FIC: The Late Shift

[wiccachica]

Oh...by the way..if it hasn't been mentioned somewhere...just thought I'd say that Amber Benson is going to be in the April-May Issue of Metro Source Magazine ( my friend works for the mag and gave me a copy) It's the wolf-shirt picture of her and a little blurb of how she is glad about being a character in a longterm gay relationship...



It's neat...



(back to my regularly scheduled program)

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[Sassette]

Ahhh ... that was awesome, wiccachica *G*



And Danger's love kept Mack from being Evil Spuds? *snicker* That's just ... so ... frickin' cute. Heh.



-Sass

[LeatherQueen]

:grin That was so sweet, WC! And I laughed at the "thin enough to have room to argue" comment/thought from Willow.

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


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

[Owl]

Oh dear.

I don't know whether to be scared or excited that danger and i had the same theory. Eeek! For such a wacky story, this sure is complicated. It makes me quite curious about wiccachica Inc.'s creative process. How much do you have planned out already? I have to constantly remind myself of all the stuff that's going on... for every thing that gets resolved.... Oh man... This is just going to go on forever, isn't it? Well, I for one wouldn't mind.....



I forgot to say, when Tara did that first fizzly materializing thing, And the scoobs saw her auntie and thought it was her... At first, when I thought maybe it was her, I thought to myself.... 'oookay... we've got multiple taras now... What happens when multiple Taras meet multiple Willows? Like.... Naughty + Naughty ... or Naughty + Good-girl ... Oh. My. God. my head was spinning.

Alright, enough rambling.... ready for more!

[Grimaldi]

another cool update

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



"I'm not fat, I just haven't grown into my body yet, you skinny bitch!"

[wiccachica]

Good Afternoon Kittens!

Quote:

---

Owl wrote:

It makes me quite curious about wiccachica Inc.'s creative process. How much do you have planned out already? I have to constantly remind myself of all the stuff that's going on.

---

.



Owl…I have to constantly remind MYSELF what’s going on too…no joke…and as for my writing process…I come to work…I sit down at 6:30 am at my desk…and I spend about twenty minutes on any given chapter…(except the 2nd person which I HAVE to re-read) then I just plug them right in…I don’t plot or plan the stories out…and when I do it usually ends up not even going the way I planned…which sometimes works for me…but mostly I just write it straight away and send it off… I sometimes just stop writing…plug a TBC…at the end… and think…did I just write that?



I guess I consider it my way of taking a recess from the mundane work I do….



I hope that makes sense…(wink)



chica



Chapter 132: Lepus Misstepus



Click…..Scrape….



Tinkle….



You look up as the door to the shop opens…the Bell of Prosperity rings like a short peal of happiness.



A patron and her child enter the shop…and you smile…mostly because you know that humans LIKE to have teeth bared at them before they purchase MANY things…



You suppose it’s a ritual that started many thousands of years ago…back before serious dental hygiene…when teeth were currency and you showed your teeth to let others know that you were rich…and therefore obviously happy and completely trustworthy as all rich people are...



The woman returns the smile…this means that she is ready for you to begin to pressure her to buy your wares.



The child on her right hand stares up at you as though it has never seen an attractive ex-demon in all of its fragile (and frankly it doesn’t know yet…SHORT) little life span.



Heavens…if it’s lucky it has like… EIGHTY years to make enough money to be buried with…



" Hello… I am certain that I have something that you would like to buy." You say with a year’s worth of successful customer service backing you up…



" I promised Timmy that I would let him pick anything in the store he wanted…" The woman tells you.



Though the woman is the primary source of CURRENCY in this transaction…it is now my mission to convince the child that he needs to buy something as least as big as his head to be considered ‘cool’ with all of his little peer groups at school.



" I’m certain you would like something BIG….like you head." You say…



…Master of tact…yes…that is you.



" I want a bunny." The little child demands.



A cool spike of revulsion coils within your belly. What on Earth would a child do with a bunny?



Did you miss something? Do children "need" bunnies to perform rituals of cranium shrinkage at this age?



" To EAT…yes…" You state knowingly…trying to look as though you are still in the "loop" per se.



Confidence sells merchandise.



" To WHAT???" The woman exclaims…and you can immediately assume that you have made a social faux pas….



Okay. Mental reference: Children DO NOT eat bunnies.



