Majin Gojira: Actually, doing some research I found out that the Witchblade (according to the show) can heal, as well as retard injury in critical situations. In that case, Sara would still be able to heal quite quickly. As to whether or not she would fair better than Buffy is up for debate. By their next encounter in Chapter IX, I expected them to still be in considerable, if not manageable, pain.

I wanted to thank everyone for reading my story. Again, the fact you guys took time out to do so is much obliged.

7:55 am, Thursday – 11th Precinct

Sara had arrived at the precinct only slightly relieved that there was no incident last night. It was only slightly relieving because no murder last night or this morning meant the killer might have been planning on tonight. It was also slightly disturbing, since it meant that whoever was doing this didn't see the police as a threat. That part just made things worse.

"Morning, Pez," said Jake, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Danny and I are going to try and search for the most likely targets. We're sending a black-and-white over near Ms. Carlson's place, just in case."

"Thanks, Jake. Any new tips on the case?"

"Nope. Dante's getting pretty frustrated. No leads, no tips. It's like this person just swept in and started owning the place."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Let's just do the best we can to stop him before he gets the fifth heart."

"You don't believe in this 'spell' stuff, do you?"

Sara knew more about supernatural things than she ever let on, but for the sake of argument, she gave the best explanation she could. "I just want to stop this guy from butchering someone else, spell or not."

After a few seconds of silence, Sara decided she would check up on her new 'acquaintances'. "Jake, I'm going to check out some informants, see if anyone can shed some light on things."

"You want me along, Pez?"

"Nah. Besides, these aren't the types that like too many cops around if you catch my drift."

"Got it," Jake said dejectedly. "I'll call if anything comes up."

"Thanks, Jake." As Sara ran off, Jake looked at her with a longing. He had always felt like she kept he and Danny out of her life as much as possible, as if it was more than enough to have them work with her. It wasn't like she hated them; it was more like she saw them as an inconvenience, something that she was forced to deal with. Sure they got along and hung out a couple of times, but they never really connected. 'Odd-men out' was given a new meaning when it came to them.

Sara had seen Jake's face before she left. She knew both Danny and he had tried to connect with her as friends, but she kept them at arm's length. Her life as it was now didn't permit close relationships. Or that's what she told herself every day. Her dad died, her friends died, even Danny died, though he never knew it. She didn't want her actions, especially if they concerned the Witchblade, to be the death of the people she cared about the most. And if Jake had felt anything toward her other than a professional relationship, that would make things even harder. What if...?

"No, Sara. You don't need to be thinking about this right now," she said to herself. "Too much at stake." After dialing the number to get Rupert Giles' location, she slipped on her helmet, started her motorcycle, and sped away.


8:20 am, Thursday – Slayer Base HQ

Willow had been up for about fifteen minutes. Sipping the steaming hot cup of coffee, she was sticking pins on a map of New York, calculating the best bets for the killer to strike. Well, 'calculating' was misleading. She was, in fact, using the time-honored tradition of 'best guess' and using it to its fullest.

Giles had already been up. He had made the coffee for everyone, but some, like him, needed it more than others. Buffy was still asleep from last night's patrol. She hadn't come up with any new information and time was running out. The killer was planning something and New York City would be the first victim if this person succeeded. Hopefully, Detective Pezzini would have something new for them. She had called earlier and was coming over, no doubt to grill them on their progress. He hoped Buffy would stay asleep for awhile. That way, she and Detective Pezzini wouldn't have to see each other and they wouldn't make Giles regret that Sunnydale didn't swallow him whole.

"So, when is Detective Pezzini getting here?" Willow asked.

"She should be arriving soon. Hopefully, she'll share some more information with us, but I'm betting she only wants to grill us on what we know."

"I just hope Buffy stays asleep."

"Me too," replied Giles, sipping his cup. "No need to bring charges of assault on a police officer to our doorstep."

"You know she hates this arrangement, us showing our cards while all we know is that the detective has a weird, funky gauntlet."

'I know she doesn't like it, Willow," Giles said. "But we have to do this for the good of the mission, despite whether or not Buffy likes it. Then again, that explanation has gotten me in trouble before."

"Right. The 'Spike' issue." Willow hesitated, but then spoke. "I know why you did it, Giles... but I still have to ask."

