From: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com (Buffyfic-digest) To: buffyfic-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: Buffyfic-digest V2 #46 Reply-To: buffyfic@xmission.com Sender: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk Buffyfic-digest Tuesday, March 3 1998 Volume 02 : Number 046 In this issue: BUFFYFIC: Sins of the Mother (7/9) Rated R, by Vapthorne BUFFYFIC: "The Hellmouth's Greatest Threat" (1/1) (fwd) BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Re: BUFFYFIC: Buffyfic: Beta Request Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems 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: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 21:22:45 -0500 (EST) From: Robert Rhoades Subject: BUFFYFIC: Sins of the Mother (7/9) Rated R, by Vapthorne Title: Sins of the Mother 7/9 Author: Robbie Rhoades (a.k.a. Vapthorne) E-Mail: rorhoad@ibm.net or rrhoades@astro.ocis.temple.edu Spoiler: None, but this chapter is a lot like School Hard Distibution: Ask. Content Warning: This chapter get very violent and has a lot of foul language. Summary: Buffy's Mom looks back to her youth on an event that concerned vampires. Disclaimer: Joy Matthews (aka Joyce Summers) is not my character. She, along with Buffy and Co. belong to Joss, and Mutant Enemy. And belive me they have better things to do than to drag me in court. Feedback: The only way for me to continue and finish this story is with your feedback. Special Thanks to Sarah Douglas for editting. ***** Sins of the Mother, Part 7 The door to the ladies' room slowly creaked open. "All clear!" Joy whispered, as the three slowly stepped out. "What's our first move, fearless leader." Dalton asked. "Our first move is for you to get in volume down." Joy quietly explained, "If the vampires here us, we'll lose our element." "What element?" Rebecca wondered. "Surprise!" A mysterious voice replied from behind the teenage trio. They turned around and noticed two vampires and another demonic figure. "That element." Joy dimly said. She quickly took notice of the third being, carrying a spiked mace. Judging from the size of the monstrous party and the size of the massive demon, Joy knew that it would be unwise to fight. Logic told to do the next best thing. "Run!" Before the monsters could make the first move, the three youths retreated into the boys' restroom and had the door locked. "This went well." Dalton mentioned. The swift smash of the wooden door interrupted the conversation. "Shit! I don't think the door will hold." Rebecca dreaded with fright. "Not to mention the fact that we're trapped!" Despite the fact that death was upon them, Joy remained calm and in control as she examined her options. Confidence sparked when she noticed the window and the weapons that they were carrying. "No, we're not trapped." ***** The demon completely smashed the door, now the bathroom was free for entry. "Come on. Now we got..." The demon charged into the room, noticed that no one was in the bathroom, and became puzzled. "What the? These humans aren't magicians. Where did they..." He glanced at the opened window and realized what happened. "Of course, they escaped through the window. You two, give me a boost." The other two vampires quickly assembled to form a stand so the third on can climb up. The mace-wielding vampire placed his weapon to the ground and stepped on the backs of the two. "Now when I'm all the way up, hand me my mace..." He grabbed the ledge of the window and struggled to scale up, suddenly he lost support from the bottom. "What the..." Rebecca and Dalton sneaked up from behind the two vamps and stabbed them in the back turning them to dust. Apparently the adolescents had opened the window as a ruse, and hid in the bathroom stales, waiting to when the timing was right. Joy walked out of the third stale and pick up the mace. The remaining vampire lost his grip and fell on his back. The next thing he knew, Joy was standing on top of him. "You want your mace?" Joy sarcastically asked, "Well, here it is." She stroked the heavy weapon at his chest thrusting his heart a spiked end, now making him no different than the other two. "Three down in the first five minutes, that's what I call progress. Let's go." As the three walked down the hallway, Joy noticed the fire axe, so she smashed the glass with the mace, she handed the spike weapon to Dalton, and she gave the axe to Rebecca. Joy held the silver dagger firmly in her hand as she left the vampires in their dust. ***** "This girl is good." The Necromancer examined the three dust piles in the bathroom, long after Joy and the others left. "If I didn't posses foresight, I would say this female is the slayer." "What do we do?" Flower asked. "What about the other humans locked inside?" The Necromancer asked. "Half are in a classroom. The other half are in the library." Flower said. "Come, if we can't catch the girl, then we'll make her come to us." The Necromancer moved out of