By Tracy
Author's Notes: Thanks to Laura, Amy and Serendipity, who inspire me more than they'll ever know. Thanks also to Annie, who volunteered to beta this for me. This fic is dedicated to everyone who sent me feedback for Tunnel Vision. You guys keep reading, and I'll keep writing. Deal?
Part Two
Buffy snapped the shackles onto Oz's wrists while he sat cross-legged in the middle of the cage, clad only in a pair of track pants. "Are your parents going to be home tonight?"Oz shook his head. "Nah. They're protesting some new censorship bill in Washington this week."
"What – what did they say when you told them you wanted to build a cage?" Giles asked.
"Not much. They'd rather know I'm here than out eating somebody."
Buffy tested the chains against the wall and stepped out of the cage. "Looks good," she said to Giles. They discreetly wandered a few feet away as Willow entered the cage.
Willow sat down in front of Oz, leaning into him until their foreheads were pressed together. "You okay?"
He nodded. "Pretty good, all things considered. It's close." His eyes closed and he began to pant a little. "You'd .. better.. go. Love… you, you know."
"I love you, too." She backed away, planting a light kiss on his cheek as she backed out of the cage. Giles closed the door and locked it.
Willow turned away as the whimpers began, her eyes filling with unbidden tears. Buffy reached out and gathered her close, rocking her as the noises increased and Willow's tears freed themselves from the confines of her eyes. Oz's sharp howl of pain split the air around them, mixing with the sound of stretching bone, causing Willow to cling to the Slayer. "I hate the first night," she whispered.
*** Willow sat on the couch they'd transported into the basement, gazing at Oz, who paced restlessly. The tranquilizer gun lay across her lap. He'd taken several runs at the walls of the cage, always to be jerked back by the chains at his wrists. It was a little after eleven. Only six and half more hours to go. Giles and Buffy sat at a nearby table, playing cards. Every now and then, one or both of them would glance worriedly at the werewolf across the room and then at the redhead on the couch. There was entirely too much tension in the room tonight. Finally, Buffy stretched and stood. Giles checked his watch and sighed.
"We should go patrol for a little while," he announced. "Vampires don't take full moon nights off."
Willow nodded, and then flinched as Oz tried to throw himself against the metal of the cage yet again.
"He's cagey tonight, no pun intended," Buffy observed.
"Yeah," Willow agreed softly. "I think I'm going to have to shoot him before the night's out."
"Will, the chains are tight. He just needs to get used to the new place."
She nodded in agreement, her eyes never leaving the werewolf.
Buffy squatted down beside her. "I'll call Xander and get him over here early, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Willow answered hollowly, and Buffy had to wonder if Willow had even heard her.
Giles began gathering up the few bags of tools he'd brought while Buffy placed the call. His eyes traveled the length of the cage, checking the places where the chains were anchored to the wall. They still hadn't budged. "Buffy's right, Willow, Oz just needs to become comfortable in his new locale."
She let out a long breath and broke her gaze from her boyfriend to the Watcher. "I know. But he's so violent tonight. He's never tried to hit the cage so hard before."
"Perhaps he'll tire himself out faster," Giles suggested.
"Maybe I should feed him early," Willow mused.
"Xander'll be here in ten, Will," Buffy declared, bounding down the stairs. She shouldered her bag of Slayer gear and reached over to hug the redhead lightly. "You'll be okay?"
Willow patted the gun on her lap confidently. "I'll be fine."
Buffy smiled, following Giles to the stairs. "We'll be back in the morning." She shook her finger at Willow mockingly. "No wild parties. Werewolves excepted."
Willow offered her a weak smile and waved as she disappeared up the stairs.
*** The room was quiet for a few moments as Willow watched Oz watch her. He paced in an unsettled manner, growling softly at the confines he found himself in. She held her breath as she saw him prepare to make another jump for the metal bars of the cage, wincing when he yelped as the chains brought him up short yet again.
She stood, and made her way over to the cooler, still holding the gun. She propped it up against the wall in easy reach and opened the cooler to remove the raw meat. She dropped it and clamped her hands over her ears as Oz howled loudly behind her.
