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buffyfic Digest       Saturday, August 30 1997       Volume 01 : Number 022



In this issue:

    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 9/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 6B/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  10/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 10B/11
    BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 11a/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 20:53:47 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 9/11

Sealed with a Kiss   Part 9/11
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 Nine

Willow felt the scream tear from her throat, despite her best efforts
to restrain it. Knives possessing incinerating heat seemed to be
slamming into her body, slicing at her, through her and around her.
Her brain was virtually on fire, the agony so intense.

She was standing, or was it falling, within the Seal's circle. The
warding glyphs surrounded her. Above her was the majestic rows of
trees forming their domed ceilings, below her, a smooth marble
floor, broken up only by the columns, glyphs and circle of power
that formed the Seal. And the blood that was splattered
immediately around her. Her blood.

Willow knew nothing of where she was, or the world around her
right then. All she knew, her world's entire expanse was consumed
by the torment of her unknown assailants assault. As each blow
rained on her, she struggled more and more to keep the power from
lashing out at the Seal. But with each strike, it became harder to
absorb the raging onslaught, and some of the energy flowed over to
hit the Seal.

The Seal still held, Willow knew that within the silent depths of her
soul, but the energy drains on it's reserves combined with the
lashing attacks was weakening it bit by bit. And the Hellmouth
waited patiently for the Seal to fail.

As suddenly as the attack came, it ended. This cycle of torture was
pushing her near her breaking point, but as of yet, Willow had not
succumbed. Each time she felt the attacks coming, she threw her
awareness in the front, keeping the blows from striking the Seal. It
was so tempting, though, so very tempting to just let the strikes hit
the Seal, to protect herself from any more pain, but it was during
the short reprieves that her resolve hardened.

Each time, as her body slumped to the ground, she found herself
looking down and *through* the Seal. The demons and monsters
lying in wait to take back the Earth were straining against the Seal,
sensing the tenuous fabric that held them back. And what refueled
Willow's determination was these demons, they were the same
creatures from her nightmares, the ones that would rend her loved
ones from limb to limb. Their hideous visages was the most
incredible incentive imaginable.

Shakily getting back on her feet, Willow noticed the blood soaking
through the white shift she wore. Each attack hurt her physically
more and more. The astonishing thing was, the pain her body
experienced was all mental. There wasn't a physical assault, it just
FELT like a physical blow. Each raging inferno of energy, every
blast of power occurred on a psychic level. Willow's connection to
the Seal simply gave it the illusion and responses of a corporate
form. "This is going to kill me...I'm sorry Xander, I lied."

Willing tears away, Willow forcibily pulled herself together,
seeking the self-composure needed to face the next attack. Her
opponent seemed to be hampered somewhat, and unable to
maintain a constant streaming assault. Whatever it was that created
these pauses, Willow was grateful.

Pulling in a deep breath, Willow looked around herself for the first
time in a long while. The trees still stood firm, the ground level,
despite Willow's own mental impression of tremendous upheaval.
Looking down critically at the Seal, Willow saw the glyphs lightly
glowing, a soft dull red colour, like the colour of cooling metal
after having been pulled from a forge.

"Oh god! The backlashing energy!" She stared in wide-eyed horror
at the glowing marks. Each time the waves of power had pummeled
Willow back, and spilt over, it had been the glyphs that took the
first strike for the Seal. They were the Seal's groundings, keeping it
anchored and protected in a magical sense. Moving on unsteady
feet she approached the glyph closest to her. Sinking down onto her
knees, Willow leaned forward to hesitantly touch the arcane
symbol, and was startled to feel heat. "That's weird," she muttered,
the energy in it didn't feel corrupt, it was very much akin to the
energy of the Seal itself..only different..as if it was energy being
changed and assimilated. Frowning, Willow tried to both rationalize
the puzzle the backlashed but changed energy presented her, and,
more importantly, figure out how she could make this puzzle work
for her?


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


"I'm going to die." The thought was startling for it's simplicity, and
Xander had to pause to admire it, even as he watched Cai's rapid
approach.

Buffy had momentarily turned her back to the little stubby creep,
and didn't see Cai get up from where she had tossed him. She had
assumed after watching the dwarf slam into a wall that he'd have
the courtesy of being unconscious.

Courtesy, Xander noted absently, wasn't one of Short and Ugly's
better virtues.

So while Buffy was scouring the floor behind the altar for the tiny
gold amulet that would free the Guardian, Xander had watched Cai
get up and make a beeline for the Slayer. And Xander had, foolishly
he conceded, gotten into Cai's way. Again. Somehow, he suspected
that if the company which his parents had purchased life insurance
for their son from knew any of this, the premiums would go waaaay
up.

Running as fast as he could, he found himself standing in front of
the altar once again, looking at the bulldozer with the mug from
hell coming straight at him. At best, Xander considered himself a
temporary roadblock. "Buffy! Look out!" He yelled, even as Cai
reached out for his neck. Twisting, Xander attempted to punch him,
instead howling in pain. Before he could manifest any other
defense, he was flying through the air, again.

Thumping down on the ground, Xander was amazed to find he was
still conscious. "I think I'm getting better at being beaten up."
Pulling himself upright, he saw Buffy turned to face Gruesome.
And Angel was closing up behind the little runt.

