The Legend of Buffy--The Sithe of Time: The Great Watcher Giles Spirit Tree
by slayerfest
Buffy looked around, totally in awe. She saw a few creatures lying on the ground, asleep.
“Okay, this is going to sound a little freaky, but you’re inside the spirit of The Great Watcher Giles.”
“His spirit is a tree?”
“Pretty much. Don’t ask. Anyway, those are more miniature Watchers. There’s the Giles variety, which you met back there that will give you sticks, but these ones are the Wesley variety.”
“What’s a Wesley?”
“I’ve heard he’s a Great Watcher in another land. Anyway, if you want to fight them, don’t hesitate. If you falter, use your shield. The Wesley variety will give you flashes of light that will stun victims, especially vampires.”
“Where do I put them?” She’d put the stick from the Giles variety in her pocket.
“Oh. Uh… in your hat. They’ll be safe there.”
Buffy nodded. “Right. Okay. I guess I climb the ladder once I’m done with those little Watcher guys?”
“Right. And if you hit the Wesleys the right way, they’ll turn into Giles’. Take care, but don’t fret if you’re hurt; you can take up to six hits from these guys before you die.”
Buffy glared at Angel. “Gee, thanks. That’s reassuring.” She walked around and slashed at the weird little Watchers, gathering the things they left her when they died and putting them in her hat. She climbed the ladder. Creeping around the ledge, she noticed something less than… well, heartening.
“Angel… why is there a heart lying in the middle of the sky?”
Angel looked around. “Oh, geez. You can eat those and they make you stronger in the middle of a battle. Right now, you can eat up to three hearts, but I’ve heard that real warriors can eat up to twenty.”
“That is gross on way too many levels.”
“…Yeah, I guess it kind of is. Forestfolk and other beings of Sunnydale evolved from vampires, you know, so I think it’s left over from that.”
“Ew. Ew. Ew.”
“Buffy, you have to get over it. You’re going to be extremely grateful that one of those hearts is lying around if you’re mid-battle.”
“Ew. Ew.”
“Oh, be quiet. Look, some vines. I bet you could climb them.”
Buffy looked up the vines and hesitated. “I don’t like those… things being there. What are they?”
“Oh, geez, I didn’t even notice those. They’re Skullwalltulas, I think. You can kill them with a slingshot, but you don’t have one of those. Go check in that chest, see if it’s there.”
She opened the chest majestically and an old piece of paper flew up just out of her reach. “Not again,” she groaned.
Angel took a deep breath. “You’ve found an Interactive Map! Use this to navigate your way around this particular area. Rooms will not show up unless you’ve been in them, but the room you’re in will flash to help you with navigation.” The map rolled up and Buffy promptly felt it in her hat.
“I hate that. It’s the fifth time that’s happened.”
Angel grinned, somehow. “Get used to it; every time you find something new, I’m obliged to do that.”
“You’re loving this, aren’t you?”
“On many levels. Try that door over there.”
Buffy jumped over the break in the ledge and the door opened automatically. She stepped through and it not only closed behind her, but it locked.
“Oh, shit,” Angel muttered. “Here you’ve got a Watchershrub. Use your shield to block the things he shoots at you, and they’ll bounce back. Once one hits him, catch him and threaten to beat him up for information.”
“What? You’re just trying to get me arrested, aren’t you? First stealing, now assault?”
“No, trust me, it works.”
“Okay, fine. Whatever you say.”
She did exactly as Angel described and the creature ducked away from her. “Ow-ow-ow! Forgive me, Master!”
Buffy frowned. “Master?”
“If I give you a clue, will you let me go?”
“Oh. Sure!”
The Watchershrub rambled on for a few minutes about how to roll out of a fall and then ran off, unlocking the door. It remained unlocked. Buffy frowned after it. “Would that even be classified as a hint?”
“Don’t complain.”
She looked at where the Watchershrub had been and winced. “It gave birth to a heart?”
“Buffy…”
“It gave BIRTH to a HEART? That is… what the fuck is this place?”
Angel sighed. “And I was so hoping to get a forestfolk who hadn’t led a sheltered life. Look, eat it or not. If you’re feeling top strength, leave it alone. Let’s just move on.”
Buffy winced and approached it slowly. She picked it up. “At least it’s not beating,” she muttered, and downed it in one. She coughed and sputtered for a few seconds. “That was gross, Angel.”
“You’ll get used to it. Don’t you feel better, though?”
“…I guess.”
“Great. Now, let’s keep going.” Buffy walked through the door on the other side of the room. It opened and closed automatically, but did not lock. “Okay, there’s a treasure chest at the other end. I recommend you jump down, climb the vines and use the platform as a way back. Besides, there are plants down there. They probably contain money or hearts at this point.”
