Play It Again, Sam. Epilogue
Sorry this has taken so long to post, I guess I just sort of forgot about it. Anyway, this is me attempting to tie up all the loose ends. It takes place approximately half a year after the events of the main story, but with plenty of flashbacks. I hope you like. ::smiles hopefully::
Eep! I nearly forgot! Many, many, many thanks to lillianmorgan for beta-ing! *hugs*
Also feedback is always appreciated, no matter how short or long! :)
Previous chapters can be found here.
Epilogue
It was late, and Riley Finn was tired. It would be another two days before the reinforcements arrived, so all he and the team could do was to sit high up on the top of a cliff and make sure that the demons didn't leave. Not that they could stop them. He had never seen demons like them - 7 feet tall and pricklier than a porcupine. They had left such a wide trail of mayhem and destruction behind them, that the local government had been unable to contain the story - there had even been a brief report on the BBC’s World Service. The reporters seemed unable to make up their minds as to whether it was gangs, terrorists or wild animals.
Riley and his men had been tracking them for a week, when the demons had finally settled in a cave in the forest. Now and again there would be sounds of fighting - the demons had already killed two of their own, which would make it easier for the soldiers when it came to taking them out. Although ‘easier’ was hardly the right term - ‘less impossible’ was probably more accurate, since there were still about 20 left.
Riley closed his eyes briefly. Still 3 hours till sunrise. As often happened at times like this, his thoughts turned to LA, six months ago. Looking back it felt like a dream. An adventure, a fairy tale. Only... something darker had begun to stir beneath the surface, and threatened to turn the dream into a nightmare.
~~~
Sitting in an Irish bar (the authenticity of which Spike had scoffed at), Sam had asked how the wedding had gone. Spike had looked at her blankly, until she had specified Xander and Anya. He had been silent for so long, that they had thought he had misheard her, but he finally looked up, pain coming off him in waves. Looking from Sam to Riley, he had asked just how much heartbreak they felt like.
Riley still felt a sick lurch in his stomach every time he remembered. Xander leaving Anya at the alter. Tara shot. Willow flaying the killer alive and trying to end the world. Anya dead... He couldn't remember all the details - big apocalypse, lots of Slayers, Spike saving the world... strange, that that part was the easiest one to accept.
The next day they had decided to leave. The fact that there had been no pleas for them to stay had only reinforced Riley's impression that there was something going on. No-one talked about it, or was willing to explain - not even the quiet, melancholy lawyer called Gunn, who had looked at him with dark eyes and said: "Bad things happen here, bro," and walked off.
~~~
Movement in the canopy below focused Riley's mind on the present, but what-ever-it-was had already left. Probably just an animal - the demons always left a clear trail behind them. And then howls of pain and loud crashes reached his ears. Another fight. Maybe they'd manage to kill each other completely. That would make the mission a LOT simpler! His mind wandered off again.
~~~
Spike... Spike had been a surprise. Riley had expected a replay of the scene in the crypt... but any mention of Buffy, apart from that night in the bar, had been reluctant. And the only time Riley had asked straight what the deal was, Spike had nearly declined to answer. The scene was still vivid in his mind...
The last night walking home, just Riley, Sam, Nina and Spike (Angel had been called away by Hamilton to an emergency meeting), the men had dropped behind when Spike stopped to light a cigarette. Riley, realising that this might be his last opportunity to speak with Spike alone, had put aside his apprehensions and asked.
"I know it’s none of my business, but I’ve been wondering - why did Buffy sleep with you?"
Spike, focussed on getting his lighter to work, replied quietly (Riley didn’t recognise this as a sign of danger).
"Good question. Why did you get suck-jobs from vamps?"
Riley felt heat creeping up his cheeks and looked ahead to make sure Sam and Nina were out of earshot.
"That was different!" he answered curtly.
Spike looked up, eyes narrowing, and took a long drag from his cigarette. He didn't blow the smoke out again. Instead he became so still that he might have been a marble statue, unblinking, unmoving, his face betraying no emotion. Riley, jolted into awareness of the fact that the blond in front of him was a vampire - stronger, faster and holding a grudge - began to feel increasingly worried. When Spike finally moved, it was to slowly look the man over from head to toe, the way a jungle cat would size up its prey before it attacked, and Riley felt panic rising and start to wrap its cold fingers around his insides.
