Chapter 45: Unleashed Fury

“How did you do that?” Billie asked as she sat down on the couch beside Ian when he finally opened his eyes and looked over at her.

“Excalibur,” he simply replied, holding up his hand and pointing to the intricate ring on his finger.

“Interesting… Is it based on the story?” she questioned, referring to the King Arthur myth she had heard back in grade school.

“Actually, it’s the other way around. The myth stemmed from the ring, but that’s all I know,” Ian answered.

“And I’m guessing that’s your connection to Sara,” Billie surmised, taking his hand and looking at the ring. She ran her finger over it, instantly feeling the current that pulsed through it. Ian nodded. “So, what happened? Did you find anything?”

“She and Van are in San Francisco. They’re coming back now. But what disturbs me is what I managed to discover while I was taking a peek through Van’s mind. He did something I didn’t expect him to do for a while,” Ian answered, looking a bit worried.

“What did he do?” Billie asked, even though she thought she knew the answer to his question. She figured it was drinking, but when Ian spoke up again, she got the shock of her life.

“He proposed…and she said yes,” he said, the pain she thought had finally gone away coming back into those soulful caramel eyes.

Billie instantly felt the pain he was feeling. She wrapped her arm around his neck and held him for a little while, wondering what would happen with this sudden turn of events. Was Ian going to curl up into a little ball and never let her in again, or was he going to get past this? Billie didn’t know, but could only hope that he wouldn’t turn her away.

“Ian,” she whispered. He looked up at her with those sad eyes. “Don’t shut me out, please. I can’t lose you. Not now. Not after all we’ve been through. You mean too much to me, almost as much as Sara means to you.” Billie couldn’t believe what she was admitting, but after a night like that, she couldn’t help herself. She was falling for him, something she usually never did especially with all the heartache she had experienced through her life. She had never been this close to anyone or left her heart in another person’s hands, but now it seemed so right.

Ian gazed at her, his eyes searching hers for some truth in her words. Billie was bearing her soul for him, something he had already done for her. He knew by the look in her eyes that what she was telling him was true and that he could trust her with his heart since she already trusted him with hers. A small smile came to his lips, reassuring her that he wasn’t about to clam. Billie sighed in relief and leaned in to kiss him.

“I think I’m falling for you,” she whispered.

“I think I’m falling for you, too,” he replied, pulling her in for another kiss.

*~*~*

“ Nottingham !” Sara yelled the moment she set foot in the Candy Store three hours later, the anger present in her voice. She threw her helmet onto Billie’s desk and walked into the lounge where the two were seated, waiting for her. Van walked in a few moments later, making sure he stayed well away from this fight. He motioned for Billie to follow in his footsteps as well, which she did, giving Ian a kiss on the cheek for good luck as she left him and Sara to duel this one out alone.

“What the hell were you doing snooping around in my head?” Sara growled as she stepped up to him, her brows furrowed.

“I was merely trying to find out where you were,” Ian innocently replied, even though his eyes suggested otherwise.

“You’re lying to me!” she quickly accused, pointing her finger at him. “Tell me the truth, Ian. What were you really looking for? What did you find? And how the hell did you get in my head anyway? That’s invasion of privacy!”

“Not when what you know has the power to affect all our lives,” he shot back, standing up so that he towered over her.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the visions.”

“The visions… Oh, you son of a bitch!”

“Why didn’t you tell me about them?”

“Because I didn’t want you freaking out!”

“Well, unfortunately you forgot all about the fact that almost everything you see, I see as well. So even if you had kept this from me, I still would have known! What angers me is that you didn’t confront me about them. Instead you ran to Gabriel!” Ian yelled back for the first time he could remember. This was the first time he had truly ever been angry with Sara.

“I ran to Gabriel because I was looking for answers! I wanted to know what this meant before I told you about it,” she answered.

“Well, you should have told me! That’s no excuse! You and I are as connected as you and Van. Don’t leave me out of the loop even though you think you’re doing more good than harm, because you aren’t! I’ve agonized over this for the past few days wondering when my time would come. Back when you hated me with a passion, I would rather have had you keep me in the dark, but now that I actually have something to live for, you keep me from what I should know! Why, Sara? Why?”

She didn’t know how to answer. What Ian had just said was something she never expected him to say. Sara stood there, dumbfounded. “I’m… I’m sorry,” she said in a low, shaky voice, feeling bad that she had left him in the dark for so long. “I was just looking out for you, ya know, like a good friend would.”

Ian sighed deeply. Sara had called him her friend again, and she really meant it. “I understand,” he replied. “After all, I followed you here to make sure nothing bad happed to you.”

Sara sat down beside him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “True… So, what’s this new thing you have to live for?” she asked as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

“A certain special woman,” Ian answered suggestively as he quickly glanced over at Billie to find her and Van still watching with tense gazes in their direction.

