Glory was indulging herself by throwing some of her followers around the room when Lucifer arrived. She dropped the little man she was holding by the throat and hurried to his side. "Did I do okay? Do I get my reward now?"

Lucifer nodded, "Yes, Gemini, you did quite well, very convincing. Who would have ever guessed that you rule a realm of cats?"

She frowned, "They're really big, nasty cats. Not like the little fuzzy ones they have here."

"True, true. Very well, are you sure you want this? Once it's done, it can't be undone."

"Please, neither one of us can take this anymore. We'll end up destroying each other soon." Glory said emphatically.

Lucifer held both hands over the Gemini's head and concentrated. Her image began to blur until it seemed as if two people were sharing the same space. With a shove and a pull, Glory and Benjamin, the Gemini, were finally separated.

The twins looked at each other for the very first time and smiled. Turning as one they said, "Thank you, Lord, for this boon." Then they bowed deeply before Lucifer.

He bowed in return and the two vanished, having finally achieved what they'd sought after for so long.

Glory's followers were beside themselves. "Lord. Lucifer. What has happened to our Glory?"

Lucifer wasn't inclined to answer the annoying little gnomes, but finally decided they deserved something for their service. "Glory and Benjamin are, or rather were, the Gemini. Two beings living in the same body, but each with their own physical form. One male, one female. One good, one bad. Perfect reflections of each other. They have been seeking the Key since their birth, hoping to use its power to separate themselves. They performed a service for me, so I performed a service for them. Until today, they had never seen each other or been able to speak to one another. It was rather sad, actually."

"But, Lord, what of us? What shall we do without our Glory?" The boldest one asked.

Lucifer raised one brow at his insolence, "And how is this any concern of mine?"

The grubby little men hung their heads, not knowing how to answer.

"Oh, very well." Lucifer said irritably. "If she means that much to you, join her." A portal opened in the center of the room and Glory's followers could see their Goddess, their Glory, in the distance. Without a moment's hesitation, they leapt through the portal and rushed to her side.

Lucifer shook his head, "Odd little fellows. Must be masochists, the lot of them."

***

Wesley and Gunn cuddled a raggedly weeping Cordelia between them while Angel stood facing the counter on the other side of the room. He was in full game face, and his hands were slowing crushing the heavy wood frame.

He hadn't killed Giles or the girls when they told him about the dreams, their meeting with Lucifer, and their subsequent betrayal of the young man who had trusted them with his life. But he dearly wanted to.

Snarling loudly, he destroyed the counter and flung the shattered pieces across the room.

"Angel." Buffy said as she put her hand on his back. Even her Slayer reflexes weren't fast enough to stop the blow that threw her into the wall.

Advancing on Willow, Angel said in a deadly voice, "You've known him the longest. Was he marked?"

Willow shook her head, "I don't know what you're talking about. Lucifer said something about marks too."

Angel pulled her to her feet by the hair, ignoring Giles' threats. "Had he been baptized?"

"Of course." Wesley muttered. "If he'd been baptized, we might be able to retrieve him."

That feeble hope was crushed when Willow shook her head again. "No. He hadn't been baptized. His parents don't believe in that sort of thing."

Angel dropped Willow and stalked around the room, desperately trying to get his demon under control. "Fucking stupid. You are so fucking stupid." He muttered.

Giles spoke up, "It's too late for recriminations now. What's done is done. We'll just have to live with our actions."

Angel grabbed Giles and shook him, hard. "Do you have any idea what Lucifer will do to him? What he's going through right now?"

Cordelia staggered to her feet, wiping the tears from her face. "Kill them." She said quietly. "Kill them all. They deserve it. You'd be doing the world a favor."

"Cordelia. Killing them won't solve anything." Wesley said, trying to reason with her and with Angel.

Cordelia just shrugged. "It'll make me feel better. Do you remember that dress I wore to the prom, Wesley?" She asked suddenly.

Wesley smiled, "Yes. Of course. You were utterly ravishing in that dress."

Cordelia nodded. "I wanted that dress so bad I could taste it. But my parents had already lost all their money and couldn't afford it. I got a job in the shop where I saw the dress to try to make enough money to buy it for prom, but I wasn't going to make enough in time. I'd given up on it when Xander wandered in one day. When he found out that I was working there, he didn't laugh or make fun of me. And God knows I deserved it for the way I treated him."

Cordelia looked at Wesley and Gunn, "Do you know what he did? He took some of the money he'd been saving for a trip and bought me that dress. And he never said a word about it to anyone. I wasn't even going to the prom with him, but he still bought me that dress. No one had ever done anything so nice for me before."

Cordelia walked over to Angel, "Put him down, Angel. If you won't kill him, I will."

Gunn wrapped one strong arm around Cordelia's shoulders. "Cordy, let it go. My grandma told me once that we reap what we sow. They'll get what they deserve, but you don't need their deaths on your conscience."

Cordelia wanted to protest, but she knew Gunn was right. "Let him go, Angel. Let's get out of this place. The air in here has become a trifle rancid."

