Chapter 23

Ok it was official, she was bored, who would have thought it, but it was true Dawn Summers was in Europe , and she was bored as hell.  Stifling a yawn she shuffled uncomfortably on the hard wooden chair in which she was currently sitting.  Oh the morning had started out ok, until Giles had told her it was time to leave for the council headquarters.  They had left the hotel and walked up Regent Street , before turning into Charles Street and heading into St. James Square , Dawn memorizing the streets as they went so she could tell Buffy all about it when she got home.  

They had come to an older style building; Giles had muttered something about it being the new buildings even though they had been around before Spike was born.  The inside was surprisingly modern, even if the furniture was antique and uncomfortable.  Squirming she was relieved when Giles came to stand before her. “Mr. Travers has kindly allowed me to show you the archives.  It seems that Uncle Samuel can’t be located at this time, and he though perhaps we would have better luck.”  

Dawn sprang up. “Ok which way,” she rubbed absently at her numb backside.  

Giles guided her to a discreetly hidden elevator, ushering her inside he pressed the ground button.  

“Umm Giles, we’re already on the ground floor.”  

Giles smiled, his face lightening from the dour expression that had settled across it when they had entered the building.  Dawn watched in amazement as Giles continued to punch buttons in a seemingly random pattern, until finally a small panel slid open revealing another plain gold button.  Giles sighed in relief as he pressed the final button and their descent began.  

Dawn stared at the smooth metal of the elevator doors, as they seemed to travel downwards forever.  Finally the motion of elevator stopped with a small jerk; she felt her stomach settle into place seconds later.  Dawn grimaced at the sensation.  She never did like travelling in the ‘small metal boxes of doom’ as she called them; something about the idea of her insides being not quite where they should be gave her the wiggins.  

Dawn gasped as the metal doors slid open to reveal a massive room.  Books lined every wall from floor to ceiling, large wooden ladders reaching up into the stacks.  Enormous mahogany tables were dotted around the room; watchers huddled around them with large leather bound tomes open as they silently made notes.   

Dawn noticed an older man pushing a small trolley of books around stopping occasionally as he carefully slid one into its home; she tugged on Giles’s sleeve and motioned in the man’s direction.  

Giles shook his head, and led Dawn through the room towards a door at the far end.  

Dawn idly looked around as they entered a long sloping hallway, portraits adorning the walls. 

“Past watchers,” Giles informed her as they wended their way slowly downward.  

“Where are the slayer’s portraits?" Dawn asked puzzled after they passed picture after picture of dour tweed-clad watchers, “And where’s yours?”  

Giles cleared his throat in embarrassment, “Umm well mine would be here.”  He absently waved his hand towards a darkened corner near the door at the end of the hall.  

Dawn leaned forward, carefully studying the pictures before her; a small frown marred her brow as she finally found it hidden low on the wall slightly obscured by the open door.  She cocked an eyebrow at Giles in silent question.  

Giles shuddered at her resemblance to Spike as a small smirk crossed Dawn’s face.  

“Not too popular I take it?”  

“Yes well…” Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. “These things are unimportant in the grand scheme of things,” he began to mutter quietly.  

Dawn hooked her arm through his, “It’s ok Giles, WE think you’re important.”  

“Thank you Dawn.” Giles patted her hand lightly before moving them forward through the open door, “And this is the secondary library.”  

Dawn’s eyes widened as she realised that the room was identical to the first, even down to the elder man replacing books.  

Giles noticed Dawns puzzled look. “Twins,” he supplied before pulling her further into the room, “Our journey isn’t finished yet I’m afraid.”  

“There are more books?” Dawn squeaked.  

Giles chuckled at her shocked expression, “This IS the Council Dawn.  We have an extensive collection gathered for centuries from all around this dimension and a few others I dare say….”  

“Ok, Ok, I get it, lots of musty old books collected by men in Tweed for hundreds of years.” Dawn cringed at the thought of the history lesson she was sure she’d just avoided.  

Giles led her through the room, this time leading her towards an unobtrusive alcove where a plain wooden door sat hidden in the shadows.  Opening it Giles grabbed a flickering torch from the wall. “There’s no electricity from here on I’m afraid.”  

Carefully edging forward he lit two lamps just inside the doorway to reveal wide stone steps leading down into the darkness.  As they moved on Giles would light the lamps that were dotted regularly along the walls.  

About half way down Dawn realised that the texture of the walls seemed to change; it seemed to be made up of raised wooden squares about the size of an envelope.  Peering closer she gasped when she realised that each held a picture of a girl.  

