Chapter 6

The following takes place between 5AM and 6AM on the day of the autumnal equinox

Angel was beginning to feel a lot like he was on an episode of "This Is Your Life." Every time he tried to get a handle on the apocalypse someone from the past would make a guest appearance. He was only marginally surprised to see that Ethan Rayne, a man who had gotten into his bad graces by siccing the demon Leighton on him five years ago, was somehow involved in this mess. What did shock him was that Wesley recognized the conjurer as well.

"Well, well you really have lowered your standards Wesley my boy," Ethan said as he circled them like a vulture. "I knew that the Council had sacked you, but I am surprised at your choice of companion. Working with a vampire? What would Pater say?"

"Probably the same thing your uncle would." Wesley's calm tone did not disguise the menace in it. Ethan didn't react but Angel could tell that he was pissed off.

"Wait a minute," a very unsettling and plausible idea had just entered Angel's head, "are you telling me that this… conjurer… was at one point--"

"A Watcher? Want to see the secret handshake?" Ethan asked with a smile. "How did you think Ripper and I met? Computer dating?"

"His uncle was one of the grand elders. And he was incredibly upset when his nephew became the first Watcher in eighty years to be expelled from the Council." Wesley spoke grimly. "Toying with black magic for personal gain…"

"Yes, that was the most appalling event to happen until-- well until you became the first Watcher in history to lose two Slayers." Ethan smiled. "So let's not compare permanent records, OK?"

Wesley looked at Ethan. "Getting sacked by the Council was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Ditto." The smile vanished from Ethan's face. "And now that we've finished this little stroll down Memory Lane, would the two of you start walking or the five gentlemen who accompany me will be forced to do things that I wouldn't mind seeing done anyway?"

"Rayne, can't you even bloody count? There are only two…" Wesley was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder from one of the other three vampires who had appeared while the two ex-Watchers had been talking. "Oh. " He sighed. "Very well."

Angel and Wesley began walking, not so much because they were worried about dying but more because this might be their only chance to figure out what was behind this dark ritual.

"Last I heard you we're being held in a military jail," said Wesley.

"Yes, that was frightening and unnerving," Ethan said cheerfully. "I don't know how I managed to get through the whole week."

"You managed to escape that fast?" Angel asked.

"God bless the American military. Couldn't find their arse with a telescope."

"Just so were clear, you've gone from random acts of mischief to bringing about the end of the world," said Angel, incredulous. "That's a pretty big step from someone who just used to turn his friends into Fyarl demons."

Ethan stopped. "Oh my. Someone's been misreading their prophecies."

"You're going to tell us that you and your-- and I use this term loosely-- merry band aren't planning to bring about Armageddon?" asked Wesley, bemused.

"To paraphrase one of the more brilliant leaders of this country, that depends on what your definition of 'Armageddon' is" Ethan said. The sardonic mocking tone was back in his voice. "I see it more as bringing a new order."

"This from a man who worships Chaos." Now Wesley was the one speaking incredulously.

"Come now, Wesley. You don't think that a man can grow or change?"

"A man might be able to grow." The incredulity in Wesley's voice had been replaced by venom. "You, however, are the lowest and most contemptible form of protoplasm that I have ever had the misfortune to know."

For a second Ethan's smile disappeared and Angel could sense the true hatred that he had for Wesley. Then it was gone and the grin was back. "Well that is rather unfortunate, because our time together is about to end."

"You're going to kill us," said Angel bluntly.

"You're half right. Since we may need you later Angel, you'll be allowed to live a little longer. Wesley, however, serves no real purpose even as entertainment. Therefore, as the Americans would put it, your ass is grass." Ethan nodded at one of the vampire. "He's an old friend, so make it as painful as possible."

The vampires moved toward Wesley. Angel saw his opening. He took it. Two of the vampires were on him like lightning, distracting one of the others. Wesley managed to whirl around and bring out his gun with the special ammo. The vampires, who clearly weren't the best and the brightest, had trouble hitting their targets. Wesley and Angel did not.

In the space of a minute, three of the vampires were gone. So was Ethan Rayne. Angel was about to chase after him when Wesley stopped him. "We need to get help."

Angel had trouble understanding this. "We can get him."

