Love Through Touch

Disclaimer: See Part 1
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Jean looked up from where'd she'd been thrown to the ground.

The place she stood moments earlier was covered in debrie.

"That would've hurt" she mumbled to herself as she stood and brushed off her clothes.

"That is why I moved you" a gravelly voice came from behind her.

Jean spun quickly and adopted a fighting stance.

"Ah, ah. I'm not here to hurt you" the robed figure said raising it's arms.

"Jean, this is Clareth" Hyatt pushed herself up off the stairs "Clareth this is-"

"A very special child" the robed woman cut her off.

"That too" Hyatt climbed the stairs slowly. Her legs were shaking, and the world was still spinning slightly "Your steps and my head had a nice little meeting"

"Oren will see to your injuries. Come little one, before the aftershocks" Clareth waved Jean towards the house.

The little girl filed in after Hyatt.
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Buffy, Tara, Willow and Giles stood before the tiny T.V anya kept hidden in the Magic Box.

"An Earthquake? I didn't feel anything" Willow turned to the slayer "Are you sure this is for us?"

"Yes. That and I sensed it. It was magick, and not of the White variety" Buffy's arms were crossed before her, she had a death grip on her elbows.

"There's been quite a few of those lately. I think there's something bad a brewin" Star hugged Buffy's legs.

"Yeah like something 'big' and bad a brewin" Buffy rested her hand on the top of Star's head.

"Did you guys feel that?" Cordelia asked as she walked through the door.

"No but we're hearing about it" Tara pointed to the little screen.

"Well we found a few people who might help us learn more" Madison entered behind Cordy followed by two girls none of the Scoobs had seen before.

"Did you feel that quake" Faith came bouncing in causing the four young women just inside the door step away "It was hella bad, tore up your house a bit. Broken shit everywhere" Faith spread her arms.

"Well not everywhere but there's alot of broken shit" Mycah amended coming in behind the slayer.

Dawn and Kole trailed behind her looking worried and shaken.

"Mycah?" one of the woman Madison brought squealed.

Mycah turned only to be grasped in a strong hug that nearly knocked her off her feet.

"Melissa?" Mycah tried to pull the other woman off herself.

"That's Hannah" the second woman corrected.

"Oh my god Hannah!" Mycah hugged the yound woman to her and they both fell over.

"Now that's just cute" Willow smiled.

"Right" Faith rolled her eyes "So where's the rest of the gang?"

"Anya and Xander are riding around town seeing what was effected. Looking for any clue type things" Buffy crossed to the table "So Madison, this is Hannah and whom?"

"Max" the other woman crossed to the slayer and held out a friendly hand "Maxine Boston at your service"

Buffy accepted the hand politely. She noticed the girl had a good grip on her "and what exactly is your service?"

"Maxie here is an expert Swordsman. She comes from a family of Brelor demons" Madisonppedpped into the chair across from Buffy.

"Half Brelor demons. So your the slayer? I expected you to be....taller" Max released Buffy's hand when she felt the grip tighten slightly.

"Your not much bigger" Buffy grumbled.

"Sore spot?" Max asked politely.

"Got it in one" Buffy settled back into the chair.

"Has anyone heard from Jean and-" Dawn spoke up hugging herself in the corner.

"No" Tara didn't allow the girl to finish the sentence.

She recieved confused gazes all around.

"Hannah let Mycah up off the floor" Max commanded without turning to face the two giggling forms.

"Party pooper" Hanna mumbled pulling herself as well as Mycah up.

"We're here on business" Max reminded her.

"Business. Now let's get to it" Buffy stret out out her fingers as everyone gathered around the table.

"This thing is big" Max began.
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Jean wandered through the maze of stacked and ordered books. She had no clue what she was looking for, or if she was even looking. She just knew she was going somewhere in the stacks.

"Don't get lost Jean. It'll take 'years' to find you!" Hyatt called from the couch she rested on.

She was surrounded by codices of memory loss, and gain spells. As well as diaries of those captured and realeased or escaped, of the so called 'magick studiers'.

"Ok" Jean called back taking another turn in the stacks. Each step she took she felt closer to something.

Clareth had left the two alone in the library. Silently she re-entered from a hidden door in one of the farthest stacks. Stealthily she tracked all of Jean's movements. Blending into shadow's and walking through the books themselves, she waited.
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"Amanda? Do I even wanna 'know' what your staring at?" a slight blonde rolled her eyes at her sometimes annoying best friend.

"I spy with my little eye something delicious and red" Amanda narrowed her gaze on the lithe redhead across the street.

