Chapter 3: The World Listens...

 

**Pov Switch --The Watcher's Council**

 

"Ripper" Ethan says with a smirk and a nod. "Ethan...unless you would like a rude awakening on why that crass nickname was bestowed upon me, I suggest you address me by my name." Giles says with poise, a hint of annoyance and seething hatred in his tone. 

 

"R-Right, apologies...Rupert.  I suppose you know why we are all gathered here? I've always hated this place, not the ideals like one would believe.  It's the smell, it stinks of callousness and secrecy."  Ethan scoffs like he's above it all.

 

"Hmm, yes, quite right, admittedly I've been kept in the dark as well. Perhaps a Watcher will be assigned to a new potential Slayer, as one would assume."  Giles says before returning to his research.

 

"I'm not too sure about that, Sam Zabuto has been training ...oh, what's her name...? Well, she's been in our care since childhood, their's no reason to believe she won't be the next Slayer. So, unless this stuffy old council has been wasting time and valuable resources, I suspect it's something else entirely." Ethan says as he looks at the other Watcher's around the table with aggravation.

 

"I'm sure we'll find out shortly, Quentin should be--" Giles stops mid-sentence as he realized entertaining Ethan's quips is a ridiculous notion." Giles continues, "Ethan, we're watchers, we watch.  It's what we do, we wait, we do what we're told, and will be informed when it's necessary. Everything else is irrelevant. Your childish antics are of no help to anyone.  Now, do shut up."  Giles states matter of factly as he aggressively turns the page. 

 

Ethan, without missing a beat, "Awe, What's wrong, Ripper? Did a vampire shit in your morning tea?"

 

Giles closes his book calmly and removes his glasses from his face. Turns his head towards Ethan as he glares menacingly into his eyes and grabs him by the scruff of his shirt.

 

"You are testing my patience, Ethan, does the name Ripper, alone not strike fear into you? Perhaps, we should change th--" He's interrupted by a booming voice that just entered the room. 

 

"Alright, everyone, settle down, let's get down to business, shall we?" Quentin Travers says with professionalism in his voice as he continues.

"We have a lot to go over today, let's skip the pleasantries, we have a lot of preparations to make."

 

Ethan throws Giles' hand away as they both set aside their school yard act for the time being.  Giles clears his throat before speaking, "What are we supposed to be preparing for, exactly?"

 

Quentin turns to Giles with a professional demeanor.  "A Hellmouth is opening." That small sentence made everyone stop their childish bickering as they look around at each other with worry on their faces.  Quentin bellows with a bit of nervous laughter.

 

"Well, that certainly got your attention, didn't it? Did that..."strike some fear" into you, Giles?"  With a small smile and a hint of embarrassment in his eyes, "y-yes, quite so, Mr. Travers."

 

He didn't let his embarrassment hold him down for long however, as Giles quickly composes himself to pose a few questions everyone should have on their minds.

 

"Which Hellmouth, and when is it supposed to open?"

 

Quentin directs his attention to everyone around the room as he speaks.  "As you are all aware, this does not leave this room.  This is a "need to know" situation."

 

Giles nods like he was expecting to hear that and continues to listen. "We've been aware of the prophecy for some time, now. Sunnydale, California is the location in question, but the when? We've narrowed it down to a 10-year span. We do not know the exact date, could be tomorrow, or exactly 10 years from now. Either way, we need to prepare for the---".  

 

Everything went quiet, not a pin drop was heard, nor a single breath was taken.  Every Watcher present looked up towards the ceiling of the Watcher's library as if they had a perfect view of the night sky.  Their eyes shrouded in white and orange light. Everyone repeating the same phrase over and over.

 

The Goddess Has Graced Us...

 

The Goddess Has Graced Us...

 

The Goddess Has Graced Us...

 

The Goddess Has Graced Us...

.......

 

Minutes Pass as the light fades from their eyes, and they snap out of their reverie, and stand at attention as they almost simultaneously voice the same thing, but this time they weren't compelled by any unseen force. 

 

"Bloody hell! What in the world was that?!" So much fear was present in the room, you could almost taste it. 

 

Giles was the first to speak, as he turns to Quentin and says, "Mr. Travers, I suspect this Hellmouth, is the least of our worries." 

 

Quentin opens his mouth to respond but couldn't find the words, so he just nods with an anxious expression he couldn't hide if he tried. "...Perhaps, however we do not have the luxury to neglect it either.  Giles, I'll be sending you to Sunnydale."

 

********

 

**POV Joyce Summers**

 

Joyce is so entranced by what just happened, with her mind racing a million miles a minute, she almost forgets about Buffy floating in midair until she hears the sound of the couch slam against the ground and Buffy screaming for her. 

 

"MOM!" Joyce snaps her head upward to see her daughter falling, but not like the couch, she's falling in such a perceivably slow pace, that she doesn't even notice that the world isn't slowing down, she's moving so incredibly fast that it just appears that way.

 

She leaps up to grab her out of the air and bring her down to solid ground. The gust of wind she caused from that movement was far more destructive to her living room than the cause of the event in the first place. She completely ignores the debris and broken furniture around her and focuses solely on catering to her beautiful daughter. 

 

"Buffy! Are you okay?!" Joyce screams out in a panic, unknowingly at an inhuman level.

 

Buffy covering her ears, "do you have to be so loud mom! I'm right here!"

 

Joyce sighs "You seem to be fine, that's good." The both of them, on the floor of their living room take a moment to calm down and finally take a look around the room and the chaos that preceded this lovingly mother/daughter moment.

