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Vamp/Slayer 101

"You're sure this is the place to go to find vampires?" Michelle asked as she stood in line for entrance to The Bronze along with Willow, Richard and Xander.

"Oh yeah. They're big on the young blood." Xander handed his I.D. to the man checking ages and walked in after them.

The Bronze was bouncing for a Thursday. A light show complete with strobe was on full force. The live band was a major pull, and therefore snacks all around were available if you happened to be into the warm blood pulsating from wall to wall.

"Come on!" Willow yelled back to them over the music. She walked by the throng of people to the steps leading to the balcony. Even after the numerous refits The Bronze had had over the years, that was still the best place to use if you wanted to spot anything in particular.

They lined the railing overlooking the main floor and studied the groups below all moving to the music blaring from the stage.

Xander looked over the random jumble of colors and movement for someone out of place. He and Willow were pretty good at picking out the vamps now. Not from powers or senses, just a lot of practice. He'd seen this group from all angles. He'd been the dork in the corner, the guy dancing with his two best friends. The guy dating the popular girl, and now he was the adult. A funny thought even to him.

The adult who'd spent the better part of the afternoon in his friends' house soundproofing walls. He shook his head at the thought before looking over to Willow. "You see anyone?"

The redhead passed her eyes over the crowd again. "No."

"I do," Michelle said. "There's a vampire here." She nodded at the floor towards a boy dancing amongst the teens below.

At first glance he seemed perfectly normal. Denim jacket, black pants and a green polo. Not out of date and dancing with the kids well. The only oddity was how he seemed to move away from the girl turned with her back to him. He jumped forward each time she took a step back.

The girl dressed in a black jacket covering a red knee length dress spun, and they all saw why the boy was leaping away from her. The design on her back was made from several tiny studs beaded together in the shape of a cross.

The boy kept trying to work his way away from her, but the pit of dancers squeezed inward from every direction, making his escape a difficult one.

Richard looked over to Michelle. "Shouldn't be a problem. We'll need to get him away from the others, though."

Michelle nodded as she looked at the boy vampire. "I think I can do that," she said and spun walking back the way they'd come.

They looked around to be sure they caused no suspicion. Willow and Xander went to the exit and waited near the door for a sign that Michelle had it under control.

Richard walked to the bar, separating himself from his charge and girlfriend.

Michelle handed him her jacket before forcing her way through the crowd. She moved undetected towards the boy who'd lost the red-dressed girl along with his dance partner.

Michelle gave him a full grin and moved with the others beside him. He caught on quickly and moved to hold her hip as she moved back and forth.

Xander and Willow watched her. This was her first outing as a Slayer, and Sunnydale wasn't for amateurs.

Apparently she caught on fast. She smiled and moved in closer, whispering into the boy's ear. He grinned and nodded. Then took her hand and lead her towards the exit.

Willow and Xander saw them walking their way and scrambled out the door and to the back of the alley.

Richard sat calmly until Michelle was out of his sight and out of The Bronze before following.

Michelle giggled and began to lead the vampire down the alley.

"You sure are trusting to come back here with a stranger," the boy said.

Michelle took both his hands and walked backwards further into the darkness. "Oh, I don't think you'll hurt me." She smiled at him.

He smirked at her. "I might."

Michelle stopped and let go of one of his hands then held her hand out. "No, you won't," she said seriously, feeling the stake Xander threw to her land squarely in her palm. "Or anyone else."

The vampire boy watched the stake appear and come towards his chest. In a final attempt at escape, he shoved Michelle back, causing her to stake his arm instead of his heart.

She yanked the stake out and the vampire took the moment to jump back, securing his escape. He turned to run and ran right into Richard who fell back and knocked his head on the cement.

Michelle wasn't far behind the vampire. She grabbed his arm and yanked him around to face her. "You have no idea who you are dealing with." Then she punched him in the face before staking him, in the chest this time.

She watched the face of the boy crumble into dust and smiled. "I did it."

"Ow," Richard said and sat up holding the back of his head.

Willow and Xander raced out of the shadows to the side of the fallen Watcher.

Michelle heard him getting up and looked on with sorrow. "I'm sorry." She hoisted him up to his feet. "He never should have gotten that far."

Richard nursed the wound on his head with the handkerchief from his back pocket. "It's alright, Michelle. You did get him."

"Yeah," Xander said happily.

"Looked alright to me. One vampire equals one dusty pile," Willow affirmed.

Michelle picked up the jacket Richard had dropped on the cement and put it on. "Really?"

"Absolutely." Xander nodded.

Michelle grinned from Richard to Xander then to Willow. "Then, may I see the cemeteries now?"

~~`~~

Spike walked alongside Ashton trying to figure out how to get the man off the subject. "Yeah, mate. I'm serious. Staked 'er myself."

The dark vampire studied his new companion. The blonde caused one query after another, all with few answers. The only thing he could seem to get him to talk about was how he and the new Slayer had gotten themselves here in the first place. "And this Watcher wished for them to come back here? To what end?"

Spike shoved his hands into his pocket. "Not sure on that part. Maybe Dru had more information." He chuckled at his own words. "Not likely though."

"From what I have heard of her and… you, it would seem unlikely." Ashton tried to work it out again in his head. This man was no longer William the Bloody, he was simply Spike.

"Well, she ain't here. So whatever it was can't be done now," Spike said quietly. He'd had to do it, and Dru was no longer his love. But she would always be a part of him, no matter how much time passed.

