Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow

Notes: Thanks for the reviews, keep them coming. This may be the last update until after Christmas, I'm not sure. So if it is, I hope everyone has a merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate.

Previously:

"What the hell," she muttered to herself, noting that the hellhounds seemed to take no notice of the man. Anya squinted her eyes and concentrated on trying to make out the man's face. He turned toward her and suddenly she recognized him. "Guys?" Anya said, fear staining her voice. Willow and Tara instantly looked over at her.

"What is it?" They asked in unison.

"We have a big problem."

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Kennedy kicked open the back door of the Magic Box and stealthily crept inside. It was dark in the store, as the town's electricity had shut off several minutes ago. However, dawn was rapidly approaching and a gray light spilled over the horizon. As she had been running down the street, the street lamps had systematically begun shutting down. Kennedy moved through the training area Giles had built for Buffy what seemed like ages ago and into the main part of the store. "Damn," she muttered to herself, inspecting the damage. The hellhounds had torn through the store, upsetting all of the displays, breaking the front window, and causing general chaos. "Anya's gonna be pissed."

Turning, she walked back to the training area, closing and locking the door behind her that separated it from the main part of the store. "It's clear, you can come in now," she said, motioning for Giles, who was waiting outside in the alley. He rushed in and quickly closed the door.

"Hellhounds in the alley, but I don't think they saw me," he reported breathlessly. "I'm getting too old for this," he added, almost to himself.

Kennedy snickered. "Aren't we all," she said, smiling slightly. "Want something to drink," she asked, motioning to the mini fridge.

"Water, please," Giles said, smiling gratefully. Kennedy moved over to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water. She easily tossed one to Giles, then opened the other and took a gulp.

"The town's a complete wreck. Buffy and Faith picked a great time to go on vacation," Kennedy said, sitting down next to Giles on a sofa in the corner.

"Yes, I agree. We could have used their help tonight, although, I think we're managing fine on our own," he said. "Here's to making it to the Magic Box without a scratch," he said, raising his bottle of water.

"I'll drink to that," Kennedy said, lightly tapping his bottle.

"The others should be arriving here shortly, I imagine. Though I think we were the closest once we all got separated," Giles said.

"Yeah, I'll be glad to see Kara again," Kennedy responded, looking around worriedly.

"I hope Joyce holds up through all this. It's one thing to help research demons, it's another to actually fight them," Giles said, clearing his throat and taking off his glasses. He began meticulously cleaning them with the front of his shirt.

Kennedy watched him for several seconds before a wide smile broke out on her face. "You're totally into Ms. Summers aren't you?" She asked, laughing when Giles turned a deep shade of red.

"I insist heartily that I am not," he replied.

"Yes, you are," Kennedy said a second time. "I can see it in your eyes. You've got a crush."

"Well, maybe just a little one. But honestly, I don't see why it's such a big deal," Giles responded, exasperated.

"You should tell her," Kennedy replied.

"And why on earth would I want to do that?" Giles asked, looking over at her.

"Look, between you and me, you're damn hot for an old guy. And I'm sure Joyce's thought about it once or twice, since the band candy episode," Kennedy smiled as Giles blushed further. "Yeah, I heard about that. Besides, there's no harm in asking."

"There's always the possibility of rejection and then the awkward moments that would occur every time we were in the same room together, which is frequently," Giles retorted.

"You gotta think positively, G," Kennedy responded. "After all, we've all got a ticking clock hanging over our heads, why not take a chance every once in a while?"

……………………

"Bloody hell!" Spike growled, kicking with all his might to try to dislodge the hound that had chomped down on his leg. "Would you hurry up?"

"I'm trying!" Dawn yelled back, equally as angry and frustrated. She and Spike had been making fairly good progress toward the Magic Box. A couple of blocks before Main Street they ran into a roaming band of hellhounds, most of which Spike had dispatched, but several remained and were viciously attacking him. Dawn was trying to reload her shotgun, but the bullets were getting jammed.

"It's not making the clicking noise," Dawn mumbled angrily.