the bathroom and towards the library. "How?" Flower asked as she followed. "How does a fisherman catch a fish... with bait. " "You're Unholyness." Another vampire entered the bathroom dragging Claudia, who was barefooted, by the arm. Claudia did every effort to struggle free, but was unable to succeed. When she looked at the Necromancer, she became paralyzed with fright. "I found her trying to escape. What should we do with her?" "We place her on a hook." He said. "What?" Claudia shocked with fear. "Groovy man." Flower replied. ***** Joy, Rebecca, and Dalton, now near the cafeteria kitchen, continued their search for the vampires. "What was that?" Rebecca heard a small sound coming from the kitchen. The three quietly and cautiously stepped towards the sound. As they advanced forward, the pale vampire came into view, feasting on cheese. "I must say, you have a strong stomach if you can digest government cheese." Joy wisecracked. "So we meet again, Maiden, and I see you brought allies." The pale vampire declared, "Little good it will do you, when you experience my true power." The vampire demonstrated this power and morphed into a more demonic bat-like creature. The creature still possessed a fairly humanoid frame with a pair of wings attached to his back, almost like a hair-covered gargoyle. Everyone stood in daze, Joy seen vampires before, but never a monster like this. This monster stood massive compared to his old form, covered in fur, and snorted with terror. "What are you?" Joy asked, "You can't be a vampire." "But, I am." The were bat retorted, "I'm a special breed. A true creature of the night." He charged toward Joy, and just as he was to land on top of her, Dalton smashed his face with the spike club. The bat turned to Dalton and he knocked him down with his left wing. Rebecca hewed the fire axe into the back of the monster, despite the wound the blade dealt he was able to remove from his skin, and then he smacked the Asian girl across the face with his whip-like tail. While fending off the attack form the other two, he had shortly forgot about his intentional target, Joy Matthews. She took the opportunity to take her silver blade and stabbed the demon in the heart. However, a swift body movement on his part made her puncture his chest instead. The holy properties of the silver burned the bat's skin like acid. "Damn you, bitch." The monster grabbed Joy by the shirt and flung her toward the stove. He then leaped towards her with his claws ready to strike. However, she managed to roll out of the way just in time, and the bat lashed at the stove, causing it to knock over and the gas pipe busted. Rebecca sniffed the air, and she knew the room was filling up with gas. To aid Joy, Dalton gripped the mace and aimed towards the demon-bat. "No!" Rebecca halted him, "If you set off a spark, the whole school could go up." The winged vampire neared exhaustion from the metamorphosis and combat, he thought it would be best to flee. With supernatural agility he leaped past Rebecca towards the doorway and was no longer in sight. "Great, Batman got away." Dalton said. "At least we're all in one peace." Rebecca sighed with relief. "God damn it!" Joy cursed, "I almost nailed the fucking bastard!" She slammed her fist on the cold floor in frustration. Never in her life had Joy experienced such wrath and hatred towards anything. These increased encounters had been pushing Joy in a corner, and like anything pinned in a corner, the only way to escape with to fight with an inflamed rage. Joy realized that. "Joy?" Rebecca worried about the mental of her friend. "Let's go, there are still innocent people in danger." Joy commanded the other two out of the cafeteria. ***** Another vampire approached the Necromancer and handed him a roll of duct tape that he uncovered in a room right next to them. "What's that funky smell?" Flower inhaled the methane scented air. "Natural gas?" The Necromancer replied as he duct taped Claudia's feet and arms. "Please! Let me go." Claudia pleaded with the cloaked seer. "You can kill Joy if you want. I don't care; she's a bitch. Come on, mister scary guy, I'm just an average teenager who wants to live." "Why do you mortals think life is so important?" The Necromancer approached the redhead and placed his hand across her chin. "You're born, you spend a few decades running on this planet, you then die, and finally spend an eternity in heaven or hell. Tell me, in the broad scheme of this, what makes you're live so important?" "It's important because it's mine." Claudia noticed the demon bat creature that entered behind the Necromancer, and released a nasty scream. The dark foreteller turned around and eyed his wounds. "What happened to you?" He asked. "That woman and her two allies ambushed me." The demon collapsed on his knees and reverted back to his humanoid vampire form. "I failed you." "Where is she now?" "I left them in the kitchen." "Did this kitchen have a gas stove?" Flower asked "All