AB/BtVS FF: Nightmares in Waking Life 62-3/?
TITLE: Nightmares in Waking Life
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61
PART SIXTY-TWO
Willow walked down the street, Patrick and Jamil at her back. She knew she should have worked to look more like everyone else, but the activities of Valentine's Day (or Night) had loosened something inside of her. She had woken up that day between Richard and Asher, knowing Anita and Jean-Claude were there, too, and she had felt better than she had in a long time.
Richard and Anita had admitted that they, too, felt better, but Willow didn't know what it meant for them.
For her, it meant she felt free. She knew she was walking differently. Richard said she moved almost like a lycanthrope. Asher said she moved like she was powerful. Jean-Claude said she looked beautiful. No one seemed very concerned; she certainly wasn't.
The munin were particularly quiet---but Willow could feel their approval with how she felt and moved. Raina seemed pleased. Willow guessed the spirit's pleasure was in reference to the power the witch was demonstrating. Even her own inner wolf was quiet.
She caught a few people staring at her but she didn't pay them much attention. She was on the look-out for threats, but she also knew that Jamil and Patrick were watching for more than she could see.
When Narcissus in Chains came into view, she looked around more. The call from the Oba had been concerning.
A young, submissive lycanthrope had been walking towards the club when a small mob-like group attacked him. They hadn't used guns or knives, but they'd had bats, and the kid wouldn't have survived if two of the employees hadn't caught the scent of blood on the air on their way into work and went to investigate. They chased off the group and got the young rat inside, but they noticed the group hanging around and they weren't sure if it was a good idea to take him to the shapeshifter hospital in case they lead the attackers to their safe haven.
Narcissus called Micah, who agreed to go there and try to help since he could call flesh to heal his pard. He wasn't sure if he could help a wererat, so the Oba also called Willow.
Richard had still been at the Circus when she received the call; he insisted that she take Jamil, too, and that, to appease the dark guard, he would stay underground until they returned.
Willow was angry the young man had been attacked and she was concerned for his well-being.
She refused to let herself be affected by the bad vibes that were building. She pulled up her shields and she exited Patrick's car with confidence. It wasn't all real, but it wasn't all fake. She felt stronger than she'd felt in a long time; she knew she needed that strength to walk into the darkness and endure it.
"Rein it in, Will," Patrick advised quietly.
If she'd been completely human, she doubted she would have heard his voice. But, she wasn't entirely human anymore, so she did hear it. She pulled her powers inside her body and tried to walk with less fluidity. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some men on the other side of the street with bats in some of their hands.
"Take the next alley," Jamil muttered. "The back door's that way."
She nodded a little and followed his instruction. They followed her. A few minutes later, they were in the club. It was practically empty; it didn't officially open for a couple of hours.
"Willow!"
She turned and saw Narcissus approach.
"Hi," she murmured as they shook hands. "How are you?"
"Not beaten."
Willow smiled a little. "Good point. Where's the boy?"
"In the private room by the bar," the werehyena said. "Micah's in there now with Cherry and Noah. We called Rafael and he will send someone soon to pick him up."
"Can I see him?" she asked. "I don't know what I can do... but I can't do it out here."
"Right this way," Narcissus said in a singsong voice. The Oba took off towards the bar and Willow and her guards followed.
Once in the doorway to the room, she saw Micah sitting on the bed next to the wererat, who couldn't have been any older than Dawn. Cherry was carefully bandaging a cut on his arm. Noah was sitting in a chair against the wall, watching them both.
"Hey," she said quietly. "Can I come in?"
Micah smiled tiredly and motioned her in. "I tried, but I can't... it's a leopard skill."
She nodded and crawled onto the bed carefully so she wouldn't jostle anyone. "Anita and Nathaniel said once that Raina's powers didn't discriminate," she whispered. "Do you know how she does it?"
"Raina needs a reason to help," Cherry said in a soft voice. "Pain or pleasure, usually."
Willow snorted and rolled her eyes. "Preferably both, right?"
"You know Raina..."
She sighed. "Yeah. Sort of." She looked to Patrick and Jamil, who were still hovering in the doorway. "Can you guys come in and shut the door? Please?"
Patrick said, "Sure."
Jamil shut the door when they stepped inside.
Willow took off her jacket and tossed it onto the foot of the bed. Then, she looked down at the young man. His face was badly bruised. A cut over his eye was still oozing blood but Willow guessed it had looked worse before she got there. It seemed like Cherry had cleaned him up quite a bit.
He blinked up at her. His hair was dark but his eyes were blue. He licked his split lip nervously.
"I'm Willow."
"The Lupa. Dawn's friend."
She nodded. "Right. Do you have a name?"
"Billy."
