Buffy took the news fairly well, all things considered.
"A demon turned Willow into a cat?! How? And how do we turn her back?"
"We can't turn her back, Buffy." Giles explained. "There's probably dozens of different methods of transforming one being into another. Without knowing which method, randomly trying to turn her back could have horrifying results."
"And the demon? What are we doing about the demon?"
"We have no idea which species of demon, let alone which individual demon did this. We were briefly able to communicate with Willow, which is how we confirmed that this is indeed Willow, and all she could tell us is that it appeared human and than demonic. There are several demons that can disguise themselves as human, chief among them vampires and other beings that can use glamours. It's entirely possible that this is permanent."
Buffy sucked in a deep breath and tried to keep from screaming at Giles. It wouldn't help.
"First I lost Angel and now Willow." She said miserably. "And what happens to Willow now?"
"Willow wasn't just turned into an ordinary cat." Giles explained. "She was turned into a type of cat from a legend I've heard of. The Council has never discovered proof of such beings, but there's plenty of stories that say they do exist."
"What kind of cat? An alien?"
"No, that would be a Flerken." Jenny answered. "They look like cats but have very different physiology. No, what Willow's been turned into is a Guardian. Xander and Cordelia had to swear an oath to provide a home and care for her and in return, she's bonded to them and will defend their homes and them in the event of an attack on their homes. The binding also extends her lifespan. Normally as a cat she'd maybe with good care, live a couple of decades. With the bonding she'll live as long as they do."
"And they swore this oath? Both of them? Even Cordelia? I could see Xander doing it because he considers Willow family and gods know even after what little we've learned about his home life, I can understand why he doesn't consider those people family, but Cordelia?"
"Xander matters to Cordelia, so for his sake, she was willing to do it. Together they'll take care of Willow. In fact, Cordelia has made arrangements to take her to the vet for a check up on Saturday. They're taking their responsibility seriously."
"Is the Willow cat going on patrol with us?"
"Actually yes, she will. But not as protection, mostly." Jenny explained. "See, once the oath has been made and the bonding established, two way telepathic communication between Guardian and Companions is also established. Willow can provide what Xander calls overwatch. She can get above us and spot things that might try sneaking up on us and via telepathy, inform Xander or Cordelia about it. And if we run into the demon that did this to her, she can identify them and perhaps then we can reverse what's happened to her. If not, Xander and Cordelia have agreed to care for her and as I said, are taking that responsibility seriously."
"But she can't communicate with the rest of us? With me, her best friend?"
"Well, she can't speak to you telepathically." Giles answered. "But she'll still know you and be able to communicate as a cat normally communicates, wth touch. Inside she's still Willow and you still matter to her too."
Buffy nodded and decided to change the subject for now. "What have you found out about Ted?"
"My search of Robot Ted's memory bank confirmed a speculation that Xander had, he hasn't lived in Sunnydale the entire time." Jenny said. "I did some checking in the cities where he's lived and in some of them other preserved bodies have been found where he was living. In the cities I found no reports of preserved bodies being found, I made anonymous reports suggesting those addresses be checked in case there are other bodies. I've also discovered the original Ted Buchanan became sick and was dying. His wife left him and than she disappeared. Either he or Robot Ted, probably was responsible. She may be one of those bodies preserved in his home."
"How many women do you think he's killed altogether?"
"We're talking over the course of more than forty years. It could number in the hundreds and not all of the bodies may ever be found or linked to a single individual. And Sunnydale's police aren't going to do much to add to any investigation, I'm afraid."
"So what do we do?"
"We keep a record of the evidence so that when Sunnydale and the rest of the world finally do meet, we can give it to the proper authorities." Jenny replied. "I'm afraid of what an official outside investigation would turn up in Sunnydale or how many people the Mayor had working for him or what they might do to any investigators that come to town. So we wait and when we can, we pass on what we know to those who can do something about it."
"And in the meantime, we continue to try to protect people from the creatures that would prey on them." Giles added.
"Okay, that I can definitely do." Buffy said with a look in her eye that didn't bode well for Sunnydale's nightlife. Buffy was feeling the need to take her frustrations out on the demonic masses of Sunnydale. Not that the vast majority didn't deserve it for one reason or another.