From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #21 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: 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 Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 7B/11 Sealed with a Kiss - Part 7B/11 by Anya anya@interlinks.net 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 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 Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8/11 Sealed with a Kiss Part 8/11 by Anya anya@interlinks.net 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 Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 8b/11 Sealed with a Kiss - Part 8B/11 by Anya anya@interlinks.net 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 Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sealed with a Kiss 9B/11 Sealed with a Kiss - Part 9B/11 by Anya anya@interlinks.net 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. 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 ***************************** To subscribe to buffyfic Digest, send the command: subscribe buffyfic-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@xmission.com". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-buffyfic": subscribe buffyfic-digest local-buffyfic@your.domain.net A non-digest (direct mail) version of this list is also available; to subscribe to that instead, replace all instances of "buffyfic-digest" in the commands above with "buffyfic". Back issues are available for anonymous FTP from ftp.xmission.com, in pub/lists/buffyfic/archive. These are organized by date.