“Angel, she’s not dead. I saw her being kidnapped, that’s what was in my vision. Do you hear me? They kidnapped her, they didn’t kill her. Buffy’s not gone yet. But we have to save her, you have to keep it together. Come on Angel, listen to me.” Cordelia and the others sat down beside him. She kept her grip on his hands, wanting to make sure he was listening.

“She’s not? Are you sure?” The hope in his voice was almost painful to hear.

“I’m sure, but we need to get to Sunnyhell. Get your stuff, we’ll load up the car,  and then we can get on the road. “ They helped Angel get to his feet, Wesley in typical stuffy British guy mode procuring a  handkerchief from nowhere.

“I’m sorry I grabbed you.” Wesley just shrugged, working with Angel he was used to someone knocking him around, this was just the first time it was Angel.

“I’ll help you pack, Cordelia you might want to call Giles and let him know about your vision. Hopefully you can catch him before he calls Buffy’s mother.” She nodded and picked up the phone.

“Angel, do you still have that number for Bethany? I have a feeling we could use that help she promised.”

“Look in my rolodex, under the name Stephanie Miller. Tell her the power is in her, that way she’ll know it’s us, not Wolfram & Hart.” They’d helped the young telekinetic girl earlier that year and she’d made it clear she was always willing to help Angel and the others. Angel had set her up with a job and an apartment, but he’d wanted her to try to have a normal life. Cordelia was a little surprised he’d acquiesced so quickly, but she knew his love for Buffy would override everything else. First though, she had let Giles know his surrogate daughter wasn’t dead.

“Hey Tara it’s Cordelia, Giles around?”

Giles was sitting on the couch, trying to work up the courage to call Buffy’s mother when the phone rang. The only reason he’d called Angel was Willow’s insistence that Buffy would want him to be the first one to know. That had been the last intelligent comment he’d gotten from the red-haired witch. When he first picked them up from the campus, Willow had insisted Buffy could be helped, it wasn’t until Spike had quietly pointed out the odds she‘d been facing, some 30 to 1, that Willow’s denial had crumpled. She’d begged him to call Angel first, then she’d  withdrawn into herself. She had gone silent, not moving or speaking, no matter what Giles and Tara had tried.  Spike had provided the only clear  information about what Buffy had faced in her final moments.

“Giles, its Cordelia she says it’s important.” Tara handed him the phone and then went back to her traumatized lover.

“Cordelia, I’m sorry I cannot speak with you right now.” Spike’s head snapped up at the mention of the ex-cheerleader, the only reason he could think of for her to call made his head hurt. He’d never been fond of his Sire, especially with his soul attached, but he’d hoped to see him one last time before he went chasing his bloody Slayer down that last road.

“What kind of vision?” The look on the Watcher’s  face was Spike’s first clue that his Sire was not the topic of  conversation. He looked almost hopeful, a small half smile was playing across his lips.

“Get here quickly, I’ll start gathering our resources.” He hung up the phone and grabbed Willow out of the corner she was sitting in.  He swung her in the air screaming “She’s not dead, my girl is alive! Do you hear me Willow, she’s alive!!”

Spike and Tara just stood there for a second while their shock numbed brains struggled to absorb Giles’ words. Willow was the first to respond, and all she could do was scream wildly. Spike was pretty sure they were happy screams, but life with Druscilla tends to blur one’s idea of how screams of joy  are supposed to sound. It wasn’t until Giles’ put her down and she grabbed him and Tara in a bear hug that he figured out what the Watcher’s words had been.

