Prophecy
When Buffy’s mobile phone started ringing, she almost picked it up and threw it across the room.
She didn’t want to get up, let alone move from Riley’s warm embrace.
Groaning, she rolled over and picked up the phone, noticing the caller ID was the Magic Box. As she pressed the ‘accept’ button on her phone, she could hear Giles before she even put the phone to her ear. He sounded quite flustered indeed. He kept insisting that she needed to come to the shop right away. She caught bits about a major apocalypse, the Watchers Council and some prophecy during Giles’ long winded ramblings, barely giving her a chance to reply. But, from previous experience, those three things never equaled to fun times.
Groggily, she promised she would be there soon and hung up. Riley peered at her with concern. She briefly explained that Giles needed her at the shop and that it was urgent. Promising to catch up later, Riley rolled back into the doona on the bed. By the time Buffy had pulled on her clothes, she could hear Riley snoring again. Shaking her head, she slipped out the door soundlessly and out into the cool morning air. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.
Silently cursing Giles again, she set off in a light jog.
Buffy managed to get to the shop in record time and she would’ve given herself a pat on the back if she didn’t walk in and see the serious look on Giles’ face. He looked tense. Glancing towards the counter, she noticed that Anya wasn’t in her usual spot in front of the cash register, counting money. Oh, this was big.
By the time Willow had arrived, Giles had given Buffy the rundown of things. The Watchers Council had called Giles late last night about news of a prophecy concerning Buffy. It mentioned that she would be involved in a major apocalypse. The problem was that even with their best translators, they were unable to translate a part of the ancient text. The council was sending them the scroll in hopes that Giles would be able to translate it. It was due to arrive this morning by special courier.
The scroll arrived a short time later and Willow and Giles spent some time trying translating its text. All morning in fact. Buffy grew increasingly bored and impatient as each hour passed by with little result. She had already been out to the training room and done everything she could possibly think of before giving up and coming back in to check on Willow and Giles’ progress. She had even walked around the shop, straightening anything that was out of place. But now she had officially run out of things to do. So, she sat down at the table and tapped her fingers on the dark wood impatiently.
“So, do we know anything?”
“Oh you know the usual. An upcoming darkness will destroy the world without…seed de la mort. Hmm…” Willow replied, scowling at the book in front of her. Buffy looked over at Giles who was staring at the scroll intently.
“Seed de la mort? What’s that?” Buffy asked, confused.
“Ah dear Buffy, that is the question,” Willow answered, smiling, trying to do her best British impression. Buffy gave a little giggle and Giles looked up from the scroll, a look of total distaste.
“Ah Buffy, perhaps you could make use of yourself and make us a pot of tea?” Giles asked hopefully before taking off his glasses and cleaning them.
“Sure,” she replied walking out the back preparing the tea quickly. She had made it that many times she swore she could make it in her sleep. She had become accustomed to the acquired English Breakfast taste and actually enjoyed an odd cup of it with her watcher. Carefully placing the pot and three cups on the tray she carried it out and placed it on the table. Then, with practiced ease, she poured the right amount of tea in each cup before adding the sugar and milk, just how she knew they all liked it. She handed Willow and Giles their cups before settling back down in her chair with her own cup. Subconsciously, she blew the top of the cup, as if to cool the tea before she sipped it, being careful not to burn her mouth.
She watched as Giles took his cup and began to take a sip, only to freeze, his face covered in pure shock at the text before him. In fact, his whole body stiffened.
“Giles, are you okay?” Buffy asked concerned. Willow too, looked up at the watcher.
“Um, well. I do believe I just figured out last part of this text,” he placed his cup with care onto the table before wiping his brow with the front of his hand.
“Great, so what big bad am I facing this time?”
“Well,” Giles began shakily. “It doesn’t actually say what it is, just what you must do to defeat it.”
“An apocalypse with an instruction manual, now that’s new. What’s it say?” Buffy asked, smirking.
“Well um… it says that your strength alone isn’t enough to defend the world,” Giles removed his glasses, rubbed them clean with a handkerchief that he retrieved from his pocket before putting the glasses back onto his nose. “That the power you need, must be far greater or everything that we know will cease to exist. Essentially end the entire world.”
“Yeah, I got that. But where do I get this power boost?”
“Seed de la mort,” Giles replied simply, as if Buffy already knew the answer.
“Huh?”
“It means seed of the dead.”
“Seed of the dead? What the hell is that meant to mean?” Buffy furrowed her brow, her gaze still locked on Giles.
“Oh. My. God,” Willow whispered softly, the realization hitting her about what the prophecy really meant.
“Oh my God?” Buffy looked at her friend, trying to understand what she meant. “What do you mean by oh my God?” Buffy could feel the panic starting to rise in her. A Willow ‘oh my God’ in that tone of voice was never promising. It usually meant something bad. Real bad.
“Let’s not worry about that shall we?” Giles gave Willow a desperate look. “I’m sure there are other options.”
“Options? What options? And you’re avoiding my question. Why are you avoiding the question? You never avoid.” Buffy looked between her best friend and her watcher.
“What does it mean?” she demanded.
“Buffy please,” Giles tried to desperately deflect Buffy.
“No Giles, I want to know. Spill,” Giles sighed and Buffy knew that she wasn’t going to get anywhere with him, so she turned to her best friend. “Will?” she asked, her eyes pleading. Buffy could feel the panic still welling inside her. Willow looked at her friend nervously, knowing that she needed to know. She took a deep breath, trying to pluck up the courage to answer her best friend.
“Seed de la mort, seed of the dead means,” Willow took another deep breath, fearing her friend’s reaction. Buffy was sitting there, hanging off every word she was saying.
“It translates to mean, to mean the seed of a….,” Willow gave a quick glance at Giles who simply nodded his head. “Vampire,”
“The seed of a vampire? What?” Buffy’s face suddenly crumbled as realization hit her. In order to save the world from the next big bad, she would have to sleep with a vampire.
“Oh hell no,” she whispered her face full of horror and complete shock. There was no way she was sleeping with a vampire, ever, ever again.
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