California Trippin'
Disclaimer-I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Dark Angel, only the parts that I make up in this story.
Summary-This is a crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Max, Alec, Jondy, and Krit leave Seattle in need of a vacation. Everything has blown over with the transgenics and familiars. The virus between Max and Logan is cured but they aren't together. The transgenics are free to roam around without the hate groups and so they decide to go to California, where Buffy and the gang are dealing with the First.
Pairings-I finally figured out what the pairings are...Max/Spike, Jondy/Krit, Faith/Alec, and Buffy/Angel.
Chapter Thirteen-Finishing It
Giles, Xander, Willow, Dawn, Anya, Spike, Faith, and the transgenics were all staring at Buffy incredulously. She had a small smile on her face.
"So what do you think?" she asked.
"Well that depends...are you in any way...kidding?" Xander replied.
"You don't like it?"
"It's pretty radical, B," Faith said. Buffy bit her lip worriedly.
"That it is," Giles added. "A lot more so as well. Buffy, what you said, it-it flies in the face of everything we've ever-every generation has ever done in its fight against evil." He grinned widely. "I think it's bloody brilliant." Buffy smiled in relief.
"You really think so?" Giles nodded, so did the others, except Willow.
"Whoa. Hate to poop on the party here, but I'm the guy that's gonna have to pull this off. This goes beyond anything I've ever done. It's total loss of control. And not in a nice, wholesome, my girlfriend has pierced tongue kind of way," she said. Dawn gave her a confused look while the others discreetly looked away.
"I wouldn't ask if I didn't think you could do this," Buffy replied. Willow slowly shook her head in disbelief.
"I-I just don't know if I'm stable enough for something like this," she said softly.
"You can do this Willow. We'll get the coven on the line, and we'll find out how they can help," Giles assured.
"Oh!" Dawn suddenly commented, nodding. "'Pierced tongue'." Buffy's eyes widened.
"Dawn needs to do a research thing," she said quickly. Dawn rolled her eyes.
"It's cool," she replied. "Watcher junior to the library." She walked out of the room.
"I'll go dig up my sources. Quite literally, actually," Giles added as he also left the room.
"Come on, let's go assemble the cannon fodder," Anya said to Xander. He rolled his eyes.
"That's not what we're calling them, sweetie," he replied as they walked out together.
"Not to their faces. What am I, insensitive?" Anya asked as they continued down the hall.
Buffy handed the scythe over to Willow and then left the room. The others followed.
Buffy was pacing around her living room, addressing a room full of potentials, the transgenics, and her other friends.
"I hate this," she began. "I hate being here. I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and I hate that I've been chosen to fight it. I wish, a whole lot of the time, that I hadn't been. I know a lot of you wish that also." Kennedy and Rona looked away. "But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready, now. Tomorrow morning, I'm opening that seal. I'm going down into the hellmouth. I'm finishing this once and for all. Right now you're asking yourself, 'what makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It's true that none of you have the power that Faith and I have. Or the transgenics, for that matter. So here's the part where you make a choice."
Faith, Alec, and Robin were moving furniture around in the basement of the Sunnydale High School.
"It's one hell of a risky idea," Alec commented. Faith smiled.
"Yeah. Buffy's just wacky that way," she said. Robin looked around.
"There's one more vent right by the stairs. We block that, they got no sewer access, should drive them straight up into the school," he explained.
"That's assuming they get past us," Faith replied.
"Which, no offense, I am," Robin said. Alec and Faith rolled their eyes.
"Just got to have a little faith," Faith retorted, giving Alec a pointed look. He grinned as Robin rolled his eyes at the exchange.
"I think we're done here," he said, stepping back from a shelf they had just moved to block the vent by the stairs. "See ya back at Buffy's house."
"Check it out, it's another old guy to annoy," Alec joked as Robin left. Faith smirked.
"Annoyed a lot of elderly in your time?" she questioned. Alec laughed.
"Mostly just one. But it was just too easy. He thought I was gonna steal Max from him," he explained. Faith raised an eyebrow.
"Why? Cause you're so hot?" she joked. Alec smirked and held his arms out wide.
"Of course," he replied. Faith rolled her eyes. "What? You think you're hotter than me?" Faith imitated his posture.
"It's what it is, yo." Alec scoffed.
"Oh please. I am so much prettier than you are." Faith looked taken aback. A beat of silence passed.
"No way are you prettier than me," she argued. Alec grinned as they started walking out of the basement.
