Buffy nearly jumped when a loud crashing noise from inside indicated it was time to get back to reality. Turning her head to look at Spike, she noticed his mild exasperation mirrored her own. He lifted a scarred brow and pursed his lips, rolling his eyes slightly, and Buffy offered a tight smile in return before pulling the door open and entering the house with Spike on her heels.

She hadn’t taken two steps inside when she gasped at the sight before her.

Andrew remained tied to the chair where Giles had placed him, but now his face was flushed and covered in sweat, hands clenching the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles were white. His body shook uncontrollably, eyes rolled up in his head so that only the whites were visible. It was almost painful to watch.

Willow stood hunched over Andrew’s quivering form, muttering some sort of incantation in a harsh sounding language that Buffy couldn’t decipher, and was almost afraid to. Her mouth opened and she was ready to object to whatever was going on until Andrew’s stilled suddenly, his head lolling to the side, and Willow turned to face Buffy with apology in her eyes.

“He was still being controlled,” She explained calmly, “He needed to be de-bugged, so to speak. I-I was able to do a counter-spell that keeps third-party parties from setting up shop in his head.”

Nibbling on her lip with renewed vehemence, Buffy bobbed her head slowly. “That’s good, Wills. It’s a start.” The redhead nodded solemnly.

“And sorry I ran out on you guys.” Buffy took a step forward, offering an apologetic look to both Xander and Willow, “I just needed a bit of a breather.”

“We hear ya, Buffster,” Xander said, adjusting the eye patch over his left socket, where Caleb had wreaked havoc those long months ago. He rubbed his hands together as though trying to warm them up. “Plus, we can see you’ve had your hands full with the Walking Undead situation,” He added, gesturing openly at Spike.

Spike scowled. “Glad to see you too, whelp.”

“Hey man,” Xander shot back, “I never said I wasn’t glad to see you’re not in a dustbin somewhere, but it just takes some getting used to. This stuff isn’t exactly your every day occurrence.”

“Yeah, but can anything we deal with be considered an ‘everyday occurrence’?” Buffy piped in, “I mean, by normal, non-slayer standards?”

“Touche,” Xander responded.

“Yeah,” Willow agreed before focusing her attention on Spike. “It’s good that you’re all… solid. Er, non dusty.” She corrected, smiling weakly. “But we have to figure out what all this means…Giles filled us in on everything, and-and we had a bunch of stuff to tell him, too… Or, at least, I did.”

“Willow,” Giles interrupted, “Why don’t you tell Buffy everything you’ve already told me.”

Nodding, Willow looked at Buffy. “You, uh, might want to get comfy for this. There’s a lot to tell.”

Buffy and Spike followed her into the living room, Xander and Giles staying behind an extra minute to make sure Andrew had completely calmed down, before joining them. Waiting as they situated themselves, Buffy and Spike settling on the couch, Xander and Giles in two dining room chairs, Willow began to speak.

“I was with this coven in Brazil, and they told me a lot. It’s why I’ve been going back and forth so much…” She looked away guiltily.

Buffy frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me about all this?”

Because I wanted to be sure Buffy. I didn’t want to make you all paranoid… But once everything started making sense, once I was absolutely, positively sure, I came here right away. There’s still holes, but…” She shifted uncomfortably.

“Anyway, they sensed a big dark energy, and I think it was when the senior partners summoned that demon army. There’s definitely a lot of dark energy suckage involved with something like that. So after they sensed this energy, they started doing some research, and once they found out all they could, they… they wanted me to tell you. They thought that you should know.”

“Hey, guy with the eye patch has a question.” They all turned to look at Xander, and he pouted. “How come you didn’t tell ME?”

Willow smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Xand. I wanted to tell you, but I was sworn to secrecy, top secret. You know the drill, Mr. Military Man. Think like, like Sergeant Rock, right?”

Xander shifted his feet. “Right. Sergeant rock,” He mumbled, and Willow continued.

