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Mask and Mirrors by pfeifferpack
 
Chapter 9
 
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A/N: Ever tardy still due to bloody computer problems (many of them licked but a few more that make communication a crap shoot). Thanks for your patience. Those wonderful readers who reviewed the previous chapter will be getting a reply asap....I have read them and am ever so grateful!....

Without further ado, I give you:

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Chapter 9
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Xander wistfully eyed the front door and wished he had darted out after Anya. The last thing he wanted to experience was being called on the carpet by a perfectly nice lady who had the misfortune of thinking Spike was her son. Besides, who knew what Anya might be getting up to. The thought of being consigned to his parent’s basement while his girlfriend cooled off was chilling.

Anne looked more like a tigress preparing to defend her young than a mild-mannered Victorian lady of breeding as she rounded on the boy. She surveyed the assembled Scoobies and softened her look before suggesting, " You may wish to leave the room. I do not intend to hold back in dealing with this young man."

Willow and Tara made a quick escape, taking Dawn with them for an impromptu sleepover. More discussion about potential uses for the robot would have to wait. Willow, for one, had no desire to see her old friend chastised, even if he had been asking--no, begging--for it. Tara merely wished to remove Dawn from the fracas.

Buffy and Giles moved into the kitchen to eavesdrop safely out of harm’s way.

When Xander found himself alone with the irate mother, he began to squirm in his chair.

"I may be new to this strange world of yours, young man, but some things never go out of fashion to people of good breeding. One of those central things is respect for others. You continually disrespect the Summers girls with your attitude and comments. One would think you the man of the house, the way you try to dictate their friends and the use of their own home!"

Xander tried to stammer out a denial, but Mrs. Pratt held her hand up in the universal signal for silence as she continued.

"You have disrespected me by ignoring my requests for civility towards my loved one. You have not made a single effort to accommodate the relationships and feelings of any other individual beyond yourself in this vendetta you seem to have against my William. Your own lady-friend has been held to disgrace with your lack of attention to her and unseemly attentions toward Buffy. I fear Anya has the right of it when she attributes your outburst to jealousy over one who clearly feels the love of a sister towards you and no more."

Xander was beginning to think he might cry if the lady didn’t let up. Didn’t she get it that he was only concerned for a dear friend? That ‘son’ of hers was a monster, for heaven’s sake!

"I have also seen you disrespect my William in every encounter, even those where he has been completely civil towards you!" Anne could see the argument behind Xander’s eyes and decided to nip it in the bud.

"I am fully aware that William is a vampire. You need not remind me of that fact. I am neither naïve nor a fool, no matter what you may think on the subject."

Xander shook his head to deny any such assessment of the lady.

"Mr. Giles has graciously loaned stacks of books to me that chronicle the somewhat slanted history of my son over the last century. William has also been forthcoming to my direct questions, even though he obviously wished to spare me the more sordid details. I am not looking at him through rose-colored glasses; I am seeing him clearly."

"But he’s a demon, not your son," insisted Xander.

"No. As I said, I see him…William…quite clearly beneath the various masks he has donned. My son was a good man who met with a tragic circumstance far beyond his ken. And, yes, there are differences, some not so pretty, but he is still my William when all is said and done. William did not choose to become this demon you refer to him as being."

Xander sat up straighter and spewed out the standard Council conventional wisdom. "But that’s not true! He had to agree when Dru turned him. He had to drink her blood or he would have just died and not become a vampire." He sat back in self-righteous smugness.

"And I suppose this Dru gave him a lengthy discourse on just what she was offering? She explained in detail what she was, what he would become, how he would survive? She did all of that in the moments while he was dying?" Anne looked with disgust at the boy who only saw what fit his preconceived notions. "Choice, you said?"

Xander had no comment to counter that, so he settled back to let her continue.

"As I was saying, I see William. Soul or no soul, vampire or man, my son survives. Even this demon you like to remind everyone of has more respect for me and the Summers girls than you demonstrate!"

