Eternal, March 2002

He couldn't believe it. All that time and money invested and look, it's all gone! Randall was reviewing his finances after the latest disaster. Eternal was going just fine on both sides but it was one of his little ventures that had let him down this time.

The video place where he got rid of the 'normal' stock, had been raided by the police. They had swooped down onto the concrete building late one night last week during a taping. All four boys that had been held in the cells were gone and so was his money. Now he couldn't afford to get rid of Christopher.

Randall groaned as he looked at the first page of the newspaper. It was screaming about the 'Death Porn Videos' and how disturbing they were. He had known what the boys ended up as but he didn't care as long as he got his money. Walter was nowhere to be seen, obviously skipping the country with the money from the sale of the boys. The older man didn't think that his once trusted employee would have tipped them off but he already had feelers out for the man.

He would have to pass up on any auctions for a while until he regained his finances. It wouldn't have been so bad but he had just paid for the demon service bathrooms to be wood panelled to match the main bedrooms and now the cost of tracking Walter down. Besides, there was nowhere for him to train another Hellmouth boy now that the old mental hospital was going to be demolished. He really didn't have the time and money to put in the effort to look for another place. Six boys was actually a good number to stop at.

It looked like he was stuck with Christopher for a bit longer. As much as he liked the boy, he was disturbing the other whores too much with his constant screaming fits. The boy knew better than to pull one during service hours but as soon as he got back into his room, the corridor was filled with moaning and screaming. He was no longer responding to Randall's attempts to calm him down, eventually Adam would have to start sedating him as soon as he was clocked off each night.

It was a shame to see the boy so off the planet. When he had first started working for Randall, he had been such a nice lad, always so eager to get on with his work. That was almost 15 years now, and four of those at Eternal. Yes, he had made the boy a prisoner in the brothel but this was business and you couldn't afford to be soft. Really not even a boy anymore, if he had aged naturally, he would be around 33 years old. If the boy was thinking right, he would have considered himself lucky that he was only working with the multitude of men that hired him. Yes, nearly all of the clients were into little boys but it wasn't as if he really was one.

Pushing the thought of maybe that was why he got so upset straight out of his mind, the brothel keeper glanced around the small control room. It was filled with images of the six boys servicing their clients. Settling his gaze on one that showed Andrew pounding into Scott while a group of demons looked on, he frowned when he thought of just how little the brunette had retained of his lovely spirit.

The boy was polite, smiled on cue and so far hadn't given the establishment any trouble apart from a few episodes in which his books had been confiscated but he was lacking the qualities that had first attracted Randall to him. Thinking of the disaster that had been David, Randall shuddered when he recalled how the boy had died. He had been so sure that the quiet lad wouldn't put up much of a fuss, he had been surprised and disappointed when he had lashed out at his very first client. David had been disciplined but had proceeded to rip and tear any clothing that he had been given and had clawed and bitten at his last three clients.

It was only the offer of a massive amount of money from the very last client, that Randall had agreed to let the demon do whatever he liked, throwing in a video camera for memories. Amazing how effect it was for training purposes. He had then bought Andrew and lastly, Scott just over a year ago. It was almost time for Scott to have his time off, he would have to book the manicure and pedicure for the brunette.

Taking out the phone book that was in his top drawer, Randall made the necessary arrangements for in two days time, confirming with the demon on the other end that this was a monthly usual. The greying man rummaged through an assortment of videos in a box by the stained desk and selected a dozen that he thought Scott might like to watch. Most were documentaries on wildlife and ancient civilisations and a few that he could find that featured science fiction ideals. Scott had shown a rising interest in science fiction books and he was more than happy to indulge the interest.

The tapes gathered in his arms, he strode through the little corridor that led from the control room and down to the equally tiny library/video room, passing the kitchen on the way. Managing to open the door with out dropping any tapes, he looked quickly around the book lined walls and plonked the tapes on top of the tv that stood in one corner of the room. The only time that the six boys were left alone, not including their rooms, was when they spent their 3 days in the library/tv room. It didn't matter if they did anything, whoever was watching in the control room would see it, besides they were locked in until they buzzed that they needed something.

