Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

"We have to go far enough away that humans won't stumble across us," Carlisle explained as not just the Cullen's started to collect things for training--but the wolves disappeared as well. I started to question that within my head, only to be answered by Edward.

"They've gone to their own reservation to prepare for practice. They'll meet us in the woods soon."

"So why is this newborn problem so, out of control? I mean, I deal with newly risen vampires all the time in Sunnydale. They're not all that powerful. They're actually pretty stupid because no one's taught them how to be a vampire." I pleaded my plight with the Cullen's. This was so new to me.

"Newborn vampires here are very different," Jasper, who I took was the most experienced on newborns, informed me. "There is no rising process, as you've probably realized. Our venom is like a virus. It's not blood exchange. When you awaken, even with no human blood left in your system... you are at your peak of strength. We are never stronger than the day we awake a vampire." He went on.

"So that's why the problem is so bad? It's an army of the strongest vampires ever?" I asked and he rolled his shoulders some.

"We can't call them the strongest. Age does have certain perks, we have wisdom they don't. They won't know about you, or the werewolves. We have the advantage, but they have the numbers, and the brute strength. We have gifts though, they will not...more than likely at least." I could hear Jasper at that point, but I couldn't necessarily see him.

He like the rest of the Cullen's was buzzing about so fast, that the other human--Bella, and I just watched in awe. We didn't really have to lift a finger...just voice our opinions. This was pretty easy...thus far.

"The vampires I'm used to...age is everything. Age is where the power is, the strength. That's why I prefer to fight newly risen vampires, they're easiest to dust." I admitted. I'd never really thought on that fact before.

"That's another thing. We don't die from a stake to the heart." Emmett said as he put a hand on my shoulder. I was looking a little dizzy he said, so he was holding me in place. "The only way to kill our kind is to rip us apart...break us limb from limb and then burn the pieces. We don't die from sunlight exposure, we don't die from a stake to the heart."

"Wow," I mumbled. It was so much to process. Am I going to be able to do ANYTHING to defeat this newborn army of vampires?

"Yes. Element of surprise," Edward answered my question. "You have inner strength they wouldn't be expecting a human to have. You're also going to cause the newborns to frenzy... they're going to target you, and we'll expect that. You're human, so their thirst for your blood will be...unfathomable."

This worried me...if I was fighting with the rest of the Cullen's and wolves, would any particular vampire be able to keep me safe?

"We will all keep your safety at the forefront of our mind," Carlisle said and I immediately shook my head.

"No. Don't put yourselves in harms way just to save me," I said firmly. "Slayer's are dimes a dozen. If I die, another one is called forth anyhow."

"Such disregard for human life, but selflessness beyond imagination." Carlisle said while nodding his head, "it's truly commendable." The rest of the vampires agreed with him, especially Esme, who said I sounded a lot like her.

"It's time," Alice said as she came into the room for the first time in well...I hadn't seen her really since breakfast. Part of me had been wondering where she was, but the hustle and bustle around me had kept my mind occupied.

We began walking outside, and that's when I realized...the Cullen's house, even in the back, was surrounded by woods. I wasn't sure how far we were going to have to go.

"We've got your situation covered. Bella usually catches a ride on my back..." Edward admitted and the next thing I knew, I had been swooped up by someone. I wasn't sure who, because as I looked around, everything was a blur.

But it was a beautiful blur. It was an exhilarating blur. It was peaceful, magnificent. "Your reflexes are quicker than most," Carlisle commented, making me realize, it was he who was running with me on his back. I laughed.

"Of course they are. My Watcher has made the comment that it's like I'm not even human.." my voice trailed off. I've thought that more than once myself...what if Slayer's just...pretended to be humans?

"It will be very interesting to train with you," he admitted and I nodded my head. The next thing I knew, we were in a large field clearing. Carlisle put me down on my own two feet, the other vampires starting to swarm around us.

"Why did you carry me, Carlisle?" I asked and he chuckled.

"Because of my practice of being around blood. I'm a Doctor, I don't look at you as a meal quite as much as everyone else. Even if we are all on an animal blood diet...it's still very hard for the rest of them to abstain the way I do." He explained.

After we were all accounted for--the Cullen's, the human Bella, and myself anyhow...it was then that I started feeling the ground shake.. I looked towards where the sound was emanating and my eyes widened.

These wolves were no ordinary wolves... they probably, on four legs, stood ten feet. I found my mouth going dry. I had faced a lot of mythological opponents but never like this before. I was glad the wolves were to be on our side, not our enemies. Not mine at least.

"I'm glad you all came," Carlisle said in the middle of the clearing. The pack look like it consisted of about ten wolves. Maybe fewer, but they were so large...I could hardly keep count. "Edward will speak for you, when you're in this form...so please do not feel violated of him reading your thoughts, it will just be the best for all of us, so we know what you're trying to say."

I suppose Edward's gift definitely came in handy.

"My son Jasper has the most experience with newborns. I'm going to let him, well, would the word be teach..us a thing or two." Carlisle stepped back and Jasper took the reigns, right beside of him was the little pixie Alice...his mate.

