"She was a demon, you know."

Lydia forced herself to remain calm. She was unable to look away from the knife he was so carefully cleaning with a cloth. Fastidiousness nearly to the point of obsessive-compulsiveness. She already knew that about him. She knew many things about him. She was his fiancee, after all.

"No, I wasn't aware of that. She was a bit showy, but I found her rather nice." She shifted her gaze to his face and felt a chill as she looked into eyes that told her everything she needed to know. He had clearly fallen into madness. "And now it seems I've found her rather dead."

"It does indeed. The question is, why did you find her at all, dearest?" Alan waved his hand, and Lydia felt herself floating about a foot into the air. She was slowly being drawn towards him. "I had thought Aldric had kept you away from his more unsavory associations, but yet...here you are. I'm beginning to think that you know more about your brother’s plans then you told me. Please tell me I'm wrong." Despite his obvious intentions to harm her, his tone was mild, almost affectionate.

"Liberatio!" Lydia commanded, and she was instantly released. She dropped to her feet, crouching from the impact, then stood defiant. He looked momentarily astonished that she had thwarted his spell, then impressed.

"I see your brother has taught you a few tricks." They circled each other warily.

"You've always underestimated him. And me." Alan gave her a look of mock admiration, then a contemptuous laugh.

"Aldric is a fool. He's always been a fool. We've been ahead of him every step of the way, and he's been utterly predictable. Coming to hide with his Bracken trollop! He actually thought he could keep her a secret!" Alan's scorn fueled Lydia's newly found temper. She was clenching her fists tightly, her nails drawing blood from her palms.

"Where is my brother? You've done something with him, haven't you?"

"Actually, my dear, I haven't done anything with him. It wasn't for me to do." He gestured back towards Janice's still form. "I've taken care of the task I was issued. Tying up loose ends." Lydia's face showed her puzzlement. "It's alright, Lydia. I wouldn't expect you to grasp this. You've stumbled into something that's bigger than you could possibly fathom, and your brother is right in the middle of it."

**************************************

Aldric lifted his head and moaned. He felt like he had been hit by a tram. More than once. He blearily opened his eyes and blinked, trying to focus on his surroundings. He was chained to the ceiling in a standing position, his arms behind him and his feet chained together. He grabbed hold of the chains behind him as best he could and softly whispered a spell that should dissolve them. Nothing happened. In dismay he looked down at the chain that bound him across his chest and moaned.

*Iron. I should have anticipated that.* The iron chains would resist any magickal attempts to break free of them and make it impossible for him to try just about any spells he knew as well. Simple but effective way to trap a mage. Having resigned himself to the idea that escape was at least temporarily unfeasible, he took a better look at his surroundings. It appeared to be an underground cavern of some sort, dank and dark with a rusty smell. A number of torches in wall sconces provided the only illumination, and strange tapestries, all black with red symbols etched upon them draped the walls. He was locked into some kind of cage that took up nearly half of the chamber, although outside of himself and his chains it was empty. He looked at the bars ruefully. "Iron too, no doubt," he murmured aloud.

"Of course, Aldric. We don't at all want you to think we don't respect your considerable...gifts." Aldric tried to muster up a sense of shock at the familiar voice, but as soon as he heard it he realized that on some subconscious level he had expected it.

"Respect is not a word I normally associate with your opinion of me, Father." Geoffrey Stokes-Martin stepped out of the shadows and approached Aldric's prison. He was a strikingly handsome man, the gray in his temples the only real sign of his advancing years. His eyes were the color of the sea in a storm, a gray that was nearly black. He was dressed in a black vestment, his head uncovered by its hood. His expression indicated that, in fact, he held nothing but derision for the young Watcher, but he continued to speak in the same falsely reassuring tone.

"Oh, but I do have respect for you, my son. You have the sharpest mind and the most prodigious talent for magick of anyone in the Council. Everyone is aware of what you have to offer. How far you could have gone. You could have headed the Watchers' Council, if you hadn't thrown it away." Aldric couldn't help but be amused by the absurdity of having this familiar conversation under these circumstances.

"Most fathers just disown the sons who disappoint them, you know. This really seems a bit much." Aldric rattled his chains for effect, watching his father's expression darken in anger.

"Do you think this is some kind of game, boy? Some bit of fun to be laughed off?" Geoffrey angrily signaled someone forth. A man wearing an identical robe, but with the hood obscuring his features, hurried forward, a ring of keys rattling in his hand. The door to the cage was opened and Geoffrey strode inside.

