Book 2: Wolves, Slayers and Cages

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Buffy frowned when she looked at the calendar on the wall as she toweled her hair dry. Two more days until the full moon, she realized. Two more days before the nightmare began.

The Slayer glanced over at the sleeping redhead and blonde in the bed and smiled slightly. Willow was on her back with Tara snuggled in her arms. Buffy's smile widened like it always did whenever she looked at either or both of them.

Buffy sat down on the edge of the bed and gently brushed a lock of red hair from Willow's forehead. She glanced down at the young woman's beautiful chest and lost her smile.

Willow's pajama top was slightly open and Buffy could see the healing wounds from the incision running down the witch's breastbone. The wound where the silver dagger had entered her chest, killing her.

The Slayer wished she could do more to ease those scars, wishing she could give Willow some of her Slayer healing powers and lessen those scars. Buffy knew that the young witch was self-conscious about them, no matter how much Tara and Buffy reassured Willow that she was still sexy as hell.

Buffy once again cursed the name of Daniel Oswald, known to the Scooby Gang better as Oz. She hoped whatever hell he had ended up in that he was paying over and over again for bringing her lover any kind of pain. Especially the pain of carrying his damned werewolf curse.

Buffy leaned over and lightly kissed Tara and then Willow before heading out the door.

Being Tuesday, she knew that Willow and Tara didn't have a class until 10 a.m. and was going to take the opportunity to sleep late. Buffy, restless with worrying about Willow and the upcoming full moon, decided to run over and see Giles.

For once, her mom had spent the night at home and not at Giles' place or he at the Summers home. Now that they had officially announced their engagement and set a tentative wedding date in January, the two older adults were much more open about their affection and the fact they were sharing the same bed almost every night.

As she trotted to school, Buffy reflected on how good the last three weeks felt as compared to October. Xander still had his security job, Anya was working at the Magic Box, Oz was dead, Riley had given up thinking any of them were now werewolves and she was caught up in her classes.

Despite fears, misgivings, and everyone thinking it wouldn't last more than a week; the three women were still feeling like they were in the early stages of new romance. <It was amazing>, Buffy thought; <she didn't feel jealous that Tara and Willow loved each other, she loved them both and knew they loved her as well.>

Giles had been fascinated by the developing relationship between the three but had been a stuttering mess when he tried to ask about the unique connection they had formed, especially during sex.

Willow and Tara had blushed a bright red and Buffy had resisted giggling hysterically when they tried to describe to him what they were talking about to the typically uptight Englishman.

<How could you adequately describe the mind, soul and body opening up to your lover to the point where you both felt what the other one was feeling?> They had a difficult time explaining that it wasn't like an out-of-body experience but maybe something like it.

Willow, not much for sexual descriptions anyway was only matched by Tara's stuttering and had tried to leave it to Buffy to explain things. <That hadn't gone well, either,> the Slayer laughed to herself.

Giles had finally given up with a toss of his hands and concentrated on other aspects of their connection to each other.

Willow hit upon the idea later of each of them typing into the computer their descriptions of what had happened during sex and she emailed it to Giles. Buffy and Tara had laughed but both agreed it was a wonderful idea.

It had taken a major effort though, not to fall on the floor with laughter when Giles thanked Willow for her email and described it as "helpful," while he cleaned his glasses.

Willow placed those writings under a password security file. When Tara and Buffy had asked the witch why, she offered them the scenario of Xander someday finding those descriptions and both of them promptly agreed security was needed.

Buffy hated the fact that in two nights she was going to have to lock part of her life away in a cell in a dusty old tomb. She and Tara were going to spend the night in the same tomb where Oz had once contained his beast only this time it was Willow they would be locking up for the night.

The Slayer tried to dismiss those thoughts from her mind. It was a crisp winter day and the break from Thanksgiving was over and she was feeling good about school, her growing relationship with Tara and Willow and her Mom wasn't considering her a lost cause. Things were looking up. Except for the full moon thing.

Willow woke up as Tara smacked the radio alarm clock's snooze bar. The blonde grumbled and turned back over to snuggle in Willow's good arm, lightly nuzzling her neck. Willow turned, being careful not to whack her witch lover with her cast, and threw a leg over Tara's and smiled as blue eyes met her green ones.

"Better, the hand isn't too bad," the witch smiled and wiggled one of her fingers to demonstrate. "The other… well, I've got two days before… well, I mean… before we have to… "

"Its okay, Willow," Tara said softly and began kissing Willow's lips to stop a trademark Willow babble.

"I'm scared, Tara," Willow admitted when they pulled back from the kiss to touch foreheads together, sharing space.

"You don't remember changing when you did the spell to take the lycanthropy from Buffy, you probably won't remember it this time either," Tara tried to reassure her girlfriend.

"I remember such incredible pain and then nothing," Willow remembered, her voiced thoughtful. "I'm worried about the two of you being there."

"I remember what it was like watching Oz change and watching Buffy beginning to turn after Oz' bite. I don't want either of you watching that," Willow frowned. "It hurts."

"Willow, Buffy and I are going to b-be there for you. End of d-discussion," Tara tried to smile and managed to get Willow to smile slightly. "We love you and you… you aren't going to go t-through this alone."

"Okay," Willow agreed, knowing she wasn't going to win this argument, they had gone over it enough in the last three weeks since she had taken the curse from Buffy onto herself.

"Have you heard from Mulder?" Tara asked as she sat up on the edge of the bed, slipping her feet into her house shoes. <Wooden floors were cool looking but they were cold in the winter>, she thought.

"Not in the last couple of days," Willow said as she sat up on the other side of the bed. "He's got his computer friends looking everywhere for any kind of a cure besides the ones that include the fat of unbaptised[1] babies."

"Total agreement!" Willow grinned. "He and I decided that was a little too much over the top, even to remove a curse."

Tara shivered and shook her head to dismiss the images trying to crowd her brain. She glanced over at Willow who was at the closet deciding on what to wear for a day at school.

The blonde witch was pleased with how well her girlfriend was looking. <After the attack, and her hand and heart recovering from the trauma they obtained, Willow was looking quite good,>, Tara thought. They were still being cautious with the heart recovery though; Willow tired easily and still couldn't do any kind of exertion or intense emotional distress without sending her heart racing into a danger zone.

The cast was the most irritating for the red-haired witch, however. To even take a shower required help at times. Willow had opted for a shorter hair cut since she was doing most of her personal hygiene with only one hand now and would be for awhile. Getting dressed could be a nightmare of buttons, zippers and shoe laces.

Willow thanked the Fates that they lived in Sunnydale, California and not somewhere up north or back east where multiple layers of clothing with zippers and thick shoes would be required.

Tara grinned and walked up behind Willow and wrapped her arms around her fellow witch as Willow leaned back into the embrace.

"She's feeling cooped up," Tara commented. "For some reason, nothing want to be slain the last few nights."

"I wonder if anything is up?" Willow frowned. Usually when the evil undead became scarce in Sunnydale, it meant something evil was planning something unpleasant.

"Giles hasn't heard anything and neither has Spike," Tara added, slipping past Willow to grab her own clothes.

One of the developments of the three weeks was the continued living arrangements of the three students and lovers.

Tara and Willow had moved into the Summers home with Buffy when Oz was stalking Willow and Buffy but after Oz' death, they had continued living with Buffy and her mom. No one suggested moving back to the dorms, including Buffy's mom.

Also unspoken was the sleeping arrangements, most of the time the three ended up in the same bed for the night and Joyce Summers never said anything about it.

They were still adjusting to the fact that Buffy's Mom and Giles seemed alright with their unusual relationship while they were still adjusting to it themselves.

Also unspoken was whoever was sleeping with whom each night. Some nights they all ended up in the same bed snuggling, other nights two of them would end up in bed together sexually.

Surprising to everyone was that no one got jealous of either of the other young women.

Willow smiled as she watched a sleepy Tara rummage through the closet and settle on what she wanted for the day.

Willow grinned and wrapped an arm around Tara's waist and kissed the other witch.

"Getting through Professor Walsh's class," Willow frowned. "Ever since Buffy turned her back on the Initiative, Professor Walsh has been really hard on the two of us."

"After that I've got another class and then lunch," Willow continued. "Then two more classes in the afternoon."

"Want to meet for lunch? Buffy said she'd be at the cafeteria during our lunch break," Tara suggested.

