Only Time Will Tell
Summary – Who dies when 'it' comes? Who lives? Is Spike really dead? Who else will die? The end is coming, but for who? Only time will tell…
Disclaimer – I own nothing except the idea of what happened after Not Fade Away. I don't own the characters; I don't own the original story. They belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I am just borrowing them temporarily.
Author's Note: Spike is dead! No! I hear you shout. Well my fellow Spike lovers, not all is as it seems. Read on and please review!
Chapter Four – Just Dreaming
Angel sat behind the dumpster taking deep breaths, even though he didn't need to. He stared out into the alley where Spike had stood only moments before, thinking about him. He never really pictured himself losing Spike and caring much, but it hurt him somewhere deep inside. He missed Spike.
His vision suddenly began to blur and morphed slightly, and when he was able to see clearly again he saw Spike. He was battling still in the alley, as if what had just happened never actually happened.
Angel forced himself to his feet, trying to use the wall to push himself up. He staggered out into the alley, grabbing the sword he'd had stuck in his torso, that was now lying on the ground, as a weapon. He swung feebly at some beasts, luckily catching Spike's attention.
'Angel!' he shouted. 'Get out of here! What the hell do you think you're doing? You can't fight like that!' The others all looked Angel's direction, seeing him bleeding from the two holes in his stomach caused by the swords, hunching over in pain.
'Spike you're dead!' Angel shouted. Spike was shocked.
'Excuse me?' He shouted back, slicing a demon down the shoulder and into its body.
'I saw you die!' Angel shouted at him again.
'No you didn't! You must have been hallucinating! Go back and hide before you…' he stopped as he saw a beast come running up behind Angel carrying a stake. The look on its face was nothing less than evil and twisted, as it wanted to kill Angel.
Spike ran forward, startling Angel. He grabbed Angel's shoulders and pushed him to the side just in time as the beast forced the stake forward. It sunk into Spike's chest, and he turned to face Angel.
His expression was of shock, fear, and confusion as he fell to dust. Angel stared as his century-old companion drifted to the ground.
'No!' he shouted. 'Spike!' He sunk to his knees, staring blankly into space, completely ignoring everything that was happening around him.
When he snapped out of his trance, he noticed a beast take a swipe at Gunn. It's sword sliced through his shoulder and down into his torso, slicing him almost in half. He collapsed to the ground, just as Lorne caught site of the attack.
'Gunn!' Angel screamed over the noise of swords clashing and demons screaming.
'Aagh! Oh God!' Lorne stumbled backwards, completely forgetting the battle. As he stumbled, he tripped over a body and fell to the ground. A beast rammed a sword into his chest, and Angel watched as another one of his team fell.
God! He thought. How can we all be dying so quickly and so suddenly? He scanned the alley for Illyria. She was standing on a dumpster, kicking at several beasts' heads trying to protect herself.
'Illyria!' Angel shouted.
'Angel! You said we would fall as a team, and now we are falling.' She stated. Angel weakly forced his way past some beasts and slumped beside the dumpster. He caught the eye of one of the beasts, who came his way.
'Illyria…' he called. Illyria swung her sword and sliced off the beast's head. Angel looked up at her and smiled, only to see another sword come out of nowhere and cut across her neck. Her head was not severed, but her neck was cut enough for her to bleed to death quickly. She dropped to the pavement, half landing on Angel's lap beside the dumpster.
'Angel.' She whispered as the beasts crowded around.
'Illyria.' She died in his arms, her blood covering his hands. They began to shake as he watched the beasts move in.
'Die Angelus!' One shouted, suddenly rushing forward and leaning out with a stake. Regretting his sudden, choice, Angel raised Illyria's body to take the force of the stake. It sunk into her chest, and she was forced back into him. He fell backwards, into the wall, hitting his head.
'Aagh!' he cried out in pain. He looked up again to see the beasts towering over him, their swords all raised. 'Alright guys, you wanna do it like this?' he said challengingly. He forced himself to his feet, grabbed Illyria's dropped sword and swung it in a single quick swift movement. He caught one beast by surprise, but the others attacked quickly.
