Edward drops his now empty crossbow and pulls out a wooden stake from his shoulder bag.  He has a bag full of wooden stakes.  If he can just dust the vampire in front of him, he can get a stake to Esperanza.

"You children need to go home now! Hopie and I will handle this!" Edward shouts as he plunges the wooden stake towards Vinnie's heart and misses by a mile.  That was an epic fail.  Vinnie could have dodged it with his eyes closed.

"I think the 'children' had better stick around. You'd be screwed without us."
Brittany said making air quotes at the word 'children' as she straightened her right leg and kicked high aiming for Vinnie's jaw. WHAM!  Vinnie's head snapped back from the impact as Brittany's foot hits his jaw.  No epic fail for the Brittster.


Since Hopie had managed to put a couple of them on the ground, Tori went to help her to make sure they stayed there. Remembering her instructor's mystical advice for when all else fails, 'kickem inna fork', she put the boot into Guy Guy.

WHAM!

Tori's foot crashes into Guy Guy's rib cage.  "Arrrgggghhh!  You dumb chick!  I'm gonna get you!" Guy Guy screams.


"I CAN'T leave until you do!  Mr. Hudson said to run."  Liam tried in vain to reason with Tori.  She moved in and attacked anyway.

"What are you doing?!?!"  This wasn't how the girl reacted in the movies.  He had no choice but to move up next to her and try to protect her even though he as woefully equipped to do so.  He wrapped the sport coat around his right arm to help.

Seeing what Tori was doing, Hopie chose to ignore Mr Hudson for now, especially as Brittany seemed to have everything in hand.  She rushed over to Peter and launched a mighty kick, seeking to prevent him from rising.  WHAM!  Her foot found its mark as it slammed into Peter. She tried again.  Wham!  Another kick hits the downed Peter.


"I'd never kick a Guy when he's down,"  Billy quipped.  He then stepped up to help Tori in her assault and took a swing at Guy Guy.  "Might punch him, though."

Wham!  Billy's punch hits the downed Guy Guy.

Vinnie laughed at Edwards's stake attempt.  "I think you need glasses grandpa!" he sneers at Edward as he throws a punch that Edwards manages to avoid.

Peter snaps back to his feet and faces Hopie.  "You are clearly not like other girls! Are you a shapeshifting demon? Or dare I say it could you be..............a Slayer?

Peter tries to return the favor and kicks at Hopie's face barely missing.  Hopie felt a breeze as Peter's foot whizzed past her face.

Guy Guy also snapped back to his feet.  He came at Tori, looking for some payback.  But Liam was now standing in front of Tori.

Guy Guy smiles at Liam. "Oh, so you want to play knight in shining armor and protect the women eh punk? That's great!  I used to beat up nerds like you in high school every day!  It will be like old times!"

Guy Guy hurls a punch at Liam, which Liam manages to avoid thanks to his full defense strategy.

OCC: And that's round 2.  Peter and Guy Guy started the round on the ground and had -4 penalty to defend.  Then in the second half of the round, they snapped back their feet and attacked without penalty, but your defense moves were good enough to avoid their hits.

Tori's eyes widened as Guy Guy effortlessly got to his feet after her kick and came after her. Then Liam stepped in the way.

"Liam! Get back!"

She stepped forward and nailed a kick on Guy Guy again.

"Uhhh!  I'll get to you in a minute!" he shouted at Tori.

Billy smirked.  "As if either of these two were going to do anything else?"

He turned his attention back Guy Guy. "How's it going going, Guy Guy?  Been a while while since you've you've been beat beat on instead of the other way around around?"

Billy's punch smashes into Guy Guy's face. But Guy Guy didn't like Billy's punch or his jokes.

"I'll take care of you too punk.  You deserve a beating for telling bad jokes!"


"You can't beat a vampire by punching it!"  Liam remarked back at Tori.  She didn't get it and she certainly wasn't listening to him.  Maybe when the first person went down it might sink in exactly what these things were.

He didn't have time to wonder if Esperanza was a demon or whatever else he said.  He was more worried about being the knight in shining armor sans the shining armor.  He really wasn't so concerned with getting beat up.  He was used to it and it would be better than Tori getting hurt.

Once again he stepped in between Tori and Guy Guy.

"You're a glutton for punishment geek." Guy Guy says as he swings and misses Liam again who's full defense move continues to be effective for now.




Hopie is used to working together as a community.  She is not Zorro and so she calls out instructions.  "Billy and Liam, stay with Tori and fight together.  Old Man, concentrate and help Brittany fight your guy." She grinned as she met Peter's eyes, "Me, I'm nobody.  All the girls in my village are like me."

