*****

They made it in. Down in the depths of the Initiative labs and suddenly Spike is starting to remember, remember all the shit they did to him here. And oh look, there's a vamp they're starving to death just for the hell of it. Fuck, why is he here; what was he thinking? And why in Hell's name did he ever trust Adam? How can you trust something that's just a jumble of cast off bits and pieces with a computer chip for a brain? Oh and they were real good with the ol' computer chips, those Initiative gits. Just look at the one in his head, kept getting weirder.

Spike is trying to control his panic and not run out screaming. Picturing a hysterically laughing Slayer helps, but the demon screams he can hear through the "soundproofed" glass cages are making the urge to run even stronger. Suddenly everyone stops, even solider boy.

Had to rescue Buffy's little bed mate first. He's fully human, so he's more important than the real reason they came here. Oz has that tricky little demon running around under his skin, so we can forget him for a while, never mind what those mad fuckers posing as scientists might be doing to him.

Growling in frustration Spike pushes past the gawker's. And there's Oz. All he can think is Red has really good taste in lover's. Tara with those beautiful haunting eyes, just like Dru's. The girl would be such a lovely vampire, prey would trip over themselves to get bitten by her. The wolf with the same look in his eyes as Dru had when that crowd attacked her, terrified, vulnerable and beautiful, ready to attack at any minute. Look, he's wolfing out now. Good lad, show them what they are up against.

It's the witch; she's doing it. She's bringing out the wolf. He always knew Willow had potential, just hadn't realized how much. Black eyes flash past Willow and up at the vampire. Spike feels a tug, like something inside him is still there. It's as if his body isn't just a shell the demon resides in, as if his heart is still beating, almost like his stomach is doing a flip flop.

He wants to glare at Xander and demand the boy stop channelling his teenage anxiety to Spike, but he can't. He's caught in a set of black eyes, watching them return to green. Oz nods and Spike almost stumbles forward. The wolf released him. The vampire fights the strange urge to embrace, hold and protect the werewolf. He hasn't felt this way since Dru lost her strength.

In the elevator, he gets his first good look at the werewolf. Oz is a lot smaller than he thought. He's even smaller than Red. Spike always thought the young man would be larger, but he realizes he's never seen him before, never been this close to the werewolf. He expected Oz to be like other werewolves he's encountered: big, hairy and scary.

Oz is small though, compact and unnerving. Spike's drawn to the werewolf. He feels an almost overpowering need to touch Oz, as if a physical connection would save them both from the horrors of this place.

Spike attempts to shake it off. He's the Big Bad; he doesn't need a wolf to protect him. Then he glances over at Oz. The young man is barely walking, and he's in so much pain. The Scooby's can't or won't see it; they are too focused on Buffy, Riley and getting out of the Initiative. Spike sniffs, demon blood. Those fucking animals tortured Oz while he was in wolf form.

He growled even though werewolves were strong, stronger than vampires and it would take a tremendous effort to hurt one. Judging by the way Oz was stumbling, somebody had not only taken the effort, but enjoyed themselves too much. Spike shifted into his demon form. No body hurt his werewolf.

He stopped. His werewolf? The bloody chip was fucking with his mind. Adam better deliver on his half of the deal. This thing had to come out so he could kill those Initiative asshole's and get out of Sunnydale permanently.

Oz stumbled and Spike unobtrusively caught him before he fell. He kept a supporting hand on the werewolves back. Oz surprised the vampire by leaning into the touch. Spike kept himself occupied by fantasizing about what he was going to do as soon as the chip came out. Time this generation learned just how he earned the moniker "William the Bloody." Too soon they were back at the Watcher's minus the very annoying presence of the Slayer and her toy solider.

Spike pulled Oz back as Willow and Xander tumbled into the false safety of Rupert's still unlocked flat. He was worried, and he didn't feel comfortable leaving the wolf with the humans.

"Will you be alright?"

Oz glanced at the yellow light of the doorway and down at Spike's hand lightly resting on his own. "Yeah," He looked up into the vampire's eyes, "I think." He squeezed the cold hand, but made no move to the door.

Willow quickly noticed who had not entered the room with her and Xander. She looked back out into the courtyard and saw the vampire and the werewolf. Their foreheads pressed together and hands tightly clutched. She could almost hear them talking, but their lips weren't moving. She recalled reading something during one of their frantic research sessions about werewolf/vampire bonding, but the world had been about to end and Angel and Oz didn't seem particularly close, so she ignored it and continued researching.