“K, so, this is gonna be one of those ‘don’t shoot the messenger’ kind of things…”

“Oh, just get on with it,” Giles said impatiently.

“Fine Mr. Bossy,” Willow scoffed. “Illyria, the ancient demon, was important to her race.” Spike’s ears instantly seemed to perk up at the mention of Illyria, and Willow had his undivided attention. “She was like a queen, a leader. So her tomb was placed under special guard and she could only be released under special circumstances, during a period of intense instability between the balance of good and evil. And unfortunately, I think my spell awakening slayers all over the world qualifies as a pretty hefty balance shaker.”

“It always comes back to bite me in the ass,” Buffy mumbled. Willow shifted anxiously, but continued, red-faced. “But her race’s kingdom, when they were defeated, was sent to an alternate dimension along with the spirits of the other ancients. Illyria wanted to resurrect it again, and the circle knew that she was the only one that could do this. They want this to happen, they want the dimensions to be opened again and for the ancients to roam the earth, because the descendents and senior partners of wolfram and hart were once a part of that race.”

Spike cleared his throat. “If I can interrupt a sec… Blue, she gave us a hell of a time at first, true. But she seemed to start likin’ it here enough. The bird even started feeling… human emotions.”

“She only started to cope with being here because she thought that there wasn’t any way for her to resurrect her kingdom,” Responded Willow, rather shortly. “The senior partners were stumped too, for a little while. They didn’t think that Illyria being resurrected wasn’t the only thing that needed to be done, but they found it out soon enough. Illyria needs a key to open the dimensions, like Glory did with Dawn. And once it’s put into use, not only will all dimensions once again be opened, but every single ancient in every sarcophagus will rise, and will take over the earth once again. And that’s what the sendesku is about, this has all been prophesied. That’s why it was forged so long ago. As, as a way to protect the existence of the ancients, like a security blanket... Er, one that says they would rule the earth once again.”

Spike interrupted again, raising an arm slightly and extending his pointer finger in the air as though waiting to be called on. “Color me confused, but there’s something I’m not getting here… I understand the senior partners trying to off me n’ Angel, but why would they send the army after Illyria too, if she’s the one they need?”

“Well, I’m guessing that the demon army knew that Illyria was a demon…” Realizing how redundant that sounded, Willow shook her head and tried again. “I, I mean, they probably sent the army specifically after you and Angel to eliminate the threat, knowing they wouldn’t attack Illyria because she’s one of their kind, only more… advanced. Kinda like being higher on the food chain in the demon world… But what the senior partners didn’t expect was that, with being queen of the most ancient race of demons, the army would also listen to her orders, she has that power. And she told them to retreat.”

Spike pursed his lips as something seemed to click in his head. “Well that could explain the loopy time and all. Blue had this ability to slow time with the flick of her wrist.”

Willow laced her fingers together in front of her body, squeezing her hands together anxiously. “You could be right…” She agreed, “Illyria is getting kinda used to the ways of the world, and the senior partners are starting to get sorta antsy. They have her in their custody now, and it won’t take long for them to make her remember who she is, and why she needs to resurrect her kingdom.”

Willow looked around the room. “That’s all I know so far. And I’m not really sure how the Immortal is involved yet, but there is a way we could find out…”

Buffy raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “And what would that be exactly?”

“Well, you might not like it,” Willow began cautiously, biting her lip, “But Giles told me that Andrew was being controlled. I-I can probably get inside his head. If the Immortal was in his head, then so are some of his memories… Or, like echoes of memories. They’ll begin to fade soon if we don’t act now.”

After a brief pause, Buffy shrugged. “Well, you’re the Wicca, Wills. We have no other choice right now.”

Since there were no other options and the situation was becoming increasingly complicated and life threatening, all of them soundlessly marched into the kitchen without further hesitation, Buffy in the lead with Willow close behind. Buffy stopped directly in front of Andrew, arms crossed, and stared down at him.

“Sorry, Andrew, looks like we havta set up shop again in your head.”