"Little bit, yeah," he retorted.
Buffy's House (Night)...
Jondy, Giles, Andrew, and Xander were all sitting at the dining room table, looking intently at a map.
"I'm-I'm all turned around. You're here?" Giles pointed to a spot. Xander nodded.
"By the pillar, yeah. I'm protecting the area," he replied.
"That puts me over by the door. Demons around the perimeter..." Giles mumbled. "Right! I open the door." Andrew was sitting across from Xander, wearing a red hooded cloak.
"You go through the door and are confronted by Trogdor the Burninator," he read from a book.
"Oh bugger it. Fight," Giles muttered as he rolled the dice and then took a sip of his wine.
"Adios to five hit points. Trogdor has badly wounded you," Andrew said, grinning.
"Well, wait a minute. What about my...bag of illusions?" Giles questioned. Andrew scoffed.
"Illusions against a Burninator? Silly, silly British man," he replied.
"I invoke a time flux on Trogdor," Jondy interrupted. Andrew turned to look at her, flipping his cloak as if it were long hair, and waggled his finger.
"Step down, girlfriend, you can't just..."
"Ninth level sorcerer, and I carry the emerald chalice. Trogdor is frozen in time. Deal with it," Jondy replied, writing something down. Xander grinned.
"Smackdown on Red Riding Hood. This could get ugly," he joked. Andrew scowled and rested his head on his arms.
"Could it possibly get uglier? I used to be a highly respected watcher, and now I'm a wounded dwarf with the mystical strength of a doily. I just wish I could go to sleep," Giles complained, rubbing his eyes.
"What kind of person could sleep on a night like this?" Andrew questioned. Jondy and Xander looked over to the chairs beside them. Krit and Anya were both passed out, snoring. They rubbed their significant others' hair, smiling.
"Only the crazy ones," they chorused.
Spike and Max were laying down on Spike's cot, holding each other.
"What do you think it's gonna be like?" Max asked as she stroked his arm that was wrapped around her waist.
"Dunno, luv," Spike replied. "These apocalypses never copy each other. They're rude like that." Max laughed softly and snuggled closer to him.
"So what did Angel have to say?" Max questioned. Spike hesitated before answering.
"Brought some useful info," he said. Max turned her head up to look at him.
"That's it?" she asked suspiciously. Spike sighed.
"No. He also brought a trinket that'll somehow help us," he explained. Max stared at him.
"A trinket is what's gonna help us? What exactly is it supposed to do?"
"Dunno, luv. Guess we'll have to wait and see," Spike said cryptically. Max narrowed her eyes at him.
"You're not telling me something," she replied bluntly. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Bloody hell woman. You don't have to go all 'detective' on me," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the amulet. "This is it. I really don't know what it'll do...but I'm gonna wear it." Max's eyes widened.
"You're gonna wear it when you don't even know what it does?" she asked, shock seeping into her voice. Spike nodded and smirked.
"Can't do too much damage, can it? It's just a little jewelry," he replied. Max frowned and untangled herself from him, standing up. She paced back and forth as Spike sat up and looked at her with concern. "Something wrong, pet?" Max turned to face him, worry etched on her face.
"You have to promise me something, Spike," she said. Spike's brow furrowed but he nodded. "Promise?"
"You gotta tell me what it is I'm promising first, luv," he retorted, smirking. Max exhaled deeply.
"If this amulet thing turns out to be more dangerous than you know...promise me..." she hesitated. "Promise me you won't wear it." Spike's eyes widened and he laughed in disbelief.
"Max..." he began, but Max just stared at him, worry becoming more prominent.
"Promise me," she repeated emphatically. Spike bit his lip and nodded.
"I promise, luv," he replied. Max sighed in relief and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly, not noticing he had crossed his fingers.
Sunnydale High School (Next Morning)...
A school bus was parked in front of the school. A car had been driven onto campus and crashed into a palm tree. Papers and boxes were strewn all over the grounds. Robin was leading Buffy, Faith, Dawn, Giles, the transgenics, and the others into the school.
"Welcome to Sunnydale High," he said, as if instructing a class on a field trip. "There's no running in the hallways, no yelling, no gum chewing. Aside from that, there's only one rule." He turned to face the crowd. "If they move, kill 'em."
"Ok, potentials, in the basement. Follow Faith, Spike, and the transgenics," Buffy ordered. They left.
"If you have to go to the bathroom, it's to your left. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face. Better to go now," Xander advised.
"Willow, my office is straight through there," Robin said, pointing it out.
