Chapter Text
It was nightfall over Sunnydale. As the full moon rose above the trees, you could hear a voice in the background.
" One night after supper, the lead dog turned up a snowshoe rabbit. The dog lay down low to the race, his body flashing forward, leap by leap," Aurora's voice said.
But it wasn't before long as the voice changed to Willow as she read Call to Wild to the werewolf Oz.
In the library, Willow read the book as she paced in front of the cage where the werewolf Oz was in.
" He was sounding the deeps of his nature and the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the wombs of times. The rabbit could not... " Willow read before werewolf Oz leaped against the cage door as it rattled at her. She jumped back and was startled before saying. "Okay. Um, maybe we should try a less stimulating passage." She flipped through the pages while werewolf Oz growled at her and settled down in the cage.
"Private Harris, reporting for Oz watch," Xander said as he walked into the library carrying a thermos and a couple of magazines while looking tired.
"Xander! Oh, good," Willow replied as she looked up from the book.
"Oh!" Xander yawned before taking the book from her, reading the title, and said. "Call of the Wild. Aren't we reading the cliff notes to this for English?"
"Some of us are," Willow said as she took the book back before saying. "Anyway, it'll help you stay awake. It's good and, and very wolfy." She looked at the werewolf Oz. "Seems to soothe the savage beast." She grabbed Xander's arm and led him away from the cage towards the table before she told him in a quiet tone. "Except for the parts about..." She whispered. "...rabbits."
But Oz still heard what Willow told Xander as he jumped against the cage, loudly banging it before Willow and Xander jumped back and looked at him.
"Rabbits?" Xander questioned as he snagged the book and looked it over.
"It... seems to make him a little overexcited," Willow responded as she took the book back and set it on the table before she continued. "Okay. Now, he's had his 2:00 feeding and, uh, after sunrise, if he forgets where his clothes are, they're on top of the file cabinet in his cage," She pointed to the cage before saying. "I put those towels up for privacy." Before gesturing to towels on the cage.
"Uh, no worries. I can handle the Oz Full Monty," Xander voiced as he smirked before he tried to change his statement. "I mean, not 'handle' handle, like 'hands to flesh' handle."
"Mm, okay. Well, it's not for you. It's for me, 'cause I'm still getting used to half a Monty," Willow returned as she nodded with a lot of nervous gestures.
"Oh. Good," Xander said before realizing and said. "Half? You and Oz? Which half?"
"Wouldn't you like to know? Anyway, he's more manageable tonight and on the third night. Tomorrow night, the total fun moon, that's when he's a real wolfer," Willow said with a big smile before reaching across the table and saying. "But in case there's trouble... there won't be, but if..." She grabbed the dart rifle.
"Sleepy time. Gotcha," Xander replied as he took it from her with his right hand while still holding his things with his left.
"Thanks again for doing this. I would have asked, but I have this test," Willow told him.
"No big. You can count on me," Xander said before looking at his things and continuing. "I got my coffee and magazines. Figure I'd read, maybe run the stars over there a little bit. I'm good." He pointed over to the stairs with the gun while chuckling.
Willow wasn't happy with the way, he was handling the gun before taking it out of his hand while giving him a nervous look and setting it down on the table.
"Bye," Willow said as she gave him a wave and started out before passing werewolf Oz and giving him a wave goodbye too. "Bye."
Oz raised his head and growled as he watched her leave. Xander picked up the book and inspected it before looking at Oz. He decided to make things easy on himself as he climbed onto the table before setting the book down at one end and lying on his stomach, using the book for a pillow. Just as he smiled and settled for a relaxing nap. While inside the cage, Oz let out a loud growl before Xander closed his eyes.
Across town at one of the cemeteries, Buffy, Kate, Kyra, Faith and I were patrolling as they talked.
"Nice place. Do you ever catch kids doing the diddy out here?" Faith asked.
"No. There's a smooching spot up by the woods. That's usually where kids go," Kate answered.
"Yeah? Bet any of you with your boys have been up there kicking the gearshift," Faith voiced with a grin.
Kate, Kyra and I ignored Faith's statement while Buffy answered.
"Hardly. Only been a few dates," Buffy said as she gave her a look.
