Title: Millennium
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.
Rating: PG13 (for now, although that may change)
Spoilers: Nothing really. The 'past' Sunnydale scenes take place in Dec. 1999. And Spike was helping the Scooby gang.
Category: Willow/Spike
Summary: This is a future Fic.
Distribution: Fire & Ice , Wicth Fanfic , anyone else, ask, and you shall receive

Before Moira could react to the implied threat, or the dead body of the demon slumped against the tree, Willow was gone. Moira didn’t understand it. One minutes she was there, feeding, the next, she had vanished. Moira couldn’t feel her, however that meant nothing. Moira had never felt her, not even when she was seconds away from snapping her neck.

She realized that this Vampire, whoever she was, wasn’t going to be easy to kill. But she had no choice. If she were to gain immortality, she would have to kill her. There was no other way. Her only hope would be in catching her off guard.

From the moment Lydia stepped off of the plane and into the cold night air, she knew it was true. Everything she had seen, everything she had felt, it was real. She clung tightly to the package. She couldn't afford to lose it.

She became wary as she headed to the Masters' lair. She could feel the evil all around. It surrounded her like a cloak. She also felt the presence of the slayer. She felt the death that surrounded the girl. She wanted to go after her. Hunt her down, like they had in the past. But she couldn't risk it. There was too much at stake.

Lydia picked up the pace, and wished for the first time that she had been wrong.

The two minions watched the slayer, who watched Lydia. They were confused. They didn't understand what they were doing watching the Slayer. Nor did they understand what the slayer was doing watching the vampiress. There was something odd about the new arrival, but they couldn't place it. She knew she was being watched, and yet she didn't attack. They couldn't understand it. She was weak, they decided. They would earn points in their mistress' favor by telling her of this vampires' weakness.

That decided, they left the position following the Slayer, in search of food.

Moira watched the vampire curiously. There was something about her. Something she couldn't quite place. She felt different than the others. She held a package tightly to her chest. She briefly wondered if she should engage the vampire, but then decided it was smarter to wait, and follow her instead.

She quickly became aware that the vampire was going to the master's Lair. At the thought of visiting there again, a feeling of dread overcame her. She wasn't ready to go there again. Wasn't ready to face the strong vampire with the unusual abilities.

Moira sighed heavily as she slowed her pace a bit, and then stopped. She turned around, only to come face to face with the object of her fear.

"Slayer." Willow hissed. "I warned you. I have tried to be patient, but you don't listen. You follow my family. You hide in the shadows. You are a disgrace to all who came before you." Willow turned her gaze away from the slayer and whistled.

At the noise, Lydia turned around and smiled when she saw her Mistress. She walked towards the vampire and the Slayer.

"Mistress." Lydia smiled broadly. She turned to the slayer distastefully. "Is this her?" She asked. Willow nodded, and then turned back to the Slayer.

"I shall only say this once, so listen well. If you think that immortality will be yours, think again. There is a price you must pay, to obtain what you seek. A test you must pass. You will fail."

Willow and Lydia melted into the shadows before Moira had a chance to process what the vampire had said.

Willow and Lydia walked back to the lair in silence. Once inside willow turned to the Vampire.

"Is that it?" She asked referring to the package.

Lydia nodded. "Yes." She handed the package to her sire and tried to smile.

"What about her? She won't give up."

Willow's green eyes sparkled. "I know. She wants to play; she just hasn't learned the rules.

Lydia grinned at the mischievous tone in Willow's voice.

Willow's expression grew somber as she entered the main room where David and Angel sat where Spike had left them. She turned to David. "Go find the Master. We have a lot to do, and we're running out of time."

David nodded and quickly left the room.

The cave was dark, and it smelled of death. Something that comforted those that lived there. It held this presence, reminding its inhabitants of what was to come.

There was a small circle in the center of the room. The only light being the candles that were set in a pattern around the circle. Seven robed demons stood around the circle, chanting.

After a few moments the room grew silent and a lone figure standing in the shadows spoke.

"It has been done."

One of the demons turned to look at the outsider. "She has claimed another." It was a statement. The demon merely nodded.

"Then it is time."

The demons within the circle left the cave, leaving only the one who had spoken to the outsider. He hesitated at the entrance to the cave.

"Have you seen her?" The outsider nodded again.

"Is she everything we have heard?"

"And more."

Lydia had barely made it to the edge of the couch when she collapsed onto the floor in a boneless mass. Her head was splitting apart as the images came forth.