He was the last one left. And with the help of a sword, he was made the last to die also. A beast swung its sword promptly after Angel and sliced across his neck, cutting his head clean off.
He screamed so loudly, feeling himself turning to dust alone in the alley. As he screamed in the pain of dying, he felt a strange sensation.
What the hell? He looked up, around the side of the dumpster. There was Spike, Illyria, Lorne and Gunn still fighting their hardest. He looked down at his stomach, seeing the two holes in himself. He took a few deep breaths, trying to take in what he had just witnessed.
'What the hell?' he said to himself aloud. He had just felt himself die, and seen all his friends die. He'd seen Spike die twice, right in front of his eyes. I must be hallucinating. He thought.
Trying to calm himself down, he watched Gunn fight. He knew his good friend wouldn't last much longer, and he could already see him beginning to let go.
'Come on Gunn, just a little longer.' He whispered to himself. He watched as Gunn gave up the fight for his life. He took a swipe at a beast, killing it. Then he just stood there, still on the spot for a moment. He wobbled then collapsed to the ground. Angel watched his eyes close on the way down, and knew his friend was dead. 'Goodbye Gunn.' He whispered.
He turned his attention to Lorne, surprised that he was able to hold out for so long. He briefly watched Illyria, who was winning all her fights with only a few fresh scratches in his leather suit. Spike, strange as it seemed to Angel, was still fighting away in the middle of the alley.
He turned to look down the alley, away from the fight. Nothing more was coming.
This can't be it. He thought. We aren't dead, so why are they stopping? The three remaining champions finished off the last of the beasts, leaving just them and Angel as the only live things in the alley.
Spike rushed back over to the dumpster to check on Angel, who despite his hallucinations, was feeling a bit better.
'You alright mate?' Spike asked.
'I thought you were dead.' Angel whispered, trying to get up. He managed to stand, though he was shaky on his feet. Lorne and Illyria wandered over to see how Angel was, only to see him in very bad shape.
'Angel, you're pretty knocked up.' Lorne stated.
'Yeah, I don't feel all that good either.' He replied, coughing. 'Where'd everything go?' he scanned the alley, seeing only dead bodies.
'Dunno Angel. Everything just died down a bit a few minutes ago.' Spike said.
'Last time this happened, there wasn't quiet for five minutes before the next round came. This isn't over yet.' Angel declared.
'But Angel, you're in no shape to keep fighting.' Lorne said.
'I know, but I don't have a choice. We don't have a choice. The end is coming and we can't stop it. All we can do is prolong it, which isn't worth the fight.'
'Angel, I'm not giving up yet.' Lorne said. 'I came back to fight with you to win this, now I find out that you've signed us a death wish? What happened to you?'
'What the hell are you talking about? I didn't sign us a death wish, and I didn't tell you that you had to come back either. That was your choice, remember?'
'Yeah I know, but I came back because I couldn't live with myself knowing that I had let you die without me fighting by your side. I couldn't do that, so I came back. But I don't want to die here tonight Angel, I can't.'
'For god's sake Lorne, didn't you hear my speech earlier. We're here to die. This fight, it's going to be our last. We've already lost Gunn, and we're soon going to have the same fate as him. I told you that we would fight as a team and fall as a team, and now we're doing that. Lorne, you can't seriously want to keep living knowing that the Senior Partners will be after you for partnering with me?'
'Yes, I do want to keep living. But then again, I don't.'
'Stop your bickering. There are more important things to be worrying about at the present time.' Illyria snapped. Angel and Lorne stopped and instantly looked her direction.
Suddenly, above their heads there was a faint rumbling. It got louder, slowly, then suddenly there was a deafening BANG. Everyone had to cover their ears as the rumbling continued, so loud that they thought their eardrums would burst. A bright flash of light drew their attention, and the four remaining champions looked up to the sky. The ground shook, and they all fell down.
'This isn't good, is it?' Lorne asked.
Next on Angel… The end has finally come. But for who?