From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #4 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: buffyfic Digest Friday, July 25 1997 Volume 01 : Number 004 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a2/11) BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (2a/11) BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (2b/11) BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (3a/11) BUFFYFIC: The Weapon: Part V/? BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (3b/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: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:38:22 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (1a2/11) 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 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 him, and said, "Who are you, and what do you want?" The three friends exchanged a glance. "Okay," Buffy said, "the outfit is weird enough. . . well, in that it's actually kind of cool and, therefore, totally out of character for you. . ., but the amnesia routine is bordering on the scary. We've got vampires to slay, remember?" Oliver looked at her closely and, then, with one eye still on the stake in her hand, said, "Is there a mental health facility I can help you find your way back to?" Xander and Willow laughed briefly, before they realized he wasn't joking. Willow got a cold, sinking feeling in her stomach. "Giles," she said, as she approached him slowly, "are you feeling okay?" Oliver watched her approach cautiously. She seemed harmless; they all did. They could be a Committee trick of some sort, though, he realized. Since the Committee ran in families, it was possible, but even they didn't usually start off operatives in missions *this* young. It was, then, he hoped, some sort of weird practical joke. Still, he was glad to have his gun with him. Willow was about to put her hand on the pseudo-Giles' arm, but she pulled back at the last moment, seeing the look in his eyes. She had seen Giles worried, annoyed, and even angry, but the look this man gave her, with eyes which looked so much like Giles', was - --dangerous, and it scared her. She backed away from him. If this was Giles, she prayed it was a side she'd never see again. Buffy saw Willow's reaction and grew worried. Even at his most petulant, Giles was incapable of *scaring* Willow. "Giles," she said slowly, getting the man's attention, "what's--going--on?" Oliver looked deeply at her. "I believe you've made a mistake," he said. "Either that or your joke really isn't very funny." With a quick movement, he grabbed the stake from the offguard Buffy's hand. "Either way, it's late; threatening strangers with stakes in a cemetary is a felony, and I think it's time you children put away your stories of vampires and returned to your homes." "Hey, look Giles," Xander returned, "I don't know what sort of weird training technique you think this is for Buffy, but . . ." "Buffy?" Willow tried to interrupt, looking to the group's far right. ". . . it's not particularly effective . . .," Xander continued. "Uh, Buffy?" Willow tried to drown out Xander again. ". . . so why don't you just go home . . .," Xander was still saying. "Buffy!" Willow said, more loudly. Xander finally broke off and looked at her. "Willow, I'm in mid-tirade, here." "Uh, sorry," Willow said, "but aren't those the messengers we were here to stop?" "Oh great," Buffy huffed, as she looked at the two men making their way through the cemetary. "I've got an angry Xander," she thought, "a frightened Willow, a seriously wigged?--possessed?--something Giles, and now vampires." "Okay," she said aloud, "hide, and I'll take care of them." "What is she doing?" Oliver asked, as Buffy pulled another stake out of her pocket and stalked in the men's direction. Willow and Xander exchanged looks and then tried to pull Oliver back into the shadows with them. They were surprised when he didn't move. "Hey!" Buffy called to the nearby strangers. "Warm victim! Easy pickings!" One of the vampires turned to her, demonic face showing, snarled, and continued on. His message was too important to waste time with a snack. "My God," Oliver breathed, seeing the vampire's face for the first time. "What is that thing?" Willow and Xander stared at each other and then back at Oliver. "A vampire--you know, evil, undead bloodsucker that it's Buffy's duty to slay?" Xander answered him. "This isn't exactly a first time for you." Oliver simply stared at him. Buffy, meanwhile, muttered, "Great," and then took off after the creatures. She knocked one down, but the other seemed ready to pounce. "Christ!" Oliver muttered softly before breaking away from the strange teenagers near him to help their friend. Admittedly, she had started it, but she was still in danger. He pulled his gun out, pointed at the man who was about to spring on her (the stake in his other hand forgotten), and said, "Hold it!" The vampire who had almost attacked Buffy looked at him, shook his head, and sprang toward him. Oliver fired--and fired--and fired. The man still ran toward him, not even seeming to slow down. He only seemed annoyed. Buffy, after a short struggle, staked the vampire she was fighting, looked back at Oliver, and screamed, "Use the stake!" Oliver, almost in shock, dropped his gun, readied his stake, and then managed to plunge it in his attacker's neck. To his amazement, the man kept coming. Oliver managed to use the man's momentum to flip him over him, as he rolled backward. The attacker, stake still in his neck, landed on his back. Buffy, after watching