Add. Disclaimer: Title is taken from DMB song "Mother, Father"

~

Spike sat up, his head throbbing in pain. He took his cool hand and placed pressure on his temples until his vision slowly came back to him. He slowly stood up and tried to take in his surroundings. He was...he wasn't sure where he was. He blinked rapidly and looked around more carefully. He was inside the sewers...where in the sewers, he had no idea, but he knew the smell distinctly. He began to search for Dawn, and when she was nowhere in sight, he felt a panic that made him feel as if his heart had started up again unannounced. Suddenly, a door from within the gutter burst open when Luke, a supposed-to-be-dusted henchman of his great-great-granddaddy's, came through carrying a young teenager. Spike jumped to attention and broke a stake off a breakable wooden coffin. Luke hissed and got into fighting stance. He stared doubtfully as he looked Spike up and down.

"Spike?" He asked, his voice full of confusion and venom.

"Put down the boy, Luke." Spike growled, his game face crossing his features. He never did like that vampire very much. Luke dropped the adolescent and went to fight. Spike quickly and easily staked him, after only a punch or two. After Luke was gone, Spike rushed over to the teenager.

"How much blood did he take?"

"She was just talkin' to me...and then she said she wanted to show me something...it was scary..." Spike groaned as the kid rambled on and reached down for his pulse. It was weaker than normal, but still strong enough.

"We have to get you to Giles. He'll know a quick cure." Spike said, gathering the boy up in his arms. He pulled a wad of tissues out of his pocket and held it against the teen's neck wound. "Hold this here and apply as much pressure as you can."

The boy nodded, his face still etched with fear. Spike looked up and out of the corner of his eye, clearly saw a blonde figure rush to where Luke had been standing. A figure Spike found all too familiar. Spike looked both ways and then took off towards Sunnydale High School.

"What's your name, kid?" Spike asked, needing to know for Giles.

"Jesse. Jesse McNally." He said. Spike nodded and began asking him more questions, as he ran towards the library, in order to keep him conscious.

"Where do you go to school, Jesse?"

"Sunnydale High School."

"What year are you?"

"Sophomore."

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, I'm an only child..." He said, his voice starting to falter. Spike stopped and lightly slapped his face.

"Hey-hey! I need you to stay awake. Ya got a girlfriend?"

"Not right now."

"Like anyone?"

"Cordelia Chase. She's really hot." Jesse smiled at the thought of Cordelia.

"What's your best friend's name?"

"Xander Harris." Spike stopped running at that. Those Choosers really know what they're doing, Spike thought, shaking his head. He then resumed his jog.

~

Spike burst through the library doors, and sat Jesse down on one of the tables.

"Giles! GILES!!" Spike flipped around when he heard a door from behind him slam open and had to stifle a laugh as a seven year younger Rupert Giles, clad in round glasses and a tweed suit, emerged.

"What's wrong? What's the matter?" He stopped to take in Spike and scrunched his nose "And who the hell are you?"

"No time to explain, Watcher. Look, this kid got a real nice bite taken outta him. I found him with one of the Master's lackeys. Kid was rambling on about some girl vampire that took him...I don't think they got much, but they got enough. Can ya help him?"

Giles bent down to examine Jesse's wound and recoiled when he recognized the bite marks.

"Darla. The Master's most prized childe."

"Look, I don't mean to intrude on this, uh, secret code thing you guys have got goin' on here, but what the hell just happened to me?" Jesse asked, the situation becoming clear to him abruptly.

"Jesse, you were attacked and bitten by a vampire." Spike said, his voice calm and reasonable.

"V-v-v-v-vampire??" Jesse's voice held a stutter that he had never experienced ever before in his life.

"Um...man with the interesting hair color choice..." Giles began...

"The name's Spike."

"Yes, you. Look in my study for some gauze and tape and then bring me out some?"

Spike sauntered into Giles' office and began what looked like futile search. Between Council papers, prophecies, and * very * important library information, the first aid kits were no where to be found.

"They're on my desk underneath the Shalaki Prophecies!" Giles yelled.

