Title: The Hope

Rating: R

Summary: The year is 2087 and the last slayer has been killed, an evil spell has been cast to prevent the calling of another. In a dispirit situation the Watcher's Council and a Wicca coven embark on a mission to raise a famous slayer from the dead.

Disclaimer: I don't own any BtVS character's, Joss and ME do. I don't own the Watcher's council either. I do however own Rosaline, Arden, the Delilac coven, and all the others I made up. I imagine Rosaline being a Kate Beckinsale clone, and Arden being, well Arden.

* * *

2087 An Abandoned house in London

A young girl dressed in black jeans and a black tee-shirt is fighting a band of demons and vampires with a sword. She had short light blue hair and dark blue eyes. She decapitates a hairy green demon; a vampire grabs her from behind and bites into the back of her neck. She brings her leg up connecting with the vampire knocking him on his ass. "That the best you got?" she says in a distinct accent, New Zealand being her origin.

She cuts his head off. Turning back to the others she draws a gun. "How 'bout we thin the herd a little?"

She presses a button on the gun and cocks it, then pulls the trigger. Twelve rounds go off, hitting all the demons in the head. She smiles and places the gun back in its holster at her side. Four of the fallen bodies move.

"Bullets don't kill vampires," one said getting up.

"I know that, but they hurt like hell don't they?" the girl says holding up her sword. The fight was over quickly, the four vampires dust.

"All in a nights work," the girl said, wiping her sword clean and putting in into its scabbard on her back. She turned to the sound of clapping.

"Very good, Mag," a male voice said, coming out from the shadows. The Slayer known as Magnolia Paul froze seeing the boys face. He was only a few inches taller than her, she was 5'6. He had dark brown hair, which he usually had slicked back, and black, black eyes. He only looked about 20, but Magnolia knew better. Wisdom of ages were hidden behind those eyes.

"Gallan…." she whispered. Her dark blue eyes started to fill with tears. She checked herself, she couldn't cry, couldn't run to him. She knew now what she truly was. Not just a demon, if he were only that it would be alright. No, he was a monster.

"Magnolia."

He made a mock bow towards her, then quickly lifted his eyes toward the rafters. Magnolia turned to where he was looking, but too late. She heard the shriek and the sound of wings.

* * *

"It doesn't matter, Arden! Find Magnolia, if you get her it won't matter if we can find them and stop the ritual," Rosaline Delilac said into the picture phone.

"It bloody well does matter! Even if I find her before she's killed, if they finish the spell she'll still be the last slayer! Even if she dies of old age!" the young Watcher, known as Arden Davis, screamed.

"No need to yell!" Rosaline replied.

"Sorry, luv," the Englishman apologized.

"And that's not true. The spell needs to be cast right when the last slayer dies for it to work. Why do you think that little shit Gallan bond his essence to her. All Marane demons feel when another one is in pain or dies. When Mag dies they'll know. How could you loose her anyway? She's your charge!"

The young man glared at her with his hazel eyes. "She's 16 years old! You ever try to find one of those when they don't want to be found? What am I suppose to do? Put a tracking device on her?"

"It would help…."

"Rosaline," her sister Jessica came into the room. "We found them. Are you coming?"

Rosaline nodded. "In a min, Jessie," she turned back to the phone. "We found their location, Arden."

A look of relief washed over the man's face. "Thank God. Should I meet you ther' than?" Rosaline shook her head.

"No, we may not be able to stop them. Find Magnolia, and quickly," she told him.

"Easy for you to say. She could be anywhere. She didn't even tell me where she was patrolling tonight, I guess I could go to the Spiral and ask around."

"If you need help you could always ask Will."

"No fuckin' way!" the man shot back. "Fine….I have to go. Happy huntin'," she said before hanging up. Arden's image turned to black.

