Welcome to My Nightmare

Rating: NC-17

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.

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Grouping: Buffy/Willow/Tara

Part 7

Buffy jumped to her feet from the stool by Tara's gurney when her lover gasped and tried to sit up, only to fall back moaning.

"Tara, what is it?" Buffy asked, holding her lover's hand. She winced when Tara's grip tightened painfully.

"Willow, I've lost Willow," Tara said frantically.

"No, it's okay, she's with Xander and Anya in the RV," Buffy said, trying to calm the witch down. "They'll be here soon."

In reality, Buffy was beginning to become concerned. Even with the slower moving RV, she felt the other Scooby members should have been there by now.

"No, I've lost contact, I can't sense her!" Tara whispered.

Buffy frowned and closed her eyes, opening her mental shields.

///Wills?/// she called mentally and frowned when she met a blank wall. ///Wills!///

"Okay, the doctor says you're gonna be alright," Buffy said softly. "I'm going to take Luke and we're gonna find Wills, Xan and Anya."

"Be careful," Tara said softly.

Buffy was torn. Tara looked so weak and pale that it hurt the Slayer physically.

Tara opened her eyes and smiled a small smile.

"Go, I'll be fine," she urged.

"I don't want to leave you," Buffy complained.

"Will might be in trouble," Tara countered.

"I'll make sure Dr. Kieran sticks around," Buffy said after pondering the options.

"Hurry, you know there isn't much that can cut us off from Willow," Tara pointed out.

"I know, it doesn't feel like she's blocking us like before, it feels different," Buffy said softly.

"Yes, something else is blocking us," Tara agreed, watching Buffy's face.

"That means it's intentional," Buffy growled. "Maybe even you getting sick is intentional."

"Trying to separate us," Tara nodded. "So either I'm the target or Willow is."

"Since Willow is blocked from us, good bet it's her," Buffy said, her eyes narrowing. "And I don't think its Dracula."

"Maybe it's Xander or Anya?"

"Well, she is a former demon," Buffy said thoughtfully. "Maybe someone wants revenge on the revenge girl."

"Go, this is going nowhere," Tara urged.

"I'll be back," Buffy promised, kissing Tara gently.

Luke yelped when he was yanked up out of his chair and slammed against the wall. "What the hell?"

"Okay, Sheriff type!" Buffy growled as she held Luke against the wall of the empty waiting room. "Why would someone from your town poison Tara to get us away from Willow?"

"What are you talking about?" Luke demanded.

"We can't reach Willow mentally, someone is blocking us!" Buffy snapped. "Who are they after? Which one of us or all of us?"

"Look, I swear I don't know what you're talking about," Luke said quickly. "We love Willow and we like you guys."

"Then help me find her!" Buffy growled, letting Luke down off the wall and headed for the door.

Willow moaned and tried to sit up. Hands roughly threw her back down on the ground, someone holding her head tightly as someone else forced open her mouth. The witch gagged and tried to spit out the liquid being poured down her throat as she struggled. Someone hit her across the jaw, stunning Willow slightly and began forcing the liquid down her throat again. She gagged a lot of it down, finally.

After several moments the hands eased up from holding her down. Willow rolled over moaning as the drugs began hitting her system. Voices began chanting over her as she fought back against the drugs.

"Goddess, help me!" she cried as her body spasmed.

Buffy growled and held onto the dashboard as Luke took a mountain curve at a fairly high rate of speed.

"We have no idea when we lost track of Willow," Buffy said thoughtfully, looking over a local map. "How many side roads are there around here."

"Plenty," Luke complained. "No reason for them to turn off though."

"I know and they wouldn't, not with Tara heading to the hospital," Buffy agreed.

"Anything mentally, that psychic thing you guys do?" Luke asked.

"No, something outside of Willow is blocking us," Buffy snapped. "I can sense Tara but not Willow."

"Hang in there, we'll find them," Luke said firmly, lifting the mike to the car radio. "DJ, you on the radio?"

"Affirmative, Luke," a young male voice answered.

"General alert! We've got a missing pack member, somewhere between the village and the city," Luke snapped. "I want a head count, as best as you can. I want Robert and Thena on the road looking for Willow between the city and Lupercalia. We'll be coming from this end."

