What If?
Part 2
by Kayla





William sat nervously, shifting as the unyielding wood began to numb his backside. He nibbled at his bottom lip, watching as his father paced silently in front of him. Kitchen, turn, pace, living room, turn, pace, pause and glower, pace. Back and forth.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any more. He sat up straight and tried to look as determined as possible. "Father, I understand that you're upset, but I couldn't very well leave them to fend for themselves! I think that--"

Rupert held up a hand, interrupting William's impromptu speech. Very quietly, he said, "I am not upset that you felt the need to help your friends. I am not even too terribly upset over the fact that the four of you decided to-to arm yourselves and venture out even when you knew what could very well happen. What I am upset about is that you felt the need to lie to me!"

"But I--"

"William Alastair Giles, you will sit there, and you will listen to me, is that understood?"

Eyes wide, William nodded.

"I will tell you right now that there are few things you could do that I would consider to be worse than lying to me. Now," he pulled a chair over and sat next to William. "I understand that you must have thought it would be easier not to tell me the truth. Certainly, you must have thought I wouldn't believe you anyway. But...you didn't even try, William." Rupert sighed and combed his fingers through his hair.

"With all honesty, I must admit that I would have found the truth difficult to swallow. I'm just disappointed that you didn't give me a chance." He faced his son seriously. "What the four of you did was dangerous, and poorly thought out. Someone could have been seriously hurt. You could have been hurt." Rupert removed his glasses, setting them carefully on the table. Head bowed, he rubbed his eyes. "I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt, William."

William swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he slid out of his chair and knelt next to his father. "I'm all right, Da. Willow's terribly smart, and she and I found out as much as we could before we went out. We weren't defenseless. And now that we know what goes on around here at night, we'll be able to stay even safer."

"That's what you thought last night, too, wasn't it?" Rupert shook his head. "Even then, with all your precautions, your friend Xander managed to get injured. Can you honestly tell me that won't happen again?"

William shrugged. "No, but--"

"William, tell me something. When you saw that Xander had been hurt, that he was bleeding and you had no idea how badly off he was...how did you feel?"

William blanched. He swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he brushed his hair out of his face. "I...I felt..." He struggled for words, finally admitting in a forlorn whisper, "It hurt."

Rupert reached out and pulled William to him. "How do you think I'd feel if anything happened to you?" he asked fiercely, holding William tight.

Shuddering, William wrapped his arms around his father. "I'm sorry, Da," he said miserably. "I didn't...I didn't think about..."

"Hush. I know." Rupert rocked his son tenderly. "I just want you safe, that's all."

They sat together in silence for a while, until finally William spoke up again. "Am I still in trouble?"

Rupert snorted. "Yes you are, young man."

"Oh."

Rupert gently set his son aside and reached for his glasses. He put them on and stood, arms crossed as stared at William thoughtfully.

"Are you...you're not going to thrash me...are you?"

Rupert winced at the slightly tremulous tone. "No. I'm not. However, you are grounded for a week." He held up a hand, ticking off each point on his fingers while he spoke. "That means no television, no phone calls, no going out with your friends. It also means that during your lunch and free period at school, you will come straight to the library to study. You will also come to the library after classes are done and wait for me to take you home. When you are home, you will either be in your room studying, in the living room studying, or at the table studying." He'd run out of fingers by now, but that didn't deter him in the least. "If you manage to run out of schoolwork, I'm sure I can find something else to keep you occupied. Do I make myself clear?"

William shut his mouth and nodded. "Yes, Da."

"I also expect you to be in bed, lights off, by 10:00. That goes for the weekend as well."

"Yes, Da."

"Once the week is over, I fully expect you to tell me explicitly where you and your friends intend to go. You will keep reasonable hours, and you will not, under any circumstances, go anywhere alone after dark. If necessary, I will come pick you up, or I will give your friends a ride home. Understood?"

"Yes, Da," William agreed.

"Good." Rupert gazed at his son, who was sitting miserably on the floor. "William, stand up." When he had done so, Rupert pulled him into a fierce hug. "I just want to keep you safe, son," he said in a suspiciously husky voice.

William hesitated a moment before burrowing into his father's embrace. "Are...are you still mad at me?"

Rupert sighed. "No, I'm not mad. But if I ever find out that you've lied to me again..."

William shook his head. "I won't. I promise."

"Well then." Rupert cleared his throat. Pulling away, he clapped William on the back. "Let's see about dinner then, shall we?"


Jesse caught up to William in the hallway. "Hey man, how'd it go with your dad? Were you, like, in major trouble?"

William brushed a lock of hair aside as he shrugged. "I'm grounded," he confessed.

"How long?"

"A week."

Jesse winced in sympathy. "Well, cheer up. That's not so bad. I mean, you've still got us! You and me and Willow and Xander can all hang here at school. We'll share your pain."

"We'd have to, um, 'hang' in the library. Da says that's where I have to go during lunch and free periods. After school, too."

Jesse cringed. "Ok, that's harsh." He shuddered, but smiled bravely. "I can handle it. Don't worry, we'll keep you company."

William offered Jesse a small grin. "He said I have to study while I'm there," he added.

There was a choking noise, and Jesse stopped to lean against a locker. His eyes bulged in horror as he stared at William. "Are you serious?"

William nodded.

"The whole time?"

He nodded again.

Jesse swallowed. "What about at home?"

"There, too."

His mouth gaped open for a moment before Jesse let out a gasping breath. "Dude. Your dad is evil."

Xander came up behind Jesse, Willow in tow. "Who's evil?"

Jesse let out a loud squeak at the question, whirling around to glare at Xander. "Would you not do that?! Geez!"

"Do what?" Xander looked at his friend in baffled innocence. He shrugged and transferred his gaze to William. "So? How'd it go with the parental unit?"

William smiled shyly at Xander. "Grounded for a week."

"Well, it could be worse," Willow piped up cheerfully.

"Worse?" Jesse asked, aghast. "It is worse. He's confined to the library and his place. And he has to study. The whole time!"

"What's so bad about that?" Willow frowned slightly in confusion.

Xander sighed and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Wills, we love you. You know that, right?"

"Well, of course I know that, silly! What's that got to do with studying?"

Jesse and Xander just shook their heads.

"What? Come on, guys!" She scowled at the boys as they continued to gaze at her in pity. "Stop it!"

Just then, the bell rang for class. William sighed. "I have to go," he told the others.

"Sure." Willow fixed Xander and Jesse with a stern look. "We'll come to the library to study...and to keep you from being too lonely. Won't we, guys?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Xander nodded. "Yeah, sure we will."

"But--" Jesse grunted when Xander elbowed him. "I mean, yeah. Wouldn't miss it." He grimaced.

"Ok. Um, See you later then." With a wave, William hurried off to his class.


"But it's math. Why are there letters in it anyway?!" Jesse scowled down at his Algebra textbook. "And my parents wonder why I'm failing this class. It's stupid! Who thought this stuff up?"

William glanced up from his own book and gave Jesse a sympathetic smile. He scooted his seat closer to the other boy and leaned over his shoulder. "Need help?"

"God, yes!" Jesse shoved the book towards him and pointed accusingly at the page of problems. "What, am I supped to be doing a word search here or something?"

William giggled softly. "Here, let me see." He studied the first problem. "All right, this is an easy one. What you're trying to do is get the numbers on one side of the equation and the letter on the other side."

"So, can't you just move 'em?"

"In a way. See, you have 4x/3+5=13. Now to get the 5 on the other side, you have to subtract it."

Jesse frowned. "Why?"

"Because five minus five is zero. That gets rid of it on the side with the letter. But you have to subtract from both sides, so thirteen minus five is..." he trailed off, looking at Jesse expectantly.

"Um...eight. So...that makes it 4x/3=8...right?"

"Exactly. Now, how do you get rid of the three?"

"Uh...it's under one of those slashy things so...you times it?"

William nodded. "Yes, you multiply both sides by three."

Jesse cocked his head and looked at the paper. "So then I'd have 4x=24. Oh! And then I divide, and have x=6. Is that what I'm supposed to have?"

William beamed. "Yes! See, the whole idea is to figure out what number the letter stands for."

Jesse blinked. "Well why didn't the teacher just say so?"

With a roll of his eyes, William directed Jesse's attention to the next problem. "Here, try another."

Xander peered up from the book he was pretending to read and watched as William guided Jesse through several more problems. A frown flitted across his face as he watched the two heads drift closer together. His leg jerked spasmodically when Jesse laughed quietly at something and reached up to brush a lock of William's hair behind his ear. No! He's not allowed to do that! Stop it!

Shaking his head to dispel that thought, Xander forcibly tore his eyes from the two boys. Determined not to think about why the scene upset him, he returned his attention back to not-reading his book.