"Ethan's not the problem," Wesley explained as patiently as he could. "We know where he'll be and that he'll have help. We need to stop the dysoniptia and we can't do it alone." He took out his phone. "We need Buffy and the others."

As he dialed, Angel looked towards the sky. It was getting lighter. "Tell them to hurry."

Ethan made his way back to the safety of the Hollywood Bowl. He was disturbed but not upset.

"Get your help, friends," he said darkly. "Soon no one will be able to save you."

5:10:27--- 5:10:28 --- 5:10:29 --- 5:10:30

Giles wasn't sure what to do. He knew that he had to do something to help Robin, but he also knew that the first of the raisings was going to take place in less than an hour. He was torn between helping his friend and saving the world-- something that he wasn't sure would have given him nearly as much trouble a few months ago.

"What will the first symptoms be?" asked the former principal. It was amazing how calm Robin seemed discussing his death sentence. He must still be in denial, Giles thought.

Speaking with a kindness that Giles rarely heard, Merridew said, "You'll feel a numbness in your arms. Then you'll feel a burning sensation in your chest."

"Like I've had a bad burrito?" asked Robin. Apparently he had picked up the joke mechanism from Xander regarding mortality.

"It will pass and then you'll be having trouble catching your breath. Then…"

Giles cell phone chose that minute to begin playing 'Dream The Impossible Dream.' He opened it quickly. "Yes?"

"Are the two of you finished decontaminating?" asked Fred.

There were all kinds of responses that Giles could have made. For some reason he chose to say, "They've done everything they can."

"And you're all right?"

Giles knew what he should say but he still couldn't. Robin wasn't a Slayer but… "What do you want?" he asked.

"We need you and Robin to get over to the Hollywood Bowl."

While Giles considered this, Fred then added. "We're pretty sure that's where they're performing the dysoniptia."

For a moment Giles forgot about what was happening at the clinic. "You're sure?"

"Wesley called a couple of minutes ago to confirm it. We're also pretty sure they have the stone of Meligan. "

Giles' mind came back to the present problem. "Shouldn't you send people who can do more? Like Buffy or Faith?"

"Faith is en route as we speak. Buffy's on the other side of town; by the time she gets there they may have started."

Robin had stopped asking about his own problems and was listening to Giles' end of the conversation.

"The two of you are less than five miles away, right?"

While Giles considered this, Robin turned to Merridew. "Am I contagious?" he asked calmly.

Merridew seemed a little befuddled. "No, you're not a danger to anyone else."

Robin took a deep breath and exhaled. "Tell Fred we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Robin--" said Giles stunned.

"Tell them."

Giles turned around, almost dazed. "We'll start over." The second he hung up, he turned to Robin: "Are you bloody crazy?"

"Am I going to die soon?" Robin asked Merridew.

"We don't know for sure…"

"Am I going to die soon?" he asked, relentless.

Merridew sighed. "Probably."

"Then I might as well die saving the world."

Giles was stunned. "Robin, you shouldn't, you can't--"

"We don't have time to argue. It's my decision, so that's what I'm going to do." With that Robin started walking to wards the exit.

Giles wasn't going to let this go. "They'll cut you to ribbons!!"

"Good," said Robin. "I'd rather die fighting on my feet than lying on my back."

Giles would have argued more but then he looked at his watch and realized the brutal truth. They had less than forty-five minutes. They had to go now. Giles turned to Merridew. "Can he do this?"

Merridew nodded. "For the next ten to twelve hours he'll probably be okay. After that..."

He tactfully stopped before finishing the sentence. Giles knew what the last three words were: It won't matter. He also knew that he they needed every man they had. There were other options, but they simply didn't have the time to exercise them.

"God have mercy on our souls." he said as he followed Robin out the door.

5:17:11 --- 5:17:12 --- 5:17:13

Faith was beginning to regret that she had let Andrew talk her into bringing Kevin along. She realized that they didn't have time to drive him back to Wolfram & Hart or hand him over to the police. They could, however, have let him go which, while dangerous, would have been far less annoying.

The problem was Andrew, hard as it was to believe, had done something that scared the shit out of Kevin and now they couldn't get him to stop talking about the horrible mess that he had gotten him into with this cult. At first she had listened to him hoping for useful information, but after hearing him whine about the fact that he had stolen his mother's jewelry to use as an offering she was ready knock herself unconscious.