"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. When he closed his eyes, she touched an unblemished part of his arm very gently. "I know you've probably gone over it with these guys, but if you can, I'd really like to hear it from you."
"I was leaving the library with your friend. We're in Dr. Fane's bio lab together. A couple of guys on campus gave me a hard time. I can't hide what I am as well as some of the others can," he whispered. "Dawn tried real hard to get them to back off. I think she knew one of them. She called him by name. He told her they were just kidding around... her guard got her out of there pretty quick after that.
"I hurried. But, they had a car. I went to the Lunatic Café for a while. I hoped they'd back off, but they were still outside when I left.
"I planned my way home based on businesses I could trust. Narcissus in Chains was my next stop. I meant to go to Feral Byte after that, but I never made it."
Willow closed her eyes and frowned. She'd felt a wave of hatred building inside of her for the men that hurt Billy, but she didn't want to scare him so she had to smother it deep down inside of her.
When she opened her eyes again, she rubbed the same spot on Billy's arm that she'd previously touched. "I could do magic to heal you, but it might upset the natural balance---or it might go wrong," she told him. "One of the munin, Raina, she can call flesh, like Micah can. But, she's been used to heal other lycanthrope species, not just wolves."
"Really?" he asked. "Even if she could help me enough so I can move better... so I can get to members of the rodere..."
"I'm willing to try," she murmured. "Raina likes pain---and pleasure---though, so I don't know if she'll want payment for helping to heal you."
Billy's eyes widened. "Will... will you hurt me?"
"No," Willow promised. "If she wants too much, I'll back off, and we'll wait for your friends to pick you up and take you to the doctor."
He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "I... I can try."
"Okay," she murmured in agreement.
"Can you give me a minute?"
He nodded again.
She smiled. Then, she looked from Cherry to Micah. "Can I borrow one of you guys for a minute?"
"Out in the hall?" Micah asked.
"Please. Richard didn't really understand it, and I have some questions."
"Cherry, stay with Billy?"
The nurse nodded.
Micah and Willow eased off of the bed and went past their guards into the hallway. No one followed them out; Patrick closed the door again. She gave him a small smile before the barrier completely separated them. Then, she turned to the Nimir-Raj.
"So, how does this work?"
"It's an energy thing."
She smiled more. "Helpful."
Micah chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I know... but it's... I guess it's like magic. When I do it, I call upon my beast, my energy, and I focus it into the injured flesh," he told her. "Anita's said that it's pretty much the same, except she calls upon the munin to do it. I bet, for you, it's probably going to be calling on Raina and your wolf. And your magic."
"What do you think Raina'll want?"
"Sex."
"I'm not screwing that kid."
The wereleopard king put his hand on her arm. "It's not always full-on sex. Sometimes it's just release... sometimes she takes pleasure in the pain of touching his injuries." He rubbed her elbow. "You're a lot stronger than you used to be. I think you can ride it out with a minimum of activity."
"You think?"
"You can borrow my strength if you need it," he offered.
She nodded slowly. "Okay... okay. Do you know when Rafael's guys are coming?"
"They're on their way now," he told her. "But, they're going to take a more covert approach to getting inside, apparently. Those guys have been hanging around, like they want the rest of us, too."
"Did you call the police?"
"Yeah. Billy doesn't want to press charges because he's not out. Healing over the weekend will pretty much do that, but---" he sighed. "I called the cops to warn them that a mob was out and the officer I talked to gave me attitude. I called Anita. She called Storr. He told her that they couldn't waste manpower to go looking for an imaginary mob."
"Seriously?"
"She talked to Zerbrowski, too. He wasn't hostile. He seemed to understand," Micah continued. "He's always been a little more sensitive to things than the other guys on the squad. I don't think he's as affected by whatever's been happening. He said he'd try to send a few patrol cars out to discourage them, but who knows what'll happen."
Willow frowned. "So, we're basically on our own."
Micah sighed. "Yeah. Plus, if we hurt any of them---even in self-defence---then we could be brought up on charges."
"And that means a safe house."
"Nothin' safe about that," he muttered.
"This sucks!" Willow exclaimed.
Micah took her hands in his. "We just have to get through this one step at a time. First, you try to heal Billy. Then, we worry about getting him out."
She nodded. "Okay."
He smiled. "Ready to go back in there?"
"Yes. Thanks."
"Just try your best."
She nodded again. "That's all I can do."
"Right."
They went back into the room. Willow touched Patrick's and Jamil's shoulders as she passed them. She went to the bed and climbed back onto it. Micah remained standing, but at the foot of the bed.
She looked down at the young man. He was now bare-chested. Cherry had a pair of scissors near her, along with the remnants of his bloody t-shirt. Willow quickly put two and two together as she stared down at the bruised expanse of flesh in front of her.
