Chapter 7: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition

A/N: Thanks to my betas – Jason, leathon, murg, SariLane, and satsuma – for their help!
A/N2: Thank you, DaniD, frizzy, pensivegal, pureevil, and RockyWilliams, for the recs!

~ flashback ~

Vi stepped out of Fangtasia to get some fresh air. Though it was hot outside, it was nice to leave the noisy, crowded bar for a few minutes. There was a boisterous tourist group taking pictures out front, however, so Vi decided to take a short walk.

As she began to stroll down the street, she noticed a couple duck into an alley next to the bar. Curious, she walked over and looked down the passageway. But the couple was no where to be found.

They must be around the corner, she thought, for she could see that the alley curved around the back of bar.

She could also see a door at the far end, probably a side entrance to Fangtasia. Actually, as alleys went, it wasn't bad. It was mostly clean and decently lit. Vi wasn't surprised; the Fangtasia vamps obviously wanted to keep things on the up and up, and dark, dirty alleys just asked for trouble.

After looking down the alley for another minute, she turned to leave. Whoever they were, they were clearly two consenting individuals. Besides, she wanted to be as far away from them as possible; she had already witnessed Fangtasia's strict enforcement of the 'No Biting on the Premises' policy.

That's when she heard it: the slight sounds of scuffling and a faint moan coming from the exact place the couple disappeared.

I'm not a Slayer anymore. I'm not a Slayer anymore, she thought, even as she stealthily made her way down the alley.

It wasn't the brightest thing to do, but she couldn't turn away. Even though she wasn't a Slayer anymore, she still had good instincts. Those instincts were now telling her that these were sounds someone made when they were struggling. And she had seen too much, done too much, not to investigate.

Still, she had her doubts. She wasn't naïve enough to think that the new kind of vamps never killed anymore. But here? Behind Fangtasia? Somehow it didn't ring true, and it was that doubt that convinced her to look into what was going on before raising the alarm. For all she knew, she was going to be very embarrassed when she stumbled upon an intimate scene.

Not for the first time, she cursed her non-Slayer status. Even though she only had that power for a few short days, it was amazing, exhilarating, and she felt truly alive. And then it was gone.

She had told herself – and Buffy – that this trip was for educational purposes, and it was. If she was truthful with herself, however, she knew it was also because she was a tiny bit curious about becoming a vampire, especially since she could hold onto her soul and not kill people. Not that she would go through with it. Probably. Maybe.

Vi bit back a sigh. No, she would be happy being an ordinary human. Then she grinned. Well, an ordinary human with a stake, a small vial of holy water, and kick-ass martial arts skills.

It was those skills alone that saved her at that precise moment when someone came hurtling toward her as she rounded the corner. She was able to sidestep the attack and execute a foot sweep, using her assailant's momentum against him to send him crashing to the ground.

She quickly jumped to her feet and looked at her attacker, or more specifically, his game face. This wasn't a true vamp; it was a hybrid. She immediately felt her heart race in anticipation. Hybrids were pretty scarce since they closed the Hellmouth. This was the first one she saw since she left Sunnydale actually.

Without a moment's hesitation, she quickly pulled out a stake she had hidden and plunged it into the vamp's heart. She watched with great satisfaction as he disintegrated in a plume of dust.

Hmm, probably a newbie. Luckily… she thought. Then she froze. Wait, this wasn't the guy I saw walk into the alley-

Before she could finish that thought, someone tackled her from behind. As she fell to the ground, she thought she saw someone at the end of the alley. Before she could yell for help, however, she made contact with the asphalt as the vamp fell on top of her.

Every bone in her body groaned in protest as she got the wind knocked out of her. As she lay on the ground, struggling to get her breath back, she saw a man leaning against the wall. It was the guy who had entered the alley with the vamp, and he wasn't looking too good. He had a dazed look on his face as blood trickled out of two neat puncture wounds on his neck.

