What Can't We Face?

by MatteoVerde1991

Buffy season 8 crossover with Angel season 5, beware may contain spoilers.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel :

What Can't We Face?

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

"It's bloody chaos over there without you," Spike had revealed to Buffy.

"It is?" Buffy had asked.

"Yeah! There's junk, you know? Food cartons, sleeping bags not rolled up, everyone's scared and unkempt."

"Sounds dire."

"I didn't see a lot. I came, hit Faith a bunch of times and left."

"Really? Not that I'm glad..."

"You say the word and she's a footnote in history. I'll make it look like a painful accident." Spike had sat on the end of the bed.

"That's my problem. I say the word, some girl dies...every time."

"There's always casualties in war."

"Casualties. It just sounds so...casual. These are girls that I got killed. I cut myself off from them...all of them. I knew I was gonna lose some of them and I didn't You know what? I'm still making excuses. I've always cut myself off. I've always— Being the slayer made me different. But it's my fault I stayed that way. People are always trying to connect to me, and I just slip away. You should know." Buffy had stood up.

"I seem to recall a certain amount of connecting."

"Oh, please! We were never close. You just wanted me because I was...unattainable."

"You think that's all that was?" Spike had stood up, angrily.

"Please, let's not go over the past." Buffy had sat back down.

"Oh, no, no. Let's hold on here. I'm hummed along to your pity-ditty, and I think I should have the mic for a bit."

"Fine. The stage is yours. Cheer me up."

"You're insufferable."

"Thank you. That really helped."

"I'm not trying to cheer you up."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I don't know. I'll know when I'm done saying it. Something pissed me off, and I just— "Unattainable." That's it."

"Fine. I'm attainable. I'm an attain-a-thon. May I please just go to sleep?"

"You listen to me." Spike had knelt on the floor in front of Buffy. "I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker. I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make a lot of mistakes, a lot of wrong bloody calls." Spike had looked into Buffy's eyes. "A 100+ years, and there's only one thing I've ever been sure of: you."

Buffy had looked away and Spike had touched her face.

"Hey, look at me. I'm not asking you for anything. When I say, "I love you," it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me," Buffy had started to cry. " I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman. You're the one Buffy."

"I don't wanna be the one," Buffy had whispered.

"I don't wanna be this good looking and athletic. We all have crosses to bear. You get some rest now. I'll check in before first light. You can decide how you want..." Spike had walked toward the door.

"Spike? Could you...stay here?"

"Sure. That diabolical old torture device, the comfy chair. It'll do me fine."

"No, I mean...here. Will you just hold me?" Buffy had gestured to the bed and Spike had laid down on it. He had held her and they had fallen asleep in each others arms.

Buffy had landed on her feet as she fell through the trap door in the vineyard. She had looked around and had found her weapon, a scythe. And for the first time in ages she had smiled.

"I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how young you would be." the Guardian had said. "Comes from the waiting. Mind plays tricks. I see you've found our weapon."

"Who are you?" Buffy had asked.

"One of many. Well...time was. Now I'm alone in the world."

"So what are you? Some kind of ghost?"

"Nope. I'm as real as you are. Just...well... let me put it this way— I look good for my age. I've been waiting. You pulled it out of the rock. I was one of those who put it in there." Buffy had handed over the scythe.

"What is it?"

"A weapon. A scythe. Forged in secrecy for one like you who— I'm sorry. What's your name?"

"Buffy."

"We forged it in secrecy and kept it hidden from the Shadow Men, who—"

"Yeah. Met those guys. Didn't really care too much for 'em."

"Ahh, yes. Then you know. And they became the watchers. And the watchers watched the slayers. But we were watching them."

"Oh! So you're like... what are you?"

"Guardians. Women who want to help and protect you. We forged this centuries ago, halfway around the world."

"Hence, the Luxor Casino theme."

"Forged there, it was put to use right here...to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth. The rest were already driven under. And then there were men here, and then there were monks. And then there was a town, and now there was you. And the scythe remained hidden."

"I don't understand. How is it possible that we didn't know any of this?"

"We hid, too. We had to until now. We're the last surprise."

"Does this mean I can win?"

"That is really up to you. This is a powerful weapon." the Guardian had handed the scythe back.

"Yeah."

"But you already have weapons."

"Oh."

"Use it wisely and perhaps you can beat back the rising dark. One way or another, it can only mean an end is truly near."

"It's not for you." Angel had told Buffy.

"Splainy?" Buffy had asked.

"I don't know everything. It's very powerful and probably very dangerous. It has a purifying power, a cleansing power, possibly scrubbing bubbles. The translation is, uh—anyway, it bestows strength to the right person who wears it."

"And the right person is?"

"Someone ensouled, but stronger than human. A champion."

"Angel said the amulet was meant to be worn by a champion." Spike had looked down and Buffy had walked forward and handed him the amulet.

"Been called a lot of things in my time." Spike had replied looking at his new accessory.

"Into every generation, a slayer is born. One girl in all the world. She alone will have the strength and skill to— There's that word again. What you are. How you'll die. Alone. Where's your snappy comeback?" The First in the form of Buffy had asked.

"You're right," The real Buffy had replied.

"Not your best."

"Buffy? Is something wrong?" Spike had asked after waking up.

"No. Yeah. I just realized something. Something that really never occurred to me before. We're gonna win."

"I hate this. I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish I hadn't been either. But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning I'm opening the seal. I'm going down into the Hellmouth, and I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, "what makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?" It's true none of you have the power that Faith and I do. So here's the part where you make a choice." Buffy had stood in front of the potentials and her friends and made the speech.

"Oh...my...Goddess..." Willow had gasped.

"So here's the part where you make a choice: What if you could have that power...now? In every generation, one slayer is born... because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men. This woman is more powerful than all of them combined. So I say we change the rule. I say my power, should be our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer...will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power... will have the power... can stand up, will stand up. Slayers... every one of us. Make your choice. Are you ready to be strong?" Buffy had asked.

Buffy hadn't seen the Turok Han behind her. Hadn't seen it's sword. Hadn't noticed until it had stabbed her in the stomach. She had fallen to the ground and given Faith the scythe.

"Oh no... ow! Mommy, this mortal wound is all...itchy. You pulled a nice trick. You came pretty close to smacking me down. What more do you want?" The First in the guise of Buffy had asked.

"I want you to get out of my face," Buffy had said, brimming with power, standing up.

"Oh, bollocks." Spike had shouted as he had walked under the Hellmouth entrance and had sunlight coming out of the amulet. The brilliant light had shone throughout the Hellmouth and had killed all of the Turok Han.

Anya had killed two of the Turok Han. She hadn't seen the Bringer. It had cut her open from side to side and she had died, a fighter, a warrior, a human.

"Buffy!" Spike had shouted.

"Spike!" Buffy had shouted back.

"I can feel it, Buffy."

"What?"

"My soul. It's really there. Kinda stings. Go on, then."

"No. No, you've done enough. You could still—"

"No, you've beat them back. It's for me to do the cleanup." Spike had said, walls crumbling around them.

"Buffy, come on!" Faith had shouted from the Hellmouth stairs.

"Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer."

"Spike!" Buffy had shouted, worried.

"I mean it! I gotta do this." Spike had held up his hand to stop her. Buffy had held up her hand and linked it with Spike's. Their hands burst into flames.

"I love you," Buffy had said tears flowing down her face.

"No, you don't. But thanks for saying it. Now go! I wanna see how it ends."

Buffy had ran out of the Hellmouth and out of the school, where Spike had turned to dust.

"I don't understand. Who did this?"

"Spike."

"Looks like the hellmouth is officially closed for business."

"There is another one in Cleveland. Not to spoil the moment."

"We saved the world,"

"We changed the world. I can feel them, Buffy. All over. Slayers are awakening everywhere."

"We'll have to find them."

"We will."

"Yes, because the mall was actually in Sunnydale, so there's no hope of going there tomorrow."

"We destroyed the mall? I fought on the wrong side."

"All those shops gone. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys "R" Us. Who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us."

"Can I push him in?"

"You've got my vote."

"I just want to sleep, yo, for like a week."

"I guess we all could, if we wanted to."

"The First is scrunched, so... what do you think we should do, Buffy?"

"Yeah, you're not the one and only chosen anymore. Just gotta live like a person. How's that feel?"

"Yeah, Buffy. What are we gonna do now?"

And Buffy had smiled, overlooking Sunnydale, or the crater that remained. Where would they go now? What would they do?

Previously on Angel...

"Wolfram & Hart. The contract she signed with them extends beyond her death." Angel had figured from Lilah's appearance.

"I have been authorized to make you kids an offer," Lilah had revealed. "I don't think you'll want it, but you'll take it, because this is the offer of a lifetime."

"What was unclear?" Lilah had asked.

"I think the part where you offered us Wolfram & Hart," Fred had replied.

"Just the L.A. branch. We give. You win. We're moving out. The senior partners are ceding this territory to you, and to prove it, they want to give you controlling interest in our L.A. Office. You get the building, assets, personnel, letterhead, paper clips, all of it. It's yours to do with as you see fit."

"But there is no Los Angeles office of Wolfram & Hart. The beast destroyed it."

"Oh, it's back, re-staffed and zombie-free. We're bigger, better, and shinier than ever, and we want to give it to you."

"I can't believe it. Are—are you saying we should take the deal?" Fred had asked.

"I already took it," Angel had revealed.

"Angel, what, what?"

"You took the deal?" Wesley had asked.

"Executive decision," Angel had replied.

"I didn't think you'd..."

"Know a silver platter when he's handed one? I'm impressed with the lot of you. Team Angel, all growed up." Lilah had interrupted.

"Is it taken care of?" Angel had asked.

"Cordelia's safe and sound, probably getting a manicure and a blow dry as we speak."

"You found Cordy? And she's-" Fred had asked.

"Still in a coma. But hey, it doesn't mean she can't look her best. She'll receive the finest care, medical and metaphysical. If there is a way to get her back, we'll find it."

