Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Buffy, Faith and Spike drove onto the racing scene as they looked around. Even though this wasn't really Buffy's scenery, to both Faith and Spike this was familiar due to the way Faith grew up and Spike's own ventures and hobbies. Women in revealing clothes, cars, and drivers, disco music, fireworks and booze and the crowd was full of humans, vampires and demons alike.

"Recon says there's no signs of Simone and her hideout yet." Faith said.

"We'll wait." Buffy said.

"I've helped in these parts around before, they'll welcome me with open arms." Spike assured.

They exited out of their cars as Spike looked around and one of the demons, who had red skin and beach-themed shirt recognized Spike and laughed as he approached. "Well, I'll be damned! He's back!"

Spike chuckled as he hugged the demon back. "Rafi, it's good to see you too."

"Been ages, my brother." Rafi said before he noticed Buffy and Faith. "Your girlfriends?"

Spike, Buffy and Faith all chuckled at the idea.

"One of them." Buffy said.

"Though I'm open to the threesome if you'd like." Faith quipped and both Buffy and Spike let out a laugh, amused by the idea.

"Typical Spike." Rafi smiled. "So, you want to win your reputation here again?"

"No, we're just looking for someone." Spike explained and Rafi nodded.

"How can we help?" Rafi offered before Buffy, Faith and Spike saw one of the girls observing them and calling a number on her cellphone before a sports car with punk decorations drive in and it was obvious to them whose car it was.

"You already did." Faith said, while Simone exited from her car with a duffel bag full of cash.

"$1 million for whoever beats me." Simone said.

"I'm in."

Spike and Faith recognized the voice as they turned around to see a bald black man in leather jacket as they smiled.

"Gunn." Faith greeted.

"Been a long time, Charlie boy." Spike said as Faith hugged Gunn before Gunn shook his hand with Gunn.

"It's nice to see you." Gunn said before turning to Buffy and it took a moment for him to recognize her. "You must be Buffy." He noted and Buffy nodded. "You look exactly like how Angel, Wes, Cordy and Spike described you."

Buffy, Faith and Spike felt saddened briefly at the mention of Wesley and Cordelia. Even if neither one of them would have ever been the best friends with Wesley and Cordelia, they had proven themselves to be good friends and allies, when it mattered and the grief from their loss was not something they would heal from anytime soon.

"Isn't that sweet? I could almost feel my heart melt." Simone said with sarcasm before making retching noises.

"You're coming with us, Simone. We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Buffy said and Simone laughed.

"Of course you would say that. You think that because you're the Slayer, things will always go your way. But here's the thing, Buffster." Simone gestured. "I've been around these parts long enough to take claim. Brazil is mine and I own this city."

On cue, half of the crowd, both humans and non-humans alike pulled out their guns, swords and other weapons, aiming them at Buffy, Faith, Spike and Gunn, while Faith, Spike and Gunn laughed.

"You think that power and money will buy you everything. There was a time I would've thought that too." Gunn smirked.

"You know what it can't buy?" Spike asked.

"Loyalty." Faith smirked and on cue, the rest of the crowd pulled out their weapons at Simone and her cohort.

"They've stood by us before, we will stand by them." Rafi said, though Simone was unfazed, merely laughing.

"Well, this is going to be fun. How about if we skip the chit-chat and get to the shooting each other already? Or we race. If I lose, I'll come in quietly." Simone challenged. "But if you all lose against me…" She trailed off dramatically. "You don't wanna lose."

"We all came here to see a race, didn't we?" Buffy asked.

"Let's race!" Faith shouted as the crowd shouted out loud as well.

Buffy, Spike, Faith, Gunn, Rafi and Simone drove onto the starting line as Simone chuckled. "Nice rides." She then turned to Buffy. "You should know, none of this is personal, Buffster. I actually like you. Saint Buffy." She said rhetorically. "I've heard so many stories about you. All the times you've saved so many people. All the times you've died and come back. And how many people you've lost. I wonder how do you do it?"

Buffy noticed the dark undertone in the question as she turned to Simone warily and saw the dark sadistic look in her eyes.

"How do you choose the ones you save?" Simone asked ominously.

Buffy's eyes widened as she panted out frantically, looking at the road in front of her, realizing that they had walked into a trap as she then looked at the other racers in horror, realizing Simone wanted them all here. But what was she playing at? What was she up to?

A moment later, they were given a go ahead and they hit the gas.

Simone had a head-start but soon enough they all caught up with her, seeming even in the track, while Buffy focused her senses, wondering what was the catch as she heard Simone laughing and cheering.

"I'm beating you, baby!" Rafi yelled as he hit the gas on the floor and gave his car a nitro boost.

Buffy turned to see Simone smirk sadistically as she shook her head.

"You're too eager." Simone quipped.

Gunn got ahead of Simone.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Simone said before Buffy saw the flash in the window and saw a golden talisman in Simone's hand and Buffy's eyes widened. Giles and Willow had shown her this before. It was one of those destructive charms that would explode. "Who are you going to choose, Buffy?"

Buffy panted in horror as she looked at Gunn's and Rafi's cars and saw something glowing at the underside of their cars. Buffy suddenly realized what was Simone up to before she reached for the comms in her ears, calling to Faith and Spike. "It's a setup!"

