Even though Buffy is over this group won't be shutting down.
Hopefully we can keep Buffy alive, SO POST SOMETHING!


Your faithful Mistress,
SiN

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Already going through Buffy withdrawal? The Season 4 DVD is coming
on June 10th, and will help ease your pain. The set includes tons of
great features, like scripts, commentaries, featurettes and more.
You can check out all the details at ** Save $14 when you buy the
Buffy S4 DVD at www.foxstore.com**

Buffy Season 4 Overview Clip:
http://pages.m80im.com/?TDoyODA= S4 Overview High
http://pages.m80im.com/?TDoyNzk= S4 Overview Low

Hey guys,
As all you Angel fans  probably already know Angel season 2 dvds is
coming out on September second!!! So, if you want a chance to get
the dvd's free check out http://www.m80teams.com/?QzoyNjE6MTg2OTc1.
Good Luck!!!!
*~Nyz~*

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Hi everyone, well I am a big Xena fan and I thought some of you also
may like it or already love it and just wanted to let you know that
Xena season 2 DVD is out. 2nd season is great and full of fun
episodes.I never get bored of it. You can get it from
www.xenahercules.tv/db/xh/xenastore.html and many more places easily
if you want. I suggest you to check it out, you'll love the series
become a xenite in no time.

Hi everyone! I am a big Xena fan and I got some good news for you.
Xena's Season 3 DVDs are to be out soon! They will be released on
February 10th. Season 3 is great. Lots of action, subtext and fun.
Even if you havent watched Xena before, check these out. You'll
become a Xenite in no time. You can get them from a retail store or
online. Here are some links :
www.xenahercules.tv
www.amazon.com
www.bestbuy.com
www.creationent.com
Battle On!

The time has finally come. The apocalypse is upon us. It's the end
of an era. For the better part of the last decade Buffy and then
Angel have been a huge part of my life. I didn't mourn so completely
when Buffy ended as i'm mourning now because i knew that my Dark
Prince (Angel) would be there to comfort me. I knew i'd still have
my Joss induced joy for an hour every week but now it's over.
Joss Whedon did more for tv that 90% of writers out there put
together. He dared to step outside of the mold and make something
new, and meaningful, and real. Something you could care about.
Characters you identified with and loved. He made me laugh, and
curse (him, myself, and the whole world in general), and cry, and
cry, and cry. He shared this dark forbidden world with us, made us
want it, crave it. So to Joss, thanks for that. Thank you for making
something that wasn't mindless drivel. You'll never know what it did
for me, how much it meant.
And Angel(us)....the characters that had thousands of females
swooning, panting, fantasizing, begging...uh, sorry, got off track.
Angel and his band of friends gave me something to believe in. The
writers and actors gave it their all for almost 5 years, 8 if you
count the people who moved over from BTVS, and created this whole
world you could escape to for a little while, that was a little more
exciting, a little more dangerous, a little darker, and a little
sexier than Real Life all at the same time.
So thanks, to everyone. The writers, actors, Joss: The All-Knowing
Creator, my fellow fans, the make-up, costume, and f/x people,
everyone. Thanks for making this big consuming wonderful thing that
was Angel.
Don't ever forget. Keep it alive with fanfic, by buying merchandise,
any way you can.
Let Angel, Spike, Wes, Lorne, Gunn, Fred, Cordelia, Harmony, Dru,
Darla, Connor, Doyle, Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn, Principals Snyder
and Flutie, Joyce, Giles, Faith, Glory, Kendra, Tara...and all the
other beloved and/or hated characters, live forever.

Eternally,
LaDy SiN

Check out my other brain child the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfic Awards,
Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SunnyDAwards/
Website: http://www.geocities.com/luckyleaf13/SunnyDAwards.html

Eternally,
LaDy SiN

Bargaining, Part 1
Season 6 Reset Series

Author: Frau Hunter Ash
Plot collaborated on by Hunter Ash and Dark Gremlin
Suggestions from many people and many boards.  A special "thank you"
to them.

Author's Note: A Special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick
(pisces@...) for her transcripts

Copyright © 2002-2004 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: hunterash7@...
hunterash@...
Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox,
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. This story cannot be
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship
between people of the same gender and opposite gender.  If this
offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  Come back when you
are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed your laws.

Spoilers:
Bargaining, Parts 1 and 2 written by Marti Noxon and David Fury

This is the beginning of a series I'm subtitling "Season 6: Reset".
I've noticed a lot of dissatisfaction with this season, especially as
I'm writing this after seeing the episode 'Seeing Red'.  I don't think
I'm going to get much happier with the last two episodes either unless
Tara comes back.  Then again, it won't be the same.  A line was
crossed with Willow that I thought only vamp Willow could do, callous
murder with casual indifference.  Yes, she murdered Warren out of
revenge but her coldness chilled and depressed me, even more so than
Xena's death in another realm.

So, in my universe here, Season 6 is happening again! Starting with
Bargaining and taking off from there.  Things will be different in my
world.  Will characters die? Yes. Will people end up with the wrong
characters? Probably.  How will they be different?  I hope my
characters don't lose that special quality that held them together all
these years: friendship and love.  Spats and fights, yeah, but there
was always love between them and I haven't seen that until last week
and then only brief glimpses. I hope this series helps counteract the
depression and dissatisfaction with the 'real' one.

Rating:  PG-13 (US, UK, Aus) Pairings: W/T, X/An

Summary:  This isn't the episode or transcript, though you'll find
parts are taken right from the episode.  Some things are rearranged
and there are some major differences as well.

* * *

The scream echoed throughout the large house, sending feet pounding
down the hall in the middle of the night.

Dawn opened the door to the room that had once been her mother's and
found exactly what she expected, Tara holding a crying Willow in her
arms.  The teenager quickly crossed the room to add her arms into the
hug.

It was becoming a nightly event.  Either Willow or Dawn would wake up
screaming with the nightmare of Buffy Summers' death.  Willow's were
worse, however, as thoughts of Buffy being trapped in a hellish realm
and suffering unimaginable torture tormented Willow's thoughts and
dreams. No one could explain why Willow's were worse and why she kept
seeing Buffy's soul being tormented and they seemed unable to help,
either.

"Shhh, it's okay, baby," Tara was saying as she held Willow tightly.

After a few minutes the crying was reduced to sniffles and then
mumbles as Willow drifted back into sleep.

"It's been two months," Dawn whispered to Tara.

"I know, it's not getting any better," Tara agreed as she laid
Willow's head back onto the pillow.  The blonde witch looked at Dawn's
taunt face and the dark circles under her eyes and sighed.

"How can we help?" Dawn asked as they watched Willow sleeping
restlessly.

"I don't know, we're all hurting," Tara said softly.

"She was so strong when Mom…when Mom…" Dawn whimpered and Tara reached
over to gently stroke the teen's hair.

"I know," Tara said, keeping her voice low and soft as Dawn closed her
eyes as well.  "Shhh, just let it go."

"Hurts, should've been me," Dawn muttered.

"Shhh."

Tara waited until she was sure both Willow and Dawn were asleep again,
before getting up from the bed.  She watched them sleeping with an
intense frown, her eyes pained.  The witch went over to the desk and
glanced at the stack of books, papers and laptop computer.

Willow's tireless research for an answer to their grief and the
dilemma of Sunnydale left without a Slayer.

Tara grabbed her own notebook, headed down the stairs and curled up on
the sofa with a small reading lamp on.

<Journal: Day 40 since Buffy's sacrifice.  Willow isn't getting better
and Dawn still isn't sleeping either.  Willow is holding everyone
together just by sheer stubbornness, I think.  Goddess, please, it
hurts so bad and I don't know how to help her!

< We patrol nightly and let a couple of minor vampires slip away after
mentioning Buffy and her return soon from vacation.  We hope that word
spreads that Buffy will be back soon so as to keep the vampires and
demons in the dark that she's really gone.  If word gets out that the
Slayer has died, we're afraid that the residual energies from the
Hellmouth will attract every demon and vampire in the Western region
and Sunnydale would become even more of a nightmare.

< I'm so tired. I'm trying to keep Willow together and it's getting
harder. She's so strong for everyone else but Dawn and I see her
breakdown every night. I don't know who to turn to, Giles has
retreated into his own grief in the bottom of a bottle.  Xander and
Anya try and pull Will out of it but she just puts on that brave front
and says she's okay.

< Spike ignores Willow and helps me take care of Dawn. I swear I don't
know what to make of him most of the time. I'm not even sure why he's
around except he promised Buffy he'd watch after Dawn.

< It's been so hard. Will has actually found a spell that might work.
  Goddess, I can't even write this down.  She wants to bring Buffy
back.  How can we even think of this?

Tara bit the end of her pen, lost in thought as she curled her legs
under her, suddenly cold.

< Willow thinks that because Buffy's death wasn't natural and it was
to save the world, the spell might work.  I AM SO WORRIED!!! She gets
all evasive when I ask where she got the spell and won't tell me the
details.  Willow is a terrible liar and I know it's dangerous.  She
says that she can handle it but I'm not sure.

< When things go wrong in Sunnydale, they REALLY go wrong! I'm not
sure I can keep this up though. Everything happened so quickly,
somehow Willow got my mind back from Glory and then Buffy was lying
there, gone.

< I don't think Willow is going to snap out of this. She hasn't slept
more than four hours at a time since that night.  Goddess, guide me, I
think I need to help her with the spell. What do you do when none of
the answers are good ones?  >

Tara closed her journal and wrapped her arms around a sofa pillow and
cried softly.

* * *

  Willow looked up at the lightning flashing all around the town and
around the tower where Buffy was struggling to reach Dawn and at the
little guy apparently helping Glory do the spell.

The red-head clung to Tara, confident that Buffy would stop whatever
was happening, Buffy always won.  They would stop the spell, defeat
Glory and go for pizza.

Willow saw the little guy disappear and Buffy and Dawn hesitating on
the platform.  What were they doing?

"Get down from there!" she screamed as Tara blinked in confusion.

No one seemed to hear her until Willow screamed.  Everyone looked up
as Buffy turned from Dawn and headed for the end of the platform,
diving into the vortex.

"NO!"

"Willow! Will! It's okay!"

Willow blinked and realized that Dawn and Tara were shaking her again.

"Oh goddess," she muttered, wrapping her arms around Dawn. "I'm sorry,
Dawnie."

"It's okay, honest," the teen sniffled, her face streaked with her own
tears. "I have them too."

Willow felt Tara's arms around her and leaned back against her lover,
wishing she could draw strength from the other witch. Willow knew she
was bordering on exhaustion.

Taking care of Dawn, going to school, keeping the Scooby Gang
together, leading the slaying and dealing with her own grief was
wearing down what little energy the red-haired witch had left.  It was
also chipping away at her sanity.  Willow was becoming jumpy, nervous
and irritable from the nightmares and lack of sleep.

