27.  The End is the Beginning

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The final chapter. Thanks for all the reviews. Enjoy

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Spike ducked the sword, before bringing the Vorax overhead, but Angel blocked and booted him in the chest. Slipping down the bodies slightly, Spike recovered and managed to block Angel’s slash, before pushing back against him

“Who would have thought, that after all these years, you would attempt to destroy the world?” Spike asked, “Again, might I add”

“A man with nothing left to lose is a dangerous man,” Angel said

“Destroying the world is taking it a tad bit too far, peaches”

“You wouldn’t understand what Cordy and I had together”

“I think I might, mate”

Spike held up his left hand, showing off the Celtic design wedding ring. Angel smiled

“So, you finally got married to Illyria then?”

“Sure did. And I don’t regret a single thing about it”

“Took you long enough. Why was that? To make sure that you and Illyria really were meant to be together. I knew Cordy and I were meant to be”

“No, Angel, that’s not the reason. I love her, yes, and I figured we were meant to be, but I didn’t ask her to marry me until now cause it’s Illyria. Besides, she was happy just being with me. I wanted to get married to further cement our bond”

“Well, good for you,” Angel said, “But your marriage is going to end like mine”

Growling, Angel lunged at Spike, swinging his sword, but Spike blocked the blow, only to get struck across his face. His head reeling from the blow, Spike slashed with the Vorax, as Angel parried, moving across and spinning around, kicking Spike in the face. He staggered back, shifting his position to block Angel’s chop, before defending a slash at his legs. Taking advantage of the opening, Spike swung his fist at Angel’s unprotected face, but Angel’s arm quickly shot up to block the blow. Lifting his sword up, Angel pushed the Vorax away, enabling him to deliver a kick to Spike’s stomach. Spike gritted his teeth, as Angel swung his sword. Blocking, Spike quickly slashed, drawing blood across Angel’s torso

“How does that feel?” Spike asked

He slashed again, but Angel blocked, pushing the Vorax away, while slashing at the same time, leaving a crimson line on Spike’s chest. He growled at the pain

“You tell me,” Angel replied with a feral grin

Spike stabbed with the Vorax, but Angel deflected and elbowed Spike in the face, before slashing wide. Spike rolled under the blade, kicking Angel in the back, then blocking the blade when Angel spun around with a slash. Spike pushed back and sliced, but Angel deflected the Vorax upwards, before slicing diagonally downwards on Spike. He growled as more blood was drawn, as Angel’s fist crashed into his jaw. Spike staggered back, as Angel then kicked him in the stomach, knocking him down. Angel raised his sword and brought it crashing down, but Spike managed to fend off the blows Angel kept raining down. Spike wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold up against the blows. Finally, Angel delivered one last blow to the Vorax, completely snapping the blade in half. Sparks flew as the blade shattered and Spike looked on horror as his favourite sword was destroyed. Angel was somewhat surprised by this, which gave Spike the chance to stab the Vorax into his waist, then uppercutting him in the jaw, knocking him back

Angel leapt up to the top of the bodies, swinging his sword, but Spike dodged, before grabbing hold of Angel’s wrist and elbowing him in the chest, then kneeing him in the wrist, making him let go of the sword. Angel’s response was to slug Spike in the jaw, then uppercutted him, before doing an inner crescent kick. Spike dodged Angel’s leg, punching him in the sternum, but Angel smacked his fist aside and swinging his fist. Dodging, Spike punched again, but Angel parried, spinning around him and elbowing him in the back. Spike hissed, spinning around and getting kicked in the stomach. Angel then swung his fist, but Spike grabbed his fist, pulling him off-balance and backhanding him, before twisting under his arm and kicking him in the stomach. Angel flipped back up onto his feet, doing a spinning roundhouse that knocked Spike away from him and made him land on his hands and knees

“How you feeling?” Angel asked, “Wanna take a break!”

Spike growled and got to his feet, turning around as he vamped out

“No, not just yet”

Angel swung his fist, but Spike ducked and punched him in the stomach, before grabbing the bottom of his duster and pulling it over Angel’s face, then punching him in the stomach again, then uppercutted him. Angel growled, throwing his duster off his face, then locked his arm with Spike’s when he punched, before spinning around and throwing Spike aside. Getting up, Spike whirled around, inclining his head to dodge Angel’s fist, but the older vampire then backhanded him, then scored another blow to the jaw, making him spit blood. Angel swung his fist again, but Spike blocked, grabbing Angel by the head and bringing it crashing against his own. They both staggered back from the move, holding their head in pain. Angel growled and shook his head, before swinging his fist at the same time Spike did. Their fists both connected, knocking themselves away from each other

“Bloody hell, that hurt,” Spike cried

“Don’t worry, it’ll hurt a lot more,” Angel growled, getting up

“Can hardly wait”

