They walked toward a Hertz dealership They walked toward a Hertz dealership. As they walked Buffy complained. "Oh damn. I feel sick,"

She shivered in the warm April night.

Melissa looked at her sympathetically, "That's the blood wearing off. Another bad thing about ghouldom: the lows're as bad as the highs are good. Say hello to the human race again."

"Is there- Oh god!" said Buffy, remembering something.

"What, What's wrong?" Melissa asked.

"The Wizards. Some of them were unconscious when the place blew. I let them die! It's all my
fault!" Buffy lip was trembling.

"Goodbye and good riddance to them. But I don't think the city could get that lucky. You still
there, Andru?" Melissa asked.

"Ready, willing and able, oh babe from beyond the grave," said the voice on the phone.

Melissa shook her head. "Can you access MPD's files and see what they've got on that tattoo
place?"

"Does a bear crap in the woods?" came the snorted reply.

"I don't know," said Melissa. "I'm a city girl. I avoid the woods."

"Doing a download, lucky thing the cops do that on-site dictation stuff or I couldn't swipe this 'til at
least tomorrow."

"I'm sure the police are happy to make data theft easy for you Andru," commented Buffy in a dry
tone of voice. Dry but with a note of uneasy anticipation.

"They oughta be, they sure do it enough," came the cocksure reply.

In a couple of minutes, data flood the cell phone/computer's view screen. Swiftly it slowed to human
speed.

"Okay," narrated Andru unnecessarily. "Apparently, the cops just finished their tour of Stan's Tattoo
and Bar-B-Q. That last a recent addition. Officers entered found yada-yada-blah-blah. Here we go.
Four bodies inside, all with signs of acute physical trauma. Three in the front, one on a hook in the
back. Oh yeah, and two witnesses/suspects apprehended hauling ass about two blocks from the
scene. Both with severe bruising, contusions and otherwise lookin' beat all to hell."

Andru continued as the data scrolled on. "According to these boys, their hangout was attack by at
least ten, no twenty members of the Knights of Death, arch rivals of the Wizard's. They beat 'em
back but the place got set on fire, so they had to retreat. Cop asks 'What about the bodies, genius?'
Answer 'Uh-uh-uh,' Interrogation to continue downtown. Th-th-th-th-that's all folks."

"So they're alive?" Buffy asked.

"Yep," came Andru's voice. "They're able to breathe free air, at least 'til they get sent up for murder,
rape, armed robbery and other nastiness. Which shouldn't be long since they've got outstanding
warrants. Nope, these boys have been saved to be bitches fer big sweaty guys named Bubba. At
least 'til they screw up and get knifed in the shower."

"Color you cheerful." said Buffy.

"Color me realistic," said Andru. "In Virtual Adept terms, these guys are a virus with shoes, shoes
they probably shot somebody for. They need to be flushed outta the operating system of humanity
so more deserving folks can use the oxygen."

"You guys get anything except shot at down there?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Naw," said Melissa. "We're gonna try the Nosfers next."

"Oooo, down and dirty, Mel. I like it."

Buffy shot Melissa a puzzled look.

"What about the others?" asked Melissa.

"Rebecca got the Widers calmed down. Scratches led a few of 'em to a large concentration of
Sabbat. I think the Sabbies had wasted the Prince and a couple of Primogen and that point. You
can mark off a bunch of Sabbat though. Those are some fleas that got the hell scratched out've
'em. 'Bec said Dev wanted 'em to check a couple other things out, then boogie back upstairs."

"Cool," said Melissa, sounding satisfied.

"Looks like things are starting to calm down a bit" said Andru. "Blackthorne's still real concerned
about the kid, though."

Melissa sighed. "We're working on it."

"He knows. He just says 'Work faster.' You know how he is," said Andru. "Good luck, we're all
gonna need it. Out."

"Okay," said Buffy "Who are the 'Nosfers' and who's this Blackthorne guy? For that matter, who
exactly are you guys?"

They walked as they talked. "We're," Melissa paused. "We're the good guys."

"That's a little vague, y'know." said Buffy.

