Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun

Notes: The internet is working a little better. Thanks for hanging in there.

Previously:

"Wait, Cassius stole her body?" Buffy asked, dread sinking into her stomach.

"Yeah," Faith replied.

The room was completely silent, each person thinking about the ramifications of what had happened. Xander finally spoke up, "Well, how do we get her back?"

Chapter Fifteen:

"You're angry with me, aren't you?" Lucian asked, looking at Cordelia out of the corner of his eye. They were sitting on the back steps, enjoying the clear summer night. The moon shone directly above them, casting its warm glow down upon them. Above them, the stars twinkled in billions of tiny dots, shining like the reflection of the moon on the sea.

"Why do you say that?" Cordelia asked.

"Well, you're not really saying all that much. No offense, but it is rather difficult to get you to shut your mouth sometimes," Lucian said, smiling slightly. Cordelia laughed.

"If I wasn't angry with you before, I am now," she said, playfully pushing Lucian's shoulder.

"So, you are angry with me then?"

Cordelia sighed and absently ran a hand through her hair, straightening her tangled, brown locks. "Yeah," she finally said, after a moment's thought.

"Why?" Lucian asked, turning to face her.

"Do you have any idea how stupid running off like that was?" Cordelia said, looking over at him. He could see how tired she was, how the burden of her anxiety over his safety had drained her strength. "Cassius could have killed you. He very nearly did. If Faith and I hadn't gotten here when we did...," Cordelia said, trailing off at the end.

"I'd be dead right now," Lucian finished for her, nodding his head solemnly. "I know."

"Than why did you leave the hospital?" Cordelia asked angrily.

"I just freaked out," Lucian explained, sighing. "I know that what happened to Willow was Cassius' fault. But it wouldn't have happened if not for me. It's just so hard, knowing that there's someone out there who wants to kill me, and knowing that I can't remember why."

"Well don't do it again," Cordelia admonished.

"I won't. I promise," Lucian said sincerely. Cordelia eyed him skeptically for a moment before smiling slightly. "You look really tired," Lucian said, noticing how she struggled to keep her eyes open.

"It's been a long day," Cordelia answered, breaking out a big yawn. Lucian smiled.

"Come here," he said, pulling Cordelia over to him. He leaned back against the side of the house as she lay against his chest, resting her head just above his heart. She could feel it beating through the material of his shirt. Sighing contently, she closed her eyes and surrendered to sleep.

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

Giles quickly shut the doors leading from the living room into the front foyer and locked them. Then he turned around to face Kara, rather, Cassius in Kara's body. Faith and Buffy were the only others in the room. The rest of the Scooby Gang was spread throughout the house. As far as he knew, Cordelia and Lucian were in the backyard. Joyce, Dawn, and Spike were in the kitchen, while Xander and Anya waited in the dining room. They had vowed that no one would leave until Cassius had cracked.

"Where shall we start?" Giles asked offhandedly.

"I'm never going to tell you anything," Kara said defiantly. "You should know that. I'm a god. What are you? A watcher? And I'm supposed to be afraid of you?"

"You are the one handcuffed to a chair," Buffy pointed out.

"When I got out of here, I'm going to kill you all," Kara sneered, her voice dripping with venom.

"How do we get her back?" Faith asked, moving forward slightly. Kara looked over at her and smiled.

"You can't," Cassius said through Kara's voice. "I'm in control of her. You don't have the power to release her. No one does."

"Lucian could release her," Giles said thoughtfully. "If you have the power, than so does he."

"True. But, the last time I checked, Lucian couldn't use his powers," Kara pointed out. "So, if I were you, I'd be real nice to me right about now because I can make sure you never see your daughter again," Cassius spat, looking over at Faith.

"If you kill her, I'll kill you," Faith said, leaning forward and resting her hands on either armrest of the chair. "If I do that, Lucian will be the ultimate power in the universe. Not you," Faith said, smiling wickedly.

Cassius glared up at her through Kara's eyes. "You stupid bitch," she said, her voice low enough for only Faith and Buffy to hear. "Don't you understand? Everyone you love will die. One by one, I'll kill them all. Starting with your precious Buffy," Kara spat. "That is, if she doesn't wake up and realize what a mistake she's made before then. Honestly, do you really think she loves you? She's so much better than you – smarter, prettier. Last time I checked, Buffy wasn't the one who went psycho and tried to kill everyone. How long do you think you can keep this charade going?"

"Shut up," Faith ground out, her voice a low growl. Her eyes darkened and Kara smiled.

"One day you'll just snap, like you always do. You're not a fighter, Faith. You're a loser. You run away when things get tough. Sure, life may seem pretty damn good right now. But that's not going to last. Then you'll run like you always do and leave everyone heart broken and miserable. That's what you're good at Faith, hurting people. You're nothing. You always will be. You may be nice piece of ass, but that's all. A worthless, fucking whore," Kara said.

Faith had lashed out and struck Kara across the face before she even realized that she had moved. Giles moved forward and laid a hand on Faith's shoulder, effectively snapping her back into reality. "It's okay," Giles said soothingly. Faith shook his hand off her shoulder and looked at Kara. She was smiling up at Faith, blood sprayed across her cheek from the ring on Faith's hand.

Faith had slipped out of the room before Buffy or Giles could stop her. Ripping open the front door, Faith stepped outside and slammed it shut behind her. The world seemed to be closing in around her and she couldn't breathe. Her hands were shaking at her sides and clenching them, she raised her fists. Kara's blood shined wet on the ring on her left hand, her wedding band. Faith looked down at it, staring at it for what seemed like hours. She had sworn to herself that she would never hit any of her children – that she would never become the person her mother had. Yet, she had just struck Kara, lashing out at her in violence like her own mother had done, time and time again.

Faith could feel tears of anger stinging her eyes. Wiping them away roughly, she tried to check the growing emptiness and rage that began to spread throughout her body, but found that she couldn't. Letting out a guttural cry, she sprang into the night, running as fast as her legs could carry her – running from her past and running from what she was afraid to become. The night swallowed her and all the remained was the gentle motion of the air in her wake.