A/N: This is an idea that just won't leave me alone. Two fics are going undone because this idea won't leave me alone. Four original characters, Angel, Spike, the early Scoobs, it's all good. Basically, I'm aiming this fic for originality and humour. It'll be a little dark at the start, but it will get lighter and funnier as we go on. Hopefully… As for pairings, you have to wait and see. So nurr :P. Thanks and a special wink to Ultrawoman, and double thanks to Ezekeiel Rage, my lurvely betas.

Disclaimer: I'm doing it again. I seem to be unable to write a fic without bringing in someone new. This time I'm bringing in four someones. Some people. Hmm…

XXX

.:DENUO:.

XXX

Second Chances

"Greetings, gentle viewer. I, Annalisa Mevirium Telomire, am your tekcoder and I am recording the End of Days itself. I am unsure as to when, if ever, this will be seen so I shall recount for you the dire situation we find ourselves in.

The situation began in the year 2003CE. The holy Buffy Summers, along with the revered Willow Rosenberg and their saintly circle cast a spell which released the potential of all slayers. There was no longer one slayer to defend against the demons and the darkness, but many. It was a mighty blow for the forces of good, and after Giles the Wise reinstituted the Watcher's Council there was an age where those who fought in the light began to win the everlasting battle, that lasted until 2134CE.

2134CE is a year that is recorded as the worst in human history. An entire Talon of slayers turned rogue and assisted in the opening of a Hellmouth. The demons poured forth in uncountable numbers, guided by a being of unbelievable evil. All our research on the matter showed us was that this being was called the Taunter.

At first, the slayers and the jelts -- err, that's non-slayer human fighter if you don't know -- did well, both fighting against the ever growing demon numbers and the riots that stemmed from the public being forced to accept the reality of demons. However, by 2190CE our morale had reached an all time low. The demons still flooded without number and we had lost many of our best and brightest and still no end was in sight.

Then came the glorious day of December 25th 2190, a day that shall forever be marked in calendars as special from then on. Angel and Spike, the ensouled vampires made themselves known. Their appearance brought hope to the people of Earth. Two vampires, the strength of their human souls combating and defeating the innate darkness within them. They were a beacon of hope to millions, their immortal, endless struggle against the Taunter and it's minions.

Their skill, experience and dedication to the battle rose morale sky-high. Morale only got higher in the Autumn of 2234 when the forces of the Taunter succumbed to their demonic nature and began to battle amongst themselves. Humankind had something of a reprieve then, and the final bastions of our society were defended. Life went on.

However, the war was still being lost. Every battle lost killed as many innocents as soldiers - if not more - and every battle won still had casualties. It was taking time the human race didn't have to breed and train warriors, unlike the demons who spawned in hundreds and were battle-ready from the get-go. They were like a flood, slowly rising to engulf the remainder of humanity.

The brilliant General Angel then recalled something from his earlier times, a story he described as biblical. It entailed God sending down a flood to wash away the impure, and he charged a man named Noah to take his family and two of every animal onto his ark in order to save life. And thus the plan for the Arks was begun.

Six giant interstellar spacecraft to shuttle man to safety, each loaded with enough nepenthe to scorch the surface of the Earth clean. It was to be a fighting evacuation, with us fleeing to safety while striking one last blow at the heart of the demons, making the Earth uninhabitable even for them.

Construction was slow. The demons raided any transports, halting those carrying the necessary equipment for the construction to begin. It was the brave general Spike who came up with the solution. It seemed the Taunter carried a personal grudge against the inestimable Spike from plans that the devastatingly attractive vampire had foiled as far back as 2003CE.

Spike, and a select number of slayers and jelts, would make a dash into demon forces and begin a melee that quickly drew all the demons in a four hundred mile radius to their location, allowing the transporters to escape. These death runs had delightfully few casualties because, as General Spike had predicted, once such a large number of demons came together the violence grew on it's own and the champions could escape to safety.