*Where the hell am I?* Buffy tried to stand up and wasn’t really surprised when the chains around her wrists and ankles prevented her from doing so. The first blow to the head hadn’t rendered her completely unconscious and she’d heard two of the demons arguing about not being able to kill her. That hadn’t stopped them from beating her into submission. Her head hurt and she was pretty sure she’d broken a few ribs, not to mention the assorted cuts and bruises that were making themselves known. She knew she was in deep shit, and she just hoped Spike had gotten Willow back to the dorm.  *Now, I’ve got to figure out how to get my ass out of here.* Bracing herself against the wall she was chained to, she tried to pull the chain holding her right arm out of the wall, it didn’t budge *No surprise there, if they were planning on capturing me, they would know to be prepared. Might as well have a seat, and take a look around or as Giles’ would say, “You must always assess a situation before you act.”* Choking back a sob at the thought of how upset and frightened her Watcher must be, she set her mind to saving herself.  *This is a strange room.* It was lit only by a fireplace and a few candles, but Buffy could still see a collection of odd weapons hanging on the walls and something that looked like a bed, but there were straps and a gear assembly with a handle at the top of it.  Buffy stared at it confused, *What the hell is that thing?* It took her a second to understand what she was looking at. When she did, she gave up trying to get comfortable on the stone floor, and started praying under her breath. *Oh, fuck me. This is bad, this is very, very bad.*

“Well, well our new toy is awake. You put up quite a fight.” Buffy jerked away in surprise as a door she hadn’t noticed slid open behind her.  A tall dark haired woman in red leather stood there, smiling and swinging a long silver stick. “We’re going to have such a good time together, well at least we will “She gestured at the space beside her “You’re probably going to hate it, at least until you’re properly broken in.” She leered at Buffy, “We’re going to enjoy watching you beg.”

“Oh great  another fucking lunatic, like Druscilla’s not enough to contend with in one lifetime. You know, is therapy just something you creatures of the night don’t know about? I mean, a little lithium would clear those delusions of yours right up.” Buffy couldn’t help her smile at the look on the woman’s face, she looked so ridiculous, standing there pouting in her wanna-be dominatrix outfit. Her smile didn’t last long.

“Slave, you will never speak to us in that manner again. You will only speak when you are given permission, and you will always refer to us as Mistress Ligeia. We had hoped to have a civilized discussion with you, before we began your training. Such a pity” She did something to the stick in her hand, and Buffy caught the scent of ozone.

*A cattle prod, this bitch is using a cattle prod!* She had enough time to think, before the pain sent her back into unconsciousness. Flashes of the parts of her life she was going to miss the most floated through her mind, even as her body convulsed with pain.

“Aaaagh, stop hurting her!” Cordelia collapsed into Gunn’s arms in the backseat of Angel’s car clutching her head.

“What did you see?” Angel nearly ran the car next to them off the road, jerking the wheel too hard trying to turn to look at Cordelia.

“Nothing you want to hear.” Cordelia didn’t want to think about what she’d just seen, much less describe it to anyone.

“Cordelia...” Only a complete moron could miss the warning his voice.

“I’m not being a smart-ass, you really don’t want to hear this. Trust me, I’d rather not be the one telling you about it, at least not while you’re driving.”

“Spill. Now.” snapped Angel.

“Buffy in a house just outside of Sunnyhell being tortured by a woman in really tacky leather outfit no one should have created.” Cordelia blurted.

Angel was already going double the speed limit, but the car damn near broke the sound barrier, as Angel slammed his foot on the gas. Wesley just grabbed the chicken bar, and tried not to visualize what Angel was going to do to the woman torturing Buffy. He’d already told them about setting fire to Darla and Dru, and the journal’s that mentioned Angelus’ predilection for inflicting pain had been very...descriptive.

*I’m coming to get you Buffy, just hold on.* 

“What time will Dead-boy and company be here?” Xander  knew he was going to get cussed out for the crack, but Willow’s attitude was creeping him out. She looked, well deranged was the only word he could think of at the moment. He figured the comment would at least distract her from blaming herself from Buffy’s abduction.

“Soon, I know Angel will want to get Buffy back as quickly as possible. Although with the information Spike and Willow gave us, we will need to take the time to plan a careful assault. From their description of Buffy’s assailants there is a small army associated with whoever has her.” Giles took a deep breath, trying not to think of what could be happening to the girl he had come to think of as his daughter while they waited and planned. He wished he could ignore all the things that could go wrong, and just rush out blindly and get her back.

