Chapter 5

The Following Takes Place Between 4 AM And 5 AM on the Autumnal Equinox.

Despite the immediate danger of the moment, despite the level of the threat, after recovering from the shock of seeing one of her classmates involved in this, Willow's first reaction was to laugh. Harmony responsible for bringing about the endtimes? She had never been very threatening when she was alive, and even after she had died she had been so lousy a vampire that, though she had many opportunities, Buffy hadn't bothered to stake her.

Gunn, who had met Harmony once and hadn't been very impressed, seemed equally amused. "Maybe we've been worrying over nothing. She doesn't even make a decent vamp. What the hell could she do now?"

Seemingly unaware of the humor she was generating not ten feet away, Harmony began to speak. "Hello everybody. I'd like to thank you all for coming. This is a big night and all of you coming makes it even more special."

The crowd (who couldn't have known Harmony long if they believed this) cheered for a few seconds before Harmony signaled for quiet again. "Tonight's a real big night for the planet and for all of us. A great change is coming and we're going to build a bridge into the twenty-first century for it to cross."

Willow winced as Harmony continued to mangle the English language.

"Now some really big things are going to happen soon. You've all done a really super job with the blood and these centa-- penta-- these evil circles." Again cheers. "As Tiffany said, we're almost ready to start the Disney-topia…." Tiffany whispered in her ear. "…dysoniptia, but there's still one more thing we have to do." Suddenly Harmony's face shifted from human to demon. "And that's grab the witch that thinks she's going to stop it!"

Willow looked around and suddenly found that she was pretty well surrounded, and though they weren't demons they were trouble enough.

"Oh crap,"

4:03:45 --- 4:03:46 --- 4:03:47

Now that the opportunity Faith had been waiting for had arrived, she was uncertain how to proceed. She had expected that, after they had received the Stone, the three of them would leave the warehouse. Instead Justine, Kevin and whoever this third guy was had begun to argue .

"You said that once we find this stone, it would ensure that we would get Angelus." Justine seemed very pissed.

"I said no such thing, Miss Cooper." The thirtyish man in a three-piece suit who had come bearing the stone spoke as if talking to a child throwing a tantrum. "I said that the Stone would help us obtain the vampire with a soul."

"That's him. How many vampires with souls are there?" Justine was getting more and more agitated.

"One more than you think, Miss Cooper." He made a calming gesture. "Patience. What we are doing will ensure the involvement of Angelus. This is so big that he will not be able to ignore it."

He looked at her. "Besides I thought that you were in this for more than petty revenge."

Justine swallowed. "You know my reasons and my loyalties. I don't have to justify them to you."

"As you know mine." He walked over to Justine. "Now its time that we get moving. We have to meet with the others if we are going to pull this off."

This was going to be a problem. Faith speed-dialed Andrew.

He picked up after one ring. "Faith. Is the Stone of Meligan there?"

"Yeah. Only it's not just any stone. It's one we've seen before."

"Where?"

"Around Spike's neck." There was a pause.

"I thought that was buried underneath the Hellmouth." Andrew seemed unsure. "How could somebody spend that much time and energy--"

"Let's worry about how they got it when we've got it."

Andrew gathered himself. "All right. How many of them are there?"

"Three. Two men, one woman." She paused. "Who's Justine Cooper?"

"According to Fred, she was the woman who slit Wes' throat and left him for dead then helped put Angel twenty thousand leagues under the sea."

Faith had known the story of Holtz and the men and women he had assembled to fight Angel. Justine's name had never been mentioned. "I'd say she is severely due for an ass-kicking."

"You need back up?"

Faith thought it over for a few seconds. "Give me five minutes, then get over here." She looked at the three of them. "I don't think this will take very long." She hung up.

Faith gathered herself, then began running towards the broken window. Five feet away, she jumped--

--and entered the warehouse in a wave of broken glass. The two men whirled around, surprised. Justine, however, seemed perfectly calm. "You do know that the door was open?" she said.

