Chapter 10: Halloween
Only two days left until Halloween.
Darkness had fallen over Sunnydale, and the pumpkin field had closed its gates for the night.
Buffy hit the ground with a thud, feeling a jack-o-lantern smash beneath her. Breathlessly, she rolled to one side, grabbed a smaller pumpkin, and hurled it at the approaching vampire as he leaned in for the kill.
The pumpkin caught him full in the face, throwing him off balance, and before he could recover himself, a second pumpkin hit him between the eyes.
The vampire stumbled backward. As Paige threw her stake straight at his heart, but he managed to grab a scarecrow, using it as a shield. There was a dull thud as the stake pierced the chest of the scarecrow. The vampire grinned delightedly.
The vampire tossed the scarecrow aside; as Buffy jumped to her feet and resumed her defensive posture just as Paige moved in beside her. For several minutes the sisters stubbornly held their ground, until two sidearm blows and a merciless kick sent them both back down.
Paige and Buffy gained the upper hand at last. Buffy gave the vampire a vicious head butt and a swift kick to it's chest and sent him sprawling headlong into a mountain of pumpkins, where Pop's Pumpkin Patch sign toppled to the ground.
Paige held out her hand as she called out. "Sign." The sign orbed out and into the vampire's heart. She looked to her sister who smiled and they turned and walked away.
Ten minutes later Buffy and Paige walked into the Bronze. Scanning the crowd, Buffy spotted Angel and Cordelia at their table, and felt her heart plunge as Xander walked over to the sisters.
"Busy night," Xander asked."
"Yeah," said Paige as she kissed Xander. She noticed out of the corner of her eye Buffy looking down at her clothes and then at towards a table. She followed her sister's gaze and sighed as she saw Angel with Cordelia. She leaned in to Xander and whispered in his ear. "It looks like Buffy is not hanging with Angel tonight. You don't mind if I do a rain check on tonight?"
Xander followed Paige's gaze and nodded. "Go," said Xander as Buffy turned to leave. "We still on for Halloween?"
"Of course," said Paige.
"Buffy?" Angel said as he hurried over, leaving Cordelia hanging in midsentence.
The sisters saw Angel coming as Xander walked back to his table to pick up his jacket. "Oh. Hi," Buffy greeted him cheerfully. "We're—"
"Late," Angel said. He appraised the sisters with one swift glance while Buffy managed a nod.
"Rough day at the office," Paige said.
Smiling, Angel pulled a piece of straw gently from Buffy's hair. "So I see." He handed it to Buffy.
Humiliated, Buffy tried to turn it into a joke. "Hey, it's a look. A seasonal look."
"Buffy. Paige." Cordelia sashayed past them, an obvious smirk on her sensual lips. "Love the way you to have your hair. It just screams street urchin."
Paige glared at Xander as he walked over. "Straw? Hair?"
Xander looked at Paige, he had thought she might been doing something seasonal. "Uhm sorry. I just thought it was decorative." He gently reached up and took a few pieces of straw from Paige's hair.
"You know what?" Buffy said. "I need to go . . . put a bag over my head. Paige you coming?"
Angel looked down at Buffy's troubled expression, his voice softened. "Don't listen to her. You look fine."
"You're sweet." Buffy managed a grim smile. "A terrible liar. But sweet."
"I thought we had . . . you know," said Angel.
"A date?" Buffy asked. "So did I. But who am I kidding? Dates are things normal girls have. Girls who have time to think about nail polish and facials and stuff. You know what I think about? Ambush tactics. Beheading. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of."
Paige rolled her eyes. "Really? So what Xander and I are just a passing fad?"
"Paige … that's not what I meant," said Buffy as she, Paige and Xander walked out of the Bronze.
The next day the halls of Sunnydale High were thronged with students moving to and from class. Halloween decorations were plastered everywhere, and a long table had been set up, manned by several kids and their neat rows of sign-up sheets. Principal Snyder stood by, arms clamped across his chest, beady eyes surveying the crowd.
An unsuspecting girl almost made it past the table before he grabbed her.
"Hey!" she exclaimed. She tried to wriggle free, but his grip was relentless.
"You're volunteering," he ordered.
"But I have to get to class—"
His grip tightened even more. He steered her over to the sign-up table just as Dawn, Paige, Buffy, Willow, and Xander walked by with curious stares.
"Snyder must be in charge of the volunteer safety program for Halloween this year," Willow observed.
Xander hunched his shoulders, hands dug deep into his pockets. "Note his interesting take on the 'volunteer' concept," he said dryly.
Buffy warily eyed the table. "What's the deal?"
"A bunch of little kids need people to take them trick-or-treating," Xander explained, sounding less than thrilled. "Sign up and you get your very own pack of sugar-hyped runts for the night."
"Yikes. I'll stick to vampires—" said Buffy. "Unless your wanting to go this year Dawn?"
"Like I'm six years old. Halloween's so lame," said Dawn. "Besides mom asked me if I would help with her Halloween party at the gallery.
Suddenly a hand fell on Paige and Buffy's shoulders and they turned to see Principal Snyder was looking down at them with an undisguised sneer. "Ms. Summers and Ms. Summers. Just the juvenile delinquents I've been looking for."
"Principal Snyder," Buffy said, trying to sound polite.
"Halloween must be a big night for you two, huh?" the principal continued sarcastically. "Tossing eggs. Keying cars. Bobbing for apples. One pathetic cry for help after another. Well. Not this year, missy."
Before either Buffy or Paige could respond, he walked them firmly over to the table as Dawn, Xander and Willow reluctantly following.
"Gosh, I'd love to volunteer," Buffy said, her mind racing for an excuse, "but I recently developed . . . carpal tunnel syndrome and, tragically, I can no longer hold a flashlight."
