of a simple mind." Harmony preened.

 In the corner, Ethan wanted to scream. The bloody nitwit hadn't even known what she was saying. With Buffy already hurt ... <Don't let the girl out of your sight, Ripper.> Ethan closed his eye and concentrated.


   The scream woke Buffy from a sound sleep. She rose, gingerly, from the couch and went to the window. Nothing. Convincing herself that it must have all been in her head, she turned from the window and jumped when she saw Giles. "Jeez. Give me a heart attack, why don't you?" Then, she simply stared at him. He wore nothing but a pair of dark, silk pajama bottoms.

 Giles took her arms to steady her when she wobbled. "Are you all right?" He practically whispered.

 Buffy eyes slowly moved from his chest to his eyes. "What?" She asked blankly.

 "Are you all right?" Giles asked again. "Why are you up?"

 Buffy's expression turned troubled. "I-I thought I heard something. Did you hear it? Did it wake you up, too?"

 "I was awake." Giles told her. "All I heard was you. What did it sound like?" He asked.

 "A scream." Buffy told him. "I must have been dreaming, I guess."

 "Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" Giles asked as he led her back to the couch and sat with her. "Was it a nightmare?"

 Buffy's face heated and she was grateful for the darkness. She'd been dreaming about him and it had definitely *not* been a nightmare. Screaming may have been involved, though. Her face heated even more.

 "Buffy," Giles said when she didn't answer. "Was it a nightmare?"

 "No." Buffy said.

 "Could it have been Ethan, again?" Giles asked next.

 Buffy stilled. Ethan? "Maybe." Her mind chased the scream around inside her head. "Maybe." She said again.

 "Do you think you could go back to sleep?" Giles asked.

 After *that* dream and then seeing him like that? <Not on the likely.> "I don't think so."

 "I have some chamomile tea." Giles suggested. "I promise not to add anything to it." Buffy nodded and he rose and went to the kitchen. As he made the tea, Giles tried very hard not to think about the fact that Buffy was using one of his shirts to sleep in.

 Buffy sat for a minute more on the couch, then she went to join Giles in the kitchen. She stopped, stared and her mouth dropped open when she saw him in the light. He appeared only lightly muscled, but she knew better. The dark hair that covered his chest and trailed down over his stomach was mixed with silver. Her fingers fairly itched to run through it. He looked so real, so ...

 Giles heard her ragged breath and turned to the doorway, fearfully. "Buffy, what ..." His words caught in his throat when he saw the expression on her face.

 Buffy moved towards him as if in a trance. She couldn't have stopped herself, even if she wanted, which she didn't. She barely touched his chest.

 Just the lightest touch of her fingertips, but it raised goosebumps and caused him to shiver. She responded with a shiver of her own. That was when Giles noticed just how thin his dress white shirt was.

 Then, it was a real scream that carried through the night. Buffy grabbed a stake on her way out the door, followed by Giles with a stake and his sword, Giles went to free the girl, while Buffy took on the other four vampires.

 Giles finally managed to get the girl free and dust the vampire, but when he turned, the other vampires were gone. So was Buffy. "Buffy?!" He called.


   Ethan looked down at her. Colin had lengthened his chains so that he could sit, he did so with Buffy's head in his lap. The fresh bruise at her temple the reason that she was still out. He could also see healing injuries, which caused him to wince in sympathy. Sympathy wasn't something that Ethan felt often, but as he'd told her once, he rather liked her. Of course, there was Ripper, who so obviously adored her.

 Ethan didn't, couldn't if he wanted to, deny that he enjoyed chaos. Controlled chaos, oxymoron that it was. He also enjoyed getting Ripper and his girl riled, but he never did anything that they couldn't put right again. There was just something addictive about the way Ripper's eyes flashed when he was truly angry. Then again, Buffy was absolutely unbelievable when she was angry. She also looked quite fetching in Ripper's shirt.


   Giles' first instinct had been to follow, which he'd done. He realized, though, that he was supposed to. He followed them so far and then let them lose him. He was back inside his flat before dawn. As soon as the sun came over the horizon, he started making phone calls.

 Xander and Anya were the first to arrive. "What's the what, Giles? How did they get Buffy?"

 "Trap." Giles said succinctly.

 "What kind of trap?" Xander asked. "I mean, none of the others worked."

 "This one did." Giles said. "Before, they were coming after me. This time, they came after Buffy. Since she was already hurt ..."

 "They've probably already killed her then." Anya said.

 Giles and Xander, both, glared at her. "If they'd wanted her dead, they would have done it. No, she's bait."

 "Because they know that you'll go after her." Xander said.

 "Only I didn't." Giles told him. "Not all the way. I followed them to Crawford Street. My guess is that they're at the mansion."

 "Yeah, suitably disturbing for Druscilla." Xander commented.

 "What is?" Willow asked as she and Tara came in.