this leather-jacketed Giles with confusion, shook her head, ran past him and managed to put a stake in the vampire's heart, while he lay on his back. The vampire disappeared in a shower of green. She looked back at her supposed Watcher. "The *heart*, Giles! Remember it? It's that organ that pumps blood in humans and is the killing point in vampires?" She shook her head. "What universe did you wake up in today?" Oliver, who had staggered slowly to his feet and retrieved his gun, stared at her, slightly openmouthed. He hadn't the slightest idea. [End of Part 1a2; move on to 1b] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:57:45 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (2a/11) Sorry, guys, this is not my day for making smooth posts. Didn't mean to orphan the middle part of Part 1 from the 1st digest. Sigh. Anyway, hopefully the system will like this better. Hope I haven't discouraged you all from reading! For warnings, etc. see introduction. :) Again, no infringement of any sort is intended. Please send all comments and requests for missing parts (hmm, that sounded a bit more morbid than I meant it to) to: Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. ****************************************************************** Synchronicity--Part 2a By Katherine Gilbert A while later, Giles had gotten the VR travellers to come with him and had ferried them and the high schoolers back to his rented house by squeezing them all, disconsolately, into his car. He was now in his kitchen making tea for them, when Buffy came in. "Giles, why did you bring them here?" she whispered to him, as he waited for the kettle to boil. "Because they saw the vampires, and they saw you," he returned quietly, not looking at her. "So?" Buffy contended. "There were dozens of witnesses when I got rid of the vampires during The Harvest. They wrote it off. Why wouldn't they," she said, pointing to the door to his living room, "do the same?" Giles sighed and looked at her. "They have questions, Buffy, and, if you've noticed, they don't seem like the sort of people you can just ignore." Buffy rolled her eyes. "So, we just tell them everything?" "N-no," Giles said haltingly, "we tell them as little as we can get away with." Buffy didn't look happy. In Giles' living room, an odd group sat together. Willow was sitting even closer to Xander than normal and wishing every second that Giles would return. Oliver stared concentratedly at the two teenagers, which made Willow's nerves even worse and did nothing for Xander's either. Sam, who still had a thin green film on her from her kill, was assessing them as well; Xander was caught inbetween a hormonal charge and absolute terror when he looked at her. Sam's emotional state made Buffy seem like a fluffy bunny. Duncan looked over at Willow. "The poor kid's terrified," he thought. He reached for a bowl of candies in a glass dish, which sat on the coffee table, and held it out to her. "Candy?" he offered gently. "I don't think so," Willow said softly, eyes wide. "Go on," Duncan shrugged. "I doubt . . . what's his name? Giles?" Willow and Xander nodded. ". . . would mind. Besides, candy won't usually bite back," Duncan continued. "Although there was this case I heard about once where . . ." Oliver rolled his eyes and looked at him. "Duncan," he said simply. Duncan stopped. "Uh, right--story for another day, then." He smiled at Willow, who tentatively took a candy from the dish and smiled quietly back. To Willow's great relief, Giles then came back in. "I've made some tea," he said, setting his tray down on the table. Buffy wandered in after him. "China?" Oliver inquired. Giles gave him his best "how did I land among these barbarians?" look. "Indian," he replied simply. "Of course," Oliver smiled. Giles shook his head. The man was testing him--clever. A few minutes later, when everyone had tea, although only Willow, Giles, and Oliver were actually drinking it, the silence was a bit stifling. "Okay," Buffy broke in, "enough with the awkward silence already. Who are you people; where did you come from, and how come you look so much like Giles?" she addressed Oliver. "I think a better question would be," Oliver answered, putting down his mug, "who were those people who you attacked in the graveyard, and why did they disappear?" Giles sighed and looked away. "They were vampires." "Right," Sam said disgustedly, "and I'm Queen Elizabeth." Giles looked at her deeply. "I don't think so." Willow found her voice and looked at Giles and Oliver. "Are you two related or something?" The two men looked at each other. "No," they both said. "Well, then, isn't your resemblance kind of eerie?" she continued. Giles sighed. The worst part of his new job was having to have explanations when he knew of none, but, seeing Willow's eyes, he knew he couldn't just not answer. "That's the trouble with children," he thought. "You always need to be able to reassure them, even when you're confused or frightened yourself." Verbally, Giles said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his nose, "Well, there is a theory that every person on earth has a double-- a doppelganger." He put his glasses back on. "Although those doubles rarely meet." "Wait," Xander threw in, "isn't it supposed to be, like, deadly, if they do?" Giles nodded and looked at the floor. "That is one theory," he agreed, cocking his head. Willow grew pale. "So, that means you're going to die now?" she asked in a small voice, looking at Giles. Giles was about to speak, but Duncan leaned forward and touched her arm. "Hey, that's