Spike felt himself waking up against his will. No longer could he feel
Buffy wrapped within his arms the way that they had fallen asleep at the
end of the night. No, he knew that this dream had to come to and end just
as he thought it would. He opened his eyes and a white light engulfed him,
forcing him to close his eyes in blindness. When he opened his eyes again,
two strange-looking people were standing in front of him.
"Welcome, lower being," the first person said. She was a woman with brown hair and a black tunic. Both her and the man standing beside her had skin that was gold with blue lightening bolts painted all over them.
Spike stared at the two with a confused look on his face. "What they hell am I doing here?" He asked the two.
The woman started walking up to him saying, "you are filled with questions..."
"Yet you have no answers," The second person replied, also starting to walk up to Spike. The two were finishing each other's sentences as they continued talking.
"We are the oracles," The woman said.
"Higher beings...powers and answers for the Powers That Be." the male finished saying.
"Oh! you two are the blokes that work with the pouf...uh, Angel," Spike said, thinking that it might not be the smarted decision to make fun of Angel in a place like this. For once, he was going to try to show some respect and not let his mouth get the better of him.
"Ah, the vampire with a soul," the woman said.
"Yes, we have helped him in the past," the man said. "But now, we are interested in helping you."
"Me?" Spike asked. "What the hell would some oracles want with me?"
"Lower being, you ask the wrong questions," The woman said, walking around him. Spike shuffled his weight to his other foot, feeling as though she was inspecting him like a bug under a microscope.
"Okay then...what is this? What happened to me today?" Spike asked, hoping that he could get some answers from the two cryptic people.
"We have shown you..." started the woman.
"What your future *could* be..." the man said.
The woman spoke next. "Your future with the Slayer, the warrior."
"The Slayer?" Spike asked, not believing what these two were saying. "You're telling me that this was real? What you showed me is going to happen?" He closed his eyes, remembering the scent of her hair, the taste of her skin, the passion that he felt when he was with her...all real. "I'm getting a future with Buffy?"
"If you complete your task...your destiny," The woman said.
"My task?" Spike asked. He was getting a headache from listening to the two oracles talk back and forth and not making any sense at all. He didn't even think that he had a destiny, much less with Buffy. Spike wanted answers now!
"Yes, protecting the key," the male said as though everyone should know that.
"Keeping your promise to a loved one..." the woman added. "To protect her...until the end of the world." she repeated the last words that Spike and Buffy shared that night.
"Defeat the Glorificus beast and a string of motions will be set in place. A string of events that..."
"That you will most undoubtedly enjoy," the woman finished up.
"Love. A lifetime with the Slayer," the man said.
"All of this shall be yours," the woman said, stopping to stand in front of him and address him. "If you defeat him."
Spike lowered his head, remembering what had happened the first time. He had failed miserably. Even though he knew what to expect, Doc was faster than him. No matter what Spike might throw at him, Doc would win...he would open the portal. "What if...what if I can't do it? I couldn't do it the first time, so what is going to make the second go around any different?"
"We can show you..." the man started.
"What your life will be like without the Slayer. We will give you the day and visions of a life without the warrior," the woman said. She walked back over and stood by her brother. "Then, you must decide." The woman cast out her hand and once again, Spike was thrown into darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spike once again woke with the feeling of pain surging throughout his body. However, when he opened his eyes, instead of finding himself in Buffy's room, he was lying on the ground where he had landed the first time after Doc threw him off the tower. God, what is this going to be like? Spike thought to himself.
He tried to stand, but collapsed again. His legs were too weak and his back ached. Spike finally managed to drag himself over to where everyone else was standing. No one made a word as they all stared at one thing- Buffy. Dead Buffy.
Xander stood to the side holding Anya in his arms. The two shed no tears, but both were silent and unmoving.
Willow and Tara stood together, holding onto each other for support.
Giles stood there...with an empty and dead expression on his face.
And from behind them, Dawn slowly came down the stairs, holding onto the railing as pain ran throughout her body from the cuts around her side.
And Spike, like everyone else, was frozen.
She was dead. He knew that this must have been what the Powers were going to show him, but the shock from actually *seeing* her lying there, looking so peaceful, was more than he could bear. Before he could stop himself, he was crying. He lowered his head, crying into his hands, as he realized that *he* was the cause of this...getting thrown off the tower had signed Buffy's death certificate. He had gotten her killed. With that thought in mind, his tears only increased, and he didn't know how to stop.
