Fic: Shanshu 42 - Finding Spike

[dragonyphoenix]

Title: Finding Spike
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 472 - Picaroon
Rating: PG
Summary: Another chapter for Shanshu
Word Count: 1161

The desert was hot in a hotly hot way but at least the vamps were dusted. Buffy looked over the edge of the crater. Plus the Hellmouth didn't seem to be spewing out any other monsters at the moment. “Okay, Dawn. Turok Han are dusted. You're up.”

“Me? But …” Buffy crossed her arms as Dawn took a deep breath. “Right. Uh, what do I do?”

“What do you mean, what do you do? You know what you do. That's why we brought you. Because you're the one who can do what you do.” Right, and that didn't sound completely idiotic. Way to be a supportive big sister. “You sort of use the Hellmouth and, uh, make it show you where Spike is.”

“You can do it Dawnster.” Hey, no fair Xander. You're not supposed to be more encouraging than her own sister. “It's just like riding a bike except that this is something you've never done before. Uh, isn't it instinctual?”

That woman the big guy dumped on them, the Seer, Cassie was her name?, she spoke up. “It is instinctual. I can lead you through it.”

“Well, Cassie …” Dawn started. Yes! I knew her name was Cassie.

“How is this supposed to find Will?” That came from Spike's, well no not Spike's, Will's friend, Millay, who looked so geeky that even high-school Willow seemed cool in comparison, which was a comment Buffy was never, ever going to share with Willow.

“Trust us.” Oooh, and look at Xander being all touchy-feely with the new girl. Note to self: after this is over, have someone check to see if Millay is a demon.

Millay pointed to Cassie. “She's laying out a scrying bowl.” Oh, so that's what that sort of platter-like thing with water in it was. “I'm supposed to buy this? Really?”

“Hey,” Xander replied. “You saw the vamps, right?”

“Well, yeah. That was unexpected. Different.”

Xander was grinning at her. Ooooh, he was interested. “Just think of us as experts in fields, er, outside the ordinary. Come on, give us a shot.”

“Okay but if this doesn't find Will then somebody's getting Narn opera piped into his bedroom 24/7.”

And given the googly eyes Xander was making at Millay, that had to be a mega-geeky reference.

“Okay, Dawn,” Cassie said. “You just stare into this scrying bowl. Your true nature will do the rest.”

Dawn settled down before the bowl and stared into it. “I'm just your average ordinary everyday superhero. Nothing more than that, it's all I really am.” Dawn glared up at Xander.

“Sorry, sorry.” He pulled his cellphone out and with an abashed smile walked out of hearing range.

Dawn looked up to Cassie. “If you know so much about scrying, why can't you do this?”

“My powers are tied to this realm. Your nature partakes of all realms. Only you can search them all.”

“Oh.” Dawn leaned back over the bowl. “I'm seeing … water, water and a bowl.”

“Your power follows your will. You have to want to see into the different realms.”

The water started bubbling and, okay, it was hot out here in the desert, but not that hot. “Oh, here we go.” Dawn sounded excited so something must be working. Buffy could only see a bowl full of water. “Look at those, I mean, ugh, green scales and glowing red eyes? I'd hate to meet one of those in a dark alley. Oh, and, eww. I so didn't need to see that.”

“Think of Willow,” Cassie said. “And Spike. Look for him.”

“Right. Spike. Ugh, that's one of the creepiest demons I've ever seen. I mean if you're wearing a mask like that the face has to be pretty awful, right? Okay, and there's a bunch of stick-bugs, sort of like praying mantises that can walk on two feet and they're wearing armor and carrying weapons so I'm going with demon here. Oh, and there's Spike and Willow's there too!”

“Great,” Buffy said. “Two questions: where are they and how do we get to them?”

“Pull back a bit,” Cassie told Dawn. “See if you can find any identifying features.”

“Um, Mann's Chinese Theater? That's pretty identifying, right? Hey, they're in LA?”

“LA?” Buffy asked, “Which means what, they're taking in a show?”

Xander snapped his cell shut as he joined the circle around Dawn. “The ritual, it's going down at Mann's Chinese Theater. Wes has a team on the way but with LA traffic, even at mid-morning, they're not gonna make it in time.”

“Okay, so we set a thief, specifically this thief, to catch a picaroon.” Buffy glanced around. “Why's everybody looking at me?”

“Still hitting that Word a Day calendar?” Xander asked.

“Fine.” Buffy very definitely did not roll her eyes. “We're setting a Slayer, this Slayer, to catch a demon. How do we get me to LA? You, witches, give me a lift?”

The witchy Slayers looked at each other like she was going to eat them up or something. Finally one stepped, or was really shoved, forward. “I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't have that kind of power.”

“Also, we'll need them here,” Cassie said. “To close the Hellmouth.”

Hellmouth open vs all the dimensions open. Hmm, neither one good. “Right, Xander? How do you feel about speeding?”

“I can teleport.”

Huh? Creepy hippy guy, the one who'd kidnapped Dawn which turned out to be totally unnecessary since Spike was back in this dimension anyway. “No offense but …” Wait, what was she saying? He'd kidnapped Dawn. She didn't care about offending him. “I don't know you.”

“It's the only way you'll get there in time to save the world.” Okay, and add Cassie to the glaring-at list.

“I don't know you either.” No other options. “Okay, uh, dude. We'll take …”

“It's Webb,” Dawn said.

“Huh?”

“His name is Webb.”

“I'll take you are your three.” Webb said.

My three? Huh? “My three what?”

Webb pointed to those three Slayers of Andrews, the girls who'd fought together as a unit. Great, so either he really did want to save the day or he was taking out her best fighters.

“What do you need me to do?” Xander asked.

Find me a better way to get to LA. “Make sure the Hellmouth gets closed. See they do it right this time.” Oh, and that raised a good question. Buffy turned to the witches. “You do know how to close a Hellmouth, right?”

“Wesley gave us instructions.” Okay, as long as the instructions hadn't come from Andrew, they should be all right.

“We should get going,” Webb said.

Just before they popped out, Buffy hear Millay saying something to Xander about Narn opera and spoo ranches. Whatever spoo was.

Wow, and that was fast. Mann's Chinese Theater, hundreds of those praying mantis demons Dawn had described and boy, she hadn't made them sound nearly disturbing enough and then .. Spike! And Willow! And some woman aiming a sword at Willow's chest.