not the way it has to be. Y'know, I met this guy once who looked a lot like me, and . . ." Oliver sighed softly. "Duncan," he said before looking at Willow. "If you let him get started on one of his stories, you'll never get him quiet again." He looked back at Giles. "The most reasonable explanation is coincidence; it happens. Now, would you like to explain why you let these children wander through a graveyard at night, where various criminals could attack them?" "I really didn't think *all* of them would be there," Giles turned to the students. "Hey, just looking after Buffy . . . you know, protection," Xander tried. "Buffy is more than capable of handling a few vampires on her own," Giles responded. "Well, you were suppposed to be there with her," Xander contended. Giles looked away. "Principal Snyder caught up with me and gave me a very long lecture about the impropriety of being seen to be *too* close to the students. I told him that I hardly thought that was a problem for me, as most students tend to see the school library as a morgue with reading material--a double threat, if you will, but he made it rather clear that he meant my relationship w-with the three of you." He stammered, turning an interesting shade of pink. "He seems to think I'm a bit of a . . . a pedophile." He looked back up at them, slightly embarrassed. "Oh, well, maybe you could tell him that we're really into pedophilia too," Willow suggested, before everyone stared at her. "Or maybe that's not really the best way to approach it," she murmured sheepishly. "Did you try telling him that we're just really big on library science?" Xander threw in. "I tried that," Giles responded, nodding, still a bit embarrassed, "but he didn't seem very open to it. I think it's just something we'll have to worry about in the future." "Hold on," Oliver interrupted their conversation. "Where did you say you worked?" Giles looked at him curiously, trying to stop blushing at the previous conversation. "At the library at Sunnydale High School. Why?" The Bloom sisters, Oliver, and Duncan exchanged looks. "And your name isn't James Crater?" Sam asked him. "No," Giles shook his head. "Although . . . I think that may have been the name of the man I replaced." "How long have you worked there?" Oliver pressed. "Well, several months now. You know," Giles pondered, "it does seem like I heard some stories about Crater going missing." Oliver put his head in his hands, while Sam looked at the floor, and Duncan and Sydney exchanged glances. "What is it?" Buffy asked. Oliver raised his head from his hands but continued looking at the floor. "Just our reason for coming here," he muttered. He looked back up at the members of his group, then stood and said, "How about if we finish this conversation tomorrow? We'll come back at 4 p.m." He and the others prepared to leave. Rupert stood. "Alright, I suppose, but what do you want with us?" Oliver looked at him, before they left. "Hopefully, very little." "Can I give you a lift home--or to where you're staying?" Giles asked, before he realized what he was doing. A lifetime's training in manners often tripped him up. "No, thank you. We'll be in touch with you," Oliver returned, as they left. When the four strangers had gone, the Sunnydale residents just stared after them. "So," Xander said. "The aliens have landed, then." "Apparently," Giles blinked. "Giles," Buffy was confused. "Why are we helping them? They are totally wiggy. I mean, they act like they fell out of a spy movie or something." Giles shook his head. "There's something deeper here, Buffy. I just don't know what yet." [End of Part 2a; move on to part 2b :)] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 10:59:56 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (2b/11) Okay, here's 2b. For warnings, etc. see introduction. :) Again, no infringement of any sort is intended. Please send all comments and requests to: Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. ****************************************************************** Synchronicity--Part 2b By Katherine Gilbert Oliver and his companions quietly walked back to their motel. Sam broke their silence. "Do you really trust those freak show rejects?" Oliver shook his head. "Not particularly, but they don't seem like Committee. If Giles is the new librarian at that school, he might be able to help us." "Uh, guys," Duncan broke in, "I have the $50,000 question: what were those things we fought tonight? And why were a bunch of teenagers and a high school librarian out there looking for them?" "That's two questions, Dunc," Syd smiled at him. "Okay, so it's the $100,000 question," he grinned back. "Maybe it's some new chemical the Committee's invented," Sam suggested. "It would make getting rid of inconvenient bodies easier." "I've never seen anything like it, though," Oliver replied. "It would have to be *very* advanced technology." "So, I'm guessing there's only one way for us to figure out if we can trust them or not," Syd observed. "I'm afraid so," Oliver agreed. "We'll get the computers hooked up as soon as we get back." By the next morning, Oliver, Duncan, and the Blooms had decided to work through a conference call to their four new acquaintances. They had decided that Syd would take them in, trying to catch them all before they left for school. She ran into a bit a trouble, however, when she couldn't get Giles to answer at home. Another try, though, found him at the school library. "6:30 a.m.?" Syd thought. "This guy really loves his job." Duncan, Sam, and Oliver waited. -->ENTER