Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

"Well, we have to leave today," Jack said. "The Council's been destroyed. It's not safe here anymore. Pack your things, we have to go."

.........................

"I want all that too," Faith said, her voice breaking slightly. Leaning in, she captured Buffy's lips, tangling her tongue with the blonde slayer's as Buffy moaned into her mouth. Faith broke away after a few moments, resting her forehead on Buffy's. "I love you too, more than my heart can take sometimes."

Chapter Thirty-Three:

"This morning, sixteen year old Amanda Watson, a student at Sunnydale High School, was found dead in an apparent homicide. Police stated it appeared as though Watson was attacked with a hunting knife, though no suspects have been brought into custody. In other news..."

Kara clicked off the television. She, Callum, and Spike were sitting in the living room watching the evening news, preparing to leave for Buffy's house to greet the potentials, who were scheduled to arrive later that evening. "Think she was a potential?" Spike asked, sipping from his mug of warm blood.

"Possibly. I'll go check it out," Kara said, rising to her feet.

"Want me to tag along?" Callum asked, hopefully. Kara smiled at him.

"Sure. Morgues kinda creep me out anyway," Kara said. "We'll meet you at Buffy's after, okay?" She asked, turning to Spike. He nodded.

"Alright. Be careful, yeah?" He called after them as they left. Sighing, he pulled himself to his feet, draining the contents of the mug. Sauntering into the kitchen, he put the mug in the sink, and rinsed it out. When he looked up, he nearly fell over backwards. For a moment, he could see Drusilla's face in the window, smirking at him, her dark eyes beckoning him out. Then she was gone.

"What the bloody hell," he whispered to himself, peering out the window. He couldn't see anything outside. "Nice parlor tricks you got there!" He yelled, though there was no one around to hear him. "Bloody First."

...........................

"So when are you and Anya thinking of getting married?" Willow asked, her voice rising in excitement. "I can't believe it. You, Xander Harris, are engaged."

"Yeah, please stop saying that," Xander pleaded, his eyes starting to widen in panic. "The more you say it, the more nervous I get."

Willow smiled. "Relax, remember what Kara told you. Everything is gonna be fine. And despite the fact that Anya is a little...well, Anya.... you picked a great woman, Xander."

Xander laughed. "Yeah. She's the one thing I did right. Even if I never do anything right again, I'll still have her."

"See, that's the spirit," Willow said encouragingly. She and Xander were walking toward Buffy's house. Anya was closing the shop up with Giles and Tara would be meeting them once her classes were finished for the day. Silence fell between them, the comfortable silence only shared by best friends. They were only a block away from Buffy's house when they noticed someone walking quickly towards them. Though neither of them could make out the person's face, he seemed oddly familiar.

"Xander...this is gonna sound a little crazy, but is that" –

"Jesse?" Xander finished, cutting off Willow. He stopped dead, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock when he got a good look at the figure's face.

"Hey, Xan," Jesse said, stopping just few feet short of them. Looking over at Willow, his eyes lazily raked her body. Then he smiled, impressed. "Well look at you. You're all grown up. Here all those years I spent chasing after Cordelia, I should've been lookin' at you. But then, you're not much into driving stick nowadays, huh?"

"Not so much," Willow admitted, before realizing she was engaging in conversation with a dead person. "You're the First?"

Jesse smirked. "I see my reputation precedes me. Xander? You in there?" He asked, waving his hand in front of Xander's face.

"Stop using his face," Xander growled. There wasn't much he regretted in his life, but failing to save Jesse was the one thing he never forgave himself for.

"Don't like this then?" Jesse asked. "Okay, I can do better." Jesse blurred out and was replaced by the likeness of Buffy. "This better Xan?"

Both Willow and Xander stared in shock. "How can you...?"

"If you'll recall, though I may be alive and kicking now, there was a time I spent face down in a pool of water. You see, it doesn't matter how long people die for, a second, a minute, a hundred years. I can be anyone," The First said, smiling. "Keep that in mind," it warned before vanishing.

"Things are getting a bit freaky around here," Willow said. "We better tell Buffy."

.....................................

Jack Borland and his wife stepped onto the asphalt at the Sunnydale bus depot. Just ahead of them, Robson and his three potential slayers were getting their luggage. After they gathered their things, they walked over to the payphones. Jack surveyed the depot as Robson called for two cabs. He had heard so many stories of Sunnydale, the haven for demons, the home of the slayer, and the mouth of Hell. Though he had dreamed of coming here to join the fight against evil in the front line, he had never imagined he would. Now, he found himself stepping into a war zone, with no clear indication of who was winning.

"So this is the infamous Sunnydale, then?" Kennedy asked, coming up to him and surveying the depot as well. "Lots of vampires?"

