Forever Young

Summary: Buffy decides to pay Angel a visit, but her timing is terrible! The day she arrives in Los Angeles is they day that Angel and his friends launch their "suicide" attack on the Black Thorn. Buffy finds Angel in the alley behind the Hyperion, but finds only Spike with him.

Pairings: Buffy/Angel, Angel/Spike.

III – Familiar and Non-Familiar Faces

There he stood, in all his glory. Spike; one of the two men she ever really loved. He fought back beast after beast, not even noticing that she was there.

What would she say to him? Hi Spike, nice to see you. You couldn't have called to say you were alive, jackass! Yeah, sounds like a great opening line.

Buffy also resumed fighting, not sure of how long it would be before she could get to talk to the two vampires without having to deal with random hell-beasts attacking.

So, for what seemed like hours, they fought. Buffy, Angel, Spike and two others unknown to Buffy, kept up the battle until none of them could any longer. And it was a good thing too, because there was nothing left to fight.

After a long, long time Buffy gazed down the alley to find that it was slowly emptying. She and the others finished off the last of the beasts, with difficulties, and grouped in the centre of the alley.

'Buffy?' Spike finally saw the love of his life. 'What are…?'

'Don't even start Spike, you owe me.' Buffy jumped in quickly. She wasn't going to allow there to be a whole lot of stuttering and silence, not tonight. Not after all this.

'Buffy.' Angel stepped up to her and hugged her with one arm. He winced and pulled back, the other arm limp.

'God, Angel, what happened here?' Buffy asked. A black man stumbled over, and from another direction came a woman with blue hair and a simply stunning leather ensemble.

'Senior Partners.' Angel said.

'Senior Partners? I've heard of them before. Big power over this plane or something, right?' Buffy queried. Angel nodded.

'Gunn.' Angel turned to the black man Buffy knew nothing about and tried to help him stand. It was evident that he was struggling to support his friend, so Buffy stepped in. She supported his weight by throwing his arm around her shoulder. She revealed an extensive torso wound.

'Hey, you need a hospital fast.' She commented. She still didn't know anything about the guy, except that his name was Gunn.

'Buffy, the sun's gonna rise soon and we've got to get inside.' Angel said. During their little gathering, the clouds in the sky began to part and reveal a dim glow of the rising sun.

'Okay. I'll call an ambulance, but we need to get inside.' Buffy said. The blue woman Buffy also knew nothing about spoke.

'Did we win, Angel?' He turned to face her.

'Yes Illyria, we won. How, I don't know.' He hobbled towards an open door, and Spike followed. He turned back to see Buffy supporting Gunn and came back to help. Illyria walked inside after them.

IV – The Factory

Inside the door was an unused factory. Buffy followed Angel, taking Gunn over to a clearing between a bunch of large wooden crates. Carefully, she lay him down on the factory floor and stepped back. Spike, Angel and Illyria stood around Gunn and looked at him.

'Oh come on, I'll be fine.' Gunn wheezed. 'Just a scratch, nothing to worry 'bout.'

'Gunn, that's more than just a scratch.' Angel said, wincing again from the pain of all his wounds, mostly his arm.

'Do you want me to fix that for you Angel?' Buffy offered, referring to the arm. He nodded, and she slowly approached. Spike looked on, still not sure what he should say to Buffy.

Hi Buffy, sorry I didn't call I was busy saving the world. Again.

Buffy reached out for Angel's shoulder and he pulled away. 'Angel, please. You have to let me do this.' He remained still, and she gently placed one hand on the top of his shoulder and the other on his upper-arm. 'On the count of 3.' She said. '1…2…'

'Oh God…' Angel moaned before Buffy reached 3.

'…3' She jerked his arm suddenly, shoving it violenetly back into its socket.

'Aagh!' Angel screamed in agony. He bit his lip so hard that it began bleeding. Again. He forced his head down, trying to block out the pain. Then it disappeared. He couldn't decide wether to slap Buffy because she'd just hurt him, or kiss her because she'd just helped him. 'Thankyou.' He said finally, through gritted teeth.

'You're welcome.' Buffy replied. She turned to Spike, and wandered over.

'Pet, am I glad to…' Spike began. Buffy stopped him with a quick slap. Spike looked at her with hurt in his eyes.

'God Spike, don't ever do that again.' She scolded, referring to the fight back in Sunnydale where he had died. She hugged him, and he hugged her back.

'Missed you pet.' He whispered in her ear.

'I missed you too Spike.' She pulled away. 'What has happened here?' Angel hung his head, obvious to Buffy that it was in shame. 'Angel?'

'It's too much to explain Buffy.' He replied. 'Just believe me when I tell you that it was all for a good cause. Our cause, what we've always been fighting for.'

'Humanity and such.' Spike added. Angel glared at him, shutting him up fast.

'A little more information for the lover of your life please?' Buffy asked again.

'Buffy, please. Don't make this difficult. I already regret doing this, because I've lost two people who are very dear to me. Fred, Wesley…'

When Angel mentioned Wesley, Illyria looked up and walked from against the far wall to join the group.

'Who's she?' Buffy asked, pointing to the strange looking blue-haired woman who had just joined them.

'Buffy, meet Illyria. Illyria, this is Buffy.' Angel introduced the two.

'Nice to meet you.' Buffy held out her hand to shake as a greeting, but Illyria just stood and stared.

'Now, now Blue, be nice.' Spike said to her.

'Buffy.' She said. 'Human. Slayer.'

'Yes, I'm a Slayer.' Buffy confirmed. She spun around to look at Angel. 'How does she know who I am?' She whispered loudly.

'I didn't think she did.' Angel answered.

'Blue, you know of the Slayer?' Spike asked, curious.

'Yes. In my time though, the Slayer was merely a being to control other beings lower than herself. She was a fierce warrior of the human race, but compared to those higher in power to herself, she was nothing.'

'Hey.' Buffy cried defensively.

'Things have changed now. The world is not how I remember it. The humans run things now, making you one of the highest beings that exist, Slayer.' Illyria concluded.

'Well, that's better.' Buffy replied.

'But I am still more powerful than you will ever be.' Illyria added.

'Okay, don't push your luck.'

Author's Note: Another chapter up. I like reviews… (Hint, hint)