Willow, Xander, Giles, and Buffy found themselves in the Sunnydale graveyard at night, although, typical for VR.5, none of the colors quite made sense. The sky was a strange lavender shade and the moon was blood red. Buffy suddenly looked frightened. "Where are my stakes?" she asked. "Um, here," Giles offered her one. "One?" Buffy asked, looking at it. "But the vampires always keep coming. One stake never seems to be enough." She looked back at Giles. "Doesn't evil ever take a holiday?" "Not really." Sydney, wearing a white, flowing dress, walked around the side of a stone obelisk. "Who are you?" Buffy asked her. "I could be a friend," Sydney replied, "but first I need to see what you know." "Could you save the quiz until after I've killed the vampires?" Buffy responded. Sydney walked up to her and looked in her eyes. "You really believe they're real, don't you?" Buffy smiled back. "Don't you?" She then leaned around Sydney and staked a vampire who was about to attack her, who then disappeared. "Kind of hard not to believe when I spend almost every night killing them." She looked back at Sydney. Sydney turned back around to see the graveyard filling with the same creatures she'd seen the night before, all coming toward them. "Oh no," Willow breathed. Then, joining the vampires were dozens of men in suits--Committee men. "Don't they scare you?" Sydney asked. "What--guys in suits?" Xander responded. "Maybe you work for them," Sydney continued, as all of the attackers began to close in. "Uh, no, we just have bigger things to worry about," Xander replied. "If it were only daylight," Giles murmured. Sydney turned to them. "If you want it to be, it is." They stared at her. Giles and Willow exchanged looks and closed their eyes to concentrate. Buffy and Xander soon did the same. The sun rose. When the Sunnydale residents opened their eyes, they saw vampires exploding in bursts of green all over the cemetary. Giles smiled. "Nice trick," he said, pleased with himself. The men in suits, however, were still approaching. "They don't look real friendly," Xander noted. "They're not," Sydney agreed. She looked over the group; they looked legitimately confused. "Okay, we need to get away from them," she noted. "The mausoleum!" Buffy suggested, as they all ran toward it. "Oh, not again," Willow whimpered before following. Once inside the mausoleum, Sydney pointed to a giant Committee symbol on the wall. "It's not a real escape, of course," she said. The other four stared at it. "What is it?" Willow asked. "It appears to be a symbol of some kind," Giles observed. "Very good, Giles," Buffy answered. "Now can you tell us of what?" Giles shook his head. "A secret society of some sort?" he theorized, shrugging. "Well, that wasn't exactly specific," Xander said. "I've never seen it before," Giles continued. "If I could get to my books, I could look it up. It might be some vampire group that's coming." "You people really have vampires on the brain," Sydney observed. She looked at them closely. "You've never heard of the Committee?" They all looked confused and shook their heads. "Are they some sort of cult?" Rupert asked. "Not exactly," Sydney smiled. "Demon worshippers?" Buffy tried. Sydney looked at her, confused. "Not as far as I know," she replied. She looked at them all. "So, your greatest fear is vampires?" "Maybe not the greatest," Willow replied, "but they're right up there." "So, why do you fight them?" Sydney asked. Giles stepped toward her. "That's rather a long story," he began. Sydney smiled back at him. "Save it for this afternoon," she said, touching the Committee symbol and sending them all back. Sydney, back in her motel room, took off her VR glasses slowly. "What did you find out?" Oliver asked her. Sydney took off her VR gloves and looked at him. "I'm not sure you're going to believe me," she smiled. [End of Part 2] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 11:03:07 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (3a/11) Okay, hopefully Parts 3a and 3b will be the last for today. Here's praying that they actually make it to the list. See Introduction for warnings, etc. Again, no infringement of anyone's copyright is intended with the following. Please send any comments or requests to: Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. Synchronicity, Part 3a by Katherine Gilbert By 3:45 p.m., Giles had managed to pull himself away from his books long enough to wait at home for the odd group he'd met the night before. Buffy, still suspicious, waited with him, while Willow and Xander felt it to be their slayerette duty to join them. "So, Giles, have you learned anything about them?" Buffy asked, sitting on Giles' sofa, bouncing one of the hard candies from Giles' coffeetable dish on the hardwood floor like a ball to divert herself. Xander was counting the number of times she managed to bounce and catch it. Giles walked up to her and caught the candy in the air, giving Buffy a hard stare, before he walked toward a chair. "Nice catch," Buffy observed. She tucked her feet up to sit cross-legged on the sofa. "Thank you," Giles said drily, taking a chair. Xander sighed, looking at Buffy, wishing she were wearing one of the short dresses she was so fond of instead of the tight pants she'd chosen. Buffy caught the look, and Xander embarrassedly started to examine the candy dish. Willow and Buffy looked at each other and shook their heads. Xander grinned sheepishly and returned his attention to Giles. Giles saw Buffy's boots on his sofa but decided he would just have to clean up her wreckage