From: owner-buffyfic2-digest@lists.xmission.com (buffyfic2-digest) To: buffyfic2-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: buffyfic2-digest V1 #1 Reply-To: buffyfic2-digest Sender: owner-buffyfic2-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-buffyfic2-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk buffyfic2-digest Monday, February 8 1999 Volume 01 : Number 001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 14:27:17 -0700 From: "Doyce Testerman" Subject: (buffyfic2) Off-topic. I apologize. I send this out here only in hopes someone can help me out... I lost connection to the main buffy mailing list a few weeks ago and haven't been able to find it since then... it's no longer part of the xmission.com family, apparently. Any help locating the new home of the list would be much appreciated. Thanks! - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 12:31:18 -0600 From: Katie Malone Subject: (buffyfic2) XOVER: Ceremonies of Innocence (00/14) The following story is not one of mine. I did not write it, but I *do* have permission from the author to post it. Please send any comments to her. Ceremonies of Innocence A 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer'/'Tomorrow People' crossover Caroline Fales Author's notes and disclaimer: This story has been a long time in coming. Being a huge fan of the series 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' (I've been watching since day one), I've long pondered how I could crossover the Tomorrow People with this wonderful series. This story is the first part of a trilogy designed to do just that. As you'll soon learn, this first story is the setup for things to come. Legalese: The characters of Jade Weston, Ami Jackson, Adam Newman and Megabyte Damon do not belong to me. Nor does the concept of the Tomorrow People belong to me. They are the sole property of Roger Damon Price, Tetra Films, Thames Television, and Nickelodeon. The characters of Angel, Rupert Giles, Joyce Summers, Whistler, Jenny Calendar, Willow Rosenberg, and Buffy Summers don't belong to me either. They are the property of Joss Whedon, The WB, and Twentieth Century Fox. The character of Conner MacLeod (mentioned briefly) isn't mine either. He is the property of Panzer/Davis as well as Gaumont/Rysher Productions. The character of Catriona Fraser is mine. Notes: This story contains characters from the 'Forever Tomorrow' universe. It is not, however, a 'Forever Tomorrow' story. Since Michele and I have mapped out that universe, this story serves as an alternative universe. That is to say, that events in up until the story 'Connections' will mirror each other in both universes. With this story, though, they will diverge. However, the character background explored in this story will hold true for this universe as well as the 'Forever Tomorrow' universe. Thanks: I wish to thank Michele Bumbarger, Megan Freeman, Wendy Kelley, and Kathleen E. Ritter for their support, feedback, and suggestions. Without their help, this would never have been done. Special thanks to Michele and Megan for keeping me on task. And thank you, Wendy, for making me get the lead out and post this. Other stories in the Forever Tomorrow universe can be found at http://www97.pair.com/mbumbarg/forever/forever.html Any and all feedback is welcome. Email me at gsi16228@gsaix2.cc.gasou.edu or at Ceridwyn20@yahoo.com. Enjoy! Caroline Fales January, 1999 Katie Malone kamalone@usa.net - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 12:31:35 -0600 From: Katie Malone Subject: (buffyfic2) XOVER: Ceremonies of Innocence (02/14) Chapter Two Two weeks later. There were times when she didn't wonder if she wasn't a glutton for punishment. Cat smiled thinly as she window-shopped through the fiberglass and tiled avenues of the mall. A little over two weeks had passed since what Jade had dubbed 'their close encounter of the scary kind' had happened here and not a day had passed without her thinking on it. Wishing she hadn't been such a 'fraidy-cat and run off without investigating further. Really, it was somewhat embarrassing. Running was not an option she took lightly. Cat believed very firmly in standing your ground and not being intimidated. Sometimes that position got her into trouble but then trouble was relative for the Tomorrow People. For crying out loud, she had faced a group of blood-thirsty cultists down and not retreated. 'But then the cultists had been human,' a tiny voice in the back of her mind whispered. She hadn't quite worked out an answer for that one yet. Yet. So here she was, strolling aimlessly through the mall, half-hoping that she ran into Mr. Mystery and half-praying that she didn't. Mostly, she was thinking what an idiot she was. After all, it wasn't very likely that whoever he was would just be lurking around, waiting for her to return, was it? *** Angel watched her from behind one of the center columnades. At first, he hadn't been sure it was the same girl though that mane of fiery red did give him hope. No, it wasn't until she turned around that he knew it was she. He wasn't one to forget faces--not a one in over two hundred years. Even though he wished sometimes that he could--especially the ones haunting his dreams. Besides, the girl was arresting by herself, to say the least. The blood of the Celts, the blood of his ancestors, ran through her veins--a creature right out of the old stories. Tall and proud with her oval face and high cheekbones. No poet would praise her feature by feature--they were too strong for that. A