// A cave. The chosen one. Carnage. The evil. Death //

Once the images had stopped, Lydia stood up on shaky legs. She turned to the others, her gaze settling on Willow.

"Another has been called."

"Are you sure?" David asked from where he had moved to the couch.

Lydia tore her gaze away from her sire to look at her mate. "Yes. He is strong." She turned back to Willow, "The Slayer, she's a liability. We must stop her." Lydia sat on the couch and leaned into its plush back while Willow paced around the room, thinking.

After several moments where the only sound that could be heard was Willow's boots brushing against the carpet, she stopped.

"Lydia? The Slayer, she had an alliance with the Vaynaya. What have you learned?"

"The demon approached her. He wanted her to be a distraction for you. She is hungry for power, but she doesn't possess enough knowledge to know what it was she was allying herself with." Lydia stood up and picked up the package from where it had been set down. She gently tore the brown wrapping off, and revealed a book. It was old. The pages were dusty, and crinkled with time. She opened it to a page, which had been bookmarked. Pointing to a drawing she spoke softly.

"I'm not sure where exactly she got her information, but she has learned that IT has the ability to grant her immortality. However, I believe that is all she knows. And foolishly, all she cares to know." Lydia handed the book to Willow, who examined the drawing carefully, and read the passage:

She who walks the path of night will come to destroy us. Her death is our only salvation. Immortality shall be granted to the one, which claims the beast.

Willow spoke the words softly, looking up at Lydia.

"Does the Slayer know of their breed? Of why they are here? Does she even know about the portal?" Willow spit the words out like fire, needed to know all the facts before she formulated a plan.

The demon awoke from a deep slumber with only one thought. Destroy. He had been bred for this. His life was nothing, if not for the destruction of the creature. He had never seen her, but he would recognize her anywhere. She was near, he could feel it. Her power surged. Soon the portal would be open, and the world would be plunged into darkness.

But first, he had to correct the mistakes of his predecessors.

He opened his eyes, and turned to the closest of the brethren.

"How long?" He asked. When the demon looked confused, Vencient elaborated. "How long has it been? How long have I slept?"

The demon turned to one of the others, searching for the answer to the old ones question. The brethren whispered amongst themselves. And then turned back to Vencient.

"Six centuries."

Vencient nodded his understanding and quietly left the cave, in search of his prey.

Willow was about to speak when she felt it. A wave of energy washed over her. It was familiar, but something she hadn't felt in centuries. She turned to the others.

"He has awakened."

Moira paced her small room. She felt like a caged animal. Something was coming, she could feel it. She had watched the vampire kill the demon. She didn't understand. Why was this Vampire attacking her own kind? She had never known a creature so viscous. Moira was beginning to doubt she would make it out of this situation alive.

She wondered what was in the package the other vampire had been carrying. Did it hold answers to some of her questions? She believed it did, but realized she wasn't very likely to find them.

Moira started when she heard a noise out side. She opened her front door and took a step back, knowing that a vampire wouldn't be able to enter without an invitation.

At first she didn't see anything. Just the blackness of the night. Then, slowly, a figure came into view. It was a demon, like the one who had been killed, only taller. He had violet skin, red eyes, and patterns of bumps and ridges all along his body. Two tusks poked out from either side of his mouth. The other demon had amused her, with his plan to kill the vampiress. But this one only brought a feeling of dread.

"What… What do you want?" She asked, feeling like her life was slipping away, right in front of her.

The demon smiled evilly as he entered her house, shutting the door behind him.

Screams could be heard from a mile away, breaking the silence of the night.

Willow paced warily in her private chambers. The chosen had awakened. She felt it. She knew they were running out of time. He would try and stop her. It was his destiny. His soul purpose of being. But, she also knew that he was more than what any of them had made him to be. He was more than what his destiny had laid before him. He was the first of his kind, and would probably be the last.

"Willow, Luv." Spike came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her slender waist. Willow leaned back into him, enjoying the feel of him. The past few days hadn't afforded her the time to just be with her mate.

He whispered into her ear. "When this is all over, we will go away somewhere." Willow turned around and grinned. "Somewhere cold?" She asked, a hopeful tone she didn't often use in her voice. It reminded him of times past. Spike sighed. "If you insist."

"I do." She smirked as she claimed is lips in a powerful kiss.

