From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #23 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: buffyfic Digest Monday, September 1 1997 Volume 01 : Number 023 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 11b/11 BUFFYFIC: Parody Lyric: The Hubba Hubba Mantis Girl BUFFYFIC: Angelic Conversions *Slayer's Archive fanfic* BUFFYFIC: Gone 3 The God of Nine Walls Part 4/? by JJ BUFFYFIC: Secret World of Willow (03/?) by D.Spence BUFFYFIC: Summer Vacation -- Author's Notes (0/0) BUFFYFIC: Summer Vacation -- Prologue (1/1) 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: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 21:00:29 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 11b/11 Sealed with a Kiss - Part 11B/11 by Anya anya@interlinks.net "Oh, it's not much of a story, "Xander pontificated. He was keeping quite close to his pal, afraid that if he let her out of his sight, she'd vanish. "You played with the fire, we went and pounced on the bad lady, we won..you're out..we're back, we can all go party now!" Giles, Buffy and Angel all rolled their eyes, but it was Cai that spoke. "Riight. That shit stunk, boy. You were out cold, after all of ya tried to beat the living custard outta me...failing miserably, of course." Willow suppressed a knowing smile, and turned to Cai with her best poker face. "I don't believe we've been introduced..." Cai grinned evilly, "Nope. We ain't. I know who you are, though girl. There's just two things, ya should know. Your timing sucks, and you're a little slow on the uptake. I spent a great deal of time tryin' ta get yer attention with those nightmares, and you didn't bite that fishy. Ya gotta start paying attention." Her eyebrows nearly hit her widow's peak. "You sent those nightmares?" An unfamiliar edge of temper sounded in her voice. "Yeah..I did. Ya got a problem wit' dat?" "Yes, I do!" Willow responded hotly. Guardian or not, those nightmares had not been pleasant. He had no business tormenting anyone with such images. "Atta girl! Ya got brass...you MIGHT work out. Them," he indicated the others with a shrug. "Not likely, but there's hope fer you." *Oh, goody.* The thought was so sarcastic, it could have been Xander's, Willow realized. *I've been hanging around Xander way too long, now I'm starting to think like him...that's bad.* Buffy smoothly placed her body between Willow and Cai, after recovering from the sound of Willow in a temper, or approaching one. "Willow, Willow, chill. This is Cai, he's the Seal's Guardian." Willow blinked once, startled by both Cai's coarseness, and Buffy's sudden defense of him. "Oh. I guess this belongs to you, then." She reached out to Cai, the amulet resting in the palm of her hand. "Where did you get that?" Buffy and Angel gasped at the same time. Willow glanced quickly between them, "I don't know..I just had it?" It was offered up lamely, but they seemed to accept it. She dumped the amulet in Cai's hand. Cai frowned at the amulet, with a flick of his wrist, it was out of sight. "Guardian," He snorted, pining Buffy with a scowl. "Girl, you ARE blond! Don't ya listen? I'm RETIRED! I busted my ass for 700 years as Guardian, I'm finito! I've collected ma pension cheque, and I'm gonna buy myself a nice little shack and rot nicely. I'll give myself a few decades to check out the changes of the last seventy years, and then, I'm gonna croak. It'll be great!" "Oh dear," Giles muttered, anticipating the Slayer's temper. Strangely, it never struck. There simply wasn't time. Cai spun on heel faster than Buffy could respond and tossed his staff to Xander, who caught in defensively. "You'll need that, boy!" Cai chortled, and then scampered for the door. "See ya!" And was gone. "Not in this lifetime," Buffy muttered under her breath. Ms. Calendar, Angel and Giles seemed amused. She scowled at the door, before turning that scowl on the three of them. "What's so amusing?" Angel grinned, "Nothing. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm just relieved that this is all over." The vampire pulled away from the table he'd been leaning against. "And if everyone will excuse me, I'd better get going. There's maybe an hour or two before sunrise." Buffy whipped around to look at the clock. "Oh shit! Mom's going to have my head!" Xander groaned theatrically, "Your mom? My mom's going to replay the Spanish Inquisition with me." The teen sighed a deep anguished breath. "I hope you'll all attend my funeral..." Willow punched him in his arm. "You're Mom won't kill you. By now, she won't even recognize you, she hasn't seen you for so long." The trio wandered to the doors, following the vampire. Willow casually dropped her hands into the track pants pockets. She froze feeling her left hand close around something cold, metallic and round. Discretely, she pulled the amulet back out of her pocket. *How...?