Andrew flinched as Salome pounded on the training dummy that had been set up in the basement. She was absolutely savage with every hit.

"How can you stand them, Andrew?" Salome spat, pounding her fists into the face of the dummy.

"Stand who?" Andrew asked meekly.

"Them!" Salome exclaimed. "The self-righteous, overpowered, little..." Salome kicked the dummy so hard it flew off its stand. Andrew had to duck to avoid the dummy. He crouched down behind it. "Slayers!" Salome finished. "They're all just... Argh!"

Andrew poked his head up from behind the dummy. He let out a tiny squeak. "Why do you hate them so much?"

"Could be because they have a history of trying to kill me." Salome blew an errant lock of hair out of her face with a frustrated puff of air. "I don't know, to be honest. Maybe they just piss me off by all of them being athletic and gorgeous."

Andrew blinked and then stared at Salome in astonishment. "You're kidding me, right?"

Salome held out her hand and the Nyazian Fang appeared. She twirled the sword around, testing the weight of it. "Kidding about what?"

Hesitantly, Andrew approached Salome. "You're threatened by Slayers because they're beautiful and athletic?" Andrew put his hands on Salome's shoulders. "Salome, you're a real-life comic book babe!"

Salome stopped swinging her sword and turned to Andrew, her eyes wide. "What?" She smiled. "I am?"

"Of course you are!" Andrew exclaimed. He looked over Salome. "You've got purple hair and the ability to pull a sword out of hammerspace... You're like one of the Sailor Scouts!" Andrew smiled at Salome broadly. "You're the most babely girl I've ever seen that wasn't on TV."

Salome blushed fuchsia. "You're sweet, Andrew... A liar, but you're sweet."

"What makes you think I don't mean it?" Andrew asked, looking offended.

"Faith," Salome said simply.

Andrew shrugged. "Well..."

Salome rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on... I'd do her!"

Andrew eyes went as wide as saucers. " Really ?"

Salome gave Andrew a slap upside the head. He flinched. "Don't worry," Salome said gently. "It's sweet in a really disturbing way that you'll be imaging that tonight instead of Queen Amidala in Leia's slave girl outfit." She dropped the sword on the ground. "You should really password protect your computer. You have some sick pictures."

"Oh." Andrew turned deep red. "Well... I really mean it. You're very hot." Andrew looked down. "But it's not Slayers in general that's bothering you right now, is it?"

Salome sighed. "Yeah. It's Slayers... In specific."

Andrew looked awkward. "You know, Mandy's a really nice girl."

"I bet she is," Salome grumbled. Her hand tightened into fists and her skin went purple.

Andrew shook his head. "Sal, you can't think that she and Connor..." He looked horrified. "There's no way he's do that!"

"Why not?" Salome asked hotly.

"It's Connor ," Andrew stressed. "He's like crazy in love with you."

"Yeah... Maybe..." Salome sighed.

"Why are you so worried?" Andrew asked.

Salome looked down. Her lower lip jutted out. "You're watching her, right?"

Andrew nodded. "Right. Me and Oni."

"Well..." Salome threw her hands up in the air. "They'll end up patrolling together!"

"What does that patrolling have to do with... You know..." Andrew's cheeks turned red. "That?"

"Everything!" Salome exclaimed. "How do you think Connor and I hooked up?" She gesticulated wildly. "You're out hunting... The blood gets pumping... You're sweaty... Working back to back... You're taking out the evil.... It's just..." She grunted. "It's hot, you know." She sighed. "There was this one time when Vail was around... We took out fifteen vamps and then he pushed me up against a crypt and..."

"TMI!" Andrew cried, squeezing his eyes shut and throwing his hands over his face to protect himself.

"We don't patrol together anymore," Salome said hotly. She paced back and forth. "I've spent the last year building up a schtick as the hot, sexy, ass-kicking chick..." She threw a punch, burying her fist into the drywall. "Now this shiksa princess thinks she can come to my town and slay her way into my man's pants?"

Andrew took a step back, looking shocked. "When you get mad, you get scary..." He frowned. "And kinda Jewish."

