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buffyfic Digest       Saturday, August 30 1997       Volume 01 : Number 021



In this issue:

    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  7B/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  7/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8b/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  9B/11

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: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:53:16 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  7B/11

Sealed with a Kiss   - Part 7B/11
by Anya
[e-mail]


Angel nodded, something difficult to determine since the flashlights
all pointed away from their faces. "Exactly. Look at that prophecy
about Buffy's death. It never mentioned that she wouldn't be
resuscitated, or that her will to live would overwhelm death."

Xander moved his head side to side. This was all true, and
comforting to a degree, but it kind of overwhelmed him. Willow
would have understood it so much better. She could explain it to
him so that he could comprehend it totally....she wasn't really gone
and he missed her so much already. He sighed deeply, and
dejectedly.

Giles and Angel swapped another long-suffering look. Kids.

*************************************
"My feet hurt." The thought suddenly seemed to jump into Buffy's
brain, jerking herself out of the odd combination of rage and self-
pity. Considering the thought, and then her feet, she conceded her
body was right. Her feet did hurt. "See what I get for wearing
practical shoes? I wear those boots, or fancy shoes when I go
slaying, and not a drop of discomfort. I wear good sturdy leather
shoes for this, and I'm getting a blister."

Behind her, she could hear the others of her party talking. She
eavesdropped for a bit, smiling to hear Angel trying to comfort
Xander. Those two made the worst teammates. They could work
together well, and had before, but they tended to hate every moment
of it.

Maintaining her pace, Buffy pulled her thoughts away from the
guys, not really wanting to listen to male angst if she could avoid it.
The passageway, although, didn't provide too many distractions.
The low ceiling and narrow walls didn't allow for much
psychological comfort. And the flashlights barely illuminated their
path.

Squinting to see better, Buffy could have sworn she saw some light
ahead. "Probably more of those glowing plants and stuff," she
dismissed the light out of hand. Still, her eyes stayed on that steady
beacon. The soft glow, her mind whispered, was like the glow of a
candle. But the amount of light is that of many candles.

Frowning, she began walking faster, a motion that disrupted Giles,
Angel, and Xander from their conversation. Moving to hover closer
to the wall nearest the light source, Buffy was able to discern two
voices: a sweet melodic feminine, and a really hoarse, guttural
masculine tone.

Back against the wall, Buffy indicated for the others to mimic her
actions. She leaned forward, peering cautiously into the room. A
misshapen dwarf of a man had his back towards her. Dressed in the
filthiest rags Buffy ever had seen, he spewed coarse language at the
woman in the far corner of the room.

The woman was beautiful. The perfect picture of ethereal beauty.
Long flowing red hair, perfect skin, large soulful blue eyes...she
was breathtaking. A glowing aura surrounded her, cloaking her in
divinity. Her arm raised up slightly in protest to the ugly little man,
the sleeves of her soft gossamer gown dropped away from her arms
like fairy wings.

Her tiny white hand stretched out in front of her, palm forward and
fingers raised up. Tears streamed down her lovely face as she
pushed her fragile limb against the field that contained her. "The
Amulet is all that holds me, you malformed troll!" Her voice made
the strained effort of sounding brave. "You are weakening with
every moment that passes. Soon my centuries of diligence will pay
off, and you shall not defeat me!"

The trollish man jumped down from the pile of rock he had perched
on. Squatting, he rested his elbow on his leg, and placed his hideous
mug into his palm. "Hmm..that tiny little gold amulet is holding ya
you say? The all powerful Carmilla contained by a flimsy junky
hunk of jewellery?" He grinned openly, yellowed teeth looking
sharp and feral through the tangled bush of his beard. "Ha! You
can't do nothin' 'bout the Seal now! I may be weakened, but you're
totally screwed! Ya can't get past that little trinkets workings!" He
pointed to a stone altar against the far wall, a tiny golden disk
resting casually on the surface. In the candlelit room, it radiated the
most light of all.

The being called Carmilla pushed her hand against the field again,
wincing visibly and jerking back as if shocked unbearably.
Clenching her hand to her chest, she conceded a few steps back
away from the barrier that made her prison. Tilting her head down
and away from the offensive sight of Cai, her eyes drifted closed
and she focused on the world outside her jail.

"Perhaps I cannot leave this prison, Cai. But I shall make it your
tomb as well. We shall both be trapped here, until the end of all
time."

"Spare me the melodrama, twit," Cai said curtly. "Short of killing
me with your pixie-dust magic, you ain't got a hope in hell...pardon
the pun."