Tearing his gaze from his friend, Xander dragged himself to the
Watcher lying sprawled on the ground close to the imprisoned
Guardian. Hesitantly, Xander touched Giles, reaching to check for a
pulse with a distasteful expression on his face. The expression
faded, though, as he felt the steady throb that represented Giles'
heartbeat.

"Great, both of our chaperons with matching goose-eggs." Xander
muttered, seeing the purpling lump on Giles' forehead. "I bet he has
a concussion too, just to round things off." He rubbed at his own
aching head, trying to remember what you did for people with
concussions. "Keep them awake? That would be difficult to do at
this point. I'd have to get him to wake up first."

A shout made Xander turn his head to see Buffy, Cai and Angel all
cheerfully pounding the living crap out of one another. The Troll
had recovered his staff, and was trying to stake Angel with it. *If
only he could get a lucky strike in* The thought was wishful, but
shocked Xander nonetheless. It had been habit to dislike Angel, but
deep down, Xander knew that he didn't hate the vampire. It wasn't
Angel's fault Jesse had died, nor was it his fault that Buffy had
fallen for him.

Angel grabbed the stave from the Ghoul, and threw it across the
room. Ugly got even uglier at that point, like a small child who's
favorite toy had been taken away, he threw a major tantrum. Angel's
head, with his body attached, was slammed brutally into a stone
wall. The vampire was down for the count.

Buffy took this poorly. She went from interspersing her punches
with sarcastic commentary to dead silent and deadly. With a rapid
series of moves, she pummeled the gnome, alternating between
rapid kicks, punches and throws. Amazingly, he kept getting up, but
was so occupied with Buffy, he had no time to see anything else.

"Child." the imprisoned being called out in her sweet melodic
voice. She was on her knees, her posture perfect, but position
supplicant. It took Xander a few moments to realize she was
addressing him. "Child, please, while the Foul One is occupied,
please fetch the amulet. It must be destroyed or I am unable to
unleash my full Power."

Xander frowned at her, looking quickly down at Giles, and then
over to Buffy. She was getting as good as she was giving, evenly
matched, it seemed, to Cai's strength. And Giles sure wasn't going
anywhere in a hurry...but..

"Please! Your friend trapped in my Seal is dying...if you want to
spare her, find the amulet!" Carmilla pleaded, her soulful eyes
looking anguished and desperate.

Xander's head shot up. "Willow's dying?" He croaked out, feeling a
part of himself go cold at the thought. He scrambled out of his
jacket placing it underneath Gile's head before turning back to
Carmilla.

She smiled sadly and gave a solemn nod. "Yes, she is. The Seal's
power is too much for her fragile body to withstand. It is killing her
with every moment that I stay imprisoned here. I am simply unable
to help."

"I'll get the amulet." Xander practically sprinted over the ruins and
rubble to the altar. Keeping a wary eye on Cai, he was pleased to
note Buffy was still pounding away. Her fury was sufficient to keep
the Grisly-Little-Mutant-Cousin-of- Fluffy very busy.

The amulet had fallen somewhere behind the altar, on the upper
ground where a priest would have stood giving his sermon or
performing some ritual. This raised platform, however, had been
pretty much destroyed by Carmilla and Cai prior to Carmilla's
imprisonment. Looking around at the ruined ground, Xander
personally concluded he didn't want to be remotely near Carmilla
when she took on Cai again.

Darting around, standing only on ground that look sturdy, it took
Xander a few panicked moments to locate the golden ticket to
Carmilla's freedom. It had fallen in between two stones, only the
slender gold chain lying exposed. Still keeping a careful guard out
for Cai, Xander crouched down and pried the amulet out.

He looked over to Carmilla, raising his hand to show the amulet.
Her lovely face lit up with delight, a luminous and breathtaking
sight if Xander ever saw one. Quickly piling the amulet into the
palm of his hand, and closing that hand into a fist, he concealed the
physical sight of the amulet. It made navigating back over the floor
difficult with only one hand to reach out and clutch objects for
balance, but Xander did it anyway.

Keeping his gaze on Carmilla, Xander moved quickly towards the
imprisoned woman, focusing only on her growing elation. "Weird..
I can understand her being relieved, but she's downright gleeful!" It
seemed odd, but it wasn't for a Slayerette to question the emotional
responses of a Guardian.

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."

- -------------Continued in Part 9B/11-----------------------

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:54:53 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 6B/11

Sealed with a Kiss   - Part 6B/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

"You all died." Willow continued in a flat voice. Xander's head
jerked back, stunned eyes wide. "Again, and again. Every night.
You died. In the first dream, you were devoured entirely by that
_thing_ in the catacombs. It blinded you and then swooped down
and ate you. Whole."

Xander swallowed hard. He opened his mouth to speak, but Willow
kept right on talking. Her eyes were distant, seeing everything as
she told it.

"You were eaten every time you died. The worst was this
monster...it looked like a giant lobster, carrion crawler kind of
thing. It was hideous. It had tentacles coming out of it's mouth, and
claws for hands. It grabbed you with those tentacles, something was
holding me back..I couldn't help you..and you froze. You couldn't
move, or struggle. You just screamed, again, and again."

