A Buffyverse Apocalypse: Chapter Six

1. A Buffyverse Apocalypse: Chapter Six
By RoseFyre
As always, I suggest you read previous chapters, particularly Chapter Five, before reading this chapter.
---
Still don't own Joss or any of the characters from Buffy/Angel.

2. After growing up, Anya promptly had a breakdown.

3. Luckily, the Sim Shrink was able to convince her that it was all okay, that not going to college wasn't the end of the
world, and that she would never have to wear that horrible sweatsuit ever again.

4. Even Willow felt the pain of missing college, despite being a Romance Sim.
"All those girls, Rose! All the girls I'll never meet! The parties I'll never go to!"
Of course, she was upset for very different reasons than Anya.

5. After she recovered, Anya took Will aside and began to teach him to be more Serious.
---
Will began life with 9 Playful points, and has since been Encouraged down to 7.

6. Meanwhile, Fred found that Tiffany Zarubin was far more gullible than Anya, and that cheating her at chess was a
breeze.

7. The next morning, a Tuesday, Willow woke up early and began to get her body into better shape.

8. When noon rolled around, she invited me over and gave me the week's criminal payment.

9. She also found herself with a crush on me.
---
Yes, my simself is Family, but she's one of the few adult women who Willow knows. Aspiration fodder? Definitely.

10. "What are you doing? Besides avoiding the ghosts."
"Looking at the job listings."
"I checked the paper - the only one available was in Politics, which is useless."
"Well, there's five choices on the web."

11. Willow came to look over Anya's shoulder.
"What are they?"
"Law Enforcement, Journalism, Culinary, Education, and Adventurer. Law Enforcement's just as useless as Politics,
Mom was in Culinary, and Journalism isn't great...that leaves Education and Adventurer."
"You take the job in Education."
"You sure?"
"You always liked school. I didn't. Besides, chasing after treasures sounds like fun."
Anya shrugged. "If you're sure." She clicked on a new link. "Oh, and here's a job for Kim. Vermin Chaser. That'll do."

12. That night, Will invited Zachary Erickson over again, and found that, after almost a week without seeing each other,
Zach was much more willing to actually do romantic things, and Will convinced him that sharing their first kiss would
be incredibly romantic.

13. Luckily for them, they left the main room before the ghosts came out.
Martin wasn't quite so lucky.

14. But Fred managed to distract him downstairs with a water balloon fight.

15. Unfortunately, most of the guests didn't realize the full extent of the peril that was posed by the ghosts.
"You're letting the townies die now?"
"Humans are definitely stupid," Kobe said, looking at Grim.
"Definitely," Kim said, agreeing with Kobe for the first time.
"Indeed." Grim looked at his list and shrugged. Bradford Ford wasn't on his list, but he was always willing to take
more people.

16. "I still don't like you, even if I did agree with you back there," Kim hissed at Kobe, then swiped her tail in the food
bowl.
Kobe hissed back, but kept eating anyway.

17. The next morning, Anya and Willow started their new jobs, while Martin continued his. Kim and Kobe also went to
work.

18. And when they came home, Kobe came home with a promotion.
She was now a Star, lifting Pet Showbiz.

19. The younger kids promptly started working out, spending all of the the time that they weren't in school (since it still
wasn't open for teens) getting their bodies fit.

20. Both Willow and Anya got a number of promotions, and by the end of the week, Anya was a Senior Professor. Willow
wasn't as high up in Adventurer, but her promotions were going steadily, and she was working on all of the skill
points necessary to become a Space Pirate.

21. She quickly maxed her body skill, and worked on her mechanical and charisma as well.

22. Rupert also maxed his body skill very quickly, which was unsurprising as he has 10 Active points, like his mother.

23. It took Fred a bit longer, despite having the same number of Active points as Rupert,

24. as she spent most of her nights distracting her father from the ghosts...or being hit by them herself.

