A Tale Of Two Blades Chapter 21, a tv x-overs fanfic

Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis.

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Nottingham's Loft
New York, NY
Friday, August 3, 2001
6:30 am

"Ready to go?"

Lilianna nodded in response to Nottingham's question. Today the Vorschlag building was closed for his annual security upgrade. After a sweep and physical check of Irons' office, most of the day would be spent uploading new programming into the office's mainframe computers and running diagnostics. Something that only required his active participation for five minutes every couple hours. Nottingham had decided Lilianna would come with him and she had been more than willing.

Usually, he spent the time reading or running up and down the halls and the many flights of stairs for exercise, but this year would be different. They were bringing a picnic, and with Lilianna there, he knew he could never get bored. The plan was to show her around the building and eat their packed lunch on the roof of the building. Before leaving, they checked Bast's water and food.

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Nottingham steered the car into his reserved parking spot and cut the engine. They both climbed out of the luxury sedan, Nottingham retrieving the picnic basket from the trunk. Lilianna pushed the button when they reached the elevator bay. The arrow pointing up next to the middle elevator lit up and the doors slid open to reveal Kenneth Irons.

If he was as surprised to see her, as she was to see him, he hid it well.

"Miss DeCarlo," he greeted pleasantly, though of course the warmth of his tone didn't reach his eyes.

"Mr. Irons," Lilianna returned.

She and Nottingham were both wearing gloves so the cameras in the Vorschlag building wouldn't capture an image of the Witchblade rings, but she still had to fight not to hide her hand in her pocket.

"Was there something you needed me to do, Mr. Irons?" Nottingham asked.

His tone was nervous and Lilianna knew he hadn't expected his employer to be here to see her come in with him.

"No, Nottingham. I was simply faxing a contract to Japan I need back by tomorrow morning." A limo pulled up behind them and Irons stepped toward it, "Ah, here's my ride. You two have fun, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Irons climbed into the limo and was gone.

Lilianna shivered. "What wouldn't he do?" she asked in disgust. "And why was he so cheerful?"

"I don't know," Nottingham answered, concern tingeing his voice. But whatever it was, it couldn't have had to do with Lilianna if they were both still as free as they were. He turned to her and smiled in humor, "On either count."

Lilianna laughed and they boarded the elevator, getting off on the eleventh floor to begin the physical sweep.

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Kenneth Irons dialed his cell phone as soon as he was in his limo. One of his lesser underlings answered.

"Are you sure all the security cameras will stay on even if Nottingham turns them off?"

"Yes, Mr. Irons. We set them up exactly as you ordered. If he turns any of them off, the monitors in the Vorschlag building will turn off but the feed will be recorded in your office at your home."

"It better," Irons bit off before hanging up.

Would Nottingham feel the need to turn off the cameras since he knew that Irons had already seen Lilianna go in the building? Irons doubted that even love would make Nottingham do something so against his training, but it was always better to be on the safe side. One never knew when something unexpected would happen.

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An hour later, after setting up the first of the upgrade downloads, Nottingham and Lilianna found themselves on the roof of the Vorschlag building. Nottingham guided her to the edge of the north side, showing her his favorite view of the city.

"I don't suppose we should risk hacking into his files to find out what he's up to?" Lilianna asked as she stared out at the different buildings.

"No," Nottingham answered, watching her and not the view he had seen hundreds of times. "I set those systems in place myself. As soon as anyone attempts it, both Irons and myself are immediately notified. I always run the tests, so I know how good the system is."

Lilianna nodded and sighed.

A second later, her body swayed and fell forward. With a lightning fast move, Nottingham grabbed her and pulled her against him, away from the fall that would have killed even him. His heart pounded a mile a minute in his chest, and he knew that if she had fallen, he would have jumped off after her. Moving them both away from the edge of the building, he examined her for sign of injury, something to explain the near miss. There wasn't a mark on her.

Meeting her frightened eyes, he asked gruffly, "What just happened?"

