"So, what part of 'quiet, non confrontational, and careful' did you not understand?" Buffy asked Dawn. The Slayer had the computer pad detailing Dawn's last case in one hand and a bright green popsicle in the other. "This isn't any of those things, Dawn."

Dawn snorted. "No, it was effective. Got a call about vamps, killed said vamps. Case closed."

Buffy scowled. "Do you care about what the cubs saw? Because I do. They saw us, you and me, hurting. I don't want that to happen, Dawn. It might, though, if you don't get a better handle on your emotions."

"Excuse me?" Dawn grated out, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," Buffy replied. "This happens every time you and Willow hit a rough spot. You break up and get all Rambo-with-a-skirt-on. This time it's more serious, Dawn." The Slayer sighed tiredly. "Look, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. We've survived way too long to lose someone to stupidity."

Dawn rolled her eyes but nodded and walked off. Buffy knew that at best she'd bought a few days reprieve from Dawn's aggressive tendencies. Still, she wished that Dawn would... well, grow up a little.

Willow came into the office a few minutes after Dawn left. "Time for my lecture?" She asked lightly, sliding into her chair.

"Yes," Buffy said flatly. "Look, I don't like telling people how to live their lives," She began, "But you and Dawn... you're going to hurt someone besides yourselves one of these days, Wills."

The redhead sighed. "I know," She admitted. "I just don't know what to do."

Buffy nodded sagely. "Balance the checkbook," She replied. "It always helps me clear *my* head."

"Right," Willow muttered, turning to her computer. "Which is why you always have Lorne do it for you."

Buffy shrugged. "Doesn't take much to clear my head. Speaking of Lorne, we've got an appointment in half an hour. Later!"

"""

"Wil!" Xander shouted into the office. "Vision!" The Raphe followed up his yell by rapping on the door with the book he was carrying. "Hey, vamps!"

"We can hear you," Angel stated quietly. "What's the nature of your vision?"

Xander laughed. "Are you recording our conversation for quality assurance purposes?"

"No, for extortion," Wil shot back. "Vision?"

Xander flopped down in his chair. "Ten vamps at the coffee shop next to Moe's Emporium. Bit of blood, bit of mayhem. Looks like a two-man job."

Angel glanced at Wil. It was the blonde's call, but they were both itching for something to do. "Angel? You want to come with?" Wil offered as he stood. He could see Angel poised on the edge of his seat, wanting to get away from the office, the hotel, and the spectre of dream-visions they couldn't decipher.

"Sure," Angel murmured as he joined Wil.

"You're still worried about the cubs," Wil stated as Angel drove them across the city.

"And you aren't?" Angel retorted. Both vampires had been quiet and withdrawn from worry for the last few days. There was nothing they could do to make themselves feel better about the situation. What the cubs had seen was a dark, hazy cloud that followed them around wherever they went, making them constantly aware of how little they knew their city.

"Of course I am," Wil conceded. He watched the flashing lights and dingy buildings pass in a blur. The rest of the ride was silent as the two vampires mulled over their thoughts.

The coffee shop was crowded with a healthy, brisk business when Angel and Wil showed up at its doorstep. Neither vampire noticed any other demons in the restaurant when they entered, so Wil got in line while Angel went back outside.

Wil had just paid for a couple of mochas when he heard Angel behind him. "They're outside." Wil nodded, handing Angel a drink. The blonde counted an even ten vampires approaching the coffee shop. They were rather obviously not the average street gang of minions and fledges. No, these vampires were smartly dressed and acted somewhat controlled. Wil and Angel blended into the people standing in front of the store, waiting for the right moment.

As the vampire in front reached the sidewalk, Angel pretended to trip over someone's shoe. He sent hot coffee flying through the air to land across the vampire's crisply pressed shirt. "Oh, sorry, man!" Angel said apologetically. "Er, I tripped..."

The vampire growled menacingly. "You're dead," He hissed at Angel. The dark vampire held up his hands placatingly, backing off.

"I'm really, really sorry. Look," Angel continued, reaching for his wallet, "I'll pay for the dry cleaning, ok?"

Angel's chocolaty victim took a step forward, hands coming up to reach for the clumsy human who had covered him in sticky coffee. One of his companions, however, called him off with a whispered word. The vampire glared at Angel, promising violence, before turning to join the others.

"Follow them," Angel told Wil. The blonde kept the newcomers in sight as they pushed through the crowd and entered the coffee shop, ignoring the outraged grumblings of the patrons. The scene reminded Wil more than a little of an old gangster movie, complete with heavies working over local businessmen for a protection racket. The cold, professional demeanor, dark suits...

Wil's suspicions were confirmed when the vampires called over the shop's owner with little more than a wave of the leader's hand. A wispy young woman stepped forward, already frowning. The blonde vampire overheard the tense conversation, which only made him surer that they were dealing with organized crime. He turned around and walked back outside, finding Angel standing right next to the door.

"Well?" Angel hissed impatiently.

"Protection scheme," Wil replied. "I don't think the owner wants to pay up." Angel nodded once and motioned for Wil to go around back, to the service entrance.

Angel waded through the customers inside the store, continuing to act like a slightly clumsy human. "Hey, there you are!" He said to the vampire he'd struck earlier. "Look, please... let me at least take care of your clothes. That's gonna stain."

"Fuck off," The vampire said, shoving Angel's chest. Angel watched, amused, as the vampire's frown grew when Angel didn't budge. A shove that hard would've sent a human to the floor. "What the--"

Angel lifted his left arm, letting a stake slip out of his jacket. The vampire's words faded away as wood was pressed to his heart. "Let's take this into the back, hmm?" He whispered to the vampire. "It's kinda crowded in here. All these... witnesses, you know?"