"Oh, shit! I've really pissed him off," he thought, as Spike finally blew out the smoke, and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Good! I'm glad we're clear on that."
And with that he turned to walk away.
Riley almost grabbed his arm.
"Wait, what do you mean? Sorry, but I’m just trying to understand!"
Spike looked at him disdainfully. “Well, you’re obviously failing! She never wanted me to bite her, if that’s what you think. Her affinity with demons? The Slayer is part demon - where do you think the super strength and efficient healing come from? The hunt, the kill - it’s in her blood.”
Riley looked like he had been hit with a shovel. Hard.
Spike sighed. “Weren’t you listening when I explained about all the bitty Slayers? ‘Spirit of The Demon’ is not just a pretty metaphor - it’s real. Makes the Slayer more than human. As to why she slept with me...”
The vampire studied the kid searchingly, wondering if he was up to hearing the truth, and decided why not, he was hardly made of glass. And it would do him good to remember that the world was made up of infinite shades of grey.
“Chip didn’t work on her, after they brought her back. The spell did something or other - anchored the demon more thoroughly perhaps - so no more migraines for yours truly. She needed someone to take out her frustration on, and I gave her an excuse! And - as I am sure you noticed - violence made her hot!”
Riley looked strangely deflated.
“She would never hit me. Except a few times when we sparred, but she always held back. Even when I asked her not to.”
Spike scoffed. “Well - duh! Can’t go round beating people to a bloody pulp. Not nice. Also, they may end up dead. Not a problem she had to consider with me of course, what with bein’ dead already. No, she could just go all out and not worry about the consequences. Not that that made them go away of course.”
He sighed again. “Fucked up royally, we did. But...” the demon looked at the man, his eyes glowing with feelings Riley could not decipher.
“In the end - after all the pain, and the hurt and the fire - she loved me!”
With these words he walked off, leaving the soldier with questions that would never be answered.
After saying goodbye to the humans - and Nina - Spike went up to what used to be Fred’s office. He had spent many days there as a ghost, listening as she chatted away - treating him like friend. First person to reach out to him like that. He treasured the memories of her as dearly as those of Buffy, knowing that she was gone forever. He liked to come up here still, since it made him feel closer to her, even though her smell was now gone.
But tonight he wasn’t thinking about Fred. The events of the last few days had brought up old memories and set something in motion inside him, and he needed to process it and see if it would blossom in his mind. He sat down in the darkness, pulled out a piece of paper, and after looking out of the window for a long time at the blinking lights below, he picked up a pen and wrote:
The spark kindled a flame in her heart
Fire engulfing hands entwined
A jewel containing the fate of the world
Every night I save you.
A soft smile playing on his lips, the vampire carefully folded up the paper and put it away in a pocket. He stretched languorously, and as he walked out of the building, quietly started whistling to himself. Riley, who had tried and failed to find the canteen whilst looking for a midnight snack, saw him striding out, smiling, and again wondered at the mystery that was souled vampires.
~~~
The stillness made Riley come out of his memories. The sounds of fighting had stopped. There had been a soft rustle between the trees, but as the leaf-cover gently stopped swaying there was an all-encompassing silence. Upon checking all his and his team’s various demon-scanners, it would appear that the demons had disappeared - or were dead. The fighting-sounds had been louder than ever before, so it was quite possible that they had finally killed each other. There were faint traces of something else, but it was already out of range and was quickly dismissed.
When daylight came, they approached the cave, all men alert and with guns at the ready. The stench was overwhelming. Inside the opening they found the first body - the head neatly sliced off and lying three feet away. The soldiers looked at each other. There was no way this demon had been killed by one of his own. Their MO was 'smash', and they never used weapons. Cautiously the soldiers went further in. The rest of the demons were lying in heaps on the floor, some decapitated, others more badly cut up. There was blood in great pools on the floor, and in streaks on the cave walls. One of the soldiers suddenly cried out in surprise and directed Riley’s gaze to the back wall. Written on it, in fresh, glistening blood, were two words.