Eventually, late in the year 2299CE, the Arks were completed. People began to, with aid from the death runs, sneak into the launch site: Australia, the last place large enough to house the Arks still in human control. The first Ark was launched June 2nd, 2300CE. It was a tragedy.

The scientists had not calculated for the atmospheric changes wrought by the Hellmouth's opening and had in fact been working off calculations several hundred years old, meaning the Ark couldn't handle the increased pressure. The hull buckled and the Ark was torn in half under the pressure between engine and gravity. Millions of lives were lost when the nepenthe stored on the ship sprayed over the other Arks and the landing area, corroding much of the work done.

It was the lowest point in human history to date, and hopefully ever. The Taunter was now aware of our plans for escape and Australia was besieged by countless demons. The death runs ceased to work as the outer perimeter was one endless battle and even the small repairs necessary to fix the Arks became nigh on impossible.

By 2363CE, though, the Arks were ready once more to be launched. Almost all of the remaining weaponry was fired in an endless barrage to cut a swathe in the mess of demons living, fighting and breeding around humanity's only chance for survival. The remainder of our people came running to the comparative safety, bringing what food and weapons they could. It was a lamentably small number.

The demons compounded their attack, but the added numbers and guns turned the battle our way even though the food was dwindling rapidly. The two billion remaining humans, down from seventeen billion only two hundred and fifty years ago, took two years to be organised onto the Arks safely.

It is now August 24th 2365CE. The Arks are loaded and as safe as can be. The launch time is in three hours. In order to properly defend the escaping Arks, six brave souls have decided to stay behind, sacrificing their lives in order to protect the remainder of the human race. I, myself, am one of these six and by far the least brave. As I stated earlier, I am here to record the End of Days, and if the Arks do not work then this entire exercise may very well have been futile.

However, we must remain optimistic. I have utmost confidence that the Arks will take off perfectly well and that future generations will watch my fears with tolerant amusement. I shall now take you to meet the other five who are staying behind, good viewer.

Lean, lithe, powerful. Spike is a 485 year-old vampire with a soul. He has been in possession of his soul for 365 years now and he still strives for atonement for the 120 years he spent as a soulless killer. Spike! Spike, why have you chosen to remain here as a martyr instead of fleeing on the Arks?"

"Get that bloody thing out of my face you daft bint!"

"I- inspiring words. The next of the brave souls sacrificing themselves for humanity is the only surviving member of the last death runner squad two years ago, Derekthel Inogu Shawai. Derekthel, why have you elected to stay behind?"

"Argh!! Mekh! Don't sneak up on someone like that when they're cleaning their weapon pad. You nearly caused me to blow the doors open."

"I'm sorry, but can you share why you have chosen to remain behind?"

"…I've been lucky. I mean, obviously not too much because I'm here, right? But overall, I've been lucky. I haven't lost anyone really close to me to the demons. My ma, my pa, my little sis, my big bro, they're all fine. I guess it's for them that I'm staying. What's that old saying that Angel brings up every time Spike screws something? 'If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself'? Well, that's what I'm doing. I can't trust anyone else with my family's life. Besides, better for repopulation to lose a gay guy than a straight one, right?"

"Ha. I guess so. Thank you for sharing with us, Derekthel."

"Hey, not gonna bother me. I'm going to be dead in a few hours anyway, right?"

"Uhh…. The next person in our little group is Marelatoy Hestoravik Tyverley, the most talented technician left on the face of the planet. Tell the viewers why you're staying behind to be in the rearguard."

"It's simple, really. I have to see how it ends. I love this planet and everybody on it, and I don't think I have it in me to abandon it. I'm here to take out as many of those demons as possible before I go, as well as increasing the chance for the Arks' success. Let's face it, I'm the best shot left."

"That was moving, Marelatoy. I'm sure future generations will appreciate your honesty. And now on to the last human member of our crew. Angemina Yuspike is the last of the slayers. Named after her heroes, Angel and Spike themselves, her efforts and attitude have considerably brightened the gloom that has surrounded us since our decision to stay. Angemina, why have you chosen to stay?"