"It's right over the seal," Buffy added.
"I'll start getting you set up," Kennedy said, taking a bag from Willow and heading off.
"Ok, civilians. The vampires get upstairs, we have three areas they could get through to another building and then down to the sewers," Robin instructed, pointing out each one. "Down the hall in the atrium, the north hall here, and the primary target, through the lounge straight to the science building. Now odds are, most of them will head there."
"Teams of two then. I suggest you and I take the lounge," Giles replied. Robin nodded his agreement.
"Xander, I want you with Dawn," Buffy ordered. Xander nodded.
"I concur," he said jokingly.
"We'll check out the atrium," Dawn replied.
"So that leaves me and the dungeon master in the north hall?" Anya asked.
"We will defend it with our very lives," Andrew said dramatically.
"Yes, we will defend it with his very life," Anya mended. Andrew glanced at her, slightly worried.
"And don't be afraid to use him as a human shield," Xander added. Anya nodded, smiling. Andrew took out a piece of paper from his pocket.
"I just want to say how proud I am to die for this brave cause," he said. "And there's just some people I'd like to thank. A shout out to my brother Tucker, who gave me the inspiration to summon demons and also..."
"No one cares you little monkey," Anya interrupted and the two of them walked away.
"I'm gonna go check out our field of engagement," Dawn said, turning to go. Buffy went after her.
"Dawn..."
Dawn turned to face her. "No," she said resolutely. "Anything you say is gonna sound like goodbye." She turned and continued walking away.
Buffy walked back to the group still standing in the hallway. It was only Willow, Xander, and Giles. They stared at each other in a heavy silence a moment before Buffy broke the ice.
"So...What do you guys want to do tomorrow?" she asked casually.
"Nothing strenuous," Willow replied.
"Well, mini-golf is the first thing that comes to mind," Xander added.
"I think we can do better than that," Giles argued.
"I was thinking about shopping," Buffy replied.
"I could use a few items," Xander commented.
"Well, now aren't we gonna discuss this? Save the world to go to the mall?" Giles asked.
"I'm having a wicked shoe craving."
"Aren't you on the patch?"
"Those things never work."
"Here I am, invisible to the eye..."
Xander, Willow, and Buffy walked together down the hall from Giles. When they passed the Principal's office, Willow stepped in. Xander and Buffy continued walking until they came to a corridor. Xander grabbed Buffy's hand and squeezed it before walking away. Buffy continued down the hall by herself.
Buffy joined Faith and the others in the basement where the seal was located. They formed a circle around the edge of it.
"You first, B," Faith said, handing her a knife. Buffy sighed and took it, using it to cut her palm so it bled. She handed the knife to Faith, who did the same. The knife continued around the circle until everyone held their cut hands over the seal, activating it. It opened and parts of it sunk into the ground, forming a staircase into the hellmouth. Buffy went in first, followed by Faith.
They all examined their new surroundings. Spike looked down at the amulet that he wore around his neck.
"Hate to be a buzzkill, but my fabulous accessory isn't exactly tingling with power," he said. Buffy ignored him and continued to look around, slack-jawed.
"I'm not worried," she said.
"I'm getting zero juice here. And I look like Elizabeth Taylor," Spike complained. Max laughed softly.
"No you don't. You know you're hot," she replied. Spike smirked but didn't say anything.
"Yeah, cheer up, Liz," Faith added. "If Willow's big spell doesn't work, it won't matter what you wear."
They walked toward the edge of a cliff, overlooking thousands and thousands of Ubervamps below them on the floor of the hellmouth.
"I'm not worried," Buffy repeated. The Ubervamps growled and made noise as they mobbed below them. Spike backed up. "I'm not worried."
"Really?" Rona questioned, panicky. "Cause I'm flashing back to Xander's bathroom speech."
"I'm not worried," Buffy repeated, voice shaking slightly. "As long as Willow can work her spell before they..." The Ubervamps looked up at Buffy and the gang. "See us." The snarling Ubervamps rushed towards the cliff where Buffy and the others were positioned. "Willow..."
Willow was in the Principal's office, performing her spell while holding onto the scythe in front of her. Suddenly, she was overcome with power. She looked up as the scythe and her began to glow with a bright white light.
"Oh...my...Goddess..." she said breathlessly.
Flashback...
Buffywas addressing the potentials and her friends.