" Just kidding….We actually…don’t HAVE bunnies here…" You say sweetly…and then to the mother…" You wouldn’t let your child BUY a bunny….would you??? Oh…and ….he’ll grow into matching his head on his own…that’s a fact…"



The Woman eyes you dangerously…but the boy can care less…



" You do too! You have loads of them!" The boy says pointing off to his left …



You turn your head to look…and the spike of revulsion splits into paralyzing shrapnel of dread.



Five large bunnies sit at the research table smoking cigars and drinking tea…they are playing the game of Poker…using for bets… something that singes a boiling terror through you …



Fake MONEY…



This awful place has definitely gone to the worst possible realm of Hell….



One six-foot Lagomorph looks over his hand of cards at you…pink nose twitching…beady eyes boring into you….



Yes, Anya….and we are just da LEEETTLE ones….da Leeeetle ones…. It seems to say in a muddled Cajun accent.



" Aren’t those bunnies for sale?" The woman asks…fixing you with a knowing glare…



You own a bunny store Anya….a store FULL of bunnies…and those are just the leeeetle ones….



" I….don’t….have anything to put it in…." You say, motioning to the tiny paper bags used for knick-knacks and bitsy tweensies…



" Put the white one with the spots… in a little paper bag…we’ll wait" She says sternly to you…



Your mouth goes dry… You shake open a tiny paper bag and look again over to the table.



The giant, spotted Bunny takes the cigar from his bunny lips and fixes its beady black eyes on you.



You come at me with daht leeetle bag, Zeester, and I’m going to put my foot inzide…and den kick you wid it…. You are certain it says to you…



…The other bunnies around the table chortle and agree that seeing that WOULD indeed be humourous…



And here is the true nature of bunnies….pretending for the sake of the the human poupulation… to be skittish and cute…but lurking just beneath the furry surface…bullies…one and all…



" I want the Spotty one, Mom!" The bigheaded child shrills.



Come and trrry me, Zeester…The rabbit surls at you…baring his bunny teeth in nothing resembling a smile…or trustworthy happiness…



You own a store teaming with bunnies…and you have a choice…to make the sale at the probable expense of your life…facing bunnies and certain doom….



Or…..



You hand the bag to the screaming red-faced child…



" Get him yourself…." You say…



TBC…

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[shadowcase]

So the Click Scrape is like your generic sound of doom?

It means something frightening ,but individually to all people?

Oh and I have to say I love your characterization.

[Beeker Meep]

Shy lurker here. Just wanted to say you have Anya down so well!



and a big light bulb went on above my head with the whole click scrape thing.



This is too cool! your stuff is weird but I love it!



(okay, shyness is overrated)



Beek

[jdcioffi]

Anya ... bunnies. Oh please let there be a clown for Xander ...



JD

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

[UniDagger]

Wrapped completely into this story. It's amazing!!



But please...no clowns. *gulps*

[WillowyTara]

hey WC, just wanted to say I love the fic, I started reading it about 2 weeks ago, and I just caught up to now, so I have to suffer the aggravation of actually WAITING for the next one to come out, instead of it being there already.

+ =

All I know is that I know nothing - Socrates

W: I am, you know...yours.

*Under their spell*

Whoever wrote the Book of Love had Willow and Tara in mind.

[Pixie gishmock]

Wow. Just...wow.

[LeatherQueen]

*LOL* Oh god, WC... that was so good. I loved it! Poor Anya... having to choose between money and bunnies. And the "bitsy tweensies" part just cracked me up.

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


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

[Sassette]

It was the part where they were smoking cigars and playing poker that got me.



Oh, geeeeze ... *still chuckling, ten hours later*



-Sass

[LeatherQueen]

And not just playing poker and smoking cigars,... but talking with Cajun accents... *LOL*



Your troll is a genius, wiccachica!

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


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

[tkheaven]

LOLOL ... ROTFLMAO ... Oh Man!! That was too funny!! Anya and "da LEEETTLE ones, Zeester" ... too much ... can't wait for the next installment!

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

- Tara to Willow

Episode 603: "Afterlife"

[Drakkenfyre]

Dear God, my brain, my poor little brain. First the squirrels now the bunnies..Wait a minute, I think a squirrel in monky pants just ran by me...Whoa, good drugs..the literary kind,, Keep going with this, I think I can maintain my sanity..

