The whole gang sat in the Magic Box, waiting for Buffy. Giles was looking at about volume two hundred and something in a collection of dusty chronicles, Tara and Anya were having a tumb war while Willow and Xander watched.

"Hey guys!" Buffy called as she entered.

"Hey Buff! How're you doind, ready for slayage?" asked Xander.

"Aren't I always? So Giles, this gang will just be at the city dump?"

"They should be there tonight, yes, feeding, scavenging." Giles informed her, while cleaning his glasses.

"Well... not if I can help it." finished Buffy, loading up on weapons. "They shouldn't be too hard."

"Right guys, are we going? Giles, you coming with?"

"Er... no, I'll hit the books."

"But nothing majors going on at the moment, no reasearch's needed." she reminded him

"Well, it's never wrong to be prepared."

"You are in serious need of a life, Giles. But come on guys, dinner hour!"

Half an hour later they arrived at the dump.

"Oh my God! That smell!" cried Anya.

"It really doesn't get any better, does it?" remarked Xander. "Any spells to help, Will?"

"Only the save nose-removing one."

"Well, it was worth asking again. In fact, maybe we should give it a try, if it'll get rid of this tink of... stink."

A disturbance among the rubbish made Buffy look up.

"Guys, they're here. Time to kick ass!"

!That's not a gang of vamps, that's peroxide pest vamp!" Xander realised.

"Spike!" shouted Buffy.

"Someone say my name?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, what does it look like slayer, I'm helping!"

"Well, we don't need your help, Spike. Have you seen this vamp gang I have been hearing so much about?"

"They're dust"

"You staked them?"

"No, I shot them. Of Course I bloody staked them!"

"Well at least you're good for something." Buffy said, relenting slightly, but she couldn't hide the expression of disgust that appeared every time she saw him, or thought of him. "Go home Spike." she instructed him. "Passions is on." she said scathingly.

"No it's not, they moved it to Monday's and Wednesday's only a month ago!" he snarled at her. "But I can tell when I'm not wanted. I'm sure i can find something better to do than hang around with the slayer and her wanna-be's."

He stalked off.

"What makes you think we want you here?" Xander called after him. "Wanna-be's" he muttered, distastefully.

"Come on Xand, Spike's best left alone now that he's lost his bite like a little puppy dog, he's best left alone." reminded Buffy.

"You can say that again." agreed Xander.

"Well, I would but I can't remember the exact words." Buffy teased him. "Well, I guess or work was sort of done for us, annoying, but I suppose we should be a little grateful, as long as we don't tell him that. We don't want to encourage him to hang around us to get his kicks."

"I'm a little surprised he didn't ask for money, that's usually the only way for him to ever be useful." commented Willow.

"Don't worry. I'm sure he'll bring it up that we "owe him" next time he's short of cash." Buffy said.

"I'll bet." said Anya. "And of course, it'll come out of the cash register, as usual..."

Willow started looking around the dump. Most of it was trash, but some of it sparkled and shined, like there might have been little treasures hidden with all the junk. Suddenly her eyes caught on something familiar.

"Hey, look at this stuff!" She exclaimed.

"It's junk, Will." Said Buffy, giving her a strange look. "Maybe Giles isn't the only one that needs to get out more." she joked.

Willow shook her head. "No. They're trophies. Old trophies." She gestured towards them. "From Sunnydale High."

"Are you sure?" asked Anya "Wouldn't they have got destroyed in the explosion?"

"School go boom!" remarked Xander.

"Well maybe they were out for... cleaning or something." Willow suggested weakly. "But they are the same one's."

"Wow." said Xander. "Memories. bad memories mainly, but memories all the same."

"There's that cheerleading trophy" said Buffy.

"Oz always used to say it was as if the eyes followed you around." remembered Willow. "And there's that old photo of Catherine Madison, a little torn. It's funny, Tara and I were just talking about her earlier..."

"Catherine the Great." Buffy thought aloud, "What a nickname."

"I prefer the Buffster." Xander informed her.

"Buffy! Wach out!" Spike's cry came from the large gates in front of them.

"What the h-" Buffy began, but Spike interrupted her.

Behind you!" he warned.

A large, grotesque demon was fighting it's way towards them. It lunged for Xander, but he ducked out of the way. It started towards Buffy.

A fiere battle broke out, with Spike assisting her.

"What-Is-This-Thing?" Buffy asked breathlessly, in between giving and receiving hits.

"Cralt demon." Spike answered.The fact that he didn't need oxygen made it a lot easier for him to talk mid-fight. "Nasty little buggers. ugly too. No offence." he directed at the demon. "Wouldn't like your chances if you were alone. But-Thanbkfully-You've--Got-Me." he choked out, as the fight got rougher.

Then Buffy, with her best karate kick yet, snapped the demon's head clean off it's shoulders.

They both stopped to catch their breath. Well, Buffy stopped to catch her breath, again Spike being a vampire, he didn't need to.

"You're welcome." muttered Spike, aggresively.

"Oh, I'm sorry." said Buffy sarcastically. "I wasn't aware that you wanted to help me, I thought you just liked money and beating up uglies because you can't get a happy from biting humans anymore."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have to save your neck like that. In fact, yeah, you're right I would rather have bit it. I could have left you to get your ass kicked, but no." He snapped.

Buffy gave him another disgusted look.

"Oh Bollocks!" Spike exclaimed. "I've got Cralt demon all over me. Well I can't stand this stench anymore." he said, with a withering look at Xander.

"At least you don't have to breathe it in." retorted Xander

"Who said I was talking about the rubbish?" He shot back. "Anyway, i'm back off to my crypt to get changed. Your little theory that a vampire can be spotted by his out of date clothes defenitely doesn't apply to me, love."

Buffy's reply was "Don't call me love."

Willow helped Tara out from where she had been hiding with Anya behind the tyres. Xander reached for the bunny-hater's hand, but she slapped him away.

Always the independant one. He thought.

"Oh look, the trophy was broken during the fight." said Willow, slightly wistfully.

"Shame" said Xander. "But remember Will, these are bad memories. Baad high school memories that we don't need." He told her, leading her away.

"Why don't we meet and tell Giles about that demon tomorrow?" Buffy suggested.

"Ooh! While I'm working and making lots of money!" agreed Anya, enthusiastically.

"Sure, we'll see you there." Willow confirmed.

They all went there seperate ways but Buffy noticed that she was the only one who was walking alone. Of course, she was the only one who could truly walk alone safely. but it didn't make it any better.

Riley hasn't been gone long. She thought, as she continued down the path. But it's over. My one stable, normal relationship is over.

Just for a second, although she had many friends and family she felt like the most isolated, loneliest person in the world.

She mentally shook herself. She wouldn't allow herself to get mopey. Ever.