"Don't MOCK me!" Carmilla's eyes went intensely cold. Looking at
Cai with a small sneer, her gaze went past him to the amulet on the
stone altar. Eyes suddenly widened as she noticed something new,
and a tiny smile of triumph hit her face. "Well, well. Cai, the Seal is
no longer unprotected. You have truly lost, little man."

He stalked close to her prison. "So what if someone's in the Seal?
Don't mean nuthin' to me. And it changes nuthin' fer you. In case
you ain't figured it out, you're still all nicely locked up." He smiled
obscenely at her.

Carmilla raised her chin up haughtily, "You impudence will not go
unmarked, Cai!" She imperiously folded her arms across her chest,
a royal frown upon her perfect face. "After I am freed of this prison,
you will experience the extent of my Divine wrath."

Cai placed his hands on his temple, pressing hard. "Aaargh! No!
No! Gaaah! You win! You're right! With that long a wait, boredom
is gonna kill me if enforced company with YOU doesn't first!"

His staff was suddenly pushed out from behind him with a sharp
motion causing Cai to fall over. Recovering with a roll, he turned to
face the Slayer, her hands resting on her hips. "Trust me, your wait
just got a lot shorter."

********************End Part Seven*********************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:53:10 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  7/11

Sealed with a Kiss       Part 7/11
by Anya

DISCLAIMER:These characters listed below belong to Joss
Whedon, WB and co. No infringement is intended. The characters
of Cai and Carmilla belong to me!

Part Seven

The Seal glowed with new life. Power flowed strongly throughout
the inferno of blue fire that surrounded the fundamental disk
forming the Seal's base. The flames consumed everything
surrounding that area, roaring high to the very roof of the chamber.
The entire chamber pulsated with the resurgence of energy, the
purity, and magnitude of it pushing at the awareness of every mortal
and immortal present.

Buffy and Xander stood paralyzed with shock. Willow's fragile
form floated limply in the Seal's column. Her arms hung bonelessly
at her sides, her upper body arched backwards by the weight of her
unconsciously rolled back head. She wasn't moving, and they
couldn't discern the rise and fall of her chest to ascertain that she
was living.

"We have to get her out of there!" Xander bellowed. He moved
towards his childhood friend. Raising his arm, he curled a fist and
drew back his elbow in preparation of a punch through the
conflagration. His arm was quickly seized in the steely grip of
Buffy's undead paramour.

"You can't do anything for her now, fool. You touch that Seal and
you'll be the luckiest son of a bitch alive if you even end up like
her!" Angel grated out. Being this close to the Seal was agony, but
for Buffy's sake, he would protect her and her friends. "If you're not
lucky, you might kill both you and HER!"

Xander made as if to protest, the agony in his eyes clear for all to
read. His voice, however, was silenced as Giles loudly cleared his
throat. The Watcher slowly stood, having helped a weakened Ms.
Calendar gently sit down. Hands trembling slightly at what, and
more importantly who he saw standing in the midst of the Seal, he
drew closer to his horrified Slayer, and her friend. It was one thing
to know what a prophecy implied or meant, it was quite another to
see it implemented. "Angel is correct." He began in his quiet voice,
slowly growing louder and stronger as it echoed softly in the stone
room. "We can't do anything for Willow here. The best thing, the
only thing we can do that will be of any help to her is to carry on."

Everyone's attention was focused on him now, distracting all from
pained thoughts of Willow. "Willow will survive, assuming we are
able to put an end to whomever is encroaching on the Seal." Giles
paused, staring at the prone Willow.

"We don't even know if she's already de..dead or not." Buffy
protested. "We can't leave her like this."

Giles turned away from the Seal. "She lives. The Seal needs her to
stand watch over it right now, it won't kill her."

"How do you know that? You said I couldn't watch the Seal because
if I wasn't ready to guard it properly, the Seal would kill me.
Willow isn't in any shape for this! Can't we drag her off of it or
something? We have to try!" Buffy's statement was a curious mix of
demand and plea. Her face looked like tears were about to make
their way down her cheeks. Her hands clenched into the fabric of
her black pants, holding it very taut as if Buffy didn't know what
she would do if she didn't keep those hands occupied.

"No. We can't. If we do there is no telling what would happen, but
if we stop the attacks on the Seal, it won't have any need for her.
She'll be left free. It's your friend's life, Buffy, but the call is
yours,"
came the cold response of Angel. Sometimes Buffy wondered if he
truly did have a soul, he could be so cold at times.

Her blond head bent down, hair falling to block a clear view of her
face. The emotions playing across that visage went so rapidly, they
wouldn't have been able to truly understand them. "Fine. We go on.
But no one else does ANYTHING without telling me first. Got it?"
Buffy hissed, eyes full of anger.

