The Last Heroes of Earth.
It could never be how it once was. Nothing could ever be how it once was again. Once something dies, it can never come back. That includes family. Love. People. Family.
I had to learn that the hard way. I had a family once. Once upon a time. I had a family whom I loved and who loved me. But they're gone. And I tried to find them again. Tried hard. But it was futile.
Every attempt lead to...nothing. More. Less...nothing. Every time I thought I was close, that I could be happy again, I lost it. I held it and it crumbled between my fingers yet again.
I will never find my family again. They are gone. Each one died a hero.
This is their story.
My family.
Heroes.
I remember the first member lost. The first soldier down. Doyle. He was a half demon, the power's that be's first bitch you could say. He had these visions, you see. Of the future. Of people who needed help. My help. We saved...so many people together.
He died to save people. People like him. People like me... "half-breeds." Part human, part...less then human. He sacrificed his own life. He knew he would die. But he still did it. He jumped into a bright and firey death, protecting other half demons from a demonic genocide. He died in my place.
He was a true Hero.
The second family member to die, however, was not meant to ever be a hero. Wasn't even meant to be a human. Her name was Darla and she was my lover for two hundred years. And then again a hundred years later. The first time we were together, we did many horrible things. We killed, tortured, maimed...everything you hear about bad people. The second time, however, she was human. And she got pregnant. She died a hero despite her past, giving birth to our son.
The act that made her a hero...was the choice she made. She had the choice of herself or our unborn child.
She chose our child. Killing herself was the only way to ensure his safety. And it worked. I never knew the truths of a mother's love until that day. Never understood until I realized how much I would love that child. I had almost lost him.
For that, in my eyes, she will always be a hero.
Cordelia. Cordelia Chase was the next to go. She was with me from the beginning. The very beginning. Before I left Sunnydale. When I got to LA she was...my and Doyle's first friend. She was the driving force behind my success and, after Doyle died, the acceptor of the visions the powers that be sent for me to protect those who needed me.
She was my best friend and I was in love with her. And by the time I realized it, it was too late. She was gone.
She didn't just die. Didn't die in the "normal" conventional methods, any way. She was possessed. For six months. By a demon who then used her body to give birth to itself. Sounds strange, I know. But this isn't about the demon.
No, it's about the beautiful woman who hosted it. Once the demon left her body...she fell into a coma. The doctors didn't know how. But she returned later...she came back to save my life. We finally told each other how we felt about one another. And then, without warning, when I thought I finally thought I had her back, she was gone. She was...dead. She had only returned...to save my life.
She saved so many people. In Sunnydale she helped fight the Mayor. In L.A., she helped me fight...hundreds of monsters. We helped the helpless.
She was a hero from the day she graduated high school to the day she died. I will never forget her. I wish I could tell her how much I loved her. But more...I want to say "thank you."
After the loss of Cordelia came Connor. He didn't die. But he mise as well have. I had his memory erased. He had gone crazy, been ready to kill Cordelia and himself. I had to do it. I had to have it done. So I did. I gave him a new life. With a normal family who loved him. And a safe household. He went to school. Dated girls. Graduated high school, went to prom...he had a real life finally.
He remembered me at the end. But he chose his new life. I don't blame him.
He did everything he could. And he did what was right. What more could I ask for in a son?
The fifth member of my family was named Winifred Burkle. A wonderful girl with a heart of gold. She would have done anything for any one. As one of the two smartest people I have ever known, she was a vital member of my team. She was a scientist, the greatest I've ever seen. Gentle, sweet and loyal she stayed with me by my side no matter what.
I had saved her from a hell dimension, where she had been considered a "cow," a "slave." I brought her back home after five years. I was her white knight...I promised to protect her.
And then she died. A horrible, gruesome death. We had a choice. Her, or the rest of the world. She was...possessed-for lack of a better word-by an ages-old demon. The demon took her body, melted out her insides...and took it as it's own host. Illyriah. And with the come of Illyriah, Fred was gone. I never thought she would die like this...
