A week later. BPRI, 0200 hours.

Illyria.

Tara was finding it hard to sleep, the name of the Old One kept echoing in her mind. She was thinking too much about the ancient creature. She performed more research on Illyria, who was supposed to have been locked away in the Deeper Well. At least her essence was supposed to have been locked away.

But based on Buffy's dream, the creature possessed her daughter and would possibly bring about the end of the world. Tara shifted once again on her bed, she opened her eyes, and reached behind her, ultimately feeling an empty space. She sighed as she slowly sat up before swinging her legs over the edge of her bed. She forgot that Kennedy had left for Des Moine an hour ago wit her team; there had been rumours of a creed of hell-spawn gathering at a graveyard with the goal of opening doorway to hell. That could not happen.

She put on her fuzzy slippers and got up off the bed before walking over to the door of the new room she shared with Kennedy and Camille. Tara twisted the smooth doorknob and gently swung the door open; she peeked in to see Camille fast asleep in the rather sparse room. Tara tip-toed into the room and stopped at the side of the little girl's bed before places a hand on the top of her head. Tara loved the little girl, and the latter was growing on Kennedy as well. The blonde-haired witch, considered by many to be one of the most powerful on Earth, walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Tara stared into her dark room and leaned back against the door. She had been constantly looking into Illyria. She knew Buffy was freaked out by her dream; the blonde believed that Illyria was already in Sunnydale. Or at least her sarcophagus was somewhere in Sunnydale. However, Tara didn't believe it could be in Sunnydale, such a magically attuned object such as Illyria's sarcophagus would have set off the alarms. But she still scryed for it after her research.

All signs indicated the sarcophagus wasn't in Sunnydale. But then again, there was no sign of it anywhere else in the world. Tara had already notified Angel and Cordelia of this fact.

'No,' Tara thought to herself as she sat on the edge of her bed once again, 'the sarcophagus has to be at the well. Just because it can't be found anywhere else, doesn't mean its missing. The Well has powerful magics that prevent outside forces from detecting artifacts inside it.'

The Deeper Well was sealed by ancient and powerful magics from any outside power trying to scry into it or around it; thus, the reason for the unsuccessful scrying. Then again, someone could have been using magic to hide the presence of the sarcophagus in Sunnydale, but that would have set off alarms in the BPRI the moment it crossed into the city. And finding magics powerful enough to hide a sarcophagus containing such a powerful essence would require a very gifted and powerful witch. Most of the known witches who could hide the sarcophagus were already being discretely watched by seers from the Devon Coven and several others allied to the BPRI.

Still Tara felt tense. She felt worried for Buffy and her twins. Suddenly, Tara opened her eyes wide and looked up. There was a noticeable shift in the air and the temperature was decreasing. She breathed out as a chill brushed the exposed parts of her body – she was just wearing a simple tank top and shorts to bed. Her breath condensed in the air. She stood up and slowly spun around as goosebumps erupted on her skin, the hairs on the back of her neck slowly standing up as well. She sensed a presence in her room, a terrible presence.

"Who's there?" Tara asked as she began gathering magical energy at the palm of her hands for a defensive spell. As she looked around, she stopped to gaze at the window looking out into the courtyard, it was starting to frost over. She hurriedly walked backwards towards the door that led to Camille's room. Just as she reached the door, her eyes scanning her room which seemed to be getting darker, Tara heard Camille give out a bloodcurdling scream. Tara turned and opened the door, turned on the light, and then rushed to a panting Camille who was sitting on her bed with tears streaming down her cheeks. The room was cold here too, Tara noticed a subtle darkness enveloping them all.

"Camille," Tara sat and then hugged the little girl, "what happened? Did you have a nightmare? Was it about your brother? Your village? Or…"

Camille sputtered while crying, "I… I thought there was someone here… in the room… I… I.. heard whispers and screams and… and…"

Before Camille could finish speaking, Tara gasped and grabbed both sides of her head. There was a voice at the back of her head. A male voice – guttural and inhuman – seemingly gasping for breath, "warn them, witch… warn them all, the Dark Sleep has been released."

