From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (Buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Buffyfic-digest V2 #33 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk Buffyfic-digest Tuesday, February 10 1998 Volume 02 : Number 033 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Bad Taste (1/1) BUFFYFIC: (no subject) BUFFYFIC: Let Me Count the Ways.... (7/7) BUFFYFIC: Inner Demons (3/?) BUFFYFIC: The Price of Vengeance *prologue* 01/08 BUFFYFIC:The Price of Vengeance 03/08 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: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 14:29:52 EST From: Isis212@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: Bad Taste (1/1) Okay, this is it. The last one. Now, there was supposed to be a fourth one starring our man of tweed, Giles. Unfortunately, every time I tried to write it Giles ended up in leather, and then that landed him and Buffy in some strange situations in the fitting room. It was strange to me, and although their little session in the room was nothing compared to B & A's sessions I just couldn't get it finished. So, if anybody out there thinks they can, be my guest! Alright, on with the show. TITLE: Bad Taste AUTHOR: Aramat RATING: PG SUMMARY: Angel shows Buffy she's not always right DIST.: My page. Anywhere else, ask first. FEEDBACK: Please do. It will make me happy. I need to be happy. DISC.: I don't own BtVS. Joss Whedon and the WB do. Bad Taste Buffy sighed heavily and checked her watch. What the hell was taking him so long? She'd sent him in there twenty minutes ago to get dressed for Will's Christmas party and he still hadn't come out yet. Checking her watch once more, Buffy walked to the closed bedroom door and knocked. "Angel," she called out. "We do not have all night. Hurry up and get dressed already." She walked away from the door and returned to her place on the couch. "You're worse than a woman," she muttered to herself. Buffy sat down on the couch and picked up the book she'd been reading as she waited for Angel. She looked at the cover, noticed she had completely forgotten anything about the story and groaned. Checking her watch for the tenth time, she screamed. Stalking to the door, she kicked it open and walked into the room. What she found there surprised her. "Where did that come from?," she asked in disbelief as she stared at Angel. Angel smiled smugly at her. "It was in my closet," he answered her. "You like?" Buffy couldn't speak. She circled Angel surveying his choice of clothing. She could not believe what she was seeing. Angel endured the perusal smiling all the way. "Angel, what happened to the clothes we bought?" Buffy asked as she planted herself on the bed. Angel nodded toward the closet. "They're in there." Buffy looked toward the closet and nodded absently. "Why don't you have them on?" Angel smiled. "I do have them on." Buffy looked up at him, shocked. "I picked this out?" Angel nodded. "And you let me?" He nodded again. Buffy made a choked sound in her throat. "Well, what...what the hell were you thinking?" Angel shrugged. "I wasn't really thinking," he answered simply. "I was preoccupied at the time." "Doing what?" "Trying to keep you from putting a big hole in my chest with a pointy wooden stick," he answered. Buffy stared, once again, at the hideous lime green and orange outfit Angel was wearing. She couldn't believe that she had picked out something so, for lack of a better word, bad. What had she been thinking? Buffy got up from the bed and walked into the closet. A minute later she came out with a pair of jeans and a dark green sweater. Handing them to Angel, she walked to the door. "Put that on," she told him when she reached the door. "And when you take that thing you're wearing off, burn it." With that said she walked out of the bedroom closing the door behind her. Angel smiled, satisfied with his victory, and started to undress. "Score one for the vampire," he said as he hurried out of his clothes. "Only three more outfits to get rid of." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ All done! Aramat! - - ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 05 Jan 1980 22:06:56 -0500 From: Silver Maiden Subject: BUFFYFIC: (no subject) Unsubscribe - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 14:23:24 From: "L.D. Steele" Subject: BUFFYFIC: Let Me Count the Ways.... (7/7) Title: Let Me Count the Ways.... By: Dawn Steele Email: steele@lillonet.org Distribution: SunS web site, Anya's archive if she wants. All other's ask. Spoilers: "Innocence", references to events in "Phases". AU after that. Rating: Adult (BTVS type violence) to R (stronger violence than BTVS) Feedback: I'd love some. :) Disclaimer: They all belong to Joss. I'm making no profit beyond the enjoyment of writing the characters. What doesn't belong to Joss belongs