A/n: Kinda tempted to not only use established demon-y villains here, but also to satisfy my inner crypto-zoologist, as you may have seen from the chupacabra and Bigfoot mentions in the previous chapter. We've got enough creepy shit going on in real life, and so I'm gonna assume those creatures exist in the Buffy-verse, because why not? Also, it'd be cool if you guys looked some of them up, because then it'd make me feel a whole lot better about those stories scaring the shit out of me as a child.

Chapter Two (More life choices, and Willow makes the reader crave raspberry flavoured confectionery)

8 years ago

Ten year old Tara Tiler sat in front of the two grave stones, knees curled up under her chin and feeling for the first time completely alone. This was a new feeling, and the girl honestly had no idea what to do now. As a little girl, even with her father being the way he was and Donny being a butt-head, Tara had always still had Mama. Someone to hold her and tell her she was precious and to teach her magic.

And then they had moved to England and Tara's family had only grown. Jack had, eventually, become Tara's new Daddy. The Watcher had encouraged Tara's magic, and had helped nurture an already observant young mind. She remembered curling up next to her step-father in the Council's giant library, the two of the regaling each other with stories, Tara's stories being whatever she had read earlier that day and Jack's being extremely censored versions of various Watcher's reports.

Well, only censored when Mama was in earshot. The woman was a hardcore pacifist, and had nearly gone catatonic when Jack suggested that her six year old take up fencing.

Well, no one was going to Tara's tournaments now.

Her parents had been sent by the Council to investigate some goings on at a church Mawnan, Cornwall. A generational witch and a seasoned field-Watcher, it was meant to be routine: Go in, get a feel of the ley lines, interview a few locals, report back. If it had a natural explanation, leave it be. If something demonic really was going on, then the Council would intervene.

'And we all know how well that went,' the ten year old thought bitterly. Tara didn't need to know all the details. The funeral had been a closed casket affair, after all. 'And we're still not sure of that's all of them buried down there.'

Stop. Stop it.

'…but how'd they know whose limbs were whose?'

Stop it, Tamara. Stop it right now. She dug her nails into the palm of her hands and let her hair fall over her eyes. It was a defense mechanism she never fully outgrew. She stayed that way for a few more hours, even as it began to rain. She did move once, to wave a glowing blue hand over her head to make an invisible shield from the rain.

A shield that lasted only a few minutes, as her silent rage caused her concentration to waver and the shield to dissipate. A thoroughly soaked Tara was not a particularly happy one, though she was determined.

She could hear the car pulling up, the door slamming and the man opening his umbrella. Still, she did not move. For a moment, Tara thought the rain had stopped, until she realized that the man had merely placed his umbrella over her head.

"Let's go. You'll catch your death out here."

"Train me," I wanna make Mama and Daddy proud. "Train me to be a Watcher."

"Fine then," Quentin Traverse said with a huff, hauling the girl to her feet. "But I'll tell you right now, you'll be of no use to Council with pneumonia."

Present day

Two weeks. It had taken Faith two weeks to completely heal up, but in Buffy's eyes that was two weeks too many. She should have been watching her sister Slayer's back, and then Faith wouldn't need to be healing at all. Faith and the others tried to convince her otherwise, but Buffy had a habit of internalizing pain when she shouldn't.

Actually, now that she thought about it, they all did. Well, the family that harbors self-destructive behaviors together fights evil together.

'My family.' And what a family it was. There were the most obvious, her mother and her sister Dawn. Then there was Xander and Willow. In truth, the two were her siblings just as much as Dawn was. And Giles, father figure to the whole group. And Faith.

Faith was the hardest to categorize. They were friends, yes. Comrades, allies. Equals.

Buffy took a moment to reorganize her mental checklist and put Faith in her own category.

"It's getting dark out. I should probably head out for patrol."

Giles nodded his approval, but Faith's eyes widened excitedly and she shifted to a sitting position from where she lay sprawled on the Watcher's couch.

"Wait up, B! Lemme grab my boots and we'll go." She moved to get up, but Buffy's firm hand pushed her back down.

"How about I go alone for now?" Faith opened her mouth to protest, but she carried on. "You can patrol later, but right now you should rest a little more."

Faith seemed placated by this. For the past several months, the two Slayers had been patrolling in shifts on weeknights, alternating on who would take first or second on a daily basis. They still patrolled together, or as a group with the Scoobies, during weekends or if there was something particularly terrifying about.

"Fine. But take Red with you. I think she could use the exercise." Willow let out a cry of indignation, and Faith held up her hands defensively. "Hey, no disrespect! I just mean that this thing fucked me up bad. I'd feel better if B had someone watching her back and you've been looking for a chance to flex your mojo muscles, haven't you?"

Willow glanced over shoulder at the blonde Slayer, who was currently going over her pre-Slaying checklist. "You really care about her, don't you?"

"…this isn't going to turn into one of those 'we are all friends here' moments, is this?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "Well, not now it isn't."


"-so it's basically a seven foot tall lizard?"

"You've seen it before, Wills. Big lizard. Electric blue scales." Buffy ceased her power walk for a moment to let Willow catch up to her.

"Well now, I wouldn't say electric blue," the redhead said. "Electric blue is more of a cyan. That lizard was a pale blue, not quite powder, not quite Robin's egg. It looked like those raspberry flavored Airheads Dawnie loves. Yeah, that's it! Fruit snack blue. Wait, are Airheads fruit snacks or candy? Is there even a proper distinction between the two? You should really check that out before letting your sister eat so ma-"

She was interrupted by some loud, extremely panicked shouting, and Buffy's hand shot out to grab her shoulder.

"That came from the park. Something's happening."

There was a crash, and another voice shouting.

"Make that two things."

A metallic sounding screech echoed through the streets, and Buffy's mouth spread in an utterly predatory grin.

"Make that two things and a lizard." And with that, she speed walked to the park, dragging a Willow-y witch behind her. She was going to teach Electabuzz a thing or two about frying her friends. She paused.

Ew. Pokémon reference.

Sadly, Buffy's vengeful and Pocket Monster filled reverie was interrupted at the sight of Fruit Snack Lizard.

A very charred and fried looking Fruit Snack Lizard.

With what looked to be a sword jammed into its ribs.

Willow shook her by the elbow. "Buffy, look."

Off to the side, two people stood staring at the lizard, the shorter one even going so far as to prod the dead demon with their foot before stooping down and pulling the sword out. As they approached closer, Willow noted that the taller one was a girl about their age, but the shorter girl couldn't have been any older than Dawn.

Buffy noticed all these things too. That didn't stop her from pointing her finger and letting out an indignant, "Kill stealers!"

The tall girl had the decency to look embarrassed, offering the Slayer and witch a sheepish and rather lopsided grin. The other, who Willow surmised to be about 11, did the exact opposite. Puffing up her non-existent chest like some sort of rooster and grinning wide enough to take up most of her face (a truly impressive feat, as most of her face was already taken up by big, brown eyes) and proclaimed,

"You can now head back to your homes safely, ladies. Art the Vampire Slayer has saved the day!"

"…what."

The tall girl immediately snapped into action, letting out a frustrated, deflating sound, grabbing the child by the back of the shirt, and ran.

Buffy was still staring at the spot where they had stood, several minutes later.

"What? What?"

Even with knowledge that her best friend was most likely to repeat that word over and over again for the next 20 minutes in various tones and voices, Willow bit her lip and smiled to herself.

The taller girl had eyes the color of raspberry Airheads.