The Quickening

Notes: Sorry for the delay in updates, but I'm back at home now, so there should be regular updates this week. Although, probably not next week as I'll be in Nebraska. Arizona was nice though; I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a vacation destination. Anyway, I'm going to try to wrap this story up soon as I have a good idea kicking around in my head for a Season 7 story. Also, I'm screwing a bit with the season three timeline because I want the events in the story to take place in a certain way. Thanks for the reviews and keep them coming.

Previously:

"Sunnydale is mine," the First said. "One day I'll take my place in it. But I want it to be there when I do. The Mayor, he's just a pawn in a game that I'm going to win."

"You're afraid of him," Faith said, smiling.

"Do you want what I have or not?" The First asked.

"You know I do," Faith said.

"Then come closer, love," the First said, smiling as it whispered in Faith's ear.

Chapter Sixty-Eight:

The Mayor leaned back in his leather office chair, folding his hands loosely on his stomach. "These slayers are getting to be more trouble than they're worth," he said casually, although an angry spark shone clearly in his eyes. "What do you suppose we do about that?" He asked, addressing three of his vampire employees, who stood nervously in front of him with their hands folded behind their backs.

"Kill them?" One of them suggested, immediately regretting his decision to speak when the Mayor's eyes flitted dangerously across his face.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" The Mayor asked, sharply rising to his feet. He began to pace back and forth behind his desk in quick, deliberate steps. "Mr. Trick was a far more capable asset than any of you," Wilkins said disparagingly. "Even he couldn't kill the younger one. Although, it doesn't seem as though she'll be waking up anytime soon. It's the blonde that I'm worried about. Buffy," he said, spitting her name out of his mouth as if it had a repugnant taste. "She could ruin everything."

"What if we tried a different approach?" Another vampire suggested hesitantly.

"Like what?" The Mayor asked curiously.

"What if we took out her support base?" The vampire asked. "Without the younger slayer, she's weak. But she still has another powerful ally."

"Angel," the Mayor said, smiling suddenly. "What do you propose we do?"

"The Killer of the Dead," the vampire said simply, quite proud of himself.

"I don't know what that means," the Mayor said.

"It's a poison. The only cure for it is the blood of a slayer," the vampire stated. "Shoot Angel with a poisoned arrow. Best-case scenario, they don't figure out what the poison is and Angel dies from it. Second best-case scenario, they do," the vampire stated.

"Why would it be good if they figured it out?" One of the other vampires asked.

"Buffy loves Angel," the Mayor said, catching on. "She loves him so much she'd be willing to sacrifice herself…or another comatose slayer…in order to save him."

"Exactly," the vampire said, smiling widely.

"Now that's what I call thinking outside of the box," the Mayor replied, grinning. "I want you to take care of it. The rest of you, I have a very special package coming in from South America tonight at the airport. I want you to do everything you can to secure it for me. Understood?" The Mayor asked. The vampires nodded and quickly dispersed. The Mayor sat back down in his office chair and leaned against the wall. "Things are looking up."

…………………………

Two of the Mayor's vampires stood in the shadows of an airport hanger as a small plane landed on the runway in front of them. "That the plane?" One of them asked.

"Yeah," the other replied. The engine slowly shut down with a whine and the door of the plane opened. A man stepped out, followed by another carrying a wooden box. The two vampires stepped forward, greeting the men with easy smiles, which the men returned with less enthusiasm.

"Where's the money?" One of the men asked gruffly. "I don't see you carrying nothing."

"The Mayor requested that we take you directly to him," one of the vampires replied smoothly.

The two men looked at each other, recognizing the vampire's lying eyes. "I don't think so."

"Excuse me?" The other vampire asked.

"We don't like surprises," the man replied. "You were supposed to bring the money. No money, no deal."

"I'm sorry, that's just not an option," the vampire said. Looking over at his partner, he nodded, and they both reached into their suit pockets. The men watched them curiously, quickly recognizing the flash of steel that shone under the airport lights. The vampires aimed the guns directly at the men, smug looks settling on their faces as the two humans vainly attempted to back away.

"It's not personal," the other vampire said. "It's just business." Pulling the triggers, the vampires shot both men through their chests. Blood sprayed from the wounds, soaking the ground at their feet. Stepping around the bodies, the vampires picked up the box.

"It's a shame to waste all that good blood," one of the vampires said, licking his lips as he looked down at the ground.

"We have to get this back to the Mayor," the other replied. "I don't like him when he's angry."

"Neither do I," the other agreed, losing his appetite as he thought of what would happen to them if anything went wrong while they were feeding.

"What's in this thing anyway?" The other asked. The box was rather heavy and it felt as if something was moving around inside of it.

"I don't know, didn't think to ask," the other replied. "I just hope it doesn't break out if it's alive."

………………….

"Dateless for prom too?" Xander asked, leaning against the return book counter next to Cordelia in the library. Cordelia looked over at him, confused.

"You're not dateless for prom, Xander," she replied. "You have a date. She just happens to be in a coma."

"Which leaves me rather alone when it comes to the dance floor," Xander said.

"So you're actually going to prom then? I thought you would stay at the hospital," Cordelia replied.

"I was going to. But I thought about it and I know that Faith would want me to go out and have enough fun for the two of us. Granted, that's going to be a bit hard what with the fact that I haven't been able to sleep or even think about having any fun since…well, you know," Xander said.