Xander opened his mouth, only to be shot down with a glance as
the Slayer countered his unspoken request. "No. You are not staying
behind with Willow. You can't help her, and you heard the others,
you'll only endanger her." The Slayer paused, seeing a look of
mutiny in Xander's eyes. She knew she was demanding a lot from
him, to sacrifice what he felt he owed Willow in terms of
friendship, but it was the same sacrifice Buffy felt she was making.
"You're coming with us. We'll drag you if necessary."

Turning on heel, the Slayer faced Ms. Calendar, her countenance
fading in intensity. "Ms. Calendar, you'll stay here with Willow.
You have the best credentials for being any aid to her, and right
now I rather doubt that you're capable of helping us."

If the techno-pagan was inclined to protest, she didn't show it.
Carefully nodding her dark head, and wincing from the pain that
shot through her skull at that small act, she conceded to Buffy.

Buffy gave a curt nod in acknowledgment of the teacher, then
briskly moved towards the massive doors, her posture indicating
that she expected the others to follow. Xander debated staying
behind even as his legs began moving forward. He continued
considering defying Buffy all the way down the corridor and down
to the next level.

It seemed like they walked forever. On and on, in an endless spiral.
And aimlessly. There was no 'map', or known route, Buffy just
walked on. The frustration and anger at leaving Willow helpless
manifested in her stride. Long, purposeful steps, and body language
just begging to have something to punch, she kept her head in a
fixed position, an intense frown on her face, and trudged forward.

Behind her, Angel and Giles exchanged a silent commiserating
look. For all his apparent youth, Angel had centuries of maturity
which brought a difference in his mental perspective to Buffy's. He
understood her fury, her need for vengeance, but didn't feel it
himself.

Giles felt much the same way, and both men knew it. For Giles,
while he ached for the pain his Slayer felt, he also knew that what
was happening to Willow would have happened regardless. The
Watcher fervently prayed that the girl would be alright after all this
was done, otherwise he didn't know how Buffy would cope.

Jesse's death had upset her greatly, but she had never really known
the boy. Consequently, her emotional recovery was swift. Willow
on the other hand, was very close to Buffy. The tiny, shy girl had
been the Slayer's rock in the real world. One who accepted her fully
as a person, not a superhuman. If the Seal caused any permanent
harm to Willow, Giles doubted that Buffy would regain that
emotional balance she needed.

Straining to see in the darkness, even with the flashlights, Giles
turned his head to see Xander dragging his feet behind them. As
much as Giles felt for Buffy, he pitied Xander more, and he pitied
himself. To Xander, Willow was his childhood. The loss of her,
after Jesse would destroy the boy. For all that Xander thought he
loved Buffy, Giles knew full well that one day the young man
would realize that it wasn't Buffy that held his heart.

And for himself, Willow was a reminder of his youth. She had such
a love for knowledge, such a drive for truth. She was a welcomed
part of his world for her calm, her eagerness to help, and the silent
support she always lent the Watcher. If it weren't for her youth, and
her insecurities that came with her young age, Giles would have
considered her an equal and a friend. Many times, he did anyway.

Wishing he had something to say to Xander, Giles was shocked to
hear Angel speak softly to the boy instead.

"I'm sorry for being rough on you, back there." The dark-haired man
said. Xander looked up, the distress and desire to mutiny duly
reflected in his eyes. Angel paused, allowing Xander to step beside
him, before returning to his pace. "I truly believe Willow will come
out of this fine," he offered.

Xander shrugged, "Yeah." His voice was lifeless. His posture
indicated defeat before the battle had even begun.

Angel shot Giles a look. Xander and Angel had never been on good
terms. Both of them had strong feelings for Buffy, and that put them
at odds. Of course, Angel being the same creature as what had
destroyed Jesse didn't help them bond any.

"The prophecy never mentioned the Maiden's death. So, I have to
concur with Angel." Giles offered helpfully. He was pleased to see
hope spring to Xander's eyes.

"You think?" Xander asked softly, pleading to both of them for
security. "I mean, Willow was so scared of those nightmares..." His
voice trailed off.

Angel grunted. "I can't blame her. The nightmares were the images
of a horrific future. She had every right to be scared of them. But
the condition for those horrors to come to pass was that there was
no one protecting the Seal. Surely she has the most incentive to
guard it the best."