"Okay, Billy," she murmured. "I'm going to try now. Are you ready?"
"Yes," he whispered.
"If it makes you uncomfortable or if it hurts too much, tell me," she instructed.
He nodded.
Willow closed her eyes and metaphysically reached deep inside herself. She'd felt the munin around her already, but they'd been quiet. Even Raina had been quiet. But, she needed that spirit to guide her, so she tried calling out to her.
Raina responded. Willow felt the deceased lupa's spirit filling her magical centre.
"Stupid humans," Raina growled through Willow's voice.
"It sounds like her, but she doesn't fill Willow's eyes," Cherry commented quietly, most likely to Micah.
Willow and Raina-through-Willow looked down at the young wererat before her. Willow felt Raina's desire for tearing into that flesh but she managed to rein her in enough to regain some control over the situation.
Help me, please, Raina. I need to help him heal. We can't get him to Lillian.
Touch him, was Raina's response.
Willow leaned over Billy and put her hands on his chest. She could feel him barely flinch from the touch; she guessed one or two of his ribs were broken. She wanted to heal those first. Raina just wanted to touch the kid's body.
She channelled the power from the munin and her own magical abilities into Billy. She envisioned broken bones knitting together and deep tissue damage slowly healing. She continued to focus even after she felt heat under her palms.
Billy moaned.
Willow closed her eyes and saw an image of Raina above Jason, riding him in the throes of pleasure. She could feel the lupa's wolf rising but she knew Jason had no idea what was coming. Her claws formed before he reached climax and she sank them deep into his body as her orgasm rocked through her nervous system.
"No!" she yelled.
An arm pulled her off of Billy and off of the bed.
She came to her senses and saw Micah holding her close.
"Omigod."
"Willow?"
"I saw... I saw... oh... he told me what happened, but... I felt how eager she was. She planned it all along. She knew it could kill him and she didn't care," she said, wide-eyed and pale. "She loved it."
"Jason?" Jamil asked from behind her.
Willow nodded.
Micah sighed. "Is she still... around?"
The witch thought about his question. Raina was satisfied. She liked reliving the memory and was done tormenting Willow.
"No, I think she's dormant. Did I help---"
Willow turned her head to look at Billy in time to see him sitting up carefully.
"Yes, ma'am," Billy said to her. "You healed my ribs."
"Was it enough?" Willow asked.
He nodded. "Nothing else is broken," he replied. "I can heal up the surface stuff when I get back to the rodere." He got up off of the bed and dropped to his knees at Willow's feet. "Thank you very much for helping me."
Willow smiled a bit. "We're a coalition," she reminded him. "I'll always help if someone asks. I'm glad I could help this time."
Two of Rafael's enforcers came into the room after knocking once. Jamil and Patrick greeted them quietly.
"Is he able to walk?"
"My ankle's a little sprained, but it'll hold, Boss," Billy said to one of the wererats. "Willow healed my ribs and internal damage."
"Thank you," the one dubbed 'Boss' said. "I'll tell Rafael."
"You're welcome," she murmured. "I'm just glad I could help."
"How are you guys getting out of here?" Jamil asked.
"Sewers," Boss replied. We left the truck a block away, in the parking tower. Right next to the manhole cover. We can go down through the basement in this building and come up again. Those guys shouldn't figure us out."
"Micah, maybe we should go out with them," Noah suggested. "If you and Cherry can wait a minute after getting there, I can get the car. It's not that far from the tower."
Micah nodded. Willow felt his curls over one of her shoulders since he was still holding her pretty close.
"Whatever you want, Noah."
"I can take care of our approach back," Willow told Jamil and Patrick. "I have plenty of juice left to hide us from watchful eyes. I just need a minute or two more to regroup."
"You sure?" Patrick asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. She threw me off by showing me that."
Micah rubbed her arms. "No need to be a hero, Willow," he said quietly. "You can always sneak out with us."
"It's okay," she said in reply. "We're going to the Circus. It's kinda fortified. And not a surprise. It's not telling them anything they don't already suspect about us."
"True, but---"
"We'll be okay."
Micah nodded and released her. She stood on her own two feet feeling much more stable than she had a few minutes ago. Billy, too, was standing; he was leaning on one of the other wererats, but he was standing.
"So, crisis averted?" Willow asked.
"For now," Micah muttered.
She smiled.
&&&&
PART SIXTY-THREE
After Saturday night's excitement, Willow had been returned to the Circus and had found herself in her suite with Richard and Jason.
When she saw Jason, she couldn't stop her mind from flashing back to what Raina had shown her. He'd been surprisingly supportive of her ordeal---as had Richard. They both comforted her in their own ways, and lulled her to sleep before Asher returned in the wee hours.
