After their altercation at dinner, Jack felt uneasy about speaking to his mother again. However, he knew that the only way he could go to see Bog's concert would be if he got permission from her, so that she knew where he was. As a result, Jack waited a while in his room before getting up, just to make sure his mother was awake before him. When he heard the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen down below, he fastened on his eyepatch, grabbed his knapsack and, slinging it over one arm, walked out to the landing outside of his room, where he sat down on the banister and made ready to slide down it.

At the bottom of the stairs, Jack's mother turned around in the middle of frying an egg as Jack landed with a bump. "Oh, Jack," she said, sighing. "Why do you always slide down?"

"Well, the elevator's broken," Jack muttered, "and it's a good way to dust." He went over to the table and sat down, watching his mother's eyes. She didn't seem to be annoyed or nervous about his presence, but Jack, though he was good at reading people, could never completely tell with his mother. Just in case, he decided to hold his breath and wait and help her cook the eggs before asking if he could go to the concert that night.

They worked in silence, making breakfast together, and Jack could feel that all was not well with his mother. If she spoke, he felt it would be in icy, clipped tones. Something had disturbed his mother's tortured peace, something having to do with what Jack had brought up the night before, and it was interfering with her functionality. Jack hoped he hadn't triggered anything that was dangerous to dredge up, but he knew so little about his mother's past that he couldn't help but step on a few toes when talking to her.

I'll wait a bit longer, Jack made up his mind. After scraping the finished scrambled eggs onto their plates, sitting down, and eating half of it, Jack worked up the nerve to broach the subject of the concert to his mother. "Um. Tonight there's going to be a rock and roll concert in town, and I want to go."

His mother pierced him with her inscrutable brown eyes. "Rock and roll? Why?"

"Well, I'm interested in hearing music for the first time…" Jack was about to add "like my father's" but decided against it. "And I have a few friends who are going."

His mother narrowed her eyes. Friends. "Like this girl friend you have?"

"Yeah, she's going. Mainly it's guys, though. I don't think we need like tickets or anything, and I don't know when it's going to happen… I just know it's late, and I might not be home tonight."

At the last sentence, Jack's mother hissed, "Jack. If you go to this concert, you have to promise me you won't get into any danger or trouble." She grabbed him by the arm. "Promise!"

Jack swallowed. "I promise, Mom. I'll be in good hands." They stared at each other until Jack's mother released her grip.

As he approached Poacher's Hill that morning, Jack began to fear that there might be dogs on it, just as it had been so the day before. However, he was in luck, for the only living being atop the hill was Kylie, smiling down at him. Jack blinked as he scaled Poacher's Hill, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him. Instead of her usual black leather attire, Kylie was wearing… a dress, floral print, with a skirt that billowed out elegantly from her waist. The sun hit a shiny broach pinned to her bosom and danced off of it at high angles. Kylie spun around in a circle to show it off from all angles as Jack came the rest of the way up the hill.

"Wow," Jack said as he approached. It was the only thing he could think of to say. "What's the occasion?"

"The concert tonight of course, silly," Kylie said mock-reproachfully. She put her hands on her hips and thrust her body forward into the light for Jack to closely examine. "What do you think?"

"It's pretty," Jack said, surprised. "I'd have never imagined you in a dress."

"We all have hidden depths," Kylie smiled. Moving forward, she placed her hands on Jack's shoulders and pressed her red-lipsticked lips gently to his. For Jack, this third kiss was different from the first two that he had shared with Kylie. This kiss was slower and lasted longer, different from the rough, needy kiss that Jack had given Kylie out of confusion and the hasty woodpecker-peck that Kylie had given Jack in parting. Now both of the teenagers were more confident about what to do, and they moved their lips in sync, fire licking over their bodies. Jack shuddered slightly as he felt Kylie's tongue move towards his locked teeth. He broke away, gasping for air, and his hands flew to his warm cheeks. Kylie crossed her hands behind her back.

"What are you doing?" Jack mumbled, half to himself.

"I don't know," Kylie said, "but you started it." They stared at each other before Kylie gave Jack a tentative smile, most likely wondering if she'd been too bold, and Jack returned it strongly.

"I didn't mean to do that, yesterday," Jack murmured, thinking out loud. "I'm sorry if…"

"Oh, that's all right," Kylie said. "I didn't mind. I knew you were scared, and… you needed me." She suddenly shook off her serious tone with an even wider grin. "So, are you like, my boooyyyfriend or something?"

Jack rolled his eyes at Kylie's goofy tone. "If that means friend who's a boy, yes."

