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(This is original story written by Chris Kenworthy, based on the Buffy characters, who he does not own etcetera etcetara...)
"And you couldn't have gone to someplace a little more convenient for us to find you?" Buffy muttered, trying to be quiet enough that Zebuto wouldn't hear her, but from the expression on his face the american Slayer realized that she had underestimated his ears. "So... do you also know why we've come?"
"Pieces and parts," Zebuto sighed, his deep voice suddenly sounding very old weary. "Pieces and parts, miss Summers. My noble brother in the cause, Franco Belone, has met with misadventure, yes? And there is a great trial..."
"Hey!" That was Willow, interrupting, to Buffy's surprise. "Franco dying... is that part of what you've 'foreseen for many weeks now?' Because if so, a phone call would have been nice. We could have saved him!!!"
"If Sir Belone's death was fated, Miss Rosenberg, then not all the foresight in the world could have changed it," Zebuto said flatly. "But, as it happens, I don't believe my dreams revealed that fact until after it had taken place. Only shadowy hints that the two of you," and he indicated Buffy and Willow as the 'two,' "would come in search of me."
"Okay." Willow said, looking somewhat chastened. She shot a glance over at Buffy, and Buffy nodded encouragingly back at her. This was watcher business after all - it made sense for Willow to speak for their group.
"Um, well, you're right that there are great challenges that we have to face," she mumbled as loudly as she could. "This... this half-vampire, demonseed, witchchild has taken over the Hellmouth, and he's determined to open the Hellmouth and let the demons of Hell conquer the earth. To defeat him, we think that Buffy has to complete these three tasks, one of which we've already done. The next is the Hall of Heroes." Willow took a deep breath. "But we need more help. There are two Slayers here, Buffy and Marea, and not counting you, only one apprentice Watcher - which would be me." She shook her head, and reddish-blonde hair flew out. "That's not good enough."
"I would have to agree," Franco said, nodding. "So, you have come to ask my help and counsel, Willow Deborah Rosenberg."
Willow jumped a little as the watcher mentioned her never-used middle name, but quickly nodded. "Very good," the watcher said with a relieved sigh. "First things first."
He walked over to Willow, drawing up to his full height, (which was rather impressive,) and drawing a shortsword out of a scabbard at his waist. Buffy fought back a flash of panic, knowing that Zebuto didn't intend Willow any harm, and sure enough he simply placed the flat of the blade on her left shoulder. An intuitive guess at where this was headed burst into Buffy's mind, and she smiled.
"Miss Rosenberg," Zebuto intoned. "What are the objectives of the Watchers??"
Willow tensed for a second, then repeated by rote something that had probably been first told her by Akira Tojo. "The watchers work to train and assist the Slayers in fighting the forces of darkness, whatever form evil and slaughter may take. To research, categorize, and preserve mystic knowledge that might be used in the fight, and prevent it from being used by those who would harm their fellow man. To monitor vampire and supernatural activity across the globe, and protect innocents from them if possible. Lastly, we work to perpetuate the tradition, that the roles we fufill might never be left vacant." Willow took a shallow breath, seemingly satisfied with her answer, but uncomfortable. Zebuto was only a few inches taller than she was, and keeping the sword on her shoulder was somewhat uncomfortable, but he did not indicate that she move from standing into any other pose.
"To who or what do watchers owe their first allegiance?"
This time, Willow was better prepared. "Not to the nations that men build, nor to priests or generals or each other, but to the best interest of humanity as we perceive them, and to the Grand Creator who cares for every mortal man and woman as his children, even sending the Slayers to protect them from demons and sons of demons." There was a slightly dubious expression on her face as she finished that recitation.
Samuel caught it to, and leaned forward towards Willow, moving the sword away and going from his impressive ritual voice to a stage whisper. "You are sure, my child??"
Willow shrugged awkwardly. "Not too comfortable with this creator business, I guess."
Zebuto nodded. "That too is valid." Resuming position. "What rights of person does a watcher retain, given his or her duty?"
This one was heavier, obviously. "There are no personal rights that can conflict with a watcher's duty. Neither instinct for survival, freedom from captivity, or individual happiness can be allowed to override the mission, for the mission is the preservation of humanity. For this reason a watcher's secondary duty is to appreciate what pleasures their own life may bring, for they may be forfeit on the morrow."
Once again, Zebuto acknowledged Willow's satisfactory answer with a nod. "What rules must a watcher follow in the pursuit of his or her duty?"
"The three principles," Willow said with a confident smile. "Principle the first, pacifism. A watcher must never hurt any mortal creature, without both dangerous provocation and grievous reason. Principle the second, autonomy. Each watcher is independent in his or her own mission and can request the assistance of any other watcher with a problem in their domain, assured of complete authority over that endeavour. Principle the third, secrecy. A watcher must never reveal the existence of vampires and demons to the public at large, lest humanity's innocence be lost, and in fear and suspicion men begin to slay each other."
"Very good," Samuel said with a trace of a smile. "There is only one further question. Are you sure of the path you have chosen in joining the Watchers, Willow Rosenberg?"
A pause. "Yes I am."
"Then I formally deputize you as a Watcher of full stature, a student or apprentice no longer." Finally Zebuto took his sword away. "Take thou this ring, thy badge of office, remembering always the duties and obligations it symbolizes." He handed Willow a tiny jewel, and as the redhead slipped it onto the first finger of her right hand, Buffy could see that it had a silver cross design. Akira Tojo had had such a ring. So had Giles, though he had but rarely worn it, and Buffy noticed that Zebuto was wearing a ring on the same finger. This was the Watcher insignia.
"Um, uh, thanks," Willow said, her nervous smile coming back. "Now that we've settled that, how about some reinforcements?"