She took a deep shuddering breath. "And then it ate you. A bit at a
time. You screamed the entire time." Her body convulsed once in
disgust. Shaking her head as if it would chase the memories away,
she looked at Buffy and Giles. Buffy had calmed down, and Giles
was speaking to her earnestly.

A sadness crept into her eyes, and her voice. "Buffy was killed by
something she thought safe. There was this small dark tunnel..and
she was walking ahead." Willow paused, gathering her thoughts. "It
looked like a rabbit. A big one. And, Buffy went right up to it,
saying something like 'Oh, look. A bunny.'" Eyes closed, Willow's
face twisted into a pained grimace. "It was like straight out of
Monty Python or something. Except the rabbit was the size of very
large dog. That bunny bit her head right off. It was awful. Blood
was everywhere, and then it lapped it right up."

Xander tightened his grip, shaking her softly. "Willow, stop. Stop!
Look at me." He waited until her eyes were clear, "It was your
nightmare. It hasn't happened, and if we're smart, it won't happen."

"There was more." She moaned softly.

"Oh God. How much more?" Xander felt the hair at the back of his
neck rising.

"Lots. Everyone died. Everyone. You, me, my family,
yours...everyone." Willow whispered tightly. "And all because Ms.
Calendar got knocked out."

Xander started violently. First looking at Ms. Calendar, still
unconscious with Angel standing guard nearby, and then at the
Seal. "Because the Seal wasn't protected"

Willow nodded, glad that their discussion was hidden from Buffy's
eyes. This would have upset her more than anything. "Yes."

"It ain't going to happen." Xander said firmly. "I have no intention
of dying, so it ain't going to happen." On purpose, he reached down
and tugged a lock of her hair. " I got it, I'll stay here. You go beat
up
the bad guys."

Willow's eyes went wide with disbelief. "How do you know this
isn't where it all happened?"

Xander frowned. "Okay, without descriptions..did it happen here?"

"No, I died here. You died somewhere else, but I was still there."
That confused Willow for a moment.

"Great. Uh. Did you happen to get eaten?" Xander asked rather
callously.

Willow blinked twice."No. Actually. They didn't hurt me much.
They always cut off my head as fast as they could. Like there was
some sort of rush to get me out of the way."

Xander just stared at her. "Y'know. I can't believe we're having this
conversation..but while we're having it, I think I want to say, that
your nightmares are biased. How come you get the easy way out?"

The question was so preposterous and sadistic, that Willow laughed
at the inanity of it all. It was a giggle just a inch short of insanity,
but a laugh all the same.

Xander leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Just remember, Willow.
Right now it's all too insane. And if you can keep one step ahead,
we'll beat the bad guys."

Instinctively, Willow hugged her friend. Xander didn't often show
this side of his personality, he was far more content to be their
clown. But when he did let his caring side show, it never failed to
amaze her.

"Uh..guys?" Buffy called from across the floor. She was still
standing beside the Seal. Her face was once again composed into an
impassive mask, and her body language was relaxed.

Buffy turned her blond head to look at Angel. The dark haired
vampire frowned shaking his head in a quick 'no' with a jerk of his
chin to indicate the Seal. It still made him uncomfortable, and short
of an emergency, he wasn't going near it. It amazed him that the
Master could have stayed in such near proximity to it for so long,
and still want possession of the Hellmouth.

Buffy smiled ruefully at him, before turning her attention to the
three standing around her. "I think Giles has successfully proved his
point. I'm not staying here, and we'll have to leave the Seal
unguarded." At Willow's wide-eyed look, Buffy amended her
statement. "If Ms. Calendar wakes up, then she can work on the
Seal, otherwise, I don't know what choice we have."

Willow turned to look at Giles, amazed that Buffy hadn't realized
that there was another person present who could be the "Maiden",
and it wasn't Xander. Surely by now they had realized that the
prophecy meant that she was going to be the one to hold the Seal.
Astonished, she silently questioned Giles. The Watcher, however,
didn't give an indication of his thoughts.

"So, what are WE going to do?" Willow asked, dismayed to hear a
frightened note in her voice.

"We're going to find our bad guys."

Wandering around the perimeter of the Seal idly toying with a
fancy raised flagstone with an engraved pattern on it, Xander
looked up and grinned. "Oh goody. I was getting bored."

Giles watched the boy with a bemused face. "Xander, I wouldn't do
that. That's a power glyph."

"A what?"

Willow rolled her eyes, " A glyph. Or a special marking denoting a
sign of power. In this case protection. It might hurt you if you keep
kicking at it."

"How do you know it's protective?" Xander asked, suddenly
suspicious. Willow gave the Seal a funny look, then shrugged.

"I just do." the hacker replied.

It bothered at Xander, this preoccupation for the Seal. Almost as if
Willow was listening to it. Frowning, he absently pushed at the
flagstone again.

*THUMP* His heel was thrown back, tossing him a good four feet
backwards. Hitting the ground with a thud, the air whooshed out of
his lungs painfully.

Buffy and Willow ran to his side, helping him up. "We told you so,
Xander." Buffy admonished. "You can't just keep poking at things,
or you're going to get seriously hurt one of these days!"