Sure enough, right under the ancient Egyptian prophecies was the white gauze and the tape. Spike grabbed them in a rush and brought them out to Giles, who quickly patched up Jesse, physically anyway.

"So, you're saying, that chick I thought I scored with really vanted to suck my blood?" Jesse asked, placing on a mocking Transylvania accent.

"In a manner of sense, yes." Giles said, unsure of how to explain everything, "Vampires have lived in Sunnydale for centuries. P-possibly millenniums. Basically, the...the reasoning for this has to do with the aptly named hellmouth on which-"

Unexpectedly, however, the doors to the library burst in once again.

"Mr. Giles! Mr. Giles, we have a very serious problem on our hands."

Spike felt frozen in time as he looked up to see who the intruder was. Right in front of him, alive and healthy as she was the last time he had seen her, was a sixteen year old Buffy Anne Summers.

"Ah, yes, Buffy...I was expecting that you'd come here." Buffy brushed past him and went straight to Jesse.

"Oh my gosh, Jesse, are you alright?" She said, indicating his bite.

"Oh, yeah. Hey, apparently a * vampire * did this to me." Buffy closed her eyes and silently screamed. She opened her eyes and inhaled, looking over at Willow.

"There seems to be a lot of that going around tonight. Mr. Giles, Willow was also bit, by a seriously pissed off blonde vampiress. She said that her precious Luke was "no more" and that the Master would not be happy with the recent turn of events. "

"Here." Spike said, reaching for Willow. "I'll patch that up."

"Thank you." Willow said, meekly. Buffy stared at him in confusion for a moment but then thought it unimportant. She had much bigger questions on her mind then who the cute stranger with the really nice abs was.

"Mr. Giles, who was that girl? The blonde? And who is The Master? None of this is making sense."

"I think I speak for all of us non-Slayer types when I say a big hearty 'Yeah-HUH' to that preposition. I mean, what is going on, Mr. G.?" Xander asked, his eyes pleading for a rational answer. Giles sighed.

"This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures..."

"And vampires." Buffy chimed in.

"Okay, this is where I have a problem. See, because we're talking about vampires. We're having a * talk * with vampires in it." Xander just shook his head and looked up at anyone for some consolation. He looked at Giles. At Jesse. At Willow. At Buffy. At the weird bleached haired kid...

"Is that what we saw?" Willow asked, her voice filled with worry. Spike patted her on the back and nodded.

"No. No, th-those weren't vampires, those were just guys in thundering need of a facial. Or maybe they had rabies. It could have been rabies. A-and that guy turning to dust? Just a trick of light." Buffy said, her words not fooling anyone, not even the very-willing-to- be-fooled- at-the-moment Xander. "That's exactly what I said the first time I saw a vampire. Well, after I was done with the screaming part."

"Oh, I, I need to sit down." Willow said, grabbing onto the desk.

"You are sitting down." Spike said, making Buffy jump back in surprise. She hated when people beat her to a remark.

"Oh. Good for me." Willow commented mock cheerfully.

"But what is Buffy? I mean, how does she come into this?" Jesse asked.

"Buffy is the Slayer."

"And that would be a what?" Xander quipped.

"For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One." Giles began, but was cut off abruptly by Buffy who smirked.

"He loves doing this part."

"Alright. The Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is a Slayer, don't tell anyone. Well, I think that's all the vampire information you need." Giles said, somewhat miffed at Buffy's deliberate attempt at making fun of him.

"So vampires are those demon things you talked about earlier?" Xander asked, curiosity beginning to replace his initial shock.

"Does anybody mind if I pass out?" Willow asked, holding her head in her hand.

"Breathe." Spike said, as he rubbed her back.

"Breathe." She repeated.

"The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return." Giles said, explaining. Off of Xander's confused look, Spike cleared his throat.

"Basically, what Giles here is trying to say, is that a vampire is a human that's possessed by a demon."

"Like The Exorcist?" Jesse asked.

"Sort of like The Exorcist, only less ostentatious. Plus, vampires make more of them by drinking someone's blood and then having the almost dead person drink their blood...not Ouija boards."