How would he ever stop crying?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although the Powers said that Spike was getting a day, he felt suddenly transported to a day that was weeks after the day Buffy died. These must have been the visions...this was the future, Spike assumed.
Spike looked around himself and saw fires, fighting, and demons running around the street. People were running everywhere, running from the demons or towards some place that would give them safety.
"Spike!" A voice called out from the right.
Spike looked around before turning and running towards the voice. He couldn't tell who it was at first but he could tell that he was suppose to go and help that person. "Hang on!" He shouted.
"Spike! Help!" And then Spike recognized the voice- it was Willow. He found her and saw that dozens and dozens of unrecognizable demons had surrounded Tara and her. There was no escape and they didn't seem to be using magic. Did they forget their tricks? Spike thought for a second.
Never before had he seen Sunnydale so overrun with demons. They had set up blockades and pits were filled with dead human bodies. Sunnydale had become the embodiment of pure Hell. There was no way that he could get to her in time and he watched, with a horrific look etched on his face, as the demons slowly began to kill Tara and Willow.
"Spike!" Willow called out as she lay on the ground, bleeding to death. "Xander...Anya, and Giles are dead. Grab Dawnie and get out of here! It's what Buffy would want."
Spike turned around and started running to Buffy's home, somehow knowing that Dawn was supposed to be there. None of this made sense to him, but he kept on running, try to get to Dawn. He had let Buffy down once and there was no way that he'd let it happen again.
Bloody hell, without Buffy here, all the demons came back and took over the town. There's no slayer here...there's no hope. Spike realized. We need Buffy here. If not just for my sake, but for this town's...the world's. He neared Buffy's house and stopped, falling to the ground in shock as he stared at the sight in front of him.
He didn't even try to fight when the demons came up to him with clubs in their hands, knifes attached to their fingers...all he could do was stare as Buffy's house went up in flames, Spike somehow knowing that Dawn was trapped inside.
He closed his eyes and everything went black...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, lower being, have you chosen?" The female oracle asked him.
Spike shook his head, getting his bearings back. He looked around himself and found that he was back in the Oracles' realm. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had seen a world with and a world without Buffy Summers. Making the right choice was easy. There was no other option.
"Send me back." Spike said. "I'll kill that bloke this time."
"As you wish..." The male oracle began.
"Kill the demon and set things right in your world." The female oracle added.
"I will," Spike gruffly said as he felt himself being thrown out of the marble building. A bright light surrounded him and he closed his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Welcome, lower being," the first person said. She was a woman with brown hair and a black tunic. Both her and the man standing beside her had skin that was gold with blue lightening bolts painted all over them.
Spike stared at the two with a confused look on his face. "What they hell am I doing here?" He asked the two.
The woman started walking up to him saying, "you are filled with questions..."
"Yet you have no answers," The second person replied, also starting to walk up to Spike. The two were finishing each other's sentences as they continued talking.
"We are the oracles," The woman said.
"Higher beings...powers and answers for the Powers That Be." the male finished saying.
"Oh! you two are the blokes that work with the pouf...uh, Angel," Spike said, thinking that it might not be the smarted decision to make fun of Angel in a place like this. For once, he was going to try to show some respect and not let his mouth get the better of him.
"Ah, the vampire with a soul," the woman said.
"Yes, we have helped him in the past," the man said. "But now, we are interested in helping you."
"Me?" Spike asked. "What the hell would some oracles want with me?"
"Lower being, you ask the wrong questions," The woman said, walking around him. Spike shuffled his weight to his other foot, feeling as though she was inspecting him like a bug under a microscope.
"Okay then...what is this? What happened to me today?" Spike asked, hoping that he could get some answers from the two cryptic people.
"We have shown you..." started the woman.
"What your future *could* be..." the man said.
The woman spoke next. "Your future with the Slayer, the warrior."
"The Slayer?" Spike asked, not believing what these two were saying. "You're telling me that this was real? What you showed me is going to happen?" He closed his eyes, remembering the scent of her hair, the taste of her skin, the passion that he felt when he was with her...all real. "I'm getting a future with Buffy?"
"If you complete your task...your destiny," The woman said.
"My task?" Spike asked. He was getting a headache from listening to the two oracles talk back and forth and not making any sense at all. He didn't even think that he had a destiny, much less with Buffy. Spike wanted answers now!
"Yes, protecting the key," the male said as though everyone should know that.
"Keeping your promise to a loved one..." the woman added. "To protect her...until the end of the world." she repeated the last words that Spike and Buffy shared that night.