Faith got to her feet. "I always prefer a dramatic entrance."

"Let me guess," said the older man. "You're one of those vampire slayers."

Faith did a mock bow. "Got it in one. For double points, what do I want from you?"

"Wild guess: you want this?' He held up the pink bauble.

"You are sharp."

Justine stepped forward. "Not gonna happen, bitch."

Faith turned toward her. "Of course. Girl like you never runs from a fight. Little warning though. I'm a Slayer. That means I'm better, stronger, faster. That means I'm going to beat you." She was now just a few feet from Justine. "Doesn't have to be this way."

Faith sensed rather than saw Justine move. She dodged and threw a punch that should have knocked her down.

Justine dodged it and delivered a blow that stunned Faith much more then it hurt her. "I think it does."

And in the three seconds that passed before they truly began to fight, Faith realized that she had made a major miscalculation.

One that might kill her.

4:11:42 --- 4:11:43 --- 4:11:44 --- 4:11:45

Even as Buffy battled the vampires, she couldn't help wonder what on earth was up with this particular group of the undead. First they had put up a rather vigorous defense of their home, now they had the cunning to climb up into the ceiling and wait? The only time vamps showed brains was when they were led by someone who HAD some-- and those had been few and far between. The fact that there might be some new vamp with intelligence leading this batch of the undead bothered her a great deal more than she wanted to let on.

That did not stop her from dusting three of the six vampires that had been hiding in the ceiling with only a modest amount of trouble, but she was still concerned. They needed more information and they needed it before they got in any deeper.

She whirled around to Patrice who was about to take out the last vampire. "Hold it!"

Patrice stopped a split second before she brought the stake down. She looked questioningly as the woman who, for all the changes of the last few months, still was a leader.

"What?"

"Don't you remember that we've got a lot of questions about today?" She walked right up to him. "And just like at Radio Shack, I bet he's got answers."

The vampire looked up and fixed Buffy with a defiant and unafraid look. "You may do what you will with me, but you will learn nothing."

"Of course because you cult-undead all have this big fanatic streak," said Buffy.

The vamp laughed. There was arrogance in it. "You're the One." Buffy must have looked confused because he added. "The One from whom the many drew their power. The One who tried to stop the Source."

"If you're talking about me and the First, then yes, Morpheus, I am the one."

"You mock me. You think that you and your puny team can stop what's going to happen today." The vamp gave a smile that Buffy didn't like at all. "You will fail. You will watch as your friends fall to us. Nothing will stand in our way as we march across the Earth," he sneered. "Not you, not them, not even the sun. We will be triumphant."

Then in a motion that was so fast that none of them had any time to react, the vamp seized the stake from Patrice. Before Buffy could do more than shout "Stop!" he had driven it into his own chest. Even as he disintegrated he looked triumphant.

"Damn it!" Buffy slammed her fist into the wall hard enough to crack the plaster.

"What do we do now?" asked Xander, his normal humor subdued by what she had just seen.

And it occurred to her. "They've got something hidden here." She looked around. "Something worth dying for."

4:15:24 --- 4:15:25 --- 4:15:26

Even after they arrived at Griffith Park, Wesley still wasn't sure how they were going to find the man they were looking for. Located as close as it was to the Hollywood there weren't a great many houses, and those that were weren't the kind of places that you could walk up to the door and ring the bell, especially at this hour. Furthermore, the park itself was such a popular area that there were a lot of people, dead and living, who hung out there. With no obvious clues and only a very general description, finding this Harvey fellow would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Indeed, they probably would never have found their lead had they not run across a vamp trying to accost a young woman. Angel pulled the vampire off her while Wesley headed for the girl.

"Thanks a lot mister. " she said as he helped her to her feet. She was a dirty blonde in her thirties trying to look younger and not doing a very good job at it. "I don't know what the fuck was up with that weirdo. My pepper spray didn't do jack shit to him."

"He just attacked you?'

