A/N: Okay, this is a long one and a weird one. I'm not sure how well this ties in, or how good the writing is. Just shut up and be happy that I could string together this many coherent thoughts. Unless I'm wrong and it's incomprehensible, in which case I'll shave your cat… I'm a strange person. Don't judge me, unless my judgement involves some sort of leather or a cool new pair of boots.

Disclaimer: This chapter contains my most ambitious dialogue ever. Twelve people, talking all at once. Whoa, check out the craziness. I try so many things when I write stuff. Maybe I should just become boring like normal people, but then I wouldn't have the few fans I do. Sigh. Life is too hard. Thanks to my betas, who actually corrected this monstrosity. No betas for the moment so kindly disregard the last comment. I could delete it, of course, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it?

Vendettas

Sunnydale

"I don't see why you just can't take me out on a date!" Buffy yelled as she delivered a crushing blow to the nose.

" 'cause I've gotta do it right, don't I?" Spike bellowed back, landing a heavy boot on a soft stomach.

"How hard is it," a punishing fist to the sternum, "to take a girl dancing?" Buffy cried.

"It's not," heavy right hook, "that," left jab, "bloody," kick to knee, "simple!" Spike roared with a powerful head butt, the crunch of bone following.

"This has gone on too long," Buffy grumbled under her breath, whipping a stake out from her waistband and wiping her face with her spare hand. Darting forward, a quick thrust, the low thump of wood being embedded in cold flesh and the vampire was dust. "Will you hurry up?" she asked Spike impatiently as he waled on the untrained vampire he was fighting.

Spike sighed before dropping the other vamp with a sweeping kick at his ankles and driving the stake into the creatures heart. He slung an arm over her shoulder and they continued their moonlight stroll as though it hadn't been broken at all.

"I want it to be a surprise when it happens, love," Spike said after a while.

Buffy heaved a sigh. "I want it to happen, Spike. It's sweet that you want it to be perfect but it's never going to be perfect," she explained despondently.

The peroxide blond stopped and leaned in for a cutesy kiss on the lips, before murmuring, "When it happens, love, I promise it'll be perfect."

Buffy melted into a second kiss and before long they were making out in the middle of patrol. Again. Spike groaned and was about to suggest a change of venue when a slimy demon that reeked of hot vomit and a vampire who looked like a seventies porn star burst out of the bushes in front of them, a screaming girl in their clutches.

"Slayer!" the demon gurgled and bolted off with the girl. After a second, the vampire sprinted off in the opposite direction.

"You get fangy, I'll get smelly," Buffy grumbled.

Spike grinned, before loping after the even more retro vamp. He stalked it predatorily, revelling in the hunt, the scent of fear. It'd been far too long since he'd been on the prowl and even longer since he inspired this kind of terror. The vamp ran recklessly, leaving a trail even the whelp could follow. Within minutes Spike had caught up to his quarry and a sudden leap out of the bushes dragged the seventies vamp to the ground.

The pair struggled, Spike using his superior strength, age and skill to great effect before Spike finally ended it. Rising to his feet, Spike casually dusted off and tucked the stake into his back pocket in preparation of finding Buffy when a sudden blur slammed into his ribs, knocking him to the ground.

XXX

Buffy launched herself through the air, striking the stinky demon feet first. It was times like this when she was glad she didn't wear heels on patrol any more. Smelly stumbled forward, dropping the girl's arm before tumbling over a tombstone.

"Get out of here," the Slayer told the woman, who took the advice to heart, sprinting off without a word. "Is it too much to ask that I get a thank you?" Buffy asked the demon rhetorically. "I mean, I get the whole, ah, I'm scared of the big killer demon, but-"

A surprisingly powerful blow from the demon cut Buffy off mid-sentence, and the smell it left on her face nearly caused her to pass out. That had to be some kind of demon weapon, because surely no amount of not-washing could create a smell so bad it's almost enough to knock a slayer down.

Buffy prepared to kick the demon's feet out from under it, but it never came at her. Jumping to her feet, she was pleasantly surprised to see the demon being strangled by a strong pair of black-clad arms. She smiled as the demon's neck snapped and walked over to see-

"Angel?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Are you okay, Buffy?" Angel asked, his big, brown eyes shining with concern.

"What are you doing here?"

XXX

Connor snarled as the vampire threw him off. This one was strong. Its nostrils flared and its eyes widened.

"What the bloody hell are you?"

Ignoring the vampire's words, Connor lunged again, smashing the heel of his hand into the vampire's shoulder, sending it stumbling back. A wild punch was diverted, then the vampire connected with a spinning kick to Connor's stomach.

Gripping the vampire's hand mid-swing, Connor twisted his arm behind his back and slammed his face into the cold concrete of the crypt. "Why do you kill other demons?"

The vampire snorted. "Could ask you the same question," it responded, it's elbow clipping Connor's head, releasing it from his grip. It punched him, and Connor responded the same way.

"I'm no demon," he growled, eliciting a derisive snort.

" 'f you weren't a demon, mate, I wouldn't be able to do this," it mocked as it punched Connor in the face again. Connor attacked it, cursing his still healing injuries. Yes, this demon was strong, but Angelus was stronger. Maybe it was common for vampires to hunt each other down in this world, or maybe this one was different - like Angel claimed to be.

No, it couldn't be different. It was trying to kill him, like all demons, like the one who killed his father. They all deserved to pay, to suffer. They traded blows - Connor was stronger, faster, but the vampire was older, a veteran fighter and uninjured.