"Sorry, guys," Willow said softly.

"We know, it'll be okay, Will," Tara tried to smile.

"I've got to get ready for school," Dawn announced and hugged the two
women and bounded out of the room as Willow snuggled into Tara's arms.

"Tar…"

"I know, it's not getting easier," Tara said softly.  "Can you get the
ingredients for the spell?"

Willow sat up and looked down at Tara, her eyes wide in surprise.

"You agree?" Willow whispered.

"Not totally, but Buffy's death doesn't feel right either," Tara said
slowly.  "We can try."

"I think I can get everything, the only tricky part is the Urn of
Osiris, it's not exactly something you can get over the Internet, you
know," Willow said thoughtfully.  "I've got Anya on it though."

"Are you sure that we should leave Giles out of this?" Tara asked,
sitting up as well and reaching for her robe.

"Yes," Willow said firmly.  "There is no way he would approve."

"Doesn't that mean we should slow down and really think about this?"
Tara questioned.

"Yes and I have," Willow answered with a frown.  "Giles doesn't trust
us doing something this high level because of his own past. We're
going to be careful and it's for the best reasons."

"Will, you said it could be dangerous," Tara said softly. "I don't
even think my Mom would have attempted something like this. This is
really necromancy stuff."

"Only if we were raising Buffy as a zombie," Willow argued. "We're
trying to set things right. We both know the world needs a Slayer and
Buffy's death wasn't natural. With Faith in prison that only leaves
bringing Buffy back."

"If Xander and Anya agree, okay?" Tara bargained.

"Okay," Willow nodded, her expression firm.

"Scooby meeting?" Tara suggested.

"Nah," Willow shrugged, looking through the closet for what clothes to
wear for the day.  "Usual slaying tonight and we wait to see if we can
find an urn. If we can't then we'll have to switch plans."

"Willow, you said this spell was the best choice, that all the others
had too high a cost and then you won't tell me what the price is!"
Tara complained, her voice rising slightly.

Tara hadn't been with Willow long but she knew "resolve face" when she
saw it and Willow was in full stubborn mode when she turned to face
her lover.

"I need your support in this Tar," Willow said slowly. "I also know I
have to do this and I will pay whatever price there is to bring Buffy
back. This spell has some risks and there will be a testing."

"Testing? Willow, damnit! No secrets between us!" Tara snapped,
listening as Dawn scampered down the hallway and down the stairs
towards the kitchen.

"The Powers that Be will test me during the spell, to test our
resolve, our worthiness and our need," Willow explained. "It could get
a little rough but nothing I can't handle."

Tara frowned, not reassured by her lover at all.

"It's getting close," Willow mumbled, her eyes distant, as if
listening to something else in the distance.  "Almost time."

Tara continued to frown.

* * *

Tara and Giles panted as they tried to keep up with Spike, dodging
around tombstones and always keeping an eye out for open graves.
Living in Sunnydale, they knew that funerals usually were a frequent
weekly event.

The blonde vampire and Scooby members watched a huge vampire scurry
over a retaining wall but when Spike reached it, the vampire was gone.

"Damnit! I'm never gonna get anything killed with you lot holding me
back!" Spike growled as Giles leaned heavily on a gravestone.

"I thought the big ones were supposed to tire more easily," Tara
complained.

"No, that's over the hill shop keepers," the vampire smirked.

"I'm fine!" Giles panted.  "I just need to . . . to die for a minute."

Spike turned to face Tara with a frown.  "What was that powder you
blew at him? Made him rabbit off like that."

Tara blushed and ducked her head.  "It's sorbis root, it's supposed to
confuse him, but it . . . just kinda made him peppy."

Giles looked puzzled as Spike rolled his eyes in frustration.

"You're not supposed to mix it with anything," Tara said thoughtfully.
  "You think he might be taking prescription medication?"

"Oh yeah, that must be it," Spike agreed sarcastically.

"Let's hope he doesn't try to operate heavy machinery," Giles smirked.

Tara blushed an even deeper red as Giles and Spike began laughing.

"Yeah," Spike agreed, still laughing.  "We could be in real . . ."

//Guys, heads up,// Willow's voice echoed telepathically in their heads.

Spike grumbled as they looked up at their Captain, standing on top of
a tomb, wind whipping through her red hair.

//The vampire's circling back towards you, six o'clock,// she informed
them.  //Try to drive him back towards the Van Elton crypt.//

"Van Elton?" Spike muttered.

"Is that the one with the cute little gargoyles?" Tara asked aloud.

"There!" Giles suddenly pointed as the vampire dashed across their
vision.  The ex-Watcher's shout drew his attention to them and they
doubled back.

//Make him go left!// Willow mentally shouted.

Giles stepped past Spike and threw the battle axe he was carrying,
embedding it into a tree right next to the vampire's head.  The huge
vampire stumbled and looked startled, moving back just the direction
Willow wanted.

The vampire ran up against a dead end between two tombs and spun
around with a growl.  He never even saw the stake flying off the tomb
and through his heart, levitated by Willow as Tara, Spike, and Giles
ran up.  Spike snarled at being denied the kill but Giles and Tara
looked pleased.

Willow grinned and turned to glance around the rest of the graveyard
and spotted Anya and Xander running towards them.

//Xander, Anya, stop!// Willow yelled mentally.

The young couple stopped and looked around, startled.

"Great googly-moogly, Willow! Would you quit doing that?" Xander snapped.

//I told you I was going to get the lay of the land.// Willow snapped
back.

"But not the lay of my brain!" Xander protested.

Anya looked annoyed as well.  //It is intrusive, you could knock first
or something.//

//Xander . . . //

"I know, I know," he grumbled. "I don't have to talk when I answer
you. But I saw 'The Fury,' and that way lies the carnival of death."

//Xander! Vampire! Other side of that tomb! You can get the jump on
him if you go the other way!" Willow snapped.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Xander complained and it was probably
good that he couldn't see Willow's frustrated expression.

The young couple began moving around the tomb, following Willow's
instructions.

Willow turned to the rest of the gang.

//Guys, they need help.//

Spike rounded the corner of the tomb in time to see the vampire
holding Xander in a headlock as Anya jumped on his back, attempting to
drive a stake through him.  The vampire shrugged and shook the
ex-demon off.  Xander yelled and dropped to one knee, pulling the
vampire over.

Just as Xander was about to stake the vampire, Spike jumped in the
middle of them, throwing Xander aside.  The vampire, taking advantage
of the confusion between the two fighters, jumped up and backhanded Anya.

Giles and Tara caught up with the group and the vampire kicked Tara in
the chest sending her flying.

"No!" Willow screamed and jumped down from the tomb.

Giles, swinging the retrieved battle axe, was surprised when the
vampire ducked and grabbed the axe handle along with Giles, throwing
him back against the tomb wall, choking him.

"Help!" Giles croaked.

Spike, untangling himself from Xander's arms and legs with curses on
both sides, stood up and looked around.

"Spike!" Giles choked out.

Spike smirked and walked up to the vampire and then casually moved away.

//What are you doing? Help him or I'll fry you!// Willow shouted as
she ran up to Tara.

"I did," Spike continued to smirk.

Willow and Tara's eyes widened at the sight of the vampire's shirt
beginning to burn as Spike flipped open his lighter, lighting a cigarette.

The vampire, feeling the heat, let go of Giles and staggered backwards
before bursting into fire and then exploding into dust.

Giles dusted himself off with a snarl in Spike's direction.

"You might have let me in on your plan while he throttled me," the
Watcher complained.

"Oh, poor Watcher! Did your life pass before your eyes?  Cuppa tea,
cuppa tea, almost shagged, cuppa tea?" Spike taunted.

Xander helped Anya to her feet and glanced around.

"I've had enough for the night, how about you guys?" he asked wearily.
  "I've got work in the morning."

"What this time?" Spike asked. "Pizza delivery? Donut shop?"

"Construction," Xander snapped. "You know, building something and
contributing to society. Nah, you wouldn't know anything about that
would you?"

"Rack off, mate!" Spike growled.

"Go suck a sour blood bag, toothless," Xander snapped back.

"If it weren't for . . ."

"This sodding chip, I'd kill all of you," they all quoted wearily and
Spike snarled.

"Well, I don't need this! You're welcome for the help tonight!" the
vampire snapped and stalked off into the shadows.

"Were we a little hard on him?" Willow asked softly as Tara clung to her.

"He'll get over it," Xander muttered.  "Scooby wind down at your place?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded.  "Coming, Giles?"

"What? Oh, no thank you," the Watcher blinked as he rubbed his throat.
  "I need a shower after that dusting. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Let's walk him to his car," Anya suggested.

* * *

"So Dawn is staying at Janice's place tonight?" Xander asked as he sat
down with a coke and bag of cookies.  Anya leaned over the coffee
table to grab a handful of popcorn from the bowl that Willow and Tara
were sharing.

"Yeah, we want her to get out more with friends but not after dark,
it's hard in Sunnydale," Tara commented.

"Yeah, we don't want her spending all her time with Spike and the TV,"
Willow added.

"Good choice," Xander muttered.  "I know he's helping us and
everything but it's just so weird. If it wasn't for that damned chip,
he'd be trying to kill us instead of helping us."

"He's good to Dawn," Tara protested.

"And can anyone explain that to me that makes sense?" Xander
challenged.  Willow frowned and Anya shrugged.

"He feels like he owes it to Buffy, Spike promised to look after
Dawn," Tara said weakly.

"Still doesn't make sense," Xander mumbled.

"Things that don't make sense, that reminds me," Anya muttered and
grabbed Xander's backpack and rummaged through it as Xander looked at
Willow, suddenly unhappy.

"What?" she demanded from her oldest friend as Anya unwrapped
something in a well-packaged box.

Tara looked at the object Anya pulled out with a skip of her heartbeat.

"The urn of Osiris," she whispered.

"Yeah," Anya smiled.  "It wasn't easy.  I went through every supplier
the Magic Box has and even tried to call in some old contacts."

"Magic Box suppliers?" Willow squeaked. "What if Giles finds out?"

Anya rolled her eyes at that suggestion.  "He's too busy planning on
leaving to pay attention to me," she complained.  "Besides, I ended up
getting it on EBay™."

Tara and Willow looked at the former vengeance demon, stunned.

"You found the last known urn of Osiris on EBay?"

Tara handed the urn to Willow who began inspecting it closely.

"Yeah, from a desert gnome in Cairo. He drove a really hard bargain
but I even got him to throw in a limited edition Backstreet Boys
lunchbox for . . ."

Xander suddenly coughed nervously and Tara smiled softly at him.

". . . a friend," Anya finished.

