Revelations
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The smell of coffee and bacon woke him. Looking at his watch it was 10:30AM. Good, at least these people didn't get up at the crack of dawn. After making his morning ablutions, Oz headed downstairs. Everyone but Krieg was there. Conn was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for everyone. As he saw Oz come down the stairs, Conn picked up a plate and heaped it with bacon, scrambled eggs, and home fries. The plate almost became invisible under the pile.
"Here you go Oz, help ye self to coffee or OJ." Oz sat himself down next to Hope.
"Conn has a problem with portion control Oz. Mostly because he eats five times as much as anyone else. He also doesn't trust anyone else's cooking, but since he's the best cook in the pack, we leave that up to him. The rest of us take turns cleaning up."
Oz dug in. His normal breakfast was a pop tart and maybe a bowl of cereal, but Hope was right, this was very good. Oz noticed Derrick was in the exact same place and position they left him in last night. "What's with him?" Oz asked.
John got up and grabbed a large coffee mug. Filling it to the brim he walked over to Derrick. "He's zoned out. It's a kind of an out-of-body thing he does, launching himself into what he calls the Digital Web. He could stay like that for days if we let him."
John waved the mug under Derrick's nose. After a moment Derrick stirred. He took off the goggles he was wearing and placed them in a case before grabbing the mug and downing half of it in a few seconds. "Ah, nectar of the Gods."
Derrick got up, grabbed a power bar from a cabinet in the kitchen and seated himself with everyone else. "Good morning all! And how did our guest sleep last night?"
"Fine, thanks."
Derrick chuckled. "I've already noticed in your short time with us Oz that you are an economist with words. They are free you know?"
Oz replied "I know", eliciting more chuckles from all around.
Krieg finally came downstairs and joined them. After getting his plate from Conn, he sat down with a grunt.
As everyone continued to eat, Hope turned to Oz. "Well I think it's time for a few more explanations. We told you our names Oz, but we should probably go a little further. Most Garou have a human name and a Garou name. My name is Hope as you know, but my Garou name is "Blue Sky". I am of the Children of Gaia tribe, and I am whats known as a Philodox or the Keeper of the Ways. We act as judges and mediators. I'm also the leader of the Red Moon pack."
"John "Talks to the Wind" Smith here is also a Child of Gaia, and he is a Theurge. He is sort of our Shaman. He communes with the spirits, getting information from them and generally keeping them happy with respects to the pack. He's also our healer, although I have a little talent in that area too."
Pointing to the two big guys, Hope continued. "Krieg "War Dog" Magnusson is of the Get of Fenris tribe and is an Ahroun or Warrior. All Garou are fearsome in battle, but the Ahrouns excel in it. And of course we have Conn "Towers Over the Wyrm" MacNessa. He is an Ahroun as well and of the Fianna tribe.
"Derrick, as he so proudly announced, is not a Garou. He is a Mage from the tradition known as the Virtual Adepts. Computer whizzes and information junkies. We hooked up a while back when our missions crossed. We consider him part of the pack, but it's not official. Garou society does not allow it. Technically, he's also our employer. A little scheme he cooked up. Using some money he "repatriated" from the Wyrm, Derrick set up a few shell companies to hide the trail, and now we get paid to fight the Wyrm!"
"How many of us are there?" Oz asked.
"I'm not sure of the exact count, but I'd say in the 500,000 range, maybe less. Our numbers have been dwindling of late. There are 13 Tribes of Garou. The Garou also have organized "Septs", which are communities made up of either members of one tribe or of many. Each Sept is centered on and protects a Garou holy area known as a Cearn. Within the Sept some Garou form packs such as ours. These are usually friends who choose to run together."
"I spoke with Jeanette this morning. She is the local Sept's Den Mother, what we call our teacher of the young ones. She's looking forward to meeting you. She'll be at the Caern tonight. We can catch the 2 o'clock ferry and be there before nightfall. Tonight will be your introduction to the Sept, and there you'll learn more about us."
"In the mean time Oz, why don't you tell us some more about yourself?"
A small amount of panic gripped him. As Derrick pointed out, public speaking is not his forte. Plus, he just met these people, how much should he tell them? Up until a few months ago Oz was a typical American teenager, nothing out of the ordinary. He'd never talked to anyone else about the Hellmouth type stuff going on except with the Scooby gang, and they are the ones who woke him up to it. No one would believe it anyway. Then Oz supposed telling a bunch of werewolves about the Hellmouth wasn't that far of a stretch.
"Well, my real name in Daniel Osborne, I was born and raised in Sunnydale California. I led a pretty normal life, I went to high school, and played in a rock band; "Dingos Ate My Baby." That got a few more laughs.
"You're a musician too!" Exclaimed Hope.
"Yeah, guitar. We're good for a bunch of teenagers. Anyway, everything changed when I met my girlfriend, Willow."
"Our first date was a surprise birthday party for Willow's best friend Buffy. We had one of the local clubs to ourselves, all decked out for the party. It was only Willow and me, Willow's friend Xander and his girlfriend Cordelia, two teachers from school, Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar and Buffy's boyfriend Angel. We were all waiting for Buffy to show up, when she literally came crashing in, through a window near the stage. Buffy and some huge guy landed on the stage, at which point Buffy takes a wooden stake, plunges it into the guys chest, and poof he explodes into dust. Turns out he was a Vampire."