The lead vampire attempted to maneuver around Angel, but found Wil behind him--stake in hand. The vampire group reluctantly nodded, seeing that Angel and Wil had them pinned. It wouldn't be in their best interests to cause a big scene at the shop, where they might leave a witness or ninety. The store owner jumped out of the way as Angel and Wil herded the vampires into the back hallway, towards the alley. As soon as the kitchen door closed behind them, though, all hell broke loose.

The first vampire exploded into dust just as Wil reached the outside door. He spun, kicked, and caught the next demon in the heart with a stake, only to find another waiting for him. Angel fought three vampires who took exception to his dusting of their leader, dragging the brunette to his knees. Wil efficiently staked two more vampires, but found himself inundated before their dust settled. Another vampire fell to dust before someone wrenched his stake away. The blonde twisted furiously, freeing a hand long enough to retrieve another stake from his coat. He turned just in time to avoid getting his own stake shoved in his heart.

Angel brought down the last of his attackers, only to see that his childe was literally covered in vampires. He raced towards Wil, working as fast as he could to free the younger vampire. He reached Wil less than a minute later, covered in dust but otherwise ok. Two of their attackers fled out the back, disappearing into the night.

"Two man, my arse," Wil grumbled as he stood up. "We could've used four."

Angel stared out the door, deciding that there was no way they could catch the fleeing vampires. "It should've been a two man job," He murmured. "They were well-trained."

"I know," Wil sighed. "And that's bad."

"Yes," Angel agreed. "I don't like this."

"What? Protection rackets? Organized, well-trained vampires?" Wil asked, leading Angel out of the shop and to their car. "What's not to like, Angel? The fact that those vamps probably worked for Vincenzo?"

Angel swore. He didn't need to be reminded of Los Angeles' newest, finest vampiric purveyor of organized crime. His leads hadn't found much, not yet, but what they had given him had been enough. Vincenzo, of the Order of Evmiri, was setting up shop in LA. "We should get back to the hotel. The others are going to need to know about this."

"""

Buffy, Cordelia, and Wesley listened attentively while Angel and Wil recounted what happened at the coffee shop. When the vampires told them about their theory that the vampires were working for Vincenzo, the others simply nodded. "You are, in all likelihood, correct," Wesley commented. "In which case..."

"You probably pissed him off," Buffy said. "But that's what we do--piss off the bad guys. Well, and kill them, but you know what I mean."

"Could this be what the cubs saw?" Cordelia asked slowly. "That we have to handle this guy really carefully?"

"A bit late for that," Wil said under his breath. "Might be, though. We still don't know how strong he is in the city, not really. Just a few hints here and there..."

"How many visions have we had that link back to his activities?" Wesley asked Cordelia. "Just this one?"

Cordelia frowned. "Oh, there are probably more, but it's hard to tell right now. I'll talk to Xander about it."

"And that's not even getting into Eos," Buffy added. "We've been doing a booming business in clearing out drug houses, getting rid of extortionists and that kind of thing. All very popular on the organized crime front."

"I'll talk to my contacts again," Angel offered. "Light a fire under them."

"Good," Cordelia stated. "So... on another note, Angel? Can we talk about this... Oz's expense report?"

Buffy saw this as her chance to slip out, so she left the office for Caritas. Wesley opted to join her, since he'd heard Cordelia's tone of voice. Whatever Oz had expensed wasn't going over well at all.

Despite their attempts to flee, Buffy and Wesley were able to hear the seer's outraged shout. "Angel, it's a car! You can't expense a car!"

"""

Wil watched Angel roam around their apartment, picking up bric-a-brac and setting it down again. "Is that helping any?" The blonde vampire asked from his place on their bed. He knew Angel was worried and thinking--which wasn't a bad thing in and of itself, but at the moment the dark vampire was just winding himself up for a good brood.

"No," Angel admitted. "But it's something to do."

"So am I," Wil shot back.

Angel realized his jaw was hanging open, so he closed his mouth with a snap. "So you are," He admitted, grinning. "Why? You offering?"

"Maybe I am," The blonde murmured, stretching out languidly. "Wanna make something of it?"

"Maybe I do," Angel said, walking towards the bed. "Want me to?"

Wil shrugged. "If you want."

Angel pulled off his clothes, joining Wil on the bed. "Oh, I want," He whispered, gathering the blonde close to him. Thin layers of cream silk fell away as Angel searched for and found his lover's lean form.

"Love you," Wil moaned when Angel's mouth latched onto his throat. Slender fingers scrabbled down Angel's back, silently pleading for more, for anything. Angel gave it to him, fangs carefully sliding into delicate flesh.

Angel focused on the sensation of Wil writhing beneath him, his childe caught up in the ecstasy of the bite and of their bodies together like this. He himself was drunk with it, with the taste of Wil on his tongue and the silk of the blonde's skin seducing him.

Slow and fast, hard and soft, Angel and Wil fell out of the world and into each other, clinging together with shaking arms. When the sun rose, it was to shine upon the dwelling of two vampires desperately hoping that their peaceful existence was safe, but knowing that it wasn't.

*****
Part 6:

"Hey, Angel?" Buffy called out as the dark vampire entered the office.

"Yes?" Angel murmured, glancing around for the blonde.