"So, you've got your somber on, Will, is the urn not up to specs?"
Xander asked quickly, wanting to change the subject.

Willow continued inspecting the urn, apparently not hearing Xander.
Tara shifted uncomfortably at the intensity in her lover's eyes when
Willow looked up at her.

"It's the one," Willow said softly, placing the urn carefully on the
coffee table.  "Which means it's time."

Xander's eyes widened in surprise.  "Time?" he squeaked.  "Like, TIME
time? With the . . . " he waved his hand in vague gestures around in
the air. "timeliness?"

Anya frowned along with Tara.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly.

Willow looked at them with "resolve face."

"I am sure," she said firmly.

"Mercury's in retrograde and we have. . . Do we have everything?" Tara
asked her mate.

"Almost, just a couple of things I need to get," Willow nodded.

"But why the rushy-rush?" Xander demanded.  "I mean, its summer and
Dawn's not in school. No one's noticed Buffy's gone."

"Tomorrow night we'll meet at Xander and Anya's place," Willow said
calmly, ignoring Xander's nervous question.

Willow didn't look surprised when Xander jumped to his feet and began
pacing.

"Whoa!" he yelled.  "Let's apply the brakes and check the rear, and
side-view mirrors here!"

Willow watched him calmly and Tara felt something akin to fear making
her heart speed up as she saw how resolved and calm Willow was.

"This is deep stuff, Willow," he continued, his voice a little softer.
  "We're talking about raising the dead.

"It's time we stop talking," Willow said firmly.  "Tomorrow night
we're bringing Buffy back."

"Tomorrow?" Xander squeaked again.  "I don't know."

Anya stood up beside her boyfriend and touched his arm.

"Uh, Di-Discovery Channel™ has monkeys and our tape machine is all
wonky," she stammered.

"I need you on board here, guys," Willow said softly.

Xander fidgeted nervously.  "It just…it just feels wrong."

"It is wrong," Tara said softly and almost flinched when Willow looked
at her in shock.  "It's against all the laws of nature, and
practically impossible to do, but it's what we agreed to do.  If-if
you guys are changing your minds…"

"Nobody's changing their minds, period," Willow snapped.

"Excuse me?" Xander snapped. "Who made you the boss of the group?"

"You did," Anya chipped in.

"You said Willow should be the boss," Tara added.

"And then you said, 'let's vote,' and it was unanimous…" Anya continued.

"And then you made this little plaque that said 'Boss of Us,' and you
put little sparkles on it," Tara finished.

"Okay, okay, valid points," Xander threw up his hands.  "I mean…"

Xander moved around the coffee table to sit next to Willow.

"It was just talking then," he whispered.

"Xander," Willow said softly, her face softening a little.  "I can do
this, I promise, but not without you."

"Should we tell Giles?" Anya asked.  "You know, now that we're really
ready? It's not like he's going anywhere."

"No!" Willow said sharply.  "No one else can know. Not Giles, not
Spike, not Dawn.  They wouldn't understand."

"What if something goes wrong?" Tara asked again.

"I'm telling you all that it won't!" Willow said firmly.

"Scenario – we raise Buffy from the grave," Xander mumbled. "She tries
to eat our brains. Do we, a) congratulate ourselves on a job well
done, or…"

"Xander, this isn't about zombies," Willow protested.

"Zombies don't eat brains anyway unless instructed by their zombie
masters. A lot of people get that wrong," Anya corrected, not noticing
Willow's impatient glare.

"This isn't like Dawn trying to bring Mrs. Summers back, or anything
we've dealt with before.  Buffy didn't die a natural death, she was
killed by mystical energy," Willow explained.

"Which means we have a shot at this," Tara finished with a small smile
for her lover.

"It also means more than that," Willow said, turning to Xander.  "It
means we don't know where she is."

"We saw her body, Will," he protested.  "We buried it."

"Her body yes, but not her soul," Willow corrected.  "Her essence, I
mean, that could be somewhere else.  She could be trapped in…in some
sort of hell dimension like Angel was."

Tara reached out and held Willow's hand as her lover's voice cracked
slightly.

"She could be suffering eternal torment just because she saved us and
I'm not gonna let…I'm not going to leave her there.  It's Buffy!"

Xander looked at his friend for several moments, seeing the deep dark
circles under her eyes and almost manic look in them and then nodded.

"When do we meet?" he asked softly.

* * *

Xander looked over at Anya dusting the various shelves of merchandise
as he carried a large box towards the back.  Giles sat at the general
table, a pile of papers, ledgers and print outs in front of him.

A rainy day had canceled his construction job for the day so Xander
had decided to hang around the Magic Box and help out.

"Anya, this register for April looks a bit off," Giles said absently
as Anya turned to look at him.  "Pull the files again."

Xander glanced up as he put the box down and frowned as Anya put the
duster down and stormed over to Giles.

"Are you mad at me?" she demanded.

Giles looked up, obviously confused.  "What? Mad? No, of course not."

"Then why are you torturing me?" Anya snapped.  "You know I used to
punish people like this when I was a demon."

Giles sighed heavily and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"I made them double check spreadsheets for all eternity!" Anya finished.

"I'm sorry if you resent my authority, but I won't feel comfortable
leaving here until I know that absolutely everything. . ." Giles said
slowly.

Xander shook his head as Anya looked over behind the counter and
spotted something, her face flushing with anger.

"You're taking the Ramadan effigy?" she demanded, moving over and
grabbing up the statute in question.

"That's not part of the inventory," Giles snapped, rolling his eyes
again.  "It's part of my personal collection," he clarified as he
stood up and took the statute from her hands.

Anya crossed her arms over her chest in obvious indignation.

"Well, aren't you Mr. Dicey Sematics!" she snapped.  "So what? You
think you can just take anything you want?"

Xander sighed heavily as Anya snatched the statute out of Giles'
hands.  The Watcher looked angry and tried to snatch it back, both
pulling on it in a weird tug-of-war.

"Give it!" Anya yelled.

"No, you give it!" Giles snapped back.

Xander stepped forward when Anya began smacking Giles' hand.

"Ow! Ow! Stop that!" Giles snapped.

"Okay!" Xander said loudly as they both looked at him.  "When I'm
marveling at the immaturity, be scared."

He smirked as they both stopped fighting over the statute.

"Anya, my love, Giles is leaving the store to you when he goes, what
more do you want?"

"I am not 'leaving' the store to anyone," Giles corrected.  "I'm going
to England.  I'm not dead, I'm still a partner!"

Xander continued to smirk as Giles yanked the statute back.

"Silent partner!" Anya said in a sullen voice.

"Who you should be nice to unless you want to try working at Video
Hut!" Xander pointed out.

Giles gave Anya a small and tentative smile as Anya scowled.  She gave
Giles a large and obviously fake smile before turning away.  As soon
as she had turned, Giles dropped the smile and scowled as well,
stalking into the back room.

Xander walked over to stand in front of his girlfriend.

"Anya, what kind of gratitude is that?" he demanded.

Anya's face softened and she leaned into Xander's chest.

"I know, I know," she said softly.  "It's just that he keeps saying
he's going, and then he doesn't.  He puts me in charge but then I'm
not.  And maybe he shouldn't be going at all but we can't talk about why!"

Xander drew her into his arms as she became agitated.

"And it all just leaves me with this stress and bossiness stored up
and-and it just . . . leaks out."

"Just give it time, Anya," Xander advised.  "It's hard for all of us.
  Just be patient and it'll be decided soon."

"It's been so hard!" she complained.  "I mean, I-I miss Buffy, I
really do! I'm sick of waiting!"

* * *

Giles sat down in the training room and glanced around, noting that
things in here were getting dusty.  He had been teaching the gang
self-defense moves since they had assumed Slayer duties but not the
intense workouts he had once done with Buffy in this room.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," he muttered.  "I wonder if you would have been
better off without me.  Everyone says I was helpful but I'm not sure.
  I helped you like any good Watcher would, got you killed in the line
of duty.  That's how all Slayer/Watcher relationships end, isn't it?"

The ex-Watcher stood up and looked around again.

"You're gone," he muttered sadly.  "I did my job, so why am I still here?"

* * *

Several citizens scampered out of the way as ten motorcycles pulled up
into the center of the street.  Most of them ignoring the fact that
these bikers seemed to be not quite human.

The demons looked around with snarls.

"You sure that little blood sucking weasel said that the Slayer was
out of town?" the lead demon growled.

"Yeah, just before I took his head off, Razor," one of the demon
bikers answered.

"Then let's go tear Sunnydale up before she gets back!" Razor shouted
as the demons cheered.


To be continued

The people have spoken.

More than 13,000 ballots were processed, and in the end, "Angel" was
the big winner of the fifth almost annual SyFy Portal Genre Awards.

The series, which was cancelled earlier this year by The WB, won six
awards in virtual awards, including wins in all the major
categories.

The series that "Angel" spun off from, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer,"
took home two of the other awards, and creator Joss Whedon was the
winner of the Gene Roddenberry Lifetime Achievement Award.

David Boreanaz, who played Angel in the series, won for Best
Actor/Television. He becomes only the third person to ever win the
award over the last five years, following up on wins by "Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine's" Avery Brooks, and last year's winner, Ben Browder
from "Farscape." Browder was nominated this year, as -- like "Buffy
the Vampire Slayer" -- the series' final few episodes fell into the
the Genre Awards nominating period.

Sarah Michelle Gellar has finally won the Best Actress category,
after losing it last year to "Farscape's" Claudia Black. Kate
Mulgrew of "Star Trek: Voyager" has the most wins in this category,
taking it in 1999, 2000 and 2001.

James Marsters, who received two nominations for Best Supporting
Actor/Television for both "Buffy" and "Angel," ended up taking the
award for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for the second year in a row.
Amy Acker, who played two characters during the last season
of "Angel," apparently impressed a lot of fans as she won the Best
Supporting Actress/Television category.

Charisma Carpenter, who played the character of Cordelia Chase in
both "Buffy" and "Angel," won an award herself, despite being
written out of the final season of "Angel." Her lone appearance, as
Cordelia in the episode "You're Welcome," won her Best Special
Guest/Television.

"Angel" also won for Best Episode with "A Hole in the World," as
well as Best Theme Song and Best Series.

On the movie side, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
took home three awards with Elijah Wood winning Best Young Actor,
Liv Tyler taking Best Actress/Movie, and for Best Film. Johnny Depp
took home Best Actor/Movie for his role in "The Pirates of the
Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl."

The SyFy Genre Awards is one of the largest virtual fan choice
awards on the net, and has been taking place since 1999. Over the
course of a month, fans can visit SyFy Portal once a day and vote
for their favorite actors, episodes and more in 13 categories.

