The vampire merely laughed when they pulled out their stakes. "I'm *so* scared," he hissed, and he held Xander in front of him to block any of their attempts. He began to drag Xander back into the shadows with him.

Xander struggled, slamming his elbow back forcefully. The vampire merely grunted in annoyance and tightened his grip.

Carefully, Willow and William stepped apart and started to circle the vampire from either side. "Let him go," William demanded, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Why should I? He'll make a wonderful offering for the Master. He's smells so young and sweet." He growled softly and licked up the side of Xander's neck, making the boy shudder in disgust.

From his position on the ground, Jesse managed to reach into a pocket and pull out his squirt gun. His actions went unnoticed by the vampire, who was concentrating on what seemed to be the more imminent threat of the other two humans. With a vengeful grin, Jesse aimed and sent a stream of water into the vampire's eyes.

Howling, the vampire flung Xander away and clutched at his burning face. He stumbled back blindly, groping for some defense against this unexpected attack.

"Stay down!" Willow shouted at Jesse. She ran forward, flicked on her lighter, and sprayed the hair spray through the flame towards the vampire. Then she too dropped to the ground.

The vampire's agonized screams reached a crescendo as his clothing caught on fire, burning fiercely. With one last shriek of impotent fury, he exploded into a cloud of dust.

Panting, the four stared in shock at the small scorched mark left on the pavement. "Woah," Jesse whispered. "Way rad."

"Is everyone ok?" Willow stood and brushed off, checking for injuries.

Xander groaned pitifully. "I think me and this wall got a little too intimate," he grunted, holding a hand over his forehead.

William rushed over and pried his hand away, gasping as blood began to stream from the cut. "We-we have to get you someplace where we can clean this up." He replaced Xander’s hand, hoping to stem the flow.

Willow and Jesse crouched beside him and stared at Xander. 'That's bleeding a lot," Willow said in a worried voice. "But I-I'm sure you'll be ok," she hurried on, hoping to reassure Xander. "Head wounds always bleed a lot, it's *totally* natural. But, um, yeah, we should get a bandage or something on it."

"Dude, you live closest," Jesse said to William. "Got anything at your place to fix him up with?"

William nodded. "Da has a first-aid kit in the lavatory, it should have whatever we need."

Jesse stood and helped Xander to his feet. "Ok then, here's the plan. You take Xander home with you, get him fixed up. I'll walk home with Willow, since she lives across the street from me." Taking in Xander's pale, shaking state, he asked, "Will your dad be ok with Xander staying the night? I don't think he's gonna be able to make it all the way back to his place. Especially not alone."

"I-I think so. But...what should I tell him?"

Jesse blinked. "Oh. Good point. Um...can you sneak him in? If he leaves just after sunrise, no one will ever even know he was there."

William swallowed nervously. "I...suppose so."

"Are you sure we should separate?" Willow asked, not wanting to leave Xander when he was injured.

"I think we need to get off the streets as soon as possible, and this is the best way." Jesse slung his arm around Willow's shoulders. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in William's capable hands. And I, my dear lady, will protect you."

Willow gave him a wan smile. Stretching up on her tiptoes, she kissed Xander's cheek quickly. "You be safe, ok?"

Xander nodded, then clutched at his head with a whimper. "Sure thing, Wills," he whispered.

"Ok. We'll meet tomorrow during lunch in the library again. Is that good?" She waved goodbye as William slowly led Xander away.

To distract her, Jesse groaned loudly. "The library? *Again*? I'm gonna catch something if you keep making me go there."

Willow looked at him, a smile playing about her lips. "Libraries are fun," she told him firmly. "There's books, and learning, and--"

"No more!" Jesse clapped his hands over his ears. "Make it stop!"

Giggling, Willow punched his arm playfully. "Come on, give 'em a chance," she cajoled. "I'll give you chocolate."

Jesse brightened. "Chocolate? Well, why didn't you say so? Lead on!"

Their joking banter continued as they walked, and the emotions left over from the vampire attack slowly began to fade. Then, Jesse stiffened. He cocked his head, then jerked Willow into a shadowy recess. "Shh!" he hissed when she tried to protest.

They stood in absolute stillness, listening to the faint footsteps grow louder as they approached their hiding place. When the footsteps paused, Jesse let go of Willow, readied his squirt gun, and jumped out.

The man whirled around. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, eyeing the plastic gun closely.

Willow stepped out and joined Jesse. "Yeah, there's a problem. Why are you following us?"

The man held up his hands. "Don't worry, I don't bite." He studied Willow closely. "I thought you'd be taller. More muscular and all that."

Willow gave Jesse a confused look, wondering what the man meant by that.

"What do you want?" Jesse asked, taking a step forward to place Willow behind him.

"The same thing you do." He kept staring intently at Willow.

Frowning, Willow tossed her hair out of her face. "And what's that?"

The man leaned forward. "To kill them," he said in a low voice. "To kill them all."

Jesse began backing up, herding Willow behind him. "Look man, we don't want to kill anyone."

