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buffyfic Digest       Wednesday, August 27 1997       Volume 01 : Number 017



In this issue:

    BUFFYFIC: Stakin' You in the Streets
    BUFFYFIC: Stakin' It to the Streets, indeed.  How about "Buffy?"
    Re: BUFFYFIC: Stakin' It to the Streets, indeed.  How about "Buffy?"
    BUFFYFIC: Gone 3  The God of Nine Walls 2/? by JJ
    BUFFYFIC: The Weapon:  Part IX/X
    BUFFYFIC: Beach Blanket Buffy 11/? by JJ
    BUFFYFIC: Gone 3:  The God of Nine Walls 3/? by JJ

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: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 14:22:30 -0700
From: Lisa Rose <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Stakin' You in the Streets

New item on the Little Buffy Page, LR

- --------------------------

STAKIN' YOU IN THE STREETS

(To the tune of "Takin' it to the Streets"
by the Doobie Brothers)

You don't know me but I'm the Slayer
I'm the law now in this living hell
You may mock me in your vampire world
Overconfidence, that's swell!

Chorus:  You,
         Smug because you thugs think you outnumber me
         More to slay? That's OK! 'Cause now I'm gonna be
         Stakin' you in the streets
         Stakin' you in the streets
         Stakin' you in the streets
         Stakin' you in the streets

Take my message to your Master
Say this "little girl" feels fine
Tell him I'll take on his hundred vamps
Whoops! Make that ninety-nine...

Chorus


(Lyrics copyright 1997 by Lisa Rose; title
inspired by Allison T. & Christine M.)

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 18:06:56 -0400
From: Jesse Jou <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Stakin' It to the Streets, indeed.  How about "Buffy?"

"Buffy"
(sung to the tune of Looking Glass's "Brandy")

There's a school
In a Western town
The undead,
Lurking all around.

And there's Buffy, with her roundhouse kick
She serves them death-on-a-stick.

Chorus:
The Master says "Buffy,
You're a fine girl.
What a Slayer you have been!
(such a fine girl!)
But please stop, killin' my people
and my kin."
(dooooo do do do do do do)

Buffy
wears a silver cross
From her sweetie pie,
a guy who isn't Joss.

A trinket
That burned the chest
Of the man that Buffy loves.

Chorus

Buffy, you just roll your eyes
When you hear those Xander stories.
You can feel her passion come alive,
as Willow just lives for these.

But you have always told the truth.
Lord, you are an honest lass.
So when Xander asked you out, you kicked his a--!
(dooooo do do do do do do)

There's a school
In a Western town
With a girl
Who once was drowned.

But she's better now
So don't stick around
If you're a plasma-suckin' fiend.

Chorus repeats and fades out.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 24 Aug 1997 18:16:27 -0400
From: [e-mail] (slb)
Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Stakin' It to the Streets, indeed.  How about "Buffy?"

At  6:06 PM 8/24/97 -0400, Jesse Jou wrote:
>"Buffy"
>(sung to the tune of Looking Glass's "Brandy")

ROTFL! I liked Lisa's Doobie Brothers tune, too.

So, anyone up for a NIN tune? <g>

Sheryl

[e-mail]
 --  "There I was ... inverted. But, maybe I wasn't." -- anonymous





------------------------------

Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 19:08:32 -0400
From: Jesse Jou <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3  The God of Nine Walls 2/? by JJ

Here's the second part.  Thanks to everyone who responded to the first;
I'm not sure I'm too happy with this, so a critical eye would be especially
appreciated here.  Haven't forgotten about Beach Blanket Buffy, I'm gonna
try to have the next part out tomorrow.

Thanks!

JJ

Title:  Gone 3:  The God of Nine Walls
Author:  JJ
email address: [e-mail]
Distribution:  With permission of the author
Spoiler Warning:  No spoilers for any real episode
Rating: PG
Warnings:  Pretty tame.
Classification: UTB
Summary:  Inspired by Anya's original Gone... story, I wrote a sequel that
followed Willow and Angel to Europe, where they met the infamous Brother
Luca, who took Willow away to train with the Order of Our Lady of Demonic
Assassinations, while Angel returned to Sunnydale.  I had left enough loose
threads in that story to warrant a third part and this is it.  Both Gone...
and Gone II can be found on the Slayer's Fanfic Archive.  I would recommend
reading the previous stories, but if you are not of a mind to do so, all
you really need to know is that Willow was turned into a quasivampiric
killer by the Anointed One and had to leave Sunnydale after her death was
faked.  Buffy and Xander grieved, finding out their friend was lost to them
forever.
Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters except for the ones who haven't
shown up on the show; Joss Whedon, the WB, and their associated production
companies do.  Our Lady of Demonic Assassinations is the invention of my
evil twin sister, Lisa Rose.  I'm also not making a red cent of any of
this, so there's no point in suing me.

