Chapitre 17 :
°Disclaimer still in the prologue.
° Just to avoid confusion:
"speech"
'Mind speech'
It had been a week since Xander marked Ripper and they had still seen no sign of Oz, they were really worried about him, no one had made a fuss about his 'absence' not even his family. Ripper had asked his colleagues discreetly about it, but they all said the same thing, that his parents had called him sick. Cordelia went to one of Oz's friends Devon, but the boy didn't know anything as he had been out of town for two months. He had only returned to school that day and had no idea of Oz's absence, so they went to the other members of the boy's group and they only knew that he hadn't been at the rehearsals scheduled since Devon has left. They had thought he had been snubbing them, not that he had disappeared; they were feeling really guilty about it.
That evening after class they had regroup to the library to speak about what they had found and seeing as the parents seemed to know something, they decided that Xander and Cordelia would go to Oz's home and asked them directly about it. Cordelia never went their with Oz but she had his address, she had always thought there was something wrong between Oz and his parents because he never talked about them and when he did, there was a feeling of shame surrounding him. She had never asked him about it, but maybe this time Cordelia would have some of her responses. After the discussion Cordelia went back home and Xander and Ripper waited on Buffy and Willow for beginning their patrol.
The next day classes seemed to take much more time than they really did as Cordelia and Xander were anxiously waiting for them to end. They didn't know much about what was going on, but the more they knew and the more they were getting worried. So they were anxious to visit Oz's parents and learn what they knew about his absence. The last bell finally rang and Xander and Cordelia met at the back of the school hoping to avoid Buffy and Willow, they didn't need to have to loose them before trying to reach Oz's home.
Though luck was with them and they found the house without a problem, smiling tightly to each other they walked to the front door and without hesitation, Xander knocked on it. They didn't have to wait for long before a young woman opened the door and looked at them in confusion.
"Yes? May I help you?" she asked them.
Looking at each other Cordelia nodded her head at Xander, letting him have the control of the conversation. He smiled and said, "We are friends with Oz and are worried about his prolonged absence from school. We would like to know if he is alright"
At the name of Oz a fake smile appeared on her lips, "Oh friends of Oz…", she was going to say more when she began to sent the air.
A growl could be heard as she said, "Hyena… What are you doing here? We don't care for your sort here!" and she was going to close the door in his face when Xander had to use his 'Were's' rapidity to block and keep it open. He was shocked, so Oz's parents were 'Were', but why would his mother be so disdainful about her child. He couldn't understand it, every 'Were' were protective by nature of their young, so why this lack of worry for hers? There was something wrong here and he was going to find what.
He pushed his way in letting Cordelia enter behind him and closed the door, turning to the other 'Were' he said, "Yes I am a Were-Hyena and you are a Were-fox, but it had nothing to do with my presence here! All I want is to know what is going on with Oz!"
"Oz is with his girlfriend!", she said spitefully. "And if he is missing his classes it had nothing to do with me! If the little freak wants to fail his education, it is his problem! I have always known that he was bad news."
"But he is your son!" cordelia exclaimed shocked by the cruelty coming from that woman. She was beginning to understand why Oz had always avoided inviting them to his home, and the shamed tone of voice he had during the few times he had spoke to her and Larry about his family.
"My son!? Are you out of your mind? Of course he isn't! He is the son of that good for nothing brother of mine." She cried.
"So? Son or nephew, there shouldn't be a difference, he is family!" Cordelia snapped.
"No! He is a wolf!" the woman growled hatefully.
At that Xander began to understand, Oz was a Were-wolf and not a Were-fox and through their closed mindedness they had been rejected him. So Willow coming on him was a blessing in disguise for them; she took him out of their hands. He was disgusted by them, but there was something else, family never rejected their own because they were of another species. As Xander was trying to understand what was really going on, he listened to Cordelia and the other woman fighting back and forth about Oz. It wasn't before Cordelia shouted that Oz was so much better and worth than she and her pitiful pack that it all became clear to Xander. Of course it wasn't because Oz was a wolf that they rejected; if it had been just that, they would have treated him as a low rank but he would still have been pack.