Kylie laughed wildly and spun around again. When she came back to face Jack, she grabbed his hands and tugged him towards her. They spun around in a wide circle together until Kylie let go and Jack tottered backwards, trying not to fall down on his butt.

"What was that for?" Jack gasped.

"No reason," Kylie said nonchalantly. She stood before him, baring her flower-patterned body, and Jack suddenly felt a longing to initiate contact again, instead of waiting for her to touch him. As a friend in black leather, Kylie had already been stunning. As what was possibly a girlfriend in a dress, she was an absolute knockout.

Jack went forward with little hesitation and kissed Kylie again, once on the lips, a soft kiss, sweeter than the past three altogether. When he pulled away, both he and Kylie were smiling.

"Friends with benefits?" she suggested. Jack felt his smile grow even wider. "Yes, friends with benefits." They took each other's hands and walked down to the other side of the hill, gazing upon Hunger City with fresh young eyes. Jack spoke the words that would start everything, his favorite words in the world. "Let's skate."

They spent the entire day out in Hunger City together, away from the Diamond Dogs. All around them, it seemed that the entire city itself was preparing for some big event, the concert that was to happen that night, although such things were nothing new. Kylie and Jack took in each new sight happily, joy connecting them together and keeping them alive. There were no shops to steal from now. The only point of this wandering was to enjoy themselves, and enjoy themselves they did.

"Jack," Kylie said once while they were skating together. "I talked to my parents last night, and… I think I have a few answers to your questions."

Jack cocked his head. "Yeah? Like what?"

"Well," said Kylie, "apparently they were well-acquainted with your father during the last days of Earth's existence. They were friends with another singer, Pink Floyd, who in turn was friends with your dad. The two singers helped my parents a lot back in the day, but that's all that my dad told me. Oh, and he also explained where I've heard your mother's name before- apparently during the third-to-last year of Earth's life, my dad went off to find your mom, apparently because he had been told to by Pink Floyd and because he was interested in her offspring- that means you. He asked if she would come with him to stay with our family for a while, but she refused." Kylie glanced sideways at Jack, watching as he took the information in. "My parents really want to meet you now. I've made arrangements for after the concert, if we don't end up staying out too late."

"Hm," was all Jack said, and then he asked, "Kylie? When were you born?"

"The Earthly month of September," Kylie said. "What about you?"

"October, as far as I know," Jack said. "Apparently I was born past the due date or something. My mom said she wasn't really keeping track of time because she had so much else on her mind." He paused as they turned a corner together, and then said, "I'm glad that you're older than me. It makes me feel… important." He coughed. "And… free."

Kylie laughed. "Don't speak in riddles, Jack."

"I'm not trying to," he said sincerely, feigning hurt feelings.

They had a few races for the rest of the day, and Jack let Kylie win every one of them, until she caught on to what he was doing and began to let him win a few. They were laughing about it by the time the sun began to set, and Jack murmured, "I think we'd better go find the Diamond Dogs." They skated off, hand in hand.

It didn't take long to find the Diamond Dogs, mostly because the Diamond Dogs were very conspicuous. Jagger was the first to come forward, melting out of the shadows, laughing as he beckoned Widdy, Dice, and Sledge forward. Jack and Kylie stopped, Jack's eyes glued to Jagger as he was unable to stop staring. Jagger's fur coat that he normally wore was now encrusted with jewels. Pins like Kylie's broach, long strings of pearls down his neck, and a few baubles here and there adorned him. He also sported a white bandage wrapped around his wrist from where the dog had bitten him the day before. Jack found himself trying not to laugh along with Jagger- 'Tis not quite so horrorshow an outfit, oh my brother!

"Hi hi hi there, Hallowe'en Jack!" Jagger called, his voice oozing with delight. "Hi hi hi there, Kylie! Come over here and viddy my fancy and like expensive jewelry, oh my brother and sister!"

"Real horrorshow, my droogie Jagger!" Jack called out, telling a white lie. As Jagger skated over and presented himself to Kylie and Jack, proudly displaying his jewelry and puffing out his chest like a peacock, the other three boys came forward to join the group. Sledge was smoking a cigarette with a hardened expression on his face, and Widdy and Dice wore matching excited grins. They carried with them another fur coat, one that resembled Jagger's without the broaches. Widdy skated forward and presented the coat to Jack.

"Here is a (gift), oh my brother and droog Hallowe'en Jack," he said in as solemn as a voice as he could muster, but with a grin that stretched from ear to ear on his face. "We decided it was time for you to look like a Diamond Dog as well as sound like one." Dice looked on happily as Jack shrugged his knapsack off, handed it to Kylie, and then slipped the fur coat on. He wrapped his arms around himself, cuddling the jacket, and nodded at Widdy in approval. "It fits like a dream, my brother."