bard would, seeing in her, as he saw, the past reborn, the evidence of the immortality humans were given through their children. The immortality of his people. And a reminder of what he had lost. One sort of immortality denied, another granted. At a cost. Angel batted away the desire for self-flagellation. There were more pressing matters at hand of which this girl was merely one. But the one she presented was the most enigmatic of all. He had sensed her. That, in itself, wasn't out of the ordinary. What was out of the ordinary was that she had sensed him in return. Moreover, she had touched his awareness, her and one of her two friends. Touched it with a control that bespoke power and experience. Something that indicated to him that she had more than just passing psi abilities. And she had seemed to be aware of his own, somewhat limited psychic abilities--apparently not liking what she had sensed if her reaction two weeks ago was any indication. Curiosity had impelled him to loiter here--that and boredom. London was an exciting and beautiful city but until Buffy arrived there wasn't a whole lot for him to do except prowl the streets. And try to stave off the minor apocalypse Giles had mentioned to him over the phone. Apparently, for some odd reason or another, the first inhabitants of London had chosen to build their city on a dormant Hellmouth which had begun showing increased activity in the last few years. And here he thought he had left Sunnydale to escape that kind of fun. 'Silly me,' he thought wryly. Since he was awaiting the impending arrival of the Slayer and her Watcher, there wasn't much he could do except that--wait. This at least had given him something to do in the meantime. Night after night, just hanging about hoping for her--any of them, actually, to reappear. To give him a chance for further observation. To determine if they were a threat or threatened by his presence. He had almost despaired of a return engagement when just as mysteriously the red-head had returned, alone this time. Perhaps, it was just as well. Trying to keep track of three girls would have been hard enough--but three girls with psychic abilities might have been too much even for him. If they were just girls. When dealing with the Hellmouth, one could never be too sure. He watched her as she paused in front of the glass window of a clothing store, saw her shoulders rise and fall evenly. Then her head rose and she pivoted around. To stare straight at him. *** 'Where are ye?' she thought, 'Are ye even here?' She was half-afraid to let her shields down. Afraid of what she might find. Curiosity, however, was not seeing fit to let her off the hook this time. Knowledge is power, it whispered, and this thing could be trouble in the future. Better to face whatever this was head on now than later. The situation could be worse and more people might get hurt. It was a noble and completely compelling reason to throw her life on the line--or so her damned curiosity thought. Cat heaved a huge sigh. 'Adam would kill me if he ken what I'm going ta do,' she thought and regretfully acknowledged he might be right. Not that the thought seemed to be deterring her. Instead, she started slimming the constructs around her mind, feeling the buzz and pressure of the collective minds milling around her pressing in. If she kept this up long enough, she'd end up with one hell of a headache-- She found him. And gratefully raised her shields again until she could sense him alone. Her skin began to crawl as the uncomfortable feeling of eyes boring into the back of her skull hit her. She turned to find him staring through the crowds at her from a position half-hidden behind a columnade. For a long moment, it seemed all that they could do was stare at the other. Years later, she would probably what impelled her to start moving towards him, to make the first move. In fact, she would have liked to have known what suicidal impulse prompted her feet to move of their own volition right now. All she did know was that the interval of space separating them was vastly and rapidly diminishing. *** Angel wasn't sure what alarmed him more: the determined air of the young woman approaching him or that he was actually staying put long enough to let her approach. He found himself leaning against the column casually as if this whole situation were the most normal thing in the world, as if he weren't feeling nervous at all. The girl certainly was, he could practically taste her trepidation. Had he been his old, bad self, it would have made her taste all the sweeter. Angel banished that thought with a grimace of disgust and self-loathing. She came up within mere inches of him before she even faltered a step. Brave, he would give her that. Or possibly stupid but that would remain to be seen. "Can I help you?" he drawled, surprised at the arrogant laziness in that. It belied how he truly felt and he was, for the moment, grateful for that. "What are ye?" she demanded without preamble. The rolling brogue confirmed his suspicions about her Celtic roots--Scottish. "I beg your pardon," he replied mildly, "Don't you think that's a bit rude?" That seemed to throw her. For the first time, there was a crack in that tough facade. "I--," she floundered. "I mean, if I walked up to you and asked what you are, wouldn't you be offended?" Angel continued. 