Dealing with the Devil

Air date: 2/12/2000

7 Aug 2000, Monday afternoon (still!)

Gemma calls Jayde’s mobile and tells her to get here now and warns her that she’s wearing her clothes. Jayde tells her that she’d better come clean then and hangs up before Gemma gets a chance to argue.

Alex makes some phone calls and gathers info which she reports back to Gemma and Mary – The council will take some time to investigate but she’s got people gathering info. Rough backgrounds on Buffy and Faith (read Buffy episode outlines up to end of season 3, plus season 4 Buffy and season 1 Angel episodes involving Faith). Conrad isn’t a watcher himself, he’s a researcher employed by the council when they have things they want to find out. He’s researched things including law, old languages, prophecy and a lot of magic although it is unclear whether he is a practitioner of magic himself. He’s been with the council for a very long time. No mention of his fighting skills. Alex has also found some info on ghosts – they can possess people or objects and their perception of this world is both dependant on what is keeping them in this world and distorts this world to be more in line with their perception. The anchors which tie them to this world tend to be physical – places or objects - and if that anchor is destroyed they remain in this world but essentially lost.

Jayde arrives with only two pair of shoes. She pushes Gemma off to get changed back into her old clothes and is filled in by Alex and Mary. Buffy returns, having called Giles for info on Conrad, and Wesley for info on Wolfram and Hart. Gemma (as Gemma) says Hi to Buffy, Jayde says "Its OK, I filled her in" and if Buffy noticed the body swap she doesn’t say anything. Phew! Buffy’s theory, up to this point, is that Faith has been vamped up and that Wolfram and Hart are involved because of Angel’s disappearance. Jonathan gets kicked out of the editing suite where he’s spent a goodly part of the rest of the afternoon and wanders on over to see how things are going. Alex is keen to stay on Buffy’s good side and takes everyone out for dinner where they try real hard not to talk about work.

Alex suggests that Jayde and Buffy go patrolling together (Jayde: "What’s patrolling? Is there a uniform?") so that Jayde can learn a bit from Buffy. They bag about 4 vamps for the evening and get along reasonably well, even if Jayde is a little in awe of Buffy and there is a strong undercurrent of tension at how they all came to be in this situation.

Mary goes home to check that the sharehouse hasn’t burned down and stays up reading about memory loss. Eventually she finds something – memory loss spells and the sorts of ingredients required to perform them. She finally puts the book down as its getting light outside.

Gemma tries to sleep – with the light on, door open and Toy Story playing on the video to sooth her – but unsuccessfully.

Jonathan is still a bit unnerved by the whole tapedeck experience but manages to get a good night’s sleep.

8 Aug 2000, Tuesday (finally!)

Jayde pinches herself a few times before getting out of bed then finally makes it to all of her classes. At lunch Gemma learns that grey auras are indicative of depression and pink means compassion. She’s still having difficulty tracking down dark blue though. Alex does some research on clairvoyance from objects and learns that (unsurprisingly) its easier to read objects that have an emotional attachment from people, ie its easier to read a piece of jewellery that means something to someone than, say, a toothbrush. Buffy is chasing up other leads and will be meeting the gang that evening.

Jonathan and Mary arrive first. Buffy talks to them about the demon nest Conrad sent her to - they were a type of demon she's dealt with before, Fyarl demons, who have a weakness for silver but aren't real bright and don't tend to do things without leadership. They are often hired as mercenaries. She questioned them before she killed them and they said they were waiting for a shipment but didn't seem to know of what, possibly something of Conrad's? Its odd that he should know they were there and according to Giles, Conrad generally likes to do his own thing, separate from the council. Gemma and Jayde arrive and the group discusses Conrad and what to do about him. Ideas include tying him to a chair, beating the truth out of him, asking him directly, tying him to a chair, Gemma laying her hands on his head and reading impressions from him as he is asked questions, reading his research notes to establish whether he truly is doing what he claims, tying him to a chair, hacking the computers at Wolfram and Hart to find if he's on their payroll, reading his journal and tying him to a chair. They agree that while he may be telling the truth he's not telling the whole truth and whoever he's working for he's not a nice guy. Buffy also expresses a thought that if Wolfram and Hart plan on a vamped up Faith coming, they plan her coming with Angel and others, making the need for Buffy and Jayde to work together a bit more important. Eventually they hit upon a plan for Buffy to lay low for a bit when Conrad returns, everyone else will act normal, tell him Buffy's gone back to LA to follow other avenues and milk him for as much information as humanly possible, Buffy will come back and they'll tie him to a chair and get answers out of him one way or another…

Jayde and Buffy patrol for a while then head off to a concert to kick back for a while. Jayde's friends get very confused about Jayde having a job and a guy called Bill and being totally out of the social circuit for the past few days and turning up with Buffy. But it's loud so most of it goes down as random misheard gossip and just adds to Jayde's mystery and allure.

