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Their flight landed in LAX two days later at about 6PM. The only gear they'd taken with them was their clothes and personal weapons. Derrick had already magically transported the heavier stuff back to Seattle.
They didn't pull into a terminal like a commercial flight. The plane taxied over to a hanger, and they used those old style stair ramps to de-plane. Sitting there in the hanger waiting for them was the Pack's van and Conn and Krieg's bikes which they'd left behind at the Caern in Seattle.
"How'd these get here?" Asked Conn.
"Oh that was simple" said Derrick. "I Called JYD and he arranged for some of your Sept mates to drive them back to the Garage before we even left for Rio. I then had JYD and a few of his friends bring them over to SeaTac yesterday and flew them down here."
Oz went over to Derrick. "Dude, I don't want to pry but, where do you get all this cash?"
"Oz, I plead the 5th. Let's just say the some of my benefactors are no longer in a position to miss the money, or would be willing to report it. By the way, I left your van at the Garage in Seattle. I didn't think we'd need two, and ours had more seats."
"Cool."
Hope began to prod them. "Okay everyone saddle up. Next stop, Sunnydale."
They didn't make it far. They encountered the famous LA traffic as soon as they left the Airport. What should have been an hour to hour and a half trip took three. So it was around 9:30PM when they passed the Welcome to Sunnydale sign.
Oz announced, "Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Hellmouth."
John pulled the van over into the Sunnydale Motor Inn parking lot. Oz had suggested they get rooms first, as the Inn closed their office around 10. After paying for their rooms and dropping off their stuff, they gathered in Hope's room.
"How do you want to do this Oz? Wait until tomorrow or go see your friends now?"
"I don't think I could sleep tonight waiting for tomorrow. I know this is going to be traumatic, but I want to get it over with. I've always been a "rip the band-aid off" kinda guy."
"Okay, so do we just go to one of their houses, or do we call first?" asked John.
"I think we should find Buffy first. I don't want to spring in on Willow. This time of night she probably wouldn't be in her dorm room. She'll be at a Cemetery."
"A Cemetery?" asked Krieg. "Sounds like my kinda girl. So where to."
"That's the problem; there are 12 cemeteries in Sunnydale."
"12!" The pack responded in unison.
"Yup. Restfields is closest to the UC dorm. We might as well start there. I'll drive."
The pack mounted up and headed out on their way. As they approached Restfields, Derrick took out his palmtop and began keying things in with the stylus.
"Let me see if I can make this easier... Okay, I've got an overhead of the cemetery and I scan four warm bodies in the place. Three are about 50 yards ahead of another judging by their direction of travel."
"Yeah. The one following would be Buffy. We'd often walk ahead of her as bait while she followed in the shadows."
Oz pulled the van over outside the front entrance to the cemetery, Conn and Krieg pulled their bikes up along side. They all gathered together.
Hope came up along side Oz. "Okay Oz, this is still your call."
"I think it would be best if I approached Buffy alone first. If all of us come up she'll go into Slayer mode." Looking at the map on Derrick's computer and pointing, "You guys follow me up to here and wait. I'll signal after its okay to join us. Oh, bring your weapons. This is the Hellmouth and anything can happen at anytime."
Most of them were already carrying the few weapons they used. They checked to make sure everything was unencumbered. Conn reached into the back of the van and brought out his Potato Masher.
They followed Oz in through the gates, which were unlocked. Most cemetery owners decided to leave it that way. Between the Vamps and Buffy, the gate locks did not last long and it was too expensive to keep repairing them. At the point Oz had indicated before, he motioned for them to wait. Oz picked up Buffy's scent and followed it.
Buffy was starting to get bored. This was their second time around the place and nothing. Between her activities and Riley's group, hunting was getting thin. It was then that she sensed someone or something behind her. Crap, she just jinxed it didn't she? Oh well.
She turned to face whatever it was. "Whoever you are, let's make this quick. I've got a midterm tomorrow." A single being emerged from the shadows.
"Hey Buff."
