Standing on the Edge of Tomorrow II: The Rising Sun
Previously:
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.
Chapter Sixteen:
"I don't know if it's such a good idea for you to go in there," Buffy said, laying a halting hand on Kennedy's arm. Kennedy had just arrived at the Summers residence, after successfully completing a rather long and involved patrol with Jack and a slayer he was training for shipment to Japan. She had smudges of dirt on her cheeks from being knocked into the mud at the cemetery and her hair was tussled and tangled. She had arrived home only to hear several disconcerting messages on her answering machine, most notably, that her girlfriend's body had been taken over by Cassius.
"How long has he been in her?" Kennedy asked, peering into the living room through the cracked door.
"We don't know. He hasn't said anything useful; he just threatens anyone who goes in there," Buffy answered.
"Great," Kennedy said. "I could have been sleeping with the enemy."
"You couldn't have known," Buffy said consolingly.
"But I should have. She's my girlfriend and I didn't even notice that she wasn't really there? That a deranged, lunatic god with a hard on for global destruction was the one making her talk and move and...," Kennedy trailed off, not entirely comfortable talking about her sex life with her girlfriend's mother. Buffy appeared entirely grateful.
"None of us realized what was going on...except maybe Anya," Buffy said thoughtfully. "Yeah, maybe the rest of us should have. But he was damn convincing. Besides, we don't know how long he's been in her body. It could have happened tonight."
"Or it could've happened months ago. Either way, I need to talk to him," Kennedy said, shrugging off Buffy's hand, which was still lying on her arm, and moving forward into the room. She closed the door gently behind her, watching Kara's eyes the entire time. They followed her as she moved into the room. Looking deeply into them, Kara could see an overwhelming emptiness that Kara had never possessed.
"Cassius," Kennedy said coolly, stopping in front of the handcuffed girl.
"Kennedy," Cassius said back, speaking through Kara's voice. "Be a doll and let me out of here would ya?"
Kennedy smiled sadly. "Sorry, but I know all about you now," she said. With a sigh, she lowered herself onto the floor and sat there. "How long have you been in her?"
"Long enough," Cassius said, "to figure all of you out. I understand now why she goes home with you every night. Forgive me, but before I met you, I thought you were a whiny, self-involved bitch. I still think all of those things, don't get me wrong, but you surely can do incredible things with your tongue. I see why Kara puts up with you now," Cassius said, smiling as pain flashed through Kennedy's eyes. The younger slayer quickly covered her vulnerability, a mask of stone settling onto her face.
"Why didn't you just kill Lucian?" Kennedy asked, her curiosity fueling her questions. She heard that Cassius had tied Lucian up to a chair, torturing him, before attempting to kill him. In that time, Faith and Cordelia were able to save the fallen god.
"My ego got the best of me, I'm afraid," Cassius said, smiling slightly through Kara's lips. "I've never liked that little ponce. Of course, Veronica thought he was an angel because of what he did. She was a fool."
"What he did?" Kennedy asked, not quite following the story.
"In order to become one of the Powers that Be, you must die performing an act of good. Lucian lived back in the days when Rome was the center of the world. He saved a group of children from a gang of vampires, though the vampires eventually overcame him and killed him. A little while later, there was a vacancy and he became a Power. Veronica always liked him better because he saved a bunch of kids. I saved more people than he did, but Lucian always got all the credit."
"You were jealous," Kennedy said, smiling.
Cassius glared at her through Kara's eyes. "Just a bit," he ground out.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Kennedy asked. "The others say you haven't opened your mouth to tell them anything useful."
Cassius stopped and thought for a moment, realizing perhaps for the first time, that he had been revealing too much to the girl in front of him. He wondered how he had let that happen. But he knew, deep down inside of his being, he knew. Kara had loosened his lips, made him speak more than he would have liked. "Seems your girlfriend is a little more cunning than I previously thought," Cassius growled out.
Kennedy smiled. "So she's still in there somewhere," she stated. "I had thought you would be smarter than to tell me that."
Cassius lunged forward in Kara's body, straining against the handcuffs. Blood dripped down from Kara's hands as the cuffs bit into her skin. Kennedy had to stop herself from rushing forward. "Stop wagging your tongue before I rip it out," he threatened. "I've always wondered, if Callum was still alive, would Kara pick you or him? She loved him, you know. With every fiber of her being, she loved him. She doesn't really love you, though. You're convenient. You're a warm body to sleep next to. But she doesn't really like you all that much. I mean, who could?" Cassius sneered. However, Kennedy didn't react.
Leaning forward, Kennedy placed a gentle kiss on Kara's forehead and whispered, "We'll get you back somehow." Then she turned and walked out of the room, leaving Cassius staring after her in a mixture of wonder and hate.
..............................
Angel nudged Callum awake when they passed the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign. "We're here," he said softly, his voice low and reserved. Callum looked over at the souled vampire. He looked troubled somehow, as if coming back to this place burdened his very being.
"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," Callum said. "You can just drop me off."
"Someone's got to look after you," Angel said, smiling over at him slightly. "For all we know, Lucian may be dead already."
"No, he's alive," Callum said positively. Angel looked over at him with an eyebrow cocked.
"How do you know that?" He asked.
"I dreamt it," Callum replied. "I saw him sitting in Joyce's kitchen with Cordelia. He's alive. But Cassius has taken control of Kara's body."
"How do we get him out?" Angel asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Callum said uncertainly. "But I have a feeling it'll come to me at the right moment."
Angel smirked. "You're starting to sound more and more like a god as we go," he said. "You're getting rather vague."
Callum laughed. Angel turned onto the street where Buffy used to live with a heavy heart. He could see her house up ahead, the lights twinkling in the dead of night. The rest of the houses on the street were dark and ominous, but the Summers residence was alive with activity. "Looks like we're here," Angel said, pulling into the driveway.
"Thanks, for everything," Callum said sincerely as they got out of the car and strode up to the front door.
"That's what I'm here for," Angel replied, knocking swiftly. The door opened an instant later, revealing Buffy.
"Hey," Buffy said, surprised to see Angel. She was expecting Faith, or least hoping for Faith. Looking over at her ex-boyfriend's companion, her mouth dropped open. "Callum?" She asked, the words squeaking out of her throat.
Callum smiled awkwardly and nodded his head. "The one and only," he replied.
"I thought you were dead," Buffy said, opening the door for the two men. They stepped inside and she closed the door, warding off the night.
"Funny thing that," Callum said. "I came back. Seems I'm one of the Powers that Be now."
"Wow," Buffy said, obviously impressed. "Should I be bowing to you or something," she said, laughter in her eyes. Callum frowned in mock anger, then smiled brightly.
"No, but you can show me where Kara is," he said seriously. "I have some work to do."