Rupert groaned as he straightened up, stretching to work out the kink in his back. He looked at the clock and sighed. He hadn't intended to stay this late, but he'd found an entire section of books that had been horribly misfiled. Once he'd gotten started sorting them out, the project took on a life of its own and the hours had flown by.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd skipped lunch today. He did hope William had left him something for dinner. The few other times when he'd stayed late at the school William had -- good lord! William!

Dropping the book he held, he rushed out from the stacks, pulling up short at the sight that met him.

William and Xander sat alone at the table, pressed close together as they leafed through an oversized book. Rupert felt an indulgent smile creep across his face as he watched. He cleared his throat.

William looked up in distraction. "Oh, hello Da. Are you finished?" He tried not to notice that Xander had sprung away from him, scooting his chair away awkwardly.

"I'm afraid I lost track of time. I wasn't aware that is was so late. Where are the others?"

Xander let out a forced chuckle. "The pressure got too much for Jesse and he bailed after about an hour. Wills stuck around longer, but she had to be home by 5:30."

"Ah, I see. What about yourself? Didn't you have to get home?"

"Oh." Xander shrugged. "My parents don't care much where I am. As long as they don't get any calls from the police, I'm ok doing whatever."

"Hmm."

William bit his lip, glancing at Xander out of the corner of his eye. "Um, Da? Can Xander stay for dinner with us?" He turned to Xander fully. "That is, if you want. You don't have to or anything," he added quickly.

Xander flushed a little and stared down at the table top. 'I...I wouldn't mind," he told the other boy in a soft voice.

William beamed. "So, is that ok, Da?"

Rupert frowned and removed his glasses, giving them a quick polish. "Well, you are still grounded," he reminded his son gently. At the utterly desolate expression that fell over William's face, he decided to relent a bit. "However, I don't see as it will harm anyone if he comes for dinner. Have the both of you finished your schoolwork?"

Both boys assured him that they had.

"Well then, I suppose we should be going. It's already starting to get dark. Xander, I'll drive you home after dinner, all right?"

"Sure, Mr. Giles." Xander and William grinned at each other, glad they were going to be able to spend more time together.


"So, how are your classes going, Xander?" Rupert asked as he delicately dissected his chicken with knife and fork.

"Well, they haven't kicked me out yet," Xander responded with a laugh. He picked up his own chicken and started nibbling on it, licking away the drips of grease that ran down his chin.

William stared at him unblinking. He finally tore his eyes away when his father cleared his throat. Looking down at his own helping of fried chicken, he smiled and looked up at Rupert with a gleam in his eyes. Forgoing the use of his own silverware, he picked up the chicken and took a large bite out of it.

Rupert rolled his eyes at this display but said nothing.

"This is really good, Mr. Giles," Xander said after hastily swallowing another bite. "Way better than take-out."

"Thank you, Xander. Cooking has always been something I enjoyed."

"Yeah, I could get used to this. I'm surprised Will's so skinny with food like this around all the time." He blinked. "Um, not that you're scrawny or anything, Will. More like...compact. I mean, you have a pretty nice...I'm just gonna shut up now." He blushed and stuffed his mouth with another large bite of chicken.

William smiled and blushed, averting his eyes from his father's knowing gaze.


"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Giles." Xander grinned at the older man as he opened the car door. A loud crash from the house made him pause, hand gripping tightly to the handle of the door.

Rupert looked from Xander to the house, then back to Xander again. Raised voices could clearly be heard cursing and hurling insults, and as they got louder, Xander shrank further back into his seat.

"I-I'll see you tomorrow I g-guess," he mumbled, edging slowly out of the car.

Rupert sighed and reached out, laying a hand on Xander's arm. "Xander," he started softly, "you don't...you're welcome to come back and stay the night with William and myself if you like."

Xander offered him a weak smile. "Thanks Mr. Giles, but I'll be fine. I just--" he flinched as the front window shattered and a toaster landed on the lawn.

Rupert leaned across Xander and pulled the door firmly shut. Without another word, he started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

After a long moment of silence, Xander spoke softly, "It's not always like that. Dad just drinks a lot sometimes."

Teeth gritted, Rupert forced himself to calmness. "Do you...that is to say...do they ever...hurt you?"

"No! They just...they yell a lot and fight. Mostly they just ignore me." He shrugged. "I have it better than a lot of kids," he said defensively.

"I see," Rupert voiced noncommittally.

The rest of the drive was finished in silence. When they arrived back at Rupert's apartment, he turned to his passenger. "Xander, if you ever need to just...get away for a bit, you're always welcome to come and visit with William. I'm sure he'd be delighted to have you over."

Xander gave him a tentative smile. "I'd like that, thanks."


William looked up from his book as his father returned. "Da, I got the dishes done and--Xander?"

"Hey." Xander waved.

"Xander will be staying the night again," Rupert informed his son before making his way to the hall closet and fetching some blankets.

"Oh." He looked at Xander in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, well, the folks were having a kind of loud...discussion, and I didn't want to interrupt. Um, it's ok that I'm staying, right?"

"Of course! If you like, you may stay in my room. I'll take the couch."

"Oh, I don't want--"

"It's no bother. I'm smaller than you. The couch couldn't have been very comfortable last time." William grinned. "Even Da complained when he had to sleep on it a few times."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Completely."

"Everything settled?" Rupert set the blankets on the sofa.

"Xander's going to take my room. I'll sleep out here."

"Good then. I'll be heading to bed. Sleep well, boys. You can stay up and talk for a bit, but I want you both in bed by 11:00. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The boys watched him go, then Xander turned to William. "Your dad's pretty cool. You're lucky."

"Yeah. I know."


"Hey."

The touch on his shoulder barely penetrated Xander's sleep. It was nice, though. He pressed a little closer to the spot of warmth. "Mmmm."

"Xander?" The hand shook a little.

Xander sniffed. "Wazzt?"

"It's time to wake up. Da's getting breakfast ready; we'll be leaving for school in less than an hour."

"Hmmmm."

There was a breathy laugh. "Xander!" came the whispered exclamation.

Xander opened his eyes and blinked sleepily. He smiled at the lovely blue-eyed angel hovering over him. He petted the hand still touching his shoulder. "Soft," he murmured.

Will once more cursed his fair skin as he blushed faintly. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand. "It's time to wake up," he repeated in a louder voice.

Xander yawned and levered himself up. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, twisting his neck until it popped faintly. "Will?" He looked around, vaguely confused.

"You spent the night here, remember?"

Xander blinked some more, his eyes finally clearing. "Right. Sorry. Not too good in the morning."

Will eyed Xander, sitting there in his rumpled t-shirt with just an inch or so of his belly showing, and bit back a comment that refuted that statement. "It's all right."

Xander sniffed the air. "Breakfast?" he asked hopefully. "Tell me that's breakfast," he pleaded with Will.

Will grinned. "It should be just about ready."

"Thank god. Did I tell you I really love your dad? He is deeply cool. Like, extremely."

Rupert picked that moment to walk up behind them. "Very kind of you to say so. Now get washed up. We do need to leave soon. Xander, would your friends mind staying after school today? I thought we might try and research these vampires and their 'harvest'."

"Can do. We can probably lure Jesse in with the promise of chocolate," Xander said with a chuckle.

"Wonderful."


Will nudged Xander. "I'm going to get a drink. Would you like something?"

Xander smiled. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Ok." Will shoved his chair way from the table, nearly upsetting the stack of books balanced precariously beside him. "I'll be back in just a moment."

Xander nodded and turned his head a little, watching Will cross the room and go out the doors.

Abruptly realizing what he had done, Xander checked quickly to see if anyone had noticed where his attention had been. When he saw that no one was watching, he forced his eyes back to the book in front of him. After a minute, he groaned and closed the heavy volume with a thud, raising a small cloud of dust. "Nothing in this one," he choked out, waving the dust away from his face.

"I'm coming up blank, too," Willow said. "How 'bout you, Jesse?"

"Hmm?" Jesse flipped a page, intent on the book he was browsing through.

"Jesse?" Willow craned her neck to see what Jesse was studying so intently. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, sure. Be with you in a sec," came the absent reply. Another page was turned, then flipped back as Jesse seemed to compare the pages.

Willow managed to catch a glimpse of what Jesse was looking at, and she turned pink. "Jesse!"

Jesse slammed his book shut and bolted up in his chair. "What?! I wasn't doing anything!"

"I saw those pictures, mister! What do you think you're doing?" Hands on hips, Willow fixed her friend with a very stern glare.

"He gave me the book!" Jesse protested, pointing an accusing finger at Rupert. "I was just looking like he said!"

"There were naked people in that book!"