The group from LA left the Magic Box and never looked back, but before they got to the highway, Angel turned around. "Where are you going, Angel?" Wesley asked, worried that the vampire was going to go back and kill the lot of them, not that they didn't deserve it for what they'd done. He just didn't want Angel to lose any ground on his path to humanity.

"I need to warn Spike to get out of town. The farther away he is from the Hellmouth the better. Xander annoyed the Hell out of him, but Spike liked him anyway. At least as much as he liked anyone. I don't want him doing anything stupid."

***

Spike growled when he heard the banging on the door of his crypt. "Fuck. Can't a bloke get any sleep any more?" The blonde vampire ripped open the door, taking care to stay out of the sunlight.

Angel came running in with his coat over his head.

Spike grabbed his smokes and lit one up. "Peaches. Like to say it's nice to see you, but I'd be lying. Oh, what the Hell. Nice to see you, Sire. Just stop by for a visit?"

"Grab your things, Spike. You're going back to LA with me." Angel said shortly.

"Right. Don't think so, Peaches." Spike muttered as he dropped into his broken down chair.

Angel hauled him back to his feet. "Now, Spike. Get your things or you'll leave without them."

Spike pushed Angel away and snarled. "What's the rush, Angel? Afraid I'm going to do something to your precious Slayer?"

Angel shook his head and took Spike's place in the ratty, old recliner. "No. Not that she doesn't deserve it. But despite everything that's happened between us, I don't want you dead. You're still my Childe."

Now Spike was worried. "What happened?"

Angel shook his head and got back to his feet. "Not here, and not now, Spike. I'll tell you when we get to LA."

Spike looked at his Sire, he'd never seen him act this way before. "It's bad, isn't it?"

Angel laughed wearily. "Yes, Spike, it's bad. Very, very bad."

***

Lucifer watched Xander sleep for a very long time. He knew the boy would be perfect for the job he had in mind for him, but he was saddened by the fact that the job existed in the first place and by what it would do to Xander over time. He could only hope that the boy was strong enough to handle it.

Tucking the blanket in a little tighter around Xander's shoulders, he left him to his dreams. It was probably the last peaceful moment Xander would have for a very long time. Lucifer left the room quietly and gathered his lieutenants, it was time to put things in motion.

***

Brody gathered the rest of the Keepers when Lucifer called. The seven men gathered in Lucifer's throne room and quietly took their seats.

Lucifer looked at them and was proud of each of them. They had done a wonderful job in their time here. Hopefully, they would be able to help Xander adjust to his new position.

"Gentlemen, today is an auspicious occasion. I have retrieved Xander from the world above. He is here now, resting in my chambers. I want all of you to do whatever you can to help him. This will be incredibly difficult for him, does anyone have any ideas?"

Father Maguire sighed deeply, "His friends betrayed him, didn't they?"

Lucifer nodded. "Yes. They didn't hesitate to give him over." Lucifer saw the look of disgust on the men's faces. "I know, I don't like it any better than you do, but if we had waited...well, you all know what was going to happen to him. It will take time for him to recover, but even this is better than the alternative."

Brody nodded, "Aye. That would have been a bad end, and worse to know that his friends brought about his death. At least this way he didn't have to suffer the pain."

"True." Pierce said. "Being slowly burned alive is not an easy way to go. At least for me, the explosion made it quick, if not completely painless. But how are we going to help him?"

Leonardo steepled his hands in front of his face, "He has a kind heart, and is a hard worker. Maybe if we got him started working right away it would take his mind off his own troubles. Give him time to heal his own wounds."

"Huuummm. You may be right, Leo, but I want to give him a couple of days to get used to the fact that we aren't going to hurt him." Lucifer said. "I'll call you all in to meet him when I think he's ready. For now, continue your work. We'll be talking again soon."

The Lieutenants slowly filed from the room, Brody being the last to go. Lucifer called out to him before he left with the others. "Brody, stay for a moment please."

Brody closed the heavy double doors behind his cohorts and returned to his seat, waiting patiently for Lucifer to tell him what he wanted.

"Brody, I'd like you to get a room ready for Xander, please. Anyanka gathered up most of his things, they're in the storage area. Do what you can to make it as comfortable for him as possible."

"Are ya sure about this, Luc? Everyone knows how you feel about the boy, why don't you just keep him with you?"

Lucifer exploded from his throne and paced around the room. "I don't know what you're talking about, Brody. I don't feel any more for him than I do for the rest of you. Besides, I like my privacy. I don't particularly care to share my room."

Brody shook his head and grinned, "The Father of Lies, I didn't know ya lied to yourself too, Luc. We've all seen how you look at him, like a kid in a candy store. And you've been watching him since the day he was born."

Lucifer started to say something, but Brody just shook his head. "Ya can't deny it, Luc. I know better."

Lucifer sprawled across his throne, acting as imperious as only he could. "Please. He's a child. And I've been watching him because his father promised me his first born child if I would do him that one little favor."

