CHAPTER 13

Slayer and witch broke apart, staring after the fleeing girl. “Damn it. Why is there always something keeping us apart?” Buffy growled. Willow didn’t respond, remaining frozen. “Will? Hey, what’s the matter?”

Shaking her head slightly, the redhead tore her eyes away from the back door. “Did you see her? Oh, Goddess. We…I just hurt her so much. I didn’t want to hurt her, Buffy. I didn’t,” she babbled. Tears streaked the freckled cheeks.

Buffy pulled Willow into her arms, stroking warm hands up and down her back. Although a part of her was secretly doing a victory dance, she could tell the girl in her arms was devastated. “No matter what, somebody’s gonna get hurt,” she muttered. Thank God it’s not me. When Willow stiffened even more, the Slayer rushed on, “But, the important thing is, you, um, we just have to be honest.” She pulled back, watching Willow for reactions. “If we don’t, it’ll just be a whole lot worse.”

Willow looked incredibly sad. “Yeah. I just hope we have time to talk to her, Buff. I mean, with Adam and all…” she trailed off.

“Speaking of Adam, Wills, we need to get inside.” Buffy took Willow by the hand, leading her toward the house. Before they rejoined the gang, the Slayer said firmly, “We’ll tell everyone together, how’s that? We get rid of Adam, make sure Faith isn’t going to go evil again, and we have a Scooby meeting.” She bit her lip. “I know I haven’t been big with the sharing lately. OK, maybe not ever, but this isn’t something I want to hide or lie about, Will.”

Willow nodded. “No hiding. But I don’t think this is the time for our big coming out party. Let’s get in there and find out what big and creepy’s up to now. Maybe the computer found something or Giles located a spell.” She kissed Buffy quickly and then pulled away completely, smoothing her rumpled clothing. “Back to business, Slayer.”

“Business, oh joy,” Buffy bitched, following Willow inside. Some days, I so hate this job.

The scene inside was tense. A small TV played in the living room while Giles and Joyce huddled close to the screen.

“Mom, Giles, what’s up?” Buffy asked. Her Slayer hearing picked that moment to kick in and she stopped abruptly. “Oh, God, tell me he really didn’t kill a little kid?” She felt sick, stomach roiling as the newscaster cheerfully continued.

“What?” Willow said. She hurried across the room, dropping to sit between Giles and Mrs. Summers, peering at the images on the TV. A grainy shot of Adam, staring directly into the camera, appeared. In his arms was the remains of a child, head blurred out to protect at least some privacy.

Numbly, the Slayer staggered into the room and dropped onto the couch. Closing her eyes against the terrible sight, Buffy listened to the news bulletin.

“…in Sunnydale. The town is known for its high crime rate and missing person’s reports, but this is even stranger than usual. A family traveling through the small town videotaped what was at first believed to be a scene of a movie reportedly being filmed in the area. However, the unidentified man shown in the video left the body seen in his arms just outside a church. The body…”

“Turn it off,” Buffy ordered flatly. Rage pounded behind her eyes, and she clenched her fists to keep from lashing out at anyone, anything nearby. “Where’s Tara?”

Sounding the least bit hesitant, perhaps sensing the emotions his charge was barely controlling, Giles answered, “She’s in one of the bedrooms, resting.”

Opening her eyes, Buffy glared at her Watcher. “Get her up. Have her undo the sleep spell on Faith. It’s time to stop hiding.” A cold smile twisted her lips. “We’re going hunting.”

“Buffy, I don’t think-“ Giles began until a warm hand lightly touched his arm. He looked down at Willow.

“Go ahead, Giles. We’ll need the others to help.” The redhead smiled at him and then turned to Joyce. “Mrs. Summers, could you fix us all something to eat and give Xan a call? We’re going to need him and Anya, too.” The two adults did as ordered, leaving Buffy and Willow alone.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Buffy declared, arms crossed.

Willow simply nodded, gazing at her friend. “So, we just storm the Initiative base? Go in with magic blazing and you and Faith kicking Marine ass till we find Adam?” She kept her voice level with an effort.