"Naked? What?" Xander leaned forward in his seat. "Who's naked?"

"I was researching! It's not my fault!"

Rupert cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should take charge of that particular book. I'm sure there are more...suitable volumes for you to study." He turned away from the computer he was trying to do research on and held out his hand.

Still giving Jesse a frosty look, Willow grabbed the book away from him and took it to Rupert. "We'll have no more of that sort of thing, understand?" She narrowed her eyes further.

Jesse sighed and slumped down in his seat. "Yeah," he agreed sullenly. Once Willow's attention was off him, he glanced at Xander. "Just when I found a book I could enjoy," he said with a half-grin playing about his lips.

Xander snickered. "Only you could manage to find nudie pictures while doing boring research in a musty library."

Jesse shrugged, his grin turning into a full-fledged smirk. "Yeah, well, it's a talent." He folded his hands behind his head and tipped his chair back on its hind legs, stretching out in what was supposed to be a suave manner.

After a moment of suitably appreciative silence, Xander asked, "Was there anything good?"

"Eh, not bad. Half-naked chicks, mostly-naked guys. Orgies. That sort of thing." He eyed his friend carefully.

At the mention of the mostly-naked guys, Xander flushed a little and glanced away. "Oh, really?" He was proud that the squeak in his voice was barely detectable.

"Not to interrupt what I'm sure is a fascinating conversation, but I did manage to find a short piece on this 'Harvest' affair," Rupert interjected drolly.

Both boys immediately pasted on attentive expressions.

"Enlighten us, oh wise one," Xander intoned formally.

Rupert raised an eyebrow, but went on, "It seems to be some preordained massacre; rivers of blood, hell on earth. Quite...charmless, really."

"Oh." Willow swallowed weakly, her eyes huge. "Ummm...was there anything about how to stop it? Maybe?"

"Unfortunately, it was a bit fuzzy on the details." Rupert scowled at the computer as it beeped loudly at him. "Infernal machine," he muttered, tapping a few keys. Nothing happened, and he glared harder. "Could any one of you possibly manage to wrest some information from this contraption?" he finally asked when his glare provoked no response from the computer.

He glanced up when no one answered, finding himself the subject of three confused stares. His lips quirked. "Can someone get on the Net?" he clarified.

Willow beamed, bouncing in her seat. "Oooh! Me! I can do that!" She took Rupert's place at the computer and began typing quickly.

Will returned just then and took his seat at the table. He looked at Jesse, then at Xander. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Nah," Jesse replied flippantly. "Orgies, harvest, massacres, bloodbath, the usual."

"I...see. How fascinating." He resolved never to leave the room during a research session again. It was too confusing.

"Isn't it though?"


Willow walked down the hallway, flanked by Xander and Will. She consulted the checklist she carried. "Ok, murder, death, disaster. What else?"

Will thought a moment. "Paranormal, unexplained, did you get natural disasters?"

Willow nodded. "Earthquake, flood." She made a notation next to them on her list.

"Rain of Toads," Xander offered.

"Right."

Xander grinned "Rain of Toads! Do you think they'd have that on the Internet somewhere?"

Willow grinned at him. "I'll put it on the search engine. If there's something online, it'll turn up. Anything that'll lead us to vampires."

"Do I want to know how a rain of toad leads to thoughts of vampires?" Will questioned hesitantly.

"You'll understand when you've lived here for a while," Xander told him. "Trust me, a rain of toads is not a fun thing. Very squishy. Lots of 'splat'."

Will shuddered. "I have no desire to know."

"Good plan."

The three of them stopped walking outside of their classroom.

"This is seriously weird. A couple weeks ago, our lives were like, 'Uh-oh, pop quiz.' Now it's 'Rain of Toads'." Xander shook his head in bemusement.

Will looked around at the crowded hallway. "Everyone else thinks it's just a normal day."

"Exactly! Nobody knows what's going on right under their noses. It's like we've got this big secret."

Willow blinked and cocked her head as she looked at Xander. "We do. That's what a secret is, when you know something other guys don't."

"Heh. Um, right."

Willow giggled. "We should get to class. Oh! Jesse has a lunch detention with Mr. Gerard, and I'm helping Ms. Watson tutor some of her Science students. You two gonna be ok for lunch?"

"Sure thing, Wills. We can hang in the library together." Xander draped his arm over Will's shoulder and tugged him close. "We'll do some male bondage. Bonding! Male bonding!" He coughed, flustered, and very carefully pulled his arm away from Will.

"Um. Right." Willow eyed him with concern. "Ok. Well then. Class." She nodded firmly and walked into the classroom.


"Man, what is taking her so long! We were supposed to meet William back at the school ten minutes ago!" Xander tapped his foot impatiently as he and Jesse waited on Willow's front porch.

Jesse grinned. "Anxious to get back, huh?"

"What? I mean, no, just...you know. Research." He gave a weak chuckle, not meeting Jesse's eyes.

"Uh-huh." Jesse narrowed his eyes, adding mischievously, "So, William's pretty nice. It's hard not to like him, know what I mean?"

"Um...I..." Xander let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, he seems ok."

"Hmm. Kinda cute, too. I wonder if he's seeing anyone yet." He leaned casually against the porch railing, surreptitiously watching Xander out of the corner of his eye.

Xander blinked. "C-cute?" he squeaked. "You think he's cute?" For some reason, his heart started racing.

Whatever Jesse was intending to say in response was lost when Willow finally bounded out her door.

"Sorry," she gasped out breathlessly, "I was finishing up this report, and kinda lost track of time. I'm good now. Are we late?"

"A little," Xander replied weakly, still trying to recover from Jesse's little revelation. "The sun's going down soon."

"Oh." Willow stared out to where the sun was hovering just a little above the horizon. "Um, sorry," she apologized again. "We can still make it though, right?"

"If we hurry." Jesse took hold of Willow's hand and pulled her along. "Come on, Xander!" he called. "Don't want to keep William waiting!"

The trio hurried down the streets, nervously watching the lengthening shadows around them. They were only a few blocks from the school when it happened.

The sun was nothing more than an orange glow sinking completely below the horizon, and they were just passing one of the many cemeteries scattered throughout Sunnydale when a pair of grubby hands reached out and snatched Jesse.

Jesse let out a shocked yell and began struggling. His cry of alarm immediately drew the attention of Xander and Willow, who fumbled for the stakes they had taken to carrying with them.

"Let him go!" Xander shouted, leaping forward.

The vampire struck Jesse heavily on the temple, dazing him. He ducked Xander's uncoordinated attack, and shoved Willow away when she came after him as well. With a growl, he hoisted his stunned victim over his shoulder and sprinted off.

"Xander! He's getting away!" Willow struggled to her feet and raced after them, Xander close behind.

Through the deepening twilight they followed the vampire. "Man," Xander panted heavily, "how fast can these suckers run?" He dodged a low-hanging branch, nearly tripping over an exposed root.

Finally, they came to a halt just inside the crypt the vampire had vanished into, still carrying Jesse. Gasping for breath, they frantically scanned the gloomy tomb.

"Where are they?" Willow stepped further inside, squinting. "Xander! They not here!"

"They have to be here," Xander insisted. "There's no other way out!"

It was no use. They spent several terrifying minutes searching the crypt, but it was empty. And getting darker.

A rustling outside caught their attention, and they both wheeled around, clutching at each other. "W-we should go for help," Willow stammered.

"We can't just leave him!" Xander protested.

The rustling came again, louder this time. "We'll come back," Willow promised. "We'll get William and Giles and come back. We will find him, Xander."

After a moment's hesitation, Xander nodded reluctantly. "Right. Let's go."


Rupert sighed as he pored over the text. "'For they will gather and be gathered'," he read aloud softly, "for the Vessel pours life."

He frowned. "Pours life," he mused, carefully turning yet another yellowed page in the ancient book. His heart skipped a beat at the picture he found; a demon, surrounded by dozens of human corpses, transferring power to a weakened creature.

With growing concern, Rupert read on. "'On the night of the crescent moon, the first past the solstice, it will come...' Of course." He glanced up, eyes growing wide with horror. "That's tomorrow night!"

The squeak of door hinges made him look up. "Hello?"

William stepped forward, smiling gently. "It's just me." He looked around the library. "Where are the others? They were supposed to meet me here."

Rupert frowned. "They were coming back here? From home? It's getting close to sunset."

"I know. I-I'm worried. But I'm sure they're fine." He smiled weakly.

"Of course." He motioned his son closer. "Did you find anything of interest?"

"Perhaps. I pulled some old newspapers regarding a rather large earthquake in 1937. It seems that during the months preceding it, there were several inexplicable murders. See here..." he flipped through some of the printouts he'd brought with him.

