Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Previously:

"If it just keeps hammering us with attacks, we won't have time to formulate a plan to fight back," Kennedy reasoned. Kara smiled to herself. The First thought it was being incredibly wily. Little did it know what they had in store.

"We've already got plans," Kara said. "And I think it's about time we start putting some into action."

Chapter Forty-Six:

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hate research?" Anya whined, nearly slamming her head down on the ancient text sitting in front of her. Kara smiled, briefly shifting her eyes up to study the face of the ex-vengeance demon. Glancing at each person gathered around the table at the Magic Box, she sighed and flipped her book shut.

"Okay, let's take a break. Meet back here in an hour and we'll pick up where we left off," Kara said as the group collectively stood and fanned out. Anya and Xander wandered off the finish cleaning up the store from the previous night's attack. Meanwhile, Willow and Tara left to procure coffee for the troops, though Kara didn't particularly believe that the energetic red head needed any more caffeine.

"I think we're making progress," Jack said from his place at the table. Both he and Giles had remained behind to continue researching. Though Kara knew a great deal about the final battle against the First, as it was Spike's favorite story, she didn't know much about the spell Willow had used to turn all of the potentials into slayers. No one ever told her where the Scooby gang found the spell or what was involved in it.

Leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes, she could hear the sounds of Buffy, Faith, Spike, Dawn and Kennedy training in the back. Her muscles twitched and begged for her to go back and join them, but she was far too tired to consider it. They had been at the Magic Box all day researching the spell and hadn't come up with too much. Some senior members of the Coven were scheduled to come later that night to assist them. Hopefully, with their expertise, they would find what they were looking for.

The door leading to the training room opened and Kennedy walked in, wiping her face off with a towel. "Where'd everyone go?" She asked, sitting down in the chair next to Kara and propping her feet up.

"We're taking a break," Kara said, with her eyes still closed.

"Research not going so great?"

"Well, we haven't exactly found anything yet," Kara answered, turning her head to look at Kennedy and smiling. "So I guess not."

Kennedy flashed her a lopsided grin. "Don't worry about it. You guys will find it sooner or later."

"Yeah, it's just the later part that's worrying me. If we can do this spell, all of you will have the strength, power, senses, and healing capabilities of the slayer. The First won't be so eager to send its troops out again with an army of slayers lurking around town," Kara said. "Speaking of the army of demons, they really messed this place up, didn't they?"

The store hadn't accrued as much damage as some of the other buildings in town, but the demons had done a number on it. The front window was busted out and most of the merchandise in the front of the store was broken. The door had been chewed in half and Xander spent most of the morning nailing wood planks across the window and doorframe to keep vandals and robbers out. Though there had been some thefts reported because of the chaos of reconstruction, the police managed to maintain order well enough to get the town back up and running. With few exceptions, the stores were all open and life was returning to normal. It was as if people had forgotten that they had spent the night before hiding in their basements to escape a horde of hell demons.

"Yeah, Xander did a good job cleaning it all up though," Kennedy commented. Anya and Giles had chosen not to open the store that day, since the gang was going to be using it as a research base. However, they could have easily opened it by mid afternoon. Xander had cleared out most of the broken merchandise and swept up all of the glass. "So which books haven't you looked through yet?"

"The ones over there," Kara said, pointing to a significantly larger stack of books than the ones they had read through. Kennedy smirked.

"It's gonna be a long night."

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

Several hours later, Kara flipped another book shut and tossed it onto the pile of books that had nothing useful in them. Sighing, she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples slowly, trying to will her headache away. The Coven had arrived around eight o'clock at night and despite their extensive knowledge of the mystical arts, they hadn't been able to do much more than what the Scoobies had been doing prior to their arrival – reading. It was now nearing three o'clock in the morning and the group was starting to fade. Xander had already fallen asleep face first in his book and Anya didn't seem to be fairing much better. She was trying to stay awake, but her head would fall forward every couple of seconds. Finally, she gave in and fell asleep.

