Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the characters don't belong to me, but to Joss.

Chapter One

The nearly full moon arched high in the sky over Sunnydale; impossibly large and beautiful. A misty glow that softly illuminated the black canvas all around. The primal powers held within the ghostly sphere were usually cause for reverence and respect, for many different reasons.

Tonight she hated it.

Unsteadily, she moved through the streets of her strange hometown, arms hugged desperately around her slender body; pressed against her rib-cage in a crushing embrace. The small girl gulped in a shallow breath before tightening her hold, as if in danger of physically breaking apart. Every so often she broke into a frantic run, stumbling forward towards nothing, feet slapping noisily against the ground in a clumsy rhythm, until the surge of energy would wane forcing her steps heavy and aimless again.

The air shivered around her with the ceaseless streams that spilled down her young face. She made no move to wipe them away. She could barely see; salty tears bubbled and burst in her drowned eyes and she could not stop them. They could drain her dry for all she cared.

She knew it was there, above her head, gloating from its celestial view; so far away from everything. Untouched, unmoved by the lives of those it watched night after night. It didn't care, how could it know? How could it sit up there, smiling and glowing? It was all wrong! Everything was so, so wrong. How could it know this night it ruled over had seen such cruelty? Insignificant. It was just one more little life; just one girl.

But it was her life. And his.

The moon gazed down at everyone but saw only one. This odd town had seen much death, loss and despair. All were entitled to make the world stop for one night. Frozen in their grief. Allowed for one moment to surrender to the freshly ripped void, before the sun rose and marched on with the rest of their lives. Tonight was hers.

Sparing a glance, Willow looked up at it before she could stop herself. It was mocking her. Them. A fresh sob wrenched out of her chest and she sprinted blindly into the night once more. It was funny: even through everything, Willow had never hated the moon, the night. She was intrigued, sometimes afraid and resentful, but never had it caused such agony. With bitter realisation, she thought how strangely fitting it was that he had been taken in the night. They were all going to be lost to the darkness; one way or another.

Shaking the hair out of her eyes, a sharp pain shot up her neck. She bit down hard on her lip but refused to gasp or cry out.

o0o

"Will, I'm vending machine bound – can I tempt you with any fruity beverages?"

Willow looked up from the ancient pages of something called the Book of Tryakia. "No, I'm ok, thanks."

Xander nodded before tossing his own book onto the table and jumping up. Willow sighed a little and bowed her head over the yellowing pages again, trying to concentrate on the archaic language scrawled over them. Cryptic warnings, courtesy of Angel, had seen them all frantically trying to dig up helpful how-to-slay notes on a band of vamps calling themselves the Pyerli. So, hence the late-night research party and Xander's compulsive snack getting. Willow grinned fondly at her best friend's sugar packed studying habits. By normal rules, he should be suffering somewhat for his terrible diet. But then, that was one of the perks of being a Slayerette. Nothing kept you fit quite like nightly monster-hunting.

Willow glanced up as she heard a body plonk down in front her. "Hey," she offered a perky smile to her other best-friend who was settling down to sit cross-legged on the library table.

"Hi," Buffy smiled back, twirling the thick book she'd carried over from the stacks between her fingers."Xander on another Twinkie run?" she remarked, noting the Xander-shaped absence at their table. At Willow's nod, Buffy sighed loudly and opened her book though she barely glanced down at it. "I'm getting angsty," she announced after less than a minute of half-hearted studying.

Willow looked up at the pouting girl next to her. It was a pretty obvious observation to anyone who knew Buffy, even a little bit. The small blonde was fidgety with that after-dark slayer energy.

"Think I'm going to do a patrol in a few minutes. Sweep by the cemeteries and parks. Hey! Maybe I'll get lucky and I'll run into these guys and then I can just ask them outright – So, what's your deal and how do I kill you? Cause I've found that a stake to the heart works pretty well."

"Yeah, but that would take all the fun out of having the most obscure demonology books at hand in the school library. Surely you don't begrudge Giles his research party?" Willow teased. "You know how he lives for these."

"Oh definitely. I mean look at him in there -- total party animal." The girls glanced through the office window, where the librarian was hunched over his desk with a look of impossible concentration on his face. Willow giggled. "Besides, we all know I lack in the book smarts. You guys research – I slay. Why mess with the natural order? I mean really, having a Slayer studying is like…like having a brain surgeon… landscape your garden or something. Talk about a gross misuse of talents."

"Stop that!" Willow admonished sternly. "You do have the smarts! You... just like to devote your energy to other things. Like fighting the forces of Evil and all that. And a certain tall, dark and brooding creature of the night…" The redhead watched with a sly smile as Buffy fought down a grin and tried to look innocent.

There was a bang as Xander re-entered the library cradling his purchases. "Hey, what ya talking about?"

