Title: Death Is But A Memory
Author: Kylia
Email: kylia_bug@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Nobody belongs to me, unfortunately. They belong to Joss & Mutant Enemy, and a few other people I don’t know. ; Highlander is owned by Davis-Panzer & Rysher .
Rating: R
Spoilers: Nothing Really. General Season 4 BtVS, Season 1 Angel
Category: Willow/Spike; Who Else?
Summary: Fate has drawn Willow and Spike together.
Distribution: Fire & Ice, WitchFanFic, anyone else, ask, and you shall receive
Author's Notes: This takes place in the future.
Author's Notes #2: Crossover with the Highlander universe.
Dedication: Courtney Lynn, and the girls on the second floor. Elka, my favorite Bad Ass!

Willow sat on the couch in silence. She didn't what to say. S he didn't know what she should say. She hadn't seen Spike in over two centuries. But a day hadn't gone by when she hadn't thought of finding him. Of telling him how much she loved him, and of begging his forgiveness. But now, here they were, and she didn't know what to say.

"Two hundred years." Spike's voice broke the deathly silence. "You've been alive, all this time."

"Spike, I..."

"Shut up!" Spike growled, turning his golden eyes to the witch. "I don't believe you! I loved you. I killed for you!"

"I know." Willow whispered, remembering the deaths of her friends and Spike's hands.

"You're immortal? Like Amanda." He stated. Willow nodded.

"When?"

"That night." She told him.

"You died? Do you remember that night?" He asked, a little more softly.

Willow laughed bitterly. "Yes. Death is but a memory. That's all it is. It isn't real. Just an illusion."

"Tell me." Spike spoke softly as he sat next to her on the couch.


// Flashback//


Sunnydale Cemetery 2001


Willow felt the claws of the demon tighten around her neck. She had barely enough air left to speak. "Go. Now!" She rasped. She watched with hooded eyes as Buffy ran away, tears running down her cheeks. The demon was too strong. They couldn't fight him alone. It was too late for Willow. She felt her life flash before her, as she felt the talons grip her tighter. Her last thought was of Spike, and how she wouldn't get to tell him goodbye. Then everything went black.


//End Flashback//


She turned her gaze to Spike, tears in her eyes. "I had hoped to save them." She whispered.

"You did, Luv. The demon didn't live long enough to kill the slayer."

Willow nodded as she remembered what did happen to the slayer. She took a deep breath, and then continued.


// Flashback//


Willow awoke with a gasp. It took her several moments to realize where she was. She slowly got up and fingered her throat, checking for bruises, and gashed where the demon's hands had been. Finding none, she swallowed, trying to remember what had happened. * I died * She thought as the memories came flooding back. She walked around in circles, searching for any sign of what may have happened. Her eyes drifted to the dead body of the demon that had killed her. His heart had been torn out savagely, his purple blood staining the ground beneath him. She stared at his lifeless form and looked up into the sky, noticing for the first time how the sun was blaring down at her. She wondered how much time had past.

Confused, she ran from the cemetery.


//End Flashback//


Willow turned to Spike. "When I realized that everyone thought I was dead, I thought it would have been better to let you all believe I had stayed that way." She paused, "I thought they would be safer."

"Safer?" Spike snorted. "I killed them, Willow."

"I know."

Spike looked into her green eyes, and was surprised by what he found there. Acceptance. "You're not upset?" He asked.

Willow smiled. "I have no room to judge you, Spike. We're the same."

Spike looked at her curiously. She sighed, and stood up.

"Spike, I've killed so many. I do it to survive. We're not so different. I do not feed from them as you do, But I take their life, and their power, and it strengthens my own. So what is the difference?" She asked quietly.

Spike walked to her and spun her around, enveloping her in a hug. She fell into his embrace, reveling in the feeling she had missed for far too long.

Willow turned towards the door as she heard it open. Angelus strolled into the living room and grinned.

"Where's Spike?"

"He went out. He needed time to think." She jumped off of the couch, stalking towards Angelus and pushed him into the wall. "What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Nice to see you too, lover." Angelus smirked, enjoying the feeling of her pressing him into the solid wall.

