CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
The Aftermath

"Dude, Snyder is going to kill you," Faith tells Giles, looking at the large hole in the middle of the Sunnydale High library. It looks like it goes all the way down to the basement.

"Nonsense, I was never here," Giles tells her with a small smile of amusement. "It's amazing how destructive children can be these days, especially when riled up from a school dance."

"Long as the shit don't fall on me, I'm cool," Faith replies, leaning against the counter. She's taken the heat for a lot of stuff that she may or may not have done over the past years, but a crater in the library? She'll be expelled in a second.

"I hate this town, I hate this school," comes the hysterical voice of Cordelia Chase, who Faith didn't even notice was in the room until that moment. She's holding onto Xander like he's her damn life raft in the river of crazy.

"What the fuck is she doing here?"

"S-She helped fight," Willow stammers, standing up for her for God only knows what wacked out reason. "So please be nice."

Cordelia helped fight? That bitch only cares about one person: herself. Faith knows that if she is getting some credit for this shit, the only reason is cause she found herself in the middle of all of this accidently. No way would she ever volunteer to help any of them willingly.

But whatever, Cordelia is the least of her issues right now. "G, we got a problem…" she starts, about to tell him about the Zan'Hurrak, but she's interrupted by Buffy.

"Faith is a Slayer!" she bursts out suddenly, like she couldn't contain it any longer.

"Okay, that wasn't what I was talkin' about and hey, so not a problem either," Faith retorts, annoyed that she got just interrupted. "But… yeah," she went on, feeling a little awkward from everyone's disbelieving looks, "that happened too."

Willow squees loudly at this information, looking really excited for Faith. When everyone stares at her though she blushes and apologizes, "S-Sorry…" Faith can't help but grin though; Willow knew how much she wanted to be a Slayer. It was pretty bad ass.

"That's not possible," Giles says, staring at Faith as if he's not sure whether to believe her or not. He takes off his glasses, as if somehow things would become clearer with his fuzzy, old people vision. "A Slayer cannot be called unless the last dies." He looks over at Buffy now, now probably wondering if she's a zombie. Which after what he read in that book, was probably a valid deduction. Buffy was destined to die, Faith supposed. But fuck it, cause she didn't stay dead.

"Yeah well, B managed to drown herself in a puddle and was technically dead for like, a minute," Faith answers, shrugging and wishing she didn't feel so damn self-conscious with everyone just staring at her like that. "So I guess that was enough for me to get juiced."

"This is so not fair," Kennedy complains, looking at the two of them in disbelief and anger. Faith knows she wanted to be the Slayer, but she doesn't have to be a little brat over it. The card was drawn and Kennedy's name wasn't on it. Story; end of.

"Kennedy, please," Wesley says, holding his hand up to silence his potential. "We do not know if it's true. Faith could be lying."

"Ya wanna fuckin' hit me and find out, Wes?" Faith exclaims, taking a menacing step forward. She's not a fucking liar and she hates being called one. Fuck that shit. Wesley backs up like the good little dog that he is as Giles puts a hand on Faith's shoulder, silently telling her to stop.

"How do you think she managed to help me kill the Master up there, Giles?" Buffy says, coming to Faith's defense whilst ignoring Wesley. "If she didn't have the strength and the skill he would have killed her in ten seconds flat."

"She is a Slayer," Angel interrupts, coming out of the shadows. His whole Prince of Darkness act is getting old, but Faith doesn't say anything since he's backing her play right now. "I can smell it," he explains off of everyone's quizzical looks.

"Okay, that's just weird," Xander says, looking at Angel with mistrust. Faith can't blame him; it's like he just implied she was some kind of tasty snack. But he's neutered so it ain't like she's gonna worry about Angel trying to take a chunk out of her; he apparently has a fondness for pigs at the moment.

"This is fascinating," Giles says, looking at the two of them like he wants to poke and prod at them and do a bunch of crazy ass tests. Great, Faith knows now what the next six months of her life is going to look like.

"Yeah, sure, it's fuckin' amazing," Faith dismisses. "But can we get back to the real shitfest here? The Zan'Hurrak came and had a cryptic little chat with me and B."

"Emphasis on the cryptic," Buffy adds.

"The Zan'Hurrak?" Giles asks, eyes widening. "Dear lord, are you sure?"

"Says they're the composers of prophecy, keepers of… whatever, probably Narnia, but yeah; know it was them. They spewed some kind of bullshit riddle and warned us about an apocalypse and then got the hell outta dodge."

"Another apocalypse?" Kennedy asks, groaning as she slumps against the wall. "This is ridiculous."

"In four months," Buffy tells them softly, not looking entirely enthused by the prospect. Then again, any of them that were would probably have to be taken straight to the nuthouse.

