A/N: Here it is. The final chapter. It's been just over 5 years since this crazy journey began. Thank you to everyone who has been following this and to everyone who has left a review. This has been a great ride and I only wish that I had been able to complete the story sooner.

Willow considered Spike's question, absently putting her hands in the pockets of the coat he had put around her shoulders. Her fingers wrapped around something small and hard. Curious, she pulled it out and looked at it. The small, black stone in her palm seemed to pull in the light around it. Willow's eyes widened and blood drained from her face as she recognized the stone. To her horror, it was warm.

"Spike," she called. The vampire turned away from his conversation with the pretty red headed woman. Willow held the stone before him. "Where did you get this?" she asked.

Spiked looked at the stone for a moment, then shrugged, "I found it in that chest you left for me. I figured it might prove useful. What is it?"

"An oblivion stone," she said, "I've never seen one this large."

"What do you mean?" Spike asked, "I thought you and the witchy circle left all that crap for me."

Willow took a deep breath and tried to swallow the tight lump in her throat before answering, "Not exactly. We were each allowed to put one item in the trunk. The prophecy was supposed to impress on each of us the item that would be most useful to you. Oblivion stones eat magick. They were forbidden in all but the most evil covens. Most stones are only the size of a pebble. Even so, one could rob an entire coven of witches of their power."

Spike's eyebrows shot up, "So one that size could do significantly more damage?"

Willow nodded stiffly, "This is what we call a planet killer. It could've robbed the entire Earth of its magick during the time of the First."

Spike stepped forward very slowly. "We need to be careful with that, Red," he said gently.

Willow took her eyes off of the stone for the first time and locked eyes the the vampire, "We're too late. It's warm. That means it's active."

Faster than her eyes could follow, Spike snatched the stone out of her hand and tossed it into the darkness. He touched a small symbol over his right breast.

"Spike to Enterprise," he said, "Get us all out of here. NOW!"

Riker stood with the Doctor as he watched over the unconscious woman lying in sickbay. According to the Doctor, this woman was Annika Hanson. A woman raised by the Borg, she had tried to lead a simple life on Earth, only to have that life ripped away.

"Will she be okay?" Riker asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "I just don't know," he said, "Physically, she's healthy. But the emotional trauma …" He let the statement hang.

Riker put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, "She's in the best possible hands. I'll be on the bridge if you need me."

He left the Doctor to his work.

Stepping off the turbolift and onto the bridge, Riker considered the immense space station on the view screen. It still seemed to pulse with energy. They still didn't have all the pieces, but soon, the away team would return and Riker might finally have some answers.

"Spike to Enterprise," Spike's voice suddenly called over the comm, "Get us all out of here. NOW!"

After a few seconds, Ensign Jacobs called over the comm, "We have them, Sir. Spike is on his way to the bridge. He asked me to tell you to get the ship away from the station."

"Copy that, Ensign," Riker said, tapping his badge to close the channel. He turned to Tenpenny at the helm, "Get us away from here. Full impulse until we reach the outer edge of the station."

Willow, still wearing only Spike's coat, ran with the vampire through the halls of the ship. She wasn't sure if the Enterprise would be effected by the oblivion stone, but the risk was too great to ignore.

They entered a small, circular room that Willow assumed was some kind of elevator. Spike said, "Bridge," and the thing immediately began moving. After a few moments the doors opened, revealing a bright room with control panels everywhere. A large screen showing Amy's abomination of a space station took up one wall, while every other space seemed to be occupied by some kind of control panel, most of them being manned. The image of the space station on the screen seemed to be retreating, causing Willow to sigh in relief.

An older man with salt and pepper gray hair and a full beard stood at their entrance. He had been seated in a chair roughly in the center of the room. Willow assumed him to be the captain.

"Spike, what's going on?" he asked.

Willow answered before Spike could, "That station is about to disappear. There's a very dangerous artifact that is going to suck all of the magick out of the surrounding area. That," she pointed at the screen, "Thing was created with magick. My magick."

"Is the Enterprise in danger," the captain asked.

Willow shook her head, "I don't know. I don't think so, but I'd rather not chance it."

"Sir," said a young man standing at a control panel behind the captain's chair, "Something is happening. It appears as though the station is being drawn into the central sphere."