"Alright. We're a secret task force dedicated to busting up all those self-serving conspiracies and
power games that turn this world into the shitpit it is today. When the Sabbat moves on a town, we
try to minimize the number of humans that get killed. When the Camarilla decided some poor
bastard human has to die to preserve the Masquerade, we try to get 'em to safety or call off the hunt.
When Pentex wants to turn a national park into a toxic waste dump, we shut 'em down, or
try to. We're sort of like the supernatural version of the A-Team, except we've got more guns. We
help people who can't help themselves but still want to."

She continued. "Blackthorne's a higher-up in the organization. He was the one who brought me in
and kept me from walking into the sun. Him and Andru. He's..." Melissa paused, trying to find the
words. "Take Han Solo and Wolverine and the Outlaw Josey Wales, especially the last one, and
that's him, sort of. He's one of the really good guys, and I've seen damn few of them in my time."

"How old are you, anyway?" asked Buffy.

"I'm seventeen years old, last month," she said.

Buffy just stopped and stared at her.

"No lie," said Melissa. "What, you thought every vamp was around to see Christ. Get real. I got
'sucked in' about four years ago. I was gonna suck some guy off for twenty bucks and I got sucked
instead," her voice was cool, brittle as she said it.

"I'm-I'm sorry." said Buffy, not clear on how to deal with this.

"I'm not. Oh yeah, I freaked out at first, thought I was some inhuman thing outta Hell, like Fright
Night or some shit. Blackthorne set me straight, showed me the ropes, treated me like a human
fucking being. That was the first time that happened. I figured out I was a human being after I got
vamped. Go figure.

"Anyway, it beats the hell out of suckin' stranger's cocks and riskin AIDs and shit. And it sure
beats 'bedtime' with my step dad. Truth is, I'd be dead for real if I hadn't been vamped. An' it's not
like I saw the sun that much anyway. Hooking's pretty much a nighttime thing."

"But what about-" started Buffy.

"The cops, got raped in jail, no thanks. The social workers, kids go to orphan houses and come
back broken or not at all. Adoption, oh yeah. 'Hi there, I'm Melissa Wu. I'm a thirteen year old
Chinese-American crackwhore. Can I be your daughter?' That'd work well. Sorry Buffster, this
world got a lotta cracks if you got no money or power. Those cracks are wide and real fuckin'
easy to fall into."

Buffy reached out to her. "Melissa, I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

Melissa turned on her, eyes flashing. "Don't you dare' pity me! I don't need it! I'm a goddamn
vampire. I'm gonna live on and be seein' wonders and doing wonders when you're dust in the
fuckin' ground. I got a family now. I got the power to help fix a lot of the shit that's wrong in the
world. To make sure other kids don't have to go through the same hell I did. So don't you pity me! I've got my shit together."

Buffy stepped back from the onslaught of her words. "Whoa, guess I touched a nerve."

Melissa grimaced. "I don't usually talk about this stuff a lot. Guess I'm still dealing. Anyway, the
Nosfers is short for Nosferatu, as in clan Nosferatu. They're as good at hiding as the Malkavians
except they're not nuts. Plus they're real strong and they control animal, mostly rats that live in the
sewers."

"Sewers? Please say you didn't say sewers. I just got a new shirt!" protested Buffy.

"Don't worry, it'll wash off. Probably," said Melissa. "Oh yeah, their clan weakness, they're all ugly as sin."

"Say what?!" asked Buffy.

"Yep. Oozing sores, twisted faces, nasty warts, the works. Actually, they're pretty cool. They don't
pretend to be better than everybody and they don't take or give any shit. Except what's in the
sewers," said Melissa.

"And we're seeing these folks because..." asked Buffy.

"Because they control rats which go everywhere and they can turn invisible and unnoticed and go
everywhere. If anybody's got the info on the wolf-boy, it's these guys. It's actually worked out that
we wasted that Dancer. The Nosfers hate those suckers."

"Well, why didn't we just go to these guys before?" asked Buffy.

"'Cause we got a little sidetracked, remember. Anyway, info costs. And I don't know how much it'll
be. And the price isn't gonna be money, either. The Nosfers don't like pretty types all that much.
Probably 'cause the pretty vamps usually think they're lower than rat shit 'cause've how they look.
Here we are."

They were in front of the rent-a-car place. Melissa said, "Here's an ID. Go rent us a car. I can't
pass for eighteen, you can."

