TITLE: Maelstrom: Resurrection
AUTHOR: EdenAdvance
DISCLAIMER: I (sadly) don't own any of the characters and I didn't make any money writing this little piece. Hey, if I could keep writing all my life, I still wouldn't want money for it.
SUMMARY: The end of Maelstrom, just a tiny bit rewritten. snicker
NOTES: I like Conchobar, even though I am shipping for Sara/Jake and Sara/Ian, so don't yell at me. He's nice and funny and I hate it when people die. In fact, I didn't watch the last 5 minutes of the ep at first, until muse hit me and told me there's always a way to resurrect people. Besides, I watch Farscape (great show BTW) and no one ever really dies there. Ignorance is a bliss, ain't it?
FEEDBACK: I crave it, so tell me what you thought of this thingy. You can yell at me if you want, try to convince me Conchobar is dead (ha! He isn't!) or that I'm shipping for the wrong people. Whatever, I like to know what you have to say. If you do it in the way of Conchobar fic, I'll worship you forever.

Maelstrom: Resurrection

Sara saw the opening and rushed towards her wounded lover. She started for the ropes binding him, but he interrupted her.

"No, don't stay, Sara. Save yourself. Get out."

"No, not without you."

She pulled him with her just as the Blade descended down on the concrete. Leaving Conchobar on the floor, she ducked as Fiona struck at her. Drawing her away from Conchobar, Sara fired at the advancing woman, but it would not help. The Witchblade would not help its true Wielder. The clicking of the empty gun rung loudly in her ears.

Sara looked with fear in her eyes as Fiona slowly positioned the sword above his heart and started to lean on it. She could hear someone screaming, before noticing that the sound was coming from her and she found she couldn't move a muscle; her eyes were fixed on Conchobar as he stared upwards to Fiona. It was as if time truly stood still.

She wanted to look away, to do something so she wouldn't have to see the pain in his eyes.

"Perhaps the blade was jealous of your... recent involvements?" Irons' words came back to mock at her.

"How can a hunk of metal and stone be jealous?"

'Yeah, tell me that? Is it possible?' The questions flashed through Sara's mind.

Fiona pushed the sword downward, now putting her all her weight upon it. It was silent in the warehouse, not even the sound of gunfire could be heard.

Just as suddenly as time had stopped and the silence had began, it was broken once more. The only sounds were the sword sliding through flesh and his scream of pain and terror. Sara reached for the hidden gun in her jacket and aimed at Fiona, who was struggling to pull the Blade free. Conchobar stared upwards at his killer, silently telling her that her end was near as well; she could not escape.

Just as Fiona realized the Blade would not come free, Sara fired five times. Time slowed once more, as she slowly sunk to the floor, the blade having converted back into its bracelet form.

Only Sean remained, but Sara had only eye for her fallen lover. She rushed towards him and sank down at his side, whispering.

"Baby... hi baby..."

He lifted his head to speak to her, but no sound came from his mouth. His lungs were filling with blood and he was slowly suffocating in her arms. Then, he let out the last bit of breath he still had as his head dropped back to the floor. She let her tears fall freely, feeling her heart break and a piece of her starting to die. Giving him one last kiss on his forehead, she lay down next to him, her body covering his, her head resting over his now silent heart. She didn't hear Ian approach her as she fell into a deep sleep.

Grabbing the Witchblade from the pretender's arm, he glanced at Sara. He remembered Irons' orders clearly; he could not return without the Witchblade, but something told him it was wrong to take it away from Lady Sara. Making up his mind, he walked towards her and knelt down, placing the bracelet on her wrist tenderly. Then, taking off his glove, he gathered a drop of her blood on his finger. He tasted it, wondering whether it would taste similar to his own blood. Then, he kissed his fingers and pressed them on her wound. He would pray for her and for her survival.

Getting up, he stalked towards the bag of money and grabbed it in his arms. With one last look of Lady Sara, he turned towards the entrance he taken and left as stealthily as he had came. He did not see the Witchblade starting to glow, a small light in the darkness surrounding Sara.

While Ian's distance between him and Sara increased, the Witchblade glowed brighter with each step Ian took. Once Ian had disappeared through a small hole in the far wall, the Witchblade glowed brighter than ever, keeping the darkness away from Sara and the man she was mourning. The blade didn't understand Sara's emotions, even in her sleep. Since it returned in his rightful place on her wrist, it had felt conflicted. Waves of grief were followed by immense hatred. It felt it directed partially at itself, but it didn't understand. Emotions were battling with the Blade, and it felt not wanted anymore.

The Blade tried to communicate with its Wielder, but it didn't get a reply in return. This confused the Witchblade even more. It could feel that she wasn't dead, but yet she seemed dead when he connected with her. Suddenly, it was flooded with memories of her time with Conchobar, mingled with those of Cathain.

Cathain... she could help him understand what was troubling Lady Sara.

He called out to her, asking for her guidance, like he had guided her before. The assault of Sara's memories was becoming too much for the blade and it wondered if Cathain would hear its calls.

'I'm here, I've heard your cry...'

The blade sensed Cathains spirit was far away.

'Help me to understand Lady Sara. I cannot reach her any longer, yet she isn't dead. I protected her from the traitor, as I was unable to do so when you were my Wielder.' It called, hoping Cathain would know what was wrong. 'It was foretold.'

