FanFiction Archive

Bonds of Soul and Demon - Under Cover of Darkness

The night was dark. Thick clouds promising rain for the dry earth had almost wholly obscured the full moon. It was a night full of tension, and the perfect night for things to go hunting for prey. Minions scoured the area, hoping to find some unwary soul that had gone out into the night. The Slayer patrolled the cemeteries, hoping to find the newly risen and the foolish vampires that loitered in the graveyards for their new kin to awaken.

Spike had sent some of his minions to investigate the other vampires of Sunnydale. He wanted a more unified town, with less division of forces, less chance of some idiot ruining his plans. He was still in the wheelchair, healing slowly from the wounds inflicted by his confrontation with the pair of slayers whom interrupting the ritual that had restored Dru's strenghth. Angelus was helping him, letting Spike feed from his blood. This gave Spike more nourishment, while helping him to heal faster. As an added bonus to his sire, it also reinforced his loyalty to Angelus.

The only one unhappy was Dru. Her daddy had returned, no longer burdened and flattened by the nasty soul, free of the blonde slayer. But he didn't want to spend very much time with his princess... he didn't have time to play the delightful games they had in the past. He was busy planning with Spike, or talking about his tree. There was no fun from Daddy this time.

It was near midnight when Sarah, one of the more cunning minions returned. She had left that evening with a group of minions, all intent on going hunting. She was alone now, and something had torn the sleeve of her shirt.

"Sarah, what happened to your sleeve? Should I assume the rest of the boys aren't coming back? The Slayer perhaps?" Spike looked at the minion, expecting answers.

"M-Master Spike. The others won't be back, but it wasn't the Slayer. We were hunting near the Bronze and there was this... a large hairy beast. It attacked Paul, and the rest tried to jump in and take it... the beast won. It was about so high," she gestured at a few inches above Angelus. "It had a long muzzle with sharp teeth, and reddish fur over it's body. Whatever it was, it had a nasty temper and fought very well."

In the forest outside Sunnydale, the large beast that had decimated the minions crouched over the body of his kill. This prey had not fallen to dust under his claws. He began to feed under the light of the moon.

~

As the sun rose in the sky, bringing light to the streets of Sunnydale, a dark sport utility vehicle, a near match for the dark mud in the area, drove into town. The driver was dressed mostly in camoflage, and had the look of an obsessive hunter. His face was permanently pulled into a distrustful scowl. The residents of Sunnydale gave him a wide space, not wanting to draw near him. This was a dangerous man. It was also clear that he was hunting for something.

As the day progressed, a small group of teens found themselves in the school library, searching through thick books of demons and other dreadful creatures. Something had killed and partially devoured a deer last night, and the carcass had been found. It was officially being classified as a mutilation, and was under investigation. They didn't expect much from the Sunnydale police. They were also certain that whatever had done that to the deer was not a random human criminal. If it was human, there was probably a sinister purpose. There was also the chance that the killer had not been human.

They wanted to be prepared for whatever had done this, because this small group stood against the forces of darkness that sought to cause chaos and destruction in the Californian town. Rupert Giles often despaired of the world's future. The group had originally been Buffy, Xander and Willow. Recently, Cordelia had started helping on occasion, and now Oz, a musician, had been drawn into their group.

Willow was a bit worried about Oz. She had always thought he was cute, and he had this mysterious quiet thing going. But, he seemed a bit out off today, like something was wrong. He acted like he hadn't slept well, and he had a few nasty looking scratches on his arms, and one on his cheek. Xander had asked where they had come from, but Oz had merely shrugged. Oz ws cute, and Willow thought that he just might be interested in her, and was concerned for him. Sunnydale wasn't safe, and it didn't help if you were tired and cranky.

Eventually, Xander went forth, saying that he was going for food. Everyone knew that while he was undoubtably hungry, and would return with food for all of them, Xander was really hoping to avoid the books for a bit. Cordelia had also left, claiming that she had cheerleading practice.

Their search had been going badly, so they had decided to start looking for factors that could give them a direction to search in. They had established the fact that the moon had been full. There were no particularly signifigant astrological allignments, nor did it seem that last night was any particular special day. It wasn't anybody's feast day, or nasty saint day. Their search was going nowhere.

