This story is amazing and it inspired me so here you go:
OMAKE: The Standard Conversation
Buffy watched as the vampire successfully lured the boy away from the party.
The only thing that wasn't standard fare for her was getting used to the Vampire Detector Goggles Mark 1. They were so new that they were still held together with duct tape but Jonathan had promised that the next version would be sturdier. They looked strange so Buffy had retreated into the shadows before putting them on.
One side of the goggle was clear and the other used a clever arrangement of mirrors to show the same image, just slightly smaller due to the extra distance the light had to travel. Since vamps didn't show in mirrors she could just look around the room and anyone who wasn't visible with both eyes was a target.
She had been watching this vamp for several minutes, waiting for her to pick out a victim and move somewhere private. Buffy didn't want to make a big scene either so she waited. The Vampire was a cute twenty something with the standard perfect complexion of the undead but was wearing rockabilly far too unironically.
The boy was still in that awkward stage of puberty where his limbs were just a bit too long for his body and he suffered from rather severe acne and his hair was more oil than not. He seemed overwhelmed by the attention from a woman and was eager to leave with her.
Buffy adjusted her stylish tote bag on her shoulder as she followed them. It didn't take long for them to reach the alley and turn down the cul-de-sac so that they were out of sight of the road and still close enough to the club that the thumping base line would cover any cries for help. Being a dead end that helped prevent the prey from escaping was also a consideration.
Like so many vamps this one liked to play with its food and had put on its game face by the time that Buffy caught up.
"You humans, you always act as though death wasn't inevitable and act so surprised when it comes for you. At least your death will serve a greater purpose than most keeping me fed. What the?" Buffy interrupted at this point yanking the vamp back by the hair and throwing her at the wall.
"Hi, I'm Buffy! What's your name?" She was extra cheerful since that always pissed the vamps off.
"You bitch, I am your doom." The vamp swung in with a wild haymaker that Buffy ducked under.
"Not you, I was talking to the kid". Knee kick, 1 2 punch, then an uppercut forced the female vamp back to the wall.
"P-p-paul. My name is Paul." He scrambled to his feet from where he had fallen and was on the verge of rabbiting. That wouldn't do.
"Hi Paul. Stick around. I'm gonna need your help with this." She really didn't but it was a good teaching moment. "See that bag on the ground. Go get it." She put more tension in her voice than she actually felt and it motivated the boy just right. He needed to be scared but not terrified, perfectly present in the moment so that she could try and push his adrenaline from flight to fight.
"Graagh. Stop ignoring me. I am Scarlet and I will be your doom." The now named vamp closed again, relying entirely on her vampire gifts, all brute force and no skill. This attempt didn't go any better than the previous attempt and Scarlet was forced back to the wall sideways before crashing into the ground.
"Okay Paul, now Scarlet here is a Vampire, a supernatural predator whose favourite meal is human blood. They are stronger, faster and have better senses than humans but they have a bunch of weaknesses that can be exploited. First grab the mace. The silver canister, that's right. Now spray Scarlet in the face." Buffy kept up her chatter in between keeping Scarlet from escaping. She had passed up staking the vamp several times so that the lesson wouldn't finish too soon.
Paul was nervous and his hands were shaking but even though most of the spray missed entirely or hit Buffy some hit Scarlet on exposed flesh. Buffy continued to talk over the screaming of the vampire as the holy water ate into her corrupted flesh. "That's holy water. As you can see it is harmless to humans like you and me but the divine essence reacts violently with Scarlet's demonic nature. Now pull out the crosses and set them on their stands around us." By now the fight had gone out of Scarlet and the vampire just wanted to flee but Buffy didn't give her the space keeping her off balance with judicious use of violence.
Paul was taking his time pulling out the crosses that had their own collapsible stands and setting them up so that they were freestanding about waist height above the ground. "The same principle applies to crosses and they are good for warding Vampires away. That's good with the crosses. Scarlet won't be able to get past them to get to you. Now if I had my friends with me this is the part where we would break out the crossbows and try to get a wooden bolt into the heart but since it is just us we will have to improvise. I am going to incapacitate the vamp and you will do the staking. Got it?" Buffy's tone of voice made it clear that this was not a request.
"Really? Damn it. Okay." Paul sighed and Buffy could see the moment when he resigned himself to this course of action. Scarlet was beaten and bloody and Buffy was having to put effort into keeping her in the action and not collapsed.
"You are doing great Paul, now grab the wooden stake out of the bag and when I tell you stab her in the heart. Use all of your strength since it has to get through the rib cage. I will hold her as best I can. Ready. Now." Buffy wrangled the thoroughly defeated vamp so that it was facing the boy with its arms locked behind it. Paul's clumsy lunge would have embedded the stake in the wrong side of the chest but it was the work of a moment to maneuver the vamp into the weapon's path.
There was the standard scream and the explosion of dust as the vampire ceased to be. Paul's mouth was open and he was breathing hard from the exertion and caught a mouthful of crypt dust. He immediately started coughing.
Buffy patted herself down and walked over to the bag and pulled out a bottle of water. She handed it to Paul. "You did good. Have some water to wash out the remnants." He swilled and spat the holy water. "Let me walk you home. It wouldn't do for you to survive this and get eaten anyway."
It took Paul a few minutes to compose himself which Buffy used to pack everything away. Then they set off. "Thank you so much for the save. I owe you my life."
Buffy nodded "You are most welcome. It is nothing that I wouldn't do for any human if I got the chance. Vampires are a plague on all humanity, but of course it is far worse living on a hellmouth." She left the conversational gambit wide open and sure enough Paul took the bait.
"What's a hellmouth?"
"Sunnydale was built above a mystical convergence, a weakness between this dimension and others. It makes life much easier for supernatural creatures so they come here from all over. Makes it far more dangerous for the normals like you were. Keeps me on my toes." Buffy grinned at Paul inappropriately cheerfully.
Paul gasped. "What do you mean: normal like I was? I am still normal! Aren't I?
Buffy shook her head ruefully at her companion. "You now know that there are things that go bump in the night. You couldn't go back to ignoring the truth if you tried. I know, I have seen people try." She made it seem far harder than it actually was in hopes of dissuading him from actually doing so.
She watched his face carefully and could almost read the emotions as they passed across it. The realisation that his life was now far more complicated and dangerous than it had been before. "But what can I do, I really don't see myself cut out for hunting."
She grinned at him "That is a good question to start with. We can always use more help." She passed him a business card. "First, pay attention to the world as it is, not as you expect it to be. Don't worry, it gets easier with practice. Call the listed number if you have an emergency or if you see anything relevant, you know mystical or supernatural."
She continued as their walking took them into a suburban area. "Second, you should join a group that is aware. The card has details of the local chapter of survivors. You are not alone, other people have gone through the same experience as you. If you show up, tell them that Buffy sent you."
"What does this group do?" Paul asked.
"Sometimes they just meet to talk about the trauma of their attack or the guilt that they have about the ones that they failed to save. Other times they do indeed hunt as you suspected but this is strictly volunteer only. We also need help with the logistics side of things, carving stakes, repairing crossbows and so on. There are even members who just send in money. We can take all of the assistance we can get. Don't worry Paul, you will certainly be able to make a difference."
Paul had been leading them home, jumpy even with the escort. "Well this is me. Thank you again for the save. I guess I will see you around."
"Sure. Next meeting is at the church on Murphy street Sunday afternoon after the service. See you then." Buffy walked away. Perhaps Paul would bury his head back in the sand but she had done what she could to keep him safe. Forewarned was forearmed after all.
