�She�s gone.�  Willow looked about them, down the street, across the street, like she might be able to see the creature Myst walking away or wafting away like the ghost she was.  But of course, she saw nothing, not even when she employed her powers.  �Gone, but still here, still in this world.�  Kat was in Spike�s arms, once again just a body. An empty shell.  Willow stroked her sister�s forehead.  Nobody home.  So how would they get her back?  There was no evidence of Katarina Eden even being on this plane of reality anymore. 

�Spike, we�re going to have to take care of her for now.  I don�t know, hook her up to an IV.  She�ll need intravenous fluids and nutrition.�  It would be like caring for a coma patient.  Were they prepared to do that?  Or maybe there was a mystical solution.  It would take some research.  In fact, all of this was going to take some research.  Willow was going to need her books, which were back in Marin County at the Slayer�s Training Compound.  She could pop up there via teleportation, but she didn�t really want to leave her sister, not even for one moment.  Not with things like Myst lurking around

. 

Will took out her cellphone and called her assistant, Melanie.  She listed the books she�d need and asked her to teleport them to the Hyperion Hotel.  That was the best solution.  They�d take Katarina to the Hyperion, set her up there.  Will could do her research while Spike and Angel protected Kat.

When she hung up, she noted she had a message.  She listened to it. It was Angel � a long rambling message, something about having her magically throttle back his passions so he and Buffy could have sex, but without him losing her soul. Willow rolled her eyes and shook her head.  Well, they�d deal with that once they got to the hotel.  �Come on Spike, we�re going to interrupt Angel�s privacy.  We�re taking Kat to the Hyperion.�

Spike, Kat, and Willow move to the Hyperion.  

Myst hesitated. True Willow could rip her from this form. This was not without consequences. Violently removing her would cause damage to the body. She reevaluated her situation. It was deadly. The witch held all the power and she wasn�t thinking clearly. The odds were she would react and think of the consequences later.

Myst�s eyes traveled between the pair. The soul wasn�t waiting to return to this structure. It was missing. The vessel would remain empty. The best course of action would be to leave it and attempt to reclaim it later. Perhaps she could find better real estate. Eyes fell on Willow.

She cocked her head back parting her lips. The dark smoky energy ebbed from the body into the night. Katarina�s body went lip falling into Spike�s arms. 

Spike, Kat, Willow & Myst are coming from The Still Point Continuance

�Red, maybe you should take it down a notch or two. The Myst beastie is right about one thing, my Kit Kat needs to breath.  If you choke the life outa the Mystery Myst, then the game is over.�  Will loosened her grip.  Spike spoke to the barkeep and what was apparently a bouncer, �No need to get your panties all in a wad, mates, we got this under control.  Everything�s gonna be just fine and dandy.  The two ladies just have a little row they gotta work out.  Chick fight. We�ll be takin it outside now.�  Spike got between Myst and Willow, took each firmly by the arm and led them away from the bar and eventually outside and onto the street.

Oddly, the sky had clouded over completely during the brief time they were inside.  Those clouds looked angry.  Spike used both hands to push Myst by the shoulders up against the brick wall of the Tiger�s Den. �Ok, luv.  We�re down with your game. You saw an empty apartment, a nice one on the upside of town, and thought you could just move in unnoticed.  Squatter, you are. Well the game is over, luv.�  He nodded towards Willow, �She�s the sister of the body you�re inhabiting.  She also just happens to be like the most powerful witch on the planet.  So if you know what�s good for ya, you�ll leave quietly, like a good little hell beastie.  If you don�t, Willow here is likely to tear you outa there and then rip you a dozen or more orifices in places where they don�t normally exist.� Spike morphed into his vampire face for emphasis.  �Some people think I�m bad, but you really don�t want to mess with Willow Rosenberg.  Trust me, luv.�   

There were no visions. There hadn�t been any prophetic dreams. It still something felt like it was going to go wrong. She couldn�t figure the details without the imagery. Laminating on the feeling she decided that it was better to investigate than to lay in bed. She would never be able to enjoy herself worrying about the others. She leaned over for a final kiss from this stolen moment. �Maybe we should just go over there and check in,� she sat up straight looking around the room at the chaos. Most definitely going to have to leave the maid a super-sized tip. Holding the sheet around her as she scanned the room for her scattered articles.