She hadn't had any nightmares while she slept. She thought that nightmares would've been a given after what she'd seen in her mind; however, no dreams haunted her as she slept between the two werewolves. She woke up feeling rested and looking forward to moving onto more mundane daily activities.
Looking down into Jason's face, she was struck by how much he aged in a few short years. She reached out and touched his face. He stirred sleepily and opened one eye to look up at her.
"Stop thinking about it."
"It was horrible. To feel how excited she was. I'm so sorry, Jason."
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault."
Richard gave a soft snore and put his arm around them both.
"He agrees."
Willow smiled back at Jason.
"Go back to sleep," the blond man advised. "Asher and Jean-Claude are still sleeping. It's early."
"Why are you awake?"
"I felt you wake up," he replied. "I thought you might've had a nightmare."
Willow's smile faded. "That was last night."
He sighed and hugged her closer under Richard's arm. "You helped that kid heal. That's a job well done."
"I hate that he needed healing. I hate that those guys attacked him because he's different," she muttered.
"I know. Me, too."
"Would you two shut up?" Richard grumbled.
Willow snorted and shared a grin with Jason.
&&&&
"Andrew."
"Willow."
The witch looked at Faith and bit back a sigh. The conversation she wanted to try to have wasn't going to be an easy one.
When Patrick told the Ulfric that Willow thought she saw Xander, Richard insisted that she try some of her contacts with her old life to find out if they knew what Edward either didn't know or didn't tell them. She'd gone to visit Faith in her room to try to figure out the best way to approach the situation; the slayer suggested calling Andrew first, but Willow knew it wouldn't go well.
"So, ah, how's it going?" she said, hoping she sounded casual.
"Oh, y'know."
"Are you still in Italy?"
"Right now, I'm in Germany. Heading back next week."
"Cool."
"So, yeah. Hey, I'm at the training facility, so is there something specific I can do for you---or not---right now, or is this a social call?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Holy attitude, geek-man."
Faith snorted.
"You may have tricked Buffy and Dawn and Giles into thinking you're one of the good guys," Andrew said, sounding very self-righteous, "but Xander told me the truth about you the last time he visited. I know you're still bad."
"Was this before Xander made a name for himself by torching buildings packed with people?"
"Wereanimals... demons. And, no, it was after."
"Hmmm."
"I haven't seen him in a long time. But when Giles left for Australia, he called to check up on the Council's business. He's always been interested in how things have been going for me---unlike some evil people."
Willow sighed. "Yeah, that's me. A big scary evil. Unlike some people who kill their fiancées in the most inhumane manner possible," she muttered angrily.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Lydia."
Andrew made a quiet noise of exasperation. "She's off with a group of werelions."
"Not so much, Andrew. I've seen the crime scene photos."
"Whatever, Willow."
"You know," Willow said, her frustration finally getting the better of her, "if I'm still evil, maybe you should be a bit more careful. If I've become as big a bad as I'm sure your precious Xander's told you I am, maybe you should be a bit nicer to me so I don't hex off your balls."
She ended the call a second later and tossed her phone down on the bed.
"Way to show restraint, Red."
"I never liked that guy."
"Me neither. Now, try Angel."
Willow turned and looked at Faith. The slayer was stretched out, arms behind her head. Her abdomen swelled out above her; her navel peeked out from underneath her t-shirt. She looked tired, but still happy.
"Angel won't know where Xander is."
"No, but he might know something about the new big bad."
"Hmmm. True. Okay, I'll try him."
Willow dialled Angel's number a minute later. He didn't answer, but when she reached his voicemail, she decided to leave a message.
"Hey, Angel, it's Willow. Something's come up here... and I can't talk about it. We don't need you to come to St. Louis, but I have a couple of questions for you and Spike---about Xander and, ah, other stuff. Sorry I'm so cryptic, but you know how vampires can be, right? I mean, obviously. Since you were like the king of cryptic while I was in high school, and---"
"Red."
"Oh. Faith's telling me I'm rambling. I guess I am. Call me later, if you're not too busy saving the world, okay? Bye!"
She hung up the phone as Faith chuckled.
"You're never gonna grow out of that, are you?" Faith asked.
"Probably not," Willow admitted. She set her phone down. "So... that's done. Now what?"
"Pizza?"
Willow groaned. "You are a bottomless pit."
"Baby's hungry."
TBC
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii, overall
PAIRINGS: All the pairings from the previous two stories---and some new ones, too
SPOILERS: Up until Micah for AB; the whole TV series for the Buffyverse; Alive at Last and Living Underground.
WARNINGS: A little bit of fur... bdsm... the usuals for Anita's crazy, crazy world.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own anyone---except for any original characters that I whip up to do my bidding ;)
NOTE: This story is a sequel to Living Underground.
