Rating: PG
Distribution: Red’s Soulmates, Vampire Haven, FanFiction.net. If you want it just ask. I’ll say yes, just want to know where it’s going.
Disclaimer: I bow to the altar of the genius that is Joss. None of them belong to me (much to my regret). I’m just playing and promise to return them when I’m done.
Author’s Note: This contains spoilers for the -gulp- final -sob- episode of Angel, ‘Not Fade Away’. Also mentions a bit from ‘Damage’ and ‘Hole in the World’. If anyone is wondering, yes I’m still working on ‘Coming Together’, but this had to be written.
Feedback: Yes please. I’m turning into a total praise whore and am completely unashamed to admit it. A big thankee to any and everyone who’s sent me some on my other little forays into this wonderful world. THANKEE -bg-
Summary: One of the many, I know, takes on what happened next.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Let’s go to work.” The blade cut cleanly through the first demon as Angel thought <we are so royally screwed, but if this is how I’m going out I’m takin’ as many with me as I can.> With Hamilton’s blood still singing in his veins Angel cut a bloody swath through the oncoming masses making his way to the fire escape so he could take on the dragon. He really, really wanted to slay the dragon.
Angel could hear the sounds of battle below him as Illyria, in her rage at Wesley’s and soon Gunn’s <no don’t think about Gunn leaving too. Just get a clear shot at the big flying lizard>, made good on her oath to make trophies of the demons spines, Spike was whooping in joy and hacking at the horde in demonic glee, and even Gunn was making his last moments count as he had said he would.
<There, just a little more to the left> Hooking his foot over a rung and looping his left arm through the ladder Angel pulled the multi-bolted crossbow out from his jacket and took careful aim. The bolts flew from the bow and hit true, running through the vulnerable skin of the dragon’s throat and on into what passed for its brain. The dragon howled in pain and defeat and fell from the sky, in the process taking out quite a few of its companions when it landed, including the taller than most of the surrounding buildings demon as it was skewered through the head by the dragons’ tail thus taking out even more of its brethren when it fell as well. But more kept coming.
From his vantage point on the side of the Hyperion Angel could see just how many demons were coming and where they were coming from. The ground had opened and the minions of the Wolf, Ram and Hart were pouring out in an endless torrent. As he rejoined the battle on the ground he thought <Well I knew how this was going to go down. The Powers That Be abandoned us a long time ago. Don’t know why I thought they might take an interest now and help. Sure they let Cordy pass that damn vision on to me, but send reinforcements when the time of reckoning comes? Not a chance. Hell I signed away my chance to be human for the high and mighty bastards…at least my son is safe. So in that way I guess I did get my Shanshu. As long as he->
“Looks like you could use some help.”
“Conner, what the hell? I thought I-“
“Duck.” Angel did and Conner cleanly beheaded the…whatever it was behind his father. As the two fought side by side he continued, “Come on Dad, you didn’t think I’d really listen to you did you? You can use all the help you can get and you know I’m good in a fight.”
Angel swore under his breath. Absently he noticed that the others were still with him, even Gunn. Demons were falling left and right, but more kept taking their place. It was getting difficult to find purchase on the slippery ground so they started to use the bodies of the fallen to fight on. “I wanted you to live damnit. You think that’s really gonna happen if you’re here? Down!” Conner ducked and Angel rolled over his back to spear the next demon.
“Thanks. I don’t think much of anyone is going to live if this keeps up, but I’m not going to sit by like a victim when I know I can help.”
“Hey Fang Gang! Need a hand?” The voice came from the roof of the Hyperion and the former AI crew on the ground took the risk of looking up to see Faith, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn and Giles about to rain down a hail of arrows. They took cover by moving whatever demon each was fighting to block them and Angel yelled, “NOW!” More demons dropped and it seemed that the first wave had thinned. Those still moving out of the portal were having a difficult time moving over the corpses. The Scoobies joined Angel and company on the ground and helped finish off those remaining.
Everyone took a moment to regain his or her centers while they waited for the next wave. “Thanks. What are you all doing here?” Angel asked as he took deep, though completely unnecessary breaths.