kitchens have a gas stove, you groovy hippie trash." Claudia insulted. The hippie growled at the girl, and she quickly subdued her remarks. "Ah, that explains the odor." The Necromancer said. "What do we do?" The bat demon asked "We must find her." Flower said. "No." The Necromancer intervened. "Why not?" "We don't need to, as long as we know where they'll be going. Plus, we can't risk combat inside these walls with the gas. Let's go." ***** In the meantime, Joy moved to accomplish her primary objective, getting the teachers and students out of danger. It was her fault that they were in danger she knew it. Vampires wouldn't attack in such numbers just to feed, they wanted Joy dead, and they didn't care how they would do it. She placed them and her friends in danger. As Joy walked the hallways she wondered, 'Why me?" She had no idea why these vampires wanted her dead. She was just a normal girl; there was nothing special that vampires would consider threatening. Joy felt she was cursed, that was the only way to explain it. Until, these vampires were eliminated, she would not get any peace. As they walked down the empty hallways, Joy looked at Rebecca and Dalton. Now they became involved in her vampire trouble. Joy would rather want her friends to think that she was crazy then have them fought along side her. Actually, deep down, Joy would rather wish she were crazy. It would be a better alternative to the harsher fact that she wasn't crazy and these vampires were real. It was hard for Joy to know what her friends were really thinking. They stood by her side in this time of crisis. But, Joy thought how would they look at her after this was over. 'Would they forgive me for what I put them through?' she thought, 'Would they still want to be around me? Would anyone?' What became more important to Joy was the safety of the people trapped inside. The three moved towards the library, when they encountered two vampires that blocked them in the hallway. Joy immediately took a battle stance with her dagger held firmly in hand. One of the vampires morphed into his vampire face with his fangs extending outward. He hurdled towards the girl and knocked her down on the ground, as the other vampire turned his attention towards Joy's friends. Dalton grabbed the vampire and placed him in a headlock, while Rebecca tried to strike him down with fire axe. Unfortunately, the vampire managed to fling Dalton over the shoulder and towards the girl, causing them both to fall on the floor. Dalton's mace left his grasp and swiveled towards Joy and the other vampire. He then pulled Rebecca up by the hair and banged her face against his knee, then dropped her. Dalton didn't like to see his girlfriend being pounded like that, consequently he grabbed the vampire by his legs and pulled them away causing the vampire to fall down. The boy quickly regained a standing position, and he kicked the vampire in the chest. When the vampire stood up, Dalton aimed a fist toward his face. Ineptly, the vampire managed to grab the fist; he squeezed on the boy's hand hard, causing groans in pain. Rebecca quickly jumped up, and turned the vampire towards her, then kneed him in the stomach, and thrown a wild punch across his face. Finally, Dalton tripped the demon, grabbed the fire axe and staked his with the pointy end, turning him into dust. During the whole time, Joy had been wrestling with the other vampire. He tortuously squeezed her hand, forcing the silver blade to drop to the ground. With Joy pinned to the floor, he stood on top of her and started to choke her. Struggling to break free, she managed to pull out her wooden cross, which she had concealed in the back of her shirt. With the cross she pressed it against his chest: repelling him to fall back and off of her. She picked up her silver knife, and stabbed him deep in the leg. She started to fell intense hatred for vampires, it wasn't enough for them just to die and turn to dust. She wanted them to suffer physcically for what they were doing to her mentally. As she sliced the vampire upward, she felt a strange desire to kill. To her it was no longer self-defense, it suddenly converted to a passion to kill, to murder these unholy being for the fruition. It was the same purpose that vampires had towards feeding on humans, when the demon took over the body. A demon started to conquer Joy's spirit. Tired of being stalked by the vampires, she decided to destroy them. Joy noticed the mace next to her, with the spike weapon she brutally hammered the vampire. She tired not to aim for the heart this time; she did not want him to simply turn to dust. After several strikes across the body and face, the vampire started to resemble a blood-like pudding. Half of his bones were crashed and eyes glared for mercy, she continued her assault emotionlessly, showing no mercy. The heartless tears on Joy's face were not signs of sadness, pity, or feeling it was cold pure hatred. With a frozen heart and a burning fury, Joy