Angel sagged onto the ground until the stunned surprise over the unexpected attack wore off. He surged up and lunged at the angry blond. He swung his arm to punch back but was blocked by a leather clad forearm. Another fist met the older vampire's midsection causing him to cough uncontrollably for a few seconds. With a gasp, Angel raised his head to look at his Childe in shock.

"What'd I do to you?" He asked as he blocked another blow to his face. He swiped his hand under his nose and cursed when it came away bloody.

Spike bounced back a couple of steps. A smirk twisted his handsome features. "What's wrong, Poof? Afraid you'll bleed all over your designer clothes?" He sneered.

"I'm not afraid of anything, you little moron. Why the Hell am I bothering with you anyway? I could wipe the floor with you in a second." The taller vampire boasted as he deliberately wiped his hand on his trousers.

"Angel." Wesley tried to insert a little reason into the rapidly declining situation. "You should listen to him. If you do have plans to go up against the Senior Partners, I feel you should seriously reconsider."

"Angelcakes." Lorne spoke up quietly. "It's a bad plan. I've seen the results and it's not goodness and light at all."

"You guys don't even know what I'm planning." Angel protested, turning slightly toward his friends but keeping on eye on the furious blond. "It can work. I know it. I've got everything all lined up. I was going to tell you all about it when you got back. Everyone has just one thing they have to do and it will be all over." He spread his hands out beseechingly.

"You fucking idiot." Spike snarled. "Do you honestly think they don't know what you're planning and aren't planning something much worse to retaliate? All you're going to accomplish is releasing Hell on earth again and I can't let you do that. I'll dust your sorry ass first. I can take you. You're not up to full strength. I've been feeding on human. What have you been subsisting on? Pig? Cow?"

"Otter." Angel growled. "You're feeding? Buffy, why didn't you stake him on sight?"

"Agggghhhh!" Spike thrust his fingers through his hair in frustration and spun away from his Sire.

Wesley gazed at his friend with icy blue eyes. "He's getting Red Cross rejected blood." He stated quietly.

"What? That's not fair! Why didn't you think of that?" Angel protested like a spoiled child who'd just been found out a relative had a better toy.

"Frankly, it never occurred to me. I didn't think you would accept it even if it was freely donated. Wouldn't it compromise your redemption?" A tinge of sarcasm began to edge Wesley's voice. Lorne had shared some of the details of his vision and the former Watcher was furious with the dark vampire.

Another incoherent sound burst from Spike. Giles took pity on the stressed-out blond and moved closer to Angel.

"Why don't we take this somewhere less public?" He suggested. He nodded toward the line of cars that were crawling past the parking lot as their occupants attempted to get a view of the confrontation.

"Brilliant." Spike approved. "I could use a drink."

"I'm sure you could. How many decades have you lost because you were too drunk to notice the time passing?" Angel taunted.

"Not enough because I never could forget you still fouled the world with your presence." The elder vampire snarled at the insult. With a smirk, Spike turned toward the building.

The group began a slow procession toward the bar. Dan found himself next to Xander.

"That certainly was a short fight." He commented to the Scooby quietly.

"Don't let them fool you. That wasn't even a warm up. The main event is still brewing." Xander clapped a companionable arm around the deputy. "So I hear you and Monica are a thing, right?" He grinned at the shock on the handsome man's face.

"Where'd you hear that?" Dan sputtered. "We're friends. She's my daughter's teacher. She's my babysitter for God's sake."

Xander smirked evilly, the expression fitting in all too well with the eye patch. "I hear babysitters are the best. Besides, you're gonna tell me you never noticed how hot she is?"

"I can't believe you're talking about her like that." Dan glared.

"Ah, see there? That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Xander snickered as Monica walked over.

"What are you telling him?" She put her tiny fists on her hips and glared up at Xander.

"Nothing." The single eye winked. "Just getting in a little evilness payback."

"Go away or I'll have Jay put arsenic in your drink." The redhead threatened.

"It's ok, I'm done now." The former carpenter wandered away and merged with the main body of the group as they entered the bar.

