I was in the library with the other helping scan books into the computer while dad complained.

"Oh, great! A book!" Buffy said sarcastically. I looked in the box she'd opened and made a face.

"It's not a very nice book," I said.

"Never judge a book by its cover," Dad reminded me and Buffy and I shared a look before she pulled out the book and blew some of the dust off.

"Oh, uh, I, uh... haven't gone through the new arrivals. Uh, put it in, uh, in, in that pile," Dad said pointing to the pile next to Willow with the book in his hand.

"Here, I'll get it," Dave told Buffy getting up from his computer.

"Oh, thanks, Dave. The Willow pile." Dave took the book and placed it in a pile that Willow was scanning.

"Uh, when I've examined it, you can, uh, uh, skim it," Dad told her.

"Scan it, Rupert. That's 'scan' it," Ms. Calendar, the computer science teacher, corrected him.

"Of course," Dad told her sarcastically and I laughed lightly. "That's enough Elizabeth."

"I didn't say anything," I defended.

"You didn't have to."

"I know, our ways are strange to you, but soon you will join us in the 20th century. With three whole years to spare!" Ms. Calendar said grinning at him and I tried holding in my laughter.

"Ms. Calendar, I'm sure your computer science class is fascinating, but I happen to believe that one can survive in modern society without being a slave to the, um, idiot box," Dad said motioning to the computer.

"That's TV," she told him annoyed. "The idiot box is TV. This is the good box!"

"I still prefer a good book."

"Can I listen to you flirt when I'm not going to sent home for hurling?" I asked them and they both gave me a look.

"The printed page is obsolete," Fritz said before standing up. "Information isn't bound up anymore. It's an entity. The only reality is virtual. If you're not jacked in, you're not alive." He grabbed a book closer to him and left.

"Thank you, Fritz, for making us all sound like crazy people," Ms. Calendar waved him off before turning back to Dad. "Fritz, Fritz comes on a little strong, but he does have a point. You know, for the last two years more e-mail was sent than regular mail."

"Oh..."

"More digitized information went across phone lines than conversation," she continued saying.

"That is a fact that I regard with genuine horror," he told her.

"Yea, he's not lying about that," I said.

"I'll bet he's not," Ms. Calendar said teasingly before turning to the other students. "Alright, guys, let's wrap it up for today."

"I've just got a few more. I'll hang for a bit," Willow told us.

"Cool! Thanks." We all grabbed our things and got ready to leave

"Xander, you wanna stay and help me?" Willow asked him.

"Are you kidding?" Xander asked her.

"Yes, it was a joke I made up," Willow said and I rolled my eyes.

"Willow, I love you, but bye!" He quickly left the library with his bag on his shoulder.

"See you tomorrow!" She called after him.

"Buffy, wait up!" I placed my hand on Will's arm and gave it a gentle, comforting squeeze.

"I'm, I'm just gonna stay and clean up a little. I'll, uh, I'll be back in the middle ages," Dad told us before starting up the stairs.

"Did you ever leave?" Ms. Calendar asked him. He stopped walking up the stairs and looked back at her smiling face, pleased with herself before turning and going upstairs.

"I'll see you at home," I called out to him.

"Be careful on the way." I waved his worry off before grabbing my stuff and going home for the night.

I was sitting outside the house at night with a glass of water in one hand, my homework on my lap, and a crossbow at my feet. Can't be too careful on the Hellmouth after all.

"Shouldn't you be inside?" I smiled before looking up to see Angel.

"I thought you said you were going to stay away?" I asked him.

"I was walking by..."

"So far away from your own home?" I asked him and he looked down at his clasped hands. "Nervous about something?"

"Being around you."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, sir," I teased placing my homework next to me and standing up.

"Even where it shouldn't."

"We talked about this, Angel."

"Not enough." I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him.

"Why? Cause I want this and you don't?" I asked him, getting irritated at this. "I don't care that you're a vampire and have lived hundreds of years."

"Maybe you should," he told me.

"Why? Because you decided we can't be a thing?" I asked him. "That's kinda a joint decision, don't you think?"

"We were never a thing to begin with. Together we're a tragedy."

"Why?" I asked him. "Becuase of what we are?"

"We're enemies."

"Romeo and Juliet much?" I asked him.

"I shouldn't have come."

"Not unless you wanted a fight," I told him. "I told you I'd fight you on this."

"You're just a teenager..."

"Who knows a thing or two about what really goes on in this world. My dad's a Watcher which mean my education is a bit different from other teens," I reminded him. "You may think you know everything about me, but you don't."

