From: "WorstWitch" Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Needs Must ..." 1/1 Date: 15 Jul 1997 13:55:04 +0000 "Needs Must ..." A "Buffy - the Vampire Slayer" Vignette By WorstWitch Introduction: no spoilers, no messy stuff, no plot to speak of. Just a little harmless character exploration by way of a test post ... **************** Needs Must ... By WorstWitch "Don't you ever go home?" The bright, young, female voice dragged Rupert Giles - Sunnydale High's resident librarian - from his after-hours work, back to reality. He hadn't heard her approach, but, apart from the fact that her stealth sometimes put a strain on his heart and nerves, Giles considered it a good thing that she used her supernatural talents so ... well ... naturally. "Buffy," he greeted, swivelling his chair around so that he could look at her. Buffy Summers, the sixteen year old girl who was the focus of his entire existence. His destiny smiled at him, for a moment almost sounding fond. "Do you even *have* a home?" she asked, mock despairing, then smiled, showing that she meant no harm. "What can I do for you?" Giles enquired of her, glancing at the clock to confirm that it was well past school hours - in fact, it was into the hours which Buffy and her friends usually spent bunched together dancing to that dreadful apology for music at the Bronze night spot. He could be sure that the girl hadn't come for a book. Buffy shifted from foot to foot, and Giles tried to read her mood. For once, he was looking up rather than down at her periwinkle eyes, and it was nice to see her without her neck craned back. Buffy looked unsettled. Restless. "I got an itch," she stated, picking up one of his ornaments, turning it over in her manicured hands, setting it back impatiently on its stand. "I've got this sudden and irrational urge to go out and kill bad guys." She wasn't smiling anymore. She was frightened - her eyes pleading him for answers to her inner questions. Giles supposed that it must be a worry, waking up to murderous feelings like that. And so young: sixteen years old, and already a trained killer - the Slayer. The world's best weapon against the darkness which threatened to engulf it. And right now she was feeling pre-menstrual or something and she was experiencing the instinctive need to hunt and destroy the undead. "That's good," he told her with a kindly smile. Giles thought that he was getting better at saying what Buffy wanted, or needed, to hear. "Grand. Let's go hunting." Giles picked up his notebook and pen, and rose to his feet. Towering above the girl now, Giles had to keep his distance in order to see her eyes. His suggestion had not gone down as successfully as he might have expected. Buffy's eyes flashed with uncertainty - a hundred confused teenage feelings - and then were hidden by the judicious lowering of her eyelashes. "Don't you have work to do?" she asked, quietly indicating his desk, the paperwork and the books. Giles let his eyes follow her pointing finger, and then backtrack to her pretty face. It wasn't too difficult to interpret the true meaning behind her question. "You don't want me to come?" "No," Buffy said. "Yes. I mean ..." She folded her arms across her chest, tense, alert and yet introspective. "If that's what you Watcher guys are supposed to do, I guess ..." "Don't be ashamed of how you're feeling," Giles told her, matter-of-factly. "The occasional instinctive desire to hunt is ... is quite normal." Buffy looked incredulous, and Giles realised that a qualification of that comment was in order. "For the Slayer." "And for a nicely turned out, friendly, witty and intelligent young woman?" she asked, bordering on sarcasm. She didn't expect an answer. Giles supposed that she was letting off steam, and listened patiently. He'd heard about teenage mood swings, even if he was unable to remember experiencing this contrary stage for himself. "I should be at the Bronze right now," she declared, beginning to pace. She really was restless; it would be good hunting tonight if he could reassure her. "I should be dancing with some guy, trying to keep his pawing hand outta my ..." Buffy pulled a deadly sharp piece of wood from her cleavage, the movement faster than Giles' eyes were able to follow. Buffy turned her sarcastic expression on full. "Gee, I guess that'd be enough to put anybody off trying anything." Giles smiled into his hand, almost keeping the amusement out of his voice. "Is that entirely necessary?" he asked, reasoning with her. Sometimes she would not be reasoned with, and sometimes she would. Sometimes, all that he was able to do for the Slayer was to help her put her difficulties into perspective. "Actually," Buffy sighed, "my Mom would probably approve of me taking precautions." She waved the wooden stake carelessly as she spoke - at ease with the weapon in her hand. Good. Soon she would be ready for more sophisticated tools; he hadn't carted his collection across oceans and continents for nothing, then. "You can never afford to pass up an opportunity to rid the world of one more evil monster," Giles lectured, attempting to break her morose mood - to distract her from her embarrassment. If only all that passionate feeling of hers could be focused on her work ... "You're prepared, you feel like hunting ..." "I have the tools," Buffy quipped, brandishing the stake dramatically. "I have the talent!" She planted her hands on her hips in hero stance. Bemused by her fluctuating moods, Giles nodded his head, slowly. "Yes ... exactly." Buffy shrugged, popped the stake into her pocket, and tossed him his own coat. Her eyes were gleaming with the feral light of hunting fever ... or was that just the bad lighting in his office? Giles shouldered his coat and switched out the light as he followed Buffy. She strode ahead of him, the picture of control, tossing her fair curls in defiance of the world. Woe betide any undead demon who crossed this Slayer's path tonight. Even her voice bore a note of warning; low and authoritative as she held open the door for Giles to follow her. "Let's hunt!" *** END *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: koch@northnet.org (by way of koch@northnet.org) Subject: BUFFYFIC: BBETA: The Weapon: Prologue Date: 15 Jul 1997 09:39:52 -0400 Title: The Weapon Summary: Not much to tell really... the real story starts in part one. Rating: Oh... prob'ly not any higher than PG. Mebbe PG-13. Disclaimer: Don't really need one for this part, 'cause it's just the prologue, and doesn't use any of the Main C's yet. Just remember: this is *mine*. ***** A hot, dry wind blew accross the scorched landscape, sending clouds of dust and sand up into the air. Black clouds streaked accross the burning sky, marring it. And, in the middle of this god-forsaken place, this desert with a little bit of hell mixed in, sat a man at a campfire. He was dressed in rags, rags dirtied, torn, and burned by the passage of time. His long black hair was dirty and wild, held in place by a red headband. And his face... his face showed evidence of a man attacked by life, forced by circumstance to grow, to harden. The face was hard, the face was rugged, and the face was strong. But the eyes... the eyes showed pain. They showed longing. They showed the boy trapped inside the man, the boy who was forced to grow before his time. They showed remorse and loss and desperation. "Hey grub!" The man slowly turned, coming face to face with something out of a nightmare. The demon was tall, and reptilian in appearance, with rows upon rows of vicious fangs, and claws that look like they could rip through steel. And this nightmare had brought friends. Several other creatures, all worthy of a child's fever dream, stood with the monster. "Is there something," asked the man, his tone calm and cold, "that you want?" "You have it," hissed the demon, "we know you do. Give it to us, and we might kill you *quickly*." "Oh," replied the man with a smirk, "you mean this?" He extended his hand, palm down. Then, with a quick flick of the wrist, a silver sphere appeared in his hand. "GIVE IT TO US!" screamed the beast. "No," replied the man, "I don't think I will." "Then we kill you." "No," the man smiled, his eyes cold and hard, "I don't think you'll be killing anybody ever again." The man grasped the sphere firmly with both hands, and closed his eyes. With disturbing speed, silver tendrils leapt out of the sphere, attacking the demons. Within seconds, the bodies of close to a dozen dead demons littered the ground, ending the battle ended as suddenly as it had begun. "They never learn..." muttered the man, as he examined the corpses. His eyes lit up in wonder as he drew a thin, elongated crystal from the dead leader's pocket. "Hmm," he wondered, "what's this?" As he examined the crystal, he felt the sphere in his other hand begin to vibrate. "What the..." he exclaimed, as the sphere pulled towards the crystal. The closer the sphere was to the gem, the faster it vibrated. Out of curiosity, the man touched the two together. The sphere suddenly stopped vibrating, and emitted a high-pitched whine. Then the crystal shattered. "Uh-oh..." said the man, as the crystal chards began to whirl around him. They spun faster and faster, floating above him, until they were spinning so fast they formed a golden circle of gleaming light. Then, suddenly, violently, the man was pulled through the circle, and both vanished. ***** Insert ominous music here.... more to come later. Mwa-ha-ha-haaa!! --Viashino, the DevilBunny Slayer-- "He's big an' dumb an' ready to fight. A lot like 'ol hornhead here." --Squee of the Weatherlight ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: koch@northnet.org Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Weapon: Part I/? Date: 15 Jul 1997 16:45:10 -0400 Title: The Weapon Summary: Xander mysteriously vanishes right before everyone's eyes, then a familiar looking stranger appears... Rating: PG Disclaimer: All the original stuff here is *mine*. The rest belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox. ***** THWHACK! Giles' stumbled as Buffy's blow landed, most of the force luckily absorbed by his pads. "Buffy--" Giles' said, barely managing to duck under the girl's next strike. "*Buffy*--" he repeated, as the Slayer attacked again. "BUFFY!!" Buffy halted in mid-swing. "I'm sorry Giles," said the Slayer, "I kinda got into the training a little too much I guess." "That's quite alright," replied the wheezing Watcher, "I think we've done enough training for today." "'Kay!" replied Buffy, as she picked up her bag. "See you later!" "Yes, I suppose you will." Giles unlocked the doors to the library, and was nearly flattened when Xander rushed in, Willow in tow. "Buffy," yelled a harried Xander, as he half-dragged Willow through the door, "we have a problem." "Omigod," replied the Slayer, her emotional state hightened by her friend's distress, "what is it? Vampire? Demon? Giant bug? It's a giant bug isn't it, I knew this would happen ag--" "Math test." Buffy glared at Xander. "Math test?" she said. "Yeah," replied Xander, "and from what I heard from the kids in 3rd period, it's a biggie. Anyway, crash-studying must be done, and I figured I have a free and Willow has a free and you have--" "To get to History. Sorry!" "Come on Buff! We can get much more studying done as a trio!" "Can't, gotta..." she trailed off, gazing just above Xander. "What the--" "What, what is it? Do I have something in my teeth?" Xander looked over to Willow. She was gazing upwards too, as was Giles. Finally, he looked straight up. Floating mere inches above his head was what looked like a ring of golden fire. And it was expanding. "Oh boy." said Xander, as he gazed into the blackness inside the ring. Suddenly, Xander was violently sucked into the ring, and it vanished. "XANDER!!" screamed Willow, her face white as a sheet. "Oh my god..." muttered Giles. Buffy simply stood there, staring at the spot Xander had occupied mere seconds beforehand. Finally, she spoke. "Giles," she asked, "what just happened?" "I--I," stammered the librarian, "I don't know. It seemed to be a portal of some sort, but beyond that." Buffy sprung into action. "Well I suggest we find out," she said, "so we can get Xander back as soon as possible. Willow--" Buffy turned to find the diminutive hacker frozen, pale as a ghost, and staring at the spot Xander had vanished from. "Willow," repeated Buffy, as she put her hand on her friend's shoulder. Willow shrunk back, collapsing to the floor, wracked with sobs. 'Shhh..." said Buffy, as she put her arms around the anguished girl, "come on." "Xander," sobbed Willow, "he's-- he, he--" "I know." said Buffy, her tone calm and reassuring. "But we need you to hold together. We're gonna need all the help we can get to figure out where Xander is, and how to get him back. So just keep it together, OK?" "OK." said Willow, sniffling. "C'mon," said Buffy, as she helped Willow up, "you go get on the 'net. See if you can dig up any info on stuff like this. Giles, we'd better start searching through the stacks." "Yes," replied Giles, "that sounds like a plan." Just as Buffy and Giles were marching off towards the stacks, and Willow was starting up her computer, there was a loud crack inside the library, like thunder. Another ring of light appeared, as the three watched on. It then spit its contents onto the ground, and vanished. A man, dressed in dirtied, torn, rags, pulled himself up off the floor. He brushed his long, dirty, black hair away from his not much cleaner face, and was standing upright just in time to be tackled by Buffy. "OK pal," she yelled, "who are you and what have you done with Xan--" she hadn't time to finish her sentence before she was hurled off of him by a silver tentacle. The man stood again, his right hand clutching a silver sphere. "Listen kid," yelled the man, as gazed about the room, "I don't know who you are, or where I am, but nobody, and I mean *nobody* does that to me and--" he stopped suddenly, his eyes fixed on the girl at the computer. "Willow?" he said, as if her were questioning his own eyes. Willow stood up, slowly, all the while keeping her eyes on the man. She slowly moved towards him, studying him. There was something familiar about him, something she just couldn't quite place--until she looked into his eyes. "Xander?" she questioned. "Willow!" he hollered, elated. Quickly he snatched her up in a hug, lifting her off the floor. "Xander," gasped Willow, as he squeezed her, "what happened? You've...changed." "Yeah," said Xander, as he put Willow down, "well, ten years in Purgatory will do that to you." "WHOA!" shouted Buffy, getting the attention of everyone in the room. "What exactly is going on here?" "Buffy." Xander smiled as her looked at her. "I guess I'd better start from the beginning..." ***** End Part I ***** Dun-dun-duuuunnnnnn! Part two coming out ASAP! --Viashino, the DevilBunny Slayer-- NOSFERATU Prime Minister of Whup-@$$ "Now let's take violence, and put it in the Happy Box." *growling* "I SAID PUT IT IN THE HAPPY BOX!!!" --Top Gun, "The Tick vs. The Tick" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "WorstWitch" Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: "Needs Must ..." 1/1 Date: 16 Jul 1997 14:42:02 +0000 On 15 Jul 97 at 19:27, Jill Kirby wrote: > This was great! I'm so happy that the first post to the list was so > well-written and characterised. Some nice insights, too. > > :::applause::: Thanks! I hope we see lots more. :) Glad you enjoyed it. Was I really the first? Shucks . A lot of my stuff isn't suitable for the list rules for one reason or another, but there may be some more of these little plotless vignettes to come I love exploring Buffy's angst - she's wonderful! That version of "Needs Must" was, for anybody who cares about these things, the absolutely last, totally and utterly final draft, btw. Even 'laster' than the one at my web page. I spell checked it and *everything*. WorstWitch "You seem like such a flake. And I mean that in a good way ..." (Pike - Buffy: The Movie) Fanfic, Anthony Head and Giles sadness at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/1497/giles.