Buffy nodded and went inside.

Andru's voice came over the link to Melissa's and only Melissa's com unit. "She buy it about the
Wizard's?"

"I think so. They died, huh?"

"Deader'n dogshit. How come the playacting, and when do I get my Oscar?" asked Andru.

"Buffy's alright, but she hasn't figured out that she can't save everybody. And you'll get your Oscar
when you hit the 'fridge, filed under Meyer for bologna."

"Ouch! You still got it, babe. Out."

"Damn right."

Buffy returned holding keys. "Congratulations, we are now the proud renters of a Yugo."

"Shit." said Melissa.

"Got that right." said Buffy.

They went to the car. "Oh, man, piss green, too." said Melissa. "I wouldn't be caught dead in a
car like this."

"Ummm..." said Buffy.

"No comments from the gallery." said Melissa, "Hope you got your high water boots, 'cause
we're gonna be doin' the wade."

"Color me enthused." groaned Buffy. They drove into the night.


"Hmmm, Arts and Entertainment," said Melissa as Buffy's electronic icon stopped on the designated
spot.

"I'm usually pretty good at those." said Buffy, a wary tone in her voice.

"Okay, who was the evil blond woman who ruined the band, Van Halen?" asked Melissa.

"Ummm, Heather Locklear?" guessed Buffy.

"Nope, David Lee Roth," corrected Melissa.

"But he's a guy!" protested Buffy. "Even with that hair!"

Melissa shrugged. "That's why it's called 'Twisted Trivial Pursuit'."

"This game stinks," said Buffy, scowling. "I've only gotten one question right and that one was about
Pee Wee Herman. Eeww!" she shuddered, remembering.

"It's not like I did all that great either. I just know how Andru's sick mind works. Plus, you gotta
admit to liking the one question about apocalyptic prophecies and the coming of the Spice Girls,"
said Melissa.

"Yeah," Buffy acknowledged.

"Besides, it's either this or 'Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon', ya know."

"Ugh!" said Buffy. "I mean, he's cute, but ugh! I still think we should watch the sewer entrance."

"Let me go over it one more time," said Melissa, with a sigh. "Obfuscate isn't invisibility. It works by
sending out this little mental 'I'm not here' signal. If you pay attention to the sewer, you'll be more
likely to get hit by that signal. Possibly hard enough to ignore the UV laser alarms and the satellite
imaging. We'll just sit in the car like a couple of idiots and ignore the alarm and everything."

"Nope, the best way to pay close attention and see the Nosfers is to goof off. Besides, this is the
sewer grate that's the most out of the way and the most interconnected. If a Nosfer's gonna
show, this'll be the place."

"All right," agreed Buffy, sullenly. She stared out the side window at a nearby supermarket.

Melissa let the silence hang for a minute, then "Out with it."

Buffy turned back to her. "Out with what?" she asked.

"With whatever small animal crawled up your ass and died," said Melissa.

"What!" said Buffy, flushing slightly.

"You got some kinda problem stuck in your throat. You wanna talk about it, but you're scared,
too," said Melissa, a half-smile on her face. "Whatever it is, let's get it out. It's bugging you. And out
here on the sharp end of things, you can't afford to get distracted by stuff or you get dead and you get
somebody else, like me," she said pointing at herself "dead as well. Well, deader as well, anyway."

"How would you know if something's bugging me or not?" said Buffy. "Are you reading my mind?!"

Anger and suspicion tinged her voice.

"If it came down to it, I could," said Melissa. "But I'm not reading your mind, I'm reading your
mood. Look, I hit the streets for good when I was ten fucking years old. If you live, you learn to
read people. You learn to spot the junkies and the rapists and the psychos. You learn to spot the
ones who'll just pay the twenty bucks for a blow job and the ones who'll rob ya or kill ya. And
when you make friends or stay around people you learn to spot the slightest changes in 'em. I've
seen the 'I've got some scary shit I wanna talk about, but don't know how' look on a whole lot more
faces than yours, Buffy."

"Why would you even care?" asked Buffy.

Melissa looked away a second, then turned back. "Truth? 'cause you remind me a little of me,
maybe how things mighta been if stuff'd been different. If my life hadn't had so much shit in it. If..."
she paused and shrugged. "If."

