Chapter Six -- Over the Top
Beta by Oracle Holly
Warning: Character deaths, plural

Giles, in the shadows….

"Did they think I would allow this?" the dark figure ranted. "I am her watcher. Did they think I would just step down and allow this monstrosity to live? I, who have sworn to uphold mankind against ALL demons, even from MY Slayer's demon lover. If I had done this the first time, Jenny, fair Jenny, would still be among the living and not just a name on a page of Watcher's notes. But no, I allowed my Slayer to debase herself by having an illicit relationship with a monster. And a monster he was with or without his soul. He was a monster that fed on poor, pure Jenny's soul. Now do they really think that I would allow it to happen once again?”

Giles paused for a moment. “I care nothing for prophecy. I know the truth. I am the righteous warrior that will defend mankind from the peril of my Slayer's demon offspring. For how could anything but evil be spawned by such a hideous creature as William the Bloody."

Giles turned as if to face an invisible audience. "My beloved Jenny, the last of her clan. Brutally killed and then left in my bed as if she were but a common harlot. Harlot, yes, I think that perfectly describes MY slayer - much better than fair Jenny."

The inky darkness swirled and the beautiful face of a gypsy woman appeared in its midst. "My beloved, know now that before I allow this blasphemy to transpire, I shall scour the earth with purifying fire. I stand on the bridge and none shall pass."

He wandered around almost mindlessly. "The Council does say that this joining is fortuitous to all mankind, but I, I know the truth. This is nothing but vile sophistry, reeking havoc on the minds and morals of an already depraved band of lecherous old men. And they expect me, me, who was chosen as her Watcher to allow this odiferous task to bear fruit. I say to the nay. I will fall dead in my grave before such action shall be allowed upon my watch.”

He appeared to look somewhere off screen and black flame leaked from his eyes. "And yet the night has ears, and it would be best to hunt. Let my actions speak for me. I shall hush for now, I will hush for now, yet I will be heard."

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Council safe house

Buffy awakened with a glow. Her body felt completely relaxed as she curled more deeply into the arms of her lover. She lay half on her side, half on her stomach with her head on his shoulder, her leg between his, and his cock in her hand. It wasn't the first time she had awoken like this, but it was the first time in years that she had awoken feeling so at peace with herself and her surroundings. She was home. She and her unborn daughter were exactly where they were supposed to be. Lying beside her lover, her mate, and hopefully, one day, her friend, she was at home.

As his eyes popped open, Buffy covered his mouth with her own giving him perhaps the first gentle kiss the two had known. The surprise in his eyes made her want to cringe, but instead she rolled him fully to his back and slid down his length, slowly working his long shaft with her tight quim. The continued look of shock on his face gave way to a pleasured gasp, and Buffy found her own face twisting into a smirk not unlike her mate's. She rode him slowly, committing every inch of him to memory. This was hers, and now at this moment, she thanked the Powers for their gift.

*SMACK* She felt a stinging in her left butt cheek. She looked down at the grinning vamp under her and pouted. "Not this time ok?" Buffy almost begged. "This time just make love to me?"

"Love, any way we do this, I'm making love to you," Spike answered in a smooth husky voice. "When you love someone it's always making love."

"But no spankings?" Buffy begged moving slowly on her lover, knowing full well that the sex would turn rougher and more playful before they were through.

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An hour later

"I must warn you ladies, they can be somewhat loud most of the time,” Ethan told the Charmed Sisters as he led them into the Council safe house. As the group entered the house, they were greeted by, "God Spike, just shove it up my ass! All the way up my ass baby!" being yelled from upstairs.

Ethan smirked at the blushing Pru and Piper.

"You like that you evil cock suckin’ bint?" a male voice yelled. "I'm gonna rip your cute little arse apart."

"Well, at least they seem to be enjoying themselves," Phoebe said with a secretive smirk.

"PHOEBE!" Piper hushed her.

Phoebe snickered as she looked at her middle sister. "Like you and Mr. Squeeky Clean White Lighter are any better?"

"Phoebe, there is still a such a thing as discretion?" Prue reprimanded her snidely.

"Darryl, my knight protector, stab my love wound with your sword Excalibur!" Phoebe jabbed at the oldest, causing the oldest blush as well.

Ethan sniggered at the three. "You have a love wound Miss Prudence? I am told that can be painful."

