Monkey Master and the Vampire Slayer
Lake MonsterLara Dreyer was relaxing in the bathtub, of the middle-class home, she shared with her husband and seven-day old infant son, Joshua. Raymond Dreyer, her husband, was a supervising plant technician at the Sunnydale Electric plant, and Lara herself was just about to return to teaching at Sunnydale High, after departing for maternity leave. She had just put her newborn, down for a nap and decided to indulge in a bubble bath. She opened the valves and immediately felt the steam rise from the water. Adding her favorite bubble bath ingredients, she removed her bathrobe and stepped in the tub.
She suddenly heard her baby scream, as if in fright over the baby monitor in her hand, and without a moment's hesitation except to shut off the tub. She rushed back down the hall and into her baby's room, when she came to a stop. There in the middle of the room holding a baby's jumper, was a woman with red hair, and black eyes with no iris. She was pushing something down her throat, which appeared to be extended and enlarged like in documentaries she had seen of snakes.
Lara looked toward her baby's crib and did not see him, then she looked at the woman and saw an infant's foot disappearing down the woman's gullet. Lara screamed and launched herself at the woman, who caught her by the throat in one hand. The woman who just ate her baby spoke to her in a language Lara did not recognize. "Köszönjük, hogy megadta a vacsorát, most itt az ideje, hogy egy fürdő." (Thank you for providing my dinner, now it is time to take a bath.) The woman carried Lara back down to the bathroom and closed the door, her screams changed to a gurgling sound and went quiet.
Sunnydale Multiplex, the only place in town, for teens to catch the latest blockbusters coming out of Tinsel town. A five-screen movie theater, where the locals can go to dream of the glamorous life of Hollywood, which just happen to be only 20 miles from where they sit. In the darkness of the cinema, prowls a predator slinking through the aisles, like a serpent in the meadow. The hunter uses its own natural instincts, and adequate attendance to keep itself concealed while selecting its prey from the population.
It must be careful lest it be detected by the neighborhood watchdog, the Slayer. Its new in town and only had a fleeting description of what she looked like. A pretty blonde teenager, with a Valley Girl mouth. It ghosted passed a couple, the girl with red-hair, the guy with dark hair, both sets of eyes glued to the screen. "You know I think they should've gotten Vin Diesel for the second one and left Walker in the first one where he belonged," the dark-haired guy whispered to his date.
"Why did you drag me to this car movie, Alex" his date replied, "if you don't like it?"
The predator left them behind and moved on down the aisle, much easier to take prey when its alone. Another pair, this one a father-daughter couple, on the other side of the aisle, both brunette, quietly munched on popcorn. At the back of the theater, in an over-sized, burgundy, hockey jersey, over a mock turtle-neck, with oversized, tan cargo-pants, upheld by a black-belt, and secured by a silvery belt-buckle, sat a single, blonde male. He had blue-eyes that seemed to shine in theater but were most likely reflected from the screen.
The predator sat herself down next to the boy and leaned close to him allowing him to catch a whiff of her perfume. This was her prey of choice, teen male, and from the look of his clothing, a fashion reject. Therefore, probably considered beneath notice by his peers, probably called mean things, like nerd, dweeb, geek, or loser. When she was alive, she wouldn't have given him the time of day. Now, they were her bread-n-butter almost literally, with them she could dine well, and never worry about where her next meal came from.
"Do you like this kind of movie," he surprised her by asking?
"Not really, I mostly watch it for the eye candy on screen," she replied, "Paul Walker really gets my engine turning," the huntress replied, laying a hand on his arm, seemingly by accident.
He looked anxious, and asked the huntress her name, "Morgan," she said, "and yours," she asked, not really caring?
"Michael," he said, "I'm not really a fan of Paul Walker, or Diesel, I'm more into the ladies of course, and the car scenes." Michael did not move his arm as he seemed to enjoy the contact. Probably the first time a girl as hot as her paid him any attention.
"I'm not a fan of his acting," Morgan smirked, "it's his sexy body and adorable golden-locks that I like." Morgan licked her lips in a hunger, knowing he'd take it for a different kind of hunger.
"She's not in this one, but you kind of remind me of Vin's sister in the first movie, now she's, my favorite."
"Thank you for the compliment, Michael," Morgan smiled, genuinely accepting the compliment, she squeezed his hand. "Say…," she asked, "since neither one of us really cares for this movie, would you like to get out of here?"
"Are you sure," Michael hesitated, "we paid good money to see this movie, we wouldn't want it to go to waste?"
Morgan smiled broadly and said, "Oh it won't go to waste, trust me," she said leaning her body into his.
"Well, if you insist," Michael said, returning the smile, with a rather goofy grin, "my mom always said, it pays to heed the advice of a lady."
Prey and predator stood up and exiting the row, moved down the aisle toward the exit in the back of the theater. They exited through the lobby, linked arm in arm and headed around the side of the theater. They walked down a side alley, her arm was around his waist, his up around her shoulders. Before they reached the halfway point of the alley, Michael said something that puzzled her, "I'm sorry, Morgan," he said.
"What do you have to be sorry about, Michael?"
"Well, I have been leading you on, since we began talking," he told her.
Her eyes narrowed, "What about, Michael?"
"My real name is Ronald Michael Stoppable for starters," he answered.
Morgan smiled relaxing a little, "Is that all, lots of people prefer to be called by their middle name."
Ron nodded, seeming to accept her gracious attitude, "That's true, but that's not the only thing I lied about." Suddenly, he pressed the Star of David that Kim Possible gave him for Hanukah this year into her neck, causing Morgan to scream, and the smell of sizzling flesh assailed their noses. Out of the darkness four individuals walked into view. They were the couples Morgan noticed while she was on the prowl in the theater. One of the women, removed a brown wig, revealing golden-blonde hair like Ron's own hair. "Plus, I have a girlfriend who's way more beautiful then you."
Morgan looked around as they surrounded her, when her eyes lighted upon the woman removing the hair piece. The vampire stared in horror as the Slayer revealed herself. "You got this, cuz," she asked, and the boy she thought of as Michael nodded?