Sara hadn’t noticed and suggestively replied, “A certain special woman, huh? Tell me about her.”

“Well, to simply put it, she’s perfect. She makes my life complete. I don’t think I could live my life without her,” he explained, looking away from Sara to Billie, his caramel eyes full of love for her. “It felt so right waking up with her this morning. She truly is my lady.”

Sara’s mouth dropped when she realized Ian wasn’t talking about her. She looked over at Billie to see the smile on her face slowly grow into a wide grin. “You mean… you and HER?” Sara let out a cat fighting shriek as she pointed to her boss.

“Who did you think I was talking about?” Ian asked, taking the opportunity to get back at Sara for all the pain and suffering she had caused him ever since they met. “You?”

She merely sat there and stared at him, her eyes giving off that dejected look as her heart sank into her shoes. “Whatever, ass hole,” Sara mumbled under her breath as she stood up from the couch and began walking to the office to grab her helmet. She really didn’t want to be here anymore.

“That’s got to be the loudest proverbial bitch slap I’ve ever heard,” Van whispered into Billie’s ear just before Sara passed them. Billie nodded her head in agreement, still unable to wipe the grin off her face even as Sara gave her one hell of a dirty look.

“You finally know how it feels to be me!” Ian yelled as he watched Sara go. She stopped and quickly turned on her heels.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Sara yelled back, striding towards him in almost a canter. “You have no idea how I feel!”

“Slapped in the face, dejected, rejected… any of those words ring a bell?” he replied as she stood just inches from his face, looking up at him with those fiery green eyes. “For God’s sake, Sara, grow up!”

“Grow UP?!?! You grow up!” she shot back angrily.

“I already have!” Ian barked. “It’s not like I threw a tantrum when I found out you and Van were engaged.”

The fire in Sara’s eyes grew so bright he thought it would blind him. Ian drew back, knowing he had said something he should have kept quiet about until the time was right, but his anger had prevented him from holding back that information. “What did you say?” she asked in a low growl. “How the hell did you know about our engagement? Did you find out while you were picking through my brain while I was asleep? Tell me, Ian!” her voice slowly grew to a holler.

“First of all,” he started, “anyone who doesn’t notice a ring as big as the one on your finger, I’d have to say they were blind. And second, yes, I did manage to get bits and pieces of it from you while I was trying to find you.”

“You fucking nosey little bastard!” Sara yelled as she got ready to punch him.

Ian grabbed her arm before it even had the chance to strike him. “There’s no need for physical violence,” he chided.

“No need for physical violence? NO NEED FOR PHYSICAL VIOLENCE!” she screamed. Sara could feel the Witchblade activate on her right wrist as she pulled away from Ian. She put the blade up against his throat and growled, “You tell me what to do one more time and I won’t hesitate to hurt you. Got it?”

“Yes,” Ian replied, remaining calm as the blade retracted.

Sara turned around, her arm still encased in the ancient weapon as she passed Van and Billie. They stared at her, wide eyed and frightened as she grabbed her helmet and walked out the door. The Witchblade returned to its bracelet state the moment she walked out into the sunlight. A car pulled into the parking lot as she hopped on her bike and started the engine.

“Hey, Sara! Where ya been?” Vicky called to her. Sara simply turned to glare at her and drove off. “Whoa, somebody’s got PMS.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Deaq asked as they made their way inside.

“I dunno, but I’m guessing it has something to do with Van,” she replied. As she walked through the door, Vicky yelled, “Van!”

“Hey, it wasn’t me!” he yelled back, knowing he was the one who’d get slammed for Sara’s recent anger blast. “It’s Ian’s fault!”

“Ian?” Deaq questioned, looking a bit surprised. “What happened?”

“Let’s just say it has something to do with the ‘connection’ they share,” Van answered, dropping hints so that Vicky wouldn’t really get what they were talking about. “He sorta, I don’t know how to put this without giving it away…”

“Well, try,” Deaq replied. 

“He… used that special connection to find out things that he really shouldn’t have been looking for,” Van explained as best he could.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Van dragged him upstairs to explain what had happened while Vicky and Billie made their way to the lounge. Billie sat down beside Ian, her hand immediately grabbing his and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” she told him. “Sara’s gonna come back. You took a major step towards normalcy today. You stood up to her, which is what you should have done with Irons, but it’s understandable why you didn’t. Still, I’m proud of you.”

“So, what happened exactly?” Vicky asked as she sat down across from them in one of the lounge chairs.

“I don’t know if we’re allowed to tell you,” Billie hesitantly replied as she looked to Ian for help.

