FF: Wanted a Werewolf - 2/8 - B/W/T - R

["carrkjar" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: Wanted: A Werewolf and a Superman
Red Moon, Book III
Part 2

Author: Frau Hunter Ash 

Copyright © 2002 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.

Email: carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx Feedback welcome!!

Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/ 

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, 
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline, 
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be 
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made 
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright 
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship 
between people of the same gender and may even include 3 at the same 
time <G>. If this offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  
Come back when you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed 
your laws. 

Spoilers: The series starts at New Moon Rising and takes off on its 
own line from there.

Summary: Werewolf Willow wakes up naked and bloody and the gang try 
and find her as everyone deals with the repercussions. Things get 
complicated when two bodies are found and a vampire gets to Willow 
before the gang does. Worse yet, Adam is making his move against the 
Slayer.

Rating: R, description of werewolf victims

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Spike! What the hell is with you, sneaking up on me is so not a good 
idea!" Buffy snapped as Giles attempted to get back to his feet while 
he glared at the blonde male vampire.

"Oh, someone's in a bad mood!" Spike growled. "Saw you two slackers 
roaming out here and thought I'd drop in." 

The vampire had literally `dropped' in on the Slayer and her Watcher 
from a tree. Only his anticipation of Buffy's reactions had saved 
Spike from being staked a half second after he had landed on the 
forest floor. He had rolled backwards and blocked her second thrust 
while laughing at Giles falling backwards onto his backside.

Buffy, realizing it was Spike, had put her stake away while Giles 
checked the safety on the dart rifle.

"Spike, tonight is so not the night to mess with me!" Buffy warned.

"Like any other night is?" he asked and took in the sight of the dart 
gun. "You're trying to capture something instead of slaying? Didn't 
you give that up when you left the soldier types?"

"It's Willow," Buffy explained with a growl.

"Oh bugger!" Spike cursed. "Little tree is all wolfie tonight and 
she got out?"

"That's about it," Giles nodded as they began moving through the 
woods again.

"Oh hell, count me in," the vampire grumbled. "Where do you want me 
to look?"

"Xander and Anya are looking in the nearest graveyard, how about 
between here and my place. Something inside her might send her 
home," Buffy suggested.

"Right," Spike agreed. "I promise not to hurt her."

"Good, because then I'd have to hurt you," Buffy growled and the 
vampire just grinned and trotted off.

"God, I hate that creature at times," Giles complained.

"He can register pretty high up there on the annoyance meter," Buffy 
agreed.

"If we don't find her tonight, can you and Tara make contact with her 
in the morning and find out where she is?" Giles asked.

"Should be able to, the connection seems as strong as ever," Buffy 
nodded, keeping her senses on heightened alert.

"She'll be confused," Giles commented absently.

"And naked," Buffy added. "Let's hope she doesn't get arrested for 
indecent exposure before we can find her."

"Well, yes, of course," Giles agreed, running his hand through his 
hair in a nervous gesture of discomfort. 

It was almost dawn when Buffy stopped, her jaw muscles clenching 
tightly.

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"I smell blood, Giles," Buffy said softly and moved slowly through 
the trees into a clearing near one of the spots that was popular with 
high school students to park and neck.

On top of a picnic table was something large. Since the moon had 
gone down, Giles was hoping they were about to find a sleeping Willow 
as he pulled out his flashlight. As he shined the beam on the table, 
the Watcher fought the urge to be ill.

In the harsh and narrow beam of the flashlight, what he and Buffy 
could make out was the figure of something that had been human but 
was now a tangled mess of ripped clothing, torn tissue and blood 
covering everything.

Giles swallowed as they moved closer. "Oh God," he muttered as the 
flashlight caught the unseeing eyes of what once was a teenage girl.  
The Watcher noticed the logical side of his mind taking notes and 
cursed that part of himself that could turn this off so easily and 
file away facts for later.

The girl's eyes were blue and her hair was once blonde, he thought.  
Now it was mostly red, a deep dark red of dried blood. Giles frowned 
and touched some of the blood and then the girl's body.

"Giles?" Buffy questioned.

"Cold, the blood is dried except where it's pooled," he said 
offhandedly. "I'd say at least three hours."

"Then it could have been Will," Buffy said, her voice flat.

"There is that possibility, I'm going to take samples from under her 
nails and measure the bite pattern, just to be sure," he said.  

"Giles, there's another one just at the edge of the trees," Buffy 
said softly.

Giles looked up and followed where his Slayer was pointing with the 
flashlight beam and saw another huddled form at the base of a tree.  
They quickly moved to it and rolled the half naked figure over and 
both fought the urge to be sick. This body was a teenage male and he 
had been slashed repeatedly across the stomach and chest and his 
throat had been ripped out.

