Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews. They are much appreciated. I get that this story may seem a bit darker than the first and it will mostly likely continue that way. The thing about good versus evil is that sometimes evil wins. It wouldn't be interesting if the good guys always won.

Previously:

"I killed Rebecca Hart," Kara said, laughing as Willow's eyes widened in fear and disbelief. "And I'm Cassius." With a swift motion, Kara plunged the knife deep into Willow's stomach. The witch cried out and fell to her knees, clutching the wound. Blood ran over her hands and she looked up into Kara's eyes.

"They're going to figure you out," she said, her voice weak and thin. Then she collapsed and her eyes rolled back in her head.

Chapter Twelve:

"So why don't you want to go back to Sunnydale?" Callum asked as he walked with Angel through the sewers underneath Los Angeles. The others had broken off to expedite the search. A rogue sewer demon was terrorizing people at the docks and Angel had insisted that they take care of it before heading out.

"I never said I didn't want to go back," Angel countered. They hadn't found anything thus far, not even a clue as to where the demon was hiding. Angel hoped they would, he didn't like the idea of Gunn, Wes, and Fred going up against it by themselves. Though they were accomplished demon fighters, he worried about them. They were his family after all.

"You didn't have to say it, mate, it was written all over your face," Callum argued. "It's because of the slayer right?"

"Buffy?" Angel asked, looking over at Callum.

"No. Faith," Callum said, catching Angel's eye. Angel sighed and shifted the axe in his hand.

"The thing about having a tortured romance is that no one ever really understands it's not all that romantic. Imagine, a vampire and a slayer falling in love," Angel said, his eyes taking a far off look. "Who would have thought that would happen? Then one night of passion and I lose my soul. As much as people say sex doesn't make a relationship, when you can't have it, it sure does put a strain on things," Angel said.

"Then Buffy went off and found her great soul mate in Faith," Callum replied.

"And forgot all about me," Angel said lowly. "Buffy will grow old with Faith and they'll both die. But I won't. I have to live forever knowing that my soul mate chose someone else over me. At least Romeo and Juliet got to be together in the end, even if they both were dead."

Callum smiled sadly. "We have a lot more in common than you might think," he said.

"How so?" Angel asked. He sniffed the air, noticing that a foul smell was wafting down the tunnel from further up.

"I loved this girl, Kara. Got sent back here from the future with her and all that," Callum answered.

"And then you died," Angel said, filling in the blanks.

"And she moved on," Callum finished. "It's not as tortured as your situation. I may not live forever, but I'm going to be around for a long time, I imagine. She'll always live in my heart, even if someone else is living in hers."

Angel stopped and looked over at Callum, a new understanding shining in his eyes. "Sucks to be us, huh?" He said, smiling slightly. Callum nodded and laughed, the sound echoing throughout the sewer. It was quickly followed by a bellowing howl.

"What was that?" Callum asked, looking out into murky darkness in front of them.

"I think that's our demon," Angel said, lifting his axe. "Come on, let's kick some ass."

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

The house was empty and dark, the hallways silent. Kara stood in the threshold of the front door. Behind her, the night howled with murder and violence. She could smell blood on the air, on her hands. Looking down, she stared absently at the rivulets of red that settled in the lines on her palms. She couldn't seem to make her feet move forward. She could see the blinking red light of the answering machine just inside of the door, bearing news of pain and grief. Closing her eyes, she tried to stifle the myriad of feelings and sensations pulsing through her. Cassius was losing control.

She felt like something was pulling her apart. Every breath she drew pained her so much that she gasped and tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Moving into the house, she slammed the door shut behind her and leaned against it, allowing it to support her weight. She couldn't breathe. Sliding to the floor, her body started shaking. Cassius was starting to become frightened. His power was waning. Kara was starting to resurface in the corner of his mind. But she wasn't the girl he had imprisoned there; no, Kara was pissed.

"Enemy," she muttered, throwing her head back against the door. "Leave me alone!" She screamed out into the empty house. They would all be at the hospital now, gathered around Willow. Cassius had failed. The red haired witch lived on, despite everything. She was hooked up to machines breathing life into her, her mind waiting to reveal all it knew.

"Shut up, bitch!" Cassius yelled through Kara's voice, trying to push her back down. Kara was coming to the surface. Rising to her feet, Kara stumbled up the stairs and into the bathroom. She flipped on the light, squinting at its brightness. The light seemed to pierce through her eyes, reflecting every stain and blemish on her soul – stains that Cassius had put there.

She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing through her own eyes. "I won't let you hurt them again," she said lowly, her voice a harsh growl.

"You can't stop me," Cassius countered. Kara was weakening. She could feel her hold slipping on her mind. Anger boiled up through her veins and she screamed out in frustration, lashing her hand out at the mirror in front of her. The glass shattered around her, ripping through her skin.

