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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2008 0:30:36 GMT -6
Faith was happy to be getting back on solid ground. She'd slept for most of the long trip but one of the girls had woken her up because she was afraid of what was going to happen to her. She had left her family behind because this chance was pretty big for a simple farm girl. She'd been the most nervous when they were in the city simply because she'd only been there a few times before and always with family not with strangers.
Faith had comforted her in the best way she could and managed to convince the girl that this was a great opportunity to help everyone in the world. She loved watching the reactions of new slayers to the news about who and what they were. There were usually three types of reaction. They'd deny it, and say they had no idea what she was talking about, the most common. They might just shrug and pretend they aren't interested. Then there was the least common reaction, being excited about the opportunity to kick evil's ass.
"This is it." She said to the girls as she stood in front of the building. It wasn't like it was that menacing or anything but still, she had a suspicious feeling that something was about to go down. The vampires appeared out of nowhere. There were about 6 of them and she wasn't about to let them get her new girls. She smirked and looked at each of them. "Wanna play boys? I've got the most experience." She said winking at one of them.
She waved the girls to get behind the gate and into the safety of Willow's grasp. Faith was itching for a fight and although 6 was a little much, with her new katana, she wanted to see how much damage she could make. She pulled it out quickly and laughed. "Let's play."
The smallest of them lunged at her and she wasted no time chopping off his head and returning to her defensive stance as he turned to dust. She smirked but as she took in the slight accomplishment a guy took the opportunity to kick her in the side. She felt herself losing her balance and she saw her katana skid across the cement as she fell. She hoped it wasn't scratched as she stood to face the guy that had kicked her. She waited for him to make the first move and it was an uppercut to her face, she blocked it and swung her knee up, getting him hard in the gut. As he curled over she pulled out a stake from the back of her pants and jammed it into his back. He turned into dust seconds later.
She was just feeling better about herself when she felt the cool blade against her throat. "Not so tough are you now, Slayer?" The lackey vampire said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She smirked and looked at him as he held her katana. "Do you even know how to handle that thing?"
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Post by Kai Lau on Jul 31, 2008 9:23:24 GMT -6
The trip in the plane had been so much less then comfortable. Kai managed to creep inside the plane and stay inside the cargo room. Fortunately, he learned to use his demonic side well over the years, and combined with his rigorous training it produced interesting results. With a little patience, little luck and a lot of sweat Kai made it safely to US. The problem was though that by the time he made it out of the plane, his targets already had a head start.
But a slayer had a significant scent, Kai learned that from his books. Luck was on his side once more, because his unnatural blood brought with itself some useful advantages, like a sharpened sense of scent. Plus, he got used to tracking slayers back at home.. Though he got proficient at losing them as well. He literally followed his nose now.
Kai wasn't the usual site on the streets however. He was dressed all in black, with a long black duster. He carried with his the sword his uncle left him. Cheng was a wise old man. And although Kai thought of him as a father figure and a friend, he was much more. Sometimes he felt that his old uncle knew much more than he actually led him to believe. Kai carried his katana with pride and love. More than once it proved as a loyal friend to him.
As he rushed through the streets of this strange and new place, he still kept his eyes open for potential threats. The slayers' scent was stronger now. He was getting near. And as he made it around the corner there was a sight to see.
He found them.
And they had company.
The tall brunette made sure that the younger chosen made it safely out of sight of danger, but in the process she exposed herself to 6 vampires.
Vampires were also demons, and though Kai tended not to judge anyone before they proved their motives, a fight 6 to 1 seemed less than fair to him right now. He decided to wait though. His curiosity got the best of him, for he wanted to see the girl in action. As she pulled a katana from her package Kai's eyes widened and he observed her style. It had the basics from ancient chinese styles, but also had some elements Kai could not recognize. She was a fighter all right, and from what he saw... a good one.