"You bet, Buffy," Ron replied.
Morgan turned to him and asked weakly, "Cousin?" Ron suddenly lunged forward, and Morgan felt a sharp pain in her chest, before exploding into dust.
"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, Morgan, may you rest in peace." Ron stared down at the remains of the vampire, and sighed. He had received some instruction on what they were from Buffy and Giles. While vampires appeared to be the people they were in life, the truth of the matter was that the soul of the person really had moved on to whatever reward it deserved in the after-life, and a demon moved in to set up shop. It had all the memories and skills of the previous owner, but none of the humanity. They told him of mothers who turned on their children, even though the children made a deal with another vampire, to turn their mother to prevent their mother's death. She even told Ron of a friend of hers, dying of a disease and tried to get Buffy, to get a vampire to turn him, so he would not die himself.
Buffy drew close to her cousin and put her arm around his shoulders. "Something the matter, Ronnie?"
Ron looked at her and shrugged his shoulders, "not really, BA (A/N: Buffy Anne) but do you really do stuff like this every night, don't you guys ever have fun like regular teenagers?"
"What," Xander replied sarcastically, "you mean other teenagers, actually go to the Multiplex to watch the movies, not to hunt vampires?"
Willow elbowed him in the side, but looking at Ron asked, "I thought you and Kim, dealt with stuff like this all the time."
"We do, but usually get a week to unwind from a mission," Ron explained, "before the next villain on deck tries his or her hand, at taking over the world."
"Believe it or not, Ron, dusting low-level vamps is fun for me," Buffy said, "I mean what better way to blow off a little steam, than go out and kill vampires? Most teens play sports or commit minor vandalism to decompress. When a parent, teacher or," she continued, smiling thinly at Giles, "Watcher is irritating you, going out to dust fledgling vamps is a great and useful way to vent your frustration. The only danger is when they band together, the way they did that night at the train station."
"I agree," Xander added, while nodding his head, "and if you can imagine the person, you're mad at is the vamp you're taking out, you can imagine killing them without feeling guilty." I never thought of it like that before, Ron thought.
Then Giles surprised them all by saying, "Still even Slayers, need relaxation from time to time, it is not as if there will be a dearth of vampires and demons in the world. They pro-generate worse than cockroaches."
Buffy was the first to speak, "What are you saying Giles, taking a vacation?"
"More as if, to take a respite," Giles answered, while shaking his head, "you would have to remain near enough to the Hellmouth, to return when needed in case of emergency. You would also have to go somewhere together, in the event trouble arose where you went."
The four-young people began smiling like it was Christmas morning, and their first present was a new car. Three began looking at each other thinking about where to go that met their mentor's criteria. Two thought the same thing, "Sunnydale Reservoir?" One was wondering if her mother would like to come, she could use some R&R herself, and another was wishing his girlfriend were here, so he could spend time with her.
Sunnydale ReservoirThe Sunnydale Reservoir was built in 1960, as part of President Eisenhower's Interstate Highway System. Supplied from the Colorado River, it is the major source for potable water to Sunnydale proper and surrounding communities and supplies 80% of those citizens, with electricity via hydroelectric power generators. The completion of the Sunnydale Reservoir, incidentally, causing the creation of the lake named after Sunnydale, the largest town in the area.
When people refer to Sunnydale Reservoir, however they think of the man-made lake that provides excellent swimming, fishing, and other outdoor recreational amusements. The Dodge full-sized van, Xander borrowed from his dad, drove up to one of the designated picnic facilities. All doors open at the same time, and four people pile out. Ron and Xander head to the back and begin unloading the barbecue gear. Buffy and Willow, head to the picnic table and begin unpacking the ingredients for the barbecue/picnic.
The ladies spread out a white table cloth over a single table, for prep and eating. The guys pull out a small-sized grill and carry it to sit next to the prep table. Both groups are making small-talk as they go about preparing things for the picnic/ barbecue. They unloaded the coolers that held the ingredients for the feast, two large sirloin steaks, that have been marinating since the night before. The side dishes to the main course had of course all been made in the Summers family kitchen, Willow and Xander had prepared their own sides.
Ron and Xander put the steaks on the grill and joined the girls at the table. Xander and Ron wore T-shirts, that read 'Kiss the Cook,' over swim trunks, and flip-flops. Buffy and Willow also wore T-shirts and shorts, over their bathing-suits, and flip-flops. Talking was lighthearted, and laughter plentiful, with Xander and Ron trying to compete over the most dangerous situations they have been in thanks to the women in their lives.
"Mind switching," Xander asked incredulously, then added, "try possession by a hyena, then come talk to me?"
"Yo, Dude, that ain't nut-tin," Ron retorted with narrowed eyes, "you ever been shot into space with a crazed Englishman, who was a hybrid human-monkey?"
"As if, Stoppable, how about a praying mantis disguised as a hot chick," Xander said spreading his arms, "to lure unsuspecting men into her clutches to fertilize her eggs."
Buffy and Willow were down close to the water, sunning themselves, they were engaging in conversation that all women have, when men are not present. They stripped down to their swimsuits, lay on beach towels, and applied sunscreen. Willow wore a scarlet one piece bathing suit, Buffy a navy version of Willow's suit.
Out in the water, a pair of eyes observed the party on the lake shore. These eyes bored into the face of Ron Stoppable. Hate was not a strong enough word to describe, his enmity towards Kim Possible's boyfriend. The very sight of Ron Stoppable, induced a level of loathing in him, that set his brain on fire. Why, why, why does he have to show up here of all places. I finally found a place where I'm not the freakiest person around, and he has to show up, and take everything away again. The eyes submerge and went deep into the lake's dark recesses. The last two times, I went at it by myself but this time I'm not alone.
After lunch…Buffy and Ron sat together on a blanket, resting after swimming. They were in that companionable silence that people, who are really comfortable with each other enjoy. They were so tranquil with each other that they were barely even thinking about anything. It was in that silence that Buffy broke, when she asked a question, "Ron, may I ask a question?"
Ron being Ron chose to be a smart-ass. "You just did, would you like another," he quipped?