Current and past winners are:

BEST ACTOR/Television
2004 - David Boreanaz, Angel
2003 - Ben Browder, Farscape
2001 - Ben Browder, Farscape
2000 - Avery Brooks, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1999 - Avery Brooks, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

BEST ACTRESS/Television
2004 - Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2003 - Claudia Black, Farscape
2001 - Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - Kate Mulgrew, Star Trek: Voyager

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR/Television
2004 - James Marsters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2003 - James Marsters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2001 - Robert Picardo, Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Robert Picardo, Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - David Hemblen, Earth: Final Conflict

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS/Television
2004 - Amy Acker, Angel
2003 - Gigi Edgly, Farscape
2001 - Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - Jeri Ryan, Star Trek: Voyager

BEST ACTOR/Movie
2004 - Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black
Pearl
2003 - Viggo Mortensen, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2001 - Patrick Stewart, X-Men
2000 - Tom Hanks, The Green Mile
1999 - Patrick Stewart, Star Trek: Insurrection

BEST ACTRESS/Movie
2004 - Liv Tyler, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 - Liv Tyler, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2001 - Anna Paquin, X-Men
2000 - Sigourney Weaver, Galaxy Quest
1999 - Donna Murphy, Star Trek: Insurrection

BEST YOUNG ACTOR
2004 - Elijah Wood, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 - Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
2001 - Manu Intiraymi, Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Scarlett Pomers, Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - Scarlett Pomers, Star Trek: Voyager

BEST SPECIAL GUEST/Television
2004 - Charisma Carpenter, "You're Welcome," Angel
2003 - Juliet Landau, "Lies My Parents Told Me," Buffy the Vampire
Slayer
2001 - Susanna Thompson, "Unimatrix Zero," Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Marina Sirtis, "Pathfiner," Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - Bill Mumy, "The Siege of AR-558," Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

BEST EPISODE/Television
2004 - "A Hole in the World," Angel
2003 - "Conversations With Dead People," Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2001 - "The Body," Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2000 - "What You Leave Behind," Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1999 - "Dark Frontier," Star Trek: Voyager

BEST THEME SONG/Television
2004 - Angel
2003 - Farscape
2001 - Earth: Final Conflict
2000 - Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - Star Trek: Voyager

BEST SERIES/Television
2004 - Angel
2003 - Farscape
2001 - Star Trek: Voyager
2000 - Star Trek: Voyager
1999 - The X-Files

BEST MOVIE
2004 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2001 - X-Men
2000 - Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace
1999 - The Matrix

GENE RODDENBERRY
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
2004 - Joss Whedon
2003 - J.R.R. Tolkien
2001 - Leonard Nimoy
2000 - George Lucas
1999 - Gene Roddenberry





Eternally,
LaDy SiN

From Sci-Fi Wire:

Andy Hallett, who played the green-skinned demon Lorne on The WB's
canceled Angel, told fans on his official Web site that he's been
hospitalized for an undisclosed viral ailment after having to miss a
scheduled convention appearance. "I wish I had better news for you
at the moment; however, I am having a bit of a rough time right now,
medically speaking," Hallett wrote his fans. "As you know, it would
take a lot for me to miss a scheduled event (ya know what a ham I
am ... ) but I'm unable to fly or travel at the moment. Last week I
was hospitalized due to a minor viral infection that was complicated
by exhaustion. This minor problem turned 'not so minor' quite
quickly and was causing major problems with my lungs and breathing."

Hallett added that he was in the intensive care unit in Los Angeles'
Cedars-Sinair Medical Center for five days. But he added that his
doctors expect a "speedy recovery." "I just have to rest, rest,
rest, rest, rest, rest." Hallett said.

From Aint it Cool News:

On the official Firefly posting board, "AffableChap" is Chris
Buchanan, president of Mutant Enemy. He says:

Browncoats –

Joss emailed me this to me and I wanted to post it IMMEDIATELY
because BIG NEWS is contained within. What a day we had today! But
enough from me now, here's a quote from our fearless leader:

"Hi guys. Just wanted to give you some news but guess what? I can't
get on the site. I have trouble with passwords. So hopefully Chris B
will forward this to you with his wily technical knowledgablosity.

Today was (as I think you know) the first day of filming of
Serenity. Which is pretty big for me (it felt weird to START with
Mal's death, but scheduling isn't my area). It was a blast. Sean
said it was like school was back in session after summer vacation,
which I have decided to take as a compliment. Gina did a happy dance
(and there are few happier sights than Gina doing a happy dance).
We're still flying. And the best part is, that's not even why I'm
posting.

The real news, and you heard it here first, is that Universal has
thrown down an official release date! So mark your calendars,
Browncoats, 'cause if you're planning to get married on April 22nd
2005, you better change the date. Seriously. Who gets married in
April? Just change it.

April 22nd. Exactly when I wanted to open, 'cause it's SOON. I can't
wait for you all to see what we're putting together. It's a crazy-
quilt of infotainment that I like to call a 'film', and it just may
be the best one ever made. Or one of the ones in the middle.
Probably not the worst... I'm thinking middle. High middle. So
buckle up and get ready for that patented Joss Whedon "high-middle"
excitment. It's on its way.

I'm tired, and apparently I have to direct, like, EVERY scene, so
I'm crashing. Thanks again, all of you, for helping me home. It's
good to be back. -joss."

It was a shiny, shiny day!

Best,
Buchanan

Hey all,

Round two nominations have now begun at the Sunnydale Memorial
Fanfiction Awards. Go to the awards site below
for details.
http://www.geocities.com/luckyleaf13/RulesDates.html


Eternally,
LaDy SiN

Michelle to play "Debbie" in "Vinyl"


[ Nothing about this from Michelle's camp yet, however since Thora
Birch is the Executive Producer, Michelle fans have labelled this a
reliable rumour... ]

From http://www.thora.org/

Vinyl tells the story of the women behind a rock band on the verge
of fame and success.

- Thora plays Julie, the wife of Matt, the lead member of the band.
- Rosario Dawson is cast as Sarah. After five years of standing by
the band and her fiancé (bass player, David), Sarah ultimately faces
a major decision in her life.
- Shane West will play Jimmy, one of the members of the band.  This
will not be a huge stretch for West, who fronts the band Jonny Was
in real life.
- *Michelle Trachtenberg plays Debbie, the girlfriend of another
band member, who starts out as a naïve good-girl type from the right
side of the tracks who in the end gains a lot of rock 'n' roll
spirit.
- Lukas Haas plays Charlie, the band's sensitive drummer who
unwittingly falls in love with pregnant girlfriend (Faris) of West's
character.
- Anna Faris plays the pregnant girlfriend of yet another band
member.
- Marla Sokoloff plays a bartender who comes between one of the
couples.
- Dominique Swain plays a groupie who is hot after the band's lead
singer.
- Jonathan Rhys-Meyers will be playing Matt opposite Thora. He will
be playing Thora's husband and lead singer.
- Henry Thomas will be playing David, the bass player, opposite
Rosario Dawson.

*Michelle Trachtenberg has replaced Jena Malone in the role of
Debbie. Due to filming conflicts, Jena had to bow out.


Despite the title of the film, which suggests that the movie is set
in the past, it's actually set in modern-day L.A.  According to
FilmStew.com, writer and director Richard Zelniker believes
that "the title is a reference to the glory days of rock n' roll,
when the leading voices of the art form were self-evident and the
securing of an all-important recording contract, or "vinyl," was a
true source of pride. Today, Zelniker suggests, with rap and hip-hop
dominating the charts and airwaves, many are wondering where the
next real emblems of rock n' roll will come from."

It is also interesting to note that this script has been re-written
several times over the past decade or so, and has almost been
produced with different actors at different times as well.

Production is scheduled to begin filming in Los Angeles on July 6,
2004.

"Buffy: The Album," "Radio: Sunnydale" and "Once More With Feeling",
all three soundtracks have been an overwhelming success, so it's no
surprise that Twentieth Century Fox are going to continue the trend
with a proposed "Angel" soundtrack.

Speaking to the City of Angel Web site, "Angel" composer Robert Kral
announced a provisional track listing for the album, based on the
cancelled vampire series.

The track listing to date includes the opening theme song (performed
by Darling Violetta), "Hero for Doyle," "The L.A. Song" (sung
by "Angel" star Christian Kane and written by co-creator David
Greenwalt) as well as a few covers which were performed by the shows
very own kareoke loving demon, Lorne (Andy Hallett).

"There is a lot of material I wanted to include that we just can't
squeeze into one CD," Kral announced.

"Fox doesn't wish to do a double album! 'Lady Marmalade' (sung by
Andy Hallett) may be replaced with 'Superstition' which is actually
a
better track, with better performances," he added.

It is possible that future changes may occur to this listing as the
project develops.

This is mostly spoiler free, but still read with caution if you
don't
want to know:


From AIn it Cool News:

SHINY!! Whedon's SERENITY Screenplay Reviewed


After reading the New York Times article in which Joss Whedon
compared the spoiler junkie websites to bullies who beat him up and
stole his lunch money, you sort of had to ask yourself: who's the
asshole that's going to run out and write a review of Serenity
before
they've even had a chance to finish shooting the damn thing? After
receiving a script for the Firefly movie from a buddy of mine who
works "in the industry," as it were, the answer becomes clear: that
asshole would be I.

But considering that the good folks on the Serenity set have only
just now started filming, and considering that the film doesn't come
out for almost a year, and most of all considering that the movie
will be way, way cooler if you know as little about it as possible,
I'm going to give as close to an entirely spoiler-free review as I
can. I won't mention any plot points or characters not already
widely
reported in the trades and the more respectable internet sites, and
frankly I hope that the rest of the Firefly fanbase will do likewise
should they have a chance to get their mitts on the script (was Joss
Whedon joking when he said that Mal dies? Do you wish you knew for
sure? Wouldn't it be cooler to actually find out in the theater?).

I'm not sure how recent a draft of the screenplay I have – there's
no
proper title page to it, and the Serenity title is only listed some
thirteen pages in (for security reasons, I presume), with nary a
written-by credit or a draft date anywhere to be found. There are a
couple of scenes that seem in need of a polish here and there, but
for the most part it reads like a pretty complete and close to shoot-
ready script.

First off, to allay some fears: every member of the original cast is
back, and for the most part none of the characters seem short-
changed
in the screen time department. Though the central character is
clearly Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), there's plenty of
time
spent with the other crew members, and certain sub-plots from the
series have carried over very naturally to the big screen version.
Only one cast member has notably fewer scenes than the rest, and I
almost wonder if there wasn't a rather severe scheduling conflict
that necessitated that person's absence from much of the filming.

