Duplicity Chapter 19, a witchblade fanfic

Duplicity

By Divamercury

Here's part 2 of my amazing double-feature post. Or something. So if you forgot to review for the last chapter, or want to do just one for both, then prepare yourselves! Enjoy!

~DM

Chapter 19

Acacia pulled up to my apartment—already I had begun thinking of it as just mine again—and turned off the engine.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked me.

"Yes." I glanced at the Witchblade. No signs of danger.

"Okay," she sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll be right back." I opened my door, about to step out, when Acacia grabbed my arm.

"What if you're not?" she wanted to know.

"Call the precinct. Mac has the number, I think. I gave it to the doctor at the hospital. Ask for Detective Connor."

"Connor. Gotcha."

I got out of the car and slipped into my building. Keeping an eye on the Witchblade but drawing my gun anyway, I crept up the stairs and unlocked the door of my apartment. I climbed the stairs and made a quick sweep of the apartment. No one home.

Wasting no more time, I ran to my closet and grabbed my duffel bag. I packed some clothes, toiletries, and other necessary items and made one last check around the apartment for something else I might need. Satisfied with my take, I picked up my duffel and ran down the stairs two at a time. I locked the door behind me and ran for the door.

Acacia seemed quite relieved to see me back so soon. I signaled to her to pop the trunk and she complied. I threw the duffel inside, slammed the trunk shut, and got in the car.

"Ready? Got everything you need?"

"I think so. If not, no big deal. I just needed clothes above everything else."

"Okay. Let's get out of hereI have this really creepy feeling that we're being watched." Taking the hint, Acacia floored it and we sped off toward Mac's place.

* * *

Watching the Wielder flee for her life was a quite satisfactory experience. I smirked as I watched her leave, obviously accompanied by someone who was driving, but I was unable to see whom. I was actually a little surprised at how well my little bit of acting had convinced her that I was my predecessor and that he was through with her. It was disappointing that I failed in my mini-assassination attempts but it was probably just as well; my mistress would not have been pleased if the Wielder had died before they had another confrontation, let alone whatever else that she had planned. I didn't bother to follow the car but instead dropped down from the roof of the Wielder's building and hid on her fire escape in order to observe my predecessor's reaction to the fact that she was missing.

* * *

Acacia turned into an alley that led up to a tall brownstone building hidden far from anything I recognized in the city and parked the car.

"We're here," she said unnecessarily.

"Thanks so much for everything, Acacia. You've been a real lifesaver. Hey, do you mind if I take a look at that sword of yours?" I asked as we got out of her car.

"Sure," she said, opening the door to the backseat and sliding the weapon out. She handed it to me gently and I appraised it. The blade was longer than I had originally thought and it was truly a work of art. A steel rose in full bloom was affixed to the blade where it met the hilt, and a thorny vine came from the rose and circled about a quarter of the length of the blade.

"Wow," I said, feeling the ivory handle. "This is beautiful."

"I made it myself, except for the rose. It was an artifact I found in a tiny museum in Rome that was going out of business. The sword is great for blocking bullets. Just like a little toy of yours, eh?" I smiled as I continued appraising the sword and gasped.

There was a small stone like the one in the Witchblade embedded in the center of the rose.

"Thought you'd notice that. I believe it's the same kind of stone as the one in the Witchblade. The two are probably linked, in case you were wondering."

"That would make sense." I handed it back to Acacia, who slipped it in the scabbard hanging from her waist, which was interesting in itself. It was like a normal scabbard except for the section cut out to accommodate the vine and rose.

"This is truly amazing. Ian would love it." I froze and winced at what I had just said. Acacia obviously noticed but didn't mention it.

"It may be amazing, but it's a bitch to clean. Blood really loves these little nooks and crannies," she said, gesturing to the thorns. "Pretty annoying, but it's worth it in the end."

"Might have been a little more information than I needed, there, Acacia, but that's okay," I said, getting my duffel out of the trunk. Acacia locked her car with her remote and smiled.

"Sorry bout that," she said. "Well, we'd better go upstairs before someone else tries to kill you. Mac would be very put out." She led the way in, but I stopped in my tracks.

"Put out?" I said. "I should hope that she would be more than put out," I said.

Acacia winked. "Yeah, well, you'll learn soon enough not to take me at face value. Could cause problems. Now come on."

She led me around to the front of the building and opened the mahogany door with her key.

"Man, is this a really ritzy place or something?" I asked.

