From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic-digest V2 #170 Reply-To: $SENDER Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic-digest Friday, May 8 1998 Volume 02 : Number 170 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: The Third Child (2/?) BUFFYFIC: FIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (1/5) BUFFYFIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer (2/5) See the end of the digest for information on (un)subscribing to the buffyfic or buffyfic-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 08 May 1998 18:35:42 PDT From: "Tracy Cain" Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Third Child (2/?) >Name: The Third Child Author: Rihanon Address: Rihanon@hotmail.com Feedback: This is my first story, so please share! Good? Bad? Ugly? I crave this information!!!!!!!! Distribution: Anya can have it, anyone else who wants it can e-mail me and ask. I'll say yes, but please ask first. Summary: A new vampire is in town, just attacked Buffy, and appears to be after Angel. Spoilers: uh- What's My Line? Definitely before S/I, though. Disclaimer: In no way am I creative enough to come up with the characters used in this story. If you recognize anything, it's not mine, and belongs to the evil Joss. Warnings:Um- none for this part, really. A little Buffy/Angel Rating: PG/PG-13 Author's Note's: I grovel before you all and beg forgiveness for taking forever to get this out, and it's not even that long! If you've forgotten the story, or joined recently, E-mail me for the earlier parts. Also, many thanks to Erana for her help, without which I wouldn't even have gotten this out. ****************** The Third Child: (2/?) By Rihanon ****************** Buffy stumbled through the streets of Sunnydale in a haze of pain; the slashes across her shoulder burned, and in some dazed part of her mind she suspected that -- thing's -- claws might have been poisoned. Desperately she struggled to hold on to consciousness, but fell to her knees as a wave of dizziness swept through her. Stars danced before her eyes as she clawed her way desperately back to her feet; she needed help. her thoughts grew ragged as she felt reality begin to slip away. "Angel . . . " she whispered, falling to the ground outside his door as darkness closed over her. Angel looked up from his book, catching scent of something and frowning slightly. He rose and went towards the door, opening it to look for the source of the smell. He stumbled backwards in shock at the sight of his love, lying in a pool of spreading blood. "Buffy!" he exclaimed, dropping to his knees to cradle her unconscious form. She moaned softly as he lifted her and carried her inside. Gently Angel laid the motionless slayer on the bed, and pulled the blood-soaked cloth away from her wounds. "Who did this to you," he whispered. "Who?" But there was no response. Gritting his teeth against the sickly sweet smell that filled the room, the vampire began to clean the deep gashes. As he gently dabbed at her wounds with a peroxide soaked cloth he tried to figure out what had happened. he thought to himself, seeing the claw marks down her back. A low moan broke his train of thought. "Angel?" came the soft whisper. "Shhh, I'm right here." "Where - " "At my apartment. Buffy -- what happened?" Buffy took a deep breath and sat up, trying to think straight. "I was patrolling . . . and this thing . . . it came out of nowhere . . . I got it, but it hit me . . . pretty good. Then - this vampire was there, God, Angel . . . I've never been so scared in my entire life." She leaned against him and trembled slightly. "Angel," she whispered, looking up at him with pleading eyes, "who is he? Who's Rasitin?" Angel closed his eyes and swallowed tightly. "Who?" he whispered, hoping he'd heard her wrong. "He said to tell you that 'Rasitin is in town, and it's payback time,'" Buffy recited,"then he said he'd make you beg to die. Angel, who is he?" He stared off into the distance, not responding. "Angel -- " "I made him," Angel muttered, talking more to himself than to her. "What?" "I made him; I turned him into a vampire," he whispered brokenly. "I thought he was dead -- I should have known better . . . " "But what does he want?" she asked, staring at him worriedly. "And what was that thing that attacked me?" Angel took a deep breath, metaphorically speaking, and stared at Buffy. "Rasitin is a medium, a - demon summoner - for lack of a better term. He's power, and very ruthless." After a moment of silence he continued, "I have to get out of town." "No!" Buffy shouted. "Angel - we can beat him. Come on, together we can beat anything I . . . " she trailed off, her lower lip trembling as tears filled her eyes. "I need you. You can't go." He cradled her shaking form against him. "I don't want to, but there's no other way. He'll kill you; for no other reason than because I love you -- he'll hurt you just to get to me." He held her so tightly that she feared her ribs would crack. "And if he sends his demons after us - -- they'll win. There's no other way. I'll leave, and Raistin will follow." **** A light drizzle was coming down on the giggling figure of a little girl, playing in the street. A dark figure loomed over her, and she glanced up fearfully. "Well, well, well. A present, and it isn't even my birthday," laughed the vampire. "Hello, little one." The girl's eyes filled with worried tears. "Who are you?" Rasitin chuckled. "Your death." Lifting the child easily, he sank his fangs into her neck. When the last of her sweet blood was gone, he tosed her body carelessly into the gutter before walking off into the night. *********** I know I haven't done anything to deserve it-- but, feedback? Please? -Rihanon "Do not meddle in the afairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup." ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 21:43:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Betsy Vera Subject: BUFFYFIC: FIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (1/5) Title: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer." (1/5) Author: Elizabeth Vera E-Mail: bentley@umich.edu Spoiler: Through Killed by Death, I guess. Rating: PG, maybe PG-13. Feedback: Please and thank you. Summary: A.U. What if someone else were the Slayer. Disclaimer: I own Alice. Joss owns everyone else. - -------------------- "Damn!" Giles slammed the thick book shut. If he weren't so well-trained, he would've thrown the book against the wall. Nothing! He could find nothing! He collapsed back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. As a Watcher, Rupert Giles felt like a failure. It was his duty, as the latest in a long line of Watchers, to watch over the Slayer, to ensure her safety. When something unexplainable happened, it was his job to decipher the nature of the threat so he could prepare her to face it and, if necessary, destroy it. But what if he couldn't decipher it? Ever since Buffy's brief hospital stay when she'd had the flu, vampire activity in Sunnydale had been close to non-existent. Nothing of a supernatural nature had taken place in weeks. Even the long series of unusually strong storms had ended. It had been very quiet, and this worried him. The library door opened and two teenagers came in. "Hi, Giles." "Ah, Willow, Buffy," he greeted them. A third teenager came through the door. "Xander." Buffy replied half-heartedly. She had been distracted, lately; no doubt brooding over Angelus. She saw the weapons Giles had laid out on the table and raised an eyebrow at him. "Sticks again?" "It's called a quarterstaff, Buffy, as you well know." She rolled her eyes. "Sorry. So, if you have two of these, is that a half-staff?" He ignored her and picked up his protective gear off the table. As he strapped it onto his body and secured it in place, Buffy glanced quizzically at her two friends. Willow and Xander, ostensibly there to do their homework, had settled in at the central table to watch. They shrugged their shoulders at her. Giles had been very tense, lately, and their every attempt at making him relax had failed. Suddenly, Xander jumped up. "Wait. I forgot to bring supplies. Be right back." He ran past a puzzled-looking Giles and out the door. Willow explained to him. "Emergency snacks run." "Ah." He turned to Buffy. "Are you ready?" Giles suddenly swung his staff at Buffy's head and narrowly missed hitting her, catching her by surprise. She ducked and swung at his feet, but he managed to avoid being struck. They circled each other, watching for an opening in the other's defenses. *Oh boy! It's going to be one of those, isn't it?* Buffy was worried about Giles. His sparring sessions had been more frequent lately and they were way more intense than they used to be. Buffy wished that whatever the Hellmouth had in store for them next would hurry up and get it over with. The pressure of not knowing what was going on was obviously getting to Giles and, if this kept up, somebody was going to get hurt. Buffy swung; Giles blocked it neatly, turned, and aimed a blow at her middle. She blocked it and managed to strike Giles. His shoulder pad absorbed the blow. His concentration was contagious, and Buffy never noticed when she started hitting faster, harder. Swing, block, the occasional blow. They both sparred with unusual intensity. Giles might not be able to figure out why Sunnydale was behaving so...normally, but he knew it was bound to stop, sooner or later. And when it did, he intended to make very sure that Buffy was ready for any unexpected physical attacks. Jab, parry, duck. Emotional attacks, on the other hand.... As her Watcher, Giles felt responsible for both her physical and emotional well-being. Angelus' silence of the past several weeks had been very unnerving for Buffy, and Giles couldn't think of a way to relieve her anxiety. What he should've done was nip her romance with Angel in the bud and prevented all her heartache from happening. He laughed at his presumption. All of her heartache? Buffy had been through a lot in the past year. She had died at the hands of the Master, had seen her classmates murdered, had lost her mother's trust, had fallen in love with a vampire who had then become her fiercest enemy. Buffy ducked a blow and heard Giles laugh. *Oh, great! Just what we need. Giles is cracking.