Krieg held up his hand. "Wait, stop. This girl stakes a Vamp and he turns to dust? That's not what happens when you stake a vamp."
Oz was perplexed, first because he thought they might not believe him about Vampires, despite being werewolves themselves. And second because he'd dusted a few himself. "What do you mean that's not how it happens? I've seen Buffy dust tons of Vamps, and I've staked a few myself. Poof."
The pack looked around at each other questioningly. "Oz," continued Krieg, "We've had the occasion to stake a few leeches ourselves and it does not make them explode into dust, it just freezes them. Sends them into torpor. As soon as you pull the stake, they're back again. And tons of vamps? How is she still alive? Why haven't they called a Blood Hunt down on her?"
Oz had no answer so he just shrugged his shoulders. Hope suggested that they let Oz continue. "Well, it was then that they explained to me that Sunnydale sits on top of the Hellmouth, a gateway to hell. Despite the fact that it's currently closed, it attracts Vampires and other demons like moths to a flame. And some demon yahoo is always trying to open it. Buffy is "The Slayer", the chosen one. To quote her Watcher; "In every generation, a Slayer is born. The one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Sounds like a bad TV show to me" replied Krieg. "Look Oz we're not doubting you, but we are sort of in the whole fight back against evil biz ourselves. All Garou are or should be. I've never heard of a place called the Hellmouth, or a female Slayer." Turning to his pack mates, "Have any of you?" They hadn't.
"Derrick?"
"No, but I'm on it. Sunnydale California you said?" Oz nodded his head yes. "I'll be back". Derrick stood up and took a palm pilot out of his pocket. Keying in a few things, he suddenly vanished. Oz didn't even blink, he'd seen witchcraft before.
Krieg continued, "The vampires we're familiar with are part of a society known as the Camarilla. They are highly organized. They operate under what they call "The Masquerade", which serves to hide them from mortals. The Garou have something similar called the Veil. Both groups know that if humanity discovered the truth about us, there would be an Inquisition unleashed to destroy us. If a vampire breaks the Masquerade, his own people will destroy him. The same is true for us, as you'll learn from the Den Mother."
John picked up the conversation, "Vampires are also heavily into politics, as a way to maintain the Masquerade. They control the police and government in most major cities. Going up against them is dangerous. There are probably a few hundred vampires in the Seattle area right now. We have a sort of a truce between us and them. We stay out of their business, and they stay out of ours."
Now it was Hopes turn. "Fortunately they stick to the cities. The Garou rule beyond the city limits. In fact for the most part all but two Garou tribes, the Glasswalkers and the Bone Gnawers, shun the cities. The only reason we as a pack live here is it's easier to keep track of our enemies from here than from a forest. You see vampires aren't our biggest problem. A huge conglomerate called Pentex is actually a front for what we call the Wyrm, evil incarnate. Pentex is the one that Red Moon pack rages war against, because they are the ones who are ravaging the Wyld."
Oz pondered all of this, feeling that if anymore revelations come his way today, his mind will burst. "I guess that explains the Bone Gnawers I met today when I came up against that vamp."
"Huh? What vamp Oz?" asked Krieg.
Oz explained the encounter he had just prior to meeting the pack.
"It must have been an Anarc or a Caitiff" explained John. "The Bone Gnawers have claimed the area around Yesler Way for decades; they've a Caern there somewhere. The Vamps are supposed to stay away. I'm surprised they didn't tear it apart. That Fetish you were given was probably what saved you.
Oz took the fetish off and looked at it "Speaking of which, the man who gave this to me told me to stay away from the piers at night, that they crawled with leeches, which I suppose are what you guys call vamps. You guys live in spitting distance from the piers, what gives?"
The all chuckled "It was Conn's idea. "Showing the Colors" he calls it" replied Hope.
"Aye laddie. They know we be 'ere, and we make 'em nervous. Keeps 'em honest. This 'ere be neutral ground according to the pact, so they canna say no."
It's at that moment that Derrick reappeared, sort of.
They all heard static coming from the big screen TV in the room. Looking over, an image appeared on the screen, at first loaded with static and scan bars, but it resolved into an image of Derrick, only done up like Max Headroom! "Ok-k-kay kids! Here is the 4-4-4-411 so far."
"Knock out the stutter Derrick," Hope ordered, "you know it drives me nuts."
"P-p-p-arty Pooper." Derrick's screen image changed. His normal self appeared, and he appeared to be sitting in a cave of some sort, in front of a desk with numerous keyboards.
"Sunnydale was founded by the Spanish when they occupied California. The locals soon dubbed it La Boca del Infierno, which for you non-Spanish speakers translates to the Mouth of Hell. This sleepy little town, about an hour north of LA, has the highest per-capita death rate in the entire country! And get this; most of this is attributed by the local authorities to either gang activity spilling over from LA or drugs. The DEA doesn't have anything to even remotely support that."
They all looked at Oz. "Yeah, the Sunnydale PD has their heads in the sand. I think they know the score, but won't admit it. They're just trying to protect themselves. Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are the only ones standing between the people and the Undead. The cops are useless."
"Scooby gang?" asked John.
