Disclaimer: Joss & Co. own just about all these characters. I'm only playing in their sandbox with a few of my own toys.

****************************************

"Breath mint for your thoughts," Cordy whispered to Xander as they crept behind Angel. He smiled at her and she shrugged. "You're wearing my necklace already. It's the best I can do."

"Thanks, but I think my thoughts are already pretty minty fresh...or freshly minted."

"Ha ha, funny guy. You just looked...yeah, I know what it is. You're thinking about Anya. Your girlfriend. Excuse me, your fiancée."

"How did you-" Xander's face showed surprise, but he kept his voice quiet.

"She sent an engagement announcement to Angel. She copied me on it, too. You didn't know?"

"I had no idea. She didn't say anything. You didn't say anything."

"Neither did you," Cordy replied pointedly. Xander opened and closed his mouth twice, and then finally sighed.

"It's complicated. We had a fight, and she...let's just say I don't know where we stand right now."

"Grovel," Cordy declared adamantly. Xander gaped at her.

"Huh?"

"Do whatever it takes, but make sure she knows how you feel. How much you really love her," Cordy said. She paused, memories of a rakish Irish half-demon bringing a flare of the old pain. Battling her emotions, she lashed out at him, "You live on a Hellmouth, you idiot! You more than anyone else should know you never know how much time...God! I shouldn't have to explain this to you!" She moved away from him, but he grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry, Cordy." The note of sincerity was more than she could bear. She blinked back her tears.

"You should be!" she rasped in a harsh whisper, then she deflated a little. The anger was gone, and now she just looked lost. "For what? What are you sorry for, Xander?"

"That you lost him. Whoever he was." Xander's quiet comment astonished her. He could be perceptive sometimes.

"Doyle. His name was Doyle. It was a while ago. I've gotten past it."

Xander was about to say how he could certainly tell, when Angel's hand on his arm made him stop.

"Guys. It's time."

"Okay, work your mojo, Deadboy. I'm ready."

"Please stop calling me that," Angel said automatically. "I just hope Wesley and Gunn didn't get lost."

*************

"How shockingly stupid!" Darla exclaimed as the lights went out.

"Mistress?" Lise asked, bewildered. Darla smiled.

"Angel's little friends must have cut the power. I wish I'd thought of it. Sets the mood, don't you think? Don't they know we can see better in the dark than they can? I mean, creatures of the night, blah blah blah."

"I hear something," Lisa breathed, and Darla attuned her senses as well. She almost purred.

"Yes," she said, drawing the word out in a hiss. "He's here. Angelus, dear boy...come to Mother."

*************

"Okay, there go the lights," Angel said. "Let's move."

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Cordy said suddenly. The two men squinted at her in the dim light.

"It's your idea!" Angel said, exasperated.

"It's a little too late now," Xander hissed. "Angel. Do it." Grabbing the necklace around Xander's neck, Angel said the incantation that Wesley had taught him and felt like something...whooshed out of him. At the same moment Xander took a sharp intake of breath.

"Xander?" Angel asked. The younger man nodded, his face expressionless.

"Intense. Let's go," Xander said. Angel nodded and instinctively went to lead the way in, but Cordy's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Angel always goes first," she hissed, exaggerating the first word. He looked suitably chastened, and moved into position behind Cordelia, who gave Xander a small shove, propelling him forward. He gave a quick kick to the doors, throwing them open, then held his hand behind his back. Cordelia grabbed hold of it and the two entered, Angel a step behind.

Angel was surprised at how easily Xander had dealt with the door; Wes hadn't said anything about transfer of strength. The vampire that dropped down on top of him, taking him down, abruptly delayed further musings on the subject. As Angel rolled back to his feet, automatically slipping into his vampire countenance, he kicked the tackling vampire in the head, momentarily stunning him. He whirled and another vampire tried to pin him from behind. Angel dropped his shoulder and the second attacker went flying over his head. The thrown vampire quickly regained his feet only to turn to ash as Angel rammed the stake home. The first vampire had shaken off the head blow, but was staring openmouthed at Angel, frozen in shock and confusion. The vampire remembered that he didn't register as a vampire to other vamps. Angel grinned, his game face making the expression that much more grotesque.

"So tell me. Am I a vampire or not? Wanna guess? You got a fifty-fifty shot at it...ah, forget it..." he finished, the stake finding the vampire's heart. Angel turned around and realized with sudden dread that he was now alone. While he had been distracted, Xander and Cordelia had vanished.

*************

"Angel! Angel!" Cordelia whispered harshly as they made their way down the corridor. Xander rolled her eyes.

