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| Where the Wild Things Are | The Yoko Factor |
Willow walks through the park with Tara. Tara is thinking of getting a cat and keeping it in her dorm room, despite the rules. Willow thinks she wants it as a familiar, but Tara just wants a pet. Willow thinks that sounds like a fun idea.
Tara wanted to make sure that Willow wasn’t allergic to cats or anything like that before she got it. She wants her room to remain Willow friendly. Willow wants that too. She takes Tara’s hand in hers as they walk.
They are on their way to a meeting at Giles’. Willow doesn’t know what it’s about, probably just some garden variety disaster.
Buffy reports that nothing has been happening lately. Her patrols have been coming up empty. Her kill count is way down. Giles does not greet this news with joy. In the past this has usually indicated that something bad is brewing. As they talk Willow glosses the Slayer speak for Tara.
Riley is a little surprised by Buffy’s news. The Initiative has been busy. They have been capturing a lot of HSTs lately. “We’ve got demons coming out our ears.”
“That’s a metaphor.” Willow explains to Tara.
“I got it,” says Tara. “Thanks.”
“I’m over helping, aren’t I?” asks Willow.
Giles is puzzled. The demon activity has shifted, it hasn’t stopped. He finds it fascinating.
“To an extremely bored person, maybe.” Anya gets up out of Xander’s lap. “Well, that was a thrilling hour.”
“You know, I really don’t appreciate your snide remarks, Anya,” says Giles. “Now, I have a great deal of experience in these matters, and if I say there is a matter of some import brewing, I…” He stops when he notices that Anya isn’t paying any attention to him. She and all the others have turned their attention to the person who has just come in through Giles’ door. He turns to see who it is.
“Hey,” says Oz.
Everyone is surprised, and a little stunned to see Oz. Especially Willow. Tara gets very apprehensive when she learns who this is. Oz tells them that he just got back into town. Buffy wants to know if he’s back to stay, or just passing through.
Giles doesn’t think they should be bombarding Oz with questions right now. He offers him some tea. Oz doesn’t have time right now. He is just checking in with them. He has to go over to Devon’s to see if he has a place he can crash. He asks Willow if he can stop by her place that evening to talk. She tells him that will be okay.
“It’s great to see you guys again.” Oz tells everyone before he goes. “Really.”
Oz’s departure leaves an awkward silence in its wake. “Everyone’s uncomfortable now,” says Anya. The most uncomfortable one seems to be Tara. She suddenly remembers that she has a study group she’s late for, and starts to leave. Willow asks her to wait.
“No,” says Tara. “No, it’s okay. You should be with your friends, and I should go.”
“But…” Tara doesn’t wait to hear what Willow has to say.
Buffy and Riley patrol through the cemetery. Riley wants to hear more about Oz. From the way everyone reacted to seeing him Riley is pretty sure he has missed something. Buffy starts to tell him that Willow and Oz had a rough breakup, but they’re interrupted by an attacking demon. They quickly disable it.
“Man, that was record time,” says Riley.
“It’s no fun when they’re that easy,” pouts Buffy.
“Speak for yourself.” Riley calls in for a pickup on the demon. It is going to take a while, the Initiative’s cleanup crews are busy tonight.
They return to talking about Willow and Oz. Buffy tells him how Oz leaving left Willow pretty devastated. That is something Riley remembers. “The thing is,” says Buffy, “before that, they were doing great. I mean, she was totally dealing with Oz being a werewolf. It wasn’t even—”
“Hold it,” says Riley. “Back up, there. Oz is a werewolf, and Willow was dating him?”
“Yes,” says Buffy. “Hence the high emotions.”
“Man, you’re kidding me!” says Riley. “Got to say I’m surprised. I didn’t think Willow was that kind of girl.”
“What sort of girl?” asks Buffy.
“Into dangerous guys,” says Riley. “She seemed smarter than that.”
Buffy tells him that Oz isn’t dangerous, and it isn’t his fault he’s a werewolf. She doesn’t like Riley’s attitude. She thinks he’s being a bigot. Riley doesn’t think he’s being a bigot. He just thinks its kind of weird to date someone who tries to eat you once a month.
“Yeah, well, love isn’t logical, Riley. It’s not like you can be Mr. Joe Sensible about it all the time. God knows I haven’t been.”
