Scene 6

There was a new site for Wicca practitioners. Willow joined a month ago and got in contact with some of the people listed. It made her feel not so alone to know that there were others who shared her interest. Ever since Tara died she felt so . . . hollow. No one could share the wander she experienced every time she tapped into the Goddess. Kennedy was simply impressed. She didn’t understand that magic was connecting to the Earth and becoming part of it, not grabbing a hold and manipulating it to serve your purpose. That kind of thinking led to 100% badness. She should know.

Willow chatted on instant messenger. Some were authentic, and some phonies. She made some friends in the authentic category. She even flirted with this one girl that went by GlitterMoonChild. She didn’t even feel guilty. Kennedy wasn’t her favorite person at the moment.

Just for fun Willow asked GlitterMoonChild for her photo. There was a long pause and Willow worried that she scared her away. Then her IM buddy answered back that she had a better idea. She sent Willow a neat connection spell. It was supposed to link their consciousness so that they could see the other one at that moment wherever they were. Willow thought that sounded neat. It involved little supplies and wouldn’t take long to set up.

Willow sat cross-legged down in her circle of white candles. She shut her eyes and sent her mind out for GlitterMoonChild to take hold. A grin formed on her lips as something began to appear in her mind. It was an orange glow. She concentrated harder. The picture cleared and she jumped off the floor. She almost broke the spell but snatched back onto it. Fire! What in . . .? A house. She sensed something to her right and she turned her head. A person. A man. . . Oz!

Willow let out a shriek. She reached out her hand, but of course toward nothing tangible. She watched in disbelief as he dashed toward the burning building. No! What was he doing!?

“No, stop!” she shouted.

A tear slipped down her face as she realized that he couldn’t hear her. Her lips parted as he got swallowed inside the hungry flames.

Her eyes flew open and her breathing become harsh. She knew it had been real. Somehow she’d seen Oz instead of her online friend. Oz had just run into a burning house.

Scene 7

“Will, slow down,” Buffy commanded.

“Oz is in New York and he needs my help!” Willow said more coherently.

She still cares a great deal about him, Buffy thought. Even miles apart they are connected. I wonder if she ever stopped loving him. Does anyone ever really stop loving someone?

“Because you saw him?” Buffy asked, trying to get it straight.

“Yeah.”

“In a fire?”

Willow nodded.

“And then you did a tracing spell?”

Willow nodded again.

“Was there anything to indicate this was a magic fire?”

“I don’t-“ Willow began.

“Because maybe I should come with you. If Oz really is in trouble you could use some help.”

Willow looked at Buffy with gratitude. “Thanks.”

“Should we bother the rest of the gang?” Buffy suggested.

“No. Giles is so busy. And Xander just got back.”

Willow took a deep breath.

“Okay, we’ll evaluate the situation and call for them if we need them.” She paused. “He’s fine, Willow. I have a feeling you saw Oz for a reason. And I don’t think that was to witness his death,” Buffy assured the witch.

“I hope you’re right.”

Buffy stepped forward to offer a hug of comfort.

Scene 8

It was easy to track down the house. It had stood in the outskirts of the city. Now it was a heap of fallen blackness. Some neighbors slammed the door in their faces, but most talked to them. They reported that a quiet young man used to live there and hadn’t been seen since the fire a week ago. A week, Willow thought in panic. I had a vision about something happening a week ago. What if I’m too late? He was a homebody, they said, rarely seen, but when he was, it was mostly at night. One said that she thought he liked to take in stray dogs because she spotted him carrying in furry creatures more than once. “Not to mention the howling,” she added. They didn’t hear about any deaths do to the fire. Rumor had it that someone set it on purpose in order to create them, though. No one knew where the former resident was currently.

Willow felt like they just wasted hours of their time. None of what the neighbors said was important. All that mattered was Oz’s whereabouts at this moment. She’d have to do it the hard way.

Willow tossed out a folded piece of paper. “This is half the ingredients I need. Go purchase them. I’ll get the other half. Meet me back here.” She wasn’t much for orders; that was always Buffy’s job. But right now she felt as if she had to take charge otherwise things wouldn’t get done.

She’d hoped to avoid doing more magic. She was exhausted from transporting them to New York. She hadn’t fully recovered since sending the dragon to a happy fantasy-creature dimension either.

After gathering the items Willow and Buffy set up in Oz’s abandoned backyard. It would have been easier in the driveway, given the hard surface, but she feared what passer-bys would think. She was lucky not to live in a metropolis without any privacy.

She mixed the concoction together and chanted a few words in Aramaic. A faint glow arose from the bowl. She cupped her hands and held them out. The light floated up to fit in her palms, growing brighter. She got up from her knees.

