The night was dark and moonless. Giles walked beside Buffy while she chatted excitedly about her latest beau. He was happy for her; it was so rare for any Slayer to find happiness. He should have known it was not to last.

Willow and Xander came into the cemetery from the East gate and heard the sounds of the battle. They raced to aid the Slayer and Willow’s lover. The vampires were legion; it was as if each particle of the last slain had multiplied and bore progeny.

Their numbers were so great, that the Scooby’s soon found themselves overwhelmed. Giles was fighting back to back with Buffy, shielding Willow as best as he could; but he was tiring fast. The air was thick with vampire dust that hovered and choked them.

They fought to a standstill and found themselves backed against an ancient mausoleum wall in a desperate last stand. For some unknown reason there was a break in the violent mêlée and all four exchanged their farewells, convinced they would not survive their Ragnorak.

Dark, menacing shapes rushed at them, but they had little strength to battle on, sheer willpower the only thing powering their muscles for the past hour.

Suddenly, the first four vamps in the ranks exploded into dust, then the next two ranks did likewise. It was like a chain reaction. Giles looked toward the heavens to thank the Gods and noticed the flight of arrows silently piercing the night sky. There were two dark clad warriors standing atop the mausoleum’s roof. They abandoned their post as soon as the vampires attacked them and flipped from the roof to land in front of the startled Scooby’s

"Run!" All took off at speed. The two newcomers lagged behind to take care of any foolhardy fledglings. Buffy was concerned for her friends and guarded their retreat, deciding that discretion was the better part of valour in this instance.

They ran without pause till they arrived at Willow’s house then flew up the steps and inside. Ethan had opened the door for them, he waited for Buffy then started to close the door. "No!" Willow’s strangled shout stopped him as the two warriors leapt over the threshold a vamp hot on their heels.

The vampire rebounded with such force from the invisible barrier that he tumbled backwards, impaled himself on the fence, and exploded into dust.

Ethan tutted and shut the door. He grinned at the assembled throng. They were mostly in a state of collapse; even the Slayer looked breathless. The two in black stood by the door quietly their faces still masked.

"Come now, you’re making the place look untidy… Tea anyone?" Buffy rolled her eyes…

Tea, the universal panacea for any crisis! What’s more, the mere mention of the beverage had everyone moving into the living room. Buffy halted the progress of the Warriors.

"Just one second! You don’t get in here till you can prove you’re good guys…" She stared up at the black clad figures and was sure that they were smiling behind those masks.

Giles, Willow and Xander halted and looked back to where the Slayer confronted their saviours. Giles held his breath as the two reached out to grasp the others hand. Willow’s hand tightened round his as they watched the couple change…

Cathy and Dominic regarded the shocked Scooby’s with quiet resignation.

Xander straightened and became wary, Ethan was at once en garde and Willow shrieked in surprise. Giles had a satisfied smile on his face.

"You got away…" He stated simply. He glanced at Buffy who still looked ready to stake the couple, they were neither human nor demons … She looked to her Watcher for an explanation.

"Buffy, allow me to introduce Cathy and Dominic. They’re Watcher Hunters, or rather they were… They hunted me while you were on your vacation."

"Were hunters?" She asked suspiciously. "I want the full story over “tea”."

She backed away and Cathy led Dominic into the room with the others. Giles finished his second cup before starting on the story he glanced at the hunters as if checking on certain points; they volunteered no information till the end.

"How did you survive the explosion at the marina?" Willow asked anxiously, she was perhaps the only one in the room that bore them the least animosity, after all Dom had saved her from being blown up!

"We had to remove the thorns before the Greys could order them to destruct. We did that underwater and held them till Cathy sensed the signal then I threw them but was caught in the blast…" Dom looked adoringly into Cathy’s eyes letting her finish their story.

"I thought Dom…" She halted as tears welled up in her eyes. "I threw my thorns at the retreating car and watched it explode. I don’t remember how I got to the shore, I dragged Dom with me and we hid under the boardwalk all night." She took a shuddering breath and gazed at Dom he hugged her close giving her a reassuring kiss.

"We’re free. The Greys are destroyed…" They smiled and Dominic looked directly at Giles. "We’re unemployed, d’you know anyone who needs help?"

Giles exchanged glances with the others. If tonight was anything to go by, they did need extra help… If Cathy and Dom had inside information about the history of the Greys and their links to vampires and demons, they could be of invaluable help. After all they must have learned something during their enforced servitude…

With one last quick look at Buffy, Giles took a breath and offered them a place on the Slaying team. Cathy and Dom smiled at all present and got up to leave…

"Where are you going? It’s dangerous at night in Sunnydale." Willow warned.

"We have to uhm, well, we don’t eat and we need to…" They looked at each other with a strange enigmatic gaze… All this was completely lost on Willow. Giles twigged first…

"Oh, yes. Of course…Uhm, see you in the morning." Cathy and Dom stood quietly in the centre of the room, embraced tenderly and vanished.

"Good trick…" Ethan whistled.

"Who were those masked people?" Xander and Buffy piped up together…

END.

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