 "Giles thinks they're holding Buffy at the mansion." Xander told her. "Spike won't be able to make a deal for her life this time."

 Giles looked at him. "This time?" He echoed. "What are you talking about?"

 "When Spike helped Buffy with Acathala." Xander told him. "Spike and Buffy made a deal. He made sure that you lived and she'd let him take Druscilla."

 "What?" Giles asked.

 Xander realized something. "She didn't tell you, did she?"

 "No." Giles said faintly. It must have nearly killed Buffy to let Druscilla walk away after what she'd done to Kendra.

 "Okay, we need a plan." Xander said.

 "Xander," Giles said speculatively. "What did we do with the truck from the Council?"


   They sat in the truck. "Do we all understand?" Giles asked. He looked from one to the next. "You don't have to do this." He reminded them. Not even Anya said anything. "Get ready." He looked at Xander in the driver's seat. "Now."

 Xander drove the truck right through the front door. The others jumped out the back doors and then Xander backed it back out the front door, so the vampires couldn't use it.


   Buffy began to stir and she groaned as her injuries protested. She became aware enough that her head was pillowed by someone's lap. "Giles?"

 "If only, Luv." Ethan said, more relieved than he would ever admit that she was awake. "Careful." He told her as he helped her sit. "How do you feel?"

 "Like my head exploded." Buffy said as she looked at him. "What happened?" She pulled at the chains on her wrists. She realized that they were at the Mansion and held back a smile.

 "You're the latest attempt to get Ripper." Ethan told her as he wondered why her eyes had lit for just a second. "They were quite disappointed when he didn't follow you here."

 "Giles knows a trap when he sees one." Buffy commented.

 "Are you certain that it isn't that he simply cannot bring himself to come back here?" Ethan asked softly, almost gently. "Even for you?"

 Buffy looked around again and kept her voice low enough that Ethan barely heard her. "He's been here since then."

 Ethan looked at her startled. What could have possibly brought Ripper back in here? But, of course, it was Buffy. For her, or because of her. "What's he waiting for then? You and I both know that, trap or not, he isn't going to leave you here."

 "Sunrise." Buffy said simply.

 "That was about two hours ago by my estimation." Ethan told her.

 "Maybe he wanted the sun to be higher." Buffy told him. "Or, he needed something. Or someone. Where are our hosts?"

 "Eating. Sleeping. Shagging." Ethan said. "Take your pick."

 "Do you know where the Stone is?" Buffy asked next.

 Ethan snorted. "When Druscilla isn't fondling it, Colin keeps it safely on him."

 "When do you ..." Buffy's question ended abruptly as Colin entered, alone.

 "So, you're the Slayer Druscilla speaks of so venomously." Colin said easily. "I must say that her description was quite off. Rayne's description, on the other hand, was most accurate. Fascinating considering the amount of pain he was in at the time." He looked her up and down. "You're quite lovely." He told her dispassionately. "As I'm certain you've been told before."

 "Yes, but never before has it meant so little." Buffy responded and Ethan looked at her sharply.

 Colin, however, laughed. "Witty repartee. I expected no less. The fear of death must sharpen your mind."

 "I've been dead. It doesn't frighten me." Buffy said calmly.

 "Then you won't mind that I plan to make it a permanent arrangement?" Colin returned.

 "You know, I'd bet that was the Master's plan, too." Buffy responded.

"Actually, it's probably been the plan of every vampire I've ever met. I'm beginning to get the impression that you people just don't like me."

 Colin's eyes narrowed. "Um, Buffy ..." Ethan said nervously.

 Buffy's eyes never left Colin. "You think you know the power, but you don't. You don't have a chance in Hell of controlling it."

 "My chances in Hell are a lot better than yours, Slayer." Colin said harshly.

 "Care to bet on that?" Buffy asked. "When you get to Hell, ask if they've missed me."

 Colin and Ethan jumped when there was a loud crash beyond the door, Buffy didn't even blink. "And Colin," Buffy went on as if nothing had happened. She took the chains that held her to the wall, into her hands as Colin looked back to her. "I really don't like it when vampires chain me up." She yanked down on the chains and they pulled from the wall. "It just pisses me off."

 Buffy swung her arm and the chain went around Colin's throat and she yanked. Colin landed on the floor and Buffy pinned him there with her knee in the middle of his chest.

 The fight outside grew louder as the door opened. "In here." Willow called behind her.

 "Gotta spare stake, Will?" Buffy asked conversationally.

 "Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure." Willow said and tossed Buffy a stake.

 "Thanks." Buffy said as she caught it. She pressed the point into his chest over his heart. "Where's the Stone?"

 "If you kill me, you'll never find it." Colin told her.

 Buffy pressed the stake a little harder. "Wrong answer." Buffy said. "It calls to me, while the stars sing. It's voice a familiar song, it is a part of me. The power cannot be contained by one such as you. The fire that burns it's magick will light the way from darkness." Colin started to scream as he began to burn. Buffy released him and stood, looking down at him. "From the darkest reaches of Hell it will guide us. It will show us the way. Enlightenment has come at last." Buffy blinked. "Give my best to the Master."

