Title: A New Day

Author: PrettyPoppy

Summary: Sequel to "The Final Night." As the ultimate battle with The First rages, tragedy strikes, and it's up to an unlikely champion to set things right. And of course, that's just the beginning. S/B

Notes: If you haven't read "The Final Night," all you really need to know is that Angel and the LA gang are in Sunnydale - fighting the fight -, Spike and Buffy are together, and Angel and Cordy are together. That's it really. You know the rest.

I really believe that "The Final Night" stands on its own as a solid story. However, there was some clamoring for a sequel, so here's my attempt. If you hate it, just totally disregard it and enjoy the first story on its own. And oh yeah, no matter how grim the first chapter seems, remember, this is a Spuffy fic. Just have a little faith. Spoilers through Season 7.

Feedback: Yes, please. PrettyPoppy@worldnet.att.net

Distribution: If you want it, just let me know

Disclaimer: Joss is a god. The rest of us are just his lowly minions. I own nothing. Joss owns everything.

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Chapter One: Ashes to Ashes

The battle was raging.

The school basement was a war-zone, a wonderland of chaos, brought on by evil forces. The earth had opened up around them, devouring everything in its path. With amazing swiftness, the battle had been pushed to the farthest parameters of the underground arena, and the troops had been scattered.

Spike could hear the sounds of screaming around him, but whether they were the screams of demons or of human beings, he couldn't tell. In the heat of the moment, there was very little difference between a battle cry and a cry for help.

The Hellmouth had erupted with a veritable cornucopia of demon spawn. Buffy and the gang were trying their best to hold them back, but it was like trying to damn a raging river with mud and twigs. They were losing quickly - that much was obvious - but still, they fought the good fight.

Suddenly a scream pierced the din. A deafening scream. A familiar scream. It was Dawn.

Spike gripped the stake he was carrying more firmly in his hand and swiftly drove it through the heart of the vamp he was fighting. A second later, he turned toward the sound.

Even in all the chaos, he would recognize Dawn's scream anywhere. She was battling a huge, hulking demon whose species Spike didn't recognize. It had somehow managed to knock Dawn to the ground and was now hovering over her, getting ready to crush her skull with its fist.

Spike let out a feral scream and made for the demon. Pouncing through the air, he landed on the monster's back and began wrestling it to the ground. They struggled for what seemed liked an eternity - but what must have only been seconds - before Spike got a firm grasp on its head and snapped its neck.

Jumping off the beast, Spike quickly got Dawn out of the way before it came crashing to the ground beside her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, yelling over the chaos.

"I'm fine," she hollered back.

But she wasn't fine. Somewhere along the way, she had been seriously injured. There was a long gash down the side of her right arm, and she was bleeding. Losing a lot of blood in fact. Spike dragged her out of the battle, and set her down in a dark corner, just barely out of harm's way.

"I have to go," she tried to get up, to rejoin the fight.

He pushed her down to sit on a pile of debris. "No." He pulled off his duster and then his T-shirt. Ignoring her protests, he wrapped the shirt tightly around her bleeding arm, then he swung his duster around her shoulders.

"I don't want it," she said, trying to shrug out of it.

"You're going to put this on," he said harshly, as he forced her arms into it. She was starting to go into shock and she didn't even know it. Her body was trembling and her skin was pale. "And then," he said, as he fastened it closed, "you're going to sit here and wait for this to end."

"No!" she yelled.

"Yes," he said, his voice hard and uncompromising. "You're going to get yourself killed if you don't stay put." He looked her directly in the eyes, examining her face for what might be the last time. Gently, he squeezed her arms. "It's all right 'lil bit. You don't have to save the world. Be safe," he said, before placing a firm kiss on her forehead and turning to go back into battle.

"Spike!" she screamed.

But he wouldn't look back. There was a battle to be lost or won before him, and he had to fight.

The horror continued on.

Spike didn't know where Buffy was, or anyone else for that matter. The atmosphere was so thick with blood and stench and demon carcasses that it was difficult to see anything. He could very well be the last warrior standing and not even know it.

He hadn't even seen The First. At least, he didn't think he had. He just assumed it was off screwing with someone else.

The night before had been the greatest night of Spike's life. Buffy had declared her undying love for him, and somehow, even in the heat of this losing battle, he felt invincible. Whatever happened - whether they won or lost, lived or died - he knew everything would be okay, because Buffy loved him. Buffy believed in him. And that was all that mattered.

Despite the overwhelming odds, determined to see this thing through, Spike continued to fight.

Before long, he found himself battling a huge, beast-like demon. Again, of an unfamiliar species. The creature was slow, but strong; built like a boulder and about as indestructible as one. After abandoning a slew of different strategies, Spike finally fell back on the old standby, beating the thing senseless. In spite of its massive density, it finally went down, crashing to the ground behind it. Spike turned and tried to push the dead carcass into the ever-widening mouth of hell, but the body was too heavy.