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: nothoney@olg.com (slb) Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: "Needs Must ..." 1/1 Date: 16 Jul 1997 10:01:44 -0400 At 2:42 PM 7/16/97 +0000, WorstWitch wrote: >On 15 Jul 97 at 19:27, Jill Kirby wrote: > >> This was great! I'm so happy that the first post to the list was so >> well-written and characterised. Some nice insights, too. >> >> :::applause::: Thanks! I hope we see lots more. :) I musta missed something. Can someone E-mail WorstWitch's story to me? Thanks, Sheryl NotHoney@olg.com -- "Doesn't he know better than to tease the lion?" Deb Martin -- "Scary. I'll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you. And I'm one of them." Buffy, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike0705@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: What are the odds Date: 16 Jul 1997 11:11:45 -0400 (EDT) I am just wondering what are the odds of going to Sarah Michelle Gellar house, and she looks outside of the window and she think to herself, He is a good looking person. And she invites you into her house. I am just wondring what are the odds of this happening. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike0705@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: Does anyone know Date: 16 Jul 1997 11:11:46 -0400 (EDT) I am just wondering does Sarah Michelle Gellar have a boyfriend. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "WorstWitch" Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Mesmer" 1/3 Date: 17 Jul 1997 18:52:49 +0000 This story contains nothing that you wouldn't find on the show. It pokes gentle fun at the characters and at erotic/slushy literature but does *not* - repeat - *not* contain erotic material. For fear of being kicked off the list, I've even taken out most of the fun-poking 'quotes' from "Mesmer". Jeremiah would be horrified **** Mesmer by WorstWitch Part 1 of 3 "The world ceased to exist for Leanne - and in that moment, she and Charles became one - " Xander kicked the table leg beside Buffy, jolting the paperback book out of her hands. "Would you skip on down to the juicy stuff?" he requested impatiently. Willow and Buffy gave him a Look. "Obviously the sensitivity of a romantic buildup is lost on your cave-man mentality," Buffy said aloofly. She and Willow exchanged a wistful look, and sighed. "At least there are *some* guys in the world with the sensitivity to understand a woman's desires," Willow consoled her, indicating the cover of the book Buffy was reading from. "Like Jeremiah Defoe." She said the author's name with a kind of hushed reverence and a cheesy smile that made Xander feel quite nauseous. He pushed his lunch tray away with a wince. His two best friends had turned into mush. "Between the two of you and Treacle Defoe, I've had just about all the sensitive buildup I can take, thank you," he said, shuddering. Still, the rest was reputed to be worth the wait ... perhaps he shouldn't be so hasty here. "Borrow it when you're done?" he said, leaning closer to Buffy. "No way!" Willow and Buffy chorused as one. "Get your own copy!" Xander actually blushed at the thought of walking into a bookstore and picking up such an object as this from the Romantic Trash section. But Defoe's "Mesmer" was the talk of the entire school, and had been for the past week. Even Buffy and Willow had fallen into line with the latest fad. Xander knew for a fact that Buffy's copy - already dog-eared enough to make Giles the librarian cry - had pencil notes in the margin. Page ninety-eight was supposed to have a paragraph about feathers and honey that ... "Xander!" Willow shouted in his ear. Somehow, she and Buffy had cleared away lunch and got ready to leave while his mind had been on the mysterious page ninety-eight. "The bell just went!" "I know," Xander lied swiftly, and bolted to his feet. No ... he hadn't been lost in the realm of romance fiction. Not this cool and totally disinterested guy. Xander blushed. *** "Et tu, Rupert?" Ms Calendar grinned at him from the other side of the desk, having caught the school's staid librarian in the act of reading the book that all the students were going crazy over. "I have to hand it to you - on this occasion, the printed page has proved mighter than the monitor. There wasn't a mind in my class this morning that wasn't on 'page ninety-eight'." She wanted something. Giles quietly closed his copy of "Mesmer" and put it down. The only reason that Ms Calendar would ever admit to the superiority of the printed page was that she needed something from him. "I'm sure they'll get over it," he said, consoling her. "And go back to being brainless illiterates." "You don't really think that about the students do you?" she asked, taken aback. Offended; she believed in those kids. Giles blinked. He hadn't meant her to take that seriously, and wondered at himself for saying it aloud in the first place. He didn't know her well enough to trust her with such dark sarcasm. "No of course not. Although some of them are bordering on illiteracy." "True," Calendar admitted uncomfortably, her wild, dark hair bobbing with her nod. "Not much traffic in the library then?" "I've had more customers since this book went on sale than in the entire time I've been here," Giles told her ruefully. "Unfortunately I've had to send them away disappointed. Principal Snyder has expressly forbidden me to order what he refers to as 'immoral trash' - even after I pointed out that this might be the first and only book that some of them ever choose to read." "Oh," Calendar said, shifting her feet. She looked pretty today, Giles noted, removing his glasses and offering her a weary smile. Another fascinating silver necklace decorated her throat; she must have an exhaustive collection of them. "What can I do for you Ms Calendar?" he wondered amiably. "Well actually ... I came to see if you had a copy of that damned book," she admitted, flushing, pointing to the item in question where it lay at his elbow. Giles gave her a smile - a proper smile - and watched her expression go into overdrive - confused, startled, pleased. He spoke before she could think of anything to say. "Here," he said, removing his book marker from "Mesmer" and offering her the lusty paperback. "Take mine." *** "Oh my gosh," Willow commented, and closed her mouth, which had been hanging open, with something of a snap. "I can't read this part out loud." Buffy had seen her friend in many states, from joy to abject terror in the face of certain death. But she had never, ever, seen Willow blush before. Peering over her comrade's shoulder with some eagerness, Buffy felt her own jaw go slack, and her heart quicken. Then she blushed too. The girls exchanged glances and giggled. "I can't believe that a *man* wrote this," Buffy sighed, starry eyed. "It's so ...." "Makes you go all ..." "Marshmallowy." "Yeah." Willow sighed, resting her chin in her hands while they took a break from the gloriously mushy novel. "I wonder if he ... you know ... researches this stuff personally?" An impish grin spread across her face. "What about page ninety-eight? Do you think he's tried that?" "I don't know," Buffy said, shaking her head in awed thoughtfulness. "Jeremiah Defoe. I wonder who he is?" "Maybe he's a she?" Willow suggested, brightening with her idea. "You know, a pseudonym?" "Oh no!" Buffy said, distraught at the idea. "Oh c'mon, we can dream can't we? That somewhere in the world there's a guy who knows exactly how to push our buttons?" Willow's expression darkened and hardened all at once, and Buffy stared at her. Willow was looking right past her. "Speaking of button-pushing ..." her friend stammered. Buffy turned around, expecting something hideous. Close enough - it was Mister Snyder, the school principal. Coming right for them. "We haven't done anything have we?" Willow asked Buffy nervously, watching the black-suited figure stride across the lawn. There was nothing that Buffy could think of ... but then it was said that Snyder didn't always need a reason to be mean to you. "Well well," the principal said with false cheer. "Two more converts to the word of Jeremiah Defoe. The bell sounded ..." he checked his watch. "Thirty seconds ago. And you're still here." "We were just going to class," Buffy said. She squirmed. If you asked her to back you up while you were facing a vampire with three heads, Willow was a great companion. Faced with the school principal, however, she was hopeless - a dead loss. "Sir," she added, as an afterthought. Snyder nodded knowingly. "You, Miss Rosenberg, are late for Computer Science class and you, Miss Summers, are late for English. This has got to stop," he said, using that smile of his which always reminded Buffy of fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. "Nobody is getting anything done! And why? Because of this trashy book!" Buffy winced. They would only be a minute or so late for class - they would just have made it on time if it weren't for the unwelcome interruption. It didn't take a clairvoyant to see what was coming. Snyder drew himself up to his full height - which wasn't very high at all - and held out his hand. "The book, if you please," he commanded. Willow handed it over with a sigh. *** "You seem like such a flake. And I mean that in a good way ..." (Pike - Buffy: The Movie) Fanfic, Anthony Head and Giles sadness at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/1497/giles.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "WorstWitch" Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Mesmer" 3/3 Date: 17 Jul 1997 18:52:50 +0000 Mesmer by WorstWitch Part 3 of 3 Ms Calendar was stretched out on her bed, leaning on her elbows, her eyes glued to the pages of the book which Rupert had loaned her. The story had started slowly, but from the beginning had been full of innuendo and metaphor. The words - the image they created, the mood - were incredibly sexy. No wonder the students were going wild over the thing; trying to imagine the way she felt now, after reading page ninety-eight, only magnified by the hormonal surge of adolescence, Calendar could quite understand why "Mesmer" had gripped their teenage hearts. She preferred not to think about what effect it was having to their teenage bodies. She was having enough trouble controlling her own reactions to the heady blend of romance and erotic action. Where was a good, solid, loving man when you needed one? Ms Calendar took a deep, calming breath, let it out in a sigh, and turned the page. *** Buffy yawned. She sniffed, and yawned again, drooping over her textbook. Who cared about great American poets when there were three whole chapters of "Dream Catcher" left to read? She had fallen asleep over the book in the small hours, and it seemed like only seconds later that her mother had shaken her awake again and said it was time for school. She really hadn't meant to stay up all night reading ... but "Dream Catcher" was just so beautiful. Not, admittedly, as hot in the action department as the later "Mesmer", but still full of magic and romance; subtle heroes and intriguing heroines .... "Buffy ..." Their English teacher was shaking her shoulder gently. "Buffy ...?" Class, it seemed, had finished while Buffy was dozing. "Is everything alright at home Buffy?" asked Mrs Spencer kindly. "This isn't like you." "Oh ... I just ... couldn't sleep," Buffy apologised, stumbling. She did *not* need a session with the school counsellor when she ought to be wallowing with Willow over the latest reading matter. "Well off you go," Mrs Spencer said indulgently - she wasn't usually this mellow. Buffy wondered if she'd been up half the night reading Defoe too. Buffy went in search of Willow to share her good fortune at obtaining "Dream Catcher', but the other girl was nowhere to be found *** "Read any good books lately Giles?" asked Willow, watching the Watcher from her perch on the library counter. Forty-ish, tall, well spoken - Rupert Giles had appealed to her from the moment they met. For his intellect, of course. His love of books. And the fact that he didn't look down his nose at her like something that didn't smell too good - that he talked with her not at her, and would listen to her ideas. He wasn't at all like you might think to look at him. "Um ..." Giles was carrying a tall stack of poetry books towards the steps; how often had she heard him wonder at the stupidity of somebody who'd design a library on two levels without a ramp for the book trolley? "Not of late. Why, are you short of ... reading material?" He made it up the few steps to the poetry section without mishap, and carefully set his stack down beside the shelf. "Me? No. I've been reading "Mesmer" like the rest of the school. No ... make that like the rest of the country." Giles rolled his eyes, discreetly, and returned to the returns shelf for another pile. "You don't like computers do you Giles?" Willow asked, scrutinising him carefully. "Have you been talking with Ms Calendar again?" Giles asked, his voice rather pained. "No. I've been surfing the internet," Willow answered, leaning a little towards the Watcher so that he could hear her as he moved away with another burden of books. "Trying to find out more about Jeremiah Defoe." Giles tripped on the bottom step and dropped all but the book at the bottom of his stack; cursed as he righted himself, and turned to look at her with an expression that he normally saved for Buffy. Questioning. Anxious. Ever so slightly terrified. Willow smiled innocently at him. "The whole school wants to know about him," she said, sliding neatly off the counter and crossing to begin helping him pick up the fallen books. "He's a hero." His green eyes bored into her from behind the trim spectacles. "The world has quite enough heroes," he admonished her seriously, gathering books furiously. "You'll get caught one of these days Willow." Willow smiled as she handed him the last of the hardback casualties. "So will you." Giles didn't answer. *** "I thought you'd want this back," Ms Calendar said, dropping Rupert's copy of "Mesmer" onto the desk in front of him, and regarding the librarian in something of a new light. Obviously his taste in reading matter was somewhat broader than she had imagined. And considerably less dull. Rupert turned his chair so that he could look at her. Was it her imagination, or did the man look a tiny bit smug? "Did you enjoy it?" he wondered, voice neutral. A warm, gentle British voice, just like the sensitive and sexually proficient hero of "Mesmer". Calendar shivered, annoyed with herself for letting the thought enter her head. "That'd be an understatement," she told him. She wasn't going to tell the man that her dreams had seen him - Rupert Giles - cast in the role of "Charles" and she as "Leanne". Or that they'd been the nicest dreams she'd had in ages. He'd laugh. And if he didn't laugh ... "I gotta get back to the lab," Calendar told him, her cheeks turning red under his curious stare. "Thanks for the loan." She hurried out of his office, and closed the door behind her. *** Willow had been quite understanding really, Giles supposed, wondering at his close call with unwilling fame. The price of her silence little enough to pay. "I get to read the next book before it's published," she'd said, arms folded loosely, eyes twinkling at him and ... ever so slightly ... marvelling. "And I get a mention in the dedication." "Or what?" Giles had enquired, nervously. "Or I tell Buffy. And maybe Ms Calendar ..." "It's a deal," he'd agreed without pause. Willow had beamed at him, showing her perfect white teeth. "My hero," she cooed, touching his arm to show that she meant no harm, still grinning. Giles managed to smile, truly fond of the girl. It was only after her departure that his knees turned to water and he needed to go to his office and make a pot of tea. That had *truly* been a close call. Giles rubbed his eyes and replaced his glasses on his nose, looking down at the blank sheet of paper before him, and tapping the sharpened pencil. One more book. What harm could it do? The money was useful after all - Slayers could be expensive to know; just moving across the Atlantic to Watch Buffy had cost a pretty penny. Besides, the world - or at least the students of Sunnydale High and his publisher - were crying out for more addictively romantic novels like "Mesmer". Yes. One more and then I'll retire, Giles promised himself. Forgetting that he had made a similar promise after completing each of his four earlier manuscripts. Shutting out the trials of reality, he began to write. *** For My Clever Hacker "Watching Her" By Jeremiah Defoe *** END "You seem like such a flake. And I mean that in a good way ..." (Pike - Buffy: The Movie) Fanfic, Anthony Head and Giles sadness at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/1497/giles.