'I must be out of my mind,' he thought, 'to play these games with a total and potentially dangerous stranger.' There was something about her. She didn't feel dangerous despite the warnings his brain was screaming at him. If anything, he felt the overwhelming urge to relax, to trust her. Felt that no matter what might happen, she was not dangerous to him. That she couldn't, wouldn't, hurt him if she wanted to. He couldn't explain it; this willingness to trust a complete stranger puzzled him more than anything else. Evidently, it puzzled her as well for she cocked an eyebrow at him. She opened her mouth, shut it, then opened it again. Finally, "Well, all right then. How about we start wi' who are ye and move on from there? Do ye have a name?" He hesitated. There was still time to walk away from this, to evade her questions and leave. He sensed that she would even make it easy for him. There was no need to take this plunge. But he did take it. "Angel." END CHAPTER TWO Katie Malone kamalone@usa.net - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Feb 1999 12:31:31 -0600 From: Katie Malone Subject: (buffyfic2) XOVER: Ceremonies of Innocence (01/14) Chapter One London, England. He had the most compelling eyes. They were soul-stealing, those dark orbs. Amidst the chatter and commotion, they mesmerized her, held her captivated. The words of her friends, though they sat mere inches from her, seemed as distant and nonsensical as the tide. Somehow, they seemed to draw her out of herself until there was nothing save him and her. Cat had noticed him right away. Probably because she hadn't been blocking everything out as was her wont to do normally. While waiting for Ami and Jade to show up, she had been letting some of the "background noise", as Jade liked to call it, filter in. Almost like slipping in and out of radio frequencies, idly flipping through until you found that one right station. Almost by chance, she had stumbled upon him. There was something about him--an air, an aura. A feel, if you will, of power, of something other than normal. He felt strong to her but that strength was not that of a normal human. Another Tomorrow Person, she had thought at first. But the mental aura didn't feel right for that. It felt ... interesting. Strangely similar to that of a Tomorrow Person but more potent, more intense. She could almost see the ebb and flow of that aura, could practically hear his thoughts--his shields, no less, thrum each time she brushed them. "Cat?" She heard Jade's voice as if it were coming through a hollow tube, the impatience there barely making a dint through the malaise affecting her. "Hmm?" Her mind felt sluggish, unwilling to be drawn back to reality, to beyond this moment. "Earth to Cat," Jade drawled, "So, Cat, tell us--how's it where ever you are?" "I--" She blinked and managed to tear her gaze back to her friend's faces--Jade's slightly curious and Ami's concerned. "I'm sorry. Did ye say somethin'?" "Oh, only for the last ten minutes," Jade shrugged nonchalantly, "But who's counting?" "Jade!" Ami sounded reproving. Her almond-shaped eyes focused on Cat's. "Is something wrong?" "I'm--I'm no' sure." Why had she said that? She didn't feel as if this guy were a threat though the alienness of his thoughts did rattle her. Her own reaction, however, was another thing entirely. Cat was unsettled by her unexplained absorption, by the way her mind was reacting to the feel of his. It was like a drug. It was incredible. It... ...didn't make sense. If he wasn't a Tomorrow Person, then what was he? A psychic? That wasn't quite right either. Cat had "run" into a few of those from time to time while scanning. Psychics still felt human when you brushed their mind. And this ... this did not. There was an strangeness to this mind that went beyond human ilk. Moreover, she disliked the mild sense of disorientation she was experiencing--almost as if she had or were being drugged. "Cat," Ami prodded. Her dark eyes were filled with worry and Cat pulled back internally as she felt the other girl gently probing her mental shielding. "Sorry," she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "It's nothing. Really. I'm just feeling a little spaced today." "I bet I know why," Jade sounded awed, "Oh, yum, I'll have some of that, please." The other two girls followed her gaze across the mall's Food Court... ...right back to Mr. Fathomless Eyes. He was sitting several tables over, almost diagonal to their table. He didn't seem to notice their stares, instead his attention seemed to be focused inward, an air of distraction plain on his face. One slender hand was making lazy rotations with a coffee stirrer above a Styrofoam cup as he leaned back in his chair. "What a hottie," Jade all but drooled over her plate. "Down, Jade," Ami teased. "He's definitely too old for you." "Says who?" Jade tossed her head in mock-outrage, "And I don't notice you looking elsewhere, dearie." Ami actually appeared embarrassed. Her eyes dropped, one hand twisting and tearing a paper napkin. "That's not the point," she protested. "Of course not," Jade patted her hand with a gleeful, triumphant smile. "So, Cat, should Adam be worried?" To tell the truth, she hadn't really looked at him until now. And now that she was looking, Cat had to admit that he was really quite striking. Thick dark hair, the kind that made you itch to run your fingers through it. Prominent cheekbones and deep-set eyes... Very nice but not the warm brown eyes, and boyish smile she had grown so fond of. "Dinna be daft," Cat rolled her eyes, voice dripping with absolute certainty. Jade raised her eyebrows skeptically but let it pass. "Still, he is definitely a hottie," she sighed. "So you've said," Ami gave her one of those knowing smiles that drove the younger girl up the wall. Which, Cat was fairly certain, was why she did it. "And I don't hear you disagreeing," Jade purred. Half-listening to Jade's comeback, Cat found her attention wandering back to the lone figure that had sparked such debate amongst them. There was something that teased and tantalized the edge of her thoughts, causing her to lower her shielding even more and focus on him. It bothered her, bewildered her. Experimentally, she reached out and brushed against the peripheries of his mind ever so lightly. He jerked upright, stiffening. So did she. 