* "Willow?" Buffy startled Willow back to reality, the girl quickly stuffed the amulet back into the pocket, unseen by the others. "Yeah?" A small frown dotted on her face, she watched Xander spinning the wooden stave around narrowly hitting a cringing Angel. "How come you aren't worried about your folks?" Buffy asked. "I mean, you aren't even wearing the clothes you started out in." "Oh, I can't speak for everyone else, but my Mom trusts me implicitly." Willow said loftily. " Besides, I left my window open. I'm just going to climb into my room through my window." Xander smiled evilly. "Jump over your fence, Willow. It's faster that way." ************************The End ************************ So concludes this story...but, be warned..it ain't over yet! The Sequel will be forthcoming! Comments and thoughts are sought, please, spare a moment and let me know what you've thought of this work! Strengths, weaknesses and just plain praise are graciously accepted! Cheers! - --Anya ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 20:10:05 -0400 From: Jesse Jou Subject: BUFFYFIC: Parody Lyric: The Hubba Hubba Mantis Girl I just came up with this. Thought some of you might recognize and enjoy the story of the She-Mantis told in Big-Band style. Hubba-Hubba Mantis Girl (to the tune of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy) sung by Buffy, Willow, and Cordelia as the Andrews Sisters. She's got a crazy yen for Virgin No. 3 His name is Xander Harris and he's really keen But she's hungry now. Needs some human seed Doesn't matter how she gets it. Even killed Dr. G. Chorus: She's in the Hellmouth now On a killing spree. It's the Hubba Hubba Mantis Girl and Innocent 3 She dressed in basic black and said to Number 3. "You couldn't be a virgin, now couldja be?" He downed his martini Said he loved Buffy. Doesn't matter now; she's got him Wouldn't want to be he. Chorus Buffy broke the window just in time to see. How intimate the Mantis Girl and Xander would be. But she'd stop her now. 'Fore he was a daddy. Doesn't matter. Wow, she killed it With that sharp machete. Chorus and then final chord. (lyrics, copyright 1997, Jesse Jou) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 31 Aug 1997 00:12:09 -0400 From: Anya Subject: BUFFYFIC: Angelic Conversions *Slayer's Archive fanfic* Well, yet another propaganda piece couched in fanfic form! I've had so much email telling me how much people enjoyed the previous two..well..here's the third and most likely final bit! There's also a serious help message in it, but don't feel pressured! (As if,huh? :) ) Angelic Conversions by Anya anya@interlinks.net It was the strangest sight Buffy had ever seen, and the last thing on earth she would have ever guessed happening. But..there they were! Huddled close by each other, with a computer screen in front of them, and fingers flying across the keyboards. The blueish light off the monitors reflected on their faces, making pale skin look sickly, and their eyes were fixed on scrolling words. Neither noticed the Slayer enter the library, they were so consumed with whatever it was they were doing. For Willow, this was no great shock. But...ANGEL? A computer junky? Buffy shook her head, no..this was just some sort of sick obscene dream. "What ARE you two doing!" She asked with exasperation. Her hands on her hips, and back straight, she looked like a scolding mother. Willow flicked her an annoyed glance, and looked back at the screen. "Work." The hacker said around the pen hanging of her lips like a pseudo-cigarette. Buffy slid closer to them, "For me? " Angel grunted, but never looked up. "No. For the archive." "Come again? The FANFIC archive?" Buffy nearly vaulted over the table. "It's up, again? GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!" Neither budged, and Buffy resorted to pulling a stake out from under the hem of her extraordinarily short skirt. Eyes narrowed, she stalked towards Angel. "Angel, I love you dearly, but move or be dusted!" The vampire jumped, and turned to look at Buffy, palms outstretched and pleading. "Now, now..let's not be hasty!" "The site's not up YET!" Willow said, her voice disembodied from behind Angel. "Anya sent a plea out, asking for people with time, and a passing fair knowledge of HTML, to help her convert all the updates!" "HTM...whassits?" "Hyper Text Mark-up Language," Angel said loftily. He reclaimed his chair, and sat down again. "It's what makes documents readable on the web, with colour links, backgrounds etc." Buffy blinked twice. "And you know this stuff...how?" "Willow taught me." Buffy shot the redhead a lethal glare. "She taught you? When?" Willow sighed, and looked up. "When you were out Slaying, and we were here helping Giles, that's when. Now, Buffy...if you don't shut-up, we can't finish, and if we can't finish, that's 10 stories you won't be able to read!" Buffy's jaw snapped close. "Ten?" She asked in a small voice. "Ten." The room was silent for a few moments, with the exception of keyboard's clattering. Buffy sat quietly in a chair, watching them, her mind working at a furious pace. Finally, the silence was too much to bear, and she leaned forward. "How come you guys get to help her? Do you know Anya, Will?" There was a tiny whine in her voice. "'Cause we offered to help when she sent the post out; and yes, but no. I know Anya through email, and the lists, but..I don't KNOW her." Buffy blinked. "SHE asked for help?" Willow pressed the enter button and leaned back in the chair. "Yup. Apparently, she's