(Thanks to Sierra windfire for catching that spelling goof early, so I could fix it!!!)

Hellooooooooooooooooo. I am back from the tortures of school, alive. And taking a sick day. It's May Day anyway, so the rest of the school is probably doing the same. Hehe.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed: owlwitch, Riyallyn, melanara, Jenileigh, Sierra Windfire (gladly takes the sunflower seeds), Eli (hehehe...I haven't decided if he's faking it yet...), msredux (I hope so too...), Shinara (Oooo...melikes chocolate...::muse grabs it away, then gives X a smaller piece:: Oh well.), Fae Rain (::goes down to her secret laboratory and gets to work::), Ms. Lessa (Ben&jerry's? ::gets right to work::) DKM, Julia (I'm trying to work in a way for her to get a clear shot at the monkey), Spin (muse like chocolate...muahahahaha.), Redmayne (Hope you didn't get to many odd looks...and about the frying pan...I'll take a rain check on that one.), and scooter (::gives spin the bunny::)

Disclaimer: I don't own this. I mean no disrespect by totally messing up all the characters and putting them in outrageous situations. Well...maybe a little disrespect, but only towards TnT...::starts to make a rude gesture towards TnT for canceling Witchblade, but X manages to tackle Raven before she does:: Just don't sue us. We have no money.

Feedback:: PLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASEOHPLEASE. Hehehe. Yeah...at least it's not in ten different languages this time.

Archive: Just ask me first.

As promised, a longer chapter.

( ************ denotes change of POV, means we're goin' on a visit to see dear old Loki. ~*~*~*~*~*~ means...well, a change of some sort. Same POV but different area)

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Chapter IX

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Ian walked in the staff entrance and worked his way through the staff area of the mansion, getting a few greetings, and a few odd looks directed towards Sara. They entered what Sara inferred to be the security room. And it was a high-tech security office at that. The first thing Sara noticed was its clean and shininess. Second, it had all the most recent surveillance equipment, sensors for sensing things that Sara didn't know machines could ever sense. (A/N: Did that make much sense? Hope not. :P Hehe)

Third.there was a coffee maker in the corner. The other security guards present just stepped out of the way as the detective made a mad dash towards the maker of caffeinated goodness.

"Daniels, report. What's happened?"

"Irons has gone insane, sir."

"I'm quite aware of that. What has occurred since I left?"

"Uh...well...he has four hostages, has barricaded himself in the upper east wing, and we're working on a plan to recapture it without hurting the hostages or Mr. Irons. We haven't had much training in capturing the oppressor alive in this situation. Mr. Irons made it quite clear that we were to kill any such offenders."

"You would think with what you are paid, you would make an attempt to broaden your horizons without being commanded to," Nottingham sighed.

"We have a plan sir," Mitchell said, trying to redeem himself and the security team, "We would scale the outside wall and come in through the windows."

"The windows in that wing are bulletproof, we would require the anti- bulletproof-windows guns," mused Ian.

"We have some in the basement," one of the guards quipped up.

"But wouldn't the sensors alert him to the attack? He has one of the security monitoring stations in that area," Daniel added.

"Well, if we use..."

"Uh, boys?" Sara called, breaking the feeling of testosterone that was beginning to run through the room.

All eyes turned to her, some first realizing that she was in the room. A few guards looked her over, some thing she was used to, but Sara swore she could hear Ian growl at them.

"Who are you?" inquired Mitchell.

"She's with me," Ian replied.

Sara could definitely sense some possessiveness coming from Ian, but she decided to let it slide. It was probably due to the testosterone after the macho-invasion-planning.

"Irons has been acting like a five year-old, right?"

Ian nodded.

"Well...has anyone tried talking to him? Offering him some toys, or lunch or something? Maybe he's cranky..."

The security guards exchanged enlightened glances, and Sara returned to nursing her coffee. The men went back to their strategy planning, Sara not caring, or not noticing, that she was being left out as they cast glances her way amid the whispering

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Fifteen minutes later, Sara found herself walking down the hallway towards the east wing, with Ian at her side. Sara was not particularly happy about being pulled away from the coffeemaker, and Ian seemed to pick up on the vibe that Sara didn't want to be there.

