Someone was shaking Mason awake. He rolled over, expecting to see his cousin, only to jump, startled by the sight of the red-haired woman leaning over him.

She grinned, highly amused. "Hi!" she greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi," Mason replied in a strangled tone of voice. He squeezed his eyes shut, but when he opened them again and the woman hadn't vanished, he grinned. The wake-up call may have been unexpected, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome; he had no idea who she was, but she was beautiful.

She smirked. "I'm gay," she informed him bluntly.

"Huh?" Mason asked. When his brain caught up with his hearing, his grin vanished. "You sure?"

Her eyes twinkled as she bit her lip. "I think my girlfriend would be pretty upset if I wasn't."

"Oh." Mason deflated considerably, plopping back against the mattress.

"Mace, this is Willow Rosenburg from the Watcher's Council," said Jexter, smirking. "Willow, this is my cousin, Mason Rayne."

Mason sat up again. "Watcher's Council? How'd you get here so fast? Are you a witch?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, only not the kind you're thinking about. I'm a Wiccan witch."

"She came to perform the balance ritual." Jexter motioned at the floor. "I wasn't good enough or powerful enough to do it myself."

Willow gave him a stern look. "Giles wants to have a talk with you, when you get back."

Jexter grimaced and nodded.

It was then that Mason noticed the various spell ingredients arranged about the room. There was a protective circle, drawn on the carpet with white chalk between the beds and the table, broken after Willow had stepped out of it. Candles were also spread out about the room. Tucked under Willow's arm were two volumes, which Mason assumed were The Most Gruesome of Dark Magicks and The Most Magnificent of Light Magicks. "You performed the spell while I was asleep?" Mason asked, bewildered.

Jexter smirked. again "You were pretty out of it. We tried to wake you."

The reaper swung his legs onto the carpet and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I feel super now, at least." He grinned.

Jexter got to his feet, looking grim. "Good to hear, 'cause we still have something to do."

Mason's brow furrowed. "What?"

Willow walked over to the table and dropped the two volumes on it. "Ethan. I know where he is."

Mason's eyes widened. "Is he still in town?"

She nodded. "Ethan always stays to watch. It's kind of his MO."

"Met him before, have you?"

Willow winced. "Unfortunately." She turned to Jexter. "No offence, Mr. Rayne."

Jexter grimaced, then shot her a sad smile. "It's okay, Willow, and for the twentieth time, call me Jexter."

Mason smiled before getting up, stretching, then walked over to his cousin. "You up to this, Jex?"

Jexter shrugged. He pulled out his wand and proceeded to magically clean up the chalk.

Willow and Mason exchanged glances. "You don't have to come," Willow suggested.

"No, I'll come," he said, sighing. He gave them a humorless smile. "It's the only time we ever get to spend together."

They walked to the hovel where Willow said they'd find Ethan. Mason and Jexter stared open-mouthed at the scenery they passed. Everything had been restored, as if nothing amiss had occurred. Sidewalks were whole again, the bars of fences were straightened and evenly-spaced apart. Shoppers all over the city discovered to their delight that they could once again que up at the counter. Televisions, radios, and the like all worked normally or not at all, according to their original conditions.

Most of the town was mystified by this second turn of events. Few Muggles could explain it. Those few Muggles who did know about magic, along with the wizarding officials sent to investigate the effects of the Second Rite, wondered who or what had been behind it all, but were nevertheless glad that it seemed to be over.

The only evidence that remained of the effects of the Second Rite and its counter-ritual were the accidents, both the remains of old ones and a few new ones. Some of the counter-ritual's 'repairs' had caused a few injuries or damage, but not too much. Mason winced as he thought about having to pay a visit to the morgue to reap those souls he'd missed. He hated going to the morgue.

Willow finally came to stop. "He's there," she said, turning and facing the opposite side of the street.

The wizards drew their wands. "Ready?" Jexter asked. Mason and Willow nodded, and the three magic casters crossed the street and entered the parking lot of the Preston Inn. Mason glanced around. The inn wasn't the most upscale place to spend the night. It wasn't completely shabby, either, though it came close to being so. The parking lot was half-packed with cars, indicating that business was good if not great. A family of three at the far end of the building was busy unloading a car and carrying their bags up to their second floor room. Mason didn't see anyone else except for one man in his late forties or early fifties who was walking their way.

Mason froze. "Oh, fuck." It was Rube.

"Hide your wand, quick!" he told Jexter as he slid his own wand behind his back.

"What? Why?" Jexter asked. He looked in the direction Mason was gazing and his eyes widened. "Isn't that your boss?"

Willow gave them all puzzled looks. "Does he know you're a wizard?" she whispered this because Rube was much closer now.

Mason shook his head in reply.

"Mason," Rube said in greeting. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Well, you're certainly one with the cuss words, aren't ya?" Willow commented.

