Love Through Touch

Disclaimer: See Part 1.

_______________________

Tara sobbed as the dragged Faith's motionless body back into her cell.

They'd taken the two girlsm thm their prison and carried them away, kicking and screaming.

They only brought Faith back.

They placed Faith none to gently down in the corner of her cell.

"This ones a fighter" one of the men muttered.

"The other one is still being tested on" the second soldier said tucking Faith knee's into her chest so that she lay in the fetal position "There's a pool on how long it is before she breaks"

They walked away muttering their bets.

"Faith?" Tara whispered "Faith if you can hear me answer me" she began to sob in earnest.

"She's hiding" Hyatt said from the shadowed corner.

"What?" Tara turned and faced the solemn girl.

"She's found a place inside herself where the pain can't reach her" Hyatt explained "She's hiding"

Tara nodded understanding. She had such a place as well.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen" Cash said strutting up to their cells "I see our little slayer friend can't take the pressure"

"Or maybe it's the mind altering drugs your giving her" Hyatt said angrily "Maybe they're slowly poisoning her system"

"Wha-" Cash cut herself off before she could actually ask the question.

"You think I don't know?" Hyatt laughed cruelly "I can smell it. It's seeping through her skin"

"Jordan!" Cash half turned and bellowed for the Doctor "Jordan get out here now!"

Jordan rushed room a nearby testing room "Yes Ms. Cash?"

"This one claims she can 'smell' drugs on the slayer" Cash looked at Hyatt as if she were the lowest of life-forms.

"She has enhaced senses much like a Slayer or a Vampire ma'am" Jordan said quietly.

"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Cash turned ready to tear into her subordinate.

"It's posted in her case file ma'am" Jordan said softly trying to look meek.

"I wasn't aware the files had been updated" Cash stomped away "And I want her tested on A.S.A.P! She's as cocky as the damn Slayer!"

Jordan turned to face Hyatt "Yes ma'am\ "Y "You'll never find anything out" Tara assured her "She's the best kept secret of the demon world" Tara didn't know where she'd gotten that idea from but she'd go with it as long as their captors believed it.

"You'd be surprised" Jordan said cryptically.

Madison didn't return that night.
___________________________________

Star pasted on a fake smile and knocked on the front door.

The woman who answered looked normal enough. Graying hair, a flowered dress, but curiously sharp eyes.

"Yes little one? How can I help you?"

The voice cracked a bit, it sounded geniune.

Star knew it was fake.

"You see I have this little problem" Star stepped closer to the woman "My mom and my aunt we're kidnapped a few days ago" another step "I want them back"

Buffy and Willow stepped out of the shadow's and Anya moved behind Star.

"I-" the woman began to say then fled into her home.

Buffy was on her in seconds, pinning her down on her belly.

"What spell did you do? Who was it for?" she demanded as she pressed the demon woman's nose into the hardwood floor.

"I don't rat on my paying customer's" the woman snarled and tried to throw the slayer off of her.

"Your 'customer' has an Al-Faqadi" Anya chimed in.

The woman froze "Which one?"

"She belongs to Artemis" Willow said off the top of her head.

It seemed to fly with the demon, she relaxed in Buffy's grasp.

"I didn't know"

w yow you know" Star said seriously "I need her back. You know how to get her back. Give her to me"

"I can't, she wasn't the only one I hid" the woman whimpered when Buffy tightened the hold.

"The other is a powerful witch" Buffy supplied.

"Not a witch, a mage" the woman choked over the pain shooting up her back "She's a waxing mage, but they don't know that"

"What 'do' they know?" Willow growled. She didn't care what this woman thought her lover was, she just wanted her back.

"That there's magic in them. They're looking for the magic" the woman strained against Buffy's hold until the pain was so sharp she couldn't think straight.

"They look for the magic?" Star muttered to herself.

"Is anyone more confused 'now' than when we first came here?" Anya asked raising her hand.

Willow frowned. Buffy shrugged maintaining her hold.

"Are they harvesting magic?" Willow asked suddenly.

"No" the woman said her cheek pressed firmly into the floor "They're studying it"

"Like witches?" Anya asked.

