A/N: The prologue contains dialogue and situations which I stole...er, I mean adapted from the episode "Wild at Heart” written by Marti (spit) Noxon. Parts of Chapters 1 and 2 were adapted from the episode "The Initiative" written by Doug Petrie.

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The vampire never had a chance. After beating on him for a while Buffy quipped, "You were thinking what, a little helpless coed before bed? You know very well, you eat this late..."

The stake found its mark with her usual accuracy.

"You're gonna get heartburn. Get it? Heartburn?"

The vampire had the poor taste to dust without any reaction to Buffy's banter.

"That's all I get? One lame-ass vamp with no appreciation for my painstakingly thought-out puns?" Looking up to the sky she continued, "Come on, guys, give me something to work with here. Ya gotta send me something better than this guy."

From a nearby rooftop, Spike watched the Slayer's antics with a smirk. "Better watch what you ask for, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the Big Bad's back, and this time... GNYAARGGHHLL!!"

The commandos turned off the taser rifle as the white-haired vampire collapsed in an unconscious heap. Grabbing arms and legs, they dragged him away.