Xander blushed a bit at that.

Anne just looked at Xander as though her eyes could see within his essence into his very soul. Something in her gentle heart tempered her anger with a bit of sympathy as she gained a glimpse of the Xander within, the boy who was a product of a troubled childhood and far too little love.

"My William was not a large child and he was prone to dreaming. His was ever an artistic nature, more refined than many of his contemporaries. Needless to say, he has faced more than his share of bullies." She saw Xander flinch at the word and decided her insight was likely on target. "William always faced them with dignity. I still see that same quality now, in spite
of the life he has no doubt been forced by circumstance to live."

Xander started to interrupt but Anne beat him to the punch again.

"Yes, yes, I have read the accounts. I know William has learned to fight back, perhaps with more zeal than I would have hoped. I understand how he achieved his unfortunate new name as well. I grieve for those he is responsible for killing, especially those killed out of anger rather than necessity. Nonetheless, I doubt seriously that most people would have reacted differently under similar circumstances, especially with their conscience muted as his is."

Anne narrowed her eyes and looked directly into Xander’s as she delivered her next pronouncement.
"You, Mr. Harris, are a bully."

Xander flushed and stammered a denial.

"Let us be certain we understand the meaning then," Anne conceded. "A bully is one that repeatedly oppresses, either psychologically or physically, a less powerful person. Your constant criticism and exclusion of William from even the most benign of social occasions are symptomatic of that nasty character trait. With that device in William’s brain, he is not able to do anything but accept your treatment. You are well aware of that fact and take full advantage of it."

Xander sputtered, "That’s not true! I’m not a bully. It’s just that he’s an evil vampire. If he was a human I’d never…. It doesn’t matter anyway. He’s a demon and it doesn’t matter to him what anyone says. He hasn’t got any feelings to hurt."

"What nonsense! And I had credited you with intelligence at the very least!" Anne was peeved once again, all her former sympathy being overpowered by indignation on William’s behalf. "Anyone with eyes can see as your words hit their target! Even you must see it to continue in this manner. What would it profit you if William felt nothing under your verbal attacks? You know you wound him--that is the entire point of it!"

"I’m not a bully," Xander repeated.

"It is more than simply the jealousy your lady friend pointed out, although that is part of it. I suspect you are even jealous of many of William’s vampiric qualities you claim to disdain. The power and strength would appeal to you as it clearly does to him." Anne thought a bit about the boy before her and her son’s sad history of torment by others.

"Bullies are rarely born. They are generally made by other bullies. I suspect that your home life leaves much to be desired. Your father likely beat you and you were not fortunate enough to have the firm foundation of a mother’s love to offset that."

Xander began to squirm noticeably with this unexpected insight.

"You are well on your way to becoming the sort of man you have good reason to dislike," she predicted.

"I’m not my father," Xander cried out in anguish. He cringed at the reminder of his greatest fear.

"No, you are not. However, you are well on your way toward that very outcome." Anne touched the boy on his arm with surprising tenderness. "You have it within you to truly choose and unlike the vampire who gave my son no real choice, you have the benefit of my actually explaining the path you are on to you."

"How do I turn out different though?" Xander asked softly. He was horrified with a vision of himself drunk and overbearing, as he became the father he had always feared.

"You have good qualities as well, Mr. Harris. I have been observing all of you these past few days. You have it in you to be a different sort of man, one to be proud of." Anne felt a strange desire to try to really reach this boy and help him. "You are brave and loyal. You have a quick mind and quick wit as well. You are capable of being nurturing if you choose. But you must WISH to be other than your training has been. You must set your own pattern, rather than merely accepting the one handed to you by your father."

Xander had begun to weep at the unexpected caring he heard in the woman’s voice. He wasn’t ready to concede her points about Spike just yet, but he did have to admit, at least to himself, that much of his behavior didn’t have a thing to do with any real dislike of the vampire per se. There had been moments when Xander had even enjoyed Spike’s company…when he managed to forget for a moment what Spike was.