"Impressive," a female voice breathed in her ear. "It's not going to save you, but it's impressive. If I wasn't supposed to leave a warning for the Sheriff, I would consider having a little fun with you, human."

"You still can," Vi grunted as she slammed her head back into the vamp's face. It was just hard enough to make the vampire slightly loosen her grip. Vi looked over toward the man and shouted, "Go! Get help!"

Eyes wide, the man just stared for a second. Then without another word, he got to his feet and made a break for it. Unfortunately, the only way out was past the two on the ground.

With a snarl, the vamp jumped to her feet and grabbed his arm to stop him. Vi had anticipated this, however, and reached for her vial of holy water the moment the vampire had jumped off of her. She quickly opened it and tossed the contents at the vamp's face.

The vamp howled in pain as her skin sizzled. She let go of the man's arm as she tried to backhand Vi.

Vi ducked and tried to follow the man, but the vamp was too quick. Before she knew it, the vamp was holding her from behind in an impossible grip, using one arm to restrain her and the other to wrench her head to the side, exposing her neck.

"I'm glad you came along, little girl. You'll be a much better message than that other human," the female vamp delighted. She looked at Vi closely and smiled. "Look how you're shivering. The poor little lamb is afraid."

But Vi wasn't scared; she was shaking with rage and frustration. She had fought dozens of Turok-han on the Hellmouth and she was going to die here at the hands of a hybrid minion who wasn't even after her because of who she was, or had been? She was just going to be a freakin' message? She snorted at the indignity of it all.

And yet it was true. She felt an intense, sharp pain as the vampire bit into her neck and began to drink. Although it hurt like hell, Vi refused to give the vamp the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Instead she heard the vamp make a surprised sound of delight. Vi idly wondered about that, but her thoughts moved elsewhere as her vision swam and she felt herself weakening from the blood loss. On the bright side, the pain was almost gone. It was a very small consolation, though.

She was dimly aware of a crash behind her. Suddenly, the vamp that was holding her up to feed had vanished, and she felt herself falling to the ground. After some sounds of scuffling, something light sprinkled down on her face. Ashes. The vamp that was killing her was dust. If she had just the tiniest bit more strength, she would've laughed in delight. Vi felt someone, her one-minute-too-late savior, gently pick her up. A vaguely familiar face swam into her rapidly fading vision.

The bartender from Fangtasia. Chow.

She had talked to Chow quite a bit over the past week. At first, he was a bit taciturn, but after he realized she wasn't going to ask him silly questions or worse, try to form a fan club, he warmed up. In his opinion, very few humans who entered Fangtasia treated vampires with the respect they deserved, but Vi was one of them.

He quickly assessed the damage. She could've sworn she saw something flicker in his eyes as he looked at the wound on her neck – surprise, wonder, even? – but that could've been the blood loss talking.

"You've lost too much blood. You're dying," he stated, showing no emotion either way over her predicament.

She was able to muster a weak smile. "Kinda figured that out on my own." She closed her eyes and took a ragged breath. "Worst vacation ever, and that's saying a lot."

He studied her for another moment. "I could make you a vampire," he asked solemnly.

At first Vi thought that he was joking or being cruel; then she saw that he was serious. She blinked in shock. She didn't know whether he was offering to sire her out of pity, impulse, or just to stick it to those damn hybrids, but she wasn't going to give him a chance to change his mind. Call her weak, but she didn't want to die in an alley, no matter how clean it was. Add to that the thought of having that power back with a soul… It took her less than a second to answer. She'd deal with the consequences later.

"Please."

It was a whisper, barely audible. Luckily, she was talking to a vampire with supernatural hearing. He gave her a small smile and bent over her neck. She barely felt his fangs pierce her skin, hardly felt his blood flowing into her mouth a few seconds later.

Then there was nothing.

