**A/N: Whoah, sorry for the long time updating, but I think I'm back in the groove! Yay! Well, anyway, this chapter's a bit longer than usual, but I think it's worth it. And don't forget to review! ~Chelle~**

The Potentials stood huddled together underneath the relative safety of their umbrella. It had started to drizzle just before they left for the cemetery, and now the girls stood waiting for Buffy's next instructions, cold, wet, and miserable.

Molly wiped at her nose with her sleeve. Rona rubbed her sore shoulder. Chloe kept hopping from one foot to the other (she had stepped in a large puddle during their 'learn your surroundings' session, when she had tried to find her way through the headstones blindfolded, and now her sneakers were soaked). Vi and Kennedy were both currently being 'hunted' by Spike, who had successfully caught the other three in under five minutes.

Buffy watched from her perch on a nearby mausoleum. She could see Vi about twenty meters away, standing completely motionless, trying to focus her senses and locate her hunter. Her head snapped to the side, and Buffy knew she had sensed him. Good for you...

Vi raised her stake in the air threateningly and began backing away from a dense cluster of trees. Buffy saw movement in the branches, and Vi took off at a sprint. A blond blur raced after her at inhuman speed, and it caught up with no trouble at all. The Potential was tackled from behind, and the two figures struggled.

In the end, the vampire dominated the girl, straddling her as he leaned in for the 'kill'. Buffy smiled a little as she watched Spike help Vi to her feet, and pointed her in the direction of the other girls.

"Vi's down," Buffy calmly stated. She had been a little surprised that Vi had lasted longer than Rona, since the other girl had always seemed to have a stronger handle on not only the fighting, but on the 'kill now, think later' philosophy. But now it was clear that Vi was definitely more in tune with her inner Slayer, having been the only one of them so far to actually sense the approaching vampire.

Buffy watched curiously as Spike began turning in circles, trying to locate his prey. His face was screwed up in great concentration; under different circumstances, Buffy may have laughed. But she had the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to find Kennedy.

She hopped down from her perch. "We've got a problem," she told the others and motioned for them to follow her. They made their way through the cemetery, Buffy leading them to Spike's position by using her own heightened senses.

When they reached him, he had begun pacing, a classic sign that he was agitated. "Where is she?" Buffy asked, but already knew the answer.

"Can't find her," he said, stopping his movement so he could converse with her. "Lost her about ten minutes ago, but I thought it was because I had focused so intently on Vi."

"What do you mean, 'you can't find her'? All you're doing is standing in one spot," Chloe piped up. Vi rolled her eyes at her friend's idiocy.

"The whole point of these exercises has been to try to hone our Slayer senses. You think we're the only ones who can hunt that way? Spike has special vampire senses. He can smell you, hear you from far away, and he can also hear your heartbeat," Vi explained. "Don't you listen to Anya's lessons?"

"Wait a second," Rona interjected, "does that mean you can't find her heartbeat?"

Spike didn't answer, but he resumed pacing, which was as good as an admission. Buffy tiredly ran her hand through her hair. "Well, I guess we'd better split up and search for her," she reasoned.

"Last time I saw her, she was heading into this crypt," Vi offered.

"Show us," Buffy demanded, and Vi led the way.

****

The bell above the door tinkled as Willow entered the travel agency. She unconsciously took stock of the situation, as any good fighter-of-evil would do. The only exit to the room was the door at her back, though she doubted she'd need to escape.

The man sitting behind the single, lonely desk was pushing fifty, by the looks of it - gray hair, masses of wrinkles, and a not-so-keen fashion sense. He so far hadn't noticed her arrival. Probably a little deaf, too.

"Ahem," she sounded, trying to nonchalantly announce her arrival. The man behind the desk looked up, clearly startled, and pulled out a cross.

"Don't come any closer! I-I know what you are!" he cried, getting to his feet.

Willow stared at him, feeling a little guilty now for having frightened him. "Oh, no, I'm not - I mean, you can put that away, I'm human."

The man didn't move to lower his 'weapon'. Instead, he looked her over again, unconvinced. "You're dressed like one of them," he reasoned.

Willow looked down at herself. She remembered that she had thought it might be necessary to play the part of a bad-ass, in case Spike had over-estimated the man's gratitude. Her clothes were black, a wee bit reminiscent of both EvilWillow and VampWillow, with her leather pants (courtesy of Buffy's closet), hooker boots (that Anya had lent her), and tight red blouse (only tight because she'd pulled it out of the laundry and it most likely belonged to one of the young Potentials), accentuated by the black leather duster she'd found in the back of Buffy's closet, which looked (and smelled) suspiciously like Spike's.

