Chapter5:

°Disclaimer still in the prologue.

… "Now what?" …

Giles was in his office studying the spell he would do tonight in the Hyena House. It wasn't the most difficult he had to cast in his life, but it demanded his complete concentration and wouldn't be able to protect himself if the need occurred. So he would have to find a place well hidden, because he couldn't trust Buffy to keep him safe, he wasn't dense, not after having just talked her down. She would be happy to see him hurt, it would be a sweet vengeance for her and he couldn't count on Xander either; he was the one needing help this time after all.

He was far from stupid, he knew Xander was always trying to protect him and was always there for him when he was hurt, but this time he was the one in need of help, the one possessed and Giles would be there.

This book he found on his desk was just what he needed; it contained the spell he was currently studying and enabled a merging of souls. At first he was uncertain, thinking of the harm it could cause Xander; but after searching all the information he could about it, nothing negative came out. Though it was the note he found at the back of the book that decided him to go for it.

It was from Xander explaining that no harm would befell him and asking him to trust his judgement; that he knew what he was doing. This note showed him that Xander was still in control even if possessed, because the spirit had nothing to gain with this spell, it would merged them but Xander would still be himself and the one in control. It was the hyena who would cease to exist as an entity; she would fuse with his instincts and feelings…she would be him.

He would trust him, like he would trust him with his back or his books. Well his books were sacred to him; some of them could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. He was always hiding them from Willow's envious and jealous eyes, even if it became more and more difficult.

So yes, he would trust him on this one; he never had a son but he was sure that what he was feeling for Xander, was what a father would feel for his son. The need to take him away and protect him from his abusive parents was as strong if not stronger than a father would felt for his child. He was so proud of him and his achievements, of his need to help and protect, that you could feel emanate from his very being. It made him happy to be one of Xander's loved one; he knew what an honour it was.

Though there was something wrong with himself; he had noticed it since coming to Sunnydale. He came to guide the new slayer, but something was telling him that it was against his nature, like wearing tweed, being so meek and compliant… The more the time passed, the more he felt the block in his mind. He had tried to meditate and reach it with the hope of being able to remove it, now that he knew that it was there, but he had been confronted to a wall. His only solution for the moment was to wait and continue this masquerade, as if nothing was happening, because the wall seemed to crack more and more with the passing days.

He suspected that being on the Hellmouth was twisting whatever had been done to him and he was willing to wait for that wall to break. He was already feeling whispering coming from behind it. It was telling him of freedom, love, wildness, strength… There was also the tenderness he felt for someone he couldn't remember, but for whom he was greatly afraid. He had come to realise that who he was being at the moment, was a mask forced on the one being behind the wall, the one who was the real Rupert. If Rupert was even his name and he had a gut feeling that it wasn't; it didn't fit the little he new of his real self.

Though the magic of the Hellmouth twisted as it was ; was helping him with the removal of his mind's block. What made him noticed it in the first place, was Willow's mind manipulation. He knew he was forced in helping her and Buffy, he had felt the magic used on him and he had felt the one behind the wall reacted to it. Since then the two of them had been fighting the wall together and had made a lot of progress.

He was so close to free himself of that block that he knew tonight would be the night. The rush of magic that would be released once the spell was done; would be what he needed to break the wall once and for all. If he had use the spell 'found' by Willow it would have enable her to absorb the rush of magic and increase her power; ignoring Xander's well being as the hyena's spirit would have been torn out of his mind. The hurt would have been so great that he wasn't sure Xander would have recovered from it.

She really took him from an idiot if she thought he wouldn't have searched for another alternative, and this new one brought by Xander was perfect. The only thing he would have to make sure of was to be undisturbed. With a smirk and a glint in his eyes showing his contentment Giles returned his attention to his book.

He didn't even spend five minute on it when the two girls barged in his office as if the devil was at their heels. They rushed to his desk, Buffy sitting on it and Willow forcing his book close and pushing it away.

"Giles we have a problem!" She told him in a voice clearly showing the disdain she felt for him.

"Oh?" He asked her dryly, not liking her like of respect nor her taunting and superiors manner.

"Yes, we have!" Buffy whined. "The rest of the gang killed the principal! They… well it's disgusting, but they ate him!"

"What!" Giles shouted. "And where were you Buffy? I asked you to watch them! That after eating the pig, they would go on the next potential prey… and being in a school it would certainly not be another animal. I thought the pictures of the victims I showed you from that book, were enough for you to take it seriously!"

"But it's not my fault! How could I have known that they would go for the principal…?" She answered him, childishly kicking her foot against the desk.

"You…" Too aggravated to continue Giles turned to Willow "And you why are you here?" He asked her.

"I came to inform you of the principal's death as well of course!" She said snidely.

"So let me see if I have it right, you two came to my office letting Kyle and Xander without supervision knowing that the rest of the gang was roaming freely in the school. You never thought that their next step would be to break their leader out of the cage!" said Giles as he hurried out of the office to see what he already knew, would be an empty and broken cage.

