After The Storm
Chapter 22
By Vixen
It took all night and part of the next day to travel on horseback the distance back to where it had all began, where Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn had begun their journey in the new world. They had started to believe they would never leave, but they had finally come full circle, they were going home, just as soon as Willow performed the spell and opened the doorway home.
Spike dismounted his horse, thankful to feel the earth under his feet again. He had never liked riding horseback when he was alive, and hadn't done so since he had died. After he was down, he held out a hand to Illyria, who had been forced to ride behind him when they had been unable to borrow enough for the whole group. "Want a hand?"
In return for his help, Illyria snapped a kick at his face. "I do not require assistance from feeble creature such as yourself." She swung her other leather-clad leg around, and easily slipped off the horse, though her landing needed a little work. She stumbled, nearly falling face first, not used to traveling by horse. In the past she had been a teleporter, effortlessly moving from one point to another, from one dimension to another. Frustrated with the vampire, she stomped off after Gunn hoping to find better company, as Spike chuckled behind her.
The blond vampire led his horse over to where Angel was busy tying up the reins of his and Fiyara's horses. Their liaison, as she insisted on calling herself, had been sent with them by the elders, as a guide so that they could find their way back to the place where the portal would most likely open. As she sat with Terrin on a large rock, she engaged in conversation with Angel, mostly just boring stuff Spike didn't care about. Therefore he had no problem butting into the conversation as he fought his stubborn animal to stay still while he tied its reins to a nearby rock, "Still can't believe they looked like the slayers.. whole thing's just weird." Spike shook his head, he had commented on it a few hundred times after they had met the elders for the first and last time. It had been remarkable, "Older and gray-haired, but still the same Buffy. Strange."
"You 're not going to get over that any time soon, are you," Angel had grown impatient with the younger vampire. It had shocked him too, though he hadn't told any of the people of the tribe, save for Fiyara. Angel looked up at Spike, "In this world, Buffy, Faith, Kendra.. they're just as important only they get to live long, healthy lives." He crossed his arms, thinking about the strangeness of it all. "It's like the universe, or universes, way of balancing the scales."
Though in the end, however fitting it was for at least one Buffy to grow old, it was a bit unnerving meeting the love of his unlife's much older twin. Spike felt pretty much the same way. Cocking his head before he walked away, he mused, "Still bloody weird, if you ask me."
Angel watched Spike join Gunn and Illyria, the human and ex-god were arguing about which was the better way to start a fire in which to cook their breakfast on. Illyria did not need to eat, but she still looked about ready to resort to fisticuffs if Gunn did not listen to her expertise.
Angel shook it off, not wanting to get in the middle of that argument. Gunn could handle himself anyway. Instead, the vampire looked over at Terrin. He was curled up already sleeping in Fiyara's lap, though they had only dismounted a few minutes ago. The boy had insisted on coming with them, wanting a chance to see them leave, though spending the whole night awake had left him exhausted. "Are you guys going to be okay?" He asked. It was the same question he had asked last night, of the whole tribe. He had no idea where all the new immigrants would go in the other dimension, but it seemed safer than staying there. "You could still come with us if you want."
"This is our land, Angel." She replied, gazing up at the pair of suns on the edge of the horizon. While at times it seemed barren and harsh, it was far from the hell dimension it had first appeared. "You have taught us a lot, all of you."
"So did you," Angel smiled as he looked at Terrin. The boy was just beginning to wake up a little, smelling the fire and sizzling breakfast Illyria had begun cooking. Smiling, he remembered the past few months, learning to let go of the pain of not being around when Connor was a child. Teaching, learning, living, it was a never-ending process. They had both taught each other much.
Later, Illyria and Spike sat around the fireplace with Gunn. The human ate the breakfast Illyria had cooked up, surprised at how good it tasted. Though she had burnt the first batch of bacon and eggs, she had adapted her technique, worked on her skill and within five minutes was cooking like a pro chef. Gunn figured it was only because he had told her that she wouldn't be able to. Never tell Illyria what she can and can not do, because she will only rise to your challenge, Gunn had reminded himself, just in case the next time he did so was during a fight with her that hinged not just on cooking skills.
Gunn munched down the bacon, hoping to get rid of the tiredness that had set in after the journey. He was willing himself not to fall asleep though, the portal was going to open soon. There was a certain static feeling to the air that told him it was not too long off. Had he fallen asleep, he might have missed the big event, and been stranded in that dimension again. That was so not an option in his mind. Instead, he busied himself with eating and naming the many things that he would do once they got back, "A little R&R first, sleep would be good, followed by a nice hot bath, catch a game on tv, go hang down at the park, see some old friends, maybe go ride that Thunder Mountain roller coaster.. this is gonna be great. Gonna do everything I always said I would. Twice."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Charlie-Boy," Spike told him, "Hasn't opened yet."