Willow released him, and rolled her eyes. "We haven't been lovers in over seventy years."

"I know, Red. I missed you." He said silkily.

Willow turned her green eyes to him. "Why are you here?"

Angelus' eyes darkened for a moment, but then it was gone, leaving Willow to wonder if she had actually seen it at all.

"No reason." He told her, his face expressionless.

Willow turned her back to him. "In that case, you can leave."

"Red." He growled as he grabbed her from behind, spinning her around so that she found herself pushed up against his hard body. He pressed his lips against hers in a bruising kiss.

Willow responded. Using Angelus' momentary lapse, she pushed him away, and walked briskly tot he other side of the room. She grabbed her sword and in the blink of an eye, she had the blade pressed firmly against his throat.

"I ask you again, why are you here?"

Spike wondered the streets of Paris in search of his next victim. His thoughts were a muddled mess. Willow was alive. He couldn't get past that one thought. For over two hundred years he had wished that that were true. There wasn't a day that went by when he hadn't thought of her, dreamed of her, or cursed himself for having failing her. And now, here she was, in Paris, alive.

He didn't know if he should be relieved, or angry. He was leaning towards angry. And not just at her. Spike was struck with the realization that Angelus had known that she was alive. He wondered how long his sire had known. Did he always know? Or did he find out recently?

Spike growled, frustrated with the direction his thoughts were taking. He found himself in front of Cienne's and walked in. He took a seat at the bar and waved Cienne over.

"Spike. What can I get you?" Cienne asked, noticing the vampire's foul mood.

"A bottle of your finest. Have it delivered upstairs."

Cienne nodded as he watched Spike walk towards the secret entrance to the club.

Elka left her motel room and smiled to herself when she noticed she was being followed. It had been a stressful day, and she was in the mood for a good fight.

She lured her shadow into the alley behind Cienne's club, and pulled out her sword. After a moment, her shadow entered the alley, her weapon shining in the darkness.

"Is this business or pleasure?" Elka asked from where she stood in the darkness.

"Personal. You killed a friend of mine. Now, you die."

Elka chuckled. "Can you be a bit more specific? I've killed so many."

"Tonight. At the restaurant." The woman's voice was shaking with unspent anger.

"Ah, the mortal. He had something that belonged to me." Elka took a step closer to the woman.

"That map belongs to me." She paused to calm her nerves. "You didn't have to kill him."

Elka stepped closer as she brought her sword down to clash with her opponents. "That Map, belongs to my people." She kicked the woman's feet out from under her, causing her to fall forward, and her sword to tumble to the ground. "You gave him the map. You put him in danger. You killed him." Elka brought her blade across the woman's neck severing her head from her body. "You die."

Elka took a step back and fell to the ground as the lightning began to take her over.

Nick and Amanda were sitting in a secluded booth at 'Death's Door' in silence. Nick knocked back a shot and turned to Amanda.

"Well, that was… fun." He commented.

Amanda smiled. "It had to happen sooner or later. It's a small world and eternity is long."

"Why is Angelus here?" Nick asked, almost dreading the answer.

"That's what I'd like to know."

Amanda turned to see Spike standing over their booth. Nick moved over so that Spike could sit down.

"Well? Why is he here?" Spike asked again.

"Why are you asking me? He's your sire." Amanda deflected the question; just as a waitress came over and brought a bottle of what looked like red wine, and a single glass. She set it on the table, and then noticing the people surrounding the booth she smiled. "Would you like some more glasses?"

Spike snorted as Nick's face contorted in a grimace. "No, Luv. One's enough." He turned towards Amanda, "Unless you'd like some. I'm sure it's very young."

Amanda frowned. "No, I think I'll pass."

The waitress nodded her head and left.

"So, You were about to tell us why Peaches is here."

Amanda smiled and tried to think of a good explanation. When nothing was forthcoming, she sighed. "The L'liora Stone"

"The what?" Nick asked confused.

"The L'liora stone." Spike answered, as his features grew serious. "It's a stone of unlimited power. It's legendary really. No one's ever seen it."

Amanda cleared her throat nervously.

