The Four

Spike was pacing the long front hall of the mansion when the knock came.

He glanced up in surprise, his blue eyes wide, then he hurried to the door

and threw it open.

The person he was waiting for stood there, leaning against the door frame

and she smiled at him. Then again, it wasn't exactly truthful to call her

human.

"William." She said softly, then pushed herself away from the door and

walked inside. "It's been way too long."

"It's Spike now pet. Not William." He eyed her carefully, taking in her

short brown hair and blue eyes. Spike was surprised to see that she hadn't

changed much in the seventy years since he had seen her.

"So Ilana, we meet again."

The older, female vampire nodded. "That we do Spike."

She was wearing black pants and a black tank top, Spike noted approvingly.

She was still a tiny girl, barely five feet tall but hard muscles sat under

her vulnerable exterior. Spike had come up against her in hand to hand

combat before and he never wanted that experience again.

Ilana advanced on him quickly, closing the door behind her. As wary as

Spike was, he stood his ground, waiting for her to reach him.

As she did, she laced her hands around the back of his neck and stood on

tip toe to look into his eyes.

"Did you miss me Spike?" She asked, trailing one hand down his chest. "I

know I missed you."

He swallowed hard. Before Drusilla, Ilana had been the only one for him. He

had loved her.

"I did miss you." He answered. "A lot."

A smile broke out on her face. "I knew you did."

Her other hand slid onto his chest and Spike had to resist the urge to wrap

both of his arms around her waist. Ilana seemed to sense his uncertainty,

and put his arms around her body for him.

Spike knew if his heart had been beating, it would now be pounding in his

chest.

Ilana leaned forward and kissed him softly. Spike hesitated before kissing

her back. As her lips travelled down his neck, Spike silently wondered what

he was doing.

"Do you remember all the time we spent together?" Ilana asked, both of her

hands now on his stomach.

Spike grinned and shook his head.

"Well then, I'll just have to remind you."

Ilana slid both hands to the belt of his pants and pulled him closer to

her. As she kissed him again, a sharp knock on the mansion door startled

them both.

Ilana looked up and sighed. "I'll get it." She said.

Spike nodded and retreated to his kitchen.

Ilana walked to the door and yanked it open, surprised to see a small

blonde girl standing there.

Without looking up, she began to talk, "Listen Spike, I was thinking--"

"Sorry honey, Spike's busy."

The girl looked up in surprise, then narrowed her green eyes. And who are

you?"

Ilana grinned, then glanced to the room where Spike had disappeared. "Let's

just say, I'm a friend."

The girl shook her head. "Great. That's how Angel introduced himself." She

muttered.

Ilana arched both her eyebrows, suddenly interested. "Angelus?" She asked.

"You must be Buffy."

The slayer looked bored. "Okay, so you know who I am. Now how are you?"

"Ever read about the demon Meesha?" Ilana asked.

Buffy shook her head. "Sorry, haven't come across that one yet."

"Well, let me tell you about her. She was sent to earth to devour the souls

of teenage boys. As long as there are teenage boys around, Meesha will be

around too." Ilana smiled eerily. "Only, she doesn't just devour their

souls," her voice dropped to a whisper, "she devours their bodies."

Buffy stepped back. "And this is you?"

Ilana shook her head. "No, I just wanted to know if you had heard of her."

The slayer sighed and rolled her eyes. "Just tell me who you are."

"A friend of Spike's." The vampire smiled and stuck out her hand. "I'm

Ilana. I'm not here to make any trouble. I just came to Sunnydale to see

Spike. It's been nearly seventy five years."

"You're a vampire." Buffy stated.

Ilana nodded. "That I am. But as I said, I'm not here to cause you any

grief. I'm just visiting."

"So where's Spike?"

"He's indisposed." Ilana cocked her head. "Listen, he'll get back to you.

We're kind of in the middle of something."

"Oh," Buffy said, startled.

Ilana nodded. "We'll see you later."

Then she closed the door, leaving Buffy alone in the front step.

***

Buffy entered the library later that night. Her college class had ended

late in the afternoon and she had gone to Spike's as soon as the sun had

set.

Giles had asked her to go. Wesley had found some sort of legend that

predicted the end of the world. A legend that had scared both the present

and the former watcher so badly that they were already working to stop it.

They were actually working together.

"Hey boys." Buffy called cheerily, as she pushed opened the doors. She was

still allowed to be happy, they hadn't explained the prophecy to her yet.

The way they were reacting, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"Ah, Buffy." Wesley said, standing up. "Did you get any information out of

Spike?"