"Eww...I will never look at Count Chocula the same way ever again." Willow remarked. Buffy smirked and then directed her attention back to Spike.

"Don't tell me * you're * a watcher?"

"Are you kidding me? Me, work for those arrogant, holier-than-thou, stick- up-their-ass bastards? No offense," Spike said as a side note to Giles.

"None taken. In fact, everything you just said is one hundred percent correct..." Giles commented, more to himself than anyone else.

"Right, so, anyway, I'm a freelance do-gooder." Spike said, smiling a little too happily at being able to talk to Buffy once again. Buffy didn't seem to notice though.

"I'm Buffy." She said, holding out her hand.

"Spike." He said taking it. She looked down at their hands and then backed away in suspicion. Spike shut his eyes. He forgot that he shouldn't have physical contact with her until she knew everything.

"You're a vampire." She stated icily, reaching in her pant leg for a stake.

"Yeah, I know." Spike said, as Buffy noticed he looked down in what looked like shame, "I promise you I'm good though. You just have to trust me."

"Oh, well...Why should I?" Buffy asked, silently reaming herself for warming up to him again just due to the sincere tone in his voice.

"He saved my life." Jesse said, perking up slightly.

"You did?" Buffy asked, amazed.

"Yeah, well...bloke was in trouble, I couldn't just leave him there."

"He fought the vampire that was taking me, too, with one of those L.A. self- defense things." Jesse added. Willow looked impressed, but Xander looked slightly miffed.

"I would've fought the vampire if I had been there..." He started to say to himself quietly.

Buffy looked Spike up and down. Finally, she sighed and waved her hand.

"Fine, Mr. Goody-Goody, you can stay. But on a trial basis only. If you step one toe outta line, I will kill you." Buffy said looking him straight in the eye. To this, Spike just smirked. She really was the same person...even down to the pet names and death threats. He lifted two fingers in a scouts honor and smiled again at her. Then suddenly, Dawn's face came to his mind. Shit! Spike thought, as he looked everywhere for an excuse to get out. He needed to find that girl.

"Look, Slayer, I don't mean to skip out on this happy little meeting, but duty calls. I'll start sniffing around for more on The Master, alright?"

He threw her one last smile and patted Willow on the back again before sauntering out the door. Buffy looked at Willow, slightly taken aback, and then shook her head, determined to get the faces of both creepy yet mysteriously handsome men she had met that night out of her mind.

Giles stared at each person in wonder until he just shook his head. Perhaps in his old age things flew over his head quite more easily than they used to.

"So, Giles, what's the plan on fighting this blonde chick and The Master?" Buffy asked, directing her attention, once again, to her duty. Maybe being in Sunnydale wasn't going to be all that bad. But she had a sinking feeling that her newfound life might include the thing she was trying to escape from.

Being the slayer.

~

Dawn rolled over in her bed, feeling rested. She stared up at her ceiling and her walls, which were covered head to toe with posters and pictures of her friends...who were people she had never seen before in her life. She shot up in bed and reached for the picture. She was in the middle of the shot, surrounded by all different kids...one of them being a vampire who had tried to attack her two years ago. Harmony something-or-other. She also recognized Cordelia Chase, one of Buffy's sort of friends...who now lived with Angel in Los Angeles. She laughed to herself at the irony of it all and looked down at her pajamas. She noticed that she was still wearing a necklace...which normally said Dawn, but now said Ambrine. Ambrine? It had worked. Dawn hopped out of her new bed and ran over to her closet. She threw on a shirt and some pants before heading out. She needed to find Spike.

~

"Ambrine! Hey!" Dawn looked up and saw Cordelia walking towards her, apparently coming home from being at the Bronze. "What's up? I thought you were sick today."

"Was. Past tense." Dawn said, hoping she sounded like she knew what she was doing.

"Cool. Oh! I have sooo much to tell you. You know that new girl, Buffy?"

Dawn felt her breath catch. Buffy was alive. Again.

"Yeah...look, I have to get going...I left a sweater in the library at school."

"But, it's like after midnight." Cordelia said looking at her watch in confusion.