to Mutant Enemy, Inc. As I've complained to others, this was the hardest to write. Let me know if you thought it worked. This was the only one where I was sorry about killing Angelus. I wanted it to have a happy ending, but that didn't feel "plausible" for a vignette. Longer fic maybe. :( Let Me Count the Ways.... (7/7) By: Dawn Steele (steele@lillonet.org) Buffy was in the apartment again. It had started to have a disused air. Faint bits of dust on previously clean surfaces; bits and pieces lying where they'd fallen. Items of clothing, ones aparently deemed suitable, had been taken from the closets - -- leaving over half the wardrobe behind. She noticed that almost all the clothing taken was black. This time she had brought a box with her. She hadn't told Giles she was doing this, just... that she was going hunting as usual. The knick knacks went into the box first. Then the papers on his desk -- she'd probably give those to Giles to figure out. She rolled up a blue silk shirt and tucked it in next to a small statue that she knew he liked. Had liked... whatever. Her eyes were started to puff up in an effort not to cry. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this. It was just that she hated knowing that he could come in here and destroy things that she knew Angel had liked. He had Angel's body, and Angel's memories. It was probably stupid, but she couldn't let him have Angel's things too. She searched in the bedroom till she found Mr. Gordo. He'd been recovering from the incident at the fire when she'd brought him over. She'd told him it was a little piece of her to have when she couldn't be here. The tears started falling when she noticed that Mr. Gordo had a slit in his stomach and that most of the stuffing had been pulled out. She put what was left of him into the box. She wanted to curl up on the bed, and have a good cry but she couldn't. Wouldn't. The flannel shirt she was wearing soaked up the tears and she forced herself to stop. It was time to leave. She turned around, and looked at the apartment again to see if she had missed anything. The last item, a small picture of her sitting on the grass in front of her house... She'd just come in one day about a month ago, and put it on his dresser. Told him there was no reason he shouldn't be able to see her in the sun if he wanted to. That had led to a heavy makeout session that had almost ended on the bed. The bed. It was rumpled now. She didn't know when he had last used it. Didn't want to know. If she knew he was still using the apartment, then she'd force herself to lie in wait. To kill him before he could hurt any more of her friends. He'd already killed Theresa. Was he going to circle in further and further? Start killing those she cared about least until he got to... What if he went after her Mom? "Here to keep the home fires burning? Or maybe another round of wild, passionate sex?" Angel stepped inside the room. He looked... the same as he did before. Still had a tendency towards black clothing that looked good on him. The same smile, the same eyes, the same face and the same voice. That was the part that drove her crazy. Knowing that she had touched and loved that body for so long, and now the demon inside owned it. Unfortunatly -- she was getting to know that demon too damn quick. "I thought I'd pick up my stuff." Buffy reached back and felt for the stake that she'd slipped, as usual, into its hiding place in her back sheath. "You know the drill. Love 'em, leave 'em and then stake 'em if they ever come near me or mine again. It's a Slayer thing." The demon was laughing. She'd heard Angel laughing like that. He'd always been too worried about ... everything. For a minute, she felt a pure flare of hatred. "What would be the point of existing if you didn't kill?" He moved closer to her; still relaxed. Not expecting an attack. "Do you want to know who's next?" She stood still, one hand on the box and the other touching the stake, as he started walking around her. Stalking around her. "I could tell you and then you could try to protect them." He bent down close, and then whispered into her ear, "or maybe I'll just give you a hint and let you try to figure it out." He straightened up and started to laugh again. "But then again, intelligence is not your strong suit." "I'm good at what I need to be: fighting, tactics and killing." "Strong words for such a little lady. Are you prepared to back it up this time?" He put a hand between her shoulder blades and pushed. "If we fight and you lose, I'm probably going to be hurt and need a little... restorative nutrition. You don't want on your conscience, do you? It's probably getting awfully heavy these days." "What's the matter? Scared to fight? Afraid you'll lose?" Buffy dropped the box onto the floor and felt the adreneline rush through her system in preparation