Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I wanted to wrap this chapter up before it reached ten written pages, but my muse wouldn't let it end. Also, I've kinda been caught up in a new fandom that recently attacked me. Quite literally attacked me. The book fell on me in the bookstore when I was trying to reach something else. Stupid manga... Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Nine

Spike was in a foul mood. It was Sunday night: the night before the dreaded Challenge that would decide his lover's fate, and there still had been no word from Angel.

After Aiden's murder attempt, Spike had assigned Ben's loyal childe, Starcat, to be Xander's guard. The two seemed to be getting on well, and the young vampire was thoroughly enjoying his promotion. He, Ben, and Cooper had taken over Xander' Challenge training with Dalton watching anxiously from a safe distance and Ella attempting to placate both the worried scholar and the unpredictable Spike.

Today, however, Ella kept her distance.

Spike was perched on a headstone outside of the lair watching Xander spar with Starcat. Both had the same brawny build, though the vampire did have the advantage of being slightly taller than Xander.

Through their close mental link, which had formed as a result of the gestalt that had exploded through their minds two nights ago, Spike could tell that both Xander and Starcat were pulling their punches.

Making a quick decision, Spike unlaced his Docs and pulled them and his socks off. He hopped off the headstone, discarding both duster and tee shirt as he stood barefoot on the soft grass. Blocking off the link as Xander had shown him, Spike cut in between Starcat and Xander, shoving the younger vampire to the side.

"Master?" Starcat asked in confusion.

"I'm closest to Damien in height and weight," Spike replied curtly, catching his lover off guard with a sharp right hook. "Fighting someone who's smaller'n you is very different than fighting someone the same size."

A particularly hard kick sent the young man sprawling. Dalton started to rush over to his foster son, but Ella restrained him. "He's doing this for Alexander's own good," she said quietly. "Damien won't hold back like Starcat or Cooper."

Spike knew from past experience that Xander was using his telepathy to anticipate what was coming next, but the young man was still far too slow. He managed to land a glancing blow to Spike's shoulder, but wasn't quick enough to dodge the counterattack. A roundhouse kick caught Xander on the side of his head and sent the youth crashing to the ground.

Spike was on him in an instant, taking Xander's head in both hands and twisting at an almost painful angle. Xander tried to struggle, but it was no use: Spike's grip was like iron.

"If I were Damien, you'd be dead by now," Spike said harshly. He let go of his lover's head and let the youth up. Xander shakily got to his feet, looking uneasily at Spike.

The vampire calmly pulled his shirt and Doc Martens back on, trying not to look at the hurt expression on his love's face and continually reminding himself that he did that for Xander's own good. Throwing his duster over one shoulder, Spike stalked moodily back into the lair.

"Don't just teach 'im 'ow to fight," Spike said caustically over his shoulder. "Teach 'im 'ow to survive."

As soon as Spike was out of sight, Dalton rushed over to his stunned foster son. An angry bruise was beginning to form on Xander's cheekbone; but, other than that, the youth appeared unharmed.

"I'm alright, Dalton," Xander told the fussing scholar. "I'm just lucky that Spike's small; otherwise that kick would've hurt a lot more."

Dalton wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? Do you want to rest for a bit? I'm sure we have ice packs around here somewhere-"

"Yes, I'm sure; no, I don't want to rest; and I don't need an ice pack," Xander interrupted, effectively putting an end to Dalton's frantic questioning.

He looked over at Ben, who had calmly been watching from a safe distance. "Spike's right; this basic training isn't getting us anywhere. I need the more advanced stuff or I'm not going to last ten seconds in the Challenge ring."

Ben sighed and ran a hand through his shaggy black hair. "I wish we had the time to teach it to you, milord, but there's no way you can master both basic and advanced techniques before sunrise," he said apologetically.

"The gestalt," Cooper, who had been silent up until then, said suddenly. "The one that gave us all a fuckin' great headache and linked you and Spike. You said that it gave you access to all his memories, right?"

Xander nodded.

"Then can't you just tap into his combat knowledge?"

"Yeah, but it's not that simple. I may have all of Spike's knowledge, but knowing something and using it are two different things," Xander explained. "Everything's familiar, but that's about it."