The car came to a stop. Kevin did not. He continued until the three of them had gotten out of the car.

"That guy thought he was so big bleeding me, but I got my back against him--"

Faith was getting ready to slap him when Andrew beat her to it. It was a pretty limp slap but it shut Kevin up.

"All right. We get it." Andrew said brusquely. "Let me just say that as tales of going down the wrong paths, compared to Faith's story -- or mine-- you're still lagging behind. Now either you start giving us some useful information about the dysoniptia or…"

He stopped unsure how to finish his threat.

Suddenly Faith was inspired. "We'll turn you over to Angelus for a couple of hours."

This was the right threat to use: "No! No! I'll tell you what I know!" Kevin started saying repeatedly. When Andrew made a motion as if to slap him again, he said, "All I know is that the Stone has some kind of power stored in it. And that when they release it, a dark power will arise."

"And the world ends," said Faith.

Kevin shook his head franticly. "Then the powers that have been released used to release some other great power-- more powerful than that."

"And then the world ends." said Faith patiently.

"No. Then the great one arises and shall unzip the heavens, releasing… something else."

Faith threw up her hands. "Jesus! Can't there just be one big evil instead of a jillion medium-sized ones? "

"Uh Faith…" Andrew tried to interrupt.

"Can't there be something I can beat up and get rid of?"

"I think you're gonna get a good chance."

Suddenly whatever warning bells that went off when a big nasty was around went off. She turned towards Andrew. Sure enough a flock of demons and vampires were headed their way.

"Ask a stupid question…" she sighed and got ready to fight.

5:23:41 --- 5:23:42 --- 5:23:43 --- 5:23:44

The truck was slowing to a stop. Wherever they had been going they had arrived. That didn't make Willow happy.

She had made no progress in anything. For the past half-hour she had been doing everything she could to slither out from the ropes. Not only did she not succeed, she could have sworn that they had gotten tighter.

Her efforts to get Harmony to talk had been even less successful. Alive or dead, there had been fewer things Harmony liked better than the sound of her own voice. But, after dropping the information that Willow was going to help bring the dysoniptia forward, she had shut up tighter than a cork in a bottle. Willow didn't know which was more frightening: that Harmony was behind a plan that actually had a chance of succeeding or that she had somehow gained the wisdom to be quiet when something important was being done. Willow had stopped thinking about it because she had a feeling that more frightening things were ahead.

"Tell me, Rosenberg, you ever get over being afraid of performing in public?"

That brought Willow back in a hurry. That had been one of her greatest fears in high school. How the hell did she know that? "I'd like to think I've grown as a person." she spoke bravely.

"I certainly hope you have…"

The minions who had been driving the truck began to open the back door.

"…because you're about to make your professional debut as a jasundi in the biggest showcase in L.A." The door opened with Harmony saying, "Welcome to the Hollywood Bowl."

Harmony's loyal underlings pulled Willow out while she tried to get her mind around what was happening. "You're gonna raise evil here?"

"Nice, isn't it?" There was a shade of the old Harmony in her voice now. "They wanted to do it at the La Brea Tar Pits, but Ethan and I told them that for a ritual like this you need a little bit of show biz."

Willow barely heard the last part of it. She had fixed on the name Harmony had used. "Please don't tell me that you're working with—"

"You rang?" It had been more than three years since she had heard his voice, but Willow recognized the coolness and false friendliness that she had come to associate with Ethan Rayne.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she managed to spit out.

"At the moment, gloating. You know when they told me that for these raising we were going to have to find and hold the most powerful witch in the world, I expected that it would be… well, tough." He smiled. "I guess that I really did get my money's worth when I got those magic-negating rope."

"You gave… how… how did you get something like this?"

Ethan's smile grew even wider. "Ripper would be so shocked if he knew who had been going through the old Watcher stock rooms."

Willow was reeling after this implication. "How the hell?"

"As much as I'd like to see you like this, we do have a schedule to keep." Harmony turned towards Ethan. "The stage has been prepared?"

He took a bow. "Ready for opening night."

"All the artifacts that we need are here?"

Ethan revealed his left hand covered by something that was probably the Band of Tarquin. "Almost completely suited up."

Harmony nodded. "And I suppose representatives of the Fang Squad have shown up?"

He nodded." Quarter of an hour ago. I've sent the best and the brightest to keep them busy."

