Disclaimer: If you haven't figured it out by now I...really don't know how to help you.

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Chapter 9

San Fransisco Hotel, The Day Buffy Left

"I want you to take this."

Faith looked wide-eyed at the item Buffy was holding out to her. It was the Scythe. The weapon made specifically for the Slayer by the Guardians. It had become a powerful symbol in the last days of Sunnydale and now Buffy was giving it to her.

"Shit, B, whattya' givin' it to me for? It's yours," she tried to push it back.

"I told you before, right," she said, referring to the conversation they had had in Sunnydale, "It's ours."

"Aren't you gonna' need it where you're going?" Faith asked uneasily, she was never comfortable around emotional situations.

"To tell you the truth I think it would just get me in trouble," there was actually a small smirk on the blond Slayer's face as looked over the axe-like weapon in her hand. It was rare to see even a tiny smile on her face these days. "I don't really have any control over my Slayer these days and this little baby makes it way to easy to kill things."

"So you want me to hold onto it while you're gone?" Faith was a little confused.

Buffy sighed and looked up at her with tired eyes. "Between you and me, Faith, I don't honestly know how long I'm going to be gone. I want to come back, I really do. Despite our fights and temper tantrums I love my friends and family, but I need to know they can be safe around me. I need to be able to trust myself again and I don't know how long that's going to take. Besides, my time as head Slayer is over."

"What are you talking about, B?" Faith protested, panicking a little. Look what happened the last time she was put in charge. "You can't…"

"You're it now, Faith. You're their leader."

"Bullshit! I can't be anybody's leader, B. I can barely take care of myself! Did you forget what happened last time you left, I got a bunch of people killed! I'm not as good as you are!"

Faith was shaking her head now and backing up, her hands automatically reaching for the cigarettes in her back pocket. She hated admitting that. Only her self-imposed time in prison had made her realize it was true. Nothing she had done had let her catch up with the senior Slayer, no matter how hard she had tried.

"Of course you're not as good as me."

Buffy's bald statement stopped her hands mid-reach. It was one thing to realize it in her head. It was another to have it said out loud by the very person she admired so much.

Then Buffy continued, "You're not supposed to be as good as me. Think about it, Faith," she sat down on the low wall that encircled the parking lot they were in, gesturing for Faith to do the same. "The truth is you can't compare yourself to me slaying-wise, simply because I've had more experience. I'd been slaying for three years by the time you were Chosen, Faith. That's longer than most Slayers are alive. And I'd faced some pretty tough badies, as well. I had a lot more experience. I was supposed to be the better one."

Faith slumped down slightly on the wall, a little stunned. She'd honestly never thought of it that way. She'd come running to Sunnydale and to Buffy because she was scared and when she'd met the other Slayer she'd wanted so badly to be like her. She'd tried as hard as she could, but could never seem to match the ease with which Buffy did her job. It had never occurred to her the distance between them was based simply on time and experience rather than talent.

"The thing that pisses me off now," Buffy seemed a little lost in her own world as she ran a finger along the curved blade of the Scythe, "is that I wasn't experienced enough to help you."

"B, you can't blame yourself for me," she smirked automatically, "I think I was just born bad."

"Don't call yourself that!" Buffy could still see the Faith's past laid out before her, the screaming and the cursing, the insults and pain. She shuddered as the memories washed over her again. It was a wonder Faith had turned out as well as she had. "You needed my help and I was too self-involved to give it to you. We all were."

"Maybe," Faith acknowledged. It felt a little good inside to think that Buffy didn't think she was irredeemable, "But the truth of the matter was, no matter how messed up I was, I was the one that chose continue down the path. I was the one that killed and tortured people, not you. And that's something I'm gonna' have to make for the rest of my life."

"Then start with this," she held out the Scythe again. "Like it or not, you're it for these kids. My time is up. I was supposed to be dead long ago. You were Chosen, Faith, never forget that." Something in Buffy's eyes resonated deep within Buffy. For a second there was a connection so deep it was almost scary. Not romantic or lustful or even friendship, but recognition. Like recognizing like, because the reality was that they were the last of their kind. "I don't know exactly what the Powers look for in a Slayer, but you obviously had it. Out of billions of people and thousands of Potentials, you were the one girl in all the world."

One and A Half Years After the Fall of Sunnydale

"Oh my god, look who it is?!"

"Is that…is it really?!"

"It has to be…right?!"

"It's her. It's really Faith!"

Faith strode up to the squad of young Slayers, trying to ignore their whispers. If someone had told her when she was younger that she would have a fanclub following she would have laughed her ass off. Who could think of fans when you were to busy trying to escape from your own mother? But here she was, being squealed at by little girls. It was a kinda creepy.

She wondered it this is what Buffy had felt like when the Potentials had first showed up. By the time Faith had arrived to help with the First in Sunnydale Buffy and the Potentials had nearly reached the breaking point, but she imagined in the beginning it had started out like this. She knew all about hero worship. She had looked up to Buffy like these kids looked up to her. Only she had been much cooler about it, she had never squealed girlishly in her entire life! Faith had never imagined the amount of pressure someone must feel, to be the focus of such hopes and expectations. She wasn't perfect by any means.