“I’m not talking about you.”
Buffy doesn’t want to talk about this at all anymore. She wants to get back to patrolling.
Willow opens the door to her room, and sees Oz standing there. She invites him in, but he tells her that he wants her to come outside and see something.
Willow and Oz leave the dorm together. She tells Oz how everything seems unreal. Like his being back is a dream or something.
“It’s real,” says Oz. “Look up.”
“What?” asks Willow.
“Look at the sky,” says Oz. Willow looks up and sees the full moon shining brightly overhead. “I guess you stopped keeping track of them after I left.”
Willow is amazed and delighted for Oz. She asks him how he did it. He tells her it’s a long story. She grabs him and hugs him. “Oh my god, Oz!” He hugs her back. After a moment Willow pulls away. “This is…I mean…It’s wonderful for you.”
Oz has been talking with Xander and he’s heard that Willow doesn’t have any new guy in her life.
“No,” she says. “No new…guy.”
Oz takes her hand in his. “I know what I put you through, and I’m not going to push. But I am—a different person than when I left, and I can be what you need now. That’s what I want. That’s why I’m here.”
Graham leads a three man squad through the woods. They hear a rustling in the bushes ahead of them and stop. They hear something else behind them.
A pair of hairy, man sized demons attack them from out of the bushes. They pick up Graham, and another squad member and toss them away against trees as easily as a couple of rag dolls. One of the demons attacks the third team member and rips his throat out.
Graham regains consciousness for a few seconds and gets a vague look at one of the creatures which attacked them.
Willow and Oz sit on her bed while he tells her about his travels. He has a silk shawl for her that he picked up in Tibet. He traded his Radiohead record for it. He has been all around the world looking for his cure. A warlock in Romania sent him to some monks in Tibet to learn meditation techniques to help him keep his cool.
“Good,” says Willow, “’Cause you were such a spaz before. So that’s it? You keep your cool, and no more wolfy?”
Oz tells her it’s the meditation, on top of some herbs and a couple of charms. One of his charms is wrapped around the wrist and fingers of his left hand.
Willow thinks it’s incredible. Oz has been all around the world, and gone through this amazing transformation, and she has spent the whole time in same old Sunnydale.
“Doesn’t mean you haven’t gone through a lot,” says Oz.
Willow agrees. Some of what she went through was telling herself that she hated him, and cursing his name. “Not literally,” she adds quickly. 1 Oz is glad for that. She also tells him she has been practicing her spells, and she’s getting better.
Willow looks toward the window and notices that it’s light out. They have been talking all night. She suggests that they go for breakfast.
Oz reaches out and takes her hand. “Or we could just—sleep a little while. Whatever you want.”
“I’ll have the less confusing waffles right now,” says Willow.
Willow gets off her bed and goes to pick up her toothbrush and stuff. She wants to freshen up before they go. She heads off to the bathroom. Oz waits in the room.
There is a knock on the door. Oz answers it, and sees Tara. He recognises her from Giles’ place, and invites her in to wait for Willow to come back. Tara doesn’t want to come in. She just leaves. Oz is left looking puzzled.
Willow returns and notices his expression. “What?”
“Your friend came by,” says Oz. “The blonde girl, but she wouldn’t stay.” He turns to pick up his jacket, and doesn’t notice the upset look that passes over Willow’s face.
Riley’s alarm clock chirps, and he and Buffy wake up. Riley rolls toward Buffy for a morning cuddle. Buffy rolls away from him. She isn’t in a cuddling mood. She gets out of bed and starts to get dressed. Riley gets out the other side, pulls on a pair of sweat pants and starts doing some pushups.
“Those, like, regulation?” asks Buffy. “Do you have to do those every morning?”
“No,” says Riley. “Just a good way to start the day.”
“Great,” says Buffy. “Then you can have your perfectly balanced breakfast, and then you can call your mother.”
Riley is a little puzzled by how he seems to have somehow pissed Buffy off in less than a minute. He figures that it has something to do with what he said about Willow last night. “I only said what I said because I’m concerned. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
“You sounded like Mr. Initiative,” says Buffy. “Demons bad. People good.”
Riley thinks that is a pretty good theorem, but Buffy tells him it isn’t that simple. “There’s different degrees of…”
“Evil?” asks Riley.