"It's a really important sweater. Bye!" Dawn said, running off.

"The people in this town have some serious social problems." Cordelia muttered to herself before continuing on home.

"DAWN!" Dawn immediately came to attention when she heard her real name being called out. Spike ran over to her, his featured creased with worry.

"Dawn...are you alright?" He asked, examining her well being.

"I'm fine, Spike. What about you? Everything going alright?"

"Oh, yeah, those Choosers have a real knack for setting things in motion. I saved this kid, Jesse, who is actually Xander's best friend. So, I'm in with the group." Spike explained, still in slight disbelief.

"I know what you mean. You remember Cordelia?"

"Vaguely. Why?"

"I'm, like, * her * best friend. It's really weird. I remember Buffy talking about what a bitch she is...or was, anyway. I guess it's just to help me become connected to Buffy somehow. Have you seen her yet?" Dawn said, barely stopping to breathe.

"Buffy? Yeah...she figured out that I was a vamp right away, reached for her stake 'n all. Jesse, though, convinced her that I might be good. I'm gonna explain the whole soul thing."

"Are you gonna tell her about The Choosers?" Dawn asked inquisitively.

"Mmm...no, no, I don't think so. Maybe eventually, but not now. Not for a long time. It would scare the livin' piss outta her, nibblet, if she was told she already did this. That we're from her future. She wouldn't believe us anyway. 'Sides, she hardly trusts me now as is, so I'm gonna keep on the down low, basically just try to get on her good side. Capishe?" Dawn nodded, solemnly.

"Where are you going?" Dawn asked as Spike began to walk away.

"To find my grandsire." Spike said, rolling his eyes with disdain. This was not a meeting he was looking forward to. Dawn patted him on the back and laughed to herself as he groaned in anticipation of seeing Angel again. This should be neat, he thought.

~

Meanwhile, in the sewers, the blonde vampire, Darla moved forward into the bleak night. Everything had been changed. The tides had turned, the humans now had a distinct advantage, with two fighters in town. And with Luke gone...Darla stifled a sob. It was queer, the way she felt so saddened. The last time she had felt this way was when Angelus had left her...Darla snapped out of her trance and looked down at her prey.

"Move!" She barked.

She drug her down, through the catacombs and the sewage, down to The Master's lair...which was held in the ruins of an old church. The Master looked up, still slightly weak from his rising. He stared in a mix of gratitude and disgust at the still alive girl which Darla had brought up in replacement for the one Luke had lost. His black eyes grazed Darla's face, her mouth still stained with both the first and the second boy's blood. He felt a soft growl rise in the back of his throat.

"Is this for me?"

"An offering, Master. She's a good one! Her blood is pure!" Darla pleaded, hoping he would dismiss the bite.

"You've tasted it." The Master hissed, as Darla looked down in what seemed like shame.

"I'm your... faithful dog. You bring me scraps." The Master said, weakness filling his spiteful voice.

"I, I didn't mean it..."

"I have waited. For three score years I have waited. While you come and go I am stuck here, here in this house of... worship! My ascension is almost at hand. Pray that when it comes... I'm in a better mood." He took Darla brutally by the throat, feeling all the anger that encompassed his evil heart.

"Master, forgive me! We had more offerings, but there was trouble. William has returned, and has seemed to take the same path as our dear Angelus...but there was another problem...this girl..."

"William? With a soul? Impossible. The prophecies say..."

"Not all prophecies are correct! But, I personally feel that the girl is a more urgent matter, we, or at least Luke and I, before his passing, believed that she is...the Slayer."

~

"Uh, this may be the dumb question, but shouldn't we call the police?" Willow asked, back in the library, looking around hoping to get some support on her idea.

"And they'd believe us, of course." Giles replied drolly.

"Well, we don't have to say vampires. We, we could just say that there's a, a bad man?" Willow said, not even convincing herself.

"They couldn't handle it even of they did show up. They'd only come with guns." Buffy explained.

"You have no idea where they took, you, Jesse?"

"I was too busy being unconscious for the most part to notice where I was." He said in response.

"Did you see where they took Willow?" Giles asked Buffy.

