Chapter Ten

First Patrol

"Is everyone going with me?" Xena asked as Willow showed her Buffy's weapons trunk.

"Just Xander and me. Dawn never goes -- Buffy's number one rule. Tara never has wanted to go, not that I blame her. And Anya isn't to keen on walking through cemeteries at night when she could be curled up in a nice warm bed, preferable with Xander right next to her."

"So what's with Anya, and the way she's so possessive of Xander? She acts like I'm going to try to seduce him."

"Well, Xander seems to have this thing about Slayers. He was sweet on Buffy when she first came to Sunnydale. And he was kind of smitten when Kendra showed up. And he and Faith had sex. And since you're kind of like a Slayer, Anya just feels very insecure whenever you're around Xander."

"Two more Slayers? And they both died that quickly?"

"Actually, only Kendra died. Well, Buffy did too, but she came back. Faith is still alive. But she's in prison. Long story."

Xena decided she it was none of her business and didn't press for the details. Instead, she reached into the trunk and pulled out a battle axe, feeling its heft and balance.

"Not bad," she commented. "A little light for my taste. It feels like a woman's weapon."

She next picked up the sword and started swinging it in measured circles. Willow, Tara and Dawn hurriedly backed away, just to be on the safe side.

"This feels pretty good. I can see this taking off vampire heads. And demon heads."

Then she saw several small bottles containing a clear liquid with crosses on the labels. "What is this?" Xena asked as she picked one up.

"It's Holy Water."

"What is that?"

"It's water that has been sanctified -- blessed by a priest. If you throw it on a vampire, it scalds them like fire. And if you can talk them into drinking it, they burn up from the inside out."

"Should I take it?"

Willow reached down and brought out Buffy's Mr. Pointy. "This is what you'll probably want to use."

"The sword seems like the better weapon."

"Well, you see, nowadays we don't usually carry around swords and battle axes and spears and stuff. The local police kind of frown on it. Spikes are much easier to conceal, and still get the job done."

Xena took the spike from Willow and tucked it into the waistband of her brand new jeans. She then put one into each of her back pockets.

"I sure wish I had my Chakram. It's easy to hide and goes where I want it to and comes right back to me. Vampires and demons wouldn't stand a chance."

"Maybe we can find steel rings somewhere and sharpen the edges," Dawn suggested.

"Mr. Giles might know where to get some," Tara added.

"He might," Willow agreed. "So I guess as soon as Xander gets here, we'll go."

"Oh, he called a few minutes ago," Tara remembered. "He's going to be a little late and said for you two go on ahead. He said he'll meet you at the entrance to Cooper's Cemetery in about a half hour."

"Not if Anya has her way," Willow muttered, a little irritated. Then to Xena she said, "I just thought that the first night on the job you should have more back up than just me."

"No way!" Dawn exclaimed. "The last thing the Warrior Princess needs is someone to hold her hand!"

"When you're going into unfamiliar territory, and facing an unknown enemy, it never hurts to have someone familiar with the lay of the land with you," Xena corrected her.

After last minute instructions to Dawn about not sneaking out and following them when she thought Tara was asleep, Willow and Xena left the house heading in the direction of Cooper's Cemetery.

"I know you don't need any suggestions about fighting and all, but you should know that vampires, and most demons, are much stronger than humans, which makes them that much harder to kill," Willow explained, trying not to sound too condescending. "Since they hunt at night, their nighttime senses are much better than ours. Mine! But probably not yours!"

"That's good to know. Anything else?"

"No. I think that's just about it. Oh, there is one more thing. Not all demons have their hearts on the left side like we do. In fact, some of them have more than one heart. With those you'll probably have to break their necks -- and most likely wishing you had a good, sharp sword with you."

Willow smiled sheepishly at Xena. She still wasn't sure how much of a sense of humor Xena had, if she had one at all.

"Or, I could bludgeon them to death with a certain redheaded witch," Xena replied as she grinned down at her.

Willow relaxed. "That might work, too."

Cooper's Cemetery failed to provide either vampires or Xander. After waiting almost an hour, they moved on to the next one a half mile away as Willow explained that sometimes vampires just never show up.

Just as they hopped over the low stone wall, she was proved wrong -- two vampires, a male and a female, ran at them from opposite sides. Xena threw Mr. Pointy at the female. Willow watched as it spun like the blade of a buzz saw and struck her squarely in the heart, passing completely through her as she turned into dust.

The male screamed out in rage at the death of his companion, and in a blind fury vaulted off the wall at Xena. Using his momentum, she easily flipped him upside down and slammed him down onto a marble headstone. And before he realized what had happened, Xena pulled a stake from one back pocket and drove it into his heart. In less than 30 seconds, both vampires were dispensed with.

"Wow," Willow said, impressed. "Nice moves. It's too bad Xander wasn't here to see it."

"Well, after your warnings I thought I shouldn't take any chances."

"Hey, quick and speedy works for me."

As the night progressed, they were attacked three more times. Using similar tactics, all three vampires were dusted. Willow, thinking maybe the first two were actually just Beginner's Luck, began to realize just why Xena was known as the Warrior Princess.

"Maybe it's a good thing Xander ISN'T here," she thought to herself. "Anya would have a fit if he came home singing the praises of Xena."

Just as they decided to call it a night, they ended up chasing after a red, scaly demon with spikes running down the length of it's spine, about half again as tall as Xena. But by the time they caught up it, it was completely out of breath and Xena had no trouble snapping its neck.

"What do we do with the body, bury it?"

"No need to," Willow replied. "Usually some demon-eating demon comes along and takes care of the carcasses."

"Really?"

"Yep. There's no end to the kinds of demons hanging around the Hellmouth."

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