Title: Whisper In The Chaos.
Author: Taisha.
Rating: PG-13.
Summary: A Slayer is Chosen to fight all evil. She has supernatural strength and reflexes, and a fast healing ability. But most of all she is just another teenager with dreams and hopes. This is the story about two Slayers, living in different times and with different people, and the ties that bind them.
Disclaimer: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and all related things belong to Joss Whedon. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended and I am not getting any money out of this. Regina McDeroy and Thomas Rivers belong to me, just like everyone else from the 16th Century. The prophecy in this prologue is mine, but I borrowed one line ('from beneath it shall devour') from Season Seven of Buffy. The title of the fic, Whisper In The Chaos, is taken from a song by the band "Lullacry". The 'this is my gift, this is my curse' quote is taken from Spider-Man. Additional disclaimers shall be made when necessary.
Notes: I spent several days researching before starting this fic. All information about the Slayer, Watcher, Council, "Cruciamentum", Hellmouth, and other things can be found in the episodes of Buffy and (in some way) Angel. I have got some books in my possession about the Slayer Universe, and there's a huge amount of information in those as well. I got my information about Scotland and England in the 16th Century from the library, and seeing as I don't live in Britain also general information, and I would appreciate it if you would correct my mistakes.
Samhuinn is, for the people who don't know yet, the Celtic name for Halloween. You can look the meaning of this celebration up on the web, for I think that many people don't know the true meaning behind it. Also, this will be a very long story (current estimation lies around fifty chapters) and I always thank my reviewers!
And, last but not least, a thanks to my editor LoneWolf. You gave me the confidence to start this fic on my own and I thank you for giving me the chance. You can always cry but never complain!
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Prologue
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Regina
There are a lot of people on Earth who want to have superpowers. There are few who have them. Those powers are a curse to many, and a gift to few. I don't know what to call mine.
Sometimes I wish that I had a normal life. That I wouldn't spend my time killing off demons and vampires. There are days that I wish that somebody else could save the world. But there are certain moments where I feel superior to everyone else, just because I have the strength to save people's lives. Strength beyond your imagination, locked up in a fifteen-year-old girl. My visible wounds heal faster than the ones that are invisible. For I have seen things that would make anyone my age have nightmares. My life has been in danger ever since I turned thirteen. Some wounds never heal.
Millions of tears have been spilt on the graves of my loved ones. My mother, father, brothers and sisters. All destroyed by the Hellmouth. My Watcher, two witches, four friends. All lost because of who I am. I could have saved them if I had the strength. But I didn't have it.
This is my gift, this is my curse.
I am the Slayer. I am the only one who is Chosen to fight the creatures of the Hellmouth. The Hellmouth sleeps under the Earth's surface. Now and then it wakes up and shows its teeth. I have the strength and ability to save the world. But nobody said anything about having to save my sanity in the process.
The year is 1567. I live in Scotland, Edinburgh to be precise, and right now it is the middle of June. And I am stuck in a stuffy old bookshop in the centre of town with only a cat and my Watcher for company.
A Watcher is somebody who has to take care of the Slayer. If a Watcher dies there will be a new one. If I die, a new Slayer shall be Chosen. My previous Watcher died, and now I am stuck with somebody who is only four years older than I am. His name is Tom.
I guess that this is what you can call a Slayer diary. Watchers keep diaries too, in which they write everything about their Slayer. I wonder what Tom is writing about me right now. Probably that I nearly got myself killed last night.
It wasn't my fault, honestly! I just didn't sense a vampire coming up to me at the party given at Rose McKinnon's house, that's all. Tom says I have to train my senses a bit more. But seeing as I already survived two whole years while Slaying creatures of darkness without getting killed I don't believe him. I think that I was just distracted by the beauty of the night.
Sometimes I want to be a part of that night. Sometimes there's a little voice in the back of my mind that tells me to give in. To give in to the call of the darkness. And if I didn't have a Watcher to take care of me I would have done that a long time ago.
You can say that Tom keeps me sane. Having him as a Watcher opens my eyes, for now I finally see that my previous Watcher was a bit incompetent. A bit much incompetent, actually. I learned practically nothing, except for the fact that I should always trust my instincts. Give a round of applause for my instincts, for they managed to make me survive long enough to write this down. Tom says that I have to trust him as well as I trust myself because Slayer and Watcher are usually a team.
Usually.
I would rather be alone than form a team with him. He deals with the theory behind the demons, and I kill them. That's our teamwork. Little did I know that with forming a team also came the nasty rule that I should come and train at his home every day. I have a social life to attend to, but he just seems to ignore that. So right now we are nothing more than Slayer and Watcher sitting at a table and scribbling things about how annoying the other person is. We don't make a good team. He analyses the whole fight and then goes to kick some demons back to hell, while I kick them back to hell and analyse afterwards.
So while I am ranting on about us not being a team while we really are a team after all I discovered something. I don't like him. And that's probably mutual, seeing as he yelled at me for one hour straight after I got myself into trouble at the McKinnon party. I don't like Tom because he is always telling me to do things in his way when I want to do them my way. And he doesn't like me because I always win our arguments.
Almost always. Last night I didn't win.
Meanwhile the Watcher's Council is driving both of us absolutely crazy with their letters. We need to proceed with the regular work, and not pay any attention to the fact that there is a prophecy about the end of the world. Which will be, according to our calculations, at Samhuinn.
I don't like the Council at all. When I turn eighteen (if I survive my life for another three years) I will have to undergo a test called "Cruciamentum". I will lose my powers temporarily as a result of getting drugged, and then they will probably put me near an angry demon to get me killed. Did I mention how fun it is to be a Slayer?
Okay, back to 'the end of the world'.
From beneath it will devour
The Mouth of Hell awakes from its grave
From beneath it will murder
The Mouth of Hell rises from its cave
When the Day turns to Night
At the Eve of its Children
From beneath it will devour
And set the world alight
That's the prophecy. So at sundown, Samhuinn, the world shall burn. The Hellmouth will open, and there's no time to run. Not that I would run. I am going to fight it until I die, and so will Tom. Let's hope I won't get myself killed anytime soon because that will ruin everything. Because when a new Slayer is called she will get her instructions from her Watcher, who will get instructions from the Council. And the Council doesn't believe that the world shall end at Samhuinn.
So Tom actually had a reason to be mad at me last night!
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Read? Review!
(Additional Note –
I am going to take a few liberties in the next chapter, namely:
- Spike doesn't have a soul and isn't insane
- Willow and Giles didn't go to Britain
- Connor (Angel's Son) doesn't exist.
I hope you like the story anyway, because even though these things have changed it will be believable. I just changed things my way because I didn't like those things in the real Buffy Universe.)
