Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun
Notes: Happy Halloween to all my readers. I'm kind of in a creative rut, so some reviews would be nice. Thanks.
Previously:
"We haven't read any account of a Power killing another, nor of a Power turning evil. I imagine it would be safe to assume that we are dealing with an entirely new situation. Though Lucian has not been able to tap into his powers, as of yet, that's not to say that this third Power cannot. In fact, I would wager that this individual is actively seeking out Lucian with all of the power he or she possesses. If the third Power has come here, breaking the unwritten law that the Powers that Be have stood by for centuries, we could be in serious trouble," Rebecca stated.
Chapter Six:
"Do you really think this is going to work?" Kara asked, looking on the scene in front of her with a doubtful look on her face.
"It is believed that hypnotherapy can unlock repressed memories. I don't see why it wouldn't work," Giles stated matter-of-factly. "Alright, Lucian, I want you to take a deep breath."
"But Lucian didn't repress his memories, did he?" Kennedy whispered over to Kara. Kara shrugged. They didn't know why Lucian couldn't remember his time as one of the Powers that Be. Perhaps he had repressed the memories. On the other hand, perhaps his mind was unable to comprehend what his time prior to his incarnation on earth had been like. Either way, Kara was doubtful about the results hypnotizing Lucian would bring. However, as they had nothing else going for them, she thought it was the best idea they had.
"What is he doing?" Faith asked, walking up behind Kara and leaning over, resting her elbows on the back of Kara's chair.
"Shh," Kara said, looking back at her mother. "Giles is hypnotizing Lucian."
"Why?" Faith whispered, watching with interest.
"It's supposed to unlock memories," Kennedy said, her eyes never leaving the scene in front of her.
"How?" Faith asked, her curiosity now entirely piqued. Looking back up at Lucian, she wondered, briefly, why anyone would want to remember things that their mind had intentionally repressed. Often, those memories were traumatic ones. Faith knew personally the effects traumatic memories could have on a person's life. She often wished she could forget half of the things she remembered from her childhood. Unfortunately, she wasn't afforded that luxury.
"Giles is guiding Lucian into a meditative state. Once Lucian has relaxed and loses himself in his mind, Giles will start asking him questions about his past. Theoretically, Lucian should be able to answer them," Kara explained.
Faith nodded, watching as Giles finished his meditation exercise. "Lucian, I'm going to ask you some questions now. Answer as best you can," Giles said slowly. "Before you came here, where were you?"
Lucian sat with his eyes closed, his palms resting upwards on his legs. His back was perfectly straight and his face held a calm that indicated he was completely relaxed. "I was at the reflecting pool," Lucian answered.
"What were you doing there?" Giles asked, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees. Next to him, Cordelia started writing notes. Giles had requested she be there to jot down what Lucian said and Lucian had requested she be there because she made him feel comfortable.
"I was watching the water," Lucian said. "Watching all of the people."
"What is the reflecting pool?" Giles asked, more out of professional curiosity than out of any relevance to the information they were trying to gather.
"The reflecting pool shows us the lives of every person on this world and all of the others. We can watch how things progress. It's how we knew what was happening here," Lucian responded. Cordelia looked up. It was both disturbing and comforting to know that someone was always looking down on them.
"You were at the reflecting pool. What happened next?" Giles asked. If the last place Lucian remembered being was at the reflecting pool, than whatever had happened occurred right after.
"I saw something in the water," Lucian said. His face scrunched up in concentration.
"What did you see?" Giles asked.
"Veronica. She was sitting in the drawing room," Lucian replied.
"The drawing room?" Giles asked. He was always fascinated by different dimensions and realities.
"It's a transitory reality, one of the places where we live. Veronica liked it because it reminded her of her watcher's mansion," Lucian replied. "It was so ornately decorated. Almost like a palace."
"Veronica was a slayer?" Giles asked in surprise.
"Yes," Lucian answered. "She died preventing a Hellmouth from opening in Spain. She was truly remarkable. I remember watching her fight in the reflecting pool."
"What happened next?"
Lucian paused. His face blanched as the memory came to him. "I saw Cassius come into the room."
"Cassius is the third power?" Giles asked, glancing over at Cordelia to make sure she was writing down the name.
"I got it. I got it," Cordelia muttered, writing as fast as she could.
"Yes, Cassius. I saw him come in and stab Veronica. I ran there as fast as I could, but it was too late," Lucian said, as a single tear rolled down his face. Cordelia could feel her heart breaking for him, but she said nothing.
"Cassius fled?" Giles asked, leaning back in his chair.
"He wasn't there when I arrived. Veronica said she had seen something in the waters, something that spoke great evil to her. She told me she would send someone for me," Lucian said. Cordelia looked up, knowing that person had been her.
"And after that?" Giles prodded.
"I woke up on the side of the road," Lucian replied simply.
"Very good. Listen carefully, Lucian," Giles said as he began bringing Lucian out of his meditative state.
"Damn," Faith muttered.
"It really worked," Kennedy observed, obviously impressed.
"Cassius," Kara muttered to herself. Knowing the name of her friend's killer somehow made the entire situation worse. Before, he had just been some nameless, evil entity. Now, he had a name. He had a life. It made Veronica's death seem more personal to her.
"Strange name," Faith stated.
"It's Latin," Kara replied almost automatically.
"How do you know that?" Kennedy asked, looking over at her.
"Giles taught me Latin before he died in my world," Kara said, rising to her feet. "I'm gonna get some air."
"Are you okay?" Kennedy asked, standing and laying her hand on Kara's arm. Kara turned back and smiled half-heartedly at her.
"I'm fine," she said, leaning in and giving her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips. "I'll be back later."
................................
