As Is Her Rite 2

Spike walked in pass Giles and headed straight for the kitchen, opening and slamming cabinet doors as he went. "Alright mate where's the real hooch? The good stuff." Holding up cheap bottle of wine the only thing he found, "And not this prissy crap."

Giles walked over and opened a cabinet under the counter on the outside of the kitchen counter aisle and pulled out a bottle of JD placing it on the counter before returning to sit on the sofa.

Grabbing it Spike didn't even bother with a glass just opened and took several long swigs of the golden elixir. After finishing off a third of the bottle Spike stared at the watcher who sat staring off into space.

"Bugger!" Spike spat. "Tell me Rupert did you really enjoy Angelus torture sessions?" Not waiting for an answer, Spike continued his rant as he began to pace the apartment holding the bottle of JD like it was his lifeline. "You remember them? I do and let me tell you he was being easy on you. Needed you to live for information, and as a message to Slutty---BUT now------He'll know. Just like I do. Then its not just you mate, he'll blame me—Making me dust." Spike continued to pace. Anger and fear in every step stopping only to take another swig of the burning liquor. "Poof doesn't give a shit about me `cept where Dru's concerned. But those friggin stars and Miss Edith will tell my princess that I allowed someone--- a human and a Watcher at that, to touch…" Spike snorted in disgust, "And taste what is Daddy's. Then she'll stake me Herself." After taking another long swallow Spike waved the bottle at Giles. "Only reason I'm even Here is because that ponce called Sire's rights and with this bloody chip---FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Spike turned and swung the near empty bottle against the wall smashing it to pieces.

"Spike, please don't." Giles calmly stated closing his eyes and leaning back like he didn't have a care in the world.

Now Spike was the one dumfounded as he stared at Giles. Cocking his head to the side Spike closed his eyes and inhaled deeply letting the frustration go. Then he promptly plopped down next to Giles in a carelessly lazy way. After several moments of silence Giles spoke. "If it makes any difference…. I'm sorry." Spiked raised his bow surprised by the watchers words.

At Spike's surprised look Giles sarcastically chuckled before continuing. "Not really that you'll be dusted--- you're still a soulless evil demon that can't be trusted. And justice weighed against all the evil you've done…." Giles trailed off shrugging his shoulders slightly then turned toward Spike again and spoke sincerely. "But I am sorry that it's for this. My fault really, creating this mess."

Spike smirked at some of the compliments then asked, "How's that?"

At first Spike didn't think Giles would answer before his voice broke the stark silence of the room. "Originally we both thought it was only memories that had stayed with him, but after the Halloween incident he was able to identify and feel Her presence breaking in." Giles paused as memories assaulted him. The remembrance of how blasé he was when Xander first approached him about the dreams. He had chalked up the intensity of Xander's sexual dreams to his youth. When the dreams crossed over to men, and especially Angel and later Angelus again he thought it was the boys own repressed sexuality coming to the fore. After all it was America, and sexually speaking they were a repressed lot.

"Feel who?" Spike inquired.

"She has no name that can phonically be pronounced that I know of. It was in Xander's sophomore year. From a trip to the zoo Xander was accidentally involved in a Primal's ritual. Much later I discovered more about the hyena spiritual pack leader who inhabited Xander.

Originally she was captured trapped with these other primal spirits, feeding and living off primal animalistic needs. They were not Her pack and she had no true connection with them. But she was tied to them for centuries. Then when the Primal worshipper wanted the power and did the ritual to release their spiritual connection from the pack—the children they inhabited the ritual allowed Her to escape from their hold over her. She was freed. It was in those moments of freedom she realized she needed a body to continue her existence and quietly fled back into Xander's body. Without the others controlling influence and animalist need and her knowledge of Buffy as the slayer and of the Hellmouth she had retained from Xander's knowledge. She was willing to quietly wait and learn. We didn't know this then, and had assumed knowledge and various memories were similar to the after affects like the soldier's memories. Especially since Xander appeared to have complete control.

Giles sighed and paused, "At first it was in dreams---sexual dreams. For almost a year I dismissed them as no more than Xander's own repressed wet dreams." Giles laughed, "I was a fool. Xander had come to me for help. Had worked up the courage to tell me about his dreams, and whom they were about. And I off handily dismissed him, blaming his youth, even as far as the social stigma of this country--- Everything but really listen to him." Giles hung his head, took off his glasses and just held them as the memories flooded his mind.

"It was after Angelus when I faced…saw what was really happening."

Spike waited for the Watcher to continue, so far the git had him just as confused then as before he started his explanations.

