Salome raced through the campus, weaving through the throng of people. "Excuse me!" She said brusquely, stepping between two chatting students. "Some of us have places to get."

She looked around, sneering. "What I wouldn't give for a place to teleport."

The cellphone in her cut-off jeans began to ring. She hefted her book bag over her shoulder to fish it out. "Hello?" She said, stepping back as a guy on a skateboard whizzed past her.

"Hey there, plumcake," Lorne greeted brightly. "Sorry to call so late, but Chico's got to head out of town tonight. Can you work tonight or are you stomping evil?"

Salome continued to push her way through the crowd. "I dunno, Lorne. The evil is always coming, but yeah... Sure. If you need me."

"Thanks, kitten. Appreciate it. I'll see you tonight."

"Later," Salome snapped the phone shut just as someone rammed into her. Salome staggered, trying to keep hold of both her bag and phone. There was a loud ripping noise and a crash as the contents of her bag hit the ground.

"Sorry, man," said the kid who had bumped into her as he took off in the other direction.

Salome scowled, kneeling down. "You should be sorry," she snapped waspishly. She pulled her bag off her shoulder and stuck her hand right through the rip in the bottom. "The power of the Qwa-Ha Xahn at my disposal and I can't even make it to class on time." She looked around furtively before placing her hand over the rip. Her eyes blackened and the rip repaired itself. Her phone rang again Salome answered it while shoving her books back into her repaired bag. "Yeah?"

"Hey Sal," Andrew greeted. "I was hoping we could talk."

"I'm on my way to class right now." Salome pulled the phone away to look at the display. It read 3:15. "I'm already late."

"How about tonight? At the store? Connor told me what you said about Quortoth and he's worried."

"What?" Salome closed her bag and stood up. "He shouldn't have told you that."

"He did and he wants to make sure you're all right. So if we could talk about it..."

"I can't, Andrew," Salome replied, finally finding an open spot to walk. "I've got to work at Caritas tonight. Chico's busy." She sighed. "Listen, we'll talk about this at home. I gotta go."

Salome hung up again and slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Salome!"

She whirled around to see Connor jogging up to her. She waved weakly. "Ace. Hey."

Connor stopped in front of her and gave her a quick kiss. "What are you doing here? I thought you had class."

"I do." Salome looked around distractedly. "Not really a good place to teleport and I keep getting distracted."

Connor walked along with Salome as she made her way down the path towards the lecture hall. "Are you all right, Baby? You look kind of pale."

"I'm fine," Salome replied, wiping sweat off her forehead as she ran up the stairs of the hall. "I'm just really busy."

"We're still on for tonight, right?" Connor asked.

Salome turned, eyes wide. "Tonight? Tonight as in... Tonight?"

"Did you forget?" Connor asked. "Mandy has class. We were going to have a Slay-date."

"I told Lorne I'd work," Salome sighed, pulling open the lecture hall door. "And Andrew is on my ass... Why did you tell him about the Quortoth thing anyway?"

Connor jogged up the stairs and stopped beside Salome. "Because I worry about you. And you seemed freaked."

"We'll talk about this later." Salome gave Connor a quick kiss. "Love you. I really gotta go."

Salome went into the building. She raced down the hall to her classroom. She opened the door and slipped in quietly. She gingerly stepped towards an empty chair in the back.

"Miss Simpson." The Professor called from the front. "So glad you could join us."

Salome paused, turning to the front. "Been a rough day."

"Having a lot of those lately," he commented. He gestured for her to sit down.

*****

Starring

Vincent Kartheiser	Anna Paquin	Bret Harrison	Kou Shibasaki	Allison Mack	and Tom Lenk

****

Based on the Characters by Joss Whedon	Created by Emcee

****

*****

"You're a very intelligent girl," Professor Smith said, pacing in front of his desk.

Salome stood in front of him, clutching her bag. She nodded slightly. "Thank you, Sir."

"The first year you were here, you were the top of your class, but the decline is staggering. It seems like you're not here." Professor Smith stopped, shaking his head. "And a lot of the time, you're not!"

