Title: Night's Children
Author's Note: I warn you, this is my first attempt at Witchblade fic. I've always wanted to do a more fantasy type story and here's my chance. This is a stand alone from the show and the comic, because I confess I've only seen bits of the show, and have never read the comic. It's rated for language and violence. I kind of took some liberties with the history of the Jake character, so please don't kill me, or flame me, whatever.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
~*~
The child squirmed beneath the fiery gaze, fighting back tears, managing to keep herself to a low whimper. It was cold here, so cold. The chill bore through her thick parka like a hot knife through butter. It didn't help that she was wet too, the dampness chilled her to the core, and she could do nothing but shiver. Shiver and watch the demonic red eyes.
The girl, Trina, couldn't have been more than eight or nine. She remained huddled in one corner, in the dark. Actually the whole room where she was being kept was dark, but somehow, in her eyes, the corner seemed darker. She wanted her mother, her warm, comforting embrace surrounding her and pulling her close. She'd give anything to hear her father's deep baritone, or too see the way his lips quivered as he snored.
There had been others with her once, other children about her age. One little boy cried almost a day straight. She knew it was a day simply because the demon changed clothes when the new day came. The kids didn't get to change clothes. One girl had soiled herself so much that the entire room was permeated with the stink of urine. She had been the first to go. The boy followed after that. Trina wasn't exactly sure where they had gone, all she knew was that they weren't coming back.
--
Sarah Pezzini walked toward her office, her head down and long, dark hair drifting over her eyes. She was doing her best to avoid talking to anyone, especially Dante, her Captain. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to rip the Witchblade from her wrist and cast it aside forever. Not for the first time either. She had never asked for this responsibility, never even had the chance to say yes when it was given to her. All the Witchblade had done had in the last few months was make her life very, very hard.
Everyone she loved was gone, or at least, everyone she knew that she loved. She was still debating on whether or not seeing Danny, her ex, now dead partner, was a good thing. But even that had lead to yet another complication with her life, and his name was Jake McCarty. She didn't have the patience or the energy to train a rookie cop, which is why she usually ended up ditching him anyway. It wasn't that she didn't like the man, he seemed like he had the potential to be a good cop, he had a natural instinct for investigation in fact, but there was just so much else on her mind. Not to mention that Jake had no idea about the Witchblade, and it wasn't something she could just mention in passing.
Sarah entered her office and shut the door behind her, noting thankfully that her new partner had yet to arrive. She rubbed self consciously at the metal band encircling her wrist. She wondered what she was going to do in the summer, when it got hot. Long sleeve shirts to cover the bracelet were fine for winter, but summers in New York were merciless. But the last thing she needed was to have a glowing red beacon shining on her bare arm whenever danger came near. She was a cop; danger was always near.
She'd dreamed again last night. She was getting used to the nightmares now, not that it made them any easier to bare. They were always gruesome, always about death, her death in some sense or another. This time the dream was of Joan of Arc. Well, Sarah reconsidered, she thought it was Joan of Arc anyway. The people in her dream spoke French. The very idea that she was having dreams in a language she did not speak was disconcerting.
Nottingham had been sitting outside her window again she just knew it. The man always managed to show up in the most unexpected places, but she always knew where he was at night. Right outside her window, on the roof of the adjoining building. She had grown used to this distant relationship and most of the time she simply ignored him. He was like a second shadow.
"It's freezing!" Jake's ever jovial, ebullient voice interrupted her thoughts. Sarah looked up slightly, giving him the barest hint of a smile before casting her vacant gaze back down onto the report she wasn't reading.
"It's January," she said curtly by way of answer. She couldn't help herself, teasing him was far too easy. She missed seeing Jake stick his tongue out playfully.
"I'm aware Pez. I'm not that stupid." Sarah lifted an eyebrow, nah that was too easy. "Don't respond to that," he amended quickly. Sarah almost shook her head, at least he was learning. "You know Pez, if you're going to be like that I might just decide to keep the espresso I bought you for myself."
That perked Sarah up immediately. Caffeine was her saving grace. And it was one good thing she could say about McCarty, he knew good coffee. "hand it over rookie," Sarah half ordered, holding her hand out expectantly. Jake shook his head and remained where he was. Sarah crossed the distance between them in two strides, but now Jake was holding the cup over his head, and just out of her reach.
His large azure eyes twinkled with mirth. "Come now Pez, manners. What do you say?"
