We, Who Are About to Die, Salute You: Part Five
by Onua
"So it's safe to say that the Chosen Two doesn't refer to two Slayers? What happened with the second one anyway?"

Arthur cleared his throat. "Er, after the incident with Faith, the Council deemed it too dangerous to activate another Slayer. Such competition, we decided, was unhealthy."

Buffy gave a short laugh. "For one of us, anyway."

"Buffy," Whistler reprimanded.

"Sorry," Buffy sighed.

The three of them were all congregated in the apartment's living room, discussing their findings and trying to put the pieces together. Arthur cleared his throat again.

"Alright, now one question I have is what are 'the Gates'? The Pergamum makes many references to it," Arthur asked.

Buffy looked at Whistler. "You explain it."

"As I've told Buffy before, the Gates refer to the formal entrance to Hell. Human bodies are incompatible with those particular energies so anyone who enters or gets sucked in dies instantly."

"The author of the Pergamum Codex is from Hell?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"What gave you that idea?" Whistler asked curiously.

"The opening of the Pergamum. The very first lines…'Behold, for behind the Gates I undertaketh this task…'"

Whisler gave Buffy a look. "See? I told you we needed him."

"Don't remind me," Buffy replied. She leaned forward. "How does the very last part of the Pergamum translate? Willow almost got it before she- passed away- but I can't make any sense of it without her."

Arthur blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Geez, what language do they speak in England?"

"I-I'm sorry but, in my experience, I've never had a Slayer take on a Watcher's duty. Normally-"

"It's you say jump and the Slayer asks how high," Buffy interrupted sarcastically. "What do you think we are? Highly trained bloodhounds?"

Arthur opened his mouth to make a heated reply but caught a warning glance from Whistler. Instead, he flipped to the end of the Codex and he said, "Well, er, the last bit translates as *Three demons and one soul shall conjoin where once hidden and be it for light or dark, determine the arrival of dawn. If one of four doth not appear, balance shalt be askew and none may prevent the coming of Chaos. Herein lies-* " Arthur looked up. "That's where it breaks off."

Buffy got up from her seat and started pacing. "I remember Oz talking to me about inter-dimensional authors and such a few years back. Since the Pergamum had translated a part of it by itself a couple of days ago wouldn't that mean that the guy who wrote it is still alive in Hell?"

Arthur stared at the Slayer slack-jawed.

Buffy consciously put her hand to her head. "What, Travers? Is there something wrong with my hair?"

"I-I…"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Buffy asked, almost sadly. "A Vampire Slayer is just as human as you are. Haven't you ever realized that?"

Whistler eyed the Watcher closely. "Buffy? Why don't we all go to bed? It's late and I know how cranky you humans get if you don't get your beauty sleep."

Buffy paused. Obviously Whistler had caught something about Arthur that she hadn't. "Yeah, I guess I'm feeling kinda tired." She eyed the Watcher and demon critically. "I normally fall asleep on my desk reading and translating. There's a small guestroom in the back. Travers can sleep there. I'm sorry, but," Buffy faltered, "I just can't bring myself to offer Giles's bedroom. It hasn't been touched since-" Buffy stopped talking. She could barely breathe, her chest was so tight.

Thankfully, Whistler rescued her. "No problem. I can sleep anywhere; it's okay. C'mon, Arthur, I'll show you the room since I've been here before. Buffy, the sofa's pretty comfy. Go for it."

Buffy swallowed. "Thanks."


* * *
"Allow me to give you a tour of your room," Whistler said extravagantly. "Bed. Dresser. Closet. End of tour. Any questions?"

Arthur smiled slightly. "She's quite a girl. I have never seen anything like it."

Whistler started studying the furniture. "The Slayer, you mean?"

"Yes. A decade or so ago, I was stationed in Hong Kong when a Slayer was activated in the area. Buffy reminds me of what Yuan-Li used to be before she was activated. The human persona is an amazing thing."

Whistler gave the Watcher a long look. He found himself becoming a mediator again. Geez, he'll never escape his job. "Persona had nothing to do with it, Arthur."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked curiously.

"It was not so much as persona than it was the lifestyle."

"Well, that would stand to reason, Yuan-Li grew up in a different country, with different ethics and culture-"

"That's not what I meant, Arthur," Whistler interrupted. He sighed and knew that if Arthur and Buffy were ever to work together, they both had to go through this. "When you get right down to it, young teenage girls are the same all over the world. Around that age, they start to have dreams and hopes and feel out their independence. Imagine how those girls feel if they were told that they might die in a year or two?"

"Horrible, I'd imagine."

"You can say that and never realize that's exactly what you do to that *Chosen One*? One girl who has the strength and power to fight the forces of darkness?"

