From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic-digest V2 #189 Reply-To: $SENDER Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic-digest Friday, May 15 1998 Volume 02 : Number 189 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: otherverse 1: A Sword Against the Darkness BUFFYFIC: Saying Goodbye (1/1) BUFFYFIC: Best Intentions, Part 2 BUFFYFIC: Willow's Challenge (1/1) BUFFYFIC: "Reunion" Interlude # 7: "Black," by Ingrid 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, 15 May 1998 00:50:13 -0400 From: Rick Smith Subject: BUFFYFIC: otherverse 1: A Sword Against the Darkness AUTHOR=92S NOTE: This story is set in an somewhat alternate Buffyverse. = =20 While many of the characters exist here, they may be considerably different than the ones you are used to. The first few stories will be short introductions to the characters, to give you some idea of what to expect from them in my writings. My stories will usually involve dismemberments and stuff like that.=20 Title: A Sword Against the Darkness Author: R. Smith (conor@dnaco.net) Rated: R for violence (although this one is a bit tame) Summary: Nah... read it. Comments: Bring =91em on Disclaimer: The Buffy the Vampire universe, characters and concepts are property of Josh Wheldon, Mutant Enemy, etc, etc... =20 Summer 1996, a Tuesday night, late. Xander pulled his sword from the steaming body of the demon. He glanced around to make sure the beast had no friends nearby, then strode over to his supply bag. He pulled a cloth from the bag and carefully wiped the gore from his blade. After sheathing the sword, he looked himself over. He had a few superficial cuts and scratches, but beyond that, he was pretty well off (besides being covered in demon blood.)=20 He=92d have to make sure his wounds were well cleaned when he got home; there was always a danger of infection when you got that stuff under your skin. =93What have we here?=94 whispered a voice from his left. =93Looks like the Hunter himself,=94 whispered another, this time from h= is right. Xander looked up to find two pale, fanged individuals smiling hungrily at him. =93Hey, guys,=94 Xander smiled, =93You wouldn=92t be interested in just = going on about your business, would you? I=92ve already had a pretty hard nigh= t here.=94 The vampires just smiled and moved toward him. =93Didn=92t think so,=94 he said, and thought to himself, =93So much for= an early night.=94 His sword hissed as it cleared the scabbard. It glimmered menacingly in the moonlight, causing the vampires to pause. Then they chuckled. =93Can=92t kill us with steel, little man,=94 said the one on the right, =93Don't you know anything about vampires?=94 =93This is no ordinary steel, bat boy,=94 Xander replied, =93This sword = was blessed by the Pope 392 years ago, specifically for killing demons.=20 Last I heard, vampires were really nothing more than humans possessed by something..... what was that word? Oh, yeah -- demons. So I figure it=92ll work on you just fine.=94 During this exchange, the vampires had been spreading out, trying to catch Xander between them. Years of training kept that from happening, however, when Xander suddenly lunged at one of them, causing him to jerk back, and before that vampire could recover, he turned on the other one and split it from crotch to chin in one stroke. The vampire screamed as the wound began to smoke, and it fell writhing to the ground, trying to hold it=92s guts in. Xander moved toward the other vampire, holding the sword ready to strike or parry as needed. He moved like a cat, never losing even the slightest bit of balance. The vampire looked over at it=92s fallen companion and decided that staying was not likely to improve it=92s chances of survival. As it turned to run, Xander chuckled, =93Uh-uh, ugly. I was just kiddin= g earlier when I said you could go about your business. I=92m afraid I=92m not allowed to let you live.=94 The vampire got set to run, and as it planted it=92s feet, Xander swung the sword low, taking off one of it=92s legs at the knee. It fell, howling, and clutching the bloody stump, as Xander moved up behind it.=20 His sword whistled as he swung it overhand, splitting the vampire=92s hea= d in two and silencing it=92s screams forever. He calmly walked over to the other one as it lay twitching and bleeding on the ground. =93Time for you to do that eternal rest thing,=94 he said to it, and wit= h a flick of his sword blade, he took it=92s head off. Xander looked around the clearing. He'd been lucky tonight. Lucky the demon hadn't hurt him worse. Lucky that the vampires had obviously been newborns. Lucky there hadn't been more of them. He could kill vampires, but he was poorly equipped to do so. He just wasn't the Slayer. =20 He'd heard that she'd finally been found, in L. A. of all places, and he really hoped that her Watcher could convince her that the Hellmouth was the place for her. Otherwise, sooner or later, Xander was going to run into a pack too big for him to kill. He paused a moment, chanting something quietly in Latin. Then he walked over and got his bag and headed for home. At his back, the three corpses burst into flame. When the people of Sunnydale walked through this park tomorrow, they=92d find nothing more disturbing than a little fine ash on the ground. >>>That's it for now folks, hope you liked it a little. More to come soo= n.