"Why do I have the feeling that's not a good sound?" Nick asked to no one in particular.

Angelus smirked. "Oh, Lover, why I came to see you."

Willow pressed the sword firmly against the skin on his throat. "Bullshit! I’m not in the mood for one of you’re games, old man." She smiled dangerously into his dark eyes. "I’m not opposed to a little decapitation. I’m actually quite good at it. Care to see?" She chuckled when his face shifted into that of his demon as she pressed the sword firmly into his neck, slicing the skin slightly.

Angelus growled as he pushed her away from him. She tumbled to the floor but quickly regained her balance.

"You play a dangerous game, little one." Angelus hissed as his human features returned.

Willow sighed and set her sword on a stand near the bar. She walked around to the other side of the bar and poured herself a drink. After swallowing the burning liquid she walked past the vampire and headed up the stairs. When she had nearly reached the top, his voice reached her.

"Where are you going?"

Willow didn’t stop as she replied. "To bed. I’m too tired to play right now. Maybe later." She heard him chuckle as she turned down the hall.

Once Angelus was certain Willow had gone to bed, he walked over to the couch and retrieved the velvet pouch from where Amanda had hidden it. He took the stone out and admired it appraisingly. It was slightly oval, with soft, rounded edges. What caught his attention most was the range of colors if possessed. He had heard that the stone would change color according to body temperature, and magical power. It could sense the very essence of life, or lack there off. Consequently, the colors didn’t shift under his hand.

He briefly wondered if what he had heard about it was true. If it contained the ability to harness unimagined amounts of power. It was hard to believe something so unassuming could destroy the world, if fallen into the wrong hands. But Angelus had lived long enough to know that destruction could come in the most unlikely forms.

He chuckled softly as he thought of the small slip of a girl upstairs. He had known her for well over two centuries, and she never ceased to amaze him. She had been a shy, pleasant girl when they had met. Of course that had been when he had possessed his soul. He had to admire her bravery, even then, when she had tried to re-curse him, not once, but twice.

It was some kind of irony that it was her, however inadvertently, that had caused his demon to break free from his wretched soul, permanently. When she had died her first death at the hands of a demon, his favorite childe had been in a blind rage. Spike had blamed the Slayer and her friends for Willow’s death. He killed them all. One by one, slowly, and painfully. Spike then went to Los Angeles and delighted in telling him, in vivid detail how each one of the Scooby gang had met their gruesome death.

His soul had cried out in agony. It had been in so much pain both at the loss of Willow as well as at the torment his friends must have faced, that his control on the demon was weakened, allowing it to break free. His soul was now just a distant memory, as was the Slayer.

Angelus had been quite shocked when, nearly eighty years later, he ran into the little witch. He had laughed when he realized the horrid deaths her friends had faced. All for the death of a girl, who had never actually died.

He told her of their fate, expecting to see the tears of the girl he had known. Instead she shrugged and told him it didn’t matter. She told him the only thing that did matter was that Spike never learns that she still lived. Angelus had promised her he would never tell his childe the truth, and he never did.

He hadn’t lied when he told her he missed her. It had been seventy-three years since they had seen each other. Their relationship had been one of convenience. He had loved her fire, and her complexities intrigued him. For her, he was a reminder of who she used to be. The sex hadn’t been bad either. But that’s all it had been. Just sex. Spike was her mate. It didn’t matter that they had never taken the bond. Never performed the blood oath. They were mated, and would always be. Even if they never saw each other again.

Angelus laughed out loud as he realized that time had a way bringing things full circle. Spike and his mate would be together once again. If she didn’t kill them all first.

"Amanda." Spike’s tone was one of warning.

Amanda sighed. "The L’liora Stone. I have it."

"Where?" Spike’s eyes glowed yellow as he thought about the implications.

Amanda averted his gaze. "At the house"

"Are you insane?" Spike barked.

Nick looked from the immortal to the vampire and back again. "One of you care to fill me in?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"NO!" They both shouted in unison.

Spike growled as he stood up. "Bloody Brilliant!" He leaned over the table and stared into her dark eyes with his golden ones. "You do realize the hunter is here? She won’t stop until she has the stone. Your head. Willow’s head. It won’t matter." He snarled.

