The leather clad, blonde-haired demon known as Dessa Kale glanced at the Kales' warehouse, which was bustling with demonic activity. She could feel the evil presence of vampires, Kalites, and most importantly, the presence of her estranged family as well. Half of her wanted to tear into each and every creature until she annihilated her family, and gained a measure of vengeance. The other half wanted to get back on her bike and go home, and concentrate on making sure that Damien was well-trained and safe. She knew that she couldn't protect him forever, but she also knew that there was a Slayer named Faith barely alive due to the antics of her family. She was emotionally torn between the two situations, and couldn't decide. Of course, a lurking Kalite made her make her decision a little hastily, as she blasted it in the head before it saw her. Her hiding place amongst crates and other various boxes outside wasn't helping. She crept around the back, and found an alternate entrance into the warehouse. Dessa found herself leaning up against the side of the warehouse, various thoughts of abandoning Damien going through her head.

It seemed that after one hundred and eighty years of helping people and training, and a little under twenty years of teaching and caring, Dessa Kale found herself unable to let go of her human emotions, and to slip into the madness that made it so easy to destroy everything that she deemed remotely evil. She thought about Damien, and what lurked in his veins... she thought about Faith, and how she had been utterly beaten by Jinmen. She then thought about herself, and what she did for a "living".

< I'm a demon when it all comes down to it. I deserve to die. > She thought, as she marched into the warehouse, and promptly shot a group of vampires full of holes with a shotgun that was loaded with wooded rounds. The warehouse erupted in a state of rage, gunfire, and utter chaos as Dessa ripped through anything that she saw move, vampire or Kalite. Vampires screamed out in agony, some of them mortally wounded -- or "unmortally", as Dessa dealt them what would have been fatal injuries. As her shotgun clicked empty, she tossed it to the side, and promptly drew a machete, and took down a group of Kalites.

"Enough," Victor Kale commanded, as Dessa Kale stood amongst crippled and outraged vampires, as well as a group of Kalites that flanked her on the left. Victor Kale emerged from the back of the warehouse, as he was followed by Xavier, Marco, Isis, and a bandaged up Jinmen. "Minions, stand your ground... this is a family affair."

"It's going to end tonight, Victor. You've gone too far. One boy is dead, and a Slayer has been seriously injured... not to mention you've threatened the lives of this entire town. I've had enough." Victor Kale paused for a moment, and laughed heartily before speaking.

"Who made *you* protector of these people? As far as I knew, that's the Slayer's job. You are not in the position to protect any of these pitiful humans... in case you forgot, you are one of us." Victor motioned to his elite gathering, and continued. "You've fought for these humans for over three hundred years now, even after we damn near killed you to get our point across! *We* are the supreme beings in this planet, not them! And all your dedication and respect won't get you accepted by the human race either... you can walk among them, but you are *not* one of them. Unfortunately, you've never realized that... but at least you'll die knowing it."

"I may not be human," Dessa said confidently, "but at least I realized I had a choice. We each walk the path that we have chosen... our different paths have finally led us to this moment..." Dessa withdrew her sword, and began to etch a Chinese symbol in the floor of the warehouse as she spoke. "In the end, should I fall... one will rise and take up the mantle, and they will exact vengeance upon your for the entire human race." Dessa finished her etching, and the symbol brightly glowed red before returning to nothing at all.

"A prophecy? Surely it won't hold water..." Xavier said factually.

"It's mine," Dessa said flatly. "It will hold... and you'll be the first victim, Xavier."

"Enough banter," Victor said, repeating his first statement. "You obviously came to fight, sister... so I'll grant you your request." Victor retrieved a sword from a mantle on the wall, and made his way to the warehouse floor. It was a well designed sword, with a short wide blade, and a gold plated handle. As Victor began his advance, Dessa silently hoped Damien would forgive her in the future.

*****

A bleary-eyed Buffy Summers awoke to the tapping on her window. It was persistent, and urgent. Buffy wiped the sleep out her eyes and glanced at the clock, which read four-fifteen. She had only been asleep for an hour, and was quite angry at her unwelcome visitor. Buffy opened her window, and a bandaged and severely injured Faith gingerly made her way inside the room, carrying a note.

"Faith?! What the hell happened to you?!" Buffy said, alarmed. She knew Faith hadn't checked in with Giles that night, but she didn't know that her fellow Slayer had gotten hurt on patrol.

