The Trial
Author: Deborah Email: Deborah@tomobiki.freeserve.co.uk Synopsis: Buffy must answer for her sins... Rating: R, for safety's sake Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy etc, Fox own all. The Circle are my creation... Spoilers: Season four, general
"Are we all agreed then?" There was a chorus of "aye" from around the Circle, and the Head of the Circle sighed. "Who wants to talk to the stubborn child?" No one said anything. The Head sighed again, and closed her eyes to see her sisters more clearly. She read their auras and thought for a while. Then she spoke again. "Tamsyn. Carry our judgement to our erring sister. Bring her before us. Bring too, any you feel you need to do so. The Circle is closed". Tamsyn rose from her chair, bowed to the Head of the Circle and then walked to the center. Taking an unneeded breath, she willed herself to Sunnydale. In Sunnydale, California, a petite blonde girl is arguing with an older man. Her blond boyfriend is backing her up. Finally the blonde girl grabs her boyfriend's arm and drags him outside into the night air. They head off to the nearest graveyard, ostensibly to patrol for vampires and other creatures of evil. Instead, they indulge in a heavy make-out session that stops just short of full penetrative sex. Passing the couple in the graveyard, Tamsyn makes a note of their activities on a clipboard before continuing on her journey. Back in Rupert Giles' apartment there is very little being said. It's all been said before. In detail. And, what is worse, they all know that the situation is going to get worse. Buffy Summers will not listen to reason. From anyone. *~*~* In the City of Angels a vampire with a soul takes a phone-call that disturbs him greatly. The Slayer whom he loves so dearly is neglecting her duties in favor of being with her boyfriend, a commando whose former unit was responsible for damaging one of his offspring. Angel does not understand why Buffy no longer takes her sacred duty so seriously. At the other end of the line was one whom he hurt in an horrific manner several years before, yet one who hopes that the presence of Angel might serve to remind the young woman of her duty. For Rupert Giles, sacred duty comes first. He never thought when he tried to discuss with Buffy the ethics of Slaying while trying to have a social life that his charge would one day prefer to tell him to go back to England because he's no longer of any use to her. Just because he reminded her that a new vampire was set to rise that evening and would she please deal with it before it caused any trouble was no excuse in Giles' mind for her to be so cruel to him. And Finn had backed her up all the way. The young man was Trouble with a capital T as far as Giles was concerned. Angel goes up to the main office in the elevator. Wesley and Cordelia are waiting for him. "What is wrong, Angel?" asked the former cheerleader. Her boss looked sad. "Not bad news I hope?" enquired the former Watcher. "Not exactly" sighed Angel. "Come downstairs and we'll talk". The three of them went down to Angel's apartment where he made coffee for three and sat looking into his coffee mug as if the contents held the answers to all of the world's problems. "Buffy's neglecting her duties in favor of being with Riley" Angel began. Cordelia put her hand over the vampire's, trying to offer him comfort. "Giles wants the three of us to go to Sunnydale to try to talk sense into her". "Like that's got any chance of working?" said Cordelia sharply. "If Buffy isn't listening to Giles what chance does he think any of us would have?" "I don't know" admitted Angel. "But we have to try. People are dying because Buffy would rather have sex with her boyfriend than slay vampires and demons. That simply isn't acceptable behavior for a Slayer. She has to understand that". "And the Council cannot do anything because Buffy resigned", sighed Wesley. "Her stubbornness is what got me fired in the first place". Unseen by them, Tamsyn made another notation on her list as she walked through Angel's kitchen before returning to the Circle. She had all the information she needed. The tribunal could begin. *~*~* Buffy woke. She was not in her room, or in her shared room with Willow, nor was she in Riley's bed. She was in a strange place. It was pitch black. Wherever she was, it was cold. "The chit is finally awake" grumbled Spike. What was Spike doing in this place. Where the hell was she? And where was Riley? Torches suddenly flared to life, and Buffy found herself in a huge hall. She was sitting down, her hands secured magically in front of her. There were women – well, they looked like women but you could never be too sure on a Hellmouth – in a circle ahead of her. They were all robed in black, and the woman at the head of the circle was veiled. She rose to her feet, and spoke clearly. "Elizabeth Anne Summers, you are called here to answer for dereliction of duty. How do you plead?" "Who the hell are you?" snarled Buffy, furious to find that she could not move very far in any direction at all. "You will answer our questions. Do not ask, for you will receive no answers". The woman's voice was cold, hard. It made Buffy shiver in fear. "I demand to know by what rights you hold me here. And where am I? And just who the hell gave you the right to accuse me of anything?" "Just answer the bloody questions like a good chit and maybe we'll get the hell out of here sooner," suggested Spike. Buffy looked round. She gasped. On one side of the circle were the rest of the Scooby gang, including Oz, Amy in human form, and Jenny Calendar. Her father was sitting beside her mother, looking lost and confused. Giles and Wesley were sitting together too, alongside Faith, Kendra's Watcher and the assorted beings that made up Angel Investigations. On the other, were the Initiative, including Professor Walsh and Riley. They were also magically confined. Slightly removed from both groups were a selection of ghosts. Then one of the other women from the circle stepped forward. "If it please your ladyship, I will explain the