A/N: I upped the rating a bit, 'cause it just has too much blood for kids. Fear my muses, people. They need reviews too, otherwise they go on strike. Help me here.
Lessons
As the alarm started blared through the apartment, a sleepy head appeared from underneath the blankets and pillow. Slamming a hand on the alarm clock, effectively silencing it, Sara Pezzini played with the thought of going back to sleep, when someone knocked on her door two times. When she didn't answer or made a move towards her door, the person started knocking on her door incessantly.
"Alright, I'm coming!" She called; making whomever it was knocking on her door at this hour stop for a moment, before taking up his knocking again. Sighing, Sara got up and walked towards the door.
Opening it, she was met by her partner.
'A very awake partner', she mentally added.
"What is it Jake?" she asked, opening the door wider, so he could walk into her apartment. "Tell me what was so important you had to come knocking on my door at…" she glanced at a nearby clock, "six thirty in the morning." She followed him into the kitchen, where he was rummaging through her fridge. "Surely, it wasn't because you were hungry."
Jake straightened up, closing the fridge. "Why is it that this thing is always stocked with great food?" He asked, leaning against the counter.
Sara sighed. "Jake…" she started, not in the mood for games.
"Alright, I just dropped by to pick you up. Someone complained about a lot of noise last night. When two cops came by to check it out, they found something. Apparently, there's been a murder." He said, reaching for an apple.
"You could've called…" Sara started, but Jake interrupted her.
"I did. Nobody answered, so I figured I might as well drop by to wake you. Your apartment is on the way there, so it would be quicker if I just picked you up anyway." He spoke with his mouth full.
Sara sighed. "Wait downstairs while I get dressed, I'll be there in a few minutes." She answered, already moving towards the bathroom.
Jake followed her with her eyes, mumbling, "Sure," as he watched her disappear in the bathroom. Taking a last bite from his apple, he tossed the remains in the trashcan, before heading towards the door.
True to her word, Sara was sitting in the car five minutes later, the Witchblade securely on her wrist. Jake handed her a cup of coffee, which she gratefully accepted.
"Do you know what to expect?" Sara asked, sipping from her coffee.
Jake shook his head. "No, they didn't gave me any details, except that it was gruesome." He replied, watching his partner from the corner of his eye.
Sara smiled and Jake didn't know if it was because of his choice of his words or if it was something else.
"What?" he asked, glancing at her for a few seconds, before looking back at the road.
"Nothing." Sara replied, drinking the last of her coffee. "It's just, you make it sound like it is some bad horror movie." She said.
Jake grinned in reply as he turned left into an ally.
Red and blue lights were illuminating the ally, since it was still dark outside. Near the wall, they could see a white blanket, covering a body. Getting out of the car, Sara could make out another blanket near the opposite wall.
Frowning, she walked to one of the cops. She didn't look behind her to see Jake following her to the group of cops talking to eachother.
"What happened?" Sara asked, glancing at the hidden body. "Two murders?"
One of the cops looked at her. "No, there's just one body. The thing the other cloth is covering over there," he pointed to the second white cloth covering something, "is in fact an arm. The body we found is missing one of his arms and his head." He reached for his flashlight and, turning it on, he showed pools of red. "There's blood everywhere, so watch where you are going." The cop turned to the walls on one side. "Blood on one of the walls too, so I'd say that's where the guy was murdered." Sara could see the wall glittering where the light reflected on the red fluid.
"You guys haven't found his head yet?" Jake asked, walking towards the body, carefully avoiding the pools of blood.
The cop Sara had been talking to shook his head. "No, we haven't. They're still searching the trash containers nearby, but so far, we've found nothing." He turned to Sara again. "We took fingerprints of the body." He said.
Sara nodded and walked towards the cloth covering the arm and kneeled next to it. Uncovering the arm, the stench invaded her nostrils. Looking away for a moment, she breathed in the cleaner air, before looking back. Seeing nothing that could help her solve this murder, she dropped the cloth and was joined by Jake.
