Willow noted with some pride that it had taken her a little under three hours to purchase a new wardrobe and max out her parents' credit card. While the taxi waited outside she hauled shopping bags into Angel's office, then enlisted the help of Giles and Wesley to collect the rest.

Finally she was seated on Angel's lumpy sofa, surrounded by her purchases. "Hi," she said belatedly, noticing the look of awe on Giles' face at the magnitude of her purchases.

"Good lord Willow," he muttered, trying to find a place to sit down.

"Well, I could hardly ask Buffy to send my things, could I?" Willow pointed out a little defensively, realising at the same time that she was going to have a serious storage problem. (Oh well, one thing at a time) she decided, and she began to shift the bags into the lift.

"Have Angel and Spike woken up yet?" she asked as she carried an oversize carrier bag and dropped it on top of the growing pile.

"No," replied Giles, "But we do have a development."

Willow looked over with interest as Giles continued. "Apparently the man sent by the Council has reached Sunnydale. He called Wesley this morning asking for help in accessing a computer he had found. Wesley has asked him to come here, and we expect him to arrive shortly."

"My laptop!" said Willow gleefully. (And being hand-delivered by the Council!) Still, the mention of Sunnydale reminded Willow of their larger problems, and she looked at Giles with a frown.

"When he gets here, after we've spoken to him, I think we all need to talk about what to do next. I mean, we can't hide forever, and I don't like the feeling of being run out of town."

Giles nodded his agreement, and Willow headed downstairs to wake her mates, so they would have all hands on deck when the Council man arrived.

Willow slowly moved all her bags from the lift into Angel's study, deciding that at least that way the clutter was more hidden. Then she went to the bedroom, opening the door to see the two vampires formerly known as the Scourge of Europe lying cuddled together peacefully in each other's arms.

Willow rolled her eyes, and almost decided to let them sleep a little longer while she made some lunch. But she just couldn't resist. She crept up next to Spike, eased her hand under the covers and softly stroked his stomach, an evil grin on her face as Spike moaned and pressed closer to Angel.

Willow slid her hand lower, delicately tracing the veins on his engorged shaft with her fingertips, pausing as the sleeping vampire begin to thrust into her hand. Then Willow slowly removed her hand as Spike continued his movements, leaving him rubbing his cock on Angel's thigh.

Then Willow moved her hand over the blonde's ass, gently tracing the crack between his cheeks, then working one finger into the tight space and circling his puckered hole. She could feel Spike twitching, and realising that he would soon wake up she quickly slid her finger into his channel. Spike jerked awake with a growl which quickly turned to a strangled yelp as he opened his eyes and saw Angel gazing back at him.

Spike pulled backwards, not realising how close he was to the edge of the bed, and ended up sprawled at Willow's feet. He snarled at her laughing face, eyes gleaming yellow, but Willow was not daunted by his bad temper.

"Wakey wakey Spike" she sang, finally taking pity on his petulant expression and kneeling down to kiss him. She let their tongues dance until she felt his fangs start to descend, then she pulled back.

"None of that" she said in her best school teacher voice. "We have a visitor arriving soon and I need you both upstairs." Willow stood up and pulled Spike to his feet, admiring his nude form and his unselfconscious grace as he slowly stretched.

She looked over to see that Angel was also enjoying the floor show. Willow felt much more relaxed with Angel when Spike was present; she knew the blonde wouldn't let anything happen if she didn't want it to.

Filled with bravado, she moved over to the bed, giving Spike a good view of her backside encase in tight jeans as she leant over to gaze into Angel's aroused eyes.

"Would you like a good morning kiss too?" she purred, to get her answer loud and clear when Angel snaked out one long arm and pulled her onto the bed. He half covered her body with his, his hand moving down to squeeze her ass hard as his tongue plunged into her mouth, finally pulling back to gaze with satisfaction at Willow's flushed face.

He could smell her arousal, and he could see that Spike had too from the predatory gleam in his grand childe's eyes. However his desire to take full advantage of the moment was outvoted by his common sense, which had unfortunately been paying attention to Willow's earlier comments.

"What visitor?" Angel asked huskily, his hand still running up and down over Willow's rear, much to her pleasure.

"Uh, mmm, visitor? Visitor! Oh yes, that Council guy who was in Sunnydale is coming here, and he has my laptop."

This news convinced even Spike to get dressed, and Willow left the two grumbling vampires to go and heat some blood for them, and lunch for her.

Appetites temporarily satisfies - for food, anyway - the trio then headed upstairs, where Cordelia was trying without much success to pump Wesley for information about the Watcher.

Willow wrinkled her nose and gave Cordelia a look. "A Watcher? Haven't you already been down that road?" Both Wesley and Cordelia glared at her, but before either of them could speak there was a knock at the door. (My timing is getting really good) Willow noted smugly as she went to open the door.

David Forsyth was not sure exactly what to expect when the door opened, but it was certainly not a beautiful redhead, who looked at the laptop in his arms the way a starving teenager would look at a hamburger.