"The boyfriend," Buffy muttered.

"So it would seem," Giles agreed. He quickly began shining the 
flashlight over the ground and the bodies, putting away the dart 
pistol and pulling out a small notepad. "I'll call the police in a 
moment," he muttered.

Buffy sat down at the edge of the clearing on one of the other picnic 
benches and ignored him while he worked, staring at her shoes.

"What do we do if it was Will?" she asked softly.

Giles stood up and grew thoughtful for several moments.

"I suggest that we continue on protecting her and locking her away 
every month and not telling her," he suggested.

"How can we not tell her? Giles, she killed two people!"

"No, a werewolf or a demon killed two people, Buffy," he 
amended. "What would you suggest? Putting a silver bullet through 
her heart?"

Buffy's eyes grew wide and she held up her hands in protest.

"Giles!"

"Yes, I know, none of us could do that," he said. "This isn't some 
damned Hammer film, Buffy. We have to figure what's best for Willow 
and the world. I see only two choices: continue on like we have 
been; try and get her through what the Initiative did to her and keep 
her and the public safe. Or, second, we kill her, that's it. I am 
open to other suggestions if you have them."

Buffy felt the tears welling up in her eyes and angrily wiped at 
them. "You want me to try and keep this from her? How am I supposed 
to do that with this connection we have?"

"Well, yes, there is that to consider," he pondered. "Let's just get 
through today, alright? We call this in, I'll stay and deal with the 
police and you find Willow."

Buffy nodded, her face very unhappy as she looked at the two bodies 
in the pre-dawn light. Whatever had attacked the girl had been 
brutal and enjoyed the slaughter. When she looked at the body of the 
male, Buffy frowned.

"Giles?" the Watcher looked up from his measurements. "Is the bite 
pattern the same?"

Giles actually smiled. "Good girl," he commented. "Actually the 
bite patterns are different for each body. What tipped you?"

"They were killed differently," she commented, wanting a closer look 
but keeping back. Last thing they wanted was to explain to the police 
about a contaminated crime scene. Giles would have enough explaining 
to do about that without adding Buffy into the tracks surrounding the 
students. "The girl was ripped apart. Whatever did that enjoyed 
it. The guy looks like he was in a sword fight or something."

"Yes, I noticed that," Giles agreed. "His wounds are defensive, like 
he was fighting something and lost."

"Okay, so they're out here necking," Buffy pondered. "They get 
attacked, guy is knocked aside while the werewolf attacks and rips 
apart the girl. The guy jumps in and gets killed as well. That 
could still be one wolf."

"Except for the bite patterns, the girl was killed by a creature with 
a larger jaw and the slashes are slightly farther apart," he pointed 
out.

"A larger hand, larger claws," Buffy deduced. "Two werewolves?"

"Or demons, I believe so," Giles nodded.  

"Could Will have hooked up with something last night?"

"It is a possibility, or we're dealing with a hunting team, maybe a 
married couple," he threw in.

"God, I've got to find her," Buffy complained, jumping up from the 
picnic bench.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Professor Walsh?" Riley Finn called as he stopped in front of the 
partially open lab door. This wasn't normal and the soldier was 
quickly alarmed. This was the one room that no one entered without 
two different security checks: a code key card and a retina scan.  

The door standing ajar was not a good sign.

Riley drew his Glock pistol and chambered a round. He reached up and 
keyed his radio, the mike on his shoulder.

"This is Finn in corridor 7, outside room 75; I have an unsecured 
Level 5 security door. Send a security team."

"Security team on the way," a voice responded.

Riley held the pistol in front of him and cautiously opened the door 
slowly. Keeping the gun scanning the room, he reached out with his 
other hand and flipped on the light switch.

Corporal Riley Finn walked into the room slowly, his gun still 
scanning the room as he stepped over the figure on the floor. His 
military training demanding that he check and clear the room of any 
threat before he allowed his mind to accept the fact that it was 
Professor Walsh's body that he was stepping over. Seeing nothing in 
the room except the body of his mentor, Finn holstered his weapon and 
bent down, turning the Professor over.

Riley checked for a pulse, knowing from her open dead eyes that it 
was useless but it gave him something to do and it was protocol.  

He lifted the lab coat open and filed away in his mind for his report 
that he observed four bloody wounds in the Professor's chest, the 
wounds going through her shirt. Riley turned the body slightly and 
noted the exit wounds as well but there was a lack of gunpowder 
residue and the exit wounds appeared to be the same size as the 
entrance wounds. In fact, he couldn't tell which was exit and which 
entrance, unlike most gunshot wounds.