Xander returned with subs and doughnuts, mentioning there was a creepy vehicle in town. He had noted the out of state lisence plate, as well as having a description of it. Eager to do someting that would give results, Willow started checking out the lisence plate, trying to establish who the plate belonged to.

"Guys? The plates are listed as belonging to a person named Markus Caine, and he's supposed to be a sporting goods distributer. There isn't any reason according to his official records why he would be here. The guy has no living relatives." Willow's voice was calm, confident in her information.

Buffy had a few questions. "Is the guy sunlight friendly? Can we be sure that he's human? Anyone know when this guy got into town?"

Willow answered a few. "The actual Markus Caine is indeed sunlight friendly as of this past June when he had to renew his driver's lisence. No signs that he isn't human, but that isn't a guarantee. I also have no way of checking how long this guys been here or if the person with the SUV is the actual Markus Caine. Just because the thing belongs to Mr. Caine doesn't mean he's driving it."

Willow considered things a moment. "It's possible that with a story of being a sporting goods distributer, he might be some sort of hunter or... for all we know he could be out in the world hunting nasty things. I think we should definately get more information before we do anything."

"Yes, that is a very sensible point, Willow. The mere fact that his arrival is close in time to the mutilation of the deer does not automatically connect him to the event. As for the other.. If he is some sort of rouge hunter of monsters, he could be dangerous, to himself or to others. I do suggest we continue our research."

Several hours later, after still not finding a positive identification for whatever had been hunting in the woods, Giles let the teens go, aware that they had other things to worry about on a Saturday night other than search old books.

Willow didn't feel like going to the Bronze, watching everyone else dance as she hoped that someone would notice her. She had always wanted that someone to be Xander, now ...Oz could be interesting as well. There was also the question of who had left her the flowers in her room. She intended to give the pendant a closer inspection.

Buffy and Xander were both going to the Bronze, intending to dance and enjoy the weekend. Xander was trying to sort out his feelings. He had been attracted to Buffy since the moment he first saw her. Now, he had some strange thing with Cordelia... they would argue, she would insult him. He was certain that she drove him crazy, and then they would be kissing as if their lives depended on it. She was a really great kisser too...

Xander was disturbed from his thoughts of blond or brunette by the large hairy thing that leapt growling onto the stage. It has tall, covered with shaggy brown fur, and had a muzzle full of sharp teeth. The thing looked like a werewolf out of a horror comic, actually. It then got through Xander's brain, and everyone else's that this thing was here, growling, and possibly planning to eat someone.

People started to shriek and panic, and there was a frantic rush for the exits. Meanwhile, the werewolf on the stage was growling, apparently having difficulty deciding on a target. Buffy stood her ground, ready to fight the furred beast. Xander also noticed a shadowy figure to the side of the stage, a figure raising something shaped like...

"He's got a gun!" Xander had to warn Buffy.

~

Willow was in her room examining the necklace her admirer had left. The scent of flowers filled the air, also gifts from the same unknown person. The chain was gold, fairly sturdy in construction. She figured that if there was a special signifigance to her gift, it was in the pendant. That was why she had a piece of paper ready for notes. She intended to try to make certain there were no hidden magical booby-traps on this pretty item.

She had carefully sketched the pendant, tracing around so that there would be the actual size available. Willow also carefully copied the inscription on the back, thinking that there could be something important in the inscription. Willow couldn't read latin, but she was fairly certain that 'Aurelius' was a name, possibly of a place or person. The inscription had that in it, and she figured that if she could learn who or what this Aurelius was, it might give her a clue about the pendant.

The base in which the black stone had been set was a bit thick, and looked as if it might have originally been intended to hold something, like a locket. A very careful inspection and test found the hinge and catch, but it refused to open at her gentle tug. Maybe it was safer to leave it shut for now.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Xander had their hands full at the Bronze. Not only was there a real werewolf in the club, but there was a man with a gun, trying to shoot the werewolf. He was a bit hampered by the fact that he was trying not to hit Buffy, who had jumped onto the werewolf's back, looping a length of chain around the werewolf's neck. The werewolf, snarling and growling, was trying to throw Buffy off.