Part 2
The goddess Hecate, all midnight-black hair and heavily kohl-ed eyes,
arrived at the Holiday Inn Sunnydale around 10 pm that night.  "This is the
best hotel in town?" she asked, looking at the two story monstrosity built
around a central courtyard with pool.

The driver nodded.  "Not a whole lot of town, ma'am.  Florindel is only 45
minutes away from Sunnydale; they've got a Sheraton?" he suggested
helpfully.

"Never mind," she said, graciously, digging out a couple of bills from her
pocket.  "Here," she said, handing them to him.  "No one saw me coming
here."

The driver's eyes clouded over briefly, then he said, "Sure, lady, thanks
for using Sunnydale Taxi Service."  Later, when he would try to recall his
passenger that night, he would remember the famous platinum-blonde pop star
who had confessed to him of the incredible lover that she was secretly
meeting at the Holiday Inn.  Hecate smiled, the woman's last music video
had  annoyed her greatly and it gave the sorceress a minor pleasure to
inconvenience her this way.

"Now," she thought, throwing her carry-on over her shoulder, "To the
business of stopping the girl."
- ---
"Do you want a beer or something?" he shouted from the kitchen, having
changed into a dry t-shirt and jeans while Willow waited in the living room.

"I'm fine," she shouted back.  He grabbed a Shiner and popped the top,
taking a slug as he  returned from the kitchen.  Willow  He watched as she
browsed through the oak bookcases that rose to the ceiling in the living
room.  She hadn't changed much in the 18 years since he had last seen her.
Petite and...Willow-shaped.  He ran a hand through his wet hair, chuckling
at his mighty descriptive abilities.

She turned to look at him, holding a gilded picture frame she had taken
from a shelf.  "I don't remember taking this."  It was a blown-up shot of
teenage Willow, Xander, and Buffy piled into a photobooth, their laughing
faces barely visible in a mass of hands and arms and kneecaps.

He took it from her, holding it with one hand as the other held the beer
bottle.  "Don't you remember?" he asked, recognizing it immediately.  "We
took this early in the summer, before..."  He fell silent, his face a mask
of inscrutable regret.  Sadly, he put it back on the shelf.  He shook the
mood off and smiled at her.  "So,"  he said.

"So," she responded, curling up into a corner of the sofa with the grace of
cat.  He remained standing.

"I'm not quite sure what to say,"  Xander confessed.  "It's been so long."

"Did you miss me?"  she asked, pointedly.

He broke into a grin, eyes downcast, and nodded.

"Good.  I missed you."

His head popped up.  "Oh, hey," he began, heading toward one of the
bookcases and drawing down a tattered book.  He held it out to her, "I
guess I better return this."

She took it and recognized it as her journal.  She groaned and covered her
eyes in embarassment.  "I can't believe you held onto this!" she smiled,
shaking her head as she revisited those pages she had written in a haze of
anger and sorrow.

He sat down next to her and finished his beer.  "I've read it over several
times," he said, looking over her shoulder and pointing to one particular
passage as she flipped to it.  "Especially the parts about how I never
appreciated how much you loved me."  He smiled at her knowingly.

She blushed, unwilling to meet his eyes,"I'm sorry.  It was a long time
ago.  I think I expected too much from you; you were my childhood crush."

There was something profoundly sad in his expression as he began to peel
the bottle label.  "Actually, I think I should be the one apologizing.  I
think I always knew that you cared very deeply for me and I took it for
granted.  God!" he said, self-deprecatingly, "I was a selfish little
bastard."

"We're very different people now,"  Willow observed, watching his face
intently.

He nodded.  "After Sunnydale, went to UCLA, got a Rhodes scholarship, got a
Masters, a couple of years later got a PhD.  Now I'm back in Sunnydale.
Can't seem to leave.  What about you?"

She chuckled.  "Umm.  After Sunnydale, went to Paris, went to Cortona, from
Cortona struck out at evil in all its myriad forms..."  He laughed.  "Now
I'm back in Sunnydale.  Can't seem to stay,"  she said sadly.

"I wish you had been at the memorial," he said, changing the subject.

Willow fought down a shudder.  "I wish I could have been there, too," she
answered, remembering how Angel had frantically tried to find her to tell
her that Buffy needed help.  But Willow had stumbled back into Cortona a
day too late.  By then, Buffy was gone.  "I still don't know what happened?"

"I don't think I can talk about it,"  Xander said quickly.

"Sure.  Sorry,"  she apologized.

