The five time's that Serenity's crew dusted a vampire
Title: Five times the Firefly crew dusted a vampire.
Author: Ann
Summary: For keire_ke, sorry it’s late in coming. The five times that one of Serenity’s crew had to destroy a vampire and, as an add on, an AU-slightly disturbing- of the one time a Vampire fought back.
Rating: PG-13, disturbing image in last one
Characters: All of the crew
Pairing: Gen,barest hint of slash in last one.
Warning: Character death in last one. Angst in some.
Spoilers/Timeline: Pre-series and AU-series.
1.The first time Simon met a vampire, was before River even thought of joining up with the academy, before Serenity became a home and the place he lived had monsters or men who wore their faces. At least none told in sincerity, only in jest or as an attempt to scare, a popular childrens’ tale that would soon change from one monster to another: From vampire to Reaver. Same stories, different monsters, different faces.
At least that what he'd thought, what he'd grown up believing. Until he took up his training full-time at the hospital and saw many a wound that made him think, many a wound not commented on where the older doctor's normally would speculate to their students over the nature of injuries. Bite marks, though no rabies shots were ever given, claw marks but no swabs were ever taken, severe blood loss-unaccounted for through such a small exit wound.
Simon hadn't been the only one in his class to wonder, to draw conclusion from injury, but he hadn't been the first to weave the tale either. He'd ignored the childish rhymes, the forgotten stories, until they'd been thrown into his face one night in the student lounge. He hadn't wanted to believe them, had laughed them off like so many others, rolled his eyes and thought on how even River wouldn't be taken in with such stories, despite the curiosity and occasional oddness of her imagination.
Then had come the time to rotate, to try every aspect of working within the hospital and Simon had found himself assigned to the blood bank. The building was quiet, so secure Simon had been amazed, especially given the laxness in other parts of the hospital. It had been set apart from the main area too, needing a separate generator being the excuse that was given though Simon didn't believe it one bit. Instead he sat nervously every night he was in there, the words and stories from his childhood coming back to haunt him until he laughed them away. The same night he'd confessed all his flights of fantasy to the senior nurse who had eyed him curiously and asked why he was laughing into silence.
The same night he found out that monsters really did exist after all.
Apparently words weren’t enough, instead fate saw fit to throw experience Simon's way, to have the monsters-the vampires-exist and come straight for what the hospital aimed to defend-the stock supply of untreated blood. The first time Simon Tam staked a vampire was the first night he'd found they really existed and weren't just a thing of legend. The one and only time he'd been bitten too, the vampire in charge of the attack seeming to favor him, to snuffle and lick at his neck declaring Simon smelt divine-stinking of fear and confusion and passion. Biting down on the pale, previously unmarred skin of Simon's neck, fangs just slipping in and only a taster of Simon's blood taken as he groped for the pencil in his coat pocket. Such a useless weapon in any other attack but it slipped easily up between the Vampire's ribs, the exact spot Simon had trained so hard to find and heal. Before the dust around him had time to settle, they'd been shouts and gunfire and Simon had rolled to one side, moving over to the nearest casualty, the fight ignored as he tried to stem the bleeding wound in their neck.
2. River never even knew she'd dusted her first Vampire. Never got to remember the look of horror on the man's face as he crumbled to dust, her fingers wrapped around his unbeating heart. Fractured dreams were her only clue to what had happened, the training too intense and half-buried she was best off not knowing. Not remembering what she'd done, what she'd been ordered to do. Just as much blood on her hands as was on the Vampire she'd destroyed.
Dreams and reality collided only once more, River getting the opportunity and need to destroy another, what she believed was her first and justified in staking, in protecting the crew. The vampire's face haunting her only in dreams, dreams which she ran and fought and awoke screaming from-even the best of Simon's drug collection not keeping them at bay.
3. In truth, Kaylee was the first to be attacked, to feel the need to defend herself and even then it hadn't been her alone. She'd grown up on the Rim, heard the stories, heard the warnings of those that lurked in the dark-You best be home 'afore dark, Kaywinnetlee Free, or they'll be trouble. A warning she always remembered, even to her adult days, uttered by both her parents, by her schoolteachers and just about any adult that was smart enough to warn.