 Colin burst into the flame for an instant before he turned to ash. The dark stone lay centered in the ash.

 Buffy bent to pick it up. "Buffy, you'll burn your ..." Buffy heard Willow, but the Stone was cool in her hand. It seemed to her as if two eyes glowed from within.

 "Druscilla got away." Giles said, breathlessly, upon entering the room. He saw Buffy with the stone in her hand.

 Buffy seemed to snap out of it and looked around. "What are you all staring at?"

 "If it isn't too much trouble, Slayer, could you get me out of these?" Ethan asked as he rattled his chains.

 Giles sighed. "I'll need a hairpin."

 Buffy went over and simply yanked the chains from the wall. She turned, went over to Giles and looked up at him. "I'd like to get out of here, now."

 In the main room, there was big hole where the front door used to be. Buffy stopped, stared at it for a second and raised a brow. "Avon's getting pushy."


   Once at his flat, Giles listened as Ethan and Willow told him what had happened. Ethan sat in the chair. Giles sat on one arm of the couch, Xander on the other. Willow, Tara and Anya sat on the couch properly.

 "They grabbed me weeks ago in London." Ethan explained. "I could hear him inside there." He gestured at the Stone on the coffee table. "Calling your name." He said with a look to Ripper. "They must have heard him, too, since they came here. They took my magick. I tried to get to Buffy in her dreams, but it was difficult. There was some kind of protection around them."

 "It's because she's the Slayer." Giles told him. "Go on." He encouraged.

 "The rest you know." Ethan continued. "They tried to get Buffy out of the way. I thought she was gone, the way Druscilla carried on."

 "You don't know how close it was." Xander commented quietly.

 Ethan looked at Ripper. "They couldn't find you." Giles shifted uncomfortably which made Ethan curious.  "Druscilla was angry at the stars because they wouldn't tell her where you were. Then she got angry because the stars were talking to someone else. When they did find you, you were expecting them. Then that nitwit Harmony gave them the idea that if they had Buffy, you'd surly follow."

 "Harmony?" Xander asked doubtfully.

 "It was an accident on her part, I assure you." Ethan said.

 "I still don't get the thing with the Stone." Willow said.

 "You said that the Stone, itself, set fire to Colin?" Giles queried.

 "It could have been Buffy's words that actually ignited it." Ethan speculated. "A combination of the Stone and the words, possibly."

 "But what did the words mean?" Willow asked. "It almost sounded like a spell."

 "I have no doubt that the words were magick." Ethan commented. "It seemed, almost, as if she were channeling."

 "Who was channeling?" Buffy asked as she came in, fresh and cleanly dressed after a shower. She picked up the Stone and cradled it gently in her palm.

"Aren't you even tempted?" She asked as she held the Stone out to Giles. Buffy held the Stone out to him, but Giles wouldn't take it. "Of course I'm tempted." Giles told her. "But that kind of power was not meant for my hands."

 "It was never meant to be in the hands of mortals at all." Buffy said. "It was a gift. A birthright ... A burden." She walked to the kitchen counter and set the Stone on it. The others watched, curious, as she went to the weapons chest. "A talisman." She removed a sword from the chest. "Light and Dark." She gave the sword a twirl. "Hope and Fear." She held the sword above her head. "Man and Woman." She brought the sword down on the Stone. "Life and Death." There was a bright flash. "The same." Without a scratch to the counter, the Stone was in two equal halves.

 "Waiting for the Ones." A voice echoed. "The Ones who walk in both worlds."

 The others stood gaping as Buffy calmly replaced the sword in the chest. She picked up the two halves and walked over to Giles. When Buffy held out one half of the Stone, Giles was compelled to take it. He held it up and Buffy put her half to his.

 "Two make one, as it has been since the beginning." Buffy said. "We walk in two worlds and on us two worlds rely."

 "Two worlds are joined." Giles said. "And become one."

 Xander kept his mouth shut, but had to wonder if anyone else was picking up on serious sexual connotations.

 Buffy held up her other hand and Giles linked their fingers. "We stand as one against the darkness." They said together.

 "Um, you know what?" Xander asked when Buffy and Giles moved closer together. "I don't think we need to be here any longer."

 "Right." Willow said as she tore her eyes from the couple. She and Tara stood, as well as Anya. They all turned to glare at Ethan.

 Ethan reluctantly moved to his feet. "This could have been quite good. They aren't even aware that we're here."

 "All the more reason to go." Willow pointed out.

 "Easy for you to say, you have somebody to go with." Ethan grumbled.

 The last out, Ethan reached back to close the door. He saw Ripper kiss his Slayer and a bright, white flash from where the two halves of the Stone met. Ethan smiled and quietly shut the door.




* * *