We're on Our Way, We're on Our Way to the Hellmouth
He didn't really care how a young Immortal had become involved with a Slayer. Perhaps she was the victim of a vampire that had risen in a way that intrigued the Chosen One. It was the problem of separating them that was bothering him.
When he first witnessed the duo they had been taken by surprise and so he had assumed that patrols of the night would leave his prey unattended and vulnerable.
Unfortunately as they meandered northeast across the country they stuck close to one another and repeatedly managed to lose him during their night time wanderings, disappearing around comers as he hung back, unwilling as he was to be observed before it was time.
As far as he could tell she was young, barely out of her first death it seemed at times, though occasionally something about her attitude added some decades onto his judgment of her age.
Not that it really mattered, either way she was definitely not old enough to be a challenge to an Immortal who had witnessed the commencement of industry. One who had taken more than his fair share of heads too.
He watched the two separate and felt a surge of adrenaline flood through his system. She was finally his.
The town was small to say the least, and had they wished they could have pressed through to the Hellmouth itself, but Buffy had been feeling… something… niggling at her senses for a while, and she felt it was time to deal with the thing that was tracking them.
Though adding another night before they were reunited with her happy band of helpers was definitely a plus. She may have gained more control over her powers and memories of previous lives; but that didn't dim the memories of this one.
Their stalker had seemed unwilling to approach them as a pair so, with a nod from Buffy to reaffirm that it was there, Faith waved goodbye and headed in the opposite direction. Since Faith didn't seem to be able to feel… whatever it was, they had assumed it was following Buffy.
She headed towards the outskirts, to the warehouses that would be devoid of life at this time of night, and smiled as she felt her tag along draw nearer.
The girl was alone in an area that, though in daytime might be bustling with the industry that kept the town afloat, was currently devoid of any life but theirs.
If he hadn't witnessed to duo in other towns going immediately to similar areas in search of the un-dead, he would have been suspicious. But trailing them for a week had lent some form of normality to abandoned streets and he didn't think to question why she had ventured into such a place without her slayer escort.
Not even when he rounded a corner to see her waiting for him.
It wasn't until his eyes adjusted to the dim light between the tall buildings, when he saw the calm expression on her face. Only then did he realise just how bad a mistake he'd made.
She stood waiting for him to come to her but now that their tag along had finally decided to come forward and meet her he seemed to have lost the nerve to do whatever it was that had caused him to follow them for so long. Buffy smiled as she felt Faith move in behind the man.
He surprised her by noticing this acknowledgement of her partner, turning to see what was there and panicking slightly at finding the slayer blocking any retreat.
Pulling himself together he drew a sword out of his long coat and fell into a ready position facing Buffy. The presence of the sword in his hand seemed to give him a boost of confidence, he calmed in the way that all good fighters must to survive, ignoring outside worries and concentrating on what was to come.
"I hope she knows not to interfere in this. You know we must fight one on one." He spoke easily as if he didn't have behind him a girl that could easily overpower him. Of course so could the one he was now facing off against, but he hadn't learnt that yet, didn't see how far out of his league he had gone.
Faith glanced at Buffy, sure that the other slayer could handle this man but unwilling to ignore the fight without a request from her friend. Buffy stared for a moment longer at her aggressor seeing him with every sense she had, trying to figure out what it was about this man that made her head spin in such a disconcerting way.
He seemed so normal, besides the fact that he carried a sword around and that from his stance it was obvious he knew how to use it.
Finally she nodded to Faith, letting her know it was okay to back off and leave this fight to her without ever turning her head away from her challenger as he slowly began to approach her.
"She won't join in." Buffy reassured him, making him divert his attention for a moment to the girl who had somehow managed to make the wall a good place for a nap since she had been denied entry into the fight to come.
Turning back to his opponent he noticed that she still had no sword and for the first time since stepping into the alley he felt a surge of hope. "Draw your blade."
Shrugging she span in a carefree manner, arms outstretched displaying close fitting clothes that had no chance of hiding a sword. When she made the full circle to face him again a grin filled her face, "Well I guess I must have left it at home."