Salome pulled her hand out of the wall. She calmly walked to the bench, picking up a towel and wiping down her face. "I just wish this wasn't happening today. I wanted today to be good." She started up the stairs.

Andrew followed after Salome. "Are you all right?"

Salome stopped in the kitchen. She threw herself down in one of the chairs, transforming into her human form. She slumped down, looking miserable. "Just so you don't think I'm entirely pathetic... It's not just the idea of losing Connor that's eating at me."

"What is it?" Andrew asked, frowning deeply as he looked over the demon girl.

"It's losing all of this." Salome gestured around. "All of you."

Andrew sat down next to Salome. "Why would you lose us?"

"If Connor and I break up..." Salome shrugged. "That's it for this."

"It wouldn't change!" Andrew protested. "You're one of us!"

"Don't patronize me, Andrew." Salome sniffled. "It would all change. We all know it. Connor and I are intense enough that if we break up, we won't be going back to being friends any time soon. And you're his Watcher. It's your job to work with him. Oni's got herself into that too. Jamie is Connor's best friend. You guys are friends with me because you're friends with him."

"I like you," Andrew said quietly.

Salome gave Andrew a small smile, reaching out and taking his hand. She squeezed it tightly. "I like you too, Andrew. But this is just the way things go. I wish it were different, but..." She sighed. "You know, when I first got together with Connor, this is what I was worried about. When he was just my friend, he was the centre of my world." She shook her head. "Add love to it, and I'm all sorts of screwed."

"I wouldn't let him kick you out," Andrew said fiercely.

"I'd still go," Salome said quietly. "That's just the way it is, Andrew." She looked up, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "Don't you have a comic book store to run?"

"Actually, I do." Andrew got up, going into the living room. "But there's something I have to do before I go," he called back.

Salome stood. "What's that?"

Andrew came back into the kitchen with a bouquet of daisies. He held them out to Salome. "Happy birthday, Salome."

Letting out a small cry, Salome pulled Andrew into a furious hug.

****

Mandy closed her eyes, stretching herself out. She was clad in a form-fitting pink bodysuit. Her right eye was blue and purple from the punch delivered by Salome.

She began a kata, feeling her way through each movement without opening her eyes. Each step was fluid, graceful.

As she brought up her foot to go into a kick, her eyes flew open. Her foot stopped only an inch from Connor's face. She jumped back, falling on her ass.

"Good control," Connor commented. He held a hand out to help Mandy up.

Mandy accepted the hand, pulling herself to her feet. "Good stealth. I didn't hear you at all."

Connor shrugged. "Twenty years of practice. Would have been harder had your eyes been open." He looked around. "So this is Roble Gym, huh?" He nodded. "I don't think I've ever actually been in here."

Mandy frowned, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve. "Then why are you in here now?"

"I saw you walking," Connor admitted. "So I tracked you."

"That's a little creepy," Mandy said honestly.

Connor nodded, cheeks going red. "I know." He looked around, eyeing a couple of girls on exercise bikes. "This isn't really a good place to let yourself go. Maybe you should work out at our place. You'll be able to use a sword and everything."

"You worried I'm going to get rusty?" Mandy asked.

Connor shrugged, but there was a grin on his face. "Should I be? You know, it's really easy to lose your touch... Especially since you're so new to this."

Mandy narrowed her gaze on Connor as she stretched out her arms. "All right. I think that's a challenge."

"You've been dying to say that ever since you found out I'm the Destroyer, haven't you?" Connor's grin grew.

Mandy nodded. "Yeah. Pretty much." She brought up her fists. "Come on. I heard you were a great warrior. Show me what you've got."

Connor brought up his own fists. "Well, I hate to disappoint a lady."

Mandy swung at Connor. He easily deflected the punch. "So this is just for my benefit? Are you telling me you've never wanted to fight a Slayer?"

Connor did a low sweeping kick. "Already fought a Slayer."

Mandy jumped over Connor's leg. "Really?" She threw another punch.

Connor caught her arm. They were locked together, lips only an inch from each other. He met her eyes. "Twice."

He jerked his head back before pushing Mandy hard. She staggered. "Your balance is off," he said coldly.

