Title: Faded (1/1)
Author: Ankhet
Email: ankhet@cswnet.com
Distribution: Just keep my name attached
Spoilers: Everything, especially Graduation and minor ones for the fourth season
Rating: PG-14
Content: WAR...character death...songfic
Summary: It's been sixty years since Angel left. My, how things have changed.
Disclaimer: Willow & Co. don't belong to me. Joss Whedon owns them and he is decidedly not me. The song 'Faded' belongs to Bur.

Faded (1/1) by Samantha McCullah.


He hadn't really wanted to come back, but something deep inside of him told him it was his last chance. < Last Chance for what? > he wondered bitterly. He stalked through the deserted streets. His first instinct was to head towards sounds of fighting when he encountered them, but he knew in his heart he wouldn't be welcome. The two Slayers had once again descended into Sunnydale and fought in vain to keep the Hellmouth closed; Angel had been careful and had ever mention of his name removed from the diaries and records of the Watchers.

Except for one entry. 'Angelus -- the one with the angelic face. Scourge of Europe.' At Angel's request, Giles had penciled in 'Kill on sight' next to the sparse entry. He laughed harshly, remembering the last time he'd seen the Watcher just after she....Angel shook his head clearing away those thoughts.


** Looking at what used to be, now is faded like a rose Uselessly he wonders if this is what he really chose **


He continued his tour of the town and ended up in the last place he wanted to be. Sunnydale Memorial Cemetery, last used in 2049 with burial of the Harris family. He pushed open the rusty gate and entered the overgrown pathways. With silent footsteps he padded towards the well-known plots in a small corner of the cemetery.

Before he reached his goal, he passed in front of the most recent tombstone and stopped briefly. 'Alexander LaVelle Harris 1981-2049 Beloved Friend' Nothing was written about the family Angel knew Xander had cherished, but he wasn't surprised. Xander's headstone had been paid for and designed by Willow.

Angel paused long enough to pull some of weeds away from the base of the stone and mutter a soft prayer for Xander. Then he continued on his way.


** From the outside it looks so absurd But on the inside he knows just how it feels. **


He reached a well-tended clearing at the end of the path and stood at the foot of two gravestones. He turned briefly to the first. 'Faith 1981 - 1999 We Never Knew Her' He could still remember the day the second Slayer had died. She'd turned on the Mayor and fought along side Buffy, and her added strength gave the Slayerettes the power to defeat the Mayor. With a final burst of strength the demon that had been Mayor Richard Wilkins III had impaled Faith on a recently grown spike. Angel brushed away some of the dirt and leaves that had settled on the headstone then with a sigh of resignation he turned to the second stone.

'Buffy Summers 1981 - 2006 Without her, the world would have been nothing'

The words were so simple and unassuming to the uninformed eye, but to him they were literal and moved him to silent tears. He fell to his knees, pressed his face into the ground and sobbed out the love he'd lost when she had died.


** It's faded but the light will show One world that he used to know It's all there and he looks around But he knows that it won't be found **


"Why?" he sobbed. Why did she have to die? Why did any of them? "Why did I come here?" he asked softly as the tears began to slow.

"Because you missed us?" There was a hopeful lilt to the voice that addressed him. Angel whirled around and was faced with the shocking sight of a slim, old woman with her hands folded over the head of an oak cane. Her long skirt moved with a faint breeze, and she smiled at him. Even though age had taken it's toll, the fire was still in her eyes, and her hair was the almost the same shade it had been. It was just a little faded now.

"Willow?" he breathed, and she nodded happily. She strode forward with only a slight limp, and when she stumbled over a hidden root, Angel caught her arm and steadied her. "You okay?" he asked, allowing concern to leak into his voice.

She nodded, "Oh, yeah. Just an old war wound," she laughed, linking her arm with his. Her eyes found Buffy's headstone, and the smile melted away. They stood in silent contemplation for several seconds. "I'm the last," Willow finally whispered.

"What?" Angel asked, turning curious eyes to her.

"The last of the original group. I'm it," she replied.

"Oh," was all he said, turning back to the two stones. They returned to silence until finally, Angel asked, "What happened to the rest?" "Oz died in a car accident when he was twenty-three. Drunk driver," she replied, her eyes growing moist at the memory. "It was two weeks before our wedding." She didn't continue and closed her eyes.

"Willow? If you--," he began.

"Xander got married, had a healthy son named Jesse, and grew old. Then his son was bitten, turned into a vampire. Jesse turned his wife, his mother, and his two kids into vampires. Xander went after them and faced them alone; he managed to kill most of them. The two kids got a way." Her voice caught, and Angel noticed the tears streaming down her face. "Two days later, Xander took a gun, went into his den, and killed himself." The tears were running in torrents down her face.

"Oh, God, Willow," he muttered, taking her in his arms gently. He held her carefully, afraid he would hurt her.

