Title: Tell me a lie
Summary: Angel and the team are fighting a battle none of them think they can win. When Buffy and her army of slayers come to save the day, the slayer learns that a lie can come back and haunt you.
Spoilers: Season 7 of Buffy and Season 5 of Angel, the episode the Girl in Question never happened, Buffy was never with the Immortal and Angel and Spike never went to Italy. Another thing, I don't think Illyria became mortal after what happened in Time Bomb, but just for this fic lets pretend she was.
It was done and they had won. The final battle for Los Angeles was fought and good prevailed as it always does. Angel and his team began fighting with a one-track mind: 'We're going to die and we're going to die fighting'.
Gunn was the first to fall, the wounds he received prior to the fight weakened him, and he couldn't be saved.
Illyria fell next, the thought 'So this is what mortality feels like' ran through her mind as her spirit left Fred's body, to go to its final resting place.
The two souled vampires fought harder then they ever had. Angel, as he was struck by a dragon, was the only one who saw the blonde slayer and a group of a hundred or more girls, ready to do battle behind her. She gave a command and they charged taking down the legions of demons until there was no more.
Angel stood up shakily as Buffy approached in, a bloody gash going across her cheek, she smiled, "Hey"
"Hi"
"You don't look so good... we'll get you back with the girls so we can get you patched up"
"What about the others?"
"They're dead; I'm sorry Angel"
He shook his head sadly, "They knew what they were fighting for," he gasped as a jolt of pain coursed through his injured body.
"VI! RONA!"
Two slayers came forth, both of them sporting their own blood and the blood of the demons they fought.
"Take Angel to get help, and his friends, the man and the woman, get them to the others as well"
Vi and Rona did as they were told, Angel put each of his arms around the girls' shoulders and they started to walk off, as Vi, yelled at four other able bodied slayers to get Fred and Gunn's bodies.
Angel turned and looked at Buffy, "Thank you"
"It's my job" she replied gravely.
They walked off and Buffy surveyed the carnage surrounding her, she had lost ten of her girls that night, she sighed sadly and started to walk towards her injured army.
"Slayer"
She turned at the sound of the very familiar voice.
"Spike?"
"Help me"
She looked all over and saw him under the body of a demon she had never seen before, she pushed it off of him and kneeled down over his broken body, his chest rose and fell with unneeded gasps of air.
"Spike... I thought you were... how?"
He smiled at her as he weakly brushed a strand of hair from her face; there was something slightly different about his touch.
"Long story, love... too long" he coughed and spat blood from his mouth.
"Something is different about you Spike"
"Yeah there is... must have been that Shanshu thing, started to feel a little tingly in the middle of the fight"
"What?"
Spike weakly took Buffy's hand and placed it on his chest, she felt the weak thumping of a heartbeat that wasn't going to last much longer.
She gasped as tears sprang to her eyes.
"No... Spike... no"
"Don't cry love, just lie to me like you did at the Hellmouth, tell me you love me"
"I love you Spike, I love you, it's not a lie"
He smiled and closed his eyes.
She shook him angrily, "NO! Don't you leave me, this past year has been hell, I've missed you so much"
He looked at her, his blue eyes becoming dim, "I missed you too pet, tell the bit I love her and the poof... tell Angel thank you. Buffy I love you, I always will"
"No, Spike, Don't die!, Please I need you!"
"You don't need me slayer, you never did"
His chest rose and fell one last time as he squeezed her hand and his eyes stared up at nothing.
Buffy reached out a trembling hand and closed his empty eyes, she stared at him, tears rolling down her cheeks, she didn't want to have to mourn for him again, but she knew that she would have too, and it would come. It would come after she took care of her girls and restored peace here in LA. No matter how long it took, she would mourn for him and she will always love him, no matter how much he told himself that her love was a lie.
END