"But you like him. And when you think about him, you get that..." Faith said as she inhaled. "...good, down-low tickle, right?"
"Yeah, I guess, but..." Buffy said as she smiled before realizing what Faith meant and asked. "How low?"
"You tell me," Faith replied as she broadly grinned.
Kyra and I smirked at that thought.
"How about not?" Buffy responded as she looked around dreamily before she continued. "But he is..." She sighed. "...nice, and he's funny."
"And quite a muffin," Faith returned as she smiled at Buffy.
Buffy smiled back before giving us a look.
"Blueberry. That crunchy, munchy stuff on top. But my most favourite thing so far..." Buffy said as she looked at us before sighing and said. "... is that he doesn't seem to be any kind of Hell Beast."
I understand that Buffy was feeling that way, but Angel, Elijah and Cole are mine, Andy and Klaus are Kyra's, and Leo and Finn are Kate's. While some of them have demoness inside them, they weren't hell Beasts.
"All men are beasts, Buffy," Faith told her.
"Okay, I was hoping to not get that cynical till I was at least forty," Buffy returned.
"It's not cynical. I mean, it's realistic. Every guy from... Manimal down to Mr. I-Love-The-English Patient has a beast in them. And I don't care how sensitive they act. They're all still just in it for the chase," Faith replied.
"Well, with that, let's get back to patrolling because some of us have school in the morning," I voiced.
"Don't be a party pooper," Faith told me.
I ignored her as we continued to patrol. But what we didn't know, a new monster would be attacking the same night.
Across town in the woods, a boy was running through the bushes in a panic. Something was chasing as a creature growled, and heavy breathing could be heard behind him. The boy looked back to check what was chasing him when he tripped on a low branch before rolling on his back and trying to get back to his feet. But the creature jumped on top of the boy before dragging him as he loudly screamed.
Back across town, we were finished with patrol and headed home. We showered before Kate, Kyra, Jeremy, and Buffy headed to bed. After I showered, I dressed in my PJs before heading into the nursery to check on Persephone. I walked into the nursery and over to the crib to see a sleeping Persephone.
"Night, my love. Mama has come back to you safe and sound," I whispered before kissing my two fingers and laying them on her head.
I knelt to Lady as she was laid in front of the crib and scratched her head.
"Thank you for protecting my daughter," I whispered before I headed out of the nursery.
I walked next door to my room before grabbing my journal from my bedside table and opening it before starting to write.
Dear Dairy,
The last couple of weeks has been interesting. We have returned to Sunnydale. We've met more of our soulmates. We also met Kendra's replacement, and I had a vision flash from her. This new Slayer joined the real big bad here in town, but she also helped us defeat a bigger bad years later. I don't trust her around my daughter or even around us. Anyway, the girls and I are around 14-15 weeks pregnant now. Our bellies will be showing it soon enough. I've been slightly more tired than my last pregnancy, but I know that all pregnancies are different. Well, I have to go. I have school in the morning, and I have a feeling something is coming our way, and I want to what this something is.
A*
I closed my journal before setting it on the bedside table next to my clock and placed the pen on top before turning off my light. I turned over, closed my eyes and went to sleep.
Time Skip
It was morning at the Slayer's house. I woke to find a note on my desk from Cole.
Aurora,
Persephone is downstairs with us.
-Cole
I put down the note before getting out my Pjs and laid them on the bed. I placed on clean undergarments before getting into a pink dress and hearing Cole's voice.
"Let me do that," Cole said before he did up the zipper.
I turned around and kissed him passionately before breaking the kiss.
"Morning," I replied before grabbing the shoes for the day.
I put them on before grabbing the light pink jacket that went with the dress and getting into it. Cole helped me with my necklace before handing me my newly spelled bracelet. I put it on my wrist before doing my hair and makeup. I grabbed today's bag and stuffed it with what I needed for the day.
"Time for breakfast," Cole whispered in my ear.
"Let's eat," I replied before we headed out of the room.
When we got downstairs, the boys made breakfast as Sam fed Persephone.
"Morning," I voiced as Cole pulled out a chair before I sat down.
"Morning," Jenna said.
"We're having Apple Cinnamon Waffles," Jeremy told me.
"That smells good," I returned as Cole came over with travel Tumblr.
