Of course like everyone else I didn't want Angel to end. Not to mention they sort of left it open ended. I felt it was my duty to continue it. Plus, I wanted to do a Gunn romance story and deal with the issues between Illyria and Wesley. Anyway on to my fic….
True Destiny Continues
Chapter 1: Facing the Apocolypse
Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from the Angel series. I only own my original characters.
Faith pressed down harder on the gas pedal, willing the van to go as fast as humanly possible. She then took a quick glance at the brunette sitting next to her, a girl who she had fast become friends with, not surprised to find her body language tense. The girl was flexing and un-flexing her fingers on a large axe nervously. Faith sighed softly as she quickly placed her eyes back on the road. She knew what her friend was feeling, this feeling of not knowing…not knowing what was going to happen…not knowing if they were going to be too late. She sent up a silent prayer to god that everyone was all right.
Milani was sitting in the passenger seat of the van trying her best not to panic. After the dream she had last night, well actually it was a nightmare, she and Faith had gathered the last of the money they had and bought two one way tickets to Los Angeles. Just thinking about what she had seen scared Milani to death. She knew about the battle to come, the danger they were about to face, but the actual danger didn't frighten her. It was the fear…the fear of not knowing if they were going to make it. Would they make it there on time to help them? Would they be able to stop this oncoming apocalypse that she glimpsed in her dream? She wasn't sure. The dream had ended so abruptly and she had woken up in terror. She thought it would have been hard to convince Faith that what she had seen was real…that it was really going to happen. But she didn't have to try to convince her. Faith instantly believed her, because she had a similar dream that night as well.
Now both girls were in Los Angeles and riding in a stolen van, both hoping that they had enough strength to save the world…to help the five individuals that Milani had seen valiantly fighting in her dreams…not caring if this was possibly going to be their last night on earth alive. Milani looked over at Faith. They hadn't said much during the entire plane ride here and the deafening silence in the van was the same. She didn't know where exactly to begin…what to say. If this was going to be their last battle…their last fight…well Milani wanted Faith to know how much she cared about her…how much their friendship meant to her.
"Faith…I just…I needed to," Milani began, but stopped, unable to put into words what she was feeling.
"Don't…just don't," Faith ordered, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "We're going to make it okay, so don't start with the mushy crap." She then looked pointedly at Milani, who was now staring back at her. "We're going to help Angel stop whatever it is that's coming," Faith continued on firmly. "And after we do, we'll still be standing…everyone will." Faith then returned her eyes to the road. "At least I hope we will," she added softly.
"I hope so too," Milani said, her voice equally soft. She then leaned forward in her seat and peered out the windshield carefully. Her eyes narrowed when she saw a small group of what appeared to be females, all holding weapons of various sorts, walking briskly. "Faith…up ahead," she said, pointing at the group of girls as they came closer into view.
Faith's eyes widened when she took in the sight of a familiar redhead. "Oh my god…that's Willow," she exclaimed. "And that's Buffy…and a couple of the potentials. 'Well they weren't potentials anymore, not after that spell Willow cast,' Faith thought to herself. She felt a huge sense of relief as the van came closer to the hoard of girls. She had never felt so relieved in her entire life. She knew she and Milani were walking into something big and that they might need more back up to help Angel. Now they apparently had that back up. Faith jerked the van to a stop and turned to the girl in the passenger seat. "Looks like more of the calvary is here," she announced, her mouth lifted up at the corner slightly. "We'll stop here," she said forcefully. "You ready?" Milani nodded. "Well let's do this thing."
Both girls jumped out of the vehicles and ran towards the group, holding their weapons tightly in their hands. The group of girls all twirled at the sound of footsteps running towards them. Buffy's eyes widened in shock. Faith. She hadn't seen her since they had separated after fighting the First in Sunnydale. Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Giles, Zander, and the other new slayers had gone immediately to England after the town had literally crumbled before their eyes. Faith had chosen to stay behind. But she had obviously found a new friend. "Well, well, well…just when I thought we had enough slayers in our little group," Buffy remarked sarcastically as the two girls walked up to them. "Hello Faith."