There was an awkward silence until finally Xander spoke up.  "Well, this is
going smashingly!"  he joked.  She laughed.  "You know, I've wondered for
18 years what I would say to you if I got the chance.  I mean, I built this
really elaborate fantasy."

"And?" she inquired, bemused.

"And, right now, all I can think of is Jenny McReynold's birthday party,"
he said, half-seriously.

She turned a bright red.  "Spin the bottle."

"You weren't talking to me because of the whole Barbie incident..." he
recalled.

"To this day, I think you cheated..." she interjected.

"You should've seen your face when it landed on you..."

"I didn't want to play in the first place.  Where the hell were that girl's
parents?..."

"Seven minutes in heaven..."

"You were so nervous, you kept ramming your nose into my cheek..."

"It was a pretty *bad* kiss..."

"And we just sat in that closet for the last six minutes until they let us
out."

"But we were okay, after that, right?"  he concluded.

"Sure," she answered.  "Why are remembering that?"

He smiled crookedly and set his empty bottle on its side on the coffee
table.  With a flick of the wrist, he set it spinning and inexorably it
slowed to a halt in her direction.  She looked at it and cocked an eyebrow
at him.  "It's kind of robbed of mystery when it's only two people
playing,"  she stated simply.

He leaned his head towards her.

"Should we go to the closet?" she asked, his face inches away from hers.
He shook his head wordlessly, then kissed her.
- ----
end part 2

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 02:20:38 -0400
From: [e-mail]
Subject: BUFFYFIC: The Weapon:  Part IX/X

Title:  The Weapon
Rating:  R.  Graphic descriptions of acts of violence.
Summary:  At the end of part VIIIb, SuperXander was marching off to face
Karakis, while Buffy, Angel, and Willow were rushing off to the dungeon to
rescue our Xander.
Disclaimer:  Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Angel are the property of Joss
Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and 20th Century Fox.  The rest is mine.  Touch it
and I'll break yo' fingers.
Distribution:  Anyone previously given permission to use my fic can use
this too, as long as I'm given proper credit.  Note that I'd like my real
name, C.M. Koch, to be included alongside my nick when I'm given credit for
a piece.
*****

Xander marched purposefully down the hallway towards Karakis' throne room.
This was it, after all these years.  Finally, he'd have his vengeance...
his justice.  After the soul slip with his younger self, he hadn't
explained the exact nature of the boy's imprisonment to the others.  But he
knew what was being done to him.  He knew the terror of the Circle all too
well.  But if he had it his way, Karakis would never use the Circle on
anyone again.  If he had it his way, Karakis would never do *anything* ever
again.  Xander was so engrossed in his thoughts, that he almost didn't
notice the demon soldier stepping out of the shadows in front of him,
preparing to attack.  Almost.  A phrase he had heard long ago, in a similar
situation, came to mind.

"Oh look," he said innocently, as he smirked beneath the protection of his
other, "a bad guy."  Xander's arm lashed out as the demon moved to
intercept him, forcing the creature's face somewhere back into the middle
of his brain.  The demon dropped, now useful only as carrion.  Without a
second glance, Xander continued towards his destiny.

*****

Marak looked down at his new arm.  After Lord Karakis had punished him, he
had seen that a new limb was crafted for his favorite torturer.  And quite
a limb it was.  Crafted from wrought iron and Valkyrie bone, and charged
with a necromantic energy that seared the flesh of all but the most unholy
creatures at its touch.  Gleefully, he raked his claws across the back of
the dark haired mortal boy he had been ordered to torture.  He had said and
thought nothing when Lord Karakis had told him to stay here and torture the
boy during the battle.  After all, he had learned well not to doubt his
Great Lord's wisdom.  Besides, Lord Karakis had assigned one of the
strongest contingents of his Royal Guard to protect the dungeon during the
battle.  And though he had no idea what went on above, Marak was confident
that his Lord's forces would defeat the pitiful invaders.  Concentrating,
he shaped the foul energies of his new limb into a lash of sorts, and set
about striking his victim with it, again, and again.  The screams of the
mortal grew so loud, that he didn't even notice the shouts coming from the
hallway, echoing down the staircase.  It wasn't till he paused to admire
his work that he heard a sound.  A thump.  In fact several thumps, one
after another.  He turned, and saw an object rolling down the staircase
into the dungeon.  It continued rolling downward, and then across the
floor, coming to a stop when it bumped into his foot.  It was a head.
Picking it up, he turned the face towards him.  It was the head of Ploovo,
who had been assigned to lead the contingent guarding the dungeon.  The
head of Ploovo, one of the most despicable, heartless, foul creatures Marak
had ever met.  He had liked Ploovo.  He would avenge him.  Marak watched as
Ploovo's murderer descended the staircase.  It was a petite blonde mortal
girl, carrying a wickedly sharp ichor-stained blade.  Marak would have
stood aghast had he not sensed what she was.