"What?" Spike asked, confused.

"What are you talking about, B.?" Faith demanded.

"Stop them! It's a trap! We need to get them out of there, now!" Buffy ordered.

Simone was inching for one of the talismans on the dashboard, about to clench it. "Eeny, meeny, miny…"

"I'm going to win." Gunn vowed as he was about to stomp the gas pedal on the floor.

Knowing she had no choice, Buffy turned the wheel and bumped into Gunn's car, causing for him to lose control as this car skidded.

"The hell?" Gunn demanded, confused.

"Looks like you've made your choice." Simone smirked before she picked one of the talismans and crushed it.

KABOOM!

Faith and Spike widened their eyes in shock and barely managed to turn the cars as Rafi's car exploded right in front of them and flipped and if not for their quick reactions, they would have rammed right into the wreckage.

"Holy…" Gunn gasped.

"Trick question. Everyone dies. And one, two, three…" Simone counted as her hand inched for the second talisman on her dashboard.

Buffy bumped into Gunn's car once again as he lost control, causing for him to drive straight towards a pickup truck as his car flipped and the impact dislodged the talisman from the underside of his car.

"Fire in the hole!" Simone shouted.

KABOOM!

The talisman exploded, with the underside of Gunn's car on fire and the car flipped upside down, sliding down the road uncontrollably and Faith and Spike gasped as both of them immediately drove from each side towards Gunn's car and pressed onto it, trying to direct the collision as it began slowing down and Buffy was forced to slow down and get in front of them to act as a barricade for the wreckage of Gunn's car as it stopped.

"Hell yeah!" Simone cheered as she laughed maniacally. "I win, baby! Keep coming, Summers! There's so much more fun to be had!"

Buffy glared and fumed as she clenched the wheel. Simone was going to pay for this. Big time.

Faith and Spike exited from their cars as Faith ripped the door open, while Spike pulled Gunn out, with him unconscious and covered in dirt and ashes from the explosion.

"Gunn?" Faith asked, shaking him gently as Buffy turned around and rushed to them.

"Is he…" Buffy trailed off and Faith shook her head.

"He's not breathing." Faith said before she laid Gunn down and began chest compressions. "Gunn, come on."

Buffy pressed Gunn's nose and began breathing into his mouth.

"Bloody Hell, don't do this to me, you git. Not after Cordelia, Fred and Wesley." Spike grumbled as he began banging onto Gunn's chest. "I'm not losing anyone else again! Fight, damn it!"

"Come on, Gunn! Fight!" Faith begged as Buffy breathed into his mouth again and resumed chest compressions before Gunn coughed out and came to.

Faith, Spike and Buffy sighed in relief, glad that Gunn survived.

"Did I win?" Gunn asked, delirious.

Buffy left Faith and Spike behind for them to take care of Gunn, while she drove to the finish line, while Simone was standing there, smirking.

Buffy exited her car and the phrase 'if looks could kill' came to mind. "You cheated."

"There's only one rule: Win. There's no rule to how to win." Simone countered.

"You think that because you have the power, it gives you the right to treat everyone as beneath you." Buffy sneered.

"And why should I limit myself to protect those weaker than me?" Simone asked. "It's the survival of the fittest."

"Every life has a value. And it's our duty to protect those who can't protect themselves from evil, not to put ourselves above those weaker than us. Our powers don't make us gods. They come with responsibility." Buffy shot back.

"Oh, please. Don't give me the whole Uncle Ben speech." Simone said sarcastically. "I've heard enough of that Bastardrew's lectures and lame-ass pop culture references already."

"No. Wield the strength and skill to stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. That's the duty of the Slayer." Buffy said.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? You and your Scoobies and Slayer Organization will play vigilantes globally? Try to fight the good fight using vast resources like your ex tried it with Wolfram & Hart? Did you forget that they duped him in the end and condemned L.A. to Hell?" Simone asked sarcastically.

"We may never be able to beat the evil for good. But the least we can do is make sure the next generation is ready to fight back." Buffy said.

"Please. Why limit ourselves for the weaker, when we are the apex of humanity?" Simone scoffed.

Buffy then realized there was no reasoning with her. She was starting to see that Simone was even worse than Faith, when she had gone dark.

"You go down this path… I will stop you." Buffy vowed as she clenched her fists.

Simone chuckled. "There's only one way you can stop me, Summers. But we both know you're not going to do it."

"I don't have to." Buffy said and next thing Simone knew, a dart hit her in the neck as a group of operatives in masks with night vision goggles and military outfits with guns converged. "You took your time."

"Wasn't easy to get here, considering the fireworks and cleanup back there." Riley said.

"And her group?" Buffy asked.

"Bagged and tagged." Sam said.

"Good. Let's get this going." Buffy said.

Hope you enjoyed the Fast X reference here. As much as I don't really have a high opinion of Fast & Furious after the 7th, maybe 8th film, I still enjoyed the racing part in Rio, due to how it showed how high the stakes actually are and how big of a sociopath Dante is.

Poor Buffy and Faith, though. Though on the bright side, it was nice to see Gunn here briefly. I have plans for Angel later, but not for Gunn.

And well, Simone and her gang was captured, but you all know better than thinking this is over.

So, what do you guys think?

Please review and let me know if you have been enjoying this so far.