Into every generation, there are Chosen Ones. A Slayer will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. With each Slayer comes a Guardian. They are protectors of the innocent.

Day One

Morning - Sunnydale High School - Hallway

In 1.03 The Witch, Catherine had tried to put Zoey in the statue but Brooke and Alice had fired the spell back at Catherine, trapping her in the statue.

At school, in the hall by the trophy case, Oz was hunched over inspecting Catherine Madison's cheerleading trophy. He stared at its eyes as he moved his head from one side to the other.

Zoey walked toward him. "Hi."

Oz stood. "Oh, that's what I was gonna say. Hey, you okay? With your great uncle and all?"

"Dealing," Zoey answered. "What are you looking at?"

Oz pointed at the trophy. "This cheerleading trophy." He moved and watched. "It's like its eyes follow you wherever you go. I like it." Zoey raised her eyebrows, nodding, looking at the statue. Catherine glared at Zoey. "I don't think it likes you very much."

Zoey was in shock and realization. "Oh, my God, Catherine."

"Yeah," Oz agreed, not getting it, walking down the hall.

Zoey followed. "So did you like the movie last night?"

"I don't know," Oz told her. "T-today's movies are kind of like popcorn. You know, you forget about them as soon as they're done. I do remember I liked the popcorn, though."

Oz stopped walking.

Zoey smiled. "Yeah, it was good." Larry and his groupies walked into the hall. Zoey looked past Oz and saw the girls down the hall, pointing at them. "Oh, there, I have my friends, so I will go to them."

"I'll see you then," Oz told her. "Uh, later."

Zoey smiled, starting to walk away, not wanting to be near Larry.

Larry looked after the girls, biting his fist and walking over to Oz. "Man! Oz, I would love to get me some of that Brooke, Alice, Carmen, Buffy, Willow and Zoey action, if you know what I mean."

Larry laughed.

Zoey turned back to him. "That's great, Larry, not like I can't hear you, and you've really mastered the single entendre."

Larry looked at Zoey with a little shock at the insult.

Oz laughed, pointing at Zoey. "Like I said, intimidating."

Zoey smiled, rolling her eyes, turning around, following the girls outside. Larry noticed a pretty girl coming down the hall, staring at her. As she went by, Larry tapped the books, making them fall out of her hands.

The girl glared at him. "Hey!"

Larry laughed. "Oops." The girl leaned down to pick up her books. Larry and the other jocks stared at her legs. "Ooh. Oh, thank you, Thighmaster." The girl glared at them, leaving. "So, Oz, man, what's up with that, dating a junior? Uh, let me guess, Zoey being a badass rebel around school drew you in."

Oz gave him a sarcastic look. "Yeah. Yeah, she's actually an evil mastermind. It's fun."

"I mean, she's gotta be putting out, or what's the point?" Larry asked. "What are you gonna do, talk?" He laughed. "Come on, fess up. How far have you gotten?"

∞

Outside

The girls were walking along the colonnade.

"Nowhere," Zoey answered. "I mean, he said he was gonna wait until I was ready, but I'm ready. Honest. I'm good to go here."

"Well, I think it's nice that he's not just being an animal," Brooke told her.

"That is nice," Buffy agreed. "It's great. And he and Zo have a lot of fun. It's certainly a lot different than most of our relationships."

"But you want smoochies?" Willow asked.

"Maybe not in those exact words, but that pretty much sums it up," Zoey answered. "You know, my puppy Snowy kisses me more than he does."

"Ooh, little angel puppy Snowy," Carmen told them.

Alice smiled. "Have you dropped any hints?"

"Ah, he'll come around," Zoey told them. "Not worried about it."

"I mean, why should you be worried about it?" Carmen asked. "What guy could resist your daring Zoey charms?"

They sat down on a bench.

Alice sighed. "Zoey, Carmen, how are you holding up?"

"I'm holding," Carmen answered. "I was going on two minutes there without thinking about Angel."

"I'm trying not to think about my great uncle, but I think I'm doing better," Zoey answered.

Brooke tried to be cheerful. "Well, there you go."

"But I would do a lot better if you guys, Wyatt, Xander, Eric and Brady could do that 'sharing our misery' thing tonight," Carmen admitted.

"That should be easy enough for me, Wyatt, Alice and Brady," Brooke told them. "I mean, Spike still has his guys out to try to kill me. To make Wyatt lose it. But since Spike's in a wheelchair, it's easier to stay safe."

"And the thing with Brady, Bianca and I," Alice agreed. "Not getting any easier. But at least it's been quiet as of late."

"Still," Buffy told them. "We all have a lot of misery to share."

"All we gotta do is call the boys," Carmen agreed. "Not just Brady, Eric and Wyatt, but Xander too."

"Well, Eric and I would love to go," Buffy told them. "I'm sure Brady and Wyatt would too. What about Xander?"

"Great," Willow told them. "You guys talk to Brady, Eric and Wyatt. I'll give Xander a call. What's his number? Oh, yeah, 1-800-I'm-Dating-A-Skanky-Ho."

Willow rolled her eyes.

The other girls were both surprised, on the verge of laughing. "Meow!"

Willow smiled. "Really? Thanks. I've never gotten a 'meow' before."

"Well-deserved," Alice told her.

"Darn tooting," Willow told them. "I'm just saying Xander and Cordelia? I mean, what does he see in her anyway?"

∞

Night - Cordelia's Car

Xander and Cordelia were making out in the car.

Xander suddenly stopped. "But what about the others?"

"Excuse me?" Cordelia asked. "We didn't come here to talk about them. We came here to do things I can never tell my father about because he still thinks I'm a good girl."

"I'm just saying, everyone we care about is in danger," Xander told her. "Because of Spike, Drusilla, Bianca, Angel. Brooke, Alice, Carmen, Brady and Wyatt are in more danger than Willow, Buffy, Eric, Zoey, Giles, Layla and I are, but Angel still went to plenty of lengths to make Zoey and Layla suffer already by killing their uncle."

"Do you even wanna be here?" Cordelia asked.

"I'm not running away," Xander replied.

"Because when you're not babbling about everyone being in dangerous, you're raving about how all-powerful they are," Cordelia told him.

"I do not babble," Xander told her. "I occasionally run on, every now and then I yammer."

"Xander?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah?" Xander asked.

"Look around," Cordelia told him. "We're in my daddy's car, it's just the two of us, there is a beautiful, big full moon outside tonight. It doesn't get more romantic than this, so shut up."

They started to make out again.

∞

Outside

The camera pulled away from the car, into the bushes until a large, hairy beast (a werewolf) came into view, watching them, growling menacingly.

∞ Slayers and Guardians ∞

Cordelia's Car

Cordelia and Xander were still making out, pulling away when Xander heard something outside.

"Did you hear that?" Xander asked.

"What is it now?" Cordelia asked.

"I thought I heard something," Xander answered.