"What's up B," Faith replied shortly. "This is Milani. She's here to help with whatever big bad is supposed to be coming to L.A. I'm assuming that's why you guys are here." Faith allowed her eyes to float from Buffy, to Willow, and finally to the other slayers. Where were Zander, Giles, and Dawn? Why weren't they here with the others? Didn't Buffy know they needed all the help they could get?
"We had to leave them behind in England," Buffy stated, answering the questions she saw in Faith's eyes. "All the slayers had dreams last night…about something serious going down here tonight. Whatever it is Faith…it's bad…real bad. I couldn't risk Giles, Dawn, and Zander. I had to bring only the strongest with me. It's the only shot we have of winning this thing." Buffy then looked at the girl who stood next to Faith wielding an impressive axe. "She had better be a slayer," Buffy said, raising a brow challengingly.
Faith rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak. Milani placed a hand on her arm, stopping her. "I can speak for myself," Milani said quietly, but firmly. She then pierced Buffy with a quelling glance. "No…I'm not a slayer, but then again…I'm not human either," she continued on. She heard a chorus of gasps go through the gang of slayers, but she ignored them as she stepped closer to Buffy, not stopping until she was inches from her face. "But that's not what's important. What is important is that we stop whatever it is that I saw coming in my dream. We're wasting time standing here. We'll do proper introductions later." She stepped around Buffy and continued walking, leaving the others staring at her retreating form. Milani halted in her tracks and spun around to face the group of girls, her expression one of irritation. "Hello…oncoming apocalypse…remember," she said, tapping her foot on the pavement impatiently.
Faith released a snicker, in spite of their situation. "That's my girl," she said softly. She then looked at Buffy, not surprised to practically see steam coming off the blonde. "You heard the woman. Let's go." Faith jogged forward to catch up with her friend. Buffy closed her eyes and counted to ten. She so didn't need this…not right now. She realized that Faith and her would never be friends. What she hadn't counted on was that Faith would make friends with someone who was as equally irritating as she was. She felt someone touch her shoulder gently, breaking her out of her thoughts about Faith and her annoying companion.
"Buffy we need to go," Willow said urgently. "That portal you saw in your dream…we have to find it. We have to stop it from opening or close it if it's already opened. Put aside your differences with Faith for right now. You guys can go back to being at each others throats after we help Angel."
Buffy nodded absently, knowing that her friend was right. Right now Angel was in up to his eyeballs in danger and he needed them. "Come on girls…let's go," she demanded, taking off into a jog behind the two girls currently ducking into a side alley up ahead. "Willow you got that spell ready," she called over her shoulder, never breaking her stride until she came to the alley. She slowly walked forward to stand beside Faith and Milani, her mouth gaping at the sight before her. This was just like when they were battling the First, except this was…who was she kidding. This was nothing like when they fought the First. This was worse.
"You thinking the same thing I am B," Faith said, her voice trembling slightly. She had never seen so many different types of demons in one place before. Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the demon that resembled Godzilla. How the hell were they supposed to fight that thing? It was too huge. They were going to be squashed like bugs for sure.
Buffy forced her eyes away from the sight of the demons pouring out of the portal ahead of them to glance at Faith. "You mean am I thinking we're going to die tonight," she asked, trying to place sarcasm in her tone, but instead sounding frightened. "Yeah we might, but not before we do some damage." Just then the army of demons ahead of them all froze as if someone pushed the pause button on a remote. She spun around to face the group of girls who had just caught up with them, noting the looks of surprise and fear on their faces. "Willow did you do that," she asked, not really caring if she did or not. They needed a couple extra minutes to devise some sort of strategy and they needed to find Angel. Buffy didn't care who stopped the danger, just as long as it stopped long enough for them to come up with some sort of half-ass plan.
Willow nodded furiously. "Yeah, but it will only hold for about 10 more minutes," she said, her green eyes now black. Buffy ran out of the alley, shouting for the others to follow her. The group stood in a circle on the sidewalk, each girl looking from one to the other. "What now Buffy," Kennedy demanded. "You heard Willow. She only put those demons on freeze tag for only 10 minutes. You got a plan or what?"
"Not really," Buffy answered simply. "But we can start with closing that portal. Willow start with the closure spell. We need to close that damn thing…now." She then looked at Milani, Faith, and the slayers she had brought with her. "We need to find Angel and the rest of his crew. We can't go up against these things alone, plus that wasn't the alley I saw the battle taking place in."