"And you know nothing about me."

"Then talk to me!" I begged, placing my hands on his arms. "Trust me as I trust you!"

"You wouldn't understand how things were back then!"

"You don't know that!"

"Enough!" Angel shouted at me before moving away from me. "I gotta go." He turned and started walking away from me.

"Angel, wait," I called out to him, but he ignored me and kept walking away. "I'm not giving up!"

I was walking with Buffy, talking about Willow's new boyfriend, when we approached Xander watching her walk away.

"She certainly looks perky," Buffy said.

"New guy will do that to you," I told her with a smile. "When he's not being a stubborn idiot."

"No luck with Angel still?" she asked me and I nodded.

"We had a big fight last night, and we're not even together for it to count as our first big fight."

"Color in the cheeks, bounce in the step... I don't like it," Xander said finally looking at us. "It's not healthy. So, are you goin' to the Bronze tonight? Oh, probably not, you probably have some vampire-slaying or some lame endeavor like that, don't you? Everyone deserts me."

"Talk about feeling like a third-wheel," I said as we started to walk to our next classes.

"Check out the jealous man!" Buffy teased him.

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked her confused.

"You're jealous."

"Of what?"

"Willow's got a thang, and Xander's left hanging," Buffy explained.

"Oh, that's meaningless drivel. I'm not interested in Willow like that," Xander assured her.

"Yeah, but you got used to being the Belle of the Ball," she reminded him.

"Being the only guy in the group will do that to you," I teased.

"No, it's just... this Malcolm guy? What's his deal?" Xander asked. "I mean, tell me you're not slightly wigged."

"Okay, slightly. I mean, just not knowing what he's really like," Buffy admitted.

"Or who he really is," I added with a worried look.

"I mean, sure he says he's a high school student, but I can say I'm a high school student," Xander said and Buffy and I shared a look.

"You are."

"Okay, but I can also say that I'm an elderly Dutch woman. Get me?" He asked us. "I mean, who's to say I'm not if I'm in the elderly Dutch chat room?"

"I get your point!" Buffy laughed before truly understanding his meaning. "I get your point. Oh, this guy could be anybody. He could be weird, or crazy, or old, or... He could be a circus freak. He's probably a circus freak!"

"Yeah. I mean, we read about it all the time. Y'know, people meet on the 'Net, they talk, they get together, have dinner, a show, horrible ax murder," Xander said and our eyes widened at his words.

"Willow ax murdered by a circus freak... Okay, okay, what do we do?" Buffy asked before realizing her paranoia and hitting Xander lightly on the arm. "What are we doing? Xander, you get me started! We are totally overreacting!"

"But it's fun, isn't it?" He asked with a grin and we all laughed.

I was in the locker room with Buffy when Willow came running in.

"Whoa! Hey there Late Girl," Buffy greeted without a smile.

"I overslept," she said and I shared a look with Buffy.

"We guess, but till fifth period?" I asked her and she gave me a small look.

"Talkin' to Malcolm last night?" Buffy asked her.

"Yeah." She turned to us and saw the looks we shared with each other. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You're having an expression," Willow told us.

"I'm not. But if I was, it'd be saying, 'This just isn't like you.'" Buffy told her.

"Not like me to have a boyfriend?" Willow asked.

"Not like you to blow us off," I corrected.

"He's boyfriendly?" Buffy asked.

"I don't understand why you don't want me to have this. I mean, boys don't chase me around all the time. I thought you'd be happy for me," Willow said angrily.

"I just want you to be sure. To meet him face to face. In daylight, in a crowded place with some friends," Buffy told her.

"We just think you two should safely meet before you become all... serious," I told her.

"Malcolm and I really care about each other. Big deal if I blow off a couple of classes," Willow told us and I raised

"Thought you said you overslept."

"Malcolm said you wouldn't understand."

"Malcolm was right."

"Come on," I nudged Buffy. "We have to get to class."

The next day, I was sitting with Buffy, Xander, and Dad in the library as she told us about what she found when she followed Dave yesterday after school.

"Whatever Dave is into, it's large," Buffy said sitting on the study table.

"What was the name of this place?" Dad asked her.

"It said CRD. But, I couldn't get close enough to see what it was," Buffy told him.

"Calax Research and Development. It's a computer research lab," Xander told us. "Third largest employer in Sunnydale till it closed down last year." We all stared at him in shock. "What, I can't have information sometimes?"

