Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow III: Inferno

Previously:

Kara squeezed her eyes shut, gritting her teeth against the pain that ripped through her mind. She felt as though she was being torn in a thousand directions at once and the anguish that burned through her blood brought her to her knees. Clutching her head, she leaned back against the wall and waited. Slowly, images began to form in front of her closed eyelids. She saw the flash of a brown robe. A fire was burning somewhere; she could smell the smoke. A dark, hazy room was spread before her. She could hear chanting. The words assumed form in her mind with clarity. "We beseech thee, open the gateway. We beseech thee!"

Chapter One: The Wanderers:

When Faith, Angel, and Spike returned to the hospital that evening, the Slayers already were waiting for them, assembled in the parking lot next to an idling bus. Angel immediately noticed that Illyria was gone. Buffy, seeing his questioning glance, shrugged her shoulders. "She must have taken off sometime during the day," she offered as an explanation. "I didn't see her go, but I was busy looking after the girls."

Angel nodded. "I didn't think she would come with us," he concluded.

"Throw your bag in the bus," Buffy stated. "We're all ready to go."

The souled vampire did as requested, throwing a duffel bag stuffed with those possessions that he wished to keep into the back of the vehicle. As he claimed a seat in the rear, the Slayers began to file onto the bus. Faith slid into the driver's seat, flashing him a brief wink in the rearview mirror. Spike crept down the corridor between seats and plopped down across the aisle from Angel, flashing him a brief grin. When Buffy climbed in and sat behind Faith, Angel spoke up. "Do you actually know how to drive a bus, Faith?"

"I drove it down here," Faith snorted in reply as she shifted into gear and pressed down on the gas pedal. "Besides, would you rather Buffy drive?"

"No," Angel quickly shook his head. "It would be a shame for all of us to die in a horrible bus accident after surviving such a huge battle."

"You know, guys," Buffy interjected. "This joke is really starting to get old. I mean, I'm not that bad of a driver."

"Really?" Faith raised an eyebrow as she turned the bus out of the hospital parking lot and onto the street. "There's documented evidence to the contrary, B."

Buffy huffed dramatically and slumped down in her seat with her arms folded across her chest. "See if you get any tonight," she muttered.

Faith smirked. "Oh, I think I will," she replied.

"You're that confident?" Buffy questioned.

"I know you can't resist me," Faith shrugged.

Buffy shook her head and laughed. "You're so full of yourself," she concluded as her cell phone rang. Sliding it out of her pocket, she smiled when she saw the name on the caller ID and flipped open the phone. "Hey Kara," she greeted. Though her daughter had wanted to join them in Los Angeles, Giles thought it best that two experienced Slayers remain on the Hellmouth in light of their absence.

"How'd it go?" Kara asked.

Despite the static of distance separating them, Buffy thought she heard a heavy weariness in the other girl's voice. "Overall, I'd say it was a success," she answered. "We lost Gunn and Wesley though."

"Shit," Kara muttered. "How's Angel taking it?"

Buffy glanced back at the vampire, who was staring absently out of the window. "He's alright," she said thoughtfully. "I know he's hurting inside."

"And you and Faith are okay?" Kara prodded.

"We're fine," Buffy confirmed. "A little banged up. But we didn't lose any girls. And Dawn will be happy to know that Spike is coming back in one piece."

"I'll make sure to tell her," Kara chuckled.

"Are you okay?" Buffy asked, grabbing the opportunity to ask.

"I had another vision today," the dark haired girl answered.

"Anything useful?" The older Slayer questioned.

"Not yet," Kara stated.

"Been getting any sleep?" Buffy asked. She heard her daughter sigh through the phone.

"I'm okay," Kara replied evasively.

"But you're not sleeping," Buffy noted.

"It's kinda hard with images of death and destruction dancing through your mind like sugar plums," Kara shot back.

"Maybe you should talk to Giles," Buffy offered, ignoring the other girl's harsh tone. "The Coven might be able to give you something to help you sleep."

"I don't need help," Kara grumbled, "I just need these visions to stop."

"I know," Buffy said concernedly.

"I should get going," Kara said. "I'm on patrol tonight."