25. Will, unsurprisingly, took the longest, with his five Active points, but he managed eventually.

26. "So, what do you think of working out?" Rupert asked Saturday morning, just before dawn.
Fred grinned. "I like it."
"I don't know," Will said. "It's okay, but I'd rather jump on a couch."

27. "Actually, it's really...Kobe, what are you doing to Mr. Ford's urn?"
Kobe rubbed herself against the urn, then sprayed it.
Fred shook her head and turned back to her brothers. "Sometimes I swear the cats are crazy."

28. Even in a house without ghosts, they were still a constant topic of conversation - or, in this case, of a speech that
Marisa was practicing for her next business meeting.
"And that is why I propose the building of a new cemetery."

29. While Marisa skilled for promotions, Xander spent most of his time taking care of their infant daughter, Dawn.

30. On Tuesday, Marisa brought her friend Lynne home from work, and Xander invited his family over.

31. I allowed Xander and Marisa to go on one date, as his aspiration level was very very low, and it succeeded quite well
in making him platinum in a short period of time.
---
Yes, this is cheating - dates are prohibited until Show Business is lifted - but Xander is a spare, and he's not living in
the main house any more, so I decided not to care. I'm still restricting him, however, to dates only when his
aspiration is very low, and only with his wife, whom he wooed without that extra help.

32. Then they called the guests into the nursery, and spun Dawn into toddlerhood.

33. That night, after everyone had left and Dawn was in her crib, Xander and Marisa decided to try - successfully - for
another baby.

34. Over the next couple of days, Xander spent most of his time taking care of Dawn.

35. And Marisa went to work, befriended anyone who walked by, and worked on skills for her promotions.

36. She was very successful, though Business wasn't her first choice of career. However, they could use the money, and
promotions kept her platinum.
As you can see by her dress, she was also pregnant again.

37. Xander taught Dawn to talk and to walk, and helped her with everything, though he also made sure to take the time
to cater to his pregnant wife.

38. And thus Dawn became my very first toddler to max a skill.
"Bunny!"

39. A couple of days later, she became a child.
"Cool, hands!"

40. And promptly went upstairs to begin studying, since she wasn't tired enough to sleep yet, and it was a weekend, so I
had no problem letting her stay up late.

41. Martin stopped by that night, as well.
"How are you, Xander?" he asked, as he moved one of his pawns forward three spaces. Xander decided not to correct
him on the incorrect move.
"Good, Dad. Things are a bit crazy here, but at least we don't have the ghosts." He moved one of his knights.
"That's nice." Martin moved a bishop three squares diagonally to the right. "I'm glad."
"Thanks, Dad," Xander said. "And thanks for stopping by."

42. Martin had stopped by just in time for Marisa to go into labor.

43. She had a beautiful baby girl with Xander's black hair and Marisa's dark blue eyes, who she and Xander decided to
name Joyce Summers Whedon.

44. Meanwhile, back at the main house, Martin took a large number of spongebaths.

45. And Anya worked on getting the last three skill points necessary to become Education Minister.
She still needed two family friends, but she knew her siblings were pulling for her, and that they would help with that
part of what was needed.

46. However, they also spent some time skilling.
While the university still wasn't open, they knew that it was one of Anya's goals for when she became Education
Minister, and since they all had maxed their body skill points, they could go, since the roads were open...but not until
UC Sunnydale reopened its doors.
---
I tend to use the terms college and university interchangeably, so please excuse any inconsistencies.

47. Will took on the job of making friends with relish, since he didn't really enjoy skilling. Not all that surprising for a
highly Playful Pleasure Sim.

48. “Wow, I feel great!”
"What's the Elixir for?"
"College."
"But it's not open yet."
"No, but there's a chance that Anya will open it on Tuesday. And if I don't take Elixir now, I'll be an adult Monday
night."
"Ah."
"And now back to skilling!"

49. Unsurprisingly, the ghosts continued to haunt.

50. And they repeatedly hit Martin. Perhaps they realized that he consistently feared them. Luckily, while he went insane
more than once, he never died.

