A Tale Of Two Blades Chapter 36, a tv x-overs fanfic

Author's Note: Italics signify thought or emphasis.

Here it is, the final chapter. Hope you all enjoyed my story. See the final author's note at the bottom of this chapter for information on the next installment in the saga (when I begin it will depend upon response, so please review). Thanks!

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The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Early afternoon

"Have you heard the rumors?"

A brunette woman with ice blue eyes looked up from her computer screen to glare at her lackey, a short, thin, balding man who stuttered when he was nervous. He was one of two men who were the closest things to friends or family that she'd had until very recently, but years of habit made her snap at him all the same.

"And what rumors would those be, Broots? I can't keep up with all of them in this god forsaken place."

"One of the m-members of the Tri-triumverate is coming here, to the Centre, M-miss Parker. He's going to step up the search for Jarod."

For a moment her blue eyes revealed her pain, and she almost looked panicked before the Ice Queen mask was firmly back in place. Miss Parker stood suddenly and left the room, snapping her fingers for a fidgeting Broots to follow.

"We have to tell Sydney."

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Sara and Jake's Apartment
New York City, New York
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
Early evening

Sara smiled at her daughter and son as she brought a tray of sandwiches from Jake's kitchen to the enormous living room. Lily, as Christian called her, and Joseph were sitting on one end of the biggest couch, Christian sprawled over the rest of it with his head in Lily's lap, struggling to stay awake as he continued to watch his son and daughter sitting across the room on the other couch with Jake. Lily stroked one hand down the side of his head over and over, and every once in awhile Christian reached up to grab her wrist and place a reverent kiss on her palm.

Sara could hardly believe he was the same man who had been tailing and helping her for the past year. He no longer looked at the ground all the time, meeting people's gazes head on. Though he had yet to touch anyone other than his family, there was scarcely a time when he wasn't in some sort of physical contact with his wife, and he had earlier hugged Dani and James. And as for his clothes, well, he was currently wearing a pair of blue jeans with holes in the knees and a white muscle tee that read "Surfers do it wet." Even the lettering on the shirt was blue, leaving the only thing black on him his hair.

Jake had lent both Christian and Lily some of his old clothes to wear after they had taken a shower together in the spare room. Lily had a fuller figure than Sara and wouldn't fit into any of Sara's clothes since Sara had a tendency to wear things that were formfitting. Lily was wearing a man's white undershirt and a pair of hot pink silk boxers. Sara had raised an eyebrow at Jake when he had taken them out of a drawer, but he had just smiled lopsidedly.

How she could have fallen for the former surfer still puzzled her at times. But she did love him. Jake was a good man, and he would be a wonderful father to both of their children, once he got over the shock of having a daughter who would never be physically born and was only a year younger than him. At the moment he was leaning back and staring at the ceiling, a beer in his hand.

He had yet to sip from the bottle, and Sara was amazed that he was taking all the supernatural mumbo jumbo so well. She herself was still getting used to everything, and she had been dealing with the Witchblade for a long time already. She was also glad his connections to the FBI were finally out in the open. Everyone in the room had secrets of some kind, and Sara had a hunch she wasn't the only one who wondered who or what Eve really was.

"We need to go back soon," Joseph broke the silence that had settled over the room as everyone ate. "Back to our own time. People will start to worry."

Jake turned to his future son, "Will you be our only kid, other than Lily?"

Joseph looked at Eve where she stood in a corner of the room and she shook her head imperceptibly.

Joseph blinked in response and told his father, "I can't tell you that. The only reason the Powers That Be let us come with Eve, other than the fact that the three of us already exist inside of our mothers, was to prevent grief and perhaps destruction."

Lily and Christian looked at each other tenderly and Sara knew that neither one of them would have wanted to go on without the other. She had no doubt in her mind that her son-in-law had been saved by Eve. There would have been nothing any doctor in the world could have done for him. And she had, by extension, saved Lilianna.

Wanting to again thank the woman, Sara instead asked, "Are you from the future? Do we know your parents?"

Lilianna laughed, a soft, musical sound, and Eve glared at her in a way that spoke of exasperation.

Answering Sara, she stated, "My parents have been dead for nearly twelve thousand years, and no, I'm not from the future, though I have been there. I am what is known as a Time Jumper. I go where and when I'm needed. But this is actually the correct time for me to be in. I'm also an Immortal."

Jake had started choking on his first sip of beer when Eve said the words "twelve thousand", and he and Sara turned to stare at Eve with their mouths hanging open. She looked away from them and shook her head. Sara wondered if she had anyone who accepted her completely for who she was.