"It's all coming together." Rupert sighed, rubbing his forehead wearily. "I rather wish it weren't."

There was a loud clamoring outside the library, then Willow and Xander, gasping for breath and rather disheveled, burst in. "J-Jesse," Xander managed to wheeze out between breaths.

Rupert jumped up. "Where is Jesse," he asked, growing alarmed.

"Vamp...jumped out...snatched...vanished..." Willow collapsed into a chair, hand to her chest as she tried to cal her breathing.

William hurried over to Xander. "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.

Xander nodded. "But...one of 'em grabbed Jesse."

"Good lord." Rupert hovered over Willow. "Are you sure you two aren't injured in any way?"

"We're fine," Xander insisted. "But we have to go back. I won't leave Jesse with one of those...things!"

"Tell me exactly what happened," Rupert urged.

Willow gave him a summary of the incident. With a look of shame, she finished, "I said we should go for help. I left him there."

Awkwardly, Rupert patted her shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. You were right to go for help."

"How will we find him?" William asked. "We don't know where he might have been taken."

"Underground. It's the safest place for vampires. No sun during the day, and with the sewer system and other tunnels, they'd be able to get around almost anywhere."

"Yeah but...oh! Willow? Can you pull up the city plans and give us a map of the underground tunnels?"

Willow jumped up. "Yes!" She hurried to the computer. In just a few minutes, she had the required plans on display. Scanning through them quickly, she stopped and pointed. "There. I think that's it. It runs directly under the graveyard where Jesse was snatched."

Xander shook his head. "I don't see any access."

Rupert frowned. "Do I really want to know how legal this is?"

"No," Xander and Willow answered simultaneously.

"Ah. Right."

"Wait. Wait wait wait!" She pushed away from the desk excitedly. "That vampire dragged Jesse into the crypt, but never came out. And there was only one entrance, we would have seen him leave. It's there! The access to the tunnels must be in the crypt!"

"So what's the plan? We saddle up, right? Go get Jesse back?"

The three teenagers looked at Rupert, who sighed and nodded. "But," he added, "We go in prepared. Take whatever weapons you can carry. We have no idea what we'll find down there."


Jesse hissed in pain as the vampire jerked him carelessly along. He tried yet again to free his arm, but the vampire easily held it in his crushing grip. They rounded yet another corner, and Jesse stared in shock at the woman...vampire that had bitten him only a handful of days previously.

"Move," the vampire growled, shoving him forward into the cavern.

Stumbling, Jesse barely managed to keep from falling as the vampire led him a few more steps, then pulled him to a stop. He looked up in horror at the creature that stepped out from the shadows.

"Is this for me?" The Master grinned and licked his lips.

Jesse shuddered as a clawed finger pointed at him. This was by far the ugliest vampire he had seen to date. He had a very bad feeling about this.

His captor released him and spoke. "An offering, Master."

Darla stepped forward eagerly. "He's a good one. His blood is pure." She glared at the vampire who had captured the prey that had managed to escape her.

The Master eyed the healing wounds on Jesse's neck. "You've tasted it," he remarked, giving Darla a very disappointed look. "Why did you let him go free?"

"I-I didn't mean--"

"I have waited. For three score year I have been trapped here while you come and go as you please, toying with these scraps of food." He fixed her with an angry glare. "My ascension is almost at hand," the Master snarled. "Pray that when it comes, I'm in a better mood." He wrenched Darla's head back and hissed these last words in her ear.

Darla cowered. "Master, forgive me," she whimpered. "I was going to bring him to you before, but he escaped! There were others with him. I think one was the Slayer!" She swallowed hard.

"A Slayer?" The Master considered this. "She must not be allowed to interfere with the Harvest," he finally said.

Luke stepped forward, speaking at last. "I would never let that happen."

He waved a hand. "Don't worry about it. I believe she'll come to us." He turned a cruel gaze upon Jesse. "We have something she'll want. If she is a Slayer, and this boy lives, she'll try to save him."

Luke grinned and stalked over to Jesse, taking hold of him by the back of the neck. "Congratulations, boy. You've just been upgraded from snack...to bait."


"Go inside." Rupert waited until the three teens had entered the crypt, then turned and laid a row of crosses in the entrance. He took out a bottle of holy water and sprinkle it over the threshold and along the walls. Finally, a string of garlic bulbs were draped from a protruding stone. It might not keep vampires out, but it would certainly serve to warn them of any arrivals.

Meanwhile, Willow, Xander and William clustered around a sarcophagus in the center of the crypt. William eyed it distastefully. "Do you suppose there's actually a...?"

The others shuddered. "Don't even want to know," Xander stated firmly. He glanced around, snapping on the flashlight he'd pulled from his jacket pocket. "Come on, let's see if we can find the entrance."

They split up, each now weilding a flashlight. They had only been searching for a few minutes when William called them over. There was a recess in one of the dark corners, and a set of doors chained shut and padlocked.

Xander sighed. "I don't suppose either of you has a key for this?"

"They really don't like people dropping in," came a voice from behind, and the three whirled around.

"You!" Willow exclaimed. "It's the creepy guy who was following me and Jesse," she explained to Xander and William. "He's the one who was talking about mouths of hell and harvests."

Xander glared as he shifted in front of Willow, conveniently placing William behind him as well. "And I bet you don't have a key either, do you?"

The man chuckled bitterly. "They really don't like me dropping in on them, either."

"Oh? Why not?"

"They really don't like me."

William snorted. "How could that possibly be?" he muttered sarcastically.

The man eyed Xander. "Are you trying to protect her? Do you really think she needs it?"

"Hey, back off mister. I don't know who you are, I don't care. But you don't mess with my friends."

"Fine." With a shrug, the man looked around the crypt. "I knew you'd figure out this entryway sooner or later," he said, obviously speaking to Willow as he dismissed the two boys. "Actually, I thought it was going to be a little sooner."

"Sorry you had to wait." Rupert finally made his way inside and crossed his arms, studying the man intently. "And who might you be?"

After a pause, "Angel." Angel cocked his head as he looked at Rupert, then back at the three teens. "This is different."

Xander snickered. "Angel. Kind of a girly name, isn't it?"

"Xander." Rupert gave the boy an admonishing look and shook his head, then shouldered his way past Angel.

"Don't...don't go down there." He had a worried expression on his face.

"Deal with our going," Xander snapped back.

"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. The Harvest is soon. Unless you can prevent it, the Master walks."

"You seem to have some knowledge of this affair," Rupert remarked. "Why don't you stop it?"

"Because I'm afraid," Angel admitted.

William glowered. "And you think perhaps we're not? But we're trying to do something anyway. That just make you a coward."

Rupert examined the lock, then pulled out his wallet and leafed through it, extracting a thin piece of metal. He inserted it in the lock and, with a few deft movements, managed to open it.

Xander watched with awe. "Way cool. Hey, can you teach me how to do that?"

William merely smirked. "Why Father," he murmured. "Wherever did you manage to pick up such a fascinating talent?"

Rupert flushed slightly and cleared his throat. "Never mind that," he said briskly as he removed the chain and pushed the doors open.

"They'll be expecting you," Angel interjected as the group began to file inside.

Willow paused and looked back. "A friend of ours is down there. Do you know what it's like to have a friend?"

Angel lowered his eyes, an expression of unfathomable sadness washing over his face.

Willow bit her lip. "That wasn't supposed to be a stumper," she whispered. She turned back and walked past Rupert.

Angel watched them go. "When you hit the tunnels, head east towards the school," he called after them. "That's where you're likely to find them."

Rupert gazed back at him levelly for a moment, then nodded. The door closed behind them.

"Good luck," Angel finished softly.


Rupert followed the three teenagers down a damp, dingy stairway. "Everyone, stay close together. I'd rather none of you got lost down here."

"No problem." Willow shuddered as she stared around. A drop of...something landed on her arm, and she hurriedly wiped it off with a disgusted "Ew!"

"Which way should we go?" Xander asked as he examined the tunnels leading away from the staircase. "I mean, east yeah, but me and directions? Not on very good speaking terms."

"That way." Rupert indicated an exceptionally dark tunnel off to the left.

"Right," Xander muttered. "Of course it is. Good thing we have flashlights."

"We're not going to use them."

"What!?" squeaked Willow in alarm. "I mean...dark! And scary! And did I mention dark?"

Rupert glanced back at her in the gloomy light. "You'd prefer them to know we are coming?" he asked wryly.

"Oh. Right. Ok, no lights." She stepped closer to Rupert, tentatively reaching out to grasp the hem of his jacket. "Don't mind me," she laughed weakly.

Rupert chuckled softly. "Onward, then." He led the way into the chosen tunnel.