Xander was silent, and it was difficult to read his expression.
Staring at some unseen point ahead of him, he contemplated those
words carefully. "Willow's never been much of a fighter. Cordelia
and her crew have walked all over her for years, 'cause Willow
hasn't got the courage to stand up to them." He spoke finally. The
tone of his voice, however, was a temporary peace offering in the
war between him and Angel. Whether the truce would last beyond
this fight, Giles dared not speculate.

"She's changed. You've changed. That's the Slayer's influence. You
can't be around the supernatural powers that move the Slayer, and
not react to them," Giles commented. "Willow willingly shoves
whatever morals she has aside if it will help Buffy. And she would
cheerfully slit her throat if it would save yours. I think you realize
that."

Xander smiled slightly. "She would, wouldn't she? I've never known
anyone who values a friendship like Willow does. Maybe 'cause
they don't come easily to her." His voice drifted off. "Although,
y'know, you are right. Her personality has become stronger. She
doesn't let people push her around, anymore. At least, not as much.
"

Angel clapped Xander on the back. A brave move in terms of their
shaky new truce. "See? And since technically Buffy's leading us
straight into danger, it'll give Willow all the more reason to hold
on."

"Buffy doesn't have a clue where she's leading us," Xander said
sourly. "She's just doing her bad-attitude walk."

Giles chuckled softly. "It would seem that way, but I rather doubt
it." Quietly, he observed the young Slayer before commenting to the
two young men standing beside him. "She may not realize what
she's doing, but the powers that have set this prophecy in motion
will lead her straight to wherever this final battle will be."

"Great." Xander muttered dismally, "Someone's going to get hurt
when we get there, y'know. That prophecy you translated
said..uh..'Amulet imprisons, the Power will heal.'"

Giles rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "It didn't say specifically that it
would heal a person. It could be a thing being healed, as in the Seal,
or this Amulet it speaks of. That's the problem with prophecies.
They can be tremendously vague as to the exact details of the
events. Often, a prophecy cannot be truly understood or explained
until after it has unfolded in it's entirety."

Angel nodded, something difficult to determine since the flashlights
all pointed away from their faces. "Exactly. Look at that prophecy
about Buffy's death. It never mentioned that she wouldn't be
resuscitated, or that her will to live would overwhelm death."

**********************Continued in Part 7B/11************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:53:31 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8/11

Sealed with a Kiss   Part 8/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

DISCLAIMER:These characters listed below belong to Joss
Whedon, WB and co. No infringement is intended. The characters
of Cai and Carmilla belong to me!

Part Eight

Buffy couldn't be quite sure just how that creep had moved so fast.
One moment she was standing boldly in front of the hideous dwarf,
and the next she was flat on her back, her breath rushing out of her
body. The filthy little man's staff pressed diagonally across her
body, the hand clenching the top of the wooden rod just above her
collar bone, pressing the wood down firmly.

"Don't interfere with us, little girl!" He snarled, breathing rancid
breath into her face. The sneer on his face was far more demeaning
than the words.

Buffy arched her back, and with a mighty kick, through herself
backwards sending the dwarf flying. He hit ground with a satisfying
'smack'. A quick roll and spin of her body, and Buffy was in a
fighter's crouch.

They faced off, both with a silent snarl on their faces. Around her,
Buffy was vaguely aware of Angel moving into a position to offer
backup. Giles was doing some fancy sign language, directing
Xander to move. They took divergent paths along the natural stone
walls of the chamber approaching the altar. Their movements
remained at a steady pace, careful to ensure short and ugly never
noticed their advance.

Buffy lowered her head menacingly, a small smile twirking up at
the corners of her mouth. It was one of those strategic moves
guaranteed to drive an opponent absolutely wild. For some reason,
when Buffy exuded confidence, security and bemusement, her
opponent freaked right out. Usually fatally.

Eyes narrowed, she focused on the solar plexis of the Stunted
Wonder's chest. An action coming would be reflected in the
movement of muscles there. Seeing a muscle jump, Buffy tensed,
and found herself being bowled over.

*How the hell does he MOVE so fast?* Buffy let the roll take her,
and fell out of it with intense grace. With scant seconds, she dodged
the end of his staff, throwing her weight to her side, and spinning
round with a kick to send him sprawling.

The staff swept across the floor kicking her feet out from under her.
With a fluid smooth motion, Butt-ugly raised it up to ram the blunt
end into her face. With just seconds, Buffy threw herself out of
reach. "That stupid hunk of wood has gotta go!" she thought
furiously. Hunching her shoulders like a quarterback, Buffy rushed
Gruesome, shoving her body haphazardly at him, and grabbed for
the staff.