Spike got up and swung his fist, but Angel dodged and punched him. Spike then kicked Angel in the stomach, before getting him into a headlock; however, Angel easily picked Spike up and dropped him on the bodies, before kicking him away. Spike slid a stop, getting to his feet as Angel picked up his sword and came for him. Spying a pair of swords, Spike grabbed them and got up into a stance, blocking Angel’s slash, then spun around and sliced. Angel ducked under both blades, as Spike brought one sword down overhead. Angel blocked, before defending the stab at his stomach, as Spike chopped with both swords, but Angel blocked and pushed him away, before surveying the battlefield. The Old Ones were winning the fight, crushing Slayers, commandoes and Pyleans beneath them. Angel grinned at Spike

“Looks like you’re losing, Captain Peroxide”

“I’m sure Buffy will have something up her sleeve”

“Thing is, will she be able to pull it off in time. Take a look around, Spike. This fight is mine. You’re losing. The end of magic is close. Heh, it all ends tonight”

“Not if I have anything to say about that”

Growling, Spike lunged and slashed with both swords, spinning around as Angel ducked, before flicking his swords around and chopping. Angel blocked and pushed back, before slashing wide. Spike blocked, then kicked Angel in the ribs, as the older vampire growled and spun around with another slash. Spike blocked again, going for a spinning backhand, but Angel blocked and kicked him in the back, before slicing. Spike managed to whirl around and block in time, then sliced at Angel’s throat, but he dodged it Matrix-style, before doing a small backflip, kicking Spike in the jaw. He stumbled back, as Angel landed on his feet

“You don’t have what it takes to defeat me, William”

“Don’t worry, Liam, I’ll kick your ass in the end”

“You’ll never get there”

Meanwhile, Buffy, Illyria, Dracula, Riley, Lindsey, Kate, Oz and several remaining Slayers, dragons and werewolves were all standing around Willow, protecting her against the vampires and demons coming at them, as Willow attempted to open the portal. However, it was proving to be more difficult than she thought and she required more time, but she knew her friends didn’t have much time. They had pretty lost the entire fight and were looking to get out of this dimension

“God, it’s not working,” Willow cried in frustration

“Keep at it, Will, you’ll get there,” Buffy said, “We’ll hold them off”

She staked a vampire, then sliced open a demon, as Lindsey impaled a demon. Kate had ran out of ammo and was using a sword supplied to her by her husband, while Oz and his pack of werewolves were mauling any demon that came here. However, the Old Ones were nearly upon them and the portal still wasn’t opened

“Damn it, we need more time,” Buffy cried

“I’ll hold them all off,” Illyria replied, hacking up a demon

“How are you going to do that?” Riley asked

“Because I know them”

Illyria broke away from the group, killing a demon on the way out, before standing before the Old Ones. They all stopped and peered down at her

“Well, if it isn’t Illyria, self-proclaimed God-King,” said an Old One

“Let’s kill her and pay her back for all those years ago,” said another Old One

“If you want me,” Illyria said, “Come and get me”

An Old One snarled and lunged for Illyria, but she rolled out of way, before spinning around and slicing through two Old Ones, then dodging another Old One and swinging her axes, drawing blood as she dived away from large claws, dancing amongst the Old Ones, slashing and dodging, until she caught sight of Spike and Angel battling it out on a pile of bodies. That’s when she failed to notice the large fist flying her way until it was too late. She flew through the air, landing in a heap, as the Old Ones continued their advance upon the small group

“It’s over for you, Spike,” Angel said, deflecting the swords

Spike ignored him and slashed, but Angel blocked again, spinning around him and doing a kick, but Spike blocked with his forearms, before slashing with his swords in different directions. Angel was able to block all the attacks, then smacked one sword aside and kicked Spike in the stomach. He slashed with the other sword, but Angel swung hard, knocking the weapon from his hand. Spike growled and slashed, only for Angel to catch his wrist and twist, then knee it, making him drop the sword. Angel grinned and slashed, but Spike caught his wrist and kneed him in the stomach, before punching him in the face, then raised his arm up and withdrew the small sword from inside his duster, before impaling Angel in the chest. He gasped, as Spike punched him, knocking him down. Angel fell unconscious, as Spike turned towards the Old Ones. They were advancing on Buffy’s small group, as a large portal opened up, courtesy of Willow. Lightning flashed through the sky, the flames burning higher and Spike thought of Illyria and Elena. He wanted to be with them right now. However, he didn’t make sure Angel wasn’t unconscious, as he had been faking. As Spike started to head towards the portal, Angel rose up, a stake sliding out of his sleeve. Spike frowned and was about to turn around, when something stabbed him through the back. And then, his entire world turned black…

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