Willow winced visibly, quickly moving away and back towards the
Seal. This time, both Buffy and Xander watched. "What did I say?"
Buffy mumbled.

"Y'know how Willow said she hasn't been having nightmares?"
Xander asked, being very careful to keep his voice low. He didn't
particularly want Willow to hear him.

Buffy nodded blankly. "She lied." Xander said quickly. "She's been
dreaming our deaths for the past week. And we ain't been dying
pretty."

"Oh?" The blonde tossed him a funny look. "But they're just
dreams."

Xander shook his head. "Then why did she dream of that snake
thing? And of you getting cut? And of a lot more gruesome things."
He shrugged. "I don't think something was sending her nightmares,
anymore. I didn't want to say it to her, but I think they're supposed
to be warnings."

Buffy frowned, throwing a look over her shoulder, she jerked her
head at Giles. Curious, the Watcher gave up his examination of the
Seal and joined them.

"Tell him what you told me." She instructed Xander tersely.
Moving away, she trained her sight on Willow. The girl stood so
close to the Seal. Her hand raised contemplatively against the
glowing column of blue light.

Buffy took a few quick steps to her. "Willow, don't touch it. We
don't know what it will do to you." Her words seemed to jar her
friend out of a daze.

Willow took a sudden jerky step backwards, moving away from the
Seal. "I didn't realize I was so close!"

A moan from across the room caught the girl's attentions, and they
spun around to see Ms. Calendar struggling to sit up, Angel helping
her.

"Lo and Behold, the Crone awakes!" Xander said sardonically.

Squinting, and her head pounding, Ms. Calendar shot the boy an
acid look. "What do you mean _Crone_!" Standing, she wavered
unsteadily. Buffy moved suddenly to help the woman.

Xander paled suddenly. Spinning on heel, he pointed to Giles. "He
said that you were the prophecy's Crone. I just repeated him"

Giles glowered at Xander. "Do we not have more important matters
to discuss than translations Mr. Harris ?" he commented vaguely.

Willow nearly laughed. The look on both males' faces was
priceless. But even more joyful was that Ms. Calendar was awake,
and alright. She could protect the Seal!

Tension drained right out of her body. Willow felt her entire back
slump in relief, forcing her to take a step backwards. A gentle light
suddenly flashed all around her, consuming her senses. Looking up,
she saw Ms. Calendar's face. The teacher's eyes were wide with
shock and, although strangely Willow couldn't hear the older
woman she saw her mouth Willow's name before blue flames
consumed her vision.


**********************End Part 6*************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 20:59:59 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss  10/11

Sealed with a Kiss    Part 10/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

DISCLAIMERS: Cai, Carmilla, and Fluffy are MINE! I share well,
but ask first! Buffy, Willow, Xander etc, etc are Joss Whedon's,
Mutant Enemy's, Warner Bros' and whoever else has legal rights to
them. No infringement is intended. They're just so darned cute, I
couldn't keep away from playing with them!

Part Ten

Angel glared down at Buffy. Standing slightly crouched with her
stake in hand, the Slayer sought for an opening to plunge the stake
into the vampire's heart. It wasn't an act she looked forward to, and
she knew that the destruction of this vampire would grieve her in a
way that could handicap her job as Slayer.

Xander, Giles and Willow's lives all depended on this, though. The
former ally had the Amulet in his hand, and was trying to give it to
the perpetrator of all this chaos. Carmilla stood confined, for now,
within her invisible prison. Angel's willing hand-over of the
Amulet, the key to that prison, would change everything. And Buffy
knew she had no chance against a angel fallen from heaven's grace.

Shifting her weight for a lunge, she suddenly sensed the air fill with
a feeling of static. Angel's free hand shot up, a ominous red glow
enveloping his fist. A shattering crack of thunder ripped through the
room. The earth erupted in a violent shower of stone fragments
beneath Buffy's feet as a storm of unholy bolts of pure force issued
from Angel's hand.

Reacting without a second to spare, Buffy tumbled forward in a
somersault. Hastily pulling out of the roll she found herself inches
away from Angel. Regrouping, she reached deep within herself for
all the power of a Slayer, and moved with a supernatural speed to
plunge her stake at Angel.

Angel kicked forward, his foot striking powerfully into Buffy's face,
while her lunge only scored a simple flesh wound along his left leg,
falling short of the its intended target..

Buffy's world went momentarily dark, her head slamming into the
ground. Seconds that felt like hours passed before the Slayer
regained awareness. The metallic taste of blood in her mouth,
startled her. She could feel her split lip with her tongue and from
the pounding agony from her nose, and the sticky stream of blood
indicated a likely broken nose.

Angel proceeded to try and cross over Buffy on his path toward the
locket which held Carmela in place. "That's it!" The Slayer
growled. She grabbed his foot and pushed upwards in a sudden
vicious motion, putting all her strength behind her shove. Angel to
tumble backwards, hitting the ground hard. "All this rolling about
on the ground would be considered rather kinky, if I wasn't trying so
hard to slay him," Buffy realized absently. With little effort

Buffy pounced onto the vampires prone body, snatching her stake
from the ground beside him in a blurring motion. The vampire's
face shifted back to it's normal angelic form and a faint "Buffy"
escaped his lips. His eyes seemed to change colour, before her eyes.
"I'm sorry..I can't... mhhhhggg...." And then the eyes hardened
again.