"Yes, sir! I'll sound the alarm," DJ promised. "Is the entire RV missing or just Red Willow?"

"The entire RV, Willow, Xander and Anya," Luke clarified. "Somewhere between the city and Lupercalia."

"Yes, sir," DJ responded. "I'll have Thena take a radio with her."

"Good boy," Luke nodded and turned to Buffy. "We have precautions in Lupercalia. Being what we are, there's always the possibility of trouble. DJ will sound an alert and the Elders will do a head count through town."

"How long will that take?"

"Not as long as you'd think," Luke smiled. "We're efficient and there aren't that many of us. There are some that live up on the mountainside that we might miss but not many."

"Thanks, Luke," Buffy said softly.

"Don't mention it, Willow's one of us," Luke nodded. "You're all family now."

Buffy nodded, watching the side of the road for signs of the RV.

Willow felt her bones cracking and fangs extending and whimpered in the pain. She heard answering growls and yips surrounding her and warm hands soothing her. Willow gave over to the change and let the wolf come forward.

Phillip grinned and turned back to Xander and Anya. The young couple was standing under a tree, their hands tied to branches overhead and their arms outstretched.

"She makes a beautiful wolf," Phillip commented.

"Damn you! The wolf is a good wolf!" Xander protested.

"She won't be for long!" Phillip promised. "That spell and those drugs will bring out the rage in the wolf when she scents human blood."

Two teenage males grinned and approached the couple with drawn hunting knives.

"Leave her alone!" Xander shouted, trying to kick the males when they got closer. One of them knocked Xander's legs aside and slashed out with the knife, cutting across Xander's chest as the young man yelped.

Anya began shouting and screaming as the teenagers cut away Xander's shirt. The weres laughed as they slashed at Xander's arms, chest and back and Anya's arms and legs.

Phillip grinned as the males moved back as the couple struggled against their bonds, bleeding.

"We'll give you fifteen minutes," Phillip said easily. "Just for your info, it takes at least a half hour to get back to the road on foot. You'd never make it."

"Let her go!" Xander shouted.

"Hey, we're letting both of you go," Phillip laughed and took one of the knives from the males and cut Anya's ropes and then Xander's. The young man quickly checked Anya over and discovered her wounds weren't serious but there were a lot of them, like his.

Phillip looked at his watch. "I'll start the counting in 30 seconds."

"What?" Xander stammered as Anya cried against his chest.

"Better start running," Phillip advised.

"Come on, An," Xander said softly and pulled his fiancée along the dirt road.

"What are we going to do?" Anya sobbed.

"Dry your eyes," he suggested and pulled her into the shadows. "Come on, we're heading downhill."

"What? Why? We need to get to the road."

"No, Phillip's right, we'd never make it," Xander countered. "We're going to the bottom of the hill, there's probably a creek or something down there. Water will help break our scent."

"Scent?"

"In about twelve minutes we're going to have a pack of werewolves after us," Xander explained.

"Even Willow?" Anya asked, her voice soft and tearful.

"Yeah," Xander nodded. "Give me your shirt."

"You want me half naked in the woods while werewolves are tracking us?"

"I need to bandage your arms to stop the bleeding," Xander explained.

A howl sounded in the night. "Let's move!" Anya suggested.

Buffy rubbed her eyes wearily.

///Tara?/// she called out mentally.

///Buffy? Are you okay?///

///Yeah, we're looking for the RV. You're better at the magic stuff, anything from Wills?///

///No, someone or something is still blocking her.///

///Okay, Doc Kieran with you?///

///Yes, won't leave my room unless a nurse or someone is in here with me.///

///Good. I love you, Tara.///

///I love you, Buff. Bring her back.///

///We'll find her.///

The red werewolf staggered to her feet and shook herself. The wolves and werewolves standing around hesitated and then rushed at her, nipping at her flanks and ribs. The red wolf growled and snapped back but there were too many of them, as wolf Willow snapped at one, another would rush her from the opposite direction.

Within moments, the wolf was in a fury and rushed after the pack when they took off. The scent of human blood and fear caught in the wolf's senses and her focus changed instantly.

