It was taking a lot of effort, though. The Vraiyl were some of the most unpleasant creatures she’d ever encountered. The worst part was that she couldn’t even pin down what it was about them that made them so disturbing. Yes, they were ugly, but not nearly as bad as other demons. Slime was kept to a minimum, they didn’t smell that bad, or make odd noises. They just... felt bad. Being in their presence was disquieting. She swore she could *feel* their evilness. Yes, she was an evil lawyer who did evil things. But they...radiated it. Or something; she wasn’t one to ruminate on stuff like that. Wesley and his fuck-buddies were going to pay.

“What do you want?” One Vraiyl asked curtly.

Lilah smirked. These demons weren’t very good at remembering who was in charge. “A simple task, really. Three men, dead.”

“Who?” The demon murmured. She handed over a file containing a set of photographs. “Three humans?”

Lilah stared at the demon, not really agreeing or disagreeing. She wasn’t going to get into who they were; if she did the Vraiyl would balk and ask for more money. “Tonight. Their address is in the file.”

The demons nodded and shuffled away. Lilah was not unhappy to see them go.

•••

Xander studiously ignored Cordelia's death-glare as he dug into his second flaky biscuit. The threesome was huddled together, munching on leftovers, while Cordelia and Angel tried to kill them with evil glances and stares. Xander wanted to tell them it wasn't working, but his mouth was full.

"How could you?" Cordelia spat. "In his *bed*?"

Xander shrugged and swallowed. "It's a nice bed," He commented. "And clean."

Angel growled. "You did it to get to me," He accused.

"Yeah," Xander admitted. "We did. And it worked, didn't it?"

The dark vampire advanced on the boy. "Do you *want* me to hurt you?"

Xander's face hardened. "No, I think you've hurt us enough," He hissed. "Lay off, Angel. We're here because you asked us to come."

"Stay out of my room," He threatened.

"Can we have the lube back?" Spike asked lightly. "Otherwise..." His voice faded as he and Wesley turned to Xander. The boy looked dazed, and although Angel and Cordelia couldn't see it, his eyes were hazy. Only Wesley and Spike could see the subtle changes in those odd globes. The three men shared what Xander saw in his mind. The Vraiyl were out in the city again. And they weren't far away.

"What?" Angel pressed, noticing how the atmosphere of the room changed.

"Where are Gunn, Fred and Connor?" Wesley asked, ignoring Angel's question.

"Out shaking down contacts," Angel replied. "They'll be here in half an hour, maybe. Why?"

"Call them here, now," Wesley insisted.

Angel frowned. He did not take orders from Wesley. "Do it, Angel," Xander ordered. "The Vraiyl are coming here. You don't need loose ends floating around."

"And you *want* everyone here to get hurt?" Cordelia screeched.

"No, we want to know where all the vulnerable people are," Wesley retorted. "Unless Angel wants to leave and be no part of a fight that will occur in his own home."

"We're helping," Angel stated flatly. He reached for the phone, dialing up Fred. He didn't like admitting that he agreed with the threesome, but he did. Yes, they were the ones fighting the Vraiyl. However, Angel wasn't leaving while they did it, and he needed to keep up with his friends. Wolfram & Hart weren't above using the Vraiyl as a distraction to get at someone else.

Wesley led Spike and Xander out to their car. The three men withdrew their favored weapons, blades all. While they didn't have to use such things to fight, at this point in their training they found them comforting.

Once they returned to the hotel, they, Angel and Cordelia waited tensely until Fred and the others arrived. Angel and Xander filled them in on the details and they too joined the wait. This fight would come to them, so there was no reason to venture out.

•••

Angel watched as six black-robed figures swept into the hotel lobby. The Vraiyl had arrived, without fanfare. To his surprise, one of the demons stepped up to him and began to speak.

"We wish only to...speak with your friends," The demon hissed, gesturing to Xander, Wesley and Spike. The threesome had their faces averted, hiding their eyes. They were masking their true selves, so that the Vraiyl didn't know who they were. It was obvious that the demons hadn't been informed of the nature of their targets; otherwise they would've shown up with an army of thousands, not six.