Rube glanced at her. "I'm sorry, I need to speak with my colleague for a moment."

He grabbed Mason's arm and pulled him away a few yards.

"Rube!" Mason protested. Rube looked at him. Mason hated it when Rube gave him that look. It was the look that promised pain. "Look, this has nothing to do with you-know-what, okay?"

"Then what does it have to do with?"

Mason opened his mouth, only to close it again. He attempted to try again, only to pause. "Hang on - what are you doing here?"

"I'm doing my job, what the fuck do you think I’m doing here?" Rube asked him. "You think I like hanging out in parking lots?"

The younger reaper could imagine the steam rising from his boss' head. "No. No, sir. Just…the name on the post-it. It wouldn't happen to be a Rayne or a Rosenburg, by any chance?"

Curious, Rube's eyes narrowed. He glanced behind Mason at the two people waiting a little ways away. "Is there something you want to bring to my attention?"

Mason shook his head. "No. Nothing at all."

"Your guy friend looks a little like you, Mason. Now, maybe that's just a coincidence, but if I were to venture a guess and say that his last name was Rayne, would I be wrong?"

Mason glanced back at Jexter then turned back to Rube. "So what if it is?" He was panicking a little now. He just wished Rube would show him the post-it. He had to know. He had to be prepared for it if it was happening. He wouldn't try to stop it. At least, he didn't think he'd try to stop it. He felt that he just had to know.

Rube folded his arms. "Well, if memory serves, I seem to recall that your last name was also Rayne. I was unaware you had any family in town." He shrugged. "'Course, it has been a while since you last mentioned your name, so maybe my memory's just playing tricks on me. You tell me."

"Mace!" Jexter suddenly shouted. Mason spun around, forgetting completely about concealing his wand as he brought it up in front of him. Jexter and Willow were both facing the building. Mason turned in that direction and realized his companions were standing in the space between two parked cars, right in front of an open doorway. Ethan stood in the doorway.

Ethan seemed frozen for a long moment, eyes locked on Willow and Jexter. "Oh, bugger!" he exclaimed before turning left and racing down the sidewalk.

Mason dashed onto the sidewalk before him, effectively cutting him off. Jexter and Willow closed in behind him. Mason glanced around quickly, checking for witnesses. There were none except for Rube.

Mason pointed his wand at Ethan. "Petrificus Totallus!" The spell hit him square on the chest…with no effect whatsoever.

Mason stared from his first cousin once removed to his wand. "Huh?" he asked, bewildered.

Ethan looked equally as shocked, then started to grin. "Personal shield," he clarified. "Bloody hell, I wasn't sure it would actually work. Good to know I got it right for once."

"Not entirely, Ethan," Jexter said. He turned to Willow. "Can you get through it?"

Willow nodded. "Easily." She did not, however, raise a hand or utter an incantation. "Let me know when you want me to," she told Jexter. He nodded.

Ethan turned so his back was to the wall. He looked very nervous now. "What're you going to do, old man?" he asked Jexter. "Are you going to drag me all the way back to England and turn me over to the Dementors in Azkaban?"

His father smiled humorously. "Actually, the Dementors aren't at Azkaban anymore. Just ordinary, human prison guards are there now. It should be a lot less painful, at least emotionally."

Ethan's eyes widened. "You can't be serious! Surely you wouldn't do that to your own son? You won't send me to prison?"

"You shouldn't have left it in the first place, Ethan," Willow said, shaking her head.

Ethan glared at her. His look turned stormy, almost animalistic with rage. Mason, Jexter and Willow all found themselves taking a step back at the unexpected ferocity of it. "I was never in prison!" he shouted. "That Slayer friend of yours certainly knows how to pick her boys. You know what they did to me, in that place in shitting Nevada? They interrogated me, they experimented on me, they ran tests of every description. I was nothing but a lab rat!" His whole body shook and his voice cracked. "They were as bad as facing the Dementors, if not worse. At least the Dementors don't touch you except to deliver the Kiss!"

Jexter and Mason were horrified. Mason glanced from Ethan to Jexter, shocked to his core. He couldn't imagine it, being treated as nothing but a test subject. "They…tested you because of your magic?"

Ethan nodded. The rage seemed to have left him. "Yes." He met all of their eyes. "They'd treat all of you even worse." He pointed at Rube and Mason. "Even the two of you!" He looked at Willow, his expression twisting back into a glare. "And especially you!"

"But you escaped," Jexter protested. "You got out of there, son. Why not go into hiding? Why revert back to the very thing that made them want to experiment on you?"

Ethan laughed. "What's this, father? Are you finally interested in what your son does? Well, tough. You had eighteen years worth of chances to find out and you've wasted them all."

"He's addicted," Willow said quietly, in answer to Jexter's question. She swallowed. "Wiccan Magic can be addictive. It's impossible to just stop using it. If you try, the addiction just gets worse and worse until you can't control the magic anymore."

