AtonementAndBlood1

Disclaimer: All characters, except for Johnny York, are property of BTVS. Johnny York is my own creation. I have fictionalized much of the worship of Cybele and Attis; no offense is meant to those who actually profess that religion.

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[Angel�s mansion. Buffy and Joyce enter. Buffy is stuck carrying all the luggage, which she unceremoniously drops upon entering.]

Joyce: I still think we should have gone to a motel.

Buffy: Granted, this is not the best situation. At least, Angel has more than room than Giles�had.

Joyce: He must be devastated. He lost everything. How did he sound when you spoke to him?

Buffy: Like Giles. He was going to stop at the school before meeting us here. He needed to pick up some weapons.

Joyce: I hate this, Buffy. It came into our home.

Buffy: What?

Joyce: This evil whatever. I just feel violated like there are no boundaries anymore. You say we�re staying here to be safe. Don�t you find it ironic that we�re choosing to spend the night in a vampire�s mansion to increase our sense of security?

Buffy: It�s not completely safe, just safer. And it�s familiar. I know every entry way and escape route.

Joyce: Buffy.

Buffy: No, I just mean we can better protect ourselves here.

Joyce: What about from Angel?

Buffy: He�s different now. If I thought he was a danger, we wouldn�t be here, he wouldn�t be here. Giles is coming too. If you don�t trust me, trust him.

Joyce: I don�t. He�s led you into danger time and again, encouraged you to carry on a life secret from me, and in that life, failed to provide you with the guidance you needed. No, I don�t trust Mr. Giles� judgement.

[Buffy notices Giles standing in the doorway.]

Buffy: Mom, Giles is here.

Joyce: Mr. Giles, I didn�t�

Giles (cutting her off): No, you�re right. Perhaps I haven�t been the best influence on Buffy, but I�ve had to walk a very thin line. I�m her watcher, not her parent. I did not feel it was my place to interfere in certain areas of her life.

Joyce: If not you, then who? I was certainly kept in the dark.

Buffy: Stop it, both of you. Tonight is going to be hard enough. Let�s not start out fighting; by morning, we�ll all have killed each other.

Giles: Buffy has a point.

Joyce (still uncomfortable): Yes. I was sorry to hear about your house.

Giles: Yes, same here. Any word on the damage?

Joyce: It looks like there may be some structural damage. Also, I was storing some pieces for the gallery in the basement, and they were destroyed.

Giles: Were you insured?

Joyce: Luckily.   Still, nothing that was lost can be replaced. I�m sorry. I�m prattling on, but you lost everything.

Giles: No, I didn�t. No one died. Any night that ends that way I count as a blessing.

Joyce: I wish I could see it in that light.

Giles: Yes. Is Angel here?

Buffy: No, he had to stop by Xander�s and change clothes.

Giles: Oh.

Buffy: Did Willow find you? The guys said she was looking�

Giles: Yes, she found me.

[Cut to Sunnydale�s Main Street. Cordelia walks along carrying a small plastic bag. Johnny blocks her path.]

Johnny: Cordy, I love the hair. It makes you look like Veronica Lake.

Cordelia: Excuse me, what planet are you from?

Johnny: What�s wrong? I thought we has something special going.

Cordelia: Oh please. Why am I even talking to you?

[She tries walking around him, but he grabs her shoulders.]

Johnny: So someone got to you, did they? No matter.

Cordelia: Let go of me. God, loser.

[Before Johnny can begin to �rewitch� her, Angel comes along, back in his own clothes.]

Angel: The lady says she wants you to let her go.

Johnny (annoyed): Go away.

Angel: I�m afraid I can�t do that.

Johnny: Cordelia, look at me.

Angel: I�m not the kind of enemy you want to ignore.

Johnny: You can�t stop me from seeing Cordelia.

Angel (threatening): I can stop you from seeing tomorrow.

Johnny: Am I supposed to be intimidated? �Cause I�m not quite sure how to play that.