The girls looked up and stifled their laughs as their friend plopped down across from them. "Nothing really," Buffy answered with a remarkably composed face. Willow smirked and buried her head back into the almost unintelligible book she had been stuck with. Xander raised his eyebrows, suspecting he was being left out of the loop but deciding if it was girl-chat, especially anything about Angel, he was happy not knowing. Mister lurky-shows up only with cryptic messages of doom-doesn't stick around to help with the research- undead…guy.

There had been companionable quiet after that, the flicking of pages and crunch of snacks the only sounds. Until, with a resonating 'thud', Buffy snapped her book shut and dropped it onto the table.

"Right, that's it. Gotta go kill me some hell creatures or I'll never sleep tonight." The Slayer slid gracefully off the table and stretched.

"Want me to come with?" Xander offered.

"Nah, that's ok. You guys should stay and help out Giles since I'm bailing. He does like his research groupies!" She winked at Willow. "Besides, I'll snoop around and check on some sources who might know more about these Pyron guys or whatever."

"Pyerli," Willow corrected absently before catching herself. 'Oh god, I really am turning into Giles!' she thought with despair.

"Yeah, them." Buffy slipped her jacket on. "I'll, you know, tap the underground grape-vine or something."

Willow looked up at the blonde knowingly with an amused smile. 'Angel?' she mouthed over the back of Xander's head.

Buffy grinned. "What? I can multitask! See you guys later."

Willow waved as Buffy practically ran to the doors in her eagerness and Xander looked over at her in confusion, certain he had missed something this time. But his friend merely gave an enigmatic smile and returned to her research. 'Girls' he thought resignedly. Despite having two of them for his best friends, he still didn't get it most of the time. It was like they operated some kind of telepathy.

After another couple of minutes trying to decipher the first paragraph of the book he had been assigned, Xander gave up. Tossing it onto the table with a disregard for its age that would have made Giles wince, he sighed loudly. "I'm gonna get me another book. That one: way outta my league. Maybe you can have a go of it, Will. I think one with more of the gory pictures than the foreign words is for me."

He returned a few minutes later with his new discovery. "You come across anything in that demon dictionary yet?"

Willow shook her head without looking up, still frowning at the pages in her hands.

"You know, you're quiet tonight. What's with the mono-syllable-y Will?"

Finally looking up to see Xander watching her curiously, eyebrows scrunched together in assessment, she laughed lightly. "Nothing Xander! I'm ok, honestly." Willow smiled at her friend affectionately.

He shrugged. "Well, maybe it's Oz rubbing off on you. Hey-" Xander leaned over the table, a twinkle in his dark eyes. "Maybe that'll mean Oz will start rambling adorably!"

He chuckled and shook his head, amused highly by the idea as he leaned back in his chair. "That would be interesting. If not a little unsettling…"

With that he returned, somewhat reluctantly, to his demon homework. Willow's smile faded and a frown settled over her face. She sunk back in her seat and cast her eyes down again, but they wouldn't focus on the elaborate lettering. Her gaze darted to the doors. The shadow of anxiety that had been hovering over her all day, swept in again like smog, clouding her mind. She had told Oz about the vamp alert and research party yesterday, and he'd said he'd be here. He was always here for these things now. He was a part of the group; once a Slayerette - always a Slayerette, and all that. It wasn't just that they were involved, he cared. He'd told her. How he felt like he'd been waiting for something, and when he found her and then their little Scooby Gang – it just felt right. Of course, he didn't say it with words so much, but she still knew. That was just how they were.

Willow's heart warmed and a silly smile tugged her lips at the thought of her boyfriend. Being in love was, just so--addictive. She; Willow 'you're such a great friend' Rosenberg was in giddy, heart-pounding love with a werewolf. With a musician! Who would have thought it? Not her, that was for sure. Willow; master of unrequited love - maybe.

She had thought she'd never get to experience the kind of heart and soul relationship she had watched Buffy and Angel share. After all, that was them. And Buffy was always meant to have a dramatic life so naturally she would have an equally passionate love life. But now, now she finally knew. She hadn't a hopeless clue how she'd got there, but in some twist of fate…she'd somehow managed to find it too.

And it was a little scary; in a thrilling sort of way. She'd never felt like this before, and couldn't even really say when she had realised it, but she knew it - like she knew her blood-type and her middle name. It was just a fact. A fact of Willow. She would always have frog-fear; Xander was her best friend; she got the highest score in computer class; she loved Buffy like a sister; and she loved Oz in ways that made her tingle and dizzy.

A cold wave of worry suddenly washed out the warmth in her chest, as she remembered that he wasn't here. She hadn't actually seen him all day. Taking a deep breath, Willow told herself not to panic too much, Oz often skipped school. What with Dingo gigs and just his laid back approach to academia in general. Forcing her eyes back to the paragraph about a 16th century convent that the Pyerli had reportedly destroyed, Willow tried to concentrate.

o0o

AN Welcome :) This story is set around season 3, sometime after the 'fluke' has been resolved. But there's not really any tie-ins with any of the season's arcs. Hope you enjoy the story, and any feedback or comments are greatly appreciated.