From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic-digest V2 #386 Reply-To: $SENDER Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic-digest Thursday, December 3 1998 Volume 02 : Number 386 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Twilight - (6/?) BUFFYFIC: Snowball's Chance (1/?) by Chase DeKota BUFFYFIC: Twilight (8/?) 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: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 17:15:14 EST From: Titanic437@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: Twilight - (6/?) This story is called Twilight. E-mail me at Titanic437@aol.com to send me good/bad feedback and to ask for permission to use it. I'm so sorry that I= am disorgnized with this fic. Being disorganized is teh story of my life. Twilight - The READL Chapter 6. The other was Chapter 7. You're psychic! W= ork for =09=09=09a hotline! Twilight - Chapter 5 By Luisa Matos =09=09"I think of death, it must be killin' me..." =09=09-One Headlight, the Wallflowers Xander watched the astonished expressions on everyone's faces. Xander look= ed back into the mirror, just in case he suddenly appeared, but the light sti= ll bent around him, and he could see the bookshelves behind him, and the shou= lder of Giles' coat that Xander was suppose to be covering. "Now do we panic?" Xander cracked, turning away from the mirror. He didn't want to look anymore. "I-I must consult my books immediately," Giles said robotically. He turned= to look at Xander, with such a sympathetic face that it turned Xander's stoma= ch. He must be in real trouble. "I'll find out what's happening, Xander. I promise." Xander just nodded and watched Giles leave. Then he walked over to Willow,= who was still staring dumbly at the mirror. He came up to her and touched her gently on the shoulder. "Willow?" Willow stared into the mirror, and although she could feel Xander's hand o= n her shirt, all that appeared in the mirror was a slight dent in her bright= red shirt, and not Xander's hand making it. "You're not in the mirror," Willow said, her voice trembling. "I know you're here but you're not * there *." "It's ok Willow," he soothed, and then caught her as she fell crying into = his arms. "Giles will find something on this, and he'll find a spell or someth= ing, and then we'll stop whatever's going to happen. * If * anything is going t= o happen. I'm not going to turn into a conscious-less killer like . . ." Xander didn't dare say the name, but instead glowered at Buffy, who was st= ill staring in the mirror. Since he had no reflection, she didn't see his scow= l. "Xander, you don't know what'll happen. You don't . . ." Willow didn't hav= e the heart to go on. She was just quiet, occasionally hiccuping, but findin= g comfort just by being in his arms. Buffy finally turned around, and looked at Xander with a face completely devoid of emotion. "Xander," she started her voice empty, but he cut her o= ff. "I don't want to hear what you have to say," Xander said, his voice like steel. "I don't care what you have to say, and for the remaining life of m= e, I would like to never see you again, except that's kind of hard now, but don= 't worry, if your boyfriend finishes what he's started you'll only being seei= ng me at night." Buffy's mouth opened again, but if Xander's looks could kill, they would. "Dooon't start with me!" Xander said loudly, "'cause you'll lose!" Suddenly there was the loud bang as the swing doors opened and closed loud= ly. The three teens looked up to see who had come to join their bawlfest. "Hey," Oz said, dropping his stuff by the counter. Then he noticed the loo= ks on everyone's faces. "What's happened?" he asked innocently. "I'm slowly, painfully, being turned into a vampire," Xander said with pur= e Oz blas=E9-ness. Willow started up again, this time inconsolable. Buffy just kept staring a= t the place where Xander's reflection was suppose to appear. Giles was still searching for an explanation back in the stack, and poor Oz was left stand= ing there, with but one question: "Huh?" - --------------------------------------------------------------------------= - ---- - ------------------------------ Late into the night, Giles was still fervently searching through all his books, Buffy was out patrolling, and Willow was still crying with Xander a= t his house. Oz was left in the library with the Watcher, flipping through s= ome old and musty books that possibly were not even written in English. Then a word caught his eye from a page. HALF-BREED Oz squinted and pulled the book closer to him so that he could read the ti= ny print. In the next ten minutes or so, he was engrossed in an interesting t= ext about a cross between a human and a werewolf, which was caused only when a werewolf didn't completely bite it's victim. It seemed that a half-breed h= ad complete control over when he turned into a werewolf or not, and could cha= nge without the need of a full moon: he could do it any time, anywhere, day or night. Cool. Giles voice broke his concentration. "Did you find anything?" he asked, shifting the weight of the books in his