Previous chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9-11, 12, 13, 14-5, 16-7, 18-9, 20-1, 22, 23, 24-5, 26-7, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32-3, 34-7, 38, 39-40, 41, 42, 43-44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51A, 51B, 52, 53, 54, 55-6, 57, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61
PART SIXTY-TWO
Willow walked down the street, Patrick and Jamil at her back. She knew she should have worked to look more like everyone else, but the activities of Valentine's Day (or Night) had loosened something inside of her. She had woken up that day between Richard and Asher, knowing Anita and Jean-Claude were there, too, and she had felt better than she had in a long time.
Richard and Anita had admitted that they, too, felt better, but Willow didn't know what it meant for them.
For her, it meant she felt free. She knew she was walking differently. Richard said she moved almost like a lycanthrope. Asher said she moved like she was powerful. Jean-Claude said she looked beautiful. No one seemed very concerned; she certainly wasn't.
The munin were particularly quiet---but Willow could feel their approval with how she felt and moved. Raina seemed pleased. Willow guessed the spirit's pleasure was in reference to the power the witch was demonstrating. Even her own inner wolf was quiet.
She caught a few people staring at her but she didn't pay them much attention. She was on the look-out for threats, but she also knew that Jamil and Patrick were watching for more than she could see.
When Narcissus in Chains came into view, she looked around more. The call from the Oba had been concerning.
A young, submissive lycanthrope had been walking towards the club when a small mob-like group attacked him. They hadn't used guns or knives, but they'd had bats, and the kid wouldn't have survived if two of the employees hadn't caught the scent of blood on the air on their way into work and went to investigate. They chased off the group and got the young rat inside, but they noticed the group hanging around and they weren't sure if it was a good idea to take him to the shapeshifter hospital in case they lead the attackers to their safe haven.
Narcissus called Micah, who agreed to go there and try to help since he could call flesh to heal his pard. He wasn't sure if he could help a wererat, so the Oba also called Willow.
Richard had still been at the Circus when she received the call; he insisted that she take Jamil, too, and that, to appease the dark guard, he would stay underground until they returned.
Willow was angry the young man had been attacked and she was concerned for his well-being.
She refused to let herself be affected by the bad vibes that were building. She pulled up her shields and she exited Patrick's car with confidence. It wasn't all real, but it wasn't all fake. She felt stronger than she'd felt in a long time; she knew she needed that strength to walk into the darkness and endure it.
"Rein it in, Will," Patrick advised quietly.
If she'd been completely human, she doubted she would have heard his voice. But, she wasn't entirely human anymore, so she did hear it. She pulled her powers inside her body and tried to walk with less fluidity. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw some men on the other side of the street with bats in some of their hands.
"Take the next alley," Jamil muttered. "The back door's that way."
She nodded a little and followed his instruction. They followed her. A few minutes later, they were in the club. It was practically empty; it didn't officially open for a couple of hours.
"Willow!"
She turned and saw Narcissus approach.
"Hi," she murmured as they shook hands. "How are you?"
"Not beaten."
Willow smiled a little. "Good point. Where's the boy?"
"In the private room by the bar," the werehyena said. "Micah's in there now with Cherry and Noah. We called Rafael and he will send someone soon to pick him up."
"Can I see him?" she asked. "I don't know what I can do... but I can't do it out here."
"Right this way," Narcissus said in a singsong voice. The Oba took off towards the bar and Willow and her guards followed.
Once in the doorway to the room, she saw Micah sitting on the bed next to the wererat, who couldn't have been any older than Dawn. Cherry was carefully bandaging a cut on his arm. Noah was sitting in a chair against the wall, watching them both.
"Hey," she said quietly. "Can I come in?"
Micah smiled tiredly and motioned her in. "I tried, but I can't... it's a leopard skill."
She nodded and crawled onto the bed carefully so she wouldn't jostle anyone. "Anita and Nathaniel said once that Raina's powers didn't discriminate," she whispered. "Do you know how she does it?"
"Raina needs a reason to help," Cherry said in a soft voice. "Pain or pleasure, usually."
Willow snorted and rolled her eyes. "Preferably both, right?"
"You know Raina..."
She sighed. "Yeah. Sort of." She looked to Patrick and Jamil, who were still hovering in the doorway. "Can you guys come in and shut the door? Please?"
Patrick said, "Sure."
Jamil shut the door when they stepped inside.
Willow took off her jacket and tossed it onto the foot of the bed. Then, she looked down at the young man. His face was badly bruised. A cut over his eye was still oozing blood but Willow guessed it had looked worse before she got there. It seemed like Cherry had cleaned him up quite a bit.