"You brought it!" she declared joyfully, pulling him inside as she flashed him a radiant smile; without doubt the most delightful smile it had ever been his pleasure to see.

Forsyth returned Willow's smile and reached out to shake her free hand; her other hand was clutching at the laptop. He introduced himself, holding on to her hand a little too long but dropping it suddenly when he heard what sounded like - a growl?

Spike eyed the watcher suspiciously, not liking the way he was practically drooling over Spike's mate. He gave a warning growl when the pillock seemed determined to hang onto Willow's hand all day, then moved forward to stand next to her, their bodies almost touching, glaring at the tweed-clad prick and wishing for the millionth time that the chip would let him have some fun.

Willow felt Spike move next to her side, as Angel did the same. She mentally huffed. (Honestly! Vampires and their territorial instincts! Don't they understand this man had my laptop?)

Wesley saw the way Angel and Spike were hovering over Willow and decided he had better take some steps to ease the tension. He moved forward, shaking hands with his friend and introducing him to Giles.

"Mr Giles!" exclaimed Forsyth, wondering what exactly he had walked into. "Ah, well, I presume that Wesley has told you about the Council sending me to, ah, assist you?" Forsyth shot a dark look at Wesley as he spoke, wondering belatedly if this were some kind of trap.

"Please forgive Wesley for not telling you more, but I'm sure you will understand better in a moment." Everyone sat down, Cordelia went to make coffee, and Giles proceeded to fill Forsyth in on what was happening, omitting only minor details - like Angel and Spike being vampires, and the three being mates.

"So, Willow is really a Servant of Gaia? They actually exist?" Forsyth asked in awed tones.

"Apparently so, although to be honest we have found the "Legend of the Servants" book to be somewhat vague . It may be that you can help us in locating some more helpful texts."

Eager to assist in researching such a momentous discovery, Forsyth quickly told Giles about the message he had heard on the ex-Watcher's answering machine. Giles immediately excused himself as he rushed to the phone to contact his friend.

Willow lent forward and asked Forsyth, "Did you speak to Buffy?" Forsyth grimaced and recounted his meeting with the Slayer.

Willow sighed, tapping her fingers against her thigh as she considered this further evidence, if any more was needed, that her relationship with Buffy was damaged beyond repair.

"Does the Council have some kind of proposal about how to deal with her?" Willow asked hesitantly.

"If they do, they haven't shared it with me," said Forsyth regretfully, leaning forward to pat the redhead sympathetically on the knee.

Angel moved from his seat to stand in front of Willow, his icy gaze causing Forsyth to quickly remove his hand. Taking in the size of the man standing in front of him, and his aggressive stance, Forsyth shrugged slightly and gave a hesitant smile, as if to say, "OK, OK, sorry!"

He realized that apparently the bond linking the three was not simply a matter of convenience or ritual. It was clear that the two men also considered themselves bodyguards, which he supposed would make sense.

After all, they were there to assist the Servant.

(What a wonderful opportunity to study a Servant bond at close quarters,) he thought enviously, hoping that Wesley and Giles would at least let him know of their findings.

He was distracted by the appearance of Cordelia, who handed him a cup of something he expected to be coffee. After taking a sip he struggled to keep the foul tasting liquid down, and it occurred to him that when Cordelia had offered to make coffee he had been the only one to accept.

Giles returned to the room, his face flushed with excitement. "Well, yes, excellent news. Apparently the manuscript, written by a Servant, does exist, and its location is known. We should have it, or a copy of it, here within a week or so."

Giles noticed that only Forsyth and Wesley seemed to understand the importance of this news. Cordelia was filing her nails and gazing under her eyelashes at Forsyth, Spike and Angel were glaring at the Watcher, and Willow was absorbed with her wretched computer.

Sighing with frustration at this display - (honestly, they must learn to focus!) Giles thought crossly - he turned to Forsyth and asked him his plans.

"Well, I think I should head back to Sunnydale and keep an eye on the Slayer. That way I can let you know what's happening, and we can keep in touch regarding the completion of the bond. Ah, I will of course have to tell the Council what is happening."

The Watcher's voice was momentarily lost as the others made their feeling about the Council's involvement known in loud voices.

"I have to tell them, in the past the Servants were allies of the Council and helped them on several important occasions. But," he stressed the word, "I will not tell them anything about the actual identity of Willow and her, ah, bond partners until after the bond is complete."

Forsyth smiled at Willow. "If the records the Council has are correct, once you have your full power you will have nothing to fear from the Council. The Servants always commanded the Council, not vice versa."

Willow returned his smile, grateful that she would have at least some breathing space before facing that particular problem.

Spike and Angel were not pleased at the idea of the Council getting involved, but it didn't seem like they had many options, and at last this way they had someone who could keep an eye on the Slayer. The vampire were united in their belief that Buffy was a much more serious threat than Willow seemed prepared to acknowledge.

Angel had moved past having any qualms he had about moving against his former lover. He had his priorities straight: Willow and Spike were his mates, and he would do whatever he had to in order to keep them safe. If that meant playing nice with the Council's lapdog. so they could keep track of Buffy and her tricks, then he would do it - provided that wanker kept his hands off of Willow, Angel added to himself with a mental snarl.