"From what I know of Slayers" Oz continued, "they usually operate independently with only their Watcher to guide them. They usually die young too. When one slayer dies, a new one is chosen. Buffy is different though. She's gathered a few friends to help support her and sometimes even fight alongside her. At first she only had my girlfriend Willow and her childhood friend Xander. Xander dubbed the group the "Scooby Gang". They sometimes also refer to themselves as the Slayerettes. Willow is a Wiccan witch," Derrick perked up at that news "Xander is just a normal kid with more guts then brains as far as I know. Later came Cordelia, but she moved to LA to become an actress. And then me."
"Oh but you have not heard the best part kids" Interrupted Derrick. "It seems that the Technocracy is running a US Government sponsored project out of Sunnydale called "The Initiative". A mixture of Iteration X operatives and Progenitors with some Spec Ops people to back them up. They're into genetic engineering, bionic implants, and Artificial Intelligence. Always trying to improve on Mother Nature. Remember the things that you fought in Iowa last summer?" Nods of accent from all around. "They were Iteration X vat jobs, engineered humans. Loaned out by Iteration X to protect that fertilizer plant. And now they have an operation in close proximity to a gateway of hell which according to Oz is Demons-R-Us. Bad juju." No one was happy with this development.
"We've seen a couple of GI Joe types running around recently, could it be them?"
"Most likely. They are probably using weapons that aren't your standard ballistic weapons too."
"What about the vamps Oz has encountered in Sunnydale?" asked Conn.
"My initial search found nothing, but it was not that sophisticated. I'm going to start digging deeper and gear up to confront some of the more touchy people I know. I may even try to go see Nathan tonight and see what he's willing to tell me."
"Okay Derrick. If you need me at the Caern, you know how to reach me."
"Later!" Derrick's image disappeared.
Hope stood up. "Okay, we've all heard a lot of things we need to ponder. I can see most of you want to hit the road right now and see what the hell is going on in Oz's home town, but we still need to get Oz over to the Caern. I think we need to get him on the right track first, and Derrick needs to do some more digging. It wouldn't hurt for us to do some poking around with the spirits too, see what they have to say about the Hellmouth. I have to go do some shopping for things needed at the Caern. Conn, why don't you fill up the picnic baskets and we'll eat lunch on the way to Bremerton. Anyone want to come shopping with me?" No takers. Shopping didn't seem to be their thing, no more then Oz's.
"Okay, I'll be back in a little while. Oz, we're going to leave your van here. You should pack a bag too. We'll at least be there overnight, but there's no telling how long you'll be out at the Caern. If you have an acoustic, bring it too. The more the merrier!" Hope grabbed a shopping list from the table and left.
Everyone else broke up to go do their own things. Oz went out to the van to find his bags and guitar. After rummaging through his stuff, Oz decided some laundry might be in order. Going back inside, he asked about that and Conn directed him to a corner where he saw some louvered bi-fold doors. Oz started his wash then went out to one of the couches and started to tune his guitar.
About 12:30 Hope returned. They packed up the van, climbed aboard and headed towards the Ferry terminal. Conn and Krieg rode their bikes. "Why are JYD and Derrick staying behind?". Oz asked.
"As for Derrick, he's not a Garou for one thing" Replied John. "For another he's a mage, and normally mages and Garou don't mix. We're still taking crap for hanging around with him. It all stems from some less the scrupulous mages raiding a Caern a while back. Despite the fact that he runs with us, the Caern warders wouldn't let him past the border, they'd try to kill him and us if he tried."
"JYD is not really a part of the pack. He doesn't want to be. He's a Bone Gnawer, and we've sort of hired him to watch the place when we're gone. The Bone Gnawer's have their own Caern over on Yesler Way as we said. It's also called Skid Row and if you ask anyone of them, they will proudly tell you that theirs was the first "Skid Row". It got that name from when the loggers would slide logs from the top of the hill to Elliot Bay down the middle of the road. As far as I know, JYD has never left the city limits since he was born."
They needed to wait in line a few minutes before the ferry started allowing cars onboard. Once parked on the ferry, they grabbed the picnic baskets and headed for the upper deck. Finding a place for the group to sit down, Hope started laying out their lunch.
"Oz it's about a 60 minute trip to the other side. So far you've told us where you came from, but you haven't told us why you left. If it's too personal that's okay, but we are curious."
"Hope, it's his business why he left home, stop being nosey". John chided her.
"Well, you men would never have asked. You never think to ask the important questions!"
While they argued, Oz thought about the subject. What should I tell them? He'd killed another Garou after all. How would they take that? Oz interrupted them, "John its cool, I can talk about it."
"I told you a little about Willow, my girlfriend. There was this instant connection ya know? Hell, I've even taken a bullet for her, but that's another story. Anyway Buffy and the Scooby gang were hunting a werewolf that was prowling around town. They eventually discovered it was me, when I didn't even really know myself. It seems that when I revert back to human form I have no memory of what I did in wolf form."
"But even after making that discovery, Willow was not put off or anything. In fact she arranged for me to be "contained" during the full moon cycle, so I wouldn't hurt anyone. Everything was great, at least as great as it can be on the Hellmouth, when Veruca came along."
Oz heard a groan from his audience. "Typical ain't it," says Krieg. "Leave it to another woman to mess things up!"