"Tea just the way you like it," Cole said before handing it to me.
"Thank you," I replied before Elijah placed breakfast in front of me.
I grabbed my fork and knife before cutting into it, taking a bite and moaning in delight.
"Good," Elijah questioned.
"Delicious," I answered before continuing to eat.
The rest of them dug into their breakfast before it was time to go.
After breakfast, we headed to school and found Willow and Oz in the quad before we headed upstairs to the balcony as we talked about last night.
"I don't think that true, that every guy is in it only for the chase," Willow voiced.
"I know. It is an awful generalization," Buffy returned before we heard Buffy's boyfriend's voice.
"Hey, Buffy!" Scott said as we looked over to see him approaching us at a quick pace.
While Willow gave Oz a smile as the rest of us smiled at our soulmates.
"That's what I stopped for, basically. Hey," Scott told her.
"Okay. Hey," Buffy replied as she smiled.
Some of us noticed that two of Scott's friends, Debbie and Pete were approaching us.
"How do, Debbie?" Oz said as he held his hand up in greeting.
I noticed Debbie was holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
"Hi, Oz. Hey, you're not doing jazz band this year?" Debbie questioned.
"Oh, can't take the pressure. It's not the music that's hard. It's the marching," Oz responded.
"We have a marching jazz band?" Kyra questioned as we looked at Oz and Scott.
"Yeah, but, you know, since the best jazz is improvisational, we'd be going off in all directions, banging into floats... Scary," Oz answered.
"He's just being Oz," Willow stated as she smiled.
"Pretty much full-time," Oz returned as he smiled at Willow.
"Those are pretty flowers," Kate said as she noticed the flowers in Debbie's hand.
"I agree," Buffy voiced.
"Thanks. Pete brought them for me." Debbie replied as she smiled at her boyfriend.
"Yeah. Well, I-I'm sure Scott or one of your boyfriends does that kinda thing for you, too," Pete said as he smiled.
Kate, Kyra, Rebekah, Jo and I get little gifts every once in and while, and the boys make breakfast for us. But I know Buffy wasn't at the stage for flowers yet.
"Oh, well, we're not up to flowers," Scott said before turning to Buffy and asking. "Are we? Up to flowers? Did I miss flowers?"
"No. We're pre-posy. Definitely," Buffy reassured him before Scott nodded in relief.
"What time is it?" Buffy asked as she grabbed Scott's arm and saw the time on his watch before saying. "Oh, I have to go see Mr. Platt today."
"Platt? The school counsellor?" Debbie questioned.
"I get to convince him that I'm Little Miss Stable so I can stay in school," Buffy told her.
"Platt creeps me out. I would totally quit going, but I'm flunking senior bio, and my teacher says I have sucess issues," Debbie replied as she giggled.
"Senior bio? I kinda aced that final," Oz stated.
"And how did you do that? Oh, right. You showed up," Willow said as she jibbed.
Oz took Willow's jibes in good nature as he smiled.
"If you want my notes, they're yours," Oz told Debbies.
"Thanks! That'll be great!" Debbie exclaimed as the bell rang.
"We'd better go," Jo voiced.
"I'll see you," Buffy told Scott.
"Yep," Scott replied before kissing her.
Buffy headed to the counsellor while Jo, Jeremy, Scott, his friends and Rebekah headed to class. The rest of us headed to the library.
When we got to the library, Giles, Klaus, Finn, and Elijah read an article in the newspaper while Xander, Jenna and Dean were reading the same article on their phones/laptops.
"We need to recheck every possible exit avenue," Giles voiced as we walked into the library.
"I'm telling you, it's a waste of time. I was here all night," Xander told them as they noticed us in the library.
"Right. It's good to see you. No need to panic," Klaus voiced as he smiled stiffly.
"Just a thought: poker: not your game," Oz told him.
"What's the deal?" Willow asked as we were worried about what was going on.
"Well, the concern is there was a murder last night. A boy from this school was found in the woods," Finn answered as Giles paced before stopping and looking at Xander.
"Which Student?" Kate asked.
"Jeff Orkin," Elijah responded.
"Jeff? He was..." Oz said as he looked at Xander before continuing. "I knew him." As Xander looked at the floor.