got 80 or so updates to make." Seeing Buffy's jaw slacken, she hastened to add, "That's not eighty new stories, but multiple parts to maybe 20 or so stories!" Buffy mouthed a silent "Oh!" "So, she asked for people who can handle doing the conversions and we send them back as converted files. Angel and I both offered to help when we saw the post. She gave us five files apiece to convert." Buffy sat quietly again. Her index finger found a stray lock of hair and began toying with it. "So...did she say when the archive would be back up?" "Tuesday is her guess." Angel muttered, as he frowned at the screen. His eyes darted along the page, moving left to right rapidly, widening intensely as he progressed. Willow stood up, and stretched. "I'm done." She announced. "How 'bout you?" "Almost." he muttered and read on. Willow turned to the antsy Slayer, smiling to see the usually so active Buffy trying to sit so still. "She did say she's changed the look of the archive, and improved the graphics and stuff." Buffy looked up hopefully. "Really? Anything else?" Willow smiled. "There's going to be an added poetry page, and an added transcript page of episodes." Buffy smiled, "Keewl!! What about my..." Her voice trailed off, as she glanced at the scowling Angel. He seemed mighty disturbed by whatever he was reading. Willow followed her gaze, and made the leap on her own. "I don't know. She never said anything about IT" "Are you talking about THIS story?" Angel asked in a strangled voice, his eyes glued to the screen. "The one you wrote, Buffy...about....." Buffy shot Willow a panicked glance, and they both rushed over. Sure enough, there, on the screen, was Buffy's story of slobbering kisses, and affection. Angel twisted in his chair, and pinned the Slayer with a look, on he had cultivated carefully on Darla for a hundred years. Buffy, as Darla had, squirmed. In a soft, quiet voice, he carefully enunciated each word, while one hand pointed shakily at the screen. "What....Is ....That." Buffy swallowed hard, and looked to Willow. Her friend smirked, but shrugged helplessly. Taking a deep breath, Buffy chose to end this is as much dignity as she could. "Oh my! Look at the time! Gotta go, biology y'know..my favorite class! Bye!" And she ran for the door. The End :) What is in this story is true! I could DESPERATELY use some help to get these updates done! If anyone out there with both the time and knowledge to convert, say five stories, wants to help, email me at anya@interlinks.net I've got a generic guide for the format I use, so it'll all be uniform! This isn't forever! Just for this update! I'm looking at my mailbox, and realizing it's getting BIGGER and BIGGER! Thanks! - -Anya ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 01:31:44 -0400 From: Jesse Jou Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3 The God of Nine Walls Part 4/? by JJ Here's part 4. Next Beach Blanket Buffy to come soon. All comments and feedback greatly appreciated. Title: Gone 3: The God of Nine Walls Author: JJ email address: jjou@mail.med.cornell.edu Distribution: With permission of the author Spoiler Warning: No spoilers for any real episode Rating: PG-13 Warnings: There's some kissing and suggestion of violence, but nothing you wouldn't see on TV. Classification: UTB Summary: Inspired by Anya's original Gone... story, I wrote a sequel that followed Willow and Angel to Europe, where they met the infamous Brother Luca, who took Willow away to train with the Order of Our Lady of Demonic Assassinations, while Angel returned to Sunnydale. I had left enough loose threads in that story to warrant a third part and this is it. Both Gone... and Gone II can be found on the Slayer's Fanfic Archive. I would recommend reading the previous stories, but if you are not of a mind to do so, all you really need to know is that Willow was turned into a quasivampiric killer by the Anointed One and had to leave Sunnydale after her death was faked. Buffy and Xander grieved, finding out their friend was lost to them forever. Disclaimer: I don't own these characters except for the ones who haven't shown up on the show; Joss Whedon, the WB, and their associated production companies do. Our Lady of Demonic Assassinations is the invention of my evil twin sister, Lisa Rose. I'm also not making a red cent of any of this, so there's no point in suing me. Part 4 login: WXB1997 password: ********* domain: OLODA.net.htm /users WXB1997, Luca WXB1997: Hello, Lazlo. Luca: Just in time. How are you, little girl? Still determined to save the world? WXB1997: Trying. Luca: How is your boy? WXB1997: I think he's fine. It's strange to see him again. He kissed me. Luca o O (Did she get lucky?) WXB1997: ha ha. No, mom showed up. it was awkward. bad timing. Luca: I should think so. WXB1997: I don't think I can stand to be here much longer. too many memories. I miss Cortona. Luca: in cortona there is nothing but the threat of death. WXB1997: I grew up in Sunnydale. death is pretty much the status quo. I don't think I feel safe anywhere. Luca: Pity. BTW, Hecate came by. she's furious with you. WXB1997: Well, won't she have to get over it? ;-) Luca: I suppose. She may pop up over