FF: Wanted, a Werewolf 7/8 - B/W/T - R

["Hunter Ash" <carrkjar@xxxxxxxxx>]

Wanted: A Werewolf and a Superman
Red Moon Rising, Book III
Part 7

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 of Buffy and Angel 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: Up to New Moon Rising. 

Summary: The LA gang and Scoobys plan on taking on Adam, which means 
also working with the Initiative troops. Can we say ? "doesn't play 
well with others"?  

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

After breakfast, Buffy, Tara and Willow made their way to Giles' 
apartment. They found Angel and Cordelia asleep in the guest bed, 
Carson on the floor and Wesley on the sofa.  

Awake was Giles, Xander, Anya and Brad Santiago and they were waiting 
for the girls. They quickly woke up Wesley and threw him off the 
sofa so they could all sit down together.  

Giles' sharp eyes took in the sight of Willow settling in between 
Buffy and Tara with approval but also noticed the worried glances 
between Buffy and Tara and made a mental note to ask one of them 
later. Apparently things weren't totally back to normal between the 
three of them yet. Then the ex-Watcher scolded himself, <when had it 
ever been normal between the three of them?>

"Okay, you guys had a pow-wow while I was all furry, what was 
decided?" Willow asked, pretending not to notice Buffy and Tara 
shifting uncomfortably with her joking about her werewolf side.

"Well," Giles hesitated, taking off his glasses and beginning to 
clean them with his shirt. "I?I'm not sure how to?"

Willow and Buffy's eyes narrowed and Tara felt both of them stiffen.

"What is it, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Well?," Giles stammered.

"Okay," Xander finally snapped. "He wants to take the battle to 
Adam, attack him first. Adam and his demons and vampires."

"How?" Tara questioned, sensing the tension developing in the room.  
It was practically visibly dancing off Willow.

"He wants to call in the troops," Xander growled, his voice 
reflecting his disapproval of the plan.

"Troops? Soldiers?" Buffy questioned and felt a growl from Willow.  
Both Tara and Buffy turned to find Willow's green eyes blazing with 
distrust and growing anger.

"Giles?" Willow asked softly and noticed that neither Wesley nor 
Giles would meet her eyes.

"They want Adam and the demons dead, so do we," Giles tried to 
explain. "They have weapons and soldiers, we don't. We have the 
Slayer, they don't."

"Initiative?" Buffy squeaked. "Have you lost your mind? After what 
they did to Will and Spike?"

"Speaking of which, he dropped by last night and swore he'd have 
nothing to do with any of us if we called in the Initiative," Xander 
added.

"Will?" Buffy asked softly as she and Tara heard a growl from the 
redhead between them.

Willow stood up slowly and walked over to Giles and down into his 
saddened eyes.

"You asked me to trust you, Giles," Willow growled softly. "You only 
read reports; you didn't see or feel what they did to me, to Oz and 
to countless others."

"We felt some of it, Giles," Buffy said, reaching over as Tara 
reached for her hand. "We saw and felt only tiny bits and it still 
gives me nightmares."

"Giles, there's g-got to be another way," Tara insisted.

"Then help me find it," he pleaded, his eyes begging Willow to 
understand his reasoning.

After a few moments, Willow's eyes lost some of her anger and she 
reached out and took Giles' hand in hers.

"I understand," she said softly. "I need some space to think about 
this."

Willow turned swiftly and dashed out the door, her face reflecting 
her conflicting emotions.  

"Xander?" Buffy suggested and the young man dashed out the door after 
her.

"Giles, you are so in trouble," Buffy growled as Xander slammed the 
door behind him.

"I know, just help me find another way and I'd be more than happy to 
go along with it," Giles pleaded.

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

"Willow! Wait up!" Xander yelled as he pulled his jacket on. The 
redhead stopped trotting down the sidewalk and hesitated. He wasn't 
sure she was going to face him but he saw her shoulders sag and she 
turned to him.

He gave her his best lopsided grin and handed her the jacket she had 
left behind.

"Thanks, Xan," she said softly.

"Want some company while you brood?" he asked.

Willow appeared to think about it for a moment and then nodded.

"I'm sorry about that," he said softly. "It wasn't my idea."

"I know, I could tell," she smiled slightly. "I know Giles is right, 
logically. It just scares the hell out of me, the thought of seeing 
any of them sends my heart racing and I start sweating and can't 
think."

