Chapter two- Hope

"what the? But we? For the love of demons I'm confused! Any one else confused or is it just me? I have no idea where the hell we are. Can anyone enlighten me" Spike had awoken to find himself lying on a cold surface, standing up he could see Illyria had already awoken and the other injured human was beginning to stir. " wait a minute….you were dead" Spike pointed to Lyndsey in a raised voice. "I guess its true….evil never dies" spike walked up to Lyndsey, who now had a look of extreme puzzlement on his face. Spike looked at him with intense loathing, he couldn't easily forgive him for what he had done, yet this was a difficult time, and now wasn't exactly the right moment to pick a fight. He stepped back and took a deep breath to calm down his anger, but it was only temporary, he would have to put up with Lyndsey's presence for a little while longer. He then stopped and thought to himself, looked around then back to Lyndsey and Illyria, "where's Angel?!"

''Gone'' Doyle responded all too quickly which probably wasn't going to do him any favours with Mr peroxide. He hadn't been there to see it like Illyria had but he had sensed the realness of it. The connection between a power and his charge wasn't something easily broken ''And before ye ask, I didn't do it. Your directing your loathing in the wrong place pal, the junior suit skipped this body about two hours ago, when your green karaoke machine shot him'' he said gesturing to his blood stained shirt. Straightening himself out he cringed as he was than a little stiff, forgetting what sleeping on the floor was like.

Illyria found herself haunted by the images of the champions fall. It was her duty to pay respect to Angel's memory and deliver her account of his slaying at the hands of the black knight. He would be remembered as a hero, one she felt was almost akin to the warriors of her own time. It was clear that this honorable race had died with him, though perhaps her remaining companions held a torch for the hopes of humanity.

"Angel died a valiant death. His opponent was far superior it seems even to my own abilities. If it were not for the pause in battle I may have met a similar fate. Unfortunately it seems I may have indirectly found myself owing my life to you, or your arrival", Illyria explained with an overwhelming tone of disgust, "It might be wise of you to find some form of dressing for your wounds, Doyle"

''Don't be too thankful..will ya darlin'' Doyle said sarcastically as he rose a brow at the obvious disgust. ''But if my timing was my choice I woulda made it so all of us got out..would of made it a hell of a lot easier than having to get him back,..and I mean a hell of a lot easier. Teachin a kitten to play poker's gonna be easier'' he explained with a shrug, before a look of disgust formed on his own face as Spike perked up at the mention of kittens ''Down boy'' the former half demon added before his eyes tracked back down to the blood stained shirt which was currently his attire. ''No need for dressin…I'll heal meself, have a small bit of power left'' he explained as he went about allowing his body to heal itself, the bullets being removed in the process and dropping to the marble floor with small clanks. ''woulda done it before but the timin' seemed a lil' crappy''

"You speak as if there is hope" said Illyria with what could be interpreted as a slight tone of happiness in her voice, though to her companions it seemed more like curiosity, "What is your purpose here?". Doyle shifted nervously and attempted to clear his previous run in with the icy maiden from his mind, though it was clear he was nervous. "That's classified information darlin'" he boasted in attempt to regain his former confidence. "Classified information? Then you are useless. Why are we expected to fight in ignorance? We would not allow Angel to lead us into uncertainty, why should 'the powers that be' be allowed to treat us differently?" Illyria criticized.

Spike had been silent for long enough. The situation had shocked him half to a second death, but he seemed to be recovering from the shock and the cocky vampire made his contribution, "I can't help but agree with blue here, 'Doyle'. Why should we listen to you, huh?" Spike moved in closer, he wanted Mr High and Mighty to feel his cold dead breath on his neck. "What makes you so bloody special?" letting out a slight note of laughter the vampire added, " Don't look like a whole lot to me. I've seen more impressive powers than that after a curry on a Saturday night".

''I'd be a sight damn more impressive if I hadn't been busy getting my wings cut to save your ungrateful backside'' Doyle replied in a stern tone. He'd never liked spike, the threat on their first encounter seeming to put him off from getting chummy with the vampire. 'The micks got spine, maybe I'll snap it in two' ringing through his thoughts as he remembered the attempt he had made on his and Cordelia's life. ''And sorry if I'm bein' too vague…I'm not Angel, I do things my way and reveal things when their relevant. We're gonna get him back…just things aren't gonna be sunshine and puppydogs at first, we're gonna have problems''

''I'd say so…'' Giles stated, cutting Doyle off before he could say anything further. The watcher stepped into the room, his hands linked casually behind his back. ''What your going to try to do, is dangerous not to mention slightly idiotic…I can only imagine it's you Doyle, no-one else is balmy enough to try it'' Doyle grinned with a shrug, brushing aside the harsh comments of the watcher. He'd warned the older man that LA was going to hit rough times and that a favour would be needed when the time came. At first the older man had looked at him, and shook his head refusing Willows aid in the matter. But as light was shed and the curtain pulled back, Giles had found he couldn't sit back while worse things came their way. Rubbing a hand through his grey hair, the ever bookworm gestured for the three of them to follow him, his nerves causing him to do the age old twitch of cleaning his glasses.