Riley vaguely remembered the demon Walsh had wanted from Los Angeles, 
a demon with a spike that extended from its forearm, like a spear.

The soldier waited for the security team to arrive and take over as 
he fought back tears.

"Mom," he whispered.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow woke up shivering, huddled in a tight fetal position. The 
witch cautiously looked around for the sleeping bag. She wanted to 
be inside it where it was warm and grab a couple more hours of sleep 
before Tara would wake her up.

Willow frowned. It was cold, dark, damp and smelled and there was no 
sleeping bag near her. The witch felt her breathing quicken and her 
pulse rate jump as she raised her head and looked around.

The hacker fought down a sweeping wave of panic as she realized she 
was in the sewer tunnels; she was naked, alone and had something 
caking her chin and chest. Willow, with her new senses and a little 
light could make out that whatever covering her was dark.  

Willow's heart rate tripled when someone stepped out of the shadows 
and the sound of boots came towards her. The hacker curled up into a 
ball against the cold wall, trying not to whimper as she tried to 
clear her mind enough to form some kind of protection spell.

The red head looked up as the figure stepped into better lighting and 
she tried not to scream at the sight of a vampire in full game face.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

///Willow!/// Tara concentrated for several moments and then opened 
her eyes and shook her head as the Scooby Gang watched her and Buffy 
try to make contact.

They were once again in the Summers' home, with only Giles missing as 
he dealt with the police and the bodies.

Buffy also opened her eyes and shook her head. "She's so confused, 
we can't get through."

"Damnit!" Xander snapped, rubbing a hand over his scruffy 
face. "Okay, how about Anya and I call Detective Santiago and find 
out if any naked female has been picked up and taken to jail or the 
hospital?"

"Good idea, Xander," Buffy agreed as Joyce reached for the telephone 
for him.

"Let's get out the city maps and figure out where she might have 
ended up," Joyce suggested and both Buffy and Tara nodded.

As everyone moved to do something around them, including Anya heading 
to make coffee, Buffy and Tara reached for each other's hands across 
the table.

"We'll find her," Buffy promised, her voice firm but her eyes were 
haunted.

"Yes, she completes us," Tara agreed, her voice nearly cracking with 
the same fear. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"What, I didn't order delivery," the vampire grinned.

Willow noticed that he was dressed in an Australian cattle duster 
coat and hat and had the most lovely accent she had heard since 
watching Crocodile Dundee. He also had a mean set of fangs and she 
whimpered as he reached for her.  

"Hey, you're not human!" he protested as he grabbed Willow into his 
arms, frowning.

"Yes I am!" Willow protested, forgetting for the moment that she was 
about to become a vampire's early morning snack. "Like totally 
human! Nothing wrong with that."

"You're a wolf!" he grinned and held the young woman at arm's length, 
checking out the substance on the young woman's face, chest and hands.

Willow began to blush, both at his words and his appraisal of her 
totally naked body.

Then she saw that the substance was dried blood and her eyes widened.

"You're the Slayers little bitch, aren't you? I've seen you with 
her," he commented.

"I am not `little' anything!" Willow mumbled, trying to mentally 
process the blood on her. "I'm even taller than she is."

The vampire laughed and shifted out of game face.  

"Am I hurt?" Willow asked softly.

"Nope," the vampire answered cheerfully. "First kill?"

Tears began escaping Willow's eyes as she nodded.

The vampire laughed softly and pulled his jacket off and handed it to 
her.

"Come on, sister," he said easily. "Let's get you cleaned up and 
some sleep. I'm Carson."

"I need to go home," Willow muttered, absently putting on the jacket 
and wrapping his flannel shirt around her waist as he stripped down 
to a t-shirt and jeans.

"Your girlfriend is the Slayer," Carson said gently. "Think she can 
let you live after she finds out you're a wolf?"

"It's not like that!" Willow protested. "She knows I'm a werewolf.  
They lock me away to keep me and everyone else safe."

"Well something went wrong last night because you're here with me and 
covered in blood. I know mammal blood when I smell it," Carson 
pointed out and drew the witch into his arms as she began to cry.

After a few minutes she pulled back slightly and looked at him 
closely.

"You know for a vampire, you're being awfully nice," she commented.

Carson laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and began 
walking down the tunnel.

"I've been around for a long time, takes the edge off of being a 
monster, I guess," he said.  

<The vampire was actually cute,> Willow thought. He was about the 
same height as Willow, which made him taller than Buffy and about the 
same height as Tara. His hair was dark brown and spiky, like Oz.  
Bright blue eyes looked over in amusement.

