Dark Moon: Pt One - Waxing Moon

[please pardon any formatting errors... this is my first time post on ADF... I'm hoping to become motivated to start writing again!]




“You know, Will, the more I think about it, the more I’m starting to like the idea of a Vampire Slayer,” commented Xander as he lie on his back on Giles’ desk tossing his baseball towards the ceiling, “I mean, I know it’s kinky, but at the same time, well, wow!”



Xander had that goofy look on his face that he only got when he was thinking of one thing: sex. Of course, that meant that he wore that look most of the day.



The two were in Giles’ study, which had become the typical hang-out for the Scooby Gang ever since the destruction of the school. Although the room was not nearly as large as the school library, it easily contained as many rare books on Demons and the occult as Giles had stored at the school. Fortunately for Giles, he had been able to remove the complete collection of books from the school prior to the explosion, as Buffy had made him fully aware of what she intended to have happen. Some of the books now resided on Willow’s shelves, while still others had found their way into Oz and Buffy’s respective rooms. Knowing Xander’s history of returning books to the library in less than pristine condition, Giles quickly agreed with Xander that he had little use for storing the books, as he rarely read them unless forced.



Willow was sitting in the easy-chair, reading a book about the origins of the Slayer. Even with the sudden lack of Demon activity in Sunnydale, she had fallen behind in her research, and was desperately trying to catch up. She looked up briefly and said, “But Buffy is a Vampire Slayer.”



“No, I mean a Vampire Slayer who is a Vampire.”



A quick flicker of surprise crossed her face. “She’d be evil. All Vampires are evil, remember?” Willow said slowly, “Well, all except for Angel, but that’s only because of the curse.”



Willow smiled brightly, then said, “Hey, I recreated the world’s only good Vampire, didn’t I! Not bad for a little Jewish girl, huh.”



Xander sat up and jumped off the desk. He tossed his baseball up a final time, caught it, then tossed it at Willow, who was deeply involved in her book. The ball hit her squarely on her left shoulder, causing her to cry out in both surprise and pain.



“Whoops! Sorry, Will!” Xander apologised as he retrieved his ball, “I thought maybe you had your ‘Witchy radar’ on.”



“Ow, no.”



“Anyway, I was thinking that if Faith did end up as a Vampire, you could put one of those nifty curses on her too. Then we’d have an even more supernatural Slayer on our side.”



“Xander, you’re implying that Faith had a soul in the first place. I think we both know that she would probably enjoying playing with the Vampires more than with us. She already took the bad guys’ side with the Mayor.”



“Do you think he was boinking her?” Xander pondered, more to himself than to Willow.



“Xander!” exclaimed Willow, dropping her book in shock, “You’re not supposed to think about that. Besides, even if he was, would you really want to know?”



“I’m a guy, and I’m 18. Sex is the only thing I do think about on a regular basis. Of course I would want to know!” He paused for a moment, then asked, “Well, do you think he was?”



Willow was flustered, and had a difficult time getting the words out. “I don’t know... maybe... he did really seem to like her, but at the same time, I don’t think she as his type. She was, well, you know, too wild.”



“Opposites do attract.”



“But opposites that extreme?”



“I’ve got three words for you: Me and Cordy.”



“Ugh,” said Willow, “You have a point.”



Willow still wasn’t a huge fan of Cordelia Chase, but who could blame her after all the time Cordelia spent tormenting her. Even worse was the fact that she lost her childhood love, Xander, to her. That was the breaking point for Willow; she gave up on Xander after that, and moved on to Oz.



Since graduation, nobody had really had much of a chance to talk to Cordelia, though, as she had pulled up all stakes an moved to the big city, in search of fame and fortune. Whether she would find it, no one knew.



Some people just couldn’t live without money, and Cordy was one of them.



Although she would never admit it out loud, it still hurt Willow to think about Cordelia and Xander, even if she had moved on and was with Oz. Xander was her first love, and deep inside, she knew she would always carry a flame for him.



“Did Xander and Cordelia have sex?” she thought silently, “I know Faith was his first, but what happened after? Sure, they were fighting, but they always have had a love-hate relationship... Xander once said that was one of the things that turned him on the most about her.”



Pushing the images out of her mind, Willow quickly changed the subject back to Faith. “What do you think is going to happen if we don’t find out what happened to Faith?” she asked him.



“Huh?” Xander had apparently been lost in his own thoughts, but quickly recovered, and said, “Maybe nothing. It’s not like she would be the first girl to vanish from Sunnydale.”