When Cathain didn't reply, the Blade thought Sara might be blocking the connection. Then, suddenly, it could hear her voice once more.

'Her Conchobar and mine were not the same. He betrayed me so long ago, when I had least expected it. Her Conchobar wasn't a traitor and she loved him. She was more fortunate than I was. She is grieving for him now, as you have killed him.' Cathain spoke softly. 'You cannot reach her, for she is slowly dying with grief and pain.'

The Blade processed the new information and the situation it started to dawn on it. It was its fault Lady Sara was hurting, while this had not been the Blade's intention.

'Her hatred is towards me and you helped me understand. Tell me what I can do to save her? What can I do to protect her?'

'You must use your healing powers on the man she loves.'

'I can only heal my Wielder.'

'By healing him, you will heal Sara as well.' Cathain responded and started to fade.

'How?' The Blade called after her, but it was too late. Cathain had helped it, like the Blade had asked. It tried once more to communicate with its Lady, but like before, there was no reply.

Knowing what it must do, it reached out to the dying body beneath Sara. The bracelet started to glow even brighter than it had before, spreading warmth through the body of the man the Blade had slain mere moments before. As the wounds started to heal slowly, it called out to Sara.

'Is this right?' It asked, still not sure how it could help her. 'Tell me if I'm doing right.'

The only reply it got was the fresh memory of Conchobar's death.

When the Blade had healed all wounds it had cause and restored his health, it called upon Conchobar's spirit, which was still lingering in the room. Once his spirit returned to Conchobar's body, it would take some time for him to regain consciousness, but Lady Sara would be happy again. The Blade was confident she would survive now, when she woke up and found her lover alive.

Suddenly, the Blade sensed movement near the room they were in. It called out to Sara, telling her to wake, warning her. When the echo of footsteps reached the Blade, it turned dormant and waited for the intruder to reach them.

Jake made his way through the hole he had seen Nottingham coming out minutes earlier. Once he had made sure no one was around to see him, he entered the tunnel. He followed it until he reached an open space. Looking around him, he counted several dead bodies. His heart skipped a beat when his eyes rested on Sara's motionless body. She was covering someone else and Jake dreaded to find out to who the other body belonged to.

He walked over to her and knelt down. "Sara, you got to get out of here. I'm sorry, we got to go."

Feeling someone shake her, she woke up, looking in her dead lover's face.

"Oh no..."

He pulled her away from Conchobar. "Come, we gotta go." In the distance, he could hear sirens.

"How did you find me?"

"I visited your Irish snitch and..." He was interrupted by a moan coming from behind them. Within seconds, Sara was kneeling by his side again.

"Baby?" She asked, stroking his hair. Only now did she see the healed wounds on his chest.

She looked up as Jake came to stand behind her, his hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, Sara. We need to go before the cops come here. I'm sorry about him." He motioned to Conchobar. "But there's nothing you can do for him." Jake wanted to say more, but another moan interrupted him. He kneeled down to feel for a pulse, before looking at Sara. "He's not dead." He said and Sara nodded. "How...?" He started, but voices coming nearer stopped him from voicing his question.

"Can you walk?" He asked his partner and when she nodded, he lifted up Conchobar in his arms. He motioned to the hole he had come through. "There's a tunnel there, I parked the car near there. It took me a while to find it, so I don't think they can find it easily either."

When they were halfway through the tunnel, Jake slowed down, causing Sara to stop as well and turn around.

"He's a little heavy." Jake offered as explanation for his stop. "We need to drag him further."

Without a word, Sara walked towards Jake, who had placed Conchobar on the floor again. When Sara kneeled next to Conchobar, he grasped her arm.

"Sara..." he gasped. "What happened?" He asked, pulling her closer.

She wanted to tell him what had happened, but found that even she didn't know what had really happened.

"We need to go, they'll find the tunnel soon." Jake said, reaching for Conchobar's arm to lift him from the ground. Sara did the same with his other arm.

"Lean on me." She whispered to him softly as they moved forward as one, towards the end of the tunnel.

Once they were in the open air, Jake led them to the car quickly. Together, he and Sara managed to get Conchobar on the backseat as fast as they could and covered him with a blanket found in the trunk. As Jake drove them to Sara's apartment, Sara sat with Conchobar, holding his hand as he slept.

Later, when Jake had left them at Sara's apartment and Conchobar was still sleeping, she sat watching him. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a comfortable rhythm and listened to his whispering. Looking around her, she observed the mess in her apartment, closing her eyes when she started to have visions about Conchobar's abduction.

Sighing, she stood up and walked over towards her bed, where he lay sleeping. She slowly lifted the cover. Sliding in next to him, she rested her hand over his beating heart. She stroked his chest softly, searching for the scar she had found earlier, while she was undressing him. Finding it, she traced the two intertwining circles for a moment, before glancing at the Witchblade. Softly, she thanked it, knowing a little of what had transpired after she had fallen asleep.

Holding him close, she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

TBC?

PS: I'm not really sure about this ending. There's more, but I'm not sure if I should continue this one or leave it at this. Please tell me what to do. In the meantime, I'll write down whatever hits me.