Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun
Notes: Thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em coming. And yes, if you request something in your review, I will do my best to see it done, so long as it fits into the story well enough.
Previously:
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."
Chapter Four:
"Kara?" Giles asked, opening the door to his apartment. "Are you here?"
"Yeah," Kara said, rising to her feet from her position on the couch next to Kennedy. "You must be Cordelia," she said, smiling warmly at the seer, who she had never gotten the chance to know in her own world.
"You know, for being Buffy's biological daughter, you look a hell of a lot like Faith," Cordelia commented as she and Lucian filed into the room behind Giles. Giles simply shook his head and proceeded to clean his glasses thoroughly.
"Funny how things work out," Kara commented. "Why did you want to see me?" She asked, steering the conversation toward the business at hand.
"I'd like you to meet Lucian," Cordelia said by way of introduction. "Lucian is one of the Powers that Be."
Kara looked over at him in surprise. "What is he doing here then?" She asked, eying the fallen Power. He looked quite uncomfortable, shifting on his feet under her gaze. Kara frowned, noting that he didn't seem to posses the confidence and tranquility that Veronica radiated. In fact, Lucian seemed almost human.
"A lot has happened in the last couple of hours," Cordelia said, moving over to an armchair. "Mind if we sit?"
"Not at all," Giles said, stepping forward. "Would anyone like some tea?"
"That would be great," Lucian piped up. "Thanks."
"I had a vision," Cordelia said, turning toward Kara. "In that vision, I saw one of the Powers that Be – a woman – being murdered by another."
"Veronica," Kara muttered. "So she's dead then. What happened to her killer?"
"I don't know. I assume he's still at large," Cordelia said regretfully. "At any rate, before she died, Veronica sent me this vision and instructed me to find Lucian. She sent him down to earth in human form to protect him. Unfortunately, he can't remember who he is and I don't know if he still has any power here. But she told me to find you. She said you could keep him safe."
"Why would a Power kill another? What would he have to gain from it?" Kara wondered aloud.
"I don't know. But I have a feeling it was more than petty revenge or some personal issue. These are the Powers that Be we're talking about. They can control everything in the universe, that's why there's three of them, instead of just one. Imagine what would happen if one of them turned evil and killed off the others," Cordelia said.
"He would have sole dominion over the world," Kara commented.
"Not just the world," Giles said from the doorway of the kitchen, carrying in a tray with tea. "Everything."
"Well, this is a whole hell of a lot worse than I thought," Lucian muttered, gratefully excepting his teacup from Giles. Giles smiled warmly down at the young man. It was difficult to imagine that he held one third of all of the power in the universe.
"Well, one half now anyway," Giles muttered to himself, too low for any of the others to hear.
"We don't know nearly enough about the Powers to determine what the rogue Power is trying to do or why," Cordelia said in frustration.
"Lucky day for you, Giles," Kara said with false enthusiasm. "Looks like we've got some researching to do."
Giles simply rolled his eyes. "Heaven forbid you crack a book now and again," he commented.
"I'm all about the grunt work, remember?" Kara said. "Hand me a stake and I'm good to go. Books aren't so useful for killing vampires."
"And once again we seem to have lost focus," Giles said. "Might I suggest we reconvene tomorrow. You both look quite tired," he said, looking at Cordelia and Lucian. "And I would like to fill the others in before we delve too deeply into the matter."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kara said, practically leaping to her feet. "Where should they stay?"
"You can stay here with me if you like," Giles offered. "I don't imagine you'll have any trouble tonight. You should be safe enough here."
"Thanks," Cordelia said, yawning widely. "I think we'll take you up on that offer."
"Alright then. So, I'll call Jack and Buffy, tell them to alert the others. We'll meet at Buffy's house ten o'clock tomorrow morning," Giles instructed. "Be careful on your way home," he said as Kara and Kennedy moved toward the door.
"We will. Listen, if anything suspicious happens, anything at all, call us right away," Kara said, pulling the door open. "See you tomorrow."
Shutting the door behind her and Kennedy, Kara looked up into the sky. Veronica was dead. The Power must have known. The last time Kara saw her, Veronica indicated that they would not meet again. Though Kara had wondered at the Power's words, she had not thought about them since. With all of the excitement of the spell that brought forth all of the slayers from the past, the battle with the First, and the subsequent celebrations, Kara had forgotten about the incident entirely. Now, Veronica's words lingered fresh in her mind.
"You okay?" Kennedy asked, slipping her arm around Kara's waist and pulling her a fraction of an inch closer. Kara smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, though her voice held a trace of sadness.
"She was a friend of yours, yeah? Veronica?" Kennedy asked, watching Kara's face closely. Kara could dismiss her feelings in a instance, hiding them altogether from most people. But Kennedy had learned to look deeper, much like Buffy had with Faith. Kara and Faith were similar in that regard. Whatever face they portrayed to the world was usually quite opposite of what was inside, stirring in their hearts.
"She helped us when no one else would," Kara said. "We're all indebted to her. But yes, she was a friend."
"Wherever she is now, I'm sure she's fine," Kennedy said consolingly. "Besides, I doubt that all of this just happened arbitrarily."
"You're right, it didn't," Kara agreed. "The last time I saw Veronica, she told me she doubted we would meet again. She knew this was going to happen, yet she let it happen nonetheless. I don't understand why," Kara said in frustration.
"I'm sure she had her reasons, whatever they might have been," Kennedy said. "They'll become clear to us eventually."
"Probably when we least expect it," Kara said, smiling over at Kennedy. "Veronica was like that. She liked to keep you on your toes, that's for sure."
Kara and Kennedy finished walking the rest of the way home in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Kara unlocked the door and stepped inside. It was dark in the house. "You think Buffy and Faith are here?" She asked. She moved quickly over to the stairs, able to see perfectly in the dark. Kennedy trailed behind her.
"They probably wore themselves out," Kennedy smirked.
Kara rolled her eyes, though Kennedy couldn't see her. "Thanks, I really needed that mental image."
"Sorry," Kennedy said, though not in the least apologetic. They reached their bedroom door and Kara pushed it open. Quickly changing into tank tops and training shorts, they both crawled into bed, exhausted. Kara snuggled closer to Kennedy, resting her head inches from Kennedy's. She could smell the other girl's shampoo and she smiled slightly. Tracing her fingertips along Kennedy's face, she leaned in and kissed the other girl, her lips barely grazing hers.
"I love you," she whispered into the kiss, running her tongue along Kennedy's bottom lip.
"I love you too," Kennedy whispered back, gazing into Kara's eyes. They lay side by side, watching each other until their eyelids grew heavy and each surrendered to sleep.