Divergence (Portal, Part 4)
Title: Divergence (Portal, Part 4)
Author: kanedax
Fandom: Buffyverse
Spoilers: Buffy: The Origin (graphic novel, 1999); Previous Chapters
Characters/Pairings: Buffy/Pike, Merrick, Lothos
Rating: R for language, sexual situations, and violence
Summary: Cordelia’s wish finds its epicenter
Notes: This particular chapter is based on Dark Horse’s miniseries Buffy: The Origin. Written by Christopher Golden, the four-issue series is based on the original 1992 movie, and considered by Joss as being the closest thing to pre-series canon. Knowledge of the series itself is not important, as I’ll eventually take it on a new path.
I don’t own these characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and Dark Horse comics.
The Real World / Previous Chapters / Never Again
May 5, 1996
A quiet knock interrupted Quentin Travers’s quiet study. He looked up from the report, adjusted his reading glasses, and leaned back in his chair.
“Enter,” he said solemnly. The door swung open, and a young (by Watcher’s standards, of course), bespectacled man entered the office.
“You requested a meeting, Mr. Travers?” the young man asked.
“I did,” Quentin said with a nod. “I see you brought all of the requested paperwork?”
“Yes, sir,” the man replied, hastily adjusting the large bundle that was slowly slipping in his grasp. “Is this what I think it is, Mr. Travers? I’m being assigned?”
“Indeed it is,” said Quentin. “Sit down, Rupert. I’ll fill you in on the details.”
Rupert Giles nodded and, with a sigh of relief, set his signed paperwork on Quentin’s large oak desk before seating himself across the way.
“So where is she?” asked Rupert. “The next Potential?”
“You’re not being assigned to a Potential,” said Quentin.
“Oh,” Giles said, carefully masking his disappointment. “Am I being assigned to teach, then? To train?”
“In a way,” Quentin said, opening the manila folder that had been resting on his desk for the past few hours. Ever since he had received the news.
“Oh,” Giles repeated. “Sir, if I may be so bold…”
“You may…”
“I do not believe that it is in the best interest of the Council to assign me as a trainer,” Giles said with fluttering self-confidence. “I… I believe that I have… that I have proven myself in my years here… that I… that I would be of more use with a Potential than I would be in a classroom, training other Watchers.”
“I agree,” Quentin said simply.
Giles’s mouth dropped open. “You… you agree, sir?”
“I do,” Quentin said. “And it would do you well in the future, Mr. Giles, to not speak out of place in my presence, do you understand?”
“Yes,” Giles said quietly, his face paling. “I am sorry, sir.”
“No need,” Quentin said, waving Rupert off. “You are not being assigned a Potential, nor are you being assigned a position here at the Academy.
“You are being assigned the Slayer herself.”
Giles stared at Quentin in confusion. “Excuse me?”
“Buffy Summers,” Quentin continued, not caring to mask his distaste for the horrible name. Americans, he thought. Whatever are they teaching in those schools?
“But…” Giles stammered. “But Miss Summers has already been assigned a Watcher. Jamison-Smythe, yes?”
“But not for much longer,” Quentin explained. “The Oracles are stating that Merrick Jamison-Smythe will die tonight.”
“Oh,” Giles said quietly, leaning back in his chair. “Oh, dear.”
“Indeed,” Quentin said with a brief nod. “Miss Summers will be left without a Watcher. And we in the Council believe that you are qualified to take the next step in your career.”
“Well… well, thank you, sir!” Giles said haltingly. “I… I don’t… this is quite a shock.”
“It will be difficult to place you quickly, of course,” Quentin said, absently flipping through Giles’s documents. “Even with our influence, getting you a visa was easy. However, finding a place of employment will be difficult.”
“I understand…”
“You will be leaving for Sunnydale, California immediately,” Quentin explained. “The Oracles believe that that is where you will cross paths with Miss Summers, although they haven’t given a timeline. It may be tomorrow, it may be next year.”
“So I should search for her?” Giles asked.
“No,” Quentin replied. “The vampires will jump at a chance to attack a Watcherless Slayer. The last thing we want to do is make our presence known by sniffing around. The Oracles say that she will come to Sunnydale. We’ll simply be sending you there to wait.”
“And in the meantime?”
“We should be able to find you suitable employment,” Quentin said, flipping to another page in the folder. “One which will give you the greatest opportunity to find Miss Summers.
“You can finally put your library studies to good use, Mr. Giles.”