'He felt that,' Cat thought wildly as she noticed his eyes slitting and scanning the room almost like he was stalking prey. She suddenly had the very real feeling of panic wash over her. Some instinct screamed at her to run, to flee before she was caught and... And what? Turning her head so that her red hair fell forward, obscuring her face, she hissed at Ami and Jade, "Lower yer shielding." They stopped arguing mid-sentence. "Say what?" Jade's voice was incredulous. "Let. Yer. Shields. Down," Cat tried to make her voice sound as normal as possible. "Why?" Jade demanded. "Just do it," Cat snapped, "And dinna do anythin' besides that!" Ami studied her through narrowed eyes which quickly widened. "What is that?" she gasped. "Ye feel it, too?" Cat felt relieved. She had been half-afraid that her overactive imagination was finding needles in haystacks that didn't exist. Not to be left out, Jade evidently had lowered her own shielding. Her nose wrinkled, brow knit in consternation, "Oh, whoa." "That's putting it mildly," Ami muttered, rubbing her upper arms. Unease hovered over her, shoulders tight with sudden tension. It was evident she didn't care for what she was feeling. "What do you suppose it is?" "I dinna ken," Cat replied truthfully, "but I ken where it's comin' from-- Jade's hottie." "My hottie?" Jade's voice rose an octave, "Since when did he become my hottie? You saw him first!" "Not so loud," Ami glared at her. "Besides," Jade continued, undeterred. "Are you really sure it's coming from him? I mean, how could someone that cute feel ... ugh, like that." Before Cat or Ami could stop her, the younger girl sent a mental probe of her own. Then paled when their handsome stranger looked straight at them. His dark eyes glittered dangerously. "Um, guys," Ami's voice was quiet but for all its quietness, there was no mistaking the anxiety there, "I think now might be a good time to leave." "Seconded." Jade said in a small voice, rising and grabbing her food tray. Cat threw one last glance back as they hurried out. He was watching their departure, specifically staring at her as he noticed her gaze. She shivered. That feeling of being hunted, of the prey fleeing the predator, accosted her again. She didn't feel safe until she was a country away, back home in Scotland END CHAPTER ONE Katie Malone kamalone@usa.net - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 12:28:58 -0600 From: Katie Malone Subject: (buffyfic2) XOVER: Ceremonies of Innocence (05/14) Chapter Four Angel, had he been human, would have been holding his breath as those three words left his lips. "I'm a vampire." There was a moment of complete and utter silence. Then the human girl started shaking--at first, he thought it was in fear but then she started giggling. Peal upon peal of laughter issued from her. He didn't fail to miss the more than slight edge of disbelief there. He sighed, "I told you that you wouldn't believe me." Cat was too busy laughing to reply though he would give her credit for trying. Tiny squeaks escaped from her hand-covered mouth. "It isn't that funny," Angel replied annoyed. It bothered him that he was being so open with this girl only to have it taken as a jest But then, how should she react to his little declaration? With complete belief and trust? Not after what she had glimpsed. Her use of the word 'tannasaq' could be applied to a human as well as any supernatural creature--both could get their kicks out of death. "Ye're right," Cat agreed, all traces of laughter fleeing from her voice, "It's not funny. It's sad, bordering on pathetic." "I'm sensing you don't believe me here." "Got it in one," she leaned closer, as close as she could get without her skin crawling, "I believe it's long past medication time for ye, Angel. " She spun around on her heel, damning those instincts that urged her to stay, to hear him out and trust him. How could you trust someone like him? Someone who's mind was like walking through Jack the Ripper's fun house and who claimed to be a *vampire* of all things. The answer was simple: you couldn't. And you didn't if you knew what was good for you. "Catriona." She slowed, swinging back around as if she were being pulled. The old saying about there being power in names flitted her head for no good reason. Right now, she wished she hadn't even come back in search of him much less given him her name. However, it was too late to cry over that spilt milk now. Angel skirted around the table, stopping just a few feet away from her, "I'm not crazy," he said earnestly. Cat refused to adhere to the weakening she felt in her anger. "No, ye're a vampire, is that it?" "Yes." "In what sense are we talking about here? Renfield's syndrome?" She asked, almost hopeful. As a psychology major, that was actually something she could deal with. At least it would mean that Angel was mentally disturbed and not responsible for his actions. That would allow her to feel some sympathy