Inhaling deeply, something he instantly regretted doing considering they were in the sewers, William moved to follow the others down the tunnel. A soft squeaking made him look down, and he let out his own, somewhat louder squeak as a large rat ran across his feet. Without thinking, he rushed forward and bumped into Xander. "Rat!" he explained in frantic voice as he clutched at Xander's hand.

Xander gave him a weak smile and nodded in understanding. Not really noticing that they were now holding hands, the two boys quickly followed Rupert and Willow.

The group walked for a while without speaking, the only sound the echoing of their footsteps.

Eventually, Willow found the courage to ask, "Are we sure we brought everything we needed?"

Rupert hefted their bag of supplies. "Crosses, garlic, stakes, holy water...I think we're about as prepared as we can be. Considering we are about to walk into a den of vampires," Rupert responded softly.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask about that," Xander piped up. "Is 'den of vampires' what you call a bunch of them? Maybe it's really a brood of vampires, or a horde. Maybe a pack?"

"At this juncture, I hardly think it matters." Rupert snorted. "However, I'm sure I can unearth a few volumes from the library for you so you can devote some time to researching the answer to that burning question."

"Er...thanks. I guess." Xander blinked. "What just happened?" he whispered to William.

"You volunteered to do extra researching," William whispered back, trying not to giggle.

"I never!" Xander gasped. "I so did not--"

"Shh!" Rupert halted, holding up a hand. "We're close."

"How can you tell?" Willow asked. Everything still looked the same to her.

"There aren't any more rats," Rupert responded nonchalantly.

"Thank god!" William whispered fervently. At that point, he finally realized he still had a firm grip on Xander's hand. When he looked down to confirm this, he drew Xander's attention to it as well. Their heads snapped back up and their eyes locked together. Then, both boys flushed and hastily let go.

"Why wouldn't there be any more rats? Why does that matter? Oh! Ew! Do you think the vampire eat the rats? Gross!" Willow wrinkled her nose and tried not to think about that any more.

"Well, if they'd stick to the rats, we wouldn't be having any problems with them," Xander grumbled. "Stupid vampires."

Cautiously, Rupert peered around a corner. "Oh no," he groaned.

"What?" Willow peeked too. "Jesse!" She hurried over to where Jesse was lying sprawled on the ground, unmoving.

At her cry, Xander and William were quick to follow, and they quickly crouched over their friend.

Jesse groaned and rolled over. His eyes fluttered open, and then he scrambled to his feet, fist drawing back in defense.

"Jesse, Jesse!"

Jesse squinted in the dim light. "X-Xander?" His hand dropped, and he stepped forward, hugging Xander close to him. Barely holding back her tears of relief, Willow wiggled her way into the embrace as well, dragging William into it with her. Rupert watched the reunion with a small smile, relieved that they had managed to find the boy relatively unscathed.

"Jesse, man, are you ok?" Xander asked in a choked up voice.

Jesse pulled back from the group embrace. "I am not 'ok' on an epic scale," he said seriously. "I'm chained to a wall!" He moved his foot around, showing them the manacle that circled his ankle.

"Hey, don't worry, we'll get you out of that. Will's dad is a closet lock-picker. Pretty good at it too, makes you wonder about his misspent youth." Xander grinned.

"Thank you for that sterling recommendation," Giles muttered as he handed Willow the bag of supplies and knelt to examine the lock on the manacle. Taking a chance, he used a flashlight to provide a bit more light. A few seconds of work and he had managed to spring the lock, freeing Jesse.

"Um, I hate to point this out, but I think someone heard us." Willow watched fearfully as a shadowy figure darted across the entrance to another tunnel.

"Hurry," Rupert urged, ushering the teens in the other direction. They didn't notice the two vampires that stepped out of the shadows and watched their escape.

"I really hate to bring this up right now," Jesse panted as they moved quickly through the maze of tunnels, "but they knew you were gonna come." He glanced behind them. "They said that I was the bait."

"Well, now you tell us," Xander said sarcastically. "If we'd know that before, we would have just left you there." He smacked Jesse on the arm. "Idiot."

"Children, do hurry along now," Rupert called back. He pulled up short as he rounded another corner, lurching forward a bit as the others ran into him.

Darla snarled, a wide, evil grin on her face as she stepped closer.

Jesse paled. "Oh no. No, no, no, no! Not her again!"

"Blast it. Does anyone know of another way out?" Rupert asked Jesse as he herded his charges back.

"Um, I dunno. Maybe? I was dragged all through this place." Jesse turned and ran back down another tunnel. The others were quick to follow.

After several twists and turns, Jesse paused, pointing down a side tunnel. "Wait, wait. They brought me through here. There should be a way up." He stared down the tunnel again. "I hope," he added. He shrugged and took off again.

They were brought up short when the tunnel dead-ended in a small chamber. "I-I don't think this is the way out," William gasped, trying to catch his breath.

"We can't fight our way back through those things!" Willow exclaimed. "There's probably dozens on our tail by now!"

"What do we do?" Xander stared at Rupert imploringly.

"Other than die?" Jesse specified as he watched several vampires begin to creep towards them.

Rupert moved towards the door to the chamber, pushing at it. It groaned and creaked, but barely budged. "A little help would be appropriate," he gritted out as he strained to move the heavy metal door.

Jesse and Xander quickly moved to aid him, while William pushed Willow up against the wall and stood defensively in front of her. Willow hastily removed a stake from the supply bag and shoved it into William's hand, then grabbed another for herself.

Rupert and the others shoved at the door with all their strength, finally managing to get it almost closed. One of the vampires had reached into the chamber, though, and the door now pinned his hand in place.

Thinking quickly, William turned and rummaged for the vial of holy water that had been included in their supplies. Opening the vial, he darted forward and poured it over the hand, which immediately erupted into bubbles of melting flesh. An anguished howl sounded, and the hand was hastily snatched back, allowing the door to slam shut.

Panting, Rupert and Jesse leaned back against the door. Xander fumbled for a flashlight and shone it around the small room they were now imprisoned in. "Up there!" he called, pointing to a small hatch in the ceiling.

"Go!" While Rupert continued to hold the door, Jesse and Xander scrambled up on top of a metal container, pulling at the grate. It took a bit of work, but the rusty metal finally gave. Turning, Jesse held out a hand to Willow, boosting her up and out of the chamber. Xander did the same for William, then looked at Jesse.

"No thanks, man. I can get it." With a grin, Jesse pulled himself up through the open grate. Xander followed, almost bumping his head on the low ceiling. "Looks like some sort of air duct," he commented, then wrinkled his nose. "Make that sewer duct."

"No need to stop for the view," Rupert informed him as he hoisted himself up. "Do hurry along now." Squeals of metal punctuated his statement, as the vampires began to pound their way into the chamber below.

Whimpering, Willow led the way down the crawlspace until she came to an open area with a ladder. "Got a manhole here!" she called out in relief. She moved up the ladder and tried unsuccessfully to move the manhole cover.

"Allow me." Rupert squeezed past the others and took Willow's place on the ladder, removing the manhole cover with some effort. He jumped back down. "Ladies first," he said courteously to Willow.

After making sure Willow and the others were all safely outside, Rupert followed them up the ladder. "Ah...what is that?" he asked his son curiously.

William grinned as he stuffed a rag into the end of the scotch bottle. "Petrol and motor oil."

"But that's--what happened to my scotch?" Rupert growled dangerously.

"It was for a good cause, Da," William informed him seriously. He grinned again, lit the end of the rag, then dropped the molotov cocktail into through the opening.

With a sigh, Rupert shoved the cover back into place, cutting off the cries of agony from the unlucky vampires below. "Where did I go wrong?" he asked, looking up at the sky and shaking his head.

Jesse and Xander were looking at William with expressions of awe.

"Way cool," Jesse breathed, and Xander nodded speechlessly in agreement.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Boys," she muttered.


"She escaped." The Master glared at his cringing minions. "She walks free when I should be drinking her heart's blood right now." He stood over Colin, glaring. "Careless," he snarled.

"Master, we had her trapped!" Colin protested fearfully.

The Master gasped in feigned shock. "Oh, are you going to make excuses?" he asked dangerously.

Colin hung his head in shame.

With a snort, the Master turned towards the rest of the vampires gathered. "You are all weak," he announced. "It has been too long since you have faced a Slayer." He shrugged. "It is no matter to me. She will not stop the Harvest. It just means there will be someone worth killing once I reach the surface." He glanced at Colin. "Is Luke ready?"

Colin trembled as the Master once more focused on him. "He waits," he gasped out in an unsteady voice.

"It's time. Bring him!" He held out a hand to stop Colin when the vampire moved to follow the others. "Ah, Colin?"

With a whimper, Colin turned back.

"You failed me," the Master said in a disappointed tone. "Tell me you're sorry."