"How long have you been around?"

"Longer than Spike," he grinned. "You are the Slayer's girlfriend, 
right? Not into guys?"

Willow blushed again.  

"No, I mean yes. Wait," she stammered. "I'm the Slayer's girlfriend 
and I'm gay."

"Okay, I guess that leaves out the incredible sex after a night of 
the full moon," Carson commented casually and laughed at Willow's 
blushing face. "I've been around werewolves. Even had a werewolf 
girlfriend in Russia. God, she could wear me out after a moon!"

"Why are you being nice to me?"

"You're a sister now," he explained. "I know you don't remember your 
kill. Maybe someday you will."

Willow's face became very pained.

"Exactly, things will never be the same again for you or your 
friends," he continued as they walked. "Even if you never tell them 
and the bodies are never found, you'll be different. You'll always 
know and the guilt will eat away at you until you kill yourself or 
accept the darkside and live with it."

"My ex-boyfriend was a werewolf and gave in," Willow said. "I didn't 
like what he became."

"You can choose to chain yourself up every full moon from now on," 
Carson pointed out. "I don't care if you never kill again. I just 
happened to be here when a beautiful, naked, and confused female 
werewolf woke up after her first kill. I'll keep you safe, warm and 
fed until you get back on your feet."

///Willow?///

//Tara?//

///Willow, where are you, baby?///

Carson turned to look at Willow as she stopped in the tunnel, a 
faraway look on her face.  

///I don't know, I don't know what happened. Are you okay?// Willow 
asked mentally.

///Yes, I'm fine. Honest, you didn't hurt me.///

//Thank God!// Carson caught the look of relief on Willow's face and 
watched her closely. Willow's face became puzzled as she closed her 
eyes, concentrating. //I thought with the blood?//

///Blood? Will, are you hurt?/// Buffy joined in the mental 
conversation.

//No, not a scratch,// Willow answered absently.

///Willow, tell us where you are and we'll come get you. We need you 
home.///

Willow caught the intensity in Buffy's voice.

//Buffy? What's happened? What did I do last night?//

///We don't know that you did anything, Will,/// Buffy answered.

//You're not telling me something!// Willow mentally shouted. //Did 
I hurt Tara?//

///No, I swear you didn't hurt me,/// Tara responded but Willow 
caught the hesitation in both their manners.

//Oh God,// she muttered mentally. //The blood! I killed someone 
last night, didn't I?//

///Willow!/// Tara shouted. ///We don't know that for sure.///

//For sure?// Willow repeated. //I wake up with blood on me, I'm 
like naked and cold and can't remember anything! What happened?//

///Willow, please!/// Buffy pleaded. ///Just tell us where you are 
and we'll figure it out.///

//Figure what out, Buff?// Willow demanded, tears flowing down her 
cheeks again. //Who I killed? Whether it's best to kill me now or 
risk me killing again in the future now that I've tasted blood?//

///Willow, please,/// Willow could hear the tears in Tara's voice and 
could feel Buffy's mental anguish as well. She also caught a flash 
of memory from the Slayer's less protected mind. The memory of 
seeing the slaughtered bodies of a teenage couple who had been 
necking in the woods.

"//NO!!!//" Willow screamed mentally and verbally and let the 
darkness surround her, vaguely aware of Carson catching her.

///Willow!/// Both Buffy and Tara screamed as the mental connection 
was severed.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Basic human body to start with," Riley read aloud. "Grafting of 
superior body parts onto the torso. Enhancements will include cyborg 
mental implants, optical addition, CPU connected directly to the 
neuro net and brain activity."

"What the hell was she working on?" Forrest asked, listening to Riley 
reading.

"A Frankenstein Monster that is programmed to kill without mercy," 
Riley frowned. "Enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, and mental 
processing."

"Damn! Is he on our side?"

"I don't know," Riley admitted. "His skin will be too thick for 
darts or stakes. Probably most small arms rounds as well."

"What do we take him out with?" Forrest asked.

"Doesn't go into that, a small nuclear device?" Riley tried to smile.

"I would try stun guns set on kill and work up from there," Forrest 
suggested seriously.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Willow felt her body swaying and opened her eyes slowly.

"Don't panic on me, sis," a male voice suggested. "You fainted on me 
there."

"You know your accent dances all over the place?" she mumbled. "One 
minute Australian, next German, then Californian."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he muttered. "You live for a few hundred years 
and see how your syntax holds up."

"What happened?" she asked.

"I don't know, you went all Twilight Zone on me and then got a really 
scared expression on your face and fell into my arms," Carson 
explained as he placed her one her feet.