Buffy well used to his ways, without missing a beat replied, "Why, yes, Ronnie, I would love another."
"Granted, what would you like to ask," he returned with a chuckle?
"It's about the Mystical Monkey Power," she said, tentatively.
Ron sat up, giving her his undivided attention, after looking around to make sure the other two were otherwise occupied. Xander and Willow were lounging by the tables, engaged in their own discussion. Will she ask about it, now? "Go ahead, BA," he urged.
Buffy returned his attention, "This last year in social studies we learned a little about other cultures. One of the topics we discussed, was the Yin-Yang symbol. The Yin is the dark half of the symbol and represents, the negative-passive-female principle in nature. The Yang is the light half and represents, the positive-aggressive-male principle in nature." Ron was nodding in confirmation, as he listened to his cousin-best-friend explain the basis for her question. "I know from what you and Kim have told me, that you received the Yin half of the MMP, and understood right away since you're a boy, how the Yin could bond to you."
"Yes, that's part of why the bond worked for me and not Monkey Fist," Ron agreed with a smile, "what did you want to ask?"
Buffy's voice gained confidence with his reply. "If you got the Yin half and were able to remove the Yang half from that Monty-freak, who got the Yang half after it was removed from him? Did you… give it to Kim?"
To say Ron was elated for her question would be an understatement, he hoped it would be Buffy and not little Dawn. "The Yang hasn't been given to anybody, and KP isn't eligible to receive it."
Buffy's eyes widened, "But Kim is a female, what else is needed to be eligible?"
Ron nodded in understanding of her confusion; he was extremely confused when he was told the criteria for bonding himself. "The gender of the candidate is only one factor in deciding who can be bonded. For the male, he must be a virgin, a female must not have been pregnant before the bond takes place." Ron and Buffy both blushed with that admission, "They must be of the same blood, without gaps, even second cousins are ineligible."
Buffy gasped, as she realized what that meant, she knew her family history. Other than her and her little sister Dawn, there were no other women in their family, who could become a Mystical Monkey Master. So, unless Ron had a daughter, or his parents had another child and it was a girl, there would never be a complete bond. Buffy looked at him suspiciously, "So, is that the only reason you came to visit this summer?"
Ron's eyes narrowed at the accusation, "Don't even go there, Buffy Ann Summers," he snapped. "I wanted to see my cousins and my aunt, and to have something to do for the summer, while my girlfriend was working a summer job in Montana. Passing along the rest of the MMP bond was the last thing on my mind when I planned to come here. Hell, if I hadn't walked in on that brawl at the train station, I would've been quite content to never mention it during my visit at all." She still looked at him skeptically, but her suspicion softened, He never uses full name unless he's serious. Ron continued, "Besides, there is one other factor in selection of a bond-mate I forgot to mention."
"Yeah, what's that Ron," Buffy asked with an edge.
"The prospective candidate must ask. When you asked about the Yang half, you met the last factor to make you a candidate."
"Wha…," Buffy started to ask for clarification when they heard Willow scream.
Ron and Buffy raced to their friend but came to a stop when they saw a giant reptilian monstrosity rear up out of the lake. The closest thing Ron could describe it as, was a Tyrannosaurus Rex with large arms, webbed claws on all four appendages and a flattened beaver-like tail. What surprised Ron the most was not the lake monster but who was riding it. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Surprise, squeeb," Gill shouted with venom!
Buffy took in many details at once, as she gazed at the monster that has been living in the lake, from which she got her drinking water. Its head was level with the canopy, and the teeth, the long-pointed teeth were clearly those of a meat-eater. She idly wondered what it ate to get so big, there can't be too many sources of food for something that big. Buffy flickered her eyes over to her cousin and noticed, he was as surprised as she, by this turn of events, but not for the same reason.
His eyes must have become as wide as hers, and his mouth was slack-jawed, but the direction of his irises, were not directed at the giant amphibian. They gazed in astonishment at the creature that rode it, who apparently knew Ron.
"What the hell are you doing here," Ron bellowed?
"Surprise, squeeb," it squeaked, before its throat bulged out like a frog's, then spewed a huge mass of green slime, directly at her and Ron!
Ron's eyes suddenly flared bright blue, "Willow, Xander, look out," and he jumped to the side, taking his cousin with him, as he picked her up, clearing 15 feet, before setting her down behind a heavy bush! They turned to see Xander and Willow slam back into a pair of pine trees, causing Ron to swear sulfurously, he turned to the Vampire Slayer. "We need to act fast, BA," said urgently, "Gill's slime changes people into creatures like him."
"So, I take it you know fish-sticks, over there," Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow?
Ron scowled in distaste, "You could say that," it was Ron's turn to do some nutshelling, "Gil's an old camp buddy, from Wannaweep. Spent all his time in the lake while at camp, the green, highly-mutagenic lake; blames me for causing his mutation! Even though, I tried to warn him, because even an idiot like me," Ron was rising a little, as he shouted at the two amphibians, "with no scientific background, could tell the lake was funky!" Buffy pulled him back down before another blast of slime could hit him.
"It's safe to say," Buffy surmised, "that our biggest priority is Amphibious Rex over there."
"Other than the slime, and appearance," Ron nodded his head, "Gill is not much stronger than a normal human. Albeit a really, really fit human," he smiled, "think Michael Phelps on steroids."
Buffy nodded in agreement, "We have to split up and try to separate them," she suggested. Ron looked at her and with a grim determination nodded his head.
"Let's create some distance from the others, so he doesn't think to use them as frog chow," Ron added.
"What's the matter squeeb, are you afraid to face my wrath," before croaking to the creature that he rode? It suddenly lurched toward their hiding place.
Ron and Buffy leapt and flipped out of its way, rebounding off trees and coming to a rest fifty yards away. "As if, Gill with two 'Ls', I was just wondering where you met your girlfriend." Suddenness of movement worked, because as agile as the creature is in water, it was that amount less graceful on land, and sixteen tons of muscle, bone and sinew cannot turn on a dime. Gill did not understand this and when he tried to turn the behemoth, it stumbled and tripped, flinging him from its back to bounce off a few pine trees.
