Prologue (Cloak and Dagger)

She could hear the sound of her heart pounding in her chest and feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins. There wasn't a single part of her small body that wasn't violently aching. Her blonde hair was matted with blood but she wasn't entirely sure where it had come from. If she didn't act soon there was sure to be more. One of the assailants lunged forward at her, but she was quicker than he was and managed to dodge his attack, albeit slightly clumsily. She took advantage of his momentum and sent him flying into the wall that she had been leaning on. There was no time for any sense of victory yet as the second assailant recovered from the last blow she had delivered. The plodding of his boots alerted her to his whereabouts, allowing her to deliver a roundhouse kick successfully. Her foot connected with a sharp crack, and she was delighted in knowing that she had likely just broken his jaw. Unfortunately it didn't seem to slow him down at all. He returned the blow quickly, knocking her straight back into the first guy. The next moments were nothing but a blur as she felt herself tossed across the dark alley and crashed, inelegantly, into a dumpster. When she had first been cornered in the alley she had been confident that she could handle this fight; she may have even been looking forward to a good fight, if she was being honest. Now, that confidence was long gone and there was an intense sense of fear replacing it – she was likely going to die in this alley.

Despite this fear, she felt a smile involuntarily break out from behind the blood and dirt. She wiped blood off her lips with the back of her hand and supressed letting out a laugh. She figured she was losing her mind, but at the same time she was hoping that it made her more dangerous. Maybe she could win after all. With her resolve bolstered, she lunged forward at the two vampires, ready to do some real damage. Her collision with the dumpster had slowed her movements down, but she was not ready to give up quite yet.

"That all you got?" She taunted, spitting some blood out onto the ground.

The two vamps grinned as four more vampires came out of the shadows, surrounding her and blocking any chance of retreat.

"Sure, more can join the party, if you really need the help," she said, hoping that they couldn't hear her voice shaking.

There was a brief moment in which it seemed as though the entire alley paused. No one moved. With baited breath she waited for any flash of movement, but none seemed to come. It was worrisome at best; what were they waiting for? It did, however, allow her a chance to come up with some semblance of a plan for what she was going to do. She was severely outnumbered and absolutely exhausted. There didn't appear to be anything nearby that she could use as a weapon, nor did she have anything with her. If she made it out of this alive, she silently promised herself to never leave home without some sort of weapon to protect herself with. Based on current circumstances, fighting did not seem like a viable option. Retreat was also unlikely – the group of vampires had her completely surrounded. Vaulting over them required more strength than she had after her collision with the dumpster and was quickly ruled out as an option. Rolling under left her far too exposed unless she was able to create a distraction. It wouldn't be easy, but this was her best bet of getting out of here alive. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to scramble their attention.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of arrows landing with a resounding thud and two of the vampires across from her falling into a pile of dust. She didn't care who, or what, had delivered the two arrows. Right now, she saw an opening and she took it. Her hands lashed out at incredible speed and knocked the nearest vampire back. She still had no weapons and had no idea if the new addition to the tussle was friend or foe, but there was no way she was willing to stay back and find out; running was her best option. The small window of opportunity for her to escape was quickly snatched away from her as another vampire dropped down in front of her, blocking her last route of escape.

"Hey!" A voice called out from the shadows, "catch!"

From somewhere to her side, a stake was tossed towards her which she caught with ease. It was surprising how a simple wooden stake was enough to make her feel as though this fight was once again winnable. The vampire took a powerful swing towards the small blonde. She dodged it just in time, but was unable to avoid the follow up strike which caused her to stumble backwards. There was new blood trickling down her cheek and her recovery from the blow was a touch slow. When he lunged for her again, she moved to the side to let him sail past her. From behind, she drove the stake through his back and into his heart. She fell into the new pile of dust, entirely spent.

From behind her, the blonde could hear the last remaining vampires also fall into dust. She could finally catch her breath as she pulled herself up off the cold cement. It took the last of her strength to get to her feet again as she fought to slow her racing heart. The alley swirled around her as she stood up too fast, but finally came still once more as she steadied on her feet. It also allowed her to finally see who had come to her rescue. Two men sauntered over to her, one brandishing a machete and a taller one slinging a crossbow over his back. She strained her eyes to try and make out who these figures were.