"I'm not at all certain I'm having what one might call fun, but I am certain of one thing. My father is quite insane." Geoffrey smiled at that remark, and Aldric's blood ran cold.

"I assure you, my boy, my sanity has never been less in doubt. If anything, I am more sound now than I have been for years. It took nearly a lifetime of disappointment, of failure, of misery, but all I've ever wanted is almost within my grasp, and, fortunately for you, you have an opportunity to overcome your lifetime of ignominy as well. And I'm going to make sure that opportunity doesn't pass you by." Aldric shuddered. From Geoffrey's inflection, he knew that the word opportunity for him was synonymous with death.

"What is going on here, Father? The Council cannot possibly sanction this!"

"The Council is nothing more than a assemblage of..."

**************************************

"...fools! They are fighting forces they cannot possibly hope to defeat, with a young girl as their champion!" Alan seemed content to carry on for the moment, and Lydia was goading him on. She was hoping against hope that he would let something slip that would indicate Aldric's whereabouts. She had no doubt that Alan knew exactly where her brother was.

"The Slayer is more than just a young girl, and you know it."

"Yes, but she cannot win. Evil will always get the best of her. How many Slayers have been called in your lifetime? I know I've seen more than twenty. The Slayer is called, the Slayer fights, the Slayer dies, a new Slayer is chosen. But the Slayer will never win. Evil is simply stronger. The Council is simply sticking its finger in the dike, but the flood is still inevitable."

"What are you suggesting, Alan? That we give up?" Alan snorted.

"Stop fighting a battle that we cannot win! But we're certainly not giving up. We're just switching to the winning side."

**************************************

"The demons will certainly triumph and rule the earth once more. Rather than wait for the inevitable and be destroyed, we've decided to bring them to victory. Then we will take our rightful places as leaders in the new order. Our power will be absolute."

Aldric had been listening to his father rant, growing more and more horrified. *Madness, utter and total. He must be stopped. They must be stopped. I need to find out everything possible.*

"You keep saying we, Father, but so far all I've seen is you and one little lackey. The Council will easily stop you."

"Many in the Council have joined us already. We've recruited dozens of others as well. Of course, they do not realize that most of them will be slaves or sacrifices for our new demon brethren, but they will serve our cause in the interim."

"How can you be certain? Perhaps the Council is aware of your betrayal and has planted spies to undermine you?" Aldric didn't really believe that this was likely, but he wanted to see how his father would react. Geoffrey shrugged off the suggestion, but his eyes were slightly uneasy.

"Not possible. We have many ways of ascertaining loyalty. Those that fail are eliminated."

"You've had Council members killed?" Geoffrey smiled cruelly.

"You still fail to understand, my son. The Watchers' Council is dead. Long live the Concillium Nocens, the..."

**************************************

"...Dark Council!" Alan's eyes were alight with fervent zealotry. Lydia felt sickened by what he had told her so far. She was struck by a sudden realization.

"Colin Bixby. He was one of you, wasn't he? You killed him." Alan seemed amused by her accusation.

"No, Lydia, as I recall..." He waved his hand, and Lydia suddenly found herself looking into her own face. "...you killed Colin Bixby. Or at least it appeared that way." Lydia thought she would have fainted from relief if the situation was not so dire. Despite these strange fits of rage, she was not a murderer.

"You used a glamour? But Aldric saw you...I mean, me...he would have known..." The false Lydia smiled mockingly as her features morphed back into Alan's own.

"He was meant to see. We knew he would either accuse you of the crime, turning you against him and losing the little credibility he had left, or he would run and make himself look guilty. As to how I fooled our resident genius, it was surprisingly simple. I've engineered a special glamour, one almost impossible to detect." He puffed up in pride. "I infused myself with your essence, Lydia. I should apologize, I had to pinch some of your unmentionables to do it." Despite the gravity of the situation, Lydia favored him with a small smile at this absurdity.

"You nicked my knickers, darling? That would be positively droll if a man weren't dead."

"Colin was hardly a man. He was an idiot that had served his purpose. He was quite fearful of you, you know, he tried to tell everything. What did you do to that poor boy?" Lydia chose to ignore the question, and instead decided to validate the suspicion that had been filling her with so much dread.

"So how is my father involved in all of this?" Alan's shocked stare told her that she had guessed right. Her father was in this up to his neck.