"I was?" she stammered, remembering the connection with Buffy and 
Tara and why she had severed it. Willow felt something snap inside 
of her as she looked at the blood coating her hands and cast.

The hacker held her hand over the cast and narrowed her eyes. Carson 
watched closely, being curious what his new friend was up to. His 
eyebrows shot up in question and amazement as the cast split apart 
and fell away from her arm.

Willow's eyes blackened totally as she concentrated. Carson bent 
down and retrieved some silver looking things after they dropped to 
the floor, as if Willow's hand had been holding them inside the cast.

He turned them over, trying to puzzle the small pieces of metal out.

"What are these?" he finally asked as Willow flexed her hand and arm.

"The pins that were holding my hand together," she explained, 
stretching and bending her fingers easily.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed. "You're saying a minute ago your hand 
was rebuilt on the inside with these pins?"

"Yes, my hand was pretty much crushed and they put pins in to rebuild 
it," she answered, her eyes returning to normal green.

"How long were you supposed to be in that cast?" he asked softly, 
suddenly not as cocky.

"Another few months, more operations, another cast, another operation 
and then therapy, about a year and a half recovery, they told me," 
Willow explained in a typical babble. 

"How did you do that?" Carson demanded with a frown.

"I'm a witch," Willow said casually. "Call it a power surge."

///Willow!/// Both Buffy and Tara called. Willow closed her eyes, 
debating with herself whether to open up or not.

She remembered the blood and changed her inner stonewall to one of 
steel.

"You're a witch?" Carson squeaked. "Like, I piss you off and you 
turn me into a toad?"

"No, no, toad would be bad," Willow muttered. "Toads are frog 
family, not a good thing. I would feel guilty over frog issues."

"Okay, okay!" Carson interrupted her. "Up this ladder is a crypt 
where I've got a really nice place set up. I don't have any human 
food but I do have a warm bed and some clothes."

"I don't know what to do," Willow admitted.

"Well, first we're going to get some sleep and we'll figure it out in 
a few hours," Carson suggested and lead the way up the 
ladder. "Either that or you go down about an eighth of a mile to the 
next ladder on the right and you'll come up just outside the 
graveyard. Find your friends and hope they don't put a silver bullet 
through your head."

Willow stood at the base of the ladder considering her options, 
thoughts, and mainly guilty feelings.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++++++++++

Riley Finn moved through the cave tunnels cautiously. After the 
earthquake, the security sensors still weren't working and no one 
knew where the creature was that Professor Walsh had been working on.

With Riley was Graham and Forrest, two of his regular platoon 
members. Riley was glad they had volunteered to stay behind in 
Sunnydale, even if it meant they had to stay out of sight for 
awhile. Buffy knew them by sight and they weren't going to take a 
chance on the Slayer finding out the Initiative was still in town and 
operational.

Finn never saw what hit him, he only vaguely heard Forrest screaming 
and Graham shouting as he tried to get to his knees, shaking his head.

The screams ended abruptly and so did Graham's shouting.

"Good night, brother," a voice whispered in Finn's ear and something 
hit him again.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Hey, Scarlet," a voice broke into Willow's dream state and she 
mumbled something about not wanting to go to school. The male voice 
laughed and someone shook her again. "Come on, I had food brought 
in."

Willow opened her eyes reluctantly and frowned, trying to remember 
where she was and how she got there.

The crypt had been cleared out of its coffins and they had been 
replaced with a queen-size bed, a sofa, a coffee table and an easy 
chair. Carson had been right, it wasn't bad for a crypt dwelling and 
the vampire had been a perfect gentleman. He had rummaged through a 
pile of clothing and tossed a pair of cargo pants and sweat shirt at 
the witch. He turned his back so she could take off his coat.  

"Feels good to use my hand again," she muttered.

///Willow, where are you? Come home to us./// Tara's voice rang in 
her head.

Willow strengthened her shields with a frown.

Somehow Willow hadn't thought twice about lying down on the bed with 
a vampire who earlier had been willing to snack on her. He had 
merely said good morning, pulled the covers up over them and turned 
over.

Willow sat up and glanced at the vampire and a stranger sitting on 
the sofa. The newcomer was a young male, somewhere between late 
teens and mid twenties. Dressed in baggy trousers, extra large t-
shirt, flannel shirt and baseball cap; he looked like a typical local 
skater.

Willow's sharp senses took in the smell of hamburgers and fries in a 
bag on the table.

"This is Renfield," Carson said, introducing the young man who was 
sipping on a milkshake.

"Renfield? You guys can't be original?" the red head complained.