“You-you’re gonna go inside my head again? My head isn’t Disneyland, you know!” Andrew looked positively terrified.

“Relax, Andrew,” Willow put a hand on his shoulder, feeling him tense under her touch. Flinching, he squeezed his eyes shut briefly as she tried to reassure him. “We just have to try to get a bit of information.”

“Fr-from who? I don’t know anything.”

“You might know more than you think you do… besides, we want the information from the person that’s controlling you.”

“Oh…”

Willow turned to look at Buffy, and Andrew squirmed.

“Alright, I’m going to need a little time alone with him.” Buffy hesitated, unsure. “Trust me, Buffy. I just need concentration, like I did when I needed to get in your head that one time, after Glory took Dawn, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

Willow patted Buffy on the shoulder. “You know I’ve been clean of dark magic for a while now. You have to trust me on this.” After a long while, Buffy finally nodded, motioning for Spike to join her, Giles and Xander in the living room.

“And remember, don’t worry,” Willow said to their backs, “Everything will be fine.”

“Famous last words,” Spike muttered.

“Hey, I heard that!”

Buffy chuckled slightly, unable to help herself. But then her smile faded as the four of them waited anxiously, discussing things a bit as Willow went about her business in the kitchen with Andrew.

Spike, Buffy, and Xander sat on the couch, with Buffy in the middle, stiff as a board and hands clasped tightly in her lap, watching Giles pace the room. Spike could sense her tension.

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them before turning and walking to the opposite end of the room, doing this over and over again, and Spike thought he’d get dizzy if he kept watching. Then, Giles began to periodically purse his lips and blow air behind them until they flapped open, the air making a soft pop as it passed from his mouth.

’Enough to drive a bloke up a bloody wall, he keeps at it,’ Spike thought.

Xander seemed unable to stop fidgeting, either crossing and uncrossing his legs or playing with his eye patch, sometimes leaning to Buffy and making muffled comments about what he thought was going on in the kitchen, to which Buffy would give short, distracted answers.

Spike studied Buffy’s profile as she stared straight ahead for several long moments, completely unmoving and hardly even blinking. Spike recognized that stare, it was how she’d often looked those long months after being brought back from the dead. Spike frowned.

“Buffy?” He whispered, “Are you alright?” Buffy seemed to snap back to reality at that, shaking her head as though to banish whatever negative thoughts lurked there as she turned to look at Spike.

“Yes,” She responded, then let out a sigh. “Well, no, actually, not really. It’s just all this heavy stuff going on… kind of messes with your head… Well, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“I could really use one of those stress ball thingies,” Buffy mumbled with a shake of her head. Then her gaze dropped and a small smile tugged at her lips. “Gimme your hand.”

Spike lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“Gimmes your hand,” She repeated. With a look of slight curiosity on his face, Spike complied, and Buffy took the offered hand in her lap and held it between both her own, giving him a firm squeeze. “Well, not a stress ball, but close enough.”

“Thanks ever so,” Spike said with a hint of a smile behind his eyes. “Just do me a favor ‘n don’t get too worked up, I fancy all the bones in my hand intact,” He teased.

Then the room once again lapsed into silence, and Buffy shifted slightly to curl a leg under her so she could get more comfortable, making her lean slightly into Spike, who noticed that her hands seemed clammy. If Xander or Giles noticed how cozy the two of them looked, then they were making a good show of acting disinterested.

No noise came from the kitchen short of a bit of low muffled speech every here and there, indecipherable to those in the living room, but other than that it almost seemed eerily quiet.

Finally, after what was maybe only a half hour but felt more like days, Willow emerged, looking slightly drained. Buffy instantly jumped up, striding to where Willow stood with an expectant and anxious look on her face.

“Well, things were starting to get a little foggy, but I think the main point was pretty clear….” She cleared her throat. “The Immortal…”

“Lemme guess,” Buffy interjected, “It’s like glory on repeat-o-vision, and he’s after a key… Or, maybe he’s like Dawn and I’m supposed to protect him?”

