Spike did well despite the impossible odds. The dragon was too much for the team. Angel tried to claim it as his sole conquest but he learned his lesson. The great poof was laying on his side clutching onto a gaping wound ineffectively as he watched the blood seep around his fingers.
The only wound that Spike seemed to really have obtained was a minor flesh wound that was hardly even bleeding anymore. Not for lack of trying though. Spike needed the world to know that he could save the world more than once. Apocalypses were a dime a dozen these days and he wasn't about to let Mr. McBroody get all the credit for this one.
Illyria was somewhere. The last time Spike saw anything of the weird blue bint she was up against what seemed to be at least fifteen demons and a troll but Illyria always did have that knack for slowing time. Spike could see her vaguely through both his super vampire senses and the fact that Illyria began to include him and Angel in her time bubbles as the battle wound down either to help or she was losing her concentration. Spike thought possibly both but mostly the latter.
Gunn was dead, Westley was dead. The whole city seemed like it was burning. Spike wondered absently how one hero down, they hoped to continue to close the portal. Sure the dragon was in fact slayed and sort of twitching over by the remains of what was likely a bakery due to the smell of burning toast coming from it but that was just one dragon. New monstrosities continues to pop into existance.
Spike was very tired. You didn't need to be bleeding all over the place for exhaustion to slowly creep in. Pulling himself out of his little reverie Spike dragged himself in the direction of Illyria who despite standing quite a bit more upright than he was Spike could tell that her strength was waning.
“Need help pet?”
“Blonde one. Yes. No. A god does not need help.”
Spike watched as she took a rather vicious punch to the side from some slimy green mucus demon. Instinctively he lashed out punching at the demon from behind. Spikes fist went right through the head of the demon, covering his fist and most of his arm in snot. Apparently the demon was only solid when it decided to be.
Illyria looked to the ground at the glob between the blows of yet another demon coming after her. Spike winced when he thought of a horrible reason why so many demons seemed to be picking on the ex hell god. Right now she was a very pleasant to look at ex hell god. If Spike hadn't sworn himself to the Slayer, unknowing to Buffy or not Spike would have quite liked to find what other bits Blue hid that might have been blue too.
The snot ball on the ground was slowly reforming itself into a demon form again. The snot still attached to spikes arm was falling off onto the ground as if being summoned back to the greater whole. It wouldn't be long before the snot demon was complete by the look of it. Illyria shook her head and rolled her eyes. Suddenly Blue was on top of him, pushing her hands into his pockets and running her hands around his sides.
“Woah pet, careful with the merchandise. That and this seems to be a soddin bad time to be getting out bits pushed together if you catch my drift ya?”
Illyria found what she was looking for, a zippo lighter that Spike had been carrying out of habit for months now. Lighting it she tossed it into the blob. Spike was about to protest and say how much he loved that lighter if it went for the blob catching fire immediately and crackling like a marshmallow thrown into a fire.
“Bloody brilliant Blue.”
There was a steady noise building in the distance that Spike could hear. It sounded like a diesel engine but Spike hadn't seen any working vehicles in what felt like hours. As it got closer Spike began to believe that it was much more than just one diesel engine. Many. It got louder, closer. Spike could now discern at least twenty engines. Probably more.
In the distance between smoking rubble Spike saw headlights. Lots of headlights. They were coming down the streets from many directions. Buses by the look of it. Buses and vans and trucks. As they neared another sound was added to the din. Battle cries of...girls?
They slayer army had arrived in L.A. And by the look of it, it was all of them. Spike knew that all the potential slayers out there were now fully fledged slayers. When Spike was still with Buffy a year ago she was training a good handful. But this was more than a handful. This was truly a legion. Thousands of slayers. Packed into buses and vans. Some of them running along side having no issue keeping up as they lashed out with swords and axes at the demons who got to close to the convoys.
In the back of his head Spike was worried. He knew the battle might get a little smoother true but how was he going to explain his being alive, well re-undead again should HIS slayer be there. She would be there too. Buffy would never have let this go on without her. With all likelihood she daft girl would be in the first bus that made it to the city center. Or one of those running along side. Completely calm and collected, sword dripping in demon mess. That was his girl. Always taking an initiative, always flirting with the not so jolly line of death.
'Oh what in the soddin world am I going to say? Oh hi Buffy? Yeah I'm undead again. Wanna shag? No...thats all bad. Probably need to flirt with the bint, start all over. At least I don't have the bloody chip ticking away in me. Cuz if the bird tries to hit me I sure as bleeding hell am going to hit back. Well no, I deserve it don I? Life was so much easier without this soul. Makes things confusing. Okay I'll let HER say the first thing if I even see her. That's it. So much easier.'