The man gave a humorless laugh. "Didn't look like it earlier."

They froze, gaping in astonishment. Then Willow found her voice. "He came after us first. W-We just want to be left alone."

"Do you really think that's an option?" He snorted. "You're standing at the mouth of hell...and it's about to open." He gave another quiet laugh. "Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready."

"What for?"

"For the Harvest."

"Quit with the cryptic bullshit, man. Who are you?" Jesse fixed the man with his most intimidating stare.

"Let's just say...I'm a friend."

Willow spoke up over Jesse's shoulder. "Yeah, well maybe we don't want any more friends."

A bitter smile was directed at them. "I didn't say I was yours." In near silence, the man spun around and strode quickly away.

Left alone again, the two stood close together. "Can we go home now?" Willow asked in a tiny voice.

"Yeah." Jesse stared off in the distance to where the man had disappeared. "Yeah, let's get you home."

~~~~~~~~~~

William struggled to hold Xander upright as he fumbled for his key. Finally, he managed to open the door without Xander sliding to the floor, and he pulled them inside. He seated Xander on the couch, then ran for some paper towels, which he urged Xander to hold against his forehead. Then, he went back to the kitchen to read the note he'd seen on the refrigerator door. He breathed a sigh of relief.

A hiss of pain dragged him back to the couch, and he knelt beside Xander. "I'm going to get the bandages and things, I'll bring something for the pain too."

"God, thank you. You are a kind, wonderful person." He slouched down into the cushions. "Should I go hide somewhere now?"

William shook his head. "Da left a note, said he had to go to some meeting at the school. Something about the...the body in the locker. He won't be back until late."

"Oh. Good. Drugs? Can I please have drugs now?"

"Right." William left, returning quickly with the first-aid box. He gave a couple of aspirin to Xander, grimacing when the other boy swallowed them dry. Then he sat next to Xander and turned on the lamp by the couch. "Lean this way," he instructed.

Xander shifted sideways, practically falling into William's lap. He looked up with a goofy grin. "I didn't know you were twins," he mumbled insensibly. His eyes flickered back and forth. "You both have really pretty eyes, though."

William gasped and went rigid. Then he shook his head. "You're hurt," he said quietly. "Let me see that." With a clean cloth, he dabbed at the cut, apologizing when Xander flinched. He was relieved to find that, although the cut was rather long, it was shallow. By this time, the blood had slowed to just a sluggish trickle now, and William soon had Xander's face cleaned up.

"Mmmm, soft hands," Xander whispered almost inaudibly as he inched in closer to William.

Panting softly, William applied the antibiotic cream with shaking hands. He really, *really* hoped that Xander didn't move just a few inches closer.

The front door sung open, and the main light was switched on, brightening the room considerably. "William, are you still up? I was -- good heavens!"

Stricken, William gulped hard and stared up at his father. "Da! I, ah...it...it's not what it looks like!"

Xander reached up a hand and covered William's mouth. "Shh," he told him. "Loud noises bad. Quiet now."

Rupert removed his glasses to give them a quick polish. He replaced them, sighing when nothing about the scene had changed. William was still sitting on the couch, Xander curled comfortably in his lap, open first-aid kit and bloody cloths littering the neighboring cushions. Concerned, he bent over Xander. "Xander, are you all right?"

Xander smiled up at him. "M'good Mr. Giles." His eyes flew wide, clearing abruptly. He jerked himself out of William's lap, almost falling off the couch in the process. "Mr. Giles!" He glanced over at William. "I...um...that is..."

"What happened?"

William flushed. "Um, see, there was...actually...um...he fell?" He bit his lip nervously.

"He fell?" He looked at Xander. "You fell?"

Xander gave him a weak nod, smiling half-heartedly.

"I see. William? Is that the truth?"

William shifted awkwardly under his father's disapproving stare. "Sort of? I mean...um...no?"

"Mm-hmm." Rupert peered at Xander's injury, then affixed a couple of butterfly sutures to it. "Would you like to tell me the real story, then?"

"N-not really." He cringed at the harsh look that provoked.

Rupert shook his head in disappointment. "Xander, what is your parent's number?"

"555-3920" Xander whispered, giving William a look of sympathy.

Rupert left to use the phone. When he returned, he almost smiled at seeing Xander listing to the side, eyes once more glazed and heavy-lidded. "You'll stay the night here, I've already told your parents." He wasn't sure if Xander would really understand him, but the boy nodded before curling up against the arm of the couch. "William."

Hesitantly, William stood. He watched as his father got out an extra blanket and pillow, tucking Xander in. Then he followed him into the kitchen.

"I don't like being lied to," Rupert informed his son in a hard voice.

William stared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"I'm assuming something happened while you were out with your other friends this evening?"

William gave a jerky nod.

"All right then. I want you to go to bed now. We'll talk tomorrow." He stared at him meaningfully. "*All* of us. And I don't want to hear any more lies."

"Yes, Da." He swallowed, fighting back tears as he backed out of the room. He paused by the couch, a hand reaching out to brush tentatively through Xander's hair.

"William. Bed. Now."

William heaved a sigh and trudged to his room.