Frowning, Buffy nodded. “Sounds about right. He killed someone, Wills. Not just any someone, but a little boy, and he’s taunting us with it.” Her voice rose as she spoke.

“I get that, sweetie, but we kinda need a plan.” Willow moved slowly over and knelt in front of Buffy. “You aren’t responsible for that boy, Buffy. Dr. Walsh, the Initiative, the Government – they built Adam.” She stroked the pale face above her. “If we go in like you want, we’ll lose.”

Leaning forward, the Slayer pressed her lips to Willow’s hands. “I can’t let him go on a killing spree. We have to find a way to stop him. If we hadn’t been holed up here…”

Smiling gently, Willow caressed narrow fingers over Buffy’s face. “If we hadn’t been here, it might have been you he killed, Buffy. We can’t think like that. We’re the Scoobies. We research, we plan, and then we execute. It’s kept us alive, with one very notable exception, for almost three years. You don’t just change that kind of pattern on a whim, sweetie.” She pulled away. “What’s really wrong, Buffy? You haven’t been yourself since last night in the Bronze. I mean, first you’re all over Riley and Ms. Gung Ho Marine Recruit and the next time I see you, it’s war with the Initiative.”

“Was I supposed to let Walsh kill me?” Buffy was incredulous.

“No!” The two squared off. “But you aren’t yourself. I’ve never seen you this aggressive. What the hell are you thinking? Run off and fight Adam with no plan? We didn’t even phase him tonight.”

“I’m thinking I want to get rid of him.”

Willow threw her hands in the air. “How? How do we do that, Buffy? I have nothing from the computer. Adam laughed at my magic and he traced Tara. She’s not an amateur like me. She’s way strong. You tell me how we beat him, and I’ll back you a hundred percent.”

“B?” Faith’s groggy voice interrupted from the hallway. “We got trouble?”

Tearing her eyes away from the quietly determined Willow, Buffy looked at her sister Slayer. “Yeah, Faith. Big trouble.” She got up and helped Faith to the couch. “Sorry you didn’t get to sleep. I…I don’t think I’m up for this on my own, you know?”

Still looking pale and wan, Faith nodded. “Gotcha, B. I’m feeling better. Blondie musta got the Slayer healing on line, ‘cause I can tell I’m not aching as much.”

Buffy nodded, watching as Giles and Tara reentered the room. Giles sat across the small room in the armchair while the blonde witch took a position on the floor near his feet.

“OK,” Buffy began, voice quiet but intense, “Adam’s crossed the line. Mom and Giles caught a new report. He killed a little boy and he let himself get photographed.”

“Nice. Did he sign autographs, too?” Faith inquired. She pushed herself into a more upright position. “You got a plan, B?”

Smiling tightly, the blonde Slayer nodded. “I do. It doesn’t have the Wills stamp of approval, though. We need answers, quick. We need to take him out before he has a chance to do anything worse than this murder.”

“Wh-what did you have in mind?” Tara asked quietly. She sat hunched forward, long hair obscuring her face.

Willow answered for Buffy. “Oh, you know, storming the castle, taking no prisoners.” She waved at her computer. “I’ve got a small hook into the system. So far, it hasn’t let me access more than some redundant backup programming, but I think I can use it for a backdoor.”

Four sets of eyes stared at her.

“Oookay. I’m sensing some confusion,” Willow mumbled, thinking hard. “I got into the system, but I can only get to pretty useless places. Maybe there’s a way to use that to build a path into the main program. Does that help?”

The eyes looked a little clearer, but no one jumped in to reassure her.

“Fine! It’s helping, but we need more,” she grumbled. “Giles, Tara, any magical solutions?

The ex-Watcher cleared his throat. “I’m afraid without more information on Adam’s construction, the risk is simply too great.”

Buffy sprang off the couch and crossed the room. “What risk? The risk that that bastard kills again?”

“Buffy!” Willow was shocked at the Slayer’s intensity.