The four sat and watched TV as Pru kept shooting Phoebe and Ethan dirty looks. The sex upstairs got louder and dirtier sounding until even the sex-adventuress Phoebe asked. "Do those two ever get enough? I mean, please, it has been nearly two hours?"

"Bloody hell." Ethan let out a foreign sounding expletive. "Their record is a bit over ten hours at a time."

"Ouch!" Pru said out loud.

"What love? The love wound couldn't take it?" Ethan teased.

"If you gits are gonna be down there, could you be quieter?" sounded a rich baritone from the top of the stairs. "You're giving my girl a conscience."

Every eye turned toward him. Yeah, he bloody worked out, and yeah, his muscular chest was uncovered to the waist of his only partially buttoned black jeans. It He exuded a power, one that few men had. He naturally drew the eyes of every half way intelligent woman he met. He slowly moved his hand to his face, put his cigarette in his mouth, and then slowly drew his hand back down his 'happy trail' as he stretched his shoulders and back. When Spike felt that every eye in the room was on the crotch of his jeans he lit his smoke and started again. "Bloody hell, Ethan who are these bints?"

"Ten Hours?" Phoebe asked in an awed whisper.

"Yeah luv, and what's it to you?" Spike responded as he slowly descended the stairs making a show of it. "My girl deserves the best."

"Ten Hours?" Phoebe dumbly repeated as she stared at his bulge.

"It's a British thing," Ethan said regally as Spike snorted. "And Buffy will be joining us when?"

"Now watcher man, I just needed a shower," Buffy answered as she moved down the stairs toward her mate clad in nothing but a tiny robe, her hair in a towel. "What's the What?"

"It seems old Ripper has gone Dark Magic bound," Ethan told an unbelieving Buffy.

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The Night somewhere in San Francisco….

As Riley Finn watched the man seemed to stagger towards him wearing the darkness around him like a cloak, the shadows moved to hide him more. The Initiative soldiers were still reeling from the loss of their base but began scanning him immediately. Despite his appearance, the man came back human.

"Bloody hell, if it isn't the little would-be soldiers that destroyed my Slayer," Giles stated drawing the darkness to him.

"You!" Forrest nearly screamed. "You are one of them aren't you? The fuckin’ Council goons that killed them all."

Forrest moved forward his Taser at the ready.

"Would that I were. The blood would have run redder, the screams would have been a symphony," Giles responded as he almost seemed to cry black flame. "You stand before me accused of raping mankind’s greatest hero and driving her down the path of iniquity. How do you plead?"

"PLEAD! Plead? You murdering, cock sucking bastard?" Forrest yelled angrily. "I plead guilty of ripping your head off and shitting down your neck."

"Cocksucker?" Giles questioned distastefully. "There was only that time with Ethan, and I was a bit tipsy."

"Forrest?" Riley called out. He could feel it in his veins – his innate fight or flight response. Only he felt it worse than against any demon they had faced. "Forrest, back off! That's an order."

"No way Finn, this bastard is going down." Even as he Forrest was drawing his sidearm, it happened. Riley felt it in his bones - the dark, gut-twisting evil that enveloped his friend. To his horror, when it receded nothing remained but bones. No skin, no muscles, just a twisted mockery of bones.

"Semper Fi!" came Graham's hard quiet voice from beside him, and Riley knew they were both dead as he saw his friend reaching for a gun. He drew his own weapon hoping to at least take the bastard Watcher with him, but the Watcher was gone. Riley scanned the area before hearing a voice between he and Graham.

"You have been found guilty." Giles pronounced as he put a palm on both boys’ heads and drew forth every bit of their life force.

"Sorry, was a bit hungry," he told the now withered, lifeless corpses.

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Later….

Nearly three hours of planning had passed when a knock sounded on the door. Buffy and the others looked annoyed at the interruption, but Buffy made her way quickly to the door. She checked carefully through the peephole before slinging it open and nearly screaming, "MOM?" She embraced her mom as she looked behind her at her two best friends and a man she didn't know.

"Come in," Buffy said with tears in her eyes. "God, I missed you guys."

"Really?" Xander asked in a snide voice. "I thought you were too busy boinking the undead to notice."

The room went suddenly quiet, except for Spike who had began his low growl of warning to the stupid git. "Back off boy," he warned through clenched teeth.

"What Buffy?" Xander continued, ignoring Spike. "One cold, dead body wasn't enough? One evil boyfriend trying to kill us all wasn't enough? You had to go for the next in line?"