suddenly became the demon and the vampire remained the helpless victim. "Joy!" Rebecca tried to reach her friend, but she did not respond. "Joy!" Dalton quickly pulled the mace off of Joy, and Rebecca moved towards her and slapped her on the face, "Snap out of it! He's dead." Realizing the act of sin just committed, Joy froze and stared at her two friends. "What am I doing?" Joy first thought to herself, "What have I become? A monster?" "I'm sorry!" Joy sobbed, "I don't know what came over me?" The wrath-struck teen took another look at her friends. She suddenly realized what her real sin was, putting those she cared about in danger. "They never asked to be a part of this ordeal." She thought, "Neither did I, unfortunately, but, I still managed to drag them into this. Why? What did they do to deserve this? Would they want to be my friends when this is over?" The paradox dawned on her; it would never be over, she realized, the vampire made that clear. However, Joy had to focus on the primary task of getting the trapped students and teachers out of the building. Luckily they were just outside the library and no vampires were in sight. ***** "What's that knocking?" A trapped student asked trying to maintain alertness. The lack of ventilation in the closed library made it hard for the people to stay awake with the toxic gases flowing. Half of the people were already in a death-invited sleep. "Open up!" Joy's voice boomed across the door, "It's me Joy! The coast is clear." Rayer and a few other teachers removed the barricades from the doors, and opened them. Joy quickly sheathed her blade and concealed it under her shirt before anyone could notice it. "Joy?" Rayer concernedly asked, "Are you all right? What's going on?" "Bunch of goons broke into the school and forced us in this situation." Rebecca said, "Were you paying attention?" "I know that much, but why? And, who are they?" "You don't wanna know!" Joy told, "We just need to get out of here." Joy, Rayer, and the others carried the unconscious outside of the gas-infested school, and near the parking lot. Joy sighed with relief that everyone managed to escape all right. "Wait!" Joy silently realized, "There are more inside. About 5 trapped in the one classroom." "I'm going back inside." Joy announced, "There are still others trapped." "No." Rayer intervened, "I'll go get them out. It's too dangerous for a child to go in there." "You're still weak from the gas leak." Joy explained, "By the way? How did the gas fill up in the library so quickly?" "The ventilation system must have seeped the gas more quickly in the library than in other rooms." "Well, we better get going." Joy said, "Dalton come with me. Rebecca you should stay here and help the others." ***** "Okay, where are the others locked?" Joy asked when she first stepped back into the building. "Good question, now all it needs is an answer." Dalton replied. "Let's start looking." Joy moved to the nearest classroom, banged on the door tried to see if anyone is still inside. The fact that all of the classroom doors were locked added the difficulty. A minute of knocking on one door, realizing that no one was in there they moved on to another and continued for a while. ***** "How long have they been in there?" asked Rayer as he checked his watch. "It must have been an hour. Someone should have gone to get help." "Claudia went." Rebecca said, turned and noticed a small object. The object was too small to see in the darkness. After getting close enough she determined that they were a small pair of shoes. 'Who's shoes could these be?' Suddenly the pale vampire sneaked up from behind Rebecca; she had found her answer. "Sorry." The vampire smirked, "You're friend didn't quite make it." "Who they hell are you?" Rayer approached the pale vampire, and naturally, the vampire answered with a swift swing across the face. He then extended his fangs to feed on the principal's blood. However since was knocked out, the pale vampire decided to feed on someone else, saving Rayer for a later time. Rebecca's next reaction was to locate the fire axe. Where did she put it? Swiftly, she remembered she laid it down on the ground somewhere. Peering through the darkness she suddenly spotted it. The sharp edged weapon was almost within her grasp, however it became inaccessible when someone's foot prevented it to be picked up. Rebecca focused her attention upward to see the hippie demon, Flower. "Oh, poor little thing." Flower teased, "Do you want you're axe. Awe, bummer bitch." The hippie grabbed Rebecca by the neck and had a sudden urge for an oriental meal. "Time for my midnight snack." "No, Flower." The Necromancer marched from the night darkness, along with the remaining vampires and the captive Claudia; "This one can serve our greater purpose." ***** "Come on. I think this is it." Joy pushed against the door with all her might, "Almost got it." She took a few paces away and rammed the door with her body. Now she was inside