“Giles’, someone’s coming and they’re moving fast.” Willow jumped down from the window seat, she’d been watching for Angel’s car, but this was a van and it looked like... Oz’s? *That’s impossible, Will. You told Oz to go, and you haven’t heard from him since. There’s no way he could be here now.*  The van screeched to a halt in front and out jumped a familiar figure. It was followed by several other less familiar forms. “Guys, it’s Oz.” Willow had the door open before he could knock.

“Hey.” Oz wore his typical expression, basically none at all.

“Hey, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, ‘cause I am. I’m just surprised, because you showed up at the best time, well not the best ‘cause something bad just happened to Buffy, but if you’re here you can help us help her...” Willow trailed off when Oz put his finger to her lips, then to her shock and his, she burst into tears again and wound up wrapped in his arms.

“Shh, it’s okay, I’m here ‘cause Cordelia called, and she said help was needed, so help has arrived. C’mon, why don’t you tell me what happened?” He picked Willow up and carried her to the couch, his friends following quietly. One of them growled at Spike, but the others just stood waiting. Tara just stared, shocked at Willow’s behavior.

“Guys this is Willow, that’s Spike, Xander, Anya and Giles’” He pointed everyone out as he rattled off the names. “Also known as the Scooby gang, Scooby’s this is my pack. Kai, Frank, Reuben, Stephanie, and Maria.”

“Pack, as in?” Giles’ arched a questioning eyebrow.

“We’re all wolves, and Oz there is our Alpha. We’re here to fix whatever problem it is you people are having. I could start with doing for that thing.” Said the one that had growled at the blond vamp. The tall dark-haired werewolf pointed at Spike, obviously angered by his presence.

“Reuben, stop.” Everyone was surprised at Oz’s tone of voice, he actually sounded forceful. Willow sat up and would have stood, but he locked his arms around her waist. She could see the hurt on Tara’s face, but couldn’t think of anything to say that would make a difference. Instead she gestured for Tara to come sit next to them on the couch. She gave Willow a dirty look, but joined them anyway, her gaze drifting to Oz’s arms. The other members of Oz’s pack made themselves comfortable on the couch and the floor.

“Now, what’s wrong with Buffy?” Oz’s face twitched a little when Tara sat down, but he’d already decided to stay focused on the task at hand.

“She’s been kidnapped, we don’t know by who, but according to Cordelia she is still alive. We are waiting for her and the others to arrive, and then we can start to plan a rescue.” Giles’ leaned forward “May I ask?”

“I’ll give you details later, but for now all you need to know is that I’ve learned to work with my wolf.”

“Someone’s coming up the walk.” One of the female wolves stood sniffing the air “It’s a vamp.”

Reuben stood up, ready to fight “It’s not alone, I smell humans with it.”

“Oh, that will be Angel and the others.” Anya spoke for the first time “He is a good vampire, so you can’t fight with him either.”

Angel opened the door without bothering to knock, “We’re here, let’s go.”

“Actually we need to figure out where Buffy is, and we need to plan our assault. So, why don’t you and the others come on in.”

“Cordelia’s visions show location, all we need to do is go get her.” Angel’s attitude indicated it didn’t really matter if anyone came with him, he was ready to kill something and that was all that mattered. Spike moved for the first time kneeling in front of Angel, his eyes firmly fixed on the floor in front of him.

“Sire, please just come in and listen. I fought some of the things that took her, there were a lot of them. I know you want her back, but quite a few of them were humans. The sun will be up soon, and I’m still not strong enough to fight. You’ll need to feed and rest, Sir.” Everyone stared, shocked at Spike’s formal tones and his submissive posture.

“You let them take her. If she dies, so do you and you’ll beg me for death with everything you have in you before I’m done.” Angel stared down at Spike, his eyes hard, they stayed like that for a few seconds before he pulled Spike to his feet. His eyes softened when he saw the extent of his child’s injuries. “When was the last time you fed?”

“Yesterday Sire.” Spike’s eyes were still firmly fixed on the floor, Angel tilted his chin up gently with his left hand, his brown eyes boring into his child’s blue ones “You have permission.” Spike nodded and retreated into the kitchen, the microwave could be heard a few seconds later.