Forsyth had left LA quickly, determined to reach Sunnydale and meet with the Slayer before she left on patrol. As dusk fell and he approached her dormitory he hoped that she would be in a more ... balanced ... frame of mind.

He knocked briskly, his eyebrows rising involuntarily as the Slayer opened the door and he saw her clothes - what little of them there were, anyway. It appeared the Chosen One was on her way to a party.

"Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt Ms Summers, I thought you might be patrolling this evening."

"Yep, I am, just on my way now. I'm patrolling with some soldiers from the Initiative." A thought occurred to Buffy and she paused. "You do know about the Initiative?"

"Yes, the Council is aware of their activities" Forsyth said neutrally. In his personal opinion the Initiative were a bunch of fools, meddling with things they did not understand. He decided it would be interesting to see them in action, and knew that the Council would be pleased to get a first-hand report.

So he headed off with the Slayer, following her along the same route she had taken last night.

"Do you have a rendezvous point?" Forsyth asked curiously.

"Yeah. I met some new demons last night, so we are going back to where I saw them, hopefully they'll turn up again and we can catch one for the Initiative. They're always interested in new stuff," said Buffy casually as she saw Riley and his team approaching.

"Demons? What kind?" the Watcher inquired, his professional interest aroused.

"Don't know" was the reply as he saw the Slayer wave at a group of men dressed in fatigues.

For a moment he thought he must have misheard. "You don't know? But surely you must research the demon before facing it again? How do you know its powers, or its purpose, or how to kill it?"

Buffy grew irritated at Forsyth's tone. He sounded exactly like Giles, moaning about research. She was called the Slayer for a reason - she slew, not researched.

"Look," she snapped, "why don't you stay here and watch, Watcher." Smiling at her own joke, Buffy left the Englishman standing there as she went to greet Riley.

Seeing the still figure waiting where Buffy had left him, Riley asked who he was.

"Oh, just some Council observer. Don't worry about him, he'll keep out of the way." Riley was in no mood to argue with her, so he simply shrugged and asked Buffy to brief the team.

"OK, well I was patrolling last night and I came across three demons near that mausoleum," and she pointed to a crypt about 50 metres away. "They were small, about 4 foot high, and kind of round and blobby. They blasted me with some kind of laser or energy beam."

Buffy didn't mention the part where she was knocked unconscious, deciding that might be bad for team morale.

Buffy and Riley then moved forward, followed closely by the other four members of the team. Buffy recognised Forrest and Graham, but the other two men were strangers to her. They did a circuit of the mausoleum without seeing anything unusual, and the soldiers' thermal scanners detected nothing inside.

Approaching the door to the mausoleum, Buffy and Riley entered first, immediately seeing the demons from last night huddled in one corner of the dark room. Riley quickly advised the rest of the team to enter, until all six were in a semi-circle around the unmoving demons.

Buffy eyed the still forms, wondering if they were asleep. (They'll soon get a nasty wake-up call) she thought maliciously as she heard Riley give the order to blast all three with taser beams. Once they were knocked unconscious they would be taken back to the lab and studied Maybe she'd even let Forsyth have a look before they took them, he'd probably be in Watcher-heaven at the idea of getting a look at an unusual demon.

She squinted her eyes against the flare of light as the soldiers fired, watching as the energy beams reached the demons and seemed to wrap around them like a blanket before fading.

Instead of collapsing to the floor, the demons slowly turned to face the soldiers. It seemed the taser blasts had finally caught their attention. There was a low murmur, like chanting, and Buffy felt the air around her start to spark with static electricity.

"Everyone get out" she screamed as she ran for the door. Forrest was right behind her when she heard a crackling sound and she was thrown forward, landing with a thud as something heavy fell on her. "Not again" she moaned, sitting up and pushing free of the thing on top of her.

Opening her eyes and blinking slowly, several things occurred almost simultaneously to the shaken Slayer. The mausoleum was gone; in its place was a smoking pile of rubble and three small, blobby looking demons.

Secondly, the thing on top of her was Forrest - or what was left of him, anyway. The back of his body was completely charred, as though he had been struck by lightning.

Next, Buffy realised that Riley and the rest of his team were now part of the smoking ruins of the crypt, and she had only been saved by Forrest acting as a human shield.

The final thought that Buffy had was that the demons were moving towards her, and they were chanting again.

Panic filled her. She knew she had to get away, but she couldn't think. Then she saw the Watcher, Forsyth, standing near the trees at the edge of the cemetery where she had left him.

(He'll know what to do) her mind screamed, so she stumbled to her feet and ran as fast as she could to the Watcher, with the three demons following closely behind her.

As Buffy reached the horror-stricken Watcher she felt the air begin to crackle again. "Help me" she sobbed, and Forsyth, not knowing what else to do, moved his body between the trembling girl and the approaching demons.

"Oh dear" was his last thought, as the air filled with light and both he and the Slayer fell to the ground.