"I genuinely thought Spike would be a danger to us. But it wasn't just that." Giles took in a deep breath before talking. Willow knew that Giles only got like this when he had something kind of personal to say.

"Buffy has grown so much over the years. It's like watching a daughter blossom. But the side effect of watching her come into her own was watching her not need me anymore. I know we've had this conversation before, Willow, but now she really has become an independent creature. When I left before, I took solace in the fact that the Council still needed me. But with the Council being, well, myself and a few others scattered about, my role seemed diminished. I truly thought there was a danger in Spike, but I also wanted to prove to myself that I was still useful. Now Buffy and I seem to be indifferent to each other at best."

"But it isn't just you, Giles. In a way, we all kind of let her down. I mean, we tossed her out of the house at a critical moment. Sure, things happened and we were all emotional at the time, but I think she's been distant lately because of it."

"But, you didn't betray her trust," Giles said. "You disagreed and overruled her. I intentionally misled her with the Spike fiasco. A person she supposedly trusted. It'll take some time to rebuild that trust."

"Still, she'll get over it," Willow said. But she knew that trying to get Giles to of this mode was impossible. One, because he could be stubborn, and two, because he was right. She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't materialize. She sat in her chair in silence, looking down at the floor, hoping the tension would break.

"Well, shall we get to the research?" Giles said.

"Yeah," Willow said, quickly. Anything to get their minds off of the subject.

Little did both of them realize that a wide-awake Buffy was listening in from her room by the door. She realized she had been giving Giles the cold shoulder lately, but what he did still made her feel like he wasn't giving her enough credit. Sure he loved her idea of the multiple-Slayer gig, but she also knew that he would resort to questionable actions if he felt they were justified. But she was a Slayer; she had to do things she thought was right also.

The Scoobies and the at-the-time Potentials didn't understand that concept when she wanted to go back to the winery. But at the time, she figured out what most people never did. As a matter of fact, only Spike, Angel, and especially Riley probably had an idea of what she was going through. She had learned it a while ago, with Riley and the Initiative, and from her own death. She had learned that to lead, you had to be willing to make sacrifices. You had to be willing to put other people at Death's door in order to accomplish a mission. If she had tried to save everyone, they would have all died. If some of them had to perish in order to let the rest succeed, even if Buffy herself had to die, then she would have done it the same way. Riley had once told her, back when they were still together, that the generals of the Allied Forces had to decide to send to invade Normandy knowing that the Germans would kill many of them. He said it was hard for them to do, but it was necessary to save the world. because if they hadn't, World War II would have turned out very differently and millions more would have suffered. If Buffy had known that a few years later she would be making the same gamble with young girls' lives, she would have tried to retire for real.

At that moment, Buffy started to weep. She knew that her duties would never be over until she died... again. The burden was reduced, but now she had to contend with being the leader of an entire global army of young girls with extraordinary responsibilities thrust upon them. Girls whose lives would never be the same, and a leader willing to put them in harm's way. Gathering herself, she wiped the tears from her eyes and decided to shower and get ready. The questionable cop with the glorified accessory was coming over and there was absolutely no way she was going to be seen like this in front of her.

Buffy exited her room trying to look as haggard as possible, so no one would know she was listening in. She greeted Giles and Willow on her way to the bathroom, who returned her greeting with their own. She took a short but soothing hot shower and felt for a few moments that the last couple of days were just a dream. But she knew they weren't and quickly exited the bathroom with her robe on and went into her room to get dressed. It was then when she heard the buzzer ring.

Giles had gone to answer it, knowing who it was. Pressing the button he replied, "Detective Pezzini?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Good. I'll buzz you in."

Sara had been surprised when she had been let into a building with an abandoned lobby. The building was a little old, but could have been functional with the right amount of work done to it. The place looked like it was a hotel in its former life, but everything was bare. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, except some stairs leading upward. Okay, a little weird, she thought. Brushing aside the thought, she went upstairs to the room Rupert Giles had told her about.

"Who's coming, Giles?" Buffy asked, fully clothed and already knowing the visiting party.

"Detective Pezzini. I know you don't like her, but could you at least try to be civil for now? No assaulting."

"For now," Buffy replied. Just then there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" asked Giles.

"It's me, Detective Pezzini."