“He was probably thinking of Cordelia!” thought Willow.



“Man, Willow is something else,” thought Xander, “If only I could get her and Buffy together in my room...”



The silence between them was deafening.



“Um, I guess that’s true,” said Willow, trying to bring things into their normal comfort range. Changing the subject yet again, she then said, “Do you know when Giles said he’d be back from the Library?”



“Around nine, but he also that he was going to stop by Buffy’s for a tutoring session.”



“But Buffy is out doing patrols!”



“Exactly,” said Xander with a hint of a smirk on his face.



“God! Does he ever stop thinking of sex?” Willow thought desperately.



“Why does she keep steering the conversation towards sex?” a puzzled Xander thought.



“Hey guys, what’s up?” asked Buffy as she strode into the study.



“Nothing, really. You’re back early, though. It’s only ten o‘clock,” said Willow, “No Vamps tonight?”



“I only saw one; but the face looked extremely familiar.”



“Was it Angel?” Willow blurted out hopefully.



Xander quickly shot Willow a look that clearly said, “Forbidden subject, don’t go there.”



“Nope,” answered Buffy, trying to hide the hurt that reflected in her eyes with the mention of his name, “Guess again.”



“I don’t know who else is could be, Buffy.”



“Give us a hint,” pleaded Xander.



“Well, let’s just say that it’s a good thing ‘Miss Designer Label’ Cordelia wasn’t around.”



“Oh, let me guess!” said Xander, “It must have been a Vampire who was wearing last month’s fashions... was it Harmony?”



“You get two points,” replied Buffy, pointing her finger at him.



“Cha-ching!” yelled Xander, raising his arms in the air like a crazed sports fan, “He scores!” He then began his victory dance.



“I would have guessed it was Harmony... eventually,” Willow squeaked, resenting the fact that for once Xander had given the correct answer before she.



“It’s ok, Will,” Xander teased with a happy grin on his face, “Maybe next time you’ll get it... if I’m not around!”



“You were lucky, Harris!” Xander’s smile was infectious, and Willow began laughing. She playfully punched him in the stomach.



“Let’s stay above the belt!” cried Xander as he feigned pain, and held his injured stomach.



“You’re such a big baby,” said Buffy, shaking her head with a smile.



“So tell me, Buffy. Did you stop by your house before you came here?” asked Xander with a wicked grin on his face. He had recovered from his ‘injury’ quickly.



Buffy rolled her eyes towards the ceiling. “At this point, I don’t want to feel icky every time I think about sex. I’ll go home when I know it’s safe.”



“Ok, here’s a quick question for ya,” said Xander, tossing his ball at the ceiling again, “Do you think the Mayor was boinking Faith?”



“Um, hello!” came Buffy’s sarcastic reply, “Previous answer applies, I don’t want to think about it!”



Willow had settled herself back into her chair with her book again. Several times, her brow furrowed as she concentrated on the text.



“Buffy, have you ever read the history in this book?



“Not likely,” came the reply, “What book is it?”



“The Slayer’s Handbook”



A slightly crooked smile crossed Buffy’s lips as she wryly said, “I meant to get to that book.”



“Listen to this,” said Willow, as she began to read aloud.



“Legends refer to the existence of the first Vampyre as having been created in Attica, during the harvest season in 2054 BCE. It was a time when daemons roamed the Earth freely, and fed upon the mortal creatures that inhabited her surface. As with all things, a time came when they realised it was time to move on to other feeding grounds; namely, the Hellmouth, known to inhabitants of the region as Tartarus or the Underworld.



“Just before the last of the Old Ones descended into the Hellmouth, a humanoid creature with bat-like wings and dagger-like canine teeth called Kxynthaion fed on the blood of a human male. The man fought valiantly, but without weapons, he was limited in his defence. In desperation, he bit into the flesh of the daemon and unwittingly swallowed some of the creature’s blood before Kxynthaion killed him.



“With the human dead and his hunger sated, Kxynthaion tossed his body to the ground, and proceeded to vanish from this realm forever. Whether Kxynthaion knew of the ramifications of allowing a mortal to taste his blood is unknown, as the Old Ones had fed from humans before, without any negative consequences.



“However, on this occasion, the exchange of blood led to the birth of a daemon within the man’s body, and the loss of his soul forever. Hence, the first Vampyre was born, being neither pure man nor pure daemon, a monstrosity doomed to walk the Earth for all eternity.