“It’s just different with different demons,” says Buffy. “There are creatures…vampires, for example…that aren’t evil at all.”
“Name one,” says Riley.
Buffy doesn’t have a chance. They are interrupted by Forrest. Riley is needed downstairs. Beta team got hit bad last night. Willis is dead. Riley asks about Graham, and Forrest tells him he’s walking. Riley grabs his shirt and follows Forrest out the door. They are going hunting.
“What kind of demon was it?” Buffy asks Forrest.
“Does it matter?” asks Riley.
Buffy returns to her room and finds Willow there. Willow is lying semi-reclined on her bed, leaning up against the headboard, clutching a large stuffed dog. Buffy asks how things went with Oz. Willow tells her that they spent the entire night together.
Buffy is a little surprised…but pleased…by that. She sits on the end of Willow’s bed to hear more. Then she remembers the phase of the moon. “Either you’re about to tell me something incredibly kinky, or…”
“No kink. He didn’t change, Buffy. He said he was going to find a cure, and he did. In Tibet.”
“Oh my God!” says Buffy. “I can’t believe it.” She notices that Willow seems to be considerably less excited about all this than she is. “Okay, I’m all with the whoo-hoo here, and you’re not.”
“No, there’s ‘whoo’ and ‘hoo,’” says Willow, “but there’s ‘uh-oh’ and ‘why now?’ and it’s complicated.”
“Why complicated?” asks Buffy.
“It’s complicated…because of Tara.”
Buffy is confused. “You mean Tara has a crush on Oz?” She knows that can’t be right. “No, you…” She gets it. “Oh. Oh!” Buffy stands up and starts to pace around their room. “Um—well—that’s great. You know, I mean, I think… I think Tara’s a really great girl, Will.”
“She is!” says Willow. “And—there’s something between us. It wasn’t something I was looking for. It’s just powerful. And it’s totally different from what Oz and I have.”
“Well, there you go,” says Buffy. “I mean, you know, you have to—you have to follow your heart, Will. That’s what’s important, Will.”
“Why do you keep saying my name like that?”
“Like what, Will?”
Willow sits up in her bed. “Are you freaked?”
“What? No, Will, don… No.” Buffy stops, and considers things for a couple of seconds before continuing. “No, absolutely no to that question.” She sits back down on the end of Willow’s bed. “I’m glad you told me. What did you say to Oz?”
Willow hasn’t said anything about it to Oz yet. “I was going to tell him. But then we started hanging out, and I could just feel everything coming back. He’s Oz, you know? I don’t want to hurt anyone, Buffy.”
“No matter what, somebody’s going to get hurt,” says Buffy. “The important thing is you just have to be honest, or it’s going to be a lot worse.”
Spike is asleep in his crypt. Something enters and walks toward him. A scaly green arm reaches toward him. Spike grabs it without opening his eyes. “From the sound of those massive mud flaps, I’d peg you as a demon, which means you’re in for a world of…” He opens his eyes and sees Adam leaning over him. “…pain.”
Spike rolls off the lid of the sarcophagus he was sleeping on. Adam says that he wants Spike to come with him. Spike seems agreeable, and turns toward the door, but he spins back and punches Adam in the stomach. Adam doesn’t even flinch, and Spike shakes his hand in pain.
Adam doesn’t even seem to notice that he has been hit. “Come. You are going to help me with my problem.”
“Why’s that, exactly?” asks Spike.
“I’m going to help you with yours,” says Adam.
Tara opens her door, and sees Willow. Willow only has a few minutes before she has to get to class, but she needs to speak with Tara about what she saw that morning.
“No, it’s okay,” says Tara. “I…I always knew that if he came back…”
“We were just talking,” says Willow. “Nothing happened.”
“Oh.” Tara is a little pleased, but still unsure. “Really?”
“But you know, it was intense,” says Willow. “Just talking. We have a lot to talk about. I kind of feel like my head’s gonna explode.”
“Whatever, you know, happens, I’ll still be here,” says Tara. “I’ll still be your friend.”
“Of course we’ll be friends!” says Willow. “That’s not even a question.”
“But I’m saying, I know what Oz means to you,” says Tara.