“The Slayers.” Giles offered by way of explanation.  

Dawn felt anger welling inside of her. “I see, the watchers get lovely big portraits in a well lit hallway, and the ones who actually save the world, who go out and fight for their lives every night, get a tiny little afterthought of a picture hidden away in the dark.”  She began searching the small frames, “Where’s Buffy, I’m not leaving it here.”  

Giles shuffled his feet slightly before answering quietly, “There isn’t one Dawn. The Slayers picture only gets hung after she is no longer . . .ummm active.”  

Dawn stared at him in horror. “Don’t you mean dead Giles?” Dawn moved back to where the surface of the wall had began to change moving her torch from one wall then across to the other until she found what she was looking for.  There nestled at the end of the right hand wall was a small picture, a small silver plaque was fixed to the lower part of the frame, its engraving was simple but to the point: ‘Kendra 1997 – 1998.”  Beside it sat a photograph of a redheaded girl, “Samantha 1996”.  Dawn stared intently at the picture through the gloom this was the girl who had died so that Buffy would become The Slayer.   

Moving slowly down the staircase Dawn felt the tears well in her eyes as she read name after name and date after date, sometimes there would be a small cluster of pictures all bearing the same year.  Those girls had survived mere months or maybe even days after being Chosen.  Stopping short Dawn realised that she was standing in front of pictures dated in the 1800’s.  She began her search again until she located the small frame she was searching for.  Reaching up Dawn gently lifted it from its place on the wall, wiping her hand across its dusty surface, “Rebecca 1872 – 1876.” Gently she slipped into her purse.  

“We’re almost there Dawn, keep up I don’t want you to fall.” Giles waited impatiently for her at the base of the stairs.    

Dawn hurriedly made her way to his side.  They made their way to the small door that was now visible through the gloom.  Giles swung the door open stepping through and blocking Dawn’s view momentarily.  When he stepped aside Dawn squinted at the sudden brightness. “I thought you said there was no electricity down here,” she waited for her eyes to adjust to the light.  

“There isn’t.” Giles motioned around the room, “We are in the catacombs now; the walls are encrusted with some form of illuminating crystals.”  He watched Dawn as she stepped further into the cavern before them, eyes wide as she looked about. “The council never has been able to figure out exactly what they are, but they serve a purpose.”  

Dawn began to take note of her surroundings.  They were standing in a huge cavern, tunnels seemed to twist off into the light from every wall, and there was even a large hole in the floor.  Creeping closer she noticed that it contained more stone steps, she cast Giles a weary look, “Let me guess, we’re not there yet.”  

Giles laughed, “No we’re here; now all we have to do is find Uncle Samuel.”  

Dawn sighed in relief and moved to sit in an oversize, although extremely dusty chair that sat to one side.  Coughing lightly at the small cloud of dust that circled her as she sat Dawn took time to really study what was about her, concentrating on memorizing a clear picture so that she could open a doorway to the room if they needed to.   

Glancing at the wall behind her Dawn realised that instead of the large wooden bookcases that she had seen previously, the cases were in fact carved into the stone.  Books lined the walls in surprisingly neat rows reaching up almost to the roof.   

Giles moved slowly round the cavern softly whistling until he stopped in front of a small tunnel and listened intently.  An answering whistle came drifting down the passage, slowly getting louder, until a figure emerged to stand before Giles.  

The man stood shoulder to shoulder with Giles, his body thin and wiry, reminding Dawn a little of Spike.  Dawn studied the two men intently; she could see the resemblance between them, same nose, same eyes, and even similar glasses perched on their noses.  She felt she was looking at an older, greyer version of Giles, and then she remembered that Houston also looked a lot like Giles.  ‘Gotta love those Giles family genes’.  

“Uncle,” Giles moved forward to give the man a warm hug.  

“Rupert my boy, how have you been?” The older man’s voice was strong and clear, no hint of the fact that he was over 100 years old.  Turning his attention to Dawn Samuel moved forward, “And who is this beautiful young woman?”  

Suddenly remembering his manners Giles hurried forward to introduce the pair, “Uncle Samuel I would like you to meet Dawn Summers; Dawn this is my Uncle Samuel who I spoke about.”  

“Summers?” Samuel fixed Giles with an assessing look, “Any relation to that young Slayer of yours?”  

“Buffy’s my sister,” Dawn offered helpfully.  