Tossing the sheet off, she went around the room gathering her clothing and getting dressed. �We can grab some breakfast along the way,� zipping her skirt. She looked to her husband for approval as she dressed. �Where�s my bra?� she noticed her bra daggling off the top edge of the curtain rod across the room. She wondered how it ended up there. Nevermind. �Shoes didn�t I have shoes? Like two of them when we arrived,� only one of them was present. Thankfully she could magically duplicate the shoe. �There�s a new diner on the way to the hotel. I heard it caters to special needs of the cities supernatural clientele. They keep a special refrigeration unit in the back full of pig�s blood. You can get a mug or maybe some Weetabix. I can grab a bite too,� she tossed her hair back out of her face as she finished getting dressed.  

Spike Kat please join Angel and Buffy in Still Point Continuance.

The comment about eating Tom Cruise had made Spike hungry.  That and the incredible sex. They�d have to track down some blood at some point this morning.  There was a butcher shop not two blocks away. 

Meanwhile, the buxom blonde news anchor was yakkin about how there�d been something like a New Year�s celebration at Echo Park on the east side, but with people in costumes � wolves, ghouls, and such.  Maybe more like an impromptu Halloween party.  And then there was some looting and breaking of windows in Downey.  And a fire in a warehouse in Long Beach.  All of it had happened right around the unplanned eclipse. 

Spike tried to reassure Kat, �People just go all weirdo and wacko during eclipses, luv.  It doesn�t really mean anything.  I remember the summer of 1921.  Charleston, South Carolina. Dru and I were visiting the US of A for the first time. There was this full eclipse of the moon followed by a partial eclipse of the sun the next day. Kat, you should have seen the place.  The locals like lost all of their inhibitions. Bars turned into brothels. Libraries turned into bars.  Dancing in the streets.  Dancing and� other things. There was this Speakeasy in the downtown.  Dru and I made it our own.  Locked and barricaded the doors.  The people inside were too busy partying to realize they�d become prey.� 

Kat propped up on her elbow watching the exchange between Spike and the maid. The woman had an appreciation for the sight she had seen. Granted once she calmed down it would be a story she would tell for years to come. But  for now she suffered from a degree of shock and embarrassment that caused her to bolt screaming. Concerned Kat sat up pulling the sheet around her. Spike closed the door and came back over join her in the bed. She settled back in snuggled into his side as he turned on the television.

Tom Cruise with a pair of plastic fangs graced the screen. �Eat him? I don�t even bite,� she wrinkled her nose at Spike, but he was smiling mischievously at her. He had a mark on the nape of his neck that dared to disagree. �Not like that and that don�t count.  Sides that pompous twit would sour your stomach might even get stuck in your teeth. Isn�t worth it,� pretending to consider the request. She captured the remote removing the offensive film. Instead of enduring the less than stellar performance, she began channel surfacing.

The mistake came when she stopped on the local news.  There had been an eclipse last night. It hadn�t been expected. Furthermore it was followed by a series of strange events. The news caster jokingly blamed the event for making the crazies come out. The couple had been too busy locked in their hotel room to have taken notice. �Did we miss something? Maybe we should check in with Angel,� she sat the remote down. Toss the sheet aside she then began looking for her clothes or phone.

After three times, during which they�d broken the bed, knocked over a lamp, and endured pounding on the wall from their next door neighbors, accompanied by shouts for them to tone it down, Kat and Spike had fallen asleep in each other�s arms.  They might have slept into the afternoon but for a slight gap in the curtains that let in a sliver of sunlight.

Spike awoke to his hand on fire.  �Bloody hell!�  He tamped it out on the blanket, then jumped out of bed to close the curtains all the way.  Kat was awake now, too, rubbing her eyes with her fists.  �Just a little inferno, luv.  I�ll be alright.�  A knock at the door, followed by someone saying, �Maid service�.  Kat and Spike were staying at the Rialto Hotel on Grand because Angel was in some broodfest broodapolosa at the Hyperion.  Cap�n Forehead hadn�t exactly kicked �em out, but he was perennially grumpy about them being there.  So they�d left. 