“Hey, before you two throw down or whatever, can we get some info on why this Adam thing let himself get caught on film?” Faith’s eyes were half closed, but she watched the scene in front of her closely. “I mean, I don’t know the whole story, but we met with those soldier boys and I thought the dude was super secret. If he’s been hiding out for so long, why the big show?”

Buffy looked lost. “I don’t…what do you mean?”

Shaking her head in disbelief, Faith explained, “Come on, B. Use your head. The Tin Man’s got a great setup. No one knows where he is or how to stop him. I mean SunnyD folks are real good at ignoring the weird and the fangy. It’s like he went out of his way to find this guy with a camera. If he’s on a killing binge, why not kill the cameraman, too?”

“Bloody hell.” Giles whipped off his glasses and rubbed tired eyes. “That makes far too much sense.”

Willow looked up from her laptop. “Yeah, but now I’m kinda wondering, too. Why?” She typed some commands on the keyboard. “What does Adam have to gain by going public?”

“Dinner’s on if anyone’s interested,” Joyce said quietly. She’d heard the last part of the conversation, and watched the Scoobies mull over their problems. “Xander and Anya are on the way. He said to tell you he’d be careful and make sure they weren’t followed.”

“Sorry, B, but with the new healing and all, I could eat a horse. Can we take a break or talk in the kitchen?” Faith asked. She pushed off the couch, standing straighter than before. “I’m on my way, Mrs. S. Think this time I might be able to do some damage.” She grinned at the older woman.

“Wonderful. I can’t wait to sneak back out and try to get groceries with a lunatic on the loose,” Joyce said dryly. Then she smiled, “There are sandwiches and chips on the counter. Not very exciting, but it should keep you from starving.”

Faith’s slow progress toward the kitchen heralded a change in venue. All the Scoobies trooped into the dark room. A single oil lamp illuminated the impressive stack of sandwiches and bags of chips.

Once everyone had munchies, Buffy started up again, though the edge had dropped from her voice. “Alright, if we don’t go in the front, guns blazing, how do we take Adam out?”

“Do we even know where he’s holed up?” Faith asked around a mouthful of food.

Flushing brightly, Buffy shook her head.

Swallowing, Faith said, “Then it ain’t real important how we beat the Tin Man. First we gotta find him.”

“I can do that,” Tara offered. When everyone looked at her, she dropped her eyes. “He’s already experienced my power signature. We can recreate the spell from last night to try and locate him. Once he’s locked onto me, actively searching, we can lead him where we want him.”

CHAPTER 14

Buffy watched the gang closely after Tara’s announcement. She bounced in place with excess energy, and struggled to keep from simply storming out and getting down to business. As her hazel eyes swept the room, she frowned. Willow was gazing raptly at Tara.

The Slayer noted that Tara was pale, but resolute, when Willow commented, “I’m not sure that’s a good idea, either.”

“It is risky, my dear.” Giles cleaned up the remains of his dinner. “However, it does give us more chances to create a favorable climate. Before we try anything, however, we need to decide exactly what we can do when Adam does arrive. If I understood Buffy correctly, he is a powerful magic user and a fearsome fighter. Are we quite sure even a pair of Slayers will be enough?”

“B? You met this thing. Can we take him?” Faith asked.

Buffy dragged her eyes away from Willow and Tara. Rage simmered just below the surface. No way was Tara going to get between her and Willow. She’d…

“Yo, Earth to Buffy. You with us, or what?” Faith asked sarcastically.

Agitated, Buffy snapped. “I wasn’t ready for Adam then. He took me by surprise. This time we’ll hit hard and fast. Nothing’s ever beaten the Chosen Two.”

“And what all do we got?” Faith twirled on the tall bar stool at the counter. “You and me, the Chosen Two. Red and Blondie with the magic, but I ain’t got a clue what that means. Red’s spells were kinda less than great last time I was around. What can this Adam do? Turn us all into frogs? Or just toast us?”

Only Tara seemed to have an answer to that, and Buffy glared at the blonde witch. “No frogs.” She smiled crookedly. “But the cooking? Probably. When he was tracking me, I felt a lot of energy.” Tucking her hair behind her right ear, she continued, “Most demons aren’t actual witches. They use power instinctively or it is a part of their being. I think Adam’s different. I think he has both types of power, and that makes any magical or mundane attack hard.”