* She tried to read his expression but had to concentrate on blocking a series of well-aimed jabs at her body. She responded in kind, swung her staff low, and managed to wipe his feet off the floor. He fell to the ground with a dull thud and a sharp crack. Buffy dropped her staff and ran to where he lay unconscious on the floor. "Oh, god, Giles! Giles, are you okay?" ***** "Mr. Giles!" "Whaa--" Giles came to suddenly. A dark-haired girl peered down at him, looking very worried. "Are you all right, Mr. Giles? I'm sorry, I--I didn't mean to hit you so hard." He blinked, confused. She helped him off the library floor and sat him down at one on the tables while she continued apologizing. He made vague noises when she offered to get him a cup of tea, and she took the noises as assent and disappeared into his office. He took the opportunity to try to regain his bearings but the pounding in his head made things difficult. He shook his head to try to clear it, but that only made his dizziness worse. He held his head, groaning. "Here, Mr. Giles, drink this. It'll make you feel better." He took the cup, automatically, and gulped down the too-hot tea. The burning liquid served to distract him from his headache. He looked up at the girl who was still fussing over him. "Alice, I'm fine. Please, relax." Alice did not relax, but, eventually, at Giles' insistence, stopped apologizing and went home for the evening. Giles sighed. Being Alice's Watcher hadn't been at all what he had expected. - ---------- A few months ago, when he had received word that the new Slayer had been found in California, and that he was being assigned as her Watcher, he'd had conflicting emotions. On the one hand, being a Watcher was what he had trained for all his life. On the other hand...California? He envisioned Alice as the stereotypical California girl--beach, sand, surf, brainless, and oversexed. He was willing to admit that his impressions had been formed by American television--despite his best attempts, Baywatch had managed to creep into his consciousness--and his impressions could be wrong. However, his first day at Sunnydale High School hadn't done much to lessen his dread. He'd had the bad luck to ask Cordelia Chase for directions to the principal's office. The student had been polite enough in answering his question, but, unfortunately, he had managed to overhear her remarks after she believed he was out of earshot. "Gads, where does the school board find these losers? Did you check out those clothes? *Nobody* this century dresses like that. And that smell! Can you say "mothball city"? Yeewww!" He had met Alice early one morning after someone had knocked her things to the floor. "Let me help you pick those up," he had offered. She had looked up, startled. "Thanks, but, I'm...I'm fine." She seemed embarrassed by the attention as she took the notebook he handed her. "Thank you." "You're welcome." Giles started back the way he'd been going. "Excuse me, sir?" He stopped and turned back to her. She stood in the middle of the hallway, looking lost. "Um...where's the library? Principal Flutie said I'm supposed to go there to get my books," she held a crumpled slip of paper in her hand, presumably a book list, "but I don't know where anything is. I'm new here." He stopped in his tracks. He knew of only one new student starting this late in the school year. "Miss Peterson?" She blinked at him. "Alice Peterson?" "Um...yes?" "I'm Mr. Giles, the librarian." So, this was the Slayer. He wasn't sure what he had expected. She looked so...normal. Medium height--a little on the short side, maybe--medium weight, brown eyes partially obscured by wavy dark brown hair. Just an ordinary girl. There was nothing about her to suggest she was the Chosen One. "Mr. Giles?" He realized he was staring. "So sorry. That was very rude of me. Umm...the library is this way," he pointed down the hall. "I was heading there, myself." They walked together in uncomfortable silence. Giles was debating with himself how best to broach the subject of Alice's Slayerhood. He didn't want to scare her away, but she needed to be told as soon as possible. Most Slayers started their careers when they were much younger than Alice was now. What if she didn't accept her role in life? What if she wasn't up to the job? Alice was very confused. She couldn't decide what she thought of the librarian. There was something odd about him. The way he stared at her, for instance. Sure, everyone stares at the new kid, but, when he did it, she felt like he was looking inside her. Creepy. But, at the same time, she also felt she could trust him, and she wasn't sure why. When they reached the library, he held the door open for her and followed her in. He went behind the counter on the right, where he kept the leftover textbooks, as she looked around the room in admiration. The curved wooden banisters, impressive skylight, and rich dark wood furnishings gave the split-level library a sense of elegance unusual in a school setting. Giles smiled at her reaction. He checked the textbooks he had gathered against the list she'd given him and placed them on the counter. "Here are the books you need." She was still looking around. "Miss Peterson?" She