Repost FIC: Terra Australis Incognito 1-3/29

["Tony McD" <cdreramius@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

TITLE: Terra Australis Incognito 1-3/29 
AUTHOR: Tony McD (o163210@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and others. This is for fun, not profit. 
SUMMARY: Buffy, Willow, and Xander have their lives turned upside down and embark on a new destiny together. (B/W/X). First of my Terra/Trinity/Destiny series.
SPOILERS: AU around season 4. 
RATING: R (for language)

Authors Note: David McWray is based on a real person (and close friend) serving in the Australian SASR. Godspeed my friend, and my you return home safely.

Chapter 1
He sat on the rocky outcropping over looking the vast empty outback that hecalled home. It was only 8 am but it was already 30 degrees C and climbing. He didn't notice the heat, for he was born here. As was his father, and his grandfather, and his father before him. Indeed his family and his peoplestretched back 100,000 years if the latest evidence was to be believed.

He was considered to be an old man by those who knew him. By their standards he was. In a few short months he would mark 100 years since his birth buthis body was that of a man half his age. No doubt due to the ancient magicthat flowed through him. 



He had dedicated his life to preserving his peoples' culture, stories, and magic. He became a repository for much that was ancient. He was determined that the knowledge he had acquired would be passed on for future generations. But for that to happen there had to be a future for the coming generations to live in. And so began his involvement with the Watchers Council.



His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar presence.



"G'day David" the old man said without turning to face the young man.



"Hello old man. Am I interrupting anything?" David asked.



"No. Come sit with me so we can talk."



David sat beside the old man. The rock was hot but David paid no attention to it. While he had not been born here, he had grown up here, cared for by the old man who sat beside him. The old man was not his father but David had come to see him as such. As for David's real father, the old man had never told him who it was.



"So, Albert. What thoughts are going through your wizened old head?" David asked.



Albert smiled at the young man's gentle jibe. The years he spent with the Watchers Council had made Albert appreciate the unique Australian outlook and humour. Few places could you call someone a bastard and it be taken as a sign of genuine affection.



"I was thinking about my birthday." Albert informed David.



"You are not that bloody old!" David exclaimed. He could tell that Albert was worried about his age. "OK you're 100 soon but that is nothing."Albert looked at the young man with a raised eyebrow. 



"Over 100 years before your birth the British landed here in 1788. Aboriginals arrived here 100 000 years ago. Not too far to the west of here is the 3.5 billion year old fossil of the earliest life. Not to mention most of the rock around here is over 4 billion years old. So when you look at it you are just a baby compared to all of that. Try not to worry about it." David told him. Albert shrugged and sensed the young mans purpose in coming to him.



"Where are you going this time?" Albert asked.



"America." David told him.



"Why?"



"It is supposed to be a secret but since it ties in with you, kind of, I'lltell you."



Albert looked at the young man with a little surprise. David's job as an officer in one of the world's most elite units, the Australian Special Air Service, did not generally tie in with Albert at all. The Australian Army didn't deal with magic.



"I got a call from Canberra telling me I had a meeting with the Prime Minister. When I got there and the PM and the Defence Minister were there. They told me that there was a problem with vampires being on the rise. Hey, did you know that the Defence Minister witnessed a vampire attack ten years agoand that the PM's father was a Watcher?"



Albert nodded "I didn't know about the Defence Minister but the Prime Minister I knew about. I knew his father. He was a fool just like so many otherson the Council."



"But you're on the Council." David pointed out. Albert looked at David withan expression that said 'and your point being?' The two stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.



"OK" Albert said after they had stopped laughing, "what has this got to do with you going to America?"



"Apparently the Yanks set up some special forces unit to handle vampires and demons. Unfortunately the Initiative, that's what they called these blokes, didn't just kill the demons. No, they went and captured them for experiments. So surprise, surprise; the demons get loose and the shit hits the fan. So the PM wants me to go over there and study their experiences. See whattoys and tactics they used. Only this time we don't capture the vampires, we kill them. And I get to form a team that will do it when I get back."



"Where exactly in America are you going?" Albert asked, his mind racing.



"Sunnydale, California. Why? What's the problem?" David asked seeing the expression on Albert's face.



"The Slayer," Albert breathed. "The Slayer."

Chapter 2
"The Slayer? What has she got to do with this?" David asked.

"It is a long story and I need to give you the background to it all. Some of it you would have already been told. Some, you won't. Let's just say thatit is important enough for you to shut up and listen until I finish." Albert grumped at David. David for his part was all ears. Albert began.