Tara’s voice grated. Why can’t she just shut up already? Buffy jumped up and stalked back and forth in the small space. “So, you’re saying we just keep sitting here?” Her voice echoed through the kitchen.

“Whoa, Buff, you wanna power down a little?” Xander asked. “I think Tara was just trying to make sure we had all the information.”

“I’m tired of just talking, Xan,” Buffy spit out. “When do we get to the doing part?” She took a few quick steps until she stood right in front of the young man. “You just want to sit here, listening to them talk?” Buffy shoved Xander back against the counter. “What good are those soldier memories of yours anyway?”

“Buffy!” Joyce shouted. “That’s enough. What is wrong with you?” She examined her daughter closely, but in the dim lighting, couldn’t see much. “Sit down so we can find a way to deal with this.”

At the rebuke, a rumbling sound tore from Buffy’s throat and she spun to face her mother. “No more talking,” she snarled. The Slayer was actually shaking from the emotions pouring through her.

The room froze.

Finally, Faith slid slowly off the stool, hands held away from her body. “Hey, B? You been spending a lot of time with them soldier boys?” As she talked, the brunette continued to move carefully toward Buffy. “’Cause I’m thinking maybe you got some of that spiked punch meant for your boy toy.”

“I’m fine!” Buffy’s eyes were dilated. “I’m just tired of all the talking. That’s all we do. We sit and talk and the bad guys go on killing.”

Faith didn’t really have an answer to that. She understood the guilt spewing from Buffy. “How many’s he gonna kill if we’re dead, B? We don’t have enough information to go after this thing. I mean, give the girls a little more time, and then I’ll be right there with you when you kick the Tin Man’s ass.”

“I’m not waiting anymore. Get out of my way!” Buffy moved so fast, Faith never stood a chance. The smaller girl grabbed the brunette Slayer, tossing her effortlessly across the kitchen. Bits of plaster exploded from the wall where Faith’s body dented the structure.

Barely stifling a moan, Faith staggered away from the wall and latched on to Buffy’s arm. “Can’t let you go out there, B. Not like this.”

Buffy turned sharply, leveling a wild right at Faith. The brunette Slayer ducked, then stood quickly. She pushed Buffy forward, driving the counter of the island into the smaller girl’s stomach, doubling her over. While Buffy fought to get her feet on the ground and regain some leverage, Faith seized her right wrist, yanking it back and up, lifting until the small hand rested between narrow shoulder blades. “Enough, B,” the brunette panted. “I don’t want to break your arm, but I will if you don’t stop fighting me.”

The blonde Slayer gave once last, furious tug at her arm and lay there, quietly seething.

“Blondie, I think B here needs some of that aura stuff you did to me.” Faith didn’t dare look away from Buffy. The blonde Slayer radiated cage violence.

“I don’t kn-know if I can, Faith,” Tara stuttered. “You gave me permission to get past your shields. If I try with Buffy, it could hurt her.”

Joyce frowned. “I think it’s a risk we need to take. Faith can’t hold Buffy all night. And, what happens if she gets out of the house?” She looked at Giles. “Could she actually hurt a human like this?”

“Well…” he hesitated.

“Guys,” Faith’s voice was strained. “Less talk, more action. B got that part right. You talk way the fuck too much. I can’t do this much longer.”

“Tara,” Willow said in an urgent voice, “can you show me how to get into Buffy’s aura?”

Eyes shadowed, Tara nodded. “You think she’ll let you in?” They danced delicately around the scene on the porch.

“It’s worth a try.” Willow held out her hand to the blonde witch. “If nothing else, I’ll take you in with me. Buffy won’t hurt me.”

Taking Willow’s hand, Tara closed her eyes and bridged her power with the redhead’s OK, she said through the link, you have to let your energy flow through the cracks in her shielding. Once you are inside, pull the energy together and build your astral body. All you need to do from there is look for anything foreign. It will be almost neon and it will feel off, dirty. Tara watched as Willow tried to follow the instructions.