"He was mauled. Now, we hate to think it was the work of..." Jenna told them before being interrupted.
"Me," Oz interrupted.
"Wolf you, not you-you," Willow said with concern.
"But it's not. Not wolf you, not you-you. The room was secured, and the gate was locked," Xander voiced as he and Jeremy walked into the cage. "...and the window was unbreakable and..." They looked at the window before we heard. "open!" They pointed at the window as they came out.
"Oh, God," Willow said as she was upset.
Giles, Oz, and Klaus checked out the window while I touched the cage to see if I would get a vision flash. Which I did... I saw a super strong boy but not a werewolf, hurting people, but I couldn't see the faces of the victims or the super boy's face. I knew it wasn't Oz.
"What did you see?" Willow whispered to me.
"It's not a werewolf, I think. It could be something different," I whispered back.
"Tell them," Willow said.
"We need proof it wasn't another werewolf first," I told her.
"Okay," Willow responded before we heard Xander say.
"Not to freak. I rested my eyes now and then. That's all," Xander told us.
The girls and I gave him a betrayed look.
"How long exactly did you close your eyes?" Dean asked as he glared at him.
I could see Oz staring into space as Xander answered Dean's question.
"A little now, uh, a little then. But I never heard Oz leave, and he was here in the morning when I, um..." Xander answered as he tried to find the right words. "when I..."
"WOKE UP!" Giles yelled in anger.
Which made Persephone jump from the anger in Giles's voice before she started to cry. I walked over to her sitting toy and picked her up as I tried to calm her down while Xander spoke.
"You could put it that way if you want to, Mr. Techinal," Xander responded.
"Oh. God," Willow said as Oz walked over to Willow while looking sad.
Willow took Oz's hand as she tried to comfort him while he looked at Giles imploringly.
"Aurora, we have our college slideshows to look at and take notes," Kate voiced.
"Okay," I replied before Elijah took Persephone from me.
Kate, Kyra, Jeremy and I headed into the storage room before we got to work on our college classes.
Across the school campus, inside the school counsellor's office, Buffy opened the door and entered before stepping over to the desk. Mr. Platt was sitting in a chair facing the window as his cigarette smoked between his fingers.
"Two o'clock, Miss Summers," Mr. Platt said.
"Buffy Summers, reporting for sanity," Buffy replied as she smiled before it faded as he still hadn't turned around.
The cigarette continued to smoke before Buffy continued to speak.
"Look... I know that I have to do this, and I-I'll cooperate, and I'll look at your ink blots and everything, but... I don't want to talk about my life or my childhood or... anything for that matter," Buffy continued before she added. "Actually. And, uh... I don't want to be friends."
"We're not gonna be friends," Mr. Platt said as he finally turned around and smiled before continuing. "You have friends already, I hope." He waved at her. "Friends are a good thing." Before taking a drag from his cigarette. "Mm-hm..." He put it out before continuing. "They like you, agree with you, tell you what you wanna hear." He reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a can of deodorizer. "That's not what you need right now. What you need is a trained, not... too crazy professional who will always give you his honest opinion." He took off the top of the aerosol can before spraying it around himself.
Buffy gave him an odd look but said nothing before he continued.
"Which I offer. Have a seat," Mr. Platt said while he looked at her for a moment before gesturing to a chair.
"Not too crazy? Those are your credentials?" Buffy replied as she sat down before he capped the can and put it away.
"Look, Buffy, any person, grownup, shrink," Mr. Platt returned as he got up and walked around the desk before sitting on the desk and continuing to speak. "...pope, any person who claims to be totally sane is either lying or not very bright. I mean, everyone has problems. Everybody has demons, right?"
"Gotta say I'm with you on that," Buffy responded as she averted her eyes and looked at her hands.
"Excellent. So, the I bring you is: demons can be fought," Mr. Platt told her as Buffy looked at him in surprise before he continued. "People can change. You can change. Now. Your turn." He crossed his arms before saying. "Let's start with why you, godsisters and godbrother ran away."
She looked for a moment before fidgeting and leaning back into her chair.
"That's a long story," Buffy replied with a weak smile.
"Mm. Bore me," Mr. Platt returned with a shrug.
