Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

Kara smiled sympathetically at Xander, knowing that, with her help, he would be spending the rest of his life with the ex-vengeance demon. Giles was watching her out of the corner of his eye as he finished bandaging her arm. Kara knew that she and Callum would have to speak to him privately about Dawn and Glory. The bell overtop of the door jingled again aggravatingly and they all turned to see the rest of their companions trudging into the shop. Kara could feel the tension rise when the Scoobies saw Faith trailing closely behind Dawn. Glancing up from the floor, Faith met the eyes of each person.

Chapter Eight:

The atmosphere was similar to a boardroom take over: charged, tense, and hostile. Everyone was seated around the table in the Magic Box, with all eyes pinned on Faith, who held up admirably under the intense scrutiny. Kara could see how uncomfortable she was and Buffy, as if sensing the same thing, reached under the table and clasped Faith's hand in her own. Faith nearly jumped out of her seat in surprise, though she threw a quick, grateful smile Buffy's way.

Clearing her throat, Faith began, "I've never been very good with words, but I'll try the best I can." She paused to reflect. "I don't expect any of you to forgive me, but I need you to know that I am sorry." Turning to Willow, she looked the redhead in the eyes. "Red, I put a knife to your throat. I threatened you. I hurt you. For all of that, I'm sorry," Faith said with a steady voice, though Kara could hear just the tiniest waver that no one else noticed. Willow sat impassively during Faith's speech, the same bitter expression staining her features. Faith had done more than hold a knife to the witch's throat. Willow had always been jealous of Faith, for the easy way she came into their lives and enraptured everyone. It would take more than an apology to change her mind, though Kara had a feeling that with Tara's influence, Willow would learn to forgive Faith over time.

"Xan," Faith said turning to Xander. His eyes dropped to the table under her gaze. "I choked you and used you. And I messed with your head 'cuz I could. It was so wrong and I'm sorry," Faith confessed. Xander nodded imperceptibly, but he raised his eyes and the anger behind them was gone. The connection he felt with Faith was more than sexual. Both he and Faith grew up in hostile environments. While Faith acted out as a means of escaping her past, Xander bottled it up inside. Yet, he knew what made her tick. His pride had been wounded more than anything else had, but he could forgive.

Finally, Faith turned to Giles, who smiled at her encouragingly. "I've never really trusted adults. After losing my watcher, I hated the idea of replacing her with another. I know I was difficult. Maybe if I had listened to you, things would have been different. But you got my respect, G. I'll listen now," Faith finished and internally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been dreading that moment for months. Now that it was over, she felt as if she had jumped one of the biggest hurdles that separated her from finding some sort of peace.

Buffy squeezed Faith's hand reassuringly, proud of her sister slayer. Earlier that morning, before the Council attacked them, Faith had expressed her apologies to Dawn and Joyce. Though the words were halted, Buffy could hear the sincerity behind them. Apparently, so could her mother and sister, for both forgave Faith within a matter of moments. The rest of the morning, the four women shared breakfast, laughing and catching up on each other's lives. Shortly after, Buffy and Faith had explained to Joyce about The Key, Dawn, and Glory while Dawn was getting ready for school. The Council attacked just before Joyce could respond. Shooting a glance over at her mother, Buffy couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. Would she be able to accept Dawn?

"Well, we all certainly appreciate your apologies, Faith, and see the sincerity behind them. Hopefully, this will help reconstruct the walls of trust between us all. However, it will take some time for that to happen. By your actions, I hope we will see that your change for the better is sincere," Giles said sternly. Looking at the girl sitting in front of him, he could no longer see the rage pouring off her. She had most definitely changed, though glancing around the room, Giles could tell some of the others had yet to see it. Willow concerned him the most. The red haired witch seemed completely unaffected by Faith's apology.

"Yeah, what he said," Xander replied, giving Faith a lopsided smile.

"Yes. As long as it's clear that Xander is mine, I don't see why we can't get along," Anya added, squeezing closer to Xander. Faith smiled and nodded.

"Understood."

"That's Anya, by the way, I don't know if you remember her. You'll meet Riley soon. And this is Tara," Buffy said, introducing the two new faces to Faith. Tara smiled shyly. "Okay, so Giles, we need to talk to you in the back," Buffy said, standing and motioning for her mother, Callum, Faith, and Kara to join them. "Uh, Will, could you keep Dawn occupied?" Buffy asked. Willow smiled and nodded.

Once they had gathered in the back of the store, Giles closed the door behind them, his face somber. "You mentioned something about Dawn on the telephone?"

"Yeah. Apparently, Dawn is something called The Key. She's like a bundle of mystical energy all packed together. And there's this hell god named Glory who's looking for The Key so she can open this portal to get back to her dimension. But if she does that, the world'll get sucked into hell," Buffy said as quietly as she could.

"And Kara, you're sure of this?" Giles asked.

"Absolutely. Glory is incredibly strong. Buffy won't be able to stop her by herself, but with me and Faith behind her, I think we'll be able to stop her. Glory has a limited amount of time to work with and she's got a major weakness. You see, Glory is immortal, but she doesn't belong in this reality. In order to sustain herself here, she has to have a mortal body," Kara explained.

"Her mortal half is a man named Ben, he works at the hospital. In order to kill Glory, you have to kill Ben," Callum finished. Silence hung heavy on the room, each person contemplating the ramifications of his statement. Faith shuddered, knowing that if she had to kill Ben, she could never come back from that darkness.

"You'll have your first run in with Glory soon," Kara said, trying to remember everything that was going to happen. "She'll kick your ass, but don't worry. She doesn't know anything about Dawn and she won't kill you because you're the only link she has."

"Now, what to do about the Council," Giles cut in. "We can't have them gallivanting all over Sunnydale with machine guns."

"Faith and I will take care of it," Buffy said.

"For now, everyone just keep an eye on Dawn. Things are already changing that we can't control," Kara said. "The Council never did this in my timeline. I can't say that things will progress exactly the same."

"Good point. We'll be back before dusk," Buffy said. She and Faith disappeared out of the backdoor. Kara watched them go, suddenly remembering something.

"I'm gonna take a walk," she declared. "Clear my head. I'll be back later." Leaving the Magic Box, Kara quickly surveyed the street and took off in the direction of Spike's crypt.

Note: Forgive me if my timing in Season 5 is a bit off. I'm trying to follow along with an episode guide, seeing as how it's been a while, but I can see I'm already a little ahead on Giles opening the Magic Box and what not. I'll probably be leaving some things out, such as Harmony and Xander's run in with Toth, simply because they don't really fit in the story.