Chapter 2: Seeing is Believing
"That's five," Faith said with a grin as Xander ran over another blue demon.
"I love my car," Xander said, smiling.
*BUMP*
Xander slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car to rush over to the figure he just ran over.
"Shit!" Faith exclaimed, sure that Xander had just hit a human and shocked at the way Xander was stealing the victim's jacket and rolling him for valuables.
Xander staked the figure and returned to the car wearing a new leather jacket.
"I thought you hit a person for a moment there!" Faith said as they drove off.
"Sorry," Xander said contritely. "I saw the lack of reflection or witnesses and a brand new jacket. I'll warn you next time."
"It's cool," Faith said, her joy at knowing he meant what he said making her smile almost as much as the fact that no one could lie to her anymore.
0oOo0
"Meet me at the car once we're done?" Xander suggested.
Faith shook her head. "No idea how long this will take. I'll probably be heading to bed when you're getting ready for school in the morning."
"I so envy you right now," Xander said. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have a bomb to disarm."
Despite his bravado, Faith could feel his worry. "Don't sweat it, you were picked because you could do it. They wouldn't have paid us in advance otherwise."
"Yeah," Xander mused thoughtfully. "Thanks."
Faith was unaware she was smiling as she entered the library.
"The Sisterhood of Jhe's plan is to hold the Hellmouth open, once it temporarily opens on its own to release pressure tonight. So we need everyone here to repel boarders as it were," Giles announced, seeing that Faith had arrived and wanting everyone to understand the stakes.
Faith nodded, feeling the various shades of relief and thankfulness from the group that she was there.
"Why do your pants look so shiny?" Buffy asked.
"Ran into Xander and his girl," Faith replied.
Buffy ran a finger along Faith's side and rubbed her fingers together. "Running into Xander and his girl got you coated in Vaseline?"
Faith hid her amusement at the amount of anger and jealousy she could feel radiating from some of the Scoobs. "Yep, I was fighting two of those blue bitches and I managed to kill one, but she got in a lucky shot and dislocated my arm. I wasn't doing so well against the last one, my bell was wrung and I was about to go down, when out of nowhere Xander takes the bitch out with a single blow."
"You're kidding?" Buffy asked shocked.
"Nope, he saved my life and then when he saw who I was he apologized and said he wouldn't have jumped in if he knew it was me and promised to stay out of my fights in the future. He was about to drive off, leaving me lying there with only one good arm so I jumped into the back seat and the next thing I knew I'm on the floor because the entire back seat was covered in Vaseline."
"Seriously?"
"Oh, yeah," Faith replied. "I got him to tell me what the problem was and let him know I wasn't part of the agreement you guys made to kick him out."
"He's going to get himself killed!" Buffy exclaimed worriedly.
Faith just shrugged. "So are the rest of us, what's your point?"
"He could have a normal life!" Buffy exclaimed. "He deserves one."
"What gives you the right to decide that for him?"
"Because I'm the one that drug him into all of this."
"I thought you saved his life?"
"I did, but I couldn't save his best friend and then he turned right around and saved my life. We've all saved each other's lives, but he's done it when anyone with a shred of sanity or self preservation would have said it was impossible. He's more than earned the right to turn his back on this nightmare and walk away with his head held high. The rest of us are… tainted, but he's not."
"I'm not a freak," Cordelia said, glaring at Buffy while the rest of them exchanged glances.
"Not yet," Buffy agreed. "But have you done enough to earn the right to walk away yet?"
Cordelia didn't answer.
"Yeah, we're probably all gonna die," Buffy admitted. "But I want him to live."
"He's as deep into it as we are and if you think he'll quit you're crazy," Faith replied, thinking over the events of earlier this evening. "He made his choice and nothing's going to change his mind."
0oOo0
"Hi Jack!" Xander exclaimed mock cheerfully. "Whatcha doin?"
"What's it look like I'm doing?" Jack snarled to cover his surprise.
"Looks like you're setting a bomb to open the Hellmouth," Xander replied, as he tried to come up with a plan to deal with this unexpected development.
"Hellmouth?" Jack asked, freezing in place, as only a zombie could, as he recalled his grandfather's warning about things that were worse than death.
"Yeah, the High School is built right on top of it."
"Shit!" Jack groaned, quickly disarming the bomb. "All I wanted to do is was blow up the High School. Was that too much to ask?"
Xander sighed. "I know the feeling and I promise if I ever have to blow this place I'll call you."
