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The Instruments Available Season 6 by Jixer

Author Index - #s, A-M.
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Re: bravo

Postby veiled isis moon » Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:18 pm

Wow, you write so well. I'm sure i've told you before how much i like this fic and the way in which you write, but i thought, once more couldn't hurt!



Poor Tara seems to have her work cut out for her, everyone needs help! Soon there'll be no more Tara left to help herself nevermind all of L.A and Sunnydale! Take care of her.



I'm just loving the ride your taking us on. There's so much thought and detail in each chapter, and all the stuff the scoobies have had to deal with and face could have made so many more fics, it's action packed!!



As long as your writing, i'm reading, so keep it up. Thanks.



Michelle.x

veiled isis moon
 


Re: bravo

Postby jixer » Sat Jul 17, 2004 6:42 pm

Hello Kittens-



Kitten feedback, yet another thing far more wonderful than going to work.



Still Waters Run Deep- While I'm not trying to juggle real actors and two networks I understand your point. The internal disjointedness of the last seasons I watched of ME's shows was very hard to accept. Fortunately here at Pens my first love, words, are all I have to get into place.



molliyig- Willow's learning, and unlearning old ways, is something everyone faces as they grow up. Still, she is brighter than all get out and thorough. Compassion giving strength and insight is something I wanted to see more of, so I'm very fortunate in having Tara to work with as a foil.



BurningWhiteRose- Poor Connor indeed! Willow's status a prodigy of magic is challenged, and she's floundering looking for her new role. How she reacts will not be a surprise to Kittens, especially since she has a family behind her.



May I say how much I love 'LAliens' ? :grin



psimetis- Thank you. All that's holding back the site is getting my support staff (i.e. my wife) enough free time to set it up.



veiled isis moon- I can use all the ego boo you can spare :)



Tara's facing the price of magic in a way that fits her, with an emphasis on the price. As for the complexity, I'm now resigned to yet another fic-but not right now!





Thank you all for your time with my story,



Jixer















jixer
 


Re: bravo

Postby KiwiAlcyone » Sun Jul 18, 2004 8:07 pm

heya jixer,



There's a lot of things better than going to work but reading an excellent update from one of my favourite Pens writers is definitely right up there with the very bestest things to do!



Having read this story update by update from the beginning I've loved the progression of events, never quite knowing what turn it's going to take next but always intriguing.



I am anxious about Willow and Tara being apart but I'm sure things will work out for the best eventually and they'll be brought back together.



Can't wait for the next bit!



:peace Alcy

Reality continues to ruin my life - Calvin and Hobbes

KiwiAlcyone
 


Re: bravo

Postby jixer » Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:27 pm

Hello Kittens-



Having tied up Real Life and mailed it to Kuala Lumpur via messenger sloth I can finally respond to KiwiAlcyone. I have to say the story is surprising me as well. There's been an extra few chapters on the way. I'm working towards the end but I'm not in a hurry to get there. My thanks for your patience and kind words.



Jixer



jixer
 


Chapter 21

Postby jixer » Thu Jul 29, 2004 12:21 pm







Chapter 21

Travelogue Part Three










Gunn looked around the graveyard and whistled lowly. It was the third large cemetery he’d been in tonight.



“How many bone yards does this little town have?”



“Five still open, seven full except for ashes,” Xander replied.



“Damn,” Gunn muttered.



“You should see the sewer system,” the carpenter said with a shudder.



Before Gunn could reply Fred whirled and held up her cross. It was shaking in her hand. A scaled paw grabbed it and tossed it away. Then the two vampires sprang. Gunn swung his axe as hard as he could at the long armed demon and felt the blade bite hard. The demon howled and yanked his wounded arm back as he swung the whole one forward. The vampires grabbed Fred. The lean girl stomped on one’s foot and stabbed the other just a bit too low for a kill. Both of the undead snarled. The snarls turned into screams as a stream of clear water struck them in their faces.



“That’s no way to treat a guest!” Anya Harris snapped. “Do want them to think we’re complete provincials?”



Fred picked up her stake and slammed it into first one and then the other stumbling vampires. Gunn suddenly sprawled at her feet. The demon reached out and grabbed his feet. Then Xander stepped up and swept down something that hummed in the air and screamed when it hit the demon. There was a brief shower of sparks and the demon screamed. The demon fled into the night leaving a dark red trail behind him. Xander turned off the cordless saw.



“These carbide blades are definitely worth the money,” he said proudly.



“Is it like this every night?” Fred gasped.



“This makes four demons and seven vampires,” Xander said thoughtfully.



“About average,” Anya said with a nod. “Give or take. How about some coffee?”





===========================================================





Tara stood up and stretched. Justine shivered all over. Tara hoped the aspirin and the water would help. The detoxifying spell she’d woven was keyed to several layers of healing, none of them very powerful on their own. This spell was designed to help the body heal itself and maybe give the woman a chance to deal with other hurts. Tara closed the door behind her.



“Is she all right?” Wesley asked neutrally.



“Mostly,” Tara sighed. “How’s Connor?”



“He’s asleep, but he wakes up and has questions,” Wesley replied.



“It sounds like a left over effect from the truth spell,” Tara said with a mild shiver of her own. “It’s powerful.”



“I saw,” Wes nodded. “Did you know there was going to be…leakage?”



“No,” Tara almost whispered. “I-I-I’m s-sorry if, um…”



“It’s all right,” he said gently. “I’m going back to watch over Connor.”



“Thank you,” Tara said.



The witch took the stairs down. Now the building just felt mostly empty and old. It was almost sad, a place that had never had a chance to exist without a darkness hanging over it. Tara let part of her power drift along. She felt the echoes of a lot of magic in the air, a jumble of old fragments from spells and curses, blessings and divinations that normally would have faded away.



It feels like an old room that’s been closed up for too long, Tara thought sadly.



Tara came finally to the ground floor and walked to the atrium. She stepped outside and let her wards slip just a bit and took a deep breath. She frowned and dropped her shields and felt the city around her.



“It’s not the hotel,” Tara murmured. “It’s the city!”





===========================================================





Buffy looked up at the sound of the door opening. She stared at green skinned figure hiding behind the sunglasses and wide brimmed hat. He stepped up to the desk and tossed off both the hat and the sunglasses. Now he stood there in a maroon suit with a shawl collar.



“Hey kids, anybody home?” he called out.



“I’m home,” she said with a smile.



“Sorry, I don’t think this is your home, miss,” he said evasively. “Is Gunn or Fred around?”



“They were annoying so I got rid of them,” she replied with a pout, then she smiled a bit too brightly. “I’m Buffy.”



“Ahh, is this a good time to say I didn’t lose the big guy?” the demon said nervously.



“Big guy?” Buffy asked stepping a bit closer.



“Angel,” the demon said quickly. “You know, tall, brooding, tight with a penny.”



“You know him,” Buffy said casually. “Do you know where he is?”



“Before we go any farther would you mind singing?” he asked.



“I don’t do musicals!” Buffy growled.



“It’s just I can do this thing with auras and destiny but you have to sing and please stop looking at me that way,” he said in a rush.



“Buffy,” Tara said calmly. “He’s okay. Hi, I’m Tara.”



“Lorne,” the demon said looking at Tara. “I like your aura. Not many people can pull off the pastel to bright phrases.”



“I thought she had to sing for you to see her aura,” Buffy said suspiciously.



“Usually,” Lorne said not looking away from Tara. “Some people you can just see across the room. Do you sing?”



“A bit,” Tara admitted.



“Would you mind?” Lorne asked eagerly.



“What should I sing?” Tara asked politely.



“Anything,” Lorne replied.



Buffy was frowning both at the demon and at being ignored as Tara closed her eyes in thought. Then, without opening them Tara began to sing:



Sleep my child and peace attend thee

All through the night…






===========================================================





Connor tossed and turned in his sleep as a tree dragon became a bus and a dyre beast leapt at him only to become a policeman swinging a club. He reached for his axe and crossbow but they were only newspapers here and Holtz was scowling at him sternly and he was failing. Then he froze as Holtz became Angel in a steel cage. Connor pulled at the lid as the water rose and he cried out that he was sorry and then Angel was Holtz in the box…



Guardian angels God will send thee

All through the night…




Connor looked up and saw the lady holding him. She had sad eyes but he knew he was safe here. The word mother came to him. So this was a mother. Did all mothers wear blue?





===========================================================





Wesley watched Connor’s dream and wondered what to do.



What ever you do I’m sure it will turn out wrong, he heard his father say in that cold and disapproving tone Wes knew so well.



Wes felt the awful guilt at turning an innocent babe into the troubled boy on the bed. There was nothing he could do…



Soft the drowsy hours are creeping

Hill and vale in slumber sleeping

I my loving vigil keeping

All through the night




Wes put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. The boy opened his eyes and looked at Wes.



“You’re safe,” Wes said gently.



“But…” Connor said distantly.



“You’re safe,” Wes said again.



Connor nodded, yawned and went back to sleep.





===========================================================





Sleep my child and peace attend thee

All through the night…








===========================================================





Justine walked away from the grave. Julia wasn’t there anymore, if she had ever really been there at all. The sun above warmed her for the first time in months. Ahead of her the old battered Explorer sat with the door open. Justine stopped, pulled out the last hidden bottle of vodka she’d stashed in her pocket and dumped it on the sidewalk. Then she dropped the bottle and began to run to the car. She pulled open the door and heard the Beach Boys on the stereo. She looked at the woman behind the wheel and smiled.



“Thanks for picking me up, Mom.”



“I’ve been waiting for you to call,” her mother said with a bit of worry in her voice.






===========================================================





Connor ran through the night. Ahead of him the lithe dark haired figure that filled his thoughts leapt across an alley. He knew that below on the street watching worriedly was his mentor, friend, and teacher. There was no reason to worry though. She was here and with her nothing the three of them faced could beat them…





===========================================================





Buffy watched with a smirk as Lorne leaned against the desk and stared at Tara with a smile a yard wide. Buffy sauntered over to him and crossed her arms.



“Well?” she asked as Tara finished.



“Do you do show tunes?” Lorne asked Tara wistfully. “I mean besides Over The Rainbow.”



“Because I’m a friend of Dorothy?” Tara asked lightly.



“Because everybody does Over The Rainbow,” Lorne said with a wince. “I mean you could do it but I really think ‘Stormy Weather’ would fit your mood better.”



“As much joy as I’m getting out of the music number we’re looking for a missing vamp, remember?” Buffy asked bluntly.



“Oh, right,” Lorne said. “Barry Manilow’s biggest undead fan.”



“What?!?” Buffy squeaked.



“Long story,” Lorne sighed. “Not as long as it takes him to finish a song, mind you. Anyway I met this demon who’s just in from Humboldt Current University-”



“About so tall?” Buffy asked pointing at the ceiling. “Wears an alligator belt?”



“Well, she didn’t say anything but it’s not really an alligator,” Lorne said with a touch of a gossipy tone.



“I think it’s very responsible,” Tara said primly. “After all she’s studying the effects of over fishing.”



“Oh, you know her,” Lorne said with a relieved smile.



“We met in Sunnydale,” Buffy said impatiently. “What did she say?”



“That there’s a vampire in a steel box on the bottom of the ocean,” Lorne replied. “She’s not fond of vampires. She was going to pull the box up to where the sunlight can actually hit it.”



“Can’t get out,” Tara whispered.



“Can we get a boat at this time of night?” Buffy asked tightly.



“Not one that can lift a vamp in a safety deposit box,” Lorne replied.



“Maybe Wes knows where to find one,” Buffy said quickly.



“Wes?” Lorne asked nervously. “English, wound too tight, scary sometimes-that Wes?”



“Yes,” Wesley said quietly.



“Hey,” Lorne said nervously.



“I was wondering why someone would be singing,” Wes said calmly.



“Look, no offense-” Lorne started.



“But you don’t want to be hit in the head again by a fanatic fool,” Wes interjected. “Quite understandable.”



“Thanks?” Lorne said.



“I’m sorry, Lorne,” Wes said meeting the demon’s eyes. “You were quite right and reasonable. I have no excuse for my behavior. My apology is all I can offer.”



Lorne looked at Wesley for a moment.



“Accepted,” Lorne said with a shrug. “You thought you were doing the right thing.”



“Thank you,” Wesley said with a hint of relief in his voice.



“But next time ask for help,” Lorne added. “What is it with the saving the world types?”



“I wouldn’t know,” Buffy said as Tara looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Tara, can you tell where Angel is now?”



“Yes,” Tara said softly. “There’s still a link.”



“Get the map,” Buffy said. Wes grabbed it and spread it front of the witch. Tara pointed. “There.”



“Venice,” Buffy sighed. “Just a bit public.”



“Sorry,” Tara said softly.



“Any idea about Cordie?” Buffy asked.



“Ah, I might have something there,” Lorne said hesitantly.





