Only Time Will Tell
Summary – What would've happened at the end of Not Fade Away when the screen went black? Did they all die? Did some of them survive? This story tells of the critical moments before the end, when Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria battle the demon army in the alley behind the Hyperion. Who lives? Who dies? Only time will tell…
Disclaimer – I own nothing except the idea of what happened after Not Fade Away. I don't own the characters; I don't own the original story. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.
Authors Note – This is about my fourth or fifth fan.fic but that doesn't mean that I'm good at writing them. I can only know that for sure if I get reviews. Please feel free to review my work, but be kind because I'm not a very good writer. I hope you like the story but I will say that it will be fairly short. Maybe one or two chapters. (Keep in mind that if I can think of a way to keep it going and still be interesting, then I'll keep writing! Lol) Enjoy.
Chapter One – In the Alley
'Let's go to work.' Angel said confidently, his sword clashing with an axe held in a demon's hands. Angel kicked it down and swung again, killing two demons in the process. They fell to the ground in a slumped heap, beginning the pile of the dead and the injured from the battle.
Spike had begun battle with several demons, struggling to fight them back. These guys are too strong, he thought to himself. 'Angel!' He continued to fight, killing three demons instantly with a roundhouse kick that snapped their necks.
Angel didn't turn his attention away from the battle, but answered. 'What is it Spike?' he asked.
'These guys…' Spike began, punching a demon in the face between his words. 'Are too strong for us. We don't stand a chance.' Angel knocked down a row of demons with a swift swing of his sword and stepped back to where Spike, Gunn and Illyria stood, towering over the dead.
'We never had a chance.' Angel said. The others looked at him with expressions of defeat, knowing that they would soon be dead. Though for Illyria and Spike the thought had not yet sunk in. They weren't ready to die, but they could plainly see that Gunn was nearing death.
Angel swung his sword again and stepped forward to continue the battle. Illyria had already killed about seven or eight of the beasts, but still found more coming her way.
'I will break your necks and rip your heads from your bodies.' She said strongly. Spike looked at her strangely after that statement. He had just knocked a demon to the ground, but it suddenly jumped back up and took him by surprise, tackling him to the wet pavement. He struggled with it before throwing it over his head. It hit the fence behind them and fell to the ground, landing on a wooden crate. The crate broke into pieces and Spike grabbed a splinter of wood and rammed it into the creature's chest.
Meanwhile, Gunn was fighting for his life. Literally. He was bleeding from another wound, fading just as Illyria had said a little over 15 minutes earlier. It was hard to believe that after only 15 minutes that so many demons could be dead, with them still alive and fighting the hundreds of new ones running at them from down the alley. He winced in pain as a demon punched him in the side, directly hitting his wound from battling Senator Brucker's vampires.
Illyria was finally feeling the heat. She was bruised and battered, bleeding through the shreds in her trendy leather ensemble. She didn't seem to be affected by them though, fighting on until she couldn't win. That didn't come after too long. A demon rammed a sword through her stomach so that it was sticking out of her back. She groaned and doubled-over in pain. No matter how much she tugged, she couldn't get the sword out so she fought on with what little strength she had left.
Spike looked at Angel to see how he was coping, and was surprised that he was doing so well. He didn't have many fresh wounds since his brawl with Hamilton, and didn't appear to be weakened much. He was fighting strong, proving what he said about showing the Senior Partners that they don't control him. He glanced over to where Gunn was fighting off a demon who had him pinned against a wall. Since there were currently no demons fighting him, he took the liberty to run to the aid of his friend.
He ran up behind the demon and rammed a stake through its back. It disappeared into a puff of smoke and Gunn collapsed to the ground.
'Hey, Charlie boy.' Spike said, kneeling down beside him. 'Don't give up now, they haven't won this fight.' He tried to help Gunn stand, but saw a stake sticking out of his stomach.
Gunn's hand was shaking; hovering over the several wounds he had in his torso. 'I can't go on like this.' He whispered through gritted teeth.
'Come on, you can't give up. We can still win, we just need to have faith.' He looked up to see Angel take a blow to the head, then to the gut then fall to the ground. 'No…' he breathed. 'Stay here.' He jumped to his feet and ran to Angel.