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

[Grimaldi]

really good update, love the bunnies sitting around playing poker (was at the Swap Meet, saw a picture of dogs playing poker and thought of the last chapter).



never thought I see the day when Anya would run away from an oppourtunity to make money. Can't wait to see wait crazyness your troll comes up with next.

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



"Will she keep on the ground, trying to save me. Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me. Could she love me again, or will she hate me."Alice in Chains, Rain When I Die

[mollyig]

Yay! Bunnies! And Anya's dilemma was brilliant!

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

[wiccachica]

Good Morning Kitties!



A Morning Edition for you!



Chapter 133: A Witch-Based Misfile



" It’s okay, Sweetie…this kind of thing…it happens to EVERYONE…well okay…not EVERYONE…but it happens…" I say firmly…trying to keep my tone as light as possible.



" I was trying to hard…I was THINKING too much…I think…" Tara says miserably.



Goddess…she looks so…TIRED…



" No…I think you were…you ARE on the right track, Baby…" I say…lifting a photo from the table by the door for emphasis.



" I was thinking Buffy…I was concentrating so HARD…" She says…stroking the spot high on her forehead where I know her headaches usually began when she gets one.



I do a little turn in the spot where we first appeared inside the foyer of the Summer’s House.



" Look around…you brought us to the HOUSE, Tare…that is sooo AMAZING…" I say…trying to keep her from slipping too far into despair. " I think you just did…TOO good a job…and that’s my Baby for you…We have to just try again…that’s all…" I say…watching her sit wearily in the overstuffed chair.



" Okay…but I need a few…a few minutes to get my… nerve back up…" She leans her head back against the chair and closes her eyes. I think her nerve is the second thing she’s trying to get a handle on right now…



It’s taking more out of her than she is willing to tell you…but you can SEE it…



" Yes…of course…rest. I’ll get you some water …" I say…backing out of the room. Trying not to focus on the disturbingly dark circles under her eyes…or her pallor…or the way she is slumped into the chair as though it is the only thing keeping her off the floor right now.



I enter the kitchen and pull a glass out of the dish rack.



I turn on the water and watch it run into the glass…



Tara has so much more going on ‘behind the scenes’ than you could have ever imagined, Willow…but even so…this is wearing her down…this is…well…you don’t want to think what it might really be doing to her…but you can feel it… can’t you…the raw ENERGY…the LIFEFORCE this is taking…your stomach is still filled with butterflies doing calisthenics…and your brain…your brain feels like a little goldfish in a big ol’ fishbowl ….swimming…and swimming….



" Will…?" Tara says behind me…and I come back to the world with a startled little jump.



The water is running over the lip of the glass and down my hand…I stare at it for a shocked second before reaching up and turning off the tap. I pour a little of the water out of the glass and turn to her. She is standing there…looking tired enough to fall out…



Keep it together, Rosenberg



" Are you okay?" She asks me. I nod emphatically.



" I was just getting you some water." I say…holding up the glass as proof. She looks from it to me…and then walks over to take it from my hand.



" You’ve been in here for ten minutes…I heard the water running for…ever…" She searches my face…" Are you sure you’re okay?" She says…her face lined with worry.



I have to laugh a little.



Here she is… concerned about YOU



" I should be the one…asking you that…you look so…"



" Like…death warmed over…I know…I saw myself in the hall mirror…" She gives me a heavy smile. " I look worse than I feel…I promise…"



" You are always beautiful to me…" I say ardently. She takes a sip of her water and looks thoughtfully at me over the rim.



" Are you hitting on me?" She asks with mock incredulity…



" Wha…? Me? Hitting on you?" In my initial concern…it was truly the last thing that was on my mind…



Now…of course… it’ll be the FIRST thing rolling around in there….



Great…you WERE…you were totally hitting on her…What is this…your way to deal with traumatic situations is to…MACK on your over-tired girlfriend?



" I was…" My traitorous mouth admits…" In a sexy…but…Supporto Gal… kind of way…"



A little of the colour comes back to her cheeks…and she takes another drink of water. A long minute of comfortable silence stretches out before us as we stand watching one another.



" W-we should get going…" She says at last, and sets the glass down on the counter.