Milani looked at the blonde incredulously. "What do you mean," she asked anxiously. "The portal's right there. What other alley could it be?"
"Trust me…it's not," Buffy said, shaking her head wildly. "I know what I saw in my dream. This isn't the place, but I bet it's somewhere close." Milani's eyes drifted over the buildings, narrowing slightly as she tried to remember what she had seen from her vision-like dream, trying furiously to ignore the gibberish coming from Willow's mouth. She glanced upward, taking in the absence of fire escapes. The buildings in her dreams had fire escapes. Buffy was right. They were in the wrong alley.
"You're right…we're in the wrong place," said Milani, dragging her hand through her hair. "Shit. We gotta find that alley. Can we leave Willow here with your slayers and go find the correct alley. We need to find Angel and his gang. I'm sure that's where they are."
Buffy shook her head in refusal. "No we're not leaving them here with those things and we need to make sure that portal is closed."
"Fair enough," Faith chimed in. She stepped away from the group slightly to look at the buildings on the other side of the street. "Should we check the alley across the street," Faith asked.
Buffy looked at the alley Faith was staring at, her eyes opening as wide as saucers as they floated up to the roof. Someone just leaped onto one of the buildings from another one next to it. She knew the shape of that body anywhere. Angel. The figure ran across the top of the roof, before leaping down to the pavement and running into the alley. A minute later an African-American guy was running down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. He then ducked into the darkness of the same alley. "That's it…over there," Buffy said excitedly. "That's the place." Buffy then turned to Willow, her expression one of hope. "Willow you done with the chanting or what? Close that portal already."
Willow clenched her eyes shut, feeling the sweat pour down her face. "I'm trying," she said tightly. Willow forced herself to concentrate harder, allowing Kennedy's soothing tone to wash over her in encouragement. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up. Whoever opened this portal used some serious magic. They seemed to have some sort of barrier spell on the portal protecting it. But one thing they hadn't counted on was Willow's power. It had grown immensely since she had left Sunnydale…since she had been training with other powerful Wiccas like herself. She would not allow a stupid portal to beat her.
"Oh my god Willow…it's working," Kennedy shouted happily, squeezing the red-head's hand gleefully. "Keep it up a little longer Wil. It's almost closed." The girls looked on as the portal began closing slowly until there was a bright light and then it was gone, leaving behind only the legion of demons that had passed through earlier.
"Alright you guys can go...I'll see if I can extend the freezing spell a little longer," Willow said eagerly. None of the girls made a move to leave, each one afraid of leaving the witch alone with the army of demons not to far away. "Go on...I'll meet you guys there," she said hurriedly. Her green eyes met Buffy's eyes, telling her silently that it was okay.
Buffy released a small breath of air and nodded. "Alright guys the portal's closed," she said loudly. "We have about six more minutes...maybe a little more if Willow can extend that spell. Let's get over to that alley and meet Angel and his crew." Buffy jogged across the street, Milani and Faith right behind her, and the other slayers bringing up the rear. Then the rain was pouring down, almost out of nowhere, on top of them. The girls ignored the uncomfortable feeling of their clothing being drenched as they all now stood at the entrance to the place where there lives could possibly end.
Meanwhile in the alley…
Angel grabbed Gunn and helped him settle onto a crate. He grimaced at the sight of the dark fluid on Gunn's side, face, and arms. "Jesus," Angel whispered harshly. "You shouldn't be here Gunn…not like this. Are you up to this?" Gunn nodded firmly, even as he released a groan in pain. A figure stepped out of the shadows and Angel turned quickly to the sound.
"It's only me mate," Spike whispered. His face blanched upon seeing the state Gunn was in as he came closer. "Isn't that stuff supposed to be inside? Damn it Gunn! What the hell happened over there with that senator?"
"A large group of vamps is what happened," Gunn answered sarcastically. "God I hate vampires." He realized what he said and he managed to look contrite. "No offense guys," he said apologetically, glancing at the two vampires who were apart of the team he was in. "Any of y'all heard from Wesley or the blue chick?" Both Gunn and Angel shook their heads. Gunn ran a hand over his baldhead in frustration. Wesley had to be all right. He just had to be. He couldn't lose another part of his family. First Cordelia and then Fred. Lorne wasn't dead, but he still was gone, choosing to voluntarily leave after finishing his part of Angel's plan. He couldn't lose Wesley too.