Ashton murmured his agreement and the two continued on.

Still not sure how to bring it up, Spike decided that subtlety just wouldn't work. Which was good, because it had never been his strongest asset. "So, you an' the Slayer?"

Ashton's face suddenly went hard. "What about her?"

Spike sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought. "You know what. Why are you on the outs with her? If it has to do with shackles..."

The vampire turned on him in an instant and held him up against yet another wall.

Spike struggled for the breath he now needed. He somehow choked out a few words. "You keep holdin' me this way," cough, "I'm gonna start thinkin' things."

Ashton twisted his mouth then shook his head violently before dropping Spike to his feet.

The man new to humanity held his own throat and coughed a few more times before he attempted to speak. "You don't need to be so touchy."

Ashton stood with his back to the bent human. "Maybe you have an idea of what my time here is like, with her, but I have no chance to be anything more than the monster I am." He turned and looked back at Spike. "I haven't even been able to do that right for a very long time."

Spike stood up straight and looked up at the vampire towering over him. "You'd be surprised just how much we do have in common."

Ashton looked down at the man.

Spike smiled. "C'mon, mate. You tell me about it, and we'll figure something out."

Still unsure, Ashton saw few other choices, and they continued to his home.

~~`~~

The partition in Sam's apartment had been moved aside to open the area for the two ladies. She'd done it hoping that Buffy would feel more free to a discussion of... well she wasn't sure. There were too many things she wanted to know, all centering on herself.

Samantha wasn't sure how, or even if, she should approach the subjects rolling around in her head. She'd always lived her life for her present survival, not her future. But here she had someone who made her believe she had a future. Something Slayers usually did not have.

Her short life span was of little consequence to her. Like any person who believed they would live to be fifty, she knew she would live to be in her mid-twenties at best. She'd reached that goal, would never see thirty, and the only reason she was still here now was because she'd been called so late in her life.

These were all facts she'd long ago accepted. The way life was and the way she lived it. It was why she had contacts in the cities she stayed in, helped the people living in them. Why she stayed with the Underground in France when she had to go to Paris. Why she hid just outside a concentration camp in Poland, and why she lived with factory workers in London. These people were the ones in need of hope and help. She would provide whatever she could while she walked the Earth.

Her upbringing and her day to day life had made her an unselfish person. Her presence was all she had to give.

But now in a matter of a day, things had changed. She had done so many things that should have been impossible. She'd met another Slayer, a time traveling pair, and a human who'd once been a Master Vampire. He'd killed a Slayer himself at one point.
Sam pulled the blanket up under her chin and rolled over to see Buffy nestled in her make shift pallet, looking back.

"Can't sleep?" Sam sat up and asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No." She pulled the blankets away and stood up wearing an oversized nightgown, one of the practical garments that had been purchased. She walked into the kitchen area and drew some water into a cup.

"Me either," Sam admitted and got up and walked to the couch. "What is it that's causing you problems?"

Buffy took a long sip and rubbed her eyes then joined Sam on the couch. "Well, mostly it's you."

"Me?" Sam asked.

Buffy nodded, then cocked her head to the side and studied the young face of Samantha Emerson… or soon to be. She remembered the woman she would be. She'd been impressed with the former Slayer from the moment she opened the door. Even Cordy would have been impressed.

The cheerleader's echoing voice with tips on moisturizing still rang in the blonde Slayer's ears and caused a smile to sneak across her face.

Sam had spoken with her so easily about Ashton and helped her to see Spike for more than what he had been, before he'd discovered he had a choice. Before she'd found out she could make one.

"What is it?" Sam asked, watching as Buffy smiled and looked past her.

A chuckle escaped Buffy's mouth. "It's just that, I didn't think deja-vu could happen in reverse."

Sam shook her head. "I don't understand."

Buffy looked back, her smile fading. "I want to ask you something, but don't freak, ok?"

Freaking was not something Sam wanted to do, whatever it was. "I think so."

Buffy pursed her lips, unsure of what to say. What had Sam said to her? The memory came into focus, and suddenly Buffy knew what to say, or rather, what to ask. "I wonder," she began and looked as deeply into Sam's eyes as she could, "how confused are you?"

The dark haired Slayer was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

Buffy smiled again gently. "The reason I'm asking is, well, when I was with Spike, you know, before… when he was a vamp, I was so-o lost." She looked away around the small room and then back at the Slayer. "It was killing me."

Sam's eyes widened. "You do know. You know what's happening? All of it?"

Buffy shook her head. "Not all of it, but a lot. You and Ashton? You were," she paused, "but now you're not. Right?"

Sam nodded. "I had to. We couldn't. If The Council found out... not to mention, he's a vampire. I never should have." Sam kept shaking her head as she spoke then looked up. "But you were permitted."

"Hardly," Buffy snorted. "I mean, eventually, there wasn't much choice."

"You had no choice?"

"Oh...I had a choice. I mean the ones who'd blown a gasket had none." Buffy smiled. "And as much as I know you would love to hear about that, I really can't tell ya."

Sam sat forward on the couch expectantly. "What can you tell me?"

"Not to give up."

"On what?"

"On any of it. Life, love, the pursuit of happiness." Buffy waved a hand in the air. "Any of it. Don't let anyone convince you it's wrong. No Slayer's life is carved in stone." Buffy giggled. "And even if it is, you can't take the symbols literally."

Sam squinted at Buffy. "You're a little strange."

"Yeah." Buffy grinned. "I'm aware."





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