Tara turned to Camille; she looked so worried. Shaking her head, the witch stood up and carried the tearful little girl as they ran out of the room. As Tara entered the hallway, Potential Slayers stepped out with fear on their faces. They were speaking about being watched, about how the temperature in their rooms started to decrease, about how their windows were frosting over.

And they whispered one common pair of words while discussing their nightmare, "Dark Sleep."

Tara rushed through the hallway, many of the Potentials calling out for her and asking if she had heard the voice as well. Tara didn't answer. She didn't even know what was happening. What was the Dark Sleep? The atmosphere felt colder now, even as she ran through one hallway to another and up the stairs. She needed to talk to Angel. Whatever was happening, it seemed bad.

At the same time, witches all over the world heard the same voice as Tara. They were filled with terror as the temperature around them lowered a few degrees. All around the world, especially for magic users and anyone connected to the supernatural – demons as well, they were experiencing fear of something horrific coming for them all.

Colorado Springs, at that same time.

Jacob Carter woke up with a start and shot up on his bed. Debra, his daughter's adorable baby, was crying her lungs out from the nursery. He quickly leapt off the bed and rushed to the door before heading over to the nursery. He turned on the light, and immediately noticed a chill in the air.

He could feel as if there was someone watching him while rushing to the crib and picking up the crying baby. She had been fed, she didn't have a dirty diaper; so why was she crying this loud and this hard. It was almost as if she was panting. Her cries reverberated along the walls as he gently swayed his body to and fro. He wanted to call out for his daughter, but remembered Colonel Carter was out on a mission with SG-1.

"It's okay, sweetie," he whispered, holding the baby close, while doing everything in his power to get her back to sleep. He didn't notice frost starting to slowly cover the windows

Unknown to Jacob though, similar situations were occurring all over the world at the same time.

Cotswolds.

The current entrance to the Deeper Well was well hidden near an ancient tree that had been standing tall for thousands of years. The Cotswolds, with its rolling hills and quaint villages peppering the lush land, was tranquil. The sky was clear for the most part with some dark clouds floating in the sky. Birds were flying high up in the sky, a plane travelling higher up in the atmosphere, smaller animals running around on the grassy ground; the whole area was a picture-perfect scene that could be used for a postcard. The temperature was unusually cold, people from the nearby villages had to wear jackets after the sudden temperature fall. People didn't think too much of it, this was the U.K and strange weather events were not out of place. What was unusual though, was the sudden affliction of babies crying in the arms of their parents, or in their strollers, or on their high seats, or in their car seats, and so on.

The serenity around the tree was broken upon a small flash of light from the entrance to the Deeper Well. It was a magical seal which prevented the exit and entrance of magical beings without permission. The Well contained all matter of deadly artifacts, and entry to the place needed to be controlled. However, somehow, the magic failed… the seal shattered before a miasma of dense dark grey seeped out of the entrance. Its movement was eerily silent, and like a tide of liquid smoke, it spilled across the mossy and grass covered ground. It rolled into the air like fog and expanded vertically and horizontally. Within minutes, it was the length of several football fields, and moving with unnatural grace.

It rolled across the ground, hugging the earth and consuming everything in its path. The moss, grass, the tree itself, withered away. If witnesses were present, they would have seen the bark cracking, the leaves shrivelling, the roots and grass turning black. Nearby animals made to run away in panic, but they were unsuccessful. The miasma was faster… it rolled through the animals which then seized up mid-stride before falling to their sides; they were dead. And the miasma continued onwards, fanning further and further outwards, its height slowly increasing, slowly gaining speed.

One of the nearby villages would soon experience what was coming down the hills. It was a few miles away from the entrance to the Well, it was a bustling little village with several homes, an Inn which had a few visitors, a few small shops, a bar, and a few tourist traps. To the residents of the village, it was simply a normal day for the most part.