the small, almost claustrophobic, classroom, and shrieked with fright, "Oh, my god." "What is it?" Dalton stepped inside and saw what had happened, "Dear lord. Are they..." "I'm afraid so, they're all dead." Joy gazed at the dead students and teachers; "We didn't get here in time. They been trapped in this small room for too long, with the gas." Her words started to become muddled by her sobbing tears of sorrow. "Joy! This isn't your fault, you know that." Dalton felt little comfort; at least they all died peacefully and not at the hands of the vampires. Joy bent down to the several bodies, laid them on the backs, and closed their open, dead eyelids. This was truly painstaking for Joy, to witness innocent people, some who barely begun life and had it ahead of them, dead like this. They were trapped like rats, afraid to come out of hiding, forced to die slowly. "Joy! We need to get going." ***** Meanwhile, the vampires treated themselves to the students and teachers that they surrounded. By now, everyone one of them, excluding Rayer, Rebecca, and Claudia, filled the hungry monster's veins. And their drained bodies dropped to the ground like food scraps. "Oh my god!" Rebecca looked into the Necromancer's shadowy image, which was taping the girl's arms and legs in the same fashion with Claudia, preventing her from moving. "You're that macromanner Joy's been talking." "I am the Necromancer, bard of the unholy." "With a tendency to brag and become overly poetic." Flower joked. From the chilling brow he raised at Flower told her that he was not pleased, "It was a joke. I figure since people were going to die soon, I should give a little bit of humor in there last minute of there miserable existence." "Now who's being overly poetic." Claudia retorted. "Girl you need to shut up." Flower threatened, "You are not putting me in a groovy mood." Rayer managed to awake. With the pale one disorientated, the principal pushed him aside and grabbed the dark seer. "You son of a bitch!" Rayer, who never took abuse from disobedient students would certainly not take for any necromancer, gathered his strength and, vainly, punched the cloaked figure in the stomach. Weak from the blood drain, Rayer, unable to stand on feet, fell to his knees. The Necromancer, showing no signs of brutal anger or any kind of reaction, extended his right arm towards the foolish principal and chanted, "Will of the Wisp, I summon thee to cleanse this infidel to the unholy realm of Hades." At the very instant he cast the spell, Joy and Dalton exited the school just in time to witness the evil wizard's magic. Small points of lights materialized around the Necromancer. Will 'o Wisps, creatures of pure magic that can enter the Earth plane when summoned. Joy read about them in Fairy lore, but never had a second thought about their existence. They glowed violently and swooped down towards Rayer, passing through his flesh. The painful passing of their flight, become evident as the principal screamed violently. They moved faster and slowly he started to burn, his flesh vaporized, organs scorched, and soon nothing was left but a burned skeleton. As the Will 'o Wisps dematerialized, Joy took a spectator at gruesome death for the first time. Tired of fear and sorrow, her hatred for the Necromancer flared. She reached for her silver dagger, for soon she will have it stained with the prophet's blood. "You bastard!" Joy advanced toward him, ignoring Dalton's warning to stop, as if she challenged him to a duel. "We finally meet again, Joy Matthews." The Necromancer said. Joy raised her blade in preparation to strike, but see saw Rebecca and Claudia held by his two chief vampire and at their mercy, so she declined her battle stance and desisted right in the center of the street. "Pity it must end like this." The Necromancer pressed his palms upward, with his open hands forming an arch upward, then as he chanted and a purple-flame sparked between his fingers. When the flame was fully formed, he fired it towards Joy. The impact from the fireball engulfed her body, and paralyzed all of her senses. Unable to move a single nerve, Joy stood in suspended animation. The spell bolt never made contact with Dalton, but just the majestic image of it was enough to freeze him. The masked sorcerer walked towards his conquered foe, he looked into Joy's frozen eye. As she stood like a motionless statue, he carefully removed the silver dagger locked in her grasp. "Ironic, how this final conflict ended. I was expecting more of a fight, yet it only started and finished with a mere gesture." The Necromancer knew that Joy could still hear his words and see his action. However, unable to move he wondered what how frightful she must be felling as he touched her skin. The more he imagined her terror, the more pleasure he gained. The fingers on his left hand felt her soft silk-like hair, while with the thumb, index, and middle finger grasped the bottom of the blade's handle. The very tip