"Sara, are you sure..."

"Yes, Nottingham. I am absolutely sure I am up to this and relatively sure that I can pull this off."

"I could go..."

"Ian, have you ever dealt with children before?"

"Well..." Ian was going to say something, but though better of it, "...uh...no..."

"Then just watch and learn,"

"He is not a normal child, Lady Sara."

"That's the way most of them seem. And it's just Sara, Ian."

They continued down the halls in silence for a few moments, and Ian looked over at Sara. She was not walking at her usual fast pace, instead slowing to match Ian's pace. He was attempting to walk a stride behind her, but she would have none of it.

"How do you know so much about children?" inquired Ian.

"I was the only teenage girl in my neighborhood. I had a lot of babysitting jobs."

Ian fell silent for a few moments, deep in thought, hoping that Sara was not privy to those thoughts.

"I never saw you as a motherly figure,"

This time it was Sara who fell silent. She didn't know how to reply to that one.

"Sir, you're approaching the hallway now." Daniel's voice eminating from the headsets finally broke the silence. Since their macho plans had been scratched, they insisted that they wear the headsets to preserve some of the commando effect.

They two turned down the designated hallway, their paces becoming more cautious. Ian pushed open the first door they came to. It was empty. And so they continued down the hall in a similar fashion, until they reached the last door of the hallway. Sara tried the doorknob, but it was locked from the inside.

Ian stepped back, preparing to kick it down, but Sara grabbed his arm, shaking her head.

"Let's try knocking first," she suggested. If Kenneth was really acting like a child...that would scare the bejesus out of him. Big puddle of bejesus...

Sara stepped forward and knocked loudly on the wooden surface.

"Kenneth? Are you in there?"

There was movement from within the room and the muffled sound of a man's voice.

"Kenneth, we just want to talk to you. It's just me: Sara, and Mr. Nottingham."

The sound of a key being turned could be heard, then the knob turned slowly. The door opened a crack, and Sara could see Kenneth's pale blue eyes looking out at her.

"Tell him to get rid of all his weapons," Kenni commanded.

Sara looked to Ian, who begrudgingly complied. A minute or so later, there was a pile of weapons on the floor, past Sara's knees.

"What, no Uzi?"

"That's in my other trench coat." Ian smiled, and Sara only shook her head. She wasn't telling him, but she was definitely enjoying the humorous and semi-normal side of Ian.

"Where do you keep all that stuff?"

"Do you really want to know?" Ian inquired with a smirk.

"Uh...I suppose not," Sara sighed, then turned to Kenneth.

"Okay, Kenneth, can we come in now?"

Kenni nodded, and slowly opened the door, stepping back from the two as they entered.

"What do you want?" Kenni asked.

Sara walked into the interior of the room, but Ian stayed near the door, keeping between Sara and Kenneth. She glanced cautiously to Irons, who was looking at the floor like a child who knew he did something wrong. It was very, very odd. But she didn't have much time to think of it, once she glanced to the opposite wall.

"Uh...hello Dr. Immo..."

Ian walked over to where Sara stood, and blinked in surprise as he saw Dr. Immo, and three of his security officers: Eric Johnson, Nick Baisely, and Gregory Moore. The mere sight of them was not surprising or disturbing. The fact that they were bound, gagged, propped up against the wall and stripped down to their underwear...*that* was the disturbing aspect.

"Kenni...why don't they have their clothes on?" Sara inquired slowly.

"They always do that in the television shows."

"Yes, but that's usually so they can use that person's uniform to pose as someone they're not,"

"Oh," replied Kenni, walking away and mumbling to himself in German.

"So, Kenni, when do you plan on letting these guys go?"

"I dunno. I didn't really have a plan..."

"Well.why don't you let them go now, and maybe we can go downstairs and have some pizza for dinner?"

"Pizza? Das ist Italienisch, ja? Das ist sehr Lecker!!!" Kenni said enthusiastically. Sara shrugged, not knowing German, but took it as a positive reaction.