Colin hung his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered pleadingly.

"There," the Master consoled, "that wasn't so bad, was it?" His expression hardened. "Hold on." His hand lunged forward, and a sickening squelch was heard. "You've got something in your eye." With a bloodthirsty grin, he yanked Colin's squirming body closer.

"You will not fail me again!" he hissed. "Is that understood?" He let Colin go, nonchalantly licking the gore off his thumb. "Thank me for not killing you, Colin," he ordered.

"T-thank you, Master," the maimed vampire croaked as he covered his oozing eye socket.


"Need more sleep," Jesse moaned pitifully as he slumped over a pile of books in the library.

Xander snorted and threw a wadded up paper ball at Jesse's head.

"Hey, I've been through a harrowing experience, here!" Jesse stood and protested. "Vampire attacks, biting, kidnapping, usage as bait...I need come comfort!" He glared at Xander. A positively wicked idea struck him, and he turned to William. "Comfort me!" he demanded, throwing his arm's around William's neck and mock swooning into the startled boy's lap.

"Er..." William awkwardly patted Jesse's head, glancing at Xander out of the corner of his eye.

Xander shoved back the sudden urge to rip Jesse's arms off, and grinned weakly.

Jesse snorted and pulled himself up, moving back to his seat. "Seriously, though, this whole thing is full of major suckage. I got yelled at for sneaking in at almost dawn, fell asleep in History and got detention, and they served meatloaf for lunch! Do you have any idea what goes into that meatloaf?"

"No, and neither do you," Xander replied, glaring at Jesse.

"The point," Jesse continued forcefully, "is that right now my life bites. I mean, is there anything that could possibly make this day worse?"

Rupert walked into the room. "How about the end of the world?"

Jesse sighed. "I knew we could count on him."

"You brought that on yourself," Xander muttered. "You should know by now not to say stuff like that. Talk about jinxing things."

"If I may," Rupert inquired, trying to sound stern.

With a gracious wave of his hand, Jesse motioned for him to continue.

"Thank you. Now, this is what we have managed to find out," Rupert began with a heavy sigh. "Apparently, about 60 years ago, a very old, very powerful vampire came to this shore, and not just to feed."

"Well, why else would he come here?"

"The Spanish who first settled here called this place 'Boca del Infierno'," Rupert explained. "Roughly translated, that means 'Hellmouth'. It seems to be some sort of portal between realities. This vampire hoped to open that portal."

"To bring the demons back?" William asked.

"So it appears."

"End of the world, huh?" Xander nodded. "Of course. Why not."

"But he blew it, right?" Willow asked. "I mean, the world's still here and everything."

"Yes," William agreed. "Well, there was an earthquake that swallowed half the town...and him as well."

Rupert took a seat next to the teenagers. "Yes, oddly enough, it seems that opening dimensional portals is a tricky business."

"Imagine that," Jesse interjected.

"Odds are," Rupert continued, ignoring Jesse's comment, "he got himself stuck, rather like a, uh, cork in a bottle."

Xander sat up straight as enlightenment struck. "So this Harvest thing is to get him out, right?"

"Yes. It comes once in a century, on this night. The Master can draw power from one of his minions while it feeds. Enough power to break free and open the portal." He stood and walked over to a whiteboard that was set up at the end of the table. "The minion is called the Vessel, and he bears this symbol." He drew something that rather looked like a three-pointed star.
å

"So, why don't we just kill any vamps with that symbol? That will stop the Harvest, right?" Jesse asked.

"Simply put, yes."

"Well, I'm a simple kind of guy."

Willow snickered, earning a glare from Jesse.

"Now, the only question is where they are going to hold this...ceremony, for lack of a better word. There are a number of possibilities."

Xander shook his head. "No, they're going to the Bronze."

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, already gathering her books together.

"No question. Come on, all those tasty young morsels all over the place? Has suck-fest written all over it."

Rupert nodded and reached for his coat. "Then we should get there. The sun will be down before long." He led the way out of the library.


Lucas stepped into the circle of lit candles, kneeling before his Master and kissing the hand that was held out for him.

With an indulgent grin, the Master offered his wrist to Lucas, who reverently pushed aside the sleeve and bit carefully, drinking of his Master's essence.

"My blood is your blood," the Master said with a great deal of ceremony. "My soul is your soul."

"My body is your instrument," Lucas responded, earning a wicked smile from his Master.

Stepping closer, the Master continued, "On this most hallowed night, we are as one." He annointed Lucas with the special mixture made from his blood, taking care to inscribe the proper symbol. "Luke is the vessal. Every soul he takes will feed me. And their souls will grant me the strength to free myself." He smiled in triumph. "Tonight I shall walk the earth, and the stars themselves will hide!"


Cordelia smirked as she watched a group of upperclassmen gathered around a pool table at the Bronze. "Senior boys are the only way to go," she confided to her companions. "Guys from our grade? Forget about it! They're children, y'know?" She snickered. "Like, Jesse. Did you see him the other night? He was following me around like a little puppy, it was pathetic! You just want to put him to sleep!"

The girls at her table giggled and nodded in agreement.

With a toss of her hair, Cordelia continued, "Senior boys? Now they have mystery. They have...what's the word I'm searching for? Cars!" She smiled brilliantly. "I'm just not the type to settle," she explained. "It's like, when I go shopping, I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more."

One of the girls across from her spoke up, "You know--"

"Hello? Miss Motormouth? Can I get a sentence finished?" She glared at the one who had dared to interrupt. Then she brightened. "Oh, I love this song! Come on!"

With a shrug, the others got up and followed her onto the dance floor.

Cordelia quickly became captured by the music, not caring that she wasn't dancing with anyone in particular. After all, she looked good no matter what.


Erick stood outside the doors to The Bronze, slowly counting the handful of bills he'd collected for the night. Not the best night ever, but he's at least be ably to buy something nice for his girlfriend Tiffany.

Footsteps approached. "Need ID," he recited automatically. When he got no response, he looked up in irritation, preparing to deal with the usual idiots who tried to sneak in. "Hey, nobody gets inside until I get some sort of..." His voice trailed off as an inhuman creature confronted him and growled.

"Get inside" Lucas snarled, than stalked into the building.

Still in shock, Erick didn't even protest as he was unceremoniously ushered in.

Once inside the club, Lucas' entourage quickly split up to cover any exits and prepare to act as crowd control. As per instructions, Colin quickly moved towards the fuse box, cutting off the power and leaving the club illuminated only by the remaining emergency lights. Then he made his way back to the crowd, eager to prove himself. The Master would not be disappointed in him again.

Annoyed muttering began to spread through the crowd, until a voice cut through their babble.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no cause for alarm." Lucas stood on the stage, gazing around the room in hunger. Grinning, he amended his statement. "Actually, there is cause for alarm." He stepped into the light, revealing his vampiric features and garnering several shrieks of horror. "It just won't do any good," he finished, grinning in excitement.

"I thought there wasn't any band tonight," Cordelia said in confusion, turning to the person behind her.

Colin grinned at the girl and snapped his teeth at her, causing her to inhale sharply in fear. He quickly grabbed her arm, holding tightly to prevent her escape.

"This is a glorious night," Lucas told his unwilling audience. "It is also the last night any of you shall ever see." He couldn't help the broad grin that stretched across his face. He had awaited this night for decades. "Bring me the first!" he ordered.

Erick struggled as he was propelled forward. He couldn't believe the strength of his captor; for such a slight man, he seemed inhumanly strong. "What do you guys want, man, huh? You want money?" A sick expression flickered across his face as he came to a halt in front of Lucas. "Man, what's wrong with your faces?" He choked as a hand darted out and squeezed his neck.

Lucas addressed the crowd as he held Erick. "Watch me, people." He turned to his prey, wrapping his free hand around the man's head and pulling him close. "Fear is like an elixir," he remarked as he petted Erick almost lovingly. "It's almost like blood." He relished the gasps and muted screams from the crowd as he bared his fangs and plunged them deeply into quivering flesh, drinking down the heady fluid that welled up.

All too soon the human was drained, and Lucas let the body drop. He licked his lips and looked around. "Next!"


The Master shuddered in anticipation as the first of his Vessel’s victims was taken, flooding him with a rush of power. His freedom was at hand. He could practically taste it.


The teens scrambled over each other in their haste to leave Rupert's car. "Hurry!" Jesse shouted as he raced for the door. When he found it closed, he wrenched futilely at the handle, trying in vain to open it. "It's locked!" he groaned anxiously.

"Dear god," Rupert gasped, horrified. "We're too late."

"Maybe we can break it down?" Xander suggested. He immediately began scanning the alley for something to use as a battering ram.

"I don't think that will work," Willow objected. "The door's way too thick."

