Buffy stalked through the graveyard, fuming, thinking back on her class that day and the professor that ridiculed her. She was aching for a fight to let some steam off. She needed it, but she hadn't seen one vamp in her whole patrol. Nothing. Where were the bad guys when you needed them?
Her question was answered when she heard a growl not far from her, probably a vamp chasing a victim that was fool enough to stroll through the cemetery at night. When would people learn it was stupid?
She ran in the direction of the growl, her heartbeat getting faster every second, anticipation and adrenaline pumping through her veins. Oh, how she wanted to find it, punch it, kick it, knee it in the gut and, finally, bury her stake in its chest, feeling the creature poof before her eyes.
She stopped at once when she finally saw the vampire, snarling not far from a mausoleum.
And the girl fighting it.
Buffy hid herself behind a gravestone, watching the scene in front of her. The vampire looked furious and jumped towards the girl, who dodged and threw a roundhouse kick to its head. Taking advantage of her opponent stumbling, the girl punched it a few times before it defended itself and kicked the brunette in the gut. She went tumbling backwards, yet when Buffy though she would have to intervene, the teen took out a stake and resumed fighting, landing well-aimed kicks and punches, even a few hits to the vamps face with her elbow. When the creature seemed to be getting dizzy from the beating, the girl plunged her stake in its heart, finishing the job.
When the girl straightened herself, Buffy couldn't help but feel suspicious. Who was she? How had she been able to fight the vamp like... a Slayer? Faith was still alive, as far as she knew. There couldn't have been another one.
So she must be some kind of demon, right? Because normal people didn't fight like that, and Buffy needed a reason to kill something, as something seemed to be killing her vamps for her.
The Slayer found her friends at the Magic Box the next day, her sister trailing behind her as per her mom's request. Miss Summers still had to rest, and her daughters would do anything to help her recover.
Even put up with each other for the day.
Buffy strode forwards, looking for her Watcher and finding him organizing strange crystal balls in a shelf.
"There's something new in town." She announced, careful not to be heard by the only customer, paying by the cash register with Anya smiling awkwardly at him.
This caught the watcher's attention, and apparently her little sister's too, since she turned from looking at little creepy statues, to staring at her. The watcher gestured to wait until the customer was out of the store for the Scooby Gang to gather around the table, taking their sits for the most part, except for Giles and Buffy.
"What is it? Something you found during last night's patrol?" He took his glasses and started wiping them in a true Giles fashion, while the rest of the gang waited for Buffy to disclose more information.
"Yes." She started pacing in front of them, face set in an all-business expression until she noticed Spike coming from the back room. "What are you doing here?"
"I was bored." He shrugged, casually leaning against a bookshelf. "You say there's a new Big Bad in town? Other than the Beast or whatever?"
"Yes." She answered sharply, glaring at the vampire. "I was patrolling last night. There were no vampires out. Nothing. Zip. And then I heard one. But it was fighting someone else." This got Spike's attention, not liking where the Slayer was headed. "I don't know what she is, but she fought like a Slayer. But there can be another Slayer, right? Faith is alive, I am alive!" She turned towards her Watcher, waiting for answers. "She must be a demon or a vampire. Maybe she's here for the Key, too. We have to find out what she is." She was nervous, everyone could see it. She was terrified of this new threat finding out what the Key was. She couldn't let that happen.
"It's just Ally." The bleach blonde intervened before the Slayer took an axe and went to out to kill his new friend. Suddenly, all eyes were on him, even the big blues of the kid.
"Oh, I know an Ally. She's new here." Dawn added nonchalantly, inspecting her nails. "She's nice."
The room could well get mistaken for a tennis match, what will all the heads whipping from one side to the other. The vampire was surprised no one got whiplash. Still, he raised an eyebrow at the Nibblet.
"You know her?"
"Yeah, I met her a couple of weeks ago." The teen missed her sister's terrified expression and the look she shared with her Watcher. Little did Dawn know she was only making them believe Ally was after the Key.
"The point is, how do you know her?" Xander asked, pointing his finger at the neutered vampire.
"Ran into her a couple times. She's a better Slayer even without the Slayer powers. Should've seen her last week. She took down three by herself, without a stake. She used a bloody tree branch." He scoffed, leaning back against the wall, staring at Buffy.
"Then why are you even alive?" The founder of the 'we-hate-Spike' team fully turned towards him, ever irritated by the vamps presence.
"She knows I don't kill humans."
"Does she know why you don't kill humans? Or did you skip that part?" The dark haired man's daring tone only got Spike riled up, making him stalk forwards.
"It's enough, Xander." Giles cut in before both started bickering like children, as always. "What do you know about her, Spike?"
The vampire took a deep unnecessary breath, averting his eyes from the group clown and looking at the old man.
"Her name's Ally. She got here around three weeks ago, rented an apartment. She patrols several days a week."
"No last name? What do you know about her past? Why did she come here?" The Watcher turned the meeting into a full blown interrogation, which was not what Spike was looking for. He felt uncomfortable, noticeable by the scowl in his face and his tense stance.
"Only know she was passing by and stayed because there's lots of, like she calls 'em, 'evil crawlies'. She didn't even know this was the Hellmouth, but she does know quite a bit about vamps and demons." He thought back on the times they had hanged out in his crypt, or patrolled the cemetery. She never talked about what she did before she got there. Was she really trouble? He couldn't believe that. She was anything but. Not that he'd do anything if she was trouble. Probably would welcome her to the team.
"So you know nothing about her. No full name, age, nothing about where she's from, where she learnt to fight." Buffy snapped, more and more convinced that the girl was no good. She had to stop her.
"She's eighteen." Dawn stepped in, refusing to think her new 'friend' was evil.
"You have to admit this is a bit suspicious" Giles walked around the table, coming closer to the vampire. ", but" He shot a sharp look at his protégée as a warning not to interrupt him. "immediately assuming she's a demon is not the way. There's people out there who know about vampires, demons, and actually go after them. Of course, the Slayer has an immense advantage over them, but it doesn't mean they can't perform the duties of a Slayer with a certain proficiency, specially if they undergo an intense training regime. A lot of Potentials are brought up this way. She could be one of them."
"Then where's her Watcher? Why hasn't she contacted you or us?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, rigid, glancing at Dawn every now and then. If the girl was after the Key, why hadn't she taken Dawn yet?
"That, we will have to look into."