“It is said, that when he rose in his new state later that night, he travelled back to his home, and upon gaining entry to his home, he proceeded to feed off his consort, who was pregnant with the man’s chyld. He attempted to transform her into a Vampyre as well, by allowing her to partake of his blood as he had of Kxynthaion’s, but was fought off by his eldest son, who wielded fire as a weapon. The Vampyre fled, and soon found others to feast from, and created others in his own form from the victims he favoured.



“Just prior to her own impending death as a result from her grievous injuries, the woman gave birth to her chyld, a daughter. As the women had unwillingly partook of some of her consort’s blood, she too was destined to rise again. But the chyld she gave birth to had a different destiny, for she had not lost her soul to the daemon born within her mother.



“The blood of the daemon gave the chyld the power, the strength, the speed, and the heightened senses that the Vampyre had possessed. Removed by her elder siblings to a safer place, she grew older, and was taught of the circumstances surrounding her parent’s demise. The chyld of the Vampyres, given the name Iereia by her eldest brother, vowed that she would bring an end to the Vampyre plague.



“Although she did not succeed in ridding the Earth of all the Vampyres, she did destroy many, and discovered many methods of dispatching them. Despite being a Slayer of Vampyres, she also gave birth to several chyldren, each sworn to follow in her footsteps, and destroy any Vampyres that their paths may have crossed. According to various legends, Iereia lived to be one hundred forty-three years of age before her demise, which exceeded the average lifespan by more than a century. Apparently, this is owed to the infusion of daemon blood prior to her birth.



“At the time of her death, Iereia had given birth eighteen chyldren of her own; seven of whom were daughters. Each daughter appeared to possess the same unique strengths as their mother, as have all of the female descendants of that line. It is from this line that the Vampyre Slayer was born, initially with Iereia, then her daughter Skirophoria, and so forth.



“It appears that with the curse, a legacy was born; a chance for hope despite the darkness. From the very Scourge comes the Saviour. Although it is unknown as to how these magicks work, it appears that as one Slayer is defeated, the next is called to take on her duty as the Slayer. So long as the male chyldren of the line keep having female chyldren of their own, the line of the Slayer should continue for as long as Vampyres roam this Earth.”



Both Xander and Buffy stared at Willow with wide eyes, amazed at the story that had been presented to them. Willow closed the book with a satisfying snap, letting a small smile play across her lips. Buffy was the first to speak.



“Wow,” was all she could say.



“See what you can learn if you do a little research,” Willow told her, “Incredible, isn’t it!”



“Does it say whether she died of natural causes at the age of one hundred forty-three, or was she still fighting?”



Willow scanned the pages, then began to speak once again.



“Although there is no existing evidence to support that the legends of Iereia’s powers are true, it can be assumed that perhaps she was as immortal as the Vampyres who were once her parents. All stories claim that she made Slaying her way of life, taking a leave of absence only to go into hiding to bear her chyldren. It is said that she did not raise any of her chyldren save her eldest daughter Skirophoria, whom she reclaimed once the chyld was of an age which she could assist her mother. The remainder of her chyldren were left in the care of family, to be raised without being in undue danger. It should be noted that it appears none of the chyldren shared the same father, as Iereia travelled all over Europe, Asia and Africa in her quests, returning home to Attica only prior to giving birth.



“Iereia is said to have been murdered at the hands of an unknown Vampire. Some say it was her own father that defeated her, but others claim it was she that defeated him many years earlier. Regardless of the circumstances, Iereia’s demise was a huge blow in the fight against the sub-daemon race. It is said that with her death that the first true Slayer was called, initiating a pattern that would hold true for millennia to come.



“It was in 1439 that the Watcher’s Council was first formed, and established the goal of keeping magicks no longer known in an attempt to prevent the daemons from ever roaming the Earth again. By seeking out the Slayers prior to their being called, and training them to fight, the Watchers have had success in keeping many daemons at bay. Let it be noted, however, that the average lifespan of a Slayer after being called is nineteen months, and that there is no recorded case of a Slayer ever having successfully given birth to a chyld, with theory that only those of the Slayer bloodline who remain pure will ever be called.”



“Hence the ‘no talking to boys’ rule,” said Buffy.



“Hence, Faith must have been a virgin too, Xander,” Willow whispered, her cheeks turning vaguely pink in embarrassment.



“You know, I would never had guessed,” replied Xander.