SotW 7----
AUDIENCE CHAMBER OF THE ELDERS
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"We welcome the Slayer and honor her. Your reputation has proceeded you, Miss Summers."
"Really? Flattery will get you less than nowhere. You should know that from the start."
"It wasn't a compliment, exactly. The reputation we speak of is for running your WhiteLighter ragged."
"Hey, mayhem is my life. My job is dangerous. If he can't keep up..."
"If he couldn't, you would have crossed the veil long ago."
"Been there, done that. Twice. The veil's getting so much use I might as well join a harem at this point...."
"Yes, we are aware of this. This is one of many facts of your life which induced us to retrieve and secure the Key when the opportunity arose to do so."
"She's not the Key anymore. She's my sister...."
"Incorrect. In human form or not, she will always be the Key. Therefore she will always be sought after by the forces of darkness. We have observed you closely since your unexpected resurrection. We were hopeful that you would rise above what has befallen others in this situation.... we prayed you would be stronger than they were. To our great dismay, our hopes and prayers were in vain."
"Others? This has happened before?"
"Many times over the centuries. Never with a good result. The spell the witch used is ancient and terribly powerful. Even when performed by the most learned of magic-wielders... at the very least it fails more often than not. When it does succeed, the resurrected often return significantly damaged in body.... or in mind and spirit, as happened with you."
"I... am not damaged."
"You are. We see this and it grieves us. You are no longer connected to your emotions or the basic nature of your soul. You care almost nothing for your own health or safety. You fight as the automaton made in your likeness fights; without passion or awareness of the purpose behind what you do. Particularly for this reason, we have assumed stewardship of the Key for its safety and that of the world."
"You can't just take her away...."
"We can and we must. You are no longer able to protect the Key with the zealousness needed to ensure its continued welfare."
"It's not like I asked to be this way! I didn't want to come back! Willow...."
"We know this also. She believed you were in pain, being cruelly tortured in an unknown aspect of Hell."
"If you know so much then why are you making me pay for what she did?"
"We protect the Key. It is not a punishment. There is no other option...."
"Yes, there is. Fix me. Whatever went wrong when she brought me back.... make it right."
"You make it sound so simple, child. It is not. Even we cannot repair what has been done. You must accept our judgment. You were an exceptional guardian of the Key. You prevented the Beast from fulfilling her plan and in so doing, sacrificed yourself. More should not have been asked of you than this. We now deem it necessary to take upon ourselves the mantle of guardianship."
"My sister...."
"... was never a reality. You believed her to be so because it was required of you. It is no longer required. This audience is ended. Your gifts are desperately needed, Leo. Return the Slayer to the Halliwell house and then go to the Charmed Ones. They and others are in grave danger. Do what you can."
"We thank you for your wisdom and your counsel, great Elders." Leo intoned solemnly as he gripped Buffy's arm and orbed them back to the house. Buffy's final scream of rage echoed in the hall for some time after they'd vanished.
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"Xander! What happened to him?!"
"Why did you send him out after me?! You humans can be such imbeciles.... Did you bother to look out the window before you nagged him to his death?"
"Spike, what happened?" Anya cried, rushing to join the group.
"The demon poisoned the air around the house! That way, he'd get his tribute without havin' to trifle with you lot..."
"We have to save him!" Willow cried, leaning over Xander in preparation for performing mouth-to-mouth. Anya pulled her away and handed her to Spike.
"No!"
"Spike... he's dying!"
"Already dead, most likely an' so will you be if you touch him. How's both of ya passin' on supposed to help any of us, hmmmm?"
"He's telling the truth, Willow. The poison will absorb right through our pores. I don't even dare touch him...."
"I don't care..... let me go! Xander!"
On the other side of the room, Cole and Pheobe shimmered in suddenly beside Paige, causing her to jump in shock.
"Damn! I swear I'm about ready to put a bell on your neck, Cole." She complained as Pheobe rushed to hug Piper.
"Please! I may be going straight, but I am *not* one of those wimpy guardian angels...."
"Care to rephrase that?" Leo asked wryly as he orbed in. Cole was silent. "We'll talk later." Piper immediately shifted her attentions to her husband.
"What are you doing here?"
"The Elders said I was needed. Someone must be hurt."
"I don't think so..."
Just then Piper heard Willow screaming on the other side of the room. "Once again, I speak too soon. I'm always doing that."
Leo left the three sisters and the ex-demon and ran to where Spike was barely containing an increasingly angry Willow.
"What happened?" Leo asked as he dropped to his knees at Xander's side.
"Who are you then?" the vampire growled.
"A doctor. I can help, but I have to know what's wrong."
