Buffy always liked to have help. But there was such a thing as too much help. Dawn tagging along and playing sidekick was nice. But after Connor joined the patrol three felt like a crowd. Too many slayers, too few vampires. When a vamp popped up Buffy and Connor would practically fight for the opportunity to dust it. With Dawn and now Connor on patrol, Buffy sometimes wondered if this town still needed a real Slayer.

To create some breathing room Connor started to roam about 100 yards from Buffy. That way if he came upon a vamp the kill was his, and if she found one it was hers. Less conflict that way. One night when Connor was off by himself, he heard something move and followed the sound. He came upon a single vampire, attired like none he had ever seen. The vampire wore a black turban, and had a mustache and goatee. It wore a black robe cut off just above the knees, with gray trousers underneath. This vampire had a picturesque, almost dashing appearance, like something out of a David Lean film. But Connor didn't think it would be any tougher than the other vampires.

Connor approached and kicked the vampire. It tried to punch him, but he eluded the blows and knocked the vampire several feet back. Connor approached for the kill. Then the vampire reached behind his shoulders and pulled out a large scimitar. The curved, single-edged sword was about 30 inches in length and flared out to a width of four inches near the tip. This was definitely something Connor had never seen before.

Two more black-turbaned, scimitar-wielding vampires appeared behind Connor. He was surrounded, outnumbered and grievously underarmed. As they took their first swings at him Connor leaped into the air, soaring above the blades and out of the trap. The three vampires turned and pursued. Connor dodged their steel. Buffy and Dawn had heard the fighting and raced to see what Connor had gotten himself into. When Buffy saw what he was facing she doubted whether she could save him.

But just when Connor looked done for, a man raced up behind the vampires. He had a close-cropped beard and was armed and dressed like the vampires, except with a red turban and brown slacks. With his scimitar this man beheaded one of the vampires. The other two turned to face him. The one nearest this man attacked. The warrior used his sword to block the vampire's. Out of his right sleeve appeared a stake, and he drove it home.

Now he faced the other vampire. The two warriors attacked and defended, the sounds of their clashing swords echoing through the night. Then another stake appeared, this one beneath the warrior's left sleeve. He attacked with the sword in his right hand. He took a swing at the vampire's head. When the vampire raised his sword to parry this blow, he left his chest unprotected. The warrior then plunged the stake from his left sleeve into the vampire's heart.

Connor was stunned. As were Buffy and Dawn, who during the fight stood beside Connor, as bewildered as he was. And then, behind this victorious warrior appeared nine other men with close-cropped beards, wearing black robes and red turbans.

"Permit me to introduce ourselves," the warrior who had saved Connor said to Buffy, Dawn and Connor. "We are the Sayful al-Salamiya."

"The stay-full salamis?," the still bewildered Buffy asked.

"Sorry, it's an Arabic phrase. It means the Swords of Salamiya." Salamiya was a Syrian city where the first Fatimid caliph was born, but this warrior could tell these people weren't interested in historical trivia. "My name is Ibrahim. I am the commander of the Swords of Salamiya." Ibrahim then bowed to Buffy and said "and you, dear lady, must be the Slayer."

"Nice to see you've done your homework. Name's Buffy."

"Buffy," Ibrahim replied as he batted this name around in his head. "Such a preposterous name for such a formidable fighter, don't you think?"

Buffy couldn't quite figure if this was a compliment or an insult. So she chose to be modest and evasive. "Well, you see, the name helps. Makes my opponents underestimate me."

"Well then Buffy, since you are the Slayer, why don't you fight alone? And where is your Watcher?"

Once again, Buffy had to explain her novel ways. "Probably the same reason you don't fight alone, Ibrahim. Fight alone, die alone. Fight together, live together. As for the Watcher, after five or six years on the job my Watcher felt he had nothing more to teach me. By the way, this is Dawn, my sister. Kind of the family business, you might say. And this is Steven. He's a sort of freelance vampire killer."

"You are being modest about Steven," Ibrahim replied. "To take on three Qahira al-Hakim completely unarmed and not suffer a scratch, you must be a truly gifted fighter, young man."

"Uh, thanks," Connor bashfully replied. "But you're the one who killed them. And what was that you called them?"

"Oh, of course. I should have explained before. Those three vampires were part of the Qahira al-Hakim, the guards of Hakim. In the early 11th century, Hakim ruled Egypt as the six Fatimid caliph. He was brilliant, but some said he was also a little mad. He preferred to work at night and sleep in the day. So he decreed that all government work and commercial transactions be conducted at night. But he quickly rescinded this decree when he observed the chaos it created. At age 37, Hakim disappeared. It was assumed he was murdered, but his body never was found.

"There were those who thought Hakim was the personification of God, that he ascended to Paradise, and that he would someday return to inaugurate an era of justice. They had it backwards. As I'm sure you figured out by now, Hakim had been bitten and turned into a vampire. His nocturnal habits convinced some vampires it might be a good idea to make him undead. He disappeared to the mountains to the south with the Qahira al-Hakim, his vampire army of 7,000. He planned to return to Egypt one day and establish a "Rule of the Night," a sort of demon kingdom on Earth.

