FIC: Terra Australis Incognito 3/?

[CDRERamius@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: Terra Australis Incognito 3/?
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and 
others. This is for fun, not profit.
SUMMARY: A stranger with many connections to the Scooby Gang arrives in 
Sunnydale and changes their lives forever.
SPOILERS: General Season 4
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere is fine, just email me first at CDRERamius@xxxxxxx
AUTHOR'S NOTES: We finally get Buffy and co. Please trust me when I say that 
this IS going somewhere. Have I let you down before? (Please don't answer 
that). My universe differs a bit from Joss. Please bear with me. Riley 
bashing ahead.



Spring in Sunnydale, thought Buffy, normally a time to be happy. The long 
dark winter nights were over, warm sunny days, new life emerging. And a time 
for romance. At that last thought Buffy frowned. The path of romance had been 
rocky to say the least for Buffy and her friends. She sighed as she recounted 
how each had gotten to their current state.
After the disaster of Parker, Buffy had all but given up on romance. Then 
came Riley who ignited the old lusty feelings again. All seemed to go well, 
even after she found out about Riley and the Initiative. However it became 
apparent that it could not work out. The events of last year leading up to 
the death of Oz had turned Buffy against Riley. She both disliked and 
distrusted him. Then there was the matter of lusty feelings Buffy had for a 
certain friend.
Xander 'can't win for losing guy' had had a very rough trip down lovers 
lane. Miss French ( the Praying Mantis Lady), Ampata (the life sucking Inca 
mummy), Cordelia (what was he thinking?), and finally Anya. Having become 
mortal, she discovered sex and Xander. At first it was purely physical but 
Xander began to fall in love with her. It was at this point that Anya decided 
to explore sex with other men and left in search of the perfect orgasm (or 
something like that). Xander now spent a lot of time listening to country 
music (the music of soul destroying pain he once told Buffy).
Then there was Willow. Buffy's bestfriend was no better off then the rest 
of the Scooby gang. First Oz slept with another werewolf, which was bad 
enough without the fact that it was Willow who discovered the two naked in 
Oz's cage. After killing Verruca (and nearly Willow as well) Oz left. 
Heartbroken Willow found someone else to love. The fact that it was a big 
breasted, blond wicca by the name Tara threw Buffy (not to mention Xander). 
Unfortunately it was not meant to be and once again Willow was heart broken.
Then Oz returned to ask Willow for forgiveness. The bright spark that 
should have lit Willow's life was snuffed out. ADAM experimented with magic 
and raised the First Evil which promptly destroyed him. The gang were now 
fighting for the world (again). Riley had it in for Oz and gave him a faulty 
tasar gun for the battle. The First Evil attacked Oz and, despite his own 
dislike for Oz, Xander tried to save Oz. He couldn't and Oz was killed as was 
very nearly Xander. Xander hovered between this world and the next for ten 
long days. The strain was devastating on Willow.
Buffy shook her head in an effort to remove the thoughts from her mind. A 
good hard run on the track field, followed by a quick shower and some slayage 
should do the trick, she thought. Exercise and killing big honking evil was a 
slayers comfort food.

Once at the track Buffy started to stretch and look around. That's when 
she noticed the battle going on in the centre.
It wasn't a battle in the strictest sense of the word. A group of about 
20 or so guys were playing some form of game. It took a little while but 
Buffy deduced that it was some kind of football game with no rules other than 
destroy the player with the ball. The players were punching and kicking the 
ball around, tackling, and smashing into each other.
Then one of the players managed to pick up the ball and kicked it. It was 
a big kick, huge in fact. A small knot of players at the far end of the field 
jostled for position to catch the ball, all the while keeping their eyes on 
the ball. One set of eyes, Buffy noticed, belonged to Riley.
His bulky frame ensured that he would be in position to catch the ball. 
Then at the last moment, a player leapt up and, kneeling on Riley's shoulders 
caught the ball some 5 or 6 feet above Riley's head. Both Riley and the 
jumper crashed to earth with a bone crunching thud.
"Wow! Did you see that?" Willow exclaimed, startling the slayer.
"Willow! Scare me to death! What are you doing here? I thought you had an 
essay to write." Buffy said.
"It's finished so I decided to come look for you. Say, isn't that Riley 
over there? I think I might turn him into a toad. How about it Buff?"
Buffy looked at Riley who was slowly and painfully getting up of the 
ground. The guy who jumped him was racing down the field, bouncing the ball 
and showing no effect of the fall.
"No, I think he is in enough pain as it is. Can I take a raincheck?" 
Buffy turned to Willow. "You know what I need? A holiday. A week or two with 
no vampires or demons or Hellmouth. Just laying down on a beach, catching 
some rays, no world in peril."
"Well you know what they say, a change is as good as a holiday." Buffy 
just glared at Willow. "Or maybe not. What do 'they' know anyway?" Willow 
added quickly.
Buffy turned to see Riley talking to the guy who had jumped him. She 
heard Riley tell him "OK, dawn at the cemetery. See you then." Riley then 
limped towards the locker room.
Buffy's eyes narrowed somewhat. Riley, at the cemetery, at dawn. What 
ever it was it can't be any good, she thought to herself.
"Willow, how about you and me go to the cemetery, say around dawn, just 
for a change?"