"First class panic attack, huh? Reminds of me of test day in 
geometry," Xander smiled and was grateful when Willow managed a smile 
in understanding.

"We'll keep you as far away from them as possible," he promised.

"That might not be possible," Willow frowned. "You guys may need my 
magick."

"I know, Tara and Buffy aren't the same without you around," he 
nodded. "None of us are."  

"I'm sorry about freaking out and splitting?I didn't know what to do? 
you got shot rescuing me from the Initiative, Buffy nearly got blown 
up, Fox and Scully risked their careers for me? I couldn't risk being 
taken again?for me or for you."

"Willow, it's okay," Xander said, wrapping his good arm around 
her. "I understand this more than I did when Buffy split."

"I wish I did," Willow muttered.  

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"It feels like everything is shut down but like a live wire dancing 
inside of me," Willow tried to explain. "I tried to run away from 
feeling anything, tried to shut down. I'm still shut down and I?I 
don't?don't know how?."

Xander opened his arm and Willow melted into his warm and comforting 
embrace.

"You don't know how to turn it back on," he said softly.

"If you weren't being so un-Xander like?I'd worry about that 
statement," Willow whispered, trying to smile.  

"Hey, knight in shining armor time," he protested. "What happened, 
Will? You aren't just wigging over the soldier-boys."

"I know we learned the wolf didn't k-kill that girl," Willow began 
trying to sort things out. "But the wolf d-did?I killed that other 
werewolf, Xander."

"He was a werewolf, Willow," Xander protested. "One of the bad guys, 
that makes you a good guy."

"No, something's changed inside," Willow shook her head. "I can't 
explain it."

"Look, all I know is that we need to get Adam buried some place cold, 
dark and deep. Buffy and Tara need you, we all need you," he said 
firmly.

"Thanks, Xander," Willow said softly. "I'll keep trying."

"That's all any of us can do," he grinned.

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

Giles knew that he was facing a hostile crowd, the only one who 
seemed to think contacting the Initiative was a good was Wesley and 
he hadn't seen even the damage they had done to Willow. Even when 
Wesley had been in Sunnydale, he had never gotten very close to 
Willow and couldn't really judge the after effects either. It didn't 
help that Willow was now a werewolf and witch, Giles knew that Wesley 
thought Willow was extremely dangerous.

Giles had to admit though; Wesley had done a lot of growing up and 
gaining some common sense since he had been with Angel in Los 
Angeles. Giles could tell what Wesley was thinking but the young 
former Watcher was keeping those thoughts and feelings to himself.  
Giles knew that was a wise move, especially in this crowd.  

Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.  

"All right, enough!" he shouted into the bickering room. He looked 
each of them squarely in the eyes, gauging their openness, level of 
hostility and their willingness to listen.

Angel was upset but willing to listen.

Wesley was completely open to reasonable suggestions.

Cordelia was hanging on Angel's every word and was faintly hostile if 
it was going to hurt Willow.

Brad Santiago, police detective and official member of the Scooby 
Gang, was open to suggestions and probably one of the more logical 
thinking minds in the room along with Giles and Wesley. He would 
weigh things fairly, Giles knew. He also thought of Willow as a 
daughter and wasn't pleased with anything the kids had been through.

Carson was barely awake in the daylight hours and watching everyone 
with the trained eye of a priest and ancient vampire. Giles knew the 
vampire was overly protective of Willow, why, he couldn't tell yet, 
and the ex-Watcher knew that Carson would be hard to convince if it 
might hurt Willow, emotionally or physically.

Anya was curious about the interactions of the small group as well 
but when Giles caught her eyes, he knew that Anya was concerned but 
listening.

Tara wasn't saying much, she had only just met Angel, Wesley, 
Cordelia and Carson. Giles knew it had to be difficult for the young 
witch. She knew Angel was Buffy's ex-lover, a relationship doomed to 
futility, something that had caused Buffy endless pain. Her first 
real love in her life and it had ended horribly, given another chance 
only to fail on a weak ending. Carson had to be a definite worry for 
Tara, Giles reflected, they still weren't sure what his motivations 
were and it was obvious he had gotten very close to Willow. From the 
hints, Giles gathered that Willow and Carson had shared the same bed, 
both in Sunnydale and in Los Angeles and that Willow hadn't suggested 
otherwise.

