::Buffy:: Without A Word Spoken

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

It wasn’t a usual day for the two beings in conversation when they were asked to intervene on matters that had to do with lower beings. Granted, according to the female the woman in question was not a lower being, then again, according to the male she was. It was a typical disagreement between the two and when one has all the time in the world, did it really matter in the long run?

A presence behind them alerted the female that they were no longer alone and she touched her brother’s shoulder, though it was not necessary as he felt the same presence that she did. Turning around the two were not surprised to see the young woman who had fallen in front of them. Normally the beings that came into their presence were solid, and they knew what they were doing there. Clearly this young woman didn’t know where she was or in whose presence she was in. “Stand up lower being.” The male stated in an important voice. The female simply turned her head, refusing to let the smile grace her lips. She had watched this young woman for longer than she cared to admit and she knew from watching her she wouldn’t like the lower being comment.

Then again, her brother tended to view all of those underneath them as literally underneath them, where as she was more open minded than most would be in her position. “Brother she is not a lower being.”

“Hush sister. I’ll take care of this young one.”

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She knew then, just like she knew now. She knew exactly what this meant and what she had to do…but she hesitated for a moment. She didn’t want to do this again, because she didn’t want to leave those that she loved. However she also knew that there was no one else to do it. She knew that it was her or the world, and as usual the world came first. She had been sworn to protect this world and she would do it with her very life, something that she had done before and would again.

Closing her eyes she whispered another apology to her friends, hoping that somehow the wind would carry it to them, and she took a running leap as she jumped inside the portal, feeling the energy electrocuting her as it had before. Each one of her friend’s faces passed through her mind as she felt the energy around her, landing on Dawn and Angel, the two that she loved more than anything in the world. She could feel her life dwindling away and she almost relished in it, something that she hadn’t thought possible. She felt herself welcoming this feeling because it meant she would be at peace once more very soon.

Finally, it was over. She had the made the Final Sacrifice.

She knew all of this, she remembered it like it was just moments ago (maybe it was?) and yet she could feel something underneath her, something hard, yet warm. She could feel presence around her, and yet she couldn’t feel her own body. Clearly something was going on and yet she felt no desire to move from her spot. She felt warm, safe, weightless, fulfilled, and finished. She knew this feeling, she vaguely remembered it from her time in heaven…and yet this was different, though similar.

Stand up lower being.

She turned her head (she could see so she assumed she had some sort of body, though she hadn’t gathered the courage to look yet) and looked at two beings, somehow knowing who they were to an extent, though having never come across them before. She didn’t know exactly who they were, though knew they were important. Unfortunately she had no love for them at the moment as the male had called her lower being, and while she didn’t know exactly what that meant, she didn’t like the implications.

“Excuse me?” She asked, pushing herself off the ground and standing, though still refusing to see what she looked like.

Word Count:: 476
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: It was easier to do an insert thread to explain everything than it was to do it all in one long post when she woke up from being “dead” so I figured I would do this. Also it gives me a chance to do a thread with myself which is sometimes fun.

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The male of the duo watched as the young woman stood before them. She didn’t seem to want to look around her or at herself like so many before her had done. Most were confused as to where they were and while it was easy to read the confusion on her face, it lacked the fear that most had as well. Most thought at first glance that they were angels waiting to greet them at heavens gates…and that was not the case at all. They didn’t stand in heaven nor in hell, but in a dimension of their very own.

It was easy to read this warrior’s face. She may be a warrior but she didn’t have the skills in order to keep herself emotionless, something that he had tried to tell his sister time and time again. He didn’t enjoy reading emotions on human’s faces as love, lust, greed, anger, none of that mattered to them. He remembered his predecessor’s words to the warrior’s other half, and his predecessor’s sisters words as well.

Oh, this is a matter of love. It does not concern us.
Yes it does. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause- and it succeeded. I'm not good to you like this. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please.


What is done cannot be undone.

What is not yet done can be avoided.

Temporal folds are not to indulge at- the whims of lower beings.

You are wrong. This one is willing to sacrifice every drop of human happiness and love he has ever known for another. he is not a lower being.

Maybe the same could be said about his other half. “Pardon me. I am meaning for you to stand and face us. You are confused as to why you are here…are you not?” He asked, ignoring the small smile that graced his sister’s lips.

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She wasn’t a happy camper at the moment. She didn’t know where the hell she was, though she knew it wasn’t in the place she had originally thought it was. She knew that she wasn’t in heaven yet the beings reminded her of those that had been there when she had been there. The atmosphere was colder than heaven, something that she could clearly remember. She remembered coming back the first time and even though she was surrounded by fires and had been running away from her friends and from demons, she still found the world that she had been thrust into cold and hard.