The realisation made his anger boil and when he finally spoke; his voice was cold, colder than it had ever been. "Tell me one thing; you didn't reject Oz because of his wolf, did you? No of course not, you did it because he was becoming threatening, didn't you? You are despicable! Being the Alpha female leader of your pack, you have recognised the signs. Oz was becoming stronger, a lot more than you wished and you have seen the others beginning to go to him with their problems. It's an instinctive response from the members of a pack, when they have problems to seek out one of the pack's strongest 'Were' to help. At the beginning it must have been one or two of the youngest, nothing really noticeable but with time more and more must have been going to him. And then you realised the threat he was becoming, if he had been to challenge your husband, he would have had the support of the pack and most probably win. So when Willow came to take Oz away from the pack you didn't even try to protect him or watch out for him. No it was the perfect solution for you to stop the growing support and power he was gaining in the pack."
Through all of Xander's speech the woman hadn't say anything, freezing completely and becoming paler than was healthy. Her reaction was enough for Xander to know that he had been right, disgusted by what she had done, he turned away from her not trying to tell her anything and went out. Cordelia who was more than furious decided to follow Xander before she did something she wouldn't regret.
As Xander was taking Cordelia home, they didn't speak to each other both trying to understand what they had just learned. They couldn't even begin to understand the reasoning behind the woman's actions, he was family and that should have been all that mattered. Cordelia knew Oz really well, and she knew that he wouldn't have been interested in taking the pack's leadership. Though for that woman to not know that; it could only mean one thing and it was one thing she didn't like to think at all. After all how could she not know his nephew after having raised him for the major party of his life?
She was going to berate the woman vocally this time when she felt Xander took her hand. He was looking at her with a small amused smile on his lips and said, "We are here."
Cordelia was surprised to see her house in front of her; she hadn't even noticed they had stopped in her anger. "I know you are angry, I am as well but we have to concentrate in rescuing Oz now. I won't let him in Willow's clutches, knowing he is a 'Were' is even more worrying than before but we are going to help him, I promise.", he told her.
"Tell me when you have more news, I want to help you guys.", she said.
"And you will, but for now I need to go back to Ripper before Buffy and Willow arrived. I will see you tomorrow, bye" he replied kissing her cheek.
"Bye!", she told him back smiling.
After that they had been unable to do anything more fore some days when Willow herself gave them the occasion they had been waiting for. She had come that day to tell anyone that would listen that she had to go with her parents this week-end to visit her aunt. She wasn't happy as her aunt lived far enough from Sunnydale that they would have to stay the entire week-end there. She had been whining about it all week long and though she had been making them all going crazy, Xander couldn't be happier with the chance of discovering and rescuing Oz.
The week passed by quickly; on Friday night after the patrol had been completed and Buffy went back home, Ripper and Xander joined Angel and Kyle at Willow's house. They thought that it would be better for Cordelia to stay at her house, because in the case of a problem nothing would be tracked back to her.
They were all hidden in the shadows of bushes behind the house as Ripper used his magic to read the one surrounding the house. There were wards of course but they were weak and with what he learned from Ethan, they wouldn't be a problem. It seemed that even though Willow was powerful, she wasn't good in warding and protecting. It was easy for Ripper to include the four of them in the wards without triggering the alarm spell, it was as if she had cast the ward as an after thought; there wasn't a great deal of power backing it and Ripper had an easy time in forcing their presence through.
Once inside the four separated to begin searching for clues on the location of Oz., when Xander remembered the hidden door leading to the basement. Willow had been so proud that her parents told her of its existence that as a child she never noticed when she told it to Xander, a secret her parents had forbidden her to repeat to anyone. Not wanting to loose anymore time, he called the other three back to him and led them to the door. It was hidden behind a panel which was made to look like the wall, and they let Ripper look over it for possible wards and trap.
There was no trap but there were the same wards that had been cast on the house, Ripper searched a little more for any trap but couldn't find anything. The facility in thwarting them made him nervous but as they made their way down the basement's stairs, he still couldn't feel anything threatening. He decided to keep an eye for any trap till they exited the house and went back to the safety of the manor.