"I helped pick it out!" Dice couldn't help exclaiming, and Widdy laughed. "It was a like joint decision, oh my brother." He rolled back to give Dice a playful tousle of hair, which made Dice scowl and lean in to prepare to scuffle.

"So," Jagger said, still smiling happily and letting his gaze drift from the content Kylie to the warm Jack to the smoking Sledge to the tussling Widdy and Dice. "Brothers! Day-viddy-widdy and No Dice Bryce, we are ittying now! You must (follow) us! To the Hole In The Wall!"

With that, Jagger took off on his skates, and the entire group of Diamond Dogs followed- Jack, Kylie, Widdy, Dice, and Sledge. As they skated as one huge pack in the direction of the Hole In The Wall, Dice took the moment to whisper conspiratorially in Jack's ear, "We are going to viddy Bog, brother! A veck the likes of whom you've never viddied in your wildest dreams!"

"The first time is always the best," Widdy said cheerfully. "Nothing can beat viddying Bog Himself for the first time and slooshying his lovely lovely music."

Jack hoped that Bog Himself could life up to the hype.

Down at the Hole In The Wall, the place was packed with people waiting to get in. Jack felt as if he was smothering among all of the bodies, and kept a firm grip on Kylie's hand. Jagger pushed the Diamond Dogs' way through the crowd, ignoring the shaking of fists, the flipping of birds, and the curses of "You Diamond Dogs! I'll get you after this!" Soon they stood at the very front of the line, and Jagger managed to sweet-talk his way into the Hole In The Wall with little trouble. Just before they went in, Jagger gathered his group of boys together and gave them a talk about staying safe, for Jack and Kylie's benefit.

"When you order a drink, which every lewdy here does, no questions asked, ask for either a Shirley Temple or an Arnold Palmer on the rocks. It will sound all like official but the drinks contain no alcohol. Of course, you will have to watch very very closely when the bartender is like mixing them to viddy if he slips any alcohol in or not. If anyone here recognizes you from shop-crasting and starts a fight, out out out, right away. We do not want to end our nochy of worship by being loveted. Above all, no one must touch the great and powerful Bog, and no one must get up on the stage with him. It is wrong to be so close to a veck like him."

"Wow," Kylie said, taking it all in. "I didn't know there would be rules to follow tonight."

Jagger smiled, showing the white gleam of his teeth. "When are there not? Come along, brothers and my sister." He pushed the door open. "Come into the Hole In The Wall!" And so Jack, not knowing what in the world he was getting himself into, walked through the door and stared in awe at the sight before him.

The Hole In The Wall, as its name would suggest, was a tiny place, with thin brick walls and a long, sloping floor that led up to a stage, just barely wide enough to fit a drum kit and amps. As soon as the Diamond Dogs caught sight of the amps and drums, they marked themselves in a fashion that Jack had used to mark himself with the cross when he had been a Christian. To the left was a bar, with each round stool packed and the counter overflowing with drinks as older men sat around, discussing their glory days on the planet Earth with anyone who would listen. The place was packed wall to wall with already-sweaty bodies.

The Diamond Dogs were naturals at navigating the place, and while Jack balked at the idea of such a daunting task, they shoved their way through the crowd until they found a spot ready to be relinquished at the front of the stage. Holding onto Kylie, Jack began to follow them, and then frowned as he was pulled back by Kylie's hand. Craning his neck around, Jack saw that Kylie had gotten her dress caught on the doorframe, in some way or another. A second later, Kylie lunged forward and Jack heard the unmistakable riiip of fabric tearing off.

"Oh, Kylie," Jack cried forlornly. "You've torn your dress!"

"So I have," she murmured, smoothing it down. "Dammit! It's not in a noticeable place, is it Jack?"

Jack stared at Kylie's body for a few moments before replying. The rip was at the very bottom of her dress, splitting it up the back, and Jack could almost see the pale, perfectly bare legs beneath… His face went hot with embarrassment immediately, and he shook his head at Kylie. "No, it's not."

"Come on, my brothers!" Sledge's voice sounded from the front of the stage. "We haven't got all nochy to stand around waiting! Come here and let's kupet some drinks."

"Kupet?" Jack stated as he moved slouchingly through the crowd, Kylie following behind him. She whipped off her black jacket and tied it around her waist to cover the tear in her dress. Sledge, Widdy, Dice, and Jagger stood waiting for them, Sledge with Widdy and Dice under his arms, who were both grinning eagerly with ecstatic energy, and Jagger with his back to the rest of the Diamond Dogs, chatting excitedly with a few other patrons of the nightclub.

