Buffy, Giles, and Xander spilled out into the hallway at the same time Dawn finished her headlong sprint down the stairs. Buffy was the first to reach Dawn as she stood panting slightly from a combination of fear and exertion.

"Dawnie, what's wrong?"

"Spike," was all Dawn managed to get out before Buffy cut her off.

"Spike? Did he hurt you? I'm so going to stake him this time." Fear for her sister was making Buffy shout.

Dawn grabbed Buffy's arm to stop her from heading towards the stairs. "No, Buffy, he didn't hurt me. He disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Giles asked.

"We were upstairs, checking out the rooms. I heard a noise in the attic, and was heading towards the door. I turned around to see if Spike was coming and he wasn't there."

"Well maybe he decided to try and leave again. I wouldn't put it past him," Xander suggested.

"Hey," Dawn protested. "Spike would not just leave like that. We were getting ready to come downstairs and let you guys know what we found when we heard the noises. Something captured him and we have to find him."

"Dawn, calm down, we'll find him." Buffy reassured her. "Let's just think about this for a minute."

"You said you found something?" Giles asked.

Dawn turned to him. "Yes," she squealed, her distress momentarily forgotten. "We saw a light out on the grounds through one of the upstairs windows. We could only see it from one of the bedrooms, and I had to lean out pretty far to see it."

"Hmmm, obviously someone can be out on the grounds without teleporting back into the mansion," Giles mused. "It bears checking out."

Not to be outdone, Xander chimed in. "Anya and I found a clue too. We found footprints in the ballroom that led into a secret passage. It came out in the billiard room. We were going to come and tell you but decided we might as well search the billiard room while we were there."

"Where is Anya?" Buffy asked.

Xander flushed. "Oh, she's right behind me. We were, um, searching, and then when we were finished, um, searching, we heard Dawn yell, and I ran out here while she, you know," he trailed off in the face of their knowing stares.

Giles raised an eyebrow. "Yes, well, why don't you go and, er, see if she's recuperated from searching, and is able to join us; best not to be separated until we figure out what's going on."

They watched as Xander walked over to the billiard room door. He opened it and poked his head in. "An, hon, are you dec…, ah, ready?" he called with a quick glance back over his shoulder at his audience. "An?" he called again, then walked into the room when he didn't receive an answer.

A moment later he stepped back out into the hall, all traces of his usual joking self gone. "She's not here."

Buffy stepped toward him, hand outstretched. "Maybe she heard something and went back into the passageway?"

Xander shook his head. "Why would she do that without telling us? Something's happened."

Buffy shot a quick look at Giles. The situation was starting to get out of hand. "We'll just have to look for her."

"Hey," Dawn broke in, "what about Spike?"

"I certainly think finding Anya is more important than finding him," Xander argued.

Further argument broke off when a door slammed open down the hall and Willow yelled for Buffy.

Realizing that Willow's tone meant more problems, Buffy briefly let her shoulders slump as she turned to her best friend. "Why does everyone always yell for me?" she mumbled under her breath.

Giles, overhearing her complaint, bent his head so only she could hear. "I believe that goes along with the territory for the Chosen one."

She quirked a mock glare at him. "If you break out that one girl in all the world speech right now, you're in trouble."

He merely smiled in reply.

Feeling somewhat lightened by the exchange, Buffy determinedly moved towards Willow who was rushing from the kitchen and was surprised when Willow flung herself into Buffy's arms.

"Will, what's wrong?" she asked the girl sobbing in her arms.

"We had a fight."

Giles stepped forward. "You and Tara fought someone, are you all right? What was it? Where's Tara?"

Willow raised her head from Buffy's shoulder, sniffling. "No, Tara and I had a fight, with each other."

"I'm sure everything will be okay. You can apologize and make up," Buffy offered.

"Yeah," Xander agreed, "If Anya has taught me anything it's that groveling is a major part of any relationship."

"But you don't understand. She's gone," Willow wailed.

"Did she get mad and leave?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know, she's just not there."

"Willow," Buffy said, taking Willow's face in her hands to get her attention. "Try to calm down and tell us everything that happened."

Willow briefly outlined the events leading up to Tara's disappearance, leaving out the exact reason for the fight. When she finished, Dawn was the first to speak. "Great, now we've lost three people so far."

"Three?" Willow was confused until she looked around and counted heads. "Anya and Spike are missing too?"

"Yes," Giles answered. "We hadn't had time to formulate any theories when you appeared, but my guess is that someone is targeting us one by one. We must be extremely cautious going forward."

Willow started pacing. Buffy didn't think she was moving that fast, but her hair was starting to fly around her face. "If someone has hurt Tara," she trailed off ominously. Again, Buffy was uncertain but thought for just a moment Willow's eyes had gone completely black. Shaking her head, certain her eyes were playing tricks on her, she put a placating hand on Willow's shoulder.

"We'll find them. We'll find all of them," she said, looking at Xander. "We just need to make a plan instead of going running through the house so the rest of us can get picked off."

"Excellent idea, Buffy," Giles' said approvingly. "What is your suggestion?"

"Well, first, I think we should go and investigate the noises Dawn heard in the attic." At Willow's noise of protest, she held up her hand. "Then, we can check out the kitchen and the billiard room. But experience has taught me that things that go bump in the night generally aren't friendly. So it's a good place to start."

As a group, they started moving towards the stairs.