Joyce hung up the phone, thinking about what Mr. Giles might want to discuss. Buffy had been acting crabby and anxious all day, a sure sign that something had happened and given that she wasn't talking, she must have done something or have found something out that disturbed her. Joyce had been wondering what it was and hoping Buffy would talk to her, but so far, nothing. Hopefully, now she would get some answers.
"Buffy," Joyce called up the steps, "I am going out to run some errands, I might stop at the gallery too, I'll call if it takes more than a few hours."
"Ok, mom."
Joyce headed out to her jeep, determined to get answers. It didn't take long to get to Mr. Giles' condo and she quickly parked and walked up to door, knocking sharply.
It was opened immediately by Mr. Giles, who motioned her in. "Would you like some coffee before we begin, it just finished brewing?" he asked.
"Yes, please, Mr. Giles."
"Rupert, please Mrs. Summers." he answered, heading for the kitchen.
"Then please, call me Joyce,"
"Very well, Joyce." Giles brought her a cup and sat down in his chair, motioning her sit on the couch. "What I need to discuss is fairly involved and includes all the children, I am afraid, not just Buffy, but Willow, Alexander, Cordelia and Faith as well. I don't know, if you noticed but Buffy and Willow have both been, well not treating Alexander very well and had decided to exclude him from the group. They each had their own reasons for this and they aren't good reasons, I'm afraid."
"What could their reasons be, as far as I know he has been helpful, hasn't he?"
"Yes, even more than I had realized, actually."
"Buffy's reasons stem from the fact she believes he is in love with her and everything he has done is for no other reason than to impress her, Willow's reasons are more complicated and seem to be a mixture of resentment and jealousy."
"Buffy believing that doesn't surprise me, she's always been very self centered, and I am afraid I contributed to that. Before Hank and I divorced, I was very indulgent, I rarely punished her and let her get away with a lot. Hank hated being the disciplinarian and wanted me to do it. A lot of our fights centered around the fact that he felt I let her get away with too much, while I felt he should take more of a hand in it, myself. He would always smooth things over with her by buying her stuff, she learned early how to wind us both around her little finger. Did you know, her great ambition in life, prior to being the Slayer, was to be a trophy wife? It perfectly summed up her goals in life, power and no responsibility."
"No, I didn't know, but does explain a few things. She enjoys being powerful, she just resents the work required to have those powers. It also explains her relationship with Angel, I suppose, as he is powerful as a master vampire and unique as the only one with a soul."
"I find that whole relationship disgusting, Rupert, and I don't understand why you allow it."
"Well mainly, because I was certain she would just sneak around to see him and that Willow would help her and I must confess, I found it difficult to stand up to her, she has a way of making me feel like a brute, if I go against her."
"That doesn't surprise me either, she could make her father feel the same way."
"So what happened, was there a confrontation or something?"
"In a way, just a very unusual one. This may be difficult to understand and I know learning vampires and demons exist was already a huge whole world shift, so bear with me as I tell you some more world shifting information. The pagan gods are real as well. We also, have proof of the Christian God and angels, the celestial, as well as the fallen kind, as being real as well. As well as spells that can help explore past lives, so reincarnation, at least in some respects is also real."
"Gods and other things are real, not just believed in, but actually real?"
"Yes."
"Ok, um, I will need to think about this for awhile. What does this have to do with the groups issues, though?"
"I am getting to that, I just needed give you some background information, so you have some context to understanding the main issues. Two days ago Wesley and I got a call from the Watchers Council, their seers were predicting that a power would be coming to the Hellmouth. The Council was afraid this power would try to open the Hellmouth, bringing literal hell to earth. The seers would only say that the power would come on a friendly face and a scream of pain. You can see why the Council would be concerned."
"Seers too? Seeing the future is real? What else, elves, fairies, leprechaun's?"
"Well as far as we know, leprechaun's aren't real, but the rest, yes."
"Your serious? This isn't a joke?"
"No, I am afraid not."
"Ok, so did this power come, did it try to open the Hellmouth and I can't believe I just said that."
"Yes, understandable, I grew up with this knowledge and still have a hard time sometimes, but yes all real. And yes, a power did come but not to open the Hellmouth, it's purpose had nothing to do with it and much to do with Buffy and Willow's, as well as my own behavior. You see, Joyce the power in question was an actual goddess and she possessed Alexander, his was the friendly face, as well as the source of the, for lack of better term, soul scream, that summoned her. He overheard Buffy and Willow making some rather disparaging remarks about him and it was essentially the last straw in a lifetime of pain. His soul cry attracted the goddess, Epione, a goddess of suffering and the soothing of pain and the other gods allowed her to come to his aid. Basically, she came to help him give voice to a lifetime of pain that boiled up in that one moment. Nowadays, most of the old gods don't get involved in humans lives as the monotheistic beliefs have come to dominate the world belief systems and nowadays they can only come in where invited. This is made even more complicated as it seems another god has chosen Alexander to be his Avatar on this plain if existance, something we would have know sooner, if I had done my own job more throughly. I seemed to be harboring some sort of dislike for Alexander that makes me discount his concerns, which has contributed to his over all pain and I am unsure as to why this is."
