A/N: Many thanks to the wonderful BloodyTearsOfLife who worked her beta magic for me once again

Disclaimer: The characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer are owned by Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Fox studios. This story is not meant to infringe upon anyone's rights, only to entertain.







Chapter 1

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A small shadow darted through the moonlit tombstones, little feet hurrying over fallen twigs and withered flowers. Risking a glance over its shoulder to assess the progress of its pursuers, it missed one of the bigger branches that had been broken off by the last storm and stumbled to the ground with a distressed cry. Heedless of the impending danger, it allowed itself to succumb to the prospect of momentarily resting its tired muscles. Its entire frame went slack as it sagged fully to the ground before tensing up all over again. The sound of several heavy army boots running at a fast pace, accompanied by curtly barked commands, echoed off the stonewalls of the many crypts. The sounds grew louder as they approached.


The silvery light of the moon illuminated the features of a little boy. His face was frozen in a mask of downright terror, tears cascading from his glowing yellow eyes down his cheeks. He scrambled up and frantically turned his head, looking for a safe place to hide. There didn’t seem to be anything able to give him shelter. The tombstones and sculptures were too low or narrow to provide dark and deep enough shadows to conceal his presence. While he probably could manage to break into one of the crypts, the damaged surface would give his location away and he would be trapped inside with no way out.


They were closing in on him; their footsteps drawing rapidly nearer . The scent of their sweat was already faintly tangible in the crisp night air, their heartbeats a slow thrumming sound in the distance to his sensitive ears. He was exhausted from the chase and his short legs, already wobbling, threatened to give way under the constant strain. Another furious shout of promises of retribution for his defiance reverberated through the darkness, even nearer than before.


He finally settled for the remnants of what was once a proud statue of a guardian angel. The broken wings formed a little hideout and the boy rolled up into a tight ball underneaththem, trying to calm his erratic breathing and stem the tears that still spilled out through squeezed shut eyelids, while his entire body still shook with tremors.


The group of soldiers were close now. They came to a halt not far from his hiding spot, listening for any sounds of footsteps to locate him. One of them had something like a sensor and scanned the area for any signs of unusual heat signatures, while several of the others used their binoculars with night vision to survey thearea. A hulking soldier, who appeared to be in charge, looked at them expectantly, pacing around impatiently before he came to a halt in front of the statue.


The boy stilled, his breathing ceased as he rolled up even tighter into a protective ball. He tucked his head firmly to his chest to hide his burning amber eyes from his pursuers. He felt a panic like no other seize him as the broad man suddenly propped his foot onto the broken pieces of wings that served as his protective shield. Little bits of debris pelted down on him as the man did so. He suppressed his panic as best as he could in an desperate effort to stay completely motionless.


He heard the leader impatiently ask if they had spotted any trace of ‘the target’, but when his men replied in negative, he kicked the fallen wings in a fit of anger and uttered a few quiet curses. He motioned for his group to continue with the search. They resumed the light run and headed off towards the more active parts of the cemetery.


Only when they were gone for several minutes, and he couldn't hear them anymore, did the little boy let out a trembling sigh and finally collapsed, weeping silently.



~*~*~*~



Buffy strolled through yet another cemetery, her stake safely hidden away in the waistband of her jeans as she tried to lure her prey into a false sense of security. Had it been daylight and some place other than a graveyard, she might have actually been just another college girl out for a walk. Although she appeared to be walking around without a single care in the world, on closer inspection one could see how every cell of her body was prepared to fight at any second, her eyes avidly assessing the area for possible threats.


The general demon activity had been incredibly slow the last couple of weeks, as it tended to be around this time of the year, but the presence of the government demon hunters decreased it even further. The lack of slayage made for an extremely grumpy and cranky slayer. Who did those dumb secret operation boy scout jerks think they were? Stealing away all her demons and all her fun, with their high tech equipment and other doodads. Even that guy from high school, whatshisname... Jonathan had probably been more useful in a fight than these soldier guys were without their tazer guns and government gadgets. Cheaters, that's what they were, a bunch of arrogant, mean cheaters. Neutralizing her vampire like that.