 Rosaline sighed. She thought Arden would get over his dislike for Will, after all the help he had been to the council and the Slayer over the last several years. True, Will was a little unhinged. But if the stories were true, he had been a lot crazier before he joined forces with the council. It would really help to have him join in the hunt. The situation was desperate. It was Will in fact who had brought the whole ritual and plan of the Marane's to the Council's attention.

Over two years ago all the Slayers in training had began to be killed off, one by one. All measures had been taken to secure their safety but somehow the last few had been killed, all except Magnolia. No one knew she even existed until Will told them. She never asked how Will knew these things, he just did. The council sent Arden to New Zealand in secret, deciding to keep Magnolia well hidden in her hometown, some of the members of the council didn't even know about her because of the leak. Someone inside was obviously a betrayer. Finally the Slayer before Mag, Sabine, was killed, falling through the roof during a struggle with a vampire, falling onto a piece of broken glass. Magnolia was then brought to London. Rosaline had only met the girl a handful of times, but she could tell from those few meetings, and a glimpse at the girl's aura, that Magnolia was strong in spirit and physicality for the job of the Chosen one.

But now all the work Arden's people had done, all the training, all Mag's spirit could be lost in a matter of minutes. Rosaline couldn't let this happen. They had to find Magnolia and stop the Maran's ritual before all was lost. Before the world was plunged into darkness, without hope of any light every again.

* * *

The creature know as the Yurka swooped down from the rafters at Magnolia. The Yurka was an ancient being, almost driven to extinction. They were like giant purple bats, but with green eyes and wide, round mouths. Their screams put fear into the heart of even the most brave.

Magnolia had no time to draw her sword or even her gun. The Yurka attacked, latching onto her shoulders and beating its sharp tipped wings at her, cutting her neck and face. It lifted her up high into the air before letting her crash to the hard stone floor. Magnolia reflexes kicked into high gear. She drew her gun and raised it at the Yurka, only to have the beast grab her hand with its talons, breaking the metal weapon and Magnolia's hand in the process. She screamed out in pain. The Yurka did likewise.

Gallan had drawn Magnolia's sword from her scabbard and drove it into the Yurka's back. The creature let go of Magnolia's hand, which was broken and bleeding a great deal, as was her nose, from when she had hit the floor. In one fail swoop Gallan cut off the Yurka's head. The body fell to the ground.

Magnolia rose, despite the pain. Slayer's always healed quickly. Before she could ask why her former lover had helped her when he had set this trap, Gallan raised the sword again. He made a swift, shallow cut across her mid section. She gasped in pain. Before she could counter attack he drop kicked her to the ground and drove the sword deep into her left leg. She screamed again, a scream of utter pain and betrayal, of loss and of fear. The blood poured profusely from her wounds. She didn't want to die! Not just because of the mission, like Arden had told her. His words came ringing back to her, "The Slayer is the cause. She will die fighting evil and protecting others. Her life is the cause, the kill. She has nothing else. But you…..You Magnolia, are special. You are the last. You cannot die yet. You must live to fight. You cannot become reckless, or daring, you can not sacrifice yourself. Not until we find another."  She didn't care that she was the last, that if she died there would be no one after her dedicated to the cause. She didn't care that the council would have to battle the forces of darkness on its own. She didn't want to die because she didn't know what came after. She didn't want to die this way, at her love's hand. She couldn't think, the blood loss was too great. She was woozy.

Gallan held her close to his chest. "Shhhhhh…..shhhhh….It's okay," he pulled her face away and looked into her eyes, "It will all be over soon."

* * *

 A great fire was burning in the middle of the hall. Twelve Marane demons in blood red robes stood around it. Each one held a bowl with the ingredients for the spell. One by one they each dropped the ingredients into the fire. The flame roared and changed to a dark purple. One of the demons pulled down the hood of their robe to reveal a middle aged red haired woman. She looked human except for her eyes. They were completely black. She looked into the flames. A shiver went through her, as it did to the other eleven Maranes. Soon, she thought, Soon.  She spread her hands outward towards the flame and spoke the incantation.