As he thought the door of the cage had been torn apart, thinking quickly, he told Buffy to lure them away from the school and to give him enough time to go to the Hyena House and ready the spell. Then he told Willow to stay at the school as it was too dangerous for her and she wasn't needed this time. After all it was the perfect excuse to try and keep her away from the too tempting power that would be released during the spell.

"But Giles you can do the spell from your office…" She told him.

"I know but I think that it will be more powerful if I am closer to them." He replied to her in a hurry.

"Oh…" she answered having nothing else to say.

Giles was disgusted with her knowing that the closer he was to them while doing that spell, the more damage it would cause and she knew it as well, after all it was her spell. He didn't want to think about the guilt he would have felt, if it had come to that and was grateful for Xander's knew spell, this one was totally harmless to the victims of the possession.

Knowing that time was short, he went as carefully as he could without losing too much time to the school's exit, while listening as Buffy's voice taunted the others to follow her away from it. As he rushed to his car, he saw Xander stopped his run for a second watching him. As their eyes made contact Xander nodded his head showing that he knew what he was going to do and that he trusted him. Giles felt his heart warmed at this trust, he knew that Xander was laying his life and sanity in his hand. So pushing the accelerator, he made it to the zoo in record time.

Once there he ran to the Hyena's pen and after assuring himself that he was the first one there, began to draw the circle he would need for the spell, in the spot he thought perfect to hide. His hiding spot was in fact a wall hollowed out and spacious enough for him to stay in the centre of the circle, he was drawing on the ground without moving the crates containing the zoo's keeper equipment. Between the crates and the shadows he was able to watch everything without being seen.

Just as he was tracing the last line of the circle Buffy entered the pen directly followed by the gang, their glowing green eyes were made obvious by the darkness surrounding them. As they were advancing threateningly on Buffy, making her backed away again the wall; Giles was ready to recite the spell. Just as he was opening his mouth for the first words to be said, a noise came from the pen's entrance. All heads turned in its direction to reveal the annoying and infuriating sight of a Willow looking at Xander with lust, before her mask of a weak, fragile and naive little girl fell back into place. She made herself looked scared, a hand going to her mouth in an expression of shock and began to back away from the entrance. Giles was raging internally, what was she doing here? She dared to go against him risking everyone and everything for her selfish and power hungry little person, but he couldn't do anything against her, he needed to stay hidden.

So sighing angrily he waited again for the perfect occasion to present itself, when a hand coming from behind Willow and holding a knife went for her neck. Then she was dangerously pushed forward still with a knife at her throat, revealing the zookeeper as he came from the shadows.

He positioned them in the centre of the circle made during Xander's possession and said annoyed. "Thank to you now I know what failed during my first attempt at this Masai's possession spell; all I needed was a predatory act but you had to come in the middle of it and messed it all, taking 'my' spirits with you!"

"Are you crazy?! Do you know what they did? They killed someone, they are evil!" Buffy shouted.

"Power is power… Now stay the hell away or you little friend here die!" He told her.

As the discussion was going on Giles was observing Willow's face and noticed that she wasn't shocked nor scared, it was like she knew it was going to happen, and then he understood!

That day when they came back from their field trip Buffy told them about that zookeeper that prevented her to go in the Hyena House, that she felt uneasy about him but Willow didn't say a thing about it, she even went as far as to change the subject looking annoyed at Buffy. At that time he didn't took notice of it but now… Now he felt stupid, she went behind their back and made a pact with the zookeeper, that way if Giles failed his spell, she would have another chance with the keeper. In spite of his anger at himself and the girl, he new he couldn't make a mistake now.

So readying himself for the confrontation Giles eyes never left the zookeeper, and watched every feeling that was showing across his face. As the keeper began to open his mouth excitation lighting his eyes, he did the same and the two men casted their spell at the same time.

As the two spells met the gang a bright green light surrounded them and they fell to the ground shouting their pain, except for Xander and Kyle who were still up, eyes glowing green and fighting for their souls and spirits. The light continued to shine brighter and brighter forcing everyone to close their eyes and as it went to Giles. The moment it touched him he felt something shattered and a force and energy he thought lost rushed through him and through his spell giving it the strength needed to repel the one from the zookeeper. He sensed Willow readying her body to absorb the magic surrounding them and taking advantage of the fact that she was unable to see anything, shielded it from her.

Once that was done he took care of the other's spell, destroying it with a force that had been restrained and blocked from him for years and powerful enough to destroyed everything if he hadn't been strong enough to control it. He returned the Hyena's spirits to their hyena's host while healing the damage caused to their ex-human hosts; then he helped Mayaeb and Draith merged with Xander and Kyle. The merging had been smooth in itself, but he still had to heal the tiredness coming from Xander and Kyle's fight to keep their spirits.