"Spike? Have you seen… " Angel entered the room and then stopped when he saw his childe and his mate locked in a passionate embrace. He turned around and walked out of the room, leaving them to their moment of happiness, knowing that there was a good chance none of them would survive the week.

David was startled out of a deep slumber by the screaming of his mate. Lydia was shaking uncontrollably. Her cold skin was clammy and was sweating blood.

"Lydia! Lydia" He shook the vampire to wakefulness. When she opened her blue eyes, they held a look of terror. "What is it? What did you see?" He asked her as calmly as he could muster.

As she took deep unneeded breaths to calm her nerves, she turned to David. "The Slayer. She'd dead."

David paled even further, if that could have been possible. "Are you sure?" Lydia pulled her self out of his embrace, and nodded vehemently. "Yes. We have just run out of time."

Lydia left their room in search of the mistress.

She left the house, and marveled at the blackness of the sky. It was barely noon, and still the sun did not rise. That was a sign. It was beginning. However Willow did not need to witness the sign. She felt the power surging all around her. She knew the portal was starting to open. It would be another thirty-six hours before the opening would be complete enough for the Evil to emerge. It was then that her fight would begin. Until then, she only had to wait.

She was drawn out by the chosen. He called to her. He had been created for her. It was his destiny to battle her. To stop what was to come. Destiny isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Vencient could feel her. She was out here. In the blackness of day. They were drawn to one another. She fed his hunger. The hunger, which had, lay dormant for six hundred years. Her power was strong. He could feel it stretching out like the web of a venomous spider, daring to claim his essence.

The part of his being which gained strength from what he knew was to come, longed to strip her of that which she possessed. But there was another part, the part which rebelled against his destiny. A part, which still held on to the memory of the vampiress who had taught him that there was more him than what they had created. That was seven centuries ago.

He briefly wondered if she was still alive. If she was, he found himself saddened by the knowledge, that should he succeed, she would inevitably die. The evil, which he was freeing, would kill her, and all of her kind.

Vencient shook off his memories of the vampire, knowing that what he was to do, had to be done. He sniffed the air. He could feel it crackled with the presence of another. But he couldn't place the feeling. He spun around, searching the darkness.

"Vencient." Willows voice was calm, as she took in his appearance, and felt the power rolling off of him in waves. She let her cloak fall, letting him sense her. She inhaled the air around her, taking in the scent of his last kill. Recognizing the smell, she growled. Her eyes glowed yellow. Her very being boiled with rage. And then it was gone. Or more precisely, buried. Hidden away to a place only she could reach.

"You killed the Slayer?" She asked, keeping her voice even.

"Willow?" Vencient took in the creature before him, not believing his own eyes. *It can't be! * He told himself, but knowing that it was.

"You've changed."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "So have you, old friend."

"Your power is strong." Vencient eyed the vampire carefully. "How long has it been?"

Willow green eyes pierced into his. "Seven hundred years, give or take." She walked circles around the demon, contemplating her next move.

"You're the one?" He asked.

Willow nodded. "I am."

"I never knew." Vencient turned to face her and looked coldly into her glowing eyes. "But you did, didn't you?"

Willow laughed, it was a deep throaty sound. "Did I know I was the one? Or did I know that you would be the one sent to stop me?"

"Both."

"I've known who I was from the moment I was turned. And you, You were made. Created, just for me. And you think I wouldn't have known you anywhere, at any time. Vencient, you have slumbered too long. You forget your place."

Vencient growled at her accusation. "I forget nothing, Witch."

Willow snarled in return and then broke out in a slow smile. "Oh, Vencient, How I have missed you." She slowly backed away from the demon and into the shadows, "It doesn't have to be like this you know." She didn't wait for his argument. As she drifted into the shadows, Vencient heard her voice in the depths of his mind.

"Until next time."

A man paced nervously in an office in London. He was lost in his own thoughts. Thoughts which were frightening, even to someone as old as he. He was started out of his contemplation be the doors being swung open and a women walking in, a frown plastered to her pasty complexion.

"What is it?" The man snapped.

"Moira. She's dead." The woman replied.

"And the next? She has been called?" He asked cautiously.

The woman nodded her head slightly. "There have been… complications."

The man groaned. "I do not care about complications. I care about the Slayer. Find her. Train her."

The woman nodded her head and headed towards the door but stopped, afraid of what she was about to tell him.

"Sir? She is a descendant. If the witch finds her, and drains her, there will be no stopping the prophecy. It will come to pass."

