Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow: The Rising Sun

Notes: I hope everyone had a good holiday. Here's the next chapter, on the 26th, as requested. Review, please!

Previously:

"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."

Chapter Thirty:

"What is it?" Tara asked as she and Willow moved over to where Anya was crouching, staring out of the mausoleum window.

"We're in big trouble," Anya muttered to herself. "Can you see that guy?"

"Yeah," Willow and Tara responded together. "Who is he?"

"The Devil," Anya replied grimly. "Walking the earth with a bunch of hell hounds. This is not good."

"We really need Buffy and Faith," Tara muttered under her breath.

"I agree," Anya said. "A little late for that now though."

"What's going on?" Willow asked, motioning toward some movement several yards away from the mausoleum. Two figures appeared to be climbing over the cemetery wall. Lucifer stopped walking and turned, watching as well. The figures landed in a heap, clearly out of breath and exhausted. Squinting her eyes, Anya tried to make out their faces. Suddenly, she paled.

"Oh, no," Anya said breathlessly.

"What?" Tara asked.

"It's Lucian and Cordelia."

…………………………..

The sun was shining overhead, warming them as they walked. Faith and Buffy walked down one of Boston's many cracked and broken sidewalks, hand in hand, enjoying the late afternoon. They were in Faith's old neighborhood, walking toward the apartment complex where she used to live. After they had seen it, they would catch a cab to go back to Sunnydale – home. "I can't believe you used to live here," Buffy said, looking around at the leaning, dilapidated buildings with wonder. "I can't believe anyone lives here."

"I know, not so nice, huh?" Faith said, smiling slightly. "I never thought I'd get out of here. I always dreamed that someday I would be like all those nice people on TV who lived in nice houses and have family dinners and all that shit. I never thought that it would actually happen though. I mean, you can have your dreams here, but in the back of your mind, you always know that they'll never come true, no matter how much you want them to. But here I am," Faith said, squeezing Buffy's hand. "And I've got everything I've ever wanted."

"Yeah?" Buffy said, smiling goofily.

"Most definitely," Faith said, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on Buffy's cheek. "Everything." They continued to walk in silence, both, for the moment, completely happy with their lives. "Well, here it is," Faith said, stopping in front of a tall apartment building.

"So this is where you lived?" Buffy asked, looking up at the ominous building. Tiny windows dotted the dirty, grimy front of the building.

"Looks kinda like a prison, huh?" Faith said, chuckling mirthlessly.

"Yeah, it does," Buffy agreed.

"Not my prison anymore though," Faith said to herself. Then turning, she hailed a cab passing by down the street. It pulled over and she and Buffy walked to it. They got into the back and the cabby turned to them expectantly.

"The Red Fox Motel, please," Buffy said. Before they left, they had to check out of their motel. Faith turned and watched out of the back window of the taxi as the apartment building faded away. Finally, the cab turned a corner and the building was blocked from view. Turning back around, Faith slung her arm around Buffy and smiled.

"I'm ready to go home now."

………………………..

"We have to keep moving," Cordelia said, helping Lucian to his feet. They had landed in a heap on the other side of the cemetery wall. Cordelia could hear hounds scratching at the wall behind them, trying to climb over. Dawn was beginning to break over the horizon and for a split second, Cordelia had to shut her eyes as the sun's rays spilled across the ground. Lucian grabbed her hand and they quickly moved forward, looking for shelter.

"Hello," a voice to their left said. Stopping suddenly, they both turned and looked at the man standing there.

"You shouldn't be out here," Cordelia said. "It isn't safe. Come with us."

"Oh, no. I'll be alright," the man said, waving her concern away. Lucian gazed at him for a moment.

"I know you, don't I?" Lucian asked, stepping forward.

"I'm sure you do, Lucian," Lucifer said, chuckling to himself. "We've been struggling against each other for hundreds of years."

"Who is this guy?" Cordelia asked, looking over at Lucian nervously.

"Evil," Lucian replied instantly. "He's pure evil. Let's get out of here."