"Near the end of the twelve century, the Fatimid Empire was on the verge of collapse. Hakim saw his chance and attacked. The Berber and Turkish mercenaries the Fatimids depended on had deserted to Salah ad-Din in Syria. The few loyal Egyptian soldiers who remained fought Hakim and defeated his army in a great moonlit battle near Aswan. Hakim fled with the 3,000 surviving Qahira.

"Salah ad-Din then conquered Egypt and absorbed the remaining Fatimid soldiers into his army. But 77 men vowed to pursue Qahira until they were no more. They formed the Sayful al-Salamiya. The original Sayful and their descendants have continued this sacred mission. To elude the Sayful, Hakim, who had become a powerful magician, descended into the Underworld. One thousands years to the night of his birth, the surviving Qahira will ascend Hakim back to Earth through the Hellmouth. That night is tomorrow."

Buffy was a bit blown away by the numbers. "Did you say 3,000? Us and the ten of you are supposed to defeat 3,000 vampires!"

Ibrahim sought to calm her. "We have been slaying them for 800 years. Only 32 made it into Sunnydale. The three you encountered were sent to test your mettle. That leaves 29. But 7 Qahira are needed underground to perform the ascension. That leaves 22 for us the fight. We kill them, and the Sayful descend underground to do away with the rest."

Buffy was relieved. "Whew. Ten of you, the three of us, plus three other friends of ours. Sixteen on 22. I've faced much worse odds. Piece of cake."

"You have more friends who slay with you?," Ibrahim inquired. "You have five companions of your own? A Slayer with her own army. Now I have seen it all!"

Buffy started to wonder why the other nine guys said nothing. "So what's the deal, Ibrahim? The rest of your men mute?"

"No, they just don't know English. We knew someday we would have to travel here to prevent the ascension. As the commander I took it upon myself to learn the local language. Well, me and Ahmed. Ahmed likes to watch Monty Python. He picked up a few words from them."

"We are not the knights who say neep, neep, neep," Ahmed said as an attempt at a joke. Buffy chuckled, Dawn laughed.

"So what's the plan Ibrahim?," Buffy enquired. "You guys just gonna wait for tomorrow night?"

"Pretty much," Ibrahim glibly answered. "The Qahira are far too crafty to allow themselves to be caught tonight or ambushed during the daytime. If you try anything clever they will chop you into little bits. Their ceremony begins at moonrise, which is an hour after the sun sets. The ascension would occur nine hours, thirty minutes later when the moon sets. This will give us plenty of time to kill the Qahira before the ascension can be completed. You and your fighters will meet me at this spot at sunset tomorrow. Until then, remember Allahu Akbar!' God is great, and with Allah we shall prevail."

Three miles distant but a world away Willow experienced a different form of cross-cultural shock. She went to the coffee shop for a little boost. As she stood in line, she could hear a singer. He was better than the usual folkies they give the mike to, Willow thought. She turned to see who this crooner was.

The singer was Spike. He was up there, with an acoustic guitar, singing the Velvet Underground's "Pale Blue Eyes," and elegy to lost love:

"Thought of you as my mountaintop.

Thought of you as my peak.

Thought of you as everything,

I've had but couldn't keep."

This was not the first time Willow had experienced this sort of shock. She saw Giles in the same spot nearly three years ago. She thought Giles sounded good, as did Spike. But leather Spike looked less ridiculous up there than tweed Giles.

Willow got her frappacino and sat down. She looked over the other patrons. The room had separated, the way red blood cells and plasma do in a test tube. The women had been drawn to the stage. A few appeared to be gazing at Spike as if mesmerized:

"If I could make the world as pure,

and strange as what I see.

I'd put you in the mirror,

I put in front of me."

And then Willow thought of the words Spike was singing. Lost love. Regrets. Yearning for something better than yourself. Spike was singing about Buffy. In public. In front of strangers. Here was this man she was friends with publicly declaring his feelings for her best friend. It was the artistic equivalent of Warren broadcasting the feed from his hidden cameras.

Spike finished he last refrain of "linger on, your pale blue eyes" and was greeted with a smattering of applause and a few isolated screams of approval from some of the ladies. He then began Leonard Cohen's "Take This Longing." If he was going to bare his newly returned soul to these strangers, he was going to do it with good songs. Some men in attendance appreciated this. They hung back near the bar, so as to distance themselves from the panting women, but were still intently listening and appreciating Spike's refined taste in songwriting:

"Many men have loved the belt

you fastened to the ring.

And every one who wanted you -

they found what they will always want again.

Your beauty lost to you yourself.

Just as it was lost to them."

Many men? Wait a second! Was Spike bringing third parties into this public monologue? Willow knew what that line meant: that was Angel and Riley Spike was singing about. Maybe even Xander. Yuck! Granted, these songs were written before Buffy was born about people Willow never knew. But that only made the relevance of the songs all the more surreal.

Regardless, Willow had to admit to herself Spike was pulling off the whole troubadour thing pretty well. If she didn't know him she might be one of the women up front. Now that was a disturbing thought.