51. After Anya got her skill points and filled her motive bars, she chose to meditate, to conserve her energy before work
on Monday.

52. And Willow continued her job, wearing her least favorite work outfit.
"Change? Please?"
"Fine. Go exercise."

53. “Ah. Much better!”

54. Over family dinners (and breakfasts), Martin had a tendency to pontificate. "Now, you know it's hard work, fixing up
this community. We live on The Hellmouth, after all! But I know you can do it."
Willow kept her eyes on her plate, while Will pretended to listen to their father. She didn't want to get involved in this
conversation.

55. "And you'll all have excellent jobs, I know!"
Will and Fred exchanged glances. They hadn't told their father about their hopes to go to college.
Admittedly, college wouldn't prevent them from getting good jobs, and in fact might help them get better jobs, but
they still weren't sure what their father would think of their plans.

56. On Monday, Anya came home from work as a Dean.

57. And Kim came was promoted to Rescue Pet. This lifted the Service restrictions, allowing me to force Martin to avoid
the ghosts without having someone else call him away (which doesn't always work well, if he's extremely hungry or
tired or dirty).

58. After eating and sleeping, she promptly began to meditate once more, and learned to teleport in the process.

59. Willow, meanwhile, got another promotion, and began to woo Allyn Thomason.
She wasn't able to get her into bed yet, but it was better to work on the friendship first anyway.

60. "Pillowfight? Please?"
"Low aspiration?"
"Definitely."
"Yeah, Pleasure is hard."
"You don't seem to be having as many problems."
Will shrugged. "I'm more playful. And jumping on the couch always cheers me up."
"I just want to buy a bubble blower."
"Oh." Will whacked his brother on the head. "Too bad."

61. On Tuesday, Fred made her tenth best friend.

62. And Anya came home from work as Education Minister!

63. Across The Hellmouth, Xander spent a lot of time taking care of his younger daughter.

64. But he also found time to talk to his older daughter, who had fun telling him all about maxing her charisma.

65. And he taught Dawn how to do her homework. He'd had to struggle through it himself, but she would have every
advantage he could give her.

66. Marisa, meanwhile, skilled for promotions, which kept her nicely platinum and allowed me to add to their house.

67. However, despite his preoccupation with the kids and hers with her job, they still made time to have fun together.

68. And to be romantic, though they avoided woohoo - two kids were plenty.

69. "Where are you going?" "I want to be a Professional Party Guest."
"Work." "Job was in the paper?"
"Yeah, and the hours don't conflict with Marisa's."
"Work?”
"Well, congratulations."
"I changed my lifetime want - since Anya became
Education Minister, and Liam was abducted, I can use a
"Thanks."
ReNuYu Senso Orb."
"What to?"

70. This left Marisa home alone with the kids (albeit only for a few hours), and she found that she didn't really mind being
a parent. While she would never love taking care of children the way her husband did, Dawn was very interesting,
now that she was old enough to hold an intelligent conversation.

71. In fact, she was home alone when it was time for Joyce to become a toddler, so she brought her to the cake.
Unfortunately, the space was too small, and she was unsuccessful.

72. When Xander got home, he moved the cake into the nursery and tossed Joyce into toddlerhood.

73. "Say Teddy, Joyce."
"Nuh uh."
As Joyce was too tired to continue, she didn't learn to talk that night, but Xander knew there would be plenty of time
for more practice.

74. "Now, you know you're a big sister, and that means you get to help look after Joyce."
Dawn nodded her head seriously. "I will, Daddy. I'll be the best big sister ever!"
Willow, who had stopped by, snickered. Her niece was very like her brother.

75. "Another promotion?"
"Yup!"

76. "Why are you at the computer, then?"
"I've got a good feeling."
"Oh?"
"Yup! There's a job as an Ambassador's Intern. I'm taking it - Lifetime Want and all."
"Good plan."