“How can you, when I’m not even sure?” asks Willow. “I mean, I know what he meant to me.” Tara takes a step toward her. “But he left, and—everything changed. I changed, and—then we…”
“What?” asks Tara.
“I don’t know. I just… life was starting to get so good again, and…” Willow takes a small step toward Tara. “…you’re a big part of that. And here comes the thing I wanted most of all, and— I don’t know what to do. I want to know, but I don’t.” Willow tries hard to hold herself together, but tears run down her cheeks.
“Do what makes you h-h-happy.” Tara reaches out and brushes away a tear with her hand.
Willow steps up to Tara and hugs her tightly.
Oz checks out a bulletin board in a campus hallway. He sniffs at the air. “Willow!” He turns around.
It isn’t Willow. It’s Tara. He’s a little puzzled. “Hey! I thought I sm… heard Willow.”
Tara isn’t really pleased to see Oz, but she stops to talk. She’s heard that he may be coming back to school. That’s Oz’s plan. He’s feeling oddly motivated. Tara tells him she thinks that’s great.
Oz notices that Tara is wearing Willow’s sweater. It’s the one that Willow had been wearing when she came to visit Tara earlier that day. Oz also notices something else. “You smell like her. She’s all over you. Do you know that?”
“I can’t.” Tara tries to leave. Oz grabs her arm to stop her. “I…I can’t talk about this,” says Tara.
“But there’s something to talk about?” asks Oz. “Are you two involved?”
“I have…I have to go.”
Oz lets go of her. “Because she never said anything to me like that. We talked all night, and she never…” Tara tries to leave again, but he grabs her. “No, stop! Is she in love with you?” He shakes her. “Tell me! Is she?” Oz stops. A familiar feeling is coming over him. He lets go of Tara and looks down at his hand as it transforms into a clawed wolf’s paw.
“Run!” the half transformed Oz tells Tara.
Tara runs through the corridors, chased by the Ozwolf. She runs into a lecture hall. She runs up the stairs between the rows of seats, and tries to leave through the back door. It’s locked. She runs back down the other aisle between the seats, with the Ozwolf still after her.
Tara picks up a chair and throws it at him. Oz goes down. He doesn’t get back up. Tara is amazed. Then she sees the dart sticking out of his side, and Riley holstering his tranquilizer pistol. Forrest and several other Initiative commandos follow Riley into the room. Forrest goes over to her.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
No one answers her. The Initiative commandos put Oz into a body bag. One of them thinks that he matches the description of the things that attacked Graham’s team last night. “So we’ll take it back and make an I.D,” says Riley. “If it is, we’ll put him down.”
Tara tries to tell them that it isn’t what they think it is, but no one is listening to her. Forrest tells her that she’s just in shock. They’ll take care of things.
Adam has explained his plan to Spike. Spike thinks it sounds like a lot of fun. Adam has a problem though. Total annihilation of the humans doesn’t help him. He needs a high body count on both sides. Spike doesn’t understand what part the Slayer is supposed to play in all this.
“The humans need a leader,” says Adam. “A champion. The Slayer can do that.”
“Yeah,” says Spike, “The thing about the Slayer is: she is a whiney little thing, but when it comes to the fighting, she does have a slight tendency to win.”
“Then I guess you should be on her side,” says Adam.
“This all goes down, the chip comes out, yeah?” asks Spike. “No tricks?”
Adam raises his hand in a three fingered Boy Scout salute. “Scout’s honour.”
“You were a Boy Scout?” asks Spike.
“Parts of me,” says Adam.
Tara finds Willow in the library and tells her about Oz changing, right in front of her.
“What?” asks Willow. “It’s daylight.”
“I know, but it happened.”
“Oh, my god. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” says Tara. “Riley and the commando guys, they stopped him, but they don’t know it’s Oz. I tried to tell them, but they took him away.”
“When?” asks Willow.
“Just now” says Tara. “I think they might hurt him.”
“I have to go,” says Willow. “I have to find Buffy.”
“I know,” says Tara.
Willow fills in Buffy, Giles, Xander and Anya about what happened to Oz. The Initiative hasn’t had Oz for long.
“So that’s good, right?” asks Anya. “I mean, they probably haven’t had time to eviscerate him yet.” Willow is not encouraged.