"We Aboriginals have creation stories like any other people. For us the Great Creation Spirit, the Rainbow Serpent, created the World. She created theworld and all living things, shaped the land and made it fit for people tolive on. She also created spirits who were to protect the land and guide the people. Each spirit had a particular role, be it a sky spirit to bring rain or a guiding spirit to lead people in the way that least harmed the land. The Rainbow Serpent also gave free will to people and her spirits to chose the path that they would follow. This free will enabled people and spirits to chose good or evil. Some spirits decided that they would not serve the Rainbow Spirit who was now sleeping to regain her strength after creatingthe world. Some spirits wanted people to serve them, rather than the otherway round. Some wanted to destroy the world and reshape it as they saw fit. Others had their own agenda."



"So there were 2 camps of spirits, one good and one evil. And since good was not really into fighting, evil dominated the world. The only thing that stopped evil from destroying the world was the fact that evil was busy fighting itself to determine who would rule. 



"In the mean time good had decided that if they didn't get organized and fight evil then evil would destroy them all. So the good spirits came together and from which a number of spirits decided to become warriors for good with the others providing what help they could. Eventually, after many great battles, good gained the upper hand over evil. Good, however, lacked the power to destroy all evil. So they used what power they had to lock as much of evil away from the world as possible. As evil was removed one fed on a human and mixed his blood with a mans' blood. That person fed on another human and mixed their blood together. Thus were born vampires."



"The Rainbow Serpent awoke and saw the destruction wrought by evil. She sawthat vampires could very well mean the end of humans. She also saw that evil would try to escape its prison. So, before she left the world, the Rainbow Serpent created two warrior spirits to be placed in a man and a woman. These two spirits would give the person that they were in great strength, speed, and healing ability."



"The female spirit, Shelgui, would hunt vampires. When she died, the spiritwould go to another girl and continue the fight. She would become known asthe Slayer. The male spirit, Gangui, would enter a baby the moment it was born. It would grow with the boy and become a powerful warrior. His destinywas to prevent evil from destroying the world. Once the man was killed, Gangui would wait until he was next needed. Gangui is currently in you David.Don't ask me why because I don't know, all I know is what I'm telling you." Albert said anticipating David's inevitable question.

"Now we fast forward to the early 70's. I was in London, after having been finally accepted into the Watchers Council. I wasn't a Watcher as such as Ididn't train a Slayer. Partly because I was already to old, partly becauseI wasn't a born Watcher, and partly because there has never been a Slayer born in Australia, as you know." David just nodded. He knew the reasons well.

"I met this wayward character; hate-the-world, played rough, practiced magic for self pleasure or gain. For some reason we became good friends. He wasrebelling against his destiny; he left Oxford and was doing anything to avoid his destiny. You see his father was a Watcher, as was his father beforehim. He was destined to become a Watcher and he rebelled against it. We were quite an odd pair. He was fighting so hard to avoid becoming a Watcher and I had fought so hard to become one."



"Anyway he was seeing a girl, my brother's grand-daughter, who was over there for a year on a working holiday. They ended up going their separate wayswhen she went back to Australia. He later did a foolish and fatal thing. He stopped rebelling and I helped him come to terms with what he did. I usedwhat influence I had to get him back into Oxford and for him to be trainedas a Watcher. My grand niece discovered she was pregnant to this lad when she returned to Australia. She had a difficult labour and died not to long after giving birth to a healthy baby boy. 



"A few years ago the Slayer was drowned by a Master Vampire. She was revived and she dusted the Master Vampire that did it. However, since she had died another Slayer was called. Now there are two Slayers. The original who died and another. From what I can tell, when the original Slayer died, Shelgui moved onto the next girl but when the original Slayer was revived Shelguire-entered the original Slayer and left behind a daughter spirit.  



"On her 18th birthday the Council did it's stupid test. She passed but her Watcher was sacked for having a father's love for her. She then turned around and told the Council to go fuck itself. She still slays and her Watcher still guides and trains her."

"They are in Sunnydale. The original Slayer is Buffy Summers. Her Watcher is the young man I met in London. He gave this ring to your mother before she left." Albert held up a ring with a snake pattern on the outside. David gasped.

"You mean..."



"Yes David. That man, the Slayer's Watcher, Rupert Giles, is your father."

Chapter 3
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 timefor 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 best friend 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 taser 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 wasvery nearly Xander. Xander hovered between this world and the next for tenlong 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 shenoticed 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 justglared at Willow. "Or maybe not. What do 'they' know anyway?" Willow addedquickly.



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 fora change?"





In the pre dawn light Buffy and Willow patrolled the cemetery. "Whatever 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 minutesaway." Willow told her friend. It was at this point that they saw them. Inthe 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 whatever it was had ended. Buffy recognised Riley and the guy that jumped him from yesterday's game.



"See you later Riley." The jumper guy said it an accent she couldn't quitepick. Still watching them depart Buffy said to Willow, "OK I think they'regone. We should go tell Giles what..." Buffy had turned to face Willow andsaw 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 friendand 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 goneand 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 some bloke 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 youencountered 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 jumpercan you? Something unusual?" Giles asked. Something about the ceremony wasfamiliar 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.