"Well, yeah, I...I like to look intimidating, so vamps won't mess with me," she said with a slight flip of her hair. She eyed him cautiously, trying to gauge if her act was working.

"Ooookayyyyyy, then, if you're not a vampire here to rip out my throat...what do you want?"

"Oh," she said with a smile, visibly relieved, "I'm a friend of Spike's. We were wondering if -"

"SPIKE! You know Spike?! Well, come in, come in! Have a seat!" The man dragged over a chair from the corner and gestured for her to take it. It was clear to Willow that she had been the one to misjudge the man's gratitude.

She graciously sat on the chair he had offered, and he sat as well, tossing his cross into a drawer. "So, you mentioned that Spike needs something?" he asked.

Straight and to the point. I like that. "Yes, you see, well, Spike is a little...under-the-weather...and the only cure for him is in Romania, so he was thinking -"

"Round-trip tickets sound good? How soon would he like to be going?" The man began typing away at his computer.

"Oh, uh, as soon as possible, I guess," Willow replied. This was all too weird to her. 'There's someone other than Clem who's willing to help Spike out?' she wondered to herself.

"Now," the man interrupted her thoughts, "as I'm sure you know I can't make these tickets for a Mr. Spike the Vampire, so will these be under your name, Ms...?"

"Rosenberg. And, no, uh, I guess they should be for a Mr. Rupert Giles."

"Rupert...Giles... All right. Now, these are for tomorrow afternoon at 3:00, and you can simply come back whenever you like - just use this voucher here and ask for a ticket."

"Thank you so much! We really appreciate this. Spike really appreciates this."

"Oh, no problem. And they're on the house, of course. Can't put a price on repaying a man for saving my life."

He handed her the ticket and the voucher, and gave her a warm smile she couldn't help but return. She thanked him again and headed out the door. As the bell tinkled again, she had an idea.

"Your cross could prevent vampires from getting in if you tacked it on your door frame or something." He looked at her with a quizzical expression. "It's just a thought," she quickly retracted, and hurried out the door.

The man sat for a while after she left before going in search of a hammer and nail.

****

"Oh, my GOD! If he doesn't show up, I swear I'm going to kill him!" Dawn had taken to pacing the library as they waited for Shawn to arrive. As the time approached 7:00, a full hour after their agreed rendezvous, Dawn had begun to get extremely agitated.

"I'm sure he'll be here, just give him a little more time," Amanda tried to reason.

"Nah," Jade said as she stood, "let's just leave. He's obviously not coming."

Dawn nodded in agreement and huffily picked up her bag. "Hey, wait! Wait for me!" Amanda cried as the other two girls stormed out of the library.

"I mean, first of all, he doesn't want to have anything to do with this project, then he decides not to show up to work with us - does this guy have a death wish or what? When I get my hands on him -"

Jade stopped abruptly in front of Dawn, and Amanda, in her hurry to catch up, didn't notice and slammed into her from behind.

"Geez, watch it, Amanda! You could've knocked me over!"

"Shut.up." Jade growled. The three teens stood silently in the middle of the hallway, and that's when Dawn noticed the blood streaming out of the boys' washroom.

'Oh God oh God oh God,' she repeated in her head as she tried to think of what to do. But Jade decided for her. She pulled a stake from her bag and advanced on the door.

"What are you doing?!" Amanda asked in a high-pitched, panicked voice.

"I said shut up," Jade replied calmly in a level but decidedly frightening tone. She pushed the door, and the other two watched as she struggled to open it. Her shoes slid around in the blood at her feet, and she silently prayed she wouldn't fall into it.

Finally, she managed to get it open, and a body fell through the doorway and landed with a sickening 'plop' at her feet. Jade had to fight down the urge to run, and forced herself to look down.

Behind her, she heard Dawn gasp in horror, and was sure she could hear Amanda's heart beating manically in her chest. Lying there, dead on the floor, was Shawn, his throat torn by what she recognized as vampire bites.

She backed slowly away from the body and turned to her friends. Dawn produced two stakes from her bag and handed one to Amanda, who stared at it dumbfoundedly. Though neither knew how the other was aware of the existence of vampires, Dawn and Jade decided not to question it, and, for the moment, simply try to escape with their lives.

"Run," Dawn whispered, and the three girls took off down the hallway, each one hoping against all hope that the creature who had killed their friend was not lying in wait for them.