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "WorstWitch" Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Mesmer" 2/3 Date: 17 Jul 1997 18:52:50 +0000 Mesmer by WorstWitch Part 2 of 3 "You know this book is a bestseller in our age group right across the country?" Xander held his copy of "Mesmer" as if it were some priceless Aztec treasure. "Really?" Giles asked indifferently. "Don't you have classes Xander?" "Free," the young man responded absently, already turning to page one of his new acquisition. "Thought I'd catch up on some reading ..." Giles sighed, rubbing his forehead, and smiled a little with fondness for the folly of youth. "I didn't think you were sharing Buffy and Willow's thirst for erotic fiction," he commented. "As I recall, your exact words were: 'blech that's gross'." "Well ... a guy can change his mind," Xander said, sliding down in one of the reading chairs, absorbed in the text. Slowly, the boy's eyes grew wider, and wider; he shifted uncomfortably, almost put the book down, and then frowned and returned to scanning the lines with intense concentration and interest. Giles smiled. *** Even the cover was hideous, Snyder thought as he carried several more confiscated copies of the Defoe filth back to his office. Maroon, silver lettering, with a dreadfully glaring picture of a man and a woman kissing on a railway platform. Kissing like the world was going to end and they were saying goodbye. Or was that a greeting - were they happy to see one another after a long and painful absence? Principal Snyder frowned, not noticing as his secretary hastily thrust her own copy of the offending book into a drawer and returned to her computer. Dropping five books onto his desk, and letting open the blinds for some good reading light, Snyder thumbed open the book, bent back the spine with a crack, and started to skim read. Well it was his job to know what was going on among the students, wasn't it? How was he to stay one step ahead of them if he didn't keep abreast of their interests? *** Willow yawned into the sleeve of her dressing gown, knowing that she ought to go to bed and catch at least a couple of hours sleep before school tomorrow. Instead she was raiding the internet for every last drop of information regarding a certain author - and she was not alone. Willow lurked for a while in a chat room devoted to the subject of "Mesmer" and its earlier, less well publicised predecessors. She interrupted the drooling to ask her question - but nobody else knew the first thing about Jeremiah Defoe either. Speculation, however, abounded. plaster>> I think it's Michael Jackson using another name scox>> no male of the species could write this unless he was you know, that way inclined Willow blinked. Even to her somewhat inexperienced eyes, it was plain that Defoe knew a *lot* more about women than that. Glip>> I tried to send him a letter once Willow frowned, and summoned a private window to communicate with "Glip". >> What happened? Where'd you send it? Glip>> I got a letter back from the guy's agent saying that Jeremiah thanked me for my interest and was glad that I'd enjoyed his books. Form letter. Guess he gets a lot of fan mail. >> You got the agent's address? Her cyber-bloodhound instinct was kicking in - perhaps there was a trail here that she could follow at last, to find out the truth about the author who had turned Sunnydale's teenage community into starry-eyed zombies. *** Late home, as per usual, Buffy's mother Joyce was surprised to find her only child still awake - usually, Buffy didn't wait up for her to come home. Joyce smiled, greeting her daughter with a conspiratorial wink. "Glad you're up," she said, even though she was also about to tell the little minx to scoot into bed quick smart. "Got you a present." Buffy blinked - she'd been reading in dim light again Joyce noticed worriedly. The girl was sure to damage her eyes ... then again, Buffy didn't seem to do all that much actual reading when she was home. Perhaps that was why she spent so much time in the school library with Willow and Xander - to read there for leisure as well as study. "Cool," Buffy said, rubbing her eyes, revealing that her book of choice was "Mesmer". Joyce smiled slyly and handed over a smart paper bag. Buffy's eyes widened in amazement when she saw the book inside. "Like it?" Joyce asked unnecessarily. Buffy was speechless just for a change, and Joyce laughed as the girl hugged her fiercely. "You like it," she said, wondering when her daughter had developed such crushing strength in her hugging muscles. "Good," she said, patting the girl's back to make her let go. "I special ordered it for you." "I love it," Buffy corrected, springing for the stairs. "Thanks Mom!" "Don't stay up all night reading!" Joyce called, knowing that it was probably a futile request given that Buffy was already opening her new book before she even got to the top of the stairs. Buffy threw herself down on her bed and smiled happily down at the cover of "Dream Catcher - a passionate first novel by Jeremiah Defoe". *** Sometimes you had to do something that was a little bit illegal before you got anywhere. Willow took about five minutes to discover the password to the database at "Albright and Moss Literary Agents, London". It hadn't been designed to be secure - probably the same system they'd used for years before thinking about adding a modem to their network and going online. After all, who would want to hack into the database of a small literary agency? Willow felt guilty, and ignored it. She wasn't doing any harm, and she wasn't going to get caught. Just a little harmless snooping around. At the very least, she might discover just how much a writer like Defoe earned in a tax year. Enough to live in opulence in the English countryside, no doubt. Willow pictured him with Red Setter dogs, strolling amid fields of wheat ... Defoe. Richard. No. Defoe, Jeremiah. Yes. Her heart leapt in triumph, and her palms started to sweat - same old excitement at finding what few others in the world could have found so easily. Damn - another password on the individual data file. Willow frowned hard as she drummed her fingers on the desk. This one would be a personal password - the password chosen by Defoe's personal agent. Damn. Didn't look like she was going to be getting any sleep after all. *** "You seem like such a flake. And I mean that in a good way ..." (Pike - Buffy: The Movie) Fanfic, Anthony Head and Giles sadness at: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/1497/giles.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: koch@northnet.org Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Weapon: Part III/? Date: 17 Jul 1997 22:07:05 -0400 Title: The Weapon Rating: G, for this part at least. Summary: The new Xander showers, eats, and chats with Buffy. Disclaimer: All the original stuff here is *mine*. The rest belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox. ***** "Here!" Buffy shouted over the sound of the shower. "What?" yelled Xander in reply. "I brought you some clothes," she shouted, "old stuff my dad left with us. I'll leave it by the sink." "Thanks!" "And," muttered Buffy, looking down at the muck-encrusted rags on the floor, "I'll just go burn these." "What?" shouted Xander, as Buffy scurried out of the bathroom, Xander's old clothes in tow. ***** "Thanks for the use of the shower." said Xander, as he came down the stairs, toweling his hair. "No problem," said Buffy, as she put the finishing touches on a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, "after all you *did* spend the last ten years in--" Buffy paused as she saw Xander. The jeans and T-Shirt accentuated his form perfectly, clinging to his well-tanned, muscular body. His long, wild, black hair fell about his shoulders, framing his handsome face. "Ooh." she muttered absentmindedly, "hunky." Xander smiled. "You couldn't have said that to me ten years ago?" he jibed. "Huh?" Buffy snapped out of her trance. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't mean to--" "Hey, s'okay. I did pretty much the same thing the first time I saw you. You know, it took most of the decade I was over there, but I finally got over you." "Oh," said Buffy, flushed with embarrassment. She quickly changed the subject. "Hey," she said, "I made you a sandwich." Xander's eye's lit up with joy as he snatched the sandwich up off the plate and began to devour it. "Buffy," he said between bites, "you are a goddess." "Well," she replied, "I've never quite gotten *that* response from peanut butter and jelly before!" "Well," Xander quickly swallowed, "I haven't had any real food in almost a decade." "Huh? What've you been living off of?" "Raw energy. The sphere can take the life energy from those it kills. Because of our symbiotic connection, it can transfer that energy to me." "So every demon you dust is another snack?" "Yeah, pretty much." "Sounds yummy." "Actually, there isn't really any taste to it at all. It's just sort of a tingly feeling, like static cling." "Cool. Speaking of the Sphere, where is it?" Xander held up his left forearm. Attached to its underside was a silver blob, sliding about. "Ah." said Buffy. Xander finished the sandwich, and wiped his hands and face off with a napkin. "C'mon," he said, tossing the napkin in the trash, "we'd better get back to the library. We're all gonna have to work on this if we're gonna save me. Er, him. Er... you know." "Yeah I get it." Buffy smirked as she grabbed her leather jacket. Xander sighed. "I hate interdimensional travel." he lamented, then followed the Slayer out the door. ***** End Part III ***** --Viashino, Hunter of DevilBunnies-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jill Kirby Subject: BUFFYFIC: Stake Boy Meets the Slayer Date: 17 Jul 1997 22:32:36 -0500 (CDT) Extremely, extremely, tongue-in-cheek! Just a little "I'm glad the list is up and running" story. :) This is set not long after "Last Knight" in the "Forever Knight" timeline, and sometime before "Welcome to the Hellmouth" in the Buffy timeline. Not that this is serious enough to worry about timelines, anyway... Comments, constructive criticism, or vials of holy water to jtkirby@mcs.com. *** Stake Boy Meets the Slayer a Forever Knight/Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover by Jill Kirby When Nick woke, he could hardly open his eyes from the pain. He wasn't dead. He could feel the stake penetrating his chest-- not deep enough to kill him, but deep enough that it wouldn't heal any time soon. And he was too weak to pull the stake out. He managed to open his eyes and look over to where Natalie had fallen on the floor, nearly drained of blood. She wasn't there. As Nick struggled to assimilate this information, he heard the elevator start to grind. Who was it? LaCroix, back to finish the job? Reese? Slowly, painfully, he turned his head to face the elevator, waiting with trepidation for someone-- or something-- to emerge. The door squealed open and a girl walked out. Girl, not woman; she was probably still in high school. She walked over to him casually, her knee-high boots clicking on the floor of the loft, then stood over Nick and regarded him with a frown. "Hmm. You don't look so good." She shrugged a backpack off her shoulders and tossed it onto the floor beside her. "This makes my job a heck of a lot easier, doesn't it?" Nick opened his mouth and, amazingly, was able to speak. "Natalie?" "And Natalie would be... Who?" the girl queried, flipping a strand of hair away from her face. When Nick didn't answer, she sighed deeply. "I did see some woman with curly hair making herself scarce, if that's who you mean." She was alive. Nick closed his eyes for a moment in gratitude. The girl tapped her toe for a moment, then her face cleared. "I get it. You're a vampire from the 'Forever Knight' universe, aren't you? Like the other one? I'm never sure what universe I'm about to encounter. There are just too damn many these days." Nick's fangs disappeared and he felt his vision clear as the confusion in his mind increased to unusual levels, even for him. "I have no idea what you are talking about." The girl rolled her eyes dramatically. "Try following me. I know it's hard. You're a vampire, right?" Nick was about to protest, then saw the look in the girl's eyes. He nodded slowly. No sense in denying it; this odd girl with the hair falling in her face knew exactly what he was. "How did you know?" "The stake coming out of your chest gave me the initial clue. And that outfit. It's so... Second season. So not now." Nick glanced down at his outfit, which looked perfectly fine to him with the exception of the wood protruding from his chest, then back at the girl. "Who you?" "Not your best friend." The girl pulled a stake out of her sleeve and smiled as Nick cringed. "My name is Buffy." "Buffy?" Nick asked in disbelief. "Hey, stake boy, don't laugh," Buffy said menacingly. "I'm not holding this chunk of wood for my health." Nick felt his eyes go red and his fangs drop-- though not as much as usual, since he was weak from blood loss. Buffy watched his face closely. "Keen. In my world, vampires go through this nasty face thing when they want to feed. In the FK world, just your eyes change and your teeth drop." The girl began to tick things off on her fingers. "I should write a book about all this stuff. In the Anne Rice universe, crosses don't bother vampires, for example. You?" "I have... a little trouble with them." "Yeah, but that white-haired guy I just offed didn't. Go figure." She tapped one finger on her cheek. "Remind me. Holy water? A problem?" White-haired guy? Did she mean LaCroix? "Not really." "Decapitation?" "Sometimes yes, sometimes not so much." Buffy nodded, taking this new information in. "Well, I certainly know that stakes work." "You mentioned..." Nick cleared his throat. "A white-haired guy?" "Yeah. Big. Nasty. Huge attitude problem." Buffy made a washing motion with her hands. "He's dust." She twirled the stake lightly. "Now, you don't look too comfortable. Let's get on with this." Nick took a deep breath, trying to comprehend "We can make this easy, or we can make this hard." Nick glanced down at the stake that