From: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com (buffyfic Digest) To: buffyfic-digest@xmission.com Subject: buffyfic Digest V1 #42 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Errors-To: buffyfic-owner@xmission.com Precedence: buffyfic Digest Wednesday, October 22 1997 Volume 01 : Number 042 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: PARODY LYRIC: Unnatural Demon BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules BUFFYFIC: 5 New "Little Buffy" Movies! BUFFYFIC: 1 More "Little Buffy" Movie Description BUFFYFIC: Kudos on the movies. I'm LOL BUFFYFIC: A Walk Along The Beach 1/4 BUFFYFIC: A Walk Along The Beach 2/4 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: Fri, 17 Oct 1997 17:23:10 -0400 From: Jesse Jou Subject: BUFFYFIC: PARODY LYRIC: Unnatural Demon I've reconceived one of the final scenes of Prophecy Girl. It's almost like a music video now. The song is sung to the tune of Carole King's "Natural Woman," which is most often played very freely rhythmically to allow vocal embellishment, hence the imperfect scansion. JJ Master: "You? You're dead!" Buffy: "I may be dead, but at least I'm pretty." Master: "You were to have died; it was written!" Buffy: "What can I say? I flunked the written." (music starts, as they begin to fight) Looking for A little evening's pain, I used to be much inspired. And when I knew, I'd never see the light of day 'Cuz it'd make me feel on fire. Before the day I bit you. Unlife was no surprise, But your blood was the key to my recent rise. Cuz you set me free, You set me free You set me free I'm Unnatural Demon. Ohh, Buffy, what you do to me. (what you do to me) You let me out of a sunken vault (a sunken vault) And I'm just taunting thee (taunting thee) Hey, what's with that Xena-like somersault? Chorus (improvising as the music fades out) Unnatural Demon You set me free. You know, you set me free! Cuz you set me free; I'm Unnatural Demon. Unnatural Demon. (music ends) Buffy: "You're that amped about Hell? Why don't you go there?" ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 11:53:16 -0500 From: sah Subject: BUFFYFIC: ADMIN: List rules Welcome! This list is for fiction related to "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," both the TV series and the movie. To ensure that we all get to enjoy as much fiction as possible, please adhere to the following guidelines, and please save them for future reference. 1. Fiction should have Buffy characters in it and clearly be related to Buffy. Crossovers are great, and expected, but general vampire/monster stories that aren't in the Buffy universe and don't use Buffy characters belong somewhere else. 2. Discussion of posted fiction is permitted onlist. Please put "DISCUSS" in your subject line. Requests for missing story parts should go directly to the author, and not be posted to the list. Discussion that is not related directly to the fiction should go over to the general Buffy list. Discussion of fiction is expected to follow common netiquette guidelines and use PG-13 language. 3. No advertising of items or services, Buffy related or not, and no posting of non-story items such as .gifs, sound files, etc.. No attached files of kind-- if your mailer makes your fiction into attached files, you need to find another way to get it to the list. 4. If you're writing a story and including advance information on a new episode, and you're posting your story earlier than the national viewing time, please: **Mark the post as a "spoiler" in the subject header. **Leave about twelve lines (blank or with non-spoiler info) at the top of the post. This ensures that anyone who doesn't like knowing about an episode ahead of time is "protected." :) The blank space is for people whose mailers automatically open up the next piece of mail, without giving them a chance to see "spoiler" in the header. Spoiler warnings are not necessary after the start of the episode's national viewing time, which is currently set at 9 p.m. Mondays, Eastern Standard Time. Spoiler warnings are not necessary for reruns. 5. This list is absolutely NOT for erotic fiction. stronger than sexually PG-13 material is to be posted to the list under any circumstances. A story may be R rated for violence or language, however. If you have a question about something's suitability for posting, feel free to ask one of the listowners. Sending sexually explicit material will get you immediately and permanently unsubscribed. No exceptions. 6. By subscribing and/or posting to this list, you acknowledge that Buffy the Vampire slayer and all characters associated with either the televised series or the motion picture were created by Josh Whedon and are owned by Mutant Enemy productions, Kuzui Productions, Sandollar Productions, and 20th Century Fox. All stories posted to this list are for entertainment purposes only, are not sold for profit of any kind, and are not intended to infringe on any copyrights. 7. When posting stories to the list, please follow the following formatting guidelines - --No story parts longer than 250 lines - --No lines longer than 75 characters - --Turn off your "smart quotes"-- many readers receive these as garbage or weird symbols - --Put the title of the story in the subject header, indicate if it's a multipart story, and if so what part this is. Example: Buffy Meets Godzilla (2/65) indicates that this post is part two of a 65 part story. 