arms and leaning over Oz's shoulde= r. Oz glanced over at him, and then back at the book. "Um, no, but I did find something that could help me, I guess. About werewolves." "Oh," Giles said somewhat detachedly, quickly scanning the page. Several wrinkles sprouted on his forehead. "Perhaps this applies to Xander . . ." "So, what, he'd be like, half-vampire?" Oz asked. "Like Blade?" "Hmm, what?' Giles said, coming back to Earth. He gave Oz a quizzical look= . "Um, movie, you wouldn't know. It's about a guy, w-who has all the good tr= aits and some bad traits of a vampire. He can walk in the daylight, has supernatural strength and stuff, but still has to drink blood. I don't kno= w about the reflection thing. Does that sound like Xander?" Giles shook his head disbelievingly. "It could apply to him yes," Giles sa= id, "but the answer is much too easy. To . . . clean and simple. Nothing is ev= er wrapped up in such a neat little package in reality." "Well, who thought that vampires, werewolves, and Hellmouths existed in reality?" Oz tossed back at him, more in curiosity than to intentionally p= rove him wrong. "That knowledge was ignored by the human race until it existed only in mythology, but very few know that it is real. Because it * is * real. This 'Blade' you speak of, or a half-breed vampire, exists only in screenplays,= and the minds of horror authors and the minds of the majority of the world's population. What's happening to Xander is truly happening, in real life, a= nd not in a motion picture." "Just a suggestion," Oz muttered under his breath and Giles walked away, taking the book with him just in case Oz's hypothesis was indeed correct. = Oz pulled another book from the pile resting on the table and proceeded to lo= ok for another case like Xander's, eyes open and aware for the slightest mentioning of lycanthrophy. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------= - ---- - ------------------------ "Willow," Xander asked softly, "are you awake?" The soft breathing sound from the person who lay next to him told him all = that he needed to know. Willow was fast asleep, snuggled next to Xander on his = bed, right on top of the remote so that the TV kept switching channels whenever Willow tossed or turned. And she was doing that a lot. Careful not to wake his best buddy, Xander slowly eased out from beside Wi= llow and got out of bed, all those annoying bones and muscles popping as he sto= od up and stretched his arms. Yawning widely, he stumbled across his room and into the bathroom. He sat there, not looking in the mirror, of course, because he was not the= re, but instead at a photo of him, Buffy, and Willow. He looked at his smiling face and tried to imagine it contorted into the shape of a vampire's face. Then he tried to imagine fangs. He shuddered. Then a sudden image flashed in his mind. Him, holding Willow, and slowly b= ut surely draining the blood out of her- With a sudden yelp, Xander threw the photo across the bathroom. One sharp = edge met with the wall and the photo tumbled to the floor, ending up stuck in a= n odd position underneath the clothes hamper-Xander was hidden from view, wh= ile Buffy and Willow were still in the picture, smiling widely. If there ever = was a metaphor, it was there in plain sight. "Oh Xander, what are you going to do?" he mumbled to himself, putting his = face in his hands. In no way imaginable could he ever deal with this crisis. - --------------------------------------------------------------------------= - ---- - --------------------------- For hours now, Buffy had been calling herself names, telling herself what = a horrible person and awful slayer she was, and had generally been piling herself with emotional self-destruction all night long as she patrolled th= e graveyard, staking the newly-risen vamps easy and with nonchalant indifference. The real problem at hand was that possibly, in a very short while, she might be adding Xander to the "dusted vampire" list. "Aw, lover, is something wrong? Why so down in the dumps tonight? Is it because your little friend is becoming a soulless demon?" Buffy froze, and then before turning around, she collected herself. And th= en she turned around, stake held high. Angel was only a few feet away from the Slayer, and he chuckled when he noticed the stake she held. "Who are you kidding," he sneered at his ex- girlfriend. "You're not going to use that on me. You can't kill me." Buffy knew that was true, but she wound her hand tightly around the stake until she thought she would crumble to dust it in her hand. "Why did you c= ome after Xander?" she whispered in a deadly voice. "Why not me? It's me you'r= e after, it's me that you're looking to pay back." Angel grinned, and it was hideous-looking when he did that with his game f= ace on. "Hurting your friends is hurting you, and you know who I'm looking to hurt. 