Then there was silence. Cassius had won. Staring down at the girl's mutilated arm, he smiled to himself. "Don't try that again, bitch," he said. Reaching over, he yanked a piece of glass out of Kara's arm. Blood was flowing out of the cuts on her arm, swirling down the drain of the sink in a steady stream. It fascinated him. He wanted to see more.

Picking up a shard of glass, he ran it lengthwise down Kara's arm. He could feel her crying out in his mind for him to stop. "Stop?" He asked, laughing. "Only if you promise to be good." Silence greeted him and he smiled in triumph. "Good little bitch," he said and dropped the shard of glass. "Let's fix you up then, shall we?"

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

"We have to find Cassius," Buffy said sternly. "That bastard's gotta pay."

"He will, B," Faith said, eyeing her wife warily. She could practically see the red reflecting in Buffy's eyes. Looking over at Giles, Faith realized that she wasn't the only one concerned that Buffy might do something incredibly rash.

"There's nothing we can do now, Buffy," Giles said slowly. "The best place for you to be is here with Willow. She needs your support now."

"But he's out there, Giles. Waiting. What happens if he goes after Faith next, or my mom, or Xander, or Dawn. I can't just sit here while he picks off all of the people I love," Buffy argued, tears of frustration stinging her eyes. Faith looked down. She couldn't stand to see Buffy in so much pain.

"I'm gonna go get some smokes," Faith said, walking away.

"I thought you quit?" Buffy called after her.

"I did," Faith yelled back. Stepping onto the elevator, she hit the lobby button and leaned back against the wall, running a hand through her long, dark hair. She hated feeling helpless. She knew exactly where Buffy was coming from. The slayer in her was calling out for her to find Cassius and slit his throat. But she couldn't do that. They didn't even know who Cassius was.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. She strode out purposefully, her feet automatically directing themselves toward the gift shop. Pulling some rumpled bills out of her pocket, she bought a pack of cigarettes. Slipping out of a side door, she lit one up and sat down on a concrete column. She relished the taste of the smoke as it filled her lungs, polluting the very core of her being. "Hey," she said, a fraction of a second after Buffy slipped out of the same door.

"Hey," Buffy said, sitting down next to her.

"You okay?" Faith asked, looking over at her.

"She just looks so fragile. And I can't help but think that could be any of us...it could be you. We can't stop him," Buffy said. Tears slid down her cheeks and Faith flicked the cigarette away. Wrapping her arms around Buffy, Faith pulled her into a tight embrace.

"We're going to figure this out, I promise. When we do, I'll let you kill him, okay?" Faith said, smiling as Buffy laughed into her shoulder.

"Thanks," she mumbled. Faith nodded slightly and rested her head against Buffy's, breathing in the vanilla scent of her hair. A chill air blew in the leaves of the trees and Faith suppressed a shudder. The night smelled like death.

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

"You look kinda pale," Cordelia said, glancing over at Lucian.

"This my fault," Lucian muttered, looking down at his hands.

"What? No, it's not," Cordelia immediately insisted.

"If not for me, all of you would be fine," Lucian said angrily.

"If not for you we'd all be dead right now, Lucian. You think it would be better if Cassius had just killed you too? Bullshit," Cordelia argued back. "Veronica sent you here. You didn't have choice. We just have to make the best of it."

"Make the best of what? Death?" Lucian asked. "I can't do that."

Cordelia sighed and looked away. "It's not your fault," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I need to get some air," Lucian said, rising to his feet and taking off down the hallway. Cordelia looked back over at him in alarm.

"Lucian, wait!" She yelled after him, but he was gone. "Shit," she said and jumped to her feet. "Giles!" She yelled, rounding the corner where Giles had just been speaking with Buffy. The group was spread throughout the hospital wing, each person feeling the need to be alone.

"What?" Giles asked, looking up at Cordelia.

"Lucian just took off," she said.

"By himself?" Giles asked, jumping to his feet.

"Yeah, I don't know where he went," Cordelia said anxiously.

Giles placed a reassuring hand on her arm and sternly said, "We have to find Buffy and Faith. He can't be alone now. It's too dangerous."

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

Kara looked up into the sky as she walked toward Joyce's house. She needed information. Most importantly, she needed to know if Willow had woken up. She imagined that some of the gang would have left the hospital, seeing the futility of being there. Joyce and Dawn would be the first to leave, as they were the most useless. If Willow had woken up and told the group what happened, Kara couldn't show her face in the hospital. But if Willow hadn't, there was no reason why she couldn't go and pay her friend a visit. She stopped when she reached Joyce's front door. Knocking, she waited. The lights were off. After a few minutes without a response, she turned to leave, but saw someone walking down the street toward her.

"Hey," the person said, walking up the sidewalk. Kara smiled widely when his face was revealed by the light of the street lamp.

"Lucian."