"You Tess?" The shorter one asked, breaking the silence.

"Who's asking?" She retorted.

"Take that as a yes," the taller one nodded.

"D'ya know that each one of you we've found have given us the same answer? Does that just come with the Slayer powers or –"

The taller one cut him off, "what he means to say is that he's Dean. I'm Sam." He stretched his hand out to the small girl.

Tess looked at the hand and rolled her eyes, "that's great and all, but who the hell are you?"

"Right to business then, I like it," the one called Dean grinned. "We've been sent to recruit you."

"Recruit me? For what exactly?"

"Several months ago you woke up feeling different. You were stronger, more agile, more in tune with what was around you, right? There are other girls just like you, and they're all working together," Sam explained slowly, gauging how she reacted to this information. When she gave a slow nod he continued, "We're friends of the girl trying to find you all."

Tess wasn't sure how to react to what was being said to her. He was right, of course. She had felt different for quite some time now. In that time she had been attacked several times over, and each time she had been surprised that she had been able to not only defend herself but eliminate her opponents. As time went on she had heard them call her a "Slayer," and her curiosity had led her to weird corners of the internet. There she learned about vampires and demons and things that go bump in the night. Once upon a time she might have thought that it was all some weird fanfiction or something, but there was too much that made sense. Too much that she understood directly. She wasn't entirely sure what it meant to be a Slayer, but she did know that if she was given the ability to stop these things from hurting people, then that's what she had to do. Anything she had read had said that there was only one Slayer, so she didn't understand what these guys meant. Were there really others like her?

"How did you find me?"

"Magic," Dean winked.

Tess scoffed.

"Actually, he's telling the truth," Sam nodded. "There is a lot about this world that you don't know; a lot that you don't understand yet. Our friends can help you."

"Well, where are these 'friends' of yours?"

"Cleveland."

"Cleveland? Like, Ohio Cleveland?" Tess asked incredulously.

"I know it sounds kind of…odd," Dean admitted, "but the people there will be able to explain everything a hell of a lot better than we can."

"It's safe there?"

Sam nodded, "It's safe. Buffy, our friend that sent us to find you, is the best of the best. She'll look after you."

Tess mulled it over for a minute. This was totally crazy, but then again, what about her life hadn't been crazy these last few months? She had been a normal girl, as normal as anyone could be anymore anyway. She lived alone in a small studio sized apartment in Olympia. She had a good relationship with her parents and she saw them for dinner once a week. Her younger brother was her best friend and he had always looked up to her. School had never been her thing, but she did her best while she was there. Everyone was surprised when she managed to graduate high school, but no one was surprised when that was the end of her academic career. All through school, Tess had been making her own money working special events and functions. She was now well on her way to being an event coordinator. Maybe her life wasn't much, but it was hers and that was enough.

Then one morning she woke up and things were…different. Tess couldn't put her finger on what exactly was different, it wasn't just one thing. Everything felt different; she was different. For days after that she had found herself more aware of what was going on around her. She had been able to catch a bottle that someone had accidently dropped behind her simply because she had felt the shift in the air. The walls were thin in her apartment building, but she was hearing more from the other apartments than she had before. The myriad of broken items in her apartment stood as evidence that she had also become much stronger. What was harder to explain was the sudden feeling Tess had of being deeply connected. Connected to what, she wasn't sure, but the feeling was unmistakable.

A couple of incidents led Tess to looking into what had happened to her, and what these things were that kept attacking her at every turn. That was when she discovered that there was a whole world living just out of sight of the regular people. Demons, vampires, magic, and all things that go bump in the night really existed. Those dark corners of the web weren't lying to her. She also learned that there was always someone, a girl with immense power, destined to hold them back. Everything seemed to click once she read that tale. She cried herself to sleep that night and left town in the morning. She didn't want to put anyone in danger and she needed to find out more about who – or what – she was. Tess never looked back.

So in the last couple of months she had gone from a regular person who blended into the background to someone connected to some ancient power. She had learned that monsters existed and the world wasn't as simple and safe as she had been taught all her life. She had dropped everything about her previous life and had been living on the run ever since. She had been fighting real monsters every night. So a trip to Cleveland? That seemed pretty easy.

