Buffy was so glad she had run into Gunn. He seemed nice, and human, which was a plus in her book. He told her how he had grown up on the streets of this neighborhood with his sister and friends. He had stumbled into this life on the streets, fighting vampires, just to survive. He chose to fight and she felt a surge of respect and pride well up within her as he spoke of his life here. She let him do most of the talking, partly to find out who he was and partly because she enjoyed listening to his story. The more he spoke the more she liked him. She was totally engrossed in his conversation, not really adding to it except the occasional 'really' or 'I see'. She was so caught up in the moment, she didn't even notice when they had stopped walking.

Gunn had absolutely no idea why he was talking so freely to this girl. She just seemed so nice and understanding and really easy to talk to. He watched her in awe fighting two vamps and dusting them on her own. He knew this girl kicked major demon ass and was a hottie too. As they walked together he found himself revealing much more about his life than he planned but she was such a good listener and he felt compelled to go on, and on, and on. Before he knew it, they were standing outside the very club she asked about. It was then he realized that he didn't even know this girls name. "Here I am chatting you all up and I didn't even ask your name."

Buffy was taken aback by the sudden realization that she didn't even tell him her name. "Oh Gunn, I am so sorry, my name is Buffy, Buffy Summers, nice to meet you." She extended her hand to him.

He smiled wide and took her hand. "Now that you know my story, how about you tell me how you took out those vamps. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you can't rock but you look so small."

Buffy smiled widely and decided since he already knew about vampires and beasties it couldn't hurt to tell him the truth. "I'm the Slayer." She stated simply, like everyone should know who she is.

"Say what?" Gunn replied back quickly. "What you some super hero or something?"

"No, well yea, something like that. I am the Slayer, one girl in all the world, yadda, yadda, yadda. I could try and explain it but it would take the rest of the night. My watcher could explain it better. I would like to tell you all about it but I was supposed to be meeting someone here a long time ago. Maybe we could get together again and talk." Buffy liked Gunn. He seemed nice and she thought he would fit into the Scooby Gang way easy. She now was worried that Whistler would leave to look for her and she didn't want to lose any more time finding Angel.

"Right, I have heard of the Slayer somewhere before. I thought you were a myth, I should have known better. Like vampires were ever supposed to be real." Gunn laughed a little. "Well we are here anyway. You want me to hang a little, make sure your date is still here?" He really didn't want to leave Buffy now. He really liked her and this was a bad neighborhood. Maybe he felt a small connection to her and he didn't want to let it go.

Buffy felt a shiver down her spine when Gunn said she was meeting a date. A date, who was he kidding, she was meeting a demon. It was a demon helping her but a demon none the less and he was definitely not a date. "I'm not meeting a date, just someone who is helping me find a lost friend." Buffy said with total distain in her voice and Gunn felt it. "Woe, sorry about that, didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." Gunn said with his hands up in front of him.

Buffy now felt bad. She wanted him to know that this wasn't a fun trip but she didn't mean to be nasty. "Sorry, I have been a little off lately. Let's just go in and see if my friend is here."

Sunnydale

The gang was in fight stance and waiting for the vamps to attack. Willow felt the hairs on the back of her neck standing strait up and she began to wonder what she was doing out here. She looked to Oz for support and wasn't disappointed. He could see the fear in her eyes and gave her his most soothing, loving smile. She melted in his gaze and found new courage.

Xander on the other hand was ready to get this over with. He was anxious and needed to do something quick before his fear got the better of him and he ran screaming home. He quickly glanced around at his friends and they all gave each other a nod of encouragement then moved forward towards the threat.

Giles was the first to attack them by sending a bolt thru the air striking its target and dusting one of the oncoming vamps. They didn't seem to notice the loss of one of their own as they continued to advance on the humans.

Xander was approached by a vamp in all leather. It was black and red pants with a matching jacket and he wore no shirt under his jacket to show off the eagle tattoo across his chest. He hit Xander in the face knocking him down to the ground. As Xander quickly jumped to his feet the putrid smell of this vamp hit his nostrils and he let out a yell, "man you stink ever heard of personal hygiene buddy?" The vamp let out a growl and lunged at Xander again. This time he ducked in time and came up with an uppercut to the vamps chin. He stumbled back but quickly recovered and ran at Xander again. Xander waited for his moment and when the vamp swung at him again, he ducked and struck the vamp in the chest dusting him. He jumped up and down yelling "I got him, I got him, did everyone see that."

He scanned around for his friends and saw Oz fighting with one vamp and Cordy and Willow hitting the back of another who was trying to bite a frightened looking Giles. He ran towards the girls with his stake held high. When the girls saw him coming, they quickly moved out of the way as Xander pushed his stake into the back of the vamp on Giles. It poofed in a cloud of dust and Xander quickly turned to help Oz.

Oz seemed to be holding his own for the moment. When Xander ran over to aid him the vamp turned and hit Xander in the gut knocking him to the ground and pushing all the air out of his lungs. Oz took the much needed distraction and retrieved his stake slamming it home and dusting the last vamp. He walked over to Xander and held out his hand to help him up off the ground. Xander gladly took it and stood.

The gang all looked at each other in silence. They survey the area and didn't see anything else. Cordy was the first to speak, "Well, that was interesting. I think I may have broken a nail."

The gang all looked at her and began to laugh. "I'm so glad that I am here to amuse you all. I have had enough fun for one night, I'm going home……..Can someone walk me home." Cordelia was tired but not stupid. After this little fight, no way was she walking home alone. "Sure thing Cordy, I think I'm finished too." Xander held out his arm to her. She gladly took it and they headed off together.

"Yes, well….I believe we have done our best to keep Sunnydale safe for the time being. We shall convene again in the morning at the library." Giles was so tired. He wanted nothing more than a hot cup of tea and the quiet of his apartment. Oz and Willow agreed and they all turned to walk home. Just then they heard the sound of someone clapping and abruptly turned back in that direction.

"Very impressive, what a display of courage and valor, yes I am very impressed." He began to walk closer to the gang. "Don't worry your selves; I am not going to attack you. I am simply here at my employers' request to tell you that he is here now. We have settled in this quaint little town of yours and we plan to become very comfortable. May I just add though, that was fantastic, how you worked together as a team to take out my minions." He began to clap again.

Giles was stunned at first but the more the man talked the more irritated he became. "Who are you and who is your employer?" Giles spat at the man.

"All in good time my friend. For now, just know that we will be watching your little group of do-gooders." With that said the man turned and walked away from the group.

"Ok, that was weird." Oz was a man a few words but when he did speak it was usually what everyone was thinking.

They were looking to Giles for answers and he was at a total loss for words. He removed his glasses in true Giles fashion and began to clean them. After a moment he placed them back on his face and shook his head. "Yes, weird indeed. I shall consult my books. Maybe there is something happening at the hell mouth now that is documented." Giles turned to leave as Willow cut in quickly, "maybe we should call Buffy, Giles. She would want to know if we are dealing with a new big bad." "No, not just yet, I think we should give her another day to finish her quest. If we are dealing with a new big bad, as you say, then we may need Buffy and Angel's help to deal with them."