for a fight. "Because you will." "I don't want to kill you now. I want to hurt you, and kill you." "Right here, right now." "Later." He was smiling again. "You don't want to die yet." Buffy didn't bother to continue the conversation. It was time. She had been avoiding this for too long, and the only result were more deaths that she could have prevented by killing him at the mall that first time. The kick pushed him back against the face, and Buffy watched as his face shifted to reveal the demon inside. His "game" face showing who he really was. His smile wasn't angelic anymore. Now it revealed the fangs, and his eyes betrayed the hatred lodged inside. Angel counterattacked. And for a while there was a battle to see which would break first, Angel's heavy furniture or one of them. A heavy sculpture served as a bat that forced Angel back, and sent blood dripping down his face. "You'll pay for that." Buffy didn't reply. She wanted to have some smart quote to send back, wanted to laugh and taunt him -- but she couldn't. All she wanted was for this to be over. He used his longer reach to his advantage, and Buffy couldn't help the groan of pain as he sent her flying across the room. She slammed into the wall and felt her spine complain violently as the hidden stake became indented into her skin. She wanted this to be over. The fight became a blur before her eyes. Angel wasn't someone she'd loved. He was just the "opponent". Someone she needed to kill. A red film of rage covered her eyes, and Buffy let him feel every ounce of pain she had inside her as she tried to beat him into a bloody pulp. The tide turned, and Angel started to defend himself more and more. Buffy didn't care. She continued to hit, and kick, and punch, and throw everything she could against him. He was lying on the floor, trying to get up. Buffy pulled out the stake. She lifted the silver cross from around her neck and slipped it on over his head. He started to moan as it burned into his flesh. "You made a mistake." She hefted the stake, and then closed her eyes. She didn't need to see this. "You gave me time." The stake plunged down into his heart. When Buffy opened her eyes, dust covered the floor, and the tears had started again. They fell as she rooted through the box for something she'd seen earlier. They continued as she put a bit of the dust into the silver locket. But they had stopped by the time she got outside into the night. It was over. (end of version 7) The End. - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 16:34:24 PST From: "Black Fire" Subject: BUFFYFIC: Inner Demons (3/?) Title:Inner Demons Author: Black Fire Email address: Blackfire42@hotmail.com FEEDBACK: If you wish Rating: PG Spoilers: None, that I see Disclaimers: Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and all characters therein belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and The WB. Jäzen (pronounced Jay-sten or Jay-zen) is my own creation. Author's note: This idea came to me long when Buffy first began. Needless to say, I was very angry at Joss when the Angel episode aired. (You'll find out why soon enough) But I got over that and since then the idea has... evolved. Also. I have not finished this yet. Summary so far: A mysterious man has been helping Buffy fight the vampires. Our mystery man is gorgeous, a skilled archer, and, oddly enough, a vampire. (Do we begin to see why I was mad at Joss?) Oh. Did I mention that this vampire has suicidal tendancies? INNER DEMONS Part 3 Angelus heard the distant cry and smiled. Someone was suffering tonight. He should go see what was so terrible. He should go see how to make it worse. This prospect appealed to him. The vampire headed in the direction of the sound. He suddenly sensed her presence. He crept into the shadows as soon as he heard her quick footsteps. This was not... the appropriate time for a confrontation. That was something he had never been able to convey upon Spike: patience. But Spike was slowly learning, thanks to the slayer's efforts. But he returned his attention back to Buffy as she approached. There was something different about her at the moment. She seemed a bit disturbed. Hell, she seemed very disturbed. Angelus just watched her as she walked on into the night. Whether she knew he was there, he couldn't tell. Whether she even cared at the moment also escaped him. As soon as she was gone, he continued in the direction of that "poor lost soul." He followed the scent of blood to the end of an ally way where he found the bodies of three dead animals. They had been drained of blood and mutilated. He was about to stoop down to get a better look when a faint noise startled him. Angelus looked up just in time to see a dark figure running across the park in the direction of the hills. He was about to follow when he heard someone else coming. As he watched the young girl quickly walking past him, he quickly forgot what he was going to do and went to work on... other priorities. * * * * * Buffy didn't stop walking until she was at her own front door. She went straight in, not bothering to check if anyone was around. Not caring if *he* walked in that very moment. She wasn't really worried about it either. Somehow, she knew that he was elsewere at the moment. She didn't even bother going up stairs. Buffy just threw herself on the couch and groaned. 