"Are the others sending out some sorta distress signal that only you can hear?" Cordelia asked sarcastically.

Xander smiled sheepishly. They went back to making out.

Xander heard something outside, louder this time, pulling away. "Okay, now I know I heard something."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "All right, that's it, you know, your mind hasn't been here all night, so how about I just drop you off--"

A hairy arm with a clawed hand punched through the convertible top. Cordelia screamed, making a grab for the keys.

"Get us outta here!" Xander told her.

The werewolf on the roof of the car snarled as it reached around for them inside. The kids weren't in the ignition.

Cordelia frantically searched for them on the floor. "Where are the keys?"

"We should be moving, let's go," Xander told her.

Cordelia found the keys. "Oh, I got 'em, got 'em."

Cordelia fumbled with the keys, managing to get them into the ignition, starting the car, putting it in reverse, screaming as she gunned the car backward a ways, slamming on the brakes, making the werewolf tumble off of the back and into a tree. Cordelia got the car in drive, speeding away.

"Told you I heard something," Xander told her.

The camera showed the car from above with a gaping hole in the ragtop as it maneuvered back to the road, racing off.

∞

Day Two

Morning - Sunnydale High School - Parking Lot

The Scoobies were talking, inspecting the convertible.

"And you're sure it was a werewolf?" Brady asked.

"Well, let's see, um, six feet tall, claws, a big old snout in the middle of his face like a wolf," Xander told them. "Um, yeah, I'm sticking with my first guess."

"Seems wise," Eric told him.

"Don't forget the part where they told us it tried to bite them," Wyatt added.

"It was so awful," Cordelia told them, putting her head on Xander's shoulder.

Xander putting his arm around her. "I know."

"Dad just had this car detailed," Carmen told them. "He's gonna be pissed at Cordy."

Cordelia nodded in agreement.

Giles walked up behind them with a newspaper.

"So what's the word?" Brady asked.

"Well, it seems there were a--a number of other attacks by a wild dog around town," Giles told them, handing the paper to Alice. "Several animal carcasses were found mutilated."

"You mean, like bunnies and stuff?" Eric asked.

Buffy shuddered at that thought. "No, don't tell me. If Eric's right, I don't wanna hear about bunnies."

Giles took the paper back. "Yes, uh, um, fortunately, no people were injured."

"That falls into the 'that's a switch' column," Eric told them.

"Well, for now," Wyatt told them. "But my guess is that this werewolf will be back at next month's full moon."

"What about tonight's full moon?" Brady asked.

"Pardon?" Giles asked.

"Well, last night was the night before the full moon," Brady explained. "Traditionally known as... 'the night before the full moon'."

"Meaning the accepted legend that werewolves only prowl during a full moon might be erroneous," Giles told them.

"Or it could be a crock," Eric told them. "Unless the werewolf was using last year's almanac."

"Looks like we have some schooling to do," Wyatt told them. "I have to admit, I'm intrigued. Werewolves? One of the classics."

Brooke smirked.

Giles started to walk away. "I'm sure my books and I are in for a fascinating afternoon."

They watched him go.

Alice smirked. "Typical behavior for my father."

Eric shook his head. "He needs to get a pet."

Brooke laughed. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Eric."

∞

Gym

In gym, the class was seated on the bleachers listening to the female self-defense coach. "Sunnydale is becoming more dangerous all the time. And a full moon like tonight tends to bring out the crazies, but with some simple basics of self-defense each of you can learn how to protect yourself."

Eric looked at his friends and sister. "Here's a suggestion. Move away from the Hellmouth."

They smiled.

"What you wanna do is gain advantage of the situation as quickly as possible," Coach told them.

Oz reached up to Zoey's back. Zoey looked back at him curiously.

"Tag," Oz told her.

Zoey looked at the girls, smirking.

"Your attacker may have the benefit of surprise," Coach told them.

"Would you look at that?" Xander asked. "He's all over her."

Cordelia looked at them.

Coach went on. "But if you plot ahead..."

Xander looked toward them. "Psst, hey, buddy, this is a public forum here."

The Scoobies looked at Xander.

"...then you can turn that advantage to yourself," Coach finished. "By being prepared, you have the power. Okay, everyone get into your assigned groups."

The students all got up from the bleachers and walked down to the floor. Larry took off his sweat jacket and walked to the table in front of them to check which group he was in.

Brady saw his arm all wrapped up in a bandage just above the elbow. "What happened?"

"Oh, last week some huge dog jumped out of the bushes and bit me," Larry answered. "Thirty-nine stitches. They oughta shoot those strays."

Oz stood next to Larry. "I've been there, man." He held up his finger. "My cousin Jordy just got his grownup teeth in? Does not like to be tickled."

Xander, Brady and Eric laughed.

Larry just shook his head and then went over to a girl named Theresa, who was doing stretching exercises, speaking into her ear. "Theresa!" She stood straight. "Be still my shorts. We're in the same group." He chuckled and nodded. "I may have to attack you."

"No, a-a-actually, I think, uh, in our group there are a few of us," Theresa told him.

Buffy stood next to Theresa. "And I'm one of the few."

Willow walked up behind Buffy quickly, taking her arm and pulling her aside, standing next to the other girls. Buffy kept her eye on Larry another moment, then looked at Willow.

"Don't forget," Alice told them. "We're supposed to be meek little girlie girls like the others."

Brooke looked at Larry. "Spoil our fun. But then that goes for Zoey, too."

"No going ninja?" Zoey asked meekly.

"No going ninja," Brady answered. He looked at Buffy. "No Slayer." He looked at Alice and Brooke. "No Guardians."

Eric looked at Carmen. "No witch." He looked at Zoey. "No ninja." He looked at Brady. "No hunter."

They were almost sad.

∞

Later

Everyone was lined up and paired off, girls in front, boys in back.

"Okay, everyone, listen up," Coach told them. "I wanna show you what to do should you be attacked from behind." She looked at Buffy. "In this situation, bend forward, using your back and shoulders..." She bended her over to demonstrate. "To flip the assailant over to the ground."

Brooke looked at Zoey, winking, because she had used that trick to flip Tector into the bezoar in 2.12. "Like Tector. Right, Zoey?"

Zoey smiled. The other girls all leaned over, too. The boys followed Larry's lead and put one of their arms around the girls' necks.

Oz had his arm around Zoey's neck. "Tector?"

"Guy with sharp teeth, bad table manners, tried to kill me, I flung him into a pit of pink goo," Zoey answered. "He had me in this position before you did."

"Oh, I thought I'd be the first," Oz told her, making Zoey smile. "You think you could do it again?"

Zoey gave him a smile at the taunt. Buffy grabbed Larry's arm and pretended at a few attempts to flip him over. Alice and Willow gave her a smile and nod. Zoey grabbed Oz's arm, ready.