"I can take care of myself," Amanda said indignantly as Spike started to storm off. "I have been alive for a long time."

Spike stopped and turned around. "Not long enough, Ducks. She has lived for thousands of years. With one goal. One purpose."

"You sound like you know her.’ Nick commented as he tried to pick up on the unspoken meaning to Spike’s words.

Spike turned to his friend. "I do, Mate. We go way back. We were… enemies… friends…lovers. " His face shifted back to its human mask at Amanda’s startled expression. "Elka is also friends with Willow." His eyes darkened sadly. "It doesn’t matter. It won’t matter. She will retrieve the Stone, no matter the cost."

Spike turned and walked away, leaving the two immortals to ponder what he had told them.

Elka was waiting outside of Cienne’s bar when Spike left. She was leaning against the side of the building. She smiled to herself when she saw him storm outside into the cool night air.

Spike scowled when he saw her. "What do you want?"

Elka laughed as she approached him. "Don’t frown. You’ll get wrinkles."

"Elka, luv. I don’t really have time for this."

"Make time." Her voice had a steel edge to it.

Spike sighed needlessly. "Where to?" He asked as he followed her over to her bike and climbed on behind her.

Elka ignored the question as she revved the engine and sped off. After several minutes of twists and turns on the streets of Paris, Elka stopped in front of a small building. It didn’t have any signs, or markers revealing what lay inside. Elka climbed off the bike silently, and grabbed her sword from where she had it safely stashed along the rear of the bike.

She entered the building and waited for Spike to follow her inside before shutting the door. The room was completely empty, with the exception of a metal staircase, which led to a small loft, which covered half of the width of the small building.

Spike followed Elka up the stairs. The loft was sparsely furnished, having only a table with two chairs and a small couch. Elka pulled out one of the chairs and sat in it backwards as she finally turned her violet eyes to Spike.

"So… Tell me." Her accent made the words sound more like a request, than the demand Spike knew it was.

Spike sat on the couch and raised an amused eyebrow. "Tell you?" He asked. "You’re the one who brought me to this little party. Why don’t you tell me, Ducks?"

Elka pulled out a knife she had hidden in a sheath on her left leg. She raised one eyebrow at the blond vampire in amusement and then started sharpening the blade.

The two sat in silence for several minutes. Neither knowing exactly where to start. Neither knowing exactly how much of their present situation the other was aware of. Finally Elka spoke.

"I know Amanda has the Stone. I know Red is staying with her." She turned her gaze to Spike and stared at him intently. "I know Angelus is here."

Spike stared at her in silence for a moment. "What does the bloody wanker have to with L’liora?"

"Directly? Nothing. But he knows the legend as well as anybody. And…" She paused, unsure if she should tell him the rest. She knew that he had only recently found out that Willow was still alive. She doubted that he knew about Willow’s power and how she had gained it.

" And?" Spike asked impatiently. "Out with it. What else?"

Elka returned her violet eyes to her blade. "Angelus knows that Willow retains L’liora’s power."

Willow lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. So much had happened in the last couple of days. When she had come to Paris she knew that the one who pursued her wouldn’t be far behind. They would track her to France. Soon, the battle would begin. She was unsure of the identity of her predator, therefore she didn’t know who would win. Who’s skill was greater. The threat of her impending death had led her to her teacher. But now, she was realizing far more was at stake than her own head.

The fact that Elka was here sent warning bells off in her head. She didn’t know for certain what it was Amanda had stolen, but she feared it was the Stone. If that was the case. They were all in trouble. If the Stone was here, and she lost the upcoming battle, her opponent would have far more than the power passed down the ages. The power of L’liora herself. But they would have the ability to destroy the fabric of reality. That wasn’t something Willow wanted to see happen.

Willow groaned as she climbed out of bed. As if the threat of impending death wasn’t enough, she had come face to face with her greatest fear. Spike. He now knew the truth. He knew that she had been alive all these years. She wondered if he could ever forgive her. She wondered if she wanted him to. It had been so long since she’d been with her love. She had steeled herself against the loss; she wasn’t sure if she could open herself up to what would undoubtedly come next.