===========================================================





Willow awoke without the headache she expected waking up after using a lot of magic and being in the wrong time zone to boot. It was not quite daybreak but she was awake and knew she could not go back to sleep. She dressed quickly and quietly so as not to disturb Dawn. Willow went through the quiet house and walked into the back garden. Willow looked down at her notes she’d jotted down last night.



“A witch should feel the magic,” she read.



Willow relaxed and listened. Birdsong was swelling around her. She looked at the dew on the spider’s web and the plants. She felt the cool air begin to warm. She thought of the nearby beech tree and it’s complex biological rhythms that pulled nutrients and turned sunlight into food. She felt the magic start to build inside her.



“Shields,” she said quietly.



Willow closed her eyes and visualized a pair of spinning threads interweaving over her, drawn on the magic she felt in the earth. She felt magic being gathered nearby. She strengthened the shields on that side, adding weaves of magic. A lance of power touches the weave carefully. Willow let the power dance around the weave and absorbed it after the rawness had dissipated.



“Impressive,” Rita said evenly.



“Thank you,” Willow said politely. “I think this is yours.”



Willow opened her shield and formed the power she had just received into a small orb. She pushed it gently towards Rita. The old witch took it and nodded.



“What woke you up?” Rita asked.



Thoughts about the shift in time zones and serotonin and variations in sleeping conditions making someone more sensitive to sounds all came to Willow. She frowned.



“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I just knew it was time to get up.”



“Any ideas?” Rita pressed.



“I think it was my magic needing a recharge,” Willow said. “The countryside is waking up and I can feel the magic rising. It’s in cycles. Night has owls and mice and foxes outside and inside there are stories around the fire, or at least people are watching the flickering images on TV. I need to write that down.”



Willow took out one of her small notebooks and a blue ink pen. She started to write. Rita waved a finger very slightly. A ball of flame danced over the notebook, but the pages were undamaged. Rita restrained her expression.



“What spell did you use?” Rita asked.



“My own,” Willow said finally closing the book. “I figured that fire needs heat, fuel and oxygen. I crafted the spell to replace the oxygen molecules around the notebook with the more available nitrogen thereby creating an inert gas layer that reacts to heat by drawing more nitrogen out of the atmosphere. It also lowers the temperature by taking the compressing gas, which would be getting hotter and running it through a coil of magic and-”



“I understand the physics,” Rita said with a dry smile. “The spell looks well crafted. What magical source are you using to create the coil?”



“The magic that actually touches the spell,” Willow explained.



“Good!” Rita said.



“Thank you,” Willow said honestly.



“Now for something a bit more difficult,” Rita said meeting Willow’s eyes. “Are you ready?”



Willow met the glittering gaze of the old witch and held it. “Yes,” Willow said confidently.



“Very well,” Rita said as the day broke over the hills in the east. “Who are you, Willow Rosenberg?”





===========================================================





Tara was unsettled. Perhaps it was feeling more comfortable with Lorne than with Wes. She had been glad when Wes had decided to stay and watch over Connor and Justine. Perhaps it was Buffy’s driving, but if she concentrated on listening to Lorne that wasn’t so bad. Perhaps it was the story that the demon was telling her.



“So you’re saying you had protection from Powers on your club?” Tara asked in amazement. “Actual Powers?”



“As in the Powers That Be,” Lorne replied. “I know it’s weird but when I got to LA, and don’t let anyone tell you destiny doesn’t work in the strangest ways, they approached me.”



“How did that happen?” Tara asked.



“I wanted to start this place where everybody could sing and I could do my thing without it being ancient rivalry night every Tuesday,” Lorne said. “I talked to a mage, a third level Order of Thespia and I get this interview with the lady herself. She put me in touch with theses divine sisters and the next thing I know nobody’s bashing their clan’s ancient enemies heads in without flying through the door. It was a nice place.”



“Thespia?” Tara said softly. “She was-”



“Is, honey,” Lorne said softly. “I wouldn’t bring up the whole naiad thing.”



“That’s not the way it should be,” Tara said thoughtfully.



“Well, I’m not from around here so I couldn’t say,” Lorne shrugged. “But I was told to tell people Cordelia is all right, she’s just out. As in out of this world.”



“I’m guessing there were no UFO’s involved,” Buffy said coldly.



“Well, a Thad demon-”



“Thad demon?” Buffy interjected.



“If you see one you can ask it about the name,” Lorne said. “They’re a bit touchy.”



“Sorry,” Buffy said as she sped up to pass a truck. “Go on.”



“The demon said he saw some cute brunette ascending from where her Jeep was found,” Lorne finished. “She took on true demonic power so she could stay in the fight on the side of the angels-sorry.”



“A human getting a demon’s power and suffering the consequences I can understand,” Tara said thoughtfully. “I can understand taking demonic form. What I can’t understand is why demons and Powers are throwing their power around like this.”



“There’s some big bads around,” Lorne said with a bit of fear in his voice.



“Ever hear of Glorificus?” Buffy asked.



“Glory the crazy?” Lorne shuddered. “Oh my stars! You’re that Slayer! But I thought you were dead.”



“I get that a lot,” Buffy said with a small smile.



“Well, these baddies are demon, human, and really bad things in between,” Lorne went on. “Maybe not insane hellgod status, but they’re bad enough. Oh that’s our exit-”



Both demon and witch let out a squeal as Buffy twitched the steering wheel sending the Jeep through an impossibly small gap between two trucks. Tara grabbed her bag and Lorne’s arm both. “No problem!” Buffy crowed as Tara and Lorne just looked at each other and shook their heads.



“I’m thinking about being ecologically sensible and using public transportation,” Lorne muttered.



“I may join you,” Tara said with a glare at the Slayer. Then she frowned. “Straight ahead…he’s moving slowly.”



“Are you sure this is legal?” Lorne asked looking at a sign that gave the beach hours.



“It’s a rescue,” Buffy said.



“I left my orange trunks at home,” Lorne said uneasily.



“Um, guys, could you be quiet for a moment?” Tara asked as she stepped onto the beach itself.



Buffy and Lorne fell silent as Tara raised a hand and looked out to sea. They listened to one side of a conversation.



“I ask that one who despises the undead to speak with me,” Tara said softly. Then she frowned. “Okay, not all at once! Thanks. How about the one who’s actually getting rid of one? Thank you, miss. I think we met in Sunnydale. Why? Well, its complicated. Thank you, I’ll see what I can do.”



Buffy looked around her. The beach seemed to be unusually quiet. A faint glow in the sky became brighter. She looked back and saw Tara start to pant. The witch dropped her bag.



“What is it?” Buffy asked worriedly.



“Iron,” Tara said with a grimace. “Steel is made of it and I’m not that good with it.” Tara looked out to sea. “Closer, please.”



“Would more power help?” Cordelia asked.



“Cordy?” Buffy said astonished.



Cordelia looked like herself, but with a shimmer of light that looked like moonlight. Cordelia looked at Tara and smiled.



“I wondered about Willow,” Cordy said. “Now that I see you it’s obvious.”



“Oh,” said unsurely.



“Don’t worry,” Cordelia said quickly. “I’m here to help.”



“You may not!” a musical baritone said imperiously.





===========================================================





Willow’s mind whirled. What was she?



Tara’s…Jewish Technopagan…witch…Scooby…friend…Pseudo big sister…woman…lesbian…Tara’s…



Willow became aware of the heat on her face and the softest sensation on her hand. She opened her eyes and looked down to see a bumblebee exploring her hand. She brought up her hand carefully and saw the creature investigate her for a few more seconds and then lumber off towards flowers Willow didn’t recognize. She had been standing there for several minutes. Willow looked down at her hand where the bee had walked a moment before. Her hand. Willow looked at Rita.



“This one,” Willow said pointing at herself. “I’m me.”



Rita’s smile was as bright as the sun.



“Now we get to the real learning,” Rita almost cackled.







jixer
 


Chapter 21b

Postby jixer » Thu Jul 29, 2004 12:25 pm





“Cordelia must hold her power,” a golden skinned man with perfect features intoned.



“Why can’t Cordelia give Tara some of her power?” Buffy asked evenly.



“We need every power we can summon for the final battle against our ancient enemy who can not be named,” the golden being replied condescendingly.



“Power?” Cordelia asked hesitantly.



“Power?” Tara asked with narrowed eyes.



“Do not think to judge us, witch,” the man said with haughtily. “We have been preparing for this battle with this evil for millennia.”



“Did I come at a bad time?” Willow asked. “Hi Cordelia. Hi musical guy whose name I forgot.”



“Hi,” Cordy said blinking at Willow.



“It’s kind of nice to be forgotten,” Lorne said with an easy flip of his hand. “I’m Lorne.”



“Aren’t you in England?” Buffy asked. Then Tara reached for her love and their fingers entwined. Tara kissed Willow and felt warm lips. “Guess not.”



“No,” Willow said breaking the kiss. “I am.”



“And she’s here,” Tara added. “Her thoughts are here, and with the magic field around here she’s very, very real.”



“Kind of obvious,” Cordelia said rolling her eyes. “Now can we get back to why I can’t help Angel?”



“We need every scrap of power we can gather to face the nameless one,” the Power replied with a hint of exasperation.



“And you’ve been gathering your forces for thousands of years?” Buffy asked pointedly.



“Yes.”



“And this bad guy keeps hitting your side everyday?” Buffy asked.



“The one who cannot be named has also acquired power over the years,” he said crossly.



“But he hasn’t attacked?” Buffy pressed.



“He is clever,” the being said defensively.



“Will, who was that civil war general Dawnie did the report on?” Buffy asked.



“General McClellan,” Willow replied instantly. “Great organizer and trainer, but not what you’d call the most aggressive general ever.”



“Thanks,” Buffy smiled at Willow. Then she looked back at the Power and tilted her head. “I think we should call him George.”



“We are facing something beyond your ken, Slayer,” he replied haughtily.



“No,” a female voice said.



Everyone looked down to see a ginger cat with glowing eyes step out of the night. Then the cat straightened up to become two meters of feminine and feline grace surmounted with a lioness’s head. She turned green glowing eyes on Tara.



“Lady,” Tara said bowing.



“You honor us,” Willow said doing the same.



“No need for that from ones who are part of so much of what I protect,” Bast said with pleased tone. Then she looked into the face of the Power and pointed at Buffy. “You are wrong. These humans at least have faced a power as great as the one we oppose. Of the ones who are polite Tara refused to submit and Willow even struck such a blow as to weaken her opponent.”



“But-but-” the glowing man sputtered.



“Our time is long over, as is Apep’s,” Bast said in a no-nonsense voice. The other Power flinched at the mention of Apep.



“He is the Destroyer!” he quailed. “His bride has gathered forces beyond any we have at our call!”



“Because you’ve been just giving power and granting desires,” Tara said thoughtfully.



“Sort of unrestrained magical cold war defense spending?” Willow asked her lover. “Throw lots of resources at a problem and keep the results pristine, no matter how iffy they may be?”



“No merely human model fits this!” the glowing man snarled. “This is the oldest Evil!”



“No,” Bast said with a shudder. “There is one older. But that is not our task.”



“No, it’s not,” a little girl’s voice said brightly. “You’re after my dear husband.”



All of the humans turned to see a girl of about ten years dressed in a black dress with a white lace collar. Her black Mary Janes and prim white socks only completed the image of an innocent veneer. Only the writhing snake brooch at the edge of the collar gave any warning to the eye. She looked at the frightened Power and giggled.



“Okay,” Buffy said glaring at the girl. “Creeped out now.”



“You don’t know what the prophecy says,” the girl teased. “But I know this one about Sahjahn.”



With that she drew out an ancient jar.



“A Resikhian urn!” Willow exclaimed. “Those are so cool! You can capture all sorts of demons…and let them out later-Buffy!”



The girl laughed as she poured out the contents of the urn. Sahjahn straitened up and smiled at the Slayer.



“You’re not the son of two vamps so I think I’m gonna win this-”



The demon’s words ended in a screech as Buffy destroyed his left knee with a kick. The screech went higher as she did the same to the right knee. Then she pulled a sword from her Gucci beach bag and with the strength of a Slayer took off his head. With a grunt she drove the point of the blade into the severed cranium and, using the sword like a catapult, tossed the head into the surf. On the beach Sahjahn’s body faded away.



“That’s not possible!” the girl snarled. “You’re a girl!”



“I’m a girl who’s had a really bad couple of days,” Buffy said with a satisfied smirk. “But I’m feeling better now.”



“Feel better about this, you bleach blonde bitch,” the girl snarled.



“Vamps!” Willow said as the sands of the beach began to heave. “Old ones.”



“A hundred of the most dire and cunning vampires, Slayer,” the girl said proudly. “Do you have a hundred stakes?”



“Honey, can I borrow you for a second?” Tara asked Willow as Tara opened her bag.