"Not really. Why?"

"Mahogany door?" I said, pointing.

"Oh, that." She smiled sheepishly. "It's Mac's building, and she likes reddish wood," she said, opening it and shooing me inside.

"Well, in that case," I said with a grin, letting her lead me into the townhouse she shared with Mac.

When we arrived, Mac opened the door for us. "Sara! You're here! I was getting worried."

"Crazy woman here made me take her to her place," Acacia remarked, gesturing to my duffel.

"Well, I'm just glad you made it. So he wasn't there?"

"No. I don't know where he was but I know he wasn't in the apartment. I just packed a few things and came right out."

"But what would have happened if he had been there?" Acacia asked.

"I would have dealt with it," I snapped. "Like I said I would."

"Calm down, you two," Mac said. "Have a seat, Sara."

"Thanks." I took a look around the first floor, which was amazing. It was decorated in almost a Victorian style, furnished in dark mahogany and cherry woods, and the walls were painted a deep emerald green. There was also a large carving of the amulet of the Witchblade hanging on the wall above the fireplace.

"Whoa," I said, pointing. "What's that?"

"You like it? I made it," Acacia said.

"It's great. Amazing. How did you know about it?" I asked.

"Mac's got some great photos, but this one I actually made from a dream. I sketched it and then used the sketch to carve it. It was one of my first piecesand when Mac saw it she demanded to know how I made it."

"I was amazed that I had found another of the Ring without even trying. We became friends, I told her about the Witchblade and the dreams she's had since childhood, and we started our search for you. Then when I met you through Ciara, well, it made everything a lot easier."

"You mean you've been looking for me for a long time? And what the hell is the Ring?"

"Yes. It was our mission in life to find you and now that we have, we, as well as those close to us, are bound to aid and protect you. And the Ring is the circle of people that surround you. Acacia, me, Ian, Raven, Ciara, Connor, and others we don't know about yet."

I buried my head in my hands and sighed. "Why is everything about keeping me safe? If you all had never met me, you would have been better off."

Mac sat down beside me, putting an arm around me. "Sara, it's destiny. We had no choice in the matter, and even if we had, I would still have gone out of my way to find you if I had known who you were and what you stood for. You are a good person and I feel lucky to know you and to be able to call you my friend. While you're here, nothing will happen. This place is sealed and no kind of extra-sensory detection powers will be able to find you here."

"Okay," said Acacia, "I feel a little out of the loop. I know all about this history stuff and everything, but who's the person after her again?"

"Sara?" Mac nudged me.

I sighed. "My boyfriend. Ian Nottingham," I said.

"The Guardian," Mac supplied.

Acacia looked dumbstruck. "You mean to tell me that the Guardian has turned on the Wielder? Damn. Never thought I'd hear that something like that had happened."

"Yeah, me neither," I said.

"Sara, we'll get to the bottom of this. Don't worry. Hey, Acacia, it's getting kind of late and I'm hungry. Surely you and Sara are, too. Could you call for some pizza?"

"Sure, if she'll explain in detail what's going on," Acacia said.

"No problem."

* * *

Darkness steadily fell and I finally made it out of the traffic nightmare and arrived back at the apartment. As I had expected, it was empty, but as I looked around, some of Sara's things were gone. The bathroom was practically void of her personal toiletries and some of the drawers were open with items of clothing missing, suggesting she had left in a hurry. But if she was going somewhere, why hadn't she told me or at least left some kind of message?

Seeing as I still had no clue as to Sara's whereabouts and I was entering a mild state of panic, I called Gabriel and after he was unable to help me, tried Connor a second time, but he couldn't shed light on the situation any more than Gabriel had. Completely throwing out Raven as a source of information, the last person I could think of to call was Mac. I flipped through the phone book to find the number next to her name, but strangely no address next to it. I dialed and waited for an answer.

* * *

While we were in the middle of our pizza feast and I was in the middle of telling the story of my day, the phone rang. We exchanged glances and Acacia rose, answering the phone.

"Hello?"

Pause.

"And who should I say is calling?" she asked, slightly scornfully.

Pause.

"Just a minute." She put the phone on hold and said, "Mac, there's a call for you."

"Who is it?" she asked, taking another bite of pizza.

"Ian Nottingham."

Mac nearly choked. "What?! Surely he hasn't figured out that Sara's here?"

"He didn't say. You'd better talk to him."