Surprised, Buffy hesitated for the fraction of a second, but a pause
long enough for Carmilla to reclaim control of Angel's body and
strength and pry the stake from the Slayer's hand. The possessed
vampire within tried to fight her, but Carmilla directed the enslaved
body to roll into a position where the wretched human girl
obstructing her freedom was pined down. Two cold large hands
clenched onto Buffy's throat, tightening restrictively. Buffy
struggled frantically beneath Angel, desperate to get out of his
choking grip. Panic raced through her, as gasps and struggles
increased ebbing into feeble shudders as her world became fuzzy,
and her lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen. Her hands on his
forearms dropped away in a loose motion as her consciousness fled.

Impatient for her freedom, Carmilla directed Angel to rise. Buffy
was breathing, faintly. Livid bruises lined her throat, and the rise
and fall of her chest was not strong. The Slayer could still die
without further intervention, but Carmilla did not anticipate that
happening...not yet. The natural gifts of the Slayer would sustain
the feebled body, long enough for Carmilla to finish the kill with
her own hands.

Anticipating the thrill of freedom, followed immediately with the
delight of a kill, Carmilla let a small pleased smile cross her lips as
she watched Angel approach her, her thoughts in complete control
of that handsome body.

********************************************************
In a far off chamber, the Seal gave a tremendous flare of power,
and a young woman directed her will and thoughts to both her
enemy and her friends.

In a sudden burst of energy, Willow stood as nothing more than an
apparition in the altar room. Her physical body still inside the Seal's
wards, she had let her soul leave the confine of it's mortal body to
find her opponent.

The Seal was stabilized now, no longer did it require Willow's
conscious defense. Now the young girl wielding the Seal's power
was taking an offensive position to end all this misery. Tracking the
rapidly dissipating threads of energy back to the source, she had
found herself in the same chamber as her friends.

Surveying the room with a cold eye, and a steeled heart, Willow
was drawn immediately to the imprisoned creature that had
attacked the Seal. Carmilla radiated the very same energy that had
so ferociously battered at the Seal. She was not an immediate threat
to Willow, not as long as she remained imprisoned. Turning to look
for her friends, Willow was horrified to see Buffy battling Angel.

*That's NOT Angel!* Horror ripped through Willow. Carmilla,
while confined, had still seized control of Angel's body. It wasn't
Angel, Buffy fought, just his body. The mind and soul of the man
Buffy knew was struggling for control against the monster that held
him, even as his body betrayed his heart.

*Buffy won't be able to slay him! And he isn't strong enough to
resist that witch!* Willow was vividly aware of her friends
limitations. From the destruction and devastation she could see,
their struggles had been just as difficult as her own. Eyes sweeping
around the room, starting with Carmilla, she spotted Giles
unconscious. His head rested on Xander's blue jacket, tilted in such
a way that Willow could see had been hurt on his head. His pulse
was still strong, and his aura showed no indications of permanent
harm.

Looking further, she found Xander sprawled on the cold stone floor,
his head lolling to the side to show the matted hair and blood.
*Xander? XANDER!?!?* The slightest thought, and she was
kneeling down beside him.

Willow let her mind touch him with a feather light caress, relieved
to feel his essence still inside his body. He didn't look good, at all.
Whatever or whoever had hurt him and come within an inch of
killing him outright. Running a ghostly hand along his cheek,
Willow struggled not to cry.

Despair rushed through her, and she flung her gaze away from
Xander, as if to deny what her eyes told her. Stone-gray rubble
cradled the body of a gnarled little man Even in her distressed state,
Willow instinctively knew that he was a Guardian. It was strange,
but she felt she _knew_ him. His mismatched and filthy clothing
aside, there was a shining honorable personality within, one with a
dark grief to it. She blinked a few times, uncertain as to how she
could feel or think these things, but trusting her senses anyway.

Buffy's strangled scream drew Willow back to the present reality.
The Slayer had a stake raised, but stopped suddenly. Willow saw
Angel's lips move, watching from across the room, a spectral
voyeur.

Willow jerked power from the Seal, ready to level it at Angel even
as his hands closed around Buffy's neck. Her own bad angled
position, and Buffy's struggles against Angel's grip stayed Willow's
hand. So violently did the Slayer's body heave against her assailant,
that a blast from the Seal's conduit would likely hit her.

Agony and horror nearly overwhelmed Willow. Xander lay dying
beside her, Giles was out cold..the Guardian could not help her, and
now she was paralyzed watching as Buffy faded to
unconsciousness. Angel rose from his victim's still living body.

Silently screaming, Willow watched Angel walk towards Carmilla.
The evil one stood with clear anticipation marked on her beautiful
cold face. Her eyes were somewhat glassy, her mind focused
entirely on controlling Angel's body and responses.

Willow somehow forced herself to focus, stroking Xander's face
with one last tender gesture, Willow rose. The Seal's past
Guardian's had left their marks on the Seal's awareness, and the
Seal now fed her with the knowledge she needed.. Unless Angel
was freed from Carmilla's control, none of them had a chance.