"The air outside... 's poisoned. He walked out there like the idiot human he is, took one good breath an' here we are. Damn it woman, hold still! Can't ya see there's a doc tendin' the boy?"
Leo laid his hands over Xander's chest and a soft glow developed in the space between his skin and the young man's shirt. Several tense seconds later, Xander jerked slightly and began to cough. Leo turned him onto his side to prevent choking and looked up at the other two.
"Miss. What's your name?"
"Willow.... Willow Rosenberg. Is Xander alright?"
"He'll be fine. Willow.... I'm honored to meet you." he said, extending the hand he wasn't using to help support Xander. She grasped it uncertainly, confused at the reverence in his voice.
"Honored? I don't understand...."
Her sentence was abandoned mid-way through as the house began to rumble with authority. She stumbled sideways and would have fallen if Spike hadn't been nearby to catch her.
"And I don't have time to explain! I have to get this man out of here, you and Tara need to go to Piper and Paige. Hurry!"
Willow grabbed Tara and ran to join the sisters. Lifting Xander to his feet as gently, but as fast, as he could, Leo helped him walk over to where Cole waited, Anya hanging on his every step. Spike watched them go, then turned and slipped out the door again, sure that everyone was too occupied to notice his departure.
"I'm not gonna be much help, here, Leo. My power is nothing compared to Mychnederus." the smaller man admitted. "If I can get anybody out of the line of fire..."
"I've got him. I don't know about anyone else...."
"The ex-vengeance demon can go. Her powers are gone. She'll only get herself killed trying to help. I'll take her."
"Excuse me?! I'm standing right here and powers or not, I can still kick your butt mister..."
"Fine with me. Let's move though. The situations getting pretty shaky...."
"Lousy pun, angel boy. I'm definitely gonna have to give you a few lessons."
"If we all survive...."
"Uh-oh."
"What?"
"The quake. It's stopped."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not necessarily..... where's the vampire?"
"Vampire?"
"Bleach-blonde guy, brought the kid back in from outside? He's the sacrifice for.... damn."
"What? What's going on, Cole?"
"I'll explain back at the house. We can't do anything now but get these two to safety. I'll go first, you let Piper in on what we're doing, then follow. Make it fast. He doesn't look good."
Despite his reservations, Leo did as Cole directed then, with Xander's arm draped over his shoulder, orbed himself and the weakened young man directly to the mansion.
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TBC......
AUDIENCE CHAMBER OF THE ELDERS
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
"We welcome the Slayer and honor her. Your reputation has proceeded you, Miss Summers."
"Really? Flattery will get you less than nowhere. You should know that from the start."
"It wasn't a compliment, exactly. The reputation we speak of is for running your WhiteLighter ragged."
"Hey, mayhem is my life. My job is dangerous. If he can't keep up..."
"If he couldn't, you would have crossed the veil long ago."
"Been there, done that. Twice. The veil's getting so much use I might as well join a harem at this point...."
"Yes, we are aware of this. This is one of many facts of your life which induced us to retrieve and secure the Key when the opportunity arose to do so."
"She's not the Key anymore. She's my sister...."
"Incorrect. In human form or not, she will always be the Key. Therefore she will always be sought after by the forces of darkness. We have observed you closely since your unexpected resurrection. We were hopeful that you would rise above what has befallen others in this situation.... we prayed you would be stronger than they were. To our great dismay, our hopes and prayers were in vain."
"Others? This has happened before?"
"Many times over the centuries. Never with a good result. The spell the witch used is ancient and terribly powerful. Even when performed by the most learned of magic-wielders... at the very least it fails more often than not. When it does succeed, the resurrected often return significantly damaged in body.... or in mind and spirit, as happened with you."
"I... am not damaged."
"You are. We see this and it grieves us. You are no longer connected to your emotions or the basic nature of your soul. You care almost nothing for your own health or safety. You fight as the automaton made in your likeness fights; without passion or awareness of the purpose behind what you do. Particularly for this reason, we have assumed stewardship of the Key for its safety and that of the world."
"You can't just take her away...."
"We can and we must. You are no longer able to protect the Key with the zealousness needed to ensure its continued welfare."
"It's not like I asked to be this way! I didn't want to come back! Willow...."
"We know this also. She believed you were in pain, being cruelly tortured in an unknown aspect of Hell."
"If you know so much then why are you making me pay for what she did?"
"We protect the Key. It is not a punishment. There is no other option...."
"Yes, there is. Fix me. Whatever went wrong when she brought me back.... make it right."
"You make it sound so simple, child. It is not. Even we cannot repair what has been done. You must accept our judgment. You were an exceptional guardian of the Key. You prevented the Beast from fulfilling her plan and in so doing, sacrificed yourself. More should not have been asked of you than this. We now deem it necessary to take upon ourselves the mantle of guardianship."