"Go right on ahead," Angel said lightly. "They're the chatty type." The demon nodded and his compatriots swarmed--towards not just the threesome but everyone in the room. Connor and Angel were the first to be struck, both men flying backwards as one demon hit them hard.

Wesley grinned as a demon approached them from behind. "You were looking for us?" He hissed, letting just a touch of his power slip. As one, they turned around. The expression on the demon's face was priceless.

"Altenalium!" The demon said harshly, gasping. The other Vraiyl in the room froze momentarily. The three men took advantage of the pause to make their first strike. Wesley swung his sword in a wide arc, channeling raw energy down it. The blade crackled with an unearthly blue-green light as it sliced through the demon's body, burning flesh as it passed.

The death of one of their own forced the Vraiyl, as well as everyone else, into motion. The demons wisely chose to use the others in the room as cover, knowing that the Altenalium would not kill innocents to get at the Vraiyl. Cordelia and Fred worked to escape the demons holding them, biting and kicking with all their might. Cordelia even began her glowy tricks, but they were useless against the stronger demons. Angel and Connor were also having problems, although Angel did manage to do some damage to the two teaming up on him.

Gunn was down for the count, having been brutally punched by one demon. He was being held up like a shield as a Vraiyl tried to make the door.

"No," Wesley said firmly at the demon trying to get away with Gunn. The demon paused very briefly, but it was enough. Xander jumped over the demon and Gunn, dragging a long knife down the demon's back as he landed. Spike and Wesley came closer; reaching for Gunn as Xander shoved the knife into the demon's back, pouring energy into it as he did so. It fell to the ground with a solid thud, leaving a pool of viscous blood on the floor.

Angel strained against the arms holding him. The Vraiyl laughed and twisted his hands, breaking both of Angel's forearms in the process. The vampire bit back a scream as bone snapped and pierced his skin. The Vraiyl were incredibly strong, agile opponents. He couldn't see Connor moving at all; one demon had knocked the boy unconscious by ramming his head into the floor.

Spike heard the bones in Angel's arms snap and growled. He threw his sword to one side, carelessly stabbing a Vraiyl in the shoulder with it, and reached for the one hurting Angel. The Vraiyl never knew what hit him. Spike fought with all the power of the Altenalium inside him, but with the ruthless ferocity of a master vampire. An eerie pink-orange light flashed here and there as the demon flew over Spike's shoulders in small, bloody pieces. He didn't stop until Xander and Wesley flanked him and directed his attention towards the three remaining demons.

Two of them were hovered over Fred and Cordelia, threatening the women with daggers. The three men rushed them, knocking the Vraiyl back several feet. The demons put up a good fight, using their incredible strength to try to separate the men. The Altenalium countered by penning the two together and pulverizing them with energy.

While the threesome was focused on Cordelia and Fred's attackers, the last Vraiyl dropped Connor and fled the building. Angel watched him go but was unable to stop him because of the overwhelming pain in his arms.

Spike stared down at the lumpy puddle at his feet. Perhaps they'd been a bit enthusiastic in their efforts to kill the demons. That was a truly disgusting mess. ::We need to help them,:: Xander told the others. ::Angel's in a lot of pain.::

::And everyone else is unconscious,:: Wesley added. Angel was their first priority, and Spike took care of him quickly by straightening his bones and forcing him to sit down on the stairs. Then the three men turned their attention to the others. Cordelia and Fred gained consciousness rather quickly and joined Angel on his perch, all three looking beaten and worn but very much alive.

Gunn and Connor took longer to wake and rather obviously had concussions. Wesley and Xander carried them upstairs, while Spike assisted a complaining Angel. Cordelia managed to get some blood for Angel, with Fred's assistance.

"So that's the Vraiyl," Angel murmured as Wesley and Xander joined Spike in the dark vampire's bedroom. The place still reeked of sex.