Tara leaned in for another long and lingering kiss. "Maybe I can help with the shower too?" she asked, her voice turning husky.

"Yes, I was hoping you'd suggest that," Willow said softly, her eyes beginning to darken with arousal.

Buffy resisted growling when she walked into the lecture hall and saw Riley talking with Professor Walsh. The Slayer stopped at the top of the stairs, watching them as they were having apparently a serious discussion.

"Hey, Red," the Slayer's mood was instantly lifted and she had to fight and restrain herself from wrapping her arms around the taller red-head. "You are adorable when you sleep," she whispered.

Buffy turned around and looked down to see Riley and Professor Walsh watching them.

"Yes, Tara too," Willow agreed and then leaned down to Buffy's ear with an evil grin. "I'd like to do you tonight, by the way," she whispered.

Buffy's eyes widened and she began to blush as Willow slipped by her, heading for their seats.

"Full moon," the Slayer muttered, remembering Willow's comment that Oz always got really 'frisky' before a full moon. Buffy grinned, that was one part of Willow being cursed as a werewolf that Buffy might actually like.

When she sat down next to the red-head Willow was already getting her books out of her backpack, in serious student mode and Riley was gone.

The Slayer thought class actually went well for once. Professor Walsh seemed to focus on someone else for the day. She grabbed up her books and started up the stairs.

"Could I see you for a minute, I have a question about one of your papers while you were gone," Professor Walsh, the lead psychological scientist for the Initiative Center and professor at Sunnydale University, asked.

"Sure," Willow said easily and looked over at Buffy. "I'll catch you and Tara at lunch, Buff."

Buffy hesitated, looking back at the Professor but Professor Walsh had turned her attention to something on her desk. The Slayer managed to smile at her friend.

"Okay, see you in a bit," Buffy muttered and headed for door with an uneasy feeling.

Willow, knowing Buffy's protective streak, smiled as she gathered up her books and shoved them in her backpack. She trotted down to the Professor's table and went around joining Professor Walsh hovering over the papers.

The hacker leaned over the table, recognizing one of her papers and wondering what could be wrong with it.

"Ow!" Willow stood upright, feeling at the back of her neck. She looked over at the Professor with a confused expression. The hacker was suddenly having trouble focusing.

A class later, Tara grinned when she caught sight of Buffy sitting at one of their regular tables. Buffy, feeling the energy shifting around her, looked up and smiled in response.

The witch finished paying for her meal and worked her way over to her girlfriend, hoping not to trip and make a fool out of herself. Tara knew she wasn't as clumsy as she used to be since meeting Willow and the gang and she definitely stuttered less around them. Out in public, Tara still felt inadequate and clumsy at times.

Buffy smiled, seeing the blonde witch with loving eyes and never seeing the clumsy, unattractive, shy geek Tara always feared everyone saw.

"She usually beats us here, maybe she's taking it easier walking across campus," Tara suggested.

Ever since plunging a silver dagger through her heart to stop Oz from claiming her as his wolf mate, Willow had been on a long road of recovery and that included taking it easier physically and especially no slaying with Buffy.

"Yeah, I hope she's taking it easy," Buffy agreed. "Last thing we need this week is her heart acting up. Giles is still worried about the change Thursday night and what it might do to her heart."

"Well, she made it through the change the first night when she grabbed the curse from you," Tara commented.

"Yeah, drugged out of her mind," Buffy mumbled and glanced at the clock on the wall with a frown. "Where the hell is she?"

"I don't know, I was getting 'spidey' vibes from Professor Walsh when she asked Willow to go over one of her papers after class," Buffy complained.

"I don't know, she didn't act strange or do anything weird, it just felt strange," Buffy tried to explain.

"Okay," Tara said softly and closed her eyes. Buffy felt her 'spidey' sense tingling, like something was lightly brushing a feather just above her skin. With a start, the Slayer realized that Tara was extending her magical senses, trying to connect with Willow and touching her connection with the Slayer as well.

Tara opened her eyes with a frown. "Something's wrong, Buff, I can't sense her." The witch closed her eyes again and concentrated. Buffy's skin began to crawl and she could almost swear she could see a visible aura forming around Tara.

Tara opened her eyes and Buffy was instantly on alert at the fear in the witch's eyes.

Giles watched Buffy pacing across the living room floor while Tara nervously pulled at the hem of her t-shirt nervously.

"Yes, she said Willow answered her question and left the forum hall," Tara answered while Buffy just growled.

"No, her aura was all off s-somehow but she was so c-calm and cool," Tara stammered.

"Yes," Buffy said firmly. "The problem is I don't know how to get into that place since they've revoked my clearance."

"Why would they take her? You convinced Riley none of you were cursed," Joyce asked.

"Giles!" Buffy shouted, "What do we do? I'm not sure I can just rush in there, pound heads and get Willow out. As much as I'd really like to right now!"

"She must be drugged, if she was injured or unconscious, I think you'd be able to connect," Giles commented.

"Okay, she's drugged," Buffy snapped. "Someone has her, odds say it's the Initiative, what do we do?"

"I'll call him immediately," Giles reached for the phone as someone pounded on the door. "Tara, can you do the computer hacking thing and find the plans for that damned center?"

"What are you thinking, Giles?" Buffy asked as she opened the door for Xander and Anya. "Willow's missing; we think the Initiative has her."

"Well, you've described the only entrance as an elevator," Giles muttered as he searched for Fox Mulder's card. "There must be a service entrance to get all that equipment down there."

"Of course!" Buffy grinned. "I can't see them taking out the demons through the Frat House."

"Knowing Willow, she never trusted the Initiative and already has the plans on her computer," Xander suggested and Tara made a dash for the stairs.

"Joyce, you and Buffy sit down and draw out what Buffy remembers of the inside," Giles continued as he dialed the phone. "Anya, coffee and tea would be excellent. It may be a long day and night."

Buffy growled at that comment but sat down at the dining table while her mom grabbed paper, pencils and rulers.

"Yes, that's better, what's the problem, Giles? Does it have something to do with the flash I got across my computer that the Initiative has captured a 'hostile' female werewolf?" Mulder asked.

"What?" Giles stammered. Both Buffy and her mother gave up trying to work to listen.

"I've got friends who send me anything that might be interesting from the Initiative's computers," Mulder explained. "We have reservations on the next flight out into Los Angeles, we'll rent a car there and drive out as soon as possible. We should be there sometime in the middle of the night."

"I have a partner," Mulder explained. "Don't move against the Initiative until we get there."

"Yes, and I'm betting the first few days will be spent on lab testing," Mulder said calmly.

"Hurry, Agent Mulder," Giles urged. "I won't be able to hold Buffy and the gang back for long."

"I understand but know this, the Initiative is waiting for that according to one of their memos," Mulder warned. "If I know organizations like this, your kids will disappear."

Giles turned to explain as Tara and Xander dashed down the stairs to hear about the conversation.

Buffy growled at the instructions to wait but knew that Riley and the units would be on alert and expecting the Gang to mount a rescue attempt.

By nightfall, however, the Slayer was unable to be contained and grabbed her stakes.

"I'll be back, Giles," Buffy snapped as she slipped on her leather jacket. "I really… really need to slay something and heaven help the vampire that crosses my path tonight!"

Buffy leaned down over the back of the sofa and kissed Tara quickly. "I won't do anything stupid, I promise," she whispered.

Willow moaned and opened her eyes slowly. Her head hurt, her encased hand itched, something was stuck in her mouth and she couldn't move.

The witch glanced around quickly with her eyes and tried to slow her heart-rate down as it began to pound rapidly. Everywhere Willow looked was white, government white. She turned her head to look left and right and wasn't reassured any. Various machines were pulled up to the gurney she was strapped to as well as a medical table that had several trays covered with blue sterile paper. Leaning up as far as she could, Willow discovered that she was dressed in a horrible hospital gown and her limbs were held down with metal clamps. She couldn't tell what was in her mouth but it was keeping her from shouting out in fear and anger.

Willow whimpered around the gag and heard the machine tracking her heart increase to an alarming rate.

The witch wasn't really surprised when the door opened and both Riley and Professor Walsh walked into the room and shut the door behind them.

"Hello, Hostile 52," Professor Walsh said cheerfully and Willow's heart-rate increased.

