The Scoobies plus Riley met up at Giles's apartment. Willow and Xander had stopped off at Oz's room and gotten him some clothes for the morning. Xander carried Oz the whole way. Police in Sunnydale being what they were, they encountered no problems. With Oz-wolf safely drugged up in Giles' bedroom, the others met and talked.

"Okay, so there's definitely something else, right?" Xander asked.

"If your timing is right, then yes," said Riley. "You already had Oz by the time we got to the Bronze, so that wasn't him. It was something else. Or at least someone else."

"Do you think we have another werewolf?" Willow asked.

"Hard to say," Buffy said. "We didn't really have time to take statements from the people fleeing in terror."

"Lounging around on the job again, huh?" Xander joked.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at him.

"So what do we do?" Faith asked. "I mean, we got a wolf out and about, and a big apocalypse to deal with, I haven't showered and B's hair looks like it could sprout wings at any moment."

"Hey!"

"I suggest we all get some sleep," Giles said. "We'll do nobody any good if we fall asleep on our feet. After that, we'll figure out what needs to happen. Obviously of the two, the apocalypse is more important to stop. I hate to say it, but if we must leave the werewolf on the street for another night to save the world, then that's just what we're going to have to do."

The sun peeked in through the window as they all sat there. "Meet back here no later than noon, and we shall plan our course of action. And if any of you has any thoughts as to the whereabouts of this demon, don't hesitate to call."

As the Xander, Buffy and Riley left and Faith went back to her room, Willow got up and went to check on Oz, who was just waking up.

"Hey," he said as he pulled on the shirt that Willow had left for him. "How'd I get here?"

"Xander carried you," she said.

"Okay. Why?"

"Well, you kind of got out last night," she said, sitting next to him on the bed. "So we found you and brought you back."

"Did I get to anyone?" he asked, worried.

"We don't think so," she said. "The. . . um. . . well, a couple of Riley's soldiers were injured by a large dog type creature. But it probably wasn't you. You didn't so much escape as you were. . . broken out."

"By what?"

"We think it was another werewolf. The. . . claw marks outside the cage. . . they're. . . kind of the right size. And something. . . not you. . . raided the Bronze last night."

"Well where was I?"

"Lover's Lane," she said. "Xander. . . um. . . distracted you while I got you with a tranquilizer dart."

"But I didn't get anyone?"

"No. And, even if you did, which you didn't, but even if it was. . . wolf- you who attacked Riley's soldiers, they're gonna be okay. Nothing major. No deaths last night."

"Good," he said, relaxing a little bit. "So, somebody opened my cage?"

"Well. . . destroyed is more like," she said. "It was. . . well, something wanted you out of there."

"Huh," he said. "So, what about tonight?"

"I don't know," said Willow. "But for now, Giles ordered us all to sleep, because tonight. . . world save-age."

"I'm not so tired," he said. "I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

Willow frowned. "Do you want me to-"

"No," he said. "No, you should get some sleep, like Giles said. I won't be up for the fight tonight anyway."

Oz leaned over and kissed Willow on the cheek before getting up and leaving a very worried Willow sitting on Giles' bed. After sitting for a few minutes, she went downstairs to find Giles reading some book or other.

"Bye Giles," she said, softly, gathering her jacket and purse.

The older man looked up at her. "Is everything all right?" he asked, noticing the worried expression on her face.

"I. . ." she started, pausing at the door. "No." Willow walked away without looking back.

* * * * *

"What do you think?" Buffy asked as she lay in Xander's arms.

"I think sleep is a good thing," he replied wearily.

"I just. . . I don't know. Where could it be? And what broke Oz out last night? And -"

"Buff, I love you. This you know. But if you don't stop talking I'm gonna kick you out of this bed."

"I don't believe you."

Xander turned to face her and glared.

"Okay fine," she said quietly, snuggling a little closer into him and laying her hand over his. "I believe you."

Xander kissed the top of her head.

"Do you think the world's going to end tonight?" she asked.

Xander sighed and said nothing for a few moments.

"No," he replied, finally. "I don't. In fact, I'm sure it won't."

"How?"