"Yeah," Xander murmured. "Ah, thanks for helping out." The vampire and the others had done some good, distracting the Vraiyl for a time. Unfortunately, they'd gotten hurt while doing it. That was why the Altenalium most often fought alone. Yes, assistance was nice, but the Vraiyl were wily and knew to use innocents to protect themselves.

"We were just in the way," Angel said softly. "They used us."

"That they did," Spike grumbled, not quite looking his Sire in the eye. "That's what they do."

"And that’s why you don't want help," Angel commented. "Because they just use everyone against you."

The three men nodded. That truth was so fundamental to the Altenalium that avoiding 'assistance' had become nearly instinct. This time was an exception, made because the three men knew that Angel would not abide them fighting in his hotel without him there. But they all felt odd having others around when they fought. Not only did the Vraiyl use weaker people against them, but the Altenalium could not use its powers to their fullest. If they did, they ran a serious risk of hurting those innocents.

"One escaped," Wesley said absently.

"The Vraiyl know we're here," Spike added.

::That a good thing or a bad thing?:: Xander asked his lovers.

::Both,:: Wesley replied. ::Good because now the Vraiyl will stop playing around with Wolfram & Hart. Bad because they might try to disperse, spread themselves out. It will be harder to track them down.::

::If they don’t come after us,:: Xander commented.

::They won't,:: Spike said firmly. ::Not in their nature.::

"Uh, am I missing something?" Angel whined. His arms hurt and he felt bad and the three men in front of him seemed to be having some sort of silent conversation.

"Go to sleep, Angel," Wesley muttered. "They won't be back any time soon." He led Spike and Xander out of the room. Spike grabbed now-collected tubes of lube on the way out.

::Got a room picked out for us?:: Xander asked Wesley as they paced in the hallway.

::No,:: Wesley replied. ::Perhaps we should change our strategy. As upset as I am with Angel over this and other matters, it is not right that they should get hurt because of us.::

::We know,:: Spike murmured. ::You want us to follow the path more completely.::

Wesley nodded. They were currently struggling to straddle their old worlds and the new one of the Altenalium, holding fast to a life of work and earthly responsibilities while at the same time being an entity that needed none of that. If they followed the Altenalium's ways more, and their old ways less, they would leave behind the stress and anxiety of trying to maintain their lives here in this world. They would also be less likely to lead people like Angel and his friends into danger.

But to do that they had to return to the dimension where they'd encountered Thraid Alel, the place where the Altenalium was at home. When they'd first become the Altenalium the idea of staying in that place was so unsavory that they'd completely dropped the idea, not even considering it. Even when they'd started to realize how difficult it would be to stay in their own world, they had not really considered going back. But now it was beginning to look like the better option. They would be better able to track the Vraiyl, with less to distract them. They didn't have to worry as much about hurting others, or about the messy details of day to day life such as paying bills.

The idea was tearing Xander apart. If they retreated into the world of the Altenalium, to the dimension of Thraid Alel, their skills at wielding their power would only increase. And yes, they would risk less, both of themselves and of others. But they would be isolated, alone in that dimension.

::We make it what we want,:: Spike reminded Xander. ::That's why it's there.::

::But...:: Xander began. ::What if we lose our ties to here?::

::Do you really think you'll do that any time soon?:: Wesley asked Xander. ::Within any of your friends' lifetimes?::

::No,:: Xander said slowly. ::But no biscuits,:: He moaned. ::We don't eat when we're there.::

::But we can shag,:: Spike pointed out. ::And we'll know whenever anything happens here, or if anyone's trying to reach us.::

::I dunno,:: Xander murmured. ::Can we do a 'wait and see'?::

Wesley and Spike silently agreed. Making rash decisions in any direction was a bad idea. ::Can we get on with this, then?:: Spike asked, holding up the bag. ::Peaches might be down for the count, but I'm not.::

Xander grinned. Yeah, they were all a bit hyped from the fight. A bit of...sport might be just what they needed. ::Where are we going to go, though? Angel's got the nice bed again.::

Wesley smiled. ::I know of one that's in fairly good shape,:: He mentioned. ::And that butts up against Angel's room.::