"I know, sir," Salome sighed. "I'm just... It's really terrible. I just have a lot of stuff going on. I'm working two jobs. And one of them is..." She grimaced. "It's really demanding."

Professor Smith leaned against the edge of his desk. "No one can force you to be here, Salome. But you are paying thousands of dollars to be here and if you can't pick up your marks, you're not even going to have the option."

Salome nodded. "I know, sir." She raised a hand to run it through her hair. She noticed the long claws and put her hand behind her back. "I'm really going to try harder. I've..." She backed up. "I really have to go." She started towards the door.

"Salome?" Professor Smith called out.

Salome turned. "Yeah?"

"You have to decide what's the most important thing for you to be doing." Professor Smith looked grim. "Think about what you want your life to be."

"I will." Salome continued out the door. Once out, she leaned against the wall, cradling her head in her hands. She gulped in air. The sounds of the students moving around her seemed to amplify, pounding into her. She raked her fingers through her hair, letting out a cry.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She tore herself away from the hand, bringing her arm up defensively.

"Salome?" Mandy asked, looking very concerned. "What's going on?"

"What do you care?" Salome asked roughly. She turned and strode down the hallway. "Not like you and I are all bosomy with each other."

"Yeah... So..." Mandy followed her. "Doesn't mean I want you to kick it and you look... Well, like total crap."

"I'm having a rough day." Salome pushed opened the door and stepped outside. She staggered slightly, grabbing onto the handrail to keep her balance.

"Well, let me help." Mandy took Salome's bag from her. "What's going on exactly?"

"I don't know," Salome hissed. "But I've got a splitting headache."

"Maybe you should take some Aspirin?" Mandy offered.

"I took a whole bottle yesterday," Salome sighed, closing her eyes. "It didn't help at all."

"Yesterday?" Mandy repeated. She shook her head fractionally. "How long has this been going on?"

"It comes and goes..." Salome replied. "...For about a month."

"Oh my god," Mandy reached a hand out to touch Salome's arm. "You have to--"

"Don't touch me!" Salome growled, swing at Mandy. Her claws swiped across Mandy's cheek, leaving four identical slashes.

Mandy pulled away, bringing a hand to her face. "Sal--"

Salome growled again and teleported, causing students to look over in amazement.

Mandy reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. She hit speed dial and brought the phone to her ear. "Hey Connor? We've got a problem."

****

Mandy sat on the counter of Flying Demon Monkeys. Andrew leaned against the cash register while Connor stood in front of the door, blocking anyone from entering.

Jamie stood in front of the counter, carefully daubing Mandy's cheek with a cotton ball using his good hand. "Salome did this to you." He applied a bandage. "Salome as in... Salome."

"Salome as in purple-hair-bones-Connor-bad-attitude Salome." Mandy slumped down. "I don't understand it. I mean, Salome and I don't get along great, but..."

"Something's wrong with her," Andrew said, standing up. "You two fight, but she wouldn't hurt one of us..." He got a hopeful look. "Maybe she didn't realize how long her claw were. She just meant to smack you."

"How does that make it better?" Jamie asked incredulously. "Instead of clawing my girlfriend, she hits her?"

"It's not Salome," Connor finally said. "You were right. She wouldn't hurt one of us-- any of us. I saw her before and she looked really stressed out. And..."

"Why is there anyway an 'and'?" Andrew whined.

"She looked like she was sick," Connor continued. "Pale. Shaky."

"She's getting headaches," Mandy added. Once Jamie was done with her bandages, she hopped off the counter. "She looked like she was ready to tear her hair out."

"We'll find out what it is," Connor said firmly. He stepped away from the door and opened it. "Once we find her. We need to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone."

Jamie turned to look at Connor. "How are you going to find a demon that can teleport and travel between dimensions?"