"Unla-ta Yur Sabak

Gila mesha tabola

Helve ghjar cvar poe

Kela ma fortute!!"

"Here me old ones

Bind her power

Take our son as sacrifice

Let the last die!!!"

The flames roared up again and went black. "We only have to wait a little bit longer to complete the final part," the woman said. The others nodded. Gallan and the girl were fading fast now. Suddenly there was a sound at the end of the hallway. Wood splintering, flashes of light.

"Witches," one of the demons snarled. "Quickly! Get rid of them," the woman barked the order.

The Delilac coven had already taken out the four Marane guards at the front. Their bodies were threaded to the wall with vines that had grown through the cracks in the wall. More of the demons came out from the great hall and from upstairs. One jumped down from the second story to land right in front of Rosaline, with a rapier pointed at her throat. Rosaline flicked her fingers at her side and the demon went flying across the room.

Rosaline made it into the hall. A great black fire was blazing.

"They only have one more step before the spell is sealed!!" Rosaline screamed to her sister Jessica, who had made two more demons disappear in puffs of smoke. "We must stop them," Ingrid, one of the older witches told her. She nodded. They didn't know what the final step was, but they knew they had to stop it.

* * *

"You ….bastard," Magnolia choked out. She was feeling really horrible now. Gallan didn't look to good either. He was so pale.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I'm……dying…..you…asshole…"

"So am I, Mags. Can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my last few moments with."

"Liar….." she rasped. "You…..did…..all…this…for…your…precious…cause."

"You know I could let you die on the cold stone floor," he said cracking a smile. "I can't believe you'd say that."

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, with little success. She was too weak. "It's…true. You're …such a bastard!! You ….never …loved …me. You….just…wanted …to kill…me." It was getting harder to breath. "You…..helped….kill….all…the…others. Admit it." She went into a small coughing fit, blood formed at the corners of her mouth.

"I …..Admit it," Gallan said. His breathing was coming slower now too. Soon. "I was ….intrigued with you. I asked to be the one to get you."

"Your…..mother….told you too," she spat. "Your favorite!"

Each Marane demon had at least two wives; the wives usually had more husbands, usually three or more. They had numerous children which they all raised together. An immediate family usually consisted of thirty family members or more.

"I ….hate her….now," he confessed.

"I'm glad. Hate ….is all…we …are…left…with," Magnolia said quite seriously. She was not crying now. Her leg was completely numb and she had a searing pain in her chest.

"No," Gallan shook his head. "Love is not love, which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove: O, no! it is an ever fixed mark, that looks on tempests and is never shaken…Shakespeare."

"I know who it is!" She went into another small coughing fit. "You….always…thought…I ….was…some country….bumpkin."

"No….No Mags…." He held her close to him. "I never thought that," he felt a slight choking in his throat. He could feel the blood coming up. He went into a coughing spasm. The blood dribbled down his chin.

"I always thought you….different. So….full…of life. Of fire…..not caring…what others thought of you. You…were….wild and impatient at times…."

"And that was my downfall…." She took a breath, " I should have listened to Arden! …or the other council members…..I hate you!! I hate you!!! You—" she began to beat her fists against his chest and shoulders, tried to pull away. He pinned her arms behind her, holding her with one arm. He held her face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"And I love you….I love you, Magnolia."

Tears welled up in her eyes. She was about to say something….but her eyes fell back into her head.

* * *

The conditions in the great hall had gotten worse. There were demons and witches everywhere. Rosaline had a small cut on her forehead courtesy of one of the Marane demons. Some of the witches were trying to destroy the rest of the ingredients on the table, but each one was met with death at the end of a sword.

The red headed woman held a jar in her grasp. She had magic of her own and was keeping the others at bay. The flame was turning darker and darker. It was nearly there!!

* * *

"Let  her go!"

Gallan turned his head to see Magnolia's Watcher, Arden Davis. He was holding a gun levied at Gallan's head. "She's not dead yet. Only unconscious."