Eventually, the werewolf managed a particularly forceful twist, and Buffy was sent flying into a table. With a parting snarl, the werewolf bolted out the door, vanishing into the night.

"You stupid kids! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to attack a werewolf unarmed? You're lucky that it didn't rip your arm off!" The man with the gun was clearly furious. "How am I supposed to shoot it with you jumping in the way anyhow?"

Xander was helping Buffy to her feet, mostly to give himself something to do. "Let me guess... you're Markus Caine. You hunt werewolves, am I right?"

The stranger glared at them. "Yes. You have any idea what price a werewolf pelt would bring in Tibet?" He lowered his weapon, still frowning. "Now it's going to go kill someone, all because you wouldn't let me shoot the beast. It's not some nice endangered species like a spotted owl. That beast is a ravening, vicious animal that needs to be killed."

Needless to say, no-one was happy as they left the Bronze. The hunter's words were still echoing in Buffy and Xander's ears...'going to go kill someone'.

"Well, this should make it easier to look up what we're dealing with anyhow." Whispered Xander, trying to find a bright side to the situation.

~

Willow was already in the library, searching through a volume on cursed jewelry. The paper with the sketch of her pendant was folded in her pocket. It was very considerate of whoever had put this volume together to include drawings of the jewelry as well as descriptions. So far, she hadn't found anything that looked like her present. Hopefully, that would continue. She didn't want the present to be some sort of dreadful curse.

There were a few other books that she intended to look through after this one. One was about magical talismans, another about enchanted jewelry, which was not the same as cursed. That had things like rings to make you invisible, amulets of protection, and other powerful items. She intended to be cautious about her present. No one had ever given her anything like this before. And the fact that it was beautiful did not mean that it wasn't dangerous.

Her efforts were interrupted by a call from Giles to help research on werewolves. Apparently, Buffy and Xander had seen one in the Bronze last night, and they needed to see what they could find about werewolves and how to stop them. Willow had the feeling that they would be in for a long day of checking numerous books to find a few scraps of new information. She idely wondered if there would be some way to conrol the change with an incantation or something, or if the only options were to slay or trap the werewolf. Weren't they human most of the time? How would they know who the werewolf was?

That very point was brought up, and discussed at length. She noticed that Oz seemed really quiet. She wasn't positive, but Willow suspected that something was bothering him. He seemed a bit twitchy today. Xander suspected that the big bad werewolf was Larry, so he decide that he would go and talk to him, reasoning that his hyena possession would give him some common ground.

Willow frowned as she looked over one of the passages on werewolves. It was explaining how even the mildest person could change at the moon's pull, becoming a savage beast. That implied that you couldn't always tell by how someone acted during the day.... If that was so, Larry might not be the wolf. What if they missed the wolf because they were to busy focusing on Larry?

The only other interesting thing that Willow had found was in an old book that mentioned how Werewolves interacted with other creatures. Most werewolves showed little of their human intelligence while in their changed state, so they reacted to most demons as a predator would react to a threat to their territory. They ignored the various non physical entities. Vampires were a bit more varied. They actively attacked minions and fledgelings, but seldom, if ever challenged a master vampire. It seemed that the powerful vampires either had some sort of control over werewolves or were considered as an alpha male, a powerful figure not to be challenged.

"Maybe Buffy should check with Willy to see if any vampires have been loosing their minions to a large hairy monster?" Willow's suggestion got lost in the discussion of how to restrain the werewolf.

~

Willow had helped figure out a formula of tranquilizers that should be effective against a werewolf. The plan was to find the werewolf, shoot him with a tranquilizer dart, then lock the unconscious wolf in the bookcage in the library where Giles kept the weapons and see who was there in the morning. It was hardly the safest plan they had ever made. They also had to find the werewolf before the hunter did, or else the werewolf would be killed, and the pelt sold in Tibet. Ick, and a painful death.

They had all gone home to get ready for the night's coming difficulties. She had decided to go by Oz's house after getting ready. Maybe they could talk...