“What the hell was that? I mean was it me, or was Spike just  all like frightened and whipped puppyish?” Xander ever tactful, blurted out. “And for that matter, what the hell is going on with Oz and his whattya call it?” He snapped his fingers “Pack, and what is an Alpha? And why is everyone so freaked about Buffy? I mean the Buffster is the Slayer and she’s gonna be home soon. She’ll whip up on whoever kidnapped her and be back here before you can say ‘Dead-boy go home’.” He shook a finger in Angel’s general direction as Wesley and Gunn came through the door. Everyone gaped at Xander for a second, and then Cordelia who’d walked in during his speech, stalked over to Xander, cocked back her fist and sent him flying across Giles’ living room.        

“You piece of crap, how dare you say that about Buffy? And just who do you think you are, calling Angel that stupid name?” Everyone went quiet, even Anya recognizing a May Queen moment. “Do you have the faintest fucking clue what’s happening to Buffy right now? Has it occurred to you that Angel is suffering right now, that everyone that cares about her is worried and frightened? And well they should be, ‘cause let me tell you something, you little weasel. These visions the PTB have been sending me?  It’s been a live and up close full surround sound show of just how much pain she’s in. The bitch that has her is using a fucking cattle prod on her! A fucking cattle prod!” Cordelia was shrieking now, and her fists were clenched. She took a few deep breaths and lowered her arms, but her eyes were still flashing fire when Gunn walked over and put his arms around her. He had been comforting her on and off on the ride up, her visions coming every few minutes.

“C’mon Delia, let’s go sit down. We know where she is and as soon as we can, we’ll go get her back.” She let him lead her over to a vacant armchair, the wolf that had been sitting in it tripping over her own feet in her haste to get out of the way.  Xander quickly scuttled backward and for once had the sense to just close his mouth, not even whining about his busted lip. Wesley turned and gave him a dirty look as he was locking the door

She’d only been sitting there for a few seconds before she jerked and grabbed her head, screaming “Stop, oh god please stop!” Wesley and Angel were kneeling next to her waiting when she stopped whimpering from the pain. Gunn handed her a bottle of soda and two aspirin, then took her hand gently when she’d taken the pills.

She glanced up at him and smiled gratefully before speaking “She’s holding on, but we need to get to her as soon as the sun goes down. I know you want to leave right now, but we’re going to need Bethany’s help and anyone else’s you can think of.” Her gaze shifted to Angel’s face “We’re going to need to call those Army guys, the one’s Buffy’s friend was working with. There are a lot of demons working with that woman. I mean a lot Angel, as in at least sixty or seventy of them, maybe more.” She took a deep breath “There are also quite a few humans there.”

“Wolfram & Hart?”

“I don’t think so. These guys were not that well dressed, and they were like afraid of the woman in red. I mean big time, quaking in their boots, piss their pants afraid. I don’t know if she’s a witch or what, but they were watching her ...with Buffy, and she’d hit one of them with the whip whenever Buffy passed out and she couldn’t keep hitting her.” She was staring at her feet, when she said the last part, not really wanting to see the pain her words would cause. She could hear someone retching in the kitchen as she spoke, and she had seen the tears forming in Angel’s eyes before she looked away.

“We can’t call Riley, he’s gone and so is the Initiative.” Tara’s voice was quiet, but Angel’s head snapped around when she spoke.

“Gone?”

“They broke up a little while ago, and he and the other Army guys left on some secret mission.” Willow said softly “Oh! I was supposed to tell you something, Buffy said it right before she made Spike take me home. I was supposed to tell you that she loved you always, that she never stopped.” Willow had been fighting tears while Cordelia was telling them about her vision, and at the loving expression on Angel’s face when she told him about Buffy’s last words she couldn’t choke back the hysterical sobs any longer.

Oz hugged her tightly and stroked her back in small circles until she quieted, “I have friends who can help, someone toss me the phone. Do you mind Giles?” He caught the phone and cocked his head at the pacing Watcher

“No, of course not.” Giles had taken his glasses off and was trying not to cry. Oz dialed quickly.