Pezzini drew herself up to her full height, standing toe to toe with the California native. Her eyes narrowed and she stared him down. "I'd say that you should give me that cup before I kick your ass and take it."
McCarty's eyes widened a little as he realized that Sarah was only half joking. Not to mention that he wasn't entirely sure she couldn't do it. "Not exactly the answer I was looking for, but in your case I think it works." He handed the cup down meekly. Sarah felt smug as she took it from his grasp. Jake frowned, "You're absolutely no fun Pez."
"It's nine o'clock on a Monday morning. Fun is not in my vocabulary."
"Is it ever?" Sarah took the opportunity to flip off her partner.
They fell silent after that, each working on their reports. By all respects it had been a relatively slow couple of weeks, with only two more murders to add to their files.
Dante managed to quickly destroy any hope for serenity in the day. He barged straight in through the closed door and slammed a slim file down on Sarah's desk. His dark eyes smoldered and his eyes were narrowed into slits. "New case," he stated gruffly. "The two of you are to drop anything else you're working on and focus on this, it's a priority."
Sarah mumbled something under her breath, but Dante still heard her. "What is it Petzini, you got sometin to add?"
"What case is it sir, and why is it high priority?" Jake had to hide his smile behind his hand. He had distinctly heard his partner say Dante was a prick. Sarah smiled innocently.
"You two do know that several kids in the area have been kidnapped lately right?" Two heads bobbed up and down in unison. "I want you two to snap to and find the kidnapper."
"Sir, with all due respect, we don't handle kidnapping cases. Shouldn't the feds be called in?" If looks could kill then Jake would have been embalmed and buried.
"Technically McCarty these aren't kidnapping cases. There have been no ransom demands, no private or public contact. These kids have all just disappeared. One of those kids just happens to be the Mayor's daughter. Satisfied?"
Sarah was too tired to deal with Dante's bull. "So why don't we just file this with missing persons and let them deal with it. We're homicide detectives, we're not trained for this sort of thing." In truth she just wanted to avoid getting involved in what was sure to be a complete mess. She didn't need the added stress. She had found a gray hair the previous morning, honestly.
Dante smiled arrogantly. He handed Pezzini a small slip of paper with an address, near the waterfront. "Yes you are detective, because as of an hour ago, this case just became a homicide investigation. Now get your gear and get your asses down to the crime scene."
--
The Witchblade was going nuts. The light shone completely through the first two layers of her clothing. It felt massively hot, yet managed not to burn her skin. The closer she got to the old warehouse, the more the gauntlet glowed.
You'd think there had been a mass murder judging by the number of cops on scene. Plain clothes and uniforms swarmed everywhere. There were two news trucks parked just outside the police line and a low hum from the reporters could be heard from half a block away. The mayor and the rest of his family, wife and two sons, stood huddled together by their limo. Two hulking men stood on either side of the family. They were obviously waiting to see if the child was their daughter.
'Idiots," Sarah cursed silently. The amount of media attention this was going to get was insane. Every mother in the metropolitan area would be in a panic. She could see the headlines now, "Dozens of Local Youths Have Recently Gone Missing: Do you know where your child is?"
Sarah hustled Jake under the police tape before any reporters could stop them. They both trooped inside the building quietly, observing everything as they went. A uniform greeted them in the middle of the main floor. "Detectives Pezzini and McCarty," the pretty, young, African American officer asked.
Sarah half expected Jake to flirt, flashing the young woman with a radiant smile and saying something witty. He didn't. He was uncharacteristically quiet. Sarah nodded for them both. "yes, officer...?"
"Lewis. Come with me. I'll show you where the body was found." They followed her down a hallway and stopped outside a smaller room, what had at one time probably been an office. "This is where I stop," Lewis said, paling slightly. "I can't look at that again. Poor girl."
Sarah pushed it aside as rookie nerves and went right in. She wasn't prepared for what she'd find. The stench hung heavy in the air, sickeningly sweet and metallic. Sarah actually gasped when she looked at a child. The girl had been pretty once, probably. It was hard to tell.
Her skin was shriveled and an eerie blue-white. She was completely naked, her long brown hair spread out in a fan shape behind her head. Her arms were crossed on her chest, but it didn't hide the gaping whole in her chest, where her heart should have been. Her eyes too, were missing, leaving two gaping, wretched holes.