Noticing the alarming rate of the beeps from one of the machines, Professor Walsh walked over to a medicine cabinet and unlocked it. After a moment of searching through the medicine bottles, she selected one and then rummaged in a drawer, pulling out a syringe. Willow tried to shake her head 'no' as the Professor wiped her arm with an alcohol pad and injected her with whatever the drug was.

"Don't fight it, the drug is just to help slow your heart rate down a little and keep your mind unfocused," Professor Walsh explained. "We can't have you dying of a heart attack this soon in the research."

"What are we going to do with her?" Riley asked, looking down at Willow like she wasn't even an interesting test subject in a science lab. <Which Willow figured she now was.>

"With her heart injured the way it is and that hand having to be rebuilt, we don't dare let her change Thursday night without sedating her," Walsh commented, frowning in thought. "The change just might kill her and she'd definitely injure that hand."

"She'd never make it through Shock Troop training either," Riley commented, looking at the printout of Willow's heart-rate.

"I agree," Walsh muttered. "You know, Hostile 52, we were lucky you tested positive for lycanthropy. If you hadn't we would had to have grabbed Buffy Summers next for testing."

"Probably a magical spell, that's why I insisted on gagging her," Walsh explained to both Riley and Willow. "This early in magic learning, she needs to vocalize for a spell to work. Can't speak, can't cast spells to get out of here."

"We'll handle that," Marsh assured him. "It really is a shame that she couldn't be recruited to work with us and only be locked away three nights out of the month. She is highly intelligent and a wiz at computers."

"Buffy already rejected us, no way Willow would work for us if her friends and lovers object," Riley commented bitterly.

"Too bad she went and got herself bitten," Walsh commented. "She probably would have been recruited by the FBI or CIA with those computer skills."

"Or Bill Gates," Riley muttered. "So, she can't be trained as a soldier or mindless assassin, though it would be interesting to watch her destroyed mentally."

"You're right though, we can't train her as a Shock Troop assassin with that heart condition."

Despite the fuzzy feeling of the narcotic hitting her system, Willow felt her heart rate jump once again at those words and Marsh frowned.

"Well, we have the Hostile that started this mess with her, why not let him finish and mate with her? We don't get many female werewolf hostiles," Riley suggested.

"After the usual battery of tests, we'll put them together and observe their interaction," Walsh decided. "The usual blood tests, x-rays, MRI, scans, complete work up on her."

"Leave it for now, we'll put her under this evening and take care of that," Walsh said and looked down into Willow's terror filled eyes. "I'm sorry this happened to you. I really liked you and had high hopes for you and your friends with our organization."

Willow tried to scream around the ball gag in her mouth and struggled against the straps as Walsh walked out the door and two men in lab coats entered but didn't even look at her.

"Full range of testing," Riley ordered and the two techs position themselves at either end of the gurney and unlocked the foot brake.

"Tara!" Joyce cried as the young witch dropped her glass of soda and grabbed for the kitchen counter. Buffy's mom rushed to grab Tara as her knees buckled. "Giles!"

The Watcher dashed into the kitchen from the living room and helped Joyce move a semi-aware Tara to a chair at the kitchen table. He squatted down in front of her as she shook her head and began to blink.

"It's Willow," she whispered, closing her eyes as tears began escaping. "She's terrified. She's so scared, Giles."

"No, she's drugged and can barely think, it's mostly images," Tara answered between sobs. "Machines, needles and white walls."

Xander leaned against a sturdy gravestone as Buffy sobbed in his arms. She had been working a lot of her frustration out on the local vampire population and had just finished killing two of them when the Slayer had dropped her stake, her eyes becoming unfocused. Xander had rushed forward in time to catch Buffy as she cried out for Willow.

From what he could gather from Buffy's gasping words, Willow was scared to death and Buffy could see some of it.

The young man angrily wiped at his own tears as he kept an eye out for vampires as the Slayer wept.

"Mulder, tell me again the story of why we're going to a small town here in California," Special Agent Dana Scully insisted. She was still on East coast time and was very grumpy at traveling in the middle of the night when Mulder was being even more vague than usual.

Fox Mulder started to answer when his cell phone rang, he took advantage of the situation to shrug and click on his phone.

"Mulder, we have the plans you wanted and we sent them to that email address," a familiar voice said. "We're also working on finding out what they have planned for the prisoner they're calling Hostile 52."

"No can do, your voice, prints and retina scan are all on record and on their hot list," Langley responded. "They know you might be coming, Scully too."

"Okay, I'll get back to you about possible identification and access codes," Mulder said and clicked off.

"Well, I told you about the college student I've been exchanging information with in California, right?"

"Yes, one of your many paranormal buddies," Scully nodded, looking out the window into the California darkness.

"Well, she's a witch, actually practicing magic type witch," he began. "She asked me for a really rare spell."

"Yeah, I found it too. I didn't know the exact details because no one I knew could translate it," Mulder continued. "About the time the Gunmen translated it with random programs, so did Willow. I found out that it was dangerous and was damned costly."

"What do you mean? And I'm supposed to believe that this college student, computer geek is performing spells like Merlin? She's not just one of those Wiccans dancing in the moonlight?"

"No, real magic and is apparently getting very good at it," Mulder grinned at Scully's usual skeptic comments. "The spell could cost the caster their soul and the spell is designed to transform the curse of lycanthropy from one person to the caster, willingly."

"Yup!" Mulder's voice wasn't as enthusiastic as Scully would have expected and she glanced over at her partner.

"You're telling me that she did the spell and is now cursed?" Scully asked softly, noting his frown.

"Yeah, I flew out here for several days when she didn't respond to my emails," Mulder said in a flat voice. "I was too late in stopping her. Willow took the curse from her girlfriend."

"That may be the problem," Mulder said cryptically. "Her friends and Willow have dealt with werewolf friends before and know how to take care of each other. She was stabbed through the heart and dealing with that injury and now the werewolf thing. They planned on sedating her this full moon to prevent the change from human to werewolf from injuring her heart again."

"Whoa! You expect me to believe some young college girl is going to change into a wolf in a few days?"

"I didn't see a werewolf on that Indian Reservation, Mulder," Scully countered. "I saw the body of a boy who was obviously demented. He tore his own father to pieces."

"I didn't see a wolf in the darkness," Scully repeated. "Maybe I can watch your friend change, even some testing?" she said hopefully.

"I promised never to reveal the existence of the weird things that happens here," Mulder muttered.

"I can't without endangering Willow and her friends to the damned secret organizations," Mulder complained. "The problem we're coming out to help with is that they may already have Willow."

Mulder launched into the long explanation of Slayers, vampires, werewolves and the Initiative. It took time but they had the time to spend talking as Mulder drove from Los Angeles to Sunnydale in the darkness.

"Langley," a voice responded. "Your Hostile 52 is scheduled for round the clock testing, sleep deprivation, something preventive, observation for a day with Hostile 49 and then transport of Hostile 52 and several others to a larger facility in Area 51."

"They reopened it to investigate the Hostiles they've captured. Once there, they plan on inseminating her and using her as a lab rat," Langley informed his FBI friend. "Mulder, these guys don't care about finding a cure for werewolves or vampires. I think their ultimate agenda is creating very scary monster soldiers. If you know this girl, you'd better get her out of there fast. They don't care what mental state they leave their test subjects in."

"Thanks, Langley, that's the plan," Mulder said firmly as he clicked off. A glance over at Scully's face told Mulder that she had heard the conversation.

"Inseminate?" she whispered, her eyes wide in the light of the dashboard of the rental car.

"That's what he said. Turn her into a puppy mill for werewolves," Mulder said bitterly, trying not to choke as he thought of the last time he had seen Willow, looking very fragile in Buffy's arms, legs tossed across Tara's lap.

"Mulder, if even half of this is true, we have to stop them," Scully said firmly.

"I know, I was hoping that both sides could stay away from each other. Willow and her friends thought they had convinced the Initiative that none of them were infected," Mulder explained. "I guess the Initiative wasn't fooled or wasn't taking any chances."

Xander grabbed Buffy's arm when they both spotted Riley standing at the gate of the graveyard with his Initiative platoon.

Both Slayer and her best male friend noticed the soldiers had their fingers on the triggers of their stun guns and a couple of them were armed with shotguns as they approached.

"What do you want, Riley? I already cleared the graveyard for the night," Buffy asked.

"That's not for another two nights, come on by," Buffy quipped "I might need a snack."