"So here's the part where you make a choice: What if you could have that power...now? In every generation, one slayer is born...because a bunch of men who died a thousand years ago made up that rule." She pointed to Willow. "This woman is more powerful than all of them combined." Willow winced."So I say we change the rule. I say my power...becomes our power. Tomorrow, Willow will use the essence of this scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a slayer, will be a slayer. Every girl who could have the power, will have the power...can stand up...will stand up. Slayers...every one of us. Make your choice...are you ready to be strong?"
End Flashback...
Vi, Rona, Amanda, and the other potentials all closed their eyes and breathed in with a start.
The Ubervamps continued rushing at them as Buffy and the others stood on the edge of the cliff, waiting for battle.
"These guys are dust," Vi said confidently.
Buffy fought off a few Ubervamps with punches and kicks as usual, but the potentials now had super strength as well. Vi jumped and kicked a Ubervamp down. Rona punched another one in the face, knocking it down. Faith fought one off as well. Amanda staked one through the heart while Vi beheaded another.
Max twirled in the air and kicked the head off of the one she was fighting. She spun around and staked another in the heart. Alec elbowed an Ubervamp in the face after he had viciously scratched his arm. Alec twirled the axe that he held in his hand and then beheaded the vamp. He tossed the axe to Krit who quickly cut off the head of another. He jumped in the air and flipped over a Ubervamp that had rushed him. He staked it without turning around and beheaded another one before he tossed the axe to Jondy, who had just staked one in the heart.
Kennedy appeared with the scythe. "Buffy! Catch!" she yelled, throwing Buffy the scythe. Buffy quickly used it to behead three Ubervamps in a row, and knocked down a few more. Vi pummeled one and backhanded it across the face before staking it. Rona elbowed one in the face before she cut its head off with her sword.
As their numbers increased, some of the Ubervamps managed to get past the gang into the school.
"I think they're coming," Andrew said worriedly, hiding behind Anya.
"Oh god...I'm terrified. I didn't think I would be. I mean...I-I figured that you'd be terrified and I'd just be sarcastic about it," Anya complained.
"Picture happy things..." Andrew advised. "A lake, candy canes, bunnies."
"Bunnies!" Anya said, suddenly getting angry. "Floppy, hoppy..." She held up her sword, ready to attack. "Bunnies."
Giles and Robin defended an exit together. The Ubervamps flooded the hallways. They far outnumbered them, but they managed to hold their own. Giles sliced one across the neck while Robin kicked and punched some more.
Anya fought valiantly as the Ubervamps flooded the corridor. Andrew backed away as a Ubervamp rushed at him, snarling.
"I have swimmer's ear!" Andrew called out as he was pushed against the wall. Anya dusted two vamps in a row.
Spike was fighting off the Ubervamps along with the others when he stepped back and looked down at the amulet around his neck. He touched it, but it burnt his hand.
"Max!" he called out. "Whatever this thing does, I think it's..." he winced and moaned in pain. Max looked over at him in worry but couldn't get to him, as more Ubervamps flooded her path.
"Keep the line together! Drive them to the edge!" Buffy ordered the others. An Ubervamp snuck up behind her. "We can't let them do..." She gasped and looked down as a sharp pain pierced her stomach.She sawthatit had stabbed her with a sword from behind, piercing her abdomen. She stumbled forward and collapsed to the ground, face-first.
"Buffy!" Faith yelled, rushing to her side. Buffy leaned up on her elbows.
"Hold the line," she said weakly, handing Faith the scythe. Faith took it and went back into the battle as Buffy stayed in place, grunting in pain.
Xander and Dawn guarded their exit as the Ubervamps made their way toward them. Dawn held up a sword but stood cautiously away as Xander engaged them full-on. He could hold them back, but not kill them, so Dawn pulled a rope, dropping a sandbag and opening a skylight window in the ceiling. It flooded the room and turned the Ubervamps into dust.
"We call that the greenhouse effect," Xander said to the piles of dust. "Very dangerous..." An Ubervamp tackled him, knocking him down. Dawn went to help fight him off.
Bringers had made their way to the fight and were attacking Andrew. Anya fought them off, but there were too many. While she stabbed one with her sword, another one sliced diagonally through her torso from behind, killing her.
As Giles and Robin fought some Bringers as well, one stabbed Robin in the stomach. Giles killed the Bringer that stabbed him and then caught Robin as he fell toward him.
Spike continued fighting the Ubervamps. Punching one, staking another, and kicking the next. A group of Ubervamps attacked Faith.
