Tristan Tormented

Volume 5 - After the Epiphany

Warning: I do not own the rights to the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off series Angel, its dark horse comics continuation series, or any of the characters created by Joss Whedon and others in the Buffyverse.
15 years +, Mild to Strong Violence, Sexual References
F/F, F/M, M/M, Other +

"Here's the thing about being the big bad or the world's latest hero your living on borrowed time as they say because sooner or later somebody is going to take you down just because they can. If you're a big bad then there's nobody to mourn your loss and let us face it you probably had it coming but if you are the hero millions mourn you especially those in need a hero after your death but although they all mourn you very few know you." Tristan said within his head as he found himself kneeling on a fire escape looking down towards a dark alleyway as a woman begins running down the alleyway screaming in fear. "As a monster nobody expects nothing from you but once you choose your more than that you have to start proving you are...and that's where the trouble really begins...after the epiphany!"
After spotting the female vampire chasing down the human, Tristan quickly jumped from the fire escape landing on the ground of the alleyway distracting the vampire, as the human female took the opportunity to run away.
"Are you Angel?" The female vampire asked him, only to be met by a look of disgust from Tristan.
"Not Angel, definitely not Angel." Tristan replied before launching his right fist across the vampire's face before kicking her in the stomach and grabbing her neck in a hold so he could then knee her in the face, letting go as she began to stumble backwards before Tristan high kicked her in the face causing the fem vamp to fall to the ground as he pulled out a wooden stake and launched it into her chest, making her explode into nothing more than dust. "Well that sure felt weird!"
Tristan was far from following in his father's footsteps as a vampire against the rest of his kind and all other evil forces, he was far from being good in any shape or form but he could not help but admit to himself that playing the good guy for once in his life felt well, it felt kind of good.

"So, you have never had any kind of slayer training except for some fight training from a deranged vampire?" Giles asked Tristan as the two stood within the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel.
"Unless you count the trip back in time to make myself a slayer then no I've had no training but with the slayer stuff and the vampire stuff I think I'm good on the needing to train front." Tristan replied to the former watcher who was acting like he was not a former at all.
"Training is not just about honing your skills it is about understanding those skills too on a level you clearly have no idea about under the right tutelage you may be able to handle some of those twisted feelings inside of you and harness for more power." Giles explained to him, "You are strong yes but you could be stronger especially with your lineage and if you allow me to without any fight back then I could train you to be one of the best slayer/vampire's in history...not that there are many slayer/vampire hybrids of course."
"You want to take this psychopath in front of you and give him more power?" Tristan asked, wondering why Giles had come such a far way in trusting him since the last time when he was almost killed by the former watcher.
"You are not a psychopath Tristan, a cold and calculated murderer yes but not a psychopath and of course my expertise comes with the guarantee from you not to kill anymore innocent human lives." Giles answered him.
"Ah I knew there would be a catch." Tristan joked only to be met by a look from Giles that said he was far from amused.
"This is most definitely not the time for sarcasm, the horrid, murderous and downright evil acts you committed are not just to be laughed at!" Giles snapped at him, clearly unamused by Tristan's lack of remorse. "Do you even feel sorry for anything you have done?"
"Here I chose to claim my life back not to be lectured about my past, sure there is shit I feel bad about if I look back but there's also a lot that I do not." Tristan responded.
"Of all the vampires in the world you are the last I would ever think of keeping their soul after transitioning." Giles argued furiously. "In fact, I would bet good money you lost this supposed soul long before becoming a vampire."
"Lucas Brown," Tristan mumbled, admitting his guilt for the first time. "I regret killing Lucas Brown."
"I see," Giles replied, shocked to see any remorse from Tristan despite wanting to so badly. "What on earth drove you to kill your childhood friend's boyfriend?"
"He lied to me." Tristan admitted without revealing too much.
"Everybody lies!" Giles proclaimed, not fully believing Tristan's claims.
"That is why my motto is everybody dies." Tristan joked.
"I see," Giles said he took off his glasses, pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and began cleaning his glasses. "I can tell slayer training is not all that you need to be taught."
Tristan could tell Giles was frustrated with him and it is not like he did not want Giles help nor did he not want to change his ways but he knew he was at the beginning of a long and torturous journey to become someone he felt good with being and after everything he had done he was unsure of being able to be redeemed.
Although Tristan did not want to admit it Lucas and Dante had some things in common, the main similarity being that Tristan's feelings towards each led to him changing for both. He lived his life in and out of the shadows when seeing Lucas because Lucas could never admit their relationship and then he literally lived in the shadows for Dante because he would burn in the sun.
Lucas broke Tristan's heart at a time he was most vulnerable and every time after that seeing or hearing about Lucas reminded Tristan of being weak and broken, so when he met the average joe turned GI joe in a snap moment he wanted to prove his strength and erase his past but all he really did was add another kill to his long list.
Tristan lost his innocence the night his parents were killed and Lucas' rejection only served to further his despair but it was Dante who truly showed Tristan the darkness, with the assistance of Drusilla, and after getting a taste for it he was quickly seduced by evil and Dante's allure.