Now she wished she hadn't ignored the article. She wished she could think of what book it was in. Oz and Spike appeared unaware of everything, including their own actions. She remembered, from the little of the article she skimmed, that the bonding was primal, neither party able to counter it or live without the other once it was complete.

She stepped back into the courtyard. "Oz?" She hoped she stopped them in time.

*****
Part 2:

Spike started pacing, wishing he'd set up camp in an abandon factory or reclaimed Angel's mansion. This crypt was too bloody small when he had to do some serious thinking.

The sun was almost up and he was trapped, unless he wanted to think himself to death. That was more his Sire's style than his own. Spike snarled at the walls and made increasingly abrupt circuits of his small living area.

He was starting to hate the whole 'vampires can't go out in the daylight' thing. Why did he ever give up the Gem of Amarra? You didn't give it up you sod, the slayer took it from you. Yeah, and why did he have to go after the slayer in the first place? Why couldn't you just take the ring and have a happy unlife in the sun? Because you stupid git, you thought you would bag another slayer and win Dru back.

Spike thought about how much time he had wasted trying to get his dark princess to wake up and remember she loved Spike. Because he was sure her preoccupation with demons was just another phase of her insanity and could be cured.

Thinking of insanity, what the hell was going on between him and the wolf? Why did it feel like he ripped his skin off when he left Oz in that courtyard?

Oz was a human, just another stupid vulnerable piece of meat the soddin' chip prevented him from eating. Why was he even the slightest bit concerned about leaving the wolf with other humans. That's it wasn't it? Oz wasn't a human he was a werewolf and probably subjected to the same horrors the Initiative subjected Spike to.

Fuck he hoped they didn't rape the wolf. He was so small. Those stupid commando prats were all so huge. Why did Spike leave him with the humans? Oz looked just like Drusilla after one of Angelus' displays of affection. He had that same hunted, don't touch me look.

Spike hit the crypt wall hard enough to dent it. Stop thinking about the little wolf, He ordered himself. He's not even a real werewolf. In over a century of playing with the creatures, Spike never saw one that controlled when he changed. This one even caged himself to insure he wouldn't hunt people.

A werewolf perversion. Like a vampire with a soul; Spike laughed. Or a vampire with an inhibitor chip, he bitterly reminded himself. Great, now the chip was making him go for the soft and cuddly types. Next thing he knew he'd be palled up with his Sire. "Helpless Vamps to the rescue!" Angel may look good in tights, but Spike knew he didn't.

The image made him laugh and remember something Dru used to dream about. Oh fuck! She had the dream all the time in SunnyHell, especially after his little accident. Spike wouldn't let her tell him about it after the first two times. He could tell she continued to have the same dream repeatedly. She always babied him the evenings after she rose from the dream.

Fuck! Spike kicked the crypt wall, it started to crack. Shoddy masons, these Americans. Look at that. The dead weren't even safe from fuming vampires. He thought about Dru's dream. He only needed to hear it once and it was seared into his brain.

In it, he was sleeping with a red wolf. Not the monster wolves they had here in the States, but their smaller European cousins. Dru said they thought as one. She said the wolf made Spike do good things, and be *nice* She said she couldn't take her Spikey back from the wolf, he growled at her. Without the wolf, Spike wasn't complete, part of him disappeared. She said he didn't hunt or act like a vampire. He only ate what the wolf fed him and together they helped the hopeless.

The only thing about the dream that didn't horrify him was Dru saying he was cute with white hair. That night he became acquainted with peroxide. From then on it was a permanent tag team. Spike ran his hand over his stiff white coif. He smiled. Drusilla loved the change, Angel hated it. Bottle blondes did have more fun.

He continued his rapid tours on the interior of his living space. Had to get someplace bigger with sewer access, so he could go out during the day. Maybe the big poof had the right idea with the mansion. Spike groaned, positive the chip was driving him to insanity. That last thought was proof. He was wondering how long before he started collecting and talking to dolls, when the door opened.

Oz stepped in, very careful to block the sunlight with his body. Spike snorted, at least someone remembered how deadly the sun could be. He looked at Oz all fair skin and red hair; Oz didn't need to be a vampire to know how deadly the sun could be.