Giles didn't think Willow and Carson had become lovers but he wasn't 
sure if that was both their decisions or just Willow's.

Tara had two lovers, Buffy with a vampire ex-boyfriend and Willow 
with a vampire who was possibly in love with her. Not pleasant 
thoughts to be dealing with.

Giles had the feeling that Tara would do anything to protect Willow 
and Buffy, even risking her own life and soul and wouldn't be very 
open to his suggestion.

Buffy's ice blue eyes glared back at him. Giles knew there would 
probably be no debate with her. She had always been protective of 
Willow but in this situation Giles knew she wouldn't bend unless 
Willow agreed.

Giles' next sentence caught in his throat when Willow and Xander 
walked back into his apartment. Giles didn't say anything as Willow 
walked up to him and looked down at his green-blue eyes. He couldn't 
read her expression in either her face or eyes and worried what her 
response to him might be. Giles knew that they still remembered his 
part in the Council's testing of Buffy when the Slayer turned 
eighteen and that they considered it a betrayal of Buffy's trust.

Willow's features softened and she hugged the tall Englishman. She 
felt Giles' stiff body relax in her arms as he sighed gratefully.

Giles saw relief in everyone's face except Buffy, she was still being 
cautious.

Willow pulled back and smiled at him sadly.

"I trust you, Giles," she said firmly and walked over to join Buffy 
and Tara on the sofa once again, melting into their arms as they both 
put their arms around her shoulders, all three connecting. "I don't 
like it?and?and I may wig out on you if I see guys in l-lab coats?but 
I know it gives us?gives Buffy a fighting chance against Adam."

"Willow, why don't you and Cordelia go back to Los Angeles until this 
over," Angel suggested and both women glared at him. He held up his 
hands protectively. "Hey, it should be over long before the next 
full moon and you've already been attacked once because of how close 
you are to Buffy."

"We've all been attacked because of how close we are to Buffy," 
Xander growled.

"No, I'm not running again," Willow grumbled and felt Tara and 
Buffy's arms tighten around her.

"And you, Mr. Brood Vampire!" Cordelia snapped. "I am so not 
helpless and I am not leaving if everyone else is in trouble."

"I didn't say you were helpless!" Angel protested.

"Oh yes you did!" Cordelia snapped. "Sending me and Willow off like 
we're fragile china you have to pack away after the holidays! I've 
learned how to fight back and these are my friends, our friends.  
Besides, who's going to protect us in Los Angeles?"

"What do you mean?" Wesley questioned while Angel shrank away from 
Cordelia's angry stare.

"We couldn't find Willow but Adams' vampires could?" she pointed out 
and Willow went pale, touching her head where the vampire had bashed 
her. "You want us helpless females to go back there without 
protection?" 

"I didn't say you were helpless females!" Angel protested again.

"Yes, you did," Buffy smirked at him and watched as Angel groaned and 
lowered his head to his hands. Knowing Cordelia, he was going to 
have to fork over at least two major credit cards to get out of this 
doghouse when it was over. Buffy grinned, relieved that seeing Angel 
didn't send her on an emotional roller coaster as she had feared.  
Being next to Willow and Tara made her time with Angel seem so far 
away and ancient. 

"Enough!" Giles cut into the Angel bashing. "Look, we've been going 
over this for hours and no one has come up with anything else that 
might help. I don't want to call on the Initiative goons for help 
but they seem like the only option. Agent Mulder and Scully are away 
on a case and can't help."

"Actually, Giles," Willow said softly. "I might have an idea."

"Me too," Tara chipped in and blushed under the questioning but 
welcome smiles from Buffy and Willow.

Before either witch could get a word out, everyone turned when 
Cordelia grabbed her head with a sharp cry of pain. Angel and Wesley 
both jumped out of their chairs and caught the brunette before she 
hit the floor.

She writhed in pain for a moment. Wesley looked at Giles, his face 
concerned.

"Aspirin and water, after that some fruit juice and a blanket, 
please," he asked the other Englishman and Giles wheeled off to grab 
the requested items.

Angel helped Cordelia sit up as she groaned in pain. Wesley drew out 
a notepad from his jacket and waited.