"No, the crazy son-of-a-bitch asked me if I would open a vein. I told him I don't do that shit for less than two hundred and he morphs on me."

"So you're a--"

"--working girl." she said without any tone at all. " Are you shocked?"

As recently as two years ago, if Wesley had been in a similar situation he would have begun to bumble along, muttering and ringing his hands. Now he just coolly said: "You do what you have to do."

The lady of the night looked him over. "Man, you English types can be so damn cool and condescending."

That got Wesley's attention in a hurry. "You have a lot of British clients?" Seeing the woman look at him, he said: "I'm not a cop."

"I know you're not. Cops just want to fuck me, not ask me questions."

"Do you have any British clients?" he asked firmly.

The woman stared at him for a moment. Finally she said: "Every couple of days this English john shows up asking to get washed and dry cleaned. "

"What's his name?'

"Yeah cause they always confide in us."

Wesley stared at her.

"He calls himself Lord Hawkins. Old guy, early forties, black hair. Says he's in the demolition business."

"You have any idea where he lives?" When she fixed him with a look of her own, he said: "He owes me money."

She looked at him for a while and then shrugged. "He says he's doing a project at the Hollywood Bowl. Something earth-shaking was how he put it." As he got up to leave, she said: "You know, you look like you could use to let of some steam. When you're finished with him, maybe we could…" She made a gesture that left little to the imagination.

He turned back to her: "Thanks for offering, but I've had enough dark sex to last me a lifetime." And without waiting for her reaction, he left to find Angel.

4:23:29 --- 4:23:30 --- 4:23:31--- 4:23:32

After Faith's call Andrew quickly gathered his nerve and drove until he was right on top of the warehouse. Mere seconds after he got there two cars burst out of the area around back and pulled away. The warehouse door was left open and he could Faith in the midst of a battle royal with Justine. His first instinct was to get out and help her, but then it hit him that the people who had just left probably were taking the Stone of Meligan to whoever else was involved in this plot. And while he would be at a disadvantage in a close fight, he could actually do some good if he found the jewel.

Saying a silent prayer that he didn't dent it, he pulled Angel's car away from the warehouse and started driving in the direction of the other cars. Then as soon as he had one of them in sight-- a beat up old Citroen that even at its top speed was not going very fast-- he hit the speed dial on his phone.

Before the voice on his cell could say more then "Ain—" he began speaking rapidly. "This is Andrew. I'm driving…" he tried to figure out which way he was going and then gave up "…down Woodman Avenue. I am chasing a yellow Citroen heading towards… " He looked at a street sign as he drove past "…Victory Boulevard. I need you to get whatever back up is closest to intercept me. Understand?"

There was a moment of silence. "What color was the car?" a strange voice said.

Andrew would have thrown up his hands in frustration (and probably crashed) except a few seconds later the Citroen began spitting out black fumes and slowing down. "Praise the Lord," he said pulling back so that he wouldn't run into this idiot before he got some questions answered.

The car finally stopped. Andrew reached under the dashboard, wishing that he had a "noisy cricket" but settling for the crossbow that was there. Gathering his nerve he stepped out of the car.

The driver of the Citroen had locked himself in his car. Andrew walked around to the front, raised the bow to chest level and, in his best Peter Weller-as-Robocop voice said: "Step out of the car".

The man-- who looked like he was Andrew's age at the oldest-- considered for a few seconds and then very slowly got out of the car. When he made a move as if he was going to bolt Andrew raised the crossbow and, hoping the young man didn't see his hands tremble, said: "If you want to die by all means start running."

The young man looked at him. "Who are you working with?"

"You're my prisoner; I ask the questions." Andrew said in his best Fox Mulder voice. "What's your name?"

"Kevin. Kevin Isaacson."

"Where is the stone?"

Kevin paused, considered his options, then spoke. "The other guy's got it."

"What's his name?"

"He calls himself Saint John. I don't know if that's his real name."

Suddenly another piece of the puzzle clicked. "You met him on-line." he said. "He used the screen name Rev68."