of the silver-plated knife penetrated a small fine point in the back of Joy's neck. The blood slowly trickled from her neck, and the Necromancer knew victory was his. "Now, young siren. You will soon join my undead chorus." The doom-bringing seer raised the dagger, ready to stab. Dalton, realizing what was about to happen, shook off his petrifaction and charged towards the Necromancer. Knocked to the ground by a crashing body slam, the wizard dropped Joy's sword. Dalton created a fist with his hand and, in a roundhouse fashion, nailed his enemy across the face. The Necromancer pushed Dalton away from him, and got back on his. Dalton reclaimed his footing as well, and gazed into the Necromancer's eyes. He did not know what the dark mage's next move would be; zap him with glowing sparks, or solidify him with a purple fireball. As the Necromancer started another spell, Dalton prayed that Joy would come to her sense. A sound had broken the silence, the sound of a motorcycle. Dalton looked to identify the sound and saw a young woman riding a scooter bike, riding towards them. At the speed she was going, he knew that she would not let three people in her path stop her. Hastily he grabbed the fleshed statue Joy, threw her over his shoulder, and moved them both to safety. The biker skidded at a perpendicular angle with the Necromancer. The moment the girl jumped off her bike, he knew what would happen. The speed of the flatten bike skewed too fast for any reaction. The scooter smacked into the Necromancer legs, forcing a violent and extremely painful crash to the ground. The young girl walked over to Joy and Dalton. "Is she alright?" The little brunette asked. "I do know you?" Dalton asked. The Necromancer stirred with ache, and turned towards his four vampires, "You idiots... don't just stand there... kill them." "Sorry no time to introduce myself." The girl said, "We got company." Flower and the bat demon dropped their two hostages on the cold concrete, and engaged with the other two vampires. Just as the vampires were closing in, An electric bolt fired from the distance; the swift bolt zapped a vampire into dust. The Necromancer regained footing and located the source of the bolt. "Kane!" The Necromancer saw the dark stranger advancing from the distance. "Long time, indeed Aya." Cecil greeted his shadowy acquaintance. The spellbind on Joy as finally, and she now had the ability to move freely. As her vision focused she saw Dalton and the young girl at her side. "Jana?" Joy recognized the girl from those nights ago. "Hey Joy, I thought you might be here." "You two know each other?" Dalton asked. "We just meet." The two girls answered simultaneously. The third vampire charged at them. Joy quickly subdued him and knocked him aside. "Do those two know each other?" Dalton referred to Cecil and the Necromancer Jonas. "Good question." Joy inquired. "Jana?" She turned to her friend for an answer. "I dunno, this is knew to me." Joy wondered what the connection Kane had with her archfoe. "It's been awhile." The Necromancer addressed, "I would ask why you are here, but I know. I applaud your victory of finding me here, pity our interests conflict." The Necromancer removed the hood that shadowed the face, and Joy never imagined what it revealed. The Necromancer was a woman, with long orange hair. Under the jaded cloak and garments, Joy could tell whether the Necromancer's physique was masculine or feminine. White bandages wrapped Aya's neck, explaining why her voice didn't sound purely womanly. "But you are beaten." Cecil retorted with confidence, "We have you surrounded." "You are correct, love." Realized the Necromancer, "Where does the time go? Come my followers." The chief vampires and the Necromancer crowded around the two tied virgins. The vampires grabbed their hostages and the Necromancer, with her finger pointing downward, gestured a circular motion. Smoke slowly risen around them, and quickly concealed them. "No!" Cecil leaped into the smoke screen in hopes to grab the Necromancer. The smoke finally cleared and they were all gone; Flower, the bat demon, Claudia, Rebecca, and the Necromancer, all of them... gone, leaving questions for Joy, Dalton, and even Jana. - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 11:45:50 -0600 (CST) From: Tina Subject: BUFFYFIC: "The Hellmouth's Greatest Threat" (1/1) (fwd) This is all for fun, and also because I'm an incredibly sarcastic woman. Everyone belongs to Joss and such, even though he's not telling the story right. Post-"Passion" stuff is in here, in case you hadn't guessed by my level of irritation. Feedback is, as has been mentioned in everything else I've written that's up here, greatly appreciated. The story is up at Ms. Calendar's Doman and the Sunnydale Slayers Fic Archive, but I'll probably ask Anya to link to it (later, once I get the long story finished, and that way I'll ask you about updates all at once). This is also post-"Passion" fic that was *intended* to