"On screen," the captain commanded. The view changed to an image of the station that Amy had created in a sudden burst of almost two hundred years of stored power. The center seemed to be collapsing in on itself. Slowly, a void darker than even the empty space around the station began to grow in size.

Suddenly, bolts of energy so black that they sucked in what little light there was to be found in the space around the station raced along every path the sickly green metal offered them. From what Willow could tell by looking at the screen, the Enterprise had just reached the outer edge of the complex of tubes a spheres. The tentacles of void reached out from the last sphere, aiming right at the the view screen.

Willow took an involuntary step back, but it didn't help. The darkness came up through the floor of the bridge, gripping Willow with a touch so cold, it paralyzed her. She couldn't even scream against the pain, pain she hadn't felt since Amy had trapped her and stolen her magick. She felt her power being ripped away. She fought it mentally, but it was like fighting the grip of gravity on her body. There was a definite ripping sensation, and she wondered briefly if this was how Warren had felt when she had skinned him alive. Her power tore unevenly in two as the grip of the power of the oblivion stone finally released her. The last conscious memory she had was Spike calling out to her as she sank into his arms.

Spike ran at full supernatural Vampire speed through the halls of the Enterprise. He dodged around people who didn't immediately get out of his way. Willow moaned in his arms, her eyes unfocused and her face pale.

Spike almost ran directly into the doors of Sickbay. He had to stop long enough to allow the sensors on the door to see him. Once opened, Spike rushed into the room and shouted for the Doctor. Setting Willow on the bed, he called out again. The Doctor ran into the room.

"What happened?" he asked, his voice clear and authoritative.

"I … I don't know," Spike answered uncertainly, "She got hit by some kind of energy."

Willow's eyes suddenly opened. She screamed, a mournful sound, full of desperation and misery.

"My Magick," she cried, "My Magick!"

Spike stood beside Willow's bed, watching as she slept fitfully. The Doctor walked up with one of his weird instruments. He scanned her briefly.

"Well, Doc," Spike said, "What're we dealing with here?"

"I don't know, Spike," he answered, "Physically, she's fine, but she clearly went through a very traumatic experience. I honestly don't know if she'll recover."

Spike nodded, not wanting to voice his concerns over the magicks involved.

The Doctor put away his device. He then approached Spike, a look of what appeared to be supplication on his face.

"Spike," he said, "I've been giving this a lot of thought. I want a name. But more than that, I want a name that means something. I was hoping that, with your permission, I might take up the name William Cruentus."

Spike smiled broadly, "You want to be William the Bloody?"

"Well," the Doctor said, "I wouldn't put it quite like that."

Spike laughed, "Are you kidding, Doc? I'd be honored."

The Doctor, William, smiled, "Thank you, Spike."

A moan caught both of their attention. The woman who Spike had seen in the tank on the space station seemed to be waking up.

Her vision was cloudy, but she could make out two figures above her. Only one of them she recognized.

"Doctor?" she asked.

The figure grabbed her hand. That touch made the experience so much more real.

"I'm here, Seven," he said.

The memories flooded her consciousness, bringing with them the pain of reality.

"CHAKOTAY!" she cried.

3 Weeks Later

William Riker stood for a long moment outside the temporary quarters that had been given to him and his wife. He wasn't quite sure how to tell her. She had loved life aboard a starship, but this was most certainly the end of that. It was good news, though. He had to keep that at the forefront of his mind. Plus, he'd been able to gain the assignment that would make this, and all his work in Starfleet, worth it. Not that the work itself hadn't been worth it. Deanna would recognize that too.

Will walked into the room to see his beautiful wife, Deanna, reading an old fashioned bound paper book, her legs tucked under her in the chair. Even now, having known her for better than two decades, she still took his breath away. Upon seeing him, she smiled in a way that melted his heart.

"How did the meeting go, Imzadi?" she asked.

Without speaking, he sat in the chair next to her, opening the small, hinged box he held. He looked to her face, seeing the confusion there. She had retired a commander, not wanting to be away from him if she got reassigned.

He turned the box so that she could see the pin contained within. It was a gold bordered black square with a solid gold circle in the center. Comprehension dawned on her face, then a brilliant smile.

"They promoted you!" she said with excitement.

