A/N: Two chapters today, because why not.

Chapter Five – Die Hard The Hunter

She had taken down three of these creatures now, but there was still three to go, and she was tired. God was she tired. The damage that had been done over the last few days was healing, but slowly. Even her slayer healing was unable to completely help her here. Buffy pushed the dread aside. If she was going to die facing monsters, she was going to do it with her pride intact. She would go down fighting, not running like a coward. Her new found knife was far from her now, lost when one creature had tackled her to the ground, and that hindered her plan of not panicking, but she knew she could reach it. She planned her steps. Roll under the thing on her left, leap over the next one, grab the knife, plunge it into the third one. As long as another tail didn't whip at her, and as long as the other one didn't spew acid at her again, she should be able to make it. Even her internal voice sounded less than confident in the plan, but it was better than nothing. No plan results in a grisly death, and that was not going to be a part of her day.

Just as she was about to move, the third creature, her ultimate target, turned away from the crowd and stalked off in another direction. She grinned to herself, it was moving slowly which meant she had done a considerable amount of damage already, and that bode well for her. She was confused though, where was it going? Was it so sure that it's buddies could take her down that it didn't want to stay, or was killing her so boring it was off in search of something more fun? Buffy knew she should be grateful for one less monster to deal with, she felt a little insulted by the creature's lack of interest. Then a chilling thought dawned on her, what if it was yet another creature that had taken it's attention away? Pride and determination aside, Buffy knew that adding another thing into the mix would be too much. The battle would surely be lost. Keeping her mind on the battle in front of her, Buffy scanned the area to try and catch sight of what the monster had found so interesting.

Maybe ten yards away from the mess she had gotten herself into she finally saw what the distraction was. The guy she had run into a couple of days ago, the one that she had stolen the knife from, was poorly trying to blend into the trees nearby. She was amazed he had survived the last two days, but she could tell that the world was wearing on him. He would end up as a light snack for this thing in no time at all. Her slayer instinct kicked in and the need to protect him took over all other motives. Just as it had so many times before, her own survival came second to someone else's. Buffy kicked into overdrive, rolling and leaping to grab her knife just as she had planned. She threw the knife fast, landing it in the back of the things head perfectly. Unfortunately it didn't pierce far enough in, and the thing stayed standing, but it did turn back to her. It lumbered towards her, it's eyes revealing it's intent to tear her limb from limb.

"Why was that a good idea again?" She asked herself mentally, cursing herself as she readied herself for the impending assault.

Dean was stunned that she had intervened. Roles reversed he would have welcomed the chance to fight one less creature. Seeing that act of humanity reminded him of how he would react back home. She may not need the protection that he offered in the real world, but she was definitely in need of help. Despite his feelings of disdain towards the blonde, he couldn't ignore his instincts anymore, and as soon as the monster had it's back to him he launched himself at it. Dean latched onto the creature with all his strength and reached up as high as he could. The height difference created a struggle, but as soon as he managed to climb up it's back, he grabbed the knife handle and thrust it in the rest of the way into the creatures skull. The creature dropping to the ground hard, and Dean had to struggle to keep his balance. He pulled the knife out and looked up to the blonde chick who had been watching him, wide-eyed. He wasn't sure if she was more shocked by the fact that he didn't run screaming, the fact that he had been able to drive the blade in deep enough, or that he was willing to help her. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what he was more shocked at either.

The moment passed as quickly as it had set. They had work to do. They nodded at one another and set to work on the last two. Buffy used the distraction to her advantage and grabbed a nearby rock. The thing she was facing had no sooner turned back to face her when it met with the rock, which threw it off balance. Buffy wasted no time in bashing the monsters skull in, using fast and devastating swings of the rock. By the time she was done it was hard to tell where the things face had been. It may have been overkill, but Buffy did not want to risk leaving it alive in any way. She had made that mistake more than once here, and paid for it terribly.