" Are you sure? I mean…a few more minutes to get your strength up won’t hurt…I don’t want you to wear yourself out…." I say…feeling myself teetering on that edge of babbling insanity…



She smiles and takes my hands in hers…very much like the first time we did the ‘glimmery’ thing…but this time she smiles a little…



" I think if we stay here…I’m going to end up getting worn out… regardless…" Her lips quirks up to one side in a familiar mischievous smile. A little weary around the edges…but ALL MINE…



Her words dawn on me like a goofy rubber anvil….<>



" You…VIXEN!" I say…my smile broadening as she pulls me into an embrace that is supposed to be all travelly business…but borders on…..well…arousing….



Maybe she wasn’t kidding when she said she looked more tired than she really was…



" Ready?" She says in my ear…



Ding-ding…and a stuffed bear for the lady! Willow Rosenberg is HELLA ready…!



" Tare?" I say as she presses her cheek against mine…cinching the ULTIMATE contact required for travel…



" Hmm?"



" C-can you…uh…like…. bookmark our …room…so…you know… when this is all over…you can just….well…WE can just…"



I feel her laugh against me and pull me tighter… just as the bonzai butterflies start a break-dancing session in my belly.



" This might be a more useful gift than I thought." She says.



And then…we’re off…



Again…



TBC…

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[mollyig]

Great…you WERE…you were totally hitting on her…What is this…your way to deal with traumatic situations is to…MACK on your over-tired girlfriend?



Snigger, giggle.

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

[LeatherQueen]

*LOL* Oh, WC, this is JUST what my over-tired little brain needed on a Monday morning. "Bookmark the room" hee!!

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


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

[Grimaldi]

great update for a cloudy Monday morning, thank you

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



"Will she keep on the ground, trying to save me. Slowly forgive my lie, lying to save me. Could she love me again, or will she hate me." Alice in Chains, 'Rain When I Die'

[Pixie gishmock]

Woo hoo! It's "Late Shift update Monday!" This was a very sweet interlude, wiccachica. But you still have that ominous current running underneath everything - Will they be able to get back to the Scoobs? Are the Scoobs okay? What will this energy drain do to Tara in the long term? Will they really bookmark their room? Here I sit, waiting for the afternoon edition.

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

[Sassette]

Ahhh, wiccachica .... and due to the grandness and wonder that is your update, my esteemed coworker Derek asked what was so funny. Of course, I just looked at him and told him he should mind his own business before I smacked him upside the head with my trendy, but tasty, mocha frappucino.



He has since lapsed into a sullen silence. Too bad it will not last ... He is plotting something. I can see it in his eyes. He conspires against me. He must be stopped.



*shakes herself* Right! The Update! Frickin' brilliant, absolutely funny, your troll deserves to be scritched by many beautiful women, and I can't wait for the next part.



*G*



-Sass

[wiccachica]

The troll gets all the girls....Can I BE scritched by many beautiful women?



(oops...did I NOT say that in my head? Well...I guess that means I'm OUT...LOL)



And don't ask me where this next section came from...I think it might have been that peanut butter and honey sandwich and mug of coffee my intern made for me.....



hmmm...so honey-ladden kisses to all of you!



Chapter 134: Xander Harris in…. A Fair to Remember



" He’s coming around…slap him…it’ll take less time…" You hear Anya say from somewhere around you.



You open you eyes…slowly at first…expecting the proffered slap…but receiving a much larger surprise instead…one that wakes you up fully and send you sitting up too quickly on an oversized couch. Your head reels and you blink back the wave of sparkly fireflies in your vision…



What in the…???



You open and close your mouth under the ponderous weight of shock.



" He’s never been very articulate…has he?" Natalie French says from her black leather high-backed chair. She crosses her long… totally un Preying Mantis-like legs.



" I’ve known him forever…and I mean…FOR-EVER…and he’s always been this stupid…" Willow explains, sitting on the edge of a desk. She walks across the office…her tight, black leather pants making small squeaking noises in the relative quiet.



What kind of office is this? A psychiatrist’s office? What is going on???



" Well…I didn’t know him for that long…and I just don’t see what made a girl with your IQ and obvious physical attributes hang out with a guy like this…I mean LOOK at him…." Natalie says…indicating you with a wave of her supple hand.



Willow looks you over with obvious pity…



" I know…but he is… LOYAL…" She says.



That’s right…loyal…



" …Like a dog…or a puppy that follows you around…" She continues.



Ouch.



" And very…Needy…" Anya chimes in with her take on the definition.



What is going ON here???