"Wait a second," Lucifer said, following after them as they began walking away. "I've wanted to talk to you for quite some time."

Cordelia stopped walking suddenly and grabbed her head, whimpering slightly. Lucian rushed back to her and caught her as she nearly fell over. Her eyes were glassy for a moment before they cleared and she looked up at him.. "What's wrong?" Lucian asked.

"Vision….shit," she said to herself. Lucifer walked closer, nearly within a foot of them. "Run," Cordelia said suddenly. "And don't look back." Lucian hesitated for a moment before turning and running. Everything in him told him to stay, except Cordelia's eyes. He knew that she had seen something that terrified her, he could see it in her eyes. But he could see determination there as well – a determination he had never seen in her before.

Cordelia took a deep breath before turning and swinging her shotgun with all of her might as Lucifer's head. The gun connected with the side of his head and he stumbled backwards. Growling, Lucifer clutched the wound and looked up at her. His eyes flashed green and he charged. A flash of silver shone in the early morning light as he moved and before Cordelia could step out of the way, he tackled her to the ground. She landed with a thump and felt an intense pain shoot through her abdomen. Groaning in pain, she looked down and saw the handle of a knife sticking out of her chest.

Lucian ran to the cemetery wall and looked back. Cordelia was lying on the ground with a knife sticking out of her. Lucifer had rolled to the side and was getting to his feet, smiling triumphantly. "Keep running!" Lucian heard somewhere in the back of his mind. Blinking away the mist of tears that covered his eyes, he looked over and saw Anya, Tara, and Willow running toward him from a mausoleum.

"Keep running!" Anya said, motioning for him to continue on. "We're right behind you." Lucian nodded vaguely and turned back to the wall. All of the strength seemed to leave his arms as he climbed. Finally, he let himself fall onto the other side. The sun rode higher in the sky and he heard three thumps as Anya, Tara, and Willow landed on the other side of the wall with him.

"What about Cordelia?" He asked. He felt like his stomach was in his throat and his tongue laid heavy in his mouth.

"We can't go back for her," Tara said softly.

"Lucian," Willow said, commanding his attention, "there's nothing we can do for her. There's no way the three of us can take him on. We have to get the others."

Lucian nodded as Anya pulled him to his feet. "Can you run?" She asked. He nodded again and slowly ran behind them, looking back over his shoulder at the cemetery wall.

Cordelia closed her eyes and rested her head on the grass. She could feel the sun on her face and the pain in her stomach seemed to be lessening, but she felt cold. "Everything's okay," she muttered to herself as the world around her faded away into a distinct blackness. The sun rose in the sky and the birds began chirping in the trees. The hellhounds retreated back into the shadows, leaving no trace that they had been in Sunnydale, save the destruction they left behind. Lucifer wiped his hands on his shirt and walked away, fading into the light of the rising sun.

………………………………

Cassius watched from the reflecting pool as Cordelia died. Despite himself, a single tear rolled down his cheek. When he had killed Veronica, greed and a lust for power had consumed him. But as his plans slowly failed and he saw the evil that resided in the heart of darkness, he began to turn away from his original plans. A seed of doubt grew in his mind and he began to feel guilt for what he had done. Moreover, he found himself rooting for the slayer's friends as they struggled to survive all that was thrown at them.

Thus, when he foresaw that Lucifer would kill Lucian, he had sent the seer a vision of what was to come. He knew that she would risk her life to save Lucian. She didn't deserve to die, but she had chosen to give her life to save one of the Powers that Be – not for any personal gain, simply because it was the right thing to do. Cassius sat back and held his head in his hands. He knew what he had to do now.

……………………..

Callum stopped running suddenly. "What is it?" Dawn asked, turning back to him. The electricity had popped back on in the sewers a few minutes ago and they were running through the tunnels toward the Magic Box, now certain of where they were going.

"Cordelia," Callum said, his voice breaking suddenly and his face turning pale.

"What happened?" Spike asked.

"She's dead."