Rachel might have put on a brave face for the cops, but she was shaking inside. They were heavily outnumbered and something was seriously wrong if vamps could get inside without an invite. There was nothing for it, though. She was a Slayer and this is what Slayers did. So she squared her shoulders, gripped her stake firmly and gave a final nod to Ayako. Then she nodded to Rigsby, pale and unusually silent for the big man, who swung the door open.

Rachel darted through the slim opening and staked the first vamp, still gaping with surprise at their sudden appearance. Before he'd even exploded into dust, she was moving forward, focusing on the next attack. Behind her, she dimly heard the sounds of Ayako claiming a vamp and the steel door swinging shut behind them. She couldn't see the big, hairy things, but there were plenty of vamps to focus on for now.

One vamp came at her from the side, fist swinging and she parried the blow without thinking, before sweeping one leg around to bring the vamp down. One clean blow with her stake and he was dust. Rachel moved on. Two more came at her, and she found herself grinning wildly, suddenly enjoying herself. It wasn't often that she was allowed to just let rip. Whenever they patrolled, she usually had a younger girl with her, who needed watching out for, or Xander, who insisted that she be careful. Now there was no one to hold her back. Ayako could take care of herself, leaving Rachel to enjoy the sheer power of being the Slayer.

Moving with a grace and confidence she hadn't known she possessed, Rachel fought as she had never fought before. Punch, block, punch again, stake, and move on. She took out one vamp by throwing a metal plate like a Frisbee, decapitating him cleanly and started to laugh. This was fun! How had she never really known this before? She was the Slayer and this was what she had been born for.

"Come and get me, assholes!" she yelled, still laughing. Then she froze, horror stopping the laughter instantly. Ayako lay sprawled on the floor at the feet of a couple of vamps, blood on the side of her face and her arm bent at a horrible angle. She was still conscious, only just, but she managed a sickly smile.

"Get the bastards for me," she whispered.

One of the vampires stamped down cruelly on her wounded shoulder and she screamed, high and agonised. Rachel couldn't breathe. Ayako had always beaten her whenever they sparred together. It couldn't happen that she would get hurt and Rachel would be fine. It just couldn't. She stepped forward cautiously and became aware of more vamps at her back. Looking around, she swallowed hard. There were seven of them in the room that she could see, more than she had ever taken on, even with help. And she had to save Ayako. The first rule of Slaying might be Don't Die, but Rachel's personal rules amended it: Don't Die and Don't let your partner die.

She needed a plan. Who was she kidding? She needed Faith.

Arguments were still raging in the basement. Lisbon was listening to Jane harangue her about her decision to let Rachel and Ayako go, while Carla argued that they should all have gone. Van Pelt was arguing with Marissa, refusing to let her help out. Rigsby was still leaning on the door, despite the fact that the attempts to get through it had apparently stopped, while Cho was checking and rechecking his gun. Bullets might not kill a vampire, but the reassuring weight of the Glock in his hands did more to steady his nerves than anything else.

Jane finally ran out of words and Lisbon took a breath. "People, we need to do something. We cannot just sit here and hope Xander and Faith arrive to save the day. Any ideas?"

"Maybe I wasn't listening earlier, but what exactly kills a vampire?" Rigsby looked embarrassed at the admission.

"Stake to the heart, decapitation, fire, sunlight and Holy Water," Jess reeled off automatically.

"Do you have any Holy Water in the house?" Jane's voice came from far away, as though he'd just had one of his brilliant, off the wall ideas. She nodded and he grinned. "And this is a house filled with kids usually, right?" Another nod. "Jess, I need a word. I think I might have an idea."

While the two of them whispered quietly in a corner, Lisbon marshalled the rest of the troops. "We're no use to anyone just waiting around in here. I say we get the hell out of this house and go for backup. Carla, Lola, can you two help me fight our way clear?" The two girls, suddenly looking much older than thirteen, nodded solemnly. "Jess, you help Jane with whatever he's thought up. Cho, Rigsby, bullets won't kill a vampire, but they will slow them down, right?" Carla nodded in agreement. "Right. So, aim for the head and keep moving. Van Pelt, you take care of Marissa. We're aiming for the kitchen, as that has a back door. Everybody know what they're doing?"

"We're heading upstairs quickly," Jess said, a wide grin indicating that she approved of Jane's idea. Whatever it was. Lisbon decided she didn't want to know. "You find Rachel and Ayako."

Rachel continued to edge closer to the vamps holding Ayako. She had to save her friend. She just had to. The vamps at her back were getting closer, she knew by the way the skin on the back of her neck prickled, but she ignored them for the moment. The important thing was Ayako.

"What you gonna do, little girl? Save yourself or your friend?"

She ignored the taunting and continued to desperately come up with a plan. Movement from the direction of the basement caught her eye but she deliberately didn't look. She couldn't let the vampires attack the cops and the younger Slayers. This was her responsibility.

They noticed anyway, of course. Carla came running through, firing a crossbow more as a distraction than with any attempt at accuracy, though she still pinned one vampire by his arm to a wall. The resulting surge to capture more people gave Rachel time to leap forward, kick one vampire so hard she heard bones snap, stake another and swing Ayako up over her shoulder and sprint after the others.

They made it to the kitchen, barricading the door behind them, before Rachel realised that Jess and Mr Jane were missing. "Where the hell is Jess?" she panted, laying Ayako carefully down on the kitchen table. She hadn't been able to be too careful with the injured girl on her mad dash for safety and Ayako was unconscious, blood still flowing from the head wound.

"What happened to Ayako?" Van Pelt asked, horror in her eyes as she faced the reality of Marissa's new life.

"Vampires. Now where's Jess?"

A deep chuckle came from the shadows of the kitchen and two big, shambling, hairy creatures moved into view. "Don't worry about your friend. You got bigger problems now."