The Quickening
Previously:
"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.
Chapter Thirty-Seven:
"So, what do you think?" Xander asked as he officially finished giving Faith a tour of his newly furnished apartment. Faith looked around and nodded.
"Pretty cool, X-man," Faith said approvingly. "How's life treating you now that you're on your own?"
"I like it," Xander replied, grinning widely. "It's nice to actually like coming home after school, not fearing for my life, all that good stuff."
"I hear ya," Faith responded, agreeing with his sentiments entirely.
"Can you come over tonight for dinner, or do you have someplace to be?" Xander asked. "I'm not a half bad cook."
"I don't see why not. I'm supposed to go talk to Giles this morning. He seemed kinda anxious about something. Barring the end of the world, I'll be here," Faith answered.
"Sounds like a plan," Xander responded. "So, you should be going then. Give me some sugar first, though," Xander said, smiling when Faith rolled her eyes. She stepped forward, nonetheless, and gently pressed her lips against Xander's. Instantly, the kiss turned into something more. Their tongues met and Faith moaned into his mouth. Xander's hands were roaming over her body and every place his fingers touched, she felt sparks shooting through her body.
"Okay, to be continued," Xander said, breaking the kiss. "You have places to be and I'm a teenage boy making out with his girlfriend in his apartment without any parental supervision."
"Temptation awaits," Faith commented and Xander grinned.
"Exactly," he replied. "You're a pretty big temptation. Besides, it's insanely early in the morning and I don't even have to think about school for at least another half hour."
"I'll be back tonight," Faith responded as Xander opened the door for her. After a short walk, Faith arrived at the front steps of Sunnydale High. Giles had asked her to come especially early, earlier than Buffy or any of the others arrived at school – earlier than even Willow arrived at school. Faith was curious to find out why Giles was being so secretive. He seemed quite preoccupied the day before, quieter than usual. Something was going on and Faith was going to get to the bottom of it.
Pushing open the library doors, Faith walked inside only to find that she was not the first person to have arrived. "Who's this?" Faith asked, stopping short when she saw an older man standing in the middle of the library, wearing a tweed suit quite similar to some of the ones that Giles owned.
"This is Quentin Travers," Giles replied, turning to face Faith. He had been standing near the door of his office. "He's the head of the Watcher's Council."
"A little early for you to be training, Rupert. I thought mornings in California didn't start until quite late in the afternoon," Quentin commented sarcastically. Faith had already decided that she did not like the man. She resented most authority figures in the first place, but based on what Giles had hinted about the Watcher's Council, she could tell that Quentin was not someone to be trusted.
"Actually, we're quite diligent about our training," Giles replied casually. "Faith insists on getting as much time in as possible."
Faith instantly picked up on Giles's train of thought. "Yeah, the more the better, right? Vamps aren't gonna take it down a notch just because I'm not prepared."
Quentin nodded thoughtfully. "Quite correct," he responded. "How far have you gotten in her training, Rupert?"
"We've completed most of her physical training. Despite delays, we're progressing rather well through some of the more educational aspects of slaying," Giles said. "We've recently begun studying crystals. She catches on quite quickly."
"Very good," Quentin said. "Well, I just wanted to make sure that everything was progressing as planned."
"Everything is in order, as you've stipulated," Giles replied rather bitterly. Faith looked up at him in surprise. Quentin stared back at him smugly.
"Nice to see that you still remember how to fall in line," Quentin said. "Good day." He walked passed Faith, quickly sizing her up and flashing her a vague smile before walking out of the library.
"What was that all about?" Faith asked, watching the man leave with disdain written plainly on her face.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. The Council is in town," Giles said.
"Does Buffy know?" Faith asked, walking into the library and sitting down at one of the tables. Giles joined her.
"No," Giles replied quickly. "And you cannot tell her. I don't know how to stress that enough. You see, the Council is here for a specific reason."
"And what reason is that?" Faith asked, cold dread creeping into her heart.
"Every slayer since the beginning has been put through a trial of sorts on her eighteenth birthday," Giles explained.
"Tonight is Buffy's eighteenth birthday," Faith remembered.
"Yes, it is," Giles answered.
"So she's going to be put through this trial?" Faith asked.
"It's called the Cruciamenthum," Giles said. "Essentially, the slayer is stripped of her abilities. Then she is put into a room with a vampire. The expectation is that if the slayer is worth her calling, she will be able to defeat the vampire without her abilities. It's a right of passage."
