The blonde walked down the street, looking around her
nervously yet seemingly unaware of the escort she had picked up. She
turned down an alley, stopping when she hit the brick wall. She
turned, and saw the vampires waiting for her there.
It was odd, seeing a human wandering around this vampire
infested town, but the leader of the vampire gang wasn't going to toss
away such a rare gift. His eyes narrowed in anger, since the Slayer
had killed the Master, blood was in short supply around here. "This is
gonna be fun," he smiled, his face twisted demonically.
"Yes, it is," the blonde grinned, suddenly unafraid of ther
creatures of the night. "Ready, partner?" Buffy loudly asked with a
smile.
"Ready," the voice spoke up from the mouth of the alleyway.
The vampires quickly turned around in surprise to see a strange
vampire standing there, a long black coat billowing around her legs.
Red tinted brown hair fell into grim eyes that held no mercy at all.
Willow took on the vamp-face as she said, "Let's go."
They moved as one, Willow attacking them from one end, Buffy
from the other. The Slayer fought with great intensity and almost
suicidal recklessness, while Willow worked quite methodically,
dropping her opponents one by one. In a matter of minutes eight
vampires were dusted, leaving only a panting Slayer and a hungry
Willow in their wake.
"You'd think they'd stop falling for the little lost lamb
routine," Buffy said with a smile.
"We haven't let anyone escape to warn the others yet," Willow
pointed out to her reasonably. She saw a trickle of blood snake down
Buffy's arm from a shallow cut and had to gulp as the hunger surged.
"I'll meet you back at the mansion," Willow said as she swiftly moved
to walk away.
"Wait a minute," Buffy reached out to grab at her arm, "what's
wrong?"
Willow had to fight to keep from going into vamp-face again as
she softly growled out, "I'm hungry." Buffy let go as she took a half
step back. Willow softly said, "I'm going to go see if I can find a
mugger, or else I'll hit the hospital blood stores."
Buffy watched her walk away silently. She forgot, sometimes,
that Willow was a vampire, that she shared her seemingly human body
with a blood hungry demon. Willow was kind, even gentle in the time
that they spent alone together, and even out fighting the vampires she
wasn't cruel, ending their lives quickly and efficiently.
'If Willow was a normal vampire I'd have slayed her by now,'
Buffy admitted to herself. Even when they had first joined forces she
had been ready for Willow to turn, to try to attack her. But somehow,
over the past two months, Buffy had felt her guard going down.
'It's not just the soul,' Buffy mused as she made her way
across the town, 'that vampire Angel had one and I still didn't trust
him. It's something else about her. She cares, about me, this town,
and those that the vampires hurt.'
Buffy felt the presence as she pushed open the old front door
and smiled. Willow had beaten her home once again. "How'd it go?"
Buffy asked softly.
"I visited the blood bank," Willow had a odd look on her face,
and Buffy gave her a look. With a soft laugh Willow said, "The nurses
put the packets aside for me." She shook her head slightly, "They were
happy to see me."
"They know the two of us are protecting the town," Buffy
pointed out, "especially after we beat back that vampire attack a few
weeks ago." Silently she added, 'And I think a few of the ladies were
impressed with the chivalry you showed to them then, too.'
"It's just a bit hard to get used to," Willow murmured. A grim
expression, "I guess I'm more used to seeing people run from me in
terror."
"What you were," Buffy said softly, "is not what you are now."
"That's not true," Willow shook her head, "the demon is still
a part of me." More softly, "And I remember everything that I did
then."
"I know what you were," Buffy said softly, "I know you were
one of the Master's favorites." Her voice took on a new intensity,
"I've been watching you the past two months, and you are nothing like
that viscious killer."
Willow actually smiled at her, and it lit up her face. "Thank
you," she said with gratitude in her voice, "I forget, sometimes."
"Yeah, well," Buffy looked away uncomfortably. She still found
it hard to explain what it meant to her, to have Willow standing by
her side. Up until very recently she had been alone, taken from her
mother and trained to be the Slayer. It had been the only thing in her
life, no friends, family or other obligation to distract her.
When she had faced the Master in the factory, she had known
she was going to die. He was old, radiating power and darkness, with
the odds so badly stacked against her there was no way she could win.
With the ragtag band of vampire hunters backing her up, she had
marched towards the Master, towards her own death.
Then she appeared.
Dropping down from a catwalk above Willow landed right behind
where the Master stood. She grasped him from behind, holding him fast,
even as she cried out to the Buffy, "Do it!"
She didn't hesitate, with a single fluid movement Buffy had
drived the sharp stake right into the Master's chest. Willow released
him, and the Master gazed at her in shock as he weakly said, "You were
one of my favorites..."
The Master fell to the floor, his body converting to a cloud
of dust and ash. Strangely his skeleton remained intact on the cement,
but Willow raised up a block of metal and dropped it on top of them,
shattering it to fragments.
Buffy looked down at the pile of ash, then looked up
thoughtfully at Willow, taking in the leather clad vampiress. Buffy
raised the stake even as she softly said, "You're a vampire, too."
Willow spread her arms wide and said to her softly, "Do what
you must."
Their eyes met, vampire and human, a deeply searching glance.
Buffy lowered the stake, "You're not like other vampires, are you?"
"I guess not," Willow answered softly.
"I'll probably have to stick around for awhile," Buffy had
said quietly..
Willow picked up the long leather coat from the ground,
shaking out the vampire dust that still clung to it. She slid it on
over her own leather dress easily, and as Buffy watched her walk
towards her it felt so right, somehow.
"I'd like to help, too," Willow's voice was soft, looking at
Buffy's face.
Buffy met her eyes, and she was surprised that she felt no
fear at all. She nodded slightly, admitting, "I could use the help."
Willow brought Buffy back to the present with a gently touch
on the arm. "Are you all right?" Willow asked with a gentle smile.
"Sorry, just lost in my thoughts," Buffy answered.
"It happens," Willow smiled slightly as she lead Buffy from
the large front hall into the depths of the mansion itself. Long
abandoned it had been taken as a nest for vampires until Willow and
Buffy had cleared them out. Taking it as a spoil of war they had set
up shop there, moving into an oddly domestic arrangement.
As they entered the kitchen Buffy remembered something.
Slightly sheepishly she said, "I forgot to pick something up on the
way home."
Willow opened up the refridgerator, revealing a large silvery
case laying on the bottom shelf, containing her packets of blood.
Other than that, there were pretty slim pickings. With a sigh Willow
said, "I'll see what I can throw together from the leftovers."
"You don't have to.." Buffy started.
"If I don't," Willow said pointedly, "you'll just go out
looking for a pizza or burgers or some other kind of junk food." The
vampire shook her head ruefully, "How you managed before I came along
I don't know."
"Neither do I," Buffy admitted, sounding almost fond. As
Willow bustled about the massive kitchen something that had been
bugging Buffy slipped out, "Are you a lesbian?"
The egg slipped from Willow's fingers to fall to the floor
with a loud splat!
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