Author's Notes are at the end of this one folks... Damn I hope that you're buckled up, 'cause it's gonna be a Hell of a ride. . . .

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Taking off his glasses Giles almost started to polish them for a moment and then he sighed and simply put them back on. "Alright Xander... What would you like to know?" He finally asked resignedly.

"I have all kinds of questions, but I guess the biggest one is who exactly are you working for? I know for a fact that you're still working for that bastard Quentin Travers. I'm just wondering if you're also working for the First Evil."

Giles was totally silent for about thirty seconds, his mouth moving a bit as if chewing and then he suddenly exploded. "How many bloody times do I have to tell you people that I am not the First, nor am I working for it!?"

The pistol in Xander's hand never wavered however as he just looked at the older man. "Noticed that you didn't say anything about Travers though, G- man."

Giles started to rise for a moment before backing off due to the look on Xander's face. As he settled himself back onto the cot he looked resigned and a lot older than his years. "Yes, well..."

"Why Giles?" Xander asked almost plaintively. "Tell me why all the lies." Xander shook his head and stared at the man, waiting on an answer.

"Xander, you must understand that when I first came here to Sunnydale that... things were different then." He stopped for a moment and looked at Xander expectantly.

"Go on... I'll ask questions as I need to G-man."

"Yes, well. As I was saying, things were different then. I was never supposed to be a Field Watcher. I was a..."

"Librarian?" Xander interjected.

"An Historian, if you will." Giles replied primly. Seeing no change in Xander's expression he sighed and then continued. "I was a member of the team that originally discovered the Peragrum Codex and its Prophesies at the Watcher's Enclave in England."

At the look of confusion on Xander's face he supplied: "There were two copies made of the Codex, both containing some Prophesies in duplicate while having some Prophesies contained only with one or the other. The one that I 'mentioned' to Angel had been lost to us for some time. Frankly, I was very surprised that he was able to locate and acquire it as easily as he was able."

"And the reasons for the lies are? I'm still waiting for an answer here Giles."

"It was thought that if you were all aware of the Prophesies that it might be that you could alter or affect them. That you would be the ones making the Choice instead of the Council. It was the express opinion of the Council that only those who needed to know, would know."

Giles was instantly aware that that wasn't an answer Xander was fond of as he watched the knuckles on the hand holding the pistol whiten.

"Keep talking Giles."

"Xander, I assure you that we weren't even fully sure that Buffy was the one that the Codex spoke of. There have been other 'Masters' before. However, upon your reviving her and your subsequent naming by Angelus, we were certain that the time of the Choosing was soon to be upon us."

"And Kendra?" Xander gritted out.

"It was foretold Xander. There was nothing that we could do that would stop that from happening. Your Drusilla was ordered by her sire to terminate Kendra as you well know. It wasn't as if she could deny her sire."

"I'm well aware of the Sire/Childe chain of command, Giles."

At the older mans blank look, Xander laughed mirthlessly. "I'm nowhere near as stupid as you all seem to think me Giles. You might try and remember that in the future. If you have one that is."

Giles could only blink at the open threat inherent in the last comment.

"So, let me get this straight: Your precious Council believed that Buffy might be the Chosen of the Codex and you were sent here to make sure that events took place as needed... Why you?"

Giles took of his glasses and polished them for a moment before settling them back on his face. "All six members of the research team were sent out to become the Watchers of potentials that we suspected could be the Slayer foretold in the Codex. I was assigned to Buffy and the others to potentials that were thought to be called next."

"Wait a minute, what about Merrick? He was Buffy's first Watcher."

Giles' lip curled up in an automatic gesture of distaste as soon as the deceased Watcher's name was mentioned. "Do me the favor and never mention that bastards name again will you? He was a traitor to the Council."

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Upstairs in the Dinning Room Buffy's hands clenched the table so hard that fingerprints were being left in the wood. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Across from her, Willow's face was a study in blankness as she held her emotions under tight control.

The rest of the people assembled all wore varying looks of outrage or depression.

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"I was supposed to be Buffy's Watcher from the start. Merrick was put into place by a portion of the Council that did not agree with the rest."

Xander groaned out loud at the thought of inter-agency politicking within the Council.

