FIC: The Late Shift

[tkheaven]

EGAD!! *hyperventilation setting in* That was scarrry. *gulp*

tk wonders what happens next... as she grabs a hold of her own knees tightly against her chest. where's that drink.

. o O (If only my avitar were life size, I wouldn't be as scared)

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"Hey Will, this is me. It doesn't all have to be good and fine. This is the room where you don't have to be brave. I still love you. If you're worried, you can be worried."

- Tara to Willow ~~ Episode 603: "Afterlife"

[UniDagger]

"Unidagger... You think I would do that to you??? Scare you so...??? I'm a lamb...a fuzzy kitten...a cotton ball....harmless....(boo-muhahahaha)"



ooohhhh yes, i truly believe. You and your lil troll too. Im just hoping the hand doesnt belong to a clown. or...hey. what if it doesnt belong to anyone...its just a hand. ewww ick. *gives tuff look* Not that Im scared. Nothing scares me. Im tough. I'll just mosey off behind that cuddlegroup over yonder....never know when they might need some backup. *takes one slow long step...then runs and dives behind aforementioned ppl)

[LeatherQueen]

Quote:

---

Posted by UniDagger:

or...hey. what if it doesnt belong to anyone...its just a hand. ewww ick.

---

D'oh!! It's the Mummy Hand! Oh my god... I knew that evil thing would one day be back.



Great updates, oh masterful chica. *scritches chica in appreciation*



But um... you're scaring... the kittens. Yes... you're scaring the kittens and I worry for their sanity. holds tighter to chica's leg...

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"Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind." - Glory


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[Sassette]

*hands over a pillow so LeatherQueen will be comfy wrapped around wiccachica's leg*



'Cuz, y'know, I kinda' feel guilty about having the best seat.



Well, almost guilty.



Oh, wait. I don't feel guilty at all. Damn - I >am< a bastard!



-Sass

[Jae]

*does a marvellous imitation of Willow, using Owl's shoulder as a substitute for Tara's* Is it gone yet? The scary, wet , slimey thing?

[maudmac]

Whoa. I thought the click-scrape was scary. Well, it was, but this is scary, too. Tangible, palpable, solid scary. Who-the-hell-needs-Stephen-King scary.



This whole fic is masterful. I mean it.

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Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
--- Confucius

[mollyig]

All aboard the wacky wiccachica wagon. Destination unknown.

I could paint you in the dark, 'cause I've studied you with hunger as a work of art - Collecting you (Indigo Girls)

[AutumnT]

Will the kittens ever find out the truth behind the click scrape?



Will the kittens be taunted that wet is not good when they know so much better?



Are there extra Willows running around Sunnydale?



Does Tara have really shitty luck?



Who just wanted details about the glory that is date night?



Tune in tomorrow AM for As the Troll Turns

Autumn

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Buffy: I could wrestle naked in grease for a living and still be cleaner than after a shift at the Doublemeat.

Willow: Plus, I'd visit you at work every single day. --- "Normal Again" shooting script

[Canadian Kitty]

Quote:

---

But um... you're scaring... the kittens. Yes... you're scaring the kittens and I worry for their sanity.

---

Well I don't know about anyone else but my sanity packed up and left a long time ago. Rotating beds and references to pee wee herman movies were just too much for it.



And for the record I'm not scared. Nope. I happen to think my scooby doo night light is decorative.



CK

"You wanna go out sometime, for coffee, food, kisses and gay love?" Willow- Normal Again.

[LeatherQueen]

*takes the pillow from Sass and uses it to cushion her bum* Thanks Sass... the floor was getting kinda hard.



And yes, you do have the best seat in the house, *sniff* but at least I still have an excellent view. By the way... did you ever win back your shirt?

--------------------------------


"Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind." - Glory


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[Sassette]

Oh, heh. Ummm, actually, no I didn't. And I just didn't notice. *grabs an extra shirt and puts it on* Thanks!



-Sass

[Pixie gishmock]

I refuse to move from my place here on Owl's lap, with my face on her shoulder. Actually, wiccachica, this is a pretty nice place. The movie watching was very funny, but, the darkness...and the kitchen....and the wet icky arm!!!! Are you trying to give me nightmares?!?! Oy! thank God for cuddlepuddles. Hey chica, as long as you're masterminding this whole thing, do you think you could send us over a pizza, or some snacks? We've been here a while, and I don't think it will let up anytime soon.