<<< ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 10:22:22 EDT From: Redfire98 Subject: BUFFYFIC: Saying Goodbye (1/1) TITLE: Saying Goodbye AUTHOR: Tamara EMAIL: Redfire98@aol.com FEEDBACK: Since I'm really iffy on this one, feedback is a must. DIST: Eventually my page. All others please ask. RATING: PG SUMMARY: The title says it all really. It's Buffy and Angel and it's after soul restoration. It's sappy, it's sad. I apologize. Profusely. I also make up stuff to suit my own purposes, so just flow with it. DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the BtVS characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, WB, and Fox. I'm just borrowing them while I mess with their heads and make their lives miserable. And I don't make them miserable on purpose. My mind has a mind of it's own and it does not listen to me. Especially after that last incident...but let's get on with the story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Saying Goodbye Sporting a smug smile, Buffy pulled a stake from behind her back and presented it to her prey. He looked at her, surprised, for a moment before foolishness took over and he lunged at her. She stepped to the right, avoiding his attack. "Bye bye," she said sweetly and with one smooth thrust, she plunged the stake deep into the vampire's heart. Just as he was exploding into a cloud of dust her Slayer sense told her a certain special vampire was around. She considered, breifly, to just walk away. She wasn't really sure she wanted to deal with Angel right now, or the whole list of things that happened whenever they were together lately. But running away wouldn't help. Sheathing the stake back in the sleeve of her jacket, the one he'd given her, she turned to greet him. Her words of welcome were never vocalized once she saw him. He really didn't look much different. He was dressed in his usual black jeans and leather jacket. But instead of the usual white shirt he wore the dark green sweater she'd bought him a year ago. When things had been happy between them. At that inadvertent reminder that all was not well, Buffy turned and started to walk away. Only his softly spoken words stopped her. "Come back," Angel called out to her. "Please." It was the please, spoken so softly, so painfully, that halted her. That and the fact that even upset with Angel she couldn't help herself when he spoke to her like that. Cursing herself a fool a thousand times over, she turned back to him. When she looked into his eyes she saw something there that told her this meeting was different. Angel hadn't come to hash out their differences, he hadn't come to have a heart to heart. Something was going on and Buffy knew she wasn't going to like it. "What's happening?" she asked him, a tinge of fear in her voice. Angel looked away for a moment, and Buffy knew her thoughts were right. "I'm leaving," Angel stated calmly. If it hadn't been for the sadness in his eyes Buffy would have thought he wasn't affected by this. But Buffy couldn't pretend this wasn't hurting her. Before Angel could see the tears in her eyes Buffy turned and stalked away. She heard Angel trailing after her, but she gave no thought to it. The only thing her mind could focus on was that Angel was leaving. And odds were he wasn't coming back. Somewhere in the back of her mind she'd known this was coming. For a while things had been so great between them. They'd been so happy. Whenever she had doubts that things were too good between them she pushed them away, thinking maybe it was time for her to finally be happy. But things had gotten bad and then they'd gotten worse. But through it all she'd held on to one sliver of hope, thinking that maybe if they got through the worst of times, they'd be happy again. She stopped suddenly and, disregarding tears, she turned back to him. "Why?" she asked him, confusion, disbelief and pain clear in her voice. Angel closed his eyes not wanting to see the tears he'd seen so many times before, knowing that he was the one causing them. "Buffy, you know why," he said facing her once again. "It's the best thing. For both of us." Buffy cried out in frustration. "You're running again," she accused in anger. Angel sighed as the jab hit home. But he couldn't deny it. "You're right," he admitted. "I am running away. You know as well as I do that things are not working out. As much as we try, and as hard as we wish it, things will never be the same. I can't stay here, seeing you everyday, knowing that