"You know, we're really over it and are moving on. We feel good, and I'm finally dating someone," Buffy responded.
"All good things," Mr. Platt said before gesturing widely with his arms. "But still, you're bringing me in at the end of the movie." He inhaled before leaning back.
"My godsister Aurora was dating someone. Uh, it-it ended badly. We got in a fight with my mom, and we... kinda freaked," Buffy awkwardly told him.
"Well, tell me more about this guy. The Bad ending Guy," Mr. Platt responded.
She looked at him for a moment before she let out a breath and looked at her hands again.
"He was my godsisters first love... I loved him like a brother, and then he..." Buffy started to say.
"...changed," Mr. Platt interrupted as she looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah," Buffy replied.
"He got mean," Mr. Platt added.
"Yes," Buffy returned.
"But you and godsister didn't stop loving him," Mr. Platt said.
Buffy stayed silent as she didn't know what to add or how to respond to what Mr. Platt said.
"Look, lots of people lose themselves in love. It's, it's no shame. They write songs about it. The hitch is that you can't say lost. Sooner or later, you... have to get back to yourself," Mr. Platt added.
"And if you can't?" Buffy considered as she thought of Aurora and her other soulmates trying to find a way to bring him back.
"If you can't..." Mr. Platt inhaled before saying. "Well, love becomes your master, and you're just its dog."
Buffy didn't expect to hear it that way. She was glad Aurora wasn't there to hear what was said before they continued their session.
Time Skip Later...
After Buffy's session, we had classes before meeting back at the library as Giles continued to pass.
"I'm afraid to ask," Buffy said as she saw Giles pacing before putting her bag on the table.
"Oz ate someone last night," Cordelia blurted out.
"He did not!" Willow snapped before glaring at her.
"Oz doesn't eat people," Xander said with annoyance as Cordelia rolled her eyes before he continued. "It's more werewolf play. You know, I bat you around a little bit, like a cat toy. I have harmless, wolf fun. Is it Oz's fault that." Oz lowered his head. "You know, side effect, people get cut to ribbons, and maybe then he'll take a little nibble and..." We gave him a look. "I'm not helping, am I?"
I slapped him across the back of his head.
"Ow," Xander said before rubbing his head.
"Idiot," I replied before someone else spoke.
"No. Oz may have gotten out of the cage last night," Giles voiced.
"Or maybe there's another werewolf roaming the woods," Oz suggested before we swung our eyes toward Klaus.
"It wasn't me," Klaus stated.
"Or perhaps it's something else entirely," Elijah said as he had heard what I told Willow from my vision flash.
"It's okay. We'll work together, and we'll figure this out," I voiced.
"Yes. Aurora, Buffy, Kate and Kyra patrol the woods," Finn stated.
"We'll go with them," Jo responded.
Sam, Cole, Dean, Andy and Leo nodded in agreement.
"The rest of you, check out the morgue," Jenna told the others.
"Right! We can see if it's a werewolf kill or not," Willow voiced with hope as she glanced at Oz before saying. "But what about Oz?"
"Um... Well, I have some research materials at home, I need to look at, and I'm sure the others have their own research. Uh... W-w-we could ask Faith to watch over him," Giles responded.
Buffy and I nodded as we looked at Oz.
"What, you're having a Slayer watch me? Oh, good, we're not overreacting," Oz said as he looked at Giles before he got up to leave.
Willow gave us a concerned look before getting up and going after him. We watched as she reached out and touched him on the shoulder before he stopped and turned to face her. Willow tried to give him a reassuring smile before he spoke.
"Okay. Uh, you know that thing where you bail in the middle of an upsetting conversation," Oz said as he inhaled. "I have to do that." He exhaled before speaking again. "It's kinda dramatic, I know, but... sometimes, it's a necessary guy thing."
"And I want you to... do the guy thing, but..." Willow replied before gesturing at the digital clock that was saying 5:34 pm. It was almost sunset.
He looked back at her and the rest of us before he let out a heavy sigh and headed toward the cage. Willow followed him as the door squeaked when he opened it. He got in and pulled it close before it locked with a clang.
"Oz?" Willow said.
"Get away from the cage," Oz voiced as he unwillingly looked at her.
"What?" Willow questioned in confusion.