Jack tapped Sledge on the arm. "Brother Sledge, I did not know we would need pretty polly to kupet our drinks."

Sledge scoffed at Jack's naivety. "We do not need any pretty polly at all! We kupet our drinks with veshches that we've crasted." To demonstrate, he sauntered up to the counter and pushed two people sitting there aside, calling out, "Bartender!"

The bartender emerged from behind the counter, wiping his hands on his apron. "What is it, young man? What can I do for you?"

"I would like to order a Shirley Temple, oh my brother," Sledge said to the man. "Leave the alcohol out of it."

The bartender nodded. "And what will you give me for it?"

In answer, Sledge reached into his pockets and fished out a bracelet made of pearls. The bartender took it with a greedy eye. "Mm, not bad, my young man. The pearls are surely fake, but no one I do trade with will know the difference." He winked at Sledge, who nodded back, once. As soon as the bartender's back was turned, Sledge motioned for Jack and Kylie to come forward. "It is very simple, oh my malenky brother and sister. All you have to do is keep a close glazzy on the bartender veck as he mixes the drinks. Occasionally he like forgets what one ordered and slips some alcohol in there anyway. If you viddy him doing this to your drink, call him out on it." Sledge patted Kylie and Jack's shoulders. "You pony, my brother and my sister? Can I leave like the two of you alone?"

"Yes, oh my brother," Jack said. "I think we've gotten it all like worked out for now." At that moment the bartender returned with Sledge's drink, and he winked and took the drink and swirled off back into the crowd of people. Jack let go of Kylie's hand in order to gain a seat at the counter. He tapped the person in the stool that Sledge had pushed aside on the shoulder. "Excuse me…"

The person turned his head in Jack's direction, and Jack recoiled in horror, choking a scream down his throat. This person was quite clearly inhuman. His eyes were deep and sunken and lacked pupils, and his face was green and covered in scales. Instead of a nose, this person had two holes above his lipless mouth, from which Jack could see small, pointed teeth gnashing together. He was wearing human-like clothes, but the hand that was wrapped around a drinking glass on the counter was no hand, instead a flipper with tiny, sharp-looking claws attached to a few points at even intervals. Just as Jack was about to back away quickly from this shocking sight, a voice rang in his ears.

"No need to be poogly, oh my brother," Jagger murmured, placing his hands on Jack's shoulders from behind. "The Hole In The Wall gets all sorts around here. This man is a Mercurian."

"I told you about them, Jack," Kylie said. "You remember?"

"Of course I remember," Jack snapped, shaking Jagger's hands off of him. Now that he had been reminded of the Mercurians, he was embarrassed by his utterly irrational fear. This man was from another planet- there was nothing about him to be afraid of. Jack was about to blurt an apology to the Mercurian, but the man had turned lazily turned his head back to his drink. If the Mercurian had had pupils, thus making it easier for Jack to read him, Jack felt he would have detected hopelessness and dejection in the way he sipped his drink.

Jagger blended back into the crowd to talk with some more friends of his, and Jack, not to be deterred by momentary fright, made his way back up to the counter and called the bartender to him. The bartender's beady eyes scrutinized Jack's face- a new customer. "Well, what'll you have?"

"An Arnold Palmer on the rocks, my brother," Jack said, and then whispered in Kylie's ear, "What would you like?"

"A Shirley Temple," she directed her order to the bartender. He leaned his elbows forward on the counter. "Well now, and what'll you give me for it?"

Jack tossed his knapsack off and searched through its contents. The newspaper article about his mysterious father was one item that simply could not leave his bag, no more than his Bowie knife could. That left nothing but the tube of sunscreen- Jack had ditched the Bible ever since his Diamond Dog friends had told him about Bog. He made a note in his head to steal more the next day, and handed the sunscreen over.

The bartender examined the tube of sunscreen with wary eyes. "Hm. Don't know what I could possibly use this for, but it'll do, I guess. And you?" he asked Kylie. With trepidation, Kylie unpinned the broach from her dress and handed it over to the bartender, who smiled at the object. "Fancy little thing, eh!" He pocketed the sunscreen and broach and went over to pour Jack and Kylie their drinks. Jack kept a close eye on the bartender, but his hand never once poured anything unknown into the glasses. As far as Jack could tell, an Arnold Palmer was made up of iced tea and some yellow liquid, and a Shirley Temple was red colored soda water, probably cherry flavored. The bartender passed the drinks to Jack and Kylie, and they clinked glasses in a toast- "To life, and to the great and powerful Bog"- before taking a sip.