situation to the Slayer" The veiled woman nodded, then sat down. The other woman made a gesture with her right hand, and what looked like a screen appeared on a wall ahead of Buffy and the others in the room. Words appeared on the screen. Slayers, it read. One by one each of the women seated around the circle glowed as a summary of her life and death was depicted on screen. Finally, the woman called Tamsyn glowed and Buffy finally realized that each of these strange women were all dead former Slayers who had been very powerful figures. There seemed to be a gap in the circle, and the screen now showed Buffy's name. Slowly, the events of Buffy's career as the Slayer played across the screen. Two columns began growing on either side of the main screen. One contained numbers of vampires and other demons killed by Buffy, and the dates on which each had met its fate. The other contained the names of those humans who had died when she had been unable to save them. There was a major increase in those names during the period of time when Angelus had been free. Then the names slackened off. Finally Tamsyn stopped the projection and looked round at her audience. The two side screens were closed, and the main one expanded. "Since Elizabeth became infatuated with Riley Finn and part of the Initiative, the numbers of human deaths around Sunnydale has risen exponentially. Watch". Death after death was displayed in graphic detail. Ghost after ghost wafted around Buffy, who began to weep. Angel had to force himself to stay in his seat. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew he had to stay where he was. If Buffy were to profit from her experiences here she had to make the decisions herself to behave. Finally the screen went black, and some lighting came up within the hall. Tamsyn cleared her throat, before looking round the hall. The Initiative members, including Riley, were on their feet. Professor Walsh was threatening to conduct all sorts of horrid experiments on every being in the room who was not part of the Initiative. The Head of the Circle laughed at that one. "You have no power here, Professor. You will do as we say." "Elizabeth, do you have anything to say here?" "I'm not going to apologize for working with Riley or the Initiative. They're helping me kill demons. Besides, I love Riley. I want to have fun, and parties, and sex. Why should I have to go out and kill every night? I want a life" Giles stared at his former Slayer, appalled by her selfishness. Then Buffy continued. "Professor, if you want experimental subjects, try the people over here. Willow's a witch and a lesbian. Anya used to be a vengeance demon. Xander was possessed by a hyena spirit. Oz is a werewolf. Cordelia is a Seer. Angel is the vampire Angelus. Spike is one of his childer, William the Bloody. Giles and Wesley are Watchers. The only ones I don't want harmed are my parents." "I look forward to experimenting on your friends, Buffy. They sound…delicious". Maggie Walsh grinned at the Slayer. Angel shuddered at her words, blood-tears falling down his cheeks. Cordelia wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him as best she could. She gave Buffy a dirty look. Tamsyn spoke. "Normally a Slayer who has been as powerful a fighter as Elizabeth would join us here after her death. In Elizabeth's case, we will not be allowing her to soil our Circle. She is our sister, in that we are all Slayers, but her fate does not lie with us. There is another who will decide on her fate. Come forth". Angel felt part of himself leave his own body. He suddenly realized that he was looking at Angelus. He shuddered. Spike also rose from his seat, a computer chip free in his hand. His demon appeared, and he marched over to where the Initiative were locked together. Angelus growled at his childe, and Spike nodded. Angelus approached Buffy. She realized that she was completely defenseless against him. Riley was hysterical, trying to get across the Circle to kill Angel. Angelus moved aside to where the commandos were grouped and smirked. "She is mine. My mate, my wife. She has never been yours". Grabbing Riley he sank his fangs into the youth's neck and drained him. The body collapsed, empty of all blood. "Mmm, delicious. Now for dessert." Angel cried out in agony. "No, don't hurt her! She isn't yours, she's mine!" The demon laughed as he looked at the soul. Then he turned to the Head of the Circle. "What do you say, Lady?" "The punishment for any Slayer who betrays her calling is death. You are the one she dreads most. Kill her. Now" Angel screamed. "No!" "You cannot stop us" replied Tamsyn. "You can never stop any of us. She must die". Buffy's family and friends were deeply upset by all of this. But they could do nothing to stop what was happening. None of them could move. The only being moving in the hall was Angelus. Slowly he approached the Slayer, his eyes pure gold. Bending over the small blonde Slayer, he shuddered. "She stinks of the commando," he hissed. Then he sank his fangs into her neck, and drank. Giles watched, his face white with horror. Angel could not move as his demon destroyed the only girl he would ever love. Smirking, Angelus cut his wrist with his fangs and then poured some of his blood down Buffy's throat, stroking her throat to make the blood go down properly. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was dead. When she arose as a vampire, it was as a childe to Angelus, the Scourge of Europe. Spike smirked, as he and Angelus destroyed every member of the Initiative. They made no attempt to harm the Scooby Gang, but Angel fought Angelus in order to try to avenge the death of Buffy. Grinning, Angelus killed the being with a soul whose body glowed as it vanished. "Did we really have to do things that way?" demanded Tamsyn of the Head. "We did, Tamsyn. Elizabeth would never have been able to work with us. Just think, now she can spend eternity understanding vampires. And the souled one is finally at peace. Now he can spend eternity in heaven with his loved ones. Truly, everything is right with the world." The End