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Morag sat across from Joyce and tried to think of a way to explain the quite unbelievable tale she was about to tell. Of course it was true, but if she was in Joyce's position she would think it untrue."What do you know of your ancestors?" She questioned cautiously.
"Not much. I know that I am mostly of the Highlands, but not much else. Is that my sole connection to this mirror? Because then wouldn't anyone of Scottish decent be-"
"Nay..." Morag interrupted, and then set about her explanation. "You see Gussie has a cousin by the name of Wolf Fergusson. From a young age there seemed to be an evil that lurked deep inside of him. There was never any one thing that he did, until..."
"Until what?" Giles interrupted.
"It's not important. The result was his banishment from the family." Mr. Fergusson finished.
"What does this have to do with Joyce and the mirror?" Giles questioned.
"Wolf will be stealing the looking glass. He knows the power of it, and he would do anything for revenge against his family. Once he has it in his possession, I will gradually weaken even more...until.." Morag stopped and turned to her husband. He gave her a reassuring look, and she turned back to Joyce. "He will use it for mischief and in time it will be lost. You Joyce Margaret McAlister, are Wolf's great great granddaughter. The eventual misuse of the looking glass needs to be corrected. Every anniversary of the theft, the events replay themselves. And every year we have tried to reach one of Wolf's descendants. It has never worked, until now."
"But what can I do now that I'm here?" Joyce asked still in disbelief.
"We had hoped that if we could ever bring one of Wolf's descendants here that whoever it was would help us protect the mirror from theft, destroy Wolf so he can never do any harm to my family again, and finally end this."
"But if Joyce helps you, then we will be changing the future, erasing her and her daughter from existence."
"Ay, we did not say we liked the outcome." Fergusson commented.
Joyce looked at Morag "I wouldn't mind making that decision for myself-"
"Joyce! What are you saying?!" Giles interrupted.
"But- I don't feel like I can take that away from my daughter."
"No!" Giles shouted, and then turned to Fergusson. "Now you listen here, you have brought this woman and myself here without our consent, and have just asked her to make a sacrifice that the repercussions of are innumerable! You have no idea what it would mean t-t-to all of HISTORY if Buffy or Joyce Summers were never to exist! And I'll be damned if I'm going to find out!!!"
Joyce just sat there mouth agape at Giles' rather strong outburst. "Mr. Fergusson, Morag, I think I would like some time to think this over."
"Of course. You will have until morning, and then we must proceed." Fergusson replied.
"And what if she decides not to help you?"
"I do not know, we have never successfully brought someone through the looking glass. I had hoped that when and if we did, they would help us."
Morag replied. "We'll leave you now." and they walked out.
****** Joyce got up and started pacing around the room. When she had found out about Buffy's calling she had assumed that her eventual demise would be the result of a vampire, not becoming a non existent in time. It seemed even more far fetched than what she had seen over the last year or so. But what would happen to Buffy's calling? "Who will be the Slayer if Buffy is never...never born?"
"I don't know. I suppose Faith, although that is uncertain. There is no way of knowing. I find it doubtful that Sunnydale will even still be in existence, or the world for that matter. Buffy has defeated several Master Vampires, and has saved the world on more than one occasion. She is one of the most accomplished slayers. However I do not see how we can convey these potentialities to our captors."
At that moment Morag and Fergusson came back into the room and Fergusson spoke first. "We have come to the decision that if you decide not to help us, we will be left with no choice but to break the looking glass. Leaving you trapped here. Joyce, you and your daughter will still be alive because we would not be forced to destroy Wolf, however we would have no way of sending you back."
"And this is supposed to be another option?" Giles asked clearly still infuriated. Morag and Fergusson exchanged a look and left the room once again.
****** Joyce sat down again and looked around the room. It seemed as though this must be some horrible dream, that she would wake up at any moment. Even the worst day in Sunnydale would be better at this point. She was pulled from her thoughts by Giles' speaking."What are you thinking?" he asked.
"Oh just how I would take a day on the Hell Mouth any day if I could just leave here."
"I thought the Victorian novel was a fantasy of yours."
"I would prefer not to spend the rest of my life here by force. And it might be enjoyable for a little while, but to never see Buffy again...no I want to go home. You think we should let them break the mirror, don't you?"
"Yes, I suppose I do."
"Because of Buffy never being the slayer."
"Y-Y-Yes." and then he added quietly "that is part of it of course."
He couldn't bring himself to add that the other part was that he felt that it wasn't just a life without Buffy that he would find dull, it was also a life without her mother. It was true they had not spent much time together, save that brief but blissful night of the band candy, however there was just something about her that would not let him stop thinking about her.
"So now I'll have to tell them that they have to break the mirror."
"It does seem to be the better of the choices. Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless we can find this Wolf Fergusson and find out why exactly he wants the looking glass, and convince him not to steal it. Joyce do you have any idea what he did to be banished from the family to begin with?"
"No. I had never heard of him till today. Is there a way for the kids to bring us back?"
"I'm not sure. I was not able to find any spell to suggest that that was possible. When I recited the incantation before the mirror I did not know what the effect would be. I thought I was just re-opening it, making it active again."
"But now that it is open isn't it possible there's a way of retrieving people from it?"
"Yes I suppose so. I hope."
"There is one thing I don't understand." Joyce said.
"What?"
"Well if all the mirror needed was a descendent of Wolf Fergusson's, why didn't the mirror work with Buffy?"
"I hadn't thought of it, but you're right. I think there's something they are not telling us."
****** Wolf Fergusson rode up the long dirt path to his cousin's house. They were expecting him. He would have to find a way to get rid of the woman and her husband. He had known the day would eventually come when someone would find the mirror and he would have to defend himself. His servant Philan had reported the Lady Morag had deteriorated, which would only make his task easier. He was curious what a descendent of his would be like, even if it meant spending the evening with Father Ramsey, and that he would have to kill her and her husband. He stopped his horse in front of the house, dismounted and tied it up. Wolf walked to the front door and knocked.....
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