"Well, it-it's just somewhat unprecedented," Dad told her.

"Well, my uncle used to work there. I-in a floor-sweeping capacity."

"That explains it," I said.

"But it closed?" Buffy asked him.

"Uh-huh," he confirmed.

"Looked pretty functional from where I stood. I don't have a clue what they were doing," Buffy said.

"And what do they need Dave for?" Xander asked.

"Something about computers, right? I mean, he is off-the-chart smart," Buffy added.

"And how does it connect to Malcolm and Willow?" I asked.

"We still don't know an enormous amount. Whatever is going on there may be on the up-and-up,"

"No, if CRD opened, it would've been on the news," Xander insisted.

"Besides, I can just tell something's wrong. My spider-sense is tingling," Buffy told us.

"Your... spider-sense?" Dad asked her confused and I laughed lightly.

"Pop culture reference. Sorry," Buffy told her.

"Yes, well, ahem, I think we're still at a standstill. Uh, uh, short of breaking into the place, I don't see..."

"Breaking in!" Buffy said with a smile on her face and slid off the table. "Then this is the plan!"

"Fun times!" I said with a smile on my own face.

"I'm free tonight!" Xander told us excitedly.

"Tonight it is!" Buffy said joining us.

"A moment, please, of quiet reflection. I do not suggest that you illegally enter the... data into the file so the book will be listed by title as well as by author," Dad told us and we looked at each other confused.

"I just came by to check your new database, make sure your cross-reference table isn't glitching." We turned to see Ms. Calendar walked towards us. "'Cause I'm guessing you haven't gone anywhere near it."

"Uh, I'm still sorting through the chaos you left behind you," Dad told her.

"Hmm." She gave him a look before looking at the three of us. "You're here again? Kids really dig the library, don't cha?"

"He's my dad, so..." I easily covered up.

"We're literary!" Buffy told her happily.

"To read makes our speaking English good," I held back my laughter at his words while Buffy just looked at him embarrassed.

"We'll be going now." Buffy grabbed Xander's arm and turned to leave.

"Uh, w-we'll, uh, continue this conversation at another time," Dad told us.

"I think we're done," Buffy told him and the three of us started walking out. "Makes our speaking English is good?"

"What the hell was that?" I asked him.

"I panicked, okay?" he asked defensively.

"Panic without words next time!"

I was sitting in the library after school while Xander paced and Buffy sat at the table I was sitting on. Dave had just set up Buffy to be killed, but he had warned her about it at the last minute.

"I'm gonna kill Dave!" Xander yelled out.

"He tried to warn me," Buffy reminded him.

"Warn you that he set you up?" Xander turned to Dad. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"She was only grounded for a moment," Dad explained sitting next to Buffy while I handed her a cup of water. "Still, if you'd been anyone but the Slayer..."

"Tell me the truth: how's my hair?" She asked us. Her hair had, of course, frizzed like crazy.

"It's great! It's your best hair ever!" Xander lied with a smile.

"Uh, oh, yes," Dad helped.

"I just... I don't understand what would make Dave do a thing like that," Buffy sighed.

"I think perhaps I do," Dad told us before going to the cage and getting a book from it. "Does this look familiar to either of you?"

"Yeah, sure. Looks like a book," Buffy said sarcastically.

"I knew that one," Xander joined her while Dad put the book on the table next to me.

"In the dark ages, the souls of demons were sometimes trapped in certain volumes. They remained locked within the book, harmless unless the pages were read aloud. Unless I'm mistaken, this is Moloch, the Corrupter. A very deadly and seductive demon. He draws people to him with promises of love, power, knowledge. Preys on impressionable minds."

"Like Dave's," Xander assumed.

"Dave, and who knows how many others," Dad explained.

"And Moloch is inside that book?" Buffy asked.

"Not anymore." Dad opened the book to reveal the blank pages.

"You released Moloch?"

"Way to go!"

"Some warning next time you decide to release a demon!"

"I didn't read it!" Dad said defensively. "That dreadful Calendar woman found it and, and it was already blank."

"Okay, so a powerful demon with horns is walking around Sunnydale, and nobody's noticed?" Buffy asked.

"I-if he's so big and strong, why bother with Dave? I mean, why didn't he just attack Buffy himself?" Xander asked.

"Maybe he can't?" I offered. "But who could have read the book?"

"I don't know," Dad told us. "It wasn't even in English."

"Where was it?" Buffy asked slowly.