'Sides-Willow as a vampire? Didn't see it. And who wants Cordelia fo= r an eternity? Don't even get me started at the Watcher of yours." "Why don't you make me a vampire?" she asked, still with that deathly calm= . "Is that a request?" Angel teased. "I think not, though. I'm having fun torturing you, and if you go and be a demon, they'll be no innocent little thing of a Slayer-" he reached out to touch her ever-so-gently on her chin-"for me to mentally destroy." He stopped touching her and backed away= . "And take a hint from Dru-don't try to resist! I always win!" By the time Buffy collected her wits, Angel had already left. Her bottom l= ip quivered as she realized how completely helpless she was around him. Who w= as she kidding? Although Angel was gone, she still held on to the hope that t= here remained the tiniest vestige of Angel in Angelus, somewhere. But it wasn't true, and it would never happen-yet Buffy continued to fool herself, becau= se love and reality never truly fit together. Two puzzle pieces that look lik= e they match, but no matter how many times you shove them together, they nev= er fit. And eventually, you break one of the pieces, and the puzzle is foreve= r ruined. "I-I love you, Angel," she whispered to the wind. "I just wish I could let= you go." End of Chapter 6. Feel free to flame. ~Shadows~ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 2 Dec 1998 19:34:20 EST From: ChaseDKota@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: Snowball's Chance (1/?) by Chase DeKota TITLE: Snowball's Chance AUTHOR: Chase DeKota EMAIL: ChaseDKota@aol.com FEEDBACK: Please. DISTRIBUTION: Ask. I'll say yes. RATING: PG-14, for now SPOILERS and TIMELINE: The story pretty much carries itself. References a= ll the way up to "Band Candy." DISCLAIMER: The world of BtVS belongs to 20th Century Fox, with nods to Jo= ss Whedon and company; I'm only visiting it. 'Mac' appears courtesy of J.J. Benike. Many thanks to my beta readers. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Snowball's Chance By: Chase DeKota Part: 1/? =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D The lead singer was mumbling his way through the band's latest song. The teens on the dance floor didn't really care whether the lyrics were understandable, so long as the music was there. Someone had taken time to hang a few strands of lights and some garland around the bar in honor of t= he upcoming holiday season. Her friends were sprawled somewhere near a couch= , maybe sipping cappuccino and joking with each other. Or so Buffy Summers imagined. Instead of chatting it up, she was busy with the newest member of Sunnydal= e's undead community. With the agility and strength only a Slayer can possess, Buffy sent her opponent flying. The vamp came to a stop against a grave that the family = of the deceased had already decorated for the holidays. A wreath came loose = from its hook and the vamp was wearing it like a very festive collar. He was n= ot pleased with the look. "Where's your Christmas spirit?" The blonde tilted her head to the side and adopted a sarcastic pout. The beast growled and charged. Buffy gave a small sigh and raised her arm. T= he vampire's own momentum impaled him on the stake and he exploded in a cloud= of dust. "I *so* need a challenge." The night air had an uncharacteristic chill to it, even for this late in t= he year. Buffy zipped her jacket up and picked the wreath up off the ground. She shook the dust off and placed it back on the grave it belonged to. It wasn't too late; she could still make it to the Bronze. With a sigh, she spun around, delivering a blow that knocked whomever was sneaking up behind her to the ground. "You guys never learn," she remarke= d as she pulled another stake from her coat. "Whoa, hey! Not a vampire!" The newcomer appeared human, female, close t= o Buffy's age, very short hair, dressed in a black suit. Decidedly not a bloodsucker. "Then who are you?" The new female stood up. "I'm Mac." "What kind of name is 'Mac'?" Buffy arched an eyebrow, the stake still in= her hand. Mac shrugged. "One that serves its purpose." In no mood for games, the Slayer was ready to put the stake to use - vampi= re or not. She probably would have, had she not noticed - felt - something o= dd. She placed her fingers lightly to her cheek and found it cold and wet. Slowly, Buffy lifted her head up to the black sky. Her eyes widened and crossed as she focused on something, watching it spiral down=85down=85down= to the tip of her nose. A snowflake. First one, then another. And another. Th= ey continued until they were falling steadily. It was snowing in Sunnydale, California. "Well=85this is new." "You ain't seen nothing yet." =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 04:28:10 EST From: Titanic437@aol.