The giant stood up, shaking his head, then looked around for his friend. It spotted the male that his friend hated, and started to stomp over to him, it roared in his face. Ron reared back his fist and let fly with all his strength, an uppercut to the beast's jaw. It stumbled back never meeting another creature that could hurt it before. It roared again more out of surprise than pain, now it lunged at the creature that hurt it, now, more out of self-preservation than to aid his friend. Ron back flipped out of the way and began running making sure the monster stayed with him.
Meanwhile, Buffy moved on ahead running so fast, she could easily keep pace with a cheetah. The only thing slowing her down was the uneven terrain, and she did not want to get so far ahead, that she could not help Ron if he needed her. Kim said he can run triple digit speeds, so keeping ahead of it shouldn't be a problem for him, but Murphy's Law applies here. She was also looking for a place they could dispatch the creature, someplace its size would be a liability.
Then she came upon a ridge, looking down into a box canyon 30 feet deep and long, and 10 feet wide, the entrance was a slope just steep enough to make footing treacherous. I hope Ron is as nimble as Kim says he is. Buffy turns and runs back to find Ron. Ron is just a couple miles from where he needs to turn, to make the canyon. She puts her fingers to her mouth and sends out a shrill whistle, getting his attention.
Ron turns his head, seeing his cousin up on a ridge, she points to a turn off just coming into view. He looks back seeing the monster right on his heels. Ron could easily have outstripped the lumbering creature, but it might have turned around to go back for Willow and Xander. Now that Buffy has found a place to kill or at least neutralize the creature, Ron begins to increase his speed pulling ahead even more, but making sure it was still willing to chase him.
Ron took the turn going at a good clip, the creature did not even seem to be breathing hard and seemed to be enjoying the chase. Ron looked up ahead and saw the entrance to the canyon. The path he was on was a good ten feet above the canyon floor, as he could estimate. The walls rose a good twenty feet above that and were smooth on all three sides. Ron narrowed his eyes and shot away from the monster, hot on his trail. He reached the lip of the entrance and he was a missile, shooting onto one wall, then cartwheeling upward onto the opposite wall and launching himself high above the canyon rim and coming to rest into a skidding stumble, that landed him flat on his face. He was wheezing, and out of breath, when he rolled over arms outstretched and stared up at the sky.
The monster was taken completely by surprise when Stoppable started pulling away from it, and even tried to increase its pace, in order to catch its prey. The monster was not so much fast, as it had a long stride, so it poured so much of its concentration into catching its prey, it never noticed the canyon lip approaching, until it was too late for it to stop. Ron still laying on his back, and Buffy just coming up to him, heard a loud BOOM, following immediately by the ground shaking, almost like an earthquake. Buffy gazing in that direction, kneels and caresses Ron's forehead, before turning and smirking at her cousin, "I've gotta hand it to you cuz," she said, you sure know how to run."
Ron chuckled, sat up, just getting his breath back, "It... comes from… running away… from henchmen, and bullies."
Buffy pulls him to his feet, and they make it over to look down at the creature. Its forelimbs are splayed at odd angles, lying face down in its own blood. They can see bone sticking out and both know what must be done. Even if, it was not injured, it could never be allowed to roam free, who knows what havoc it could cause if left to its own devices. Buffy near to tears, voiced her concerns, "How are we going to put it down, without causing it anymore suffering?" In her mind, most vampires, and demons, were utterly evil, she had no qualms about destroying any of them, but a living creature, probably the last of its kind, brought out her compassionate side.
"There may be a way," Ron hesitated, "we would need to be at full power, though."
"What do you mean full power," Buffy asked?
"Remember before, when you were asking me about, the yang half of the MMP?" At her affirmative nod, he continued, "Well, unless the bond is completed, by giving the power to its rightful recipient, any monkey master is only at half power."
Buffy listened to what her cousin was saying, then remembered the conversation they were having, before A-Rex and Gill showed up. They must be of the same blood…, Realization set in as she realized what he was telling her. "You want to give mystical monkey power to me?"
Ron was nodding, "I cannot think of anybody other than KP, I would entrust it with, and unfortunately since she's not a blood relative, she is not able to receive it."
"Ron, the Slayer's power comes from a pure-demonic source, known as the Shadow Demon, what makes you think I can even receive MMP," Buffy exclaimed?
Ron nodded, but answered, "It is the yang half of the power, it is the male half, and you called the demonic power the 'Shadow Demon', yang is the light half of MMP, shadows cannot exist without light, the brighter the light the stronger the shadow." Ron looked down at the suffering creature, then back at Buffy, "honestly I can't help think it's an even better match than mine with yin, however the bond must be entered into with a free will, nobody can be forced into it." Ron fell silent as Buffy contemplated his request.
After a few moments, she nodded her head, "The power of the Slayer increases the longer she lives, but sometimes even the power of the Slayer can't overcome some threats. Maybe the Slayer with Mystical Monkey Power can." She looks at her cousin and best friend with her eyes brimming with determination, "May I become the yang Mystical Monkey Master?"
Ron gives her a smile of satisfaction, "Yes, you may, Buffy Ann Summers." He steps back a few paces, holds out his right hand, and closing his eyes clears his mind, "Lotus Blade, come to me," his voice echoing as if to call something from far away. A bright azure light flashed into his hand; the silver belt buckle he has worn every day since being here appears in his hand. His eyes continue glowing as before, when suddenly the buckle, becomes a bastard sword, which he thrusts into the air and bellows, "I AM THE YIN MONKEY MASTER!" Ron was suddenly enveloped in azure blue flames. Ron pointed the Blade at Buffy, "BUFFY ANN SUMMERS, IS THE YANG MONKEY MASTER," came another bellow!
Abruptly a golden yellow ray of light shot from the tip of the blade straight at Buffy. She could feel the light strike like a physical blow. The ray swathed her in the power of yang itself, felt warmth, and safety, as she closed her eyes. Buffy was in pure bliss, when she opened her eyes to find herself ten feet off the ground. She was lowered to the ground and walked to her cousin. The only word she could come up with when she reached him was, "Wow!" Buffy and Ron could feel the Mystical Monkey Power coursing through their souls, what's more they could feel each other. As if, they were as much a part of each other, as an arm or a leg. They could feel the other's heart beat within their chests, as well as other things that were distinctly male or female. They were perfectly aware of their own bodies, but it was as if they understood what it was like to be the opposite gender.