"Oh God, Doyle, I'm going to kill you in the next life for this!" 
Cordelia whined. Giles came back in and watched, his own mind taking 
notes. One thing he never expected out of life was Cordelia Chase 
becoming a seer for the Powers That Be. "Okay, some guy in SWAT type 
gear is planting something at Buffy's house, in the living room and 
bedrooms. Blocks of clay with nice LED clocks on top," she whispered 
and collapsed into Angel's arms.

Buffy, Tara and Willow quickly cleared the sofa as the vampire put 
Cordelia down and Giles covered her with a blanket. Wesley took the 
aspirin and water, helping the seer take the medicine that would 
barely help with the massive migraine that came with the visions.

"Riley!" Buffy growled and ran for her coat. Xander right behind her.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++.

Riley mentally screamed at himself as he set the last charge in the 
house he had visited when he was dating Buffy. One part of his mind 
was happy with the job he had just accomplished; the C4 was placed in 
the basement, under the stairs, in the kitchen and in Buffy's 
bedroom. Per Adam's orders, the timers were set to explode at 4 a.m. 
when everyone was usually asleep, even after a night of Slaying and 
heavy research they were usually in bed by that time.  

Even if they weren't, the odds were that they'd be gathered in the 
living room or kitchen, right between the explosions from above, 
below and beside them.

Riley looked out the front door carefully and, seeing no cars or 
anyone watching the house, he stepped out onto the porch. The well-
trained commando sensed movement beside him and only caught a glimpse 
of the board before it hit him over the head.

"Tell me again why we don't kill humans?" Xander growled as they 
dragged the soldier back inside the Summers' house.

"Because we're not vigilantes, Xan," Buffy huffed as she dropped 
Riley's feet on the floor and Xander dropped his end without caring 
whether Riley hit the floorboards hard or not. "Faith was wrong to 
kill that guy, even if he was working for the Mayor."

"Buffy, this is the guy who helped kidnap Willow and set her up for 
horrible experiments and torture," he protested, beginning to strip 
Riley's flak jacket off and military belt while Buffy removed the 
soldier's weapons and hidden gear.

"I know, Xander, I know," Buffy muttered. "I saw some of it in my 
head, remember? I felt her terror and pain. The only ones who know 
what that's like are Tara and Willow."

"I'm sorry, I just really want to hurt this guy," Xander 
complained. "He wasn't under anyone's influence then."

"No, just his own prejudice and stupidity," Buffy agreed. "We still 
don't kill humans."

"What do we do with him then?" Xander asked, heading to the kitchen 
to grab the duct tape.

"Take him back to Giles' place after I defuse the bombs," Buffy 
explained, taking the tape from Xander and ripping off a piece and 
slapping it over Riley's mouth. She then flipped the unconscious 
soldier over and duct taped his hands and feet.  

"No, you blindfold him and when we find the bombs, I'll defuse them.  
I remember how to do it from that weird Halloween when I was a 
trained soldier," Xander amended and Buffy nodded.  

It took less time than they thought it would when Angel called them 
and said Cordelia remembered more of her vision and could tell them 
exactly where the bombs had been placed. Finding them didn't make 
either of them feel more confident in Xander's untested bomb squad 
abilities until all the wires were disconnected from the C4 blocks 
and from the timers.

Xander, sweating profusely from the tension, sighed with relief and 
buried his head in his arms at the kitchen counter while Buffy 
grabbed a soda for both of them.

"Oh God," he muttered, looking at the blocks and wires, now two 
separate piles. "I never so want to do that again."

"You were great, Xander," Buffy grinned and he blushed under her 
praise.

"I was?" he questioned, in typical Xander fashion. "I gotta admit 
there, Buffs, I was scared."

"Me too," she admitted with a small smile. "Giles is bringing 
everyone here. Willow wants to try something with Riley and is 
willing for Giles to call the Initiative," she explained the 
information from a second telephone call.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked the Slayer as she frowned.

"No, but if Will is able to handle it, guess we don't have a choice," 
she complained. "You talked with her, Xan. Why won't she open up to 
us?"

"She's worried about the werewolf, of course," he began to explain 
his conversation with Willow. "She's shut down and doesn't know how 
to open up again. Something is really scaring her and she can't even 
put it words."

"Tara thinks it's a magick thing, that Will tapped into some dark 
stuff when she took that curse from me," Buffy added.