This was similar, yet not at the same time. The room and floor was cold and hard, yet there was a sense of safety that had never been in her world. She wondered briefly when the last time she had truly felt safe was but ignored the wandering thoughts, understanding that they would do her no good. She turned her focus back on the two beings when she heard the male one speak, ignoring the world around her other than the floor, and still refusing to see if she had form or not, she really didn’t want to see herself as a ghost or something worse.

She was surprised when the male apologized to her for calling her a lower being, though she doubted he meant it in that way. For some reason the female seemed to find this amusing but the blonde slayer didn’t call her on it, not knowing what exactly was going on and not wanting to anger anyone before she got the answers that she so desperately sought. She was surprised once more when the male asked her if she was confused, almost as if he was opening up the floor for her to ask questions…something that not many did.

“Yes, I’m confused. Where am I? Who are you? Why am I here? I remember jumping off the portal in order to close it but after that nothing. This isn’t heaven, of that I’m sure of. And I highly doubt this is hell since I’ve been to at least one of those hell dimensions and this doesn’t seem like that either. You two remind me of something but for some reason I cannot seem to grasp it. So please, tell me why I’m here and how long I’m staying.” She stated, hoping she sounded respectful enough to get her questions answered.

Word Count:: 429
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: Threading with myself can be fun sometimes…which is random but oh well.

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The female found the young warrior absolutely fascinating. It was not something that she was used to as she saw so many people whether in person or from their knowing eyes. There was something strangely knowledgable in the warrior's eyes and she found that almost compelling and yet at the same time she was apathetic about her. It was strange indeed.

Hearing the young woman's words she placed a gentle hand on her brother's shoulder, conveying silently that she would answer the questions, at least for now. She had always had more patience than her brother and she could see the slight storm in his eyes at the disrespect that he seemed to find. She on the other hand didn't find the young woman disrespectful, only fearful and she hid behind that with disobedience.

"You're right warrior." She told the young woman. "You are not in heaven, not in any of the hell dimensions, nor are you still in your dimension. You did jump off the portal that the god Glorifcus opened with your blood and it did kill you. However that is not the full truth and in order to learn it you need to calm down and listen to what my brother and I have to teach you." She stated sternly, though not unkindly. She hoped that the young woman would listen to their words because there was a lot to explain and she didn’t want it to take too long.

While time did move differently in their dimension she would still appear dead to her loved ones and she didn’t want to be responsible for that. She had all her predecessor’s memories of the vampire with a soul and she knew once he found out where his other half had been he would come and have a few words with them should they keep her too long.

Yes, they needed to tell her what she needed to know so that she could go back as soon as possible.

The world needed her.

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She glared at the man of the two beings that she still didn’t know exactly who they were, though for some reason she found a strange sort of kinship in the woman’s eyes. She didn’t take well to being ordered around (as anyone who knew her should know by now) so it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that her attitude jumped when she was ordered to stand before two beings that she didn’t know. She had never dealt well with authority, even Giles in the beginning, and tended to act a bit out of character for her at least when she was ordered to do something.

She nodded once at the woman and followed her to a little chair that was offered to her. It wasn’t really a chair so much as a stool that almost blended in with the white marble flooring. It wasn’t comfortable nor was it warm but it was better than standing all day and she was for some reason exhausted even though she knew she was dead. She was however curious to know exactly what these people, beings, whatever, were talking about. She apparently needed to learn some things but what did she need to know? She was done, finished, though she knew better than anyone that one could never guess if they would be called back to duty so to speak.

She prayed that between Giles, Angel and Spike that Willow and Xander wouldn’t think to try and bring her back again. However she had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t going to have to wait that long.“Okay, I’m listening and I’ll try to stay calm. What is it that I need to know and why exactly do I have to know it? I jumped through a portal. Even if I hadn’t died after Glory cut me open I jumped through a portal. So why am I here?” She asked, trying to keep her temper. These beings seemed to like to take things slowly and she really wasn’t in the mood to do so.

She wanted to know what was going on and how badly she was going to take it. She purposely didn’t promise to stay calm, only said that she would try, simply because if her feeling was right and she was being sent back to life…again…she was going to be not a very happy camper unless she got some decent answers for once.

Word Count:: 422
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: Threading with myself can be fun sometimes…which is random but oh well.

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The male oracle wanted to scoff at the look on his sister’s face. She seemed genuinely concerned about this lower being. They had been taught by those without names what their duties would be, and not getting attached to any of the mortals whose lives spanded barely a second in their world was one of the most sacred rules that they had been taught. However it seemed to him that his sister was flouting those rules as sure as she was giving this lower being her undivided attention. It was a second burden placed on him as now he would have to disengage his sister.