Their euphoria was cut short, when they heard a groan coming from the canyon below them. "We need to take care of this guy and get back to Xander and Willow, before Gill decides to take his anger out on them. So, what can we do to end its suffering?"
Ron looked around and spotted a huge oak tree, that had to weigh at least 10 tons, and had to be 5-feet in circumference at the base. He waved her to follow him over to it, and they went behind it. The next thing that could be heard was wood, creaking and groaning, as they literally pushed the great goliath over as easily as most could push over a sapling. Ron set to work with the sword, chopping the base of the trunk down into a point. Then the massive wooden stake lifted into the air, and began to move the column toward the canyon, they reached it, they close their eyes, and say together, "Rest in Peace, monster, may Yahweh, bless your passing." Then raising their stake, …
Out in the lake…There was a loud boom, followed by a roar of pain, another boom which cut off the roar immediately. Gil was making his way in the water, to find his friend when he heard it, and it shocked him. How? How could he lose to the squeeb and the bimbo, he was bigger than they were combined? Then narrowing his fish eyes, Gil swam back the way he came, until he came out of the water right in front of the two humans he had immobilized earlier.
They looked at him with a little fear, but did not seem shocked, as if they faced threats like this all the time. He came up to them with a swagger, "It seems those other two you call friends have run off and left you, like the cowards they are."
Xander began laughing and even the girl looked amused, "If that's what you think then you obviously haven't been in Sunnydale that long."
"Come on, there's no possible way for Stoppable and the bimbo, to beat my buddy, he is way too large for anybody to mess with."
Gill felt a tap on his shoulder and whirled around to come, eye to golden eye with a pissed off woman. "Who're you, calling a bimbo, fly-breath?" The last they saw of Gil, he was flying over the dam into the spill way, courtesy of one Mystical Monkey Master-Slayer.
Ron and Buffy, waste no time removing the slime from their friends, and after telling them a little of what happened, leaving out very little, they continue to enjoy the rest of their day. That night Buffy got the call from her Watcher to return straightaway to town, the police had found the bodies of five new mothers. The bodies were drained of all their blood, and the infants were missing.
Training and Revelations
The minute they returned to town, the first thing they did was return the grill, and food to the Summers home. Changed into regular outfits and proceeded to the museum. Buffy's mom was not home, they found her at the museum with Giles. As soon as they entered, she stood and hugged her daughter and nephew. "So, how was the trip, did anything exciting happen?"
"Not a lot actually, had a meal, went swimming, made conversation," Xander smirked, "got attacked by two amphibious monsters that seemed to have a hate-on for your nephew, and Buffy became a mystical monkey master, a pretty boring trip, if truth be told. How 'bout you two, did you have an enjoyable, peaceful, teenless day?"
Giles and Joyce's eyes could not get any wider, the onslaught of information laid upon them by the young man, took them entirely by surprise. They both took a deep breath and asked for a more thorough explanation about the last two items Xander mentioned. Thus, Buffy and Ron told them, everything that transpired yesterday, from the attack by Gil, to Buffy becoming the Mystical Monkey Slayer. Giles asked Buffy, if she felt any different, since acquiring the MMP and amazingly, she not only felt great, but at peace, as if the Shadow Demon were truly at ease, with the new addition.
"Well, that is quite the development," Giles concluded, "the Slayer's already substantial power, fused as it were to the Yang half of Mystical Monkey Power."
Joyce was curious, "why did you choose to give it to your cousin and not your girlfriend, Kim?" So, Ron told them the criteria for choosing a bond-mate.
After a short silence, it was Willow who brought them to the reason they were summoned home sooner than expected. "Anyway, why did you call us back home, we were supposed to be gone for the whole weekend?" Willow shuddered, "Are there really five missing babies, and dead mothers?"
Giles turned grim and Joyce became troubled when they nodded, "Yes, all within the span of hours from each other, at least that was official report. It was on the news last night, while we were watching a television movie." Giles pounded his hand on the table, and continued, "One of the victims was a dear friend of mine, one of the social studies teachers, Lara Dreyer," Joyce reached across the table laying her hand over his, when he looked up and returned the squeeze, "other than whatever the news reports say, we know less than nothing about the crime scenes, and I have no way of gaining access to them."
Ron's face was utterly serious and borderline dangerous, when he marched over to Giles and laid his hand on the elder man's shoulder, "Don't worry professor G, we'll find the evil sonavabitch that's doing this, and send 'em back to Hell where they belong." Giles looked up at the newest addition to the Slayer family, Ron was certain they could do this, the look on his face was a mixture of wrath and determination. "The first thing we're going to need is information starting with your friend. I assume that if you're friends with her, you're at least close to her husband, do you think you could talk to him, he might open up more to a friend, than he will to strangers? Meanwhile, I'll get a hold of the coroner and forensics reports, from the Dreyer's and the other crime scenes." They all blinked, especially the Summers, the way he described the activities for investigating the crimes, made it seem like he had done something like this before.
Xander was the first to break the silence, "How are we going to get the forensics and coroner's reports, those type of things are for official use only? There is no way, the cops will let a bunch of teenagers, look at that kind of evidence."
Ron smiled as he pulled out his Kimmunicator, "All forensic reports are required to be filed with the FBI within twenty-four hours after completion. Coroner's reports have to be filed with the county medical examiner, and these days they all use computers for expedience,"
This time Willow chimed in to play devil's advocate, "That's true but those files are heavily encrypted and protected by massive firewalls that would take a Supercomputer days, if not weeks to crack, unless we have a passkey there's no way to get at those files. How are you going to get in, let alone open the files?"