"Nope," he grinned. "The only things we have are confirmed hostiles. You want to give me some of your blood and get me off your back?"

"Don't do it, Buffy," Xander growled, his hand tight on a stake. "Make him earn his brownie points."

"Who you calling a loser, you son of a bitch?" Xander growled and Buffy held out her arm to restrain her friend.

"I don't feel like beating them senseless tonight, Xander," Buffy growled. "Since you were looking for me, I assume you have a kit with you."

"I know," Buffy said softly and handed her friend the stake in her hand. "Not you, Riley, one of your other qualified goons and there'd better not be anything in that syringe," Buffy growled as she pulled off her jacket.

Riley smirked and pulled out a green medic kit and handed it to one of his platoon mates. The soldier started forward but stopped suddenly when Xander dropped the stakes and pulled out a Glock pistol and pointed it at the group.

"You!" he pointed the gun at the young black male with the kit. "Drop your weapons first."

The soldier slowly eased his rifle off his shoulder and handed it back to Riley and then handed over his pistol and held up his hands with the kit in one.

"Nice and slowly," Xander instructed as Buffy rolled up her sleeve. "I want prepackaged needles, alcohol pad and secure test tube."

Buffy raised her eyebrows in amusement and admiration. Xander was surprising her with his quick thinking and protective streak.

The Slayer submitted to having her blood drawn once the soldier showed them the needle was still in a sterile package and he had only one vial for the blood.

"Any bad affects and I'll take your balls off personally," Xander threatened as he picked up and handled the jacket to Buffy and Buffy picked up the stakes.

"Since she gave up her blood so quickly, I doubt we'll find anything," Riley commented with a frown.

"Kinda," Riley admitted. "Giles tried to talk me into being your friend last month. Tell him he was wrong and I still owe him for that stunt with the police."

"Stay out of my way, Riley," Buffy snapped. "If you hurt any of my friends, I'll take your head off, slowly."

"We only deal with Hostiles," Riley grinned as he handed the commando back his rifle and pistol. "See you around, Buff."

Buffy waited until the soldiers were out of sight and then spun on her heels and snapped a tree branch in half with an angry shout.

"You are so right and you were so cool!" Xander said admiringly. "Why did you give up your blood?"

"I didn't want you hurt; they would have fought for it. I'm no longer infected and this might throw them for a loop a little," Buffy explained. "Goddamn it! Willow!" she suddenly screamed and smacked her fist into a wooden fence, snapping the board.

"Come on, Buff," Xander said gently as dogs began barking up and down the alley they had reached. "Agent Mulder should be here soon, maybe he has some answers."

Willow had no idea how long she had been wheeled from one room to another but it felt like hours and she was exhausted. She also felt like a very large lab rat. The witch had no idea how many times blood had been drawn, how many x-rays had been taken or how many series of MRI scans she had been through. The only thing she was certain of, the techs had changed shifts which meant there was some kind of passage of time.

After awhile even the terror had worn down and Willow tried her best to sleep through most of the tests they were running. Since she couldn't talk or protest and she never had the chance or energy to fight back whenever they undid the steel restraints, she gave up fighting for the moment and tried to rest in order to save her energy.

"Is she sedated?" Marsh's voice reached her and Willow opened her eyes to glare at the scientist.

"No, Ma'am, just resting," a voice responded. "She fought back at first but not much. The Hostile is easy to handle with those drugs you gave her."

"We can't have her straining that heart too much," Marsh commented. "Give her the meds and we'll get this next procedure over."

Willow didn't look down at the needle and only winced slightly as it plunged into her skin. The witch felt something hitting her almost immediately as her eyes began to close on their own.

Mulder wasn't surprised to see a very tired Giles opening the door to Buffy's home.

"Thank God," Giles muttered and moved aside so the federal agents could enter. "Oh my!" the Englishman muttered when he saw Scully in the porch light.

"Oh damn!" Mulder cursed. "I forgot, Giles and everyone, this is Agent Dana Scully, my partner. I forgot to mention she looks a lot like Willow."

"She's small build like you, same red hair, same style and green eyes," Mulder explained. "This is Joyce Summers, Xander Harris, Anya Smyth, and Rupert Giles, Willow's friends."

"I'm sorry we have to meet like this," Scully said easily as everyone nodded their hellos.

"We made them go upstairs and lie down," Joyce explained. "They're trying to comfort each other."

"Please sit down, agents," Giles offered as Xander and Anya cleared off the sofa, moving to an easy chair and Xander to the floor between Anya's legs. "Both Tara and Buffy got a psychic flash from Willow earlier. She's being held somewhere with lots of machines, white walls and she's terrified. Especially about the needles."

"Let me get us all some coffee," Joyce suggested. "Xander, you go call the girls down."

"Yes, mom," Xander said and bounded up the stairs to find Buffy and Tara already walking down the hall.

Again introductions were made and the two girls settled in next to the TV, Tara leaning on Buffy's shoulder, holding the Slayer's hand.

"I have a friend who has hacked into the Initiative computers. He found a report that they have identified Willow as Hostile 52 and they've scheduled a lot of tests for the next few days," Mulder began.

"He can't get either Scully or me clearance, I'm on their hot list," Mulder continued. "Buffy is on their enemy list and will disappear if she goes near the place."

"I think we've confused them by not attacking the place immediately," Buffy agreed.

"Probably," Mulder agreed. "Giles said that both of you got a psychic flash from Willow?"

"Yes, we both s-saw flashes from her and the overwhelming s-sense of fear from her," Tara answered.

"That's amazing," Mulder muttered. "Both of you? You always have this connection with her?"

Buffy and Tara glanced at each other and Tara nodded as she laid her head back on Buffy's shoulder.

"All three of us have a unique connection and can feel each other's feelings, especially if they're intense," Buffy explained.

"You'll find that Sunnydale isn't your typical All-American city," Xander grinned and wrapped his arms around his lover's legs. "Living here, you take love and happiness where and when you can get it."

"Okay, Mulder may be the total believer here but I'm afraid I'm more scientific," Scully complained.

"Be skeptical all you want," Giles growled. "I don't care if you believe that Willow will actually turn into a werewolf in less than 48 hours, or that Buffy goes out nightly slaying vampires. I do care if you can help us get Willow back. The Initiative believes that Willow is a werewolf and is holding her against her will."

"It gets worse, Giles," Mulder said softly. "My contact says that the scheduled plan for Willow is to be thrown in with another werewolf. They'll be observed tomorrow night and sedated for three nights of the full moon. The plan then is for them to be moved to another testing center."

"Out of the area," Mulder continued. "Then they plan to impregnate her from another werewolf until she either dies from over-breeding or they turn her into a research subject."

"Wills?" Buffy whispered as Tara's hand tightened on hers. Giles dropped his head into his hands as tears formed in his stanch English eyes.

"Willow?" he muttered. "No!" he suddenly shouted and jumped up to his feet and dashed out the door.

Buffy turned to wrap her arms around Tara. The Slayer's eyes were flashing angrily when she looked up over Tara's head at the two agents.

Willow moaned and absently scratched at her hand, as her mind tried to start working coherently again. Her body didn't want to cooperate and the witch wasn't sure she wanted to force it. She ached everywhere from being prodded, probed, stuck with needles and being held down for so long.

"Willow?" a familiar voice questioned and the witch realized someone was holding her uninjured hand. Extending her sense a little further, it felt like a bed of some kind and the scent of the person there was familiar.

Willow slowly opened her eyes and tried to yell in surprise but only a croak came out of her throat.

"Easy, please!" Oz urged. The young werewolf was sitting on the edge of her mattress on a metal cot. Willow immediately noticed the bandage wrapped around his eyes and head.

"I won't hurt you, I swear it!" he begged and she resisted whacking him alongside his head with the cast.

"They did something to temporarily paralyze your vocal cords," Oz explained. "They brought you in a bit ago and told me to have fun with you."

"Willow," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I know you can't ever forgive me for what happened but I'm sorry."

Willow sat up slowly, pulling her hand away from the musician. Oz now had a full red beard and his hair was scruffy. He also looked like he had been through hell.

She reached out and took his hand. Then she slowly wrapped his hand around hers and began twisting her fingers. After a moment, he grinned.

Willow found herself smiling in return and was amazed at her own reaction. Two days earlier and she would have gladly put a silver bullet through his chest, now she felt like she was talking to the old Oz.

