Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

Looking up at the moon, Kara couldn't help but wonder why Cordelia was looking for her. She remembered Spike telling her about Sunnydale's former resident bitch, how she had been gifted with visions from the Powers that Be. Apparently, Cordelia had someone with her; someone who she told Giles was of incredible power. Kara had a feeling that because of this person, things in Sunnydale were going to change for the worse.

Chapter Three:

"Nope, definitely not Giles," Cordelia said, craning her neck out to catch a glimpse of the car rumbling passed them. "Even he has better taste than that."

"I would hope so," Lucian smirked as Cordelia smiled back at him. They were leaning against the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign, waiting for Giles to give them a lift into town.

"Okay, so where was I. Ah yeah, Buffy. Buffy is the slayer. She's pretty damn self-righteous and when you meet her, you'll get the distinct impression she's got a very large stick shoved up her ass. But she has saved the world a couple of times, so I guess we can't be overly critical now can we?" Cordelia said, chuckling along with Lucian, who was enjoying her rather colorful explanation of the people involved in the Scooby Gang. "Then there's Faith. Faith is the other slayer, who we have so lovingly dubbed "the psycho slayer." There was this little incident where she whacked a couple of people and then tried to help a giant snake destroy the town. Apparently, we're all over that now though. Angel doesn't particularly like to talk about it, but she and Buffy got married a couple of months ago."

"Giant snake?" Lucian asked, thinking the story somewhat familiar.

"Yeah, Richard Wilkins was the Mayor of Sunnydale. He ascended into this giant snake demon on graduation day. Buffy blew up the school to kill him," Cordelia explained. "Which I imagine was probably the most common violent fantasy of every single person there."

"And then you moved to Los Angeles after that," Lucian stated, trying to establish some sort of timeline in his mind.

"To chase my dream of becoming a movie star," Cordelia said dramatically, then smiled over at Lucian. "Worked out quite well really, as you can see."

"Of course. You know, I thought you were someone famous when I first saw you," Lucian joked. "Weren't you on the cover of People?"

"Damn straight," Cordelia said, then grew more serious. "I came down to Los Angeles and wound up working for Angel, helping the helpless and all of that. He had this half demon working for him at the time – Doyle. Doyle used to get visions from the Powers that Be," Cordelia said.

"From me?" Lucian asked. "Well, from me and the others," he corrected.

"Yeah, well, what's left of the others anyway," Cordelia said. "Doyle died, but before he did, he passed the 'gift' on to me. Now I get the visions, which is how I knew to find you. Also how I know to find this Kara person." Giles had been oddly silent when she mentioned Kara's name. Cordelia made a mental note to inquire further about that once he arrived, though he was already ten minutes late.

"Looks like this car is slowing down," Lucian said, pointing to a pair of headlights heading their way. The car pulled up along side of them and Giles rolled down the passenger's side window. Peering his head out, he smiled briefly.

"Get in," he said as Cordelia and Lucian moved over to the car and hopped in.

"Thanks," Cordelia said, closing the door behind her. Giles pulled back out on the road heading toward town.

"No problem," he said. "You must be Lucian," he said, looking in the rearview mirror at the fallen Power. "I'm Rupert Giles. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Lucian said, smiling briefly. Giles could tell that the young man was a bit nervous.

"So all they told me was to find a girl named Kara," Cordelia said, breaking the silence that crept into the car. "Any ideas who that is?"

"Yes," Giles said as they drew nearer to his apartment. "Kara would most likely be Kara Summers. She's had dealings with the Powers in the past."

"Summers? What is she like Buffy's cousin?" Cordelia asked.

"No," Giles responded evenly. "Kara is Buffy and Faith's daughter."

Cordelia looked over at him for a minute before bursting out laughing. "You're kidding, right?" When he didn't answer, she stopped laughing and stared at him in shock. "Well now, there's a surprise."

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

"Seriously, that was stupidest movie I've ever seen," Dawn said, smiling over at Spike as he chuckled to himself.

"I guess this means you'll be picking the next movie?" He asked, slipping his hand into Dawn's as they walked down the main drag of downtown Sunnydale. It was getting late and the moon was high in the sky. A warm breeze blew down the street, rustling the trash in the gutter. Winter had faded, making way for spring and all that was dead was bursting into life.

"You better believe it," Dawn said, smirking. "We should start heading home," Dawn said, looking down at her watch. "Mom's gonna freak." Even though Joyce knew full well that Spike could take care of both himself and her daughter, she still worried incessantly about both of them. She had come to regard Spike as the son she never had, despite his age and otherworldly inclinations. Now that he had moved into her basement officially, seeing him everyday had only strengthened her maternal feelings toward him.

Spike smirked, always finding it hilarious when he and Dawn would catch Joyce hovering around the kitchen, waiting for them to come home, with some completely lame excuse as to why she was still awake. Dawn looked back at him in surprise when he suddenly stopped walking and dropped her hand. "What is it?" She said, looking alarmed. Spike's face vamped out and he turned toward the opening of an alley just behind him.

A creature came bounding out at him and, catching him a bit off guard, knocked him off his feet. It looked like a werewolf, only much uglier. Its fur was black, shining oily in the moonlight. When it looked back at Dawn, with foamy spit hanging down from its fangs, she noticed its eyes were burning red. Spike leapt to his feet and the creature turned its attention back to the vampire.

"Well, well. If it isn't a bloody hellhound. What're you doing up here, mate?" Spike asked, circling the beast as it growled at him menacingly.

"Are you actually expecting an answer?" Dawn asked, her voice a pitch higher than usual, reflecting her anxiety.

"Relax," Spike said, looking back at her. "He's a nasty looking bugger, I'll warrant, but he's no match for me."

"All the same, let's get outta here," Dawn said, backing away. Spike nodded. The creature looked like it was going to lunge again, when it suddenly stopped and spun around. Sniffing the air, it howled up toward the moon and dashed off into the night.

"Come on," Spike said, grabbing Dawn's hand and running down the street. "Let's go before it changes its mind."

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

"Hey, Giles, what is that?" Cordelia asked, pointing to a large shape in the road ahead of them.

"Looks like a big dog," Lucian said from the back seat, leaning forward to get a better look.

Giles squinted and frowned as he gazed at the shape. Slowing down slightly, he noticed that it wasn't moving. "I don't think it's alive, whatever it is," he said.

Suddenly its head lifted and they could see two, round, red eyes peering up at them. "That's not good," Cordelia muttered as Giles slammed on the brakes. The creature got to its feet and started walking toward them.

"Just run over it," Cordelia said, fearing that if they lingered they would regret it.

"It's too big," Giles said. The creature suddenly picked up its pace, advancing from a swift jog to a full out sprint.

"Giles," Cordelia said, bracing herself as the creature loomed closer.

Slamming his foot on the gas, Giles gripped the steering wheel tightly as the car barreled forward. "What're you doing?" Lucian asked, as he was thrown against the back seat from the sudden acceleration.

"Playing a bit of chicken," Giles muttered. He drew closer to the creature. It faltered for a moment, but continued to advance on them.

"I think you're gonna lose," Cordelia said. Finally, Giles jerked the steering wheel and the car veered away from the creature as it lunged toward the windshield. It hit the side of the car and stumbled away into the brush next to the road. They could hear it howling as they drove away.

"What was that?" Lucian asked, once the excitement was over.

"I don't know," Giles said, peering into the rearview mirror. "But I have a feeling it was looking for you."