when she had left; it was easier, and slightly less stressful, than trying to correct her. He sighed. "They don't *seem* to have any sort of demonic or vampiric connections, as far as I can tell. Also, they don't seem to have any fear of crosses." He looked at the candy he was now holding and tucked it in his jacket pocket with his usual mothballs. He tried to make a mental note to avoid mixing them up later. "How do you know?" Willow asked. "I, um, I held one on them last night at the cemetary," Giles said sheepishly. The three teenagers looked at each other. "Why?" Buffy asked. Giles looked away. "Mistaken identity." "So, do you think we should really trust them?" Willow asked him. "I mean, the long-haired guy--Duncan?" The others nodded slightly. ". . . he seemed pretty nice," she continued, "and, since this morning, I don't feel quite so scared of that long-haired woman-- um . . ." "Sydney," Buffy supplied. "Yeah," Willow went on, "but they're still pretty strange. I mean, why were they in the graveyard at night, anyway?" Giles nodded. "It probably was coincidence, or synchronicity, possibly." "Synchronicity? Wasn't that, like, a Sting album decades ago?" Xander asked. Giles looked at him. Dealing with people for whom 10 years was over half their lives was sometimes rather disconcerting. "Synchronicity is a Jungian theory . . .," Giles began. "Who?" Xander asked. "A famous psychologist," Willow supplied. "Oh, that Jung," Xander nodded. Giles gave him a look; he hated to be interrupted. He then looked at Willow and nodded. "He was also a psychical theorist, of a sort. Synchronicity was his term for events which seem to be unrelated but have a deeper spiritual connection." "Kind of like me ending up in Sunnydale now?" Buffy asked, slightly pleased with herself that she had been following the conversation. "Yes," Giles nodded. He thought for a second. "Half a minute-- why did you say that you trusted this woman Sydney more since this morning?" he asked Willow. "I dunno," Willow shrugged. "It's just . . . before I left for school, I got this feeling that she wouldn't hurt us." The other three looked at each other. "Did anything happen to trigger this feeling?" Giles asked. Willow pondered. "I'm not sure. . . I was up and getting dressed and . . . and the phone rang . . ." She shook her head. ". . . but it was only a wrong number." The other three looked slightly more suspicious. "Is that what the person on the other end said?" Giles stared at Willow concentratedly. "Uh, no," she supplied. "They just hung up." Buffy nodded. "You picked up the phone, and, two seconds later, the line went dead." "Uh, yeah," Willow agreed. Buffy looked at her. "I got one of those, too." "As did I," Giles included. "Me four," Xander agreed. "What time was it?" Giles asked. "6:30?" Willow said, pondering. "Earlier than human beings should have to be up," Buffy commented, nodding. Giles held his hand to his mouth, looking concerned. Buffy looked at him. "So, what's going on, Giles?" Giles looked like he was growing angry. "Subliminal suggestion?" he pondered. "Some sort of hypnosis?" "Wasn't it a bit quick for that?" Xander asked. "I'm not sure," Giles said, "but we're going to find out." [End of Part 3a; move on to 3b, should you feel so inclined :)] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 23 Jul 1997 23:34:20 -0400 From: koch@northnet.org Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Weapon: Part V/? Title: The Weapon Summary: So far: Xander vanishes, and an older version of him appears. The older version recounts the story of his ten years in Purgatory. Older Xander showers, and Buffy realizes he's a honey. SuperXander and Buffy return to the Library, Willow hacks the X-Files, Ms. Calendar hits on SuperXander, and Willow goes Rambo. Rating: G Disclaimer: Willow, Buffy, Xander, Giles, Angel, and Ms. Calendar belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox. This story, and all other aspects of it, is minemineminemineMINE! ***** Willow stood motionless on the steps, her hands clenched around the shotgun. "Well," she said, as she began to descend the steps, "what's everybody just standing around for? We've got a Xander to save?" "Yes, um," said Giles, flustered, "it's just that, ah, we're wondering what exactly--" "The *hell* it is you think you're doing?!?!" shouted Buffy, as she marched up to her friend. "I'm going with you." responded Willow, calmly. "The hell you are!" shouted Xander, as he approached Willow. "Xander, I have to go! I'm *going* to go." "No you're not!" replied Buffy. "Look Willow, I know you care about Xander, but you're not going. I'm not gonna let you put your life at risk like that!" "A can handle myself!" screamed Willow. With that, she quickly glanced around the room. She spied an apple sitting on the main desk. Willow quickly snatched it up. "Do I have to prove myself to you?" she asked, loud and defiant, "Is that it?" Then, the tossed the apple up into the air as high and as hard has the could. As it sailed up and accross the room she whipped out one of the Barrettas, and fired. Once, twice, three times the gun went off. When the apple hit the floor, Giles picked it up. Three bullet holes pierced its perfect red skin. "Where..." asked Giles, awed, "where did you learn to shoot like that?" "Grandpa Joe." muttered Xander. "Who?" "Grandpa Joe." replied Willow. "My Grandpa Joe used to be in the Army. He also used to like to go hunting, and go to the shooting range a lot. My parents always let him take me with him, even though I hated it. Anyway, he always used to show