Connor gasped as the vampire landed a sharp elbow to his half-healed ribs, causing them to shatter. He dropped to his knees, coughing, and felt cool hands grip his head, ready to snap his neck. Connor tensed, waiting for the fatal twist until the heatless clasp disappeared. He looked over at the vampire, who had a crossbow bolt in his shoulder then to Fred and Gunn, who were running over, crossbow in hand.

XXX

"So," Buffy drawled. "How are you?"

Angel glanced up then looked back down at his feet. "Good."

They both looked everywhere but at the other. The silence hung thick in the air.

"How's school?" Angel asked.

"Good," the Slayer replied quickly, before the silence descended again.

"Your mom?"

"Good."

The pair stood awkwardly.

"Hey Angel," a girl called out, jogging up to him.

"Cordelia?"

"Oh, hey Buffy," Cordy said backhandedly. "Angel, where's Connor?"

Buffy blinked blankly. "Connor?"

XXX

Gunn watched in disbelief as the pale vamp ripped the crossbow bolt out of his shoulder and lunged at him, brandishing the blood-covered arrow as a weapon. Just as he dropped into a fighting stance, the vampire screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his head.

Not questioning his good fortune, Gunn gripped the vamp's arms as tight as he could while Fred plunged the stake into his chest, Rather than turn to dust, the vampire let out an even louder scream.

XXX

Angel shuffled his feet. This was awkward. Really awkward.

"You have a son!" Buffy screeched again.

Cordy heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. Big shock, vampire with a kid. Can we put a hold on the big inquisition until we find him?"

A hoarse scream shattered the still of the graveyard.

"Connor," Angel breathed.

XXX

Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose. Today was not a good day for him. Xander and Anya were arguing, quite vocally, about a movie or a comic or something trivial like that. Dawn had decided to overlook her enmity of Beth in order to make jokes under her breath and giggle with the other teenage girl and whatever they were saying had Will red-faced. Willow was doing her cute routine with Tara, the pair having resolved some fight or other. All in all, it was adding up to one massive migraine.

The door slammed open, and a furious Buffy carrying a wounded Spike thrust their way into the Magic Box. She was followed by a tall young black man holding hands with a thin, dark-haired young woman. Giles took off his glasses and began polishing them when he saw Cordelia hauling a sullen young man in by his shirt and a glaring Angel finishing up the whole procession.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me you were working with Spike!" Angel exploded.

"You have a son!" Buffy shouted back, dropping Spike into an empty chair.

"Whoa, Deadboy has a son?" Xander asked

Angel stopped glaring at everyone at focussed on William. "Now there's two of him!"

"Um," Beth began nervously, "That's William."

"Then who's that?" Gunn asked, pointing at Spike.

"That's Wesley," Beth supplied.

Fred furrowed her brow. "He's Wesley too? I thought he was Spike."

"He's not Wesley, he's William," Angel growled.

"No, man," Gunn said stubbornly, pointing at the young man. "He's William."

Spike let out a low groan. "What's wrong with Spike?" Dawn asked.

"Angel tried to stake him!" Buffy snapped, fussing at the gaping wound in his chest.

"Yay?" Xander asked weakly, prompting Anya to slap his arm.

"A-actually, it was us," Fred murmured.

"We don't kill Spike," Dawn muttered sternly.

"Do we even kill vampires any more?" Gunn asked rhetorically.

"Can we get back to the issue at hand here?" Willow asked. "Angel has a son now?"

"Yeah," Angel said, his voice filled with wonder.

"He's not my father," Connor muttered darkly.

"He's not?" Giles asked.

"He is," Cordy said with a hard look at the young boy.

"He is," Willow agreed with a grin. "Look, the sneer's genetic."

"I think you're right, sweetie," Tara said with a soft smile.

"Plus, I think I already don't like him," Xander said. "That must be genetic too because Spike got it."

"Spike's related to him?" Beth asked Dawn in a low tone.

"Are they always like this?" Gunn asked Cordy, gesturing at Xander and Willow who were still chattering inanely about Angel.

"Worse," she sighed.

"We're wasting our time," Connor growled. "I'm out of here."

"Oh, no you don't mister," Cordy said, shoving him back into his seat.

"Everyone, quiet!" Giles snapped. "Now, I think introductions are in order."

XXX

Los Angeles

"Wes," Faith drawled appreciatively from behind the partition. "You look good."

Wesley scratched his chin wearily. "Yes, well, that's not why I'm here."

"Why are you here?" the dark-haired woman asked quietly. "You're the last person I expected to be here."

"It's Angel," Wesley murmured. "He needs help."

"He's gotten by without me longer than both of us have been alive, Wes. I think he can get by without me," Faith smirked.

"They're going to bring Angelus back," Wes said in a low, serious tone.

XXX

Unknown

"Wolfram & Hart did their job admirably," the dark haired man said to Artulus. "The Slayer will be ready for your ritual."

The ugly demon began a sinister laugh that echoed throughout the cavern. "Not long now."

XXX

A/N: Okay. So. First update in a while, right here. Not as long as it used to be, I edited a lot to keep it less confusing. Last few chapters has had people wanting more to happen, so I hope this meets that requirement. No beta, which is why I edited it down. It used to be nearly twice the size but I'm reasonably sure that if I hadn't cut so much out I'd be the only one to know what the hell was going on. Here's hoping it makes sense. Let me know in a REVIEW!