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The Waiting

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Btvs The subject of this article is non-canonical.
While created as part of licensed material, it has not been confirmed as part of the "real" Buffyverse continuity.
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"The Waiting" is a prose short story of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Roleplaying Game book series. Written by Christopher Golden, it was originally published on August 15, 2002, by Eden Studios.

Summary[]

Buffy is waiting for a vampire to rise in Crestwood Cemetery. The wind still makes her shiver despite the few years she has been a Slayer and training with her Watcher, Giles. She complains and sits by a gravestone, and Sasha Kopeki suddenly begins to rise. Buffy knew her from the brief time she was in the Sunnydale High cheerleading squad, but Sasha was a student at UC Sunnydale when a vampire got her.

Sasha crawls out of her grave and sees Buffy, whom she recognizes. Buffy takes her stake and declares she doesn't remember her: her corpse and memories belong to Sasha, and the vampire is only living off her corpse. Sasha attacks Buffy, and the Slayer fights back. Buffy stakes Sasha's heart, who says again that she remembers Buffy. As the vampire turns into dust, Buffy repeatedly says she doesn't.

Buffy turns to leave the cemetery. She considers going to the Bronze, where she can meet her friends, have fun, forget what happened, and fill her life with things that mattered and were worth fighting for. As a Slayer, she would be lucky to live a long life, so there was nothing worse than the boredom of waiting in a graveyard.

Continuity[]

  • Buffy's senior Sasha Kopeki graduated high school in the previous spring, the story taking place during Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 3.
  • Sunnydale is described as having thirteen cemeteries. In "Revelations," Giles mentioned there were twelve within the city limits.
  • Buffy reflects about having dealt with many things in the last few years since she had learned she was the Slayer, which happened in 1996 in The Origin, Part One.
  • Buffy reflects she'd be lucky to make it out of her teens; she became twenty years old between the episodes "Triangle" and "Checkpoint."
  • Buffy is described as not following the Watchers Council's idea that she had to alienate all her friends to be an effective Slayer. Buffy first complained about it in "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and reinforced her point in "What's My Line? Part Two."
  • Buffy remembers seeing Sasha in the brief time she was part of the Sunnydale High cheerleading squad, in the episode "Witch."
  • Buffy accuses Sasha, as a vampire, only having her memories of being Sasha without being herself. Giles first told her this interpretation in the episode "Angel."

Appearances[]

Individuals[]

Organizations and titles[]

Species[]

Locations[]

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Death count[]

  • Sasha Kopeki, staked by Buffy in Crestwood Cemetery.

Behind the scenes[]

Production[]

  • "The Waiting" was originally published as a foreword for the Core Rulebook.
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