Buffy blinked at her fairy as she jumped down. “Plants give birth to hearts, too?”
“Nevermind! Just open the chest already.”
Buffy climbed the vines and did as she was told. A slingshot jumped out and hovered out of her reach. “You found the slingshot! I think it should be pretty clear on how to use this but I never really know with you. Put a seed in the holder, pull it back and release. It should hit things. Use it mostly for killing stuff, but also for knocking things down!”
The slingshot, complete with 30 seeds, fell into her hat. “You done?” she asked her fairy.
“Yep. Let’s scram and hit those skullwalltulas.”
Buffy made her way back through the rooms and didn’t encounter the Watchershrub again. She took out her slingshot and tried to hit one of the skullwalltulas on the vines, missing. She tried again and hit it; it fell to the ground and dissolved, revealing three seeds where it just lay. “Neat,” Buffy murmured, picking up the seeds and following suit with the other two skullwalltulas. One of them left money.
“Why do these weird creatures have money?”
“They’re greedy. No other reason. Come on, let’s go. We don’t want The Great Watcher Giles to die before we get out of here, do we?” She climbed the vines and jumped down when she got to another level. Angel flew around. “Okay, Buff, there are some freaky spiders here called Skulltulas, but ignore them for now and walk through the door, killing everything in the room. I think there’s something else you need before you move on.”
Buffy did as she was told and the door locked behind her again. Out of curiosity, she stepped on a switch in the floor and three platforms rose up. She heard an odd ticking and decided to get moving, going to the area on her left first. Angel told her to ignore the giant skulltula and go for the golden one instead. “Those tokens can get you things on other regions, I’ve heard. Keep them. They could be useful.”
Buffy kicked open the small chest and groaned. “There are hearts in chests, too? Okay, officially not caring anymore.” She slashed the skulltula from behind and jumped down, gathering the money it left as it dissolved. She killed the Wesleywatcher and climbed the vines there were behind him, repeating the process and jumping to the back platform instead.
A small rounded object jumped above her head. She sighed as Angel began his rant: “You found the compass! Now all rooms on the Interactive Map are visible; the ones you’ve visited are still blue, the others empty. You can now also see hidden objects, such as chests! Congratulaaaations!”
Buffy felt another weight in her hat, but was in no way dehabilitated. “Congratulations?” she asked her fairy.
“I keep telling you not to ask, but you just don’t listen. We’ve got what we came for; let’s go kill some skulltulas.”
“Angel, the door’s still locked.”
“Oh… right. Well, here’s a lit torch, and here’s a non-lit torch. Maybe light it with one of those sticks and it’ll unlock.” She did; it did. She walked through and used her slingshot on the backside of the nearest skulltula since it hit her out of the way every time she used her dagger. It sprouted a heart and she ate it graciously, ignoring what she was eating and loved the results it gave her; the feeling of strength.
“Okay, now what?”
“Jump.”
She glared at her fairy. “Steal! Hit! Jump! You either want me in jail or dead. I don’t get you.”
“Hey, I’m only trying to help. Just do it, and aim for that webbing in the middle of the floor.”
Buffy looked over the edge. “Okay, but if I die, we are so not going to be on good terms.” She held her breath and jumped. She couldn’t help but scream on the way down. She broke through the webbing and fell further, screaming again and not stopping until she hit the cold water at the bottom. She broke surface and swam to the elevated platform, drying off almost instantly but still cold. “That was not cool,” she told Angel.
“I thought it was,” he said happily, jumping around. He pointed out a gold skulltula and she hit it with her slingshot and jumped to collect the token. She jumped on the switch, looked around and made the relation. Taking out a stick, she lit the stick on fire and jumped down and across, lighting the webbing across the door on fire. “See? You barely need me anymore.”
“Great. Go away.”
“Nice try. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” She walked through the door and got ambushed by another Watchershrub. She defeated it easily and caught it in a corner.
“Please forgive me, master!” it squealed.
“Again with the master. Not that I’m complaining, but…”
“If you spare me, I’ll teach you something cool. You will never beat my brothers up ahead unless you punish them in the proper order. The order is: 2 3 1. Twenty three is number one! Do you think I’m a traitor?” He ran off and left another heart behind.
“Honestly, I’m not sure at this point,” she muttered and stared at the still locked door. “Okay, no fair. And why is there an eye above the door? Is there something spying on me here? That’s not very nice.”
“Try slingshotting it,” Angel suggested. She complied, and the eye closed, opening the door.
“Hey! Smart fairy. You get praise.”
“Thank you,” he said proudly, and flew around. She walked through the door and immediately recoiled from the sight of the spikes.
