The next instalment, weird and wonderful, kind of taken from the episode "Conversations with Dead People" in Buffy. I had no original title, sorry, it's the best I could come up with.

Still, thanks for the all the reviews and my beta reader, ZoeCB!

I'm going away for a few days, people! Going up North to see some scenic views in the North of England and some kind of crappy project. I'll be back soon! Please read n review?!

Where do we go from here: SEEING DEAD PEOPLE

Spike and Gunn…

Gunn held his axe. "If that thing even as much as moves its way around me, I'll chop its corporeal body out of here. This evil is gonna get an ass whoopin'. All I've been hearing about for the past six months is evils and now I wanna kill something."

"Well, 'm glad we agree on something," Spike muttered, a cigarette in his mouth.

Gunn took it out. "You want the evil to find us first."

Spike looked at him, annoyed. "Chances are, this evil has already seen us, it's just not showing itself yet. Just…chill out a little bit. All we gotta do is wait. Then we see what we can do about it."

"I'm glad to see you have some much in our petty selves."

"Actually, I have no faith in you, mate."

"I ain't no mate of yours. Either way we're gonna kill this thing."

A giggle sounded from somewhere. Gunn spun around with the axe and listened to the giggle again. It sounded so familiar that chills crept up and down his spine. "It can't be," he said as his mind registered on one name. His eyes were focused on the corridor where the sound came from.

"It can't be what? Or who?" Spike asked.

Gunn looked up ahead and his fears were brought to life. Coming down the corridor was Alonna. She was dressed in the clothes she had on before she died and strangely enough she was smiling. She walked right up to Gunn. "Don't be so afraid," she said. "What did you say about killing this thing?"

"Who is this?" Spike asked.

"She…" Gunn swallowed. "She's my sister. She died."

Spike lunged forward putting a hand on her. "Get on out of here," he said, his hand going straight through her. Gunn just watched in silence.

"I'm dead," Alonna said, looking down on herself. "Look what you did to me, Gunn. Your own sister. You would kill me, for the mission. Now the mission comes back to haunt you. You're all going to die."

"No we're not. You're not his sister. Now sod off!" Spike shouted.

Gunn turned to look at Spike. When he turned round Alonna had gone and in her place stood a tall thin figure, with a pale face and long black her. "Spike," she said softly. "I thought you loved me."

"Sod off!" Spike shouted.

"You loved a slayer. You should have died. Naughty Spike. You didn't die when you were supposed to. Now you're all going to die because I say so. How do you like that, now. I'll kill you all and dance underneath the stars…"

Gunn turned around and looked down the corridor. He knew this vampire as Drusilla, completely insane and the former lover of Spike. This meant trouble if it was actually her. But he couldn't get over the fact that Alonna had been standing there, not less than thirty seconds ago, pleading with her eyes at him. It was too much torment for him.

Spike backed away, grabbing Gunn by his shirt. "We need to get out of here, before she starts singing. It's not your sister, it's not Drusilla, it's just a real evil. An evil that spawns other evil. Remember that. Now run."

Gunn and Spike ran down the corridor. The vampire had his hands over his ears as the form of Drusilla put her hands above the head as it she was dancing. "Early one morning…" she started to sing.

Fred and Willow…

Willow peeked around the corridor silently. The she stepped around and from behind her came Fred with a sword but slightly more wary. She looked around her, creeped out by the dark corridors and all that lit it up were the small lanterns there were carrying. The silence almost deafened Willow.

"So, you used to be a physicist," Willow said admiringly.

Fred nodded and smiled. "Yeah, it was my major."

Willow laughed. "I used to love science. It was really fun and bitty although dissecting the frogs was a bit ick for me. It wasn't so bad but I wasn't very good at physics. Too many laws and numbers if you get what I mean. I found Chemistry a lot easier."

Fred laughed. "Chemistry was hard. Too many formulas and different kinds of elements. I used to love doing physics before…"

Willow looked at her and stopped. "Before Pylea?"

Fred nodded and started walking, nervously putting her hair behind her ear. "Yes…hmm…Pylea. Who told you?"

"Wesley."

"Oh. Well, yes, Pylea is a place I don't want to visit again. A five year vacation was just about enough for me. Drawing on caves and walls gets a little bit boring after a while. But yeah, now I just research but I still get to do my physics every now and again."

"That's good then," Willow stated and the silence hung over them for a moment as they continued down the hallway and turned another corner. Part of the wall had collapsed on this side exposing another room inside the Hyperion. Fred noticed how the hotel was going to need some major refurbishing after all this was over.

