lit_gal | Mangled Spells Snippet (Reply)

Tonight's snippet is brought to you by

c_woodhaven who asked for "something out of the Irony!verse or something out of Mangled Spells... whatever moves you." Mangled Spells moved me.

To: Ptera@council.com
From: Rgiles@sdale.cpsd.org
Subject: RE: Your recent decision
Date: Tue, 04 May 1999

After receiving your recent email, I felt it necessary to address your concerns.

>We truly doubt that you have considered
>the ramifications of allowing certain parties
>to have access to certain women, especially
>given historical precedence. Perhaps you
>should review the material in the Yarda
>Codex and the Herrick diaries.

I assure you that I have a complete understanding of Spike's nature. Should I ever forget that he is a vicious demon, I need only wait for one of his temper tantrums where he threatens to eviscerate whichever human seems to be annoying him the most on any given night, usually myself. And even discounting his vivid verbal descriptions, I have witnessed his violence during patrols on a regular basis. Despite Spike's past conflicts with slayers, his relationship with Faith remains disturbingly cordial, and his conflicts with Buffy remain both verbal and puerile to the point of being nearly familial. He has shown no interest in killing either. Now, I do not intend to suggest that I trust him because I do not, but right now his best interests are served by cooperating since, like Angel, the demonic community has ostracized him.

>The idea that a member of the Scourge
>of Europe would ever reform because of
>the influence of a teenager is laughable.

Xander's ability to curb Spike's more sadistic tendencies has been tested on numerous occasions. Our school principal physically restrained Buffy and Xander during an incident with a creature I dubbed the "Hansel and Gretel" demon. Even in a killing rage, Spike stopped when asked, by Xander, to release the man unharmed. Not more than a week later, the mayor offered Spike a significant bounty for turning on us, and while I do not condone Spike's willingness to cheat the mayor out of the money, I must point out that he did not betray us.

>In addition, the humanity of the
>teenager is in doubt. The Celtic spell
>described in your report has never resulted
>in the gender-changes our agents reported.

I shall ignore the implications of you placing agents in town, and would simply remind you that your actions have already angered the slayers and further interference might lead to conflicts. Xander is entirely human. He has suffered injury and indignity to fight beside the slayers because of his ethical nature, and to cast aspersions on him is the basest form of attack.

His recent spate of gender-changes came as a result of Drusilla's interference, and he is now settled into a primarily masculine persona. If, during times of stress or salacious activity, he reverts to his female form, the blame falls on Drusilla, not Xander. Furthermore, Spike has proven remarkably adept at creating plausible explanations for Xander's more inconveniently timed gender changes. After changing in the middle of an entire cafeteria full of students, Spike convinced the entire student body that our lunch room workers had laced the Jello with hallucinogenics. A situation that could have threatened the identity of the slayers and caused a panic of unprecedented proportions ended with nothing more serious than a thousand teenagers trying to get their hands on the remaining Jello.

>The relationship between Angelus and
>William the Bloody suggests that their
>familial ties still exert influence. Since
>Angelus has already posed a serious
>danger once, the potential for Angelus
>and William to act together in furtherance
>of evil exists. Your denial does not
>change this fact.

I have never denied that Angel and Spike continue to have a relationship, even if it no longer fits the most common form described for childer and sires. Spike seeks Angel's attention and approval, even as he torments the older vampire to prove his independence. If Angel lost his soul again, I would consider Spike's loyalties suspect, although I imagine he would still remain loyal to Xander first and foremost.

However, I do believe that danger exists with each and every one of us. The council is well aware of my own past dalliances with evil and power, and that potential exists in every one of us. Willow's curiosity has led her to inadvertently make decisions that could have caused great harm. Xander has endured harassment, neglect, and verbal abuse that could have caused him to turn on others as so many who suffer bullying do. Faith's fears and lack of direction when she first came to Sunnydale could have led her to seek approval in the wrong places. Oz's nature as a werewolf could have triggered aggression.

Each of us carries an ability to make a choice that could improve or damage the world, and Spike is no less capable of this than any of us. However, Spike has shown no interest in ending the world, and from my own observations, he would regret any such action the moment the television stopped broadcasting his wretched shows. He stood with us against Angelus before, and now that he has found Xander and some measure of acceptance in the group, I would expect no less of him now. Naturally, I would not trust my life or the fate of the world on this trust, but I trust him farther than I trust you.