The Quickening

Previously:

"Anyone up for the football game?" Cordelia suggested hopefully. She hated to admit it, but she had missed hanging out with the Scoobies. Though she knew it would take a while for them to forgive her for hurting Xander, she hoped to be included once again, even if only on the outside like she had been before everything happened.

Chapter Thirty-Six:

"So where's Buffy?" Cordelia asked as she sat on top of an ancient, crumbling gravestone with her feet dangling a few inches from the ground.

"Across town," Faith replied, tossing her stake back and forth from one hand to the other. "Giles thought it would be good to spread us out. Catch more vamps that way."

"You know, I have to say, I actually missed patrolling," Cordelia said. "It would be about sunset, I would grab my jacket, and then remember that the Scoobs didn't want me tagging along anymore."

"Although, technically, that was your fault," Faith replied, grinning when Cordelia shot her an exasperated look.

"Point is, I'm glad you asked me to come along," Cordy said, rolling her eyes at the younger girl.

"Yeah, so am I," Faith replied. "It gets kinda boring out here when nothing's going on."

"Like it rough, huh?" Cordy asked, laughing along with Faith. "It is a little slow tonight though," she noted. They had yet to find a vampire and they had been out for nearly two hours.

"Slow would be an understatement," Faith answered.

"How about we Bronze it then? Not like we'll be missing anything important out here," Cordy suggested. Though she did enjoy patrolling with Faith, or the others, she was also quite partial to more entertaining, and slightly less dangerous activities, such as dancing with some of the more handsome guys in Sunnydale on a hot, sweaty dance floor.

"Sounds good to me," Faith said, slipping her stake into the waistband of her pants. "Let's motor."

…………………

"Jesus, B," Faith commented, walking into the library. "What have you been smoking?"

"Can't seem to hit the target today," Buffy said, turning to look back at Faith.

"Obviously," Faith replied. "A blind guy could do better than you today."

"Thanks, Faith, really feelin' the love," Buffy replied, plopping down on one of the library chairs with a loud sigh.

"Where's G?" Faith asked.

"In his office," Buffy responded. "He ducked out of the way when I started throwing the knives."

"I don't blame him," Faith said, sauntering over to Giles's office door. She swiftly knocked twice and yanked it open. "What ya got for me today?"

"Crystals," Giles replied, smiling back at her.

"Crystals? I'm gonna learn to kill vamps with crystals?" Faith asked.

"No," Buffy replied, her eyes laughing. "You just learn about the crystals. Giles made me do it yesterday."

"Oh," Faith replied. "That's cool I guess."

"Really not," Buffy said. "Well, I'm off. Training isn't going well today and for once, I actually want to go to class."

"That's a first," Faith replied jokingly.

"Really is," Buffy responded. "Later."

"So, what's with the crystals, G?" Faith asked as Giles walked out of his office with a box of crystals in his hands.

"It's a part of your training," Giles replied. "Being a slayer requires training on multiple levels. Not just the physical aspects of slaying, but also the mental aspects as well. You have to train your mind."

"Train my mind?" Faith asked absently.

"Your first Watcher didn't do anything like this did she?" Giles asked with a soft smile.

"Nah," Faith replied. "We were more concerned with staying alive than improving my state of education."

"Fair enough," Giles replied. "But now that staying alive isn't such an issue, it's about time we start focusing on other things. Now, this is an Amethyst."

………………….

Quentin Travers stood just inside the door of an abandoned boarding house on the outskirts of Sunnydale. The inside was covered with a thick layer of dust. The building had not been used in years, but Quentin thought that it was perfect. "Are we almost ready?" He asked one of his assistants, who was scurrying around the house.

"Yes, we're almost ready," Hobson said, pausing and regarding his boss politely. "Five or six more hours, perhaps. We should be ready in time."

"Excellent," Quentin said pleasantly. He moved aside as two of his employees wheeled a large, wooden crate into the room.

"He should be alright in there," Hobson said. "The Slayer's preparation is almost ready."

"He will prove quite a challenge," Quentin said, moving around the crate and eying it approvingly. "I hope the Slayer is up to it."

"If not, than no loss," Hobson said. "The world will be a better place when the line of Slayers is restored to their former glory."

"Yes," Quentin replied, his face turning sour. "Buffy and Faith – two of the worst Slayers in history. Never have we been subjected to more disrespectful people in the history of the Watcher's Council. We've located nearly every potential slayer. Once those two are gone, we'll have our girls in our grasp, able to mold them as we see fit." Quentin believed in the traditional modes of training a Slayer. However, some of his Watchers believed that more modern methods should be employed. Rupert Giles was one of those Watchers. The biggest mistake Quentin had ever made was allowing Giles to become a Watcher to a legitimate Slayer. Buffy Summers could have been much more with the assistance of a Watcher who believed in respect, diligence, and proper training.

"When will Mr. Price be arriving in Sunnydale?" Hobson asked, breaking Quentin from his thoughts.

"Mr. Price will be arriving quite shortly. Hopefully he can turn Faith around before it's too late – before she becomes another loose cannon. We have high hopes for him," Quentin remarked.

"He's a very good Watcher sir, I must say. An expert in demonology," Hobson commented.

"That he is," Quentin said. "I hope he proves his worth."

…………………

"Concentrate," Giles said, holding the crystal up in front of Buffy's eyes.

"I'm trying," Buffy replied, focusing her thoughts on the crystal in front of her. "What's supposed to happen again?" Buffy asked as she slowly fell into a trance.

"Buffy?" Giles asked, once he was satisfied that Buffy was hypnotized. Pulling a small package from his brief case, Giles opened it and removed a hypodermic needle. Filling it with a clear, yellow liquid, he tapped the needle twice to remove any air bubbles. Then he kneeled down next to Buffy and rolled up her sleeve. Carefully, he injected the needle into her arm, watching to make sure that she did not react. He was conflicted when Quentin called him to tell him that Buffy's trial was coming up. He wanted to follow Council tradition, however, he had become attached to Buffy. Though every Slayer had gone through the trial, he did not want anything bad to happen to Buffy. More than that, he dreaded the day when he would have to administer the test to Faith.

Moving around the table to his previous position, Giles picked up the crystal and waved his hand between it and Buffy's face. "Sorry, did I zone out on you?" Buffy asked, snapping to attention.

"Just a bit," Giles replied, smiling a little. "Perhaps we should call it a night."

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," Buffy said, pulling herself to her feet, gathering her stuff, and leaving.

Giles watched her go. "Yes, you will."