It wasn't everyday a sacred order of vampire slayers came into town, even if that town was Sunnydale. But Buffy had more than seen it all, and tried to keep a cool head about these new vampires and their attempt at ascension. When it came to ascensions, Buffy had been there and done that more than once or twice. She felt almost relieved to face a new challenge.

"I tell ya, it's been too quiet around here lately. And with you two helping out, patrolling's become about as exciting as gym class. So I'm kinda glad these new vamps showed up. And I've been waiting like forever for an excuse to break out the swords. Don't know about you guys, but I'm psyched!"

Dawn was a little unnerved by Buffy's boldness. "Actually, Buff, I kind of liked the quiet. It was nice to go whole weeks without screaming in mortal terror. I mean, after all we've been through, a little tranquility isn't such a bad thing."

At this point the three of them arrived at Buffy's house and entered. Willow was in her room typing her Fitzgerald paper, the one Spike helped her with. She heard them enter and came downstairs.

"So how was the patrol? Same old, same old, I bet."

"Well, they were old, but they certainly weren't the same as what we're used to," Dawn jokingly replied.

Buffy filled Willow in. "It's quite exciting! Way cool! A new adventure for the whole gang, like old times! There are these 1,000 year-old Egyptian vampires with black turbans and really cool swords that want to raise their leader from the Hellmouth tomorrow night. And there were these good guys, from some 800 year-old vampire slaying society. They also have really cool swords and red turbans, and will help us kill them."

"Well, I guess that qualifies as a fun night out with the friends if your friends are my friends, which means you guys," Willow responded. "I've been meaning to get my slaying groove thang back on, if you know what I mean."

Since meeting the Sayful warriors, Connor's head had been in a different place. Especially after what Ibrahim had said about Allah. Holtz had told him about men like that, with turbans and curved swords and beards and flowing robes. They were his enemies. They were the enemies of Christ. The infidels. The vile Saracen and the wretched Turk. Why did they save his life? How could they be on his side?

Connor jumped into the conversation. "Those warriors. They were Mohammedans."

This was an 18th century term, with which the people Connor was talking to were unfamiliar. His interjection caused a few seconds of confused silence. Then Willow put together the pieces.

"Oh, you mean they were Muslims. Wearing turbans, part of an 800 year-old warrior society from Egypt. Sure, they'd be Muslims."

Willow did not seem to understand a point Connor thought was obvious. "They are non-believers. How can they claim to fight evil if they don't believe in the Savior."

Buffy and her friends had never thought of vampire slaying along such narrow denominational lines. In fact, they didn't connect it with organized religion at all. Buffy tried to soft-peddle the issue. "Oh, this is about Jesus, right?," she casually asked Connor.

Connor was struck by their lack of piety. "But everything is about Jesus," he answered. Then he recited something Holtz taught him as a child. "Jesus washes away the sins of the world. He makes our salvation, our eternal life, possible."

Willow was a bit perturbed by all this Jesus talk. "Okay Steven. Let's pull back from the precipice of religious war for a minute to remember what matters here: we're human, they're vampires, we work together and kill them. Besides, I'm Jewish. So I guess by your logic I'm doomed to eternal damnation and hellfire. Is that what you're saying?"

Connor was not prepared to answer that question. One answer would have him condemn one of Dawn's friends to Hell, which would not help his chances with her. The other answer would essentially refute his whole point. So Connor generalized. "All of you fight without any idea what you are fighting for. This is why you never win, why you must fight again and again year after year and never be any safer. You beat back the flames of Hell without ever moving towards the Gates of Heaven." And with that Connor left.

"Well that was just plain rude," Willow said. "What a prick."

This upset Dawn. "Oh come on Willow, be fair."

Buffy was sympathetic to Willow. "Sorry Dawn. Gonna have to go with Willow on this one. Steven comes in here, insults Willow's heritage. Insults those guys who saved his life. Tells us it's our fault we live on the Hellmouth. Acts like he decides who goes to Heaven and who doesn't. And believe me, he hasn't a clue on that one!"

Dawn still defended Connor. "You guys should give Steven a chance. He hasn't seen very much of the world. We can't condemn him for believing what his father taught him. He doesn't know any better."

Buffy was especially provoked by Connor's Gates of Heaven remark, and part of her wanted to tell him how wrong she knew he was. But he left quickly, and besides, Buffy wasn't fully prepared to explain her entire backstory to the new boy.

Connor once again felt isolated and alone. He paid a visit to Spike. Spike struck him as erudite, and Connor figured perhaps Spike could understand his sentiments.

Connor mentioned the new vampires and vampire hunters in town. "Oh yes, the Qahira and the Sayful," he responded. Spike and Angelus had crossed paths with the Qahira in Marrakech. Angelus and Spike got a bit plastered and cultural misunderstandings led a to brawl in which the two of them nearly lost their lives. Suffice it to say they never traveled to the Magreb again. Of course Spike would not tell Connor this for obvious reasons. "Vampires, vampire killers. What's the big deal?"

"But the Sayful are non-believers. They don't accept Christ."

Connor had already told Spike he grew up isolated in Utah. Spike figured this was the root of this issue. "Your father, this Holtz, I take it he was a religious bloke and all. What was he, Mormon?"