Angel: Never underestimate your opponent.

Johnny: No, that�s always the downfall of the would-be supervillain. Well, that and hubris. In this case, however, I don�t think I have to worry about underestimating you. I don�t see any trees around here, but if you�d like to go flying into that lamppost over there, I�ll see what I can do. Where was I? Oh yeah, Cordelia, look at me.

[Without warning, Angel tackles Johnny and Cordelia to the ground. Cordelia gets up out of the melee, as Angel and Johnny fight. Angel vamps out and scores his teeth along Johnny�s face. Johnny, remembering that he does have magic powers, stops struggling and resorts to his magic.   Angel flies through the window of a nearby store. Cordelia hauls off and hits Johnny in the head with her purse.]

Cordelia (beating Johnny about the head): Look at me, asshole. You try that spell crap on me again, and you won�t have to castrate yourself.

Johnny: I don�t have to castrate myself. It doesn�t work that way anymore.

[Cordelia whacks him with the purse again.]

Johnny (cont�d): Will you stop that? What�s in that thing?

[Johnny gets up.]

Cordelia: It�s a Dooney & Bourke. I can�t believe I did this to my hair. I�m going to get split ends.

[Johnny starts to leave.]

Johnny: Well, you win some you lose some. I can get another girl.

[When he�s gone, Cordelia goes to the broken window and offers her hand to Angel. He takes it and climbs out to the sidewalk.]

Angel: What�s up with the hair? I almost didn�t recognize you.

Cordelia: Temporary insanity. Are you okay?

Angel (switching back to his normal face): I�ve been through worse.

Cordelia: I can smell.

Angel: Buffy�s basement was flooded. I got the sump pump to work.

Cordelia: Where�s my bag? I was carrying a bag.

Angel (picking it up off the ground): Is this it? Hair dye?

Cordelia: I need to change it back right away, and I couldn�t get an appointment with Andre until Saturday afternoon.

Angel: That�s tomorrow.

Cordelia: I know. Can you believe I have to wait that long?

[Angel laughs as they walk off.]

[Cut to Willow�s room. She tosses and turns in her bed. Oz knocks at the door. She turns on the light and pulls a stake out from under her pillow.]

Willow: Who�s there?

Oz: Oz. Can I come in?

[Willow gets up and opens the door. He leans in and kisses her lightly.]

Oz (cont�d, noticing her bedtime apparel): Did I wake you?

Willow: I couldn�t sleep.

[They walk inside the room and sit down on the bed.]

Oz: How did things go with Giles?

Willow: Not good. I mean we didn�t get into a fight or anything. I just wanted some answers, so I can understand. But he didn�t share anything, and I guess it�s none of my business. But I need this to make sense.

Oz: Can you talk about it?

Willow (shaking her head): He doesn�t want anyone else to know. But�

[She can�t complete her thought and leans her head into Oz�s shoulder.]

Oz: But?

Willow: Even though it�s not my place, it might be Buffy�s. I think she might need to know.

Oz: Not knowing what we�re dealing with kind of puts me at a disadvantage in terms of advice-giving.

Willow: I�ll make a list. On one side I�ll put all the bad stuff that could happen if I don�t tell her and on the other side I�ll put all the bad stuff that might happen if I do. Oh god, when did I start having to chose among bad stuff?

Oz: There�s good stuff too.

[She smiles at him.]

Willow: We�re good stuff.

[Oz kisses her, and they lie back on the bed. After a couple moments of intense kissage, Willow suddenly sits up.]

Willow: We can�t.

Oz: I understand. I don�t want to do anything you�re not ready for.

Willow: No. I�m ready. I�m set. I want to get go, really I do. But I just had a bad thought.

Oz: Bad thoughts really aren�t a part of what�s supposed to happen.

Willow: Do you think I could catch �It?�

Oz (getting up, ashamed): Oh. When Giles gave me the talk he never discussed �It.� Wait, you used �it� to describe the other �it.� Giles and I never discussed doing �that thing.� He did say I should be careful at the dentist.

