To all my readers and reviewers: Especially Arekanderu, Little Drusilla, General Mac, and Majin Gojira. Your reviews and advice have made these stories even better. Hopefully you guys will still be reading by the end.

1:52 am, Friday - NYU Downtown Hospital

Nearly fifteen minutes had passed since Sara left the hospital. The four women had been trying to reach her on her cell phone, but she wasn't answering. Kennedy told them what Dr. Prakesh had said and how Sara reacted to it. Willow felt a pang of sadness at how Sara took the blame for something that wasn't her fault. They all feared, particularly Willow, what Sara would try to do in her undeserved guilt-trip and unnecessary vengeance quest. She of all people knew that when power and revenge mixed, the results could be disastrous. She had no clue how far the cop was willing to go to get Amy and wanted to stop her before they all found out.

"What about Buffy?" Rona asked.

"She's flying in on one of The Immortal's private jets," Willow replied. "She should be here in the afternoon hours."

"Are you going to tell her about Sara's plan?" Kennedy asked.

"Maybe. I'm hoping I can find Sara before she gets to it. If Buffy finds out…"

"She'll act like Buffy and go ballistic," Rona preempted. "And we'll have yet another wonderful episode of 'Superhero Deathmatch'.

"That's what I'm hoping to avoid," Willow said. Closing her eyes she concentrated on finding the detective. She and the top brass at Slayer headquarters decided to have Willow place a psychic link between everyone there, for the purpose of finding each other in case an emergency happened. It also let her know who was alive and who wasn't. She was careful to make sure the link didn't allow anyone to read their minds, since she wanted to respect everyone's privacy. Nevertheless, the idea had proved invaluable.

She stretched out with her power, trying to locate the woman in hopes of convincing her of the recklessness of her plan. She was close… very close. She could tell Sara was on the subway. She was about to pinpoint her location until…

"Ah!" Willow yelled out, grabbing her head. The pain wasn't serious, but it was enough.

"What is it?" Kennedy asked worryingly.

"Nothing, just a backlash of power," Willow replied, holding her head. "She severed the link just as I was about to locate her."

"I didn't know she could do that," Tina remarked.

"More than likely it wasn't just her," Kennedy said. "The Witchblade must have some tricks up its sleeve."

"Seems like they don't want to be found," Rona observed. "She probably went back to base to get her bike. Marie and Diane can catch her there."

"She doesn't need her bike," Willow said. "She's got a car in a parking garage near her apartment."

"What about heading to her apartment?" Tina asked. "Maybe she hasn't gotten there yet."

"Maybe," Kennedy replied, unsure. "Can you two swing by there?" she asked.

"Yeah," Rona replied.

"Um, I'm not so sure about that," Tina said sheepishly.

"Why not?" Willow asked.

"After Kennedy got knocked out I tried to stop her. She put a sword to my throat."

"What?!" Willow exclaimed. "Okay, we really have to find her."

"I'll check the apartment and Tina can stay in the van. And if Sara's not there, we'll just catch her at work in the morning," Rona reasoned. "She's got to show up."

"It's worth a try," Willow said. Taking out her cell phone again, she begrudgingly decided to call Buffy and tell her of their newest problem. "I'll call Buffy," she said, clearly unhappy with the idea.

"I don't envy you," Rona remarked as she and Tina started to leave.

"Thanks," Willow said sarcastically.


2:20 am, Friday- Sara Pezzini's Apartment

Sara entered her apartment. Ten times her cell phone had gone off and still she refused to answer it. She went to the closet and, reaching her hand toward the far right side, grabbed a case of bullets. Walking to her bedroom she reached under her bed and took out her shotgun and a box of shells. She also grabbed a couple of stakes and put them all in a gym bag. She went to her dresser and put some clothes in. Moving on the bathroom to grab a few toiletries, she stopped to look in the mirror. She started to wonder how everything had gotten to this point, but the image of Giles in the hospital bed pushed itself to the forefront of her mind. Anger building up inside of her she lashed out her bare fist toward the mirror and smashed it. She grabbed the items she wanted and put them in the gym bag. She knew the first place Willow and the others would think about looking for her was her apartment, and she planned on being at a motel when they showed up. She just had to worry about them showing up at the precinct. Zipping up the bag she grabbed her keys, locked the door, and left.


2:23 am, Friday - NYU Downtown Hospital

It had been five minutes after Willow called Buffy. Her ear was still ringing. The blond Slayer had gone into a tirade about Sara's plan and made her extreme displeasure known to the witch. To say that Buffy was yelling was an understatement. Willow walked back toward the ER wing and approached the group.

"How'd it go?" Kennedy asked, knowing the answer.

"I think Buffy might have permanently damaged my hearing," she joked dryly.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah, it was," Willow replied. "She'll be coming in through MacArthur in about twelve hours and then take a cab here. In the meantime, we should try and rest until the morning. Hopefully Rona will find Sara."

Kennedy saw Willow's somber face and asked the question that was on her mind. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good," she replied unconvincingly.

"Willow, it's me," Kennedy said. "How are you really feeling?"

"Terrible. One of the people I look up to is lying in hospital bed, fighting for his life. Now Sara's planning on pulling a 'Rosenberg' and exacting bloody revenge on everyone involved, which may end up with her doing something she'll regret and/or getting herself killed." It was then Willow's emotions showed through.

"I'm tired, Kennedy," she said. "I'm tired of this whole battle. I've been here for a year trying to do anything to stop Amy and we're no closer than we were a year ago. Everyday I just think about tossing in the towel and quitting. But every time I want to just give up and move on, I can't, because I know what's out there. This whole war against the darkness is just so hard and costs so much. Now it might cost two people I care about. I can't lose anymore people. I just can't…" The redhead started to weep, holding her hands in front of her face.

Taking a hold of her and cradling her head Kennedy said, "It's okay. I know it's tough, but we'll pull through. Buffy's coming back, Giles is going to get better, and we'll take down Amy and make her eat that glorified accessory."

Willow started to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Look at me," she said, berating herself. "Giles is in the hospital and I'm going on about my problems."

"No, it's fine, Willow. We've all been dealing with a lot… you, Buffy, Giles, and Sara in particular. You guys have been doing this stuff for years, and you keep going. Frankly, I'm surprised you've kept it together for so long. Especially after what you guys've been through." She saw Willow smile at that.

"Look," she continued. "We'll find Sara, talk some sense into her, and figure out our next move. Okay? It's gonna get better."

"Okay," she replied, clearing the remaining tears from her eyes and letting out a large sigh she didn't even know she held in.

"Besides," Kennedy said. "I don't want her to die before she teaches me that sleeper move she did." She rubbed her neck where said move was applied. "It was really good."


3:00 am, Friday - Brooklyn Estates Motel

Sara arrived at the motel and paid for her room. She took out her pump-action shotgun and attached the custom-made stake bayonet. She planned on going to work in a few hours and go about her day like nothing happened. A visit to the no-good rat of an informant was also on her agenda. True, she didn't have any proof that he was really in cahoots with Amy, but as a cop she knew people and had an insight into human nature that few did. One way or another she was going to end this game... even if it cost her life.