The first howl was joined by an entire chorus a few minutes later and Xander swore under his breath.

"Come on, An," he encouraged. He continued down the mountainside, trying to keep both of them from falling in the dark. The young man hesitated a moment., grabbed a large tree branch and yanked and twisted until it broke off the tree. He stripped off the minor branches, arming himself with a decent sized club with a sharp end.

"I hear water!" Anya gasped.

"Good, I think I'd rather drown than become a munchy for werewolves," Xander grumbled.

He grabbed Anya's hand and began running again.

Luke swore loudly when they realized that the car lights meeting them was a Ford Bronco, Thena's 4x4. Luke flashed his lights and both cars stopped by each other. Inside Thena's 4x4 were several Lupercalia citizens, including Maggie, Stefn, Rowan and Helki from the Elder Council.

"Helki, Buffy says that Willow is being blocked from contacting her and Tara," Luke called. "Can you do anything about that?"

"I might," the witch called back. "Let me in over there."

The older woman scampered out of the 4x4 and around to the other side of the patrol car, slipping into the back seat. She reached over the seat and rested her hands on Buffy's shoulders.

"Relax, Buffy," she instructed and they closed their eyes.

Everyone waited patiently until Helki opened her eyes.

"She's in wolf shape and totally without humanity," Helki announced. "Something is wrong."

"Is she enraged?" Rowan called.

"Yes, like some of the evil weres that have come through Lupercalia," Helki confirmed.

"Like Oz?" Buffy questioned and Luke nodded.

"Is anyone missing?" Luke asked Thena.

"Yes, Phillip is missing and no one knows where or when," Thena answered.

Luke's teeth clenched. "Helki, can you track Willow magickally?"

"No, not yet, we're not close enough," the older woman shook her head.

"Damn," Buffy growled.

"Okay, I don't think the RV is just off the road, that means one of the side roads," Luke pondered. "Call in more cars and start back tracking. We're going to head back the other way and check some of the roads."

"You got it, Luke," Thena nodded.

"Helki, stay with us," Luke instructed and the witch sat back, slamming the door shut.

Xander pulled Anya into the water despite her protests that they didn't know how deep it was, how fast the current was or how cold. He held his fiancée close as the cold water hit them, hard.

He gritted his teeth as they went waist deep in the water and then to his chest. "Drift with the current," he instructed, holding Anya tightly.

"Cold," Anya stammered around her chattering teeth.

"I know, baby," Xander said softly. He could hear the yips and howls getting closer and knew that the pack was close. The young man knew they couldn't stay in the water long but they needed to put some distance between themselves and the wolf pack in order to possibly break their scent trail.

Xander began working his arms and legs to move them closer to the far bank. He had no idea how long they had drifted. He knew as cold as the water was, five minutes could feel like a half hour. Anya's was shivering badly when he pulled her from the water and clung to him.

"Cold, so cold!" she chattered.

"I know," he repeated, looking back up the river, unable to see any sign of the pack. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Xander pulled Anya towards the tree-line. He finally found one he was satisfied with. "Come on, baby, up the tree, as high as you can get."

"I'm not climbing a tree like some squirrel!" Anya protested.

"Just do it!" Xander snapped. "Give me your bra and climb the fricking tree."

Anya's eyes widened at his surprisingly forcefulness and pulled off her undershirt and bra. She handed the undergarment to him and put the small shirt back on, shivering in the cold night air.

"Up the tree, An," Xander repeated. "I need you to live, please," he begged.

Anya grabbed him in a quick embrace and then started climbing the tree. Xander watched her for a moment and picked up a tree limb, tying Anya's bra on the end. He began running away from the river with the bra trailing behind him.

Wolf Willow stopped with the rest of the pack when they reached the river. One set of wolves headed one way and Willow followed the part of the pack headed down-stream. With the scent trail broken and the first few minutes of the chase winding down, Willow felt her consciousness trying to come to the surface again, struggling against the enraged and drugged wolf.

"We're closer," Helki suddenly said softly.

Luke hit the brakes and glanced around. He pulled the patrol car over and circled around the car as Buffy got out as well.

"There's a side road, which direction?" he growled.