~~~~~~~~~~

Willow and Jesse walked into the library. They stopped in their tracks when they were confronted by the librarian's level stare. "Um, hi Mr. Giles," Willow offered. She edged past him and took a seat at the table.

Jesse hurried after her and sat next to Xander. "Dude, what's up with him?" he whispered.

"Busted," Xander whispered back. "He wants to know. *Everything*."

"Oooh." Jesse winced. "We telling him the truth?"

"Have to. Have you seen William try to lie to his dad? It's not a pretty sight."

"That's gotta suck. How's your head by the way?"

"Still attached. Not sure if that's a good thing though. Remind me not to introduce it to any more brick walls."

"Gentlemen...if I may?" Rupert stood at the head of the table, arms crossed as he examined the group of youngsters. "I know something happened last night. I want to know what," he told them sternly, "and I want the *truth*."

No one spoke, and Rupert sighed loudly. "Ms. Rosenberg?"

"Me?" Willow squeaked. "Why me?"

Rupert just stared at her.

With a reproachful glare at her silent companions, Willow started.

Rupert looked up from his examination of Jesse's neck. "You're being absolutely serious?"

Willow nodded. "Cross our hearts."

"Yeah, don't these look serious to you?" Jesse poked at the partially healed fang marks on his neck. "Let me tell you how *not* fun it was trying to explain *that* to my parents."

"Plus, you know, we have some research we did." Willow pulled out a notebook and offered it to him. "Just some preliminary stuff, we've only been looking into it for a day or so now."

Rupert sank down into a nearby chair. "This is unbelievable," he muttered. "My god." He stared at his son in horror. "What kind of place have I brought you to?"

"The mouth of hell." Jesse flinched at the glares sent his way. "Hey, it's what that guy said last night, not me!"

"What guy?"

Jesse frowned. "What, we didn't tell you?"

Xander drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "No. No, you didn't. Would you please tell us now?"

"Well, Willow and I met up with this seriously weird guy on the way home last night. he seemed to have a real yen for Willow. Kept eyeballing her."

"Seriously creepy," Willow chimed in. "And he saw us with the vampire earlier."

"Anyway, he said we were on the mouth of hell, and had to be ready for the harvest." Jesse frowned. "That chick from before was talking about a harvest too. Think it means something?"

"And this master guy. Both the vampires were talking about a master. And I *really* didn't like the sound of being an offering for whoever 'the master' is." Xander blanched as he remembered the inhumanely cold tongue snaking up his neck.

"I think there's really only one thing we can do at this point." Rupert shook himself and stood purposefully. "I had wondered why there were so many books dealing with magic and other arcane subjects in this library. I'm sure one of them must contain *something* of use."

Jesse groaned and let his head thump down on the table. "Not more research!" he wailed. "It's not fair!"

"How do porcupines have sex?" At the strangled fit of coughing that followed this query, Jesse looked up from his book to see a group of bemused faces studying him. "What?" he asked defensively. "It's a valid question!"

Rupert managed to recover his composure. Steadying himself with a deep breath, he asked, "Is there...some particular reason you ask?"

Jesse shrugged. "I just wondered."

Xander leaned across the table, a mischievous grin o his face. "Tell me, Jess-man. Do you often think about the mating habits of various animal species?"

Glaring, Jesse retorted, "Sorry Xan, I try not to *ever* think about you like that." He slanted a glance over at William, giving him a naughty wink that drew a faint blush from the flustered boy.

Xander noticed the brief exchange and felt a twinge of...worry? ...jealousy? ...anger? He brushed it off uncomfortably, resloved to believe it was just a lingering result of his head injury.

"Besides," Jesse continued, "you can't tell me it doesn't make you wonder too. I mean, think about all those quills! Ouch! I feel sorry for the guy porcupines." He frowned and gave Willow a stern look. "You realize this is all your fault, don't you? You *drag* me into this...book-filled place that has all these brainy vibes practically *beating* at me, and see what happens? I start *thinking*! Seeking actual...knowledge!" He shuddered.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Be brave, Jesse," she said solemnly. "It's good for you. Builds character."

Jesse stuck his tongue out at her.

"The female lays her quills down flat against her body during the a-actual act to keep from impaling her mate." William felt his cheeks heat up again as the group transferred their bemused gazes to him.

Rupert removed his glasses and asked in an amused voice, "Do I want to know how you acquired that bit of information?"

"I read it in the 'National Geographic'!" William defended himself. He glowered at Willow and Xander, who were giggling softly. "I did!"

A bell rang loudly, signaling the end of lunch period. There were groans as Rupert loaded everyone down with books to take home and study, but they left with a minimum of fuss. Rupert stopped William on his way out. "I still think you and I need to have a little chat," he told him firmly. "Your behavior last night left something to be desired. I wouldn't make any plans for going out this evening."

"Yes, Da." William sighed and trailed out after his friends.

*****