"Oz?!" Buffy was elated and worried at the same time. Elated that her friend was alive and well, and worried given their last encounter. She had had to stop him from killing Willow.
"Oz where have you been! Willow was worried sick about you!"
"I know, I should have stayed in better contact. As to where I've been, that's a long story Buffy. One best told indoors and only once in front of the whole gang. Let's just say for now that I ran into some people who showed me how to control my little monthly problem."
"Okay, let's finish up this patrol and we can head back to Giles's apartment."
"How's Willow?"
"Um, yeah, Willow. She's Okay, but some things have changed since you left…"
Buffy never got to finish her sentence. Out of the dark leaped a large demon, tackling Buffy. She rolled with it, threw it off and came up standing. As she did so, Buffy and Oz heard a female scream in the direction Buffy was heading.
"Go help Willow Oz, I've got this one!" Oz took off running, transforming as he went, unseen by Buffy.
The Red Moon pack heard the scream as well. They leaped into action. Conn shouted as they ran. "Krieg, John and Hope, ye three go to the ones on point. I'll find Buffy an Oz."
Derrick ran too, back to the Van where he wouldn't be exposed. We'll he didn't exactly run as much as appear there. After throwing himself inside and closing the door, He got his palmtop out and began rapidly keying things into it.
Willow, Tara and Xander were strolling through the cemetery. Willow and Tara were hand in hand. "You know, I'm glad you two decided to hook up. It's brought my fantasy material to a whole new level."
"Xander!" Willow cried, "You can be such a pig sometimes. What would Anya say?"
"She'd probably want to know how good your orgasms were."
That stream of thought was interrupted when the trio was jumped from behind. Willow screamed as she struggled with her opponent, a vampire. All three had managed to throw off their attackers as well and stood to face them. A dozen vamps. Not good.
Willow and Tara looked at each other and joined hands. One of the Vamps said, "Aw, isn't that cute." Not knowing that the pair had already discovered how to increase the power of their spells by linking together.
They didn't get that chance though. As the vamps closed on them, a blur of fur charged in and ripped the head off of the vamp who spoke. This stunned human and vampire alike. Xander and Willow, having seen the beast before both exclaimed "Oz?"
Oz's only reply was a blood-curdling howl before he let into the vamps. As the pair watched the werewolf fight, Xander said, "I might be nuts, but I'd swear that Oz was using some kinda Kung-Fu." To their further astonishment, three more werewolves joined the fray!
Unfortunately, there were more then enough vamps to keep the wolves busy. That left a few vamps free to make their way over to Xander and the girls, to begin menacing them. They backed away; Xander putting himself in front of the girls.
Buffy and the demon had already gone a few rounds. "This guy is WAY strong. I'm gonna have a few bruises in the morning." Buffy said to herself. She ducked a roundhouse from the creature, delivered a few jabs of her own, but then got caught by a kick that sent her flying.
The creature advanced on her slowly as she rose. It was then that Buffy caught a glimpse of someone, or something coming up behind the demon. It looked human, but was at least 7 feet tall if not taller. Long red hear and a red beard, bare chested, and get this! Wearing a Kilt! It, he, also had a huge grin on his face. In one hand it was unlimbering a large hammer. With the other, he held his index finger up to his mouth in the universal "keep quiet" symbol.
Thinking she knew what was about to happen, Buffy looked at the demon. "Oh man, is this gonna hurt."
"You bet your sweet ass it is bitch!"
"Oyi! Tha' be no way ta talk to a lady!" shouted Conn.
The demon spun, only to see the giant swinging his hammer right at his head. BAM! The impact caved in the demons skull, and knocked him a few yards to the left as well.
The giant approached Buffy, who despite the assist remained defensive. He saluted her with his hammer. "Top o' the evenin to ya me wee bonny lass! The names Conn MacNessa, at your service." He bowed to her with a flourish. " I'm assuming ye be Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
"Um yeah, but how did you know that?" she replied in astonishment.
"I'm a friend of Oz's. E's told us about ye and yur wonderful Dale here."
"Us?"
"Yes, well, perhaps we should join them before they keep all the fun for themselves!" That was when they both heard gunfire.
