isclaimer: You know that guy that said I owned Buffy and Angel and everyone in the shows? He was LYING.

Spike lit the cigarette but didn't bother taking a drag on it, instead holding it at arms length.

"I got it," said a demon, stepping out of the shadows.

"You got it," repeated Spike flatly.

"Yeah, it was easy."

Spike regarded the demon, tossing down his cigarette. "You're the same guy that came and met with me before, right?" he asked.

The demon nodded. "You don't recognize me?"

"Your lot all looks alike to me," said Spike derisively. "You've gathered your forces? Ready to fight Ozymandius to the last man?"

"What few I could," said the demon. "Are you sure about this? I mean, it's a human. Can we trust it?"

"Yeah, bring him out."

The demon nodded and whistled. Spike frowned at him. "What?" said the demon.

"That whistling. That's like—never mind," Spike sighed.

"I know, I know, it's a human thing," said the demon, embarrassed. "Sorry."

Clem approached, leading a man in black robes and a handful of demons dressed in long overcoats. Several different demon races were represented here, many of them horrendously ugly. "We're here, we're here," said Clem nervously. "Are we ready?"

"We're ready," said Spike.

"No," said the scaly demon, surprised.

"Angelus is on his way over!" snarled Spike. "We've gotta get this over and done with before he gets here. Now, we're ready."

The man in the black robes nodded. "Monsters and demons and me," he said quietly.

"Shut it," said Spike roughly.

The man in the black robes watched him. "Do I make you nervous?" he asked quietly.

"Your kind always makes me nervous," growled Spike. "Let's get on with this."

They strode into the darkness.

Faith twirled the stake in her hand, watching Giles. Giles watched Gwinn, who was paging through the book. "Fascinating," said Gwinn.

"That's what I said," muttered Faith. "Exactly. To the very syllable."

Giles shot her an odd look. "Apparently the demon you met was a Kranich demon."

"A demon best known for its fear of sunlight, avoidance of humans, and apparently its disdain for other demons—there's no known cases of it ever attacking a human, except this one case where apparently the humans attacked it," Gwinn said, glancing up at Giles.

"There's more." Said Giles grimly. "Stacks and stacks of information that the Kranich demon is essentially a safe, nice demon."

Faith considered that for a moment. "It looked big and mean," she observed.

"A show," said Gwinn. "The scales that look like skin can be raised, apparently to give the appearance of increased size."

"Like a cat," reasoned Faith. Both Watchers gave her surprised glances. "What, I can't have layers? Sure, cats do that, arch their back. Give a good show."

Giles nodded, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "Gwinn, would you explain to me—explain to Faith—the position of the Council on non-lethal demons?"

"Demons are demons," replied Gwinn. "Whether they feed on cats or on humans."

"You see, Faith?" said Giles.

"And Spike?" asked Faith.

"Dangerous," said Gwinn. He glanced to Faith. "And, um, what are your thoughts?"

Faith stared at him for a long second. "I don't trust Spike," she said finally. "But whatever this threat is that's coming, we may need his help."

Giles coughed, glancing to Gwinn, who nodded. "Yes. I can see that."

"Somebody called?" said a low, powerful voice from the doorway, one that Faith knew so well. Faith turned and threw herself across the room, grabbing Angel in a hug where he stood outside the door.

"Angel!" she yelled, holding tight to him.

He returned the hug awkwardly, putting a hand on her shoulder as she released him. He stepped into the shop, glancing from Giles to Gwinn. "I assume an introduction isn't necessary. You said something about a pure demon along the lines of the mayor?"

Giles stood. "Angel," he said coolly. "Yes, we think we're up against something big. We're not sure what."

"How'd you find out about the demon?" asked Angel.

"I told them," said Spike coldly, entering the shop behind Angel. "Welcome back to Sunnyhell, poofter."

