Chapter 1: Staring Contests

A/N: I just wanted to clear up any confusion: the only Sunnydale survivors are Buffy, Xander, Vi, Kennedy, and a few other potentials. That's it. Not even the Scythe made it out. It's all very tragic, I know. Just how this could ever happen will be explained… later. I'm definitely not trying to gloss over this, though. And there is still much fallout to be had. Buffy's just repressing.

Buffy walked into Fangtasia, immediately struck by how it was so not what she expected. At all. Of course, the only other experiences that came close were the times with Ford and Riley, so there was no place to go but up.

Still, she went in fully prepared to be uncomfortable and even mildly disgusted, but she just couldn't muster it. It was difficult not to be amused by the spectacle of it all.

It was touristy. Humans were objectifying the vampires. And were they merchandising?

The décor definitely left a lot to be desired, in her opinion. Red lights, red walls, red curtains, red candles... There was such a thing as too much red after all. The music was only marginally better. Spike would've loved it, though. She could almost see him now, sitting at the bar with a bottle of blood.

Spike.

God, she missed him. Somehow, against all odds, that annoying vampire had wormed his way into her heart. And then he had to go all heroic on her and save the world.

Buffy swallowed the lump in her throat while unconsciously shaking her head.

Now was not the time to think about him. She had a mission to focus on, and thinking about the blonde vampire would crack that impressive dam she was carefully building around her emotions. It would also inevitably lead to thoughts of Willow, Giles, Faith, and most of all, Dawn…

Then there would be one blubbering mess of a slayer in the middle of a vamp bar. And wouldn't that make an impressive image? She could just kiss any street cred she had goodbye, if she even had any with these vamps. As it was, she was already frustrated by her stunning lack of success earlier that day. No one could remember seeing Vi at all, not that she necessarily believed them.

No, she had to concentrate. Maybe even have a game plan.

This definitely wasn't easy. Without the Scooby gang, she was a one-Slayer operation, doing all the research, planning, recon, everything. Luckily, Giles had the foresight to take out a life insurance policy a long time ago, making her the benefactor, so at least she wasn't lacking in money. She sure as hell wasn't going to be able to collect on her homeowner's insurance. The whole damn town collapses and all the insurance company would say was that 'earthquake damage' wasn't covered.

Still, she had to admit, working alone was also kind of freeing. This thought was followed by an enormous amount of guilt, crushing even, but it didn't make it any less true. After dealing with the potentials for so long, and then having everyone turn on her, it felt nice to only have to answer to herself. She could play as fast and loose as she wanted, relying on her instincts and taking whatever risks she felt necessary. And she definitely was willing to take some.

It wasn't that she had a death wish, per se, but she was playing to win and had nothing to lose. For the first time, she really understood what Faith's life must have been like.

She scanned the crowd as unobtrusively as possible. Fangtasia was the logical place to start her search, for several reasons. The most obvious was that it was too coincidental for this not to be vamp-related.

Unfortunately, she also knew that the chances were pretty high that Vi had come here. After the Hellmouth had closed, her friend had gone home and tried to pick up where she left off. But she had seen too much and she was too damned curious. She wanted to know more about the other types of vampires, and so she planned a cross-country trip, hitting well-known vamp spots. Fangtasia was her first stop because apparently it had a fabulous marketing campaign.

Buffy warned her against it, but it was no use. Underneath that sweet exterior, that girl could be really stubborn when she wanted to be.

What was it that Vi had said? Oh yeah, that every girl needed a hobby. Smart ass.

Even though she wasn't a slayer anymore, Vi could take care of herself. Buffy knew that. The shy girl had transformed into a confident woman with a good head on her shoulders. Still, Buffy would've been happy if she had decided to take up bird-watching instead.

Buffy forced herself to take a deep breath. She was short on patience, and the clock was ticking.

Her eye briefly settled on a vampire who was sitting in an imposing-looking chair. He was purposefully situated so that he was like a king overseeing his court.

Buffy inwardly rolled her eyes. Dramatic much?

He was obviously the vamp in charge and pretty happy lording over everyone else. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she wandered over to the bar and ordered a coke. She then sat down on one of the empty stools, situating herself so that she could see as much of the club as possible.

As she took in the scene, a few vampires attempted to talk to her. She quickly brushed them off, and they hissed their displeasure, angered that a human would be so arrogant as to turn down their advances. Why was she there, after all?

Buffy didn't have time for them, though. All she had to do was take one look at them to know that they had no valuable information. They were really just looking for… what was the term? Oh yeah, 'fang bangers'. Charming.

Sighing, Buffy turned her attention back to the crowd, taking copious mental notes. It was fascinating, really. It didn't mean she was ready for group hugs or sing-a-longs, and if these vamps had anything to do with Vi's disappearance, then nothing on earth would keep them safe from her; it was just so different from what she knew.

Every now and then her gaze was inadvertently pulled over to Throne Boy. But wasn't that the point of his little furniture arrangement?

