In the Master's lair, the Master had newly arisen. "I am weak," he stated.

Luke quoted a scripture, "'In the Harvest, he will be restored.'"

"The Harvest."

"We're almost there. Soon you'll be free!"

The Master reached his arm out to test his mystical confines. "I must be ready. I need my strength."

"I've sent your servants to bring you some food."

"Good. Luke?"

"Yes?"

"Bring me something…young."

On the sidewalk next to the cemetery, Willow and Thomas, the vampire, are walking.

"Sure is dark," Willow stated.

"It's night," Thomas replied.

"Well, that's a dark time, night. Traditionally. I still can't believe I've never seen you at school. Do you have Mr. Chomsky for history?"

Thomas ignored her babbling, heading into the cemetery.

"Uh, the ice cream bar is this way. It's past Hamilton Street?" Poor Willow hadn't a clue what was intended of her.

"I know a shortcut." He paused, then grabbed her hand and lead her into the cemetery.

Outside the Bronze, Buffy was trying to find Willow.

"Hey, you're leaving already?" Xander asked. He'd been standing outside on his own accord.

Buffy spun to face him. "Oh, Xander! Have you seen Willow?"

"Not tonight, no."

"She left with a guy," Buffy informed. Maybe that would help jar something in his memory.

"We're talking about Willow, right? Scorin' at the Bronze, work it girl-"

Buffy interrupted, "No, I need to find her. Where would he take her?"

"Why? Oh, hey, I hope he's not a vampire, because then you might have to slay him."

Buffy was taken aback. Did everyone know? First it was the librarian and the technology teacher. Now a student? "Was there a-a school bulletin? Was it i-in the newspaper? Is there anyone in this town who doesn't know I'm the Slayer?"

"No. I only know that you think that you're the Slayer, and the reason why I know that-" He was going to say, 'is because I was in the library when you and Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar were talking.'

Buffy cut him off, though, "Well, whatever, it doesn't matter, just tell me, where would Willow go?"

"You're serious!" Maybe they all didn't belong in the loony bin, after all. Maybe his friend really was in danger.

"We don't find her and there's gonna be one more dead body in the morning!"

Willow and the vampire were walking in the cemetery.

"Oh, okay, th-this is nice... and scary. Are you sure this is faster?" Willow asked nervously. She was starting to get the wiggins.

They reached a mausoleum.

"Hey! Ever been in one of these?" He was referring to the mausoleum.

"No. Thank you." She turned away.

"Come on." He came up behind her and pulled her hair back, tightly. "What are you afraid of?" He moved in toward her neck. She let out a yelp as he grabbed her and pushed her into the mausoleum.

Willow tripped down the stairs and stopped up against a stone coffin. She turned around. "That wasn't funny!"

Thomas came down the steps. She backed away from him, against a wall. She tripped over some stones.

"I think I'm gonna go."

"Is that what you think?" No more nice kid. He came toward her again.

Willow skirted by him, but he had let her. The vampire that Jesse had been talking to, Darla, blocked the exit of the mausoleum.

"Is this the best you could do?" She asked the other vampire.

"She's fresh!" Thomas justified.

"Hardly enough to share."

"Why didn't you bring your own?" Thomas wasn't going to have all the blame be on him.

Darla gave him a look. "I did."

Jesse stumbled into the mausoleum, holding his neck. "Hey! Wait up!"

"Oh, my God, Jesse!" Willow cried.

He was weak from blood loss and collapsed. Willow tried to catch him and broke his fall.

"Y'know, you gave me a hickey," Jesse said to Darla.

Thomas gave her a look.

Darla shrugged. "I got hungry on the way."

"Jesse, let's get outta here!" Willow cried. She would admit it, she was frightened.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere," Darla stated.

Willow gathered up some amount of bravery. "Leave us alone!"

"You're not going anywhere. You're not going anywhere until we've," Darla's face shifted into the feral face of vampires. "Fed!"

Willow screamed and fell back down next to Jesse. While the vampires are distracted, leaving the door to the mausoleum unattended, Buffy and Xander show up.

"Well, this is nice. I-it's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows... call it home!" Buffy moved behind the coffin to draw the vampires away from the others.

"Who the hell are you?" Darla wasn't too happy to be interrupted.

"You mean there's actually someone in this town who doesn't know already? Whew, that's a relief, I'm telling you! Having a secret identity in this town is a job of work."

"Buffy, we bail now, right?" Xander asked.

Thomas heard. "Not yet!"