"Could you take care of this?" She asked, handing over a sheaf of papers. "For some reason, the city's building inspectors sent all the paperwork to me instead of you. Since you're the owner of this hulking mass of violations..."

"I thought Lorne fixed them," He replied, shuffling through the intimidating mass of paperwork.

"About fifteen years ago," She shot back. "And it's not that the place is falling down; the standards have changed. You haven't done anything in ages to improve the structure's environmental friendliness, you know. No solar panels, no biointegration, no wind energy compliance."

Angel sighed and nodded. He'd welcomed the technology of the twenty-first century into his life with open arms--to a point. Things that seemed to make his job and life easier and smoother, without requiring much actual input from him, were fine. Everything else was shunted off to people like Cordelia, Wesley, Fred and Oz, who seemed to actually enjoy doing battle with silicon, carbon microtubing, and ceramic semiconductors. It looked as though he'd have to have a word with them. The Hyperion, and Angel, were in line to receive fines in excess of ten times their annual income if they didn't bring the place up to compliance on a number of issues.

"Oh, and have you seen Willow?" Buffy continued. "She's supposed to help me translate this matrix of Wesley's."

"I think she's in the kitchen," Angel said. "Fred mentioned something about crepes earlier."

Angel was about to sit down behind his desk when a scream brought him up and sent him after Buffy, who had shot out of the office at the sound. They rushed downstairs, the vampire vaulting over the banister while the Slayer tumbled gracefully down the stairs.

Dawn and Fred were standing in the lobby, stranded in the centre of a wide pool of blood. Angel recognized it instantly as human. The vibrant, still-warm stuff ran in a trickling stream from the main doors, to gather in an irregular circle around his friends.

"Buffy?" Dawn whispered, staring at her sister. Fred's eyes turned to Wesley, who had made it to the second-floor balcony before seeing the ghastly vision below.

"Stay right there," Buffy said, running to the doors. Angel followed her, joined by Wil. The flour-covered blonde vampire must have been in the midst of baking.

Xander approached Fred and Dawn, sensing their fear and anguish. "It's ok," He soothed, his smooth Raphe voice easing some of their anxiety. Somehow he managed to hide his fear behind a mask of Zen-like calm. "Let them get a look and we'll get you out of this." Fred whined, eyes shifting into lupine form. Wesley and Oz both tensed, knowing that she only did that when she was near the breaking point. The alpha wolf came down the stairs to approach his packmate, wanting to prevent any serious crises. It wasn't until he reached Xander that the magnitude of the situation hit him.

"Where are the cubs?" He growled, looking up at Wesley.

"Gunn and Cordelia have them at the movies," The faun replied. "They're due back in an hour." Wesley glanced at the closed doors of Caritas. The club would open in two hours, employees arriving about an hour before that. Lorne was tracking down yet another delinquent supplier, so no one was in the place at the moment.

"Children."

Angel turned to Wil, nodding slowly. Buffy had backed up to press against both vampires. They held her tightly, needing the warm support of her strength as much as she needed theirs. On the pavement in front of the hotel lay five young humans, all very obviously dead. What had the three friends so shocked, however, was the state of the bodies. They had been ravaged, bitten in every conceivable place. Their little forms were barely recognizable as human.

The children had been tied together and positioned so that the single wounds in their necks all bled out towards the hotel. That didn't completely explain the amount of blood they'd seen inside, however. Someone must have augmented the spill with more, from another source. It didn't matter, however. The effect was the same; shock, horror and indescribable pain.

After a moment, Buffy turned and entered the hotel. Angel and Wil reached for the children, listening as Buffy got Fred and Dawn out of the blood-circle. By the time the vampires had gotten the bodies inside and downstairs, Oz and Xander had started on cleanup.

"Hey, I got the eggs and sug--"

Xander let go of his mop in time to catch the bag of groceries that Willow dropped when she walked into the hotel.

"Blood," She whispered, eyes wide. "Whose blood?"

"Not any of ours," Xander replied. "Dawn needs you. She's upstairs." The Raphe figured that Buffy, who was watching Dawn, could explain what they knew to Willow. He was in no position to; the roiling emotions of the hotel were making him dizzy. The cleaning was something to focus Xander's mind away from the death and confusion that raced around him.

"""

"I'll stay," Wil said softly, closing the door on the bodies.

Angel shook his head. "No. No reason to." He wanted Wil upstairs with him, where they could work together on this new, very personal case. Someone had killed five children in a very premeditated act of terror and he wanted to know who.

The two vampires made their way slowly upstairs, noting how efficiently Oz and Xander had cleaned up the lobby. No blood, or blood-scent, remained. Candles were lit here and there, burning off the last dregs of fear and adrenalin and perfuming the air with chandan and frankincense.

When they got to the office, everyone was waiting for them. Dawn and Fred looked visibly better, though they still shook occasionally.

"What happened?" Angel asked them gently.

Dawn grimaced. "We were in the kitchen, ganging up on Wil. Then there was this sound, like a door slamming."

"We thought it was Willow, back with the eggs," Fred continued. "Dawn and I went out to get her. Then we saw the blood."

"It was like a river," Dawn said, picking up the story. "It flooded around us, like water. Then..."

"It was Vincenzo," Buffy spat, standing up. She paced the floor, staring hard at the walls. "He's sending us a message."

"About the cubs?" Xander inquired. "Five children, five cubs?"

"And lo, he sent forth a river of blood to bathe the apostates in their own impurities. Damned are those who would stand against him, he who would give swords to the night and the shadow," Wesley murmured.

"Revelation?" Xander asked.