"You should see the body," Jake spoke, having seen the dismembered arm for a few seconds, before Sara had covered it again. "The guy died a painful death. He's got cuts all over his body and a huge stab wound in his side." Jake informed her. She noticed he looked a little paler than when he had picked her up at her apartment.
Sara nodded and standing up, she walked towards the body. Expecting the foul smell, she closed her nose before uncovering the body. Almost immediately, her ears were filled with screams of pain. Before her, she saw the man breathing, alive. He still had his head and both arms. He seemed to be backing away from her when she reached for him. He looked as if he was seeing Death itself.
Sara tried to look behind her, but felt she couldn't moved at all. Her heart skipped a beat when a dark form passed through her, holding a large sword. She couldn't make out the features of his face, because the form had its back turned to her and didn't seem to notice her presence at all.
Sara could hear the man pleading, begging for his life. The words sounded blurred in her ears. When she heard the first scream, she wanted to close her eyes, but felt she couldn't. Her eyes were drawn to the blood dripping form the sharp blade to the ground, when she suddenly saw another form, coming closer.
Time slowed as the two forms moved closer and started to circle eachother and Sara felt the Witchblade starting to hum on her arm. When the darkened form moved aside, she noticed the other person had a sword as well. She could hear the two speak, argue with eachother, but Sara couldn't understand the words.
She wanted the vision to end, but she couldn't do anything, except watch as the two forms attacked eachother. She glanced at the man, now bleeding to death slowly as the two forms fought eachother with strength. The blades connected and for a moment, the ally was illuminated by the sparks flying of their blades whenever they connected. Still, Sara couldn't identify either of them.
Her eyes were drawn to the victim again and now she could make out the gashes on his naked body. Blood was pouring from the wounds and the man was whimpering from the pain the wounds were causing.
When a loud cry rang through the night, Sara looked up at the battle taking place not far from her. One arm lay severed near a wall; the other's sword had connected with the dark form's arm and cut it beneath the elbow. He said something to the other, who started to disappear in a forming mist, leaving Sara alone with the victim and the murderer, who was now turning back to admire his work.
Sara's surroundings began to fade, but not before she could witness how the dark person raised his sword high and lowered it on the innocent victim's arm. His cry rang in her ears as someone shook her.
"Sara… are you okay?"
She looked up in the worried face of Jake. She was still kneeling by the uncovered body and she glanced at it for a few seconds. Her vision was still going through the back of her head.
"I'm okay, Jake. I was…" she thought for a moment, "I was just thinking. Could you take fingerprints from the other hand?" she asked, looking up at Jake. "Just to be sure." She added silently.
Her partner nodded and left her with the body. Closing her eyes, she could hear the sounds of her vision in her ears. Then, with a final glance at the murdered man, she got up and walked back to Jake's car.
Leaning against the hood, she took a few gulps of fresh air.
"Sometimes it's good to be dead." Danny said behind her. "You don't have to smell the air to know it's bad." He said, coming to stand next to her.
"I don't know, Danny. I always hate the weird ones." Sara responded, looking at her new partner taking fingerprints like she had asked.
"Listen to what it is telling you." Danny said and before Sara could ask what he meant with that, he had already disappeared.
"Hey, ready to go? There's nothing to find here. The cops who found the body took a statement from the caller already." Jake said as he walked towards her. He held up the fingerprints he had taken and handed them over to Sara. "I got the fingerprints like you asked."
Sara nodded and got in the car. "Let's go."
************
From a rooftop, he watched the two drive away. He had studied to woman as she examined the corpse. Satisfied with his results, knowing he had found the one he had been looking for, he decided he should follow the woman. Soon it would be time for the final confrontation and the chosen one needed to take her place once more. It would be like it had been again.
Looking down at his new arm, he scratched the scar. The other had hurt him this time, but it wouldn't happen again. After the battle, he would rule the world once more.
Alright, I'm expecting reviews, so if you would be kind enough to click on the box below and write something in return, I'd love you in a platonic way. Scream at me if you want to, I'll still love you in a platonic way. So, uhh, let me know if I need to write more. Yeah, that's it. Bye.
PS: Chapter 2 will come when the number of reviews reaches my age. That'll be 18.