"I looked around, but soon's they got clear of the graveyard, they could have just, voom!" She swept her hand in front of her face dramatically.

"They can fly?" Xander asked, ready to believe anything.

"They can drive."

"Oh."

"I don't remember hearing a car." Willow said, her mouth pouting in confusion.

"Let's take an enormous intuitive leap, shall we, and say they went underground..." Giles remarked, beginning to feel exasperated.

"Vampires really jam on sewer systems. You can get anywhere in the entire town without catching any rays. But I didn't see any access around there." Buffy clarified.

"Well, there's an electrical tunnel that runs under the whole town." Jesse added helpfully.

"If we had a diagnostic of the tunnel system it might indicate a, a meeting place, it would, uh... I suppose we could go to the building commission." Giles brain-stormed, his mind doing cartwheels.

"We * so * don't have time." Buffy said.

"Uh, guys? There may be another way." Everyone looked up at the voice that had addressed them. Xander stared, stunned, for a moment, but then raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"Ambrine?"

~

"The SLAYER?" The Master's voice rose to an almost panic level, "Can you be certain?"

"She fought some of the greatest vampires we had and killed them. She fought Luke and lived."

"Luke? You say he was brought back to earth, by this girl?"

"It saddens me greatly to say this, Master, but it was our dear William who fought him and was finally his conqueror. The girl did not * yet * have the skill...though I'm afraid I sense a great potential within her."

The Master rose from his seat and began to pace back and forth throughout the ruins. He glanced back at Darla, with whom his pride had been slowly restored.

"Have you fought this Slayer, yet?"

"I have not, Master, but I swear her death will be on my hands."

"She mustn't interfere with the Harvest!" The Master snapped, feeling angry. He stared at the girl that Darla had brought and a smile crossed his pallid visage.

"Patch this girl up. I believe the Slayer will come to us. We'll have something she wants..."

"I merely thought you a meal, girl. Congratulations," Darla said her voice low, as she slapped some crudely cut gauze on her neck," You've just been upgraded. To bait."

Cordelia's eyes widened as she became aware of where she was. Then she followed this by screaming as loudly as she could.

~

"You guys need the tunnel plans, right?" Dawn asked, despite the looks she was getting.

"How long have you been standing there?" Buffy asked, feeling a panic begin to slide up.

"Long enough. But don't worry," she said, off of Giles and Buffy's distraught faces, "I already knew about vampires. My sister...she fought them."

"What do you propose, Ambrine, is it?" Giles asked, uncertain.

"Yeah, but call me Dawn."

"How do you get 'Dawn' from 'Ambrine'?" Buffy asked, the surprise wearing down a little.

"Long story." She said, grinning, "Anyway, Willow, you can hack in the city files can't you?"

"Well, yeah...how'd you know that?" Willow asked, surprised at everything that one of * Cordelia's * friends knew.

"Lucky guess. So if you could get into those files, I'm sure they have the full plans for the sewage systems in there, and it would take, like, five minutes tops, right?"

"Actually, yes! You're absolutely right. Hold on." Willow ran swiftly over to the computer and quickly typed in a few key numbers and letters before smiling proudly.

"Done." Everyone stared hesitantly at her before rushing over to the computer.

"There it is." Buffy stated in awe.

"That runs under the graveyard." Willow said, pointed to a particular line.

"I don't see any access." Xander commented, slightly frustrated.

"There's nothing here, this is useless!" Buffy fell back in one of the library chairs. Dawn gave her a sympathetic look and patted her hand.

"I think you're being a bit hard on yourself." Giles reasoned.

"You're the one that told me that I wasn't prepared enough. Understatement! I thought I was on top of everything, and then that monster, Luke, came out of nowhere..."

A thought suddenly came to her. He was behind her, and he attacked her. He knocked her down, picked up Jesse and then...

"What?" Jesse asked for the group.

"He didn't come out of nowhere. He came from behind me. I was facing the entrance, he came from behind me, and he didn't follow me out. The access to the tunnels is in the mausoleum! Luke must have doubled back with Jesse after I got out! God! I am so mentally challenged!" Buffy hit her forehead lightly with a book as a penance for her own stupidity.

