Witchy wandered down the hall, perplexed for a moment. 'Hmm... now which room was Flame's again? Oh yes', she thought, spotting the closed door. 'That's it.' Striding up quickly, she knocked.

"Umm, yeah, just a minute", Willow's voice called out.

Moments later the slender redhead opened the door.

Witchy gasped. "Willow, honey, are you okay?", the Immortal woman asked taking in the other witch's red eyes and blotchy skin. "You've been crying. What happened?"

Willow sniffed unhappily, small hands trying vainly to wipe the evidence of salty tears away.

"Tara broke up with me", she whispered after a moment.

"But why?"

The cyberwitch looked away quickly and gestured for Witchy to come inside.

"Come on Willow, I know we don't know each other as well and you and Myst do, but you have to know I'd do anything I can to help you."

Sighing, the redhead closed the door. "She broke up with me because I told her."

"Told her what?", Witch asked, suddenly having a vague idea what the slightly taller girl was going to say.

"I told her that I was confused and that I was having these, uh... feelings for your sister, and--"

Witchy blinked. "And what?"

"And well, umm... Angel."

"Wow!"

"Yeah", the hacker said listlessly. "Wow."

"I'm sorry Flame, but maybe its for the best."

The pre-Immortal stared at the dark haired woman in disbelief. "Are you kidding? How can it be for the best? Mystra's my friend.. and Angel, well you know , he's Angel. My best friend's ex-boyfriend and a vampire with a soul that goes *poof* when he gets... well, you know... too happy."

Witchy was silent for a moment. "There are many things you don't know yet Willow. I mean, I don't really know what I can say, except to tell you that you have to follow your heart."

Willow scowled.

"And I know that sounds hokey", Witchy said, "but its the best advice anyone can offer. Its what you have to do, if you don't you will always regret not doing it, and you will always wonder." So saying, the brunette stood.

"Now get dressed Flame. You promised Cordelia you'd go out tonight, and after all this, I think you need it."

"But its so early--", the hacker began.

"Yeah, but Cordy seems to feel we all need new outfits."

Willow groaned and fell back on her bed. "That's it, its official. I am in Hell."

~~~~

Five hours later, three exhausted women stumbled into the Hyperion Hotel. The fourth wasn't even winded. Willow, Myst, and Witchy glared at the young woman who looked as fresh and lovely as when they'd first gone out. How'd she do that?

Angel looked up from the book he was reading and shook his head ruefully. The three witches looked ready to collapse, each laden down with four or more bags.

Mystra sagged into a chair. She whispered a prayer of thanks to whoever was listening, thanking them once again for the flash of foresight which had made her opt for her sneakers, instead of more fashionable sandals.

"How did it go?", the dark haired vampire said, his eyes alight with amusement.

"Oh Angel it was great! We found the most amazing stuff!", Cordelia enthused, rolling her eyes when her companions simply groaned in answer to the vampire's question.

"Oh come on, you guys are pathetic. You can train for hours, but a few hours of power shopping reduce you to this. Jeez!", the Seer huffed in mock exasperation.

Angel almost laughed out loud when that last statement brought Mystra's head up. The Immortal leveled the look of death at the brunette.

Ignoring the Immortal woman's glare, Cordelia shepherded the witch's upstairs. "Come on girls, time to get ready. We're painting the town red tonight!"

Moans and sighs met the former May Queen's words, yet almost immediately the three witches rose and followed the girl up the stairs.

Angel watched them go, his eyes lingering on Mystra's and Willow's backsides. He sighed and turned, only to find himself face to face with his Childe.

The blonde puffed thoughtfully on a cigarette. "I don't know about you Peaches, but Witchy's not going to some club without me. I remember all to well how I met the chit."

The ensouled vampire started, and then frowned as he too remembered his own behavior upon meeting Myst. Without responding, Angel headed up the stairs to change. Spike stared daggers at his Sire's back. "Bloody Poof", he growled.
 

~Chapter 22~

Willow stared at her reflection in the mirror. Frankly she was in shock. She barely recognized herself. Her hair had been straightened by Cordelia. It hung in shining bands of red silk, gently brushing her shoulders.

A ballet style wrap shirt in a vivid blue, emphasized her small waist and high breasts. Black boot leg pants clung to her long legs like a second skin. To her surprise, she looked good. She was completely uncomfortable, but she looked good. She would never have allowed Cordelia to talk her into these clothes if Myst and Witchy hadn't agreed they were great.

Sighing wearily, she sat on her bed and bent to put on the clunky soled black sandals she'd bought to complete the outfit.

Her eyes closed, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She wondered what Tara was doing, and if the other girl hated her too much. The end of their relationship hurt, even though Willow knew that in the end, it was the right thing.

A soft knock sounded on the door.

"Come in", Willow shouted, arranging herself Indian style on the bed. She saw who her visitor was. "Hey Myst."

"Hey there Flame. Witchy told me about Tara, are you okay?"

"Kind of sad. It hurts", the hacker murmured

"I'm really sorry", Myst whispered, looking down for a moment. "This didn't.... that didn't happen because of well... the kiss did it?", she asked looking up. "Because if it did I'll call Tara up right now and tell her I kissed you", the dark haired Immortal finished quickly.

"No, it wasn't because of the kiss. Not really, I didn't even tell her about that."

"Oh."

"Besides Myst, I kissed you", Willow said.

"No you didn't, I kissed you."

The two women stared at each other, until the giggling started.

"Okay fine", Mystra said, laughing. "Maybe we kissed each other."

Willow's eyes twinkled with mirth as she nodded.

"So where's Witchy?", the red witch asked.

"Cordelia's doing her hair."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Queen C strikes again."

~~~~

The four women talked and laughed as they climbed down the lobby stairs. Their heels clacked loudly against the marble. Angel and Spike stood at the bottom. The dark haired vampire was in his customary black. Spike however had pulled out all the stops. His shirt was made out of some slightly shiny, blue material which clung to his form sinfully. Instead of jeans, he wore black slacks.

Witchy swallowed. Her heart ricocheting against her ribs. 'Damn but her vamp was sexy as sin.'

Cordelia frowned. "You guys are a little dressed up. Where do you think you're going? This was supposed to be a girl's night out."

"We're tagging along pet. Can't let four sexy women go out on the town by themselves. There's no telling what could happen", Spike answered, a cocky grin on his face.

Angel shifted his weight, leaning his body against the wall. He eyed Willow and Mystra speculatively. They were both beautiful, but in such different ways. Willow appeared nubile and ripe, a picture of innocent burgeoning sexuality. Mystra on the other hand, epitomized desire. Her eyes were rimmed with kohl. A tight, black asymmetrical top, exposed one golden shoulder. Red, slim fitting cigarette pants finished her outfit. She looked exotic, sensual, even dangerous. And, the vampire supposed, all those impressions were dead on.

"We're going out with you guys Cordelia", he said quietly. The Seer looked like she was going to protest, her mouth opening, before snapping closed. Something in his tone had brooked no argument.

"Fine, fine. Just don't go ruining our night with broody behavior Mister", the tall brunette quipped.

Spike chuckled, completely in agreement with the former cheerleader.

Cordelia eyed the bleached blond male archly. "And you", she muttered darkly, "no trouble. Understand? Or I'll get Witchy to kick your ass."

Spike snarled, mock lunging at the Seer. Cordelia squealed, jumping backwards. He grinned, and glanced at his Sire, wondering if he'd angered the elder vampire. To his surprise, the nancyboy actually seemed amused by the little display, chocolate brown eyes glittering in the painfully beautiful face.

"Oh come on...are we going or not?", Witchy complained.

"Come along pet. Let's blow this pop stand, we don't want you getting your knickers in a twist."

Witchy smiled wickedly. "We don't?"

Willow shook her head and smiled good-naturedly, enjoying the playful banter that the group indulged in. Deep in thought, she followed the others as they headed to the door. Myst seemed equally as quiet though.

"Watch your step Willow." The redhead looked up and then quickly down, when she saw the face of the speaker. She hadn't noticed the step.

"Thanks", she said quietly, avoiding Angel's eyes. His gaze confused her. Already her mouth was dry.
 