~ end flashback ~

Vi fidgeted in her chair. She felt Eric, Pam, and Chow's eyes on her as they sat around Eric's desk. This whole vampire hierarchy thing was still very new to her, but it didn't take a centuries-old vamp to figure out that she was in a crapload of trouble. She also knew that she was compelled to tell the Sheriff of Area 5 what he wanted to know; Chow, too, for that matter, seeing as he was her maker. And they wanted to know about Buffy. Just great.

Up until this very moment, Vi wasn't sure they even knew about Slayers, however unlikely that seemed. After all, Slayers didn't know about them until the Great Revelation. Generally, the whole 'mortal enemies' thing didn't work if only one side knew about it. And if they did know, they obviously didn't have the hybrids' 'kill or be killed' mentality; otherwise, Slayers would've known about them long ago. At least Vi had that going for her.

She cursed herself for not being better prepared for this. She thought that she'd have much more time, though, both to feel Chow out about Slayers and to explain everything to Buffy. It wasn't like she had to have a background check before she became a vamp.

She didn't count on the adjustment period, however. Her focus had pretty much been on nothing but blood, blood, and more blood the past few days. Who knew that newly made vamps needed so much? And learning how to control her blood lust so she didn't kill anyone? So much easier said than done. On top of that, she was never left alone. She had obviously taken too much time, though, and now the Sheriff knew about the Slayer.

This could mean only one thing; Buffy was in Shreveport looking for her. She had to be; it was the only logical explanation. And knowing Buffy, she had probably made one hell of an impression.

At least Eric was clearly not a pile of vampire goo; that was encouraging. Maybe, just maybe, there was a chance that they all could walk away from this situation. Of course, she would have to get through this night first.

"Buffy's looking for me," she said as calmly as she could.

Eric didn't immediately respond, which did nothing for her nerves. But maybe that was the point.

"And causing quite a stir around town in the meantime," he finally said, an inscrutable look on his face.

Unsure of what to make of his comment, Vi smiled nervously. "Yeah, she tends to do that. It's part of her charm actually."

He ignored this comment and jumped right to the heart of the situation. "You should've told us that you know the Slayer. And that she would come looking for you," he said quietly. His displeasure was obvious, descending around Vi like a pall.

She cringed; she wanted the inscrutable look back. Glancing at Chow, she fervently hoped that she at least didn't take him down with her. It was a poor way to repay the person who saved her life. Well, in a manner of speaking.

"I know. And I was going to, I swear," she said emphatically. At Pam's delicate scoff of disbelief, she got a little defensive. "Well, eventually. It isn't exactly the easiest topic to bring up, you know."

Eric frowned. "That may be, but this is the Slayer, not some pathetic human looking for their lost loved one. It's fortunate for you that she has not harmed anyone," he replied evenly. "Now tell me; is she a threat?"

"No," Vi said immediately. Then she paused. "Well, not exactly. She knows we're different than the hybrids. As long as we don't hurt any innocents…"

"Define 'innocent'," Pam requested, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Vi inwardly winced. Chow had explained to her how Eric kept tight control over his territory, making sure nothing happened that would jeopardize the peace between humans and vampires, i.e. the wholesale killing of humans. But that didn't mean he and the others had any qualms over doing non-Slayer friendly things to those they thought deserved it.

"As long as humans aren't disappearing and she isn't attacked, Buffy won't give you any problems," she insisted.

Eric weighed her words. "You seem convinced of this. But what will you do if she does harm one of us? Are you willing to take responsibility?" he pressed.

Vi gulped, but she didn't hesitate. "Yes," she said as confidently as possible, though the sudden gleam in Eric's eye was unsettling. "If anything happens, it's my fault. The only reason Buffy is here is to find out what happened to me, so-"

"What will she do when she finds out?" Chow interrupted. Usually, he was a silent member in Eric's meetings, but he was protective of his new childe.

"Well, she's not going to be happy," she admitted, as she pictured Buffy's possible reactions, none of them pretty. It didn't help that she wasn't hating her new undead life. Well, except for this part.