"My pack tore my eyes out when I went blind and then left me for dead," Oz began explaining. "Someone threw a net over me and then I was unconscious. I was told later I was captured by the Initiative."

"They drugged me, gave me shock treatments and questioned me over and over again about what happened with you and Buffy," Oz continued, hanging his head. "I told them everything, I think. It's a little fuzzy. When I woke up three days ago my head was clear. I mean like before I left Sunnydale, before I left you. I've been throwing up ever since, remembering what I was like."

Willow reached out to gently touch his cheek as tears escaped from under the bandage.

"Willow, I'm so sorry!" he whispered. "I remember you finally got together with Buffy. I'm okay with that. I know you've been in love with her for years. I don't know what happened to me, Willow."

Oz nodded easily. "I know, I swear it's not a line. All I want is to get out of here, find my van and I'm gone."

"Oh yeah, well," Oz said softly. "Maybe a seeing eye dog instead of my van or maybe someone to drive me."

"It was a spell wasn't it?" he whispered. "I knew it was when it hit. I could hear your voice shouting at me."

"No, don't cry, Wills!" he protested. "It was all my fault! I forced you into that! I can't believe what I was like!"

Oz frowned. "When they brought you in they whacked me around a little. They said I lied to them and had bitten you not Buffy. They said she tested clean and you are infected. What happened?"

"You found a spell to cure Buffy and not me?" he whispered with a frown, his shoulders sinking lower.

**just found the spell from a new internet friend. Took the curse myself** Willow answered.

"Dammit!" Oz shouted and jumped to his feet. Willow watched as he paced back and forth, smacking only once into the bars holding them in the small room. "I was hoping you both escaped that when they said Buffy wasn't infected."

Willow wanted to shout at him and cursed her silent throat. This was too much like the time when the Gentlemen stole everyone's voice. She rapped against the steel wall and Oz worked his way back to her cot and sat down, holding out his hand for her.

**Yes, and you'll have to live with that and so will I** Willow said bluntly. She was tired; talking with sign language with her fingers was long and exhausting. It was like an amateur translating Morse code or something. **the main thing is to first get through this**

"I don't know, they said something about changing you back to stick shift, whatever that means," Oz grumbled.

**Oz, calm down!** Willow held tightly to his hand, forcing him to 'listen' to her. **Buffy and the gang will find us. I mean me; the Initiative dumped a redheaded body on Buffy's doorstep. They had one of their werewolves rip him apart, including the eyes.**

"The world thinks I'm dead," he muttered. "I might as well be dead! I tried to kill Giles, I hurt your friend, I bit Buffy just to make her part of the pack and I tried to… I wanted to… hurt you!"

"That wasn't me!" he sobbed. "I hurt you, I bit Buffy. That couldn't be me! Please don't let it be me!"

Mulder turned to and met anxious faces watching him as he clicked off his cell phone. The FBI agent shook his head slightly and pulled the blanket back up over Scully as she lay on the sofa.

Giles glanced at the clock on the mantle and sighed. It was going to be a long three days, he knew. Both he and Joyce had been unable to get either Buffy or Tara to go to sleep, they were both still hovering over the computer print outs of the plans Langley had sent them of the Initiative Center.

"Langley can't get past their systems and override our clearances into the place," Mulder answered the question in Giles' eyes.

"I think our best bet is to wait until they transfer her," Mulder said softly, so as not to wake Scully on the sofa and Joyce in an easy chair. "They'll hand her and several others over to a team in Barstow before heading out across the desert."

"Area 51," Mulder answered slowly and wasn't surprised when Xander and Anya raised their heads up off the floor and Buffy and Tara stared at him. "They reopened it for testing on 'hostiles.'"

"Oh man!" Xander muttered. "That is like the Holy Grail of security! UFO nuts have been trying for years."

Mulder grinned a rueful smile. "I know, I tried once. Didn't get too far and whatever I saw they wiped out with some kind of drug."

"I heard that, Mulder!" Scully snapped from under the quilt. "I deny that every happened and so does the government."

"Yeah and that was before she really discovered how loveable I am," Mulder teased.

"That would leave Willow in their hands and in testing for another four days," Buffy complained. "They won't move her or the other werewolf until after the full moon, Sunday morning. It's only Wednesday."

Tara suddenly grabbed Buffy's arm tight enough to hurt and when the Slayer turned to protest she found Tara's eyes closed and her head slightly lifted back. Buffy removed Tara's hand and glanced at Giles.

The Watcher, seeing the interaction, quickly got to his feet and rushed over to the table.

"Close your eyes, Buffy, and imagine a door opening in your mind," he instructed in a soft voice.

"Just like they taught me," she mumbled and closed her eyes and pictured the steel door opening.

//Guys, I can't do this long// Willow's voice reached them. //They keep drugging me. Took my voice, can't do magic. It's Walsh. Help me! Help us!//

///Hang on, Wills! We've got help here/// Buffy urged, tears streaming down her face.

///Willow, calm, think calm/// Tara instructed. ///Let our love flow into you.///

//I can't get out of here!// Willow's mental voice began to panic. //Please help us!//

///Willow, we love you and we won't rest until we get you back// Tara assured her lover as she reached across the table to grab Buffy's hands, strengthening the connection.

//Thank the goddess// Willow's voice calmed slightly. //They think I'm asleep. I love you both so much. No, Dammit! Not yet!//

"Willow!" Buffy snapped vocally and opened her eyes as she felt Willow yanked from them. Tara's head jerked and the witch opened her eyes as well, staring deep into Buffy's blue eyes while filling with tears.

The Slayer rushed around the table to kneel next to Tara's chair as they held each other and were crying once more.

"Did you make contact?" Giles asked softly, glancing around to see that everyone was awake and listening.

"It is the Initiative and they've done something to her voice so she can't do magic," Buffy added.

"I know we're not going to get much sleep but I think everyone should call in sick today and try to get some sleep. It's obvious that we're not going to get anything done this morning," Joyce suggested.

"Buffy, be reasonable," Giles said wearily. "First rule of a Slayer, stay alive. You can't do that going exhausted into a battle. You and Tara split one of Willow's pain pills and get some sleep. We'll all try and be back here at 3pm."

"Agent Mulder," Giles called to the agent. "Please help, Willow is very important to us."

"Well #52, you're in much better shape than we thought," Professor Walsh said, wiping away the tears from Willow's eyes as the young witch lay on the gurney from the day before. "I'm considering not sedating you for the change tomorrow night."

"Your heart rate is still a little too rapid but Atenol should slow that down without drugging you," Walsh commented.

Willow wanted to plead, to reason, to rant, to scream, to swear but knew it was useless, especially when they had taken her vocal cords out of commission.

"I am disappointed in Hostile 49 though," Walsh said thoughtfully, more to herself than to Willow. "The reports were that he wanted you as a mate, I was hoping you two could make up and play nice."

Willow resisted the urge to shout or spit on the doctor. She had seen one demon beaten to death when he dared to fight back and clawed one of the commandos handling him.

"Well, we'll see what happens when both of you are wolves and in the same cage tomorrow night," Walsh grinned sadistically.

Willow screamed inside herself. Locking Oz in a cage with a female werewolf on the full moon had led to him breaking up with Willow in the first place, when she had found them both naked together the next morning.

"For today and tonight, we're going to test some of your limits, pain, heat, cold, things like that," Walsh informed the test subject and Willow shivered. "We don't get too many female werewolves. Now that we don't have to sedate you to keep that heart rate down and your mind fuzzy, we can get some clean and accurate readings."

The orderlies, technicians or whatever they were, appeared on either end of the gurney.

"She's behaving, mostly but don't under-estimate her," Walsh warned them. "Testing of limits today."

"Start with electric shocks and see what point she either passes out or changes: involuntarily or voluntarily," Walsh ordered.

"You want us to wait here for the next three nights?" Buffy demanded when they all returned to the Summers' dining table.

"Okay, say we grab Willow and whoever else they've got in chains, what do we do with them?" Xanders asked.

"We need someone to take the place of the transfer team in Barstow," Scully pointed out on the map. "The transport team is two commandos and one medical technician. Mulder, Buffy and myself are all on their 'Red' list."

"Shoot on sight if interfering with Initiative business and dump the bodies," Mulder informed the group.

