Destiny

By PSUBrat

Trials & Tribulations

The blazing sun was high overhead as the small group gathered around each other, huddling together mostly in fear. The desert sand was warm beneath their feet while a warm breeze gently blew their tunics and ruffled their hair. Xander stood with his arm around Anya, trying to comfort her despite his own growing concern. How had they gotten to this place and where in the hell were they? And why was he in a dress? He thought perhaps that it was their turn to be called since neither he nor Anya had experienced their vision up to that point. But something just felt wrong about it. It all felt "too" real. He and Anya were not alone; Tara, Willow, Connor and Dawn were with them, yet he still felt like each was stranded on their own piece of ground. While he continued to stand quietly next to his girlfriend, Angel, Cordelia, Wesley and Giles arrived.

"Is this real?" Dawn asked Giles, eyes wide with fear.

Giles took in his surroundings, studying the layout of the land. Crouching down, he picked up a handful of sand which he let flow through his fingers before answering. "I'm afraid so Dawn," he stated as he looked up and caught her gaze. He wanted to tell her that things would be okay but he didn't know that himself. He wasn't even sure how they had come to be here.

"You mean it's not a dream, we're really here?" Xander questioned uncertainly. "And would someone like to explain what we're all wearing?"

"It does feel real," Willow replied as she gripped Tara's hand tighter, making the girl wince slightly.

Angel frowned and turned to the two watchers. "I didn't think the trials began until tomorrow night."

"Apparently someone was wrong." Xander snarked. "And hello, still in a dress here. How are we supposed to fight evil in a dress?"

"You're quite right Angel," Wesley replied as he looked off into the distance, choosing to ignore Xander's stress over their unmanly garments. "Something isn't right." Suddenly he turned to Giles. "Do you think that perhaps we miscalculated and that the trials begin prior to the Last Judgment? I mean, in a way it does make sense. In order for the Master to attain his ascension and continue into the Last Judgment, he would need all of our powers to do so."

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his eyes. "It is quite possible that we were wrong..."

"Possible?" Cordelia demanded. "I'd like a little more than possible!"

"I second that!" Dawn cried as Connor gently put his arm around her shoulders. She hadn't realized that she had begun to shake.

"Now everyone, please do remain calm," Giles stated, trying to take charge of the situation that they all found themselves in at the moment. "We must be reasonable and prudent. We have no idea if the trials are beginning or not..."

"Hey," Xander interrupted. "What's that?" He asked, pointing to three people around a small fire in the distance.

"That looks like Buffy and Spike!" Anya chirped. "We should go over there and be with them. There is safety in numbers, especially with a Slayer and a very powerful human."

Giles took a step forward to get a closer look. Closing his eyes, he felt the dread begin to course through his body. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we cannot interrupt them."

"Why not?" Angel demanded, becoming angry that they were separated from the other two.

"Because," Giles sighed. "They are with the First Slayer."

"Like in the first slayer I'm thousands of years old, first slayer?" Xander asked with a frown.

"No," Giles answered. "More like a spirit guide. They are probably receiving their instructions at the moment."

"Okay. So who's gonna be our spirit guide, huh? Who's gonna give us instructions on how to defeat the Master? We are going to get instructions, right?" Xander asked, looking first to Giles and then to Wesley for answers.

"I'm your guide," a feminine voice suddenly called from behind them.

***

As the stars twinkled in the desert night, Buffy sat quietly on the rock next to William. Her blonde hair fell loose around her face and blew gently in the breeze and her tanned skin almost glowed in the moonlight. She knew this place. It was very familiar, as if she had been here a hundred times but yet couldn't quite remember it. The fire in front of them crackled and popped to life. The déjà vu that was tugging at the back of her mind suddenly leapt to the forefront and shouted at her, screaming to be heard. Immediately, her body stiffened and her eyes widened in recognition of the form that appeared through the fire.

"What is it Luv?" William asked as he felt her body tense. He was unaware of the presence that was slowly moving back and forth on the other side of the fire until he followed Buffy's gaze. His eyes came to rest on a woman, or what he thought was a woman. Her skin was the color of milk chocolate and her hair was dark and unkempt. She looked as if she were thousands of years out of place.

"No," Buffy whispered as she closed her eyes tightly. "I don't want to be here. Spike please wake me up," she begged. "Now!" The last time she had seen this person, she had been told that her gift was death. She could only imagine what it was she was going to be told now.

Helplessly William stared at her, unable to do what she asked of him. They weren't sleeping, at least not as he could tell. He pulled her close and placed an arm around her lovingly, hoping that it would calm her. "Buffy luv, what's wrong? Who is she?"