8. If a story is rated "R" for language/violence, indicate this in an introduction. For example, "There's a really bloody fight scene at the end of this part" or "if you don't like dismemberment, stop reading now!" If there's chance that someone might be disturbed by something in your story (even if it's not rated R) please include some kind of warning up front. 9. And last, but not least, the listowners reserve the right to deny subscription (new, renewed, or continued) to the list for any individual(s). PLEASE NOTE: not following any or all of these rules will get you the following: **First offense: offender is unsubscribed for one week. **Second offense: offender is unsubscribed to the Buffyfic list for a minimum of three months. **If the offender returns and does it again, they're offlist permanently. As noted above, posting sexually explicit material is the exception -- you go straight to permanent unsubbing. Again, welcome! If you have any questions about these rules, please contact either one of us offlist. If you have subscription problems or questions, the fastest way to get help is to e-mail one of us at the addresses below, at the kirby@xmission.com addy which is the "official" e-mail owner of the list. Jill Kirby (jtkirby@mcs.com) & Sharon Himmanen (romana@mindspring.com) Listowners, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fiction List buffyfic@xmission.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 13:38:57 -0700 From: Lisa Rose Subject: BUFFYFIC: 5 New "Little Buffy" Movies! Five new "Little Buffy" Movie descriptions have just been added to the "movie" section under "Little Buffy's Recreation" at the Little Buffy Site: http://www.wco.com/~cybrpaws/lilbuffy.html - ------------------- 6. BUFFY AND THE BEAST - A wild and happy-go-lucky vampire is cursed by bitter gypsies with the return of his guilt-ridden human soul. Now he spends all his days brooding in a lonely apartment. Only the freely given love of a beautiful young woman (the town's slayer) can lift the curse and return him to his former crazy and carefree ways. At which point she'll have to kill him.... 7. FROM HERE TO FRATERNITY - Young Alex Harris (Frank Sinatra), a poor kid from the wrong end of town, is dying to belong to the local college's elite fraternity, Kamma Feeda Kobra. Nothing would impress his critical father more. After an exotic and seductive drag routine for the frat brothers during pledge week, he finally gets his coveted invitation. His first pledge task, however, is to feed the fraternity's friendly reptilian mascot ('Mackie') it's "special diet" down in its basement home. Soon, Alex is conflicted. Sure, the free beer and sorority girls are great, but are they really worth his mortal soul? It's a tough call! Maybe some peer counseling is in order here? 8. 101 HYENAS - Sunnydale High's militant Vegetarian Club (just over a hundred strong) decides to protest at the City Zoo because live racehorses (just past their prime) are being fed to the zoo's mysterious new hyenas. An unfortunate scuffle between demonstrators and zoo security guards at the edge of the hyena pit, however, triggers a tragic transpossession from the hyenas to the club members. In a cruel twist of irony, these former animal lovers and meat-refusers are now reduced to gorging themselves on stolen hotdogs, terrifed school mascots, and ultimately, their own stunned school principal (whose bitter aftertaste no amount of carrot juice will ever wash away!). 9. VAMPIRE RECORDS - The teen salesclerk behind the cash register sports a deathly pallor and crimson lips. Just another goth-kid working for minimum wage? Guess again! The bloodsuckers who operate this CD outlet are out to drain their customers of more than just their hard-earned entertainment dollars! Why hasn't the fact that the joint has no windows to the outside nor security mirrors tipped anyone off yet? Sure, they have great selection and are open till midnight. But God help any shoppers left in the store at closing time! 10. SIXTEEN BLOWTORCHES - Samantha (Molly Ringwald) is a young slayer whose duty has destroyed her social life to the point that she is spending her sixteenth birthday all by herself. As she prepares to blow out the candles on her cake, her cute brooding vampire friend, Jakelus (Michael Schoeffling), bursts in to warn her that sixteen vicious vampires are coming to "crash" her little party. Rest assured, they'll want to consume a bit more than cake! As the vamps smash through her picture window, Samantha thinks quickly and whips out a can of hairspray from her purse, spraying it over the burning candles to create a searing blastfurnace of birthday incineration. And Voila! Sixteen crispy vamp-kabobs for party latecomers Xander "The Geek" Harris (Anthony Michael Hall) and little sister Sara (Alyson Hannigan) to enjoy! At least the day wasn't a *total* disaster. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Oct 1997 22:25:28 -0700 From: Lisa Rose Subject: BUFFYFIC: 1 More "Little Buffy" Movie Description 11. DESPERATELY SEEKING DARLA - Angelus the Vampire has been released from that pesky gypsy curse that restored his human soul by the liberating love of a beautiful young slayer whom he suckered into falling for him. Now with the curse and the slayer out of the way, he frantically searches for his old partner in crime, his former supernatural squeeze, Darla, the "Belle of Budapest." His excitement grows as he races to the underground, eager to re-consummate their relationship, already hearing her deadly dulcet tones again in his mind. Then he halts in horror, remembering to his dismay that he *killed* her. Doh! (title suggested by Jim) - ---------------------- Lisa http://www.wco.com/~cybrpaws/lilbuffy.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 16:52:10 -0400 From: Jesse Jou Subject: BUFFYFIC: Kudos on the movies. I'm LOL Lisa- I don't know if I've told you how much I loved the movie descriptions yet, but I do. You truly have a gift for Buffy promotion. You should be pitching these to some heartless Hollywood exec, eh? I did inspire me to think of these, though: Maiming Amy Kevin Smith directs in this last of his "Sunnydale Trilogy" movies. Holden (Nicholas Brendon) thinks he's found the perfect girl in Alyssa (Sarah Michelle Gellar), but finds that her sordid past as a Vampire Slayer bothers him a little more than his liberal Generation X mindset will let him admit. Also in the picture is Holden's best friend, Banky (Alyson Hannigan), a bitter 20 something who's jealous of Alyssa's hold on Holden and whose caustic asides and uncovering of Alyssa's vampire slaying past drives a wedge between the young lovers. Director Smith also makes a cameo as Loquacious Jackson, the character he created in the first two movies of the trilogy, and who delivers some poignance in telling the story behind the movie's title of "maiming Amy." The Color Scarlet Director: Steven Spielberg, Adapted from the novel by Alice Walker. Buffy (Whoopi Goldberg) is a disadvantaged Slayer living in 1920's Sunnydale. Married to an abusive vampire (David Boreanaz), Buffy befriends her husband's mistress, Shug (Julie Benz), searching for the comfort long missing from her marriage. Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Oprah Winfrey, and Sarah Michelle Gellar (as young Buffy) round out the all-star cast. Join Buffy on her voyage to self-discovery as Spielberg deftly crafts a movie of exquisite beauty from the eloquent words of Alice Walker. (movie clip: Ext. a car pulls away from the front of a house as Buffy yells from the backseat, "I may be a woman! I may be a Slayer! But I'm here!" Her husband looks on, baffled.) Disney's Buffy the Vampire Slayer In its 65th animated feature, Walt Disney Studios takes on the legend of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Disney animators have worked round-the-clock for over 2 years to create the memorable characters in Disney's Buffy. "We knew right away," says director Gary Wise, "that we had to use the original novelization by Richie Tankerley Cusick as a basis for this movie, but otherwise, we had carte blanche in making it a story that we'd all want to see." Characters who have scored high with test audiences are the reconceived Buffy (voiced by Melissa Joan Hart, sung by Deborah Gibson), as a medieval princess who gives up her slayer powers to win the love of handsome Prince Xander (voiced and sung by Jonathan Taylor Thomas), and her vampire bat sidekick, Angelus (voiced by Nathan Lane). Production has been plagued by fans of Buffy, the television series, who have criticized Disney for creating a product that bears no resemblance to its original source material. Birchwood Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) is a struggling fashion design student in Chicago, whose modest and mousy designs make her the scorn of the jetset until her indomitable spirit gets her noticed by a possessive photographer (Anthony Perkins, in his final performance) who renames her "Birchwood." Willow, now Birchwood, soars to the heights of the fashion world, becoming one of the most powerful supermodels in the world. However, fame and glamour take their toll, and Birchwood soon notices that a number of her supermodel friends are developing terminal cancers. Can it be the effects of radiation given off by the local Hellmouth? Birchwood becomes a passionate spokesmodel for Hellmouth safety, stepping on the toes of the rich and powerful, until her mysterious death in an automobile accident. Was she murdered? That's what Xander Harris (Billy Dee Williams), a nuclear plant employee and aspiring Chicago politico, wants to find out. Featuring the Oscar-nominated song, "Theme from Birchwood (Do You Know What You're Hacking Through?)" okay. I'll stop now. JJ jjou@mail.med.cornell.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:28:28 -0700 From: mike_loriz@juno.