"Yeah, Giles has mentioned that a couple of times," Xander 
nodded. "He thinks it's like that show Friday the 13th, where if you 
invite one kind of evil in then you open the door to all kinds, like 
using a cursed object thing. If you use it, even for good, then 
you're opening yourself up to temptation, possession, and all sorts 
of stuff."

"Cursed objects?" Buffy questioned. "You watch too much Sci-Fi 
channel."

"Hey, Mikki is cute on that show!" he protested. "You know, red 
hair, green eyes, and?and you are so not going to tell Anya I said 
that, are you?"

"Nope, secret is safe with me," Buffy grinned. It was feeling like 
old times with everyone pulling together to fight evil.

"I wonder what Tara has come up with?" he said thoughtfully.

"I don't know, she's been doing a lot of research in Giles' books on 
how to fight really powerful things," Buffy commented.

"That would be cool," he agreed as they waited.

The wait wasn't long and Angel and Carson managed to get into the 
house without too much incident with blankets thrown over their 
heads. Once inside they carried Riley downstairs to the basement and 
chained him to a large foundation post with shackles Giles brought 
with him.

Once gathered in the living room, Giles and everyone turned to Willow 
and Tara as they sat in a large easy chair, Buffy at their feet, her 
arms resting on both sets of legs.

"Well, my idea is to use some of the equipment from the Initiative, 
our magick and find a way to key into the frequency of the chip 
controlling Riley and break that control," Willow explained.

"Is that possible?" Angel questioned everyone in general.

"I don't know, she knows more about this damned stuff than I do," 
Giles complained.  

"Does that mean she could un-chip Spike?" Anya questioned with a 
frown and Willow blushed.

"I don't think so," she muttered. "His chip is a self contained 
program chip. It works on its own. I think Riley's chip must be 
open to outside commands for Adam to be controlling him."

"Like on Star Trek when Spock lost his brain and McCoy had a thing 
that controlled his body like a robot?" Xander questioned.

"Yes, exactly like that!" Willow grinned.

"A little more detail for us non-Trekkies, vampires and foreign 
types," Buffy pleaded.

"There's a c-chip embedded in Riley and Adam punches in c-commands on 
a control pad. Like programming a robot d-dog or something," Tara 
explained. "Riley is forced to follow those commands."

"And Spike's chip only becomes active when he tries to go against its 
programming," Willow added. "It's already programmed."

"I get it, you want to cut in and jam his frequency or over-ride the 
signal," Wesley smiled.

"Yes, exactly. It might come in handy in the middle of a battle to 
have our own Brutus next to Caesar," Willow grinned.

"Most excellent, Will!" Buffy grinned and hugged Willow's legs. The 
blush that covered the redhead's face reminded the Slayer of pre-
werewolf Willow and she was grateful for any flash of a non-
traumatized Willow.

"And your idea, Tara?" Giles asked.

"I found a spell that might help during a fight with Adam," she began 
softly. "It's a spell to call the strength of all the previous 
Slayers into the current one during a battle."

Everyone was silent for a moment as both Wesley and Giles began to 
clean their glasses.

"Have you ever heard of this?" Angel asked both ex-Watchers.

"Well, I remember something about it," Giles admitted as Wesley shook 
his head no. "It's not something the Council encourages; they're 
rather suspicious of Slayers getting involved with magick and such."

"And the dangers are?" Carson demanded. "A spell that powerful takes 
what and what can go wrong?"

"Well, we need someone to represent the basic pentacle, to give that 
energy to the Slayer and channel the strength of the previous Slayers 
to her," Tara explained. "The danger is that it wouldn't work and 
burn everyone participating out, maybe killing them."

Everyone grew silent as they contemplated the consequences, risks, 
and need for the spell.

"Okay, the way we've figured it out," Willow said thoughtfully. "I'm 
water, Buffy is fire, Tara is earth, Giles is air and Xander is 
Spirit. What do we do about Buffy's spot? She can't be in a casting 
circle and be fighting at the same time."

"Any suggestions? Anyone else represent fire that you can work with?" 
Giles questioned and all three girls frowned as they pondered.

"Spike is a fairly fire type person?" Willow suggested but Tara shook 
her head.

"No, he's b-basically the animated dead; the energy this c-calls for 
would turn him to ashes in an instant. Any vampire trying to c-
channel Slayer energy would be toast."