"After Acathla, Xander stayed with me for a few days. Helped me to recover. It was then I discovered the true depths of Her control. The dreams had become nightmares as she fought Xander for control. She was grieving, upset with Xander for omitting Willow's help to Buffy in an effort to save Angel." Giles sighed, "She had picked Angel, or Angelus as Her mate, I wasn't sure which prior to Acathla. Xander started to suspect something from his dreams---since they were all about Angelus. In his conscious mind this only confused and festered his own hatred toward Angelus and Angel. Xander had turned to me for help, but I only dismissed his concerns. Even tried to talk to him about-facing his possible true sexuality---that there was no shame in coming out. I didn't leave him any choice. Xander tried to take matters into his own hands by withholding Willows attempt to restore Angel's soul from Buffy. Hoping Buffy would kill off his problem. Unwittingly Buffy did, but it didn't have the desired effect he had hoped for."

Giles paused again and unknowingly started to polish his glasses before returning them to their rightful place, and continued the analytical catalyst of the events. "Instead he created the catalyst for Her to gain further control. I was at a lost, and blamed myself for the predicament in the first place. I had turned toward my old arts and started researching for ways to get rid of Her. But it was too late Xander had merged with Her. Through his dreams, she had used his virginity as an advantage---the dreams sexual in content were what brought him willingly to merge with Her. He still had control and she seemed willing to share until he consciously tried to kill Her chosen mate."

Giles shuttered as he remembered Her anger and pain. "I needed more time. I found a spell, one that would give Her a voice so I could possibly reason with Her without Xander losing control over to Her."

"It worked all too well. Seeing Her whacked with pain---Her voice, eyes. It brought back my own sharp grief to the fore I still had about my Jenny. I tried to consol Her and myself, holding Her as she wept. Stood by when she or rather Xander; since she was in his body, practically destroy my place."

Giles grabbed his head and leaned over from the pained memory. Straightening his face etched in pain as he remembered the full extent of their shared pain. "I don't know why, maybe because the pain was too much, too raw it affected my judgment. Her pain and grief had mirrored too much of my own…I don't know. But I had to stop it! I agreed to help return her mate only if she agreed that when Angelus returned she would agree to restore his soul, and to let Xander have control. She was eager anything to stop the grief and pain. Doing no more, or no less than what I would have done in her place." Giles stood and started pacing.

"She allowed Xander freedom and kept him happy and occupied with Cordelia, retaining little to no memory of Her presence. Even though Angel/Angelus was Her mate, she considered intimacy with Cordelia, and patrolling playtime. At nights after Xander would patrol and drop off Cordelia he'd return here, and she'd take control, as we'd research ways to bring Angelus back. Once Buffy returned, she, the hyena was the one to realize and sense where our mistake was. That Buffy had sent Angel not Angelus into hell to close Acathla. A crucial element since we were trying to bring Angelus back when it should have been Angel all along. By then she had the knowledge and didn't need my help to perform the ritual. She was a lot stronger than I realized with centuries of knowledge behind Her."

"Ethan would be in hysterics at how naïve I was. I had completely forgotten who and what I was dealing with. I was so caught up in Her spell, …I just wanted to stop Her pain, and in return hope it would stop my pain and free Xander. I could stand here and say how evil she was and completely manipulated the situation. But that'd be a lie. She was true to Her word, Her main objective was to bring Her mate back by any means necessary." Giles walked over to his cabinet and retrieve another bottle of Scotch. Pouring two healthy tumblers Giles walked over and handed Spike a glass. After a few shallows Giles continued.

"Bring back?" Spike looked up at Giles, "You mean you…she brought the poof back from hell?"

Giles nodded, "Not without mine or Xander's initial help of course. Once it was done Her pain was gone, and she silently retreated keeping Her word. Xander really didn't remember, and my own memory of the events started to fade just as my own grief receded back to normal levels. I returned my focus back to Buffy as her Watcher, and our daily crisis. When Xander informed me Angel was indeed back I was confused and furious. At first I was furious that Buffy lied to me, that she had dismissed our safety. My confusion and anger built up when I saw evidence of the hyena spirit's deception and started to piece things together the charmed memory spell she casted over me started to crack. The day Xander saw Buffy and Angel together he was wild reacting on Her emotions. She, the hyena was so intertwined within Xander by then Her jealousy for Angel was bleeding through as he ranted about what he saw at the mansion." Giles swallowed more of the burning liquor. Lowering his head nodding to his own whispered thoughts, "Even after I regained my complete memory I kept quiet about Her presence. It turned out she was trying to protect Xander and myself and had kept to Her word about Xander remaining in complete control. She knew when Angel returned and at the time he chose Buffy over Her---or rather Xander. She was willing to allow Her mates happiness. It wasn't until later after Xander lost his virginity that things changed as did Xander's scent." Looking thoughtful Giles glanced toward the stairs.