"Hey"

Spike turned to face the small man. Oz was leaning back against the door, as if he was only willing to cross the threshold of the vampire's lair. Once in he would not commit to anything more. The next move was Spike's.

He stared at the little redhead. Wondering if Oz was saying by the door because he couldn't see much of the barely lit crypt. Spike didn't know how much of the wolf remained while Oz was in human form. He moved to light more candles for the human and cursed Dru under his breath. Why did her dreams always come true?

"You don't need to," Oz pointed to the lantern Spike was about to light. "My eyes still hurt from the bright lights at....." he trailed off and became fascinated with the floor.

Spike crossed the crypt to embrace the wolf. He couldn't stop himself, he knew what Oz had just been through. He thought he just needed to be sure the boy suffered no lasting harm, that he was in one piece. His arms around Oz, Spike regretted his choice of words; Oz was no boy. He was a man before he had to endure the treatment the Initiative inflicted on its lab rats. He pulled Oz tighter into his chest and rubbed the back of his head, trying to sooth and reassure the werewolf.

Oz shifted and the vampire loosened his hold. He felt Oz take a deep breath, "I'm OK. I just, had to see you."

He lowered his forehead to rest against the mortal's. They stood together for several minutes, leaning into each other; both unable to move. Eyes closed, all Spike could see was warm black eyes and bristly reddish fur. He withdrew from the embrace. Spike was afraid to lose himself in the wolf.

He walked toward his meagre storage area. "Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

Oz finally stepped off of the threshold, "You."

Fucking crazy Dru and her prophetic dreams, Spike thought as he scooped up the redhead and laid him on the stone casket he used as a bed.

*****
Part 3:

Spike woke up alone. He wasn't surprised, he would have found a way to disappear if he was the first one to wake up. Nothing happened after he laid the werewolf down. Oz was exhausted after all he'd endured. The redheaded man curled up in Spike's arms and fell into a deep sleep.

The problem was Spike let him. He didn't want to leave the sleeping man alone. He couldn't leave Oz. He was glad he woke up alone. The compulsive need he was beginning to feel for the wolf disturbed him. First the chip and now this, *bonding* with a good little Scooby. It was disgusting. What would the other demons say when they got a hold of this one? As if Spike wasn't already the laughing stock of the Hellmouth.

Spike, William the Bloody, the vampire who couldn't bite humans and his little side kick, the wolf who caged himself so he wouldn't hunt humans. What was wrong with Oz?

Spike had never met a werewolf he didn't like. Instant friends with everyone he'd ever met. Of course most of them talked more than Oz, but he put that down to the trauma of being captured and tortured. What Spike couldn't figure out was why the wolf caged himself?

What was wrong with eating humans? They did more damage to themselves than all the demons combined. He was still mortal when he knew humans could be evil. He was a child growing up in Victorian London when he first discovered human evil. The workhouses, the filth, the hopeless poverty and the bloody Queen and Parliament endlessly nattering on about the progress of the Empire.

Later touring that empire with Angelus he saw officers carelessly ordering their troops into certain death in conflict after conflict. Native people ruthlessly slaughtered in the name of business. If he had any lingering doubt the human capacity for evil out stripped anything the demons could come up with, Hitler put an end to it.

Millions put to death, because the wanker couldn't bare the thought they all evolved from the same ancient ancestors. After that Spike knew whatever he did, he would never be able to live up to humanity's evil.

They only got better at it as time went on; look at what they were doing now. Corporate greed was a wonderful thing for vampires and other demons who fed on humans. It increased the poor starving masses. The ones nobody noticed when they kept disappearing at night. There was a reason he took Dru to South America when they left Sunnydale. More food, no slayers.

He'd have to take Oz with him next time. The kid needed to see the real world. Then he wouldn't mind eating humans so much.

What the fuck was he thinking? Take Oz with him? Why? Why did he care what the werewolf did or didn't eat? He was just another member of the little do-gooder Scooby Gang. What was going on in his head? Why couldn't he resist the urge to touch or be near the wolf? Why did he feel a need to protect and care for Oz? This was getting him no where, all he could think about was Drusilla's prophetic dream. He was glad he woke up alone, sans one werewolf.

