Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Previously:

"Quiet, guys," Kennedy said, looking back at them. "We don't want the entire demon population of Sunnydale to know that we're coming, do we?" She said as they began to creep out of the basement. The rest of the house was quiet. They moved silently to the front door. Once they were gathered in the foyer, Kara grasped the doorknob with a shaking hand.

"Let's go save the town," she said and pulled the door open.

Chapter Twenty-Six:

"Lucian, wait! The phone's ringing," Cordelia whispered harshly as the group moved out of the house, stealthily creeping toward the street with shotguns in hand.

"So?" Lucian whispered, walking back to her.

"What if it's important?" Cordelia said, her hand resting on her hip and the other gripping the shotgun clumsily. She could see the rest of the group dispersing behind Lucian, disappearing into the night, but it didn't register in her mind.

"Well, what if it's a telemarketer?" Lucian countered.

"Just answer the phone," Cordelia said impatiently.

"It's not my house," Lucian responded, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "Let it ring."

Cordelia shot him a glare before picking up the phone. "Summers' residence," she said as sweetly as she could. Her years of answering the phone for Angel Investigations had taught her how to mask her emotions when talking to clients, or anyone in general.

"Cordelia?" Buffy asked in confusion, her voice crackling over the line.

"Hey, Buffy, now's really not a good time," Cordelia answered.

"What, why not?" Buffy replied, instantly panicked.

"Oh, it's nothing important," Cordelia replied. Willow and Tara had specifically instructed them in no way to give Buffy or Faith a reason to come home early from their trip. Everyone knew that Faith needed to spend as much time in Boston as was necessary, whether the world was ending or not. Though Cordelia assumed Willow had been exaggerating slightly, she didn't want to be the one blamed for cutting into Faith's emotional healing.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked uncertainly.

"Absolutely. Anyway, I hope you guys are having a wonderful trip, but we've really got to go. Talk to you later," Cordelia said, quickly hanging up the phone.

"Why didn't you tell her about the hellhounds?" Lucian asked.

"Willow said not to mention anything that would upset Buffy or Faith if either one of them called," Cordelia responded, shrugging her shoulders.

"So? There's an army of hellhounds ripping the town apart. I think that supercedes Willow's good intentions," Lucian replied.

"Supercedes? That's a big word," Cordelia jokingly mocked.

"Well, I am a god, you know," Lucian said, flashing her a smile. "Let's go."

"Uh, Lucian, wait a second," Cordelia said, her face suddenly pale.

"What's wrong?" Luciana asked, then quickly added. "Cordy, don't turn around."

"Why not?" Cordelia asked, suddenly panicked.

"There's a hellhound behind you," Lucian said, instantly aiming his shotgun.

"Well, that's great, because there's one behind you too," Cordelia said. Lucian cringed.

"If I shoot the one behind you, the one behind me will charge. But if I shoot the one behind me, the one behind you will charge," Lucian said.

"I can shoot the one behind you," Cordelia argued.

"Ha…yeah, like that's an option," Lucian snickered.

"Why isn't it?" Cordelia asked, instantly angry.

"Did you see the door frame downstairs, Cor? I don't want that to be me," Lucian replied seriously.

"I won't shoot you," Cordelia replied, aiming her shotgun as well.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Lucian replied, eyeing Cordelia's gun nervously.

"Just relax. I know what I'm doing," Cordelia replied. The hellhounds crept closer, low growls escaping their throats. Cordelia and Lucian stood only a few feet apart with guns aimed just over each other's shoulders.

"On the count of three then," Lucian replied, silently praying that he wouldn't get shot. "One…two…three." Cordelia closed her eyes, two shots rang out, Lucian cringed, and the hellhounds dropped dead. Cordelia quickly opened her eyes and smiled. "Tell me you didn't just shoot with your eyes closed," Lucian begged.

"Fine," Cordelia said, smiling widely. "I didn't just shoot with my eyes closed."

"Kara was right…it'll be a miracle if we all survive this," Lucian said as Cordelia moved passed him, out of the front door.

"Speaking of Kara," Cordelia said as he followed after her, "where did everybody go?"

Lucian looked out into the expansive dark of the night, straining to hear some sound of their friends, only to be greeted with silence. Frowning and slinging his gun over his shoulder, he muttered, "Well, shit."

…………………………………….

"I don't think dividing our power is the best of plans," Cassius argued. He was standing in the doorway of Lucifer's penthouse, sweating profusely, and silently wishing he hadn't given in to his plan to take over the world. It was becoming far more complicated than he liked.

"What makes you think I particularly care what you feel is best?" Lucifer shot back, pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

"As you wish," Cassius said. He snapped his fingers and instantly disappeared. When he reappeared, he was in the realm of the Powers that Be, standing before the reflecting pool. "You want me to spy on our enemies, I will. But that doesn't mean I have to tell you everything," Cassius said, smiling to himself. The pool shifted before him to reveal Buffy and Faith. Buffy was hanging up a pay phone receiver and Faith was sitting at the counter of a rather greasy looking restaurant. "Where the devil are you?" Cassius whispered to himself, not recognizing their surroundings. Sitting down, he watched.

……………………………

Buffy hung up the phone, staring at it as if it were a foreign thing. "That was weird," she muttered to herself and turned, walking back to Faith. "Hey, Faith," she said, sitting down next to her partner, "do you think this is weird? Cordelia answered the phone, said she didn't have time to talk, that nothing important was going on, but for some reason she was pressed for time, and then hung up on me."

"Not really?" Faith answered.

"Why not?"

"It's Cordelia. She was probably painting her nails or something, didn't want to mess them up," Faith replied, smiling when Buffy nodded, looking slightly relieved.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Buffy replied. Charlie popped out of the kitchen at that moment with their meals.

"Here you go, ladies," he said, smiling widely. "If you need anything else, let me know."

"Thanks Charlie," Faith said, smiling back.

"So where are we going after this?" Buffy asked, poking at her food nervously.

"Just eat it, B," Faith replied, watching her out of the corner of her eye. "After this, I was thinking we'd go see my mom."