"Good. Just one more piece of business. I got to see him." Angel had said.

"I'm sorry, Angel, but that wasn't part of the deal."

"Value of compromise. Remember, Lilah? I need to see him."

"You're the boss. There'll be a limo waiting outside. It'll take you to see Connor."

"Thank you." Angel had walked out of the door.

"Who's Connor?" Fred had asked.

Angel had watched, standing outside the house, he had looked in through the window and looked at his son Connor, happy for once. And Angel had set off for Sunnydale.

Angel had opened the envelope and an amulet had fallen out. A black wind had erupted from the amulet and a skeletal form had formed until it had been made humane, Spike. He had screamed and doubled over in pain.

"Spike?" Wesley had asked.

"Spike!" Angel had said, angrily.

Harmony Kendall had stuck her head around the office door, "Blondie Bear?"

"You got mail," Harmony had said holding up an envelope.

"What?" Spike had asked.

"It's addressed to you, care of here."

"Who the hell'd be sending post to a-"

"Ghost? Doesn't say, kinda heavy. You want me to open it?"

"If you don't mind."

Harmony had opened the envelope and a bright white light had flashed.

"Well, that was a slap and a tickle," Spike had said.

Harmony had picked up the ringing phone. Spike had started for Angel's office until he got to the wall. He had tried to walk through it and had bounced off it. He had been made corporeal.

5 months later...

Buffy Summers walked through her living space, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris watched their friend. On the mantle piece was a glass box. Inside was a bronzed stake, Mr. Pointy, Kendra's lucky stake.

Buffy opened her bigger, better, new and improved weapon chest. She pulled out the scythe and a sword. Closing the chest, Buffy stood up from her crouching position and turned to face her sister, Dawn, who was armed with her crossbow.

"So you, Dawn and Kennedy making with the slayage, huh?" Xander asked.

"We're just gonna swing by the cemeteries and then come back here and join you guys with the movie-fest," Buffy explained as she twisted the scythe around in her hand.

"Well, I would come but I might accidentally decapitate someone, what with my one eyed-ness and all," Xander remarked and Buffy looked at Xander, who lost his eye to Caleb.

"And living on the new Hellmouth, something might attack him," Willow replied.

"How long is Kennedy gonna be?" Dawn asked.

There were thuds on the stairs and Kennedy Bruar stepped into the foyer.

Willow, Xander, Faith, Dawn, Andrew, Vi, Giles, Kennedy, Rona and Wood had adjusted to life in Cleveland, whereas Buffy was still.

Xander seemed to be coping with Anya's death, wherein Buffy could hardly deal with Spike's. She kept hearing his last words in her head, seeing the courage and determination that was Spike in her dreams.

The sitch had changed as well. She, Dawn, Willow, Xander and Kennedy lived in one of the houses in Cleveland, Giles, Andrew, Vi and Rona in another and Faith and Wood in another. Giles had recently been teaching and training Andrew into becoming a watcher.

Buffy and Dawn joined Kennedy in the foyer and Buffy handed her the sword. They left the house and walked to the nearest cemetery.

"What does this one do?" Andrew held up his copy of Demonology in Theory and pointed to one of the pictures.

"The Krevwok demon decapitates it's victims with blades that come out of it's arms, it then cuts open the head and eats the brain," Giles glanced up at the book.

"Gross. I hope we don't some up against one of those," Vi shouted over the top of her and Rona's colliding swords.

They had formed a schedule with Buffy and the others. Buffy and Co. patrolled on Mondays and Thursdays, Giles and the gang on Tuesdays and Fridays and Faith and Wood on Wednesdays and Saturdays. On the last day of the week they all met at Buffy's house to discuss the weeks work and what they had faced. After the meeting they all patrolled together. The other slayers in Cleveland were able to fight the demons but the Scoobies liked to be sure that Cleveland was a little more safe. They occasionally met young slayers on their patrols.

Rona put down her sword and ducked to avoid Vi's swing.

"Yo! Watch where you swing," Rona stood back up and Vi put her sword down. They sat down at the table with Giles and Andrew.

"And this one?" Andrew asked.

"Um... the Niseux demon has long fingernails made of metal. It kills it's victims by hammering it's claws into their heads," Giles replied.

"New Oogly Booglies," Andrew sighed and closed the book. He had decided to take Giles' old fashion sense and was wearing a suit. His hair was untidy and his brown roots had came through.

"Andrew, you need to know these things," Giles closed his book and stood up, he was wearing normal, casual clothes. He took off his glasses and began to clean them with his handkerchief.

Rona walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door. She pulled out the orange juice and poured some into a glass. She put the juice back and picked up her glass. She had taken out her dreadlocks and decided to wear clothes that weren't dungarees.

Vi picked up her sword and started to swing it some more. She just missed cutting off Rona's arm when she decided to stop. Her red hair had grown down her back and she was wearing some sweatpants and a sweatshirt.

"Again with the swinging!" Rona snapped.

Buffy spun around to face the oncoming attackers. The three vampires were wearing funeral attire.

Kennedy charged at the nearest, swinging her sword. Her long black hair swished behind her. The vampire grabbed the blade and shoved it into Kennedy's nose. The sword fell to the floor.

"Kennedy watch out!" Dawn shouted as she shot the vampire that was attempting to bite Kennedy in the back. The vampire turned to dust. "Oh yeah! Go team me!"

A vampire ran at Buffy with it's arm outstretched, Buffy swung the scythe and the arm fell on the floor.

"Slayer! I need that," the vampire said looking at his body part.

"Not any more," Buffy staked the vampire with the wooden stake at the end of the scythe. The vampire turned to dust, as did the arm.

The last vampire ran at Kennedy who had picked her sword back up. Kennedy jumped to her feet and dodged the attack. She punched the vamp and then swung her sword cutting of it's head.

Faith Lehane and Robin Wood walked down a road, they were going to eat at some restaurant downtown. They planned on eating and then wandering around until they got tired and wanted to go home.

Since moving to Cleveland Buffy had got a job at the local high school as a physical educator, she taught the students self defence and gymnastics, Xander had quitted his job in construction after his "accident", Willow had got a job at a different high school teaching the students about computers and what not, Kennedy had decided to get a job at the local fast food store, Vi, Rona and Dawn had decided to attend high school and maybe actually graduate, Giles had started to live life retired, Andrew had become a librarian, Wood had become a Deputy Principal at the same high school as Willow and Faith had became a counsellor.

They reached the street that the restaurant was on when they got jumped by some vamps.

"How many are there?" Faith asked looking around.

"About four or five," Robin replied. "I don't have any stakes though."

"Me neither," Faith replied. "I didn't figure we'd get jumped by some vamps."

Faith ran at two of them and grabbed their heads, she smashed them against one another and the vamps looked dazed. Faith looked at her surroundings again and noticed a tree, she ran at it and grabbed a branch. She broke it and turned to face Wood who was fending them off. He threw one at her and she quickly penetrated it's heart with her make-shift stake. She ran to help and back kicked one and then jumped into the air and did a jumping roundhouse kick snapping one of the necks. She landed on her feet and staked the vampire with the snapped neck. Wood elbowed the one nearest to him and then grabbed it's clothing. He kneed it in the chin and threw it to the floor.

"Here catch!" Faith threw the stake at Wood who dusted the vamp on the floor and the one that jumped at him.

Wood wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around, "I thought there were five."

"There were," Faith pointed to the centre of the road.

"Slayer. I'll be back and when I am I'll kick your ass," the vampire ran off down the road. Faith grabbed the stake from Wood and sent it hurtling through the air. It caught the vamp in the heart, through the back.

"Shall we?" Wood asked beckoning to the restaurant.

"Let's," Faith replied and pushed open the restaurant doors.

When Buffy, Dawn and Kennedy got back to the house that night Willow and Xander were watching a movie called The Addams Family Values. Willow looked around when she heard the door close.

"How did patrol go?" the Wicca asked.

"Fine. We dusted ten vamps this night," Dawn put her crossbow on the dining table.

"Wow, things really are hairier here than in our very own ex Hellmouth," Xander got into the conversation.

"There was a girl out tonight as well. We watched her as she slayer two vampires. She was only about fourteen," Dawn went on. Willow smiled at the thought of what her spell had done.

Buffy put the weapons away and then sat down in one of the chairs. She started to watch the movie. The others got into it as well.

"That girl looks so much like Harmony. I'd swear it was her if she wasn't in L.A.," Willow remarked.

"She's in L.A.?"

"Uh huh. Cordelia rang me when she first got there," Willow replied.

When the movie finished Xander watched the credits, "That girl was played by someone called Mercedes McNab."

"Really? I still think she could pass for Harmony's double if you want my opinion," Willow replied.

"Well maybe she's not as much of a bitch as Harmony," Buffy suggested.

Dawn, Kennedy, Willow and Xander went to bed just after the movie finished, leaving Buffy alone in the living space. She sat staring at the blank television screen. Thinking, listening, seeing. The thoughts that ran through out her brain were enough to make it explode, figurative. She could see the Hellmouth, it crumbling, Faith's urgency to get out, Spike's determination to save the world, to do good, to not be evil, to be someone that Buffy loved.

Gotta move lamb. Think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer, Buffy remembered Spike's words. I love you, and her own. No you don't, but thanks for sayin' it.

Tears formed in her eyes, Buffy wiped them away and went to bed. Waiting for her work tomorrow.

The next morning everything was a hubbub. Xander was trying to make cereal, Buffy was trying to find her boots, Willow was looking for her computer disc that had her lesson plan on it, Dawn was styling her hair in the mirror in the bathroom and Kennedy was just waiting.

The gang finished getting ready and then they went to their places of work and learning. Xander was left alone in the house. He walked to Buffy's weapon chest and opened it. He pulled out an axe and started to train. He had been training every day when the others had been out at work, learning how to kill things that were not his friends. He put the axe away when he finished. He had made progress, no accidents or breakage in any way. To himself or the house he was in.

