Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Wolf Lake and make no money from the writing of this fiction.

Outsiders

Willow and Oz had rented a green Honda Civic at the Seattle airport when they arrived and were now driving into the Cascades toward Wolf Lake. It was late afternoon and they were both tired and hungry from the trip. Willow checked her map again.

"We should be just about there," she squinted, following her finger along the only highway leading into that remote town. Oz rolled down the window, savoring the fresh scent of pine at this altitude. This place was definitely a treat to his senses, he thought.

"I wonder if that Van Halen guy got the white wolf," Willow mused. "I hope that hotel will have a place to hook up my laptop."

"I'm sure it will, it should have a phone line at least," Oz replied.

"I don't know. This place seems so remote. It didn't seem that far when you look at a map," Willow frowned.

"Yeah, well, if there are werewolves there, that would be a good thing."

They drove in silence for awhile until Willow let out a happy squeak. "Look! It's a Welcome to Wolf Lake sign. We made it!"

In a few minutes they came to the first stop sign in town. They craned their necks, looking around at the shops and the pedestrians.

"Looks pretty normal," Willow said, disappointed.

Oz gave her a half smile. "What were you expecting?"

Willow shrugged.

"Where do you want to eat?" Oz now asked, feeling his stomach rumble. "Looks like some type of diner up ahead."

Willow made a face. "Not really in the mood for small town greasy spoon. Think they might have a pizza joint around here?"

"Let's drive around and see, this place can't be too big." Oz turned right down the next intersection and kept driving, but it seemed they were leaving the main part of town. He was about to turn around again when they came upon a commotion of vehicles and people in a clearing. A man was being pulled from a big mobile home type vehicle with lots of antennae and satellite dishes on top of it. There were trucks, a police car and also what looked like some sort of ambulance.

Oz came to a stop as they watched the scene unfolding in front of them. The man was screaming about werewolves and accusing everyone there to be one. They were dragging him off to the ambulance and putting a straight jacket on him.

Oz said, "Isn't that your Professor Van Halen?"

"Oh, my god. I think it is!" Willow said, incredulously. "They think he's nuts. Oh, but look, Oz, that man is carrying a white wolf and putting her into the cage in the back of his truck."

"Looks like a normal wolf to me," Oz replied. "I told you he was a quack, Willow. Come on, let's go." Oz put the car in reverse and started to turn it around, anxious to get out of there as the man who put the wolf in the truck was now walking toward them with his mean looking friend. He drove away quickly, looking in the rearview mirror at the two men standing in the road, looking back at him.

When they returned to the heart of the town, Oz finally spotted a pizza place and they parked the car. As they were going in, another young couple was walking out. "Hi," Oz and Willow said to them in passing.

The tall curly haired boy said, "Hi" back to them and the pretty long haired brunette smiled at them. Willow and Oz found a nice booth by the front window and looked out, waiting for the waitress.

They noticed the young couple now stood kissing out front. "How cute," said Willow. "Seems like a first date type of kiss." Oz just gave her one of his half smiles and looked down at the menu.

"Well, let's see, looks like we have a choice of Sausage Galore, Pepperoni Powerhouse, or Mighty Moose pizza. Oh, and wait, they'll add Caribou chunks for an extra fee," Oz said in his normally neutral voice.

"Oz! Look!" Willow pointed out the window at the scene outside. A teenage boy in a red car had just skidding to a halt in front of the kissing couple. He got out of the car and stalked angrily up to them, pulling the girl away from the guy. "Uh oh," Willow worried.

Then something surprising happened. The angry boy threw the girl's date down the street with amazing strength. Even more surprising was how the girl grabbed the angry guy and threw him onto the top of his car, cracking the windshield. Oz and Willow looked at each other. "Werewolves?" Willow asked in amazement.

"I don't know," stated Oz. They watched as the girl ran off and the angry boy got back into his car, kicking out the rest of the broken windshield and driving off in pursuit of the girl it seemed. The other boy was still laying on the ground, shaking. "I'm going to see if he's all right."

Oz got up and went out of the diner toward the boy on the ground. The boy looked at Oz in confusing. "You o.k.?" Oz asked, holding out his hand to help the boy up.

"Did you see that?" the amazed boy asked. "Or am I just going nuts?"

"You mean superman and wonder woman? Yeah, I saw," Oz said casually as he helped pull the boy to his feet. "I'm Oz by the way."

"Scott," the boy gave his name, still looking in shock. He shook his head, "I can't believe anyone could be that strong. Have you ever seen a girl throw someone like that?"

"Well… actually I have," Oz said, thinking of Buffy and Faith. Scott gave him a funny look but he was still in too much in shock from his own experience to question him.

"How well do you know that girl?" Oz asked.

"Not well enough apparently. It was our first date," Scott replied, letting out a deep breath. "I don't know what to think. I'm pretty weirded out at the moment."

Just then the two men Oz saw earlier at the arrest of Professor Van Halen pulled up about ten feet away from where they stood. Scott gave them a frightened rabbit look as they both got out of the truck and walked toward them. Oz glanced to the back of their truck and noticed that the white wolf was no longer in the cage. Oz stood cool as always and watched the men circle around them, sniffing the air.

