Disclaimer: Buffy and company are the property of Joss Whedon and Warner Brothers. I'm just borrowing them. Elizabeth, Brandon, John and his grandfather are characters that I made up and their likeness to anyone else is purely coincidental.

It was dark, damp and dreary in the cave that Elizabeth had chosen. Rats could be heard scuffling around the cave floor as bats sat waiting in the shadows. She raised her arm and a bat perched on it.

"My friend," she said sadly stroking the creature's head. "The sun sends us both into hiding, but soon the darkness will be all that Earth knows." She took four round, polished, purple emeralds out of her coat pocket. "His time has come. He will destroy the Slayer and the demons shall rule again. Brandon come."

A vampire emerged from the back of the cave. "Yes my mistress."

 "Tonight you shall go hunting. You shall find a man who cannot be fed on," explained Elizabeth as she handed him one of the emeralds. "Use this to be certain he is the one and return here with him. Don't fail me." 

Brandon left and Elizabeth turned her attention back to the bat. The Anointed would be pleased, she thought. In spite of his death his plan will be seen through.

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"Buffy, hurry up! We're going to be late for class," said Willow near the doors of the school cafeteria.

 Buffy grabbed a bagel and juice from the breakfast choices and walked over to Willow.

 "Okay, let's go," said Buffy as they started to walk down the hall.

 "You look tired Buffy."

 "I am. That vampire I chased down last night must have been on the track team in his former life. I chased him around town all night." She yawned. "Willow would you mind if I borrow your notes? I missed part of class the other day doing you know what."

 "Is that when you said you had to go to the bathroom and you never came back?"

 "Yep."

 "We all thought you fell in."

 "Ha, ha very funny."

 Willow started rummaging around in her backpack while they walked. "Oh darn. Buffy, I forgot my notebook in my locker. Tell Mrs. Applegate I've gone to get it and I'll be a little late."

 "You don't have to get it for me, we can do it later."

 "No, I need it for class anyway."

 "Okay Will, see you there."

 The two friends parted. Willow raced down the hall. She hated the fact that she was going to be late now. Everyone stares at you when you enter the room late, only people like Cordelia could like it, she thought to herself. She was about six lockers from her locker when she noticed a young man having problems with his locker. She didn't recognize him. He was a slender boy with blond hair and blue eyes.

 "Having troubles?" she asked.

 "Yeah," he replied.

 "Maybe I can help."

 "I don't want to hold you up."

 "Oh, uh, that's okay. I, um, I wasn't in that big of a hurry to get back to class anyway," she said with a nervous laugh. "What seems to be the trouble?

 "Well I put in the combo and it won't open."

 "Let me see your combo." Willow walked to the locker and put in the combination. He put his head close to her shoulder to watch. "After you put in your combo make sure to kind of pull the handle upwards or else the locker will stick." She demonstrated. "You really shouldn't have to do that, but the custodians never get around to fixing them."

 He smiled. "Thanks."

 "Don't mention it," she replied quickly adding, "unless you want to of course."

 "And you won't want to," shot out the approaching form of Cordelia. "That is if you want to achieve any sort of status here. Hang out with her and her weirdo friends and you'll be a loser."

 "And if I hang out with you will I become rude and obnoxious?" asked the boy.

 "Hey, I'm just trying to help you out. You should be down on your knees thanking me for being the savior of your social life, but..." she shrugged, "...if you'd rather deal with being an outcast I guess that's your problem," said Cordelia as she walked off.

 "There's one in every school," said the boy.

 "She's right in a way though," said Willow. "If you hang out with my friends and I you'll be an outcast."

 He took a moment and looked thoughtfully at her. "That's sort of my niche in society anyway. It'll be nice to have company for once. By the way, what's your name?"

 "Willow."

 "Willow huh, that's a pretty name. My name's John. So Willow, what do you do for fun around here?"

 "Well people usually go to the club here in town called the Bronze."

 "Oh yeah, I remember seeing it on my way through town. Tell me, will you be there tonight?"

 "Yes."

 "Then I'll definitely be there too."

 She blushed.

 "So Willow, how about I meet you there at say sevenish?"

 "Sure, that'll be great. I'll meet you there, but I gotta get back to class now, bye," said Willow as she darted off to class. Wait until Buffy hears this! thought Willow now anxious to meet her friend.

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The Bronze was dimly lit, noisy and crowded as usual. Buffy had arrived before her friends and had ordered a drink for herself. The band was lousy tonight but that didn't bother her. The vampire attacks had subsided in the last couple of days and Giles hadn't managed to find any recent prophecies that needed tending to, so she was enjoying her much needed time off. It only worried her that the slaying business came in cycles and there was always a major crisis right after a dry period.

 As she was thinking about this Willow and Xander walked in. "Hi guys," she greeted. They walked over to where Buffy was sitting.

 "Well where's Willow's mystery date? It's six you know," asked Xander.

 "Xander, it's not a date," replied Willow. "It's just an old student showing a new student the town."