Carmilla's arm lay outstretched, palm upwards and closed. Looking
quickly at that arm, Willow turned sharply realizing that Angel
mimicked her pose the golden talisman cradled in that closed hand.

Willow opened herself up completely to the Seal, letting it mold her
into what it wanted, and reached to touch Angel gently from
behind. Her hand made contact with his neck, and she flooded her
power into him, helping the soul regain footing in the body.
Instinctively, Willow masked her personality from Angel.

*Follow what she wants...* Willow whispered directly to his soul.
*Let her think you will surrender the Amulet to her* Her other hand
slipped down to his outreached hand, slipping into the closed fist
with intangible fingers. The Amulet, in response to her touch,
pulsed, practically leaping into Willow's hand. Power shielded the
talisman from physical sight, and Willow pulled away.

Angel walked on, covering the short distance to Carmilla. His facial
expression had not changed, nor the momentum of his movements.
Control, had, though. Carmilla still felt that she was controlling
him, such was the illusion the Seal's power created with Willow's
mind setting up the framework.

Inside the vampire was grieving for the actions his body had
committed. He couldn't move his head to look at her, nor allow his
personal guilt show, but he knew he had hurt Buffy terribly. His
mind, now truly his own again, replayed the scene again and again.
Each time that he envisioned Buffy's collapse, his hatred for
Carmilla increased, as did his resolve.

"Come to me, my little Angel.." Carmilla crooned sweetly,
oblivious to the vampire's hidden rage. A delighted smile crossed
her face. "I think I shall spare your body, little Angelus...after I
destroy your immortal soul! You shall sit at my right hand when I
acquire dominance over the Seal and loose the Hellmouth!"

Angel snarled silently, the soft presence that gave him strength the
only thing that restrained him. He wanted to wrap his hands around
HER neck and show her the selfsame treatment she had forced him
to hand to Buffy.

*No. We will not act as she does. Hold her still!* The voice
commanded.

Carmilla's fingers beckoned his to extend his own hand, the one
that had held the amulet. He reached through her prison easily, it
had not been designed to contain anyone but Carmilla, his hand
hovered above and parallel to Carmilla's. Her fingers stretched out,
palm bared to receive the key to her freedom.

*********************Continued in Part 10B/11**************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 21:00:08 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 10B/11

Sealed with a Kiss   - Part 10B/11
by Anya
[e-mail]

Carmilla's fingers beckoned his to extend his own hand, the one
that had held the amulet. He reached through her prison easily, it
had not been designed to contain anyone but Carmilla, his hand
hovered above and parallel to Carmilla's. Her fingers stretched out,
palm bared to receive the key to her freedom.

*NOW!*

A dark smile ripped across the enraged vampire's face. His two
arms shot to either side of the fallen angel, locking her body into a
rigid position.

"What are you doing!" Carmilla screeched, unable to raise a hand.
Her release of a physical manifestation of power depended on have
a focus point, a hand or something to direct the power through.
Angel having pined her arms down had stayed that avenue of
protest.

Willow stood behind the woman, speaking aloud for all to hear for
the first time, the words coming from the Seal's awareness. "I
abjure thee, foul one. Be enjoined with those that you would free.
Be imprisoned within the Hellmouth!"

Carmilla screamed as the Amulet she had lusted the destruction of
instead was wrapped around her neck. As the Amulet itself touched
her chest, it's power was loosed.

Angel's hands dropped away, he drew back from the intense
radiance that consumed Carmilla. Raising an arm to block the light,
he turned partially. For a brief fraction of a second, he saw a
feminine outline in the light, behind the vanquished Carmilla. Thin,
and very slight, his eyes widened, and then closed in response to the
incandescence. Forcing them open again, the silhouette was gone.

And so was Carmilla.

Stumbling he approached Buffy. Dropping to his knees, he gathered
her close. "I'm sorry.....I'm so sorry!" He would have cried if he
could, but instead, he rocked her in a gentle embrace.

Unseen, Willow leaned down beside him. Her own personal grief
was intense. Thoughtlessly, she reached out to touch Buffy's hand
where it rested on Angel's thigh. *This isn't right! THEY
SHOULDN'T DIE!!!*

The hand that rested on top of Buffy's felt flooded with heat, jerking
Willow from her grief. **Heal them, young Protector...Heal them
with the Power**

And power cascaded from her being, a intense solid pulse
originating from her soul and spiraling outside in a giant circle. It
was a benign wave, gentle, caressing, and full of healing energy.

It touched Buffy instantly, and then Angel. Buffy's broken bones
mended, bruises faded and her breathing eased immediately. The
Slayer's own natural healing gifts kicked in, and Buffy began to stir.

Angel found himself drifting for a moment, memories and guilt
fading to distant impressions. He looked down in wonder, for the
sudden surge of joy, relief and atonement his soul experienced, as
much as pleasure at Buffy's whispered call of his name.

Across the room, Xander was pulling himself up from the ground,
looking around in confusion. Beside him knelt the creepy gnome
they'd been fighting..except no one was hitting anyone anymore.
"Did I miss something?" He asked.

Cai grinned tightly at the kid. "What haven't ya missed, kid? Ya got
to learn to duck, or get outta the way. Your gray matter's shaky
enough without rattling it around all the time!"

