FIC: The Late Shift

[shadowcase]

Just wanted to agree with the Thud.

[Kalita]

I'll see your Thud and raise you a 'Golly'.

[LeatherQueen]

Wooooooo!!! Oh yeah, now THAT'S the kind of thing I want to see in a fic.



hee hee... Tara-rack... That's what I'd love to see first thing every morning.

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


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

[shadowcase]

I see your Golly(I have a mental picture of Mayor Mcsnake)and raise you an OHMYGOD!

[jdcioffi]

*image of -Rack in IMAX*



*mouth opens and closes.* trying for sound ... oh there, that whimper, that was me.



JD

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

[supermus]

I see your OHMYGOD! And raise you an AHOOOGA(complete with tounge dropping to the floor).

Have you ever ate pure Kool-Aid powder? It's sour as lemons. really sour lemons. I have a 19 ounce (538 gram) canister of it and I'm considering how intense it would be to chug the entire thing.

Hee. squirrels. That puppy seems so adorable. I haven't got around to reading in a couple days, but the updates have been awesome! The whole thing has got a vague Halloween/Fear Itself vibe to it though. I wish I had a recently-come-to-life-from-stuffing puppy.

--------

quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit - Those who love has held, it will go on holding.

Nisi cadis, non potes resurge - Unless you fall, you cannot rise again

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

-Excerpt from Katharyn's "The Sidestep Chronicle"

[Grimaldi]

Finally was able to read the last couple of chapters, really loving this story



now I'm going to be thinking about Tara rack the rest of the day

"Perhaps we should just leave nature alone to its simple, one-assed schematics."

[BytrSuite]

Aah, with the new board and all I seem to have fallen back into being really shy about posting...again. Oh well.



Loving all the updates. And hee, the Gravitron. I used to love that ride, though now ya got me worried that it's an actual functioning spaceship.



Poor Willow, going all loopy. I love Tara's remedy for it. Sigh. Nice.

-Kathy
————––
Now if only I could find something interesting to put here.

[Drakkenfyre]

OOHH, a Tara Rack how do I get me one of those???

"We few, we happy few."
"We band of buggered."

[Pixie gishmock]

Tara-Rack!!!! *mouth drops open* I know there were other things I wanted to say about this chapter, but they've been overshadowed by TARA-RACK.

[wiccachica]

Morning Kittens! I promise fun and hijinks later....



Morning Edition:



Chapter 128: William Sings of the Gotterdammerung...



" What you desire, I leave to you;

Now from my ashes take your treasure!

Let fire, burning this hand cleanse too the ring from its curse!" Brunnhilde - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Wagner.



***



Yes. You are thinking it right now…aren’t you?



Right now…as you wake.



And you want to shut your eyes to it…fall back into unconsciousness from it… but it is too late…



You have been captured…and dropped into the jar…just like….just like THAT time….



You don’t want to admit it…to bring it back into existence…but…



Yes.



You have been here before...



Sure… the walls of the empty room that swim into focus around you are another colour…



The colour of hope long lost...the colour of ages upon ages of entrapment and bitter dispair ...



And that fourth wall….the wall of glass... so they can look in at you...like a specimen...



…Like a Hostile...



…So they can they can stand out there and judge you from between piddling millimeters of shatter-proof glass...and listen to you scream desperately to be released...



They can liken you to an animal here in this cage...incapable of pain...of claustrophobic fear...



Your head pounds as though you have recently stricken a dozen living beings and you bend off the floor to press your head between your knees enough to press them fiercely against your temples...creating a steady pressure...



Oh yes...you have been like this before...



It is humiliating...dehumanizing...and you aren't even human...



The thought of being trapped like this all over again builds within you as you sit rocking…faster and faster…...a broiling panic...tasting you…probing at you…gauging the extent of your fear…



So you serve them up a tiny little glimpse of the "animal" they believe you to be...powerful...quick...frantic...uncoiling off the cold floor on muscles constructed of wrath and desperation.



You throw yourself against the glass and shout with rage...and pound… with unchecked logic… on a substance you KNOW cannot be breached....and you demand release with a laughable sort of… hautiness… bathed in a pitiful trembling, pleading dismay...



You pause only to turn several predatory circles in your prison of glass and rock...your terror barely contained beneath the surface of your icy skin.



And all of this... before you notice…



…The tiny thread-thin sliver of light on the floor of your imprisonment.



You blink blandly at this light at first. Not wanting to recognize it for what it is. Your internal clock tells you that this cannot be possible...that you have not been gone from the conscious world so long...



You look upward...slowly...even as the sound reaches your ears....