I had promised her I would protect her...She was one of the biggest heroes I have ever met.
After Fred's death came Lorne. He didn't die, I don't know what happened to him. A demon from a Hell dimension called "Pylea" (the same dimension we found Fred in, ironically) he had a strange gift. He could sing, and well. He also could read a person's future by hearing them sing.
Not one for fighting, he was useful in finding out if people were lieing. If we could trust them. If we couldn't He was loyal until the end, and then after that last fight...he left. I don't know where he went, if he's alive or if he survived the Apocalypse
All I know is that he helped me to be a hero. He did everything he could to pull his own weight, do his part. One thing's for certain, I couldn't have asked for a better baby sitter.
Number six was...a hero from the day he was born. Born into a family of watchers, he was raised to fight evil and be a hero. Also an old friend from Sunnydale, he caught up with me right after Doyle had died. The other of the two of the smartest people I have ever known, he was very loyal. And the only person I have ever known who could see the big picture.
No stranger to pain, he knew what it meant to sacrifice and did it time and time again without fail. He was a mythical genius, go-to man for spells, information on demons and other interesting things like that.
He died...trying to stop the Apocalypse He was killed at the end, stabbed with his own knife. He died a hero. He did what I asked him to and he did it well. He never deserved to die.
But he was dead before his heart stopped. He died when Fred did.
Charles Gunn was the next to die. He had come around a little after Wesley had. Part of the original gang, he knew I trusted him and he trusted me. For a normal every-day-human, he was good. It was an honor to have him by my side.
When we took over Wolfram and Hart, he became the law portion of it. But, despite that, he never minded getting stuck in the dirty. He never minded doing what he needed to do to get the job done. And that is how he died.
By my side. Fighting the monsters of the Apocalypse He had killed one of the key components and nearly been killed himself, impressive feat that he hadn't But in the end, he couldn't do it. A human couldn't possibly have done it. We fought monsters from hell and he died in a glorious battle, gallant and...heroic.
After Gunn came Illyriah. She may have killed Fred. May have been an unwelcome part of our group. But she grew on us. She became family to us. Fought by our side and was loyal in the end. What more could you ask?
Having killed the man Wesley had been killed by, she joined us in the back alley for the Apocalypse She killed many, but in the end was killed herself. It wasn't a really comforting thing to see. Her death. It made me know we had no chance to survive this thing.
The last part of my family died to save my life, as so many others had done.
Spike. The forever-thorn-in-my-side had been with me for two hundred years. At first as a childe, I helped raise him into the serial killer he became. I taught him how to be brutal. How to kill the slowest way. How to...you get the idea.
After I got my soul we split. I didn't hear from him too many times the next two hundred years. Until Sunnydale He was still evil, then. After I left he changed that. He got a soul as well. And then he died.
Joining me in LA wasn't expected, planner or wanted at first. But he became more useful and...I never would admit it to him, but it was nice to have him around. As much as we pretended to hate each other He fought by my side to the end. One of the first of my group to always follow me, despite his complaints, I was grateful to have him.
He died with me in the battle in the back alley, took a sword for me and died right in front of my eyes.
I'll never forget the look on his face. As he saved my life.
Another hero lost.
And then it was my turn. I had nothing else to lose, nothing else to live for. Just something to fight for. So I fought.
And then I died.
And then I grieved for the lives I had sworn to protect.
The family I had failed.
The people I loved.
The Last Heroes of Earth.
"Is that it? Am I done?"
"Angel, this baby is the only good thing we ever did together. You be sure to tell him that."
"You're Welcome!"
"What? You come for coffee and the world's not ending?"
"Why do I have to go?"
"That's it, folks. Show's over."
"I've missed you..."
"Well lets make 'em memorable.."
"You're fading. You'll last ten minutes at best."
"Bit more specific?"
"Let's go to work."