Principal Snyder handed Buffy and Paige each a pen as Xander and Willow began to look worried.
"The program starts at four, and the children have to be home by six," he instructed.
Xander and Willow stared at each other, and then at the pens Principal Snyder handed each of them and Dawn. Dawn smirked and handed hers back. "I already have a thing to do for Halloween, sorry. Mom asked me to help out in the gallery with their Halloween party. If you don't believe me, call her."
Snider glared at Dawn and then nodded as Buffy, Willow, Xander and Paige signed the list.
"I can't believe this," Xander grumbled, as they headed into the school lounge. "We have to dress up and the whole deal?"
"Snyder said costumes were mandatory," Willow sighed.
Buffy forced a rueful smile. "Great. Paige and I was going to stay in and veg. It's the one night a year that things are supposed to be quiet for us."
"Halloween quiet?" Xander shot the sisters a quizzical look. "I figured it would be a big old vamp scare-a-palooza."
"According to my research which Giles backed up," said Dawn. "Tomorrow night is, like, dead for the undead. They stay in."
"Those wacky vampires." Xander shook his head. "That's what I love about 'em. They just keep you guessing."
He stopped at the drinks machine while Buffy, Paige, Dawn and Willow found a table. Dropping in some change, he waited for his soda to come out, but nothing happened.
He hit the machine with his fist. He gave the machine a few choice insults. Then he hit it again.
"Harris!" A voice boomed out.
Xander looked up to see a large meaty hand descending on his shoulder. It belonged to Larry, a mean-tempered moose of a jock, and not one of Xander's personal favorites.
"Larry," Xander said casually. "Looking very cromag as usual. What can I do you for?"
Larry glanced over to where Buffy, Dawn, Paige and Willow were sitting. The four girls were engaged in a private conversation, totally unaware of the attention they were getting.
Larry leaned in closer to Xander. "You and Buffy—you're just friends, right?"
Xander was quick. "Uh yeah. I'm dating…"
"So she's not your girlfriend?" Larry broke in impatiently.
"Alas, no."
"You think she'd go out with me?"
"Well, Lar, that's a hard question to . . . no. Not a chance."
"Why not? I heard some guys say she was fast."
Xander could feel himself bristling. "I hope you mean in the 'like the wind' sense."
"You know what I mean."
Larry was actually leering at him now, and Xander's anger erupted. He grabbed Larry by his T-shirt, pulling him down to eye-level. "That's my friend and the sister of my girlfriend you're talking about," Xander said.
Larry was not impressed and definitely not intimidated. In fact, Xander's outburst not only amused him, it pumped him up for battle. With a cocky smile, he stretched himself to his huge fullness.
"Oh, yeah? What are you going to do about it?"
Xander stood his ground. "I'm going to do what any man would do about it," he stammered.
"Something . . . damn manly."
With one massive heave, he tried to shove Larry into the soda machine but hardly budged him an inch.
Grimacing, he saw Larry draw back a fist and aim it at his face, and Xander bravely steeled himself to be mutilated.
But the blow never came. At the last second, another hand suddenly intercepted, grabbing Larry's wrist, snapping it back from Xander's face. In a flash, Buffy spun Larry around, pinned his arms behind him, and slammed him hard into the drinks machine as a free soda dropped out.
Behind Buffy stood Paige as she looked her boyfriend over. "You alright?" she whispered. Unlike Buffy she knew that Xander's ego was likely hurt and he would not vocally say anything that would make him seem less manly so he simply nodded.
"Get gone," Buffy said.
As Larry scurried away, she picked up the Dr. Pepper and gave a pleased smile. "Ooh. Diet."
And then it dawned on Buffy that Xander hadn't moved. Hadn't said a word. That he was just standing there staring at her in total shock and disbelief.
"Do you know what you just did?" he finally exploded.
Buffy thought a minute. "Saved a dollar?"
"Larry was about to pummel me!" Xander exclaimed.
"Oh, that." Buffy brushed it off. "Forget about it."
"Buffy," said Paige. "Apologize."
"What, why?" asked Buffy as she stared at her sister.
"Because, Buffy what you did will make it look like Xander is week to the other guys. You just got insured he will be picked on," said Paige. "That he will be considered a …"
Xander glared at Buffy, positively fuming. "A sissy-man," he snapped at Buffy. "Maybe fifteen, twenty years from now the rep will finally fade."
Buffy's mouth opened in surprise. "Xander—"
"A black eye heals, Buffy," he threw at her. "But cowardice has a nearly unlimited shelf-life. But thanks. Thanks for your help."
As Xander stomped off, Paige glared at Buffy and then turned and followed Xander.
"I think I just violated the guy code," Buffy confessed. "Big time."
"Yes, you did," said Dawn. "Paige was right you need to apologize to Xander."
"How was your date last night?" Willow asked changing the subject.
"Misfire for both of us." Buffy frowned. "Paige and I were late due to unscheduled slayage. We both showed up looking trashed."
"Was Angel or Xander mad?" asked Dawn.
"Actually, they both seemed pretty un-mad. Of course with Angel it may have had to do with the fact that Cordelia was drooling in his cappuccino."
Willow gave Buffy a reassuring smile. "Buffy, Angel would never fall for her act."
"You mean that 'actually showing up, wearing a stunning outfit, embracing personal hygeine' act?" said Buffy.
"You know what I mean. She's not his type," said Willow.
"Are you sure? I mean, I don't really know what his type is." Buffy sounded frustrated and a little sad. "I don't know his turn-ons and turn-offs or his idea of the perfect evening. I've known him less than a year and he's not one to over-share."
Willow listened sympathetically. "True. It's too bad we can't sneak a look at the Watcher Diaries and read up on Angel. I'm sure it's full of fun facts to know and tell."