Hope slapped him on the arm. "Go on Oz."
"Well, Veruca was the singer of a band playing at the Bronze, a club in Sunnydale. Her voice was great. Anyway we became friends and I think it made Willow jealous. I tried to assure her that nothing was going on between us, and I think she accepted that, but I'm not sure."
"One weekend Willow went to a three-day Wicca gathering that just happened to correspond to my time of the month. She didn't want to go because of that, but I insisted. We had set up a cage in one of the crypts in a graveyard to secure myself during the change. We probably should have gotten a stronger cage because I apparently broke free. When I awoke, I was laying butt naked in the woods covered in scratches, with Veruca wrapped in my arms."
Chuckling, Conn adds, "Bloody hell laddie! Not the best way to reassure yer bird of yer fidelity."
Now red-faced, Oz continued. "I know. At least she didn't find out about that incident. The problem was that I was attracted to Veruca at some primitive level. It wasn't about love, it was lust. Probably because she was a werewolf, I mean Garou, too. Apparently she can remember what happened to her in her wolf form."
John interrupted, "Excuse me Oz, but we can all "remember" what happens when we change. Why you can't I'm not sure, but it can probably be cleared up."
"Veruca told me the same thing and that in time I'd begin to remember. She said I was a werewolf 24x7, not just during the full moon. We'd gone to steal some clothes, and she started talking to me about how she wanted us to be together and for me to forget about Willow and I couldn't do that. I didn't stick around. I tried to find out if we'd hurt anyone that night, but nothing was in the papers. Buffy found me in the crypt trying to repair the cage and told me that one of the professors at school was attacked by two "Wild Dogs."
"I called Veruca and told her to meet me at the crypt. I convinced her to get in the cage with me, but that was a mistake. Even before the change occurred we were all over each other. In the morning, Willow had come back early and went to the crypt to surprise me, only the surprise was on her."
Silence. None of the pack tried to reprimand him for his infidelity. They knew the score. Garou are about instinct, not reason most of the time.
"We had a fight. I kept protesting that it was to keep us both from harming someone, but I couldn't deny my animal attraction to Veruca. Of course she ran out. I didn't try to stop her. She ran to Buffy and told her the whole story. Buffy decided to confront Veruca, and came to me to help track her down. We'd tracked her into the woods only to find a pile of her clothes. Deciding we were led on a false trail, we ran back to the one place we now knew Veruca was; she was going after Willow."
"We ran to Willow's dorm room, but she wasn't there. The only other two places we figured she might be were the library or the lab where she often practiced her craft. The lab was closer so we went there first. We arrived to find Willow sprawled on the floor with Veruca hovering over her. I told her to leave, and she challenged me. The sun went down, and we transformed. Buffy had to tell me the rest in the morning."
"I'd killed Veruca, ripped her throat out. Then I went after Willow. Buffy saved the day by tackling and tranquilizing me. I decided that until I could learn to control myself, I was too much of a danger to Willow and others. I had no idea where to go, I just left. Actually, I think I was guided to you. A falcon of some kind appeared to me twice. First when I made my decision on which way to go and a second time in a dream."
"A Falcon Oz? Can you describe him?" asked John. Oz described what he could remember. "That wasn't a falcon Oz; it was a Hawk, also called a Merlin. That was our packs totem spirit! That's why you found us so fast, she was indeed guiding you".
"And protecting I think. I encountered someone named Sam White Cloud at a truck stop along the way here. He seemed determined to chase me out of town. That night I dreamed about Veruca again, and I ran from her into a clearing in the woods. Sam White Cloud was there and so was a wolf with a red coat, and Merlin. The wolf and White Cloud were determined to kill me, said they could smell the Wyrm on me and the "Black Spiral" bitch, but Merlin interceded."
Now agitated, Krieg asked; "Great Fenris Oz, did you say Black Spiral?"
"Yeah, that's what they said. I assumed they meant Veruca but I didn't know what they were talking about."
"Oz, Black Spiral Dancers are a tribe of Garou who have totally gone over to the Wyrm. It's not surprising you ran into one at the Hellmouth. To them a place like that would be a Holiday Inn. The good news though is you won't have to sweat that you killed her, since you seem to be carrying a little guilt about that. All of the other tribes have a "kill on sight" attitude towards them. You can also bet that she was seducing you to try and get you to walk the Black Spiral, bring you over to her side. I'd also be willing to bet she was using more then just her feminine wiles to do it too. Some kind of gift or fetish. So relax boy, this might not have been as much of your fault as you think it is."
"Aye laddie! If the spirits can verify ye battled a black dog and won, even 'afore going through your Rite o' Passage, ye 'ave gained much honor in the eyes of the Sept!" Conn slapped him on the back, almost knocking Oz over.
Hope steadied Oz; "Yes, and yet another reason to take a trip down to Sunnydale and find out what the hell is going on. Oz, I really don't know how long the Den Mother will want to keep you at the Caern. It would also be better if you went through your Right of Passage before you left. That usually takes time to prepare for. I don't want to short change you, but we'll try to make this as quick as possible, then we'll hop on down to Sunnydale and maybe you can get your Willow back."
Oz brightened. He'd not had such a good feeling in a number of days. Things were beginning to look up!
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TBC - The Digital Web
How am I doing so far?