The first ten or so pages of Serenity are a lesson in graceful
screenwriting – Whedon manages to set up more or less the entire
Firefly universe, from Earth-That-Was to the Reavers to the War for
Unification to River and Simon and right on down to the ubiquity of
the Chinese language all in a concise, folding-flashback format that
should prove intriguing to new viewers even as it offers faithful
fans of the series some expanded information that hasn't been
explicitly covered before. Afterward we meet The Operative (recently
announced as being played by Chiwetel Ejiofor), and following a cool
little sequence in which we're given a compelling and heretofore
unheard reason for why the Alliance wants to track down River Tam
(Summer Glau) so badly, we get introduced to the film's titular ship
and her recently-truncated crew as they prepare for their latest
job.

And that's as much of a plot description as I'm gonna give.

Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of the script is how it
manages to maintain just the right balance between giving those
familiar with the T.V. series plenty of new material to chew on even
as it draws in complete newbies to its world. My buddy had never
seen
the show before he procured the script, but after reading it he
immediately went out and bought the DVD box set – and actually
thought that the movie played better without having seen the series
first. The script seems to err generally in favor of the new viewer,
which is as it should be, even while it reads like Firefly through
and through. Whedon resists the Star Trek temptation to put in a
bunch of distracting fan in-jokes, and the story is all the stronger
for it.

There aren't an over-abundance of set pieces to the film, but if
those that they do have play out right, Universal should have a
profitable little franchise on their hands with a very promising
direction for future films to take. The action sequences are unique
and engaging, and more so than in the series you really get the
sense
that Mal used to be a soldier, and a good one at that. There are
also
moments to Serenity that are supremely creepy, and I note with
interest that they're obviously looking at a PG-13 rating for the
film – some of these scenes are just going to be too gruesome for
anything else, and not all the swearing is in Chinese.

You also have to give Whedon props for not merely sticking with the
series' theme of losses of faith and how you deal with them, but on
going out of his way to expand upon it. The character arc that Mal
Reynolds began in the first Firefly episode doesn't quite reach its
climax here, but it certainly progresses further than it ever did on
the small screen.

And of course, there's the trademark Joss Whedon dialogue:


WASH: Yeah well if she doesn't give us some extra flow from the
engine room to offset the burnthrough the landing is gonna get
pretty
interesting.
MAL: Define "interesting."
WASH (calm suggestion): "Oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?"

As far as weaknesses in the script go, there are a couple: though
The
Operative is an interesting character with an intriguing worldview
that serves as a nice counterpoint to Mal's, he's still one good
Agent Smith human-beings-are-a-virus monologue from being the truly
memorable badass that I think Whedon wants him to be. Getting
Ejiofor
to play him is a stroke of brilliance – anyone who's seen Dirty
Pretty Things or Amistad can attest to the intensity and depth that
he can bring to a role, and it'll be nice to see him playing against
his good-guy type here – but you kind of end up wishing that the
script would give him a little more to work worth. Hopefully, this
problem was rectified before shooting commenced. The other (slightly
larger) problem is the film's mid-point confrontation, which read a
bit hokier to both my friend and I than it should have – it was the
only scene in the entire script that seemed like T.V. writing. At
exactly the moment that the tension should be ratcheted up, Mal is
cracking wise and dressing in an inappropriately comedic manner.
(Also, and just to be anal-retentive here, Whedon on occasion seems
to use the words "galaxy" and "solar system" interchangeably in some
of his descriptions, though I trust that's a problem that'll be
worked out by the f/x boys long before post-production time.)

One of the biggest criticisms of the Star Trek: The Next Generation
movie franchise that Paramount managed to run right into the ground
was the fact that they never really felt like movies – they were
just
over-glorified episodes of the series, in which nothing really
changed afterwards. Sure they blew up the Enterprise, but you knew
they'd have a new one next week. Sure they killed Data, but they set
up the means of his return so obviously that they needn't have
bothered. Sure they married Riker and Troi, but honestly – does
anyone give a fuck? The difference between those Star Trek movies
and
Serenity is that by the end of this script, you feel like things
have changed – both personally for the characters and in the
universe of
the story at large. If there's a sequel to this film it won't be
just another interchangeable episode of their lives. It will build
inevitably upon the foundation laid here, and I imagine it'll be a
much bumpier – and even more interesting – ride. Here's hoping.

I am a leaf on the wind,
Miranda

P.S. Isn't it about time that somebody leaked the Whedon version of
the X-Men movie script online? I mean, seriously

New Buffy Book - Heat
From http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy

By Nancy Holder

In 2004 September, Buffy/Angel crossover novel Heat sees the
return of Jheira - the hottie from another dimension first
encountered in Angel season two episode She.


Description :

While Buffy struggles to make a new life for herself in Sunnydale,
Angel has an encounter with an old flame in L.A. - an encounter
which just might precipitate a tide of war and destruction. In his
first year in Los Angeles, Angel encountered Jheira, a hunter
from another dimension whose fiery emotions cause men to fall
under her spell. Four years later he is astonished to find the
fugitive Jheira again - and disconcerted to find that her power
over men is as strong as it was before.

Someone else is looking for Jheira - hoping that she will help
him to thaw an army of demon soldiers: souls of the damned
entombed beneath the eternal ice in a frozen and desolate hell.
And in a museum in Los Angeles, on loan from China, one of the
world's great archaeological treasures stands waiting.
Thousands of warriors sculpted in terracotta, looking as if they
could come to life any moment.

Meantime in Sunnydale Buffy is trying to come to terms with a
new and different life, juggling her work as a counsellor with
looking after Dawn and keeping an eye on Spike and his fragile
sanity. A demonic invincible army is the last thing that she
needs...

CoA EXCLUSIVE!

This just in from Robert Kral:

"BIG NEWS!
THE ANGEL ALBUM IS DEFINITELY GOING AHEAD! We just received
confirmation moments ago...." - Rob

A couple months back, Angel composer Rob Kral asked fans for their
input regarding the long awaited Angel Score Soundtrack. Well, Rob
contacted CoA with what is the first version of the track listing of
score pieces that EMI and FOX are putting together for the CD. Rob
was eager for us to post the news saying, "The fans did contribute to
the choices after all," he said.

Fans please note that Fox announced to Rob they did not want
a 'songs' album and he had to specially request the two that are
included. With a current total of 24-tracks containing over 76-
minutes of music many fan favorites made it onto the list including:
Hero for Doyle, the Darla suites, L.A. sung by Christian Kane and a
track by Andy Hallett as well as the Darling Violetta Theme (although
not an extended version). Thanks to all the fans

1) Angel Main Titles (:54)
2 Start The Apocalypse (3:36)
3) The End of The World (1:42)
4) Massive Assault (3:15)
5) Home (1:55)
6) Hero (5:24)
7) Judgment & Jousting (2:38)
8) The Birth Of Angelus (3:31)
9) Rebellion (3:08)
10) The Trials for Darla (5:59)
11) Dreaming of Darla (2:23)
12) Untouched/Darla's Fire (2:14)
13) Darla's Sacrifice (5:41)
14) Welcome to PYLEA (4:21)
15) Through The Looking Glass (4:08)
16) Castle Attack (2:23)
17) Cordy Meets Fred (3:23)
18) Princess Cordellia (1:23)
19) Angel Beats The Bad Guys (3:25)
20) Faith Takes A Turn (3:55)
21) Billy (2:37)
22) Farewell Cordellia (1:11)
23) LA Song (3:08)
24) Lady Marmalade (3:04)

Total Running Time: 76:12
This is a draft of the album only. Additional editing and mastering
required. Titles, playing & content order yet to be finalised.
All tracks except (1), (23), (24) composed by Robert J. Kral.
(1) Darling Violetta, (23) David Greenwalt (perf. Christian Kane),
(24) Bob Crewe, Kenny Nolan (perf. Andy Hallett). (19) Includes a
theme by Christopher Beck
Soundtrack version 1 4/21/2004

A very nice person emailed me the article.

"Drawing Power"
The animated Buffy the Vampire Slayer series is back on the drawing
board -with Sarah Michelle Gellar erased from the cast.  According
to sources, she chose not to reprise her role, leading creator Joss
Whedon to recruit voice-over star Giselle Loren to mouth off
alongside Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Anthony Stewart Head
in the pilot (potential distributors get a peek next month).  In the
meantime, story-line possibilities are endless.  Says Whedon's
rep: "Buffy can now shrink to the size of an ant, and it doesn't
matter."  That's assuming she can find a really small stake."

Title: Bargaining, Part 2
Season 6 Reset Series

Author: Frau Hunter Ash
Copyright © 2002-2004 by Hunter Ash. All Rights Reserved.
Email: hunterash7@...
hunterash@...
Feedback welcome!!
Homepage Addy: http://www.hunterash.com/

Acknowledgments:  Note: Plot collaborated on by Hunter Ash and Dark
Gremlin
Suggestions from many people and many boards.  A special "thank you"
to them.
Another special "Thank You" to Joan the English Chick
(pisces@...) for her transcripts.

Disclaimers: The characters and show all belong to Joss Whedon, Fox,
Mutant Enemy, Kuzui, and God only knows who else. The storyline,
however, is the sole property of the author. This story cannot be
sold or used for profit in any way. Copies of this story may be made
for private use only and must include all disclaimers and copyright
notices.

F/F romance: the story assumes a loving and sexual relationship
between people of the same gender and opposite gender.  If this
offends or is illegal for you, then please leave.  Come back when
you are older, have an open mind, moved, or changed your laws.

Spoilers:
Bargaining, Parts 1 and 2 written by Marti Noxon and David Fury

In my universe here, Season 6 is happening again! Starting with
Bargaining and taking off from there.  Things will be different
here.

Rating: R (US), 15 (UK) MA (Aus) Pairings: Wi/T, X/An

Summary:  This isn't the episode or transcript though you'll find
parts are taken right from the episode.  Some things are rearranged
and there are some major differences as well.

(no actual deer was harmed in the writing of this story)
* * *

Willow glanced around at the pond, breathing in the fresh air.
Everything felt cleaner after a short rain.  The rain was shining
off the water and Willow enjoyed the moment of peace.

The witch reached for a small clay pot on the blanket she was
sitting on.

"Adonai, Helomi, Pine," she chanted softly, pouring the liquid out
on the ground in offering.  "Adonai, Helomi, Pine. The gods do
command thee from thy majesty," she continued as she put the jar
down and replaced the lid.  "O Mappa Laman, Adonai, Helomi. Come
forward, blessed one. Know your calling."

The red-haired witch glanced around and spotted a young fawn step
out from around a tree, watching her.

"Come forward, blessed one," she said softly, her voice and eyes
gentle.

The fawn approached the witch fearlessly and welcomed Willow's arm
around its neck as her hand reached into a basket.  Willow's eyes
hardened as the knife plunged into the fawn's chest.

After a moment of struggle, the fawn lay still and blood covered
Willow's hands and she was panting.