“Ahhh I see, well it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss Summers,” Samuel extended his hand to Dawns shaking it lightly before bending to place a soft kiss on her check “So you’re the key?” he whispered before pulling back and giving her a wink.  

Dawn gasped, glancing worriedly at Giles.  

Giles was completely oblivious to what was happening; he was busy trying to figure out how to explain their situation to his Uncle and elicit his help.  “Uncle Samuel there is a matter of some importance that I must discuss with you.”  

Samuel dismissed him with a small wave of his hand, “I think its tea time,” turning to face Dawn he drew her up from her chair.  Linking his arm through Dawn’s, he began moving towards one of the tunnels. “Have you had a proper English tea yet young lady?”  He turned them to the left then right as they walked slowly along, “Come on young Rupert don’t dawdle, can’t have you getting lost again now can we?”   

Samuel winked at a bemused Dawn before continuing, “After all you can’t tell me that Quentin Travers is an evil demon who is using the council and The Slayers to further his own evil plans, and that I am in fact also a demon closely related to, but not the same as Mr. Travers, and that you have finally realised this and would like my assistance in stopping him and therefore save the world, without a proper cup of tea now can you?”   

“How…what…huh?” Giles channelled Buffy momentarily, stunned that his Uncle had summed it all up in one, if not long winded sentence.  

“Oh really Rupert, did you think I could get to be this old with out working out a few things?” Samuel stopped them before a blank wall, devoid of any books.  

Dawn looked around in confusion, “Where are we?” She hadn’t even noticed the change in scenery; looking back she tried to find the entrance to the cavern, after all they had only been walking for a few minutes.  

“Oh we are somewhere under Holburn, quite close to the Tottenham Court Road tube actually.”  He chuckled at the confusion marring his companion’s faces.  “The catacombs are full of small portals, much like what you can create young lady.” Samuel pointed at Dawn. “I use them to get around the place quickly; otherwise you could be wandering around down here for hours.”  

Dawn giggled at the expression on Giles’s face when he realised that he had, in fact, been lost down here on several occasions.  

Samuel stepped forward and gently stroked one of the illuminating crystals on the wall in front of them. “It’s ok they’re friends.” The wall began to shimmer, as the crystals seemed to vibrate rapidly, causing the stone to part in front of them allowing entrance to the room that now stood open before them.  

Samuel urged them to sit down on the comfortable and surprisingly clean chairs that sat around a small table.  He crossed to a small bench and began to prepare the tea, pushing the plug of the small electric kettle into one of the crystals on the wall.  

Giles stared in shock as the kettle began to make a soft rumbling noise, indicating that the water was beginning to heat.  “Uncle what are those crystals?”  He moved forward eyes transfixed, as the crystal seemed to pulse lightly.  

“The crystals are in fact a sentient race called Solartians.  They can generate heat and light and manipulate the environment around them.  They have lived in these catacombs since the beginning of time and only reveal their true nature to those deemed worthy.”  Samuel placed a small plate of biscuits before them. “They will aid you in your fight if you so wish it, after all if you are deemed worthy enough to protect The Key then you must be worthy of their trust.”  

Giles stared at his Uncle, his shock evident as he tried to form words.  He had come here thinking that he would have to broach the subject lightly, convince his Uncle that what he said was the truth and hopefully gain his assistance.  Instead his Uncle seemed to be waiting for him to arrive and knew most of what he had to say already.  Everything but one small fact, “Uncle Samuel your offer of aid in our time of need is greatly appreciated, but there is something else I must discuss with you.  It’s a family matter in fact.”  

Samuel regarded him for a moment, “I know that my mother, Katherine, was not my natural mother.  Although I feel certain that she was family, that you are all my family.”  

Giles felt his regard for Samuel grow.  All these years he had known that he didn’t quite fit, that he wasn’t really who or what he had been raised to believe.  All that time when he could have rebelled, striven to find the truth and inadvertently exposed innocents to the evil of Quentin Travers, he had instead kept silent and waited patiently for the time to act.  “Uncle you are correct, grandmother was not your natural mother; she was in fact your aunt.”  

Samuel startled slightly a small tear gathering in the corner of his eye, “So I was right, you are all my family.”  

Giles nodded, resting his hand on the older mans shoulder, “Your parents were Rupert and Sarah Hoston, and there is something I must tell you about them.”  Giles tried to gather his thoughts, “Have you ever heard of a place called Midian?”  

Samuel nodded, his eyes drifting to the rear of the room.  