Short and Ghoulish scampered out of her way. His speed and agility
were incredible. He was moving with the grace of an acrobat, a
grace Buffy found odd given his physical appearance. This time,
however, he made a mistake. His back was turned to the lurking
Angel, and as Buffy occupied his full attention, Angel moved in.

Feinting quickly at the dwarf's left side, Angel grabbed the stave as
it reached to strike. Smoke issued forth from where the stave rested
against the vampires palm, and Angel gave a startled cry of sudden
pain. His face sudden shifted into the demonic visage of a vampire.

"Geezus crimp, a goddamn mothersuckin' Vampire!" Cai snarled,
stunned. He flicked a scornful glare at the Slayer. "Honey, you're a
freakin idiot! Slayer...say it with me ssss..lay...er...as in the
chiquita
who's supposed ta go off and kill this shit! If you're so useless ya
can't even do that right, what t'hell are ya doin' down here?"

"Shut-up." Angel growled back, securing his grip on the staff, and
ignoring the discomfort the staff brought to him. He grunted as the
runt used his own end's grip to slam the rod into the side of Angel's
head. The little man's strength was supernatural, a fact clear to all
the witnesses there, and even as they tackled ferociously, he seemed
to just get stronger.

Buffy gritted her teeth, prepared to jump in at the first opening.
With in moments Angel was being propelled through the air by the
dwarf like troll. Off balance, Cai slammed into the ground as Buffy
took the legs out from under him with a sweep kick from behind. In
seconds a stake had sprung into her hands, descending rapidly
towards her winded foes heart. "Waits over ugly, you lose!" she
yelled as victory appeared inevitable.

Blinding speed enabled Cai to grab the Slayer's arms, her
formidable strength forced him to draw more power into himself
than he liked. With effort he repelled her attack and rolled on top.
"Who ya calling ugly, Blondie? At least I ain't got tall dark and
gruesome's face" grunted the hideous man, accenting this comment
with a gaze at the vampire he had sent flying into the far wall.
*Hell, I sure hope she gets better at this. She ain't even begun to get
the job done and this is hardly fun at all*

Jumping up onto a raised platform of rocks, Cai propped his staff as
a seeming support. Glowering down at the Slayer, he caught his
first glimpse of Carmilla's gleeful face. "This sucks," he muttered
softly. "I'm spending all this energy on these twats, and the Seal is
in danger of slipping outta my grasp! So, what'm I gonna do to axe
the blond?"

"Quickly, child! Take it up and destroy it!" Carmilla's tearful little
cry broke into his reverie. Dodging the Slayer's and her little pet
vamp's feeble attempts to grab him, Cai spun to survey the scene
around him. Pure horror rushed through him. While he and the
bimbo had been rolling about on the floor, her two pals were
getting close to the altar. And now, the young kid was less than a
meter away from destroying everything Cai had worked so hard for!

Cai skipped over Buffy's head, pummeling Angel in his headlong
rush to prevent the boy from touching the amulet. The older man,
probably the blond's Watcher, threw himself in the way. Displaying
a negligent air, Cai used his stave to pelt the roadblock out of his
immediate path.

Xander saw the flurry of motion representing the hit upside the
head that he just KNEW was coming his way. The confined women
encouraging him, he lunged for the amulet, catching it into his hand
even as the stubby ad for what radioactivity can do to a human
being tackled him. "Oh God, Willow never mentioned anything
about dying like this!" Xander thought, compulsively spitting out
the mouthful of dirt he had swallowed from landing on his face.

Cai grabbed the kid's wrist, applying pressure enough to make the
brat cry out from pain. Reaching for the amulet, he was suddenly
flung backwards with a howl as Buffy grabbed his matted hair and
jerked him off the boy. The amulet also went flying, landing with a
loud ring on the stone floor behind the altar.

Buffy stared at the ugly neanderthal before turning to see the
imprisoned woman. She was pressed as close to the wall of her jail
as she could be, a look of hopeful expectation filling her face with
radiance.

"Please, young Slayer, destroy the amulet. Once freed, the Seal will
no longer be in any danger of HIS control!" The ethereal being
called out.

Buffy nodded curtly, before mounting the dais to fetch the amulet
from where it had fallen.


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

*Oh God this feels good* the thought idly drifted through Willow
Rosenberg's head. Her body felt light as a feather, warm as if curled
under a duck-down duvet, and her soul felt as cherished as with the
tenderest kiss by a loving mother. *Mmmm..maybe I'm dead?*
Strangely, she didn't care if she was dead. This bliss was absolutely
wonderful.