"Uh, in a pile with others that were, um, uh, scanned," he told us and we all looked at the PC.

"And that released the demon?" Xander asked confused.

"No, he's not out here," Buffy told him. "He's in there."

"The scanner read the book. It brought Moloch out as information to be absorbed," Dad said.

"He's gone binary on us," Buffy said.

"Welcome to the computer age?" I questioned.

"Okay, for those of us in our studio audience, who are me? You guys are saying that Moloch is in this computer?" Xander asked.

"And every computer connected to it by a modem," Buffy said.

"He's everywhere."

"What are we gonna do?" Xander asked him.

"Willow scanned him into her file. It may be... a futile gesture, but I suggest we, um, uh, delete it," Dad suggested.

"Solid!" She got up and walked over to the PC with us behind her.

"Don't get too close," Xander warned as she sat down in front of it.

"Okay. Okay." She turned on the monitor. "So which file do you think it is? Willow?" She typed in Willow's name and the file popped up. "That's probably it, right? I'll just delete the whole thing." She dragged the file icon to the trash bin, and we all gasped in fright with a demon's face, Moloch's I assume, appeared on the monitor.

"Stay away from Willow! It is none of your business!" The monitor returned to normal and we stared at it wide-eyed.

"So that's what Malcolm looks like. So much for delete file," Buffy said.

"This is very bad."

"No kidding."

"Are we overreacting? He's in a computer! What can he do?"

"You mean besides convince a perfectly nice kid to try and kill me? I don't know. How about mess up all the medical equipment in the world?" Buffy asked him.

"Randomize traffic signals," Dad added.

"Access nuclear launch codes and start world war 3."

"Destroy the world's economy."

"Think I got it covered with the launch codes," I told him.

"Right, yours was best," he told me and I smiled at him and the others.

"Okay, he's a threat, I'm on board with that now. But what can we do about it?" Xander asked.

"I think the first thing we do is find Willow. She's probably talking to him right now. God, that creeps me out!" Buffy said getting the shivers.

"What does he want with Willow?" Xander asked.

"Let's never find out," Buffy said getting up from her seat. "Okay, I'm gonna check the computer lab, and you guys call her home."

I was looking up how to destroy Moloch while Xander tried called Willow as often as he could.

"No answer," Xander said hanging up the phone.

"Damn it!"

"Well, it wasn't busy either, so she's not online," Xander said trying to help him calm down.

"Everything I read says we need a circle of some sort," I told him as Buffy walked into the library.

"She's not home," Xander told her.

"What did you find?" Dad asked when we noticed her sad face.

"Willow isn't..." Xander started to ask worriedly.

"Dave. He's dead," she told us and I sighed. Slight relief slight sadness. Mostly relief if I'm being honest.

"How?" Dad asked.

"Well, it looks like suicide," Buffy said with a tone in her voice.

"Assisted suicide," I said.

"I'd guess Fritz. Or the other zomboids from CRD," Buffy told us. "Okay, the three of us are gonna go to Willow's house. Giles, you need to come up with a way to get Moloch out of the 'Net."

"I, I have records of the ceremonies, but, but that's for a creature of the flesh. Th-this could be something completely different," Dad sad motioning to the books surrounding me.

"Then get Ms. Calendar. Maybe she can help you," Buffy suggested.

"Well, even if she could, how am I gonna convince her that there's a demon on the Internet?" Dad asked us.

"The truth might work," I offered and he gave me a look.

"Then you can stay here and come up with a better plan. C'mon." Xander and I followed her out of the library and to Willow's.

When we got to Willow's house, we found the door open and I shared a worried look with the other two.

"Willow?!" Buffy called out for her as we walked inside.

"This isn't good," Xander said as we looked around.

"Willow?!" I called out going to look at Willow's house.

"Willow?!" We walked into her house to her room only to see it empty.

"Okay, any thoughts?" Buffy and I looked around her room.

"'No more waiting, I need you to see me'? See him how? Where?" Buffy asked us.

"What about CRD?" Xander offered.

"The research place?" Buffy asked.

"It makes sense. That's where you saw Dave," I reminded her.

"Guessing that's our best lead. Let's just hope Giles can back us up," Buffy said before we left the house.

Buffy and I jumped the fence while Xander landed on his back. Buffy helped him back up and we stared at the CRD building.

"Back way?" Xander asked.

"Back way," Buffy and I agreed. We made for the rear entrance with Xander limping in the back. When we got to the door, Buffy kicked them open and we made our way into the building. A guard tried to stop us but Buffy punched him out and continued on.