was already halfway into his chest. "I think I'll take the easy way." Thud. "Ow." Poof. One more down. Buffy regarded her nails critically, then sighed. Off she went. Next she had to tackle one from the Tanya Huff universe. Those vampires were so damn antisocial that they were always hard to find. At least these FK vampires hung out together. One trip to that smoky Raven place and half of Toronto was cleaned up. She couldn't wait to move to Sunnydale. Maybe there she'd be able to stop all this and live a life. *** Jill Kirby ~~ jtkirby@mcs.com ~~ www.geocities.com/SoHo/Lofts/4107 The Buffy Mailing List page: http://www.mindspring.com/~romana/buffylist/ And it ought to be easier To leave when you know that you have to go To leave when you know that you have to go... --Lyle Lovett ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ottawa Low Family Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Stake Boy Meets the Slayer Date: 18 Jul 1997 00:18:41 -0400 (EDT) At 10:32 PM 7/17/97 -0500, Jill Kirby wrote: >Extremely, extremely, tongue-in-cheek! Just a little >"I'm glad the list is up and running" story. :) Tongue-in-cheek is good. It's just dangerous is you are laughing. >Buffy regarded her nails critically, then sighed. Off she went. Next >she had to tackle one from the Tanya Huff universe. Those vampires >were so damn antisocial that they were always hard to find. Ok, for some reason, I really don't mind all that much that Nick is dust. There's just no way I want Vicki meeting the business end of a stake. Of course, some part of me believes that Vicki would be more problematic than LaCroix, The Master, and Darla combined. But in a good way. Kimberley ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: nothoney@olg.com (slb) Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Stake Boy Meets the Slayer Date: 18 Jul 1997 05:00:28 -0400 At 10:32 PM 7/17/97 -0500, Jill Kirby wrote: >Extremely, extremely, tongue-in-cheek! Just a little >"I'm glad the list is up and running" story. :) LOL! Thanks for the early morning giggles. Glad to see Knight getting what he really deserves. Now, how 'bout a little Buffy/Angel story for us 'shippers? Sheryl NotHoney@olg.com -- "Doesn't he know better than to tease the lion?" Deb Martin, after meeting My Favorite Waiter -- "Scary. I'll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you. And I'm one of them." Buffy, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: LadyRHood@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Sighing Game (1/3) Date: 18 Jul 1997 18:24:35 -0400 (EDT) I sent this story to the other Buffy-beta list so for some of you it may look awfully familiar. But I thought I'd send it anyway for those of you who are so deprived as to have missed it, and because I am currently writing the sequel. Hope you enjoy! Rebecca Lady RHood@aol.com ######## Disclaimer: None of the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to me, though I am rather attached to Angel, ah well. They belong to Joss Wheadon, Mutant Enemy, maybe the WB..but definitely not me. Don't sue because I have no money. The story takes place two weeks after Angel (the episode) and it has nothing to do with any of the resulting episodes...there are some spoilers for Angel, and Teacher's Pet. This story is pretty much a lot of introspective pondering and a lot of romance (Angel/ Buffy..sorry Xander :) but there will be some action. This is part one, part two occurs at the same time as part one and is from Angel's point of view. There will be a part three as well. Any comments can be sent to Lady RHood@aol.com. Sorry for any typos. The Sighing Game (part one) By: Rebecca Carefoot Buffy stared morosely out her bedroom window. The rain that streaked the windowpane mirrored her dark mood. She had to say that without a shadow of a doubt this majorly sucked. She had finally found a guy who she was in love with who actually loved her back and he even knew about the whole Slayer thing. It was too good to be true, literally. She flopped onto her bed staring at the ceiling. How could she have fallen in love with a vampire? Ok so he's a good vampire but he's a vampire none the less. She thought about him for a second, those dark brown eyes, liquid pools of chocolaty brownness that she could just fall into and let the whole stupid world go to hell. What did the world ever do for her anyway? Oh, and that hair just a little spiky in the front. That nose so straight and well it was just a cool nose however you wanted to describe it. He always looked so super cool in those jackets he constantly wore over a white t-shirt or tank top. And the body that those t-shirts covered. She bit her lip thinking about that body. Those muscles, that broad chest, and those delicious arms. His skin was so white, she shivered. Yikes, she definitely needed to get her mind off that subject before she melted. His lips, so firm, and those kisses...she had never felt anything like that. Not in all her 16 years. It took her breath away and left her happy to be gasping. When she was with Angel the whole world just disappeared and she didn't even miss it. But she had sent him away. She groaned. It was the right thing to do, the only thing she could do. Why had she done it? What was wrong with her? I mean just because he has one teeny tiny, ok one humungoid flaw...why should they have to be apart? The truth was she knew if she saw him again, no when she saw him again, she would lose any self-control she had left. She would throw herself into his arms and cover him with kisses. She rolled over onto her stomach; she wanted to see him so badly. It had been weeks since their meeting at the Bronze. The meeting where she had said that they could never be anything...auuggghh. What had she been thinking? All she wanted in the world was for them to be something. Why did it have to be so hard? It was destiny she knew it, but deep within her heart she also knew it would be just as hard to be with him. Sure there would be moments of joy but when you came right down to it, he wasn't really a man. He was a monster with a demon inside him. A horrible, horrible monster.....who had saved her life more than once. And he DID have his soul back. He had been good for a century or more. That had to count for something. He hadn't killed a living human since he got his soul back, and there was so much pain inside him. A vampire couldn't feel guilt the way he did. They couldn't care for her the way he did. But he was a vampire, no getting around it. And what was she going to do if he ever accidentally revealed his true face to her mom. Being grounded for life would be an understatement. And what if his soul couldn't fight the demon anymore and he became evil again, and she had to kill him but she couldn't because she loved him too much and instead he killed her and then he became the new master. Buffy! she admonished herself, you are getting way carried away here. The truth was she didn't really think Angel would ever hurt her or her friends or anybody who wasn't supremely evil. The truth was that even if he did she had a feeling she'd still be in love with him. The simple truth was she loved him and nothing else mattered, not really when you really thought about it. He wasn't a real vampire; he had a soul. It wasn't even that ugly when his face turned vamp, once you got used to it. It looked kind of wild and animalistic in an exciting kind of way. On other vamps it was ugly but for Angel it was more of a badge of courage. It was a reminder that he had to fight against himself constantly. That he had kept the demon at bay for a century and that he would continue to do so. Buffy felt the trust born from her love, a trust that would accept no possibility of Angel turning evil. He was strong enough to stay good. He had to be. And if she was wrong, well she was willing to take that risk. She pulled on a sweater and climbed out her bedroom window a little amazed at what she was doing. She was marching out of her house in the middle of the night to look for his apartment. She had to tell him right now. She had to tell him that none of it mattered, nothing was real but their love. So she walked purposefully until she reached the Bronze, then she began to wander somewhat aimlessly among the apartment buildings in the "bad" side of town. She should be able to sense him if she got close enough. A lance of pain shot through her side and she knew a vampire was near, whether it was Angel...well that was another question. She spun lightly on the balls of her feet, her eyes constantly searching, her hand on the stake she had stuffed in her pocket. "Show yourself!" she called. The evil in this vamp felt too strong to be Angel. Anxiously she peered into the darkness. A shadow crept slowly along the wall behind her. Then it stepped away from the wall and pounced. As it attacked the ridges of the vampire face stood out in the harsh light of a nearby streetlamp. Buffy heard her attacker as he leapt and spun to face him. His momentum carried him forward and she fell to the floor heavily with him on top of her. Stuggling against his vise-like grip she finally freed herself by throwing him against the wall. He was only stunned for moment and quickly charged her again, but this time she was ready. She easily sidestepped his attack and plunged the stake into his back. Her breathing slowed as the adredaline pumping through her blood began to lessen. "Nothing like a midnight slay to keep a girl on her toes," she muttered to herself. Well at least she had managed to get her mind off Angel for a few minutes. Now to find that apartment. An hour of sneaking around every apartment near the Bronze turned up nothing. He must not be home, she thought. Sighing she began the long trek home, or maybe it just seemed long. This was not turning out to be one of her best nights. (to be continued) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: LadyRHood@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Sighing Game (2/3) Date: 18 Jul 1997 18:27:14 -0400 (EDT) Disclaimer: None of the characters in the Buffyverse belong to me..they belong to Joss Wheadon, Mutant Enemy, maybe some other people none of whom are me. This is the second part of the Sighing Game, it is from Angel's point of view and it takes place at the same time as part one...there are some spoilers, lots of introspective brooding, Buffy/Angel romance..I think you get the picture. The Sighing Game (part 2) by: Rebecca Carefoot Angel stared blankly at the wall of his apartment. A stake through the heart could not possibly hurt this much. To see her, so beautiful, so sad. It tore him to pieces. To know that she felt the same way he did and yet it could not be. To be one of those doomed lovers that he had always despised, one of a fated couple. It stung. To know that over 200 years of love and loss was no shield. To hold her close and feel her stripped away. It hurt like nothing else he had ever felt in his life. Like nothing but the moment of conscience reawakened. The guilt of a hundred year killing spree across the span of the entire world, the deaths he had caused, the joy he had felt in killing. In that one crystalline moment it had all come rushing into him. As his soul was returned, he had almost destroyed himself. He would have burned himself to death in the sun's bright rays. He would have done anything to escape the guilt. But he had found another way. He had found solace in killing them. In destroying all the vampires he could. He fought the demon within himself and he fought the demons outside as well. So far he was winning, he had made himself into a killing machine. The guilt was buried, the pain was buried, every emotion was hidden beneath a burning desire to kill them all. Angel had had it all figured out. Once he got rid of all of them he would be at peace and he would slip away. A stake to his own heart wouldn't be such a hard thing to do. It would all be over so quickly. It was the perfect escape. But then she had come to Sunnydale to fight the vampires, to fulfill her destiny. Beautiful Buffy, so young and so perfect. At first he had seen her only as an ally. A way to kill the vampires faster. Angel thought she might have a better chance at killing the Master than he would. After all she was the one girl in all the world with the power to stop the forces of evil. But how many times had he heard that, too many. There was always a new "one girl in all the world" and yet the Master lived. Still there was a chance and any vampire she killed would be one less for him. So he warned her that first week. He followed her into an alley. And she surprised him by knocking him on his ass. He thought that was when he first started falling in love with her. He hadn't been surprised in such a long time. It was a good feeling, a human feeling. She was so suspiscious and for some reason he found that charming. The way she spoke back to him, she wasn't afraid, or if she was she hid it so well. He gave her the cross, silver. He had worn it when he had first had his soul returned. He had needed something to help him fight the demon and the pain of that cross helped him to gain the self control he needed to keep from feeding off warm blood. He still wore a cross sometimes, gold. It was much smaller but it helped to calm the urges. He began to watch her, sometimes offering hints and help; but mainly staying in the shadows. He saw her wear the cross sometimes and it made him feel connected with her somehow. He knew that she couldn't truly love him, not if she knew what he really was. But seeing her wear that cross it was like she was his. It was as if she cared about him. He remembered the night when he had given her his jacket. The leather one. He really didn't need it, vampires didn't feel cold. She seemed to like it, in fact she wore it pretty often. That made him feel good too. It made him feel like she carried him with her everywhere she went. He imagined to himself that she felt the same way he did. That she fantasized about him, that when she closed her eyes at night all she could see was his face, that she wore the jacket because she could imagine it being on his skin. He told himself that he was a fool, that he was acting like an overly hormonal teenager. It had to be a crush, but it was so ridiculous. He was old enough to know better. Then that night he had followed her from the Bronze and they had had their run in with The Three. It had been close. He had thought that they were done for when one of the three extremely strong vampires had slashed him across the ribs. He was embarrassed to say that he was almost glad that he would die with her. But they had survived and she had invited him into her house, a sacred priveledge he certainly hadn't expected. She had bandaged his wound. He hoped she didn't realize what her touch did to him. His flesh prickled with her nearness. It took all his self-control to keep from pulling her near and kissing her. He hid all day in her closet, hiding from her mom he told her, but it was from the sun he hid. And then she brought him some dinner...a little plateless she said. He didn't mind that, but it was also a lot bloodless. Poor girl she had no idea what she was getting into. He decided then to hide it all from her, to just leave and never come back. But she started mumbling about her diary, thinking he had read it. His heart soared as he slowly realized that she cared for him. He began his speech about having to leave but his heart wasn't in it. His heart was with her. And he had blurted out that part about wanting to kiss her. Then the incredible, the impossible had happened. They had come together like the crashing of the waves on the shore, an inevitability. Their lips had met in