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: Twilight (8/?) TITLE: Twilight AUTHOR: ~Shadows~ DISTRIBUTION: Oh GOD please distrubute it! If it just lives on my hard drive, then it's a waste. And totally ask permission first, though. E-mail me at Titanic437@aol.com That address is always were you must send feedback. PLEASE, feedback. I need that more than I need distribution! (: DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. Cross my heart and hope to die if the words I speak are indeed a lie. Yet, I am typing, so do the same rules apply . . . ? Insta-poem. Twilight - Chapter 7 "Who will save your soul?" -Who Will Save Your Soul?, Jewel The hooded figure walked rapidly down the empty halls of the high school. Classes were session, and the figure, hidden underneath the baggy, long- sleeved green sweatshirt, used this time to make his way to the library. Nobody would be in the halls. He wasn't counting on Snyder to be patrolling the halls for slackers. "Hey-you!" The sniveling voice of the school principal rang loud down the corridor. The figure halted suddenly, and then slapped himself on the head, muttering under his breath. The figure waited patiently until the troll-er, principal-caught up with him. Snyder approached the figure slowly, and then spun on his heel so that he was in front of him. He couldn't se the face, because the hood was pulled almost shut over the figure's face. "The Student Code of Conduct," Snyder started, smiling his little evil grin, "clearly states that the Dress Code does not allow head coverings of any kind, and hoods of sweatshirts are included. And I bet you know that I do not give warnings-I give punishments. Does detention sound good to you?" The hooded head slowly nodded in acknowledge. "Now take it off," Snyder sneered, quite happy at having bagged another slacker. The figure hung it's head, and then one sleeve-covered arm slowly peeled off the hood, exposing the pale face of Xander Harris. His eyes squinted at the sunlight coming in from the large window only a few paces away, and he held his hand over his face to shield himself, but was still able to see Commandante Snyder standing there, grinning with his sharp, little teeth. Troll. "Well, Mr. Harris. Why am I not surprised? And where were you headed to?" "The library, Principal Snyder." "Oh * really *. And why was that?" " * Because * ." Xander said, struggling to keep his anger at bay. Who knew what could trigger his game face? " The first time I do my homework, I leave it in the library. How's that for luck?" "Homework for what?" Oh no, what class was he suppose to be in right now? "Science," he answered. "Mr. Brodie. We were suppose to do-" "I don't care," Snyder said, cutting him off. "And I don't believe you either." Xander's eyebrows creased in worry. "But Principal-" "Quiet, Harris. I'm not afraid of cutting into you at all, now, that Mommy the Lawyer is gone. She's dead, and now I have free reign to make you start doing good in this school. Believe me, I waited for so long-" "Don't," Xander said calmly. "Don't you * ever * talk about my mother that way." Snyder's eyes narrowed into slits. "Don't you ever talk to * me * that way. That bi-" With fluid reflexes that were still strange and new to him, Xander grabbed Snyder by the throat and pinned him up against a row of lockers, several feet off the floor. Snyder immediately started kicking and trying to peel Xander's hands of his throat, which were as cold and as unmoving as stone. "Help!!!" Snyder shrieked. "If you * ever * speak about my mother like that I * swear * I'll do permanent damage do your shrunken little limbs," Xander growled, on the verge of completely vamping out. "And I'm not bluffing. You have * no * idea who you are messing with." Snyder just looked at him shocked. Since his face was turning a purplish red, he choked out "I promise. Just let me go! Let me go!" "Let him go, Xander!" Xander whipped his head around to see Willow and Buffy standing there in the hall, just in front of the library doors. They were looking at him with shocked expressions, and immediately Xander felt guilty and ashamed. He turned back to Snyder and felt a little less murderous. "Down?" he asked his captive. Snyder nodded quickly, and Xander let go of him, watching him fall hard on his butt and wince at the pain in his neck. Then Xander pulled the hood over his head and stomped off to the library, hurrying through the patch of sunlight, and pushing past Buffy and Willow, practically running inside. Snyder was left on the floor, rubbing his neck and staring up at the Slayer and the Hacker. They exchanged odd looks and then hurried off to their own destinations as quickly as possible. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ------------------------- Xander was headed as fast as possible towards Giles' office, but he couldn't escape Buff & Will. "The hell was that?" an angry voice demanded from behind. Xander turned around, to see an angry Buffy and a frightened Willow, who were both crossing their arms. He sighed, and then asked, "What was what?" "Xander, you were * hurting * him out there!" Willow declared. "He was turning red? How do you explain yourself?" "I have nothing to ex*plain*," Xander said, idignant. "I was only hurting him for a little while, until apologizing for being glad that my mother was * dead * . It's not like I was going to 8 kill * him or anything." "How do we know that?" Buffy interjected hotly. "Xander, who knows what's going on with you? I mean, I didn't know if you were going to hurt him or not out there! You were lucky I didn't suddenly rush you and stake you in the heart! You've got to control yourself!" "You