"Send as many as you can without leaving us unguarded." Harmony looked at her watch. "They'll only have to hold them off for another twenty minutes."

"What happens then?" Willow asked.

Ethan and Harmony both gave vicious grins.

"Your big debut."

5:31:29 --- 5:31:30 --- 5:31:31

Andrew had been training with Robin and Xander, on and off, for the past two months. However he hadn't been in a fight with this degree of danger and risk since, as he described it in his notes on Buffy's history, the Last Battle of The Hellmouth. He wasn't sure how well he was doing but he guessed the fact that he was still alive was a positive sign.

Right now he was fighting with a vampire and a big yellow slimy demon whose species was a mystery to him. Considering that he was only armed with a crossbow and an axe, and that he wasn't a Slayer, he was doing a good job holding them at arms length. He couldn't shake the feeling, however, that the two monsters were merely toying with him. If he was going to win, he needed to try something unexpected.

Mentally going over Robin's basic rules for killing a demon, he turned around and began to back off. The two evil-doers began following him. Suddenly he turned around and, in one swift motion, hurtled the axe at the demons head. For a split second, Andrew was positive that he had screwed it up but the demons reaction to his not running away slowed its motion just enough for the axe to strike it right between the eyes.

He barely had a moment to savor his victory. The vampire was still coming at him. He pulled out his crossbow and fired a bolt that struck the vamp in the chest-- but apparently not the heart. The vampire kept coming. Andrew had enough time to say "Oh shit" before the vampire had him tackled to the ground.

Knowing that he would only have one chance, he tried to push on the bolt while the vamp tried to lower its fangs into his neck. Andrew could feel the vamps hot breath on his neck and his teeth were almost at his throat when suddenly the head-- and the rest of it-- exploded into a pile of dust.

A little surprised that he had prevailed, he gingerly picked himself off the ground-- not noticing that the demon he had hit was standing, had pulled the axe out of its head and was running straight at him. He had barely enough time to react before the demon stopped running and fell at his feet.

He looked ahead and saw Wesley standing a few feet away from him, gun cocked. "You all right, Andrew?"

Trying to look nonchalant, he said "Five by five" before nearly tripping over his feet.

5:35:18 --- 5:35:19 --- 5:35:20 --- 5:35:21

When Dawn had called and given Buffy the Cliff Notes version of what had happened to the others over the past three hours, she wasn't sure what part had her the most worried: The fact that the enemy had gotten two of the relics ahead of them, the fact that they had not done the proper researching on the Stone, that Harmony--Harmony!-- was behind this plot or that Andrew had managed to do a better job of getting information then she had. She had much to mull over that, when Xander had insisted that he was driving the two of them (Lorne had opted to go back to the office) to the Hollywood Bowl, she had handed him the keys to the car without any argument.

That Willow was in the hands of the enemy didn't frighten the two people who she meant the most to. As Xander had put it, "You put Willow in a steel cage with a Bengal tiger, in three minutes the tiger would be begging for mercy." Willow could and would take care of herself. What did worry her was what Buffy remembered from the texts of Molochi-- the three people who would play a vital role in the rituals-- the warrior woman, the sleeping one and the one who unlocks. Indeed, it was the last which concerned her the most.

Now, as they drove the last mile or so to the Hollywood Bowl, she voiced the question that was troubling her.

"If Dawn was the person central to the rituals, why haven't they make an attempt to grab her?" she asked Xander.

"Well first of all, we don't who 'they' are," Xander said. "Second, maybe they know that we've got her safer than she'd be if she was in-- a vault." he finished weakly.

"Since when has a logical argument stopped a nasty from trying to cause destruction, particularly something of this level?"

Xander considered Buffy's question. "Never and the day after never," he finally answered.

"So maybe the thing that unlocks isn't Dawn," Buffy said. "Maybe it's something that we haven't seen before."

"Whatever it is I think we'd do a lot better if we never know what it is," Xander said. "Especially not now."

Buffy was about to argue when she realized that they were turning into the Hollywood Bowl parking lot. She'd have to put it on hold for a while. "Let's hope they don't have it either," she said.

The two of them got out of the car. As they walked down the path, she saw some familiar forms. Unfortunately their position concerned Buffy.