Of course kids being kids, Kaylee wasn't one for listening. She was one for doing, enjoyed the pretty the other girls had and she so desperately wanted, especially that of some rich Core family that came visiting, looking around the schools and plantations in outfits so fancy and bright they nearly made your eyes hurt. A finery Kaylee longed for. Though she tended to stick more with the boys, enamored by tales they told of the black, of things they'd found and learnt. Feeling more at home and at ease as they grinned at her and clapped her on the back when she knew something, remembered something her pa had shown her. But still the girls had the pretty, even the smallest of baubles or bracelets making Kaylee stare all wistful. Her only dresses , ones her ma made up, not ones from town.
And she really wasn't one for listening to old legends and childrens’ stories, at least that was what she saw them as, not hearing the hidden warning underneath. Which was why she was shivering as she walked through the cool, dusk air, waiting on the sun to drop down low so that when she passed Andrea May's house it'd be dark and she'd be invited inside.Dare you, square dare you, no getting out now! Get to go to the big slumber party she'd told her pa she was invited too, as the girl had promised, and be made over in the prettiest yellow dress Kaylee ever had seen-and been tempted into foolhardiness for.
Except, those stories played on her mind as the sun dropped lower and lower into the sky, the last few pink and golden rays disappearing in time for the darkness to set in, for Kaylee to break into a run as she passed the Morris', then a short while later Higgin's shop. Feet pounding on the floor, sound almost drowned out by that of her own heart, the organ racing all the faster as another set of feet pounded behind her louder and heavier and closer, making Kaylee keep staring forward, keep looking out in desperation for Andrea's house. Cold breath on the back of her neck as strong, greedy hands grasped at her; tumbling them both to the ground, pushing Kaylee to struggle even as her eyes closed. Don't look at the monsters and they can't make you one. Scream torn from her lips as she pulled up her knee in that special way her ma had taught her, the cold lips gumming at her neck, the rich chuckle making her sob.
A crack and a pop hurt her ears, made Kaylee wince as burning filled her senses, a growl and a hiss so close to her ear as whatever was on her shifted slightly. Just enough of a movement for Kaylee to arch her back, to push up and away overbalancing the creature which fell against the fence with a crack. She curled in on herself, fetal-like as footsteps ran to her, so many more than just one and Kaylee cried out and flinched as voices spoke soothingly to her. She only opened her eyes as a warm hand touched the back of her neck, wiping away the creatures saliva and drawing her into an embrace. Her gaze swung to where the creature should have been, but nothing was there; instead the small picket fence was crooked, swinging slightly as if a great weight landed on it and Kaylee heard her mother's cries, her scolding, relieved tone as she was pulled into her embrace, and could only nuzzle against her, eyes closing once more. Tremors setting in as she vowed never again to let the monsters get her.
4. It stood to reason that Book in his new line of faith, or work even, would come close to a Vampire. Would feel disgust and horror unlike anything he had in his days of disrepute, finding out the first time that evil had a face, and often it liked to trick you with it. He'd tried everything to dissuade the demon from harming the family, who'd pleaded his services. Ritual, chants, all the lore he could think of but nothing had worked. If he got close enough to stake the Vampire or cut the things head off, Book knew it would have been the last thing he'd did. So he’d played it cautious, knew the demon used trickery and worry to catch his prey and so, safe inside the sanctuary of the house-he'd used his own cunning to rid them.
He'd spoken to the demon, played on its desires and needs, all the while whilst pretending to be coerced by the beauty of the human it inhabited. Built up a relationship, so that when he'd offered the chance for a deal--limiting the numbers of people the creature took, and choosing which ones- the demon had listened. Or perhaps only pretended too.Devil's deals... Whatever way it hadn't mattered and whilst the Vampire's agonized scream still haunted Book for worry of the person it had been, he'd never regretted the day he'd tainted the blood donation-a.k.a. deal sealer- with holy water.
5. The first time they'd fought a vampire as a crew, none of them were strangers to the demons. All of them had looked both monsters and evil in the face, and seen human in both of them. None held back when the creatures attacked, defending their home, their friends, their family as one.