After a quick check to make sure that Fletcher had cleaned the room properly, Randall made his way out and went to check on the progress of the snacks for the boys. Nodding as Fletcher cut up various vegetables and fruits into cubes and sticks, he was glad that he made sure the six prostitutes ate right. He tried to make everything as comfortable as possible for the males, there was a good chance that they would be here even after he was dead. Turning away from the kitchen, he made his way back down the bare concrete corridor and climbed the steps that took him from the basement level and up to the ground floor.

Standing in front of the door, he pushed the buzzer that rang at the lobby desk. Randall waited for Clark to push the releasing lock at his end. Loud buzzing sounding through the stair well, he gave the door a push and emerged from underneath the main steps of the brothel. Clark given a smile, he walked across the empty lobby and into his office opposite the french doors that lead to the demon side. Whenever he hired new staff, he always made it clear that the doors were never to be approached. After a few near disasters, he had managed to place a spell on them that made them appear almost unnoticable to humans. People could see that they were there, they just weren't interested in them.

The result had been that Christopher's clients had to use the alley entrance as well as the demons, it wasn't a problem as most knew about the existence of other creatures having found out about the enhancements from demons they associated with.

Leaning back in his chair, Randall put his feet up on his desk and wondered what he could do to try and recoup some of his losses. He figured that he had lost almost one and a half million dollars. Both from the sale of the four boys and the slice of the profits from the video tapes. That didn't include the food and training he had wasted on the boys either.

What to do thought Randall.

*****
Part 25:

9 May 2004. early hours of the morning.

Spike

============

Spike took a last drag of the dwindling cigarette and stubbed it out. He gave the little glass ashtray a push that prevented it falling off the stack of pornos he had beside his bed. As much as he was trying to get some sleep, the whole shower incident kept throwing itself at him. It was banging around the corridors of his mind, refusing to let up.

He had barely said two words to any of the men as they drove back to the hotel. Angel and Wesley kept on insisting that he tell them what happened in the bathroom. The blond had been too distracted to even think of a reply. Thinking about it now, he was able to come up with some great one liners about Wankly being less of a virgin than he was before. The older human had cried all the way back to the Hyperion, finally taking in that his pseudo son was a prostitute and that he had been virtually useless during the session.

The vampire still had no idea why he had hugged the boy. He recalled the terror that had poured off the boy as soon as the room had descended into a deep darkness, it had felt just plain wrong for the whelp to be so terrified. Dousing him in the cold water had been the only thing he could think of to prevent the lad going into a daze. After looking into the deep brown eyes, he now knew the saying of 'old before their time' was sometimes all too true.

All the others were downstairs thumping out the final details to the rescue plan. He had been told to go upstairs by his Sire, he didn't want any annoying opinions foisted upon them. Spike hadn't bothered to argue when Buffy had demanded that they do the rescue later the following night. At least he hadn't had to tell them what he had promised.

So, here he was. Sitting on his bed, lighting up another cancer stick and running the shower scene through his head again. The brats were going to need lots of attention and some good therapy, that pretty much went without saying. He wondered, out of them all, which one was going to put their life on hold until Harris was able to take care of himself again.

He could see the Sunnydale group all fluttering over him for the first few months until one by one, they just had other things to do that couldn't wait and he would be left muddling around by himself again. The L.A. crew wouldn't be much different. To put it simply, they had lives that they had to get on with and one Xander Harris was only going to halt them for so long.

It wasn't that he couldn't tie a shoelace or get himself a drink of water, it was how long was it going to take the boy before he was able to be in a crowded room. Go somewhere public with out breaking down, how was he going to cope with the fact that everybody he knew from Sunnydale had gotten on with their lives while he had been stuck in hell.

Snorting to himself, Spike took another drag, listening to the little fibres crackle as they burnt. How did he know all this? Living with Dru had taught him a lot about what on going trauma could do to a persons mind. The whelp wasn't like his favourite girl in full but the boy was going to be a danger to himself, pretty much like Dru, probably for the rest of his life.

With all his natural danger reflex's gone, if any demon or human male approached him in any way, he was just going to bend over for them in an instant. Anybody he lived with, was very likely going to be a vampire meal, one just knocking on the door, and the boy letting them in with smiling 'Yes Sir'. He just wasn't afraid of demons. Spike very much doubted that the lot downstairs had even thought of that yet, too busy with plans to get them out. Not necessarily a bad thing though.

