Only Time Will Tell
Summary – The battle has been fought. Twice. Now the end has come, 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 Five – Not Afraid of Death
The rumbling continued, as the sky flashed with a bright white light. It was almost like a horrifying storm with thunder and lightning, but Angel, Spike, Lorne and Illyria all knew that it wasn't.
'Angel, what do you suppose we do now?' Spike asked, trying to stand up as the ground continued to shake.
'I don't know. Wait and see what's coming first, then we'll decide what to do.' Angel replied, steadying himself using a wall. He was beginning to get over his injuries, but he knew that it would take him days to fully recover.
'Fine, but whatever it is better hurry up.' Spike cursed, just as another brilliant flash of light appeared. A crackling behind them caught their attention, and they all spun around to discover an orange and red sphere forming in the middle of the alley.
'Oh God…' Angel moaned.
'Oh God what? Oh God what?' Spike asked, sounding worried as he watched in horror.
'It's Hell.' Angel said. 'They're unleashing the worst demons from Hell, sending them after us.'
'Oh God.' Spike repeated.
'We will break their necks and slice off their heads, like we did with the last round of beasts.' Illyria said.
'I'm afraid it's not that simple Illyria.' Lorne said.
'Is this really it Angel?' Spike asked, on edge.
'Oh come on Spike, do you really have to ask me that? Can't you feel it? Of course this is it!' Angel snapped.
'We're going to die now?' Lorne asked. Spike turned to him and nodded. As they watched the sphere get bigger and brighter, they took their places again.
'Move back.' Angel ordered, inching the team back further into the alley. Spike barged down a wire fence and continued to move backwards. Angel forced the fence back up after they'd gone through, trying to protect them.
'Angel, how long are we going to keep this up?' Spike asked.
'Not much longer Spike. We'll be gone soon, right we're they're coming from.' He pointed to the now fiery red ball hovering in the alley on the other side of the fence.
'I don't know if I'm ready to face Hell.' Spike told his grand-sire.
'Well get ready, unless you plan to beat back all the beasts that are coming out. You can't kill them all Spike, and eventually they'll kill you.'
'You're being a bit pessimistic aren't you?' Spike forced out a nervous laugh.
'No Spike.' Angel replied in a serious tone. 'I'm telling you the truth. It's better that you know what you're up against.'
'And how do you know?' Spike asked angrily.
'I spend a hundred years in the same Hell dimension as most of them. I know what we're up against and trust me when I tell you it's not good.'
'Then why are we still fighting?' Illyria asked suddenly.
'What do you mean? We started this, we can't just run away.' Angel snapped back.
'We wouldn't be running away. We would be saving ourselves so that we could save humanity. Isn't that what you fight for?' she cocked her head to the side.
'Illyria, we can't just run away. We've come too far. This is it; this is the moment when we shine. We show the Senior Partners that we rule ourselves and that they have no control. It's up to us, right now, to finish this.'
'Angel, they're going to finish us!' Spike yelled as the beasts began pouring out into the alley.
'God this is it.' Lorne moaned.
'Let's go to work.' Angel said for the second time in the same night, running forward and forcing all his strength against the beasts from Hell.
He was right. It was the end of all of them. It was the night that they all fell, but not as individuals. As the team that Angel told them they were, and the team who knew it deep down in their hearts that they belonged fighting together. Even though they had lost some of the team, they knew that they had to keep fighting. They just didn't want to die. As Angel had said earlier; "as a team we will fight, as a team we will fall."
Lorne was the first down, as Spike, Angel and Illyria fought helplessly against single demons. None of them saw Lorne's defeat, only heard his scream. The blood-curdling scream that sent shivers up and down their spines.
Man, Lorne has some voice. Spike thought.
Illyria was next to fall. The demon she was battling overpowered her and snapped her like a twig. Her crumpled body lay in the alley, bent out of shape. It was just Spike and Angel left.
'Bloody hell Angel!' Spike yelled as he finally overpowered the demon he was fighting and snapped its neck. It fell to the ground at his feet and he began battling the next one. The beasts were relentless fighters who didn't give up. They had learnt to survive in Hell for only God knows how long, and we fully capable of winning a fight.
Angel saw over the shoulder of the demon he was fighting, another demon running up holding two stakes.
'Spike! He's got stakes!' Angel shouted over the yelling and grunting of demons who fought to get a piece of the two remaining warriors.
'I don't want to die again Angel!' Spike yelled, pleading with Angel. He'd died many times, all to save humanity. He just couldn't do it again.
'I'm sorry Spike.' Angel yelled as he managed to move closer to Spike when they had both killed their demons at the same time.
'Sorry for what?' Spike asked.
'I'm sorry for everything. In all our years together, I've never condemned you to Hell. I'm sorry Spike.'
'Angel, don't worry about it. Now that I think about it, I was destined to die. Everyone is. We can't just stop ourselves from dying, 'cos it's gonna happen. All we can do is hold onto what's left and live as best we can.' He snapped the neck of another demon and turned to face Angel, who did the same moments later.
'Spike, I'm sorry.' Angel said again, as he looked into Spike's eyes. Without realising it, they had shared an intimate moment before their death. All those times they'd had the chance to; they never felt bold enough to actually do something. Spike smiled at his sire and Angel smiled back. Spike watched in horror as a stake was rammed into sire's chest, and he fell to dust. The smile was still on his face, a big grin stretching from ear to ear.
Spike just stood there, awaiting his fate. He hated himself and Angel, just a little bit for not being able to live and see Buffy again, but he also was glad that he'd finally be able to be with someone who cared about him. He had longed for such a person for so long. As he pictured Angel in his mind, he felt himself turning to dust.
The smile still remained on his face; a big grin, just like Angel's.
A/N: Sniff. That's it guys. I know it doesn't really fit, but I just felt like I had to end it. I'm sorry to anyone who was wanting more, but that's all I wanted to do with Spike and Angel so there was no point in me continuing. Well, I hope you liked it and watch out for my other FanFiction pieces. Please review my work and tell me what you think! And if you think there should be more to it, then tell me what exactly you're looking for and I can alter the ending and maybe add another chapter! Thanks for reading guys!
Feedback: Thanks to all the people who reviewed this, and I tried to do something Spangel in there. Hope you're all happy.
(everyone dies like in Time Bomb (Angel s.5) and it is all just a dream Angel had while behind the dumpster. Spike is alive and that was a dream that he died. Everyone lives again in the next chapter, then Gunn dies. Followed by Lorne, then Illyria, and finally Spike and Angel. Unknown who goes first. Think carefully about it considering who would be affected most by the death. Probably Angel first so we could read and hear about Spike's true feelings for Angel, then he stakes himself being the last one left standing in the alley. After writing about his thoughts on being the only survivor. He calls Buffy, tell her he's alive then kills himself.)