Life is full of changes...The better you are at letting go of things, the freer your hands will be to catch something new. ~from Off The Map by Joan Ackerman
"It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured before passing out. ~from "Answering Darkness" by Sassette

[wiccachica]

Good Morning Kitties!



Ah it's so nice to see you all right where I left you! Heh.



Beck Beck Beck:



Sass... No need to put the shirt on if you're comfy that way...we have central heating here....(wink) (that may have come out more lesbian than intended)



tkheaven... here's that drink, Dear....bottoms up! And by the way...I brought you a few extra for the trip we are about to take here...



Unidagger... I can ALMOST assuredly tell you that the hand does not belong to a clown......I say ALMOST...cuz you never know where this story is going.... (boo-muhahahahaha)



LeatherQueen...You just hang onto the leg there and I'll get you through this...by hook or by crook...or by bis scary story...But I'm currently devising a plan to create enough lap space for everyone....



Jae...Fear not my little friend...the scary stuff is nearly done...the wet slimely thing is almost upon us....(smirks) Am I bad??? heh.



Maudmac... I'd like to say it's truly been a pleasure scaring you. But if you like Stephen King...I can draw out my descriptions a bit longer...like four pages on the slimey wet clown's fingernail....(I love Stephen K. but I have a short attention span these days for anything longer than, say, a flyer or brochure...)



Mollyig...If I told you where the train was going...you'ld jump off and roll down the grassy embankment...so I'll keep it secret...(toot-toot) (or is that Beep-beep, Richie)



AutumnT...I think you cinched it all up in a nutshell...a rather big...and 'more clever than you know' kinda nutshell too I might add... (as the Troll Turns! LOL) I love it!



CK...Does your Scooby Doo light match your Scooby Doo sheets like mine do (Doo?) I lost my mind around the part where Spike was at the store some while back...



Pixie... *orders up pizza and beverages for everyone in my DEN-O-LOVIN'....* How's That? The dessert will be served promptly after....



Chapter 147: You Must Ask Yourself Why All of This Always Happens to Tara…



Willow stands in the kitchen staring at the large pools of water on the slick, linoleum floor. The yellow flame from her candle dances over her features…she’s pursing her lips…fighting panic.



" Willow…say something to me…please…" Xander pleads…holding the same candle with which he had come back into the living room to announce that Tara had vanished.



" What do you want her to say, Xander? You LOST her girlfriend. Tara’s been around for…what… twenty-something years? Two minutes alone with you and she’s GONE…" Anya says.



" Not helping." Xander says tersely.



" Hello??? Tara's NOT a set of keys…no one LOST her…and Anya…. get off my side…" Willow says…then walks to a spot in the room. "You said you saw her right here…?"



" Not SAW so much as heard…she told me to shut up…and then…POOF…she just stopped talking…"



" You killed her…admit it…She told you to shut up and you did her in…I’ve been watching those Charlie Chan Mysteries…it’s always the nice, unseeming dork who did it…." Anya says.



" Anya…keep your theories to yourself….PLEASE…." Buffy says…looking over the closed back door. " I think something came in out of the rain…" She crouches by the water and waves her candle over the puddles.



" Well…. Let’s FIND her then!" Willow says.



" Will…we need to get flashlights…it’s pitch black out there…the power is out all over this side of town…



" I can’t just stand around here…this is just….just…!" She storms across the kitchen to the door and yanks it open.



" Gah!!!" Spike howls and topples off the top step of the porch into a large puddle of water.



" Muh!!!" Willow reels backward…colliding with the kitchen island.



" Spike!!!" Buffy scolds as he sloshes out of the mud water…peeling off his jacket. It sags damply in his pale hand.



" Bloody hell!" He snarls.



" Don’t you knock???" Xander says shrilly…holding his hand to his chest.



" I knock like you do at my crypt…which is NOT AT ALL…" He says…stepping inside and noticing our dour expressions. " Who’s in trouble NOW?" He asks with an exasperated roll of the eyes.



" Tara…she’s…" I start.



" Little Bit…say no more….say NO more…We are going to have to start running Blondie a tab…"



" It’s so dark out there…how did you…get here…?" I ask, peering out the door into the blackness.



" Night eyes…I SEE EVERYTHING…" He says, rather proud of himself.



" Did you see anyone out there? Anyone who happened to be carrying a body…?" Anya probes…



" That’s it…" Willow unfurls away from the counter at Anya only to be caught around the waist in mid lunge by Buffy…



" Whoa! Okay….what did I say…???" Anya says backing up slightly from the murderous look in the redhead’s eyes.



" Willow…killing Anya would not be the solution right now…" Buffy grunts.