"Is there a back entrance?" William asked.

Rupert nodded. "Good idea. Xander, you and Willow come with me to check the back entrance. William, Jesse, see if you can find another way in. Perhaps the roof."

"Right." Jesse nodded and sprinted for the ladder leading from the fire escape.

"William." Rupert caught his son's arm before the boy took off as well. "Here." He handed over one of the bags of weapons. "Try and get the exits cleared and the people out. That's all. No need to be getting heroic."

William flashed his father a weak grin. "Yes, Da."

After a momentary hesitation, Rupert pulled him into a brief hug. "Be careful," he whispered fiercely before forcing himself to let go. He felt an odd tightening around his heart as he watched his child dash away to help Jesse. He cleared his throat. "Best get to work," he told the remaining two teens in a rough voice.

Xander too watched William as he disappeared around the corner. He fought down the surge of numbing fear that raced through him. "He'll be ok," he said, giving Rupert a trembling pat on the back.

Rupert offered him a faint smile, then led the way to the back of the building.

"No joy," Willow told them despairingly as she tried the back door only to find it locked as well.

Rupert banged his fist against the door. "Damn it!" he growled, drawing shocked looks from his companions.

Xander shook himself. "We've gotta get in there! If the roof was open, Jesse and William have made it in by now. We have to get in to help, before Jesse does something even stupider than usual!"

Willow whacked his chest. "Jesse will not do something stupid!" She smiled reassuringly at Rupert. "He'll look out for William."


The Master gasped as yet another surge of power rushed through him. Reaching out a clawed hand he tested the barrier that kept him confined in his underground prison. It was weakening.

Soon now.


Lucas drained another victim, reveling in the joy of the kill. He felt the girl go limp in her arms as the last bit of life was sucked away, and knew that soon his Master would be free to take up the reigns of power that were rightfully his.


With a triumphant grin, the Master again tested the barrier. "Almost free!" he rejoiced. "Give me more!"


Lucas let the body drop to the ground. He gestured for another, and Darla was quick to dart into the crowd.

Cordelia cringed in Colin's grip, whimpering as Darla headed for her.

Darla grinned at the cowering human, reaching out to stroke her arm almost lovingly. "This one will do nicely," she purred.

Colin frowned. "I want to keep this one." He licked Cordelia's cheek with a small moan.

Darla glared at him. "They're all for the Master," she informed him tersely as she jerked the girl away.

Colin didn't release his grip as he asked plaintively, "Can't I have just one?"

"Maybe you should ask the Master for her," Darla said snidely. "I'm sure he'd love to share. After all, we know how much he favors you." She stared pointedly at Colin's new eye patch.

Colin swallowed hard and released Cordelia's arm. "Um, never mind," he stammered as he backed away. He watched a bit wistfully as the lovely young woman who tasted so deliciously of terror was led away. Ah well, there were other nights and other prey. He could wait.


"No good," William murmured, "this one's locked, too."

"Oh ye of little faith," Jesse retorted. He gestured to the row of windows. "Those will do just as well." After a moment's thought Jesse retrieved a large wooden cross from William's bag. With his face turned away, he smashed the cross through one of the windows, scattering jagged bits of broken glass. Very carefully, he felt around inside for a latch.

William watched in admiration as Jesse pried the broken window open, leaving a space just barely big enough for them to fit through. "Do you get a lot of practice with that?" he joked.

"Ha. Ha." Jesse stuck out his tongue. "Well, come on."

The boys crawled through the opening to find themselves on the upper level of the club.

"I can feel the Master's strength growing!" came a confident voice from below. Slowly creeping forward, Jesse and William peered over the railing.

"Shit," Jesse hissed as he watched the vamp that had bit him before drag a struggling Cordelia across the floor. "It's Cordelia."

"I feel him rising," Lucas continued. "Every soul brings him closer! I need another!" he shouted, lifting his head and revealing the mark etched into his skin.

"Look!" William gasped. "It's the mark of the Vessel!"

They froze at the soft growl from behind them. Slowly, they turned.

A vampire glared at them balefully from the shadows. "I don't know how you got up here," he snarled at them, "but you're soon going to join the others. No one escapes the Master."

"Tonight," Lucas intoned, "is his ascension. Tonight will be history at its end! Yours is a glorious sacrifice! Degradation..." he inhaled deeply, grinning, "...most holy." The remaining people in the crowd all edged as far away from the stage as they could get, and Lucas looked around at them in disappointment. "What, no volunteers?"

Darla shoved Cordelia up onto the stage, smirking. "Here's a pretty one," she said as she pushed the next victim towards Lucas.

Lucas caught hold of her and pulled her close, caressing her cheek. Panic-stricken, Cordelia screamed loudly, trying with all her might to pull away from the hand anchored in her hair.

Her struggles amused Lucas, and he licked his lips as he leaned in for the strike.

There was a loud commotion from above, and a vampire came flying over the railing, landing with a sickening thud in front of the stage.

Jesse whistled softly. "Whoa. Good aim."

William shrugged bashfully. "I tripped," he admitted.

"Whatever works." He went to look over the railing, glaring down at the vampire who had his slimy hands all over the object of Jesse's desires. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said in a falsely sweet tone of voice. "Were you in the middle of something?"

"You!" Lucas snarled. "Well, well. If it isn't the bait."

"Yeah, about that. So not a cool thing to do. I think I have a little payback coming."

"Jesse!" William whispered anxiously, "What are you..." he sighed as Jesse hurled himself over the edge. "...doing," he finished with a resigned groan.

Jesse leaped, aiming himself for Lucas. He landed on the vampire with an 'oomph' and briefly gasped for breath before lashing out with the cross he'd used to break open the window. "You want blood, Vessel boy?"

Lucas hissed in pain as the cross pressed against his neck. "I'll take yours!" he promised, batting the cross from Jesse's grip and pushing the boy off of him with little effort. He ignored Cordelia, who had taken the opportunity to scramble away fearfully.

"Blast," William muttered as he watched the enfolding scene. He looked at the distance from the upper level to the floor, then took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

It wasn't a graceful landing, but he managed to hit the pool table instead of the floor. Immediately, one of the vampires stalked forward.

William reached for the bag of weapons, groping frantically when he couldn't find them. With a quick look behind him, he saw the bag lying on the floor beside the table. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the pool cue off the table, waving it menacingly.

The vampire continued to advance, obviously not very intimidated by the youngster waving around the oversized stake. With a bloodthirsty growl, he charged.

William gulped, then braced himself, leveling the pool cue at the charging vampire. He winced as the vampire impaled himself, staring down at the pool cue in bewilderment. As William watched, the vampire fell back and crumbled into dust

On stage, Jesse was struggling with Lucas, stake in hand as he attempted to impale the vampire. When Lucas managed knock the stake away, William knew he had to do something.

Moving quickly, he made his way onto the stage and grabbed one of the chairs stacked there. Raising it, he smashed it down on Lucas' back.

"Uh-oh." He took a step back as Lucas turned and began to come after him, glowing eyes promising a painful death.


With a final kick, Rupert managed to knock the door open. "Hurry!" he urged Xander and Willow.

Xander rushed past him and around the corner. On stage, he saw Lucas standing over William, who lay sprawled in a pile of boxes, blood trickling from his mouth. He was about to go over and help, when Jesse launched himself on Lucas' back, clubbing him with the cross he retrieved. It looked like they were holding their own for the moment, so Xander reluctantly turned his attention to the frightened crowd.

"Come on, let's go. Come on!" he urged, pointing a terrified girl to the back door. "Come on," he told the rest. "Come on!"

After the initial confusion, the group of captives jostled their way towards the promised escape.

Giles sighed a bit in relief as the former captives headed for him. At least some were still alive. "Hurry up. Come on, through this door! " he whispered. "Come on! This way!"

Willow helped usher the line of teens through the door. "Just go," she told them. "Run. You'll be safe away from here!"

Xander relaxed a little as the last of the huddled group made their way out the back door. Another glance at the stage made him tense again. Lucas had thrown off Jesse, who lay on the floor not far from Xander, rubbing his head and groaning in pain.

William was trying to make his way towards Jesse to help, and Xander's heart lurched painfully as he saw Lucas come up behind William and wrap his arms around the boy's chest, squeezing the breath from him.

"Go!" Jesse gasped, biting back a flash of pain. He motioned towards William. "Go!"

Xander nodded and ran to William's aid.

Jesse winced, pushing himself up and trying to muster the strength to get back to his feet. A whimper drew his attention, he twisted around to see Cordelia crawling across the floor, tears dripping down her smudged cheeks.

Cordelia shrieked as cold hands grabbed her shoulders and flipped her over. Her fingers curled into claws, and she raked at her captor's face.