Still more people filed into the Hole In The Wall, until there was absolutely no room to move. Jack and Kylie sat in silence as the voices of the people grew louder and louder, basking in the warmth of each other. Jack felt that even without the promise of Bog and a concert, he would have been completely happy to sit next to Kylie, finishing his drink and chatting casually all night. Eventually, though, the revelries had to end, or at least transition into far greater ones. "Hallowe'en Jack!" Jagger shouted above the din of the nightclub, gesticulating in his direction. "Sister Kylie! Come come come! Aladdin Sane-" Jack saw Widdy, Dice, and Sledge mouthing the name along with him- "is about the take the stage!"

"Let's go," Jack murmured, though he couldn't hear himself for the voices of the other people swirling around him, and hopped off the stool he had found himself sitting on, leaving his drink behind. He grabbed Kylie's hand and plunged into the throng of people, pushing and shoving until they had joined the Diamond Dogs at the front of the stage.

Jagger was cheering wildly, punching the air, as Jack sidled up next to him. "Do you know what this is, my brother?" he screamed in Jack's ear. "This is the greatest moment of your jeezny!"

Jack smiled fondly at Jagger and clutched Kylie's hand tighter. At once the lights of the Hole In The Wall went down, and every person within cheered ecstatically. Jagger began a chant that all of the concertgoers took up, sounding possessed- "Aladdin Sane! Aladdin Sane! ALADDIN SANE!"

In the darkness, Jack could almost feel Kylie's pulse beating through his hand. Cheers rose up from behind and around him- the concertgoers had spotted the people they had come to see. They were familiar with the routine. Jack had to strain his eyes to just barely make out the shapes of humans onstage, slipping behind the drum kit, taking up guitars in their arms. Suddenly the lights flashed back on, though not the house lights. The multicolored stage lights had turned on, bathing the backing band in white. Screams rocketed through the Hole In The Wall, so loud that Jack could barely hear it when the instrumentalists began the first song. And then Aladdin Sane, the great Bog Himself, walked out onto the stage.

Widdy and Dice fell to their knees at the sight of Bog, overcome by the gloriousness of their God. Sledge clasped his hands together and moved his lips in a silent prayer, and Jagger made the sign of the cross, or whatever the sign was, again, grinning so hard it seemed that his face would crack. Jack could only stare, forgetting the touch of Kylie's hand in his, forgetting the noise of the crowd all around him. He could only watch as Aladdin Sane, a stick-thin, pale white man with long, rusty brown hair combed behind his pointed ears, weaved his way to the microphone and clasped it in both hands, staring at the crowd as if he was about to murder someone. And then he opened his mouth and began to sing, and Jack had never heard anything like it.

Well… in retrospect, he had heard something like this before. A memory came flashing back to Jack- that first day he had spent with the Diamond Dogs, when the boys had joined hands and begun singing a song in high-pitched, wailing sort of voices. This was the song they had been singing, the wordless tune that had chilled Jack to the bone. Aladdin Sane now keened into the microphone, his voice nearly at a screeching pitch. Behind him, the drums crashed loudly, cymbals banging every few seconds, and beside him the bass throbbed and the guitar screamed away on top of his voice. The crowd surged forward as one being, so that Jack was now glued to the front of the stage, directly beneath Aladdin Sane's microphone, the noise so loud he thought his head would split open. The Diamond Dogs began to bounce up and down on their feet, and the rhythm was so infectious that Jack caught on to it and jumped along with them, Kylie bobbing up and down too as she held Jack's hand. The whole floor took to the dance and bounced right along with the front row, and a war began between the noise of the crowd and the sweet sound of music. Jack thought the song would never end.

But then, abruptly, it did end, and Aladdin Sane's voice dropped out of the song as the instruments quieted and drew to a close. For a few moments, the crowd noise was all that filled the Hole In The Wall, before Aladdin Sane, who had been leaning his head on the microphone, pulled back suddenly and yelled the first words Jack had heard him speak. "This ain't rock and roll! THIS IS GENOCIDE!"

The audience cheered loudly in response to Aladdin Sane's words, seemingly overjoyed, though Jack didn't think the word "genocide" invited such happiness. The drums began a beat, and for a few moments there was nothing but drums before the guitar, bass, and vocals came crashing back into a more upbeat tune, and Aladdin Sane sang as if he was in anguish and his life depended on it.

The words sung by Aladdin Sane were at once familiar and unfamiliar to Jack. Sprinkled here and there were a few words in the Earthly language that Jack and all the other humans he knew personally spoke, but they were few and far apart and ultimately served no purpose in the song's meaning. The bulk of the words were, to Jack's slight surprise, all nadsat-talk, more words in that language than even the Diamond Dogs spoke. Aladdin Sane also pronounced the words differently than the Diamond Dogs did, with an accent that suggested he was a native speaker. Language of Bog, indeed- Jack could barely understand the lyrics of the song, although he had been speaking nadsat-talk for about a month now.