She hoped these girls would learn one day that she was just a person and not an idol, but she was willing to put up with it for now. They were young, barely 15, and were just now being allowed on a "baby run". Slayers had to go through an intensive month long course before being allowed to patrol and even then they were accompanied by senior Slayers. Their patrols were rigidly scheduled and managed. They didn't want any kids to die because of stupid mistakes. It was such a change from her training as a Slayer. Then it had been like, "toss her into the pool of sharks and see if she can swim to shore".

The first year or so after Sunnydale had been rather hectic. The original core of Slayers from Sunnydale had been quickly split up and sent out with Willow's beacons to find the newly Chosen Slayers and tell them why they were now able to bench press pianos. Then the school had started up and some of them had become teachers and others had become squad leaders all over the world. They had been desperate for manpower. Now that the first batch of graduates had been released however, things were looking up.

Faith herself had been jumping all over the world. In the past two months alone she had set foot on every single continent, including Antarctica. Damn yetis' and their stupid fucking "let's cover the world in ice" plan. It was her job now to run around and put out fires. After the initial retreat, the Dark forces of the world were beginning to test the power of the Slayers. Sure there were a lot more, but they were still young and untrained. The superpower that had been the Council had been severely damaged and though it was recovering fast, faith in its supremacy had been shaken.

So here she was in…where the hell was she now? Somewhere on the eastern coast of the United States anyway, and she was supposed to be taking down something. She didn't really know what. It didn't matter anymore. She just had to kill it.

"What the hell am I killing again?" She smirked at the wince from the team leader of the squad as her voice rasped out. She knew what they saw when they looked at her. A lush body barely covered in tight leather pants and a slinky shirt. She had disdained the body armor that had become all the rage at the Slayer school. Discovered at one of their military development companies, the armor was both light weight and maneuverable. The Slayers had taken to modifying it to their own specific purposes, not to mention tastes. It wasn't uncommon to see it in bright pink. But Faith was old school. She had been slaying in this type of outfit since being Chosen, hell if she was gonna' change now. Besides, if it didn't get to messed up during the kill she could still go party in it afterwards and not have to take the time to change.

"We were patrolling the caverns down below," the team leader rallied herself, "It's a pretty well known place for vamps, but we've patrolled there often enough that it's safe for the kids. We came across something down there that I've never seen before. It was huge."

"It was a dragon!" One of the newbies, a redhead, spoke out loudly. "I told you I saw it real well. It was scaley and it hissed at me!"

"A dragon?" Faith was intrigued. She had never come across a dragon before, not in all her travels. There were stories of them in books of course, but sometimes it was hard to separate fact from fiction.

"Katherine," the team leader, Sara, scolded the girl, "It wasn't a dragon."

"Yes, it was," the girl glared back. It seemed some traits ran true in Slayers. They were all little rebels at heart.

"Why don't I go find out," Faith interrupted the argument before it got out of hand. She slipped the Scythe from its sheath on her back, feeling the familiar zing of power that came every time she held it.

"She's so cool!" Was the last thing she heard as she descended into the dark, shaking her head at the stupidity of teenage girls. It was time to go find out if dragons were real. She fucking loved her job.

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Author's Note:

Yet another chapter down! Let the accolades begin! Yeahhhh, anyway, onto business.

There you have the reason that Buffy isn't running around with the Scythe in case anyone was wondering. I always felt that Faith got a bit of a bad rap. She just needed to know she was needed like anyone else.

A note to the armor that the Slayers were sporting. Yes, I did get the idea from the comic book. If you want to see it go out and by them, it's really cool. I have to say I agree with Mr. Whedon on the idea that the Slayers would have had to go more high-tech. They're now a world wide organization with thousands of Slayers that they have to organize. They gotta' upgrade a little. And though my story is going to be different from his, it will be similar in that manner.

Also yes, to the question asked by some, I am planning doing some more stories in this universe once I'm done with Buffy's tale. There are other characters' stories to address.

As always, thanks for the reviews and the suggestions and I will see next time. Same buffy time, same buffy channel.

OMAKE:

Buffy- What are we doing, Master Shin?

Master Shin- We're training, Buffy, we're training.

Buffy- looks around- How is this training exactly?

Master Shin- This is honing your mind.

Buffy- We're selling stuff on the side of the road.

Master Shin- looking agitated - The bargaining skills used will hone your ability to think on your feet.

Buffy- looking doubtful

Master Shin- bangs pot on the stand- FINE! You want to know the truth? You're eating me out of house and home! We have to make money so that we can afford to feed you!

Buffy- suddenly animated - Come one! Come all! You won't get a better bargain anywhere!

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For tazandhooch, who wanted more Buffy. Thanks for the compliment.