Would he understand the path her life had taken? Would he understand the destiny she had taken on? She sighed. She supposed he would. Just as she had understood what Spike had done all those years ago. She didn’t blame him for the deaths of her friends. If anything, she blamed herself, however briefly. If she had told him the truth, he wouldn't have killed them. But even knowing that, Willow would not have changed her mind, if she could have.

Cassandra had once told her that everything happens as it is meant to. At the time, she thought the older witch was trying to make her feel better. But now, she finally understood.

"Everything I have ever been, have ever done, had led me here." She whispered to herself. Words spoken by the vampire downstairs more than two centuries previous. They were no more false now than they were then.

Willow frowned as her thoughts were brought back to Angelus. What was he doing here? Did he come for the Stone, if it indeed was here, or was he here because of Spike? She feared it was a combination of the two, and wondered how much more complicated things could get.

"Angelus knows that Willow retains L’liora’s power."

Spike looked at Elka, confusion in his blue eyes. "I think I’m missing a piece of the puzzle, Ducks. Care to fill me in?" He asked.

Elka set her blade down and sighed. "L’liora was one of my people. She possessed generations of power. For millennia she ruled." Elka’s voice took on a note of deep sadness. "When our race became the hunted, we had to leave our homes. We became nomads." She spat the words with resentment. "Eventually there were only a small handful of us left. The Gathering had started to claim other’s. Now not only were we hunted because of our unusual abilities, our power. But now, the hunted us for our heads." Her voice hadn’t raised, but her anger was clear.

"Elka, luv," Spike began, "That is the way. The way I understand it, Immortal’s have hunted other immortals since the beginning. What makes you’re people so special?"

Elka’s violet eyes flared at his question, and then she regained control. "Nothing. Everything." She turned to look at him, sadness shown in the depths of her eyes. "I’m the last. Did you know that? Thousands dead. We were strong once. Now we don’t even exist."

Spike walked over to her and put his arms around her, trying to comfort the woman he had known for over three centuries. She pushed him away.

"I don’t need your pity, or your concern." She stared into his eyes with new purpose. "But, I do need you to understand. "

Spike nodded and sat down again, waiting for her to continue.

"A thousand years ago, L’liora met an Scottish witch. An Immortal named Cassandra. She was very powerful. She took L’liora’s head, and with it her power."

"And let me guess, Willow took Cassandra’s head." Spike made the connection. Elka nodded. He took a moment for the implications to sink in. "And what happens if the Willow comes in contact with the stone?"

"The world ends?" Elka asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

"Oh, is that all?" He chuckled and then thought about something she had said earlier. "What exactly does Peaches have to do with this? How does he know so much about it?" He was almost afraid to hear her answer.

Elka avoided his eyes. "Willow told him. She and Angelus were… intimate."

Spike stood up. "Bloody Hell! That’s why he’s here now? He wants her back? Or is he after the stone?" Spike’s eyes glowed yellow with his rage.

"I don’t know what his motives are, but I can not allow Willow to have the stone. All our lives depend on it." She paused for a moment. "There’s something else." She waited for Spike to cam down before she continued. "She’s being hunted. By one like me."

"Like you? I thought you were the last?" Spike groaned. His vacation to Paris was turning into a nightmare.

"Well, she’s not one of my people. But she knows of us. Lived with us. Trained with us. She wants the stone and it’s power. If she takes Willow’s head, she will have it."

"Over my dead body!" Spike snapped.

Elka chuckled. "You’re already dead." She turned serious. "You must protect her, at all costs." S he walked over to the vampire and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you and she have issues. But if she dies, all is lost."

Spike squeezed Elka’s hand and then kissed her on the cheek. "Don’t worry. Willow will live, for eternity, with me." He winked. "As for the stone…"

"You worry about Willow, I’ll take care of the stone." She told him as he strode down the stairs and out of the building. She lowered her voice and whispered to herself, "Even if I have to take Amanda’s head."