Willow: I don�t think it�s the same thing.

Oz: I�m getting the �its� and �things� confused. I haven�t done that thing since I became �it,� so this hasn�t been an issue.

Willow: Did you do �that thing� with a lot of girls?

Oz: It happened.

Willow (shyly, standing): A lot?

Oz: I don�t want to tell you because I�m ashamed, and I don�t want you to think less of me. But I don�t want to keep anything from you either.

Willow: I won�t think less of you. Please. Remember I�m the one that cleans your cage every month.

[Oz turns a lovely shade of beet red.]

Oz (smiling): That�s probably not something you want to bring up on an amorous evening.

Willow: I�m just saying it�s nice having no secrets.

Oz: Okay (he leans into kiss her) 53.

[He kisses her before she can process this information. Her eyes bulge as the impact of 53 girls hits her. Oz breaks off the kiss.]

Oz: Will, are you okay?

[Speechless, Willow vigorously nods her head.]

Oz (cont�d): Are you sure?

Willow: Yeah. Secrets are bad. That�s it!

[Willow goes to the closet and starts to throw clothes on over her pajamas.]

Oz: I�m sorry. I don�t want you to have to leave. We can talk about it or not talk about it if you want.

Willow: No, I have to see Giles.

Oz: To see if we can do �that thing?�

Willow: Not right now but soon, very soon. Now, I have to see him about the other thing. Secrets are bad.

[She runs out the door but runs back in to kiss Oz before running out again. Oz gets up to follow her.]

Oz (leaving): Willow, wait! I�ll drive you.

[Cut to a hallway in Angel�s mansion. Joyce, dressed for bed and holding her toothbrush, leans over examining one of the statues which line the walls. Angel, now wearing black silk pajama bottoms and a towel draped around his neck, walks up behind her.]

Angel: It�s wonderful, isn�t it?

[Joyce whips around and holds her toothbrush in ready-to-stake position. Angel holds up his hands in a sign of peace.]

Angel: It�s okay. I�m not going to hurt you. And that (indicating the toothbrush) won�t help you.

Joyce (lowering her arm): Of course. You surprised me. I didn�t expect you to be here.

Angel: It is my house.

Joyce: I�m aware of that. I didn�t know you were back yet.

Angel: I�ve been here for awhile. After swimming through sewage, I thought it best to shower before I initiated interpersonal contact. You like the statue?

Joyce: It�s amazing. Japanese�late Tokugawa, right?

Angel: Yes. I was in Japan for a number of years shortly after Perry. I have some ukiyo-e prints from the same period in the other room if you�d like to see.

Joyce: I�d love to. Do you have any of the masters?

Angel: I have one Ando Hiroshige. I got it for a song. Today, it would be worth�

Joyce: A small fortune. Wait, back-up. Matthew Perry opened Japan in the 19th century.

Angel: 1853.

Joyce: But you�re�

Angel: Older than I look. Vampires don�t age.

Joyce: I just assumed you were in your early twenties. Does Buffy know how old you are?

Angel: Not exactly. She thinks I�ll be 243 this summer. I�ll actually be 268. It was bad enough when she learned I am a vampire, and hearing that I was 240 seemed hard on her. I just couldn�t tell her that I was actually 265, and the extra 25 years didn�t seem to make that much difference.

Joyce: I guess at that age it doesn�t. But you�re 268 years old, and you didn�t think having sex with a high school junior was just a little bit wrong?

Angel: I want to tell you something, not to make you uncomfortable or hurt you, but to reassure you. Buffy wasn�t rushed or pressured into anything she wasn�t ready for.

Joyce: I don�t think it�s proper for us to continue this conversation.

Willow (off): Hello? Giles?

Joyce: That sounds like Willow.

Angel: I guess I�ll have a full house tonight. I�ll go get Rupert.