"Why, Fred," someone said, coming up behind them, making both Fred and Willow jump. The man was small with glasses. He looked average. He looked very intellectual and he struck shock into Fred. "Why are you so negative about physics? It used to be your prime. You shouldn't let those few years of hell take the shine off it."

Fred's face angered. "What are you doing here!" she shouted. "We killed you. You took physics away from me when you shoved me into that hellhole. What did you expect me to do, forgive and forget?"

Fred just got angrier and she lunged forward, swinging her sword, hoping to bury it deep in professor Sidel's head and finish him once and for all. Fred knew she had had morality issues when it came to killing her professor, especially when Gunn had done so. But now she felt confident, angry enough to do it again and she was ready. The axe swung through the air, through the professor and imbedded itself into the wall.

"Why, Fred," the professor said, clasping his hands below him. "That wasn't very nice of you, was it? At least the professor didn't kill you. But I will." He turned to look at the red headed witch. "Hello again, Willow."

The witch's eyes darkened. "Get out of here," she whispered menacingly. "You have no business here in LA. Go back to Sunnydale or go away all together."

She watched, with no surprise, as the figure that had once been professor Sidel, now changed into Warren. "I have no business in LA? On the contrary, Willow, what's going to be my whole world is my business, dontcha think?"

Fred looked on confused. "What? What's going on?"

"Fred, what you saw there was not who you thought it was. The same was with this boy here. I killed him last year. This is the First, an evil made up of evils. It can take the form of any dead person it wants to and it's using it to taunt us. Don't let its words or its forms scare you."

"Such brave words, witch," Warren said. "Bet when you look back now to when you killed this boy, you didn't think you sounded so tough. It was mean, it was cruel. If only you had stayed evil. You have so much power that I would consider sparing you."

"That wasn't me."

 "Oh really? I think it's your alter ego." Warren/The First leant forward towards the witch. "I think it's deep inside of you and it's just burning to come out again. Imagine the possibilities."

"I won't," Willow hissed. "It makes me ill."

Warren shrugged. "Oh well. I have to move on. Keep what I say in mind. You're all going to hell…painfully."

Angel and Wesley…

Angel and Wesley barely spoke to each other. It was silence. They were on the first floor of the hotel. Wesley didn't particularly want to be on this floor. Angel didn't care. He seemed intent on killing whatever was still lurking around the hotel. It seemed whatever this thing was had started the earthquake which had rendered the hotel and half the city probably crippled. "We don't even know what this thing is," he stated for the third time. "It could be anything."

"Well, this anything is clawing its way to us and trying to get on my nerves and guess what, it's working. This thing could be what kills Conner. If I can help it, I don't give it a chance."

"This is an apocalypse," Wesley said to him fiercely. "Usually the dark forces that come with apocalypses are not simple enough to be stabbed or chopped by a sword. You, of all people, should know that. That's what I believe."

Angel didn't reply for a few seconds. "That doesn't mean we can't try," he answered. "We don't even know where Conner is. He's run away somewhere with Cordy. Both of them could be in danger. They don't even know that something is probably out there."

Wesley sighed. "I pray some of my books survived…" He stopped dead as he rounded the corner. His weapon almost dropped from his hands onto the floor.

Angel stopped. "Wes? Come on, what's…" he stopped as well and followed Wesley's direction. His eyes followed down to the floor where once, a body had laid, punctures in her neck, blood flowing down…"Wes, snap out of it."

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a figure appeared. The sensation made Angel's head snap round and he froze where he stood. "Lilah," he whispered quietly as he looked at her. She wasn't exactly glowing. Her face looked full of life as it she was alive again. Her hair was neatly done and Wesley took a step back. "What's going on here?" Angel said.

Lilah smiled. "It's the end of the world, Angel," she said. "Didn't we tell you that was going to come at some point?" She walked over to Wesley. "Don't be so distressed, Wesley. Believe me, I'm happier where I am now, you should know that. But believe me, every minute of it was fun. Shame…I can see your death from where I stand now. All of yours."

Angel snapped round towards her. "Is this it? You're haunting our corridors? Why, was it not good enough for you? Was it not your time to die or something? Well you can forget about us resurrecting you!"

Lilah laughed. "Oh, Angel. That's such a lame reason for believing what I am. Do you really think an apocalypse would simply be me, roaming your measly corridors? Why would I want to kill everyone for that? I'd much rather just kill you."

"Lilah…" Angel warned.

Wesley shook his head. "No. Angel, it's not Lilah," he said quietly, looking at the aspiration. "It can't be. The way she speaks, the way she looks and walks…it's exactly like her. It's a copy. Something inhabiting her body. Lilah wouldn't say things like that. She has no reason to come back…not of her own accord anyway."