“I don’t like this.”
“There’s something underwater,” Angel pointed out. She dove in and pushed something; the water level fell and another timer sounded. She hurried out of the water and jumped on the platform, jumping off again at the other side and catching her breath.
“Where does that timer noise even come from?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. I tried to track it… didn’t really succeed. It’s just… there, I think.”
“This whole place is really freaking weird.”
“You’re not wrong,” Angel told her. Buffy killed the skulltula and tried to jump to the above door and failed. “Pull the block,” he told her. She did until it was in front of the door, climbed on top of it and advanced into the next room.
She killed the Wesleywatchers and the Gileswatchers, backing away when the Gileswatchers just kept coming back. “All Gileswatchers do this,” Angel yelled as she fought the same one for a sixth time. “It’s just so you don’t get stuck in the room. Ignore it and light the torches already.” Reluctantly she backed away and did as he said, walking through the door.
She stepped forward and killed a skulltula. “Stop,” he whispered. “I sense something.” He whizzed around along the ceiling. Buffy watched him. “Eyghon babies. I think if you went around the room instead of through it, you could avoid fighting them.”
“Shouldn’t we kill them, though? I mean, to save The Great Watcher Giles’ spirit or whatever?”
“Eyghon babies…” he muttered. “I don’t think it matters anymore. I think all we need to do is defeat Eyghon.”
“How do you know I-gone or whatever is here?”
“There are Eyghon babies, which means that Eyghon must be in here to give birth to them. That’s probably the Great Watcher’s curse. We have to kill Eyghon.”
Buffy thought about all this as she mechanically got herself into the next room. She pushed the block off the edge without thinking and instantly gasped when she realized what she’d done.
“Don’t worry!” Angel said quickly. “You were supposed to do that. Now you can access that torch and light the webbing in the floor on fire.” He smelled the air. “We’re almost there. Just a bit further.”
She did as he said and fell through the hole in the ground, seeing water at the bottom. She screamed anyway and scrambled out of the cold water. “There are hearts in the water now, Angel.”
Angel didn’t say anything and Buffy realized that he was vibrating because he was snickering. “Stop that! It’s weird and ishy.” She stepped forward and immediately, three Watchershrubs jumped up and ambushed her. She conquered them one at a time to no avail.
“Remember what the other Watchershrub said, Buffy!” Angel yelled over the noise.
Buffy thought for a second. “Please forgive me, master?”
“No! Twenty three is number one! You have to kill them in the right order!”
“Oh,” Buffy said shortly and was promptly chasing down the final one.
“How did you know our secret?! How irritating!” it squealed when she caught it.
“Yeah, yeah. Get to the master part,” Buffy said.
“It’s so annoying that I’m going to reveal the secret of Eyghon to you!”
Buffy frowned. “Does that make any kind of sense? Did I even hear that right?”
The Watchershrub spoke for a while and Buffy listened carefully, even though she figured it was a trap. The Watchershrub apologized to Eyghon and then disappeared, leaving a heart behind.
“All right. You’re going to need full strength, Buffy. Eat some hearts if you have to, and let’s go.”
Buffy walked through the door into a room of black.
---
The door closed behind her. She waited for her eyes to adjust and then looked around the room carefully. A few plants littered the ground. She looked up and…
…made eye contact with a demon that was scaling the ceiling. It noticed her at the same time she noticed it, and jumped down, screaming and bearing its claws. Angel was shouting: “Its eye! Hit it in its eye! Stun it first, then hit it in the eye!”
Buffy nodded and took out her slingshot, hitting it when its eye turned red out of instinct. It fell to the ground and convulsed, and Buffy took out the dagger and hit it repeatedly. Finally Eyghon came to itself and retreated. Buffy, injured, slashed some plants and ate the hearts in one swift motion.
“Buffy…” Angel rumbled quietly. “Buffy, I think it’s laying eggs.”
Buffy whirled around to see Eyghon back on the ceiling and pulsating. “Eggs? I thought it was a boy demon!”
“It is,” Angel said shakily.
“What the fuck?!” Buffy asked.
“Nevermind! Slash the eggs as they fall! Don’t let them hatch.”
Buffy stepped forward and slashed two of them as quickly as she could, but she couldn’t get to the last one in time; it hatched to reveal a tiny, black, slimy creature that looked like a miniature version of Eyghon. Buffy hit it three times and eventually it died. Eyghon promptly jumped back down and Buffy took out her slingshot again. It collapsed and she hit it with the sword again.
It screamed a different scream and looked up. Buffy noticed the liquid spouting from its eye. Finally it collapsed and started piecing apart, exerting some kind of green gas. Soon there was nothing but a blue light in the centre of the room and a large heart in front of her.