"Accept our gratitude for your offering," she intoned as she put the
knife down.  "In death. . . you give life. May you find wings to the
kingdom."

Willow glanced around, afraid to wipe the tears from her cheeks with
blood-covered hands.

* * *

Tara glanced up from the table at the Magic Box, smiling at Willow
walking in the door.  She was only slightly puzzled at the change of
clothes but she shrugged it off.

"You're late," Tara commented.

"Oh," Willow said glancing around, "I had to get that thing," she
explained, setting a small leather bag on the table.

"Giles isn't around," Xander informed her.  "You can dump the
cryptic."

"I had to get the last spell ingredient," Willow said nervously.

"Right," Xander nodded.  "What is vino de madre anyway?"

"Wine of the mother," Willow muttered.  "Kind of . . . black market
stuff."

Tara suddenly looked alarmed.  "You didn't tell me that! You
shouldn't have gone alone, it could have been dangerous!"

"I'm sorry," Willow said softly.  "I was careful."

"Well, it must be something intense," Anya frowned.  "The black
market's all baby teeth and spooky fluids."

"All I know is that we have to have it to finish the spell," Willow
commented, moving to grab a book from the shelves.  "That makes it
good stuff in my book.  What are you doing here, Xan? I thought we
weren't gonna meet till later."

"Rained out today and it was just too weird hanging out by myself,"
Xander explained.

"It's better if we stay together," Tara agreed.

Willow sat down at the table and reached for Tara's hand.

"Awww, got butterflies, baby," Willow asked softly.

"More like bats," Tara smiled softly.

"You wanna look at the money?" Anya suggested.  "I find it always
calms me."

Xander looked over at her adoringly.

"No, thanks," Tara smiled at the former vengeance demon.

Willow smiled at her lover. "You tell those bats everything is gonna
be alright, I promise.  We couldn't be more prepared."

"I just wish it was time," Tara complained.

"I know, me too," Willow said softly.

* * *

The roar of motorcycles filled the California night air.  The roar
dimmed to a rumble as the choppers slowed and stopped in front of a
road sign and Razor turned his headlights onto it.

"Welcome to Sunnydale" it read and the huge demon laughed and turned
his motorcycle back to the road, the roar of all the motorcycles
filling the night.

* * *

Xander and Anya walked down a familiar path in the woods and entered
a small clearing.  The young couple hesitated when they saw Willow
standing over a grave with Tara standing slightly back.

Willow's intensity was worrying Xander and he suspected it was
bothering Tara as well.

The red-haired witch turned with a slight smile and the others moved
to join the witches.  Willow proceeded to the foot of the grave and
knelt down, spreading a large scarf out.  Next she rummaged in her
backpack and pulled out several items as Xander, Anya and Tara knelt
down on either side of the grave.

Willow glanced at her watch impatiently.

"Does everybody have their candles?" she questioned.

"I'm trying," Anya muttered, struggling with a lighter. "Mine won't
stay lit."

"Well, hurry," Willow urged.

"What time is it?" Tara asked her lover.

Xander glanced at his watch and frowned.

"A minute to midnight," he muttered.

"C'mon, Anya!" Willow urged.

"I've got it, I got it!" Anya smiled.

"Okay, let's start the circle," Willow said calmly.

Tara and Anya intoned, forming the magical circle as Willow pulled
the Urn of Osiris into her hands.  She removed the lid and then took
another jar containing the deer blood and poured the liquid into the
urn before replacing the lid on the jar of blood.

Willow listened as Tara and Anya finished invoking the circle and
she held up the urn.

"Osiris!" she said loudly and firmly.  "Keeper of the Gate, Master
of all Fate, hear us!" the red-haired witch dipped her finger into
the Urn and marked her forehead and both cheeks with the blood mixed
with herbs and other liquids.

"Before time, and after," she continued.  "Before knowing and
nothing!"

Xander shifted uncomfortably as she poured the liquid onto the
ground in offering.

"Accept our offering!" Willow said forcefully.  "Hear our prayer!"

Anya squeaked and Xander jumped visibly when Willow's body jerked
backwards almost totally over and her arms thrust out to her sides.

Xander cursed softly as deep gashes appeared on her arms and Tara
motioned for him to hold his place.  "Willow!" he shouted.

"No!" Tara shouted.  "She…she told me…she'd be tested. This is
supposed to happen.

Willow was clearly in pain and Tara was resisting stopping the
ritual herself.

The red-haired witch gritted her teeth as she panted, trying to move
past the pain.

"Osiris!" she shouted.  "Here lies the warrior of the people! Let
her cross back!"

Tara cried out softly as Willow winced in pain.  The blood was
flowing from the cuts on her arms.  Anya and Xander's eyes widened
as something moved under Willow's skin, moving from the arms to
Willow's neck.

"She needs help!" Xander cried out.

"Xander, no!" Tara cried out.  "She said not to stop, not matter
what! If we break the cycle now it's over!"

"Osiris! Accept the bargain!" Willow yelled, obviously in
pain.  "Let the warrior return!"

A deep rumble reached the small group and Xander frowned.

"Oh God, what was that noise?" Anya muttered.

* * *

Giles glanced outside the Magic Shop, startled by the same noise.

"Oh God," he muttered as motorcycles roared into sight.  Rogue
bikers would be bad enough, he thought, these were worse.  Demons on
motorcycles.  "Bloody terrific!"

The former Watcher, now shopkeeper, hurried outside and quickly
lowered the metal grates over the windows.  He dashed back into the
shadows as two choppers roared past, their riders howling and
swinging chains.

Giles moved back into the shop, locked the door and pulled the metal
bars over it.  He moved quickly to the phone where he watched from
the darkened shop as the demons began destroying Sunnydale.

Human citizens were scurrying out of the way as the demons drove
their bikes over cars, smashing sidewalk tables, tossing garbage
cans around and terrorized the humans.  One biker grabbed a woman,
tossing her over the bike in front of him and rode off into the
night.

Demons with baseball bats, chains, and bottles filled with something
flammable began dismounting their motorcycles, intent on destroying
anything in their path.

It looked like something out of a Viking raid on an English village,
Giles thought.

"Blast it!" he yelled and slammed the phone down.  He quickly looked
over a list taped to the wall next to the phone and dialed a
number.  "Janice? Yes, this is Mr. Giles, is Dawn there?"

A moment later Dawn's voice answered him.

"Dawn, listen, hell has broken loose downtown and might spill over
into the neighborhood," he said quickly.  "I want you and Janice's
family to turn out all the lights and go into the basement and lock
yourselves in.  Tell them that a group of crazed motorcycle thugs
are tearing up the town.  Where is everyone else?"

"Out slaying or something," Dawn said softly but excited.  "Can we
just watch out the window?"

"NO!" Giles shouted.  "You have no idea what they would do to you
and Janice's family!"

"Oh, alright!" Dawn said, obviously pouting.

"Dawn, please!" Giles begged, wincing at the sound of the shop next
door losing their front window.  He ducked down behind the
counter.  "I'm not even sure I can get out of here. They are
vicious, deadly and they will hurt you before killing you."

"Okay, Giles," Dawn said, her voice a little more subdued. "I'm
sorry."

"Just stay safe," he said softly and hung up, ducking away from a
flashlight shining in the store. "I wish I could."

* * *

Xander whimpered as Anya reached across the grave to grab his hand
as they watched Willow struggling to breath, twitching in pain.

"Osiris! Let her cross over!"

Willow began gagging and dropped forward onto her hands as the
things under her skin reached her throat.

"Oh god!" Tara whined. "Oh god, oh god!"

Willow, choking on something, opened her mouth and began closing her
eyes.

Anya screamed and Xander squeaked as a black snake began to emerge
from the witch's mouth. Willow's fingers dug into the ground in pain
and gag reflex.

"It's a test!" Tara whispered. "It's a test, she's being tested.
Willow?"

Willow sighed heavily, coughing.

Abruptly, Willow's body snapped upright, her head thrown back, her
eyes blackened.  "Osiris, release her!" she screamed as an orange
haze began surrounding her, bright orange lights dancing around her.

Tara fell back as two teenagers came tearing into the clearing and
the roaring followed them.

"Help us! Monsters on motorcycles!" the young man shouted and the
girl screamed as headlights bounced around the clearing.

The boy dragged the girl into the trees, leaving the Scooby Gang
stunned.

Xander and Anya jumped to their feet as demons on motorcycles raced
around them, shouting and punching at the couple, surrounding them.

"Willow!" Tara shouted, watching as Willow continued to be enveloped
in the orange haze and the lights.

One of the demons, spotting Tara, cut across in front of Willow,
knocking her back to the ground and running over the Urn of Osiris
as he grabbed at Tara and missed.

"NO!" Willow screamed and the orange haze and lights faded.

"Willow!" Tara screamed as Willow fell over unconscious.  She tried
to reach her lover but the same biker rode between them again and
Tara barely avoided his claws.  Anya pulled her back as the bikers
crowded around.
"Look what I found!" one yelled, dragging the teenage male and
girlfriend out of the trees.

The bikers howled and turned their attention in that direction.

Xander rushed over and grabbed Willow up into his arms.

"I've got her!" he shouted at Anya and Tara.  "Go! Get out of here!
Hide!"

Xander watched as Anya pulled Tara towards the tree line and he
pulled Willow over his shoulder and moved in the opposite
direction.

Anya screamed as a pursuing biker grabbed her by the hair,
attempting to pull her over the gas tank.

"Tara!"

Tara spun on her heels with her hands upraised.  "Dissolvo!"

Anya faltered back as the riderless motorcycle crashed into a tree.

"Come on!" Tara urged, stumbling from the rush of expended energy.

* * *

Xander moved as far as he could while carrying the unconscious
witch.  He finally stopped and gently lowered her down with her back
to a tree.  He watched, worried as she stirred and slowly opened her
eyes.

"Willow? Willow, you okay?"

"Did it work?" her voice was weak and her body shaking.

"I'm sorry," he said softly and her head dropped forward,
unconscious again.

The young man moved to sit next to the tree, pulling Willow's head
into his lap, watching for motorcycles.

* * *

Giles crawled along the floor of the Magic Shop, trying to stay in
the shadows.  Frequently lights would shine in the shop and the last
thing Giles wanted was to be caught like a deer in those
headlights.  He made it to the back room and grabbed up a dusty
battle axe and began stuffing his pockets with bottles of holy
water.  Glancing around to the front of the shop, he changed his
mind and put the battle axe down and grabbed up an iron pick axe.

"Cold iron, perfect for demons," he muttered.  Giles had no
intention of exiting the shop but he did plan on protecting it and
himself.  The former Watcher sat back, watching the front of the
store and waited.