Angel’s Avengers.
The End
Eep! I nearly forgot! Many, many, many thanks to lillianmorgan for beta-ing! *hugs*
Also feedback is always appreciated, no matter how short or long! :)
Previous chapters can be found here.
Epilogue
It was late, and Riley Finn was tired. It would be another two days before the reinforcements arrived, so all he and the team could do was to sit high up on the top of a cliff and make sure that the demons didn't leave. Not that they could stop them. He had never seen demons like them - 7 feet tall and pricklier than a porcupine. They had left such a wide trail of mayhem and destruction behind them, that the local government had been unable to contain the story - there had even been a brief report on the BBC’s World Service. The reporters seemed unable to make up their minds as to whether it was gangs, terrorists or wild animals.
Riley and his men had been tracking them for a week, when the demons had finally settled in a cave in the forest. Now and again there would be sounds of fighting - the demons had already killed two of their own, which would make it easier for the soldiers when it came to taking them out. Although ‘easier’ was hardly the right term - ‘less impossible’ was probably more accurate, since there were still about 20 left.
Riley closed his eyes briefly. Still 3 hours till sunrise. As often happened at times like this, his thoughts turned to LA, six months ago. Looking back it felt like a dream. An adventure, a fairy tale. Only... something darker had begun to stir beneath the surface, and threatened to turn the dream into a nightmare.
~~~
Sitting in an Irish bar (the authenticity of which Spike had scoffed at), Sam had asked how the wedding had gone. Spike had looked at her blankly, until she had specified Xander and Anya. He had been silent for so long, that they had thought he had misheard her, but he finally looked up, pain coming off him in waves. Looking from Sam to Riley, he had asked just how much heartbreak they felt like.
Riley still felt a sick lurch in his stomach every time he remembered. Xander leaving Anya at the alter. Tara shot. Willow flaying the killer alive and trying to end the world. Anya dead... He couldn't remember all the details - big apocalypse, lots of Slayers, Spike saving the world... strange, that that part was the easiest one to accept.
The next day they had decided to leave. The fact that there had been no pleas for them to stay had only reinforced Riley's impression that there was something going on. No-one talked about it, or was willing to explain - not even the quiet, melancholy lawyer called Gunn, who had looked at him with dark eyes and said: "Bad things happen here, bro," and walked off.
~~~
Movement in the canopy below focused Riley's mind on the present, but what-ever-it-was had already left. Probably just an animal - the demons always left a clear trail behind them. And then howls of pain and loud crashes reached his ears. Another fight. Maybe they'd manage to kill each other completely. That would make the mission a LOT simpler! His mind wandered off again.
~~~
Spike... Spike had been a surprise. Riley had expected a replay of the scene in the crypt... but any mention of Buffy, apart from that night in the bar, had been reluctant. And the only time Riley had asked straight what the deal was, Spike had nearly declined to answer. The scene was still vivid in his mind...
The last night walking home, just Riley, Sam, Nina and Spike (Angel had been called away by Hamilton to an emergency meeting), the men had dropped behind when Spike stopped to light a cigarette. Riley, realising that this might be his last opportunity to speak with Spike alone, had put aside his apprehensions and asked.
"I know it’s none of my business, but I’ve been wondering - why did Buffy sleep with you?"
Spike, focussed on getting his lighter to work, replied quietly (Riley didn’t recognise this as a sign of danger).
"Good question. Why did you get suck-jobs from vamps?"
Riley felt heat creeping up his cheeks and looked ahead to make sure Sam and Nina were out of earshot.
"That was different!" he answered curtly.
Spike looked up, eyes narrowing, and took a long drag from his cigarette. He didn't blow the smoke out again. Instead he became so still that he might have been a marble statue, unblinking, unmoving, his face betraying no emotion. Riley, jolted into awareness of the fact that the blond in front of him was a vampire - stronger, faster and holding a grudge - began to feel increasingly worried. When Spike finally moved, it was to slowly look the man over from head to toe, the way a jungle cat would size up its prey before it attacked, and Riley felt panic rising and start to wrap its cold fingers around his insides.