"There's gotta be an easier way of doing this," Kara muttered to herself. She tried to remember all of Spike's stories, but found them muddled in her mind. Veronica had told her that she had changed the future, so she wouldn't dream about it anymore. Did that mean she would start forgetting it too? The Scoobies had waited until the final battle itself to perform the spell. Kara had never quite understood why they waited. It would have made more sense to perform the spell earlier, to prevent the First from driving the town into ruin.

Kara closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, until her heart slowed into a steady rhythm. Focusing all of her strength on searching through her memories, she fell into a deep meditation. The cloud of black before her eyes changed into a swirling void of colors and sensations. Memories grazed into her like floating spheres of light. Swimming through the sea of time, she bumped into one sphere shining brighter than the rest. Kara's eyes flew open and she smiled brilliantly.

Leaping to her feet, she made her way over to Dawn, who was slumped against Spike. Shaking the girl gently, Kara whispered, "Dawn, wake up." Dawn stirred a bit and after a few seconds, her eyes fluttered open.

"Five more minutes," she muttered.

"Not this time. Come on, I need your help with something," Kara said as Dawn begrudgingly got to her feet. Leading her into the training room, she quietly shut the door behind them. "Sit in the middle of the floor," Kara instructed. Dawn quickly complied.

"What's going on?" She asked, now much more awake and slightly confused.

Kara sat next to her and took Dawn's hands in her own. "I want to try something. I've got this connection to the Powers that Be in my mind. I can access their realm when I'm in a state of suspended consciousness."

"What does this have to do with me?" Dawn asked warily.

"I want to take you to them. You're the Key, Dawn. You've got thousands of years of mystical energy swirling around inside of you. You see, you already know everything that's in those books. The knowledge is inherent to you."

"So if we go to the Powers, they can show me where the knowledge is inside of me so that we won't need a book to do the spell," Dawn said excitedly.

"Exactly," Kara responded, smiling. "Now close your eyes and wipe every thought from your mind. Steady your breathing."

The darkness swirled in front of Kara's eyes again and she found her grip on reality slipping. Welcoming the mind numbing oblivion of unconsciousness, she wandered into the realm of the Powers that Be. Opening her eyes, she found herself standing a beach again. It was night and the stars were shining down on her. Looking to her left, she saw Dawn standing next to her. "Open your eyes," Kara whispered. Dawn's eyes flew open and she gasped.

"Where are we?" She asked, looking around curiously.

"A transitory reality. The Powers can't come to our plane of existence, but we can meet them here. Kind of a middle ground, I suppose," Kara answered. She turned to the right and saw Veronica walking toward them.

"Who is that?" Dawn asked.

"That's Veronica. She's one of the Powers. Don't worry, she's cool," Kara said, sensing the younger girl's apprehension.

"I see you've brought someone with you this time," Veronica said, smiling brightly at Dawn. "Welcome."

"Thanks," Dawn replied, timidly smiling back.

"We need your help," Kara said.

"You need the spell, yes? To turn the potentials into slayers," Veronica said. "Come, I want to show you something."

Turning, Veronica began to walk away from them. Kara glanced over at Dawn and shrugged. "We'd better follow," she said. They followed after her, walking for several minutes along the water until Veronica stopped. To their left was the gaping mouth of a cave.

"This place exists in your world. Or at least, a copy of it does. This cave is a center of mystical energy. You'll need it to do the spell. Willow, Tara, and Dawn shall come here. You and Kennedy will wait outside and guard the entrance. Inside, they shall perform the spell. Kennedy will know when it's worked," Veronica explained.

"Where is the cave?" Dawn asked, feeling more at ease with the god.

"Just outside of Sunnydale," Veronica answered. Turning, she walked up to Dawn. Stopping just a few inches from her, she reached out and touched Dawn's forehead. Dawn felt blood rushing to her head and stars exploded in front of her eyes. "You have all you need now," Veronica said and smiled warmly at them before turning and walking away.

Kara's eyes flew open and she was back in the training room. "That was intense," Dawn said as she came back to reality as well.

Kara smiled. "Yeah," she answered, studying Dawn carefully. "You know what we need?"

"Yeah, I do," Dawn said, jumping to her feet. "Let's get the others. We have a spell to perform."