Ben walked over to stand in front of the young telepath, discarding his outer shirt and handing it to Starcat. He adopted a guard stance and beckoned for Xander to do the same. "Have that knowledge ready and trust your instincts. I'm not going to hold back, so you have to use everything you've go to keep me on my toes."

The vampire hadn't even finished speaking before he launched a flurry of attacks, mixing punch and kick combinations. Xander didn't have time to think, his reaction was purely instinctual.

Darting to the side, the telepath dodged a lightning-fast jab to his throat and leaped over a sweeping kick that was meant to knock him off his feet. He rolled his shoulder back, causing Ben's next punch to glance off and throwing the smaller man off balance.

Using Ben's momentary slip to his advantage, Xander stepped inside the vampire's reach, the close proximity making it nearly impossible to punch or kick effectively. Mustering all of his strength, Xander hurled himself at Ben, taking the vampire in the midsection and pinning him to the ground.

Two hundred pounds of solid muscle hit Ben like a freight train, knocking the wind from his lungs and temporarily stunning him. Xander straddled his legs and pulled the other man's arms behind his back, effectively rendering him immobile.

"Alright! Xander! Xander! Let him up before you break something!"

Dalton's voice broke through Xander's bloodlust and the young mortal immediately let go of Ben, horrified at how easily he had been consumed by the need for violence. He babbled apologies incessantly at Ben, but the stolid vamp brushed them off.

"Relax, milord, no harm done," Ben said, wiping blood from a split lip. He rubbed the back of his neck with his other hand and smiled grimly at Xander. "That's what I wanted you to do, alright. Use the same techniques against Damien; he'll never be able to stand his ground when you put your whole weight behind your attacks. You've got the advantage of being much bigger than your opponent, so don't be afraid to exploit it."

Xander nodded weakly, his energy completely sapped by the rush of adrenaline. He slumped down on the grass and leaned back against a gravestone to catch his breath, but Cooper hauled him back onto his feet.

"Keep walking," she advised. "Sitting down will only do you more harm."

Reluctantly, Xander allowed Cooper to lead him around the borders of their territory. He leaned lightly against her for support as they walked in silence.

A thought had been niggling at Xander in the back of his mind for some time, and he figured that he had best address it before it was too late.

"Hey, Coop?" he asked softly, feeling like he was fourteen again and asking the young female for advice.

"Yeah?"

"If I," he hesitated, the thought frightening him too much to vocalise it. Just say it, Harris, a part of his mind scolded him. "If I die tomorrow, promise me you'll watch over Spike, okay? I don't want him to do anything stupid and get himself hurt," he finished quietly.

Cooper heard the fear in his voice and simply nodded, understanding that Spike would likely become a danger to both himself and the rest of the pack if Xander died. The youth liked that about Cooper; she never gave anyone false hope.

"I'll keep an eye on Dalton too," Cooper said. She looked at Xander squarely in the eyes. "That old fogy loves you more than you'll ever know, Xan. He thinks of you as his true son, not as a foster, you know."

Xander looked away. "I know. I wish I had treated him better," he said regretfully. "I always used to pull the "you're not my real father" card to get what I wanted. Now I just wish I could take it back. That was the one thing I could say that would hurt him the most." His voice trailed off to a hoarse whisper as he fought back tears.

Cooper pulled the big man close and rubbed his back soothingly. "He knows you didn't mean it, kid. You were little when you said that," she said awkwardly, unused to providing comfort. She glanced anxiously up at the sky, which was beginning to lighten with the coming of dawn.

Xander picked up the thought and he too, looked up at the sky. "Let's head back," he said. Mentally, he scolded himself for acting like an overemotional teenaged girl. "I'm going to sleep until six, then I'll come back out here and warm up until sunset. The Challenge is set for eight, so that should give me enough time."

"Make sure you eat something light," Cooper reminded him as they jogged back to the crypt. "Though throwing up on Damien in the middle of the Challenge does have a sort of poetic justice to it," she added with an evil snicker.

Spike was sitting on the end of the bed when Xander walked in. The blonde studiously examined the chipped black lacquer on his fingernails and refused to look up at his lifemate.

The distress that Spike was broadcasting was making it hard for Xander to think, but he didn't dare put up his shields with the vampire in his current mental state. Instead, he sat on the bed and rubbed Spike's tense shoulders, feeling the taut muscles relax a bit under his touch.

