The Wrong Side of the Line
Chapter 15: The Cross they Bear
Author: Rylee Jane
See Chapter 1 for disclaimers, rating and summary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Willow clutched onto Buffy's hand as they sat in the back of the jeep. "Where are you taking us?" she ventured to ask the guards.
"To Commander Giles."
Willow gave a relieved sigh, but Buffy felt a deep gnawing in the pit of her stomach. "Why?"
"I'm just following orders, ma'am."
"Where did you take Spike?"
The guard beside her turned to look at her. "Beg your pardon. Who?"
"Spike. The man that came in with us. What were they doing to him?"
"General Donovan, ma'am? He's been detained. I'm afraid I can't tell you anymore than that."
They pulled up in front of headquarters, and climbed out. "This way, please."
Buffy had been in the main offices more times than she could count. It shocked her when they took her straight up to the office that had, last she knew, been occupied by Commander-in-Chief Travers. When they opened the door, however, it was Giles who was sitting behind the large desk.
"Buffy!" he said, grinning as he saw them. "My dear, how are you?"
"Giles, what's going on?"
He motioned for the guards to leave them, coming around the desk to perch on the front of it. "Sit, please. Make yourselves comfortable."
Buffy stood her ground. "I want to know what's going on! What did you do with Spike?"
Giles laughed, his eyes flashing slightly. "Oh, dear God, this is so much fun! I never knew just how fun it would be." He motioned again to some chairs and Buffy reluctantly sat. "You see, my dear, your boy Spike has just done the most awful thing. He betrayed his army. He killed Mr. Travers and had Mr. Watkins put to death for it. All so he could take control of this army. Oh, but he confessed to me, thinking that I was going to help him. And I, being the good patriot, had to turn him over to the council."
Buffy gasped. "How could you?"
"I had to, dear. You see, I came to a startling realization a while back. I'm going to die. Or I was, anyway. Sure, it was nice being a human for a while, but I was going to end up dead." He shook his head, sighing. "Dreadful thing, death. Pointless, really. I realized that if I would just turn myself in, I could be rehabilitated and I wouldn't have to go through that. I was afraid, of course, because I knew it meant being a peasant for a long, long time when I was let back into society, but it was better than death.
"And then Spike came to see me. I had hoped he would offer rehab rather than just executing me, but I couldn't just go and take it right away, or he might have suspected something. Funny thing about Spike. I always thought he was a tough, tough man. But he's not. He's a sap. He truly believed that I wanted help for you bloody bunch of suckers that we call humans. Stupid lot, all of you. Once I was a vampire again, what would I need with you all? So, I let him tell me what he had planned. Only it worked better for me than he could have ever imagined." He laughed, shaking his head. "Once I knew what he was doing, what he'd done, I simply had to go to the council, tell them what I knew and pledge that I would stop this at all costs. I was immediately restored to my prior status, only better. Because now that all those who had outranked me were gone, I was in the position to be Commander. And now that I am, I can carry out the sentence on you two, and on Spike, and make sure that you human wastes-of-space are removed completely."
"You bastard!" Buffy screamed, her shock giving way to anger. "You lying bastard! You stabbed us in the back!"
He smiled somewhat sadly. "All in the name of progress, dear. I'm afraid some sacrifices must be made for the sake of vampire-kind. It's going to be difficult, seeing Spike put to death. He was like a son to me. But, I'm afraid it's necessary. He can't possibly be saved after what he's done." He glanced at his watch. "In fact, I'm on my way now to deal with him. Such a shame that I'll have to be the one to drop the ax on him, but I'm afraid that's the way it must be."
Willow was still staring at him in shock. "How could you--- you planned to do this to him?"
Giles laughed. "Oh, no. I can't take credit for that. I came to him hoping that he could use his pull with the higher ups to get me into a fairly decent job. Keep me from having to be a grunt for the next century or so. He came up with the idea of 'helping the humans' on his own. Funny thing, all I had to do when I noticed how unhappy he seemed was to mention you. When he heard your name, he just fell right off the edge."
"What were you trying to get him to do by talking about me?" Buffy asked, her voice soft. "Why bring me into this?"
Giles hesitated, then shook his head. "It's not important."
"Of course it is. You've got a minute. Tell me why."
He smiled slowly, his eyes growing cold. "Because, at the time, I cared. I'll admit it. I knew I was leaving you, and I wanted to talk him into going with you. Stubborn bastard that he is, he wouldn't save himself. And when I realized that, I knew what I would have to do. If he wouldn't go to you, and he couldn't stay here, then I had to let him shoot himself in the foot. It's a tough lesson he had to learn, but I'm sure he'll have learned it when they take him out to put him to death."
"Don't do this, Giles. Don't do it. You don't have to let them kill him."
"Oh, but I do. I can't save him now. He's turned his back on us. He has to be punished." He walked over and pushed a button on the intercom. "Please send the guards in to get these girls."
"Giles, please," Buffy said, tears welling in her eyes. "Please don't do it."
He didn't answer. He was pulling the jacket of his uniform on, fastening the buttons. He didn't even turn to face them until the guards had come in and handcuffed them. "Make sure that they're treated well. No need to torture them when they have so little time left."
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There's that one. Sorry, I know it's a little short. The next part is at the beta-readers now, so I should have it up fairly soon. Until then, there's one more finished part coming in a few days. Review and let me know that you're still reading. Thanks!