Almost as if she knew what he was thinking (and she probably did) the female looked over at her brother and smiled a rare smile. “In case you have forgotten brother, I am not breaking any rules. You thought it yourself. Getting attached to mortals is forbidden, but she is not one any longer and as such I am allowed to do whatever it is I please within reason.” She stated almost smugly, secretly enjoying her partner’s displeasure at her rebuttal as well as his displeasure at her reminder of what she hadn’t told the young warrior yet.

Her attention refocused on the young woman and she smiled another rare smile. “In order for you to understand I must take you back to not the beginning, but the beginning of what will end up being the end.” She stated, looking deeply into the warrior’s hazel eyes almost as if she did for long enough she would be able to force the woman to understand what she was saying. “A few cycles ago a young woman made a decision in order to help save the mortal world. That was you. You asked for help from your magical counterpart in order to take strength from you, the chosen one, in order to make more to help protect everyone else.” She continued on, knowing that the warrior would understand what she was speaking about.

“Because of this, a change was made. That strength that was given to others had to be taken from somewhere. It could not be taken from an inanimate object, so it was taken from the only two living beings that had the ability to keep that strength alive in the others. One of them was the stronger one, and was able to give that strength without any repercussions, however because there were two of them it meant that unrealized side effects so to speak happened, thus making to where as long as the strength flowed between the two there would always be others. Unfortunately when the Powers that Be realized what had happened they had to take drastic measures as once blood stopped flowing then all the others would lose that strength as well. So when the others were activated, a chance was activated in the original one and her protégé so to speak as well. They would live as long as they were needed until all evil was wiped from the earth in order to assure that the others would as well. Do you understand what I’m saying?” She asked, seeing the look in the woman’s eyes as she took in her words.

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She listened to the two beings almost argue, though it seemed as if the woman of the duo was merely amused by everything that the male was annoyed by. If it were any other situation she would have found it funny herself however she was much too nervous and stressed to try and find anything funny, so instead she waited as patiently as possible (which since it was her wasn’t very patient at all) to hear what she was supposed to be told. She was alarmed when she heard about someone (she was guessing her) not being mortal but then remembered when Tara had checked her blood and found that something had changed within it. She figured (hoped with every fiber of her being) that this was what the beings were talking about, though a small part of her knew that it wasn’t.

She listened intently as the woman (thankfully as she had a feeling she'd end up punching the man) spoke to her. She listened but didn't really understand any of it. Holding up her finger she asked for a brief moment, thinking about everything the woman had said. What was it Willow always told her to do in math class? Break the problems down piece by piece until the whole thing didn't look as daunting? Okay, that was what she needed to do.

She understood the first part of the woman's speech. She knew that she was talking about when she had asked Willow to find a way to use the scythe to turn the potential slayers into full blown slayers in order to defeat the first. She was surprised that the story started there and not back when she had died the first (second) time in order to stop Glory and save her sister. However since she knew what was going on there she continued on, remembering the woman's words almost as if they were ingrained into her mind so that she could not forget.

That strength that was given to others had to be taken from somewhere. It could not be taken from an inanimate object, so it was taken from the only two living beings that had the ability to keep that strength alive in the others. She thought about this deeply, knowing that this was truly where it started. She broke it down and came to the conclusion that when Willow did the spell to draw power from the scythe she hadn't actually drawn the power from the object, had simply channeled it into it. She had drawn the power from her, though how she had done that she wasn't sure.

One of them was the stronger one, and was able to give that strength without any repercussions, however because there were two of them it meant that unrealized side effects so to speak happened, thus making to where as long as the strength flowed between the two there would always be others. It didn't take her long to make the connection that the two of them were her and Faith. She knew that she was technically the stronger one since she had been the slayer longer. It took her a moment before her eyes widened when she realized what the last part meant. It reminded her of the words that the ritual had stated. Until the blow flood stops flowing it'll never stop. It meant that only as long as she and Faith were alive would the new slayers have the strength to continue to fight against the forces of evil.

Unfortunately when the Powers that Be realized what had happened they had to take drastic measures as once blood stopped flowing then all the others would lose that strength as well. So when the others were activated, a chance was activated in the original one and her protégé so to speak as well. They would live as long as they were needed until all evil was wiped from the earth in order to assure that the others would as well. Do you understand what I’m saying? The woman's next words confirmed her thought process however her jaw dropped when she worked through the next set of words. She couldn't comprehend what they meant...or she could...but she didn't want to believe it. Did that mean...what she thought it meant? No. Please. No.

