Okay so I suck at updating, but for a bit there, I was so distracted by going to DCCON that I couldn't think of anything else, and I thought it would be weird to have written fanfiction right before meeting them... So... Now that it's over and I'm crying forever because Jensen called me sweetheart... Here's a chapter! Hooray! It's kinda short, but it's building up, yknow. :)

Dean stared across the table at his younger brother, his hands were splayed out on top of the wood, he was concerned and confused, and somewhat suspicious. The small nagging need he had tugging at him in the back of his mind for clarity was beginning to become too much to deal with. All he really wanted to do was pull his brother into a hug and accept his return from death, but he couldn't, not until he understood how he'd returned.

"So... I was dead?" Sam asked finally, after they'd all calmed down from the fight they had before. When Dean had seen Sam in the kitchen, he'd wasted no time attacking. First with his silver blade, then with his holy water. He hadn't had any salt, so he grabbed the nearest shaker he could find and sprinkled it on him. Sam had taken it all in stride, dodging fatal blows and accepting the ones that would prove he was human.

He hadn't even known that he'd died. The last thing he remembered was passing out under the weight of Rowena's spell and he woke up in his bed.

"You don't recall?" Castiel asked, staring at the younger Winchester. He'd seen him in heaven, with Chuck-err, God, "I saw you there, with God."

"God?" Sam laughed, looking from his brother to the angel to Buffy and back to Cas again.

"Yes." Castiel said, not explaining any further, should Sam not be himself, he wanted to be sure that his father's identity was kept secret.

"That's, uh, interesting." Sam's mouth twitched into a small smile as he nodded to himself, evaluating the situation at hand. No one trusted him currently, for all Dean knew, he could have been pulled back soulless again, and then where would that put them? He couldn't deal with anymore messes at the moment. There were still demon's running amok inside of vampires and he had no clue how to handle that. Also, Willow was still missing, and while it wasn't entirely his job to help find her, she had still become their friend, and they didn't leave their friends in need.

"Look, guys, I know this is strange, but don't we all deal with this sort of thing a lot? People dying, coming back to life, and such?" Buffy chimed in, they all looked at her incredulously, like she should be the most on edge, "What? I'm just stating the facts. This isn't anything weird or new."

"She does have a point." Sam said, they all looked back to him, he held up his hands in surrender, "Just sayin."

"He could help us with the Willow situation, it's kind of all hands on deck, here." Buffy added, Dean shrugged and nodded.

"What Willow situation?" Sam asked, they hadn't told him yet, they'd been too worried about whether or not he was a monster they'd have to kill.

"Oh, right... Um, so Willow is sort of missing." Buffy said, "We have no clue how to find her."

"I do." Suddenly Spike was in the dining room, leaning against the wall.

"Woah! Spike! Where did you come from? Who said you could just sneak up on us?" Buffy exclaimed, but Castiel was the first one to stand at attention.

"Because Spike isn't currently in control." Said the angel, "So he didn't sneak up, he-"

"Popped in?" Dean finished, standing from the table as well, Buffy and Sam were the last ones to stand.

"Indeed I did." Spike, or whatever demon was inside of him, smirked, "Thought you might like to know that Willow paid me a visit. Or, rather, the demon that's possessing her did."

"She's possessed?" Buffy asked, a deep frown forming on her face.

"Quite right, pet." Spike smiled viciously, the twist of his mouth wasn't one she'd seen for a while, not since he'd had the chip implanted; Buffy shuddered from the look, "Nasty little bugger named Baal, of whom I'd never met. So-"

"Baal?" Castiel bit out, his tone had changed from slightly on edge to full alert and Dean found himself inching closer to the angel in case he might need support; Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Ring any bells?" Spike asked as a low growl escaped Castiel's throat, it was a noise neither of the hunter's had ever heard him make before.

"I fought against Baal during the first war between heaven and hell. He is one of Lucifer's elite soldiers, not quite a knight, but not quite a regular demon." Castiel's hands were clenching and unclenching, his angel blade was a cold weight against his arm and it's presence was all to pressing. The mere mention of this demon had him on high alert.

"Like I said, nasty little bugger."

"So, what's the name of the demon currently in control of you?" Buffy asked, brow raised.

"You can call me whatever you like, love. Keep calling me Spike, call me Bill, Bob, Joe, Stanley-"

"Vetis." Castiel growled, seeming even more on edge.

"Who?" Dean asked, shifting closer to the angel.

"Vetis never gives his real name." Castiel sighed, "And is quite obnoxious, sort of the demon version of Gabriel, loves to play tricks."

"Fantastic." Dean groaned, hoping this demon wasn't as powerful as the archangel, he really didn't feel like dying 1,000 times again.

"Oh don't worry your pretty little head, Winchester. I heard about the time loop, hilarious; sort of morbid for an archangel, but I give him props."

"Time loop?" Both Castiel and Buffy asked.

"Later." Dean said, "What is it that you want, exactly?"

"I came to warn you, offer help, anything really. I hate Baal just as much as you do. He's obnoxious, like the overachiever at your retail job that makes everyone else look bad. He wants to bring down Crowley and, honestly, I'm just not that invested in Hell to care."

"Thanks for the offer, but we've taken down bigger fish-" Dean started, but Castiel held up a hand to cut him off.

"Baal is a master strategist, akin to Lucifer himself, we need all the help we can get, Dean."

"Alright." Dean shrugged, backing up slightly, it was obvious that his opinions didn't count on this matter. Buffy, however, stepped forward, aligning her shoulders with Cas, she crossed her arms, defiantly.

"Why should we trust you?" She asked, staring at the form of the vampire she knew so well.

"Spike's still in here, you know." Vetis smiled, pointing to his head, "I can hear all his thoughts, feel everything he's feeling, and he does actually feel. It's part of why I chose him, actually. He's a vamp with heart. All the power plus the drive."

"Okay?" Buffy interrupted, "And?"

"You are an impatient one, quite sassy too; what I'm sayin is, he's up here, allowing me to have the reigns, as long as I don't hurt you. The moment I even think about double crossing you, he'll take back control, and I have no doubt he'll be able to."

"Oh-" Buffy began to speak, but Vetis kept going.

"You share a few kisses with a person and they're wrapped around your finger. You've got this boy whipped, and quite frankly, I'm wondering if you're the one I should be possessing, because you must have magical lip powers."

"You-" Sam said, looking to Buffy and then back to Spike's body, "And Spike?" He almost started laughing before he remembered that he'd also had trysts with monsters before.

"Oh please, Like twice-"

"Three times." Vetis corrected, Buffy clenched her hands into fists.

"Okay, yeah, sure. But the first time, he thought I was the Buffybot."

"He knew you weren't."

"Whatever." Said the slayer, "That doesn't matter, none of this matters if the weird angry demon guy inside of my best friend ends up ending the world!"

"This is true." Castiel said, "We can discuss Buffy's affinity for vampires later."

"Thanks, Cas." Buffy replied, though not entirely sincere, there was a hint of sarcasm to her tone.

"So what do we do first?" Dean asked, Vetis smiled again.

"I know of three demon's in her regime who should be easy enough to capture and question. I believe you've already encountered them once."