Brow furrowed in concentration, Willow dispersed her energy in a thin blanket, resting it gently over Buffy’s shields. They hardened at her touch, trying to push her away. Thinning the power blanket even more helped some. Willow began to see faint cracks in the translucent shield and let her magic seep into the minute holes. When the first drop of power entered Buffy’s shield, Willow heard her friend moan and saw her surge against Faith. She could sense the Slayer’s pain as Willow’s energy invaded her aura.

Tara’s voice sounded gently in her head, whispering instructions and helping her regain her emotional balance. If you find a drug or external tampering, flush it. Use your energy to clean the channels.

Willow tried to nod her head and then remembered she had no form at this point. Trying again internally she answered, Got it. Can you monitor my progress once I’m inside the shield? She’s fighting me. I don’t want to hurt her, Tara.

No. I don’t think Buffy will let me in at all. Sadness intertwined with the thought. She sees me as a rival.

There was no way to respond to the truth in Tara’s statement. OK. I’ll do my best. Willow turned her attention back to her progress on circumventing the shield. She was halfway there, and the urge to push forward, to force more speed was nearly overwhelming, but she didn’t want to hurt Buffy more by damaging her shield. Grinding her mental teeth, Willow waited. After what seemed an eternity, the last of her essence drained through the cracks. She wasted no time drawing the pooled energy into an astral body and peering around.

Buffy’s aura was wild. Colors fluoresced and altered rapidly, creating a kaleidoscope effect. Something was definitely wrong. Running through the brightly colored landscape, Willow searched for the source of the trouble. A flash of bright orange caught her eye. She changed course and hurried in that direction.

Tara had been right. The almost-angry orange flare felt wrong and it pulsed and flared at odd intervals. As she watched, Willow noticed that each time the orange energy brightened, parts of Buffy’s aura were drawn toward it. Where they touched, the Slayer’s normal emotions were altered. When the foreign substance ebbed, those emotions were released, now the shimmering red of rage.

Willow panicked at the sight. She wasn’t used to expending this much energy. She was weakening too fast, but she had to try moving whatever was affecting Buffy.

She reached back through her link with her physical body, releasing more energy and blasting at the orange mass, forcing it back along the Slayer’s channels. It was exhausting work. Finally, shaking with effort and feeling her astral form ebbing, Willow saw Buffy’s energy paths running clear. No orange anywhere. With a tired sigh, the witch released her ephemeral form and fled back to her body.

The tableau in the kitchen hadn’t changed. Faith still clung to Buffy while the Scoobies watched anxiously. Dragging her eyes open, Willow mumbled, “Any change?”

“Huh? Hell, Red, you were only gone a couple of minutes.” Faith sounded as tired as Willow felt.

“She should be fine.” Willow moved closer on leaden feet. “Buffy? Hey, you still with us?”

Buffy shook her head slightly. When she replied, her voice was faint and slurred with fatigue. “Tired, and I hurt. What the hell did Faith hit me with? My head is killing me.”

With a snort, Faith let go of her sister Slayer’s arm and stepped back. “Think you might wanna take a look at the wall there, B. You got a headache? My whole body hurts after the flying lesson you gave me.”

Standing with difficulty, Buffy asked, “What?” Hazel eyes stared at Faith in confusion.

“Buffy?” Everyone looked at Tara. “Sweetie, what’s the last thing you remember?”

Wrapping her arms around her stomach, the blonde Slayer shrugged slightly. “The thing with Ry at the Bronze.” She frowned. “Things are kinda dreamlike after that. I mean, I remember bits and pieces of things. Did you heal Faith?” She ran a shaking hand through her hair.

“Do you remember coming in from outside and watching the news?” Only Buffy seemed to notice the choked quality to Willow’s voice.

“Will? What’s going on? Why the big questions?” She pushed away from the counter, taking an unsteady step toward the witch. Willow didn’t answer and Buffy grabbed the counter to stay upright. Blinking owlishly, she wiggled her shoulder. “And, what’s the what with Faith trying to rip my shoulder off?”