'Why was this happening to her again?' she wondered. 'What was *this* one's story? And why did they always come to her?' She drew a hand across her face. She couldn't think of this tonight. Yet she couldn't escape the fact that another vampire was helping her. Buffy sighed and lifted her hand from her face. As she did, her eyes caught the light glinting off the ring Angel had given her. She took it off and stared at it for, probably, the millionth time since everything had changed. A part of her still couldn't believe that Angel had turned on her. And, for the millionth time, Buffy went over all the "what if's" and "should have's" that plagued her mind dince that night. Buffy finally replaced the ring on her finger with the crown towards her. 'He never told her what that meant,' she thought. But she couldn't bring herself to move from the couch. Buffy just laid there in silence until she finally fell asleep. * * * * * "I need to borrow some of your books," Buffy said as she barged into the library the next day. "Really," Giles responded in a bit of surprise, "and what has brought this momentous event upon us?" "I'm really not in the mood for this," came her retort as she pushed into his office. "Just let me see the books." "Of course," Giles finally said, "what is this all about?" "He's a vampire," came the response. "Yes well, that would be..." Giles paused mid-sentence "the archer chap?" Buffy only nodded. "I *am* sorry," Giles finally said. "Is there anything I can do to help." "Round up the others," Buffy answered, "and tell me why all the weird ones come to me." "The former, I can do," he said as he turned to go, "the later... will take some work." With that, Giles left Buffy to her work. As she riffled through the watcher diaries, a slip of paper fell out of one of them. Buffy picked up the paper and found herself looking at the copy of an old portrait. Staring out of the painting, were the same eyes she had stared into last night. She quickly went back through the book before her and tried to find where it had come from. She finally found a page of hand-written notes opposite a blank page with a frame the size of the picture. Buffy tried to read it but, just her luck, it was in another language. She swore and quickly gathered up the book and headed into the library to wait for the others. * * * * * Let me know what you think so far! The Black Fire Blackfire42@hotmail.com ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 22:21:17 -0600 (CST) From: kmuller@ix.netcom.com (by way of kmuller@ix.netcom.com) (by way of kmuller@ix.netcom.com) Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Price of Vengeance *prologue* 01/08 Hi all, this is my first Buffy fan fic. I hope you all enjoy. Many thanks to my beta readers, Heather Marckle and Lisa Harvey. I don't own most of these characters, Joss does, and I'm not making anything from this story. I don't know much about the Rom, so any errors are accidental. Thanks for reading!! ********************************************* The Price of Vengeance *prologue* 01/08 by Liz Muller She watched as her failure continued to wreak havoc. She watched as the bodies appeared, each one her fault. Each new death, each new terror, chosen to hurt. Chosen to drive the Slayer past the point of no return. She watched and ached as the Slayer struggled with each blow, each new twist of the knife, caused by *her* failure. Finally, she could watch no more. She had seen enough, more then enough. It was time for her to find the means to fix that which she had destroyed. ********* She made her way into the family home, silently. She avoided all contact as best she could. Though nothing had as yet been done, she knew the price of failure, better then most. She entered the vast library. She had a brief thought, quickly hidden, that Rupert would love this room. She could not bear to think of him. Resolutly, she made her way to the books, and began. Few people came in while she was there. Most, upon seeing her, left hurriedly, unwilling to be near her. A few stopped and stared. They left her be. Several hours later, she sighed. She knew that her answer lay in one book. That book was not out where just anyone could read it. Frontally, she was one of the few who could. She walked to the back of the room, towards a small door, near the end of the