Chapter 15: The Cross they Bear
Author: Rylee Jane
See Chapter 1 for disclaimers, rating and summary
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Willow clutched onto Buffy's hand as they sat in the back of the jeep. "Where are you taking us?" she ventured to ask the guards.
"To Commander Giles."
Willow gave a relieved sigh, but Buffy felt a deep gnawing in the pit of her stomach. "Why?"
"I'm just following orders, ma'am."
"Where did you take Spike?"
The guard beside her turned to look at her. "Beg your pardon. Who?"
"Spike. The man that came in with us. What were they doing to him?"
"General Donovan, ma'am? He's been detained. I'm afraid I can't tell you anymore than that."
They pulled up in front of headquarters, and climbed out. "This way, please."
Buffy had been in the main offices more times than she could count. It shocked her when they took her straight up to the office that had, last she knew, been occupied by Commander-in-Chief Travers. When they opened the door, however, it was Giles who was sitting behind the large desk.
"Buffy!" he said, grinning as he saw them. "My dear, how are you?"
"Giles, what's going on?"
He motioned for the guards to leave them, coming around the desk to perch on the front of it. "Sit, please. Make yourselves comfortable."
Buffy stood her ground. "I want to know what's going on! What did you do with Spike?"
Giles laughed, his eyes flashing slightly. "Oh, dear God, this is so much fun! I never knew just how fun it would be." He motioned again to some chairs and Buffy reluctantly sat. "You see, my dear, your boy Spike has just done the most awful thing. He betrayed his army. He killed Mr. Travers and had Mr. Watkins put to death for it. All so he could take control of this army. Oh, but he confessed to me, thinking that I was going to help him. And I, being the good patriot, had to turn him over to the council."
Buffy gasped. "How could you?"
"I had to, dear. You see, I came to a startling realization a while back. I'm going to die. Or I was, anyway. Sure, it was nice being a human for a while, but I was going to end up dead." He shook his head, sighing. "Dreadful thing, death. Pointless, really. I realized that if I would just turn myself in, I could be rehabilitated and I wouldn't have to go through that. I was afraid, of course, because I knew it meant being a peasant for a long, long time when I was let back into society, but it was better than death.
"And then Spike came to see me. I had hoped he would offer rehab rather than just executing me, but I couldn't just go and take it right away, or he might have suspected something. Funny thing about Spike. I always thought he was a tough, tough man. But he's not. He's a sap. He truly believed that I wanted help for you bloody bunch of suckers that we call humans. Stupid lot, all of you. Once I was a vampire again, what would I need with you all? So, I let him tell me what he had planned. Only it worked better for me than he could have ever imagined." He laughed, shaking his head. "Once I knew what he was doing, what he'd done, I simply had to go to the council, tell them what I knew and pledge that I would stop this at all costs. I was immediately restored to my prior status, only better. Because now that all those who had outranked me were gone, I was in the position to be Commander. And now that I am, I can carry out the sentence on you two, and on Spike, and make sure that you human wastes-of-space are removed completely."
"You bastard!" Buffy screamed, her shock giving way to anger. "You lying bastard! You stabbed us in the back!"
He smiled somewhat sadly. "All in the name of progress, dear. I'm afraid some sacrifices must be made for the sake of vampire-kind. It's going to be difficult, seeing Spike put to death. He was like a son to me. But, I'm afraid it's necessary. He can't possibly be saved after what he's done." He glanced at his watch. "In fact, I'm on my way now to deal with him. Such a shame that I'll have to be the one to drop the ax on him, but I'm afraid that's the way it must be."
Willow was still staring at him in shock. "How could you--- you planned to do this to him?"
Giles laughed. "Oh, no. I can't take credit for that. I came to him hoping that he could use his pull with the higher ups to get me into a fairly decent job. Keep me from having to be a grunt for the next century or so. He came up with the idea of 'helping the humans' on his own. Funny thing, all I had to do when I noticed how unhappy he seemed was to mention you. When he heard your name, he just fell right off the edge."
"What were you trying to get him to do by talking about me?" Buffy asked, her voice soft. "Why bring me into this?"
Giles hesitated, then shook his head. "It's not important."
"Of course it is. You've got a minute. Tell me why."
He smiled slowly, his eyes growing cold. "Because, at the time, I cared. I'll admit it. I knew I was leaving you, and I wanted to talk him into going with you. Stubborn bastard that he is, he wouldn't save himself. And when I realized that, I knew what I would have to do. If he wouldn't go to you, and he couldn't stay here, then I had to let him shoot himself in the foot. It's a tough lesson he had to learn, but I'm sure he'll have learned it when they take him out to put him to death."
"Don't do this, Giles. Don't do it. You don't have to let them kill him."
"Oh, but I do. I can't save him now. He's turned his back on us. He has to be punished." He walked over and pushed a button on the intercom. "Please send the guards in to get these girls."
"Giles, please," Buffy said, tears welling in her eyes. "Please don't do it."
He didn't answer. He was pulling the jacket of his uniform on, fastening the buttons. He didn't even turn to face them until the guards had come in and handcuffed them. "Make sure that they're treated well. No need to torture them when they have so little time left."
**********************************************************************************
There's that one. Sorry, I know it's a little short. The next part is at the beta-readers now, so I should have it up fairly soon. Until then, there's one more finished part coming in a few days. Review and let me know that you're still reading. Thanks!