A noise was heard from above and then Illyria appeared, dropping down to the pavement in front of them. "Wesley's dead," she announced, her tone devoid of emotion. The three men all glanced down, feeling the loss of another member of their team. "I am not completely sure, but I think I am feeling grief for him," she continued, her voice now ragged, almost as if she was fighting tears. "I can't make it stop." She then turned to Angel. "I need to do more violence!" They all heard the sound of footsteps rushing towards them. Each one whirled to the sound, ready to face the danger, but instead facing a large group of girls.
Angel took a step closer to the blonde that was leading the group. "Buffy…is that you," he whispered hopefully. She nodded and then the tears that she had been fighting fell as she took in the sight of the blonde vampire standing next to him.
"Spike…oh my god," Buffy said softly. "You're alive? But how…how could you? What happened?"
"No time to explain pet," Spike said quietly. "But yes it's me. I'm alive. We'll have to put the explanations on hold for now." Spike turned his blue eyes to the brunette standing next to Buffy. "Hey Faith," he said casually. Faith nodded at him in greeting.
Just then Willow came running into the alley, her red hair fanning wildly behind her. "They're coming," she said, her eyes floating over the group. "I tried to freeze them again, but I'm a little drained. I'm sorry Buffy."
"It's okay Willow," Buffy assured her. Willow's green eyes narrowed at Spike. "Yeah it's him…he's alive," Buffy said, noting Willow's fixated stare on Spike. "Alright everybody get ready." The new slayers readied their weapons, holding them tightly down to their sides.
Milani heard a groan and she walked over to the sound. She bent down to look closely at the guy perched on a crate, holding his side in pain. She took an inventory of his body, the sight of the bruises and blood causing her to wince slightly. "Hey you okay," she asked him softly. Gunn lifted his head and stared at the girl standing in front of him, her face filled with concern. "Oh I'm just peachy," he remarked, his mouth quirking at her.
"He is not fine," said Illyria. "He won't last ten more minutes. His life line is draining."
Gunn glared at the blue-haired woman who had taken over Fred's body. "Don't worry…I'll make them memorable," he said between clenched teeth as he pushed himself to his feet.
Milani held his arm firmly when she saw him sway on his feet. "Yo Faith…get over here," she ordered. Faith pushed through the throng of girls and immediately took hold of Gunn's other arm and helped him ease back down onto the crate. "Jesus Chuck…what happened to you," she exclaimed, her voice tinged with fear. Faith glanced at Milani. "Can you heal him," she asked worriedly. Milani nodded. She then placed her hands over the most serious wound, the one on his abdomen, and focused her healing ability, feeling the warmness flow down her arms and through her hands. Her hands glowed brightly as the power flowed from her to Gunn.
Gunn felt his entire body feel warm, as if a ray of sunshine was hitting him directly full force. And then there was no pain; at least no blinding pain. The only thing left was a dull ache in his forehead and the sting of a couple bruises along his arm. Milani removed her hand and straightened until she was upright. "How are you feeling," she asked him, taking her hand and brushing it down his cheek. Gunn caught her hand in his and held it to his face. "A lot better now," he said, his eyes focused on her face. Milani stepped back from Gunn and pulled her hand out of his grasp, feeling an uncomfortable feeling envelop her. Now wasn't the time for this. They had a battle to get ready for. "You ready to fight now," Milani asked him bluntly. Gunn nodded and got to his feet.
Faith slapped him on the back playfully. "You had me worried there for a moment Gunn," she said, smirking at him. "Now grab that axe lying next to you and let's get ready." Faith and Milani walked back over to Buffy and the remaining slayers; with Angel, Spike, and Illryia leading the group a couple steps in front of them. Gunn walked over to stand next to Milani. This was it. It was time.
Angel's hand clenched around his sword tightly. "Time to get down to business," he announced forcefully.
Note: This was a long, long chapter. I don't intend for it to be a one shot. I intend to continue it. Please review if you think it's worthy of continuing.