"So, what's the plan? We saddle up, right?" Xander asked, over- enthusiastically.

"There's no 'we', okay? I'm the Slayer, and you're not." Buffy said, her resolve face on.

"I knew you'd throw that back in our faces." Jesse jibed.

"You guys, this is deeply dangerous." Buffy said. Dawn started giggling. They all stared at her.

"Sorry, but "deeply dangerous"? You can't be serious."

"Cue the crickets." Jesse said, giving her the famous arched eyebrow.

"Never mind," Dawn said, her voice an octave higher than normal, "just forget I'm here."

"I'm inadequate. That's fine. I'm less than a man." Xander said, pointedly ignoring Dawn's outburst.

"Buffy, I'm not anxious to go into a dark place full of monsters. But I do want to help. I need to." Willow agreed.

"Well, then help me. I've been researching this Harvest affair. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details. It may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine." Giles said, pointing at the computer in repugnance.

"Again with the crickets." Jesse said, deadpan.

"That * was * a bit, um, British, wasn't it?" Giles said, peering around.

"Welcome to the New World." Buffy joked, smiling.

"I want you to go on the 'Net." Giles explained to Willow.

"Oh, sure, I can do that." Willow said as she hopped back into the seat and began to type at a lightening speed rate.

~

"Knock, knock." Spike said into the open apartment door. Angel, who was staring off into space on his bed, looked up, startled. His eyes narrowed when he recognized his visitor.

"What are you doing here, Spike?" He asked maliciously.

"Well, gosh there Peaches, I thought we'd have a nice cuppa, catch up on the old times..." Seeing that Angel was far from amused, Spike sighed, "Alright, I just thought you'd want to know that you're not the only, how did you put it? * Noble * vampire around these parts. Ol' Spikey's got himself a nice, ickle soul as well."

This caught Angel's attention. He stood up and looked Spike up and down for some sort of disingenuousness. When he couldn't find any, he pulled out a stake and cleared his throat.

"Come in."

"Thanks ever so." Spike said deadpan. He sat down on Angel's bed and stretched out, "Do you have any idea how tired I am? I haven't gotten a decent night's sleep since..." Spike was beginning to say since Buffy died, but remembering that where he was now Buffy was still alive and well, he just let himself trail off, hoping Angel wouldn't notice.

"I know. How long have you had it?" Angel asked, the tone of his voice the friendliest that Spike had ever heard it when he was talking to him.

"About a year now."

"So you still get the nightmares." Angel stated, rather than asked. Spike stared in wonder at his grand-sire, actually grasping the fact that he might truly be able to understand him. True, he hadn't had them since Buffy had started sharing his bed, but before then, they had been awful, at times unbearable...

"Yeah." Spike said, his voice still coarse. He looked up at Angel and then had his first true and real connection with the older vampire.

"Why did you come to Sunnydale?" Angel inquired.

"To help the Slayer...Buffy." He said, gazing downwards, waiting for his reaction. Angel felt his insides freeze. Buffy. * His * Buffy. Spike was here for the exact same thing that he was.

"Me too." Angel simply said.

"Well, as much as I want to stay and chat, I have to run. I promised Buffy I'd check on the stats of The Master. Can you believe that bugger is in town? Honestly...So, I'll catch ya around, I suppose."

"Goodbye."

"Adios, Nancy-boy." Spike said with a wave of his hand as he sauntered out of Angel's apartment. He had more pressing matters to deal with.

~

Buffy walked through the night air and came across the mausoleum. She pushed it, with her regular strength and soon realized it wasn't enough. She backed away and went for it with all of her slayer strengths combined. Still nothing.

"Damn." She breathed out.

"Need some help, luv?" Buffy flipped around to find her face to face with the smiling-bleached-hair-vampire guy from earlier in the library.

"You wouldn't by any chance have a spare key to this, would you?" Buffy half-joked.

"Well, you know I was considering it as a real estate investment, but turns out none of my décor went with it." Spike said, mock sadly with a shrug, only to find that Buffy's response was a blank stare, "Joking, pet."