“Why is it that I’m always out of the loop?” Vicky angrily whined as she crossed her arms over her chest. “This is exactly what happened when we were in New York . She always kept me out of the loop! What the hell is going on?”

“Well, I can tell you this had something to do with Van’s actions this morning,” Ian added.

“Oh, I knew he had partial blame for this!” Vicky surmised happily.

“Not exactly…” Billie interrupted just before they all heard Deaq yell from the balcony, “You WHAT?” He and Van came back downstairs with Deaq pulling him by the ear.

“Let go!” Van was crying like a baby once they reached the lounge. Deaq let go, but now without shoving him first.

“You’re an idiot, you know that?” he yelled at him.

“She said yes, and that’s all that matters!” Van retorted.

“Who said yes to what?” Vicky broke in, still feeling like she wasn’t being told everything.

“Van proposed to Sara!” Deaq told her.

Vicky’s jaw dropped as her eyes widened with surprise. Deaq expected to see Billie and Ian do the same, but they remained calm and collected, sitting on the couch together watching the antics continue. “I said, Van PROPOSED to SARA!” he restated, enunciating all the important words.

“We know,” Billie blatantly replied.

“And you didn’t hit him?” Deaq asked.

“No, but you can have the pleasure of doing it,” she said.

Taking a shot, he hit Van square in the head. “Idiot,” Deaq muttered. “You’re not ready to get married, Van! You’re rushing this relationship! Get a grip on reality!”

“I have a firm grip on reality!” Van yelled back, rubbing the back of his head.

“No, I think all this destiny crap has polluted your brain! Get out of fantasy land, Van! This is real life,” Deaq tried to get that concept through his head.

“Wait a minute! Destiny crap? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!” Vicky yelled above everyone in the room, her voice echoing through the Candy Store like a thunderbolt. She looked around at everyone as the warehouse grew silent. “I’m sick of being kept in the dark! I want answers and I want them NOW! How does destiny fit into everything? What the hell does it have to do with anything at all?”

The four others looked at each other wondering who would break the news to Vicky. “Your turn, Van,” Ian spoke up.

“Oh, hell no!” Van shot back. “I don’t know squat about this whole situation. You explain it to her because you know all this shit. It’s not like Sara’s told me that much, anyway! She only gives me bits and pieces. The other fragments I find out when I get those fucked up visions.”

“Stop acting like damn babies and tell me already!” Vicky shouted over them.

“Do you know anything about objects of power?” Van asked as he looked at her.

“Not much,” she replied.

“Well, you’re about to get a crash course,” he said. “Sara has something called the Witchblade.”

“I know a little about that,” Vicky interrupted. “Sara gave me a bracelet after the Midtown explosion to analyze and see if it came from the Witchblade exhibit. I read up a little on it, and told her there was no way that bracelet could have come from the exhibit.”

“It did,” Ian spoke up. “That is the Witchblade in its dormant form.”

“Say what?” she screeched. “How the hell can something like that gauntlet turn into a bracelet that small?”

Ian shrugged, “It’s complicated,” then went into his speech about the Witchblade’s history and whatnot, giving Vicky the edited version of what the others already knew, including how Sara was chosen and why. He finished off with the events of the previous few months, adding everything that had happened in LA.

“So, how is Van connected in all of this?” Vicky asked once Ian had finished. It was something he managed to leave out unknowingly.

“He wears the Crossback,” he answered.

“It has a name?” Van interrupted, looking down at his ring.

“Yes, you have the Crossback while I have Excalibur,” Ian replied. “An associate of mine told me after I asked him for more information.”

“Let me guess, Gabriel?” Van assumed. Ian nodded. “That kid has a LOT of explaining to do. I think it’s about time that we dragged his ass to LA so he could help us figure all this out, because frankly, I’m really getting sick of being kept in the dark.”

“You and everybody else,” Vicky retorted. “You think you know somebody, then this shit has to happen.”

“At least you haven’t seen her use it,” Van replied, feeling the shiver go up his spine. “That’s scary.”

The room suddenly became quiet as all five of them stared at each other wondering what they were going to do next. Glances silently passed among the group until Deaq finally spoke up and asked, “What are we gonna do about Sara? She’s AWOL again, and I seriously doubt we’ll be able to find her unless someone uses their supernatural powers of telepathy.”

“I don’t think she really wants to talk to me at the moment,” Ian said.

“What about Van?” Deaq replied.

“What about me?” Van questioned, looking a little confused.

“Well, you’re the only person in this room other than Ian that has a connection to her. Why don’t you try the telepathy thing?” Deaq suggested. “Besides, she’s not pissed off at you, is she?”

Van shook his head. He turned to Ian and asked, “So, how do I do this?”

“An open mind is the key to an open connection,” Ian answered.

“Spare me the cryptic bull shit,” Van shot back.