With a snarl, he remembered that the whelp had told him that one of the other boys wasn't well. He was going to face the Poofs ire and go downstairs. Viciously he stubbed out the cigarette, thinking that he had successfully completed the pre-requisite for the brooding competition between Angel and himself.

=============================================

Joyce
========

As the older woman sat in the comfy armchair, her mind swirled at the action and flurry of words going on around her. She had never really seen how much people depended on her daughter and she was proud to finally be able to see it. Joyce was worried, not only for her daughter and her friends safety but at how Xander was going to react being taken from his home of more than three years. The place was a prison but as with all prisons, they were eventually tailored by the inmates to make them more comfy and home like.

It was all very well for them wanting to get the boys out, and she wanted it as well, but none of them had so far really sat down and thought about what they were going to do once they had them all at the hotel. If what Mr Giles and the other men had said was true, how were they even going to react with seeing females. She was pretty sure that the six males were going to have on going medical and emotional problems, however none of the group taking up the lobby of the Hyperion was in any way suited to help with them.

It had been briefly touched on if they should just remove all the magic and then take them to the police station where Angels friend, Kate worked. Should they get a doctor out to see them all first and then inform the families of where their sons were and wait for them to be picked up, gleaming over the details as politely as possible?

Running a hand through her hair, she got up and asked if anyone wanted coffees. Raised hands counted, Joyce made her way into the white kitchen and filled the kettle, putting it on to boil. Mugs gathered from the dish drainer, they were put out in a neat row along the formica surface of the bench. She hoped that her daughter was going to keep her mouth closed around the boys for the first few days, as much as she loved Buffy, she acknowledged that her daughter was low on tact. Joyce didn't know if it was from her fathers idiot genes or from being a Slayer. From what she had overheard from discussions about various adventures, tact just wasn't in the Slayer package but then again, her husband had been low on the talent as well.

As the kettle whistled, she wondered how the Harris boy was going to adapt back into a suburb full of demons, some who very likely had actually paid to have sex with him. Mrs Summers thought that it might even be for the best if the poor boy never went back but she could see the collective objections already. Hot water poured into the mugs, she rolled her eyes when she saw that she had forgotten to put the coffee in them.

She had originally gone to the 'Find Xander' meetings to support her daughter but had found herself amazed by what the friends considered everyday life, she hoped that because Xander had this knowledge prior to being taken, it would help him in the long run.

=======================================================

Giles

======

The ex-watcher knew shouting at Buffy to concentrate and to listen properly was getting him nowhere, only a room full of stares but he just couldn't help it. He was tired and still upset at seeing Xander in the brothel. With a glare at Riley, he told the tall blond to make sure that his girlfriend understood it all, then to collective dropped jaws, he spun on his heel and strode into Angels office.

Door slammed behind him, he sat heavily at the vampires desk as the tears overwhelmed him again. If only he had insisted that Angel listen to his Childe, they could have spared Xander a few months of the degrading work. The older man felt dirty and ashamed that he had actually taken the time to enjoy himself for a moment while the brunette had been kissing Patrick by the spa.

Giles had wanted so much to touch him and make sure that he was real but he hadn't wanted to give the boy the impression he wanted sex. He wasn't sure that Xander would ever be able to handle being touched by another male again, let alone be able to enjoy and maintain a normal relationship. How he was going to react when he found out about Anya and Gunn, was anybody's guess.

As the first droplets hit the mahogany desk, the man was overwhelmed with a sense of failure. He had been useless, just point a prophecy his way, throw him a spell book and he was all set to help stop the end of the world but this time he had been unable to function properly.

The tears in the bathroom had disturbed Wesley as well, the younger man had pointed out that the very fact he had let Xander see him, was important. It had let the boy know that people knew where he was. Angel's promise had been reinforced.

Shoulders shaking as sobs rang round the four walls, Giles wondered if he would ever be able to hug the young man again without it being taken as a come on. He had been grateful when the bleached vampire had told Xander not to approach him, he would have just grabbed at him and not been able to let go.

That was his boy in the brothel, another man might have conceived and raised him for the first years but it was Giles who had soothed his fears about the Master, calmed Xander's worry over the Angelus incident, been proud at how he had stood up to the mad vampire in the hospital and listened to the boy babble on about his life in general. He had never really told Xander how much he cared but he would. His boy would be coming home very soon.