* * *

Xander started to move and put Willow over his shoulder when Tara
and Anya came into sight and ran up to them.  Tara quickly moved
Willow's head into her lap, gently stroking her lover's hair.

"Willow?"

"I'm pretty sure she's okay," Xander said softly, getting up and
going to Anya, pulling her into his arms.  "Or as okay as someone
who's just had snakes coming out of their mouth can be!" he suddenly
snapped.  "What the hell was that all about, Tara?"

Tara looked up at him, pained.

"Less talk, more running!" Anya urged.

"I'm pretty sure the woods will give us cover," Xander said
firmly. "The motorcycles can't follow us in here."

Anya's eyes widened as the rumble got closer and lights began
dancing near them.

"Someone should tell them that!" she squeaked.

"New plan," Xander snapped, kneeling down and pulling Willow over
his shoulder.  "Let's split up."

"No, bad plan," Anya protested.

"I'll take her," Tara said softly but Xander shook his head.

"No, I've got her," Xander responded and his face softened.  "I'll
keep her safe, I promise."

"We should meet somewhere," Tara suggested.

"Magic Box," Anya said quickly.

"First ones there, call Dawn at Janice's and warn them," Xander
nodded.

The two pairs moved off in different directions.

* * *

Dawn, Janice, and parents huddled at the bottom of the stairs in the
basement, listening to the sound of motorcycles ripping through the
neighborhood.  Occasionally breaking glass and screams would reach
them.

"Did Mr. Giles say if the police were doing anything?" Mrs. Franklin
asked.

"He didn't know, he was hiding behind the counter, I think," Dawn
answered.

"Good idea," Mr. Franklin agreed.  "It'll be over soon, Mother."

"I hope so," Mrs. Franklin said softly.

* * *

Xander sat Willow down gently once more and tried to catch his
breath.  He smiled slightly as she opened her eyes again.

"Xan . . .  Xander? Where?"

"Shhh," he urged, "We're using our quiet voice, Will."

"Where's Tara?" she whispered, sitting up.

"Off and running," Xander answered.  "Like we need to be. We gotta
keep moving, Will."

"Right," she said softly. "Demons on bikes."

"Yeah," Xander nodded.  "We got trouble, right here in Hellmouth
City. Some teenagers led them right to us."

"Buffy!" Willow sat up quickly. "The ritual! We've got to go back!"

Xander grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back into a
sitting position.

"Will, I told you!"

"We have to try again!" Willow protested.

"No, we can't!" Xander snapped.

"We have to, Xander," she begged.  "I…she…she's waiting! I know it!
She's counting on us…on…on me! I can't leave her there anymore, I
won't! We have to finish."

"Shhhh!" he hissed and they both ducked down as a motorcycle rode
near them and then away.

"Will, the urn of cirrhosis…"

"The urn of Osiris?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said slowly.  "It got…it was…"

"It got broken," she said softly with a frown.  "I remember."

"Okay, so we'll find another one," Xander urged.  "A better made
one. Anya and I will jump back on the web…"

"No, there aren't any others," Willow said softly, closing her eyes.

"Okay, we fix this one," he said desperately, not caring for the
look of despair on his friend's face.  "A little tape, a dab of
Crazy Glue…"

"No, it's no use," Willow began to cry softly.  "The urn's defiled.
It's gone. Nothing! It was all for nothing! Buffy's gone!"

Xander drew his best friend into his arms, letting her cry against
his chest.

* * *

Tara grabbed Anya, throwing her behind a large rock, roughly.

"Was that necessary?" Anya demanded.  "A simple 'psst'…."

Tara thrust her hand over Anya's mouth and both fell silent as two
demons walked near the rock and stopped.

"I'm just saying this is rank!" one of them complained.

"Get off it, Clyde," the other one snapped.

"Razor heads back to town and all the fun and leaves us here to hunt
down strays?" Clyde complained.  "It's BS!"

"Hey! You got a bug up your crack then take it up with Razor," the
second demon snapped.

Anya and Tara stopped breathing as the demons moved near the rock.

"Until then," the second demon growled.  "Do as he says and shut
your hole before I rip you a new one!"

After a couple of moments the second demon growled.

"Oh screw this!" he grumbled.  "Let's get out of here and hit some
stores."

Tara and Anya began breathing again as the demons moved away.

"Did he say stores?" Anya whispered, demanding. "Did he say stores?
Does that mean looting?"

"I think the woods end over here, we can get out this way," Tara
said softly. "We should keep off the streets, stick to the alleys."

"They can't loot the Magic Box!" Anya protested. "It's almost mine!"

"Shhhh, let's go," Tara urged.

"You don't think they'll do a lot of damage, do you?" Anya whined.

Tara sighed and pulled Anya along.

* * *

Spike sat on top of his tomb, watching the demons rampaging through
the streets.  "Bloody hell!" he muttered.  The vampire figured he
had done enough watching, time for action.

The blonde vampire jumped down with a baseball bat in his hands.  He
moved quickly into the street, smashed the face of a passing demon
and grabbed the motorcycle up before it crashed into a car.

Spike stuck the bat across the handlebars and quickly zipped down an
alley, heading for Janice Franklin's house.  He hadn't been invited
in and couldn't protect Dawn that way, but he could ensure the
Hellion demons wouldn't get in.

"Goddamn road pirates!" Spike had run into them before.  He would
have loved to run with them even before the chip except they hated
vampires and their weaknesses to sunlight. "They usually only pick
small jerkwater towns, they must have got word the Slayer was
absent."

Spike growled and moved the motorcycle faster.

* * *

Tara and Anya quickly move into the Magic Box through the back door
and Tara squeaked as someone raised a pick axe over their heads.

"Giles!" Anya shrieked and the Englishman slowly lowered the weapon
as Tara closed the door.

"Are Xander and Willow here?" Tara asked quickly.

"No, just the demons outside," Giles said softly.

"Oh thank god," Anya muttered and noticed Tara and Giles looking
confused.  "The store hasn't been looted, I mean."

They all moved to glance around the door jam to the front of the
store as demons crashed through the windows of the shop across the
street.

"Yes," Anya muttered. "Xander."

"They're okay," Tara said, trying to reassure her friend.

"Then why aren't they here?" Anya demanded.

"I don't know," Tara muttered.

"Let's keep out of sight, shall we?" Giles suggested, moving away
from the doorway.

"Xander could by lying somewhere broken and bleeding and calling my
name," Anya whined.

"Anya," Tara said softly.

"Like that!" Anya snapped.  "What if they're really hurt?"

"Anya," Tara snapped.  "He's with Willow, if something happened, I'd
know. So would you."

"You think so?" Anya asked hopefully.

"Yes," Tara nodded.  "Maybe they got lost in the woods."

"The woods?" Anya squeaked.  "We're going back to the woods? I hate
the woods. All those woody trees…"

"No," Tara smiled, suddenly excited.  "Lost is good.  Willow and I
always know how to find each other."

Giles and Anya watched as Tara crossed to a low round coffee table
and tossed several books aside and sat on top of it.  She moved to
sit cross-legged, resting her hands on her knees and closed her eyes.

"With yoga?" Anya demanded.

"Shhhh," Tara said softly.  "Aradia, hear my words…."

* * *

Willow leaned heavily against Xander's arm, panting.

"Okay," Xander snapped.  "This is beginning to grate my cheese.
These woods aren't that big! Now, I know we've been going straight
because I've been following the North Star."

Willow stopped and looked up. "That's not the North Star, it's an
airplane."

Xander looked worried as Willow moved to lean against a tree.

"I can't walk anymore," she panted. "I need to rest."

"It can't be much further, Will," her friend said softly.

"You said that an hour ago," she snapped and then sighed.  "I just…
that spell took a lot out of me."

"For example, snakes?" he suddenly demanded.  "How come you didn't
tell us how much…"

"No, not right now, please," Willow begged.

"What we were into back there, Will?" he demanded.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Willow said softly, wiping away a tear.

"Do not get all avoidy on me!" Xander snapped.

"I'm not doing avoidy," Willow protested. "We just have bigger
problems right now. Demons?"

"Oh right," he said sarcastically.  "There's something you don't see
every day.  Unless you're us!"

"Yeah, well, we still have to deal with it," Willow snapped
back.  "What's that?"

"See avoidy!" Xander accused.

Willow looked annoyed and pointed.  "There! That light."

"What light?" Xander growled. "You mean that light moving towards
us? Like incredibly fast moving towards us?" he squeaked.

"Hello?" Willow called out loudly.

"Hello?" Xander repeated, his voice an octave higher.  "We're being
hunted by demons and you're hello-ing a strange fast moving light in
the dark?"

The bluish light they had spotted moved faster and closer, as if
more sure of its destination.

"It's a headlight!" Xander squeaked.

"No, it's too small," Willow said softly with a smile.

Xander grabbed up a tree branch and moved in front of Willow.

"Stay behind me!" he ordered.

"Xander, no!" Willow shouted.

The blue light flew right up to the young man, circling him.

"Xander, that's…."

"A bug! A firey like bug!" he yelped.

"Xander, stop it!" she yelled as Xander swatted at the light.  She
began moving to follow the light as it moved off.  "It's Tara."

Xander scrambled to catch up to Willow, wrapping an arm around her
waist.

"And how long have you known that your girlfriend is Tinkerbell?" he
demanded.

* * *

Spike pulled up outside Janice's home and quickly bashed two demons
over the head when they got too close to the door.  He ducked down
on the porch with the bat in his hands.

The vampire enjoyed being able to bash something, even if it was
only demons and not humans. He waited patiently for his next
targets.

* * *

Giles and Anya jumped when someone began pounding on the back door.
Tara merely opened her eyes and smiled.

"Go away!" Anya shouted. "Already looted, nice appliance store three
doors down!"

"Anya!" Xander yelled from outside.

Anya threw the door open and dragged Xander and Willow inside.
Giles locked the door behind them as Anya hugged her boyfriend.
Tara moved off the table quickly to take Willow into her arms.

Tara and Giles led Willow to a chair. The witch settled down with a
grimace of pain.

"I knew you weren't dead!" Anya cried out.

"You were worried?" Xander asked with a smile.

"Are you okay?" Tara asked the red-haired witch.

"No, not yet," Willow said softly. "I will be."

Tara began to gently stroke her hair.

Giles, watching Willow, frowned.

"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" he demanded.

"Nope," Xander quipped.  "We were out slaying and got separated when
the demons hit town.  Willow threw some magic at them and wiped
herself out."

Willow looked up, her eyes grateful.

Giles didn't look convinced.

"Where's Dawn and Spike?" Willow asked, looking around. "I thought
they'd make it here."

"Maybe they're on their way here," Xander suggested.  "I mean this
place is NORAD, and we are at Defcon one."

Everyone looked at him with blank expressions.

"Okay, I need more male friends," he grumbled.