"It's gonna happen soon," Oz responded as he still wasn't looking at her.
Willow still didn't move from her spot.
"Get away from me," Oz told her as he turned his back away from her.
Kate, Kyra, Buffy and I rushed to Willow to comfort her before we headed to our separate jobs.
After we left the library, we dropped Jenna, Elijah, and Persephone off at the house and went to change for patrol. Kyra gave Jo an outfit to wear for patrolling tonight. I gave Jo her own personalized spelled silver stake like the rest of ours after I had gotten dressed and kissed Persephone goodbye as she ate her dinner. Now we were in the wood as the night set over Sunnydale. I could feel something watching us.
"Aurora, what is it?" Kate asked.
"I can feel something watching us," I answered as we heard something.
We raised our stakes as a figure dashed by as we saw it. We ran after it through the bushes. We stopped in our tracks as we got a look at the figure that came straight for me. We stared at the man in disbelief. We were unsure of what we were seeing as he rushed me and knocked me down. Cole came running over as I looked up. I gasped as he stopped and looked back at us. It was Angel as he growled and snarled at us. We noticed blood around his mouth, but his face was human, not his vampire's face.
"Angel," I whispered as we stared at him in complete surprise.
Angel continued to growl at us as he charged as Cole helped me. Buffy grabbed him and threw him to the ground, but fell under his weight. Angel rolled to a stop before crawling back to me as Buffy got back up. I flipped him over and onto his back before he regained his footing. I punched him before he spun around and delivered a solid backhand punch to my face knocking me down into Cole's arms. Angel tried to jump on me, but I used the leverage and sent him onto his back again. He twisted his body, reached over and tried to punch me in the gut, but I quickly rolled away and got into a standing position. I did a full spinning low hook kick, hitting him in the head as he tried to stand. He slumped down on all fours, and as he looked at me, I punched him solidly in the face, making him slump to the ground, badly beaten. After a few breaths, his body relaxes as he lost consciousness.
"Aurora, are you okay?" Buffy asked as she came over to me.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied as I couldn't believe he was in front of me after all this time.
I felt a tear go down my face as I was happy for his return to us. I worried about what the hell dimension had done to him.
"Where do we take him?" Sam asked.
"The Manor," Cole answered as we grabbed his arm or leg and shimmered/orbed away to the manor with Angel.
Across town at the morgue, the rest of the Scooby gang walked into the morgue with flashlights. Willow found the right drawer before opening the door and pulling the drawer out. She pulled the plastic sheet off Jeff Orkin's face before pulling her metal Scooby-doo lunch box out of her bag and placing it on the body's chest. She opened it as Xander approached her with Jeremy and Kol. Willow pulled out a plastic bag and a pair of tweezers as Xander, Jeremy and Kol reached her.
"Oh, God," Xander said as he looked at the body and nearly vomited.
"Don't throw up on me," Jeremy voiced as Xander bent over and tried to hold back the vomit.
"Here. Hold this," Willow told Jeremy before handing him her flashlight.
Jeremy held it as Willow tried to adjust his arm as she would an unruly desk lamp. Willow took Jeff's hand and tried to look at his fingers as Xander spun around and shined the flashlight into Cordelia's face.
"Aahh!" Xander screamed.
"God!" Cordelia exclaimed as Willow pulled at Xander's hand to get a closer look at what she was looking at.
"We're doing crime here. You don't sneak up during crime," Xander told Cordelia.
"God, have a..." Cordelia said before getting a look at the mauled body. "Okay!" She covered her face. "Scarred for life! Oh, God!"
Willow calmly went about getting samples as Jeremy and Kol helped her.
"Willow, Kol, Jeremy, how can you stand it?" Cordelia asked.
"Yeah. I mean, this guy is pretty barf-worthy. Can't we be elsewhere? Like, you know, is Oz cleared or what, huh?" Xander questioned.
Willow finished with Jeff's hand before placing it back under the plastic and moved on to inspect the rest of the body as Jeremy followed with his flashlight.
"I'm not sure. I mean, there are a lot of incised wounds, but they could be from anything," Willow responded.
"Yeah, bears, actual wolves and other creatures," Kol voiced.
"Anything with big, sharp teeth and vicious..." Cordelia started to say.