"We’ve got history," Xander tried to explain. "Spike and me, I mean. I remember before the chip when he tried to kill us."

"He must not have tried very hard then, as you appear quite whole for having been targeted by such a powerful vampire," Anne smiled indulgently.

"Okay, more like knocking me out and scaring me lots of times," Xander admitted. "He did try to kill Buffy though. Lots of times, lots of ways."

"Aaah, but that was before he loved her," Anne stated with a large grin. "It’s as plain as day to me that he loves Buffy dearly; her sister as well, although in a different way. William has such an expressive face; all of his emotions show so clearly. I feel at complete ease in guaranteeing that he will never deliberately hurt either Summers girl in the future. William loves with his whole being and with an amazing constancy. He would rather harm himself than see either girl suffer a moment’s pain."

~~~

Buffy and Giles had listened to every word coming from the other room. Several times one or the other had to force themselves to stay in the kitchen as assertions were made that they just could not agree with. Council ‘truth’ was deeply ingrained in both of them, after all.

As Mrs. Pratt declared Spike’s love for her, Buffy had a stricken look on her face at the thought the vampire might actually be sincere in his feelings. The thought was staggering.

Giles noticed Buffy’s discomfort and assumed she was upset over the idea that Spike had deep feelings for her. "I know Mrs. Pratt believes Spike is genuinely in love with you, Buffy, but you must realize she sees him as a mother would and not clearly."

"I don’t know, Giles, maybe she sees him better than any of us do." Buffy turned a wan smile on her Watcher and revealed the real source of her upset. "Giles, is it possible that I just can’t love anymore? Did Angel take my heart with him for real? I mean if even a soulless vampire can love, why not me?"

Giles made a sideways motion with his head and looked uncomfortable as he sought to reassure his Slayer. "Buffy, you are quite the most loving girl I’ve had the good fortune to meet. Why, your acceptance of Dawn, for example…."

Buffy was shaking her head in denial of Giles’ assessment of her ability to love. "I was never able to really feel for Riley. I’ve been terrible to Dawn more than once," she admitted. "I could love once! I loved Angel with my whole being, Giles. I stood up to the Council, Mom, you, my friends, the Powers even…to be with him. Then he left me and I just shut down."

Giles looked like he was going to deny her statement, but Buffy continued before he could.

"Riley left because I was shut down. I couldn’t love him no matter how hard I tried and he knew it. I hurt him, Giles!" Buffy began to cry softly at the memory.

"Buffy, perhaps it has less to do with your inability to love and more to do with trying to force the feeling for someone that just didn’t inspire it in you," Giles suggested.

"I’ve gotten so good at the whole slaying thing, but it’s like the Buffy part of me is shut off somewhere," Buffy turned wet eyes on her uncomfortable Watcher. "I don’t even know if Mom knew how much I loved her and now she’s gone."

"I’m certain that Joyce knew how much you loved her, Buffy. She was very proud of you, you know," Giles offered.

"I don't know. To slay, to kill...it means being hard on the inside. Maybe being the perfect Slayer means being too hard to love at all. I feel like that first Slayer we called up to defeat Adam. She had no softness at all in her and I’ve felt that way since then." Buffy looked at Giles seeking the answers to the universe in her gaze. "I already feel like I can hardly say the word love."

"Buffy, you just lost your mother; you naturally feel emotionally numb. Your boyfriend left you at the worst possible time and that has opened old scars as well." Giles laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I daresay the moments for proclamations of love have not been foremost of late."

Buffy looked at her Watcher, the man who was more father than her blood kin. She looked into his gentle eyes and tried the words out. "I love you. Love, love, love, love, love…Giles, it feels strange!"

Giles, looking about for emotional cover, was startled beyond the telling. "Well, I shouldn’t wonder!" He took a deep breath and tried again. "My dear girl, I know very well that you love me. Your actions through the years have removed any doubt. Indeed, you show the love you feel, even if the words do not come easily." He smiled and tried to quip, "Perhaps it is my British
influence. We are not known for our impassioned expressions of love, after all."

"Spike’s British and he can just gush," Buffy pointed out.

Giles closed his eyes tiled his head and raised his eyebrows at that. "True, but Spike is not well-known for any sort of restraint either."

Buffy giggled a bit at that and they returned to straining their ears to hear the confrontation that was taking place in the other room. It had become eerily quiet as they had delved into Buffy’s deepest fears.