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: A Walk Along The Beach 1/4 Title: A Walk Along The Beach Author: NuPhalanx E-Mail Address: NuPhalanx@aol.com Distribution: Anya, of course. Others, please ask. Spoiler Warning: Invisible Girl Rating: PG13 Summary: Buffy and her mom have a road trip planned. Characters: Buffy/Joyce/Giles/Other Disclaimer: This story is based on the series created by Joss Whedon. No infringement of any copyright stuff is intended. Rating: PG/PG13 Thank you all who sent me feedback, and a special thank you to Melinda, whose comments resulted in this version. A walk along the beach ver3 (part one) Sunnydale Ca. August 2, 1997 The sun was just slightly over the hills when her alarm went off. Buffy groaned and slapped the silence button. As she pulled the comforter over her head, she heard her mother call from below. "Buffy! I heard that alarm go off. I’ve got breakfast ready. We’ve a lot of driving to do so let’s get a move on!" Buffy flung the comforter aside and sat up, stretching and yawning. Her mother had been planning this trip for three weeks. It would be just her and Mom cruising up the Pacific Coast Highway and having lunch near Carmel. Buffy had to admit that she was happy to be doing something with her mom. But getting up at sunrise was never any fun. As she hurriedly pulled on some jeans and a top, she made sure that she had several stakes and a few other weapons in her bookbag. A Slayer could never be too careful, after all. Wouldn’t Giles be proud of me, she thought. Her mother had an omelet ready for her. Yawning, Buffy sat down and started eating. "It’s going to be a gorgeous day," Mrs. Summers said, watching CNN’s forecast. Buffy found it hard to call any day gorgeous at this hour. "It will be for some of us," Buffy replied. Mrs. Summers frowned and turned to look at her daughter. "I know you kids like to hang out with each other on the weekends, but I would like to have at least one day for just the two of us." Her mom left the kitchen to get her things for the trip. When she returned to the kitchen, Buffy had finished her breakfast and was putting the dishes in the dishwasher. She looked up at her mom. "Sorry, mom. I know how hard it is for you to get away from the Gallery. I’m just a little tired." "You can catch a nap in the car if you want. Are you ready to go?" The Slayer smiled. "I’ll get my bag." Buffy met her mother at the back door and watched as her mom locked it. She settled back into the seat as her mother backed out and headed for the highway. Grabbing a jacket from the back seat, she used it for a pillow as she tried to take a nap. Pacific Coast Highway 25 miles north of Sunnyvale Joyce Summers glanced over at her daughter and smiled. ’Never get a teenager up before noon on a Saturday,’ she thought. Buffy had been asleep since they had turned onto the highway. ‘And just yesterday you were all of twelve years old, a little shy, and nervous about going to a new school. Of course, your father and I having that argument the night before hadn’t helped things very much, either. I know you’re not happy with just the monthly visits with your father,’ Mrs. Summers thought, ’but it has worked out for the three of us. I just hope you understand that both of us still love you very much.’ Looking at the signs near the side of the road, she saw that it would be about another two hours until they reached Carmel. ‘She should be a little less tired in an hour or so,’ Mrs. Summers thought. She looked at Buffy again. She smiled and thought: ‘Teenagers.’ Carmel The two of them were picking out sunglasses from a rack in a convenience store when Buffy noticed the woman for the first time. She was about five feet five inches tall, with bright red hair done in a layered shag. The woman was wearing a khaki jumpsuit and carrying a black bookbag. But what she really noticed was her eyes - ice blue. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and Buffy noticed that those eyes were expressionless - no sense of anything that might be behind them. Her face held an expression Buffy couldn’t comprehend - expectancy, maybe, and something else. The woman glanced at something across the store, then brushed past Buffy and walked out of the store. Buffy’s spine started tingling as the woman moved past her, and Buffy almost found herself drawing a stake from the sheathe on her left arm - except it wasn’t there, of course. The feeling lessened after a few minutes, but Buffy still shuddered at the intensity - - just like when she was getting close to something during the hunt. "Creepy," Buffy muttered to herself. "Did you say something, honey?" her mother asked. Buffy shook her head. "No, I was just talking to myself." Buffy had a strange feeling about that woman - the same feeling she had when Angel would be watching her. She shook her head again. Relax, she told herself. You’re getting a little too sensitive. Her mother was saying something to her. "What? Sorry, I was thinking about something." "I can see that. Is it that boy, Angel?" Buffy looked away for a minute, then replied "Something like that. I just saw someone who reminded me of someone." How lame can you get, moron!? "It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about him. Just remember, you can always talk to me about anything, OK?" Buffys mom made sure she had her daughters attention. "And at any time," she added. Buffy smiled at that. ‘Not quite anything,’ she thought to herself. ‘What would you think if you knew what my life is really like?’ "Are you ready to go? I know I’m hungry, and since you only ate about half of that omelet, I bet you are, too." Leaving the sunglasses behind, they walked out of the store and got into the car. Pulling out of the parking lot, they turned onto the street and headed for the beach, which was only a few blocks away. On a beach, near Carmel Her mother had packed a cooler with the usual picnic goodies - sandwiches, chips, some fresh fruit. They had found an isolated spot on a small rocky outcropping overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Buffy had spread a large blanket for them to sit on, and they ate in silence as they watched the waves batter the rocks. Mrs. Summers noticed that Buffy once again had that far away look in her eyes. "Still thinking about that boy?," she inquired, inwardly smiling at Buffy as she lowered her eyes before looking at her mom. Buffy started to say something, stopped, then tried again. "Mom, did I have anything to do with you and Dad breaking up? I mean, I know I did some weird things at my old school, but I never have been sure that I didn’t have something to do with it." The suddenness of the question startled Joyce. She started to speak, hesitated, then continued. "Oh, honey," Mrs. Summers replied, drawing Buffy close. "I thought we had worked that out before we came to Sunnydale." She took Buffy’s face in her hands and looked into her daughters eyes. Haunted, distressed eyes. "How long has this been bothering you?" Buffy sniffed slightly, then continued to talk. "I just had some bad dreams about it, I guess. Is my insecurity showing?," she said, wiping her eyes as she looked out over the ocean. Her mother smiled. "Just a little. Buffy, your father and I just grew apart. I know it hasn’t been easy on you, but we decided that it would we better if we had a divorce. We both love you, and I wish you had said something about this sooner." She looked out across the ocean, hoping for some comforting words to come to mind. Since nothing came up, she shrugged inwardly and decided to fake it. ‘Here goes,’ she thought. "We both want what’s best for you. If you want to change anything, please tell me. I would understand if you wanted to go back to your father’s early. I’d really like to spend a few weeks with you, but you can do whatever will make you happy." Buffy ventured a small smile. "We would probably drive each other nuts. I just had to hear it from you again, about what happened between you and dad. I just couldn’t bear the thought of being responsible for any trouble between the two of you." ‘I have caused enough trouble for what few friends I have,’ she thought. ‘I hope I can make it up to them someday.’ "Buffy, you are the most joyous thing in my life. Life has a way of going on, even through the bad times. Never, never think you were responsible for what happened between myself and your dad." Mrs. Summers stood up and looked down the beach. "Now, are you up to a walk?" Buffy smiled and stood up. "Lead on," she said. As they walked down the beach, mother and daughter held each other around the waist, laughing as they shared a joke. Further up the beach, unnoticed by either of them, a red-haired figure watched Buffy and her mother as they stopped to examine some seashells. She appeared to be studying Buffy intently. After watching for another minute, she sat down on a nearby bench and pulled a notebook computer from her backpack. Opening the screen and turning the power on, she started typing. The screen had the following characters on it: "Journal Entry - 2Aug97 - I believe I have found the Slayer" End Part One. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 15:35:39 -0700 From: mike_loriz@juno.com Subject: BUFFYFIC: A Walk Along The Beach 2/4 Title: A Walk Along The Beach Author: NuPhalanx E-Mail Address: NuPhalanx@aol.com Distribution: Anya, of course. Others please ask. Spoiler Warning: Invisible Girl Rating: PG13 Content Warning: Assault Summary: Buffy and her mom plan a road trip. However, trouble seems to find the Slayer everywhere. Characters: Buffy/Joyce/Giles Disclaimer : This story is based on the series created by Joss Whedon. No infringement is intended. Authors Notes: Wouldn’t it be nice to see Buffy and her mom just having a little mother-daughter fun for once? Of course, trouble seems to follow the Slayer everywhere. This story is rated PG13 for violence and related subject matter. Special thanks to Titania, LadyRHood, Meawan, and Melinda for their comments and suggestions. A walk along the beach ver3 (part two) Carmel August 2, 1997 Buffy Summers kicked her shoes off and waded into the Pacific Ocean. The water was cool and quite pleasant. Turning around, she called back to her mother "Come on, mom! Live a little and get your feet wet." A wave roared in, soaking her jeans to the knees. Turning again, she caught the next wave full in the face. Sputtering, she wiped the water out of her eyes and turned to look for her mother. She smiled as her mom came wading out to join her. "This water is just a little cold today!" Mrs. Summers replied, as yet another wave drenched them both. Buffy grabbed her mothers hand and yelped for joy as the next wave came at them. Deciding she had had enough, her mother led them both back onto the sand. She said to her daughter, in mock seriousness, " I thought we were just going to stay on the beach, young lady". Buffy giggled as her mother started to drip water on her new shoes. "Mom, thanks for setting this up. I mean, I can’t remember the last time you and I just did something for fun." Looking down at her feet, she continued, almost shyly. " I’m really having a good time." "My, my, I always thought teenagers could *never* have a good time with their parents. It’s not cool, or whatever word you kids use these days," Joyce Summers said, brushing Buffy’s hair back into place with her hands. "Yea, I guess it is a major social no-no to do things with your parents. Sometimes. But not this time," Buffy said, smiling at her mom. The two of them sat down and just looked out over the ocean, watching the boats just offshore, the people sunbathing, swimming, and the other things one does on a beach. It was a beautiful August day, with just a slight breeze blowing off the ocean. For about the tenth time since they had arrived, Buffy wished that somehow Angel could be here with her. ‘Would he want to go wading,’ she wondered? ‘More likely he was one to cuddle up with her next to a fire, or get away from the lights and just look up at the stars.’ Would she ever get to find out? She had not been able to reach him for nearly ten days now, and was starting to get majorly wigged about it. She resolved to get his address out of Giles when she got back, one way or the other. ‘If Giles will talk to me,’ she thought glumly, remembering their last conversation. Buffy had again brought up the subject of informing her mother the truth about her daughter. Giles had been against it, reminding her that her mother was better off not knowing. ‘It would just make her a target and life all the more harder on you,’ he had told her. She remembered the angry reply she had thrown at him: "As if it couldn’t get any harder than it already is!" She had stalked out of his house, slamming the door behind her. That had been Friday night, when she had been feeling more than a little anxious about today’s trip. Now she felt just a little bit of guilt at having walked out on Giles. After all, he had always tried to keep her best interests in mind. Like he always has, and probably always would, until one of them was no longer around. Checking her watch, Joyce stood and brushed some sand off her jeans. "Honey, I’ve got that meeting at the local Historical Society. I should be back in two hours. Can you meet me here?" Buffy glanced up at her mom. "Sure. I won’t go very far from here." Her mom looked at her for a second, then said "Okay. I know I can trust you to stay out of trouble." Buffy grinned inwardly at that comment. ‘If you only had a clue,’ Buffy thought. Better not go there. She helped her mom clean up the remnants of their picnic, then started off down the beach. She turned to wave at her mom and watched her drive off to another meeting. Then Buffy started walking, noticing an old lighthouse about a half-mile down the beach. Deciding to check it out, she changed her direction slightly. Then she started thinking about her mother, the Gallery, and the trip they were on. Always some meeting, or a late night, or paperwork, OR SOMETHING!! she thought, trudging onward. Of course, some of her mothers activities did make it easier for Buffy to be the Slayer, but lately she had really wanted to spend more time with her mom. Looking up, she noticed she had walked further down the beach than she had intended. She had walked past the old lighthouse, and was in a small cove that was surrounded by cliffs on the landward side. She noticed a small wooded area near the top of a small rise and decided to get a look at the ocean from up there. Checking her watch, she saw that she still had about an hour and a quarter to kill. Reaching the top of the rise, she sat down at the base of a tree and looked out over the ocean. It was nice to be in a shady spot, as the temperature had climbed just a little. She had just started thinking about Angel again when a shiver went up her spine. She stiffened, and stood up slowly, but couldn’t see anything near- Two white-hot needles touched her back, and then it felt like her whole body was on fire. She was vaguely aware of falling, and then the blackness closed in. *** The sand was wet against her face. She hurt everywhere. ‘What was going on?’ she wondered. ‘Why am I lying in the sand?’ A man was talking to her. "Miss, can you hear me? I’m an EMT. We’re going to take you to the hospital now." She was dizzy, her tongue felt like cotton, and her eyes wouldn’t focus. "Wha-" she murmured, trying to sit up. A firm hand held her down. "Just lay back and relax, okay?" The dizziness got worse, and she let her head fall backwards. She could feel herself being lifted by someone, then she faded out again. When she opened her eyes again, she could see some bright lights overhead as she was being wheeled into the hospital. Her mother was at her side, with a worried look on her face. Voices came and went. " …possible OD, run a chem seven stat…" "…found her on the beach, no apparent injuries…" "…any ID on her?…" "…her mother’s here. Keep her out there until we get this kid stable…" Darkness overcame her again. Regional Hospital Joyce sat in the Emergency Room, anxiously waiting for someone to tell her what happened to Buffy. She waited a few more minutes, then got up and walked down to the nurses station. She had the duty nurse page the doctor that had worked on Buffy. He appeared after a few minutes, carrying some paperwork with him. "Mrs. Summers, I just got the lab results back on your daughter." He took Joyce by the arm and led her to a small conference room. Joyce didn’t like the look in his eyes. Alarmed, she asked "Is she going to be alright?" Dr. Cardillo nodded. "We’d like to keep her overnight for observation." He paused for a moment, looking uncertain as how to continue. "Mrs. Summers, I think your daughter was very lucky today. We found traces of