But the girl wasn't strong enough for all of them it seemed. They caught her off guard and soon her own blade was pressed against her throat. There was no time left to postpone his entrance. He didn't like the fact of showing up so suddenly, but the girl already knew of his existence, and he couldn't let her get slaughtered in front of him.
Kai took a few steps forward and with a roundhouse launched a trashcan id their direction as it smashed in the back of the vamp holding the sword. Without a word he continued forward simultaneously pulling his sword from the sheath.
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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2008 9:59:58 GMT -6
Faith was cornered but she had a plan. She wasn't exactly sure what it was but she knew that it was big and would get her out of this mess. She was about the try and move out of the way of the blade when a trashcan came flying toward them. She backed up and the vampire lost his footing. She quickly grabbed her sword from where he'd dropped it. She took a few seconds to inspect it and see if it already had damage. She laughed a little knowing that Mr. D had probably done something special to it because there wasn't a single scratch on it. She loved that old demon.
"It's about time you joined the fight." She said to the guy who'd so conveniently kicked that trash can. She liked that he waited until the last second to step in because dramatic tension was more important than her life. She laughed a little and looked over at him. "I see you've even got your own sword." She joked in Chinese and plunged the sword into a vampires chest, cutting his heart in half. He turned into dust around her sword blade.
Another vampire came up and linked her arms behind her back. She grimaced and struggled from his arms. He was a relatively large guy, and would be even if he wasn't a vampire. Of course, he wasn't actually stronger than Faith, but he did have her in a compromising position. She stopped struggling and steadied herself in the right position in front of him. She kicked her leg back inbetween his legs and he dropped her, crumpling to the ground.
She swung her katana around and chopped off the vampires head. She watched him turn to dust with a satisfactory grin. She'd forgotten about the other vampire that was coming toward her with a knife from behind.
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Post by Kai Lau on Jul 31, 2008 10:24:31 GMT -6
He finally caught their attention and the trashcan trick seemed to work like a charm. The girl used the newly found opportunity to free herself from the vampires grasp as her sword found it's way through his chest soon after. She was handling herself remarkably well. Kai was pleased and even impressed.
He listened to her improvised Chinese and couldn't help but smile to her remark. His concentration though was still as sharp as ever as he kept a steady pace and soon found himself face to face with a vampire. This wasn't his first encounter with the horrid being. His katana had pierced a number of hearts till now. The vampire seemed angry, probably because several of hid buddies had already been dusted in the fight. Anger may have given him the extra kick in strength, but it clouded his judgment and that made him easy prey. Kai raised his sword and with several slashes defended from the maddened opponent, though he failed to finish him off. Kai underestimated his adversary, but that would be fixed in a second.
His ruby red eyes began to shine once more as his demonic blood started boiling in his veins. The vampire swung at him with his claws, but before it even reached Kai, his head was severed from the rest of his body as he turned to dust.
Kai turned to the slayer and noticed a vampire behind her rushing with a knife. He intercepted the beast before it reached his target and with several swift circular slashes of his katana detached his arms from the torso. The vampire fell to the ground. Kai turned to face his partner in combat and without looking plunged his sworh into the vampire's chest splitting his heart.
As he faced the slayer the glow in his eyes started fading.
Kai sheathed his sword in a gesture of peace and waited for her response.
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Post by Faith Lehane on Jul 31, 2008 11:03:18 GMT -6
Faith turned just as he plunged the sword into the vampire's heart. She was face to face with the man who she'd just seen at the airport hours ago. Well at least now she knew that someone was definitely following them. She smirked at the dusted vampire who'd tried to attack her from behind. Then she looked at him and quirked an eyebrow at him. "I believe I own you thanks stranger." She said holding her hand out for him to shake.
"That's the second time you've saved me from a vampire holding a sharp object." She still wasn't sure if she could allow herself to trust him at all. He might have helped her just so he could turn around and kill her by himself. Some assassins that she'd faced before were like that. She would have to be weary of him. She sighed and relaxed a little, noticing the flash in his eyes. He definitely wasn't human, that was certain.
