The End of Days shall come.

And in this time, a thousand thousand beasts of Hell shall descend on the Earth. Darkness shall fall so that there is no day, only night. Humanity shall perish beneath the onslaught. All life shall exist only to serve darkness, and fire shall envelop the Earth. The Warriors shall fall before the Lords of Hell, last of all the Slayer and the Angel, as the Fires eat away at everything the world has ever known. But out of the ashes they shall rise again, as the Pheonix, and the fight shall be renewed.

‹The Diary of Mihai Svjatopolk, 999 A.D.

Buffy

"Bloody friggin' hell," Spike muttered. I glanced up at him from my seat on Giles' couch, wondering what he was complaining about now. He glared at me. 'Shaggin' ropes broke my nail."

I suppressed a laugh. "Well stop trying to get out then."

"I told you, I can't bloody hurt anything!" he shouted.

"How sad." I looked at Giles' grandfather clock and tossed the magazine I'd been reading onto the table. "Gotta go. Have fun in your chair." He glared at me again, and I smirked, picking up my jacket and going to look for Giles.

He appeared in the door of his study as I raised my hand to knock. "You're sure he said a Mohra demon?" he asked. I glanced at the open tome in his hands and nodded.

Oh. Great. Like I needed to be reminded of Angel. Like it wasn't bad enough having dreams every night about him being human, about us. No, not thinking about that. I had patrolling to do. And homework to finish. And a life I was supposed to be getting on with.

Besides, it had been like a week and half since I visited Angel. Why was Giles bringing this up now?

"Why? What's it say?" I asked, praying that it said absolutely nothing. I don't know why I even mentioned the stupid demon. It's not like it had seemed that hard to kill or anything. I guess I'd just been startled by it. And it had felt odd, like I'd seen one before even though I know I absolutely never had.

"Oh, they're demon assassins. I wonder if perhaps it knew you were there."BR>
"Uh, I doubt it. Seemed to be going after Angel and he knew what it was, so it was probably him. Wait, an assassin? Like sent to kill Angel?" No, this was not a good sign. At all.

"Not necessarily," Giles said quickly. "They go after those who fight on the side of the Light, but aren't necessarily sent specifically after anyone." Aren't necessarily? Now that was comforting.

"Maybe I should call him," I said, trying to conceal my nervousness. Seeing him had been like getting a bucket of ice water dumped over my head. Except I had this odd longing to have it keep happening. And with all the dreams...

"I don't think that's necessary," Giles said, catching my eyes." Angel can take care of himself. If I find anything that points to further danger, I will call him. Now, should you perhaps go patrolling?

His question was gentle, designed to get my mind off the subject of Angel. Like that was possible. Of course, he was right. I did have patrolling to do. I'd also schemed with Xander to try and catch one of the NATO guys. Spike said they were working on our side, but I decided not to take his word for it. I'd feel better with one in my custody.

"Right. Patrolling. Got to catch myself a military man. Always did like men in uniform," I quipped. He looked unconvinced by my joking. I turned around and waved, walking back towards Spike, tied up in the living room. He turned to glare at me again. I grinned cheerfully at him. "Hello bait.

*****

I hid out in the bushes, threatening Spike with my stake if he so much as wandered towards the edges of the clearing.

And they came, true to form.

There were three of them. Not too bad odds, considering that Spike swore they were human underneath all that stuff. It was the weapons that could possibly throw me. Possibly.

Spike vamped out and tried to look threatening.

"We know you can't hurt us," one of them said, sounding oddly familiar through the muffling mask. I crossed my arms and waited, trying to decide when the best time to attack would be. I had to catch them unaware, surprise would be my best tool. That and super-strength. Though if they were on my side, I didn't want to hurt them. I stifled a sigh, almost hoping they were demons. I could use something to beat up. It's better than ice cream sometimes.

"If you come quietly it'll be easier for you," the second one told Spike. His eyes darted to me. I shrugged. His eyes went wider. To save Spike or not to save Spike? It's not like he didn't deserve a little roughing up, but he had helped me, so...