Her complete lack of concern over this fact almost destroyed the confidence he had regained when he suspected it, but he managed to buoy his feelings. She may be older than he had suspected but unarmed he still doubted the girl would be a problem… as long as her pet slayer stayed out of it.
"I will take your head, sword or not" and with that final warning he lunged towards her.
Buffy easily sidestepped the blade and stood poised waiting for his next attack, gauging his skill and strengths, but most of all trying to work out what it was about this seemingly normal man that not only made her senses go haywire but also prompted him to pick a fight with her.
Without a second thought he bought his blade back for a second strike, using skills gained through years of practice that made his body react before his mind even comprehended what had happened.
When his thoughts did finally catch up he stepped back into a defensive stance wondering how she had managed to move fast enough to avoid his attacks. Unfortunately for him his opponent had given up her games and was finally retaliating.
She lashed out with a fist that moved faster than anything he'd seen. Instinctively he moved his blade to block a blow that could easily immobilised him, but managed to only divert the attack not stop it, causing what would have been a non fatal blow to his upper torso to crash with surprising force into his unprotected gut.
Completely winded he stumbled back a few steps. He coughed and blood came out from his mouth, spraying down the front of his pristine white shirt. Looking down in confusion at the dark pattern on his clothes he bought up a hand to touch to the thick liquid still clinging to a lip, appearing baffled when he found the blade still within his grasp.
Opening his hand to release the Sword he touched his lip confirming his suspicions as he saw the wet blood on his fingertips. With that single hit something had broken within him and though he could feel it trying he knew this was too bad for his Quickening to fix before he succumbed to the injury.
His brain suddenly caught on to the events around him, and was for some reason fixated with the lack of a sound when his sword dropped. Catching a glint of polished steel he found that his opponent finally had a weapon in her hand, his.
He fell to his knees, more a control of an involuntary action than a subservient action, but it suited the occasion, the inevitable end, "Finish it" he croaked before being overcome by another fit of coughing that sprayed blood over the concrete at her feet.
The world was going black and in his last moments of awareness he tried to claw his way back to coherency not wanting to lose his head while lying lifeless on the floor.
Faith walked over to the other slayer who was fixated on the body at her feet.
"I didn't hit him that hard…" she mumbled as they both heard the deflated burble of his last breath escaping through the blood in his airway.
"I guess not hard for a demon is different to not hard for…"
"He wasn't Human." Buffy broke in, insistent about that fact. Still able to feel that otherness that had alerted her to his presence emanating off his body, "And he might not have had any powers but he did want to kill me. He wasn't a good man."
And she didn't know when the last statement had started to matter more than the first, but it had. Whether or not he was human was irrelevant because he wanted to see her blood spill and that made him as bad as anything else that had done the same.
"There was nothing else you could do B"
The blonde nodded once, then again with more force, as if the very act would shake the disputing thoughts out of her head. She dropped the sword and turned to walk out of the alley, away from the evidence of what she'd done.
"We can't leave this here" Faith shouted after her, kicking at the weapon so it rattled across the concrete with a sound to put teeth on edge. She bent to pick it up and made a few experimental swings with the well balanced blade.
When Buffy seemed to pay no attention to the object she grinned, inspecting it with evident pleasure. "Looks like I've got a new toy." She said happily, trying out a lunge as she followed after the other Slayer.
Hours later as the noon sun finally lit the ground between the tall buildings; the crumpled form took a strained breath and rolled over with a groan.
There were good sides to the immortality biz, but one of them was not the first few moments after you came back to life. He supposed he should feel joy each time that it hadn't been as final as it was for most, but mostly he just felt drained.
And in a lot of pain.
Slowly getting to his feet he didn't stop to wonder too hard why the girl had left him alive, merely thanked his lucky stars that she had; and started to shuffle out of the alleyway.
He couldn't feel her presence but didn't want to take his chances that she'd change her mind so, with a glance up at the sun to check the direction, headed as directly west as the streets would allow.