Willow walked up the pathway to get through the doors of the school. She walked up two staircases before she reached her room. Computers were on every desk. She enjoyed her job, much more than being all evil and homicidal. She liked most of the students as well. The one thing she didn't like was the location of the room. The meetings that there many of were far away and it could be a bitch getting there.

Buffy and Dawn walked through the doors of Cleveland High School. Very original, Buffy had first thought. And Dawn went to homeroom. Buffy went to the gym and waited for the day to start.

Dawn met her friend, Chloe and they talked about the usual teenage girl stuff. Their homeroom teacher walked in and the room became a bit more quiet than it had been before, but not silent. The bell rang, and the day began. Dawn went off to first period which was History with Mr. Evell.

Buffy waited for her class to get ready and then she took them into the upper part of the gym.

"Excuse me Ms. Summers, should you be wearing those boots for lesson?" one of the students asked.

"It'll be all good. I've kicked a lot of demon, I mean evil ass in these boots," the student gave Buffy a look. "You know muggers and so forth."

The students nodded and looked around. Buffy's weird choice of words was nearly enough to send anyone somewhere that was else.

"Right so today we will, um, we're going to practise throwing people over our shoulders onto the mats in front," Buffy took control of the students and got them into pairs.

"This'll be great," Buffy whispered to herself.

The students started to throw each other and by the end of the lesson they had all learnt the masterful art that was throwing.

Kennedy walked into the fast food store that she worked in wearing her blue and white polka dotted uniform. It turned out things could get worse than Buffy's old Doublemeat Palace uniform. And the smell of burgers and fat on her clothes, in her hair was enough to make a normal person be sick. She started her work and served the customers their food.

There has to be something I can do. Other than fast food, Kennedy thought to herself.

Andrew opened the doors to the library and walked into the large room. It had been divided into sections and Andrew worked in the adult section. When there was no one around he occasionally read the books that were about demonology and if he didn't have time to finish he would check it out, hoping it could help in the search for new demons and his learning.

At lunch Dawn met Vi and Rona in the cafeteria. They sat at the same table and Chloe joined them halfway through their conversation on vampires and what not.

"What are you guys talking about?" Chloe asked.

"Um... Oh. This book I once read called Vampyr. Not very original I know but still I read it," Dawn replied nervously.

"And you all read this book?" Chloe continued.

Rona and Vi nodded.

"And this book called Vampyr is about something called a Veruxner?"

"No. That's the name of, um... the area of... Sunnydale that I used to live in," Dawn quickly said.

"Okay," Chloe sat down and started to eat her lunch.

Vi and Rona nodded again, not believing that Chloe had believed every last piece of Dawn's lie.

Rupert sat down at his dining table doing something unimaginable, reading. He had started a new book called The A-Z of demons. On the cover was a sketch of the Judge, meaning it was either an old book or that there was no existing picture of the Judge. Giles knew that the Watcher's Council had been relocated after something or someone blew the one in England up, but he didn't care. He liked life like it was.

Principal Wood sat at his desk in his office at the school. He was talking to a student.

"You set fire to the girls hair," he sighed.

"So," the student asked.

"You set fire to her hair. What the hell for?" Wood asked leaning over the table.

"She was annoying me."

"So what she was annoying you and you set fire to her hair?"

"I kinda did. So I guess the answer is yes."

Faith sat in her office, she was staring at the walls. She was bored stiff and had nothing to do. She started to tap a sharp letter opener on the desk, keeping a steady rhythm.

God, I am so bored.

In Los Angeles...

Angel walked into his office and put the bloody axe down on the desk. Spike walked in after him.

"What did you do?" Spike looked down at the sword and the glowing purple blood.

"Killed a Percliev demon," Angel sat down in his chair.

"They're the ones with the horns and quills, aren't they?" Spike picked up the axe.

"That's them," Fred walked into the room.

"Finished down in the lab, pet?" Spike asked.

"Just came to see if there was any research to be done," Fred walked to the desk and sat on it.

"Not that I know of," Angel looked through the scattered papers on his desk, seeing if there were any bacchanals, spells, demons, vampires or apocalypses that needed to be seen to.

"Well I'm gonna go home then," Fred stood up from the desk when Wesley ran in.

"You guys might wanna get outside. There's a little bit of trouble," Wesley walked back to the door.

"What is it?" Angel stood up and walked after Wesley, Fred and Spike followed.

"About ten Jupeterv demons is all," they suited up and headed for the door to exit that part of the building.

"Where are you going?" Harmony Kendall asked as she put her phone call on hold.

"Jupeterv demons," Angel replied and Harmony went back to her phone call.

The gang left the Wolfram & Hart building and ran out to see what the demons were doing. They were running around destroying anything in sight.

"It looks like they're just wrecking stuff," Fred replied.

"Yeah. Destructorama. And plus they're killing some people that get in the way of their wreckage," Spike got into a fighting stance.

The demons caught sight of the gang and charged at them, Fred shot one with the crossbow she had grabbed and Wesley stabbed it with his sword. Angel took on two of them, knocking them to the ground with a roundhouse. Spike decapitated them both with one blow using the axe that Angel had used to kill the Percliev demon. Lorne took on one, unfortunately it knocked him unconscious. Harmony ran out of the building in vamp face carrying a crossbow. Angel and Spike got into game-face and attacked some more. Harmony and Fred shot two more of the demons and were soon joined by Charles Gunn. He had got a couple of axes and was hacking through the crowd.

After killing three of the demons, Gunn threw his axes to Angel who took out the last Jupeterv demons.

"That was a barrel of fun," Spike walked to Lorne and picked him up.

"We should get back inside," Fred walked inside and the others followed.

They put their weapons on the desk and sat down.

"Should we research?" Fred asked walking to the bookshelf and picking up a book.

"Probably," Angel replied and Fred put the books on the desk. Everyone grabbed one.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Fred asked opening her book.

"Demons that send ten minions to do their dirty work," Angel replied.

Later...

"Is it this?" Fred held up her book and showed them a picture of a demon. "It sends ten Jupeterv demons to do it's bidding."

"Could be," Angel looked up at the book.

"What's it called? What's it want? How do I kill it?"

"It's called Gigterle, it wants to end humanity and destroy the world and you don't kill it," Wesley held up his book, in the picture was a tall demon. It was scaley and had horns, it had fours wings sprouted out of it's back and it carried an axe and a sword, it had a long tail with what looked like a mallet at the end.

"What do you mean I don't kill it?" Angel closed his book.

"It has to be killed by a slayer or the slayer," Gunn read the text that was in his book.

"And we get a slayer," Angel replied.

"It's not that simple. This book was written before Willow performed that spell," Wesley replied. "We need..."

"Buffy. She was the slayer before," Angel stood up.

"So what you call Buffy here? Let her kill the demon? Sure she'd love that," Spike shouted.

"She won't love that but she was the slayer," Angel shouted back.

"Actually..." Wesley attempted an interruption.

"She's the only one who can kill it," Angel continued to shout.

"Actually..." Wesley said again.

"What!" Angel and Spike shouted in unison.

"Buffy isn't the slayer and she wasn't either. Buffy died at the hands of The Master, that Kendra girl was called, she died and Faith was called," Wesley finished. "Faith is the slayer."

"So we get Faith here. Who will bring Buffy and her friends," Angel finished. "Case closed. No need for discussion."

He walked out of the room and slammed the door.

In Cleveland...

Giles ducked under the vampire's leg and punched it in the chest. It fell backward and Giles elbowed the vampire that was behind him. He pulled out his stake and punctured their hearts. Andrew had attempted to attack the vampires that seemed to be attacking him, ten, eleven maybe. He punched one in the face and back kicked the two behind him. One at the side had been too swift though and he was already on his back.

"Help!" Andrew shouted. Vi ran over to him and started to beat up the ones that were trying to bite him. She punched one of their dumb-ass faces into the ground. Rona dusted all of the vampires that attacked her and then ran to see what the hubbub was. She pulled Vi off of the vampire and cut off it's head. Giles helped Andrew up, the vampires had been dusted.

They brushed themselves down and then started for the next cemetery.

The phone rang loud enough to be heard in another state, Faith ran down the stairs in the house and swiftly picked it up, "Hello?"

"Faith," the voice at the other end of the line replied.

"Spike?" she asked as she took the phone and sat in a chair.

"No it's not Spike, it's Angel," Angel snapped. "I really sound like Spike?"

"No the line's all crackly," Faith replied. "Whatcha want, A?"

"I need you to come to L.A." Angel said.

"You haven't lost your soul again have you? Cause I think I had enough of being bit for the rest of my life," Faith asked.

"I haven't lost my soul, I just need you to come to L.A."

"What for?"

"I'll tell you when you get here."

Faith put the phone down and walked back upstairs.

"Who was that?" Wood asked.

"Vampire with a soul," Faith sat down in the room.

"Spike?"

"No not Spike, Angel."

"What did he want?"

"We have to go to L.A."

On Sunday...

"Anything arising?" Andrew gaped around the room.

"Nothing new," Kennedy finished.

They were sitting in the living space of Buffy's house.

"I got a call the other day," Faith interrupted.

"From who?" Dawn asked.

"Angel."

"And you didn't think to tell us til now why?" Buffy asked.

"I guess it slipped my mind," Faith stood up.

"Well what did he want?" Andrew asked.

"He said that I need to go to L.A."

"And why didn't you go?"

"Thought you guys might have wanted to tag along," Faith replied.

"Yeah, a holiday sounds great," Vi muttered.

"I doubt he needs Faith for a holiday," Buffy replied. "Why should I come? Last time I was in L.A. with both you and Angel I got hit a couple of times."

"He might need you too."

"Come on Buffy, at least it'll be good to go somewhere that is else."