"And the downside to that is?" Xander growled and Anya poked him in 
the ribs. "What? He's a vampire! We're supposed to kill them."

"He's tame now and there's two other vampires sitting in this room 
that we consider friends!" Willow snapped.

Xander, glancing at Angel and Carson, grumbled under his breath and 
dropped his head.

"Don't mind, Xander," Giles said wearily. "He tends to think after 
he talks."

"No offense taken," Carson shrugged but Willow could feel how tense 
he was from across the room.

"The other thing is that we have to be fairly close to Buffy when we 
do the spell," Tara added. "The ingredients shouldn't be a p-
problem."

"So what does that mean?" Anya complained. "Does that mean during 
the middle of a battle we drop our weapons, form a happy circle and 
do some chanting? In case you didn't notice, demons and vampires 
aren't likely to stop what they're doing, like killing us, for us to 
do a little spell!"

"Keep watching the TV, lover," Xander said with a grin. "Your English 
is definitely improving. She's right, you know."

"Yeah, what about just outside the caves?" Wesley suggested.

"Depends on where we do the fighting," Giles said. "Buffy, you know 
the Initiative, do they prefer the open or in caves?"

Buffy frowned. "They had no trouble going into the sewers or caves 
but I think they preferred fighting in the open woods."

"Just call them and get it over with," Willow snapped and then closed 
her eyes. She opened them slowly and squeezed Tara's hand. "Sorry, 
guys."

"Not a prob, Will," Xander grinned, trying to reassure his friend.

"I'll call them and have them send over an officer or planning 
person," Giles said softly.

"Giles," the ex-Watcher turned at the sound of urgency in Willow's 
voice. "No lab coat types; no scientists, no doctors or I might wig 
and then I wouldn't be of any use to you."

"We still haven't decided on a fire person," Anya pointed out.

"What about Brad?" Xander suggested.

"He believes us, cares for us, but inside he's still a skeptic," 
Willow muttered. 

"Cordelia is not a fire person," Angel grumbled. "She's a 
firecracker but not fire energy."

"I totally agree," Cordelia nodded. "Doesn't feel right."

She looked at the surprised faces and frowned. "What, like I can't 
have magickal insight?"

"Mom," Buffy almost whispered her suggestion.  

"What?" Giles asked, almost as softly.

"Mom, we're a lot alike," Buffy said, her voice getting firmer.  

"And they carry the same blood-line," Wesley added.

"Buffy, I'm not sure about this," Giles hesitated.  

"Giles, I know you don't want Mom in danger, neither do I," Buffy 
said, a catch in her voice. "She's not really part of the gang but 
do you have a better suggestion?"

"And she did help out with rescuing Willow," Anya added.

"She was very brave," Xander threw in.

"Alright, but only if she is 100 percent behind the idea," Giles 
growled.

"Agreed, if not, we use Brad," Buffy nodded. "Mom's due back from the 
buying trip tomorrow."

"Make your call, Giles," Willow said softly. "Goddess grant me 
strength."

Slayer and blonde haired witch hugged Willow tightly.

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

Adam threw one demon through a partition wall and backhanded another 
one into the stone wall of the cave; both were dead before their 
bodies hit the floor.

"What do you mean Riley Finn hasn't returned?" he demanded from a 
vampire that had worked his way up in the ranks.

"Just that, Master," the vampire cringed under Adam's angry brown eye.


"Alright, put a watch on the Sunmers' house and tell me if it 
explodes at 4 a.m.," Adam ordered. 

"Yes, sir," the vampire scurried away to carry out the orders and get 
away from the temperamental demon/cyborg.  

"I'll rip Buffy Summers into pieces myself if Riley is dead," Adam 
growled.
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Major Joseph Rydell sat down slowly in one of the easy chairs. It 
was obvious the group of people in the room weren't happy to see him 
and he wasn't happy to be there either.

His eyes narrowed as he took in Angel and Carson and they shifted 
uncomfortably. Angel was grateful that he had finally given into 
Cordelia's suggestion that he and Carson wear hats and sunglasses for 
the meeting with the Initiative. She had insisted she didn't want her 
boss' face showing up on a wanted list.

Then the Major's eyes rested on Willow.

Buffy felt the witch body tense next to her on the sofa and Tara 
reached out to hold Willow's hand, reassuring her lover.