Buffy stared at Willow. "Yeah, it's too bad," she said casually. "That stuff is private."
"Also, Giles keeps them in his office. In his personal files," said Willow.
Dawn rolled her eyes and sighed. "Give me my five minutes and I'll get them for you," she said as her sister and Willow looked at her. "I'll tell him I'm researching a specific vamp. He'll let me have a peek."
Ten minutes later Dawn walked into the library. "Giles?"
"Dawn," Giles said. "Excellent."
"Have you seen Buffy and Paige I wanted to talk to them about tomorrow night," he said, carrying a stack of books over to the table. "As it should be calm, I thought that Buffy, Paige and I might work on new battle techniques—"
"Sorry to say this, Giles. But Principal Snyder roped them into volunteering for trick or treating with the kids," said Dawn.
"What?" asked Giles.
"Yeah," said Dawn. "I barely managed to get out of it myself because mom had already asked me to help her with the Gallery's Halloween party."
Giles sighed. "Very well. Was there something you needed Dawn?"
"Yes I wanted to see the Watcher's diaries for years of 1700 through to 1800 if I could. I'm doing some period research on vampires of that era."
"Of course," said Giles. "You know where they are. Make sure you have them back before the end of school."
"Of course," said Dawn as she walked into Giles office.
Moments later safe in the women's restroom; Dawn, Buffy and Willow sat side by side on the sinks, huddled over the Watcher Diaries that Dawn had procured for them. They'd never seen anything quite so fascinating, and as Willow flipped slowly through the books, Buffy suddenly rested her finger on one of the pages.
"Man," Buffy breathed, "look at her."
What they saw was a detailed drawing of a woman. An incredibly beautiful woman with long dark hair and a flowing eighteenth-century gown.
"Who is she?" Willow asked.
"It doesn't say. But the entry is dated seventeen-forty-five," said Dawn.
"Angel was eighteen," Willow mused. "And still human."
Buffy gave a tight smile. "So this was the kind of girl he hung around. She's pretty . . . coifed."
"She looks like a noblewoman or something," Dawn noted, "which means being beautiful was sort of her job."
"And clearly, this girl was a workaholic. I'll never be like this . . ." said Buffy.
Dawn and Willow both heard the mixture of hurt and longing in Buffy's voice. "Come on," Dawn said reassuringly, "she's not that pretty. She's got a funny waist. See how tiny it is?"
Buffy gave her sister a withering look. "Now I feel better. Thanks."
"No, really," Dawn tried to redeem herself, "she's like a freak. A circus freak. Yuck."
"It must have been wonderful," Buffy said dreamily. "To put on some fantabulous gown and go to a ball, like a princess, to have servants and horses and yet more gowns . . ."
"Yeah," said Willow. "Still, I think I prefer being able to vote. Or I will, when I can."
The bathroom door opened as they looked up to see Cordelia sweeping over to the mirrors.
"So, Buffy," Cordelia pulled lipstick out of her purse and leaned in to check her reflection. "You ran off and left poor Angel by his lonesome last night. I did everything I could to comfort him."
Buffy's tone was grim. "I bet."
"What's his story, anyway? I mean, I never see him around," said Cordelia
"Not during the day, anyway," Willow mumbled.
Cordelia stopped doing her lips. She turned to Buffy now, almost reluctantly. "Please don't tell me he still lives at home. Like he has to wait until his dad gets home to take the car?"
Dawn shook her head. "His parents have been dead for a couple hundred years."
"Oh, good. I mean—what?"
"He's a vampire, Cordelia," Buffy said flatly. "I thought you knew."
Cordelia stared, taking this all in. Then she calmly put her makeup back in her purse.
"Oh. He's a vampire. Of course. But the cuddly kind. Like a Care Bear with fangs."
"It's true," Willow insisted calmly.
Cordelia crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "You know what I think? You're trying to scare me off because you're afraid of the competition." She paused, then added smugly, "Look, Buffy, you may be hot stuff when it comes to demonology or whatever, but when it comes to dating,I'm the Slayer."
She turned and flounced out of the bathroom.
That evening Paige and Buffy found themselves the musty and rundown Ethan's Costume Shop which was stocked with every sort of costume imaginable.
Today the place was packed. Kids of all ages rummaged through hangers and shelves, through boxes and bags, searching for that one perfect Halloween costume. The supply seemed endless.
Paige and Buffy walked up and down between rows of clothing and hats and masks, searching for something to wear. They glanced up as Willow came toward them. "What did you find?" asked Paige.
"A time-honored classic," Willow said proudly.
They watched as Willow pulled a costume from a bag. The package read Ghastly Ghost, and it showed a person covered with a large white ghost sheet, complete with eye holes, ghostly smile, and the word boo stenciled across the chest.
"Willow," Buffy managed to hide her amusement, "can I give you a little friendly advice?"
Willow looked worried. "It's not spooky enough?"
"It's just, you're never going to get noticed if you keep hiding," Buffy tried to explain. "You're missing the whole point of Halloween."
"Free candy?" asked Paige.
Buffy glared at her sister and shook her head. "It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions."
"I don't get wild." Willow's eyes grew wide and solemn. "Wild on me equals spaz."
Buffy firmly disagreed. "You've got it in you, Will. You're just scared—" She broke off as Xander walked over. Paige and Buffy both could tell he was still mad at Buffy, and Willow eagerly took advantage of the opportunity to change the subject.
"Hey, Xander. What did you get?"
Xander opened his shopping bag. He pulled out an orange plastic machine gun.
"That's not a costume," Paige informed him.
"I've got some fatigues from the Army surplus at home," Xander explained. And then, in a poor attempt at Schwarzenegger, he added, "Call me the two-dollar costume king, baby."