********************************************

Two fucking months and the dreams were just getting worse. It was getting to the point where he'd stay up till noon and then only sleep for a few hours just to try to avoid the dreams. The only thing that was happening was he was getting closer to complete exhaustion and the dreams were getting more vivid. As if that was possible.

It all started the day after Oz left. He lay down at sunrise, as he normally did, for a good kip. The next thing he knew he was revisiting his own personal Hell. This time from a different perspective, a shorter furrier perspective. Once more the unwilling guest of the Initiative.

He was Oz in the dreams. Not watching Oz or imagining what they were doing to him, but Oz. Waking up scared, cold and naked in the iron cage, everybody staring at him. All of them in clothes and armed. Professor Walsh's former TA, the one Buffy liked, pointing a gun right at his forehead. He was freezing and they wanted to kill him.

The wolf wanted to jump right back out. Take control again. Oz suppressed it with everything he had. If they saw him as human, if he could reason with them, maybe they'd let him live. At least Riley lowered the gun. He was still freezing and caged in a room full of hostile uniformed men. Oz wondered why he came back to Sunnydale.

Willow. Why didn't she tell him? Why didn't he ask? He knew she was bisexual why didn't he ask about a girlfriend when he asked if she had a boyfriend? She still hated him. No, she couldn't trust him and he left her. She was free. Maybe he wasn't even in the friend part of her heart anymore.

He remembered her face the morning she found him with Veruca and when she came in to find him packing. All those tears. Yeah he was her ex. Ex everything, including friend. How could he have been so stupid? He loved her, he hurt her and thought he could come back after disappearing without a trace for six months. He expected her to be as happy to see him as he was to see her. Her life continued while he was gone. He should be happy for her, not angry.

He smelled Willow, his Willow on that other girl and all he could think about was fighting for his territory. The Wolf wanted out and he wanted to scare away his competition. The Wolf came out and now Oz was in a cage. Spike woke from these dreams horrified. He felt everything Oz felt including morning over the loss of Willow. Willow, the little witch was best friends with the slayer. She hadn't even helped him get Dru back. She pitied him. Spike didn't want her back. He wanted her dead.

Not to mention the great fun of reliving someone's Initiative nightmare. There was something wrong here. What was the whole thing with the werewolf? Why did he feel a stronger pull to the little slayer groupie than anyone else in his unlife? Even Angelus and Drusilla didn't effect him as powerfully as his first encounter with the werewolf.

Wait a minute, it wasn't the first time he saw Oz. Spike had seen the little werewolf before, around SunnyHell, playing at the Bronze and at the other end of the crossbows when the great poof made his escape in LA. No this only started when he was part of the rescue party. Adam, it was all cyber demon's fault.

No that didn't work, Adam was gone. Yet another startling victory for the Slayer and her band of merry followers. Of which he was now one. Spike thought about staking himself in celebration, but he didn't think he could handle another round of Willow's mothering him. With his luck she would be the one to walk in right before he finished.

Spike got out of bed and heated a mug of blood. He sat down and thought about exactly when this whole Oz mess started. Who knew he was helping Buffy aside from Adam? Who could have cursed him with a werewolf fixation? That was it. It was a curse. Some sort of magic. Now all he had to do was figure out who cursed him and force them to reverse the spell.

It had to be the Watcher. He was the one all with the magic. The little witch couldn't have done it, she was too distracted. He remembered her botched "will" spell. She had him engaged to the Slayer. Spike shuddered in horror, he kissed Buffy. Maybe it was the witch. What made him think he could trust any of that lot?

And what was the whole thing with Adam? Trusting Mr. Bits 'n' Pieces to pull the chip out of his head was an act of stupidity only Xander could rival. "You never were the brightest Vampire, Spike me boy." Angelus' voice mocked in his head. And everyone knew the great joy he felt in proving Angel correct.

Face it Spike you've always been a little too trusting for your own good. Otherwise why believe everything would be OK when your Sire finally returns after a century being trapped in the same body as a soul? Why would you be shocked to learn the besouled nonce destroyed the Gem of Amarra?

Right, time to go find the Watcher and the Witches. One of them was going to get rid of the soddin curse or fuck the chip, he was going to find a way to kill them. Spike wondered if the chip would go off if he found an indirect way to kill the humans and then mutilate them? He smiled and started planning his vengeance as he made his way to the Watcher's house.

*****
tbc