Dan gazed after the odd young man for several long minutes. Monica relaxed her stance and looked up at him curiously. "Dan?"

The deputy started. "Huh?"

"Are you all right? What was he telling you? He's crazy, you know." She said.

Dan let his eyes drift over the tiny form and felt as if he'd never seen her before. "I'm fine. None of them seem to be quite all here, do they?"

"Nope." She grinned. "Let's go find out how this turns out."

He grasped her arm firmly. "Ok, but I don't what you getting too close. You might get hurt." They followed the others into the building.

Inside, Cindy turned from her conversation with the bartender as the group crowded through the door. Her attention was immediately caught by the anger that was apparent on Spike's face. From memory, she scribbled the drink order for the group on her pad and shoved the paper towards Jay. "I need a double JD right now." She hissed.

Spike fairly vibrated with tension as both the Scoobies and the LA gang settled into the large booth they'd previously occupied. Spinning the chair around so he could see the entire bar, he sat at a small table as far away from his Sire as he could manage. He scowled when Cindy shoved the tumbler into his hand. She frowned at his expression before moving back to the bar to pick up her tray full of drinks. Her friends were lounging out of the way by the bar with Dan keeping a close eye on everyone. Monica held up the keys to Cindy's car.

"What's going on?" The server muttered, pocketing her keys as she double checked the drink order.

"See that tall pale guy over there?" Dan indicated Angel with the glass Jay had handed him minutes before.

Cindy's ponytail bounced as she nodded. Her keen eyes noted the extraordinary pallor of his skin. "Vampire like Spike, right?"

"Yup." Monica confirmed. "Some sort of vampire relative. He's the reason Spike was sent back. He has to stop him from doing something. I'm not too clear on that."

Dan nodded. "Any minute now, Spike is gonna start whaling on him again." He took a contemplative sip. "Angel might be older but Spike's pretty pissed. He'll wipe the floor with him."

Cindy sent the deputy a sharp glance. "What do you mean 'again'?

He grinned. "You should have seen the punch Spike laid on him out in the parking lot. The older English guy suggested we all come in here to get away from the lookieloos." A burst of noise sounded from the group.

Cindy hefted her drink tray and made her way over to the big table.

Angel had taken a seat on the end of the bench with Wesley next to him. The Brit was attempting to convince his friend that his plans were ill conceived.

"Angel, Lorne has seen the consequences of your plan." Wes scowled at the mutinous expression on the vampire's face.

"It can work. I've got everything in place." Angel protested. "If he was reading Spike, he should take it with a grain of salt."

Lorne frowned at the dismissal. "Angelcakes, you know that my visions are never wrong. I was seeing what he sees in his nightmares. They're showing him what will happen if you continue. You can't take on the Senior Partners. It will end the world as we know it."

Giles cleared his throat. He'd never truly trusted the elder vampire and it seemed that feeling had not been misplaced. "Angel, you have to listen to reason. Spike must be telling the truth. He was in the same Heavenly dimension that Buffy was in after her death fighting Glory. If he says the Powers That Be sent him back to stop you, then stop you he must."

Angel growled low in his throat. "He is not the new champion. I'm the champion. I'll dust him before I let him take my redemption and my reward. He doesn't deserve it."

"And he hasn't received it." Fred pointed out gently. "He's not human. He was brought back a vampire, no more and no less than he was when he died in Sunnydale. He still has his soul. His reward was Heaven and he was pulled out of there."

The Sunnydale survivors sipped their drinks in silence. All their support was centered squarely on Spike. If it came down to a fight, each and every one of them would be willing to dust Angel to help Spike.

Anya sat at Spike's table watching them with huge dark eyes. Next to her, Spike studied the whiskey in his glass as if it held the answers to his problems. She could hear the low growling emanating from his chest. She slid her hand under the table and rested it lightly on his denim clad knee. A cool slender hand dropped down to grasp hers tightly.

The bar was oddly silent since the jukebox had run out of money and stopped playing. Dan and Monica sat on bar stools and watched quietly. Without being asked, Cindy had Jay set up a second round of drinks for everyone.