~Chapter 23~

Angel stood by the bar, a whiskey clutched in his hand. As was his habit, he remained ever vigilant for possible trouble. It was difficult to remain alert, however, when his eyes kept straying back to the dance floor. The sight of his favorite Childe surrounded by the most beautiful women he'd probably ever set eyes on in his long existence, was not making vigilance easy.

Spike and Witchy moved sinuously to the music's pulsing beat. Sweat plastered some of the Immortal's dark hair to the side of her face as she gave herself to her lover completely in the dance, her lower body gyrating against the bleached blond's in ecstatic abandon. Around the couple, Cordelia, Willow and Mystra moved. Alternately they danced around the couple, or broke away slightly to dance with each other. The three women were smiling, laughing. They swayed against one another, and moving gracefully to the deafening beat.

The dark haired vampire frowned slightly, surprised by how comfortable Willow seemed to be with what was going on. The Willow he had known would have been mortified and blushing fiercely at the suggestive movements this Willow seemed completely at ease with. Angel shook his head, and took a small swallow of whiskey. Apparently, he'd missed much. The little hacker had grown up.

He watched as one of the male patrons tapped Willow on the shoulder and asked the redhead to dance. Angel growled under his breath, feeling his feet begin to move in her direction without his consent. The ensouled vampire reigned in his proprietary instincts. The red witch was not his. He had no right to feel possessive.

He was shocked suddenly, when his hackles rose again and another male stepped up to the women. This time, the man in question was trying to engage Myst. The dark haired Immortal's eyes flashed, her face lighting with what Angel could only term, a wicked grin. She grabbed the young man's hand and danced with him for a moment, her body grinding teasingly against his.

The vampire clenched his jaw, his hand tightening around his glass. He did not like this, he didn't like this at all. He took note when someone asked Cordelia to dance. Angel watched the girl he thought of as a sister for a moment, making sure to memorize what her partner looked like, before turning back to where he'd last seen Mystra and Willow. The Immortal witch was still dancing with her boy toy, and Willow danced alone.

Myst turned in her partner's arms and noticed her slender friend. She grabbed Willow's arm, pulling her toward her. The college student seemed to balk at first, shaking her head, but Myst whispered in her ear, making her laugh. Soon, both women surrounded the Immortal's hapless male partner. He looked like he'd died and gone to heaven.

Angel growled under his breath, downing the remainder of his drink in one gulp. He turned and asked the bartender for another. When he turned back, he noticed that Willow and Mystra's male partner had disappeared. The two beauties now moved together. Willow's hand rested on Myst's hip, while the dark haired woman's hand trailed up the younger woman's pale arm. The vampire's eyes slid down their forms, taking in their undulating hips. Desire flowed through him, hot like molten lava. He could feel his stomach tighten and his body harden. 'Mine!', his demon insisted.

He started in surprise as someone bumped into him. His gaze flicked reluctantly away from the two witches. He glanced over and noticed that a blond woman stood there. She smiled up at him enticingly, opening her mouth as if to speak. Yet, Angel never even noticed, his eyes already back on the two women swaying sensuously against one another.

~~~~

Willow bit her lip and closed her eyes. She was having fun. It was getting a little hard to keep things light though. She was enjoying the feeling of her dance partner's body a bit too much. Angling her head, she opened her eyes and was caught in Myst's dark, unreadable gaze. Her lips parted slightly as she took a deep, lungful of air.

The Immortal witch looked away. Her friend was just too damned enticing. The beauty, the innocence and warmth were getting harder and harder to resist. 'Especially when Flame keeps biting her lip that way', Myst thought. 'Goddess, no wonder Angel's in love with her. I never had a chance.'

Guiltily, Mystra tore her eyes away and swung them around, scanning the club. Unerringly, her eyes met Angel's. The raven haired witch shivered, as his dark eyes seared into her. Unable to resist the impulse, she licked her lips seductively and beckoned to the tall vampire with a small move of her head.

Angel tossed his drink back in one swallow, and began to make his way through the sweaty masses.

"What are you doing?", Willow hissed, her voice slightly panicked.

"I'm giving us all a taste of what we want, but cannot have... and probably damning us all to eternal unhappiness", Myst whispered urgently, her voice ending almost on an angry growl.

The redhead squeaked, "What?"

"You heard me Flame. Don't pretend now. Things are just getting interesting", the Immortal continued, eyeing the girl's mouth, well aware of Angel's nearing presence.

Willow glanced over her shoulder, and then back at her friend. A blush rose in her fair skin. "Oh you and Angel", she breathed, "oh....Goddess I didn't know..."

Myst arched an eyebrow at the blushing girl. "And you and Angel....", she murmured.

A large, hard male body soon found its way against the slight redhead's back. She jerked in response, but Myst held her firm. "Relax Flame... let go", the dark haired woman whispered in the younger witch's ear.

"Willow", another voice whispered in her other ear.

"Angel", Willow moaned, pushing her body back against his. She could feel, the urgent prodding of his desire in her lower back, and a dull, burning ache settled in the pit of her stomach. At that same moment, Myst pressed up against the redhead's front. The soft flesh of the older woman's breasts met her own, and Willow could feel her nipples bead in need.

Her hips rose and fell, as she gyrated between these two dark mysterious warriors, who for some reason she could not fathom, wanted her. Wanted her... Willow Rosenberg. And damned if she didn't want it. She felt wanton, free. Her eyes met Myst's. The young witch smiled before lurching forward, and wrapping a hand around the back of the brunette's neck. She brought, the Immortal's face close and kissed her passionately. Willow almost crowed in triumph when Myst moaned her name.

Behind her, the redhead could hear the vampire growl, the sounds traveled through her, making her flesh tingle. Breaking off the kiss with Myst, Willow turned her head and grabbed a handful of Angel's dark hair in a ruthless grip. Their lips met in sensual abandon.

The Immortal witch watched the pair's mating mouths, her expression a mixture of sadness and joy. 'They have found each other', Myst thought. Carefully, so as not to startle them, the woman backed away a step, certain that they were too involved in each other to notice her.

A growl, she could hear even over the music, stopped her in her tracks. Large emerald green eyes, joined by eyes the color of dark, bitter chocolate met her gaze. The witch and vampire, glanced at one another, before there heads once again swiveled in Myst's direction. The brunette blinked, in confusion as the pair stalked forward as a unit.

Angel's arms went around her and his lips tickled her ear. "Mine, Myst... both of you", he purred seductively. His lips trailed over her throat, before coming back up to cover her own. Behind her, the Immortal could hear a lovely, throaty laugh, as small, warm hands moved up her sides.

'Oh Goddess...', Myst thought, losing her conscious mind in the sensual haze Angel and Willow were creating, 'what have I done? This path leads to danger, to death....' When the slight redhead's lips moved over her uncovered shoulder, all the Immortal's thoughts shut down. She could only feel.
 

~Chapter 24~

The threesome caught in the spell of sensuality, was unaware that their little display, was attracting a small crowd. Cordelia stared at Willow in disbelief. The hacker was currently, palming Myst's breasts, while pressed against the other woman's back. Her mouth was locked with Angel's, while the Immortal woman locked between was apparently enjoying being the meat in the sandwich. Myst's hip moved against the dark vampire's groin, as her head lolled back against Willow's shoulder. The music and strobing lights continued on unabated, but Cordelia knew that this couldn't.

The Seer turned from the sight of her friends practically mating on the dance floor and scanned the dancers around her for Witchy and Spike. She stamped her foot in frustration. 'Where was the Bleached Wonder when you needed him?', she thought hotly.

A moment later, the flashing strobes illuminated a familiar, white blond head. With a determined sigh, Cordelia headed toward the chipped vampire and his Immortal lover.

~~~~

Spike growled, his eyes flickering to their true color as he swung his head away from Witchy's tempting neck to see who dared poke him. "What?", he snarled menacingly, his tone not changing an iota, despite realizing that the poker was his Sire's secretary.

Cordelia arched an elegantly plucked eyebrow at the British vampire. "I thought you might like to see something."

Witchy frowned, confused.

"What the bloody hell are you gabbin' about you silly chit?", Spike bit out.