With a wipe at the tears on his face, he reached into his tweed vest pocket and pulled out a tissue. Glasses quickly cleaned, he mopped at the small puddle marring the surface of the desk. When he was sure that he wasn't going to embarrass himself with tears again, he opened the door to the office quietly and stepped through.

*****
Part 26:

September 2002, Eternal.

Scott is thinking of the Scooby gang.

=======

Their not coming. No-one is going to come for me anymore. Maybe it's because I got moved around too much and they can't find me. Have they forgotten about me?

I can't cry anymore, all the tears have dried up. I just plod along each night doing my job. As long as I get water and food, everything is alright. Smile at the clients, let them fuck me. Let them cum over me, inside of me, swallow what pours down my throat. Get pissed on, used to that now as well. Swallow that too. Shitting is on the no-no list, pretty glad for that.

Suck cock while another is up my arse. Smile while the client is bending my arms and legs into white hot agonising positions. If they want me to cry, I can do that. Must never look like it bothers me, might not get any water for a day. Sit still for the lady who does my feet and hands. She makes them all soft and nice. I like that.

Sometimes I don't want them to find me and pray that I will just die. Finally have a client that will take it one step too far. Won't happen though, Adam and Randall will stop it. I can hear Adam yelling at Christopher to be quiet. They managed to turn him into a girl tonight. Wonder if they will do it to me in the future? Take my virginity again, would I be able to get pregnant. Somewhere, there is a demon who will pay for that.

I'm too dirty for them to want me back now. Would I give them a disease if I touched them? Anya won't want me anymore even if they did manage to find me, they wont want me to touch anything of theirs because I'm unclean. They won't find me though. They have probably stopped looking. They all had so much better lives than I did.

Christopher is quiet again, Adam must have sedated him. The sex doesn't hurt anymore, sometimes when a client is small, I can barely feel it. I just moan and grunt until the warmth or coolness floods into me. Smile and say that I enjoyed it if they ask. Cry, if that is what they are paying for me to do. I can cry on cue now, pretty much the only time that I do. Most clients don't care, if I stopped breathing during a session, they would still pump away at me.

Even when they belt me around or throw me into the walls, I don't cry until they request it. Sometimes it can be really nice, a client will just want to lie in bed and spoon against me for the whole session. One of my regulars brings me chocolate, Randall doesn't like it but it keeps the client coming back. The demon likes to see me eat it piece by piece while he jerks off. I have to force myself to eat it, it reminds me of home too much. Another one just plays cards with me, he's taught me a few games. He thinks that he is my friend but he is just a client.

I had sex with Mathew and Andrew a few weeks ago. Not unusual but it was the first time in front of a video camera. Randall taped us jerking each other off at first and then Andrew and I pissed on Mathew. I hope that it is for his private use but I don't think so. Next time, they are going to give me a white bath. Just cum all over me until I'm covered from head to foot. Had that done before too.

Wonder if they will ever watch that?

I wonder if they really are looking for me.

Did they notice I am missing?

I don't think that they will want me to come back with them even if they do find me. Wouldn't blame them, might infect them with something. I can't be who I was before.

Too dirty.

Too tired.

*****
Part 27:

9 May 2004. Eternal

Opening time.

It had been decided to hit the brothel before any possible clients rented one of the boys out. That meant about five minutes after the sun set fully. Once again the two vampires and the ex-watchers strode through the plain white corridor and into the tastefully decorated sitting room. However this time, they were joined by Gunn and Doyle. Graham and Riley were sitting on the couch just out side the french doors pretending to have an argument over what to rent that night, they were to make sure that no-one entered the doors. Buffy, Tara and Willow were waiting in the alley beside the already opened manhole, ready to help with lowering the boys into the sewers. Buffy was there to help any demons change their mind about renting for the night.

The Eternal wasn't that far to walk through the maze of tunnels, as long as they didn't get lost or killed by any creature loitering around, it was only going to take them all around 40 minutes. They hadn't wanted to hire a minibus to transport the boys in, for fear of being caught in a traffic jam, stressing the boys out more than was necessary. Anya and Joyce were waiting back at the hotel with medical supplies and the strongest sedatives that could be brought without a prescription, pretty sure that some of the boys were going to be hysterical. Cordelia was waiting for a phone call from Angel before she was to call Kate at the police station. Kate was ready to start a full premises search, citing a rumour of it being an amphetamine factory. Angel had told her about the six boys and Kate had sworn to find something that would stick to the owner, Randall Hargraves.