Connor had never heard that word. Odd for someone who claimed to be from Utah. But he gathered from the context it was some religious sect. And he did know which sect Holtz belonged to. "No, Wesleyan" he replied to Spike.

"Ah, a Methodist. You said a few days ago I talk a bit like your father, so an English Methodist. I've known a few of those." Granted the ones Spike knew on a personal basis lived in the 19th century. But this helped, since Spike recognized that Connor's non-ecumenical outlook was decidedly old-fashioned.

Spike knew enough of the Bible to pretend like he knew more about it than he did and get away with it. He remembered that those who preached religious tolerance always mentioned Romans Chapter 2. So he decided to trot it out.

"Look Steven, from what I've heard your father was a great man. That he produced you is in itself a sign of this greatness. But you're young. Everything's black and white. I bet your father knew better. And I bet that if he was around he'd set you straight on this matter.

"Steven, remember Romans Chapter 2. In judging your fellow man you condemn yourself.' Also says that those who don't accept Jesus but who live a good life, who live by the light of nature,' will get into Heaven. No offense, but who are you to question the Apostle Paul?"

Connor recognized Spike had driven a rhetorical stake through the heart of his argument. But he was not ready to give up. "But Spike, what about the Cross? It wounds vampires. Because means they are enemies of Christ. And if the vampires are enemies of Christ, aren't we who kill them servants of Christ?"

But Spike knew more about vampires than Connor was aware of. "Sure, sure, vamps got a whole crucifixion fixation. The whole concept of God being hung out to rot like a side of beef. The divine blood sacrifice. Really gets their juices flowing. So, yeah, they are enemies of Christ. But they're also enemies of everything else human beings care about.

"Think about this, Steven. Slayers have been around for 100,000 years. 98,000 of those years were before Jesus was even born. So who were Slayers fighting on behalf of for those 980 centuries?

"Now Steven, I know there's a Heaven which rewards the virtuous and I know there's a Hell which punishes the wicked. You'll have to take it on faith when I tell you there is more than one single bloody little path to virtue. Evil is everywhere, so good is everywhere. Even in places where people don't believe in Jesus."

Spike succeeded in making Connor question all his assumptions. But this only made him more confused and depressed. He spent the night wandering the streets, trying to piece everything together. As dawn arrived, he heard a striking noise. It was the Sayful warriors calling themselves to morning prayer. Connor followed the noise to a large tent in the forest where he used to sleep. The Sayful were outside the tent kneeling on the earth, facing in the direction of the rising sun.

After they finished praying Connor approached Ibrahim to find out more about them. Ibrahim explained that after each warrior turned 30, he took as his wife a woman who was orphaned or widowed by vampires. Each warrior produced one son. The mothers trained their sons to be virtuous and strong. The women also preserved the legends and traditions of the Sayful. When a boy's father died, he took his father's place. A warrior who died without producing a son could not be replaced, which is why there were originally 77 warriors but where now only 10.

"So where are your children?," Connor asked Ibrahim.

"We knew we would be the last of the Sayful. So none of us have taken wives or had children. By this time tomorrow, 800 years of work will be completed."

This all seemed so familiar to Connor. Men chasing demons across the centuries. Fathers training their sons to fight the same vampires they fought. But unlike him these men had mothers.

"Do you remember your mother?," Connor asked Ibrahim.

"In our early years, when we were too young to go fighting with our fathers, we spent almost all our time with our mothers. They told us the sacred tales of the Sayful, taught us the Koran, the Hadith, helped us to understand our place in the world."

Connor liked listening to Ibrahim. He was kind of like Holtz, always talking about God and vampires. Except he seemed far more serene, possessing an inner peace Holtz decidedly lacked.

Connor had been wandering all night, and his stomach rumbled. He was going to go home to Xander's. Xander had a set of keys made for Connor so he could come and go as he pleased. Before leaving Connor asked Ibrahim if he wanted to have some breakfast with him. Ibrahim told Connor that the Sayful live only on dates, almonds and rainwater. But he thanked Connor for the offer of hospitality.

Connor headed home. Xander was getting ready for work.

"Late night slayin?," Xander asked.

"Yeah. There are these new vampires in town. With swords. And these other guys with swords arrived to help us fight them. I think we'll need everybody for this one."

"All right! The Scooby Gang is back in action!"

"The Scoo-what?," Connor asked.

"Oh, never mind, Steven. Just and old joke. I bought some more Cocoa Puffs for you. Have fun. See you tonight."

Connor then had his sugary chocolaty breakfast of champions, and turned on the television. He had gotten good at working all the different remotes. He flipped through the channels, didn't find anything especially to his liking, and put in Xander's tape of "Enter The Dragon." He was intrigued by some of Bruce Lee's moves, and wanted to copy a few of them himself. But he had been up all night, and in a few minutes he fell asleep.

Dawn had left for school, and Willow and Buffy were grabbing a bite in the kitchen. Willow had something she wanted to tell Buffy.

"So last night, while you guys were out patrolling, I went to get some coffee. And who do I see there, singing onstage? Spike!"

"So what, Spike's pulled a Giles?," Buffy asked.