Bullets had just slowed the creatures but that hadn't stopped any of them, Mal seeming of the mind if he hit enough parts the creatures would fall apart. Inara and Kaylee had fallen back, protected by Book and his symbols of faith as Kaylee's steady hands had worked over the ultraviolet scanners. Fiddling with the flow, planning to project out on a wider field and burn them to a crisp. River, watching the proceedings and seeming to do nothing more, till a demon swayed too close to Simon, then she lifted her arm and calmly jumped into the fight.
They'd been on the winning side in the end, outnumbered 'till Jayne got bored of the fighting and set Vera on each Vampire. Hardy against bullets or not, there wasn't a creature alive which could take their head being blown from their shoulders.
Alternate reality add on (since this is late in coming)
Simon's fingers trembled as he ran them over the splintered wood. It dug into his hand, tiny smarts of pain that kept his mind focused and stopped him from going insane. He didn't so much know what he had to do, as want to do it. Want to thrust the stake into the cold, unbeating heart and drive everything away.
His gaze flicked to the carnage around him, to the only peaceful occupants of the room. To Mal, battered and bloody and close to taking his last breath. To Jayne, ripped open from neck to belly, blood smeared around his lips from his final furious curses, and Zoe...Simon averted his eyes from her. At least the others had got off easy, Simon's meds to hand and easily administered before the monsters came crashing through the door. No point in taking a final stand, when all you'd do was watch your friend die during it-hear their screams and pleas.
It was when River took her last breath, when she lay in his arms, body still not cooled but heart no longer beating, that Simon had stood up. Unable before to let himself try and fight back before now, unwilling to take the chance he could fail and his sister would be raped in body as well as mind and soul. He opened the door the Reavers were battering at and shown them what a monster truly was. Shown them his true face, the one he'd taken on and fought against, up until now.
Blood still sticky and warm, covering Simon from head to toe. He knelt next to Mal, pushing away the demon to become himself again. Seeing Mal's fear melt down into confusion as he realized this monster, the one who'd burst into the room and ripped the Reavers to shreds, was Simon.
The doctor knew what he should be doing, he should be easing Mal's pain, putting pressure on the wounds or-as his demon whispered to him- laying his bleeding wrist against Mal's mouth. Encouraging his Captain to drink the blood, to become whole and healthy and like Simon. His childe. But the look of fear on Mal's face was enough to convince him otherwise, the remembrance of their dead family lying around them, enough to have Simon place his hands either side of Mal's head. To press bloodied lips to Mal's, the softest words of "I'm sorry" vibrating against them before he pulled back and twisted Mal's neck in a sudden movement.
The crack echoed around the silent room, the quiet ship groaning as if in response as Mal stiffened, eyes unfocussing and body becoming limp.
Slowly, Simon stood up, eyes not seeing what lay around him. Scents of the crew, of his friends, overwhelming the coppery blood and vile fluids. Pushing him on, prompting and urging him not to succumb into madness as he wanted, as Simon desired. But to listen to the demon, the demon that roared it’s fury, almost lost in madness and clinging to Simon’s mind, wanting revenge. A revenge that had almost been taken, a revenge that the ship herself demanded--the outside of Serenity was stripped and violated, as her crew had been.
Simon didn’t know much about Serenity’s working, just the basics that Kaylee had manage to whisper to him before her heartbeat slowed and her mind followed. But he knew enough.
Enough to ignore banging from outside the ship, the Reaver ship brushing against their own, Simon moved into the engine room. Serenity’s heart still beat, still pulsed faintly, though all lay dead or dying around her. It’s low thrum soothed his demon, reinforced what Simon had to do as if Serenity too was urging him on as she weakened.
And then his hands were inside the most intimate part of her and she truly did groan as he ignored the stink of burning flesh and white-hot pain up his arm and yanked her free. Tore out her heart and gripped the burning hot metal all the harder. Her whine growing as he raised his stake, pressing it slowly inward, through layers of skin and muscle, the pain never once stopping him.
Serenity’s scream was almost deafening, the bright flash blinding Simon before the stake slammed up and his thoughts were scattered as was both his body and Serenity. The ship that went down with her crew, that silent goodbyes to the Black before taking the monsters with her.