"Oh, Summers, you are turning me on," Larry told her, grabbing Buffy's butt with his other hand.

Zoey flipped Oz over her head onto the floor in front of her. Buffy grabbed Larry's arm, flipping him over her head onto the floor in front of her hard onto the mats in front of them. Larry groaned as he lied there. Brooke, Alice, Carmen and Willow stood straight, giving Buffy and Zoey a look. Xander, Eric and Brady were amused, giving them a look. The coach looked over at Buffy and Zoey also.

Oz looked up at Zoey. "That works, too."

Zoey couldn't help a smile.

∞

Library

Layla was demonstrating the phases of the moon using a large earth globe with a smaller moon globe attached by a bar. "And, uh, while there's absolutely no scientific explanation for lunar effect on the human psyche? Uh, the phases of the moon do seem to exert a great deal of psychological influence. And the full moon seems to bring out our darkest qualities."

"And yet, ironically, uh, led to the invention of the moon pie," Wyatt told them.

Brooke smiled.

Giles got the joke, chuckling. "Yes, the moon pie." He laughed harder. They looked at him in slight surprise. Layla smiled in amusement. "Y-you see, uh, the-the werewolf, uh, is such a, a potent e-e-extreme representation of our inborn animalistic traits that it e-emerges for three full consecutive nights."

Wyatt nodded in agreement. "The full moon. And, uh, the two nights surrounding it."

"Quite the party animal," Eric told them.

"Quite," Wyatt agreed. "And it acts on pure bloody instinct. No conscience. Predatory. Aggressive."

"In other words, your typical male," Buffy told them.

"On behalf of my gender, hey," Brady told her.

Layla nodded. "Yes. Let's not jump to any conclusions."

"I didn't jump," Buffy told them. "I took a tiny step, and there conclusions were."

"The point is that our wolfman could also be a-a-a wolfwoman, or-or anyone who was bitten by a werewolf," Giles told them.

"So then I'm guessing your standard silver bullets are in order here?" Brooke asked.

"No," Alice answered. "No bullets. No matter who this werewolf is, it's still a human being, who may be completely unaware of his or her condition."

Layla nodded. "So tonight we bring 'em back alive."

∞

Night - Park

The moon was full, and several cars were parked there with couples making out. Layla and Giles walked by some cars. Giles was holding his flashlight out in front of him. Eric, Buffy, Brooke, Brady, Zoey, Alice, Carmen and Wyatt met up with them. Eric had his crossbow, ready to help when needed. They all spoke quietly.

"Anything yet?" Layla asked.

"Yes, and you won't believe what I saw," Carmen told them. "Brittany Podell was making out with Owen Stadeel, but he goes with Barrett Williams. If she ever found..."

Giles and Layla gave Carmen a look.

"No," Brooke answered. "Um, no sign of the werewolf."

"What about you?" Buffy asked.

"Uh, the same," Layla answered.

They looked around.

"I thought we might, uh..." Giles trailed off. "I thought we might knock on a few windows, uh, ask if anyone has seen anything."

Layla gave him an amused look. "Rupert? No one's seen anything."

Giles realized she was right, nodding. "Oh, yes. No, of course not."

"No," Layla agreed. "Yes."

The others were amused.

∞

Woods

The group walked along, scanning with flashlights, coming to a small clearing. They heard a noise like a latch releasing. Brady found himself being pulled up in a net trap.

Below him, a hunter named Cain pointed his scoped, double-barreled flintlock up at Brady, pulling back the hammer. "Gotcha."

∞∞

Cain took a closer look at what he had caught. "What the hell?"

Brady called out to the others for help. "Alice! Buffy! Brooke!"

They and the others came running.

"Hey," Eric told them, seeing Cain with his gun, aiming his crossbow at Cain so he wouldn't shoot them. "Whoa."

"Hands are good right about there," Cain told them.

"Who are you?" Alice asked. "What are you doing?"

"The name's Cain," Cain answered. "I'm the one with the gun, which means I'm the one who gets to do the interviewing."

"Yeah, well, Eric has a crossbow," Buffy replied. "And I'm pretty sure that he could wipe the floor with you."

Eric smirked. "Thanks, Buff."

Brooke noticed Brady trapped. "Hey. Before we get all chummy here, how about we do something about Brady being in this net thing?"

Cain sighed, lowering his gun, leaning it against a boulder, pulling out his buck knife, cutting the rope holding up the net, letting it fall. Brady hit the ground fairly hard. Alice helped Brady untangle the net so he could get up.

"You all right?" Layla asked.

Brady stood. "Yeah."

Cain took a look at the group. "Gotta say, I'm impressed."

"Excuse me?" Giles asked.

"This is what, a massive date thing?" Cain asked. "Well, it's good to get the fruit while it's fresh."

"You'd be wise to take that back," Giles told him.

"Hey, what people do in lovers' lane at night is nobody's busi--" Cain started.

Wyatt rolled his eyes, clearly about to use magic to make Cain either shut up or knock him out.

Layla stopped him. "Oh, okay. Wyatt."

Carmen looked at Cain. "Enough, repulsive brain. It's not what you think."

"We're hunting werewolves," Brooke told him.

Cain laughed.

"Okay, it's funny if you don't believe in werewolves," Buffy told him.

"No, it's funny thinking about you catching one," Cain told them. He gestured to Giles. "I mean, this guy looks like he's auditioning to be a librarian. The other boys look too young to hunt anything. And you girls, well, you're girls."

"We're all quite capable," Alice replied.

Cain smirked. "Uh-huh. Let me ask you something. Exactly how many of these animals have you taken out?"

"As of today?" Carmen asked.

Cain held out his necklace. "I tore a tooth from the mouth of every werewolf that I killed. This next one will bring the total to an even dozen."

"So you're just gonna kill it?" Eric asked.

"Well, see, that's the thing," Cain told them. "Their pelts fetch a pretty penny in Sri Lanka, and it's a little hard to skin 'em when they're alive."

"You hunt werewolves for sport?" Giles asked.

"No, I'm in it purely for the money," Cain answered.

"And it doesn't bother you that a werewolf is a person 28 days out of the month?" Wyatt asked.

"That's why I only hunt 'em the other three," Cain replied. "I'd really love to stay and chat." He crouched down to collect the net. "But I'm on a tight schedule. Any idea where else the boys and girls like to get together around here?"

"You're looking for a party?" Layla asked.

"No, but the werewolf is," Cain answered. "They're suckers for that whole sexual heat thing. Sense it miles away. Since this little doggie ain't here, I guess he found another place."

"Sorry," Buffy told him sarcastically. "Wish we could help you."

"But you don't know squat?" Cain asked. "Gee, what a surprise."

Cain left. Brooke turned to her car.

"Where are we going?" Giles asked.

"I think I know where to look," Brooke answered. "We just have to make it there before mein furrier."