"Screw the clicking noise, love. Just do something. Ow!" Spike yelled back as a hound clawed him across the face. Kicking with all his might, he managed to dislodge the one by his leg.

Dawn looked up and sighed in frustration. "You know what? To hell with it!" She cried before flipping the gun around and swinging it like a baseball bat at the nearest moving object. Several minutes later, she stopped and surveyed the damage.

"You've got a lot of rage in you," Spike commented, looking at the bloody and broken bodies of several hellhounds lying around him.

"Yes, yes, I do," Dawn commented. "Let's get you up." Reaching down, she helped Spike get to his feet. However, once he had gotten there, he found that the wound on his leg was far too painful to walk on.

"I don't think I can make it to the Magic Box," he concluded after several trial steps.

"We have to get out of the street," Dawn replied, uneasily looking around.

"We'll go underground," Spike responded, hobbling over to the nearest manhole cover. Dawn rushed to his side, helping him as he walked. Reaching down, he ripped off the manhole cover and grimaced at the foul stench that rose up from the sewers.

"You've got to be kidding me," Dawn replied.

"Sorry, pet, but this is the safest place for us tonight. I know my way around the sewers. With any luck, I might even be able to lead us to the Magic Box underground. There's a manhole cover in the back alley. It's our best shot," Spike replied apologetically. "I'll go first."

"Be careful," Dawn said nervously. Spike climbed down the ladder, wincing as he went, until he hit solid ground. Dawn followed quickly after him, sliding the manhole cover in place. "You okay?" She asked.

"I'll be alright," Spike replied, smiling softly. The sewers were pitch black. Reaching out, Spike grabbed Dawn's hand and began leading her through the sewers.

"I can't see anything, Spike," she said fearfully.

"Don't worry, I can. Vampires can see well in the dark," Spike replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "The electricity must be out."

"I guess so," Dawn replied. Nearly directly above them, Kennedy and Giles had just passed, and the streetlamps had just shut down. "One of these days, I'd like to visit a normal town, where they don't have demon attacks and hellhound attacks and apocalypses."

"I don't think such a place exists, love," Spike replied. "But if we find one, I'll take you there for as long as you like."

Dawn smiled in the dark and rested her head against Spike's shoulder as they walked. "Sounds great," she said. They came to a fork in the road. There was a wall in front of them with a tunnel to the left and a tunnel to the right.

"I think it's this way," Spike said, walking to the left. They had just turned when they ran into something large and heavy. Both Spike and Dawn fell backwards.

"Ew, I have sewer on me," Dawn said in annoyance, in unison with another voice.

"Who's there?" Spike asked, instantly on his feet again, despite the pain.

"Relax," Dawn said, recognizing the other voice. "It's just Xander."

"Just Xander," Xander muttered. "Thanks, that makes me feel special."

"Don't worry, mate," Callum replied, pulling himself to his feet. "We all know you're special."

"Hey," Dawn said, recognizing Callum's voice in the dark. "I didn't know you were there."

"Yeah, Xan and me got split up from everyone else. Running wasn't working, hiding wasn't working, the rooftops weren't working, so we thought we'd hit the underground scene and see what was happening," Callum replied as Spike was helping Dawn to her feet.

"Unfortunately, we can't really see anything. The lights just went out a couple minutes ago," Xander grumbled. "And it smells like a sewer down here."

"Well, we are in a sewer, mate," Callum replied, chuckling to himself.

"And what are you so happy for?" Spike asked.

"I'm a god now. I'm above all this," Callum replied, laughing when Dawn tried to swat him and ended up losing her balance and stumbling into him instead.

"We should keep moving guys," Xander broke in. "I want to get to the Magic Box to make sure Anya's okay."

"We don't even know if she's there or not," Spike said, leading the way. They formed a human chain, each holding on to someone else to make sure that no one got lost.

"It's Anya. There's no way she's not at that store. I think she loves it more than me sometimes," Xander retorted.

"Seriously," Dawn replied.

"Are we heading in the right direction?" Callum asked. "We just came from this way."

"I think we are," Spike replied.

"Great, we're probably lost," Dawn said.

"Well, if we are," Xander said cheerfully, "at least we're lost together."