Author: Ann
Summary: For keire_ke, sorry it’s late in coming. The five times that one of Serenity’s crew had to destroy a vampire and, as an add on, an AU-slightly disturbing- of the one time a Vampire fought back.
Rating: PG-13, disturbing image in last one
Characters: All of the crew
Pairing: Gen,barest hint of slash in last one.
Warning: Character death in last one. Angst in some.
Spoilers/Timeline: Pre-series and AU-series.
1.The first time Simon met a vampire, was before River even thought of joining up with the academy, before Serenity became a home and the place he lived had monsters or men who wore their faces. At least none told in sincerity, only in jest or as an attempt to scare, a popular childrens’ tale that would soon change from one monster to another: From vampire to Reaver. Same stories, different monsters, different faces.
At least that what he'd thought, what he'd grown up believing. Until he took up his training full-time at the hospital and saw many a wound that made him think, many a wound not commented on where the older doctor's normally would speculate to their students over the nature of injuries. Bite marks, though no rabies shots were ever given, claw marks but no swabs were ever taken, severe blood loss-unaccounted for through such a small exit wound.
Simon hadn't been the only one in his class to wonder, to draw conclusion from injury, but he hadn't been the first to weave the tale either. He'd ignored the childish rhymes, the forgotten stories, until they'd been thrown into his face one night in the student lounge. He hadn't wanted to believe them, had laughed them off like so many others, rolled his eyes and thought on how even River wouldn't be taken in with such stories, despite the curiosity and occasional oddness of her imagination.
Then had come the time to rotate, to try every aspect of working within the hospital and Simon had found himself assigned to the blood bank. The building was quiet, so secure Simon had been amazed, especially given the laxness in other parts of the hospital. It had been set apart from the main area too, needing a separate generator being the excuse that was given though Simon didn't believe it one bit. Instead he sat nervously every night he was in there, the words and stories from his childhood coming back to haunt him until he laughed them away. The same night he'd confessed all his flights of fantasy to the senior nurse who had eyed him curiously and asked why he was laughing into silence.
The same night he found out that monsters really did exist after all.
Apparently words weren’t enough, instead fate saw fit to throw experience Simon's way, to have the monsters-the vampires-exist and come straight for what the hospital aimed to defend-the stock supply of untreated blood. The first time Simon Tam staked a vampire was the first night he'd found they really existed and weren't just a thing of legend. The one and only time he'd been bitten too, the vampire in charge of the attack seeming to favor him, to snuffle and lick at his neck declaring Simon smelt divine-stinking of fear and confusion and passion. Biting down on the pale, previously unmarred skin of Simon's neck, fangs just slipping in and only a taster of Simon's blood taken as he groped for the pencil in his coat pocket. Such a useless weapon in any other attack but it slipped easily up between the Vampire's ribs, the exact spot Simon had trained so hard to find and heal. Before the dust around him had time to settle, they'd been shouts and gunfire and Simon had rolled to one side, moving over to the nearest casualty, the fight ignored as he tried to stem the bleeding wound in their neck.
2. River never even knew she'd dusted her first Vampire. Never got to remember the look of horror on the man's face as he crumbled to dust, her fingers wrapped around his unbeating heart. Fractured dreams were her only clue to what had happened, the training too intense and half-buried she was best off not knowing. Not remembering what she'd done, what she'd been ordered to do. Just as much blood on her hands as was on the Vampire she'd destroyed.
Dreams and reality collided only once more, River getting the opportunity and need to destroy another, what she believed was her first and justified in staking, in protecting the crew. The vampire's face haunting her only in dreams, dreams which she ran and fought and awoke screaming from-even the best of Simon's drug collection not keeping them at bay.
3. In truth, Kaylee was the first to be attacked, to feel the need to defend herself and even then it hadn't been her alone. She'd grown up on the Rim, heard the stories, heard the warnings of those that lurked in the dark-You best be home 'afore dark, Kaywinnetlee Free, or they'll be trouble. A warning she always remembered, even to her adult days, uttered by both her parents, by her schoolteachers and just about any adult that was smart enough to warn.