Paige nudge her sister and gave her a look that said, apologize. Buffy took a deep breath and plunged in. "Hey, Xander, about this morning. I'm really sorry—"
"Do you mind, Buffy? I'm trying to repress," said Xander.
"I promise I'll let you get pummeled from now on," Buffy finished.
"Thank you," Xander said. "Okay. Actually, I think I could have—"
He broke off, realizing that both his girlfriend and Buffy's attention had wandered far away from the matter at hand.
"Hello?" Xander prompted her. "That was our touching reconciliation you just left."
"Sorry," Buffy murmured. "It's just . . . look at that."
Xander and Willow both turned around. They followed the direction of the sister's gaze to the wall at the back of the store.
Two matching red gowns were draped over two mannequins. Fashioned in an elegant eighteenth-century style, they hung to the floor in flowing folds of satin and lace. The front of the skirts showed a narrow swath of pink, decorated along each side with small dainty bows, while even more delicate lace accentuated the low square neckline and cascaded down from the sleeves.
Willow drew in her breath.
It looked exactly like the gown in the Watcher Diaries.
Paige and Buffy both seemed to be mesmerized but for slightly different reasons. Without taking their eyes from the dresses, they moved slowly, almost cautiously, toward them, Willow and Xander following.
"It's amazing," Willow whispered, while Xander firmly shook his head.
"Too bulky. I prefer my women in spandex."
That just clenched it for Paige. This was her Halloween costume and she intended to wow Xander with it. She and Buffy stopped in front of the gowns. They both lifted one hand, about to touch the dress, when a man suddenly approached them from a rear doorway.
Ethan Rayne was the owner of the shop. Tall and unassumingly dressed, there was still an air of
understated sophistication about his clothes and a quiet hint of elegance about the man himself. His eyes reflected a devilish sort of glint. His smile was soft and somewhat secretive, and when he spoke, his voice held just a trace of British accent.
"Please." He stopped beside Buffy. He reached out for the gown closest to him. "Let me."
Buffy shook her head in wonder. "It's—"
"Magnificent," he said. "I know."
Carefully he removed it from the mannequin. Almost reverentially he held it up to Buffy.
"My," Ethan Rayne murmured. "Meet the hidden princess."
And indeed, Buffy seemed magically transformed. Even Willow, Paige and Xander, the ones who knew her best, couldn't help staring in silent awe. She was stunningly beautiful.
"I think we've made a match," Ethan purred. "Don't you?"
He smiled at Paige as he noted that she too had been reaching for the other dress and moved in front of her draping the dress he had already taken off the mannequin in front of her.
Xander looked at Paige, stunned.
"My," said Ethan. "We have a pair of princesses here today."
As though emerging from a spell, Buffy stepped away and reluctantly shook her head. "I'm sorry. There's no way we can afford both of them."
"Nonsense," Ethan soothed. "I feel quite . . . moved to make you both a deal you can't refuse."
Paige and Buffy looked at each other as they both said. "Really?"
Ethan Rayne smiled.
The next day Halloween day dawned crisp and clear.
There was a feeling of unrepressed excitement in the air, and classes let out early so that student volunteers could go home and change into their costumes.
Paige and Buffy stood in their bedroom, gazing silently at their reflection in the mirror.
They were wearing the gowns from Ethan's Costume Shop, and for a moment they both almost wondered if they'd actually stepped back in time. Their hair—matching brunette wigs—was piled elegantly on top of their heads.
Held in place with an old-fashioned comb, they still fell loose in a few stray tendrils that curled around their faces. Around their neck hung lovely jeweled necklaces, making their throats seem all the more delicate.
"Where are you meeting Angel?" Willow's voice floated out from the bathroom.
"Here. After trick-or-treating. Mom's gonna be at the gallery until late with the Halloween party," said Buffy. "And if Paige would be so kind as maybe joining them or doing something with Xander."
"I'll ask Xander what he has planned tonight," said Paige.
"Does Angel know about your costume, Buffy?" Willow asked, she knew Xander had known about Paige's since he was there when she and Buffy had bought the gowns.
"Nope. Call it a blast from his past. I'll show him I can coif with the best of 'em!" Buffy smiled at her and Paige's reflections, then added, "Come on out, Will. You can't stay in there all night."
"Okay," Willow sounded resigned. "But don't laugh."
"We won't—" said Paige as her words caught in her throat. As Willow emerged from the bathroom, Buffy and Paige stared at their friend's amazing transformation. Willow was wearing makeup, and her hair was pinned in a casual upsweep. A clingy dark, midriff-baring top, leather miniskirt, knee-high boots—Willow was a total rocker babe.
Totally gorgeous. And obviously totally miserable.
"Wow." Paige and Buffy was all they could say as they were stunned practically speechless.
Willow took one look at her plunging neckline, grabbed her ghost sheet, and turned back for the bathroom.
"Will," Paige reached out and stopped Willow. "You're a dish. I mean, really—"
"But this just isn't me," Willow argued.
"That's the point!" said Buffy. "Halloween is the night thatnot you is you, but notyou, you know?"
Willow was still pondering this as the doorbell rang
"That's Xander," Buffy announced. "You ready?"
Willow paused, gave a deep sigh. "Yeah. Okay."
She tried to smile, but neither Paige nor Buffy was fooled. Willow reminded them of a deer caught in someone's headlights. She clamped her arms tightly around her exposed midriff. Terror supreme.
"Cool!" Buffy reassured her. "I can't wait to watch the boys go nonverbal when they see you."
Buffy and Paige ran downstairs and opened the front door. True to form, Xander was wearing his low-rent army costume—camouflage pants and jacket, tank tee, aviator sunglasses—and carrying his plastic gun.
He stepped up to Paige and Buffy and saluted. "Private Harris. Reporting for—"
And then his words choked off. As he got a close-up look at Paige, his mouth dropped open and his hand fell to his side.
