Chapter 10:

Saffron could feel something, the feeling was new. She felt that something was coming, but she wasn't sure what. She had been walking to Spike's crypt of the week so that she could convince him to come to a Scooby meeting that was planned. She didn't realise that Spike had known she was in the cemetery as soon as she had set foot in it. He had hoped she would come to see him tonight and he smiled as he waited for her to join him. Tonight, she was wearing her usual dark jeans with a grey t-shirt and a black, patterned, long-sleeved shirt over it that looked suspiciously like one she had borrowed from Spike recently. Her pink cast was still on her arm, it was really annoying her and she was glad that it was being removed next week. She had been about to knock on the door when she had been hit with a strong emotion that she couldn't describe. To her, the intention felt cruel. She felt like she was going to explode from the inside out from this emotion and she wanted whoever or whatever it was to leave Sunnydale. But the feeling dulled slightly after a few minutes of waiting with her hand still hovering in a fist, briefly noticing that her dark purple nail varnish on her thumb was chipped and needed painting, about to knock on Spike's door. She tried to clear her head and breathe before she continued to knock on Spike's door where he quickly swung the door open to let her in.

A man prowled through the streets of Sunnydale. A toothpick between his teeth, the spur on his boots making a distinct noise that seemed to echo around the area. He was wearing a black cowboy hat low over his eyes, a battered leather jacket and trousers that looked like they had been mended and patched up a lot. He had grey stubble and his mouth was twisted into a constant smirk. He walked as if he was always ready for a fight and had his hands free to draw his weapon. He had walked up the street and stopped under the light of a rare lamppost in Sunnydale. He looked around, as if planning a route and smiled as he checked the device he kept in his pocket. It appeared to be a pocket watch, once silver but now dull from wear. It was on a chain that was attached to his jacket and he pressed the button on the top twice. Suddenly the face of the small clock glowed with an eerie green light as it locked onto the highest value of treasure in the area. His smirk widened until it became almost a caricature of himself. He started in the direction he had just walked from and his pace fastened as he started to follow the tracker. He licked his lips at the thought of finding it, the anticipation tasted almost as sweet as getting paid. Almost.

The walk around the Hellmouth was like having a stroll through an open bank vault for the man, every street he walked on his device made a noise to signal something of value was nearby. The man, though, was a high achiever. He always went for the highest prize in the vault, even if this meant more work. He always told himself that the prize was sweeter the more he worked for it. It also made him the most desirable in his particular line of work.

xoxoxo

"You glow" Spike looked in Saffron's eyes, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he walked along the pavement towards Giles' home, walking with Saff was his main reason for agreeing to go.

"Spike, I look like a stick of fucking plutonium" Saffron groaned, putting her hands out in front of her face inspecting the green glow that was covering all of her skin. It had started to happen shortly after they had left Spike's crypt and Saffron had shrieked when she had looked down and appeared to be turning into a walking green traffic light. She had started to glow in the dark and she quickly put her hands in her pocket to hide her bright green hands although there was nothing that could be done about her green face. She didn't know what to do, so she decided to consult Giles for help when she got there. She hoped that it had nothing to do with her abilities as she would have a lot of explaining to do. While the two were walking along the path, a shadowy figure walked up to them from the opposite direction. He stopped a few steps away and Saffron stopped dead when she felt him there. She knew something bad was going to happen. Really bad.

"Well, howdy there, sugar." He smiled, tipping his hat slightly "If I'd have known my prize was a purdy one, I'd have worn my good jacket" he whistled lowly at her as she stared, frozen to the spot. He rubbed his chin as if in thought, the scratching of his stubble made Saff shiver. Saffron was vibrating with fear, and Spike could feel it and he stood in front of her protectively. One hand was on her side, reaching backwards to try to comfort her.

"Y'all are quite the couple, shame I'm fixin' to leave with my prize tonight"

"There's no bloody way you're leaving with her tonight, mate" Spike insisted, shifting further in front of her. His stance signalled that he was ready to fight the man in front of them, Spike knew that he wasn't quite human. The man nonchalantly reached into his pocket and before Spike could even react a blinding green light flashed around the whole street and neither of them could see anything.

