Angel:
Spike's appearance had taken me by surprise. That's not to say that it was a bad thing, I just didn't know what had prompted the change of heart. So I resolved to ask him while walking to the headquarters of the lawyers.
"So," I ask Spike, breaking the silence that stood between us since we left the store, "what changed your mind?"
"You did," he tells me.
"Me?"
"You did some unconscionable things in your time, but you still fight the good fight. I didn't do anything quite as bad as you, but I just didn't care. I did nothing but sit in that room. You showed me that I can still do good things." He stops, even though the building is right in front of us. "Angel…"
"Yeah?"
"In case one of us doesn't make it, there's something I have to tell you." This doesn't sound like the Spike I remember.
"What is it?"
"I need to tell you what happened to Buffy." I stop, the mission temporarily forgotten, just listening. "It was my fault. I killed her." I can't believe it. "You don't know what it's like watching loved ones grow old and die, you weren't good long enough. She was growing old, and I couldn't stand it. I tried to turn her into a vampire."
"H-how could you?"
"But she wouldn't drink – the Slayer instinct prevented it – and she just bled and bled and bled. She died, right there in my arms, and I couldn't save her." Why is he telling me this now? "I couldn't live with myself, so I detached myself from the world, emerging to kill demons and protect people. I wasn't a part of the world, and it was destroying me."
"What happened?"
"Eventually I found someone else, a man named Jason, and we became friends. He pulled me out of my reverie, just as you've done. For years we fought side by side, he made me believe in humanity."
"What happened to him?"
"He got sick and, I don't know why, I tried again… I tried to turn him into a vampire."
"You killed him too?"
"Yes… but he came back. I thought that maybe, just maybe, as I had a soul, he'd have one too. But he didn't, he was just like any other vampire. I couldn't be around him, knowing that I'd unleashed him on the world, so I just locked myself back in that small room and stayed miserable. For a while I still emerged to fight evil, but then the End of Days rolled around. I thought I'd get to be human, but it didn't happen, and I lost it. I destroyed you, and then I just stopped. I told young fighters about the past, about before the End of Days, but I never fought again."
We just stood their in the darkness for a long while, neither of us attempting to move towards the building that held all our answers. Eventually, Spike spoke again.
"You know, I've kept that a secret from everyone for the better half of a millennium. It feels good to get it out in the open." I still said nothing. "Let's get started."
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Gene:
My bosses weren't happy when Angel got away. They'd pumped a lot of resources into the project… our last stand, so to speak… and they'd put me in charge. And I'd let him get away. Lucky that my dear friend Matthias had already cut off my forearm or they probably would have done it for him. I've had people searching for him, but frankly the city is huge, and if he has any sense he'd have got out as soon as possible. We'll probably never see him again. So now I'm in the boss' office, trying to explain my failure.
I'm in the middle of apologising yet again, when an alarm goes off. There must be an intruder in the building. Matt… I follow the others out of the room and to the security centre. There's an image of a man on the monitors, with a blond ponytail and tied beard. I don't know him, but by the reaction of the little shaman in the room I can only guess that it's a vampire. No problem. He doesn't stand a chance.
I pick up a phone. "Inform Jericho that we have a job for him."
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Spike:
There are guards in the room before I've even done anything. This is going to get dull if they make it too easy for me. Some of them have guns, which just goes to show how ignorant they are. Three go down in no time, and I rush through the room. Five more hit the ground; one of them's bleeding quite badly. I have to get out of the lobby, pretend I'm going for something inside the building, make them follow me. Only then will Angel be able to sneak in. I spin around, my foot knocking another guard back. Guns are going off but the bullets keep missing. As long as I keep moving, I'll get through this.
I'm out of the lobby, and suddenly things are more interesting. The guards here seem to know what I am. They've got crosses and stakes, and they're attacking me in hand to hand. Block to the right, spin the guy on my back into the three advancing from the left. These people have spent so long fighting newly sired vampires that they can't handle one my age.
Suddenly I realise what they're doing, they're throwing people at me, herding me into a room. And before I can react, they've shut the door behind me.
I'm in a bare room, and I'm not alone. There's someone else in here with me.
"Spike? Is it you?"
"Jason? What are you doing here?"
"I was told to deal with an intruder. I guess that's you."
"Are you going to? I guess I'm not surprised."
"You're not surprised? How can you say that? Oh, that's right, you left. You saw what you'd turned me into and couldn't handle it." He's right, isn't he? I never really gave him a chance.
"I'm sorry. I should have stayed, I should have taught you to fight the hunger, to be good. Will you let me make it up to you?" He doesn't say anything, and just looks at me as if debating with himself whether he can let himself trust me again.
"Come with me now," I persist. "We'll fight the good fight together. You can make a difference."
Suddenly something tears into my back – are they shooting at me again? Odd, it doesn't hurt like I remember it. In fact, for the first time in half a millennium I feel no pain at all. I'm not tormented by my awful deeds, by the faces of all those that I struck down. In fact, I'm just nice and warm and… at peace…
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Angel:
I don't know what Spike did, but it worked. The guards rushed out of the room and nobody noticed when I walked in. Of course, Edward's clothes probably drew less suspicion than my tattered rags.
I'd thought that even with Spike's diversion, there would be some guards left, but there are none. In fact, the corridors are completely empty. That's worrying. My feet make no noise as I move from shadow to shadow. I have to move fast, or Spike will have no chance to get out. The door to the office opens when I force it. I would have thought they'd have better locks. The documents must be somewhere in this room. They're not on the desk, nor are they in the desk drawers.
There's a cabinet in the corner. I rip off the door, and rifle through the sheets. Here's something. Yes, this looks right. Where, when… and who's attending. This is it. I fold the sheets up and tuck them into my blazer. As I stand up, I hear someone clapping behind me. I slowly turn around, to see Gene standing in the door.
"Bravo. I must say, it was a surprise when we saw you'd used that vampire to get in here, but it was the perfect chance to finish our plan. I'm afraid Jericho is detained this time, but that's okay…" I notice the horde of vampires in the hall behind him "… because you're not getting away again anyway." The vampires advance, and all I have is a single stake.
I fight bravely for a while, throwing one over my head, staking another, and knocking a number of others to the ground. I'm eventually overwhelmed and pulled to the ground, but not before I've single-handedly dusted over a dozen. Some of the vamps hold down my arms, and others sit on my legs, but the one I'm most worried about is the one whose face is descending onto my neck with fangs bared.
Suddenly, before I even realise what's going on, three crossbow bolts fly through the air and three of my captors – including the one on my neck – crumble away. I'm still confused, and there's blood dribbling from my neck, but I can hear the singing of an axe as it decapitates the rest of the vampires pinning me down. I look up, and standing there is the last person I was expecting to see.
"Buffy? …Eve? …What-?"