don't have to so * why * do I!" Xander yelled back at her, realizing how juvenile and kindergarten-ish he sounded. "Shut up at leave me alone!" "Stop bringing up the past and * stop acting five * !" Buffy spat back. "We're dealing with serious stuff here!" "I know," Xander growled. "Why the hell do you think that I'm already here? I don't even know when I'll turn into *what*ever. I'm here to make sure that I don't go psycho and really kill Snyder, and you're hear giving me crap because of some little choking incident. I * want * to control myself. I can't * help * that I might slip!" He glared angrily at Buffy until she lowered her eyes in understanding. "Sorry," she murmured. "I was just worried for a moment . . . that I might actually have to do that then and there." "Don't worry," Xander said matter-of-factly. "You'll get to do it soon enough." Buffy was just about to retort when Giles came out of his office, apparently after hearing the exchange. "Stop fighting like children," he reprimanded harshly. "I will not allow that." Obviously, he was peeved for some reason unknown that lately had seemed to be bugging him. He held a piece of paper that was tightly clenched in his hand. He glared at the teens in HIS library and then stomped off to the counter to angrily stamp "Sunnydale High Library" into some books. Buffy went off to console Giles, which left Willow and Xander standing there, the redhead's fear dissipated. Then Xander stormed off into the office, slamming the door loudly behind him. The loud clinking of metal was heard. * I better go help him with those chains * , Willow though, heading towards the office door. * And maybe I can keep him company * . - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - ------------------------- Xander knelt by the far wall of the office, trying in vain to chain himself up. It was an impossible task-sure, you could handcuff yourself, but after that it was like you were trying to do the Wave in a straightjacket. And the worst part was that Xander had already handcuffed himself, and he didn't have the key. Dammit. "Dammit," Xander proclaimed aloud to the room and he tugged on his handcuffed hands again, just making the desk move more to the right and making the cool, click metal dig deep into his wrists. A little more than upset, he tugged once more again, and cried out in pain as the metal finally cut into his skin. "Let me help you with that." Xander looked over his shoulder to see Willow just closing the office door behind her. Xander sighed and shrugged. "Ok," he said, stepping as far back as he could while Willow examined what he had got himself into. "You're bleeding," she noticed as she unlocked him. Xander nodded. "Who cares." Willow was silent. Once he was unlocked, she sat him down and starting to methodically chain him to the wall, doing it exactly as Oz & Giles had shown her. Xander was staring off into the distance as she went about her work. "You know," Xander spoke up quietly, "I can do that thing." Willow kept a straight face, but was smiling inside from the fact that Xander was talking to her. "What thing?" she asked curiously. "That . . . ugly thing. With my face." He swallowed when he saw Willow's slightly creeped-out look. "Sorry. Shouldn't have mentioned it . . . don't know why I did." "It's ok," Willow said, turning the key in the lock. Now Xander most definitely could not move, and his vampire form would have a hell've a hard time trying to break free. She stepped back and instead of leaving, sat down cross-legged before him. "C-can I see?" Xander's head shot up sharply, and he looked at her like she was insane. " * Why? * " Willow shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know. But can I?" Xander sighed. He ducked his head down, and when he looked back up he wore his vampire face. His yellow eyes were empty and read of shame and embarrassment. Then he looked away, face still vamped out. "I'm a monster." Willow's eyes teared up, and then she hugged Xander tightly. "Oh god Xander, you're not a monster. You're my best friend, you'll always be, and I * know * that this is going to turn out alright. Ok, Xander? Agree?" When she pulled away, Xander's face was back to normal, but his eyes still expressed those dark feelings. "Whatever you say, Will," he agreed without convinction. "But . . . I would like to be alone now. Until night. And then you can-" Xander checked himself before he blurted out "kill"-"check up on me." Willow looked at her friend and then bent over to kiss him on the forehead. "Whatever * you * say." She stood up and walked to the door. As she pulled open the doorknob, she looked back one more time. "I'll be right out there, ok?" Xander nodded, and then Willow left. And he was alone. End of Chapter 8. Nine on teh way as quick as I can. ~Shadows~ _/\_ ~(*^*)~ "It looks like Mr. Caution Man, but the sound he makes is funny." --Xander, re: Giles, Surprise (If everyone else can have fav quotes, me too!) ------------------------------ End of buffyfic-digest V2 #386 ****************************** 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)