" Let’s cut to the Chase here…He’s always looking around for greener pastures..." Cordelia says from her own leather chair. She’s wearing a short black skirt that covers little of her incredibly long legs…currently checking her lipstick in a compact mirror, and doesn’t even grace you with eye contact.



" You don’t have to tell me about THAT…" Willow says…rolling her eyes.



" I’m guessing I was a pasture too then…?" A gorgeous Ampata pouts from behind the couch…



" Oh…don’t worry…I think we are all little mini-diversions from his REAL problem….



" Ooh…ooh…can I SAY it?" Faith calls out and waves her raised hand from behind the large desk. She has her shiny jungle boots propped up on the slick surface…



You shake your head…still unable to speak



There’s no problem here…no problem…Nothing to see here, Folks…move along…



" Oh…I think I should say it…I mean…really…since the second he fell off his skateboard at Sunnydale High…he’s been my own personal little mooning stalker boy…" Buffy says from her own chair. She’s examining her nails as she speaks…and then looks up at you with a piteous smile of her own.



" I’m his fiancé…I should be the one to crush his fragile ego like an old, faded, little squeaky toy…" Anya says…



But it is Willow who steps forward and kneels beside the couch where you sit…her leather pants protestingly squeak only lightly….Her green leather top highlighting the colour of her eyes…and pushing other….assets of a tight blouse…to the obvious….surface… She reaches out and brushes an unruly hair back away from your brow.



" Xander…you know I’d never lie to you…right…?"



You nod…



" You know whatever I say…it’s the honest truth…cuz…well…I know you the best of any of these other girls…because I’m PART of you….I’m the best part of what makes you… YOU…"



You nod…



" Xander…You can’t have ANY of us…you never could… you never will…because…we don’t NEED you." She says like a grown woman speaking to a tiny child.



You can only stare into the softness of her eyes…and listen to her delicate voice as she speaks the truth into you…



" You are attracted to strong…unattainable women because …deep down… you want to eventually be rejected by us…and never achieve that fully committed relationship you always complain you don’t have…You sabotage your relationships by taking little pieces of the women in your life…each one…you try to break us down piece by piece so you can drain us, Xander…so that you can try to ruin us….Us and YOUR chances at happiness because… Xander…you are an emotional martyr…and frankly…. we’re sick of it…"



"Well said…" Natalie says coolly…uncrossing her legs….leaning forward…and fixing her eyes on you…



It’s not the way it is…It isn’t….What do you want…want do you ALL want…..???



" That’s simple…" Buffy says, reading your thoughts from her place just behind Cordelia’s chair. She puts a calm hand on the brunette’s shoulder.



<> Cordelia closes her compact. Her pale face smiling…The ridges on her forehead fold savagely in her hunger… and she bares her razor sharp teeth…



The other women’s faces in the room follow suit with a fluid grace only predators can manage…



" We want our pieces back…" Willow says gently as she looks up into your surprised face… Her teeth are like deadly shards of ivory…



You push her frantically away…and try to scramble over the back of the couch…



If they take it all back…you know there will be nothing left of you….you know that there will be NOTHING…left…to make you Xander…



You finally break the binds of silence and let out a wrenching shriek that could shatter glass…



" Oh…girls…do it slowly…" Faith purrs…getting up to advance on you as well… " I could listen to THAT scream ALL…. DAY…."



TBC…

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

Edited by: wiccachica  at: 4/8/02 11:14:06 am

[Sassette]

Okay, that was freaky.



Yet oddly deep and meaningful.



I >so< need more caffeine.



-Sass

Oh, and btw ... peanut butter and honey sammiches are SO good.

[Kalita]

Forget the clown, THAT was feaky. And scary. And also fun, in an odd way...

[wiccachica]

Funny thing...is as I was writing this today...I had a hard time NOT making all the women CLOWNS....



But I got a scary IT clown vibe (Pennywise for those who KNOW your scary clowns) and couldn't bring myself to put it to print...that would involve nightmares and possibly serious therapy for me....



I'm not too scared of clowns....but the IT clown...gives me the wiggins.



(a wink and sticky honey fingers...)



Chica

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


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


" Tremble!" - Gacknar

[UniDagger]

I hear ya. The first thing that pops into my head when i hear the word 'clown' is the IT creature. Its very hard to look calm and collected when your scrambling under the office furniture. lol



very wicked....i loved it. i cant wait for more!!