The Emperor's Key
Chapter 8

Sorry about the sabbatical but this story is being difficult. I know where its going and how it gets there. The problem is making it believable (?!?!) and workable.

Kennedy glanced up from her magazine when she thought she heard something, the second time she was sure she heard it. Quickly she turned the stereo off and reached for the phone, 'Hello?' for a moment she didn't hear anything.

Just when she was about to speak again a quite voice finally answered, 'Hello Kennedy.'

'Oh, it's you.' She didn't try to hide the contempt she felt of the woman on the other end.

'Can I, I mean...'

'No! Willow's not here and even if she was I wouldn't let her talk to the likes of you. How dare you talk to her like that?'

'It wasn't...'

' "It wasn't" what? Wasn't your fault she spent two days crying? Wasn't you saying those things to her?'

'But it...'

'Take responsibly you trumped up tart!' Kennedy could hear the tears over the phone line and for a moment felt ashamed. Then she remembered what the other person had said about her. 'You called me a whore and Will a paedophile, do you expect us to just accept an apology five months later!?'

The only response was quiet tears.

'Hell! The only reason you phoned is that the Big Bad Will was trying to warn you about is too powerful for you! What's the matter Dawn in trouble, again?'

'Shut up and listen before I change the body count to three slayers.' An new voice broke in.

'Who?' Kennedy couldn't place it. Who ever they were was: angry, male and British.

'Who do you think. Red's phone call was a little late, Buffy has spent the last eight months as a demons' pet slave. Doing the sort of things that would have a porn star from Amsterdam nervous. Got that? Good. Now we killed it and its army but someone else has taken Dawn to God knows where, or when for that matter.'

'Spike?'

'Where were you when they were handing out brains? Of course its me. I'm giving the phone back to Buffy. If you even thing of interrupting her I WILL add an extra slayer to my name.'

'Kennedy, Spike told you the truth but that doesn't matter.' Kennedy could here the barely hidden pain in the elder slayers voice. 'I should never have said those things, I should have stopped myself, I shouldn't... I felt good saying those things and I can't tell you how sorry I am. Willow knows me, she has to understand how much it hurts to remember those words.'

'That can't be the only thing it hurts to remember.' Kennedy muttered, thinking of Spike's speech.

'It isn't. When Willow gets back tell her I have got to speak to her.'

'She just got back now... give me a moment and I'll put her on to you.' Hopping of the bed and down the stairs she looked at her girlfriend. 'You're back early.'

'I felt something. Whatever was coming I think it's finally here.'

'Your least favourite person is on the phone.'

'Buffy?'

'And Spike, she wants to apologise.'

'Does she now well she can say it to my face.' With her "resolve face" set in stone Willow started to mutter a spell, Kennedy barely had time to grab her shoes before the world bent out of shape.

Willow could feel the roots of her hair darken but didn't care. When she and Kennedy finished transporting she strode up to Buffy and slapped her. As hard and fast as she could.

Buffy half span and fell to her knees, the blow doing far more damage than it should have. Willow got a sudden flash of something the moment she touched her one time friend. Suddenly someone had grabbed her from behind and locked her arms behind her back.

'That's enough Red!' Whoever it was said. Willow didn't really hear him, confused she just looked at the fallen slayer. Calming down enough Willow wanted to see how really guilty Buffy was. Focusing the witch tried to read Buffy's aura.

What she saw made her physically sick. Something had reached into her best friend and tried to change her. Warping and twisting the slayer into something else. Now the aura was healing itself, cracking through a hard shell of evil and drenched sin.

'Goddess! Buffy I'm sorry.' Willow wriggled free of the man holding her and fell to her own knees beside Buffy. 'I'm so sorry.' Buffy herself started to cry and Willow let her lean on her shoulder. They sat there for a long moment as Willow felt the roots of her hair fade back to normal.

After a while Spike came up beside them and whispered something to Buffy. The slayer nodded and Willow watched as Spike half carried Buffy back to bed where she cried herself to sleep.

'Okay Spike what is going on. I thought you were dead.'

'Sit down and I'll explain.'

'So after we chopped his Immortal-ness into bits and destroyed his army we came back in and got toughly drunk. Illyria was the first here to wake up.'

'I did not like it. The sound of Spikes snoring was insufferable.' The red and blue demon supplied.

'So she punched me and I woke up. It didn't take long to realise the Wolves had gone, along with their stuff. Anyway, I went to check on Buffy but she was already awake.

'I told her what had happened and why. After I finished and she stopped hitting me we checked the little bits room. She wasn't there, but there was an note,' Spike pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Willow.