∞

Street

Theresa was walking home, passing a house with a fenced in front yard overgrown with weeds, hearing some rustling, stopping to look around, seeing nothing, continuing on, hearing more noises, looking again, hearing a growling sound, starting to run, looking back again, not seeing Bianca in front of her, slamming into her, screaming.

Bianca was twirling a daisy in her hand. "Everything okay?"

Theresa sighed, nodding. "Yeah, I just, uh, I--I thought I heard something behind me."

Bianca walked around her to have a look, turning to her. "No one there."

"Oh, I guess I was wrong," Theresa told her. "I could have sworn that--"

"It's okay," Bianca told her. "It can get pretty scary out here. All alone at night."

"Yeah," Theresa agreed.

Bianca pretended to be curious. "Hey. Don't I know you from somewhere? I only went to Sunnydale High for a few days. But you definitely look familiar."

Theresa smiled, nodding. "Yeah, I remember you, too. Uh, we had homeroom together. Brady and Alice introduced us."

Bianca smirked. "Yeah. They did. Didn't they?"

"It's Bianca, right?" Theresa asked.

"Yeah," Bianca answered. "And forgive me if I get your name wrong. I'm really bad with names. Um... Theresa." Theresa smiled, nodding. Bianca smiled, bouncing slightly. "Yes. Oh, it's a shame that I couldn't keep going to that school. But something came up. It's sad. I could've gotten more friends here in town. Like you. Come on. I'll get you home. It's okay."

They walked off together. Bianca looked behind her toward where Angelus was watching from behind a bush. Angelus was obviously the one that had been following, growling at and scaring Theresa to steer her right to Bianca. Angelus and Bianca both smirked.

Angelus chuckled. "She's a natural."

∞

The Bronze

(Song:) Blind For Now - Lotion

Cordelia and Willow were sitting on opposite sides of a couch by a low table.

"I mean, with Xander, it's always 'Buffy, Brooke and Brady did this', 'Layla, Zoey, Willow and Eric said that, 'Wyatt, Alice and Carmen made this happen'," Cordelia told her. "Buffy, Buffy, Brooke, Brooke, Brady, Brady, Zoey, Zoey, Willow, Willow, Eric, Eric, Alice, Alice, Wyatt, Wyatt, Carmen, Carmen, Layla, Layla. It's like I don't even exist."

"I sometimes feel like that," Willow told her, looking at Cordelia.

"And then when I call him on it, he acts all confused, like I'm the one with the problem," Cordelia told her.

Willow nodded. "His 'do I smell something?' look."

Cordelia nodded. "All a part of his little guy games, like he's there, but then he's not there, and he wants it, but then he doesn't want it."

Willow scoffed. "He's so busy looking around at everything he doesn't have. He doesn't even realize what he does have. Guys. Who do they think they are? Guys."

(Song Ends)

Suddenly the werewolf dropped down from above onto the table in front of them. They screamed and ran from the couch in opposite directions. The panic set in around them, and the werewolf just stood there at a half crouch, confused by all the noise.

∞

Outside

The others arrived.

"Looks as though Brooke's hunch was right," Alice told them. "Who could resist Sunnydale's own house of hormones?"

Willow ran outside, seeing them. "The werewolf, it's in there."

They made a dash for the door as it was about to be shut by the bouncer.

"Coming through," Brady told them. "Move!"

∞

Inside

They ran inside. The place had been trashed by the panicked people. Tables and chairs were lying everywhere, spilled drinks were splattered on the floor. The werewolf jumped toward Zoey growling. Zoey ducked out of the way, backing away, making it hit the door. The werewolf looked at Zoey as if in recognition.

Alice and Brooke created magical Guardian energy bonds around the werewolf to restrain it. The werewolf began to struggle and yank at the bonds, pulling Alice and Brooke through the mess, running toward the window, shattering through it, disappearing. Carmen tried to freeze it, but once the werewolf left the building, she couldn't freeze it.

Layla looked at her daughter. "Zoey? You okay?"

Zoey didn't answer, looking after the wolf in confusion.

"Zo?" Eric asked. "What is it?"

Zoey hesitated for a moment. "I think it knew me."

∞

Later

Bronze employees were back, straightening things up.

Cain had met up with the group. "You let it get away."

"We didn't let it anything," Wyatt told him in annoyance. "We had it."

"What were you gonna do, take it for a walk?" Cain asked.

"We were going to lock it up," Carmen answered.

Cain walked closer. "That's beautiful. This is what happens when a woman or an amateur tries to do a man's job."

"Now, you look here, Mr. Cain," Giles told him. "These people risked their lives trying to capture a beast that you haven't as yet been able to find."

Cain nodded sarcastically. "Uh-huh. And Daddy's doing a great job carrying their bag of milk bones." Giles threw down his bag, restraining himself. Cain stepped closer. "You know, if that thing out there harms anyone, it's going to be on your pretty little heads. I hope you can live with that."

Carmen glared at him. "I live with that every day."

Carmen looked at Zoey and Layla in guilt, blaming herself for Angel killing their uncle.

Cain shook his head. "First they tell me I can't hunt an elephant for its ivory." He turned to leave. "Now I've gotta deal with People for the Ethical Treatment for Werewolves."

Layla rolled her eyes. "Bastard. All right, let's move out."

The others gave Layla an amused look for calling Cain that.

∞

Loading Dock Area

The werewolf walked into the light next to a trailer, stopping to sniff the air, looking down, seeing a large splotch of blood in the gutter, continuing along the side of the trailer, reaching the far end. Theresa fell to the ground from behind the trailer, with a vampire bite clearly visible on her neck. The werewolf looked down at her, but didn't make a move to eat her. On the other side of her, Angelus and Bianca stepped up, vampire visages out. Angelus growled at the werewolf. The werewolf bared its fangs, growling more loudly.

Bianca returned the growl, baring her fangs, staring the werewolf down. "Pretty puppy. She's ours. Leave her alone. Go make someone else your chew toy."

Angelus was amused. "Bianca, don't talk to the werewolf like a pup."

Angelus slowly backed away, pulling Bianca with him as they left. The werewolf looked down at Theresa, growling, but made no move to touch her.

∞

Park

The others were looking for the werewolf. Giles and Layla were sitting in Giles' car.

"Giles?" Brooke asked. "Layla?"

They ran up to the car, waking them up. Giles took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"We didn't see you there," Buffy told them. "We thought something had happened."

Giles shook his head. "Oh, no, we're, uh..."

A newscast was playing on the radio.

"You're okay," Alice told them. "We didn't see any sign of he werewolf."

Giles put his glasses on.

"None," Eric agreed. "I'm guessing you two didn't see anything either from that vantage point of having your eyes closed."

"Yeah, Layla and Zoey, you're both exhausted," Wyatt told them. "Have you two slept much since finding Enyos in his hotel room?"

Zoey and Layla shook their heads in answer.