With that she tried a sweep kick, trying to kick Peter's feet out from underneath him planned to follow up with a more conventional kick.  While she hopes to see Peter fall, she is not stupid enough to ignore the need to defend herself against whatever may come her way.

Peter leaped high at Hopie's sweeping kick deftly avoiding it then Peter came at her with a kick of his own that missed. Good thing Hopie kept her defense up.

"Like all the girls in your village? I doubt that.  But we'll soon find out when I'm drinking your blood. Demon blood is quite distinctive.  And I hear Slayer blood is the best kind there is." Peter says to Hopie.

Stalemate this round.  The Slayer and the Russian vampire successfully defended each other's attacks.





Brittany rolled her eyes as Edward totally missed his attack.  She was doing all the work here.

She lands a punch at Vinnie's mid-section.


Edward gave up on telling the four teenagers to leave.  They obviously weren't listening to him.

"Time to end this farce." Edward put all he had into plunging the stake into Vinnie's heart.

The group had been lucky so far, but if they wanted to survive this night, he needed to dust this vampire and get a wooden stake into the Slayer's hand.

THOK!  Edward's stake pierces Vinnie's heart.

"Uh oh" were Vinnie's last words as he explodes into dust.

If you've never seen a vampire explode to dust, it's quite a sight.

OCC: And that's round 3.  Vinnie is now dust.  Two vampires to go.  Hopie- according to the multiple actions rules, if you intend to make two attacks and the first attack is defended, then the second attack can't be made. Peter defended your first attack (the sweep kick) so then the second kick couldn't be made.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:26, Mon 16 May 2022.

With Vinnie now dusted, the watcher charged over to the Slayer who was engaging the Russian vampire.

Edward grabbed Hopie's wrist then shoved a wooden stake into her hand.

Then he pointed at Peter's heart.

"Wooden stake to his heart!  Do it! Now!"


"Well look what I have here", said Hopie, smiling into Peter's eyes.  She tried doing exactly what the old man said, sticking a stake in the heart.

Thok!  Peter looks down at the wooden stake Hopie just plunged into his heart.

He looks over at Guy Guy.

"Do svidaniya comrade."

Then he bursts into a cloud of dust.


"What the **** was that?" Brittany shouted as Vinnie burst into dust.

Brittany had never seen a real vampire until tonight, so she most definitely had never seen one turn to dust before. She managed to keep her mind focused on the fight.

Hopie and the old guy seemed to have the Russian covered. Brittany opted to join in on the Get Guy Guy party that was happening a few yards away.

Brittany ran towards  Guy Guy, and nailed him with a kick to his mid-section.

Billy laughed.  "I'd rather tell a bad joke than be a bad joke.  Have you ever taken a moment just to think about your name?  Let alone the rest of your existence?"

With no further ado, he let another punch fly.....Wham!....and hit Guy Guy in the face...then brought his hands up to guard with the consummate skill of... an average highschooler.



Tori gaped when Vinnie turned into dust. But she'd have time to be shocked later; right now, she had Guy Guy getting in her face again. She again stepped in front of Liam, and - since Guy Guy might be expecting another kick - put all her feelings into a cathartic punch.

Wham!  Another hit.  Guy Guy is a punching bag.

Liam had no idea why he was still here.  Tori didn’t grasp the danger.  Even Billy was in the mix.  A vampire was in his face spewing familiar taunts.  Yet he still did his best to try and protect her.  Maybe he should see a shrink…

Guy Guy made no move to attack anyone.  He looked at two piles of dust that used to be Vinnie and Peter.

"I've got one last ace to play."

He reached inside his leather jacket and pulled out a wooden stake.

"I won't give you losers the satisfaction of finishing me."

Guy Guy plunged the stake into his own heart and turned to dust.

OCC: This fight is over.  All vampires are dust. You may resume posting in this episode thread.

"We did well, people." said Hopie.  "And you know what?  This comes from working together.  The five of us make a great team." She thanked each of her friends one by one by name.

Then she looked over at Edward and said, "And you old man.  You came prepared to fight vampires, is that some kind of hobby for you, or merely habit?"

So much had happened in such a short time.  He had so many questions!  Vampires?!?  Fangs, forehead, yellow eyes.  "Where those...?!?"

Esperanza tossed a guy across the cemetery into another guy.  "Did you...?"

Dust?  He had never read that in a game book.  "How... ?"

There were all still in one piece.  "How are we alive?  How are we not hurt!"  For vampires they seemed like real pushovers.

He nodded to Esperanza when she mentioned his name.  He looked at Mr. Hudson wondering why he was here.