"I know you think you have experience with us. You've killed Laurent, he was a couple centuries old. You've tangled with Victoria a time or two. But when it comes to newborns, you don't know what you're up against. As we were all telling Buffy earlier, our kind is never stronger than our first couple of months. That's what Victoria is doing; she's creating an army of vampires and by the time they attack, they will only be a month old..maybe a few of them two or three months old. Victoria herself is not half as strong, with centuries under her belt, as her minions. They won't know this, that's why none will overthrow her. But with age does come certain advantages, and in our case, we have our gifts. I can influence moods. Alice can see the future, and Edward can read your thoughts. They won't expect these things, and most of all...they won't expect you."

When Jasper said this, the wolves seemed to cackle. Edward chuckled a little. "They think you're putting them on a pedestal, Jasper."

"In a way, I am. The wolves will be crucial to our defeating the newborns. But first, you've got to learn how to fight them, compared to how you fight us. Newborns will be so strong, they can crush your ribcage and leave you wishing you were dead. So rule number one, never let us get your arms around you. Even one of us, if we were out to hurt you, we could do it. That would be our way to do so." Jasper lightly pushed Alice aside and pointed to Jacob.

"Come at me like you would a newborn. Sorry if I'm a little...rough," he smirked a bit. You could tell even as a wolf, Jacob was smirking as well. The wolf barked a few times to his fellow wolves and then took off in a run, almost a blur at Jasper. Within seconds, the scrap was over, Jasper had got his arms around Jacob and applied force, enough to make him whine. Jasper let Jacob go, giving him an apologetic look.

"You can't let us get our arms around you. With your teeth though, it will be easy to dismember us. If we didn't trust you, we wouldn't tell you. But take our fucking heads off, go for our legs.... leave us helpless and then finish us off. If you can get to our arms first, do it...that way we can't crush you like that." After saying that, Jasper looked over towards me.

"As for you Buffy, you'll be fighting vampires too..so someone is going to have to work with you."

"I will," and yes, it rather surprised me when she stepped forward. The long haired blond, Rosalie. Everyone sort of looked at Rose like...has she lost her mind? Is she actually volunteering for something?

"Rose and I both will," Alice said with a more tame smile than her sister. "The rest of you work with the wolves. We can't have them getting killed over something silly like not knowing how to keep us from squeezing them to death." Everyone agreed with the seer.

"What is it that you know to do?" Rosalie asked of me and I ran my fingers through my hair.

"I've never had to kill your kind. I'm used to wearing a vampire down, and then stabbing them through the heart with a stake. I know that isn't going to work with you." I explained.

"Show me. If you're quick enough that you could get a stake in my heart, maybe you're quick enough and strong enough to take off a head. Come at me," Rose said firmly. I readied myself for a moment or two, taking in the situation, the noises of the wolves and other vampires around me.

A moment later, I felt myself up against a tree, Rose's hand on my throat. "Hesitation will get you killed." I narrowed my eyes at her, kneeing her in the gut and with my agility, I had her pinned against the tree backwards in seconds. One hand was on her back, pressing her harder into the oak tree, the other hand was in her hair, pulling her head back.

"You could snap my neck like that. If I wasn't expecting you to be strong enough to do it, like the newborns, you could do it." She admitted and I let her go, stepping back from her.

"Plus the newborns will be preoccupied with her blood," Alice reminded Rose who nodded.

"They'll be trying to drain her dry... not actually harm her in fight. Hence the upper hand."

"So, aside from ripping off a limb...nothing is going to kill you?" I asked Rose and Alice. "I can't... you don't have weaknesses that I could work with? In a moment of...not being able to get to a limb to rip it off, you don't have a weakness?"

"Not really. Your blood will be a weakness, it'll make them loopy." Alice admitted. "But aside from that, you've got to aim for ripping off limbs. Even if it's not a head, leave them helpless as Jasper said. Don't worry about burning the pieces, we'll do that when we're done."

"I never thought I'd meet vampires like you," I said somewhat surprised. "Much less be training with a pack of werewolves." It was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. "But I guess practice makes perfect, so let's do it again."

I ran a couple more scenarios with Rosalie and Alice. Emmett and Esme joined in at one point or another, and then at long last, we called it a day.

"I want us to practice like this again tomorrow. We've got just a few more days before the date in Alice's vision. We've got to get as much in as we can. You all did great today," Carlisle informed the wolves who, some of them limped from the field...others were in better shape. I saw the one that was Jacob, and how he looked at me longingly across the field.

I bit on my bottom lip, I kind of... felt like a tinge in my heart when he looked at me. Especially with those big brown wolf eyes... I didn't know what it was about him, but even in his human form, I found him rather irresistible.

"Let's head home," Carlisle said and the next thing I knew, I was a blur in the woods again. At least I knew right away who was running with me this time, instead of it being guess work. I was also very pleased at my progress with Alice and Rosalie...and well, how welcoming everyone was towards me.

I definitely had a lot to tell Giles tonight on the phone...