The Quickening
Previously:
Slowly, the point of the knife drove closer to its target. Sweat broke out on Faith's forehead as she struggled against the vampire. Faith screamed out in pain as the knife pierced her skin. Red, hot pain flashed through her mind and her grip on Trick's arm loosened. Trick capitalized on the opportunity, driving the knife into Faith's chest with all of his strength. "How does that feel, slayer?" Trick whispered into her ear. Faith felt a strange chill spreading through her bones and the last thing she saw before the world turned black were Trick's yellow eyes boring into her soul.
Chapter Sixty-Five:
As Faith regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was an overwhelming silence that surrounded her. The only sound she could hear was the faint rustling of a far away breeze. Warmth spread over her skin, a constant penetrating heat that burned against her flesh. Faith's eyes fluttered open to be greeted by the infinite blue sky, stretching for miles across a bare horizon. There were no clouds, only the sun, piercing down at her as she lay on her back in the middle of the desert. Faith squinted in the bright light and turned her head to the side. For miles, all that she could see was sand. To her other side, some rocks lay in the distance, a formation that reminded her of some pictures she had seen in a geography textbook years ago.
The last thing that Faith remembered was Trick stabbing her in the chest with a knife. The pain had been so excruciating that she had blacked out, unable to bear in the intensity of it. She remembered thinking that she was about to die. Everything she had done in her life flashed before her eyes and she could not help but feel disappointed. Lifting herself up on her elbows, Faith expected to feel a flash of hot pain flooding her senses. However, she felt stronger than ever. Looking down at her shirt, she noticed that there was no bloodstain where the knife had pierced her chest.
Rising to her feet, Faith brushed the sand off her clothes and looked around. She could feel something pulling at her senses and she knew that she was not alone. However, she could not see whoever or whatever else was with her. "Hello?" Faith called out into the desert. Her voice echoed, fading into the silence that permeated the land. "I know someone's there," Faith said, spinning around.
"I suppose I can't hide from you forever," a woman's voice said. Faith turned, looking for the origin of the voice.
"Where are you?" She asked.
"You already know," the voice replied. Faith closed her eyes, focusing her energy on locating the source of the voice. She could feel a presence to her left. Slowly opening her eyes, she began walking through the desert. The sand shifted underneath her feet and several times she almost stumbled to the ground, but eventually she stopped beside the rock formation she had seen when she first woke up.
"Who are you?" Faith asked as a woman with blonde hair so pale it almost appeared white stepped out from behind the rocks. She was wearing a light blue wrap that hung off one of her shoulders. Her tanned skin and dark eyes reminded Faith of an Egyptian goddess.
"I am all that is," the woman said, stepping closer.
"What the hell does that mean?" Faith asked.
"Only those with the heart of a champion may enter this place," the woman replied evasively. "You must be a champion in order to defeat the evil that will arise in Sunnydale."
"You know about that," Faith stated.
"Of course I do," the woman replied. "I know everything that is, was, or ever will be. I can see all things."
"If you can see all things, why don't you stop the bad things from happening?" Faith muttered.
"It is not my place," the woman said with a soft smile. "You have the will to do anything. I cannot presume to take that away from you. It comes from One higher than I."
"God?" Faith surmised. The woman smiled a little and began slowly circling the dark haired slayer.
"Not exactly. You assume that there is one thing that controls everything in the universe. But God, as you know it, does not exist. You see, God is simply energy – the energy of good and the energy of evil," the woman explained.
"Energy?" Faith asked.
"Yes," the woman replied. "Energy controls all things. Energy itself has no bearing – it is neither good nor evil. But when energy is used by other beings, it is converted to whatever end is chosen."
"So we make the bad things happen?" Faith finished.
"Yes," the woman replied. "But you can also stop them from happening."
"You're talking about the Ascension?" Faith asked.
"The Ascension is just one battle in a long line of many to come. Each enemy you destroy is simply a stepping stone to something more powerful," the woman replied.
"You know, I'm still not clear on what you are," Faith said, turning to watch the woman as she slowly circled Faith. Though she did not feel that the woman was evil, she was not sure whether to trust her. Faith had been played many times in her life. "Am I dead?"
"No, you're not dead. But you're not in your world anymore either," the woman said.