"Do you wanna go back to the car and wait?" Xander interrupted.
Willow started to pick at Jeff's chest with tweezers as she looked for more evidence.
"No. God. I'm just saying..." Cordelia voiced as she was taken aback by Xander's words and stared at him.
"Almost done. Let me just get a few stray hairs from the body. They could be from the attacker," Willow stated as Cordelia held her nose against the stench.
"Great. So we got everything we need?" Jeremy asked.
"Yep. That's it," Willow replied as she dropped the tweezers and fainted against Jeremy before he caught her.
"Oh!" Cordelia exclaimed.
"Okay. Uh... little too much excitement for the Wilster here," Xander stated.
Jeremy steadied Willow's head against his chest as he held her.
"Doesn't look good for Oz, does it?" Jeremy questioned.
"It really doesn't," Cordelia answered as they looked at the body. "This guy was ripped apart by a big wild animal."
"Let's get out here and test the samples," Kol voiced as Jeremy picked Willow up in his arms before Kol put the tweezers and bag back into her side bag.
They headed out of the morgue.
Across town at the manor, we had arrived, and the rest of our group kept Angel on the ground as I found Drusilla's leftover trunk before knocking her dolls off it. I opened the lid and dumped the contents onto the floor until I found the heavy chain and shackles. Cole took them from me before throwing one end over an iron bracket that held up the high marble fireplace mantel. Sam locked shackles around Angel's wrists. We all stepped back as Angel laid unconscious on the floor with one arm held high by the chain before he woke and got to his knees. Angel lashed out at us as we jumped back in time. We watched as he leaned against his bonds and growled at us before he crouched down and cowered like a trapped animal with nowhere to go. I walked around him and stopped when I noticed the silhouette of Angel on the floor surrounded by scorch marks from the intense light. Angel continued to growl and struggle with the chain before Cole, Sam and I looked over and cringed as we hated seeing him like this. I knelt by the silhouette to get a closer look at it as Angel tried to make another grab for me, but I jerked back against Cole's legs. I looked down at the scorch marks and winced at the sound of Angel struggling behind us. He eventually stopped and slumped to the ground with one arm raised high by the chain.
"Come on, let's go outside," Cole said as he and Sam helped me up from the ground.
We headed outside.
When we got outside the manor, we stopped and paused for a minute before anyone talked.
"What's the plan?" Dean asked.
"So, you don't want to kill him?" Kyra questioned as we knew of Sam, Dean and Jo's hunter parents who kill every monster that is trouble.
"No, he's one of Sam's fellow mates, and we don't kill family," Jo voiced.
"Okay. Buffy and I are going to the library to research how he may come back from the hell dimension. The rest of you head to our home to protect Persephone and get some sleep," I told them.
"Okay," Cole said before kissing me goodnight.
Sam followed suit before they headed off to our home.
"Let's go," Buffy said as we headed away from the manor and towards the high school.
When we got to the library, werewolf Oz was growling in his cage as Faith was obvious to us coming into the library. She was listening to music on an mp3 player. Buffy tapped her on her shoulder before Faith spun around and backhanded Buffy in the face.
"Oh!" Buffy reacted as she stumbled and steadied herself against the card catalogue.
"Oh! Uh, Buffy, Aurora! Are you okay? What are you doing here?" Faith asked.
"Uh, bleeding internally, but I'll live," Buffy said as she held her jaw.
"God, I'm sorry," Faith replied as she shrugged with her mp3 player. "I guess I didn't hear you."
"Figured as much. Uh... Actually, we came to give you the rest of the night off," I told her.
"Get out of jail free, huh? How come?" Faith asked.
"Couldn't sleep. Figured I'd, uh, cram for my french test, and Aurora had some college work to get done," Buffy said as she shrugged her jacket off.
"That's cool. I was going kinda crazy in here, but I can get in a few staking before sunrise," Faith said before she handed me the keys to the cage.
"Knock yourself out. Not literally, though," Buffy replied as we followed her gaze.
"Yeah. Later," Faith stated before she headed out the door.
We looked at Oz for a moment before I headed to the computer while Buffy went to the card catalogue to find the books we needed for our search. It didn't take long before we found the books and started to read.