Wesley shook his head. "Lysistalius."

"Classic mob message," Dawn commented. "Leave us alone or you're next."

"We can't let this go," Buffy said. "Not the bodies downstairs and not Vincenzo." She turned to Angel. "How are we supposed to be nice and understated when he's dropping children at our doorstep?"

Angel closed his eyes, rubbing them with the fingers of one hand. How indeed? The dark vampire wanted nothing more than to find Vincenzo and dismember him with his bare hands. "Call Cordelia; get the cubs back here. Then we'll figure out what to do."

"""

"He's dead."

Angel sighed and let Cordelia rant. She and Gunn had taken the news very hard. At the moment, all five cubs were up in their quarters, protected by as many wards as the combined investigative firms could muster.

"I mean it, Angel. He killed babies. What about their parents? What do we do?"

"Unless you want to be the focus of a very uncomfortable investigation, our best option is to permanently dispose of the bodies," Wesley reminded her. "While the action is cold-hearted, it is best all-around."

"So... you're going to what, feed them to the lions?" She screeched, hands gesticulating wildly.

"No," Wil said slowly. "Don't worry about the how. Focus on the cubs. We have to keep them safe."

Cordelia's eyes narrowed, but she didn't object. "They're not leaving the hotel," She swore. "You," She continued, pointing at Angel, "Find Vincenzo and make him pay."

"I will," He swore, watching her storm out of the office. "Somehow."

"Where did we go wrong?" Wil asked Angel and Wesley. "Surely Dawn's performance earlier didn't warrant this."

"Not by itself," Wesley agreed. "However, once you calculate how much we have cost Vincenzo over the past months--the coffee shop, the various rackets, the succubus..."

Angel opened his mouth to respond, but his cell phone interrupted him. Wil and Wesley listened as the dark vampire conversed in clipped tones with one of his contacts. Less than a minute later, the call was over.

"I know where Vincenzo is," He stated, face hard as granite.

"Where?" Wil asked, standing.

"The old Post Office building east of UCLA," He replied. "The front is a plasma clinic."

"How original," Wesley said dryly. "When do we leave?"

Angel thought briefly about what supplies they had on hand. "At dawn. Get Oz and Xander."

"""

"I'm going," Dawn said, grabbing a can of kerosene. "I know more about explosives than Xander."

"Yeah, and you've got a penchant for torching vamps," Buffy returned. "Look, Dawn... This has to be a surgical procedure. In and out, with no delays. The clinic opens an hour after sunrise, and the employees show up thirty minutes before that. We're not killing humans just because you've got a hard-on for Vincenzo."

"I *do not* have a hard-on for Vincenzo," Dawn grated out, stirring naphthalene into kerosene.

"But only because you don't have the equipment for it," Xander commented. "We're happy to have you along, Dawn, but you've got to follow the rules."

"And they are?" She asked, moving on to another canister.

"Get in, get out. Three minutes max. Just spread the stuff, throw in a lighter, and run," Xander told her. "Wesley's going to cloak us with a spell, but it won't last long. It's just for the cops and passers-by anyway."

Angel and Wil listened as they worked, both wishing they could be there. However, going through the sewers wasn't possible--Vincenzo would have expected that--and since the sun would be up, they would be merely a liability in the cars. Therefore, they were staying home, watching after the cubs and following along via cell phone. "Dont stop to stake anyone," Angel warned Dawn. "Fire works just as well."

Oz frowned. "Are you sure this is the best way?" He asked curiously. "Doesn't jive with the cubs' dream."

Gunn growled at his alpha. "Five kids dead, man. That doesn't jive with anything good."

"We'll deal with the consequences," Angel said softly. "If this goes right, Vincenzo won't be an issue any more." The Evmiri vampire wouldn't be expecting him; otherwise he wouldn't have chosen such an indefensible lair. The cover was so obvious that no one thought about it--vampires running a plasma clinic?

Lorne watched from the doorway, a pensive frown on his face. This wasn't the course of action he would have chosen--visions such as the one the cubs had experienced usually meant bad news. However, he also understood his friends' reaction to this latest insult. First, Vincenzo had killed five children in cold blood, torturing them beforehand. This was on top of many months of escalating violence and darkness in the city. And, Lorne couldn't help but remind himself that his, Xander's, and Cordelia's visions were both fallible and often in need of interpretation. None of that, however, helped Lorne shake the feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

"Time to go," Fred stated, holding up her watch. "We'll keep you posted, ok?"

Angel and Wil stood with Lorne, Cordelia and Gunn while the others piled into their cars and left. "I still don't like this," The green demon murmured as they turned to go back upstairs. "But in the meantime, I think I'll go help Willow with the kids."

Cordelia and Gunn also retreated to watch over their children. No one wanted to leave the cubs alone, even for a moment. Angel and Will walked into the kitchen, where leftover crepes and blood awaited them.

"What if Lorne's right?" Wil asked as he dipped a crepe into his blood. "And we're just making things worse?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Angel said, echoing his earlier comments. "What are we supposed to do? Send a nasty letter?"

"I just can't help it," Wil muttered, wiping his mouth. "I keep getting the feeling we're being played--by someone who knows every button to push. Kids, extortion, murder... When was the last time that a single enemy dominated Xander and Cordelia's visions this much?"

Angel stared into his breakfast. "I think we both know the answer to that," He replied. "But that's the way of things, Wil. We fight whoever's doing evil--and if it's big, organized evil, so be it."

"Yeah," The blonde said tiredly. "But why couldn't it be little, disorganized evil?"