the kiss to end all kisses. In the midst of his joy, Angel felt his face begin to change. He fought it, but it was too late. He stared in horror at the fear and hatred he saw reflected in her eyes and her scream. He threw himself out the window and ran into the night. But she hadn't had the will to kill him, she seemed to understand. At the Bronze when they fought he could tell that she still cared for him just as he cared for her. And then they had met for their last kiss, the most painful and wonderful kiss of his life. The world became that kiss, nothing else mattered. As she walked away he could feel his flesh sizzling where her cross had imprinted itself on his skin. But that pain was nothing to the anguish he felt watching her walk away. So now here he was, sitting alone in his apartment. Unable to keep his mind off her. Her face filled his mind, her smell filled his nostrils. Angrily he jumped up from the bed and threw a chair against the wall, snarling. He couldn't stand it, he had to see her. He had to hear her voice. He rushed out the door barely taking the time to grab a jacket. He walked the streets to her house filled with an urgency that he could not understand. Nothing mattered but her, nothing had ever mattered but her ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: LadyRHood@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Sighing Game (3/3) Date: 18 Jul 1997 18:32:54 -0400 (EDT) Disclaimer: I think everyone knows I own no part of Buffy or her world. Go ahead and rub it in. Thanks a lot! Anyway I am making no money, probably just going to get a lot of criticism out of this so don't sue. Joss Wheadon, the WB, and Fox are the rightful owners I believe. This is part three (everyone cheers). The other two parts happened at the same time and were from the perspectives of Buffy and Angel respectively. This part is when the parallel lines meet (impossible you say..not if they are story lines:). Hope it's been fun for everyone...see you next time I decide to write something. Once again sorry for any typos The Sighing Game (part 3) by: Rebecca Carefoot Angel walked slowly back towards his apartment. He felt like crawling into a hole in the ground and just lying there for a hundred years. This had turned out to be a horrible night. He stared up at the moon, it was full tonight; so full he couldn't believe it didn't just fall right out of the sky. His eyes on the sky he bumped heavily into someone. "I'm so sorry," he muttered distractedly. "Well you should be!" he heard a dear voice say. "I really like these shoes and you stepped all over them." "Buffy?!" he exclaimed, stopping the girl as she turned away. "Angel," she whispered turning slowly to face him. It was true. After all that looking she had just gone and bumped into him. I guess that's what they call fate, she thought dreamily as she drank in the sight of him. He stood uncertainly on the sidewalk, unsure of his place in her heart. Well she would show him his place, she thought as she embraced him tightly. Immediately his arms encircled her and their lips met. His kiss left her heart pounding and she stood dazzled in his arms. This was what she had been dreaming of and Angel did not disappoint. Their lips met again and she felt the ground sway under her. But Angel's strong arms held her tight and she felt safe. Angel held her close, as if he would never let go. In between kisses he stole glances at her face. The look in her eyes was full of love, and her mouth turned up in a smile when she caught him staring at her. "Angel," she said and his heart raced to hear those lips say his name. "We have to go somewhere a little more private." "Why?" he murmered. "I don't care who sees us." "That's because you don't have to deal with all the people who live in this town." She gently touched his face as she said, "Come with me." She led him to the top of a secluded hill and they sat together looking at the stars. He held her in his arms and she thought she had never been more happy in her whole life. The dark seemed warm and the stars were jewels in the moon's crown. They sat in comfortable silence. There was no need for words, but finally Buffy spoke. "I told you I'd see you around," she said happily. "What were you doing out so late anyway," Angel asked. "Isn't it way past your bedtime?" She slapped him lightly. "Ha, ha Mr. I'm 200 and something years older than you." "You must be one of those girls who goes for older guys, " Angel teased. "Yeah, you're the first date I've had in months who isn't a skeleton. It's just so hard to find well preserved two hundred and forty year olds these days." Angel laughed at her comments. "It's nice to hear you laugh." she said. "You should do it more often." "Sometimes it's hard for me to laugh, there's so much sadness it seems like there's no room for laughter." Buffy touched his chest over the spot where his heart was. "You have so much pain here," she said sadly. "I feel almost guilty that my life has been easier than yours." He covered her hand with his. "Don't feel guilty," he said. "You make me happy, and besides you have plenty of problems in your own life." "Nothing I can't handle," she said leaning towards him for a kiss, "with a little help from my Guardian Angel." She looked at his face for a moment. "Angel?" she began, "I have a favor to ask." "Anything you want." " Show me your true face." Angel started to protest but Buffy stopped him with a kiss. "I need to see it." Sighing he agreed. Buffy watched closely as his face changed. She looked at the familiar visige of a vampire but she felt none of the hatred the face usually brought with it. Deliberately she grabbed the back of Angel's head and pulled him to her. She kissed him as deeply as she knew how, telling him without words that she loved him, every part of him. When they broke the kiss Angel pushed back a lock of her hair. "It's going to be hard," he said. "I know," she answered simply. They both sighed, willing to try for the sake of love. The End comments? Lady RHood@aol.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: koch@northnet.org Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Weapon: Part IV/? Date: 21 Jul 1997 00:36:40 -0400 Title: The Weapon Rating: G Summary: Buffy and SuperXander rejoin the group, and the team makes a discovery. Disclaimer: This story is mine. Mine mine mine mine mine! Giles, Young Xander, Willow, Ms. Calender, Buffy, and Angel belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox. The X-Files are TM & C Chris Carter and Ten-Thirteen. ***** "So Giles," shouted Buffy, as she and Xander entered the library, "find anything useful yet." "I'm afraid not," replied the librarian, "most of our efforts have been fruitless, at least so far." "But we're trying." said a voice from deep within the stacks. Buffy smiled as the source of that voice stepped into the light. "Angel." she sighed. "Hey." he replied, as he walked towards the new arrivals. He leaned down, and lighted a kiss upon Buffy's lips. She held her breath for seconds after they parted, wanting to savor him for as long as possible. "Hey Angel." said Xander, extending his hand to the vampire. "Xander?" said Angel questioningly, as he accepted the man's handshake. "Yeah, it's me. I guess I have changed quite a bit huh?" "I'll say." "Angel," continued Xander, "I've had a *lot* of time to think about this, and I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I treated you like an enemy, when all you were guilty of was trying to help Buffy, and loving her. I was a hot-headed punk, and I was wrong. Friends?" "Friends." replied Angel, firmly shaking the man's hand. He then released Xander's hand, and went back into the stacks. "Hey," said Buffy, when she realized someone was missing, "where's Willow?" "Oh," replied Giles, "she went home. Apparently her home computer system is better suited to this kind of... investigation. ***** Willow sat at her PC, furiously typing away. "Hmm," she said to herself, "what's this? FBI, classified... the X-Files? Records of paranormal activity, supernatural phenomenon... and UFOs? Now this looks promising. Time to activate my worm..." Willow activated the program, and began to burrow through the FBI's security system. "Nothing's gonna stop me from saving Xander," she thought, firmly, "nothing." ***** All eyes turned towards the library entrance, as another figure entered the room. "Hey Rupert," said Samantha Calendar, "I found something that might help in my coven's archives--" she paused when she saw Buffy. "Oh," she said, "hi Buffy." Then her eyes turned to Xander. "And this," she said, as she moved towards him, "must be SuperXander." "Yeah," he replied, smiling, "that's me." "My how we've grown." she said, as she ran her finger along his bicep. "Ms. Calendar--" "Call me Sam." "Sam, we've really gotta get back to the matter at hand." As if to back Xander up, the library's fax machine began whirring. Giles rushed over to it, and snatched the first sheet of paper up, as a second began to come out of the machine. "It's from Willow," he said, as his eyes scanned the page, "apparently, she's gotten into -- oh my." "What is it Giles?" asked Buffy. "This is from the FBI. Confidential documents from something called... the *X*-Files? Some sort of chronicle of paranormal phenomena." "Someone's been naughty..." muttered Xander. "Yeah Giles, that's great, but is it useful?" Giles snatched up the second page as a third began to spew from the machine. "Yes," he replied, "I think it will! There's full records here of many unusual disappearances identical to Xander's! All the circumstances, etc... the only thing that's not here is the spell to open a portal!" "I think," said Angel, as he came out of the stacks toting a hefty tome, "I may have solved that one." Giles rushed over to Angel as he slammed the book down on the table. "Here," said Angel, as he pointed to the page, "a full record of the spells and rituals the Master used in his attempt to open the Hellmouth." "Yes," said Giles, his eyes lighting up as he poured over the page, "I think this is it! With this book, and the information Willow sent, we should be able to open a portal to Purgatory!" "Great!" said Buffy, elated. "I'll head home for supplies, I have a feeling we're gonna need 'em. And I'll call Willow from there, to tell her what's up." "Good." replied Giles. "Samantha," he said, turning to Ms. Calendar, "take the book, and see if you have the spell ingredients at home." "Right." she replied, as she hefted the tome up, and rushed out the door. "Xander, Angel, if you would, help me in setting up the library for the spell?" The two men nodded in agreement. "Good," he said, "I just hope all this trouble is worth it. This may not work." "It'll work," said Xander, without a hint of doubt, "It'll work." ***** Buffy came rushing into the library, her bag of tricks slung over her shoulder. The room was filled with the smell of burning incense, and there were candles, gems, and various other objects positioned about the room. As she surveyed the area, she caught sight of Angel, Xander, Giles, and Ms. Calender. "Hey," she asked, as she plopped into a chair, "where's Willow?" "She said she had a few things to grab before she left." Suddenly, the doors of the library flew open, and a figure entered the room. "What the--" shouted Xander, and then suddenly, he fell silent. There stood the meek, shy, and caring Willow Rosenburg. Her hair was pulled back into a tight braid. She wore what looked to be combat fatigues, along with heavy black boots. At each of her hips hung a sidearm, both of which appeared to be military issue. Accross her chest was an ammo bandoleer, and in her hands was a *very* large shotgun. "OK," she said grimly, "let's go." ***** End Part 4 ***** People on the Bronze were clamoring for tough Willow a week or so ago. Well, here ya go.... --Viashino, Master of Unexpected Twists-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone...1/3 Date: 21 Jul 1997 10:29:38 -0400 Gone... by Anya anya@interlinks.net Author's Preface: This story is in response to the re:Xander thread on the Plantex list, and was inspired COMPLETELY by Cat's innoculous simple little statement of : "Well I _would_ like Xander and buffy to be together.... Under two conditions... that Angel dissapear and that Willow dissapear." Disclaimer: The characters listed below are the property of Joss Whedon, Warner Bros and co. No infringment is intended. ******************************************************** Part One Buffy Summers bounded up the school steps, eager to race into Sunnydale High's dim, dull and dreary library. School wouldn't begin for another week, but the Slayer knew that her Watcher would already be firmly entrenched in his recently restructured library. It was a peanut-butter and jam thing, you just didn't anticipate the one without the other. The late August sun streamed down on her blonde head, it's golden brillance unobscured in a cloudless sky. The trees were a rich green around her, bird's chirping optimistically within their branches and the entire world seemed fresh, clear and vibrantly alive. Pausing to inhale deeply, Buffy felt her smile widen in echo to her soul's delight with life. Humming contentedly, she pushed the school doors open. Nothing could bring her down today. *********************************** Giles sat wearily at the table, looking around himself with blank, dismayed confusion. He had never felt alone before, not during his childhood or during the solitary years alone as a Watcher awaiting his Slayer. But, the Slayer had brought some special people into his life, and they had filled a gap he hadn't even realized existed. Looking at the computer in the corner, he could still clearly picture Willow sitting there, her crooked smile twirking the corners of her mouth. Behind her lurked the ghost image of Xander, peering down over her shoulder and silently teasing her. Who would have thought that Giles would miss the sound of children teasing one another? And what he wouldn't give to see those two tease one another again. But they never would. Not now. Disgusted with his self-pity, Giles lurched from the chair, and stomped over to his office, intending to grab one of a zillion volumes of Prophecies to stupify his brain. Hand raised to the door, he froze as another mental picture, this time of Angel sneaking up behind him in the office, flashed through his brain. Angel, the vampire with a soul and a conscience. Angel, who had helped Giles decipher prophecy's and fought so hard to avert them. The dark haired young-appearing man who held Buffy's heart and been a true ally, bringing as much aid as he could. Giles could still see the agony in Angel's eye, and once again felt the overwhelming empathy for the vampire. They had tried so hard, and yet, they had paid such a price... "Enough!" Giles shouted at himself. "This is ridiculous...I can't be constantly haunted by these memories..I HAVE to stay HERE!" He punctuated his frustration by slamming his fist into the door. "Woah! Not enough coffee, or tea, or whatever you Brit's drink for caffeine..this morning!" Buffy brightly intoned behind him. Giles was slightly more rumpled than she had left him four weeks ago, but, still intact. She smiled cheerfully. Giles spun around to face his Slayer. "Buffy." He mumbled. Absently, and rather haphazardly, he tugged his glasses off and ran his hand through his hair. He seemed to disappear into some dank corner of his mind, before returning suddenly. "Uh..I....ah, that is..Hello. H--how was your, uh..vacation?" Buffy's forehead creased with bemusement. "My vacation was excellent. Very restful. I highly recommend it, for you in particular, and the world in general." "That's