"It was his choice," Carson laughed.  

Willow shrugged, went to the easy chair and reached for the 
bag. "Renfield isn't eating, or do you only eat bugs?"

"No, actually he's a ghoul," Carson said casually.

"A ghoul?" Willow hesitated about opening the fast food bag. "You 
mean, the traditional type ghoul?"

"Yup, only lives on fresh bodies," Carson grinned. "Fortunately, he 
eats out and doesn't bring it home."

Willow's stomach won out over the thoughts of Renfield's diet as she 
dug into the bag and quickly downed the hamburger and fries.

"What do you remember about last night?" Carson asked, leaning his 
head back on the sofa cushions.

"Not much," Willow admitted. "I remember B?my friend giving me a 
sedative and I went to sleep. Next thing I know, I woke up with you 
hovering over me."

"Naked and with a lot of blood on you," Carson reminded her and 
Willow's face became pained.  

"Could I have been wounded and it healed when I changed?"

"No, the blood wasn't yours, the scent was wrong," Carson said softly.

Willow's head dropped as she fought back tears.  

"Her first kill," Carson said to Renfield and the skater nodded.

Willow's firm control finally broke down and she curled up in the 
chair into herself.

Part of Willow protested loudly when Carson wrapped his arms around 
her but she accepted his comforting as she sobbed.

"There was an earthquake last night," he said softly. "That's 
probably how you got out."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Buffy took a flying kick at the punching bag and followed through 
with a standing kick with a scream. Giles jumped out of the way as 
the chain snapped and the bag flew several feet.

Buffy, panting heavily, fell to her knees.

"Willow!" she screamed and let Giles wrap his arms around her.  

Tara came dashing down the stairs and Giles let her replace him as 
she drew Buffy into her arms, both crying.

"We'll find her, Buffy," Tara sobbed.  

Giles sat down heavily on a bench against the wall, watching the two 
young women.

He looked a little surprised when Spike came down the stairs. Buffy 
and Tara looked up, wiping at their eyes.

"Hello, one and all," he said easily. "Sorry to report that there's 
no sign of Little Tree among the demon types."

"Damn!" Giles muttered. "How the hell can a naked young woman 
disappear?"

"Well, you know she's still alive, right?" Spike asked as he took a 
couple of blows at a punching board.

"Yes, we get f-flashes from her before she slams her shields d-down," 
Tara answered as Buffy helped her to her feet.

"Why is she hiding from you guys then? The Initiative types didn't 
grab her again, did they?" he asked.

"No, we ran them out of town, remember?" Buffy snapped. "How did you 
get here anyway?"

"Well it bloody well wasn't easy!" Spike growled back. "Bloody 
humans, nice wide sunny streets and not a manhole anywhere near the 
house. Had to dash a whole block with my coat steaming."

"Poor Spike," Buffy said sarcastically.

"As for those Initiative military blokes, they're still around. They 
just moved shop, sis."

"Oh God," Giles muttered. "Alright, let's go over this, Spike," the 
Watcher demanded, pulling Spike back up the stairs to the kitchen. 

"I came down to see if Buffy would help me go through the books and 
Willow's notes," Tara said. "I know Willow had a tracking spell that 
we might be able to use."

"She left a magickal trail, I remember that," Buffy frowned. "Do you 
think there's one where we can find one to track her?"

"I think so, I've got some of her hair and some of her magickal items 
we can use as a focus," Tara explained. "Why won't she contact us?"

"I don't know," Buffy tried not to break into tears.  

"Could she have really hurt those people?" Tara asked softly, wiping 
away a tear of her own.

"Yes," Buffy admitted, failing to hold back a new round of 
tears. "That wasn't Willow, that was a werewolf, not Will."

"That would send her over the edge, especially since it's only been 
two days since the Initiative had her," Tara said thoughtfully.  

"You're better at the connection thing, isn't there some way to get 
to her?"

"No, she's put everything into shielding and blocking out whatever 
she's not wanting to look at," Tara said softly. "She's in extreme 
denial."

"With our connection, how can she not let us in?" Buffy whimpered.

"She's terrified of what she might have done."

The couple reached the kitchen and gave Joyce a quick hug and headed 
up the stairs to search through Willow's computer, books and notes.  
Tara especially wanted to look at Willow's Book of Shadows.

"I remember what it felt like when I thought I had killed someone," 
Buffy said, frowning.  

"What happened?"

"My Mom started dating this guy," Buffy started explaining as she 
grabbed up several of Willow's books. "Everyone loved him and I 
couldn't stand him. I even second-guessed myself that I was upset 
that it wasn't my Dad. Then he crossed the line and threatened me 
but no one believed me."