"Alexander Harris, who the hell do you think you are?" Joyce demanded as she moved towards Xander intending to make him shut up.

"I'm Buffy's friend, her best friend," Xander replied nastily. "It’s my job to tell her the truth no matter how much it hurts."

"Is that so Xan?" Buffy's voice was deceptively soft, but it her tone made Spike relax and smile. "Like the message Willow sent me week before last? You know right before I went in to fight Angelus?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Xander looked around fearfully. "I told you exactly what Willow said."

"Oh?" Buffy's voice turned syrupy-sweet as she asked Willow, "You sent me word to 'Kick Angel's Ass' then went ahead and returned his soul?"

"No!" Willow glared questioningly at Xander.

"I didn't tell you that!!" Xander denied.

A black blur was by Buffy in a second and had Xander by the throat, his feet high off the floor. "You calling my mate a liar BOY?"

Surprisingly, Phoebe Halliwell addressed Spike from her perch on the couch. "He isn't worth it you know? He's a small minded little man, full of hate, bigotry and obsession. He's beneath you, William."

Spike covered his shock over the witch’s words and glanced over at Buffy looking for her answer. Buffy mouthed, 'It isn't worth it.' In response, he released the boy and turned away.

However, as Spike turned, Xander ripped a stake out of his pocket and charged. Buffy barely grabbed his wrist before the stake struck home. Buffy coldly looked into the eyes of her former friend as she began to squeeze. The sound of Xander's wrist breaking was clearly audible in the room.

"Leave Xander," Buffy stated ordered through gritted teeth. "I see you near Spike again I'll do that to your neck."

Xander turned holding his wrist looking around the room. Hate filled his eyes as he left the room.

Willow obviously wanted to follow Xander in hopes of patching things up with her best friend, but she doesn’t realizing that things are too far gone. She knew not for sure that Xander did it; she had suspected it for a while. She had been ready to forgive him, but his actions towards Buffy tonight were worse than she had expected. Her heart felt broken from the disappointment.

"Buffy?" Joyce said her voice full of sadness. "I didn't know." She hugged her daughter again.

"I know mom," Buffy replied holding her mom tight. Letting go of her mom, she turned to the rest and stated, "We need to strategize now."

"The first thing we need to do is leave this place," Ethan said looking around the room. The others did not know that he didn’t intend to leave with them. "Too many know where we are."

"Quite," Wesley began glad to be back on track and rid of that obnoxious boy. "The Council has several safe houses here in San Francisco that are only known on a need to know basis. Fortunately, I’ve been in that need to know list."

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The other side of San Francisco….

A group of men stood over three dead bodies.

"Are you sure?" the oldest asked quietly.

"Yes Mr. Travers. They each have been mystically drained of every bit of their energy," a young, dark skinned man responded.

"And it was Rupert?" Quentin asked. "You are sure?"

"Positive. It is his energy signature, sir."

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Meanwhile back at the safe house….

As Giles approached the house he heard it -old strains of a once favorite spaghetti western. Its haunting tunes struck a cord within the Ripper as he continued his approach. Giles felt his old friend before he saw him. Then, there he was, Ethan Rayne, bathed in magic. Every color in the rainbow of magic surrounded the former Chaos wizard.

"‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’, Ethan?" Giles commented as he moved inside slowly. "Rather passé, I would think."

"Don't lie, Ripper, old man. We both knew it would end like this one day." Ethan smiled humorlessly. "Just never knew YOU would be the bad and the ugly, and I would be the good. Kind of ironic, isn’t it, old man?"

"I am the RIGHTEUOUS!" Giles’ voice echoed through the night. "I will not cower before doddering old fools with delusions of grandeur. I shall not falter in my duty. No right is too trivial for me not to defend!"

"Self righteous don't you mean old man?" Ethan's voice sounded tired almost humbled as he looked at this mockery that used to be his best friend.

*Whack* A blow to the head from the crowbar came from nowhere. It leveled Ethan instantly. "Sorry Giles," Xander said from behind Ethan, "but we need to save Buffy."

"No problem my good man," he said grinning cruelly as he walked up to Ethan.

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Three blocks away…..

Buffy looked around again, but he still wasn't there. "Wesley, did Ethan get into the car with the Charmed ones?" She couldn’t keep the worried tone out of her voice.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Upon hearing the scream that cut through the night, they looked at each other and knew it was obviously Ethan's.

(Fade to black)

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