He kicked the several demons crowding around Angel away, staked them all and turned his attention to Angel. He lay on his back in the alley in a puddle of water. 'Spike, what are you doing?' Angel asked weakly, looking up.
'Do I gotta save everyone around here?' he asked, pulling Angel to his feet. They looked down the alley, but the demons had stopped coming. There were a few running at them, but they were easily taken care of with a swing of a sword and a simple wooden stake. They turned around to where a few demons were battling Illyria, while one was picking on Gunn who was still sitting against the wall of the Hyperion.
'Hey!' Angel rushed to Gunn's aid, grabbing the demon and hurling it at Spike. 'Here!' The demon flew through the air and as it passed Spike he stuck the stake into its chest and it glided to the ground, falling to dust on the way. The stake clattered on the pavement. Spike ran over to Illyria and snapped a demon's neck before moving to where Gunn and Angel were sitting.
'Gunn.' Angel whispered as he noticed how unregulated his breathing was. It was clear that Gunn was dying, and would be dead in only a matter of minutes. Illyria confirmed that thought.
She stepped up to where Angel, Spike and Gunn were gathered. 'The wound is mortal. You will be dead in a few minutes.' She said confidently, remembering she had said the exact same thing to Wesley as he lay dying.
'Thankyou Illyria, I think we could tell that for ourselves.' Angel said sarcastically. Gunn smiled weakly.
'I'm sorry guys.' He said. 'I really wanted to beat them, but I guess we're gonna have to accept defeat.'
'Actually, not quite.' Angel said, kind of surprised by the demons disappearing.
'What do you mean?' Gunn asked.
'Well, we don't really know what happened, but all the demons are gone.' Spike confirmed.
Gunn was getting paler as every second passed by. 'Anything you want me to say to Wes, Fred and Cordelia?' Gunn asked.
Angel smiled thoughtfully and remembered his dear old friends. 'Tell them we love and miss them.' He replied.
'We'll be joining them soon.' Spike added. 'So we can tell them that ourselves. Angel's smile turned upside down in an instant.
'Spike, we're going to Hell remember? This is it; if we die we're going straight to Hell. There's no bypassing Heaven to get there. We've done more bad than good, and there's nothing that can save us.'
Spike looked totally beat. Angel's words cut into him like razorblades and he sunk in defeat. 'Well, I'm not ready to die yet. I don't wanna go to Hell Angel, and I'll do almost anything to keep myself out of there.'
'Spike, we can't fight it. The end will come for the both of us and we'll just have to accept it.'
'No!' Spike stepped back, angry. 'I'm not giving up. Where are those demons, I wanna tear 'em a new one!'
'Spike!' Gunn cried suddenly, using every ounce of strength he had left. 'Please, can we not do this right now.' Spike hung his head in shame and sat himself down against the wall next to Gunn. He looked into Gunn's eyes and saw a tiny twinkle.
'You're not ready to die.' He said. 'I can see it, your fight isn't over.'
'You sound like Illyria.' Gunn answered, chuckling and coughing. He covered his mouth as he coughed and when he removed his hand it was covered in blood.
'Gunn, I'm sorry.' Angel said, resting his hand on Gunn's shoulder. 'I wish things were different, but I appreciate you fighting by my side all this time.'
Spike rolled his eyes. My God its like the whole world has gone crazy, he thought.
'No Angel, it was my choice. I voted 'yes' back in your office; I said that I was willing to die if I was fighting for the greater good.'
'And I told you then that this was no fight for the greater good, this was a fight that we wouldn't walk out of.'
'Well guess what, we're still alive aren't we?' Spike said.
'I sense something.' Illyria piped up. 'It's coming. Closer, it will be here soon.'
Angel turned to Gunn and spoke quickly. 'Gunn, this is your time to shine. Now is the time you show the Senor Partners, along with me, Spike and Illyria that they don't own you. Remember what we came this far to do and keep fighting. You have the will to win, so do it now.' He stood up and reached his hand down for Gunn's. Gunn looked up into his eyes and extended his arm. He felt strength growing inside him that seemed to have disappeared.
'I'll fight until I die.' He declared and Angel grinned in response. Angel pulled him to his feet and patted him on the back.
'Good to have you on the team.'
Next on Angel… Who dies? It might not be who you're expecting…