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The smell of coffee and bacon woke him. Looking at his watch it was 10:30AM. Good, at least these people didn't get up at the crack of dawn. After making his morning ablutions, Oz headed downstairs. Everyone but Krieg was there. Conn was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for everyone. As he saw Oz come down the stairs, Conn picked up a plate and heaped it with bacon, scrambled eggs, and home fries. The plate almost became invisible under the pile.
"Here you go Oz, help ye self to coffee or OJ." Oz sat himself down next to Hope.
"Conn has a problem with portion control Oz. Mostly because he eats five times as much as anyone else. He also doesn't trust anyone else's cooking, but since he's the best cook in the pack, we leave that up to him. The rest of us take turns cleaning up."
Oz dug in. His normal breakfast was a pop tart and maybe a bowl of cereal, but Hope was right, this was very good. Oz noticed Derrick was in the exact same place and position they left him in last night. "What's with him?" Oz asked.
John got up and grabbed a large coffee mug. Filling it to the brim he walked over to Derrick. "He's zoned out. It's a kind of an out-of-body thing he does, launching himself into what he calls the Digital Web. He could stay like that for days if we let him."
John waved the mug under Derrick's nose. After a moment Derrick stirred. He took off the goggles he was wearing and placed them in a case before grabbing the mug and downing half of it in a few seconds. "Ah, nectar of the Gods."
Derrick got up, grabbed a power bar from a cabinet in the kitchen and seated himself with everyone else. "Good morning all! And how did our guest sleep last night?"
"Fine, thanks."
Derrick chuckled. "I've already noticed in your short time with us Oz that you are an economist with words. They are free you know?"
Oz replied "I know", eliciting more chuckles from all around.
Krieg finally came downstairs and joined them. After getting his plate from Conn, he sat down with a grunt.
As everyone continued to eat, Hope turned to Oz. "Well I think it's time for a few more explanations. We told you our names Oz, but we should probably go a little further. Most Garou have a human name and a Garou name. My name is Hope as you know, but my Garou name is "Blue Sky". I am of the Children of Gaia tribe, and I am whats known as a Philodox or the Keeper of the Ways. We act as judges and mediators. I'm also the leader of the Red Moon pack."
"John "Talks to the Wind" Smith here is also a Child of Gaia, and he is a Theurge. He is sort of our Shaman. He communes with the spirits, getting information from them and generally keeping them happy with respects to the pack. He's also our healer, although I have a little talent in that area too."
Pointing to the two big guys, Hope continued. "Krieg "War Dog" Magnusson is of the Get of Fenris tribe and is an Ahroun or Warrior. All Garou are fearsome in battle, but the Ahrouns excel in it. And of course we have Conn "Towers Over the Wyrm" MacNessa. He is an Ahroun as well and of the Fianna tribe.
"Derrick, as he so proudly announced, is not a Garou. He is a Mage from the tradition known as the Virtual Adepts. Computer whizzes and information junkies. We hooked up a while back when our missions crossed. We consider him part of the pack, but it's not official. Garou society does not allow it. Technically, he's also our employer. A little scheme he cooked up. Using some money he "repatriated" from the Wyrm, Derrick set up a few shell companies to hide the trail, and now we get paid to fight the Wyrm!"
"How many of us are there?" Oz asked.
"I'm not sure of the exact count, but I'd say in the 500,000 range, maybe less. Our numbers have been dwindling of late. There are 13 Tribes of Garou. The Garou also have organized "Septs", which are communities made up of either members of one tribe or of many. Each Sept is centered on and protects a Garou holy area known as a Cearn. Within the Sept some Garou form packs such as ours. These are usually friends who choose to run together."
"I spoke with Jeanette this morning. She is the local Sept's Den Mother, what we call our teacher of the young ones. She's looking forward to meeting you. She'll be at the Caern tonight. We can catch the 2 o'clock ferry and be there before nightfall. Tonight will be your introduction to the Sept, and there you'll learn more about us."
"In the mean time Oz, why don't you tell us some more about yourself?"
A small amount of panic gripped him. As Derrick pointed out, public speaking is not his forte. Plus, he just met these people, how much should he tell them? Up until a few months ago Oz was a typical American teenager, nothing out of the ordinary. He'd never talked to anyone else about the Hellmouth type stuff going on except with the Scooby gang, and they are the ones who woke him up to it. No one would believe it anyway. Then Oz supposed telling a bunch of werewolves about the Hellmouth wasn't that far of a stretch.
"Well, my real name in Daniel Osborne, I was born and raised in Sunnydale California. I led a pretty normal life, I went to high school, and played in a rock band; "Dingos Ate My Baby." That got a few more laughs.
"You're a musician too!" Exclaimed Hope.
"Yeah, guitar. We're good for a bunch of teenagers. Anyway, everything changed when I met my girlfriend, Willow."
"Our first date was a surprise birthday party for Willow's best friend Buffy. We had one of the local clubs to ourselves, all decked out for the party. It was only Willow and me, Willow's friend Xander and his girlfriend Cordelia, two teachers from school, Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar and Buffy's boyfriend Angel. We were all waiting for Buffy to show up, when she literally came crashing in, through a window near the stage. Buffy and some huge guy landed on the stage, at which point Buffy takes a wooden stake, plunges it into the guys chest, and poof he explodes into dust. Turns out he was a Vampire."