nice." Giles pushed his office door open, practically bolting in, grabbing a book at random, and racing out. As if outracing demons. Buffy felt her lips twist as she tried to repress a giggle. Her happy euphoria couldn't even be dimmed by Giles. Trailing after him with a bounce in her step, she spun a chair around and straddled it. "Where's Willow? You seen her recently?" The question popped out of nowhere, one of a million social questions that Buffy had percolating in her brain. Giles response was more spectatular. He entirely missed the chair he was about to sit in. Buffy jumped up to help him up, only now beginning to get suspicious of his behaviour. "Well, Giles? Have you seen her? Or, how about Xander or Angel?" Buffy prodded. "N-nno. I haven't seen Xander. I...is he back from his holidays as well?" Giles skipped past the former and the later for the one in the middle. At least that was a question he could honestly answer. "Should be." Buffy resituated herself on the chair, her chin rested on her forearms across the high back. "He left before me, and was supposed to be back before me." "Oh." The answer was halfhearted, and more than slightly disinterested. The Watcher instead focused his gaze on the book, silently cursing the foolish haste that made him grab it. Aesop's Fables, in their original germanic text. Somehow, he doubted he'd get any great pearls of wisdom out of this. Buffy gave a little grunt at him, his head shot up. "So, I answered the Xander question for YOU," she stressed. "How about you tackle the Willow question for me?" She levelled a sweet saccharine smile at him. Frustration , anger and dismay flooded him, and it raced like shadows across his features, despite the best effort to contain it. " I can't." Buffy let a little frown mar her face. "Can't or won't?" She leaned forward on the chair, her rear end lifted off the seat. "Somethings going on, Giles..and I want to know what." Giles stared at the hard eyes of the Slayer. In his worst imaginings, he didn't think this would get as ugly as he now feared it would. The promise he had made again asserted itself firmly in his brain, and he shied away from his desire to just tell the truth. He opened his mouth, prepared to deliver a total false account of his interactions with Willow. The library door slammed open. "She's GONE!" Xander's bellow was filled with pain. The boy came into their view. He was breathing heavy, as if he had run the entire way, and tear-trails marked along his face. "Willow's gone. Her parents say she disappeared two weeks ago....they went to the police, and everything..and they had to...they think she's..." Xander stopped, taking a deep breath. He extended a clenched hand, a slim sheet of paper crumpled within that firm grip. "They gave me a note she left me..if she were to...they..she..with all the accidents that happen around here, the cops said she might be d-ddead." End Part One Comments, criticism and general thoughts accepted! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone...2/3 Date: 21 Jul 1997 10:29:42 -0400 Gone... by Anya anya@interlinks.net Disclaimer: The characters mentioned below are the property of Joss Whedon and Warner Bros. No infringement is intended. ******************************************************* Part Two Giles silently watched Buffy and Xander as they struggled to deal with their pain, fears and grief. Xander's announcement had devastated Buffy, just as Giles had feared it would. And as much as Giles wanted to offer them some comforting words of hope, he couldn't. The two bewildered and hurt teens huddled close on the sofabed in Giles' office. Their eyes, one set just filled with pain, the others reddened with tears, pinned to the Watcher, and those gazes felt like knives into him. "It's like they know I'm keeping the truth from them." The Watcher silently mused, turning so that his back faced them. His own pain was no less, and in many ways, was greater. He had failed Willow, and in doing so, failed Buffy. How would she react when she found out Angel was gone too? The Slayer needed emotional stability to function well, and this tragedy could very well rob her of the calm she needed. All the preparation, the studying, the researching he had done, and it had all been fruitless. Willow had suffered so greatly, and her sacrifice had been made for Buffy, as had Angel's. Giles''s sacrifice had been the promise Willow had extracted from him. At the time, it seemed to be so little, so pointless, but now, as he faced her friends, he began to see why she had apologized for asking it. "What happened, Giles. You MUST know something?" Buffy's whisper was fair near desperate. "Willow's not dead...is she? I mean...they..." Her voice broke off, and Giles could *hear* the tears she was fighting back. "They didn't..." The voice dropped to a squeak of a whisper. "...get her...did they?" Reaching down, he picked up the thin leather book. The black leather should have been worn completely, the number of times his hands had picked at it these past two weeks. It was the only out Willow had left him, before she ...left. "I'm sorry, Buffy." Giles turned back to them. "I'm sorry for both of you. Willow...she...disappeared, as Xander said, two weeks ago. From what I've been able to determine, her disappearance was not the result of vampires." *No, the vampires had interfered long before Willow had vanished forever.* His mind added silently. Xander dropped his head into his hands, shoulders shaking softly. "God...god! Where is she?" "Gone." Giles mentally answered. His promise stayed his tongue. Buffy reached out to wrap her arm around Xander's shoulders. Her own grief repressed for her friends needs. "Maybe Angel could help?" She offered softly, knowing Xander's dislike for the vampire, but also sensing he would accept whatever aid, from whatever source, if it would answer what had happened in Sunnydale two weeks ago. Across the room, Giles grimaced. His hands turned the book over endlessly in agitation. Schooling his features, he saw Xander nod, and begin to stand. Buffy stood too, her eyes catching the rumpled cream envelope Xander had dropped earlier. Scooping, she swept it up into her hands, turning it over to see Willow's crisp strokes marking the envelope cleanly. "Xander..did you read this yet?" She asked, trying very hard to be sensitive to him, but needing to scream her own grief at the same time. The Slayerette shook his head negatively. He reached out for it, and Buffy handed it over. For a long moment, he stared at his name on the envelope, before turning it over and quickly ripping it open. Pulling out the handwritten missive, he swallowed hard, and unfolded it. "Dear Xander, If my parents are giving this to you, then I guess the worst really did happen. I can't be too serious about it right now, 'cause it'll make me hysterical. Living on the Hellmouth is quite the psychological challenge, isn't it? I'll just come out and say this. I don't know how I died, I hope it was quick, and painless, but I really didn't want to die. There was so many things I wanted to say or do first. And I didn't want to leave my best bud, Alexander Harris. I never said this to you, 'cause I was sure that I would die waiting for your response, (I won't have to worry 'bout that now...so..) but I love you. I always did, and I hope I always will. You've been my best friend, despite everything. You believed in me, supported me, teased me, played with me when we were kids, you were my big brother, my confidante, my enemy, my hero, and the most wonderful person alive. And I loved you. I was always so scared to say that, 'cause I need you around, and you cared about someone else. I hope you can forgive me for leaving you. And I hope you can remember me with a smile. Right now, it's probably very painful, and I wish I could hug you and take all the pain away, but I can't. I'm sorry Xander, I'm so very sorry. Please, be well, live well and be happy, for me? I love you now, and I'll love you later. Forever, Willow P.S. I even forgive you for the Beach Blast Barbie thing!" Xander's howl filled the room, and he collapsed to the floor pounding his fist down, shoulder's heaving. "Noooooooo!" The grief was so raw, and so anguished, he could feel nothing but pain. Buffy grabbed the note from a lax hand, quickly reading it. Tears filled her own eyes. Sitting down beside Xander, she pulled him into her arms, rocking him like a small child, and smoothing the hair back from his face. Giles watched silently, the book in his hands no longer moving, but clenched in whitening knuckles. He knew what was in that letter, from Xander's response. In retrospect, Willow should have destroyed it. If the boy discovered the truth, it would make the words of that letter even more painful. And Giles had to believe that despite the precautions that had been taken, and the promise he had made, that they would discover the truth. It would hurt, but also give them hope. And having hope was better than having nothing. ******************************************************* End Part Two Comments, criticism and general thoughts are welcomed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone... 3a/3 Date: 21 Jul 1997 10:29:50 -0400 Gone.... 3a/3 by Anya anya@interlinks.net The characters mentioned below are the property of Joss Whedon, Warner Bros, and co. No infringement is intended. ******************************************************** Part Three Buffy wandered around the deserted apartment in stoney silence. Her face set in a mask of stoney calm, but the eyes were haunted. The furniture was all gone, and dust had settled on the concrete floors. It was a barren, lifeless place now, although, nothing living had dwelt there before. Aimlessly, she drifted into the bedroom, then the bathroom, and final the kitchenette. The fridge was unplugged and properly defrosted, and the water disconnected. The former resident was not coming back. Anger seethed through her, a rage like nothing she had ever known before, turning swiftly, her foot smashed through a cupboard, weakening the entire counter structure so that the one side collapsed entirely. And still she felt fury. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!" Her scream echoed off the walls around her. There was nothing and no one to provide an answer. Closeing her eyes tightly, she shook her head slowly, and looked down at her clenched fist. "What happened to them?" She whispered, sinking down to her knees. The grief she had repressed for Xander's benefit overwhelmed her now. Before, it had been containable, she had hope that Angel could help them find Willow, or prove she wasn't dead ...they could still save her. But now, even hope was gone, and with it, Buffy's heart. The attraction she had felt for Angel was the one constant in her universe she had denied so faithfully. Or, at least, had tried to. They hadn't become overly close, that was their mutual decision, and yet, somehow, she had fallen in love with him. And never told him. "I envy Xander..." She realized, wiping away a tear from her face with a dusty hand. Despite the pain he was feeling, at least Xander knew that Willow loved him. And that Willow forgave him for not returning the same level of devotion. Buffy didn't even have that. Another wave of anger swept through her, a fury directed at herself, at fate, and only a little at Angel. She ached to cry like Xander had, but the anger wouldn't let her. Later, perhaps, but not now. Throwing her head back in a silent scream, her fist pounded into the floorboards by the cupboard. It buckled suddenly, a long stretch of board flying across the room in response the the inertia against it, and startling Buffy back to her senses. Looking at the hole, she cringed to think what the landlord would say. She scrambled across the floor to grab the wood, and returned to replace it, or at least to cover the whole. Examining the edges of the opening, a small white coilbound book caught her eye. Quickly, and with a squeamish grimace, she fetched it out of the hole, half expecting a rat or something to jump out of there too. Buffy slid the piece of wood back ontop the hole, startled to see how well it fit. "It's not broken!" She realized. "It's a panel for a hiding spot!" Grabbing the book again, she jerked it open. Her eyes briefly touched on the name on the inside cover before flying wide. "Oh. My. God." She whispered. Buffy licked her lips anxiously, and weighed down her options. She could read it here, or take it to read with Xander. Curiousity ached in her, the desire for answers, but her compassion won out. Closing the notebook, she left the apartment, turning on the threshold for a final look before locking the door. ******************************************************** None of the parental units were at home at the Harris residence. If either of Xander's Mom or Dad had heard that Willow was presumed dead, they would have never left their son alone. But, their ignorance gave Xander time to sink into a fabulous depression. Sitting in his the living room, he just stared at the letter in his hands unseeingly. Willow had loved him, and he hadn't known. She had felt so much for him, and all he had done was rant and rave about how crazy he was about Buffy. He had practiced asking Buffy out on Willow...how cruel was that? And she had still loved him. It made Xander want someone to hit him around for a few hours. To give him a physical pain that matched the emotional. She had loved him, and had been so insecure she couldn't tell him in life. She had LOVED him, for Christ sake. She could have been that part of his life that people always hoped for, a best friend and a lover..the perfect other half! And now, she was gone. And he was alone. Again. Always. His mind kept reminding him of what kind emptiness his life would now have without Willow. Jesse's death had been painful, he was a bud. But he hadn't been like Willow. Willow was everything. She was his soul's sister, his pal, his study-buddy, the person he had whispered all his secrets to, and who had held them for him. And she was gone. Forever. It was self-pity, but he felt abandoned. He wanted to be angry at Willow, but couldn't, since he betrayed her first. He had went away when she needed him here. And he hadn't even sent a post-card. What kind of friend did that? "A lousy one, that's what kind!" His mind yelled at him. "One that can even see the most incredible woman alive when she IS alive and right in front of him! A MORON!" His head was once more in his hands, and shoulder's shook with silent dry sobs. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..forgive me, oh God..I'm sorry!" So lost was he within his pain, he didn't hear the door open and close, and he didn't feel the arms slip around him. It was several minutes before Xander realized that Buffy was again holding him. Her own eyes seemed red, and reflected much of the same pain he felt. "He's gone too." She whispered softly. The 'he' was understood, and despite Xander's long-standing dislike of Angel, he instinctively knew that Buffy was hurting as much as he was. He couldn't offer sympathy, it took all his strength to not fall apart again. Angel had been their only hope for answers. If Giles knew something, he wasn't forthcoming. "What are we gonna do?" Xander heard his voice break, and yet, didn't feel his ego protest it with shame. The ego was so trashed, it didn't exist anymore. Buffy snuffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I...it may be nothing, but I found this at Angel's apartment." She pulled the small notebook off the ground. "I..I'm hoping it'll tell us something. I don't know how it got where it did, unless..." Her voice trailed off. Forcing herself to stare directly into Xander's eyes, she whispered, "It's Willow's journal." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 Date: 21 Jul 1997 10:29:55 -0400 Gone...3b/3 by Anya anya@interlinks.net continued from 3a--------------- Buffy snuffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "I...it may be nothing, but I found this at Angel's apartment." She pulled the small notebook off the ground. "I..I'm hoping it'll tell us something. I don't know how it got where it did, unless..." Her voice trailed off. Forcing herself to stare directly into Xander's eyes, she whispered, "It's Willow's journal." ***************************** August 12, 1997 Dear Diary, I can't believe Xander and Buffy have been gone two weeks! It feels like YEARS! I've been so lonely, and so bored, I've taken to helping Giles set the library back up. They finished reconstruction last week, and he's needed the help. The new fixtures are amazing. And Giles even made sure that the new computer had every gadget I've every dreamed of. I think it's his way of ensuring that I do his computer research for him! Oh well, whatever the reason, I love my new toy! (Did I say mine? Oops! I meant, the school's new toy. That's right! ;-) ) Well, I guess that's it, diary. Life's pretty boring, without Buffy around. Bye! ***************************** August 14, 1997 Dear Diary, I hope someone will be able to read this one day. I hope it's me, and that I'll be able to laugh about all this. But I can't right now. I'm scared. I don't know what's happening to me! I left the library Monday night a little late. Giles packed me with holy water and a stake, despite the fact there's been no ACTIVITY for three weeks. We thought it was safe, and we were wrong. I don't remember the who, just the what. Four vamps grabbed me. If it had been two, I'd have been okay. But..it wasn't..and now..I.. I'm sorry..I can't do this! I'm scared. I'm so scared. I don't understand what's happening, Giles hasn't been able to find out much about this...CAUSE IT'S NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! Angel is trying, but he doesn't know either. If he hadn't found me when he did, God knows what else Colin would have done to me. God. Oh, I do hope there is one. And I hope He takes pity on me. I'm so scared. And I'm so alone. I just want a chance to say goodbye, and I'm not going to get it...am I? ***************************** August 16, 1997 It's happened. We rather suspected it would, and I'm surprised at how calm I am. Is this part of the changes? Is this a real calm, or artificial? Am I losing my soul? Angel says the blood in my system is artificially induced. I can't loose my soul 'cause I never accepted it. He says it's the same principle as a vampire needing 'invited' across a home's threshold. Without acknowledgment and agreement, the demon has no power. And he and Giles both agree that since the blood was forced into me, and not by my ingesting it, a demon cannot enter my being. So, why am I changing? Why can't they answer that? Why am I having bloodlusts? Why is my reflection fading? ***************************** August 17, 1997 Dear Diary, I have to leave. I can't stay here. I wanted to KILL that man. I ached to drain him entirely and hear his heartbeat stop! What kind of monster am I becoming? I didn't diary, I didn't even touch him. But I learned something horrible today. If I hadn't had supplies here, supplies that Angel has been providing, I would have cheerfully ripped that poor man's throat out. Angel says I'm wrong. I don't 'change' like a vampire does. My features remain constant, and I can move easily within the sunlight. Does that make me a supermonster then? I can hunt during the day, and my alleged prey would never suspect it? I feel guilt, and fury at these urges. I'm glad. It means my soul hasn't left..yet. But it still might. I hate Colin. I hate him with all my being. And if I drink ANY vampires blood, it will be his heartblood! HE did this to me! He captured me, he tortured me, he drained me of all my blood! And then he tried to make me drink his. The little child-shaped MONSTER! He taunted me, said he'd make a creation the Slayer could NOT slay. Damn him. He's right. The Slayer will not slay me. I'll do it. It won't take much to shove a stake through my own heart. My willpower is still mine, and my survival instinct is not so strong as to refuse my souls desire. I won't just leave Sunnydale, I'll leave this unholy existence entirely. The way I should have in the first place. I should have died. I should have been allowed to die by that little bastard. I guess I'm living proof that you can make a vampire, of sorts, by injecting blood directly into their stomach. It's funny, I was never afraid of needles before then. I am now, although I'll never need another shot after tonight! Angel and Giles are planning on doing more research tonight. Works for me. 'Cause tonight, me and my stake are having a bonding moment. And I still won't have had the chance to say good bye. I hope Buffy and Xander will realize how much I love them, and that I'm doing this to spare them even more pain. I hope they forgive me. And God, I hope you take me in. Goodnight, and Goodbye. Forever and Always, Willow Rosenburg. ******************************************************* They were both bawling by the end of the journal. Horrified, anguished and intensely saddened. It was the confirmation of their worst fears. That Willow had died. And it was compounded by an even greater tragedy, she had died alone, by her own hand, and intensely scared. Closing the coil book gently, Buffy set it down with reverence on the floor before standing. Her eyes were puffy, and face strained, but the set of her jaw spoke of purpose. "Let's go Xander." She said, her throat raw from all the crying. "We have most of our answers, but...I want more. And Giles' has them." ******************************************************** He had been expecting them. From the moment Buffy had left for Angel's, Giles' had known she would return wanting answers, or just plain comfort. He hadn't been sure about Xander, but had conceded it a likelihood. They were showing wear from all the bad news. Their faces were far too haggard for their tender years, and the burden's on their souls fair near shone through. It was a burden Giles' was all too familiar with, but could not lift from them. He sat down heavily as they stalked over to him. Buffy held out a coil notebook as if it was proof. Taking it from her, and flipping quickly through it, he realized it was just that. Proof of his compliance in a conspiracy of silence. Sighing, he mentally apologized to Willow and Angel. It was a promise that he would be forced to break. And in the long run, he was sure that Willow would forgive him. "She's not precisely dead." He offered softly. "She did try to stake herself. Angel stopped her." Giles had been there, he had watched in absolute horror as Angel raced to grab the stake from Willow's hands. It had taken the entire night to convince her of their plans. And another day and night to stage the evidence of her death. After that, the two of them and quietly left Sunnydale for Europe, and hopefully the Rom. It was Willow's fears for her soul that endangered her most. So, if a curse could restore Angel's soul, surely a blessing should anchor Willows. "She will never return here, Buffy, Xander. Not in our lifetime." They were sitting now, seeing the exhausted weariness in his face, and hearing the pain in his voice. "I couldn't find anything to reverse what the Anointed One did to her. And she can't live like that, not here. Not near you. The love she bears for you both won't let her become a constant reminder of what YOU will see as your failure." "You didn't fail her. You never could. Neither one of you." Giles sadly pinned his gaze on them both. "Angel and I bear that responsibility, not you." "I should never have let her stay here as late as she did that night, and Angel should have gone looking for her the moment we knew she was missing." His shoulder's slumped. "We failed her. And in failing her, we owe her." "Angel is with her. He will not leave her. The hope is to find more of the Rom. Perhaps they can save Willow. If so, she'll return. Until then..." The Watcher let his voice trail off. "Until then, they are both lost to us." Turning back to Buffy, he extended the slim black book. "This is my journal on those events. You are free to read them. It won't be gentle, or nice, but it is an honest account." Standing slowly, he let his hands rest flush on the table top, head bowed. "I promised Willow to keep this information from you. Please, respect that I can tell you nothing more. I have betrayed her twice now, do not make me betray her three times." The library was silent, as the Watcher left two sad, lonely friends to grieve a lost third. ***********************The End************************** I know. I left this finishing with NO RESOLUTION! It's cruel, and I feel no shame. This entire brief story is the result on the "who would like to see Xander with Buffy". I can't picture it either, without Willow and Angel being out of the scene. Now they are, can you still picture it? Cheers! Anya ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity"--Introduction Date: 21 Jul 1997 12:50:11 -0400 "Synchronicity"--Introduction by Katherine Gilbert Okay, let me give you a brief introduction to the following story. It's a Buffy-VR.5 crossover ("Not original, I'll grant you, but. . ."). It also follows up, sort of, on the events of a previous VR.5 story of mine, "Pasts Imperfect" (if you'd like a copy of this, write me, and I'll send it, or you can find it at Worstwitch's VR.5 site). As in Buffy (or VR.5), some violent things will happen here, but you'll get almost nothing in the way of gory details. You also won't get any really strong language. Consider this a PG or PG-14 (at the *absolute* furthest), if you like to be warned about such things. To catch you up on where the VR.5 people are (and, if you need an introduction to VR.5, see below): Sydney is out of her coma, and she, Oliver, Sam, Duncan, Joseph, Nora, and the Keeper (Bill) have been running from the Committee for two years now. There won't be too many allusions to my previous story (or another I'm planning), so please be patient. :) Much of my characterization of Sam, however, will come from my previous story (as we really saw little of her in the tv show). As far as Buffy goes, I've compiled together aspects of both the film and tv Buffy (expect mentions of Hemery High and Merrick--her previous Watcher, among other things). The characters and setting are tv Buffy, but I take bits of the movie as her background. This is also set between the events of "Invisible Girl (Out of Sight, Out of Her Mind)" and "Prophecy Girl." Here, there are two days between these two episodes; this story begins later on the day IG ends and ends a few hours before the events of PG. The characters in this story are not mine, and no copyright infringement is intended. Please send any comments to: Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. Special thanks to my sister, Armida, for listening to the story as it was in progress and for always encouraging me. VR.5 INTRO. (Skip if you know it): VR.5 is a computer realm which reads the electromagneticism of the brain to create a very dream-like environment, where the person running the session is open to all of the information in the mind of anyone they take in, although the operator's mind is also open to be searched (as the opening of the show says, "Anything in your subconscious can be pulled into VR.5, anything in anyone else's subconscious"). The session only takes a few seconds, although it can seem like *much* longer (much like a dream). The person who is taken in secondarily to VR.5 will not clearly remember the session, however; they only know that the phone rang and no one was there. They are left with impressions only. You have to be retinal-scanned into the system to be able to run it or remember. The main operator of the system in the series is Sydney Bloom, whose father created the system. Also appearing in this story with her is Oliver Sampson (played by Anthony Stewart Head--the same actor who plays Giles, in case anyone didn't know). Oliver was once Sydney's Keeper--her protector--assigned to her by the Committee. The Committee is a shady, super-powerful group who seem to have their fingers in all sorts of metaphorical pies. They have a tendency to kill anyone who gets in their way. Oliver was a Keeper as well as an agent for them (and a few other unnamed espionage groups). Sydney's fraternal twin sister, Samantha, was (along with their father) kidnapped by the Committee and held for 17 years. Duncan is a childhood friend of both sisters. Jackson Boothe, who will get mentioned here as well, was an assassin (whether wholly for the Committee or freelance was never entirely clear). He was taken into VR.5 several times by Sydney, who unwittingly helped him. He ended up killing her first friendly contact in the Committee (before Oliver)--Dr. Frank Morgan. As I said earlier, this group is on the run from the Committee now, which Oliver (obviously) no longer works for. Hopefully, anything else you need to know will be covered in the story. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: owner-buffyfic@xmission.com Date: 21 Jul 1997 13:09:18 -0600 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Virginia Eveland Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 Date: 21 Jul 1997 16:30:16 -0400 Anya, cruel is not sufficient! Surely there will be some sequel? Please? I can beg really really well.... -- Virginia Eveland dscully@erols.com UIN 1517244 Pretender,Slayerette, Bab5, X-Phile SYX, AGML, LGW, BLA, OBSSE, GASP Keeper of Giles' Inner Child Keeper of Buffy's Three Gold Hoop Earrings Keeper of Little Buffy's Dogeared Copy of 'Horton Slew a Who' -- Visit the Buffy ICQ List http://www.erols.com/dscully/buffy.htm -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone... -A Challenge! Date: 21 Jul 1997 22:09:44 -0400 A Challenge! Hi! This is primarily directed to those people who read my story "Gone..." and were seeking a sequel. I can't believe the volume of response this story evoked! It blows me away! To all those who wrote, thank you. All your comments meant a great deal to me, and I tried to answer most of them! I have no intention of writing a sequel to that story. Sorry! In my mind, it ended just where I wanted it to. It was a sudden inspired response to the "I would like to see Buffy with Xander, but ONLY with Willow and Angel gone" line of thought produced by Cat! I wasn't interested in putting Buffy with Xander, but, I couldn't resist removing Willow and Angel. So I did. However, as I said, the responses craving follow-up to 'Gone...' were overwhelming, so..I thought of something rather different to try. I would like to set a Challenge for all those who would like to participate. And the Challenge is: to write a sequel to Gone... Write it any which way you wish, but take the story as I finished it, and move it to where you would like to see it go! Unless you have objections, all responses to the Challenge will be archived on my fanfic site (of course) in a 'Challenges' section. If you decide you'd like to try this, then please let me know. I really would like to see how this goes! Cheers! -Anya anya@interlinks.net http://SlayerFanfic.alz.