Seeking Answers

Episode 6

Kenya, Africa:

Buffy walked out of the front door of her hotel and onto the dirt street. It was bustling with activity as always. The citizens of this small town in Kenya worked very hard to earn a living or whatever else they did.

She's been staying at the hotel for a few weeks now. She'd originally come to Africa to learn all about her slayer past. There was only one problem with that though. She hadn't found any leads to where she might get information about her past. She had no idea where to even look for someone or something that might have information.

It'd be another day of shopping. Normally she'd be excited about going shopping, but not today. She was so tired of shopping. And besides, she didn't have much money left. Now she just wanted to go home and forget all about this stupid vacation. It had been such a waste of time and money.

As she rounded a corner, she felt like she was being watched. Last time, she had taken out that guy that was following her. She was kind of in the mood for hurting someone, so she hoped that someone was following again. Unfortunately when she turned around, she didn't see anyone unusual.

"Excuse me?" someone asked.

Buffy nearly jumped out of her skin. Nothing had ever scared her before. It was very puzzling to her. She turned back around and saw an older woman standing a few steps away from her.

"Hi," Buffy said.

"Are you Buffy Summers?" the woman asked.

"Uh…yeah," she answered.

"Come with me," the woman said and took off down the road.

Buffy didn't hesitate. She took off at full speed after the woman. This was the action she'd been waiting for. She dashed in and out of the crowds, trying to keep up with this woman who ran surprisingly fast.

Eventually Buffy arrived at the edge of town. There stood the woman, looking out into the savannah. Buffy approached cautiously as to not startle her.

"Who are you?" Buffy questioned, coming up next to her.

"Not who you think I am," the woman answered.

"And who's that?" Buffy asked.

"You think that I am your guide," the woman replied, "And I am not."

"Then who are you and why did you lead me out here?" Buffy asked again.

"I am no one important," she told Buffy, "Just a messenger. I led you out here because that was what I was told to do."

"Who told you to?" Buffy asked.

"You will find out shortly," the woman replied, "But first you must go to that cave."

Buffy looked in the direction that the older woman was pointing. Several yards from where they were standing was a cave. It was located on the side of a fairly large rock.

"Why should I trust you?" Buffy questioned.

"Because the answers to your questions are there," she said.

The woman turned and walked back into town.

"How do you know I have questions?" Buffy asked.

"Because you're the slayer," she replied, "And all slayers have questions. Why should you be any different?"

And with that the woman disappeared back into the town. Buffy now had even more questions that she wanted answered. Figuring that she had nothing to lose, she decided to go to the cave and find out if the woman was really telling the truth.

After a short walk, Buffy reached the entrance to the cave. At first, she hesitated about entering but her curiosity got the best of her and she walked in. It got darker as she walked farther into the cave. Pretty soon she couldn't even see where she was going. She had to use her hands to lead herself on.

Then in the distance she noticed a faint light. As she walked on, she wondered what it could be. She continued on, her hands out in front to guide the way. She hoped that this wasn't some sort of trap. If it was, then there was going to be hell to pay.

Eventually she reached a cavern. In the middle, there was a small fire going. Off to the left side of the cavern was a small pond. But the thing that caught Buffy's attention the most was the man sitting with his back to her, in front of the fire.

"I knew you'd be here," the man said.

"You," Buffy said, "You pop up all over the place."

The man turned around to face her. He smiled.

"Haven't figured it out yet?" Whistler questioned.

"Figured what out?"

"I am your guide," he replied.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Come on, I've talked to you numerous times and you still haven't figured it out," he said, "Remember when you found me in Giles' apartment all those years ago? I've been your guide since then."

"Why'd you wait so long to show up again?

"You didn't need me," he said.

"I needed guidance," she replied, "Where were you all those times when I needed guidance?"

"Not from the Powers," Whistler said, "From your friends. Come, sit down and we'll talk."

Buffy walked forward towards the fire, taking a seat on the rock across from Whistler.

