•••

"Ok, that might be the most disgusting thing ever," Xander said, following closely behind Doyle. Spike paced just behind them, casting dirty looks at the demons. He could tell they were paying more attention to the boy than either himself or Doyle--probably because of the kid's humanity.

"Worse than the flatterers?" Doyle inquired lightly. "I'm thinking they were in a bit worse shape, what with all the--" Xander cut him off with a glare. "I'm just saying!" Doyle whined, throwing his hands up. "It's not like you've never heard it before--or done it, for that matter. I mean, you're a guy, you sit in front of the telly and--"

This time, Xander stopped Doyle by slapping a hand over the ghost's mouth. "Shut. Up." Doyle tried to say something, but all he ended up doing was sort-of-kissing Xander's hand, which made the boy's eyes widen comically.

Spike rolled his eyes and prodded them both along. "So a demon farted in your general direction. Can't say as I haven't wished I could've done the same thing a time or two myself." The demons in question were casting more of those covetous looks at Xander, so Spike growled as menacingly as he could with a couple of nancy non-evil types hanging around him. The fact that he wasn't evil himself wasn't something he was willing to consider at the moment.

Meanwhile, the demon horde had gathered up another sinner from the pitch and was torturing him with gay abandon. Doyle brought them to a quick halt in order to avoid the fracas. "Is that another lawyer-type?" Xander asked Doyle, who nodded silently.

"Oh, lookee, quest-boy wants to hear about the locals," Barbariccia said, turning the sinner towards Xander. "Go ahead, tell him all about it, buddy!" With that, the demon dropped the sinner on his head. The man rolled over and slowly stood, hampered by the pitch covering his skin.

"I'm a lawyer. Used to work in Los Angeles--at Wolfram & Hart. If I'd known this was their idea of 'luxury retirment', I'd have joined the ACLU instead." Several demons tittered and prodded at the man with their spears and he batted at them ineffectually. "And if these assholes would leave me alone, I'd be having a better time with my boiling pitch spa treatment."

Xander giggled despite the morbid nature of the scene before him. Spike crept closer, wrapping one arm around Xander and the other around Doyle. Some of those demons' attentions weren't focused on the slimy, sticky lawyer.

"Awww, leetle weetle laywer-boy doesn't like play-time!" One demon said as Barbariccia tried to impale the lawyer on his staff. The lawyer danced aside, nimbly avoiding the attack. Several other demons joined in and soon Xander, Spike and Doyle were witness to a strange, chaotic dance of stumbling demons and sticky, slimy lawyer.

"Who's your money on?" Xander asked Doyle, as he sidled closer to the ghost. Those demons... they kinda bothered him.

"Nobody," Doyle replied. "They're all stuck here forever anyway." Just then, the demons caught the lawyer. However, the lawyer had placed himself right on the edge of the bridge, so when he began to fall, so too did the demons. Within seconds the surface of the pitch was covered with screaming, squirming demons, whose wings were quickly becoming entrapped in the goo.

Xander, Spike and Doyle couldn't help but laugh at the demons' predicament. Unfortunately, the demons still on the bridge took exception to the laughter at their comrades' expense.