Brody laughed, "Aye, that didn't work out quite the way the bastard planned did it?" In a voice that more than vaguely resembled a drunken slur, Brody sang out, "Please, just let me live and I'll never do this again. I swear. You can have my first born son if you want, just make it stop."

Lucifer shrugged, "I made it stop. I kept my end of the bargain, it's only fair that he keep his."

Brody grinned, "Aye, ya made it stop all right. Ya made him pass out with his head in the toilet, it's amazing that he didn't drown. Ya'd think the bastard had never had a hangover before."

Lucifer sighed, "I wish I could have left him alone until it was time." He suddenly slammed both hands down on the arms of his throne, "Dammit! Only another month and everything would have been fine!"

"Luc, I know you wanted to be able to give him the choice to serve or be released, but it really is better this way. He wasn't going to make it to his twenty-first birthday, no matter what you did. You've had Anyanka and how many demons watching out for the boy? You tried everything, you know you couldn't have stopped it from happening."

"I know, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I'm the King of Hell and I couldn't even prevent the death of one human! One of my humans! I tell you, Brody, I'm going to get rid of the prohibition against direct action if it's the last thing I do!"

"Luc, you know Himself isn't going to allow that to happen. He doesn't want the humans to know who you really are. If any of them ever found out that the reason Himself cast you out was because you tried to protect them...well, he can't very well have that, now can he?"

Lucifer sighed and hung his head, "Me and my big mouth. I hate my job."

Brody patted him on the shoulder, "I know you do, Luc, but who else could do it?"

***

Spike put his fist through another wall, all the while cursing at the top of his lungs. Angel watched the mounting destruction and was glad he'd brought his Childe to this desolate place to work out his rage. He rather liked his hotel and didn't want it destroyed.

When Spike failed to show any sign of slowing down, Angel tried to get his attention, that proved to be a mistake.

Spike knocked his Sire down and crouched over his chest. "Did you kill them?" He shouted in Angel's face? "Did you?" Spike rolled away with a sound of disgust, "Of course you bloody didn't. Bastard. Angelus would have ripped them into tiny pieces and fed them to the dogs. But not the great 'Angel', oh no, can't kill humans, no matter how much they deserve it. Bloody wanker."

Angel put his hand on Spike's shoulder, "Spike, killing them wouldn't have accomplished anything. Xander would still be gone."

Spike screamed and tore into another wall, "If I didn't have this bleedin' chip in me head, I'd sure as Hell kill them. I don't have a bleedin' soul to get in my way." Spike lit another of his interminable cigarettes and blew the smoke in Angel's face. "Isn't there anything we can do?"

Angel shook his head, "Other than leading an assault on Hell and taking him back? No."

Spike's eyes lit up with unholy glee and Angel got worried, really worried. "Spike, you can't assault Hell, you wouldn't win."

The blonde shrugged, "Maybe not, but at least I'm willing to try."

Angel just shook his head, "I had no idea that Xander meant this much to you, Spike. Is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Spike pushed Angel away, "Oi, you bloody poof."

Angel grabbed Spike by the back of the neck and shook him, "Talk, Spike."

Spike muttered something under his breath and Angel shook him harder, "I mean it, Spike. Talk. Now!"

"He reminded me of me! All right! Hanging about the Slayer it was only a matter of time before something killed him. I was going to turn him, make him my Childe, then the bloody Initiative put a nix on that plan, didn't they?"

"Your Childe? You were going to make him your Childe? You've never taken a Childe. You said you didn't want to be stuck with someone for an eternity."

Spike just shrugged, "The whelp was different now, wasn't he? Had a good sense of humor, could give as good as he got. I was planning on burning his clothes after I turned him, he'd do all right in leather."

Angel just stood there, stunned, trying to wrap his mind around Xander as a vampire, as Spike's Childe. The truly frightening thing was that he could see it. See the two of them causing hate and discontent around the world and cracking truly tasteless jokes while they did it. Angel shook his head, "I've now officially gone insane. Let's get back to the hotel and get busy."

"Doin' what?"

"If we're going to lead an assault on Hell, we have some planning to do."

Spike grabbed his smokes and hurried after his Sire, "We? We? You're going to help?"

"You're my Childe. Besides, I've been there before. I know my way around."

***

Urta knelt at Lucifer's feet, quietly waiting for his Lord to acknowledge him. Lucifer finished the last entry in the Book of Sins and set it aside. "Urta? You have something to report?"

"Lord, the ones you have me watching, there may be a problem."

"What?"

"The master vampires, Angelus and William the Bloody, they are angered by the boy's loss. They are planning to come here and retrieve him by force."

Lucifer gaped at the demon, "They're going to assault Hell? Really? No one has tried that in...I don't know how long."

Urta smiled slightly, "Since the Templar Knights, my Lord, several centuries ago."

"Very well, Urta. Keep watching for now, inform me when they're ready. I may want to take steps."

Urta bowed and backed out of the room. As soon as he was gone, Lucifer started laughing. "Oh, this should be good."

***

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