Melissa continued. "Back in the parking, I told you some pretty personal stuff. I did it 'cause I
knew I could pretty much trust you. I didn't have to read your mind. One thing I can do is see auras and stuff,
so I can pretty well figure out what kinda person I'm dealing with and whether I could trust 'em. If
didn't think I could trust you, I sure as hell wouldn't've told you about what I did. Hell, if I didn't
trust you, I'd'a left you for vampbait back in the alley when we got here."

"Fine, you say you trust me-" started Buffy, still not sure.

"So 'how do I know I can trust you?' Glad you thought've that, gives me hope you won't get wasted
'cause you got suckered. I could say 'cause I saved your ass, but that's sorta crap, anybody might
save a tool while it's useful. Okay, you're a Slayer, right?" Melissa asked.

"Yeah," said Buffy, not quite sure where this was leading.

"So you can detect, vamps and sorta tell whether there gonna attack you, or otherwise mess you up,
right?"

"Well, sort of." said Buffy

"Then take a second and tune in to me. And think real hard and ask yourself, 'can you trust
me?'" said Melissa, facing her and deliberately turning her dominating gaze slightly away from Buffy.

Buffy looked at her for a long moment and slowly nodded.

Melissa spoke into the com-unit. "Yo 'dru."

"Present and accounted for." came his voice. "Whacha need?"

"Listen," said Melissa. "I'm gonna shut down the auto-link down here for a while, me and Buffy got
some stuff to hash out."

"Anything I can help you lovely ladies with?" he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

"Naw, just girltalk. Lifetime channel girltalk." emphasized Melissa.

"Ah, Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know." You could hear the capitals in his voice. "Not a
prob, won't call you, you call me." The signal line went silent.

Melissa turned to Buffy. "Figured you be a little more comfy without 'Nosy Brother' listening in.
Andru's cool and I really like him, but he can be one heck of a control freak. 'Course he's not real
great with personal girl stuff. If he ever gets vamped, we won't need a cross. We'll just hold out a
tampon and he'll haul ass into daylight."

Buffy chuckled at the image. "In the name of Playtex, begone foul fiend!" she said.

"Just about." said Melissa, then sobered. "Okay, fire when ready."

Buffy took a deep breath. "It's-It's just I can't really talk about a lot of this stuff with the others. I
mean, Giles, he's like my dad. I mean, he's my Watcher and he trains me but..." she paused. "But if
he had his way I'd drop outta school and drop outta life and just be 'The Slayer'. You know running
around, slaying vamps, saving people." She looked up at Melissa. "Sorry about the whole killing
vamps things, I mean."

Melissa shrugged. "Not a problem here. From what you told me, they're pretty much pure evil.
Screw 'em. Take a flame-thrower to 'em for all I care."

"And there's Angel, Angelus, I don't know." she swallowed. "He was so wonderful, I didn't even
know he was a vamp until later. I thought he was just this beautiful guy that was just for me. Giles
didn't like him. Mostly 'cause any dates and stuff meant no slaying. And I found out he was a
vampire and I thought he'd hurt my mom and I was gonna kill him. But it wasn't him. It was
another vampire and she died. And it was even better, somehow.

"I mean, Angel was like two hundred years old and he loved me! And since I got to Sunnydale
and started slaying, it's like I'm AIDSgirl or something. One of my old boyfriends from L. A. came
back and was gonna sell me out to Spike, the main vamp 'cause he had a brain tumor and wanted to
be a vampire. I'm babbling. I hate it when I babble." said Buffy.

"Hell with it. I'm still listening," said Melissa. "Babble on, Buffy."

"It's just...I mean he's saved my life and I loved him and now he's gone and there's this thing that
knows everything he knew about me and he killed Jenny and it's all my fault and he was my
first...only, I don' wanna cry again and-" And the tears came anyway pouring from Buffy's eyes like
the torrent of a burst dam.

Melissa just reached out and pulled the sobbing Slayer to her, concentrating and forcing blood to
just below skin surface to push her body temperature to human warmth. She could feel the rush of
blood just below the surface of Buffy's skin, rushing like a river through the veins and arteries, calling
to her. Her fangs ached at the roots.