"How'd you get four months?" Faith asks, having missed that.

"Four phases of the moon?" Buffy reminds her, in this tone like she should have understood that. "That's roughly four months."

"No need to talk to me like I'm a retard B; was kinda caught up with the part talkin' about death and someone turnin' against us," Faith retorts.

Giles looks like he's trying to say something, but then everyone starts talking at once.

"Wait, who the hell is gonna turn against us?" Kennedy asks, now looking at everyone suspiciously.

"Probably Vampy McSucky over there," Xander replies, looking at Angel like he's the reason the next apocalypse is going to rain down on their heads.

"You still don't trust me," Angel states, which was obvious but hey, maybe he just needed to voice it out loud. "That's fine, you all have reasons enough not to. But I'm here and I'm helping, so I'd like to say that before we start worrying about this apocalypse, we should probably be worrying about Darla."

"The vamp with the school girl fetish?" Faith asks, remembering her from the Harvest.

Angel nods. "The Master was her sire; lately she hasn't left his side. The fact that she did when he rose worries me. She's always out for her own means, but I don't know what would keep her attention more than the ascension of her sire."

"Oh great, so we got the kinky bitch vamp to take care of too," Faith replies. "Great." So not great, actually. Pretty much on this side of suck.

"Is she strong enough to start an apocalypse?" Buffy asks.

"Strong enough, yes. But she wouldn't; at least not intentionally. Darla likes to 'enjoy the earth in all its agonizing glory'," Angel says. When everyone looks at him funny he explains, "her words, not mine. Anyway, if the world ended… she wouldn't be very happy."

Giles tries to speak again, but he's interrupted for the second time.

"Why, no more people to torture?" Xander asks, trying to imply something or other about Angel that Faith was barely paying attention too. She's not Angel's biggest fan either, but she's pretty sure Xander's just pissed about not being the only dude on the ranch anymore.

Because let's face it: Wesley and Giles don't count. Regardless, Angel and Xander should just lay them out on the table and measure; get it over with.

Angel turns to Xander and simply says, "Exactly. Also, eradication of the humans would mean vampires wouldn't have a food source."

"But isn't it possible that there could be an apocalypse where we all don't die?" Buffy counters. "I mean, if the Master got his way I'm sure he wouldn't have killed us all because like you said, then he wouldn't have a food source."

"Or we could consider the possibility that Buffy and Faith are full of crap and there is no apocalypse," Kennedy replies, still sounding bitter about not being chosen.

"Ya wanna fuckin' run that by me again, Ken?" Faith snaps.

"You know what? The last thing I ever want to hear is you speaking," Buffy tells Kennedy. "So I suggest you shut up."

"Oh please," Kennedy scoffs, rolling her eyes. "You can be all buddy-buddy with Faith again, but you're still pissed at me? Pussy whipped if I ever heard it. Newsflash, Barbie: Faith can fuck whoever she wants."

"You think Faith's getting a free pass? HA," Buffy replies, laughing bitterly. "She's in more shit than you are. Excuse me for prioritizing the apocalypse over my relationship issues with Faith; I see how confusing that must be for you. Just because I can put stuff aside to do my job, doesn't mean they don't still exist. So the next time you have an opinion, how about you try keeping your mouth closed?"

Again Giles tries to speak, but this time he's drowned out by the shouting match.

"You're not in a relationship with her!" Kennedy exclaims. "You're fucking delusional, Buffy; just because you have a crush on her doesn't mean she's going to change who she is."

"Oh, because you know so much about her, right? Go to hell, Kennedy!"

"Okay, seriously, Ken? Stop trying to fuckin' help; you're shit at it," Faith interjects, needing that to be said before Kennedy continues to 'stick up' for her rights.

"Wasn't trying to help you; just stating the facts, here. I'm not particularly fond of helping ass kissers anyway."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"Is my face breaking out from all the dyke in here?" Cordelia asks Xander, who gives her a disapproving look as she waves her hand over her face. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to this kind of drama."

Faith chooses to ignore Kennedy and Cordelia, instead focusing on Buffy, "And hey, I'm the one that saved your life! I know I fucked up, okay? But that's gotta count for something, right?" Cause hell, it should, shouldn't it? She knows she screwed up big time, here; she's not stupid, but she also doesn't have the first clue how to fix it. And she wants to, but this kind of stuff is so far out of her comfort zone that she doesn't even know where to start.

"You know what? This is ridiculous, I'm out of here," Kennedy says before storming off. Only Tara and Wesley seemed to really notice.

"Just because you saved my life doesn't mean you didn't break my heart!" Buffy shouts, looking like she wants to deck Faith in the face and then cry for hours afterwards. "You have no clue how it felt for me to see her with you, Faith! So just do yourself a favor and shut up; I don't want to talk about this right now!"