Buffy hesitantly touched the heart in front of her and immediately it jumped just out of her reach. “Oh, not you, too,” she muttered.
“You got a heart container!” Angel announced. “Your maximum life energy is increased by one heart.” It disappeared completely this time, but Buffy felt instantly rejuvenated, as though someone had just fed her a magical draught or something.
“Geez,” she whispered. “Is this feeling permanent?”
“Yep,” Angel said, nodding. “But you’ll get used to it soon enough. Now you can eat up to three and three-quarters of a heart; if you had any less strength than that, you’d be dead.”
“Again with the moral support,” Buffy muttered, slowly circling the blue light in the middle of the room.
“Just remember, though… if you’re good enough, you might gather up to twenty heart capacity. Imagine the feeling then.”
Buffy sighed and stared at the light. “We’ll see if I get there. What’s this do?” she asked.
“Step into it; I think it’s the only way out of here,” Angel said.
Buffy glanced at him. He’d told her to do some questionable things, but he hadn’t been wrong yet. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
--
“Well done, Buffy,” the rumbling voice of The Great Watcher Giles said as she touched down back in his clearing. “Thou hast verily demonstrated thy courage. I knew that thou wouldst be able to carry out my wishes…
“Now, I have yet to tell ye, wouldst thou listen…”
“Sure. I’ve got time,” Buffy said, sitting down to the story.
“Listen carefully… a wicked man of the desert cast this dreadful curse upon me…”
An image filled Buffy’s mind of a man of immeasurable but dark power riding a black horse. He seemed familiar, but she couldn’t place him. The Great Watcher Giles’ voice filled her head. “This evil man ceaselessly uses his vile, sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected with Sunnydale, for it is in that realm that one will find the devine relic, the Box of Gavrok, which contains the essence of each of the Gods…”
The scene in Buffy’s mind changed and suddenly she was looking into the sky from a perspective far above earth. It is raining, and three golden lights begin to fall from the sky. “Before time began, before spirits and life existed, three golden goddesses descended on the chaos that was Sunnydale.
“Din, the Goddess of Power…
“Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom…
“And Farore, the Goddess of Courage.
“Din, with her flaming arms, cultivated the soil and the earth. Nayru poured wisdom, spirit and laws to the land, and Farore, with her rich soul, produced life forms to uphold the laws.
“The three Goddesses created the Box, each creating one of the three contents of the box where they left the world. The spot where the box lay has since become the Sacred Realm.”
Buffy was brought back to reality and she stood up after these bizarre cinematics in her head. “Thou must never allow the desert man in the black suit to lay his hands on the Box of Gavrok. Thou must never suffer that man with his evil heart to enter the Sacred Realm of Legend, that evil man who cast the death curse upon me and sapped me of my power.
“Because of that curse, my end is nigh.”
Buffy gasped. “Yes,” The Great Watcher Giles continued. “Though your valiant efforts to break the curse were successful, I was doomed before you started. I will pass away soon, but do not grieve for me. I have been able to tell you of these important matteres…
“This is Sunnydale’s final hope.
“Buffy!” The Great Watcher Giles proclaimed. “Go to Restfield Mansion. There thou will surely meet the Princess of Destiny. Take this stone with you, the stone that man wanted so much that he cast the curse on me.”
A flash of brilliant green light appeared, and when it cleared Buffy found herself helplessly reaching toward a sparkling green stone, just out of her reach. “Oh, fuck,” she said.
“You got the Forestfolk Emerald?!” Angel said in surprise. Then he regained his composure. “Oh. Uh, this is the Spiritual Stone of the forest, now entrusted to you by The Great Watcher Giles.” Buffy felt the greatest weight yet fall into her hat, though again it had no effect.
“The future depends upon thee, Buffy,” The Great Watcher Giles told her. She crumpled her face and tried hard not to tell him that she didn’t want that kind of pressure. “Thou art courageous. Angel the fairy, help Buffy to carry out my will. I entreat… ye… Angel… good… bye…” the Watcher said wearily, and promptly collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Angel flew over to his mentor and bounced around above his dying form. Buffy watched helplessly from afar and let Angel do as he liked. After a while, Angel flew back to her. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s go to Restfield mansion, Buffy.” She nodded sadly and turned away. Angel lagged behind for a second. “Goodbye, Great Watcher Giles,” he murmured, and joined Buffy in her retreat to town.
---
A/N: Yes, I am better at the game than this. I've played it probably two dozen times up to a certain point, but I wasn't as good as I am when I first started out; therefore, Buffy shouldn't either.
Also note: I changed the reference to the Triforce. If you see the term Triforce, replace it with Box of Gavrok. Thank you. *grin*
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