"Okay, let's go."

A look of shock crossed Dean's face, "really? Just like that?"

She nodded, "just like that."

"I mean we could be psychos or something, and you're just gonna come with us?"

"Are you psychos?"

"It depends on what day you –" Dean started.

"We are not psychos, I promise you," Sam interjected, "It's just that most of you girls that we've found have been…slower to trust us than that."

Tess shrugged, "meh. I figure what's a little more crazy on top of everything else. But can we eat first? I'm starving."

Dean chuckled, "I knew I liked you."

ӁӁӁ

There weren't a lot of options for places to eat - not in a small town and not at this time of night. It was nearly four in the morning when the three of them finally stumbled upon a greasy truck stop. Even just looking at it made Tess' stomach queasy, but hey, food was food. Maybe she'd be lucky and Slayers would be more resistant to food poisoning. Probably a far-fetched hope but a girl could dare to dream. She had a crazy craving for eggs benedict, but naturally the place wasn't serving breakfast yet. Tess decided to bury her disappointment in a mountain of fries.

"So what exactly is waiting for me in Cleveland?" Tess asked, shoveling fries into her mouth.

"Honestly, we're not sure," Sam admitted.

Dean jumped in quickly, "but we know that there are people there who know what you're going through. They're going to teach you to use this ability you have so that you can help people."

"And there's others there? Girls like me?"

Sam nodded, "and more going there every day."

"Now, I read into the Slayer stuff a bit – "

"You did?" Dean asked, a level of surprise in his voice.

"The things I was fighting – vampires? They kept using that name," she shrugged, "I was curious. Anyway, it always said that there was only one."

Tess could tell that she had directed the conversation in a way that the two boys were hoping to avoid. Sam and Dean shared a couple of looks which seemed to be conveying an entire conversation. At that moment she decided that they must be brothers. There wasn't much in the way of familial resemblance, but she had seen this a thousand times over. Plus, only siblings could look this annoyed with each other. They were clearly arguing, but she wasn't entirely sure why this was a source of disagreement. Sam seemed to have won the silent battle as Dean sighed and turned back to face Tess.

"This is one of those things that's better left for Buffy to explain to you."

Tess was disappointed, but she had a feeling that was the answer she'd get. She was just hoping that this Buffy had the answers to questions that she had. There was so much that she didn't understand and she was sure that there was more to come.

"What's this Buffy like?" Tess asked, hopeful that this was a question they'd be able to answer.

Throughout the conversation, Tess had been watching the men closely as they spoke and as she asked questions. She was trying to get a read on them – trying to pick up on any information she may be able to find in the way they reacted to what was said. So far the one called Dean had been rather uninterested in anything that was being said; he seemed much more concerned about how much coffee he had left than taking part in the conversation. That was until she asked about Buffy. He practically snapped to attention and she was pretty sure she had seen his eyes light up completely. Curious. Tess would keep that in mind for later.

"She's uh...incredible," Dean said, with a faraway look on his face.

Sam rolled his eyes as if in annoyance, but Tess noticed the hint of a smile on his face. She figured that he enjoyed giving his brother a hard time, but was just happy for Dean. There was clearly something about this girl.

"Don't get him started," Sam chuckled, "he'll never shut up."

Dean shot his brother a look before continuing on, "she's a good leader. Strong. Determined. Compassionate. And she knows a great deal about being a Slayer. She actually was the only one for a long time. Chosen and everything."

Tess took in what Dean had said, but it really didn't give her any useful information. Figuring that she wasn't going to get anything more than that, she decided to let it go for now. She was going to learn for herself soon enough anyways. Hearing that Buffy knew what it was like to be a Slayer was enough to put her mind to ease, at least a little bit anyway. Ever since this had happened, Tess had wanted to know more about it all. Who wouldn't though, right?

The sound of a phone ringing pulled Tess out of her thoughts. She watched as Dean rifled a phone out of his pocket and then sigh as he rolled his eyes. Clearly not a call he wanted to take. Dean wandered off to talk to whoever it was, leaving Tess and Sam alone. Finally.