Of course kids being kids, Kaylee wasn't one for listening. She was one for doing, enjoyed the pretty the other girls had and she so desperately wanted, especially that of some rich Core family that came visiting, looking around the schools and plantations in outfits so fancy and bright they nearly made your eyes hurt. A finery Kaylee longed for. Though she tended to stick more with the boys, enamored by tales they told of the black, of things they'd found and learnt. Feeling more at home and at ease as they grinned at her and clapped her on the back when she knew something, remembered something her pa had shown her. But still the girls had the pretty, even the smallest of baubles or bracelets making Kaylee stare all wistful. Her only dresses , ones her ma made up, not ones from town.
And she really wasn't one for listening to old legends and childrens’ stories, at least that was what she saw them as, not hearing the hidden warning underneath. Which was why she was shivering as she walked through the cool, dusk air, waiting on the sun to drop down low so that when she passed Andrea May's house it'd be dark and she'd be invited inside.Dare you, square dare you, no getting out now! Get to go to the big slumber party she'd told her pa she was invited too, as the girl had promised, and be made over in the prettiest yellow dress Kaylee ever had seen-and been tempted into foolhardiness for.
Except, those stories played on her mind as the sun dropped lower and lower into the sky, the last few pink and golden rays disappearing in time for the darkness to set in, for Kaylee to break into a run as she passed the Morris', then a short while later Higgin's shop. Feet pounding on the floor, sound almost drowned out by that of her own heart, the organ racing all the faster as another set of feet pounded behind her louder and heavier and closer, making Kaylee keep staring forward, keep looking out in desperation for Andrea's house. Cold breath on the back of her neck as strong, greedy hands grasped at her; tumbling them both to the ground, pushing Kaylee to struggle even as her eyes closed. Don't look at the monsters and they can't make you one. Scream torn from her lips as she pulled up her knee in that special way her ma had taught her, the cold lips gumming at her neck, the rich chuckle making her sob.
A crack and a pop hurt her ears, made Kaylee wince as burning filled her senses, a growl and a hiss so close to her ear as whatever was on her shifted slightly. Just enough of a movement for Kaylee to arch her back, to push up and away overbalancing the creature which fell against the fence with a crack. She curled in on herself, fetal-like as footsteps ran to her, so many more than just one and Kaylee cried out and flinched as voices spoke soothingly to her. She only opened her eyes as a warm hand touched the back of her neck, wiping away the creatures saliva and drawing her into an embrace. Her gaze swung to where the creature should have been, but nothing was there; instead the small picket fence was crooked, swinging slightly as if a great weight landed on it and Kaylee heard her mother's cries, her scolding, relieved tone as she was pulled into her embrace, and could only nuzzle against her, eyes closing once more. Tremors setting in as she vowed never again to let the monsters get her.
4. It stood to reason that Book in his new line of faith, or work even, would come close to a Vampire. Would feel disgust and horror unlike anything he had in his days of disrepute, finding out the first time that evil had a face, and often it liked to trick you with it. He'd tried everything to dissuade the demon from harming the family, who'd pleaded his services. Ritual, chants, all the lore he could think of but nothing had worked. If he got close enough to stake the Vampire or cut the things head off, Book knew it would have been the last thing he'd did. So he’d played it cautious, knew the demon used trickery and worry to catch his prey and so, safe inside the sanctuary of the house-he'd used his own cunning to rid them.
He'd spoken to the demon, played on its desires and needs, all the while whilst pretending to be coerced by the beauty of the human it inhabited. Built up a relationship, so that when he'd offered the chance for a deal--limiting the numbers of people the creature took, and choosing which ones- the demon had listened. Or perhaps only pretended too.Devil's deals... Whatever way it hadn't mattered and whilst the Vampire's agonized scream still haunted Book for worry of the person it had been, he'd never regretted the day he'd tainted the blood donation-a.k.a. deal sealer- with holy water.
5. The first time they'd fought a vampire as a crew, none of them were strangers to the demons. All of them had looked both monsters and evil in the face, and seen human in both of them. None held back when the creatures attacked, defending their home, their friends, their family as one.
