Title: The Wrong Side of the Line
Author: Rylee Jane
See Chapter 1 for disclaimers, ratings and summary.
Author's Note: The last chapter, I hope, answered some of your questions, and possibly raised a few more. That's all right. All good things come to those who wait, provided they who wait drank prune juice the night before. But I wouldn't recommend the prune juice, because YUCK. Anyway, if you didn't get the answers you wanted, keep reading, as I've tried to place them into the story where they will fit. This is the Giles part you've been waiting for. Enjoy!
Thanks to Spoikespet, who has helped me immensely, and to Shaw_thing for being so supportive and wonderful.
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He met up with Xander in the tunnel leading to the headquarters. "You sure it's him?"
"Oh, it's him. He's aged, but it's obviously him. He asked for you."
"For me?" Spike asked, eyes widened.
"Well to be exact, he asked for the rat bastard that calls himself Spike. The guards that brought him in didn't know who he was talking about."
Spike nodded. To most people around here, he was General William Donovan. Only his closest friends knew him as Spike. "Has he been questioned yet?"
"He won't talk to anyone but you," Xander said, holding the door into the brig open. "He wouldn't even talk to me. He spit in my face though."
Spike had to laugh. "Well, at least he remembered you."
Rupert Giles had certainly aged. His hair had gone gray, and there were wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, but he still had the same challenging expression when he saw Spike come in. He glared up at his old friends with a nasty smirk. "Spike," he hissed. "I'd salute you but they thought it necessary to restrain me."
"You wouldn't salute me if there was a gun to your head, you old fart."
Giles grinned. "You're absolutely right."
Spike waved the guards out of the room and pulled a chair up in front of Giles. He straddled it backwards, motioning for Xander to have a seat as well. "So they finally caught you."
"Unfortunately. I was expecting it, though. I knew I was getting too old to run anymore."
Spike leaned forward and looked closely at the man who had once been like a father to him. "Tell me why, Giles. Why in God's name did you do it? You had it great here. You could have been the leader of this whole damn nation had you just held out a little longer. Why give all that up?"
Giles laughed harshly. "You think what I did was in any way a sacrifice? You a bigger fool than I thought. This--- this existence that you have is more dismal than I could have ever known. I knew I didn't like it when I had it, but since I've seen what life can be--- what those humans out there have--- I despise this life and everything that it stands for."
Spike felt the anger growing inside of him. "What in the hell is so great about being a human?" he snapped. "What is so great about being a weak, fallible creature? About having an expiration date? What is so great about them?"
Giles studied him carefully, his gaze unnervingly steady. "You can't even begin to imagine, Spike. You can't know how wonderful it is to be free, to experience what LIFE actually is, until you've been there."
Xander jumped up, knocking his chair over. "It's brainwashing. They told us that you recruit through brainwashing. They warned us about it. There's nothing great about it! You just want us to be as miserable as you are, so you lie!"
Giles smiled slowly. "You don't think I know what they say about us? I came up with the stories about brainwashing, Xander. I wrote the propaganda about how evil humans are. I chaired the meeting in which we decided to eradicate humans in order to keep the vampires on top! Humans are not evil, children," he spat, his voice rising. "They are not out for blood. They want a peaceful existence, and this government, this army, has forced them to fight."
Spike let his head sink onto the back of the chair. When he looked back up, his eyes were red. "They're going to kill you, you know."
"I know," Giles said, not even a touch of sadness in his voice. "I'm not afraid to die."
Spike stared at him, his mouth falling open. Then he barked out a laugh. "That's because you're a fool. You're the biggest fool that ever lived!" He moved to kneel in front of Giles. "You can always make a deal with them. Cooperate and they may not kill you."
Giles scoffed. "And live in one of their camps forever? I would sooner---."
"Die," Spike muttered, cutting him off. "Yeh, I figured as much. What is it with you sorry people and your death wishes? Anything has got to be better than death!"
"Nothing is better than being a human--- a free human--- even for just a day. I wish I could make you understand that. I wish she could have made you understand."
Spike stood quickly, pacing across the cell to stand near the door. "Don't," he snapped, shaking his head. "Don't bring her into this."
"She's already in this, Spike. She's the reason we are where we are at this moment. Because she could convince me, but never you. I took the chance that you were too afraid of."
"I wasn't afraid," Spike growled, whirling to face the older man. "I was never afraid. I know right from wrong, and I'm sorry that the two of you never figured that out."
"You should be sorry that you were too much of a coward to go with her!"
