"Miss Rosenburg," the brown haired woman said respectfully, pushing up her glasses a bit nervously, "welcome to Watcher's Roost." "Miss Chalmers," Willow nodded, her reddish brown hair tied back by a piece of leather cord, her clothes a bit battered looking from the trip to England. The plane ride there had been bad enough, but the jeep over the rough road had been murder. She smiled slightly, "Lydia, please." "Lydia," Willow smiled, "and I'm Willow." "Well," Lydia said, "it's a honor to meet you again, ma'am." She turned to the open castle gate, the ruin towering above them, "Would you care to follow me inside?" "Is it safe?" Willow asked wryly. "You'll see," Lydia reassured her. While the outside of the building was a wreck, the interior was a much different manner. The walls gleamed, the floors were shiny and the lights cast a warm glow over a very modern looking facility. Men and women in casual clothes raced to and fro, and guards stood at intersections, armed with guns as well as wooden stakes. "So this is the new headquarters of the Watchers," Willow murmured. "With the destruction of the Council we felt it was time for a change," Lydia agreed. "This facility is much more secure, and also offers much better communication facilities to the Slayers all around the world." "Assuming they're interested in working for you," Willow noted. "True," Lydia admitted, ":some don't, but I'd like to think we offer a service that Slayers could very much need." "Right," Willow's tone of voice changed, becoming harder as she said, "Now that the pleasantries are done..." She suddenly roared, "Why in HELL did your people kidnap me!" Lydia stepped back, even as the commotion in the large room they entered ground to a stunned halt. "It was not a kidnaping," Lydia started... "When people draw guns on me," Willow snarled at her, "I think that certainly qualifies as a kidnaping!" Lydia looked at Willow in surprise, "They did WHAT?!" "Three men burst into my apartment in Seattle," Willow explained to her coldly, "through my defensive wards, drew a gun on me then hit me with some kind of drug. I woke up on the plane to England, and decided to wait things out before raising hell." "I knew the special ops team had been sent," a new voice said, "but I never expected them to use such tactics, Willow." Willow turned, blinking in surprise as she recognized the dusky skinned woman striding towards them. "Olivia?" Olivia, once Giles' on again, off again girlfriend, smiled at Willow as she took the girl's hand. "They were asked to contact you," she said wryly, "obviously they decided it was best to pull a snatch and grab, instead." "Lovely," Willow sighed. Putting her annoyance aside once more Willow ran a hand through her hair tiredly and asked, "All right, what's going on?" "We needed your help in building better mystical defenses for the Council," Olivia admitted, "but I'll let the head of the council explain. If you and Lydia could follow me?" "Ma'am," Lydia said softly, "do I really need to come along?" "You've been designated Willow's liason," Olivia smiled as they set out, "it's best you stay in the loop at all times." "Ah," Lydia nodded as they went to a set of stone stairs going up. The tower of the ruined keep had clearly been rebuilt and reinforced over the years, and the steps modified to be easy on the feet. They soon reached a modern looking door which Olivia rapped on, "Sir, she's here." "Come in," the man answered. The upper office was decorated in what could almost be described as an old English style, with comfy chairs, a fireplace and all. The man within fit the image, too, with steel grey hair, a grand-fatherly face and a pipe smoking beside his seat. "Sherlock Holmes, I presume?" Willow joked. "Alexandar Tomassi," he corrected, "acting head of the Watcher's Council." "Acting?" Willow raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Ideally," Alexandar said honestly, "we'd like to talk Rupert Giles into taking the role, but he's been quite stubborn about it." "Sir," Olivia gave him a pointed look. "Ahem," Alexandar cleared his throat. "I'm glad you arrived, Miss Rosenberg," he admitted, "while we have several competant magicians on our payroll, few match your abilities and experience." Willow saw Olivia giving her a worried look, probably silently praying Willow wasn't going to reveal the accidental kidnaping. "I'll be glad to help sir," Willow promised. "Good, good," Alexandar agreed. He looked over at Lydia, "Could you escort Miss Rosenberg to her quarters? I'm sure she's exhausted by her flight." "Of course sir," Lydia agreed quickly and they left Olivia and the older man to their work. Willow followed Lydia down stairs, her thoughts rapidly moving. "I'm assuming you've been hit once already?" she asked as they returned to the busy main hall. "Twice," Lydia admitted as they moved past the enterance hall then over to another corridor, "a doppelganger snuck in, and a curse hit a staff member." "Ouch," Willow winced slightly, "was he or she all right?" "It was more embarassing to him than anything else," Lydia smiled wryly as they turned a corner and passed into another structure, "but we think it was a warning." "Which is why I'm here," Willow guessed. Lydia lead her into what looked like a dormatory, doors lining the hall. "We hope," Lydia agreed as she unlocked a door. "Guest quarters are here." she waved Willow towards a comfortably set up room, "we'll deliver dinner whenever you'll need it." "Thanks," Willow said, tiredness rushing back. "Willow?" Lydia said quietly. She smiled as Willow turned to face her, "Thank you for not mentioning the kidnaping thing to our superior." "I didn't do it to be kind," Willow shrugged, "the way I see it you owe me a favor." And with that Willow firmly pulled the door shut behind her. Lydia walked back to her work, thinking, 'She's not quite what I was expecting.' Several years ago, Lydia had met Willow Rosenberg and friends in the midst of the Glory crisis, when the Watchers had been dealing with difficulties with Buffy, too. Willow had, despite magical powers, seemed quiet, mousy and almost innocent to Lydia at the time. Now, however, she nearly radiated strength and confidence, as well as a subtle sexuality. 'To be honest,' Lydia admitted, 'I think I fancy her.' Olivia was just returning to the main command center as Lydia entered, so the young woman hurried to her side. "I want the special ops team on the satelite link," Olivia said flatly, "I want to know if Willow's story checks out." "You don't believe her?" Lydia looked surprised. "I think she told the truth," Olivia sighed, "it'd be far too easy to be caught in a lie. I just want proof so I can punish the ops team." Lydia smiled, "Oh, right." Olivia bit her lip, "I can't get over how much Willow has changed since I last saw her..." "You, too?" Lydia asked. "She's much more dangerous, I think," Olivia mused. A smile tugged at her lips, "She reminds me of Ripper, actually." "Mr Giles?" Lydia blinked. "Not in any obvious way," Olivia admitted, "but they both have that same sort of aura now." A pause, "It's kind of sexy."
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