Sara walked into Gabriel Bowman's apartment, a finger in an ear to attempt to quiet to sound of the music blaring from his speakers.

"Gabriel!" she yelled over the loud singing, drums, and guitars.

"Gabriel doesn't live here anymore," Lucrezia replied. "Actually," she added, smugly, "he doesn't live anywhere."

Sara followed Lucrezia's glance to see Gabriel impaled to the wall, dead.

Sara pulled out her gun and aimed it at the apparent murderer. "You're under arrest," she informed the guilty party.

Lucrezia's response was to angrily smash part of a display case beside her, using the Witchblade in gauntlet form. She lowered her arm and stared hard at Sara.

Sara tried to fire at Lucrezia, who raised the gauntlet again, ready to deflect more bullets if necessary. Unfortunately for Sara, the gun was empty.

Lucrezia lowered the gauntlet again and slowly strolled over to Sara.

"Ten thousand miles of searching. Six hundred years of waiting. Dark clouds are upon us and I intend to ride the thunder. Can you know? Can you begin to know?"

The pair stared at each other for a heartbeat. Lucrezia knocked the gun from Sara's hand a second before she knocked Sara backward into another display case.

As Sara groaned from her injuries, Lucrezia lifter her arm high above her head and willed the Witchblade to transform to it's sword form. She aimed it at Sara.

Lucrezia walked slowly towards Sara again. Before she could take another step, Ian immediately came from nowhere and gripped the sword with his gloved hand, struggling with the current wearer of the Witchblade for control.

"Flee, Sara!" he informed her.

"I can't," was Sara's reply. She was too badly injured. She could barely get up, let alone flee.

Ian looked from his injured love to the woman that wanted to destroy her. He fought Lucrezia as she continued to push forward and up with the Witchblade.

Lucrezia overcame him, shoved the Witchblade through Ian's skull. Blood trickled down his dying face…

Ian opened his eyes and let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. His hand automatically went up toward his forehead to reassure himself he was not truly injured. That it had only been a dream. Apparently, a shared dream with Sara.

Ian was seated cross-legged in front of the great fireplace. He had decided on meditating in order to reflect on all he had done involving Aras. Shortly after he had brought her back to the mansion to tend to her wounds, she had made a feeble attempt to pick up where they had left off before she had called Sara and challenged her. Ian thought back again to that moment…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What's wrong now?" Aras purred. She had climbed over to straddle Ian's lap and attempted to nibble on his ear lobe when he forcefully pushed her away. "I did tell you, when this was all said and done, that I wanted to pick up where we left off."

"But I never gave you an answer on whether I agreed with you or not, did I?"

"That kiss was plenty answer for me. Not to mention that you were my hero and made Sara choose her Irish crooner over me."

"Big surprise."

Aras feigned shock at his accusation. "Are you saying I'm easy?"

"I'm not, you are. Now, you are as close to back to normal as you can be so I suggest you leave."

Aras tried to jut out her bottom lip in a mock pout. Realizing Ian wasn't buying into it, she slowly and rather sensuously rose from Ian's lap.

Before she could turn to leave, Ian's hand reached out to grasp her arm. She paused and turned to face him, grinning with the belief that he had changed his mind. She quickly discovered she was wrong.

Ian stared hard at her as he warned, "Do not even consider contacting Sara again. Do not even think of threatening, again, to take the Witchblade from Sara. If you do, I will know and will make sure you are not around to attempt it again, ever. Is that understood?"

Aras chuckled as she simply stated, "Boy you got it bad, cowboy. Instead of taking the one that will have you, you hold out for the one that won't give you the time of day."

Ignoring her snide remark, Ian repeated, "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah. Lighten up already, handsome. Now let me go unless, of course, you changed your mind about throwing me out so abruptly."

Ian quickly released her arm and informed her, "I have not. I have no use for you. My master did. But that is no longer of any importance to you. You know where the door is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Apparently, Ian had been in deep enough meditation to have the…pleasure, as it were, to share a dream with Sara of what could be a possible outcome with Lucrezia.

Lucrezia, it seemed, found a way to travel over five hundred years to take the Witchblade from Sara. He would have to find Sara and warn her who, and what, she was up against. Sara would probably be a bit cautious in believing him, in fact even accuse him of being the thief. But, he had to try. Perhaps if he let her know he had the same dream she did, Sara would take heed to what he said.

Ian had an afterthought. He would also have to see what knowledge father had about Lucrezia. What information he could retrieve from father. There was no doubt in Ian's mind that father was deeply involved in this, yet another attempt to take the Witchblade from Sara.

END