"Get the fuck off me you John Wayne wannabe!" Spike heard Saffron scream at the man, but he was blinded by the light and dropped to his knees before falling onto his front. It was as if imaginary ropes were tightly coiling around him and he found himself unable to move as the light started to fade and he could now look up to see the scene before him. Saffron had a large glowing rope around her, that looked suspiciously like a lasso, and she seemed to be unable to move as well.

"Congrats, she's quite the looker." He winked as he caressed her cheek. She whimpered, numb to everything except his touch and Spike was angry that he was so helpless, "I think I'll enjoy our time together, the accent's exotic too" He laughed menacingly as he ran his hands through Saff's hair roughly. She tried to move out of his grip but with no luck and looked into Spike's eyes briefly in panic. Spike noticed that the glowing rope was electrified and Saffron was wincing with every small movement.

"Let her go" Spike managed to seethe through his gritted teeth as he writhed from where he was on the floor.

"No can do, she's my prize" He stroked her cheek again before looking back to Spike and looked in deep thought, "You seem like a bad seed, if you don't mind me sayin', here's my card if you need it" He reached from his pocket and dropped the card onto Spike's paralyzed body and left into the night with Saffron at his side.

Spike slowly managed to get up, long after they had left, from his spot on the floor and inspected the card that had been chucked down to him.

Solomon "Wild" Westward. Lorgadair Collective.

He cursed as he realised this meant he'd have to involve the rest of them. Spike roughly put the card in the pocket of the duster and stalked to Giles'. He knew this wasn't going to go down well and was already beating himself up, now he had to prepare for the Slayer to start beating him up for letting her get taken.

Spike had made it to Giles' and had managed to explain what had happened to Saff with minimal damage from Buffy. He had a slight nosebleed, but he took it as a win as she would have usually hit him a lot more, but she was distracted by losing her cousin.

"This, uh, Lorgadair Collective. Does anyone have any idea as to who they might be?"

"Collectors. They collect valuable beings, extract their energy and sell them for a high price" Anya shrugged as if it was obvious as Spike's eyebrows furrowed with concern. He wasn't sure if he should explain to the rest of them why the man would want Saffron.

"Why would they have any interest in Saffron?" Giles continued to wonder, and Willow started to search the internet for any information on the Collective. Buffy was pacing because she was so worried, she asked if she could just go and find the man and hurt him, but Giles convinced her that they needed more information before they could go on. They all stared at Spike, suspicion firmly on each of the Scoobies' faces.

"Did you do this to her?" Xander pointed his finger at him and taking a step towards him.

"No I bloody didn't, if I had I wouldn't be here would I?" He didn't want to reveal too much, she had trusted him with something and he knew the reason she had been spending so much time with him was because he was the only one that knew about her empathic nature. He didn't want that to change.

"Well, ah, you are always saying that you hate us all and that does include Saffron"

"Look, I know why he wants her but that's all I can say" Spike put his hands up and shrugged, as Buffy rounded on him and threatened him violently, she was worried about her cousin and was desperate to find out anything that would help them. He made a decision in the heat of the moment and told them everything. He would have done anything if it had meant getting her back quicker.

"I knew it!" Anya said happily, not reading the room where everyone else looked some degree of upset or concerned about Saffron and the fact she hadn't told any of them about what was going on.

"We need to find her. Now" Buffy said firmly, scowling at Spike and putting her hands on her hips. She looked to Giles to see what the books said about the Bounty hunters also known as the Lorgadair Collective.

xoxoxo

The abandoned warehouse was damp and cold. Saffron had to hand it to Sunnydale, there was always an abundance of creepy abandoned buildings for bad guys to hide out; maybe that's why her and her friends always ended up being taken to horrible places like this. Saffron had been placed on a used mattress in the corner and her electric restraints had been removed and replaced instead with normal handcuffs. the cuffs were digging into her wrist and cutting into her cast and making her uncomfortable. But thankfully not as uncomfortable as the electrical charge that had made her emotionless apart from the pain. Her green glow had faded since Solomon had located her and he had taken her boots off and left them by the door of the room. Her shirt had also been removed and hung up in the corner next to his jacket.

Solomon was walking around his temporary digs. In an attempt to make it feel like 'home' he had placed his shoes and bag neatly in the corner, taken his hat off and hung a few pictures on the wall opposite. They were mainly scenes with horses and dusty plains that Saffron didn't really appreciate.