The plan was to deactivate all barrier spells on the doors while Clark was getting the six males. Once they were down stairs, each man would just grab a boy and run to the sewers as soon as the lights went out. As submissive as the youths were, there was no way they were going to argue with someone who was pretending to be a client. Unbeknown to the smarmy lobby jockey, he was going to come along for the ride as well. The four magic users were chomping at the bit to question him heavily about the silver jewellery. The lights were going to go off 20 minutes after they arrived thanks to Willow hacking into the power plants computer and managing to organise for the power to go out on the whole block that Eternal was sited on. No-one had been brave enough to ask what else she could do on a laptop.

Angel glanced at his watch, only five minutes to go and Clark still hadn't returned with the boys. Spike was standing in full game face, only inches from the french doors. If the two ex-marines couldn't keep someone from coming through the doors, then hopefully they were going to take one look at a pissed off vampire and run in the opposite direction. Gunn and Doyle had their arms wrapped around the two spell casters, hiding their moving lips and busy fingers from any cameras. The young street fighter had been less than impressed with the idea and had asked why Angel didn't do it with Wesley instead. Angel didn't want to give the greasy man, Clark, one chance at escaping. As it was, the brunette vampire was hoping that he didn't kill the arsehole before getting him back to the Hyperion.

Shit, only a couple of minutes more. Wesley and Giles were sweating with the concentration and effort of taking the walls down. The older shop keeper had likened it to taking down a brick wall, brick by brick. Hard work, made harder this time by them having to de construct three of the magic walls at once. The men had come to the conclusion that the three walls were meant to keep the six boys in. Angel could smell the effort and tiredness getting stronger. A glance at his Childe and he knew that the blond could smell it as well. Hearing footsteps, he hoped that all six boys would be coming out. Clark had tried to argue about Christopher only servicing humans and Angel had snarled a reply stating that Gunn was only going to use him.

After much dithering by the lobby jockey, Clark had agreed to bring them all out for selection on the condition of no 'faces' until they were all in their rooms. The brunette vampire had already told the suit clad man that he agreed, Spike nodding behind his Sire and had demanded the boys in whatever form they were already in. Changes could be made later. The white door in the corner opened and the boys started to troop through, following a beaming Armani clad man.

Angel felt his jaw drop as he saw what was included in the line up. Five youths and a boy around 10. Forcing himself to sneer, he hoped that the others weren't staring. With an ear towards the watchers, he found that he couldn't hear any more of the low muttering. He let Clark fuss around the boys, thankfully the man hadn't taken any notice of the blond standing by the french doors. A cough beside him and he noticed that the four men were standing next to and around him. A glance at Doyle and a nod at the young boy, he could see the others horrified expressions. The stakes had just been upped.

One minute to go. Calling Spike back over from the door, he more or less had each man lined up before a boy. Spike before Xander, Doyle and the little boy, Gunn before the tallest one beside Xander. Wesley was going to grab the shortest one while Giles would herd out the last two before handing one over to the two witches. Nodding at Clark, he agreed agreed that they looked good. A glance at his watch and he saw that there were only 10 seconds to go. He couldn't wait any longer. Angel punched the slimey little man as hard as he could with out killing him and draped him over one broad shoulder.

Just as the six whores looked up for the first time, the lights shut out, blanketing the room in darkness. The two vampires almost choked on the instant terror that was coming off three of the boys, the rest were smelling of confusion. Spike grabbed Xander and hauled him towards the little corridor that led to the alleyway, trying to ignore the terror coming from the male. Holding back the heavy curtain in one hand, he held tightly to the quiet boy with the other while everyone managed to make their way down the dark corridor. The concrete hallway was filled with quiet words of encouragement. The last ones to go through, Spike heard a fight break out from the other side of the double doors and hoped that the marines were capable of dealing with it themselves. Giving the brunette a little push, they made their way down the corridor.

