Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: One of you guys told me to employ Sam in Jam Pony to confuse Normal even more…hahahaha! That would be hilarious. I'll probably take your suggestion on that. If I can fit it in the story somewhere…anyway, on with the fic! SO sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy. Here's chapter eleven…hope you guys enjoy.
Fire and Blood
By: human28
Chapter Eleven
"You've got to be kidding me," Alec groaned, staring at the weaponry laid out before him. Buffy's friends had arrived several minutes ago and after some introductions, they pulled out a variety of weapons from their oversized black duffel bags and gave the transgenics the liberty to choose what ever they liked.
Unfortunately, none of them liked the weapons one bit.
"What the hell are these?" Max frowned, nudging a wicked-looking sword with her foot. "They look like they've been around for a millennium."
Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed an extremely sharp scythe from the table. "They may be old but they're nasty and they can kill almost anything." At the look on Giles' face, she sighed. "Okay, so maybe not anything. Sometimes, you gotta work some magic too."
Max blew out her breath. "Fine, fine. I'll take…" She randomly picked up a crossbow and three throwing knives. "These."
Sam shook her head and took several steps backwards. There was a glint of fear, and a tiny tinge of regret in her eyes. It was obvious that she didn't like swords and knives all that much. It reminded her too much of Manticore. Of being in the testing room. Of being a guinea pig. "Uh, no thanks. I do better with hand to hand combat."
Buffy nodded understandingly and turned to look at Alec who still had not picked a weapon. "Hurry up, bozo. My sister is out there and we don't know how much time we have."
Alec flashed her a lopsided grin before pulling out a pair of 9mms from his black leather jacket. "I'm all set."
Max smiled sweetly at him. "And you wouldn't mind sharing one of them with me, now would you?"
He rolled his eyes and sighed, knowing there was no way he would ever say no to Max. Sam eyed the pistols cagily, while Buffy stared at them in mild interest. "Why do you guys like guns so much?"
"They look good on me," Alec smirked.
"Egotistical ass," Max muttered.
Alec heard it and shot her a glare.
Max ignored it and answered Buffy with a much more proper reply to her question. "They're practical, convenient and rather pretty. That satisfy your question?"
Buffy couldn't help but grin. "I suppose."
"Slayer!" the lilting British-voice that was so distinctively Spike yelled out from the living room. "Come here for a second. And bring your tranny-friends with you."
The four of them walked into the living room where Logan had pulled out a nicely-sized circular table. Xander, Giles, Spike, Faith, and Willow were currently sitting around it. With the redhead laying out a variety of strange objects. The map of Seattle was the only thing that was familiar.
Alec motioned towards the table curiously. "What's with all the…"
"…thingies?" Buffy finished for him.
"Well, I wouldn't call them 'thingies', but yeah. What are they for?"
"Well, since Logan hadn't been able to trace this mystery man…or should I say – kidnapper? We decided to do a locator spell." Buffy explained.
"Spell?" Max echoed incredulously. "You mean, magic?"
"That's right," Xander nodded proudly. "You see, Willow's a witch. And darned good one, at that."
Willow blushed at her best friend's praise.
"Witch?" Max stared at Willow, in a way that made the redhead a tad bit uneasy. It was a calculating kind of look. It was as if she was gauging Willow's ability.
That was not to be a problem.
After all, she almost destroyed the world.
"Let's get started, shall we?" Giles interrupted them.
"Of course," Willow nodded nervously. She fingered the translucent crystal in her hands. A silver chain was attached to it, making it look like a simple, yet beautiful necklace. She smoothed out the map in front of her.
Buffy, Max, Alec, Sam, and Logan took their seats around the table and as soon as they had settled down, silence came upon them. Max watched in inquisitive fascination as Willow raised the silver chain over the map, the tiny gem dangling slowly. As if being blown by a slight breeze.
It was then that the immaculate silence was broken by soft murmuring. So soft that even those who had enhanced hearing had to strain what the young witch was saying. Max then realized that the whispers escaping Willow's lips were of a different language.
Her eyes widened when she suddenly saw the crystal move over the map in a steady motion. It was almost as if it was being pulled by some invisible force. All eyes were on the crystal, and they revealed astonishment as it came to a halt and dropped onto the surface of the map. It had found Dawn's location.
But that wasn't what surprised them.
"They're hiding her in a mental institution?" Buffy screeched.
Logan took a closer look, his eyebrows knit together in curiosity. "That's in sector thirteen." He looked up at them. "It's practically in the worst part of the city."
"Why would guys with cool cars and designer suits be hanging out in the bad part of town?" Faith asked with a frown.
"Answer's obvious." Max said. "They don't want to be found."
"Well, what the bloody hell are we waiting for?" Spike asked standing up and shrugging on his leather duster. "Let's get going before the sun decides to introduce itself to us again."
"Spike, its only nine." Buffy rolled her eyes. "We have plenty of time."
"Well, if there's one thing we know about time." Giles said wiping his glasses clean. "It passes swiftly."
…
To be continued……
A/N: Please, please, please, review!