"Yeah, I know," Cordelia agreed. She had not been able to sleep well either since her best friend was nearly killed by one of the Mayor's henchmen. "And yes, I'm dateless as well." The Sunnydale High Prom was only a day away. Cordelia knew that the rest of the school was buzzing was excitement and though it was her senior Prom, she could not seem to muster any enthusiasm for it with Faith precariously balanced between life and death.

"I have a thought," Xander said. "Why don't we just go together? As friends, of course. God knows Faith would kick my ass if I starting dating someone else while she was down," Xander joked.

Cordelia smiled. "You know, I can't really think of anyone I would rather go with," she replied. "Although, I would rather see you there with Faith."

"Yeah, me too," Xander said, looking down at the floor. Cordelia could see the shine of tears wetting his eyes.

"Don't do that," she said.

"Do what?" Xander asked, looking up.

"Don't start crying. If you start, then I won't be able to keep myself together," Cordelia replied, her voice thick with emotion.

Xander smiled his famous lopsided smile and nodded, collecting himself. "Faith wouldn't want me to cry anyway. She would think I was being a pussy," he said. Cordelia laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

"I believe she would."

…………………………………

Faith lay in a coma while the Sunnydale High Prom raged in the school gym. She was trapped behind a veil of night while the First Evil whispered in her ear. Buffy was awarded the Class Protector award. Cordelia and Xander went together and danced every dance for the unconscious slayer, though they both wished they were at her side instead of each other's. The time ticked by slowly. The nurses changed watch and the moon rose higher in the sky as the night began its long descent into day. The Prom cleared as the students went to after parties, or simply home. The Scooby Gang returned to Buffy's house for their own after party.

Giles retired early from the Summers residence, choosing to spend the rest of the night with Faith, rather than alone in his apartment keenly feeling her absence. "You would have had a good time, actually, though I'm not so sure a Prom is really your type of thing," Giles said. "This boy named Tucker tried to release a pack of hellhounds on the school gym. It was quite exciting," Giles said. He was sitting in the chair next to Faith's bed, holding one of her limp, cold hands in his own. He had seen her deteriorating day after day and he felt as though he was slowly dying with her. Though there was so much more he wanted to say to her, all he could think of were the tiny, mundane details of life.

"I think Buffy and Angel broke up. You'll be sure to give her a hard time about that when you wake up. He came to the Prom, at the very end, but there was a certain sadness in the way they danced – a finality," Giles said as the word came to his mind. "Xander wanted to be here with you, but he knew that you would have none of it. He went with Cordelia. I believe they were both miserable the entire time, but they made the best of it. To be honest, I was quite miserable myself."

Giles related the events of the Prom to the unconscious slayer. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed as sleep took him. The room was silent as Giles slept, the only sound the constant beeping of Faith's heart monitor. "I'm so glad he's done rattling on," the First said, smiling in the dark. Faith could feel its breath against her ear. "Do you understand everything I've told you?

"Yes," Faith said as a chill ran up and down her spine.

"Good," the First said, moving away from the slayer.

"I still don't understand why you're helping me," Faith replied. "I thought the Mayor was working on your side."

"Not all evil is the same, Faith. That's a lesson you'll learn one day quite soon. You see, Faith, you have a choice. On the one hand, you can use the knowledge I've given you today to stop the Mayor from destroying Sunnydale and thus save all of your friends. But if you do, you'll set into motion a chain of events that will lead to my rising and the fall of everything you know. However, if you keep the knowledge to yourself, the Mayor will destroy Sunnydale and everyone in it. You'll have stopped an even greater evil, but you'll have to live with the knowledge that you killed everyone you love. I don't know if you can live with that, Faith. I don't know if anyone could," the First smirked. "I know I'll be waiting eagerly to see which road you take, Faith. Light or dark. Death or life. It's all up to you now. Fate lies in your hands," the First said as it slowly began to fade into a formless darkness that spread though the night. As the last of its essence crept from Faith's mind, her eyes shot open.

Faith blinked several times, trying to focus her eyes. She knew that she was lying down. Above her was a white ceiling. She could hear a beeping sound that reminded her of a heartbeat. She tried to move, but found that she was incredibly weak. A strong, sterile smell invaded her nostrils and she knew that she was in a hospital. Slowly turning her head, she saw Giles asleep in a chair next to her. She tried to speak, but found that her voice would not come. Her throat felt dry and scratchy. She felt as if she had been walking through an arid desert. She had never wanted water more in her entire life. She noticed that Giles's fingers were laced through her own. Gently squeezing his hand, she waited for a reaction.

Giles felt the pressure even in his sleep. Instantly awake, he bolted up in the chair, wildly looking around the room. His eyes settled on Faith and he was shocked to find her dark eyes fixed on his face. "Faith?" He asked, leaning forward and gripping her hand tightly in his own. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Faith managed to say, though it pained her greatly to speak. "I'm not deaf, you know."

"Of course," Giles said, smiling in relief. "I have to get a doctor," he said.

"Wait," Faith said. "Water, please." Giles nodded and sprang to his feet, rushing to the bathroom. She could hear the sound of water pouring through the faucet. Giles reappeared within moments with a glass of water in his hand. Faith struggling to sit up, but managed to prop herself against her pillow. Accepting the glass of water with shaking hands, she drank eagerly, relishing the feel of the cool liquid pouring down her raw throat.

"I'll be right back," Giles said reassuringly, quickly exiting the room to locate a doctor. Faith watched him leave, glad that he was by her side when she woke up. The First Evil's parting words suddenly echoed in her mind and any joy at being awake vanished. She had a choice to make.