Forcing herself to let go of this isolated sensation of pleasure,
Willow became aware of the world around her. From the instant the
Seal overtook her senses, Willow had been in a hyper state of
awareness. She could feel the Seal's power and life drifting around
her. It was intoxicating, but frightening.

Frightening in that there was an awareness of the Seal, one that
trusted her. Frightening in that Willow knew that Power was hers to
manipulate, it gave itself over to her completely and trustingly. The
flows of energy could be seen, and with the slightest twitch of a
finger could be redirected.

Looking around herself, she realized that her world had shifted. She
was no longer standing in a stone chamber, with her friends
clustered around her. No, now she was standing in a beautiful
glowing hall. Huge walls of living trees arched upwards to form a
wooden frame to a sky full of the bluest velvet studded with the
clearest diamonds. *Outside? Above ground? How?* Willow spun
around in a small circle, startled to feel the silky flow of a skirt
against bare skin.

Running her hands down her body, her eyes widened enormously
catching her own reflection in the blue fires that formed a circle
around her. A simple white shift covered her, leaving shoulders and
arms bare. A loose silver belt clasped around her waist, holding the
two slit panels of the shifts skirt in place, and her feet were
shoeless. *Where are my clothes!* The thought was instinctive, but
it was the reply she got that was a greater shock than her new
wardrobe.

**You are clothed with what your soul deems necessary. Others
have come clad only in their own skins.** To say it was a voice was
wrong. It was a more of a feeling of awareness than a physical
entity. And it was definitely masculine. **A perception only of your
own mind. We are a reflection of what you expect, neither
masculine nor feminine. We are.**

"I'm not in Kansas anymore," Willow muttered, wishing with all her
heart that a simple klick of her heels would bring her back to
reality. The fire seemed to darken in response, as if unhappy to feel
her discomfort.

**Why? Do we displease? We are the creation of GOD, we exist to
protect this plane from the Old Ones. We do not wish to upset or
cause harm to you, but wish for you to join us in our struggles.**

"You're the Seal?" Willow asked with a mental leap. *This is
incredible! The Seal has a conscious awareness!*

**We are.**

With great effort, Willow refrained from lapsing into incredulous
profanity. She wasn't normally inclined to swear, but for some
bizarre reason, the words "Holy shit" just wanted to pop into her
mind. And yet, it was with that thought that she realized the most
important thing of all about the Seal.

**Why is the biological refuse of living matter a divine
substance?**

The Seal, while it had an intelligence, was simple in it's complexity.
The thoughts of an advanced nature that Willow had thought
coming from the Seal were in fact, reflections of her own psyche. It
was talking to her through her.

"Oh, Wow!" She whispered, letting the awareness fill her with a
conscious volition. Suddenly, she understood the markings around
the Seal, and could feel the Power flowing out, draining out, and
knew it was being pulled by another force.

Staring at the exotic glyphs she had warned Xander off of, she
watched the marks on them flare redly, fading slowly, and then
light again. Instinctively taking the Power, she followed the flows
into those glyphs with her mind's eye...letting it lead her to
wherever that Power was draining to.

***********************Continued in 8B/11*************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:53:35 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8b/11

Sealed with a Kiss   - Part 8B/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

Staring at the exotic glyphs she had warned Xander off of, she
watched the marks on them flare redly, fading slowly, and then
light again. Instinctively taking the Power, she followed the flows
into those glyphs with her mind's eye...letting it lead her to
wherever that Power was draining to.

                                   ********************

The Seal pulsed, flared, and then fell back. Within those flames
Willow's body hung, and with each pulse, the girl's body convulsed
horribly.

"What the hell are you doing, Rupert!" Samantha Calendar was not
happy. On her knees in front of the Seal, she desperately tried to
touch it, only to be gently repelled each time.

The Seal was being viciously battered at, and Ms. Calendar could
feel the Hellmouth beneath straining to break out of the Seal's
control.

The Seal pulsated again, this time, Willow physically cried out. Ms.
Calendar raised her hands to the flames, her eyes fixed with
growing horror on the girl, watching a small trickle of blood creep
down from the corner of her mouth. "What is it doing to her!"

Tendering prayers to whatever God would listen, Ms. Calendar
begged for a miracle.

*********************End Part 8*************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:53:55 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  9B/11

Sealed with a Kiss   - Part 9B/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

Absorbed in his thoughts, the rock that thumped into his back came
as a complete surprise. Falling with a roll, he was on his back to see
Cai's advance. "Not again!" Xander moaned silently. The gnarled
midget lunged, arms outstretched for Xander's neck, again. "I think
he likes my neck. Fluffy likes my ankles, so of course, Fluffy's
cousin likes my neck."