" No? I bet’d be a perk though…" Willow snarls…all the while calming back down to a simmer.



" Come to think of it…I did see something kind of…OFF…." Spike says.



" Off? Off how?" I ask.



" Green lights….floating down your street….looked like a gang of pixies…" Spike says…his words slowing…even as he speaks them…" THAT sound crazy…doesn’t it?"



" No…it sounds like you’ve been hitting the old Vampire gasoline of courage, Spikey…" Xander says.



" A gang of pixies stole my girlfriend???" Willow says…on the verge of possibly lunging at the blonde vampire next…



He discreetly positions himself behind me.



Yep…Big brave Vamp…



" I didn’t say they WERE pixies…I said they floated like pixies in the dark…hell it was way to far to see what they were…"



" I thought you see EVERYTHING." Buffy presses.



" Yeah…well I don’t have binocular vision…okay…?" He snarls.



" Let’s just hope they weren’t a gang of pixie…by the way…there’s actually no ‘s’ on the end of pixie if there was more than one…I made that mistake of saying it to a group of them a few hundred years ago….BAD scene… ANYWAY…one pixie…fine…cute as can be…but more than two…in a gang…VERY dangerous…"



I’m now getting an awful and unnecessary West Side Story image of a gang of little knife-wielding pixie dancing down the road with our Tara….



" Tara was NOT abducted by PIXIE! So think of something ELSE!" Willow shouts.



There’s a stretch of silence as we all try to think of something else…Outside the rain comes down in sheets…and the darkness does nothing but remains….



" Trolls?" Anya pipes in.



Buffy deftly catches her redheaded best friend in mid lunge again while Xander and I search the kitchen drawers for flashlights.



We’ve wasted too much time thinking and not enough time looking…



" We’ll find her, Dawn…don’t worry…" Xander says…a little guilty…a little hopeful….



But I am…I am VERY worried….whatever took Tara was big enough to carry her out of here…and smart enough to take her right out from under our noses…



TBC….

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[Pixie gishmock]

*everyone in the cuddlepuddle turns to look suspiciously at Pixie* Hey!! Wait a minute!!! *She ducks behind Owl and continues her spluttering tirade from over Owl's shoulder.* I didn't know anything about this I swear!! I mean, one of my cousins called me a few days ago to say they'd be in town, but...I never...!!! Anyway, they're talking about trolls now! There's absolutely no evidence that Pixie were involved. Wiccachica, how could you do this to me!! Owl, Canadian Kitty, Sassette, somebody, back me up here!

Life is full of changes...The better you are at letting go of things, the freer your hands will be to catch something new. ~from Off The Map by Joan Ackerman
"It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured before passing out. ~from "Answering Darkness" by Sassette

[Sassette]

It's okay, Pixie - I believe in you. Besides, even if Tara >was< taken by a group of Pixie, they probably just want her to hand over her panties, then they'll give her back. *shrug* No harm, no foul.



And central heating? And yeah, that DID sound way lesbian - wiccachica, are you trying to trick me into taking off my shirt? What, you think I'm easy or something, just taking off my shirt for any silly fic-writer who asks?



*sigh*



Well, yeah, okay.



*takes off her shirt*



-Sass

[Owl]

Pixie, Darling.

I always knew you weren't as innocent as you looked. I wonder what could have tipped me off? The fascination with panties? The troll scritching? Or...

Or could it be.... Those Glowing Green Eyes of yours!? *tackles Pixie and examines eyes closely* Well, those aren't green. Hmmm. ... and now I feel all lightheaded....

Well, okay then. You're on probation until we find out what happened to Tara. I'm suspicious of this whole business with the plural... Who knows how many of you there really are.. . Especially in this wacky universe....

[UniDagger]

I ALMOST breathed a no-clown-sigh-of-relief then you told Maudmac... ...like four pages on the slimey wet clown's fingernail... and since i dont recall that from IT...im getting worried. (sniffs. hmm..is that pizza?) *Grabs anti-clown spray and sits (bravely) waiting for the next update*

[tkheaven]

*tk looks at Pixie.. nope, can't be her...but then she turns to wicca and the troll, speechless she points and waves her finger from wicca...to troll...to wicca..to troll, her eyes following.. whodoneit?, she thinks. What are you, Mad man??er, Woman?? and uhh, troll??? *a bewildered look then follow a topless sass "huh".