"Which, why you dislike him or why it contributed to his pain?"
"Both, actually. I have been sitting here trying to understand my own behavior and not getting anywhere."
"Well, that's an easy answer or two, that I can give you. Your dislike stems from the fact he reminds you of yourself when you were younger. Remember, I have seen you as a teenager, I think somewhere in you, you recognized his buried anger and resentment and compared it to your own. He hides it better than you did, but it is still there. The other issue is that he looks up to you and respects you and maybe sees you as a father figure. That and you indulge Buffy and Willow, while dismissing him would add to his pain."
Giles stared at her shocked, rolling her observations around in his head. Did Alexander really remind him of himself when he was younger? Was that why he been angry over that love spell and simultaneously supportive of Alexander after the Hyena possession? Misuse of magic as well as being possessed as well as being ashamed of ones actions while possessed were definitely things he was familiar with. And Alexander's use of the love spell to cause Cordelia pain in exchange for pain she had caused him, was while still bad, was more forgivable then his summoning of Eyghon to get high and have sex. Alexander hadn't taken advantage of anyone during that incident. While, he, Giles had taken advantage of many women during that time he was summoning Eyghon. Was that why he was so dismissive of Alexander, was he afraid he would follow in his footsteps? If so then clearly he had been wrong, as Alexander had very much seemed to have learned a valuable lesson from that incident, while Willow, on the other hand, had been the one who ended up misusing magics.
As for Joyce's other observation, about Alexander looking up to him, that seemed to fit with what Epione had said about Giles own actions causing Alexander pain. Was this why Janus wanted him to be Alexander's teacher, because he could help him to not abuse his gifts and would accepts his tutelage? If so, could he be the teacher Alexander needed, one who helped and encouraged, rather than tear him down? Alexander clearly needed someone to look up to, guide him and Epione had made it clear, Janus expected it to be him. He only hoped he could be the teacher Alexander needed and equally clearly a conversation would be needed with Alexander to clear the air before they even got started on any lessons.
"You make a valid point, especially in light of everything Epione said yesterday. It does explain my behavior, as I truly dislike being reminded of just how badly I behaved back then. Clearly, I need to discuss these issues with him, clear the air so to speak."
"You've been calling him Alexander, why is that, I thought he went by Xander."
"Apparently, not because he wanted to, but because Willow was insistent and Alexander acquiesced."
"Doesn't surprise me, Willow can come across as manipulative."
"Really, because Willows' behavior came as a very big surprise to me. It seems she has been misusing magic, specifically, she has cast spells on Alexander to make him kiss her several time and whenever he attempted to discuss it with her, she would use another spell to make him forget, essentially raping his mind, and when this led to Cordelia discovering it and breaking up with him, he confronted her again and she threatened to make sure he never had a happy relationship, because as far as she was concerned, he belonged with her and being with anyone else, especially Cordelia, a girl she hates, means he's cheating on her, in her own mind that is. She seems unable to except that he views her as a sister-friend and not a lover. It's frightening really, the lengths she has gone to and then when caught, she let us all believe he was the aggressor. She is unashamed of her actions and unrepentant of the pain she has caused, she actually feels they deserve it. And none of us suspected what she was doing. I honestly have no idea how to deal with this. Plus some of it is my own fault. I have been neglectful of my responsibilities, Alexander urged many times and made observations that in hindsight would have benefited us greatly, if I hadn't been so dismissive of his concerns."
"What kind of concerns,?"
"He urged time and again more research might be necessary, even tried to do his own sometimes, as well as pointing out issues that I should have seen myself."
"For instance, did you know Alexander has been possessed before,? Twice, the first time, while trying to stop some bullies from harming someone, he and the bullies became caught up in a ritual someone was attempting. They became possessed by an animal spirit that made them behave like animals, acting on instinct. Eat, sleep, mate. He ate a raw pig, the others ate Principal Flutie, Snyder's predecessor. The others had an orgy, he attempted to convince Buffy to have sex with him, strongly and she knocked him out and locked him in the book cage in the library . We were able to excise the spirits, before they became completely animalistic. The point is Alexander felt something might have been missed in my own research of the issue because my own findings didn't quite jive with his experience, so he researched and found additional information which it seems in hindsight, was relavent. But I wasn't interested in his findings as I felt the matter had been successfully concluded and left it at that.