Kenneth and Sara walked from the room, leaving Ian with the four gagged men, who all emitted sighs of relief through their gags as soon as Irons left the room.

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"Do you know who I am, Kenni?" Sara asked awkwardly.

Sara looked over to Irons. The Witchblade swirled, and for a split second, instead of the Irons she knew, there was a small child walking beside her.

"No...but you look like the lady-friend of Daddy's bodyguard."

"Who's your Daddy's body guard?"

"Christian Fallcenio" Kenni pondered something for a few moments, "He looks a lot like Herr Ian. Vati was always very unhappy when he saw Christian and her together."

"What was the lady's name?"

"Kathlyn, I think. Kathlyn O'Reilly. She is very beautiful. Father said she was sent away to a boarding school. I haven't seen her in a while," Kenni looked around, as if he feared someone was listening, "But I think she was with child. Herr Christian went away a week after she left, and father was very angry."

Sara glanced down at the Blade, which was still active, as it had been all day. The bracelet was not longer scalding hot as it had been earlier, instead, it was now cool against her skin. Perhaps it had more purpose in this torture than the amusement of Loki.

"Kathlyn had a bracelet much like yours..."

Kenni reached out to touch the eye of the bracelet, but quickly pulled back.

"Father told me never to touch it," he said quietly, "He said that I am not worthy of it."

Sara looked to Kenneth, feeling more pity for the man than she ever had before. Though it contradicted what she had at first believed it...maybe Irons was not born evil...

"What would you like on your pizza?" Sara asked, forcing herself out of her daze.

"Weisswurst?"

"Uh...how about pepperoni?"

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Ian strapped the final weapon in its place, and walked back into the room, where the four men were composing themselves. He walked over to Dr. Immo, who was tying his shoes. When he finished, Ian handed him his tie.

"I'm very sorry about this, Dr. Immo," Ian apologized.

"I must say, it wasn't what I was expecting to spend my day doing..."

Ian glanced to the clock on the wall.

5:11

The three security guards stood near the door, having a quiet but intense conversation.

"Dr. Immo, would you like me to have the cook prepare dinner for you?"

"NO!" Immo flinched at his own words, "I mean...no thank you. I think I'll go home to eat. I promised my wife I'd cook today."

The prevailing thought of the people in the room at this comment was, 'Dr. Immo has a wife?' A/N:(Except the wolfhound that was sitting next to Ian and nuzzling his coat pocket, who thought 'Does he have a rabbit in his pocket?')

Dr. Immo finished putting on his tie, and hurried out the door.

"Alright gentlemen, lets get back to..."

The band on Ian's wrist lit up, and a bright flash of light brought him into the temporary domain of Loki.which at that exact moment was an office.. The secretary motioned to a chair in the waiting room, which Ian sat down in, not really knowing what else to do. It wasn't exactly a waiting room.it was the limbo of the Witchblade.with uncomfortable chairs and a secretaries desk in front of a lone office, the mist swirling around it.

"Well, hello Ian. It's been a while! Please, come into my office. Take a seat." Loki called from within the structure.

Ian walked into the office, mist swirling around his feet as he did. The office was complete with a desk, chairs, file cabinets and other office furniture. A pile of paper appeared in the "IN" box, which Loki picked up.

"What do you want?" Ian asked, not sitting down.

"Were you about to send those men back to work?" inquired Loki, as he put the aforementioned papers through the shredder.

"Yes,"

"Wrong answer!" Loki hit a red button on the desk's surface, and Ian suddenly felt an electric shock go through his body

"I assure you they are paid well enough to be asked to do so."

"Is that so, Ebenezer? I get the impression that the situation they just went through should entitle them to a bonus." Loki said, still shredding papers, "I know I would be slightly disturbed if my boss took me hostage for a couple of hours and made me do singalongs."

"I did not know about the sing-alongs."

"Well, ya' didn't ask, did you?" Loki waved his hand, and a chair came up from behind Ian, knocking him into sitting down.

"I need to get back to Sara," protested Ian.