**************************************

"I won't be asking again, Spike." Angel's eyes were hard as he prepared himself to stake the blonde vampire. Spike struggled with what he should do. If he told Angel the truth, he would be unable to stop the prophecy. But if he lied and Angel didn't believe him, he was dust and the prophecy would happen anyway. Then again, there was no guarantee that even if he did tell the truth that Angel would believe him; he still didn't always believe it himself. He decided upon a modified truth.

"I'll tell you everything, Angelus. But answer me one question first." Angel glared at him and nodded slowly. Spike swallowed and asked his question softly. "Do you still love her?"

"So help me God, Spike, if you've done something to Buffy-"

"I haven't done anything to her, I'm trying to do something FOR her, you soddin idiot!" Spike screamed his response in frustration. Angel gave him a disbelieving stare.

"You honestly expect me to believe that you're trying to help the Slayer. Come on, Spike, you're really gonna have to do better than that."

"Do you love her?" Spike repeated. Angel stared at Spike for a long moment.

"Yes, I love her. I'll never stop loving her." Spike stared back, maintaining eye contact.

"So do I. God help me, I do. I love Buffy to the point where it hurts. I don't need to breathe air, I need to breathe her, or I die. And I know I'm already dead, but you get the bloody point." Seeing Angel still looked dubious, he sighed. "Look, I've got something in my pocket. Let me show it to you, I promise it's not anything harmful. When you see it you'll understand why I'm here, everything." Angel considered his proposal for a long moment, his dark expression unreadable. Then he slowly got up and put the stake away.

Spike scrambled to his feet, hurrying to pull the memory crystal out of his pocket. The feeling of urgency that had been haunting him was rapidly turning into full-blown panic. He had to do this ritual, fast. Holding up the chain, he placed it in front of Angel's face...and watched it fly across the room as Angel hastily grabbed it from his hand and threw it as far as he could. It landed with a loud clang against the far wall. Spike blinked in shock, then snarled at Angel in frustrated anger.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Angel grabbed Spike roughly the lapels once again.

"Did you think I wouldn't recognize a Stone of Mnemosyne? Whatever kind of game this is, it ends now! Spike, talk!" Spike opened his mouth, but no sound came out. *This is a nightmare! Who knew the poof would recognize the bleedin rock? What the hell do I do now?*

**************************************

"So, wait, I've seen this film at least a dozen times, Father. This is the part where you ask me to join you, to give in to the 'Dark Side.' Am I wrong?" Having listened to Geoffrey go on for minutes about his place of power after victory was achieved, Aldric was desperate to get him to give away more of what the Dark Council had planned.

"I'm afraid you are, my son. I have no interest in having you join our cause. You never would, anyway, there's too much good in you." Geoffrey spoke the word 'good' as if they left a disgusting taste in his mouth. "No, while you have a valuable contribution to make for our cause, I'm afraid it's not one that you'd be able to make willingly. Or be able to survive."

"Of course." Aldric arched an eyebrow sardonically.

"However, before you meet your just reward, Aldric, you are going to tell us a few things. Like the location you disappeared to a few days ago. We completely lost track of you, and I have a feeling that the contraprophecy was in some way involved with that little event." Aldric started. They didn't realize that he had been impersonating Lydia during that time, when she went to Sunnydale to contact William the Bloody. *They still don't realize what my sister's been up to, maybe she'll be safe. I have to know what they have planned for her.*

"What about Lydia?" he returned, counting on his father’s zeal for his plan to make him easy to distract. Geoffrey's expression actually seemed to soften for a second, and Aldric wondered if his father might still be reachable.

"Ah, my dear sweet Lydia. So trusting and loyal to a fault. Unlike you, she's never disappointed me. But I really don't think she's capable of evil, do you, Aldric?" Aldric's mind flashed to the image of Lydia plunging a knife into Colin's chest, and his stricken expression made Geoffrey look at him condescendingly. "Oh, yes, there was that bit when you saw her kill Bixby. Not to worry, Aldric, you actually saw Alan. You should see how proud he is that he tricked you into falling for a glamour. Man's been prattling on about it incessantly." Aldric sagged in relief. Despite the circumstances, knowing that his sister hadn't murdered someone in a fury made him feel much better. But then thinking of Lydia made him remember what he had found when reviewing the prophecy, and he began to panic anew. *I must get to Lydia, somehow. Everything depends on it.*

"I can believe that you'd want me dead, Father, but Lydia..."