turned back to him. "Sorry. I--I guess I got distracted. It's... Wow. I've never seen a library like this. I like it." She seemed almost embarrassed by her enthusiasm. The library door suddenly swung open and a student rushed in, almost running into Alice. "Oh! Sorry! Have you seen Mr. Giles?" She was about Alice's height, and her long, straight red hair swung around as its owner bounced excitedly and breathlessly. "Yes, Willow?" asked Giles. "Oh, hi." She hadn't noticed him behind the counter. She tried to get her breath back and tucked her hair behind her ear in a nervous mannerism. "You know that project I'm helping you with, the one I said I would finish today? I just came to say that I can't do it. Today, I mean. Tomorrow--no, tomorrow's Saturday; I mean Monday. I can finish it on Monday, if you like. But mom is surprising me for my birthday and said she's taking me to the new computer exhibit at the Natural History Museum in L.A. It's supposed to be really cool! So we stopped at school for a minute so I can drop off my paper for English and to tell you that I wasn't coming in today. 'Cause I didn't want you to think that I don't want to finish the project, 'cause I do want to finish it. Is that okay?" She finally ran out of breath and looked up at him, expectantly. Giles blinked at her and repeated the one thing he had managed to understand. "Today is your birthday?" She grinned. "It's really tomorrow, but mom got tickets to the VIP opening at the museum and that's today. Isn't that great?" A bell rang before Giles could answer. "Oops. Gotta go. Mom's waiting for me in the car. Bye, Mr. Giles." Willow waved at Giles and Alice and ran out without waiting for a reply. Giles stared at the library door, bemused. Willow Rosenberg was one of the best students at Sunnydale High School. She excelled in every subject but seemed to have a particular talent for computers. He, on the other hand, could not understand the attraction. Computers were totally alien to him and filled him with dread, yet he was required to use them as part of his job as school librarian. Fortunately, Willow had come in to the library on his first day, explained that she had been helping his predecessor--an old gentleman who had been at the school for as long as anyone could remember--with any and all computer work the library required, and had volunteered to continue doing this for him, if he wanted her to. His relief had been almost comical. Since then, she had spent her free periods at the library, updating the catalogue and doing whatever other mysterious things people did with computers. Giles suddenly remembered Alice--"Miss Peterson?"--but she had left while he wasn't paying attention. He would have to find some way to talk to her in private. She needed to know about her destiny. - -------------------- BETSY VERA * bentley@umich.edu * http://bentley.simplenet.com Buffy Fanzines Premiering at Mediawest '98: * An Alternate Viewpoint (members.tripod.com/~natmerc/avzine.html) * * Sunnydale Slayers (www-personal.umich.edu/~mwynn/zine.html) * A Snack Before Dinner * Spring Break Slayer Style/Sidekick Style * ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 May 1998 21:43:55 -0400 (EDT) From: Betsy Vera Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Alice, the Vampire Slayer (2/5) "Alice, the Vampire Slayer" (2/5) - ---------- He had found an opportunity sooner than he expected. Later, that same day, Alice had returned to the library. "Hi, Mr. Giles." She had seemed unsure of herself. "Is it okay if I do my homework here? I have a free period and Mrs. Dowling said I could go to the cafeteria or to the library. And the cafeteria's too noisy." "Of course." He scrambled to move several piles of books from the central table. "I'll just need to clear some space for you. I--I'm not used to students coming here." She had caught him by surprise. Other than Willow, who also had a free period at this time, hardly anyone came to the library, so he had planned to spend some quiet time reading old Watcher journals. He'd hoped to get some ideas about how best to approach the Slayer. And here she was, and he still had no clue. "They don't?" she sounded a little startled. "Pardon?" "Um...I mean...if students aren't allowed in here, I can go back to the cafeteria--" she started edging out the door. "No, please. I didn't mean that." He hadn't mean to sound abrupt, but her unexpected appearance had flustered him. "Students are always allowed in here. But most of them don't care to, apparently." "Oh." She stood at the door, undecided. "Are you sure it's okay? I don't want to bother you." He smiled and tried to look more welcoming. "I'm sure. Please, come in. You can sit here." He ushered her towards the table. "I'll be in my office if you need anything. And, please, don't be afraid to ask. You won't be bothering me. All right?" She nodded, slightly reassured. Giles busied himself reshelving books while Alice did her homework. She was diligent and systematic, seemingly oblivious to distractions. That was a good sign. Starting her career as a Slayer so late in life, she was going to have a lot of learning to catch up on. The Slayer Handbook, for