"Oh, shit! I've really pissed him off," he thought, as Spike finally blew out the smoke, and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Good! I'm glad we're clear on that."
And with that he turned to walk away.
Riley almost grabbed his arm.
"Wait, what do you mean? Sorry, but I’m just trying to understand!"
Spike looked at him disdainfully. “Well, you’re obviously failing! She never wanted me to bite her, if that’s what you think. Her affinity with demons? The Slayer is part demon - where do you think the super strength and efficient healing come from? The hunt, the kill - it’s in her blood.”
Riley looked like he had been hit with a shovel. Hard.
Spike sighed. “Weren’t you listening when I explained about all the bitty Slayers? ‘Spirit of The Demon’ is not just a pretty metaphor - it’s real. Makes the Slayer more than human. As to why she slept with me...”
The vampire studied the kid searchingly, wondering if he was up to hearing the truth, and decided why not, he was hardly made of glass. And it would do him good to remember that the world was made up of infinite shades of grey.
“Chip didn’t work on her, after they brought her back. The spell did something or other - anchored the demon more thoroughly perhaps - so no more migraines for yours truly. She needed someone to take out her frustration on, and I gave her an excuse! And - as I am sure you noticed - violence made her hot!”
Riley looked strangely deflated.
“She would never hit me. Except a few times when we sparred, but she always held back. Even when I asked her not to.”
Spike scoffed. “Well - duh! Can’t go round beating people to a bloody pulp. Not nice. Also, they may end up dead. Not a problem she had to consider with me of course, what with bein’ dead already. No, she could just go all out and not worry about the consequences. Not that that made them go away of course.”
He sighed again. “Fucked up royally, we did. But...” the demon looked at the man, his eyes glowing with feelings Riley could not decipher.
“In the end - after all the pain, and the hurt and the fire - she loved me!”
With these words he walked off, leaving the soldier with questions that would never be answered.
After saying goodbye to the humans - and Nina - Spike went up to what used to be Fred’s office. He had spent many days there as a ghost, listening as she chatted away - treating him like friend. First person to reach out to him like that. He treasured the memories of her as dearly as those of Buffy, knowing that she was gone forever. He liked to come up here still, since it made him feel closer to her, even though her smell was now gone.
But tonight he wasn’t thinking about Fred. The events of the last few days had brought up old memories and set something in motion inside him, and he needed to process it and see if it would blossom in his mind. He sat down in the darkness, pulled out a piece of paper, and after looking out of the window for a long time at the blinking lights below, he picked up a pen and wrote:
The spark kindled a flame in her heart
Fire engulfing hands entwined
A jewel containing the fate of the world
Every night I save you.
A soft smile playing on his lips, the vampire carefully folded up the paper and put it away in a pocket. He stretched languorously, and as he walked out of the building, quietly started whistling to himself. Riley, who had tried and failed to find the canteen whilst looking for a midnight snack, saw him striding out, smiling, and again wondered at the mystery that was souled vampires.
~~~
The stillness made Riley come out of his memories. The sounds of fighting had stopped. There had been a soft rustle between the trees, but as the leaf-cover gently stopped swaying there was an all-encompassing silence. Upon checking all his and his team’s various demon-scanners, it would appear that the demons had disappeared - or were dead. The fighting-sounds had been louder than ever before, so it was quite possible that they had finally killed each other. There were faint traces of something else, but it was already out of range and was quickly dismissed.
When daylight came, they approached the cave, all men alert and with guns at the ready. The stench was overwhelming. Inside the opening they found the first body - the head neatly sliced off and lying three feet away. The soldiers looked at each other. There was no way this demon had been killed by one of his own. Their MO was 'smash', and they never used weapons. Cautiously the soldiers went further in. The rest of the demons were lying in heaps on the floor, some decapitated, others more badly cut up. There was blood in great pools on the floor, and in streaks on the cave walls. One of the soldiers suddenly cried out in surprise and directed Riley’s gaze to the back wall. Written on it, in fresh, glistening blood, were two words.
Angel’s Avengers.
The End