"Paige." He bowed his head. "My Lady of Paigedom. The Duchess of Paigeonia. I am in awe. I completely renounce spandex."
"Thank you, kind sir." Paige curtsied and then kissed Xander. "I knew I would make you change your mind."
"Wait till you see—" Buffy said.
"Hi," Willow said from the staircase behind them.
Expectantly they both turned.
Willow was standing there, covered head to toe with her ghost sheet.
"Casper," Buffy finished lamely.
Xander stared at Willow's costume, trying to come up with a compliment. "Hey, Will," he said brightly, "that's . . . that's a fine boo you have there."
Willow hung her head.
She could feel Paige and Buffy's disappointment as the four of them went out the door.
Outside Sunnydale High, kids were being dropped off by the dozens, screaming and shouting and waving their trick-or-treat bags as they stampeded into the building. Inside, the hallways swarmed with fierce little demons and goblins, while students valiantly tried to separate them into manageable groups.
"Where's your bodyguard, Harris? Curling her hair?"
Xander heard Larry coming before he actually saw him. When he turned around, Larry was swaggering toward him, dressed as a pirate and brandishing a plastic sword. Featuring baggy shorts, T-shirt, fake scars, and eye patch, Larry's costume was even less inspired than Xander's.
Xander glared at him. Larry made a sudden jerking movement with his sword, and Xander instinctively flinched. Laughing, Larry walked off just as Paige walked up next to him. "I could orb him to the moon, for ya."
Xander laughed, "As much as I would love to see that. I think it would better if you didn't tarnish your reputation, Milady."
"I better go find Buffy. Not enough kids so I get to help Buffy," said Paige as she kissed Xander. "Oh do you want to go to the Bronze later?"
"I'd love to," said Xander. "I take it Buffy and Angel?"
"Buffy wants the house to herself for a couple hours," said Paige. "So, yes."
"I'll see you there," said Xander as Paige walked down the corridor toward Buffy and smiled at her sister.
Farther down the corridor, Principal Snyder was leading a small group of children over to Buffy as Paige stepped up beside her. As the sisters quickly scanned their eager faces, they couldn't help noticing that there was a vampire among them.
"Here's your group, Summers." Principal Snyder gave the sisters his usual sneer. "No need to speak to them—the last thing they need is you two influencing them. Just bring them back in one piece and I won't expel either of you."
Paige and Buffy returned his look with one of their own. As he walked away, Buffy leaned over to the kids with a smile.
"Hi," she began, and then noticed Principal Snyder standing a few feet away. Scowling at her and Paige, even though Paige hadn't said anything.
Later Paige and Buffy's weary group returned from a house, they couldn't help noticing their dejected expressions.
"What'd Mrs. Davis give you?" Buffy asked them, concerned.
They opened their hands to show the sisters they were holding brand new toothbrushes.
Paige sounded indignant. "She must be stopped." The sisters herded the kids together and steered them down the sidewalk. "Let's hit one more house. We still have a few minutes before we've got to get back." Perking up, the children ran off again, leaving Buffy and Paige to smile at their enthusiasm. They were was glad they'd been roped into doing this, after all—they hadn't had this much fun since Dawn had stopped going trick treating two years before.
At that very moment, in the back room of Ethan's Costume Shop, a black-hooded figure was kneeling before a row of black candles, reciting an incantation.
"Janus, hear my plea." Ethan Rayne spoke the words, but he spoke them now in Latin. "Take this night as your own. Come forth and show us your truth."
Ethan picked up the statue, his hands leaving bloody prints upon the stone. His face dripped with sweat, his body trembled feverishly. And then, again in Latin, he chanted, "The mask is made flesh. The heart is curdled by your holy presence. Janus, this night is yours!"
Suddenly the candles went out.
The only light now was the one emanating from the hideous statue, casting a sickly green glow through the shadows.
Ethan Rayne lowered his hood.
A satisfied grin spread slowly across his face.
"Show time," he whispered.
Elsewhere Mrs. Parker looked down at the trick-or-treaters clustered around her. Miniature demons, vampires, gargoyles, and witches—they were all staring at her and at her empty candy container.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Monster," Mrs. Parker sighed, playing along. "Maybe I—"
She never got to finish her apology. Without warning, a slimy green hand caught her by the throat and yanked her forward. As she tried desperately to scream, she could see that the hand belonged to the make-believe gargoyle.
Except he wasn't make-believe anymore.
Where a costumed child had stood only seconds before, there was now areal gargoyle. As horribly real as the rest of the creatures swarming over her porch.
Willow couldn't believe what was happening. "Let her go!" she cried, trying to reach Mrs. Parker.
A horned demon deliberately blocked her way. As the demon turned and attacked the gargoyle, Mrs. Parker was finally able to break free and scramble inside to safety, locking the door behind her.
"What—" Willow mumbled. "What's—"
She tried to back off the porch. She felt dizzy and weak and strange. Stumbling, she gasped for breath.
Her eyes grew wide with terror. The next instant she fell to the ground, her body limp and lifeless beneath its sheet.
Willow felt herself sit up. She still felt peculiar, not quite herself, but at least the awful dizziness had gone. She stood slowly, trying to remember exactly what had happened.
And then she looked down at her feet.
"Oh. Oh my God . . ."
She was still lying there on the porch.
Or, at least, her ghost was.
Willow stared at the ghost sheet, at the lifeless form that lay beneath it. And then she looked down at her own clothes.
The Willow standing here was wearing a miniskirt and halter top—the rocker-babe costume that Buffy and Paige had picked out for her. But the Willow lying there wasn't moving at all—in fact, the standing Willow could see her own boots submerged in the sleeping Willow, as though the two of them were still precariously connected.
Willow's voice was barely a whisper. "I'm a. I'm a real ghost."