Without saying a word, the brunette made a quarter turn and pointed. The witch and vampire separated and followed the former cheerleader's gesture.

Cerulean blue eyes widened in alarm, while hazel eyes seemed smugly satisfied. "Bloody 'ell!", Spike exclaimed.

"What's the big deal?", Witchy asked.

The Seer and the vampire turned to the Immortal. "Helloooo.. Angelus! You know Angel plus happy, means minus soul, which equals bad, real bad", Cordelia uttered harshly.

"Witchy-luv, my Sire was the greatest, he was the master of seduction, of pain, and manipulation. If Angelus was who he's been when he turned me, I'd have no problem with what I'm seeing. But see pet, the last time Paingel lost that bloody soul, and Angelus was free, he was different. He didn't care a whit about either Dru or me. He was insane, completely and utterly loony."

Spike stared at his witch. "I may dislike the souled Poof, but he's more like my Sire, my REAL Sire than that thing that took control of him after he shagged the Slayer. I have no idea what the bastard would be like after getting locked up behind that soul cage again, but I sure as hell don't want to find out."

Cordelia shook her head in agreement.

"Wow", Witchy said slowly. "I had no idea, I just thought they could have a little fun you know...."

Cordelia sighed, and watched the bleached blond vampire stalk off toward the threesome. "I wish they could too Witchy... I really do. But its too dangerous. Happiness is just too dangerous... for Angel, for all of us."

The dark haired witch frowned in thought. She was going to have to tell her friends to get a move on with the soul anchoring spell. If things went on like this.... Witchy shuddered, not even wanting to consider it. Anything that got Spike on edge like that, was definitely not a good thing.

~~~~

The man at the edge of the crowd watched the white blond man walk up to the gyrating threesome. He frowned in annoyance. A free show was a free show, and things had just looked to be getting good. He chuckled darkly, as the redhead and brunette grabbed the tall, dark haired man, apparently holding him back from hurting the smaller man.

There was some testosterone filled posturing by the two men, and he wondered if he was going to get a different kind of show. A good fight was almost as fun to watch as a good fuck. Unfortunately, the two cunts interfered again, speaking intently to both men. Realizing that nothing more was going to happen, Claude was about to turn away like the rest of the jaded crowd had, when a strobe light went off lighting the groups faces.

Claude smirked. 'Oh this is too good', he thought. He continued to watch them, and spotted two more dark haired women walking toward the group. He grinned when he noticed the tall girl yelling, but then turned his attention to the two shorter brunettes. Another lopsided grin emerged on his pockmarked face. He couldn't believe it, the two sisters had fallen right into his lap. Man, was he ever gonna score points for this.

Quickly he dug his cellphone out of his pocket. He dialed a number automatically, his fingers fairly flying over the keypad in his haste, and spoke to the person on the other end.

"So what should I do now?", Claude spoke into the small, handheld unit.

"Follow them." Then the line went dead.
 

~Chapter 25~

The ride home was accomplished in gloomy silence.  Willow sat in the back with Witchy and Myst, while Spike sat in the front passenger seat of the convertible.  The blond sent sidelong glances at his Sire, very aware of the elder vampire's barely leashed fury and frustration.  At least Cordelia wasn't there.  She had fled from the club, preferring to take a taxi home.

When they finally reached their destination, the two vampires held back.  Spike did so because Angel had, and he guessed Angel had so that he wouldn't follow Willow or Myst to their rooms to finish what they'd started so publicly on that dance floor.

The three women walked up into the Hyperion, and Angel's eyes followed Willow's and Myst's backs.  There was a wistfulness in his brown eyes Spike had never seen, in all the years he'd known him.

"Peaches.."

The dark haired vampire ignored his Childe's impudence, preferring to turn him attention to his shoes.  Black, Italian loafers, they'd gotten the Cordelia seal of approval some weeks back.

"Pea-- Angel..."

Surprised by the actual use of his name, the elder vampire turned to face Spike.

"You know... I didn't want to have to do that back there", the bleached blond said slowly.

Angel nodded, and closed his eyes.  Spike could almost feel the other vampire's fury lesson.

"You were right to do it.  Things got out of hand.  I hadn't thought to let it go so far... but then, I don't believe I was thinking very much at all", Angel admitted.

Spike grinned.  "Well I'm thinking most blokes with two lovely ladies hangin' all over 'em, wouldn't be."

The dark haired vampire's mouth quirked despite himself.  He leaned back against his car and watched as the British vampire lit a cigarette.

"Do you remember that time in Lady Duchene's--", frowning, Angel let his voice trail off.  He couldn't believe he just tried to reminisce with Spike about their adventures as the Scourge of Europe.

Spike arched a scarred eyebrow, and took a drag off of this fag.  "Lady Duchene's sitting room... right?  With the two ever-so-accommodating maids?"

Angel nodded, a faraway gleam in his eyes.  He remembered that night quite well-- and how it had ended.  Both he and his favorite Childe covered in the maids' hot, red blood, his cock buried in his Will's tight, willing body.

"Those were the days, eh?", the blond said quietly, observing his Sire beneath hooded eyes.  Both men were silent for a few minutes.

Finally, Angel spoke.  "I'm sorry."

Spike bristled in anger.  "For what, you pathetic nancyboy?!"

"For everything that happened when you were in the wheelchair."

The platinum haired vampire snorted, and flicked the remains of his cigarette away.  "Wasn't you Peaches."

Angel frowned, remembering how he'd used Drusilla and her welfare, as a bargaining chip to force Spike into his bed or more likely, bent over his own wheelchair.

"It sure felt like me", he whispered, closing his eyes.

Spike stared up into the night sky.  He pondered the twinkling stars, and the elusive song, he'd never been able to hear.

Suddenly, Angel grabbed hold of his chin, and tilted the blond's face towards him.  The shorter vampire found himself staring into the achingly familiar chocolate eyes of his Sire.

"I'm sorry", Angel intoned.

The dark vampire released his hold, and the moment was over quickly.  Despite the fact that to both men, it had felt like an eternity.

Spike fought to keep his hands from shaking as he lit another fag.

Angel watched, finally shrugging and licking his lips in defeat.

"Can you spare one?"

Chuckling, Spike tossed the taller vampire, the pack and a lighter.

"Go ahead mate.  Knock yourself out."

~~~~

~Next morning~

Witchy awoke late.  She stretched languidly, feeling her lover's hard body at her side.  Flipping over onto her back, she gazed at Spike for several long minutes, before forcing herself out of bed.

Rapidly pulling on a pair of new jeans and a tee shirt, the Immortal witch made her way downstairs.  She really hoped someone had left her a jelly donut.

~~~~

Gunn took one look at the dark haired witch and grinned.

"Rough night?", he asked, holding the box of donuts he'd stationed himself by, up for her perusal.

"You have no idea", Witch muttered.

"Oh I do.  Cordelia has a big mouth."

"I do not!", the Seer huffed from where she sat at her desk.

Witch rolled her eyes.  "Has Myst gotten up yet?"

"I don't think so", Cordelia said.

Gunn shook his gleaming head.  "Haven't seen her."

"I saw Willow though.  She came down, grabbed a donut and went back upstairs.  She didn't say much, but I got the impression she's getting ready to leave", the Seer said, hazel eyes downcast.

Wesley's voice startled the threesome from their introspection.  "Hello Witchy", he said, entering the room from the direction of the kitchen.  "I understand you all had quite the...er, interesting evening last night."

Witchy blinked, a thought crossing her mind.  "Yes actually.  Can I talk to you about it?"

Mildly surprised by the request, Wesley nodded.
 

~Chapter 26~

Willow packed her things quickly.  She hadn't brought much, and the few things she'd bought while with Delia and the two Immortals, fit readily into her bag.

She had to go home.  Life had become way too complicated, and it wasn't supposed to be this complicated for her.  She wasn't important, she wasn't special.  Slayers had lives this complicated, vampires with souls too.  She was just Willow.  Plain, old, cotton underwear Willow.  Right?

Before coming to L.A., she'd known who she was.  She was a witch, she was a hacker, she was a lesbian and the Slayer's best friend.  Her life was finally coming together.  It made a sort of weird sense and she was content enough with it.  Her powers were growing, she had a cute, shy girlfriend, and friends she loved who she felt needed her.  Now, suddenly, her relationship with Tara was over, and she found herself falling in love.  And not just with a female Immortal witch, oh no... but with a vampire too.  A male vampire, no less.  If that wasn't bad enough, it wasn't just any old vampire either, of course not.  It was Angel, Buffy's first and lost love, her soulmate.

Sighing, the redhead zipped her bag and looked around the room to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.  Satisfied that she hadn't, Willow picked up her bag and left the room, only to run straight into one of the people she'd been hoping to avoid.

"Angel!", she gasped.