Not that the lyrics mattered in the least, however. What was important about the music of Aladdin Sane was the overall feel and sound of it- the banging drums, the whining guitar, and deep thrums of the bass, and of course Aladdin Sane's powerful, desperate vocals, overpowering everything else. Jack didn't care what the hell he was singing about, as long as it continued to sound just as amazing.

Gladly, the rest of the night did not disappoint. Jack, Kylie, the rest of the Diamond Dogs, the alcohol-addled Mercurians, all of the other members of the audience, and even the bartender kept on their feet, shouting and clapping and leaping up and down throughout the rest of the night. Bottles of beer were passed through the crowd (though none of the Diamond Dogs nor Kylie partook in it), rousing them even more. Jack felt as if the entire congregation of the nightclub had become one entity, breathing and moving as one. Concertgoers were slammed against the sweat-dripping walls, but none of them complained, only cried out in ecstasy as if the hard touch of the brick was a loving embrace.

For Aladdin Sane's part, he never once acknowledged the rowdy crowd, though his bandmates gave them smiles and nods several times. His eyes were glazed and seemed more interested in staring at the wall behind his fans than at the fans themselves. The way he moved onstage was like a man possessed; he cradled the microphone to him, held onto it as if it was his lifeline, twisted under the force of imaginary blows. To Jack, it seemed that Aladdin Sane was trying to ward off demons with his singing, and knew it was failing. At one point, the man pressed the microphone so close to his face that his lips were centimeters away from kissing it, and he howled the only other line in the Earthly language that Jack would hear him sing that night- "Will you see that I'm scared and I'm lonely?!" The microphone did not take kindly to this mistreatment, giving a loud blast of feedback, but the audience raved in response.

Only once that night did Aladdin Sane's eyes latch onto anything other than the wall at the far end of the nightclub. As a song was cooling off and Jack was slowing down in his dance, breathing hard, Aladdin Sane, who had sunk to his knees on the stage with his spindly fingers still coiled around the microphone stand, leaned over the audience and swung his open, unseeing eyes towards Jack's face. Jack felt his heart flutter again as he stared into Aladdin Sane's eyes and the man seemed to acknowledge him for the first time. It was dusky in the nightclub, but Jack could tell that Aladdin Sane's eyes were blue, just like his and just like his father's. His father's… Jack was struck by a shocked feeling as Aladdin Sane straightened back up and took up the microphone once again for the next song. He paid close attention to Aladdin Sane's body, watching as he moved. The gauntness… the ears that came to delicate points… the skin as pale as chalk… It all suddenly added up in Jack's mind. This man was of the same race as his father's. He was no human, but from the same planet that Jack's father was from.

For a moment a ludicrous idea passed through Jack's mind… but he saw Aladdin Sane's eyes in his mind's eye, and both pupils had been dilated to the normal size. The telltale mark was not there.

The concert continued far into the night, until Jack began to feel that it would never end. For the moment, he couldn't care less. He had seen Bog and lived to tell the tale. He and his friends were in their place of worship. The night was still young, and Jack could stay out as long as he wished. He never wanted to go home again.

All good things must come to an end eventually, however. The longest song of the night was also the last, and the enigma that had been Aladdin Sane was the first to leave the stage, as many concertgoers screamed and booed, wanting their messiah to get back where he belonged. The backing band wrapped up the song quickly and left, and all at once the motion of the crowd split up and became erratic again, one turning back into many. Jack's first instinct was to look at Kylie. He could barely speak, for he had been yelling so joyously that his throat was now rubbed raw, and had to clear his throat a few times before he could make his voice heard. "Did you like it?"

She turned towards him, and Jack was struck by the sight of twin black lines of mascara and eye shadow running from each eye. Kylie had been crying. For what reason? Alarmed, Jack covered his emotion by laughing at Kylie and declaring, "Your face is a mess!"

Kylie rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Yes, because that's what every girl wants to hear," her voice just as rough as Jack's was. She raised a hand to her face and turned away from Jack, wiping her eyes. It was obvious that she was embarrassed to have been caught crying, but somehow it made her even more beautiful to Jack when her makeup was smeared. He put an arm around Kylie, and she didn't move away. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Kylie breathed. "A little tired. You wanna get out of here and head over to my place? You could meet my parents… have some of your questions answered."