With her effort of will born of practice, Melissa slammed the gates shut on her hunger, forcing it
down out of her mind. And then Melissa felt another pain, this one in her heart. With surprise she
recognized it as compassion. Compassion for her friend. Friend? This girl from whitebread
Suburbia, her friend? 'Guess so.' Melissa thought, stroking Buffy's hair. The sobbing was dying
down to sniffles now. Melissa thought about Angel. 'You did this to her, you piece of shit.' she
thought, a cold anger in her. 'And when this is over and I get a chance to come visit Sunnydale, I'm
gonna kill your ass. And it's gonna be long and slow and it's gonna hurt.


A car with its windows down drove into the parking lot of the supermarket. Sammy Hagar's song,
"Both Sides Now" could be heard playing from its radio.

With a shuddering breath, Buffy sat up. She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Thanks," she said. "Sorry, I kinda lost it there."

Melissa shrugged. "It's okay, at least you got it out."

Lyrics: Well, we gotta learn how to listen, before we learn to talk;

"Yeah, I guess so." said Buffy.

"And thank you too." said Melissa.

Lyrics: Ya gotta learn to crawl, before ya learn to walk.

"For what?" asked Buffy. "Messing up your shirt?"

"For trusting me enough to get that close, most people don't."

Lyrics: And if you want a little peace, well, sometimes ya gotta fight;

"I didn't think about it. I mean, you're not like the other vampires I know about. You're...human, at
least in the inside, where it counts." said Buffy.

Lyrics: You gotta walk through the darkness, uh-huh, before you stand in the light, oh yeah!

A shiny bead welled up in Melissa's eye. She brushed it away, leaving a smear of red across her
black mask of make-up. "Shit. Now I'm gonna start, too."

Buffy smiled, "I won't tell if you won't."

"Deal," They shook hands and laughed.

Lyrics: I know it won't be long...I've seen both sides now...Both sides now.

As the lyrics faded out, Melissa turned to Buffy. "I think I can help you with some stuff. You're not
pregnant. You haven't picked up any diseases. And you're not gonna turn into a vampire, at least
not from what you said happened."

"Before he lost his soul, Angel said he couldn't have kids. But I was still kinda scared. What'd you
mean about diseases, though and how'd you know the other stuff."

"Well, I dunno about your guys vampires, but ours can pass diseases. At least diseases in the blood, anyway," Melissa explained

"Like AIDS?" Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose at the thought. "You mean, you get catch AIDS from getting bit by a vampire here? God, I guess that's another reason I'm glad the Master was stuck in the Hellmouth for all that time. But you said I'm clean or something, right? So, how'd you know?"

Melissa shrugged. "I know blood-magic. Like when I boiled the guy who stabbed you. I got some
of your blood on my hand when I fed you mine. I tasted it to see if the Setite had any poison or shit
on the knife and you came out clean. And when I did the taste-test, none of the telltales for the other
stuff showed up. All I got was that you had a pretty nasty virus within the last week or so, but you
were okay."

"Whew. I guess the tongue can tell," said Buffy, then sighed. "It's still my fault about Angel, though."

"Tell me what happened from the beginning and we'll see," suggested Melissa.

Taking a deep breath, Buffy described what happened, going into detail she's skipped over on the
station. She told about Angel, and the curse and the beautiful dream night in Angel's bed that led to
such a nightmare, and Jenny's death and all of it. "See," she said. "It's my fault. I didn't think and this
what happened."

"Bullshit. Who made you God?" said Melissa, scowling. "Because guess what, the only way you
coulda known was if you were all-knowin' and you're not. I mean, come on! Check
the dangers of sleeping with a guy. Pregnancy, AIDS, slutty rep. I don't see 'guy losing his fucking
soul to a gypsy curse and then killing people' as one of the top fuckin ten problems with sex,
y'know?"

"Look," continued Melissa, "here in the Rat Pack, we got a saying from Blackthorne: If you don't
have the power to know something or do something, you don't have the responsibility either.
Rebecca's also got this version of the Serenity Prayer on her wall, 'cause she's another one that
takes this shit to heart too much. I'm the one who got it for her. It goes like this:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change things I can,
The wisdom to know the difference,
And the good luck not to screw up too often."

Buffy gave a rueful smile. "I'm guessing you thought of that last part."