Her apprehension must have shown on her face, because all three vampires were suddenly giving her dubious looks. She rushed to reassure them.

"But once I explain the circumstances to her, she'll accept it… eventually. Besides, it's not like I'm breaking new ground here."

This got Eric's attention, not that she felt it was lacking before.

"What do you mean?" he asked, staring at her intently. "She's associated with vampires before?"

She bit her lip, silently cursing her big mouth. "She's had truces with vamps and demons. You know, the non-evil ones," she said cautiously, trying to be as vague as possible.

She was so not bringing up Spike or Angel. She didn't care if she got in trouble for this later. There were some lines friends just didn't cross, and dishing about one's love life to pre-destined enemies was one of them.

Luckily for her, Eric didn't probe any further; he had something else on his mind. "Truces are one thing," he said slowly. "But why would she save one of our kind from Drainers?"

Vi burst out laughing, despite the gravity of the situation. "Buffy saved a vamp? Oh, I wish I was there to see that. She must've been so cranky," she said gleefully.

She quickly sobered when she saw that she was the only one finding the funny in this. Still, she felt herself relax a little. Buffy was causing major confusion because she was not threatening them, and they didn't know how to handle her.

"What can I say? Buffy's no ordinary Slayer," she shrugged.

"That much is apparent," Eric said, the tiniest bit of amusement creeping into his voice. "I would have thought someone with her… abilities would gravitate towards the Fellowship."

To everyone's astonishment, Vi gave another snort of laughter. She couldn't help it; she had seen the Reverend Steve Newlin speak on television a few months ago, and it took all of two seconds for her to see that Buffy and the Felllowship would not mix.

"Buffy uses her own judgment and does what she thinks is right, even if that means saving a Mainstreamer. Somehow I don't see the Fellowship liking that too much. Throw in a little fanaticism and misogyny, and well, trust me when I say it wouldn't end well," she grinned as an image of Caleb in two preacher pieces popped into her mind.

Eric mulled this over. Violet was turning out to be quite the wealth of information. Of course, this raised another important question, one that had been at the back of his mind since she had first began talking about the Slayer.

"Tell me. How do you know so much about the Slayer? I was under the impression that Slayers kept their identities hidden, much like we did before the Great Revelation," he shrewdly pointed out. "I find it curious that, as her friend, you know about this part of her life."

The smile vanished from Vi's face. Apparently, show and tell time wasn't over with yet. She knew this was going too well. Talk about a false sense of security.

But then, nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition, she thought to herself humorlessly.

She could always play dumb and make up some excuse, but she ran the risk that they would find out about her Potential status on their own, which would not be good. She decided to take the plunge. It really couldn't make the situation worse, could it?

"Well," she said slowly. "I helped Buffy fight the First and its army of-"

"The First?" Eric interrupted. "The first what?"

"The First Evil," Vi explained.

Eric and Pam exchanged glances. Beatrice did not mention this. There was much, much more to Buffy Summers than what the Sheriff of Southern California reported. Violet, too. How did one even go about defeating the First Evil?

"And what help could you, a human girl, possibly give?" he pressed.

"More than you'd think," she said slowly. Then she straightened up in her chair and held her head up proudly. "Especially since I was a potential Slayer, training to become one."

A deafening silence filled the room. Vi waited. And waited.

"You were in line to become the Slayer?" Pam finally exclaimed, looking her up and down unabashedly as she reevaluated her already changing opinion of Chow's childe.

Vi nodded. She contemplated whether she should elaborate on this or mention a certain activation spell. Before she could figure out how to broach the subject, however, Chow spoke up.

"I knew she was different the instant I smelled her blood," he said with a reassuring look to Vi, who was as surprised by this revelation as Pam and Eric. "I didn't know why, but I didn't ask about it, either."

"How touching," Pam commented dryly.