"Your friends have always been there to give you advice," he began, "The right advice. The Powers could not help you with that kind of advice. They had to."

"All those times?"

"Yes and it wasn't until recently that you needed assistance from them. They usually like to stay out of the affairs of humans and just watch. But they had to interfere when the goddess appeared. She had pulled a quick one against them, infiltrating their oracles. They only interfere when something poses a threat to them. And it's not often that something does."

"Did they ever interfere with the lives of previous slayers?" Buffy asked.

"I don't believe so," he replied, "Most of the slayers didn't face any large-scale battles. Hell, a large majority of them never even fought in an apocalypse."

"That's hard to believe."

"Most died in small battles with vampires," he went on, "Like the ones that Spike killed."

"Robin's mother never fought in any big battles?" Buffy asked.

"Nope."

"What about the first slayer?"

"No. She had some run-ins with demons and vampires and whatnot, but she never went against anything really big."

"How did she die?" Buffy asked.

"Just like the rest of you," he replied, "Although in a more brutal manner."

"Explain."

"Well let's see…where to begin…ah yes. In the past, there really weren't any vampires. They are more of a modern thing, this millennium. Back then, demons ran rampant all over the earth," he started.

"You mean demons walked the earth with humans?" Buffy questioned.

"Not with them," Whistler replied, "But as them. Demons would kill a human and wear its skin as a disguise. This way they would be able to walk around without standing out. It was their way of surprising the enemy."

"So there was no way of knowing who was a demon?" Buffy asked.

"There was, but it was very hard to tell," he went on, "Only those trained to look for it could. A group of men, what would be the Watcher's Council, had discovered how to tell who was real and who was a demon. They taught the slayer this technique so that she would not be surprised."

"How could they tell?"

"By looking deep into a person's eyes, peering into their soul," Whistler said, "Of course, demons don't have a soul so there was nothing there."

"I thought we were talking about how she died?" Buffy asked, getting a little annoyed.

"Sorry, I get off track sometimes," Whistler said apologetically.

"It's all right."

"Okay so the slayer walked around always looking for people's souls. She kept a close watch on everyone in her tribe. She would do rounds every night before sunset, making sure everyone was clean," he continued, "But then one day, a stranger came into her village. He was unlike any other stranger though. She couldn't see into his eyes. She had no way of knowing if the man possessed a soul."

"The demons figured out how to hide that too?" Buffy asked.

"I'm getting there!" he shouted.

"Oh…"

"Anyway, when she approached the members of the Council, they told her not to worry. She returned to her village worried anyway. Then one night, as she lay in bed, there was a noise from outside her hut."

Africa, unknown time:

Her eyes sprung open. Jumping out of bed, she reached under it and grabbed a sharpened piece of wood, a stake. She stepped lightly, carefully walking toward the doorway. She was a very cautious person since she'd become the slayer. She didn't want to take chances; she couldn't take chances.

Flinging open the clothe hanging from the door she peered out into the night. It was a chilly night with a light breeze. But it was quiet, too quiet. She stepped slowly out into the night, looking in every direction. As she glanced around, the grip on the stake tightened.

Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground. Something heavy had hit her from above and was now on top of her. She quickly realized that it was a person. Throwing them off, she rose to her feet.

"You!" she exclaimed, remembering the man as the stranger, "I knew it!"

The man just laughed. Then he advanced toward her. The slayer took a protective stance, preparing for the attack. The man's pace never changed; he just kept walking at her. That's when she decided to go on the offensive. She gave him a quick round house kick. However, he quickly reached up and grabbed hold of her leg, stopping her in midair.

She yelled in pain as he twisted her ankle. Then he tossed her into her hut. It collapsed around her, burying her in straw, wood, mud, among other things. She lay there, covered by all these things. Before she even had time to react, he climbed into the debris and grabbed her by the neck. She was kicking and screaming as he lifted her into the air. Again he threw her. She landed on her back in the dirt with a thud.