"Rear Admiral, Lower Half," Will said, "It's only one step above captain, but they still have to call me Admiral."

"This is so exciting," Deanna said. Then, looking worried, she asked, "Where are they stationing you."

Will smiled. This was the moment he had been waiting for. "Betazed," he said, grinning.

Deanna threw her arms around his neck. "Oh, Imzadi!" she cried.

Captain James Benjamin sat in the office of Admiral Toke. The Vulcan had more than a century on him, and so, by default, Benjamin gave deference to his opinion. However, as Toke pronounced his judgment, Benjamin couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with the old man.

"It is my opinion, based on all of the relevant reports from the mission to the Neutral Zone, that not only did you act admirably, but that your one lapse in judgment did not endanger your crew. Your own personal cost may have been considerable, but Admiral Picard assures me that you, to use the human expression, learned your lesson. I believe that your position as captain should be preserved. The Admirals' Council agrees with me. You are to receive a new command. Here are your orders."

The old Vulcan handed a PADD to Benjamin. The young captain looked it over.

"A Prometheus Class Multi-Vector ship on the edge of the Alpha and Beta quadrants," he read aloud. He looked at the admiral, "Not that I am ungrateful, Sir, but is there a specific reason for this deployment."

Toke nodded once, "The Federation fears further incursions by the Borg. You are to patrol the area. But you must not forget the core mission of Starfleet. Exploration and contact with new lifeforms is at the heart of everything we do."

"Sir," Benjamin said, "With all do respect, that is on the other side of Federation Space from where we were attacked. It seems to me that a ship as advanced as that should be protecting the core Federation worlds."

"I agree, Captain," Toke said, "But we have more than enough ships patrolling Federation space. Your main role will be as support for other ships in the area. We have quite a few science vessels in that part of space."

Toke then held out another PADD for Benjamin, "Here are some options for filling your senior officer positions. A few people have even requested to be put under your command. With William Riker having been promoted, there are more than a few officers looking for new positions."

"Wouldn't they just want to stay on the Enterprise?" Benjamin asked. Typically, if a captain retired or was promoted, and new one was assigned to the ship. Sometimes, the first officer was even promoted and given the chair.

"The Enterprise is being decommissioned," Toke said, impassively, "It has been in service for fourteen years, and it has seen far more than it's fair share of battle. The crew is being reassigned."

Benjamin nodded. He looked down at the list of names and requested positions. Right at the top was the name he had been hoping to see. He had made his first decision.

"Have the crew list on my desk by o nine hundred tomorrow," Toke said, "You are dismissed."

Benjamin nodded, "Yes, Sir."

Leaning heavily on the cane in his left hand, the young captain stood. Looking up, he saw that Toke had stood and raised an eyebrow.

"How are you healing?" he asked.

Benjamin glanced briefly down at his nearly useless leg. "I'm at almost one hundred percent," he answered, "It still hurts a little to breath. And, of course, there's my leg."

Toke opened his mouth, but Benjamin held up his hand to forestall the question he knew was coming, "The Doctor could have cloned a new one and replaced the leg. But, even though it's grown from my own DNA, there is still a chance of complications. He said that, with regular physical therapy, I could get as much as eighty-five percent of my function back. I feel that is," he trailed off briefly, "Acceptable."

And with that, he turned and limped out of the Admiral's office. He needed to find Seigal and let him know that he was hired.

"So this Amy chick used some mystical crystal to capture your power," Spike asked Willow. The two were walking in the twilight, enjoying the gardens at Starfleet headquarters. The two had spent their brief time on Earth as guests the facility. Spike couldn't blame them. Humanity hadn't dealt with witches or vampires in centuries, and even then, they weren't great at handling the things that went bump in the night.

Willow nodded up at him. She looked beautiful, her hair having grown down to her shoulders since that time in London. She was wearing a floor length, forest green gown, not unlike the one Amy had worn while masquerading as her. This one had full sleeves and didn't poof out nearly as much.

"She spent a lot of time just gathering energy," she said, "That's how she was able to create that huge space station all at once."

Spike's brow furrowed, "How did she know what to do? I mean, I can barely make heads or tales of this crazy future. How did Amy do it?"

"Janeway," Willow answered simply.

When Spike looked at her, she shook her head slightly, almost as if trying to clear her thoughts.