"It is," Vi shot back boldly before giving her maker a grateful look for his support.

Pam just rolled her eyes and looked to Eric, who had been studying Chow and his childe throughout this entire exchange. Little did they know, Violet had received a reprieve before she even entered the room. She was obviously important to the Slayer; therefore, her safety had become Eric's number one priority. Now he was discovering that her ties to the Slayer and to Chow went even deeper than he originally thought. This was getting very interesting.

"Yes, it is," he agreed with a faint smile. Then he paused. "Is that why you were attacked that night?"

Vi swallowed her bitterness at the memory, remembering her frustration at being unable to fight the hybrids off.

"No, definitely not. They had no clue who I was," she replied. "It's like I already said. They just wanted to leave a message for you."

"And in doing so they brought the Slayer to town," Eric said with a small smile.

Vi grinned, her fangs extending as she imagined Buffy's reaction. Then it all clicked: the questions, Eric's lack of anger, everything. "You want to get Buffy involved in this, don't you?" she blurted out.

Eric quirked his eyebrow at her dismay. "Not necessarily. But it seems we may have a common interest."

Yeah, me, you big sneak of a Sheriff, Vi thought with a frown. And I give you just the leverage you want.

She didn't say this, of course. Instead she decided to warn him. "She already got caught up in one vamp war. I don't think she'd be too keen to get in the middle again."

"Didn't you say that she protects 'innocents'?" Eric asked, the picture of innocence. "You were fortunate that Chow stepped in, but others won't be."

Sure, now he was using logic against her. She bit her lip in chagrin. Clearly the Sheriff was a master of manipulation. And he liked pressing buttons. And Buffy liked to push back. No good could come of this. She needed to see Buffy.

"I should talk to her before you start drawing up battle plans. And the longer I wait, the worse it will be," she pointed out. For good measure, she added, "And the less likely she'll want to have anything to do with you."

To her immense relief, Eric nodded in agreement. "We'll have to find her, though, as it's unlikely that she'll return to Fangtasia," he said, giving a meaningful look to Pam and Chow.

Vi narrowed her eyes at this, trying to decode what he meant but coming up empty. "Okay," she replied cautiously. "So, what? We'll wander the streets of Shreveport until we find her?"

"Something like that," Eric said with a small smile as he rose from his chair.

Vi made to follow, but Chow shook his head. She noticed that he and Pam hadn't moved, either, just Eric. The Sheriff was going to find Buffy by himself. This wasn't what she had in mind. At all.

"You're joking, right?" she exclaimed, too stunned to think of how insolent she sounded. "You can't go by yourself!"

Eric narrowed his eyes, but he kept his tone mild. "I thought it would be less threatening if I went alone."

She looked him up and down incredulously. "Have you seen yourself lately? And what will you say? 'Come with me if you want to see your friend'? Because I can see that going over well," she scoffed.

Eric was nonplussed. "I'm sure I'll think of something," he said, this time a little more severely, before giving Chow a disapproving look.

Vi ignored this; too much was at risk. "I should be there," she insisted, starting to get to her feet.

Chow stood and blocked her path. "No, you can't go. Your blood lust is still too strong and uncontrollable to be out in the open," he reminded her.

She began to protest, but she knew he was right. She was already starting to get hungry again. And she saw the worried look in her maker's eye.

"I'll get to see Buffy, though, right?" she asked plaintively.

Eric fixed her with a stern gaze, and in that instant Vi was reminded that all was not forgiven for her or for Chow. She swallowed any further protest and sat back down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her maker visibly relax.

With a smirk of satisfaction, Eric turned to leave, pulling out his cell phone and dialing as he walked away.

Vi resisted the urge to bang her head against Eric's desk. This was disastrous. Eric was going to confront Buffy, possibly holding Vi over her head, which would not make Buffy happy. But if she resorted to violence, Vi would be responsible. Eric had them just where he wanted.