Angel's face hardened, and he whirled around in one long, clean swoop, jumping on Spike and punching him in the face. "Spike!" he hissed. "How dare you come back here?" He punched Spike again, knocking the younger vampire to his knees, and slammed a knee into Spike's stomach.

"Angel!" said Faith, surprised.

Angel slammed his fist into Spike's face again. "When'd you come back to Sunnydale, Spike? When you learned she was dead?"

"Been here all along," croaked Spike, as he rolled back against the wall, leaning back. He smirked. "How've you been, peaches? Busy playing hero?"

Angel kicked Spike in the face, snapping his head back against the wall. "What're you doing here, Spike?" he asked again.

"Helping," said Spike with a smirk. "Didn't you get the memo, peaches? I stood shoulder to shoulder with your heroes...saved lives...did good. Aren't you proud of me?"

Angel hesitated, raising his boot backwards to strike again, but glanced to Giles, who nodded. Angel's face twisted into a scowl.

"What're you playing at, Spike?" he demanded.

Spike laughed, throwing back his hand and wiping a hand across his face. "What am I playing at? That's good, that's real good." He climbed unsteadily to his feet. "Ask the Watcher, eh?"

"A government agency implanted a chip in his head rendering him unable to hurt humans," said Giles. "He's been helping us since."

Spike turned, slamming a hand into Angel's face, knocking him to the floor. "Can still hit the bad guys, though," he said thoughtfully. "Well, demons. But demons are bad guys, right?"

Angel scrambled to his feet, his eyes narrowed.

A man wearing black robes and a clerical collar stepped through the door. "Angelus," he said.

Angel turned, surprised. "Do I know you?" he asked.

The priest whipped a cross out of his robes, holding it towards Angel, who flinched backwards. Two demons entered the shop behind him, the Kranich demon and a dog-faced demon, both carrying cattle prods. They aimed them at Faith, holding them steady.

"Naw, you don't know im," said Spike. He glanced at Giles and Gwinn. "Just stay where you are, huh? Would hate for you to get hurt."

The Kranich brandished the cattle prod. "All right, Slayer, you might be able to kill one of us, or maybe even both of us, but you can't stop us before we make contact, and then you're down and out."

Clem entered the room behind Spike. "The others are outside, where you told them to stay," he said unhappily.

Spike nodded. "Get that thing from the back room," he said. Clem marched off, just a little stiffly.

Angel backed away from the cross-wielding priest. "What is this, Spike, your new gang?"

"Just a little bit of necessity," said Spike calmly. He took a baseball bat out from behind a display case.

"Hey!" said Giles, unable to help himself any longer. "That's mine!"

"I know, Watcher," said Spike. still in that too-calm voice. "Just borrowing it." He advanced on Angel, and hit him with the baseball bat, knocking him to the ground.

Faith moved forward to stop him, but the dog-faced demon swiped the cattle prod at her. It made contact, and the shock drove her down to her knees.

Spike hit Angel again, a wide grin on his face. He was clearly enjoying this chance for a little payback.

Faith glanced up, blearily, not quite unconscious. "What is this about?" she asked Spike. "Ozymandius?"

Angel's foot shot out, knocking Spike backwards, and Angel was on his feet in a second. "Ozymandius?! You lying scheming little weasel! You told them Ozymandius was a threat, didn't you?"

"I didn't say that. Just told them he's a scary demon... just about the purest of the pure-breed demons," growled Spike, adjusting his grip on the baseball bat.

"He's lying to you! Ozymandius isn't a threat--not to you! Not to humans! He's an enforcer of sorts--he goes around killing other demons."

"Voraciously," said the Kranich demon holding the cattle prod. "Especially those of us it considers offensive."

Faith shook her head. "What are you doing?" she asked Spike, rising to her feet. It occurred to her suddenly that he had allies among the demons, creatures that served him.

Spike grinned. "Well, you know, just doing what comes naturally." He turned to Gwinn. "Thought I'd come and kill you. Eh?"