Connor shrugged. "By looking. Whatever's going on with Salome, it doesn't change who she is. And she's going to want our help. Mandy, if you're not too pissed about the cuts, go back to the campus and see if you can find her. I'll check downtown. Andrew, wait here in case she comes by. Call Oni and the others, get them to help. Jamie, you get in contact with Meerna. I get the feeling we're going to need her."

****

Salome laid flat on her back on top of the crypt. She was in full demon form-- her skin purple, dark markings going down the side of her face to her ankles. Her eyes were almost completely black. She clutched her hands to her head, muttering, "You have to stop... You can't do this..."

She rolled over, getting on her hands and knees. "It's too much." She pulled herself up. "It's..." She flinched. "No..." She shook her head savagely. "You have to stop this... No... No... No..."

She slammed her fists down, breaking through the concrete. She pulled her hands back. The knuckles were coated in blood. Salome brought one to her mouth, licking the blood from it in one long swipe.

"Here it comes," she whispered. "Nearly here, nearly here..." She flinched.

She looked up, eyes wide. The sky seemed to burn red and the landscape was barren. She took in a shuddering breath, her eyes turning blue, seemingly crystallizing. "This world is infected."

"Then we'll get a lot of disinfectant."

Salome whirled around to face the new arrival. She crouched on top of the crypt, looking down at Connor. "How did you find me?"

Connor looked around. "This is your favourite graveyard. You always like patrolling here."

Salome backed up, still on hands and knees. Her movements were animalistic, cat-like. "I told you that you might not be able to trust me, Connor. You didn't believe me."

"I still don't believe you," Connor called up. He jumped, scaling the wall of the crypt and crouching beside her. "I trust you more than anyone, Sal. Whatever's happening isn't you."

Salome shook her head. "You're wrong, Connor. I'm more me than I've ever been before." She looked at her clawed hands. "I've tried to deny it for too long. But I can't any longer. It won't let me."

"Please." Connor held out his hand to her. "Come with me, Sal. We'll figure out what's going on. But we need to get to the others."

Salome hissed and tightened her fists. She closed her eyes tightly and slowly stood up. Her skin paled, returning to her human form. She stood before Connor, taking deep, controlled breaths. Finally, she opened her eyes, returned to their normal dark shade. "There's so much," her voice was soft, weak. "It's taking everything I have to just keep control. I don't have time for anything else."

Connor stood and took a step towards her. "Then take power from me." He took her hand, placing it over his heart. "You've done it before." He smiled softly. "And I have a lot to spare."

"I'm human, you know." Salome pulled her hand away from Connor. She turned her back to him, looking over the landscape. "At least partially. All of the Nyazians are, were. The Proto-Humans who in the dark days followed Illyria. We were nothing but insects to her, but we were loyal." She looked back over her shoulder. "Then she blessed us in her death throes and we were made demon, but the humanity left a scar."

She began to pace. "Millions of years we existed, kings of demons... Powered by the God King. But we changed. We adapted as humanity swept over the world." She put a hand to chest, caressing the Star of David hanging from her neck. "Slaves. In our last act as warlords, the Nyazians took slaves. But the slaves bred with their captors. Made us more human. And it persisted. Until we cut ourselves off from the world, more humans entered our bloodline. The Nyazians five thousand years ago would have been as much your enemy as any other demon."

Salome stopped and shook her head. "But instead I love you. And I love this world. I live amongst humans and I'm happy there. I fight my own kind in order to preserve that."

"Salome..." Connor outstretched a hand.

"It's tearing me up," Salome choked out. "The demon and the human. I can't be both. The world won't let me any more."

"I'm the son of vampires," Connor replied. "Humans turned demons. I don't even know what am I. So I made a choice. And that's what you have to do, Sal." His eyes were pleading. "Please. Let me help you."

Finally, Salome stepped to Connor. She fell into his arms, sobbing. "Help me."

Connor enfolded Salome in his arms, his expression marred by fear.

****

Lorne looked over his shoulder at Oni who trailed behind him. She weaved past the tables. "You know you require assistance, Krevlornswath."