Angel grinned at his lover's whining. "Because that would make life easy, and..."

"Life is never easy," Wil finished as the phone rang. The two vampires huddled together as Wesley kept them posted on their plan's progress. Before long, the roar of an out-of-control fire and the screech of alarms filled the kitchen, making both men shudder.

"Fire to purify," Angel whispered, shutting off the phone.

"Flames to cleanse," Wil added.

"As it once was," The dark vampire continued.

"So it shall be again."

*****
Part 7:

"So..." Fred began, staring into the refrigerator. The werewolf sniffed appraisingly, noting that they were low on milk, out of eggs, and had far more celery than they needed. "Is today a 'leg of lamb with curried potatoes' day or a 'fava bean casserole' day?"

Xander peered over the werewolf's shoulder. "Fava beans," He said decisively. Fava beans were one of his favorite foods, far above lamb. "But can we have spinach salad too? Maybe with a hot bacon dressing?"

Fred picked up her jaw and looked over at Xander. "You expect a pack of werewolves to eat nothing but fava beans and spinach?" She could already hear Gunn and Cordelia, growling as they pushed piles of casserole around their plates and eyed Wesley as though he was slathered in barbecue sauce.

"Hey, you asked!" Xander replied, chuckling. "Why don't you make both? It's not like we won't eat it. Besides, I don't think we have enough fava beans to make a casserole for an army."

"True," Fred conceded, "And I think we've just got ten pounds of lamb. Are you going to help me, or go get someone else to?"

"Sure, I'll help," Xander said agreeably. "I can cook."

"Famous last words," Fred muttered, pulling out a baking dish. Xander retrieved a canister of dried fava beans and a bag of onions, obeying Fred's directives to put down all but one bulb of garlic.

"""

"Mommy!"

Cordelia caught Mischa just before the cub vaulted off his bed and onto a nearby lamp. She rolled them over the bed, tickling her cub as he squirmed and giggled. "Until you grow wings, buddy, there's no flying around here!"

"I had a dream last night," The young boy said, snuggling into his mother's arms. Soft brown hair tickled Cordelia's nose, but she didn't bother to brush it away.

Cordelia froze, fear ripping through her. "Did you now? Wanna tell me about it?" Dreams were nothing special, unless the cubs had them. Then, those nighttime visions became chilling messages of warning and caution.

"Yup!" Mischa said, grinning madly. "Me an' Julian were eating ice cream, next to a really big blue elephant!" He bounced on her lap, letting his fingers tangle in the weave of her sweater. Yarn fibers stuck to jelly-coated fingers, leaving a fuzzy white film over coffee colored fingers. "I had chocolate, and Julian got butterscotch."

"Wow!" Cordelia exclaimed, relieved that Mischa's dream had been nothing more than childhood fantasies. She reached down to disentangle her son's fingers, noting idly that her sweater was covered in grape jelly. "That's cool. I'll bet that was a fun dream. Do you want ice cream tonight after dinner?"

"Uh huh," Mischa replied. "And then can we play that game? With the little sticks? Wil likes that one."

"Of course," She said, standing and setting the child down in a chair. "I'm going to go get your sisters, ok? You wait here--and if Julian comes in, make him stay too! You both need baths."

"Ok, Mommy," Mischa said, watching his mother leave. The child's voice fell to a whisper, so low that it didn't even reach the door. "And after we play with the sticks, can we watch Aunt Buffy kill Lorne, like in my dream?"

Cordelia didn't hear her son's last statement, or the way his dark eyes filled with tears at the memory of such trouble and pain.

"""

"Angel!"

"I'm in here," The dark vampire said, wincing at Cordelia's piercing screech. "In the office, Cordy." He was studying a computer display and several smaller data screens, all of which held information from sources, case files, and headaches.

"Hey," Cordelia said as she popped her head through the doorway. "Have you seen the cubs? I've got Mischa upstairs, but the rest of them are MIA. If they don't get baths soon, they're going to fuse to whatever surfaces they touch."

Angel frowned. "I think Lorne has them in the club--they were going to play with the karaoke machine. Julian said something about Tom Jones. Oh, and did you cut the last round of paychecks? Oz has to send something over for the car."

"Yeah, I approved the transfers yesterday," She reminded him. "And he got a little extra for the car. I still can't believe you approved that!" Cordelia wasn't happy that Angel had bowed to group pressure and let the alpha wolf expense some of the cost of the car, but such was the way of things at Angel Investigations. "Anyway, I'm off to track down some juvenile delinquents."

"Leashes. I suggested leashes, but did anyone listen to me?" Angel muttered under his breath. He loved the cubs--all of them. With children around, the loss of Connor barely registered anymore. He got to be both doting parent and grandparent to five precocious, precious little beings... who could raise hell better than his lover had ever been able to. Even Wil conceded that his Spike days were nothing compared to five wolf cubs, a box of laundry detergent, and a gallon of honey. The addition of crayon chunks had been key to turning the lobby into a work of sticky, grainy art that to this day lived on in the hotel's annals of disaster. Xander, with his constantly channeled inner child, had joined in--saying that the old adage about 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' seemed appropriate. Fred had taken pictures, which still hung along the walls outside the cubs' quarters. They, Xander, and the lobby ended up looking as though a hundred cans of fake snow had exploded in a well-planned act of sabotage. Angel was still leery of getting water on any surface of the lobby, oddly sure that suds would form in response.

