Work Text:
Title: Rooftop
Author: Lady FoxFire
Pairing(s): None
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Character death
Category(s): Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Setting: Post "The Gift", Pre "Bargaining Part 1"
Summary: The answer to the question is on the rooftop. Of course by the time you know what the question is, it will be too late.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series nor do I make any money from this fic.
Bad Author Notes: Don't ask me who the sniper is cause I have no clue. The guy just appear next to me, sat down and started to tell me this story. Totally different writing style than I'm used to writing. Hope you enjoy it.
Special thanks to the weapon lovers of the Yahoo group CaerAzkaban. Without their help this fic would be much less realistic as to what a sniper can and can not do with their weapon. Thanks guys.
I bet you're wondering why I'm on this tall rooftop in Sunnydale, California. And you're probably wondering what I'm doing with this sniper rifle.
Ok, ok, what you're really wondering is who my target is. Well you're going to have to wait on that one.
You're probably also wondering exactly why I'm doing this, well that should be obvious, I'm going to take someone out. You're probably thinking it's either for the money or for some twisted idea of revenge or justice. Well you're partially right. The money is nice but I would do this job for free, especially given who the target is.
So I expect you want to know the real reason why I'm sitting on this roof, staring down a scope while waiting for my target to appear. Well it's complex and to understand the answer you need to understand the big picture.
Now the big picture starts from when we're children. You see as kids, we're taught that pretty people are the good guys and ugly people are evil. Don't believe me? Look at the Disney movies. Cinderella's step-sisters were fugly. Cruella De Vil would never win a beauty contest. Ursula was truly the undersea sea hag of the cartoon world.
When we get older, Hollywood does it best to continue this line of reasoning unless you get into fantasy and science fiction but even then the really ugly ones are evil, just look at Aliens. They're ugly and really, really evil even if they are just animals.
Now if we have an evil but beautiful or handsome bad guy/girl, the hero/heroine will seduce the said bad guy/girl into become a good guy and then they go off to fuck like rabbits. Just look at all of the Bond girls. Pussy Galore comes to mind. As does Solitaire who changes sides after sleeping with Bond, granted she was a hostage at the time but you get the picture. And before you can suggest Elektra King, I can tell you that she doesn't count since she was just a crazy bitch.
So you see we're programmed to believe that the good guys are beautiful and the bad guys are ugly.
Now you're wondering what this has to do with anything. Well the answer to that is the target is beautiful... and evil. Since she was doing her crimes in the name of good, she�s always been forgiven for them. Yes, my target is a woman. Are you really that surprised by that fact, after all women make the best bad guys.
Unfortunately for me, I had my blinders ripped off a while back when I learned that evil isn't necessary ugly; of course ugly doesn't mean it's necessary good either. Evil is just evil. And good... well you just happen to be on its side at the moment so it won't come after you right now but it might later.
So here we are now. Me waiting for her to appear and you wondering exactly what is going on. You see there are crimes so bad that the person who committed them must be hurried along to meet their maker and that's my job. To give them an express ticket to the after-life.
What crime did that person commit that was so bad that it warranted her express ticket to the after-life? Give me a moment and I'll answer that.
~*~
The sniper eyed the target through the scope. Then in between exhale and inhale he pulled the trigger.
In the courtyard of the college, half a mile away from the sniper's nest, a girl with shoulder length red hair suddenly dropped to the ground. A moment later the courtyard was in chaos. A few students were running toward the girl to see if they could help while others were running for safety in case the sniper aimed for them next. And yet a few more stood still, frozen in shock.
Back on the roof top the sniper pulled back from the edge of the roof, policing himself as he went. Once the sniper was safely away from the edge he started to disassemble his rifle, placing each piece into a book bag.
Once the sniper was sure that everything was in its place and he had left nothing that could tie him back to what just happened, did he start for the stairs that led down from the roof.
~*~
I bet you're still wondering about what crime that girl committed. Well the answer is simple... a soul that has gone to its rest, its reward should remain there. It should never be pulled back down to earth and put back into its old body for any reason. It is only the will of whatever deity you believe in that can determine if a soul can come back to earth again.
The Kalderash gypsy clan paid severely for crime of pulling Liam's soul from its rest and forcing it to exist with the demon that took his place in his body. They did it in the name of revenge but how does punishing a soul who's only major crime was following his dick revenge? The demon probably got more pleasure from torturing Liam with the crimes the demon committed with his body than anything Liam could ever do to the demon.
Ms. Calendar or Janna of the Kalderash paid for her crime of trying to resurrect the curse her clan had used on Angelus. Of course Willow had to find the curse on that diskette and here we are today.
You should be happy about one thing, that girl wasn't able to pull one soul from its rest into a decaying body like she was planning to do. Of all those who pass on, Slayers deserve their rest most of all.
~*~
And with that the sniper swung his book bag on his shoulder and disappeared down the stairs to rejoin the throngs of humanity below.