"Be careful," Buffy cautioned. She worried about Kara patrolling alone with the constant threat of debilitating visions hanging over her.

"I will," the other girl promised. "I love you," she added. "And give my love to Faith."

"I love you too," Buffy replied. "We'll be home soon." Flipping the phone shut, she sighed and shoved it back into her pocket.

"How is she?" Faith asked worriedly as she pulled onto the highway leading back to Sunnydale.

"She's still not sleeping," Buffy answered. "She's patrolling tonight too."

"Do you know if anyone's going with her?" Faith questioned.

"She didn't say," the blonde Slayer responded. "Hopefully Kennedy will go with her. She had another vision."

"Of what?" Faith asked. Night was descending rapidly. As they sped further and further from Los Angeles, the lights of the city faded and the overwhelming darkness of the desert crept in upon them.

"Nothing specific," the older girl stated. "I really wish she would speak to Giles. He might be able to help her with the pain and her trouble sleeping."

"She's stubborn," Faith offered.

"I guess she gets that from you," Buffy joked.

"I don't know," Faith countered, "the Summers women are known to have a hard headed streak among them."

Buffy smiled softly as she glanced out of the window. The stars were shining above them. The brown, mottled lights of Los Angeles that had stained the sky during the first moments of their ride out of the city cleared and revealed the heavens in all of their glory. Despite the beauty resting above her, Buffy frowned. "I know," she commented absently. "But I still worry about her."

………………………………..

"So how was everyone's week?" Joyce asked as she passed a platter of chicken around the dining room table. Xander accepted it with a grateful smile and pushed several pieces onto his plate.

"Well, we've started construction on the second dormitory building up at the Council headquarters," he answered. "So far we haven't had any major setbacks."

"That's always good," Kennedy smirked.

"No comments from you," Xander teased. "It's not my fault you Slayers are supernaturally strong. They just don't make building materials to account for that."

"Xander," Kara interjected, "Buffy actually pulled an entire doorframe from the wall."

"Like I said…Slayers," Xander muttered good-naturedly.

"How about you, Anya?" Joyce asked.

"A woman tried to negotiate a price with me today," she stated incredulously. "Negotiate," she stressed. "You don't negotiate in retail," she scoffed.

"I hope you explained to her your entire theory on the buying and selling of goods," Tara joked quietly.

"Oh, I did," Anya said vehemently. "She'll never make that mistake again."

"She'll never go into the Magic Box again either," Willow commented.

"What're you trying to say?" Anya demanded.

"You scare away the customers," Kennedy stated bluntly.

"I do not," Anya replied matter-of-factly. "Profits are up by twenty-five percent from where they were last year. Business is increasing."

"You better look out, Xan," Kara smiled, "looks like Anya might become the top wage earner in your household soon."

"That's okay," Anya said, looking lovingly over at her husband, "Xander is useful in many other ways."

"Okay," Joyce interrupted before the conversation could veer into an awkward place. "How about you Kara? How are your classes?"

Kennedy smirked into her water as she lifted the glass to her lips. Kara glared over at her, her cheeks flushing slightly. Tara flashed Willow a teasing grin when she noticed. "They're going great," she replied as she kicked Kennedy underneath of the table. "The girls are quick studies."

"I'm surprised," Willow interjected. "After all, how often are you actually in class?" She joked.

"I haven't missed that many," Kara stressed. Willow raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Speaking of missing," Anya interrupted to save Kara further embarrassment, "where are Giles and Dawn tonight?"

"Giles had a meeting with the Coven," Kennedy piped up. "Apparently they think something big is going down."

"Oh, fun," Xander quipped.

Joyce rolled her eyes. "Well, I don't know anything about that," she declared, "but Dawn is in class tonight."

"Our little Watcher-in-training," Willow stated proudly.

"She's at the top of her class," Joyce beamed.

"I guess the smarts had to go to somebody, right?" Kara joked.

"Oh, you better be glad Buffy isn't here to hear you say that," Joyce chuckled.

"Speaking of Buffy," Tara said, "when are they getting back from Los Angeles?"

"I called them a little while ago," Kara answered. "They had just left. They should be back tonight."

"It'll be good to have them home," Joyce commented.