~~~~~~~~~~

Witchy perched herself on Wesley's desk and munched absently on her donut.

"So, what can I do to help you?", the Englishman asked politely.

"Cordelia tells me you were a Watcher once... and that Watcher's, you know, watch.  Well, watch, observe and record."

Wesley swallowed.  He busied himself for a moment, shuffling papers on his desk before finally answering.

"Why yes... why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been wondering.  You know all about Angelus and curse right?", Witchy queried.

The lanky man nodded, wondering where this line of questioning was going.

"And no one wants Angel to revert back to Angelus, right?"

"Heavens no!", Wesley exclaimed.

Witchy nodded, having expected that reaction.  "So then have you ever looked for another curse or spell that would superglue Angel's soul to him?  You know, so that his losing it again wouldn't be an issue?", the Immortal witch asked.

The blue eyed ex-Watcher blinked, momentarily dumbfounded.  "N-n-nn-no... I ... I must admit that I never thought to do that."  Feeling rather silly, Wesley fidgeted in his chair.

Witchy stared at him.

"Has anyone?"

"Not that I know of, no", he replied.

"If I told you I was, and that some coven sisters of mine had a lead on a spell to do so... Would you be interested in helping?"

Wesley straightened.  "Yes!", he said excitedly, before lowering his voice.  "Yes, of course.  I would love to help.  I can't believe I never gave such a thing any thought."

"Cool", Witchy said smiling, hazel eyes gleaming.
 

~Chapter 27~

"You're leaving", the dark vampire whispered gruffly, his eyes drinking in the sight of the beautiful redheaded girl who was preparing to leave the
hotel, and consequently his life.  Such as it was.

Willow nodded, at a loss for words as she shouldered her small pack.  Her gaze left his face, too unprepared to deal with the heated intensity she saw therein or its possible meaning.

"About what happened last night--", he began.

The witch held up a pale hand, silencing him.  "Nothing happened."

The Warrior for the Powers That Be frowned and shook his head.  "We can't just pretend it didn't happen Willow?  And we can't ignore WHY it happened either."

"Yes we can.  And we will", she insisted shortly, turning on her heel and starting down the hallway.

Angel stalked behind her, a frustrated growl emerging from deep within his being, as he grabbed her shoulder and spun the hacker around to face him before quickly lowering his mouth to her own.

Helpless against the passionate onslaught, Willow surrendered, melting against the vampire's hard body as his tongue explored the depths of her
mouth.

"Angel", she gasped, her hands pressing against his chest ineffectually. "Angel stop", Willow managed to say.

Reluctantly, the souled vampire obeyed.

Glittering emerald eyes stared up at him in anger and annoyance.  That's when Willow exploded.

"You couldn't just let me go could you?!", she screamed.  "You couldn't just let me pretend, so that eventually I could fake my way though life could?!", she yelled, her small fists beating into him.

Sobs wracked Willow's slender form.  "Now I have to go back to Sunnydale a-a-and act like nothing's changed, pretend I didn't fall in love with my
best friend's soulmate, pretend he doesn't love me...", she murmured softly, her anger spent.

"I'm sorry Little One.  I'm so sorry", he sighed softly into the hacker's soft sweet smelling hair.  "I'm a selfish bastard...."

"Yup", a small voice agreed, from the vague vicinity of the bundle of warm femininity which was currently huddled against him.

The semi-humorous retort almost caused Angel to smile.  Instead, he pressed another kiss; this one to her brow.

"We're a pair, you know that?", Willow observed much more calmly.  "I mean seriously, have you ever met two people with worse luck in love?"

The vampire smiled self-deprecatingly.  "Not this century, no."  Stooping, he picked up Willow's bag from where it had landed after sliding off of her
shoulder during that first embrace.

"Come on", Angel said quietly.  "I'll walk you downstairs."  They walked away hand in hand, both hoping to run into Myst.  There was a lot that had
to be straightened out before the redheaded witch left.

The souled vampire's deep voice carried down the hall.  "Well there is Elizabeth Taylor.  Of course, I never met her, so she didn't quite fit the
bounds of your question...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Myst awoke late and groaned.  Her eyelids fluttered as she struggled to focus.

'Ahhh... Goddess, her head hurt.'

Forcing herself out of bed, she showered quickly, brushing her teeth and dressing hurriedly.  The feeling that something was going to happen growing to certainty in her gut.

She was out the door and almost down the hall, when she felt it.  Dark brown eyes widened.  'Immortal!', her mind screamed.  'And it was an old one. Whoever it was, he was close and getting closer.'

Panicked now, and only thinking of her sister and her new friends, the Immortal witch sprinted back to where she'd left her sword.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike was the first to spot her on the stairs.  He nudged, Witchy.  "What's up with your sis, pet?"

The dark haired Immortal stiffened and looked up.  Myst was on the stairs, sword drawn. She was descending slowly.

Immediately Witchy moved toward her sister, their eyes locking.  Neither witch took any notice of the surprised gasps of the others.  They
communicated without words, and when the 'buzz' finally hit the younger Immortal, her exhalation was audible to the rest of the room.

"Shit", Witchy gasped.

"Would someone explain what's happening?", Cordelia demanded, not surprised when Angel pulled Willow closer to him.

"Get your sword", Myst ordered Witchy harshly, truly upset that not only had she grown too comfortable here, but so had her student.

"Too late my dear."

Myst reached the stair's landing and faced the man who'd just walked into the front door.  Her gaze barely even registered his two cronies, neither
was Immortal.

"Thanatos."

The man smirked, his eyebrow arching mockingly.  "How wonderful, you know me", he said grandly, his voice filling the cavernous room.

"I remember you, you bastard.  I was there when you executed everyone in the village on Crete", Myst bit out.

"Which one?"

Angel growled at the man under his breath, exchanging glances with his Childe and Gunn.

Thanatos' quick eyes caught the slight nods given by the men.  "I wouldn't do that if I were you", he said, gesturing to one of the men that flanked
him.  Without hesitation, the man smoothly took out a gun, and shot Spike in the chest.

Blood bloomed like a flower on the vampire's gray tee shirt, the blow having knocked the bleached blond off of his feet.

"Spike!", Witchy cried, watching as her lover bled out over the Hyperion's marble floors.

Angel's eyes widened.  He knew Spike wasn't in any danger, but the bullet probably hurt like a bitch.  He'd learned something important with that move however....  Thanatos had no idea Spike was a vampire.  So, Angel hazarded to guess, the bastard probably didn't know about him either.

'Good', he thought, 'that gave him a tactical advantage.'

Myst's gaze hadn't moved from Thanatos' face.  "That, was unnecessary."

"Perhaps", the Greek Immortal said noncommittally.  "I do however, suggest you lower the sword Mystra or more of your mortal friends will die."

The witch's jaw tightened.  "You're breaking the rules, you know that no one is to interfere."  She looked meaningfully at the guns in the male
Immortal's henchman's hands.  "That, looks like interfering to me."

"What can I say", Thanatos sighed in a bored fashion, as he adjusted the silk tie at his neck, "I never play by the rules."

Myst lowered the sword.

"Drop it."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the Immortal witch dropped the sword.  She really wished she could just launch a fireball at the bastard,
but Gunn was much too close to the line of fire.  Even if her fireball didn't scorch the youth, odds were one of the two gunmen would shoot the
mortal.  There was no way she could risk it.

Thanatos smiled broadly, and climbed down the few steps to the lobby floor.

"What the hell do you want, you parasite?", Witchy shouted angrily.