"What do you mean?" Faith asked in alarm.
"I think you misunderstand me," the woman clarified. "Your body is very much so still in your world. But your mind has entered another plane. I believe the doctors in your world call your condition a coma."
"I'm in a coma?" Faith asked.
"Yes," the woman replied. "And until you wake up, you're mind will be here, with me, in this plane of existence."
"Lovely," Faith muttered, looking around at the barren desert. "Why am I in a desert?"
"The desert is the place of the warrior," the woman replied. "It is where the heart and soul of the struggle, the becoming, and the transcendence resides."
"The place of the warrior," Faith said to herself, looking around. She felt as thought a part of her was connected to the desert, as if a part of it was in her soul.
"The First Slayer," the woman said, "was created in a desert much like this."
"What is the Ascension?" Faith asked, looking over at the woman curiously.
"There is much that you need to know. But I am not the one to tell you all. Some you must figure out on your own. I am only here to impart one thing to you," the woman explained.
"What is that?" Faith asked.
The woman stopped walking and looked deeply into Faith's eyes. "It is not so simple as that," she said.
"No?" Faith asked, watching the woman equally as intently.
"You must first pass the test."
…………………………..
"How is she?" Giles asked as the doctor pulled him to the side.
"She's stable, at the moment. She sustained a lot of injuries, however. Her left arm is broken. She was stabbed in the chest, though the blade missed her heart by millimeters. She lost a lot of blood. There were some minor scrapes and bruises, the most notable of which were two puncture marks on her neck," the doctor replied. "She's in a coma, Mr. Giles. The longer she remains in it, the less likely it is that she will awaken. The next forty-eight hours will be crucial."
"Thank you," Giles said. "May we see her?"
"Of course," the doctor replied, moving away as the group entered Faith's hospital room. The first light of dawn was rising over the horizon. Buffy moved over to the window and closed the blinds so that Angel would not be burned when the run reached its full strength.
"What happened to her, Giles?" Buffy asked, her voice and face set with the determination to avenge her sister slayer.
"I don't know," Giles replied wearily. Sitting down next to Faith's bedside, he reached over and gently took her hand in his. "The cemetery grounds keeper found her just before dawn."
"Do we think the demon she was meeting did it?" Angel asked. Xander moved over to the other side of the bed and sat down, mirroring Giles' actions. With his other hand, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Faith's face.
"No," Buffy said. "That demon was harmless."
"Then who did it?" Cordelia asked, her voice strained with sadness. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"I would say someone from the Mayor's office," Wesley conjectured.
"Why would the Mayor attack us?" Willow asked.
"Preemptive strike?" Oz suggested.
"We are the Mayor's biggest threat," Giles agreed. "If he somehow found out about the Books of Ascension, he would have sent someone after them."
"But you didn't see anyone leaving the Mayor's office last night, right, Buff?" Xander asked, his voice rough. Buffy could see unshed tears shining in his eyes.
"I didn't see anyone. That doesn't mean that no one left," Buffy replied helplessly.
"So what're we going to do? We don't have the books. Faith's in a coma. Things aren't looking so good for us right now," Willow said dejectedly.
"The only thing we can do right now is wait," Giles said. "Faith will wake up. A new opportunity will present itself. Until then, we have to be wary. The Mayor may try to attack us again."
"I don't want any of you guys going anywhere by yourself," Buffy said, turning to her friends. "It's too dangerous."
"What about my job in the Mayor's office?" Cordelia asked.
"Quit," Buffy replied.
"Are we sure that's wise? Won't it draw attention to Cordelia?" Wesley asked.
"I don't care," Buffy answered. "I don't want her there anymore."
"I'll quit today," Cordelia said.
"What will you tell them?" Giles asked.
"I'll just tell them that it's affecting my school work. I don't have time to complete my assignments," Cordelia offered.
"That sounds good," Buffy said. "We can't let the Mayor know that he's struck a blow to us. We have to be strong."
"I don't think I can be strong anymore," Cordelia muttered.
"What happens if she doesn't wake up, Giles?" Xander asked, looking over at the older man. Giles sighed and looked down at Faith. She looked so helpless lying in the hospital bed with tubes and wires protruding from her body.
"I don't know," Giles replied. "I just don't know."