"So am I," Xander countered and everyone looked confused. "A few Halloween nights years ago some of us got caught up in some cursed costumes. We became whatever we dressed as. I was a military type."

"I remember everything," Xander nodded. "Just like I went through the training. I didn't go through it physically but I remember mentally. I know ranks, saluting, everything."

Mulder looked thoughtful and Scully shrugged that it might actually be a good idea.

"Okay, the second commando?" she asked. "I don't think Mr. Giles could pull that off."

"No, they only take males, Buffy was an exception because she's the Slayer," Giles responded.

"Is Detective Santiago on their 'red' list?" Joyce asked with a beginning smile.

"What about Joyce Mom?" Anya suggested. "She's an authority type and older, wouldn't male military types respond well to such parameters?"

"Weren't my words correct? I didn't mention anything about sex and that we haven't done it in three days," Anya protested.

"I can do it," Joyce said firmly, bringing the conversation back to Anya's suggestion.

"Well, living with you, I've already had a fair share of dangerous things," Joyce pointed out. "From being bitten by vampires, choked by zombies, dating an android, and having someone else in your body, I think I can handle a little make believe to get Willow back."

"Actually, I thought you and the others might attack the Initiative Center that morning after they've transported Willow and we have her," Mulder said slowly.

"He's right, Buff," Xander nodded. "Even if we get Willow, what do we do with her? They have Initiative teams all over the States and units that go all over the world. If Willow stays on their list, they'll never stop hunting her."

"Exactly, we need to take out their computers and maybe the Center itself," Mulder agreed. "I have a disk here that will connect with some friends of mine, they'll download a virus that will wipe out everything and cause the computers to feedback on themselves and destruct."

"Exactly like that. It may not explode the Center, but it'll take out their computers all over the world within ten minutes and Willow's records will be erased," Mulder explained.

"But Riley and Walsh know about Willow, they'll just report her again," Tara complained.

"We'll see if we can find something to blackmail them with to keep them quiet," Mulder said.

"Mulder, you're advocating, encouraging and planning on the mass destruction of government property, breaking and entering, possibly injuring someone during the commission of a felony, sabotage, possible violations of National Security and now blackmail," Scully pointed out.

"Hmmm," he shrugged and turned back to his phone. Scully picked up a pen to throw at him but changed her mind with a scowl. After a moment he clicked off. "Detective Santiago isn't on any of their lists," he smiled at Giles.

"Xander, can you put together uniforms like the Initiative's at the local surplus stores?" Mulder asked.

"Easy, if I had money," Xander shrugged and Mulder pulled out his wallet and handed the young man a credit card. "Done!" Xander grinned and grabbed Anya's hand. "Brad's just a little shorter and thinner than I am, no problem. Shoe size might be a problem though."

Xander leaned down and kissed Buffy and Tara on their cheeks and grabbed Anya's hand as they headed for the door.

"Scully, you've got to trust me. I know you haven't seen any evidence of anything we've said, including that the Initiative needs to be destroyed, but I need you to trust me," Mulder urged.

"Mulder!" Scully protested with a smile. "I wouldn't dissect him! I'd autopsy him."

"How about she goes out slaying with Buffy tonight?" Mulder suggested. "Scully can handle herself."

"These aren't people anymore and I do the slaying, you just watch," Buffy smirked.

"Willow?" both of them whispered, closing their eyes. Buffy grabbed the edge of the table and everyone fell silent.

Joyce screamed and Giles jumped up so quickly that he knocked his chair over as he attempted to grab Buffy before the Slayer hit the floor. Joyce tried to grab Tara as well, as both girls stiffened and then began to spasm in their chairs.

Joyce and Giles lowered the couple to the floor and the Englishman moved aside as Scully moved around the table and began examining them.

"This connection thing is beginning to be a pain in the ass," Buffy complained as she rubbed her back where she fell out of the chair.

"Willow, they're doing something to her," Tara mumbled, grabbing onto Joyce and the table, trying to get back into her chair.

"Shocks, electric shocks," Buffy muttered, using the wall and Giles' arm to stand up. "Do people still do that?"

"I don't know," Buffy complained, holding onto his arms. "They had already done it quite a few times before she reached out to us."

"That last one was out of instinct, I think," Tara nodded. "She's trying to keep her shields up and not let us see. The pain snapped her shields open."

"I can't take much more of this, Giles," Buffy whispered and let the Watcher wrap his arms around her.

"Let me see if I can move things up a bit," Mulder commented and pulled out his cell phone.

Willow felt someone wrapping a blanket around her and holding her tightly and whimpered, snuggling closer to whoever it was. After hours of electric shocks, intense heat in a steam room, another IV bag connected to her veins to prevent dehydration, now she was suffering from nearly being frozen to death.

The redhead clenched her teeth to try and stop them from chattering as someone ran their hands over her arms.

"Damn you all to hell!" Oz shouted as he stumbled over to his own cot and pulled his blankets off and added them to Willow's.

"I may not be able to see them but I sure as hell can smell them," he growled. "I'm ripping out the throat of the next person that steps through that cage for you."

It was early evening when Mulder finally got a return to his earlier telephone call. Buffy and Scully were out patrolling a graveyard, hoping to find at least one vampire and maybe a demon to demonstrate some of what the gang was talking about.

Mulder knew that Scully was having a hard time with this case, especially since it wasn't an official case. Mulder was about to commit outright sabotage. Scully had learned to ignore his illegal entry into a lot of places, his trespassing habits, Mulder's computer hacking, and his unorthodox methods, but sabotage was stepping beyond her limits. Mulder knew he needed to convince his partner that they were doing the right thing and quick.

"You looked pleased," Joyce commented as she set the table for a late dinner as Xander showed Giles and Brad Santiago the uniforms he had picked up. Fortunately, Brad was a National Guardsman and knew the uniform and equipment even better than Xander.

The Sunnydale Detective hadn't been surprised to be called in by the Scooby Gang, just highly upset that it was Willow who had been taken. During her time in the hospital after Oz' attack; Brad had come to like the young woman. He actually liked all of the Gang and was accepted as a member when he wouldn't go away and kept insisting on answers.

After working with them for a month on various cases, Brad had no regrets about keeping the existence of werewolves, vampires, demons and other things quiet in Sunnydale. He quickly realized his superiors didn't want to hear it and didn't seem to see it, either. Working with the Gang helped the detective feel like he was doing something to counter the heavy influence of darkness over Sunnydale.

"I am," Mulder said, attracting the attention of everyone else in the room, including Tara who was researching Giles' books for any spell that might be of use.

"I got my friends to hack into the Initiative's computer and warn them that we planned on intercepting the transport Sunday in Barstow," Mulder grinned.

"They're moving up the transport date to Friday morning and the transfer site to Las Vegas," Mulder responded.

"They won't know we're coming, they'll think they're ahead of us," Giles answered.

"I suggest Scully and I go with Xander, Brad and Joyce to Las Vegas," Mulder said. "The rest of you hit the Center after you get a call from me or Scully and find a way to get a disk into one of their computers."

"It'll be okay, honey," Xander reassured her. "I'll be okay and I'll bring Willow home," he said as he held her.

"Okay, we'll need for the cell to be ready for Willow and whoever else we bring back," Mulder suggested.

Willow had no idea how much time passed. It seemed like an eternity to the frazzled young woman. Endless 'testing' meant endless pain. First some sort of testing of her pain threshold, then some rest and then more testing. Endless breaks with more blood being drawn for testing, EKG monitoring, EEG monitoring or some sort of machine tracking something.

Whenever they gave her a moment to recover, they threw her in the cell with Oz. Willow was slightly amused with herself as she clung to him for comfort in-between the rounds of testing and pain. She knew he was the cause of the mess in the first place but she also welcomed the human warmth and believed he was sincere in his regret over what had happened.

The witch whimpered as she shifted her body on the cot. Instantly, Oz was by her side and attentive, despite his blindness.

He managed a small smile. "I understand. They 'tested' me for two weeks. I'm a perfect werewolf, they say."

Willow could hear and see the bitterness of that statement on his face and in his voice.

"Don't be," he shrugged. "I don't know what they have planned for me after these full moon nights."

**Oz, no talk about that.** Willow hesitated. Not having her voice sucked, she thought once again. **Does the change hurt?**

Oz' frown deepened. "Yes, every time," he admitted. "It gets easier over time and the body gets used to changing back and forth. Fortunately, you won't remember the change and what you do as a wolf the first few months. Never, if you're lucky."