"So, you going to share why you were following us?" She said and righted herself from the fight. She sheathed her katana but left her hand on the handle at her side. "or am I going to have to pull my sword out again?" She was being completely serious. She wouldn't mind another fight but something told her that wasn't what he was looking for. She tapped her foot on the pavement and placed her hands on her hips while she waited for him to give her an answer.
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Post by Kai Lau on Jul 31, 2008 18:20:36 GMT -6
The slayer had spoken to him in English. It was fortunate that Kai's uncle insisted that he learned it. It was just one of those things that his uncle made him do assuring the young boy that it could be of great service to him one day.
Kai listened to her every word and bowed down slightly as she thanked him for his assistance. The encounter had been rather pleasant though they were actually speaking in the street both armed with a sword after they had slaughtered several vampires.
It was funny in a way actually.
"So, you going to share why you were following us? .... Or am I going to have to pull my sword out again?"
[/i] Kai smiled at her. It would have been a magnificent battle for sure, but it wasn't a fight he intended on having right now. Though the thought of battling someone of such skill would have been beneficial to his skills. For the first time he spoke to her. In a calm and sure voice. He had an accent, but it was barely noticeable. "I assure you. There will be no need for further violence."The brunette seemed distrustful towards him, but even from his point of view it was completely understandable. "I would however like ..." Kai raised his chin slightly "... if you could return a favor."He was uncertain of her response.[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 1, 2008 14:21:07 GMT -6
Faith took her hand off her sword. She wasn't sure what he was up to but as long as they weren't going to fight then she didn't really care. As soon as she was behind the walls of the courtyard she'd be safe from any enemies. She could invite him in but she wasn't sure if she'd like the answer. If he couldn't enter the hotel then he was an enemy and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face that yet. He didn't appear to want to hurt her but Faith had been through a lot in her days and she knew that looks were always deceiving.
"Woah, buddy. We just met." She said holding her hands up when he asked her for a favor. She was only joking and knowing her delivery skills he probably wouldn't even get it. She laughed a little and put her hands down. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. She was taking a relatively relaxed stance around him because she knew that he wouldn't be the one initializing a fight between them anytime soon. Why he was following them was still up in the air though. She would find that out soon enough.
"That depends on the favor." She said looking at him suspiciously. She wanted to ask him the question that was still burning in her mind but she waited. She wanted to hear what he was going to ask of her first. It would be interesting to find out what he wanted from her. It obviously couldn't be anything related to the Chinese girls she'd just picked up. They didn't know who he was or they would have sensed him following them. Well, maybe it didn't have to do with any of them personally. Maybe he was following one of them around, and just so happened to jump on a plane and follow them across the ocean. She hoped he wasn't some crazy supernatural stalker.
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Post by Kai Lau on Aug 1, 2008 17:38:42 GMT -6
Kai observed the peculiar girl with much interest. She had an aura of confidence around her, but nevertheless, he noticed that she was still playing it safely.. as she should. He stood there listening to her every word as his face was still as serious as ever. Even when he noticed that she was obviously joking, his expression stood unchanged.
Kai had the unusual habit of not expressing his emotions even in the strangest situations. Sometimes it gave him the extra edge, but sometimes it had an opposite effect.
"I need to speak to your master."
He wasn't sure if she even had one, but every fighter must have a teacher... And Kai simply followed his logic. He didn't follow them all this way just to be rejected by her, and even in the worst possible scenario, he saw himself getting the info he came for.
"I have some questions regarding the slayers..."
This might have been too direct, but as tactical as he usually tended to be, his curiosity got the best of him now.