Angel and Spike walked down the alley that was behind Caritas, where The Beast had risen from. A vampire was having a suckfest with some girls neck. Spike pulled out a stake and pulled the vamp off of the girl and staked him there. The girl ran off down the alley, screaming.

Spike dusted himself off and headed back to Angel. Suddenly there was a crash round the next corner of the alley, they walked around to find two vampires getting beaten on by a blonde girl and a brunette.

The girls pulled out their stakes and turned them to dust. They turned around to face, "Angel?" the blonde asked.

"Buffy? What are you doing here?" Angel asked.

"You didn't think I'd leave B in Cleveland did you?" Faith asked.

"Not really no," Angel replied.

Buffy spotted someone behind Angel, "Aren't you going to introduce me to..." Spike stepped out from behind him, "Spike?"

"Hello, luv," Spike replied.

"You're not real, you're the first," Buffy shouted at Spike.

He walked forward and touched Buffy's face, "Angel! The First has become corporeal!"

"Buffy, it's Spike," Faith replied.

"And you would know how?" Spike asked.

"By doin' this," Faith punched Spike in the nose. Spike grabbed his face and yelped in pain.

"That helped," Buffy shouted.

"It really is Spike," Angel reassured Buffy.

"How can you be so sure?"

"It is I can tell, sire's sense or whatever," Angel replied.

"Sorry about the punching," Faith looked at Spike who had stopped holding his face.

"That's okay. Think the feelings slowly coming back," Spike looked at Buffy, who was staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing. I just can't believe you're back," Buffy replied and picked up a stake from the floor.

"We should get back to the others," Faith started to walk out of the alley.

"We'll come with," Angel followed leaving Buffy to walk with Spike. "Where are they anyway?"

"At the airport, we guessed that we find you and then go with you to where ever," Faith replied as her and Angel turned the corner.

"What are you doing back?" Buffy asked.

"I have no clue," Spike replied as he glanced at Buffy. "Who of your little Scooby club did you bring along?"

"Willow, Xander, Faith, Dawn, Andrew, Giles, Vi, Rona, Kennedy and Wood," Buffy replied, shivering.

"Giles is still around? Thought he would have gone back to England," Spike sighed.

"He was thinking about it, but decided against the idea."

"What happened to Anya?"

"Dead."

"Really?"

"Got killed in the school," Buffy wrapped her arms around her. Why didn't I make with the wearing of the coat?

"Are you cold?" Spike asked.

"A little."

Spike took off his duster and wrapped it around Buffy's shoulders.

"You won't get cold?" Buffy asked.

"Hello, vampire. Room temperature, we're not in a room but anyway," Spike started to walk.

"I forget," Buffy put her arms in the armholes. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get killed? There was enough time, you could have still made it," Buffy replied.

"I needed to do it. Needed to do something good."

"You did enough. You closed the Hellmouth, you were swell."

"Thanks," a grin formed over his face. "Why did you say it?"

"Say what?"

"That you loved me. I knew that you were just saying it," Spike looked down at his boots.

"I wasn't. I love what you do, what you are, what you do, how you try," Buffy replied.

"Hey I told..."

"Told me that, I know. It's what made me get the scythe." Buffy whispered. "Which is in my weapon bag at the airport."

"I think you told me this."

"I think I did. But it's all down to you. It's because of you that all of these girls have the power. If I hadn't have found that scythe I doubt we would have even won."

"We should catch up with the others."

Buffy and Spike broke into a run and caught up with Angel and Faith who were discussing some fight that Angel had with Angelus. Weird, Buffy thought.

They reached the airport and found the Scoobies sitting in various seats. They stood up.

"Angel, these are Andrew, Vi, Kennedy, Rona and Robin," Buffy did the introducing thing. Angel looked at the slayers and then at the slayer's son. Then at nerd, Andrew, who was staring agape at Spike.

"You're alive," Andrew shouted.

"I think we already caught on with that," Spike said.

"Buffy it's the first," most of the Scoobies said.

"It's not, it's Spike," Buffy replied.

"But how?" Willow asked.

"No one seems to know the answer to that question," Spike replied, grabbing Buffy's weapon bag and her suitcase.

"Thanks," Buffy looked at the vampire handling her stuff.

"No problem," Spike started for the exit, the others picked up their bags and followed.

The others had walked in front and Willow, Xander and Dawn were trailing behind. "You don't think they're gonna get back together do you?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know," Willow replied.

"Anything's possible," Xander interrupted.

"Do you want them to?" Dawn asked.

"I want whatever makes Buffy happy," Willow and Xander replied. "Do you?"

"I honestly have no clue."

They reached Wolfram & Hart, Angel and Spike walked inside leaving the others to look at the building. They soon followed.

"I thought you worked in some office block downtown?" Buffy asked.

"I thought you worked in a hotel?" Willow asked.

"I did. And again with the I did," Angel replied. "I first worked in the office block, that was until it got blown up and then Lilah Morgan gave us Wolfram & Hart at the end of last year, so no more hotel."

They walked up several staircases before reaching Angel's office. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Charles Gunn, Fred Burkle, Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan, Harmony Kendall and some brown haired girl were waiting.

"Angel what is Harmony doing here?" Buffy asked.

"You've met?" Angel asked.

"A little yeah, seeing as she used to go to Sunnydale High."

"It's a funny story actually, she's my secretary."

"Yeah, I'm his secretary," Harmony replied.

"You know she's a vampire right?" Willow asked.

"That we do."

"Where's Cordelia? Will she be joining us soon?" Willow asked.

"She doesn't work here. She's in a coma. After what happened last year, she's still in that coma," Wesley replied.

"What happened? She didn't go all evil did she?" Dawn asked.

"No. What happened is last year she got pregnant and then gave birth to some Power That Was who called herself Jasmine, we all were under the influence of a spell that made us love her, until Fred here got some of Jasmine's blood on her hand and saw her real face, she got us to see it and then someone killed her, can't remember who," Gunn interrupted.

Buffy nodded. "Shouldn't you introduce us to your friends?"

"Right for those of you that haven't met, this is Wesley, this is Gunn, this is Lorne, this is Harmony, this is Fred, this is Eve and this is Spike," Angel did the introducing thing.

"Hi," the gang said.

"We should go," Buffy said. "We got jet lag from hell and so we're all tired."

"You'll stay with my associates and me," Angel said.

"No a hotel will do just fine," Buffy said.

"No we insist," Angel said.

"Okay whatever. You don't have to tell me twice."

"So how will this work?" Spike asked.

"Faith, you and Wood can stay with Gunn," Angel said. "Willow and Kennedy can stay with Fred, Giles and Andrew can stay with Wesley, Xander, Rona and Vi can stay with Harmony, Dawn can stay with Eve..."

"Bad idea. I don't mix with people much," Eve interrupted.

"What's wrong? You can house little Dawnie here for a week or two can you?"

"Not really," Eve said.

"Fine, Dawn you stay with Spike and Buffy can stay with me," Angel finished.

"Or Dawn can stay with you and Buffy can stay with me," Spike said.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Are you so eager to have Buffy living with you?"

"She will be safer with me, than with you."

"How do you figure?"

"You could both get drunk and then she could end up bringing Angelus out accidentally."

"That would never happen," Angel punched Spike.

"How do you know?" Spike got Angel in a headlock.

"I don't I'm just guessing," Angel kicked Spike.

"I think Spike's right," Buffy interrupted the session of trading blows.

"You what?" Angel asked.

"Think everyone would be safer if I stayed with Spike."

"Whatever," Angel kicked Spike again and he let go of Angel's head.

"Okay new plan," Fred announced.

"What?" Angel asked.

"I have a new plan," Fred continued.

"Which is?" Spike asked.

"Willow, Kennedy and Dawn stay with Angel, Xander, Vi and Rona stay with me, Faith and Wood stay with Gunn, Andrew and Giles stay with Wesley and Buffy stay's with Spike. That way Harmony and Eve don't need to have anyone live with them," Fred finished her announcement and sat down.

"That one's better than the last," Harmony interrupted.

"Why so you don't have to have anyone living with you?" Faith asked.

"No, but then everyone gets to be with who they want," Harmony continued.

"No they don't," Angel stood up and slammed out of the office.

Buffy ran out of the office after Angel.

"I wonder what bee's in his bonnet," Fred said.

"Angel! What the hell is wrong with you?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing," Angel sat on the edge of a desk.

"There is so," Buffy sat down next to him.

"Your point being?" Angel picked up a letter opener.

"You can tell me," Buffy looked around the large office.

"It's nothing, really."

"What?"

"It's just you would rather stay with Spike than me and I don't get why," Angel put the letter opener on the desk.

"He's good," Buffy stood up.

"He's still Spike. He was evil."

"And now he's not. He can be a good man, Angel."

"I don't know."

"You should have seen him in the high school basement. He was a mess. He was crazy and he was doing things under the influence of the First."

"And now he's not?"

"No. He was killing people under the influence of the First. He got the chip out, leaving him with his soul and his trigger. Then Wood got the trigger out and all that was left was a soulful Spike."

"I still don't get it."

"In the basement he was crazy and he was hurting. The people he killed, the people he tortured. They were all there, hurting, torturing him. And he got through it."

"You already said this."

"I don't think I said the part about hurting and all that."

"You didn't."

"See he can be a good man. At the end of last year I saw a different side to him. Not just the end of it actually, all of it. He changed and I love him."

"You love him?"

"Yes, I love what he is and how he's changed. And then he died. And I didn't get over it and seeing him back now. It changes everything."

"Well don't mind me for not seeing the good."

"I won't. You don't like me, the way I see Spike. I can't help that. But you can get over it. I loved you, and then you left and now I love Spike."

Buffy walked back into the office, Angel followed, staring at his feet.

Spike and Buffy walked out of the double doors that entered the hall to Wolfram & Hart. Spike was carrying Buffy's bags, and Buffy had put a coat on.

"So where exactly do you live?" Buffy asked.

"I don't actually have a place," Spike looked back at Buffy.

"Angel seems pretty sure that you have a place."