"You're Hostile?."

"One more word about Hostile anything and I'll shove those leaves on 
your collar down your throat," Buffy growled and the Major turned 
almost purple.

"Major, as I explained on the telephone," Giles stepped between the 
two before it could come to blows. "We have some ideas of how to 
attack your rogue experiment and you have the strength of numbers."

Buffy smirked at Giles' reference to Adam as a `rogue experiment' 
from the Initiative. Xander was grinning openingly and Anya actually 
laughed at the Army officer.

"My men won't like working with vampires and werewolves," he grumbled.

"Call it a truce, we have a common enemy," Giles suggested.  

"And afterwards?" the Major demanded.

"You get the hell out of Sunnydale?" Buffy suggested with a smirk.

"You destroyed our base, sabotaged our computers and you expect us to 
just walk away?" he countered.

"This is my town, Maple leaf," Buffy growled. "I was slaying demons 
and vampires long before you came to town with your Frankenstein 
science set."

"That was an unauthorized experiment by Professor Walsh," Major 
Rydell growled.  

"Well, now he's my problem because he keeps trying to kill me and my 
friends," Buffy snapped. "Giles?"

"Easy, Buffy," Giles motioned for his Slayer to remain calm. "Look, 
we have a plan that might actually work against Adam. Do you?"

Major Rydell shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "No," he 
admitted. "What's your plan?"

"Willow is a computer wizard," Wesley joined in on the 
explanation. "She needs to talk to the techs who helped design the 
chips that you implant into your soldiers for behavior modification. 
She thinks she can over-ride the signal and break the control over 
Riley Finn. Beyond that, we need a coordinated attack on the caves, 
a full assault. Buffy will be with your troops and will take on 
Adam."

"What will the rest of you being doing while my troops go into that 
hell zone again?" he demanded.

"Some of us will be fighting along side Buffy and the others will be 
working a magickal spell that just might ensure Adam's defeat," Giles 
answered.

"Magick? You civilians amaze me," the Major sneered. "I suppose you 
believe vampires and werewolves are cursed by dark forces, right?"

"I was," Willow said softly. "I had a friend who was bitten by a 
werewolf, infected as you call it. I worked a magick spell and took 
the curse into me. You already know I'm a werewolf and I wasn't 
bitten and it's not inherited. How would you explain it?"

Major Rydell frowned but didn't answer.

Tara felt Willow's hands shaking in hers and tightened her hold.

"What else do you want to do, Major?" Giles asked. "You'll have the 
Slayer leading the charge and possibly with a plan that can work.  
What is your plan?"

"Bomb the hell out of those caves and turn it into a crater," Major 
Rydell growled.

"Oh that's helpful!" Anya complained.

"Okay, I'll work with you," he said reluctantly. "Let's sit down and 
plan this, when do you want to move against that freak?"

"Tomorrow night," Giles said and wasn't surprised when everyone 
started complaining, squeaking in surprise, or shouting in 
anger. "Stop!" he shouted back.

Everyone calmed down to listen. "Now, when Adam realizes that Riley 
isn't back and the house doesn't explode out from under us, he'll be 
very angry and will probably plan an attack. I suggest we meet him 
and the demons when they come out of the caves and surprise them."

"Good strategy," the Major nodded.

"Damn, doesn't give us much time," Wesley complained.

"We'll make it work," the Major grinned. "My boys are anxious to 
give back some of what those damned things gave us."

"Okay, I suggest that our night friends stay out of the battle and 
protect the circle," Giles said.

"Good idea," the Major sneered. "I wouldn't want them getting staked 
accidentally or shot with something silver."

The disdain for Angel, Carson and Willow was clear to everyone.

Giles grabbed Buffy's arm as the Slayer tried to sprung up from the 
sofa. He caught sight of a very pale Willow with clenched hands and 
eyes flashing totally black. "Willow! Calm yourself!" he shouted as 
Angel jumped up to help him hold the enraged Buffy.

"Damn you, did you have to do that?" Wesley demanded, yanking the 
military officer to his feet. The major retaliated with a blow that 
sent the Englishman to the floor.  

"Just so we know where we all stand," Major Rydell growled. "I'll 
work with you and tell my men to work with you but none of them will 
like it and I sure as hell don't."

Buffy stopped struggling and glared at the officer.