Shrugging absently, he turned around to face the next wave of evil that was coming his way. He picked off the two vamps easily. Then he heard a voice shouting off in the distance.

"Spike! Behind you!"

It was Buffy, screaming over the overwhelming din of the battle.

She had been fighting for what seemed like hours, her limbs tired and aching. She knew her friends had fallen, but at this point, she didn't know exactly who. She could just sense that they were losing, the battle drowning them in a sea of blood.

Spike whipped around to look at her, his crystal blue eyes locking with hers for the briefest moment.

But it was too late. In that very instant the beast-like demon rose up and swung around, stabbing a broken sliver of wood right into Spike's heart.

Buffy's eyes flashed in horror as she saw him explode in a burst of thick, gray dust.

"Spike!" The scream tore from her throat.

Suddenly she couldn't sense anything. Not the aches and pains she had sustained in fighting. Not the blood-curdling battle cries of the army of approaching demons. Not even her friends spread out around her, defending their own lives. She was numb. There was only one thing she could see. The dust. A big, sickening, stomach-turning pile of dust, lying on the floor in front of her.

Without thinking, she slowly walked to the spot and knelt down on the ground. Her eyes hazy with tears, she sifted her fingers through all that was left of the love of her life. She watched listlessly, as the little grains slid past her fingers and fell back to earth. She slowly lifted another handful and prepared to repeat the process again when a strong hand grabbed her by the arm and jerked her up so that she was standing.

"Buffy!" Angel's voice was somehow hard and gentle at the same time. "Buffy, look at me!"

He swung her around so she was standing in front of him, but she didn't look up to meet his gaze. Instead, she let her eyes drift back down to the floor, to the ever-lessening pile of dust that was slowly being swept up into the atmosphere by the whirl of the battle surrounding it. She moved to kneel back down beside it, but Angel jerked her to attention.

"Damn it, Buffy! Look at me!"

Finally, her eyes raised to his and she stared, unseeing, into his dark, brown orbs.

"This is war Buffy. There'll be time for grieving later. You have to fight." He searched her eyes frantically, looking for any sign of recognition. "Do you understand me?"

Buffy nodded her head ever so slightly, not really comprehending what was going on, but knowing somewhere inside of her that it was the right response.

"Good. Now let's go."

Angel released her and turned back toward the fighting. Just as he did, a demon came at him, and he deftly immersed himself in battle.

Without warning, another demon came at Buffy and her Slayer instincts instantly kicked in. She didn't know what she was doing. Her movements were automatic, unplanned. She was fighting on autopilot, completely disconnected from the battle surrounding her.

She punched, she kicked, she felt her arm being twisted behind her back. Somehow, she felt herself wrench free and deliver another blow. It went on for what seemed like forever. Demon after demon. Ubervamp after ubervamp. She didn't know how many she killed, or where The First was or anything, all she knew was that she had to fight

Suddenly, something exploded behind her.

A light flashed through the school basement, covering everything in a warm, red glow. The earth was shaking. The walls started to crumble. Buffy kept on fighting. Kicking and punching, and screaming, as she tore into the creatures around her.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong hands on her arms and she was unexpectedly thrown to the ground. Before she knew what had happened, a huge piece of the ceiling caved in, right where she had been standing, and crushed the demon she had just been trying to kill.

Relief didn't even register with Buffy. She just picked herself up and tried to step back into the fight.

"No you don't." Angel's strong voice broke through the thunder of the collapsing building, as he picked her up in his arms, and started carrying her away from the action.

Buffy squirmed a little, wanting to be free, wanting to get back to the fighting. If she stopped fighting, she'd have to think. And God help her, she couldn't think.

"Where's Dawn?" Xander's frantic voice cut through the din.

"I'm right here," she said, as she hobbled up beside Buffy and Angel, clutching Spike's duster closed at her chest.

"We've got to get out of here," Angel said. "Xander take Dawn. Get her to safety. I've got to get Buffy out of here, before she does something stupid."

"Angel!" Cordelia yelled across the chaos.

Angel turned to look at her. "Get everyone out. Everyone!" he commanded. "There's nothing more to do. It's time to retreat and hope for the best."

Cordy nodded in affirmation, and Angel turned back around to make his way toward the exit.

"Let . . . me . . . go!" Buffy demanded coldly, as she struggled in his arms.

"No," he said, as he hurried her across the floor, doing his best to dodge the falling debris. "I'm not going to let you get yourself killed. It's over Buffy. I'm not letting you go off on a suicide mission."

She pulled back her fist to punch him, but he simply shifted her weight in his arms and maneuvered her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!"

"No."

"Angel!"

"No."

"Please?" There were tears in her pleading.

"No." He tightened his grip on her protectively and made his way out of the basement.