The man slumped into his chair and sighed heavily. The end was coming, and there would be no stopping it. Their salvation rested on the shoulders of two master vampires, a one thousand-year-old witch, and the blood of the first slayer.

They were doomed.

She awoke with a thud. Things she couldn't understand had plagued her dreams. Things she only ever imagined as being in movies. Things that couldn't possibly exist, but yet she knew they did. The dreams had haunted her for weeks.

She pulled herself out of her bed, and looked into the mirror. What she saw there frightened her. It was herself, only not. She looked different. She looked as though she were dressing up for a costume party. A really old costume party. Her hair, which normally was wound tightly around her head, fell in little curls across her face. Her dress appeared to be ancient. She reached one hand up to her head to feel the curls, and was shocked to find nothing there.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and gasped when the opened them again to find her own reflection staring back at her. She shook her head, convincing herself that she had been imagining things.

She sighed heavily. "Oh, Nell, what's wrong with you?" She asked herself.

Willow walked back to the lair snarling and cursing under her breath. She wasn't surprised by the turn of events. She knew that Vencient would be awakened and that he would be shocked at her presence. She even knew that he would try to kill her. What she hadn't counted on was his killing of the Slayer. That could mean only one thing. The next would be called. There was no telling what she would do. Her blood insured her strength. But what if she was more like the last, than the first? Could they defeat the Evil, while battling each other?

Willow growled loudly when she saw her mate pacing ferociously around the room.

"Where have you been?" Spike snarled as he leapt towards her. "Lydia had another vision."

Willow allowed Spike to inspect her and then relaxed into his embrace.

"I know. I saw Vencient. He killed the slayer."

"So then it's true?" David asked from behind her.

She turned towards her childe. "Yes. It's only a matter of time. And we have to be ready."

She turned towards the doorway and looked expectantly at her grandsire. "Angel, did you get everything?"

When he nodded she continued. "Good. We leave in an hour. We can't afford to wait any longer. The time has come to finish what we started."

Willow could feel the energy washing over her as she approached the cavern. The portal had started to open. That was good. It would make what she was planning that much easier. She turned to her companions and smiled. No matter what happened tonight, she wouldn't regret anything. Her life had been rich, and long. Longer than she ever would have imagined.

"Luv? Are you ready?" Spike spoke from beside her. She smiled at her mate, allowing her demon to come to the fore.

"Yes. I have lived my whole for this. It has always been about this." She told him softly, as her eyes glowed gold in anticipation of the fight ahead.

"No, luv, not for this. For what comes next." Spike squeezed her hand gently and paused in his steps, allowing his sire to catch up to him.

Nell awoke in a sweat, with a clarity of vision she had never before possessed. She had knowledge things she couldn't possibly know. Memories that were not her own. Emotions she had never felt. She climbed out of bed and dressed quickly. She knew what she had to do. Where she had to go. Her destiny awaited her, in a small town called Sunnydale.

Vencient fought against the anger, which threatened to over take him. He could feel her power. She was at the portal, attempting to finish that which she had started so long ago. He felt as though he was split in two. The very core of his being screamed at him to stop her. That was his destiny. He was created for that purpose, and that purpose alone. But Willow had taught him long ago that there are more purposes on heaven and Earth than we can deign to understand. He had thought her foolish all those years ago. She was a child, spouting off wisdom she couldn't possible understand. Or could she?

She was the One. She was his adversary, in every way. She possessed powers even he could only speculate at. She had lived on this world for over a thousand years with abilities, which far surpassed any creature, living or dead, and yet, she remained true to the girl he had known all those years ago. Maybe it wasn't she who was the threat. Maybe he was on the wrong side. Maybe he would never know.

Willow entered the cavern and smiled. The portal's opening was just wide enough for what she had planned. She giggled at the irony of it. A millenium had past, and still she was destined to fighting the forces of evil with knowledge she had retained as a mortal.

Willow turned to her companions.

"It's time. If it closes before I come out, leave me." Her voice was like steel, daring her mate and his sire to question her. She cocked to her head to the side, as if listening for some sound unheard by the others.

"She's coming. The Slayer." She turned towards Spike; "You know what to do?" He nodded. "If she doesn't pass the test, she dies. Period."

"We got it." Angel's voice was filled with understanding.

Willow embraced Spike in a fierce hug and kissed him savagely. They were lost in their kiss for minutes, in which both expressed the love that they had shared over the centuries. Willow pulled away reluctantly and turned towards Angel.