"Swear?"
"I swear," Xander agreed.
Jack pocketed the timer and removed some wiring. "Deal."
Xander stepped aside to let Jack through. "Know what, Harris?" Jack said, pausing in the doorway. "You're alright."
"Thanks," Xander called as Jack left.
Xander was examining the two barrels the timer had been attached to when he heard a familiar growl behind him.
"Oz?" Xander asked quietly as he slowly turned around.
0oOo0
Faith's kick snapped the blue demon's leg, sending her to the ground and letting Cordelia finish her off.
"I thought there'd be more of them," Giles said absently as he shot the last demon standing with his crossbow.
"I nailed three of them earlier when I was out and about and Xander killed five of them on the way here," Faith replied.
"Five?" Buffy and Willow chorused.
"He didn't happen to be wearing a leather jacket by any chance?" Giles asked carefully.
"Yeah, but he got that off a vamp he ran into on the way over; why?" Faith asked as Buffy and Willow groaned.
"Because there's a good chance he may have been repossessed by a Primal Spirit," Giles explained.
"Tentacles incoming!" Faith called out suddenly sensing something powerful and remembering what she was here for. "Everyone against the walls!"
Everyone moved away from the center of the room where a mass of demonic appendages burst suddenly through the floor.
0oOo0
"Where can I get a live goat and five rabbits at this time of night?" Xander asked, slipping Willy a twenty.
"Brad's Boneyard," Willy replied. "He has a glut of goats right now, so don't offer him more than twenty for one but he's a bit short on rabbits so expect them to run about five a piece. I'd suggest promising to take a goat off his hands for twenty if he throws in a rabbit and then ordering four more rabbits to go with it."
Xander was surprised at how cooperative Willy was. "Thanks."
"Money talks," Willy explained noticing Xander's mood.
0oOo0
"How did you know about the tentacles?" Wesley asked as Giles and Willow passed him a sheet with his part of the spell on it.
"Vision," Faith replied, deciding they didn't need to know about Lisa since Slayers were known to have visions of the future while they slept.
"Well, thanks for the save," Cordelia replied. "I've heard bad things about tentacles and school girls."
"No problem."
"So... Xander has a girlfriend already?" Cordelia said, trying her best to sound casual.
Faith convinced a couple of questing tentacles to retreat with an axe. "I don't think they're dating, but she's probably gonna have sex with him and if she doesn't or maybe even after she does, I will," Faith said honestly.
"What?" Cordelia asked shocked.
"I'm the Slayer, people have pet hamsters with better life expectancies than I have. I know the whole High School scene thrives on drama and all that crap, but unlike High School girls I hate being miserable; so I'm damn well going to make sure I have a life worth fighting for before I lose it."
Cordelia was rendered mute by Faith's response as they waited for Giles, Wesley and Willow to finish the spell closing the Hellmouth.
The multilimbed monster was pulled back into the Hellmouth with a bright flash of light.
As everyone fell silent the sound of hooves and a goat's bleat was heard from the hall.
Expecting the worst Angel and Buffy threw wide the library doors and readied their weapons; startling Xander who was just passing by leading a goat on a leash and with a wriggling sack on his back. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry," Angel apologized.
"Why are you walking a goat through the school at two in the morning and what's in the sack?" Buffy demanded.
"It's the quickest route to the boiler room, and five full grown rabbits," Xander replied, walking off.
"Wait, I'm not through talking to you yet!" Buffy yelled.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm through listening!" Xander called back. "If you want to talk you'll have to walk. C'mon Twinkie," Xander said, pulling the goat along with him.
Everyone quickly followed the two into the hall where Buffy was arguing with Xander, "You can't just go running around at night!"
"I can do anything I damn well please," Xander said, not even slowing.
"I forbid you!" Buffy said anxiously.
"You forbid me?"
"Yes, I'm not going to let you get yourself killed!"
"Even when you were the Slayer, the only reason you could command me was because I was in your group," Xander said. "Well sixty percent group, forty percent hot bod."
"What do you mean, when I was the Slayer?"
"Someone died and made you the Slayer, you died and made Kendra the Slayer, Kendra died and made Faith the Slayer. You are A Slayer, like the countless Slayers that passed before; Faith is THE Slayer, got it?" Xander said, trying to push her off balance.
"I never considered that," Wesley muttered in the sudden silence as Buffy blocked the door to the Boiler Room.
"Oz is down there!" Willow burst out.