Xander pats Anya on the knee. “Ahn, you can help by making this a quiet time.”
Giles points out that once again they find themselves faced with the rather daunting challenge of trying to infiltrate the Initiative.
“It’d be great if we knew someone dating a man on the inside,” says Xander. “Someone with connections.” He looks at Buffy. “Oh, wait!”
Buffy has just hung up the phone. She has been trying to get in touch with Riley, but he isn’t answering his pages. Buffy thinks that they have to move fast. They need a plan that doesn’t involve Riley.
The Ozwolf paces around inside a small cage inside the Pit, while scientists in lab coats, and several Initiative soldiers watch him. The scientists aren’t sure if this is the creature that attacked Beta team. Graham’s description was too vague, it matches about forty known demon species. They have to wait for the results from the DNA samples taken from Oz and the hair samples collected at the scene of the attack.
Riley doesn’t want to wait. “I don’t need a bunch of tests to know that this thing’s a killer!” He draws his pistol and aims into the cage. Before he can shoot, Oz reverts back to his human form. Riley and the scientists are amazed.
Oz wakes up strapped down to a lab bench with a bunch of scientists leaning over him. Riley elbows his way through them. “Hey, he’s coming to! Oz—”
One of the scientists says that Oz won’t be able to talk for a while. They’ve drugged him to keep him quiet.
“Why?” asks Riley. “He’s not a threat now.”
“I allowed you to stay as long as you let us do our work, Agent Finn,” says the scientist in charge. “Only Colonel McNamara can place a cease order on medical testing, and he’s told us to proceed.” Another scientist injects Oz with something while a third gets out one of the Initiative’s electric taser guns. He has always suspected that the stories about werewolves transformations being based on the lunar cycle were just talk.
“Oh, hey, that’s enough!” objects Riley. “Come on, the guy’s a student. I know him!”
The head researcher has had enough interference from Riley, he orders that he be taken away. As Riley is escorted out of the lab the scientist with the taser puts it against Oz’s chest, and pulls the trigger. Oz screams, and transforms into the wolf. “See that? Transformation related to negative stimulation.”
Buffy has given up waiting for Riley. She and Xander will have to go in without him. Willow doesn’t like that plan. She wants to come too. Buffy tries to tell her that she is needed outside, to hack into the city’s electrical system and shut down the Initiative’s power.
“Giles can do it without me,” says Willow. “I can give him all the instructions. I can show him exactly what to do. I can’t just sit here.”
Buffy glances at Xander to see what he thinks, and he nods. Willow’s in. They still have the problem of actually getting inside. Buffy’s clearance has long since vanished. They are going to have to grab someone and force him to take them inside.
“Or you could just use the back way,” says Spike from the doorway. “Hell of a lot less bother.”
“How did you get in?” asks Giles.
“The door was unlocked,” says Spike. “You might want to watch that, Rupert. Someone dangerous could get in.”
“Or someone formerly dangerous and currently annoying,” says Buffy.
Spike doesn’t think that Buffy should be insulting him just now. “Now, now. None of that. Or I won’t help you get Red’s mongrel back.” Word of Oz’s capture has gotten out into the demon community, and is spreading fast. They all like a good laugh.
Giles thinks that Spike is looking for more cash, and Spike admits that that is part of it. He also tells them that he wants a chance to jack around those army ginks. He knows where to find the man in charge, who can lead them to Oz.
“Uh-huh. So what’s the going rate on a wild-goose chase, Spike?” asks Buffy.
“Fine,” says Spike. “If you’re not interested. But I was stuck in that hole, remember? And I’ve heard things from other guys who’ve gotten out.2 I can get you in. No alarms, no cameras, no waiting.”
Oz sits naked and shivering in one of the Initiative’s cells. The door slides open. He looks up and sees Riley handing him a pile of clothing. “Oz. Put these on, man. Come on.”
Riley supports Oz as he leads him out through the darkened Initiative. Oz isn’t very steady on his feet. The lights suddenly come on, and they look around. Riley and Oz are surrounded by Initiative soldiers.
Forrest steps up to Riley. “End of the line.”
Riley comes to attention as Colonel McNamara lets himself into his cell in the brig. The colonel tells him to be at ease.
“Permission to speak, Colonel.”