And, well, yeah, I mean..why is it always Tara?? grrr

. o O (It does open for a reuniting with hugs and gay love later)







gah..damn avitar just won't sit still

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"Hey Will, this is me. It doesn't all have to be good and fine. This is the room where you don't have to be brave. I still love you. If you're worried, you can be worried."

- Tara to Willow ~~ Episode 603: "Afterlife"

Edited by: tkheaven  at: 4/16/02 11:32:02 am

[wiccachica]

Sorry kids...the Afternoon edition will be a little late today...I just got a call back from that interview I did a couple weeks back (remember?) And I need to call them to find out if I get a second interview...



I'm sooooo nervous!!! I really want this job!



Keep all paws and fingers crossed for me!



Fic to you later!



-chica

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[UniDagger]

ooh *crosses fingers and toes till the cramps set in* good luck

[supermus]

that BUNNIES are to blame for all of this. Big bunnies, like the giant ones you see around easter, but alive, and EVIL!

Or maybe it's Warren or another one of the Troika. Remember what Anya said about it always being the dorky one?

Why do these things happen to Tara? Irony. She's the one person in the gang who's arguably innocent, therefore she gets the bad luck.

[tkheaven]

tk keep fingers crossed, legs crossed, arms crossed.....wishing you luck there wicca

-----------------------------
"Hey Will, this is me. It doesn't all have to be good and fine. This is the room where you don't have to be brave. I still love you. If you're worried, you can be worried."

- Tara to Willow ~~ Episode 603: "Afterlife"

[jdcioffi]

You know, all this talk about demons ... and no one ever stops think about the pixie gang problems we have here in the big city. All those pixie taggers ... you'd think they'd have something better to do. (Well, obviously stealing Tara, but other than that ...)







I'm SO looking forward to more.



And GOOD LUCK!

JD

...but if I did call, she wouldn't hang up on me.

[wiccachica]

Thank you sooooo much for your support! It worked!



They don't even want to do the 2nd interview!



They just want me! I start next month!



(a ten thousand dollar a year raise three weeks vacation and a boss who I just adore!!! I think I'm going to PASS OUT!!!)



*doing the Snoopy Dance Full force*



Okay...now I'll start on the Afternoon Edition!



-chica

" I mock you with my Monkey Pants!" - OZ


" You're NOT the source of me" - Buffy


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[jdcioffi]

YAY! Congratulations!



So, you're gonna take your three weeks right away and do nothing but write? That's such a great plan. You think of the best stuff ...



*snaps back to reality*



Oh! Hey, congrats, really! That's super news and you totally deserve it. Party party party! Yay!



JD

...but if I did call, she wouldn't hang up on me.

[LeatherQueen]

Yay for you chica!!! *hugs chica and jumps around madly*



That's so wonderful...



In celebration of chica's new job, I say we whip out the bubbly and toast our dear little lovely! Three cheers from all the woncubines!!



I think a party on the big revolving bed is in order... don't you?

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"Honey, I'm the original one-eyed chicklet in the kingdom of the blind." - Glory


"Futile... like a FOX, baby!" - Tara in The Late Shift by wiccachica

[Sassette]

Congratulations, wiccachica ... that full-on rocks *G*



-Sass

[supermus]

CONGRATULATIONS WICCACHICA!

If I was writing my fic, I would SO give you a nod in there. But I'm holding off for reasons known to no one. Including me.

What's the job? You probably mentioned that when you were first mentioned the interview, but I guess I forgot.



You know, if I didn't have such complete, utter faith that you would NEVER do that to my Spike, I'd think he's the one who kidnapped Tara. Because, icy cold hand + his mysterious reason for not being at the party= suspicion.

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Nothing gets in the way of fate. Not time, not space, not distance, no person or creature. Not even death. Eventually fate will bring them together."

-Excerpt from Katharyn's "The Sidestep Chronicle"

[tkheaven]

WOOHOOO!! That's great news wicca!

Congradulations!

-----------------------------
"Hey Will, this is me. It doesn't all have to be good and fine. This is the room where you don't have to be brave. I still love you. If you're worried, you can be worried."

- Tara to Willow ~~ Episode 603: "Afterlife"

[Canadian Kitty]

That so wonderful wiccachica. Congratulations!



Loved the update. perhaps it was the previous mention of scooby night-lights and sheets (of which sadly, i have none) but when Buffy examined the floor by the door I was having Velma flashbacks.



And I see that the troll has chosen to insert a bit of self promotion into his fic. With my work day done I comfortably sit back and wait for the next edition.



CK

"You wanna go out sometime, for coffee, food, kisses and gay love?" Willow- Normal Again.