wall. Opening it, she entered a small office. Seated at a desk, busily engaged in work, sat a small, balding man, with a short, close-cropped beard. She waited by the door until he noticed her. "You should not be here." He said mildly. "You're probably right, but I really have no choice," she said, just as mildly. He raised an eyebrow at her words and sighed. "Sacha has forbidden access to the private library." he said conversationly. "Since when has Sacha had the power to forbid me anything," she replied tartly. He bowed his head to her. "You are correct, I'm sure," he said. She said nothing further, just waited. He sighed again and rose. "You do realize he knows you're here," he asked. He moved to a door that blended in to the paneled wall. She followed. "It doesn't matter, there's nothing he can do to stop me." she said, firmly. He unlocked the door and stepped aside. "I hope you know what you're doing." he said finally. She stepped inside and said nothing until the door closed behind her. "So do I." she whispered quietly. ******************** She found the spell, copied it, and now she awaited the arrival of the guest of honor. Once more, she careful checked everything. The room was solid, carved into the living rock with one small entrance on the south side. Two lanterns stood on either side of the chamber, casting a warm, dancing light that hilighted an area in the center of the room. Drawn in the soft dirt floor, was a large circle, approximately 20' wide. Around the circumference, inside the line, were several rows of symbols. A second, incomplete circle underlined the symbols. As she checked the symbols once again, she heard an amused voice behind her. "What, only one of you? I'd have thought you would have brought help with you, Jenny. After all, didn't you fail the last time you were trusted alone?" Angelus stepped into the light, and grinned maliciously at her. She could see his contempt in the way he stood. She managed to hide the pain his dig caused her, as she turned her back on him. Seeming to be busy, looking at her handiwork, she answered him lazily. "I didn't think I needed any help, Angelus...After all, if you can't even defeat Buffy..." She tensed as she heard his growl, and glanced down to the small unfinished section of the circle. 'Please, just please let him step inside!' she prayed silently. She felt a brush of wind, and looked up to see Angelus just a few feet away, glaring at her. She dropped to her knees, and in an instant completed the line. The Circle sprang to life, it's walls giving one blinding shimmer, then disappearing. Angelus gave a shriek of rage and was on her, grabbing her by the throat, and pulling her to her feet. "Release the Circle!" He demanded, tightening his grip just a bit. Resolutely, she gazed back. "Never," she said firmly. His eyes widened, and he brought his free hand up to join the other. Both hands began to squeeze tightly, and she began to gasp for breath. Wheezing, she spoke. "You know this Circle, Angelus. If you kill me, you'll be trapped here for all eternity." For a moment, she didn't think he cared, then he released a scream of rage, and threw her to the ground. She lay still for a moment, gasping for breath. Her hand rose to touch her throat, wincing slightly at the pain she felt. When her breathing slowed, she looked up. Angelus was standing on the other side of the Circle, watching her. Staring directly into his eyes, she began to chant. In an instant, he was next to her, one hand lightly stroking her cheek. "You should release the Circle, Jenny. If you don't, I promise you, you will regret it," he said softly. She tried to ignore him, but she couldn't. The feel of his cold hand on her face made her shudder. The threat of his words, no matter how softly spoken, filled her with dread. Closing her eyes she saw Buffy, and the pain Buffy had suffered at the hands of this monster. A monster loose because of her failure. Buffy's face changed, shifted to Rupert's. The look of disappointment, of sorrow on his face stiffened her spirit. Her voice calmed. Strengthened. This time, she vowed to herself, she would not fail. ************ She felt his hands on her, but she just didn't care. Nothing could be worse then what he'd already done to her. She felt violated. Numbly she continued chant. He'd drunk her blood, and touched her soul. Every thought she'd ever had, became his. He found her weakness and struck. Eygon. The demon that had stolen her body, and tainted her soul. Eygon. The demon that had used her love for Rupert to try to seduce him, to kill him. Angelus found that pain and used it. Made her relive it, and feel it. Made her enjoy it. So she didn't really care about anything. Except finishing the chant, then it would be over. As he moved against her, Jenny chanted. ' three more lines... two more lines... one