It read, "Hi guys, I wish I could explain this to you but I have to understand it myself first. All I can say is I made a promise to some one very dear to me. Or more truthfully I WILL make a promise to someone dear to, I think, all of us. This future thing is just too confusing. I don't want to go, especially not now, but I have to. I hope you understand better than I do.

"Look after Buffy, Spike, I know you will. I don't care what Njal says, she'll be back. So will I if I can. My love to you all.

"Dawn."

Willow read it again

'I don't believe it.' She finally said.

'Join the club. We know that they had a sorcerer with them and Illyria has a theory.' Spike looked to the ex-god/king.

'They came to deny their foes something. Something they themselves do not possess...'

Kennedy finished her off, '...so they took Dawn for the same reason these Chaos were after her. Which was...?' she looked around.

'They say their dead leader told them to find and protect the child.' Illyria spoke up.

'Then something or some one is trying to control Dawn. That's why her note is gibberish! Rightly ho then, I'm going to try something.' Willow sat cross legged on the floor and closed her eyes.

Willow gingerly separated her astral form. She stood up and looked around. There was one extra person. He was quite tall and very thin. His hands were just a bit too long as was his head, legs, arms and well everything really. His ears were pointed like a Vulcan's but he had no eyebrows. The strange thing was he looked completely ageless. She could tell that it was another astral presence. 'So who are you?'

He bowed, his flowing robe blew in a non-existent wind. 'I am the Farseer of Ulthwe. My name is Eldrad Uthran.'

'Mines Willow. Mind telling me what you're doing here?' she stepped up to him.

'My reason for being here is to guide.'

'Guide what?'

'You, you have a great future or a terrible one. The blood god has already partaken of you child, will you let it take you again?'

'What are you talking about? And why are we talking?' Willow started to grapple with an idea that somehow evaded her.

'By committing murder, however justified, you have proven worthy for the most violent of the chaos gods. I am here to warn you that if you give in to that rage you will become a slave to it. Forever.' His words were perfect creating the right amount of doubt and automatically brought new questions forward. They were the bait and the hook was his mind. In a flash of understanding she realised he was psychically holding her back.

'You're also here to stop me from looking for Dawn. Get out of my way.' Willow floated to the window and flew out looking for the missing girl. The Farseer followed her.

'Very good child, you have both power and some skill. But nowhere near enough to face one of the Primarchs.'

'Are you a Primarch?' As long as he didn't distract her from the search his answers might be useful.

'No I am not human. My people are called the Eldar. We are one of the oldest races in the galaxy. In this time we were called the Asguard.'

'As long as you aren't little grey men...' Willow muttered. 'So you work with the wolves?'

'Yes, for along time now humanity has been ruled by those who distrust all beings. As aliens we Eldar are called enemies and killed. Our race has been dieing for so long we only wish to pass away in peace but the Inquisition of humanities bigotry will not let us.' Willow could almost taste the contempt in his words.

'So why are you helping us?'

'The Emperor. He is perhaps the greatest of you all. He knows who are his enemies and who are his friends. Today your race and mine are great friends. In my future we will again. All the peaceful races of the galaxy will have to unite. He is the greatest hope we have of that happening.' The Farseer smiled and pointed to a small glen the two ethereal forms floated down.

Willow looked around and found Dawn, she slept peacefully. She was using a carryall as a pillow and had a great fur cloak draped over her. Willow gasped, there was something else watching from somewhere.

A power that eclipsed even Gia, the life energy of the planet, was here and watching over Dawn. Glancing at her guide she saw him smile and got the impression that he was very old indeed.

'You let her come here.' A very strong man winked into existence besides the alien. He wore a huge suit of armour that if anything seamed to be a size too small. The brute of a man had long red hair and a enormous beard. He looked like a man who enjoyed his life to its full. A good portion of that life being beating people, and things, to death with blunt instruments and drinking.

'She is strong and worried for the girl.'

'Got that right mister. Your that wolf guy. Let Dawn go. Trust me you don't want to make me or Buffy mad.'

The huge man looked down at her. Willow heard the armour shriek and crack as he breathed in. 'Miss Rosenberg. No one is or ever will controlling her. You have no idea what she means to the Emperor, my father. It is her will alone that guides her no one else. If you or your friends try to stop her my children will stop you.'

'They'll try! I know where you are now. We're coming, let her go.' With that Willow flashed back to her body.

The large man looked to the sky, 'She does not understand father. What can we do'

'Nothing. If they are destined to interceded then they must.'

'I understand.'

Note

I told you a surprise was coming and Huh has made a very good guess, but is still wrong.