He blinked up at her. His hair was dark but his eyes were blue. He licked his split lip nervously.
"I'm Willow."
"The Lupa. Dawn's friend."
She nodded. "Right. Do you have a name?"
"Billy."
"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. When he closed his eyes, she touched an unblemished part of his arm very gently. "I know you've probably gone over it with these guys, but if you can, I'd really like to hear it from you."
"I was leaving the library with your friend. We're in Dr. Fane's bio lab together. A couple of guys on campus gave me a hard time. I can't hide what I am as well as some of the others can," he whispered. "Dawn tried real hard to get them to back off. I think she knew one of them. She called him by name. He told her they were just kidding around... her guard got her out of there pretty quick after that.
"I hurried. But, they had a car. I went to the Lunatic Café for a while. I hoped they'd back off, but they were still outside when I left.
"I planned my way home based on businesses I could trust. Narcissus in Chains was my next stop. I meant to go to Feral Byte after that, but I never made it."
Willow closed her eyes and frowned. She'd felt a wave of hatred building inside of her for the men that hurt Billy, but she didn't want to scare him so she had to smother it deep down inside of her.
When she opened her eyes again, she rubbed the same spot on Billy's arm that she'd previously touched. "I could do magic to heal you, but it might upset the natural balance---or it might go wrong," she told him. "One of the munin, Raina, she can call flesh, like Micah can. But, she's been used to heal other lycanthrope species, not just wolves."
"Really?" he asked. "Even if she could help me enough so I can move better... so I can get to members of the rodere..."
"I'm willing to try," she murmured. "Raina likes pain---and pleasure---though, so I don't know if she'll want payment for helping to heal you."
Billy's eyes widened. "Will... will you hurt me?"
"No," Willow promised. "If she wants too much, I'll back off, and we'll wait for your friends to pick you up and take you to the doctor."
He swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay," he said quietly. "I... I can try."
"Okay," she murmured in agreement.
"Can you give me a minute?"
He nodded again.
She smiled. Then, she looked from Cherry to Micah. "Can I borrow one of you guys for a minute?"
"Out in the hall?" Micah asked.
"Please. Richard didn't really understand it, and I have some questions."
"Cherry, stay with Billy?"
The nurse nodded.
Micah and Willow eased off of the bed and went past their guards into the hallway. No one followed them out; Patrick closed the door again. She gave him a small smile before the barrier completely separated them. Then, she turned to the Nimir-Raj.
"So, how does this work?"
"It's an energy thing."
She smiled more. "Helpful."
Micah chuckled a bit. "Yeah, I know... but it's... I guess it's like magic. When I do it, I call upon my beast, my energy, and I focus it into the injured flesh," he told her. "Anita's said that it's pretty much the same, except she calls upon the munin to do it. I bet, for you, it's probably going to be calling on Raina and your wolf. And your magic."
"What do you think Raina'll want?"
"Sex."
"I'm not screwing that kid."
The wereleopard king put his hand on her arm. "It's not always full-on sex. Sometimes it's just release... sometimes she takes pleasure in the pain of touching his injuries." He rubbed her elbow. "You're a lot stronger than you used to be. I think you can ride it out with a minimum of activity."
"You think?"
"You can borrow my strength if you need it," he offered.
She nodded slowly. "Okay... okay. Do you know when Rafael's guys are coming?"
"They're on their way now," he told her. "But, they're going to take a more covert approach to getting inside, apparently. Those guys have been hanging around, like they want the rest of us, too."
"Did you call the police?"
"Yeah. Billy doesn't want to press charges because he's not out. Healing over the weekend will pretty much do that, but---" he sighed. "I called the cops to warn them that a mob was out and the officer I talked to gave me attitude. I called Anita. She called Storr. He told her that they couldn't waste manpower to go looking for an imaginary mob."
"Seriously?"
"She talked to Zerbrowski, too. He wasn't hostile. He seemed to understand," Micah continued. "He's always been a little more sensitive to things than the other guys on the squad. I don't think he's as affected by whatever's been happening. He said he'd try to send a few patrol cars out to discourage them, but who knows what'll happen."
Willow frowned. "So, we're basically on our own."
Micah sighed. "Yeah. Plus, if we hurt any of them---even in self-defence---then we could be brought up on charges."
"And that means a safe house."
"Nothin' safe about that," he muttered.
"This sucks!" Willow exclaimed.
Micah took her hands in his. "We just have to get through this one step at a time. First, you try to heal Billy. Then, we worry about getting him out."
She nodded. "Okay."
He smiled. "Ready to go back in there?"
"Yes. Thanks."
"Just try your best."
She nodded again. "That's all I can do."
"Right."