"Okay, first of all, what's with the outfit? Live in the now, okay? You look like DeBarge!" Insult the vamps, distract them more. Maybe that would be Buffy's new philosophy.

The vampires closed in on her. She turned to Darla. "Now, we can do this the hard way, or... well, actually there's just the hard way."

"That's fine with me!" Darla just wanted to eat her, already.

"Are you sure? Now, this is not gonna be pretty. We're talking violence, strong language, adult content..."

Behind Buffy, Thomas roared. She pulled the chair leg out from inside her shirt. He attacked from behind, but Buffy neatly jammed the makeshift stake into his chest. He fell back and turned to ashes. Darla couldn't believe her eyes. Neither could anyone else.

"See what happens when you roughhouse?" Buffy quipped.

"He was young and stupid!" Darla was full of herself.

"Xander, go!" Buffy yelled.

"Don't go far!" Darla called after.

Buffy and Darla started to fight. Darla punched high, but Buffy blocked.

Xander helped Willow pick up Jesse.

Darla threw a backhand punch, but Buffy blocked again and followed up with a front snap kick to Darla's stomach. As Darla leaned forward from the pain, Buffy slammed her elbow into her back.

Xander and Willow helped Jesse out and they started to run.

Darla hit the wall and fell to the floor, winded.

"You know, I just wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, y'know, maybe a dog... But, no, you had to come here, you couldn't go suck on some other town," Buffy vented.

"Who are you?" Darla asked.

"Don't you know?" Buffy retorted.

Luke had snuck in while neither Buffy or Darla were paying attention. He grabbed Buffy's neck from behind. "I don't care!" He threw her across the room, then grabbed Darla and lifted her to her feet. "You were supposed to be bringing an offering for the Master! We're almost at Harvest, and you dally with this child!" He was not too enthused with Darla.

With a frightened tone, Darla dared to reply, "We had someone, but then she came. She killed Thomas. Luke, she's strong."

"You go. I'll see if I can handle the little girl."

He approached Buffy as she started getting up. She was still a little dazed.

Darla quickly climbed the steps, looked back once, and ran out of the door.

Luke attacked Buffy with a double punch, but she blocked it and delivered a punch to his gut and a hopping front snap kick to his jaw. He stepped back, but wasn't fazed.

"You're strong," he commented. He landed a solid backhand fist on her. She went flying. "I'm stronger!"

Outside the cemetery, Xander and Willow supported Jesse as they ran.

"We'll get the police, it's just a few blocks up!" Willow stated in a rush.

They were stopped by a group of vampires.

In the mausoleum, Luke was angry, "You're wasting my time."

Buffy backed away up the stairs toward the exit. "Hey, I had other plans, too, okay?"

Luke shoved the heavy lid off of the coffin. Buffy did a cartwheel onto and over it to avoid it and kicked Luke in the chest with both feet, knocking him down. She grabbed the stake from the floor and lunged at Luke, but he was too quick for her, and grabbed her by the wrist.

"You think you can stop me? Stop us?" He grabbed the stake with his other hand and broke it. Then he grabbed her by the shirt. "You have no idea what you're dealing with." He threw Buffy onto the rim of the now open coffin. She rolled off onto the floor, dazed. Luke got up and started toward her, quoting scripture, "'And like a plague of boils, the race of man covered the Earth.'"

In the library, Giles was paging through an old volume, Ms. Calendar peering over his shoulder. He stopped on a picture of Satan with lightning coming from his hand to a man's. He and Ms. Calendar shared a look.

In the mausoleum, Luke continued his monologue, "'But on the third day of the newest light would come the Harvest. And the blood of men will flow as wine.'"

In the Master's lair, the Master was sitting in an intricately carved chair.

In the mausoleum, "'When the Master will walk among them once more.'"

Xander, Willow and Jesse were surrounded by vampires, including Darla.

Mausoleum, "'The Earth will belong to the old ones.'" Luke got up in Buffy's face. "'And Hell itself will come to town.'" He grabbed Buffy and growled. He lifted her by the throat and threw her toward the coffin.

Buffy flipped over in a front layout and landed in the coffin next to a skeleton, and let out a quick scream, but then remained silent, only breathing. She couldn't see or hear Luke. She slowly started to get up. Suddenly Luke jumped up and into the coffin. He smiled widely. "Amen!" He moved in to bite Buffy.

To Be Continued...

AN: 'To Be Continued…' carries over to S1E2 'The Harvest', of course. Hope you enjoy.