“Pretty. And hey,” Buffy said with a smile. “We don’t need a flashlight.”

The light seemed to sense that she was ready. It danced in front of her, waiting for her to follow. She remembered doing a spell like this with Tara. Tara referred to the light as Tinker Bell. For a slight second Willow’s chest squeezed. Would there ever be a time when she’d be able to think back on her lost love and only smile without the pain? She couldn’t imagine it.

The light pulled Willow onward into new territory. They entered the city. There were a few gasps from people as they passed. It was late, but there were still quite a lot of people out. Some surprisingly passed by without even a glance. Hey, I’m holding a giant burst of magic here! City people must be blind. Or maybe they see weird things everyday and think nothing of it.

A parking garage came into view. The light became excited, flying all over.

“I think this is it,” Willow said.

They slipped in past the gate. Willow raced up the stairs. She could hear Buffy close on her heels. Willow looked upward when she heard a loud growl.

“Is it a full moon?” Buffy asked.

“No,” Willow answered quickly. She kept track of the moon’s phases. It had been over a week ago for the last full moon.

Willow stepped into the third level of the parking garage. She halted at the sight of a brown werewolf. She knew instantly that it was Oz. It was more of a feeling than what she saw. She just ‘knew’ deep within that it was Oz. But how? He shouldn’t be all wolfie. And didn’t he cure that? Or at least . . . when I’m not around, she thought.

“Oz!?” She stepped forward.

He wasn’t alone. A woman directed her eyes at Buffy and Willow. She was younger than them, maybe nineteen or twenty. Her hair was black, reaching to her back in wild ringlets. She wore tight clothing that reminded Willow of a ninja. The woman’s attention didn’t stay on them long. She turned back toward Oz. He bared his sharp teeth at her. They were red. Willow noticed a large gash across the woman’s bare arm. She made the connection.

“How is he turned?” Buffy whispered beside her.

Werewolf Oz charged at the woman. She shifted and raised her arm, knocking him aside. He flew through the air and hit a red mini-van. He slid down to the concrete ground. He twitched and let out a sad whine.

“Are you getting the slayer vibe?” Buffy questioned.

Willow didn’t respond. Slayer or no slayer, she hurt Oz! She stepped forward, her fingers crackling. She sent an electric ball hurtling at the woman. The woman did a somersault to avoid the blow. She jumped back to her feet and glared.

“Willow!” Buffy scolded.

Willow’s eyes flashed. “It’s Oz, Buffy. She hurt Oz.”

“But he is a wolf. She’s a newbie, she doesn’t know that werewolves are off-limits for killing.”

“I don’t care!” Willow said. Why am I being this way? Willow wondered. Her eyes wandered over to the werewolf Oz. He was still trying to get up but couldn’t.

The slayer’s face hardened even more. She regarded Buffy. “Do you protect this creature?”

Buffy gave Willow a ‘Let me handle this’ look. Willow nodded.

Buffy took a step forward. “Werewolves are only all wolfy three days out of the month. The rest of the month they’re people just like us. You can’t kill them.”

The slayer gestured to Oz. “You lie! It is not a full moon and here the creature is.”

Buffy thought for a moment, not sure what to say. “Um, well . . . Yeah, but that usually doesn’t happen. It doesn’t matter anyway. I know this man, he’s my friend. He’s a nice guy when he isn’t all growly.”

“He is a demon! He must be put down!” the slayer cried.

“Actually, technically he isn’t. Demons come from hell. He hasn’t-“

The slayer rushed at Buffy. She revealed a knife out of nowhere. Buffy kicked out, knocking the weapon aside. It clattered to the floor.

“I think we can manage this slayer to slayer without any toys. What you say?” Buffy said to the slayer.

The slayer wasn’t much for speech. She sent a nice left-hook. It caught Buffy in the jaw.

“Wow, I’m impressed,” Buffy remarked. She dodged the next punch. “Got to work on the non-repetition. Use some variety to catch your enemies off-guard.”

Willow decided her friend could use some help. She prepared to make a binding field. There was nothing but a few sparks. She concentrated hard. Still only sparks. She panted, feeling the lack of energy. Okay, she’d used up her magic capacity for the day.

“Will, could use a little help here!” Buffy shouted.

“I can’t,” Willow yelled back. “I’m too pooped.”

Buffy groaned. “Great. I thought maybe you could like freeze her.”

“I tried a force field.”

“That would have worked too. Pooey, now I have to hurt her. I really don’t want to hurt her.”

Buffy and the newbie continued to fight. Willow knelt down beside Oz. She cautiously reached out and ran a hand down his fur. He slowly tilted his head to look up at her. She gasped. His eyes! They were Oz-eyes. Usually they were golden and wild. But they were soft and caring at the moment, despite his animal shape. She also thought she could detect recognition in them. No, it had to be her imagination.