God, this isn't going well at all.

Everyone else in the room is looking increasingly uncomfortable, which probably means they need to quit doing this shit here. But fuck, Kennedy started the whole thing. Or maybe it was Buffy; Faith can't remember. All she knows is it wasn't her.

"Stop, all of you!" Giles says, holding out his hands to stop the screaming finally. "Faith, Buffy, I'm sorry you two are quarreling—"

"Again," Xander mutters, prompting Faith to shoot him a dirty look.

"—but we need to focus on the important issues at hand here; this apocalypse and whatever else the Zan'Hurrak may have mentioned. Do either of you remember all of it?"

Buffy shoots one last glare in Faith's direction before she turns to Giles. "Like Faith said, they mentioned an ally turning against us and a death. Then something about a light that needs to shine through? I'm not sure. But the apocalypse will happen in about four months."

"They didn't say it was gonna happen specifically," Faith replies, trying not to show how much she feels like shit right now. "The new Big Bad could just be starting his plans then." She tries not to look at Buffy cause every time she does she feels like punching something to stop herself from crying. She fucking hates this. Why'd Buffy have to go and die? Faith was happy not realizing that she needed her before then, thanks; it was simpler.

"Well whatever, something bad is happening then; period," Buffy responds, a slight snap in her voice. Giles sighs.

"Do either of you remember the specific wording?"

"Dude, kinda had other things on our minds," Faith replies, holding out her hands so he can survey the scene in front of him. "Which by the way, kinda fucked up that the Hellmouth was like, right under us."

"Yes, well… I wasn't quite expecting that either," Giles admits. His eyes flicker over to Buffy. "Among other things," he adds quietly. "But some of what has transpired tonight has turned out to be wonderful twists of fate. I wonder, Buffy, how you managed to get around the prophecy."

"You mean the Anointed One and how I wasn't supposed to be able to stop him?" Buffy asks. "Well it said I wouldn't know who he was and hi; I'm sorry, but a creepy little kid randomly outside in the dead of night, alone, and in need of 'help'? I've seen enough horror movies to know that never spells anything good. Which is probably why I was able to slice and dice him like a Christmas ham."

"Don't ruin ham, Buffy," Xander requests, looking a little ill.

"You killed him?" Giles asks, ignoring Xander's comment.

"You didn't expect me to keep him around, did you? He worked for Big, Bad, and Ugly over there," she nodded to the Master's remains. "He wasn't a child anymore; that much was obvious. I don't know what he was honestly, but he gave me the wiggins."

"So that is how you were able to survive," Giles comments, looking fascinated. "I never knew the Codex to have loopholes, but I suppose you learn something new every day." He sounds like he's talking to himself more than anyone, but it's still very much out loud.

"The Codex?" Buffy asks, confused.

"The dusty old book that said you were gonna die," Faith answers without thinking. Buffy's eyes snap to look at her.

"What?"

Shit.

Giles sighs, looking over at Faith disapprovingly even though he's the one that brought up the stupid book in the first place. "The Codex," he explains carefully, gauging her reaction, "is a book of prophecy. It… had stated that the Master would kill you."

"And you knew about this?" Buffy exclaims, rounding on Faith.

"Well it ain't like you stayed dead or anything!" Faith defends. "I mean, you're still standin' here, right? So what's the big deal?"

"The big…?" Buffy starts, sounding exasperated and a little bewildered. "The big deal is that for God only knows how long, you thought I was going to die! And you still treated me like shit?"

"Hey, I said I was fuckin' sorry about the Kennedy thing alright? I was stupid; not headline news or anything. And last time I checked, I was treating you pretty goddamn good these last couple weeks, in comparison."

"Oh, so you were only being nice out of pity? That's great, Faith. Really."

"Okay, make up your fuckin' mind! First you say I treated you like shit and now you're pissed cause I treated you nice?" Faith exclaims, not understanding her train of thought in the slightest.

"You did both! And you know what, none of that even matters because you should have just told me!"

"Well I'm sorry for trying not to freak you out; next time I'll be sure to lay that mental breakdown on you, Princess," Faith snaps.

"Girls, please," Giles tries, sounding tired. Hell, they were all tired, which is probably why all their tempers were running high.

"You know," Buffy starts, looking really upset as she stares at Faith. "Out of everyone, I thought you would at least be honest with me," she tells her before shaking her head and storming off.

"B!" Faith tries, but Buffy doesn't look back as she exits the library in a wave of fury and sadness. "Fuck," Faith swears, closing her eyes as she rubs her temples, trying to dull her oncoming headache. She rounds on Giles, "Thanks a lot, G. I was already halfway up shit creek without a paddle; didn't need to be fuckin' capsized."