"Why aren't you? Isn't that how the whole essence bonding thing works?" Arden said, moving slowly forward, not lowering the gun.

"It's taking all my power to stay awake. You can put the gun away."

Arden just walked closer to him. He was only a few feet away and had a perfect shot of his head. "Give her to me," he said.

"No," Gallan replied. Arden cocked the gun. "Give her to me."

"What are you going to do? That'll kill her too, or had you forgotten?"

Idiotically enough Arden had forgotten. "I can shoot you in the arm."

"Think that would help her any?"

Arden lowered the gun. He was stuck. He didn't have much time. Magnolia looked dead already, except he could see her shallow breathing.

"When….I….die……don't let…..my…people have me," Gallan whispered. The room was spinning and fading around him.

"Your people will be done after tonight."

Gallan let out a little laugh. "Like….I …was…saying. Don't let them have my body. Bury….me…by…Magnolia. Put on….my….headstone….' Gallan….A demon who loved the slayer Magnolia with all his being'."

Arden shook his head. "You expect me to believe you really still love her?" he snarled.

"I expect you to know what love is really like. How cruel it is."

With that Gallan fell over on top of Magnolia and stopped breathing.

* * *

Now! The flames turn an eerie smokey gray. Jessica saw this. The red haired woman  unfastens the lid of the jar. "No!" Rosaline's sister launches herself at the woman. It is too late. A swift mist leaps into the flames, which roar and turn a bright orange. The flames become a beam of light and shoot through the roof. Everyone stops fighting to watch. No, no, Rosaline's head screams. The beam fades and returns to a normal fire.

"It is done!" the woman screams. Jessica draws a dagger, ready to stab the woman. The red head turns and claws the air. Scrapes appear across Jessica's eyes and face. She screams in pain. The woman take the dagger and slits Jessica's throat.

"No!!!" Rosaline screams. "No!!!" The fire roars engulfing several demons and witches. The roof catches fire.

Rosaline uses her magic and anger to hit the red haired woman into the fire. She is oblivious to her coven sisters that are in pain. She kneels to her sister's body and picks it up, cradling her in her arms. Jessica Delilac is dead.

* * *

Arden threw Gallan off Magnolia. "Come on Mag, don't do this. Don't die on me!!" But there is no pulse. "Oh God…." His eyes fill up with tears. "Maggi!! Magnolia!" He embraces his charge, crying into her hair.

* * *

In a dark room in London

Will, William, know for ages as Spike, and ages before that as William-the-Bloody, sat, crouched in the corner of his room. The voices had gotten easier to handle over the last 85 years. But now…now….

"Stop it!" he slapped his head. They were acting up more.

You let her down, you didn't save her, one said. You didn't even try, said another.

 It's because she's not her! they screamed together. Your precious one! She's dead so no one else deserves help, hmmm? they said, making him feel guilty.

"I know! I know!! I didn't help! I didn't try…she's just a baby…a baby. I left her. But they didn't ask me for help!" he yelled out to the room.

You don't need to be asked to help, one said, you always helped her, even when she didn't want it!

"Stop it! Stop talking! It's not my fault! It's not my bloody fault!!"

No, a new voice said, kinder than the others, It is not your fault. You could not have stopped it. But the slayer  is not the only one who needed you. There are others. They need you now.

"Yes," Spike nodded. "Yes, they will need me." He stood up and grabbed his leather duster off the chair. He could not bear to part with it even after all this time. He was about to head out the door when he stopped. A framed picture was sitting on the dresser. There were three people in it. A short blond with hazel eyes, with a briallant smile on her face. A red head with green eyes. Her nose was wrinkled up as she smiled at the camera. The third person was younger. She resembled the blond in a way. She had long brown hair and though she was younger she was taller than the other two. Her smile was small, she had her head tilted towards the blond. He stopped and stroked the blond in the picture. They did need his help.

Part 2 coming soon

*** Please review! No flames please!