"Slayerrrrr...." hissed the demon torturer, as his new limb flared with
demonfire.

"Guilty." said the girl, smiling at him grimly.  "I'm sorry," she
continued, "was that a friend of yours?"

*****

Xander reached the end of the hallway, and came face to face with a set of
large oak doors.  With a loud guttural grunt, he forced the doors open, and
stepped inside the room.

It was dark.  Darker even than the rest of the castle.  And a variety of
bizarre flora seemed to grow about the area.  As Xander gazed into the
darkness, his heightened vision could make out another set of doors, these
iron, at the other side of the room.

"This... *isn't* the throne room." he said, slightly confused.

"Correct." responded a raspy voice from behind him.  Xander spun coming
face to face with a tall and sinewy wraith-like figure, its dull yellow
eyes standing out in contrast to its leathery grey skin.  It wore no armor,
and carried only one weapon:  a large axe, the handle as long as a
quarterstaff, with a massive and brutally sharp blade.

"To get to the throne room..." continued the figure.
"...you have to go through us." said a second voice.  Xander quickly turned
to see a second figure, identical to the first.

"Lemme guess," said Xander, as he glanced back and forth from one figure to
the other, "you're Karakis' retainers.  Good.  This means he'll have some
friends to meet up with when I send him to hell.  Lets go."  With that, the
blades on Xander's armor grew and lengthened, protruding even more from his
body.  Silently, with unnerving speed, the retainers moved in, and
attacked.  Xander parried their axes with his arm blades, putting his raw
strength against theirs.  Then, suddenly, he withdrew, and the two
retainers blades swung downwards, embedding them in the ground.  With
terrible grace and quickness, Xander crouched, thrust his blades into the
retainers, and stood again, pulling up hard.  The blades sliced cleanly
through the demons, gutting them from crotch to forehead.  Coldly, Xander
stepped over the dead retainers, and headed towards the iron doors.

"If this is the best you've got Karakis," he muttered, "you're screwed."

*****

Marak raised his hand, and was about to shower the wretch with hellfire,
when an ebon haired man leapt from the top of the staircase, tackling him.
Tasting his own blood, Marak, thrust his new arm forward, clasping it on to
the man's face.  Howling in pain, the man staggered back, his hands
clasping his seared face.  When the man removed his hands, Marak was
infuriated.  Before him, he saw the scorched face of a vampire.

"Infidel!" shouted Marak as he circled the vampire, "You dare to attack
your greater, half-breed?"
"What can I say?" replied the traitorous creature, smirking painfully.  "I
don't much like my 'greaters'."

Burning with anger, Marak attacked.  The vampire ducked under the attack
and returned with one of his own.  The traitor's hand latched onto Marak's
neck, and with a powerful jerk, the torturer's throat was torn out.  Marak
gasped briefly, disbelieving.  Then he fell to the floor.

*****

Buffy watched as Angel fought the demon, leaning against the wall tiredly.
She could only take so much fighting in one day, and she was beginning to
wear out.  She was too relieved to be disgusted when Angel, in a state of
feral frenzy, tore the creature's throat from its body.  Angel looked up at
Buffy, his eyes aflame, and his hands soaked in blood.  He began to move
towards her.

"Angel, look out!"

Angel heard the shout, and turned just in time to see a stumbling and
wheezing Marak have his head blown clean from his shoulders.  His mind
cleared, Angel turned back towards the source of the voice, and saw Willow
descending the staircase with a smoking shotgun.

"Thank you." Angel said, for more reasons than one.  Willow said nothing,
only pushed past Buffy and rushed to the side of the scarred and bleeding
dark-haired boy Marak had been beating.  Angel quickly joined her, and
checked for a pulse.  He found none.

"He's..." Angel couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.  He had
never liked Xander much, but he knew how the two girls had felt about him.
Finally, he pulled together enough courage to complete the statement.

"He's dead." said the vampire, and turned away from the body.
"Whaa-a-at?" said Buffy, coming out of her stupor, and walking towards the
body, "no... he can't be dead!"  She crouched next to the body, and helped
Willow roll it onto its back.  The boys face was gone, crushed, bruised,
and slashed beyond recognition.  Buffy swallowed hard, and rose to her
feet, only to collapse into Angel's arms, sobbing.  Willow simply crouched
next to the naked body, examining it with her cold, empty, eyes.  Then she
fixed on a certain point.  She moved in closer to examine it, then stood.