we'll never get what we had back." They'd had this arguement before and Buffy didn't want to get into it again, but she had to know why they couldn't try to work it out. Their problems had happened so suddenly. It had all started that one night a year ago, the night that Angel had lost his soul. Buffy still held a small amount of guilt for that little episode. For six months, Angel's demon had roamed Sunnydale, making life a living hell for her and the others. And then just as suddenly as he'd been taken away, with the help of the restoration spell, Angel returned. She'd thought with Angel back, things could go back to the way they'd been before, she'd hoped they could be happy together. She hadn't counted on her inability to seperate Angel and Angelus, even when she knew her Angel was back. She hadn't counted on him shutting her out so completely that she felt the loss of him deeper than when he'd been gone before. But even though they couldn't be in a room together without yelling, Buffy knew they still loved each other. And she knew they could work things out. If only they tried. But now that Angel was leaving she didn't think they'd get the chance. And she couldn't accept that. "I miss being with you," Angel continued softly. "The way things are going we'll never get back to that. Hell, we can't even strike up a friendship. The best thing, for both of us, is for me to just leave." Buffy shook her head, denying his words. "Angel, you can't leave me," she said softly. "I need you." "No as much as you think." Buffy smiled sadly. "More than you know." Angel looked away for a moment. "Buffy, I'm leaving. Nothing is going to change that." At that simple statement Buffy was positive she felt something inside her break, but she wasn't going to dwell on it now. She knew now that he really was leaving. No amount of pleading or wanting on her part was going to make him stay. "Have you told the others?" Buffy asked him trying to get her mind on something else, trying to focus her mind on something other than the pain. Angel nodded. "I talked to Giles before I came to find you." Buffy sighed, grateful that she wouldn't have to break the news to the others. The only bad thing was that they were going to treat her with kid gloves for the next couple of days. She wasn't looking forward to that. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears. "Losing you," she said after a moment. "Losing you scares me. I'm not sure I can handle it. Not again." "You're not losing me, Buffy," he said, attempting to reassure her. Again, her lips lifted in a sad smile. "Yes, I am." Now that she knew he was leaving, knew that after this night they'd be apart forever, all the arguements, the yelling, the fighting, they didn't matter anymore. The angry silences, the subtle insults, all seemed so petty. They'd wasted so much time and now it was too late. As if by pulled by some unstoppable force, Angel and Buffy walked toward each other until there was no space between them. "With you gone I'll have to argue with Giles. He'll be so upset." Buffy said smiling once again. "And no more late night talks with Will about our dates. And you're leaving before our date to mom's big art show." "You'll find another date," Angel insisted. He didn't sound too enthusiastic about the idea though. Buffy chuckled. "I don't want another date." Angel pulled Buffy into his arms bringing her closer to him. "If I'd known I was leaving I wouldn't have started that fight last night." "There are lots of things I would have done if I'd known you were leaving." "I'm going to miss you," Angel whispered softly. Buffy leaned forward and placed her lips on his. Angel pulled her closer crushing her in his arms. When Buffy pulled away Angel wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love you," he told her knowing that maybe she deserved to hear it again. "I love you, too," she whispered in answer. Then she stepped back and let him go. She watched as he disappeared silently into the night, his body blending into the shadows until they became one. He'd exited her life exactly the way he'd come into it and, despite her sadness, she smiled. And when she couldn't see him anymore she sat down on the ground of the cemetery and finally allowed herself to really cry. The End ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tamara, CtH Mistress ~ Redfire98@aol.com ~ UCS ~ Spikette ~ SGEB ~ SunS Worshipper ~ RABID ~ GASP Webpage: http://members.tripod.com/~Aramat1/index.html "We're like artists and this is how we screw ourselves." -Jane, "Daria" "I think, therefore I'm single." -Lizz Winstead ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 07:37:49 PDT From: "Jennifer M." Subject: BUFFYFIC: Best Intentions, Part 2 TITLE: Best Intentions AUTHOR: Jennifer M. (cliodhna25@hotmail.com) SUMMARY: What would happen if Buffy's mom found her diary? RATING: PG. TIME PERIOD: Maybe past Becoming 1? THANKYOUS: Thanks Leslie S.! FEEDBACK: Please! Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. DISTRIBUTION: Please ask. DISCLAIMER: All characters are the property of Joss Whedon, et al. The idea is mine, though! Best Intentions Part 2/15(?) The next morning, Buffy got up, dressed, took special care to put on her cross necklace and Claddaugh ring, and went to find her mother. What she found was something else. She walked into the kitchen and was grabbed and held firmly by two men. Two *really* large men. Even with her Slayer strength, Buffy could not pull free of them. The men exchanged looks, surprised by the small girl's strength, but they held on. She looked up at them, and shouted, "Hey! Let me go! Are you trying to rip my arms off? MOM!" "Buffy, I know what you're thinking, but, honey, this really is for the best," her mother said from the other side of the kitchen. She looked at her mother with hurt, confusion, anger and fear written all over her face. But the emotion that got to Joyce the most was the betrayal showing in her daughter's eyes. "Mom! What are you doing?" "Buffy, I think you need some time to talk to some people, get some rest." Buffy was still pulling to get away from the men that held her. "Get *off* me! Mom! Tell them to let me go!" Her slayer strength was failing her. "No, Buffy. I think this is for the best. I think you may be in some kind of trouble, and you really need some time to get things into perspective." Joyce had rehearsed this speech, but it just didn't sound right coming out of her mouth. Her resolve almost melted away. "Honey, you just need a break. You need some time to relax and get some therapy. I'm afraid, Buffy." The tears that Joyce had been holding back finally began to stream down her face. Buffy stopped fighting the two men. Very calmly, "OK, mom. But, do me this one favor. Go to Mr. Giles, you know, the librarian, and tell him what you had to do, and ask him to give you the explanation that you couldn't wait to hear from both of us." The men started to drag her towards the back door. "Mom! Come on, tell me that you'll do that! Please!" Joyce looked away, her hands covering her face as her tears continued to fall. The two men dragged Buffy outside to the waiting van, where they forcefully strapped her down. "Look, you don't have to tie it so tight, do you? Ouch!" They ignored her, and went to the front of the van, and drove away from her house. Joyce was in the kitchen crying uncontrollably. "Oh, Buffy. Why couldn't you just talk to me?" ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 13:22:09 -0400 From: Jessica Dubois Subject: BUFFYFIC: Willow's Challenge (1/1) Title: Willow's Challenge (1/1) Author: Jessica Dubois E-mail: Jessica.Dubois@sympatico.ca Distribution: Please ask first. It'll be archived eventually at my own site, The Place Where Forbidden Love Dwells, Rating: PG Summery: It's a short piece, and mostly fluff. Just read it. Disclaimer: I don't own Willow or Angel. Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and 'Grr Arg' do. No copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made. Feedback: Yes, please. Willow's Challenge By: Jessica Dubois Willow stirred her untouched coffee, and sighed as she glanced around the Bronze. Things had been hairy lately, with Ampata and Ford trying to mess up their lives, not to mention that whole thing at Halloween. But things were not so bad now. Almost normal. Willow hoped that they would stay normal. Willow was bored. Buffy was patrolling, Xander was away for the weekend with his parents, and Giles was up to his neck in books. Willow smiled faintly. Her thought trailed off as she glanced up and saw Angel coming towards her. He smiled, and Willow felt happiness bubble inside of her. Angel was a good friend, despite the... vampire thing. "How are you, Willow?" he asked, as he motioned as to whether he could sit. She quickly nodded her head, and smiled. "Good. If you're looking for Buffy, she's out patrolling." Angel smiled. "I know. But vamp activity is pretty low right now. So she'll be fine. I thought that since Xander was away, you might like some company." Willow smiled brightly. "I could always use company. Especially since I rarely see you, and you rarely talk, and we really..." Willow looked down, embarrassed. "And I really should be quiet now." Angel gave a small chuckle. "It's alright, Willow. I don't mind if you babble. It almost makes me feel... normal." Angel looked down, as Willow's head shot up. "You are normal, in a..." Willow frowned. "Ok, you're not normal. But you're special, but you still deserve to feel happy." Angel made a grim rueful sound. "You do," Willow said firmly. "You're a great guy, and a great friend. You help people, and if it weren't for you, Buffy, Xander and I would probably be dead." "Don't say that," Angel said grimly. "It's true," Willow said softly. "And I want to thank you for it." Angel looked at her with torture in his eyes. "I