Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Oh, how I love writing Callum, it's just so fun. Anyway, thanks for the reviews and keep them coming, as it's always nice to know I'm not just writing for myself.

Previously:

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."

.......................................

"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.

Chapter Seven:

Callum jolted awake. The sun was shining down on his face. Sitting up, he ran a hand through his hair and stretched. He had spent the night in an alley behind a pub he used to frequent in the future, before he had been sent back to Sunnydale the first time. Though it wasn't the most pleasant experience, he imagined it could have been worse. After all, a lot of drunks did use that alley as their own personal urinal. Nonetheless, he wasn't entirely sure whether it was just the alley that reeked, or if it was him as well. Pulling himself to his feet, he straightened his clothes and began walking. He needed a plan, some way to get back to Sunnydale. Unfortunately, planning had never quite been his forte. Slipping into a fast food restaurant, he locked the bathroom door behind him and looked at himself in the mirror.

"Bloody hell, I look like shit," he muttered. Turning on the sink, he rinsed his face off with warm water. He couldn't remember much about his time in limbo, between when he died and came back. However, he imagined it was much better than this. "Got the raw end of the bloody deal, I did," he said. Leaning his head into the sink, he rinsed his hair. Then he pumped some hand soap onto his palm and rubbed it through his dark hair. He rinsed the soap out; watching as the suds circled the drain and disappeared.

Someone pounded on the bathroom door and Callum glared back at it. "Someone's in here," he yelled, satisfied when the banging stopped. When he was finally done grooming himself, as best he could given the circumstances, he pulled the bathroom door open.

"Sorry, mate," he said, clapping the rather burly, irate man standing in front of him on the shoulder. Then he stepped to the side and walked around him, slipping out of the restaurant. "Now, about money," he said to himself. Looking down the street, he could see a guy playing a guitar on the corner. He had his guitar case opened in front of him and people were throwing money into it as they passed by. Callum smiled widely.

"Bingo," he muttered and casually began walking down the street. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited, pretending to listen. When the guy finished his song, a girl approached him, obviously flirting, and asking some stupid question about the meaning behind his music. Callum smirked to himself. "Why do girls always fall for musicians?" He asked himself. Walking forward, he dipped down, pretending to drop some money into the guitar case. Grabbing a fistful of bills, he discreetly slipped them into his pocket and kept walking down the street.

Once he had turned the corner at the next street, he fished the money out of his pocket and quickly counted it. "Well, I only have to do that about a hundred more times," he muttered in frustration. "There's gotta be a better way," he said, looking around. It was still early in the morning and not many people were about yet. Callum's eyes rested on a convertible sitting just across the street. He had never stolen a car before, but as this was his third turn at life, he figured it was about time he tried.

.....................................

Cassius, in Kara's body, watched from the doorway of their bedroom as Kennedy walked out of the bathroom, clad in a towel, and laid some clothes out on the bed. Kennedy hadn't noticed her yet. Cassius let Kara's eyes roam freely over the curves of Kennedy's body, taking in the beautiful sight before him. "Hey," he finally said through Kara's voice. Kennedy turned and smiled back at her.

"Hey yourself," she said. "Where were you last night? You didn't come back," Kennedy said, walking over to Kara. Tracing her hand down the side of Kara's face, Kennedy flashed her a devilish grin before capturing her lips with her own. Kennedy moaned when she felt Kara's tongue slip into her mouth. Kennedy broke away, gasping for breath. "So, you gonna answer my question?" She asked after a few moments.

Kara smiled. Cassius was enjoying himself. He could feel Kara's body reacting to Kennedy's kiss. Now, however, was the first test of his acting skills. Though he had watched Kara before, knew almost everything there was to know about her, he still had to pull off actually being her. "I just went out on patrol. Stayed in the cemetery the whole night. I'm actually kinda tired," Cassius said through Kara's voice, faking a yawn. Kennedy looked sympathetic.

"If you wanna get some sleep, I can wake you up before we're supposed to leave to watch Lucian," Kennedy said, not noticing as Kara's eyes gleamed at the mention of the fallen Power.

"That would be great," Cassius said, smiling widely. Reaching out, he pulled Kennedy in for another kiss, relishing the way the girl's lips felt on Kara's. When the kiss broke, Kennedy turned back to the bed and began to get dressed. Moving over to the other side of the bed, Cassius watched through Kara's eyes. He could feel Kara's desire and it nearly scorched him.

"You're never gonna get to sleep if you keep staring at me like that," Kennedy teased, throwing a knowing look back at her girlfriend. Kara tilted her head slightly and smiled wolfishly.

"Maybe I'm not so tired after all," she said. Cassius could feel his own desire mounting as Kennedy stalked forward, clad only in her bra and panties.

"Good, 'cuz I really missed you last night," Kennedy said, her voice low and husky. Cassius felt a shudder pass through Kara's body. This was going to be fun.

.......................................

Cordelia and Lucian were sitting in Joyce's kitchen, both holding steaming mugs of coffee. "So do you think I did okay?" Lucian asked, referring to the previous night's hypnotism.

"Yeah, you did fine. Giles seemed pretty excited about the information you gave him. He went running off to consult his books. That's always a good sign," Cordelia said, smiling reassuringly to back up her words.

"Good," Lucian said. His eyes were fixed on the table. He couldn't bring himself to look up at Cordelia. He knew if he did, he would lose himself in her beauty.

"You okay?" Cordelia asked, noticing how he was looking everywhere but at her.

"I'm fine," Lucian said. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but he wasn't so sure she wanted the same thing. After all, his life was rather complicated, even if he couldn't remember any of it without the help of hypnotherapy.

"Really? Cuz you seem a little distracted to me," Cordelia stated. "Did I do something?"

"No," Lucian quickly replied, looking up at her. He instantly regretted it. He could see the pain and uncertainty lying behind Cordelia's eyes, pain he had put there by ignoring her. "You didn't do anything," he repeated softly. "I'm just having a hard time with all of this."

"That's understandable," Cordelia said, compassion shooting through her expressive eyes. Lucian felt himself drowning in them.

"You have beautiful eyes," he said, unaware of his slip of the tongue. Cordelia looked up at him in surprise. Lucian quickly looked back down when he realized what he had said.
"Thanks," Cordelia said, watching Lucian's reaction with interest. Though she had instantly been attracted to him, her attraction had grown into something more. She had entirely forgotten about Angel and the rest of the gang back in L.A. Though she had called Angel to let him know where she and his car were, she hadn't contacted him since. She imagined the souled vampire was probably out of his mind with worry, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She never wanted to leave Sunnydale, so long as Lucian was there.

Cordelia was certain, in that moment, watching Lucian fidget under her gaze, that he felt something resembling what she felt for him. Rising to her feet, she walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands in her own. "Look at me," she said softly. Lucian raised his eyes, resting them on Cordelia's face. Reaching up, Cordelia traced the side of his face with her fingertips. She ran her hand down to his neck and pulled him forward. The air around them seemed to crackle with electricity as she leaned forward. Their lips were only inches away. Looking into Lucian's eyes, Cordelia could see the same desire that lived in hers reflected there. It gave her the spark of courage she needed to finish her task. Closing her eyes, she closed the distance between them and their lips touched.