Computers baffle me.

This is because you are wise, young Jedi.

Parts 6-45 should be any day now.

Not sure I'm joking.

Not sure you'd hear anyone complaining.

Have to run an errand before I can write the middle two, but I have two more completed X-Files Drabbles. I WILL finish the whole thing. I WILL!

Conduit

"It's about power."

Caleb's dreamed this moment since he was knee high to a grasshopper. His daddy used to tell him all about the power and the glory, while his mommy, well...

She was dirty, just like the rest of them.

Power, now, power's clean, pure. Doesn't matter what they say, it don't corrupt, because power cannot be corrupted. Power cleanses, wipes away all that filth and muck you're born with, if you're willing to let it.

He stands before it, and lets it fill him and clean him, lets it wash away weakness and dirt.

Makes his daddy proud.

Ghost in the Machine

"Spike!"

He doesn't turn, but that doesn't stop her from running up to him and tugging on his coat. He closes his eyes, tries to close his ears as well.

Sometimes, he thinks the witch is punishing him, not getting rid of the bit of programming that makes it seek him out. She claims she's working on it, says it's "deeply embedded, kinda hard to get rid of."

And, of course, they need it. Need to maintain the illusion, keep the little bit safe.

But every cheerful word, every bouncing step, every kill is wrong.

It's not her. He failed.

Very nice, as always, Plei.

Jeez, Plei. You nailed Caleb's voice.

That whole "Power, now, power's clean, pure" and everything after it? Totally his voice.

When Am wakes up, she should be happy.

I have at least two more to write tonight, The Jersey Devil and Shadows.

Why I want to see if I can do them all is beyond me.

Am is woke up! Am is happy! t sing-song Plei wrote Caleb, Plei wrote Caleb!

Oh, Plei, I love it! Thank you thank you thank you! t bounces

*grin*

And with that, I go to bed.

Plei give good Caleb and Spike.

Smonster want more Victor story. She send magazine-ma in Fic thread b/c she went to the vet and doesn't natter with the other puppies anymore.

Smonster want to make sense some day.

The Resurrection Gambit

Part Six: Which Side Are You On?

Los Angeles, 2003:“Fish out of water,” was too mild a term to describe it. Wesley glanced nervously about the crowded warehouse. Music that hit like thunder slammed against his chest in four-four time. Everywhere, bodies writhed and gyrated, their sweat glistening in the sweltering heat.

He looked at his companions. Fred looked as ill-at-ease as he felt, but Spike was holding up much better, sauntering to the make-shift bar as soon as he hit the door. Gunn had transformed the moment he arrived. All business when they left the office, he had been instantly recognized upon their arrival, and was on the dance floor with a young woman’s arms draped across his shoulders.

“Looks fun,” said Fred, glumly. “Yes,” said Wesley. “if your brain can survive the racket.”

From the look on Fred’s face, Wesley figured out that this was the wrong thing to say. He wondered if he should just relax. Give in and dance. She obviously wanted to.

He never got a chance. Spike shoved a bottle of beer into Wesley’s hands, and dragged a surprised Fred by the arm out onto the dance floor. Wesley took a sip and watched. “Alone” was something he was never comfortable with, and now was no exception.

“You didn’t strike me as a dancer,” Fred said as De La Soul reverberated against the walls. “Not, really,” says Spike. “Just seemed like the thing to do. Loud music, pretty girl. Vampire.” Fred began to say, “What?” but then noticed a handsome black man in a fairly dated outfit begin to lead a young woman out a side door.

“Bloody, Hell.” said Spike, as he abandoned Fred to move toward the door. “It’s always work, work, work.” By the time Spike made his way through the sea of humanity, the pair had left the building. He emerged into the alley and looked deep into the darkness, where the vampire had already begun feeding on the woman.

Spike leapt into action, startling the vampire and knocking the terrified woman free. Spike lost his concentration for a second as he glanced to see if she was alright. Mistake. A punch like a pile driver collided with his skull, knocking him to the ground.

The vampire wasn’t alone. Six hovered above him, and two of them stepped aside to reveal a seventh—a beautiful, dark-skinned woman.

“So, you’re William the Bloody,” she said, glancing down at him dispassionately, as though he were an interesting insect. “Not as hot as I’d been led to believe.”

“Need a new publicist, I guess,” said Spike. “And you are…”

“A rival. Kill him.”

A crossbow bolt whizzed through the air, reducing one of the vampires to dust. Fred was already loading another round, and Gunn and Wesley had produced small swords. The fight was quick, and brutal. Gunn and Wesley took two out in tandem, giving Spike enough time to clobber another. Fred fired another shot, hitting another in the shoulder. It turned and ran. Spike took off after it, while Wesley and Gunn finished off the last.

The vampire turned the corner and started gaining speed. As Spike gained ground on it, the vampire ground to a halt. The female vampire--obviously the leader--was standing before them.

“Kneel,” she said, and the wounded vampire fell to its knees. Indeed, Spike himself had felt an impulse to do the same, but resisted. He watched in fascination.

“I told you to fight and die for me,” she said. “I have no place for cowards. So burn.”

The kneeling vampire was suddenly alight with flame. Spike, too felt heat swell around him, but it didn’t seem to set him ablaze. The vampire was dust. The woman, he noticed, was gone.

“She wanted me to see this,” said Spike, to himself.

“You’re right,” said a voice behind him. “She did.”

It was Angel. Wesley, Gunn and Fred caught up to them, visibly surprised to see him there.

“We need to talk,” said Angel.

“Yes,” said another voice emerging from the darkness. “We do.”

Giles and Xander stepped out of the shadows toward their erstwhile allies. In the distance, the thump of bass and the pounding of the beat went on.