The scent of sunrise forced Spike to turn back toward the hotel. He had to admit, he quite liked the place. It had character. That said, it was probably going to be the first place the Senior Partners would come looking for them to wreak their revenge.

Spike lit a cigarette as he stomped through the streets, his coat billowing behind him. He looked around as he walked. The empty roads made LA look like a ghost town. The residents and the things that preyed on them in the night all seemed to be steering well clear.

Spike took a long drag as he cast a careful eye through the dark. A lot of people were probably dead and those that weren't had hopefully done the right thing and scarpered.

He turned down the alley that led up to the back gates of the Hyperion. He could smell the burning pyre and he paused. That was Gunn and Wesley…

Spike cursed the Powers That Be, he cursed his soul, he cursed the Senior Partners. He should have died in that battle. Just like he should have died in Sunnydale. Well, he should have stayed dead. That damn prophecy had given him hope and a reason to keep fighting, all the more important since he'd lost Buffy.

He leaned against the wall with an exhausted sigh. Spike knew he could curse the prophecies and the sacrifices till the world ended but it wouldn't make a difference. None of it ever seemed to make a difference.

He had helped Angel to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn, he helped to force a conflict with the Senior Partners, and what had come of it? Wesley and Gunn had paid the price of it and he seriously doubted that their battle had even scratched the surface of the Senior Partners' power.

Spike threw the cigarette to the ground and marched down the alleyway, determined that whatever was coming, he would fight it. After all, he was a white hat these days, just like the big dark broodster himself.

He stopped with one hand on the gates, staring at the fire and sighing heavily. Gazing through the flames, Spike could see Illyria's blue hue hunched over on the bench in front of the pyre. He couldn't hear her crying anymore but that didn't mean the pain was any less.

Movement caught his eye and he looked up to the terrace. His heart skipped a beat. Well, it would have if he was alive. There was Buffy, the love of his eternal life.

Spike blinked rapidly, making sure that what he was seeing through the smoke and the prickling of tears was right. There was Buffy. And she was staring up all lovey-dovey at him, at Angel. Always bloody Angel.

He swallowed hard, cursing the soul that made him care so much about someone who obviously didn't care about him. Spike nodded to himself and disappeared back in to the shadows.

oooOOOooo

Giles, Xander and Connor milled around the hotel lobby, the former Sunnydale residents staring around them and examining what the place might look like under the layers of dust and grime. Connor was absorbed in his own memories so Willow had explained to them how wonderful the place had looked years before, but now she just stood watching Buffy and Angel.

Xander turned to Connor.

"So… Cordelia really saved you then?"

Connor raised an eyebrow at the one-eyed man's incredulous tone.

"Yeah. You know, that's the whole point of the higher power gig I guess."

Giles polished his glasses, deep in thought.

"Well, at least it's good to know we have her on our side when the next apocalypse arrives."

Connor took a sudden interest in his shoes, his cheeks flushing. Giles stood, his gaze inquisitive.

"Is there a problem?"

The young man raised his eyes to the Englishman but quickly averted his gaze, looking anywhere but at him.

"Well, yeah, I guess. I mean, Cordelia, she said that she wouldn't necessarily be around for the next one. You know, the real one. The big one."

"Ah, well, considering the scale of the last attack, that might well become a slight problem, yes."

Willow turned back to the group.

"Giles, seriously, how many apocalypses have we faced over the years? We'll be fine."

She beamed a confident smile at him and he felt slightly reassured. He replaced his glasses and straightened up.

"Right, well, let's get started."

Xander spun on his heel with an odd look on his face.

"You mean we've come all this way just to do research and read a load of dusty old books?"

Willow bounded over to them.

"Oooh, reading and research? It's just like old times! So what's first?"

Giles smiled and started pacing up and down across the lobby.

"Well, this previous battle will hopefully have depleted the 'troops' so to speak, especially with Cordelia's intervention. And after all, if this coming apocalypse really was scheduled by the Senior Partners, then there will be some evidence somewhere, some form of documentation."

Xander perked up.

"Like a timetable or something?"

Willow grinned and turned to Connor.

"Any books around?"

He shrugged.

"There used to be loads in the office over there but this place has been empty for so long, I don't know if there's much left. I mean, Wolfram and Hart had basically everything they'd ever need so there might be some books still around."

Giles and Willow immediately disappeared in to the office. Connor watched them go with an odd expression. Xander paused, feeling an odd sense of concern.

"You ok?"

Connor nodded and slumped on to the circular sofa. Xander buried his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"So, just you and Angel here then?"

The young lad shook his head.

"There's Illyria. She used to be Fred, but now she's been replaced by some God or something and Fred's gone."

Xander rolled his eyes.

"I've had a little experience of gods. That's when Buffy, you know, when she…"

He trailed off, his gaze drawn to the terrace outside and the two silhouettes on the other side of the door. Connor finished his sentence for him.

"When she died, right? That had to be tough."

Xander just nodded and Connor rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and then there's Spike too. He's around here somewhere."

Xander's head shot up.

"Spike? Spike is here? Spike!"

"Hello to you too Xander boy."

The pair spun round to find Spike standing in the doorway. He stomped down the steps towards them with a shrug, attempting to feign surprise at seeing them.

"Well, ain't this just a jolly old reunion? Good to see Sunnydale's finest finally making an appearance."

Xander glowered at him as Spike sauntered across the lobby, pausing when he saw Giles in the office. He moved over to the door. Giles was scanning books on the desk while Willow was sat cross legged on the floor. The room was in total disarray. Spike cleared his throat and Giles did a double take.

"Spike?"

"One and the same."

"Jonathan told me you were back. It's… Well, it's a surprise."

"For you and me both mate. I just wanted to warn you two that you probably shouldn't be spotted by Angel in here. This used to be Wesley's stomping ground."

Willow's face dropped and Giles looked distinctly uncomfortable. Spike shrugged and sauntered back out of the office, leaving the pair to gather up what they could quickly and follow him back in to the lobby.

Willow dropped a pile of books at Xander's feet. He looked up at her with a resigned sigh.

"How come Buffy doesn't have to do this?"

Willow passed Connor a thick dusty volume with a slight smile, before turning back to her old friend.

"Because Buffy is a highly tuned demon killing machine, kind of like a cruise missile, and we're the ones who have to figure out where to point her. Not that she can actually fly like a missile though."

Xander sat down and flicked open one of the books.

"No, cos then she'd need tights and a cape like a real superhero. Oohh, can we get her to do that?"

Connor looked from one to the other with a look of sheer disbelief.

"How the hell have you guys ever saved the world?"