[Cut to downstairs. Willow bites the nails of her left hand while Oz holds her right.]

Willow: I�m going to have to talk to Giles alone.

Oz: No problem. I�ll wait in the van.

Willow: Thank you for coming with.

[Giles enters, wearing blue and white pinstripe pajamas, and Oz kisses Willow�s hand and exits.]

Giles: Angel said he heard you calling?

Willow: I just came to say that if you don�t tell the others, I will. Oh, that sounded more like an ultimatum than I wanted it to. I don�t want to be harsh, but I think it has to be this way.

Giles: How would knowing about Johnny help Buffy fight him? I think it would hinder her ability to be effective. She can fight better if she�s not emotionally conflicted.

Willow: What if she kills him?

Giles (looking down): She will do what she must.

Willow: How can you say that? He�s your son.

Giles: No, he�s a monster. He�s too dangerous. He needs to be stopped before he gets any more powerful.

Willow: What if she kills him and finds out later that he was your son? How do you think she�ll feel? All I know is that secrets are bad. They haunt you, and nothing good comes from it. Johnny could blurt it out in the middle of the fight just to distract her. She needs to know.

[Cut to Mr. Trick�s lair. Spike sits on the sofa watching a soccer game on television and drinking a beer. Mr. Trick enters.]

Mr. Trick: I might just get my chance to kill a slayer after all.   Apparently there�s a warlock who�ll try and kill her on Sunday. I think I�ll have to help him along.

Spike: Whatever you say, man. You know, I think the satellite television is the greatest invention of my lifetime. Do you think you could run to the fridge and get me another beer?

Mr. Trick: You know ever since you came to town you�ve been spreading around this negative energy.

Spike: Sorry, I thought that�s what a Hellmouth was for.

Mr. Trick: Do you care to make a wager? If the Slayer dies on Sunday, you leave town.

Spike: And if she�s walking around on Monday, what then?

Mr. Trick: Sunnydale is yours. Well, as much as the mayor let�s you have.

Spike: Ah, kill the mayor. Okay, I�ll take your wager.

Mr. Trick: Not so fast. The bet only stands if you eschew any interference whatsoever.

Spike: I hate to break it to you, but the Slayer won�t need my help to defeat you.

[Cut to Johnny�s room. The walls are covered in videos. Stacks of videos rest on the floor and the drum set. Dirty clothes are draped over yet more videos. The alarm goes off, the clock reading ten o�clock. He wakes up and pushes off the covers revealing blue and white pinstripe pajamas. He stretches.]

Johnny: Atonement begins.

PART TWO

[Johnny and Ethan�s apartment. Johnny, now dressed in ceremonial leather pants and no shirt, enters into the living room.]

Johnny: Ethan? Are you here?

[Ethan enters wearing a fish oven mitt and a �Kiss the Sorcerer� apron, carrying a meat thermometer, and looking fit to be tied.]

Ethan: Of course I�m here. I�ve been in that kitchen slaving away since five A.M., working on your feast. No caterer handles occult rituals, not even in this town.

Johnny: Do I have to remind you that I have to do most of the work this weekend?

Ethan: I just weep for your plight. When are the girls getting here?

Johnny: Any minute now.

Ethan: You had no trouble finding them?

Johnny: A little. I went for one of Rupert�s kids, but it proved to be too much trouble, so I had to find a last minute replacement.

Ethan: You do need five.

Johnny: Don�t worry; they�ll be here.

Ethan: Five.

Johnny: Five.

[The door buzzer sounds, and Johnny goes to answer it. He opens the door and five nubile blondes pour into the living room.]

Johnny: All on time.

Ethan: They didn�t all have to be blond, you know.

Johnny: Not all of them started out that way.

[Cut to the library. Oz, Xander, and Buffy plow through texts that may have information on Cybele and Attis. Willow and Giles have a heated conversation behind the counter.]

Oz: So the power outage, the flood, and the fire were all to get your attention?

Buffy: It seems that way.