"I can't tell," Helki answered, leaning out an open window.

He and Buffy looked around the side of the road for anything out of the ordinary. Together, their flashlight caught sight of folded barricades, amber lights and signs. Luke and Slayer quickly dashed to the roadside and went through the signs.

Buffy pointed to the left of the car. "Detour says that way!"

"Let's try it," Luke nodded and both raced back to the car.

Luke jumped behind the wheel as Buffy reached for the mike.

Xander yelped and desperately grabbed for a tree branch. "Fuck!"

The young man spun around, swinging out onto the branch and over the blackness before throwing himself backwards onto the ground. He scrambled backwards, hearing the gravel under his feet falling over the edge of the cliff.

Xander could hear the sound of a waterfall behind or below him.

"Damn! I say 'Surviving the Game', I should have remembered this part," he complained as he trembled in shock and cold.

The young man's eyes widened when howls broke out behind him again.

"Damn," he muttered and began moving along the tree line, away from the waterfall sound.

"Helki?"

"There's a pack, she's running with a pack and it's a big one," the witch answered, swaying with the car and her trance.

"Can you reach her?"

Helki placed her arms around Buffy from behind and the Slayer felt someone 'knocking' at her mental shields. Trusting the werewolf witch, Buffy mentally opened a door and let the old woman in.

///Call to your mates,/// Helki's voice instructed.

///Tara? Willow?/// Buffy called.

///I'm here, Buff./// Tara answered and joined her, lending her what little strength the sick witch could muster.

The two witches could feel Willow's wolf hesitating as Buffy and Tara tried to reach her.

//Wills! Come back to us!// Buffy called.

Again they could feel the wolf hesitate.

///Send her images of Xander and Anya./// Helki instructed.

Slayer and witch let their mind fill with thoughts of Xander and his quirky fiancée, especially good thoughts of both.

//Buff? Tara?//

//Fight it, Wills!/// Buffy shouted mentally. ///These wolves aren't your friends.///

They felt the wolf struggling with confusion and Willow's strong will.

"If she's with a pack and they can't keep her, they'll tear her apart," Luke muttered, stopping the car.

Buffy looked up with a questioning glance.

"We're about to head into a pack of werewolves," Luke explained, leaning into the patrol car as he popped the trunk. "Let's prepare. There's silver ammunition in the trunk for the shotgun and an extra pistol."

"Right," Buffy nodded and got out of the car.

Luke leaned in and grabbed the mike. "Thena and all searchers, head east on the road. Ten point two miles from contact point, road on the left. Come prepared for our kind."

"10-4," several voices responded.

Buffy handed him a box of shells, one each for his pistol and shotgun as she loaded the pistol she had found.

"What about Helki?" Buffy asked.

"She's a witch, she can protect herself," Luke explained.

"Let's go," Buffy urged, getting back in the car.

Willow struggled closer to the surface, fighting against the drugs and mental control spell.

Remembering her lessons, Willow sat down on her haunches and concentrated on her breathing as the wolves tried to figure out how to cross the river without getting into the cold water. The point where they could sense their prey had exited the water was wide and the water swift.

Willow felt someone trying to slam a wall around her mentally and magickally.

Luke waited patiently while Buffy drummed her fingers on the dashboard while they waited for more cars to come down the road. Finally headlights filled the patrol car from Thena's 4x4 and Luke started the car.

"Let's do this!" he said grimly, hitting the overhead lights and spinning the tires. "Surprise is always a good thing!"

Buffy grinned as the adrenaline started building.

Luke hit the campsite with brakes squealing and lights flashing. Buffy grinned at the sight of the young women scattering away from the fire.

"There's the RV!" Buffy shouted, pointing at the boxed in RV named Priscilla.

Willow felt the witch who had been trying to control her lose focus and the red werewolf growled and reclaimed her mental control over the wolf.

The red werewolf shifted to werewolf form and faced the pack as they turned to look at her. The largest gray male growled, as he looked deep into Willow's eyes. His lips drew back from his teeth as he bared his fangs.

Willow bared her own in challenge.

//Buffy! Tara!// she screamed mentally.