for him. Hell, it would even explain the preoccupation with blood she had sensed in him. "No." "Oh, so ye're a vampire in the Bram Stoker sense. Or would Anne Rice be more update and correct these days?" she replied sarcastically. "In a sense," Angel answered. "In what sense is that?" "In the sense that I turn into smoldering pile of carbon in direct sunlight, I'm immortal, and I drink blood." "No," she shook her head in denial, "Sorry, I don't buy it. Ye should have tried ta pick up some Goth chick who would love ta buy inta yer dark little Grimm fairy tale. Blood is really not a turn on for me. I'm sure ye understand." This time she didn't give him the time or chance to call out to her. Rapidly pushing her way through the crowd, Cat headed for the mall's exit. Once she was clear of prying eyes, she fully intended on teleporting back to Scotland as soon as possible. As she neared the escalator leading to the ground level and the parking area, she faltered a step, assailed by a mental buzz that was extremely similar to Angel's psychic signature. In fact, she thought it was him following her at first but the she realized something. There was a sharp difference in the feel of this mind and that of Angel's. This mind had all the darkness and sense of evil she had empathically sensed in Angel but none of the redeeming feelings of guilt, of remorse. There was only a vast, raging hunger to be sensed. She scanned the area until she finally decided on the source. It wasn't that hard, especially in lieu of the fact he was staring straight at her. She took him in as a series of images-- young, probably seventeen or so, brown spiky hair, and a lot of leather. 'Great, they're multiplying,' she groaned. 'What, is it the full moon or something?' Her instincts told her to run. She could agree with that assessment. What she couldn't deal with was that they were screaming at her to run *back* to Angel. She opted for her original plan, only with increased speed. *** Angel wasn't sure why he was following her or why he felt he had to convince her of the truth of his words. In a way, he had gotten off easy. She hadn't believed him and had run off instead of making a scene that he would just as soon avoid. Then again, what could she claim? That she had psychically glimpsed his murderous past? Yeah, the mall security would really buy that. More than likely, they would put her in the psych ward as soon as she got it out of her mouth. 'Which,' he reflected pragmatically, 'was probably why she hadn't made a scene.' Cat struck him as being smart enough to realize that. Still, the knowledge she had now was dangerous. Not just for him, but for her as well. Besides, with all that psionic energy, she was a walking billboard for his kind. That kind of power only served to make the draining process more delectable since vampires fed off of emotions as well as the blood. With London rapidly becoming supernaturally active enough to draw both Buffy and Giles here, it wouldn't be long before some preternatural creature, be it vampire or something else stumbled upon her. And he didn't want to think about what would happen then. Correction, he didn't have to think about it. He knew from past experience what would happen. He followed the red glint of her hair, nearly losing her in the crush of people. She reached the escalator before he did and was well on her way downstairs when he reached the mouth of it. From his vantage point, he was able to follow her progress and ascertain where she was heading. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the man following her, trying to be 'oh, so casual' about it and not succeeding in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was. Not when Angel could feel the aura that was the tell-tale signature of his kind. 'Damn,' he swore, thrusting his way down the moving stairs. Praying he got to Cat before she became the soup of the evening. *** Okay, she was beginning to get a serious case of the creeps. Cat clenched and unclenched her fists as she hurried through an another aisle of cars. The underground parking garage was silent but she knew he was there. Following her, stalking her, just at her back. Several times, she had turned around in fear of being surprised only to find nothing. Each stutter of the light fixtures made her freeze. The last thing she wanted was to be trapped down here in the dark with whoever it was following her. There was no way she could teleport. Not with tiny black cameras in the corners of the walls recording her every move. She was beginning to realize that coming down to a near empty parking garage was perhaps not the brightest thing she had ever done. Or could have done. Slipping behind one of the concrete pillars, Cat held her breath and made herself as still as possible. Although Tomorrow People were unable to kill, she could inflict enough damage on her pursuer to make him wish she had killed him. And there was no way she was going to lay down and die like a lamb to the slaughter. 'No sense in wasting all that training in Twae Kwan Do that Conner paid for,' she thought rather grimly. 'Or all that 'repressed' anger the shrinks tell me I have.' A shadow crossed the floor and she didn't even think. She reacted. With a low roundhouse kick, she knocked the person off their feet before fluidly rising into battle stance. Her eyes widened. "You know," Angel said with a long-suffering note in his voice, "I sort of miss the good old days when all girls did was scream a lot and ask stupid questions. It was a lot less painful--for me." "Angel! Oh my goodness. Here let me help you," She extended a hand out to help him up. Cat was so happy to see him that she momentarily forget why she had run off in the first place He pulled himself to his feet, looking a little surprised. 