"Right here, in case you've forgotten," he answered softly. "You know, Cordy, if you'd like for us both to be killed here, you could try harder to make it look like I'm not Angel. There might be some vampires here who aren't knowing that yet."

"Sorry. I forget how testy you get in life or death situations," she hissed back. "I'm surprised Buffy still puts up with you." Seeing the fleeting look of pain across his face, Cordy tried to apologize. "Oh, I didn't mean...I forgot she's not..."

"Later," Xander answered stonily. He led Cordy into another room. As of yet they had seen no sign of anyone, except that they had lost Angel shortly after entering.

"What's taking so long? They must know we're here...oooooh, what is that?" Cordy picked up the sparkling pink crystal before Xander could warn her not to touch it. Xander, annoyed, took it roughly from her hands. He was about to berate her for picking the thing up when they heard the sounds of someone chanting a spell from behind them. Cordy grabbed onto Xander's arm and they froze.

"We should run," he whispered.

"Wait," she replied, and turned to look. Everything happened quickly, but later Cordy was able to break it down to a series of images. Darla chanting from the shadows, her eyes glowing golden like a cat. Some kind of sparkling dust raining down on them, dissolving as it touched their skin and searing her lungs as she breathed it in. Xander dropping the crystal, crying out as if it had burned him. The two of them watching as it changed colors, changing from that sunset purple-pink to a deeper purple, baleful as a bruise.

"I don't think that's good," Xander had whispered, and then his hand had caressed her cheek comfortingly, tangling in her hair and it felt good, it felt right, and all Cordelia knew was that she needed to kiss him, like she had in high school after they'd fought, only this was different, stronger, purer than that had been. She pulled him closer, capturing his mouth and moaning in frustration because she couldn't feel him. Not enough of him, because there was too much in the way, too many clothes, too many distractions...they needed to get out of this place. As if he'd read her mind, she felt Xander's hands slide down her back and under her, lifting her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he staggered momentarily under the additional weight, then released her lips to better see his way to the exit. Cordy temporarily involved herself in nuzzling his ear and neck, making small mewling sounds. Both of them heard a woman's laughter, but it wasn't important. Only one thing was important. Xander followed signs, ducking out an emergency exit...he felt as if this was the most appropriate use of such an exit in history. He carried her off into the night, desperately seeking a place for release. No one tried to stop them.

"Could that have been easier?" Darla giggled. "I didn't even have to force them to touch the crystal. Oh, this is so much fun!"

"Should I follow them, mistress?" Lise asked quietly. Darla nodded at her, still laughing.

"Just in case...but once Angelus has had his fun, he'll find me again. We have so much lost time to make up for."

Her minion nodded and faded into the shadows. Darla was too busy replaying her moment of triumph in her mind to notice Carlos follow behind Lise.

*************

Angel looked up from the cloud of dust that had been his latest attacker and growled. Having to fend of repeated attacks and being unable to find Xander and Cordelia were doing little to put him in a good mood. Up ahead of him he heard laughter, and growled again. Darla. Time to end this.

He found Darla alone. He snuck up behind her and grabbed her by the throat. Angel felt a sudden tingle and realized that the spell making Xander appear to be him had worn off. The fear he felt coming from Darla confirmed it. He sniffed the musky air and chuckled.

"Well, you're awfully happy to see me, Darla," he purred.

"Angelus?" she squeaked. "It's too soon...I don't understand, it couldn't have worked that quickly."

"Really?" Angel bluffed, giving her throat a quick squeeze. "You don't think so?"

"Well, it's just that...I've never known you to...so quickly. I thought...poor Cordelia. I did hope the girl would get to enjoy it a little."

"Please. You could care less about Cordy," he said. She laughed lightly, pressing herself back against him wantonly. Angel tried not to notice; it made him nauseous to think of touching her that way ever again.

"It's not polite to contradict someone expressing polite regrets, even if they are insincere. Especially when speaking of the dead." Angel felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. He squeezed her throat tighter, and she began to gag.

"What did you do, Darla?" Angel hissed.

"An...ge...lus," Darla choked out. Angel grabbed her hair with the hand that wasn't wringing her neck, and pulled her head back to meet his gaze. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Guess again," he said. Barely resisting the urge to tear her head from her shoulders, Angel threw the blonde down hard. One hand fluttering to her bruised throat, her eyes filling with tears of pain and frustration, she looked for all the world like a little girl whose favorite toy had just been taken away.