"Oh no, not really. I mean, he sang good, like Giles. But it wasn't weird. He wasn't out of place up there. And the girls, I mean, the ladies were just going bonkers for him. I have to confess, if I didn't know who Spike was I might have wanted to, you know, well, have sex with him. But of course I know better. Uh, Uh, not that I mean you should have known better. Oh, wait, that's coming out all wrong. I mean"

"At ease Willow. I've come to terms with that part of my past. It's behind me. Spike means nothing to me. Not that I hate him. I'm just indifferent."

Willow had an idea. "So if you're indifferent you won't have a problem if I tell him about these new vampires and ask him to help us out."

"I don't have a problem with it," Buffy responded. "But I see no point in it. He has no power. He's Xander without the good intentions and moral support."

Willow thought Buffy was selling him short. "I know he's human and all. But I think over the years he learned a thing or two about how to handle a sword. We do need all the help we can get."

Buffy still was not convinced. "Yes, we need all the help we can get. But Spike's not help. He's a nuisance. He just gets in the way."

Willow then left for school. After classes she dropped by the Magic Shop, Buffy be damned.

Oddly, Anya was glad to see her. "Willow, great to see you. I've worked out a payment schedule so you can reimburse the store for all the damage you caused. I know you're a student and poor and not yet a productive member of society. But I think it's fair and generous. After all, I'm allowing you to pay me back without interest."

Same old Anya, thought Willow. She looked at a person and saw a producer and consumer of goods and services. "It is so nice to know you've been thinking about me, Anya. You're more than my friend. You're my bill collector. No, wait, those two roles are mutually incompatible."

Willow walked by Anya. "Does that mean you are or you aren't prepared to make your first payment?," Anya asked Willow as she walked away. Willow entered the stockroom, Where Spike was unloading some new tchotchkes. She mentioned the looming threat. Spike of course already knew.

"Yes, the Qahiras have come. Something of a reunion for me. Angelus and I ran into them once, started a brawl, nearly got ourselves killed. As vampires go, they're incredibly serious. They don't even know the meaning of fun. I mean, when you got no soul, fun's all you got. But they're devoted to something bigger than themselves. I never got them. Still don't."

Willow wanted to know if Spike was going to help fight them. "I really don't think the Slayer wants me around," Spike answered. When talking with Buffy's friends, he preferred not to mention her by name. "Besides, what good am I at fighting anymore. I have enough trouble taking out normal vampires. And the Qahiras are a breed apart."

Willow still pressed on. "But Spike, over the years you've handled a sword from time-to-time, right? I mean you know how to use one. Sure, you can't hit these guys and make them fly ten feet backwards. But that's not what's required."

Spike appreciated the compliment. "Well, I do know a thing or two about wielding a gladius. But I'm not going to fight where I'm not wanted."

Disappointed, Willow left. But later in the afternoon Connor awoke and came to the store. He knew they had a mini-arsenal, and wanted to pick out something nice for that evening. He asked Spike for advice. He had never really seen Spike fight, but he saw Spike as a fount of wisdom. Every time Connor was confused, Spike answered his questions. Connor thought of him as a mentor.

Connor wanted the longest sword. Spike told him to favor compactness over length. A four foot blade would not hold firm against a heavy scimitar. If Connor used that sword to block the scimitar, it would get knocked aside. Spike recommended a thick two foot blade. The scimitar could outdistance it. But that wouldn't matter since the scimitar was a slashing sword. The shorter, compact sword could better deflect the slashing scimitar.

Spike handed Connor the four foot sword and picked up a baseball bat. Spike knocked around the long, unwieldy blade with his bat. Then he told Connor to use the two foot sword. This weapon held firm when deflecting the blows of the bat. Connor was convinced this was his weapon. He was also convinced Spike could be of use on that night.

"Spike, there are a lot of these things. And outside of the 10 Sayful, there's really only me, Buffy and Dawn. When I faced them all alone last night, I was overmatched. Dawn has Buffy's back. So will you have mine, fight by my side? It's like what Buffy said last night: fight alone, die alone.' I don't want that to happen to me."

Now this was something different. Buffy didn't want Spike around, but Connor did. And he didn't want to let the kid down. "I gotta say, I'm honored Steven, really honored. You know I got your back. I think we'll make a bloody good team."

The gang met at the Magic Shop at dusk to equip themselves. Buffy was not pleased to see Spike involved, but since Connor insisted their wasn't much she could do. Next to herself he was the best fighter, so if having Spike around made him comfortable she wasn't going to object.

After talking with Spike and Ibrahim, Connor was feeling remorseful for his previous night's argument with Willow. He also worried the incident might make Dawn think badly of him. So he apologized.

"Um, uh, Willow. I want to say something. I'm sorry about what I said last night. I did not mean to upset you, and, I, uh, did not mean to insult you. This morning, I talked with Ibrahim. I realized how wrong I was about them, and about you. Oh, and Buffy, sorry for that thing I said about the Hellmouth. I was wrong. I know that now."

Willow was surprised by this swift mea culpa. She hadn't even had a chance to yell at Connor and tell him why he was wrong. She said to him "don't sweat it, Steven. We all say things we wish we could take back."

"Yeah, no hard feelings Steven," Buffy added. "Now enough with the mushies. There's bad guys to be dusted. Let's not keep the vampires waiting."