"Time is currently frozen, my friend. I can keep you here inevitably! And you can't do a thing about it." Loki laughed maniacally, then after a few moments, sighed as he wiped a tear from his eye, finding this all much more amusing than Ian.

"What do you want?! I have other problems to deal with rather than being a pawn for your personal amusement!"

"What is it with you and that Wielder of yours? Maybe I don't have an ulterior motive! Maybe I just want to talk to you,"

Ian gave him a doubtful glance, trying to regain control over his anger.

"Okay, okay. I just want to figure out what your issue is. I'm giving you chances with your Lady left and right, and you aren't even acknowledging that! You need to make some moves, Ian, if you wish to attract her attention."

Ian let out an agitated sigh and sat further back into his chair, wishing his weapons worked in this realm.

"Hey, I was a lot like you in my youth. I was half-mortal, quiet, dangerous and forever in the shadows. But then I met Morrigan. I met my Lady, and I knew I wanted to spend eternity with her. And so, here I am. A God. Still dangerous and in the shadows, but I'm having much, *much* more fun."

"And now you go around disturbing other people's lives?"

"The pay is horrible, but the hours and perks are out of this world. Literally."

The phone on the desk rang, and Loki reached over to pick it up.

Ian sighed in aggravation, looking around the deity's office.

"You need to have all the coffee makers begin to spout out toast? And all the hamburgers turned into veggieburgers and vice versa? Eh...I don't know, my schedule is pretty packed this week..." Loki caught the death glare Ian had aimed at him.

"You know what, Bob? I'll have to call you back later, I'm in the middle of a rather important meeting right now. Okay...lunch on Friday? That would be great. Okay Bob. Say hi to the wife and nymphs for me." Loki hung up the phone, meeting Ian's glare.

"Oo, look at the time," Loki glanced to his watch-less wrist, then back to Ian.

"I suppose I should let you get back. You have much work to do, many old friends to see. And make sure to give those employees of yours some time off."

Ian rose from his chair, and started towards the door of the oddly placed office.

"Oh Ian..." Loki beckoned.

Ian turned around to see Loki holding up a fluffy white bunny rabbit.

"You almost forgot this,"

Ian walked over and picked it up, placing it back into his pocket.

"Thanks,"

Never before had so much sarcasm been fit into one word by Ian Nottingham.

He found himself back in the mansion before he could even finish his happy thoughts of obliterating Loki. The three security guards were looking at him expectantly.

"I suppose the three of you should get the rest of the day..."

Ian felt an intense shock go through his body, emanating from the band he wore on his wrist. He made sure to take a deep breath and count to ten before continuing. He was about to suggest them taking *two* days off, when his eye caught a gleam from the band.

"Hell, just take the whole fucking week off," Ian said darkly, then walked out the door, the Wolfhound following in tow.

The three security guards exchanged rather astounded glances, not really sure what to make of it all. It seemed that Irons was not the only one acting out of character...

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A man with a black hair, a beard and sunglasses sat in an airport terminal, his nose buried in a newspaper. Jake looked over the newspaper cautiously, looking for any sign of Danny. He readjusted his fake beard, hoping it didn't fall out of place. He only had to hold out for three more hours, and he would be on a plane to San Francisco. He had managed to lose Danny somewhere in New Jersey and doubled back. He was now sitting in Terminal B of the JFK airport, counting his blessings. If Danny found him...Danny wasn't taking any prisoners. And Jake was fairly sure that the airport security would side with Danny...so, the sooner he got to California, the greater his odds of keeping his internal organs in the right places.

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Muahahahahahahaaaaaaaa. Excuse my evil scheming laugh, but I have many ideas for the next few chapters. Kenni gets to go on a plane ride...he. Chaos ensues, as usual. I do feel writers block approaching again, but if any ya'll have some random things you want me to fit in...I like a challenge. I think that's the entire reason I wrote this thing...well, any how, reviewreviewreviewreviewreviewreview!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::Makes a break for the television, but muse pulls her back and duct tapes her to the chair::

Slan Agat.

-X of the IrishRaven persuasion