They went back into the room. Willow touched Patrick's and Jamil's shoulders as she passed them. She went to the bed and climbed back onto it. Micah remained standing, but at the foot of the bed.
She looked down at the young man. He was now bare-chested. Cherry had a pair of scissors near her, along with the remnants of his bloody t-shirt. Willow quickly put two and two together as she stared down at the bruised expanse of flesh in front of her.
"Okay, Billy," she murmured. "I'm going to try now. Are you ready?"
"Yes," he whispered.
"If it makes you uncomfortable or if it hurts too much, tell me," she instructed.
He nodded.
Willow closed her eyes and metaphysically reached deep inside herself. She'd felt the munin around her already, but they'd been quiet. Even Raina had been quiet. But, she needed that spirit to guide her, so she tried calling out to her.
Raina responded. Willow felt the deceased lupa's spirit filling her magical centre.
"Stupid humans," Raina growled through Willow's voice.
"It sounds like her, but she doesn't fill Willow's eyes," Cherry commented quietly, most likely to Micah.
Willow and Raina-through-Willow looked down at the young wererat before her. Willow felt Raina's desire for tearing into that flesh but she managed to rein her in enough to regain some control over the situation.
Help me, please, Raina. I need to help him heal. We can't get him to Lillian.
Touch him, was Raina's response.
Willow leaned over Billy and put her hands on his chest. She could feel him barely flinch from the touch; she guessed one or two of his ribs were broken. She wanted to heal those first. Raina just wanted to touch the kid's body.
She channelled the power from the munin and her own magical abilities into Billy. She envisioned broken bones knitting together and deep tissue damage slowly healing. She continued to focus even after she felt heat under her palms.
Billy moaned.
Willow closed her eyes and saw an image of Raina above Jason, riding him in the throes of pleasure. She could feel the lupa's wolf rising but she knew Jason had no idea what was coming. Her claws formed before he reached climax and she sank them deep into his body as her orgasm rocked through her nervous system.
"No!" she yelled.
An arm pulled her off of Billy and off of the bed.
She came to her senses and saw Micah holding her close.
"Omigod."
"Willow?"
"I saw... I saw... oh... he told me what happened, but... I felt how eager she was. She planned it all along. She knew it could kill him and she didn't care," she said, wide-eyed and pale. "She loved it."
"Jason?" Jamil asked from behind her.
Willow nodded.
Micah sighed. "Is she still... around?"
The witch thought about his question. Raina was satisfied. She liked reliving the memory and was done tormenting Willow.
"No, I think she's dormant. Did I help---"
Willow turned her head to look at Billy in time to see him sitting up carefully.
"Yes, ma'am," Billy said to her. "You healed my ribs."
"Was it enough?" Willow asked.
He nodded. "Nothing else is broken," he replied. "I can heal up the surface stuff when I get back to the rodere." He got up off of the bed and dropped to his knees at Willow's feet. "Thank you very much for helping me."
Willow smiled a bit. "We're a coalition," she reminded him. "I'll always help if someone asks. I'm glad I could help this time."
Two of Rafael's enforcers came into the room after knocking once. Jamil and Patrick greeted them quietly.
"Is he able to walk?"
"My ankle's a little sprained, but it'll hold, Boss," Billy said to one of the wererats. "Willow healed my ribs and internal damage."
"Thank you," the one dubbed 'Boss' said. "I'll tell Rafael."
"You're welcome," she murmured. "I'm just glad I could help."
"How are you guys getting out of here?" Jamil asked.
"Sewers," Boss replied. We left the truck a block away, in the parking tower. Right next to the manhole cover. We can go down through the basement in this building and come up again. Those guys shouldn't figure us out."
"Micah, maybe we should go out with them," Noah suggested. "If you and Cherry can wait a minute after getting there, I can get the car. It's not that far from the tower."
Micah nodded. Willow felt his curls over one of her shoulders since he was still holding her pretty close.
"Whatever you want, Noah."
"I can take care of our approach back," Willow told Jamil and Patrick. "I have plenty of juice left to hide us from watchful eyes. I just need a minute or two more to regroup."
"You sure?" Patrick asked.
She nodded. "Yeah. She threw me off by showing me that."
Micah rubbed her arms. "No need to be a hero, Willow," he said quietly. "You can always sneak out with us."
"It's okay," she said in reply. "We're going to the Circus. It's kinda fortified. And not a surprise. It's not telling them anything they don't already suspect about us."
"True, but---"
"We'll be okay."
Micah nodded and released her. She stood on her own two feet feeling much more stable than she had a few minutes ago. Billy, too, was standing; he was leaning on one of the other wererats, but he was standing.
"So, crisis averted?" Willow asked.
"For now," Micah muttered.
She smiled.