Jack mustered up the energy to shake his head and murmur, "I don't know…" Aladdin Sane's face was still fresh in his mind and, now that the driving music wasn't crowding his head, Jack could think more clearly about his revelation. This man had not looked human, and he had resembled Jack's father so much that they were obviously from the same planet. Seeing another one of Jack's kind had proved to him, at last, that he was not human, and his father hadn't been either.

The only questions that still lingered in Jack's mind were why would his mother not tell him something so important, and what did Kylie's parents have to do with his father? What did they know that Jack didn't? Of course, Jack knew so little about his father- up until that day he hadn't even known he was from another planet- that even the most trivial information was important to Jack. He would have loved to go along with Kylie and meet her parents and find out all he could about his mysterious father. But on the other hand, it was later than Jack had realized, and he was getting tired, and didn't want to speak to Kylie's parents when his entire mind wasn't into it.

Besides, there was something else that Jack had in mind to do for the rest of the night. He just needed Kylie to agree to it.

The Diamond Dogs broke in on Jack's contemplation, laughing and cheering and singing all at once. "Oh my brother Hallowe'en Jack and my sister Kylie!" Jagger cried out, rushing up through the bodies of exiting concertgoers to stick his face directly into Jack's. Behind him, Dice and Widdy stood with arms locked together, wearing shaken but weary smiles, and even Sledge had a faint grin on his face as he wiped sweat away. Seeing the gleaming faces of the Diamond Dogs made Jack aware of his own heat, and he removed the stifling fur coat that Widdy had given him and tied it around his waist as he had seen Kylie do.

"Was that not the most incredible, horrorshow veshch you have ever viddied in all your jeezny, oh my brother and my sister?" Jagger cried, slapping Jack and Kylie on the shoulder. Jack nodded, returning the smile, and Kylie shrugged, though her face lit up as well. Jagger let go and cheered once again, as if trying to incite the revelries to begin again. "Nothing in the world is greater than viddying and slooshying the great and powerful Bog! No veck on this planet is greater than-"

"Aladdin Sane," Widdy, Dice, Sledge, Jack, and Kylie chorused. Jagger shot them a knowing smile. "I viddy that you have like learned, my brother and my sister."

"Yes," Jack said as the crowd continued to disperse around them. "Oh my brother Jagger, I thank you very much for taking me and Kylie here. It was…" He fumbled for an adjective stronger than "horrorshow." "It was amazing."

"I loved it," Kylie said quietly, still smiling softly.

"What are we doing after this?" Jack asked Jagger, hoping he wouldn't have any clear idea. For Jack's sake, he didn't.

"Oh, I was thinking of having a bit more ultraviolence, oh my brother. Shop-crasting and picking up devotchkas to give the old in-out-in-out and such veshches like that. Or we should get some spatchka. I know you must be tired, Hallowe'en Jack, after viddying such a horrorshow concert."

"Aw, let's not like retire for the nochy, brothers," Sledge said. "Tomorrow we will not be doing much of anything, and so we must find a way to like cram everything ultraviolent in this nochy!"

"Actually, I am a malenky bit tired, my droog Jagger," Jack said. "I would like to itty off to my domy." Then, quickly before Jagger could turn away, Jack unwrapped his arm from around Kylie's shoulders and whispered in Jagger's ear. "Jagger. Where is the basement that you took those sharps to lubbilub with them? I must know right away."

Jagger didn't seem surprised to hear Jack's inquiry, and the corners of his mouth turned up, deepened into a filthy smile. "It is located right next to the mesto known as the Temperance Building. The building was condemned, and all that like remains is its basement. It is perfect for the old in-out-in-out."

"Thank you," Jack said, leaning away, and Jagger gave a subtle nod in Kylie's direction, raising his eyebrows. Jack nodded back and then took Kylie by the hand. "Come on, Kylie. We're ittying off."

"Goodbye, Hallowe'en Jack!" the Diamond Dogs called behind as Jack and Kylie took off, and Jack could hear Jagger saying, "Come along with me, oh my brothers. Out out out! The nochy may not be molodoy, but we have a few hours left before dawn!"

Out on the streets, Jack and Kylie skated through overflows of people, silently watching and taking it all in. Neither of them discussed the concert, which was fine with Jack- he wanted a moment alone to be able to sort everything out. He slowly removed his gaze from the people on the streets and looked over at Kylie, absorbing the curve of her jaw, the rounded shape of her nose, the firm set of her mouth… Suddenly Kylie turned her head to look at Jack, and he nearly jumped, startled.

"We're going to my home, right?" she asked. "Are you allowed to stay up this late?"

"Yes…" Jack said carefully, choosing his words with precision. He needed to break his idea gently to her, let her know in as casual a way as possible that he had no intention of going to her place that night. "Kylie, there's something I wanted to show you first, before we go anywhere. Will you come with me?"