Krieg held up his hand. "Wait, stop. This girl stakes a Vamp and he turns to dust? That's not what happens when you stake a vamp."
Oz was perplexed, first because he thought they might not believe him about Vampires, despite being werewolves themselves. And second because he'd dusted a few himself. "What do you mean that's not how it happens? I've seen Buffy dust tons of Vamps, and I've staked a few myself. Poof."
The pack looked around at each other questioningly. "Oz," continued Krieg, "We've had the occasion to stake a few leeches ourselves and it does not make them explode into dust, it just freezes them. Sends them into torpor. As soon as you pull the stake, they're back again. And tons of vamps? How is she still alive? Why haven't they called a Blood Hunt down on her?"
Oz had no answer so he just shrugged his shoulders. Hope suggested that they let Oz continue. "Well, it was then that they explained to me that Sunnydale sits on top of the Hellmouth, a gateway to hell. Despite the fact that it's currently closed, it attracts Vampires and other demons like moths to a flame. And some demon yahoo is always trying to open it. Buffy is "The Slayer", the chosen one. To quote her Watcher; "In every generation, a Slayer is born. The one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers." "Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Sounds like a bad TV show to me" replied Krieg. "Look Oz we're not doubting you, but we are sort of in the whole fight back against evil biz ourselves. All Garou are or should be. I've never heard of a place called the Hellmouth, or a female Slayer." Turning to his pack mates, "Have any of you?" They hadn't.
"Derrick?"
"No, but I'm on it. Sunnydale California you said?" Oz nodded his head yes. "I'll be back". Derrick stood up and took a palm pilot out of his pocket. Keying in a few things, he suddenly vanished. Oz didn't even blink, he'd seen witchcraft before.
Krieg continued, "The vampires we're familiar with are part of a society known as the Camarilla. They are highly organized. They operate under what they call "The Masquerade", which serves to hide them from mortals. The Garou have something similar called the Veil. Both groups know that if humanity discovered the truth about us, there would be an Inquisition unleashed to destroy us. If a vampire breaks the Masquerade, his own people will destroy him. The same is true for us, as you'll learn from the Den Mother."
John picked up the conversation, "Vampires are also heavily into politics, as a way to maintain the Masquerade. They control the police and government in most major cities. Going up against them is dangerous. There are probably a few hundred vampires in the Seattle area right now. We have a sort of a truce between us and them. We stay out of their business, and they stay out of ours."
Now it was Hopes turn. "Fortunately they stick to the cities. The Garou rule beyond the city limits. In fact for the most part all but two Garou tribes, the Glasswalkers and the Bone Gnawers, shun the cities. The only reason we as a pack live here is it's easier to keep track of our enemies from here than from a forest. You see vampires aren't our biggest problem. A huge conglomerate called Pentex is actually a front for what we call the Wyrm, evil incarnate. Pentex is the one that Red Moon pack rages war against, because they are the ones who are ravaging the Wyld."
Oz pondered all of this, feeling that if anymore revelations come his way today, his mind will burst. "I guess that explains the Bone Gnawers I met today when I came up against that vamp."
"Huh? What vamp Oz?" asked Krieg.
Oz explained the encounter he had just prior to meeting the pack.
"It must have been an Anarc or a Caitiff" explained John. "The Bone Gnawers have claimed the area around Yesler Way for decades; they've a Caern there somewhere. The Vamps are supposed to stay away. I'm surprised they didn't tear it apart. That Fetish you were given was probably what saved you.
Oz took the fetish off and looked at it "Speaking of which, the man who gave this to me told me to stay away from the piers at night, that they crawled with leeches, which I suppose are what you guys call vamps. You guys live in spitting distance from the piers, what gives?"
The all chuckled "It was Conn's idea. "Showing the Colors" he calls it" replied Hope.
"Aye laddie. They know we be 'ere, and we make 'em nervous. Keeps 'em honest. This 'ere be neutral ground according to the pact, so they canna say no."
It's at that moment that Derrick reappeared, sort of.
They all heard static coming from the big screen TV in the room. Looking over, an image appeared on the screen, at first loaded with static and scan bars, but it resolved into an image of Derrick, only done up like Max Headroom! "Ok-k-kay kids! Here is the 4-4-4-411 so far."
"Knock out the stutter Derrick," Hope ordered, "you know it drives me nuts."
"P-p-p-arty Pooper." Derrick's screen image changed. His normal self appeared, and he appeared to be sitting in a cave of some sort, in front of a desk with numerous keyboards.
"Sunnydale was founded by the Spanish when they occupied California. The locals soon dubbed it La Boca del Infierno, which for you non-Spanish speakers translates to the Mouth of Hell. This sleepy little town, about an hour north of LA, has the highest per-capita death rate in the entire country! And get this; most of this is attributed by the local authorities to either gang activity spilling over from LA or drugs. The DEA doesn't have anything to even remotely support that."
They all looked at Oz. "Yeah, the Sunnydale PD has their heads in the sand. I think they know the score, but won't admit it. They're just trying to protect themselves. Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are the only ones standing between the people and the Undead. The cops are useless."
"Scooby gang?" asked John.
