As Giles stood at the window of his office he looked over the room. It was large, filled with shelves of books, magical and ancient artefacts with a few other bits and pieces that gave a cluttered feel. Near the giant bay windows was a large oak desk with a green leather swivel chair. The desk itself was cluttered with papers and books too. A computer stood on one side though it wasn't turned on. Giles never had much time for computers, he was still wary of them. His books held the same information but gave him a sense of normality in these less then normal times.

Giles was contemplating his position here, the position that now had him as a leader. He was surveying the grounds of his head quarters, a beautiful Elizabethan mansion in the Cotswolds of England. It had been decided to relocate the head quarters to the country so that the army of slayers could train easier in the open.

As he stood at the window he allowed the worry of the coming battle to wash over him for a minute. He turned to view the outside world and stared at the army of slayers training for what was to come. He reached to his eyes to grab his glasses, realising just at the last second, he didn't wear them any more. As leader of the Watchers council he knew he had to show no weakness, no vulnerability in front of his soldiers, or generals. His glasses were a reminder of the days he lacked confidence in his judgement. He could no longer give that impression, no matter how much he wanted to. At times, he thought he wasn't up for the job. He had assumed that had the Watchers council reformed Roger Wyndam-Price or Marcia Galens would have taken command. Both had been Watchers far longer then he had, both had more experience of the bureaucratic side too, but neither desired the responsibility or pressure. Wyndam-Price had taken the position of liaison to the British government on demonic activity, where he gave constant updates to the cabinet regarding what was going on in the world. Galens had stayed with the council. She stayed on in the capacity of Watcher and was training the new recruits. Andrew Wells was her first 'apprentice'. Giles was surprised at how well Andrew had taken to his new duties and was impressed at his willingness to fight for them in the face of the danger.

But, Giles worried that all this training may not be enough. The forces of Evil had rushed the final battle forward. This was it. Giles knew that the fate of the world rested on the shoulders of a few good people. These same people had dealt with this kind of situation before, but at his core, Giles always knew that victory was possible in those fights. This fight was different. There were no loopholes in this, no ancient magical devices that could be of use. This was it. Man versus Demon. Good versus Evil. The sides had been chosen, the line had been drawn and the fight for mankind was here, and it was going to be an epic one.

As Giles moved towards his chair, the office door swung open with exaggerated force and Angel entered the room.

"Giles, what the hell is going on?" Angel demanded.

As Angel stood at Giles' desk, he could feel the anger well up inside of him. The urge to release the demon within was most extreme. Though he had managed to contain it, its raw power and its lack of control still frightened him. This was one of the prices of his vampiric nature. This was also one of the prices of his champion status. The constant internal war of his soul against the vampire essence, kept him constantly battle-ready. He had often questioned which side he should take. Which would be the easiest option, and though he always, eventually, chose the side of good, he had wavered along the way. He had given into temptation, just to gather his strength back in time to do the right thing.

But this was a different situation. He was supposed to have died a hero today, but instead he had been taken from the grasp of death and now stood in the presence of a man giving him orders. A man with whom he had never been on friendly terms, but had respected up until 6 months ago. This man did not care about Angel and his team, in fact, Angel knew Giles had believed Angel had turned his back on the 'good fight'. And what made it far worse; he had the backing of Buffy. The one person in all the world he thought was on his side through anything. He couldn't believe she would allow someone like Spike to take his place, and yet this was the second time in a year that she had done just that.

"Angel, the minute details of this plan are not needed yet," Giles said calmly "Sufficed to say, Spike, Illyria and Gunn are off to the Senior Partners dimension to confront the Senior Partners."

"You still don't trust me?" asked Angel "After everything I've done".

Giles stood from his chair and walked to a shelf of books. He picked up one then returned to his seat.

"Trust is neither the issue nor the factor in the plan" Giles said as he opened the book. "The issue is that you believe we are taking over your fight. You believe you are being sidelined in a battle that you have fought for five years."

Angel just stood and listened to Giles. He knew that what Giles was saying was true, though he couldn't admit it. Why shouldn't he be angry about being sidelined? Angel had earned his chance of taking on the Senior Partners.

"You have been taken out of the assault because you have become predictable" continued Giles "you have been used by both sides. The Powers that Be and the Senior Partners. You have fallen into the trap they set for you."

As Giles finished he passed Angel the book. It had been opened to a specific page.

"What's this?" Angel asked.

"It's the 'deal' the Senior Partners and the Powers that Be etched out eons ago" Giles responded.

As Angel looked over the page, he noticed a verse on the apocalypse.