"Yes, well, I would be thrilled to have my lovely daughter at my side during my rise to power, but I know that's simply not possible. Her purity will aid in my triumph, however. Lydia will be sacrificed to the demon Svarog on her wedding night, thus solidifying our relationship. So you see, you, she, the Slayer, everyone has a role to play." He leaned in closer, sneering at his son. "I must tell you, Aldric, I am really looking forward to your part. It will give me such immense satisfaction to know that you're finally bringing some honor to the family name." Aldric closed his eyes and turned his head.

*Honor! Like bringing demons forth to rule the earth is an honorable thing to do. Bite your tongue, Aldric, you need him to go so that you can work on getting a message to your sister. There'll be plenty of time to shout at the old man later.* Geoffrey reached out and grabbed his chin, forcing Aldric to face him. He opened his eyes, then dropped his gaze. Geoffrey released him in disgust. He stalked from the prison, and the lackey closed the door and locked it behind him. Geoffrey turned to address the man.

"Watch him carefully. Report to me immediately if he does anything...interesting." Aldric closed his eyes and dropped his head. He began to muster his concentration. He had no way of knowing when they would be back to question him further, so he had to act quickly. He couldn't use a spell to get out of this, but astral projection was not a spell, more something done through meditation and focus. He calmed his breathing, focusing on his sister, praying that the wards he knew were placed on his cell were only designed to keep his body from leaving. If not, his spirit might be ripped to shreds if he managed this successfully. He had to succeed, he sister needed him. He would not let Lydia down.

**************************************

"Spike!" Angel stared at the blonde vampire. He had seemed paralyzed ever since Angel had taken the memory crystal from him. He was rigid and had just started to tremble. If Angel didn't know better, he'd think he was having a panic attack. "Tell me what's going on!"

"I...I...you have to trust me!" Spike sputtered. Angel almost started to laugh, but the fear he saw in Spike's eyes stopped him.

"You're afraid...why?" Angel demanded. Spike shook his head unhappily.

"I need to do something here, right? Something I can't explain to you. And you're not gonna let me. I can't believe this, I've come this far and now I'm going to fail. And if I do, she'll die!"

"Die? Buffy?" Angel asked tersely "Do what? Spike, you're not making any sense!" Spike's shaking was getting worse, and Angel thought he had never seen him looking this awful, even when he was in the wheelchair.

"Angel! Listen to me, there's no-ARRGH!" Spike suddenly doubled over, slipping on his gameface involuntarily.

**************************************

"Our wedding is crucial to our plans, my sweet, so never fear. I won't be killing you today." Alan was growing tired of chasing his intended about the dead demon's flat. Lydia had almost been caught by Alan several times, and was now backed nearly into a corner. She looked frantically for a way to escape.

"I still don't understand wh-AAAYYY!" Lydia screamed, holding her head and nearly dropping to her knees. She barely felt Alan's hand grab her arm and steady her.

"What's wrong?" she heard him ask as if from a long way off. Her awareness of her surroundings was fading away as she became aware of only two things. The bond between her and the vampire was beginning to break. And it hurt.

**************************************

"Spike! Spike, what's happening!" Angel had grabbed a hold of the other vampire's shoulders, trying to steady him. Spike looked up at him, tears streaming down his face.

"Out of time..." he whispered. "I have to...Angel, please, don't ask, just let me do this. Please!" It was the way that Spike pleaded that caused Angel to change his mind and nod agreement. He had never heard the younger man beg like that for anything, even when Angelus had tormented him.

Spike reached with badly shaking hands into his pocked again, pulling out a box which he opened, revealing a glowing green circular object. He reached forward to place it on Angel's forward, and the dark vampire instinctively put on his gameface and pulled away.

"What-" Angel began, but Spike shook his head.

"Please," Spike begged again, and Angel slipped back into his human face. He allowed Spike to place the talisman on his forehead. Instantly he felt a pleasant warmth spreading through him, and knew that whatever was happening would not bring him harm. He relaxed, but was unprepared for Spike to grab hold of him in a tight hug. Reflexively he held the man back as he began to recite the supplication.

**************************************

Alan held the knife in one hand and Lydia's arm in the other. She had fallen into some kind of fit, then into some kind of trance. He was inclined to use this opportunity to bring her from the building, but he was too curious and confused about what was happening with her to move right away. He gave her a light shake, and she suddenly began to speak, her voice low but rising with increasing urgency.