"It can't be...it worked! I know it worked...the crystal changed...and you...and she...this can't be happening. You can't possibly be that cold!"

Angel frowned, trying to make sense of that. Angelus was the coldest son of a bitch around. What could his coldness have to do with this?

***********

Lise had been following the man she thought was Angelus and his lover at a discreet distance, but she could have been riding on their backs for all the notice they took of her. She supposed it might have been stimulating, but one of the side effects of the spell was that it made the couple unpleasant for anyone to watch. It was a helpful safeguard against unwanted interference. Plus, Lise might have been a vampire, but she wasn't that kind of girl.

They had stopped again, pressed up against a plate glass window she was convinced was going to shatter from the unexpected pressure. She paused, looking away with a grimace of distaste...and struck the vampire that had been tailing her for blocks. Carlos lay sprawled on the ground, blinking up at her in surprise.

"For a vampire, you can't sneak up worth a damn," she hissed at him, slipping on her game face. He sprung to his feet, grinning. Lise had not been unaware of Carlos' feelings about her. This particular fight had been a long time coming, and if she hadn't been already engaged in a task she would have taken the time to enjoy it. As it was, Lise wanted this business finished fast. At the rate they were going, Angelus' soul had to go soon. She didn't want to miss the part where he tortured and killed the dark-haired woman. That was the kind of show she would enjoy.

Unfortunately, Carlos proved to be more of a challenge than she'd expected. They sparred back and forth, neither being able to get the upper hand. Lise was going in for what she hoped was the final kill when a sudden realization made her falter. Carlos seized the advantage and took her down, holding a two by four to her chest triumphantly.

"Final words, bitch?" he asked saucily. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, and he grinned. "Look at you, all afraid. If only Darla could see her favorite now, cowering like a kicked puppy. But don't worry, I'll be sure and tell her how you died."

"Carlos," Lise said softly as she threw her hands up, forcing the wood to go through his heart instead of her own. "You're an idiot. And you talk too much." She watched the dust fly into the breeze, picked up the falling wood and threw it against the wall angrily.

"And thanks to you, I've lost them." She could no longer sense Angelus anywhere in the near vicinity. There was nothing to do but return to Darla and face the consequences of her failure.

***********

"Darla, Darla, Darla. I'm really disappointed in you. Now be a good girl and tell me what you did to them, and I might make this quick." Angel was more than a little irked that the plan had gone successfully, except that it was overridden by his concern for Cordy.

"It wasn't you. You tricked me," Darla said, suddenly realizing what had happened. She clenched her hands into fists, growling. Angel could tell she was about to attack, and he wasn't alone.

"Quite successfully, apparently. Stay right where you are," Wesley commanded, crossbow pointed at her heart as he limped into the dim emergency lighting. Angel smiled grimly.

"I take it you managed the rescue without me?"

"There were certainly a number of them, but they were almost uniformly stupid and monumentally disorganized. All staked or scattered now. No trouble at all," he added, wincing a bit as he turned to get a better angle on the vampire. A moment later the lights came back on, and Angel took in his disheveled appearance.

"I see that. Gunn?"

"Seeing to the young people. He should be joining us presently. What's become of Xander and Cordelia?"

"We were just getting to that. Darla's about to share with us where they are."

Darla's laughter sounded like bells dripped in acid.

"Why should I tell you?"

"How about because you want this to end quickly. The alternative...oh, Darla, you can imagine that, can't you? Cause I can." Darla turned her head defiantly.

"You're not Angelus, dear boy," she said softly. Wesley pulled Angel away from Darla slightly, still eyeing the vampire warily.

"Did she tell you anything?"

"She said something about a crystal changing, and me and Cordy..." Angel trailed off, puzzled.

"Angel, what did she say exactly about you and Cordy?" Angel's brow furrowed.

"She thought it would take longer...I think she let them go, Wesley. She thought I would kill Cordy and come back to her."

"Angel, if you had become Angelus, wouldn't you have?"

"Sure, but why just let them go? What could she have done to be so sure my soul would be gone after...oh my God, what I smelled was...Wesley, I thought...but she must have...so they...oh, this is bad." A sound behind them made them both turn, but it was only Gunn, waving his own crossbow.

"Kid's are out. What's bad?" Gunn asked warily. "Where's the princess-Angel, look out!" Darla landed screeching on Angel's back, knocking him face down to the floor. Triumphantly she raised her arms over her head, a stake in her grasp. She froze, startled, hearing a stereophonic *snap-poing* sound, and therefore only had time to glance at the two crossbow bolts that had simultaneously pierced her heart. The dust that was Darla settled down on Angel as Gunn and Wesley exchanged business-like nods.