"Well. . . a couple reasons. First, there's the prophecies."

"What prophecies? The ones that say this guy's gonna end the world?"

"No, not those. Buff, there's a million prophecies out there talking about Armageddon. A lot of those concern events already past, but hey-still here. I mean the prophecies about us."

"Which ones?"

"Well, there's that one that says you will face dark times."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, it says I'll help you through them. That really hasn't happened yet. As much as I don't want you to face dark times. . . I do want us to be around to be able to face them. And I believe we will be."

"Anything else?"

"Well, there's that prophecy about me helping Faith find her soul mate. Haven't done that yet."

"Okay, double prophecies. What else?"

"That's not enough?"

"You want me to use prophecies as proof against other prophecies?"

Xander laughed. "I guess that I can see the fallacy in that logic."

"Big words again."

"Sorry. Anyway, there is another reason."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"You."

"Me?"

"Buffy, you've stopped everything. The Master, the Mayor, the Sisters of Jhe. . . Angelus. . .. You've done it all, and one lousy demon is supposed to scare me? Especially now, with me all powered up and Faith on the good side of the Force again? I can't say I'm too worried."

"But what if we don't find him in time?"

"We will," he said. "We always do."

* * * * *

"We have to talk about what happened."

"Really?" asked Oz. "I don't see it that way."

"Oz you can't just-"

"Actually, I can just."

"They lock you up in a cage!"

"No, I lock myself up in a cage," he said. "For safety."

"Whose safety, Oz? Because I don't think it's yours."

"No, it's not mine," he said. "I can take care of myself when I'm wolfed out, I just can't control myself. It's for the protection of the people who can't take care of themselves."

"You can't fight it," she said. "The wolf. . . it can't be locked up. It's a part of you. Inside you. It's what you are. It's in you all the time."

"I don't even-"

"You're starting to remember, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Your memory. It's getting better. You're starting to know what you did. You remember me breaking you out, that's why you came and found me."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"It does, Oz. You're becoming the wolf more and more every time you change. I know what it's like. I know what you're going through. The power. The incredible rush from a good hunt. I know what it's like."

"Look. . . just stay away from me Veruca."

"Oh, I can stay away," she said. "The question is: can you?"

* * * * *

"So where are we putting me up tonight?" Oz asked when they had all reassembled at Giles's apartment.

"I'm not sure," Giles said. "We. . . don't exactly have time to put up another cage today."

"Got it covered," Xander said. "If you're willing to go in for manacles, we can put you in Angel's old mansion. There's uh. . . some places to hook in restraints that are pretty solid, we checked it out on the way over here."

"Sounds okay by me," he said. "If you're sure it's solid."

"Tried 'em out ourselves," Buffy said.

The room grew very quiet.

"In the looping chains through and pulling AND NOTHING ELSE kind of way," Xander said. "Perverts."

"Yes, well, that all sounds fine," Giles said. "Has anybody had any thoughts as to where Buffy might be afraid of?"

He looked around the room at the silent people. "Right. Me either. So I got some help."

"What kind of help?" Faith asked.

"This," Giles said, pulling out a phonebook. "This has a listing of every business, every park, every museum, church and governmental building in town. Let's go through the list."

The entire group groaned.

"Well, it's a last resort, people!" he said. Giles started reading from the phone book.

* * * * *

Four hours later

"Well, that was fun," said Faith. "Not to mention utterly useless."

"That's not true, Faith," said Riley. "It was very useful. Now we know where not to look."

"Which is, um, everywhere," Willow pointed out.

"Yes," Giles said. "Well, that about does it. We're all going to die."

"Giles!" yelled Willow

"Sorry."

"I need to get going," Oz said, looking at his watch. "Getting close to sundown."

"I'll go with," Xander said, after catching a quick glance from Willow. "Make sure everything's done up right."

Oz nodded and the two young men left the others to keep searching for a potential site. Xander returned to the apartment about twenty-five minutes later.

"All locked up and no place to go," Xander said as he sat back down next to Buffy. "Any success in my absence?" His question was met with a lot of shaking head.

"I hate to say it again," Xander said, "but we've got to be missing something."

