"The next reality is the one that has the Ark of Truth and the Priors staff." Xander said to Cordelia the next morning, before they went down for breakfast. "I'm still not comfortable with the idea of brainwashing immortals. There has to be a better solution. We just haven't found it or figured it out yet."

"I've been thinking about that myself." Cordelia said. "I'm not comfortable with it either. I was thinking about the Priors staff. It can broadcast the Call for the Gathering, what if it can do more then that?"

"Like what?"

"Like impart information. What if we treat this as two separate issues. Informing immortals of the truth of their existence, to be living weapons crafted by the gods to fight vampires and demons. And number two, the Game, fighting, killing and absorbing the quickening of other immortals. If the Priors staff can transmit a call, it should be able to transmit information as well. Theoretically. That would just leave us with needing a way to keep immortals from killing each other."

"Makes sense, but it's dependant on whether or not the Priors staff can transmit information. We won't know until we get ahold of it. The quickening is the main issue of the other problem. Immortals want the quickening for what it gives them. What if there's a way to change the quickening. Mine is different. What if we could figure out a way to do on purpose what accidentally happened with mine, condense it. Cassandra estimated that mine would extend no more then five feet out from my body. What is we can condense it even farther?"

"It's an idea worth exploring. We don't have to solve all of the puzzles at one time. No one said we did. If we can kill the one responsible for the Game and get at least some immortals on track, that's a start. Then we figure out how to stop the ones who want to kill, from killing. Condensing the quickening is a good idea. We just have to figure out how. And if that turns out to be a dead end, then we figure out something else. As long as we don't give up, we'll eventually find a solution."

"I like it. We have a plan that's doable and is alot less morally objectionable. I understand Shades of Grey, but some shades are just too close to black for my comfort."

"Mine either." Cordelia agreed. Having decided on a plan, the couple headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Oh gods, Leena's breakfast is even better then supper was!" Xander exclaimed. "How is that possible?"

"Because you're currently eating breakfast." Pete said. "My favorite Leena meal is always the one I'm currently enjoying."

"That makes sense." Xander agreed.

"So mom will be here by noon." Pete said. "She had to fly and land at the nearest airport, which is a two hour drive from here. Getting a plane last minute isn't easy."

"Tell me about it, we had to get a last minute flight to Greece before starting this trip." Cordelia said.

"So she's going to meet us at the Warehouse, so I thought we'd head over there after breakfast." Pete said. "Univille has nothing to do. Not even a library."

"What kind of name is Univille?" Xander asked.

"Unincorporated village." Leena answered. "It simply means it's not an official town."

"Never heard of that, guess you can learn new things every day." Xander replied.

By the time breakfast was done and cleaned up, there's was only about an hour until Jane Latimer, Pete's mom arrived, so everyone took their time driving to the Warehouse and once there Pete and Xander attacked the cookie jar again. Then Mrs. Latimer arrived.

"Finding out I'm related, however distantly to a god, has to got to be the weirdest Warehouse thing to ever happen to me. And considering I've been involved with the weirdness of the Warehouse for more then thirty years, that's saying something. Alright, let's go find this Norse Hammer." And the group started their trek thru the aisles of the Warehouse.

"Wow, you've got some really weird things in here." Xander commented. And then his eyes landed on something that drew him in like a magnet.

"Xander? Are you okay?" Cordelia asked.

Xander reached out and gently touched the jawbone laying on the shelf.

"Careful." Pete said. "That's the oldest artifact in the Warehouse. It's several million years old. It induces primal fear in people and temporarily causes them to look kind of like a Neanderthal, while at the same time, the user becomes more predatory. It's a - ."

"Hyena." Xander said. "A Queen."

"I don't know about the Queen part, but the hyena part is right. How'd you know? What's wrong with your face?!"

"Xander! Look at me!" Cordelia demanded.

Xander turned to look at her. He face was very definitely hyenaed. He barked a laughing sound at them.

"Snap out if it, right the Hell now, Xander." Cordelia demanded.

"Myka, Claudia get the neutralizer!" Artie ordered. "Whatever it's doing to him, it needs to be stopped."

Cordelia moved slowly towards Xander.

"Stay back!" Jinx warned. Cordelia ignored him.

"Xander." She said softly. "Come back to me."

Slowly the hyena look faded. "My Queen?"

"Yes, Xander. I'm your Queen." And she hugged him.

Myka and Claudia arrived back with the neutralizer and using special gloves picked up the jawbone and dropped it in a bag lined with the neutralizer. Purple sparks flew and then died down.

"Well, that was different." Jane's said dryly. "Why did that happen?"

"Because I'm a were hyena." Xander said. "And even brown hyenas, which are more like wolves behaviorally, the female is dominant. That is a female hyena jawbone. It tried to exert dominance. But Cordelia is my Queen."

"So instead of reverting you to a primitive human state, it tried to revert you to a primitive hyena state?" Myka asked.

"Pretty much." Xander confirmed.

A/N The hyena skull is an actual artifact collected on the show. Whether it's from a female or not, never came up.