“This one may surprise you,” said Merrick Jamison-Smythe, doing his best to stand firm before the ancient vampire who now towered over him. “She’s not like the others. Doesn’t play our way. I don’t even think she knows how strong she is.”
Through the steam emanating from the boy’s car, crashed against the tree, Lothos stared down at the walrus-faced Watcher. The vampire could tell that the Merrick’s considerable girth was quivering beneath his billowing trench coat. “Such drooling sentiment from a Watcher?” he asked. “I’m all aglow. Surely she’s not that special, particularly if she was raised here.”
As Lothos spoke, he raised his hand to make an example of the neighborhood in where they stood. “Expensive houses,” he continued. “Plush lawns. And tiny, yapping dogs. A soft place. Surely you can’t believe that a warrior could come from such opulence?”
“You did,” Merrick growled.
“That was a different time,” Lothos said dismissively. “Even the rich and powerful needed a survival instinct during the plagues. Not like today. What’s the Slayer to do when I find her? File a lawsuit? Call her psychotherapist? Perhaps we could discuss our feelings and come to a mutual understanding?”
“Merrick!”
Merrick and Lothos both turned to the see the young blonde sprinting towards them.
“Oh, my,” Lothos said with a smile. “It appears someone would like to join us.”
“No!” Merrick screamed. “Get away from here, girl!”
Buffy Summers stopped in her tracks. Merrick saw the stake she was carrying poised and ready.
The arrogance of this girl, Merrick thought. Already thinks she can fight him…
“You’re not ready for this,” he continued. “Go!”
“Well, well,” Lothos said serenely, turning his back on Merrick to face Buffy. “All this for me?”
Merrick watched in horror as Buffy slowly backed away from the advancing vampire. Instinctually, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pistol.
It won’t kill him, he thought as he aimed at Lothos’s cloaked back, but it should at least distract him.
“Girl,” Merrick growled, only vaguely hearing the sound of squealing tires in the background, “for once in your life, do…”
Blam!
“…as you…”
Blam!
“…are told!”
Blam!
Lothos, thankfully, turned back to Merrick as the boy pulled up behind Buffy, the rear tire of his motorcycle sliding on the pavement.
“You heard the man, Buffy!” the boy yelled. “Get on!”
Buffy’s head spun back and forth between Merrick and the motorcycle, torn about which way was right.
“Let’s go, now,” the boy continued anxiously, “before I realize how stupid it was to come back!”
Buffy grunted in frustration, then hopped on the back of the motorcycle, which peeled rubber before speeding away, leaving Merrick and Lothos in the distance.
“You insult me with that?” Lothos growled, reaching out to take the gun from Merrick’s hand.
“Just a distraction,” Merrick said with a smirk. “You’ll not have this one. Not this time.”
There comes a time in every person’s life where they face a choice.
While the universe is made up of an infinite number of realities, made from an infinite number of choices, the fact remains that most of these parallel realities are, in fact, so similar to each other that you could hop from one to another and never know it.
One reality boasts that Ronald Reagan pulled in 54,455,472 votes in the popular vote for the 1984 presidential election, while a parallel universe had him pulling in 54,455,471 after Cassandra Purndine of Raleigh, NC decided that she’d rather watch AfterMASH than go out and vote.
Another reality was created when Anton Petrov of Sliven, Bulgaria was talked into going back for seconds at dinnertime on August 19th, 1968.
Then there’s the particularly wacky universe where Jack Kirby decided to color The Incredible Hulk more of a bluish green.
These inane choices pass us by the millions each day. In the grand scheme of things, they are meaningless.
And then there are the important choices…
Some may live their entire lives without ever coming upon these choices. The kinds of decisions that start a ripple effect, stretching out into the past and the future. And unless you’re an assassin with a world leader in your scope, or a president with their finger on The Button, you rarely have the opportunity to recognize the importance of these decisions until it’s already been made.
You can only hope that, when the time comes, you recognize your opportunity for change, and hope to whatever power is above that you make the correct decision. One that will put your universe on a path to success rather than ruin.
And then, of course, there are the times when your life is changed without you even having a say in the matter.
Because sometimes, without you knowing it, someone else changes your destiny…
“Shit!”
“What?”
“Hold on to me…”
Buffy’s mind was still behind her, over one hundred yards away, where Lothos and Merrick were having a war of words. She knew that that war would be done soon. And there would be blood.
Because of that, she barely even comprehended what Oliver Pike said before he squeezed the brakes on the motorcycle, causing it to spin 180 degrees and back towards the scene. Thankfully, her Slayer instincts took over, and she was able to grab onto him without being thrown to the pavement.