"Give me the amulet, whelp!" Cai snarled. His face so mottled with
rage, Xander seriously thought he'd erupt spewing lava, or
something equally fiery, all over the place.

Xander pulled himself together with barely any time to spare, and
threw his body past Cai's range. Looking up, he saw Buffy running
towards them, and made a split decision. "Buffy! Catch!" With a
quick overhand motion, the amulet went flying towards the Slayer.

Buffy's eyes followed the golden trinket, even as those same bright
blue eyes watched Xander. Time seemed to shift into slow motion.
Cai raised a large slab of wood, even as Xander threw the amulet.
The wood was coming down as the amulet arced to Buffy, and
Buffy ignored it, choosing to run past it in the vain attempt to save
Xander's life.

<THWACK> The wood connected solidly with Xander's skull, his
eyes rolled back and up into his head and he fell down.

"Nooo!" Buffy's scream echoed through the room. The blood and
hair shining wetly on the wood still in Cai's hand. Tears streaming
down her face, Buffy's world narrowed onto one purpose. Killing
the wretch who had just killed her friend.

Cai stood paralyzed, Xander's collapse and the blood matted in the
boys hair shocking him back to rational thought. *Oh Hell!* Before
the boy hit the ground entirely, Cai grabbed him, supporting the
limp body with his two arms. In the few seconds before Buffy could
reach him, Cai had managed to ascertain the boys neck wasn't
broken, but by the look in the Slayer's eye, he wasn't going to get
the chance to tell HER the good news.

Her first hit tossed Cai into the stone altar, demolishing it. The
gnome was down, but not out. Buffy ignored him for a moment to
focus on Xander. He was still breathing, which Buffy took as a very
good sign, but it wasn't by much. His face had a ugly shade of grey
to it, and that scared her. Reaching down to pick him up and get
him to safety, Buffy was shocked to hear Carmilla's words intrude
into her world.

"Forget the Boy! Bring me the Amulet!"


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


There it was again, Willow ignored her own pain to watch the Seals'
wards. Each attack caused them to flare incandescently, even when
Willow absorbed the bulk of the assault, and then fade slowly. The
energy, however, wasn't lost, but transformed into something
similar to the Seal.

Slumping, and gasping for air, Willow tried to think only on what
she had observed, and not about how wretched she felt. The wards
responded like they took in the energy and transformed it to
something useful...but transforming it cost the Seal personal energy,
and that's why it wasn't getting stronger.

*Kinda like the principle of 'Conservation of Energy', or is that
'Matter'...I dunno..* Willow was so exhausted she couldn't think
rationally. "Energy can't be destroyed, it can only be transformed
into another form..." she mused aloud in a rather pathetic whisper.

**Transformed into something Good** The Seal's awareness
interjected.

"How?" That's what Willow couldn't figure out. If the Seal could
transform it, then why didn't it transform all of it? Why was a
Guardian, or protector, or whatever Willow was standing in for
needed in the first place.

**Not standing in. Needed to focus energy..change energy..**

Willow blinked. *As in, to collect it and will it to be something
else?* It can't be that simple. It can't. I...

**Yes**

"Why didn't anyone tell me this!" She shouted hoarsely. If she had
something to hit, she would. All the strain, agony and frustration of
the last...God only knew how long...and it could have all been
avoided?

**The knowledge was always yours. The Power is yours to wield.**

Willow stood up, this time with some backbone. "Good." A distant
rational corner of her mind tried to point out she still didn't know
what she was doing, but the larger part that just wanted to end the
pain overruled, advising her to fake it. "It's time I start wielding
it!"

She could sense another attack coming, like a tsunami to a coastal
town. This time, however, the coast was going to fight back.
Willow gritted her teeth, and pulled energy from the Seal to herself,
forming a bowl like dish or container in her minds-eye.

The Power lashed at her, she ignored it. It tried to hurt her, she
forgot it, instead, she did something new. She called it into her,
letting it flow in her and through her...right through to the little
pocket of energy the Seal fed her.

And she changed it.

The entire Seal thrummed suddenly, the warding glyphs all ignited
into solid blue flames, sturdy, strong and powerful. Beneath her
feet, Willow could hear the demons howls of agony as the fragile
Seal became strong.

"Let's see what else we can do? Hmmm?" She thought, her sweet
lopsided smile crossing her lips for the first time since the attacks
had begun.


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


"Leave him!" Buffy was incredulous. "You can't be serious!"