The sun was shining brightly down on her as Kara walked through one of the numerous cemeteries in Sunnydale. She wasn't particularly paying attention to where she was walking; instead, she wandered without purpose or direction. She felt as though a heavy weight was pulling her toward the ground and she couldn't shake the feeling. Pausing in front of a grave, she looked down and read the writing etched onto the stone.
"You died a week ago," she muttered to herself. "I wonder if it was my fault." She often wondered how many people died because she decided not to patrol or cut her patrols short. Though she saved more lives than she could count, she had also been responsible for the ending of a great deal of lives. Ultimately, she wondered if she had saved more lives than she ended, or if the numbers would wind up the same.
"You knew her?" A voice behind her asked. Looking back, Kara saw a man standing behind her. He was wearing jeans and a short-sleeved, white button up shirt. His graying hair was thinning on his head and he looked to be about sixty. He had crisp, clear blue eyes that seemed to pierce through her soul, however, and Kara turned away.
"Not really, just an acquaintance," Kara responded, giving a small shrug.
"Well, I'm sure she's glad for the company," the man said, walking up beside Kara and stopping next to her. "What's your name?"
"Kara," she said, looking over at the man. He nodded and smiled. Then he extended his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kara," he said. Kara smiled back and shook his hand. A strange feeling passed through her and for a moment, she felt like she was falling. "My name's Cassius." Kara looked over at him. Her vision blurred for a moment. She could feel the life pouring out of her and Cassius's life pouring in. "You have to understand, I'm not human like him," Cassius said. "I need some way to stay here. I'm sure all of this seems completely unfair," he said smiling, his voice starting to fade as he faded into Kara. "But I've never been a woman before. Always thought it might be interesting. Besides, your lover is absolutely delectable."
A bright light flashed through the cemetery and when it faded, Kara was standing alone. But she wasn't Kara anymore. Kara was locked away, caged deep in the recesses of her mind by Cassius's power, screaming to be freed. Cassius had taken control of her body and planned on using it to his full advantage. Looking down at Kara's body, Cassius smiled through Kara's lips. "This is gonna be fun," he said through her voice. "I think I might pay a little visit to the girlfriend. It has been a while."
.....................................
Callum felt like he was perpetually falling, surrounded by some sort of clouds that slowed his descent. The world around him was bright and he couldn't distinguish one object from the next. Suddenly, it felt as if the clouds had dispersed and he was falling at an incredible rate of speed, plunging down into a dark abyss. All of the air flew out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath. His sides hurt and he landed on a hard surface with an audible thump and a few cracks.
"Bloody hell," he muttered to himself. He blinked several times and above him, he could see the sky. It was incredibly blue. "I thought I was dead."
"You were, my friend," someone said. Looking over, Callum saw an old man sitting on the hood of a car.
"Who're you, mate?" Callum asked, still laying on the asphalt of some parking lot, with little crumbling pebbles digging into his cheek.
"That's not really important," the man said, smiling. He stood and walked forward, pausing next to Callum. Reaching his hand down, he waited. Callum took his hand and the man pulled him to his feet.
"So why am I here if I was dead? Wasn't I supposed to move on, or something," Callum asked, running a hand through his hair. "And where the bloody hell am I?"
"Right back where you started," the man answered. "Don't you recognize this hospital?"
"No," Callum answered, looking around and taking in his surroundings.
"Well, you weren't exactly born in it. You see, your mother barely made it here. Had you in this parking lot in the middle of the afternoon," the old man said, smiling jovially. Though Callum imagined it was meant to comfort him, he was slightly put off by it.
"Alright, look. I don't mean to get nasty with you, mate, but what the hell is going on?" Callum asked in frustration.
"You've been sent back. There's something you have to do. Only you can do it and you need to figure out a way to make it happen," the old man said, his face turning serious. "One of the Powers that Be has been murdered by the other. The surviving Power was sent down to earth to be protected from the killer. The killer's name is Cassius. Right now, he's in Sunnydale. He's taken over Kara's body in order to find Lucian, the surviving Power, and kill him. You have to stop him."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Callum asked.
"Do you know how the Powers that Be are selected?" The man asked. Callum shook his head. "The Powers that Be are chosen from those who have died serving good and righteousness. You died trying to stop the First, Callum. There's an opening. We want you to fill it."
"Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to become one of the Powers that Be?" Callum asked in disbelief.
"Exactly," the man said.
"Holy shit," Callum muttered, laughing to himself. "Oh, sorry," he said, quickly apologizing for cursing in front of the man, who was obviously much more than he appeared to be.
"So, do you accept?" The man asked, smiling warmly at Callum, almost in a paternal way.
"Yeah," Callum said immediately.
"Good. We need you to go to Sunnydale. You can release Kara, but Cassius will resist. Things are different there, you know," the old man said.
"Different how?" Callum asked, though he feared he already knew the answer.
"She's moved on."
"With who?" He asked, trying to figure it out. The man smiled.
"Kennedy," he said.
Callum looked at him for a moment. "Kennedy? Kennedy's a chick," Callum stated. "Huh, well, I didn't see that coming."
"You have to hurry," the man said. "Remember, if Lucian dies, Cassius will come after you. He doesn't know you've been chosen yet. But if he finds out, you'll be next."
"Got it," Callum said. "Go to Sunnydale, free Kara. I can handle that," he said.
"Good. I'll be watching," the man said, before turning and walking away. Callum watched until he faded into a shadow. Then, turning, he smiled to himself and began walking, not entirely sure where he was going. It had been a long time since he had been in the neighborhood. Reaching into his pockets, Callum noted that he didn't have any money.
"Well how the bloody hell am I supposed to get to America?" He muttered to himself. "You don't think you could've lent me some money?" He yelled up toward the sky. "Shouldn't that be some kind of perk of the job?" Sighing in frustration, Callum started walking again. "I could use a drink."