me how to use the guns, and he'd get me to practice using them. I didn't want to, but I figured he was my Grandpa, and he loved me, and I could do this little thing for him. After a few years, I got pretty good at it. He used to call me his, "Little Annie Oakley." I went to the shooting range with him at least once a week every from the time I was 10 to last year, when he died. In his will, he left me his guns. I never used them, just locked them up in the attic. They scared me. They still do. But I know how to use them, and I'm *going* to use them to help save Xander." "No you're not Willow." replied Buffy, firm. "BUFFY," she screamed, as she leveled the Barretta at Buffy, "I'M GOING, EVEN IF I HAVE TO PUT A BULLET IN YOU TO DO IT!!" Buffy stood back, shocked, incapable of speech. A single tear trickled down Willow's cheek, away from her cold, hard eyes. "I'm through hiding Buffy," said Willow, as she lowered the weapon, "when they took Jesse I did nothing. When they killed my friends, invaded our world... I did nothing! Now Xander's gone. I'm not gonna hide any more Buffy! This is where I fight." "But Will--" "I love him Buffy." said Willow softly, as she began to sob, "I'm not going to write another requiem. Not for him." Xander stepped up, and put his arms around the crying Willow. "Surprised?" she asked, sarcastically, as she looked up at him through tear soaked eyes, "Surprised to know I loved you, always have, and always will?" "No.." he said, as he looked down at her, "somehow... I knew. I've always known. I just never wanted to admit it to myself." "And now?" "Now... now I'm different. I'm not him anymore, not the boy you love. But I'm ready to kill myself for letting you get away. For not realizing, before I was taken..." "It was my fault. I should have told you." "But you didn't have to! I knew! I just didn't want to believe it. And now it's too late." "No," said Willow, as pushed a way from him, wiping away her tears, "it's not too late. We can save him... save you. But you have to understand. I *have* to go." The whole room was silent as Willow looked up at Xander. He stepped back, and turned away from her. "I understand." he said. "You gotta do what you gotta do." "Thank you." replied Willow, quietly. "Will," asked Buffy, "are you sure?" "I'd die for him," replied Willow, "I'd do anything if it would bring him back." Buffy nodded, and turned to Giles. "OK Giles," she said, "let's do it." "Yes," he replied, "just a moment." Giles rushed off to the armory, quickly returning with two swords and a large knife. He handed Buffy and Angel each a sword, and gave the knife to Willow. "Most of the demons you meet should be lesser demons," he said, "you can kill them any which way, like humans. But if you run into any higher demons, go for the heart or the head. That will usually kill them. If it doesn't... then go help you." "And here!" said Ms. Calendar, as she handed Xander a small glass sphere, "This is your ticket outta here. We used a linking spell we found in the texts to link it to this sphere," she held up an identical sphere, "so whatever happens to that sphere happens to this sphere. Smash that sphere when you're ready to go, and this one will shatter. That'll tell us when to bring you back." "Wait," said Buffy, "why can't we just use this spell to snag Xander back?" "Well first of all," replied Giles, "we can't bring him here while his older self is here. Their auras sort of "repel" each other, like magnets. It makes it impossible to pull him here, though it doesn't affect me sending Xander there for some reason. Also, all of you are right here, I can get a "lock" on your auras with the spell. I, and Ms. Calendar, are, unfortunately, not powerful enough to get a lock on him and bring him here." "Alright. Now how do we do this?" "All of you have to form a circle. Stand over there, and hold hands." The four complied, forming a circle, and linking their hands together. "Now, clear your minds. Focus on who or where you want to go. Remember, when you want to come back, just shatter the sphere, and reform the circle." The four stood, their hands interlocked tightly, their eyes closed. "I guess it's all up to me now." said Giles. Then he felt a hand clasp around his own. He looked back, and saw Samantha Calender looking up into his eyes. "It's up to *us*." she said. Rupert smiled, and began the spell. "By the power of the Circle of the Ferrotti," he said, his voice growing in volume, "by the might of Viashino, Ertibus, Anya, and the Twins, let this world link to the Abyss. Let the four be taken, let them go to the one they seek. I beseech thee, powers above and below, take them where they wish. I command thee portal, open!" The room began to rumble, the circle of four, to glow. "I command thee portal," repeated Giles, his voice rising, "*open!