She spun around, reaching for the gun in horror as she watched him begin to thrash in the chains. He looked like a wild thing possessed as he threw himself around, tugging the chains with all his might, trying to get free. Maybe the raw meat was a bad idea, she thought. He threw his head back and howled again, and this time Willow endured the ear-splitting sound, unwilling to loosen her grip on the gun. She began chanting for him to calm down softly under her breath, her nerves standing on end even as she watched his struggles increase. Even Buffy hadn't been able to put this much of a strain on the manacles.
Cold fear spread throughout her limbs as the popping sound seemed to reverberate through her body. She could see one of the chains dangling free, torn from its concrete anchor in the wall. "Oz, no," she whispered, bringing the gun up to her eye as she prepared to aim.
She fired as the second popping noise filled the air, and lowered the gun expectantly as Oz went deathly still. She noted that the second chain had also been ripped from the wall, and breathed heavily as she waited for Oz to fall to the ground when the tranquilizer took effect.
Her heart almost exploded when he threw all his weight against the cage door. Her brow furrowed in puzzlement, and she looked at the gun in confusion before spotting the dart on the floor. The bars on this cage were more tightly knit, and she hadn't taken that into consideration when she fired. The dart had bounced harmlessly off the metal and to the floor, missing her target completely. Oz's struggles increased and Willow heard the sound of metal scraping against metal as he forced the lock to its limits. They hadn't had time to install a heavier lock on the cage, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before Oz's increased strength broke it. She thought briefly about running and hiding, but there was no way she could let Oz out of the house. They'd both regret it if he ever hurt anyone. She raised her gun again and tried to aim more carefully.
Then Oz broke free.
The lock on the door crumpled upon itself as the door swung wide and clattered against the wall of the cage. Willow swallowed hard and fired the gun. The dart imbedded itself in Oz's neck, and she winced as he yelped with the pain of the impact.
"Told Buffy I'd have to shoot him," she murmured, lowering the gun to her side.
She waited expectantly as Oz seemed to fold in upon himself defensively. Her breath came in shallow gasps as he whimpered and then she felt panic rise in her chest as his whimpers turned into a low growl. He was supposed to be asleep by now! She stayed deathly still, wishing she could reload the tranquilizer gun – she'd used her two shots. Her heart beat wildly against her ribcage as Oz raised his yellow eyes to hers – the low rumble in his throat rising in volume.
"Problem," Willow whispered desperately to the air around her. "Big, hairy, angry problem."
She edged her way along the wall, gun in hand, as Oz continued to growl at her. She just needed to get to the box of tranquilizers on the table. Then all she had to do was reload the gun, and – Oh, who was she kidding? That would take at least two minutes, and those were two minutes she didn't have.
Oz stepped cautiously through the door of the cage, the dart still sticking out from his neck, and Willow bit down on her lip to resist the urge to call for help. He began to advance on her, and she circled warily, her green eyes carefully avoiding his yellow ones. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was challenging him. She was considering lying down and baring her neck to him in a form of submission when she noticed she was in front of the opening of the cage door. She took a step back, and slowly began reaching out to close the door, staring at Oz's paws. She could tell the exact instant it appeared he was going to strike from the way his feet coiled up, and she hurriedly tangled her fingers through the metal and swung the cage door shut.
Oz bounced harmlessly off the cage and howled as he tried to paw his way through the door to get to Willow. She held the door closed with all her strength, relieved when it seemed that he was far more interested in going *through* the metal than opening the door.
She waited as he howled and pawed uselessly, and then held her breath as he stopped to sniff the air. He turned slowly, and a horrible idea hit Willow. She cocked her head and listened carefully, and sure enough, she could hear footsteps above.
"Xander! Oz is loose! Hide!" She could hear his shriek and then heard the sound of his feet running up to the second floor of the house.
Oz moved away from the cage, sniffing loudly. Willow turned her head away as he essentially ripped her cooler apart with his claws, devouring the meat and everything else inside. She hoped Xander had found a good hiding place. In another State. Her eyes warily watched as Oz began circling the confines of the basement before howling again. The manacles and chains still attached to his forearms made small sparks as he dragged them along the concrete. Then he was off like a flash, loping up the stairs on all fours.
Willow let out a long breath and fought for the next one raggedly. She knew she should reload her gun and give chase, but her legs gave out and she dropped to the floor, shaking against the cold cement.
on to part three