It was then that Sarah lost what little control she had over the Witchblade. Hazy memories were thrust into her mind. There were too many to count and coming to fast for all to register, but they all did, at some level. She saw a shrouded black figure briefly, wielding a knife in one hand. But it was more than the sights, she could feel what the girl felt. Her eyes had been taken while she yet lived, and the anguished screams rang loudly in Sarah's ears.
Sarah bit back a scream at the last possible moment before it crossed her lips. She slapped a hand over her mouth, fighting back the bile which threatened to spill over. She had never had such problems in the days before the Witchblade. Empathy, she could live without.
Sarah turned away, her knees feeling weak and tired. But there was no strong hand, no comforting shoulder to lean on. Sarah started, realizing that she had grown used to Jake being there, beside her, but he wasn't this time.
Her eyes found him moments later. The blonde man was staring blankly down on the form of the little girl. His hands were thrust deep in his pockets. He never blinked, and Sarah watched for a while. "Jake." The name garnered no response. "hey Jake," Sarah tugged on his arm.
Her partner turned, still looking glazed over and out of it. He blinked slowly. "Let's get out of here," Sarah led him out of the room. She saw out of the corner of her eye as the girl was zipped into the body bag. She pitied the person who would have to identify her.
Jake leaned heavily against the wall outside the room. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead and he looked mildly green at the gills. Sarah's gaze bore through him. "What's up rookie?"
"It's nothing," he responded.
"Don't try and shit with me Jake, you're no good at it. You were completely oblivious in there. Do you even realize you're bleeding? Shit man, you've bitten halfway through your lip."
Jake reached up reflexively, his fingers brushing his lip. Blood. He didn't feel any pain. Just hollow. "I said it's nothing, just a little intense in there."
"Jake...."
"I said forget it, so do Pez, God damn it! Just forget it." He brushed by her brusquely, wedging her aside with one shoulder.
Sarah watched him leave. "Unbelievable," she muttered. She wasn't exactly sure what that was, but she intended to find out.
Chapter 1
Okay, so I realize that had zero to do with the show's plot, but it was in my head. Qustion, do they ever explain why Jake became a cop in the first place? And why don't people use more of Gabriel? Oh yeah, did you like it? Should I continue?
Author's Note: I warn you, this is my first attempt at Witchblade fic. I've always wanted to do a more fantasy type story and here's my chance. This is a stand alone from the show and the comic, because I confess I've only seen bits of the show, and have never read the comic. It's rated for language and violence. I kind of took some liberties with the history of the Jake character, so please don't kill me, or flame me, whatever.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
~*~
The child squirmed beneath the fiery gaze, fighting back tears, managing to keep herself to a low whimper. It was cold here, so cold. The chill bore through her thick parka like a hot knife through butter. It didn't help that she was wet too, the dampness chilled her to the core, and she could do nothing but shiver. Shiver and watch the demonic red eyes.
The girl, Trina, couldn't have been more than eight or nine. She remained huddled in one corner, in the dark. Actually the whole room where she was being kept was dark, but somehow, in her eyes, the corner seemed darker. She wanted her mother, her warm, comforting embrace surrounding her and pulling her close. She'd give anything to hear her father's deep baritone, or too see the way his lips quivered as he snored.
There had been others with her once, other children about her age. One little boy cried almost a day straight. She knew it was a day simply because the demon changed clothes when the new day came. The kids didn't get to change clothes. One girl had soiled herself so much that the entire room was permeated with the stink of urine. She had been the first to go. The boy followed after that. Trina wasn't exactly sure where they had gone, all she knew was that they weren't coming back.
--
Sarah Pezzini walked toward her office, her head down and long, dark hair drifting over her eyes. She was doing her best to avoid talking to anyone, especially Dante, her Captain. At that moment she wanted nothing more than to rip the Witchblade from her wrist and cast it aside forever. Not for the first time either. She had never asked for this responsibility, never even had the chance to say yes when it was given to her. All the Witchblade had done had in the last few months was make her life very, very hard.
Everyone she loved was gone, or at least, everyone she knew that she loved. She was still debating on whether or not seeing Danny, her ex, now dead partner, was a good thing. But even that had lead to yet another complication with her life, and his name was Jake McCarty. She didn't have the patience or the energy to train a rookie cop, which is why she usually ended up ditching him anyway. It wasn't that she didn't like the man, he seemed like he had the potential to be a good cop, he had a natural instinct for investigation in fact, but there was just so much else on her mind. Not to mention that Jake had no idea about the Witchblade, and it wasn't something she could just mention in passing.