Giles looked at him grimly for a moment and then continued. "After the finding and translating of the Codex we were left in a bit of a dilemma. The Codex clearly states that there will come a time of Choosing. When the choice must be made whether there will be only one Slayer as there has always been before or whether all the potential Slayers will become active."

"Let me guess." Xander interjected. "The precious Council was divided?"

"Err, yes, they were." Giles' voice started to enter the modulated tones that Xander internally referred to as 'anal teacher speak'. "The Council found itself divided three ways: One side actively wanted all of the Slayers activated. One side was convinced that things should remain as they were with only one Slayer, and the third, much smaller faction, wanted to wait and see what would happen. Fence sitters if you will."

"And Travers was solidly in the many-Slayers camp." Xander interjected suddenly.

"Quite." Giles replied amazed that Xander had deduced that fact so quickly.

Xander grimaced yet again; disgusted with the fact that Giles still seemed surprised when he was able to make a valid deduction. "And you were appointed to this position by Travers..." Xander's voice trailed off as he looked at Giles expectantly. At the other man's lack of comment he continued. "Travers appointed you to Buffy, but Merrick got there first, which means he was sent by the 'One Slayer' faction. After his death you moved in and waited to see if Buffy was the one from the Codex or not." Xander's voice trailed off as he stared at Giles for a moment. "You people had her under observation for a while didn't you?"

Seeing the slight blush on the supposedly ex-Watcher's face supplied him with the answer. "You sons-of-bitches..."

"Xander, you must understand, the Council has been responsible for the safety of the Human race for thousands of years. We do what must be done in order for us to thrive."

"So..." Xander's voice became flat. "How many other 'Operatives' does the Council have in Sunnydale Giles?"

"What? I hardly think that..."

"Damnit Giles! Quit fucking with me and give me straight answer! If the Council was fighting internally I refuse to believe that each side wouldn't have operatives in place near every Potential, and I know damn well that there is no way in Hell that they would leave the Slayer that could be the Codex-Slayer unwatched. There has to be more Watchers here. Hell, just the fact that the team that came after Faith knew their way around so well means they had to have inside info."

Xander stopped talking and Giles could almost see the internal debate occurring within the younger man's head.

"Inside info..." Xander stepped from side to side in a motion that disturbingly reminded Giles of the Hyena. "Inside info... Son of a Bitch! Willy!"

Giles' mouth dropped open at the sudden outburst from Xander. "What? How?"

Xander stopped moving suddenly and looked at him as a predator looks at his prey. "Willy. He's an operative isn't he? A mole. He was the Council's inside view on what was going on in the Demon community on the Hellmouth. The Council had to have somebody already onsite in order for you to get established so easily. Willy was up to his greasy hair in Demon info. It's the only thing that fits."

Giles could only meekly nod his head. He had never in his life expected Xander of all people to make the connection.

"So, how many other Watchers have there been in here Giles? At seeing Giles start to open his mouth, he continued ruthlessly. "Besides Wussley, Giles." Xander stopped and thought for a moment.

Then he thought for a moment longer.

The Soldier inside of him started giving a detailed analysis of a certain situation that had occurred years before. Xander's face suddenly broke out in a grimace of anger.

"You Son of a BITCH!" He snarled as he stepped backwards a step and leveled the pistol at Giles' head while pulling the trigger back. His face was a mask of pain and anger

Giles' face on the other hand became extremely pasty as he was certain that the young man in front of him was surely going to shoot him.

"The Cruciamentum, Giles. You have about thirty seconds to try and come up with a reason for me not to blow your fucking head off."

If it was possible, Giles' face became even paler. Removing his glasses he simply looked up at Xander and stated his case. "Other than the fact that I tried to talk Travers out of it at the end? There is no reason." He stated calmly.

"Explain." Came Xander's request that was actually an order.

"There is no Cruciamentum. It was all a fabrication by Travers and a portion of the Council. He set it up in the hope of pressing the issue and calling all of the Slayers."

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Buffy stared absently at the piece of wood that she held in her hands that used to be a part of the table.

Willow sat and cried quietly, while Drusilla patted her on the arm and Dawn hugged her from the other side.

Not a word was spoken around the table, though Spike looked like he was building up a huge stockpile of cussing.