"I don't know," he shrugged. "I was traveling, heading to Alaska. I was hoping to find some shamans up there that might be able to help me. I hit a small northern Oregon town and felt the connection when I entered a small coffee shop. I knew immediately that a small group of kids were like me and they knew me."

The young musician hesitated. "We met and I agreed to stay for a couple of days; who wouldn't? I found an entire group like me and they welcomed me. They told me they lived together, kinda like hippies. They had a cabin up in the woods and let the wolf loose. They swore they didn't hurt humans and had learned control on their own."

"I hung out with them, a couple of them were musicians too and we jammed," he said wistfully. "I was accepted into the pack and ran in the woods with them. The leader taught me how to focus so intensely that nothing else got through and I could control the change, eventually. I focused on you."

The redhead male's head dropped. "I don't know how things got twisted but they did. Drugs, sex, power plays in the group and blood. At first it was from deer and raccoons, things like that. Then they took down a hitchhiker near the highway and bullied me into drinking some of the blood. The next night they attacked me."

"It was either submit to all of them and be low man in the pack or resist," he continued. "I fought back and fought my way up the hierarchy in minutes. The leader wouldn't let up though and wouldn't let me stop at submitting to him. Something snapped, I tried to submit and I saw in his eyes he wanted to kill me. I fought back for my life and I lost my soul somewhere when I won and became Alpha wolf of the pack."

"I know, but it's still my fault. All I could think of was you and came back. You know the rest," he finished.

"I don't know. I'm going to try and stay human when we change tomorrow night and protect you. I owe you that much," he said firmly. "I know you're a werewolf now, I can tell by your scent. I also remember Buffy mating with you. Are you happy with this or was it to protect her and you from me?"

Oz nodded, as if expecting the answer. "You both were too blind all that time and she was so blinded by Angel. I remember someone else with you, who is she and how does she fit into this?"

"Really? Wow! You drop guys and get two girls? I'm jealous," he said, trying to tease and Willow lightly whacked his hand in response. "As long as you're happy, Willow. I can never make up for what I did but I'll die trying."

"So, you go out nightly and hope you run into vampires and kill them?" Dana Scully asked the small blonde as they opened the gate to one of the local graveyards.

"That's usually the game plan for a typical evening," Buffy said easily. "Sometimes I can get some quality dance time in at the Bronze or some study time with Wills and Tara."

"And you go to college?" Scully continued questioning the girl and unbuttoned her jacket for easier access to her gun. The FBI agent might not believe everything Buffy, the Scooby Gang or her own partner had told her, but Scully wasn't a fool. If something was going to jump out at her in a spooky graveyard then she was going to test the theory whether vampires could be killed with a Glock automatic pistol or not.

"Yeah, take classes during the day, slay by night, that's me!" Buffy said cheerfully but Dana Scully detected a note of bitterness.

"Fortunately, Slayers don't need a lot of sleep," Buffy shrugged. "It's one of the side effects of being The Chosen One."

"No, I didn't choose this, I didn't ask for it and I didn't ask to put my friends in danger all the time," Buffy growled. "I was 'chosen' when I was fifteen and told my destiny was to fight the forces of evil until I died, then someone else would be chosen after me."

"It's not and now I've cost Willow part of her soul," Buffy fought to keep back the tears.

"It's not your fault. From what Mulder tells me, her ex brought all this on," Scully said softly.

"Maybe if I wasn't the Slayer, Willow could have had a normal life," Buffy whined. "Hell, I know she'd be with Oz and running around howling at the moon and probably killing people. I'm just worried what those bastards will do to her."

Scully fell back and stumbled onto the grass as Buffy spun around, whipping a stake out of her inner jacket pocket and lashing out with it. Scully blinked as she watched a figure move out of the shadows at a dash and be impaled on the stakes.

Buffy acted like the incident was a common as swatting a fly. She smirked as Scully got back to her feet.

"Nope, self defense on the Evil side," Buffy answered. "Hard to prove the existence of vampires when they go 'poof'."

"About my girlfriend," Buffy took up the previous conversation. "We have a cell in one of the crypts where we can lock her away on nights of the full moon."

"You really believe she's going to change into a wolf?" Scully asked with a frown.

"More like a werewolf, upright, furry, long teeth, bad temper," Buffy snapped. "I remember what it felt like to feel my blood on fire, to hear the bones in my legs and arms breaking and reforming. I saw the hair on my arms turning into fur and felt my jaw dislocate and my teeth growing. I've seen Oz change and I saved Willow one night when Oz was loose. To save her again, I took his bite. Then she went and reversed it on me! She finds this damned spell and takes it away from me to herself."

"Sounds like she truly loves you," Scully said softly as Buffy sat down on a tombstone and wiped angry tears away.

"Yeah, I got lucky," Buffy smiled a small smile. "Better than most Slayers, I've outlived most of them and I found love with two fantastic people."

"Did you know that someone is sneaking up on us on the left?" Scully asked with a smile.

"Yup, and one is stalking you from behind," Buffy shrugged. "When I say 'duck,' do so."

"Alright, this is your turf," Scully grinned ruefully. The FBI agent knew that she should be trying to capture one of the 'vampires' but wasn't sure how to do it if her gun was actually useless. Then there was the question of what to do with one if they were going to explode in the morning sun like Buffy claimed they would.

Buffy grinned and jumped up onto the tombstone she had been sitting on and somersaulted off it, right over Scully's head. Dana turned in time to see Buffy land in a shoulder roll and come up with a stake in her hand, thrusting it upward into the chest of a male figure.

Before Scully could really take in his tattered zombie-like appearance, he exploded into dust.

The FBI agent began shooting as a female reached for her with a growl. Scully emptied her gun into the chest of the… cheerleader?... and the girl was barely knocked back a few feet.

Scully's eyes widened at the sight of what was once a teenage girl who now had a ridged forehead, yellow eyes, and long fangs.

"Scully?" Mulder questioned as his FBI partner and Buffy entered the Summers home that evening.

Scully knew that she looked like a wreck and felt like she had been through one. During her partnership with Mulder she had seen a lot of things and had been tossed around a lot, Scully figured to just add this incident to that list. She was also going to add Sunnydale, California, to her list of 'not to visit ever again' places.

"I'm fine, Mulder," as her partner reached her and lifted her head to one side, taking in the large gauze pad and tape covering one side of her neck and the black eye she was quickly developing.

Giles and Joyce were looking Buffy over as well and discovered that she had a possible sprained wrist and a cut lip.

"Well, it was my fault, really," Scully began as Mulder led her to the sofa and made her sit. "I tried to kill a vampire with my gun instead of the stake Buffy gave me."

"We were jumped by several vampires," Buffy continued as her mom moved back into the kitchen. "I was about to take care of the one with his claws wrapped around Scully's neck when I got hit with one of those psychic flashes from Willow. I moved a second too slow and the vamp got her fangs into Scully's throat."

"Don't worry, not enough to drain her, just cut open her neck," Buffy said calmly. "When I jumped into the action, Scully was knocked aside and hit her head."

"Hey, if it had been you, they'd just walked up and bit you while you were asking them questions about what it was like to be a vampire," Scully teased back.

"Lying down for a bit," Giles answered. "She'll probably think the psychic call you got was part of a nightmare. What did you see?"

"What's becoming the usual, Giles," Buffy said, her eyes filling with tears. "She's scared out of her mind and she's trying to block us from seeing or hearing it but can't help screaming sometimes."

"Your Mom has made spaghetti. Xander and Anya have gone home for awhile as well," Giles answered.

"Any idea what they're doing to Willow, Buffy?" Mulder asked as he helped Scully stand up.

Joyce entered from the kitchen carrying a large bowl of spaghetti and Giles quickly moved around her to help with the dinner.

"Something to screw with her mind is what I got this time," Buffy answered wearily. "Drugs, lights and noise were the overall sensations I got."

Both Mulder and Giles were frowning as Giles moved to place a large bowl of salad on the table and Joyce followed with garlic bread.

"Xander will be so upset he missed my mom's spaghetti," Buffy commented. "Should I wake Tara?"

"Let her sleep as long as she can," Joyce suggested. "Right after dinner and a shower I want you in bed too, young lady."