"Sorry," she said, "I'm still getting used to not being all ghosty."

Spike chuckled, "I know how that feels."

Willow smiled up at him for a minute, then continued, "There was a Starfleet admiral named Janeway who was visiting the crystal caves in California. That's where Amy was gathering energy. When she read Janeway's mind and saw some of the secrets there, she hunted the admiral down. That's where she got the information about Annika Hanson and the Borg. All I could was watch."

"How long were you like that?" he asked, "Could you even tell?"

"Sort of," she answered, "It was creepy, Spike. Being all ghosty and immortal, I'd lose so much time. I'd stop paying attention for what felt like a few minutes, then I'd come back only to find that decades had passed." She looked up to him with tears in her eyes. "Spike, I don't even know what happened to Buffy and Xander and Giles and," she paused, gasping, "Oh my Goddess, Kennedy! Spike, I don't know what happened to Kennedy!"

Spike put his arms around Willow as she began to cry. He had an inkling of what she was going through, but her situation was so much worse. Spike had, more or less, been given a choice. Plus he'd been given a chance to say his goodbyes. Willow, on the other hand, had been ripped away from her life and the ones she loved.

Trying to change the subject, Spike pulled her away from himself and asked, "How is your magic. You haven't told me much since you woke up from getting hit by that energy."

Through the tears, she smiled, "It isn't nearly as bad as I feared. I think my own experience and familiarity of my own magick helped a lot. I'm not uber powerful super witch anymore, but I'm not geeky, no magic Willow either. I'm about where I was when the First attacked Sunnydale."

Spike's eyes widened, "You weren't exactly timid then, Love. You were a force to be reckoned with. You were the reason for the all the potentials got juiced up. I'm not much into the hocus pocus, but I think that sort of thing takes some serious chops."

Willow nodded, "It does. I am a serious chop having Willow. But my chops aren't quite as serious as before."

"Is there any way to get that power back?" Spike asked.

Willow shrugged, "Time, mostly. Being on Earth helps. I wont be as powerful as I was for a long time. Maybe never. That's not such a bad thing. Willow with too much power tends to be dark and veiny Willow."

"SPIKE!" a voice called from across the gardens. They both looked toward the sound and saw a figure with a cane moving in their direction. The figure moved slowly, despite obviously being clearly in a hurry. Soon, Spike could make out Captain Benjamin. Impatient, Spike began walking toward the limping figure, and Willow followed.

Once face to face with the young man, he could see the look of elation on his face.

"Spike," he said, "They've given me a ship."

Spike help out a hand, "Congratulations, Captain."

Benjamin shook his hand firmly, clearly still giddy with the news. "I wanted to ask you something," he said, "And keep in mind that this is strictly a request, but I'd like you to join my crew."

Spikes eyebrows shot up. He looked to Willow who seemed equally confused. He looked back to the young captain, who seemed expectant.

"I don't know," Spike said, "What would I do?"

"Spike," Benjamin said, smiling slightly, "You're the most competent fighter I have ever met. Not to mention you read people better than any empath I have ever met. I'm sure I can find a place for you."

"Not without Willow," Spike said, "I'm not leaving her in the hands of the Future Initiative."

Before he could answer, a sudden flash caught everyone's attention. The very air seemed to crackle several more times. A point of light started about seven feet off the ground, then dragged a tear in reality down to the ground. The glowing, crooked line sat, hovering in open space briefly, before it opened upon a landscape of barren desolation.

Suddenly, a figure stepped through the opening and, just as quickly as it had opened, the portal closed. The figure was not tall or imposing. She was maybe five and a half feet tall, but he held herself with the bearing of someone who knew how to kill.

"Oh my God," she said, "Spike, am I glad to see you."

"Faith?" Willow asked.

Faith's eyebrows shot up, "Willow? I thought you were dead."

"Wait," Benjamin said, "Who are you?"

Spike shook his head, smiling, "It's a long story, Mate. Faith, how did you get here?"

Faith shrugged, "It's a long story."

A/N: Want to know the crazy story? I'll begin posting chapters for the sequel, Gotta Have Faith, in a few weeks (about half the story is already done) so stay tuned. Thanks again to all of you. Please let me know what you think. I love you all.