"I'm afraid we won't be getting any more information from her," Wesley sighed.

"But Angel's on to something, right? Something bad?" Gunn asked tensely. "You gonna spill that any time soon?"

"Darla said there was a crystal...Wesley, Gunn, look for a crystal!" Angel said, searching the surrounding area.

"This looks like something," Gunn said, reaching down.

"Don't touch it!" Wesley and Angel called in unison.

"Okay! Geez!" Gunn said defensively, holding his hands up as they gathered them. Wesley frowned, looking embarrassed.

"Oh, dear."

"Oh, dear what?" Gunn exploded.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Angel asked.

"Yes, yes, I'm afraid so. Oh, dear."

"Wes, say 'Oh, dear,' one more time and I'll kick your English ass. What is up?"

"Well, the good news is I don't believe they're in any immediate danger," Wesley began. "Ummm...Angel?" Wesley took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around the crystal. Angel stared blankly at Wes for a moment, then jumped back to the present, nodding.

"Yeah, they're probably fine."

"Okay," Gunn drawled. "So what happened to them?"

"Darla probably...that is, I believe Darla...oh, d..." Wesley stopped himself from saying 'dear' at Gunn's warning look, continuing on, "...Darla cast a spell on them to make them...happy. Together."

"We need to find them," Angel said.

"We need to find them cause they're happy together? That doesn't make...oh! Wait a minute! You're trying to tell me those two are off getting jiggy?"

"Am I?" Wesley asked in bewilderment.

"Yeah, pretty much," Angel said.

"They're having hot monkey sex right now?" Gunn asked in horrified fascination. Wesley cleared his throat.

"I think I prefer 'getting jiggy'...and yes, I believe so," Wesley said curtly. Gunn took a moment to absorb that information fully, then shook his head.

"Damn."

"Uh-huh," Angel agreed. "We need to find them and stop them."

"I agree. But I'm not quite certain we can. The problem is, we don't know the nature of the spell used. I need to research this crystal and look into the kind of spell that would create this reaction. And there might be some magickal residue or spell echo we can use to sort it out. Fred's been doing some research for me, she might have an idea..."

"I'll start scoping out the area, see if there's any sign of them," Gunn said.

"I'll go with you. I think I can track them," Angel said hesitantly. He didn't relish the idea of following that scent, knowing what it meant.

"If you find them, you mustn't try to...don't separate them. We have no idea how physically trying to interfere with the spell might effect them. Locate and monitor them until we've come up with a solution." Angel and Gunn exchanged disgusted looks.

"Wesley, are you saying we should watch?" Gunn said disbelievingly. Wesley just coughed, and Angel made a decision. Watching Cordelia...do that was not something he was prepared to do. He had his own concerns about unwanted effects.

"On second thought, maybe I'll head back to the office and help Wesley," Angel said hastily. Gunn looked at him like he was a traitor.

"Actually, I could use Angel's help. Gunn, do you think you can find them alone?"

"Sure. Fine. I'll find them," he grumbled, walking off. "Feel all dirty, but I'll find them." Angel and Wesley quickly made their way back to the car. Angel slid into the passenger seat and turned his body towards Wesley. The former Watcher gravely started the engine then looked questioningly at the vampire

"So, what is it you need me to do?" Angel asked a bit eagerly as they pulled away from the curb. Wesley smiled faintly.

"Call Giles and tell him what's happened."

Angel looked longingly after Gunn even though he was already out of view. If the car had been slightly slower, or if Angel had looked back a second later, they might have seen Lise's lithe form exiting the building and slipping down the alley.

The vampire had arrived moments before Darla was shot, and her heart burned for revenge. She had overheard their conversation, and formulated her plan. The man called Gunn would lead her to the false Angelus and the seer; in turn, she would use those three to trap the others. And then her mistress would be avenged. With much pain and death, just the way she would have liked it.

*************

The thing about being the night manager at the Paridice Hotel is you get pretty jaded. After a few years working at a place whose owner couldn't spell and whose occupants couldn't care, Juscelino reflected there wasn't much he hadn't seen or heard, particularly of a concupiscent nature. The couple that had barged into the lobby moments before offered more of the same, but to such a degree that Juscelino found his artful projection of boredom was rapidly dissolving in gallons of perspiration.

"Name?" he asked shakily. Neither of them came up for air.

"Mmmmnaphnaph." Juscelino shook his head, wrote down Smith in the registry. He attempted his best no-nonsense glare.