"I don't know," she answered in a small voice. "I've never had a problem with heights before. One second I was fine and the next the world was spinning."

Nottingham frowned. "I don't think we should stay up here."

When Lilianna merely nodded her acceptance, Nottingham grew more worried. Was this the first stage of her eventual leave-taking of this time? Would the powers that be make her sick before she died or vanished or whatever it was that they were going to make her do? His stomach churned as he packed up their picnic and moved her back into the building. The dizzy spell appeared to have passed minutes later, but Nottingham stayed by her side the rest of the day and she didn't complain.

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It seemed to Lilianna that only a few seconds had passed after she closed her eyes that night before she opened them again, only to find herself back in the same field they had visited during the Periculum. Nottingham was standing beside her, Bast sitting at his feet. The cat chirped when the same blonde Wielder from last time appeared.

"The Periculum isn't over?" Nottingham asked.

"In a way it never will be for the two of you, but you have been fully accepted by your Blades, so there is no need to worry, that part of it is over," the woman said. "There are certain things I will be able to help you with over time, and when you have need of me, I will bring you here."

"Are you our Guardian, then?" Lilianna asked.

"No, your Guardian will appear when it is time. I can only help you here, in the Witchblade Realm. I have no connection to the world of the living. I am your Guide to the Realm."

"What shall we call you?" Lilianna looked down at Bast. "And why is it that we have a cat that is somehow connected to the Blade? We had a very vague vision yesterday."

"My name is Akantha. I can try to focus the vision for you if you'd like."

Nottingham and Lilianna nodded, and Akantha motioned them closer.

"Put your Witchblade hands in mine," she instructed.

They did as she asked. An internal tug seemed to pull the memory of the vision into Akantha's hands, and it took shape in the air before them. But this time, the hair and eyes were connected to two forms, young women in tunic-dresses that matched their purple eyes.

The women were identical except that one of them had black hair and the other white, and the black haired one was darker skinned. They both wore Witchblades and Bast sat between them. The ring of metal was even bigger than they had first thought. Behind the two women, it appeared the ring was at least 25 feet in diameter. Part of the ring started to spin and the vision ended.

"What was that?" Nottingham rasped.

"Who were they?" Lilianna added, her own voice a little rough.

She guessed that using that much power when they weren't yet used to doing things in this Realm had affected them. Though the memory of how the twins looked was already fading, there had been something familiar about them, despite the fact that something about them had struck her as being Egyptian.

Akantha tilted her head as if listening to something. "They are members of the Tribe. Very important members. Bast is connected to them. She is not an ordinary cat. That is all I can tell you. Their identities will be lost to you again very soon because of circumstances not yet in play, which is why the vision was so vague."

"Thank you."

Akantha smiled and nodded.

Bast chirped again and Lilianna felt her eyes close of their own volition. When she reopened them, she was back in bed beside Nottingham. Bast was lying on her left arm just above the Witchblade, purring loudly. Nottingham reached over and picked up the kitten. Getting out of bed he carried Bast to the couch and deposited her back in her towel nest.

"No cat hair in the bed," he admonished.

Bast simply looked at him with half-closed eyes and yawned. Shaking his head, Nottingham came back to the bed and lay down beside Lilianna.

"I have already forgotten what they looked like," he told her.

"Me, too," she confirmed. "But from what Akantha said I think we'll know them when it's time. Maybe it was just the Witchblade's way of making sure we keep Bast."

Nottingham made a noise in agreement and pulled her close to him. Lilianna wrapped her arms around him and snuggled closer still.

"I need you," Lilianna pleaded softly after a few silent minutes had passed.

They had gone to bed earlier than usual and just fallen asleep because he had still been worried about her dizzy spell.

He gazed at her in silence for a minute before asking lightly, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Kiss me and I'll be perfect," she answered, pressing herself against him provocatively.

Nottingham groaned softly and gave in to her request and the demands of his own body.