one. The lore, the history, her duties; it would all be new to her. He wondered how good she was at languages. Giles was a firm believer in learning from primary sources, whenever possible--translations could be so unreliable--and most of the ancient tomes of vampire history were written in Ancient Greek and Latin. Then there was the physical training: self-defense, weapons training.... He put the stack of books he was carrying on a table, removed his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had a lot of work ahead of him, but, before he could begin anything, he had to talk to the Slayer. Alice. He watched her from his vantage point at the top of the stairs. Unbeknownst to him, Alice was aware that he was watching her. He had done that a lot in the past half hour. He'd carry a load of books to the upper level, shelve them, stop to watch her, then repeat the process with the next armful. Alice prided herself on noticing what went on around her, especially when no one was aware she was doing it. Most times, people weren't even aware that she was in the room. Her father had been in and out of hospitals for the past few years and her mother spent all her time worrying about him, so Alice had learned to stay out of the way by learning the art of fading into the background. She had been amazed at how much there was to see from there. Then, a few years ago, came the dreams. Nightmares about vampires. Sometimes, the vampires killed people. Other times, they spoke to her, told her they were waiting for her to come. After lying awake too many nights after one of the dreams, she had taken to sneaking out her bedroom window and going for long walks in the middle of the night. She wasn't afraid of the dark. She knew how to avoid any people she came across in her walks and, despite her dreams, she didn't believe in monsters. They only existed in the movies. And in her nightmares. A week ago, her family had moved to town so her father could start some new treatment at Sunnydale Hospital. As soon as she could, Alice had started exploring the town, hoping to find something interesting beneath the sleepy suburb exterior. Boy, did she ever find it! She had seen things late at night that puzzled her. Something was definitely going on in Sunnydale and (1) no one seemed to know about it and (2) she had no idea what "it" was, but she was determined to find out. If she hadn't had so much homework to catch up on from starting the semester so late, she would've stayed at the cafeteria today and watched. And listened. And learned. Instead, she had come to the library, and now she was the one being watched, and it made her uncomfortable. She wasn't used to being noticed, especially by adults. This librarian seemed to be the exception. There, he was doing it again. She heard him drop a load of books on the table up there, and now she could feel him watching her. It didn't feel threatening or "bad" in any way, just...weird. She heard him coming down the stairs again but, instead of returning to the book cart for another load, he went to where she was sitting. "Excuse me?" Despite knowing he was there, she jumped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he apologized. "I was going to put some water on for tea. Would you like some?" "Um...y-yeah," she stammered out. "Thank you." As he went to his office to take care of tea, she mentally kicked herself. She wished she weren't so bad about talking to people, but she never knew what to say. After a few minutes, he popped his head through the door. "Would you mind if I joined you out there?" She shook her head and he disappeared back into the office. He came back out with a tray, set it down, sat opposite her at the table, and started pouring. "Cream and sugar?" "Yes, please." "So, have you been in Sunnydale long?" He was trying his best to make her comfortable but, from the way she was looking down, avoiding his gaze, his best didn't seem to be good enough. In a way, she reminded him of Willow when they had first met. Alice seemed to be even shyer. He hoped she would relax, eventually, the way Willow had done. "We just moved." She spoke into her tea cup. "Ah. I'm fairly new in town, myself. New to this country, as a matter of fact. No response from her. He continued, regardless. "In the short time I've been here, I've been doing some fascinating research. My particular interest--more of a hobby, really--is the occult. Witchcraft, magic, sorcery." He paused for effect. "Vampires." She looked up and stared at him. He had her full attention. "Vampires?" He met her gaze steadily. "Do you believe in the existence of vampires, Miss Peterson?" Her eyes widened. "Maybe," she replied, warily. Giles broke eye contact. "More tea?" She blinked a couple of times at the non sequitur. "Yes. Thank you." Giles poured again and handed her a fresh cup of tea. "There are many fascinating legends about vampires, far more interesting than what you see in the movies, actually." He continued for a while about vampires throughout history. Alice listened, entranced. She loved storytellers, especially when they really knew their subject, as he obviously did. Several times, he wandered to the stacks