Xander (looking through a book): I think a phone call would have been easier. Something like, �Hi, you don�t know me, but my name is Johnny, and I�m a big, powerful warlock. I heard you�re the Slayer.� Oh wait, I found something. Listen to this, �The ritual of Cybele was far from moralistic and carried the current emotional, orgiastic tendencies to extraordinary lengths.�

Buffy: But that doesn�t tell us anything useful.

Xander: No, but it sure sounds fun. There�s more. �The powerful cult of Cybele displayed the lengthiest and most complex pageantry ever witnessed in the ancient world, rousing hopes of immortality to a fever heat of excitement. Seven fast days were followed by the Day of Atonement, a resplendent procession in which was carried a new-cut pine, symbolizing the dead Attis.�

Buffy (brightly): It�s a parade.

Oz: Somehow, I don�t think Johnny�s planning to have a parade down Main Street.

Buffy: I guess not.

Xander: Yeah, they�d need a permit and everything.

Oz: Does it say anything about the Day of Blood?

Xander (reading): �Then, after a day of lamenting, came the Day of Blood, when the priests lashed and lacerated themselves while fanatical novices performed their own castration.�

[Xander drops the book and shudders.]

Xander (cont�d): Yeeaahhgghh!

Buffy: I don�t see where I fit into that scenario.

[Giles walks over and enters the conversation.]

Giles: Remember, that�s a description of the Roman rituals. The correct, original Phrygian rituals are different we have to find out what they were. I do know the Day of Atonement involves some sort of feast and orgy and the Day of Blood, a surrender to the goddess.

Buffy: And that means?

Giles: I don�t know.

Xander: But there are orgies�never a bad thing.

Buffy: What do you think Johnny wants with all the power?

Xander: Aren�t the orgies enough?

Buffy: I mean he said he didn�t want world domination. What else would you do with being able to do anything?

Xander (singing): He�s eighteen and he don�t know what he want�uh, he doesn�t know what he wants.

Oz: I don�t think it works in the third person.

Giles: People often initially seek power as its own end. Only when they gain power do they realize it is just a means to other ends. Often those ends become money, power, sex, destruction�all manifestations of self-interest. It may be clich�, but power does corrupt.

[Willow walks over and puts her hand on Giles� shoulder in encouragement.]

Willow: Giles has something to say.

Giles: Yes�I�m not quite�I hadn�t planned�why don�t you sit down?

Buffy: Is it bad?

Giles: Not exactly, but I�m afraid it�s quite serious. (pause) We all make mistakes. Everyone in this room has. Sometimes, those mistakes come back to haunt us later in life, in our case, in a very literal sense. The important thing is to take responsibility for our mistakes and deal with them the best we can. Willow has rightly convinced me that I need to own up to mine. What this long preamble has been leading up to is the fact that Johnny York is my son.

Xander: Whoa. Son, as in son?

Oz: I can see the resemblance.

Buffy (quietly): Giles?

Giles: This does not change our plans. Johnny�s powers are dangerous. We have to find out what this ritual is and stop it.

Buffy: What happened?

Giles: It�s not a particularly sordid story. Normally, I object to being overly open with my personal life. However, considering the relevance of the information to our present situation, I will, in this case, make an exception. Johnny�s mother and I were close and considered marriage, but her pregnancy eliminated that possibility. Watchers, you see, are forbidden to have children of their own until they are no longer active. The Council felt it best that Margaret and I no longer see each other. I saw the wisdom in their pronouncement then. The Watcher must be free to donate his or her time and energy to the Slayer. I�m afraid Margaret was quite distraught and fled to America. I chose not to go after her. A couple years ago a solicitor, lawyer, called to inform me that Margaret had died. Having no family of her own, she named me as Johnny�s guardian.

Xander: But you didn�t go?

Giles: Unfortunately, as the same time, all the signs pointed to something big happening in southern California, where the active Slayer was in need of a watcher. I was sent. I had an impossible choice, not really a choice at all. I could go to New York and get Johnny and renounce my position and my duty or I could go to Sunnydale.