Sure enough as the first bus got closer Spike could see inside it. Looked like a big butchy girl driving it. Probably one of the potentials. The Bus was packed with girls. But leaning out the door was a pure vision of perfection. Spike's effulgent glory had arrived at lasst bring the whole A-team with her to help save the world like always.
Illyria threw a demon toward the bus as it approached assuming the bus would act as a final not so comfy wall for the demon to bounce off of and die. Buffy saw the demon fly and flicked her arm up carrying with it a sword which behead the demon before it ever hit the engine block. The bus came to a halt. Spike's world came to a halt.
Illyria stood next to Spike wondering if the girl was a friend or an enemy. Seeing the sword in the Slayers hand she moved between Spike and the blonde girl. Becoming a barrier. In most the dimensions Illyria knew most slayers were quite adept at both killing demons, and especially vampires. Spike was interesting. Illyria didn't want her toys being staked by little girls.
Buffy had long since given up on being happy. She was the commander of the Slayer Army. She had no time for personal life. No time to even attempt to really make friends even. It didn't bother her though. Buffy felt like she lost part of her soul when Spike was taken from her last year. Stupid jerk refused to believe she loved him. But she did. Her whole world shut off when he died saving her. The glaze went over her eyes and all she ever saw anymore was duty and business, and a violently blonde vampire staring at her like she was a bright shiny candy to eat. And a demon woman in front of him.
Buffy knew what was going on. Another apocalypse. Yet again Buffy was here to save the day from what her seers told her was caused by her ex-boyfriend Angel. Supposedly Angel hasn't even lost his soul this time and was still ruining the world.
'What in the Hellmouth did I ever see in him?' she wondered. 'And why is there a blue demon woman protecting a vampire from me? And why does he seem so famil--'
“Spike!?”
Spike's face rose up in joy seeing Buffy again, his fear completely melted out of him at the happy, if fairly shocked tone of her voice. Illyria saw that the blonde slayer meant no harm to her pet and side stepped wondering what was going on. Did not slayers and vampires mean harm to each other? Perhaps in this dimension things are askew. Never did seem to be enough shrimp here.
Buffy dropped her sword and walked up to the man of all her dreams for the last year. She had gone over this moment 100 times. Wondering about the ethics of convincing Willow to bring him back like she did for me. She would never had asked, but oh did she dream of seeing him again. Spike. My spike. Here. Buffy walked up to him.
“Spike! You are alive!”
“Not quite, pet. But you seem good.”
Spike took another step towards his goddess. Quite oblivious to the raging battle still going on. Spike was not moving with the same time as the rest of the world.
“Vampire thralling 10:00!”
Several slayers shouted and came running towards the couple who were standing peacefully staring into the eternity in eachother's eyes.
“Got it!”
Neither Spike nor Buffy saw the spear flying in their direction until it was too late. Buffy stood there staring into the eyes of her man as they went from awe, to shock, to dust and fell at her feet. The slayer who threw the spear was already fighting off Illyria who was in a rage. Other slayers joined the fray to fight down Illyria. In all it took nearly 30 girls to kill the raging blue hell goddess. All the while Buffy stood there in pure shock. She didn't move, she didn't speak she just let the world burn as the battle raged on.
“Buffy, come on. We need to move! Buffy? Buffy!”
Buffy never felt so wounded. So empty. She had died now twice in her “life” for real. But her soul felt like it was crushed now countless times. It was enough. Every time Buffy got even a little bit happy the power that be had the nerve to just crush them all to the dust that Spike's corpse was yes again.
Buffy screamed. A great keening sound of pain and misery. A sound so sickeningly sad it was as if she could tear down the world around. It was the sound of Buffy's soul leaving her body. The shell that was Buffy's tried desperately to hold on. But it wasn't enough. The power that a slayer is is in the soul not the flesh. And soon all Buffy was aware of was darkness.
The shell was dead. Buffy was dead. Lying in a heap next to Spike's ashes.
squawks
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!
05/18/17 04:16 am
pj! I remember wishing one of your stories would be finished seriously about a decade ago. Amazing. I just tried an old password I used to use and amazingly got in too. Memories!
pj
03/20/17 01:20 am
10 yrs later, i finally rem my username and password. Pari, you rock. Hope you are well.
Rabbit_moon1
12/23/16 01:12 pm
I donate every month. Please donate to keep this site up!
AudryDaluz1
10/06/16 08:34 am
Great post.
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:45 pm
And anyone else who loves this site, it's worth mentioning there's a nifty little "Donate" option just below the shout box here! ;)
Chrissel
08/31/16 03:43 pm
Just wanted to take a moment to thank Pari and all the mods for maintaining such a great site!