 

"Mom, w-was that an earthquake or something? What jus-- wait, did you say you were pregnant?!" Buffy, focusing on that, was not what Joyce expected to hear at that moment, but quickly understood, that it is most likely exactly what they should be focusing on. 

 

"Y-yes, I'm not sure what exactly happened, but it definitely wasn't an earthquake, honey."  Still holding on to Buffy, they both look down at Joyce's stomach as if they both knew the exact cause. 

 

"Say hello to your sister, Buffy." Joyce says with a hint of confusion but musters up a small smile to not cause any unfounded fear. Buffy, pulling herself away from her mother's grasp momentarily, kneels down and reaches for her mother's belly.

 

"H-hello, sister." Buffy says with mild embarrassment. 

 

"Domino, her name is Domino Rao, Buffy."

 

Buffy, a little confused but thinks to ask about it later.  "Welcome to the family, Domino." A sense of calm and warmth came over them both, as they knew at that exact moment, Domino acknowledged them with a non-existent smile that literally lit up the room in a white and orange glow, which reminded them of a beautiful sunrise.

 

*****

 

After a full day of clean up and a small trip to a mechanic.  They finally had the time to have a seat and talk about everything in detail. 

 

"Mom, how did this happen? And how do you know ....my sister's name already? And why was I floating? And why do you look so much younger? And why--".

 

Joyce being overwhelmed by this 10-year-old questioning, puts her hand up in front of her face.

 

"Alright, alright slow down Buffy--" Joyce pauses as she was taken aback by her last question, with a quick step to the nearest mirror in the hallway she finally takes a look at herself.  She definitely appears to look younger, at least by 10 years. If she were to guess, she would say she looks around 25 again. 

 

Now that she has time to think about it, she feels younger as well. No signs of wrinkles, or crow's feet, or laugh lines, her eyes a brighter shade of blue that look vibrant and alive again.  Even her hair seems to have grown slightly longer and full of life.

 

"MOM!" Buffy yells with a ten-year old's patience.

 

"Oh r-right, sorry, honey." Joyce sits back down at the dining room table, just as confused as her daughter is.  She has all the same questions and a hell of a lot more. She has no idea how to answer them herself, let alone what to tell Buffy. She sits there in silence, seemingly staring into empty space, when Buffy snaps her out of it, once again.

 

Buffy points to herself, then back at Joyce while saying, "Mom! Questions... answers, isn't that how this is supposed to work?!"

 

Joyce wiping her hands across her cheeks, shakes her head and snickers at her snippy little daughter. Grabbing Buffy's hand and looking at her with a warm gaze.

 

"Buffy, I would absolutely love to answer your questions, I'm just as clueless as you are, though about her name, I-I think she told me her name. No... It's like she didn't want me to forget it, or rather, she wanted to make sure I never forget it."

 

Buffy, with a slight squint in her eyes and a wrinkle in her nose, "What is that supposed to mean?"

 

Joyce sighs, "You'll have to ask her that question, when the time comes." She may look younger, but with visible stress on her face and in her voice, Buffy decides to give her a break for now.

 

"O-Okay, well, be sure to let me know when you know.  Wait, how did you know Domino was a girl?" Joyce with the millionth sigh just in the past 10 minutes.

 

........"Buffy....." 

 

"Okaaay, jeez Mom, I was just asking."

 

*****

**POV Spike and Drusilla**

 

"P-Please let us go, we won't tell anyone we swear!" A young 18-year-old man says while chained to the wall with who seems to be his girlfriend. 

 

"Spike, the supper is talking again, how should we make them stop." Drusilla says with a pout on her lips. 

 

"Dru dear, stop playing with your food and eat them, supper isn't supposed to talk, well...not for long anyway." Spike says with a grin on his face.

 

Drusilla, returning a smile, "But...I like when they talk, they taste so much sweeter. Aren't you going to eat with me?  I hate eating alone!" Drusilla pouts again. 

 

Spike exhales the smoke from his cigarette, "Oh Alright, anything for you, my love." Spike grabs Drusilla and brings her in for a kiss, as they both turn to face the wall with a smile.

 

They start to approach, "N-No, Please, you don't have to do this, t-take him instead!" The girlfriend says while trying desperately to try and save her own life." The boyfriend seemingly too scared to really care that his girlfriend tried to offer him up. 

 

Spike and Drusilla, were happier than ever to smell such fear wafting off of them, "Dru, do you want the girl this time?" Spike says with a kind gesture.

 

Drusilla approaches them both with a sniff, as she waves her hands across the air in front of their victims. "No, he smells better."

 

Spike being Spike, lived through the days of chivalry and never breaking the habit, "he's all yours, my love." Their faces morph, eyes turning yellow and the skin around their eyes and nose shrivel into an intimidating scowl as their fangs emerge from their gums, all but ready to feast. 

 

That's when everything stops, the moonlight coming in through the window, showing the dust frozen in midair of the dank tomb they're in, housed in a graveyard. Specks of white and orange light moving around Drusilla, with a huge creepy smile on her face as she spins in the moonlight with her hair and dress fluttering around. 

 

"Spike, do you see it? The stars are dancing." Drusilla looks at her eternal love with the same smile on her face.

 

"No, dear, but I can sense it, what do you see?" Drusilla turns to look out the window of the tomb, "The sky .... the sky is singing! Something ...fun just arrived. Can we go to it?" Drusilla turns to spike with a childlike glee and anticipation.

 

"Of course, my love. However, we shouldn't drive on an empty stomach, shall we eat first?" Drusilla nods with the same smile Spike fell in love with a hundred years ago. 

 

"No-Pleea------"