Lilah/The First smiled. "You're so smart, Wesley. Brains are always useful. Unfortunately, the knowledge in your head or in your books will help you with this. You will die and be reunited with her. And as for you, Angel, your freedom from that demon body and soul will come. All you have to do is surrender."

Angel raised his sword. "Never."

Lilah/The First smiled. "I'm thrilled you said that, Angel. That makes my job a lot more fun. It's so boring when you come in to destroy a world and there's no resistance. I like a little bit of spice added to the mix."

"Did you come from QuoToth then?" Wesley asked.

Lilah laughed. "Pfft, QurToth? I'm older than that world and many others. I was here when the first form of evil walked the earth, before the vampires, before the demons and before the forces and your Powers that Be. Be warned, Angel, this is not the last you'll hear of me. You'll know who I am soon enough. Then you might not even bother resisting."

It disappeared. Silence reigned in the corridor. Wesley put down his weapon. "Well, that was a nice introduction."

Lindsey and Faith…

Faith held a stake in her hand. She was prepared for anything. She darted round the corners, prepared to strike at anything that jumped out. Lindsey followed at a more controlled pace. He was equally as prepared but not so much daring and energetic as Faith. If he could help it, he would hate to use his powers at all.

"So, you don't actually like using them?" Faith said, when Lindsey told her. She had calmed down slightly and settled to walking slower down the corridor.

Lindsey shrugged. "It's not so much I don't like using them," he said, shrugging. "It's more that if it got out of hand then I could create some major havoc. As fun as that sounds, I don't normally go for killing humans."

"Not any more anyway."

Lindsey quietened down. "I'm not under the employ of Wolfram and Hart anymore," he said firmly.

Faith laughed slightly. "There is no Wolfram and Hart to be employed too. But you still walked like a lawyer…back straight, good stride going for ya. Your eyes still have that frowniness in them and you can still talk like you were freezing someone…it's like something out of an x-men cartoon. The added feature is your new power."

"I don't even like being associated with Wolfram and Hart anymore," Lindsey said, raising his voice slightly. "I left them, they didn't let me go. Now I go around fighting for the good." He sighed. "Dam, that sounds too much like Angel."

Faith smiled slightly. "Yeah, sounds like it, although I think his trend is copyright."

"So sue me," Lindsey replied, chuckling slightly at the lawyer joke again. "Oh well. It's not as if I have a job anyway. And with this power, what am I gonna do? Generate electricity for the family homes in America?"

"You'd be making a lot of people warm and cosy. It's a good thing you left. You're not completely the same as you were back then. Back in the day, you definitely had a meaner thing going for ya."

"Yeah, I worked for a evil law firm."

"And I'm a slayer, reformed murderer. Life goes round." Faith flicked back her hair and looked behind her again. When she turned back again, Lindsey had walked on and she was standing face to face with someone she thought she'd never have to see again. "Shit!" she said, backing away slightly, thrusting her stake for protection.

What had been the Deputy Mayor smiled. "Come on, Faith, you've already staked me once. No need to do it again."

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Faith retorted. "You're dead."

The Deputy Mayor nodded. "Yes, and I still am, don't worry. This isn't one of those stupid dreams or hauntings. I'm here. And although I can't do it yet, I'm here to kill you."

Faith frowned. "What is this, revenge or something?"

"Well, I was planning to kill all of you. One by one."

Lindsey frowned. "Who is this guy?"

Faith swallowed and straightened. "This is the guy I killed back in Sunnydale. He was the Deputy Mayor. I was on the run because I killed him. And now, he wants to kill all of us."

Lindsey reached forward, his hand going straight through the Deputy Mayor. "Holy crap," he muttered to himself. "This can't be good at all. What the hell are you? You don't exactly look like a ghost."

"I'm not ghost. I inhabit the bodies of the dead and although it's not enough to start your mental torment, I've come to tell you I'm here. You can fight me. I can't fight you yet either. But the time will come and I shall enjoy watching you take your last breath, along with all your friends here in Los Angeles." He smiled. "Happy hunting, I hope you find what you're looking for."

Lindsey turned around and frustrated, stamped his foot into the ground. A wave of power erupted from his hand, surging with great force into the floor below him, creating a hole. He jumped away quickly before anyone could fall down. "Oh, I think we've found what we're looking for."