“Your parents fled to Midian for protection, Uncle Samuel, they’re still alive.” Giles waited for Samuel’s reaction, somewhat fearful that his revelation would be too much for the older man.  

Instead Samuel rose and moved through the room, “I have something to show you.” Once again the Solartians began to shimmer and vibrate, parting another entrance through the rear wall to reveal another huge cavern filled to the brim with books.  

“Over the years I have carefully removed anything from the main libraries and archives that may lead to Travers discovering and destroying the secrets they hold.”  He picked up a small leather bound diary, “Including many of the old Watcher and Slayer diaries that he tried to have destroyed.  He didn’t realise that those held in the main libraries were in fact copies, and the originals were stored down here.  I saved as many as I could, as well as books from the demon councils and anything that mentioned Midian and other safe havens.”  

Giles stared at the wealth of knowledge before him. “Uncle this is just….” He began to reverently pick up book after book, running his hands lightly across their covers. “The knowledge that we could gain from these….” He reached for a large leather bound tome opening it and scanning its pages, “Look here Dawn.” He thrust the book under her nose pointing to a page written in some strange language, “This is written in ancient Slic’ta’nere a language so old that it was thought lost.”  

Dawn peered down frowning, “So if it’s lost, how do you know what it is?  And how come you can read it?”  

“Well I can’t, but I’ve seen snippets of it on parchments under glass in the main library.  To translate this would be a life’s work…an academic achievement of the highest….” Giles trailed off as he was distracted by another book.  

Dawn turned to stare at Samuel a finger pointing at him accusingly, “You did this, now he’s going to want to catalogue, and research and translate, and … and…who do you think he’s going to force to help him?” She jabbed her finger into her chest, “ME that’s who.”  

Samuel smiled, he liked this young girl; she had spunk.  If all The Slayers family and friends were like young Dawn then he was confident that they would defeat Travers.  He placed a calming hand on her arm, “I’ve already catalogued and translated a large portion of them, if that’s any help.”  

Dawn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and displaying her best pout, “It’s something I suppose.”  She then blushed brightly as her stomach rumbled loudly, “Oops.”  

“Rupert I think perhaps you best take young Miss Dawn out for something more filling then a few cream biscuits.” Samuel tried to draw his attention away from the books before him.  

“What?” Giles looked up startled his glasses slightly askew, Dawns stomach protested loudly once again. “Oh yes lunch,” he glanced at his watch, “Oh my is that the time?”  Looking about him Giles tried to gain his bearings and find the exit, striding forward he began to move back towards the small outer room when Samuel stopped him.  

“Don’t go that way, there’s a much quicker exit from here.” Samuel led them to another wall and waited for the Solartians to open them a passage.  As they stepped through Dawn realised that they were in a small wooden room, an arched doorway before them.  “This is that secret passage you were always looking for, if you want to reach me from now on just come here and put your hand here” Samuel pointed out the small crystal that was hidden amongst a vivid painting of a saint that covered the wall they had just passed through “The Solartians will recognize you and open the passage.”  

“Cool,” Dawn liked the idea of secret passages and clandestine meetings; it made her feel all special-agenty.  She was the first to open the door before them, stepping out she realised they now stood inside a church, glancing around she noticed some people who she assumed must be tourists, milling around and taking photos.  One looked surprisingly familiar, “Anya?”  

The young woman turned around, giving a small squeal of delight when she realised who had called her. “Rupie!” Anya wrapped herself around him, before pressing a passionate kiss to his mouth. “How did you know where I was?  How did you get here?  You’ll never guess what this place is called.”  Before either of them could answer Anya stepped back, throwing her arms wide as she announced brightly, “St Giles in The Field, when I heard the name I just couldn’t resist.”  

“Wow Giles you have a church named after you,” Dawn gave him a teasing smile.  

“Yes, well I’m sure that’s not truly the case.” Giles began to get flustered  

Anya interrupted, “But how did you get here?”  Giles began to explain about his uncle, who had quietly slipped away, and the catacombs and secret passage. “Won’t the council realise that you didn’t leave the way you came in though?”  Anya interrupted.  

“Oh Bugger,” Giles sighed as he realised Anya was correct, “We’ll have to go back.  Dawn do you think that you could open a doorway up in the cavern so that we don’t get lost in the catacombs?”  

Dawn nodded, moving with Giles back into the small room at the rear of the church, Giles telling Anya that they would meet her back at the hotel shortly.  Dawn was just about to step back through the temporary doorway she had created when she realised that they would emerge at the bottom of the long staircase, “Oh Damn.”

tbc...

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