~~~

The scabby demons roughly pushed and shoved the struggling vampire into the lush apartment and
dramatically gestured to him as they announced their presence.

"Most beauteous and odoriferous of all gods! Most magnificent of all mistresses! Most…"

"Yeah, yeah, can the chatter and explain what THIS is doing in my living room?" Glory had risen from her sofa in annoyance at the intrusion.

Murk took the lead, "Most stunning one, we believe he is…"

Jinx joined and they said in gleeful unison, "the KEY!"

Glory looked a combination of amused and annoyed as she moved toward the small group surrounding the shackled vampire. "Really? The Key, you say?"

Her minions nodded enthusiastically and nearly drooled in anticipation of their reward.

"You see, that’s why your brains aren’t even worth eating!" Glory knocked Murk out of her way as she walked in circles around Spike. "Any moron would know it’s not possible for THIS to be my Key!" Glory leaned in and sniffed at Spike then shook her head. "The Key has to be pure. THIS is a vampire. There is nothing pure about him."

Spike perked up at the hellgod’s observation, "Got that right, toots. Impure as the driven snow here. I’ll just be leaving," he said, his voice shaking a bit in suppressed fear. He tried to turn for the door only to be stopped by Murk.

A nervous Jinx was trying to make sense of this development. "But, your wonderfulness, we observed the Slayer. She has even permitted this one to move into her home. Why would a slayer of vampires house one if not to protect him from us? Indeed, the Slayer treats this one as one special, precious even."

Glory’s eyebrows raised at that as her curiosity took hold. "Really? Precious?" She pushed aside her minions and took hold of Spike’s chin, looking at him closely. "Let’s take a peek at you, precious, shall we?"

Spike summoned all his snark and replied, "Sod off."

Glory smirked as she let loose with a flying fist that sent Spike backward into the wall. The blow was fierce, leaving cracked plaster and a bloody Spike. Before Spike’s head could clear, the hellgod was grabbing him by his lip and pulling him upright. He struggled to rise lest it tear. "If the Slayer protects him, maybe appearances are deceiving."

"Slayer can’t stand me. Wasting your time there, bitch," Spike spat in spite of his fear.

Glory picked Spike up and threw him onto her bed. He landed hard with his hands trussed up behind him, causing pain in his back as the fullness of his weight landed on them.

"He may not be the Key, but he may not be a complete waste of our time. Maybe there’s something on the inside that makes him valuable. Let’s see, shall we?" Glory took a finger and thrust it into his stomach.

Spike screamed in pain as Glory dug around in the vampire’s gut. "Shhh, what do you know, precious? What secrets do you have? What can I dig out of you?" She removed her finger from his bleeding stomach and reached for his head, pulling it up with one hand and grasping his hair painfully.

Before Spike could react, her questing finger plunged into the back of his skull, causing searing pain and a piercing scream.

Glory had a look of intense concentration as she probed the opening, finally smiling in victory. "Now what do you suppose this might be?" She held up a small device in triumph. It was Spike’s chip.

Any joy Spike might have felt at being released from the hated bit of metal and silicon was lost on the now unconscious vampire. He didn’t feel a thing as Glory had her minions chain him to the ceiling in preparation for a thorough interrogation when he did revive.

 
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