.....Click.......Scrape.....



And with that sound you watch the ceiling above you slip another fraction of an inch away from its housing...



One click and scrape at a time...



Bringing the achingly slow promise of an eventual...and excruciating demise...



You scream.



But even that will not drown out the sound...for it is in your head now...and you cannot forget it...



The sound of the ceiling being pulled away little by little...inviting the sunlight in...to caress your pale skin...



…like snuggly…. Warm… boric acid...



The thread of light has now grown to a tiny band...at this pace...it will soon become a swatch...then...a patch....eventually...a chunk...a lake...a field of iridescent death....



Click.....Scrape.…



You redouble your efforts to drown out that sound with your own screams.



TBC...



(edited to add: See what happens when a troll doesn't get his coffee on time in the morning?)...EeeeK!

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

Edited by: wiccachica  at: 4/4/02 8:07:16 am

[Sassette]

Give that troll some coffee and Save Spike!!!



I have to admit, normally, I can take or leave Spike. But I like your Spike. Your Spike is fun. Your Spike does great first-person stuff (and have I mentioned how I love who you've picked as your 'storytellers' ... ?). Your Spike is ... fun *G*



So - more? Soon? Late morning? Early afternoon? Later afternoon? All Of The Above?



-Sass

[wiccachica]

A little Early Afternoon post troll coffeed fun for you:



Chapter 129: Out…out …Damned Spotlight!



"Okay…so this all-powerful personification of Death says we should be shrubbery…" Willow says blandly at Dawn.



" Well…no…she said we should be trees… trees…not shrubs…" Dawn says…



" Ah yes…where is my mind at? Trees…we should be TREES…that makes more sense now…Well with all of THAT fleshy knowledge we should be able to just leave here right now and find all of our friends…and head on home…" Willow says…plunking herself down on the padded floor of the ride.



" Wow…when you said she was mouthy…you really weren’t joking…" Danger says…stroking the puppy from head to tail and gazing down to Willow where she sat on the ground.



Willow swings her shocked gaze over to me…as I mentally pop Danger on the back of the head…



Boy if we could give out medals for bad timing of misconstrued words…well…Anya would still win hands down…but he’d definitely walk away with the silver….



" You think I’m "mouthy"?" Willow says…hurt dripping from her voice as she searches my face…



" I don’t think this is…." I start….



The place? Well…where is the right place for a conversation like this? At home…in the private normalcy of a shared bed…? When we aren’t in mortal danger? What are the chances of that happening any time soon? I mean…look at us!



Willow clambers back up to her feet…surprise supplemented by some Willow-anger…



" Wait…wait…you think I’m MOUTHY?" She says. Her cheeks pinking beautifully in the dim lighting of the Carnival ride.



Wow…she is gorgeous when she’s angry…sure it’s the world’s oldest cliché…but the chest rising and falling rapidly…the wide green eyes…the pouting lips...all I can say is… cha-CHING!…



" Danger…Danger said it wrong…" I admonish with my hands up in a defensive…open-palmed position.



" What? What did I say wrong?" Danger asks…confused… I ignore him and focus on my rose-coloured girlfriend.



" It was late…we were in his crypt…he was braiding my hair… and we were all girl-talky…and I just happened to mention that you…"



" You CONFIDED in Danger that I am MOUTHY while he was BRAIDING your hair????" Willow says…as though this new little nugget of information was enough to make what she thought was already a bad image…worse…



Shouldn’t we be plotting a way to get out of here without dying horrible Monster Movie deaths?



" I never said the word Mouthy….I told him you…you…" I glance over at Dawnie…who has momentarily been sucked into this drama like those Jerry Springer shows we beg her not to watch after school….



She probably wishes there were chairs in here…or big birthday/wedding cakes to launch at each other…or any minute a large bald man will come to drag one of us away….



" What DID you say then?" She presses…still waiting for another word that will allow her to keep her self-righteous Willow-rage….



Not that she doesn’t wear it very well…



I clear my throat and lean in closer to mumble it to her…and then I lean back to watch as her eyes widen a little more…her mouth forming a perfect little ‘oh’ of surprise… and a new heat rising to her cheeks…no longer fueled by mere rage…



Sure…I said what I did to Danger…of all people…or un-people…but I was pining away for Willow at that time…and kind of waxing sappily poetic…



" Well…what did she say?" Dawn prods impatiently.



Willow clears her throat now…and pretends to fight back a cough…



" N-nothing that can’t be…worked out…later…" She says…casting me a very pointed look.