The seven of them met the 10 Sayful at the appointed place. But their was the unresolved question of who had command. Both Buffy and Ibrahim were used to being in charge.

Buffy felt Ibrahim's stubbornness was an affront to her Slayer status. "Now I see what this is. You won't take orders from a woman. Is that it?"

"Oh sure, you have me all figured out," Ibrahim sarcastically replied. "Little miss Cosmo girl feminist. I wear a turban. So of course I must have problems with aggressive women. What, you think I want I want to put a veil on you and make you fight ten steps behind me? The issue here is experience. We have fought the Qahira al-Hakim our entire lives."

"Well here's what experience has taught me," Buffy truculently opined. "When you fight vampires, you're supposed to kill them! If you've fought them your whole lives, why aren't they all dead? Why are they here in my town?"

Ibrahim struggle to remain calm against this assault upon his honor. "If it wasn't for us there would be hundreds of Qahiras al-Hakim in your town, and you would already be dead."

Buffy was ready to at least hear Ibrahim out. "Fine, fine, fine. I get it. You thinned the herd. So tell me then, what is your grand plan?"

Ibrahim explained. "When we get to the entrance, there will be 22 Qahira protecting it. Before we fight, you must know the Qahira have a code of honor."

"They have a what!," Xander interjected. "That's ridiculous. They're evil!"

"Just because they lack souls does not mean they lack honor," Ibrahim answered. "The Qahira al-Hakim and the Sayful al-Salamiya can only fight in single combat, one-on-one. No double-teaming, as you might say. So when the battle begins we will face off against 10 vampires."

Buffy didn't like the math. "That leaves 12 for the rest of us. So the vampires can't gang up on you but can gang up on us?"

Ibrahim was prepared. He looked at Buffy, Dawn, Connor and Spike. "I have considered this difficulty. Remember, once any one of us kills the vampire we are facing, we will come over and fight the vampires which are attacking you. You do not have to kill the 12 Qahira. You merely have to deflect their blows long enough for us to come to your aid.

"To achieve this you shall form a tight circle, each of the four of you facing outwards in a different direction. This way they cannot attack you from behind. And since you are compact, shoulder-to-shoulder, the vampires will interfere with one another as they rush to attack you, and only one will be able to engage any of you at any one time.

"The ancient Greeks called this a periplus." Ibrahim could see the blank stares on the faces of Dawn, Buffy and Connor. "Well then, I guess they don't teach the classics out here in California. Your Watcher would have known what I was talking about.

"Anyway, assume this formation, defend yourselves, and the vampires will be powerless to hurt you. But do not break formation to pursue any of the vampires. Together, the four of you will be invulnerable. On your own, you will be vampire food. Only when there are only four vampires threatening you should you break formation and engage in single combat."

Ibrahim then looked at Xander, Anya and Willow. "You three, then, are the auxiliaries. You are our secret weapon." Xander giggled at this. "No, I'm serious. The Qahiras will not be expecting your attack, which will make it all the more effective."

Three of the Sayful handed each of them a ten foot tree branch which had been sharpened at one end and fashioned into a very long stake. "While the vampires are surrounding your friends, you will ambush them from behind. These pikes will allow you to kill them without getting within range of their swords. If any of them attack you, retreat. The Qahira must protect the entrance, and they will not stray far from it. Retreat a short distance, and they will leave you alone. Follow this pattern of ambush and retreat, and you will cause the Qahira considerable harm while no harm will come to any of you."

Xander, Willow and Anya liked the sound of this. Killing vampires in safety. Like having your cake and eating it too.

The moon had risen. The Sayful led the Scooby Gang to the entryway to the cavern where seven Qahira were performing the ascension ritual. Along the way, Connor was talking to Dawn. Spike was off by himself away from the others. Earlier Ibrahim heard Connor refer to him by that name. It sounded familiar. Ibrahim approached Spike to test a hunch.

"Pardon my impudence, sir, but didn't you used to be a vampire?"

Spike tried playing dumb. "What, me? I'm a human being. How could I have been a vampire? A vampire turning into a person? You, mister, should know how ridiculous that sounds."

Ibrahim wasn't buying it. He knew the vampire Spike was English and blonde. "You were with Angelus in Marrakech a little over a century ago. The two of you got into a fight with these same Qahira you are going with me to kill this evening."

Spike knew he had been found out. But he always liked notoriety. So he tried to milk his fame. "So, Ibrahim, familiar with my exploits, are you?"

"No, just the fight in Marrakech. You may find this surprising, but I am not surprised to discover that you have become a man again. We have a little omen. Vampires tend not to fight their own kind. And most vampires are smart enough to know that you don't mess with a gang of vampires as, how you say, badass as the Qahira. The Sayful have followed the Qahira for eight centuries. And you and Angelus were the only two vampires ever to provoke violence with them.

"The Qahira are evil. Generally, evil is fought by good. So the omen is that any vampire who fights with the Qahira will become good. Angel proved us right a long time ago."

"Wait a minute," Spike interjected. "You know about Angel?"

Ibrahim chuckled. "The vampire with a soul? Everyone knows about him. Why do you think vampires stay away from Gypsies?"