"Did I actually thank you for saving me earlier?" Tess asked, playing with the spoon in her coffee mug.

"Not necessary. I'm just glad we got there when we did."

Tess smirked, "a little sooner may have been nice. Might have avoided some damage."

She was of course referring to the gash by her eye, the crack in her cheek, the split in her lip, and what she was sure was at least two broken ribs. It was an awful lot of trouble for simply leaving work. Tess may have been able to defend herself just fine, but she wasn't stupid. Even with her new found skills, Tess made sure to stick to the main roads and well-lit corners when she was out at night. Each job was temporary – a couple weeks at most. If she kept moving, she thought that maybe these creatures wouldn't be able to find her. Clearly she had been wrong. All she had done was step out her work's back door while her manager locked up behind her.

The vampires had taken no time in descending upon her. At first they had seen her as easy prey – a quick meal and nothing more. It wasn't until they were practically on top of her that they realized she wasn't just another blonde girl in an alley. It's like they can smell it on her. Eau de Slayer or something.

"Ah well," she shrugged, "can't be too upset when you get rescued by a gorgeous man with a crossbow."

Sam nearly choked on his coffee. Whatever he thought she might say, that certainly wasn't it. He could feel warmth in his face and sincerely hoped that she couldn't see the pink creeping into his cheeks.

She could.

"Oh, uh," he cleared his throat.

Tess laughed, "and humble too, apparently. I like that."

"You're, uh, quite attractive too?" Sam stuttered.

She had caught him entirely off guard and he was exhausted. The two had driven all night trying to track her down, so he hadn't slept in nearly two days at this point. Coming out of mission mode always left Sam a little disoriented. It was a mix of circumstances that left Sam's brain lagging a little behind. He of course now noticed that she was, in fact, incredibly attractive. She had a fierce look to her with her dark make up, sharp features, and stark blonde hair. The leather jacket and her bloodied face did a lot to reinforce that image. Her eyes, a piercing grey tone, seemed to look right through him – like she knew all his secrets already. There was a softness to her too though, and it was intriguing. It was in the way she smiled, he thought. It was a smile that lit up her entire face.

Of course he couldn't find his words.

Just then Dean walked back over, hanging up his phone. With a grim look on his face, he slid back into the booth. "Change of plans," he said, tossing his wallet out on the table.

Sam, grateful for the interruption, coughed out his response, "w-what's up?"

"Garth caught wind of a case, needs us to check it out. In Beckville."

"Texas? That's not exactly on our route," Sam reminded Dean.

Dean shot him a look and Sam knew exactly what that meant. Case or not, it was time to go. Sam and Dean were still a big secret and that meant that they couldn't exactly drop the girl off at Buffy's front step. It also meant they couldn't be here when the retrieval team came for Tess.

"I already called Buffy. She's got a team nearby that she's gonna reroute."

That meant that Dean had a voicemail from Buffy letting him know that her crew would be here soon. Phone calls had not been their strong suit lately. Sam couldn't help but feel bad for his brother, but he was sure that it was temporary. At least he hoped.

Tess was still grinning from the fun that she had just had, but now she was a little confused. She had just gotten used to the idea that Sam and Dean were going to be her new travel-buddies, but now it sounded like they would be parting ways. She also wasn't too sure what they meant by Buffy sending out a team and that uncertainty wasn't welcomed. Trusting two guys she could see right in front of her was alright. She could actually see them – she knew what she was getting with them. There was a lot Tess had discerned about Sam and Dean in their short time together. There was something in the way that they carried themselves that told Tess that they had seen a lot of bad in the world. She could see it in the way they watched the whole room as they sat and talked, ever alert of everything that was going on around them. Tess could hear a tiredness that bordered on weariness in the way they spoke about the world. Despite this, it was obvious these brothers were on the good team. They had seen a lot and had come out on the right side of it all. They were weary from fighting against the darkness that infected the world. If she were asked to explain it, she wouldn't be able to, but it was obvious to her that they were protectors. It was possible she was being lured into a trap, but she really didn't think so.

"So what's going to happen to me?" Tess inquired.

"Buffy has retrieval teams all over the country. One should be here within the day to take you back to Cleveland," Dean explained.