"We have to look for them," Willow started to stand up but Tara
firmly held her down in the chair.

"I talked with Dawn, actually," Giles added.  "She's at Jesscia's
house and I advised them to hide in the basement until the danger
was over."

"When will that be?" Xander demanded.

"The demons must believe that Buffy is gone," Giles suggested.

"Well, they've got that right," Willow said bitterly.

"How are we supposed to fight these guys?" Xander demanded. "Willow
is magicked out, Spike is missing, Dawn is safe. There's a
probability that they're gonna break in here."

"I suggest we stay here until they do," Giles said firmly.

"They could break in at Janice's place and hurt Dawn," Anya said
thoughtfully.

"Do we risk going out there?" Xander asked brutally.

"Maybe they'll tire themselves out and move on?" Tara suggested.

The sound of crashing glass moved Giles, Xander and Anya to glance
towards the front of the store.  They could see a pack of demons
stopping in the middle of the road in a circle.

"Say hello to your new home, boys!" Razor shouted, pouring a beer
down his throat.

Willow frowned and stood up on unsteady feet.

"Looks like we have to do something," she said firmly.  "Grab a
weapon, people."

http://www.tvguide.com/news/entertainment/040618.asp#F

ANGEL SCOOP!:
Former Angel bloodsucker David Boreanaz has landed the title role in
the big-screen romantic comedy Mr. Fix-It, TV Guide Online has
learned. Directed by Darin Ferriola (Soulkeeper), the film - which
starts production today - revolves around a lovelorn bachelor who
runs an agency that helps guys repair their broken relationships.
While working on a case, he ends up falling in love himself (with
Alana De La Garza, soon to be seen on WB's new fall soap The
Mountain). "It has a very '80s romantic theme to it," Boreanaz
says. "I'm going to be doing some dancing, singing... It's going to
be a lot of fun." Lorne is gonna be so
jealous.

From SyFy Portal:


Buffy Strikes Back!


Author: Jeremy Van Cise
Date: 06-18-2004
Source: MediaSharx
Buffy the vampire slayer is back. As a cartoon that is.

Well ok, so maybe not entirely. The animated pilot still needs some
animation, and to well you know - be bought before it can hit
airwaves.

The voice behind the slayer, Giselle Loren -- who is replacing
series star Sarah Michelle Gellar -- spoke recently with Mediasharx.
She's no stranger to the Buffyverse however, voicing the slayer in
the two video games the series spawned.

"I'm an actress," she said. "I studied(Gellar), I learned how and
where to place my voice to match hers and then I watched specific
seasons of the show to understand her mannerisms, her physicality,
her inflections. Finally, I created my version of Buffy as she seems
on the page. Joss has created an amazing world and (Gellar) has a
very specific style. I just got lucky enough to be able to do it."

The only difference she said she noticed between voicing the pilot
and voicing the video games was actually taking direction from
series creator Joss Whedon for the animated pilot.

"Working with Joss and the other producers for the pilot was
fantastic," she said. "They know this world so well, obviously, that
the direction is clean and clear. They know exactly what they want
which makes my job easy."

Loren, a self-proclaimed Buffy fan, said she is interested in seeing
how the series being animated will differ from the contraints of
reality the television series faced. But in the end, life is good
for Loren.

"I play a blonde and kick some baddies' asses while wielding pointy
objects," she said.

From SyFy Portal:


Animated 'Buffy' Confirmed

Author: Alan Stanley Blair
Date: 06-16-2004
Source: TV Guide Online
Into each generation a Slayer is born ...

TV Guide has confirmed that "Buffy: The Animated Series" has indeed
produced a pilot episode, with the voice talents of several key
characters from the television series.

When the idea of a "Buffy" cartoon was first conceived, the Fox
network were very eager to begin ... on the condition that the lead
actress of the live-action series, Sarah Michelle Gellar, takes part
by once again portraying the role of Buffy "The Chosen One" Summers.

Unfortunately, however, Gellar was unable to take part in the
animated project, seeking to get away from the Buffy image, whilst
also pursuing new career opportunities out there. And so the project
was shelved. Until now.

Rumours have circulated the fanbase of a pilot episode which was in
production with the voices of Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris),
Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg) and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles).
The very existence of this pilot episode would suggest that Gellar
had reconsidered her participation on the project, but that simply
isn't the case.

Taking on the role of Buffy now is Giselle Loren, known by fans as
the voice of Buffy in the "Buffy" computer game, available for the
XBox, and later its sequel, "Buffy: Chaos Bleeds."

No details of the setting of the series have been announced, but
according to various rumors, the episodes are intended to be the "re-
written" memories of the Scoobies, which took place by the
introduction of Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) in the fifth season of
the UPN/The WB series.

The pilot episode is due to be screened at some point next week.

Thursday, June 24
"Angel's" nemesis from the WB's hit vampire drama James Marsters
joins Sharon and performs with his band, Ghost of the Robot.
Former "Party of Five" actress Lacey Chabert dishes with Sharon about
her new movie, "Mean Girls." Plus, "Queer as Folk" star Robert Gant
drops in for a chat!

Thanks to slayerverse.

Eliza Gets Political

She'll appear in an advertisement directed by Kevin Smith
for "Declare Yourself", which urges people to vote.

Scooped By: Brad & Chris

It's a great cause, and now a great director attached to their latest
project: Kevin is currently directing advertisements for "Declare
Yourself" which urges folks to get out there, vote, and be heard.
He's got a ton of great talent on board filming spots already
(including Askew vets Affleck, Dushku, and Rock) -- But the biggest
news of all might be that, yes, indeed, Jay & Silent Bob will come
out of retirement (and onto your television screens) next month to
deliver the message to you as well.

We'll let Kevin describe the project to you in his own words:

So all this week, I've been working on Public Service Announcements
(aka commercials) for this organization called Declare Yourself. It's
a non-partisan group founded by Norman Lear (the man who responsible
for "All in the Family", "Maude", "Good Times", "The Jeffersons" and
so many other legendary tv shows) that, like "Rock the Vote"
encourages people to register and be heard. Declare Yourself and
Comedy Central have teamed up to produce a series of ads that are so
simple even I could direct them. So that's what I did.

The concept is, essentially, "In the time it's taken you to watch
this, you could've been online, finding out how to register to vote."
Those helping us convey this message have been Zach Braff, Ray
Romano, Adam Brody, Wanda Sykes, Larry David, Jeff Garlin, and Sarah
Silverman. Today, we shoot Ben Affleck, Eliza Dushku, and a pair of
stoners who're coming out of semi-retirement for the cause. Then, I
fly to NYC and shoot Amy Poehler, Chris Rock, Chris Walken and David
Cross.

They start airing in July. Pretty funny stuff. Keep an eye out
for 'em.

DB: Wicked Prayer Update


  http://abahb.crowfans.com/News/
June 23rd, 2004

Wicked Prayer Update

Everything is moving ahead with the latest Crow movie. They had a
delay due to some post production crew changes. That, coupled with
the normal changes and cuts asked for by Miramax/Dimension, has made
the post production phase extend longer than originally expected. The
extended time has afforded the opportunity for the score to be worked
on extensively and early reports are this will be one of the most
powerful scores yet. We have not heard anything as far as if there
will be a soundtrack album and honestly, we are not so sure there
will be one this time around. We will have to wait and see on that.
There is still no confirmation on the release, whether it will be
direct to video or in theaters. We must remain patient and know that
Lance and crew are working to make this a movie fans will be proud of.

Northwest Herald
http://www.nwherald.com/StyleSection/325854134045671.php

Gellar, Behr hold 'Grudge' for new film

  Sarah Michelle Gellar and the rest of the "The Grudge" company will
head back to Japan in two weeks to film some additional shots for the
Sony chiller.
That's the word from "The Grudge's" hunky leading man, Jason Behr.
The team already spent three months in Tokyo to make the feature, co-
written and directed by Takashi Shimizu.

Behr, best-known for his starring role in "Roswell," tells this
column that working in Japan was memorable. "You're sort of forced to
deal with the customs, but it was a great experience, and everyone in
Japan was just absolutely wonderful," he says of the picture, which
started production in January.


Behr, lucky dog, plays Gellar's boyfriend in the movie about an
American nurse living in Tokyo who is exposed to a supernatural virus
that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming his or her
life. OK, so maybe he's not so lucky in this case.

Abilene Reporter News
http://www.reporter-
news.com/abil/nw_local/article/0,1874,ABIL_7959_2997926,00.html

Defunct Buffy TV show lives on for McMurry band director
By Brian Bethel / Reporter-News Staff Writer
June 29, 2004
In 2003, one of Dr. Christopher Neal's favorite television
programs, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer,'' got a stake through the
heart.

But good shows, like bad vampires, never die. And Neal is one of
dozens of scholars who are making sure that the former Warner
Brothers television show has a long and fruitful afterlife - in
academia.

Neal, 35, director of bands at McMurry University, presented a paper
at the Slayage International Conference in Nashville in late May.

He wasn't alone.

Three-hundred ninety people from multiple countries and 43 states
presented about 180 papers devoted to actress Sarah Michelle Gellar's
buxom vampire-smasher and her often-creepy cohorts.

Neal's paper, ''Vampires Rock, Heads Roll: Tone Painting,
Characterization via Musical Style, and other Musical Symbolism
in 'Once More with Feeling', was nominated for the outstanding paper
award at the conference.

''It didn't win, but it was an honor to be nominated,'' he said.

Neal examined a much-acclaimed musical episode of the program. The
show in general deals with the title character's eternal fight
against the forces of darkness hidden in suburban America.

When he was introduced to the series, Neal said that he was surprised
to find a smart, well-written and at times immensely deep program.

''People used to tease me that I just liked the beautiful blonde,''
he said, referring to Gellar. ''But that wasn't really true. I think
I took an interest in writing about it when I read some of the
scholarly work that had already been done on the program.''

Believe it or not, ''Buffy's'' musical accompaniment regularly draws
inspiration from the most sublime of composers, he said.

''I saw, especially in the musical episode, techniques that resembled
what Mozart's operas or techniques that Wagner might use,'' Neal
said. ''... I use these comparisons to highlight how postmodernism is
the meeting of high art and popular culture.''

Conference organizer David Lavery, professor of English at Middle
Tennessee State University, said there's a lot in ''Buffy'' for
scholars to sink their teeth into.

''I did a rough calculation, and there are currently about 40
academic disciplines or methods working with the show,'' he said in a
telephone interview Thursday.

Academics from physicists to philosophers, theologians, sociologists,
law professors and more have done work with the show, Lavery said.

''The reason we examine the show is that we see so much in it that
can use our academic talents,'' he said. ''We academics like to joke
that we're doctors who can't help anyone. But we can help you
understand 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.''