"Defeat the Glorificus beast and a string of motions will be set in place. A string of events that..."
"That you will most undoubtedly enjoy," the woman finished up.
"Love. A lifetime with the Slayer," the man said.
"All of this shall be yours," the woman said, stopping to stand in front of him and address him. "If you defeat him."
Spike lowered his head, remembering what had happened the first time. He had failed miserably. Even though he knew what to expect, Doc was faster than him. No matter what Spike might throw at him, Doc would win...he would open the portal. "What if...what if I can't do it? I couldn't do it the first time, so what is going to make the second go around any different?"
"We can show you..." the man started.
"What your life will be like without the Slayer. We will give you the day and visions of a life without the warrior," the woman said. She walked back over and stood by her brother. "Then, you must decide." The woman cast out her hand and once again, Spike was thrown into darkness.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Spike once again woke with the feeling of pain surging throughout his body. However, when he opened his eyes, instead of finding himself in Buffy's room, he was lying on the ground where he had landed the first time after Doc threw him off the tower. God, what is this going to be like? Spike thought to himself.
He tried to stand, but collapsed again. His legs were too weak and his back ached. Spike finally managed to drag himself over to where everyone else was standing. No one made a word as they all stared at one thing- Buffy. Dead Buffy.
Xander stood to the side holding Anya in his arms. The two shed no tears, but both were silent and unmoving.
Willow and Tara stood together, holding onto each other for support.
Giles stood there...with an empty and dead expression on his face.
And from behind them, Dawn slowly came down the stairs, holding onto the railing as pain ran throughout her body from the cuts around her side.
And Spike, like everyone else, was frozen.
She was dead. He knew that this must have been what the Powers were going to show him, but the shock from actually *seeing* her lying there, looking so peaceful, was more than he could bear. Before he could stop himself, he was crying. He lowered his head, crying into his hands, as he realized that *he* was the cause of this...getting thrown off the tower had signed Buffy's death certificate. He had gotten her killed. With that thought in mind, his tears only increased, and he didn't know how to stop.
How would he ever stop crying?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although the Powers said that Spike was getting a day, he felt suddenly transported to a day that was weeks after the day Buffy died. These must have been the visions...this was the future, Spike assumed.
Spike looked around himself and saw fires, fighting, and demons running around the street. People were running everywhere, running from the demons or towards some place that would give them safety.
"Spike!" A voice called out from the right.
Spike looked around before turning and running towards the voice. He couldn't tell who it was at first but he could tell that he was suppose to go and help that person. "Hang on!" He shouted.
"Spike! Help!" And then Spike recognized the voice- it was Willow. He found her and saw that dozens and dozens of unrecognizable demons had surrounded Tara and her. There was no escape and they didn't seem to be using magic. Did they forget their tricks? Spike thought for a second.
Never before had he seen Sunnydale so overrun with demons. They had set up blockades and pits were filled with dead human bodies. Sunnydale had become the embodiment of pure Hell. There was no way that he could get to her in time and he watched, with a horrific look etched on his face, as the demons slowly began to kill Tara and Willow.
"Spike!" Willow called out as she lay on the ground, bleeding to death. "Xander...Anya, and Giles are dead. Grab Dawnie and get out of here! It's what Buffy would want."
Spike turned around and started running to Buffy's home, somehow knowing that Dawn was supposed to be there. None of this made sense to him, but he kept on running, try to get to Dawn. He had let Buffy down once and there was no way that he'd let it happen again.
Bloody hell, without Buffy here, all the demons came back and took over the town. There's no slayer here...there's no hope. Spike realized. We need Buffy here. If not just for my sake, but for this town's...the world's. He neared Buffy's house and stopped, falling to the ground in shock as he stared at the sight in front of him.
He didn't even try to fight when the demons came up to him with clubs in their hands, knifes attached to their fingers...all he could do was stare as Buffy's house went up in flames, Spike somehow knowing that Dawn was trapped inside.
He closed his eyes and everything went black...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"So, lower being, have you chosen?" The female oracle asked him.
Spike shook his head, getting his bearings back. He looked around himself and found that he was back in the Oracles' realm. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He had seen a world with and a world without Buffy Summers. Making the right choice was easy. There was no other option.
"Send me back." Spike said. "I'll kill that bloke this time."
"As you wish..." The male oracle began.
"Kill the demon and set things right in your world." The female oracle added.
"I will," Spike gruffly said as he felt himself being thrown out of the marble building. A bright light surrounded him and he closed his eyes.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~