"How is this?" Mandy kicked, hitting Connor in the middle of the chest. The breath was knocked out of him as he was sent flying back.   He landed hard in front of the girls on the exercise bikes. He blushed. "Ladies."

"Oh no!" Mandy cried out, running over to Connor. She knelt beside him. "I'm really sorry! Are you all right?"

"This is why we don't work out in front of civilians," Connor muttered.

"Because it's embarrassing?"

"Yeah." Connor rubbed his chest. "That was... A good hit."

"Are you all right?" Mandy placed her hand on Connor's chest. They stared at each other for a long moment. Mandy leaned in closer.

"This wasn't a really good idea," Connor said suddenly. He got back up. "We should only spar at my place. With Andrew watching and telling us what to do."

"Oh." Mandy got up. "Well, I guess that's understandable. Don't want to embarrass you in front of any more biking beauties."

Connor turned away from Mandy. "Yeah. I'd appreciate it." He ran a hand through his hair. "You know... I should go meet up with Andrew."

Mandy gestured to the change room. "Give me five minutes to change. I'll go with you."

"But..." Connor started to say. He sighed at Mandy's stern look. "All right."

****

"A Slayer," the dark voice purred. The figure remained cloaked in the shadows. "Yahku, are you really telling me that a Slayer killed Raha last night?"

A grey, hulking demon-- nearly identical to the one Salome had killed-- knelt prostrate on the ground. "Word on the underground is a Slayer has come to the Hellmouth. I saw a girl kill Raha. It could only be..."

"Why didn't you fight her?" The commanding voice demanded. "You're strong. You should have made her pay for killing your brother."

"I...." Yahku bowed deeper.

"You ran away, didn't you?" The shadowed figure stepped forward, remaining cloaked. It knelt beside Yahku. "You knew Raha was stronger than you... So you fled. Afraid of a pathetic, mortal girl."

"A Slayer!" Yahku protested.

"You really believe I am afraid of a Vampire Slayer?" The figure kicked Yahku hard. "You mistake me for someone else."

"Of course," Yahku tried to get back up. "Your radiant self would never be afraid of a girl. But..."

"Tell me about this Slayer," the figure demanded.

"She was strong," Yahku replied. "She used magic. Her purple hair was stained with Raha's blood."

"Purple?" The dark voice figure laughed throatily. "You're a complete and utter idiot, aren't you? That was no Slayer. That was the Nyazian."

"Nyazian?" Yahku repeated.

"Since you show your ignorance, I'll enlighten you..." The figure knelt beside Yahku. " That was the Destroyer's whore. An impressive warrior, no doubt... But no Slayer. She is a sorceress."

"But I have heard of a Slayer!" Yahku protested. "They are speaking of her all over town. She has killed a dozen vampires since she arrived."

"More help for the Destroyer," The dark figure rose again. "How am I supposed to get the Destroyer alone if these women keep on getting in my way?"

"What should we do?" Yahku asked.

"Well... I suggest you go out and find this Slayer... And you welcome her to the Hellmouth..." Yahku's master paused. "And then you shuffle her loose the mortal coil."

****

Connor waited outside the gym. He leaned against the wall next to the doors, his head bowed. His brow was furrowed in thought.

Mandy came out, now dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a crop top. She ran a hand through her hair. "There. That didn't take too long, now did it?"

Connor pushed away from the wall. "I guess not." He gestured for Mandy to go ahead of him. "After you."

"So where are we off to?" Mandy asked, skipping ahead. "Your place?"

"The comic shop," Connor muttered.

"The comic shop?" Mandy turned to look at Connor briefly. "The one your friend Jamie owns?"

"It's Andrew's too," Connor replied. "They opened it together. Andrew really runs it. Jamie's got class and... Well, to be honest, Andrew needed something to do with his time other than drive me crazy."

"Good for him!" Mandy chirped.

Connor cocked his head to the side, examining the black marks on Mandy's lower back.

Slyly, Mandy looked over her shoulder at him. "Either you're checking out my ass... Or my tattoo."

"Oh!" Connor jumped, his cheeks going red. "Well... Err...The second."