Buffy was too busy helping everybody down the manhole to notice if Xander had already gone through. She wasn't going to risk anybodys safety by demanding to see him right away. Hearing pounding feet go by the entrance of the alleyway and a chorus of 'yeah haa's', she was relieved that both Graham and Riley had made it out alright. She reached up for the next boy only to stop in shock when she saw the child's face. Speechless, she gently helped the boy down the last few rungs and onto the sewer floor. He was quickly followed by Doyle who immediately grasped the child's hand, speaking softly in the lilting accent. The petite blonde had expected battered young men but not a child and it was taking all her effort to not just rush up the steps and kill whatever demon she could lay her hands on.

Once the man hole lid was put back into place by Buffy, the two witches reached into their backpacks and handed the rescuing men a large torch each. Willow looked around the gathering of men, she was afraid to look for Xander, not really wanting to find him amongst the smiling boys. She couldn't believe that they were all smiling. Doyle was holding a child in his arms, tightly cradling him to his chest and whispering soft words of reassurance. The others were also telling the boys that they would be alright. Angel gave them a minute more and then, shifting the weight of the still unconscious man to his other shoulder, started off down the main sewer tunnel.

Tara quickly walked over to the tired older man and started to relieve him of one of the smiling but bewildered youths. She was forced to pull back from the boy as he started to cringe back into Giles, almost causing the other two to lose their balance. Looking back at Willow and Buffy, she shook her head and instead took his heavy torch in her hand and pointed it forwards.

They all stopped momentarily when Doyle swore loudly, hurriedly covering it up with a few laughs and more reassuring words. Spike frowned as the smell of ammonia came drifting over from the half demon, he took Xander's larger hand in his and gently tugged the dazed lad forward.

Wesley tiredly glanced at the slender youth walking beside him. One hand clasped around the thin arm, he kept the torch pointed forward, hoping that they would reach the Hyperion sooner than they thought. He felt like he had pulled each wall down by hand and he knew that Giles felt the same. Almost stumbling, he looked down at what it could have been and to his shock, he realized that all the boys were barefoot. They hadn't been too worried by the bare chests as it was relatively warm outside but they had all forgotten about them being with out shoes. It was too late to bring it up now but he called out to Angel anyway, mentioning the lack of footwear and suggesting a faster pace.

A flurry of swearing came from all directions as everyones speed picked up. Buffy was bringing up the rear, worried about what might come out after them. So far it had been 15 minutes and nothing but that didn't mean a thing, something could still ambush them.

Everyone kept walking for a further ten minutes until Angel came to a large intersection. He placed the lobby jockey on the cleanest patch of ground he could find. Once done, he climbed one of the iron ladder to the top, half hanging off the top rung as he contacted Cordelia. A few short sentences and the mobile phone was tucked back into his pocket, climbing down from the ladder. He punched Clark again even though the man was still out cold and swung him back over his shoulder. Ignoring the quiet muttering behind him, Angel set off back down the sewer.

Spike was quietly telling Xander that they would be home soon, worried over the smell of fear and the lack of response from the boy. The only one who had really responded, was Doyles and that had only been to pee on the Irishman. The blond found that he couldn't even laugh at that. It was now beyond a joke. He was a vampire and he loved to create mayhem, death and destruction but his loathing of anyone hurting young kids went back from before he was turned. Dru had liked youngsters but she had always drained them fast, they almost never noticed that they were dying and she never hurt them in any other way. It was when people deliberately set out to abuse kids that got his back up.

With a sideways glance at the young brunette, he sighed as the shivering continued.

The group walked as fast as they could, grips tight on the six males. Each member of the Scooby gang and L.A. team was thoroughly worried at the lack of questions or even little noises from them. Finally they reached the man hole that would take them to just outside the Hyperion's back entrance. Buffy climbed up first so she could move the hole cover, the witches torches showing the way. Scraping metal echoed through the sewers as the cover was removed. One by one, they all climbed the iron rungs up into the balmy night air.

Gunn led the shivering male through the kitchen, frowning as the youth started to take an interest as to where he was. Small moaning noises came from deep within the dark boys chest. Trying to soothe the teenager, Gunn guided him through the lobby and up the main stairs until the boy suddenly decided to sit down.

Ok, he thought, I can deal with this. And he did until the lad started to wail loudly for a Randall to come and get him. Charles looked frantically around for someone to help him as the wailing set the other boys off as they came through the kitchen and into the lobby. The lobby was filled with the name Randall, each boy calling for him. Occassionaly an Adam or Fletcher was thrown into the mix. Angel dumped Clark on the kitchen floor, curtly telling Buffy to look after him and went to find out what the noise was about.