Buffy shook her head. "He was busy. Some old fling of his was there."

She watched as Giles and Wesley exchanged a worried glance.

"What?" She asked.

"Buffy," Giles began slowly, "did this 'fling' tell you her name?"

Buffy nodded. "She said her name was Ilana."

Giles moaned in fear and Wesley put both hands to his face.

"God help us." He muttered, his voice breaking.

"What?" Buffy glanced between them. "Tell me what's going on."

Giles sighed. "Read this." He slid a book across the table and Buffy picked

it up.

The picture that stared out at her was frightening enough. It showed a

large stone throne covered in vines and leaves. In it, sat the Master. Two

vampires sat at his right hand, and two at his left. On one side, there was

a blonde man and a women with short dark hair. On the left sat a man with

dark hair and a woman with brown curls tumbling down her shoulders. Their

faces were blurred. Behind them were scenes of death and maiming. The four

vampires were the ones killing, siring and feeding. Above them, the sun was

shining brightly.

"I-I don't understand." Buffy stammered.

"Read it." Giles said.

She turned her eyes downward and began to read the passage that accompanied

the picture.

"The day of Reckoning is at hand." It read. "The Master, he will reign. The

day of his life, which is only chosen in time, will bring him forth to rule

the world. At his right hand will sit two vampires, William the Bloody and

Ilana the Sorceress. At his left, Angelus and Drusilla. Combined, they will

become the end of the world. They will feed from the Master and become the

four horsemen of the apocalypse. War, famine, disease and pestilence.

For two moons and two suns, the horsemen will develop an immunity to light

and they will end the world. They will sire at will, kill who they please,

the others will be affected by the four deaths. There will be war, some

will starve, others will die of a strange, incurable disease.

At the end of the two days, those who are still mortal will be sucked into

Hell to suffer for all eternity, and the Master and his horsemen will rule

the world. They will be everything that lives. Everyone will die."

Buffy glanced up. "But the Master's dead."

Wesley motioned for her to keep reading.

"If, by some small chance, the Master's death has already become reality,

the horsemen will still come forth. The demon that inhabited the Master's

shell will be brought back from Hell,. It will be transferred to the body

of one of the four horsemen. No on can predict which, for only the demon

knows which vampires in the most powerful."

Now the slayer looked worried. Her eyes were wide and frightened and her

mouth hung open.

"This can't happen." She whispered.

"And yet it is." Wesley said. "The four horsemen are in Sunnydale right

now."

"Drusilla's here?" Buffy asked.

Giles nodded. "Willow and Oz caught sight of her last night." He sighed and

turned his eyes down. "She was with Angel."

Buffy's breath caught in her throat. "Angel?"

Giles nodded. "He's here too."

"But after what happened," she paused and took a breath, "After the spell

Willow cast, he wasn't supposed to be able to come back."

Giles sighed. "I know it's hard for you to think about what happened last

time he was here Buffy."

***

Buffy sat alone at a table in the Bronze. She hummed along with the song

that was playing as she waited for Willow, Xander and Oz to meet her. They

were late, she realized as she glanced at her watch. Really late.

As she thought that, Willow came staggering into the Bronze, her hair

dishevelled and matted to her head. When she saw Buffy she ran over and

grabbed her friend's arm, then led her out of the club.

"Willow what happened?" Buffy asked.

"It's Angel. Something happened to him in Los Angeles." Willow said, her

breath short.

"What do you mean?"

"Something made him lose his soul again."

Buffy stopped. "What? Willow are you sure?"

"I'm positive Buffy."

The slayer felt her breath suddenly become short. "But-but how?"

Willow stopped and looked sadly at her friend. "I don't know Buffy, but

it's happened. You have to hurry." She paused. "He has Xander and Oz."

Buffy's head snapped up. "He has them? Where?"

"Follow me." Willow said.

***

They arrived at an abandoned factory a few minutes away from the Bronze.

On the way, Willow had explained that she had her things to perform a

binding spell. It would no longer let Angel come into Sunnydale after

tonight. After Buffy saved Xander and Oz, she was going to perform the

ritual and make sure that Angel never came back to Sunnydale again.

Buffy crept into the factory and looked for Xander and Oz. She found them

in a corner. Xander was tied to a chair with his chin resting against his

chest. He looked like he had been beaten badly. Oz sat on the floor beside

him with his hands and feet bound by a rope. He was moaning softly to

himself and glanced up suddenly when Buffy approached.

"Buffy." Oz's voice was hoarse and scratchy. "Thank God. Help us."