"Don't worry, Sara," Mac said to me. "I'll take care of this. Just relax; you've gotten really pale." She walked over to the phone and took it off of hold.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Mac? It's Ian."

"Oh, hello, Ian. How are you?"

"Not too good, actually. Listen, I need your help. I've been in job interviews all day and I called the precinct to talk to Sara. Apparently she left around 4:30 because there was some kind of incident near there and I haven't heard a single thing from her since then. I'm getting really worried. Do you know where she might be? Or have you seen her?"

"Calm down, Ian. Have you called Gabriel or Connor?"

"Both of them. And Raven, too. No one could give me an answer except Raven, but it was some kind of strange riddle-type thing that was too cryptic for even me to decipher. I'm really worried, Mac. I'm afraid something terrible has happened to her and she can't get in touch with me."

"Ian, I wouldn't worry about Sara. She's a tough girl. But I haven't seen or heard from her today, either. Maybe you should try her friend Vicki from work, or perhaps Ciara. Maybe she went to catch up with her."

"I don't know, Mac, but the part that struck me as being really strange was that it seems that she's been here between the time she left the precinct and the time I got home, because some of her clothes and toiletries are missing. No one could have broken in, either, since I fixed the locks."

"That's odd. I can't imagine where she'd go after packing things and not tell you about it. I'm so sorry I can't help, Ian. I know you're worried. But just out of curiosity, what did Raven say to you in her cryptic message?"

"Well, to start with, she kept calling me Dragon, her pet name for me. She said that the flame had left its dragon and was waiting for the rose to take it to the maiden who would keep it safe from the dark knight. Can you make any sense of that?"

"No clue off the top of my head."

"Well, sorry to bother you, Mac, but I just thought you might know something."

"That's fine, Ian. If I hear anything from her, or if I find anything that will help you, I'll let you know."

"Thanks, Mac."

"Bye, Ian."

* * *

"Well?" Acacia asked.

"Sara, you are sure that it was Ian that you saw today?" Mac wanted to know.

"Yes! I'm positive. It was himat least, I think so."

"Was something different?"

"Yeahhe had absolutely no control today. He said such terrible things and then just killed that manI could see it in his eyesit almost looked like he had completely gone off the deep end."

"Well, he sounded completely rational on the phone. He said he's been in interviews all day and got stuck in traffic but called the precinct to talk to you and that Connor told him there had been some kind of incident and you left around 4:30."

"Was that it?" I asked.

"No, he said that Raven told him some riddle. Sara, I think Raven knows what's going on."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "How do you figure that?"

"She told Ian that the flame had left its dragon and was waiting for the rose to take it to the maiden where it would be safe. If you think about it, it was talking about all of us. You're the flame and Ian's the dragon. Acacia's the rose and I'm the maiden. It makes sense. I think she knows who you're with but not where you are because she can't detect you."

"Wait a second," Acacia said. "Completely changing the subject here. Sara, do you know where Ian was supposed to be interviewing this afternoon?"

"Supposedly he was talking to some people at Stewart Enterprises, one of Vorschlag's main competitors. Why?"

"I have an idea," she said, and ran to the phone, flipping through the phone book. She found the number that she wanted and placed a call.

"Mac, what does Ian look like?"

"He's tall, has pretty long dark hair, hazel eyes, and has a beard. What are you doing, Acacia?" Mac wanted to know.

"I'm going to talk to the people at Stewart and see if they met with a Mr. Ian Nottingham this morning."

After being on the phone for about 15 minutes, Acacia came back and told us what she had found.

"They did have a meeting with Ian today. He was there from 4:00-4:45."

"But if that's true, then there's no way he could have been at the precinct. He came to my office at 4:10 and harangued me for close to 15 minutes. I spent some time trying to keep him from killing the poor guy, which didn't work, and I went into hiding in the alley at 4:30. I was there waiting for Acacia until about 4:40, and Stewart Enterprises is across town. There's no way he could have been there and at the precinct."

"I gave them the description of him that you told me and they said that that was the man they had seen."

I was dazed. "But how could he have been in two places at the same time?"

"Simple. He couldn't. There has to be an explanation for this. You're convinced that you saw Ian and the people at Stewart seem to have seen him, too. So how do you explain it?"

"Sounds like Ian has a brother or something," Acacia said.

"He doesn't. Technically he's an only child, although I have no idea about his parentage. It's been rumored that his father was Kenneth Irons but I'm not sure that that has ever been proven. But the reason he's only technically an only child is because he and Raven grew up together and consider each other to be siblings even though genetics says otherwise."

