"Buffy! What happened? Where'd Angel go?" Willow's words rushed forth in a torrent, almost incomprehensible. To Buffy's ears, they were. Her eyes stared blankly, the muscles of her face slack.

Wes looked up at the Being floating above them all. "What's happened here? What have you done to Angel?"

The rest of the group stopped and looked to the Being, awaiting its answer. "We rewarded our Champion, by performing the ritual of Shanshu. It did not have the expected result."

"What do you mean, 'not the expected result.' You made him human, his soul bound, the demon banished," Wesley said in irritation.

"You have to understand, this ritual has never actually been performed before. It does not exactly bind the soul, as return the recipient to his original state."

"So, that means that he's completely human, like he was before Darla sired him," Wesley continued, not understanding the semantics. "His soul is locked in place. He's human."

"Apparently the Romanian Gypsies when restoring his soul made a mistake."

Xander stared in disbelief. "What kind of mistake?" Not that he cared much for Angel, but he did for Buffy, and whatever happened here had taken a horrible toll on her.

"I have said enough," and with that, the Being dissipated.

"You know, I really hate it when they do that crap," Xander stated.

Helping Buffy to her feet, Willow said, "Guys, I think we better get her home. She seems a little catatonic." Gunn lifted her in his arms and carried her out the door, the rest following behind, all thoughts of celebration purged from their minds.

***

Ah, a celebratory place this, Liam thought as he walked through the doors of the club. He checked his pockets, making sure he had money, which he did, then went straight for the bar. "Glen Fiddich," was all he said.

The bartender looked at him oddly. "The only whiskey I got is Jack's."

"Fine, I'll take a double." While he waited for his drink, he looked around at the decor. There was a large circular stage with a chrome pole in the middle of it, and a large group of men sitting in the seats surrounding it. Odd place for a structural support, he thought. He grabbed the drink proffered by the tender, took a snort and choked. American's never did learn how to make a good whiskey. Music started throbbing from speakers placed throughout the bar, and the men around the stage started cheering. A woman came out and started moving sensuously with the music. Soon it became all too apparent what the pole was for. Me God's but how things have changed! Smiling crookedly he thought, I'll be lovin' this land, m' thinks.

***

In the darkened house, once Buffy had been put to bed, the surviving members of the two teams, sat in the kitchen. Gunn, Fred, Wesley, Giles, Xander, and Willow. Their two Champions were now out of commission.

"How could this have happened? I mean, they were supposed to be rewarded after this. What went wrong?" Willow's voice was plaintive, full of pain for her friend.

"Not much is known about the Shanshu," Giles started. "It is an ancient myth in Vampire lore, but that's all it was thought to be." Turning to Wes, he added, "How is it you came to know about it?"

"A couple of years ago, Angel found a scroll in Wolfram & Hart's vault. He claimed it called out to him. When he brought it to the hotel, I immediately recognised it for what it was. It has the entire story of the Shanshu, but no real details."

"Where's the scroll now?" Willow asked.

"In LA, in the basement of the hotel. As I said though, it held no real information that I could discern."

"Would you mind if we took a look at it?" Giles asked.

"We'll go," Gunn put in, meaning he and Fred. Wesley told them the exact location and they left, promising to return in the morning.

"We might as well get to sleep. I have the distinct feeling we won't be getting much until we have Angel back," Wes said.

As they were climbing the stairs to the varied bedrooms, Willow said softly, "I wonder what he's doing now?"

***

"Get off the stage, man!" a large bouncer exclaimed as Liam jumped up beside the naked dancer.

Leaning in close to the woman, he whispered, "Do ye do other things for money as well then?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head close to her chest. When she knew he was completely distracted by her body, she raised her knee hard into his body, sending him backwards into the arms of the bouncer. Liam was infuriated. He spun on the bouncer, hitting him in the head with his fist, trying to knock him off the stage. The bouncer, hired because of his size and fighting ability, wasn't so easy a target. He rolled with the punch, moving back and sideways a step, then came swinging in with his own punch, aimed squarely at Liam's nose. Instinct kicked in for Liam, and he caught the bouncer's arm, and sent him flying into the dancer. They both crashed into the metal pole in the centre of the stage, the dancer taking the brunt of the hit. It would be enough to put her in a wheelchair. Liam, seeing his revenge exacted, walked calmly off the stage, people clearing a path for him as he strolled casually out of the club.

So, he thought, I still have the demon's fighting instincts. An evil smile crossed his lips as he walked down the quiet street.