more...' she thought, then there was a silence, no sound, just for a moment. Angelus howled and arched against her, pressing her harder into the dirt. As he collapsed, a roiling red fog lifted from him. It collapsed in on itself, then with a last despairing wail, vanished. For a moment, Jenny just lay there. Then, with a convulsive shudder, she began to scream. *********** "You can't tell them, Angel." She said flatly, not looking at him. "Promise me. Promise me you won't tell them," she demanded, still not looking at him. Angel wanted to disagree, to tell her she was making a mistake, but he couldn't. He didn't have the right. What she endured for his sake earned her the right to ask him anything. What she asked for was nothing compared to what she had given him. Angelus was gone, for that he would have done anything, but she had given him a gift beyond price, his mortality. There was nothing he could do in return that would ever be payment enough for that. What that gift had cost her... he shuddered. Pushing away the very people who could help her most wasn't smart, but there was nothing he could do. "All right....I promise...but Jenny, I think you're making a mistake," he said softly. He had to try. "Maybe....but I don't think so. Buffy's pain happened because I failed... You couldn't have know what would happen. I should have, I should have known." she said softly. She knelt down and brushed away the line in the dirt. A pressure she hadn't felt till vanished eased. She stayed there, head bowed. Angel felt the Circle drop, and edged towards the door. Jenny remained unmoving. "Jenny, can I, do you...." Angel stumbled to a halt. He wanted to run, he was so ashamed of what happened, but he couldn't just leave, he owed her too much. "Just go Angel....please. Just go," she said wearily. He gave her one last look, then turned and ran. end prologue, part 1 kmuller@ix.netcom.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 1998 22:21:32 -0600 (CST) From: kmuller@ix.netcom.com (by way of kmuller@ix.netcom.com) (by way of kmuller@ix.netcom.com) Subject: BUFFYFIC:The Price of Vengeance 03/08 The Price of Vengeance 03/08 by Liz Muller "I would speak with you, Watcher." A quiet voice drifted across the library. Giles looked up sharply. Standing in front of him was the older of the two men he had seen earlier... the man he knew to be Jenny's father. Flustered, Giles could only nod and motion him to sit. Imre sat and eyed Giles carefully. After a moment, he looked down. Clearing his throat, he began to speak. "Watcher, I know of your work, and of the Slayers. I have a story to tell, that you might find of interest." Giles digested this. From what he knew, the Rom rarely shared anything. If Imre was willing to do so now, it had to be important. Hearing no protest, he began. "Once there was a man, who had two children. One, the eldest was all a father could ask for. Bright, loyal, compassionate. All things good. The youngest, was the opposite. Greedy, grasping, cunning, he coveted the elder's place." Closing his eyes in pain, Imre paused. After a moment, eyes still closed, he continued. "The eldest was sent to keep watch over an enemy. The younger helped prepare her for this task. He, however, made sure certain information was hidden from her. Because of this, our enemy was able to escape." "A warning was sent, but it went unheeded. By the time the father realized this, it was too late. He was forced to act, and act harshly." Imre fell silent. His face betrayed the anguish his actions had brought him. Jenny had broken the laws of her people and was being punished. Imre would loose the respect of his people if he saw or spoke to Jenny directly. And he was sure Jenny would never allow that to happen. "I see..." Giles said slowly. He could see Imre was devistated by what he had been forced to do to Jenny. "I think a friend of mine would like to hear this story, may I tell her?" Giles asked softly. He could have sworn he saw tears in the old man's eyes as he nodded. "I would be honored, Watcher." Imre stood up and Giles quickly followed suit. He stared at Giles for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Its good that certain people aren't alone...especially right now. I am... not unaware of recent events." Giles had the sudden sensation of being impaled by Imre's gaze. He squirmed nervously. Suddenly Imre gave him a full smile. It lit up his face. "It is good that she has someone who cares for her, isn't it, Watcher?" Nodding once to the speechless Watcher, Imre turned and walked out. Xander and Buffy came in and stared at Giles. He was doing some big time zoning, thinking about everything Imre had said. "Hello, Giles, Earth to Giles?" Xander waved his hand in front of the Watchers face, getting no reaction. Buffy flopped down in a chair, and sighed. She absolutely hated it when Giles zoned out. It usually meant bad news for her. "Okay, Giles, out with it. It's another indestructible demon out to destroy humanity, right?" Giles looked confused, "I'm sorry Buffy, did you say something?" Xander and Buffy shared a look. "Yes, oh wise Watcherness. She asked what the bad news was," Xander said semi-sarcastically. He shared Buffy's concern. Giles flushed as he realized he was being gently mocked. Then he admitted they had reason for concern. The last few months had been very rough. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. I was thinking about something I heard, thats all. A message of sorts." Giles said. Jenny had gone home, and he was free till this afternoon. Now might be a good time to talk to her. It seemed they had lots to talk about. Buffy looked at him, "It's from the old guy, right? We passed him coming out of the library. He seemed real happy." Giles nodded. Buffy knew who he was, even if Xander didn't. Giles rose and gathered up his things. "Buffy, I'll see you for practice after school." he said. As he left, Buffy nodded. She knew exactly where he was going, and she silently wished him luck... ***************** Jenny lay in bed staring at the wall. Giles had insisted that she go home. Numbly, she had agreed. So now she was lying here, her mind a total blank. The emotional toll taken by recent events had pushed her beyond her limits. She had tried to do the right thing, but it had gone wrong. Only this time she'd hurt far more then herself. Her father's stricken eyes told her that more clearly then anything else could. Her only consolation was that Buffy was happy. That alone was worth the pain, because Buffy was just too important. Thoughts of Buffy invariably brought thoughts of Rupert. She had never expected find someone like him, he was so totally different from anyone she'd known. But she had. He'd brought her such joy, and yet, he'd also brought her more pain then she had ever imagined. She shuddered as she remembered the feel of Eygon controlling her. Using her feelings for Giles to seduce him, to try and kill him. She curled up on her side as the memories played, altered the way Angelus had twisted them. She began to sob, as the vision of Giles' death at her hands played out in her head. She was so lost in her pain, she didn't hear Giles as he entered then paused. Giles hurried towards the bedroom. From the time he arrived, he'd heard Jenny's sobs. They tore at his heart. He stopped when he entered, overwhelmed by her pain. "Oh, Jenny," he called softly as he moved to her side. Slowly, he reached out and touched her cheek. Her eyes popped open and he stared into her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. The relief he saw in them told him what was wrong. She was dreaming about Eygon again. "I'm safe; I'm here," he said as he pulled her into his arms. He held and rocked her as she calmed down. When she had settled down, he brushed the hair out of her eyes. "In fact, I have a message for you," he said, hoping she would be pleased. "Oh?" she said, arching an eyebrow at him. "I'm told it's a good thing you aren't alone, that you have people who care for you around you." He watched her face as she realized what he was saying. "Who told you that?" she asked. "An old man who dropped by the library. He told me a story, about a man and his beloved daughter. Would you like to hear it?" He saw the tears in her eyes. Silently, she nodded her head. Giles watched in concern as he told Jenny the story her father had told him. Rom tempers were legendary, and he grew more worried as he spoke. When Giles got to the part about her father knowing of recent events, Jenny paled slightly. He finished the tale and waited. He had seen the fury in her eyes. He waited for an outburst. He was to be disappointed, however. For the longest time Jenny said nothing, she just leaned against him, eyes closed. He could feel the tension in her and wished she would let it out. "Jenny? Do you want to talk?" Giles asked softly. For a moment it seemed as if she wasn't going to speak, then she shifted slightly. "What would you like me to say, Giles? My father lost one child through sheer stupidity, and the other is nothing more then vicious scum." Her voice was low, but rage vibrated through it. She gazed off into some unseen place as she continued, "Sacha has gotten his wish; he is heir. He had best be careful of it. In the end, he may find that having is not as good as wanting." She said this in a cold, implacable voice. A voice so disturbing to Giles that he sat back and turned her so he could look into her eyes. The cold hatred he saw there made him pause. He knew that the single-mindedness of a Rom bent on revenge was unparalleled. This whole mess was a result of Rom vengeance that had lasted almost a hundred years. Giles realized that