Machine gun fire sounded behind her. Willow turned to see Xander backing across the street, surveying the area in silent panic.
"Xander!"
As joy and relief swept through her, Willow raced over to her old friend. But to her dismay, Xander whipped around and pointed his gun straight at her.
"Xander, it's me. Willow!"
Xander eyed her suspiciously. He cautiously low ered his gun.
"I don't know any Willow," he said.
"Quit messing around, Xander," Willow pleaded. "This is no time for jokes."
Xander's stare was cold. "What the hell is going on here?"
"You don't know me?" Willow peered earnestly into his face, but there wasn't a hint of recognition.
"Lady, I suggest you find cover."
"No, wait!" Before Xander could walk away, Willow stepped in front of him. But instead of stopping him as she intended, an incredible thing happened.
She felt Xander pass right through her.
Pass right through and step out from her other side.
Willow gazed down at herself in disbelief. She was trembling from the contact, a rush of pure physical pleasure enveloping her from head to toe.
"Ooh," she breathed.
Xander, on the other hand, freaked out. Spinning around, he raised his gun and pointed it at her again.
"What are you?" he demanded.
"Xander." Willow raised both of her hands where he could see them. "Listen to me. I'm on your side, I swear. Something crazy is happening. I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween, and now I am a ghost. You were supposed to be a soldier, and now, I guess, you're a real soldier—"
"And you expect me to believe that?" Xander snapped.
Before Willow could answer, a little vampire emerged from the bushes, growling at them. Immediately
Xander took aim.
"No!" Willow yelled. "No guns. That's still a little kid in there."
"But—"
"No guns. That's an order. Let's just get—" She broke off, spotting something down the street. "Buffy! Paige!"
Paige and Buffy was indeed coming toward them, stumbling along the sidewalk in their gowns. At once Willow ran to meet them, leaving Xander to grudgingly follow.
"Paige … Buffy, are you two okay?"
As Willow approached the sisters, she heard another menacing growl from the bushes—only louder this time—more like a roar. Behind them, the little vampire had been joined by a very large demon, and the two of them were heading this way.
Paige and Buffy stood between Willow and Xander, several paces behind.
The four of them watched as the monsters got closer.
Xander scowled. "This could be a situation."
"Paige … Buffy, what do we do?" Willow asked desperately.
Paige and Buffy's eyes grew wide.
And then they fainted.
Without a word or a single sound, Paige and Buffy just dropped to the sidewalk and lay there.
Willow stared down in disbelief.
Xander hoisted his gun and fired above the demons' heads. As the monsters took off, he turned back to Willow, who was kneeling beside the sisters and coaxing them back to consciousness.
"Buffy! Paige! Are you both all right?"
"What?" Buffy and Paige whispered.
"Are you hurt?" Xander asked.
"Paige … Buffy, are either of you hurt?" Willow echoed.
Buffy and Paige gazed at each other and then at Xander and Willow. Their faces were blank. "Buffy? Paige?" the sisters said together.
"She's not Buffy," Willow said as she pointed at Buffy. "And she's not Paige." She then pointed at Paige.
Xander frowned. "Who's Buffy and Paige?"
"Oh, this is fun," Willow sighed. And then to Paige and Buffy, "What year is this?"
The sisters looked at each other as they thought for a moment. "Seventeen-forty-five, I believe," said Paige.
"I don't understand. Who are you?" said Buffy.
Xander helped the sisters up. Willow gave them a reassuring smile.
"We're friends," Willow said.
"Friends of whom?" Paige said. She and Buffy were in obvious distress. "Your dress is . . . everything is strange." As her panic rose, she cried, "How did we come to be here?"
Willow tried to soothe her. "Okay, breathe, okay? You're gonna faint again." She paused to glance at Xander. "How are we supposed to get through this without the Slayer or even Paige?"
Xander stared. "What's a Slayer?"
Without warning a demon jumped Buffy from behind. Where the old Buffy would have pulverized it with one punch, this new Buffy, like her sister, simply screamed and batted at it with her fingers. Instead of helping, Willow could only watch in utter amazement. The demon pulled at Buffy's wig, but it had become her real hair now, coming loose in the struggle, cascading down around her bare shoulders. It was Xander who finally stepped in, butting the demon with his rifle until it gave up and ran off.
Xander turned solemnly to Willow. "I suggest we get inside before we run into any other—"
"Demon!" Paige and Buffy shrieked. "A demon!"
Willow and Xander whirled to defend themselves. Bewildered, they saw only a car driving toward them along the street. Paige and Buffy promptly dived into Xander's arms, shrinking against him and hiding their faces.
"It's not a demon," Willow tried to explain. "It's a car."
"What does it want?" Buffy whimpered.
Xander fixed Willow with a level stare. "Are these women insane?"
"They've never seen a car," Willow said.
"They've never seen a car."
"They're from the past," Willow said.
"And you're a ghost."
"Yes. Now let's get inside."
Xander stood for a moment, considering. And then he finally looked over at Willow.
"I just want you to know I'm taking a lot on faith here," he informed her. "Where do we go?"
"Where's the closest . . ." Willow shook her head, trying to think. "Uh, we can go to a friend's house."
A short time later the three of them piled through the back door into the Summers' kitchen. Safe for the time being, Xander locked up the house, then stood at the window to keep guard. Buffy and Paige's eyes wandered over the countertops and appliances, totally overwhelmed by the mysterious objects around them.
"I think we're clear," Xander announced.
"Hello!" Willow called. "Mrs. Summers? Dawn?" And then, when no one answered, "Good and bad. Good Mrs. Summers is gone bad cause we could have used Dawn."
"Where are we?" Buffy asked.
