"Where do I put the books
there's so many I could read
but they're all filled with lies
Where do I put the lies
there's so many I could say
but it seems they're in the books" - VAST, Here

As soon as the door was closed, Buffy said, "Ok, I'm still having trouble believing all this, but what can we do? Isn't there a cure for this anywhere?"
Giles shook his head gravely, "We can continue researching, but I doubt we'll find anything. Xander is the first to survive this long."
"Yeah, well, his number might soon be up anyway if we don't do something." Buffy angrily replied, "I refuse to sit on my ass, and watch this thing slowly kill him from the inside out. God, Giles! He's a nervous wreck out there!" She gestured back out to the two where Xander was still crying softly.
Giles then answered, also troubled, "Buffy, I'm just as concerned and upset as you. You have no idea how many nights I have not slept because I was up all night trying to find even a scrap of information that might be useful to us. When I say I have found nothing, I mean it."
Her face crumpled a bit, and she softly said, "I'm sorry. I know you're worried, too. It's just that seeing him suffer like this." She looked up at Giles with a fierce light in her eyes, "Shame I already killed the Master, because I swear to God, if he was right in front of me, I would tear him apart with my bare hands for this."
He softened a little, "I know, Buffy. Anger is not a viable solution though. Particularly in this case. Anger is responsible for this. I have a theory though why Xander's still tormented." She wordlessly gestured for him to continue. He went on, taking off his glasses, indicating big lecture time, "Because of the dagger's demonic nature, it's woke up his own dark inner self. And as I said, because of Xander's own unusual nature, it is far more dangerous than most people's. Everyone has a dark side, an inner demon of sorts in themselves. Most of us hide it, and keep it under control. When it runs loose...."
"You get the disgruntled guy in the clock tower thing." Buffy finished. In the back of her mind, she remembered when Giles' own dark side had run loose in the past. That business with Eyghon, and then the infamous band candy incident when he and her mom had become their teenaged selves again. When he was 'Less together, more black magic, hates the world, ticking time bomb guy.' She got shivers seeing him like that, not to mention the major ick factor with he and her mom doing smootchies. But that's a different matter.
"Yes, that does happen with psychopaths and the like. However, with Xander, his inner demon is in some senses of the word, truly demonic. His fallen angel self."
"Kind of explains why he was always of the Angel-haters camp. Maybe on some repressed level it reminded him of himself?" she wondered.
"Possibly, though it would have been very repressed, seeing how Xander was not even aware of it till now. Right now, all I can say is that Xander will need our support. He's going through the hardest struggle of his life. Maybe Willow can find something with that blasted machine out there, but otherwise...."
"I know. All this and the Mayor's Ascension shindig too. The fun never ends in the 'Dale." Buffy bitterly commented. Giles then blinked in surprise as a thought popped into his head.
"Ah, yes, the Ascension. I had momentarily forgotten it. If Xander can truly conquer his curse, he can be a valuable asset against the Mayor." He went over to the window, and studied Xander thoughtfully. *Quite valuable indeed.*