Wanted: A Werewolf and a Superman by Frau Hunter Ash

Disclaimer: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The X-files characters and show all belong to Chris Carter, Fox and possibly others. No copyright infringement was intended and suing me will not make you any money! 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.

Summary: It's a full moon, Willow is a werewolf and there's an earthquake.

"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.

"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?"

"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.

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

"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.

"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.

"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.

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

"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 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.

"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.

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

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

"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.

"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.

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."

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.

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?"

"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.

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

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.

"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."

"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.

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.

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

"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!"

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

"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."

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.

//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…//

//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?//

//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."

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

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

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

"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."

"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.

"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.

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

"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."

"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.

"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.

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.

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

"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.

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.

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

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."

"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."

"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?"

"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 Wills."

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

"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."

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.

"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."

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

"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.

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.

"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."

"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.

"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."

"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 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?"

"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."

"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.

"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 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."

"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."

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

"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 Flutie 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.

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Wanted: A Werewolf and a Superman

By Frau Hunter Ash

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