"Your place," Willow told Buffy. "Now we just need to—"
There was a violent pounding on the front door. Startled, they froze for an instant, then began moving through the house, Xander in the lead, Willow close behind, Paige and Buffy trailing. In the dining room, Buffy and Paige stayed behind, while Xander and Willow bravely continued on.
"Don't open it!" Willow warned him.
Xander hesitated. "It could be a civilian."
"Or a mini-demon."
The pounding stopped.
They stopped, too, and waited.
At last Xander crossed to a window to look out. In the dining room Buffy and Paige saw something sitting on the mantel and walked over to examine it.
It was a picture.
A picture of three young women two of which who looked amazingly like them.
Buffy picked it up, she and Paige were deeply puzzled, as Willow approached them.
"This," Paige whispered, "this could be us."
"It is the two of you along with your baby sister Dawn," Willow insisted. "Buffy … Paige, can't you two remember at all?"
"No, I . . . I don't understand any of this, and I . . ." Buffy hesitated, as she and Paige studied the photograph once more.
"These are some other girls, we would never wear this . . ." whined Paige.
Buffy and Paige were dangerously close to tears as Willow stared at the sisters in disbelief.
"This low apparel," Paige pouted.
"And neither of us like this place, and we don't like you, and we just want to go home!" added Buffy.
"You both are home!" Willow told the sisters as Buffy and Paige began to cry.
The pounding started again. Terrified, Buffy and Paige shrieked.
Even Willow was beginning to feel the strain of Paige and Buffy's helplessness. "You two couldn't have dressed up like Xena," she grumbled, hurrying back to Xander.
She was just in time to see a demonic hand smash through the window beside Xander's head. The thing grabbed at him, but Xander managed to jump back just in time.
"Not a civilian," Willow observed.
Xander gave a curt nod. "Affirmative."
He stuck his gun out the window.
"Hey!" Willow reminded him sharply. "What'd we say?"
Xander ignored her. There was a short burst of gunfire, then they both heard the demon scampering away.
Xander's look was self-righteous. "Big noise scare monster. Remember?"
"Got it," Willow conceded.
But what they heard now was a terrified scream. It came from somewhere outside, and as Xander peered out the window again, his muscles tensed for action.
"Hey—!"
Before Willow could stop him, he raced out the front door. Buffy and Paige came up behind Willow, Paige's voice bordering on hysteria.
"Surely he'll not desert us?" Paige fretted.
Willow had had enough. She gave the sisters a look, shrugged her shoulders and walked away. "Whatever ..."
Out in the darkness, Xander had located the source of the screaming. Cordelia was running frantically down the street, her costume torn, her hair a disheveled mess. There were scratches on her face. Several yards behind her a huge hairy creature was relentlessly catching up.
Xander headed toward her. Cars had been abandoned in the streets, and shadowy figures were still running in the distance, some of them on the prowl, others fleeing for their lives. As Xander reached her, Cordelia screamed and tried to fight him off, before suddenly realizing who he was.
"Xander?"
"Come inside," Xander ordered her. He didn't have the slightest idea who she was.
He rushed her toward the house. He practically threw her inside, slamming the door behind them.
"Cordelia!" Willow exclaimed.
Cordelia looked supremely irritated. "What's going on?"
"Okay," Willow hurried to explain, "your name is Cordelia, you're not a cat, you're in high school, we're your friends—well, sort of."
"That's nice, Willow," Cordelia cut her off. "And you went mental when?"
Willow's face lit up. "You know us?"
"Yeah, lucky me. What's with the name game?"
"A lot's going on," Willow admitted.
"No kidding. I was just attacked by JoJo the dogfaced boy. Look at my costume! Think Party-Town's gonna give me my deposit back? Not on the likely."
As she was spouting off, Cordelia suddenly noticed a large rip up the side of her leotard. Xander had obviously noticed it, too, for he took off his jacket and put it around her.
"Here," Xander said.
Surprised, Cordelia stared at his pumped biceps, at the tattoo she'd never seen there before. She glanced over and realized Willow was staring at the exact same thing.
"Thanks," she murmured.
Willow forced herself back to the moment. "Okay. You three stay here while I get help. If something tries to get in, just fight it off."
"It's not our place to fight," Buffy protested fearfully.
"Surely some men will come and protect us?" asked Paige.
Cordelia regarded her in total disgust. "What's that riff?"
"It's like amnesia, okay?" Willow sighed. "They don't know who they are. Just sit tight."
She didn't have time to go into it now. She hurried by Cordelia and heard the girl say, "Who died and made her the boss?" And then she passed straight through the wall behind Cordelia's back.
The night crept by.
Xander grew more and more restless. He pushed a table against a window. He then proceeded to check all the smaller windows, as well, just to make sure they were secure. Buffy and Paige followed him around like a puppy, not wanting to be alone.
"Surely there's somewhere we can go?" Paige begged him.
"Some safe haven?" asked Buffy.
Xander wouldn't be swayed. "The lady said stay put." He glanced at Cordelia and added, "Check upstairs. Make sure everything's locked."
"You would take orders from a woman?" asked Paige.
"Are you feeble in some way?" asked Buffy.
"Ma'ams," Xander sighed, "in the army we have a saying. Sit down and shut the—whoa."
His voice broke off. He was staring down at the floor where a photograph had fallen, one which clearly showed the three of them—he, Buffy, Paige, Dawn and Willow—together. He stared at it for a long time, and then he looked up at the sisters.
"She must be right," he said to them. "We must have some kind of amnesia."
Paige and Buffy drew themselves up indignantly. "I don't know what that is, but I'm sure I don't have it. I bathe quite often," said Paige.
"As do I," said Buffy.
"How do you explain this?" he demanded, indicating the photo.
Paige and Buffy lifted their noses into the air. "We don't!" said Paige. "We were brought up as proper ladies. We're not meant to understand things. We're just meant to look good and then someone nice will marry us. Possibly a baron."