Radio newscaster: "Police say that the incident was apparently connected to the animal mutilation which occurred two nights ago. The coroner's office has identified the body as that of Sunnydale High School student Theresa Klusmeyer, age seventeen. The authorities ask that anyone with further information..."

"We're gonna get this thing," Carmen told them. "We have another whole night."

"There's nothing more we can do now," Brady told them. "It's nearly sunrise."

"Yeah," Layla agreed. "That werewolf won't be a werewolf much longer."

∞

Day Three

Morning - Woods

There was a view of Sunnydale from atop a hill at sunrise. The werewolf was asleep on the ground in the woods. The camera panned from its hind paws over to its head. When sunlight hit it, the wolf morphed back into its human form.

Oz woke up, looking around in confusion, sitting up, staring around at the forest, looking down at himself, realizing he was naked. "Huh."

∞∞

Oz's House - Dining Room

Oz was on the phone with his aunt. "Aunt Maureen. Hey, it's me. Um, what? Oh, it's, uh, actually healing okay. That's pretty much the reason I called. Um, I wanted to ask you something. Is Jordy a werewolf? Uh-huh. And how long has that been going on? Uh-huh. What? No, no reason. Um, thanks. Yeah, love to Uncle Ken."

Oz lowered the phone, hanging up, staring off into space, as the new knowledge that he was the werewolf sunk in.

∞

Sunnydale High School - Hallway

Oz walked slowly among the other students, making his way to the library, looking down and around at everyone, still trying to deal with this new revelation about himself, reaching the library, staring at the door for a long moment.

∞

Library

The Scoobies were gathered.

"I can't believe we let that thing get away," Buffy told them. "Cain was right. We should've killed it when we had the chance."

Oz walked in, and had overheard that last comment. "Killed what?"

"Uh, the, uh, the werewolf," Brooke answered. "It-it-it was out last night."

"Is everybody okay?" Oz asked. "Did anyone get bitten or, or scratched?"

"No, we're fine," Willow answered.

"Gladness," Oz said.

"Yeah, but he got someone," Alice told him. "Theresa."

"'Got', as in..." Oz trailed off. Buffy just looked at him and briefly raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"And we could've stopped it," Eric told them, sitting down.

"Well, we have one more night," Giles told them.

"Another night?" Oz asked.

"Oh, yeah," Wyatt answered. "Believe me. We're gonna give that wolfie something to howl about."

"Hmm," Oz hummed.

Xander walked over. "But while we hang here doing nothing, there's a human werewolf walking around out there, probably making fun of us."

"The way werewolves always do," Brady told them sarcastically.

"But there's really no way to tell who it is," Oz told them.

"Oh, sure there is," Xander told them. "Alice, Wyatt and Giles know stuff, and Brady, Eric and I are practically experts on the subject."

"On account of once you three were hyenas?" Willow asked.

"We know what it's like to crave the taste of freshly killed meat, to be taken over by those uncontrollable urges," Eric told them.

"You said you didn't remember anything about that," Brooke told them.

Xander, Eric and Brady chuckled nervously, while Alice, Giles and Wyatt looked at them knowingly.

"They did say they didn't remember anything about that," Alice agreed.

"Look, the point is, we have an affinity with this thing," Brady told them. "We can get inside of its head."

Eric closed his eyes and began to be the werewolf. "I'm a big, bad wolf. I'm on the prowl. I'm sniffing, I'm snarling, I'm a slobbering predator, I'm..."

Xander looked at them. "Wait a second, it's right in front of us, it's obvious who I am. I'm Larry, the guy's practically having wolf-boy stamped on his forehead. You got the dog bite, you got the aggression, not to mention the excessive back hair."

"And he was awfully gleeful about tormenting Theresa," Carmen added.

"Still, that doesn't necessarily mean that..." Giles trailed off.

"We're gonna go talk to him, gonna force a confession out of him," Xander told them.

Xander, Eric and Brady left.

Giles nodded. "Good, go, uh, in the meantime, we need to cover our bases. Willow, um, check the student files, see if anybody else fits the profile, Zoey, research about werewolves. Buffy, Brooke, Brady, Alice, Eric, Carmen, Wyatt, Layla and I?"

"Where are we going?" Carmen asked.

Layla sighed. "If none of that works? I think we may have an alternative."

"Yeah, me and the werewolf alone in a cage for three minutes," Wyatt told them. "That's all I ask."

They walked away.

Zoey looked at Oz, noticing he seemed nervous. "Are you okay?"

Oz came back to earth. "What?"

Zoey slid off the counter. "You kind of knew Theresa."

"Oh, yeah, I, uh, I'm trying not to think about it," Oz told her. "It's... it's a lot."

Zoey nodded, walking closer. "It is, but we can do stuff to help, because sometimes it feels good to help."

"Uh-huh," Oz said.

The others walked toward Zoey, but held back, not wanting to interrupt her with Oz.

"Well, like... looking up stuff," Zoey told him. "Apparently, Giles declared himself king, so we're gonna be doing that most of the night; you could help me, help together?"

Oz seemed unsure what to do. "I can't. Um, uh, I'm busy." Zoey nodded. "I gotta go."

Oz jogged out of the library. Zoey watched him go, confused about his behavior. The other girls looked at Zoey sadly.

∞

Boys' Locker Room

The camera panned over to the sinks where Larry was splashing some water onto his face, grabbing a towel, drying off as he headed for his gym locker. Xander, Eric and Brady were there. Brady kicked his locker closed to get his attention.

Larry took the towel from his face, looking up, startled. "Guys, sheesh, next time wear a bell."

Larry opened his locker.

"Why so jumpy, Larry?" Brady asked.

Larry nodded to Xander and Eric. "Geeks make me nervous."

"Is that really it?" Brady asked skeptically. "Or is there something you're hiding?"

Larry leaned on his locker door. "I could hide my fists in your faces."

"We know your secret, big guy," Eric told him. "We know what you've been doing at night."

"You know, those nosey little noses of yours are going to get you into trouble someday," Larry told them, grabbing Eric by the shirt. "Like today."

Eric broke the hold Larry had on him, pushing him back but didn't hurt him.

"Hurting us isn't gonna make this go away," Brady told him.

"People are still gonna find out," Xander told him.

Larry sighed. "All right, what do you want, hush money? Is that what you're after?"

"We don't want anything," Brady answered. "We just wanna help."

"What, you think you have a cure?" Larry asked.

"No," Eric answered. "It's just..."

"Look, know what you're going through because, uh, been there," Xander told him. "So you should talk about it."

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say," Larry told him. "I mean, you're a nobody. I've got a reputation here."

"Larry, please, before someone else gets hurt," Brady told him.

Larry pointed at them. "Look, if this gets out, it's over for me. I mean, forget about playing football. They'll run me outta this town. I mean, come on, how are people going to look at me after they find out I'm gay?" They looked at him in shock. Larry looked like a heavy burden had just been lifted, smiling. "Oh, wow. I said it. And it felt... okay. I'm gay." He approached. "I'm gay."

