Timeless
AUTHOR: Lindsay Ince (chicago_heat@hotmail.com)
DISCLAIMER: All hail Joss the Great and Buffy the Impaler. Not mine,
never will be.
ARCHIVE: http://www.stas.net/blurred
DISTRIBUTION: Ask, and ye shall receive.
SPOILERS: BTVS Season 4: Restless
RATING: G
SUMMARY: Buffy meets a face from the past, and tries to discover the
source of her power.
DEDICATION: Rune, for her beta-ing.
AUTHORS NOTES: Improv #3: ash-feather-infinite-perception.
FEEDBACK: Unless you really want to meet Buffy on a dark alley late at
night, it can be arranged…
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Her eyes followed the grace of the
feather as it fluttered and was caught by the gentle pull of the wind. It was
so beautiful, so graceful, so fragile. Despite its appearance of softness and
fragility it had incredible strength. It was ironic, that so much strength
could be contained in such a small, vulnerable looking shell. It was a paradox,
a freak of nature, something inexplicable that could be studied by scientists
for millennia and a conclusion might never be reached. A bit like her, she
thought with a wry smile.
Her eyes reached the root of the
feather. It joined many others, all of them in bright, startling colours. A
rainbow of colour formed a halo around the head of the individual in front of
her. They stood, facing each other, an air of confrontation around them. The
figure in front of her had wild, brown eyes and a shock of black hair. She wore
ritualistic markings and skins all over her body. She stepped forward, soundly,
solidly, and raised her palms in front of her face. With her fingertips The
Other made firm markings on her face with the ash and stepped back. She didn’t
speak, but a voice suddenly appeared in her head. It didn’t surprise her,
instead it was oddly comforting, soothing.
"You have returned," The
First began.
"Yeah, looking for an
insight, you know? It’d be ice to have your perception, you being the first
slayer and all." Buffy detected the nervousness in her own voice.
"You have the wisdom all
slayers possess. There is no more to tell."
"What about where it came
from? The power, the skill, the ability. Who gave them to us? Who decides who
is the Chosen One? What if someone refuses? What if someone turns on their
sacred duty?"
It was questions like these that
immediately brought up issues like Faith. They were questions that Buffy
couldn’t answer alone, and didn’t have the resources to find out for herself.
The First was silent. She seemed
entirely unmoved by the present slayers questions. She didn’t seem to
understand her curiosity, or her urge to know why she didn’t simply accept the
inexplicable and carry out her duty uninformed. There was silence for a moment
and though they stood in a desert, Buffy heard water and waves crashing, fires
crackling in a forest and the wind gushing through the leaves of the trees. In
an instant the sounds and the sensations were gone. A distant memory, a
tingling down her spine were all that reminded her she’d ever felt it. It left
hardly a trace, and she still wasn’t sure it wasn’t just her imagination.
The First walked over to her once
again and the disembodied voice began. She sounded slightly irritated, giving
her explanation in a tired voice. It reminded Buffy of Giles and his ‘The
Chosen One’ speech.
"In every generation there is
a Chosen One. She alone must fight the vampires, demons and the forces of
darkness. She is the slayer. The slayers power is timeless, the evil infinite,
as the good. There is always a balance and the balance must prevail. That is
our sacred duty."
Buffy sighed, "Well, that was
informative on an epic scale."
The First stepped away. She began
to circle the slayer as she had the first time they had met. Buffy turned as
she moved, always facing her, taking up a battle stance. They circled each
other for a few moments. The Other quickly moved a step forward and Buffy
lunged for her. But The Other had stopped and was in the best position to
defend against attack. She sent a winding blow to Buffy’s ribcage and Buffy
gasped as she staggered back. However, her slayer strength allowed her to
recover quickly and she came back fighting. They sparred back and forth for a
while until both were out of breath.
The First was powerful, strong and
ably skilled, just as Buffy was. In many ways, it was the most well-matched
fight of her life. No vampire or demon of any type had ever challenged her in
that way before. Her skills were tested to the limit every second. Yet, she
never felt in danger. She fought tooth and nail but it felt more like the
ultimate test. Like The First was testing her worthiness to fill her place. She
almost sensed envy on the part of her predecessor. A jealousy that she could no
longer undertake the duties of the slayer. An unwillingness to recognise her
time had passed.
They both eventually stopped, both
panting, both almost out of breath. They stepped back simultaneously,
re-establishing the distance that had existed between them. The distance seemed
less now. As though their fight had somehow broken down the barrier of time and
style that they stood either side of and made them realise the fundamental
similarities between them. She heard the voice again, from the unmoving lips of
The First.
"You have much to learn,
Slayer."
"Maybe that’s why I’m
here," she retorted.
"You will not learn anything
in this place," she said. "My role is not to teach, I can only act as
a guide now."
"Then where will I
learn?" she asked.
"Everywhere," she
replied. "The power lies in good, in people and in nature. Only here will
you find the answers you seek. In the hearts of those around you."
Buffy opened her eyes and stared
at the ceiling. She felt oddly refreshed after such an eventful dream. Looking
over towards Willow, who was still sound asleep in the bed next to her she
turned on her other side and looked at he radio alarm. It was just before dawn.
She was restless and climbed out of bed. Pulling on jogging pants and a sweater
she walked to a hill just behind the campus and sat down to watch the sunrise.
The darkness was replaced by a pure light that bathed the land as far as the
eye could see. Buffy watched it silently and thought. ‘The power lies in
good, in people and in nature.’ The view from the hill embodied The First’s
words. Her friends embodied them. Their struggle embodied them. The First had
been right. She drew her power from all around her. She didn’t need cryptic
dreams, she only needed to understand herself and her environment. The First had
been right. In that sense, the power of the Chosen One was timeless.
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