Sorry about not getting this chapter up off the ground sooner. I was working on reports all day yesterday for classes. I tried to post the chapter last night but the internet was not being very friendly. Next chapter will probably be put up tomorrow probably in the afternoon.

Water dripping echoed in the cave, a blast of cold air drowning out the small sounds briefly. The clomp of heels soon came to the creature's ears, he knew she had made a choice; found a match, and discovered a wormhole to their greater achievement. A silhouette in the navy blue mouth of the cave, caught his weary eye's attention and he lifted his head, licking his lips and waving his clawed hand at her. "Amelia." he beckoned in his husky voice. "You appear… contented."

The female crossed the rocky distance to her mentor, a languorous smile prowling into view like a hyenas. Soft black curls draped across her shoulders, framing a round paled face. With eyes like ice, the lids rimmed with black eyeliner and lashes a tainted peacock green, her face came into a shaft of white light, caused by a rippling of flame by the elder. Her movements flowed smoothly and luxuriously as she approached and stood beside the demon, cupping a hand down towards his chin. "Ihael, you're looking well." she purred, her ink black nails brushing against his stone grey façade.

He gazed into her eyes with mockery and scoffed, wiping her hand off of him as he would an insect. "You've observed them." he continued.

Eyes flickering away, Amelia turned her attention to the flame dancing at his side and passed her hand through it carelessly, letting the warmth run through her cold appendage. "They were quite resilient." she remarked dreamily. "Especially that witch."

Ihael flicked his tongue like a snake would and let an approving smirk glide to his lips. "So you think she is the Latent?"

Now it was Amelia's turn to sneer. "All I said was that she had…spirit." she decided, turning her head back towards him. "Her power's we could manipulate, but her mind is too much like a diamond. It would be too time consuming to try and crack."

"Willow has been turned by darkness before." Ihael commented flatly, as if she should have remembered. "Take one thing away and she becomes a monster. It wouldn't be that difficult."

"Then she wouldn't be any fun." Amelia pouted, laying herself down to rest on a smooth platform of rock. "I could see her darkness. It had… gone bad. Like rotten fruit. There is nothing left to nurture."

"Then who?" Ihael snapped, causing the young woman to spin her head to him quickly. "The slayer has already come to terms with all that is meaningless and bereft in her life. Threatening her would be a waste of our time." he regarded to himself, growing impatient. He gasped, slumping down a little where he sat. "I grow weaker each moment that passes. The Awakening must be carried out before the new year has come to pass. Otherwise, all of our work is wasted. And I die."

She seemed disturbed by this thought, her eyes flickering with hatred of the situation. "The boy." she stated collectedly.

"He's useless to us." Ihael assured, flicking his hand carelessly. "He doesn't even possess a power." The demon stopped for a moment, as if some epiphany had just hit him and let his face pass into the dwindling light of the fire; the features were handsome but marred by age and weakness. "Did you recognize the Latent mark?"

"It is there." she confirmed, smirking lightly. "It is like a moth doing battle with his lightness. All we need to do is show him the flame."

"How much do you think we could develop?"

"His mind is fragile; unlike his colleagues. However, it is also resistant to charms. But the last few months without his love have tainted it. There is enough there to get it started." she assured. "I would take full charge of the operations myself. We need a Forthcoming. He is the most advanced of the group."

Ihael took a large breath, his thoughts swirling as he imagined the events that would come to pass. He could see them, like watercolors just out of his reach, bleeding on a white canvas. "Yes…" he whispered hoarsly, a bestial grin covering his face as he let a few malicious chuckles reverberate from his throat. "This could work out quite nicely."

Amelia was bemused by her own thoughts but shared a wicked cackle with her mentor, their voices chasing into the cold night.

"It's only a few stitches." Willow ensured her friend, who couldn't resist running his fingers along the sewn together injury. They had returned to Buffy's house finding that Xander's wound was not serious enough to keep him there any longer than necessary. She herself had woken in the car on the way over and although a little worse for wear was instantly her perky old self once again.

He didn't say anything; just sat in a chair, flipping through an old leather bound book. Xander hadn't been reading the contents, knowing that he was supposed to be searching for an explanation to the attacks and what exactly those creatures were. Unfortunately, his mind was elsewhere, and Willow could tell.

But instead of bothering him about it more, she turned her attention back to the computer screen in front of her and tapped away at the keys, continuing her search as well. She didn't know what she was supposed to look for. After Xander had relayed his thoughts about their lemur-like qualities, she had decided to start on that note. But the only things she could find were Lemurian Ghosts, and these monsters had certainly not been ghosts. But according to its Latin etymology, lemur meant ghosts or specters with nocturnal habitats. Maybe she hadn't been as far off as she'd first suspected.

Faith, who'd given up on the idea of research, was working slowly on a bottle of Miller's Light and rubbing at her knuckles absentmindedly. The fight had put her at odds with her slayer friend, even though she'd shown up to save them. Supposedly she had, "put their lives in danger" by running off earlier. She had just scoffed at Buffy and shook her head before settling into the sofa with her night cap. It was they who had needed her. She could just as easily have left them there to get slaughtered. She would have reminded Buffy about that, but chose not to, a small part of her not wanting to start a large confrontation.

Buffy had gone up to her room to change into some more comfortable clothes. Instead, she'd locked the door behind her and reached into her drawer to pull out the number for Gile's training facility in Surrey. She hadn't spoken with the Watcher since his departure after the events of the battle with The First. She'd heard from several of the Potentials whom had asked how they were fairing and wished that they could be home, but never had she spoken with Giles himself. Either he was in the middle of a training session with Andrew or he was out tracking down the assigned Watchers for the girls. Part of her wondered how they would break the ice when she finally could get a hold of him and worried whether or not he would talk to her. They had not parted on very good terms.

Punching in the numbers hesitantly, she listened to the agonizing rings of the phone. After three, it picked up and surprisingly, it was the Watcher himself. He knew it was her. "Buffy?"

"Giles." she said carefully, trying not to give away her discomfort in the situation. It didn't work. They both sat on the phone in an awkward silence for what seemed like hours. Finally, he spoke. "You rang?"

"Oh yeah." She shook herself out of her delirium. "Sorry."

"Quite alright."

She knew it wasn't. "We ran into some demons tonight. Demons that we can't find anything on. A vampire that we had been about to kill ran off, scared shitless. Whatever these things were, they killed it and then tried to do the same to us."

"Doesn't sound too unusual." Giles spoke softly. His voice sounded exhausted.

"They disappeared on us when Faith arrived. They kind of looked like… lemurs."

A pause. "You mean… those furry, big eyed, long limbed creatures one sees at the zoo?"

"Sort of… but not so... furry." Buffy agreed, hating how stupid she sounded.

He exhaled slowly. "Right." Another pause. "Well, I'll see what I can find in the books. Was anyone hurt?"

"Only Xander, but what else is new?" she responded, getting a small laugh from the Watcher. She missed that.

"Of course." Silence. "Well, I'll call you if I get wind of anything."

"Okay. Same here." she said automatically. "Bye."

"Bye." The phone went dead. She set the receiver down and looked up to gaze at herself in the mirror. The fight with the First had ruined everything. It had made Giles leave, it had weakened Willow's powers, shredded Faith and Robin's relationship, and cast Xander into a depression. For her, it had separated her from each of them. She stared deeply into the rings beneath her eyes. 'How do I ever make things right again…?' she wondered to herself as she clicked off the light. Then she exited the room, the door squeaking shut behind her.