"Uh, Buffy! Liz!" We went back to Xander who was looking at a monitor.

"It's her!"

"Yeah, who's the other guy?"

"You don't think that's Moloch, do you?" I asked them and we all stared at each other.

We continued to walk through the building trying to find Willow.

"Found it!" I called out to them. Buffy tried to force the door open, but it didn't budge.

"I can't bust it. It's heavy steel," Buffy told us.

"Then let's find another way in." Xander started towards the next set of doors when an alarm went off and red lights started flashing. Xander jumped the door to try it, but it was locked. "What's goin' on?"

"Building's security system is computerized." I followed Buffy's gaze to see a security camera looking at us.

"Guess who knows we're here?" I asked sarcastically.

"Whoops!" Suddenly gas began to spray into the hall. We started pounding on all the doors trying to get one open. We all began coughing and Xander slid to the floor first, almost unconscious as Buffy continued to weakly hit the door. I continued hitting the door as quickly as I could with what strength I had when it flew open. I stared at it wide-eyed, but that didn't matter. Buffy, once recovered, was the first one in the room and she lept into a jumping side kick, making a dull thud when she connected with the metal chest. He only staggered a bit away from Willow and she just fell to the floor.

"Ow... Guy's made of metal!" Buffy told us.

"Well, it's not like he has his own ass for you to kick," I reminded her as a technician grabbed Xander from behind and pulled him away.

"No! I won't go back!" Moloch said suddenly. We ran out of the lad, Willow's hand in Buffy and Xander right behind me.

"Hey! I got to hit someone!" Xander told us excitedly as we ran away from the demon. The three of us opened a set of doors and saw a guard and two technicians running towards us and the other two quickly closed the door. "Let's go this way!" We began to run the other way.

"Wait!" Xander limped heavily behind us when suddenly Moloch crashed through the wall between us and him. He turned to Xander and backhanded him in the face. Xander fell to the floor unconscious. Moloch turned and advanced on us. I pushed Willow behind us as he started swinging at Buffy. She tried to block the hit, but he didn't budge and just pushed her aside and into the wall making her slide to the floor, a bit dazed.

"I was omnipotent. I was everything! Now I'm trapped in this shell!" Moloch shouted before reaching out to grab her by the head. Willow pushed me aside with a fire extinguisher in her hands.

"Malcolm!" Moloch turned to face her and she started hitting him with the extinguisher. "Remember me, your girlfriend?!" She pounded his chest hard enough to make his backbend. "Well, I think it's time we break up!" I grabbed the extinguisher with her and hitting him with it harder. "Or maybe we can still be friends!"

"Clean breaks the best!" I told her before he grabbed the extinguisher from us and threw it down. He grabbed Willow and shoved her down the hall into Xander, who was just getting up again making them crash to the floor. He grabbed my throat and I fought for what air I could get before he shoved me into the wall. Buffy stood up and faced Moloch and he turned to his attention on her.

"This body's all I have left. But it's enough to crush you!" Moloch shouted it.

"Take your best shot." I watched Moloch rear back for a punch and swing at her. Buffy ducked away and he punched right into an electrical box. It shorted out and Moloch was enveloped by high voltage electricity. Buffy ran over to Willow and Xander and I crawled to them. We crouched down together to protect each other. Moloch's circuitry overloaded and his body exploded with his head landing right in front of us.

The next day, the four of us were sitting next to the fountain trying to cheer Willow up.

"We gonna go to the Bronze tonight? We four?" Xander asked.

"It'll be fun!" Buffy said excitedly.

"Yeah, Willow, fun? Remember fun? That thing where you smile?" Xander asked smiling.

"Oh, I'm sorry guys. I'm just thinking about..."

"Malcolm?" I interrupted her.

"Malcolm, Moloch... whatever he's called," Willow said. "The one boy that's really liked me, and he's a demon robot. What does that say about me?"

"It doesn't say anything about you," Buffy assured her.

"I mean, I thought I was really falling..."

"Hey, did you forget?" I interrupted her with a smile. "The one boy I've had an interest in since I've moved here turned out to be a vampire."

"Right, and the teacher I had a crush on? Giant praying mantis?" Xander asked with a goofy smile.

"That's true," Willow said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's life on the Hellmouth," Buffy said with a smile. "Let's face it: none of us are ever gonna have a happy, normal relationship."

"We're doomed!"

"Yeah!" We all laughed but it quickly became nervous and stopped.