Mary, Gemma and Jonathan go to Mary's place to talk to Casey, Val and Neo about hacking Wolfram and Hart. The key words to look for are Conrad Cayse, Faith, slayer, Angel, and terrorist (possibly good?) in that order. It'll cost a road trip to LA (petrol money), all the pizza and jolt they require to get the job done and Mary to type up the notes for the classes they might miss as a result. Casey gets sent off to buy supplies, Mary picks a suitable dummy to take the fall if they get caught (I'll take the IRS today thanks John) and everyone settles in for a long night. Well, truthfully, Mary and the boys settle in for a long night. Jonathan and Gemma prolly fall asleep on the couch or in amongst the old pizza boxes after about an hour of nothing turning up.

9 Aug 2000, Wednesday

Everyone gets a phone call from Alex at around 10 in the morning - Conrad has called, she's told him Buffy's in LA and he seems to have accepted that, he'll be meeting with her at lunch then be around for training in the evening. They all avoid the office at lunchtime, just as a precaution. Mary gets a progress report from Val - the site is heavily guarded and will require that roadtrip. Various IRS agencies around the country are currently being attacked by rabid FBI agents and crooked lawyers.

Jayde is walking to class through the green and parky parts of UCB taking care to avoid statues.

"...k Angel's blade..."

Jayde is shaken out of her daydream. Angel?! Buffy mentioned Angel

"shall be loosed upon the world drinking deep of the lamb, the angel and the demon alike."

The man is standing on the raised edge of a garden bed, his hands reaching out and grasping the air, moves followed by his enthralled crowd.

He pauses to look to each of those listening before him before his gaze drifts behind them to Jayde.

"Swept up on bloody wings, upon the bodies of the dead, upon the flash of the sword, the angel shall be lost, lost to the lamb. While all around the war of ages sweeps up the new Babylon in the Tears of Flame. The world shall weep, burned to a Hell on Earth, scorched clean by the Sorrow of the Lamb and the Tears of Flame. So shall it be if the Angel falls and the lamb lays with the beast."

He breaks Jayde's gaze and returns to the rest of his flock. Jayde isn't much for religious text but the stuff he continues with is familiar. Jayde tries to think back to her skipped religious classes, but she can't remember anything like what he said when he was looking at her. Wierd.

Jayde shakes her head, looks down at her new shoes and walks off.

After classes everyone heads over to the office to face Conrad. He's accepted the story about Buffy and has decided that he needs to start testing Jayde and Gemma as well, as soon as possible, starting now. He outlines a training plan for Jayde (that involves a lot of run til you drop type of activities) and starts asking Gemma questions pertaining to her mental abilities. She stalls him by asking where he went the past few days (I have a second residence locally), how Faith is (her situation hasn't changed) and if he feels sorry for Faith. At this his aura goes puce (thankyou Rachel) and a sense of confusion seems to overcome him.

"I've been thinking, perhaps it would be best if we were to have Faith killed. She's dangerous, unpredictable, and unstable. I know from my own research that killing either Buffy or Faith now will not pass on the abilities. The council will continue to test this on their own however because they will not accept something written in a lost language as evidence. This has happened before. At the moment there are three but attrition will bring that number back to one."

Mary looks worried, "so if the council wants an army they'll have to come for Jayde."

Gemma has an inspiration. "May we read your research notes?"

"I am willing to discuss them"

"I'd like to read them for myself. This affects me and my sister. I'd like to know what you've found out…"

"I haven't prepared my report for the council yet, and some of my research does not concern them."

"So why won't you let me know what you've discovered?"

"I have discovered that the power is not diluted, at least not last time, and there does not appear to be a taint although it is a possibility. Perhaps the taint was merely in Faith's soul. While there have been multiple slayers in the past there have not been whole generations of tainted slayers suggesting that either there has been no taint in the past or the taint fades with time. But I do know that the power to create another slayer now lies with Jayde, and I believe the Council's plan cannot lead to good. The Council's plan will endanger what the slayer is here to achieve."

His aura shows confusion again.

"I have information pertaining to Jayde from Alex and from working with her and information on Faith from talking with her. I have no information on Buffy and am unlikely to get any so my original thinking was that she's the expendable one. But now I think it best to destroy the one who is most unstable and as such most dangerous."

