AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hurrah! A review! I'll try to keep Mabon from becoming omnipotent (which he luckily isn't).

CHAPTER 4 -UNPLEASANT DISCOVERIES-

Bernard exited his car and for the door of his home. He regularly avoided moving outside his villa during daylight. While a metallurgy demons were not especially inhuman in appearance, Bernard did not want his neighbours seeing the bony ridge above his purple eyes.

Bernard, despite his difficulties in relationships, had lead a very comfortable life. Unlike his athletic brother, he had developed a chubby physique and a wardrobe of a human businessman.

Once he came to the door Bernard immediately stopped, there was a crack in the doorframe that had not been there before. Bernard rushed inside, heading straight for the library.

"Mabon!"

Bernard halted abruptly in front of the unusually empty table. He felt panic wash over him as he frantically looked around for the box, it was nowhere.

Nothing else was taken, or even moved by the look of it. Whoever had done this, they exactly what they wanted. Bernard's normally kind face took on an angry grimace, it could not be possible. Bernard picked up his phone and hit a number on the speed dial.

It rang for a while until a clear voice answered, "Bernard, why this this pleasant surprise?"

Bernard took a deep breath. "Bruce, you didn't send any of your people here today, did you?"

"You know I value you more than to send my men to you. I would come there myself, if you ever had the courtesy to invite me. What makes you think I would've send anyone over?"

"Someone had forced themselves through my door."

"Was anything taken?"

Bernard hesitated, he could hear the tension in his brother's voice, finally he sighed, "he's gone."

"Who, Bernard?"

"Mabon. The box has been taken."

Bruce growled, "you idiot lost it?"

"I didn't lose him. Someone took him."

"Well," Bruce snorted. "Usually I would tell you take care of your own problems. But I feel I should handle this."

"I don't want you to handle this. I just... I just need some help."

"I wouldn't be much of a brother, if I did not help you. I'll come over right away."

Bernard sighed and rubbed his face. "Okay, thanks. I guess I'll see you soon."

"Very soon, Bernard. Bye." Bruce hung up.

Bernard stood in the library, phone in hand. All of his inclinations were against contacting his brother. It was no secret that if there was one thing Bruce envied about Bernard, it was that Bernard had inherited "the box". Bernard felt it his duty to keep the box away from Bruce. Like their father Francis, Bruce had an unhealthy attraction towards power. An attraction that Bernard was glad to not possess.

Bernard set the phone down. There was nothing to it, if he wanted Mabon back, he would need Bruce's help.

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"I really appreciate you going through this trouble for me."

Mabon sat in the backseat of Angel's car, wearing a dark blue turtleneck and black trousers that Cordelia and Fred had picked for him. Mabon had fiercely refused to try anything on at the store, but the girls had nailed down his size quite closely.

"Don't thank us, thank Cordy and Fred," Wesley said from the front.

"He already did, several times," Angel commented.

"Well... I'm thanking you for the ride." Mabon smiled.

Angel glanced at the rear-view mirror. "You're welcome then."

For some time no one spoke. Angel shifted in his seat. Things had been slow that week, since Angel and the others had not gotten any paying cases. Other than the thing with the Casotrosians, nothing else had turned up in the pro bono "fight the good fight" side of their life either. While Angel could see that Wesley felt apprehensive towards the elemental, he personally was happy to just have something to do.

Angel wondered why Wesley seemed to dislike Mabon. The elemental looked absolutely harmless. Angel supposed that there must have been something about elementals that Wesley was not comfortable with. It had taken Fred's puppy eyes to convince Wesley to show Angel the way to Bernard's villa.

Suddenly, just as a car passed them by, Mabon cried out. "Stop!"

"What?" Angel pulled over and turned to look at the elemental.

Mabon's large eyes were darting around in panic and he was breathing hard. "I recognised the sound of that car. We can't go to Bernard's. It's not safe."

Wesley frowned. "Why?"

"That was Bernard's brother's car. He can't see me... he can't know where I am."

"How can you be so sure he was headed to Bernard's place? We're still pretty far away."

"I'm not sure. I hope that Bernard hasn't told him. But if there's the slightest chance that Bruce will be there, I don't want to be anywhere close by."

"So, Bruce is bad?" Angel asked.

"Yes."

Wesley sighed. "We better head back to the hotel."

Mabon looked down at his lap. "I'm sorry about this."

"Don't be." Angel drove the car back onto the road. "It's not like you're the first person we've met who doesn't like meeting demon's."

"Yes, Fred and Cordelia told me about what you all do. Doesn't sound like a simple job."

Angel shrugged. "It's a living, even if you're technically dead."