Spike was still glad he was notorious enough to be in an omen. "So this omen, the one about me. What else does it say?"

Ibrahim decided to pull Spike's leg. "Oh, nothing much. Just that you'll save the world. People Magazine will vote you the sexiest man alive. And you'll start at striker for Manchester United."

Spike realized he was being played. "You just made all of that up, didn't you? Or is just that last prediction rubbish and the other two on the mark?"

They were nearing the spot. Ibrahim left Spike to join his warriors, and Spike went to join Connor. The Sayful began the attack on the 22 Qahira standing guard outside this entrance. Buffy, Dawn, Spike and Connor followed in close order. Anya, Xander and Willow kept their distance.

Buffy was not comfortable to have Spike watch her back. She didn't want Spike watching any part of her anatomy. But her fighting formation needed four legs to stand on.

The ten Qahira and the ten Sayful began their dueling. The other twelve Qahira circled around Buffy and her fighting companions. The four of them assumed fighting formation. Buffy facing north, to the entrance. Connor to her right, facing east. Dawn to her right, facing south. And Spike to her right, facing west.

As it had for the Greek triremes at Artemisium, the periplus worked. The twelve Qahira struggled amongst one another to determine who would face these four humans. There was only room for four vampires to attack the four humans at any one time. And it was impossible for them to attack the humans in the flanks or rear. It was easy for the humans to parry the vampires' predictable frontal attacks.

Xander, Willow and Anya crept up behind this circle of Qahira. They reached out their pikes and poked three of them into dust. Three other Qahira turned to see what the new danger was. They gave chase. Willow, Xander and Anya turned and ran. After about 100 feet the Qahira quit their pursuit. They merely stood guard to prevent these three humans from re-entering the battle and causing any more trouble. The "auxiliaries" had killed three vampires and lured away three others. Buffy, Dawn, Connor and Spike now had only six vampires to deal with.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim took care of the vampire he was dueling. Tired of sparring with the creature, he put his sword at his side, luring the vampire to take a slash at his chest. While the vampire did this, Ibrahim leaped into the air and did a forward flip. Halfway through the flip, when his head and arms were facing downward, he swung his sword at the vampire's unprotected head. He landed on his feet behind the vampire as it turned to dust.

Then he attacked one of the vampires threatening Buffy. Soon another Sayful dispatched his vampire, tripping it up with a sweep kick to the legs and beheading it when it fell to the ground. He also came to Buffy's aid. Now Buffy and her fighters could break formation and go one-on-one with the Qahira.

This made Spike nervous. He was comfortable merely defending himself against their attacks, but didn't think he could actually kill one of these warrior vampires. He stayed on the defensive, nervously blocking the vampire's attacks and waiting for the vampire to expose himself to a counterattack.

After a while this vampire grew tired of Spike's passive resistance. He attacked Spike's left side with his sword. Spike blocked it with his sword, leaving his head exposed. The vampire sent a swift kick at Spike's undefended head. Spike lacked his vampire strength, but he still had a few of his old fighting reflexes. He moved left and rotated his body 90 degrees, so he was looking right at the vampire's left foot as it passed him by. Then he raised his sword and severed the foot midway up the shin.

Spike was shocked at what he had pulled off. The vampire was quite surprised as well. Now all it could do was hop on one leg. Spike moved around to the vampire's left side, away from its sword, and beheaded it.

Buffy meanwhile was tiring of the tedious swordplay. When the vampire swung for her legs, she leaped in the air and kicked it in the head. When he blow landed the enraged vampire charged and swung for her neck. She ducked down, rolled forward, and got up behind the vampire. Then she pulled out her stake and stabbed the vampire in the back. Buffy preferred the old tried and true.

Next to Buffy Dawn was having difficulties in her fight. Slowly but surely the vampire was overpowering her. Buffy could see this. So she went behind this vampire and staked it. Once again, the old way was the best way.

Connor also resorted to an old trick. With his shorter sword he was able to block the vampire's attacks and get close to him, where the Qahira's longer scimitar was not helpful. Connor had his old slashing dagger attached to his right wrist, the one he made in quor-toth. He put the blade to the vampire's neck and in a single stroke severed its head.

The three vampires arrayed against Xander, Willow and Anya noticed how the fight was developing, and slowly inched back towards it. When they saw Buffy and Spike were victorious, two of the three went back to engage them.

Meanwhile, two of the Sayful were defeated by the Qahira they were dueling. The stronger Qahira instinctively went after the Sayful, so Buffy and her friends were fortunate to have faced the less skilled of the vampires. But now the two victorious Qahira went after Connor. He wasn't a Sayful, so they had no qualms about double teaming him.

At that moment Buffy dusted Dawn's vampire. Dawn turned around and saw the trouble Connor was in. He was blocking the blow of one vampire when the other vampire raised his scimitar to strike him. "Steven!! Watch out!!!," Dawn screamed. As she shrieked she struck with her sword at the vampire about to hit Connor. As his sword was about to come down on Connor's chest, Dawn's sword severed the vampire's hands, which fell to the ground with the sword.

Connor turned in amazement to witness Dawn's handiwork. She then beheaded the handless, defenseless vampire. It was her first beheading. It was a real rush.