"They are chosen because it is their destiny," Arthur replied stiffly. He couldn't understand the demon's attitude. "It is fate that turns them to Slayers. The activation process is completely random."

"I have it on best authority that Buffy would not have even lasted two years if it weren't for the people she's met. In fact, she the first Slayer that I've come across to have friends."

"Many girls have friends, Whistler."

"And how can a Slayer have friends when you specifically tell them to keep their identities a secret? If it weren't for her friends' support, Buffy would've languished away exactly like your Yuan-Li."

"Don't you compare my methods to Rupert's," Arthur said coldly.

Whistler gave the Watcher a strange look. "And how the heck did you arrive to that conclusion. Look at you. Why does even mentioning Yuan-Li bother you so much, Arthur?"

"It's none of your business, Whistler." Arthur pointed to the door. "I believe this conversation is finished."

Damn! He blew it! Whistler shook his head at his failure. Diplomacy was never one of his strong points. How in the world did he even get stuck with his aspect in the first place?


* * *
Buffy lied down staring at the ceiling. She had heard Arthur and Whistler have a conversation but they had kept their voices low so she wasn't able to hear a thing. They were only an inch closer to their goal. Come to think of it, Buffy wasn't even sure about what the goal was in the first place. There had to more than just a hunt for pieces of paper. She figured that there was something in those missing manuscripts that everyone just wanted to have their hands on. She disliked the complexity of this whole idea.

The past fourteen years, it was mostly simple. Oftentimes, it was *her* and *them*. She was always the good guy and those mean bad things that ate and killed people had to be pummeled and stopped. Even as her friends and loved ones had dropped like flies, Buffy had continued to fight. Perhaps it was time to stop. She had given so much for the world. Could she ever live in peace?

She practically gave and sacrificed everything to do what was right. She always had managed to keep the larger picture in mind. But now they were asking for more. She couldn't believe it. Buffy found tears running down her face as she felt frustration growing in her gut. It never ended.

Suddenly, she got up. She couldn't sleep and she had promised herself that she would see through all this. Whistler hinted that this would be the last challenge she'd face. If that would be true… Buffy headed over to where Giles had kept all his Slayer lore and combed through the titles. Black Chronicles, Writings of Dramius, Tiberius Manifesto, Legends of Vishnu… Buffy looked closer. There was something stuck in between two extremely thick tomes. Carefully, she pulled it out. It was a pamphlet. Except for the word "Pergamanti," she couldn't read the rest of it. If anything, Willow taught Buffy that words that looked similar often meant a connection. Buffy smiled slightly. Bingo.

Seating herself at her desk, she flipped the packet open and stared at pure gibberish. As if she was gonna get anywhere tonight with this. Buffy looked up and then sharply looked behind her. Whistler.

"What are you doing up?"

"I was gonna ask you the same," the demon replied, pulling up a chair.

Buffy rubbed her eyes. "Look, I found this in the shelves somewhere. Care to tell me this means?" She handed the pamphlet over to him.

Whistler widened his eyes as he stared at the title. "Drach Vier Pergamanti Sicost," he read. "Deathlife of the Pergamum Prophet. Buffy, where did you find this?"

"In between some books Giles had, why?"

Whistler, however, was lost in his own world. "Why on earth would Giles have this?" he mumbled.

"Whistler!" Buffy said exasperatedly.

"Sorry, kid. I was just surprised to see something like this. We thought the last copy of it was destroyed in the Nakash Wars."

"We?"

Whistler rolled his eyes. "That's beginning to get annoying, kid."

"Whatever. So how would Giles find himself a copy?"

"I already asked that."

Buffy pursed her lips. "So what's in this thing that's so earth shattering?"

Whistler quickly flipped through some pages and widened his eyes at his findings. "It's a memoir of sorts. We have evidence here that the Prophet was human."

Buffy narrowed her eyes. "That's impossible. We just agreed a couple of hours ago that the author of the Pergamum was alive in Hell."

"What's alive in Hell? They don't call that 'the land of the dead' for nothing, kid."

"That doesn't make any sense, Whistler. You made it crystal clear. Any human who enters Hell dies before he can take a breath. How can this 'Prophet' cross the line without heading for a grave?"

Whistler flipped a few more pages before sinking deeply in thought.

"Whistler, you're on Earth right now. Earth to Whistler. Snap out of it," Buffy said, feeling edgy.

"When Arthur wakes up, go talk to him about Giles," Whistler finally said. "I have to think through this more."

"Should I tell him about this?" Buffy gestured at the ancient packet lying in Whistler's lap.

"Whatever. Just do as I say. Call it my own spidey-sense, if you will."

"Hey, I'm the only one who gets to have the spidey-sense. Go find some other ESP line."

"Go to sleep, Buffy."

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