This time, he rushed quickly at her. Just as she was struggling to get up, he was upon her. Reaching into his bag, he drew a small dagger. He held it high into the air above her. It glistened in the moonlight.

"Slayer," he murmured, "Goodbye."

The dagger came down and pierced her flesh. He cut out her heart and took off into the night with it. She died that night, alone there in the dirt. She wasn't found until the next morning when her tribe stumbled upon her cold body.

Kenya, Present Time:

"Well that certainly was a bit gruesome," Buffy said.

"I warned you," Whistler replied.

There was silence between them. The only sound was the fire, cackling in the darkness.

"Why did they have to die?" Buffy asked, "They didn't deserve it. I did. I deserved to die."

"They weren't supposed to," he told her, "You weren't supposed to. None of this was supposed to happen."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"The goddess was never supposed to come forth," he answered, "Her arrival was not planned. She snuck back into this world."

"But how?"

"Bad men, sorcerers, brought her back," he replied, "They didn't know what they were getting themselves into. They didn't know how powerful she was. The Powers didn't see her coming at all."

"I thought they were all-seeing, all-knowing," Buffy said.

"They are."

"So they made a mistake," Buffy went on.

"No, they didn't. But they were tricked. The goddess infiltrated their oracles and tricked them in their own realm."

"What?" Buffy questioned.

"Posing as the vampire, she was granted access to their realm. She was nothing more than a spirit, but she used the vampire as a disguise. They sent her to earth in human form. And that allowed for her power to be released. Once she came to earth, she discovered the oracles and broke in. She killed them and assumed their form."

"Oh," Buffy said.

"But before that, other things occurred that never should have," he told her.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Your resurrection."

"The second time?" Buffy asked.

"Your deeds were complete," Whistler said, "You had served your purpose by disposing of Glory. You were to be rewarded in heaven, reunited with your mother and given happiness and rest. But your friends dragged you back to the mortal coil."

Tears formed in Buffy's eyes. She knew that her friends had done wrong by bringing her back. Only now did she know the true extent.

"The Powers didn't expect that at all. They already had a plan set in motion to get Faith, now reformed, out of prison and back to Sunnydale. It was to be a few months later."

"Again, I thought the Powers That Be were all-knowing and whatnot," Buffy said, "Couldn't they have stopped my friends?"

"No. They do not like to interfere with the lives of humans," he told her, "Even if they watched everything that was supposed to happen fall apart. They still don't interfere."

"But they interfered when they gave me that cube," Buffy interjected.

"Like I said before, there was a threat against their existence," he said, "But technically they didn't interfere."

"Whatever," Buffy said.

There was one question that Buffy wanted to ask. It had been bugging her for a long time now.

"Why wasn't another slayer called after I died?" Buffy asked.

"When the Powers knew that your time had come, they realized that another slayer would be called after your passing. But that meant there would still be two slayers. Their chance to change that happened when you died again. Before your death, they severed your line. You were the last in that line of slayers. The line would be completely connected to Faith."

"Oh."

"But all this slayer folklore doesn't matter anymore," he continued, "Because the slayer line has ended."

"Wait, if the line was created by magik, can't it be restored by it?" Buffy asked.

"You would think so," Whistler replied.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The line can't be restored because those magiks are long gone," he answered.

"But the Council did it recently," Buffy interjected.

"That was temporary," he told her, "Those powers didn't exist."

"But couldn't I add some power to those magiks, making it permanent?"

"It's not possible."

"But why?" Buffy asked, growing upset.

She couldn't believe that after all this time of saving that world that she had been the one to screw it up in the end. She was the reason why there would never be another slayer.

"Don't give up hope!" Whistler exclaimed.

"Why not?"

"I have some good news for you," he said.

"What could you possibly say that could make me feel better?" Buffy asked.

"There is another."

"What?"

"When Faith died, another was called," he replied.

"Another slayer?" Buffy questioned.

"Yes."