//Where are you, Wills?// Buffy demanded as she ducked behind the car door and then jumped up and fired back.

The two groups of werewolves were in a serious firefight. DJ was already down and several of the opposing Weres had fallen to the silver bullets the Lupercalia Weres were using.

///I don't know, we're by a river and I think there's a waterfall.// Willow said. //I think I'm in serious trouble here, Buff.//

//Hang in there, lover!// Buffy growled.

"Willow's in trouble!" Buffy shouted to Luke on the other side of the car.

"Thena says the RV is empty, no sign of Xander or Anya," he called back.

"I'm taking Helki with me, we've gotta find Wills!" Buffy shouted back and moved behind the patrol car where Helki was staying under cover.

Willow felt the confusion and beginning anger building in the wolves and werewolves facing her, especially from the large male in front.

Willow sensed the male was Phillip as he shifted from wolf form to werewolf, a growl radiating from his chest. The red wolf growled, again answering the challenge.

The rest of the pack ran to join the group from up the river and circled the two werewolves.

"Xander!"

Xander raised his head. "What?" he mumbled. He realized he must have fallen and hit his head or something.

"Xander!"

"Anya?" he called back.

"Xander!" Anya's voice carried and then he felt his fiancée turning him over. "Xander! The wolves never came and I got worried."

"I'm glad they never came," he mumbled. "Let's get back to the river, we've got to find somebody besides werewolves."

Willow rolled over backwards when Phillip charged her, planting her foot in his stomach and used his momentum to carry him over her head. The red werewolf jumped to her feet and tackled the gray wolf as he tried to get to his feet.

The human side of Willow knew she needed to end the fight quickly. He growled and slashed down at her back as she sank her fangs into his thigh. Phillip howled again and beat on her back until the red werewolf fell to her knees and she pulled his feet out from under him.

Instead of leaping on him, as any fighter would expect, Willow jumped back and grabbed a foot. Letting her human side go numb, werewolf Willow sank her fangs into the back of Phillip's ankle, ripping through his Achilles tendon and snapping the tibia bone. Phillip howled in pain and sat up, trying to rake his claws across Willow's muzzle.

The werewolf witch danced back and up, coming down on top of Phillip as he over-reached himself. Willow growled and grabbed his head and twisted it violently. The red werewolf howled in victory at the sound of bones snapping.

Willow growled as the pack shifted on their feet or haunches. One of the males stood up with a growl, challenging. Instead of meeting his challenge physically, Willow changed back to human form, raised her hands and her eyes blackened.

Buffy and Helki moved through the woods quickly and hesitated only for a moment when they heard a wolf howling deep in the woods, away from the gun fight back at the campground.

Helki stopped suddenly, grabbing Buffy's arm.

"Magick!" she hissed and they hit the forest floor as the ground rocked and a bright light filled the sky near the river.

"Wills!" Buffy screamed as she jumped up and dashed through the woods.

"Willow!"

The red-haired witch sat up slowly, blinking. She smiled as Buffy and Helki rushed towards her. Buffy gratefully drew Willow into her arms, holding her tight.

"What happened, Wills?" Buffy asked softly.

"We've got to find Xander and Anya!" Willow said, trying to sit up and falling back into Buffy's arms. "Whoa! Head rush!"

Buffy looked to Helki as the witch examined her lover.

"She's weak from magick use," Helki said, holding a cloth to Willow's nose. Willow blinked at the familiar sight of a typical after-effect of heavy use of magick for the young woman.

"Somebody help us!"

All three women turned and saw Xander and Anya on the other side of the river, shivering and holding each other tightly.

"You guys okay?"

"No, we're damn well freezing!" Xander snapped. "Is there any other way across?"

"I don't think so," Buffy said with a frown, kissing Willow quickly and standing up. The Slayer noticed the entire area was burned around Willow, as if a UFO had landed on top of her and there was no sign of any werewolves. "I'll swim out and help you two across."

"Okay, we're awfully tired, cold and lost a lot of blood," Xander called back and Anya shivered.

It took longer to get Anya and Xander across the river this time; both were exhausted. They finally reached the other shore and collapsed onto the dirt as Luke and several Lupercalia town members showed to lend a hand.