I jump-kicked the middle one in the back, whirling to punch the second and kicking the third. The first one punched me in the stomach and I kneed him, cracking my elbow into the nose of the second and drop-kicking him. The third grabbed my arm but I brought my fist up into his nose. Amazingly he held on and as I kicked the second, the first one grabbed my other arm. Before I could throw him off, the second asked, in an unmistakable voice, "Buffy?"

I stared, ceasing all struggle for a moment. He pulled off his mask and sure enough... "Riley?!" I shouted, wondering what the hell Hick Boy from Iowa was doing in military fatigues chasing down Spike. Maybe I didn't give Iowa enough credit. Or maybe they gave kids guns at the age of two.

"What are you...you're the Assailant?" he demanded, looking so flabbergasted I nearly burst out laughing. I felt the uncontrollable urge to rub his nose in the fact that I, the girl who supposedly couldn't take care of herself, could easily kick his ass. But Giles would probably be annoyed if I didn't find out who and what he was first.

"The Assailant? Well not exactly. Who the Hell are you? And what are you doing attacking vampires? Not that I have a problem with that, you know, but trying to drag away my best friend is really not a good idea."

"I...we..." Suddenly he straightened up and lost his fumbling-Riley look. "That's Top Secret information."

I know it was bad of me, but I couldn't help a giggle. Just one little giggle. Riley looked mortally offended. Forrest and Graham, who had released me and taken off their masks suppressed smiles. Riley glared at them and they straightened up, eyeing me suspiciously. I cocked my eyebrows at Riley, who was obviously "in charge."

"Top Secret, huh? Let me tell you about 'Top Secret'. Tell me who you really are, what you're doing and why or I'll kick all your asses, human or no."

"There's one of you, and three of us," Riley said softly. I crossed my arms.

"And you're all guys and I'm a helpless little female." I smiled ferally. "You wanna try me?"

He didn't look too eager. I sighed and uncrossed my hands. "Look, I think we're on the same side here. This is all just a big misunderstanding. Why don't you just tell me what's going on. There's no need to resort to violence."

Behind me, Spike guffawed. We all turned to look at him. "What?" I snapped.

"No need to resort to violence," Spike muttered. "You're all wimps! The whole bloody lot of you are going to spend the friggin' night 'talking it out' and not get anywhere! Humans!"

"Spike, you're one to talk. You can't even bite anyone. At the moment, you're living on my good graces alone. So shut the Hell up!" Spike glared at me some more and started muttering under his breath.

"You know him?" Riley asked when I turned back.

"More like despise, but yeah, something along those lines."

"Spike?"

"That's his name."

"Name?"

"You really don't know much about vampires, do you?" I asked, eyeing him with less and less respect every time he opened his mouth. What was he doing here?

"I knew they had names, I just didn't think a human would take time to get to know them. Especially...hey, you still haven't told me what you're doing out here! And how do you know Hostile 17!"

"Hostile 17?" I asked, glancing at Spike. "You know, he's really weak as a kitten right now."

"But you're familiar with him."

"You have no idea buddy," Spike said, smirking. "She's been a lot more familiar with other vampires." I flipped my stake in the air, just for effect. He shut up.

"Why do you have a stake?" Forrest asked. I eyed him in disbelief.

"Works really well for killing them you know." From the looks they gave me, I wasn't so sure they did. "You know, hunting vampires? Dusting them? What do you people do anyway?"

"You hunt vampires?" Riley asked.

"No, she was just out for fun," Spike said sarcastically.

"Thank you, I can handle my own sarcastic comments Spike." I turned back to Riley. "Isn't that what you're doing?"

"Yes but..."

"So why shouldn't I be doing the same?"

"You don't have equipment or-or..."

"Big hunky muscles?" I suggested sweetly, wondering if he'd like a demonstration. I flipped the stake in the air again and caught it on my finger tip. "I have equipment. I just work lighter."

"But why..."

"She's the Slayer man. The bloody bedamned Slayer."

From the blank look the three of them gave me, I could tell it was going to be a long night. And a fun one, with Spike along for the ride.

Of course, things don't always work out as expected.

That moment, a huge, ugly Mohra demon (not like the one I saw in L.A. was pretty or anything) jumped out, straight at Riley. I rolled my eyes and looked for something I could shatter it's jewel with.