Standing up without a thought to the disrespect she was showing a being that was much higher than she herself was she glared at both the man and the woman, the man having come over to stand next to his partner during her telling of the reasoning for her being here. “Are you telling me that until the Powers that Be decide that I am not needed that I cannot die? And that Faith cannot die? Is that what you are trying to sell me with your cryptic words and pretty speech?!”

Word Count:: 821
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: ------------------

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The woman was not surprised that her brother had come to stand next to her as she delivered her speech to the young warrior. Nor was she surprised as she watched the emotions flit across the young woman’s face that she stood up and quite literally exploded, screaming at the two of them. She felt her brother tense and she laid a gentle hand on his arm, shaking her head at him. No, she understood, at least in theory, on why she would react in such a manner. She knew that her brother didn’t have the same fascination with mortal beings as she did so it was understandable that he did not appreciate the disrespect.

“Yes warrior, that is exactly what I am telling you, though at the same time you’ve got it wrong. In theory yes, the Powers that Be can decide one day that slayers are unnecessary and that you are able to die…however for that to happen that means that the world would have to be rid of all evil.” She stated, but noted that the young woman still didn’t look appeased.

“Think on that for a moment. It would mean that every demon, every witch, every werewolf, and every vampire would have to be dead. Then and only then would the powers that be say that slayers weren’t needed. And the only reason they would allow for you to die would be that your powers, just like all the others, are rooted in evil. You are well versed in seeing the good in people. Not all witches use their powers for evil, not all werewolves intentionally hunt humans, and not all vampires stalk their prey at all times. You know this. So in order for you to die, all those that have some sort of evil in them, even in just their blood or their being, would have to be dead.” She stated, hoping that the young warrior understood where she was coming from.

The female oracle knew that by using those specific examples that it was more likely that the young woman would understand. Her biggest ally was a witch, she had befriended a werewolf, and her other half was a vampire with a soul. Not to mention the fact that she herself was a slayer and she knew more than anyone that their power was rooted in darkness thanks to the shadow men and their teachings.

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She paced the length of the room that never seemed to stop though she had made her own walk way through it in order to relieve some stress. She didn’t bother watching the silent communication between the two beings though somehow instinctively she knew that the male being was not happy with her disrespect of his so called sister. She briefly wondered if they were really related or if they just called themselves brother and sister because of being raised together. Not that it mattered, especially not with everything else going on, but as anyone who knew her knew, she tended to have errant and random thoughts.

She listened with growing dread as the female being explained that in order for her to die that she would have to successfully make it to where every witch, demon, werewolf and vampire were destroyed. She cursed the powers in her head with every fiber of her being, because it was a Catch-22 if she had ever heard one. The only way to kill a witch would be to kill a human, something that even though she had killed Kennedy she was still very against. It also meant that Willow would be gone and she couldn’t even consider that possibility. At the mention of demons she thought of sweet Clem who had never hurt anyone as far as she knew and she had actually gotten along with. She couldn’t imagine not stepping in to protect him, let alone letting him be killed. At the mention of werewolves she thought about Oz and how hard he had worked at taming the beast within him in order to be a better person.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know where her mind went when vampires were mentioned.

“You’re telling me that Faith and I cannot die until all evil is gone, which essentially means I cannot die and nor can Faith.” She stated, not even bothering to ask if that meant she would not age as well, because she knew that she wouldn’t. She couldn’t be 100 years old and look that old and still be battling demons, couldn’t happen. She couldn’t even begin to think on the ramifications of what this new knowledge meant, so instead she asked another question, one that had been the original one that she had asked, only tweaked in order to abide by the new classification she had put herself in.

“Okay, so if I’m not dead, why did I feel my life slip away? Why am I here and yet I don’t feel as if I’m fully here?” She asked before continuing on, wanting to know everything and yet horrified as she continued to think of what this all meant. “And if the slayers are now…” She couldn’t say the word. “If they can’t die, why have several died since they were called?” She asked, glaring at the two beings again.

Word Count:: 497
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: Almost to the end of this.

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The female watched as the warrior paced up and down the room, never noticing that her feet weren’t completely touching the floor. She found it amusing that the woman hadn’t fully looked at herself, almost as if fear was keeping her from accessing herself. She found it amusing because she looked exactly the same as she did in her mortal life, only she was a bit less corporeal than she was there. It was a different dimension and she hadn’t come here out of need or desire, but out of necessity and during a time where she was able to get here without going through the human channels.