"Home sweet home" He laughed to himself as he placed his hat on the table in the centre of the room and leaned back in the chair, chewing on his tobacco.

"Hey, Butch Cassidy's Wild Reject. You gonna do the normal thing and tell me your whole plan before my cousin comes to kill you or what?"

"A sweet thing with a little bite, I like it sugar pie" He laughed and pointed at her before walking away from where she was lying. It creeped her out how nasty he was and she physically shivered when he spoke to her because it made her so uncomfortable. "I'm sure your cousin's very tough, maybe he took karate in high school. But he still fell on his ass like a damn fool" Solomon laughed, and Saff realised that she hadn't been taken because she was the slayer's cousin this time. She didn't know what to think. Still, she tried to maintain a brave face and do the smartest thing she could.

"This ain't my first rodeo, bucko." She attempted to mimic his accent, "You're surely about to deliver a monologue about what you're doing here and why you want me? Right?" She decided if she kept him talking it would delay whatever he had planned enough for Buffy to kick the door down and save her. Saffron didn't like that she had to rely on Buffy to come and save her but knowing that Buffy was around made her feel better, so she didn't dwell on playing the damsel in distress part too much. Solomon kept silent as he stared at her with interest, he hadn't expected her to be so forthright. Most of the emotional ones just cried or tried to influence his emotions to make him feel guilty. It never worked as his need for money and status was too high. He couldn't figure this one out, but he hoped this meant she'd come with a few more zeros on the end of her price tag.

"You're my prize. Ain't nothin' more to it"

"What does that even mean?"

"Baby, you're empathic" He shrugged and dragged out the word which made her shiver. He started to chew on a toothpick as he smiled at her.

"Systematic, why not bloody greased lightning?" she muttered under her breath, pissed off at the man not wanting to do a big reveal in typical bad guy fashion. She rolled over on her mattress, so she wasn't facing him anymore. She could hear him shuffling about the warehouse, he was probably fluffing up some cushions she thought bitterly. He started to hum a tune that she didn't recognise, but she felt something from him when she did. He kept humming and she could feel a nostalgia emanating from him, he had fond memories attached to the song and she could feel it was a happier time for him. She didn't want to feel this idiots' emotions, but she couldn't stop it.

She decided to try something. She couldn't stop feeling his emotions, or anyone else's, so maybe she could use it to her advantage. She focused on his other emotions.

"You're a greedy person. You don't have a very wide range of emotions to choose from, mainly just boredom and anger. That's a nasty cycle. Maybe you should try a holiday to the Bahamas, not the Hellmouth"

"Aw shucks, you just about figured me out sweet thing" He laughed, shaking his head. He'd heard it all before from his other prizes. They all met the same fate regardless and he got paid, and he never felt any remorse. She had been in the warehouse for twelve hours before she gave up on getting anything out of the man she had been taken by and she was losing hope that anyone was coming to get her. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and she cursed herself for being so emotional.

xoxoxo

Giles' house was filled with worry as everyone in the room was fond of Saffron and wanted to make sure that she was safe. Buffy had been anxiously rubbing her hands together as she looked around the room. She loved Saffron but she wished she didn't get herself into stuff like this so often.

"How can we find her?" Xander had an axe in his hand and was swinging it, ready to leave.

"I could ask Riley or Graham to help track him" Buffy said with her eyebrows furrowed.

"No" Everyone else chorused, Spike being the loudest. He was slouching in his chair, thinking about what he had told them. He had explained that she felt things that everyone else felt as if they were her own emotions, he had briefly mentioned the second sight she seemed to possess which he didn't understand why everyone seemed so shocked about. She read tarot every day and didn't even try to hide it from anyone. He was beginning to think these Scoobies weren't the most observant people. He had explained that she could tell when people were being deceptive and that she tried to follow her gut feelings because that's what she had learnt from researching online. He hadn't mentioned that they had spent so much time together, but he did want them to know that she had come to him to tell him. He slightly enjoyed the disappointment on their faces, but he also felt a small feeling of guilt again as he wondered what she would think of what he had told them.