“What do you need me to do?” Willow asked without hesitating.



“I need to get the pattern right,” Tara explained.



With that a hundred small crosses flew out of the bag and began to twirl into a Magan David. The effect was almost instantaneous. Ancient undead hunters ran into each other, flailed against unseen things and stumbled in a milling mass around the symbol.



“Oh wait!” Willow said quickly. “Moonlight is reflected sunlight so…”



As she spoke a full moon finally rose past the hills in the east. Lorne looked at the sight and sighed. He looked at the witches and started to sing softly



“Moonlight and love songs never out of date,

Willow needs her, and Tar’ must have her mate

That no one can deny…”



Both witches smiled as the crosses suddenly burst forth like a hundred tiny suns. The vampires let out a roar of pain as they burst into flame, a rolling wave of greasy flames that fanned out from the glowing symbols that consumed every one of them.



“No!” the girl hissed. “Baital, arise!”



“Oh shit,” Buffy said softly.



A figure arose from the sand on the beach. He was tall and covered head to foot in armor of red cloth and gold covered iron. A veil hid his face but not the glowing eyes that looked unmoved upon the glow that had destroyed a hundred vampires. But he did not move closer to it either.



“Oldest now walking under the moon,” the girl said proudly. “My servants made that armor. The Ganges shrieked when we quenched it in those waters one moonless night twenty centuries ago.”



“Which pissed off the nearby Slayer and she and her Watcher died sealing him in a tomb,” Buffy said as if reciting.



“Doom of the Sword Woman,” the girl laughed. “But I can break any spell with my power.”



“The star of David’s still going,” Willow said coldly.



“You are an annoying witch,” the girl snapped as she looked at Willow with unbridled hate. “You’ll pay for that insolence.” Then she looked at Tara. “As will you. I feel you pulling at the magic, trying to drain me. Here, take it!”



With that the little girl vanished and a beautiful woman with tawny skin and onyx hair stood before them. Tara was reminded of the images of Nefertiti she had studied in her classes for the woman was a regal beauty save for her eyes of obsidian. Then a cloud of blackness covered Tara and Bride of Apep laughed.



“Look upon your lover now, witch!”



The cloud parted and revealed Tara, looking down at the sand. Or at least a woman with raven locks that looked like Tara. The dark Tara lifted her head and looked at those assembled with eyes completely black. As they watched she became pale skinned. Now the darkness of her eyes and hair seemed to leach into her skin in tiny veins as if night itself had become her blood. Tara looked at Willow and then Buffy haughtily and lifted her hand. Buffy and Willow looked at each other with astonishment at the same time.



“Oh no, Will!” Buffy said clapping her hands together. “She’s EEEEVILLL!”



Then both women dissolved into laughter.



“Oh come on!” Tara whined. “I can be evil! Look!”



With that she lifted hands in a dramatic fashion and glared at Willow. Buffy and Willow laughed even harder. Cordelia shook her head.



“Don’t try to make your gestures too big when you’re on a small stage,” the brunette advised. “My acting coaches kept repeating that.”



“Oh,” Tara said. She stood tall and glared.



“Much better,” Cordy said with a nod.



“Very scary,” Buffy giggled.



“Well I think you’re very frightening,” Lorne said in a supportive tone.



“Thank you,” Tara said looking at her lover with a pout. Then she stuck her tongue out at Willow and Buffy. Buffy turned red with laughter. Finally Tara could not hold back and began to laugh as well. She shook her hair and then her clothes. An inky cloud formed behind her as her hair returned to the usual shade that could not decide if it was a dark blonde or a light brown. Her blue eyes met Willow’s green gaze.



“Much better,” Willow said wiping her eyes.



The Bride of Apep hissed and lifted her hand toward the black cloud behind Tara. It did not move. Tara looked at her with a hard smile.



“You gave it away,” Tara said levelly. “It’s mine to do with what I will.”



“Can you touch evil magic, pure little witch?” the raven-haired woman asked venomously.



“Its part of the balance,” Willow said softly instead. “Good and evil, light and dark, life and death, joy and suffering; they all are part of the balance of magic and of life. You just have to decide where your balance point is and try to keep your balance with good judgment and good sense.”



“Looks like somebody’s being an A student again,” Buffy said proudly.



“Honey, I have a thought,” Tara said looking at the moon. “That’s reflected sunlight?”



“Yeah,” Willow said thoughtfully she took Tara’s hand in hers and pointed both at the moon. “Try Bailly, the spot right there.”



“It’s a lot,” Tara said with a hint of worry.



“No…” whispered the Bride of Apep in shock.



“I’ve got you,” Willow said.



“Baital, stop them!” came a desperate scream.



Buffy leapt as the armored figure stirred. Willow and Tara turned to see none of her blows landed with full force. The creature knocked her down. Buffy vaulted upright, trailing her feet and spraying sand in its veil covered face. The monster flinched. Willow’s eyes narrowed as the gold of the armor glowed silver where Buffy had punched it.



“Forged at night,” Willow said suddenly. “By moonlight, of course.”



Tara looked up at the moon. She lifted her hand. The Bride of Apep screamed and rushed at them. Cordelia punched the charging woman and dropped her in the sand with a single blow. She turned to the witches and shouted “Hurry!”



A line of pure black sprang from Tara’s hand straight at the moon. For a second it disappeared, then touched the lunar surface and spread out blackening the ancient gray globe. The lights of Venice and the glowing Star of David were the entire illumination on the beach. Buffy grabbed the armored vampire and used his mass against him as she tripped him into the holy symbols. There was a mighty flash and she blinked as moonlight again touched the beach. The crosses were nowhere to be seen.



“No!” Apep’s Chosen howled. She touched her hand to her lip where Cordelia had punched her. Blood became a rust colored dust and drifted west. “NO!” she screamed. “Apep, save me! Ape…”



Her voice ended in a soft croak as five thousand years advanced in the time it took for her to take two shambling steps towards the east. The others looked on in horror as she became nothing but a lurching pile of gray dust. Then a clean, cold wind that bore no trace of smog or modern fumes rushed out of the night and dust became a cloud that drifted into the west over the ocean.



Tara and Willow looked about them but Bast and ‘George’ were nowhere to be seen. For a moment Tara felt a sense of loss. Then, at the edge of hearing she caught a distant, tired whisper.



“It is done,” Bast’s voice said. “Our enemy is unmade as well and our victory is won, but our age of magic is now past. I know the children are grown up but is so hard to say goodbye to my favorites. Do not weep, for this is over due. There is but one last charge I leave you,” Suddenly Tara was aware of a small head rubbing her ankle and purring. “Her name is Penny and her address is on her collar. Make sure she gets home. Goodbye…”





===========================================================





Across the globe in the offices of Wolfram and Hart a button appeared on the panels of the private elevators of the firm. For a moment it was simply white. Then it became bright.





===========================================================





In the Los Angeles office Lilah Morgan was going home late. She looked at a button she couldn’t usually see with trepidation as it began to glow. Her one trip to the White Room with Angel had unnerved her and the little girl there had frightened her. Even so she bent closer when it looked like there was a pattern. She frowned at what appeared to be a tiny Star of David made up of dozens of tiny silvery points of light. The doors opened and she hurried out past the two security vampires in the underground garage. They nodded respectfully and then went back to the homeless man struggling vainly in their grasp.



Just as she arrived at her Lexus the world turned white. She bit back a scream as her hand and cheek were lanced with needles of fiery pain. She blinked and saw her car and those nearby surrounded by shattered glass. There was a stir by the security desk. Lilah looked down at her hand and saw the blood from a small cut.



“Oh no,” she whispered. She turned towards the desk. “Just hold on…”



At the security desk the homeless man backed away from two small heaps of smoking dust. He looked at Lilah with a shocked expression.



“Did you just see a real bright light?” he asked.



Lilah just nodded. She looked at her car. No window, mirror or gauge was intact. She opened her cell to call her insurer and saw the broken face of the instrument. She turned and walked to the exit. As she reached the street she heard sirens. She looked up at the building. The top floor was gone, and the one below it scorched and cracked but there was no sign of smoke. There were no windows and the building looked oddly empty.



“I think I’ll take tomorrow off,” Lilah said with what might pass for calm. Then her face darkened angrily. “My two thousand dollar fish tank for that stupid good luck koi! Shit!”





===========================================================





“Yoshi, do you know where the new fish came from?” Sister Mary Joseph Wanatabe asked looking at the pond in the garden of the convent.



“No Sister,” the old caretaker said. “But an all black koi is very good luck.”



“He seems to be a bit stunned,” the nun said with concern. “I’ll ask Saint Francis for help.”





===========================================================





“All right,” Cordelia said facing Buffy. “We need to get Angel out of the water but there’s something I have to say first.”



“Things have changed and you love him,” Buffy said wistfully.



“Just let me finish!” Cordy said quickly. Then she stopped and gaped at Buffy. “Huh?”



“Things have changed, you’ve changed and you love Angel,” Buffy said with sigh.



“Ah, yeah,” Cordelia said unsurely. “Are you okay?”



“I’ll get there,” Buffy said softly.



Lorne walked over to the witches. They were leaning on each other and looking at Buffy sadly. The demon cleared his throat.



“You knew?” he asked.



“I kind of guessed last year,” Willow said quietly as Tara nodded. Suddenly Willow looked away. She looked at Tara with tears in her eyes. “I’ve got to go.” Tara just nodded. She handed Penny to Lorne and then Tara and Willow hugged fiercely. They parted and Willow looked at Buffy. “I’ve got to go, guys. Bye.”





===========================================================





Willow blinked in the shade. She looked up to see Harold holding a large umbrella over her. Dawn leaned over her with a worried look.



“Are you okay?” Dawn asked.



“I’m Tara-less, so there’s a limit on my okay factor,” Willow said sitting up. “But I think I’m getting the hang of real witch magic.”



“Good,” Rita said coming up behind Dawn. “Its time for a quiz.”



“Practical or theory?” Willow asked.



“Yes.”





===========================================================





“Please,” Lorne said as he pulled out an electric blue handkerchief and handed it to Tara. He held the ginger cat close and started to pet her. “Nobody break into song. I couldn’t take it.”



“I think you’re safe,” Buffy said with a small grin. “Are you up to getting a wet vampire, Tara?”



“Yes,” Tara said looking out to see and lifting her hand. “Um…”



“What is it?” Cordelia and Buffy asked.



“He’s really close,” Tara said with a frown.



A hundred yards off shore a box broke the surface of the water. A large arm was holding it on a shoulder that kept rising out of the water as its owner strode forward with very long legs. Finally the demon looked at Tara.



“Just how close do you need this to be?” she asked in a peeved voice.



“Oh!” Tara gasped as she turned red. “I’m so sorry! I totally forgot about you with the other vampires and my girl and Bast and everything! I’m s-sorry!”



“You said that,” the demon sighed. “Hi Lorne.”



“Hi honey,” Lorne said in a soothing tone. “I know we’re a pain but it’s been a madhouse up here.”



“What happened to the other vampires?” the tall demon asked taking a deep sniff. “It reeks of old vamps.”



“Tara killed a hundred vamps,” Buffy said proudly.



“With Willow’s help,” Tara added quickly.



“Your girl?” the demon asked looking at Cordy. “No, she was a redhead.”



“Yes,” Buffy agreed. “She kind of had to go back to school.”



“School!” the demon shouted suddenly. “Oh no! I can’t be late! I’m on probation!”



Tara looked at Cordelia, but the brunette was kneeling by the steel cage, her hand on the mesh. With an infinite slowness a pale hand touched the mesh beneath hers. Buffy touched Cordy’s shoulder gently.



“Do you have any power left?” Buffy asked.



“It’s there but I don’t know how to use it,” Cordelia said looking down at Angel.



“Wait a second,” Tara said closing her eyes.



All around her she felt the same fragments of magic that had filled Southern California before. She could feel other hesitant probes looking for the power that had once been available.



“We’re grown up,” Tara said tiredly. “Time to clean up after the mess.”



“Tara,” Buffy said in a warning voice.



“It’s okay,” the witch said. “I know about steadying now.”



“Steadying what?” Lorne asked.



“The magic that’s left over,” Tara replied.



“No offense, but this is LA,” Lorne warned in a worried voice.



“It’s not Sunnydale,” the sea going demon said. “I’d heard land stories about that place. Then I saw it. Scary.”



“It can be,” Tara smiled. “But it’s home too. Now think of your next class.”



“I have to think about Calculus 201?” the demon complained. “Ewww!”



Tara felt herself smiling as she took the image of the droning professor and called the magic loose in Venice. She smoothed out the magic, wrapped the demon in it and homed in on the resonance of the image. She unwrapped the magic over the resonance and in her mind saw the demon slide into the water smoothly.



“Thanks,” the student called out.