Xander's expression grew even more confused. Turning, he looked
at Buffy curled into Angel's embrace. "Why isn't anyone hitting
him? Isn't he the bad guy?"

Buffy laughed openly, pulling away from Angel to hug Xander.
"Nope! He's the Guardian."

"Was the Guardian." Cai corrected mildly. He wandered away to
retrieve his stave. Picking up the rune wood staff, he thunked one
end down on the ground. "I'm retired, now."

"What happened?" Three voices chorused the words to Angel.

The vampire shrugged. "I really don't remember!"

A shadow dropped over Buffy and Xander. "I find this conversation
fascinating, given that I'm completely in the dark. Do you suppose
we could continue this after joining Ms. Calendar and Willow?"
Giles straightened his glasses, frowning at the new crack in the
lenses.

**********************End Part 10************************

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

Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 21:00:20 -0400
From: Anya <[e-mail]>
Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 11a/11

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

DISCLAIMERS: Cai, Carmilla, and Fluffy are MINE! I share well,
but ask first! Buffy, Willow, Xander etc, etc are Joss Whedon's,
Mutant Enemy's, Warner Bros' and whoever else has legal rights to
them. No infringement is intended. They're just so darned cute, I
couldn't keep away from playing with them!

Part Eleven ----The Finale!!!

"Open." Cai raised his right hand to the giant bronzed doors to the
Seal's chamber. A second's hesitation, and then the sound of
massive hinges squeaking open. Dust spewed into the air, choking
the four other's standing in the passageway.

"Open?" Buffy asked incredulously. "Do you have any idea of how
much pounding I put on that door just to get it to open a crack? And
you just _speak_ and it opens?"

Cai shrugged with callous disinterest. " Didn't your momma teach
ya any manners? If ya'd just ask the doors to open nicely, they
woulda. Ain't my fault yer clueless." He sauntered through the door,
looking up at the doors corners. "You broke 'em!" He turned to
Buffy with a sour expression. "Can't ya look after anything nice?"

Buffy glowered at him, biting back a snarl, and marched straight
into the room. She stopped dead, eyes shooting wide. In the dead
center of the room the Seal glowed brightly, the flames a strong
vibrant blue, arcing high from floor to ceiling. But, it was empty.
Willow no longer hung suspended within the circle it formed.

"Willows gone!" Xander's voice reflected his shock. Strangely, they
had expected to return here and find everything precisely as they
left it. Looking around the room he struck upon another realization.
"And so is Ms. Calendar, but our bags are still here!"

Angel hovered outside the doors, the Seal's power was much greater
now that it was no longer under attack by Carmilla. The sensation
of itching he had experienced before was magnified many times
fold now. Catching Buffy's enquiring gaze, he nodded shortly,
thrusting his chin out towards the Seal.

Buffy turned back to the Seal, moving to the bag lying a few meters
from it. Ms. Calendar had been sitting about here when they had
left. Buffy bent down to gather up the bag, her fingers lightly
brushing the stones, and coming up wet and sticky. Raising her
hand to her nose, she sniffed. *Blood?*

"Get a flashlight over here!" She commanded sharply, eyeing the
dark ground. It was hard to see, given the darkness of the stone, but
there was a trail of blood. Following it to it's source, Buffy
repressed the urge to scream. Deep with the fires of the Seal a great
deal of blood lay splattered and drying on the arcane symbols that
formed the Seal's base.

"That's blood!" Xander's voice sounded dull, like any further
surprises and shocks couldn't be felt anymore.

Turning to face her friend, Buffy grabbed him by both shoulders.
"That doesn't mean it's Willows! It could be Carmilla's..." She gave
a quick shake. "We have to believe that Willow is okay. She
wouldn't just let herself die! She'd fight!"

Xander didn't look to convinced, his eyes fastened exclusively on
the bloody mess of Willow's prison. "She promised she wouldn't
leave..." The words were little more than a whisper.

Buffy looked frantically around for support. She could see the
shock growing in Xander's eyes. This was not the ideal time for him
to realize the full extent of Willow's importance in his life.

"Oh my, " Giles spoke suddenly. The Watcher pointed down to the
ground, his flashlight shining on a small spot. Shaky disjointed
letters formed out a phrase. The markings were blotted and sloppy,
as if hastily made.

Dragging Xander with her, Buffy looked down at the writing. "See
Xander, Willow's fine. If she weren't, Ms. Calendar wouldn't have
moved her."

Cai ran a finger over the writing, "Yeah, but the kid's running more
than a few pints short. The only pen ink your Ms. Calendar had was
blood."

Xander started suddenly, "Blood? That's...."

Buffy herself was turning green. Strangely, it was with absolute
clarity she imagined Ms. Calendar, dipping a finger into a puddle of
blood and writing on the cold stone. Looking down, she read the
message once more and shuddered. "Let's get going." She suggested
quietly, pushing Xander to the door.

Giles watched them for a moment, glancing down one last time at
the message the flashlight scoring across it before turning to follow
the Slayer and her friend. The words written on the stone ground in
Willow's blood now engraved in his mind. *Willow and I are at
library. Meet us there. ASAP*

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


Willow hadn't intended to leave the Seal's Chambers before the
others returned, but watching Ms. Calendar fight off hysteria at the
very sight of her blood soaked clothes had been incentive.