The young redhead stood before a store called the 'Magic Box'. She seemed to be pacing and talking to herself.

Amanda watched her for several moments.

The redhead stopped pacing and looked across the not so busy street, and directly at her. She hurried back into the store.

"I think we need to do a little Magic shopping" Amanda grabbed her taller friend and rushed across the street.
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"That was quick" Buffy barely looked up as Willow came back into the shop.

"Just needed a little air" Willow smiled and went straight to the steps the led to the upper part of the store "I just thought of something I'll be right back"

Buffy and Tara exchanged a look.

"Okay" they said in uniso
Ma
Madison shook her head. Cordelia hung up the phone.

"I just talked to Angel to ask if he knew anything about this vampire rising Giles is in such a pickle about. Well that and to tell him how 'stupid' it was to send me away alone" she said returning to the table "He says he's never heard of them, but he's asking Lorne when he see's him later"

"Lorne?" Buffy raised her brows.

"Demon nightclub owner" Cordy explained "Long story, you don't wanna know"

"Okay" Buffy nodded "So Max, is this thing gonna happed anytime soon?"

"Well with these Earthquakes, and freak rain storms? I'd say those are the first signs of hell rising, if you'll excuse the pun" Max pushed her hair out of her face. They'd been talking for hours, yet everything seemed for nothing "this rising is happening. We can try and prevent it, or kill them as they come"

"I'm all for the preventing" Xander spoke coming in "Seeing as how rinow now we have a problem"

"What kind of problem?" Buffy stood and crossed to her Xander shaped friend.

"The little green and scaly kinda trouble" Xander amended taking Buffy's elbows.

"Except they don't stay small. The eat domesticated animals and get bigger til they can devour whole humans" Anya happily informed everyone "They devour entire populations"

"Small scaly and kinda cute until they eat your puppy kinda trouble?" Max frowned.

"Yeah, howyou you know? And uh who are you?" Xander stared over Buffy's shoulder.

"I'm Max, and I've heard of them before. Vopus demons" Max flipped through one of the many text piled on the small table.

"Look like your average everyday gremlin, and they multiply in water!" a new voice broke in.

"God Amanda you just sound 'so' happy saying that" a second voice came.

"Gremlin? Like Gizmo kinda gremlin?" Tara's eyes jumped from Max to the newcomers and back again.

"Not as cute as Gizmo, but yeah" Max made a face "What are you guys doing here?"

"Following Amanda's nose" the second girl rolled her eyes "You got any Yarrow? Fresh not dried"

"Fifth case on the left, third row down" Anya hurried to her register ready to take money.

"Thanks" the second girl disappeared.

"Oh" Cordelia lifted a finger for attention "Did I mention Angel's coming....here?"
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Jean sifted through the book carefully.

"This things chock full of prephecies" she whispered to herself.

"Found what your looking for child?" Clareth's gravelly voice startled the child.

"I think so" Jean furrowed her small brow "I don't feel like I'm searhing anymore"

"Then it is your's" Clareth pressed the clutched book into Jean's chest "Maybe it will help you find what you are looking for. No?"

"Am I looking for something?" Jean looked down at the book solemnly.

"Soon" Clareth smiled and vanished through the stacks.

"Jean? Jeanie? Come on babe I found what I was looking for!" Hyatt's voice carried to Jean's ears "Jeanie?"

"I'm right here!" Jean called back looking around, Hyatt's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere "But where are you?"

"I'm not right there" Hyatt chuckled.

"Oh just keep talking and I'll follow your voice" Jean looked around and at the book she carried.

"Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeannnnnieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" Hyatt drug out the name.

"Funny" Jean rolled her eyes and turned the first corner in the stacks....

And ran directly into Hyatt's back.

"Well I found you" Jean rubbed her forehead "Your bony"

Hyatt rubbed her sore shoulder blade "Am not. Let's go"

"Okay" Jean adjusted the heavy book in her arms.

"Clareth give you that?" Hyatt asked noticing the possesion.

"How'd you know it was Clareth" Jean tossed her curls out of her eyes.

"Oren would've told me" Hyatt held the door open "Hyatt dearie, I gave the little one a book" she mimicked the older witches crackly voice.

"Your strange" Jean laughed. Stepping out of the door she tripped over a small scampering body.

Hyatt caught her before she hit the ground and together they watched the scaly little demon.

Sensing the power in the two, the demon stopped and stared before tossing the bird dis disappearing into the nearby bushes.

"Clareth!"
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