"My sister...."
"... was never a reality. You believed her to be so because it was required of you. It is no longer required. This audience is ended. Your gifts are desperately needed, Leo. Return the Slayer to the Halliwell house and then go to the Charmed Ones. They and others are in grave danger. Do what you can."
"We thank you for your wisdom and your counsel, great Elders." Leo intoned solemnly as he gripped Buffy's arm and orbed them back to the house. Buffy's final scream of rage echoed in the hall for some time after they'd vanished.
%%%%%%%%%%%
"Xander! What happened to him?!"
"Why did you send him out after me?! You humans can be such imbeciles.... Did you bother to look out the window before you nagged him to his death?"
"Spike, what happened?" Anya cried, rushing to join the group.
"The demon poisoned the air around the house! That way, he'd get his tribute without havin' to trifle with you lot..."
"We have to save him!" Willow cried, leaning over Xander in preparation for performing mouth-to-mouth. Anya pulled her away and handed her to Spike.
"No!"
"Spike... he's dying!"
"Already dead, most likely an' so will you be if you touch him. How's both of ya passin' on supposed to help any of us, hmmmm?"
"He's telling the truth, Willow. The poison will absorb right through our pores. I don't even dare touch him...."
"I don't care..... let me go! Xander!"
On the other side of the room, Cole and Pheobe shimmered in suddenly beside Paige, causing her to jump in shock.
"Damn! I swear I'm about ready to put a bell on your neck, Cole." She complained as Pheobe rushed to hug Piper.
"Please! I may be going straight, but I am *not* one of those wimpy guardian angels...."
"Care to rephrase that?" Leo asked wryly as he orbed in. Cole was silent. "We'll talk later." Piper immediately shifted her attentions to her husband.
"What are you doing here?"
"The Elders said I was needed. Someone must be hurt."
"I don't think so..."
Just then Piper heard Willow screaming on the other side of the room. "Once again, I speak too soon. I'm always doing that."
Leo left the three sisters and the ex-demon and ran to where Spike was barely containing an increasingly angry Willow.
"What happened?" Leo asked as he dropped to his knees at Xander's side.
"Who are you then?" the vampire growled.
"A doctor. I can help, but I have to know what's wrong."
"The air outside... 's poisoned. He walked out there like the idiot human he is, took one good breath an' here we are. Damn it woman, hold still! Can't ya see there's a doc tendin' the boy?"
Leo laid his hands over Xander's chest and a soft glow developed in the space between his skin and the young man's shirt. Several tense seconds later, Xander jerked slightly and began to cough. Leo turned him onto his side to prevent choking and looked up at the other two.
"Miss. What's your name?"
"Willow.... Willow Rosenberg. Is Xander alright?"
"He'll be fine. Willow.... I'm honored to meet you." he said, extending the hand he wasn't using to help support Xander. She grasped it uncertainly, confused at the reverence in his voice.
"Honored? I don't understand...."
Her sentence was abandoned mid-way through as the house began to rumble with authority. She stumbled sideways and would have fallen if Spike hadn't been nearby to catch her.
"And I don't have time to explain! I have to get this man out of here, you and Tara need to go to Piper and Paige. Hurry!"
Willow grabbed Tara and ran to join the sisters. Lifting Xander to his feet as gently, but as fast, as he could, Leo helped him walk over to where Cole waited, Anya hanging on his every step. Spike watched them go, then turned and slipped out the door again, sure that everyone was too occupied to notice his departure.
"I'm not gonna be much help, here, Leo. My power is nothing compared to Mychnederus." the smaller man admitted. "If I can get anybody out of the line of fire..."
"I've got him. I don't know about anyone else...."
"The ex-vengeance demon can go. Her powers are gone. She'll only get herself killed trying to help. I'll take her."
"Excuse me?! I'm standing right here and powers or not, I can still kick your butt mister..."
"Fine with me. Let's move though. The situations getting pretty shaky...."
"Lousy pun, angel boy. I'm definitely gonna have to give you a few lessons."
"If we all survive...."
"Uh-oh."
"What?"
"The quake. It's stopped."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Not necessarily..... where's the vampire?"
"Vampire?"
"Bleach-blonde guy, brought the kid back in from outside? He's the sacrifice for.... damn."
"What? What's going on, Cole?"
"I'll explain back at the house. We can't do anything now but get these two to safety. I'll go first, you let Piper in on what we're doing, then follow. Make it fast. He doesn't look good."
Despite his reservations, Leo did as Cole directed then, with Xander's arm draped over his shoulder, orbed himself and the weakened young man directly to the mansion.
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TBC......