From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #3 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: buffyfic Digest Wednesday, July 23 1997 Volume 01 : Number 003 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Gone...2/3 BUFFYFIC: Gone... 3a/3 BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity"--Introduction [none] Re: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 BUFFYFIC: Gone... -A Challenge! BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone OOPSY! Re: BUFFYFIC: "Gone".... BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1b/11) BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a1/11) See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the buffyfic or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 10:29:42 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone...2/3 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. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 10:29:50 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone... 3a/3 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." ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 10:29:55 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 12:50:11 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity"--Introduction "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! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 13:09:18 -0600 From: owner-buffyfic@xmission.com Subject: [none] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 16:30:16 -0400 From: Virginia Eveland Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3b/3 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 - -- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 22:09:44 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone... -A Challenge! 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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 22:27:25 -0700 From: Matthew Hammond Subject: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone 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! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 23:31:28 -0400 From: Anya Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone 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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 23:33:08 -0400 From: Anya Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Re: Gone OOPSY! 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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 21 Jul 1997 23:41:21 -0400 From: koch@northnet.org Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: "Gone".... 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-- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 7:34:21 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1b/11) 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] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:35:47 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a1/11) 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!] ------------------------------ End of buffyfic Digest V1 #3 **************************** To subscribe to buffyfic Digest, send the command: subscribe buffyfic-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@xmission.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-buffyfic": subscribe buffyfic-digest local-buffyfic@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "buffyfic-digest" in the commands above with "buffyfic". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/buffyfic/archive. These are organized by date.