"Rona!" she called out and tossed her the scythe. Rona used it to mow down a few of the vamps. Buffy was still laying on the ground, weak and wounded. The First appeared in front of her in her form.
"Oh no..." She looked down at the wound in her side that mirrored Buffy's. "Ow! Mommy, this mortal wound is all...itchy." She smirked."You pulled a nice trick. You came pretty close to smacking me down. What more do you want?" Buffy looked up at her.
"I want you..." she spoke through gritted teeth as she began to stand up. "To get out...of my face."
Rona saw Buffy standing and tossed her the scythe. Buffy caught it and swung it with mighty force, knocking five Ubervamps off the cliff at once. Faith took out a few Ubervamps as well. Vi took one out after another. Kennedy disarmed one and dusted two. Buffy knocked one over the cliff and killed one with the scythe. Krit beheaded another one with a sword. Jondy staked two with a long wooden shaft. Alec cut off the head of one with his axe while Max did the same with a sword. Spike gasped and stumbled backward away from the fight as he clutched his chest, then his burned hand.
"Oh, bollocks," he said simply before a bright blue light shot up from the amulet, knocking a hole in the ceiling, going up through the floor of the Principal's office by Willow and through to the open sky. The light turned a warm orange color. "Max!"
"Spike!" Max called back. Before she could get to his side, the amulet refracted the orange light into the hellmouth like rays of sunshine, but with concentrated intensity like a laser. Max stared at Spike. As the amulet worked its magic, the Ubervamps dusted throughout the hellmouth. The ground started shaking.
"Everybody, out! Now!" Buffy called to the others. Everyone rushed to the stairs that led out of the seal. Max ran to Spike's side. Amazement shown on his face.
"I can feel it, Max," he said.
"What?" Max asked, tears falling down her cheeks. He looked at her.
"My soul. It's really there. Kinda stings."
The others rushed out of the basement up to the hallway. They went past Andrew. A Bringer was hovering over him, but it fell back to reveal Andrew's sword in its chest.
"What...why?" Andrew muttered in shock. A girl helped him to his feet.
Giles helped the wounded Robin walk. As the ground started to shake even more, they saw the school bus sitting out front.
"The bus. Get them on the bus," Robin said weakly. Giles let go of him and turned to the girls coming out of the building.
"Everybody, this way!" he called.
Kennedy helped the weakened Willow walk. Xander and Dawn made their way out of the building as well. As the building fell down around them, Xander screamed out for Anya. He didn't notice her limp and lifeless body lying on the floor beneath some rubble. Dawn pulled him away toward the exit.
Spike was still glowing from the amulet, sending rays of light into the hellmouth. Max stood in front of him, staring with tears still falling down her cheeks. Buffy stood next to her, holding her scythe.
"Go on then," Spike told them.
"No. You've done enough, you could still..." Buffy began.
"No," Spike interrupted her. "You've beaten them back. It's for me to do the clean up." The walls were crumbling around them.
"Max! Buffy!" Faith called down. "Come on!" Buffy sent Spike and Max one last look before running up the stairs.
"Hurry Max!" she yelled before disappearing.
"Gotta move, lamb. I think it's fair to say school's out for bloody summer," Spike said.
"Spike!" Max shouted, worried.
"I mean it! I gotta do this!" Spike held out his hand to stop her. Sobs racked Max's body as she laced her fingers through Spike's, and they burst into flame together.
"You bastard," Max said, finding it very difficult to talk as tears continued to flood her vision. "You were gonna wear this amulet no matter happened." Spike smiled softly at her.
"Figured that out did you?"
"You lied. You ungrateful bastard. You lied to me!" Spike grasped her hand tighter as tears began to fall from his eyes as well.
"I'm sorry, luv. But I have to do this." Max looked into his eyes.
"I love you," she said softly. Spike smiled.
"I love you too," he replied in the same tone. Another earthquake shook the ground and Max was forced to let go of his hand. "Now go!" Max sent him one last teary look before running up the stairs. "I wanna see how it ends."
The school building exploded. Faith and Buffy ran out from the cloud of smoke and jumped into the bus. It drove off with Jondy, Krit, Alec, Buffy, and Faith staring out the back window.
Max ran through the hallway, avoiding the debris that had fallen to the floor as well as what was still falling as the ground continued to shake. The door was blocked so Max went upstairs.
Spike stood in the crumbling hellmouth with light shining down on him from above, grinning from ear to ear and laughing as he burned up from the sunlight. He dusted slowly-first his skin singed, then his muscles, then his bones-then he was gone. The hellmouth crumbled in around him.