"That's not Xander." she said, an edge of relief creeping into her voice.
"What?" asked Angel, as Buffy pulled her tear stained face from his jacket.
"That's not Xander," repeated Willow, "it's not him."
"How--" Buffy stuttered slightly as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "how
do you know?"
Willow smiled.  It was only a half-smile, but it was the first semblance of
a smile that had crossed her face since the boy she loved had disappeared.
"Xander, he's," she blushed slightly as she tried to put the words
together, "he's, well, his um, well, y'know, it's *bigger*."

Buffy looked puzzled for a moment, then her eyes widened in realization.
She almost giggled, in spite of the current situation.

"And you know this *how?*" asked the Slayer, as she tried to stifle a smile.
"I forgot," replied Willow, "I never told you about the Great Shower
Incident.  But the story's gonna have to wait.  We've got to figure out
where the *real* Xander is."
"Well, why wouldn't he be in the dungeon?" asked Buffy, "I mean, what's
with making us think this poor guy is him?"
"It could be a decoy..." muttered Angel.
"But why?  I mean, what purpose did it serve?" asked Buffy.
"It split us up from the other Xander!" said Willow, as realization dawned
on her.  "Which means..."
"That this is all a trap for him." concluded Angel.
Somehow, Buffy felt re-energized, as if the knowledge that *both* Xanders
were in danger charged her, drove her.  "C'mon," she said , as she began to
rush back up the staircase, "we gotta get to the throne room.  I got a
feeling that's where *our* Xander is too."

Willow rushed off after Buffy.  Angel paused, and marveled for a moment at
the energy the two girls miraculously contained.  Then he shot off after
them, silently hoping that they weren't too late.

*****

Xander faced the massive iron doors.  They were the only thing still
standing between him and his vengeance.  Silently, he focused, calling up
all the energy he could.  With a massive booming blast, he blew the doors
straight off their hinges, and burst into the room.  There, in the center
of the chamber, sat Karakis.  His massive form was supported by an oddly
constructed throne.  It appeared to almost grow out of the stone floor,
conforming to the Demon Lord's body.

"Hello Alexander," said Karakis, as he lounged peacefully in his throne,
"I've been expecting you."

"So," said Xander, as he steeled himself for battle, "you do know my name.
I'd been wondering.  Then you know the name of the man that's going to kill
you."

Karakis laughed, his deep, disturbing laughter echoing throughout the dark
chamber.

"Boy," said the Demon Lord, stifling his chuckles, "you won't be killing
anyone more today."
"We'll see about that!" shouted Xander.  As his anger rose, his armor
changed, responding to his emotions.  More blades began to spring from it,
and spikes lined it.  The blades continued to grow and change, some
lengthening to be several feet long.  The spikes grew and sharpened.  The
whole armor became a mass of jagged points and cutting edges.  It was
impossible to tell where the man ended and the Weapon began.  They were
truly one and the same.  Screaming a battle cry that held years of pent up
anger and aggression, Xander launched himself at Karakis.  He hurtled
through the air, a deadly mass of blades.  Then Karakis raised his right
hand, and Xander stopped dead still.  Suddenly, he let out a scream of
pain.  It felt as though he were on fire, as though his skin was being
pulled away from him.  Xander looked down at his hands.  They were
melting--no they weren't melting.  The sphere was.  Over his entire body,
the metal liquefied, dripping off of him, falling away.  Within seconds, it
was nothing more than a puddle on the floor.  Then, slowly, it
resolidified.  But the sphere was different now.  No longer bright and
shining silver.  Dull.  Grey.  Dead.  Xander could feel it, the symbiote
was dead, lifeless, their connection was broken.  Slowly, Karakis rose from
his throne, walked over to the floating nomad, and wrapped his hand around
his throat.

"Come boy!" shouted Karakis, yanking on the chains in his other hand.  "I
want you to see this."  Slowly, fearfully, young Xander Harris crept out of
the shadows.  His arms, neck, and ankles were bound in heavy irons.  But he
almost forgot about them when he saw what was happening.  The man this
demon Karakis was strangling... it was him!  He was older, bigger, but he
was him.  Xander tried to wrap his brain around this situation, but in his
current state, all he could do was stare.

"You're a fool Karakis!" said the older Xander between coughs.  Karakis
grip on his throat tightened.  "You destroyed the Weapon," continued
Xander, "now you'll never have its power!"

"You mean the Sphere?" said Karakis.  Xander smirked.  The Demon Lord
responded with a wide, fanged, grin.

"Let me tell you a secret." he said, as he brought his mouth to the man's ear.

"The Sphere's not the Weapon," he whispered, smiling wickedly, "*you* are."