Just then, a blue line appeared in thin air and a dark-haired girl stepped through. She lifted perfectly arched brows at the group and smiled at Eve. Sara could tell she didn't smile much from the stiff way her lips moved. It reminded her of the way Christian had first smiled in her presence.

"What is it, Faith?" Eve asked worriedly. Faith looked around the room again, and Eve hastened to reassure her, "It's all right, they're friends."

"Mara's back from the Realms, and she's in love with Angel, but for some reason she doesn't think he loves her, but he does. He was trying to go after her, but the Oracles called him away."

Lilianna frowned at the names Mara and Angel, but said nothing.

"So, Mara has finally found her mate. That may mean all hell's going to break loose sooner than I thought. As soon as I bring Dani, James and Joseph back to where they belong, I'll meet you in Sunnydale."

Faith nodded and sliced at the air with an ornate dagger that Sara hadn't noticed she was holding. She stepped into the blue line that resulted, and she and the line disappeared. The future generation stood and hugs were exchanged all around, Christian even hugging his not-yet-born brother-in-law.

Lilianna pulled her daughter aside while the others were exchanging good-byes and asked for only Dani to hear, "Do the two of you have Witchblades?"

Dani nodded, "Yes, we're part of the tribe and so is Joe. Eve made us leave them at home for some reason."

Lilianna hesitated and asked, "Do you know about…your aunt?"

"Susanna is fine. She sort of lives next door to you. If everything turns out the way it does in our timeline, and there's still a great chance it won't, then it will all work out the way its supposed to, Mom."

Lilianna and Dani hugged one more time, the yet-unborn woman rejoining her companions. Then Eve raised her right arm and a swirling blue vortex opened. After the four travelers went through, it closed.

"Well, if I ever say my life is boring from now on, you all have permission to kick me."

Lilianna smiled at her father's words and Nottingham looked at his father-in-law with a gleam in his eye.

"Strike that, Lily and Sara have permission, but not you. You've already had your turn. And the two of you can't use that thing against me."

"The Witchblade, Jake," Sara corrected gently as she sat in his lap. "It's a part of all of our lives, so you'll just have to get used to it."

Jake made a disgruntled sound and, when Christian yawned, offered to the other couple, "You guys are welcome to stay in the guest room tonight."

"Thanks, Dad, but no," Lilianna refused. "We need to get home and feed Bast."

"The cat with the bald spots?" Sara asked, looking incredulous.

Lilianna laughed, "What's really going to blow you away is that Christian is the one who brought her home."

Sara's mouth fell open and Christian scowled. The four of them stood up and Jake and Christian shook hands. Lilianna hugged both her parents. When Christian turned to her, Sara held out a hand and was further shocked when he enveloped her in a hug.

He whispered for only her to hear, "Thank you. For your daughter, for my children. For everything."

Sara nodded with tears in her eyes, touched. Jake stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her as they watched Lilianna and Christian leave the apartment.

He whispered in her ear, "I didn't think I would, but I like him. He loves her very much." He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck. "Let's go read our son a bedtime story."

She turned in his arms and gave him a puzzled look. He scooped her up against his chest and began walking toward their bedroom.

He looked down at her stomach and began in an officious voice, "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess who was very strong and thought she didn't need a prince. Then she met a handsome prince from a far away land who liked to ride waves on a giant tongue depressor…"

Sara's rich laughter echoed through the apartment and into the hallway, reaching Lilianna and Christian as they got onboard the elevator. They looked at each other and smiled. They had both been worried about how Jake would react to everything, but things were back to normal, or as normal as they got for their strange little family.

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The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Thursday, August 16, 2001

"Syd," Miss Parker coaxed, "come with us to greet the new head honcho. If we impress him, maybe he'll let us have more power over the search for Jarod."

Sydney looked at her calmly. "If he removes Mr. Raines, and all the other people you consider obstacles, from impeding our search, would you really turn Jarod in?"

Miss Parker flinched.

"Syd, she has to," Broots answered for her. "The only way she can ever leave the Centre is if she brings him in. You know that."

But Sydney just continued to wait for Miss Parker's answer.

Finally, she whispered, "I have to, Syd."

Sydney sighed. "Fine, let's go wait for the new boss. But know that I will never again help to trap Jarod. You can find someone else to be bait."

Miss Parker straightened and Broots shivered when all the light went out of her eyes. He had been working with her for six years, but her Ice Queen persona still terrified him. She used it less and less now, and he knew it was mostly thanks to all the help Jarod had given her with the things that meant the most to her, her mother's life and death and their shared brother, Ethan.