to look up a reference or to illustrate a point he was making. Eventually, he brought the subject around to vampire hunters and someone he called, "The Slayer. Into each generation a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a chosen one, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil--" "A girl? Isn't it usually an old guy called Van Helsing?" Giles' enthusiasm was contagious and Alice had surprised herself by coming out of her shell. She was leaning forward, elbows on the table, having an actual conversation with an adult, as if she did that sort of thing every day. "That is in the movies. The Slayer is always a girl." "But how can one girl do all that by herself?" "The Slayer is not alone. She is trained by her Watcher. The Watcher is in charge of preparing her, physically and mentally, to fight and destroy vampires." "How?" She sounded skeptical. "The Slayer has several advantages over other girls. She has superior strength and agility. She heals faster than normal and has greater stamina, thus being able to withstand and recover from injuries that would incapacitate someone not so gifted. The Watcher's job is to train her to use these gifts to the best of her abilities." "And you say there's only one in each generation? So what happens when she dies? There's no one to fight vampires until a new one is born and grows up?" "No. At all times, there are several girls around the world with the potential to be the Slayer. When the Slayer dies, one of those girls becomes the Slayer." "But...how? And how does the Watcher know who she is? And how does *she* know who she is? And--" He raised his hand to stop her string of questions. A glance at the clock had shown him that the period was almost over. He didn't have much time left. He had to tell her now. "Usually, most of the potential Slayers have been identified ahead of time and the Watchers..." he searched in vain for the right word, "...know...when one of those girls has become the new Slayer. However, sometimes the Slayer is not among the known potential Slayers, so the Watchers have to look for her." "But how do they know where to look?" "They don't. They look all over the world, hoping for the best. Sometimes, like now, it takes years." Alice stared at him. Suddenly, she didn't like where this conversation was going. "What do you mean, "like now"?" she asked in quiet voice. He could see her retreating behind her protective walls. He leaned forward and spoke carefully. "Alice. Listen to me. What I just told you, about the Slayer. It's all true. It's not a fairy tale, or a legend, or a myth. It's fact. Do you understand?" She nodded slowly. Her expression was unreadable. He continued. "Vampires are real. Slayers are real. I am a Watcher. After looking for several years, we have finally found the new Slayer and I have been assigned to guide and train her." He paused, hoping for some sort of reaction from her. As Giles talked, Alice had unconsciously been leaning back into the chair, away from the table and Giles, trying to distance herself from the topic. Things were starting to make sense, and this frightened her. The feelings of danger she got around the park and the cemetery, warning her away. The way her hand had healed so quickly after she broke that glass last year. The way she could outrun all the kids in gym at her old school. She really, really didn't like where this conversation was going. "Alice." She looked up. It was hard to tell who was the more nervous of the two. "Alice.... You are the Slayer." Before he had finished talking, she was shaking her head. She was still shaking it when she stood up and backed away from him, and only stopped when she hit the counter and couldn't back away any further. She was breathing hard, and her voice was ragged. "No, I'm not." But she was. She *knew* she was, but she didn't want to be. She didn't want the dreams to be true. She didn't want the monsters to be real. She just wanted to be little Alice Peterson, the one no one ever noticed. "No, I'm not," she repeated, hoping repeating it would make it so, but knowing it wouldn't. Giles didn't know what to do. No one ever knew what to expect with a new Slayer. Skepticism, of course. But...apprehension? "Alice--" "Why me?" she whispered. "Why pick me? I'm not special." He saw his opening. "But, you are, Alice. You're the Slayer. The only one in all the world. That is what makes you special." - ---------- BETSY VERA * bentley@umich.edu * http://bentley.simplenet.com Buffy Fanzines Premiering at Mediawest '98: * An Alternate Viewpoint (members.tripod.com/~natmerc/avzine.html) * * Sunnydale Slayers (www-personal.umich.edu/~mwynn/zine.html) * A Snack Before Dinner * Spring Break Slayer Style/Sidekick Style * ------------------------------ End of buffyfic-digest V2 #170 ****************************** To subscribe to buffyfic or buffyfic-digest, send the command subscribe buffyfic-digest or subscribe buffy 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. To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@xmission.com with unsubscribe buffyfic-digest or unsubscribe buffyfic in the body. 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