Chapter Eight

The ball of fire in Wesley's hand seemed to explode and fly towards the gathering horde of murderous demons, hitting the front line hard but causing minimal devastation. Angel gripped the sword in his hand and ran into the mass of horns and scales, hacking and chopping away. Spike looked at Buffy, mouthing an "I love you" and then jumping into the pit. Buffy watched him go for a moment before wielding her own weapon and throwing herself into the affray. Gunn was already removing limbs and heads, whilst Wesley threw magic at them, being less strong and skilled than his colleagues. Fred had a rather large gun that was taking out demons left right and centre.

Buffy stopped for a moment, realising that their efforts were worth nothing. Angel looked to her, a look of hopelessness in his eyes. Spike saw Buffy falter, and rushed to stop the demon behind her, chopping it clean in half. Blood sprayed them both and Buffy scrunched up her face.

'Thanks I think.' She shouted over the noise, turning to stab another horned thing. Spike grinned and swiped at some kind of lizard beast.

'You're welcome pet. Just concentrate.' Then he turned, hacking his way through the horde of beasts.

Moments passed and seemed like years to the Slayer as she killed one scaly monster after the other. A shout alerted her, and she span, taking out a slimy demon in the process. Spike had fallen to the ground, bent over on his hands and knees, a look of pain on his face. Buffy screamed, cutting a path towards him, only to be dragged away by Angel. She saw that the others had already run and the demons were backing away from Spike.

In the blink of an eye, she knew she was losing him again and she fought against her first love, struggling to get to her mate.

Pain coursed through his body and he dropped the sword, calling out to Angel. He saw Buffy heading towards him, only for Angel to carry her away. She was screamed his name and he turned to look at her, only for the light to burn his eyes. He heard the car engine start, as the world came crashing down around his ears. Light surrounded him, spreading outwards and exploding through the army of hellions.

Angel was pinning her down in the old convertible, but she was quickly getting the better of him. Wesley drove as fast as he could, knowing they had to outrun the ray of light currently exploding forth from the platinum blond vampire. Buffy was screaming, struggling to get free. Fred tried to help Angel pin her but was rewarded with an uppercut that left her dizzy on Gunn's lap. The street wise lawyer was half unconscious from numerous wounds, completely oblivious to the situation at hand. Lorne was urging Wesley to drive faster, having no desire for his heart to disintegrate.

Wesley had to slam the brakes on as the light faded. They were two miles from the centre and the city had fallen quiet once more. Sirens could be heard and this distracted Angel, allowing enough time for the Slayer to kick loose and escape. She jumped from the car, running away from the group, with Angel shouting at her. Wesley turned the car around to follow her but she was long gone back into the city.

She wasn't thinking about anything except Spike as she ran. The tears were streaming down her face, blinding her and she ignored it, following her instincts to the vampire she loved. The wound from earlier on her neck – the mark he had given her – was burning with pain and she sobbed uncontrollably as she reached the centre of the devastation. Bodies lay everywhere, some melting, some burning but all dead. And all demons. She searched, using her instincts to guide her to him.

But when she found him, he heart broke in two. He was on his back, blood seeping from numerous wounds, choking on the red liquid as it flowed freely from his mouth. She skidded to his side, cradling his head gently, hearing the car approaching behind and the human life seeping back into LA.

Buffy sobbed, stroking his face gently and he opened his eyes. She smiled at him. 'Baby…what happened?'

He smiled back at her, pain filling his eyes but overtaken by love and he reached up to touch her face. 'I'm sorry I'm doing this to you again, baby. But it was my destiny. The essence of the amulet was still in me – this was its final purpose.' He stopped, coughing harshly, spraying blood over his chin. Buffy wiped it away tenderly, hearing Angel stand behind them. Spike looked to his Sire. 'Thank you for getting her away. Couldn't risk you baby.' He said, turning his blue eyes back to the blonde slayer. 'I'm so sorry. The PTB…this was their plan for me.' He stroked her face. 'Maybe it would have been better if you hadn't found me again.'

Buffy shook her head. 'No. You said you would…you would always be in here.' She choked back tears, holding his hand to her heart and he smiled. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

'Because you would have tried to stop me.' He smiled half heartedly again. 'I had to do what was right, baby. Always did. I know that now.' She nodded and panicked when he screwed his face up in pain, arching his back.

'God, Buffy…luv…don't let go.' He cried out as his body began to burn. Buffy screamed, holding him tighter, only for him to fall to dust in her arms. She collapsed on the floor as Angel moved up to comfort her. She stood and span around, pointing an accusing finger at him.

'You…you should have found another way…why did you let him die again!' She screamed, flying at her former love, punching and kicking, ripping at him, trying to cause him pain equal to what she was feeling. Angel didn't fight back, letting her take out her frustrations until Wesley pulled her back. She hit out at the watcher as well but then stopped herself, collapsing to the floor in a flood of tears and emotion.

'Buffy listen to me.' The watcher soothed. 'Spike did this because he loved you and because he knew it was the right thing.' Buffy stood, spinning to face the group.

'Yeah, I know. But that doesn't make it any easier.' She spat and took off into the night, leaving them behind in a bewildered daze. They headed back to the Hyperion, knowing that the irate and upset Slayer was best left to her own devices for now.