Summary: The Red Dragon Syndicate was severely disrupted, but not wiped out. Is this what it means to be alive? (Spike and Faye centric fic.)

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The Wicked Light

Prologue

The Nightmare
Cab Calloway
Slumber, never comes around 'til dawn,
My head starts reeling,
I dream that I'm kneeling,
It seems that I'm kneeling on the ceiling of my room!
Nightmare, sure has got me in the air,
It's no use denying,
And there's no denying,
I dream that I'm dying and going in my tomb.

He heard the singing first. That's when he knew there was an afterlife, and she was there. She was caring for him again; tending his wounds and making him whole again. There was nothing but darkness when he opened his eyes.

Curiously, his throat felt parched when he croaked out, “Julia?”

Why would he be thirsty in the afterworld?

The singing stopped and he felt cool hands cover his eyes and he shut them willingly. Two small fingers slid an ice cube between his lips and into the space between his cheek and teeth. When the fingers withdrew he felt the icy water trickle down his throat and a chilled hand caress the side of his face. Its coolness made the rest of his face feel as if it were on fire. In his mind, his own arm moved to take the alien hand in his own, but there was no movement.

“Am I dreaming?” His voice was a whisper.

Strands of silky hair brushed his cheek when he heard the softly whispered reply, “Yes.”

Spike's fevered mind refused him consciousness and again he slid into his oblivion.

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The long and boring A/N: Just for the record, Spike is doornail style dead. Out with a Bang dead. I am aware of this. The heartbeat in Blue stopped, the star winked out, and Poppy bawled her eyes out. For like two days. In the supermarket. In the car at stoplights. I tried denial (you know, Vicious was a warrior too) and it just didn't work out. The story was philosophically and artistically perfect. All hero stories should be that perfect.

However...Fuck that eternal hero/warrior/fate/destiny crap. Long live the fanfic.

I seem to like Spike and Faye centric fics, so I am positive that is where I am heading with this. I have a general idea, but otherwise, I'm not completely sure. I think Spike deserves at least a little happiness. Or at the very least, to know what it's like to really be alive as he never was before.

This is my first non-Harry Potter fanfic, and my first fanfic without a plot or plan in mind. If you see mistakes/screw-ups, tell me! It's likely I am clueless.

Whatcha gonna do, lil' buckaroo?