*****

End Part IX

*****

Plot twist!  Soon, the stunning finale!  Hey, is that Little Willow's
trademark ominous music I hear? ;-)

- --Viashino the Snickering--

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 19:36:29 -0400
From: Jesse Jou <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Beach Blanket Buffy 11/? by JJ

Okay, here's the next part of my beach saga.  Easily the worst part because
of the amount of stuff in it.  Things'll get better.  Grr Argh.  As always,
advice, feedback, etc. is greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks!

JJ

Title:  Beach Blanket Buffy
Author:  JJ
email address: [e-mail]
Distribution:  With permission of the author
Spoiler Warning:  The events for this take place after Prophecy Girl and
references are made to events in the past season.
Rating: PG
Warnings:  Violence
Classification: TB
Summary:
There's trouble in store when Buffy and the gang visit the beach!  Hey,
watch out for that vampire!
Yes, there's fun and merriment in store when the gang plays...Beach Blanket
Buffy!

Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters except for the ones who haven't
shown up on the show; Joss Whedon, the WB, and their associated production
companies do.  I'm also not making a red cent of any of
this, so there's no point in suing me.

Part 11
"You're a fish!"  Xander exclaimed.

"No,"  Marie protested, "I am a mermaid.  Of the Sylphi Clan."

"I'm wigging!"  Xander interrupted. "You're a fish!"

"Please, Xander,  I swam all this way to stop them.  You must help me," she
said simply; she had not expected him to react well to this revelation.

"You kissed me!"  said Xander, remembering that morning.  "With tongue!
You don't have parasites or anything, do you?"

"Would you please calm down?"  Marie said, a bit irritated.  "I can't
concentrate with all the noise you're making."  Xander's jaw dropped as her
tail slowly transformed back into a pair of human legs.

Buffy meanwhile had helped Annette to her feet and walked her over to the
other two.  "Alright,"  Buffy said, "I think you better start talking."

"Don't you think you should kill her?"  Marie said, nodding her head at
Annette.  The crying girl's eyes grew large with fear.  "She's one of them."

"I don't see why I shouldn't kill both of you,"  Buffy retorted tartly.
Clearly, the girl had withheld key information from both Buffy and Xander
and had tried to manipulate them.  Buffy didn't like to be anyone's pawn.

Marie shrugged.  "My people hunt her kind, for food.  The ones who dwell
near water.  Every hundred years, we send someone to warn the landers about
the Rising.  This time, I was chosen."

"Why would you bother?"  Buffy asked.

"Does one let cattle run wild?"  Marie replied, clinically.

"Now, see how much better everyone gets along when we tell the truth?"
Buffy responded, smiling grimly.  "What about you?" she asked, directing
her attention to Annette.

Annette sniffled,  "Please, you have to believe me.  I didn't know Frankie
and those boys were going to jump you.  Frankie's really a nice guy; he
just hangs out with a bad crowd."

Buffy took the girl by the shoulders, "I didn't ask about Frankie; I asked
about you."

Annette was flabbergasted.  "I...well, Frankie used to do all the talking
for both of us."

"You know that you're a vampire?"  Buffy asked.

Annette nodded.

"Do you know what that means?"  Buffy asked.

She recited from memory, "It means we're on a special diet until they find
a cure."

Buffy was shocked.  "Who told you that?  Frankie?"

The girl nodded again.  Buffy was astonished.  Was it possible that she was
naive enough to believe that?  And yet Buffy didn't sense anything
insincere or malicious about Annette.  Was it her complete deprivation of
common sense that enabled her to resist the vampiric demon's influence
totally?  Annette had not tried to harm them during the fight--indeed, she
had even been something of a help.  For this reason, Buffy was willing to
give her the benefit of a doubt.  But what to do with her?  Buffy didn't
think the girl would survive on her own, abandoned as she had been by her
supposed protector.

As if reading her mind, Marie spoke up, "I think you should just put her
out of her misery."

Buffy threw her a withering gaze, "Who gives a damn what you think?"  The
mermaid fell silent.  Buffy came to a decision.

"Alright," she began, as authoritatively as possible.  "This is what's
going to happen.  Frankie's gone and I don't want to wait here for him to
bring anymore of his surfer buds, so we're going to head back to the beach
house.   Annette, you'll have to come with us, but if I sense a whiff of
evil from you, you're toast.  Xander, give the Little Mermaid your
button-down so she can cover herself and help her..."

"I can't go back there!" Marie exclaimed, fidgeting excitedly.

"Why not?"  Buffy demanded, her impatience readily apparent.

"I thought it would be finished tonight.  I thought we'd find them and stop
them..."  Marie shot off on a rapid stream of words.

"Come on," Xander said.  "If Buffy says we book, we boo..."