there, just so you know. WXB1997: I'll be on the lookout. I gotta get some sleep. Luca: Do an old man a favor and be careful, okay? WXB1997: If I don't succeed, it won't matter how careful I was. We'll all be in trouble. Luca: Sometimes a little shakeup isn't so bad. WXB1997: maybe. okay bye. love you. Luca: Love you too. WXB1997 exits. - ---- Lazlo Hunyadi sighed and closed his powerbook. It was late morning in Cortona and the sun filtered through the gauzy curtains. A pair of open french doors led out into a small garden with a fountain and many flowering bushes. Lazlo waved to his attendant who came over and grabbed the handles of his wheelchair. "It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day," he observed. "Of course," the attendant said cheerfully. "Are there any others in Cortona?" Lazlo grunted. "Well, best enjoy it while we can." - ---- The scent of cooking blueberries woke her up. For a second, she was disoriented. Where was she? She sat up and remembered she was in Xander's study, actually the second bedroom in his house, converted into an office. There was a futon he kept in there for guests and for times when he was too tired to stumble to his own bed. She got off the futon and threw on an oversized t-shirt and socks. The pendant she wore had gotten tangled and she untwisted it. She followed the aroma to the kitchen where Xander was standing in front of the stove, whistling contentedly. He looked deliciously rumpled, his hair standing up at an odd angle, his white t-shirt and baggy grey cotton shorts hanging off his body to advantage. "He cooks!" she laughed, attracting his attention, as she plopped down at one of the chairs at the breakfast table. "Sometimes he even takes out the garbage!" he responded. "Ooh, hands off, girls. He's mine," she said drolly. He laughed and brought over two plates, setting one in front of her. "Two orders of Alexander-Harris-patented blueberry chocolate chip pancakes. The secret is love," he joked. She stared at the plate uncertainly. "Um," she said slowly. "I do not eat...pancakes." His face went from quizzical misunderstanding to ashen realization. "Oh. Wow. Sorry. I feel like such a heel. Umm...I forgot about about your dietary...requirements." He looked at her helplessly. "It's okay. I'll eat later," she said, wondering if she had offended him. "They smell wonderful. I wish I could enjoy them." He sat down next to her and Willow got a good look at both of their reflections in the glass tabletop. It occurred to her that morning light made their ages more apparent, his warm face on the road to middle age, whereas she still looked like the sixteen year old girl whose life the Anointed One had destroyed. She saw him watching her in the glass and looked up and met his eyes. He set his fork down, resting an elbow on the table. "I didn't realize how old I look," he said, a mixture of surprise and disappointment in his voice. "I like the way you look," she said. "I feel like a dirty old man, kissing you last night," he fussed. "I look like your father." She giggled and got up, going over to him and sitting in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Should I call you Daddy Harris?" she cooed. "Don't joke about it," he responded. "What was I thinking? You're not even human..." She stopped his mouth with hers. After a moment's hesitation, he kissed her back intently, rubbing the back of her neck. "You know, I've waited 18 years for you to kiss me like that," she said. "I'm not going to let your flaking out keep me from enjoying it." "I guess, technically, you're the same age as me," he rationalized, not stopping the gentle motion of his hand. She nodded. "Besides, if people say anything, I'll just say you like 'em young. And perky." He grinned, then stopped as he caught sight of the pendant hanging from her neck. "What's this ?" he asked. "I don't know," she answered. "I found it. Do you recognize it?" He lifted it. It was a small trinket, an oblong oval of tarnished silver with fine lines carefully etched into it. He couldn't tell, but it looked like the lines were actually some sort of script. In the center was a small ruby, like an eye staring dully at him. "It looks old," he said. "The detailwork is exquisite. Could I borrow it? There's some people at the university who could probably date it, if you like?" She smiled and unworked the clasp behind her neck. The necklace slipped into Xander's hand. "Sure," she said, then, leaning towards him, as he set the necklace on the table, "Where were we?" He put a finger on her mouth. "Stopping before you keep me from going to work." "Call in sick," she suggested. He laughed, "I can't do that. It's finals and the students would form a lynch mob if I weren't there for office hours." She pouted exaggeratedly, then got off his lap.. "It's just a couple of hours," he promised, as he headed to his bedroom. "When I get back, we'll go do something. Take a drive or something." As he disappeared, Willow looked at the front page of the Sunnydale Gazette. The lead story was the gruesome murder of a St. Hebereke High School gymnast. She had been disembowelled and her face had been surgically removed. "Poor girl," Willow