"Dammit, Angel, I'm not going to break," she sobbed into his chest, and he held her tighter, rubbing her back and letting his own tears break forth.


** Vipers nesting on the ground just Might catch him unaware He can't see them and it's just as well That he really doesn't care. **


"Tell me about yourself. Did you get married?" he asked in an attempt to change the subject when her sobs quieted.

"No. It didn't seem fair," she replied.

"You still loved Oz," Angel replied with a knowing nod.

"That's part of it." She took a deep breath. "I've been meaning to tell you something since high school...." Her eyes cut to the woods behind them.

"What did you want to say?" Angel asked after she trailed off.

"There's three vampires behind you," she shouted and pushed Angel out of the way just as the lead vamp swung his fist towards him. The fist caught Willow in the cheek and slammed her back into a nearby tree. She collapsed to the ground in a boneless heap.

"Willow!" Angel shouted as he tossed one of the vamps away from him and onto a fallen branch. The vampire exploded into a shower of dust, and Angel moved between the remaining two vamps and Willow's prone body. His vampire face was in full view, and he growled at the two fledglings.

"Who are you?" the leader asked.

"Angelus," he growled, and nearly laughed at the fear that trickled into the two's eyes. They glanced at each other then took off running down the path. He made sure no more vampires were waiting in the woods then he turned to Willow. He knelt beside her and lifted her head into his lap. She opened her eyes and smiled up at him.

"Willow, are you all right?" he asked. She laughed softly.

"My Angel," she whispered and stroked his cheek with a gnarled hand.

"Oh, no, you don't. Don't die on me," he ordered, and she laughed again.

"I can see them. Oz and Xander. Buffy, Cordelia, and Faith. They're waiting," she whispered as her eyes glazed over. She seemed to stop breathing, but her body took one more shuddering breath and her eyes narrowed in confusion. "I can't go." She seemed to talk to the air behind him. "I have to tell Angel that...." She smiled again.

"Tell me what?" he asked, smoothing the hair back from her wrinkled brow.

"I love you, Angel. Always have," she whispered and closed her eyes. Her body slumped in his arms as it died.

"Willow?" He shook her slightly. "Willow!" he cried out.


** All the roots that seemed so planted Never really were at all And if he once took them for granted He won't be sorry when they're gone **


He picked up her body gently and carried out of the cemetery. The same thing that told him to come to Sunnydale told him the Willow still lived in the same house. He carried her limp body through the silent streets until he reached the house with a single light burning in the window. He caught a glimpse of faint movement behind the curtains, and the front door was opened before he'd even walked half-way up the walk.

"Willow?" the woman who exited the house asked, noticing the body in Angel's arms.

"I-I'm sorry," Angel offered lamely as the woman took Willow from him.

"How did she....?" the woman trailed off, meeting Angel's eyes.

"She fell," he replied, not sure how much this woman knew. The woman nodded slightly and turned to go into the house. Angel turned and started down the walk.

"Wait," the woman suddenly called out. Angel turned and looked at her. "Are you Angel?" she asked; he nodded. "I'll be right back." He waited patiently as she placed Willow's body in the back seat of the car and ran back into the house. She returned carrying her car keys and a small plainly wrapped package. When she handed the package to him, he saw Buffy's careful handwriting. 'To the Last' was all it said.

"Willow told me to give it to you should anything have happened to her," the woman explained then hurried to her car, started it, and headed towards Sunnydale General Hospital. Angel watched as the taillights faded into the distance then he tore open the package, careful not the rip the address.

Inside was an old, faded picture of Willow, Xander, and Buffy, and a note written on yellowed paper. Angel carefully opened the letter and was met with a short paragraph of Buffy's handwriting.


'To the Last,

So, we're all dead, huh? Weird. Anyway, you're all that's left, and I'm betting on some good odds here that it's you, Angel. Am I right? This isn't supposed to be a big guilt trip, just a reminder, to whoever is left. Remember us. Remember what we did. Remember who we were.

Always, The Slayer, The Watcher(s), the Witch, the Zeppo (God knows why he wants to be called that), the Werewolf, and the Vampire.

Under each title, the owner signed there name. Except his. He hadn't been there do sign. He felt the tears well up again as he picked up the picture. He turned it over and saw another note, this time in Willow's practiced script.

'Angel (if you're the last),

I just wanted you to know, in case I never told you, that I love you. It was always you. But Buffy, and Oz, and, gods, even Xander, kept us apart. Well, that and the whole ten times as old as me thing. Anyway, it's true.

Oh, and if this isn't Angel, I'm really embarrassed now, so I'll go.

Love, Willow Ann Rosenberg
The Witch'


He felt his heart lurch at everything he'd lost, especially a girl he'd never known. He folded the note and the picture and placed them in his pocket. Then he headed out of town, away from the bad memories.


** It's Faded.... **


*The End*