“You’ll be fine, Oz. It’s me, Willow. You just rest,” she murmured.

Oz rubbed the side of his head against her knee. She was sure then that he knew her.

Scene 9

The other slayer ran. For a brief second Buffy considered letting her go, but she knew she couldn’t. The girl needed a teacher. She needed a watcher. She was very confused and would go after werewolves again. Or vampires with a soul, not that there were any more of those around. But if he ever came back . . . Stop dreaming, Buffy, this isn’t the time!

Buffy ran after the slayer. Her hesitation had let the other girl get too much ahead of her. Damn. She ran out of the parking garage. She caught site of the slayer again as she exited. The slayer headed straight into oncoming traffic. Buffy shouted a warning. Too late.

A blue Corsica smashed into the slayer. The girl hit the windshield and bounced off into the road. Buffy raced over and snatched up the girl. She brought her over to the sidewalk and laid her down. She checked her over for injuries. Besides the previous mark on her arm there was a cut on her forehead. Buffy was pretty sure she’d be all right, though. Slayers could survive a lot.

The slayer’s eyes suddenly popped open. She struggled against Buffy, but the elder pressed her harder into the pavement. Buffy was vaguely aware of the car drive away. Jerk!

“Gotcha,” Buffy chirped.

Scene 10

The change was gradual. At first Willow wasn’t aware of it. Her stroking fingers picked up the lessening of fur. She watched in awe as it receded and his face morphed. Then she stared at Oz the man.

“Hi,” she squeaked.

He squinted. “Willow?”

“Yeah. I uh. . . Well, it’s a long story. I sorta had this vision of you in a burning building. So I came to help. I did a spell which led me here. You were battling a crazy slayer.” She took a deep breath. “Guess not so long.”

He smiled at her with his Oz-like smile. The one that she knew meant ‘you are adorable’. Why is my heart pounding like this? She felt like she did on prom night. This shouldn’t be happening. I’m gay now!

Oh Goddess, don’t look down. Don’t look down! her mind shrieked. She covered her eyes.

“Sorry about the non-clothes thing,” Oz apologized. “It is one of the disadvantages of the wolf-gig.”

“What’s up with that? It isn’t a full moon night?”

“Oh. I can change when I choose to now. It’s sorta cool. This shaman I know says I’m all balanced with my animal half.”

“Neat. So, you are a good wolf now? You seemed less wolf and more cute puppy. At least- At least with me,” Willow said, stumbling over the last part.

“I’m aware of what is going on now when I turn.”

“So you can change back when you choose?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did it take you so long?”

There was a long pause. “I didn’t want you to stop petting me.”

She felt her cheeks heat up. I swear I’m back in high-school, she thought.

Willow heard footsteps. She uncovered her eyes. She turned toward the noise but ‘accidentally’ got a glimpse of Oz. I’d forgotten how – Bad Willow! Gay, gay, gay, gay . . .

Willow jumped to her feet. “Buffy! So, you got the slayer.”

Buffy gripped the flaying slayer. “Yeah, I got her. Now, what should we do with her?”

“Shouldn’t we take her back to the watcher’s council? Give me a few hours and I can get us back there.”

Oz lifted up on his elbows. “I have someone else who should go with. Her name is Nina. She’s a werewolf. This slayer tried to burn down the house with her in it. Now she’s scared that all slayers are out to get her. It would be nice for her to know that there are some that want to be friends.”

“Sure. The more the merrier. Remind me to tell you why there are other slayers now,” Buffy said.

Oz shrugged. “I don’t question these things anymore.”

“Is there somewhere we can crash until Willow is up to par?”

“I have a hotel room,” Oz informed.

“Great.” Buffy averted her eyes. “You have clothes at the hotel, right?”

Scene 11

Nina wouldn’t agree to go to the Watcher’s Council without Oz so Oz decided to go too. It was obvious that Willow didn’t object to this fact. It took both Oz and Buffy to hold the slayer (which still wouldn’t tell her name) in place for transportation.

They solidified in the living room. Willow was aiming for the front hall, but oh well. It so happened Dawn was in the room when they formed. She threw down her book and ran to hug her sister. Buffy smoothed down Dawn’s hair and smiled.

When they pulled back Buffy could detect nervousness in Dawn. “What’s up?”

“Uh, Buffy, while you were gone. . . “ Dawn began.

“Buffy?”

Buffy froze. That voice. A voice that belonged only in her dreams.

________________________________________________________

Did I mention I’m evil? Oh, and if you didn't catch it, this will be W/O along with Spuffy. This if my first time using Oz, so sorry if I don't have his character down quite right