“Thank you for your help,” Tara replied. The student waved and dove to class. Tara opened her eyes.



“Did she get to school all right?” Lorne asked.



“Yes,” Tara nodded.



“You didn’t use any of my power,” Cordelia said. “I should feel that, shouldn’t I?”



“It’s kind of draining, I think,” Tara replied. “Haven’t you ever, um, used it?”



“Not since I took the big leap up,” Cordelia answered tiredly. “I don’t know how.”



“Let’s figure that out later,” Tara said looking into the night. She saw a muscle car like the one her brother had lusted after drive by as traffic began to pick up on the street. “This place is car crazy, right?”



“Yeah,” Buffy said. “But how…oh, mechanics’ magic?”



“You know there’s got to be some of that around in LA,” Lorne said. “I think we need to get a move on. Traffic’s picking up and this pretty little girl wants her Friskies.”



“How?” Cordelia started.



“Her purring,” Lorne said rubbing the cat’s ears.



Tara thought of Donnie and dismissed the memories almost instantly. Instead she thought of an afternoon with Xander bent over his car’s engine as Anya read the manual and Willow handed him tools, but never the correct tool on the first try. Suddenly there was enough noise in a short enough time to put a pit crew to shame around the steel cage. Buffy tossed the top open and stepped back as Angel and Cordelia embraced. The Slayer walked towards Tara without a backward glance.



“Magicking steel takes a lot of energy,” Buffy said looking at Tara. “Are you up to getting rid of the rest of the magic?”



“It’s not getting rid of it,” Tara explained. “It’s…”



“Balancing,” Buffy interjected. “Nice evasion. Are you up to this?”



“It’s not Sunnydale,” Tara said with a shrug. Then she looked past Buffy at Cordelia holding a pale and shaking Angel. “Besides, I think I know a way to do this so it’s familiar.”



Tara held out her cupped hands.





===========================================================





“Sometimes the weird shit just happens all at once.” That’s how EMS people described that night all over Southern California. Whether it was the evidently spontaneous and incredibly hot but flameless explosion at an expensive law office complex or the disappearance of a dozen celebrities or the return of hundreds of lost items and people that was as much explanation as most people knew. The really weird stuff like hundreds of calls about people walking the streets or lurking in alleys that night suddenly howling in pain and turning into piles of dust and ash only occasionally were considered worth noting.





===========================================================





“Neck wound with massive blood loss!” The EMT shouted as the gurney rolled into the ER. “BP is fifty by palp!”



“Blood’s ready,” a nurse called out as she swung the fluid warmer closed.



The curtains fluttered in the breeze and for a second the scents of hurt and fear were banished. The Trauma Chief Resident shook her head and felt for a pulse. It was strong and bounding. The victim coughed and looked around, then he tried to sit up. But the safety straps stopped him.



“Where am I?” he asked.



“Hey!” the RN yelped. “Where’s the blood?”





===========================================================





Lorne was unlocking the Jeep and trying to steady Tara at the same time. Buffy was carrying Angel and complaining about being the Chosen Beast of Burden as the group headed to the Jeep. The vampire moved in her arms as the warm blood finally seemed to work. Buffy propped him up against the fender and let Cordelia steady him. Angel looked up at Cordelia and touched her face. Tara looked on and smiled where she leaned on the car.



“What did I miss?” he asked.







===========================================================





“Well that was…interesting but kind of pointless,” Elizabeth said with puzzled tone.



PEBBLES SEEM POINTLESS AS WELL, UNTIL THEY START AN AVALANCHE THAT SWEEPS AWAY EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH.











Edited by: jixer at: 7/29/04 11:34 am
jixer
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby russ » Thu Jul 29, 2004 8:30 pm

You've been busy lately, Jixer. What a substantial update.



It's good to see Gunn getting a bit of his big city arrogance knocked out of him; first by the Slayer, then being shown up by Xander & Anya in the ongoing Sunnydale battles.



Tara's singing would cure the spiritual ills of the world, could they but hear her. Having her sing a lullaby would have the relaxing effect of an hour of yoga, compressed into a couple of minutes. I wonder what Lorne saw when she sang?



I'm really impressed with Willow's progress; "an A student" indeed. She's grown to understand what magic is, and keeps herself in balance. I almost feel sorry for the Bride of Apep; she keeps throwing her power at our heroines, and they easily defeat it. To add insult to injury, they laught at her efforts. ("The devil, the proud spirit, cannot bear to be mocked" -- Thomas More.)



Now, with one night's work, Angel is rescued, Cordy returned and the two reunited, the meddling PTB removed along with their ancient enemy, and W&H blown up. Elizabeth thinks all this is "kind of pointless" -- what does it take to impress her? If those are the pebbles, I can't wait to see the avalanche.



Great work.



Russ



russ
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby CaptMurdock » Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:09 am

The image of EEEVIL Tara...priceless! And hilarious.



I just caught up with this, and stand amazed.

_________________



"Many such journeys are possible. Let me be your gateway."

CaptMurdock
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby jixer » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:13 pm

Hello Kittens-



I fear Real Life has escaped and is stalking me even as I post. How fortunate to have Kitten feedback in this dark time!



russ- To me Gunn is one of the great near misses of Angel. There were flashes, but in the end I just wanted to have him tossed about a bit. Talk about wish fulfillment!



Whatever Lorne saw he hasn't said, and probably won't. He certainly did truly listen though, and is to be envied a little bit I think.



Willow's growth is partly her own bright, always thinking self and partly lessons learned from Tara only now becoming clear. Balance gained, she will be more stable than before. It is Tara's balance that makes the Bride of Apep's efforts seem silly, a sort of magical aikido if you will where the defender's balance unmakes the attack.



And I must add that I am happily impressed by the wonderful quote from More. It captures the moment wonderfully!



CaptMurdock- Welcome aboard for the ride! I've been thinking about EEEVIL Tara for a while, sometimes seriously and sometimes not. Unfortunately now that I've used this version the other one is bothering me for a fic of its own.



Good luck with your computer, and I wish your laptop a quick recovery.





Thanbk you all for your time with my story,



Jixer





jixer
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby BurningWhiteRose » Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:26 pm

Oi....



Confusing...but then again, what do I know?



Lovin it...Though...



Who's Elizabeth again?



Muddled,

:flower BWR

***

If homosexuals dont reproduce, why are there so many of them?-Jim David

BurningWhiteRose
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby jixer » Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:39 pm

Hello Kittens-



A day off with Kitten feedback-life is good!



BurningWhiteRose- Sorry about the wide ranging plot there. Angel's own version of Season Sux were most of the references for the LA scenes. Another ME product I gave up on. Wolfram and Hart were really Angel's adversaries, but they were so much more satisfying as villians so I ran them up against the Scoobies. Since I borrowed them I thought it was only fair to clean up Angel a bit as well, and it leads to other things too.



Thank you for your patience,



Jixer







jixer
 


Re: Chapter 21b

Postby mollyig » Wed Aug 04, 2004 5:27 am

As usual the action sequences were fast paced and exciting, and the interespersed humour really effective.



One line I especially liked in the story - I’m Tara-less, so there’s a limit on my okay factor



Sorry for such a short response, but I'm supposed to be catching up on two weeks worth of work.


Sheacht mh'anam déag do bhéal, do mhalaí's do ghrua

mollyig
 


Re: The Instruments Available Season 6 by Jixer

Postby jixer » Fri Aug 13, 2004 1:11 pm

Hello Kittens-



The fanfic writer

Who is late with his response

Hangs his head in shame





mollyig- My thanks for taking time out from the two weeks of work for my story!



:buried



Good luck!



Jixer

jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Season 6 by Jixer

Postby justin » Fri Aug 13, 2004 2:09 pm

Quote:
The fanfic writer

Who is late with his response

Hangs his head in shame




The fanfic reader

who's not commented in ages

Joins him in his shame :blush



I've been very much enjoying this story :applause



I think Elizabeth's being a bit dismissive saying it's all pointless. Though being from the future maybe she knows something that we don't



I'm not sure I like the sound of this avelanche.



So who's talking to? The way he/she talks in block capitals keeps making me think of Death.



looking forward to :read more



"VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised! - The Parrot Sketch

justin
 


Re: The Instruments Available Season 6 by Jixer

Postby jixer » Sat Aug 14, 2004 4:40 pm

Hello Kittens-



Thank your for your feedback fellow poet justin!



Elizabeth is suffereing from 'of course' syndrome. 'Of course' there would be a totally free system called the Internet, 'of course' the Japanese would be stopped before they invaded Australia, and 'of course' my parents would have me. It happens to just about everybody. Ten thousand chances taken or not, but the end result will always be the next generation's 'of course'.



And boy does it make the previous generation shake their heads and mutter about 'kids these days'.





Jixer

jixer
 


The Instruments Available Chapter 22

Postby jixer » Fri Aug 27, 2004 1:16 am









Chapter 22

Turning Towards Home














Elizabeth moved forward. She didn’t ask how. She looked at one of the lights that was less bright. It’s sullen color and hint of wrongness made her look.





===========================================================





Godfrey Somerset was watching everything he owned burn in flames of white fire. In spite of all the noise he heard a phone ringing in his bedroom. Godfrey Somerset’s bedside phone only rang when a certain number called. He leapt into the flames and found they were as hot as they looked. He screamed in agony but he continued - he had to reach the phone…



Godfrey Somerset woke up to the insistent ringing by his bedside. He was covered with sweat as he grabbed the handset.



“Hello?” he said shakily.



“Sir, there’s a partner’s only emergency meeting at the club in two hours,” Saunders said in a detached, shocked voice.



“What?” Somerset demanded. “What do the senior partners want?”



“We don’t know sir,” Saunders said with a small quaver in his voice. “They seem to have disappeared, along with the top two floors of every one of our buildings.”





===========================================================





“I don’t think we can teach her much more,” Amelia said sipping her tea.



“It’s been all of nine days,” Rita said with a grimace.



“She’s bright,” Amelia said gently. “She’s been learning from her Tara without realizing it. She has the basics now and knows the dangers. After that it’s on the job training.”



“I know,” Rita said levelly. “She’s the fastest student we’ve ever had. But magic’s changed now. Burn a sprig of holly to Thespia now and you’ll just cough.”



“I never held with invoking anyway,” Amelia said primly. “Too easy to get something you weren’t looking for and get bashed about or worse. Magic users will have to think now.”



Rita sighed and looked out the window. Willow was sitting on the back lawn and smiling as she touched the earth. Rita knew that smile. She turned back to her old friend.



“Might as well bring the other one here,” Rita said with a sigh. “She’s reading her through the earth.”



“Amazing girl,” Amelia said with a small chuckle. “Most of your power users would never think of using the hedge witch path.”



“Things are changing,” Rita said sadly.



“They always are lass,” Amelia said with a distant grin.





===========================================================





Somerset and the rest of the New York partners clustered around the table in the back room of the most exclusive country club in the tri-state area. They listened in shock to the report from London on the speaker phone.



“What does it mean?” a voice from Los Angeles asked.



“It means you need new senior partners,” a pleasant voice said. “Or rather, a new senior partner.”



Somerset and the rest looked up to see a handsome man step through the door of the room without opening it.



“Besides, Apep and his merry band were going to do me a favor,” he said with just the barest hint of menace. “Now I’ve got dozens of possible enemies and no one to sacrifice them to me.”



“We have a visitor here,” the London office said.



“Here too,” LA replied.



“I assume we all do,” Somerset said levelly. “Very well done, on an ethereal level. How about the more concrete aspects of partnership?”



“There you have me,” the man replied. “But I find my way around it.” He turned into a beautiful woman that Somerset had lusted after for years. “I just have to find the right way to ask.”



“What do we call you?” the Paris office asked.



“So many possibilities,” the man sighed. Briefly he turned into Patrick McGoohan. “Number One perhaps? Sorry,” he said returning to his original form. “I loved that show. No, I think my oldest name will work. I am the First.”



“The First what?” a voice in every office asked at roughly the same time.



The room became pitch black except for the faint red slits where the First had been. Then the eyes became too many blood red orbs in the darkness.



“Do you really want to know?” came from each orb.



“What do we get out of it?” Somerset asked calmly.



“You become my court after I am released,” the First said amiably as the lights returned to normal.



“And what do we have to do?” the Cairo office grumbled.



“Track down my enemies,” the First said mildly. “Oh, and help further the interests of education in a certain California town.”



Somerset felt the moments lengthen. Everyone was looking at their neighbors and the being that seemed to be able to be everywhere at least in a visible form. Somerset thought about the cases he had on his calendar and knew he could lose everyone of them without the more outré resources of his firm. He leaned forward.



“We’re lawyers,” he said easily. “Let’s talk.”





===========================================================





Tara fidgeted as she waited in LAX for her flight. She opened her new leather travel wallet just a bit to make sure her passport and tickets were still there. She touched the blue passport and smiled softly.