“Jump when I tell you,” Pike muttered to her.
“What are you doing?” Buffy yelled as Pike twisted the throttle. The narrow wheels squealed on the pavement, and before she knew it they were rocketing back towards the two adversaries.
“Letting my conscience be my guide,” Pike said. “Fucking cricket…”
“If you have a plan, say it,” Buffy said quickly. “We’re running out of street.”
“I’m ramming him,” Pike said. “Jump when I say.”
“No,” Buffy replied.
“No?”
“No,” she repeated, amazed that her Slayer instincts were taking hold so quickly. Formulating a plan of attack. She never thought like this before…
“Why?”
“Aim for his left shoulder,” Buffy said. “And stay low.”
“You going to explain this any further?” Pike asked.
“No,” Buffy said shortly, pushing Pike low on the bike with her left hand while positioning the stake (a long one, thankfully) behind her back in her right. “Just do it.”
Pike opened his mouth to protest further, but in the end just did as he was told. Lay low. Go faster. Aim for his left side…
Jump, you bastard, Buffy willed. Jump to your right, jump to your right…
Fifty feet…
Forty…
Thirty…
Lothos looked up.
“I have her face,” Lothos said with a sinister grin as he stared down Merrick. “And after I make you mine - a vampire - you will give me her name, even kill her for me if I command it.”
Merrick closed his eyes. Accepted the inevitable. “Not in this lifetime.”
Merrick Jamison-Smythe lifted the pistol. Opened his mouth. Felt the cold steel press against his jaw.
“No!”
Merrick heard the roar of the gunpowder. And the thud of the bullet as it connected with the bridge of his mouth.
Only the roar wasn’t the gun. And the thud wasn’t the bullet.
He hadn’t even pulled the trigger yet…
Merrick opened his eyes to see Lothos falling to the ground. He heard the squealing of metal, and saw Oliver Pike’s motorcycle skidding along the road, Buffy and Pike sliding along with it. Buffy still had her stake, now shattered, clutched in her hand.
She used it as a club, Merrick thought absently, his hand shaking as he lowered the gun. Hit Lothos with it…
Thank goodness they’re both wearing leather jackets, or they’d be stripped raw.
“Merrick!” Buffy yelled, running towards her Watcher.
“Buffy!” Merrick yelled. “I ordered you…!”
“Screw orders,” said Buffy, grabbing his arm. “We gotta get out of here.”
Merrick and Buffy both looked down onto the grass, where Lothos was already up onto his hands and knees. A shot to the head at high speed could dizzy a vampire. But not for long…
“Merrick,” Buffy panted. “Merrick, we have to run.”
“Leave me,” said Merrick. “You can’t…”
“Why the fuck do you think we came back?” Buffy cried. “You’re coming with us.”
“On foot?” Merrick huffed. “I doubt I could keep up.”
As if in answer, the engine of the crashed automobile roared to life.
“Woo!” Merrick heard Pike howl from inside the car’s cab. “That’s my baby!”
“Not on foot,” Buffy said quickly. “Now let’s move.”
Merrick, finding no more strength to argue with his charge, jumped into the back seat of the car while Buffy dove through the shattered passenger window.
“She’s not going to give us triple digits anymore,” Oliver said as he punched the car into reverse, staring at the crumpled front hood like it was a battered lover. “But she’ll get us away.”
Buffy looked back to see that Lothos had now regained his footing. He was still wobbling slightly. Another few seconds and…
“Less talk, more drive.”
And as the car drove away into the night, followed by the vampire Lothos’s howl of rage, the world as they knew it changed.
Merrick Jamison-Smythe was to have died that night; a self-inflicted gunshot wound should have removed the top of his skull, along with most of his brain, as Buffy Summers and Oliver Pike escaped into the night.
Buffy was to defeat Lothos at her school’s prom, with very little Slayer training, and accidentally burn down the gym in the process.
Joyce and Hank Summers were to place Buffy Summers in a mental institution, and soon divorce.
Buffy and Joyce Summers were to move to 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California. Buffy was to meet Rupert Giles, her new Watcher, along with her two greatest friends: Willow Rosenberg and Alexander Harris.
Buffy Summers was destined to save the save the world.
A lot.
Because Buffy Summers and Oliver Pike chose to save Merrick Jamison-Smythe that May night, nothing went according to plan.
Fucking cricket…
The Real World / Previous Chapters / Never Again