The first to notice the miasma were a pair of children playing tag just outside the main entrance to the village. They saw the fog rolling down the hill towards them, and one of them was curious… and the other was not. His friend rushed towards the fog, excited to experience what it would be like to run through a cloud. But his friend, a young boy of ten, didn't feel right as he stared at the fog rolling towards them. It was taller than them, and it seemed to be as wide as the village itself.

"Run away!!!" the boy, Edward, screamed at his friend. There was a sick feeling in his belly, there was something wrong with this fog. There was something definitely wrong with this fog. His eyes widened, tears gathering, as he watched his friend fall down onto the grass just as the fog rolled over him. Edward screamed out, pushing aside his fear and rushed for his friend. Edward called out for him, screamed out his name, but he wasn't moving. Suddenly, the fog was upon him… he took a breath and then everything turned dark.

Edward fell, his skin turning black and cracking, his breathing stopped. The fog rolled over them, the grass and bushes all turning black, and into the village. There were screams as the fog whooshed through the streets, entering the buildings through the smallest nook and cranny; not even placing wet towels to cover the small space beneath the ground and the doors seemed to work. The fog rolled inside buildings anyway. It was almost as if it was alive. Within a few minutes, the fog rolled through the village and continued onwards, leaving behind an eerie silence.

All 300 residents, including children and tourists, were dead. The dead were in their homes, business, church, on the streets where bodies simply fell dead. Seconds would tick by, the entire village silent as the fog travelled through other nearby villages with the same result. Two hundred dead in another village, four hundred dead in another. The fog would continue onwards. At the area around the entrance to the Well, a demon… the Keeper of the Well, stumbled out. Its skin was originally green with red markings… but now it was black and cracked, its eyes were orange when they were once a light blue hue, its movements unnatural. It roared into the air while the previously dead animals rose back up, their eyes a fiery orange, their looks feral as they hissed whilst showing off sharp teeth before dashing off towards the villages.

In the village of three hundred, the first hit by the fog, the dead bodies started to stir. As did the numerous animals and insects – from cats to dogs to horses to cows. Soon, their eyes snapped open. All had orange eyes, blackened cracked skin, and sharpened black teeth, their movements jerking and unnatural as the bodies slowly stood up.

The miasma spread out from the entrance of the Well, blackening the land by killing off grass, trees, bushes and so on. Even animals in rivers and ponds were not spared, the dead floating to the waters surface.

Washington, D. C., an hour later.

General Jack O'Neill was fast asleep, lying on his side and lightly snoring. His eyes snapped open upon hearing whispered words in his ear before he shot up sitting on his bed. He was still groggy, and thought he saw shadows moving around in his bedroom before shaking his head and then wiping his groggy eyes with the back of his hands. He could still recall the dream he was having: Samantha Carter in a ravishing dress was leaning against the door to his cabin while carrying two cases of beer.

Back in the real world, the General yawned before taking a deep breath. He exhaled after a few seconds; he narrowed his eyes at the condensation of his breath. That wasn't supposed to happen, at least not until winter. Even then, it would happen out in the open. He slowly turned until sitting at the edge of the bed. He looked around, scanning his surroundings with his eyes for anything unusual. He felt as if he was being watched.

Shaking his head, the General told himself it was just his imagination. Suddenly, his phone was vibrating. It wasn't his Homeworld Command one, it was his personal cellphone. O'Neill picked it up, flipped it open, and then pressed the receiver section onto his ear.

"Yeah," the General said.

"General, this is Angel, we have a serious problem… an 'end of the world' kind of problem."

The General sat up, his body tense. The man was serious; O'Neill could tell from the tone of Angel's voice that Angel wasn't joking. "What do you mean end of the world?"

It was then that the General's Homeworld phone vibrated. O'Neill asked Angel to hold on before picking up the second phone. "Yeah, this is O'Neill," he said. The voice on the other end, full of panic, told General O'Neill he needed to come in as soon as possible. He continued saying that there was something happening in London, Paris, and several other cities at the same time. O'Neill could hear Angel calling for him from the other phone, saying that it was extremely urgent. O'Neill spoke into the Homeworld phone and said, "I'll be leaving soon." He put away the Homeworld phone before speaking into the other phone while rushing to his television set. If it was something major, the news networks should be covering it.