didn't do anything." Angel looked around a little wildly. "I should go." He moved to get up, but Willow put a hand on his arm, and he paused. "Angel. I'm your friend, and I'm always here for you. Remember that, ok?" Angel nodded, and headed off. Willow sighed again. Angel was so sad. She really wished she could help him be happy, but it was a real challenge. He refused to accept that he had friends, and that he wasn't alone anymore. But she refused to give up on him. She would wait as long as it took, until he accepted their friendship. And then, she, they all would, teach him how to be truly happy. Willow smiled, as she continued to stir her still untouched coffee. she thought. She smirked lightly, as her mind whirled with ideas on how to bring Angel truly into their fold. Fin Author's Note: I'm building an Angel/Willow fan fiction archive, and I would like to ask that if anyone had Angel/Willow fic, to please send it my way. And feedback on this piece is greatly wanted. Jessica - -- "Ours is a forbidden love." - Willow, Lie to Me "She's dancing... Dancing with Death!" - Drucilla, IOHE4U Keeper of Willow's Spellcasting Ability Visit my Site The Place Where Forbidden Love Dwells http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/attenborough/295/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 17:33:24 -0400 From: ingrid29@juno.com (Ingrid E Stanton) Subject: BUFFYFIC: "Reunion" Interlude # 7: "Black," by Ingrid DISCLAIMER: The characters of Buffy, Giles, Cordelia, Spike, Xander, Drusilla, Willow, Angel & co. are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Productions, and The Warner Brothers Network, and are used without permission. The author claims no rights to these characters. SUMMARY: What ever happened to Willow that night? STORY INFO: This series is meant as a companion to "Reunion." (The flashbacks take place about 9 years beforehand.) If you haven’t read "Reunion," this won’t make much sense to you. If you don’t have parts 1-16 of it, you can write to me and request them. FORGIVE my mistakes. I was in a sleep-like state when I wrote this. I don’t *think* there are any mechanical errors, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty. Please disregard! "Reunion" Interlude # 8: "Black" by Ingrid All was black around her. She hovered there for a time, searched for anything, but there was nothing. Dead? Hours, she’d been here. She was beginning to feel the edges of her brain starting to curl. She tried to pull her legs up; to sit up and fall asleep- anything was preferable to this terrible consciousness. Her neck snapped as her head slammed into something not a few feet above where she’d been laying. Knots formed, teeth clenched, but it couldn’t prepare her for the jolt of pain traveling directly down her spine like a bolt of lightning. Air escaped her lungs, but she didn’t scream. She was in too much pain for that. She waited, trying to concentrate on anything but her broken bones. It was useless. There was nothing. Her head would soon roll off, she was sure, having nothing to keep it from lolling back into the dark. Then she moved her head just slightly, and convulsed when the pinched nerve at the base of her skull seemed to tear- the last remaining attachment between head and body. She screamed and thrashed about. It wouldn’t go. Wouldn’t leave. She hit something like a comforter on her right and froze. Something padded. She pushed out with her arms. Padded and solid on all sides. Felt the long dress she was wearing. She hadn’t been wearing this, and why this tight collar? Her neck throbbed again, strong and needle-like. She saw red, and suddenly it all made sense. The padded walls, her dress clothing. She was dead. No. Undead. Six feet under the ground She choked on the darkness around her. She was suffocating. She kicked hard at the invisible ceiling hysterically. To her shock, the lid swung open, and she saw stars above her. Many feet above. Roots reached out from the levels of sediment like hands seeking to hold her in. She had to get out. Taking a deep breath, she swung up, pressed her feet to the floor for extra height, and leapt onto the side of her tunnel to the sky. The rest of the way she clawed with lightning speed. The needles penetrating her neck only drove her to work faster. She crawled out and stood, running as soon as she was able to stand. She didn’t know where she was going. Just away from this place. The woods were close at hand, and she threw herself into the densest patch of trees she could find. Her mission accomplished, she collapsed. *** END, interlude 8. "I have no doubt in my mind that there is a circle of hell dedicated solely to forcing its inhabitants to write research papers." _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ End of buffyfic-digest V2 #189 ****************************** 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. 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)