"Sure," Kylie said, her eyes flickering about a bit warily, "as long as I get home in time. Take me there." They rolled off into the night, Jack's heart thudding with nervous excitement. He was both eager and apprehensive about the step he was going to take, but he needed to know by the end of the night what Kylie really meant to him, and this was the only way to find out.

They made it to the Temperance Building after a few blocks, located in the more quiet part of the city. No one would notice them here, as opposed to down by the Club and the Hole In The Wall, where all eyes were watching everyone. Jack felt tension in Kylie's hand as she gripped his, and then his heart soared with the sight of the basement, right where Jagger had said it would be. Jack led Kylie over to the basement of the condemned building and opened the door, taking her down the winding steps into the dark.

It's safe in the city to love in a doorway, Jack thought as he looked back at the small sliver of light peeking into the basement. At his side, he could feel Kylie shuddering, and squeezed her hand. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she shrugged off his concerns. "What are we doing here?"

Jack spun in front of Kylie and took both of her hands in his. He had to trust that she was looking at him, for it was too dark down in the basement to see anything. "Kylie. I… I want to make love to you. Right here."

There was a silence, and then Kylie ripped her hands out of Jack's hands. Stunned, Jack nearly took a step back, but regained his composure.

"Please, Kylie," he said before she could speak a word. "I still don't know quite how I feel about you, and I think this is the only way to find out. Kissing only makes me more confused. I need to feel you."

"I- I don't know if I can do this," Kylie spoke, darkness shadowing her words. "I mean, I was supposed to come home tonight… My parents are waiting for me…"

Hearing Kylie shy away from the topic, Jack reached out in an attempt to grab her hands again, but his fingers clutched on air. "Please," he repeated. "Your parents can wait. Don't you want to be a rebel, Kylie?" But even as he asked her, the sharp words of his mother came back- "No girl is a true rebel."

"Don't you want to defy your parents' rules?" Even as Jack spoke, he could feel Kylie slipping away from him, her resolve hardening.

"Jack…" Her voice came out uncertainly in the dark. "Have you been very close with your mother recently?"

Jack shook his head, realized that Kylie wouldn't be able to see him, and answered in a sure voice. "No."

Kylie's voice took on a chiding, soothing tone of a mother lightly chastising her child. "Go home, Jack. Talk to your mother and make up with her. Leave your dreams of intimacy for another day and another person."

"But there's only one person I want to have, and that's you, Kylie," Jack pleaded. "Honestly, I don't care about going home. I don't care about my mother. I just want to know how I feel about you by tonight."

The pause that followed was so long that Jack nearly began to wonder if Kylie had moved silently and left him all alone in the dark. But then her comforting voice returned, speaking of surrender.

"All right," she said, sighing. "I'll let you make love to me. But I don't want our friendship to be any more… beneficial than that. You need to figure out who you are, Jack, and if sleeping with me helps that, I'll gladly participate."

Soft hands came to touch Jack's wrists, and a pair of lips brushed against his cheek. He moved and took her mouth in his, kissing her gently. His hands came to the back of Kylie's dress and unzipped it.

"If you don't want me to do this… if I hurt you… please tell me," Jack said, suddenly aware of his inexperience. Neither he nor Kylie had ever had sex with anyone before.

"It's okay," Kylie said. "I want to find out how I feel myself. And I trust you."

The dress slid to the floor.

What followed was a loose tangle of arms and legs moving in a jerky rhythm on the mattress. Jack was clumsy and hesitant, and it took him much longer than it should have to figure everything out ("Is it in yet?" "Well, shouldn't you be able to tell?" "Damn, Jack, are you sure it's supposed to hurt like this?" "How should I know? I've never done this before!"), but at last the enormous pleasure that everyone spoke about took hold of him, and he let out an involuntary groan as he emptied himself into Kylie. Kylie squeaked once and then sighed silently, her body loosening. Beneath him, Jack marveled at the way Kylie's muscles contracted, locking him tighter inside of her. And then, after a few blissful seconds, it was over. Jack slid out of Kylie, a warm feeling stealing over his bones, and lay down beside her, taking her hand and raising it to his lips.

"I love you, Kylie," he said quietly, the first words spoken since they had begun.

"I like you, Jack," she answered.

Jack frowned, wondering if she was serious or if she was just playing with him. Kylie said quickly-

"I don't want this to ruin our friendship, you know. No matter what happened tonight, I still want to be best friends."

"We are best friends," Jack said. "Nothing can change that."

She hummed once and let Jack pull her close to him. Their exhausted eyes fell closed, and the two friends-turned-lovers slept until morning broke.