“No Buffy, he’s not a key, or a god.” She swallowed hard. “He’s the Key Maker.”

“The WHAT?”

“Key maker, one who makes keys,” She clarified. “He’s been around since forever… since the time before TIME, practically, if that makes any sense. He’s the one that made Dawn in her original key form, when she was just that blob of green energy… But since Glory was defeated, he hasn’t had another purpose to make another key until recently, so his key making skills were kinda rusty... Oh, but he’s not evil per se – just amoral. If someone asks him to make a key, he makes it, whether it’s for Big Bads or… or Big Goods.” Willow frowned. “Well, so far, it’s only been for the baddies,” Shaking her head to clear it, she briefly turned her attention to Spike. “The Senior partners were trying their hardest to distract you and Angel, to keep you away at all costs. And when you came to Italy, Andrew was being controlled by the Immortal, to ensure that you wouldn’t run into Buffy and intervene in some way, cuz that would be bad...” She shrugged, “Well, bad for them, not you… Anyway, if you found out the truth and killed the Immortal, or, or put him off in some way, then the whole thing would be off. He’s the only one that has the power to make the key they need.”

“So how does the immortal go about making this handy multi-dimension skeleton key thing-a-ma-jig?” Xander asked.

Willow paused. “Well, first he needs to study the original key, the one he made first.”

“Dawn,” Buffy supplied resolutely, features stone set and serious. Willow nodded.

“It’s why he needed to get close to you, Buffy. So he could get close to Dawn. I-I’m sorry we didn’t realize that when we set you two up… we had no idea. I mean, the guy just seemed so, so cool. We didn’t know.”

“It’s ok,” Buffy said, “None of us did.” She frowned. “But wait, I’m confused. Dawn’s not a key anymore.”

”See, that’s where it gets tricky…” Willow looked anxiously at Giles.

“Well,” Giles interrupted, clearing his throat. “I think I can explain. Technically speaking, her existence is still based on her being a key. She was born solely for that purpose, and not by normal means. She’s a human being, but she is still a key. Just, not a key that opens anything anymore, like one that has lost all its teeth.”

“But what if – if this whole thing is set into motion, if the key is made and put into use, is there any way to stop the whole shenanigan?” Xander quipped.

“What about Buffy’s dreams? What about her flashing back to the hellmouth in her dreams?” Added Giles almost simultaneously, and Buffy’s eyes widened slightly.

“And-and what about Angel?...” She inquired. With the sudden onslaught of questions, the usually even tempered redhead let out a groan of annoyance.

”Jeez, I’m not a mystical encyclopedia people!” She declared, raising her voice in that oh-so-Willowy way that told them all she was deadly serious and frustrated and yet made it seem as though she were completely incapable of properly flapping anyone’s ears back. “All that stuff is still unclear,” She continued, calmer this time. “But I’m looking into it… I’m, I’m doing the best I can, and I think maybe we all should.”


”Yes,” Giles added, “We’re lucky to know as much as we do now. If we want to find out more, we’re going to have to do some serious digging… and searching.” He turned to look at Buffy, lifting an inquiring brow. “Are you up for it?”

Buffy sighed. ”Aren’t I always?”

TBC...

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A/N: Sooo sorry for the lack of updates!! There's been so much chaos lately, with me trying to pass and get my degree, family crisis... All of it practically has me tearing my hair out! But I just want to say thanks so much to all those who have been reading and reviewing. I really truly appreciate it, even though it might not seem like it at times with my lack of updates!! But I honestly love every review I get. This update might be a bit confusing, but more will be explained and revealed as the story unfolds. This story is shaping up to be a rather lengthy and complicated plot laden with plenty of twists, so there's definitely more action on the way. Hope you like it! There will be more updates as soon as I can manage it, which will hopefully be fairly soon, though I can't make any promises ;) Though I also need to finish another chapter of Escape, which is currently underway, and I want to have that posted first. I can say I will try my absolute hardest to update both stories asap.