Aftermath: Part Six
by Callista
Part Six

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THE GILES' RESIDENCE
1253 HOURS

Buffy's arm whipped up and behind her, but her foe was not where he had once been. A leg swooped out behind her, almost knocking her legs out from under her. She jumped up, using her Slayer strength to propel her upwards, until she grabbed hold of a pipe overhead. She swung around, kicking her legs out in front of her, and hit her opponent square on the chest.

Giles fell to the padded floor of the deep basement of his Sunnydale home. Buffy was training here since the library was undergoing major repairs. Willow, Xander, Ms. Calendar, and a reluctant Cordelia were also there. Ms. Calendar had brought over her laptop since Giles didn't own a computer, and she was watching Willow admirably. Willow was typing away at the computer, searching the Internet for information on the prophesy that Giles had briefed them on earlier. Cordelia was, well, being Cordelia. She was making snide comments on the lack of decor in the basement, and the whole house.

Xander had gone out to get them lunch, and had just returned. He rang the doorbell insistently. Buffy, who was just about to finish Giles off, jumped up to answer it (much to Giles' relief). She opened it to find Xander standing there, grinning, and proudly holding up his five large bags of food. Buffy relieved him of two of the bags, and together they brought them downstairs. Xander laid out all the food on the small coffee table, the only furniture in the room. Giles and Cordelia looked at the fast food with distaste. Xander had already dug in, and was half finished his first cheeseburger.

Buffy, famished after her strenuous workout, picked up a box of large fries, and commenced to munch on them.

Ms. Calendar chose a filet-o-fish, Giles and Willow both took hamburgers, while Cordelia picked at a box of Chicken McNuggets.

Giles brought down a large black garbage bag, into which they all put their garbage when they were done. Xander, not wanting to leave any food uneaten, looked hungrily at Cordelia's McNuggets. She pushed them over to him with disgust, and he promptly devoured them, licking the remaining crumbs off his fingers. He grinned happily, then let out a loud burp. "Xander" everyone groaned. He looked at all of them and held his hands up in protest.


* * *
Something beeped, and Buffy paused in the middle of her attack to check her beeper. "Don't' bother," Ms. Calendar said from behind her. "Its just my e-mail". Giles got up from where Buffy had tossed him, and everyone crowded around Ms. Calendar and her laptop.

"It's from that monk, Brother Luca" Giles remarked "I wonder what he has to say now?"

Ms. Calendar quickly read the message, and told him it was about the new prophesy. He moved forward to read the message.

"Hmmm... very interesting. It says here that unexpected help will arrive to aid us, but it might not be enough. I wonder what this "unexpected help" is, and why it won't be enough. Ms. Cal-... Jenny," he corrected himself, while Willow, Buffy and Xander exchanged glances. "Is there some way to contact this Brother Luca character? Send him a reply e-message maybe?"

"That's e-mail Rupert"

"Yes well, can you?"

"Of course. Just give me a couple of minutes."

Ms. Calendar hastily typed out a message asking for more information, sent it, and sat back in her chair, waiting. "This may take a while," she informed them.

Sure enough, it was nearly an hour later when they received a reply. Everyone had gotten bored waiting, so Willow and Xander had pulled out a chess board and started a game. Buffy was going through a series of flips and gymnastics on the floor, Cordelia and Ms. Calendar were engaged in a chat about clothes and the importance of a good appearance. Giles was trying to figure out how to use the laptops cursor in order to play a game of electronic solitaire. He almost had it, when the computer beeped, startling him.

The monk's e-mail said that the help was one who had lost everything, everyone, one who had a special power. Not even he would be able to banish the evil that had laid dormant, awakened by the Hellmouth. The e-mail ended, leaving everyone more confused then before. Finally Cordelia asked, "What does this mean, "one who has lost everything, everyone'? How can you lose everyone?"

"I think I can answer that".


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