Summary: When Kennedy comes to Sunnydale, things begin as rocky between herself and Faith. She ends up tangled up with Willow, but something starts brewing in the background with the rogue Slayer. All the while, hell unfolds in Sunnydale.

Italics are thoughts

Pairings: Kennedy/Willow, Kennedy/Faith triangle (for now)

Prologue: Strangers

Sunnydale, California, cold? Actually 'bundle-up-in-your-heavy-coat' cold? Never gonna happen. The coldest it ever got there was an equivalent to a brisk, refreshing autumn day in Connecticut. Except for one time when it snowed, but that doesn't count. Now the impossible had happened. The streets of SD were filled with the normal people window-shopping or just getting somewhere they need to go. The only difference is that the people were decked from head to toe with ski-caps, winter jackets, and long warm pants. Even a few scarves and pairs of gloves could be seen.

"This is fuckin' ridiculous…no way in hell this is normal," muttered a slightly disheveled and rushed Faith. She wore her leather jacket and basic jeans. No hat, no scarf, no gloves, nothing that could lessen the cold. She hurried down the sidewalk, hunched over, arms wrapped around her. "Hey, watch where you're going, kid…" she turned and watched the young girl who'd just hurried past her and crashed into her in doing so.

"I'd say the same for you," called the girl back without turning around. She quickly raised her hand and flipped Faith off over her shoulder and turned the corner out of sight.

Faith frowned and rubbed her shoulder where the girl had run into her. It hurt, surprisingly. The girl had hit her with a force not many people have. "Stupid, ignorant, spoiled, rich city kid…must be new here. Won't take her long to get herself in check once she gets a taste for what Sunnyhell's really like," The brunette slayer shook her head to recollect herself and turned, continuing her way to the Magic Box.


Damn, that was rude of her. I'm not just a stupid kid. Are all people like that here? I sure hope that not every fucker on these streets is in denial of their own stupidity. Damn freak thought I wasn't looking where I was going…Pfft. The young girl stopped for a moment and looked around at her surroundings. The letter said I couldn't miss it…big ole window with giant ass letters over it clearly saying "Magic Box"…guess I missed it.

"Excuse me? You seem a little lost…" a male voice with a heavy British accent shook her from her thoughts. "Need help finding something, pet?"

"N-no," Kennedy whirled to face the speaker; a tall, bleached-blonde man with defined cheekbones and a bad-boy look about him. She reached into her coat pocket and wrapped her fingers around a wooden stake. "I'm fine, thanks," she turned her back to him, took a deep breath, and began to walk away. He's a vampire, I feel it…just walk away Kennedy…walk away. She gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his hand fall onto her shoulder. She whipped around, pushed him to a wall, and pinned him, holding the stake to his chest. "Don't…touch me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, pet…no need to…get physical," the alleged vampire tried to calm her, glancing down at the stake then looking into her eyes. "I'm not going to hurt you…" Stake…who does she think she is?

"Y-you're a vampire. Don't fuck with me, I know you were planning on dragging me off to some alleyway and draining me," Kennedy pressed the stake harder against his chest.

Could she possibly…no…bloody hell? "Look, lady, you're one for three. I'm a vampire, won't lie to you there. But there's no way I'll drag you off and drain you. I don't kill anymore…I buy pigs blood and shit and drink that instead…horrible stuff, but it's better than killing innocent lives."

"You think I'm some kind of idiot?" Kennedy threw her head back and laughed halfheartedly, regaining some of her usual steel. "You don't know who you're dealing with…I've killed vampires before, ok, one vampire. But you seem pretty wimpy…"

"Oh, do I, pet?" The vampire stuck out his leg and swept it beneath Kennedy in one fluid motion, causing her to fall to the ground: the two oblivious to the crowd surrounding them. She hit the ground and the vampire grabbed the back of her collar, lifted her to her feet, and set her before him, taking the stake from her. "I think I do know who you are…and I know where you're going. The Magic Box, am I right?" He smirked at her blank expression, seeing deep into the shock held in her eyes. "I bet everyone's waiting for you, the new girl. Heard you were coming. Good thing I ran into you, you were heading the wrong way. Let me take you there?" Not like she has a bleedin' option, she caused this much trouble I'm getting her there whether she likes it or not.

Kennedy looked around at the crowd, finally realizing the scene they were creating. Looking back up at the vampire, she warily nodded slowly. "Alright…I'm probably as dead anyway if I try to resist…might as well force myself to have some trust in you."

"M'name's Spike…you'll be getting to know me well if you're staying here that long."

"I'm Kennedy," she mumbled back, looking at her feet as they both began walking back in the direction she had come from.

They walked in silence, Spike with a look of determination set in his face, occasionally glancing over at Kennedy. Kennedy kept her head down for the first five minutes, then curiosity got the best of her and she began looking around at her surroundings, getting and idea for where things were in this town. Before too long, she realized they had stopped walking. "What's going on?" she asked, only to realize she was standing alone in front of a storefront window. The blinds were down, but a light shone from behind. The letters above the window were large and colorful, spelling "The Magic Box" quite clearly. How did I miss that?