I may have to swoon right now…RIGHT NOW…



" No one ever tells me ANYTHING!" Dawn grumps…stamping her little Dawnie foot…in the Gravitron it rings like a teenaged seal of disapproval…marking Dawn officially back to "normal" again. She sulks over to where Danger is … and proceeds to both pet the puppy and glare our way under a deeply furrowed brow.



Heavens…This kind of teen rage could last…golly… minutes even…



Willow turns me to look at her again…



" I want you to HOLD that thought…until we get out of this…" She insists…putting on a little stern show for Dawnie…and a sneaky little show for me… a tiny smile works the corners of her perfect lips…



Ahh yes… Willow Rosenberg is QUITE ‘mouthy’ indeed…..and noooo problem holding THAT thought….

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[Sassette]

Oh My Heck.



The things that are swimming around in my brain right now ... well, best not to go there.



-Sass

[Pixie gishmock]

Oh wow! I loved your Spike chapter, and I second everything Sassette said. Please save Spike! That chapter was so incredibly written. And Tara! and Willowmouth! *swoon...thud* Niki, you (and my darling trolloskovic) are amazing.

[jdcioffi]

Mouthy ...



Dude, I'm gonna try that phrase on my g/f ... she if she likes it.



D --> Mouthy ...



JD

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

[wiccachica]

Just posting a quiet little Late Afternoon Edition:



This one is kinda ouchy......



(trying to keep the troll full of coffee...)



Chapter 130: Buffy in Ataraxy…



Try to stop yourself.



Try to get out of the line.



Try... try to halt your feet upon the thick red runner carpet leading up the middle…you can’t.



Try instead to search the faces of the onlookers…the strangers that you can feel… more than see…on either side of you…watching at you with the pity that you do not yet feel yourself…



…You can’t.



But…do not…for the love of your sanity…look forward…as you are walked against your will…up the steps…



Concentrate instead on the sound organ…loud and lamenting as it echoes all around you…and resonates through your body…through your bones…



You know what lies at the top of those short steps…



You know what waits for you inside that…that…THING….



Because if you’ve seen one coffin from the inside, Baby…you’ve seen them all…



You try to shake your head…unable to block the horror you feel as you are pulled against your will…forever forward…forward…



Your eyes are pulled to it…gleaming like coffins have occasion to do…resting deathly still upon a somber altar piled with sickly sweet flora…



Where a tall man in a gleaming red robe behind the closed casket… proceeds to speak softly in turn to the few people walking the straight line before you.



He mutters something to a dark-clad onlooker and you watch as the onlooker nods… and the robed man lifts the lid of the coffin…the hinges sound fresh…almost as though it had never been opened before this…



…Click…..Scrape…..



And the man peeks inside…and then moves away without another word…



Click…..Scrape….



The robed man closes the casket….and repeats the ritual with the woman in the jade-green dress in front of you… He whispers something to her…and then…



Click…..Scrape….



And you cannot bring yourself to move out of the line…move away from something you know you do not want to see…



Click…..Scrape….



And the Jade-dress woman moves off to the left…out of your sight…because you can’t move your head to the right to see her go…now only forward…to look into the passive face of the Red-robed man…a man you don’t even know…and are sure that you are not going to like…



He leans forward…and asks you the same question you are sure he’s asked everyone before you….



" Are you ready for this?" His voice is thick…deep…hypnotic…



You want to shake your head…but you cannot….



You watch as he leans forward over the coffin… and grips the lip with a quirk of a smile sealed on his mouth…like he knows something that you don’t….



You look down…though you know you don’t want to.



You listen to the sound of the organ grinding out a mournful version of a song about loss…and pain…and though the tears threaten to come…you know that they will not…that they are forever in limbo because inside you….



Inside you…you are cold….you are cold…and you are dead inside…



Click…..Scrape….



The lid is pulled away…and you stare into the gaping maw of everything you fear…



You want to shake your head…to shut the coffin…to run from here…but still you are frozen in place….helpless….



It seems like forever standing there…and he won’t let you go….he makes you stay…and watch…and…just…die inside…..



" She’s young…" He says…observing the body from his vantagepoint behind the lid…



" No…" you say…not to answer him…but instead to DENY him access to your thoughts….



" You let this happen, you know…" He says, stroking the cool dead skin of the body…as you watch in apt horror.



" No." You say again.



" You were supposed to keep her safe….and now Dawn is dead…You weren’t there for her…She died all alone…crying out your name…Sad really…." He says…



The sound of her name…crushes at your chest….steals your air…and wraps you in a wrenching terror.



Her name makes it all too real….