'Probably thinks I'm a little crazy or something,' she realized. It was just that Angel seemed to be the lesser of two evils at the moment. She wasn't thrilled with what she had learned about him but she didn't sense any malevolent intentions from him. 'Okay, let's try going with my instincts and see what happens. After all, how could things get any worse? ' Her eyes narrowed. If Angel was here then where was... Cat felt herself fall forward as something broadsided her from behind. Unfortunately, she was close enough to Angel that she fell on top of him. "This is awkward," she muttered. Even she heard the edge of hysteria in that statement. 'This is so not the time ta wig out,' she barked at herself, making herself get up. 'God, dinna be such a girlie girl. Ye've dealt with Immortals and mad Watchers, what could possibly top that?' She turned, felt her knees go weak and give way from under her as she stared into the face of death. Her throat tightened, unable to even form a scream as two cold, yellow eyes bored into hers. TO BE CONTINUED Katie Malone kamalone@usa.net - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 08 Feb 1999 12:28:11 -0600 From: Wendy Kelley Subject: (buffyfic2) XOVER: Ceremonies of Innocence (04/14) Chapter Three, Part Two Angel watched as Cat cradled her coffee with shaky hands. When he saw that she wasn't shaking off the psionic effects she had experienced earlier as fast as she should have been, he had insisted she find a place and sit down. When she looked like she might be mulish about it, he had simply taken her by the arm and dragged her over to the food court, overriding her protestations that she was fine. Somewhat reluctantly, she had allowed him to get her a coffee though she had insisted on paying. That had made the corners of his mouth twitch in amusement. She was a stubborn lass, this Cat, and it would take a stronger man than he to resist her. The silence that had fallen over the table was uneasy. The young woman across from him kept darting glances in his direction, her gray eyes asking him a million questions. Questions that he wasn't sure he wanted to answer. Like the inevitable question of -- "What did ye mean by I should go back ta my question o' what are ye?" Cat spoke up at last, her tone subdued. 'I knew I could rely on you,' he thought ironically. Cutting right to the chase with no hint of playing around. Anyone else and he might have been able to stave off this conversation. No, he had to run into the one person who by nature, if he read her right, would make that impossible. And there were certain things that she just didn't need to know--high on that list was that he was a vampire. Of course, he hadn't made this easy on himself--his comments had practically begged her to investigate further. Instead of giving her the brush off and holing up until Giles and Buffy arrived, he had all but invited Cat's attention. 'I must have a death wish,' he mentally sighed. "Are ye," she hesitated, "Are ye some kind o' psychic?" Angel kept his face blank, void of any incrimnating emotions. It was a mask he had schooled himself to wear, had perfected it to an art. "In a manner of speaking." 'Let her draw her own conclusions,' he thought. Humans always looked for a way to catergorize and normalize things they didn't understand. The fantastic became mundane in an instant. It made a vampire's life much, much easier. 'Well,' he corrected himself, thinking of Buffy and the Slayerettes, 'most humans were like that.' "You're not wrong," he replied in his best imitation of Xander's method of deadpan. It wasn't exactly a lie. All vampires were, to some extent, psychic--leaning more towards the empathic end of the spectrum. It was tied to their feeding process. She raised an eyebrow, obviously waiting for him to elaborate further. When he didn't, she pursed her lips. "That's no' much of an answer." "No," he agreed. Those slanting, feline-shaped eyes flashed gray fires. "My," she said in a voice heavily laced with sarcasm, "aren't we chatty? Ye're a real fountain o' knowledge." "Maybe you'd like to tell me about yourself, Catriona," he said deliberately. That shut her up as well as made the tension level skyrocket another five notches or so. They glared at each other, a mini-tug of war for control ensuing, neither willing to give any ground. Finally, Cat leaned back, letting out an explosive breath, "This is ridiculous. We're no' getting anywhere. "A compromise?" He was wary. "What?" "I'll answer a question o' yers and ye answer a question o' mine. Is it a bargain?" Angel considered it. It was a dangerous game he was playing but he had gone this far, so why stop now? And answers could be twisted, shaped into things that contained a seed of truth but not the whole truth. Misdirection would be easy if she asked him something he wasn't prepared to answer. "All right," he conceded, "One question. I'll go first." She nodded, crossing her arms in obvious anticipation. Angel studied her, noted how one hand absently tugged an errant lock of red hair, the colors of fire, and copper, and strawberry contained therein that one strand of hair. Her fair skin was fused with color, excitement coloring it pink. Out of habit, he found his gaze travelling to her bare throat, watching the pulse of blood under her milky