 "Let's analyze shall we. Male asks you, female, to meet him at a place where teenagers go to mingle and dance with each other. I think that constitutes a date."

 "And why does it bother you so much that it might be that Xander?" asked Buffy.

 "No reason. I just want to make sure he's good enough for Willow, that's all," said Xander as put his arm protectively around Willow's shoulders.

 "Right," teased Buffy.

 "Oh there he is. John over here!" called Willow as John entered the door. He walked over to where they were sitting. "John these are my friends Buffy and Xander."

 "Hi," said John.

 "So John, why don't you tell us a little about yourself. You know, where're you from, what's your family like, your criminal record..." said Xander.

 "Xander! I don't think the 5th degree is necessary," said Buffy.

 "I don't mind," replied John stifling a laugh. "My whole name is John Weiten. I don't have a criminal record and I've lived in Vermont with my grandfather for the last two years."

 "Why not with your parents, if you don't mind me asking?" inquired Buffy.

 "They died in a plane crash two years ago. That's when I moved in with my grandfather."

 "That must have been really harsh," said Willow quietly.

 "It was for a while, but my grandfather is a great guy. He really helped hold me together after my parents died." He heard a slow song start to play. "Hey Willow, want to dance?"

 "Actually Willow has this phobia of dancing..." started Xander who quickly stopped talking as Buffy's heel pressed into his foot.

 "He's just kidding. I'd love to," replied Willow. She took his hand and headed over to the dance floor.

 "What does she see in that guy?" asked Xander.

 "Xander, stop," said Buffy disgustedly.

 "So Buffy, would you like to dance? We could reenact Romeo and Juliet," suggested Xander.

 "I would Xander, but my Romeo just walked in," said Buffy pointing to the Bronze's entrance where Angel stood.

 "You two constitute Beauty and the Beast, not Romeo and Juliet," muttered Xander as she walked off.

 "So Angel," said Buffy as she reached him, "What's the good word of the day?"

 "I don't know. That's the problem."

 "What?"

 "Usually I have an idea as to what they're up too, but lately the vampire sects have been divided between those who follow Spike and those who followed the Anointed One. I've been able to keep an eye on Spike's followers because they stayed here in Sunnydale, but word on the street is that the Anointed One's followers left for the outskirts of town. I don't know where they are now."

 "That kind of puts us at a disadvantage, doesn't it," said Buffy. She thought about it for a moment then smiled. "But since you don't have to deal with spying quite so much, lets make the most of your newfound free time." She took his arm in hers and led him to the dance floor.

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"You dance well John," said Willow as they swayed to the melody of the song playing. "Where did you learn?"

 "My grandfather," he replied.

 "He must be a good teacher."

 "He is."

 "Earlier you said you were used to being an outcast. How come? You don't strike me as that type."

 "Well a lot of it has to do with my grandfather actually."

 "Why?"

 "He's a scientist and people misunderstand him. He had a laboratory in our basement in Vermont and all it took was one snoopy neighbor to get things blown way out of proportion. Once it happened it didn't take long before all the kids at school had heard that he was some kind of mad scientist from their parents."

 "And then it's open season on you, right?"

 "You got it. I was harassed all the time. It got to the point where we were getting rocks thrown into our window with messages demanding that we leave town or else. So we packed up and left. Nobody tried to stop us."

 "That's awful. But you don't have to worry about that with me, I like science."

 He smiled and leaned his head down to meet Willow's and kissed her. She then put her head on his shoulder and held him tightly. She didn't want this dance to ever stop.

"Did you see that?" said Xander thinking out loud.

 Cordelia was walking by and stopped when she heard him talk. "Having a conversation with all of your friends again Xander?" asked Cordelia pointing to the empty chairs at his table.

 "You're just jealous."

 "About what?"

 "That my friends here at this table have more personality than any your friends," replied Xander as he focused his attention back on Willow and John.

 "You are pathetic Xander. You're just like that waiter over there that's peeking over their shoulders. He's so obvious too. If you're going to spy on someone you should at least have the decency to look like you're not."

 She was right. He hadn't noticed the waiter behind them. Awfully close, thought Xander. That's when he noticed the waiters face wasn't human, it was a vampire. "Willow, John look out!" shouted Xander.

 Willow turned her head and screamed as she came face to face with the vampire. John pushed Willow out of the way and punched the vampire in the head. It staggered away and quickly regained its composure. "Willow run!" shouted John.

 "What about you? I can't just leave you here!" protested Willow.

 "I'll be fine. Just get out of here now!"

 She gave him a concerned look and said, "Be careful." He nodded and she ran off. The vampire charged at John, but he easily sidestepped the blow and kicked him in the back. The vampire fell to the ground, but was back up in an instant. The vampire ran at John and punched him. John staggered but kept his balance. He turned towards the vampire and repeatedly punched him in the head. The vampire fell down.