She could see the implications sinking into the young warrior and noted that she seemed horrified at what this all meant. However she seemed to trudge along through and ask more questions, something that both she and her brother (though he would never admit it) were impressed by. “You are correct little one.” She told her, the name slipping out in not a patronizing way as her brother would have said it, but almost as a term of endearment. “You nor your protégé, Faith as she is called, can die until all evil is rid from the world. As you know new evil is spread every second of every day, so it is almost impossible to rid the world of it completely.” She stated.

“As for your other questions, those are more difficult to explain. Have you ever broken a vampire's neck and watched him die, yet then a few moments later he walked around again as if nothing had happened? That is what will happen to you. You are still a human meaning that basic human anatomy still fits you. However you heal quickly just as you always have, though it is different this time. If your neck is broken you will 'die' though it will be more like you have blacked out. Once your body has healed itself you will wake up and be just fine." She told her, trying to use mortal phrases so that they made more sense to the young warrior, seeing in her eyes that she had had enough for today.

The female oracle did notice that the young women seemed to stumble over the word immortal for some odd reason, almost as if it physically hurt her She had always found mortals amusing when it came to denial however this was not the time to talk to her about such things, so she abided her silent wish and refrained from using the word until she did. "I never said that the others could not die, I said that the original, you, and your protégé, Faith, could not die. They get their power from the two of you, meaning that while you have power, so do they. However that doesn't mean that they aren't subject to all things that mortals are. They will live and die just like all other mortals. You and your protégé are the only two who have to stay in order to let the line continue on."

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[Buffy Anne Summers]

She wasn't sure how she felt about all this. No, that was a lie, she knew. She was horrified. She wanted to rage at the two beings, ask them to let her die in peace as she had tried to all those years ago when she had first jumped into that damn portal. To scream and ask why it was okay for everyone else to die, yet she, the one who had given more than anyone else she knew, could not be offered that same luxury? It was funny to think that at one time she had wanted to quit being the slayer because she was sixteen years old and didn't want to die.

Yet now it seemed as if the situation was backwards.

Yet something stopped her from doing so. Something stopped her from screaming, from raging, so instead she sat contemplatively while listening to the woman’s answers. She was not really happy that she would technically die and then be brought back to life. She had a strange thought of Faith deciding to test this out when she was bored and shook her head, not even wanting to go into that thought at the moment. She knew she’d deal with that reality soon enough.

The blonde was relieved to hear that the other slayers were not stuck to the same fate that she and Faith were. The watcher’s council had been talking about finding a way to retire slayers if they should chose to do so in order to let them grow up and have families, but so far they had come up blank. However she was glad to know that this was possible still, because right now she had to grab on to any little thing she could to keep from losing it. She knew that she would have to go back soon and help her friends deal with Glory. That was the only upside to this…that she could protect her sister from Glory without losing everything in the process.

Her head was spinning but if there was one thing she was good at it was dealing with crazy stuff in a crisis, she knew how to handle stress and usually did it with ease.

“So now what?” She asked. “Now what do I do? How do I deal with this? This was done without my consent and without my knowledge and yet I am to deal with it. So tell me what now?”

Word Count:: 419
Tag:: The Oracles
Note:: Almost done with this thread.

[NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER ACCOUNT]

The female oracle listened as the young warrior asked a barrage of questions that she seemed to want to know, however it also seemed as if she was stalling. She could see that the young woman almost terrified of this new knowledge and this confused her, but again this was not the time to ask such questions. There would come a time that she would be able to get all her answers to her questions since she knew she and the warrior would see each other again, however today was not the day. The young warrior needed to get back and she had already kept her for too long.

“Now as you ask, there are a few key elements you need to know. First, you will eventually be brought back here. We cannot communicate with mortals in the way that you are used to. They can come to us using one of the channels however we cannot pull them to us. Yet when you die so to speak we can pull you to us while your body regenerates so to speak. So there will be times if there is a message that we are asked to deliver that we will bring you here.” She told her, watching the young woman’s eyes widen as she learned of this.

“Next, you are to share this information with as little of people as possible. This is not to become knowledge to the demon population since they will think that the others are unable to perish as well and it will become a game to them. You may tell those you trust but guard this secret otherwise just as you do your others.” She told her before smiling at the young woman as she watched her entire being shimmer slightly.

“And now, you go back.” She stated before the young warrior disappeared. She looked on the spot that she had been seconds before until she was sure she was back where she belonged before turning to her brother. “Now, that wasn’t so bad was it?” She asked him, and seemed amused when he glared. However they were both put to a halt when the human channel burst in and someone walked in. They both straightened as if one being and floated over to the man who had walked in, seemingly like they had forgotten their disagreement. Come before us lower being. She heard her brother order before she spoke her own words. “What have you brought us?”

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[ADMIN ASHLEY]