The Face You Hide

Angel fumed silently at the report on his desk. Why couldn't they relay such urgent news to him immediately instead of waiting until they dotted every 'i' and crossed every 't'? He would have liked having it while he had everyone gathered together. He started scanning the document, mumbling the pertinent phrases out loud as he read.

"Subject left around 8:00 p.m. Met with twelve other persons." A coven? In light of the knowledge that a major spell was about to be cast, it seemed likely. "Target subject one of twelve other persons at meeting. Now maintaining surveillance on target." Angel felt a nasty grin coming on. Got you now, Ethan, he thought. You're not getting out of this one.

&&&&&&&

It was a smaller, out of the way museum, but interesting for all that. Between his own restlessness with the approach of the blue moon, and that the twins were just naturally little bundles of pure energy, Oz had felt motivated to get them all out of the apartment for a while. Just not the great out of doors. Both because of the wolf and the relentless California sunshine.

The children were a few paces ahead of him, and from the looks of them, carrying on a conversation that only they could hear. They'd already learned not to speak too freely in front of strangers. They had just wound up in a corridor end alcove, looking at a suit of Conquistador's armor, when someone else joined them.

&&&&&&&

What to do, what to do. Ethan was brimming over with nervous energy, even more so than usual, and he was out walking some of it off. He had nothing in particular on his mind, save the coming of the blue moon, and the culmination of his plans, when he saw the young man and children again. They went into a small museum, and Ethan followed. He still wanted to get a better look at the man, just to confirm his suspicions.

He tried hanging back a bit, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. The place was too out of the way for there to be many people there. Not one of the mainstream tourist attractions. With each glimpse he managed to steal, he was sure the man was the same one. But there was something about those children that bothered him. There was some almost otherworldly quality about them that was noticeable even at a distance. And there was something about the little boy's looks that struck a fleetingly familiar chord as well. Ethan continued to follow them, until he found that he'd followed too far to stay inconspicuous. Right into a hallway that dead-ended in an alcove.

&&&&&&&&&

Lorne was only tenuously connected as far as work was concerned. His mind was running riot with thoughts of what to wear that night. He mentally went through his large, garish wardrobe. The plum pinstripe suit, he decided, with the ochre shirt and the lime green tie. And a little gift for the lady might not come amiss. Candy, once a standard was now out of it. Too many people on diets, or with allergies, or whatever. Flowers, that ought to do it. No one could object to flowers, and he had yet to meet a woman who had a problem with accepting a bouquet of flowers. Or maybe a potted arrangement. Something that would be around for a while to remind her of him. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He'd have to stop by the florist's on his way home to shower and change. He was in a better mood than he'd been in for a long time. So good, he just couldn't keep it in. "Steppin' out, with my baby..,"

&&&&&&&

Wesley was starting to feel decidedly hollow, and was seriously considering breaking for lunch. He glanced at his list. Just one more as far as the fa's were concerned. Might as well go over it and then start with the next bit. Faznair demon. He started reading up on it. Then, on the spell which summoned it. And suddenly lunch was forgotten completely. He'd found it. The spell that needed Angel's blood and to be performed at the blue moon. He'd found it.

&&&&&&&&

"Oz." Ariel tugged at his pants leg, trying to get his attention. "He's here."

Oz didn't even bother to ask who 'he' was. Ethan Rayne. He turned and saw the man at the end of the corridor, trying to look nonchalant, as if he'd just happened to be there. Which Oz kind of doubted. He could smell the fear on him for one thing. It wasn't the sharp scent of strong survival related fear. It was probably just the fear of discovery. He must have been trailing them. For how long, who knows. But now, he had them cornered, and seemed to find the position almost as untenable as Oz did.

"He's sure now, Oz," Alaric stated. "He knows he saw you in Sunnydale. But he doesn't know what you are."

"Talkative little devils, aren't they?" Ethan observed casually. Since his experience with children was of the slightest, he didn't realize just what a mouthful he'd just said.

Oz held out his hands, trying to get the message across to the twins to stay behind him. If there was trouble, and he had a strong feeling that there was going to be, then he didn't want them in the middle of it.

But the twins, usually pretty quick to pick up on such things ignored the hint and calmly walked in front of Oz, skillfully eluding his restraining hands.

"Go 'way," Alaric demanded.

"Children should be seen and not heard," Ethan remarked. "Perhaps I ought to give you a hiding to get the point across."

"You won't touch them." Oz' voice took on a throaty, gravelly, almost growling quality. Anger was good for bringing the wolf to the surface. "You ought to listen to them. You really ought to go."

"And I'm supposed to be afraid of someone that hides behind tiny babes?" Ethan scoffed. "I don't trust you not to interfere with my plans, just because of who you used to associate with. You sir, are a liability I can ill afford."

Oz started growing fur and fangs, and was helpless to stop the transformation. He didn't have the luxury to stop and meditate.

"You leave him alone," Ariel ordered. Both children stood together, and right there, two pairs of eyes, blue and gray turned yellow. Fangs appeared and the pretty little faces wrinkled into hideous masks.

Ethan paled. The werewolf was a surprise, but not a shock. But the children. Child vampires? He forgot about everything and started backing away. The half-wolf, for Oz had somehow miraculously stopped the change in between stages and the two tiny vamps started advancing on him. He turned and ran for his life.

&&&&&&&

Wesley had rushed right to Angel's office with his discovery and Angel had immediately called another meeting. Rose had arrived with Wesley, half-dragged there by him. Spike, having the furthest to go, and being the last notified, was the last to arrive.