"Oh. Well, you are a vampire. I couldn't be sure." She paused before turning to him again, "If you really * are * a blood-sucker, why are you helping me?"

"In a nutshell I have a soul. Most vampires do not have a soul, but I do. So therefore, I'm good." Buffy nodded, taking this in. She exhaled and turned toward him.

"So, wanna help me out with this, Superman?" She asked, regarding the crypt door.

"Will do."

Together, the two of them lifted their legs and kicked the door open. Satisfied, Buffy smirked.

"Wait for me here, I need to do this alone. I should be out as soon as I kick this Darla girl's ass." She turned around and began to walk into the sepulcher.

"Buffy." Slowly, Buffy turned around and faced him. Spike swallowed, his eyes conveying much more then he knew he could say.

"Be careful." He said, another one of his smiles playing softly on his lips. This time, Buffy returned the smile and nodded, entering the tomb. Spike closed the door behind her and rested his head against it, feeling a dull ache of the pain from both times that he lost her in the past.

Buffy entered the inside of the sewers slowly and quietly, her slayer senses heightened to a maximum. She felt the presence of evil grow stronger with every step she took.

"Ooh, I should've just waited with Spike..." She said, starting to regret her decision to go forward, alone, no less.

"You're probably right." Buffy took in a sharp breath and flipped around, stake in hand. Angel back up, his hands in front of him in a truce. Buffy exhaled and folded her arms in exasperation.

"Okay. Look, if you're gonna be popping up with this Cryptic Wise Man act on a regular basis, can you at least tell me your name?"

"Angel." He said shortly.

"Angel. It's a pretty name." Buffy whispered sincerely.

Silently, without giving the stranger another thought, she turned around towards the entrance.

"Don't... go down there." Angel said suddenly urgent.

"Deal with my going." Buffy said as she flipped back around to face him once again.

"You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk. Tonight is the Harvest. Unless you can prevent it, the Master walks." He explained desperately.

"Well, if this Harvest thing is such a suckfest, why don't * you * stop it?" Buffy asked in all genuineness.

"'Cause I'm afraid." Angel replied simply.

Buffy looked at Angel as though she was trying to figure out a puzzle of some sort. Unsatisfied with what she found, Buffy shrugged and turned away again.

"They'll be expecting you." Angel said, as he started to walk away in defeat.

"Look there's people down there...innocent people...I almost lost two friends tonight. Or at least potential friends. And I don't want to actually * lose * any." Buffy said, hoping her doggedness would affect Angel. He sighed and looked up.

"When you hit the tunnels head east towards the school. That's where you're likely to find them."

"You gonna wish me luck?" Buffy asked, only semi-serious.

Angel said nothing. They looked at each other for another moment, before Buffy exhaled deeply and ran off into the tunnels. Angel's eyes filled with sadness as he watched her go.

"Good luck!" Angel whispered.

~

Buffy slinked down the sewers and heard a distant chatter in the background. Hello, Master, Buffy thought. She suddenly, however, became aware of another presence near her. A human presence.

"Buffy!" Buffy jumped back, startled when she saw Dawn's face.

"Dawn? Dawn, what are you doing here? This is a totally unsafe place for you to be!" Buffy said, surprised at the amount of protectiveness she was feeling towards this girl she had just met.

"Don't worry about it...my sister taught me all of the basics in fighting and a lot of other neat tricks." Dawn whispered as she and Buffy crouched down, " I just figured you might need some backup. From what Willow found out about this place it seems pretty intense."

"That's one way to describe it." Buffy said with an eye roll, "you sure you can handle this?"

"Yes."

Dawn and Buffy locked eyes. Buffy felt a certain charge go through her. Not the kind that went through her the first time she saw Spike, but more like a kindred. She saw a sort of hope in this Dawn girl, almost as if she would be her anchor. Her best friend. Buffy smiled at her and Dawn returned the gesture.

"Let's get goin'." Buffy said, her voice lower than a whisper as she and Dawn headed towards the battle she knew was before her.

~

tbc.