"I'm out of here," the Major smirked. "I'll send over some of the 
techs at first light."

Buffy turned and went to her knees to wrap her arms around Willow and 
Tara as the redhead collapsed into their arms.

"Oh God, that was hard," she muttered.

"I'm tired," Buffy complained. "I'm not going out slaying with Adam 
out there expecting us to go boom."

"Your mom is due back in the morning?" Giles questioned.  

"Yeah, early like," the Slayer responded.

"Why don't the three of you go to bed," Angel suggested. "We'll all 
figure out where to crash and wait for the soldiers and your mom."

"Okay, we'll be in Will room, that leaves mine and Tara's open," 
Buffy sighed, nuzzling against Willow's neck. "What about Riley?"

"We'll make sure he's fed and watered," Anya grinned and Giles shook 
his head at her sense of humor.

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

It was the first night back in her own bed for Willow and her first 
back with both Tara and Buffy. The hacker was nervous and it showed.

Tara went to the dresser and lit a candle and then lit another one on 
a nightstand.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and held out her arms for 
Willow. The hacker slowly walked to her lover and let Tara take her 
hands and pull her closer.

Willow's breath quickened when she felt Buffy move up behind her.

"Will, try and talk to us," Buffy whispered.  

"It feels like I'm in a deep well, it's all dark inside," Willow said 
softly, closing her eyes as Buffy wrapped her arms around her waist 
and ribs. "I'm afraid to feel anything."

"What about us?" Tara asked, keeping her voice low.

Tears escaped from Willow's closed eyes.

"I can't feel anything except fear and?and?it's like an energy?like a 
sugar buzz or espresso, tripled," she whispered.

"Let us help, Will," Buffy begged, holding her body close to Willow's.

"I'm scared!" Willow admitted.  

"We're here, Willow," Tara said softly. "Let us help."

Willow whimpered softly and let her hands drop to her sides as Tara 
released them. The hacker's breathing quickened further when she 
felt Tara's hands begin unbuttoning her shirt.

"Let yourself feel, Willow," Tara whispered. 

"It hurts," Willow whispered back but couldn't deny the tremble from 
her body as Buffy nibbled on her neck. She could feel the heat from 
Buffy and the desire radiating from Tara.

"No, just focus on the physical," Tara urged. "What do you feel?"

"I?it?" Willow whimpered again as she felt someone pull her shirt 
off. Tara moved closer and Willow's knees almost buckled as Buffy 
undid her bra from behind and let it fall from the red-head's body.

"Tell us, they took your voice from you," Tara whispered. She and 
Buffy had talked with both Mulder and Scully through emails and 
telephone calls about what to expect with Willow's recovery from the 
trauma and had gained some insight about PST survivors. "Keep 
connected to us with it."

Willow's face became pained as fear and arousal dueled within the 
young woman.

"Lay down, Will," Buffy said softly. "Nothing's going to happen that 
you're not ready for," she promised.

Willow let them lay her gently on the bed as conflicting images kept 
flashing through her mind against her will. Images of slashing out 
with claws at the other werewolf, of Buffy with her head thrown back 
in passion under Willow's body, images of lab coats surrounding her 
and blinding pain, images of Oz' sightless eyes, of Tara's eyes when 
she looked up at Willow.  

Willow felt someone removing her boots and jeans and pulling a t-
shirt on over her head.

Two bodies curled around Willow as she pulled her stuffed fox into 
her arms and began to cry.

"It's okay, Will, let it out," Buffy said softly.

"We're right here, Willow," Tara joined in.

Suddenly, Willow let loose with everything she had seen and been 
through when held by the Initiative and after. The physical torture, 
discovering Oz was alive and a nice guy again, the tests, Riley's 
taunts, Walsh's indifference, and the mental torture. Most of it 
came out in between sobs as she clung desperately to Tara and 
Willow. About her terror at waking up covered in blood in the sewers 
and seeing Carson for the first time, knowing she had probably killed 
someone. Willow explained how she couldn't even think when she heard 
the Initiative was still in town. Her voice broke again when she 
told them all she could think about was getting out of town and 
keeping herself and them safe from the Initiative.

Finally, she began to drift into sleep, still clinging to Buffy, 
Willow's fingers interlaced with Tara's.

Willow fell asleep feeling safe for the first time in over a month.