skin, then to her wrists where branches of blue veins lay just below the surface. Her warm, salty scent aroused his hunger, tantalized him. How long had it been since he had fed? Hours? Maybe longer. But the cold blood he had stolen from the Red Cross was no comparison to the rich, copper-tasting river pumping through her. At one time, not so very long ago, he would have had no hesitation about taking her, letting her hot life's blood spill out in a red gush over his lips. Even now, conscience and all, it was so very difficult to fight the demonic impulses that argued that this life should be his, his rightful prey. And she wasn't helping much--not with her heart speeding with adrenaline and fear. The smell of it was addictive and he knew if he didn' stop now, there was no way he would be able to stop. He caught her eye, staring at her the way a snake might stare at a helpless bird. Gray eyes eyes lost their spark, growing glassy with bewilderment and lethargy. The signs of a glamor, the trick vampires used to attract their prey. 'This isn't right,' screamed a voice in his head. Angel knew it was wrong, knew that he should get out of his seat and get the hell out of here but he didn't. There was something about this girl, the way she felt to him, the way her emotions radiated out like rolling waves, the way she smelt--it attracted him. His subsequent reversion to Angelus then later on, his sojourn in Hell had altered him, had placed him more on the edge than he had ever been. The division between his vampiric nature and human conscience had become even more pronounced and of late, he had found his control slipping. Maybe it was the influence of this burgeoning Hellmouth, but ever since his arrival in London, Angel had found himself struggling harder and harder to leash in the destructive impulses that sang their siren song to him. Angelus wouldn't have hesitated. To him, there would have been no reason. She was human, she was prey. He would have amused himself by torturing her because she had challenged him. So many humans just laid down and died like the bloodbags they were, whispered the demon. The ones who didn't were worthy of special attention. They were the ones who made undead life enjoyable. 'But I am not Angelus,' he battled against the demon, the lust of for blood, for destruction singing in his mind. 'Aren't you?' hissed the demon. He saw once again the faces of his family as he killed them one by one. Then Drusilla, sweet and chaste Drusilla; he had ventured every form of mental torture ever known on her, had even made up a few new ones. He had driven her insane and then he had changed her. The Romani girl--he had enjoyed fooling her family, ingratiating himself into their good graces, then sucking their beloved daughter dry. Jenny Calendar, the heady smell of her fear, the way her neck had snapped so satisfactorily in his hands. Giles' pain had been exquisite but Buffy's... Buffy's had been beyond Angelus' wildest imagination. His human soul was repulsed by the menage of images, wanted to retreat in loathing of himself. The demon wanted that. Just like it wanted to kill this girl. Suck her dry right down to the marrow of her bones. The thought of it made his teeth ache in longing. A sharp intake of breath distracted him from the war going on inside him. He lifted his head to see the malaise afflicting Cat lift with a rapidness that was breathtaking to behold. Her eyes were widening in horror and he knew instinctively that somehow, in some way, she knew the thoughts that had been running through his head. "A mhuire," she whispered in Gaelic. Her next words came out in a sibilant rush, so fast that he caught only one of them. "...tannasaq." 'Spirit,' he translated. More than that, it meant a spirit of malevolence. One that feeds off the souls of the living. *** Cat found her body and mind relaxing into a paralytic sort of languor. It was hard to stay focused on anything besides the lassitude seeping through her body and the dark, impenetrable gleam in his dark eyes. She couldn't have moved if she wanted to. Not that she did. No, she was too caught up in the sensations coasting through her body. Fear had subsided, giving way to another kind of tension. A physical attraction that was almost unbearable seized her. Emotions and thoughts that would normally have brought a blush to her cheeks were running a riot. Suddenly, Angel had gone from being just an attractive man to something else. The hunger in his eyes made her want to throw herself at him, on some instinctual level knowing that if she did so, he wouldn't turn her away. The pull of his mind was strong, the difference she felt there intoxicating. She tried to throw off the fog clouding her brain, to think of Adam but all she could think of was Angel--his nearness, the almost unearthly glow of his skin, the memory of how soft his touch had been before. He was perfect, he was--he was.... A murderer. Somehow, her shielding had lowered itself again, causing Cat to recoil from the barrage of images flooding through her mind. They flooded her mind, overwhelmed her. The sounds of screams, the hunger, and oh, God, the pleasure. Pleasure so deep it nearly caused her faint. Voices rose in cacophony, each clamouring for attention. Too many voice calling, demanding her attention. 'Do you want to play with me? Miss Edith and I are having a tea party...' 'You will remember the faces of all those you have killed...that will be your punishment...' 