"Well, then someone must be making some kind of hologram or something, because I can't think of any other way that this could have gone down," Acacia quipped.

"Mine sure wasn't a hologram. He shoved me into a wall, shot some random guy in an alley, and almost shot me. As far as I know, holograms can't do stuff like that."

"Never know. All these technological advances."

"Ha ha, Acacia. So what's our next plan of action?"

"Do you happen to have a photo of Ian, Sara?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, fishing one out of my wallet. They were hard to come by but I had one.

"Do you mind if I borrow this? I'm going down to Stewart to see if this was the man interviewing down there today."

"Not a bad idea. What should I do?" I asked.

"Not a damn thing. You and Mac stay here, hold down the fort." She left the room.

"What about Ciara?" I asked Mac.

"She should be on her way over soon. I called her right after I hung up with you."

Acacia reentered the room sporting a long leather duster that reached to her knees over her crimson short-sleeved mock turtleneck sweater and black jeans. Her sword necklace was still in place, and she tucked my photo of Ian into her pocket.

"This shouldn't take too long. I'll be back in a few," she said.

"Good luck, Caci," Mac said, and with a grin she left.

"Well, now that it's just us, what should we talk about?" I said.

"You need to call Ian."

"Mac" I said, standing up and pacing.

"You know it's true. Just let him know that you're all right. Don't give him any specifics. If you call your home line and leave a message, he won't be able to trace it or anything. The least you can do is give him some peace of mind."

"Peace of mind! You're talking about a man that just tried to kill me! Are you out of your skull?"

"Sara, whether you believe it or not, this could all very well be a strangeextremely bizarre misunderstanding." Her eyes took on a steely glint. "Just call him."

I sighed. "Fine," I said. I picked up the phone and dialed my own number. Sooner or later he'd hear the message.

* * *

Ring. Ring.

"Pezzini, go!"

Beep.

"Ian, it's me. Listen, I don't know what was going on with you today, but I've decided to take off for a while and I'm not planning on coming back any time soon. At least, not until I can figure out what the hell is going on. Called the Stewart people and they said that you were there today, but I've got someone checking on that. So the $64 question is, how were you there and breaking up with me at the same time? Exactly, you couldn't have been at both places at once, so I am truly confused.

"I really don't want to give up on you, Ianbut I don't see what choice I have at this point. I thought we had something but apparently you don't think so for some reason, even though you're the one who's always spouting off about destiny and past lifetimes. You're the last person I would expect something like this from, but some of the things you said"

Sound of soft sobbing.

"And the look in your eyesI've never seen you like that before. It was almost like you were a completely different person, someone I didn't—and frankly didn't want to—know. But, if this is all some kind of misunderstanding, I just want to let you know that I'm all right, and I will be fine for a while. Don't try to trace this call or find me, because the people I'm with are under instructions to look out for you and they might shoot first and ask questions later. Just a fair warning."

Pause.

"Goodbye, Ian."

Click.

My hand was still floating over the handset, where it had been ever since the beginning of the phone call. I had come close to answering but when she started off on her strange—to say the least—message, I couldn't interrupt. Although I couldn't fathom what was going on, at least I knew that my beloved was safe. But what had really shaken me was the fact that it had sounded like she had been crying. What had I done? I could think of nothing that would warrant a reaction of this magnitudeI couldn't remember ever seeing her cry, except during the Conchobar ordeal. I couldn't remember any conversation even barely alluding to me wanting to separate from her. I moved away from the phone and sat down on the sofa, head in my hands. Was this some kind of punishment for my past transgressions? Because having the one thing I cherished ripped away from me was the worst punishment anyone could devise.

I was busy ruminating on the subject when I heard a knock on the window. I looked up and was astonished to see Raven sitting out there on the fire escape. I let her in and she smiled at me.

"Hello, Dragon," she said cheerfully. Then her manner suddenly turned grave. "We need to talk."

* * *

I hung up the phone, wiping my eyes surreptitiously in the hopes that Mac wouldn't see, but naturally she did and handed me a tissue. I accepted gratefully, even though I was furious at myself for reacting the way I had, and I started to speak but Mac beat me to it.

"Sara, hiding your emotions is not a healthy thing. You hide a lot of things and I find it amazing that you haven't gone into self-destruct mode after adding all the stress you're constantly under as well as the Witchblade to the mix. You've got to start letting yourself go."