"What time is it?" Buffy asked.

"5:40," said Riley.

"You're certain of what Willy said?" Giles asked.

"Yeah," said Xander. "Willy said that he's already set up wherever he's going to be, and he's in someplace they think Buffy will be afraid of. That sound right, Riley?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Wait a second, we've been going about this all wrong!" Faith said.

They looked at her.

"Xander, you said he's in someplace they think Buffy's afraid of, right?"

"Yeah."

"And we've established Buffy's not afraid of any holy place or. . . well, anything else, in Sunnydale, right?"

"Yes," said Giles. "And so, we have reached an impasse."

"No, we haven't," Riley said. "We've been looking for places Buffy IS afraid of, not places that demons would THINK she is afraid of."

"And I think I know exactly where that is," said Faith.

"Well don't keep us waiting," Buffy said.

"I know if I were going to be afraid of somewhere, it would be the place that I died."

"The Master's cave," Giles said, immediately.

"Of course," Willow said. "It. . . it makes perfect sense. It's an old church, and it's close to the Hellmouth."

"And it's underground," Xander said. "Which explains why we never found them."

"Good work, Faith. Riley, how soon can your men be ready?"

"Half-hour, tops. Where should we meet them?"

"Xander?" Buffy asked.

"Restfield Cemetery," he said. "There's a large sewer access there. It's where Angel led me down from."

"Done," said Riley, walking out of the apartment to call his troops.

"So are you?" Willow asked Buffy.

"Am I what?"

"Afraid of the Master's cave?"

"Well, last time I was there, I died. But, Xander brought me back, and this time he's gonna be with me the whole time," she said, smiling at her lover. "I'm not afraid at all."

"I happen to be terrified," said Xander.

"Why?" asked Giles.

"About half of my nightmares since that day have been about Buffy going back to the Master's cave and dying, or of me not getting there in time. That's scary, to me."

"What were the other half of your nightmares about?" Faith asked.

"Clowns, vamp Willow, and Drusilla being in love with me."

"Clowns?" she asked.

"It's a long story."

"He got scared by a clown on his sixth birthday," said Willow.

"Not long enough, I guess."

"Okay, weapon time," said Buffy.

"I call the magic sword!" Xander yelled.

"You can't just call it like that, you got it last time!"

"So what? I get it this time, too."

"Giles," Buffy whined, "Xander's hogging the magical weapon."

"Oh dear lord, please strike these two down that I may live the rest of my. . . day. . . in peace. Really, please do sort it out amongst yourselves before we resort to name calling?"

Buffy and Xander looked at each other, then dove as one for the weapon's chest. Xander, with his extra inches of reach, got it first and emerged with the sword.

"Meaniehead," Buffy pouted. Xander stuck his tongue out at her, and proudly showed the sword off to Willow, who rolled her eyes.

"Okay," Riley said, re-entering the apartment. "They'll meet us at the entrance of Restfield Cemetery in half an hour. Since I've had the most contact with you, Professor Walsh has put me in charge of the troops. Just tell me what you need us to do."

"Okay, great," said Buffy, grabbing another sword from the chest. "I guess we all mount up now."

"Mount up?" Giles asked. "What, are we cowboys now?"

"Yeah, are you looking to go, um, slaughter some indigenous people and give them diseases?" asked Willow.

"Also, the last time I looked, we ain't got any horses," said Faith, grinning.

"Oh, just get some weapons, people."

* * * * *

"They don't run like an ordinary military unit," Riley said as they walked to the cemetery. "We picked the best minds, the best fighters, the best marksmen, the best everything, and put them together. As such, they get a little leeway when it comes to regulations."

"What does that mean?" Xander asked.

"It means they might not accept you guys right off, just because I tell them to."

The Scooby Gang soon met up with the soldiers from the Initiative. Riley quickly addressed his troops and informed them of the impending apocalypse situation. A couple of the younger ones shifted nervously, but most just kept staring at the Scoobies.

"Questions?" Riley asked when he was done. One soldier, a no-neck, raised his hand. "Lieutenant Horn?"

"Sir, just wondering who the civilians are, sir."