Dean was taken aback by the viciousness of her attack, but had no time to appreciate it as the last creature had been circling him, waiting for a moment to attack. Dean lunged, leading with the knife, but missed his target. This thing moved faster than the rest and it wasn't about to be taken down by a forward assault. He knew that he had to find a way to get around it, maybe use a fake out. His best possible move would be to knock it to the ground, which would give Dean the best advantage possible given the situation. Dean was caught up in trying to find a weakness in the monster's form that he failed to notice the gill-like structure on it's neck begin to pulsate.

"Move!" the girl screamed, "get away from it!" She recognized that move, she had barely avoided the same attack earlier. This was not going to go well for the other person if she didn't warn him.

Human nature generally causes a lag between a request and an action, but Dean had been training his whole life. He knew if he heard an order, he was to act immediately, and the panic in her voice made him follow her directions without a second thought. He sprang into action, diving past the creature under it's arms and rolled to put some distance between them. Just as he had moved away, the thing spewed a large volume of sickly red liquid at the spot he had just been occupying. The ground melted away from the liquid as it bubbled and steamed, a smell of battery acid and lye hit his nose abruptly, turning his stomach and stinging his eyes. He was dumbfounded by the attack and the thing turned at a breakneck speed to face him leaving him no chance to move again before he found himself face to face with the monster. The speed of the creature made it seem as though he was frozen to his spot. He probably would have been reduced to goo if the blonde didn't intervene.

She grabbed his shoulders and spun him out of the way, lifting him and then promptly throwing him to the ground hard, though not as hard as the previous time she had moved him in such a way. She delivered a high spinning kick to the thing, enough power behind the kick to cause the monster to stagger back. Rather than continuing the assault head on, the girl rolled to the side of the creature and delivered a punch to it's side, roughly where one would think it's ribs would be. The thing didn't need to spin to attack her, a spike appeared from it's side and plunged into her fist as she connected with it. Dean winced at the thought of the spike burying into her fist, but she didn't even flinch. Instead she dropped and swung her legs in an effort to bring it to the ground. It had barely hit the ground when she straddled it, snapping it's head back so it couldn't spew liquid at her like it had him. She was struggling to keep her hold, and he could see her struggle to figure out her next step.

"Hey!" He yelled to her. She was strong, and she was nimble, but there was nowhere for her to go now. He had to do something to help.

She didn't turn her head, but held her hand out, seeing the glint of the knife in her peripheral vision. He threw the knife and she caught it without ever breaking her gaze with the monster. She plunged the knife deep into the thing's face, driving it through into it's brain and then ripping it up through the top of it's head. It stopped squirming and fell still. A smile started to spread across her face, but was halted by the rumble that she felt in the things midsection. Her eyes grew wide and she dove off of the corpse, rolling as far as she could before it burst into red and black goo. The two of them stared at the pile of bubbling goo, and then to one another. Silence hanging heavy between them.

Dean got to his feet and brushed himself off, "Well, that was –"

"Bracing"

Dean put his hand out to help the girl up, "Well I was gonna go with awful"

Taking his hand, Buffy too was now up on her feet and brushing off, "Also that. Thanks for showing up when you did. That was a losing battle."

"Couldn't tell from where I was standing. Looked like you were handling yourself just fine. For a chick"

Her eyes rolled, "Gee thanks. Excuse me if I contain myself at your compliment." She craned her neck to crack it and then sighed. "Here," she stretched her arm out, handing him the knife.

With a raised eyebrow Dean paused, "After all that the other day, you're just gonna give that to me now?"

She shrugged, "As much as I'd like to have it, you need it more than I do. I'll figure something out."

"I think I did just fine without it"

She looked at him incredulously and poked at the wound on his neck, earning a wince and a groan from him. "Yup, you're doing great."

"Alright," he ceded, "I struggled a bit, but I've made it this long. I don't need your pity."

"It wasn't pity so much as guilt, but fine. I'll keep it," she pulled the knife back towards her.

"Or, crazy idea, we could both keep it?" He couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth, but something told him that it was one of the smartest things he had ever said. It felt like an eternity before she replied.