"Please, Xander, let's look around a little while longer!"  Marie
interjected, trying desperately to coo to him. "If we find them, I can
leave and you'll never have to see me again...I swear!"

Buffy and Xander looked quizzically at each other.  "Her!"  Marie shouted,
pointing at Annette, "She could lead us right to them.  We can make her
take us to them..."

Annette squealed in terror, hiding behind Buffy as the nervous mermaid took
a step towards them.  Buffy raised her hands, "Whoa!  Calm down!  Thanks to
the fact that you didn't deem it necessary to tell us what you knew about
these vampires...among other things...I think we're going to need to
regroup and plan a new strategy..."

"I can't go back there!"  Marie whined, a tone of desperate finality in her
voice.

"Why?  What's back at the house?"  Buffy questioned, then added slowly,
"What did you do?"

Marie broke into tears.  "I did it for you!"  she sobbed, looking at
Xander.  "I did it so she wouldn't distract you from me.  Oh, briny gods!
I love you!!  I never thought I'd know what it was like to love a boy!  A
human boy!  Please, you must forgive me!"  She collapsed on the sand,
clutching Xander's legs.  "Please love me!  Please love me!"  she moaned
repeatedly.

Xander was horrified as realization dawned on his face.  He looked at Buffy
and they said simultaneously, "Willow."
- ---
"Omigod!"  Cordelia squealed delightedly as Willow came out of the
bathroom.  "Mr. Wong, you are a *true* artist!"  Willow was quite pleased
at how the cut had turned out: a short, layered bob that came just to the
top of the neck, but long in front so she could sweep it behind her ear.
It was functional, and on Willow, adorable.

"Yes, I'm very happy with it,"  Mr. Wong said, feeling very much like a
combat surgeon who just saved a private's leg with a butter knife in one of
those war movies he loved.

"See," Cordelia said, "You get lemons and you make lemonade."

"Do you think Xander'll like it?"  Willow asked.

"How could he not?"  Cordelia responded, secretly doubting that the boy
would notice if Willow pierced every orifice of her body.
- ----
end Part 11

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 20:08:10 -0400
From: Jesse Jou <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Gone 3:  The God of Nine Walls 3/? by JJ

Here's part 3 of the sequel to Gone 2, which itself was a sequel to Gone...

Please read the warning below.

All comments and feedback is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
JJ

Title:  Gone 3:  The God of Nine Walls
Author:  JJ
email address: [e-mail]
Distribution:  With permission of the author
Spoiler Warning:  No spoilers for any real episode
Rating: PG-13
Warnings:  There's some kissing and grown-up things, but nothing you
wouldn't see on TV.
Classification: UTB
Summary:  Inspired by Anya's original Gone... story, I wrote a sequel that
followed Willow and Angel to Europe, where they met the infamous Brother
Luca, who took Willow away to train with the Order of Our Lady of Demonic
Assassinations, while Angel returned to Sunnydale.  I had left enough loose
threads in that story to warrant a third part and this is it.  Both Gone...
and Gone II can be found on the Slayer's Fanfic Archive.  I would recommend
reading the previous stories, but if you are not of a mind to do so, all
you really need to know is that Willow was turned into a quasivampiric
killer by the Anointed One and had to leave Sunnydale after her death was
faked.  Buffy and Xander grieved, finding out their friend was lost to them
forever.
Disclaimer:  I don't own these characters except for the ones who haven't
shown up on the show; Joss Whedon, the WB, and their associated production
companies do.  Our Lady of Demonic Assassinations is the invention of my
evil twin sister, Lisa Rose.  I'm also not making a red cent of any of
this, so there's no point in suing me.

Part 3
Xander broke the kiss, looking deeply into her smiling eyes.

"You've gotten better since Jenny McReynold's birthday party," she sighed.

"I practice thirty minutes a day.  After Tai Chi,"  he replied.  She
laughed, then kissed him.  His arms wrapped around her waist as she ran her
hands through his hair, pulling him down on top of her.  The kiss deepened
as he fumbled with the top button of her blouse; she urged him on, pressing
her body tightly against his, pulling his shirt tail out of his pants..

He looked down at her, his eyes full of honesty and desire.  "I think we
should move to the other room,"  he suggested, his voice a husky whisper.
"I think we should."

Willow regarded him carefully, then nodded slowly.  He got off the couch
and with a swift, sure move, lifted her into the air.  He got as far as the
foyer.

"Knock, knock" went the door.

Xander's head popped up.  Willow stifled a scream of frustration.  "Ignore
it," he said, starting again down the hall to the bedroom.

"Knock, knock," the door repeated, this time mimicking a woman's voice,
"Alexander!  Is that you I see?"  A woman's face was pressed against the
opaque glass plane set into the door.