"I'll tell you later... Damien's gone. He and Dessa apparently went to the warehouse to take on the Kales... apparently Dessa got fed up, and Damien wouldn't let her go off into battle alone."

"Are they crazy?! They could get killed! I'm going to have to go and convince them otherwise.." Buffy muttered, hastily putting on a pair of black pants and a black shirt. She went into her closet and pulled out a mace -- something she took on patrol one time and forgot to return to the library -- and made her way out the window, with Faith following her, albeit very slowly. Buffy looked at her quizzically as the two stood in the front yard.

"You shouldn't be going, Faith. You're too-" Faith cut Buffy off in mid-sentence.

"I can't just sit around waiting to see what happened. I have to go... we may be getting there too late, though..."

"That's why we're leaving now," Buffy said, heading down the street. "To avoid getting there too late."

*****

The human guard outside the warehouse could have swore he heard something. He knew that that blonde-haired chick that killed a few other guards a little over a month ago had returned, and he was under specific orders not to interfere. He stopped in his tracks, and swore he heard a whistle or someone whispering -- he was utterly confused.

"Hey buddy," Someone said as they tapped him on the shoulder. The guard turned around, as was immediately doubled over via a knee to the midsection. Damien grabbed the guard by the waistband of his pants and rammed his knee into the guard's face several times, not letting the guard get away due to the hold he had on his pants.

"What the hell's going on out there," Another guard spouted, coming around the corner. Damien spun the guard he had just kneed around, kicking him in the butt and sending him flying into the guard which had

just arrived. Damien stalked over to the guard, and promptly pulled out his knife, placing it against the man's neck.

"Ok Gomer Pyle, me and you are gonna play 'Informant'..." Damien seethed. "How long has this fight been going on?"

"Ten... twenty minutes... I dunno, I'm not paid to count minutes in a fight..." The guard spat. Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're a funny guy..." Damien forced himself to chuckle, stopping to headbutt the man in the forehead, busting him open. "Whoops... headbutt, that'll be a two point deduction on the Black Clad Warrior... have you noticed yet that I'm not in the mood for games? Now, I'll ask you again, how long have they been fighting? If you make another attempt at a funny, I'll suddenly cause my arm to spasm, causing you to die..." Damien reminded the man of his knife, and waited for an answer.

"F-fifteen minutes at the most, seriously..." The guard stammered, realizing the young man was serious. Damien nodded, and promptly introduced the guard to the heel of his boot, effectively knocking him out. Damien went to enter the warehouse, but instinctively launched a backwards kick to the oncoming figure behind him.

"Read between the treads," He muttered, his foot a few inches away from the person's face. The person calmly moved his foot out the way, and Damien recognized the person as being Amity. What she was doing out here was beyond him, and his face reflected so.

"It says 'Timberland'," she said calmly.

"What are you doing out here this late at night?" He muttered, glancing at the door.

"Sleep doesn't come easily for me... and your bike was rather loud."

"But how'd you find me?" He asked.

"Your scent. I remember it from the library."

"You should leave," Damien said, looking her in the eye. "I've got family business to attend to in there." Amity's eyes were dark brown, and Damien found himself looking down at the ground in order to avoid getting lost in them. He had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

"You may need help. You can't take an army on by yourself." Damien tuned out the conversation for a moment, and heard the sound of swords clashing, and prayed that Dessa was the one pressing the attack.

"I don't plan on it... I'm just going to get Dessa out of there before she gets killed."

"And who's going to get you out so you don't get killed?" Damien didn't want to get into a conversation at this juncture, so he turned his back on Amity, and made his way to enter the warehouse. Amity found herself following him inside, and that's when all hell broke loose.

*****

Dessa effectively parried Victor's attack, and drew blood with a slash across her brother's chest. She was bleeding from her left shoulder, and she could feel the blood dripping down her arm constantly. She was, in a sense, fighting with one arm. Dessa dodged another attack, and drove her brother backwards, causing him to bend back in order to dodge. Dessa saw her opportunity, and kicked her brother in the back of the head, making him stand up, and she promptly ran him through. Victor gasped in agony, dropping to his knees, and found himself clutching at his sister's ankles.

"Spare me..." he said through clenched teeth. He knew Dessa was about to take his head.

