"So, Killian's a vampire?"

"Yeah," Emma sighed, as she took a seat on the stone bench beside her friend. The two women had told August they were headed to the bathroom to deal with 'women's problems' in order to get a moment alone. And he'd quickly ushered them off, promising to meet them in the library when they were done. Zelena hated lying to him, but she also knew that their friend desperately needed someone to talk to.

"But he's not just any vampire," Emma continued bitterly. "He's one that's notorious for killing slayers. God, I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid, Emma. He offered to help you. I don't think anyone in your position would have taken that as an indication that he was a vampire."

"But I should have. I should have been able to sense who he was. I should have at least suspected that something was going on, Zelena. But I didn't. I let his pretty face distract me and now… I'm probably the biggest laughing stock the underworld's ever seen."

"You are not a laughing stock," she protested fiercely. After all, Emma was talking about her friend there, and nobody spoke about Zelena's friends that way. At least, not to her face. "He just… isn't it possible that he's changed?" she hedged.

"Can vampires change?"

Both women sat in silence for a moment as they considered that question. It was probably one that Gold would have a better answer for, but Emma wasn't in the mood to share her epic fuckup with her watcher just yet.

"It doesn't matter anyway. You and I both know that he hasn't changed," she sighed. "I mean, have you seen anything about good vampires in those journals that you've read so far."

Zelena pursed her lips and shook her head. From what little she'd read, the life of a slayer was normally incredibly isolated and very short. She was oddly pleased that vampires had tried to kill her when they had, because at least that meant Emma wouldn't have to cope with all of these changes in her life alone, like many of the slayers before her. And maybe, just maybe, that would mean that her friend would be able to survive a little longer, thanks to the added help she would get along the way.

"We should get to the library before August sends out a search party," Emma chuckled, pushing herself back up to her full height as she swung her bag over her shoulder. "I need to make a detour and grab my gym stuff before we do, though."

"Is it odd that I'm looking forward to watching Gold train you?" Zelena asked. "He seems like a really nice guy but… he looks like he'd enjoy gym class less than I do. And I really hate gym class."

"Not at all. I mean, they really couldn't have picked an odder bunch of people to oversee the physical training of teenaged girls," Emma giggled.

"Oooooff."

Gold's back hit the floor once more with a dull thud, and for a moment, the watcher remained where he was, winded by the action.

"Do you wanna go again?" Emma asked brightly, as she extended a hand down to help him up.

"No! There'll be no need for that. It seems like you have the basics covered here. Why don't you try turning your attention to the bag for a while? That way… I might be able to walk tomorrow." Gold hobbled his way awkwardly through to his office, presumably to make himself a cup of tea and nurse his wounds in private, while Emma did just as he'd asked, and turned her attention to the punching bag that now hung from the center of the room.

It was cathartic to take out all of her frustrations on the bag, instead of bottling them up. Emma didn't have to worry about holding herself back to protect those around her. And the more she allowed her instincts to take over, the more freeing it became and the easier it was just to let go. She hadn't realized how hard she'd been hitting the bag until one particular punch she landed split the seam, and sand came pouring out all over the floor.

"Woah. I think somebody found her inner slayer," August chuckled.

"Yeah. I uh, I guess I did."

"I'll go and get a broom," Gold announced, as he disappeared back into his office once more. Emma had been so lost in the moment that she hadn't even seen him leave it to begin with.

"Maybe um… maybe I should try hitting the streets?" she suggested. "It's like August said, I clearly found my inner slayer. And someone needs to keep an ear to the ground about this whole Hellmouth thing."

"We could come with you," August offered, eyeing the crossbow in the weapon's cage once more.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Emma cringed a little even as she said the words. She was hoping that her friends wouldn't take them as an insult. She just knew that she'd never be able to live with herself if something ended up happening to them on her watch. "I'm not entirely sure that I can take care of myself right now, so I don't want to do something that would end up putting you guys in danger."

"Someone should be watching out for you," Zelena protested. She left the 'now that Killian's not,' part unspoken, but Emma knew exactly what her friend had meant.

"I'm not sure it works like that, but thanks. I'm uh… I'm gonna go and get changed and then load up," she said, turning on her heels to leave the room before she could talk herself out of her own plan.

Gold hadn't been too happy about the idea of Emma heading out alone without any kind of backup. He didn't put up much of a fight, however, when she pointed out that from what they'd read so far, every slayer always patrolled without backup.

But when she was finally on the streets alone, Emma's confidence faltered. Everything seemed bigger and scarier in the dark, especially now that she knew what lurked in the shadows.

She hadn't gotten far when she sensed something behind her. Or, more accurately, someone. Emma cursed her lack of training at that moment because she couldn't tell if that someone was friend or foe, and she didn't want to let on that she knew she was being followed. So she did the only thing she could think to do and kept her strides even as headed for familiar ground. The school felt like the perfect place to seek refuge. Emma knew the campus well enough to know how to get around it, and she knew where she'd find more weapons, should she need them.

When she could finally see the building in the distance, she turned and planted her feet as she called out, "show yourself."

A part of her had been expecting Killian to emerge from the shadows. After all, he had that creepy stalker-like tendency nailed. So the yellow eyes and manic glare that slowly materialized from the darkness had her taking a step back in horror.

"Aww, were you expecting someone else?" the female vampire drawled.

Emma reached behind her back to pull out the wooden stake that was tucked into her waistband as she tried to school her features. "I'm sorry. I was just a little shocked by your appearance," she quipped. "I think you should talk to your dermatologist about a career change. Between the two of us, you're really showing your age tonight."

The vampire snarled a little as she took another step forward, placing herself under the warm glow of the nearest street lamp. It took Emma a moment to recognize her soon-to-be assailant, and when she did, her heart sank. This was the vampire that Killian had warned her to stay away from. The one he'd most likely turned centuries before she'd been born.

"Killian's not here," the vampire taunted, as she held her arms open and turned once under the spotlight the lamp provided. "I know you were expecting him. Probably even hoping that he was the one who had been following you. Hoping that he'd come and beg for your forgiveness, or plead for you to hear his tragic backstory. But that's not gonna happen tonight. Tonight… you're gonna die scared and alone, only feet away from where all of your little friends are waiting for you. And while you lay out here, bleeding to death, I'll be in there… ripping out their throats."

The last thing Emma heard before the vampire moved was a menacing snarl, but it didn't come from the woman charging at her.

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