*" The rumbling grew louder. The glowing increased. "I COMMAND THEE," screamed Giles, "PORTAL OPEN!!" Suddenly, there was a crack like thunder, and a glowing circle appeared above the four. Angel, Buffy, Xander, and Willow were immediately consumed by the portal, and it collapsed with a blinding flash, and a blast of hot wind. "God help them," said Giles, as he looked at the smoking floor where the floor had just stood, "because where they're going, no one else can." "Amen." said Samantha, as she clasped both her hands around his. ***** Young Xander Harris awoke with a start, and collapsed into another fit of coughing. How long had he been here? Had it been days, weeks? He didn't know. He would have given anything just for a glance at his Tweety watch, just to see what day it was! But he couldn't. As he tried to wipe the cold sweat from his brow, he found his hand brought to a halt by heavy chain, the chain which was attached to the manacles on his wrists and feet, to the collar on his neck, and from there to the wall. Xander nearly screamed out loud at being unable to complete such a simple task. But he hadn't the strength. Desperation and defeat crept back into his heart, and he collapsed back onto the cold stone floor, shivering. Silently, he prayed for anyone, any*thing* to save him. Painfully, he fell into another violent sleep. ***** End Part V ***** That's part 5. Note that I managed to slip the names of a few of my net-pals (you know who you are!) into this chapter. Hope you like! Part VI is gonna be a hoot... - --Viashino-- "The dead make much better soldiers than the living. They don't ask questions, they don't require pay, and they don't stop fighting when some random body part falls off." - --Nevinyrral, Necromancer's Handbook ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 25 Jul 1997 7:42:32 -0400 From: GILBERTK@MTC.MID.TEC.SC.US Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Synchronicity" (3b/11) Sorry for all the confusion. As Jill will attest, I've been having contretemps with the server (whine). Here's the last part of Part 3; I sent it out Wednesday, originally, but . . . See Introduction for warnings, etc. Again, no infringement of anyone's copyright is intended with the following. Please send any comments or requests to: Gilbertk@mtc.mid.tec.sc.us. Synchronicity, Part 3b by Katherine Gilbert The Blooms, Oliver, and Duncan arrived at Giles' house promptly at 4 p.m. When they entered, Buffy was waiting for them. Oliver believed that there was little to fear from the librarian and the teenagers, especially since Sydney's trip into VR with them that morning. He was offguard, unwisely, and Buffy's attack caught him unaware; she took him by the shoulder, threw him up against a wall, and held a stake to his heart. Oliver might have been able to disarm her, when she first attacked, but he wasn't sure he could do it without hurting her, which he was unwilling to do; she was just too young. Buffy, who was used to winning most of her battles, saw nothing strange in being able to so easily best the older man. She looked at the other three. "If you want him to be able to walk out that door with you, you'll tell us what you did to us," she said sternly. Oliver had seen what Buffy could do; he took her threat seriously. His companions, as well, could see that the ex-Committee man believed in Buffy's power, and, therefore, they listened seriously to the girl's words. Sydney looked *very* frightened. "Oliver," she mouthed. Sam was about to reach for her gun, but Duncan stopped her and looked at her. The last thing he wanted to see was a bunch of dead teenagers. Oliver assessed Buffy. "You don't really want to do that, do you?" he asked. She pressed the stake harder against his chest. "Try me," she said. "You'd kill someone who had your friend's face?" he asked her. Giles laughed softly, trying to cover up his nervousness at the entire situation. "You underestimate how much Buffy dislikes the destiny I represent for her." Buffy was a little hurt, but she didn't let it show. Yes, she hated the destiny that had been forced on her, but she didn't blame Giles for it--not anymore. She reminded herself that he knew that, or she hoped he did. "He's just saying it to give us an edge on these guys," she reminded herself mentally. Oliver looked at Buffy more deeply. "You're very well trained," he noted, "but you don't take any real pleasure in this work, do you?" "I've enjoyed a few kills in my day," she returned, glaring at him. "Of vampires, correct?" he asked. "What about humans? What about someone whose body you have to dispose of after the kill--someone with a soul?" He raised an eyebrow at her. Buffy was trying not to relent. He had disarmed her when she was offguard before. "You haven't proved your soul to me yet." Willow and Duncan's eyes met. "That girl is about as likely to williingly take part in a murder as I am," he thought. "What do you want?" he asked them all aloud. "Answers," Buffy said, still glaring at Oliver. "Under duress?" he asked with a Committee look. "We'll take them however we can get them," she responded. Willow finally spoke up, rather nervously. "If you'll give us your guns, you can sit down." "We don't seem to have too much choice," Oliver noted. He looked the group over. "We'll give them to him," he said, tilting his head toward Giles. He looked like someone who was unlikely to use a gun, Oliver decided, and, as Giles was the adult of this group, it seemed unlikely that any of these high schoolers would take the guns from him without his permission. "Okay," Buffy nodded. "Where is it?" "It's tucked into the back of my belt," Oliver told her. Buffy swallowed. Feeling up a guy who looked so much like Giles was, well, *weird*. She retrieved the gun and gave it to Giles, who very much wanted to hold it like a dead rat but managed to restrain himself. "You might want to see if there are any more," Giles noted, slightly apologetically. Buffy wanted to roll her eyes but didn't. This guy, like Giles, wasn't unattractive, but he was--*old*, at least as old as Giles. Buffy wasn't much into older men, well, except for one 240-year-old or so she could name. She frisked Oliver but found nothing deadly. "And the others?" Giles asked. "I'm the only other person with a gun," Sam admitted unhappily, realizing that it