Riley was struggling beneath the thing, so I kicked it off before turning to Graham. "Knife?" He gave me a blank look. "Do you have a knife?" He nodded finally and grabbed one from his belt. I took it and spun in time to see Spike dodge out of the way, leaving Riley open to attack again. He was readying a little gun type thing. I rolled my eyes and shoved him out of the way, scissor-kicking the thing before throwing the knife straight into the jewel on it's head.

"The End of Days nears," it croaked as it began to split apart. I fetched the knife a minute later and threw it to Graham, pondering the meaning of that one.

"I'd love to chat really, but apparently the End of Days is coming, and I need to have talk to a friend. Riley, I'll see you tomorrow. Think about my offer," I said levelly. Riley was all right, a complete and utter dufus by day, but a nice enough person. I didn't want to hurt him. But if he was working for vampires, there wasn't much choice in the matter. You do what you have to do in my line of work.

"Spike," I said and he grudgingly followed me. I didn't even glance back at the three shocked young men. Whatever the End of Days was, it sounded a tab bit more important at the moment.

Part Two

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To ay that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Angel

She haunted my dreams, my every waking moment. Her smile, her laugh, the gleam of her eyes, the sound of her voice telling me she would never forget.

Doyle and Cordelia were getting annoyed.

"I told you he was in denial," Cordelia muttered to Doyle, thinking I couldn't hear. I was sitting at my desk, staring at the tea cup that we'd smashed and that was now whole.

"Well he's not anymore," Doyle replied in a low voice. I sipped the tea cup and tried to get my mind off all the things that hadn't happened, except I knew they had.

"Doyle!" I called. He was in my office moments later, giving me a concerned look. Like I couldn't tell. They thought I was going to hurt myself, but that would be missing the point. I had to be there, and be strong, to protect Buffy. That was my only purpose now. To protect people.

Happiness wasn't even a shadow on my thoughts. I knew it was lost. No point in longing for something you'll never have.

"Have you heard anything about the 'End of Days'?" I asked, looking up from my desk. He shook his head, confused.

"Why?"

"The Mohra demon mentioned it," I said, standing up. I walked around the desk and leaned on the side. Cordelia peeked in the door to see what was happening.

"I thought you killed it as soon as it came in," she pointed out.

"Another Mohra demon," I said quickly, my eyes darting around guiltily.

"Another one? What aren't you tellin' us Angel?" Doyle asked.

"Nothing, I just forgot to mention that while I was out last night I killed another one."

They didn't look convinced. I don't suppose I was very convincing.

"Just see if you can find anything about it."

"Will do." Doyle started out of my office and paused at the door. The phone rang and Cordelia made a face before going to answer it. Doyle hesitated. "Are you all right man? I mean, I know what it's like to have an ex show up, if you want to talk about it..."

"I don't," I said quietly. I couldn't tell him, I couldn't tell anyone. It would be too hard. Besides, it was my burden to carry, forever.

"Okay then, I just thought I'd..." I gave him a look and he broke off, nodding. "Right. End of Days. Sounds cheery."

"Uh, Angel? It's Giles," Cordelia said, giving me a significant look.

"Giles?" Doyle asked her as I walked back into my office to pick up the phone in there.

"Buffy's former Watcher. The stuffy one," Cordelia said. I shook my head, hoping she'd put Giles on hold and he wasn't listening to the whole conversation.

Why would he be calling?

"Hello?" I said, picking up the phone.

"Angel, well, I admit it was a bit of a shock having Cordelia answered the phone, even though I'd been told she was working for you."

"Yeah, it is a little odd," I agreed, sitting down and watching Doyle and Cordelia bicker in the next room. "What were you calling about?"

"Buffy was attacked by a Mohra demon tonight. Before she killed it, it said the 'End of Days' was coming. As you obviously knew something about the demons, I thought I would call and see if you could enlighten us at all as to what that meant," Giles said. My eyes fixed on a knot on wood of the desk.

"Is Buffy all right?" I asked, terror threatening to rip me apart.

"Oh yes, yes of course! She's fine," Giles assured me quickly. I settled back into my chair, focusing my mind back on the problem at hand. As long as Buffy was safe...

