Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow
Note: Apologies for accidentally calling Callum 'Mason.' I had been toying with adding a character named Mason for the apocalyptic scenes. Just a case of my brain working in a different direction than my fingers. Anyway, I fixed that mistake in the previous chapter and hopefully won't do it again.
Previously:
"So basically, we need to stop the Council from being destroyed," Callum said. Kara nodded.
"When are we gonna approach Buffy?" She asked, for the millionth time that week. She was nervous as hell and Callum knew it. Though he sympathized with her, the question was starting to aggravate him.
"Soon," he said, reaching over and grasping her hand. "Very soon. We just have to wait for Dawn."
Chapter Four:
"Ah the joys of Sunnyhell: the California breeze, the sun, and let's not forget, the abundant horde of vampires and demons just waiting...no, itching, to kill every last stupid person who lives in this shitty, little town," Faith declared, twiddling her stake between her fingers as she and Kara walked down the street. The moon was shining high above them, its light mingling with the dim glow of the streetlamps lining the road. A faint breeze rustled the leaves on the trees, a reminder of the quickly approaching fall season.
"Gee Faith, you make it seem like you don't like it here," Kara said sarcastically. Beside her, Faith snorted.
"You think?" She said, then paused a moment to reflect. "Nah, it's not that I don't like it here. I mean, Sunnydale's not a bad place when you think about it. Perfect for a slayer, you know? Got a lot of bad memories here though. But I guess it's home. Boston sure as shit isn't," Faith said, nostalgia and regret staining her husky voice.
Kara wisely remained silent, allowing Faith to lose herself in her memories. She had found it best not to interrupt Faith when she starting talking about the past. Any little interruption from the present and Faith seemed to lose her train of thought, or realize that she was opening up. They were approaching Restfield cemetery. Callum had gone scouting earlier and assured them that Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang had retired for the evening. After all, it was nearing three o'clock in the morning. But both Kara and Faith found that while sleep eluded them most nights, the desire to slay did not. When they didn't get the opportunity, Callum found himself with two extremely grumpy and violent women on his hands.
Faith looked over at Kara. Ever since they met, she had a strange affinity for the girl from the future – an almost maternalistic desire to protect her. She had never felt that way towards anyone before. While, when she first came to Sunnydale, she felt a deep desire to protect Buffy, it was from an entirely different set of feelings, feelings she kept locked away for fear of causing her blonde counterpart even more pain. Kara had told Faith virtually nothing of her past, save a few details about some battles she fought in the future. Even though, for all intents and purposes, Kara was a stranger, Faith felt an intimate connection with her, as if she knew the girl's very soul.
"What are you thinking about?" Kara asked, turning her head sharply and catching Faith eyeing her curiously.
Faith grinned almost sheepishly and looked away. "I was just wondering about you. I mean, you said Sunnydale was gone in the future, so where did you live?"
"L.A., for a while. Then after everything happened, I moved around with a bunch of people. Didn't stay in any place too long," Kara answered. It was difficult for her to address the questions Faith had about the future, simply because she didn't want to reveal too much. Certain things were meant to happen, while others were meant to change. If she slipped too much, the things that were set in stone could break apart and alter the future in ways neither she nor Callum could imagine.
"No family, friends?" Faith prodded, eager to learn more about her mysterious friend. The sudden thought that Kara was indeed her friend made Faith smile.
Kara hesitated. She couldn't very well tell Faith that part of her family was walking right next to her. "I had some, but they all died in the fights, and before that. Things were bad for a while," Kara answered as truthfully as she could. "Cemetery's just ahead," she said, diverting the topic. Faith let it slide.
The conversation ceased as they stepped through the wrought irons gates of the cemetery, the tombstones poking out of the earth around them like jagged teeth in a whale's mouth. They moved amongst them silently, their feet barely hitting the ground before shooting out again. Up ahead, next to a mausoleum some rich family had bought to carry them into the afterlife, two vampires stood whispering furtively to each other. Faith nodded to the one on the right and pointed to herself.
They crept closer to the oblivious vampires, slowly parting as they each circled around behind their target. Then, simultaneously, they vaulted over the nearest tombstones, planting two solid kicks on the backs of the demons. The vampires stumbled forward into each other and fell to the ground. Whipping out a stake, Kara drove into the heart of her target just as Faith's exploded into dust. Kara was impressed with how Faith fought, the fierce abandon and passion that lay behind her moves. On the other hand, Faith was constantly impressed with the agility, grace, and control Kara possessed. Training together, each learned how to fight like the other and combined those skills with their own. After several months, they both had become incredible fighters, and together, they were unstoppable.
"Nice. How many you think we'll get tonight?" Faith asked, grinning from ear to ear. She loved slaying.
"Hopefully more than that. I didn't walk all this way for nothing," Kara replied, a grin to match Faith's on her own face.
Their patrol yielded several more vampires, which they dispatched with ease. Shortly before five o'clock, they began the long walk back to the house. The breeze had picked up and the air was slightly cooler than before. The sky was beginning to lighten, the first signs of dawn breaking over the horizon. Dawn, Kara thought idly. Dawn would be arriving in Sunnydale any day. It was possible she was here now. Callum was monitoring the Summers' household, keeping a close watch to see when Dawn would arrive.
The fight with Glory was the first thing the Powers that Be instructed Kara to change. So many things happened surrounding that entire event that led to numerous problems. Firstly, Buffy had never been meant to die. She didn't have the will to fight or to live after being brought back, which seriously affected her ability to lead. With Faith fighting Glory beside Buffy, Kara was certain neither would lose. After Tara had been incapacitated, Willow was forced to use black magic to heal her, which led her to the road of destruction she walked after Tara was murdered a year later. Kara hoped to save Tara from that fate, and Willow in the process.
One thing Kara was uncertain she could change was the death of Joyce Summers. Obviously, she had never met her grandmother, though she had heard plenty of stories from her parents, and later, from Spike. Spike had been awfully fond of Joyce and loved to tell Kara all about the willful, strong woman who treated him like a man rather than a monster. Joyce had died from complications of a surgery that removed tumor in her brain. It was a natural death, though the Powers that Be had insinuated saving Joyce could save Buffy from her own dark side and her rather unfortunate fling with Spike.
Kara was so wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the person standing only a few yards a head of them, gaping at them in shock, until Faith laid a hand on her arm. "Kara," she hissed, her fingernail digging through her light leather jacket. Surprised, Kara looked over at her in alarm, and then at the figure standing before them.
"Hey B," Faith tried to say nonchalantly, though her voice cracked slightly. Buffy stood a few feet in front of them, her hands on her hips, and an expression vaulting between rage, fear, sadness, hope, and delight on her face. Kara stopped dead and panicked. Callum was going to kill her.
"This is so not good."
School has been oddly tame, so the updates are coming quicker. However, much depends on the amount of work I have. Hope to update again tomorrow, or the next.