"Can we talk?"

Spike scooted away from Xander's touch. "I'd prefer to vocalize," he replied tonelessly.

Xander shrugged, knowing that Spike was still uncomfortable with communicating telepathically. "Fine by me; it's not like we can hide anything from each other anyway." He let his sandals drop to the floor and arranged himself so that he was sitting cross-legged.

"Look, I know that whatever it was that happened two nights ago was freaky, and it probably would've registered on the Richter Scale if that measured freakiness," Xander began. "But we've just got to run with it. I know you're all wigged out about the link, and trust me, some of your memories haven't exactly been a walk in the park for me either." He reached out and took Spike's hand, rubbing his thumb over the smooth skin. "We have to try to work it through it."

Spike looked down at their joined hands and smiled bitterly. "You're so bloody optimistic, y'know that?" His smile faded and a faraway look appeared in his eyes. "Dru was like that. Thought we could do anything, she did. She's the reason that I didn't kill you, y'know."

"I know. If the police hadn't destroyed her when they did, you would've killed both my mother and me. My mom saved you when she warned you about the attack, and you spared me in return. A life for a life." Xander fought to keep his voice neutral as he spoke. He had known from a very early age that he was still alive only due to a strange twist of fate, but he preferred not to dwell on such thoughts.

A gentle squeeze to his hand made him look back at Spike, whose age was now visible in his deceptively youthful eyes.

"I may joke about being love's bitch, but it's true," the vampire said tiredly. "Everyone I've ever loved has left me in some way: Cecily, Dru, Angelus, hell, even my mum. I can't lose you too, Xan."

Xander grinned in an admittedly weak attempt to lighten Spike's gloomy mood. "I'll figure something out. No one can keep the Xan-man down for long, right?"

Spike lied down and pulled a blanket up to his chest, his eyes never leaving Xander's. "I hope you're right, love," he sent.

Feeling the vampire's reluctance to continue the conversation, Xander curled up beside him and kissed his cheek. "Hey, the Powers That Be changed your mind about killing me when I was a baby; maybe they'll come through for me this time too." He threw an arm around Spike's waist and snuggled close to the vampire, using the narrow chest as a pillow.

"Again, I hope you're right."

Xander bounced lightly on the balls of his feet as he struggled to control his anxiety. It was seven-thirty and Ben had advised him to rest and collect his energy so he wouldn't wear himself out by warming up.

A neutral Order had been selected to guard both fighters and the Challenge ring itself. The Master of the Order of Tertius, a stuffy, weasel-like male name Julian, took his seat as judge.

Xander shifted uncomfortably under the curious gaze of his guard. She didn't want to be there any more than Xander did and was hoping that it would be a quick fight.

Scowling, Xander blocked out the guard's stray thoughts and paced round the perimeter of the warm-up ring. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Spike, Dalton, and the others sitting on gravestones outside the Challenge ring. Spike's face was expressionless as usual, but Dalton looked like he was going to be sick.

"Master?"

Xander looked up at the sound of the guard's voice. She was uncomfortable with addressing him by rank, but she gave no outward sign of it.

"The Challenge is about to begin," she said. "If you would step inside the ring, Master Julian will announce the rules and we can begin."

The guard held aside the chain to allow Xander to enter the Challenge ring and hooked it back up behind him. The young telepath kicked off his Birks and pulled his long hair back and out of his eyes. He didn't want to risk having his vision obscured for even a split second.

Julian, the Master of the Order of Tertius, rose from his chair and bowed low to Spike, who inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"My lords; my ladies," Julian began, bowing his head to both sides of the spectators. "Tonight we shall witness a Blood Rite called by Fledgling Damien Merquise and answered by Master Alexander Harris, both of the Order of Aurelius." Here he turned to face the Challenge ring.

"You both have been informed of the rules of the Blood Rite: no weaponry may be used at any time; both combatants must stay within the confines of this arena; and, the Challenge will end only when one of the combatants is destroyed.

"Are both combatants ready?"
Xander swallowed heavily and nodded. "Ready."

"Let's get this thing started already!" Damien spat.

Julian nodded and took his seat. "Very well. Let the Challenge begin."