The girl's locker room should have been locked by this time in the
evening. Somehow, the janitor's had missed the access through the
gym. Stripping down, Willow had left the clothing on a bench just
outside the lockers. Peering around the concrete wall that divided
the showers from the lockers, to ask for the soap and a rag to use
for a washcloth, she noticed that the clothes had vanished, and that
a gym t-shirt and team track pants were laid out. "They weren't that
bad, were they?" She wondered bemused.

Ms. Calendar had given her a strained look. "Yes, they were. If
Xander and Buffy had seen them, they'd have a nervous
breakdown." The teacher had set a towel down. "The towel's from
my gym bag, you can return it later."

Willow had nodded once, and disappeared back into the showers.
Hearing the door to the locker room shut, she turned the water on
full spray and scrubbed. She leaned forward, into the stream,
soaking her hair. Taking some soap, she washed it, rinsed, and
washed it again. Pulling her hair into a ponytail, rinsing the water
out of it as she twisted it around. Looking down at the drain, she
grimaced to see the reddish stain of blood in the water.

Dropping her hands away from her hair, she stretched catlike,
enjoying the soothing feel of the warm water. It was soothing on a
tired body. She scooped up the bar of soap Ms. Calendar and
obtained, and gave herself a final lather down.

The Seal had yanked her back, right after the others were healed.
Willow didn't know why, it just had. A few moments of intense
bliss, and she found herself awakening within the rings of fire. It
had been so easy to walk out of those fires, it was kind of like
standing within this stream of water, soft, gentle and caressing. The
softest, warmest kiss on her soul, a benediction. Willow wasn't
almost sorry to let go.

It had taken her a few minutes to calm Ms. Calendar down. Leaving
the message had been Willow's idea, and watching the contortions
on Ms. Calendar's face as she wrote it had been highly entertaining.
In hindsight, Willow realized she should have written it herself, but
for some reason, Ms. Calendar seemed to think that she might
break.

Turning off the water when it finally began to drain clear, Willow
quickly toweled off and dressed. The others should be back by now,
and she really wanted to let them see that she was alright after her
little adventure in la-la land.

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


The yelling could be heard all the way down the hall. It was very
fortunate that the custodial staff had left the premises by 9pm on
Friday nights.

Pushing the massive library doors open, Willow walked in
completely unobserved. The melee going on required the
squabbling participants full attention. Pausing to watch for a
moment, Willow allowed a smile to spread across her face.

It was so good to see them all alive and breathing, or at least, in
Angel's case, present with souls intact. Buffy was in middle of a
tirade at Ms. Calendar and Giles, her one free arm swinging all over
the place.

The other hand was full of Xander's collar, griping it from the back
to keep him from running off. It was very flattering to realize that
they were so concerned over her well being, but the Slayer was in
danger of pounding her Watcher with those wild swings. And
Xander was in danger of foaming at the mouth.

Xander was yelling at Buffy, trying to force her to let go of his
shirts collar. The Slayer was paying him no heed whatsoever. So,
the poor teenager simply thrashed about, snarling about disloyalty
and such nonsense.

Ms. Calendar was taking this all very well, her voice calm and
reasoning. It was too bad she had forgotten so much of her own
adolescence...and how a teen didn't want to be reasoned with, a
teenager simply wanted immediate justification and satisfaction.

Wandering closer, her amusement clear on her face, Willow
observed Angel, and the Guardian. Those two worthies were
studiously avoiding the entire debate. Instead, Angel appeared to be
trying to introduce Cai to the wonders of the technological age, and
computers. They thumped enthusiastically on the keyboard, Cai's
eyes wide and fixed on the screen in wonder.

"Never seen a computer before?" Willow guessed as she stood
beside them. Angel shot out of the chair like someone had rammed
a stake into him.

"WILLOW!" He shouted. The gambit worked. Buffy and Xander
stopped cold, turning slowly in unison, jaws both dropped.

Willow found herself being smothered by two fierce hugs. Buffy
squeezed so tight, Willow imagined she could hear her ribs crack.
Xander pulled her clear off the ground, and didn't seem inclined to
let her go. *This is nice,* she mused, enjoying the closeness and
scent of him.

Opening her eyes lazily, she caught Buffy's knowing grin, and
winked. Strangely, that small action released all the tension out of
Buffy. Pulling away reluctantly, she shared a warm smile with Ms.
Calendar and Giles. "So, anything good happening?"

Giles patted the girl's shoulder, "I can't speak for the future, but I
can right now. It's very nice to see that you've come from ordeal
unscathed."

Her lopsided smile was again bestowed around the room. "Okay,
okay, you're all happy to see me. The feeling is very much mutual.
What happened after you guys left the Seal?" She feigned
ignorance, something deep within advising that she keep all the
details of her sojourn within the Seal to herself.

"Oh, it's not much of a story, "Xander pontificated. He was keeping
quite close to his pal, afraid that if he let her out of his sight,
she'd
vanish. "You played with the fire, we went and pounced on the bad
lady, we won..you're out..we're back, we can all go party now!"

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

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

End of buffyfic Digest V1 #22
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