Buffy took off running, Conn followed.
As Xander and the girls backed up away from the three vamps, he heard someone talking to him. "Xander, bring up your hand, point it out at the vamp like a gun and say Bang!"
"Huh? What?"
"Crap I knew I'd confuse the kid" Derrick said to himself. He switched tactics. "Listen up soldier, bring up your hand, point it out at the vamp like a gun and say Bang! That's an order!"
That galvanized Xander. What really stunned him was that as he said BANG, he heard an incredibly loud gun shot and a giant hole got blown into the vamps chest! It of course went poof a second later.
Xander brought his hand up and stared at it, incredulously. "Xander, what did you do!" exclaimed Willow.
"I don't know, but it was way cool!"
There were two more vamps that'd been standing with the one Xander shot. They were looking at him warily. Xander pointed his "gun" at another one and said "Bang?" This time Xander thought he saw something leave his hand, he actually felt a wave of heat, and blow an equally large size hole in the vamps chest before it dusted.
The third ran… Right into the waiting stake of the Slayer.
The rest of the fight was over as well. These vamps had no experience fighting werewolves, they didn't stand a chance.
As the dust settled, Buffy came to stand next to Willow and Tara. She was followed by Conn, who drew stares from the pair of Witches. Xander was preoccupied with his high-caliber finger. After a moment, Willow exclaimed "Buffy, that's Oz!"
"I know, I ran into him earlier."
Xander shook his head to clear it and spoke up. "What's wrong with this picture? We are standing here with not just one but four werewolves, along with a red-haired giant, and none of them are attacking us?"
The Oz wolf looked around at his Pack mates, and then smacked himself in the head. Not a gesture you'd expect to see from a werewolf. He moved to stand in front of Willow. Tara quickly drew Willow in closer to her. That made Oz pause a moment. He sniffed the air. He could smell each upon the other. So that's what Buffy meant. "Well, lets' get on with this." He said to himself.
Oz willed himself back into human form. The rest of his pack followed suit. Willow looked up, at the crescent moon in the sky. "How?" She asked.
"It's a long story. Let's all go someplace where we can talk." It was then that another demon came crashing in. The same type as the one Buffy and Conn fought earlier, but larger.
Oz, Krieg, John and Hope went Crinos in a flash, but Conn shouted "Oyi e's mine! You lot 'ave 'ad all the fun tonight!" Conveniently forgetting about the demon he'd just walloped.
Dropping his hammer, Conn took a few running steps, crouched and leapt high in the air. Too high to be done unaided, especially for one his size. In mid air he did a summersault, transforming in mid tumble. 2,300 pounds of fur and claws landed in front of the demon and howled in its face.
If it was possible to see abject terror in the face of a demon, you could see it now. The demon began to turn, presumably to run, but it never made it. Conn sunk his claws into the thing's back, grabbing it by the spine. He then proceeded to beat it into the ground, using it's spine as a handle.
Through their ear fetish, the Red Moon pack heard, "Sorry guys, I had to recalibrate my sensors for the Undead. I think Conn's new chew toy is the last of them. I'll keep scanning." The remainder of the pack transformed back to human.
Krieg walked over to Conn. "I think its dead now".
Conn stopped swinging the demon around. He looked over at the humans, who all were staring at him. Shrugging his shoulders, he dropped the demons body, and transformed back to human. "Sorry, I got a wee bit carried away."
"Okay, now I'm officially wigged!" Stated Buffy. "Who the hell are you guys and what's going on?!"
Oz stepped forward. "Sorry Buffy, not my best idea of an introduction. These people are my Pack mates, werewolves like me. The big guy is Conn, and then we have Hope, Krieg, and John. Derrick is back at the van I suppose."
"Pack mates?"
"Yeah, look I'll tell you the whole story, just can we do it someplace we won't get jumped mid-sentence? Giles will probably want to hear this too."
"Okay. Giles will freak, but let's go to his place. Mom is asleep by now and I don't want to wake her."
"Okay, meet you there."
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TBC