Dru growled and let her demonic visage come forth as she moved closer to Willow. She didn't take her eyes off of the weres that were surrounding them.
Veruca stalked closer, "So you're the powerful witch that has Gwendolyn all lathered up. You don't look all that impressive to me."
"Oh I don't know, baby. She looks impressive to me." Oz slowly looked up and down Willow's body. Oz sniffed the air as he moved to stand next to Veruca, never taking his eyes off of Willow. "Can't you feel the power coming off her?"
Willow shuddered as memories of Oz and Veruca came flooding back. Oz mesmerized by Veruca on stage, Oz and Veruca sharing a table, Oz and Veruca in the cage, Veruca changing into her wolf form and Oz ripping her throat played constantly in her mind's eye.
Xander moved closer to Willow when he felt her heartbeat accelerate at Oz's words. Rupert let his shields drop and power pour forth. The weres that were closest to him began to whine as they felt his oppressive power.
Veruca's attention switched from Willow to Rupert as she felt his power filter the air. A small smile quirked her lips, "Mmmm, I feel HIS power though."
Faith edged a little closer and reached for her knife. NO ONE was going to mess with her watcher, especially Ethan's trained puppies. Not that Rupert couldn't wipe the floor with them with his power alone but her natural instincts to protect kicked in.
Oz's glance slowly left Willow and turned to Faith, "Ooh, the Slayer wants to play."
The weres surrounding them turned and inched closer but not too close as Rupert's power began to strengthen around them.
Xander kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. His demon was warring with the pack mentality of his Hyena Spirit that had always remained in the back of his consciousness since high school. He felt a prickling on the edges of his mind that was growing stronger.
A slight smirk marked Rupert's features just before the weres heard the growling behind them. They spun around to see dozens of hyenas' eyes glowing in the darkness.
They moved as one as they came out of the shadows surrounding the weres as they began to encircle their prey. A feral smile spread across Xander's face as he let the Hyena Spirit meld with his demon.
Some of the weres shifted their weight side to side anxious for the battle to begin while others whined softly. Though the weres were bigger than the hyenas they weren't as deadly.
Veruca called out to her pack, "Hold! It's an illusion."
Rupert's smile widened, "Care to test how real they feel?"
One of Veruca's pack didn't wait for her answer but instead attacked the nearest hyena. He swiped his massive paw and hit the hyena in the shoulder sending it flying into a nearby wall. The other weres howled in triumph.
Oz smiled at Rupert, "Not much of an illusion if one can be batted around that easily."
Rupert only smiled in response.
The high-pitched 'laughter' of the hyena grew louder as they circled and subtly moved their prey away from Rupert and the others. Veruca snarled as a hyena nipped at her heel.
"Did ya feel the bite of the illusion, puppy?" Faith smirked at Veruca.
Willow watched curiously as Oz and Veruca began to shift. It was so different from when her Oz changed. There was no bending over in pain as the body changed from its human form to animal. Their hands began slowly to elongate and their body hair grew longer making their change graceful in a horrific way.
Before anyone noticed, one of the weres broke away from the pack and rushed Tara who was standing the closest. Faith yelled a warning but she was too far away to protect her lover. Darla's face turned to her demon and she leapt at the wolf, intercepting its attack on Tara.
Their battle became a danse macabre as the two struggled for dominance. In the middle of the fight there was a guttural growl that Willow couldn't tell if it came from Darla's demon or the werewolf. The growl was followed by a whine as Darla's demon drank deeply from the wolf.
Darla slowly stood and delicately wiped the blood from her lips. "Not as good as purely human but the power of the wolf makes up for it."
There was a howl of rage from Oz as he fought his way through the hyenas that were herding he and Veruca away from their pack. As if Oz's howl was a battle cry the weres began to fight the hyenas.
Wesley cupped his hands as a ball of energy began to form between them. When the ball reached the size of a softball he lobbed it at the nearest cluster of wolves. One of the wolves howled in pain when the energy exploded on impact.
"Good one, Wes." Jesse smiled at him as he threw his own energy ball.
Angel, Darla, Dru, William and Xander moved as one. They became the predators they are as they stalked their prey and isolated Oz and Veruca further. Sensing that Xander was the weakest of the vampires Veruca attacked.
Willow reacted without thought when she saw Veruca lunge for Xander. "Vincire!"
Veruca was halted mid-lunge as green energy flew out of Willow's hands and wrapped itself around Veruca as it created a band.
Xander blinked a few times in surprise and turned to look at Willow. Only a high level wizard could perform binding spells against wereanimals. A smile spread across his features as he realized that Willow wasn't aware of the power that she was wielding. "Thanks."
Oz, in wolf form, looked at his surroundings and saw that the vampires enclosed him, the witch had bound Veruca and his pack was losing their battle. He raised his muzzle and howled in frustration. The weres stopped in their fight with the illusions and turned to their leader.
With just a thought Rupert let the illusions dissolve and moved to stand next to Willow. He placed his hand on her shoulder and whispered for her to release Veruca.
When the werewolf was released Rupert swung his arm in an arc and threw her body into a nearby wall. As her unconscious body slid to the ground she slowly returned to her human form.
Oz growled and leapt forward intent on getting to his injured mate. He swiped his claws at William who had blocked his path. William grabbed his injured arm and lashed out with his leg.
Oz stumbled from the impact of William's kick but he continued his beeline path to Veruca. The pack closed ranks around their alphas as Oz bent down to pick up his mate.
Gwendolyn watched the scene below for a few more minutes before turning from the edge of the rooftop. She had seen all she needed to see. Willow was no longer a threat to her position as Ethan's second in command. She had watched Rupert and his followers fight as a well orchestrated team. There was trust that the others would be there and she doubted that Willow would turn her back on Rupert and join Ethan.
Tara laid her hand on Faith's arm as she made a move to follow the retreating animals.
Faith turned to Tara, "What? We're just gonna let them walk?"
Rupert nodded, "We've learned what we needed to know and so have they."
"And that would be?"
"Ethan has upped the ante and we've risen to his raise in the stakes."