Melissa shook her head. "Nope. Steven King. In 'Salem's Lot. Which was a pretty kick-ass vamp
novel, by-the-way."

Beep-bee-beep. The proximity alarm went off. "Showtime! That Nosfer's bookin'. Uh-oh." One dot
was leading three other dots in hot pursuit. They were heading for the supermarket.

"Start the car and get ready. I'll bet the Nosfer pissed off somebody by spyin' on 'em and gettin'
caught." said Melissa.

Buffy started the car as one and then three more figures burst into sight. The one was hunched over
and moving quickly despite a lurching gait. The three chasing him looked normal except for their
biker clothes. One near the back carried a shotgun, which he discharged noiselessly at the fleeing
figure. He missed.

"Buckle up and hang on," said Buffy. "I think this is gonna get intense."

She gunned the engine and tires squealed as the Yugo. "Oh, yeah." The smaller figure darted through
the doors of the market. The Yugo sped toward the others. "Damn! At least one of 'em Black
Hand. They're total fanatics who don't care whether they live or die as long as they kill their prey for
the Sabbat. We gotta hurry."

"I am so not happy with this whole Sabbat things. Why can't these vampires just hang out in
Translyvania or something?" asked Buffy, mock annoyance in her voice. "And if they leave, why
don't they just go bother Winona Ryder and leave the rest've us alone."

Melissa smiled. "You're getting into this a little. Cool!"

Buffy blushed a bit and drove. Two of the vamps ran inside. The one with the shotgun stood at the
front of store, aiming at the car. Ka-boom! The slug shattered the windshield as the girls ducked
behind the dash. Buffy pressed the accelerator to the floor. She steered right for the guy. "You are
nuts!" yelled Melissa. "I like that in a person!"

The shotgunner saw the car approaching and leapt onto the glass doors. He stuck there like a giant
bug and aimed the shotgun. "I guess he's the un-friendly neighborhood Spider-man." said Buffy.

"Then let's squash his ass." said Melissa.

"He's up too high." said Buffy.

"No, keep going!" Melissa called, her face squeezed into a mask of effort.

"I gotta turn off now!" said Buffy. "We're gonna miss him and ohmygod!"

A ramp suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of the car. The car sped up it and sailed into the
air at the window and the vampire. The vamps's jaw dropped in astonishment. He tried to drop, but
too late.

The car smashed into the window and the vamp, catching him in mid-chest. The momentum of the
leap carried them through into store. Customer screamed and fled. The car, along with its grotesque
hood ornament exploded through a display of fruit juices and smashed into the front of a register.
The vampire's head was pinched from his shoulders and squirted toward the ceiling like a spat
watermelon seed. The impact jolted Buffy and Melissa forward but the safety belts held.

They sat in the car for a second, recovering. "So much for the damage deposit on the car," said
Buffy.

"Looks like," Melissa replied.

"Umm, w-we have a cleanup on the f-front end," a quavering voice sounded over the intercom.

"Uh-oh." said Buffy, as one of the vamps showed from a nearby aisle. He leveled a submachine gun
at them. They dove out the doors as he triggered it, spraying the car and prompting screams from
the customers and workers that hadn't fled. The vampire fired at Buffy. With an acrobatic flip, she
rolled over the roof and dropped beside Melissa. Her feet slipped on the mixed juice and she hit the
floor. "Ugh!" said Buffy. "I always hated pineapple, orange grape combos."

Another round of bullets hit the car. Buffy pulled out a stake. "What are you doing?" asked Melissa

"I'm gonna nail him before he nails us," she said.

"With that?" asked Melissa, pointing at the stake. "What the hell are you gonna do, get medieval on
his ass?"

"Oh please," said Buffy, rolling her eyes. "Pulp Fiction was so ten minutes ago."

With the easy grace of a Slayer she rolled out. "Goddammit!" cursed Melissa, firing several rounds
under the car to cover her.

The submachine gun squirted a line of bullets near Buffy that punched into a drink machine, causing
it open and drop its load of colas, sending them rolling across the floor. Buffy rolled to a crouch and
sent the stake flying. It slammed into the vampire's chest and he dropped paralyzed to the ground.

Buffy smiled, "Of course, "From Dusk 'til Dawn" is still very now."