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 3, 2008 21:59:58 GMT -6
Faith laughed when he said that he needed to see her master. He said it so bluntly and to the point. He wasn't joking either. He was slightly too serious for her to consider them ever becoming friends, even if he was on their side. She would probably respect him but friendship was hard with someone who didn't show their emotions, but maybe her first impression of him was wrong. She wasn't like Buffy, she'd take a silly boy like Xander over Broody types like Angel any day. Well, Angel was a pretty good kisser, even if he had been pretending to be Angelus. She shook off her thoughts and focused at the task at hand.
"Listen buddy, I have no master. If anything, I am my own master." She said pointing to herself. She was a watcherless slayer and she was going to keep it that way. She yielded to nobody, not even Buffy who was technically the ringleader of the operation. She sighed and shrugged at him.
"If you want answers, I can give them to you." She said, still unsure as to whether or not she could invite him into the hotel. It wasn't like it would matter because he would be dead in seconds if he tried anything but she still had her doubts. Giles was probably the best person to go to for technical answers and Buffy for some things. Except, Buffy tended to get a little talky and Giles wasn't one for paying attention for long periods of time.
"I'll answer any question you want answered... that is in my power to answer anyway." She was still going to be careful around the guy because it wasn't every day people just came around asking about the slayers. She needed to know what he was up to before she involved Buffy and the others with it. After all, he was following her and her girls, she didn't want anyone else involved if he turned out to be all evil and stuff.
"So, you get me for questions and that's it. Take it or leave it buddy." She said and crossed her arms across her chest as she waited for him to consider her offer. If he seemed suspicious she'd just make up some totally bullshit story and send him on his way. If he wasn't a threat she'd allow his questions and maybe see if she should consider introducing him to the others.
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Post by Kai Lau on Aug 4, 2008 17:29:54 GMT -6
Kai waited patiently for her response. Although he did not expect a warm welcome from someone he recently followed half way over the world, the girl did seem to be cooperative. It was a good thing she did. Maybe he would have his answers soon.
Suddenly Kai realized the full aspect of the situation he was in. It came to his mind and he tried his best to shake those thoughts away.
He had nowhere to stay in this peculiar new world, no documents whatsoever, no friends, family... no one. Just his sword and a memory of his uncle who forged it. Kai was alone, and even if his outside did seem rough and cold, inside he was aching for a friend... Even if he alone didn't realize it yet.
He had nothing in this foreign land except himself, and the possibility he could help to heal this world from all the pain it was going through.
Kai listened to the girl still holding the serious face. As the girl finished speaking Kai gazed at her for a few seconds and then wanted to respond as honestly as he could, but still watching his tongue. Suddenly he realized...
"Forgive me... I have not introduced myself."
He figured now that he was still a stranger to the girl. Though they fought together against a common enemy, common courtesy and manners urged him to do this.
"I am Kai Lau."
He bowed down in respect to the fighter he spoke to.
"I come seeking the answers about the recent slayer activity around the world. I need to know why are you upsetting the gentle balance with your interfering. Things are not supposed to be like this. It was not written to be..."
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 6, 2008 14:14:58 GMT -6
"Nice to meet you Kai. I'm Faith." She followed his suit and bowed at a 45 degree angle. Something about it being a sign of respect and not submission like a 90 degree angle would be. She could never seem to remember the rules of foreign country body language, but she tried to anyway. She gave him a look of concern and listened to him speak.
"I come seeking the answers about the recent slayer activity around the world. I need to know why are you upsetting the gentle balance with your interfering. Things are not supposed to be like this. It was not written to be..."
She held up her hands and gave him a questioning look. Why was he giving her the third degree? Getting rid of the bad guys and upsetting the balance was the way it was supposed to be. What was the point in fighting the good fight if you weren't winning and beating all those nasty things that go bump in the night? She sighed and put her hands down. She didn't know what he expected of her but she was going to give him the best answer she could.
"Screw what's written. I'm supposed to go by what some old dude wrote down while he was sitting around bored with nothing to do." She laughed a little and smirked at the man. He was probably the neutral sort. He wasn't reprimanding her for fighting for good, he was just questioning why the slayers were upsetting the balance.