Sarah entered her office and shut the door behind her, noting thankfully that her new partner had yet to arrive. She rubbed self consciously at the metal band encircling her wrist. She wondered what she was going to do in the summer, when it got hot. Long sleeve shirts to cover the bracelet were fine for winter, but summers in New York were merciless. But the last thing she needed was to have a glowing red beacon shining on her bare arm whenever danger came near. She was a cop; danger was always near.
She'd dreamed again last night. She was getting used to the nightmares now, not that it made them any easier to bare. They were always gruesome, always about death, her death in some sense or another. This time the dream was of Joan of Arc. Well, Sarah reconsidered, she thought it was Joan of Arc anyway. The people in her dream spoke French. The very idea that she was having dreams in a language she did not speak was disconcerting.
Nottingham had been sitting outside her window again she just knew it. The man always managed to show up in the most unexpected places, but she always knew where he was at night. Right outside her window, on the roof of the adjoining building. She had grown used to this distant relationship and most of the time she simply ignored him. He was like a second shadow.
"It's freezing!" Jake's ever jovial, ebullient voice interrupted her thoughts. Sarah looked up slightly, giving him the barest hint of a smile before casting her vacant gaze back down onto the report she wasn't reading.
"It's January," she said curtly by way of answer. She couldn't help herself, teasing him was far too easy. She missed seeing Jake stick his tongue out playfully.
"I'm aware Pez. I'm not that stupid." Sarah lifted an eyebrow, nah that was too easy. "Don't respond to that," he amended quickly. Sarah almost shook her head, at least he was learning. "You know Pez, if you're going to be like that I might just decide to keep the espresso I bought you for myself."
That perked Sarah up immediately. Caffeine was her saving grace. And it was one good thing she could say about McCarty, he knew good coffee. "hand it over rookie," Sarah half ordered, holding her hand out expectantly. Jake shook his head and remained where he was. Sarah crossed the distance between them in two strides, but now Jake was holding the cup over his head, and just out of her reach.
His large azure eyes twinkled with mirth. "Come now Pez, manners. What do you say?"
Pezzini drew herself up to her full height, standing toe to toe with the California native. Her eyes narrowed and she stared him down. "I'd say that you should give me that cup before I kick your ass and take it."
McCarty's eyes widened a little as he realized that Sarah was only half joking. Not to mention that he wasn't entirely sure she couldn't do it. "Not exactly the answer I was looking for, but in your case I think it works." He handed the cup down meekly. Sarah felt smug as she took it from his grasp. Jake frowned, "You're absolutely no fun Pez."
"It's nine o'clock on a Monday morning. Fun is not in my vocabulary."
"Is it ever?" Sarah took the opportunity to flip off her partner.
They fell silent after that, each working on their reports. By all respects it had been a relatively slow couple of weeks, with only two more murders to add to their files.
Dante managed to quickly destroy any hope for serenity in the day. He barged straight in through the closed door and slammed a slim file down on Sarah's desk. His dark eyes smoldered and his eyes were narrowed into slits. "New case," he stated gruffly. "The two of you are to drop anything else you're working on and focus on this, it's a priority."
Sarah mumbled something under her breath, but Dante still heard her. "What is it Petzini, you got sometin to add?"
"What case is it sir, and why is it high priority?" Jake had to hide his smile behind his hand. He had distinctly heard his partner say Dante was a prick. Sarah smiled innocently.
"You two do know that several kids in the area have been kidnapped lately right?" Two heads bobbed up and down in unison. "I want you two to snap to and find the kidnapper."
"Sir, with all due respect, we don't handle kidnapping cases. Shouldn't the feds be called in?" If looks could kill then Jake would have been embalmed and buried.
"Technically McCarty these aren't kidnapping cases. There have been no ransom demands, no private or public contact. These kids have all just disappeared. One of those kids just happens to be the Mayor's daughter. Satisfied?"
Sarah was too tired to deal with Dante's bull. "So why don't we just file this with missing persons and let them deal with it. We're homicide detectives, we're not trained for this sort of thing." In truth she just wanted to avoid getting involved in what was sure to be a complete mess. She didn't need the added stress. She had found a gray hair the previous morning, honestly.
