Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own FFX!
A/N: Hmmm, a very surprising chapter. There's a master vampire! Guess who? And how the first vampire came to be is pretty interesting!
Inspirational Quote-
Angel: This isn't some fairytale. When I kiss you, you don't wake up from a deep sleep and live happily ever after.
Buffy: No…when you kiss me, I want to die.
---
Rikku stood in the door, paralyzed. Could she really trust this guy? Without completely knowing what she was doing, she took a step away from the door, gesturing for him to come in. Something told her she could trust him, though she didn't exactly trust that little voice in the back of her head, seeing as it was the same one that told her to stay home in the first place. Fryd dra ramm ys E tuehk?! She thought immediately, closing the door. She eyed the man curiously, as he sat at the nearby dining room table. She walked over to the table, sitting across from him. "Well? Why do you need to talk to me?"
"How do you know you can trust me?" He asked in the same monotone voice.
She stared at the man for a moment, not exactly sure what to say. "I…I don't know, okay?" She folded her arms, his lack of a response aggravating her. "What exactly do you need to talk to me about?"
"About what happened to your family, the high death rate and those nightmares you've been having lately," He answered, receiving a shocked glance.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about," The young Al Bhed replied quickly.
"Of course not," With that, he reached in his coat, revealing a manila folder. He passed it to her, a few photos spilling out. She opened the folder, each with the relatively same image: a corpse with a puncturing neck wound. She flipped through the pictures, stopping at a familiar one. It was her father, Cid, lying on the ground, lifeless, with his eyes still wide open. A chill going down her spine, she let the photo fall from her hand as she glanced back at Auron. Motionless, he observed the girl's reaction to picture. "Miss Newsted…Rikku, do you believe in vampires?"
Her eyebrows furrowed. "Vampires? Maybe. But what do vampires have to do with any of this?"
Remembering his own reaction to the question, he stated, "Everything."
"Vampires did this? How do you know?" After getting no response, she continued. "What does this have to do with me?"
He sighed, recalling the exact way the news had been told to him. "Into each generation, vampire slayers are born. Few girls in all the world, the chosen. Few born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires and the demons. The stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. And you are one of them."
Trying her best to absorb the information, the only word that she could form was, "Huh?"
A low, barely audible chuckle came from the man as he stood and walked off. "If you want to understand, come with me."
She watched as he opened the door, wondering what she should do. Making a decision, she got up and grabbed her jacket on the way out the door. I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm doing this…"Hey! Wait up!"
---
The wind swept over the cemetery, causing dead leaves to scratch the cement pavement. The once bare graveyard, now lined with various tombstones and mausoleums, somehow gave off a sense of foreboding. The eerie quiet was soon broken by the thudding of footsteps and a voice. "A cemetery? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
Auron grunted in response, pushing the semi-rusted gate open.
Scanning her eyes over the graves, Rikku abruptly turned, her hearing catching far-off whispers. Shrugging them off, she continue walking, trying to ignore the sense that they weren't alone. She slightly looked to Auron. "So…vampires? You mean, like the ones on TV?"
"No," He began with a sigh, "A millennia ago, during the time of Yevon and summoners, a young Maester became consumed with power. He believed that the people of Spira should be under one ruler, namely him. Once his plans were revealed, a group of guardians sought him out and eventually killed him. Unfortunately, his naïve followers did not allow any summoner to send him. His thirst for power and his evil deeds led him to become a new kind of demon. He soon learned there was power in blood. And so came forth the first vampire. They now call him the Master of the vampires."
Her eyes widened at the tale. "You mean…he's not dead?" She asked, becoming more aware of the sounds around her. He shook his head slowly. "So, what do you do?"
"I'm a watcher."
She titled her head slightly, confusion etched in her features. "Watcher? And what exactly do watchers do? Watch slayers fight vampires?"
"I'm here to train you to be a slayer," He stopped at an older mausoleum. "Slayers may have enhanced strength and heightened senses, but they still must learn how to fight."
As if on cue, a growl came from behind them, causing Rikku to spin around just to see in front of her a man. His face was contorted into a large wrinkled brow, almost hiding it's glowing yellow eyes. The creature bore it's fangs, growling at the two. Suddenly, it sprang forward, knocking the blonde off her feet. As the demon leaned into her neck, the young slayer's anger caused her to push him off. Surprisingly, he fell over a few feet ahead, landing against a grave marker. Rikku then sprang to her feet, glaring at the watcher a yard away. "Thanks for all the help!"
Pulling something out of his pocket, he passed it to her. "Lesson one: A slayer is nothing without her weapon."
She caught the item, and stared at him oddly, holding it up. "A stick?!"
Off her guard, she hadn't realized the vampire had gotten up until she felt a heavy boot across her jaw. It didn't cause her to fall, but to be knocked back a few steps. She looked back to the vamp, as it's arm swung towards her in a forceful punch. But, before it connected, she dropped the 'stick' and grabbed the arm with both hands, and with even more force, she threw him into a tombstone. Her breath caught, amazed at her own strength. Looking down, she again found her weapon, picking it up. She looked to Auron, confused. "What do I do with the stick?"
"It's a stake. You put it through the vampire's heart," He instructed.
She glanced down quickly at the stake in her hand. As if out of the blue, an unknown force, that same voice that had been annoying her constantly, made it's way to the surface. 'It is your time. Are you up to the challenge?'
She tore her glance from the stake to the vampire, who was no longer lying on the ground, but charging towards her. Tightening her grip on the stake, she stood her ground. "Lusa yht kad ed."
As the vampire was to attack, she met him with a spin kick, making him fall flat on his back. She then kneeled next to the demon, raised the stake, and in one quick motion, shoved it into the vamps heart, just as quickly pulling it out. Within seconds, a shocked expression crossed the vampire's face before he exploded into dust. Breathing in, dust caught in her lungs, making her cough and land on the ground. When the dust cleared, she saw a hand extended to her. Recognizing whom was helping her, she took his hand, standing unsteadily. "Does that always happen?"
He nodded silently.
---
Minutes later, both ended up at the porch to her cousin's home. She reached in her pocket, pulling out her key, and unlocking the door. Before opening the door she stopped for a moment. "Thank you."
"Hmm?" Was all he replied.
She turned around to face him. "Thank you. I mean, I knew there was something out there that needed to be stopped. Now I know what it is." She smiled gratefully. "And thanks to you, maybe one day, I could stop it. I could stop…" She paused. "I could stop those monsters that killed my father."
Without responding to her gratitude, he began to speak. "I'll be back tomorrow. We'll need to start training fairly soon."
"Okay," She responded quietly. She turned back to the door. "Goodnight." Without waiting for a reply, she entered her home, gently closing the door behind her.
For a moment, Auron stayed in his place, deep in thought. He turned and walked off into the night as he murmured, "Goodnight."
He took a deep breath. What have I gotten myself into?
TBC
A/N: HA! Here endeth chapter two. Can ya guess who the evil Master vamp's gonna be? Later.