"Lots of vampires," Jack conceded, smiling down at the excited, yet nervous girl. "Lots of chances to hone your skills and practice, but also lots of chances to make a mistake. Here, the mistakes cost a lot more than they do back home."

"Yeah, like here you can get dead," Kennedy said, shivering slightly. "So what's Buffy like?"

"I don't really know. I've never met her. Her watcher is a good man though. Taught her well from what I hear. We'll be heading to meet them first. Then they'll tell us where we're staying," Jack said. He had agreed to take the three potentials under his wing while Robson traveled back to Europe to gather more. Though he had just met the girls, he found they were slowly working their way into his heart.

"Cabs will be here shortly. Let's go inside, yeah? It's not safe out here," Robson said, leading the way.

.........................

"Something wicked this way comes," Callum whispered as he pushed open the doors of the morgue.

"You know, some people might think it disrespectful to make jokes in here," Kara said, smiling over at him.

"Obviously you don't," Callum responded. "So what're we looking for?"

"Amanda Watson," Kara answered. "I'll check these out, go look over there," she said, pointing to a group of bodies across the room. Fanning out, they quickly searched. Finally, Kara found the body. "Over here!" She whispered harshly, capturing Callum's attention.

"Let's see how you died," Callum said, lifting the sheet off her and putting it to the side. "That's nasty," he whimpered, looking away.

Kara smirked. "You Englishmen have such weak stomachs," she said, shaking her head. Looking over the wound, her face turned grim. "Definitely a Bringer did this. Police aren't gonna find anyone," she said, pulling the sheet back over the body.

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming down the hall. "Shit, someone's coming," she said, looking over at Callum. He looked around for a moment and saw a door in the corner of the room.

"Come on, over here," he said, pulling her along with him. The room was a tiny supply closet and they barely fit in. Closing the door behind them, they waited. The footsteps entered the morgue. About five minutes later, they left.

Kara exhaled deeply and then whispered, "Okay, let's get out of here."

Callum stepped forward and put his hand on the doorknob, turning it slightly. "Uh, Kara?" He asked, looking back at her and smiling sheepishly. "I think it's locked."

"What?" Kara asked, her eyes flying up to his face to see if he was joking. Moving forward, she tried to open the door to no avail. "Oh, this is not good," she said.

"It's okay; we'll just bang on the door until someone comes."

"What if no one comes? What if we're trapped down here and no one can find us?" Kara asked, starting to panic.

"Calm down, what's wrong?" Callum replied, amused at her outburst, although concerned that she was freaking out.

"I'm claustrophobic," Kara begrudgingly admitted. Callum was about to respond when they heard a low growl coming from outside the door.

"What the bloody hell is that?" He asked, moving back slightly.

"Vampire," Kara hissed, her slayer senses bouncing off the walls. "Must have just risen." The vampire starting banging on the door, trying to yank it open. Kara smirked, despite the gravity of the situation, as Callum backed up and positioned himself behind her. "What? You don't want a go of it?" She asked, smiling back at him sarcastically.

"Very bloody funny. I'm lover, not a fighter," Callum responded. Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Really? We'll have to test that theory if we get outta here," she said, licking her lips suggestively. Callum's heart nearly stopped in his chest.

"Bloody hell woman, go kill the damn thing already then!" He urged. The door suddenly flew off its hinges. It went flying across the room, crashing into one of the bodies on the tables.

"That wasn't very nice," Kara admonished, staring the vampire down. She sucked in a breath, noting that this wasn't an everyday, usual vampire. This was one of the uber vamps she had heard about. "Not good," she muttered as it charged into the supply closet after them.

Kara ducked as it swung wildly at her. Charging at it, she buried her shoulder into its midsection and pushed it back several feet until they slammed into a table. The force jarred her loose and she stepped back, blocking a kick. Grabbing the vampire's leg, she twisted until it turned and fell, a sickening snap following as she bent its leg a bit too far. "Sorry," she said entirely unapologetically.
Picking the vampire up, she easily tossed it into a nearby wall. It slammed headfirst into the bricks, leaving a trail of blood as it slumped down to the floor. Dumping to contents from a flat, stainless steel tray lying next to one of the tables, she snapped her wrist forward and sent the tray flying at the vampire. It buried itself in the vampire's neck, nearly decapitating the creature, but not quite. Sauntering forward, Kara smiled down at the hissing, struggling vampire. Then she lashed her foot out, kicking the tray until it stuck into the wall, severing the vampire's head. It turned to dust with a growling poof. A smile slowly grew on Kara's face. Looking down at her hands, she was surprised at how powerful she had become, how strong.

"That was impressive," Callum said, finally venturing out of the closet, where he had watched the fight.

"Thanks," Kara said, turning to him and smiling sweetly. "Now, about what you said earlier..."