"I am afraid I cannot oblige you in that," Zebuto sighed, hobbling over to a fallen tree trunk and sitting down. "Well, technically I could - I would not be of use to you in this respect, but I could give you the information you would need to find replacement watchers. I must not, however. You, Willow Rosenberg, and you alone, must be watcher for both Buffy Summers and Marea DiLaurio, until the final confrontation with the one who calls himself the Fireking of Sunnydale. Otherwise, the mortal world is forfeit."
Willow was stunned for a second. "Hey!! What did we just talk about, mister? Autonomy! This is my problem, I'm the watcher on the spot, and that means you have to give me any help I need, no matter what you feel personally about my decisions."
"Not exactly," Zebuto said, shaking his head. "If you had asked me for help only, I would be duty-bound as you say to provide it. But you requested my counsel as well. By ancient tradition, that reverses the pattern of autonomy. I would not use such an ill-gotten advantage if it were not vitally important."
Willow's green eyes narrowed. "You tricked me, Sam Zebuto!"
"Even so."
* * * *
On the other side of the globe, vampires were being hunted.
A brawny undead-Alaskan tough, who the 'Sunnydale Slayer' had been too distracted to worry about since the first few moments of melee, had found a lethal advantage. "Don't move unless you wanna be dead like us, babe." He was pointing a rifle at her, with very steady aim at her heart.
A few of the other vampires looked at him funny. "A gun??"
"Well, I wouldn't use it ordinarily," Nome-boy admitted. "But Slayers deserve special circumstances dontcha think? Plus, look how scared she is."
He was quite right. Guns had always been a source of extreme nervousness for Cordelia Chase, and unlike the Slayers she was impersonating, she had no super-human endurance to help withstand a gunshot wound. There was the enhanced magical agility that Vanessa Bateman had bestowed upon her, but considering how well the Alaskan was handling the gun, Cordy would so much rather not gamble her life on her ability to dodge versus his ability to correct his aim.
Fortunately, she didn't have to. Suddenly, the northern vamp transmuted into dust, the rifle falling through no-longer-solid hands and clattering onto some crates. Instantly, 'Slayer Cordelia' whirled into action, taking down two of her other opponents. "Thanks for the save," she called out in the midst of a staking.
"Don't mention it," Xander said, deciding to go for a second notch on his own stake now that the vampires knew he was here. Soon there was only one undead left.
"You know the drill," Cordy told him. "You get to go back, to tell your friends that the Sunnydale Slayer has..."
"No, Cordy," Xander said with sudden inspiration. "Finish him off too."
It's hard to say who was more surprised, Cordelia or the vampire. "What? Letting one go out of each batch was your idea in the first place, Xander," Cordelia pointed out.
"Uh... yeah 'Xander,'" the vampire added in persuasively. "I'll tell everybody real good, they'll be so afraid of you..."
"Okay, he knows my name now, so he's definitely getting staked," Xander pointed out. "And I think letting vampires go has served its purpose - you're well known and feared among the vampires of Sunnydale. If this entire patrol team vanishes into dust, everyone will know who's responsible. And hearing that this time the Slayer left no survivors will increase the fear factor - they can't gamble on being left alive to tell the tale."
"Okay, okay." Cordelia staked the vampire.
"Plus," Xander continued, really getting on a roll. "This fight really didn't cast you in such a good light - being menaced by a gun, having to be rescued by someone else. Now if I'd had the sense to stay out of sight, it would have been a different matter. That one vampire would have been destroyed by persons or forces unknown, which would really have made it scarier for the vampires back at the barracks." Xander considered. "Maybe we should do that next time."
Cordelia shrugged. "Whatever you say. C'mon, let's get out of here."
* * * *
"I am not pleased."
"The resistance will be rooted out in..." Jasper started, but his pint-sized master cut him off.
"I'm not worried about the resistance. They can't stop me, only annoy us. Like mosquitos."
Jasper Sinclair thought about that for a second. "Then, what is it that..."
"The Slayers! What else!?" Obayana raged. "The Order of Taraka retreat in Tibet has been entirely destroyed, and vampire Slayers are believed responsible."
Jasper was having a bit of trouble seeing the relevance here. "Uh... so??"
"So?! That was the first trial. My dear sire, Buffy Summers, knows the three trials, and she has already completed one. What if she is able to finish the other two?? I could actually lose! I could die!"
"Okay, okay," Obayana soothed the half-vampire child. "Why do you think she knows about these 'three trials?' Just because she attacked the Order of Taraka?? Don't forget, they had a vengeance bounty out on her."
"She knows," Luke assured them somberly.
"I agree," Obayana said. "I have no evidence, but I know that they know. There was that queer temporal disturbance a month and a half ago. Maybe they received the information from the future."
"Well, let's look at this, then," Jasper suggested. "Your own prophecies still hold, Master? You will open the Hellmouth on midwinters day, and Luke will cut down Buffy Summers, on or before that day??"
"Yes," Obayana agreed. "Lord Samael has coerced the path of the future that much, for my sake. Yet those two facts alone do not ensure my victory. Summers could sacrifice her life, to destroy me, after the Hellmouth is opened but before it can be used to the glory of Samael."
"But she is far from assured of doing so," Jasper pointed out. "She has but a small window of access to victory, and we can thus guard against it triply well. Now what about these three trials? If 'Buffy' fails even one, her chances to destroy you stand forfeit?"
"She must complete all three in order if she is to have any hope of stopping Samael's plans," the Fireking confirmed.
"And what is the next trial?"
"Retrieving the discus of demonslaying from the Hall of Heroes," Luke said.
"Ah." Jasper smiled. "I know something of that magic domain. There is something that we can do to 'stack the odds' against our dear Miss Summers."
"And what is that?" Luke asked gruffly.
"Send in our own contestant."
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