Gwinn blinked. "What?"

"Oh, sure," scoffed Spike. "Blind in one eye, your right eye. White hair. You think a little think like changing shape could fool me?" He blew out his breath through pursed lips. "I'm not as dumb as you'd like me to think."

Gwinn smiled. "Oh, I wondered if you'd sniff me out, but I didn't think you'd just put the pieces together."

Faith shook her head. "What the hell are you talking about now? What about Ozymandius? What do you have against my Watcher?"

"Got nothing against your Watcher," said Spike viciously. "But that ain't your Watcher, and probably never was."

Gwinn's smile faded. "Unfortunately, yes. I met Peter Gwinn in LA, and killed him. I assumed a shape as near to his as I could, but apparently that wasn't enough."

Faith was confused now, and tried to cover it with a sneer. "So I'm guessing you're this Ozymandius, then."

"Oh, heaven's, no," said Gwinn, his skin rippling and shifting, moving. His body under the jacket seemed to swell and shrink all at once.

His cheekbones sucked inward, and his chest moved outward—not all of it, though, and Faith blinked as her Watcher turned into a woman with short white hair, and the same scar across her eye.

"I didn't put it all together at first," growled Spike. "I forgot all about you until Ozymandius showed up in town."

"I didn't realize you'd be here," said Gwinn. "Gave me quite a shock—one I covered quite well, I thought."

"Quite well," muttered Faith.

"I'm never going to trust another Watcher as long as I live," muttered Giles.

"Wait; Gwinn is in league with Ozymandius?" asked Faith.

Spike chuckled. "Oh, that's rich." He leaned towards Gwinn. "I'd be more likely to side up with Angel."

Angel growled. "Gwinn—she's the hellbeast sent after Ozymandius. The hunter."

"That's right," said Gwinn, smiling. "Here to put him back in his grave."

"So you came here to ally with this demon?" asked Faith, glancing at Spike and the demons all around her.

"Yes," said the Kranich, the scales all over his body rippling. "We will destroy the monster once and for all!"

But Faith was watching the hellbeast she had thought to be her Watcher, and she knew instantly something was very wrong with this scenario. She tensed her muscles, expecting the fight to break out, expecting to have to jump into action.

But it was Spike who moved, spinning into action, the baseball bat a blur as he struck. "Not quite," he howled, smashing the bat into Gwinn's face, knocking her to the ground. She gasped, trying to stand, and he hit her again, laying her out flat. "I was thinking more along the lines of tearing you into little bitty shreds."

Gwinn stared up at him with hate filled eyes, scrambling back away from him. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "I'm here to kill him, same as you!"

"Pay attention, love," mocked Spike. "I never said I was going to kill him." He slammed the baseball bat into her face again.

"What's going on?" demanded Faith.

"Yeah, what's going on?" asked the Kranich demon guarding her. There was panic in his voice, as he was just now realizing how out of control things were getting.

Ozymandius stepped through the door. "Well, you might call it a redemptive moment—or you could call it a murder. Whichever one works for you."

Angel gasped, taking a step back. The priest moved with him, keeping the cross in his face. "Don't try anything," warned the priest.

Ozymandius moved closer almost lazily. "What's the matter, kranichen? Angelus? Afraid to see me?"

The dog-faced demon gaped, taking a half-step back, closer to Faith, swinging his cattle prod around to point it at the demon walking in. Faith wasn't sure why they were so afraid of this musclebound old man, but she knew an opportunity when she saw it. She grabbed the demon, and his cattle prod, slashing it at the Kranich. It drove him down to his knees, and he let out a shriek, and she used the base of the prod to club the dog-faced demon, knocking him down.

Spike turned to face Faith. "You might want to leave, love," he said. "The old boy here can't hurt most people, but you've got some darkness in you, and that's how he likes em."

She hesitated, keeping the cattle prod firmly to hand, glancing over at Angel, who was watching Ozymandius through narrowed eyes.

