Title: The Choice 1/3
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Season Finale
Feedback: Yes, please
Chapter 1
After the dust cleared, he opened his eyes and found himself sprawled on the floor in an underground cavern. It was when he pulled himself up to a sitting position that he saw them. They appeared to be one man and one woman, dressed in white robes with gold piping. They were smiling down at him. Without opening their mouths to speak, he heard their voices in unison ringing inside his head. "Welcome, William the Bloody."
He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, and smirked at them? "The Powers that Be, I presume?" They nodded.
"So, am I dead then? Is this heaven or hell? It must be hell, because I can't imagine they'd take me in heaven." He jumped up to stand before them.
It seemed to be the man that spoke inside his head. "You are not in heaven or hell. Call it limbo, if you must."
"So I am dead then?"
"Your life no longer exists as it did before, so in that sense, yes, you are dead."
Spike remembered everything, how his soul sung and burned within him. How glorious it felt. Yes, there had been pain, but all of that had been overshadowed by the pulsing of his soul. And Buffy had held his hand. She had said she loved him. He knew she didn't, of course, at least not in the way he had yearned for. But she had said it, and that was something.
"Tell me, did we win? Is the Slayer??? The Slayers, are they well, and did they defeat the First?"
The Powers that Be were becoming impatient with his questioning, but they proceeded to answer him. They owed him that much. "The First was defeated. Your mission was successful, and the Slayer is well. Not all survived, but your Slayer is well."
Spike smiled at that. It gave him peace to know she was safe, and that they had indeed defeated the First. "So, now what?"
"Because of your loyal service to the Slayer, and your part in defeating the First, we are here to grant you a chance at redemption."
Spike was confused. A chance at redemption? Wasn't that what the whole battle was for? Didn't he already win that war? He had his bloody soul already, fought and won it honorably, and used it in compilation with the amulet that still hung around his neck to fry all those Ubervamps. Hadn't he done enough?
The Powers could read his mind. "You did that for her. You did all of that for selfish reasons."
"In the beginning perhaps," Spike argued, "but not in the end!" He pulled the amulet from around his neck and held it out towards them. "That's not what this was about."
This time it was the woman that spoke to him. "There is great debate about you, vampire. Did you receive your soul because you asked for it, or because the Demon forced it upon you instead of removing your chip? NO," she silenced his interruption, "Do not answer now with words."
She took the amulet from his outstretched hand and hid it beneath her robes. Then her powerful gaze bore into him, and he had to bow his head and look down to avoid it's strength.
"The debate will end here and now. It's your choice now, William."
"My choice? What? What the hell am I choosing?"
She ignored his questions with a wave of her hand, as if batting away a pesky fly in her face. "It's your choice now, William. The choice will determine your true destiny, and your true character will only then be revealed."
Then the man stepped between Spike and the woman. Spike was relieved to look into his kind and patient face, unlike the hardness of the female's pointed gaze. "It's simple really," he said. "Look back on your life in the last five years. If you could change anything in the past, if you could have made a different choice, what would it have been? Think before you answer."
In the last five years? That was easy for him. He would have died for her. He would have prevented her from jumping in order to close the portal, and relieve Dawn as the Key. Again The Powers penetrated his thoughts.
"No, that is not a choice, for you had already chosen that path. It just wasn't meant to be. You had already chosen to do whatever you had to do to save her, and her sister. But you failed."
"Well, do you have to be so bloody blunt about it?" Spike grimaced, and tears sprang up in the back of his eyes. But he refused to cry. Not in front of them. He swallowed down the pain in his throat, and shut out the memories of that awful time. "I would choose nothing different." He began, and then a thought came rushing in. He tilted his head in contemplation before turning his gaze onto the woman again. "May I give the choice to another?"
The man was surprised and gasped, but the woman only smiled as if she knew and had believed in him from the beginning. She nodded her assent. "Your choice has been granted."
Chapter 1
After the dust cleared, he opened his eyes and found himself sprawled on the floor in an underground cavern. It was when he pulled himself up to a sitting position that he saw them. They appeared to be one man and one woman, dressed in white robes with gold piping. They were smiling down at him. Without opening their mouths to speak, he heard their voices in unison ringing inside his head. "Welcome, William the Bloody."
He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, and smirked at them? "The Powers that Be, I presume?" They nodded.
"So, am I dead then? Is this heaven or hell? It must be hell, because I can't imagine they'd take me in heaven." He jumped up to stand before them.
It seemed to be the man that spoke inside his head. "You are not in heaven or hell. Call it limbo, if you must."
"So I am dead then?"
"Your life no longer exists as it did before, so in that sense, yes, you are dead."
Spike remembered everything, how his soul sung and burned within him. How glorious it felt. Yes, there had been pain, but all of that had been overshadowed by the pulsing of his soul. And Buffy had held his hand. She had said she loved him. He knew she didn't, of course, at least not in the way he had yearned for. But she had said it, and that was something.
"Tell me, did we win? Is the Slayer??? The Slayers, are they well, and did they defeat the First?"
The Powers that Be were becoming impatient with his questioning, but they proceeded to answer him. They owed him that much. "The First was defeated. Your mission was successful, and the Slayer is well. Not all survived, but your Slayer is well."
Spike smiled at that. It gave him peace to know she was safe, and that they had indeed defeated the First. "So, now what?"
"Because of your loyal service to the Slayer, and your part in defeating the First, we are here to grant you a chance at redemption."
Spike was confused. A chance at redemption? Wasn't that what the whole battle was for? Didn't he already win that war? He had his bloody soul already, fought and won it honorably, and used it in compilation with the amulet that still hung around his neck to fry all those Ubervamps. Hadn't he done enough?
The Powers could read his mind. "You did that for her. You did all of that for selfish reasons."
"In the beginning perhaps," Spike argued, "but not in the end!" He pulled the amulet from around his neck and held it out towards them. "That's not what this was about."
This time it was the woman that spoke to him. "There is great debate about you, vampire. Did you receive your soul because you asked for it, or because the Demon forced it upon you instead of removing your chip? NO," she silenced his interruption, "Do not answer now with words."
She took the amulet from his outstretched hand and hid it beneath her robes. Then her powerful gaze bore into him, and he had to bow his head and look down to avoid it's strength.
"The debate will end here and now. It's your choice now, William."
"My choice? What? What the hell am I choosing?"
She ignored his questions with a wave of her hand, as if batting away a pesky fly in her face. "It's your choice now, William. The choice will determine your true destiny, and your true character will only then be revealed."
Then the man stepped between Spike and the woman. Spike was relieved to look into his kind and patient face, unlike the hardness of the female's pointed gaze. "It's simple really," he said. "Look back on your life in the last five years. If you could change anything in the past, if you could have made a different choice, what would it have been? Think before you answer."
In the last five years? That was easy for him. He would have died for her. He would have prevented her from jumping in order to close the portal, and relieve Dawn as the Key. Again The Powers penetrated his thoughts.
"No, that is not a choice, for you had already chosen that path. It just wasn't meant to be. You had already chosen to do whatever you had to do to save her, and her sister. But you failed."
"Well, do you have to be so bloody blunt about it?" Spike grimaced, and tears sprang up in the back of his eyes. But he refused to cry. Not in front of them. He swallowed down the pain in his throat, and shut out the memories of that awful time. "I would choose nothing different." He began, and then a thought came rushing in. He tilted his head in contemplation before turning his gaze onto the woman again. "May I give the choice to another?"
The man was surprised and gasped, but the woman only smiled as if she knew and had believed in him from the beginning. She nodded her assent. "Your choice has been granted."