Ron's smile took on a devious cast, "That's probably all true, but I have never heard of a computer system, that my eleven-year-old super-genius computer hacker friend Wade, couldn't crack open like an egg." Ron activated the communication device and brought up his young friend's image, sipping soda from a slurpster, and wearing of all things a Hawaiian shirt, and in what looked like a hotel room. "Yo, Wade, how's your summer going?"
The young, agoraphobic, computer genius grumbled, "My parents won a free trip to Hawaii over the summer, since I am a minor, they couldn't leave me behind at home, so I am being forced to use portable computer systems to do my work."
Ron looked a little deflated, "Ah, man, that's too bad, I was hoping you could do me a favor, but if you're not at your desk you may not…" Ron stopped when he heard Wade's laughter. "What's so funny, dude?"
"Ron my portable capabilities, are better than NASA, JPL, and Pentagon mainframes combined, being away from my main computer won't handicap me, one little bit from my usual Wadeness, so what do you need me to do?"
Ron told Wade about all the deaths and missing babies, and Wade's own eyes mirrored Ron's a few moments ago. "I'm on it Ron, I'll get back to you with what I can get, Wade out." Ron turned back to the others, they all had expressions ranging from mild shock to impressed.
Giles and Joyce got up and walked over to the young man. His aunt spoke up, "officially as your guardian I am very disappointed in you for breaking the law by having your friend hack into government computers. Unofficially if it were any of my girls, I would want you to do the same thing, so instead of sounding like a hypocrite and raising a fuss, I am going to do one thing." Joyce enfolded him into a strong hug, and lightly smacked the back of his head.
Giles continued, "Ron as an educator I also must officially protest your actions and set a better example for you." Ron turned from his aunt's hug to look at him, "Unofficially," Giles stuck his hand out, and Ron took it, and shook his hands, "Thank you."
Ron blushed, before turning around, "Right, until Wade can get back to me, and Giles can talk to his friend, Buffy and I, need to do some training and figure out the full extent of our abilities and limitations."
Buffy nodded her agreement, "I think so, too. Where do we start though, Giles said the last Monkey Masters were 600 years ago? How will we train, if we don't know how they accessed their abilities?"
Ron walked over to his cousin, fingers on chin, "Maybe we should start with the basics, like accessing the power at will, I've had mine for a while and it took me a whole month to be able to do that."
Ron and Buffy began training to be monkey masters. They started with Ron teaching her to access the power, by learning to meditate. Yet, they discovered that calming the mind did not work for Buffy. The power of yang is positive activity, whether an active mind or active body. Accordingly, instead of clearing her mind, Buffy meditated by actively thinking about something constructive, and suddenly, she was in her mind. It looked like an extremely wide corridor, with doors every few feet. /\ Ron could do it using the techniques taught to him by the ninja if Yamanouchi.
Buffy stepped through one of them and met a matronly Asian woman, wearing an ivory-white yukata, trimmed in black. Even to Buffy, she was a beautiful woman, at least in her thirties, satin-black, straight hair, and dark eyes. "Who are you," Buffy asked? /\ "You're Toshimiru-sama, the founder of Yamanouchi," Ron said in shock, before kneeling to the ground.
"My name is Viewed From The City Gentle Blossom (Toshimiru Yuuka), I am the last yang monkey master, before you of course. I am here to act as your guide, to aid you in using your power the right way", she said. /\ "Stand, Ron Stoppable, for equals need not kneel before each other, they shake hands," the ancient warrior declared, extending his hand to Ronald Michael Stoppable. "Welcome Lotus Warrior, for you carry the burden of two legacies: Mystical Monkey Power and the Lotus Blade."
"What was your relation to your yin /\ yang partner", Buffy /\ Ron asked?
"I was the daughter of one of them, Viewed From The City Land (Toshimiru Riku), and elder sister of the other, Viewed From The City Great Harmony (Toshimiru Yamato), before I fell to intrigue in the southern court of Osaka", the woman said, although the sound was there, her lips seemed to move independently of the sound coming from them, as if her words did not match her mouth. Honestly, this all sounded like those old Asian martial art films where the dubbing was out of synch. /\ "My onēsan, Toshimiru Yuuka was the yang master, after her childless death, there were no others to carry on the legacy and due to a childhood illness, I was unable to produce children. We were the last of the Toshimiru clan, and due to the requirements of the power there were no successors for yin or yang," the founder of Yamanouchi replied as clear as a bell, since Ron Stoppable spoke flawless Japanese.
"Great, my name is Buffy Summers, and I am the cousin of the yin master, Ron Stoppable, is there anything you would like to know about me, Ms. Yuuka?" /\ My cousin, Buffy Summers, is the yang master, and what the hell is the Lotus Warrior," Ron exclaimed?
"No, actually, I already know everything about you, I have even met the demon that resides within your soul, we are getting to be quite close," Yuuka answered with a giggle. /\ Toshimiru Yamato chuckled, "Lotus Warriors are the silent protectors of the world, they protect the world but shy away from canonization or recognition. You work with Kim Possible to protect the world, and you are her equal partner in all of it, yet you have never sought recognition."
Buffy smirked, "great, the MMP and the Shadow Demon are dating," she remarked. /\ Ron's face became seriously dangerous, "Hey Kim doesn't seek recognition for it either, she is just so good at helping people," he whispered acidly.
"No, we are not dating, I am only here temporarily until you learn how to use your power. Afterwards, I will finally pass from this plane of existence, the yin master is experiencing the same thing from the previous yin master." /\ Toshimiru held up a hand, "I am in NO way condemning Kim Possible for the recognition she so richly deserves. She inspires others to be as selfless as she is, I KNOW Miss Possible does not seek out her fame, the world seeks her out, it needs heroes like her. It also needs heroes like us, who work behind the scenes, and in the shadows, you are as much the yin to Kim Possible's yang, as you are the yin monkey master to the yang monkey master."
Buffy nodded, "we need to get started, I have a feeling Ron and I will need to be fully trained when we figure out who is killing mothers and stealing the babies." /\ "I am sorry, Yamato, for biting your head off, but Kim is the one who gives me strength and reason to be a hero," Ron says contritely.