"The balance needs to be upset. For the past however many years we've had one slayer. Why should there be only one slayer to stand against all the hordes of demons the First, among others, seems to be sending our way?" She asked him back. She didn't mean to get defensive but they were the ones fighting the good fight, so forget the balance, and maybe someday evil will be a miniscule problem on the scales of time. Of course, nothing could really defeat a human's evil but the big gross kind was easy to kill.
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Post by Kai Lau on Aug 9, 2008 4:35:39 GMT -6
"Screw what's written. I'm supposed to go by what some old dude wrote down while he was sitting around bored with nothing to do."
Kai opened his eyes in mild shock. This manner of response caught him off guard. The girl spoke of the elders without any respect or gratitude. His eyelids moved closer in suspicion. The girl may be a decent fighter, but this kind of disrespect was not making her look better in his eyes. Kai learned everything about the world, including both it's "normal" one "supernatural" side. Ancient scrolls and books were his guide to what he has become today.
"The balance needs to be upset. For the past however many years we've had one slayer. Why should there be only one slayer to stand against all the hordes of demons the First, among others, seems to be sending our way?"
Kai listened to the girl and lowered his head as she spoke.
This did seem like a legitimate argument. And Kai himself spent a great deal of time trying to figure it out. If only one slayer existed, she would have to confront all the demons in world on her own.
"But one slayer can be controlled in a way. The Watchers' obligation was to teach her, train her and prepare her for the duty that awaits her... even monitor her and care that she does not stray. The power a slayer wields is great and has potential to become both constructive and destructive. Who will make sure that all slayers stay on the side of light. With this sudden 'awakening' evil itself might be getting reinforcements."
Kai paused for a moment and then continued with a lower voice.
"Besides... the casualties will be greater on both sides now..."
There was nothing he despised more than a life lost without a purpose.
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 9, 2008 10:21:08 GMT -6
"But one slayer can be controlled in a way. The Watchers' obligation was to teach her, train her and prepare her for the duty that awaits her... even monitor her and care that she does not stray. The power a slayer wields is great and has potential to become both constructive and destructive. Who will make sure that all slayers stay on the side of light. With this sudden 'awakening' evil itself might be getting reinforcements."
This guy certainly cared about the balance of the world and about the new amount of slayers that seemed to be in it. He wasn't the type of guy to just brush off. Faith knew she should watch out for him. He was obviously the neutral type. She didn't mind that so much except she did mind the look he gave her when she disrespected the old men that apparently wrote the rules of the world. They had no idea how many innocent people their rules would end up killing just because there was only one girl at a time in all the world. Well, now there were many girls and the scales were finally tipping in their favor.
"Way to be a buzz kill." She said and laughed a little. Then she put on her serious face and calmed down a little. She didn't have to convince this guy to like the fact that there were a bunch of slayers running around because honestly it was happening whether he liked it or not. She knew that he just wanted to understand.
"There is no way to make sure that every single slayer will join the forces of good. Some of them may drift over to the bad side but they won't be properly trained and we have plenty of slayers to take them out if that should ever happen. We are a larger organization than you may think and honestly, we've got plenty of people working on finding new slayers all the time. We just want to give them the option of joining our side. They don't have to join if they don't want to." That was certainly a mouthful but he had asked the question. It was the truth, Faith would never make a girl come with her and train to be a slayer. If she wanted to sit at home and not fulfill her destiny that was her perogative.
"Besides... the casualties will be greater on both sides now..."
Faith sighed and held up her hand to her forehead. She rubbed it gently and then placed it back at her side. She knew he was right but there wasn't much they could do about it now.
"That's true but it's worth it if we're getting rid of the evil in the world. I understand that there is no way in hell we'll be able to kill every evil being in the world because we'd have to kill every human as well but we can save some innocent lives from some dire fates. I believe that it's worth a few lives if we're saving hundreds more."