“Two minutes and fifty one seconds,” Buffy said lazily.



“What?” Tara asked quickly putting away the wallet.



“Since the last time you checked,” Buffy explained. She smiled as Tara blushed.



“I’m just so glad the coven decided to ask me over early,” Tara said smiling.



“Yeah,” Buffy agreed. “I’d hate to think of the damage you’d do to the bed after a month away from Willow. A week is going to be bad enough.”



“I’d suggest that you set the mattress on the floor,” Anya said helpfully. “Some of those old English beds might cave in given the frantic nature of the sex you’ll be having.”



“Safety first,” Buffy said brightly.



“Exactly!” Anya agreed.



“We will not be having frantic sex!” Tara said finally finding her voice.



“A bit louder, they didn’t hear you in the next terminal,” Xander said arriving with coffee. “Remember, it’s not nice to torment the desperate.”



“I was giving good safety tips,” Anya protested.



“I was tormenting the desperate,” Buffy admitted cheerfully.



“I’ll be hiding under this seat until they call my flight,” Tara said blushing. She looked at Buffy with a rueful smile. “You really are evil.”



“I hope there’s not too much delay,” Anya said looking at the departure board. “Clarice seems to have an okay grasp of business but her husband is too much like Giles.”



“Are you sure you’re going to be okay working with Clarice and Harold?” Tara asked worriedly.



“I think that makes an even dozen times you’ve asked that in the last twenty four hours,” Xander said gently. “We’ll be fine.”



“I had no idea I was so carefully observed,” Tara said. “Do you want me to wear a radio tracking collar too?”



“Only if it gets video too!” Xander replied with a grin even as he ducked from the anticipated (and realized) backhands from both Buffy and his wife.





===========================================================





“I don’t believe he really said that!” Elizabeth gasped.



I CAN, the voice replied.



Elizabeth looked back at the passing stream of miniature stars. One stood out like a beacon.



NOT THAT ONE, LIZ! The voice said hurriedly.



“Why not?” Elizabeth asked.



LET’S JUST SAY TARA SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ANYA’S ADVICE AND LEAVE IT AT THAT, OKAY?



“Oh,” Elizabeth said with a faint blush. “Was it a brass bed?”



YES



“That explains why they look sheepish when ever one shows up on TV,” Elizabeth said with a grin.





===========================================================





Buffy stood up and stretched as she went to answer the doorbell. She looked out and saw Xander looking pensively at something in his hands.



“What have you got?” Buffy asked opening the door.



“I, ah-here,” Xander said handing her several papers. Buffy looked at the first one.



“You’re invited to bid on a construction job?” Buffy asked brightly. “Xan, that’s fantastic!”



“Look at the address,” Xander said reservedly.



“It’s…it’s familiar,” Buffy said in a puzzled voice.



“You graduated from there,” Xander replied.



“What?” Buffy said in a shocked voice. She looked down at the rest of the papers. “A new high school over the Hellmouth?”



“And they came to me for part of the job,” Xander said tiredly.



“You’re a great carpenter,” Buffy said. “And you were an assistant foreman.”



“I haven’t opened the business cards all of you got for me,” Xander said. “But I got this in the mail today. And not at the Post Office Box.”



“Oh,” Buffy said softly.



“They’re hiring nearly everybody in town,” Xander went on. “Look at the completion date.”



“September?” Buffy looked at Xander. “Is it possible?”



“Theoretically,” Xander explained. “If you’re spending the kind of money they are.”



“Who is ‘they’?” Buffy said carefully.



“An unknown philanthropist who wants the school done in time for the new school year,” Xander explained. “Too much of this didn’t add up. So I figured there’s a new big bad on the horizon.”



“I think its time to ask my tutor for some help,” Buffy said quietly.



“How’s that going?” Xander asked.



“I can apply some of the credits from college and cram for the rest,” Buffy said with a small smile. “I’d be eligible to apply in September.”



“Officer Buffy,” Xander said with a small smile. “What do we do?”



“Ask for help,” Buffy said thoughtfully.





===========================================================





Thumb-banger: Hi

RedWitch970: Hi back

Thumb-banger: How r u?

RedWitch970: Fine. How are you?

Thumb-banger: Ooky

Thumb-banger: That’s OK.

RedWitch970: Is the keyboard being especially mean?

Thumb-banger: Yes

RedWitch970: How is Blonde Bopper?

Thumb-banger: Ooky

Thumb-banger: Sorry

RedWitch970: I got it. I can decipher Xander speak

Thumb-banger: I’m glad some one can decode me

RedWitch970: T says hi

Thumb-banger: Hi T. Just checking up on things. I’ve got to get going Will.

RedWitch970: How late are you?

Thumb-banger: 2 hours. Long story

RedWitch970: Go home, Xan!!!!

Thumb-banger: Going bye

RedWitch970: Bye



“What is it?” Tara asked.



“Something’s going on in Sunnydale,” Willow said worriedly. “I’m going to bring up the secure phone program.”



“On the computer?” Tara asked.



“Yeah,” Dawn answered.



“In twenty minutes they’re going to call here,” Willow explained.



“How do you know that?” Tara asked.



“Xander used our old Computer Basics class communication code,” Willow replied.



“Buffy told me about that,” Dawn said. “You three would gossip by computer during class.”



“It wasn’t gossip!” Willow insisted. “It was, um, stuff. Important stuff.”



“Xander is going to do this computer thing?” Tara asked worriedly.



“I set it up on his computer,” Willow said reassuringly. “All he has to do is launch it.”





===========================================================





“Most ingenious,” Harold said looking at the computer screen. “Where do you put the handset?”



“You speak into the mike,” Anya said pointing at the device on top of the computer.



“And we hear you in England,” Willow’s voice replied. “Hi guys.”



“Hey Will,” Xander said with a relieved smile. “It worked.”



“I set it up,” Willow said proudly.



“You also set up Doom,” Xander replied with a smirk.



“That was user error!” Willow insisted.



“Hi guys,” Tara said softly. “What’s up?”



“I got a bid solicitation,” Xander said hesitantly. “Without being listed.”



“Maybe somebody told the bidders how good you are,” Tara suggested.



“That’s what I thought,” Anya said. “But the contract doesn’t feel right. It’s on the wrong stock and there’s places where the typeface seem to be off.”



“And the big worry is it’s for the high school,” Buffy pointed out. “Right back over the Hellmouth.”



“They want it done in time for school to start,” Xander interjected. “The contract keeps harping on September.”



“When?” Tara asked suddenly.



“By the twenty first,” Clarice said looking at the contract in her hands.



“The Autumnal Equinox is the twenty second,” Tara said distantly.



“The darkness grows longer,” Harold said as if quoting.



“Very big day for magic,” Willow said in a worried tone. “What about the contract?”



“I don’t see anything here,” Clarice said looking at the document.



“Wait a minute,” Willow said thousands of miles away. “Who would usually be reading this contract if we were looking for a magic loophole?”



“You,” Xander replied instantly.



“Well, since Clarice and I share a pair of X chromosomes,” Willow said thinking out loud. “And the other person who would look at it would be Tara who has the same pair of X chromosomes, thank goodness, so let’s give it to our Y guy.”



“Here,” Clarice said handing over the contract. “By the by, I like your Y.”



“I’m writing that one down,” Anya said grabbing a pen.



“Thank you, my love,” Harold said kissing his wife. “Let’s see-yowch!”



“What happened?” Willow and Tara called out in England.



“Bloody great blue spark,” Harold said crossly. “It seems our contract doesn’t want to be read by a male with magic.”



“Some of the words moved,” Xander said. “Just for a second.”



“I didn’t see that,” Buffy said with a frown. “Oh, girl eyes. Right.”



“Okay,” Willow said thoughtfully. “Xan, is it a good contract?”



“Well, I’m still learning the costing and scheduling part of the business but it appears otherwise pretty good, if you don’t look at the magic sparks and words,” Xander said thoughtfully.



“And we could use somebody on the inside,” Buffy mused.



“Who would be protected,” Anya said meeting Buffy’s eyes. “What did the Chief say?”



“Hernandez got stonewalled at Sunnydale City Hall,” Buffy replied. “But he called a friend at the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. Turns out the non-profit company funding this was just started a couple of days ago. One of the people on the company’s board of directors made the DA see red. Her name is Lilah Morgan. She works for Wolfram and Hart.”



“The law firm?” Tara asked. “The bad one?”



“Yeah,” Buffy answered.



“So we’re not looking at civic minded philanthropists,” Xander said tiredly.



“Xan, are you up to this?” Willow asked.



Buffy saw Xander take Anya’s hand. To the Slayer the ring on his hand seemed to glow for a second as it touched Anya’s.



“It’s okay to say no,” Buffy heard herself say out loud.



“Are you going to be there with us?” Xander asked.



“Yes,” Buffy said softly.



“Every step of the way,” Willow added.



“Maybe, um, by long distance, you know, for the first steps,” Tara pointed out.



“Okay, what do we do?” Xander asked calmly.



“We don’t wait,” Buffy said firmly. “We look like we’re oblivious but we get ready to stop this whoever it is at least two weeks before the equinox. Earlier if we get a chance.”



“Good,” Anya said. “Then I can concentrate on our new business model in the fourth quarter.”



“What do you need us to do?” Willow asked.



“Will, can we do something about the contract?” Buffy asked.



“We’re going to need a Kinko’s,” Willow said half a world away.





===========================================================





“Here,” a burly electrician said handing the harried looking man in the expensive suit a contract.



“Here’s mine,” another builder said as they seemed to suddenly surround the suit.



“C’mon, c’mon,” a woman in a T-shirt that said ‘Wanda’s Wonder Welding’ said impatiently. “We’re burning daylight.”



Form after form filled the suited man’s hands. He kept looking for the young carpenter his boss had mentioned but in the sea of coveralls and hardhats everyone seemed to be the same.



“Where’s the architect?” the young man he was waiting for asked. The man frowned. He didn’t remember Harris handing in his contract in the frenzy. The suit decided not to worry about it. The clerks could check the signatures later.



“Right over there, Mr. Harris,” the suit replied. “Come with me, everyone.”



As he led them off Wanda slowed down and looked at Xander.



“You know this weasel?” she asked quietly.



“Nope,” Xander replied with a small grin.



“Just why did I hand in your contract and you hand in mine?” she asked. “I mean the mob scene was kind of fun, but was it worth breakfast for everybody?”



“Gets the job off to a good start,” Xander said with a real smile.





===========================================================





Elizabeth saw the lights pick up speed ever so slightly.





===========================================================





“I don’t like them,” Buffy said flatly.



“I don’t care if you like them,” Hernandez said firmly. “You’re learning to shoot.”



“Fine,” Buffy said crossly. “But do I have to wear the ear muffs?”



“Yes!”



“Even if I bought these cute bright colored-”



“Wear those too under the muffs.”



“This is going to look so lame,” Buffy muttered.





===========================================================





Willow and Tara were back to back, with Dawn between them holding a box that rippled with magic. A gargoyle flew at them, low and fast. On the opposite side a veiled man with a sword rushed forward. A plastic chair flew into the legs of the swordsman as the gargoyle fell out of the sky and bounced.



“Yes!” Dawn hissed as she opened the lid. A bright flare of light shot straight up into the blue Devon sky.



“Well, that was embarrassing,” the gargoyle said brushing himself off. “Sorry about the lawn.”



“Quite all right, Timothy” Rita said politely. “Lemonade?”



“Thank you,” the gargoyle said. The swordsman finally got disentangled from the chair.



“That was cheating,” he said primly taking off his fencing mask and revealing a teenager a year younger than Dawn.



“You were an attacker,” Willow countered. “There is no cheating in a real fight.”



“She beat you, Robert,” Amelia said from the shade of a tree. “The salle is not the real world.”



“Gram, I thought you were supposed to be on my side,” Robert complained.



“Now, which one of you cast the protective spell on Dawn?”



“I did,” Tara replied. “The original one. Willow added the redirection part.”



“It responds to the level of power near Dawn,” Willow explained. “How much power did it redirect?”



“Topped out at twelve kilowatts,” Rita said with a frown. “Batteries must be low.”



“How much is twelve kilowatts?” Dawn asked with a frown.



“Depends on the application,” Willow said looking at Rita. “I’m sure it was done in a safe way.”



“Got it!” Robert shouted grabbing the box from Dawn. “No one said the fight was over!”



There was a loud snap and Robert jerked. His spasm tossed the box into the air where it floated gently to the ground. The boy flexed his hands and fingers still in their fencing gloves. He glared at his grandmother.



“Sorry!” Amelia said quickly. “I forgot to disable the grandchild spell.”



“Just what do you usually keep in that box?” Robert asked.



“Mementos,” Amelia said with a smile. “Special ones.”





===========================================================





“Hello Spike,” a voice rasped.