"I have heard the term mentioned, but I don't know much about it either. I've heard it before, in an old prophecy. Perhaps Svjatopolk, though I wouldn't give him much creedence."

"No, no, nor would I. But perhaps I will look it up. That's all you know of it?"

"Well, there have been Apocalypse warnings for years, centering around the turn of the millennium. I'm having my people look for any references," I told him, wondering at myself. "My people"?

"G-good. Thank you then, that's all I...Buffy didn't tell me very much about her visit. Was it all right?" he asked, sounding concerned. For which one of us? I wondered, and shook my head at myself. I had killed his lover and tortured him. It was more than enough that he could tolerate me. I shouldn't expect him to care. Really, I shouldn't expect any of them to care.

"It was fine. She was upset about the lurking, but we agreed that it was better. Or at least that we shouldn't see each other anymore." It was painful just saying the words, knowing that we hadn't agreed, still able to feel her in my arms, feel my heart beating and hear her crying that she would never forget, that it wasn't enough time...

I shook the thought off. I had business. Some kind of Apocalypse warning. Hundreds of Mohra demons coming, and I had to hold them off.

"Right. I'll let you go then, I suppose you have hopeless to help..."

"Something like that. Thanks for calling. If I find out anything else, I'll let you know."

"I'd appreciate that. Good bye then."

"Good bye." I hung up the phone and sat back in my chair, staring into nothing.

"Is everything okay in Sunnydale?" Cordelia asked, poking her head in the door. I glanced up at her.

"It's fine. He just wanted to ask about something," I said, standing up. "Is there anything I have to do?" She shook her head mutely.

"Then I'm going to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow." More people to save. More demons to kill. More lives to keep burning. All the lives but mine.

"Doyle," I said, walking out of my office. "Get right on that. I think we're going to need that information soon. Too soon."

"Sure boss. Whatever you say. I can't just go see the movie?" I threw him a dirty look and got into the elevator.

*****

I didn't sleep that night, but wandered my apartment restlessly, touching the table that should be broken, the bed that should smell of her, the empty fridge where ice cream and peanut butter should sit. The next night I didn't sleep again, but this time I left, wandering the streets in the darkness.

People would stare as I passed by bars, pulsing with loud, dark music, or elegant restaurants where the truly refined sat and chatted lightly about the fashions in Paris and the next presidential elections. I passed the filthy street corners where beggars sat with their tin cups and toothless, drunk smiles. I invaded dens, unloosing the fury of stolen desire, stunted happiness upon the soulless creatures, snarling at their victims until they ran in fear from me as well and I slumped down, hating myself more than I'd ever hated the ones I killed.

Lights had begun to flicker and go out when I saw him on the street corner. He wasn't homeless, or a beggar. His clothes were perfectly nice, if a little rumpled. He wore a business suit and a tie, and little glasses with thick rims. And he held a sign, clutching it almost for dear life. The sign said: The End of Days is coming. The world will perish in fire and ice.

I stopped and stared at him until he turned, as if drawn by my gaze. His eyes beneath the glasses looked haunted. "Itıs true," he whispered harshly. "It's true."

And I knew, in his mind anyway, it was.

Oz

It took a while to find an uninhabited place. A couple thousand of miles driving. Gave me time for reflection, and I got there before the next full moon. It was perfect too. A little cold (okay, mostly below freezing) and isolated. That's what I was going for after all.

I missed her. At night, when the sky was clear, I would sit outside beneath the stars and play my guitar, all the songs I wrote for her.

It was one of those nights I noticed it.

It was so small at first, just this odd blackness where I could have sword there was a star or two. It was just a whole, a tiny dot of total blackness in a black sky. None of the starlight seemed to reach it. It seemed to swallow the moonlight.

I shrugged it off as my fatigue and went to bed.

The next day, it was still there. And a lot more visible in the sunlight.

It got bigger. Every day, it got bigger. Once in a while, if you looked at the right time, it would almost pulse, and the area around it was dimmer than everything else. Like it swallowed whatever light came near it.

When it looked to be as big as small plate, I decided enough contemplation was enough. I packed up my stuff, got in my van and started driving home.

Big black holes in the sky just didn't seem like a normal occurrence.

Go to Part 3