"I know I do, sweetpea," Lorne replied, stopping in front of the stage. "I hired two people to give me help, but they both seem to be elsewhere. In fact, Salome seems to be nothing but elsewhere these days."

"It is really not her fault," Oni insisted. "She is quite occupied stopping the world from being enveloped by Quortoth. The problems have increased with her psychotic breakdown."

Lorne sighed deeply, "You know I love the sugarplum, but I've got to think of my business."

"That is why I am here," Oni chirped. "I will serve the alcoholic beverages in Salome's stead. She will work with Connor and her aunt to solve her problems and be able to return to work for you, barring acts of supernatural disaster."

Lorne nodded. "All right. I'll let you work." He paused. "You do know how to mix a Seabreeze, right?"

Oni looked down, averting her gaze. She then brightened. "I am a very prodigious learner."

"Right." Lorne patted her shoulder and grabbed a microphone, hopping up on stage just as Clem and Sophie finished the last verse of 'You're Having My Baby'. "Hey now, let's hear it for Clem and Sophie, folks!" He clapped his hands. "Come on, let me hear the love."

There was applause from the audience as Clem and Sophie bowed. Sophie's stomach was so large she had to curtsy. Clem held out a hand to her and helped her carefully off the stage. Lorne followed after them to a booth to conference.

Oni went behind the bar and smiled brightly. She walked to the farthest stool and leaned over to Crawford. "Will you be able to find me instructions on constructing combined beverages?"

Crawford opened up the laptop. "I'll do what I can."

"This is fairly exciting," Oni commented with a smile. She rubbed her hands together. "I have observed Salome and Chico performing this function many times. It will be most enlightening to experience it firsthand."

Crawford began to type. "I guess this means our date is postponed."

Oni deflated slightly. "I apologized profusely, Crawford. Salome is quite unable to work. I wish to assist my friends in the best way I know how."

"It's all right." Crawford leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "Maybe I can just stay here and help you all night."

"You would do that?" Oni beamed.

Crawford shrugged. "Not like there's anywhere else I want to be." He sat up. "Oni..."

Oni turned to the door and watched Connor enter Caritas, helping Salome along. She was shaking profusely, her face incredibly pale, but her dark purple markings still showed on her flesh. A sheen of sweat made her glisten. Andrew followed close behind.

"I know you're nervous about the chilblain, but..." Lorne turned from Clem and Sophie to look at the new arrivals. "What in the..." He got up, striding over to them. "Plumcake, what are you doing here?" Lorne put a hand against Salome's cheek. "Oni just gave me the spiel that you couldn't come in."

Salome's teeth chattered and she looked up at Lorne, desperation in her eyes.

"We don't know what to do," Andrew replied. "She just keeps having these fits. We called Mistress Meerna, but she said she needed something first. But Salome needs help now."

Connor held Salome close to him. "We thought... Well... We thought you could read her. See if you can find out what's wrong."

Lorne nodded. "All right. Of course." He turned to Sophie and Clem. "Raincheck?"

Clem nodded, the loose skin of his neck wobbling. "Yeah... Is she all right?"

"She looks like I did that time you made crab," Sophie said knowingly. "Maybe she needs a shot."

Lorne gestured to an empty booth in the corner. Connor half-carried Salome over, sliding into the seat and bringing her with him. Andrew and Lorne sat down with them.

Lorne reached out, taking Salome's hand. "What's going on, Kitten?"

Salome opened her mouth to speak, but seemed unable, leaning against Connor. He smoothed down her damp hair. "She keeps going back and forth," he explained. "She gets really aggressive, but then she gets... I dunno. Sick or something."

"Too much," Salome whispered. She gasped and gulped. She then grabbed Lorne's wrist. "It's burning. It's all burning."

"She hasn't been making sense," Andrew commented, the panic rising in his voice.

Lorne shook his head. "No... She's making more sense than you think." He carefully extracted himself from Salome's grip. "Sweetie Pie, I need you to focus."

Salome stared at him, but her eyes were glazed over. "The world... Why does it hurt?"

