Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. 

Previously:

Cassius swiftly moved behind Rebecca and plunged the knife into the base of her spinal column. He could hear her audibly gasp. Her body stiffened in his arms and he drove the knife deeper. "I'm really sorry about all of this," he said through Kara's voice. "But I'm not really myself lately." He could feel the life draining out of the woman in his arms. Letting her go, she turned slightly, looking back at him, before dropping to the floor. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and her mouth hung slightly open, a trail of blood running down her chin.

Chapter Nine:

"Excuse me, son? Are you alright?" Callum looked over at the elderly woman across the aisle. He smiled slightly, despite the intense fear gripping his heart.

"I can honestly say I've been better," he said.

"First time flying?" She asked, giving him a knowing look.

"Basically. I've done a lot of scary stuff in my life, probably more than most people. But flying is just unnatural," he said. He was gripping his armrests fiercely, his knuckles turning weight.

"I wouldn't worry too much," the woman said. "We've all got somebody watching over us, keeping us from harm."

Callum looked over at her. She turned her attention back to the crossword puzzle in her hand. Callum smiled, knowing that he was the person looking after everyone. He was one of the Powers that Be now. Breathing deeply, he loosened his grip on the armrests and felt the fear clutching his heart dissipate. "Yeah, we're gonna be just fine," he muttered to himself.

He still felt bad about stealing the car that paid for his ticket. But, he figured in the long run, saving the world was worth it and perhaps, once he was living in his mansion in the sky, he could pay back the person who owned said stolen car. He could feel the plane start to pull down the runway, gaining speed as it went. As its wheels lifted off the runway, Callum closed his eyes, feeling the pressure in the cabin wearing down on his head. "Like I said, unnatural," he murmured. Despite his personal discomfort, he was willing to do whatever it took to get the job done. At least one hurdle was out of the way; he was now officially on his way to Sunnydale, well, Los Angeles at least. What he was going to do once he got to Sunnydale, however, he had yet to figure out.

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

"So what's with the emergency meeting G-man?" Faith asked, plopping down on the couch next to Buffy. They were gathered in Joyce's house, as usual, though this time the crowd was significantly less. Only Spike, Dawn, Xander, Anya, Joyce, Giles, Kara, Kennedy, Jack, Buffy, Lucian, Cordelia, Willow, Tara, and she were present.

"Unfortunately, I have some rather bad news," Giles said gravely. He was standing next to Jack in the front of the room, his hands resting in his pockets.

"What's the deal?" Xander asked, wrapping an arm around Anya's shoulder.

"Rebecca Hart was murdered last night," Jack said, much to the astonishment of the collective group.

"Does anyone know who did it?" Kara asked. Cassius watched Giles carefully.

"Not at the moment. Council investigators are working diligently to catch the killer; however, we don't have any leads at the moment," Giles replied.

"Would it be safe to say that Cassius is our prime suspect?" Willow asked. She looked over at Tara and gently grasped her hand. Both she and Tara had worked closely with Rebecca since the battle with the First. Together, they had helped to establish the presence of both the Council and the Coven in Sunnydale. Additionally, Rebecca had been a great teacher to Willow and Tara, helping them to learn more about their craft.

"I imagine so," Jack said. "Lucian, we would like to try so more hypnotherapy on you. Perhaps if you could tell us what Cassius looked like, or really anything else about him, we might be able to locate him through magics."

"No problem," Lucian said. Though he wasn't too particularly comfortable with the notion of more hypnotherapy, he wanted to do everything he could to help. After all, he was practically useless otherwise.

"Now, once again, we'd just like to say: be careful. If Cassius did kill Rebecca, than it's likely he'll at least try to strike again. Everyone be on your guard," Giles said, looking in the eyes of each person gathered around the room.

"Nothing like mortal danger to bring people together," Xander joked, breaking the tense air that was stifling the room. "So who wants some pizza?"

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

Once the Scooby meeting was over, Cordelia snuck out of the house. She hopped into Angel's convertible and put it in reverse, backing out of Joyce's driveway. Angel had called her an hour ago from the road. He was driving up with Gunn in Gunn's truck to collect both the convertible and Cordelia. Though Cordelia hadn't protested at the time, she didn't want to leave Sunnydale. The first time she had left, she had every reason in the world to leave. Now, however, she couldn't think of one.

She loved the L.A. crew more than anything in the world, but she felt something different when she was with Lucian, something she had never felt before. It was like they had known each other since the beginning of time. Pulling the car into a parking lot near the Bronze, she shut it off and waited. A couple of minutes later, she saw headlights enter the parking lot. Gunn's truck pulled up next to the convertible. Angel and Gunn hopped out, walking over to Cordelia as she got out of the car.

"Thank God, it's in one piece," Angel muttered.

"I heard that," Cordelia said, handing the keys over to him. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

"You know how it is," Angel said, looking down at the ground. Cordelia simply stared at him.

"I don't think she knows, bro," Gunn said, smirking.

"It's just...with Buffy and Faith, I'm not entirely comfortable seeing them together," Angel explained.

"You still have feelings for Buffy," Cordelia stated.

"Yeah," Angel said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "I guess I always will. Anyway, I've got enough guilt and pain plaguing my mind. I don't need to see them together. It'll only add more."

"Fair enough," Cordelia said.

"Alright, so, you ready to go?" Angel asked, smiling as he ran his hand over the convertible.

"He really loves that car too much," Gunn muttered. Cordelia looked over at him and chuckled to herself.

"About that," she said, her face instantly turning serious. "I can't go back with you."

Angel and Gunn both looked up at her in surprise. "What? Why?" Angel asked.

"I just have to stay here. The Powers gave me that vision for a reason," she argued.

"Yeah, to bring Lucian here. Not to stay and battle it out," Gunn countered.

"It doesn't just end there. Lucian trusts me. I have to stay," Cordelia said. "Look, once this is all over, I'll be right back in L.A. I promise."

"We need you too, Cordy," Angel said. "How're we gonna know who to help without your visions?"

"I don't think there's gonna be any visions for a while, Angel," Cordelia said. "One of the Powers is dead, the other is a psycho killer, and the third can't remember anything about who he was. I doubt Cassius is going to send me a vision any time soon," Cordelia said. She had explained the entire situation to Angel over the phone when he called earlier that evening.

Angel sighed and studied her face for a moment. "Okay, but listen, if you need any help, just call us. We're not far," he said seriously.

"And what? You'll send Wes and Gunn? You'd have to see Buffy and Faith if you came all the way up here again," Cordelia said smirking as Angel shifted on his feet.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered. "Seriously, keep in touch."

"I will," Cordelia said. Then she did something neither Gunn nor Angel expected. Moving forward, she quickly pulled them both into tight hugs, and stepped away. "I'll see you guys later."

Cordelia watched as Angel and Gunn got into their respective vehicles and drove away. She sighed, then fished out her cell phone, and called Joyce's house. Once she secured a ride from Buffy and Faith, she sat down on the curb outside the Bronze and waited. She didn't know why, but she had the strangest feeling that she wouldn't see Angel or Gunn again. Shaking off the gloom that had settled on her, she watched as smiling, happy people walked into the Bronze. She would have to take Lucian there someday soon, provided she could sneak him out of the house.

"Hey. You ready?" Buffy called out to Cordelia, walking down the alley toward her.

"Yeah," Cordelia said, rising to her feet. Looking up at the moon, she smiled. "I'm ready."