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Downstairs in the basement Xander could only stare at Giles in shock. "You knew. The whole time he was pulling that crap and you knew. Why Giles?" The raw pain in Xander's voice was hurtful to the ears.

"Why? Because the Codex said that she would die and arise again Xander. I knew that Buffy couldn't die. Well, not for long anyways. Not permanently. For the Prophesy to happen Buffy had to die and then rise again. Then, and only then, would the time of Choosing occur. Then is when the opportunity for all of the Slayers to be called would happen."

"So Travers tried to force the issue, and it didn't work, right? You backed out of his 'test' and helped Buffy." Xander's hand still hadn't moved from it's pointing the pistol at his head. "Why? I thought you were part of his faction."

"I was. I am." He corrected himself. "However, he himself was going against our faction and the Codex by trying to force the Choosing to occur. It wasn't time for it to happen. That was evident in the Codex that Angel brought to me. There were still prophesies that had to happen for the end result to come about."

"And you being fired?"

"Travers faked firing me in an effort to have Buffy accept me back as her Watcher. Wesley was sent... well because he was a prat that would be totally unacceptable to Buffy and would put me back in her good graces if you will."

Xander could only shake his head in disbelief. The man that he had considered a knowledgeable, if slightly bumbling, father figure had turned out to be one of the most vilely manipulative bastards that he could think of.

"Damn." He finally said out loud. "If we had just stopped to actually think..."

At Giles slight inquisitive look, he glared at the man. "We never stopped to think how you were able to stay here. Looking back on it, we were naïve as all Hell to think that the Council would just let you stay here and interfere with Buffy's new Watcher the way you did. The Council is the ones who sent you here and got you your job. It would have been child's play for them to have you cashiered and tossed out of the States. You weren't, therefore you were still working for the Council."

Xander stood still for a moment deciphering in his head all that he had learned so far. It wasn't a pretty picture. "You mentioned other prophesies." He said suddenly, startling Giles. "What other Prophesies?"

Giles hung his head a bit as he admitted to his actions and those of Travers. "Faith hadn't gone bad yet." He said quietly.

"You miserable bastard... Xander sputtered off into an almost incoherent rage and he came within a hairs breadth of actually pulling the trigger on the .45 in his hand. Finally managing to shove his emotions down he held on grimly as the Hyena inside of him raged to be let loose upon the older man.

"So you let a teenaged girl suffer and despair in that shit-hole of a motel because she was lost from the start. Is that what you're telling me? That's why you didn't even make an attempt to help her isn't it Giles? No trying to get her into school... No making sure that she was okay after the death of her Watcher... Her only purpose in life was to fulfill your damned prophesy..." Xander's voice trailed off and his eyes took on a decidedly yellowish cast. "You're a dead man Giles." He said in a voice that held an edge of hysteric laughter in it. Xander stuck the gun almost up to Giles' nose and asked him in a deadly quiet voice. "Is Travers really dead? Think real hard before you answer Giles, 'cause if I even think that you're lying, I'll pull the trigger."

"Yes, Xander. Travers is dead. My contacts with what's left of the Council have confirmed it."

"Fuck!" Xander suddenly spun around and stepped away from the profusely sweating man. "Fuck! I really wanted to kill that bastard myself!"

Giles' face was anguished as he looked upwards from where he was stting. "There was nothing I could do Xander. It was all prophesied...Whether you wish to believe it or not Xander, I was held a prisoner of the prophesies even as Buffy, Willow and you were." Giles stated sadly. "The prophesies clearly stated that Angel had to survive, for one thing."

Giles looked up at Xander for a moment and the not so hidden specter of Jenny Calendar was plainly visible in the older man's eyes.

"The Second Codex gave us the rest of the Prophesies that we hadn't had before. If we were to have any chance at beating the evil that was to come, that we face now, then sacrifices had to be made. That much was brutally clear."

Giles looked Xander full in the eyes and he could see the fire of pain etched into his eyes.

"I will not lie to you Xander. I have done many things that I didn't want to do and not done many others that I should have. But... But, it had to happen this way for us to be where we are. There were prophesies that couldn't be ignored."

"You know... I'm getting real sick of hearing that 'P' word. Almost as sick as I am of even looking at you."