&&&&
PART SIXTY-THREE
After Saturday night's excitement, Willow had been returned to the Circus and had found herself in her suite with Richard and Jason.
When she saw Jason, she couldn't stop her mind from flashing back to what Raina had shown her. He'd been surprisingly supportive of her ordeal---as had Richard. They both comforted her in their own ways, and lulled her to sleep before Asher returned in the wee hours.
She hadn't had any nightmares while she slept. She thought that nightmares would've been a given after what she'd seen in her mind; however, no dreams haunted her as she slept between the two werewolves. She woke up feeling rested and looking forward to moving onto more mundane daily activities.
Looking down into Jason's face, she was struck by how much he aged in a few short years. She reached out and touched his face. He stirred sleepily and opened one eye to look up at her.
"Stop thinking about it."
"It was horrible. To feel how excited she was. I'm so sorry, Jason."
He smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's not your fault."
Richard gave a soft snore and put his arm around them both.
"He agrees."
Willow smiled back at Jason.
"Go back to sleep," the blond man advised. "Asher and Jean-Claude are still sleeping. It's early."
"Why are you awake?"
"I felt you wake up," he replied. "I thought you might've had a nightmare."
Willow's smile faded. "That was last night."
He sighed and hugged her closer under Richard's arm. "You helped that kid heal. That's a job well done."
"I hate that he needed healing. I hate that those guys attacked him because he's different," she muttered.
"I know. Me, too."
"Would you two shut up?" Richard grumbled.
Willow snorted and shared a grin with Jason.
&&&&
"Andrew."
"Willow."
The witch looked at Faith and bit back a sigh. The conversation she wanted to try to have wasn't going to be an easy one.
When Patrick told the Ulfric that Willow thought she saw Xander, Richard insisted that she try some of her contacts with her old life to find out if they knew what Edward either didn't know or didn't tell them. She'd gone to visit Faith in her room to try to figure out the best way to approach the situation; the slayer suggested calling Andrew first, but Willow knew it wouldn't go well.
"So, ah, how's it going?" she said, hoping she sounded casual.
"Oh, y'know."
"Are you still in Italy?"
"Right now, I'm in Germany. Heading back next week."
"Cool."
"So, yeah. Hey, I'm at the training facility, so is there something specific I can do for you---or not---right now, or is this a social call?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Holy attitude, geek-man."
Faith snorted.
"You may have tricked Buffy and Dawn and Giles into thinking you're one of the good guys," Andrew said, sounding very self-righteous, "but Xander told me the truth about you the last time he visited. I know you're still bad."
"Was this before Xander made a name for himself by torching buildings packed with people?"
"Wereanimals... demons. And, no, it was after."
"Hmmm."
"I haven't seen him in a long time. But when Giles left for Australia, he called to check up on the Council's business. He's always been interested in how things have been going for me---unlike some evil people."
Willow sighed. "Yeah, that's me. A big scary evil. Unlike some people who kill their fiancées in the most inhumane manner possible," she muttered angrily.
"Who are you talking about?"
"Lydia."
Andrew made a quiet noise of exasperation. "She's off with a group of werelions."
"Not so much, Andrew. I've seen the crime scene photos."
"Whatever, Willow."
"You know," Willow said, her frustration finally getting the better of her, "if I'm still evil, maybe you should be a bit more careful. If I've become as big a bad as I'm sure your precious Xander's told you I am, maybe you should be a bit nicer to me so I don't hex off your balls."
She ended the call a second later and tossed her phone down on the bed.
"Way to show restraint, Red."
"I never liked that guy."
"Me neither. Now, try Angel."
Willow turned and looked at Faith. The slayer was stretched out, arms behind her head. Her abdomen swelled out above her; her navel peeked out from underneath her t-shirt. She looked tired, but still happy.
"Angel won't know where Xander is."
"No, but he might know something about the new big bad."
"Hmmm. True. Okay, I'll try him."
Willow dialled Angel's number a minute later. He didn't answer, but when she reached his voicemail, she decided to leave a message.
"Hey, Angel, it's Willow. Something's come up here... and I can't talk about it. We don't need you to come to St. Louis, but I have a couple of questions for you and Spike---about Xander and, ah, other stuff. Sorry I'm so cryptic, but you know how vampires can be, right? I mean, obviously. Since you were like the king of cryptic while I was in high school, and---"
"Red."
"Oh. Faith's telling me I'm rambling. I guess I am. Call me later, if you're not too busy saving the world, okay? Bye!"
She hung up the phone as Faith chuckled.
"You're never gonna grow out of that, are you?" Faith asked.
"Probably not," Willow admitted. She set her phone down. "So... that's done. Now what?"
"Pizza?"
Willow groaned. "You are a bottomless pit."
"Baby's hungry."
TBC