*  *  *  *  *

Lorne watched as they came down the stairs in pairs, lastly Angel and Wesley. "I'm guessing you all found it," he remarked. "Well, you've all be saying the same thing, kiddos. People you've killed, all resurfacing into their forms and wandering around our corridors. Sounds like a fairly petty evil by my standards." He stirred his gin in his glass and suddenly realised he didn't feel like it.

"It's not that simple," Wesley said, setting his crossbow onto the table. "We don't know what it is."

"Yes we do," Willow said, sitting on the banquet next to Spike. She looked at the vampire for a moment. "It's called the First…the First Evil. It's made up of all the evil and it's bad, guys. It's the reason for evil,  not just some little demon from an apparent hell."

Angel looked at her, recognition on his face. "The First," he said quietly sitting down behind the counter and thought for a second. "I remember it, back when I was in Sunnydale." The others all turned to look at him, except Willow, who knew what he was talking about. "When I came back…from hell, I encountered it. It took the form of Jenny Calendar. It wanted to make me kill myself."

"Well, it's kind of gone beyond petty suicide attempts, mate," Spike said, standing up and pacing. "It's here and it's waiting for blood, our blood. Why it's come here, I don't know and quite frankly, I don't give a toss. It wants to destroy the world and this time, it's capable of doing it. We have nothing that can defeat it." He put a hand up to his forehead and looked at them. "I have to go. I can't stay here with the First as well."

Gunn stood up. "Why? You bailing."

Spike's head snapped round and narrowed. He looked at Gunn. "If there's one thing I ain't done recently, it's 'bailed out.' I can handle myself in this bloody fight even if it kills me. But I'm a danger to you all if I'm here. The First can still control me. I could kill you."

"What do you mean, kill us?" Faith demanded. "He's a souled vampire. I thought he was reformed."

Willow stood up. "He is," she said earnestly. "That's not the problem. The First has planted some kind of…trigger thing in Spike's head. Now, every time the First sings this particular song to him, he goes all whammy. The soul doesn't count and goes on a killing rampage. He would be dangerous."

"There has to be some way to get rid of it," Angel said, refusing to believe that this trigger could stop them.

Spike cocked his head to the side and put his hands on his hips. "Don't you think that if there was back in Sunnydale, we would've done already?"

People looked down on the ground and were quiet. Wesley cleared his throat. "I suppose I'd better do some research. I'll see what ways there are to trigger someone and then release them from it. I'll look for the First as well."

Fred and Faith got up, but saying, "I'll help."

At that point, the door opened again. Justine came through silently, wrapping her arms around herself and looked around. There was dried blood on her face. "Hi," she said weakly, looking around. "I…I hope I'm not interrupting something important."

Angel raised an eyebrow. Justine seemed strangely pliant and quiet at the moment. "No," he said, getting up. "Just you know…earthquake. What's wrong? Did you have another vision?"

She nodded. "Um…yeah. It's vampires and demons again." She scratched the back of her head. "They're all gathering in this underground club they've taken over. I think people have got out but the rest are being used as sacrifices. I thought you'd better do something about it."

Angel sighed. "What are the Powers that be doing?" he muttered.

Spike frowned. "The powers that what?"

"The Powers that Be."

"The powers that be what?"

"Well just…the powers that…are."

"Sounds more like the powers that fuck you, if you ask me. They're sending you in pointless missions to nowhere Ville. You've got bigger things to worry about, like the First, for one."

Gunn shrugged. "There must be the reason the powers are doing this. 'M sure they can see that the First has come to LA. There's a bigger game involved here, man and the vampires and demons coming to LA are involved. Let's take 'em down and find what we need."

Faith stood up. "I'm with muscle boy."

Angel sighed. "Okay. Here we go again."

*  *  *  *  *

Cordy looked around. "Are you sure this is safe?" she asked uncertainly, looking around at the darkness. "Angel could find us here if he wanted to."

Conner shook his head. "No, it's safe, I've checked it out before. It's partly underground but you can't get to it through the sewers so it's safe. I'll be here with you as well. We'll have our baby, and…we'll be a family."

Cordy nodded. She smiled a hidden wicked smile which Conner took for one of happiness. "Exactly," she said. "We'll be happy. We don't need Angel or any of them, no matter how much you think they should be family. We have our baby and it'll be great—it'll be strong and make a new world for us." She turned back to look around through the darkness again. She could manage here for a while.

The boy smiled. "Yeah, sure. I better go out and stake out the place, just to make sure there're no squatters. "

Cordy watched him go and then sat down. "Yes, we'll play happy family's." She walked over to a couch that sat in what looked like an old warehouse which was left unused from a long time ago. "Don't worry. It'll all be over soon. With a new kind of reunion, I think we will rule the world…or destroy it. Whatever works."