Sighing as did any ancient being, Angel heaved himself out of his chair and went off in search of others. He had a strange feeling that the cubs were going to be quite the handful, which wasn't that unusual. However, Buffy, Dawn, Oz and Wesley were out of the hotel. Oz and Wesley were tracking down a couple of nonpaying clients, and Buffy and Dawn were on a sister-bonding shopping spree downtown.

"Going somewhere, handsome?"

Angel stared into the shadows, seeing Wil's outline now that he was focused on it. "How did you get in here without me hearing you?"

"I was here first," Wil conceded, stepping forward. "Reading. It was... quiet." The back of the library contained some comfortable chairs, which Wil used when he needed a place to retreat and meditate.

"Reading this?" Angel asked, reaching for the book in his lover's hand. "Ah. Still worried about Vincenzo, I see." He wasn't willing to admit it, but Angel was worried as well.

"It's only been two weeks, Angel," Wil murmured. "I think I'm right to be worried." He took the book back, placing it back on a shelf. "Besides, poetry always calms me."

"But Emily Dickenson? She's morbid, Wil," Angel retorted. He saw, though, that Wil was in no mood to argue about what kind of writing soothed him. "Never mind. You wanna help me track down a couple of monkeys?"

"Cordy's rounding up the cubs. I heard," Wil said dryly. "Come on, there are enough of us here--if we catch them off-guard."

Much to their surprise, the cubs weren't raising hell in Caritas. No, everything in the club was orderly and calm--too calm. Lorne was leaning against the bar, while Cordelia, Xander, Willow, Gunn and Fred were standing in front of the stage. Familiar music rolled through the club, accented by five very familiar, childish voices.

"It's not unusual to be loved by anyone..."

Wil blinked. The cubs were singing Tom Jones. The blonde had a sudden, very disturbing image of the five kids being pelted with lacy underwear. He glanced over at Lorne, seeing that the green demon wasn't so much lounging against the bar as slumped against it for support. When the vampire thought he saw blood in the corners of Lorne's eyes, he nudged Angel into action. "Shut them up, Angel. I think Lorne's dying."

Angel jerked out of his daze and moved towards the stage. As he passed, Cordelia murmured, mostly to herself. "I swore I left Mischa upstairs. Now he's down here. I don't understand. He's supposed to be upstairs."

Xander's words were far more in-the-present. "Oh god, Tom Jones. I'm dead; this is hell. I've been a bad Raphe. I understand now, god; I have sinned. Forgive me."

Gunn was just staring, while Willow and Fred hummed along. Angel swept past them and unplugged the karaoke machine, abruptly ending the cubs' concert. "I thought your mom told you it was bath time," He murmured, eyeing the cubs with a very serious expression.

Thalia's lower lip began to pudge out, moving in slow motion. "I don't need a bath," She declared, mouth quivering. Rhiannon joined in, eyes widening to comic proportions. Alan simply sighed with an old-man air and ambled off the stage, resigned to being dunked in water repeatedly for hours on end. After all, that was how bath time torture went. Water, soap, and more water, until he was on the verge of dissolving. If only his mother would see how he was slowly melting away under the constant onslaught of water. That was why he was the smallest, after all. Constant bathing was washing him to nothingness, like those smooth stones that lay in riverbeds. Eventually he'd be nothing but a grain of sand.

"Do we have to?" Julian inquired, glaring at Alan. His little brother gave up far too easily. If they stuck together, there was at least a chance they'd get out of the dreaded bath time.

"You know," Cordelia began, "Ordinarily I'd at least let you try to convince me to let you go around dirty. After the Tom Jones serenade? You're gonna be so clean you'll squeak."

"Hear, hear," Xander muttered, nodding vigorously.

Once the cubs were gone, Wil turned to Lorne. The demon seemed to be a bit recovered, shakily reaching for a glass of something stout. "Was it really that bad?" The vampire inquired, concerned.

"Tom Jones," Lorne spat. "I knew. I mean, I fucking *knew* that was what they were going to sing, but... It wasn't real, you know, until the music started."

"Er... and you saw?" Wil pressed.

"The same as before," Lorne admitted. "Nothing's changed. Other than Tom Jones. I think I need drugs. Strong drugs. Maybe more booze too..."

Wil trailed behind Fred and Angel, leaving Lorne alone in the club. Xander, Fred and Willow retreated to the kitchen, where the scents of lamb and bacon tantalized. Gunn and Cordelia herded their children upstairs, leaving Angel and Wil to continue their work.

"Have you run across any prophecies involving Tom Jones?" Wil asked Angel.

Angel frowned. "Not by name, but there was this one that mentioned the ringing voice of the Betrayer... of course, it involved a lot of voles."

"We might want to check on that again..."

"""

"You know, I'm as much a slave to fashion as the next Summers girl," Dawn began, eyeing a rack of shirts, "But I'm just not convinced that PVC and flannel halter shirts are the 'in' thing this year."

Buffy turned from a display of patent leather boots. "They are--if you're fifteen. Us old people should stick to suede minis and combat platforms."

The brunette giggled. "Buffy, you know I wear standard-issue Docs. How you fight in those heels, I'll never know."

Buffy shrugged and motioned for her sister to join her. They exited the store, heading for yet another. "Practice, practice, practice. Have we gone into that one yet?"

Dawn studied the denim store. "I don't think so; jeans are still on my list."

"Oooh, look!" Buffy exclaimed as they walked in. "Button fly!" Before long, both women's arms were full of trousers, which they hefted into dressing rooms.

"Try these," Dawn said, sending a pair sailing over the partition. "They're too short for me."