"Good question. Men, this group of dedicated individuals has been defending this town for over three years. Each one of them has taken down more vampires than any single person in the Initiative, myself included. Their knowledge of the occult far outweighs the information we have been able to gather. If one of them tells you to do something, do it. Act as though it were a direct order from me. Is that understood?"

"Begging the Captain's pardon, sir," said another soldier. "But we're supposed to take orders from, let's face it, some little girls who look like they should be on television, an old guy who could pass for a librarian, and some kid who looks fresh out of high school?"

The 'civilians' looked on in amusement.

"Soldier, step out."

"Sir?" he asked.

"I said step out of the line, soldier."

"Yes, sir," he said, stepping forward.

"How many fights have you lost in your life, soldier?" Finn asked the younger man.

"One, sir," he answered.

"And who was that to?"

"Sir, you defeated me, sir."

"That's right, I did. How long did we fight?"

"Um, I don't exactly remember, sir. I gave you a good run, though, if you don't mind my saying."

"Not at all. Buffy?"

Some of the soldiers chuckled at her name. Buffy pointed to herself questioningly. Seeing Riley's nod, she walked over to where the soldiers were standing.

"I want you to fight her," Riley said.

"Sir?"

"Fight her," Riley said. "If you can beat her-scratch that. If you land one punch or kick or anything, I'll put you in for a promotion."

The young man smiled cockily. "Yes, sir," he said.

Buffy dropped into her fighting stance opposite the soldier.

"Easiest promotion I'll ever get," he muttered to himself.

"What was that?" Riley asked.

"He said it would be an easy promotion," Faith yelled from her spot, 10 feet away.

The soldier was surprised she had heard, but kept his eyes on his target. Buffy just smiled. In a flash, the fight was on. The soldier rushed Buffy. She kept her place. He thought that with his greater reach, obviously greater strength and, at the very least, equivalent speed, he should be able to get hold of her and down her before she could counter any of his attacks. This line of thinking was swiftly interrupted as his ass met the ground and he rolled end over end back to his fellow soldiers, who were quickly silenced.

Buffy lowered her leg and grimaced, and shot an apologetic look over to Riley as she went back over to her friends. Riley nodded at her and went back and stood in front of his men. "So," he started. "That was one of the 'little girls who looks like she should be on television.' Anyone want to try the 'kid who looks fresh out of high school?'"

His question was met with silence. "Good," he said. "Let's go."

"Sir!" said a soldier, the field medic, kneeling next to the one on the ground.

"Yes?" Riley asked impatiently.

"Um, I think he cracked a couple of ribs, sir."

Riley looked back at Buffy, who shrugged apologetically again. Xander shook his head and he jogged over.

"Lay down flat on your back," Xander said.

The young man lay down with the help of the medic. Xander knelt next to him.

"Take off some of this gear," he said. The medic looked to Riley for confirmation. Riley nodded. The medic and Xander then removed all his extraneous equipment, leaving him in a shirt and camo pants.

"Are his ribs uh. . . set, or whatever?" Xander asked. The medic nodded.

"Okay." Xander placed his hands gently on the soldier's chest and concentrated. A white glow emanated from his hands for a couple seconds.

"All right," he said. "You'll be sore for a couple days, but other than that, you should be fine."

The soldier looked at him incredulously.

"Come on, sit up," Xander said.

With a little prompting from Riley, the young man sat up.

"How do you feel?" Riley asked.

The young man squirmed a little, testing for pain.

"I feel. . . fine, sir. A little sore, like he said, but nothing I can't deal with. Sir."

"Good," Riley said. "Let's go then." The soldiers moved into the sewer access in pairs.

Xander grinned as he waited for the rest of the gang to catch up with him. "Always cleanin' up your messes, Buff."

"You just like showing off," she replied, wrapping her arm around his waist.

"Well, yeah," he said. "But I'm still right."

The Scoobies followed the soldiers in and closed the gate behind them.

"Xander," Riley called out. "We need directions."

Xander and Buffy moved to the head of the group.

"It's kind of. . . this way-ish," Xander said, pointing to the left. They followed his lead.

----------

End Chapter 27