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Matthew Hammond Subject: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone Date: 21 Jul 1997 22:27:25 -0700 A most excelent story! As a guy you'll be surprised at me saying this but this story brought a tear to my eye, a lump in my throat, and a acke in my heart! I fealt as if I was Xander or Buffy and my best freind had gone away due to a tragic sercumstance! Keep up the good work! I think You could have a future in writing. Weather it be story's movies or whatever. Hope we'll see more from you in the Future! -- Mhammond@yesic.com Keeper of Buffy's Quick Thinking and Ingenuity..........Matthew Hammond "Reality is a Crutch for People Who Can't Handle Science Fiction" Finaly my own page at http://www.angelfire.com/ca/estefazpage/index.html P.S. My picture is on my page! -- Mhammond@yesic.com Keeper of Buffy's Quick Thinking and Ingenuity..........Matthew Hammond "Reality is a Crutch for People Who Can't Handle Science Fiction" Finaly my own page at http://www.angelfire.com/ca/estefazpage/index.html P.S. My picture is on my page! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone Date: 21 Jul 1997 23:31:28 -0400 buffyfic@xmission.com wrote: > > A most excelent story! As a guy you'll be surprised at me saying this > but this story brought a tear to my eye, a lump in my throat, and a > acke in my heart! I fealt as if I was Xander or Buffy and my best freind > had gone away due to a tragic sercumstance! Keep up the good work! > I think You could have a future in writing. Weather it be story's movies > or whatever. Hope we'll see more from you in the Future! > -- Hi! Well, thank you very much! I'm glad that Gone... was enjoyable, or powerful enough to move you! Actually, I'm surprised by how MANY people said I had them with tears in their eyes as they read it! And quite a few of those folks were males! In a way, it's very flattering, since it means that story evoked a tremendous amount of emotion, and had a grace to it to make that emotion sincere. I am planning on writing more, and actually, I have a novel that I'm slowly working on. Who knows, you may find yourself buying a book by me from a real bookstore! Cheers! Anya ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anya Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone OOPSY! Date: 21 Jul 1997 23:33:08 -0400 I'm so sorry! Me and my send button bonded too soon! I was intending to send that privately! It will NEVER happen again! Honestly! I swear it! --Anya ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: koch@northnet.org Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: "Gone".... Date: 21 Jul 1997 23:41:21 -0400 Hachy-machy! Girl, you are the queen of sorrow. I think I'm gonna cry... *sniffle*. That was, quite possibly, THE saddest story I've ever read. I bow before the mistress of all angst. As for your challenge, I for one, will not be taking it on. First of all, I really don't think I could write I sequal capable of doing your wonderful piece justice. Second, it's just not really my thing. I specialize more in the area of high fantasy/action, with the angst entwined. Basically, I'm saying I'm not good enough to take your challenge. I'm not really sure of anyone is. "Gone" is, and I say this honestly, quite possibly the *best* Buffy FanFic I've read so far. Bravo. Totally off this topic, I'm just wondering if anyone caught the teeny bit of foreshadowing I did in "Pyromancer: Endgame" which connects to one of the events in "The Weapon Part IV". Anybody? --Viashino, Crying his Eyes Out-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1b/11) Date: 23 Jul 1997 7:34:21 -0400 Introductions, etc. in (surprise, surprise) the Introduction. I only repeat that these characters are not mine, and no infringement of any sort is intended. Please send any comments to Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. ******************************************************************* Synchronicity (Part 1b) by Katherine Gilbert About 15 minutes earlier, Sydney, Duncan, and Samantha had been wandering the dark streets of Sunnydale looking for Oliver for about 45 minutes. So far, they'd had no luck. As they got closer to the town's mortuary, however, they saw car headlights approaching. "Hey, what d'ya know?" Duncan commented. "There is life in this `burg." The vehicle stopped about 20 feet away. "That is one God-ugly car," Sam noted before stopping to stare at the person who got out of it. Sydney let out a sigh of relief. "Oliver!" she called, as she ran over to him. The man didn't seem to notice her, until she was very close. He looked at her, a bit startled, and fingered the cross in his pocket. "Pardon?" he said. Duncan and Sam joined them. Sam examined the car more closely. "I thought you weren't going to steal a car here. Why would you pick such an obvious one?" "Hey, Oliver, that is a seriously ivory-tower outfit," Duncan noted, looking at the man's wire-rimmed glasses, tweed pants and jacket, check shirt, sweater vest, and mismatched tie. Syd smiled. "He's dressed like this before," she noted, remembering his previous travelling disguises. She reached up to stroke the maroon paisley scarf he had tucked in his jacket. "I haven't seen this before, though." The faux Oliver, who was more used to being addressed as Rupert Giles, stepped back from her touch. "Do I know you?" he asked. He was trying to remember if this was some weird American holiday --Halloween or April Fool's Day--one of those days when Americans seemed to act even more strangely than they were usually wont to. He didn't think it was. Sydney looked back at Duncan and Sam quickly. She was getting worried but was trying to hide it. "Cut it out, Oliver," she smiled. "Don't play games." Giles eyed them all slowly. They didn't *look* dangerous, but looks were deceiving where evil was concerned. Maybe, too, they were the messengers Buffy was after tonight; there were only supposed to be two, but one could never be sure about these things. He pulled the cross out of his pocket and held it out at them. The three Americans just stared at him. Sydney was getting frightened. "Oliver, what's wrong with you?" Duncan raised an eyebrow at him. "I think you've seen one too many Hammer horror films, Dr. Van Helsing," he muttered. "Um, sorry," Giles said sheepishly. He was about to put the cross away, when he heard growling from behind him. He turned with the cross, as a vampire came toward him. The vampire reeled back at the sight of the symbol. "Run!" Giles yelled. The three Americans had been staring at the strange attacker, but Sydney decided that flight probably was the best plan and took off with Giles. Duncan backed away. Sam, however, pulled out a gun. "No!" Giles called, stopping a bit behind her. "It won't work!" Sam stared at him. Giles could see that flight wasn't part of her makeup. "Here," he said, tossing a stake to her, "aim for the heart." Sam was convinced that Oliver had lost his mind, but she took the stake. The attacker lunged toward her, past Duncan. The vampire had decided that Duncan would make too easy a meal. Sam looked like much more fun; he liked a challenge. "Grab his arms!" Sam yelled to Duncan, who was now behind the vampire. Duncan, a bit tentatively, did so, as Sam ran toward the attacker to build up momentum with her stake. With a dim sort of pleasure, she managed to stake the attacker in the heart. Duncan screamed, "Sam--no!" horrified to be part of a murder. As soon as he got out the words, though, the attacker disappeared in a shower of green, most of which got on him and Sam. Duncan blinked. "Okay," Sam said, turning to the man she thought to be Oliver, "what the hell is going on here?" Giles swallowed and started to approach her, while Sydney stood near him, stunned. "It's a rather complex story," he began but was distracted quickly by the sounds of gunfire and yelling. Heart-rending terror took hold of him. "Buffy," he whispered before running in the direction of the noise. His new companions followed. By the time Giles and the Americans reached Oliver, Buffy, and the others, the action was over. Oliver was staring dumbfoundedly at Buffy, when he saw Sydney running up to him. He looked relieved. "At least the entire world isn't insane," he thought. Sydney looked back at the man in tweed, then at her old protector. "Oliver!" she called, running up to embrace him. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. "Sydney," he said, kissing the top of her head before releasing her. Buffy raised an eyebrow. This was very un-Giles, at least as far as she knew. Giles, then, ran up to her. "Buffy, are you alright? We heard-- gunshots?" Buffy shook her head, staring at him. "That was him," she said, pointing at Oliver. "Giles, what's going on here? Who are they?" Giles turned to take in Oliver for the first time, as Oliver released Sydney. Their eyes met, and they both raised an eyebrow at the other. Then Giles answered Buffy's question: "I haven't the faintest idea." [End of Part 1] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a1/11) Date: 23 Jul 1997 10:35:47 -0400 Arrgh! Sorry, this is the 3rd time I've tried to post this. Hopefully the parts will prove digestible this time. Sorry for the confusion. Introductions, etc. in (surprise, surprise) the Introduction. I only repeat that these characters are not mine, and no infringement of any sort is intended. Please send any comments to Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. ******************************************************************* Synchronicity (Part 1a1) by Katherine Gilbert It had been almost two years since they had started running from the Committee. In that time, they'd pulled off a few minor coups, exorcised a few inner demons, and learned to work together better as a team. There had been some close calls and some truly terrifying moments. Even with their victories, though, the Committee still survived; the labyrinth had only gotten deeper. And they were still on the run. Memories, emotions were assaulting Sydney Bloom, as she paced in her cheap motel room. Oliver had left her to wait for her sister and Duncan, who were scheduled to have arrived hours ago, while he scoped out the town in search of a lead they had picked up on--their reason for being here. Hours had passed; night had fallen, and, still, Sam and Duncan hadn't arrived, and Oliver hadn't returned. Sydney stalked over to the bed, plopped down on it, and hit a nearby pillow. "God!" she muttered to herself. "I *hate* waiting!" Sydney was beginning to stew badly when she finally heard a soft tap on the door. Too much experience had taught her not to just fling it open. She checked the peephole, then, thankfully, let in Duncan and Sam. "Syd, God, I was beginning to think we'd never see you again," Duncan said, hugging her, as he entered. Even though they'd been splitting up to travel in couples for a few years now, occasionally switching pairings to keep anyone following them on their toes, Duncan's heartfelt relief at seeing Syd safe at each new place never dimmed. The thought which still gave him the most nightmares--even more than having the Committee catch up with them--was the idea that he might arrive at a meeting place one day, and she'd never show up. As deeply in love as he was with Samantha, it was the thought of having Sydney harmed which terrified him the most. Sydney's exasperation died down slightly upon seeing them, but she was still agitated. She returned Duncan's embrace and then hugged her sister. "What took you two so long?" "Do you have any idea what the bus service to this town is like?" Sam answered. "It's like going into a blackhole or something." She looked around. "Where's Oliver?" Sydney shook her head. "I don't know! He left hours ago, but I haven't heard anything since." "Hey, no wonder you're so tense," Duncan said, coming up to put a hand on her arm. "It's not just that," Sydney returned, putting her hand on his upper arm but then pulling away. "I can't believe how close to L.A. we are. I mean, this has *got* to be one of the *stupidest* moves we've made in the past few years." She sat on the bed and slouched over, with her elbows on her knees, looking down at the floor. "I'm just glad Mom and Dad--and Bill--didn't come as well." Duncan sat down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay, Syd. . . I mean, it's not like Sunnydale's that dangerous a place." Sydney looked up at him. "And we should be enough out of the city to be safe," he smiled. "I guess," she returned. "I just wish Oliver would come back." Sam seemed to be assessing the situation. "How long ago did he leave?" she asked. "About five hours," Sydney responded. Sam and Duncan exchanged a brief look. "Have you two stolen a car here?" Sam continued. "No, Oliver thought it might be too obvious, in a town this size," Sydney told them. "So, he's on foot?" Duncan asked. "I guess," Sydney replied. "Well, let's go look for him, then," Duncan suggested. "It didn't look like there was too much town to cover." "What if he comes back here?" Sydney asked. "I'll leave a brief note," Sam responded. "He can wait, if he gets back first." Sydney wasn't entirely sure this was a good idea, but waiting any longer, she decided, would probably drive her insane. She agreed. [End of Part 1a1; move on to part 1a2; sorry for the confusion!] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a2/11) Date: 23 Jul 1997 10:38:22 -0400 Introductions, etc. in (surprise, surprise) the Introduction. I only repeat that these characters are not mine, and no infringement of any sort is intended. Please send any comments to Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. ******************************************************************* Synchronicity (Part 1a2) by Katherine Gilbert "Buffy?" Willow asked nervously. "Didn't Giles say he'd be here?" She was sticking close to Xander; graveyards at night had become one of her least favorite hangouts. "He's supposed to be," Buffy shrugged, wandering past a stone angel. "Maybe that side-show clown car he calls transportation let him down," Xander suggested. He was trying to look extra brave in hope of impressing Buffy; he wasn't succeeding. Buffy sighed quietly and fingered the stake in the pocket of her jacket--the jacket Angel had given her. As much as she loved her friends, she hated having them here with her now. They were an extra target for the vampires and a couple of extra backs to watch. Giles, however, had made clear to them all how important it was to stop the two vampiric messengers who were supposed to be bringing news to the Master tonight, and Willow and Xander, therefore, couldn't bear to just let Buffy handle it alone. "Sweet, but not entirely helpful," she thought. "I'm sure he'll be along . . .," Buffy began verbally. "God, there he is!" she continued, relieved, running toward someone who looked like Giles. "Um, I think," she added, as they got closer. The man they approached had Giles' face, but the similarity seemed to end there. His hair was slicked back; he had no glasses; he wore jeans and a black leather jacket, and a gold hoop earring was visible in one of his earlobes. The man in question, known to those he trusted as Oliver Sampson, turned to see three teenagers running toward him, one of them holding--was that a stake? He was tempted to pull out his gun, but their approach seemed friendly, if confused--not threatening, so he put on his best Committee look instead. "Hey, Giles . . . um, is that you?" Willow asked, when they reached him. "It's a stylin' outfit, Giles," Buffy said, taking hold of his arm and turning him around to examine him. "But it's a little bit outside of your usual British curator couture, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Like--the--earring," Xander said, in his best "so when did you arrive from outer space?" tone. Oliver pulled back his arm from Buffy, stepped far enough away from her to be able to stop her if she aimed the stake she was holding at h