Xander: So that was it? You just left him?

Willow: Xander.

Giles: I had no time to make the decision. As it was, I barely got here in time for the Harvest. I fully intended to go back and make arrangements for him when things quieted down here. That time didn�t come until the summer after the death of the Master.

Buffy: Did you go?

Giles: Yes, but Johnny had run away from his foster home and disappeared. I suspect Ethan had found him by then.

Buffy: Wow.

Giles: You now know all there is to the matter, so nothing that Johnny could say should shock you.

Buffy: How do you feel? I mean, do you love him?

Giles: My feelings, whatever they may be, are not at issue. I would prefer not to discuss them. I suggest we get back to work. Let�s concentrate on the Day of Blood. We know Buffy is directly involved in that.

Willow: And the Day of Atonement?

Giles: A feast and an orgy don�t sound like the end of the world.

Oz: Yeah, but doesn�t he have to perform each part correctly? Maybe if we stop him now, we can stop him from even getting to the Day of Blood and involving Buffy.

Giles: That idea might have some merit.

Willow: Except he�s powerful. If we go in there, who�s to say he just won�t beat us again?

Xander: Who�s to say he won�t beat us on Sunday? I feel for the guy, really. But I say we stop him as soon as possible before he puts Buffy in danger.

Willow: What I�m saying is that on Sunday Buffy has to do something, right? Maybe she con just not do it and then we won�t even have to deal with Johnny.

Buffy: If he doesn�t perform the rituals, will he lose all his power?

Giles: Yes, at least.

Buffy: At least?

Giles: I don�t know. I think we need to research; I have a book at Angel�s I would like to get.

[Giles exits. The gang gathers together at the table.]

Buffy: We have to find a way of keeping Johnny from becoming the evil god guy and save him at the same time.

Xander: Uh, how? In case you haven�t noticed, we�re on the far side of clueless here.

Buffy: It doesn�t matter. We�re smart young people. We know demons. We can do this. We have to do this.

Xander: We�ve been ghost therapists, vampire marriage counselors, and now we�re going to rehabilitate an evil god. Too bad I couldn�t use any of this in my college application essay. It certainly sounds like I�ve accomplished more than winning 1996 Home Ec. Student of the Year.

Oz: You were Home Ec. Student of the Year?

Willow: He deserved it. You should have tasted his flan.

Buffy: You tasted his flan?

Willow: It�s nothing like that. It�s a scrumptious Mexican dessert.

Buffy: Oh, my ignorance is showing. I wonder if Johnny knows why Giles didn�t come for him.

Willow: I guess he�s angry. His mom dies, and his dad just leaves him there.

Xander: His dad doesn�t come for him, so he becomes an evil god? Excuse me if I don�t see that as an excuse. When my parents took me to San Francisco and went home without me, did I become bitter and embrace the black arts?

Buffy: I want to know what Giles thinks of all this.

Willow: I can understand why he doesn�t want to tell us. It�s got to be weird. I think we should get back to work.

Buffy: Well, what do we do? We�ve been over and over these books, and we can�t find anything.

Oz: Look elsewhere.

Xander: Great�that helps.

Oz: We know two people who know the ritual.

Willow (discouraged): Johnny and Ethan.

Oz: So we went to their apartment once. Why not again? This time, we know what we�re looking for.

Xander: Before, no one was home.

Oz: We wait until they leave. It�s worth a shot.

Buffy: I agree. Willow and Xander, stay here. Go over the books again in case we missed anything and check the �Net. Gods could be on-line, too. Oz, you come with me.

Xander: Why does he get to go?

Buffy: He thought of it. Johnny�s could be a total bust. We can�t lose all that research time. I need you to stay here.

Xander (understanding): Good luck.

[Buffy and Oz leave.]

Part 2 of "Atonement and Blood"
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