Dante smiled arrogantly. He handed Pezzini a small slip of paper with an address, near the waterfront. "Yes you are detective, because as of an hour ago, this case just became a homicide investigation. Now get your gear and get your asses down to the crime scene."
--
The Witchblade was going nuts. The light shone completely through the first two layers of her clothing. It felt massively hot, yet managed not to burn her skin. The closer she got to the old warehouse, the more the gauntlet glowed.
You'd think there had been a mass murder judging by the number of cops on scene. Plain clothes and uniforms swarmed everywhere. There were two news trucks parked just outside the police line and a low hum from the reporters could be heard from half a block away. The mayor and the rest of his family, wife and two sons, stood huddled together by their limo. Two hulking men stood on either side of the family. They were obviously waiting to see if the child was their daughter.
'Idiots," Sarah cursed silently. The amount of media attention this was going to get was insane. Every mother in the metropolitan area would be in a panic. She could see the headlines now, "Dozens of Local Youths Have Recently Gone Missing: Do you know where your child is?"
Sarah hustled Jake under the police tape before any reporters could stop them. They both trooped inside the building quietly, observing everything as they went. A uniform greeted them in the middle of the main floor. "Detectives Pezzini and McCarty," the pretty, young, African American officer asked.
Sarah half expected Jake to flirt, flashing the young woman with a radiant smile and saying something witty. He didn't. He was uncharacteristically quiet. Sarah nodded for them both. "yes, officer...?"
"Lewis. Come with me. I'll show you where the body was found." They followed her down a hallway and stopped outside a smaller room, what had at one time probably been an office. "This is where I stop," Lewis said, paling slightly. "I can't look at that again. Poor girl."
Sarah pushed it aside as rookie nerves and went right in. She wasn't prepared for what she'd find. The stench hung heavy in the air, sickeningly sweet and metallic. Sarah actually gasped when she looked at a child. The girl had been pretty once, probably. It was hard to tell.
Her skin was shriveled and an eerie blue-white. She was completely naked, her long brown hair spread out in a fan shape behind her head. Her arms were crossed on her chest, but it didn't hide the gaping whole in her chest, where her heart should have been. Her eyes too, were missing, leaving two gaping, wretched holes.
It was then that Sarah lost what little control she had over the Witchblade. Hazy memories were thrust into her mind. There were too many to count and coming to fast for all to register, but they all did, at some level. She saw a shrouded black figure briefly, wielding a knife in one hand. But it was more than the sights, she could feel what the girl felt. Her eyes had been taken while she yet lived, and the anguished screams rang loudly in Sarah's ears.
Sarah bit back a scream at the last possible moment before it crossed her lips. She slapped a hand over her mouth, fighting back the bile which threatened to spill over. She had never had such problems in the days before the Witchblade. Empathy, she could live without.
Sarah turned away, her knees feeling weak and tired. But there was no strong hand, no comforting shoulder to lean on. Sarah started, realizing that she had grown used to Jake being there, beside her, but he wasn't this time.
Her eyes found him moments later. The blonde man was staring blankly down on the form of the little girl. His hands were thrust deep in his pockets. He never blinked, and Sarah watched for a while. "Jake." The name garnered no response. "hey Jake," Sarah tugged on his arm.
Her partner turned, still looking glazed over and out of it. He blinked slowly. "Let's get out of here," Sarah led him out of the room. She saw out of the corner of her eye as the girl was zipped into the body bag. She pitied the person who would have to identify her.
Jake leaned heavily against the wall outside the room. A cold sweat beaded on his forehead and he looked mildly green at the gills. Sarah's gaze bore through him. "What's up rookie?"
"It's nothing," he responded.
"Don't try and shit with me Jake, you're no good at it. You were completely oblivious in there. Do you even realize you're bleeding? Shit man, you've bitten halfway through your lip."
Jake reached up reflexively, his fingers brushing his lip. Blood. He didn't feel any pain. Just hollow. "I said it's nothing, just a little intense in there."
"Jake...."
"I said forget it, so do Pez, God damn it! Just forget it." He brushed by her brusquely, wedging her aside with one shoulder.
Sarah watched him leave. "Unbelievable," she muttered. She wasn't exactly sure what that was, but she intended to find out.
Chapter 1
Okay, so I realize that had zero to do with the show's plot, but it was in my head. Qustion, do they ever explain why Jake became a cop in the first place? And why don't people use more of Gabriel? Oh yeah, did you like it? Should I continue?