"If she is, um, an empath as Spike is saying and her ability is strong enough to track, surely the Initiative would want to do tests on her or something?" Willow asked. She had been disappointed to hear that Saff would rather confide in spike than her, especially after she had told Saffron about Tara. They were all worried about Saffron and were doing all that they could to try and figure out where he would take her. Buffy had started to pace, almost wearing a hole in the floor. Spike was sat in the corner, his leg bouncing, as he flipped through a book he had been handed. Xander was still playing with his weapon, anxious to leave and find her. Anya, although not as obviously bothered as the rest of them, still felt Saffron's absence and was intently reading a dusty old book about Empaths and who might want to find them. Giles was stood behind Willow who was still on the computer and he was sighing and cleaning his glasses.

Willow suddenly had an idea, there was a spell she could use. A locator spell to find Saff. She told the rest of them and everyone quickly went their separate ways to find the ingredients they needed. Willow went to get Tara because they were stronger at magic together and they performed the spell to find out where Saffron had been taken.

xoxoxo

Saffron was getting really nervous, she had fallen asleep in the dim light of the warehouse. When she had awoken, she had been moved from the mattress she had been given and strapped to a chair under a big machine. The machine was hard, silver metal and looked like one of those old industrial-sized hairdryers that they use at the hairdressers.

"Oi, Sundance, why am I stuck under the hairdryer from hell?"

"Sugar, I'll bite. Since you're such an appealing little thing, I'll tell you my plan seeing as no ones' a coming for ya" He smirked wider at the last part, he found it easier to extract their emotions when they were feeling intensely. His favourite was fear. "I'm collecting your essence. Your emotions, some may call it a soul. You're worth a pretty penny and I'm collecting my prize" Saffron's mouth gaped in shock as she heard the reason she was being held there. She moved her head and looked back up at the machine and closed her eyes. She didn't know who she was speaking to in her head, but she was asking for help. She opened her eyes again to see the man staring back at her, he seemed amused with her and started to chew on more tobacco as he sat and stared at her. She could feel that he was buzzing with anticipation, he was excited for what was coming and it sickened her. He was going to turn the extractor on in 15 minutes, but he needed to make sure everything was safe so that the expensive parts were extracted and the rest of her was left. The next fifteen minutes was excruciating for Saff, the wait seemed to last a lifetime.

Solomon started up the extractor from a safe distance away and stood watching as the machine started to kick into action. At the same time, Buffy and the others burst through the door and started to descend on the scene in front of them. Solomon was taken by surprise but was quick to grab for his pocket watch. However, Buffy was faster and knocked it out of his hands, snapping the chain that attached it to his jacket.

"That was a family heirloom, kiddo. You'll be paying for that" He snarled as he turned to start throwing punches at Buffy. She matched him blow for blow and realised that he was stronger than a human. His eyes flashed green but this didn't intimidate Buffy. While Buffy was fighting Solomon, Spike had run to turn off the machine and help Saffron out of the chair she had been strapped to. She briefly thanked him before looking over at the fight where she panicked.

"No! Buffy!" She screamed as she watched Solomon unstrap a gun from his holster and start to aim it at her cousin.

"God, what is this? Pistols at bleeding dawn" Spike rolled his eyes as he managed to hit the gun out of his hand before Solomon squeezed the trigger of the gun that was aimed at the slayer. He knew it would have hurt Saffron if Buffy had died and that was the only reason. Plus, he had wanted the pleasure of killing her when he got that chip out. Xander threw his axe towards Buffy and she used the weapon on the bounty hunter. Her anger was evident as she finished him off as she protected her cousin. Saffron could feel the anger as Buffy won the fight and started to walk back over to where Saffron had been sat.

"Saff, what's going on?"

"Clint Eastwood's ugly little brother over here wanted to nick my emotions and sell them to the highest bidder" Saffron shrugged as if it hadn't bothered her, "Thanks for coming to get me though" She added smiling at everyone.

"Uh, Saffron. I believe that Buffy was referring to the empathic abilities that led to The Logadair Collective coming for you" Giles explained as Saffron's face went as white as a sheet. She turned and scowled at Spike, who took a step back and looked away from her.