"I beseech you, Amagandar..." *hurry hurry hurry*

"...protect this innocent soul..." *the bond Oh God its*

"...from the curse that belongs to another..." *severing, faster, must go faster*

**************************************

Spike's voice began to rise, and his speech became more and more rapid. Angel was confused but hung on to him, closing his eyes. He could tell something monumental was happening.

"...remove the affliction..." *Pet? What's going on?*

"...restore the life line..." *Watcher-Lydia, dammit! Answer me!*

**************************************

Alan's eyes narrowed as he finally realized what was going on.

"You. You've been messing up the prophecy." He let go of her arm and backhanded her across the face. Lydia did not react to the slap, her eyes remained closed, and she continued on, her voice growing louder and more strident.

"I beseech you, Amagandar..."

"All this time we thought Aldric was doing something..." Alan grabbed her arm again and shook her, hard, but elicited no response. It was as if she was no longer there with him at all.

"...let not this friend be taken..."

". . .and it's been you all along, you little bitch." Alan clutched the knife with whitened knuckles. He had to stop her.

"...this plea I make with sincere heart. . ."

Alan lifted the knife, preparing to plunge it into Lydia's chest.

"No! Stop, Travers!!! You can't!" Alan whirled and saw Aldric standing there. The two stared at each other, one in shock, one in horror, not noticing that Lydia had stopped chanting.

**************************************

"By my words, let it be true. . .LYDIA!!!" Spike pitched forward and began thrashing about. They both tumbled to the floor. Angel felt helpless, still holding Spike as the vampire continued to convulse. He still didn't understand what was going on here, but he felt that something must be going horribly wrong, and he had no idea of how he could fix it. Abruptly the fit subsided and Spike was very still. Tentatively Angel released him and gave him a worried look. His eyes were open but unfocused, and Angel had the feeling things had just gotten much worse.

**************************************

"You can't be here...you couldn't have escaped." Aldric merely smiled, and his grin widened as Alan tried a few quick spells designed to send him flying with no effect. Aldric began to laugh as he saw Alan's eyes widen in fear. Neither of them noticed Lydia’s body begin to jerk.

**************************************

Spike, for his part, had felt the bond between the Watcher and himself finally break just before he said the last words of the spell, and had impulsively reached for her with his (mind? essence? he wasn't sure) as she slipped from him. Now he found himself adrift in a kind of space that wasn't really space, without his body and without any anchor. He (saw? sensed?) something almost like a shooting star, glowing but quickly fading, pass by him and latched onto it. He wasn't sure what it was, but something about it had seemed familiar. He hoped it would lead him somewhere. Anything was better than this feeling of suspended nonexistence.

**************************************

"You've failed, Travers. Get away from Lydia. You see that you cannot harm me, and I won't let you hurt her." Aldric suddenly noticed Lydia’s spasms which subsided suddenly as he looked at her. Noting his distraction, in desperation Alan waved his hand, and a lamp came at Aldric from behind. It passed through his head, causing the image of him to warp slightly, and crashed into the wall. Alan looked nonplussed, then smiled cruelly.

"How will you stop me, Stokes-Martin, when you're not even real? Some kind of projection ...quite clever, really...but no matter. Your sister dies now, and I cannot even begin to tell you the pleasure it gives me to know that you get to watch me do it." He grabbed the motionless Watcher and raised the knife, enjoying the helpless horror on Aldric's face as his hand came down...and whipped his head back around in shock as Lydia's hand grabbed his wrist with unbelievable strength, stopping the downward motion inches from her chest. Her eyes flew open, and Alan screamed. They were yellow. Lydia's face warped into a vampire's visage, and she smiled. And squeezed. Bones in Alan's wrist popped, and he dropped the knife, screaming again. Almost casually she threw him across the room.

"Now why'd you want to go on and do that, mate. Make me have to get all violent with you. It's been a long time since I've been able to hurt a human, and there are so many ways I can make a man hurt. I've got so much to catch up on..." With a fluid motion she picked up the knife and headed towards the man, who was now cradling his wrist, out of his mind with terror.

“Lydia, please don’t! You don’t know what you’re doing!” Aldric cried out in alarm. The vampire that had been his sister glanced at him calmly.

“I think you know I’m not Lydia, mate.” She held the knife to Alan’s throat, tracing it down his stomach almost gently as her fangs brushed against his neck. She chuckled low in her throat at Alan’s terrified whimper. “Name’s William the Bloody, but you can call me Spike.”