She had to admit, he was pretty damn hot, all tall and blonde and glowery. Not that she was looking for anything that came even close to lusty thoughts, let alone romantic ones. And especially not with a vampire, with or without a soul. That didn't mean she lost all ability to appreciate a hottie when she saw one, though, and Mr. Lord and Master over there was definitely one.

Just then she accidentally caught his eye. His gaze was intense and scrutinizing, like she was the most fascinating bug under his microscope. And was he frowning? She sat up straight and looked him directly in the eye, sending him a cold look. She would be damned before she let a vamp give her that look when she hadn't even had the chance to piss him off yet, powerful hottie or not.

She knew that this would draw his attention and most likely his anger, but she didn't care. Maybe it was the Slayer in her rising to the challenge, or maybe it was just her problem with authority figures. It didn't matter, because the end result was the same: one pissed off Slayer. Subtlety never was her strong suit. And besides, it wasn't like she wouldn't have to interact with the vamps here at some point. Why not start at the top?

Secretly, she thought that maybe, just maybe, she had a death wish after all.

With a shrug of dismissal to both her line of thought and the scowling vamp, she turned her focus back on the crowd. She watched some vamp dancers seduce the enthralled human onlookers for a little bit before shaking her head ruefully. So much had changed, and she was just trying to keep up.

Eric idly scanned the crowd at Fangtasia. It was a slow night, and he was bored. A few human hangers-on had attempted to speak with him, but they had been dealt with.

He was just beginning to think that he would have to make his own fun when someone caught his eye. She was human, a very attractive one.

Although she was seated, Eric could see that she had a lithe, if petite, frame. She was wearing a form-fitting green t-shirt that accentuated toned arms and golden tan. Her hair was also golden, and it cascaded down her back in long waves. She almost reminded him of a doll, except her eyes were a little too large and languid and her mouth was a little too pouty, a little too sinful, to be a child's innocent plaything.

He had seen plenty of beautiful women before, though; women who were more beautiful than she. That was not what caught his attention. No, he had just watched as several vampires made attempts to talk to her. And he saw how she effortlessly brushed them all off. She was here on a mission, it seemed, and that didn't include chatting with vampires. And she certainly wasn't acting like a star-struck tourist. Curious.

Then it happened. Her gaze fell on Eric's, sharp green eyes looking straight at him, and she didn't look away. This piqued his interest. Most humans didn't look him in the eye, at least not so steadily, whether it was because of fear or hero-worship or both. But this tiny slip of a girl stared back at him unabashedly. And did he detect a hint of scorn?

He felt a flare of annoyance. Just who did she think she was?

To add insult to injury, she looked away first, almost as a rebuff, before turning her attention back the crowd.

"Pam," Eric said in a low voice. His second in command immediately appeared next to him. He nodded his head toward the girl. "Who is that?"

The tall blonde looked to where Eric had just indicated. "I don't know. I've never seen her before. Pretty little thing," she lightly commented.

Eric just replied in an almost lazy tone, "Get her. I wish to speak to her."

Pam shot him a look of mild amusement before doing as she was told. As she made her way toward the girl, she wondered what it was about this human that had caught Eric's interest. She certainly didn't look like much.

As she drew closer to her quarry, Pam pushed this thought aside. It didn't really matter, did it? Eric had his reasons, and there would almost certainly be fun involved. A small smile curved her lips as she purposefully walked right up to the human until their bodies were almost touching. She looked down and waited expectantly.

The girl looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?" she asked politely.

"This may be your lucky night, or your worst nightmare," Pam drawled. "Your presence is requested."

"By whom?" the girl asked, wide-eyed and innocent.

Pam would've believed it, too, if she didn't see the smirk lurking beneath the surface. "Don't play games, girl," she snapped impatiently before schooling her features into one of calm indifference. "The Sheriff has made people pay dearly for far less."

The girl then had the gall to think about it, cocking her head to the side as if there were any other answer but yes. After a few beats too many, she slid off the bar stool in one fluid motion, as if she were made of water.

Looking Pam straight in the eye and with that damn smirk still lingering, the girl said dryly, "Take me to your leader."

Pam didn't know whether to rip the girl's throat out right then and there or enjoy watching Eric do it, for there was no way the Sheriff of Area 5 would tolerate the blatant disrespect emanating from this girl. She decided on the latter, seeing as he did still want to talk to her, which would be difficult if she lacked a throat.

The taller woman made a direct path back to Eric, taking long strides just to make the shorter girl walk quickly to keep up. To her chagrin, the girl seemed unfazed and managed to stay in step just fine.

"Eric," Pam said dryly, stepping aside so the girl could approach. Then she waited for the fireworks to begin.

Eric looked the girl up and down without any trace of emotion on his face. She was even more fantastic standing, though he could now see that she had a worn, tired look to her. And she was still looking him straight in the eye, completely unafraid. In fact, if he was not mistaken, she was assessing him as much as he was her, with a cold, hard look in her eye. She also was unfazed by his silence, standing there almost unnaturally still in a deceptively relaxed pose.

This girl screamed danger, real danger. And he was intrigued.

Maybe the night would not be as tedious as he had originally thought.