For this reason, Buffy and Ron began training with their respective avatars for the next rest of the month of June. While each had the same physical capabilities, could communicate with natural non-human creatures, and detect supernatural creatures. They could also, teleport, with a flash of light, or well of darkness, anywhere they could see, whether across the room or across town, they even went to see Kim and give her a big hug, or a passionate kiss, before returning to Buffy's room one morning when they were talking on the Kimmunicator. However, some of their more esoteric abilities were slightly different.
Buffy, the yang, Mystical Monkey Master, can see clearly through fog or smoke and nearly dark rooms with just a birthday candle's worth of light, and Buffy had no need for telescopes or microscopes. The physical attributes of the Slayer were phased out by the Shadow Demon, since the Monkey Power versions eclipsed them. The Slayer's powers allow her to sense unseen enemies, and even gave her prophetic dreams. The extra energy from the physical abilities, was channeled to heighten her precognitive abilities, to not only conscious levels, but to sensory levels, as well.
Whenever she went out on patrol, her precognitive senses, combined with her unseen senses, to act as an early warning system, and gave her inhuman reflexes. She also gained access to all of the memories of previous Slayers, even Kendra was there, but not just their memories, their skills, and experiences, even how they died.
Ron, the yin, Mystical Monkey Master, could see in pitch darkness, obfuscate his entire body, distort any sounds, and all physical traces of himself, were eliminated upon leaving his body. He could move from one shadow to another, and even listen and see into the shadows to spy on any conversation he chose. It was simply a matter of winnowing through all the chatter, to find the right voice he wanted, and if he can hear what they were saying, he could speak to them as well, if he chose to do so. He told Kim about it, and that was how he was able to say goodnight and he loved her, from then on.
The Lotus Warrior could, while maintaining contact with the Lotus Blade, become unnoticeable to any beings he chose, all five senses of the observer registered the Lotus Warrior, yet his or her mind refused to record his presence, and the Lotus blade could kill ANYTHING with a corporeal vessel. The only thing he could not hide from was the touch of time, which allowed his cousin to detect him if she concentrated enough, and paid attention to her senses.
Buffy jumped into a spinning round house, aiming right for her opponent's head. Who bent his head just barely noticing, and grabbed her leg giving it a twist, to spin her to the ground. Buffy added her own momentum to the twist, which removed her leg from his grasp. She dropped to a crouch and lunged for his chest. Ron allowed her to make contact, and in that moment connected with a right cross to Buffy's body, and tried to follow it up with a knee to the stomach. Buffy let out a breath on contact and the energy of her lunge, caused the blow to lessen, while continuing to carry her forward, knocking him to the ground. She landed with her knees and entire body pressing down into Ron's chest. All the air was driven out of Ron's chest, and he gasped. "Well, cuz that's two times out of three today that I took you to the ground, that means I win the match, and get to choose what you cook for us tonight for supper." Ron was chagrinned but nodded accepting his defeat with honor.
A month had passed since the five murders and five missing babies, and they were no closer to figuring out who the culprit could be. Fortunately, whomever it was had not struck again, they were not even certain it remained in Sunnydale. To pass the time Ron and Buffy were training their fighting skills by sparring in the Summers' backyard. The mystical monkey power granted them some great gifts, but they did not want to rely too heavily on esoteric abilities and forget the basics. So, with the encouragement of Giles and their mmp avatars they began sparring in the backyard. They were evenly matched in martial skills, they sometimes used powers, other times not, and to make it interesting, whomever succeeded in knocking their opponent down the most, got to pick what they had for dinner.
Wade got the forensics and coroner's reports to them within a week, and Giles together with Joyce talked to his friend, the husband of Lara Dreyer and gained details the police were not sharing with the public. The crime scenes were remarkably similar to Raymond Dreyer's home: the infants were missing; the mothers had their throats cut and were hung over the bathtub to allow their blood to drain into it; and, scales from, a snake, the same snake, were found in the drains of all the bathtubs. There was no doubt, they were searching for something supernatural, so Giles, Willow and even Wade began to research myths involving snake or serpents, even dragons were included, since many legends give them snake-ish characteristics.
There are myths and legends about snakes, serpents, and dragons to be found in every culture around the world. From Europe and Western Culture, dragons and serpents are associated with the devil, in the East, dragons could be good or evil, but were considered wise either way. Pre-Columbian civilizations like Mayans, Incas and Aztecs have carvings of the heads of a snake-like creature on temples and pyramids. In legends where the presence of snakes are incidental, such as the two snakes sent by Hera to slay the toddler Heracles, only for the godly strength of the child to strangle both snakes in his crib. Then Giles had an epiphany and went back to check something in the forensic files, after confirming his suspicions he called his young friends and Joyce over to his table. "Over here, ladies and gentlemen, I believe I have identified the monster responsible for all of this. It is far worse than we have believed, if I am right, and pray I am not."
"Thank you for the buildup, Rupert, now would you please spare us the suspense," Joyce Summers said gently, "tell us who you suspect."
Giles looked up, "Lilith," he said at a near whisper, "it is Lilith the Serpent of Eden, and if it is her, we can cease looking for the infants."
Xander grinned, and said, "I think I speak for everyone in this room when I ask you who this Lilith chick is," he said before looking at the other's faces. When he did, he was surprised that he was the only person in the room, who did not have a face of recognition and fear. They knew who Lilith was, or at least her legend.
Who is Lilith?
Lilith's memories
In the beginning...
Before the dawn of civilization, God created humans, man, and I, born of the dust of the Earth, that we may reproduce and multiply, and become custodians of the Earth that God formed from the Heavens. God joined the First Man and I, in holy matrimony which no creature in Heaven or Hell may cast asunder. The man, Adam was lazy and refused to do anything that God asked, the woman Lilith, me on the other hand was the dutiful daughter, and did all the work and named all the animals and plants that existed. Adam in addition to being lazy, opportunistic and a liar, and quite pathetic, fawned over God and took credit for all my work. While I would be toiling out in the Earth doing as God bid, Adam would proclaim ease of the work, He had given us and how it took very, little time to do the tasks God made us to accomplish. God was not fooled by Adam's words as He could listen to the essence of Adam's soul, and know the truth. Of course, it was easy for him, he did not do anything!