“It’s me. Get here. All of you.” The person on the other end was apparently expecting Oz’s call because he hung up and smiled saying “Reinforcements should arrive by noon.”

“How many of you are there?” Wesley’s question was met with a growl from one of the female wolves, a tall black woman with her hair in braids.

“Chill Kai, he’s okay. He just wants to figure out what size force we can mount for the rescue, right Wes?” Oz’s tone indicating that it had better not be anything else.

“Of course.” Wesley glanced apprehensively at the other strangers in the room, quickly coming to the conclusion that they were all werewolves.

“Thirty-five or forty depending on who’s closest to Sunnydale. Don’t worry guys we’ll get Buffy back.” Oz let go of Willow, stood and stretched before taking her hand “Right now I think we should all go home and get some sleep. We’ll be at my parent’s place, they’re out of town, but the number’s the same.”

“Excuse me, who died and made you boss? And why should we get all excited about you and your ‘pack’ anyway?” Tara’s head hurt every time she looked at Oz pawing Willow like he owned her, “I realize that I’m  the ‘new’ guy but last time I checked you were still too dangerous to be allowed out of your fucking cage. I’m really not seeing how forty killer wolves and that hundred or so demons combined are a good thing!”

Oz didn’t say anything for a second, then he smiled and Xander found himself thinking *If he ever smiles at me like that I’m going to go find a nice painless way to kill myself.* Oz’s took a step towards Tara still smiling that horrible smile, he raised his hand and the other wolves started growling and then Oz’s hand  started to change. He watched Tara while she watched the fur growing across his knuckles and it wasn’t until he realized Willow was whimpering and trying to pull her hand away that his eyes cleared and the fur receded. He lowered his hand and the wolves quieted, Angel’s game face took a few seconds to slide away, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

“I take it that little display means you and the others can change at will?” Giles had been trying to make it across the room to the tranquilizer gun, and he wasn’t surprised to find himself shaking with rage at Oz’s casual disregard for Tara and Willow’s feelings for each other.

“Yep.”

“You planning on giving us a little more information than that?” Xander knew he should just shut up before he got killed, but Oz still had Willow’s hand, and there was no way he was letting the wolf hurt his best friend.

“No.”

Angel moved to stand between Oz and the door “Yeah you are, or you can just let go of Willow’s hand right now. I’m not letting you out of here with her, not if you’re a danger to her or...” He glanced at Tara’s stricken face ”Anyone else.”

“Bloodsucker, you’ll never make it. We’ll tear you and the others to bits, and our Alpha will still leave here with his lupa.” Reuben, the tall wolf who’d been threatening Spike earlier stepped up.

“Oz, please... stop this.” Willow voice  was still shaky but she knew Oz wasn’t there to hurt her, or at least she hoped so.

“Do I scare you Wills? Is that the way it is now?” Oz had been staring at Angel challenging him to make the first move, but he turned his head to look at Willow. “I’ll still help Buffy, and then if you want me to I’ll... leave. This time for good.”

“If you leave, it’ll be your choice. I just don’t want you threatening Tara, or them threatening Angel or anyone else. He’s been a good friend and Tara’s never done anything to you. What happens between us, will stay between us, and as long as you don’t involve the others I won’t either.” Willow’s face had hardened into an unreadable expression while she spoke, but her eyes flicked a silent apology to Tara. She still didn’t know what she wanted to happen with her and Oz, but she knew she needed to see it through. *I hope Tara understands this isn’t about her.*

Oz nodded and turned back to Angel “Good enough?”

“You sure Will?” At her nod he stepped aside, giving Reuben a look that clearly said *Another time*

Oz opened the door for Willow, then with his back held very straight, said quietly “Coming Tara?” She opened her mouth to say something, but Willow turned around and mouthed “Please?” and she nodded and fell into line with the other wolves.

“Was that a good idea?” Gunn had been watching everything from the sidelines throughout and was pretty sure it wasn’t.