The basement was composed of two rooms; one which seemed to hold the start of a ritual with symbols drawn in a circle on the ground and the other was bolted down securely. Ripper circled the room to make sure nothing was going to harm them when he saw a journal; it was old and written in symbols. Knowing he couldn't take it without being discovered, he made a magical copy of it to read later. With luck it would contain responses to some of their questions.
Once done he joined back the other before the bolted door and magically opened it careful of the wards that were a little more powerful there. Willow really didn't want whatever was behind the door to be discovered and he really hoped it would be Oz. He felt the room one more time but no trap had been hidden in it and they began to search the obscurity on separated way. It was Angel who found him first though the sight of Oz, made him gasp in shock alerting the others. They all went to join him but were all too shock by what they saw to even say something.
Oz was lying on the ground completely naked, a collar fastened too short around his neck nearly strangling him. A heavy chain was bounding it to the wall; giving Oz just enough of free access to reach for a bowl of water. His hands were handcuffed and chained as well leaving the boy with the only possibility of lapping his water like a dog. His body was covered by whip marks, bruises and cuts; no skin was untouched, not even his face. His wrist and neck were torn apart, blood flowing freely from them and a bone had broken through the skin of his right leg.
Kyle was the first to move, feeling inexplicably drawn to the figure lying down on the ground. He took a step in its direction when the figure began to tremble, alarming them on his awaken state. Kyle kneeled down on the ground and gently took the face of the boy in his hands, making him look up in his eyes as he called the boy's name. Sadly he was only rewarded by a look of horror and fright, which had Kyle moving with the deepest care he was possible of.
As they look at each others something fall into place and a mind link opened between each other.
Instinctively Kyle used the link to reassure Oz, letting him feel the protectiveness and love he felt for him. As Oz's trembling began to slow down, Kyle asked Xander through their own mind link what was going on. 'Xander how can I feel this much love for someone I didn't know before today? I can feel his sufferings and all I want his to heal and hide him from the world that hurt him.'
'You my friend, are really lucky, you have found your soul mate' Xander answered.
'What!' Kyle thought completely shocked.
'Don't worry I will explained it to you all, once we have safely returned to the manor and Oz is healed and in bed. I promised. He needs to hear it as well anyway.' Xander thought back.
Kyle nodded his acceptance and asked to everyone, "So is it safe to free him?".
Ripper and Angel looked at each other knowing that something was going on but thought that it would be better to wait till they returned to the manor before asking questions.
It was Ripper who answered Xander, "I think that the best plan would be to make it look like as if Oz had broken himself free and went into hiding. I and Xander will stay behind to make sure that our traces and magical auras had been erased and triggered the ward from the inside with Oz's magical signature; first the one from the collar, then the one from the basement door and finally the one from the house. That way it will look like Oz had run himself away from this hell".
Kyle and Angel agreed with the plan and slowly and carefully removed the heavy binds from Oz, then with a tender smile Kyle took the boy in his arms and rushed to the exit followed closely by Angel. There were no attack on their way back home and they made it in good time, Kyle and Angel then went to the bedrooms upstairs. Angel had to arch an eyebrow in surprise when he saw Kyle laid tenderly Oz down on his bed, but didn't say anything knowing that all would be revealed once everyone was home. He went to the bathroom in search of bandages and joined back Kyle to start healing Oz's injuries.
In the meantime Ripper took care of the wards while Xander went back to the other room to draw on a sheet of paper the circle they had found there for future research. He then looked around a little more making sure that there weren't anymore symbols or journals and joined Ripper back to the basement door. They then exited the house, Ripper making sure that the wards would broke thirty minutes later letting them the time to cover their traces as they made their way back to the manor. Once broken, Willow would know that Oz had run away but it would already be too late.
Now all they had to do was to go back to the manor and Xander would explain everything while Ripper helped healed Oz magically.
° Thanks to foxykitsuneyouko, Veronica, Emeralden Rapley, LostGryffindorFoundSlytherin, I really love your reviews!
Sorry if anyone wanted an Angel/Kyle relationship but I had thought of Kyle/Oz since the beginning of the story^^ though don't worry I have a big plan for Angel (had thought of it since the beginning as well), hope it don't disappoint you.
° Please review.