thought, recognizing the picture of the pretty and smiling African American girl. Many public leaders were insisting on reinstituting the curfew that had been repealed 8 years earlier, but Willow knew that no curfew would have saved Melissa Jackson of St. Hebereke High School. The girl had been the Slayer and whatever had killed her would not be stopped by mortal law. Furthermore, Willow was certain that there were going to be more dead very, very soon. - ---- end Part 4 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 14:13:00 -0400 (EDT) From: dalton.spence@hwcn.org Subject: BUFFYFIC: Secret World of Willow (03/?) by D.Spence I would like to dedicate this chapter of my story to the late Princess Diana. She was an inspiration to many people and will be missed. May she finally find the peace the press denied her. TITLE: The Secret World of Willow Rosenberg AUTHOR: Dalton S. Spence EMAIL ADDRESS: DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: This story cannot be sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use only or posted in fanfic archives for general distribution, but must include all disclaimers and copyright notices. SPOILER WARNING: Occurs after "Prophecy Girl" RATING: PG13 CONTENT WARNING: This story depicts scenes of violence and/or their aftermath. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story. CLASSIFICATION: C - Crossover with "The Secret World of Alex Mack" SUMMARY: The new girl at Sunnydale has a weird secret all her own - one that Willow will soon share. DISCLAIMER: Buffy, Giles, the Slayerettes and all other characters who have appeared in the series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Inc., Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television, 20th Century Fox Television and the Warner Brothers Television Network. Alex Mack, her family, Danielle Atron and all other characters who have appeared in the series "The Secret World of Alex Mack" together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of Viacom International, MTV Networks, Nickelodeon Television Network, Nickelodeon Productions, Hallmark Entertainment, and Lynch Entertainment. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author. I'm too broke to be sued, anyway. (But if anybody thinks my literary skill presents that much a risk, feel free to *HIRE* me!) * * * * * The Secret World of Willow Rosenberg (a BtVS/SWAM crossover) by Dalton S. Spence "I guess I'm not so ordinary anymore." - Alex Mack *Part 3* After the defeat of the Master, the surviving vampires of Sunnydale made their new headquarters well away from his former lair. And who could blame them; not only did none of them want to risk being caught in the Hellmouth's grip as the Master had been for seventy years, it was *much* too close to the Slayer's headquarters for anybody's comfort. There had even been a brief movement to relocate to the nearby town of Paradise Valley. This was quickly struck down by the Anointed One and his allies, who pointed out (after they had destroyed the vampires who started the movement, of course) that at least in Sunnydale they could keep a watch on the Slayer. "Keep your friends close," he said, waving at the piles of dust covering the floor, "and your enemies even closer. The Master taught me this, and I'm not about to dispute him. If any of you do, feel free to come forward so we can ... discuss it. Any takers?" There was a brief grumbling among the assembled vampires, but in the end reason (and fear) prevailed, and they filed quietly to proceed with the night's hunting. A few would be lost to the Slayer, but that was far better than the certain death that opposing Colin would trigger. Finally, there were only three left in the chamber; Colin and his two chief minions. "That went nicely, I think," said Colin with a satisfied sigh. "Nothing like a little terror to keep things orderly in the ranks, like the Master always said." At this comment the smaller one (a perky looking brunette in a neat blue business suit) grimaced. Colleen had been a very successful Hollywood talent agent specializing in juvenile performers before her fateful detour through Sunnydale, so she was used to handling young egomaniacs with tremendous power. She quickly established a solid rapport with the Master's heir apparent, becoming his chief advisor on policy and politics. "I think you should be careful about that. Quoting the Master, I mean," she said, shifting nervously under her leader's glare. "The Master may have been an outstanding leader in his day, but that day is past. This is *your* day now." "She's right, you know," the giant who stood on Colin's other side commented quietly. "Back in my days with the outfit, it was known if the don died the heir had to show that he had his own power as well as the blessing of his predecessor, or he would lose respect. You showed your power tonight, but it sounded like you were still following the Master's instructions. For now, it works; the others still don't really believe he was defeated. When they do, watch out! Using his name will make them wonder if you're going to lead them down the same path." Guido Salvatore may have looked like a common thug, but