"You don't think there's a chance it won't," Gunn asked as he did a double take towards Spike.
The vampire laughed, "Just having a peck of fun. If Red says she has it under control, she'll handle it." With a smirk he added, "You'll get your Thunder Mountain, just sit tight."
Gunn resisted the urge to punch the vampire in the arm, "Don't mess with me like that. Geez, got me worried for a second. Thinking about life here.. its not how I want to spend the rest of my days. Finally understand why Lorne used to hate Pylea because of the lack of music. Man, I gotta turn some tunes up when I get home."
While Gunn continued thinking about the multitudes of things he had to catch up on, Illyria turned to Spike, "Tell me, vampire, what is it that you will partake in when you reach your home." It came out sounding like a command, as she was used to giving so many over the years she had ruled the lower beings.
Spike turned his attention from Gunn to Illyria, it wasn't like her to be interested in his whereabouts or what he was doing. Though, to be honest, she had not been acting much like herself lately, all the grief and open emotions tearing at her probably, unable to fight against the tide that was pulling her under. Spike wished she would stop trying to get him wrapped around her finger though, it was getting downright annoying, "Why does it matter to you, Smurfette?"
As she cocked her head back towards the fire, her blue hair swayed around her shoulders, "Your affairs matter little in the plans of the cosmos. Your life so small, so minute, even when you are dead you do not full exist. You believe that you do, that you are powerful and great, when I have tasted true power, I have been true power and know that you are but nothing." She paused, "But you do intrigue me. The way your plot your existence, in the face of forces greater than yourself."
That was as close to a compliment as she was capable of. Brushing it off, he asked, "What else can you do? Give in to the fates that are against you, why bother with that? Sometimes," he raised an eyebrow impudently, "you even win against them."
As if on cue, there was a loud rumbling, and from nothingness a swirling ripple ripped the sky apart. Shaken by the noise, Spike and Gunn spring up, more than ready to enter the portal. It opened its mouth wider, while it had only started off as a pinpoint of light, it had now grown to the size where they could easily walk straight through it.
Illyria rose slowly, not wanting to be rushed. Any world was as good as any other to her.
"That's it," Gunn pumped a fist through the air, rushing towards the opening. Spike followed closely behind. They waited at the gateway, watching the world inside its space appear, like a window opening. It was the same alleyway they had fought in before, the last place they had seen before leaving their world. Gunn's homesickness only grew watching as the portal slowly revealed the dark street. At least they'd be home soon. Willow, Faith, and Connor could be seen just on the other side of it, waiting for them. It was truly a beautiful sight.
Just before it reached its full size, Angel walked over to it with Fiyara and the now-awake Terrin. He gave a warm smiled to Fiyara and patted Terrin on his head, "Take care of yourself, kid."
The boy looked up at Angel with eyes full of respect and appreciation. "Bye, Angel," Terrin whispered, softly, barely audible. Fiyara and Angel looked down at the boy, startled and more than a little happy. He had finally talked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's a Christmas miracle," Spike pulled on Angel's arm, "Can we go now?"
The portal had grown to its full height, now was the time to go through it. Gunn and Illyria entered it first, appearing on the other side as if they were just stepping through a window. Seeing as how the others had made it, Spike followed, now knowing it was safe.
Angel gave one last smile to the pair of humans he had met in the past few months, and turned to go when he heard a growl behind him. A deep-throated, demon growl that was attached to a ten-foot tall beastly looking thing that stomped forward. It looked very hungry, as did the other one who followed behind the first.
Angel looked at the portal, it was beginning to close. Then his attention darted over towards Fiyara and Terrin, "Run. Get the horses. Get out of here."
As they started to leave, Angel diverted the attention of the two demons. Looking behind him, he saw he was losing his chance to leave through the portal, as it was started to shrink in size considerably. Forming a plan, he waved his arms at the two beasts, "Come on, come get me."
The demons rushed at him, just as Angel turned and ran for the portal. When he stepped into the gateway to his home world, Angel tumbled down onto the street. Turning around, he saw that the portal had closed and the beasts were now stuck in Los Angeles. Standing up, Angel readied himself for a fight.
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I'm curious to see if I can get 100 review for this fic. It'll be interesting to see if that happens..