Spike went to the hotel door and opened it, �Can you come back later, please?�  The maid�s eyes went wide as she looked him in the face, then down towards his nether region.  She yelped, put a fist to her mouth and ran off.  Spike looked down.  He�d forgotten he was without clothes.  Shrugging, he closed the door and went back to bed. 

He grabbed the remote off the night stand and switched on the tele.  It was a Dracula movie, one with Tom Cruise as a vamp.  �Look at that midget wanker!�  Spike presented Tom with the two finger salute.  �It�s spastic, soddin ponces like that Scientology pissant that gives us vamps a bad name.  Hey Kat!  Lets go track him down and eat him!�   

Katarina wasn�t a fan of the PTB. They tend to be in too much control of their destinies. Always meddling with them behind the scenes. Spike dismissed Whistler as a kook. She had no reason to doubt this assessment. The demon was a stranger. The note was very odd. It denoted things she didn�t find very believable. She found Spike�s speech comforting and took Whistler�s claims with a grain of salt. All the same every day was precious. This day in particular she wanted to make memories to last an eternity.  �I trust you with my life,� more importantly with all her heart and soul. A loyalty that would transcended a life time.

�What do you say we go home?� she looked him over. It had been their anniversary date. It was also one of the most romantic nights of her life, but it had been full of interruptions. No one at the hotel would be expecting them home for the night. They expected them to spend it out on the town. This was why she entertained the notion. People would not be knocking on the door asking for things or disturbing them. Nor would strangers be approaching them with odd revelations. Following the sentiment with an impassioned kiss. She contemplating using magic to set the stage at home dim lighting, candles glowing, and rock ballads playing. In the end she decided she didn�t need any of it. The only thing she needed was to be spending time with him.

The couple left the poetry slam hand in hand. The rain had subsided.  The clouds had parted. She stared up at the stars. They twinkled like diamonds light years away. �Is it weird I like blowing things up? I like what we do? The fighting, saving the world, the whole deal?� the thought didn�t sound very angelic. The walk full of thoughts and reflections. It was a sharing of hearts. It ended by the fountain outside the hotel where a kiss ignited a fire. A few lost articles became strewn through the hotel. A shoe. A jacket. They made a trail to the couple�s room. 

Spike cupped his hand over hers on the table.  �Katarina, love of my life, I didn�t think the letter was really from him.  Everything was goin so well.  I�m not sayin you ever win against evil, but seemed like we had the upper hand. The non-stop parade of monsters has slowed to almost a dead stop over the last couple of months.  I just thought�� Spike shook his head.  He took the wad of papers that Whistler had handed him and spread a few out on the table.  They were all the same, the same letter Spike had crumpled up and thrown into the fireplace.  In fact, they all looked like originals, the signature slightly different on each one.  Must have been twenty of them. He handed one of them to Kat. 

They both spent a moment reading it.  There wasn�t much to it. Two paragraphs, eight sentences. They were fast approaching one of those branches in the road, it said.  Neither of those branches led to anyplace better than where they were now, but one of them was a road nobody wanted to travel.  The world was going to change in fundamental ways, the undercurrent of reality was about to shift, sending ripple effects everywhere.  Whistler had given the letter to Spike because he had to make a decision, and the decision he made would nudge reality down one road or the other.  Hopefully to that place that was the better of the two options.  The letter echoed what Whistler had said, there were costs no matter which way they went, no free lunch.  But the right decision in this case would have consequences that hit close to home, and it would include Spike betraying Kat. 

�Whistler?  The Whistler?�  Kat was in the dark trying to piece together the puzzle. It was impossible to read the stranger. There were very few beings immune to her abilities.  Surprised by the revelation she sat up straight. Spike didn�t typically keep things from her. It hurt. He had to have a reason. She wanted to hear it.�The note was from him? You didn�t tell me,� her gaze fell on her husband.

A woman took the stage. She glanced up momentarily then back to the stranger weaving his riddle. It was clear as mud. It didn�t make much sense. She was going to question it. Try to solve the problem.  Then they would know what they were up against. Glancing towards the podium then back over to find an empty chair. �Does he always do that?� absent mindedly staring at space. �I don�t understand. What was he talking about? There�s a test? What kind of test?� visible disturbed by the visit.