he had first class mind, and a lifetime of experience dealing with violent and bloodthirsty individuals. For most of his life he had been a classic "wise guy", a loyal soldier in the Torelli family, until he made a fatal error. A greedy lieutenant had answered Guido's badly timed accusation of `skimming' with three bullets in the chest, leaving him to die in a Sunnydale back alley. That he had lasted long enough to be found by Colin on a hunting expedition was a testament to his iron will and robust constitution. After cleaning up his `unfinished business', Guido became Colin's utterly loyal minion, even to the point of risking his existence by offering unpopular advice when he felt it warranted. Fortunately, both of his advisors had offered their counsel with the proper respect (mainly by waiting until they were alone), so Colin felt no need to make examples of them. As the Master had taught him (//Damn! They're right, I *DO* have to watch that.//), destroying your tools because you don't like what they produce is wasteful and foolish, unless you have spare ones of equal quality. (At least, he told himself that was the reason; he couldn't admit even to himself that sometimes he missed the familiar comfort of parental figures.) He was still groping for a response that would acknowledge their point while establishing his authority, when his keen senses noticed a slight commotion in the corridor outside. There was a pause, then a light tapping on chamber's doorway. "Enter," he called out, "and this had better be important." The timid vampire who entered was former minor bureaucrat known to the clan as the postmaster. It was his responsibility to watch the news for items of importance, and to relay communications from their agents on the surface. Keeping his eyes on the ground, he wordlessly gave Colin the envelope he had found a the dead drop point below a storm drain. //I hope this is good news,// he thought as he tried to make himself as small a target as possible. //We could all use some for a change.// He had only had the job a week, and did not wish for the fate of his predecessor; ever since the Slayer arrived, this job had an extremely high attrition rate. He was lucky this time. "Our agent above reports he is in place to watch the activities of the Slayer and her friends," Colin exclaimed with as smile. With a slight giggle he added, "He's even managed to make this a part of his official mortal job. How ironic! I predict that when the day of our domination over the mortal world comes, *THEY* will have done most of the work for us themselves." The Master had actually made this prediction to him in private, but there was no need for anyone else to know that. * * * * * Willow was badly in need of a computer fix. After she had accidently crashed the computer lab network for the third time, Ms. Calendar had `excused' Willow from the rest of the class until `this curse' (as she put it) was lifted. Usually Willow would have stayed later, using the library computer to surf the net for info to help Buffy with her Slaying, do her homework from Ms. Calendar's class, or try to Giles-proof the library card-catalogue (instituting the fuzzy logic and context search algorithms was a fascinating challenge), but it too fell prey to the `curse' when she tried to use it. She and Alex had stayed a bit late in the library where Alex had tried to teach Willow how to control the EM effects of her new powers, with little luck. When Alex had offered Willow the use of the specially shielded desktop that her sister had left behind when she'd gone for MIT, she had jumped at the chance. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Alex called out as she entered the house with Willow in tow. This was mainly for form, since she didn't really expect them to get home first. Her dad had been working overtime setting up the new lab, and her mother was probably on the way back from the community college where she was taking courses to get her degree. Neither usually got home before seven any more, so they had gotten into the habit of having dinner at eight. There should be plenty of time for them to practice. The Mack's had a six month lease on the house they were renting, but because they were planning to buy a place before the lease was up, most of the boxes littering the living room and the den remained unopened. After searching a bit for the phone, Willow called her dad to let him know where she was. (For once she could tell the truth; she had gone to a friend's house to study.) "Yes Dad, Alex *IS* a girl! ... I promise I'll call Xander before I leave so he can walk me home ... Don't worry, everything will be fine. How's mom doing?" There was a brief pause, then a relieved smile lit up her face. "That's GREAT! Listen, I've got to go now, Alex's computer isn't unpacked yet and I promised to help her set it up. Give my love to Mom. Bye" "I take it that was good news?" asked Alex. "The BEST! My Mom woke up this afternoon, and everything is going to be just fine. She's coming home from the hospital tomorrow. Since they can't find a reason for her severe anemia, and there are no other serious injuries, they have no reason to keep