Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: This is the second to last chapter. Thanks for the reviews. Enjoy.

Previously:

"More or less," Buffy said, shrugging noncommittally. "But now that you're here, we do have something we wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, what's that?" Lucifer asked, stopping and folding his hands behind his back, mimicking Buffy's pose.

Buffy smiled and said, "We just wanted to know how exactly you'd like your ass kicked out of Sunnydale."

Chapter Thirty-Three:

Buffy sighed and slowly lowered herself onto the ground. "I need a vacation," she muttered to herself. "Ow." Buffy closed her eyes and gently rubbed her temples, trying to will away the headache that had invaded her mind.

"You okay?" Faith asked, limping over to her and sitting down next to her.

"I am, but I think my arm has seen better days," Buffy replied, looking down at her blood soaked arm. "I think it's broken…in several places."

"Yeah, I feel ya," Faith said, motioning to her leg. "I'm not entirely sure it's even connected to my body anymore."

"How are the others?" Buffy asked, wiping some blood away from her eyes.

"Kennedy's still out like a light. Kara's patching up the wound on Xander's side," Faith replied.

"How's her neck?" Buffy asked, looking over at Kara and Xander.

"Stopped bleeding a couple of minutes ago. Giles and Joyce are fine, just a little bruised. Red and Tara have been better, but they're alive. Lucian has a big gash on his forehead and Callum's foot is broken. Spike looks like a truck ran him over and Dawn's hand is messed up," Faith responded.

"What about Jack?" Buffy asked.

Faith looked over at her and sighed. "Jack didn't make it," she replied.

"Kennedy's gonna take that badly. She really liked him," Buffy said, looking down at her feet.

"Yeah, I know," Faith answered.

"How about Anya? She okay?" Buffy asked.

Faith smiled and laughed a little. "Anya's made out of steel. She ain't got a scratch on her." Buffy laughed and nodded.

"All in all," she said, surveying the cemetery, "I think that went well."

"Yeah," Faith replied. "So, vacation, huh?"

Buffy smiled widely. "I say we hit the beach."

……………………….

Several Hours Earlier:

Buffy smiled and said, "We just wanted to know how exactly you'd like your ass kicked out of Sunnydale."

"I could ask you the same. But why waste the time? Let's just get this over with," Lucifer said. Instantly, behind him appeared more than a dozen hellhounds.

"Does she usually find that pissing off the enemy works?" Kennedy asked as she, Kara, and Faith charged.

"I guess we'll find out," Kara replied. The hounds charged. One leapt through the air and tackled Kara, knocking her to the ground. Kara slammed her head on a tombstone, momentarily stunned as the hound reared its paw back. Its claws pierced through Kara's neck and the pain cleared her mind. Pushing the hound off, Kara gasped for breath and held the wound with one hand while slipping a knife out of her waistband with the other.

She could hear Willow and Tara begin chanting the spell that would open the portal to Hell. The hound growled and charged at Kara again. Raising the knife, Kara ducked as it tried to tackle her, and shoved the knife deep into the hound's belly. It shrieked and fell to the ground, dead. Kara's knees buckled and she landed hard on the ground, the world fading around her.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Faith were taking on Lucifer. Though they had the advantage in numbers, he was keeping them moving. A hound had sidetracked Kennedy. The last time Faith saw her, she was slumped over by a tombstone, unconscious. Dawn had swiftly dispatched the hound. However, it had mauled her hand and slashed Xander's side.

"Guys!" Willow shouted. "It's time." The portal suddenly opened behind Lucifer. Faith and Buffy looked at each other before letting loose with a volley of punches. Lucifer stumbled backwards, but it wasn't enough.

"Need some help?" A voice said from behind Lucifer. Lucifer turned to see Cassius standing behind him.

"It's about time you got here. Kill them," Lucifer ground out. Cassius smiled before shaking his head.

"I wasn't talking to you," he said. Then he grabbed Lucifer around the waist, pulling him back into the portal. The energy swirled around them, pulling into Hell. The portal slammed shut amid two distinct screams of pain.

"That went well," Faith muttered, clearly surprised.

"Don't celebrate yet," Buffy said, turning around and surveying the cemetery. "There's still a lot of hellhounds left."

The fight raged on until the hellhounds had all been killed. When it was over, several demon bodies and one human body littered the ground. The Scoobies picked themselves up and dusted themselves off to head to the hospital, having achieved another victory. Kara sighed and looked around the empty cemetery, the light of the rising sun resting on her face.