Big thanks to everyone who took their time to review the last chapter!
Okay, so I'll just answer a few of your questions and then – on with the fic!

Tap Dancing Window – Rachel did fall into a coma after the Berrisford mission, but at the end of the Berrisford Episode, it was stated that she died. Alec even visited her grave in the episode.

Loralee X5-214 – thanks for the info. But this is my fic anyway, so I can do what I want with the story. :-)

RavynJensen – maybe the twins will make an appearance in this fic…just keep reading to find out…hehehe…;-)

Fire and Blood

By: human28

Chapter Five

The presence of the two transgenics as well as Faith's had been long since forgotten, all she could see was the guilty and aggrieved face of the vampire lying on the ground. All she could see was his pain-filled eyes as he burst into flames, saving the whole of humanity. She was oblivious to the tears that streamed down her cheeks, all she could feel was anger. Pure, unadulterated anger.

"How could you do this to me?" she asked softly, dangerously.

Spike leapt nimbly to his feet, but backed away from her at the sight of the stake in her hand. There was regret in his ice-blue eyes, and Buffy then knew that he had been here for a very long time, making his presence unknown to them – making them suffer even longer. His answer surprised her. "You know why, Buffy. You know why."

"I don't know why!" she screamed. She was sobbing now, but totally unaware of it. "Tell me Spike, tell me why you never came back to us – to me? God, I never thought I would ever see you again. I hurt so much, Spike. We all did."

"I know."

"You know?" Buffy laughed mirthlessly. "Then why the hell didn't you show yourself? Even just tell us that you were alive? Do you really want us to suffer? Because you succeeded. Big time."

Spike stepped up to her, until they were directly face to face. His eyes mirrored her own. Pain, regret, misery. "Did you ever think that I didn't suffer? They pulled me out of there, Buffy. They pulled me out of there. Out of sanctuary. And they threw me into this world…into all this chaos…told me to go back to you. To help fight the good fight, blah, blah, woof, woof. How could I go back to a woman who doesn't even love me back?"

That caught her off guard. "Wha – what?"

"You know that, Buffy. You don't love me." His eyes flashed.

"Maybe I didn't. But now, now I do."

…

Logan glanced at his watch and stifled a yawn. It was almost two in the morning and he was exhausted. He got caught up with his research on Manticore. It had become his new obsession. And you couldn't blame him, it was all too interesting for a cyber-journalist like Eyes Only to push aside.

With a sigh, he stood up and ran a hand through his hair. He'd better call this a night or he'd be dead on his feet tomorrow morning. He was just about to head into his bedroom when several knocks emanated from his front door. He frowned. Visitors at two in the morning were not exactly common on his schedule. He walked across the living room and unlocking all the locks, he pulled open the door.

"Buffy," he said in surprise at seeing the blonde woman standing right in front of him. Bathed in the shadows, Logan could only see an outline of her friends. "What's up?"

She smiled brightly. "May we come in? I've got some new friends that I want to introduce you to."

Curiosity overwhelming him, Logan motioned for all of them to go in. Buffy came in first, followed closely by Faith, then a man with platinum blonde hair, then a man dressed in nothing but black, and lastly…

His jaw dropped.

"452!" he breathed. She stopped dead in her tracks in front of him, her face a mask of blankness. She was even more beautiful in person than he would've ever thought. Long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders, caramel skin glistened under the dim light, and her eyes, although disturbingly empty, were the color of coffee – no scratch that, ice-cold coffee.

"I go by Max now," she said reaching out her hand.

He shook it tremblingly. "Lo – Logan Cale," he stammered.

"And I'm Alec," the man dressed in black piped up with a charming grin. "Or better known as X5-494."

"And I'm Spike!" A voice called out irritably from the living room. It belonged to the blonde. He had made himself comfortable on Logan's sofa, and he was scowling at the three of them. The two Slayers had taken seats on either side of him. "And I have a bomb lodged on my brainstem."