He and Jayde get on with training and testing. She's exhausted by the time he lets her go home. He expects her back tomorrow for continued tests but she has classes. They bicker about dedication to the cause and having a social life. Eventually she agrees to be back tomorrow and leaves with Gemma in tow.

Mary helps Val and Neo pack for their road trip then goes back to reading arcane tomes.

Jayde takes a shower then falls asleep atop her covers, forgetting to even turn off the light.

Gemma lies awake for about an hour, still thinking of how the thing felt when it attacked her, before finally drifting off into blissful sleep. She wakes with a start. There's something in the room with her, prowling around, down near the end of the bed. She reaches for her bedside lamp but the light won't turn on no matter how many times she flicks the switch. She suddenly becomes aware of Leda's voice by her ear, talking to her but sounding like it is coming from a long way off.

"…and it must be stopped."

She is momentarily relieved until she realises that it isn’t Leda that's doing the prowling.

"Mum?"

"Its happening again."

"What is?"

"They're experimenting again."

"What's in my room?"

There's a pause and a faint whispering then "…it's hard for me to come here. It's getting harder."

An animalistic growl comes from the thing at the other end of the room. It brushes against the end of the bed, moving in Leda's direction. Gemma panics, throws off the sheet and bolts out of the door and down the hall. As she exits the room she thinks she hears the thing leap across the room and land heavily against something soft. Gemma doesn't stop running until she reaches Jayde's room. She stops to catch her breath, hesitant to wake Jayde but she doesn't stir. Thinking perhaps it was a dream, she flicks on the hallway light and creeps silently up to the door of her bedroom. In the half-light she sees the slayer primitive from the first dream, wild and predatory, attacking Leda, who doesn't seem to be fighting back. Leda's arm pokes out at an odd angle. Gemma freaks and bolts back to Jayde's room, climbs in to the bed and burrows under the covers against Jayde's back, gripping Jayde like a shield and leaving the light deliberately on.

10 Aug 2000, Thursday

Gemma wakes suddenly, the nightmare crushing the air from her lungs then passing as she realises the sun is well up. Beside her Jayde still sleeps soundly. She gets up and plans to take a look back in her room but perhaps it would be better to go armed so she heads for the kitchen first. Stella walks in just as Gemma is pulling the largest knife she can find from the knife block on the bench.

"Good morning. Are you alright? You look a bit off colour this morning."

"Er, I'm fine. Strange dream."

"Ok, if you say so. Can I get you something perhaps."

"Um, no, I was just, um, having some fruit."

Gemma grabs an apple from the bowl and cuts it roughly in half with the knife. Stella seems to accept this and wanders off. As soon as she leaves Gemma takes her knife and the half apple she's holding in her hand and goes back up to her room. Jayde is awake by now and spots Gemma wandering around with a knife and an apple, but Jayde is more concerned with the strange fingernail-like marks that have appeared on her arm this morning and thinks nothing of the strange sight before her. Gemma can see from the doorway of her room that things have been moved around a bit, her washing basket has been tipped over, her desk chair pushed off to one side and several trinkets have been knocked off their shelves. She crosses slowly to the far side of the room, holding the knife and the apple out protectively in front of her. The place where Leda was being attacked is now empty, no dead bodies or phantom body parts laying around, but radiating around the scene of the attack spots of aura in orange (fear) and black (hate) lie spattered and smeared like blood. Fear and exhaustion become too much and Gemma bursts into tears.

At breakfast Gemma has put down the knife but is still holding her somewhat brown and mangled-looking apple. She barely touches her food and Jayde notices her red puffy eyes, prominent against the ghastly white of her skin.

"What's up with you? You look like hell."

"Mum's dead."

"Well yes, we established that eighteen years ago."

Gemma starts weeping again and Jayde thinks it best that she take her to see Alex immediately. The story comes out and Alex comments on the differences between ghosts and spirits (ghosts can only be killed if their anchors are destroyed but if the physical manifestation of a spirit is destroyed it dies). Gemma is obviously in a bit too much distress so Alex gives her some sedatives and they leave her to get some rest.