"He forgets. I didn't have a place seeing as I just got back from being non corporeal."

"You were non corporeal?"

"Yeah."

"Where exactly are we going?"

"Hotel. I'm thinking we can get a room in a hotel."

"And you have money?"

"I wasn't planning on paying, Pet."

"So what you were gonna kill the workers at the hotel?"

Spike looked at Buffy and a grin spread across his face.

"You were really going to kill?"

"Buffy, I don't kill. I was planning on robbin' a bank."

"Oh huh. Or I could just pay."

"And you have money?" Spike asked.

"I do actually. I mean life as a Phys Ed teacher is fun enough."

"You teach P.E.?"

"That I do."

"What are your specialities?"

"I teach gymnastic and athletic."

"And how to work a crossbow and sword?"

"Yeah, like I'd teach a group of kids how to work with weapons."

"They are the same age, y'know? When you were called you were their age and I bet your watcher had you working a crossbow in no time."

"Actually Merrick never let me work a crossbow, and neither did Giles until like I had been here for five months."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Is this the hotel?" Buffy asked as her and Spike approached a tall, square building.

"That it is."

Buffy walked up to the entrance, Spike followed suit, and pushed the door open, holding it for Spike. They approached the desk in the lobby.

"How can I help you?" the woman at the desk asked.

"We'd like a room please," Buffy put her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out some money.

"Sure. Will that be for the both of you?" the woman's name tag said Roberta.

"That will be for the both of us."

Roberta looked at Spike and then at the bags he was holding. The zipper had came undone on her weapon bag and a stake was poking out of the hole. "And the name is?"

"Summers, Buffy Summers."

"Thank you, Ms. Summers," Roberta pulled out a sheet of paper. "If you could just sign here."

Buffy picked up one of the pens and signed the line.

"Thank you. Now the amount is $270 for a week," Roberta pulled the paper back and Buffy handed over the cash.

"Here's your door card key and here's your room number," Robert gave Buffy the card key and she and Spike walked out of the lobby.

"Room number 214. Wasn't that your dorm number in UCS?" Spike asked.

"Yes it was."

They got into an elevator and Buffy pushed the button, hoping it would go to the right floor. They stepped out into a hall and Buffy glanced at one of the numbers, 234.

"The room must be down here," Buffy started to walk. They reached the room and Buffy opened the door with the key card.

Spike followed her in and put her bags on the floor. Buffy switched on a light.

"There's a slight problem," Spike said.

"What?" Buffy turned around and saw that there was only one bed. "I thought I asked for two beds?"

"You did. I'll take the chair."

"No you take the bed. I'll take the chair."

Fred unlocked the door to her apartment and switched on a light. Brightness flooded the room and Xander, Rona and Vi entered the flat.

"If you follow me I'll show you to your rooms," Fred beckoned to the door.

"Thank you, Fred," Xander put down his bags, Rona and Vi followed suit and then they followed Fred.

"This is my room. And that is your room," Fred gestured to the rooms.

"Or I can take the couch," Xander said looking back into the living space.

"I see your point. You do that then. Vi and Rona take that room and you take the couch," Fred walked away from the hall and stepped back into her living space.

"Again with the thanks," Xander sat down on the couch.

"That's okay," Fred sat down at the table.

Angel opened the door to his apartment in Wolfram & Hart and switched on the light. He put down the bags he was carrying and showed Willow, Kennedy and Dawn their rooms.

All around LA, Angel's associates showed the Scooby gang around their apartments.

In the hotel Buffy was asleep, Spike's chest her pillow. Spike was stroking her hair, until she snapped her eyes open.

"What is it, Pet?" Spike asked.

"I can sense a vampire somewhere in the hotel," Buffy replied, sitting up.

"That would be me."

"Not you. I'm used to you. Another one," Buffy stood up and walked over to the door. "It's on the other side of the door."

She yanked the door open and pulled the vampire inside. She pulled a stake out of her bag and dusted it.

"Gigterle is arising," it screamed as it dusted.

The next morning...

Buffy sat in the chair behind Angel's desk and the others stood around the room. Harmony had just made everyone coffee and was just bringing in some donuts. Buffy had decided to put her weapon bag in the office seeing as not many demons would attack her elsewhere. She had kept a few stakes out but the others were away.

"Gigterle is arising is what it screamed!" Buffy shouted.

"Which was last night. Why didn't you ring, we could have arranged a meeting?" Angel asked.

"I'm telling you now."

"So this demon. I have to kill it right?" Faith asked.

"That's the drill. But don't ask how, what or why," Wesley stood up and took a donut from the box.

Fred sat down on the desk, "Did the vamp say anything else?"

"Gigterle is arising is all," Buffy stood up and walked around the desk.

"Huh."

"So how did you guys sleep last night?" Angel asked the others.

"Like sleeping things," Buffy replied.

"Spike it just occurred to me that you don't actually have a place," Angel said.

"We stayed at a hotel," Buffy butted in.

"Huh."

"So how about you guys?" Buffy asked.

"We slept swell," Gunn said.

"Yeah like babies," Xander continued.

"I think we got that everyone slept well," Willow interrupted.

"I think Faith should train some more," Andrew suggested.

"You don't think I can kill some demon?" Faith asked.

"No..." Andrew was interrupted by the phone ringing.

Angel picked up the receiver, "Hello."

"I'm holding the line for you. From some demon called Gigter or something," Harmony's voice said through the receiver.

"Gigterle?"

"That's the one."

"Put me through."

There was beep, "Sssslayyyerr."

"Not the slayer."

"You're not the ssssslayyyerr?"

"I'm a vampire. The slayer is somewhere over there."

"Put her on now."

"Hi. I'm Faith, the slayer," Faith said full of peppy-ness down the phone.

"I'm gonna kill you."

The line went dead.

"Okay. That was just lame," Faith put the phone down and sat back down on the desk.

Buffy, Spike and Angel rounded to corner of the back alley they were walking down. They had decided to go and look for a potential lair for Gigterle. Buffy was carrying the scythe and the vampires were carrying axes. They reached the end of that alley and they split up, each taking a new one. Buffy reached the end of her alley and found a warehouse with a broken down door. She walked inside.

In Angel's alley there was a gang of vampires drinking from a girl. He got into a fighting stance and walked toward the vampires. The first vampire turned around, blood dripped off of its fangs. Angel lopped its head off, it rolled onto the floor and dusted. The other vampires looked up from their drinking and saw that Angel had killed what seemed to be their leader. They let the body drop and then they charged Angel. Angel spun around and did a roundhouse kick. Two of the vampires landed on the floor and the last two punched Angel in the stomach. Angel kicked the chests and then chopped off their heads. The two that were on the floor had got up and were kicking Angel in the legs, he grabbed the blade of the axe and shoved the handle into their faces. He chopped off one of the heads and let the other get in a back kick.

Spike had reached the end of his alley and had walked back again. He looked down Angel's alley and saw that he was busy getting kicked down. He looked down at Buffy's alley and saw that it was dark, but his extra vampire glow in the dark sight allowed him to see a bashed in door. He started down the alley and saw that Buffy wasn't in the alley.

Angel kicked the vampire again and then grabbed its neck. He shove it up against the wall and punched it in the nose.

"Who do you work for?" Angel shouted.

"No one," the vampire groaned in pain.

"Who do you work for!" Angel asked getting pissed.

"Gigterle. He told me to find and kill the slayer, Faith."

"And he would be where?"

"Downtown. In an old mansion," the vampire groaned as Angel punched him in the face again.

"Thanks," with a swift swing Angel cut off its head.

Buffy gripped the handle of the scythe and stepped forward. The room was dark and she could hardly see anything. Suddenly there was a noise behind her, the metal from the door scraped along the floor, Buffy spun around.

"Not very stealthy, huh, Pet?" Spike stepped back as Buffy gripped the handle of the scythe and stepped forward.

"It's just you. God Spike I thought it was some kind of demon or a vampire or something," Buffy lowered the scythe.

"Hey I'm a vampire, luv," Spike held his axe over his shoulder.

"Sorry I forgot."

Just then there was another noise, scuttling along the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Buffy glanced nervously around the room. Looking for a sight of the thing.

"A demon or a rat," Spike got into a fighting stance.

"Demon is my guess," Buffy whispered as the demon scuttled out into the light of the darkness. Another person joined them in the warehouse, Angel.

"I found out where Gigterle is holding up!" Angel shouted. He noticed Buffy and Spike's quiet positions and decided to get into a fighting stance. "What's the deal?"

"Demon," Buffy jumped forward and attacked the air. The demon ran out of the light.

"I think we should go and get the rest of the gang," Angel started for the exit.

Buffy honed in on her slayer abilities and threw the scythe through the air, it whistled as it flew. There was a screech and Buffy walked forward and collected her weapon.

"Or..." Angel had turned around at the screech.

They exited the warehouse and started back for Wolfram & Hart.

Buffy held the scythe over her shoulder and looked back between Spike and Angel.

"What is wrong with you guys?" Buffy started to twirl the scythe around like a baton.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Spike answered.

"Well someone's got a bug up their butt and that someone isn't sayin'," Buffy turned and looked at Angel. She had stopped the twirling.

"Ask Captain Forehead over there," Spike looked at Angel.

"What?" Angel asked.

"What's wrong with you?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing is wrong with me," Angel glanced at Spike and then back at Buffy.

"Spike, can you walk ahead, please?" Buffy asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, luv," Spike looked at Buffy, who gave him a look and he picked up speed.

"So what's your deal?" Buffy asked.

"I thought I said just now that nothing was," Angel repeated.

"Well something is."

"Just you and Spike is all, but I'll get over that," Angel started to swing his axe now.

"What about me and Spike?" Buffy asked.

"The you having a relationship part."

"It's not that kind of relationship. I love him as a friend and what he has become."

"What another vampire with a soul, that used to have a chip, who developed a crush on the slayer, who had a relationship with the slayer?"