"You've got nothing to fear, Faith," said Angel. "Not from this twisted old monster."

"I don't kill Slayers," acknowledged the demon, nodding. "Just these half-breeds. Like vampires... but, you, Angel, not you. I hadn't seen the soul in you before, but they were right. You reek of humanity now."

"Aw, too bad," said Spike. "I was kind of hoping you'd off him." He swung the bat again, knocking Gwinn down as she tried to struggle to her feet.

Faith was getting pretty angry. "Can somebody tell me what's going on before I just kill the lot of you!" she roared.

"It's strange," said Angel. "I thought this was about... It looks like Spike did the right thing, here."

Ozymandius smiled, and the scars on his face made it a ghastly parody of a smile. "Oh? How do you figure?"

Spike laughed. "These idiots thought a vampire who kills demons would be a good champion against a demon that kills demons. They sort of forgot that there might be some common ground there... you know, killing demons. I can't really blame them, of course. I had a plant in their ranks... still, it was short-sighted of them."

Ozymandius shook his head. "They know I'm bound to kill the soulless, such as Spike. They relied on it. But it didn't help them."

Ozymandius glanced to the Kranich, and waved his hand. The Kranich screamed, grabbing at his chest. There was a sizzling sound, like bacon hitting a hot stove, and he toppled over. "You're not worth the breath I would take to spit on you," said Ozymandius with contempt.

Spike took a knife out of his belt and knelt over Gwinn. "The neck-bone's connected to the head-bone," he sang, sawing at her neck.

Ozymandius smiled, gesturing at the dog-faced demon. It howled, writhing on the floor for a moment. "Now," said Ozymandius. "I finished the demons outside, but one more came in here. Into the back room. He's mine.

Spike whirled, throwing the knife. It stuck through Ozymandius' wrist, and the tall scarred man cried out in pain. "I said no!" growled Spike.

"He is mine!" insisted the tall demon, pulling the knife out of his wrist.

Spike jumped forward, attempting to tackle Ozymandius, who caught him easily with his other hand. "You fool," said the tall demon coldly. "I'll have him, no matter what you want to do!"

Spike tried to kick him, so Ozymandius threw him to the floor. He glanced to the priest, who was still holding Angel in check with his cross. "And what are you, then, man or demon?" he asked, waving a hand at the priest. It didn't affect the man, who smiled back at Ozymandius.

"I've been many things, but I'm only here as a favor," he said.

Spike was on his feet again, trying to attack Ozymandius. "He's a mercenary, not a priest!" he yelled, slamming a fist into Ozymandius' face. The big demon didn't seem to notice the attack, pushing Spike to the ground again.

"Ah, why are you doing this?" asked Ozymandius, tossing down Spike's knife. "You know I can beat you. Any day of the week."

"I told you, that one's my friend, and he's totally off limits!" growled Spike.

Ozymandius shook his head. "He's a demon! I kill those, remember?"

"Spike's a demon," observed Angel, snatching the cross out of the priest's hand and throwing it to the floor.

"That's different," said Ozymandius with a sniff. "He reeks of humanity."

"Yeah? Not what you said the first time we crossed paths!" pointed out Spike, struggling back to his feet again.

"Mm, yeah," said Ozymandius, picking Spike up and throwing him through the window, leaping after him.

The priest watched Angel. "All right, Angelus," he said. "Are we done this dance? No hard feelings?"

Angel shook his head, stepping around the mercenary dressed as a priest. "I meet you again, we're having words."

Faith followed Angel, heading after Spike and Ozymandius. After a minute the mercenary followed them, turning aside at the door and heading the opposite direction.

They left Giles standing there over the remains of three demons, one of whom he had thought to be a Watcher a short time ago. He frowned down at the body, still thinking very hard about who was on whose side, and what Spike was up to.

Then he realized he'd been left with the cleanup, and he sighed. "The more things change, the more they stay the same."