"I understand that," Tara muttered, grabbing Willow's Book of Shadows.

"Mom grounded me so I snuck out one night to do Slayer duty and when 
I came back in, he was in my room," Buffy continued.

"Oh uncool," Tara commented and Buffy nodded as she sat down on the 
bed next to the witch.  

"Yeah, he had gone through my stuff, found my crosses, holy water and 
stakes," Buffy leaned against Tara's shoulder. "He had even read my 
diary and about me being a Slayer. He threatened me to stay out of 
his way with my Mom or he'd have me committed as being insane and 
delusional like."

"Oh God," Tara whispered. "My family threatened me too."

"Yeah, I grabbed for my diary and he slapped me," Buffy nodded. "I 
hit him back and he attacked me."

"What happened?"

"I pulled several moves on him and he went flying down the stairs," 
Buffy said softly, remembering the horror of seeing Ted laying so 
still and her mother's shocked and accusing face when she couldn't 
find a pulse. "He was dead and the police were thinking about 
charging me with at least manslaughter or something."

"How did you get out of it?" Tara asked, thumbing through the book.

"Turned out Ted was some maniac android who wanted the perfect wife," 
Buffy explained. "He would marry them and force them to live in a 
prison home he had built until they died and he found another one.  
We took him out and exposed him for the crossed wired bot that he 
was. I hadn't killed anyone."

"That must have been horrible for you! You thought you had killed a 
man!"

"Yeah, I was miserable and Giles and I were still getting used to 
each other," Buffy agreed. "He didn't know how to comfort me."

"You finding anything in there?" Tara asked as she tried to decipher 
Willow's handwriting and sometimes the witch glyphs.

"No, nothing that sounds like it would help," Buffy complained.

"Going slow over here," Tara agreed.

"We've got to find something!" Buffy growled.  

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Riley sat on a log, staring straight ahead without blinking. The 
horrible huge figure hovered over the soldier with a hand held 
computer in one hand and a syringe in the other.  

Adam consulted his computer and looked back at Riley.

"Well, brother," the tall monster said easily. "I fear I might have 
made a mistake in killing Mother too soon in our development. We'll 
have to figure things out ourselves. Good thing Mother's laptop 
wasn't connected to the main computer when your girlfriend blew the 
place."

Riley didn't even flinch when the creature injected him.

"Can't have you detoxing, can we?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Any major decisions?" Carson asked as Willow looked over his book 
collection. A collection that ranged from the works of Milton to 
Harry Potter books.

"I have a life outside of this crypt but I'm not sure I can go back," 
Willow admitted, sitting down on the stone floor. "I can't stay here 
forever either. My friends are frantic but how can I face them?"

"I don't know," Carson admitted. "When I changed my entire family 
was dead from the plague and all my friends had fled the city."

"Plague, when was that?" Willow asked, her curious nature bringing 
her out of her self-induced fog.

"Hamburg, the dark ages," Carson answered easily. "Last night was 
the last full moon for another 28 days so you have a little time and 
you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks," Willow tried to smile. "Why so friendly? Are all vampires 
and werewolves like best buds or something? I never noticed that 
with Oz and the local vamps."

"Not really, when in wolf form, you'll attack a vampire before you go 
after a human," Carson admitted. "We have a natural hatred of each 
other for some reason. Like mongoose and cobras. Me, I'm not your 
average vamp any more."  

"You wouldn't happen to be cursed with a soul, would you?" Willow 
asked hopefully. She could trust that quicker than a demon inhabited 
body.

"No, that's Angel's gig, not mine," Carson grinned. "I'm just very 
old and more tolerant. You'll find a lot of species among the dark 
ones don't like each other."

"So like am I accepted in some secret club now and have to learn a 
new handshake?" Willow attempted some humor and Carson laughed.

"Well, you won't be thrown out of demon bars," he grinned.

"Well, that's something I always aspired to," she muttered.

"What did you want to do?"

"I don't know, work with computers. I'm a geek, you know, total 
computer nerd," she explained. "I'm good with the things and Giles 
is always relying on me because he's so non tech like."

"Okay," Carson broke in. "You're in school, smart, got a lively 
future ahead of you, right?"

"I did, everyone is looking at recruiting me for computer stuff from 
the government to the top programming companies," Willow said easily 
and it didn't sound like bragging to the ancient vampire.

"Then get out of this crypt, go back to school and live your life," 
Carson advised. "Forget your dark side and leave that magick to the 
airy white-light stuff."