Tess sunk a little bit, "you guys are really leaving me?"

Now she was being asked to trust someone, a group of people, she had never met. People she couldn't see in front of her. It seemed like a much larger gamble than going with the brothers. With the sense of trust she had towards them also came a sense of comfort. She liked the guys already and it was disappointing to know she was being handed off to total strangers. For a moment she thought about refusing – just staying here, on her own. It was almost time to move on to a new town anyway. There was nothing saying that she had to go to Cleveland. That thought didn't last long, though. The promise of information, of learning and understanding this new world she found herself in, was much too captivating to ignore. There was no other option.

Dean nodded, "sorry Tess. Big case that needs us."

"You'll be in good hands, whoever Buffy sends. You'll be safe," Sam added.

"Okay," Tess said glumly.

The bill was paid and the three filed out of the truck stop. Dean had given his motel number to Buffy in a returned text message and so the plan was that Tess would stay in the motel until the team could meet her. It wasn't really an ideal plan to any of them but there also weren't a lot of options. Sam and Dean didn't like leaving the girl alone, and Tess wasn't thrilled with the idea either. The issue was that the case that Garth had caught wind of really couldn't wait or else they risked losing its scent again. Maybe it wasn't as pertinent as they claimed, but they had to split before any of Buffy's people made it here. In an effort to put their worries to ease, the boys tried to remind themselves that the girl was a Slayer, equipped with extra strength and tuned senses. Of course they had to ignore the fact that she was completely untrained and still learning how to even use those powers. Tess had survived on her own for the last few months, she was sure she could do it again. She was probably much less worried than the boys were, but she couldn't figure out why exactly they were so worried.

The motel room wasn't much to look at, but at least she didn't have to be here long. Which was probably a good thing as it didn't look terribly safe either. Beyond that, it looked about as grimy as the truck stop had been. Joy.

"Okay. The room has been paid off already, so just stay here for the night. Lay low, don't go anywhere. Someone will be by soon for you," Dean said, packing up the last of his stuff from the room.

"How will I know that it's Buffy's people?" Tess questioned.

"They'll knock at the door and ask 'are you free tonight or will it cost me?'" Dean said with a glint in his eye. He was clearly pleased with the code he had devised. Sam rolled his eyes as Dean continued, "you'll respond with 'more than you can afford'."

Tess groaned, "seriously?"

"It's catchy, right?"

Sam rolled his eyes again, "I'm sorry for my brother, he's still a thirteen year old boy. Ignoring that, is there anything else you need?"

She shook her head, "nope, I think I'm good.

"One more thing. When they get here, don't mention us," Dean said.

That was perplexing. Why would they not want her to mention them? Alarms starting going off in Tess' head. That sense of trust started to slip as she processed what Dean had just said to her.

"What? Why?"

Sam and Dean exchanged apprehensive looks before Sam spoke, "it's a long story – "

Tess interrupted him, "are you going to tell me anything?"

Dean breathed deeply, "look. Her friends don't exactly know that we've been helping them find Slayers. They wouldn't be comfortable with that idea, so we just kinda do it on the D-L. That's all."

"Sure. Whatever. I won't mention you," Tess agreed, slightly begrudgingly.

"Alright, then we'll be off," Dean nodded, "take care of yourself."

"You guys too." Sam and Dean turned to leave the motel room, still feeling a little guilty for leaving her on her own. "Sam?" Tess called after them.

Sam stopped and turned back, but Dean only grinned as he carried on to the car.

"Yeah?"

"Hope to see you soon," Tess said with a wink.

"Oh uh," Sam cleared his throat, "y-yeah. You, you too."

Tess leaned up to give him a quick peck, revelling in watching a blush spread across his face. She wasn't sure if she kissed him because she wanted to or because she just wanted to see how he reacted. Either way, it was funny.

"And I mean real soon," she said in a sultry voice.

Sam nodded awkwardly and headed out, leaving Tess alone finally.

She looked around not entirely sure what to do with herself now. A hot shower would have been perfect, but one look at that bathroom dissuaded Tess from that luxury. Instead she hopped onto the bed and turned on the TV.

It was going to be a long night.