"We heard you the first time," Eric told him.

"I can't believe it," Larry told them. "It was almost easy. I never felt I could tell anyone, and then you three, you of all people, you bring it outta me."

"It probably would have slipped out even if we weren't here," Brady told him.

Larry leaned on his locker door, pointing at Xander. "No, no, because knowing you went through the same thing, made it easier for me to admit it."

Eric realized that the way Xander had phrased it earlier made Larry think that Xander was. "The same thing--"

Larry put an arm around Xander. "It's ironic, I mean, all those times I beat the crap out of you, it must've been because I recognized something in you that I didn't want to believe about myself."

Xander laughed nervously. "Larry, no, I am not--"

Larry smiled. "Of course, of course not, don't worry." He patted Xander on the shoulder. "I wouldn't do that to you. I'll be like Eric and Brady and help keep your secret." He gave them a thumbs up, smiling. "Wow."

Larry draped the towel around his neck, closing his gym locker, walking off. Xander stared after him in disbelief. Eric and Brady were amused, trying not to laugh.

∞

Library

Willow was 'Net surfing on her laptop. Zoey was sitting on the table next to her, reading a book. The others walked out of the office, over to them.

"So what's the scuttlebutt?" Carmen asked. "Anybody besides Larry fit our werewolf profile?"

"There are a couple names that keep getting spit out," Willow told them. "Aggressive behavior. Run-ins with authorities. About a screenful of violent incidents."

"Okay, most of those were not our fault," Buffy told them. "Somebody else started 'em. We were just standing up for ourselves."

Alice looked up at them. "Hey. You know what? They say it's a good idea to count to ten when you're angry.

"One..." Brooke trailed off. "Two... Three..."

Willow looked back at her laptop. "I'll keep looking."

"Zoey?" Carmen asked. "Um... noticed you were looking through the books solo."

Zoey sighed. "Yeah, Oz wanted to be someplace that was away... from me."

"Sorry," Wyatt told her.

"I can't figure him out," Zoey told them. "I mean, he's so hot and cold, and I'm usually an expert when it comes to the mystery that is men, but, I don't know, there's just something so different about this one."

"It doesn't seem like a fair trade," Willow told them, standing up and putting her laptop in its case.

"Zoey?" Buffy asked. "If you wanna up the speed quotient with Oz. Maybe you need to do something daring. Maybe you need to make the first move."

"But I know," Brooke told her. "I know. You're not used to making the first move. Told you you wouldn't go through with the Oz thing."

Zoey gave her a sarcastic look.

"Guys, give her a break," Alice told them. "Maybe after everything that happened on her birthday, the day after? You know, with the dreams and finding her great-uncle slaughtered? Zoey could use some time."

Carmen looked down sadly.

"Don't make with the guilt face, Carmen," Wyatt told her. "We know it's not your fault. So don't even think like that. Bloody hell, you lot take on so much guilt."

"Yeah," Layla agreed. "Yeah. I guess we do. So? Guilt keeps us from becoming someone who doesn't feel it. Keeps us good."

"But you know what?" Willow asked. "It used to be so much easier to tell if a boy liked you. He'd punch you on the arm and then run back to his friends."

Carmen chuckled in amusement. "Those were the days."

Xander, Eric and Brady returned.

"Hey," Xander told them.

"I'll see you guys later," Willow told them. "Cordelia asked me to look over her history homework before class. I think that means I might have to do it. I'll meet you guys soon, promise."

Willow walked out.

"Wow, those two gals are hanging out a lot together," Xander told them. "This would be a good time to panic."

Buffy let out a laugh.

"So how'd it go with Larry?" Brooke asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander asked.

"I think it's supposed to mean, 'so how'd it go with Larry?'" Buffy told him.

"He's not the werewolf," Eric answered. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Must you continue to push and push?" Xander asked.

Wyatt gave him a weird look. "Sorry. We were just wondering."

"Well, he's not," Brady told them.

"Okay," Alice told them.

"Okay," Giles told them.

"But there goes our lead suspect," Layla told them. "Which then puts us right back at square one."

"But you guys are you guys," Xander told them. "Eradicators of evil, defenders of, um, things that need defending."

"Tell that to Theresa," Buffy told him. "She could have used our defending before she was ripped apart by that..."

"Werewolf," Brooke finished. "Yeah."

Alice was thinking. "Nowhere in any of the reports did it say anything about her being mauled. I mean, they were linked to the animal attacks from the other night, so we just assumed werewolf."

"What else should we have assumed?" Brady asked sarcastically. "Vampire."

"We should check it out," Wyatt told them. "Zoey, you coming with?"

"No," Zoey answered. "There's something I gotta do."

Zoey turned around, walking out.

∞

Funeral Home

Theresa was laid out in her coffin with a scarf around her neck. Buffy, Eric, Brooke, Wyatt, Brady, Alice, Carmen, Willow and Xander were here. They pulled it back, seeing the bite.

"Vampire," Wyatt told them.

"So that's good, right?" Xander asked. "I mean in the sense of the werewolf didn't get her."

"No," Eric answered. "There's no good here."

"No good," Buffy agreed. "Instead of not protecting Theresa from the werewolf, we were able to not protect her from something just as bad."

They walked over to the guest register, looking at all the signatures.

"She had a lot of friends," Brooke told them.

Alice realized something. "Brady, didn't you and I introduce Theresa to Bianca when she was going to school with us?"

Brady nodded sadly. "Yeah. Think it's a warning or sign from Bianca or whatever?"

Alice nodded, looking down.

"Brady, Alice, you can't blame yourselves for whatever Bianca does," Willow told them. "Just like none of you can blame yourselves for every death that happens in Sunnydale."

"If it weren't for you, people'd be lined up five deep waiting to get themselves buried," Eric agreed. "Willow would be Robbie the Robot's love slave, Xander wouldn't even have a head, the rest of us would have been vampire chow long ago."

Carmen looked behind them. "And Theresa's a vampire."

Theresa sat up, looking over at them, growling. They turned around, seeing them hop out of the coffin. Buffy lunged at Theresa, grabbing her, trying to wrestle her to the floor, but Theresa threw Buffy down instead, running toward Brady to tackle him down. Alice and Brooke waved their arms to throw bursts of red energy into Theresa to throw her off of Brady into the wall. Wyatt was about to his power to kill Theresa with fire.

What Theresa said next caused everyone to hesitate. "Angel and Bianca send their love."

Theresa took the distraction as advantage to stand and run over to them. Xander had grabbed a wooden easel, jamming one of its legs through Theresa's back. She burst into ashes. They all looked at Xander, impressed. Xander tossed the easel aside, looking at them.

Carmen looked down sadly. "Angel. Bianca."