After undoing the lock and opening the door, they were greeted by a look of confusion. "You knew I was coming up. Why'd you ask who I was?"

"Well, Detective, when you're in our line of business you tend to be extra cautious," Giles replied. He stood there, silent at the detective.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" she asked.

"No."

She looked at him strangely and then realized what he was doing. "Right," she replied. Taking the initiative she walked in, taking in the scattered boxes of pizza and takeout. She noticed he seemed to ease a little after she had done so.

"Would you like any coffee?" Giles asked.

"No. I just want to know if you have any info," Sara replied.

"Direct, aren't you?" said Buffy sarcastically.

"Comes with the job."

"Well, Detective, we've been going over the possibilities all night and Willow has made some progress on where the killer could strike. Other than that, we don't have much," Giles replied.

"So you guys got 'possibilities', huh?" Sara was, suffice it to say, unimpressed. They could tell it in her voice. "Mr. Giles, I know a bunch of folks over at the precinct who could come up with 'possibilities'. I've met a profiler who came up with 'possibilities'. And all anyone seems to have are 'possibilities'. What I need is something I can work with. What I need is something I can go investigate and apprehend. Or at least follow up on."

"We're doing the best we can, Ms. Pezzini, but unfortunately we're working with limited resources."

"Aren't you guys supposed to be experts at this stuff?"

Giles was becoming agitated now, and Willow knew it. It was one thing to be disappointed with a lack of results. But questioning his expertise and experience was something completely different. He answered sternly, "Detective Pezzini, recent events have reduced our research capabilities. We are doing the best we can with what we have. If that is not enough, then I suggest you arrest us now and be done with it."

Sara saw where her attitude was getting her and backed off. "Okay, look, I want this guy gone as much as you, probably even more. It's just that things are starting to spiral. If things get any worse, we could have a panic on our hands on top of whatever 'evil thing' is coming."

"We're going to research everything we can today, Detective. You could help us. Buffy was planning on checking out some other possible sources. If we all divide up the work, we might find out more about the killer or the next victim."

Buffy was not pleased at all... and she voiced it. "Giles, are you sure? Some of these 'sources' may be a little out of her league."

"Huh," Sara huffed. "You sure weren't." Though technically Sara had lost the fight they had been in, she wasn't about to give any ground to the girl, not by a long shot.

"How's the wrist?" Buffy shot back.

"Fine. How's the knee?"

"Peachy. Who knew a woman with the 'Witchblade' could deliver such a wimpy kick?" Buffy said. She intentionally used the name of Detective Pezzini's weapon to throw her off. If they were going to go on a power struggle, she at least wanted to show the detective that they still had some tricks up their sleeve.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.

"Where did you hear that name?" Sara asked. She was shocked at the notion that someone else knew what she had on her, especially since they didn't have a clue about it when they first met.

"We've got our sources. It's a shame you don't."

"Ladies, please!" Giles interrupted. "For right now we're on the same side. Can we at least try and act like it? Detective Pezzini, would you be willing to help us out?"

Sara thought about it for a moment. If they knew of things and places she didn't, the information gathered could possibly make all the difference. The only drawback was working with 'Blondie'. Seeing the merits of the plan, though, she caved in. "Sure. Just let me call the precinct and we'll get started."

As Sara exited the room to make the call, Giles approached Buffy. She knew he was upset, but she made a tactical decision. Now Detective Pezzini would know they weren't at her mercy. Okay, so they only got a name and one or two capabilities, but she didn't know that. And that would make her more cautious.

"Buffy, was there really a need to share that bit of info? Now she'll be more guarded," Giles said.

"Giles, I just wanted to let her know that we weren't helpless. She'll at least think twice about strong-arming us."

"But we don't know how she'll react," Willow said. "What if she's not that stable or that thing has a mind of its own?"

"I'll take that chance. Right now I want to get this guy and get out of here."

"I'll second that," Willow agreed.

Sara had made the call. She told Danny and Jake to tell Dante she would be out following a lead. She was worried about the decision she made to work with these people, especially since they seemed to know within a short amount of time what she bore on her wrist. She knew someone gave them the info, and she was more than certain that someone was Nottingham. As to why, she had no clue. But what she did know was that she needed to make progress on this case soon, because if she didn't, the only thing she would be investigating would be where her next paycheck was coming from.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, she thought.