“Denied,” says Colonel McNamara. “Being new around here, Finn, I had a look at your record and Professor Walsh’s notes. Until recently you were an exemplary soldier, headed straight for the top, and then you meet this girl…this Slayer…and suddenly you begin to exhibit signs of disloyalty. You abuse your command. But tonight—to release a lethal HST back into the population…”
“Sir,” objects Riley. “The prisoner…”
“You will speak when I tell you to!” yells the colonel. “Tomorrow I am going to institute a court-martial to investigate the extent of your involvement with the Slayer and her band of freaks.
“They’re anarchists, Finn. Too backwards for the real world. You help us take them down, and you just might save your military career. Otherwise you’ll go to your grave labelled a traitor.” McNamara turns away and leaves the cell. “No woman’s worth that.” He closes the door.
Spike leads Buffy, Willow and Xander through the woods. He and Xander are dressed in commando uniforms, and Xander’s carrying the tranquilizer rifle. Buffy and Willow are dressed in lab coats. “I’ve mentioned how much I’m going to kill you if this is a scam, right?” asks Buffy.
“Look, would I wear this if I wasn’t on the up and up?” asks Spike.
“You do sort of look like an evil olive,” says Willow.
They have reached the entrance to the Initiative’s underground complex hidden in the woods. Spike goes up to the doors.
Elsewhere in town, Adam is monitoring the Initiative’s systems. He has a phone line jacked into his head.
Spike pulls the doors open. “For a nasty town like Sunnydale, nobody seems to mind their locks.”3
Adam continues to monitor them. He is also keeping track of the computer activity originating from Giles’ apartment.
Giles watches over Anya’s shoulder as she types on Willow’s Powerbook. He consults a map, and gives her the grid coordinates for the area covering the university and outlying areas of town. Anya enters them into the emergency shutdown command.
The lights go out inside the Initiative. Backup emergency power quickly cuts in. Power goes out over a large section of Sunnydale, including Giles’ apartment.
Anya is pleased. She raises her hand. “Slap my hand now!”
“Beg your pardon?” asks Giles.
“In celebration,” says Anya.
Giles gets what she wants, and gives her a high five, a little too vigorously.
“Ow!” says Anya.
Buffy and Xander burst into Colonel McNamara’s quarters while Willow and Spike stay on watch by the door. They quickly approach his bed. McNamara wakes up, and rolls toward his bedside table. Buffy gets there first and he finds himself staring at the pointy end of her small crossbow. “You know who I am?” she ask. He does. “Then you know I’m pretty good with this thing. Take us to him.”
“Finn stays in the brig,” says McNamara. “Helping an HST escape is a court-martial offense. You’re only going to make matters worse.”
Buffy gives Xander a surprised look. “Riley tried to help Oz escape?”
The colonel is equally surprised. “That’s who you came for. The wolf!”
“Guess we’re two for one,” says Xander.
Buffy orders the colonel to get dressed.
Buffy walks past the guard outside the brig, and drops a stake on floor. The guard bends down to pick it up. “Hey, you dropped your—” Buffy kicks him in the head, and removes the pass card from his unconscious body.
Buffy lets herself into the brig and unlocks Riley’s cell. He wants to know how she got in, but she doesn’t have time to explain now. They have to get moving. She starts toward the door.
Riley grabs her arm and turns her around. “Buffy, I leave now, I can’t ever come back.” Buffy looks at him in surprise, afraid that he might not come with her.
“I just wanted to hear that out loud,” says Riley. They leave the brig together.
The group makes its way to the cell block that Oz is in. Buffy is holding Colonel McNamara and keeping her crossbow aimed at his head. A group of armed Initiative soldiers appears at the far end of the corridor. “Hold it!” they order. More soldiers appear at the other end, trapping them. Oz hears the commotion from his cell and stands up. They let him keep the clothes that Riley gave him.
Buffy tightens her grip on McNamara, and keeps her crossbow aimed at his head. “Stay back. Or I’ll pull a William Burroughs on your leader here.”
No one moves, but several people—including Riley—look puzzled.
“You’ll bore him to death with free prose?” asks Xander.
“Was I the only one awake in English that day?”4 asks Buffy. She makes her threat more plain. “I’ll kill him.” She looks at McNamara. “Get him out.” McNamara nods to one of the soldiers, and he unlocks Oz’s cell.