"No like scientist" the woman relaxed her body "Will you let me up now?"

Buffy did so warily "So where are these guys doing all this magic studies?"

"Where else would you go to learn?" the woman vanished in a flash of light as soon as Buffy released her hold.

They all stood still surpsied.

Then Willow noticed.

"Uh Buffy?" Willow smiled humorlessly.

"Yeah Will?" Buffy stood up and brushed herself off.

"You tackled her dead center of her sacred circle"

Buffy huffed "Figures"
___________________________________

"Well what did you find?" Cash asked pacing the room as she covertly watched her doctor's test her lease liked Aquisition.

"Nothing beyond a strong Psychic or Empathic ability" the young man reported "The Enhanced senses were previously documented"

"Well 'what' is she then?" Cash said impatiently.

"An enigma" the man shook his head.

"Bring me the witch" Cash growled.

"Yes ma'am" he hurried to do her bidding.

"I'll see how mysterious she is, when her little 'friend' isn't under her care"
___________________________________

Tara was resting when they arrived for her.

She didn't get a chance to scream.

She was unconscious when they carried her into the room with Hyatt.

Strapped down and unable to assure herself that Tara wasn't in pain Hyatt panicked.

Cash had turned on her sensors when they brought the witch into the room, the E.G. scans went off the scale when the girl realized there was no way to reach the witch, being chained as she was.

"That's all I needed to know"
__________________________________

Buffy stiffened, and began to jerk slightly as she was overtaken with a mix between rage and fear.

"Buffy?" Willow asked turning to face the slayer. When she didn't receive and answer of even a look from her friend, she to panicked and pulled over.

"She's spazzing out" Anya remarked from the backseat where Star slept in her lap.

"Shut up Anya" Willow grabbed Buffy's hand hoping to get her attention that way.

Buffy was caught up in the fear, anger, and the visions that flashed behind her eyes.

Men in white lap coats were holding Tara, she appeared unhurt, but Buffy could tell she was unconscious. There were flashes of color then the world would go gray.

"Buffy please your scaring me" Willow whispered when she failed to gain Buffy's attention after several minutes.

Suddenly as it came on Buffy snapped out of it "Oh my god" her shoulders shook as she sobbed into her hands.

Anya remained quiet.

Willow pulled her friend as close as she could get her "What's wrong Buffy? What is it?"

"C-can you feel Tara?" Buffy asked swallowing between short ragged breaths.

Confused but willing, Willow attempted to *feel* her lover. There was nothing but a hollow darkness where Tara's astrial presence usually existed "No! I can't" tears began to fall from Willow's eyes "She can't be dead. I'd of known before this"

"No she's not dead, they're doing something to them" Buffy shook with a rage that was her own "and it's terrifying Hyatt"

"Something scares Hyatt?" Anya frowned "Must be intense. I thought losing family was the only thing that could rattle that girl"

Willow and Buffy looked at each other. As blunt and unwanted as the revelation was, Anya was right.

"We have to find them" Buffy said staring forward.

"We have to do it tonight" Willow agreed and pulled away from the curb and headed towards the Magic Box.

"You do realize, we never found out the spell she used" Anya remarked from the back.

"Then we'll have to do it the old fashioned way" Buffy grouched hoping she didn't have to notice they hadn't achieved their goal.

"And what is the old fashioned way?" Anya asked shifting carefully when Star moved in her lap.

"Solve the riddle, and/of hope *they* contact *us*" Buffy frowned. Neither choice was reassuring.
__________________________________

Hyatt and Tara came to together in their cell. They immediately embraced.

"Oh my god. Are you guys okay?" Cordy asked pressing her face against the glass "You've been out for hours"

"Yeah" Faith agreed "What did they do to you?"

Hyatt ignored them both "Are you okay? You were unconscious and I couldn't get to you"

"They just gave me a shot of something, and then I woke up here" Tara shrugged "I was scared there for a m-m-minute" Tara's breathing was ragged and she swore everyone could hear her heart beating.

"We've gotta get outta here" Madison chimed in weakly. She had yet to recover from what they'd don't to her.