"But look what happens, Mac! Whenever someone gets close to me and I let down my defenses, ready to let go and trust them, something awful happens and they either die or go crazy and try to kill me. Now would that promote your desire for relationships?"

"I guess when you put it that way"

"Exactly."

"But at least I got you to show some emotion."

I glared at her, then grinned. "Small price to pay."

Night was falling over the city by the time Acacia returned to Mac's apartment. And right behind her was Ciara.

"Hey, girl! Long time, no see," she said, hugging me as was her habit. Only because it was Ciara did I humor her.

"Hey, yourself. You've been doing really well. Got three books of yours at home."

"You've read them all? What did you think?" she asked eagerly.

"They were excellent. The best I've read in quite some time, actually. How are you and Luke doing?"

"Great. Really great. The books have certainly helped us. Luke left Trappetto's and got a job as a bartender at Maxell's."

"Wow. That's a classy place."

"Oh, yeah. He's making good money and so am I," she said.

"And you look it," I said, commenting on her ensemble. She was wearing a beautiful black wool suit under a black mink coat, which Acacia took from her and hung up in the little closet by the door with her own leather duster. "You look great."

"Thanks. So, to get right down to business, I met Acacia on the way here and she told me about what's been going on with you lately and to be completely honest, I'm not sure I believe it."

"Everyone, come on into the living room. We'll be more comfortable in here," Mac said. We followed her into the maple-paneled room and took seats on the green velvet cushions.

"Why do you say that, Ciara?" Mac asked. "Pray continue."

"Well, I'm aware that I don't know Ian as well as you and Sara do, Mac, but I don't believe for a second that he would do something like that." She turned to me, locking her eyes to mine. "Don't forget, I met him at my wedding, and he gave me away. I watched him like a hawk the entire time, and he was doing the same to just one person. He loves you, Sara. More than anything in this world. Don't ever doubt that."

"He's given me quite a reason to doubt it lately."

"Sara," Ciara said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, it might be a misunderstanding, although how that's possible is beyond me," I said.

"Knowing all the shit that the Witchblade puts us through, nothing surprises me anymore," Acacia said.

* * *

"What about, Birdie?" I asked. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, fine. For a while there I was pretty screwed up, but I'm better now."

"Then why were you still acting weird?"

"Wasn't quite over it yet. I'll probably keep up the act for a whilepay my friend Adair a visit."

I shuddered. "Why put yourself through that willingly?"

"Well, I've got a good reason, which will definitely interest you."

"Pray tell."

"I sense another."

"Another what?"

"Another you. But not. A sleeper."

I stared at her, eyes wide. "Surely you jest."

"Do I look like I'm jesting?" Raven asked, pointing to her face. "This is my sincerity face here."

"Right. So"

"So, this should end your problem."

"No, this makes it worse."

"How is that even possible?"

"Thanks, Birdie."

"Sorry, just trying to make a point."

"There's no way she'll trust me after what he's done or believe that a sleeper is awake, considering I never told her about the program. The only way she'll believe it is if she sees it with her own eyes, meaning he and I have to be at the same place at the same time."

"And the problem is?"

"That getting that situation to become a reality is going to be a lot harder than it sounds."

"Well, you I'll leave you in charge of the brooding and the ruminating, two things you are so good at. I'm going to go freak out Snake Lady."

"All right," I said desolately. "More power to you."

"See you later, Dragon." She gave me a concerned look. "I'll be back," she said, then slipped through the window and down the fire escape in perhaps two seconds.

* * *

"Well, I've got to be going, Sara," Ciara said, glancing at her watch. "It's later than I thought."

"Thanks for coming," I said. "It's been forever since I saw you last and I'm glad I got to."

"Seriously. This will all work out, Sara, but you call me if you need anything," she said, pressing a card with her number on it into my hand.

"Sure."

She left the room, grabbed her coat, and left the townhouse.

"What time is it anyway," I asked, yawning.

"10:25," Mac said. "You need to turn in."

"What are you talking about?"

"You need your rest, Sara. You've been running everywhere today."

"Come with me, Sara," Acacia said, grabbing my duffel bag. "I'll show you your room."

"Thanks. Night, Mac."

"Good night, Sara. See you in the morning."

I followed Acacia up the steps to the second floor of the townhouse and into one of several bedrooms that were on this floor.

"We've had this one ready for you for some timejust in case," she said. "It's one of the only rooms in this place that isn't green."