"Do not be afraid," the woman across from them stated as she continued her swaying.

"I'm not afraid," William replied, still trying to get Buffy to relax and open her eyes. "But I'm not so sure about her..."

"I'm not afraid," Buffy snapped. "I just don't want to be here. I don't want to talk to you."

"But you must. How else will you know how to proceed?"

"I'll wing it. I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kinda gal. I think I'll manage. I have before without your help. Come on, Spike. We're leaving." She stood up, glaring at the woman.

Sensing that this vision, dream or what have you, was somehow vital to their quest, he stood up next to her and whispered in her ear. "Uhm, Buffy, I really think we should listen to what this bint has to say. It could be important..."

"No. I already know what she'll say. 'Death is your gift'. I've heard it all before. No need to hear it again."

"But death is your gift," the First Slayer stated, appearing as if she were walking through the fire.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Been there, done that and have the scars to prove it. The last time you told me that death was my gift I jumped off a tower to save the world."

William's eyes widened as shock registered on his face. He turned his head slightly to get a better look at the woman across from him. This was the person that had given Buffy the strength to save the world from Glory, the one that had given her the fortitude to leave them all behind. Suddenly anger welled up within him as he replayed the night of her death in his mind, feeling everything again as if it were happening right now. He clenched his fists and glared at the woman. "What do you want from us?" He demanded.

"I want nothing, I give everything."

"Cryptic much," Buffy growled as she took a step forward towards the ancient woman.

"Luv, calm down." He forced himself to say it to her even though he was feeling far from calm himself. They needed information and they needed it from this woman so staying calm was the key. He took a deep breath to steady himself. "Maybe she knows how to stop the Master."

"Fine. You ask her. I'm tired of puzzles."

"Alright," he stated as he turned to the First Slayer. "Can you tell us how to defeat the Master?"

"Life. Life is your gift. It will defeat all evil and bring you closer to your purpose."

"Uh, that's not what I asked..."

"See, I told you. Puzzles," she retorted as she folded her arms over her chest. Her body language clearly stating that she was beyond annoyed and quickly approaching pissed off.

William sighed and closed his eyes. "Buffy, why don't you try?"

"It's not going to get us anywhere..."

"Just try, okay?"

"Whatever. Look," she said stepping closer to the fire yet again. "Do you know anything or not?"

"Your gift remains the same."

"My gift? Great. Spike gets life and I'm still with the death thing."

"Your gift is death. His gift is life."

"Yeah. I think we got that the first time," William snarked. "The fact still remains that you haven't given us one bloody thing..."

"I have answered your question." With that, she and the fire slowly disappeared from sight.

"Where'd she go?" William demanded, anger tingeing his voice as he scowled.

"Have I told you lately how much I really hate her? Now what?"

"Now," William replied as he walked over to her and held her in his arms. "We either wake up from this bloody nightmare and let Giles know about it..."

"Or?"

"I don't know," he answered simply as their surroundings slowly drifted from their sight. "But I think we're about to find out."

***

"I will be your guide," Joyce stated as she walked over to the group, giving them a comforting smile.

"Mom?" Dawn asked, hope and love filling the one word question.

Joyce smiled again and opened her arms so that her youngest daughter could run into them. As she pulled Dawn into a loving embrace, she looked towards the group with dancing eyes. "It's so good to see all of you again. It's been a long time."

"Yes, yes it has," Giles replied, clearing his throat.

"Joyce," Angel nodded in acknowledgment.

"Angel. Nice to see you again." Not really, but she didn't have to tell him that.

"So you are to be our guide?" Wesley asked, cocking his head to the side and frowning. "I don't remember reading anything about a spirit guide..."

Once she released Dawn from the embrace, she placed her arm around her daughter and joined the group. "I'm not really a guide. Not really. I'm more of a messenger. A harbinger, for The Powers That Be." She smiled warmly and placed her other arm around Tara. "Thank you so much for watching over my baby."

"You're welcome Mrs. Summers," Tara answered. "Dawn is a great girl."

Joyce turned to look at Dawn, love and regret passing over her face in the same instant. "Yes she is. Growing up so fast," she said as she kissed Dawn's forehead and pulled her tighter to her body.

Giles cleared his throat again and smiled at Joyce, but never really looking at her. He hadn't really been able to look her in the eye ever since that night they had eaten the chocolate bars and had engaged in some...adult activity. "You say that you're a messenger, from the Powers..."

"Yes."