She hugged him, and whispered into his ear. "Take care of him." When she felt him nod he let go and walked towards the opening in the portal.

The two vampires watched at the witch entered the foggy expanse through the small opening. Angel turned to his childe; "She'll be back."

Spike nodded his agreement, although he was anything but sure.

Nell arrived in town shortly after what would normally be considered dusk; however, the strange absence of the sun had made the term irrelevant. She didn't know how exactly she knew where she had to go. She only knew what her dreams had told her. They spoke of a great evil being unleashed, a powerful witch sent to stop it, and the battle waged between the two. She knew that she would be given a test. That was where her knowledge ended. She hoped that whoever awaited her arrival knew more than she did.

Vencient felt the girl as soon as she entered Sunnydale. Her blood called to him. The strength of it caused him to remember what Willow had told him about the prophecy. He now understood why she had been so upset that he had killed the previous Slayer. He sighed heavily as he realized what he had inadvertently allowed to happen.

As he made his way towards his destination, Vencient couldn't help but wonder if this was what the prophecy had meant all along.

Out of the light comes the One
She will stop what is to come
Of her blood and of her power
Comes the demon to whom they cower
Failing Once, she will return
And with the blood of the first, The town will burn
And on this night, of blackest day
They will come to pave the way
If it breathes, so shall you not
The end has come, and we have lost

Those who had created him believed they understood the prophecy. He now wondered if they had been wrong. Where did his destiny lay?

"She's here." Angel soft words broke through the silence of the cavern.

Spike turned towards the entrance and the young woman. He could feel her presence. It was strong, even for a slayer.

"Welcome, Luv, to your destiny." Spike smirked.

Nell looked at the two vampires. She smiled. They were the ones. They would know why she was there. They would give her the test.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked, unsure of what was to come.

Spike chucked at her youth and innocence. At another time he would have savored her blood. But not today. In once swift movement he grabbed the girl and turned her around so that her back was leaned up against him. He took one look at his sire before he lifted her off of the ground and thrust her towards the portal. When he had her up against the wall, inches away from where the vortex was forming, he released his grip slightly. It wouldn't do to kill the girl before the test was completed.

While keeping one hand firmly around the girls' small throat, Spike turned slightly and reached his other hand to grasp the knife Angel was handing to him.

"Don't cut too deep." Angel reminded him.

Spike nodded as he took the knife and cut a small gash in her wrist. As the blood started to flow he moved her closer to the portal, and stuck the arm with the wound through the opening. After a moment he pulled her back, and watched, to see if she had passed the test.

Willow looked around briefly, before relaxing. She knew that if the Slayer were true, she would join her shortly. She had hoped to avoid fulfilling the prophecy, but Vencient's actions had changed all that. Now there was no choice. She would have to kill the Slayer. Together they would close the portal.

"You're here." Willow felt more than heard the voice. It was the same one, which had called to here a thousand years ago. The voice of the evil.

"You didn't think I wouldn't be, did you?" Willow asked.

She felt a deep, rumbling fill her body.

"Of course not, child. You were destined to be here. You could do nothing else."

Willow felt a wave of cool air, and knew that the evil was surrounding her, enveloping her. She couldn't see it, but she knew it was there.

"You know, child. I have watched you, over the years. Felt you. You shouldn't fear me. You should embrace all that I am."

Willow stood completely still as the words filled her head.

"You could have unbelievable power. You could live forever."

Willow trained her sensing on where the energy was emanating from. "I have power. I am already immortal." She told the entity.

She felt a smile wrap around her. "True, child." There was a stillness that covered Willow for a moment, before she felt the voice once again.

"But you have lost. You will have to bind the Slayer to you. Do you think you can do that? Are you strong enough?"

Willow moved away from the spot she had been rooted to, walking circles around the fog she was covered in.

"Yes. We will be joined. You will perish." Willow tightened her reign on her senses and she reached out and laced on to the energy source. It was strong, but it had been weakened over the centuries. It needed her help to escape. Help it wouldn't receive.

"Child, think about it. To bind yourself to the Slayer, that means that, should you survive, she would be like you. A killer. And you like her." The evil tried to sway Willow's resolve.

"To hunt your own kind is an abomination of all things, man and demon." It taunted her.

Willow's head was filled with images. Hundreds of years of hunting. The Slayer's she had killed. The vampires who had died at there hands. She was filled with the slightest bit of doubt. Could she do it? Bind herself to the creature?




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