A/N Thanks for your replies people, they are really appreciated. Methos' & Dawn' exploits in Middle Earth were supposed to be the major plot line in this story, but since I still experience problems "departing" them from Earth in a proper way I am not ready to spill any beans yet. So please bear with me.

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Chapter 12

Dreg was choking with fear. The demon was certain that he would be lucky to cheat his way in one piece out of this dire situation, he suddenly found himself in. He had volunteered to locate Slayer' sister, wishing to earn his master' favor and now was cursing himself for being so "careless" with what he wished. He should have known better, he should have learned from his mistakes, but it was too late now.

"What do you mean 'you can't find her'?" Glory hissed at the demon slowly walking in circles around him, forcing unpleasant associations of cat and mouse into his mind. "You still possess that picture I gave you, don't you?" She asked with undisguised threat behind her question.

"Of course I do, your eternal sublimity" Dreg was quick to dismiss her suspicions, with a trembling hand demonstrating medallion with photo of Dawn inside in support of his words. "She is just warded by very powerful magic or the place where she is hiding is" he added with weak voice. He really didn't want to go into THAT territory.

"Then break through it" Glory scolded him, as if he was a clueless idiot.

Dreg risked a quick glance at Jinx, whose caricature of a face wore an expression of predator smelling blood and didn't dare to lie.

"It's just a caster needs to remove one of his.. eyeballs during the ritual, if he wants to succeed" he confessed with terror, expecting to meet the butt-end of Glory's eternal sublimity and rightly so. Beast stopped moving and awarded him with amused look and a strange spark in her eyes, promising nothing good.

"Well that don't allow this... minor... inconvenience to stop you from serving me, my lumpy friend" she said with sadistic smile crossing her pretty face.

"It is not that you are going to need it, if you fail to please me, anyway" she made a deadly point and after few moments of silence, allowing her words to sink in, was back to her usual playful self.

"So.. you need my help ripping it out?" her voice full of hope wouldn't take "no" for an answer.

Dreg was too terrified to response, while Jinx licked his lips in anticipation.

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The flight form Sunnydale to Seacouver was going to take a little bit less than three hours. The preparation for a journey has took even less than that and could be considered basic at best. Scoobies were just too preoccupied with the ceremony and their grief to care for anything else. So when it was time to depart, they were out of steam and forced to rush things. Also the fact that Giles, Xander, Willow and Tara desperately needed some sleep didn't help their cause at all.

Buffy was the only exception of the whole lot of them. In cool blood, fancy slaying outfit was discarded in favor of more loose and practical outdoor gear. She was obviously the only one to really listen to Cassandra' advise to consider more practical clothes. Methos and Dawn in the vision hadn't left an impression of people taking a picnic trip. They were up to some serious amount of travel. A pair of plain looking traveling boots on Slayer' feet instead on something more fashionable and to her tastes better than anything demonstrated how serious she was. Elegance be damned, she still have retained her natural grace to compensate for it.

What concerned weapons she was armed to the teeth. Her change in gear allowed to extend her already formidable arsenal. She could swear she had gained one more kilo or two from all the additional daggers and throwing knives safely hidden on her. It was going to take some time to get used to a slight shift of balance. She had also her old trusted crossbow to worry about, which she planned to carry on her back, not talking about a sword she was bound to pick up eventually. Buffy didn't forget her favorite stake to complete the picture. Hunting vampires or not, Slayer and stake were supposed to be inseparable and it was a good way to keep Spike in line, though she didn't really plan to revise her no-stake pact with him.

The rest of the group wore more casual clothes, but obliged to bring more practical foot-gear. Spike, who managed to book the last ticket on jet thanks to Buffy' benevolence, had on him only his usual clothes and wicked looking black blade, which in Cassandra' skeptical opinion was more suited for torture and intimidation purposes than actual fighting. Witches brought with them only what they needed to locate Dawn and the key ingredients for the most common spells they practiced. While watcher and Xander managed group's scarce supplies which consisted of some food, water and bolts for Buffy' crossbow. Each sported a sword and Giles brought one for Buffy' as well. Cassandra did a mental check to get them something more solid at first opportunity and even considered looting Duncan' dojo at Seacouver. Highlander stayed in Paris nowadays anyway. Although watcher and and boy were thinking in right direction, their swords were just ugly and of mediocre craftsmanship. The sword they brought for Buffy was actually pretty decent, but such an accomplished Slayer like her just deserved something more elegant and deadly than what they had to offer.

Of all the Scoobies only Anya decided to be original by bringing a rather intimidatingly looking assault rifle and crapload of ammunition to everyone' utter shock.

"Do not point that bloody thing at me" Spike was the first to regain his senses, mostly thanks to the very same reason that made him unhappy.

"Don't worry, I don't know how to handle this boy yet" ex-vengeance demon tried to assure him with a silly smile.

"That's exactly what I am worrying about, Anya!" her smile faded in an instant.

"And what do you care? It is not that it's going to kill you anyway" she defended her right to bear arms now.

"It still hurts like a bitch!" Spike protested.

"That's your surprise?!" Xander cut it, obviously not impressed as well. "Geez, Ann

have you seen yourself in the mirror? We are rescuing Dawn, not joining the god damn rebels in Mozambique!" he complained more pissed off with the fact that his girlfriend was patting infamous AK-47 instead of one of the rifles on American Military Service. And the Scoobies just didn't use guns! On principle!

"Well yeah, but isn't kinda stupid to go after Pale Ryder with sword? I mean you are going to loose that saber of yours in first 5 seconds of fight!" Anya turned her eyes to others for support.

"This is not saber, it is scimitar" Xander retorted, quickly realizing he couldn't hope to win that particular argument.

"She still has a point" Giles could only humbly agree with Anya' reasoning, regreting he never really got proficient with any kind of fire arms.

"Yeah" Buffy agreed with her watcher and regarded one of her favorite toys with critical gaze. "That thing makes my crossbow to look so.. obsolete."

"Maybe, but swords still won't hurt" Cassandra reasoned. "Methos values his neck above anything else. Sword is good demonstration of intent"

"Geez, Ann one would expect you at least to support good ole Uncle Sam" Xander muttered with disappointment.

"She was born 800 years before U.S. were founded" Willow pointed out smiling, better than anyone knowing the real reason behind her best friend's distress.

"Well I am still not carrying that box of illegal, communist ammunition" Xander stated with disgust.

"Fine" Anya rolled her eyes, grabbed the box with both hands and headed towards the door, leading out of Magic Box.

Tara who remained silent through the whole exchange couldn't restrain her natural curiosity anymore:

"Am I the only one wondering where did she got her hands on that rifle?" she asked carefully, being the first one to actually call the "thing" by its name.

Anya halted in doors and replied with dignity:

"I run business on hellmouth. I've got connection for God's sake."

"What connections? What business? We don't do guns!" realization finally dawning on Giles.

"Oops" Anya realized she compromised herself and with a sheepish grin tried to explain "well you don't, I do.. you know .. just occasional bit of freelance here and there..nothing serious... guns for townsfolk, kittens for Spike.."

Vampire glared and Anya realized she had compromised not only her activities, so before she could spill anymore beans quickly disappeared behind the doors.

"Kittens?!" Buffy exclaimed looking completely dumbfounded and glared at Spike.

"I.. will help Anya to load ammo into the van." Spike tried to evade, rushing towards the door with a Slayer on his tail, and then both disappeared as well.

"Well, I guess we are ready to go" Giles removed his glasses, shaking his head. "Oh and when we get back, remind me to fire Anya"