Rohypnol in her blood. That would explain her disorientation." He flipped through several pages of the chart, then looked up at Joyce again. "There are no signs of any physical trauma or assault. Just a small burn on her back, and what appears to be a needle mark on her left arm." He paused again before going on, obviously trying to think of the correct words. "Mrs. Summers, has your daughter ever used drugs?" "Absolutely not! She’s a good kid, and I trust her." Mrs. Summers didn’t like where this line of questioning was going. Dr. Cardillo noticed the look on her face and changed his approach. "I’m sorry to have to ask you that, but I need to know so we can help your daughter. The Rohypnol level in her system isn’t very high, but it is a cause for concern." Joyce was aghast. "That’s the stuff the press calls the ‘date-rape’ drug, isn’t it?" Dr. Cardillo nodded. "Someone apparently tried to hit her with some. She should be okay in another day or so. I’ve prescribed some medication for her to help ease the side affects. She should follow up with your family doctor in a few days." He stood, and then continued. "A Detective will want to speak with her, but I doubt she’ll remember anything. That’s why this stuff is so hideous. He turned to leave, then added: "If you need to talk to anyone, just have any nurse page me." Joyce thanked the doctor, then sat there while her mind raced. ‘Someone drugged my daughter. WHY WHY WHY!? Didn’t I tell her to be careful? I should not have let her walk around up here on her own. Damn that Gallery! All I wanted was some time with Buffy.’ She stood up and walked down to Buffy’s room on shaky legs. She looked at her daughter, resting peacefully in her bed. ‘What happened? Did you try to prove how adult you were? I thought I could trust you. I thought I had taught you to NEVER get into a situation where this could happen.’ Joyce Summers watched her daughter sleep and was thankful for the lifeguard that had found her near the shore. She had been almost frantic when she had returned from her meeting to find that Buffy wasn’t back yet. After waiting for an extra hour, she had asked some of the lifeguards for help. The lifeguards had quickly organized a search and found Buffy about thirty minutes later. The EMTs had found no signs of a fight or struggle, but Buffy had been unresponsive until just before arriving at the hospital. ‘What did you get into this time,’ Joyce thought. ‘And why do you always seem to find trouble wherever you go?’ Buffy stirred, moaned, then opened her eyes. She looked around quickly and was relieved to see her mother beside her. "Where…What happened?" she asked, noticing that she was in a hospital. Joyce smiled at her daughter, squeezing her hand as she talked to her. "You gave us quite a scare, young lady. How do you feel?" Joyce watched Buffy closely as her daughter shook her head, trying to find the right words. "Sore. Dizzy. Can I have some water?" Buffy asked, noticing the pitcher near her bed. Her mother poured her a glass and held it for her while she thirstily drank it down. "Is that better?" Joyce asked. Buffy nodded, then let her head drop back down on to the pillow. "Do you remember what happened? Anything at all?" Buffy tried to think back about the days events, but couldn’t penetrate the fog that had gathered in her head. "Just - just walking down the beach. You had left for your meeting, and - that’s it." She shook her head, but the motion only made the dizziness worse. "That’s all I can remember." Buffy had a distressed look on her face. "Mom, why can’t I remember?" Mrs. Summers shushed her daughter and stroked her hair. "It’s okay, honey, just lay back and rest. I’m sure it will come back to you." Buffy nodded and closed her eyes. Joyce just watched her daughter as she drifted off, hoping that she would be okay. Her eyes grew misty as she started thinking about what might of, or could of, happened today. ‘What do I do now?’ Looking at Buffy’s sleeping form, Mrs. Summers wished someone would give her an answer. *** Buffy didn’t know where she was. She couldn’t see anything. There was a bright light on her face, and someone was talking. The voice was distorted, as if coming from a great distance. "Tell us about the Unseen," someone was asking. Buffy was confused. What was this person talking about? Unseen what? The person kept asking her questions, gently prodding her to answer. Needles. Several long, sharp looking needles. Buffy hated needles. One needle touched her arm, stinging as it penetrated the skin. Buffy gasped and sat bolt upright, screaming. Within a minute a nurse had entered her room and was gently grasping her shoulders. "Shh, honey, it’s allright. Easy now, let’s put your head back, okay?" The nurse helped Buffy get comfortable again. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Buffy shook her head. "Just a nightmare." The nurse smoothed the sheets around Buffy and helped her get comfortable. "Call if you need anything, okay?" the nurse told her, brushing a stray strand of hair out of Buffy’s face. Buffy nodded at her. "Sure." The nurse checked the IV line and then left the room. ‘What a doozy,’ Buffy thought. ‘Where did this ‘Unseen’ come from?’ Resolving to ask Giles about it, she closed her eyes and drifted off, hoping that there would be no other dreams tonight. Mrs. Summers had picked Buffy up in the morning after another checkup by Dr. Cardillo and a chat with a Detective. The policeman had been sympathetic, but could offer no realistic expectation of ever finding who had done this. Buffy was still tired from her ordeal, and this made for a quiet trip home. This suited Joyce just fine, as she didn’t know what to do first: hug her again, or try not to cry in front of her daughter. She decided to do nether until Buffy felt better. Buffy definitely looked like she could use a great amount of TLC. ‘We can talk this out in a few days,’ Joyce thought, glancing at her daughter. ‘I just can’t believe this has happened. She’s always been so careful.’ Joyce grimly looked out the windshield, as another unwelcome thought came to her head. ‘This is my fault. I should never have left her alone.’ She did resolve to contact her ex-husband immediately after getting home. ‘I would think that he would tell me if he had noticed any changes in Buffy’s behavior,’ Joyce thought. But then again, like most men, he probably didn’t notice the most obvious things going on around him. ‘He damn well better notice this,’ she thought angrily. ‘We’ve put Buffy through enough and maybe it’s starting to take a toll on her.’ She looked at Buffy again, sleeping in the back seat. ‘We will have a talk when you feel better,’ Joyce resolved. Sunnydale - August 5, 1997 Buffy had recovered enough that she was like her old self after a few days. Or mostly like herself, Giles mused, watching her go through a workout in his back yard. He was updating his Journal with the shocking information Buffy had given him about the previous weekend. He knew of no supernatural entity that would do this to a person, so he was at a total loss as how he could help this young woman with this problem. This wasn’t covered by his fathers’ training, nor by any reference book he had. And Giles didn’t like faking it. He sat quietly as Buffy continued her sparing, watching her moves, the obvious fury in her eyes, the barred teeth as she continued to practice with a quarterstaff. Buffy was soaked in sweat, yet still she kept driving herself. Harder, faster, deadlier, she told herself, knocking the sparring dummy to the ground. If I had been faster, maybe I wouldn’t have this little gap in my memory, she yelled at herself. And maybe my mother would still trust me, and not afraid to let me out of the house without a bodyguard. She hung her head, taking a break. She felt a tear running down her face. ‘That’s what hurts the most,’ she thought. ‘I had worked so hard to put some of the things I had done in the past behind me. I know that I was never the most responsible person in the world, but I was really trying here. And now someone has gone and destroyed it.’ Giles had walked over, carrying a bottle of water that he offered her. She took it without comment and proceeded to drain it. She could fell his eyes on her. "Giles, please, I know you want to help. I just don’t think that there’s anything you can do here." She balled her fists and stared at the ground. "Looks like I’m alone with this one." "Absolutely not, Buffy. I am your Watcher, and need I remind you that I am responsible for helping your mental state as well as the physical one." He paused, looking for the right words. "Whoever did this to you may never be caught. I can’t do anything about that. But I can be here for you, just like I’ve been through all our other trials." He looked away from her, gathering his thoughts. "Give your mother some time, Buffy. I’m sure you and your mother will work the situation through." Buffy snorted, then looked away from him. "Have you been hearing anything I’ve said lately? SHE DOESN’T TRUST ME! I don’t think you have any idea of just how much that hurts me." She wandered over to a chair and plopped down on it. Tears streamed down her face freely now. "I-I’ve started to think that maybe I did do something stupid." Giles knelt in front of her, and took her hands in his. "Look at me, Buffy." When she didn’t look up, he repeated his words, a little more forcefully. "LOOK AT ME!" She looked up, startled, not remembering the last time he had used that tone of voice with her. "We’ve been together now for almost a year. I know you as if you were my own daughter. You’re impulsive, free-spirited, and very loyal to those whom you care about." He touched her cheek with one of his hands. It hurt him deeply to see his young charge so distraught. "But I have NEVER seen you do anything as idiotic as you think you have. You are not that foolish. You were assaulted, Buffy, and I demand that you cease this self-destructive thinking that you’re doing." He smiled slightly at her. "I need my Slayer to have her head together." Buffy sniffed, wiped her eyes, then offered him a wan smile. "Thanks for listening to me when I wigged out, Giles. I’ll keep it together, I promise." She took the hand he offered as he helped her stand; then the two of them walked into his house. She even managed a small laugh at some joke he was trying to tell her. But inside, she still felt uneasy about what had happened. Buffy didn’t think that would change anytime soon. End part 2. ------------------------------ End of buffyfic Digest V1 #42 ***************************** 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". 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