her." "Does she remember the attack?" "If she does, Dad didn't mention it. But how did you ...?" "I was sort of there in the alley, and heard you talking to Xander. I know it happened, but nothing else. And the anemia thing was a dead give-a-way. How did it happen? I thought vampires couldn't enter a house without invitation. Or is that a myth?" "No, it's true enough but didn't apply in this case. She was coming to school to pick me up after dark, when five vampires jumped her. If Buffy hadn't been right there.... And Xander, he was magnificent! He threw himself right at them, knocked Mom clear of them and stood over her holding them back with a cross while Buffy took care of the first two. The others ran off when the police showed up." "What did you tell them? It must have looked kind of weird." "Fortunately, they caught a glimpse of the attackers running away, and accepted our story of muggers. At least the younger one did. I think the older one knew what was going on; he took a look at her neck, then ordered the ambulance and told them to have a transfusion ready. And the E.M.T.s seemed a little too efficient about it, too." "If there have been as many attacks as you say, they would have to know, wouldn't they? Even if they couldn't make an official report about it? I mean, the physical evidence has to be there; what other conclusion could they draw?" Willow considered a moment, then nodded. "Could be. I hope so. I hate to the of all the unsuspecting cops out there relying on just their guns for protection. If we get that computer of yours unpacked I could check it out." "Right! This way," said Alex, leading the way up the stairs to her bedroom. One half of the room was filled with unopened boxes, all marked Annie's this and Annie's that. The other half looked more normal; Alex had unpacked most of her clothes and personal stuff, and had made an attempt to make the place more homey. While she had taken her parent's advice and not put up her posters or set up the stereo, Alex had put up her `gallery'; a cork board with her latest photographic efforts carefully mounted. Willow looked around for the box containing the computer, finally seeing it at the top of a tall stack of boxes. "Alex, where do you keep the step lad... Oh ya, right. Could you get it down please? I don't want drop it." Alex moved to the window. "First rule: ALWAYS check for witnesses." She'd done this so many times that she had closed the blinds and turned away before her brain registered the sight of a dark figure leaning against a lamppost watching her house. - -- +-------------------------------------------------+ | Dalton S. Spence, B.Sc. | | Home Page: http://www.hwcn.org/~ag775/home.html | +-------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 12:39:28 -0700 From: lizbet@primenet.com (Elizabeth Ann Lewis) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Summer Vacation -- Author's Notes (0/0) What I Did On My Summer Vacation -- Author's Notes At ComicCon in July, Joss said that he intended every season of Buffy to be somewhat self-contained. That if the show ended abruptly there would be a feeling of completion, of closure. In later interviews, he said that was one of the reasons why there was so much story in Prophesy Girl -- the need to tie everything up if BtVS turned out to be a twelve-episode miniseries. And there is closure in Prophesy Girl. Xander and Buffy have their relationship out in the open (so, too, do Xander and Willow). Faced with the loss of her life, Buffy has accepted her role as Slayer. Giles has confided his sacred mission to another person and proven that Buffy means more to him than the Slayer, and Angel, once and for all, has chosen sides in the fight between mortals and vampires. However. The ending of Prophesy Girl left enough loose threads to keep the three Fates busy for quite awhile. Joss will answer those questions for us in a week or two. This quartet of stories is my answer. There are one each for Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles. (And for the people who wonder why there isn't one for Angel... just wait. ) The inspiration for these stories must belong to the wonderful group known as the Sunnydale Slayers, who in three months of existence have grown very dear to my heart. Casual conversation on possible plotlines for next season made me wonder what the Slayerettes were doing over the summer and... well, let's just say that the SunS learned to regret it when I either spammed the list with contributions (Xander told me his story in THREE DAYS!!!) or had days and weeks of dry spells. I love you all dearly, especially Chris and Perri (for dragging me into this &*%#$! fandom, yadda yadda yadda, you've heard this before) and my co-List Mom Dianne, who got sucked in with me. These stories are independent of each other and can be read in any order after the prologue (the only short thing about this story). For those of you used to my sporadic Forever Knight fictions... I think any one story in Summer Vacation is longer than my FK stories put together. Necessary evil: Buffy, Giles, Xander, Willow, Angel, Cordelia, Hank Summers, Wendell, Ms. Calendar, etc, etc, all belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and 20th Century Fox. Anyone else you don't recognize belongs to me (although Val and I seem to be time-sharing Deirdre). Any character I create is available for loan, but please contact me if you do so (I want to make sure to keep an eye out for your stuff). I'm making no money off of this endeavor; I do it for nothing more than love of the characters (even Xander, who deserves to die for what he did to me) and love of feedback. Praise, flames, comments, chocolate and tall, dark, undead angsty guys to lizbet@primenet.com And now... on with the show. - -~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~ High Priestess Lizbet of the Cult of Joss -~*~- {{>AGA<}} lizbet@primenet.com ~*~ Lizbetann@aol.com ~*~ Keeper of Joss's Evil Brain SunS List Co-Mummy: "If the Apocalypse comes, beep me." ~*~ "God made relativity and God made marijuana and the two are not entirely unrelated." -- Boo ~*~ http://www.primenet.com/~lizbet/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Sep 1997 12:42:21 -0700 From: lizbet@primenet.com (Elizabeth Ann Lewis) Subject: BUFFYFIC: Summer Vacation -- Prologue (1/1) What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Elizabeth Ann Lewis Disclaimers: See Author's Notes lizbet@primenet.com Prologue Buffy tilted her face up to the sunlight, leaning back on her elbows. She'd spread a beach towel on the grass in her back yard, and was intent on soaking up some rays. "This is the life. No homework. No classes. Sleeping late. Partying later." "And no vampire slayage," Xander added, bouncing a tennis ball against the back wall of her house. "That's the best part for me," Willow said sleepily, curled up in the grass with a kitten in her lap. "Things have been quiet," Giles allowed from where he was sitting in the shade, a tall glass of iced tea at his elbow. Unlike the California teenagers, he was not enjoying the brilliant sunlight. But with the school closed for earthquake repair, and since he was rather disinclined to spend any time there, he was reduced to joining his little band in the great outdoors. Buffy's mother was spending the day at the gallery, so they did not have to explain what the librarian was doing hanging with the teenagers. The methodical thunk-thunk of the tennis ball lulled them all for several long moments. "Three months of nothing to do, no where to be... hey, wait, Will." Xander suddenly turned, and the ball bounced back to clunk him on the head. "Aren't you going to that computer camp thingie?" Willow sat up, wide-awake. The kitten yowled a bit plaintively at the sudden motion. "Yeah! I completely forgot." "Whoa, brakes. What's up?" Buffy pushed her sunglasses up onto her head to look at her friend. "There's this really exclusive computer camp, up in San Jose. Actually, it's run by a company in San Jose, but the camp itself is in a really cool old house in Napa Valley. You have to get on a waiting list to get into this camp. I've been on it for two years." "But.. you're leaving?" Buffy looked tragic. "How long?" "Um, well... six weeks. It's really intensive." "And yes, this is how she wants to spend her summer." Xander shook his head, baffled beyond measure. "It's not like you're going to be here yourself, Buffy," Willow argued. "What's this?" Giles pulled himself out of _Le Roman de la Rose_ and looked at his Slayer. "Are you leaving Sunnydale?" Buffy pushed the glasses back down onto her nose and shrugged, lying back. "I'm spending the summer in LA. The joint custody agreement was that I spent summers with my dad. But I thought I'd be back here some weekends," she added, pouting. "Great. Willow gone, Buffy gone. Guess it's just you and me, Giles, eh?" Xander resumed bouncing his ball. Willow curled up with her cat. Buffy got bronze. Thunk-thunk. "Actually, now that I think on it, it would probably be best if I returned to England," Giles finally said. The three teenagers all turned on him. "What?" "No!" "You mean... forever?" "No, certainly not permanently." Giles set aside his book and leaned forward in his chair. "But I left rather... abruptly. There are... things I need to attend to. I have possessions... books. If I am going to reside here, I will have to decide what to do with my life in England." "Oh," Buffy said, lying back again. There didn't seem to be much to say after that. "Will, when are you leaving?" "Um... next Wednesday, I think. Mom's driving me up the coast." "And I'm leaving on Monday." Buffy sighed. "Well, we'll have a nice, quiet summer. Right?" - -~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~-~*~ High Priestess Lizbet of the Cult of Joss -~*~- {{>AGA<}} lizbet@primenet.com ~*~ Lizbetann@aol.com ~*~ Keeper of Joss's Evil Brain SunS List Co-Mummy: "If the Apocalypse comes, beep me." ~*~ "God made relativity and God made marijuana and the two are not entirely unrelated." -- Boo ~*~ http://www.primenet.com/~lizbet/ ------------------------------ End of buffyfic Digest V1 #23 ***************************** To subscribe to buffyfic Digest, send the command: subscribe buffyfic-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@xmission.com". 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