"Are you saying I'm short?" Buffy shot back, giving Dawn the ones that were too long for her. "Short, am I?"

"Hey, if the shoe fits..." Dawn murmured, grinning. "I mean, isn't that why you wear those heels?" When Buffy didn't immediately reply with some sort of indignant response, Dawn spoke up. "Hey, Buffy? Oh vertically-challenged sister mine? Do you have those other black jeans?"

Dawn frowned when she heard nothing from her sister's dressing room. She turned from the full-length mirror against the back wall, reaching for the door.

Then the world turned black.

*****
Part 8:

"Are you sure you called?" Willow asked, staring at Dawn's empty chair. She was more than a little surprised that her currently-not-exactly-girlfriend hadn't shown up for dinner. After all, Fred had made the announcement the day before that the night's supper wasn't optional.

"Her cell phone and Buffy's," Fred confirmed. "Maybe they went to a movie and turned them off."

"Dawn *never* turns her phone off," Willow said, shaking her head. "She'll put it on vibrate or something."

"Maybe she forgot to recharge the battery," Angel offered. H was as concerned as the others about Buffy and Dawn's absence, but he wasn't sure it was yet time to go into a full panic--which was where Willow was going.

"Regardless, they wouldn't want us to skip supper," Xander stated, reaching for a bowl of mashed potatoes. "And if they haven't shown up in an hour, we can go looking for them."

The other adults nodded, also beginning to eat. Wil noticed how the cubs shared a glance amongst themselves and wondered what it was they knew. He had a sinking feeling that it wasn't good.

"""

Buffy yawned widely, cracking her jaw. She was tired, so tired... The soft body next to hers was alluring, comfortable and so very convenient. She snuggled closer, reveling in the soothing weight of blankets on top of her. Everything was perfect--if not for the nagging hunger that was clawing its way out of her stomach, Buffy figured she could stay asleep forever.

"""

"Ok, we're checking the mall and you've got the police station?" Xander confirmed, talking to Angel. "Call us when you get there." Before Angel could say anything, Xander, Oz, Wesley and Fred were out the door, heading for the shopping mall.

"Cordy, you, Lorne and Gunn stay with the cubs. Willow, Wil and I can handle the police," Angel murmured, reaching for his coat. Cordelia nodded, stepping back to get out of the way.

"We'll call if they show up," She stated, watching them leave. "Not that they will," She added quietly.

When they arrived at the police station, Angel dispensed with the usual niceties of insulting the desk attendant. Wil and Willow quickly made their way around to the antiquated filing system that consumed much of one corner of the lobby, where paper forms were still used to file reports and complaints. While they searched for any sign of mischief that was too new to have been entered into the computer system, Angel interrogated every cop on duty. No one would take a statement from him yet, since Buffy and Dawn hadn't been missing for a full day yet.

"Nothing," Willow told Angel as they were pushed out of the police station. Angel glanced over at Wil, who was calling Xander with the bad news. From the look on Wil's face, what Xander was saying wasn't good.

"They found Dawn's car," Wil said as he turned off the phone. "At the mall. No sign of the girls."

"So someone kidnapped them?" Willow asked. "At the mall? In plain sight?"

"The best way," Angel murmured as he opened the car. "Let's see what we can find out from Trathu. He still owes us for banishing his wife."

Trathu was pleasant and eager to help, but unfortunately he didn't know a thing about Buffy and Dawn's disappearance. The portly Sasa demon promised, though, to let Angel know the minute he got wind of anything. The worried threesome headed back to the hotel, figuring that regrouping was the best thing to do. While Angel drove, Wil updated Xander, who was also shaking down a few of their usual contacts. Again, no one knew a thing.

"Well?" Lorne demanded as the investigators swept through the lobby doors. The green demon was hovering just outside Caritas, unable to actually enjoy his club's cheerful ambience when his wife was missing. Gunn and Cordelia were absent, probably because the cubs needed attention. "What did you find out?"

"Not a goddamned thing," Xander spat, glaring at the floor. "Dawn's car is at the mall, but that's it. I mean, there's nothing out there--like someone wiped the city down with bleach or something."

"It's odd," Willow confirmed, nodding. "Usually someone's heard at least the vaguest of rumors. Maybe we should do a location spell."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that."

Wesley whirled around, stake and dagger already out. He could hear the others behind him, hissing and growling. A well-dressed young man stood just inside the door, smirking at them. "And why not?" The faun asked harshly, glaring.

The young man shrugged. Angel and Wil slipped into gameface, moving around to flank the newcomer. He was a vampire, though not a very old one. "Just a waste of time, that's all. You won't find them, not with a spell. Anyway," He said, sighing greatly, "I'm just here to deliver a message or two."

"Spill," Xander growled, his stripes beginning to surface. He might have been the weakest demon present, but he could easily take this young creature.

The vampire just shook his head at Xander's machismo. "Vincenzo says hi, and thanks you for getting rid of that musty old post office. Eck, rats are *so* nasty."

"Oh darn, he didn't die," Fred remarked, grimacing. "There go all my fantasies."

"Of course not," Their visitor confirmed. "He sends his regards to Krevlorneswath and the witch Willow--The Slayer and her sister are his most welcome guests, as he is an equally gracious host."

"What does he want for them?" Wil asked, cutting through whatever verbose bullshit the vampire wanted to pile on the conversation.