'Angel, I know that some part of you is still in there...' And faces, so many faces. A beautiful woman, dark hair flowing around a face that was as pale as the moon. Her eyes... her eyes gave Cat shivers. They twinkled like two stars, completely devoid of anything resembling sanity. She had been so sweet, Cat somehow knew, and her destruction had been well worth the effort. Another woman, her eyes trusting and simple. Death after ugly death played through her mind but what horrified her most of all, was the powerful taste of blood in her mouth, the smell of it in her nose. She could almost feel it on her hands. How she seemed to revel in it; it was beyond any sort of pleasure she had ever known. Like sexual bliss, it gave her a feeling of completion, of peace. But it was something she only knew with the kill, with the taking of a life. The revulsion she felt dispelled the mists clouding her mind and she hastily pulled her shields back into place until she was alone in the sanctuary of her own mind, nearly crying in relief at the dissipation of those memories. It was all she could do not to shriek and teleport out as fast as she could manage. Recognition shone in Angel's eyes and he looked almost as horrified as she felt. Almost. Normally, Cat was not one prone to irrational behavior. Still, she was a Highlander, a Scot; there was in her blood, the knowledge of things beyond the explainable. Education and time had quieted that superstitious streak that ran through all those with Celtic blood but it had not been irradicated. It lay there just below the surface, ready to come out again like it was at this moment. "A mhuire," she murmured, reverting to Gaelic. The Roman Catholicism of her youth caused her to invoke Mary. The Gaelic also supplied her with a name for what sat before her--Tannasaq, a ghoul, an evil spirit that fed off of death and destruction. He reached a hand out to her. She jerked away from him, pushing her chair back with a loud scraping noise that drew several annoyed glances. None of which bothered her very much at the moment. Her stomach roiled in nausea at what she had gleaned from him. Part of her wanted very much to show her absolute disgust by throwing up all over his shoes. "Dinna touch me," she growled. Where, oh, where were her uncles when she needed them? Several inches of steel might be helpful in this situation. His hands fell back, landing on the table. He used them to gracefully push himself up until they were eye to eye. His next statement took her completely by surprise. "You said I could ask one question of you. Will you keep your word?" Angel asked quietly. Cat stared at him in disbelief. Was he completely insane? It no longer mattered to her to know anything about him. She already knew too much as far as she was concerned. Still, her sense of honor nagged at her, yer word is yer word. Damn my word, she thought back furiously. That nagging voice refused to quieten. And there was only one way she knew to do that. "Aye," she said through gritted teeth, "What is it ye want?" Angel looked so pathetically grateful at that bone she threw him that she almost felt herself soften. Then she recalled the broken images she had received from him and felt herself harden again. "What did you see?" "What do ye think I saw?" she snapped. Cat didn't want to dwell on those images even if her mind seemed to be permantly stuck on replaying them. "Just tell me." "I saw ye...," she trailed off before making herself continue, "And I saw blood and bodies...Ye're a killer. Yer worse than that--ye *enjoy* hurting people." "No--" "Will ye then be telling me what I saw?" she demanded, "And dinna try ta convince me I was confused or my mind was playin' tricks on me. I ken better. I ken what I saw so dinna try ta convince me otherwise." "I wasn't planning on it," Angel replied honestly, "You're not confused or wrong. I am a killer." His admission floored her. She had expected him to argue, to protest his innocence, to try to convince her that she was wrong. "Weel," she floundered, "at least ye're honest." 'At least he's honest?!! I am such an idiot,' she berated herself. 'Why the hell am I still here?' Because, because of the expression on his face. A look of guilt and remorse that was completely at odds with what she had mentally gleaned from him earlier. 'Looks can be deceiving, Fraser, she berated herself, after all, he doesn't look like a psychotic killer but...that's what he is, a killer. He had even admitted it.' She didn't understand--didn't comprehend the juxtapostion of images and sensations she had received coupled with this sense of guilt that was radiating from him. And for some odd, suicidal reason, she found that she wanted to understand. "My turn," she spoke. He appeared startled, surprised that she was still there. "I want ye to tell me why." "What does why matter?" he replied bitterly, "It doesn't change things." "Just answer the question, damn ye," she snapped. "I answered yer question, so I want ye to make me understand." "You wouldn't believe me," he stared at the table. "Try me," she said wryly, "Ye might be surprised." There was a long pause, then he said quite simply, "I'm a vampire." *** END CHAPTER THREE ... Wendy ladyslvr@xmission.com * http://www.xmission.com/~ladyslvr/ Listowner: Tomorrow People fiction and discussion lists Listowner: Sliders creative list - - To unsubscribe to buffyfic2, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe buffyfic2" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ End of buffyfic2-digest V1 #1 ***************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.