"Temper temper... tut tut tut", the male Immortal said ingratiatingly.  He stood for a moment steps from Cordelia's desk.  Dark eyes swept over the
receptionist appraisingly, before gliding over Angel and settling on Willow.   If it was possible, the evil man's smile grew wider.

He turned, and for a moment, Mystra swore Angel was going to charge the bastard and tear out his heart.  But he didn't, and for that the Immortal
woman was grateful.  If he'd done something so impulsive, she doubted any of them would still be standing.  Thanatos' little buddies were equipped with automatics.  It would not be pretty.

"You know what I want, witch", the Greek Immortal stated.  "Where is the Blessing of Krill?  I want it."

Witchy spoke.  "Didn't you hear? That's just a legend, it doesn't exist."

In seconds, Thanatos was at the younger Immortal's side.  The slap he lobbed at her rocked Witchy's head to the side

"Do not play with me.  I want the Blessing", he demanded, shoving Witchy away from him and circling back to stand near his henchmen again.

"We had it", Myst said, "but we've used it."

Thanatos tut tutted again, shaking his head.  "Liar.  I can feel each and every Immortal in this room, even the young one", he said gesturing towards Willow.  "I highly doubt you would be so stupid as to give something so momentous away to just anyone."

Willow gasped, her eyes large in her pinched face.  "What?"

Thanatos smiled.  "Oh, how quaint.  The little redhead didn't know, neither of you told her... Oh lovely."  His obnoxious laughter filled the room.

Angel grit his teeth, his eyeteeth beginning to itch abysmally.  He wondered if his friends would forgive him, if just this once, he sucked these morons dry.  He glanced over at his childe and noticed Spike was still playing dead.  'Damn!  They needed some kind of opening to end this.  What the hell could they do?'
 

~Chapter 28~

Spike listened to the blowhard talk, his rage growing exponentially.  The bastard had laid a hand on HIS witch, and there was nothing he could do
about it.

'Damned fucking chip!', he thought, finally hazarding the slow opening of one eye.  As he'd expected, no one was paying him the slightest of
attention.  The moronic humans who'd busted in on his Sire's hotel, didn't have the slightest clue what he and Angel were. That was good.

His agile mind quickly deduced the reason things were at a standstill, and why his Sire wasn't tearing the bastard's heads off.  Gunn.  The young
human was too close, for comfort.  He was sure that meant that Witchy and Myst were holding back as well.  The cheerleader and the sacked Watcher were also a factor.  Too many of the people in this room were too mortal.

Making a fast decision, Spike decided what to do. He'd get Gunn out of the way, and hope his Sire's receptionist and the wuss would be smart enough to duck for cover.

"Hurry up Myst, make your decision fast, or the little redhead you seem to want to protect is going to be experiencing her first death in about ten
seconds", Thanatos taunted cruelly.

In a split second, Spike vaulted off the floor and charged at Gunn.

"Down!", the vampire shouted, even as he knocked the young man over onto the floor and felt the first, intense bolt of chip-induced pain shoot through his brain.

Angel followed Spike's supernatural speed with his eyes easily.  He was on the move the moment Gunn was thrown clear.

The three gunmen, stared at the seemingly resuscitated blond man in disbelief.  Thanatos was especially confused. He had been positive the man
had been dead, was certain he wasn't an Immortal, and couldn't understand why he was now clutching his head and screaming in pain when no one had touched him.

The greek Immortal pulled his attention from the bleached blond, only to see the tall, dark haired man standing to Mystra's left leap at one of his
hired henchmen.

'What the hell was wrong with his face?', Thanatos thought in horror, watching as whatever it was basically threw Claude across the hotel lobby.

Noticing that Thanatos' attention was distracted, Witchy dove for the sword he'd forced her sister to drop.

The male Immortal could see his plans go up in smoke and determined to take someone down with him.  Smirking, he suddenly changed the gun's trajectory from Myst, to Willow.

"NO!", Mystra screamed, jumping toward the redheaded witch, even as she heard the gun go off.  Pain exploded in her chest, the bullet ripping
through back. Her eyes locked with Willow's.  Myst could feel death approaching, and welcomed its familiar embrace.  It was an end to pain, and
at least she'd saved Willow from experiencing it much too soon.

The young woman's green eyes were wide with shock and disbelief and...  pain? And then everything went black.

The remaining gunmen trained his pistol on Angel, becoming rapidly panicked as his bullets seemed to have no effect.

Witchy watched Mystra fall on top of Willow, both women collapsing on the floor, before running full speed at Thanatos.

"Fool!", the Immortal male spat, raising the gun again.

"I think not mate", Spike growled, rising up before him and batting the gun out of the the man's hands.

"Step away Spike!", Witchy ordered.  The vampire hesitated, his eyes lingering jealously towards where his Sire was beating the living spit out of the other one.

"I said step away Spike.  You can't interfere.  I will finish this."

Nodding reluctantly, the chipped vampire stepped away, just in time to stop an enraged, fully game-faced Angel from ramming into Thanatos.

"Angel stop!", Spike ordered, struggling with the larger male.

"She's dead!", the dark haired vampire roared.  "She's dead Spike!"

"Myst's Immortal mate, she'll wake up..."

Pain filled eyes, yellow eyes turned towards the bleached blond.  "I know... but Willow..."

Confused, Spike turned his head towards the two women on the floor of the lobby.  He extended his senses, sure that Myst had in fact managed to step in front of the bullet intended for the young witch. Peripherally, he was aware of Wesley and Cordelia crawling toward the two fallen women from their hiding spot, and then started in surprise as realization hit.

There were no heartbeats.... from either of them.

"Shit", the younger vampire groaned.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gunn pressed himself against the wall, narrowly missing having a limb ripped off as the Greek Immortal's sword swung dangerously close to him.

He couldn't believe this was happening.  Hell, he wasn't even sure he knew where the Thanatos guy had gotten the sword... one minute Witchy had been challenging him and the next...

Witchy blocked Thanatos' swing, chanting under her breath.

"Gunn.  Run", she ordered, forcing the other Immortal back, so that Gunn could get out of the way.

The demon hunter saw the opening and ran toward the back of the lobby, joining the others.  The small flash of their faces told her more than she
wanted it too.  Cordelia and Angel were crying... Angel was crying.

"Fuck!", Witchy gasped as Thanatos' sword got through her defenses and cut her upper thigh shallowly.  She had to get a grip on herself.

The Greek sneered.  "Foolish girl... trying to take me. You're a babe compared to me. Myst... perhaps she had a chance.... but you?  Ha!"

The Immortal witch ignored him, continuing to chant, trying to center herself.  Every fight, every practice bout she had ever had with her teacher ran through her head.  She was not going to let Mystra down.  The bastard was going to die for what he'd done to her sister.
 

~Chapter 29~

Mystra awoke in a burning rush of oxygen, her sudden inhalation sounding loudly in the quiet room, alerting the room's owner.

"Fuck", she groaned, her eyes flickering open.

"You're awake."

"Obviously, Angel", the witch said dryly, her mind beginning to replay the last few minutes of her life for this, her most recent death.  Myst's eyes
widened in horror.

"Oh Goddess Willow!"

Angel shook his head, gesturing to her side.

The dark haired Immortal woman turned her head.  Willow lay next to her, her face slack.  Her clothing was red with her blood.

Tears sprung up into Myst's eyes. "No!"  She turned her head wildly, meeting Angel's dark gaze. "No!  I stopped it.  I stepped in front of her.  I took
the bullet.  I tried to stop it, I did!!"

The souled vampire rose from his chair, settling by the distraught witch's side.  He wrapped his arms awkwardly around her.  "Shhh...", he whispered
quietly.  "I know you did.  Even Willow knows you did."

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this.  She was too young....  Oh Goddess... why?", she sobbed.

"You couldn't help what happened Myst.  The son of a bitch had special bullets in the guns.  Gunn checked out the magazines later and told us that
they were armor piercing.  When you stepped in front of Willow to take the shot, it just went through the both of you."

Her tears came in a torrent.  All the stress, confusion and emotion of the past months, and especially the last week, burst from behind the
insurmountable walls Myst had built up to protect herself so long ago.

"Shh...", Angel soothed, smoothing the Immortal's long, dark hair back from her face. "Shhh..."