Conrad arrives and Jayde goes back to training. They've been working out for a while when Conrad receives a phone call. He comes back looking somewhat distracted. He's still looking distracted in the evening when Mary and Jonathan arrive from classes. Mary is looking a bit grubbier than usual and apologises for her lateness and appearance - Casey drank all of the leftover Jolt and decided to go skating on the balcony so she's just been pulling him out of the roof. Jonathan has done all he can do with his current tape and needs to gather more information and do some testing in the field. Gemma is awake but is looking very foggy from the drugs. Conrad addresses the group:

"I have two things to say. The first is that the power is definitely not reduced, and records regarding a taint would indicate that it is unlikely as there have never been two rogue slayers in a row. More tests are required in this particular case though. I don't find psychiatric tests to be all that effective in my opinion but they will give sufficient results to pass on to the council. The second point to make is that the War Council have sped up and continued their experiments."

Gemma concurs. Mary, Jonathan and Conrad turn to look at her.

"What?!"

"Leda told me last night and now she's dead." Gemma bursts into tears again. Jayde rolls her eyes and apologises for her.

"She's been having nightmares. I don't think she's dealing too well with this whole vampire thing."

"Oh. Well as I was saying, the council will be watching for the activation of another slayer. Their options now are to kill Faith once and for all or if they conclude for themselves that this army can be created from her - which is unlikely - they will begin killing and reviving her until she cannot be revived. I had thought they would wait on my report before any of this began but apparently they've decided it not vital. My part is essentially finished. The matter should now be resolved and yet I have some doubt. I do not know about what. What is your opinion on the matter? I am trying not to have one. It is our belief that it is the soul that defines us as human. As Faith has a soul it is therefore a crime to have her killed, but does that give her the right to act with impunity? Buffy has tried to stop her before and failed. Death is the most efficient way to stop an opponent."

Jayde takes up the argument. "But she felt guilt and she turned herself in…"

"She also killed people and helped a demon. Arguing morals is a waste of my time."

"Well I don't think you should have her killed just because you think it's efficient!"

"And if you rescue her and she kills again? To run the risk of that and then have to combat the evil you have let loose? Is that better in your mind than removing the possibility of that happening?"

"Yes! She's a person too!"

"You are a slayer. Your role as a slayer is to protect the world not loose evils upon it. If you can't take that seriously then perhaps the power would be better suited to another."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No. I am merely commenting."

"I do take my role seriously!"

"Then why waste your time with college and a social life?"

"How can I save a world I don't care about?"

More moral discussion and bickering which ends with Jayde petulantly stating "Fine, you want to see how devoted I am? Well lets train!" They do some heavy combat training for a while to let off steam while Alex calls her contacts in the council for a report. Information regarding the War Council has filtered back and Alex tells the group what she has found out. Mostly its mixed reports - some have heard nothing of the reconvening of the War Council while others have had hints. What does seem apparent is that they are less obvious in their new incarnation than in the past, more like a secret society. So how do they get organisation and resources?…

Conrad pauses in his attacks on Jayde.

"The situation with Faith does disturb me. I can see your arguments but they are only emotive, there's no logic to them. So why am I disturbed? There's nothing you can do for her. If you release her and she goes back to the other side she's also stronger and quicker than you. You can't beat her. I can't see how releasing her would be sensible. I regret that I've not had more time to work with her. There's much I could have learned from her."

Gemma seems to be looking a bit more normal since Alex's report.

"Alex, your faction is in charge of the council at the moment right? Well if you think the War Council is a bad thing then why don't you announce that they have been reconvened and expose them? The rest of the council would be duty bound to help Faith and stop the experimentation. Or, or we could kidnap Faith and you can continue your experiments and we can work our if she's good or evil and if she's evil we just get the Council to help and we take away her power. Then she'd just be another normal person with big issues."

Conrad: "The council doesn’t have access to that information."

Jonathan: "But you do?"

Conrad: "Perhaps."

Mary: "So it's only the War Council that has that information."

Conrad: "Not anymore."

Jonathan: "You stole the book."

Conrad: "Yes."

OK. Finally a plan! Conrad agrees to it on the condition that Jayde provides a safe environment in which to continue his research - the War Council will try to have him silenced for his compliance in this plan. He informs them that Faith is being held by some medical researchers under guard - a wet-works team of four military trained guards, two doctors and three assistants, all of whom are from the council and are aware of Faith's abilities. They presumably will have moved Faith since their recent experiment so Conrad will have to find out where she is being held currently. He's been keeping the team out of contact with the council so they won't have had warning from Alex's investigations. He will help from the inside but will do nothing to endanger his position in the council, including supporting the team if he has to, until after they have Faith or it looks like they are obviously winning. The group agrees. Conrad needs to get in touch with the team leader to find out where Faith is. The others need to surreptitiously get in touch with Buffy and let her know what's going on.

Lawyers take note: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel and all characters related belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and fox.