Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Once again, thanks for sticking through the story with me. It was a pleasure to write and I hope it was a pleasure to read. I'm working on another story that will be called The Quickening. It will be set in Season 3, will focus primarily on the Faith/Xander dynamic, and will be my version of what should have happened. That should be up sometime next week. So I hope you all read that as well.

Previously:

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.

Epilogue:

It had been nearly three weeks since the battle against Lucifer. Wounds had been mended, the fallen mourned, and the time had come for the remaining Powers to return to the realm where they belonged. The Scooby Gang and several members of both the Coven and the Council accompanied Callum and Lucian out to the caves where they could access the portal that led back to the Powers' realm.

"I'm gonna miss them," Xander sulked as he walked next to Anya and Buffy. "I mean hell, it's not like I had a whole bunch of male friends to begin with."

"And now you're left with Giles and Spike," Buffy said, smiling as Xander involuntarily cringed.

"I really need to find some new friends," he muttered. The group slowed to a halt as they reached the caves just outside of Sunnydale.

"As far as we know, there's only the two of you. Cassius' fall through the portal should have killed him," Giles said, addressing Callum and Lucian. "However, I imagine a third Power will be joining you shortly. And remember, if you ever need anything, you know where we live."

"Thanks," Lucian said, smiling, though his smile was tinged with sadness. "I mean it. Thanks for everything. I won't forget all the help you've given me."

"It was our pleasure," Giles said, shaking both Lucian and Callum's hands.

"Yeah," Faith said, stepping forward and punching each of them on their shoulders. "Feel free to visit us anytime."

"We most certainly will," Callum replied. Giles and Faith moved away and Kara stepped forward. Callum flashed her a lazy, lopsided grin and pulled her into a warm hug. "I'll always love you, you know," he said.

Kara smiled into his shoulder and nodded her head. "Me too," she replied, then pulled away and quickly hugged Lucian as well. "Take care of him," she whispered to Lucian. Lucian nodded.

The rest of the gang said their goodbyes. Once they had finished, Callum and Lucian glanced over at each other and nodded, knowing it was time. Then they turned and walked into the caves. The group watched until they had disappeared from sight. "Well, I guess it's time to go home," Buffy said. Taking one last collective look into the cave, the group began to trudge back to their cars and another day on top of the Hellmouth.

Callum and Lucian walked far into the cave. Torches lit up the walls beside them, casting shadows on the ground in front of them. Lucian looked back over his shoulder, but he could no longer see the entrance to the cave, or his friends. "So our realm," Callum said, snapping Lucian back into reality. "Is it nice?"

"I don't really remember," Lucian replied. "But I imagine so."

"That's good," Callum replied. "I've always wanted to live in the lap of luxury."

"Well," Lucian said laughing, "you might just be in luck."

They reached the back of the cave, where a small altar was set up. A bowl of water sat on the altar and a ceremonial knife lay next to it. "What do we do?" Callum whispered over to Lucian. Lucian closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Wash your hands," he said. Callum dipped his hands into the water and then shook them dry. Lucian did the same. Then Lucian picked up the knife and pricked his finger. A droplet of blood fell into the bowl of water and disappeared. Callum did the same. Suddenly, before them, a shimmering doorway seemed to appear.

"Is that where we go?" Callum asked.

"I believe it is," Lucian said. Taking Callum's hand in his own, he smiled. "Come on, brother," he said. "Let's go home." Together, they walked through the doorway. A bright light flashed around them and suddenly, they weren't in the cave any longer. Instead, they were standing in the middle of an ornately decorated sitting room. Paintings hung on the walls and Callum could feel the warmth of a fire blazing behind him.

"So this is home then," Callum asked, looking around, obviously impressed. "I like it."

"Yeah, it's not bad," Lucian said, shrugging noncommittally. Callum rolled his eyes.

"I suppose we could have done worse," he replied.

"Damn straight you could have done worse," a familiar female voice said from behind them. "I've been sitting here waiting for you all day. It's about time you two showed up. I'm not getting any younger,you know." Spinning around, they saw a woman sitting on a sofa at the far end of the room. She was dressed entirely in white, from a silky, white tank top to white sandals. But her hair was as black as the night itself.

"Cordelia," Callum said, recognizing her right away. Lucian stood next to him, speechless. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I'm doing here?" Cordelia asked, rolling her eyes as she stood and walked over to them. "You never were the brightest crayon in the box, were you? I'm the third Power."

"You're the third Power?" Lucian asked, finally finding his voice.

"Don't act so surprised," Cordelia said. "After all, I am a hero and what not. And I always thought I would do well in a position of power."

"One of the many positions you do well in I'm sure," Callum joked, though his laughter was cut short by glares from both Cordelia and Lucian.

"I missed you," Lucian said, stepping forward and wrapping Cordelia in a comfortable embrace. Cordelia sighed happily.

"I missed you too," she replied. "But hey, just think. You guys are stuck with me for the next thousand or so years. It should be fun."

"Oh, how ever are we going to pass the time?" Callum asked.

"We've got work to do," Cordelia replied. "And I know just the person who can help us," she said, smiling devilishly.

…………………………..

Kara was walking down the street with Buffy and Faith. The sun was shining brightly overhead. They were heading to the Magic Box to help Anya fix the place up from when it had been ransacked by hellhounds. "Are you okay?" Buffy asked, looking over at Kara. "You look a little pale."

"I don't know," Kara replied. "I feel kinda weird. My head just started hurting and…" Her sentence was cut short by a scream of pain that tore through her throat. Dropping to the ground, she clutched her head as a series of images begin rushing through her mind. Then, it seemed, that as soon as it had begun, it was over.

"Kara?" Faith said, kneeling down next to her. "What was that?"

Kara shook away the cobwebs that had settled on her mind and looked up at her mothers. "I think I just had a vision," she replied. "And just when I thought things were starting to settle down around here."

THE END

Note: I want to work on some other ideas first, but I might come back to this series for a third part. However, I would like some input. Would anyone like to see a third part to this series? If so, let me know.