A trio of shadows circled the former vampire. With his human senses he could barely catch their scent. The voice though triggered memories of Angelus and Darla hurrying fearfully away from an ancient pile of stone in the sewers of Vienna in the days following the Anschluss.



“How can you stand that heartbeat?” the voice asked.



“It’s got a rhythm you just can’t beat,” Spike said pulling out his lighter. In the flare of the light the forms winced but held their ground. Spike lit the cigarette but did not inhale. “What are you lot doing in this one horse town?”



“We have an offer, human,” the true vampire sneered.



“I’m listening,” Spike said with a shrug.





===========================================================





The lights began to speed up. Elizabeth hesitated at one light.





===========================================================





“I’m glad you’re keeping her in shape,” Giles said with a small smile.



“I don’t want to get on the wrong side of the witches, that’s all,” Buffy insisted as she teased the end of the peacock feather over Miss Kitty’s back. The small black and white cat exploded upward before Buffy could pull the feather away. The Slayer and her opponent went at it for minutes before Miss Kitty stopped and began to wash. Buffy leaned back in the chair. With a leap Miss Kitty claimed her lap.



“Only until patrol,” Buffy warned as she rubbed the cat behind the ears.





===========================================================





“They miss her,” Elizabeth sighed. “So do I.”



MISS KITTY’S FINE.



“Good.”





===========================================================





“Is that what we’re looking for?” Anya asked holding up a book.



“Yes, the truest expression of pure vampirism,” Giles said thoughtfully. “These are what the vampires looked like before they had to come into this world through a human’s corpse.”



“They call themselves Uber vampires,” Spike said with a snort. “They were mixed up with a very Uber crowd.”



“One that lasted twelve years?” Giles asked.



“Yeah,” Spike grinned. “These twits never got over being used by a bunch of humans crazier than they were.”



“They look like bad copies of the orcs from Lord Of The Rings,” Buffy said with a moue of distaste. “Now those were scary.”



“Perhaps evil didn’t have as big a budget,” Giles said dryly.





===========================================================







“Tara, you have a visitor,” Rita said from the door of the cottage.



Tara put down her book of herbal remedies and came to the door. A hint of close familiarity touched her just before she reached it and she recognized the feeling.



“Hello Wes,” Tara said gently.



“Hello,” Wesley said with a wan smile. “I’m terribly sorry, but I need your help.”





===========================================================





“Welcome,” Quentin Travers said politely. “How can I help two of Sunnydale’s most powerful witches?”



“I have to say that’s a nicer greeting than I thought we were going to get,” Willow said sitting down in the leather club chair.



“Things have changed,” Travers said with a thin smile.



“Lots of spells failing recently?” Tara asked carefully.



“Prophecies going blank?” Willow wondered.



“Both, and more,” Travers said leaning forward. “Over five thousand volumes in our library have become old to very ancient examples of blank writing surfaces.”



“That’s horrible!” Willow said at the thought of five thousand suddenly empty books.



“We did find one prophecy that survived,” Travers said. “Very old and rather succinct. Would you like to see it?”



“Yes!” Willow said instantly. “I mean, ah, if it’s not too much trouble.”



“Not at all,” Travers said. “This way.”



The witches followed him out of the office and down the corridor. Several yards into the journey Travers pointed to a window.



“Late fifteenth century,” he said proudly. “Miss Maclay, I believe you might find some of the architectural features of this drafty old place rather interesting.”



“I’d like to return when I have time to study them,” Tara said politely.



“All right, listen carefully!” Travers said suddenly whispering. “This is the only place we can talk. I’m going to be put out to pasture at the meeting next week. I know what you want, and despite my, well my problems with Giles and his Slayer I think it is for the best. Others on the Council disagree strongly.”



“Why the sudden helpfulness?” Willow asked carefully.



“You’ll see,” Travers said darkly. Then he pointed to a sconce in the room they were entering. “Those sconces, for instance are early Victorian attempts to match the recurring themes in the other rooms.”



“I see what you mean about interesting,” Tara said looking at the sconces thoughtfully. “I’m definitely coming back.”



“Now unfortunately we come to the cold hard twenty-first century,” Travers said stopping at a metal door. “Controlled environment.”



“For preserving the books?” Willow asked as the door opened and she felt the dry air on her face.



“Possibly a few of the librarians as well,” Travers said with a brief smile. “Ah, Miss Braithwaite. Please bring us the Scroll of St. Pandwyna.”



Tara blinked a couple of times as the blonde, who showed no signs of needing preserving, smiled at her and walked away in a most active manner. She returned with an illuminated sheet of vellum and placed it in front of Tara.



“It’s a very fine example of the illustrated manuscript from the tenth century,” Miss Braithwaite said in a musical alto as she leaned just so over the manuscript. “The curve of the letters is especially eye catching.”



“A-hem!” Willow coughed dryly. Tara blushed.



“It’s, um, very well preserved,” Tara said quickly.



“Not a lot of call for it,” Travers said. “It was found in a rather frantic search through some of the older books. I believe it had been used as a book mark in the late eighteenth century.”



“In the time of the end of the menace of the night there shall be two-” Tara said as she translated the Latin. She frowned. “Warriors?”



“The Latin is actually killers or Slayers,” Travers pointed out.



“Oh,” Tara said. “I should have guessed that.”



“Instead of one,” Willow said taking up the translation. “They shall battle the father of the vile ones in a sun dappled dale in a far land. Their lieges will beset and betray them and their teachers.”



“I can see why this might be…troubling,” Tara said carefully.



“Quite,” Travers agreed dryly.





===========================================================





“Are you sure you want to do this?” Willow asked as they stopped in front of a house just outside Cambridge.



“More like I have to,” Tara said unhappily. “You don’t have to come.”



“I know,” Willow said. “This is about that spell you did in LA. I’ve got your back. At least for now, cause I want your front and both sides later.”



“I love you, you oversexed redhead.”



With that Tara kissed Willow. Then she left the comforting closeness of the car and walked up to the picturesque house. Tara knocked on the door with what she hoped was a confident sounding knock. A few seconds later Roger Pryce opened the door. Tara’s first impression was how much he had aged, then she realized it was more a matter of how long it had been since Wesley had seen his father.



“Yes?” Roger said with a glare.



“I’m Tara Maclay,” Tara said evenly. “I’m a friend of your son’s.”



“I’ll get Terrence,” he said.



“I meant Wesley,” Tara said tersely.



“Then I must ask you to leave,” Roger said bitterly. “Neither he nor his friends are welcome here.”



“Sir-”



“Not another word!” Roger barked.



“Hold!” Tara snapped. Roger froze in place. Tara pushed her face up to his across the threshold. “You get several more words, you cold hearted son of a bitch! Your son still loves you, though for God’s sake I can’t tell why, you miserable piece of shit. He’s done more than you ever will with your useless fucking Council of Watchers. But I have to say the worst mistakes he’s made can be laid at this doorstep. I’d suggest talking to and not at your son before he does something stupid and heroic and gets himself killed.”



“You’re Summers’ witch!” Roger panted as Tara released him.



Tara felt a moment of fear and a strong projection of a house on a deserted farm in Yorkshire. Tara held her face rigid as she walked away.



Willow saw the look on her lover’s face and saw the door slam behind Tara. Willow reached out and took Tara’s hand just as her lover offered it. They hugged briefly and Willow could feel Tara’s tension. They hurried into the car. Tara was silent as they drove away, Willow managing to remember to drive on what was to her the wrong side of the road. Tara looked at her at the first stop sign.



“I’ve got to call Giles,” she said urgently. “Something’s wrong.”



“What kind of wrong?” Willow asked worriedly.



“Something to do with Buffy,” Tara replied. “I don’t know what.”





===========================================================





Elizabeth felt the space around her tremble and the lights went out. She held her breath and felt her heart race in the utter darkness. Suddenly the lights reappeared.



YOU DON’T KNOW THIS PART.



Elizabeth could feel the pain and anger in the voice.



“Are you okay?” she asked.



NOT HERE. I’M NEVER OKAY HERE.



“Is there anything I can do?” Elizabeth asked earnestly.



LET’S GET YOU HOME the voice said with a forced easiness.



Elizabeth noticed the lights seemed to be missing in a roughly human shaped area. She made a point to concentrate on a light nearby and let her guide have a moment alone.





===========================================================





“You can’t win,” he said with a beautiful smile.



“Wanna bet?” Buffy replied with a grin.




Miss Kitty yawned when Buffy moved in her sleep, pulling on the blanket and waking the cat. The cat saw the smile on the human’s face and knew that was a good sign. She stretched, yawned again and closed her eyes as she started to purr softly.











jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 22

Postby mollyig » Fri Aug 27, 2004 3:52 am

The coven seem impressed with what Willow has learned in such a short space of time. I'm sure Tara wouldn't be surprised, after all she knows Willow is the brainy type!



So there's a rush job on to get the new high school completed by a certain deadline. That can mean only trouble.



There seem to be a lot more scenes with Elizabeth in them, from which we have learned a bit more about her.




Sheacht mh'anam déag do bhéal, do mhalaí's do ghrua

mollyig
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 22

Postby justin » Fri Aug 27, 2004 6:57 am

That was a great update :applause



So Wolfram and hart are looking for a new senior partner. The first evil is certainly the logical choice (well aside from Bill Gates ;) )



Does the fact the first asked to be called number one mean that it's a fan of the Prisoner? If so then I guess that it isn't totally evil :)



Looking forward to :read more



"VOOM"?!? Mate, this bird wouldn't "voom" if you put four million volts through it! 'E's bleedin' demised! - The Parrot Sketch

justin
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 22

Postby WiccanSpud » Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:25 pm

man! i've missed this fic! fantastic update as always... i can't get over how mature and responsible the scoobies are being. Wow! they're not miserable and it's still a great story! The-dumbass-who-shall-not-be-named can certainly learn a few things...



Quote:
Elizabeth looked back at the passing stream of miniature stars. One stood out like a beacon.



NOT THAT ONE, LIZ! The voice said hurriedly.



“Why not?” Elizabeth asked.



LET’S JUST SAY TARA SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ANYA’S ADVICE AND LEAVE IT AT THAT, OKAY?



“Oh,” Elizabeth said with a faint blush. “Was it a brass bed?”



YES



“That explains why they look sheepish when ever one shows up on TV,” Elizabeth said with a grin.






wait wait wait! i REALLY REALLY wanna see that star!



-spud

“If you kiss my girl I’ll rip your lips off,” Willow said sweetly. “In a precise, methodical manner. Then I’ll tell Anya why you’re lipless.”

“Welcome back,” Xander grinned.
-Instruments Available Season 6 by Jixer

WiccanSpud
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 22

Postby jixer » Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:23 am

Hello Kittens-



After a day of running around it's so nice to sit and be quite in the early morning hours with Kitten feedback to read. Thank you everyone!





Mollyig- Tara might never be surprised by Willow's smarts, but impressed and thankful are sure things.



Elizabeth will come more into focus as the story enters into it's last chapters.



justin- I'm sure Wolfram and Hart already use MicroSquish products and probably don't make enough money to entice a Redmond based billionaire.



And who can resist a pennyfarthing bicycle and "Be seeing you"?



WiccanSpud- It is good to see the Warrior Tuber icon again! The truth is I found them in a 'make an offer bin' with some very insensitive and immature packaging but they looked at me with really sad eyes and I had to change things. So I took them and put them in a new package and the rest is history. It seems to happen a lot on this board.



Terribly sorry about the missed light but there are some things a young lady should not be privy to while strolling in a pseudo reality. It's too perilous (feel free to have a Monty Python and the Holy Grail flashback, I am).





Thank you all again,



Jixer













jixer
 


The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby jixer » Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:35 am







Chapter 23

Gathering Speed












Elizabeth was ignoring the man shaped dark patch in the lights. She concentrated on a nearby light as it slipped by.





===========================================================





Dawn settled back in her seat and looked at the in-flight magazine. She put it next to the pile of magazines she’d bought in Heathrow. She put on her earphones and reveled in being alone on an intercontinental flight. She glanced at her seatmate, a fifty year old woman who ran her own business in Cleveland.



Oh well, Dawn thought picking up the first magazine. It’s not like Justin Timberlake was going to take this flight I suppose. At least I have the window seat.





===========================================================





Faith looked at the bundle of clothes. She picked them up and ran her hands over them gently. The feel was so different from the prison uniform. She changed quickly and looked at herself in the cracked mirror. She brushed an errant lock away from her face. Then it was an eternity walking out through the maze of doors and gates. Finally the last one opened and she stepped out into the hot, dry California afternoon. She heard the door close behind her and felt a tear slip down past a smile she couldn’t hide. She saw a car door open and saw Wesley, or someone who might have been Wesley except for the eyes that seemed to look past her. Faith felt her stomach tighten.



“H-Hi,” she said hesitantly as images of Wes bleeding under her hand threatened to make her vomit.