Bullets had just slowed the creatures but that hadn't stopped any of them, Mal seeming of the mind if he hit enough parts the creatures would fall apart. Inara and Kaylee had fallen back, protected by Book and his symbols of faith as Kaylee's steady hands had worked over the ultraviolet scanners. Fiddling with the flow, planning to project out on a wider field and burn them to a crisp. River, watching the proceedings and seeming to do nothing more, till a demon swayed too close to Simon, then she lifted her arm and calmly jumped into the fight.
They'd been on the winning side in the end, outnumbered 'till Jayne got bored of the fighting and set Vera on each Vampire. Hardy against bullets or not, there wasn't a creature alive which could take their head being blown from their shoulders.
Alternate reality add on (since this is late in coming)
Simon's fingers trembled as he ran them over the splintered wood. It dug into his hand, tiny smarts of pain that kept his mind focused and stopped him from going insane. He didn't so much know what he had to do, as want to do it. Want to thrust the stake into the cold, unbeating heart and drive everything away.
His gaze flicked to the carnage around him, to the only peaceful occupants of the room. To Mal, battered and bloody and close to taking his last breath. To Jayne, ripped open from neck to belly, blood smeared around his lips from his final furious curses, and Zoe...Simon averted his eyes from her. At least the others had got off easy, Simon's meds to hand and easily administered before the monsters came crashing through the door. No point in taking a final stand, when all you'd do was watch your friend die during it-hear their screams and pleas.
It was when River took her last breath, when she lay in his arms, body still not cooled but heart no longer beating, that Simon had stood up. Unable before to let himself try and fight back before now, unwilling to take the chance he could fail and his sister would be raped in body as well as mind and soul. He opened the door the Reavers were battering at and shown them what a monster truly was. Shown them his true face, the one he'd taken on and fought against, up until now.
Blood still sticky and warm, covering Simon from head to toe. He knelt next to Mal, pushing away the demon to become himself again. Seeing Mal's fear melt down into confusion as he realized this monster, the one who'd burst into the room and ripped the Reavers to shreds, was Simon.
The doctor knew what he should be doing, he should be easing Mal's pain, putting pressure on the wounds or-as his demon whispered to him- laying his bleeding wrist against Mal's mouth. Encouraging his Captain to drink the blood, to become whole and healthy and like Simon. His childe. But the look of fear on Mal's face was enough to convince him otherwise, the remembrance of their dead family lying around them, enough to have Simon place his hands either side of Mal's head. To press bloodied lips to Mal's, the softest words of "I'm sorry" vibrating against them before he pulled back and twisted Mal's neck in a sudden movement.
The crack echoed around the silent room, the quiet ship groaning as if in response as Mal stiffened, eyes unfocussing and body becoming limp.
Slowly, Simon stood up, eyes not seeing what lay around him. Scents of the crew, of his friends, overwhelming the coppery blood and vile fluids. Pushing him on, prompting and urging him not to succumb into madness as he wanted, as Simon desired. But to listen to the demon, the demon that roared it’s fury, almost lost in madness and clinging to Simon’s mind, wanting revenge. A revenge that had almost been taken, a revenge that the ship herself demanded--the outside of Serenity was stripped and violated, as her crew had been.
Simon didn’t know much about Serenity’s working, just the basics that Kaylee had manage to whisper to him before her heartbeat slowed and her mind followed. But he knew enough.
Enough to ignore banging from outside the ship, the Reaver ship brushing against their own, Simon moved into the engine room. Serenity’s heart still beat, still pulsed faintly, though all lay dead or dying around her. It’s low thrum soothed his demon, reinforced what Simon had to do as if Serenity too was urging him on as she weakened.
And then his hands were inside the most intimate part of her and she truly did groan as he ignored the stink of burning flesh and white-hot pain up his arm and yanked her free. Tore out her heart and gripped the burning hot metal all the harder. Her whine growing as he raised his stake, pressing it slowly inward, through layers of skin and muscle, the pain never once stopping him.
Serenity’s scream was almost deafening, the bright flash blinding Simon before the stake slammed up and his thoughts were scattered as was both his body and Serenity. The ship that went down with her crew, that silent goodbyes to the Black before taking the monsters with her.