Connor then engaged the other vampire. Once again, he blocked its blows and used his shorter sword to get inside. He stabbed the vampire through its chest. With the blade still inside the vampire, Connor pulled the sword upward, until it exited just inside the vampire's right shoulder. He had nearly cut its chest in half. The vampire's right arm and the right side of his chest sagged to towards the ground. Then Connor lopped off its head. Dawn didn't know why, but she found Connor's brutality to be quite a turn-on.

Xander, Willow and Anya now faced only one vampire, and they were confident they could take it down together. Xander jabbed his pike at the vampire, who raised his sword in his left hand and chopped off the stake's point while calmy standing still. Anya tried to stake the vampire next. He grabbed her pike in his right hand and tore off its point.

With both of the vampire's hands occupied, Willow saw her chance. She drove her pike straight to his heart. But the vampire bent backward until his torso was perpendicular to his legs and parallel to the ground. This was vampire as limbo king. The pike sailed harmlessly above his bent body. While still bent back, he reached up with his left hand to chop off the stake's point. Then he stood up, smiled confidently and closed with the helpless humans.

Xander was to the vampire's left. Willow in the center. Anya to the vampire's right. He chopped with his sword at Xander and Anya, forcing them to flee further to the flanks. The three of them were now separated. The vampire assumed the man would be tougher than the women, so he went to kill Xander first.

Each of them carried an ax as a backup weapon for close fighting. But in a one-on-one fight, an ax in the hands of an untrained fighter was no match for a scimitar in the hands of an experienced Qahira. But as the vampire closed with Xander and was on the verge of cutting him to ribbons, Willow ambushed him on his right. She plunged her ax straight down through the top of the vampire's skull. The blade cut down through his right eye.

He had made a mistake in underestimating the women. But the vampire was still alive and fighting. And Willow was now unarmed. But when the vampire moved on Willow, Anya drove her ax into the back of the vampire's neck. Still, the vampire's head was not severed. But he was a bit discombobulated.

Xander took advantage of the vampire's confusion, caused by the fact he had two axes lodged in him. Xander swung for the front of the vampire's neck, cutting through his Adam's apple. But even this did not sever the vampire's head. For a few seconds, he stood there, three axes sticking out of his body. Then he fell forward. As he hit the ground, Xander's ax was driven further into the vampire's neck. It met Anya's ax, cutting completely threw the neck and severing the head. The vampire was no more. The three humans stood there, amazed with their handiwork.

There were now only 10 Qahira and 17 humans. The Qahira realized they were outnumbered. They retreated to the cavern's opening and formed a tight circle around it. The eight remaining Sayful were joined by Buffy and Connor, and the ten of them attacked the 10 Qahira. The vampires fought desperately and valiantly, even managing to kill one of the Sayful. But after a fierce and protracted fight they all fell.

The seven surviving Sayful jumped down into the cavern to kill the seven Qahira who were performing the ascension ceremony. The Scooby Gang heard several minutes of ferocious fighting: feet kicking up dust, swords clanging, men yelling.

During this fight Willow turned to Xander and said, "You know what? I learned an important lesson tonight. It doesn't matter if people come from different countries or speak different languages or worship different Gods. All of us have something in common. We all have to fight vampires. And that brings us together."

Xander smiled. "Yeah, they kill us and suck our blood, but vampires bring people together. And that story about the king who was a vampire. Why didn't they teach us that in history class? Throw in a couple vampires, and I might have actually paid attention and done the reading."

Then there was silence. The Seven Sayful returned to the surface. The Qahira were no more. Ibrahim had a deep gash in his left shoulder. Ahmed was sliced through his abdomen. "I'm not dead yet. I'm getting bettah," he announced, adding with a chuckle "I always wanted an excuse to say that."

But the Sayful of Salamiya's mission was not finished. Ibrahim thanked Buffy and her friends for helping them. But to ensure that Hakim never rises, the Hellmouth must be washed with the blood of the Sayful. "Death is our final duty. Then we shall be free," he told Buffy.

The seven Sayful then handed their swords to the seven people who helped them. Ibrahim praised the fighting abilities of Buffy and her friends and said he knew they would make good use of these fine weapons. Then Ibrahim went over to Connor, and whispered something in his ear, so no one else could hear. He told him "Always follow the path of your father and God will never forsake you, Connor."

With these last words Ibrahim and the other Sayful descended into the cavern. They stood in a circle shoulder-to-shoulder. Each man brandished a dagger, and held it to another man's throat. All seven throats were slit simultaneously. The Sayful remained standing as their blood poured into the puddle of water atop the Hellmouth. When they were drained, the seven Sayful fell, erect, into the bloody water. The instant their bodies hit the water they vanished.

Buffy and her friends then say a flash of light leap out of the cavern and race into the sky. They knew it was the souls of the Sayful ascending into Paradise. For obvious reasons, Buffy started to cry. It was all too familiar. Dawn also cried, and hugged Buffy and tried to comfort her.

Connor stood stunned. He told Ibrahim his name was Steven. There was no way Ibrahim could have known his birth name. And if he knew Connor's real name, did that mean he also knew who Connor's real father was?