was probably for their mutual benefit to go ahead and admit it. Duncan took it from her and gave the gun to Buffy. "I'll check her out, if you want," Xander offered. Everyone just stared at him; Sam gave him a look which practically set his hair on fire. "Or, I could just leave it to you," he conceded, gesturing to Buffy. Buffy frisked the other three, too, to be sure. "Why is this *my* life?" she thought, searching the two women. She got more pleasure out of searching Duncan, though, than she'd expected and quickly broke eye contact with him afterward. Giles let them go into his living room to sit down. He held onto the guns and kept a bit away from the newcomers. "Now," he asked, "would you care to tell us what you were doing to us this morning?" The newcomers exchanged looks. "You remember?" Sydney asked. "That you called all of us and hung up, yeah, but what were you doing?" Buffy pressed. The newcomers looked at each other again and seemed to realize that they had little choice. Oliver sighed and looked back at the Sunnydale residents. "How much do you know about computers?" he asked. Buffy, Giles, and Xander looked at Willow. "Uh--a bit," she nodded, looking back at Oliver and the others. "How about VR?" he continued. "Virtual reality?" Willow asked. The Committee escapees nodded. "Well, there's this really cool game at the mall where you attack dinosaurs, duck pterodactyls, that sort of thing," Xander supplied. His friends looked at him. "Okay, so I have no life." He looked back at Oliver. "What, do you guys design video games or something?" Oliver smiled. "No." "Most VR is pretty unrealistic, really," Willow put forth. "I mean, it's kind of two dimensional and boring." Xander stared at her. "Well, except for games about dinosaurs, that is," she said placatingly. "Not all VR is like that," Sydney looked at her. "You mean, like flight simulators?" Willow asked. Sydney smiled and leaned forward. "Some of it goes a lot further than that." Willow looked intrigued. Sydney looked at the other Sunnydale residents. "Our father," she pointed to Sam and herself, "created a system--VR.5--which allows you to go into people's minds--into the subconscious, to be able to find out what's hiding there." Giles looked horrified. "You mean you can run around in someone's mind without their consent? Shuffle their thoughts?" "You two are sisters?" Xander asked, still stuck on other things. Duncan looked at him. "They're twins, actually." Xander looked stunned. 16-year-old boy's fantasies of blonde twin sisters were playing in his head. "So, are you their brother?" he asked, hopefully. "No," Duncan shook his head. "I'm . . .," he looked at them. "I'm their childhood friend." He smiled. Xander frowned. Duncan, it seemed, had beaten him to his fantasies. "So, how are you related?" Buffy asked Oliver, remembering the kiss she'd seen him plant on Sydney's head the night before. "I'm their . . . Keeper," he said. "Been there, seen those," Buffy said, smiling at Giles. Giles sighed. "If we have their geneaology straight now, could we return to the issue at hand?" He gave the teenagers a hard stare before looking at Sydney again. Sydney sighed and looked down at the floor. "You could use it for bad means," she agreed, "but that's what we're trying to keep from happening." She looked back up at them and filled them in on the Committee and their flight from it. After listening to Sydney's explanation, Buffy asked, slightly horrified, "So, you've been on the run for 2 years?" The Committee refugees nodded. "Bummer," Willow sympathized. Giles, though, still wanted more details. "What exactly did you do with us this morning?" Sydney told them what they'd been through and why they didn't remember. "You remember impressions, if you aren't encoded, but you don't remember the details," she finished. Giles shook his head, gesturing frustratedly. "But it's an incredible invasion of privacy!" Oliver smiled slightly. He remembered having this reaction himself all too well. "I'm sorry we had to do it," Sydney tried to console Giles, "but we *had* to make sure you weren't working for the Committee." Giles looked at the floor. He wasn't happy with this explanation, but he felt he understood. "The next question," Oliver continued the conversation, "is, just who exactly are you, and why do you frequent graveyards?" Giles smiled, looked up at him, and then explained the nature of Sunnydale and his background with Buffy. When he finished, the entire VR group seemed nonplussed. "I gotta hand it to you," Duncan nodded. "Your lives make running from the Committee seem trite." "This town is really that bad?" Oliver asked. "Believe it," Buffy assured him. Giles thought for a minute. "I looked up some things, after you left last night. You thought James Crater might have some information which would help you?" "Yes," Oliver answered. Giles nodded. "Then, I think I have some leads we could follow up." "We have no desire to drag you into this," Oliver stated, looking at the teenagers. "Hey, we're always up for a new experience," Buffy threw in. Willow looked at her. "Why not?" she agreed. "Beats homework," Xander shrugged. "It would be best, then, if we divided up into groups," Giles asserted. "We'll cover more information that way." Duncan and Sydney smiled at each other. This sounded like a familiar plan. "Agreed," Oliver nodded. "There's just one more thing first." "Which is?" Giles blinked. "May we have our guns back now?" Oliver requested. Giles, happy to be rid of the weapons, agreed. 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