The rescuers each tried to calm the hysterical boys down, Doyle's taking the opportunity to urinate on him again. Angel and the other men had no idea of what to do, they were all trying to get them up the stairs to their made up rooms but each one had taken the first boys idea and sat down, refusing to move. From out of his office, Angel saw Cordelia, Joyce and Anya came towards them in an effort to help. It was a bad idea from the start as the wails turned into high pitched screaming, forcing the women back into the office. Giles realised that the boys had obviously been too shocked to take much notice of the three girls in the sewers, the newness of the situation had overridden the one boys recognition of a female in an instant.

Doyle was yelling for someone to get the sedatives, all the while trying to ignore the the smell of urine that coated him. He was more worried about stopping the little boy from hurting himself on the stairs as he continued to bang his head against them. Taking the chance of that it couldn't get any worse, the three women ran out of the office, passing the distressed youths, continuing to ask for Randall and into the kitchen. Buffy and the two witches were crying as they shook out handfuls of the herbal sedatives for the men to administer, freezing in shock as a loud voice shouted for the noise to stop.

As if a switch had been thrown, the wailing and screaming stopped completely at Spikes request. The boys lay sprawled over the steps, shivering and shaking but quiet. The blond vampire stared at the other men, disgusted that the six males were obviously used to such orders. With a nod, the younger vampire indicated that the men take a hold of boys and try to get them up the stairs again.

With firm grips around the prostitutes, the older men guided the submissive males up the stairs to the fourth floor. Spike had been put out that his floor was going to host them all but he was now glad that the Scooby member was going to be close. Doyle instructed the men to show the boys where their bathrooms were before placing them in bed. Treat them like new pets or little kids was the advice, much to everyones disgust. As horrible as it was, the six males would probably not look for the bathroom themselves once they needed to go, too frightened to move from where they were going to be placed.

A snarl at Gunn for attempting to put his boy in the room Spike had picked out for Xander, he ignored the parting comment as the big dark man took his charge to another room. He switched on the main light, guiding the brunette to the bathroom that was through the white door in the middle of the far wall. Like all the bathrooms the rooms were provided with, it was a small compact one with a shower over a bath, toilet, small basin and medicine cabinet.

Spike turned the boy around in the small white bathroom a few times, he could see that Xander really wasn't taking it in but what was he to do. He slowly walked the brunette back to the single bed, all the time pointing out the features of the room. The chest of drawers with lamp on top of it, two cupboards on either side of the bathroom door just like each of the rooms. The blond turned Xanders head towards the armchair in the corner across the room from his single bed. Looking in the youths eyes, he saw that the boy was virtually comatose, the exact opposite from the scene downstairs. With a vile swear, he knew that the other boys would be the same, or not as it soon turned out.

A loud wail erupted from down the hall, the vampire wondered which one it was this time. On and on the thin voice rang through the entire level, carrying down the stairs and into the lobby. Tuning his ear to the noise a bit more, Spike snarled when he found it to be the little boys. He didn't care how much his chip was going to hurt him, he was going to find as many customers as he could and slowly torture each one.

Going a kid just wasn't on, not even good sport for the average vampire.

Trying to ignore it, he sat the brunette down on the single bed, getting the boy to sit down for minute. With a backwards glance, he went into the bathroom and got a face washer. Once it was wet, he proceeded to give the filthy feet a through clean. The white pants were damp and splashed with sewer muck, a sniff telling him that they were disgusting. He quickly debated whether he should take them off or not. Still deciding, he spun around at a knock on the door and saw Riley with a glass of whiskey and a handful of pills.

Spike got up from his knees, scowling at the former Initiatve soldier and snatched the drink out of the blonds hands, pills following soon after. Vamping out in an effort to make the other man go away, he made not one comment about the sigh and rolled eyes as the taller man left the doorway. Gently he pushed the pills into the boys mouth, noting that Xander probably didn't need them and that the small boy should be taking the whole bottle himself. Tipping the drink into the mouth was a little harder, he tried not to let it dribble too much. He was pleased to see the natural swallowing reflexes were working as the brunette at first choked a little then managed to swallow the whisky and pills straight down.