She had gone inside, wanting to talk to Oz. He was there, but seemed very skittish, like he wanted her to go away. She felt a bit hurt, and very confused. What could be wrong? Why did she hear something rattling behind the couch? Then, something wierd happend to his eyes, and his jaw started to stretch. He reached towards her with a hand growing furrier, his nails, still showing traces of dark green polish, had started to get longer, reshaping into sharp talons.

"Willow, RUN!" His voice had shifted deeper, with a resonance to it like a growl.

In pure terror, Willow turned and bolted from the house. Oz was the werewolf. If she couldn't get away, Oz would eat her and not realize it until morning, if then. She ran, managing to go over a tall wooden fence. She heard a dull thump, like a solid body hitting the fence behind her. She ran faster, hoping that she didn't run into any vampires. Willow was barely registering the buildings she passed, and had the odd impression as she passed an alley that there had been a man in there, tall with dark hair. She ran, hoping to find Buffy.

Angelus had just finished feeding. Some foolish mortal had tried to rob him, wanting to take his wallet. He had held out his wallet, and siezed the would be mugger when he got close, draining him. About to leave the alley, he heard footsteps along the street. Light weight, a woman or child, moving in a hurry. Willow sprinted past the alley, her face pale with fear.

Willow! She was running from something. He would just have to see what was after his redhead. He stepped out of the alley, looking to see what was following her. He hadn't expected to see a werewolf. The creature skidded to a halt, growling slightly. Angelus growled back, certain that this was what Willow had been fleeing. His eyes went golden, and he showed his fangs at the creature.

"She's mine, wolf. You can't have her. Go somewhere else." He meant every word, fully intending to maim or kill this wolf to prevent him from hurting Willow.

Growling softly, the wolf lowered it head slightly. It paused a moment, as if debating what to do next then backed away slowly, growling the whole time. After it had gotten a bit of space, it turned and moved off towards the woods. It had decided that it didn't want to challenge him over Willow.

Shortly after that, Willow found Buffy and Xander across town. Xander was firmly certain that Larry wasn't the wolf, although he wouldn't tell Buffy why.

"Hey Wills, what's the hurry and what happened to..." Xander started to ask Willow some questions.

"Oz. Wolf." Willow was gasping for breath after her run. "He was in his house... I wanted to talk... he changed."

~

Willow watched, quiet and full of too many thoughts as Buffy had found the Oz-Wolf. Buffy had shot him with the tranquilizer, and then defended him from the cold hearted werewolf hunter, bending his gun and sending him away from Sunnydale. They had then towed the tranquilized Oz-Wolf to the school, and locked him up. Willow had left Giles and Buffy to debate Oz-watching, and had gone home. It had been an exhausting night.

When she let herself into her room, she discovered that her admirer had left her another gift. There was a leatherbound book of poetry, and a brand new pair of running shoes. They were dark grey with navy blue trim, and her size. Trying them on, she found them rather comfortable. She took them back off, and promised herself that she would look at the poetry in the morning. She set it on the corner of he bed, over the pendant, and placed the stuffed frog that Xander had given her on top of it.

Her dreams were dark, full of whispers and symbolism, and she could barely remember anything of them when she woke up. The only fragment that was clear was that she was certain that she had been standing beside the Master on a slight hill, looking over a small farming village under a crescent moon. They had been talking about something that she could almost remember. In the dream, she had felt no fear, no danger from the powerful vampire.

She went to school, wearing her new shoes and a tie dyed blue shirt. She hoped that they could come up with some answers to the werewolf issue. Things had to be safer now that the hunter was gone, right?

She learned that Giles had a long talk with Oz, explaining about lunar influences. They had decided that as long as they locked him up during his moon nights, he shouldn't be a danger to the general population of Sunnydale. Willow had tried to ask him if he was maybe interested in coffee or something some time. Oz had smiled, and told her she was quite the human. Then he frowned, as if remembering something.

"Willow, I nearly killed you last night. I mean, it was wolf me, but you still could have been hurt. It would be much to dangerous for you to try, well, me. I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt you, even by accident." Oz tried to break the news gently, and didn't mention the fuzzy memory of golden eyes and growls. He was certain that something important had happened last night while he was changed, but the only thing he was clear about was that it would be much to dangerous for Willow to get involved with him.