Kevin looked alarmed. "How…how the hell did you know that?"

He told Kevin the one thing that he remembered from the Religion class he'd taken at college. "John wrote the Book of Revelation." He then shook his head and brought himself back to the present. "Where did this Saint say that he was taking the Stone?"

"I…I don't…"

At that exact moment Andrew accidentally brushed the trigger on the crossbow. The bolt shot through the air and hit the pavement a foot away from him. His near-miss rattled Kevin. "He said that he was taking it to Hollywood. Down to Laurel Canyon."

Andrew considered this for a second and then began to walk towards the car. He had to get the information to the others but he had to handle a more pressing problem first--

How to call for back up and get help without lowering the crossbow.

4:31:28 --- 4:31:29 --- 4:31:30

To say that Wolfram & Hart was a beehive of activity was to overestimate the activity of beehives. Every few minutes some new information kept coming in and everybody had to readjust.

The first problem had come when they had learned that not only had the forces of evil beat them to the Band of Tarquin, but that Robin and Giles were temporarily off the boards.

Less than an hour later Fred had gotten information from Charles that topped that. Harmony was part of the cabal that was responsible for the raisings, which wasn't a problem. Willow had been taken prisoner, which was bad, and for some reason she hadn't been able to use her magic to free herself, which was worse. Gunn had spent the better part of twenty minute running after a car that he had thought had held Willow only to find that it had been a wild goose chase. He was retracing his steps but thought that it was fifty/fifty that Willow was still alive.

This was a problem of such a level that Fred would have had to mobilize a team to try and find her. But then they learned of a bigger problem when Andrew called in and told them what the Stone of Meligan was and that it was gone. That had come as a huge shock to Fred for many reasons but it was Andrew who asked the right question: "Why would something that helped save the world play a role in destroying it?"

"I have no idea." Fred thought for a moment. "But, then, Wolfram & Hart devices can have more than one purpose."

"Are we any closer to figuring out what else the Stone does?"

"I don't know. Let me check." Fred walked over to one of the translations of the texts of Molochi. Suddenly two words shot out at her. She hadn't thought it was possible for her to become more alarmed but they did the trick.

"I think I have an idea. And if it's true we may be facing worse odds than I thought."

"What does the Stone do?"

"It has the power to reflect the energy of the sun. But it also has the power to shut it out."

4:35:11 --- 4:35:12 --- 4:35:13 --- 4:35:14

Faith had dealt with some tough battles in her five plus years since becoming a Slayer but none had been tougher than her fights against Buffy. It wasn't just that the blond Slayer had put her into a coma, it was having two people, both endowed with the same powers and knowing exactly how to use it going into combat. To put it another way, it had been like fighting herself.

Fighting Justine wasn't quite as difficult as fighting Buffy, but it was becoming a very close call and Faith had gotten some very bad ideas. She'd have to use other means to beat this woman and she thought she knew how.

"Let me guess…. what happened to you… four months ago…" she said while she bobbed and weaved. "You woke up one day and you were able to run faster and hit harder then you had the day before."

Justine didn't respond, she just kept throwing punches and dodging Faith's blows.

"I don't think you've been eating your Wheaties…" Faith said as she dodged a punch "…and you don't strike me as the kind of girl who does steroids." She fixed Justine with a look for a second before returning to the attack. "Weren't you at least curious as to how you got super powers without coming from Krypton?"

"I…just thought…they were sent by God." Justine's voice didn't waver but Faith thought she struck a nerve

"God. Yes." She dodged. "This was your divine reward for slitting Wesley's throat and killing the only man who considered you worth saving."

"You don't know anything about it."

But Faith could sense a change in Justine's attitude. "I know what it's like…to think that you're on the right side of something and then realize that it's been a lie." Faith dodged a couple of sloppy punches. "I know what its like to get some great power and not know how to use it."

"You don't know shit about me, you bitch." Justine was getting angrier and less measured in her fighting.