At the larger table Giles cleared his throat and removed his glasses. "Angel, perhaps you could tell us precisely what your plans are. You seem to think they are viable although Spike has been informed by the Powers that they are not. Explain it to us, why should we believe you over him?"

The fingers of Spike's free hand tightened on his glass and his sapphire eyes narrowed. He was distressingly familiar with Angelus' ability to talk anyone around to his way of thinking. Inwardly the blond cursed the Irish charm that had carried over into the older vampire's unlife. He used his vampiric sense of hearing shamelessly to eavesdrop on his Sire's explanation.

Everyone listened with rapt attention as Angel outlined his plan. He laid everything out step by step and noticed with satisfaction that they seemed to be taking his ideas seriously. He was confident he could talk them around. He paused as he got to the individual roles his friends were slated to play.

Wesley frowned at Angel. "You have set up a very intricate plan indeed. You were so certain we would just follow you blindly into a confrontation with the Black Thorn?"

"No, Wes. Not blindly. I have everything set out very clearly. It's a good plan. It will work. All of us working together can do this. Now with Buffy, Willow, Giles and the rest working with us, success is even more guaranteed." Angel smiled beguilingly at the Sunnydale survivors.

Xander frowned at the one vampire in the world he hated most. "Count me out, Deadboy. There's no way I'll help you destroy the world. I believe Spike." He paused before grinning. "And that is the one thing I didn't think I'd ever say out loud." He glanced over at the blond vampire sitting with his ex-fiancé and picked up his glass. "If you'll excuse me." The one eyed man stood and crossed the room to the smaller table.

Anya smiled up at him as he approached. "Mind if I sit here? The atmosphere over there is getting a little stifling." Xander asked Spike quietly.

Spike paused in his listening to peer suspiciously up at the brunet. He considered Xander for a second before he nodded. "Sure, Mate."

Giles frowned in thought. "I see where you're going with this plan of yours but I'm not convinced it will work. I don't see how you can possibly defeat the forces that the Senior Partners seem to be prepared to launch against you."

"What makes you think they'll do that?" Angel asked with a snort.

"Spike told us..." Fred began before Angel cut her off.

"Spike is just pissed because the Powers That Be brought him back for nothing." The elder vampire dismissed the niggling feeling that he was missing something important.

"But don't you think that just the fact that they brought him back is an indication that you're on the wrong plan?" Willow asked.

"No. They're not expecting me, or rather us, to strike so soon. I want to move against them as soon as I get back to LA. In fact, I was hoping that the business here would be finished before now and we would already be taking them down. I can't wait to wipe out the old bastards." Angel took a sip of the whiskey he'd ordered and waited for them to agree with him.

Spike scowled at the laid back confidence of the older vampire. He waited tensely to hear what the others had to say about the plan. He knew the odd green demon wouldn't follow blindly. Something about the large demon felt peaceful and calming to the volatile younger vampire. Spike watched the others reactions carefully. To his horror Buffy, Willow and Giles seemed to be seriously considering the Poof's plans.

"Say we get behind you on this." Buffy mused as she studied her fingernails. "I know you can't guarantee success. That would be stupid. The problem I'm having is that even though Spike closed the Hellmouth, he didn't destroy the First, he just shoved it back underground where it belonged. Evil can't be destroyed. We learned that lesson. But I can see where you'd get rid of a big portion of it by taking out the Black Thorn." She blinked as a black-clad blond whirlwind descended on their table.

"Peaches." Spike's voice was deceptively calm. "Get up."

"No, Spike. I'm just having a drink and discussing battle plans with my friends. Why don't you go play with your little girlfriend?" Angel waved his hand dismissively and turned to Wesley. He pulled an expensive pen from his pocket and began drawing on a handy napkin.

"Spike, why don't you give us a few more details of the mission the Powers sent you back to complete?" Giles tried to keep the peace. He removed his glasses and peered up at the resurrected vampire.