"Not all of that. Not the part about the chip or the crush."

"So just the relationship and the soul having then?"

"Only the second relationship, the first wasn't so much one of those."

"So are you taking Spike with you when you go back to Cleveland?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of going to Italy actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I doubt Spike will want to come."

"He might."

"I need to move out of the hotel anyway. I can't afford it anymore."

"Where will you go?"

"To Charles' with Faith and Wood."

"And Spike?"

"He could go to Wes' with Giles and Andrew."

"He won't like to hear that you will be split up."

"Well I can't afford it so he'll have to deal. And it wouldn't be splitting up, we'd still see each other at Wolfram & Hart."

"Well your plan seems to be big."

"One of these days I'm just gonna lock you and Spike in a room and let you fight each other."

"We already did that. He beat me."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Buffy picked up speed and caught up with Spike, Angel followed.

At Wolfram & Hart...

Willow stood up and walked over to the bookshelf. She, Xander, Giles, Andrew, Dawn and Wesley had gone to Wesley's office to do some research on Gigterle. She put the book away from where she got it and then she reached for another book.

At the desk Xander was reading a book called Apocalyptic Monsters And How To Kill Them. Willow took a seat back down next to Dawn.

"So Wes, all of these resources are yours?" Xander asked.

"Yes they are," Wesley looked up from his book.

"So what happened to the others?" Andrew asked.

"The other what?" Dawn asked.

"The rest of the gang."

"Vi, Kennedy, Rona, Faith and Wood went to train with Gunn, Fred is in her lab, Harmony is doing whatever she does and Spike, Angel and Buffy are out looking for Gigterle's lair," Willow opened her book.

"Oooh. Here's something that might be of interest," Xander held up his book and started to recite. "On that day Gigterle shall arise and only the slayer can kill him. He kills the weak minded and tortures people that might know stuff by cutting shapes in the skin with his sword and axe. After they have revealed all, he kills them."

"Ouch," Dawn started to read the book that Xander was holding up.

"And what kind of stuff will he want to know?" Giles asked.

"Who the slayer is, where she is, stuff like that," Wesley closed his book.

Fred looked down the lens of the microscope. She had been running some tests, trying to find out what was in the box that made Spike corporeal a week previous. She stopped looking down the microscope and turned around, Knox was standing there.

"Whatcha doing?" Knox asked as Fred took off her glasses.

"Trying to find out what made Spike corporeal," Fred placed her glasses on the worktop.

"Shouldn't you be helping the others in Wesley's office? With the research?"

"I should seeing as I'm not finding anything out here," Fred took the white coat off and exited the office.

"Back kick combo!" Faith shouted and the others did the moves.

"Why do we need to do this?" Kennedy asked. "We did it already."

"It's called training," Faith replied.

"Whatever," Kennedy walked across the hall and stopped training.

"We should get back anyway, B will be back soom," Faith left the room and the others followed.

Spike, Buffy and Angel walked in the doors of Wolfram & Hart, they walked past Harmony's desk and into Angel's office. Harmony stood up and followed, letters bunched in her hands.

"Here boss, you got mail," Harmony handed Angel the letters, and he dumped them on his desk.

Harmony left the office. Buffy sat down and so did Spike.

"So where is it?" Buffy asked.

"Where's what?" Angel asked.

"Gigterle's place, you Ninny," Spike replied.

"What?"

"You said that you knew where Gigterle's holding up," Spike grabbed the letter opener from Angel's desk.

"Right the vamp. It said that Gigterle is held up in some mansion downtown," Angel grabbed the letter opener from Spike.

Xander, Dawn, Willow, Wesley, Giles, Andrew and Fred walked into the office. Xander was carrying a book.

"What's the hubbub bub?" Spike asked.

"There's a passage in this book, it clearly states that Gigterle might be coming after us," Xander opened the book where his finger had been.

"What? Why?" Angel asked.

"Because we know Faith, and so the demon will be coming after us to find out info," Xander replied.

"Read it," Dawn said to Xander.

"On that day Gigterle shall arise and only the slayer can kill him. He kills the weak minded and tortures people that might know stuff by cutting shapes in the skin with his sword and axe. After they have revealed all, he kills them."

"So nothing apocalyptic then," Angel said sarcastically.

"Well Angel knows where this Gigterle whatcha call it demon is," Buffy put the scythe on the desk.

"Really?" Vi asked.

"Yeah, in some mansion downtown somewhere," Angel cut in.

"We should get you guys to a safe house," Buffy continued.

"We can't hide, we should all be in this," Kennedy said.

"You could die."

"So?"

"If you wanna die you go do that, people that don't should find somewhere safe to stay," Buffy finished.

"We should all be in this," Xander looked at Buffy. "It's like that time in the Magic Box when we sang."

"You sang? There was singing?" Fred asked.

"There was some demon that made us sing and dance because SOMEONE summoned him," Buffy emphasised the someone.

"What did you sing about?"

"I think I remember the chorus going something like, What Can't We Face?" Xander remembered.

"Great, what can't we face, what a great sounding song," Angel continued to be sarcastic.

"I didn't mean that we sing, I meant that we can face anything," Xander looked around the room sheepishly. "Except for bunnies."

"Bunnies?" Gunn asked.

"His ex had a bunny phobia, don't ask," Willow replied.

"Well we should get some sleep tonight and then we can figure things out in the morning," Angel looked at his friends and Spike.

They headed for the door and Angel stood up from his chair and headed for the exit so that he could get to his apartment.

Buffy and Spike reached the hotel and Buffy stopped at the reception desk, she said something to Roberta and then she and Spike continued upwards. They reached the room and Buffy started to put the things in her bags that she had taken out, she armed herself with a stake and then handed one to Spike.

"What's that for, pet?" Spike asked as he threw the stake up and down a couple of times.

"You need to be armed so that if you meet any demons on the way to Wes' you can kill them," Buffy started for the door.

"Why do I need to go to Wes'?" Spike asked. "Did Angel say something to you?"

"No. It's just I can't afford to stay here," Buffy grabbed the door handle and her arm was pulled back by Spike's hand.

"So what you're going to stay with Angel?" Spike asked.

"No. I'm going to stay with Gunn," Buffy replied.

"And I'm going to Wes'? I think not. I'm not staying at Percy's," Spike sat down on the bed.

"Percy? What?"

"It's a thing. Little Bit kept going on about the Harry Potter books when she used to come to my crypt, it was a thing. He was head boy and it turns out so was Wes. It was a reference," Spike explained.

"Right. A reference," Buffy grabbed the door handle again.

"Why are you going?" Spike asked.

"Because I can't afford it, I thought I said that," Buffy replied.

"What you can't afford it after your talk with Angel?"

"No I can't. Spike I don't wanna go, but I can't afford to stay living here," Buffy replied. "I don't wanna leave you."

"Fine. Go. I'll go and find my way to Percy's," Spike stood up and walked out of the door.

"Buffy?" Spike asked.

"Yes?" Buffy replied.

"Where will you go after?"

"After?"

"LA. Gigterle."

"To Italy. But that isn't now. That'll be then. If you ever need to see me or whatever, I'll be in Italy."

"Fine, I'll come looking in Italy."

Spike walked down the hall and disappeared from Buffy's sight. She walked out of the hotel room and locked the door. She walked down the stairs and gave Roberta the key card back. She exited the hotel and looked down the street. Spike was standing at the end of it, looking at Buffy, he turned and walked away. Buffy turned the opposite way and started to walk, tears filled her eyes.

Buffy wiped the tears from her eyes and knocked on Gunn's door. The door opened and Buffy was welcomed in.

"Buffy?" Gunn asked rubbing his head.

"That would be me," Buffy put her bag down on the floor.

"Hey B. What are you doing here?" Faith asked.

"Looking for a place to stay. So you got a bed for a no where to go person?" Buffy asked Gunn.

"I think that could be a possibility," Gunn smiled at the slayer.

"Thank you," Buffy hugged Gunn.

"That was unexpected," Gunn pulled away from Buffy.

"I thought you were staying with Spike?" Robin asked.

"I couldn't afford the hotel anymore, thus my being here," Buffy replied.

"Where did he go?" Faith asked.

"To Perc, I mean Wes'," Buffy replied.

"Percy?" Gunn asked.

"It's a thing, a reference to Harry Potter," Buffy replied.

"Spike reads Harry Potter?" Wood asked.

"Apparently he got it from Dawn," Buffy replied.

Spike knocked on Wesley's front door. Wesley opened it from the other side.

"Spike," Wesley said.

"That's me," Spike replied.

"What do you want?"

"To come in."

"What for?"

"I need a room."

"I thought you were staying at a hotel?"

"I was. Until Buffy couldn't afford it anymore. Look can I come in or not?"

"Come in, Spike."

Spike walked in the door and saw that Andrew and Giles were watching Passions. It was repeat, but Spike didn't care. He took a seat and started to watch the episode where Timmy got stuck down the well.

"I thought you hated Passions?" Spike asked Giles.

"I do. Andrew wanted to watch it," Giles replied.

"So where's Buffy gone now?" Andrew asked.

"She said she was going to stay with Faith, Gunn and Wood," Spike said, staring at the television screen.

"Huh," Andrew was also staring at the television screen.

Vi and Rona were sword fighting in Fred's living space. Xander was trying to sleep on the couch and Fred was watching the slayers.

"Wow," Fred said in awe. "The way you two fight it's like synchronised slaying."

"Thanks!" Rona shouted as her sword clanged against Vi's. Rona swung the sword and Vi ducked. Vi swung the sword and Rona jumped to avoid her feet getting chopped off.

They stopped and took seats at the table in the room.

"Yeah it's really great," Xander looked at the slayers and then Fred.

"Sorry did we wake you?" Vi asked.

"No I'm pretty sure I'd have to be sleeping to be woken," a grin spread across Xander's face. Fred, Vi and Rona also smiled.

"I wonder where Gigterle is holding up," Fred thought aloud.