"I know what its like to feel trapped by who you think you are." Faith was relentless in her blows and her speech. "I know what its like to want to die."

"SHUT UP!" Justine shouted.

Faith thought that she had beaten her. Then suddenly Justine made a move so fast that it would have killed someone normal. Faith barely had time to react before the dagger came within an inch of her throat. She recovered quickly but Justine was now powered by rage and slammed her in the head with a blow so hard it knocked her down.

Faith lay on the ground, barely conscious after these two rapid attacks. Justine could have finished her off and it seemed for a few seconds that she was going to do it. Finally she turned around and began running for the exit of the warehouse.

Still reeling Faith lifted herself up: "They're going to bring about Armageddon, Justine. Can you live with that?"

Almost at the exit Justine stopped and turned: "I've had my fill with the world as it is now. I won't cry if it ends." And with that she was out the door.

By the time Faith rose Justine and her car was gone.

4:41:33 --- 4:41:34 --- 4:41:35

It had been an least a half hour since Willow had been grabbed and she still had no idea where she was or how her magical powers were being held in check. All she could tell was that she was in a big truck heading-- somewhere. She would have expected this from a great monster or a powerful wizard, but Harmony frigging Kendall? It was insulting.

"Why are you following her?" she asked the two demons standing guard over her. "Did she cast some kind of mind-altering spell? Are you masochists?" No response. "Has she got you on Zoloft?"

"They can't answer, dummy." Willow looked around to find Harmony was standing a few feet away. "In order to worship the evil ones, they had cut out their tongues."

"Which means that you can talk to them and they can never interrupt. That's one fantasy fulfilled." Willow looked at her darkly. "Gotten any others? That thing with Charlize Theron?"

Harmony looked at her. "Actually having you chained up and powerless to stop me was really high on my list."

"Harmony, I didn't know you felt that way." Willow couldn't believe she was doing this, but to get out of this…

For a second the old Harmony was back. "Ohh, gag me with a spoon! That's not what I meant and you know it--" She recovered quickly. "Nice try, Rosenberg, but this is the new and improved Harmony Kendall. Complete with loyal minions, rope and chains enchanted so that no magic can break them, and a real diabolical evil plan." She got right into Willow's face. "So pardon me if I say, 'Nyah-nyah- nyah-nyah'"

"So you're the evil genius behind this plan."

"I wish. But don't worry, you'll be meeting--" pause "--that person soon." She smiled. "See how much better I've gotten at keeping secrets?"

"Yeah. You're a real Mata Hari," Willow said sarcastically "So I suppose you're going to tell me the details of this evil plan?"

"Oh, you're going to find out soon enough."

"I suppose you're not going to tell me who this dysoniptia is raising either."

Harmony began to laugh. "What's so funny?

"You never read the prophecy correctly., did you?" Harmony regained control of herself and looked right at her.. "The dysoniptia-- you're the one who will set it in motion." She smiled at Willow's shock. "How's it feel to be back on the dark side?"

4:46:59 --- 4:47:00 --- 4:47:01--- 4:47:02

As Giles dressed he considered what part of the entire decontamination experience had been the most humiliating: That he had had to strip down in front of his fellow Watchers, that he had had to stand stark naked while a young man had sprayed him with a hose, or that the only clothes that they could find that fit him involved a shirt which detailed the role of "shit" in various philosophies. Part of his discontent was his natural makeup but he also knew that he was concentrating on these irritations so he wouldn't have to consider the possibility that he had gotten dusted with something lethal.

"Not exactly tweed, is it?" He turned as Robin approached. If the situation wasn't so serious he might have laughed at the sight of the former principal wearing a shirt with the words "GRAVITY SUCKS" on it.

"At least your shirt has a simple message," said Giles. "A shirt like mine… there's a very good possibility that passers-by would stop to read it."

The two men smiled at the ridiculousness of the situation then Robin turned serious. "Do you have any idea what the heck we got covered in?"