The black haired one looked at Scott and said, "Beat it, zoo bait." Scott needed no other request. This guy looked dangerous and Scott had had enough danger for one night. He turned and left Oz standing there. Oz could see Willow's anxious face looking through the glass.

"What pack are you from?" the blonde one asked.

"I beg your pardon," Oz replied, calmly. He did stand out a bit in this town with his dyed spiky hair. He noticed that the people here looked very clean cut in general. These two seemed more mobster like, however.

The dark haired man now stood directly behind Oz, sniffing him while the blonde one waited for answers. Oz looked over his shoulder at the sniffing one and gave him a what-the-heck-are-you-doing look.

The blonde laughed slightly. "Don't insult my intelligence. You're not from around here. So where are you from and what were you doing with the professor?"

Now Oz was surprised. "With the professor? I'm only with my girlfriend and we took a wrong turn a little earlier, that's all."

The man gave him a skeptical look. "Did you hear that, Buddy, the guy took a wrong turn." The dark haired man behind Oz laughed.

"Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm just on a trip with my girl," Oz tried to explain.

"To Wolf Lake? I think you're a spy for your pack, looking to off our new Alpha," the blonde man accused.

"No, I repeat, I'm on a trip with my girl," Oz coolly replied. Oz rarely showed much emotion. Now he felt a cold metal object sticking into the side of his ribs. He looked down and noticed it was a small handgun held by Buddy.

The other man now said, "This is the last time I'm going to ask, because I have a wolf I need to recapture tonight, so… what pack are you from?"

"I'm from Sunnydale," Oz told him, simply. The two men looked at each other in confusion. They obviously had never heard of Sunnydale. "It's a city in California."

"California? Sunnydale? What kind of bull is this? There are no packs in California," the blonde said while his friend stuck the gun harder into Oz.

"I'm not in a pack. I was adopted."

The blonde man looked at Oz with disgust, "By ungulates? You were raised by ungulates?"

"Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that, but if you mean they were human, then yes I was." Oz felt a bit excited that he was finally talking to someone who was like him. But he was disappointed that his kind seemed like such punks.

"Your ungulate mommy and daddy know what you are?"

"No," Oz honestly replied. Since he really didn't start turning into his creature until tenth grade, he had been able to hide it from them, with the help of Willow and her friends.

The man glanced at Willow watching them through the window. "Your bitch is human then?"

"She's not a bitch, but she is human," Oz took offense. He was really starting to hate these guys.

The man smiled at Buddy and then looked back at Oz. "Well that still doesn't explain your reason for being here and it seems to me that you were probably aiding Van Halen in some way, so I'm afraid you'll have to come with us." Buddy had quickly stuck a tranquilizer needle in Oz's neck and he carried Oz's limp body into the cage in the back of the truck. They locked the door and threw a tarp over it.

Willow had jumped up from her seat when she saw them carrying Oz and ran out the door, only to be stopped by the glowing of mean eyes. These are definitely werewolves, she thought! "Oh God… what do I do… what do I do…," she chanted nervously, twisting her fingers together. She was wishing that Buffy was here. Buffy would know what to do. But Buffy was in California. "The police," she said aloud in revelation. She ran up to the counter of the pizza parlor and yelled, "Can someone call the police, these two… guys… have just taken my boyfriend!"

The boy behind the counter glanced out the window at the truck pulling away and said, "Sure." He picked up the phone and dialed the police, handing it to Willow.

A man's voice answered, "Sheriff Donner here."

Willow felt frantic. "Please help me, this is Willow Rosenburg and I'm at your pizza place… here in your town… and these scary guys have just taken my boyfriend."

"Calm down, Ms. Rosenburg, and tell me what these guys looked like and what were they driving?" the Sheriff asked.

"They had a truck, with a cage in the back. They put him in the cage. The tall man had black hair and the short one had blonde," Willow quickly explained. She heard the Sheriff sigh. "Do you know them?" Willow asked hopefully.

"I might. I'm going to drive out and see if I can find them. Do you know the way to the police station, Ms. Rosenburg?"

"No, but I'll ask someone."

"O.K. then, you make your way over here and I'll see if I can find your boyfriend."

"Please hurry, Sheriff!"

"Will do, see you later, Ms. Rosenburg." The Sheriff hung up and Willow was filled with only a bit of hope. She was glad this was a small town and the Sheriff most likely knew everyone in it. She asked the counter boy for directions and took off toward the station. Oz had the keys to their rental car in his pocket, so she had to walk.

Holding a fork she stole from the pizza place, she walk cautiously down the streets. She hoped there were no more mean werewolves roaming around. Looking up at the sky she noticed that there was a full moon threatening the fading daylight. She stopped dead in her tracks.

How can this be? The moon was crescent only yesterday. Oh God, oh God, this is turning into a nightmare! Oz would become his creature when the light completely faded. Good thing it was summer and he had a bit more daylight than usual. That Sheriff better find him fast, she thought as she hurried again toward her destination.

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