77. That Tuesday, Xander invited his dad over, and told him to bring whoever wanted to come.
"So, Dad," he began, after Anya and Willow joined them at the table, "why didn't you bring the younger kids?"

78. "Well," Martin said, "I wanted to talk to you three about jobs, and the Apocalypse."
All three of his children noticed that he sounded a bit saner than he had recently, since Kim had lifted Service.
"What about jobs, Dad?" Anya asked.

79. "Does this have to do with us not going to university?" Willow asked. "Cause I know the younger three want to go."

80. "No," Martin said. Clearly, the news that the younger three wanted to attend college wasn't news to him; though they
hadn't explicitly told him, secrets don't keep well in a house that small, with that many people living in it. "But it does
have to do with the laws, and not breaking them. You see, your mother - mothers - mentioned that only one child of
the family can live in the house, and only their children can make the world better."
"But Mom and Aunt Cordy both lived in the house, and had kids there," Anya said.
"Yes, but that was an exception, and to make that happen, Xander had to give up all possibility of becoming heir."
"Oh."

81. "Not that I minded," Xander interrupted. "I would've liked to help the community, but I understand that it was either
one of me or five of you, and five of you makes much more sense. I sometimes wish I'd been able to go to college,
but that wasn't an option when we were teens."
His sisters both nodded, and Martin smiled at them.
"Also, while I love Marisa, two kids is more than enough for us. The heir is going to have to have more."

82. Martin took control of the conversation once more. "And I know you've both been working hard on your careers, and I
wanted to know if either of you wanted to be heiress, and live in the house."

83. The girls exchanged glances, then Willow spoke. "Well, the thing is, while I like getting promotions, and I'll lift one set
of restrictions, I don't want to be heir."

84. "Actually, I don't want kids, or a husband, or any of that stuff. I'm out."

85. Anya turned to her sister. "Then I'm out too."
"Are you sure?"
"I can't imagine living without you, Willow. And while I want to get married, I don't really want more than one or two
kids. I'd need more if I were heiress, wouldn't I?"
Martin nodded. "Yes."
"Then it's settled," Anya said. "Neither of us is heiress."
"I guess we're leaving it to the younger three," said Xander. Everyone agreed. Willow and Anya had both passed on
the heirship, but the younger three would have to decide for themselves what exactly they wanted out of life, and
which one of them would become heir, inheriting both the responsibilities and the privileges.

86. Back at home, the three younger kids decided to call the university to try to enroll immediately.

87. All three picked up phones, and called the admissions office at UC Sunnydale.

88. "Unfortunately, Mr. Whedon," said the secretary on the other side of the line, "you'll need to have slightly higher
grades to get into college. Try attending class regularly and completing your homework assignments, and call us
again to apply after your grades have improved."
As she hung up, Rupert felt his dreams crash.
They weren't going to get to go to college after all.
---
Turn the page for more info!

89. So, there you have it - the problem I just encountered while playing. You'll learn what I intend to do about it in
Chapter Seven...which will probably not be out for a while, as I'm back to classes for the spring semester.
I'll keep playing, and writing, but schoolwork takes priority.

90. Have a cute picture of Dawn!
Dawn Summers Whedon:
Aries (10/9/4/4/8)
Joyce Summers Whedon:
Virgo (10/3/4/4/8)
Neither of them has a lifetime want yet, thank God - I was getting a bit worried when Fred, Rupert, and Will all had
them as children. I feel a bit better since Dawn and Joyce don't.

91. And here we have Martin going crazy...again.
Current restrictions lifted:
Hopelessness (Joss)
Alien Tech (Liam)
Music (Joss)
Science (Eloise)
Military (Martin)
Culinary (Buffy)
Education (Anya)
Pet Showbiz (Kobe)
Service (Kim)

92. And, as always, come to boolprop (forums.boolprop.com) for great conversation, great people, and lots of help with
sims playing and stories!