Chapter 22
By Vixen
It took all night and part of the next day to travel on horseback the distance back to where it had all began, where Angel, Spike, Illyria and Gunn had begun their journey in the new world. They had started to believe they would never leave, but they had finally come full circle, they were going home, just as soon as Willow performed the spell and opened the doorway home.
Spike dismounted his horse, thankful to feel the earth under his feet again. He had never liked riding horseback when he was alive, and hadn't done so since he had died. After he was down, he held out a hand to Illyria, who had been forced to ride behind him when they had been unable to borrow enough for the whole group. "Want a hand?"
In return for his help, Illyria snapped a kick at his face. "I do not require assistance from feeble creature such as yourself." She swung her other leather-clad leg around, and easily slipped off the horse, though her landing needed a little work. She stumbled, nearly falling face first, not used to traveling by horse. In the past she had been a teleporter, effortlessly moving from one point to another, from one dimension to another. Frustrated with the vampire, she stomped off after Gunn hoping to find better company, as Spike chuckled behind her.
The blond vampire led his horse over to where Angel was busy tying up the reins of his and Fiyara's horses. Their liaison, as she insisted on calling herself, had been sent with them by the elders, as a guide so that they could find their way back to the place where the portal would most likely open. As she sat with Terrin on a large rock, she engaged in conversation with Angel, mostly just boring stuff Spike didn't care about. Therefore he had no problem butting into the conversation as he fought his stubborn animal to stay still while he tied its reins to a nearby rock, "Still can't believe they looked like the slayers.. whole thing's just weird." Spike shook his head, he had commented on it a few hundred times after they had met the elders for the first and last time. It had been remarkable, "Older and gray-haired, but still the same Buffy. Strange."
"You 're not going to get over that any time soon, are you," Angel had grown impatient with the younger vampire. It had shocked him too, though he hadn't told any of the people of the tribe, save for Fiyara. Angel looked up at Spike, "In this world, Buffy, Faith, Kendra.. they're just as important only they get to live long, healthy lives." He crossed his arms, thinking about the strangeness of it all. "It's like the universe, or universes, way of balancing the scales."
Though in the end, however fitting it was for at least one Buffy to grow old, it was a bit unnerving meeting the love of his unlife's much older twin. Spike felt pretty much the same way. Cocking his head before he walked away, he mused, "Still bloody weird, if you ask me."
Angel watched Spike join Gunn and Illyria, the human and ex-god were arguing about which was the better way to start a fire in which to cook their breakfast on. Illyria did not need to eat, but she still looked about ready to resort to fisticuffs if Gunn did not listen to her expertise.
Angel shook it off, not wanting to get in the middle of that argument. Gunn could handle himself anyway. Instead, the vampire looked over at Terrin. He was curled up already sleeping in Fiyara's lap, though they had only dismounted a few minutes ago. The boy had insisted on coming with them, wanting a chance to see them leave, though spending the whole night awake had left him exhausted. "Are you guys going to be okay?" He asked. It was the same question he had asked last night, of the whole tribe. He had no idea where all the new immigrants would go in the other dimension, but it seemed safer than staying there. "You could still come with us if you want."
"This is our land, Angel." She replied, gazing up at the pair of suns on the edge of the horizon. While at times it seemed barren and harsh, it was far from the hell dimension it had first appeared. "You have taught us a lot, all of you."
"So did you," Angel smiled as he looked at Terrin. The boy was just beginning to wake up a little, smelling the fire and sizzling breakfast Illyria had begun cooking. Smiling, he remembered the past few months, learning to let go of the pain of not being around when Connor was a child. Teaching, learning, living, it was a never-ending process. They had both taught each other much.
Later, Illyria and Spike sat around the fireplace with Gunn. The human ate the breakfast Illyria had cooked up, surprised at how good it tasted. Though she had burnt the first batch of bacon and eggs, she had adapted her technique, worked on her skill and within five minutes was cooking like a pro chef. Gunn figured it was only because he had told her that she wouldn't be able to. Never tell Illyria what she can and can not do, because she will only rise to your challenge, Gunn had reminded himself, just in case the next time he did so was during a fight with her that hinged not just on cooking skills.
Gunn munched down the bacon, hoping to get rid of the tiredness that had set in after the journey. He was willing himself not to fall asleep though, the portal was going to open soon. There was a certain static feeling to the air that told him it was not too long off. Had he fallen asleep, he might have missed the big event, and been stranded in that dimension again. That was so not an option in his mind. Instead, he busied himself with eating and naming the many things that he would do once they got back, "A little R&R first, sleep would be good, followed by a nice hot bath, catch a game on tv, go hang down at the park, see some old friends, maybe go ride that Thunder Mountain roller coaster.. this is gonna be great. Gonna do everything I always said I would. Twice."