"Well good," Xander interrupted. "Could you deliver a message to them from us? Could you tell them that next time we're supposed to save the world to dress us in something more...suitable?"

"Xander, do shut up." Giles growled at the boy. "We have bigger problems at the moment than to worry about what our attire looks like."

Xander shuffled his feet and looked down at them. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Joyce, please continue. What is it that you are here to tell us?"

***

She smiled at them, the sadness of it all tugging at her heart but her face never betraying her true feelings. She was here to do a job and nothing else should matter, but it did. Dawn mattered. Rupert mattered, more than she ever let on, and so did Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara. They were Buffy's closest friends, her daughter's anchors in her tumultuous life. She wanted to tell them all that things were going to be okay and that everyone would make it out the other side alive, but then that would be a lie, wouldn't it?

Giles studied her face. He could sense that what she had to say probably wasn't going to be pleasant. Instinctively, he knew that she was probably going to withhold something from them as well. It would be her right, and duty, as the messenger for the Powers. She probably knew more about what was going on than she was allowed to share with them. After all, if she did share, that would cause an unfair advantage on their part, causing a shift in the balance between light and dark. Evil would never be properly defeated. He watched as she tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes, as if listening to a voice only she could hear. The Powers must be prodding her along, he thought, telling her that it was time to proceed.

Joyce continued to smile warmly at them as she took a mental snapshot of the group. It would more than likely be the last time she saw them for a while and she wanted to be able to picture them together, somewhat happy...and alive. She closed her eyes as the Powers gave her that nudge to continue with the mission. It was becoming a lot more difficult than she thought it would be to do this. She had been hesitant about accepting the position at first, she didn't know if she could honestly separate her feelings for her children and that of the job she had to do but she realized why she had been picked, these people knew her and trusted her. If anyone could get through to them, it would definitely be her and she needed to do it now, time was running out.

"Joyce?" Giles asked softly, prodding her to continue. She had been silent too long and he was afraid that the others would misconstrue her intentions and begin to doubt their purpose.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to rest for a moment and just look at you all," she said as she hugged Dawn tightly again. Yes, this was definitely more painful than she had imagined. It was time to pull herself together and give these people a fighting chance. "You must already know why you are here, why you've all been brought to this place..."

"The trials," Angel replied stoically.

She nodded. "It's not going to be easy. Each one of you will face your own demons, your own horrors, but you must remember...you've been paired for a reason. Where one is weak, the other is strong. You must rely on each other and have faith in one another. Without trust and teamwork, you will not survive." She looked at them again, her eyes full of concern and worry. Had they understood what she had said? Had her words gotten across to them? "Please tell me you understand..." They nodded back to her in unison. Though they had answered her one way, she couldn't help but still feel as if her words had fallen upon deaf ears. "I have to go now..."

"Mom, no!" Dawn screeched as she tightened her grip around her mother's waist. "Please don't go. I need you. Please." She was sobbing, begging for her to stay. "Don't leave me again. Please don't leave me again."

Joyce sadly looked down at her daughter. "Darling, I can't stay. I'm sorry." She looked over towards Rupert, eyes pleading for him to do something to help ease the pain and suffering of her child.

While the others watched quietly, Giles walked over to Dawn and tried to gently ease the girl away from her mother. "Dawn, you must let go. Your mother cannot stay here with us. She has her own destiny to look after."

"But..." Dawn whined and sniffled.

His gentle pulling became firmer the more she fought him. Finally, after locking eyes with Joyce and seeing the pain and frustration, he pulled the screaming girl away and held her tightly. He was grateful when Connor came over to offer his arms to her which she readily accepted, still sobbing and broken. The others helped Connor tend to Dawn while he and Joyce said their goodbyes.

She reached out, gently caressing his cheek with her hand and giving him a sad smile. "There were things that I wanted to tell you, hoped that you would say to me..." She searched his eyes, trying to figure out if she should continue with her words.

"I know. I'm sorry we never got to act upon those feelings."

"Things were so complicated," she laughed.

"They always are on the Hellmouth, are they not?"

"So true. Please continue to take care of my girls for me. You're the closest thing to a father they've ever had and the only man I ever let back into my heart...even though I never told you."

"I always knew. Somehow." He gently brushed his lips across hers as he held her in his arms.

"Goodbye Rupert," she said as she stepped back. "Goodbye everyone. Please remember what I've told you."

They watched in silence as her form slowly faded away. Giles looked down at the ground and closed his eyes. Some days he really hated his life, and this was turning out to be one of them. As he turned back to the group, a blinding flash of light appeared from the sky. When it had passed, Anya and Xander were gone.

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