"Aha!" Wesley exclaimed, pushing his glasses higher up onto his nose, eyes scanning the page faster than the words were appearing.
"The Father will rise... yes, yes... The Son."
Wesley tapped the pen against his desk, then squinted slightly, translating as he wrote.
"Worst of the Worst. Kakistos. The Son."
He dropped the pen onto the paper.
"Oh my."
He scrambled for the phone, quickly tapping in Giles's number in Cleveland, not pausing for pleasantries when the other Brit picked up.
"Rupert, tell me what you know about the Slayer line," was Wesley's version of a greeting.
"Hello Wesley," Giles replied dryly, before pausing. "Well, there is no traditional line anymore. That finished with - "
"With Faith, right?" Wesley pressed.
"Yes," Giles sounded confused. "What...?"
"The Codex, Giles, the Codex!"
"Ok?" Giles frowned. "You haven't really cleared anything up for me."
"There's a prophecy in the Codex, regarding a Slayer. The Slayer," Wesley rambled. "I think it may be about Faith."
"How can you be sure?" Giles asked. "There are a few hundred of them around now."
"Listen!" Wesley insisted. "My Ancient Greek is a little rusty, but... 'In the time when Slayers are few, she will be the last of the old line'."
Giles was silent for a minute. "That would be Faith. Buffy died for a few moments, Kendra was called. Kendra was murdered by Drusilla, and Faith was called, and..."
"Faith never died," Wesley finished. "The spell Willow cast, it activated every Potential out there. But the traditional line, by Council standards, old Council rules, Faith is the Slayer."
Giles considered this. "You're right. Go on."
"'She, who... survived? the Son, shall face the Father. She who bears his mark.' Giles, I am positive this is about Faith. The Son - or the Worst of the Worst - "
"Kakistos," Giles finished. He took his glasses off and polished them while he listened to Wesley. "Faith... but his mark, what does that mean?"
"The Father and the Son surround themselves with Maenads," Wesley continued, finger following where he was reading from. "They all bear marks of the Father... the description is not very clear, but it does mention opposites and thorns."
"No, I've seen that mark," Giles frowned. It was bugging me where he had seen it. Recently too. "Oh my."
"You've seen it?" Wesley demanded. "Where?"
There was a long moment of silence before Giles answered. "On Faith's arm."
Recognition dawned on Wesley's face. "Of course. Kakistos. He is the Son. Giles..."
"What does the rest say?" Giles demanded.
"Though she will not know him, he will lead her down to Hell. The Father shall rise, and the Slayer will fall. He will unlock Heaven's gates and there will be no more."
"Brand," Giles immediately pieced together. "He's the Firefly Key. He opens Heaven's gates. Wesley, you need to get him to LA now."
Wesley nodded. "And you?"
"I'm on my way."