"Not much," The vampire said absently, waving his hand. "The usual--Leave him alone to do his business. After all, it's not polite to interfere with commerce and the American dream. Ah, capitalism!" Suddenly the messenger grew serious. "Back off the Evmiri, permanently; otherwise your pretty young things will turn into the flavor of the month. Let Vincenzo work without interference and they'll be returned unharmed." He swept out the door, leaving a stunned and furious group behind him.

"I'm gonna eat his heart," Xander said, voicing the raging emotions of the entire group. "He's gonna pay for this."

"We'll find them," Angel promised Lorne and Willow, "If we have to take this city apart brick by brick."

"We might have to," Oz muttered. "Since no one knows where Vincenzo is."

"""

"Wakey, wakey."

Dawn snarled at the intruding voice. She wanted to sleep, to rest and get rid of the oppressive exhaustion that held her down. "Go 'way," She ordered, baring her teeth. "Wanna sleep."

"Aren't you hungry?" The voice asked, soft and low. The tantalizing aroma of fresh food wafted across Dawn's nose, drawing her reluctantly to consciousness.

"Food," She said, rubbing her eyes. "Gimme food." She looked up, eyes widening at the sight in front of her. A man stood above her, holding an inert body. It was hot, pulsing and so very alive. She wanted it... sort of. At the same time, though, Dawn wondered what was wrong with the girl, since she wasn't moving.

The man abruptly dropped the girl into Dawn's lap, watching her speculatively. "I thought you said you were hungry," He said, frowning.

"I am," She confirmed. Indeed, her hunger was screaming for her to just consume this person, to drink her down. The urge was a bit weird, since she wasn't much for killing innocent people. No, this person needed her help, her assistance... just as soon as she sated the ravenous hunger inside her.

Vincenzo watched Dawn feed, noting how odd his youngest childe looked. The fledgling vampire should have shifted into gameface, forehead thickening into ridges and eyes turning yellow. Instead, the girl's eyes shone a bright green as her fangs ripped into soft skin. No demonic ridges appeared on the youthful face, however. Vincenzo wondered if it had something to do with what Lilah had told him, that the Slayer's sister was different.

He left Dawn to her meal, walking around the bed to where Buffy was still resting. Along the way, he fetched the young man he'd caught for her, letting the boy's arm brush against the Slayer's face. She was so deeply asleep that Dawn's feeding hadn't roused her; however the touch of warm skin seemed to do the trick. She woke immediately, bright yellow eyes fixing on her first meal.

Buffy wondered where her Sire had found such a lovely boy. So young, so alive. Perhaps he was to be a new childe. She looked up at her Sire with curious eyes. Before she could ask, however, he spoke.

"Feed," Vincenzo ordered, letting the boy fall to the floor. "He's for you."

Buffy looked at the boy. She was hungry, very hungry. But... the boy was so pretty. Couldn't they turn him instead? Then he wouldn't have to die. She didn't want to kill anyone, no... That wasn't good, killing. Well, killing people that didn't need to be killed.

"Buffy, you have to feed," He ordered roughly. "Right now."

Buffy reluctantly reached for the unconscious boy. She didn't want to hurt him, but she was starving. And, her Sire had given her an order. That was something she couldn't resist. With one last, longing glance at the human, she began to feed.

"""

"Did they wake up?" Lilah asked Vincenzo when he returned. She paced the floor, not caring that her neurotic behavior was annoying the older vampire.

"Of course," He snapped at the game-faced woman. "I do know how to turn humans, Lilah. After all, I made you, didn't I?" The master vampire wasn't entirely sure that had been his best move; Lilah had been a horridly ugly human and as a vampire she wasn't much better. At least she stayed in gameface all the time, hiding most of the scars.

"You know what I mean," She said, ignoring Vincenzo's angry tone. "No one's ever successfully turned a Slayer, or someone with as much magickal energy inside her as Dawn has." Finally, Lilah threw herself into a chair. Vincenzo thanked the devil that she'd stopped moving.

"Well, they're vampires now," Vincenzo assured her, "Although they're both a bit off," He conceded. "But they're feeding, and they obey me." To him, that was what was important--that his childer obey their Sire. For all Dawn's odd appearance and Buffy's strange reluctance to feed, both were already superior to Lilah, who couldn't seem to bring herself to act like a young childe should.

Lilah shrugged, not really caring if the newest members of the Order of Evmiri were brilliant prot�g�s like her or the next village idiots. All that mattered was that two of Angel's most cherished humans now answered to his enemy.

"It's sundown," Vincenzo commented as he took a seat behind his desk. "Go with Armin. He needs help with the incubi." He made the assignment knowing full well that Lilah hated both Armin and incubi with a passion. She would rather clean offices from floor to ceiling than interact with the vicious vampire and his string of demonic whores.

Lilah scowled. "I'm not getting anywhere near that bastard's prostitution ring," She swore, grimacing. "Besides, I need to see that city councilwoman--"

"I'll do that," Vincenzo said, interrupting her. "You will help Armin, *childe*." The vampire's tone of voice left no room for argument. Lilah wasn't being asked to work with the incubi; she was being ordered to. "Unless, that is, you'd prefer to be assigned to Martha's crew."

"Armin," Lilah conceded, wanting to work a shakedown racket on independent drug dealers even less than interacting with incubi.

Vincenzo watched Lilah skulk off. He should have been firmer with her from the outset. Oh well, there was always time for remedial training. She needed quite a bit, though. If she didn't catch on quickly, however, he would simply dispose of the vampiric lawyer and find someone else to use as a consultant. Lilah vastly overestimated her usefulness to the Order of Evmiri, and that would eventually get her killed.

*****