Colin chuckled. He easily captured her hands and held them tight above her head as he knelt over her. "Hold still!" he ordered. "You're not making this easy!"

Jesse's eyes narrowed in anger. With a burst of energy, he levered himself off the floor and lurched over to the gloating vampire.


Once everyone in the first group had made it safely out of the building, Rupert moved forward to look around the corner. "We're going to have to open up the front as well!" he called back to Willow. "Ah!" He lurched forward as something slammed into his back. He hit the floor and twisted, blanching as he saw Darla looming over him. He struggled, trying to keep her from sinking her fangs into him.

Willow fumbled in her pack, withdrawing a bottle of holy water. "Get off him!" she ordered angrily as she opened the bottle and dumped its contents onto the vampire attacking Rupert.

Darla shrieked, her hands clutching at her burning face. She lurched back and stumbled out the doorway, trailing smoke and the stench of burning flesh.

Rupert sat up. "Thank you," he gasped out, reaching up to straighten his glasses.

Willow smiled. "All in a day's work."

"The others?"

"Holding up. We have to get the rest out, though."

Rupert nodded. "If we get the front opened, they'll have an easy escape to the streets."

"Right." Willow followed his lead, wincing a bit as he staked a vampire that tried to rush past them. She gaped as it burst into a cloud of dust. "Cool," she whispered.


"Hey, man!" Jesse glared at the vampire holding Cordelia captive. He raised a makeshift stake threateningly. "Don't make me do it."

Colin snarled and reluctantly stood. "Ok, let's deal with this." He bared his fangs.

"Dude," Jesse said with no small amount of disgust, "what happened to your eye?"

Colin covered his patch with one hand, then snarled. "That does it." He grabbed the annoying human and spun him around, slamming him up against a support beam. A sharp prick at his chest made him look down.

Jesse held the stake to the vampire's chest with a trembling hand, trying not to let on how utterly terrified he was at the moment.

Colin smirked as the aroma of fear surrounded him. "Well? Are you going to put me out of my misery?" he purred. "I don't think you have the guts--" His words were cut off abruptly as he was shoved from behind by a fleeing teenager.

Jesse watched in mild disbelief as the vampire dusted in front of him. "Well, that's one way to do it," he muttered. He reached a hand down to Cordelia, who was still lying on the floor in shock. "Hey, come on. You have to get out." He pulled her to her feet and pushed her towards the front door, which Rupert and Willow had managed to get open.

Jesse turned to head for the stage in case William and Xander needed any help. He didn't get far before being grabbed by two more vampires.


Lucas had managed to get William in crushing grip, barely able to move. He grinned. "Master," he said reverently, "taste of this and be free." He lowered his head.

Xander raised the guitar he'd picked up and brought it smashing down on Lucas' head. The vampire released William and stumbled back. Xander briefly checked William for any noticeably gushing wounds before turning to smirk at the downed vampire. "So, how'd it taste?"

Lucas growled and stalked forward.

Thinking quickly, William bent and grabbed a microphone stand, raising it and aiming at the approaching vampire.

Lucas snorted in amusement. "You forget, metal can't hurt me."

"I believe there's something you forgot about, too," William commented smoothly. "Sunrise." He hurled the stand at the window behind Lucas.

Lucas ducked as the projectile flew past, breaking open the window and allowing in a flood of bright yellow light. He rose to his knees screaming, hands covering his face. After a moment, he paused, noticing the distinct lack of searing agony. He squinted at the light, making out the shape of a bright floodlight. He failed to notice Xander creeping up behind him.

Xander hefted the broken remains of the guitar and thrust it through Lucas' back. Adding on to William's statement, he said, "It's in about nine hours, moron."

In disbelief, Lucas stared down at the jagged wood protruding from his chest. He rose and stumbled to the edge of the stage, hand outstretched in futile supplication. With a final sigh, he fell, exploding into dust as he hit the floor.


The Master sank to his knees as he felt the strength drain from him. He knew instantly that Lucas was dead, and he lifted his head and howled. "Noooooo!"


William joined Xander in staring at the scattered dust that was all that remained of Lucas. "I can't believe he fell for that," he heard Xander snicker, and smiled in agreement.

Hearing scuffling, they looked up to see two vampires attempting to drag Jesse away. The vampires eventually noticed how silent it had become and looked towards the stage. When they saw Xander and William standing there, victorious, they exchanged a panicked look. In unison, they released Jesse and raced for the door, anxious to make their escape.

As they ran down the street, a figure emerged from the shadows, watching them go.

Angel turned back to the club. "She did it," he whispered, hardly believing the Slayer had managed to best the Master's Vessal, even with the help of her strange friends. He almost smiled. "I'll be damned." With a slight shake of his head, he melted back into shadow.


Jesse rushed the two at the stage, beaming. "Man, that was awesome! Did you see me stake that vamp? He totally dusted!"

Rupert and Willow joined them. Willow gave the boys a tired grin while Rupert grabbed William and gave him a quick but heartfelt hug.

They all stared around the now-deserted club. "I take it it's over," Rupert commented.

"Did we win?" Willow asked.

"Well, we averted the apocalypse," Xander replied. "I guess we get points for that." He eyed Rupert, who was still clutching William, and tried to smother the faint stirring of jealousy that welled up.

Jesse slung his arm over Willow's shoulders. "One thing's for sure, nothing's ever gonna be the same."

They all looked again at the club, empty of vampires and panicked humans, but still filled with the corpses of the unfortunate victims, and the accompanying stench of death.


"Son? You're still awake?" Rupert stepped into William's room and sat on the edge of his bed.

William put his book down and looked up at his father. "I couldn't sleep," he said softly.

Rupert smiled in understanding. "Had a bit more excitement than usual, hmm?"

"You could say that." He rolled onto his side, curling slightly around Rupert, who shifted and reached out to smooth away a stray lock of hair. "I was so afraid," he whispered.

"We all were," Rupert reassured him.

William shook his head. "I was terrified that you would...or Xander...I didn't want you to get hurt." He sniffled softly.

Rupert sighed and gathered William close, hugging him tightly. "We're fine. All of us. We beat the bad guy, right?"

"Yeah."

Rupert rubbed his back soothingly. "It was actually quite exciting, wasn't it? Being the heroes, saving people."

"We didn't save everyone.

"We saved everyone we could," Rupert stated firmly.

After a moment, William gave a reluctant chuckle. "It was rather exciting. Especially when they turned into harmless clouds of dust."

"There, you see?" He pressed a kiss to William's forehead and settled him back on his pillow. "Try to get some sleep, alright. Tomorrow's another day."

"All right, Da." William yawned and closed his eyes.

With a smile, Rupert marked William's place in the book and placed it on his nightstand. He stood and walked to the door, switching off the light. "Good night, William," he whispered into the dark.


"Well, what exactly were you expecting?" Willow asked as she walked with Xander and Jesse down the halls of the school.

Xander shrugged. "I don't know. Something. I mean, the dead rose. We should at least have an assembly!"

"People have a tendency to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't," Rupert said as he and William joined them.

"Well I'll never forget it. None of it," Willow assured him.

"Good. Next time you'll be prepared."

"Next time?" Xander asked William.

"Next time is why?" Willow added.

"No next time. This time was enough, thanks," Jesse threw in.

William grinned. "We've prevented the Master from freeing himself and opening the Mouth of Hell. That's not to say he's going to stop trying. I'd say the fun is just beginning. "

Rupert stared at his son with something akin to horror. "Dear god, what have I created."

William just kept grinning.

"So, more vampires then?" Jesse sighed. He really didn't like vampires.

William stopped walking, causing the others to halt. "Not just vampires," he told them almost eagerly. "The next threat we face may be something quite different."

Xander snorted. "I can hardly wait," he muttered sarcastically.

"What makes you say that?" Rupert asked.

"This is the Hellmouth. We're at the center of a mystical convergence here. We may, in fact, stand between the Earth and its total destruction." Still grinning, William almost bounced away.

"Well, I gotta look on the bright side," Jesse said as he and the other teens followed William, "maybe I can still get kicked out of school."

"Oh yeah, that's a plan," Xander remarked, still in sarcastic mode. "'Cause lots of schools aren't on Hellmouths.

"Maybe you could blow something up," Willow offered. "They're really strict about that."

After giving her a strange look, Jesse shook his head. "Nah. I was thinking of a more subtle approach, y'know, like excessive not studying."

Xander snickered. "And that would be different than usual how?"

Jesse slugged him. "Shut up!"

"Hurry up," William called behind him. "We'll be late for Algebra."

Rupert watched them go with a somewhat ill expression on his face. He shook his head and turned to walk towards the library. "The earth is doomed," he muttered.



Finit





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