the devil i love } { you better pay attention, build your comprehension

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Once Dean and Cordelia are gone, and Buffy and Peter have gotten some sleep the three of them gear up and head out to the local cemetery. Not that there are many baby vamps coming up these days, but for some reason they still want to live there. Buffy doesn't understand it.

Spike probably would try and explain it to her, but she doesn't think she would get it then either.

All the same, they walk into a clear part of the cemetery before she glances back over her shoulder.]

Okay. Vampire 101. They're undead and they don't have a soul so they're pretty much gonna do whatever they can to eat you.

Comments

[hadtobeahero]

[Peter takes a moment to look around the cemetery, and then] So, you mean like ... [he makes a vague gesture, almost zombie-ish, to which Sylar shakes his head]

They're not Frankenstein's monster, Peter.

[he makes a face] ... right.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She smirks a bit as she shakes her head.]

They're fast, they're strong, and they're completely vicious. And more than that, they're smart, and they're not hindered by morality. They want to kill you? They're going to kill you.

[hadtobeahero]

[that doesn't sound suspiciously familiar. no, not at all. and he's not going to pointedly avoid looking at Sylar, that in mind, for fear of hurting his feelings]

Okay ... so, how do you ... [stop them or whatever?]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She holds up the stake in her hand.]

Stake to the heart is a personal favorite. You could also push them into a patch of sunlight, chop their head off or set them on fire.

[hadtobeahero]

... okay, then.

[that was not the answer he was hoping for, but -- but chances are he'll probably change his tune real quick, once he's actually seen a vampire and what they can and will do to an innocent, living person]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Yeah, Buffy gets that. They look like people sometimes, but they're monsters underneath. She's seen enough of them to know that.]

Okay. So all we need is the actual vampire.

[Which will surely wander in shortly.]

[hadtobeahero]

Should I ask how long that usually takes? [or is that going to be another answer he doesn't like, for one reason or another]

Not long. If they're around, they've probably heard us, by now. [or smelled them or -- whatever, they're coming. hold your horses, Peter]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Yep. In fact, there is someone wandering their way, wearing a terrible biker jacket and carrying a bottle of Jack.]

Little late to be out wandering in a graveyard, isn't it?

[heroslayer]

We heard there was a party out here. [he glances sharply to the bottle of Jack. as if that's what he's actually interested in] Looks like we found it.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

Oh, you found it.

[His face shifts and his fangs start to descend.]

Let's party.

[And with that, he charges.]

[heroslayer]

[and as if they're not being run down by a vampire, Sylar shoots Buffy a casual glance] Easy way or hard way?

[because he could just throw the guy back telekinetically and pin him, so Peter can get the chance to have a good look at him. or he can let the guy come and let Buffy do her thing so Peter knows what she's capable of and what a vampire's capable of]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy shrugs, considering for a moment, nodding to him.]

Let's make this a teaching moment.

[Meaning pin him for a sec so that Peter can learn.]

[heroslayer]

[Sylar hums in response, throwing up a hand and, as probably expected by everyone but the vampire, the guy goes flying backwards into a tree. he raises his fingers, dragging him up it so he's not prone, and then curls his fingers inward, into a loose fist, holding him there]

[Peter, meanwhile, glances between Buffy, Sylar, the vampire and back again, feeling more than a little out of his element, at the moment]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy turns back to Peter with a small smile, before gesturing to the body in front of her.]

Exhibit A. Your typical, cocky, run of the mill vampire.

[hadtobeahero]

Yeah. [he sees that. he's still working on believing it] I get what you mean about them being kind of ... [evil. considering this one tried to jump them for no apparent reason]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She nods.]

Yeah. They're pretty straight forward. Hunt, catch, kill.

[hadtobeahero]

[Peter's still not sure he's sold on the killing part, but -- and then -- man, this is a headache of moral choices] And you do this every night?

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy nods as she takes out her stake and lets it rest in her hand.]

Yep. There aren't a lot of humans left in Cleveland, but that doesn't mean we want these guys escaping to the outside world either.

[hadtobeahero]

Yeah, I guess not.

[and after a moment, Sylar speaks up] They're not like me, Peter. They're not redeemable. She wasn't kidding when she said they don't really do morality.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She turns and extends the stake out to Peter.]

You wanna do it, or should I?

[hadtobeahero]

[Peter glances at Sylar, who just shrugs, then takes a deep breath and reaches for the stake. if he's going to stick around and help, he should probably man up. even if he's still not sure how he feels about any of this]

I've got it.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy nods, before handing off the stake to him.]

You want to hit the heart. It's okay if you miss the first time. Most people do.

[hadtobeahero]

[ ... that is not terribly reassuring, Buffy] Right.

[a moment of hesitation follows, and then he moves to stand in front of the vampire, glancing back at Sylar, to make sure he won't be going anywhere, unexpectedly. Sylar nods, Peter turns back to the vampire and after another moment of pause, he goes to drive the stake into the guy's chest. surprisingly? he doesn't miss. probably because he's a paramedic, and he knows all too well where the human heart is]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[And predictably, the vampire dusts in front of them, disintegrating and falling to the ground. Buffy looks suitably impressed.]

Not bad for your first go.

[hadtobeahero]

[a little absently, if only because WHAT THE HELL THAT GUY DEFINITELY JUST TURNED TO DUST] I'm kind of a paramedic, so ...

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

Oh! That's handy.

[They could use a good paramedic.]

... You okay?

[hadtobeahero]

Yeah, just -- kinda wasn't expecting that. [he gestures to the little pile of ash, then moves back to her, handing off the stake as if he just realized it was some sort of evil magical artifact]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy takes it from him with a small smile.]

A lot of it takes some getting used to. But hey, at least with vampires there's no body to hide. Demons tend to be a lot messier.

[hadtobeahero]

[ ... what is your life even, Buffy?]

[and Sylar looks amused by Peter's reactions, thus far] Welcome to Cleveland. [and what he's been doing for the last however long it's been, now]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She laughs a bit.]

Welcome to any Hellmouth, really. Cleveland just happens to be the one we're standing on right now.

[hadtobeahero]

[Sylar gestures to Buffy] Or that.

Should I ask how many there are?

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[She shrugs.]

You can, but we don't really have an answer beyond "a lot."

[hadtobeahero]

[Peter takes a moment to consider that] I'm guessing it's like a triage thing? [they go and hang out at the most overrun places]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Buffy nods because that's not inaccurate.]

Treat the areas that need the most work first.

[hadtobeahero]

[he nods] Okay, yeah, that makes sense. [even if very little else about this does]

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[Yes, well. Welcome to the world, Peter.]

There's actually a lot of logic to stuff like this - even if it doesn't really seem like it.

[hadtobeahero]

[he'll get used to it -- and probably sooner rather than later. he took to the idea of super powers quickly enough, after all]

[but at any rate, he's silent for a moment following that, and then] So, do we just hang out here for awhile and stop anything that comes along? Or ... ?

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

We usually walk a bit. Talk, make some noise. Try to draw the undead to our current location so they can go back to being actually dead.

[she shrugs.]

Sometimes patrolling doesn't turn up anything, but it's still good to do it.

[heroslayer]

[Peter nods a little, glancing to Sylar, who shrugs and then tilts his head, indicating they walk, as Buffy suggested. he'll get used to things faster if he sees more, and like Buffy said, there's probably still vampires that need dusting] Come on.

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

[And off they go to patrol some more and slay some bad guys! Yay team!]