"Last year, he broke his arm during that time when Angelus was loose. The doctors told us it would take a couple of months for it to heal, but in less the 3 weeks it was completely healed and the doctors removed the cast. He came to me, asking if maybe someone had cast a spell, to speed up the healing. Again, I was dismissive as I know that magic and medicine don't mix well, but also because I was more concerned with finding Buffy then anything else. Again, in hindsight, this was a mistake, as Epione told us Alexander had actually been possessed by two spirits. The ritual he stumbled into was a corrupted version of another ritual, one designed to create a protector, similar to the Slayer. The protector ritual required someone inclined toward being protective performing an act of protection, in order for it to work. Alexander's own research, which I dismissed, said as much. It seems the protector spirit approved of Alexander and began making changes to his body, making him stronger, giving him better reflexes, senses, healing etc. These changes were interrupted but are continuing at a slower rate to advance. And we were all so caught up in thinking he is normal, and the changes so gradual, we didn't notice that aside from the arm that healed too quickly, that he simply isn't getting hurt, as he would be if he was still a normal human."
"Are these changes dangerous, to him or anyone else?"
"I don't believe so, though Epione did advise me to monitor them. Normally, it probably wouldn't be, but if you add what else has happened to him, it might be."
"What else has happened?"
"Junior year, on Halloween an old acquaintance from my Eyghon days came to Sunnydale to play what he considered a prank on people. He set up a costume shop and sold and rented costumes that turned people into their costumes. Buffy became a brainless noble woman, Willow became a ghost and Alexander became a soldier. Problem with Alexander becoming a soldier is three fold, he didn't get a costume from Ethan's, just a toy gun and put together his own costume, second issue, he became another version of himself. A real soldier. And then there's the part part Buffy and Willow have a problem with. He retained all the military knowledge he gained that night, knowledge that has come in handy a time or two. Buffy and Willow's discomfort with him retaining that knowledge led to me once again not following up as I should have when he tried to tell me he didn't think he should have been affected by the spell. If I had followed up on his concerns, I would have discovered that Janus, the god invoked for the spell, had marked Alexander as his chosen Avatar, which is the equivalent of a Champion, like the Slayer. It was because of my not addressing Alexander's concerns, that I didn't see the mark and it was because of that mark, that when his soul scream was heard, that Epione was allowed to come to him, to help soothe his pain, because time is running out for Alexander. You see the difference between an Avatar of a god and the Slayer is choice. Alexander does not need to be an Avatar if he doesn't want to be. But if he doesn't want to be an Avatar, then the knowledge given to him will fade away. That's exactly what would have happened if he hadn't overheard the girls talking. The knowledge simply would have faded away and the opportunity lost."
"Why does Alexander get a choice, but not a Slayer?"
"I don't know, we've never been able to find out."
"Is that it, is that all of the issues?"
"No, I am afraid not."
"Both Wesley and I have been so focused on Buffy, that we have been neglecting Faith. Alexander recently found out just how neglectful and I am afraid is feeling guilt over not noticing before. The guilt, however should be mine and Wesley's as we are her Watchers."
"How neglectful are we talking?"
"Very, neither of us has bothered to get to know her at all. Not even her last name. She witnessed her first Watcher die violently and we haven't tried to help her deal with it. We also never bothered to find out where she is living or how she is supporting herself or the fact that she isn't in school. We never even bothered to find out her age. I never addressed Willow's attitude toward her anymore than I addressed Willow's attitude toward Cordelia and Alexander. I gave them all them the impression that I care only for Buffy and Willow. I have also discovered Buffy and likely Willow knew where she was living but said nothing to anyone."
Joyce stared at him incredulous and felt a flash of red hot anger wash through her. She got up, drew back her hand and slammed it across his cheek.
"You ass, you have a responsibility, one you were being paid to do and did nothing?"
"Tell me everything you know and tell me immediately or I am going find a frying pain and beat some sense into you!"
"She's living at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, she's supporting herself by robbing vampires before dusting them and isn't enrolled in school. Epione says she on the verge of soul cry herself and the results could be horrifying if that happens. Slayers are wired differently than normal people, if she breaks she could go psychotic." Giles spoke frantically, certain she meant what she said. "All I can say is, from the beginning, I have thought of Buffy as my Slayer, the one to whom I owe my devotion and support, for some reason, I never made the shift to thinking of Faith as my Slayer, just as a Slayer and therefore someone else's responsibility. I think Wesley has been too busy trying to prove himself superior to me as a Watcher to notice anything."
"On second thought maybe I should get a shovel and beat you to death and bury you in a landfill." Joyce headed for the door.
"Where are you going,?"
"To do do your job for you and if you or you precious Council interferes, you will find out for yourselves what the expression, "There is no more dangerous animal than a mother protecting her young" means, because as of now, Faith is mine to protect. Stay the hell out of my way and if you don't find a way to help fix the damage you and the others have done to Alexander, I will be claiming him too!" Joyce slammed the door as she stormed out.
'Oh dear, this complicates things even more,' Giles thought