Giles cleared his throat when Willow seemed unable to answer. “We believe you ingested some of the drug the Initiative was using on Riley’s men.”

“You were acting like Riley at the Bronze. All ‘grrr,’ and,” Willow’s voice cracked, “and stuff.” She raised tear-filled eyes to Buffy. “I cleared it out of your system, though. You should be back to regular Buffy now.”

“Oh.” She looked with wide eyes at the hole in the kitchen wall. “I guess…um…”

Grinning, Faith slapped Buffy on the shoulder. “We’re cool, B. Just don’t be making any smart remarks about the Dark Slayer. ‘Cause I think you just borrowed that title yourself tonight.”

“Yeah, OK.” Buffy was still vague and unsure. “Maybe you guys could fill me in on what I missed after I pass out for a while? I’m really not all with the here and now.”

Stepping forward, Willow took Buffy’s hand and pulled her toward the living room. “I’ll get her settled in one of the rooms, and then we can keep planning.” Fighting to keep her fear in check, the witch guided the blonde into one of the rooms. “Here you go, Buff. You can sleep for a while.” She flashed a forced smile. “I’ll come get you later, OK?”

“Will?” Buffy’s voice stopped Willow in her tracks. “Did I do something earlier?” She gently put a hand on the taller girl’s stiff shoulder.

“You don’t remember?”

“Remember what, Will?” Buffy tried to keep from panicking. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t,” the young witch replied. “We did…we did this.” Willow pressed her lips to Buffy’s quickly, fiercely, before running from the room.

CHAPTER 15

Shaky hand pressed to her lips, Buffy stared wide-eyed as Willow ran from the room. The sharp report of the closing door jerked her back to awareness. Moving automatically to the bed and climbing under the comforter, Buffy didn’t know what to think. Her mind whirled with images she doubted were real. Lips and body tingling from the kiss, she tossed and turned, trying to reconcile what she knew about her best friend and the unexpected emotions flooding her mind. Finally, though, her body simply gave in to its need for rest, and she drifted to sleep…

… “Hey! I didn’t think you’d come,” Willow grinned, showing all her teeth. “I saved you a seat.”

Buffy dropped into the chair with a tired sigh. “Thanks. I don’t think I ever remember the Bronze being so crowded before. What’s going on? Some big frat thing?”

A small hand smacked her on the arm. “No, Buff. When did you get so Forgetful Buffy? I mean, we just talked about this an hour ago.” Worried green eyes peered at her. “You didn’t run in to any vamps on the way here, did you?”

Frowning, Buffy tried to remember. “Um, not that I know of.” She waited a couple of minutes, examining the crowd. “I really don’t know why we’re here, Will.”

“The Dingoes are back in town.” Willow spoke slowly, exaggerating each word and then broke into a manic grin as she continued, “and I think Oz is going to propose.”

Buffy chuckled. “Nice one, Will.” She tossed back some of the drink Willow had gotten for her.

“You…you don’t think he’ll propose?” Willow gazed at Buffy, eyes slowly filling with tears. “We just talked about this and you said of course he would propose.” Her voice turned shrill and picked up volume. “I don’t want to be here if he’s not going to. I mean, big with the awkward and I really want him to-“

“Will, breathe.” Buffy grabbed the frantic redhead by the hand. “I’m sorry. Wow. We really talked about this? Why don’t I remember that?” Anger snaked through her as she absently stroked Willow’s hand.

Willow started to answer when Oz wrapped his arms around her from behind and Buffy’s hazel eyes narrowed at his action. “Hey. If I’d know you were going to be here, sweetie, I’d have dressed up.” His lips twitched in his trademark semi-smile. “Buff. You keeping my girl company?”

“You know me, Oz. Will’s my number one priority.” Buffy smiled, but a headache began to pound behind her eyes as she unwound her fingers from Willow’s.

“Sweet.” Pressing a kiss to his girlfriend’s flushed cheek, he murmured, “You wanna dance, Willow? The next set doesn’t start for a while.” Willow nodded enthusiastically, and they headed to the floor, hand in hand.

