What Was Before Is Never Again 

By Nightbird

Title: What was before is never again.1/?
Author: Nightbird
Distribution: SHL, FoF, GFA, Fire & Ice, anyone else with my fic up, otherwise ask.
Disclaimer: BtVS is the exclusive property of Joss, FOX, WB & all other companies involved. I claim no ownership.
Classification: Alt Reality/ Future fic
Series: Past & Future Revealed - This is the same Series that has "What has come before us and what is still to come." They're all set in the Future Willow/Spike fics.
Couple: Willow/Spike, Cordy/Doyle, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Anya
Rating:
Spoilers: Minor ones though out Third season and a few semi big ones from the start of Fourth & a few from Angel.
Notes: Yah, I know I said I wouldn't start another fic until I got more Kitty cat written but this fic made me write it. With this one it might be some time between parts as I got to get Hot as Hell, Drinking in LA & Kitty cat started again.
Dedication: Stryx, Soul', Gunbunny & My evil twin Megan. Inell - Withdrawal is setting in again *grrr*
Feedback: I have an addiction to it - please feed my habit ^_^

Year: 2005

Willow Rosenberg stood at the top of the hill, the dying sun reflecting off
the sword strapped to her back. As the sun set the only light came from the
many fires that littered the once beautiful town of Sunnydale. Willow sighed
deeply before turning her back on the remains of her hometown and headed
back towards the mansion. A vampire stepped out of the bushes in front of
her and growled. Not pausing Willow pulled a stake out from her belt and
without looking at the vamp chucked it in his direction and grinned as an
airy scream came to her ears.

The mansion looked abandoned, dust covered just about every inch and here
and there parts of the walls had fallen in adding concrete dust and brick
shards to the mess. Willow bypassed the rickety front door and avoided the
hole in floor just below the stairs and continued on to the kitchen. Once
there she opened the dilapidated fridge and peered into the depths. Behind a
cardboard box containing lord knows what was a small panel, complete with
flashing lights and a keypad. Willow checked the area around her and typed
out a code, after a few seconds of whirling something clicked. Willow shut
the door and reached round to the back and placed her hand on a panel and
waited until a lever popped out. Swinging the fridge around she vanished in
a hole in the wall behind it, shutting the fridge behind her. Soon the
mansion returned to silence and a lone mouse quizzically sniffled around for
long forgotten crumbs.

The Library was a bustling room full of humans & non-humans moving from
bookshelf to bookshelf or computer to computer. From where Willow was
standing at the door she could see that Spike was seated at the round table,
which spread across the top of the room reading a large book written
completely in Latin. Two seats to his left sat Xander with Anya next to him
as they counted and itemized various herbs that lay in piles around them.
Willow started walking towards them pausing to watch Buffy and Angel
training in the large Gym, which opened off to one side. The library was the
nerve centre of their underground headquarters, where everything happened
and had happened for the past 5 years ever since Sunnydale had been declared
a dead zone. Raising her hand Willow absent-mindedly rubbed at the scar that
ran from the corner of her left eye to just under her chin.
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Spike looked up from his book and stretched his arms up into the air.
Life was different from what it used to be, he thought to himself.
If someone had told him that six years ago he would not only
be helping the Slayer but keeping Willow as a mate, he would have laughingly
ripped their throat out.

He had returned to Sunnydale at the end of 1999, determined
to kill the Slayer, only to be bagged and tagged by a group
of do-gooders. Thanks to them, he'd been unable to hurt any
living creatures and ended up stuck with the Slayer and her
gang.

Then came the end of the century and everything went to hell
in a handbag. Literally. An earthquake struck Sunnydale and
the Hellmouth opened. All sorts of damned demons escaped before
the Scooby Gang had managed to close it, almost losing Willow
in the chaos.

Spike shuddered as the memories flooded his mind: Willow lying
helplessly on the ground, a snake like demon slithering nearer to her,
blind panic followed by red rage.
The rest of the gang had later told him that he'd torn the demon to shreds
then refused to let anyone near her for almost two days.
Two days in which he'd spent nursing her back to health.

The only physical evidence of the struggle was the long scar
running from her eye to under her chin where the demon's claw
had sliced her delicate skin as she chanted the spell to close the
Hellmouth.
Mental scars, however, were different.

It had been two years before she'd returned to the Willow they
all knew and, in Spike's case, loved beyond all else. She'd
been the one who'd removed the chip when he'd fully become
a 'white hat'. They had mated soon afterward.

The gang was doing well, fighting off demons even though Sunnydale
had been declared a dead zone by the government and they had
withdrawn all forces. Everything was going well until tragedy
had again struck and Giles had been killed.

Willow had taken over then.
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