"Yeah, Angel," the General said as he entered the living room and stopped, his face in shock as he listened to what the vampire was saying.

"It took us until now, after consulting the archives and our allied covens, to find any information about the Dark Sleep… it's a weapon, General."

O'Neill sat on the couch as Angel continued, "it was created by mystics working for the Templars… the Knights Templars. It was meant to kill, General. That's its role… it kills. But the mystics deemed it uncontrollable, so the mystics who created it took it to the Deeper Well and sealed it."

"So how…"

"Somehow the seal broke," Angel said rubbing the back of his head as he watched the television in his office, Cordelia sitting next to Tara and Camille as all of them watched a report on planes falling from the sky, another channel was showing birds falling to the ground dead, "the Keeper of the Well sent a telepathic message to Tara before he died." There was quiet on the other line as the General sat in the dark, he didn't know what to think. Angel then continued, his voice quaking with what O'Neill thought was fear, "the mystics believed that once released, the Dark Sleep cannot be stopped. It will continue expanding, General. It will continue until all life on this planet is consumed. I have all covens coming up with a defence, but… but we've lost two covens… the Dark Sleep killed them and everyone in the towns they were based."

General O'Neill never thought he would have to say what he had to say next. He trusted Angel, and if he said this was bad… then… "Angel, I'll activate Directive One. Initiate whatever doomsday protocols you have at the BPRI. Have someone liaise with Homeworld."

"Already given the order to my people, General."

"I… is this happening?"

"It is, General," Angel said as he stared at the news, the looks of horror on the faces of the anchors in an American news program after they switched coverage from a newsroom in Paris where the Parisian anchors dropped dead in the middle of covering the miasma making its way through Paris. "It's happening." Angel continued to say that he ordered his people to find a way to stop the encroachments of the Dark Sleep. So far, they had nothing that could stop it.

As General O'Neill rushed to Homeworld Command after speaking to Angel, the massive miasma wave could already be seen from the Prometheus Station, as well as from the other stations still under construction. The global panic had begun.

P9V-456, an hour later.

The reports of a Prior on P9V-456 from Tok'ra spies was an exaggeration. A young man, about twenty years of age from the nearby village of Rutaan, had put on white powder on his body, painted some markings on his face, wore a cream-grey robe, and entered the village of Rosep at night to scare people. SG-1 were not happy about the situation either since they had to wait three days for the so-called Prior to arrive through the Stargate. And when they heard from the head of Rosep village the Stargate hadn't been activated before SG-1 stepped though, Colonel Carter and the others were surprised. Colonel Mitchell then suggested it would be best to hide themselves in the village and wait.

And when the young man entered Rosep village, it was SG-1 who caught him before handing him over to the village head. With their mission complete, it was time to return to Earth.

"There's been no news from the Tok'ra or any of the other ships guarding the supergate," Faith said as she walked next to Willow.

"And we need to tell them their spy messed up," Willow added.

"We know the Ori returning," Vala spoke softly, "this time they are coming with all they have." No one knew how many ships were due to come to the Milky Way, all SG-1 was certain of was that the numbers would be much greater than their initial incursion to this galaxy. Well, the spy network set up by the Tok'ra was running at full force searching for news and clues about the second crusade into the Milky Way. All they could do now was wait.

A comfortable silence reigned between the team as they continued their walk towards the Gate. They could see the gate far off into the distance, about a fifteen-minute leisurely walk away. They were surprised when the unstable vortex whooshing out before creating the event horizon of the wormhole. They were still some distance away, and the next check in was an hour away; so why was the SGC contacting them now?