"Has every slayer defeated the vampire?" Faith asked, growing uneasy. She did not like the thought of being stripped her abilities. She had grown to rely on her status as a slayer. It defined her very being. Without her slayer abilities, she was nothing, just some loser chick from Boston without a future, or destiny.
"No," Giles replied. "Not every slayer has defeated the vampire, which is why I called you here."
"What do you mean?" Faith asked, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the library table.
"I truly believe that Buffy can defeat the vampire without her abilities. However, I don't want to entertain the notion that she can't. The Council does not allow anyone to help the slayer once the Cruciamenthum has begun. Despite this, I want you to help her," Giles explained.
"How am I supposed to do that?" Faith asked.
"I know where the trial will be held," Giles said. "I want you to sneak in before it's set to begin."
"What do you want me to do once I'm in? The vampire will know that I'm there," Faith replied.
"I don't think he'll notice. They've starved the vampire. Once Buffy enters, he'll be too focused on her to notice the presence of another slayer. If it appears that Buffy can handle him on her own, let her. However, if it appears that she's having trouble, step in and kill him yourself," Giles said.
"Not a problem," Faith said.
"Excellent. I'll show you where it is this afternoon. Go there at dusk. It's a two-story building, so it would be best if you snuck in through the second floor. The vampire will be locked up until Buffy is scheduled to arrive," Giles explained.
"How are they going to lure her there?" Faith asked.
"I'm not sure," Giles admitted. "She'll be there no matter how they arrange it."
"Hey," Buffy said, suddenly walking into the library, oblivious that Giles and Faith had been talking. "So something weird just happened."
"What's up?" Faith asked nonchalantly.
"I just got my ass handed to me by some redneck out front," Buffy replied. "Cordy had to push him away."
"That's weird," Faith commented, looking over at Giles.
"What's going on, Giles?" Buffy asked, visibly shaken by the recent events.
"I'm not sure," Giles replied slowly. Faith could tell that he was lying. He was looking just above Buffy's head instead of directly into her eyes.
"But we'll get to the bottom of it," Buffy stated hopefully.
"Of course we will, B," Faith replied. "You're probably just sick or something."
"Yeah, that must be it," Buffy responded. "I have been feeling a little fluish lately."
"There you go," Faith, said smiling.
"You should get to class. I don't think your teachers will appreciate you being late again on my account," Giles said, smiling softly as Buffy nodded, wrapped her arms around herself, and wandered out of the library.
"I don't like this, G-man," Faith said, leaning back in her chair. "That shit's not gonna happen to me."
"Not if I can help it," Giles replied. "I had forgotten about this supposed rite of passage entirely. It wasn't until the Council came to Sunnydale and informed me of my obligation to administer the drug that suppresses the slayer abilities that I remembered at all. Most people at the Council feel that this trial is an archaic exercise that should be eliminated entirely. I am one of those people. However, as long as I am employed with the Council, I have the responsibility to fulfill my duties."
"So you would have tried to get her out of this if you could," Faith stated.
"Yes," Giles replied. "The last thing I wanted was for Buffy to lose her powers and have to fight a vampire on her own. That's why I asked you for help."
"Why didn't you just say no when the Council asked you to administer the drug?" Faith asked.
"The Council can be very persuasive," Giles replied enigmatically. "If you don't agree to their demands, they find ways to ensure that you will."
"They threatened you," Faith stated.
"Yes, they did," Giles answered. "They threatened to have me deported."
"You can't do any good for anyone in England," Faith reasoned.
"Exactly. I chose the lesser of two evils, at least in my opinion," Giles replied. "I hope Buffy sees it the same way."
"I'll keep her safe," Faith promised.
"Thank you," Giles replied gratefully. "I don't think you'll have to worry about the Council. When I received your file, after I learned of your Watcher's death, your date of birth was listed as unknown."
"But I told Kate what my birthday was," Faith said, confused.
Giles smiled. "I suppose she left that fact out on purpose," he said.
"She didn't want them to know when I turn eighteen," Faith replied, respect and admiration for her dead Watcher flaring up in her heart.
"I imagine she was trying to protect you from the trial," Giles stated. "And I will do everything I can to do the same. I just wish I could have done it for Buffy."