be badfic, at least until Jenny showed up. She was *really* mad about that whole "dead" thing. "The Hellmouth's Greatest Threat" by Tina Cooling Copyright 1998 "Hello," said the woman, who was wearing a deep emerald velvet dress. She leaned into the library and looked around. "I'm looking for my sister?" She stepped inside and came face to face with Rupert Giles. Her eyes, as emerald green as her dress, widened in surprise. "May I help you?" He asked politely, though distractedly, while gazing deeply into her eyes. "My sister?" She blinked and looked around. "Jenny Calendar? She wrote and told me that she needed me to come here." "I'm sorry," said Giles, his eyes traveling up and down her lithe body. "Your sister's dead." A wordless cry of psychic energy burst from the woman, nearly staggering Giles with the strength of the anguish he could feel in it. She fell into his arms, muttering weakly. Giles bent his head to see if she was all right, and she pulled him down to her, kissing him feverishly. "Goddamn it, Rupert," Jenny Calendar said, slamming through the doors of the library. "What the hell do you think you're doing? I died *two* *days* ago!" The woman dropped to the floor abruptly. Rupert stood and looked at Jenny, his mouth hanging open and an expression of extreme shock on his face. "Jenny?" His eyes widened. "Dear God, I thought you were dead!" "I was," she said, pushing her hair out of her eyes and giving the woman an exasperated look. "But do you honestly expect me to stay dead with a hussy like *that* after you?" Goddess, Rupert, what is it with women like them?" "Excuse me?" It was all he could do to speak, befuddled as he was. "Mary Sues." Jenny glared around the library, possibly searching for more of them. "Did she touch anything? We'll have to disinfect." "She's not, ah, your sister?" Rupert took off his glasses and began polishing them, steadfastly avoiding looking at either woman. "Of course not!" Jenny threw up her arms in frustration. "I told you that I'm an only child!" She crossed her arms and glared at Rupert. "She wasn't given up for adoption, we weren't forcibly separated at a young age, we didn't have any strange mystical experiences that bonded us in the womb, she's bloody *Mary* Sue*!" "And who, might I ask, is Mary Sue?" Giles put his glasses back on, as they really couldn't get any cleaner, and proceeded to file index cards with a concentration that was, perhaps, a bit more than needed for such a simple task. "*She* is," said Jenny. "So are a million other women. At least it feels like a million, because there are so many of them." She sighed. "Mary Sue happens to be a particularly hideous form of possession. Unfortunately, the Hellmouth seems to attract a larger than usual amount of them." Jenny started pacing back and forth. "Mary Sues tend to have astonishingly beautiful and unusually colored eyes, amazing psychic powers, usually telepathy, gorgeous, well-stacked figures, incredibly loud and amazing singing abilities." She turned and looked Giles in the eyes. "They also have the power to make attractive male leads fall instantly in love with them for no reason whatsoever." "Attractive," said Giles, smiling slightly and glancing up from his filing at Jenny. "Oh, don't start with me, Rupert Giles," said Jenny. "You're in enough trouble as it is." The woman shifted and raised her head, opening her mouth. A single, pure note rang from her throat, and... ...Jenny grabbed a stake off the table and plunged it into Mary Sue's back. "Dear God!" Giles stared in shock as the woman's corpse dissipated into mist. He stared at Jenny, who smiled grimly. "Are you..." He paused and glanced in the direction of the cemetery. "Going back?" "Hardly," said Jenny. "Since there are reports of my death everywhere, Mary Sues are going to be showing up by the score in Sunnydale. Hurt/comfort Mary Sues even, who are the worst of the breed." She smiled and took a step toward him. "Someone's got to protect you." "So, ah, what do we do now?" Giles set his filing down *very* carefully. "Well," said Jenny, taking another step closer, "there's something we haven't had the chance to do yet." "That would be what?" Rupert swallowed, and Jenny kissed him and dragged him down behind the desk. "Shut up, Rupert," Jenny told him, flinging his tie into the air, and then no words were spoken for a *very* long time. Fin. - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Mar 1998 19:26:11 PST From: "Leslie S." Subject: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems I was wondering is anyone thinks it is a good idea to post common errors that can be found in some of the stories (not to be named). For example, do writers want to know that when they want to shorten "you are" the correct form is "you're" and not "your"? What does anybody think? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 21:50:01 -0600 From: "Michelle" Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Leslie, From the notices I see on some stories that say "Hasn't been edited yet," I'd say some people aren't overly concerned. Personally, I think a story should be checked for grammar BEFORE it's posted. But then that's just me, and I certainly don't want to waggle my finger at anyone. I'm just happy to be reading Buffy stories. :-) Michelle - -----Original Message----- From: Leslie S. To: buffyfic@xmission.com Date: Monday, March 02, 1998 9:27 PM Subject: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems >I was wondering is anyone thinks it is a good idea to post common errors >that can be found in some of the stories (not to be named). > >For example, do writers want to know that when they want to shorten "you >are" the correct form is "you're" and not "your"? > >What does anybody think? > >______________________________________________________ >Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > >- > - - ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Mar 1998 23:44:10 EST From: JMHnoodles Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems In a message dated 98-03-02 22:56:11 EST, you write: << From the notices I see on some stories that say "Hasn't been edited yet," I'd say some people aren't overly concerned. Personally, I think a story should be checked for grammar BEFORE it's posted. >> As sick as this sounds, I actually enjoy proofreading. If anyone doesn't feel like checking their story for spelling and grammar or just doesn't have the time, I'd be happy to help. Feel free to email me (JMHnoodles@aol.com) jen (the noodlebrain) - - ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 01 Mar 1998 22:52:52 EST From: "The Mistress" Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: Buffyfic: Beta Request >I've never watched Weird Science. Is it something that I would need to >know for the 'fic to make sense? > >Amber > >- Not at all. > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 05:02:02 -0500 From: nothoney@olg.com (slb) Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems At 11:44 PM 3/2/98 -0500, JMHnoodles wrote: >In a message dated 98-03-02 22:56:11 EST, you write: > ><< From the notices I see on some stories that say "Hasn't been edited yet," > I'd say some people aren't overly concerned. Personally, I think a story > should be checked for grammar BEFORE it's posted. >> > >As sick as this sounds, I actually enjoy proofreading. If anyone doesn't feel >like checking their story for spelling and grammar or just doesn't have the >time, I'd be happy to help. Feel free to email me (JMHnoodles@aol.com) That's not sick, that's my job! Personally, if I find errors in grammar, punctuation or spelling in the first couple of sentences, I don't finish the story. If you're going to take time to write and post, have someone reliable check it first. Sheryl NotHoney@olg.com Ravenette~Slayerette~Discoverer~SunS "Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love, the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief ..." Angel, BTVS Moo: A Fan Fiction Zine http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/3063 - - ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 07:09:32 -0600 From: "Michelle" Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems Sheryl, What a coincidence, that's my job too! Michelle - -----Original Message----- From: slb To: buffyfic@xmission.com Date: Tuesday, March 03, 1998 3:59 AM Subject: Re: BUFFYFIC: DISCUSS: Buffyfic common writing problems >At 11:44 PM 3/2/98 -0500, JMHnoodles wrote: >>In a message dated 98-03-02 22:56:11 EST, you write: >> >><< From the notices I see on some stories that say "Hasn't been edited yet," >> I'd say some people aren't overly concerned. Personally, I think a story >> should be checked for grammar BEFORE it's posted. >> >> >>As sick as this sounds, I actually enjoy proofreading. If anyone doesn't feel >>like checking their story for spelling and grammar or just doesn't have the >>time, I'd be happy to help. Feel free to email me (JMHnoodles@aol.com) > >That's not sick, that's my job! > >Personally, if I find errors in grammar, punctuation or spelling in the >first couple of sentences, I don't finish the story. If you're going to >take time to write and post, have someone reliable check it first. > >Sheryl > >NotHoney@olg.com >Ravenette~Slayerette~Discoverer~SunS >"Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love, >the clarity of hatred, and the ecstasy of grief ..." Angel, BTVS > Moo: A Fan Fiction Zine > http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/3063 > > > > > >- > - - ------------------------------ End of Buffyfic-digest V2 #46 ***************************** To subscribe to buffyfic or buffyfic-digest, send the command subscribe buffyfic-digest or subscribe buffyfic to majordomo@xmission.com. You will need to go through a confirmation process, and the listowners have to manually approve your subscription request, so it may take some time. 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