Giles shook his head. "No way to tell. It didn't kill us instantly so it has a lesser degree of toxicity. But a lot of things can be poisonous if you digest or inhale enough of it."

"That's encouraging." Robin suddenly became quiet.

Giles turned around. Merridew was back in the room. He had a look of grim foreboding on his face, but Giles had seen him act this way when there was a chance of inclement weather.

"Rupert, Robin." Giles got worried. Merridew rarely used first names. "We've finished running the tests."

"Be straight with us."

"The poison was a hybrid of foxglove, aconitine and scoplaomine. Alone, they are potentially deadly but they're exceptionally dangerous when mixed together. There is even a small chance of being infected if it got on your skin."

"And did it?" asked Giles.

"Fortunately, we managed to get it off your skin and face. We'll have to wait a few hours to run some more tests on your blood but we don't think either of you absorbed it that way. Since he only touched the box, Rupert will be all right.'"

"Then why the long face?" said Robin.

Merridew turned to Giles. "Rupert, if you could give us a minute…"

"No," Robin's voice was wavering but firm, "I don't want to hear this alone."

The older watcher waited then slowly began to speak. "Based on the size of the box and some of the early blood work, we're pretty sure that you have ingested a lethal dose of the poison."

Robin was silent. Giles wasn't. "Then how come he's still alive?"

"These poisons take a while to be absorbed in the blood and other vital organs. It doesn't kill instantly but it is fatal."

"How long do I have?"

"Robin, the blood work isn't finished yet and we won't know for certain..."

"How long?" Robin was firm.

Merridew looked him in the eye. "Could take as long as a week. Or as little as a day."

Robin took this in silently. Giles' mind was still whirling. "The Council, they had access to all sorts of cures--"

"They were destroyed by the First," said Merridew gently. "I'm very sorry. I wish we could help but…"

"Could I have a minute?" Robin said. "Alone."

"Of course." Merridew left, bringing Giles with him.

He would have protested but he was still trying to process how close he had come to death again-- and this time someone else had been touched by the Reaper.

4:55:38 --- 4:55:39 --- 4:55:40

By the time Wesley and Angel had reached the Hollywood Bowl they had learned from Fred that the Band of Tarquin was gone, that they had dropped the ball on what the Stone of Meligan was and what it could do, and that Willow had been taken prisoner.

Hearing the last, Angel had wanted to launch a rescue mission. Though Wesley felt the same way, he managed to convince Angel to keep to the plan.

"Stopping the dysoniptia supersedes all other priorities," he had told Angel. "It is more important than one individual life. I know that Willow wouldn't want the world to end because of her. We need to handle this."

What a great leader you are, part of him thought. Treating people as if they are no more than pieces on a chessboard. And you thought you lost your humanity after you got your throat cut. With a great deal of effort Wesley managed to make himself the cold and efficient person he had been in so many other situations and concentrate, literally, on what was ahead.

"It's obvious that something pretty big is going on here," Wesley said as they looked at the area through binoculars.

Angel nodded "Unless the cleaning crew has started hiring vampires, something's up."

It was more than the presence of people, alive or otherwise. In the distance they could see that someone had painted several mystical symbols on the stage. Several people were carving pentagrams into the walls. And in the orchestra pit, there were two stands that were pretty clearly sacrificial altars.

"Something bad is gonna happen here," Angel said. "What I don't get is why here? Why something this conspicuous?'

"Because sometimes for a dark ritual, you need a little theater."

Wesley and Angel whirled around. It wasn't just that the voice had come from nowhere, it was that it had been familiar.

"You know that's one of the things I love about you Watcher types. You can't stop doing your job."

Suddenly a puff of smoke appeared to their left. When it cleared, two very large vampires had appeared with guns. But it wasn't the vampires or the weapons they bore that drew their attention. It was the man between them. The man with dark hair and a menacing grin.

"You," said Wesley.

"Me," said Ethan Rayne.

4:59:57 --- 4:59:58 --- 4:59:59 --- 5:00:00