Buffy left Xander and Anya to the care of their friends and went back to help Willow stand up.

"She's tired but she'll be fine," Helki told them.

"What happened, guys?" Buffy asked everyone.

"Tired," Anya mumbled.

"Let's get them back up to the RV," Luke suggested.

///Tara!///

///Buffy? I can sense Willow. Is she okay?///

///Yes!///

Tara could hear the relief and joy in Buffy's mental voice and smiled.

///Xander and Anya are hurt and freezing but they should be okay. We'll be heading to the hospital there to get them checked out./// Buffy continued. ///Give us a couple of hours to get them warmed up and drive there.///

///Alright, I'll be waiting, my loves.///

//I love you, Tara.// Willow joined in.

///I love you, Will.//

Xander grinned as the orderly wheeled him into the waiting room. He flashed his new cast at Buffy, Luke, Anya and several Lupercalia townspeople. Anya had already been released after her wounds were treated and bandaged. Xander's care had taken longer because the wounds were deeper and his cast had gotten soaked in the river, requiring replacement.

Willow was sitting with Tara and Buffy stood up to join her friends as the sun began to rise.

"The doctor says my arm is okay," Xander smiled, taking a seat next to Anya. "A few scars from the cuts but I'll be fine."

"Good," Luke nodded. "The way we figure it, Phillip was a member of a pack of evil weres and would kidnap and corrupt some of the Weres we trained. They wanted Willow."

Rowan nodded. "While you two were being treated, Willow told us that she came round and faced Phillip as Weres and bested him."

"Way to go, Wills!" Xander said softly.

"We lost three men and one woman tonight," Luke said softly. "It was worth it to get rid of that pack."

"What happened to the other werewolves?" Anya asked.

"It appears that Willow used some really powerful magick and…" Luke hesitated. "She used magick and reduced them to ashes."

Xander lost his smile and Anya leaned into his arms.

"Was that good magick or bad magick?" Xander whispered.

"If Buffy had been there, she would have killed them with silver bullets," Thena said slowly. "If we had been down there, we would have killed them. You would have killed them with a silver knife."

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "So it's a good thing?"

"I would call it a neutral thing," Helki commented. "It was done to save her life and yours."

"Is she okay with the magick thing?" Xander frowned.

"I believe so," Helki said slowly. "It will be tempting for her. With Buffy and Tara, she should be alright."

Buffy found Willow in Tara's arms, almost in the bed with her lover. She smiled as Tara held a finger up to her lips, indicating silence. The Slayer saw that Willow was asleep.

"She's exhausted," Tara whispered as Buffy moved closer.

"Yeah, I think we all are," Buffy said softly. "They said they'll release you this afternoon. Xander and Anya are going to go crash in the RV outside."

"And you, my love?" Tara whispered.

"In that chair over there until you two wake up," Buffy said with a smile. "Luke said he'd handle the police questions about Xander and Anya's injuries."

"What about my poisoning?"

"Seems you ate the leaves from some plant when we went walking in the woods, very naughty of you," Buffy grinned.

"Oh really?" Tara's eyes sparkled. "Besides the fact I would never do something that stupid, maybe you should punish me later for being naughty?"

"Tara!" Buffy squeaked, never having seen this impish side of her lover.

Tara grinned and blushed a bright red, looking more like the shy college student Buffy knew.

"I love you both," Tara said gently.

"I love you both," Buffy said, leaning over to kiss Tara and then Willow.

"Love you," Willow mumbled as she opened her eyes. "The pack paid."

Willow reached into her shirt and held out something. Buffy took the offered item as the red haired witch closed her eyes again. Buffy held the dog tags and rabbit's foot out for Tara to see.

"These belonged to Oz," Buffy explained.

"The pack that corrupted Oz had them?" Tara said softly.

"Must have taunted Willow with them. We're going to head home now," Buffy said, throwing her feet up on the end of the bed and a jacket over her head. "We've got two weddings to plan."

"Wanna make it three?" Willow mumbled and nuzzled Tara's neck.

"Wills?" Tara asked softly as Buffy's feet hit the floor.

Both witch and Slayer realized that Willow was asleep, leaving them to contemplate her words.

The End

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