"From what I know of Slayers" Oz continued, "they usually operate independently with only their Watcher to guide them. They usually die young too. When one slayer dies, a new one is chosen. Buffy is different though. She's gathered a few friends to help support her and sometimes even fight alongside her. At first she only had my girlfriend Willow and her childhood friend Xander. Xander dubbed the group the "Scooby Gang". They sometimes also refer to themselves as the Slayerettes. Willow is a Wiccan witch," Derrick perked up at that news "Xander is just a normal kid with more guts then brains as far as I know. Later came Cordelia, but she moved to LA to become an actress. And then me."
"Oh but you have not heard the best part kids" Interrupted Derrick. "It seems that the Technocracy is running a US Government sponsored project out of Sunnydale called "The Initiative". A mixture of Iteration X operatives and Progenitors with some Spec Ops people to back them up. They're into genetic engineering, bionic implants, and Artificial Intelligence. Always trying to improve on Mother Nature. Remember the things that you fought in Iowa last summer?" Nods of accent from all around. "They were Iteration X vat jobs, engineered humans. Loaned out by Iteration X to protect that fertilizer plant. And now they have an operation in close proximity to a gateway of hell which according to Oz is Demons-R-Us. Bad juju." No one was happy with this development.
"We've seen a couple of GI Joe types running around recently, could it be them?"
"Most likely. They are probably using weapons that aren't your standard ballistic weapons too."
"What about the vamps Oz has encountered in Sunnydale?" asked Conn.
"My initial search found nothing, but it was not that sophisticated. I'm going to start digging deeper and gear up to confront some of the more touchy people I know. I may even try to go see Nathan tonight and see what he's willing to tell me."
"Okay Derrick. If you need me at the Caern, you know how to reach me."
"Later!" Derrick's image disappeared.
Hope stood up. "Okay, we've all heard a lot of things we need to ponder. I can see most of you want to hit the road right now and see what the hell is going on in Oz's home town, but we still need to get Oz over to the Caern. I think we need to get him on the right track first, and Derrick needs to do some more digging. It wouldn't hurt for us to do some poking around with the spirits too, see what they have to say about the Hellmouth. I have to go do some shopping for things needed at the Caern. Conn, why don't you fill up the picnic baskets and we'll eat lunch on the way to Bremerton. Anyone want to come shopping with me?" No takers. Shopping didn't seem to be their thing, no more then Oz's.
"Okay, I'll be back in a little while. Oz, we're going to leave your van here. You should pack a bag too. We'll at least be there overnight, but there's no telling how long you'll be out at the Caern. If you have an acoustic, bring it too. The more the merrier!" Hope grabbed a shopping list from the table and left.
Everyone else broke up to go do their own things. Oz went out to the van to find his bags and guitar. After rummaging through his stuff, Oz decided some laundry might be in order. Going back inside, he asked about that and Conn directed him to a corner where he saw some louvered bi-fold doors. Oz started his wash then went out to one of the couches and started to tune his guitar.
About 12:30 Hope returned. They packed up the van, climbed aboard and headed towards the Ferry terminal. Conn and Krieg rode their bikes. "Why are JYD and Derrick staying behind?". Oz asked.
"As for Derrick, he's not a Garou for one thing" Replied John. "For another he's a mage, and normally mages and Garou don't mix. We're still taking crap for hanging around with him. It all stems from some less the scrupulous mages raiding a Caern a while back. Despite the fact that he runs with us, the Caern warders wouldn't let him past the border, they'd try to kill him and us if he tried."
"JYD is not really a part of the pack. He doesn't want to be. He's a Bone Gnawer, and we've sort of hired him to watch the place when we're gone. The Bone Gnawer's have their own Caern over on Yesler Way as we said. It's also called Skid Row and if you ask anyone of them, they will proudly tell you that theirs was the first "Skid Row". It got that name from when the loggers would slide logs from the top of the hill to Elliot Bay down the middle of the road. As far as I know, JYD has never left the city limits since he was born."
They needed to wait in line a few minutes before the ferry started allowing cars onboard. Once parked on the ferry, they grabbed the picnic baskets and headed for the upper deck. Finding a place for the group to sit down, Hope started laying out their lunch.
"Oz it's about a 60 minute trip to the other side. So far you've told us where you came from, but you haven't told us why you left. If it's too personal that's okay, but we are curious."
"Hope, it's his business why he left home, stop being nosey". John chided her.
"Well, you men would never have asked. You never think to ask the important questions!"
While they argued, Oz thought about the subject. What should I tell them? He'd killed another Garou after all. How would they take that? Oz interrupted them, "John its cool, I can talk about it."
"I told you a little about Willow, my girlfriend. There was this instant connection ya know? Hell, I've even taken a bullet for her, but that's another story. Anyway Buffy and the Scooby gang were hunting a werewolf that was prowling around town. They eventually discovered it was me, when I didn't even really know myself. It seems that when I revert back to human form I have no memory of what I did in wolf form."
"But even after making that discovery, Willow was not put off or anything. In fact she arranged for me to be "contained" during the full moon cycle, so I wouldn't hurt anyone. Everything was great, at least as great as it can be on the Hellmouth, when Veruca came along."
Oz heard a groan from his audience. "Typical ain't it," says Krieg. "Leave it to another woman to mess things up!"