"I need to be paid up front. In cash. You want clean sheets, that's extra. Hey! Not on my counter! Good God people, you can't just...hey, I just cleaned that! No, don't, please, that's just...oh, man! I can't believe you just...all right, stop it, just take the key! Room 4, right next door, go, now, before...thank you."

Juscelino slumped down behind the counter, running shaky fingers through his hair. He hadn't smoked in years, but he desperately craved a cigarette. Now that they were gone, he wondered what his problem was. The girl had been hot, and what they were doing...normally stuff like that didn't bother him. Juscelino laid his head back, imagined he had a cigarette, and pondered if maybe it wasn't time for a career change.

*************

Giles sighed. Anya had volunteered to stay late to help him pull the shop back together after the latest demon attack, but she worried him. He'd never seen her so withdrawn and listless.

"Anya, why don't you go home now?" he suggested gently, and she shook her head.

"If I'm not working, I'm thinking. And if I'm thinking, I'm worrying. And if I'm worrying, I'm all barfy and if I'm barf-"

"Yes, yes, I understand. No need to go on. How about doing some reshelving in the spell book section. I'm afraid they rather made a mess of things there." Giles was dismayed when she simply nodded and did as he suggested. It was completely out of character for her to obey without discussion. The phone rang; at the late hour, Giles prayed Xander was finally checking in.

"Magic Box. Your one stop-"

"Giles?"

"Angel? Thank goodness. Xander is with you, yes?" Giles said, hearing the clatter of books hitting the floor. An excited Anya was at his elbow a second later, trying to take the phone. He held up his hand sternly, and she relented, still eyeing the phone eagerly.

"Actually, that's why I'm calling. Something's happened. To Xander."

"Oh?" Giles said as noncommittally as possible.

"Yeah...he's all right, as far as we know, but we don't exactly know where he is right now."

"I see. Can you elaborate a bit?" Giles said, still using evasive language. Anya looked about ready to rend him limb from limb to get to the telephone.

"Well...actually, it's kind of a funny...ummm, well, short version, Darla and a gang of vamps grabbed a bunch of kids to trap me."

"Darla?" Giles said in shock, and Anya looked puzzled.

"Whoa, long story...anyway, Darla wanted to make me lose my soul by casting a spell on me to make me, ummm, get happy with Cordy. In the soulfree sense. Only she thought Xander was me, as absurd as that sounds."

"So you're saying he...oh, dear..."

"Yeah. We've lost track of both of them, actually. One of our associates is out looking for them now, and Wes is researching the spell to see what we need to do."

"I see." Giles said in clipped tones. "Angel, I'm standing here with Xander's fiancée right now. She's been very, very worried about him. When should I tell her she can expect to hear from him?"

"Oh," Angel said, beginning to rush his words together in his haste to end the call, "Not really sure. Wes thinks the spell will wear off by morning. If we haven't found them by then, they'll probably call. Hey, I gotta run, great talking to you, bye Giles."

"Angel! Angel!" Giles said angrily to the offensive dial tone, hanging up in contempt. He could barely look into Anya's terrified eyes. Giles took a deep breath, wondering what on earth he was going to say to her. His mind boggled at the mess the boy had managed to get himself into.

*************

Finding a spot where he was could keep a good eye on Room #4 of the Paridice Motel, but was far enough away not to hear anything, Gunn settled in for the night. When he checked in with Angel, they told him to keep an eye on the happy couple, but that there was nothing to do but let the spell run its course. Wesley estimated it should be over by dawn, which meant Gunn was in for a boring night on stakeout, instead of being out staking. Chuckling at his own funny, he watched idly as a homeless girl entered the motel office. He thought of going to tell her about Anne's place, then thought better of it. That office was too close to Room #4 for comfort. Gunn didn't even want to know that place until morning.

Lise had been watching Gunn for some time. She saw him enter and then leave the motel office, saw him stare hard at the room next to the office, shuddering violently. He had made a call on his cell phone, and then moved away to a place where he could keep an eye on everything. Clearly they had discovered the spell would wear off by morning. Lise toyed with the idea of snacking on him now, then disregarded it. She preferred to get all of them alive before the torturing began; it was so much better that way. The large overhang should offer her adequate sun protection in the morning, and she would be able to get all three of them. Sewer access was close enough, too. Lise smiled as she finished making her plan, then headed into the office, surreptitiously watching Gunn watching her. She could tell he'd dismissed her as being of no consequence. She'd let him pay for that mistake in the morning. For now she wanted to get a room and a meal, and the night manager was just what she needed for both.

*************