"I know. Thank god his poker face as a werewolf is worse than his human one or I wouldn't know what to bribe him with."
"Bribe?" Buffy asked confused, just before Faith pulled her away from the door.
Xander spoke up, "I figured a werewolf would much rather have wolf type food, so when I ran into him I promised him a goat and five rabbits for not checking to see if I tasted like Twinkies."
Xander opened the door and shoved the goat in. Everyone winced at the frantic bleats that were cut off in mid cry a moment later. The rabbits followed as Xander dumped the rabbits down the stairs, sending them scampering.
"May I ask why you were in the boiler room?" Giles asked politely.
"Had to disarm a bomb. One of Sunnydale's ex students really didn't want to attend any High School reunions I'm guessing."
"You know how to disarm bombs?" Giles asked surprised.
"Nope, told him it would open the Hellmouth, which he apparently knew about if not where it was. For once calm rational explanations saved the day."
Everyone just stood there silently for a moment.
"Yeah, shocked the hell outta me too," Xander admitted.
"Saved the girls from the tentacles, so I'm done here. Did you have anything else to do here besides the bomb?" Faith asked.
"Nope, my schedule is clear," Xander promised.
"Large pie with extra peppers, then join Lisa?"
"Sounds good to me, and I know just the place; but don't kill the cook."
"Why would I kill the cook?" Faith asked confused.
"Because I'm pretty sure he's a demon."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he keeps adding anchovies to every order if you don't watch him," Xander warned.
"That is evil," Faith declared.
"Plus he's got like eight arms; that's why when you order pizza to go it's always ready in like five minutes. I figured I'd get us three large so we'll each have our own, because I love cold leftover pizza in the morning."
"You're supposed to have a normal life!" Buffy shouted upset.
"You mean like my parents and Willow's parents?" Xander asked casually.
"Exactly."
"I'd rather die," Xander replied flatly.
"But …" Buffy scrambled for an acceptable pair of parents but came up with nothing.
"I like my life," Xander said thoughtfully. "Sure I could end up dead or worse, but what I do matters. My life has meaning, it has purpose, I make a difference!"
Buffy flinched as Xander's voice rose with each word.
"So I won't live to see old age, and even middle age is pushing it. Just existing isn't enough for me, I want to LIVE!" Xander stalked off with a wide eyed Faith following him.
"I didn't realize he felt so strongly," Giles said, cleaning his glasses. "Or that you did either," he continued, turning to Buffy.
"Well I do," Buffy said unrepentantly. "I can't save everyone, but I thought I could at least save him."
"Do you really see us as tainted?" Willow asked.
"Not in a bad way, just in a dangerous one," Buffy tried to explain. "The supernatural is dangerous and it doesn't lead to happy endings… ever! And it doesn't let go. Our lives are always going to be drawn into it like iron to a magnet."
"And Cordelia?"
"I can speak for myself!" Cordelia snapped out before Buffy could reply. "We've seen evil, hell we've dated it at times; we can't pretend it doesn't exist. Really it all boils down to what kind of person you think you are. Before I believed in good and evil it didn't matter who I hurt because THEY didn't matter, but now I know better. I've fallen through the looking glass and discovered Oz is real. So I can either choose to be a week, shallow, evil bitch or I can stand up and make up for past sins and show the world who Cordelia Chase really is."
"Alice the good bitch of the North?" Willow asked confused.
"Exactly," Cordelia agreed. "Good doesn't mean nice and it can have an interest in foot wear. I'll make up for being an evil bitch and put up some good karma for a rainy day. This Alice is simply paying her dues."
"I suppose that makes sense," Willow admitted.
"How has Mr. Harris gone beyond the bounds of sanity?" Wesley asked.
"Prophecy said I was going to die, Xander said different," Buffy replied.
"I needed a kick in the ass to do anything, even save Buffy," Angel admitted. "Xander applied that kick, probably more often than was needed."
"He's the one who came up with the plan and stole the rocket launcher we destroyed the Judge with," Buffy pointed out.
"He faced down Angelus unarmed in the Hospital and backed him down," Angel added.
"We've all done impressive things," Buffy explained. "But they were usually a lot more sane and we're already stained with supernatural crap to be destined to do it anyway."
"I'm not," Cordelia said firmly.
"Yet," Buffy added.
"Even if I don't get stained with any magic junk, Xander has a point; better to die for something than live for nothing," Cordelia said before she turned and walked away.
AN: You all know who typed this up!