Hope slapped him on the arm. "Go on Oz."
"Well, Veruca was the singer of a band playing at the Bronze, a club in Sunnydale. Her voice was great. Anyway we became friends and I think it made Willow jealous. I tried to assure her that nothing was going on between us, and I think she accepted that, but I'm not sure."
"One weekend Willow went to a three-day Wicca gathering that just happened to correspond to my time of the month. She didn't want to go because of that, but I insisted. We had set up a cage in one of the crypts in a graveyard to secure myself during the change. We probably should have gotten a stronger cage because I apparently broke free. When I awoke, I was laying butt naked in the woods covered in scratches, with Veruca wrapped in my arms."
Chuckling, Conn adds, "Bloody hell laddie! Not the best way to reassure yer bird of yer fidelity."
Now red-faced, Oz continued. "I know. At least she didn't find out about that incident. The problem was that I was attracted to Veruca at some primitive level. It wasn't about love, it was lust. Probably because she was a werewolf, I mean Garou, too. Apparently she can remember what happened to her in her wolf form."
John interrupted, "Excuse me Oz, but we can all "remember" what happens when we change. Why you can't I'm not sure, but it can probably be cleared up."
"Veruca told me the same thing and that in time I'd begin to remember. She said I was a werewolf 24x7, not just during the full moon. We'd gone to steal some clothes, and she started talking to me about how she wanted us to be together and for me to forget about Willow and I couldn't do that. I didn't stick around. I tried to find out if we'd hurt anyone that night, but nothing was in the papers. Buffy found me in the crypt trying to repair the cage and told me that one of the professors at school was attacked by two "Wild Dogs."
"I called Veruca and told her to meet me at the crypt. I convinced her to get in the cage with me, but that was a mistake. Even before the change occurred we were all over each other. In the morning, Willow had come back early and went to the crypt to surprise me, only the surprise was on her."
Silence. None of the pack tried to reprimand him for his infidelity. They knew the score. Garou are about instinct, not reason most of the time.
"We had a fight. I kept protesting that it was to keep us both from harming someone, but I couldn't deny my animal attraction to Veruca. Of course she ran out. I didn't try to stop her. She ran to Buffy and told her the whole story. Buffy decided to confront Veruca, and came to me to help track her down. We'd tracked her into the woods only to find a pile of her clothes. Deciding we were led on a false trail, we ran back to the one place we now knew Veruca was; she was going after Willow."
"We ran to Willow's dorm room, but she wasn't there. The only other two places we figured she might be were the library or the lab where she often practiced her craft. The lab was closer so we went there first. We arrived to find Willow sprawled on the floor with Veruca hovering over her. I told her to leave, and she challenged me. The sun went down, and we transformed. Buffy had to tell me the rest in the morning."
"I'd killed Veruca, ripped her throat out. Then I went after Willow. Buffy saved the day by tackling and tranquilizing me. I decided that until I could learn to control myself, I was too much of a danger to Willow and others. I had no idea where to go, I just left. Actually, I think I was guided to you. A falcon of some kind appeared to me twice. First when I made my decision on which way to go and a second time in a dream."
"A Falcon Oz? Can you describe him?" asked John. Oz described what he could remember. "That wasn't a falcon Oz; it was a Hawk, also called a Merlin. That was our packs totem spirit! That's why you found us so fast, she was indeed guiding you".
"And protecting I think. I encountered someone named Sam White Cloud at a truck stop along the way here. He seemed determined to chase me out of town. That night I dreamed about Veruca again, and I ran from her into a clearing in the woods. Sam White Cloud was there and so was a wolf with a red coat, and Merlin. The wolf and White Cloud were determined to kill me, said they could smell the Wyrm on me and the "Black Spiral" bitch, but Merlin interceded."
Now agitated, Krieg asked; "Great Fenris Oz, did you say Black Spiral?"
"Yeah, that's what they said. I assumed they meant Veruca but I didn't know what they were talking about."
"Oz, Black Spiral Dancers are a tribe of Garou who have totally gone over to the Wyrm. It's not surprising you ran into one at the Hellmouth. To them a place like that would be a Holiday Inn. The good news though is you won't have to sweat that you killed her, since you seem to be carrying a little guilt about that. All of the other tribes have a "kill on sight" attitude towards them. You can also bet that she was seducing you to try and get you to walk the Black Spiral, bring you over to her side. I'd also be willing to bet she was using more then just her feminine wiles to do it too. Some kind of gift or fetish. So relax boy, this might not have been as much of your fault as you think it is."
"Aye laddie! If the spirits can verify ye battled a black dog and won, even 'afore going through your Rite o' Passage, ye 'ave gained much honor in the eyes of the Sept!" Conn slapped him on the back, almost knocking Oz over.
Hope steadied Oz; "Yes, and yet another reason to take a trip down to Sunnydale and find out what the hell is going on. Oz, I really don't know how long the Den Mother will want to keep you at the Caern. It would also be better if you went through your Right of Passage before you left. That usually takes time to prepare for. I don't want to short change you, but we'll try to make this as quick as possible, then we'll hop on down to Sunnydale and maybe you can get your Willow back."
Oz brightened. He'd not had such a good feeling in a number of days. Things were beginning to look up!
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TBC - The Digital Web
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