"Oh. My. Tel! Am I gonna be on tekscreen? That is so awesome! Hey there, future peoples! Check this out!"

"Ange- Angemina! That's a very impressive handstand, but can I ask you why you're staying?"

"Oh, sure thing. It's what slayers do. We do the fighting so other people, normal people, can keep on living. Yeah, it's going to bite the big one when I die, but at least I'll die knowing that everyone else is safe. That's more than any other slayer has gotten."

"That- that was beautiful. Thank you Angemina. And now we're going to speak with our fearless leader, Angel. A 612 year old vampire, having a soul for all but one hundred and forty seven of those years, he is the oldest surviving fighter for the side of good. Angel, why have you decided to remain behind?"

"To finish this. Spike and I are demons. We have souls, but that doesn't change the fact that there's a demon inside each of us just screaming to be allowed to rip, tear, kill. If we die here, then it's ended. For good or not, humans will be in complete control of their own destiny."

"Piss of, Peaches. You can't be trying to say your bloody decision to play martyr has nothing to do with the fact that hair gel hasn't existed for too hundred sodding years."

"As though yours has nothing to do with the lack of peroxide this century!"

"Umm, words of great emotional maturity from our leaders. These will be the last words I share with you, viewer. We now go to face our death, and ensure your life."

XXX

The Arks exploded into action, great jets of flame scorching the dry, barren earth beneath them as the lumbering hulks finally lifted themselves into the air. The demons went wild, trying to swarm towards the massive ships only to be cut down from the intense fire and preliminary jets of nepenthe being launched at them. The smarter of the demons began to flood the launch tunnel, where six unlikely heroes waited their death, reasoning that the ships couldn't stop an attack from below.

The demons scrambled down the long concrete corridor, their heavily muscled bodies hidden underneath chitinous armour, only to be met with a bizarre site. Three men stood with one woman, each baring a Nightweapon - blades of pure energy and handles of lightweight steel - and two women mounting a pair of Railguns behind them.

They let out an enraged roar as the high calibre bolts tore through the first of them, but the unstoppable press of numbers pushed the fight too close for the Railguns to be of much use. As the Arks finally penetrated the atmosphere and began to unload their full payload of nepenthe, the six warriors battled furiously, battled desperately to ensure the safety of those leaving them behind.

Suddenly the demons froze in their places. All sound stopped except the heavy breathing of the four humans. Looking around in confusion, the six were surprised to suddenly find themselves in a marble chamber instead of the dim concrete tunnel. Two gold skinned figures, man and woman dressed only in flowing white toga, stood at the head of the chamber.

"Angel. Spike. You have played your part in the apocalypse and you shall receive your reward. Your Shanshu," the female figure stated monotonously. Spike snorted.

"That's blood rich. Get to come back as real boys when there's no-one left to play with."

"We do not appreciate you insolence, vampire," the male stated coldly. "We are aware that this dimension is lost. Instead, we offer a choice." The six waited for the male to continue, nearly jumping out of their skin when the woman began to speak behind them, having walked around while their attention was on the other.

"You can return to your dimension and die honourable deaths and ascend to the realms of light, or you may Shanshu in another dimension; one in which you do not exist yet. What do you choose, vampires?"

"We're not going anywhere without these four. It's either all of us or none of us."

"YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO ARGUE, VAMPIRE!" the male roared.

"For half a millennium I have fought your battles. I have done the right thing. This is the least you could do for us."

There was a tense silence.

"Very well."

XXX

A/N: Well, I think that went well, all in all. Few things to mention before my standard plea for reviews. After each date has been CE, instead of AD. CE is abbreviated from Common Era, a name some secular scholars are using, and my reason is to indicate the total secularisation of the government in my world. Second thing, Denuo is Latin for anew, for a second time. I think it's appropriate. This is going to be my most abitious project to date, focusing on nine characters (at least) frequently. Insert standard plea for reviews. Lemme know how you feel people, 'cos I have a lot of ideas for this one.