Her name makes it hurt so badly that you struggle for balance…you close your eyes…and you pray that someone…somewhere…will fix this awful mistake…



" Shouldn’t YOU be the one in here?" The man asks…putting a voice to the thoughts running through your head right now…



You look up at him…as he closes the box….



Click…..Scrape….Click…



" Yes…" You say to him…



TBC…

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[supermus]

Ah, three new updates. This is how every day should start. and end. And all the stuff in the middle too. "mouthy", eh? *runs off to take a few cold showers*

Please tell me it's what I think it is. Please?

--------

quos amor verus tenuit, tenebit - Those who love has held, it will go on holding.

Nisi cadis, non potes resurge - Unless you fall, you cannot rise again

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

-Excerpt from Katharyn's "The Sidestep Chronicle"

[Grimaldi]

great updates, glad your got some coffee in your troll

"Perhaps we should just leave nature alone to its simple, one-assed schematics."

[Sassette]

Ooooh ... now THAT was interesting ...



And completely appropriate, telling, and it makes my mind do happy little spins.



chica, you rock.



-Sass

[wiccachica]

Supermus... If you're thinking what I think you might be thinking...you prolly thought right.....



And if it's about Willow mouth...well then.....heh... keep on thinking what you're thinking.....



(why am I getting a serious Willy Wonka "rowing" vibe from my above statement???)



Grimaldi... I give the troll coffee like a minion sacrifice/offering...to a volcano god...if he likes it...he doesn't burn down my village for another day....



Sass... The new Spike and Buffy bits were totally experimental on my part. I'm big with the the trying of the new things... and a pal told me I should try a few in 2nd person...a really new one for me... hope it didn't fuzz and spin your brain around too much....



(wink)



Chica

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[bulldog tidnab]

mouthy?! hmmm.... wow that just makes my mind run too fast and i ended up wandering around in my head and eventually ending up in a place where i.... *thud*



BT

>>i'm gonna be a fireman when the floods roll back...<<

[Sassette]

Oh, it fuzzed and spun my brain QUITE a bit ...



But I liked it *G*



-Sass

[LeatherQueen]

Heh... mouthy.



I loved the Spike and Buffy bits. So does this mean we'll also be seeing Anya and Xander bits too?

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


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

[Pixie gishmock]

I loved the last parts too! The second person worked really well - a little confusing at first, but it hooks you in. And NOW we finally know what that click...scrape was!



wiccachica, I see your Willy Wonka "rowing" reference and I raise you:

Quote:

---

originally posted by wiccachica

...the troll doesn't burn down my village for another day.

---

"Must protekt the willage....Must protekt the willage!"

Edited by: Pixie gishmock at: 4/4/02 11:17:11 pm

[mollyig]

Anya's has got to have bunnies!

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

[Canadian Kitty]

Ahh, so many great updates in one sitting. I do feel like I have been neglecting the troll though. Real life suddenly got busy and prevented me from my daily dose of wiccachica goodness (that and the fact it took me several hours to recover from earlobe kissage and Tara-Rack *grabs hold of her desk to steady herself at the mere thought of that combination*).



May the troll live forever!



CK

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

[wiccachica]

I had a whole lot of responses to people...but this wonky thing ate them...I'll rewrite them later....



for now...here's the Morning Edition:



(Thank goodness I "copy" them before I push 'post' to make sure things like this don't happen...and whole sections don't get lost....)



Chapter 131: Thaumaturgy



How quiet she has been…



Though…sure…it’s a given…Tara is not one to go all overboard with the whole panic-babble….But for the past twenty minutes, she has been positively….



Sphinx-like



So I’ve been sitting here…watching Danger’s new little friend waddle around the inside of what to him must seem like a vast cornucopia of smells and discoveries…



Right now he is discovering the wonder that is a discarded paper cotton candy cone…



He tugs the thing that is nearly longer than he is, grandly around the Gravitron.



Only having been a puppy for a little under an hour… and not quite sure of the physiology of the whole thing, Mack (as he had been quickly dubbed by his guardian) wags the latter half of his body enthusiastically…as though it is attached to his tiny nub of a tail…



" I have a theory…" Danger had said earlier of his little Mack… " I think the reason he didn’t turn out BAD…like the other things …is because I took such good care of him…I don’t think the other things were cared for too much…"



Well then…maybe it’s not too late to go out there and get all Crocodile Hunter hands-on with those fifteen pound family-deprived juvenile delinquent sewer rats and see if they warm up to us…..