"Probably in some funky warehouse or something extra large," Xander replied.

Vi and Rona went to bed.

"You and Spike are like friends, huh?" Fred asked.

"Me and Spike? No way," Xander replied.

"You don't like him?"

"Not so much."

"What? Why?"

"He's a vampire. I don't get on too well with them, even if they have souls or chips."

"Why?"

"My best bud was turned."

"I'm sorry."

"So what was college like?" Xander asked.

"College?"

"You look like you went to college."

"Thanks. Was that a compliment? Anyway i didn't finish at college, I was too busy being in a Hell dimension for like 5 years."

"That was a compliment. 5 years in a Hell dimension? Tough gig," Xander replied.

"Yeah. I hated being a cow."

"A cow?"

"Sorry that's what humans were called in Pylea," Fred laughed.

"How was Cordy? I mean before she got her comatose on?" Xander asked, concerned.

"Last year she was a bitch. And I had only known her a year before that. She was okay and lucky her she was a princess."

"A princess?"

"Yeah. Of Pylea."

"Wow and all that time I thought she was just up herself."

"But I thought you were dating for like a year," Fred said.

"I meant before she got into the loop," Xander replied. "So you and Angel are like dating?"

"Me and Angel? No way. I mean we work together."

"You and Wes then," Xander asked.

"Not so much."

"You and Gunn then."

"That was ages ago. Like so last year."

"Okay."

"When we got back from Pylea, Willow was here."

"What? Why?"

"To tell Angel that Buffy was dead. But she's alive now."

"Yeah we did a spell."

Willow and Kennedy were asleep in one of Angel's spare rooms and Dawn was sitting on her bed, staring out of the window. The moon was full and the stars were bright. Dawn had thought she had heard growling in the building earlier, but that must have been a mind getting carried away thing.

She sat thinking about her life, the last three years of it anyway. The first year had been a fiasco with Glory and the monks and the key and everything. Her second year she had been alone and last year she had been accepted as part of the gang and plus in her free time she had learnt how to speak Sumerian.

Angel walked into his lobby and stood waiting at Harmony's desk. Harmony reached the desk and handed Angel his mug of blood. She sat down and Angel walked into his office, Harmony answered the phone.

Willow and Kennedy walked out of Angel's apartment into Wolfram & Hart, Dawn ran out of the apartment and locked the door. Willow and Kennedy walked past Harmony's desk and entered Angel's office. Dawn stood at the desk. Harmony put down the phone.

"What do you want?" Harmony asked.

"Where can I get a drink from?" Dawn asked.

Buffy, Faith, Wood and Gunn reached Wolfram & Hart at the same time Fred, Xander, Vi and Rona did. They got up to Angel's office and saw that Spike, Wes, Giles, Andrew, Willow, Kennedy and Dawn were already there.

They sat down at the long desk and Angel stood at the end.

"Gigterle is in some mansion downtown. He wants Faith. He wants to kill Faith. Faith needs to kill him," Angel repeated the things that the gang already knew.

"What does it look like?" Faith asked.

"It's tall, has scales and horns. It has four wings sprouted out of its back and it carries and axe and a sword to either kill or torture it's victims. It also has a long tail that has a heavy weight thing at the end that can crush, kill and destroy," Angel described.

"So your run of the mill demon then."

"So what's the plan?" Spike asked. The gang looked at him and he looked back. "What?"

"Nothing. We don't have a plan is all," Xander replied. "Unless we do?"

"No we don't," Angel replied.

Faith walked across the room, past Angel. She bent down and searched through one of the chests that held weapons. She rose and looked at the Scoobies and Angel's Crew, the scythe in her hand.

"I got a plan. I go, find this mansion, find the demon and hack it's ugly ass face into the underworld," Faith swung the axe around and Angel walked away from Faith.

"That's a plan, you would have if you wanted to get yourself well and truly killed," Buffy interrupted.

"Yeah. It'd be like comitting suicide," Dawn interrupted.

"I think it's a good plan," Faith sat back down.

"Well we could try that. If we all go then we can hopefully get out before the demon actually kills anyone," Willow said.

"I'm game," Xander agreed.

"So we're agreed? That tonight we will go to the mansion and finish that demon?" Faith asked.

"It looks like motion carried," Spike stood up.

The Fang Gang walked down 3rd avenue. They were surrounded by mansions.

"This'll be a hoot and a half," Faith muttered.

"That it will," Spike agreed.

Buffy counted the mansions. There were nine.

"Let's split up," Buffy said.

"So who's with who?" Dawn asked.

"Um. Dawn can go with Xander, Willow can go with Kennedy, Vi can go with Andrew, Rona can go with Giles, Wood can go with Faith, Lorne can go with Wesley, Gunn can go with Harmony, Spike can go with Fred and I'll go with Angel," Buffy decided a team plan.

"That's cool," Andrew interrupted.

"That is not cool," Spike cut in, looking at Buffy and Angel.

"What? Why?" Lorne asked.

"Buffy and Angel. She only decided that so they can go and make with the smoochies."

"I so did not," Buffy shouted.

"Whatever," Spike turned to walk off, everyone else had already gone.

"Look Spike I didn't do this on purpose."

"Whatever."

"If you need to talk to me, come to Italy."

"What?"

"If you need to talk to me, I mean if you forgive me for not affording the hotel," Buffy shouted.

"I didn't mean it like that. I thought you picked to go with Angel on purpose," Spike turned around.

"Well I didn't. Happy now?" Buffy asked.

Spike walked up to Buffy and held her, "No I'm not happy. You should go Captain Forehead is waiting."

Buffy turned around and walked to Angel. They entered the mansion and were greeted with an overwhelming stench of rotting bodies.

Spike caught up with Fred and they entered the mansion that was assigned to them. The room that they entered was clean and not messy.

"It looks like someone's been living here," Fred glanced around the room, looking for demons, vampires, or the forces of darkness.

"Someone or something has been living here," Spike closed his eyes.

"What? Where?"

"Upstairs," Spike's eyes snapped open and he took the stairs two at a time. Fred reached the top a few seconds after Spike and followed him down the hall. Spike reached a room at the end of the hall and kicked the door down.

"Spike!" Fred shouted, running after him. She reached the room and looked inside. There was a gang of vampires sleeping around the room.

Two eyes snapped open and the vampire looked at Spike and Fred. It jumped up and punched Fred.

"Hey!" Spike shouted. "What are you doing?"

"Sleeping. Or was," the vampire replied.

"It's night. Your supposed to be out creaturing."

Spike pulled out his stake and stuck it in the vampire's heart. The scream that escaped the vampire's lips woke the others and they got up.

"Spike. We can't take all of them," Fred shouted.

"Go. Get out of here!" Spike shouted back.

"Spike!"

"GO!"

Fred ran out of the door and down the stairs. She got out of the mansion and looked up at the shadow covered mansion.

Harmony had vamped out and was carrying a stake in her hand. Gunn had a crossbow and was walking around like he was storming a castle. There was a growl, Gunn grabbed Harmony.

"What the hell are you doing!" Harmony shouted, shaking Gunn's arm off.

"Protecting you," Gunn replied.

"From?"

"The growling thing."

"You were protecting me from me?"

"That was you?"

"That it was."

"Don't do that!" Gunn shouted.

Harmony walked into what looked like the dining room and looked around. "I don't think there's any big demons in here."

"What do you mean you don't think?" Gunn asked from the kitchen.

"I can't see any," Harmony replied.

Harmony appeared in the kitchen. Gunn walked out of the kitchen and walked down into basement.

Dawn held the sword in a fighting position and followed Xander through the living space. The room was dusty and smelt rotten. The Victorian looking rug had holes in, probably carpet mites. The wallpaper had peeled off of the walls and littered the floor. Dawn stood on a dead arm and screamed.

"What?" Xander asked.

"There was an arm," Dawn replied.

"I hope that's the only dead thing we find," Xander muttered and walked into the hall. He got to the rotten stairs and stopped.

"Are you going? Or are you waiting for the elevator?" Dawn asked.

"I can't go up there. I don't want to go up the stairs, they'll break," Xander replied.

"You're saying you're fat?"

"Kinda," Xander replied.

"You're not, but if it makes you feel any better I'll go," Dawn tiptoed up the stairs and dodged the rotten parts.

She disappeared around the corner and Xander listened as she opened the doors, the creaks sounded like Banshee screeches. Xander heard a thump, and a screech, non door variety. There was a blade swish and a louder screech, Dawn walked out onto the hall and approached the stairs. She dropped the head she was carrying and let it fall down the stairs. It had three horns and scales, it must have been pretty heavy because it fell through the stairs.

Willow sat on the floor, legs crossed, chanting. Kennedy stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Revealai," Willow shouted. There was a bright flash and a green aura filled the room. The green light moved across the room and Kennedy followed, Willow stood and followed as well. They reached the kitchen and the green light vanished. A vampire was drinking from a human. The vampire dropped the girl and backhanded Kennedy across the room.

Kennedy stood up and grabbed her axe, she swung the axe and cut off it's head. She touched the swore spot on her face and then started for the exit.

"Where are you going?" Willow asked.

"Out of here," Kennedy replied. "You got the mojo done and I killed the demon."

Willow nodded and walked out of the exit with Kennedy.

Vi kicked the vampire out of Andrew's grip, Andrew punched the vampire as it sailed past. The slayer did a jumping round house and the first vampire's neck snapped. It's body fell onto the floor. Andrew staked the body and Vi fought the other one.

The back kick sent the vampire across the room, a cartwheel followed, which caught the vampire in the chin. Andrew raised his crossbow and struck the vampire's heart.

Giles looked at the bookshelves that covered the library walls. He was standing at the top of the ladder and was looking at a book that was old and musty. Rona was in the basement. A vampire jumped over the balcony and ran into the library.

In the basement...

Rona twirled the staff around in her hand. She had made it specially, the ends were pointed. A demon moved around in the shadows. It was red and had pus coming out of boils.