Max was running along the rooftops of the shopping mall as the bus drove down the street. The buildings were collapsing around her as she blurred to catch up with the bus. She leapt from building to building, then finally jumped toward the street and landed on it.
The whole town collapsed in on itself, being sucked back into the Earth.
Faith looked out the window of the bus.
"Ease off, we're clear!" she called to Robin, who though wounded, had been driving. He turned the ignition off, leaned back in his chair, and sighed.
Max jumped down off the top of the bus and looked around. Faith opened the emergency exit door at the back of the bus and jumped down to give Max a warm hug. Buffy hugged her as well, knowing what she had lost.
Giles looked around down the street in front of them. "I don't understand," he said. "Who did this?" Buffy stepped away from Max to join him as Max was hugged by Jondy, Krit, and Alec at the same time.
"Spike," she explained simply. As more people got off the bus, she walked away to stand a few feet toward Sunnydale, which was just a vast cavern. The 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign stood precariously tall before it teetered slightly and fell into the pit.
Xander walked up to Andrew as he got off the bus. "So...did you see?" he asked softly. Andrew couldn't look at him.
"I-I was scared. I'm sorry," he replied.
"Did you see what happened? I mean, was she..." Andrew finallyfaced him.
"She was incredible," he answered. "She died saving my life." Xander put his hand on Andrew's shoulder and nodded, a tear falling down his cheek.
"That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing," he smiled. He walked away toward Buffy.
Alec put his arm around Max's waist while Faith put her arm around her shoulder and leaned they leaned their heads together. Max's expression was numb but she was very grateful for the comfort.
Buffy was still staring at the canyon that was once Sunnydale. Dawn stood beside her, then Giles joined them, as did Xander, Willow, Faith, Max, Alec, Jondy, and Krit.
"Looks like the hellmouth is officially closed for business," Faith commented.
"There's another one in Cleveland. Not to spoil the moment," Giles added. He bent to pick up a rock and threw it into the canyon.
"We saved the world," Xander said softly.
"We changed the world," Willow mended, walking up to Buffy's side. "I can feel them. All over. Slayers are awaking everywhere.
"We'll have to find them," Max suddenly croaked, breaking away from Faith and Alec and going closer to the canyon.
"We will," Buffy said softly.
"All those shops gone," Xander added. "The Gap, Starbucks, Toys 'R' Us. Who will remember those important landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"
"We have a lot of work ahead of us," Giles said. Faith rolled her eyes and turned to Willow.
"Can I push him in?"
"You've got my vote."
"I just wanna sleep, yo, for like a week," Faith laughed, giving Giles a playful push.
"I guess we all could, if we wanted to," Krit commented.
"Spike..." Max mumbled softly, tears beginning to fall again. Buffy's expression changed to one of concern as she walked up to her and hugged her tightly. "He's really gone...how could he leave me? Oh god...I miss him so much..." More sobs racked her body and Buffy looked over at the transgenics, silently pleading for their help. Jondy stepped forward and guided Max away from the group, where she could comfort her.
Jondy patted Max's back, whispering soothing words as she continued to cry.
"It'll be okay Max," she said. "It will." Max pulled away to look at her.
"How can you be so sure?" she cried. "How can you know that it'll get better? How?" Jondy gave her a sad smile.
"Because you have to believe it," she explained. "You have to believe it'll be alright. Spike died, I know. But he died saving the world. And I know he wouldn't want you to mourn for him the rest of your life. He'd want you to live your life being happy. Surrounded by family and friends. That's how you can truly prove your love for him. Honor his existence but don't turn it into a depression." Max smiled softly through her tears and hugged Jondy again. She looked up at the sky, wanting to believe that's where Spike was.
"I love you," her voice was barely above a whisper. "Always."
The End
A/N-Many of you probably hate me for this ending but I promised before, there will be a definite sequel. So don't start throwing the tomatoes yet...As for the sequel, it'll be a crossover with Dark Angel, Angel and Buffy. A lot of you wanted to know who Buffy would be with...and though she just had a short scene with Angel, that was person that comforted her before the big fight. Thanks to all those that reviewed: Alexandra Bruderlin, Sky Angel, ontheDL, LadyV77, Angel of Darkness231, big red, knocky7, Lozz422, RavynJensen, Tap Dancing Widow, Sigma1, kim, anon, cora, Doza, nights-ether, Katherine, mel11, steph, and anyone else who read this story. Thanks again ;o)