She nodded, then bent to the ground and began to undo the ropes that were

tied around Oz's limbs. Once she had finished, she started on Xander, then

hoisted him over his shoulder.

"So lover, you just keep coming back."

Buffy froze on the spot, hearing Angel's voice for the first time in

months.

"Yeah, it's me." He said. "Surprise!"

Buffy dropped Xander to the floor and motioned for Oz and Willow to take

him away. Then she turned to face Angel.

"Angel, how nice to see you." She said carefully. "What made you decided to

kidnap my friends?"

He shrugged. "Just for some fun. There's really not a lot to do in this

town." He sighed. "You'd think it would be a little more exciting with the

Hellmouth and all."

Buffy nodded sympathetically. "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

"Well enough chit chat." Angel said. "Let's just start the fight. We all

know that's what you came for."

Buffy's eyes widened as she feigned innocence. "Actually, I didn't come to

fight Angel. I came for this."

Willow stepped forward as Buffy stepped backward and began to chant a Latin

verse. She held a bottle clutched tightly in one fist and continued to

chant as Angel watched in amusement. Once she was done, she threw the

bottle at his feet and it shattered, emitting a black cloud that encircled

the vampire.

"What the hell is this?" He asked loudly.

"A binding spell." Willow answered. "Sorry to tell you Angel but you can

officially never return to Sunnydale."

Then, in a flash of light, he was gone.

***

Willow and Oz helped Buffy transport Xander back to the library where

Giles looked after him.

"He'll be fine." He said after looking over the young man. "He'll have a

few bruises and he's going to be sore in the morning, but he'll live."

Buffy sighed in relief. She had been so scared that Angel might have won

this time. That he might have killed one of her closest friends.

***

But Angel hadn't won, she hadn't let him. And she wasn't going to let him

win this time.

***

Ilana sat alone in Spike's living room, inhaling smoke from the cigarette

she had borrow from Spike's jacket pocket. She was certain he wouldn't

mind. As she smoked, she thought about why she was in Sunnydale. The truth

was, she really didn't know. A week ago when she was sitting in her

backyard watching the stars, a sudden urge to leave for Sunnydale,

California had taken over her. The next day when she was stuck inside, she

had packed most of her things into suitcases, then booked a seat on the

next midnight flight for Sunnydale. That was when she showed up at Spike's

door. And he hadn't questioned why she was there. In fact, he had known she

was coming.

"You never did quit that filthy habit, did you?" Spike asked, entering the

room.

Ilana smiled at him. "For a few years. But I didn't really see the point.

It's not like it can kill us as it kills the mortals."

Spike nodded his agreement. "So true." He said.

Ilana sighed, knowing one of them would have to bring up the prophecy that

they were destined to live out.

"Are you ready?" Spike was the first to speak of it.

"I hope so." Ilana answered. "It's not like we had a choice in date."

He shook his head in response, then ran a nervous hand through his bleached

hair. "Yeah, y'know. Pencil it into our calendars."

Ilana laughed nervously. "Yeah."

"Are you as scared as I am?" He asked.

She sighed. "I'm scared to death." Then another laugh came through. "Which

I guess is impossible, since I'm already dead."

Spike laughed along with her, but the laughter died down into an awkward

silence.

"I wonder when Angelus and Drusilla are going to be here." Spike thought

aloud.

Ilana turned to him. "Can't you sense them?"

He shook his head. "I could only sense you."

"I can feel Drusilla. She's not ready to join us yet but she will be soon."

"Dru can probably feel Angelus, which means that poof can feel me." Spike

said.

"I take it you and Angelus have had your differences over the years." Ilana

said. She turned to face him on the couch as he nodded.

"I think the term 'bitter rivalries' is closer than 'differences'."

"We'll come together." Ilana promised him. "With the prophecy and my

magick, we'll all come together." She smiled. "Remember, I never liked

Drusilla much."

Spike stood up. "I'll make us some coffee."

Ilana nodded. "That sounds good." As Spike walked from the room she took

another long drag on the cigarette, then put it out in the ash tray on the

coffee table.

"I need to practice." She muttered, looking around the room. An idea

suddenly struck her and she closed her eyes, chanting softly.

When Spike came back into the room with two cups of coffee Ilana looked at

him expectantly, then smiled when both cups dropped from his hands and

shattered on the floor.

"Damnit." Spike swore under his breath. "Ilana, what the hell did you do?"

She grinned. "Just testing my skills."

"So the snakes and the cockroaches and the rats and the spiders that are

crawling all over my home and my legs aren't real?" He asked nervously.