"Highly unlikely," Dessa muttered, as she took her demonic form, and raised her sword, ready to kill her brother.

She didn't even see Jinmen as he blindsided her from the side. The huge demon, armed with a silver spiked mace, hit Dessa several times in the side and stomach, and with Jinmen's power, it was enough to knock the blonde-haired demon to the ground. Damien made his way through the doors in time to see the display, and reacted by charging forward, pulling out his sword.

"Dessa!!!" He yelled, drawing the attention of every being in the warehouse.

"Pull Victor back, Marco! We must get out of here!" Xavier yelled, as Marco grabbed Victor and pulled him out of the area. Jinmen continued his vicious assault on Dessa, as Damien was attacked by vampire and Kalite alike. Damien saw Amity rip into some poor vampire mercilessly, as he viciously broke a Kalite's neck. He saw Dessa, the one person that meant everything to him, lay on the ground in silent agony as Jinmen slowly left the area, leaving him with a parting glance. Damien gritted his teeth as a orthodox vampire managed to slash him in the ribs with a knife, and that vampire was promptly dispatched by Amity, who had managed to make her way over to him. He paid no attention to her as he waded through the remaining vampire and Kale forces, most of which had run when the Kales got out of town. Damien soon found himself crouched over his mentor's body, bleeding endlessly from the wound on his side. He didn't care at all. He only cared about Dessa. Amity kept a respectful distance, standing near the wall of the warehouse.

"You... you shouldn't have come," she muttered, her face reverting back to human form.

"We're family... we gotta stick together..." Damien looked at his mentor's ravaged body. "You're gonna live... you weren't decapitated."

"Silver... the mace was silver... it's over, Damien." Tears welled up in Damien's eyes, but he forced them back. He would stay strong as long as Dessa could see him.

"It's not over... you're just weak from battle... we'll go bandage you up, it'll be better...." He muttered. He didn't even know what he was saying, it just sounded like the right thing to say.

"I can feel it... in me... go home... I don't want you to see me die. Sometimes... demons turn to stone when they're defeated..." Dessa reached up and forced Damien to look at her foot, which was already stone. "You don't want to see me die."

"I'm not leaving!" Damien yelled, tears dripping from his eyes. He refused to break down, he would not give in to the emotional pain which racked him at this point. "I'm not leaving you! You're all I have!" Damien punched the ground beside him, ignoring the pain in his hand, as he bumped Dessa's leg, which was now stone as well. Damien wiped the tears out of his eyes, as Dessa spoke.

"Promise me... t-that you won't be mad at me... things are going to get hard for you now... ignore what your blood says, and do what I taught you... that's all I ask..." Dessa's head limply lay to the side, as she was almost fully turned to stone. As Damien watched, on the borderline of being angry and being distraught, Dessa fully turned to stone, and all that he was left with was silence. Damien stared blankly at the ground, eyes teary, trying to ignore the lump in his throat. He went to stand, but found that it would just be better to sit there, on the cold floor of the warehouse, and gather the strength.

"Dessa..." He choked out, as a pair of arms slipped around him, holding him gently. He looked and squinted, more tears falling out of his eyes, and found it to be Amity. He forgot that she was there. Nothing was said, as he slowly buried his head in her shoulder, and began to cry. She held onto him tighter, and her hands accidentally brushed up against his wound.

"You've been cut..." she muttered softly, as Damien raised his head, red-eyed and distraught. Damien slowly got to his feet, breaking the hold that Amity had on him. He wordlessly staggered out of the warehouse alone, as Amity looked at her hand. It was covered in Damien's blood, and Amity felt her senses heighten just a tad. She ignored her instincts and walked out of the warehouse, just in time to watch Damien drive away on his bike. His blood had dripped on the ground, and Amity found herself following the trail off into the night.

*****

Buffy and Faith thought they were hallucinating when they saw Damien's bike erratically zoom down the street, swerving and slowing down, and then speeding up again. Damien swerved off to the sidewalk and crashed into a pile of boxes, causing the two Slayers to run over and see if he was ok.

"Damien, are you ok?" Faith asked, concerned. Damien pulled himself out of the cluttered mess, and brought his bike back up off the ground. Damien looked at her, red-eyed and pissed off, and shook his head.