Tristan found himself walking through the corridors of the Hyperion Hotel as he kept switching between what the rundown corridors now looked like and what it looked like in the 1950s as he continued walking down the corridors until stopping at the door of the room where he met with a vision version of the former vengeance demon Anya and The Master.
He stood outside that door for what felt like forever, fearing if he opened the door in front of him he wound somehow be swept back into his life changing dream or that he'd been dreaming this entire time and by opening the door he'd wake up in a different reality. The vision quest like dream really did a number on him both good and bad.
After taking what felt like forever to him Tristan finally built up the courage to push open the hotel room door only to be instantly relieved to see it like any other hotel room well any other rundown hotel room with boarded up windows, the room had clearly not been used in recent years by Angel or any of his colleagues at Angel Investigations.
"It's just a normal room Tristan, no former demons or master of vampires lurking in here!" Tristan mumbled to himself, reassuring himself as he walked further into the hotel room which felt both uneasy and oddly familiar to him at the same time.
"Are you picking out a room? Odd turn of events if you wound up living with your dad for the first time when you're all grown up and dining on blood." Faith stated as she appeared at the hotel doorway before walking into the room. "It could seriously do with a lick of paint but then again every inch of this place could do with some serious renovation."
"I quite like the honesty of the decay, the history of what was and the harsh reality of what will never be again." Tristan replied to her, speaking with Faith had become easier for him or at least easier than speaking to Giles or Angel. "But I'm just exploring I'm certainly not looking to stick around here."
"I get it right now your not certain of anything not even what you recently decided, you know I was in your shoes once believing myself as this big bad that others had labelled me as myself included and just because you decide to do better does not necessarily mean you know how to do better." Faith consulting with him, knowing Tristan's current state of mind all too well.
"I do not want to be a hero I have never wanted to be a hero!" Tristan admitted to her, "I did not intend to be the villain either I was just so tired of feeling weak and I wanted to get revenge for my jaded life but the truth is I was just looking for an excuse to be as monstrous as possible because it was easier that then being weak again."
"Nobody here is expecting anything from you especially not to be anybody's hero except maybe yourselves." Faith reassured the slayer turned vampire. "You cannot erase your past, but I'd be damned if it defined you for the rest of your life!"
He never quite understood Faith's strong sense of well faith in him despite everything that he had done but at the same time he trusted her more than anyone else who seemed to be helping him seeking redemption.
Tristan had felt a connection with the infamous rogue turned redeemed slayer Faith Lehane from the moment he first met her outside his demonic dive bar although then he felt their friendship would be that of evil and not redemption but could he be what she believed he could be?

One Year Later
A young male man found himself in danger after an ill advised blind date with a man who turned out to be a monster, or better put a vampire which led to this young man finding himself running down an alleyway within New York City constantly looking behind him in fear, knowing the vampire wasn't far behind and continued to run for his life until he stopped at a dive bar named "Rogues" where he saw Tristan stood next to the door with a cigarette in hand having a cheeky smoke.
"Please there's this guy, at least I thought he was a guy and he's trying to kill me!" The young man in peril pleaded with Tristan, who looked at the stranger with frustration before throwing his cigarette to the ground and putting it out with his right foot.
"Every freaking time I go for a smoke break someone has to interrupt!" Tristan moaned as he noticed the male vampire catching up with his prey. "I guess I can take time out of my time out to help you out."
Tristan ran towards the vampire, tackling him to the ground and stopping him from getting near the stranger in the streets before he jumped back up almost instantly at the same time the other vampire did as Tristan launched a punch across the vampire's face several times before kicking him back to the ground and pulling out a wooden stake from his jacket pocket which he quickly launched into the vampire's chest, causing him to explode into dust.
"What was he? What are you?" The frightened stranger asked the demonic slayer, clearly still in shock from his terrifying experience.
"I believe the word you are looking for is thank you." Tristan replied before walking back towards the dive bar as he began mumbling to himself, complaining over his interrupted smoke break. "Every freaking time, always too screechy to say thank you, like come on it's been years now vampires existing should not be such a shock!"