Watching them, Buffy rubbed a hand against her temple. The lighting in the Bronze flickered, and then came back on almost immediately. Now everything had an orange cast to it. Buffy shrugged at the suddenly dim club and glanced back to her friends. They made a cute couple, but watching them pulled a growl from deep inside. Unexplained rage burned through her. Confused, angry, and afraid, she jumped from her seat. She had to leave, right now.

Stumbling through the throng of people, cold sweat slicking her skin, Buffy felt the anger pulse and throb. The orange hue deepened. She needed Willow. No way could she make it home alone like this. The vamps would be all over her. Altering course, she shoved people out of her way, desperate to find her friend. Relief temporarily overwhelmed the anger when she spotted the familiar red head. “Will!” she called out urgently.

Oz and Willow didn’t hear her. They were too wrapped up in each other, gazing into each other’s eyes and swaying to the bluesy ballad. Another, louder growl, burst from Buffy’s lips, earning her looks from the couples nearby. Unable to control herself, she grabbed Oz by the back of his shirt, throwing him away from Willow. “Keep your hands off!” Her voice emanated from her chest.

“Buffy! What…Leave Oz alone.” Willow pulled at Buffy’s arm. “Are you OK?”

Spinning around, Buffy stared hard at her friend. Willow was pale, but she wasn’t going away. “He was touching you.”

A hand waved in her face. “Hello! Earth to Buffy. Oz is my boyfriend. That’s allowed; it’s even expected.” Willow frowned. “You don’t look so good. Do you need to sit down?”

Buffy shook her head again. Thoughts jumbled up inside and she couldn’t focus on anything. “No, he can’t…I…”

“Willow, maybe we’d better go.” Oz sidled up to Willow.

It was too much for Buffy. Wrenching Willow out of Oz’s arms, she shoved the redhead behind her and faced off with the musician. “I said to keep your hands off.” The people clustered around them faded. She saw only Oz, and the need to hurt him, kill him roared through her. That need to kill saved the werewolf’s life. Recoiling from Oz, Buffy sprinted for the door, running, fleeing the hate and bloodlust in her veins…

Bolting upright, panting, Buffy stared around the room. Not the Bronze...No Oz…As her heart rate slowly returned to normal, Buffy remembered she was in the safe house. She tossed off the blankets and slid from the bed. She needed to know what was going on.

***

Willow paused just outside the door and scrubbed at her eyes. She couldn’t go into the living room crying. Too many questions, and no possible way to answer them. Trying to take a deep breath hurt. Her stomach churned. Willow dropped her head for just a minute, giving in to the confusion and pain. Buffy didn’t remember. Didn’t remember the kiss at the Bronze, admitting she wanted to try a relationship. A bitter smile twisted Willow’s lips. Not the first time she’d been wrong about love. Xander, Malcolm, Oz…Buffy.

She’d deal later. Now, the Scoobies needed her help with Adam. Forcing reluctant feet to move, she plodded into the living room. “Any news?”

“Well, we have a list of demons Professor Walsh might have used to make Adam,” Xander offered. “Only twenty five names long and still adding more.”

“That seems like a lot,” Willow groused, dropping to the floor next to her old friend. “I can’t believe I couldn’t get the information from the computers.” She sighed, standing back up. “You guys keep up the strategy session. I’m going to set up in the kitchen and keep hacking.”

Giles shook his head. “That seems to be a poor use of your talents, my dear.”

“I’m not exactly an expert in the arcane, Giles,” Willow snapped. Then waving an apologetic hand at the older man, “Sorry. Besides the Great Demon List, what are we looking for?”

No one spoke.

Throwing her hands in the air, Willow half shouted, “This is like the Ascension all over again. We need a better way, guys. I am so not sitting here going through every magical book ever written, hoping something will just jump out at me.” Green eyes snapping, she glared at Tara. “Did you get anything from Adam when you felt him during the spell?”

Flushing at the harsh tone, Tara shook her head rapidly. “N-no.”

“Why not?” At Tara’s confused look, Willow tried again. “Why didn’t you feel anything? He traced your signature, Tara. He had to at least touch you in order to do that.”