“Fine,” Ian replied. “Sit down, relax, and close your eyes. Let the Crossback be your guide. If it’s as connected to the Witchblade as I think it is, you should have no problem locating Sara and talking to her through it. Just concentrate and stay focused.”

“Alright, concentrate… I got it,” Van said as he sat down on the floor, his back against the couch and his eyes closed. Finding that position uncomfortable, he shifted so that his feet pressed up against the couch and his back was towards everyone. Still, it didn’t feel right. He continued to move around as the other watched, all getting angrier by the minute.

“Get on with it, Van!” Billie yelled. “We don’t have all day!”

“I’m trying!” he retorted, finally finding a comfortable position. “So, how do I make this connection?”

“Just relax and let the Crossback be your guide,” Ian replied.

“Let the Crossback be my guide,” Van repeated softly to himself as he tried to make the connection, but without success. There were too many things on his mind, making him lose his focus and concentration: the engagement, the fight between Ian and Sara earlier that morning, and just the fact that she was missing scared him to death. “I’m doing something wrong!” Van yelled when he couldn’t make the connection.

“What now, Van?” Ian grumbled.

“I can’t concentrate,” he nearly whimpered.

“Clear your mind,” was the only advice that Ian could give him. He knew Van was in turmoil at the moment, but he had to get his head straight so they could find Sara.

Van let out a deep sigh as he closed his eyes again and started to push the many things he didn’t want interrupting him out of his head. But still, the fact that Sara was missing continued to cloud his mind. Where the hell was she? How would he ever find her if his thoughts kept straying? Van shook his head, clearing it once and for all as he started to feel the energy of his ring began to run through him like a current of electricity. He took deep calming breaths to keep his mind clear as the ring started to search for its mate. Slowly but surely, he began to pick up the faint traces of something familiar.

Back in the real world, Billie had gotten off the couch, feeling a little parched. Her throat seemed like it would close up if she didn’t get some water soon. She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle, quickly popping the cap and beginning to gulp it down like it was the last drop of water on earth. With only about half the bottle down, she lost her rhythm and suddenly began to choke on the liquid. Her coughing echoed through the Candy Store as she tried to keep herself from dying, breaking Van’s concentration in the process.

“Billie!” he yelled, glaring at her immediately as he opened his eyes. “I was so close!’

“I’m… Sorry,” she replied between coughs.

“Are you okay?” Ian asked, a little concerned, once she stopped coughing and put the bottle down.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Billie answered, walking back towards the couch.

Van tried to get his mindset back to where it had been before the interruption, but all had been lost. He let out an exasperated sigh and started to give up. “This is impossible!” he griped, getting ready to stand up.

“Don’t even think about moving unless its forward just a bit,” Billie warned as she walked over to him. She sat down behind Van and gently began to massage his shoulders. “I hope this’ll get you concentrating again.”

“Mmmm… That feels so good,” Van murmured as he closed his eyes again, this time instantly making the connection without having to put much effort into it. That familiar feeling was soon picked up by the ring again, allowing Van to take a back seat as it searched for Sara. But as he entered her mind, he was bombarded by a sudden rush if images. He could see she was walking along the shoreline of a familiar beach. Taking a quick look around, he realized it was Venice . But that’s all he managed to see before another sudden rush of images hit him.

Van could feel his breath catch as he watched in succession what appeared to be an alternate lifetime stored in Sara’s memory. He could see the explosion at the Midtown Museum, watched as her friend Danny died in her arms in the theater, saw her fell in love with another guy, him dying in her arms as well, meeting Gabriel, getting in trouble with her captain after finding out he was part of some secret society that her father tried to stop, Ian getting shot and killed trying to save her, finding out Jake was actually an undercover FBI agent sent to crack down the society by using Sara as bait, then later on getting his neck snapped by an evil version of Ian, and finally, her confrontation with Irons at the mansion where Gabriel also died. It all ended with Sara killing Irons and piercing through the veil of time, allowing her to live her life without the great deal of pain she would have experienced in that alternate life.

Van snapped out of the connection immediately after the short “film” was finished, panting. “Holy shit,” he gasped, looking over at Ian. “Never make me do that again.”

“Why, what happened?” Billie asked as she wrapped her arms around him until he calmed down.

“Just… The things I saw… It was all so real…” Van said between heaving breaths as he tried to regain his composure. He looked at Billie and added, “Never ask me that question. That was just too much for me to see, let alone talk about. Sara was right about this thing giving insight and wisdom. I just hope I’ll never have an experience like that again.”

“Did you at least find her?” Ian questioned, getting to the important part.

“Yeah, she’s in Venice , on the beach,” Van answered.

“Alright, let’s go,” Billie said.

Chapter 46: Not Again

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