She settled against his chest, tears moistening his dark shirt.  Surprised and touched by his gentleness, Mystra pulled away wanting to see the look on his face, to gauge what he was feeling.  Dark eyes met, causing frissions of awareness to sweep across her body as their gazes locked.

Angel's face suddenly seemed closer and she ached to kiss him, to feel him explore the depths of her mouth...  She traced the curve of his mouth with her eyes, slowly closing the distance, when a stray thought caught her immediate attention.

"Witchy!", she gasped, horrified that since she'd awoken she hadn't given her sister a second thought.  "Where's Witchy?"

"She's fine", Angel said reassuringly.

"She is?--"

"You should be proud of her Myst.  She took Thanatos down relatively easily. She was beautiful to watch, the son of a bitch didn't even have a chance. He was cocky.  He didn't realize just how soft he'd gotten always using mortals to tip the Game in his favor. Once his henchmen were out of the way, Witchy did the rest."

Relieved, Mystra sagged against the vampire's rock-solid form. "Was she hurt?"

"Hardly."

Angel breathed, the Immortal's scent in.  She smelled so good, so alive.  It was hard to believe that not even five minutes before, she'd been dead.

"Myst?"

"Yes."

"Why isn't Willow waking up?"

"It takes longer for newbies.  The first death is usually the most traumatic", she responded, her hold on him tightening, as her eyes traveled over Willow's slight form. "Sometimes it could be most of a day.  Its not unheard of for them to wake up in cold storage at the morgue."

The Immortal paused, gathering her thoughts as she attempted to convey what she thought was the right thing.  "We can't let Willow wake up to life as an Immortal Angel."

The vampire's embrace loosened, as he looked down into Mystra's velvety brown eyes.  Their gazes met and a decision was made.

"Get the Blessing of Krill and the ingredients we need Angel.  I'll cast the spell.  Willow will never *have* to fight to keep her head."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike walked by his Sire's room, he sniffed curiously wondering at the quiet chanting he heard emanating from the room.  'Magic', his brain supplied,
tasting the power in the air.  Something was going on in there, and he had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was.

Holding the tray of food steady so as not to tip the glass or orange juice, he continued down the hall to the room he and Witchy had  commandeered after the incidents of that morning.

Kicking open the door gently, the vampire made his way inside.  At that moment, he almost swore his heart actually managed to beat, as he laid eyes on his beautiful lover.

Witchy smiled at the blond.  Licking her lips lasciviously at the sight of food.

"Mmmmm... what'd you bring me?", she asked eagerly.

"You mean besides my bloody gorgeous self?"

The Immortal rolled her eyes, grabbing a bright and shiny red apple from the tray.  She bit into the sweet fruit, sighing at its crisp texture as juice
ran down the side of her mouth.

Unable to resist the luscious picture she made, Spike put the tray down next to the bed and leaned forward, licking the sticky juice from Witchy's lips.

"Delicious", he murmured, his eyes warming to their true amber.

"You're insatiable Blondie", Witchy said beguilingly, her free hand gently trailing down his cheek.

"I walked by the Poof's room", Spike said after a moment of enjoying his lover's touch.

"Is Myst up?"

"Definitely.  There's some magickal mumbo jumbo going on in there.  I could smell the power."  The British vampire shook his head.  "Just how powerful is she anyway?  I swear, it was radiating from there like.... I don't know... I suppose the closest thing I could use to describe it would be
waves crashing against the shore."

Witchy grinned at his fanciful description.  "Waves??"  Spike stuck his tongue out at her, the Immortal woman chuckled.  "Yeah Myst's a powerful
witch alright.  But since I gather she's doing the Blessing ritual, that could be part of what you felt."

The chipped vampire's chest rumbled with muted laughter.  "So you figured that out too, eh?"

"Yeah", she admitted.  "They both love Willow too much to let her live the life of an Immortal."

Spike tilted Witchy's chin up, forcing her gaze to meet his own. "Regrets?", he asked.

"No", she stated, shaking her head.  "Willow deserves it.  She's a sweet girl.  None of this should've happened to her.  We're the one's that brought
her into this, its the very least Myst or I could ever do for her."

"You're sure?"

"Yes", she sighed, pressing her mouth against his own with reckless abandon. Moaning, Witchy pulled away breathing heavily, before dropping the half eaten apple in her hand onto the floor.

Spike arched a scarred eyebrow in a silent question.

"Food can wait", Witchy said mischievously.
 

~Chapter 30~

Willow's eyes fluttered open, her mouth gaping like a fish as her lungs burned for life-giving oxygen. She took in gulpfuls, her body arching off the bed.

"Huhhhhhh....."

A multitude of emotions flooded the young witch; relief, shock, sorrow, anger, happiness, not the least of which was confusion.  She stared at the
ceiling, just focusing on breathing evenly and deeply as she tried to remember what happened.

Bits and pieces of images and conversations filtered to her conscious mind.

She remembered packing, and getting ready to leave.  Then she ran into Angel and they'd talked.  When they'd gotten downstairs she'd seen Mystra, and then.....

'Damn', she thought.  'Why is it all so fuzzy?'

Her eyes drifted shut.

"Willow", a deep voice rumbled.

The sound caused Willow's emerald-like eyes to blink open.

"Angel?", she asked in disbelief, her head turning in the direction of the sound.  "ANGEL?!"

His name escaped her the second time in a surprised squeak.  "Why are you naked, and in my bed?"

The dark vampire chuckled ruefully, his head supported by one arm.  Shaking his head, he asked instead, "What do you remember?"

The redhead's brow furrowed.  "Getting ready to leave and packing.  Then ummm, talking to you", she said quietly, a small blush blooming in her
cheeks.

"You don't remember going downstairs, or the other Immortal coming?"

She almost shook her head, but then the floodgates opened sending the last of the memories careening through her mind.  "Thanatos! Myst!....  Angel, I, I d-d-died."

The souled vampire jaw tightened.  "Yes you did."

"But that still doesn't explain why you're here naked in my bed."

A small smile touched his features again.  "Actually, the real question would be; why are you, Myst and I naked and in *my* bed?"

"What?", she shouted, her eyes immediately dropping to her own form, before drifting over to the right and spotting a deeply sleeping Immortal witch.

"How?  What?  How?  Wow!  When?--"

Angel cut off the stream of questions escaping the little hacker's mouth with a quiet, "Its not what you think."

Willow immediatly quieted, relief mixing with disappointment.  "Its not?"

Gently, Angel took hold of her wrist and lifted her arm back into her view. She blinked, finally noticing the designs that were drawn over her skin.
Sigils and what looked like words in some strange unknown language had been carefully written and arranged all over her body.  Curiously, Willow's other hand reached out to touch the artwork.  It came off on her fingertips, smearing across her pale flesh.

"A ritual", she breathed.  "Myst did the spell... the Blessing of Krill..." Willow looked up at him.  "She did didn't she?"

"Yes, she did."

"How could you let her, Angel?  Didn't I deserve to have a say in this?"

"I helped her Willow", he answered by way of reply.

"You painted me."

"Yes", he admitted.

"I-- But--  I thought we'd agreed.  The Blessing isn't fair, it gives one Immortal an edge--", Willow sputtered.

"We didn't care Willow.  Mystra and I wanted you to have that edge. To have the chance to live a normal, or at least semi-normal life if you want to. Neither one of us wanted you to have to fight for your head, or to live your life looking over your shoulder wondering when the next Immortal was coming after you for your power."

"Immortal", she repeated softly, "I'm Immortal...."  She shook her head. "No, that's not possible.  Its not true", Willow cried her voice taking on a
hysterical edge, tears running down her face.  As she tried to wriggle down the bed and escape.

"Willow!  Willow!"  Angel's voice came to her from what seemed a far away place.  Only the slap disrupted her downward spiral of hysteria.

Willow crumpled, falling into the vampire's arms.  She sobbed into his shoulder for a long time. her tears slowly dying down.

"Why?", she asked finally, looking up into Angel's face.  The vampire's gaze, however, rested somewhere behind her.

"Because we both loved you too much *not* to attempt it, Flame", she heard Myst say.

Angel's arms tightened about her.

"You *both* love me?"