In his anger, Spike didn't even notice the change in his visage, didn't realize that his demon face had slipped forth. He snatched Giles up by his collar and shook him hard. "Don't give me that bullshit! You know why I didn't go. Because unlike you, and unlike her, I know a thing or two about loyalty, and about honor! I know where my obligations lie!"
"You must not, because your obligations should have been with her!" Giles coughed, the air slowly being choked out of him. "She was the only thing that you have ever had that was worth being loyal to."
Spike dropped him back into his chair, a smirk growing on his face. "Why'd you come back, Rupert? Surely it wasn't because you missed me."
"I didn't come back. I was captured."
"The Rupert Giles that I know could have outrun and outwitted any creature alive. You let yourself get caught."
"I'm too old to run anymore. I serve no purpose out there but to eat what little food is available and take up space. What little life I have left needed to be worth something."
"So you let yourself be captured. As what, a martyr?"
"Hardly. I needed to talk to you."
"About what?"
"About her."
Spike shook his head. "We aren't talking about her."
"Oh, I beg to differ. We are going to talk about her. She's getting older too, you know. And one of these days, she's going to die. If you let her die out there alone, you're going to regret it forever. And forever is a long time."
Spike gritted his teeth. "She made her decision to leave. She's the one who should regret it, not me."
"And you can't stand it that, not only could she leave you like she did, but that she has never regretted it for a single day. Isn't that what's really bothering you?"
Spike laughed coldly. "She'll regret it when she's laying on her death bed, knowing that she never had to die at all. She'll know then how wrong she was."
Giles leaned toward him, breathing heavily. "Do I look like I regret it, Spike? Because I'm as good as dead right now. Do you see the least bit of a second thought on my face?"
"When your head is under the blade, it'll show."
Giles sighed, finally giving up. "Let's hope, for your piece of mind, that you're right."
Spike turned to leave and Giles spoke his name, so quietly that he wasn't sure if he'd even really heard it. When he turned back to Giles, the human was looking at him imploringly. "Do what's right. You know what's right. If you won't do it for me, do it for her."
Spike swallowed hard and gave a sharp nod before stalking out of the pen.
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Chapter 5 is finished, but I won't give it until I get some reviews. I need the reviews. I crave the reviews. So give 'em to me and I'll give you more story. Mwah-hahaha! Yeah, erm, so R&R! Thanks!
Author: Rylee Jane
See Chapter 1 for disclaimers, ratings and summary.
Author's Note: The last chapter, I hope, answered some of your questions, and possibly raised a few more. That's all right. All good things come to those who wait, provided they who wait drank prune juice the night before. But I wouldn't recommend the prune juice, because YUCK. Anyway, if you didn't get the answers you wanted, keep reading, as I've tried to place them into the story where they will fit. This is the Giles part you've been waiting for. Enjoy!
Thanks to Spoikespet, who has helped me immensely, and to Shaw_thing for being so supportive and wonderful.
**********************************************************************************
He met up with Xander in the tunnel leading to the headquarters. "You sure it's him?"
"Oh, it's him. He's aged, but it's obviously him. He asked for you."
"For me?" Spike asked, eyes widened.
"Well to be exact, he asked for the rat bastard that calls himself Spike. The guards that brought him in didn't know who he was talking about."
Spike nodded. To most people around here, he was General William Donovan. Only his closest friends knew him as Spike. "Has he been questioned yet?"
"He won't talk to anyone but you," Xander said, holding the door into the brig open. "He wouldn't even talk to me. He spit in my face though."
Spike had to laugh. "Well, at least he remembered you."
Rupert Giles had certainly aged. His hair had gone gray, and there were wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes, but he still had the same challenging expression when he saw Spike come in. He glared up at his old friends with a nasty smirk. "Spike," he hissed. "I'd salute you but they thought it necessary to restrain me."
"You wouldn't salute me if there was a gun to your head, you old fart."
Giles grinned. "You're absolutely right."
Spike waved the guards out of the room and pulled a chair up in front of Giles. He straddled it backwards, motioning for Xander to have a seat as well. "So they finally caught you."
"Unfortunately. I was expecting it, though. I knew I was getting too old to run anymore."
Spike leaned forward and looked closely at the man who had once been like a father to him. "Tell me why, Giles. Why in God's name did you do it? You had it great here. You could have been the leader of this whole damn nation had you just held out a little longer. Why give all that up?"
Giles laughed harshly. "You think what I did was in any way a sacrifice? You a bigger fool than I thought. This--- this existence that you have is more dismal than I could have ever known. I knew I didn't like it when I had it, but since I've seen what life can be--- what those humans out there have--- I despise this life and everything that it stands for."