"What exactly are we hiding from?" she asked the group. Faith, Angel and Wesley, used to people moving inconspicuously around them, weren't fazed by Buffy's sudden appearance. Andrew, who still was getting used to it, did a quick double take before returning to his original position.

"We're not hiding, we're waiting for an opening," said Wesley. "In case you haven't noticed there's a rather large obstacle between us and the ritual."

Buffy looked ahead and saw that Wesley's talent for understatement was still intact. There were at least a dozen vampires guarding the area around the stage as well as a half dozen demons of various species and, most alarming of all to Buffy, six or seven normal (albeit heavily armed) people. "Well, give us a small tank and a couple of bulldozers and we should have no problem," she said as cheerfully as she could manage.

"It's not as dark as it looks," said Xander.

Faith looked at him. "We appreciate the optimism but I don't think it'll help."

"I was talking about the sky." Indeed the sky was turning purple.

"Sunrise is in less than fifteen minutes," said Angel.

"Don't you think that would concern them?" Xander said, gesturing towards the vamps.

Wesley looked ahead. "They do seem awfully calm about seeing their first and last sunrise."

"What do they know that we don't?" Faith asked.

"The Stone!" Everyone turned to Andrew. "Fred told me that it can be utilized to block the power of the sun! That's what this ritual is for!"

It hit the others like a thunderbolt. Wesley recovered first: "In that case we have to stop it now." He turned to Angel. "You have to get back to the car in case."

"In case what? If we don't stop this now, this whole thing could explode."

"If we do succeed, you'll be the one who's exploding," Xander pointed out. "As much as I don't like you, I don't think we can afford to lose you now."

"It's always good to know that I have your support--" Angel started.

"Could the two of you hold off this measuring contest until after the apocalypse?" Buffy said forcefully. "Angel, he's right and you know it. This has the potential to be a very bad day. It will not get any better if you turn into barbecue." She paused. "Get back to the car before it's too late."

"Guys," said Xander.

"What now Xander?" Faith demanded.

"I think it may already be too late."

They all turned to the stage. Buffy looked through the pair of binoculars that Wesley was carrying. Three figures had appeared on it. Buffy recognized all three. It had been more than three years but she recognized the man as Ethan Rayne. The blond woman was clearly Harmony. But it was the woman who was tied up that all eyes were drawn to. Not just because it was Willow. And not just because she was tied up.

It was because Willow's hair was slowly beginning to darken.

5:45:34 --- 5:45:35 --- 5:45:36 --- 5:45:37

Even though she was tied up and couldn't use her magic to save herself, even though she was stunned by who was bringing this ritual about, and even though she wasn't crazy about Harmony and Ethan's suggestion that she was going to cause the dysoniptia, Willow had managed to maintain a calm composure. She was in control of her powers and she was pretty sure no one-- especially not these two-- could make her do anything she didn't want to.

That calm remained even as two large vampires adjusted the rope so that her hands and feet were bound together.

"I don't know what Harmony told you but I'm not into this kind of thing," she joked. The vampires ignored her and carried her out onto the stage.

It was when she was on the stage proper that the first real warning bells began going off. Someone had been busy preparing the stage for something big. There were pentagrams and demonic symbols all over the place. What alarmed her was what was at the center of the stage. There, several symbols were carved in what she recognized as Wiccan-- but not the kind that she had practiced. It was a symbol for the darkest of dark magic.

Ethan appeared onstage. He was still wearing the glove that Willow thought was the Band of Tarquin. In his other hand was another piece of jewelry. She wasn't sure but she was thought it was the Pendant of Vartlet-- another of the artifacts that was critical for the ritual. According to legend the pendant was supposed to have the power to extract magic from the most unlikely places.

It was glowing-- not very brightly, but it seemed to sparkle in the brightening day. Suddenly a very nasty idea began to occur to her.

"You're going to use that pendant to access my power," she said.

Ethan gave a predatory grin. "Wrong again, Miss Rosenberg. I'm not going to use it. I've been using it. I've been using it to utilize your powers since Harmony drove up."

As he began closing the distance between himself and Willow the glow from the pendant began to increase. "As a matter of fact, I've used it to make sure that your friends won't be able to rescue you."

"What are you talking about?"

In answer Ethan picked up a knife that someone had left on stage and casually threw it towards the seats. The second it appeared to be leaving the stage, there was a burst of light. When it was gone, the knife was laying on the edge of the stage looking like it had been struck by lightning.

