Through the scales sheathing him like wings,
Through hieroglyphs of gold and gem,
The strong sense of her beauty stings,
Like a keen pulse of love in them,
A running flame through all his rings.
-- Algernon Charles Swinburne, Cleopatra

< Mom nearly burns me at the stake, and I still get grounded! >Willow
complained to herself, thumbing through a book on vampire history Faith had
lifted from the library. She had almost settled herself in for another
boring night of confinement when the balcony doors flew open.

"Hey, Red, let's go," Faith exclaimed, leaning against the door frame.
"You're sprung," the Slayer grinned. Willow was suddenly on her feet,
glancing over her shoulder at her bedroom door.

"My parents--"

"Just left. Let's go." Faith walked into the room, over to Willow, and
grabbed the redhead's wrist. "C'mon," she urged, pulling Willow out onto
the balcony.

"So, what's up?" Willow asked as she managed to climb down the trellis.

"Got bored," Faith shrugged, jumping gracefully over the balcony railing
and landing on her feet while Willow landed on her back. "It's no fun
patrolling with B." Faith offered a hand to Willow and pulled the other
girl to her feet. "She's constantly whining about Angel."

"You want me to patrol with you?" Willow asked as the two of them started
down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I mean, Xander tells me you guys kept up for B while she was away. I
thought it was a ploy to get into my pants until I asked Oz about it."
Willow nodded in agreement. "He said you guys actually got pretty good."

"We had walkie-talkies and everything; it was fun," the redhead grinned.

"So you're in?"

"Yeah, let's kick vamp butt." Silence descended on the pair as they walked
into one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries; the awkward silence was punctuated
only by Faith clearing her throat several times.

"So, uh, Oz," Faith stated, finally breaking the silence; Willow glanced
over at her and raised her eyebrows. "Is he, uh, seeing anyone?"

"Not to my knowledge. Why?" Willow asked, playing innocent; Faith caught on
to Willow's act and rolled her eyes.

"My philosophy has always been 'get some, get gone'; only it didn't work
out that way this time," the Slayer explained, absently scratching her arm.

"You had sex with Oz?!" Willow asked, stopping and facing Faith.

"No, that's what didn't work out. I was all ready to jump his bones, and
instead we ended up talking all night," Faith clarified as the exited the
cemetery and made their way into the warehouse district. "He makes me
tingle in places I didn't even realize I had."

"Oz has that effect," Willow nodded; Faith opened her mouth to reply but
shut it as she caught the sound of faint footsteps.

"We're being followed," she whispered.

"Vampire?" Willow asked, tensing immediately, but the Slayer shook her
head. "Could be Oz."

"Could be someone else," Faith hissed as she lashed out at the shadows
behind her. Her fist met a resistance that couldn't hold up to a Slayer's
strength. Whoever had been following them impacted with a dumpster, causing
a loud ringing to resound through the alley. The par inched into the alley,
both of them alert to any sign of further attack. Willow knelt beside the
well-dressed man crumpled against the dumpster, and her fingers sought for
a pulse on his neck. "Be careful," Faith warned.

"Human," Willow replied, finding a pulse.

"So he's a perv, and I still get to stake him," the Slayer snarled,
starting forward and pulling a stake out of her sleeve. Willow stopped her
before she could hurt the man further.

"I know him, Faith," Willow stated. "He works for the mayor. Alan
something," she explained, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to
continue just as Alan let out a small moan and tried to sit up; Willow was
suddenly back at his side.

"Ow," he groaned, rubbing the back of his head and opening his eyes. "I
guess I should know better than to sneak up on a Slayer," he whispered.

"You okay?" Faith asked, looking down at him.

"I will be," he nodded. He glanced around the ground, searching for
something. "My briefcase," he stated, looking at the two girls.

"This it?" the Slayer questioned, picking up the leather briefcase and
holding it aloft. He nodded, pushing himself up the dumpster and taking it
out of the girl's hand.

"I need to speak to you," Alan commented. "Some place that isn't so
public." Faith and Willow exchanged glances.

"The mansion?" Faith asked.

"The mansion," Willow nodded. "Can you walk?" she asked him, and he nodded
in return, taking a few shaky steps away from the dumpster. The trio
started towards the mansion with Alan constantly looking over his shoulder
and the two girls on the alert for vampire attack. They reached the mansion
in record time, urged on by Alan's hurried steps. Willow unlocked the door
and pushed it open, indicating Faith and Alan should enter before she did.

"Hey, Fang, we're home!" Faith shouted stepping over to the couch and
sprawling on her back. Angel poked his head out of the curtain leading to
his bedroom and glared at the Slayer. "Not up yet?" she smiled innocently;
he growled in response and started to go back to bed when Willow stepped
into the living room, leading Alan over to the couch. Angel tossed the
curtain aside and was suddenly by Willow's side. Willow felt her knees
weaken as his hand brushed a strand of hair out of her face. < Eyes on his
face, Willow, > she ordered herself as she felt her gaze travel across his
bare chest. < Eyes on face. No, don’t worry about how those sweat pants are
sliding ever so slightly down his hips. Eyes on face! > Her eyes snapped
back up to meet Angel's amused gaze, and Willow felt a blush start to creep
up her cheeks.

"Hey," she managed to choke out.

"Hello," he whispered. "I thought you were grounded."

"She was," Faith replied, moving her legs so Alan could sit down. "I broke
her out."

"Can we please get on with this?" Alan snapped, looking up at group. Angel
barely suppressed a snarl and was only quieted when Willow placed a hand on
his arm. He took her hand and led her over to one of the arm chairs. He sat
down first propping one knee up and pulled Willow down against his chest.
Angel wrapped his arms around her waist and glared at Alan. "I'm sorry; I
just can't stay gone long." He looked around the group. "He'll kill me if
he even suspects I'm doing something wrong," he whispered.

"Who will?" Willow asked, leaning forward, her hand on Angel's knee.

"The Mayor," he replied. "He, um, he made a deal with the dark forces of
the world. He gave demons this town, and in return, the demons will give
him power."

"An accension?" Angel asked; Alan nodded.

"What's that?" Willow asked.

"The Mayor wants power, and in an accension he essentially becomes a true
demon," Angel replied, looking to Alan for confirmation; the man nodded.

"A true demon? Like a vampire?" Faith asked.

"No, a vampire is a demon tempered with humanity just like most of the
demons on this plane." Angel glanced up at Faith. "You've never met a true
demon." Angel closed his eyes as fresh memories of Hell sprang into his
mind. Willow brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it gently, bringing
him out of his pain.

"So, this accension takes place when?"

"On the one hundredth anniversary of Sunnydale's founding," Alan answered.
Willow suddenly jumped to her feet and walked over to the tiny wall
calendar she'd placed in a corner of the living room.

"That would make the accension on May 21," Angel explained. Willow looked
up from the calendar and met Angel's eyes.

"Graduation day," she stated.

**FIN**

next