"...I was too late..." he muttered, wheeling his bike onto the street. He decided to walk it home, as he was in no condition to drive. "I couldn't save her... they... they... that damn Jinmen..." Damien cut himself off, and collected himself. "They're all going to die," He stated flatly.

"Y-you're bleeding," Buffy said, noticing the blood seeping from Damien's side. Both Slayers felt for their friend and were concerned, but Damien was off in another world.

"It'll heal... you guys should go home... I need to be alone." Damien wordlessly walked his bike off into the night, as he left the two Slayers behind. In silence, Faith and Buffy went back to the Summers' house, alone with their thoughts.

*****

Damien staggered through the front door of his house, and immediately noticed the presence of someone else in his home.

"Leave," He muttered, taking off his shirt and heading for the bathroom. Moments later, he emerged, a bandage around his torso. He looked in the living room, and noticed that Amity had somehow got into his home. Amity noticed the evil look that Damien was giving her, and promptly spoke.

"I followed you home... you were bleeding... I couldn't stand to see you go off like that," she said softly.

"Looking for a snack?" Damien said icily. Amity felt as if she had been shot.

"N-no... I just wanted to make sure you were-"

"Fine? No. I am not fine. I would like to be alone." Damien said sternly, an stood in the path from the living room to the doorway. Amity looked at him, concerned.

"You don't have to be alone," she muttered, making her way up to Damien. In his emotional, tortured state, Damien still found himself smelling her, all of his senses reacted violently to her, as if her being there was wrong, forbidden, or just plain unexpected.

"I don't want anyone around...." He growled. "I think I'm going to... lose it." He made his way to the couch, and sat down, the feeling of emptiness and anger fluctuating inside of him. "Dessa taught me to control my... myself, but... I c-" Amity put her hand over his mouth, effectively silencing him.

"You can control yourself... I won't let you give in. We're the same, you and I. We both don't want to be what we are..." She held him again, and Damien found himself calming down.

"Why are you here?" He found himself muttering to her, his head once again resting on her shoulder.

"Because... you need someone..." She answered him, and found herself silently adding, "and I need you." No more words were said, and Damien soon found himself asleep in Amity's arms.

*****

A new day was upon Sunnydale, as Buffy found herself in the library, which was common for her, as she talked with Willow, Xander, and Giles. She was slightly worried about Damien, but hoped that he'd come to his senses eventually. She'd noticed that he looked particularly evil the night before as he walked away with his bike, but that was understandable. He'd just lost the only family he had, and was probably blaming himself for not getting there sooner.

"That's so sad," Willow muttered, after hearing what had happened the previous night.

"Hopefully Damien will find a way to rejoin us in the future, but his absence would be understandable, considering the circumstances," Giles said. While Faith was on her way to recovering, he hoped that Damien's emotional scars wouldn't cause any problems. He remembered Dessa mentioning that she had trained Damien well so that he wouldn't lose control of the demonic blood that ran through him, but a tragedy like this might be the thing that would set him over the edge. He hoped that it wouldn't come to that, since Faith and Buffy might not take to well to fighting someone they were good acquaintances with -- they might even have to kill him, if it came to that.

"If I was him, I'd be more than ready to kick some Kale ass," Xander noted. "Back to Slayerville though... we're seriously low on manpower, G-Man... you think the Buffster will be able to handle it?"

"I believe that we may not hear anything from the Kales for sometime, if Dessa was able to succeed in hurting Victor anyway, as Damien alluded to in his conversation with Buffy last night."

"He did say something about Jinmen... I'm thinking that he had a part in killing Dessa." Buffy noted.

"Speaking of Dessa, and I hate to sound cruel, but... do you think we'll have to play Hide the Body?" Xander got a few looks from the group, but he was used to them by now.

"I would think that Damien would take care of that, Xander," Willow said, giving him a stern look.

And indeed, he was.

Damien stood at the docks, watching a large crate being loaded onto a boat. Someone came up to him, and requested some shipping info, and Damien responded.

"Yeah, the crate there... I'm shipping it to Kyoto, Japan. There's a small village about three miles North from the port there, that's where that needs to go." Damien handed the man a sum of money, and watched as the crate was placed firmly on the ship.

"Goodbye Dessa," Damien muttered. "I'll see you again someday..." The lone demon hunter jammed his hands into his jacket pocket, and made his way off the docks, onto his bike, and back into Sunnydale. He still had a job to finish.