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Post by Kai Lau on Aug 9, 2008 14:26:38 GMT -6
"Some of them may drift over to the bad side but they won't be properly trained and we have plenty of slayers to take them out if that should ever happen."
[/i] Kai didn't like this part... He didn't like it at all... They would 'take them out'? ... Kill them just because they would refuse to join their side. This reminded him of the way demons might think, but it was the least he would expect from a slayer. Yet, he decided to calm himself down, and make no remark to her statement... For now. The neutral stance was a difficult one to keep. Most of the people that were 'neutral' simply didn't care for the world, and didn't even bother to take sides, or participate in the struggle. A very small portion of this group however cared for the world as it is. And wanted it to exist in peace and prosperity. But they didn't want to achieve this through violence or destruction. The true neutrals knew that there would always be two sides to this world... Yin and Yang. And one could never exist without the other. "That's true but it's worth it if we're getting rid of the evil in the world. I understand that there is no way in hell we'll be able to kill every evil being in the world because we'd have to kill every human as well but we can save some innocent lives from some dire fates. I believe that it's worth a few lives if we're saving hundreds more."Kai disapproved of her reasoning. "You will never win you know..."He smiled just a little. "You could never vanquish evil. Because good without evil cannot exist."He got serious once more. "And though you might lead your noble crusade against the dark, you will fail. Either you will live long enough to realize that or you will die in the process. I am sure that you already lost so much for this greater good." Kai said too much. He didn't even know if the last part was about her or himself. But the thing he knew for sure is that he needed to change the topic. There was so much he needed to learn, and making the girl angry would surely get him nowhere. He paused for a few moments though. As an image of his uncle came to mind. He lowered his eyes and tried his best to regain focus over the matter at hand. [/size][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by Faith Lehane on Aug 10, 2008 2:18:43 GMT -6
"You will never win you know..."
Faith really didn't like where he was going with this. Her whole life all she'd done was make mistakes. When she finally realized how she could repent, how she could give back all the things she'd taken, she jumped at the chance. She had the opportunity to lead these girls into a battle against evil. She knew that they would never truly win but she also knew they could save countless lives. She knew that she couldn't take back her own sins, but she could help lead these girls and maybe that would make up for some of her own pain. She knew it was selfish but wasn't everyone a little selfish at some point in time. She just wanted the world to be a better place, and she knew her girls could give the world the healing touch it needed.
"You could never vanquish evil. Because good without evil cannot exist."
Faith laughed a little and shrugged. She wasn't as stupid as some people may have thought she was. She was especially a smart girl when it came to things like the balance between good and evil.
"I am not saying we're here to heal the world of every possible facet of evil. I understand that there are two sides to a coin but we can help get rid of the evil that is pressing down on humanity and threatening to destroy everything we've built. I don't really care much about the politics of life but I would rather die than see a harmless kid get murdered because I could've done something to protect it and I didn't." She said feeling passionate about her choices in life. She wasn't sure if he was judging her or not but frankly she didn't care. She was fighting the good fight and she was wasting her time listening to him question it.
"And though you might lead your noble crusade against the dark, you will fail. Either you will live long enough to realize that or you will die in the process. I am sure that you already lost so much for this greater good."
She smiled again knowingly. He assumed that she thought they would rid the world of every evil that had ever existed. She wasn't stupid. She had enough evil in her to destroy a city but it was the way she used that inner power to give her strength to fight for good that helped her become a better person. His last words struck a chord with her. She got defensive without even meaning to.
"You have no idea what I have lost. What everyone in there has lost because of what we're fighting for." She pointed to the rebuilt hotel and all the inhabitants. He had no idea how many family and friends every single one of those people had lost to get here. "That doesn't mean we stop fighting." She said with more control in her voice. She then smiled warmly as her eyes got a far off look. She thought of all the people she'd lost because of the person she had been and because of other evils. "If anything, those losses..." She looked away toward the street before looking back at him with a determination in her eyes. "... make us stronger."
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