No, the CEO isn't Angel. He's alive and with Cordy. Which leaves Wes and Holland. I'm not gonna reveal just yet. I was gonna have Lorne appear in this chapter, but since it involves a battle between Spike and Gunn, he won't appear just yet. Gwen won't appear, but Oz will, however much later. And as for Kate Lockley, it's revealed in After the Fall issue 7 that she's still in LA, having acquired a mass of ancient and modern weapons, fighting her own war against the forces of darkness. Anyhow, on with the story

5. Destroying Las Vegas

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“Hey there, Spike, how’s it going?” Gunn asked

“Hold it right there,” a security guard said

He had arrived with five other guards, all holding firearms. Gunn smiled as he raised his hands, walking towards the guards

“I said hold it!”

Gunn continued towards the guards as they opened fire. People screamed and ran for it, only to find that Gunn’s men had blocked the exits. Gunn himself went down from the gunfire, as Spike made a move for him, but Illyria held him back

“What are you doing, Blue?”

“Gunn is not the same as he was before”

“What do you mean?”

“He is like you”

“Alright you lot, get away from exits now,” the guard shouted out

Another guard headed over to Gunn’s body and knelt down beside him

“Wait, no!” Spike shouted

Gunn grabbed the guard by the throat and tossed him aside, before getting to his feet and snapping another guard’s neck. A guard turned around, as Gunn punched him in the face, before vamping out and biting into his neck. The other guards fired, as a couple of Gunn’s men joined the fight, fighting and killing off the guards. Gunn dropped the body and grabbed another guard by the throat, disarming him and firing a shot into the air

“Alright, everyone calm down or else my boys will eat you,” Gunn said, “No wait, calm down and my boys will eat you”

“What are you doing here, Charlie boy?” Spike asked

“Spike, good old buddy, there you are,” Gunn grinned

“You’re a vampire? How did that happen?”

“Well, you know all about how a vampire is reborn. What do you think?”

“Are you working for the Powers?” Illyria asked

“Fred, nice to see you again,” Gunn said, “Or did I mean Illyria?”

Illyria resumed her normal form, her clothes being replaced by her armour

“What do you want, Gunn?” Spike asked, noting that the vampires were closing in on the humans

“I want you to die for these people,” Gunn answered, “I want you to accept death and by doing so, I will let these people go”

Spike knew he was lying, but decided to play along

“Okay then, I give in,” he said, raising his hands

He walked towards Gunn, who withdrew a wooden stake from his back pocket and headed over to Spike, raising the stake over his heart

“Free shot,” Spike said, “But wait, you gotta let the people go first”

“I lied”

“I know”

Gunn brought the stake down, but Spike caught his wrist and punched him in the face, as the vampires went for the humans. Illyria headed over to the vampires, fighting them off, as Gunn and Spike struggled against each other over the stake. Gunn managed to keep hold of the stake, but Spike kicked his wrist, making him lose hold of the weapon, before slugging him in the face. Gunn swung his fist, as Spike blocked and punched him again, before grabbing him by his hoodie and throwing him across the room. Illyria grabbed a chair and smashed it over a vampire’s head, grabbing a broken piece and ramming it through the vampire’s heart, as another vampire lashed out at her. She blocked his moves and staked him as well, as a third vampire lunged at her. Illyria caught him and threw him onto the ground, driving the stake into his heart

“Leave this place if you value your pitiful lives,” she told the humans

They quickly left through the exit door, as Illyria headed over to the rest of the vampires. Spike dodged Gunn’s outer crescent kick and swung his fist, but Gunn caught his arm, twisting it towards his shoulder and driving his palm into Spike’s chest. The blond vampire stumbled back, as Gunn followed up with a back kick, throwing Spike onto his back. He swiftly flipped onto his feet and blocked Gunn’s two punches, smacking the black vampire in the nose. Gunn growled and vamped out

“Now there’s a face only a mother could love”

“Same could be said about you”

“So, you’re now a vampire and the Senior Partners’ plaything. Who would’ve thought?”

“Yeah, the Partners aren’t very fond of you, Spike”

“Makes me wonder why they have spared you. They could have had you killed. After all, you did help us destroy the Black Thorn. No wait, it’s because you were the closest one to the Partners”

Gunn punched Spike, grabbing him by his coat and throwing him aside. Spike got to his feet and turned around, his game face on, as Gunn charged at him. Spike caught him and flipped him over onto the roulette table. Gunn got up, as Spike jumped onto the table, punching Gunn. Illyria dodged a vampire’s fist and staked him, as his friend struck her in the face. Illyria glared as she kicked the vampire in the chest, as another vampire struck her with a chair, knocking her down. Illyria turned over and kicked the vampire, before getting to her feet and staked the other one, as the vampire came in with the chair again. Illyria dodged him, staking him through the back, as a vampire walked into the club, carrying a loaded M14A rifle. He laughed and began firing, sweeping the area of the room. Illyria dived over a game table, as Spike and Gunn dived off out of the way of the bullets. The gun clicked, signalling its empty magazine, as Spike punched Gunn and got up

“Illyria, go get the car”

She disappeared through an exit, as another vampire walked in, carrying a rocket launcher this time. Spike frowned, as the vampire aimed the launcher at him

“Oh hell no”

The vampire fired, as Spike dived behind the pokies machine. The rocket destroyed several machines, as Spike was thrown through the air by the force. The first vampire rammed a new magazine into the rifle and aimed, as Spike stood up. The vampire fired, shooting Spike in the chest several times, just as the Plymouth burst into the casino, running the vampires over. Spike ran over and got into the car, as Illyria reversed out onto the streets and started driving off

“Cheers, Blue”

Just then, sirens went off, as blue and red lights flashed in the rear-view mirror

“What’s going on?” Illyria asked

“We’re getting chased by the cops. Great,” Spike groaned, “Here, pull over there”

Illyria swung into the parking, as Spike climbed over into the driver’s seat and she went into the passenger’s seat. Spike reversed the car and threw it into drive, heading off, as the first of the police cars swung around the corner and headed towards them. Spike accelerated, as the rest of the police cars arrived, chasing after them. Spike ignored the red lights, blitzing through them and narrowly avoiding another cars, as two large SUVs joined in. Spike watched in the wing mirror as a man hung out the passenger window of one SUV, aiming an assault rifle and firing upon a police car. It spun out of control, as the man fired at another car, as another man hung out the window, holding an RPG launcher and firing it. A police car shot into the air on a tower of flames, as Spike drove faster, dodging cars and gunfire

The police cars were quickly wiped out by the vampires as they chased after Spike, not caring as they smashed through other cars, their bullbars pulverizing them, sending them careening across the street. Spike looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the carnage the vampires were creating. Years ago, he would have enjoyed this sort of violence, but not so much anymore. He raced through the streets, doing his best to avoid the vampires, but they stayed on his tail, never letting up

“We’re never gonna lose them like this,” Spike growled

Illyria didn’t answer, as she was clutching her head in pain. Gritting her teeth, Illyria tried to ignore it, but failed, as she cried out. The vampires’ cars were suddenly trapped in a time warp, slowing down, as Spike left them behind. He grinned at Illyria, who was gasping as she leaned back against her seat

“You okay, Blue?”

“I am fine. Do not be concerned”

“Why not?”

“Because it is nothing”

Spike shrugged as he reached the outskirts of Las Vegas, continuing his driving, as the vampires were released from their time warp, slowing down to a stop, as Gunn got out of one of the cars, looking in the direction Spike and Illyria had gone

“Another time, my friends”

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