"Listen to me, Slayer. Forget your friends, their lives mean little in
the great scheme of things. Please, destroy the Amulet that holds
me prisoner! I can kill Cai, but only if I am free!" Carmilla's voice
dropped the pleading tone in favor of a cold, impassive note of
command.

Buffy stayed where she was, absently noting Cai struggling to his
feet. He seemed suddenly weaker. Her eyes flicked from him, to
Carmilla. "I have a big problem with this. If you're the
Guardian...then you're supposed to look out for people..not just toss
their lives aside."

From across the room, she heard Cai snort. "Heh. You blew it
Carmilla! She may be blonde, but she ain't THAT dippy." He
shambled towards Buffy, purposefully keeping his pace and stance
as non-aggressive. The Power of the Seal was no longer his to
command, the girl had figured it out.

"She ain't the Guardian, girl. I am...or was. I'm retiring now."

Buffy blinked owlishly at him for a few moments, before
transferring her befuddled gaze to Carmilla. "I...." He was so
ugly..he couldn't be the Guardian...and the prophecy said there
would be a female Guardian..so if that wasn't Carmilla... "I..."

"Do not be fooled by him Slayer. Look at him, is he is a twisted
demon in a human guise." Carmilla said imperiously. "Bring me the
Amulet!"

"No. I don't think so." Buffy said softly. She turned to Cai. "Don't
you move towards that amulet either. I don't know which one of you
to believe. You nearly killed my friends, and you.." She turned to
face Carmilla, "Are advocating that I let them die."

"Listen girl, would ya have believed me?" Cai offered reasonably,
he made no move towards the amulet, just absently looking over at
it, and noting, with pleasure that the symbol engraved onto the front
of the golden piece was glowing incandescently.

Buffy ran her hand gently across Xander's forehead and hair. "He
could die because of you." Her voice was tiny, scared. She looked
up at Giles. "I don't even know if Giles is alive...and Angel..."

"I don't know what to do." The whisper was almost inaudible.

Her head was bent down towards Xander, but she could still sense
Cai's presence hovering nearby, unmoving. Nearby, Carmilla had
also stopped moving, but her attention seemed drawn further out,
eyes vacant for a long moment.

"Nooooooo!" The woman howled, pummeling her hands on the
ground. "That little BITCH!" Carmilla straightened herself out
quickly, her voice going as cold. " I will not let this end! The Seal
will be mine."

Buffy stared at the woman incredulously. After all the posturing to
try and convince Buffy that she wasn't the bad guy, she threw it all
away so suddenly. Eyes widening with a second realization, she
turned her head to look at the Guardian Sun. "Oh. My. God."

Cai grinned, a horrible sight in his mangled face. "Not me, nope I
ain't no God. She knew him once," He offered with a negligent roll
of his head towards Carmilla. "At least, she did before she got
thrown out." The ugly Guardian seemed very pleased with himself.
"You'll have to excuse Carmilla, she just found out that yer pal got
a grip on the Seal thing. Unless she can kill the kid, she screwed.
And ta kill the kid, she needs out of there."

Buffy knew she looked ridiculous. Her jaw hanging open, but she
couldn't close it. She looked a Cai for a long moment, trying to
forget that he had hurt Giles, Xander and Angel, and redeem that
with the fact this man was the Guardian.

Her blue eyes flicked to the other conscious occupant in the room,
surprised that Carmilla had let Cai insult her on so many levels in a
subtle way. Carmilla wasn't even looking at them. She was looking
beyond them, rather triumphantly. Something in Buffy froze.

Twisting sharply, the Slayer saw Angel bend down and scoop up
the Amulet. His features openly vampiric, he didn't even wince as
his hand starting smoking and turning black from the Amulet's
touch.

"No." The whisper went unheard. Buffy moved to block Angel,
hoping beyond hope that she had the strength of will to let him go
and slay him if necessary.

Carmilla smiled, speaking conversationally, "See, Cai? You were
wrong. You have no power now, and so can't stop either me...or
him."

Cai grunted once as Angel tossed him aside. Without the Seal's
power, he could not heal fast enough, or move quick enough even if
he did have the strength to carry on to stop the vampire.

"Angel, stop! Give me the Amulet!" Buffy pleaded. The vampire
kept on walking towards her. "I'm sorry. I can't let you take that to
her." The kick and following block did nothing to stop him. A silent
snarl, and a flick of his wrist, and Buffy was tossed backwards.
Tears stung her eyes as a stake instinctively dropped into her hands.

"Oh Angel," Buffy whispered struggling to find her friend in his
eyes. "Forgive me!"

********************End Part Nine ************************

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

End of buffyfic Digest V1 #21
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