Wyatt looked at Alice, Brady and Carmen. "Are you okay?"

Carmen shook her head, angry, emotional. "This isn't happening. They're gonna keep coming after us."

"Don't let them get to you," Buffy told them. "They're not the game people you knew."

"We're gonna keep trying to find a way to save them," Brooke told them. "Both of them."

Brady sighed, holding his head in his hands. "Problem is, half of Bianca's insanity is my fault."

"What?" Alice asked. "How do you figure that?"

"I killed her brother," Brady answered.

"But she still has feelings for you," Alice told him.

"True," Carmen agreed. "But it's obvious that Brady doesn't have anymore feelings for Bianca. Those died long before she came to Sunnydale." They all nodded in agreement, knowing that was the truth. "Brady just feels responsible for helping her."

"Not everything is your fault," Willow told them.

"No, not everything," Wyatt agreed. "But enough."

Xander was trying to make everyone feel better. "Oh, no, our lives aren't too complicated."

Everyone chuckled in amusement. "Yeah. Right."

"Let's go," Xander told them.

They nodded. "Yeah."

They walked out together.

∞

Woods

Cain's van was parked with the curtains drawn across the cab. Inside, it was all set up like a small hunter's lodge, with hunting equipment and traps hanging from the walls and a lab bench full of reloading equipment. Cain reached down, picking up a small iron pan, setting it on the bench. He had a Bunsen burner going, taking a small long handled melting cup, holding it over the flame. When the metal in the cup had become molten, he brought it over to a mold that he was holding over the iron pan with his other hand, pouring the silver into it, setting the melting cup aside, breaking open the mold. Inside was a perfectly formed bullet. He held it up to inspect it in the dim light.

∞

Night - Oz's House - Dining Room

Outside, the full moon was rising. Oz had a box full of shackles and locks, dumping them out, looking at them, considering a moment, then with a strengthened resolve, starting to put one on, about to put the lock on when there was a knocking at the door, ignoring it, looking at the lock. As he moved to put it on, there was another knock. Oz looked at it, sighing, setting the lock and shackles down. The knocking continued as he went over to the door.

Oz opened the door, surprised to see who was there. "Zoey, what are you doing?"

Zoey walked inside. "You're busy, huh, so one lie I caught you in."

"Zoey, this is not a very good time," Oz told her.

"I mean, what am I supposed to think?" Zoey asked. "I guess none of this means anything because instead of looking up names with me, here you are all alone in your house doing nothing by yourself."

"Zoey, we'll talk about this tomorrow," Oz told her. "I promise."

Oz tried to take hold of Zoey to lead her out.

Zoey shook him off. "No, damn it, we'll talk about this now, so sometimes what a girl makes has to be the first move and now, well, you know what I mean."

"I know, I know, it's me," Oz told her. "I'm, I'm going through some... changes."

"Well, welcome to the world," Zoey told him. "Things happen. Don't you think I'm going through a lot?"

"Not like me," Oz told her.

"Oh, what, so now you're special?" Zoey asked, pacing away into the dining room. "You're special boy..." She saw the shackles. "With chains and stuff. Why do you have chains and stuff?"

Oz doubled over in pain and held his chest. "Zoey, please!" He walked toward the door. "Get outta here!"

Zoey looked at him confusion. Oz fell behind the couch out of her view.

"Oz?" Zoey asked. "Oz, what is it?" She slowly approached the couch. "What's wrong?"

She heard Oz moaning in pain. Zoey looked carefully over the couch. Oz the werewolf leapt to his feet and growled at her. Zoey jumped away from him.

∞∞

Werewolf!Oz jumped toward Zoey. Zoey used her power to stop him before he could get to her, running out of the way as the power in front of him faded and made him fall to the floor where she had just been, running through the dining room. Werewolf!Oz followed. Zoey used her power to pick up the chains to try to chain up Werewolf!Oz, but he was faster than she had thought, ducking out the way. Zoey used her power to throw him across the room into the wall, making him fall, taking that as a chance to run away out of the back door.

∞

Street

Zoey ran through the streets as Werewolf!Oz followed her. Zoey tried to steer him into a certain place, realizing that she could warn the others with astral projection, running off to place where she could focus enough to use that power, while also keeping an eye on Werewolf!Oz and making sure that he didn't hurt anyone.

Cain pulled up in his van, seeing Werewolf!Oz chasing Zoey. "There you are."

∞

Sunnydale High School - Library

The others, minus Xander and Willow, had met up with Giles and Layla in the library. Eric opened a guncase, undoing the straps, pulling out the stock, grabbing the barrel and scope assembly, clicking them into place.

"Sorry we're late," Buffy told them. "We had to do some unscheduled slayage in the form of Theresa."

"She's a vampire?" Giles asked.

"Was," Brooke answered. "Angel and Bianca sent her to Alice, Brady and Carmen."

"Yeah," Alice agreed. "A little token of Angel's affection for Carmen."

Carmen nodded. "Mm-hmm. And a warning from Bianca to Alice and Brady."

"Oh, Lord," Giles told them sympathetically. "Alice. Brady. Carmen. I'm so sorry."

"Not now, Giles," Brady told him. "We can deal after we bag us a werewolf."

Eric plugged in the laser sight, holding the tranquilizer gun up to check the scope. "Mm-hmm. Let's get it done."

"And promise I'll keep my anger in check," Wyatt told them.

They smirked.

Zoey appeared in form of astral projection, shocking them. "It's Oz!"

"What?" Layla asked. "What's Oz?"

"The werewolf," Zoey answered.

"Are you certain?" Giles asked.

"Can't you just trust me on this?" Zoey asked. "He-he said he was going through all these changes, and then he went through all these... changes."

"Where is he now?" Buffy asked.

"In the woods with my real body, where I'm running from him while I can focus enough to astral project here and distract him from hurting anybody," Zoey answered.

"Let's go," Brooke told them.

"Go where?" Zoey asked. "You're not gonna kill Oz. Yeah, he's a werewolf, but he's human, too."

"Don't worry, Zoey," Carmen told her.

"We're not going to hurt him," Alice told her.

"No one is gonna hurt him," Layla told her. "We have to get there before the real you gets hurt."

"But you need to lead us to where your real body and Oz are," Brady told her.

"I put enough Phenobarbital in this thing to sink a small elephant," Eric told them.

"It should be enough for a large werewolf," Wyatt told them.

Zoey sighed, nodding, leading them out.

∞

Woods

The real Zoey was backing away from Werewolf!Oz, trying not to hurt him, using most of her power to astral project to the others.

Cain was in hiding nearby, cocking his gun, lifting it to his shoulder. "That's it. Let me see you. Come on, suppertime. Good, doggy. Now play dead."