Having one more thing to do, Giles manipulated the flow of magic to create a backlash that would erased every trace of magic that could be trace back to him. Directing it to Willow and the zoo keeper, it slammed them against the wall, on impact and finally, with a sigh of relief released it. For a moment no one moved or made a noise, waiting for the blinding light to go out; but then all returned to normal and Buffy seeing the zoo keeper still too close to Willow to comfort, run to him. She lifted him by the collar of his robe and took him to the hyena's pit threatening to throw him to them.

Scared out of his mind at the craziness he could see in Buffy's eyes he began to babble. "It was her idea… she told me my error… she said she would play the victim for me… that it would make it easier for her to absorb the magic… I only wanted the spirits…"

He turned his head to Willow, eyes imploring her to help him, to tell them the truth, but she only looked at him with disgust. She was so furious. She failed to absorb any magic, she was too angry to think properly, all she could think about was the missed occasion to gain power and she couldn't feel any residual magic. So she had no clue to what happened and that frustrating her like nothing else before, so in her pettiness she took her anger on him.

It took nothing more than a hurt puppy look and an "I would never…" from her, for Buffy to say "Wrong thing to say buddy" while tossing him in the hyena's pit.

Everyone looked horrified and ill as screams of pain came to their ears, as well as the sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing. Well everyone except Willow who was the cause of the death and too upset to care and Buffy who was enjoying herself admiring the blood splashing everywhere, as the body was being torn up.

For a long moment, no one could move too horrified by the bloodlust they felt coming from her, but as the scream came to a stop, Buffy became bored with the sight and went to Willow, helping her to stand and guiding her to the entrance exit.

A shudder passed through all the occupants of the Hyena House as they watched the two girls left, then as a whole everyone began to stand, carefully avoiding looking into the pit as they walked by it to exit this nightmare. Seeing a shadow moving in the corner behind him, Xander told the others that he would follow them, but that he had to take care of the circle before. Nodding that it was alright to Kyle with a little move in the direction of the corner, he waited for them to go out before rushing to the shadow he knew to be Giles.

"Giles are you alright?" He asked worried as he lifted one of Giles arms around his shoulders to help him stand up.

"Yes, don't worry I just have to regain some of my magic, for my strength to follow up. I just have to wait a little more before going home and my car is not that far, so in the meanwhile I will take care of the circles, but I just have to ask. Did it work?" Giles answered him.

"Okay and yes it work, you did it Giles and I just know that in the long run it will save us all" Said Xander, the happiest he had been since Jesse's death. Giles had to smile at the sight. "And Mayaeb was right I don't feel sad, I don't feel like I have lost her; it's like she is with me in every actions I take, everything I thing. She's in me… she's me! I don't know how to explain it otherwise, there is no word to describe it, just that I'm not alone. Thank you Giles, thank you so much!" he babbled.

With that he crushed Giles in an embrace, squeezing him with all his strength as Giles returned the embrace just as strongly. Relishing in each other warmth and feeling Giles finally took a step away, pride illuminating his face.

"Xander you have got to go back to the others before the girls become suspicious." He told him smiling.

"You are right but I will come to your house after taking back the girls to their house and showing myself at mine. Tomorrow is a Saturday so their won't be problem with late wake up call." He said, happiness radiating from his very being. Giles nodded his acceptance and with a sigh Xander's doughnut boy mask was back in place as he went out. He was jumped by the two girls who were waiting for him when he passed the entrance.

"What took you so long in there?" Willow asked suspiciously.

"Well there were those marks in the Hyena House and if I learned something in Sunnydale, it is to never leave runes or whatever it is in the open; so I erased it. But what happened? … Why is it this late already? ... All I remember was following Kyle and his gang in there but …" He babbled.

"You don't remember? Nothing at all?" Willow asked beginning to smile.

"Did I do something?" He asked making a show of panicking.

"Don't worry, we will explain everything later; but you did nothing wrong." Buffy told him.

Having nothing more to add, Xander took them back to their houses feeling disgusted and annoyed with himself to have to wear his doughnut boy persona again, but he felt that it wasn't going to be much longer, before he could be himself once more. Finally arriving back to his house, he found the door locked and no car in its parking place. Unlocking the door he went directly to the kitchen where he knew a note would be posted on the fridge. It said that his parents were gone for the week-end and would return on Monday; well it would make it easier for him to stay the night at Giles. Thinking of him, he hoped that Giles went back to his home without problem after he left him alone, but he couldn't stay because of the girls. With that thought in head, he rushed to his room to make his bag and left.

Giles had just had the time to take a shower, before someone knocked on his door.

"Xander is that you already?" he asked going to open his door, but shock coursed through his body as he saw who was behind it. "An… Angel?!"

Author note:

I wanted to say a big thank you to my first two reviewers, kyzhart and Bluerock 7, you made my day! ^^ Oh and kyzhart I tried to follow your advice, is it better? I hope you will enjoy this new chapter as much as I did writing it!

Review please.