"What, like, not beat each other up and then go our separate ways? Stay together instead?"

He felt like he was going to regret this, "Why not? You look about as tired as I feel which tells me that you're not getting much sleep either. We could sleep in shifts, that way we could actually get some sleep. If another pack like that rolls through I don't think either of us could handle it in this state."

Dean was one of the best hunters of his time, but this world was entirely different. The battle was nonstop here, and the monsters came from every angle. It never stopped. Even if it wasn't the monsters that got him, he knew it wouldn't be long before just a plain lack of sleep took him down. If he was going to get home, if he was going to get back to his brother, he needed help. Asking a tiny slip of a girl to team up seemed strange, but he had seen her in action. The way she fought was astounding. It wasn't like the way he fought, meticulous and through strategy though. She moved much more gracefully than any hunter he had ever seen, almost like it was a dance to her. She could more than handle herself, and even if he couldn't trust her, he felt like they could keep each other safe. She had to have a reason to survive as well, right?

She contemplated what he had said. It was true, she was exhausted. She doubted she could go on much longer like this. The wounds she had were beginning to pile up, and while she had slept just fine on the water, she couldn't bank on that each night. The second night she had attempted to sleep on the lake, a presence had made itself known. She didn't know what it was, and she didn't stick around long enough to find out. A large fin had broken the surface of the water and smacked the raft with such a force that it nearly capsized it. Buffy had wasted no time in paddling back to land and getting away from the lake. An aquatic battle seemed like a really great way to die a stupid death. It was the first time she had seen a creature in the water, but she didn't want to take a chance that it was a one-off. That thing could have easily killed her, and if there was anything that Buffy knew she could trust in this place it was that you don't get second chances to survive.

"How do I know you won't just kill me while I'm sleeping? Or leave me there alone?" She wasn't ready to accept his proposition quite yet.

"Well, if I was gonna kill you I woulda taken the knife and stabbed you here and now."

She laughed, "You would have tried to, that's true. Okay."

"I could have left you when battling those things, but I didn't" He thought it best to remain silent on the fact that his original plan had been to leave. "And why team up at all if I was just gonna leave?"

"Okay. Fine. I guess that's an acceptable plan. Neither of us need to be babysat, obviously."

"No ma'am. I'm still dumbfounded by that fact. A bitty thing like you?"

Her eyes narrowed for a second and then relaxed, "No harm in telling you, I suppose. What do you know about the supernatural world?"

A smirk played at his lips, "more than I should. Why?"

"I'm a slayer."

He blinked. She did say "mostly human" didn't she? He didn't know much, but he knew that name. He had seen it several times over the years, mostly while doing some research with Sammy. She had popped up with something to do with some vamp named The Master and something to do with a failed ascension. He was sure there was more that he had read. Dean also vaguely recalled Bobby mentioning something about some council who watched over some super-chick. He had laughed at the time at how ridiculous it was to choose a chick for such a job, but now standing in front of her he understood completely. He'd never admit it, but he was a little awestruck.

"Slayer? As in a vampire slayer?"

"As in the vampire slayer, and anything else that goes bump in the night."

"Isn't that supposed to be a some kinda secret identity or something?"

"Well, who are you gonna tell? That dead thing over there? Or the next one that finds us? I'd rather you know that I can handle myself and that I'll survive just fine if you screw me over. I don't need you."

He shook his head in agreement, "Fair. In the spirit of that, I'm a hunter. Been one nearly my whole life."

"Hunter, hey? I've met a few along the way. Interesting crowd." She thought of Cain, the one that had tried to take down Oz. He was less than fun to deal with. Syd the dummy had been almost kinda sweet, if not a little pervy. She hoped that this one was somewhere in the middle of the two.

"Dean." He reached his hand out to shake hers.

She looked at it skeptically and then shook her head. His hand dropped.

"Slayer is fine. No need to get all sentimental and crap."

"I like the way you think. What now, sweetheart?"

She sneered at him, but chose to let it go. "I suppose we figure out what to do now that it's dark and we're standing out here like morons."