instead of dealing with her anger and pain, she was directing it towards a convenient scapegoat. The hurt would fester until it destroyed her. He vowed not to allow that to happen. "Jenny, vengeance is not the answer. You, of all people should know that," he said quietly. For a moment he thought she was going to argue, but then he saw the tiny drop of her head. He mentally heaved a sigh of relief. She appeared to have heard him. In silence, she leaned back against him. He readjusted them slightly so that they were lying next to each other on her bed. Giles had his arm around her, and she pillowed her head on his chest. He reveled in the feel of her, in his arms, but knew they still had much more to discuss. Giles knew he probably shouldn't push it, but he was curious as to her dreams. He alone knew that Eygon had used Jenny's feelings for him to try to seduce him. Eygon had meant for him to die, he thought bleakly. He had to know what Angelus had made her see. "Jenny...When I came in, you were crying...what upset you so?" he asked worriedly. She tensed against him, and a wave of pain washed over him. But he steeled himself. Jenny needed to talk about it, otherwise she wouldn't heal. "Why do you want to know, Giles? Isn't it enough for you to know I see you die," she said acerbically. Tightening his arms slightly, he replied. "Jenny...Angelus used a hurt I gave you to hurt you again. I can see how much pain you're in. I just thought it might help you to talk about it." He finished miserably. He couldn't change what had happened, but he needed to help her somehow. "You know Giles, one of the worst things about Eygon is that he used my feelings for you to try to kill you. Dealing with that guilt was so hard." She pulled away and rolled onto her side, away from him. He moved to hold her but she tensed. Wisely, Giles backed off. She needed the distance to be able to talk. "Angelus knew that, he knew everything about me, from my blood...." Her voice trailed off. she stayed silent for a long time, then went on, her voice choked with emotion. "I keep see us standing there kissing. We start to make love, only then, its not me, it's Eygon. Then he... *I* rip your heart out, or tear out your throat. All the while, he's laughing. He's laughing and I'm screaming. And I *feel* what Eygon feels. I feel his pleasure." Her voice ended on a high note and she began to shake. He pulled her to him, but she stayed stiff. "Is that what you wanted to know, Giles? Is it? Because if it is, there's plenty more to tell," she spat. His guilt rose up to try and drown him. Never could he have dreamed that what had started as a lark would turn out to hurt so many people he cared about and so badly. But he pushed it aside. Jenny's words told him there was more. Slowly, softly, he spoke "I want you to tell me only what you want to tell me. God knows I don't want to hurt you anymore, I just want to help." She relaxed slightly. Angelus had hurt her deeply, but to heal, she knew she was going to need help. Haltingly, she went on. "Angelus was not pleased when his trick failed to break me. He got a little rough..." her voice trailed off, remembering. All in all, she had been incredibly lucky, Angelus could have hurt her much worse, physically. But then Angelus' specialty was mental torture. She shook herself and continued. Self-loathing came through in her voice as she said, " It was close to the end, and I thin Angelus knew it. I also think he just wanted to hurt me as much as he could. He realized then he wasn't going to win so...he raped me. As he finished, I completed the chant....then he was gone, and Angel was there." She paused a moment as if seeing the scene again in her mind. Giles knew his heart was breaking. He couldn't even begin to imagine why she wasn't curled up into a ball, screaming, right now. He was startled as she continued softly, "Poor Angel, all he wanted was to run, he was so ashamed but he couldn't. The circle was still in place... I'm afraid it took me some time to calm down enough to open it." All he could do his hold her in his arms, as they both cried. ****************** end part3 kmuller@ix.netcom.com - - ------------------------------ End of Buffyfic-digest V2 #33 ***************************** To subscribe to buffyfic or buffyfic-digest, send the command subscribe buffyfic-digest or subscribe buffyfic to majordomo@xmission.com. You will need to go through a confirmation process, and the listowners have to manually approve your subscription request, so it may take some time. Back issues of this digest can be found at: ftp://ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/buffyfic/archive/ Dalton Spence has also provided an index of the buffyfic archive at: http://www.hwcn.org/~ag775/BUFFYFIC.HTM For help, contact Jill Kirby (jtkirby@mcs.com) or sah (romana@mindspring.com)