Willow couldn’t sleep. She kept having nightmares. She needed to settle things with Angelus, and tell Spike the truth. He deserved that much. She climbed out of bed and wandered downstairs, hoping the vampire was still there.

She found him sitting on the couch nursing a whiskey sour. "Angelus. We need to talk." She came around and sat on the opposite couch.

"Yes, Red, I believe we do." He smirked, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"Why are you here?" When he didn’t answer, she tried again. "Is this about Spike, because…"

Angelus interrupted. "Don’t worry, Red, I’m not laying any claim on you, though I could." She laughed as he watched her brows knit together in irritation.

He sighed needlessly. "Despite rite of the Sire, You were always his. Our time together never changed that." He watched her closely to see her reaction. She seemed to be considering something, so he decided to ask the question that was on his mind. "Do you plan on taking the oath? Finish the binding?"

Willow looked up at him startled. She hadn’t known that Angelus knew about the bond Spike and her had initiated before she died. "I… I don’t know. I guess that’s up to him." She told him softly, fearing that once Spike knew the truth, he wouldn’t want her anymore, if he still did.

Angelus stood up. "Well then, you have some decisions to make." He headed for the door. "Don’t worry, Red, I’ll be around." He smirked as he left Willow alone with her thoughts.

Willow was still sitting in the living room when Spike returned. He was pleased to see that she was alone. He had a lot of things to discuss with her, and he didn’t fancy being interrupted by his bleeding sire.

"Willow, luv." He spoke softly, not wanting to startle her. She seemed to be deep in thought.

At the sound of his voice, Willow turned and smiled. "Spike. We need to talk."

Spike nodded and reached out for her hand. "That we do. Upstairs?"

Willow smiled softly as she took his hand. They walked upstairs in silence, each wondering how much to tell the other. How much they already knew. When they entered Willow’s room, She started pacing around the room nervously. Spike sat in a chair at the end of the bed, watching her.

"I suppose you want to know what happened two hundred years ago? Why I left I mean?" She looked into his blue eyes, trying to will the pain in her heart away.

"You said you thought it would be safer if we thought you were dead." Spike remembered what she had told him earlier.

Willow nodded. "That’s part of it. I ran. At first I didn’t know what happened. Why I was still alive. I was scared. I his for several days, not knowing if I was going crazy. If I had imagined my death. When I finally came out of hiding, you were gone. The others… they were dead. I knew it was not a dream. Maybe a nightmare etched in reality. I left Sunnydale, swearing I would never come back. Never look back." S he paused and took a deep breath. "I don’t know how long I ran. Maybe days, maybe weeks. Eventually, I ended up in Canada. That’s where I met Cassandra. I don’t know how she knew. How she found me. But I was lucky she did. I was being hunted." Willow smiled to herself as she heard Spike snarl involuntarily at this latest revelation.

"Cassandra brought me here, to Amanda. To holy ground." She turned and stared at a wall will an ancient etching on it, as she remembered a time long past. "Do you know about the gathering? Do you know that there can be only one?" She spoke the words sadly. "Someday, we will all be gone. The last of our race will have more power than any person, man or beast, should have a right to." She looked back at Spike. "Amanda once told me, she believed that one would be Duncan McLeod. Did you know Duncan?" When spike shook his head no, Willow continued. "He was a highlander." She chuckled. "I never met him. He died a hundred and fifty years ago. Do you know who killed him?" She asked with the slightest trace of bitterness. "Elka. She killed him. Do you know why?" Willow didn’t wait for the answer. "Elka is like me. Only not. Her people were here long before man. Before demon. Before we covered the earth with our game, her people flourished. Until they came. The hunters." She spat the last words and turned to look at Spike, her green eyes flaring angrily.

"The hunters. They kill us. They butcher us. And why? For our heads. Our power." She laughed hollowly. "That’s a laugh. A power we do not want, nor can we control."

Spike stood up and grabbed Willow, embracing her in a fierce hug. "Willow, pet. Why don’t you come sit down? You need to breathe."

Willow pulled herself away from the comfort of his arms. "No, I don’t. I could hold my breath until I turned blue and died, but I would come back. To live again. To kill again. To die again." Her voice had cracked towards the end, as she collapsed onto the floor and started sobbing quietly, remembering things she would rather forget.