“Hello Faith,” Wesley said politely. “You look pale. Let’s get you out of this heat.”



Faith climbed into the car and shivered as the air conditioning came on. She looked at Wes more closely and saw the red, angry wound on his neck. Wes glanced over and saw her looking at his neck.



“There’s a lot that’s happened since you were incarcerated,” Wesley said carefully. “Buckle up and I’ll tell you about it as we go.”



“Go where?” Faith asked carefully.



“To Los Angeles,” Wes replied.



“Does this have to do with Angel?” Faith asked quickly. “He didn’t come up last month. Is he in trouble?”



“It’s a very long story,” Wesley said with a sigh.





===========================================================





“So Travers helped get out Faith?” Elizabeth asked softly.



YES was the curt answer. Elizabeth waited, uncomfortably aware that the man shaped darkness in the lights had expanded. She was trying not to look when the lights stopped and dimmed to almost nothing.



DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?



“Only if you’ll share the hurt along with the knowledge,” the girl answered calmly.



Something between a sob and a sigh filled the space around her and the man shape blazed into light.





===========================================================





It had been a long day for Rupert Giles. Willow’s urgent request had cut short his excursion to Sunnydale to sign the lease for a new abode. Flying east for hours had a draining effect on the former librarian, and the fact that his seat’s music selection was stuck on the Top 40 channel didn’t help.





===========================================================





The sun was down but somehow the night seemed reluctant to begin. Willow didn’t hear any of the sounds she’d become used to in Devon. Next to her she could feel Tara’s unhappiness. She followed the feeling lightly and felt the emptiness of the deserted farm. Once it might have been home but in the darkness there was an unhappy melancholy echoing through the stones of the old buildings. Willow grasped Tara’s hand and held on reassuringly.



“Do you sense anything?” Giles asked quietly. He too seemed to feel the disquiet of the place.



The witches let their power flow together. Both felt the faintest stirrings of power in the house. Beyond that a small nest of harvest mice was near the house, their tiny life energy trails bright amongst the darkness.



“Nothing dangerous,” Willow said with a frown.



“There’s something there,” Tara said distantly. “It’s like I should know it.”



“Lets take a look, but be careful,” Giles said firmly.



The three got out of the car and slowly walked up to the ramshackle building. The door was locked but it didn’t seem to slow Giles down for more than a handful of seconds. Willow looked at him with a nervous grin.



“Did you have a sideline as a cat burglar?” she asked.



“Filching office supplies,” Giles admitted with a shrug. “Snyder was quite close with the budget when it came to the library.”



They moved inside and all of them shone their lights around the bare rooms. In the odd corners small scavengers had pulled out old food wrappers. Willow looked down and noticed that one of them looked very modern. She’d heard Amelia complaining about the new wrapper on her favorite chocolate bar.



“Somebody’s been here recently,” she said kneeling.



“Another classic swept away by some clever chap in marketing,” Giles sighed as he looked at the wrapper. There was a moment of silence.



“What did you say?” Tara said softly.



“I was complaining about our consumer society,” Giles said softly.



“You weren’t asking about your girls?” Tara asked.



“My girls?” a desperate male voice asked from far away. “Have you seen my girls? It’s getting dark and they’re still on the beach.”



Willow whirled and shone her light at the dim form that seemed to materialize in front of Tara. The figure faded where the light hit it. Willow’s breath froze in her throat as she felt Tara’s fright reverberate in her own heart. The man looked at Tara with a desperate intensity.



“I’ve got to find them!” he wailed. “Dawn is afraid of the dark and…”



“Buffy?” Willow squeaked.



“Buffy…Buffy doesn’t always keep an eye on her little sister,” the phantom said worriedly. He turned to the west. “They’re still on the beach. Dawn! Buffy…”



Willow tried to find her voice. When the specter had almost faded away she shouted “Hank! Hank Summers!”



The form rematerialized and stared at her. Willow could feel the depth of fear in those eyes. Distantly part of her wondered if her own parents could have felt the anguish the remnant of a man in front of her did.



“You’re Buffy’s friend,” he said with his frighteningly distant voice. “Have you seen her? Their mother is sick and I’ve got to…got to…Dawn! Buffy!”



With that he turned and walked away, disappearing completely. Willow felt her eyes burning with tears as she groped for Tara. They came together in a clumsy, desperate embrace and shook for what seemed to be a lifetime.



“A ghost,” Giles said in a ragged voice.



“What’s he doing here?” Willow asked, her mind latching onto the question as she felt her emotions steady. Willow didn’t see Tara next to her look at her and shake her head with a shaky smile. “I mean, well, shouldn’t a ghost be more logically located? And how did it happen? I mean if he’s a ghost, shouldn’t somebody have told us? How he died, I mean.”



“What does Roger Wyndam-Price have to do with this?” Tara asked with a frown.



“I think this is a time when magic is very definitely appropriate,” Giles said grimly.





===========================================================





Elizabeth blinked at the images. She couldn’t find anything to say. The lights began to disappear in a cloud of sadness with rumblings of angry thunder. Without hesitating she remembered her mother’s touch when she was hurting and opened herself to the power around her. For a moment Elizabeth could almost feel the energy take a human form. She hugged that form gently. The clouds became silent and rolled back to reveal a single light.





===========================================================





It was early afternoon in the abandoned farmhouse. Amelia and Rita sipped tea from paper cups and watched as Willow and Tara finished the circle on the floor. Both girls were so intent they missed the quiet words between the older witches.



“Been years since I could bend like that,” Amelia sighed.



“Bending over isn’t the hard part,” Rita observed. “It’s the straightening up that gets me.”



“You’re not getting a ghosty feeling, are you?” Amelia asked.



“More like a psychic cramp,” Rita replied. “Feels like whatever this is, it’s in the wrong place.”



“A misfiled spirit,” Giles said quietly. Rita and Amelia looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Willow and Tara stood up.



“The circle looks well made,” Amelia said in her teaching voice. “Are you ready for this?”



“I don’t know,” Willow said honestly. “I was so close when all this happened.”



“It still hurts,” Tara said softly.



“I’m glad you asked for help then,” Rita said quietly. “Touching the realm of wandering spirits is dangerous when emotions are involved.”



“What do we do?” Tara asked.



“Willow, hold my hand,” Rita replied. “Tara, take Amelia’s. Now we step over the circle on the count of three.”



They did so and the circle began to glow with the faintest gleam. Giles took out a notebook and prepared to write down his observations and anything his friends could tell him. The four witches joined hands and bowed their heads.



“We pray that we may enter into this spell with the blessings of all the faces of the Light,” Rita intoned. There was a moment of silence and then Rita looked at Willow. “You’re the closest to this, so picture our gentleman and lead us.”



Willow had barely summoned her clearest recollection of Hank Summers when he was there in front of her. His desperation swamped her shields. She struggled to see past it. For an instant she felt the others rally to her. Suddenly in front of her eyes there was a scene lit by moonlight. In a house that overlooked the sea two people were arguing.



“I’ve got to go, Melanie!” Hank snapped. “She’s sick and my daughters need me.”



“So I was just some fling?” the dark haired girl in the short skirt snarled.



“No!” Hank replied urgently.



“Then stay here!” Melanie pleaded. “I need you.”



She pressed against him and loosened her top. Hank groaned.



“Please, don’t,” he said tiredly. “Try to understand. I have to go.”



The girl stomped her foot and strode out of the room. Hank began the long trip down the stairs to the car. Above the girl tore open an envelope and Willow saw the logo for Wolfram and Hart. The brunette took the sheet of paper inside.



“They said you’d ditch me, you weasel,” Melanie said angrily. “By Tyarva I curse thee!”






===========================================================





“Good Lord!” Elizabeth hissed. “I still can’t believe that’s how it was then.”



WHAT DO YOU MEAN?



“People just using magic without effort or logic,” Elizabeth explained. “Someone with no power of their own invoking Tyarva. Did just anybody invoke Powers they didn’t understand?”



LOOKING BACK IT SEEMS VERY STRANGE THAT SOMETHING AS POWERFUL AS MAGIC WAS COMPLETELY CHAOTIC AND UNORGANIZED, BUT THAT WAS THE WORLD THAT WAS



“I owe somebody more credit than I ever imagined,” the girl said softly.



I KNOW



Elizabeth did not respond to the smug if sad tone and returned her attention to the light.





===========================================================





The curse moved through ways of the world that Hank had never even suspected and pushed a stone onto the stairs. He began to fall, throwing up his hands.



Not now! flashed through his mind. I’ve got to get home to my girls!



Then Hank hit his head and blackness took him, the last thing he remembered was the scent of salt in the air and he remembered their last day at the beach.



The night was still. A pair of shadows slipped out of the darkness and resolved into two fit young men dressed all in unfashionable black in the weak light at the bottom of the steps. One knelt and slipped a hand to the dying man’s throat.



“Do you think this is what Roger meant by ‘a lever’ on the little bitch?” the man who was standing asked.



“Not if he doesn’t get to hospital,” the man kneeling at Hank’s side said crossly. “He’s no good to us dead.”



“Good thing I brought this along, then,” the standing man said pulling out a small and ancient book. “Isn’t it?”



“I don’t trust magic,” the kneeling man said.



“Well after that last fiasco Watcher special operatives went on someone wised up,” the man with the book said opening it.



“You’ve had all of six lessons,” his partner said worriedly.



“I know what I’m doing!” the would-be mage replied. “Now let me do my job. Apep hear me!”



Hank’s eyes opened as the spell of reanimation was spoken, ignorantly invoking the name of the ancient evil power. The scene shifted. Hank now shuffled through the remote farmhouse in Yorkshire. Roger Wyndam-Price visited and spoke with the men tending the shambling Hank.



“The rest of the Council still does not know of this,” he said to his hand picked men. “Once I remove Travers we will bring our wayward Slayer to heel.”



“What about her witches?” one of the tenders asked.



“If they break the evil spell then Summers will see her father die,” Roger explained with a small smile. “In her pain their friendship will shatter and we will fill that void.”



Then a stream of days with a wandering, anguished search that could never be fulfilled stretched by until the day came when they saw the man who’d cast the spell arrived.



“The Summers bitch is dead,” he said. “We don’t need creepy here anymore.”




“No!” Willow shouted. She reached for the figure of Hank Summers. The images shattered in a wave of blue light. The wave tossed the witches out of the circle. It crashed into the unseen barrier of the ward and shattered in a shower of sparks in a hundred hues of blue. For a long moment there was silence.



“I think we’ll take over now, Willow,” Amelia said sitting up with a wince.



“Emotions,” Willow said sheepishly.



“Quite,” Rita agreed.





===========================================================





In Sunnydale the curtain of Buffy’s room billowed briefly. She looked up and wondered why the house smelled old and shut in. A whisper of cold air swept across the room and was gone. Buffy headed down to Dawn’s room and looked in on her sister. Heading west for hours had thrown the teenager’s biological clock for a loop and the girl slept through her sister turning off the light and pulling up the blanket.





===========================================================





Elizabeth didn’t realize it but she held out her hand. She felt something warm and impossibly light settle into her grasp. She gave the gentlest squeeze she could and felt the gesture returned, an echo of touch. She looked back to the scene as it flared in front of her.





===========================================================





“We can’t settle him,” Rita said as sweat beaded on her face.



“He has to know they’re safe,” Amelia said. “Like I said half an hour ago.”



“We have to…we have to tell…” Willow couldn’t get the names out. Tara reached out and took her love’s hand.



“I’ll make the arrangements to get us home,” Giles said tiredly.





===========================================================





“Hurry up,” Anya said for the fourth time since they’d left the car in the maze of airport parking.



Xander didn’t answer her this time. He recognized his wife’s nervous preoccupation with time for what it was. Worry. Ever since Giles had called and asked for a list of things from the Magic Box coupled with the witches’ insistence the Summers sisters not meet them at the airport Anya had been on edge. Xander had his own worries that were gnawing at him. He touched the latest diagram in his pocket again, just to be sure.



“Oh dear,” Anya said softly. “That’s bad.”



“What’s wrong?” Xander asked.



“Look,” Anya said pointing at the luggage carousel. Xander looked at the three gathering their luggage from the endless belt. To him they seemed listless after their flight. Anya let out an exasperated sigh. “Willow and Tara are wearing sunglasses indoors. They never do that.”



“Will did a couple of times just after Tara left her,” Xander said softly. “I think you’re right.”



Tara looked their way first and Xander felt Anya’s concern in her intake of breath resound in his heart. The blue-eyed witch seemed to be hiding a new fragility behind her dark glasses. Willow had never been big and now she looked positively skinny. Xander had a brief flashback of a vision when he saw Giles’ tired face. Giles guiding a broken Willow onto a plane looking like he’d aged a decade in a day…



Xander blinked as Anya took Tara in a careful hug. “Welcome back,” Anya said with a gentle smile.