Willow sat by the fountain, watching as Oz walked away from her. She felt very alone right then. Slowly, she went home, and began to read the volume of poetry her admirer had given her. It was poetry of intense emotions, poems of pain, loss, hope, joy, love and longing. Each poem spoke to her on an emotional level.

Folded carefully and placed inside the book at apparently random intervals were pictures. They were drawn on thick paper. And some of them were scenes from nature, a waterfall, some flowers. Others were drawings of her. Her face, laughing, or looking sad and alone. There was even one of her, drawn while she was asleep. They were all amazingly well drawn, excellent examples of art, and they all had a single letter A in the corner.

The implications were a bit less cheerful. The artist had to have seen her to make these pictures. Somebody was watching her, and drawing pictures of her. That was a bit creepy... what if he was dangerous? What did the A stand for anyhow?

~

Willow was feeling awkwardly out of place. She had never been completely comfortable in life, having felt like she never quite fit in. But she had had Jesse and Xander in the past. As time had passed, she had found herself cast as the smart one, the person that you talked to when you needed to pass a test, the emergency study system. Everyone in school knew her as the smart person, the study buddy to pull you through in a tight spot.

Nobody had ever looked at her as Willow, the desirable girlfriend. She had longed for Xander to open his eyes, and see that she was there, that she cared for him. But he never noticed, and her feelings for Xander were starting to dwindle, starved out of being. Oz had noticed her, and they could have had something, except that his wolfieness had stopped that before anything could even start.

But now, she had someone. There was someone that gave her flowers. Someone that had left her poetry, and a lovely necklace. He was someone that wanted her, desired her as a passionate young woman instead of a study buddy, or someone to talk about things. The idea left her confused, nervous and pleased and a bit afraid. Someone wanted her.

Moloch had wanted her, or thought he had. He had sent her emails, talking to her, pretending to be her friend. She was certain that this admirer was real, that he was here in Sunnydale. She was less certain about whether he was safe. Her admirer was here, but that didn't mean that he was a nice guy, or even a human. She had concerns over this admirer - what did he want from her? Did he want her to be his loveslave, chained to his bed and prey to his every whim? The idea made Willow turn crimson. Was he some sort of serial killer, trying to win her trust so that he could carry her off and leave her body somewhere?

What if he was something other than human? What would he want from her? Could she be the target of some sort of devious game? Did something want her to be the mother of a horde of demonic offspring? Or maybe, just maybe, someone wanted to woo her, to win her heart and was for some reason reluctant to talk to her face to face?

Willow sat down to think, wondering what she would do if her admirer wasn't human. She looked at the lovely flowers, the book of passionate poetry that had the pictures of her tucked inside. She ran her fingers over the pendant, her fingers playing over the sharp rays of the sun. She barely noticed as the sharp edges drew the faintest hint of blood, didn't notice as the blood fell on the stone and soaked into it.

It hadn't mattered to Willow that Oz was a werewolf. Well, other than the whole get away before he eats me thing. When he had his right mind, it hadn't bothered her. She wasn't worried by the fact that Oz was different, although Oz was. Therefore, it seemed logical to her that it shouldn't matter if her admirer were quite human, as long as he didn't plan to hurt her.

Across town, Angelus sat thinking. He hoped the werewolf would remember his warning, would remember to stay away from Willow. The redhead would be his, he didn't want her mauled by some werewolf. It would be terrible to see her pale skin torn by some unthinking beast. No, any pain that Willow suffered from would be very carefully inflicted, and for something other than the hunger of a beast. He could almost see her, tied to his bed, trembling in anticipation...

He had to consider what his next gift to her would be. Maybe some clothing, something that would look better on her than those things she wore to hide from the world. She would look radiant in silk or velvet, deep jewel tones to bring out the fire in her hair, accent the soft perfection of her pale skin. Nothing too revealing, nothing that depended on exposing too much of her skin. She needed to find confidence in herself, that called for things that she would be willing to wear. Things that wouldn't frighten her, but would show her beauty. Yes, some lovely things in silk, he had seen how the nightgown had flattered her. Oh yes, dressing his fiery beauty would be a pleasure indeed.

On to 'Secrets Revealed'

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