Probably not the wisest mix, he thought to himself, but it was going to get them all off to sleep really fast. With a swift motion, he gathered the long legs up and swung them on top of the bed and under the thick blankets. He wondered just how much his Sire had hit David Nabbit up for this time. As much as he disliked the nerdy human, he was able to tolerate him only because of his total lack of snobbiness. The man was almost a billionaire but completely unaffected by that fact. Once he was sure that Xander was tucked in, he walked over to the lamp and switched it on, making a note to tell Doyle and Giles that their boys were scared of the dark as well. He had finally pinpointed the fear smells as coming from Xander, the small boy and one of the others that Giles had taken.

Quietly walking out of the room, he switched off the main light as he downed some of the whisky. The vampire winced as the screaming continued from down the hallway. He strolled down to the group of men standing around shrugging their shoulders collectively, noting that each one looked as tired as he felt. Spike almost choked on his whisky when he caught a glimpse of the watchers, they were almost an advertisement for zombies. Grey and staggering down the staircase.

Spike peeked into the screaming boys room, only to see Doyle rocking the tiny lad while whispering nursery rhymes into the small ear. He was pleased to see that the old lamp had already been turned on. The vampire vaguely remembered that the half demon had once been a primary school teacher before being vision struck, he had obviously been a good one too. The blond moved up and down the corridor, checking that the lamps were on in each room. All the boys were still awake but were deathly quiet, just laying there in bed.

The younger vampire followed the four remaining men down the stairs until they all stopped at the bottom few that led to the fourth floor. Angel wanted them to be checked on every hour, whether they were asleep or not. Telling them all to get some sleep, he was grateful when Graham volunteered to take the first few hours. All of a sudden the screaming stopped and everyone sighed a breathe of relief. They were all horrified by the small blond boy but the noise had been awful. Graham left to check on Doyle, walking past the two other youths in their rooms. As he got closer to the room that housed the child, he made out the soft moaning noises. Peering around the door, he saw that the half demon was still rocking the lad and that instead of screaming, he was now moaning. He nodded at the Irishman's statement of that it was going to be a long night.

He left the two alone again and went back down the stairs and listened as Angel was telling the group that Wesley and Giles weren't to be disturbed until they voluntarily came out of their rooms. The spells had taken more out of them than they were willing to admit, Angel adding a quip of stubborn Englishmen. Graham told the males of what was going on with Doyle and his charge, shaking his head along with everyone else. The ex-soldier sat down heavily on the stairs and waved for the others to go away and get some rest.

Spike, Angel, Gunn and Riley slowly descended the rest of the stair and headed straight for open whiskey bottle sitting on the mahogany desk that stood proudly in Angels office. Glasses grabbed, he poured out five drinks. Gunn declined, saying that Anya would have his balls. The other men all nodded, knowing that it was all too true, watching as the bald man went to be with his family. The blond vampire grabbed three and immediately headed off up the stair again much to the amusement of the Riley and Angel, shrugging the other vampire off, the two men slowly sipped the sharp liquid. Once finished, Riley and Angel both walked to the kitchen and relieved Buffy of her duty to watch Clark. After a few words and tears, Buffy and Riley followed everyone else's idea and left to go to bed while Angel hogtied and gagged a still unconscious lobby jockey. He dragged the man up the stairs much to Grahams puzzlement and told the ex-soldier to hit him if he wakes up and to keep doing it until he no longer was awake. He couldn't even be bothered thinking that it had all been too easy anymore.

A quick glance at the two whiskys and Angel was told one was for Doyle when he finally came out from the boys room. With that, the brunette vampire staggered to his own room and fell asleep almost immediately. Spike sat in his room, door open so that he could see directly into Xander's room without moving from his bed. He slowly finished his whiskey noting that tomorrow, the six boys would start the long road to recovery.

================================================

Randall watched the news broadcast flabbergastered. He was seeing police swarm over his pride and joy Eternal. A blonde police woman, Kate something or other was telling the reporter that she couldn't answer any more questions about the video tapes found on the premises.

The brothel owner felt goose bumps rise all over his body. There was only one place to call. Wolfram and Hart. After all, they had been so handy in setting up his license for business and they had taken the trouble to help find Walter. Maybe they could help again with this little mess.

~fin~