Destiny's Child
Buffy stared down at her mother's grave. It still shocked her to think of her mother lying in the ground in a box. For some reason, she always thought she would die before her mother. Not that she really wanted to die, she just thought she would die first. Slayers did die very young.
"Deep thoughts for one so young."
Buffy whirled around. The voice was familiar and unwelcome. She hadn't seen this guy in about three years. She could have gone a lot longer without seeing him too. He just reminded her of a painful time in her life.
"What do you want, Whistler?"
The demon sauntered over to her and looked down at Joyce's grave. "It was destiny that she died. It was written a very long time ago. She was meant to die now."
Buffy sighed irritably. "I hate that word."
Whistler looked at her sideways. "Destiny? Yeah, it's a pain-in-the-ass word."
"But it's why you're here, isn't it? Got more obscure advice to give me?"
"It's only obscure because you refuse to see."
Buffy closed her eyes in an attempt to keep her temper. Whistler was a demon, possibly an immortal one. She really didn't need another immortal demon mad at her right now. "Fine. Talk."
Whistler turned around to face her. "There are fights comin' up. And you're no where near ready. That concerns my bosses. You should be ready by now. We sent you all the signs and you won't see them."
Buffy waited.
"You were supposed to learn more about your history. That's why my bosses arranged the events that led to you meeting the First Slayer. It's also why we arranged for Dracula to come to this tiny town. You were supposed to learn who and what you are."
"I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. I know who and what I am." She crossed her arms in mild anger.
"Do you? Do you really?"
Buffy glanced at him uncertainly. She really wasn't sure.
He nodded like he could read her mind. Hell, maybe he could.
"I-I can't give you all the answers. That's not my job. But you're not seeing the whole picture. In fact the whole picture starts with The Master."
Buffy froze. The vampire who had killed her. She had buried that ghost (or so she thought) but the name could still cause the blood in her heart to freeze.
"See-see, everything's connected. My bosses knew that huge battles would come up in the 21st century. Therefore, they had to set events in motion to guard against the evil things making their way back into this world. They started a very long time ago. The Master had to exist. For two reasons: so he could create Darla and so he could kill you."
He paused watching the expression on her face. It was like stone but he knew that the Slayer's mind was going a mile a minute.
"The Master had to create Darla so that she could create Angel. Angel was chosen to be the vampire with a soul. They needed a very special soul to be Their warrior. He had to do terrible things so that later he would be incredibly guilty. That's where Drusilla comes in. He was a creep to her. You've seen the result. That's why Drusilla exists, to be a source of brooding for our boy Angel."
Buffy stared at the demon. "You mean, all of those people…hundred of thousands of people had to die so that Angel would brood????"
"Yup. He had to be guilt ridden. He's destined for great things."
Buffy shook her head in complete confusion. These Powers That Be were very hard to understand.
Whistler continued, "The Master had to kill you so that Xander would bring you back and therefore have two Slayers. You would meet Kendra, the good soldier. People - good. Demons - bad. That's half of you. When she died, Faith entered in. She's the wild one, the one who gave in to her dark side. That's the other half of you. Both are powerful sides. You have to decide where you fit in."
Buffy fought hard not to shake visibly. She died so that Kendra would live as a Slayer for a year and then die just to prove a point to Buffy. That Buffy had Kendra's fighting abilities inside of her? Buffy had liked Kendra. Kendra had understood where Buffy came from. When Buffy saw Kendra's dead body on the library floor, she felt a piece of her die too. Then Faith came to town. Buffy and Faith had the same lust for life. They had the same strong emotions yet they had never really connected like Buffy and Kendra had. Maybe because Faith was teetering on the edge of sanity. The Slayer power was slowly driving Faith mad. She had dipped into the dark side of the power.
"Both sides are strong…where do I belong?" Buffy murmured to herself.
Whistler had heard. "That's what you have to figure out. God help us all if you choose wrong."
Buffy looked at him sideways. "What happens if I choose the wrong side? Or the wrong place? Or wherever I'm supposed to be?"
Whistler looked grave. "You'll be on the business end of a sword wielded by Angel."
Buffy thought such a statement would have shocked her but somehow it didn't. Maybe because she expected retribution for her running the Sword of Acathla through her lover. So if she screws up, Angel will have to kill her. It made sense in some weird, bizzaro world.
She sighed. "I guess I better choose the right path."
Whistler nodded. "That'd help all the battles to come."
"And my mom had to die now? This is all a part of destiny?"
"Yeah, sorry, kid. All Slayers lose a parent or parents eventually. It's all a part of making you mature faster. She was holding you back."
Buffy whirled around and grabbed Whistler by the neck. "Holding me back?! She was the one person who would always be there for me! Who would always love me! She was the only one who could keep me sane when things started to fall apart! She could kiss away all the horrors and you took her away from me!"
Whistler looked at her calmly. She couldn't do much damage to him but she could make him hurt. A lot. He didn't like pain much.
"I didn't kill her. Cancer did. Fate did. It was her time. Whatever you need to tell yourself. Losing a parent is a part of growing up."
Whistler pushed himself out of her grip. "From the first moment you were called, I felt sorry for you. You were going to have it tough. The toughest any Slayer has ever had it. And you were just a little kid. But you are made of steel. You can take everything that is thrown at you. You haven't broken. You're still standing."
"Doesn't feel like it."
"No, it doesn't. But I still don't think you see your place in all this."
"I kill demons. I'll kill 'em till one of them kills me. For good this time. What did Spike call it? 'One good day.' That's all it'll need."
Whistler sighed again. "Nope. You don't see your place in all of this at all. Your destiny doesn't end with your death…." He trailed off. He'd said way too much. Boy was he going to hear about this when he got back.
Buff stared at him incredulously. "You mean I'm still going to be fighting even after I'm dead?" Whistler just stared back at her. "Great, doomed for all eternity. Don't these Powers That Be believe in rest? Or at least a vacation? I'll settle for a long weekend."
Whistler said nothing. Buffy went back to looking at her mother's grave. She thought that someday they would be together again. Where they could just sit and watch eternity crawl by. That wasn't in the cards. Maybe peace would never be in her cards. In some ways she was as trapped as Angel was in his curse. No happiness for him, no happiness for her. She had too many battles to fight. And if she chose the wrong path….chaos would erupt. It'd be the end of the world.
"Gotta love those 'End of the World' scenarios, huh?"
Buffy jumped. "What? You were reading my mind?"
"Nah. You were talking out loud. You do that when you think you're not. It's a human thing."
"So…what am I supposed to take away from this?"
"Only what you need. And a little of what you don't."
"Did I mention I love riddles?" Buffy's voice dripped sarcasm.
"You did at that."
"I gotta go. I've got work to do. I can't spend time working on riddles that have no answer. At least no answer that'll come to me before I need it." Buffy frowned. "Did that make sense?"
"To me, yeah. I'm the master of not making sense. Go to work. You'll know when you need to. I hope."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. It'll keep me warm at night." Buffy turned away and walked slowly out into the night. Whistler didn't follow. He stayed looking down at the simple headstone that read Joyce Summers.
"Take care of that little sister of yours, Slayer. She needs you," he called to her without looking up.
Buffy didn't turn around. "That is my ultimate plan."
"Good," the demon murmured. "That was our plan all along. Blood is thicker than water after all. And if you choose correctly, it will be the best gift you can give her."
A moment later, the immortal demon was gone.