"Well I'll be damned. If it isn't Rupert, all mounted on his white horse and ready to save the day is he? Or are we just gunna be sitting through another mind numbinly long speech on the perils of black magic, which is looking to be what we're dealing with here, speaking from experience I might add" Spike interjected with a devilish look smothered across his entire face, "'Cause Rupert Giles, librarian extraordinaire, is the man with the plan, right". Observing the piercing glance being directed at him from all four of Giles's graying eyes, Spike was satisfied that he'd made a fitting welcome for his old Sunnydale 'chum', "Some things just don't change aye" Spike said grinning from pasty ear to ear, "long time to go without a phone call pumpkin, thought you'd forgotten about me and the whole, saving the world incident"

''Actually I'm the man with the plan, Giles just 'as the means to execute it….I believe ya call 'er 'red''' Doyle stated as he moved to follow the Englishman who was once again rubbing his glasses. The guy never seemed to get enough of that. ''Yes…Doyle came to me a few weeks ago, explained what was happening….I was less than happy to help given your new associations but its about the bigger picture not how I may personally feel about the matter. Angels death was always part of the plan, but also will his resurrection be….however that's going to be particularly difficult without a body, and his remains currently blowing around what's left of Los Angeles… but it can be done. Willows offered to help, you'll need someone of that skill, if we're going to get anywhere and she may also be able to help you'' the watcher directed towards Doyle, to which the man allowed a widened grin to be displayed on his features. Rolling his eyes Giles continued as he led them through the halls of an old school he'd renovated as part of the new watchers council. ''The spell that we're doing however has one main side effect…..'' he said trailing off as he pushed open the heavy wooden door of his office.

Spike couldn't shake this ridiculous feeling of dejavu, "There's always a bloody side affect! Have we not learnt from the last time then. How are we supposed to know that we're not stealing away Angel's last chance to frolic up there in the clouds eh? Doubt he'd be too happy to find himself back here, could be a bit damaged in the head after an ordeal like that, well, more damaged" he complained. The vampire was still finding it difficult to understand why he cared so much about Angel's fate. They'd taken every opportunity to make 'life' difficult for each other, but apparently a world without its 'knight in shining armor' weighed out much worse than the one he'd had to put up with beforehand. "Vampire's don't go to heaven" said a detached voice from the shadows. Willow was the only one capable of pulling off dark mojo like this, that much was clear, it was why she would put herself through that again that the vampire couldn't understand. The dark side was always seductive. "Fine so, you were saying something about a 'but' right. What is it then? We all turn into raging, murdering, power hungry psychopaths? I'm up for that" spike mused in his usual cocky manner

''Not quite'' Giles mumbled back in frustration. ''Because Angel died…it meant that without a vessel the soul and the demon could no longer stay in one place. The two halves split if you were, and bringing back the soul and the demon together is going to prove more than a little difficult…we may very well be facing Angelus again'' The watcher added, his tone dropping before a sigh followed. ''Also Angel may not be as he was….he'll more than likely be weaker, almost human like. But because he signed away the Shanshu it can't happen fully, some of his previous traits still should be there..' Taking a seat on the edge of the desk, the watch removed his glasses fully this time and massaged the bridge of his own before he turned to spike. ''Angels not going to be able to handle him which means… your going to have to'' his eyes rolling briefly at that remark before ''good lord we're doomed'' following in an almost whisper.

"haha, this gig just keeps getting sweeter. This vampire can handle nancy boy any day mate. So what's the plan then?" spike enquired with great enthusiasm. The illuminant figure that had until now stood in the background twitching her fingers in deep thought, stepped further into the light and removed her red hood, "It won't be easy, and, it, is gunna be messy. In order to place a soul in a non-existing body we need to gain a vital organ from 4 magical creatures, both good and evil in order to create balance in the, relatively, human vessel. We need the ingredients to be as fresh as possible so I'm going to have to give you each an assignment", she explained with bashful confidence, " Spike, I've given you a very difficult task, you need to remove the heart of a wild phoenix bird. They're generally calm, peaceful creatures, though when provoked they are vicious, and they're pretty big, you'll need weapons". "weapons, got it red, wouldn't want to be caught out with nothing but a toothpick now would I" said the vampire with great sarcasm as he strode to end of the dark room, were a cabinet filled with gleaming cold metal weaponry of all sizes, shapes and forms stood. "Fred, I mean, Illyria" Willow said, she was still finding it difficult to adjust to the sight of Fred as a ruthless, heartless deamon, "You need to find me stiparus brain. They're extremely twisted creatures, and are capable of paralyzing a human on contact, so you will need to detach yourself from humanity as much as possible" Illyria nodded calmly and joined Spike at the weapons cabinet. " Doyle, no offence but considering you're current condition I think it's best if you and I pair up. You might need a girl to save you", Willow jested, " Gilles already knows what he has to do, so lets get some weapons and get started". The group equipped themselves with axes, swords and daggers and marched out of the castle like building, their maps and mission briefs held tightly in their hands.

Sword in hand, and a frown still decorating his features Doyle turned to face willow. ''What did ya mean I might need a girl to save me?...I know I'm a tad pathetic at times but that's just ridiculous'' he tried to say without flinching at the American accent that fell from his lips. He kept forgetting just who and what he was, stuck in a former lawyer and very much human. And who was he kidding? Of course he'd need the girl to bail him out, what was left of his power was dwindling beyond use and he didn't even have the added strength anymore. . ''Aww forget it your right….dunno even why I'm tagging along unless the fight with this creature resembles a bar fight?'' he said looking hopefully. He'd decked many a drunken man with the aid of a barstool and a few misguided punches.

"At least you're honest" said Willow with the same warm smile she always wore to match her fiery red hair, "Take my hand". Doyle was slightly surprised by the young woman's proposal, "You know, I'm aware we're gettin' along well here miss, but is it already time for handholding?" he interjected. Willow rolled her eyes and pulled a large silver amulet from the pocket of her velvet cloak and wrapped it around her neck, then, grabbing the Irishman's hand she explained, "Our demon's only found in the bog dimensions, so you should probably hold my hand or you'll be getting left behind". Only one phrase seemed to stand out in Doyle's mind after Willows speech, and it was 'bog dimension', "Well, It'll feel like going back home I guess" he mumbled before Willow chanted some long Latin sounding words and the two travelers were surrounded by a swirling white light.