"It's really not like me," Mandy admitted. "But it was sort of a pact. All of the new Slayers did it when we passed training."

"Oh." Connor nodded. "I see."

"Do you want to see it closer?" Mandy asked. She pulled up the back of her shirt.

Connor swallowed hard. He nodded slowly.

Mandy crooked her finger, beckoning him closer. "Come on. Don't be shy."

Connor moved in closer. It was a highly-stylised cross with a banner across it that read Blood is Compulsory .

"Dark," Connor commented.

Mandy smiled coyly at Connor. "We can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. It's all blood, you see." She licked her lips slowly. "Stoppard."

"You're definitely an original," Connor's throat was suddenly very dry.

"I almost got a copy of Faith's tattoo," Mandy admitted. "She's kind of a hero of mine. But she wasn't too keen on that. She got a friend of hers to design some tats."

"We should go," Connor said, very uncomfortable. "Andrew... He'll be waiting for me."

Mandy frowned. "Do you want to get rid of me?"

"No!" Connor protested. He walked ahead quickly. "I told you, Andrew's waiting for me."

Mandy frowned, trying to catch up. "Connor? Did I do something?"

Connor frowned as he looked back at Mandy. "What makes you think you did something?"

"Well, you seem to want to get away from me as quickly as possible." Mandy caught up to Connor. "Traditionally, that's not something you do if everything is fine. What did I do?"

"You didn't do anything," Connor sighed. "I just... I had to go."

"You know," Mandy frowned deeply. "You're the one who followed me down with your freaky tracking skills. I didn't ask you to come with me, so I don't understand why you're getting all freaked."

"I just wanted to see you," Connor murmured, looking away. "I wanted to see how you were doing. Make sure you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be doing okay?" Mandy asked. She put a hand on Connor's shoulder to halt him.

Connor turned to face Mandy. He let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know. I might be a little weirded out if I were dragged into all of this."

"What dragged?" Mandy shook her head fractionally. "I was already in all of this! I'm a Slayer. A Vampire Slayer."

Connor's eyes went wide. He looked around, paranoid. "Say that a bit louder, huh?"

Mandy crossed her arms over her chest. "I can handle the mystical. It's my birthright. I'm the Chosen One . There's nothing you can do that I can't."

"You really think so?" Connor snapped. He looked ferocious. "You've been fighting demons for... What? Two years? Talk to me in another eighteen. I've lived and breathed fighting my entire life. So don't come in here with your self-important Slayer crap."

Mandy laughed bitterly. "But I've got to put up with you self-important Destroyer crap?"

"This is my town," Connor said, his voice darkly quiet. "I'm not saying that to be possessive. It's a warning. Nothing I have is good."

Mandy smiled cruelly, glaring at Connor. "I guess that explains the demon."

Connor's lip curled in a snarl. "I'm so out of here."

"Where are you going?" Mandy called after him as he stalked off.

"Away from you!" Connor called back. "You asked me if I had a problem with you... Well, now I do!"

"You certainly have a way with people!" Mandy shouted after Connor. "Real nice welcome to a new ally!"

Connor stopped, turning back to Mandy. "I didn't ask for a new ally. In fact, I asked for the opposite. I didn't want you here, Mandy. I didn't want a Slayer."

"I thought I was your friend." Mandy frowned, shoulders slumping. "I thought you liked me."

"I thought I did too," Connor said, an apologetic tone in his voce. He walked back up to Mandy, subdued for the moment. "It was nice to have a friend who didn't know about any of this... Who didn't know what I was. But you do know. And you're never going to look at me the same way again."

Mandy shrugged. "You're not going to look at me the same way either."

Connor laughed bitterly. "But I'm probably not going to end up hating and fearing you ."

"You're afraid of me being afraid of you?" Mandy frowned deeply. "Connor..."

"I don't exactly have a reputation as a people person," Connor said carefully.

"I don't mind that you're the Destroyer," Mandy stepped towards Connor slowly. "In fact, I'm really glad it's you. I like you, Connor."

"You don't know me," Connor murmured.

Mandy smiled sweetly. "Well, why don't you let me?"

Mandy leaned in and pressed her mouth to Connor's.

ACT THREE