"Wha- what?" Logan asked in disbelief. "How did that happen?"

"We'll tell you the story later, right now, we need to find how the hell we're gonna take that thing out of Spike before his head explodes." Faith grinned lethally. "And we all know that's the perfect way to kill a vampire."

"Vampire?" Logan repeated, his tone slightly panicked. "You brought a vampire here?"

"Don't worry about Spike, old man. He's cool." Faith smirked, amused at Logan's jumpiness.

"So could you help us or not?" Buffy demanded impatiently.

Logan nodded. "Of course. I know a med-tech who used to work at Manticore – before the whole facility burst into flames." He eyed the two transgenics, carefully watching their reactions. Alec was as hard as stone, his expression completely neutral. Max wore the same blank mask, but her eyes betrayed her emotions. And right now, anger and pain were burning in those deep brown depths.

"How do you know so much about Manticore, anyway?" Max asked. Suspicion laced her voice, as well as distrust.

"I work for Eyes Only." Logan replied. He saw Buffy frowning at him and shaking her head. The look in her eyes told him to go for the truth. "Alright, fine. I am Eyes Only. The one responsible for exposing Manticore to the public."

"You mean, the one responsible for almost killing all of us," Alec corrected. His hazel-green eyes were hard and threatening. It almost made Logan want to take a step backward. He had to remind himself that these people were perfectly capable of killing him in the blink of an eye. "Plausible deniability, Logan. We're nothing but meat to them. And once you exposed Manticore, they had no choice but to eliminate all evidence that Manticore ever existed…that we ever existed. Or risk letting their other operations be jeopardized."

Logan swallowed. He knew that if it weren't for Max, Alec, and their genetically-enhanced intellect, every single transgenic within Manticore would've died in the fire. "I know." He said. "But Manticore had to be exposed. The public needs to know the number of crimes Manticore has committed."

Max shrugged. "So now they do." she smiled bitterly. "Let the hunt for the transgenics begin."

Alec laughed. "They'll have to catch us first. And if they do…" he trailed off. "Let's just say that us X5s don't give up easily." There was a predatory gleam in his eyes that sent chills running down Logan's spine.

"Look, sorry to interrupt, but I'm going to die in," Spike glanced at his watch. "Sixteen hours."

"Right, right." Logan fumbled for his cellphone and quickly pressed a button. As he made his call, Max turned to face their other companions.

"So, you guys never told us what your deal was." She said with a slight grin.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "We're called Slayers. And we slay vampires."

"Wow, that was very vague of you." Max said with mock surprise.

"Look who's talking, it's not like you and Alec told us the whole story, anyway." Buffy said crossing her arms across her chest. She knew that the two transgenics will probably never tell them about their past. Trust seemed to be an issue for them. So why should she?

Max shrugged. "I guess your right."

"We need to go now," Logan said closing his cellphone. "The med-tech's not very keen on staying around Seattle for long. Manticore's on his tail."

"Then I don't think it will be a good idea for Max and I to tag along," Alec said. He stood up and stretched. He resembled a cat – graceful and lithe. The female counterparts in the room could not help but stare, save for Max of course, who was used to being around such an attractive male specimen.

"Well you guys are welcome to stay here," Logan said motioning at his apartment. "We'll be back in no time."

"Let's get the bloody hell going before I seriously suck the blood out of every single one of you, because I am seriously getting pissed off. It's almost as if nobody cares about my well-being here." Spike sniffed and stormed out of the apartment first. The two Slayers followed in amusement.

"See ya Logan," Alec said, mocking a two-fingered salute at him. "Don't worry about your apartment. We promise to keep it intact." He grinned rakishly.

Logan shot them a dubious look before closing the door shut behind him, leaving the two X5s alone in the posh, luxurious living area of the infamous Eyes Only.

…

To be continued…

…

A/N: Review please!

Oh, and no sneak peek this time…I'm still changing some stuff in the next chapter….so be patient! It will come:-)