Broots followed Miss Parker and Sydney to the lobby of the Centre. They maneuvered themselves to a position near the Tower elevator. Only Miss Parker had the authority to go into the Tower without being summoned and then only to visit her father, but they knew the man they were waiting for would come down to inspect the rest of the Centre. The men in power always did, getting the lay of the land they now considered theirs. And if the rumors they had been hearing about this guy were true, the land and everything on it truly were his. The man they were waiting for was rumored to be the head of the Triumverate.

The three of them stood facing each other, talking softly, but all of them kept an eye trained on the elevator door. Ten minutes later, the doors slid open to reveal a white-blonde-haired man who appeared to be somewhere in his early forties. A man dressed in Army fatigues shadowed him. The new head honcho stepped from the elevator and took immediate notice of their little group, making a beeline for them.

Miss Parker stepped toward him, half to show that she was the leader of the little group, and half to protect the two men behind her.

"I see the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree," the man quipped, raking Miss Parker with his gaze, head to foot and back again. "Nice of the three of you to come see me on your own, but I have a meeting with Raines, Parker and Lyle to get to right now. I'll drop by your sub-level later. I'm Kenneth Irons, and the three of you can expect sweeping changes to happen around here. Now, if you'll excuse me."

When Mr. Irons had disappeared from view, Miss Parker spun back around. Sydney was frowning thoughtfully, and Broots just looked confused. The voices in her head were all screaming at once, but she blocked them out as she had done for most of her life. She wandered back down to her office, Broots and Sydney following close behind.

They waited silently together, and an hour later word reached the sub-levels that Raines had been sent to renewal wing and Mr. Lyle had been reassigned to one of the top-secret projects on sub-level twelve. Mr. Parker was still firmly entrenched in his Chairman position. Of whom they would now be reporting to, there was no word. They would have to wait for Mr. Irons to get around to them.

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The Nottinghams' Loft
New York, NY
Tuesday, August 28, 2001

Marking her place in What to Expect When You're Expecting, Lilianna picked up the shrilly-ringing telephone. "Hello?"

"It's Eve. Are you ready to help bring down Glory?"

"Is it time?" she asked, sitting up straighter.

Eve gave her an address in Sunnydale, California for a store called The Magic Box.

"There are a few prophecies that need to be worked through first, and you and Christian are part of it. Invite your parents, too."

With that, she hung up.

Lilianna set down the phone and turned to her husband, "Christian, looks like we'll all be going on that trip to California sooner than we thought."

He looked up from the floor where he was dragging a piece of string for Bast, who now looked normal, her bald patches grown out. She was still as tiny as the day Christian had found her, though.

"Is it time for the Created One to fight Glory?"

"Eve didn't say anything about the Created One, but it must be coming. We're a part of whatever leads up to it. I have to call Mom and Dad."

She turned back towards the phone, but Christian's voice stopped her from picking it up.

"They're on duty tonight, I'll go tell them. You pack."

He pressed a kiss to her mouth and dropped to one knee quickly to press his lips to her just barely rounded belly before leaving.

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Sara and Jake faced down the two thugs. The men were armed with automatics, and all Sara and Jake had were their 9 mms. Their back up was late for the fourth straight time and Sara was seriously considering having Dante killed. Maybe her son-in-law could do it for her. Just as the two hoods were about to fire, a black shape dropped from somewhere above them in the warehouse and clunked the two criminals' heads together.

The two men dropped to the floor and Christian smiled lopsidedly at Jake and Sara, "Looked like you needed some help."

"Thanks," Sara said dryly. "What are you really doing here?"

"Our trip has been moved up. Eve called."

Jake looked worriedly at his pregnant girlfriend. But he held his tongue for a moment, knowing how badly she wanted a shot at Glory. Knowing, too, that she would let nothing happen to their unborn son.

"Let's take these guys in and tell Dante we're leaving for a while. There's no telling how long we'll be."

Sara sent her partner a dazzling smile, and Christian gave him an understanding look. They were both in the same circumstances where the women in their lives were concerned. Pregnant, headstrong, and impossible to say no to.

THE END…FOR NOW!

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Final Author's Note: The saga will continue with the next installment "Curses, Prophecies, and Champions" and will most likely be listed under TV Shows under Crossovers. The first part of that story will overlap this one at first, telling the story of Mara's entrance into the Sunnydale scene and her meeting Angel, which was hinted at in ATOTB. There is a lot to be told in the next installment, so the set-up may end up being slightly different, with "parts" as opposed to just straight "chapters" like this story.

For anyone who is wondering, the TV shows that will be included in the entire saga are (in alphabetical order) Angel, Beastmaster, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dark Angel, Highlander, Pretender, Stargate SG-1 and Witchblade. Movies include the Mummy movies (only a single character), Underworld and a cameo appearance of some characters from the Blade trilogy (actually just the first two movies). I think that's all of them, lol.