"Is that so hard to believe?", Myst asked gently.

"No! Yes!... I don't know", Willow whispered in confusion.

The vampire watched with darkening eyes as the Immortal shifted closer, her hands trailing up the redhead's spine gently, teasingly.  Willow stiffened in his arms, her muscles coiling as if in readiness to spring before abruptly loosening, as she relaxed into the other woman's touch.

Myst's hands gently kneaded the young witch's muscles.  She ignored the symbols which had been so carefully drawn on Flame's skin, paying no
attention as they smeared under her firm touch.  She was aware that the symbols on her own body had to be in similar disarray, but that wasn't
important now, the sigils had done their job.

Willow sighed wearily, allowing her head to rest in the crook of Angel's neck as Myst's strong hands massaged the weariness and stiffness out of her
body.

Angel closed his eyes trying to block out the erotic implications of what was happening.  It had been easy at first to forget the two women's state of undress.  Initially he'd been too worried about Willow and her realization of her Immortal state and the fact that they had bespelled her without her knowledge, to really focus on something so mundane as their lack of clothing.  Even when she'd held onto him for dear life as she'd cried, he
had managed.  Now, however, he found himself unable to do so.  Not that that was difficult to understand, what with Willow melting into him as Mystra massaged her.  The entire situation was beginning to resemble one of his more erotic private fantasies.

The slender redhead moaned softly, her body finally relaxing.  For the moment at least, Willow felt she was able to put aside the bizarre twist her
life had now taken.  In fact, she *had* to put it aside right now in order to function.  Too much had happened too quickly.  She sighed, reflexively
snuggling closer to Angel, unable to believe that so much happened in so short a time.

Willow didn't know why she was so surprised when she became aware of the turgid proof of Angel's arousal against her stomach.  Honestly, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it immediately... it felt so... hard and *large*.

"Angel?", she murmured uncertainly, moving away slightly.  Myst's hands never faltered, moving as she did.  They continued their gentle massage as
she stared into the handsome male's face.  His eyes bored into hers, dark enough to almost be black despite the golden flecks swimming in their
unreadable depths.

Willow blinked, taking in the way he swallowed when she spoke his name.

"Angel."

"Please Willow-- ", he managed to utter.  "I can't--."

Just then, Mystra's hands suddenly changed tactics.  Instead of relaxing, the touches evolved, becoming sensual caresses, skimming the hacker's flesh with feather light fingertips.

The dark haired Immortal woman's hands came around Willow's ribcage, lightly tracing the delicate bones, before flittering across to her sensitized
nipples.

The red witch squirmed, under the tentative caress, finding the fact that Angel was watching just as arousing as Myst's actual touch.

Willow was fast loosing the ability to think clearly. It was only the knowledge that this could have far reaching, extremely negative consequences
that kept her from simply giving in to the pleasure, forgetting about Buffy, and even her extremely recent break up with Tara.

"W-w-we can't", she stammered, her voice coming out in a tiny squeak because Myst's mouth had joined her hands in traveling across her body.

"We can", the Immortal whispered in her ear.

Wide, green eyes turned to plead to the only 'level' head in the room. "B-b-but Angel--"

The dark haired vampire smirked at her, his eyes lazily following Mystra's hand as it began to inch down Willow's stomach.  He swooped forward, his
mouth claiming the redhead's pink lips.

"We can", Myst repeated, her fingers making the first careful passes over her friend's mons.

Angel chuckled when the new Immortal groaned against his mouth.  Opening his eyes slyly, he watched as Myst's elegant fingers disappeared inside Willow over and over again.  Tearing his gaze away, he found himself meeting the elder Immortal witch's dark eyes over Willow's shoulder.  He had the distinct impression that she was thinking along the very same lines he was.

He held her gaze, even as she continued to thrust her fingers inside Willow's hot slit.  Myst's own breath was coming faster and faster as she
worked on the younger woman.  'Getting off Willow, was getting her off as well', Angel observed.

The vampire kissed the now passion-drugged hacker, his fingers playing teasingly with her perfectly shaped breasts, as other woman suddenly flicked at Willow's clit with her thumb.

"Ohhhh... oh... OH!", the hacker screamed to the heavens, riding wave after wave of her orgasm as Myst continued to coax her to higher and higher
plateaus of pleasure.

The sight of her release was almost Angel's own undoing.  It was only with great control that he managed to push back his body's own demands and lean forward to whisper in the still-shuddering Willow's, pale pink ear.

"We can, my love", he growled huskily.  "There are many ways to make love, and not all of them involve intercourse between a man and a woman or even the foul specter of true happiness."

Mystra grinned at him from over Willow's shoulder, leaning forward to kiss the vampire's mouth. She was well aware that the fact that Willow had died her first death only hours before, would keep the souled vampire, just that, a souled vampire.

"I think", he continued, his voice shaded with desire, "that between the both of us, Myst and I would have quite a few we could show you."

Willow whimpered, "Please."
 

~Chapter 31~

"I'm starting to have a bloody bad feeling about this pet.  They've been in there for almost a full day, and I know for a fact Willow's awake", the
blond vampire murmured under his nonexistent breath.

Witchy nodded.  "I wouldn't worry just yet.  Neither Mystra nor Angel wants to set Angelus free.  We haven't heard any screaming or anything else to indicate there's been any trouble--"

"Speak for yourself Witch", Spike interrupted, nuzzling his lover's ear, "I can hear all *kinds* of noises coming from upstairs."

The Immortal woman chuckled, and then shrugged him away, continuing to read the computer screen in front of her.  "Can't you see I'm busy", she hissed quietly, trying not to garner the attention of trio who whispered and gestured urgently in the office.  They were clearly visible through the
office window.

Witchy was fairly sure Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn were also deciding what to do should the eventuality of Angelus' freeing actually come to pass.  No one was oblivious to what was occurring in Angel's room.  The thought made Witchy grin.  She was fairly certain from what little she knew of Willow, that the little redhead would have been mortified to learn everyone knew when and with whom she was having sex.

Sighing, the witch turned back to the computer screen.  She was disinheartened.  After such a promising start to her friends' search for a way to secure Angel's soul, her three wiccan coven sisters had run into a problem.  The spell as it they had written were such that the dark vampire's
demon would actually be banished.  Since the demon was essentially the means by which Angel's body had been reanimated, the soul would most likely not be strong enough to take full possession and be forced to flee the dead body with the demon. Angel's body would simply crumble away to dust.

Witchy's hazel eyes widened in disbelief.  "Crap", she muttered.  This wasn't what she wanted at all.  She'd wanted to help her sister and the
broody vampire, not risk his very unlife and finish killing him.

"What the--", Spike's strained voice caught her ear.  The blond vampire had noticed her preoccupation and been reading over her shoulder.

The Immortal closed her eyes wearily.

"You can't bloody well be serious pet?", the British vampire snapped at her. "I know the Pouf's an annoying sod, but he's doing something important
here, you can't risk his very existence just so that he can get laid regularly...."

"Don't you think I know that", Witchy replied, sarcasm dripping from her words.  "Besides, when did you become such a fan of your Sire?"

The bleached blond looked startled.  "I'm not."

She arched an eyebrow.

"I'm not!", Spike repeated.  "We just--  Well, we just buried the damned hatchet as it were."  He looked away, afraid his lover saw too much in his
gaze.

Witch's countenance softened.  "Don't worry I agree with you.  All right?  I don't want to risk Angel either.  He's a brooding pain in the you know
what... but I'm glad he's around fighting the good fight too."

A scream of utter agony plunged the couple into instant silence.

"What the 'ell?", Spike grumbled, following the source of the noise.  "Its the cheerleader", he said quickly taking off toward the office just as
Witchy turned her head and saw the tall brunette's head jerk back as the unearthly sound issued from her throat and her body convulsed.

Gunn caught his friend as she lost control of her body, and fell.  He cradled her head gently in his lap, and met Wesley's eyes.  The former
Watcher held Cordelia's flailing arms down, trying to make sure she didn't cause herself any harm during the course of the vision.

"What's wrong with her?", Spike asked the two men, yelling to be heard over the Seer's cries.

"The visions", Wesley replied.  "They're getting worse."

