Note: This story is a response to Pyro's "mini-Spike" challenge posted on the Chocolate Covered Strawberries board, and it takes place during the episode "Destiny" of season 5.

Credits: I don't own characters, I never meant to infringe anyone's copyrights, so please take this story for what it is -- fun -- and don't bother to suit me.

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"This is the Senior Partners' idea of making things right again?" Angel said, giving Gunn an astonished look.

"Well," Gunn reasoned, "they did stop the apocalypse."

"Did they?" Wes muttered, glancing warily at the energetic five year old who had already left his footprints on every piece of furniture in Angel's office and was now walking straight to the weapon rack with a resolute expression on his face.

While Angel made a wild run to stop the pint sized menace who didn't seem to understand -- or care about -- the meaning of the word "no", Gunn sighed and said:

"The Senior Partners had to do something to stop the shattering of reality, and they had to do it quickly. There shouldn't be two corporeal ensouled vampires in this realm, so they got rid of one of them... sort of."

"Still..." Wes started to say, but he was cut off by Angel's cry of pain. One second later, the little boy wearing a black T-shirt that went down to his knees darted past them and straight to the door.

"Stop him!" Angel shouted to his two nonplussed friends, jumping on one foot as he held his offended ankle.

Just then, the door was opened and both Fred and the boy yelped in surprise when he ran straight into her; he bounced back, landing on his butt while she jumped backwards and gave him a dumbfounded look.

"What! What... What?" -- she gave the grown ups an interrogative look, her eyes jumping from them to the child in front of her.

"I'm not a what," the object of her question informed her while going back to his feet. "I'm a who."

He cocked his head to the side, giving her a charming grin as he added:

"And you're pretty."

"This is, hum, William," Angel said, joining them.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not." -- the boy crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave Angel a defiant look -- "I'm Spike."

"Spike?!?" Fred exclaimed, giving the blond -- natural blond, thank God for small favors -- boy an astounded look.

"You are five," Angel said, impatiently. "You can't be Spike; you're still William."

"I, I think this is barely the point here," Fred stuttered, raising her eyebrows at him. Then, turning to Spike-still-William again: "Spike?"

"Spike," he said, nodding his head vigorously. "I'm the Big Bad," he announced proudly. "And you're very pretty."

"If you're Spike," Wes said, giving Spike a worried look, "does that mean that you're a vampire?"

"Yep," the boy said, looking at the four grown ups gathered around him with a self-satisfied grin. "I'm Spike, and I'm a vampire, and I'm the Big Bad..."

"And Fred is pretty," Gunn said curtly. "We got it."

"Spike," -- the boy started to count on his fingers, blatantly ignoring the lawyer -- "vampire, Big Bad, pretty..."

He looked at his thumb, frowning. One finger left. Spike, vampire, Big Bad, pretty...

"Wanker!" he exclaimed, pointing triumphantly at Angel.

"Spike..." Wes started to say, while Spike burst into a fit of giggles and Angel let out an aggravated sigh.

"Spike??" Fred tried again between clenched teeth.

"Spike, vampire, Big Bad, pretty, wanker. Spike, vampire..."

Trying to ignore Spike as he merrily lilted the words again and again, Wes turned to Fred:

"This was the Senior Partners' brilliant idea to restore the balance."

"There weren't supposed to be two ensouled vampires in this realm," Fred muttered slowly, her eyes widening as the implications sank in. "But, if Spike's still a vampire..."

She gave the others a hesitant look and Gunn stated the question that was on everyone's mind:

"Does it mean that he doesn't have a soul?"