Brady kicked Cain in the side, making him fall to the ground, and his gun fire wildly. Werewolf!Oz and Zoey looked toward them. Buffy grabbed Cain's gun and wrestled him for it. She flipped the rifle over and he followed, landing on his back and letting go of the gun in the process. As Cain tried to get up, Eric swung the butt of his rifle around and knocked him down and out. Werewolf!Oz lunged at Zoey. Zoey ducked. Alice, Brooke, Wyatt, Carmen, Zoey and Layla circled around Werewolf!Oz, using their combined power to create a wall of magical energy of various colors around him to trap him long enough for Eric to take a shot with the tranquilizer gun. The dart hit Werewolf!Oz in the chest, and it staggered backward a bit before falling over unconscious.

"Nice shot, Eric," Buffy told him.

"You saved us," Brady told him.

"And Brooke, Zoey, Alice, Carmen, Wyatt and Layla did well with the barrier to protect us," Giles agreed. "You all did well. I'd call this a win."

Wyatt walked over to get Cain's gun.

Cain got to his feet and straightened his coat. "No wonder this town's overrun with monsters. No one here's man enough to kill 'em."

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that," Brooke told him.

Cain turned to see Wyatt with his gun.

Wyatt used his power to bend the barrel into a nice arc right in front of him, thrusting it at him while Cain looked at him in astonishment. "How about you let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of town?"

Cain made a move to go but stopped to give Wyatt another look. Wyatt stared back at him. Cain turned around and walked away. The others were impressed. Zoey knelt next to Werewolf!Oz worriedly.

"You think it'll be okay?" Carmen asked.

"Yes," Alice answered.

"He'll be a little sore in the morning," Eric admitted.

Layla knelt next to Zoey to comfort her, rubbing her arm. "But he'll be Oz."

∞

Day Three

Morning - Sunnydale High School - Hallway

Buffy, Eric, Brooke, Brady, Alice, Carmen, Willow and Xander were walking together.

"This is all so weird," Xander told them. "I mean, how are we supposed to act when we see him?"

"Well, it's gotta be weird for him, too," Willow told them. "Now that we know so much."

"All I know is I'll never be able to look at him the same again," Xander told them.

Willow gave him a look. "He's still a human being. Most of the time."

They stopped at the vending machine.

"Who are we talking about?" Xander asked.

"Oz," Buffy answered.

Brooke gave Xander a weird look. "Who are you talking about?"

Xander shook his head. "No one."

Brady and Eric knew who he was talking about. "Larry."

They saw Larry's jock friends by the stairs, knocking a girl's books out of her hands, laughing.

Larry walked down the stairs behind her, quickly reaching down to help her pick up her books. "Hey, let me get those."

"Thanks," the girl told him.

Larry's friends gave him a surprised look, as did the girls.

Larry walked over to the Scoobies. "Hey, Xander, Eric, Brady, look, about what you did, I--I owe you."

"What'd you do?" Alice asked.

Xander gave Larry a look. "It's really nothing we should be talking about, ever."

Larry smiled. "I know, I know. It's just, well, thanks."

Larry walked off.

"That was weird," Carmen told them.

They went to sit down.

"What, it's not okay for one guy to like another guy just because he happened to be in the locker room with him when absolutely nothing happened, and I thought I told you not to push?" Xander asked.

"Carmen meant the fact that he didn't try to look up our skirts," Willow told him.

Eric and Brady were trying not to laugh, causing Xander to give them a look.

"Yeah, that's the weirdness," Brady told them sarcastically.

"Weirdness abounds lately," Eric told them.

"Maybe it's the moon," Alice told them. "That does stuff to people."

Brady nodded in amusement. "I've heard that."

Brady and Alice smiled at each other.

Carmen saw Zoey walk by. "Certainly gonna put a strain on Zoey and Oz's relationship."

"What relationship?" Xander asked. "I mean, what life could they possibly have together?" He counted off with his fingers. "We're talking obedience school, paper training, Oz is always in back burying their things, and that kind of breed can turn on its owner."

"I don't know," Brooke told them. "I kinda see Oz as the loyal type."

"All I'm saying is she's not safe with him," Xander told them. "If it were up to me--"

They all rolled their eyes. "Xander."

"It's not up to you," Buffy told him.

"Still, a gypsy assassin and a werewolf?" Willow asked.

Eric smirked. "That's gonna be a cool story to tell."

∞

Outside

Zoey walked up to Oz. "Hey."

"Hey," Oz told her.

"Did you want to go first?" Zoey asked.

"I spoke to Alice, Giles and Wyatt," Oz told her. "They said I'll be okay. I just have to lock myself up around the full moon. Only Giles used more words than that. And a globe. Alice and Wyatt were more chill and cool about the whole thing."

"I'm sorry about how all this ended up," Zoey told him. "With me helping trap and shoot you and all."

"It's okay," Oz told her. "I'm, I'm sorry I almost ate you. Twice."

"It's okay," Zoey told him. She pointed at him, trying to lighten the mood. "But it could be worse. Last guy that liked me ended up being a sorority guy that tried to feed me to a demon snake so I helped lock him up, and the guy before that was one of my best friends that tried to turn me into a vampire and tried to kill Xander and Eric, and I had to drive a stake in his heart... And I am so not making this easier right now."

Oz smiled. "It's okay."

"I kind of thought you would have told me," Zoey told him.

"I didn't know what to say," Oz told her. "I mean, it's not everyday you find out you're a werewolf. That's fairly freaksome. It may take a couple days getting used to."

"Yeah," Zoey agreed. "I kinda felt the same way when I found out I was a gypsy with all these powers I couldn't understand or control. Like the empathy and psychic stuff that can drive me and my mom out of my mind." Oz nodded understanding and sympathy. "It's a complication."

"So..." Oz trailed off, sliding off of the table and they walked. "Maybe it'd be best if I just... sorta..."

"What?" Zoey asked.

"Well, you know, like, stayed out of your way for awhile," Oz answered.

Zoey clicked her tongue nonchalantly. "I don't know. I'm kind of okay with you being in my way."

Oz turned to face her, surprised. "You mean, you'd still..."

"Well, I like you," Zoey told him. "You're nice and you're funny. And you're a lot better than some of the guys I've dated. Yeah, okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to be around either."

"You are quite the gypsy assassin, Zoey Francis," Oz told her. "You and Layla."

Zoey smiled. "So, I'd still if you'd still."

"I'd still," Oz answered. "I'd very still."

"Okay," Zoey told him. She gave him a fake pouty face. "No biting, though."

Oz smirked. "Agreed."

Zoey smiled, starting to walk away. Oz turned to watch her go with a smile. Zoey stopped, tilting her head, considering a moment, turning around and kissing him, obviously surprising him, but he kissed back.

After a moment, Zoey pulled back, smiling. "I'll leave you to think about that."

Oz smiled, nodding. Zoey turned around, walking away, feeling good.

Oz watched her go, smiling. "A werewolf in love with a gypsy assassin."