"Goddess...", Witchy exclaimed softly, tears springing up into her eyes. The pain the other woman was going through was obvious, and excruciating to even witness.

"Gunn, get Angel", Wesley told the younger demon hunter.  Gunn nodded, but looked torn, his eyes straying to the form of the twitching young women he held in his arms.

"I'll hold her", Witchy said, "do as Wesley asked."

The two individuals switched places, and Gunn ran up the lobby stairs.

"Why are these visions so soddin' excruciating?  I thought they were messages from the Powers That Be?  Aren't they good guys?", the chipped
vampire asked Wesley.

The former Watcher sighed, as Cordelia finally relaxed.  The vision had finally ended.  "You would think so wouldn't you."

"What does that mean Wussy?"

"What it means Spike", Witchy said, answering him instead, "is that humans can't contain these visions.  They're too weak.  Eventually, they will kill
her."

Wesley's mouth tightened.  He gazed at the Immortal woman questioningly.  "I was afraid of that", he admitted.

"You didn't know?", Witchy asked.

He shook his head.

Just then, they could hear the pounding of feet running down the stairs.

"Cordelia?", Angel called out, as he ran to the office.  He wore no shoes, clothed simply in a pair of gray sweats.  "Cordy?"

The Seer stirred in Witchy arms, and Wesley released her wrists.

"Angel?", Cordelia sighed.

"I'm here."

"It was bad...  People need you", the brunette began, her mind automatically replaying what she had seen.

"What did you see?", Angel asked brusquely, dropping to his knees besides the young woman and taking her hand gently.

"The Hospital.  St. Raphael's in the valley.  Vampires invade the ER...", Cordelia managed, tears escaping the confines of her tightly clenched
eyelids.

"When?", Gunn asked her.

"About an hour.  You guys have to leave now."

Gunn looked at the dark haired vampire for confirmation.  Angel nodded shortly.

"Cool.  Come on Wesley, mount up", the youth told the bespectacled man.

"Cordelia--", Angel began.

Mystra interrupted. "Go Angel, we'll take care of Cordy."  She looked at the redhead by her side for confirmation and saw Willow nod.

The souled vampire glanced over his shoulder at the beautiful Immortals.

"Thank you.  I--"

"We know Angel", Willow broke in.  "Go!"

Getting up on his feet, the souled vampire ran up the Hyperion stairs to dress.

Willow sat by Cordelia's side.  The redhead gently pushed tendrils of the Seer's chestnut locks off of her damp forehead.

"She's still in pain", Mystra stated from her place at the other side of the bed.

The red witch nodded.  "Yeah.  I gave her that migraine medication almost an hour ago, and it doesn't seem to be helping."

Willow met Mystra's dark eyes.  "We can help her in another way", the redhead stated.

"Yes", the elder Immortal answered, "we can."  She looked over at her sister.  "Witchy--"

"I'm on it sis", Witchy replied, shooing Spike out of the room.

"But pet...", he whined.

"No.  Out, we need silence and privacy for this."

"Fine", he grumbled.  The door slammed in his face.

Cordelia awoke twenty minutes later, to find Willow sitting by her bedside.

"How do you feel?"

The Seer frowned in thought.  "Okay.  Strangely migraine free, like I didn't have a vision at all."  She looked at Willow.  "What--?"

"Magick."

"Oh."  Cordelia fell silent, and Willow's verdant gaze fell on the bedcovers, tracing the pattern.

"You're leaving aren't you?", the ex Cheerleader asked finally.

"Yes", Willow admitted.

"Why?"

"Angel loves me.  He loves us.  We're a danger to his soul", the Immortal redhead said.

"But, the past two days... He's still all soul-y and stuff, why can't he just stay that way?"

"We avoided a lot of... things to keep him souled Cordy.  Myst and I couldn't let him get all that happy", Willow whispered, her eyes lifting to
meet Cordelia's lovely face.

"The longer we stay, here with him, the more likely we'll be to weaken and give in."

"And then", the Seer murmured, "he would lose his soul and the Powers would lose their Warrior, and Gunn, Wes and I would probably be vamp chow.  Wow. So I guess you'll be leaving soon then."

A ghost of a smile formed on Willow's lips.  "We're leaving now.  Myst and Witchy will teach me what I need to know to live as an Immortal, even though they both hope I'll never need to use what they will teach me.  Plus I need to go to Sunnydale and let Buffy and Xander know what happened."

Cordelia blinked.  "Are you serious?"

"Well, not *all* of it", the flame haired witch said, blushing profusely, "just the Immortal part of it.  Buffy shared her Slayerness with me... "
Willow shrugged helplessly.  It was just something she felt she had to do.

"He'll be heartbroken."

"I know.  So will I", Willow stated, her lip trembling.

"Don't stay away too long, okay?"

The two women hugged.  "I won't.  I swear."

~That evening~

Angel burst into the Hyperion, Wesley and Gunn behind him.  The three friends joked with one another, clapping themselves on the back for another
job well done.

The were struck silent by the sight of Cordelia sitting at her desk.  The building was eerily quiet.

"They're gone, aren't they?", Angel asked softly.

The young woman stood, simply nodding her assent to the vampire who was her best friend.

Without another word, Angel started up the steps to his room.  It would be a good two weeks before anybody saw him outside of its confines again.

Wesley and Gunn stared at the souled vampire's retreating back, and then looked at one another.

"I guess I'll head home", the black man told them.  "You need a ride Barbie?"

"That would be great", she told him.

"You two go on ahead", Wesley told his friends, "I just want to straighten up and close the place."

"Got ya' English", Gunn told the dark haired man, clasping Wes' hand in goodbye.

"See you tomorrow Wesley."

"Goodnight Gunn, Cordelia."

After the two had gone.  Wesley went straight to his desk and the small box which had been wrapped in brown paper and left there.  On the package, was a note from Witchy.

'Wesley,
By now you know we're gone.
I'm sure you understand that we had to leave.
Myst and Willow are broken-hearted but knew
it was the right thing to do.

Don't forget about the spell to anchor Angel's
soul.  I won't.  I e-mailed you a copy of what
I got so far, and any progress we made.  I'm
afraid its not much...

Also, in the box you will find a gift.  It is
for Cordelia.'

Out of curiosity, the former Watcher ripped open the small package.  He lifted the lid and frowned in surprise.  'Blood', he thought.

He picked Witchy's note back up.

'Yes its blood.  Our blood, as a matter of fact.
There's a vial there from each of us.  One of the
strange properties of our blood as Immortals, is
that it never really dies.  It is our essence,
and extremely powerful.  Put a few drops of our
blood in anything Cordelia eats or drinks.  Trust
us.  It will strengthen her and make her more durable,
extending her life until something can be done
about the visions.

Thank you for everything.

Witchy'

The Englishman gasped, and picked the tiny vials up carefully from their cotton bedding.  He stared at them for a moment, before carefully placing
them back in the box.

He straightened out the papers on his desk and glanced idly at the stairs. Grabbing one of the books from his desk, Wesley headed for the door, the box tucked safely under his arm.  With a final look over his shoulder, he turned off the lights and locked the door.

Angel re-read the note he'd found on his bed, for the eighteenth time.

'Angel,
We know you're angry, but you know we did what
was right.  We had to leave.  If we loved you
less or were more selfish, we would have stayed
but it would have been wrong, and we would have
been living on borrowed time with you.

We left something to help Cordelia with the
visions, its in Wesley's care.  In addition,
Witchy wants us to let you know she'll take care
of your boy....

You'll see us again Angel.  We promise.

We love you.  Never forget.

Willow and Mystra'

Silent tears streamed down his chiseled face.  Carefully, he took the slip of paper and walked over to his bookshelves.  Grabbing one long, slim black
binding, the souled vampire took the old leather bound sketch pad down from its place.

Opening the pad, he flipped to the back.  Words and drawings in his hand sped by for a second.  Stopping, Angel turned the page twice more.  He
placed the note inside, stopping to touch the small tufts of hair he'd collected furtively; one blood-red and one almost blue-black, taken from the
hairbrushes of his loves.

Willow and Myst's eyes looked up at him from where he'd sketched them two days before.

The End

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