She was right. The room they had chosen for me was paneled halfway up each wall with cherry wood and the top half was painted a deep crimson, like the stone of the Witchblade when silent. The room was furnished completely in cherry and the bed was the focal point of the room, hung with crimson silk drapery and fitted out with linen of the same color.

"This is beautiful," I said, putting my duffel down beside the little nightstand, deciding to unpack into the large dresser later.

"We're on either side of you if you need anything. Mac's room is down the hall to the left and mine's to the right. Sorry to say that there isn't much of a view, at least in my opinion, but I think you'll be pretty comfortable here. This door—" she gestured, "—leads to your private little bathroom, and I think that's everything you need to know. See you in the morning."

"Night, Acacia. Thanks again."

"No problem," she yawned, then left, grinning, and closed the door behind her.

"Well, here you are, Sara," I said to myself. "Man, I'm wiped. Better changed and then crash."

I flipped on the clock radio on the nightstand but turned it down some so it wouldn't disturb Mac or Acacia. I caught the end of one song and listened as another one I wasn't familiar with came on in its place. I vaguely recognized the voice as being that of LeAnn Rimes, but beyond that I knew nothing. As the song progressed, I found myself making absent-minded comments to the appropriate lyrics.

It's Independence Day I'm free

And it's a strange place to be

I'm gonna break these chains

Unleash the changes in me

How fitting,' I thought as I unpacked my bag. I changed out of my typical jeans and shirt into a pair of loose gray slacks and a matching tank top to sleep in. As I listened to the song, I was amazed at how well it described a situation similar to the one I was in.

I see an endless road

I feel the restless wind

I've lost the fear inside

Cause I've got no choice

But to live or die

"Well, that's the truth. I won't let this take over my life. I'm going to find out what's going on and I'll fight my way out of it."

Suddenly you're in this fight alone

Steppin' out into the great unknown

And the night's the hardest time

When the doubts run through your mind

Cause suddenly you find yourself alone

Suddenly you find yourself

"Not completely alone. But I still feel isolated from all of them. God, I want this to be over. It's going to drive me absolutely crazy. And if I think about it anymore then I am going to begin to doubt my convictions."

In an empty room

With a suitcase on the floor

It'll be daylight soon

I'm gonna wage my private war

"How true," I mused. "I'm here by myself with my "suitcase" right here with me, it's close to daylight, and I'm fighting a war that practically no one knows about"

Who's watchin' over me?

Must be a guardian angel

I glanced toward the corner and spotted Danny hanging around. "Thought you might be here."

"Hey, that was my cue, after all. Had to show up for a second. Love the digs," he said, glancing around. "Mac's done a beautiful job."

"I agree."

"Well, just wanted to drop in and see if you made it out of that alley. Seems you did, only to end up in another one." He moved toward the window and I followed him over, glancing out. Acacia hadn't done it justice. You couldn't see the lights of the city but the stars were brighter than I had ever seen them before and the scene took my breath away. Until I started thinking about him again, and it felt like an icy cold hand had wrapped around my heart in a vice grip. I turned away from the window.

"Get some sleep, Pez," he said. "You'll feel better after you relax."

I just need time to breathe

And give my life

The best of me

"You're right, Danny. As always. I've just got to take some time and think this through."

* * *

Suddenly you're in this fight alone

Steppin' out into the great unknown

And the night's the hardest time

When the doubts run through your mind

Cause suddenly you find yourself alone

I glared at the radio. I had turned it on to try and break through the silence and the tension I was feeling, to escape from my thoughts for just a moment, but as soon as I turned it on I came in contact with a song that described my situation perfectly.

Except for Raven, I am alone. Everyone else is probably with Sara. Not that that's bad. They can help to protect her from the other. God, I feel so useless! I'm her Guardian and here I sit, on this couch in the darkness, doing absolutely nothing but thinking. This is pathetic.' I reburied my head in my hands.

Suddenly I found myself

I looked up again, a smile forming on my face. What am I thinking? There's got to be something I can do, even if she doesn't know about it yet. I'm a warrior, damn it! I don't sit still and let problems pass me by. I go out and face them, banners flapping in the breeze! Or at least I do now that I'm free from him.' I shook the thoughts of my former master from my head. I can't let anything happen to her, and I sure as hell am not going to give her up without a fight!'

I fished my cell phone out of my pocket and flipped it open to dial a number. I had work to do.