Ilana shook her head and snapped her fingers. "All gone."

Spike sighed and visibly relaxed. "Thank God."

As Spike bent to pick up the shattered pieces of glass Ilana stooped to the

floor to help him, hitting her head against his.

"Sorry." She said, smiling and rubbing the spot where their heads had

connected.

Spike smiled back then continued to pick up the pieces that lay on the

floor.

After he had collected them all, he returned to the kitchen and dumped the

pieces into the garbage.

"Do you want something to eat?" He called to Ilana without thinking.

"More than you know." She said. "I haven't had anything since I left New

York."

Spike sighed as he returned to the living room. "I didn't really think. I

don't have any blood here."

Ilana shrugged. "I supposed I'll just have to live until this evening.

Unless I waste away."

"Somehow I doubt that will happen." Spike commented.

Ilana looked up at him. "What was that supposed to mean?"

The vampire sighed once more and shook his head. "Nothing. I just don't

think you'll waste away without blood for a few hours." He paused. "If

you're really hungry, you could always feed off me."

She looked at Spike in confusion, then shook her head. "I couldn't do

that."

"You're going to have to feed off one of us in the end. Or we'll have to

feed off you." He said.

Ilana nodded. "I know. But I'll deal with that when the time comes. Not

now."

Spike stood up. "Fair enough. But you need something to eat. Can't you

summon up a rat or something?"

Ilana wrinkled her nose. "Spike that's disgusting. I would never eat a

rat."

He sat down again. "Then you have only one other option." He raised both

his eyebrows at her, then turned his head to the side revealing his neck.

"Feed." He whispered.

Ilana stared at his for a moment her need for blood taking over her every

whim. As Spike looked on, she transformed quickly into her demon visage.

Her brow protruding and her eyes a brilliant yellow. It was the teeth that

usually scared the humans and she bared these now before sinking them into

in Spike's neck.

*Shoulda offered her my wrist.* He thought as he felt Ilana draining his

blood.

She continued to drink from him, not realizing how much she was taking

until the last second when she ripped herself away from his neck and

watched as he tumbled to the floor.

"No." She moaned to herself before kneeling by Spike's fallen form. As

Ilana watched him she mentally beat herself up.

"I can't even tell if he's alive." She said quietly. "He doesn't breathe,

he doesn't have a pulse. How am I supposed to know?"

A sudden cough from Spike's direction made her glance at him. He coughed

again, then moaned.

Nearly ecstatic, Ilana picked him up and pushed him back onto the couch

where he lay. She then sat beside him and waited for him to wake up.

Finally he did. When his eyelids fluttered open his dark blue eyes were

groggy and confused and Ilana immediately felt bad.

"I told you it was a bad idea." She said, poking him lightly in the chest.

Spike sat up, still looking groggy then smiled at her. "I should have given

you my wrist instead." He said. "Then at least I could have pulled away

when I knew it was too much."

Ilana nodded, then realized she was still in her demon form. She paused for

a moment to let her face melt back to normal then turned to Spike. "You

should have." She paused and sighed. "It was weird."

"What was?" Spike asked.

"Being that close to you again. Sharing that." Ilana smiled at him. "We

haven't done that since,"

"Eighteen sixty four." Spike finished for her.

"You remember."

He nodded. "Of course I do."

Ilana sighed. "I thought I only came back here for the prophecy." She

looked Spike up and down then smiled. "And maybe for a little one night

stand but I didn't think there would be anymore than that. I decided either

the prophecy would work and we'd rule the world or it wouldn't work and I'd

go home to New York. Alone, but not dead."

"Unless you're the body the soul chooses." Spike added.

Ilana nodded. "Unless of course, that happens. But Spike, I need to ask you

something."

"Go ahead pet."

"If this prophecy doesn't happen and it's one of the others that dies, will

you come back with me to New York?"

Spike looked shocked for a moment, then he nodded. "New York? Sure, I'd

come with you. But why New York? It's so bloody . . . polluted."

"Then where?"

"Egypt." Spike said abruptly. "If the world doesn't end and we're both

alive, let's go to Egypt."

Ilana smiled. "Really?"

Spike nodded. "Really."

She stood up and threw her arms around the vampires neck, hugging him

tightly. Then slowly, the smile faded off her face and she let go.

"There's not a very good chance that we'll be able to go." She said. "You

know that right?"

Spike nodded. "I know."

"The prophecy probably won't fail."

"And we'll be stuck in Sunnyhell for the rest of eternity." Spike groaned.

"But at least we'll be stuck together."

Ilana nodded. "Together."

***