But now…as I watch Mack wrestle the cone across the floor…dragging it proudly over to Danger to show off his new treasure…I think maybe Danger was right…maybe "loving" that little stuffed dog was actually what made the difference…



Okay…anyone who thinks I’m just going out there and give some smelly jumbo rodents some warm-snugglies has an entirely NOTHER thing coming…I mean…who would willingly go out there without any protection…and test THAT theory….They would have to be cra…



" I have an idea." Tara says, breaking the silence and causing us all to jump.



" Wha? Huh? Idea?" I ask…disoriented from my productive lamenting.



" You are all going to wait here where it’s safe…and I’m going to find the others…and bring them back here." Tara says…in a tone that leaves no room for argument…



Luckily…Dawn and I are skinny…we don’t need a lot of room to argue.



" Alone???" Dawn says incredulously…but I’m sure no more incredulous than I must look right now.



" You…don’t understand…I think alone is the only way it’ll work…" She says…look less convincing by the minute…like whatever it is she is planning…even SHE isn’t sure it’s going to work…



NOT a great selling point when you are trying to convince the woman who loves you that you want to go into a big scary carnival by yourself, Baby…



" No…no…I’m saying this once…and only once…with the resolve face…RIGHT HERE…If it can’t work without me, then…forget it…I’m not letting you go out there alone…no way…uh…and uh….I’m going with you…" I say adamantly.



" I don’t think you can….go with me, I mean…" She says…almost shyly. She dips her head down a little and refuses to meet my eyes.



" What…are you gonna just…FLY over to them…" I half scoff…keeping the angry enough in my voice to remind her that I think the alone thing is still a no-go.



She looks up at me in such a way that makes me stop talking.



" Are you going to fly this ship???" Danger says excitedly…picking up a perturbed Mack…who has to leave his cone behind on the floor… " Cuz if you are…I REALLY want to come too..."



" She’s not flying the ship." Dawn says.



" Tara?" I say to her…and she looks down again…" Tare?"



" I think we’re running out of time…" Tara says.



" Tare…Baby? Flying…is HA-HA… remember? Levitating…sure…but flying…."



" You’re going to do that glimmery thing again…aren’t you?" Dawn says…hitting the nail on the head because Tara glances up at her.



There is no time to argue the little detail like HOW in the world she learned to do that…but…



" Well you’re taking me with you if you go." I say defiantly.



" It’s not…perfect…I don’t…I don’t think it allows for…passengers…." Tara says…the expression on her face tells me even SHE thinks this conversation is surreal.



" Then I’ll fly coach…freight even…but you AREN’T going alone. " I say…



…Being mouthy in two separate senses of the word is an art form, and I… am a Master….



" Willow.." Tara starts.



" I’ll check my bags….you don’t even have to serve the little peanuts…a stiff drink maybe…." I smile half-heartedly



" I’m not kidding…I don’t think it’ll…" Tara starts again…so I reach out quickly and take her hands in mine…solidifying my grip…and letting her FEEL how we WORK together…



She feels it. I can see it in her expression.



" WE work, Tara…Doing a little old thing like breaking the barriers of known physics….pshhaw….a drop in the bucket…right?" I offer up…



She looks at our hands…the pads of my thumb brushing assured little circles against the backs of hers…she sighs… and looks up at me…



" Right." She admits…smiling at me through tear-glittered eyes…



" Okay…so how does this work….are we going to be floating up near the ceiling in a billion little Technicolor particles?"



" No…I don’t think so…I think I’m just supposed to concentrate on WHERE….or WHO…." She says…" I thought of you…and then…there I was…in the tunnel…."



" Okay…so all we have to do is make sure you don’t think of my Parent’s House…and we’ll be right as rain…" I say with a smile…



She looks so nervous…and she won’t loosen her death grip on your hands….maybe we should give this another thought…Maybe devise a game plan or two…or ten…



Tara closes her eyes…that cute little knit creases her brow…



Quickly…she pulls me in tightly against her…releasing my hands and wrapping her arms around me in an enveloping embrace.



A sensation, not unlike falling while hung-over and hungry…comes over me all at once…not fully unpleasant…but startling….



And I feel her breath against my ear…



" Hold on.." She says.



I do.



And then…. we’re gone.





TBC…

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

Edited by: wiccachica  at: 4/5/02 7:58:59 am

[mollyig]

Luckily…Dawn and I are skinny…we don’t need a lot of room to argue.



Priceless! Another great chapter. Yer a funny onion!

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

[jdcioffi]

Whoa. Cool update. Definitely adding more and more (and more and more) layers to this already huge fic.



... and I , as I was and will be for quite sometime, am awaiting more ...

JD

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