"Yeah," Kara agreed, sighing. Kennedy reached under the table and took her girlfriend's hand. As she rubbed her thumb across the older girl's knuckles, she smiled when she noticed the tension in Kara's body dissipate. Kara looked over at her and smiled. "Thanks," she whispered so that only Kennedy could hear. The younger girl simply nodded.

As dinner began to wind down, Kara quietly rose from the table to clear the dishes. She gathered some of the dirty plates and carried them into the kitchen. Placing them in the dishwasher, she noticed a low ringing in her ears. "Oh come on," she muttered, rubbing her temples. She could feel the pain beginning to spread throughout her brain. She felt like a bottle of champagne about to be opened before the visions hit her; tension built and built inside of her mind until it finally exploded out in a series of images, much like a cork popping from its glass confines. Gripping the edges of the island counter in the center of the kitchen, she groaned lowly between her clenched teeth as the pain mounted.

"Kara?" Kennedy asked worriedly as she slipped into the kitchen. With her Slayer hearing, she heard her girlfriend's sounds of discomfort from the dining room. Rushing over to her side, she gently traced circles on the other Slayer's back. "You're okay," she whispered soothingly.

Blood red light flashed in front of Kara's closed eyes and the vision began. She heard the chanting again. The voices rose louder and louder, echoing as though through a cavern. Flames danced on the walls. The room was consumed with smoke. The figure of a man in a brown robe centered in her vision. When he turned, she sucked in a gasp of surprise. His face was mottled in the haze of the smoke, but she could see with perfect clarity that his eyes had been gouged out and scars like tilted crosses ran over where they should have been. Then the images stopped, leaving Kara off balance and confused as she blinked open her eyes and glanced over at her girlfriend.

"What?" Kennedy asked, immediately noticing the look of fear in Kara's face.

"I saw something…," she hesitated.

"Well?" Kennedy prompted. "What did you see?"

"Is everything okay in here?" Joyce asked, pushing open the kitchen door as she carried the now empty platter that held the chicken earlier in the evening. Xander followed behind her holding some empty glasses, followed by Anya, who was wrestling with a dripping gravy boat, Willow, who was carrying the bread basket, and Tara, who was hauling some left over plates.

"You had another vision?" Xander asked, quickly placing the glasses on the counter and moving over to her.

"Kara," Kennedy said seriously, locking eyes with her girlfriend as she spoke. "You have to tell me what you saw."

Kara took a shaky breath and nodded. Running a hand through her dark hair, she spoke, "I saw some kind of room. I think it was pretty big. I don't know. But there was chanting and it sounded like it was echoing." She stopped to gather her thoughts and continued. "I saw a man."

"What did he look like?" Anya anxiously interrupted.

Xander rolled his eyes and laid a restraining hand on her back. "I think Kara was getting to that."

"Well, she's being awfully slow about it," Anya grumbled.

Despite the cold chill resting in her heart, Kara had to laugh at the ex-vengeance demon. "Sorry Anya," she teased, "I'll speed the story up for you."

"Thank you," Anya smiled.

"Anyway," Kara continued, "I saw a man. When he turned around, I noticed something familiar about him."

"What?" Tara asked, curiosity overcoming her.

"Just as anxious as Anya?" Willow whispered, elbowing her gently in the side.

"Maybe," Tara admitted.

"His eyes," Kara answered. "He didn't have any."

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"They had been carved out. Where they should have been, he had these scars like tilted crosses," the future Slayer explained.

"Oh shit," Kennedy muttered.

"The First Evil," Anya whispered.

"What?" Joyce asked confusedly

"The harbingers of the First Evil," Willow explained, "were blind. They had scars like the ones Kara described."

"But I thought that you defeated the First," Joyce stated.

"So did we," Xander sighed wearily. "Apparently not."

"We don't know that," Kennedy argued.

"Giles said the Coven felt something bad was coming," Tara interrupted. "That's why he wasn't here tonight."

"Maybe we didn't defeat it," Willow reasoned. "Maybe we just wounded it, you know. And now it's back?"

"I don't know," Kara shook her head, troubled. "But I know what I saw. The Bringers are back and where they wander, the First is sure to follow."