Ethan turned back towards Willow. "That should really light up your friends lives, wouldn't you say?" Before Willow could respond, he added: "Sorry if the puns aren't up to your usual standard. I haven't had much of a chance to practice."

Willow barely heard that last part. Something very bad was happening to her. She was having trouble seeing or hearing him. It was like she was slipping out of consciousness.

"Just relax," said Harmony. She was carrying a pink bauble in her hand. It looked familiar to Willow but she was having a great deal of trouble focusing on it. "Like they say at the dentist, you won't feel a thing."

Willow turned toward Ethan. "You… don't know… what you're about… to …let loose..." she managed to say.

Ethan smiled again. "Know? My dear, we're absolutely counting on it." And with that he placed the pendant around her neck.

Willow tried one last time to break free of the darkness that she knew was coming… And then it overwhelmed her.

5:52:27 --- 5:52:28 --- 5:52:29

The second Willow had appeared on the stage, Buffy realized that secrecy would have to be damned. The time for subtlety and guile was out the window. It was time for the all-out attack. When she began to make her move Wesley and Faith didn't raise any objections and readied to fight. They got from behind the enclosure and charged the crowd of enemies.

Buffy knew that this wasn't going to be easy. They were outnumbered four to one and, though two of them were Slayers, there was only so much she and Faith could do. That didn't concern her nearly as what was happening to Willow, however. Whatever Ethan and Harmony were trying to do by releasing the darkness within the powerful witch, there was a very good chance that they would kill Willow in the attempt.

Which was why when Buffy had knocked down her third demon, she bolted for the stage, running past and through anything that she could. It wasn't until she was nearly three feet away from the stage that she realized that there might be a reason there were only two guards around the perimeter of it-- and by then it was too late to stop.

1

She ran right into nothing. And that nothing hit her with a hell of a bang. Whatever shield they were using to guard the stage knocked her back-- right into another demon. A big red one.

Even if Buffy had been at a hundred percent the demon would have given her trouble. She put up the best fight that she could but it knocked her down in less than a minute.

"I love it when my dinner cooks itself for me," it said bending over her.

Summoning what she had in reserve, she kicked the demon in the stomach. It was knocked back-- right into the path of an arrow. The look of surprise on the demons face would have been comic under other circumstances.

Buffy looked to her left-- to see Giles was standing a few feet away with a crossbow. They had no time to celebrate or even acknowledge his arrival.

"We need to break this shield and we need to do it now!" Buffy yelled. Giles had no time to respond. In seconds he, like the others, was beset by enemies.

Buffy looked to the stage and was suddenly afraid. Willow's hair was now completely black . Her face and hands were filled with veins. A small blue field was surrounding her. Yet despite being tapped into her full power, Willow still appeared to be trapped on the altar. Furthermore Ethan Rayne was standing not ten feet away from her, reciting some spell without apparent fear or alarm.

"Doesn't feel so good, does it?" Buffy whirled around. There was a red-haired woman around her age standing across from her in a fighting posture. But when Buffy got ready to fight her, she pulled back. "We're not going to dance, bitch, not yet."

"What are you here for?' Buffy said.

"Just wanted to see the look on your face when it all starts to go to hell." The woman said. "Which, if I'm not mistaken, will be right…about…now."

Buffy looked toward the stage. The blue field that had appeared was now stretching towards Ethan's hands-- one of which had some kind of metal glove on it. Ethan took a deep breath and shouted something in a language Buffy didn't recognize. But she knew that it was important. Because when he finished, the magic suddenly flew from his hand and hit the small pink bauble that Harmony was holding. A huge flash of what could only be described as black light shot up through the sky, blinding Buffy.

When the smoke cleared, the pink bauble Harmony had carried was now floating in the air. The force of its glow shot up towards the sky. But it wasn't this or the triumph on Ethan's face or even the sight of a now apparently normal Willow that drew her attention.

No, her attention was drawn towards the figure that was in the center of the stage. He was slumped on the floor but even without seeing his face she recognized the blond hair and leather jacket. Suddenly she realized what had just happened.

The dysoniptia. Spike had been raised.

5:59:57--- 5:59:58 --- 5:59:59 --- 6:00:00