Suddenly, Willow felt a stabbing sensation piercing through her mind, and instinctively prevented Faith from feeling what she was feeling. But it was difficult, as if she was a dam holding back water threatening to breakthrough. She screamed grabbing both sides of her head – everyone turning towards her with shock on their faces at the scream. Faith grabbed Willow just as her legs buckled, gently placing the redhead down onto the grass. Faith crouched next to the Willow who was still grabbing both sides of her head, sweat on her forehead starting to bead down her face, her eyes closed shut.

"Red?" Faith whispered, a hand gently massaging her neck, "Red, what is it? You okay?"

Willow was whispering to herself. "No… no… no… no… please, no… please… stop… stop screaming… please stop…" Just then, Faith felt it through the psychic link… the pain and visions Willow had tried to stop from getting through to Faith; the metaphorical dam burst. Faith screamed as she widened her eyes and dropped to the grass while grabbing her chest.

"By God," Faith whispered, "oh my God… no… no…"

"Willow Rosenberg, Faith Lehane" Teal'c whispered just as a garbled message came through their radios. The message was distorted with static, cutting in and out. They heard a panicked voice. It sounded like General Landry, but the static was making it hard to recognise who was speaking.

"This is… [STATIC]… Star… [STATIC]… Comm… [STATIC]… Death is… [STATIC]… off-world… [STATIC]… Alpha-site… [STATIC]… Catastrophic event… [STATIC]…" SG-1 was staring at each other while Willow still had her hands pressing both sides of her head, pain clearly showing on her face. The message continued. "Called… [STATIC]… God… [STATIC]… Des… [STATIC]." The line was then cut off, and the Gate shut down.

"Sam!!!" Mitchell exclaimed, pointing at the Gate, "dial Earth!!!" Colonel Carter didn't move; she watched the look of devastation on Willow's face as the latter dropped her arms by her side. It was the same with Faith who looked so pale. Tears were flowing freely down their cheeks now, their lips trembling as everyone stared at them. Willow turned to Faith and opened her mouth, but no words came out. Faith had her hands over her eyes as she cried. Daniel crouched next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. First Willow screamed in pain, then Faith, and then there was the garbled and staticky message. What the hell was going on?

"I heard the cries of people before they died," Willow whispered, her voice cracking. She looked over at the sobbing Faith and continued, "I tried to keep it from Faith, but it was too much. Everything I heard and felt… Faith felt it too."

"I don't understand," Vala spoke.

"I heard the mental screams of people begging for help before… before they died. Hundreds of thousands… millions… millions upon millions of people… all screaming… people screaming at the same time. Their fear, their screams… all I could feel…"

"I saw…" Faith was breathing hard as she wiped the tears away, her voice shaking. "or I guess people saw this giant wall of fog… black fog… just… just whooshing through cities… and then there was just death."

"Something catastrophic is happening on Earth, Colonels," Willow whispered shaking her head, "whatever this is? It's bad."

Colonel Carter turned and rushed towards the Stargate. She didn't want to think what weapon could have done something as terrible as Willow had suggested. As she ran, she threw aside her pack, her tactical vest, and her P90. They were weighing her down. She was breathing hard; her heart was racing. She needed to get to the Gate. Her thoughts turned to her father, Debra, and then to General O'Neill… if whatever was happening on Earth was as bad as Willow and Faith suggested… then what about them? Are they alright? Are they safe?

Willow said something catastrophic was happening on Earth. No, their world would be okay. Their world has always been okay because the SGC has been there to protect it, as have the Slayers. They keep the world spinning. They would be able to push back whatever was happening… they would be able to pull out a win from the jaws of defeat.

Samantha Carter finally reached the DHD. She dialled the address for Earth, she could hear the sounds of her heart thundering away. The chevrons lit up after pressing each symbol on the DHD. 'Yes,' Colonel Carter thought to herself before pressing down on the central button. Where once the Gate would activate, and the team would step through and find themselves back at the SGC. This time, nothing happened. The Stargate did not activate. Samantha dialled Earth once again, and still nothing happened.

All she could do was stare at the Gate in disbelief.

TBC