"Maybe," said Melissa. "But we've still gotta work on that whole low profile shit."

One last cashier was left. "W-Who are you girls, anyway?" he looked at the staked vampire, his
eyes wide and staring.

"We're the McGruff Kid's Neighborhood Watch." said Melissa. She flashed her fangs at him. "You
know, take a bite out of crime." She looked into his eyes. "Now get outta here and forget
you ever saw this."

"G-Gladly!" he fled through the shattered window.

"Take a bite out of crime?" said Buffy, rolling her eyes.

"Fine. Next time I'll waste the bad guy and you can do the quip. One left, and the Nosfer. Let's
go."

"What about..." Buffy pointed at the vamp.

"He'll keep," she said. "You check the right I'll go left, we'll meet at the meats."

Buffy nodded and started out. Melissa waited until she was gone and turned to the vamp. "All this
running around is thirsty work. Too bad for you," Melissa dragged him behind the car out of sight
and sank her fangs into his throat. Instantly the blood poured into her, filling her up as no human vitae could.

Then the blood was gone and she tasted of his essence. She sensed the agony and ecstasy of his
very soul even as she consumed it. And then, in a final star burst of pleasure and power, she
absorbed his essence completely and felt the power of her blood become increased.

A gun cocked behind her. "Not very smart, pleasure before business."

*****

Buffy moved silently through the store, through a pair of double-doors ahead she sensed something.
She crept ahead and looked inside. She saw nothing. She stepped back and crept forward again,
this time just using the corner of her eyes to look, a small shape was curled into a corner. She
stepped inside and looked there.

"Don't worry I'm not going to hurt y-" she choked off the last word as the figure draw into the light.

It was a child, or had been. Perhaps six or seven. It's skin was a slate-gray in appearance. It's ears
were that of a horse or mule and covered with sores. It's one eye was pushed to the center of a
bald, malformed forehead and wept a yellow, sticky-looking fluid. Instead of a nose there was a
pair of slits. To better showcase the decay, the mouth was untouched, a beautiful slim pair of lips
such as any child might have. The boy, she thought it was a boy used his webbed, four-fingered
hands to push himself to his feet. His eye tracked her warily.

"Umm. It's okay. I'm Buffy. I'm here to help you."

A forked tongue slid from his lips as he hissed. "You're a ssstranger. I'm not sssupossed to talk to
ssstrangers."

"What's your name?" Buffy asked.

"I'm Cccyke. Like the Xss-Man."

"Well, Cyke, I'm Buffy." she said extending a hand for him to shake. He took it. His hand was cold
and dry.

"Now we're not strangers." said Buffy. Gravely, Cyke nodded.

"There'sss other ssstrangerss. They're ffrom the King. They're bad." he said, in that lisping, serious
tone.

"Well, we're bad too, in a good, X-Men kinda way." said Buffy. "C'mon, let's go."

*****

"You know, this won't work," said Melissa. Her captor, stood behind her with a shotgun aimed at
her head.

"And why not? She's your ghoul, isn't she? She'll do as you order."

A security mirror turned very slightly, it showed the two of them to Melissa's sight.

"Because, you let me live too long, dumbass," With that Melissa reached out with her
mind and shoved the shotgun to the side. Both barrels discharged a blast of phosphorous into the
air. She whirled to face him.

"Cute trick. Fine," he said, reaching into a stuffed pocket and slamming two more shells home. "I'll just kill you and the boy. The girl while make a tasty snack."

"Pop quiz, dumbass. What do you get when you mix Dragonbreath rounds with fire?" Melissa
summoned mystic flame to the palm of her hand. "Answer: Mayhem!" She tossed the fire at the
pocket with the rounds in it and dove behind the counter. Foosh! Blam! Blam! The rounds went off,
setting the vampire on fire. He panicked and started running, as though he could outrace the fire
consuming his flesh. With a final series of backfires, he fell to the floor and was consumed.

"Guess nobody told him about that whole 'Stop! Drop! and Roll! thing, huh?" came Buffy's voice.

"Guess not," said Melissa, "Who's your buddy?"

"I'm Cccyke." he hissed.

"Cool, I'm Melissa. The three of us got some things talk about, 'kay?"

The boy nodded.

The three walked outside, leaving the carnage behind them.