"Why don't you stuff those glasses up your ass?" Spike growled. "I could hear you. All of you, falling for that daft plan." He pointed an accusing finger at the humans seated around the table. "Like a bunch of lemmings you are, willing to follow the leader right off the cliff. Doesn't matter that you'll die, doesn't matter if he's right or wrong, he talks a good game and that's what you go for. The chance to strike a blow on evil." His voice grew mocking. "Go Team Angel. He took out the Black Thorn." He slammed his hands down on the table in front of his Sire. "No one will notice that he destroyed the whole freakin world while he did it!"

Angel frowned and glanced away from Wesley to look up at Spike's angry face. "It is a good plan. You don't know what you're talking about." He stated condescendingly. "Now, Boy, why you just go back to your table and do what you do best? Get drunk."

Xander heard the dark vampire's suggestion and cringed. "Oh shit." He knew that the blond had all but quit drinking after acquiring his soul.

Anya swiped a sip of Spike's whiskey. "No kidding." She agreed.

At the larger table, Dawn frowned and started looking for an escape route. The Slayer noticed the teenager's agitation. "What's wrong, Dawnie?"

The younger girl sighed and slumped in her seat when it looked as if she wasn't going to be allowed to exit. "He's gonna blow any minute now." She warned.

Spike took an unnecessarily deep breath. Fury and disappointment burned through his chest, reminding him of how it felt when the amulet had activated. His dark sapphire gaze swung accusing toward Buffy. "You said you would help me." He said. She flinched at the condemnation in his tone. "That lasted about as long as I expected it to." His head dipped down for a moment before he raised it, lean face stony. His voice was deceptively soft. "Now, Angelus, get your fat ass out of that booth. If you won't listen to reason I guess I'll have to pound it into you." He pulled his hands off the table and stepped back.

Angel pointedly turned his back on his furious childe. That was a tactical error. He blinked as he felt a hand grasp the back of his jacket. A sharp pull had him out of the booth and struggling to get to his feet.

Spike smirked at his Sire's imbalance. He tightened his grip on the collar in his grasp. "Let's go have a chat, shall we?" He suggested mildly. He shoved his Sire towards the back of the room.

"Now see here!" Wesley sputtered.

Spike paused. "Nothing to see but sense, Percy." He smiled unpleasantly as the former Watcher gaped.

Angel took advantage of Spike's pause and twisted out of the younger vampire's hold. He spun around and grabbed Spike's wrist, trying to pull him off his feet. Spike laughed derisively and held his stance which caused Angel's expensive shoes to slip on the wooden floor. The blond used the hold Angel had on his wrist to bring him forward so he could stiff-arm his elder in the chest, shoving him farther away from the table. Angel released Spike's arm in surprise and stumbled away from the younger vampire.

Gasps of shock rose from the mixed group. Wesley rose from his seat to try to stop the fight that everyone could see was brewing. Spike vamped and hissed at the other Brit. "Stay out of this." He warned viciously.

Angel gained his balance and held his hand up to his friend. "It's ok, Wes. I can handle him."

Off to the side, Xander snorted. "Not likely." Angel glowered as Spike smirked.

Cindy approached the combatants warily. "Spike, sweetie, can you guys take this outside? There's an alley out back."

Spike shot her a warm smile. "Sure thing, Kitten." He turned back to Angel and bowed, keeping his head raised so he could see his Sire's face. He swept his arm to indicate the exit he could see behind the elder vampire. "After you, Peaches." He said mockingly.

Angel held the door open. "No, I insist. After you." His courtesy was glaringly fake.

Spike stalked toward the open door as if he were going out. As he began to pass Angel, he shot a hand out and shoved against Angel's shoulder, knocking him through the doorway into the alley.

Anya followed at a safe distance as the two vampires went out into the night air. Xander grabbed his drink and stayed close to his ex-fiancé. He beat most of the crowd outside by only a couple of seconds. The scene that met them was tense, the vampires facing each other in the glow of the streetlamps at the end of the alley and the security lights on the back of the building. Suddenly the male Scooby had an urge for some popcorn.

"Man oh man." He muttered. "This is gonna be soooo good."

Dawn slipped up to next to Xander and looped a slender arm around his waist. "It's showtime." She stated grimly.

TBC