"It triggered new problems. She didn't even know it could happen, and she started to lose control as a new scent excreted from their body with the intent of calling Her mate, but again Angel ignored and refused Her siren call. Seems Angelus would have responded, Angelus who wanted Xander, but only because she was in Xander's body. She chose a mate instinctually for strength, and longevity. It was the body of Angel, or Angelus not the soul or demon. Without actually physically mating or claiming she responded to both inner entities. Just as within Xander's own body, his soul and the hyena Herself were so intricately intertwined, the want and desire seemed to feed off the other---Her mating needs and his youth. Creating sexually erratic behavior; I had no choice but to go to Angel and tell him everything."

Smirking, "Brought more complications that did." Spike stated the fact knowing that Angel hated the boy, but Angelus had lusted after him.

"Yes. There was some history there that I wasn't aware of before that moment."

Spike snorted, "Angelus had wanted the boy for some time. Furious was an understatement when Angel used the boy as bait, and tried to give him to me of all vamps. Should have seen him after the time Dru was hanging all over him almost dusted his own childe he was so pissed. What did the nancy boy do?"

Giles swirled the last swallow in his glass distractedly, "Hmmm?"

At Spike's raised eyebrow Giles nodded, "Oh yes. He listened, but it was difficult with the intensity of their underline hatred especially after Angel found out it was Xander's action and omission that made Buffy send Angel to Hell."

"But somehow you did some mojo to make Angel mark the twit, huh?"

Giles glared at Spike for the remark. Swallowed his last bit of liquor placing the glass down then glanced everywhere but at Spike as he placed his hands in his pockets and quietly stated, "No! But I finally made him made him see reason."

"Reason the poof? With all that hair gel zapping away any brain cells he had left---Think not mate, you did something to convince him about protecting the boy, and keeping it all from Slutty."

Sighing Giles knew it no longer mattered if he told Spike or not. It was Angel who had called Spike in the first place, and was on his way here now. "Fine, I made him an offer he couldn't refuse."

Spike was intrigued. Peaches, the soul version of his pouf grand- Sire, Angel despised the boy, and the main reason why Spike was able to see through his act so quickly at the school. Angelus loved boys, and Xander was just his type especially with his dark locks. If it were really Angelus he wouldn't be able to keep his leaching paws off the boy's body. Angel might have declared his love to `Slutty', but the poof was on into boys from the get-go, and the reason Penn was his first childe. It would have stayed that way except Darla wanted the gifts of his Sire, and dark Princess, Drusilla. Another reason why Drusilla Sired, him in the first place. As a gift or toy for the poof. Luckily for him Darla wasn't pleased with Angelus having another blond leaving him relatively free from Angelus's leeching paws.

Spike pursed his lips delighted the Watcher bested his grand-Sire in making him leave `Slutty'. "What was your offer?"

Giles looked over into Spike's blue eyes gulping, "If Angel would leave Sunnydale and mate with Xander when the cycles started, I'd anchor his soul. He marked Xander, and left Sunnydale after I anchored his soul." Looking up toward his bedroom where Xander laid on his bed. Nude, glistening in sweat tossing in the mists of the newest cycle of craving, needing his mate. Giles had wiped the young man's memory regarding Angel for his own protection, but each time Xander had gone into cycle in the past year it had steadily gotten worse----not the memories, but Her physical need had merged completely with Xander; he had unknowingly fought each one. For a while Anya was a happy solution and partially satisfied the heated cycle. Xander and Angel neither of them consciously wanted to satisfy their inner-selves sexual mating need, as Angelus with Angel and the Hyena with Xander did. But their inner entities and nature itself was demanding its due with a greater intensity with each cycle.

Giles was certain neither would be able to deny their baser needs any longer, and though for Xander's sake mentally and physically---mating with Angel would be the best thing. Giles couldn't stop his own lustful thoughts as his heart raced and pangs of jealousy shot through him. He wasn't sure when it happened or why, but at some point he had started fallen for the young man. But it was too late for him, for everything.

Giles felt more than saw when his front door slam open, and turned to see Angel standing there one moment the next he had Giles up against the wall baring his fangs, snarling as he yelled, "You DARE to touch what IS MINE?"