Oz steps out, and sees Willow rushing toward him. “Willow, get back!” He closes his eyes. His hand starts to change into a wolf’s paw. Oz quickly regains control, and the hand shifts back.
“Let’s go!” say Buffy, and they all leave the cell block together, with the soldiers following them.
They make their way to the elevator up to Lowell House without anyone trying to stop them, and all crowd in, taking the colonel with them. At the top, Willow, Spike, Xander and Oz get out, leaving Buffy and Riley behind with Colonel McNamara. Riley opens the panel in the elevator wall, and rips out the wiring, disabling the elevator. He and Buffy get out, leaving the colonel behind.
“Your a dead man, Finn!” says Colonel McNamara.
Riley turns around and comes back. “No sir! I’m an anarchist.” He knocks the colonel to the floor with a punch, and walks away.
Buffy and Riley set up camp inside the ruins of Sunnydale High. The group has split up, to make it harder for the Initiative to find them all. Riley isn’t too worried about the others. He figures that they are mostly going to be looking for him. He doesn’t know what he is going to do next. They should be safe for tonight, and he will try to figure something out tomorrow. Buffy tells him it has been quite a day.
Riley is just glad it’s done. He is sad that it has ended the way it has, but at least now he knows where he stands. He apologises to Buffy about the way he reacted to the news of Oz being a werewolf. She was right. He was being a bigot.
“No, you weren’t,” says Buffy. “You were thrown. You found out that Willow was in kind of an unconventional relationship, and it gave you a momentary wiggins. It happens.”
“Still,” says Riley. “I was in a totally black-and-white space, people versus monsters, and it ain’t like that. Especially when it comes to love.”
Buffy considers that for a few seconds, and comes to a decision. “I have to tell you some stuff. About my past. And it’s not all stuff that you’re going to like.”
“You can tell me anything,” says Riley.
“I think so,” says Buffy. “I think I can.”
Oz and Willow sit in the front seats of his van. She thinks it looks pretty good for something that has been driven across a couple of oceans. Oz tells her that it broke down outside of Mexico. He traded his bass to have it fixed and garaged. He tells her that he shouldn’t have come back now. He thought he’d changed.
“You have changed,” says Willow. “You stopped the wolf from coming out. I saw it.”
“But I couldn’t look at you. I mean, it turns out the one thing that brings it out of me is you. Which falls under the heading of ‘ironic’ in my book.”
“It was my fault,” says Willow. “I upset you.”
“So we’re safe then,” Oz cracks a bit of a smile, “’cause you’ll never do that again.” He asks her if she’s happy. She is. She can’t really explain it. “It may be safer for both of us if you don’t.”
“I missed you Oz,” says Willow. “I wrote you so many letters, but I didn’t have any place to send them, you know? I couldn’t live like that.”
“It was stupid to think that you’d just be—waiting.”
“I was waiting,” says Willow. “I feel like some part of me will always be waiting for you. Like if I’m old and blue-haired, and I turn the corner in Istanbul, and there you are. I won’t be surprised, because you’re with me, you know?”
“I know,” says Oz. “But now is not that time, I guess.”
Willow wants to know what he’s going to do now. Oz figures that he has to go away again. “When?”
“Pretty much now,” says Oz.
Willow sniffs back a tear, and leans toward him to give him a hug. They hold each other tightly for a while.
Tara sits in her darkened room, looking out her window. The power still isn’t back on. There is a knock on her door. She opens it.
Willow is standing in front of her door, holding a candle. “No candles? Well, I brought one. It’s extra flamey.” She stands in the door for a moment. Tara doesn’t say anything, so Willow steps into the room and hands the candle to her. She wants to explain.
“I understand,” says Tara. “You have to be with the person you l-love.”
“I am,” says Willow.
“You mean?”
Willow smiles at her. “I mean. Okay?”
“Oh, yes,” says Tara.
“I feel horrible about everything I put you through,” says Willow. “And I’m going to make it up to you, starting right now.”
“Right now?” asks Tara.
Willow nods.
Tara blows out the candle.
| Who or What | Where | How |
|---|---|---|
| Willis, an Initiative soldier | The woods | Throat ripped out by a demon |