"Ewww!" Rona exclaimed. The demon ran at Rona and impaled itself upon the staff.

Upstairs...

Giles kicked the vampire in the face and jumped off of the ladder. He had came without a weapon. The vampire got up and was standing at one side of the ladder, Giles pushed it into the vamp and sent it backward. He grabbed a book and threw it at the vampire, he ran down the stairs and into the basement. Rona had just impaled a demon on her staff.

"May I!" Giles asked, taking the staff from Rona. The vampire soon entered the basement and Giles staked it.

Faith and Wood kicked down the front doors to the mansion assigned to them and the wooden doors flew across the room. The entrance hall was dark and dank.

"Know how to use one of these?" Faith asked handing Wood a stake.

"I think so," Wood replied, tucking the stake into his pocket.

"I'll go upstairs, you stay down here and then we'll meet up in the basement," Faith started up the stairs.

Wood walked through the many rooms and finally reached the basement steps. He walked down into the darkness.

Faith reached the top of the stairs and kick in the doors. There was nothing in any of them. Faith looked around the last room, a large room that smelt like either dust or fire. She noticed a square shaped hatch in the ceiling.

A couple of boxes and other stand on things later and Faith had the hatch undone. A ladder fell down and banged onto the floor. Faith mounted the ladder and climbed into the attic.

"Hello, Faith!" a booming voice announced.

Lorne looked around the room and Wesley stood next to him.

Lorne breathed in and let out a loud screeching noise. Wesley covered his ears and a demon jumped over the banister. Wesley ran and kicked it, it fell onto the floor and Lorne stopped screeching. Lorne grabbed a stake and punctured it's heart.

Buffy gripped her sword handle and glimpsed around the gloomy room. Angel had disappeared upstairs and had left Buffy to guard. Angel jumped over the banister and landed on his feet behind Buffy, who performed a jumping round house and sent Angel across the room, he made a backflip out of it and landed on his feet.

"Hey watch it, you almost snapped my neck!" Angel shouted, walking back to Buffy.

"Sorry," Buffy lowered her sword.

"Nothing."

"You mean with the nothing-ness?"

"That's the kind."

"Let's get back then."

Buffy and Angel left the building.

Buffy and Angel walked up 3rd avenue, a person shivering with his or her arms wrapped around themselves was standing outside one of the mansions. The person saw Angel and Buffy approaching, so it approached them.

"Fred. What's wrong? What happened?" Angel asked looking around for Fred's partner.

"Where's Spike?" Buffy cut to the chase.

"In the house. We got to one of the bedrooms and there were ten vampires asleep up there. Spike stayed and fought but he told me to go," Fred explained.

"I should go help," Buffy started for the mansion.

"Buffy no!" Angel grabbed her arm and spun her around.

"I need to help him."

"He can handle himself," Angel let go of Buffy's arm.

"Or he could be dead," Buffy ran up to the mansion.

"No need to worry, luv," Spike walked out into the darkness.

"You're alive," Buffy replied.

"Aren't I usually?"

"I thought you got killed by the vamps," Buffy hugged Spike and then walked back to Angel and Fred.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Spike walked toward Fred, who ran and hugged him. Spike was shocked, but he returned it.

"Find anything?" Xander asked as he and Dawn walked out of a mansion.

Buffy, Spike, Angel and Fred walked up the road and stopped outside the mansion.

"Not of yet," Buffy replied. "We should go and find the others."

A few minutes later...

The gang were reunited, that is except for Wood and Faith.

"What could be keeping them?" Dawn wondered aloud.

"Maybe they found something," Buffy replied.

Just then Wood ran out of the mansion at the top of the hill like it was some house on haunted hill.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"It's Faith. I couldn't find her," Wood replied.

"You mean she's still in there?" Willow asked.

"Yes," Wood turned around and walked back into the mansion. The gang followed.

"What happened?" Angel asked.

"I was checking down here and then when she didn't come to the basement that's when I fighured," Wood replied.

"Did you check the rest of the house?" Kennedy asked.

"Kinda not," Wood replied.

"Why?"

"I thought we could find her better if we were a gang."

"So she's not down here," Vi approached the stairs and started to walk up them.

"Where are you going?" Rona asked.

"Upstairs, duh!"

The gang went with.

"Hey! I've found a neat piece of clueage," Andrew shouted.

"What?" Buffy shouted from the hall.

"There's a ladder so I'm guessing Faith went up it."

Buffy walked into the room and saw that there was a ladder. She started to walk up it."

"Where are you going?" Giles asked.

"To find Faith," Buffy replied. "If you guys wanna come, come."

Buffy balanced the scythe over her shoulder and continued up the ladder. The rest of the gang followed.

The attic was old, musty and murky. There were boxes stacked in a corner and other atticy stuff. The room had had Victorian looking wallpaper on the walls and other pictures and stuff. They had fallen and broke.

"Did anyone fail to notice the giant cauldron in the middle of the room?" Spike asked, sarcastically.

"Not really," Buffy replied. Willow walked over to the cauldron and peered into the murky depths. The mixture inside was bubbling over a fire that had been started on the floor.

"Hey talk about dangerous!" Xander exclaimed noticing the fire.

"It's magick fire. No burning of the floor," Willow replied.

"Huh. So any idea what the potion is?" Angel asked.

"It's a protection potion. I prefer the spell version myself but still."

"What's it protecting?" Buffy asked.

"Me." a booming voice replied.

Buffy and the gang turned around to see that behind the trapdoor in the floor, the one they had came up through, was a window. It was pretty big and plus it was open. What startled the gang more was the giant demon standing through it. It had scales, hands, teeth, horns, a huge tail with a mallet looking thing at the end and worst of all, an axe and a sword in both of the hands.

"What did you do with Faith?" Wesley asked.

"You didn't notice her? Sitting right over there," Gigterle replied, gesturing to a corner of the room, shrouded in shadows.

Buffy ran to the corner of the room and pulled the gag off of her mouth. "B?" Faith asked groggily. Buffy untied her hands.

Faith's eyes opened and closed a couple more times and then they shut. Buffy untied her feet and then dragged her across the room onto a dirty couch.

Gigterle walked inside the attic even more, his hands were inside but his tail and wings were not. Buffy walked back to the gang. Gigterle raised his axe and swung it. The blunt blade hit Dawn and Lorne onto the floor, unconscious.

Faith's eyes snapped open and she grabbed the scythe from Buffy, "Where are your little demon minions?"

"Behind you," the demon looked behind the gang and there was blinding green flash. The rest of the gang turned around to look, demons had entered the attic. They were red and they looked kinda like Clem. They had teeth that were too big for their mouths and they had longs talons at the end of their fingers, they carried maces and wore helmets.

Faith flipped onto her feet and got into a fighting stance, scythe over he shoulder. "Crap! That was rhetorical!"

Faith ran at Gigterle, who swung his axe at Faith. Faith blocked the attack with the scythe and pushed Gigterle backward. A kick in the head followed and then a punch in the stomach.

The head demon swung his mace around his head and let go of the handle. Andrew caught the handle and passed Buffy his sword. Xander and Wood dropped their stakes and picked up Dawn and Lorne's crossbows from the floor. The gang got into fighting stances and Harmony, Spike and Angel got into game face.

Buffy hacked the head demon's head off and it bounced along the floor. The other demons looked at the head and then at Buffy, screeching they attacked.

Faith elbowed Gigterle in the back and then did a jumping roundhouse kick. Gigterle swung his tail and spun around, the mallet sent Faith flying across the room. She landed on her feet, having sent someone behind her over. "Sorry!" Faith shouted and ran back to attack Gigterle.

Xander got up off the floor and shot the demon through the heart, the bolt went through another demon. That demon ran at Xander and got it's head cleaved off by Spike.

Faith jump into the air and kicked the demon backward into the window. The wooden end of the scythe protruded from Gigterle's chest. Orange blood poured out of the hole in his chest, in his heart. He screeched and fell onto the floor with a thump.

Faith felt something grab her legs and then she was pulled onto her back, Gigterle got back onto his feet. "Did you think it would be that easy to kill me?"

"Why won't you die?" Faith asked.

"I guess your weapon isn't enough to kill me, slayer."

"Hey this is pure slayer weaponry here," Faith held up the scythe, orange blood decorated the wood.

"I guess it wasn't enough then," Gigterle replied.

"Why don't you try killing it with it's own weapon!" Andrew shouted.

"Like that'll work," Gigterle let out a low laugh.

Faith grabbed the sword that hadn't been used from Gigterle and raised it, "Let's find out." Faith swung the blade and Gigterle's head rolled upon the floor. The demons that hadn't been killed died. Orange blood exploded from Gigterle's neck, like a fountain.

"Guess you found out," Faith threw the sword onto the floor.

At the airport...

"Are you guys going now?" Angel asked.

"Well duh. Where the hell have you been all night?" Spike asked.

"So where are you plannin' on going?" Fred asked.

"We were gonna go to Italy, and then some of us were gonna split up," Buffy replied.

They stood with their suitcases in the airport. The airplane was about to be boarded. The Scoobies stood opposite the Fang Gang.

"THE PLANE TO ITALY WILL BE BOARDING NOW!" the tannoy announced.

"That's us," Buffy looked over toward where the noise had came from. Buffy picked up her bags and started to turn backward.

"Aren't you gonna say bye?" Spike asked. Buffy turned back around and faced her friends.

"Guess I forgot," Buffy placed her bags back onto the floor and approached Angel's Crew, Buffy hugged each of them in turn and then stood back. The rest of her friends did the same.

"So you'll be in Italy?" Spike asked.

"If you need me that's where I'll be," Buffy turned around and picked up her bags. Her friends followed and they boarded the plane.

Outside the airport...

Angel's Crew looked up at the plane as it flew overhead. Angel turned away from the airport and started to walk away. The rest of the gang followed, heading for Wolfram & Hart.

FADE TO BLACK