 John stood over him triumphantly, but that triumph was short lived as two vampires grabbed him from behind. The first vampire rose off the floor, "You are strong. You'll make a fine ally," he sneered as he donned his fangs near John's neck. Suddenly a stake point appeared through the vampire's chest. He turned to dust as Buffy's figure materialized behind him. She punched the vampire holding John that was closest to her and Angel grabbed the one on the other side. Within a few moments both vampires had been dispatched.

 "You're lucky Willow found us as fast as she did," said Buffy.

 "Where is Willow now?" asked John.

 "She's safe with Xander and Cordelia," replied Angel. "They're probably outside directing people out of the Bronze by now."

 "They're vampires all over the place in here," said Buffy as she gazed around the room. "It's not safe for you to be here anymore John. Get out of here and meet up with the others. We'll join you soon."

 John nodded and ran for the door. He wasn't about to argue with her after seeing how she had finished her last kill.

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"This way people, come on!" ordered Xander as he directed people out of the Bronze.

 "Xander, Willow let's go, they can find their own way out," protested Cordelia.

 "Look you don't even like us, so why don't you go by yourself?" asked Willow.

 "I don't like being alone with vampires even less than I don't like being with you."

 "Have you noticed this crowd?" said Xander.

 "It's kind of hard not to," replied Cordelia.

 "No, I mean that there are hardly any guys in it. The vampires don't seem to be going after any of the girls, just the guys."

 Cordelia gasped. She walked closer to Xander and Willow and started shouting, "This way, come on, hurry!"

 John heard them and headed in their direction. "John," called Willow as he appeared in the doorway. She ran to him. "Are you okay?"

 "I'm fine, but your friends are in there. Shouldn't we help them?"

 "Oh, I think they can..." started Willow who was interrupted by Cordelia's ear piercing scream.

 A vampire had slipped in with the crowd and was now just a few feet from Cordelia and Xander. The vampire lunged at them and Xander kicked him in the stomach and dazed him. They ran, but in his haste Xander tripped and fell down. He rolled onto his back and came face to face with the vampire that promptly kicked Xander in the head knocking him out.

 Suddenly John grabbed the vampire from behind and dragged him to the ground while Willow and Cordelia grabbed Xander by the arms and pulled him out of harms way. The vampire and John wrestled on the ground. John punched the vampire in the stomach and the vampire responded with a head butt to John's head, which stunned him. The vampire used this opportunity to grab John's neck and sink his teeth into it. Willow, who had been paying attention to Xander, turned her head and gasped in horror.

 Cordelia, Willow and Xander (who had just started to come back to his senses) were unprepared for what happened next, however. They watched as the vampire's evil smile quickly disappeared and his eyes opened wide with fear as he started to shake. He tore his fangs away from John and ran. Their mouths hung wide open. What had just happened?

 Brandon, who was watching from the shadows, pointed the ominous purple gem he had been given at John. It started to glow and became warm in his hand. He had found who he was looking for.

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Willow and company gathered around John as he slowly rose off of the ground. He held his neck tightly. Buffy and Angel walked out of the door and joined them outside of the Bronze.

 "The vampires broke off their attack for some reason," stated Angel simply.

 "John, you were bit," noticed Buffy. "Are you alright?"

 "Let me look at it," said Willow as she reached towards John's neck, but he pulled away from her. She walked closer and tried again. John realized he couldn't stop her, so he let his hand drop. Everybody looked for the blood they expected to see and were stunned when they found none. A closer examination showed small sparks flying from John's neck.

 "What are you?" asked Cordelia.

 "A robot." replied Willow shakily.

 "Willow, look I never meant to..." started John.

 "Buffy you better talk to Giles about this vampire attack," interrupted Willow. "I'll meet you at school later." She started to walk off. Buffy gave Angel a slight nod and he took off to trail her.

 "Alright, I want answers now," demanded Buffy.

 "Fine. No reason to pretend anymore anyway. I'm an android prototype. My grandfather created me about two years ago. We lived in Vermont until everyone started to snoop around. They thought we were up to something dangerous and tried to scare us away so we left town and came here."

 "What do you mean prototype? Is there like an army of you guys under development?" asked Xander.

 "No. Originally grandfather was working for the military and they wanted to do just what you suggested, but he couldn't go through with it. He realized the dangers and quit his project, falsifying the lab reports in a way that anyone who continued his experiment would be unable to make heads or tails out of it."

 "If he gave up on that experiment how come you're standing here?" asked Buffy.

 "Well, he thought the experiment was dangerous in the way it was heading under the military, but he still believed it could be a positive thing under his supervision. Besides that he was a very lonely man. His wife had died long ago and he had never had any children, so he created an android to fill that void in his life."

 "And that android would be you, right." Buffy thought for a moment and decided she had heard enough. She said, "We better get back to the school. We've got to figure out what those vampires are up to." She turned to John and looked him in the face, "If you want to stay out of this John, I'd understand. Things only get more dangerous from here on."

 "No, I want to help. Besides, they can't turn me into a vampire."

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