Ethan stared at her, startled. "Well, yes, that's part of it," he admitted reluctantly, "but not all." He turned back to his father. "I'm a Chaos Worshipper, father. I completely despise order. I always try to have a little fun wherever I'm going, and that involves wreaking havoc upon the masses."

"But-at the cost of all those people's lives?" Jexter cried, very distressed. "Don't you know how dangerous dark magic can be?"

Ethan shrugged. "Well, yes, there are going to be side effects."

Jexter gave him a disbelieving look. Angry now, he repeated, "'Side effects'? I-"

Ethan held up a hand and his father ground to a halt. "Spare me the lecture, father. Even if I did want to turn back from my evil ways, there's no way I could. I'm too far into this."

"Piss off a few more demons lately?" Willow asked, glaring. "I seem to recall it's what you're good at."

"Just the one," Ethan replied. His eyes darted around nervously. "Chaos Lord named Histlor. He doesn't like it when his rituals are interrupted."

As if on cue, lightning flashed in a storm less sky, followed almost instantly by thunder.

"Sounds like Histlor isn't too happy with you," stated Mason, scanning the horizon for more lightning bolts.

Fear shone in Ethan's eyes as he stared out at the sky. He turned pleading eyes to Willow. "Look, you've got to let me go, please. You won't ever hear from me again, I promise. I'll leave the country."

Willow gave him a steely look and shook her head. "Not gonna happen, Ethan. Giles says you're not trustworthy, and after all the times we've run into each other, I'm inclined to agree with him. Besides, the Watcher's Council is pretty much a worldwide organization. It wouldn't matter what country you ran off to."

Thunder and lightning struck again instantaneously. The bolt struck the pavement of the parking lot, blasting through it easily and leaving behind a deep, gaping hole. "Shitting-!" Rube swore as he leapt out of the way.

"Fucking hell!" Mason swore, staring in horror at the hole. His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when several octopus-like tentacles slithered out of the hole and reached from Ethan.

Willow waved an arm. A wall of purple magic flew out from her and pushed the tentacles back into the whole. The beast below cried in outrage.

Willow held a palm up to keep the field intact. The tentacles resurfaced and pushed against it. "Damnit!" the witch swore. "I can't hold this for long!"

"Lower Ethan's shield! Now!" Jexter ordered.

Willow pointed unseeingly at Ethan. "Lower!" she cried. A field of white energy that surrounded Ethan sizzled into visibility for a moment before dissipating.

Jexter ran at Ethan and placed a hand on his arm. There was a loud pop and then the two of them disappeared, having Disapparated.

The tentacle thing screamed again, realizing its prey was gone. It sunk back into the hole and the hole sealed up behind him, leaving behind restored, unbroken pavement.

The parking lot was suddenly very quiet and still. Mason blinked, shocked, and was surprised to realize he was breathing heavily. He stared at the spot Jexter and Ethan had been. "Damnit, Jexter!" he said, heartfelt.

Willow lowered her arms. She, too, was panting, and if anyone had been looking closely, they would have realized that her eyes were completely black. She stayed standing for a long before she started to topple. Snapping back to his senses, Mason saw her falling and rushed forward. He caught her before she hit her head on the hood of the nearest car.

"Thanks," she said, still panting. She glanced around Mason at the empty sidewalk. "Any idea where they could have gone?"

He shook his head. "No clue." Wherever it was, he hoped Jexter came back in one piece. He did not feel the same way about Ethan.

He heard footsteps and looked up into the completely stunned speechless face of Rube. "I-I don't know if I wanna know what is going on," he said in a dazed tone of voice. "Do I wanna know what is going on, Mason?"

Mason gave him a sympathetic smile. "Oh, I doubt it, Rube." Mason didn't think he wanted to know what was happening. He remembered what Rube was doing there in the first place. "Who was on the post-it, then?"

"Oh." Rube glanced behind him. He was still rather out of it, and it took him a moment to remember the answer to Mason's question. "I already took her soul. She's over there, unloading the car."

"Ah." There really wasn't much else to say besides that. Mason let out a sigh.

"Tell you guys what," Willow said, speaking up now that she'd caught her breath. She slowly got to her feet, leaning a good deal of her weight on Mason on the way up. "How about we go find something to eat." She looked at Mason. "You can tell him all about magic while we eat. I'm starving."

Mason glanced from her to the empty spot two feet away. He was reluctant to leave. "I don't-"

Willow smiled at him. "They'll be fine," she assured him, even though she looked like she had her doubts. "All I'm saying is, it may be hours or even days before either of them turns up again. We might as well treat ourselves to some nice, succulent food in the meantime."

Mason deflated. She was right. Besides, the likelihood that they'd show up again in that very spot was even more uncertain. He sighed. "Let's go to Der Waffle Haus, then." He clapped Rube on the back. "I promise I'll explain everything there."

Part Six