"Do you think I am not?" Giles asked heatedly. "I have been pulled in so many different directions..." Giles' voice trailed off and he wiped his face tiredly with his hands. "So many blasted directions." He continued tiredly. "I have had to do so many things..." Again his voice trailed off. "Regardless of what you or anyone may think, I have come to love Buffy as a daughter..."

The remainder of whatever Giles was going to say was drowned out in the bark of laughter coming from Xander. "Was that your payment then Giles?" Xander asked coldly. "What was your payment going to be after all the Slayers had been called? Two or three Slayers of your very own? Or just Buffy? Why don't you just admit that this whole damn deal has been you fucking Watchers twisting prophesies around in order to suit your own plans? You bastards have used us in your power play, made our choices for us. And even you have admitted that it all comes down to a Choice."

At the scared look on Giles' face he continued. "I've read the translations of the Codex, Giles. Dru, Willow and Dawn have triple checked it. It's a time of choice Giles. It's all about Choosing the right path. There's enough leeway that it could easily go either way. And from where we're standing... Your precious Faction in the Council has made nothing but the wrong choices."

Xander shook his head disgustedly. "How blind can you possibly be? You even heard it first hand Giles! You know, the Oracle that you and Anya went to? It TOLD you why the First had gained power. And now here you are pushing Buffy towards the goal you've been after all this time. A goal that'll let the First win just because you Watchers have made the wrong Choice!"

"It's over Giles. We're making the Choice. There will be no Slayers. Just one Slayer. The way that the Powers set it up to be. The way it had been until I fucked it up with your guidance. We don't know how we're going to do it, but we will do it."

"Do you honestly think that Buffy will be swayed from her course, Xander? She already doesn't trust you due to Drusilla. And with Willow defying her, she won't be very receptive to her either."

Xander merely grinned at him with a smile devoid of any warmth. "Oh, I think that we'll be able to sway her. Or rather you will."

"I will?" Giles asked confusedly.

"Actually, I'm betting that you already have." Xander then unclipped the walkie-talkie from his belt and held it up for the Watcher to see the taped down switch and the small red light glowing fiercely on the side. "Welcome to the 21st Century, Watcher."

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Willow silently dropped the spell holding everyone in the room and folded in on herself. Buffy's eyes were vacant as she stared without actually seeing anything. Faith had almost the same look on her face as Buffy and had had it since the discovery that she had truly been abandoned.

All eyes turned towards the door as Xander marched Giles into the room. Buffy's head turned to follow him in the same way as a gun turret tracking its target.

As he started to open his mouth she slammed her hand down on the table, cracking it.

"Don't...Just don't. Get out." Her voice was flat and emotionless.

The broken man just shuffled towards the door quite certain that his life was forfeit if he was ever seen by his former charge again.

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As he watched Giles leave Xander couldn't help but run over their conversation again in his head. Operatives...Multiple Watchers... What if they'd hedged their bets yet again? Suddenly it came to him. He could see it in his mind's eye. Everything clicked in a moment of absolute clarity.

Twisting his body to the left, Xander drew and pointed his pistol in one smooth move.

"While we're on the topic of questioning and then getting rid of Watchers..." He stated grimly. "How long have you been one Robin?"

Silence prevailed for a moment as everyone looked back and forth between Robin Wood and Xander.

"Awww come on X..." Faith started. "Now you're losing it. Tell him Woody... Woody?"
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Drusilla looked up through her bangs as she finished casting a truth inducing Spell centered on the room.
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Twice Robin attempted to open his mouth and say something but no words came out. Suddenly he grimaced and shook his head. "Since I was taken in by my mother's Watcher after her death. How'd you figure it out?"

Silence reigned after he asked the question.
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A pin dropping would have sounded like a hand grenade inside of the Dinning Room where everyone present turned to look at Faith.

Have you ever heard the sound of a heart breaking?

All present would never forget the lack of sound as the Boston Slayer stood there with head bowed and tears streaming down her face.

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End of Chapter 13

QSK

AN: Okay, I honestly did NOT start out to do this as an 'evil' Giles fic. It wrote itself. It's the only way I could reconcile what has gone before with the insanity that came later.

For those of you who are Giles fans... well it's not the last we've seen of him.