“We felt a disturbance in the Force Luke.” Xander said by way of explanation. Connor and Spike snickered, Gunn grinned weakly and Illyria stared blankly at the newcomers.
Angel looked at Buffy, “I thought you didn’t trust us anymore?”
Willow and Giles had moved away and began chanting something. Faith and Conner were checking Gunn over and Dawn and Xander were watching the scene unfolding before them. Illyria was still standing stiffly to the side waiting to kill something else. Buffy looked at the ground, “Damn Andrew and his overly dramatic ways.” She met Angel’s gaze and said, “We were wrong all right? We’re sorry we took Dana away.” She flicked her eyes to Illyria, “We’re sorry we didn’t help you with Fred. But we’re here now and we think we have a way to stop this.”
Spike spoke up, “Really Slayer? You gonna negotiate a deal with the Senior Partners to ease up on the torment a scosh?” He winced inwardly at his harsh words, but the demon in him was riding high and really didn’t like the chit. That and her wording of ‘didn’t help with Fred’ read to him that there was something they could have done. Suddenly the harsh words didn’t make him feel so bad after all.
Buffy stared at the blond vampire, “You really are unlive. Thank you both for your misguided attempts to ‘save’ me a couple of weeks ago. It was sweet, but I know all about who and what the Immortal is and I know what I’m doing. I’m happy.”
Angel and Spike shared a look. Angel said, “That’s great Buffy, however, I really don’t think now is the time to have this conversation. What did you mean you think you have a way to stop this? The Senior Partners can’t be defeated only fought.”
“I meant we could close the portal and prevent any more demons from coming out.” As she said the words a bright white light poured from where Willow and Giles were and blanketed the alley and surrounding neighborhood. When the light faded the alley was free of corpses and no more could be heard approaching. “And apparently it worked.”
Willow then moved to Gunn and worked a healing spell for him. Illyiria watched in curiosity as the demon hunter-turned-lawyer was healed. “You can heal mortals? Can you bring them back from the dead as well?”
Willow looked at the familiar, but obviously not the same, form of Fred, “Fred what happened to you?”
“Fred is dead. I am Illyria, God-king of this…former God-king of this realm. Now answer my question witch, can you bring someone back from the dead?”
Willow shook her head and looked around, “I’m sorry, but I won’t do that. Who did you…hey where’s Wesley?” The silence that met her question answered it for her. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I wish I could bring him back.”
“This pain I feel, it is so unfamiliar to me. I do not care for the sensation. Will it ever subside?”
Willow studied the being before her and answered as honestly as she could, “It will fade in time, but it will never go away completely.”
Illyria stared at the witch for a long moment then simply inclined her head once in acknowledgment.
Spike said, “Well children what do we do now? We have a brief respite, but the Senior Partners will come after us stronger in the next round.”
Angel looked at the Scoobies, “You’re a part of this now. They’ll come after all of you as well.”
Faith grinned, “Let ‘em come Fang.”
Giles smiled a very Ripper like smile, “Yes well we’d best prepare then hadn’t we?”
Angel looked up at the sky. At some point the rain had stopped. The night sky was clear and even in the middle of downtown L.A. the stars shone brightly overhead. He thought about Lorne and regretted ever asking him to kill Lindsey. Whether he knew it or not Lorne was a hero in Angel’s eyes no matter what and he couldn’t blame the demon for bailing. He’d always been a lover, not a fighter, but without even asking he had heeded the call to arms time and again. This last act had been the final straw and Angel understood that. He silently wished his friend well and hoped that someday Lorne would forgive him for all that he’d brought him into and that he would see him again. He thought about Wes who had lost his life tonight to help him. He truly hoped he and Fred were together wherever they were and that his old friend had found peace at last. Still looking at the stars he could have sworn he saw Doyle, Cordelia, Fred and Wes smiling down on him, letting him know that they were with him. A sense of peace settled in his heart that the PTB hadn’t abandoned him after all and for the second time that night he said, “Let’s go to work.”
The End