"Salome, Salome." Lorne reached up and grabbed her chin between thumb and forefinger. "Listen to me, Kitten: These boys of yours get enough scares from demons without you adding to it. I need you to do something for me. I need you to sing." He gave her a small smile. "Anything you want."

Salome's head lolled. She pulled away from Connor. "I... Hurt myself today," her voice was trembling. "To see if I still feel."

Lorne's eyes widened in horror.

"I focus on the pain. The only thing that's real." Salome seemed to grow stronger as she sang. "The needle tears a hole. The old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away. But I remember... Everything."

Lorne got to his feet. He backed away slowly. Salome rose to her feet, following him step for step. "What have I become? My sweetest friend."

Lorne backed up against at table, staring at Salome like he had never seen anything like her before. She reverted to her demon form. "Everyone I know goes away... In the end."

Blood trickled down Lorne's nose. His eyes rolled back in his head and he slid to the ground.

"Lorne!" Andrew yelled. He and Connor scrambled to their feet. Andrew fell to his knees, cradling Lorne's head. "Lorne, are you all right?

Salome turned back at Connor, who hesitated. She bared her fangs before she continued singing, "You could have it all... My empire of dirt."

"Salome..." Connor whispered. He shook his head. "Please..."

Salome stalked to him, the look in her eyes malevolent. "I will let you down...." She continued. She swung her fist, knocking him back. "I will make you hurt."

Oni and Crawford ran forward from the bar. Connor staggered to stand, holding out a hand. "Stay back!" He yelled.

"I thought violence was impossible here!" Oni cried.

Salome whirled around, knocking aside a table. She glared at Oni and she recoiled. Her face was monsterous. "You have no idea of our power," she bellowed. She seemed to speak in a hundred voices at once. She threw out her hand, energy emanating and striking Oni and Crawford. They convulsed, screaming.

The patrons of the bar screamed, racing towards the door. Clem used his ample frame to protect Sophie as he hustled her out.

Connor lunged, grabbing Salome by the waist and knocking her down. He pinned her to the ground. "Calm down!" He yelled. Salome continued to struggle against him. "Salome!"

He wound up to punch her, but his hand met with resistance as the protection spell activated. He was knocked back from the force.

Salome rose back up. She glared at Connor, crystallized eyes wide, insane. "You will fail, Destroyer."

Lorne's eyes fluttered open as he came to. Andrew looked down at him frantically. "Please tell me you have an emergency off-switch for the spell."

Lorne nodded lamely. "Behind the bar... Panic button."

Andrew jumped up and scrambled to the bar. He vaulted over it, landing in a heap on the ground as Salome released another blast of energy from her hand, shattering the bottles over his head. Andrew threw his arms up to shield himself from the breaking glass.

Connor pulled himself back up. He grunted as Salome threw a table at him, knocking it aside with his arms but staggering from the weight. "Salome..." He rasped. "Stop."

"Stop us," she growled.

Andrew finally found the small window labeled BREAK GLASS IN CASE OF APOCALYPSE. Using his elbow, he shattered the covering. He pressed his thumb to the button and a blue energy wave passed over the room.

"All right." Connor nodded. "I will."

Salome grabbed another table, yanking it out of the floor. She threw it at Connor and he caught it, staggering back to keep hold of it. Using his weight, he threw it back, hitting her in the chest. It broke against her and she wavered. Taking advantage of the lull, Connor leapt forward, grabbing her by the throat. "I don't want to do this," he hissed. "Don't make me do this."

Salome kicked Connor, knocking him back. The force made him let go of her throat, leaving gashes in her skin. She moved to attack again, then gasped. The color faded from her skin. "Connor," she choked out.

Connor got back to his feet and rushed forward as Salome's knees buckled. He caught her in his arms as she fell.

"Sal..." He ran a hand over her cheek.

She looked up at him, her body still limp in his arms. "It's going to get worse," she rasped. "I can't fight them."

Salome moaned and her eyes fell shut.

ACT TWO