"Mom?"  Willow whispered, terrified, as Xander set her down.

He opened the front closet door and shoved her in, "Quick!  In there!"

He took a deep breath, then answered the front door.  "Mrs. Rosenberg!" he
smiled, ushering the slender and attractive woman into the foyer.  She
shook her wet umbrella before entering, a plastic bag hanging from her
wrist.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you," she said.

"No, not at all," he answered, "I was just putting away some clothes."

"Oh, look at your hair!" she fussed, patting down the tousled locks.
"Alex, I'm not surprised you haven't met a nice girl yet, you look like a
longshoreman!"  Xander deferred to her insistent ministrations.

"I was just coming home from the supermarket and got you some nice
coldcuts.  You look so thin.  Are you eating?"  she demanded, heading
through the dining room into the kitchen.  She opened the refrigerator.
"Alex, there's nothing but beer and a jar of pickles in here!"  she
exclaimed.

"I think you're exaggerating,"  Xander said, looking at the well-stocked
interior as she added her bag to it.

"And look at this," she elaborated, as she picked up his wet jacket from
the countertop.  "I thought you said you were putting away clothes?  Did it
occur to you to put this away, too?"

"I was going to go get that dry-cleaned," he explained, as she waved a hand
annoyedly at him.

"If you don't hang it up," she criticized, "It'll dry all wrinkled."  She
headed towards the front closet.  "Surely you've got a hanger in here..."

Xander rushed and grabbed the doorknob before she could.  He positioned
himself between the two.  "Uh, don't worry," he smiled, "I've got it."  He
opened the door a crack and stuck his hand in as Willow handed him a hanger
from the bar.

"See?" he said, holding it up for Mrs. Rosenberg's inspection, then hanging
the soaked jacket on it.  "I'll hang it in the bathroom so it doesn't drip
on the carpet."

"Smart boy!" she said, approvingly, patting his cheek.  "You know, it's
always so nice to see you.  After we lost Willow,"  she paused to collect
herself, "We thought you'd disappear from our lives, too, but instead it's
like we gained a son."

Xander recognized the spiel.  Since he had come back to Sunnydale, he had
grown accustomed to Mrs. Rosenberg periodically stopping by with food and
motherly advice.  It made him feel less lonely as he didn't talk to his own
parents much, but her timing had been fairly rotten today.  Every visit
would end with a reminder of the daughter that she lost that would force
her to leave the house in tears.

"I'm sorry,"  Mrs. Rosenberg apologized.  "I'm just upsetting us.  I should
go."

"I wish I could visit longer," Xander said, sensitive to his guest in the
front closet.  "But I've really got to get some work done tonight."

"Sure,"  Mrs. Rosenberg smiled, taking his hand gently in hers as he lead
her to the front door.  "You know, Mr. Rosenberg and I always hoped that
you and our Willow would someday be together.  Maybe start a family.  I
think she would have been so very proud of you today.  So very proud
indeed!"

"Thank you," he said graciously, as she kissed him on the cheek and ran her
hand through his hair one last time.

"Be careful driving home!" he shouted as she ran out to her car.

When she was gone, Xander went to the front closet and opened the door.
Willow stood inside, weeping openly and bursting out in laughter as light
fell on her.

"Are you okay?" he asked, gently.

"She sounded good, didn't she?"  Willow responded, with a bittersweet grin.

He held his arms open and she fell into them.  The two of them stood in the
front hall, hugging each other tightly for several minutes.
- ---
Mrs. Rosenberg had just turned the corner when she pulled to the side of
the road.  A woman got in on the passenger side.

"Was she there?" the woman asked.

Gilda Rosenberg nodded with a smile, "He was hiding her in the front closet."

Both women laughed.  "Oh, here,"  Gilda said, plucking the strands of
Xander's hair that were caught between her fingers.  "I hope that's
enough," she said, handing it to the other woman.

"That's more than enough," the other woman said, putting them into a small
wax packet she took out of her front pocket.  "You know, you're so much
cooler in person than you are in email," she observed.  Gilda smiled as she
pulled out into the street, the streetlamp briefly catching Hecate's face.

"I've lived in Sunnydale my entire life," Gilda explained.  "I know what's
what."
- ---
Angel was tired, leaping from roof to roof.  It had only been 8 years, but
it had seemed like a century.  He sighed, feeling the blood supply hidden
in his backpack jostle, as he went back to his awful and necessary burden.

In the streets below, a young woman was being murdered, her body vivisected
as she screamed helplessly.  When she was dead, the thing that killed her
took its scalpel and inserted it just under her ear, gently slicing upwards
and taking care not to rip the skin.

And the God of Nine Walls rumbled.
- ---
end Part 3

------------------------------

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