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Charlie-Boy," Spike told him, "Hasn't opened yet."
"You don't think there's a chance it won't," Gunn asked as he did a double take towards Spike.
The vampire laughed, "Just having a peck of fun. If Red says she has it under control, she'll handle it." With a smirk he added, "You'll get your Thunder Mountain, just sit tight."
Gunn resisted the urge to punch the vampire in the arm, "Don't mess with me like that. Geez, got me worried for a second. Thinking about life here.. its not how I want to spend the rest of my days. Finally understand why Lorne used to hate Pylea because of the lack of music. Man, I gotta turn some tunes up when I get home."
While Gunn continued thinking about the multitudes of things he had to catch up on, Illyria turned to Spike, "Tell me, vampire, what is it that you will partake in when you reach your home." It came out sounding like a command, as she was used to giving so many over the years she had ruled the lower beings.
Spike turned his attention from Gunn to Illyria, it wasn't like her to be interested in his whereabouts or what he was doing. Though, to be honest, she had not been acting much like herself lately, all the grief and open emotions tearing at her probably, unable to fight against the tide that was pulling her under. Spike wished she would stop trying to get him wrapped around her finger though, it was getting downright annoying, "Why does it matter to you, Smurfette?"
As she cocked her head back towards the fire, her blue hair swayed around her shoulders, "Your affairs matter little in the plans of the cosmos. Your life so small, so minute, even when you are dead you do not full exist. You believe that you do, that you are powerful and great, when I have tasted true power, I have been true power and know that you are but nothing." She paused, "But you do intrigue me. The way your plot your existence, in the face of forces greater than yourself."
That was as close to a compliment as she was capable of. Brushing it off, he asked, "What else can you do? Give in to the fates that are against you, why bother with that? Sometimes," he raised an eyebrow impudently, "you even win against them."
As if on cue, there was a loud rumbling, and from nothingness a swirling ripple ripped the sky apart. Shaken by the noise, Spike and Gunn spring up, more than ready to enter the portal. It opened its mouth wider, while it had only started off as a pinpoint of light, it had now grown to the size where they could easily walk straight through it.
Illyria rose slowly, not wanting to be rushed. Any world was as good as any other to her.
"That's it," Gunn pumped a fist through the air, rushing towards the opening. Spike followed closely behind. They waited at the gateway, watching the world inside its space appear, like a window opening. It was the same alleyway they had fought in before, the last place they had seen before leaving their world. Gunn's homesickness only grew watching as the portal slowly revealed the dark street. At least they'd be home soon. Willow, Faith, and Connor could be seen just on the other side of it, waiting for them. It was truly a beautiful sight.
Just before it reached its full size, Angel walked over to it with Fiyara and the now-awake Terrin. He gave a warm smiled to Fiyara and patted Terrin on his head, "Take care of yourself, kid."
The boy looked up at Angel with eyes full of respect and appreciation. "Bye, Angel," Terrin whispered, softly, barely audible. Fiyara and Angel looked down at the boy, startled and more than a little happy. He had finally talked.
"Yeah, yeah, it's a Christmas miracle," Spike pulled on Angel's arm, "Can we go now?"
The portal had grown to its full height, now was the time to go through it. Gunn and Illyria entered it first, appearing on the other side as if they were just stepping through a window. Seeing as how the others had made it, Spike followed, now knowing it was safe.
Angel gave one last smile to the pair of humans he had met in the past few months, and turned to go when he heard a growl behind him. A deep-throated, demon growl that was attached to a ten-foot tall beastly looking thing that stomped forward. It looked very hungry, as did the other one who followed behind the first.
Angel looked at the portal, it was beginning to close. Then his attention darted over towards Fiyara and Terrin, "Run. Get the horses. Get out of here."
As they started to leave, Angel diverted the attention of the two demons. Looking behind him, he saw he was losing his chance to leave through the portal, as it was started to shrink in size considerably. Forming a plan, he waved his arms at the two beasts, "Come on, come get me."
The demons rushed at him, just as Angel turned and ran for the portal. When he stepped into the gateway to his home world, Angel tumbled down onto the street. Turning around, he saw that the portal had closed and the beasts were now stuck in Los Angeles. Standing up, Angel readied himself for a fight.
..........................................
I'm curious to see if I can get 100 review for this fic. It'll be interesting to see if that happens..