Saffron had followed everyone back to Giles', promising to explain everything when they got there. Spike had made his excuses and left towards his crypt and Saffron hadn't even looked in his direction when he had spoken. The scoobies were sat in a circle

"It might be easier if you just ask me anything you want to know" Saffron looked uneasily around the room, her usual cool façade was gone and she felt very vulnerable in front of her group of friends. She had felt like Spike had taken something from her by telling everyone before she had the chance to sort it all out in her own mind.

"Can you, uh, hear what I'm thinking?" Xander looked awkward when he asked her this.

"Nope. I can feel what your emotional state is though" She said flatly.

"Why didn't you say anything, Saff?" Buffy cut in, before Xander could ask something else.

"I wasn't ready, Buff. I was scared and overwhelmed and I just needed time" Saff looked down at the ground.

"You should have said something" Buffy replied firmly, Saff could tell that she was upset that she hadn't been kept in the loop.

"I know you're upset, Buff. In fact, I can feel it. How was I even supposed to bring it up? Hey Buff, how's things? Oh, me? I'm just feeling everyone's emotions as if they're my own and sometimes I feel everything so much that I can't cope and also I can tell when you're lying. Don't ask me how though, I just do" Saffron went off, her emotions were spinning and she didn't know if it was her own or others around her but she was upset that Buffy was blaming her for keeping secrets from her.

"I knew it! I knew you were cheating at poker!" Xander yelled and broke the tension that had been thick in the air after Saffron had finished speaking. Saffron didn't reply, she just gave him a tight smile before looking back to the floor.

"Saffron. It is important that you confide in us. I can do some research into your, ah, condition that might help you" Giles said, putting a hand on her shoulder as she nodded her thanks. He was fond of her and wanted her to know he wasn't mad at her for keeping things from him, he just wanted to help her. He turned to find some books then that he could start reading into Saffron's abilities.

The rest of them discussed everything long into the night and Saffron eventually felt more comfortable with her friends around her although she could still feel a strong sense of disappointment from Buffy and Willow, who hadn't really spoken to her much.

"I'm, um, sorry everyone. I know that I trust you all and I was definitely going to tell you, I was just trying to find the right time" Saffron said, before she was about to leave after a long night.

"It's not just that, Saff. You told Spike. Spike!" Buffy explained quickly before she stepped towards the door.

"He was just there, Buff" Saffron lied. She knew she should know better than lying about her friendship with Spike after everything, but she knew that the rest of them would be less forgiving after hearing how much time she had been spending with him. Saffron reassured them again that she'd keep them involved from now on as Buffy hugged her reluctantly.

xoxoxo

Saffron was walking through the cemetery to try to clear her head. She was wearing a black t-shirt and blue ripped jeans as well as a grey plaid shirt over her top. She had enjoyed borrowing Spike's shirts and had bought herself one so she could slip it on when it got colder. It had been almost a week since Solomon had taken her to try and extract her emotions to sell on the black market. She had spoken to the rest of the Scoobies more since that night and the others had all forgiven her. Willow had been upset and Saffron had taken over Joyce's kitchen and baked her some chocolate chip cookies as an apology, promising she would be the first to know anything else. Willow was satisfied and the girls had hugged, and Willow had started talking excitedly about Tara and the spells they had been trying.

The only person she hadn't seen since was Spike, she hadn't tried to find him at night. In fact, she had been actively avoiding anywhere he might go during the dark. She began to think about how she had missed his company, as the man himself sauntered into view from a clearing in the woods near to the edge of the graveyard she had been weaving her way through. When he had seen her, he had walked towards her, lighting up a cigarette and offering her one. She shook her head and they stood in silence for a couple of minutes.

"You told them" She said simply.

"Love, I had-" Spike started his explanation but was quickly cut off.

"Don't fucking 'love' me, Spike. I trusted you and you told them" She turned away and he grabbed onto her arm in desperation, he didn't want her to walk away and everything to change. She looked down at his hand and then back up at him. She could feel that he wasn't proud of what he had done. She looked into his blue eyes, and he stared back into hers. She could get lost in those eyes, she thought to herself. No.

She wanted to go back to his crypt with him and drink his liquor, but she couldn't get over that he had told everyone about her abilities. So for now, she couldn't stay with him. She slipped out of the shirt that she had been wearing and left him holding the shirt in his hands as she walked away. She didn't look back, or she would have given in and ran back to him. She had felt safe with him, although she would never admit that to anyone, especially not him.