A/N: Sorry for the extra-long wait. So much has been going on – school, a new job, other fanfic ideas – but I haven't abandoned this story!

"Morning, Giles," Buffy called as she, Willow, and Xander came into the library.

"Oh, good morning," Giles came out of his office, a steaming cup of tea in his hand. "So, how was your patrol last night?"

"Pretty uneventful," Buffy plopped down at the table. "Killed two vamps at the Bronze. You know, maybe we should hang a few crosses around there."

"Would help keep the vamps away," Xander nodded.

"Ooh!" Willow got her "clever idea" look. "You could put holy water in the sprinkler system, then set it off!"

"You know, I tried that once with a casino in Vegas," Buffy smiled. "Cleaned the whole place out, but not the kind of thing you can do repeatedly."

"While normally I would be happy to discuss creative ways to kill vampires," Giles sat down, "we have more immediate problems." He pulled out the newspaper. "There was another murder last night – a man named Arnold Newsome. Same M.O. as the previous ones."

"Colonel Arnold Newsome?" Xander grabbed the paper.

"You know him?" Giles inquired.

"He was one of the bigwigs at Vandeburg Air Force Base – where we got the rocket launcher and grenades from."

"Well, that is… interesting." Giles peered at the article. "I had thought that the victims might be randomly selected, but the chances of them picking a senior Air Force officer out of everyone in Sunnydale are fairly low. We should find out more about the other victims."

"Hey guys, I've got some information on the other victims," Cordelia announced as she entered.

"Good timing, Cordy!" Xander said.

"Well, the dead cop's name was Jack Crossworth. He'd been on the force for eight years. Before him, there was Michael Polinger, a retired airline pilot. And the first victim was Dr. Alexandra Maher, a surgeon at Sunnydale General."

"That's a lot of information," Giles took off his glasses. "Where did you get it?"

"I went over to the police station last night, told them I was a reporter writing an article on the murders. One of the officers told me just about everything."

"Good work," Buffy got up. "Anything else?"

"Well, according to the cop I spoke with, Jack Crossworth was an outstanding cop. Several citations for bravery, worked with underprivileged kids, that sort of thing. Polinger, the old guy, won the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. And I think that Dr. Maher had just won some sort of medical award."

"Thank you, Cordelia." Giles replaced his glasses. "Now we have to determine what connects these people.

"They were all heroes," Willow said.

"Come again?" Giles asked.

"Well, you've got the cop – he had citations for bravery. The surgeon – she's saving lives every day!"

"The retired guy won the Medal of Honor," Xander deadpanned. "Which can only be awarded for risking your life above and beyond the call of duty." Buffy should have one, he thought.

"Right. Well, look at Colonel Newcombe's obituary on page nine," Willow pointed to the page.

"'Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as a pilot in the Gulf War'," Cordelia read aloud.

"So, Giles, know of any demons that go after heroes?" Buffy asked.

"More than I would like to," Giles got up. His voice took on a very grim tone.

"Most demons are basically selfish. They seek food, pleasure, or power. They see humans as prey, nothing more. But demons that target heroes, they aspire to be something more than just demons. They hold up evil as an ideal, committing evil acts for their own sake."

"Like the Master," Buffy got an uncomfortable look.

"Precisely. Had he succeeded in opening the Hellmouth, he would not have become ruler of the world. At best, he would have served one of the pure demons that came through. But that wasn't the point. What mattered was that every single human would eventually suffer a horrible death because of what he did. To put it very bluntly, it was the worst thing imaginable that he could do."

Everyone was silent for a moment as they digested what Giles had said. Xander had never really considered why the Master had wanted to destroy the world. He had just thought of him as a comic book supervillain, who didn't need a reason to do evil – all too true. It was difficult to grasp that someone – even a vampire – would actually want to do something like that.

Finally, Buffy spoke.

"Well, Angel said that he'd see if he could find anything."

Angel sauntered into Willy's Bar. It was the middle of the day, and the place was empty. Perfect for gathering information. Angel didn't get along with Willy's usual clientele, and Willy was much more open when he was alone.

"Hey, Angel," Willy greeted him. "What can I get you?"

"Well, I could use some information," Angel replied, putting a hint of menace in his voice. "Someone's been killing humans in their own homes. Know anything?"

"Apart from what I read in the paper?" Willy shook his head. "I haven't heard anything. Sorry."

"You're sure?" Angel upped the menace. "Three humans have been stabbed to death in their homes, but no valuables taken."

"Four, actually – wait, did you say 'stabbed'?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, recently, several vampires have been booted out of their lairs and crypts. Apparently, a lot of the demons that normally live underground are moving to the surface. There was this one vamp last night, said he heard something about guys with knives underground."