"You really need to. They don't plan on moving Willow until tomorrow evening, after she's changed and is sedated," Mulder explained, reaching for the garlic bread. "They plan on transferring her and the other hostiles over to the next transport team just after dawn in Las Vegas. Lang… my friend has the location and is sending credentials for Brad, Xander and Joyce by overnight mail."

"Through the service entrance," Giles answered. "Tara, Anya and I will have identification as transport drivers and you and Spike will be hidden inside hollowed out machines."

"Delivery drivers," Joyce corrected the Watcher's terminology from English to American with a smile.

Buffy grinned at the goofy look on Giles' face as he looked at her mom. She still found it a little weird but nice that her Watcher liked her mom and that the feelings were mutual from her mom. Buffy hadn't seen Giles look like that since Jenny Calendar's death. The Slayer liked it.

"Isn't this a little too dangerous? One wrong move and he's in the hands of the Initiative again," Buffy frowned, continuing to eat a hearty dinner. Slaying always made her hungry, and 'frisky,' she thought.

"I agree but he was insistent," Giles explained. "I wouldn't have thought that he'd take such a chance again but he merely said that he was fond of Willow and he remembered what it was like to be down in that… well, I can't use the words he did, in the Center."

"Spike is a vampire. They put a chip inside his head that prevents him from killing or hurting humans. In a way, he's tame," Buffy chipped in.

"I thought you went around killing vampires, not 'taming' them," Scully asked, a little sarcasm in her voice showing through.

"Well, we've met one vampire who didn't take human life because a curse had restored his soul and Spike who can't hurt humans even though he wants to," Giles explained.

"So we go in there, find a computer and put in the disk and get out," Buffy said, bringing the conversation back around to the planning.

"I want the place destroyed, Giles," Buffy said firmly, her eyes flashing angrily.

"I realize that," the Watcher nodded again. "Just after we send word to Agents Mulder and Scully that we are out of there and that they have Willow, I'm going to call the Center and phone in a bomb threat."

"So that the place can be evacuated before those computers overload several systems, including the power supplies. After that virus destroys the computers the insides of the Center will explode," Giles explained.

"What about the 'hostiles' they have down there?" Buffy asked. "I'm not into rescuing demons that I'm usually trying to kill, but what if some are like Willow and aren't bad guys?"

"Well, they're anticipating action from Agent Mulder by Monday and are transferring all their hostiles with Willow," Giles continued as they ate. "They're hoping that if Mulder forces his way in with official clearance that he'll only find scientific testing equipment and such, no vampires, werewolves or demons."

"I think we should change the plan slightly," Buffy said, catching everyone's attention. "I think Scully should go with us into the Center and I think Tara should be with my Mom and Xander when they get Willow back."

"Why?" Mulder asked before anyone else could. "Scully and I are a team, we know what the other one thinks and we trust each other with our lives."

"I know and I wouldn't suggest it normally but I think either me or Tara needs to be there when you get Willow out and I'm the logical choice to go into the Center," Buffy reasoned. "I can fight my way out of there if I need to, I've been in there before and know my way around somewhat."

"Why is it so important for one of you to be with Willow other than the girlfriend thing?" Joyce asked and wasn't surprised when Buffy blushed.

"You haven't seen and heard what Willow is gong through, Mom," Buffy said softly. "I keep getting flashes. They tortured her body and now they're working on her mind. She's breaking down and may not recognize anyone except Tara or me. We can use the connection with have her to reach her, I hope."

"Oh mushy stuff!" Buffy exclaimed and Mulder nearly choked on a mouth full of spaghetti.

Tara mumbled something that might have been English in a coherent moment but Buffy couldn't tell for sure. The Slayer smiled and climbed out of her clothes, leaving on just her t-shirt and crawled into bed with the blonde witch.

Tara smiled in her half sleep and wrapped her arm around Buffy and drew the other blonde closer to her. Buffy let her tense muscles begin to relax as Tara's warmth spread over her and encompassed her. The Slayer decided that snuggling with someone was much, much better than sleeping alone.

"Its okay, Buffy," Tara mumbled and gently stroked Buffy's hair. "We'll get her back."

"I love you both so much," Buffy said softly, letting her emotions overcome her.

"Try and sleep, my love," Tara urged. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow. Pretending everything is normal tomorrow while everyone else plans."

"Because murder still means a long term in prison and that wouldn't be good," Tara reminded her girlfriend.

"Oh, okay, then I won't kill him yet," Buffy said softly as she began to drift into sleep.

"Mulder, this is insane!" Scully protested over their coffee and breakfast at a diner near their hotel.

"I agree, tell me a better plan and I'll jump at it," Mulder countered. "How do you suggest that we get Willow out of the hands of a secret government organization that no one will acknowledge exists?"

"Court orders, SWAT raids," Scully suggested. "We are talking about a young woman who is being held against her will. They can be charged with kidnapping, probably torture, medical experimentation and who knows what else."

"That would take time, we have no evidence a court would believe and Willow will be gone before we could even get a search warrant," Mulder complained.

"I know but I promised to help whenever I could," Mulder explained with a small smile.

"What is it about Willow that drew you in?" Scully asked, the curiosity apparent in her voice and on her face.

"She's intelligent, curious about everything, a bit scientific but open to the paranormal," he grinned. "She's also a redhead, green eyes and is cute."

"Would I say that? That might ruin our professional relationship and our cool exterior personas," Mulder grinned.

"Right, I agree," Scully smirked back. After a moment Scully returned to the original conversation. "How do you plan on getting Willow and the others back to Sunnydale, won't some of them need special handling?"

"Langley and the others ordered one of the busses the Initiative uses for transport in for repairs in Las Vegas," Mulder explained with a smile. "We simply pick up the bus and transport Willow and the others back to Sunnydale."

"Giles and Xander are installing iron rings and chains in the cell they have for Willow, we'll lock everyone up overnight," Mulder continued. "Saturday morning a friend of theirs is coming in from Los Angeles to take the hostiles away. He apparently has a lot contact among the demons, vampires and others in Los Angeles and can find them safe shelter."

"This just gets more bizarre by the minute," Scully complained. "I'm actually discussing what to do with demons, vampires and werewolves so they'll be safe from the government."

"Which one of us is going to Las Vegas and which one of us is staying here for the commando raid?" the red-haired agent asked.

"I like watching things explode?" he grinned. "And you can throw technical or scientific terms at them and sound like a scientific type."

Scully laughed, after all they had been through lately, and it was good to see Mulder smiling and confident.

"Either sedate her on nights of the full moon and lock her away, or just lock her away and watch over her," Mulder shrugged. "They kept the boyfriend Oz out of trouble for months that way."

"Are we sure that the Initiative is so terrible? Couldn't they be working for a cure?"

"Not likely, we haven't come across too many benevolent secret government groups, have we?" he pointed out. "The orders about insemination cinched it for me. They want to take an unwilling young woman and impregnate her so she can breed little werewolves for them."

"Besides giving me some better fantasies than some of my books?" he asked with a grin. "I think the bond is genuine. You haven't met Willow or seen the three of them interact together. It's like watching a moving triangle in action. They each have strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other."

"It is unusual if it works, I haven't seen many three ways work for long," Scully commented.

The day was an unusual one for the Scooby Gang but to any outsider it appeared like any other Friday in Sunnydale. Willow Rosenberg was out of school, an unheard of event; Buffy and Tara appeared concerned and told everyone that she was ill at home; Giles was seen at the art gallery owned by Joyce Summers; Anya was working at the Magic Box; Xander was patrolling the mall, saving shoppers from shoplifters and kids skateboarding inside; and Mulder and Scully were seen looking over police files on Missing Person's cases.

"Excellent," she commented as Riley Finn looked on. "They know we have her and the Federal Agents are hoping to get enough evidence to move against us before resorting to ambushing the transfer Sunday morning."

"I still don't like it, Buffy should have attacked the Center that very first night," Riley growled.

"I agree, it was totally out of character for her," Walsh responded. "We would have underestimated her and the others if we hadn't gotten that report about the ambush Sunday."

"No, I don't believe so," Walsh said thoughtfully. "They know tonight is the full moon and that it would be highly unlikely for us to transport Hostiles on a full moon."

"You know the rules, unless we can show she's a danger to the Initiative, we can't justify bringing her in. She didn't test positive for vampirism or lycanthropy," Walsh snapped. "Unless she