“Hi,” Xander said as he mirrored the gesture with Willow.



Xander could tell Giles was holding himself off from the reunion and he respected the Englishman’s reserve. Anya met Giles’ eyes and advanced. Xander saw the brief confrontation of wills and knew his wife would win. The older man’s faint smile of resignation turned into the real thing as Anya hugged him. Then she stepped back and looked at all of them.



“Let’s get you home and let you get some rest,” Anya said with a careful firmness.



“We can’t,” Willow said. “We have to talk to Buffy and Dawn.”



“After rest,” Anya replied levelly.



“Not until we say what we have to say,” Tara said flatly.



“That bad?” Xander asked looking carefully at his oldest friend.



“Yeah,” Willow answered. “And we’d like to have you both there for moral support.”



“Okay,” Xander said without hesitating. “Fill us in.”





===========================================================





“I can’t believe you expect me to wear this stuff,” Dawn complained as Buffy closed the Jeep’s tailgate behind them. “I mean most of this is ancient. It’s what was popular when you went to high school.”



“It’s just not made out of dinosaur hide,” Buffy replied.



“No,” Dawn agreed. “More woolly mammoth and saber-toothed tiger skins.”



“You have read the new school dress code, right?” Buffy asked.



“Those jeans weren’t too tight or too low,” Dawn replied. “And that cute blouse was just a bit snug and sheer.”



“It was so tight it could have come off ‘Stripper Barbie’,” Buffy said fumbling for her keys.



“Hey!” Dawn said looking past her sister. “Xander’s here and he’s got Willow and Tara. Hi guys!”



With that Dawn dropped her bags and leapt down the stairs to the new arrivals. Buffy looked at her for a second and saw both an impossibly young girl and a graceful young woman.



“Got to stay alive,” Buffy muttered picking up the bags. “She’s going to need every chaperone she can get.”



Buffy looked at Giles getting out of the vehicle with his precious guitar case he’d left in England and Buffy felt happier than she had in weeks. Then the Slayer looked at her friends and saw the tension in all of them. It seemed as if Willow and Tara’s hugs were protective, and Giles’ eyes were sad. Xander and Anya were holding back from Dawn’s enthusiastic greeting with a look that almost mirrored Giles’ expression.



Oh dear God, they’ve found something out about the Key, Buffy thought coldly.



Giles looked at Buffy. He picked up his bag and the cased guitar.



“Hi, world travelers,” Buffy said quickly. “I’ve got to get the school clothes put away.”





===========================================================





Willow watched her friend swirl quickly into the house. Avoidance, Willow thought. Buffy Tactic Number Three.



“What’s with her?” Dawn asked.



“Honey,” Tara said carefully. “We need to talk.”



“This isn’t going to be a nice talk is it?” Dawn asked as she lost her exuberance.



“No,” Tara replied honestly. Dawn just nodded and took one of the suitcases.



And there’s Dawn’s ‘I’m tough and silent and strong’ gambit, Willow sighed inwardly.



Willow followed Dawn inside and headed up the stairs. She dropped off her bags. She turned to Tara. “I need to talk to Buffy alone,” Willow said softly.



“I know,” Tara said reassuringly. “I’ll talk to Dawn.”



“Make sure Giles is with you,” Willow said.



“Good insight, tech girl,” Tara said with a small smile.



“Even a jock can find a right answer on a true or false test,” Willow said sagely.



They hugged and Tara headed downstairs to find Dawn. Willow headed for the teen’s room where she found Buffy diligently hanging up Dawn’s new clothes for school.



“Buffy,” Willow started.



“I’ve got to get these just right,” Buffy said brightly, not looking at her friend. “She’s got this system and everything has a place. Unless she’s in a hurry of course and then the floor’s her closet.” Buffy pulled down a white blouse on a cheap metal hanger. “You’d think somebody who wanted this cotton top so badly would put it on a decent hanger.”



“It’s not Dawn,” Willow said flatly. Buffy finally met Willow’s eyes with a relieved smile, but it faded quickly.



“What is it, Will?”



“I found out why your father didn’t come home,” Willow said more quickly than she wanted to.



Buffy sat on Dawn’s bed and folded her hands. She looked up at Willow. Has she always been so small? Willow wondered with a start.



“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Buffy asked in a small voice.



“That’s part of it,” Willow replied.





===========================================================





Willow followed Buffy down the stairs. She saw Dawn on the couch with Tara on one side of her with an arm around the slim girl’s shoulders. Next to Dawn was Giles and the teenager had one of hands in hers, her knuckles the color of old ivory as she gripped his hand. Willow watched as Buffy went to the couch and knelt in front of her sister. Both of them let go the tears they had been holding back and clutched each other. Willow could see Anya and Xander start forward and stop. They looked at her, their unease evident. Willow held out her hand and took Anya’s. The three of them stepped behind Buffy. For a long moment there was just the sounds of quiet sobbing in the living room.



“Should I get the stuff for the spell?” Anya finally asked.



“Um,” Tara said uncertainly.



“How tired are you?” Buffy said pulling gently away from Dawn.



“We’re fine?” Tara replied.



“No you’re not,” Dawn said levelly despite her brimming eyes. “I was totally wasted after the flight. You three need sleep.”



“You’re right,” Buffy said. Then she looked at Anya. “Thank you.”



“We’ll be here tomorrow,” Anya said. “Both of us.”



“Just tell us when,” Xander added.



“Will?” Buffy asked.



“About half an hour before sunset,” Willow said. “That feels right for the spell.”



“We’ll be here a bit early,” Anya said.



“What about patrol tonight?” Giles asked.



“I’ll take Harold and Clarice for a goodbye tour of Sunnydale’s best graveyards,” Buffy replied.





===========================================================





Buffy moved through the night, a vision of lethality and anger in a DKNY blouse under a new leather jacket. She leapt and cleared the tree in front of her and landed in the park. She’d been moving at nearly her best speed since she’d left the English mages at their hotel after a disappointing tally of three out of town vampires. Buffy listened to her heartbeat as she desperately tried to find one more target for her anger.



“Looking for a spot of trouble?” Spike asked as he lit his cigarette.



“Sure,” the Slayer replied. She leapt over his head and came down in front of one of the strong new vamps. She moved and the vamp turned into dust. Spike swallowed when he saw she didn’t have a stake. Buffy frowned.



“Their heads just come off,” she complained. “What fun is that?”



Spike looked at the small woman’s hands opening and closing into fists. He followed her gaze towards the construction site. Then the Slayer was gone with loping strides towards the work lights.



Find it, something whispered in Buffy’s mind as she let the ancient hunters fill her with strength. Fight it. Stop the pain inside.



She came to a stop in the harsh shadows of the lights. The calls and noises of the work filled the night and covered her growl. She picked up a pipe and crouched. Behind her a wheeze grew louder. She whirled and the growl became louder.



“Oh bloody hell,” Spike gasped. “Wait a minute, Slay…Buffy. Hold on.” Buffy lowered the length of pipe. “Dawn doesn’t need you in jail.”



Buffy closed her eyes. In her mind she heard the oldest Slayers clamoring for a quick clean battle that would end the loneliness. Buffy whirled and drove the pipe into the ground.



“I’m not alone,” Buffy said tightly. Then she turned and ran into the night. Spike watched her go. He reached for a cigarette, then stopped and put the pack away as the night swallowed Buffy’s lithe form.



“Lucky you,” he said softly.





===========================================================





“Honey, I’m here,” Willow said to the Tara sized lump next to her. “I’m just going downstairs.



“Uhh?”



“I’ll be back in a bit,” Willow whispered. “Listen for Dawn.”



“..kay..”



Willow went downstairs carefully and filled the tea kettle. She put it on the stove and took out some oatmeal-chocolate chip cookies from Dawn’s secret stash. She pulled the kettle off just before it began to whistle. The back door opened.



“You forgot your hat at the hotel,” Willow said in a quiet tone.



“Oh,” Buffy said just as softly.



“I put too many cookies out,” Willow pointed out as she sat at the small table in the kitchen.



“Sorry,” Buffy said as she sat gracelessly at the table. “Tea and cookies aren’t going to help.”



“How about tea and cookies and a best friend?”



Buffy looked down. After a moment she reached out and took a cookie.













Edited by: jixer at: 10/21/04 10:42 am
jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby russ » Thu Oct 21, 2004 7:04 pm

Hello, Jixer:



As a fellow pummellee, I can only say what a pleasure it is to see you back here again. Indeed, you've drawn me out of my recent lurkage with this amazing chapter.



You've boldly gone where (as far as I know) no writer has gone before. Hank Summers as victim, trying to do the right thing by his girls, and murdered by W&H. While ME ignored him, and fanfic writers who don't do the same generally revile him, you've given us a genuine human being; fallible and flawed, but trying to do the best he can. And now doomed to wander in fear and anguish, looking for his girls.



There are so many complications here, so many threads of plot still developing. I'm eager to see where it will all lead, and to get answers to the many questions floating about.



Many thanks,

Russ



When we love and give it everything we've got, no matter what the consequences, we are doing what we were put here to do -- Geneen Roth

russ
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby WintersDreamer » Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:56 pm

< Happy Muppet Dance>



It is so very good to see this update!

I strongly agree with Russ, you have made the "sterotypical" villain into a flawed but believable man.



It will be interesting to see exactly what you have planned for Buffy and the gang to do to W& H. You always manage to deliver the most fitting manner of revenge. ( i.e. curse of truth in "My claws are quick") :devil



Looking forward to any updates on any of your stories,



:read



Edited 'cause I can't spell :stink



Edited by: WintersDreamer at: 10/21/04 8:57 pm
WintersDreamer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby jixer » Fri Oct 22, 2004 3:58 pm

Hello Kittens-



It's a dark, dank day with a cold wind outside. Thank goodness! Now I have an excuse to stay inside, overload on coffee and respond to wonderful Kitten feedback.



russ- Thank you for breaking cover and sending your feedback! It occurred to me that since I was breaking with ME's view of so much of canon I should look at the things I'd taken for granted. One of those was Hank. I thought about it and almost at once a whole story line popped up and knew I had to include it. I'm glad Hank came across to you as genuine.



Now the hard part is going to get all of these strings back into a neat ball.



WintersDreamer- Thank you for the Terpsichoreal affirmation! I just couldn't get this image of Hank out of my head once I'd had it. It kind of drove me back to the keyboard. I'm glad it worked out in the story.



I don't know if revenge will surface but here at least people have made choices and there will be consequences. Just desserts-it's one of the joys of writing fiction.





And now I must go and pretend to be a responsible adult. Oh well.



Thank you everyone for taking time with my story,



Jixer





jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby behindhereyes » Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:20 pm

This story is amazing. With the frantic pace and urgency that has been conveyed throughout this story, I got so used to being on the edge, that I'm not sure when my breathing will return to something resembling normal.



Can't wait for the next update



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

behindhereyes
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby jixer » Sat Oct 23, 2004 1:16 pm

Hello Kittens-



Thank goodness for feedback making the work weekends palatable!



behindhereyes- I'm sorry about the respiratory issues! I've been trying to keep this fic a bit more episode-like and keep the story moving. I will fight off Real Life as much as possible to keep the story going.



Thank you for taing time for my story,



Jixer





jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby mollyig » Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:55 am

As usual in your stories, there was lots going on. I like how you explained why Hank never returned to Sunnydale. Also, it's interesting to learn more about Elizabeth. Her abhorrence of the random and irresponsible use of magic, and statement "I still can’t believe that’s how it was then." leads us to the conclusion that whenever she is people have a respect for the use of magic.


Sheacht mh'anam déag do bhéal, do mhalaí's do ghrua

mollyig
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby jixer » Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:15 pm

Hello Kittens-



More feedback and beautiful (if soggy) fall colors. Much happiness!



mollyig- Hi and I hope you are not too buried at work this time. I have to admit the way most TV magic just grates on an old person like me who had to read SF&F in those old things called books, so I'm letting Elizabeth be my chorus. And yes, when she is from magic is taken much more seriously.





Thank you for taking time with my words,



Jixer

jixer
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby DeviCrystalseeker » Sat Oct 30, 2004 1:53 pm

I've been enjoying this fic; looking forward to more! :)

Edited by: Warduke at: 10/30/04 10:20 pm
DeviCrystalseeker
 


Re: The Instruments Available Chapter 23

Postby jixer » Mon Nov 01, 2004 4:30 pm

Hello Kittens-



Kitten Feedback is a wonderful thing to help recover from Halloween and the retiring of the Junior League's curse (now what will Red Sox fans complain about?).



DeviCrystalseeker- Thank you for your kind words. More is on the way, really! That is, right after I get this short story about the aforementioned Red Sox, curses, and a certain redhead written.





Thanks for taking time with me story.





Jixer

jixer
 

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