Wesley quickly filled them in on what he had found. Rose had her nose stuck in a book, looking for further details and supplying them as necessary. Angel gave them the ops report and saw Spike sitting there with a smirk on his face. He already knew. The son of a bitch already knew and hadn't made sure he'd gotten the information as soon as it reached the law firm.

"Spike." Voice deliberately calm and controlled. "You run ops. You know how important this information is. So why didn't you see that I got it immediately?"

Spike shrugged. "Didn't see that you could do anything with it, so why put a rush job on it?" he remarked. "And the lads are keeping Rayne in sight. That's all you really need to know at this point. One phone call can tell you where he is."

As if on cue, Angel's cell phone rang. He picked it up, and after the initial 'hello' merely stood there and listened. Finally, he said, "Stay where you are. I'll have an escort for you in a couple of minutes, Oz." He handed the phone to Spike. "Call your men. Have one or two of them follow Oz and the kids back here."

"What happened?" Rose paled noticeably. "Are my babies all right?"

"They're fine, Rose," Angel soothed. "But Oz and the kids ran into Ethan Rayne. Or maybe Ethan even planned it. But I want some security for them."

Spike had taken the phone, punched in a number and was barking out orders, rife with profanity. Once he finished, he turned back to Angel, tossing him the cell phone. "All right, ponce, you want to fill us in on what happened?"

"I think it had better wait until Oz and the kids get here," Angel replied. "I think we're going to need to hear it directly from the source." He sat down behind his desk, looking.., stunned.

&&&&&&

It had taken several minutes of meditation for Oz to banish the wolf. When he got back to what he thought of as reality, the children were hovering over him. They were still wearing game faces.

"I think it's okay for you to go back to normal," Oz told them. "He's gone now."

"We can't," Ariel wailed. "We've tried and tried, but we can't."

"Are we gonna look like this forever?" Alaric demanded. "'Cause it's ugly, and I don't want to look like this."

"Let's try something," Oz suggested. "Sit down here by me." And carefully, step by step, he taught them the basics of meditation, joining them and helping them along. And after a few moments, the stress levels reduced drastically, and the twins were once again their usual adorable selves.

That done, Oz pulled out the cell phone that Angel had insisted on issuing him for emergencies, and hit the speed dial button for Angel's cell. He probably ought to know about this.

&&&&&&&

The whole group in Angel's office had come down with a raging case of the fidgets. Spike, one minute sitting next to Rose, holding her hand and trying to be a comfort to her, and the next, practically climbing the walls.

Gunn and Lorne kept almost running into each other as they paced.

Wesley kept going over the spell and making notes, keeping busy, trying to keep himself oblivious to what was going on around him.

Fred, who was on Rose's other side, the one that Spike wasn't frequenting on an occasional basis, finally reached out and took one of Rose's hands in hers, just to keep Rose from twisting them round and round until she thought she'd go crazy just watching.

Angel fiddled with this and that on his desk. Papers, phone, paper clips, whatever was within his reach. He reflected that he and Spike had missed their sparring session for the day, and he was actually sorry he'd missed it. Maybe after. He could certainly use the opportunity to release some of the nervous energy. Get rid of the tension before it blew the top of his head off as it felt like it was threatening to do.

&&&&&&

When Oz and the children arrived, Rose flew from her seat like a bolt from a crossbow and had her children in her arms. Despite Angel's reassurances, she been so worried about her darlings, and just had to make sure all was well with them. Spike joined them, and the family group stood there in a tight knot for several minutes without an audible word passing between them. Finally, Spike and Rose resumed their seats, a child apiece on their laps.

"You still have a couple of guys watching Ethan Rayne, don't you?" Angel asked Spike.

"'Course," Spike answered, stroking his little girl's hair. "Had most of them out there anyway. They haven't been getting much action lately. Thought it would be good practice for them. Especially the newer ones that haven't done much field work yet."

"Oz turned into a wolf," Alaric stated. He seemed incredibly smug that he'd gotten what he'd wanted from the first moment he'd known Oz' secret. Well, mostly.

"Just part way," Ariel corrected him.

"Is that what sent Ethan Rayne running like a bat out of hell?" Angel asked, and received a stern look from Rose for swearing in front of the children.

"I think the kids scared him more than I did," Oz remarked thoughtfully. "He didn't seem too fazed by the whole thing until they vamped out."

"They what?" The whole group, in perfect chorus.

"They've never done that before," Rose said. "Are you sure, Oz?" Even as she said it, she realized it was a foolish question. There was no mistaking a vampire when one showed its true face.

"We had scary, ugly faces," Ariel said.

"We couldn't get our real faces back till Oz helped us," Alaric added.

"Is there something wrong with us?" Ariel said pleadingly. Despite the fact that the twins knew that three people close to them were vampires, they had never seen one of them with anything but their human visages.

"Of course there isn't sweetie," Spike said soothingly. "That's what vampires do." He and Angel exchanged glances, and he handed his daughter over to Lorne, sitting nearby. He went and stood by Angel. "Harm?" For Harmony had followed the trio in.

"Just watch, darlings," Rose said softly. She'd seen it before, but still found it disconcerting. How much more so could it be for her children who didn't even have a clue about what was going on?

And all three adult vampires suddenly went all wrinkly faced. The children gazed at them in awe for a few moments, then breathed a sigh of relief when the faces they were accustomed to returned. That made everything all right.