He noticed something and unwrapped the sport coat from his arm.  It had several deep rips that made it worthless now.  "Ah man..."  He looked up to the sky, "Sorry Grandpa."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:48, Tue 17 May 2022.

Her legs felt shaky as the adrenaline wore off.

"Thanks," she said to Liam.

But... weird faces? Talk of vampires? Vampires weren't real... were they?

"What just happened?" she asked Mr Hudson.

Edward looks at Hopie.

"I'll thank you not to call me 'old man'.  I'm only 28 years old."

He looks around at the group, trying to answer all the questions as best he can.

"What you saw tonight were vampires.  Vampires are real and they are quite plentiful in Sunnydale because we're on a Hellmouth.  I'll get to that in a minute.  Real vampires look human until they change into their true vampire face which you saw.  Fangs, yellow eyes, that is the face of a vampire.  And when a vampire is destroyed it turns to dust.  That is why a vampire corpse has never been recovered because there aren't any." 

Edward takes a breath, then continues.

"You are all still alive for two reasons.  First, you were damn lucky.  If one of you had encountered a vampire alone, you would be dead very quickly.  The fact that we outnumbered the vampires and were able to attack them in groups of two or more made a tremendous difference.  Second, we are alive because there is a Slayer among us.  And that is Esperanza. I'm sure you've all figured out now she's much stronger than normal girls."

"I am?" asked Hopie, obviously somewhat surprised.  "I thought it was just my mutant powers kicking in.  I was hoping for Carrie White style but I can live with this.  I don't think I'm She Hulk though or even Spider Woman so I still need you guys.  I don't have eyes in the back of my head, and after what happened tonight, I trust you guys and I think that's important."

Brittany cocks an eyebrow.

"You're 28?  Well, we're all 15.  15 times 2 is 30.  So that makes you almost twice as old as we are.  Bottom line: you're old." Brittany says matter of factly to Edward.

She managed to maintain her composure.  Curiosity about real vampires and Hopie's super powers outweighed the fact that they all just came very close to dying. The total reality of the situation hadn't set in just yet..

"And you still haven't explained the part about how you showed up to tonight carrying vampire killing weapons.  What's up with that?"

Edward rolls his eyes.  These children were trying his patience.

He looks at Hopie.  "You're not a mutant!  There is no such thing as mutants!" 

Then to Brittany.  "The wooden stake and the crossbow are not vampire killing weapons.  You can't kill a vampire because it's already dead......Betty......Bethany...what was your name again?"

Edward exhales loudly and continues.

"I know about vampires and carry vampire slaying weapons because I am a watcher.  The watcher acts as teacher and mentor to the Slayer."

"Hey guys", says Hopie.  "Remember how a while back I said I was thinking of applying for one of the sport teams?  I wonder, does this school have an archery team?  I only ask because:  a) I would imagine an arrow would work as well as a stake but without having to get so close; b) Liam could become a jock and suddenly not have to put up with the kind of talk I heard from the vampire whose name was a stutter; and c) I imagine some of the best schools have archery scholarships that are undersubscribed to say the least.  Would I be right about that TOFCOM^* Sir?  By the way, what IS your name and who are you, other than a Watcher?"







^* TOFCOM = The One Formerly Called Old Man

Liam got a weird looking grin on his face when Tori thanked him.  “You’re welcome Milady.”  He replied with a formal bow.

“I knew it!”  He stated to himself once Mr. Hudson confirmed they were vampires.  “I’ve never heard of a Slayer.  What’s that?”  He asked.

Liam understood all of Esperanza’s mutant references and just nodded taking in the info.

He frowned at Brittany.  Teachers were supposed to be older than them and he had just saved her life.  She seemed pretty ungrateful to him.

“Undead.”  He added helpfully at the comment vampires can’t be killed because they are already dead.

“No thank you.”  He raised his hands as if he wasn’t going to touch a sports program and hang around with jocks.

Brittany does an eye roll so extreme it looks like her eyes might pop out of her head.

"It's BRITTANY! Brittany Foster!  I just said that a few minutes ago." she practically screams at Edward.

Senile old feeb Brittany thinks to herself.

She was about to respond to Hopie, but noticed Billy seemed a bit rattled by what just happened.

She walks over to Billy and pats him on the back.

"You've been awfully quiet.  Are you okay?"

Liam’s eyes went wide at Brittany’s outburst.  He figured he wouldn’t see her to often in the library this semester.

"Brittany.  Yes of course.  I apologize.  I'm certain I won't forget your name again." Edward says to Brittany before turning to Hopie.