"I'm sorry," Giles apologizes, looking a little guilty. "I didn't mean to bring it up. I was merely stunned by the revelation that The Codex has loopholes, when the Watcher's Council had always found it so concrete."

"If I may…" Wesley tries to interrupt.

"No," Faith says, not in the mood.

Wesley ignores her, of course. "If Faith and Buffy are now both Slayers, as they say, we should probably begin tests right away. As this has never happened before—"

"If?" Faith repeats, so not in the right frame of mind to deal with this right now. Which is probably mostly to blame for her next decision: picking up one of Giles' letter openers and throwing it at the target board that was barely hanging by a string not two feet from where Wesley's standing. He jumps a mile when the thing goes whizzing past him. "There's your fuckin' if, Wes."

Giles looks at the board. "Not a perfect bull's eye, but I daresay a staggering improvement from yesterday." He raises his eyebrows, "Impressive."

Faith looks at the target. Oh come on, she was this close. That should count as perfect anyway, fuck it. "I'm pissed, otherwise I woulda hit it," she grumbles. She's actually not sure that's true, but whatever. She's better, yeah, but she's still pretty sure most of that was luck. Even Buffy had to practice with this stuff.

"Okay, if we've gotten to the 'Angry Slayer Throwing Knives' part of the evening, I think it's time for the sane people to leave," Cordelia says, looking at Faith like she doesn't want to be her next target. Yet it's funny, because the way she talks kinda makes it seem like she does. Maybe she just doesn't know how to talk to people without being a ginormous cunt. "Xander?" she says, turning and looking at him expectantly.

"What are you, a taxi service now?" Faith asks, looking at him.

"I offered her a ride home…" Xander replies softly, looking a little sheepish for being called out like that.

"You know, Faith; maybe if you spent a little less time being a slut and a little more time being a gentleman like Xander, then maybe the only girl who has ever given a shit about you wouldn't always look like she wanted to kick your ass," Cordelia replied with a snotty attitude.

A gentleman like Xander? Did she really just say that? Even Xander looks perplexed by that; it was probably the nicest thing she's ever actually said about him. Faith doesn't even care about the insults, she's used to that shit, but she wants to know what the fuck is going on. Earlier Cordelia looked like she didn't even want to be seen talking to him and now she's… holding his hand?

"Come on," she practically orders Xander as she starts to pull him out of the library. He gives Faith a helpless look before he's pulled around the corner, out of sight.

"My brain can't even wrap around this fuckery," Faith states, running her fingers through her hair in confusion. She turns to Willow. "Did he play hero or something? Cause that bitch is actin' like he's the patron saint of boyfriends right now and I don't get it."

Willow purses her lips, knowing Faith isn't going to like her answer. But she tells her, "S-She nearly got bit when we were trying to keep the vampires out and yeah, he… w-well, he staked it."

"Great," Faith says flatly. "If she starts tryin' to hang with us, I'm petitioning that we tell her to fuck off."

Willow doesn't look like she entirely agrees with that plan, but stays silent.

"Well," Giles starts, trying to lighten the mood with a more cheerful tone, though what he had to say was nothing exciting. "I would appreciate if you all would help me clear this place up before Principle Snyder sees it."

"How we gonna fix the hole?" Faith asks, staring down at the crater in the ground.

"We won't. I only meant disposing of the Master's remains and helping me move all of the weapons and my private book collection out. Temporarily, of course; while they are repairing the floor," Giles answers.

"Where the hell are we gonna train?"

"I have some space in my house," Giles tells her, beginning to gather up some of his books. "It isn't ideal, but it will have to do for now."

Faith makes a face at that. She's never been over Giles' house… be kinda weird to see how he lives like a normal person when Faith's always known him as… well, a stuffy librarian-slash-Watcher. Faith idly wonders if he's got a lady at home with him. God, that'd be even more awkward.

Least she won't have to train there alone.

The thought of Buffy makes her stomach sink to the floor though. They felt totally in sync when they were slaying that for a second Faith actually thought maybe everything wouldn't be complete shit. Turns out she was wrong but hey; what else is new? She's got no clue how to go about making it up to her. But for the first time in her life, she actually does want to make things right with a chick so if that doesn't say something about Buffy, then Faith doesn't know what does. She's just… shit, special or something. Faith doesn't know, but she does know she wants to… crap; she kinda wants to fucking be with her, as pussy as that sounds. That's so weird for her to admit, but whatever; couldn't hurt to try it, right? You only live once.

But if she ever actually gets to that place, it'd be a goddamn miracle because right now, Faith's pretty sure that the last thing Buffy wants to hear is that Faith changed her mind.

TBC…