Spike picked her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down gently, she climbed into the bed next to her and cradled her against his chest, and soothed her frail nerves as he rubbed circles on her back.

"Tell me." He whispered into her hair.

"I killed her Spike. My own teacher, I killed her." She rasped in between sobs.

Spike was confused. He thought Amanda was her teacher. "Who? I thought Amanda was your teacher."

Willow took a staggering breath as she began to tell Spike about the even that haunted her dreams. "She is. But Cassandra was also my teacher. She taught me about magic, and power. She made me understand who and what I was." She paused thinking over what had lead to Cassandra’s death. "Do you know who L’liora was?" She asked quietly.

Spike remembered what Elka had told him and nodded. "Yes. She was one of Elka’s people."

Willow looked up, surprised. "You know of Elka’s people? I mean, other than what I’ve told you tonight?"

Spike chuckled. "Yes. I have known Elka for longer than I’ve known you pet. Longer than I’ve known Peaches." He smiled at her astonishment. "I met her when I was still human." He explained.

Willow sighed and then continued. "L’liora had great power. She had been a savior to her people. Once. But she had lost her way. She was using her abilities to conquer those weaker than her. When Cassandra met her, they fought. Cassandra won."

"So, Cassandra gained L’liora’s power." Spike surmised, "And you took Cassandra’s head, so now you have both of there power combined."

"I didn’t have a choice." Willow explained sadly, remember the night Cassandra had died. "The hunters were after her. If they had found her, and killed her…" She swallowed, "All would have been lost."

"The hunters? Who are the hunters?" Spike had heard her mention them several times. And each time, he heard the bitterness in her voice. The way he understood it, Immortals hunted each other. That was their way. He didn’t understand what made these ones any different.

Willow sat up a little bit, so that she could look at spike. "They are like Elka. Or at least they were, at one time. They separated from the main group thousands of years ago. They believed that if they banded together, they could mold the world into their vision. About four thousand years ago, they returned to their homeland, and started hunting the viata’, Elka’s people. Their own people. Thousands were killed. Eventually, they had to leave. Become nomads. The hunters began to stretch their power. The started to include other immortal’s in their quest when they realized their people weren’t the only ones. Now, Elka is the last. The last of a species which once thrived, but is now little more than a memory."

Spike watched her eyes, as they darkened in sadness as she told her story. Much of this, he had already know, but he knew it would help Willow if she spoke about it, so he listened quietly, trying to connect the dots in his head.

About a century ago, a hunter came. His name was Resalle. He was after L’liora’s power. He was strong. Too strong. After a very close call, Cassandra realized that in a fight to the death, she would not win. She came to me, and asked me to take her head." Willow sighed at the painful memory. "At first, I refused. But in the end, I knew that if I did not take Cassandra’s head, Resalle would. He could not be allowed to possess the power I now have. The world as we know it, would be over."

Willow detached herself from Spike’s firm embrace and climbed off the bed. She knew what was coming next, and was unsure how Spike would react.

"Willow, luv. It wasn’t your fault." He told her, recognizing the guilt in her eyes.

"I know." Willow nodded, bracing herself for the questions, which were sure to follow.

"This Resalle, is he the one after you now?"

Willow looked sharply at him. "How did you know anyone was after me?"

"Elka. She told me. Earlier tonight." He avoided mentioning the stone, unsure of what it would mean to her.

"Yes, Elka is here for the stone." She smiled slightly at the mild surprise, which showed in Spike’s blue eyes. "I know that Amanda has it, and that Elka needs it. I also know how dangerous it is." She looked sadly past him to the window, which shown the waning moon.

"I never would have believed all those years ago that the fate of the world would rest on me, and a legend." She laughed sadly.

"Willow? You never answered me. Is it Resalle who is after you?"

Willow thought. The moment of truth. The moment when she would find out is she was truly alone. "No. He died nearly a century ago."

"Did you kill him?"

Willow’s green eyes bore into Spike’s as she spoke her next words. "No. Angelus did."




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