"I am Edward Hudson and I am the librarian at Sunnydale High. And I am also a watcher.  I have never lied to you about my true name and what I do at school.  I just didn't tell you that I have a second job until now."

Edward looks at his watch and sighs. Then he looks at everyone, making eye contact with all five of you.

"It's getting late and you all have school tomorrow.  The truth about vampires, slayers, and Sunnydale is far too complex to get into tonight."

He takes a breath, then continues.

"I suggest we adjourn for the night.  Go home, go to bed, and come to school tomorrow.  Then on your lunch period, join me in the library.  I'll treat everyone to pizza.  And I'll tell you what you all need to know.  How does that sound?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:45, Tue 17 May 2022.

Liam gave a thumbs up.  Although he still had to go home and explain the loss of the sport coat.  He dragged his feet not looking forward to that conversation.

"Pleased to meet you and goodnight Mr Hudson,"  says Hopie.  "I promise to actually go to the library for the first time in my school career tomorrow.  I promise not to forget your name as well.  Goodnight Mr Hudson Sir."

With that she waited for the others because walking home together had proved by far the safer way.

Tori wasn't at all sure she'd sleep tonight. Not after all this.

"Tomorrow. Lunchtime. Library. Pizza. Got it."

At least she had been to the library before.

She joined Hopie, determined that her shaky legs wouldn't betray her.

Billy rolled his eyes at the old guy, agreeing with Brittany.  "I have to expect you'd call someone in the ballpark of sixty old.  So you're gonna have to get used to being the increasingly old guy at school - except when Mr. Weber is around.  Then you're the younger old guy.

"And for the matter of vampires being unkillable, only slayable... 'to slay' is just to kill violently or in a fight.  And that's the Oxford, by the way.  I think that might be a hair too fine, even for an English librarian watcher."  He commented, appearing to read from his cell phone.  He'd long ago learned to cover up for some of his eidetic memory... at least when it would reveal some of the habits he'd had when he was younger - like reading dictionaries comparatively.

He turned to the others.  "I'll be at the library tomorrow, too.  Weird claims aside, he seems to know at least some things worth knowing.  And without the vampire slaying weapons he brought tonight, it definitely seems like we'd be more of the standard Sunnydale statistics."

Billy didn't draw attention to the "watcher"'s intention of limiting the information they were getting.  With the revelations of the night, he seriously doubted that they'd hear everything they needed to know over the course of a single meal.  He did, however, believe that Hudson would tell them everything he thought they needed to know over a single meal.

Brittany patted Billy on the back.  "Well said Billy, well said."

"Hey wait, I can't be eating pizza this close to cheerleading tryouts.  Can I get salad instead?  With fat free ranch dressing?" she said to Edward.

"Of course you can young lady." Edward said smiling through clenched teeth.

"Salad for Brittany, pizza for everyone else. Now lets get out of here before more vampires show up.  We'd best not press our luck."

The five teenagers and the watcher exit the cemetery together without incident.


Shortly thereafter everyone makes it home and will try to get a good night's sleep.


OCC: And that's it for episode 1.  At least for the good guys. 

Liam walked with Tori until it was obvious she was headed in a different direction.  As far as first dates went, well, he had no comparison.  It was way different than the movies.

“Ummm, I’m this way.”  He pointed the direction he would need to take to get home.  He lingered awkwardly after the statement wondering how they work a kiss in.  It didn’t feel right that he should just kiss her.  He just stood there not sure what to do next.

After she resolved the situation, he rode home.

Tori's mind was still pre-occupied with the events of the cemetery. Vampires turning into dust, librarians turning into medieval marksmen, and Hopie turning out to be something called a Slayer.

She smiled at Liam. She'd enjoyed his company more than she'd expected.

"OK. Well, goodnight. See you tomorrow."

Epilogue

Several minutes after the six have left.

All is quiet in the cemetery.  The wind begins to blow and the piles of dust that used to be Peter, Vinnie, and Guy Guy begin to blow away.

Many yards away from the scene of battle, you see a large tree that makes for a perfect hiding spot with a view of the battle that just took place.

Two vampires step from behind it.  Both in vamp face, one boy and one girl.  Both are wearing modern clothing indicating they are relatively young vampires.

The boy speaks first. "You saw and heard the whole thing?"

The girl responds.  "Oh yes.  You've gotta love vampire hearing.  Looks like we've got a Slayer in town."

"Yes, we'll need to report this to the Governor and makes plans to deal with it."

The two vampires leave the cemetery, quietly disappearing into the night.




END OF EPISODE
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:00, Mon 06 Feb 2023.