“I don’t…I don’t know.” The blonde witch ducked her head, hair cascading in front of her face. “When he re-reached for me, I just pu-pulled back.”

“Perhaps we could recreate the tracking spell?” Giles interrupted quietly. Everyone looked at him and he smiled slightly. “What I mean is, there must be a way to magically allow Tara to experience the situation again.” He looked at Tara. “My dear, without the external distractions, you might be able to tell us more about Adam and his abilities.”

Still looking unsure, Tara nodded. “Mr. Giles, do you have a spell in mind?”

“Well, ah…” Looking sheepish, Giles mumbled, “No.”

“Nice, G-man. Get us all wound up and ready to go, and then tell us you don’t have a fricken clue.” Faith yawned. “You got more spell books for us or can we catch some sleep?”

Xander stood up and stretched. “You must have forgotten, Faith. Scoobies don’t sleep until after the bad guy’s dead.” He held out a hand to the grumpy Slayer. “Come on, let’s take a walk into the kitchen. Drinks for all.”

Two dimples peeked out. “I don’t know, Xan. You aren’t afraid I’ll steal your ‘Doughnut Getting Guy’ title?” Taking his hand, Faith let him pull her off the couch.

“There are two things horribly wrong with that, Faith.” Xander slung an arm around Faith’s shoulders. “One, in your current weakened condition, I might be able to take you. And, two, you so could never be the ‘Doughnut Getting Guy.’”

“I’ll give you number two,” Faith allowed, before reaching out and grabbing Xander around the waist and picking him up. “But number one…not happening.” She dropped him back to the floor.

“Right. OK, good point.” Straightening his clothes, Xander followed a laughing Faith into the kitchen.

Willow watched them go with a small smile. “Tara, do you have any idea where we can look for the spell we need?”

“Not really. It would need to be fairly complex.” Tara shrugged. “It might be simpler to skip the books and try writing one.”

“You know, that didn’t really work out the last time we tried it.” Running a hand through her hair, Willow leaned back into the couch, stretching. “But, it’s a lot more exciting than days of pouring through the spell books.”

“It worked, Willow. We just didn’t expect Adam to fight back.” Tara chewed on her lip. “What if we used Harptos’ Vicis Regeneration as a base and build from there?”

“Isn’t that simply a visual recreation of an event?” Giles unhooked his glasses and cleaned the lenses with a handkerchief.

“Like watching a movie, yeah,” Willow agreed, bouncing slightly where she sat. Faith and Xander came back, laden with drinks, and she absently mumbled a thanks. “So, that gives us the visual; how do we get the full emotional effect as well?”

“Hypnotism?” Xander volunteered. He blushed and grinned when the three magic experts looked at him. “I know. Shut up, Xander.”

“It’s not without merit,” Giles opined.

“Really?” Faith looked dubious. “Wow. Things have so changed. The X-man with an idea.” She moved quickly out of the way when Xander lunged for her.

Tara giggled at their antics, but quickly sobered when both Giles and Willow frowned at the two brunette Scoobies. “If we try hypnotism, how will that help with the recreation?”

Willow scrunched her nose, thinking hard. “It won’t really be hypnotism. We’ll put you into a trance and then trigger the memory.” She looked up at Giles. “If this works, then maybe you guys should do it to me, too. I was right up against Adam, and I borrowed a little of his energy.”

Taking a sip of the tea Xander had handed him, Giles nodded. “Indeed. However, are we quite sure we have enough in the way of planning to even attempt the spell?”

“I’m sure I can do the Vicus spell,” Tara said. She hesitated. “The trance, though… Willow, can you show us how it will work?”

“Sure.” Willow stood up. “If it works the way I think, it’ll be like triggering Xander’s soldier memories. The images will play out for us all to watch, but you’ll actually experience the feelings from the thing with Adam.” Frowning, she looked at the other Scoobies. “But, it may need some fine tuning. Any volunteers to help me out?”

“Count me out,” Faith was quick to say. “No way am I gonna be some kind of lab rat.”

A quiet voice in the corner said, “I’ll do it.”

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