As dutiful as I was, there was one practice I refused to do even at the request of my God, "Please, forgive me, Lord, but I would give myself to the beasts of the field, or Devils of Hell, than submit to this pathetic creature known as a man. I shall never allow any being, born of man to lay so much as a finger upon me." I refused to submit to the touch of the man called Adam, and therefore mankind would have never been if God had not separated me from the First Husband. God placed Adam in the garden of Eden, a sanctuary outside of time, and removed his memories of being on Earth.
While I remained on Earth and toiled, Adam lived in Paradise for an unknown amount of time. I became embittered with God, that He would reward Adam for laziness by keeping him in Paradise, while I continued my work as a dutiful daughter and ignore my hardships and pleas for help. While I was angry with God, I still loved Him, but my hatred of the creature called man, grew until it consumed me. I did as I vowed and out of loneliness coupled with the Devils of Hell and became the Mother of all demons.
God decided to recreate woman, so causing Adam to sleep and taking genetic material from Adam, He created Eve to be Adam's companion. At some point, I found a way to enter Eden, by transforming into a serpent and slithering through a gap that only God must surely have known about. Why He allowed it I will never know, but I came upon Adam and Eve as they coupled. Adam and I were separated, yet I still considered him, my husband and even if I coupled with devils and bore their demon offspring, I was still Adam's wife. I plotted my vengeance against Adam and Eve, learning of the only rule the Almighty had while in Eden.
I was the serpent in the garden of Eden that enticed Eve into disobeying God's Commandment not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I was the catalyst for the Fall of Man, the bible tells it wrong. While God was angry with me, He did not curse me as it says, that is just Adam's inability to accept responsibility for his actions. Yet, my vengeance is not over, for I made another vow to God. I vowed to set my children loose upon humanity, and personally prey upon the children of Adam and Eve, every boy less than eight days old and every girl less than twelve would be my only sustenance. With the blood of the mothers, I would be rejuvenated, my youth and vitality restored, and no man or woman, would ever slay me.
Unless I, somehow went back upon my vow and lay with a human, only then would all my power and strength, be taken from me. Which is not something I plan to do anytime soon, who would give away power, such as mine? I was able to kill the scribe who made those infernal tablets, before he wrote that part.
Xander Harris, the only guy in the original 'Scooby Gang' as he has taken to calling the group of people, that he considers closer to him than his family. While he once harbored a genuine crush for the vampire slayer, now Buffy and Willow are like sisters to him. He looks around and notices the expressions on all faces, and realizes they knew something he did not. Only a few minutes ago, they had reached a hypothesis concerning the identity of the one who has been taking babies and killing their mothers. They called this monster, Lilith, Serpent of Eden, and when they realized who this thing was, they seemed to take it hard.
The expression on his friends faces ranged from astonishment to downright fear. "Okay, you all, spill," Xander demanded. "Who is this Lilith person, and why does she have you all so frightened."
It was Ron Stoppable who answered, "Lilith is the Hebrew version of the boogie man, Xan." Ron began scratching his head nervously, "When I was little, my mom and dad, would use the name Lilith to get me to do the right thing."
Xander nodded, understanding the standard parental practice of using monsters, to get compliance out of willful toddlers, "So, what kind of demon is she?"
"She is not a demon, Xander," Giles answered, "she is pure human. She is actually the first female human, God brought forth upon the Earth. Some even believe she evolved before Adam."
Xander's eyes popped, "Wasn't that Eve?"
Giles continued, "That is the myth perpetuated in the Bible, but the truth is Eve was Adam's second wife. Lilith was his first, and according to the legend, they were still married when Eve was created in the Garden of Eden." Giles began to tell the story, "The legend dictates that Lilith refused to mate with Adam, because he wanted her to be submissive to him. The reasons why vary, but what is known is Adam was taken to the Garden of Eden, where God caused Adam to sleep, and the rest is as the bible reads.
"Lilith is the mother of the demon race and has power over even the most powerful demonic entities. She is not a loving mother however, with no qualms or even hesitation about destroying her children." Giles continued his tone going from lecturing to barely held anger, "Her only sustenance is the children of Adam and Eve, human infants, boys no older than eight days old, girls no more than twelve. That is why I went to look at the forensics report, I was checking their ages, all of them fell within the age criteria." Joyce's hand found his and she took it and held it.
"I wonder, why she strings up the mothers of her victims," Buffy asked, studiously ignoring the intimate gesture between her mother and her Watcher. "She drains them of all the blood, but not for sustenance like vamps, she drains them into the tub, I wonder why?"
"It could be anything Buffy," Willow offered, "there are lots of demons and classes of demons that require blood to make themselves more powerful."
Ron nodded in agreement, "Hell, the demon that creates vampires is a prime example of bloodthirsty fiend." Ron shook his head, "maybe, Lilith was the one that taught her 'kids' the value of human blood?"
Xander was the one who asked the next question, "Okay, now that we think we know what we're dealing with we need, to confirm our theory, and figure out how to kill or at least stop her."
Gill swam through the canals of the catacombs below. While many of the tunnels were dry, flooding, underground springs, and flow from the Sunnydale Reservoir, created a few places for creatures such as the frogman to traverse, without being spotted. Gill coursed through the water easily, his eyes peeled for danger and refuge.
He came to an open area, lit with torches, which was more than enough for Gill's fisheyes to see. It was a huge room filled with water, double the size of the train station. It had pillars that arched up to the apex, looking for all the world like a cathedral. There was a stage with steps running out of the water, and on it, was of all things, a living room. That was the best word he could use to describe a divan sofa, with a coffee table, with comfortable looking chairs at both ends, and a regular leather couch across from the divan.
Gill heard an audible splash in the distance and whirled around to face the sound. He felt something brush against his leg, below the surface. Gill dove below the surface, and before he knew it, he was enveloped within the coils of a snake so big it could have easily ensnared the body of his dead friend. Gill struggled to escape but the grip was inexorable, only one thought bubbled to the surface before blackness overtook him. Damn you, squeeb, I'll see you in Hell.