“Probably not, but Willow is a witch and Oz is well Oz. Besides they’re all adults and there isn’t overly much we could have done about any of it.” Giles shrugged and took a seat on the couch. “I think Oz was correct about one thing we all need to try to get some sleep, I want us all ready to go in a few hours.”          

“I’m not going to be able to do that, I have some crow to eat and a few questions for Cordelia if she doesn’t mind.” Xander sounded strangely adult, his usual tendency towards foot in mouth disease suddenly absent.

“What?” Cordelia knew another vision was coming, and it wasn’t going to contain anything good.

“I know a little about the vision thing, but I’m confused. I thought when you had one it meant you had to act right that minute. If Buff’s in so much trouble that you keep having vision’s doesn’t that mean we should be trying to help her right now?”

“These don’t feel like my other vision’s, I mean they still give me a headache, but they’re more detailed than the other one’s. Mostly it’s like I’m in Buffy’s body and that’s...bad, and sometimes it’s like I’m outside her body and I’m walking around the house she’s in and I can see all these guards and people around. And I can see that woman and I can hear the things she’s saying. She’s a horrible thing, and she needs to die, her and her little army. She’s enjoying what she’s doing to Buffy, I don’t mean a little fuzzy glow, I mean this full on orgasmic thrill. She tells her that, every time she hits her with the whip, she tells her just how much she’s enjoying the screaming.” The ex prom queen shivered a little and Gunn squeezed her hand.

“That just reinforces my point. We go get Buffy now.” Xander looked a little green and Angel’s eyes had gone vacant, his game face firmly in place. Giles’ face tightened and it was obvious where the nickname Ripper had come from.

Cordelia shook her head “No, she’s expecting that. They’re waiting for us to come charging in, Buffy’s not the only one she’s after.”

“Who else?” Spike spoke for the first time.

“Me.” Angel answered for Cordelia.

“No, it’s not.” She took a deep breath before she spoke the next words. “She’s after Willow, they took Buffy first to make sure she couldn’t come after Willow.”

“What?!!! Why the hell didn’t you say something earlier? We need to call Oz and get Willow back here where we can protect her.” Xander grabbed for the phone, but Wesley stopped him.

“Willow is in the company of several werewolves and is in fact a fairly powerful witch. Not to sound melodramatic, but Oz would die before he’d let anyone take her. The other’s seem just as willing to fight, and if there are enough of them to overwhelm six angry wolves and a witch, then we’re not going to be much help. Right now we need to figure out exactly who we’re dealing with.” Wesley turned to Cordelia, “Can you tell us anything more about this woman? You mentioned that you thought she was a witch, may I ask why?”

“Like I said before, all the others seemed scared of her, and she kind of well... glowed is the only word I can think of. And the others all had this weird mark on their throats that glowed when she did.”

“What kind of mark?” Giles retreated into research mode, it was all he could do to distract his mind from Cordelia’s earlier explanations to Xander. 

“It was red, and kind of looked like Jesus on the cross, except there was no cross and it was upside down. Very gross.”

“When it glowed, did the figure look like it was writhing in pain?” Spike had started pacing back and forth, like a caged lion.

“Yeah, I guess so. How did you know?”    

“I’ve seen it before.”

“Where?” Angel stood, the look on Spike’s face telling him the story was not a pleasant one.

“After you left us, Dru and I wandered around the world for a while. We were in Spain when we ran into some people like she’s describing. They had that mark, but theirs was blue. They took Druscilla one night while I was out hunting. It took me a few days to find her, and by the time I did, Lucretia had been amusing herself vigorously. I got Dru out of there, and I tore that bitch’s heart out and showed it to her. I didn’t find out until later that there were two of them.” Spike clenched his fists and growled. “The other one tried to come after us, but by then I’d begun making minions. Their attacks drew her attention away from me, and I took to killing off her ‘toys’. She figured out quickly that preying on vamps was a bad idea.”

“So you’re the one that Ligeia ran from. I always wondered what could have been bad enough to chase her out of Spain.” Anya murmured.

“You know her? How?” Xander spun around, shocked once more by the things in his girlfriend’s past.

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