That was… actually quite a bit of information. Though "underground" wasn't that helpful in Sunnydale. "Did he say anything more specific?"

"Something about not even demons being safe in the Hellmouth. Anyway, the vamps have moved back into the factory. Place was deserted after you and your girl kicked Spike and his gang out."

"Thanks, Willy." Angel turned around and left.

"Anytime, Angel."

"Cordelia?"

Cordelia turned around to see Xander standing behind her in the hallway.

"What is it?"

"Can we talk?

And by "talk" you mean "make out". Not that Cordelia particularly minded. "OK."

Xander led Cordelia into a nearby closet. She leaned in to kiss him. Surprisingly, he put his hand up.

"What's wrong, Xander?" He had never acted this way before.

"I actually wanted to talk, for once." Off her expression: "Seriously."

"About what?" This was rather new. Most of time, talking with Xander meant fighting with Xander.

"About you going to the police, getting information from them."

Cordelia blushed. "Yeah, I know, it was –"

"- very impressive."

"Impressive?"

"Well, for one, I would never have thought of going to the cops and pretending to be a reporter. I don't think I'd be able to pull it off. Usually, I just let Willow hack into their servers."

"Oh." Now Cordelia felt superior again.

"But more importantly, you did it on your own. You did it without me or Giles or Buffy or Willow telling you to. Why did you do it?"

Cordelia got defensive. "I did it because some demon is killing people, Xander!"

He smiled. "Exactly. You did it because it was the right thing to do." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Congratulations – you are officially a member of the Scooby Gang."

Had Xander said that two months ago, she would have scoffed. But now, she actually felt honored.

"I still feel kinda bad about lying to the cops," she said.

"Lying to people who don't know about vampires and demons is an essential part of being in the Scooby Gang," he assured her. "I mean, I lie to my parents all the time. Buffy lies to pretty much everyone. It's for their own protection."

"I see." She was silent for a moment. Finally, her mind wandered back to the start of the conversation. "Now can we make out?"

"Sure."

"Honey? I'm home!" Buffy smiled as she said it. It was so cheesy, but it felt right. It was… domestic. Which was exactly what she needed in order to settle in to her new home.

"Buffy!" Angel got up from the table. He came over and kissed her.

"So, how was your day?" he asked.

"Oh, the usual. Giles thinks that whatever's behind these murders is targeting heroes." She set down her bag. "Anything on your end?"

"I went to see Willy. Nothing much, but he mentioned that something's been driving demons away from the Hellmouth – guys with knives. The demons, in turn, are driving out the vamps from their crypts, so they're moving onto the surface. A bunch are at the factory."

"You went to Willy?" Buffy was surprised. "And you trust him after he sold you out to Spike?"

"Buffy, the world isn't as black-and-white as you think. Sure, there are good people like us, and there are demons like Spike. But then there's people like Willy. He may not have much in the way of morals, but he's useful to us. Don't worry, you'll understand eventually?"

"'Eventually'?" Buffy set down her bags. "Like I'm not old enough to understand it now? As far as I see it, Willy sold you to Spike. He can't be trusted."

"I'm not trying to insult you, Buffy!" Angel's voice rose slightly. "But you're only seventeen. I'm over 200. I have life experience that you don't."

"'Life experience'?" Buffy scoffed. "Let's summarize your 'life experience'. You spent your youth drinking and whoring, without any accomplishments you could feel proud of."

"Buffy…"

"Then you became a vampire, and spent the next hundred years killing and torturing as many people as you could."

"Buffy…" Angel was really getting agitated now.

"Then you got a soul – and not because you wanted one – and spent another hundred years moping around before the Powers got you off your ass."

"Buffy!" he shouted. She didn't let up.

"On the other hand, I may not have much 'life experience', but I've spent the last two years actually doing things. Fighting vampires. Saving the world. I have been in a mental asylum, I was cursed by a witch, hell I died! So don't talk to me as if I'm some kid and you're a wise old man. I've done more in my life than you ever have!"

She turned around and walked out the door.

The minute she got outside, she started crying. And once again, Angel was there to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Angel. I shouldn't have brought up your past," she sobbed.

"I shouldn't have talked down to you," he replied. "It's easy to forget all you've done, all you've been through."

"Got any 'life experience' in dealing with fights like this?" she asked dryly.

"Well, if Darla and I got angry with each other, we'd find some people to kill. Let off some steam." He laughed a little. "Not much help here."

A light bulb went off in Buffy's head. She pulled away from Angel.

"Didn't you say that a bunch of vamps had moved back into the factory?"

"I did." Angel was getting the are-you-thinking-what-I'm-thinking look.

"Get out the weapons."