Spike felt the anger growing inside of him. "What in the hell is so great about being a human?" he snapped. "What is so great about being a weak, fallible creature? About having an expiration date? What is so great about them?"
Giles studied him carefully, his gaze unnervingly steady. "You can't even begin to imagine, Spike. You can't know how wonderful it is to be free, to experience what LIFE actually is, until you've been there."
Xander jumped up, knocking his chair over. "It's brainwashing. They told us that you recruit through brainwashing. They warned us about it. There's nothing great about it! You just want us to be as miserable as you are, so you lie!"
Giles smiled slowly. "You don't think I know what they say about us? I came up with the stories about brainwashing, Xander. I wrote the propaganda about how evil humans are. I chaired the meeting in which we decided to eradicate humans in order to keep the vampires on top! Humans are not evil, children," he spat, his voice rising. "They are not out for blood. They want a peaceful existence, and this government, this army, has forced them to fight."
Spike let his head sink onto the back of the chair. When he looked back up, his eyes were red. "They're going to kill you, you know."
"I know," Giles said, not even a touch of sadness in his voice. "I'm not afraid to die."
Spike stared at him, his mouth falling open. Then he barked out a laugh. "That's because you're a fool. You're the biggest fool that ever lived!" He moved to kneel in front of Giles. "You can always make a deal with them. Cooperate and they may not kill you."
Giles scoffed. "And live in one of their camps forever? I would sooner---."
"Die," Spike muttered, cutting him off. "Yeh, I figured as much. What is it with you sorry people and your death wishes? Anything has got to be better than death!"
"Nothing is better than being a human--- a free human--- even for just a day. I wish I could make you understand that. I wish she could have made you understand."
Spike stood quickly, pacing across the cell to stand near the door. "Don't," he snapped, shaking his head. "Don't bring her into this."
"She's already in this, Spike. She's the reason we are where we are at this moment. Because she could convince me, but never you. I took the chance that you were too afraid of."
"I wasn't afraid," Spike growled, whirling to face the older man. "I was never afraid. I know right from wrong, and I'm sorry that the two of you never figured that out."
"You should be sorry that you were too much of a coward to go with her!"
In his anger, Spike didn't even notice the change in his visage, didn't realize that his demon face had slipped forth. He snatched Giles up by his collar and shook him hard. "Don't give me that bullshit! You know why I didn't go. Because unlike you, and unlike her, I know a thing or two about loyalty, and about honor! I know where my obligations lie!"
"You must not, because your obligations should have been with her!" Giles coughed, the air slowly being choked out of him. "She was the only thing that you have ever had that was worth being loyal to."
Spike dropped him back into his chair, a smirk growing on his face. "Why'd you come back, Rupert? Surely it wasn't because you missed me."
"I didn't come back. I was captured."
"The Rupert Giles that I know could have outrun and outwitted any creature alive. You let yourself get caught."
"I'm too old to run anymore. I serve no purpose out there but to eat what little food is available and take up space. What little life I have left needed to be worth something."
"So you let yourself be captured. As what, a martyr?"
"Hardly. I needed to talk to you."
"About what?"
"About her."
Spike shook his head. "We aren't talking about her."
"Oh, I beg to differ. We are going to talk about her. She's getting older too, you know. And one of these days, she's going to die. If you let her die out there alone, you're going to regret it forever. And forever is a long time."
Spike gritted his teeth. "She made her decision to leave. She's the one who should regret it, not me."
"And you can't stand it that, not only could she leave you like she did, but that she has never regretted it for a single day. Isn't that what's really bothering you?"
Spike laughed coldly. "She'll regret it when she's laying on her death bed, knowing that she never had to die at all. She'll know then how wrong she was."
Giles leaned toward him, breathing heavily. "Do I look like I regret it, Spike? Because I'm as good as dead right now. Do you see the least bit of a second thought on my face?"
"When your head is under the blade, it'll show."
Giles sighed, finally giving up. "Let's hope, for your piece of mind, that you're right."
Spike turned to leave and Giles spoke his name, so quietly that he wasn't sure if he'd even really heard it. When he turned back to Giles, the human was looking at him imploringly. "Do what's right. You know what's right. If you won't do it for me, do it for her."
Spike swallowed hard and gave a sharp nod before stalking out of the pen.
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Chapter 5 is finished, but I won't give it until I get some reviews. I need the reviews. I crave the reviews. So give 'em to me and I'll give you more story. Mwah-hahaha! Yeah, erm, so R&R! Thanks!