"You've seen a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes, plenty," he admitted, his eyes becoming thoughtful. "I've seen 
some talented witches become sorcerers and destroy their lives and 
everyone around them. Your dark side has been awakened and playing 
with magick can lead to trouble."

"I'm getting pretty good with the magick stuff," Willow mumbled.

"I know, I can sense the power in you and that trick with your hand 
wasn't a low level protection spell either," he said 
seriously. "You've also touched the darkness, haven't you?"

Willow knew she was blushing a bright red in the candlelight.

"Yes, to save my friend from the curse, I called it to me," she 
admitted.

"Dark magick," Carson nodded, confirming his suspicions. "You opened 
up a gate, now you have to decide what you invite through that gate.  
It won't be easy either, with you now being a werewolf. The darkness 
will be attracted to you like moths to a flame."

"How can I go back to the mundane world after this?" Willow 
demanded. "How can I face my friends and my lovers knowing that I've 
killed someone and they know it too!"

"Sleep on it tonight and decide in the morning," Carson 
suggested. "Renfield will be back in an hour with dinner for you.  
He's also getting you a pair of shoes. Don't worry about him, he's 
pretty much harmless."

"You're going out to kill someone for their blood," Willow frowned 
intensely.

"Unless you're willing to let me feed off of you," Carson countered 
and Willow shook her head. "I didn't think so. This is what I am, 
Scarlet. I am a vampire and I take blood from humans and mammals to 
survive. I don't take enough from humans to kill them and I haven't 
turned someone in three hundred years."

"I guess I got lucky that you found me, a vampire that's almost a 
good guy," Willow smiled slightly.

"Yeah, well, don't tell anyone," he grinned. "I've got a reputation 
as a bad ass."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

By nightfall, both Buffy and Tara had headaches from hovering over 
books and computers all day looking for a spell that might help them 
find Willow. They also took frequent breaks and tried to contact the 
witch but found her shields still in place.

Joyce made them eat dinner, despite their protests. Giles, Xander 
and Anya were also gathered around the table but there was no sign of 
Spike.

"Where'd Spike run off to?" Buffy asked as she and Tara sat down.

"Checking with some of the local demon population," Giles answered.

"What's up with the Initiative?" Tara asked the Watcher.

"They never left, they merely moved their operations to a series of 
caves in the woods," Giles told everyone, relaying what Spike had 
informed him. "They already had the place prepared. Most of their 
operations have moved out of the city but some of the experiments are 
still going forth."

"What does that mean? Is Riley and Walsh still in town and could they 
have grabbed Willow again?"

"I think Willow would have conveyed that to you, don't you think?" 
Giles asked.

Both Buffy and Tara frowned.  

"I think so," Tara said thoughtfully.  

"I think there is a possibility that both Riley and Walsh are still 
in Sunnydale," Giles answered the original question. "I don't think 
they snatched Willow, they seem to be concentrating on a specific 
experiment and they aren't sending commandos out to capture demons, 
werewolves and vampires anymore. At least in Sunnydale, anyway."

"So that leaves Willow hiding because she thinks she killed someone," 
Buffy growled.

"Yes, exactly," the Watcher agreed. "In her fragile mental state, 
the longer she runs from this the worse it will be."

"And what would you suggest, Giles?" Xander demanded.  

Giles' eyebrows rose in question.

"She just went through hell with those Initiative bastards because 
they tried to turn her into a monster and now she thinks she is one 
and has killed," Xander snapped. "What do we do about this?"

"She's not responsible!" Buffy snapped back. "It's not like she was 
a vampire who could make conscious decisions."

"I know that but two kids are still dead," he pointed out.

"What do you suggest, Xander?" Tara snapped. "Kill her; turn her 
over to the police?"

"No. I don't know," he admitted with a very unhappy face.  

"We could turn her over to the Initiative again," Buffy growled. "In 
her mental state, it wouldn't take much to finish the job and turn 
her into a mindless killer."

"Hey, back off!" Xander protested. "I'm just saying what no one else 
wants to say, damnit!"

"What do you want to do, put Willow down like a rabid dog?" Buffy 
nearly shouted. "The only reason you aren't guilty of murdering and 
eating Principal Fluete is you were too busy trying to get into my 
pants to be with your pack, hyena boy!"

Xander flushed bright red and started to stand up angrily as Anya 
grabbed his arm, trying to restrain and calm him.

"Enough!" Joyce shouted. "We're all worried sick about Willow and 
this isn't helping. We will deal with it when we get her back!"

"Yes, Mom," Buffy said sullenly and Xander nodded, refusing to meet 
Buffy and Tara's eyes.

"Hyena Boy?" Anya questioned softly as Xander blushed.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++