In the pre dawn light Buffy and Willow patrolled the cemetery. "What ever 
Riley is up to it can't be good." She whispered to herself for the tenth time.
"What ever it is Buffy, it can't be vampires. Sunrise is only a few 
minutes away." Willow told her friend. It was at this point that they saw 
them. In the war cemetery was 6 or 7 figures gathered around a headstone with 
candles. They appeared to be chanting or reciting something. The Slayer and 
her friend crouched behind the low hedge that surrounded the war cemetery. 
Buffy strained to hear what they were saying.
"...grow not old...not weary...condemn...going down of the sun...we 
will..."
"What are they saying Buff?" Willow whispered. Buffy said nothing but 
placed her fingers on Willow's lips to silence her as she tried to use her 
Slayer hearing to listen it on what was being said. It was no use as what 
ever it was had ended. Buffy recognised Riley and the guy that jumped him 
from yesterdays game.
"See you later Riley." The jumper guy said it an accent she couldn't 
quite pick. Still watching them depart Buffy said to Willow "OK I think 
they're gone. We should go tell Giles what..." Buffy had turned to face 
Willow and saw that she still had her fingers over Willow's lips. Willow was 
looking at Buffy with an expression that Buffy had not seen before.
Thoughts flashed through the Slayers mind (lusty feelings for Willow! Bad 
Buffy! Bad Buffy!). Willow kissed Buffy's fingers. The world seemed to 
contract until there was just the two of them. Buffy closed her eyes as 
sparks shot down her fingers and ran down her spine. Buffy sighed and began 
to moan.
Just then a dog started to bark and the two leapt to their feet ready for 
an attack. But there was no attack and the pair began breathing again. Willow 
looked startled and began to stutter.
"I...I'm...s...so s...sorry...B...Buffy..." The Slayer looked at her 
friend and grabbed her hands.
"Don't be sorry. I really liked it and..." Buffy looked down at her feet 
and then back at her friend, a coy look on her face. "...and it's too early 
to see Giles just yet. Let's go back to the dorm and.." the coy look was gone 
and a look of sheer lust replaced it. "...maybe you can help wash my back? 
What do you say, Will?"
Willow said nothing, she was unable to. Her fantasy was coming true. She 
just nodded and let Buffy lead her out of the cemetery.

It was just before noon when Buffy and Willow got to Giles place. Buffy 
knocked. "Come in Buffy! I'm in the kitchen!" Giles called from inside. On 
entering they saw Xander lying on the couch with and ice pack on his head and 
a decidedly ill look on his face.
"Xander! Don't tell me you've been cursed with syphilis again." Buffy 
remarked.
"He hasn't been cursed by anything." Giles said as he entered the lounge 
room. "Good morning Buffy, Willow." he said.
"Young Xander made a big mistake and tried to out drink an Aussie at the 
bar last night. Came in here at 2 in the morning singing something about 
tying a kangaroo down and passed out in the bath." Spike said from the 
kitchen. "Not a pretty picture this morning are you?" he asked Xander.
"It feels like the Hellmouth has opened in my head and all the demons are 
having one big party. Buff, please slay me." Xander implored his friend.
Buffy knew the hell Xander was going through. After the bad beer 
incident, Buffy had a hangover that measured on the Richter Scale. "You'll 
live Xander, although I'm not sure you will want to." Buffy told him. She 
turned to Giles. "You'd think he would have learned about the evils of 
drinking by now?" she asked.
"Yes quite." Giles said. "I'm sorry but what brings you here? Something 
you encountered last night?" Buffy told Giles about what had happened last 
night; except for the bit with Willow.
"Fascinating, you can't remember anything else about this mysterious 
jumper can you? Something unusual?" Giles asked. Something about the ceremony 
was familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Um, no. Wait, yes. He had a strange accent. British or something." Buffy 
told her Watcher.
"Hey! Never call an Aussie a Pom. It's very insulting." A voice from the 
doorway said. Everyone turned and Buffy recognised him as the jumper. Buffy 
leapt up ready to attack.