'Huh? Her vampire...? - Nope not going there now.'


She shoved that thought firmly back into the box that was labeled ’extended vacation in Egypt’, slammed the lid shut, and put it hastily into a very, very far corner of her mind. She so needed to talk to Willow about possible lingering side effects of her stupid spell.


Buffy continued her grumbling about the Initiative and their methods as she walked on. Giles thought it was a fantastic development , of course; now she didn't have to worry about protecting the innocents all on her own, but Buffy wasn't that sure herself. She had seen some of the things that had been thrown out once the Initiative had finished with them.


It made her shudder just to think about the mutilated demon corpses. Sure, she was the Slayer. She went out every night to kill demons and vampires, making sure Sunnydale's denizens could spend another day alive and blissfully ignorant to all the things that went bump in the night. That's what it was. That was why she was called the Slayer, killing demons, sometimes even hunting them, but she never tortured them, and she sure as hell didn't use them for some sick experiments.


It had been a shock to discover that Riley, her boringly normal psych TA, was one of them. She had never intended to start something serious with him anyways, despite Willow's not so subtle encouragements, but there was no chance in hell she could be with someone who condoned, let alone participated, in the atrocities they called ‘scientific research for the greater good of mankind’.


She was startled out of her musings by a small whimpering sound, barely audible above the various sounds of the night. She tried to locate its origin and ended up in front of an old stone angel, the bright moonlight casting it into a silvery glow. The Slayer carefully approached the small huddled form she could make out beneath the fallen wings. What was a little kid, at least she thought it was one, doing out at this time of the night, and in a cemetery no less.


"Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly, as not to startle the obviously frightened child.


The small figure stiffened as soon as she had spoken, stopping its whimpers. The fear was practically tangible in the air around her.


"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore. I'm here to help you, that's what I do, what I'm good at, helping people, in cemeteries, who um... need help," she babbled on, trying to sound as harmless and non-threat-y as possible.


She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed the kid started to crawl out of its hiding place and hesitantly turn around. When she got a good look at its face, she let out a surprised gasp and took a stumbling step back.


Frightened yellow eyes were peering up at her through the darkness of the night as the little boy tried to wipe away the tears that streaked his pale cheeks. Little ridges distorted his innocent face, tiny fangs peeking out between his lips while he hiccuped silently, attempting to hold back fresh tears.


'Oh god, oh god, oh god... oh my god!'


Buffy desperately tried not to hyperventilate while her brain struggled to process what she was seeing. It was a vampire. The little boy, probably not much older than four years, a little vampire boy. What kind of monster would do something horrible like that, to turn an innocent little kid? Merrick and Giles had never said anything about kid vampires when they lectured her about her sacred duty.


Oh god, they couldn't honestly expect her to kill a little boy. Just thinking about plunging a sharp wooden stake into his heart when he was looking at her with such vulnerability and trust was making her ill.


Buffy's heart was beating a mile per minute, so hard she thought it might actually break out of her chest at any moment. A thousand thoughts flittered through her mind like a group of startled deers, too fast for her to grasp one and hold onto it. She fought to calm her breathing and her racing pulse; it wouldn't do to distress him further.


Something from this little being in front of her called to her, on a baser, more primal level, beckoning her to him. A wave of familiarity coursed through her, nagging at her senses. Her ever present Mr. Pointy was burning against the small of her back, but she couldn't force herself to reach for it as she cautiously stepped closer to the still trembling child.


His demon face had now receded, and even in the dim light, she could make out his eyes, a brilliant shade of blue with some swirls of green and hazel. They were gazing expectantly at her. He sniffled, still rubbing at the dried tears, but then he tilted his head to the side as he regarded her closely, his eyes wide and filled with hope.


"Mommy ?"

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TBC...