"Maddy? You sound like shit" Hyatt said honestly "But it's good to hear you"

"Well the sleeping beauty's awake" Cash sang as she walked into their line of vision "I see you have a weakness for your little witch friend" she taunted.

"Friend g thg the active word. Her soulmate however, is this wonderfully powerful 'redheaded' witch, who won't take what you did to hodayoday very nicely" Hyatt said ever informative "So you might wanna lay low when we bust outta here"

"Ah I heard you were going to try and escape. But you see I have a counterplan" Cash smiled wickedly "And it has to do with them" she stepped out of the way to reveal five young girls, no more than 7 or 8 years old "You see, these are your charges. Your g tog to take care of them. You try anything, they suffer"

Tara sucked in a breath, as did Madison. Faith anrdy rdy just stared in confusion.

"This is an all-time low" Hyatt said agreeably "But it won't work"

"How do you figure?" Cash asked.

"If you haven't figured it out yet, you will in time" Madison smiled.

"I didn't ask you" Cash said threateningly.

"But I answered anyway" Madison cocked her head.

"So cocky still?" Cash snapped her finger and armed men opened the glass doors of the cells "You won't be with Innocents under your care"

The men ushered the girl into the two seperate cells. Cordelia was the only on minus a child.

"Have a nice day" Cash said brightly as she walked away from them.

Tara and Hyatt turned to face the frightened little girls.

"So any ou pou psychic?"

Three nodded heads.

Tara smiled "Good"
_____________________________________

Cash returned a few hours later to test one of the girls in Faith's cell.

The weakened Slayer's attempt to fight her off, left her barely conscious and the other child under her and Madison's care roughed up a bit.

"You don't hit children with night-sticks" Hyatt growled.

Cash barely glanced at her "She misbehaved. We try not to encourage that" Cash smirked as they carried the screaming child away.

The look reminded both Hyatt and Tara of their fathers.

Tara became angered, andtt ptt picked up on it. But unable to find any type of physical release for the angry tension, they resorted to magic.

The Compound itself began to shake. From it's very foundations to the underground rooftop.

Jordan, steadied herself and the man she was working on as well.

Cash came rushing in from the hall to stand in a doorway.

"What the hell? An Earthquake?" She growled notinoticed that the vibration wasn't lessening and it had been several minutes.

"I't 't know ma'am" Jordan said.

The shaking stopped.

"Well that's find out exactly what the hell that was" Cash growled.

Jordan stood staring at her for several minutes.

"Now!"
_________________________________

"Mama they turned off my cartoons!" Star called through the open door of Dawn's bedroom.

"Who did?" Buffy asked entering the cluttered room.

In the short time that Star had lived there, she'd turned Dawn's room into a hurricane scene.

Toys lay everywhere, Buffy didn't even recall her having any /They must be Dawn's old things/.

"The news people" Star said pointing to the screne.

'There appears to have been an Earthquake that lasted several minutes on the UC Sunnydale Campus...'

"Oh well they'll change it.." Buffy stopped when she realized what she'd heard /Where else do you go to learn?/

'The Epi Center appears to have been on the actual campus, the radial quake not extending beyond it's circumference...'

"Willow!" Buffy nearly screamed.

The redhead rushed into the room.

'It appears that nothing but the Campus experienced the quake. This new data is unprecedented in the Geological Society..'

"Can and Eathquake happen on an extremely small scale and only effect a specific area, but be really powerful?" Buffy asked hoping the witch understood her mindless ramblings.

"Uh how small a scale?" Willow said hoping to understand a bit better what Buffy was talking about.

"Like UC Sunnydale Campus scale?" Buffy said turning up the TV.

'And I repeat there was an Earthquake High on the Richtor Scale that effected only the UC Sunnydale Campus' now back to our regularly scheduled program...

"Cartoons are back!" Star bounced back into her bean bag chair.

"Where did that chair come from?" Buffy asked.

"Anya I think" Willow said distractedly.

"So is it magic?" Buffy asked.

"The chair?" Willow's head snapped up. Buffy was really losing it.

"No that Earthquake" Buffy rolled her eyes.

"More likely than not" Willow said getting ready.

"If that's a yes I think the riddle has been solved.

"It's a yes"
_____________________________