"This isn't a tea party, princesses," Xander retorted. "Sooner or later you two are going to have to fight."
"Fight?" Buffy said as she and Paige looked appalled. "These low creatures? We'd sooner die."
"Then you'll both die."
"Oh, good," a voice spoke out from behind them. "You guys are all right."
They turned to see Angel hurrying in from the kitchen.
He shook his head at them in amazement.
"It's total chaos out there," he said.
Paige, Buffy and Xander stared at him.
"Who are you?" they asked.
"Okay," Angel said, "does somebody want to fill me in?"
He stared at Paige and Buffy's old-fashioned dresses, the lowcut neckline, the delicate lace. Something stabbed at his memory, and for one split second he felt as though he were falling back through time, through centuries . . .
Xander's voice yanked him roughly back to the present. "Do you live here?"
"No! You know that. Buffy … Paige . . ." Bewildered, Angel took a step toward the sisters. It was Buffy and Paige, he was certain, and yet somehow, not Buffy or Paige at all. Someone I knew, someone forgotten a long time ago . . .
"I'm lost here," he mumbled. "You . . ."
Paige and Buffy drew back fearfully. Angel squinted at her long dark wig.
"What's up with your hair?" he asked.
"They don't know who they are," Cordelia said impatiently, coming back downstairs. "Everyone's become a monster. It's a whole big thing." She stopped and collected herself. She gave Angel a smile.
"How are you?"
Pounding erupted all around them. As the lights went out, plunging the room into total blackness, Buffy and Paige shrieked and grabbed Cordelia.
"Do you mind?" Cordelia snapped, shoving the sisters away.
Xander turned to Angel. "Take the princesses here and secure the kitchen. Catwoman, you're with me."
Cordelia gratefully handed Buffy and Paige over to Angel and followed Xander into the living room.
"But I don't want to go with you!" Buffy protested, trying to wrench from Angel's grasp. "I like the man with the musket."
"I do to," said Paige.
"Come on," Angel ordered the sisters.
Buffy's voice was tiny and hopeful. "Do you have a musket?"
Buffy and Paige clung to Angel as they entered the kitchen. The back door was standing wide open, and Angel slowly shook his head.
"I didn't leave that open."
He moved cautiously and silently toward the door. Fearful, Buffy and Paige watched him as they cowered back against the wall. The sisters didn't hear the cellar door opening right beside them. They didn't notice the vampire slinking out from the shadows . . .
Angel shut the back door and turned around.
"Look out!" he yelled.
As Paige and Buffy spun, the vampire grabbed at Buffy. Amazingly, Buffy and Paige managed to seize the door and slam it back on the creature's arm. But the vampire was much more powerful than they were. Almost immediately it flung the door wide again, sending Paige and Buffy sprawling to the floor. Angel made a dive for the creature, tackling it and wrestling it into the dining room. As Paige and Buffy staggered to her feet, they looked around frantically for a weapon. They both took a big knife from the counter, and peered timidly through the doorway and saw Angel on top of the vampire, his back to her, struggling to hold the creature down.
"A stake!" Angel yelled.
"What?" Paige and Buffy asked.
"Get me a stake!"
Without warning he turned in their direction, and the sisters screamed.
Angel's face was contorted, hideous, an enraged vampire face. Buffy and Paige screamed again and raced out the back door.
"Buffy … Paige, no!" Angel shouted.
Buffy and Paige were terrified.
Lost and alone, the sisters wandered through unfamiliar streets in an unfamiliar century, their clothes and shoes muddied and torn beyond repair. Without knowing it, they had entered the industrial section of town, that place of forgotten factories and boarded-up warehouses, where even the lowest of life never dared venture.
The sisters struggled through an alleyway, trying to climb over heaps of boxes and trash. Their eyes darted fearfully around her. Shadows crouched on every side, black and endless as nightmares. And when someone stepped out in front of them, blocking their way, they were so panic-stricken they couldn't even scream.
The pirate was gigantic. He towered high above the sisters, eyes glittering in the darkness, leering down at them with a lascivious, black-toothed grin.
"Pretty . . . pretty . . ." he chuckled deep in his throat.
Larry's pirate costume had seemed ridiculous at the start of the evening.
But now it had become the real thing.
Savagely he jerked Buffy and Paige into his arms, laughing as they screamed and tried to twist free. When one of Buffy's fingers managed to gouge his good eye, he let out a furious bellow and flung the sisters away.
Paige and Buffy hit the ground, stunned and whimpering. They tried to crawl away, but Larry lifted them to their feet once more.
"No," Buffy and Paige pleaded, "no ..."
Roughly he grabbed Buffy's face. He opened his mouth and ran his tongue slowly along his jagged, scummy teeth.
Then he moved in for a kiss.
With a yell, Xander came out of nowhere, hitting Larry with a flying tackle. As Buffy and Paige scrambled away, the two of them went at each other full force.
Paige and Buffy ran right into Cordelia.
"Buffy? Paige? Are you both okay?"
Trembling violently, Buffy and Paige threw thenselves into Cordelia's arms. For once, Cordelia was at a complete loss how to handle the situation. She stood there with Buffy and Paige burrowed against her and watched the battle raging several feet away.
Larry had always been strong, but in this incarnation, Xander was stronger. As Larry tried to reach for his sword, Xander knocked it away.
Paige and Buffy looked up to see Angel hurrying toward them. They shrieked and gripped Cordelia even tighter.
Cordelia ran out of patience.
"What is your deal you two?" Cordelia snapped at her. "Take a pill!"
"He's . . . he's a vampire!" Buffy and Paige screamed.
Angel stopped and stared at the sisters. For a split second the concern on his face was touched with deep hurt. Oblivious, Cordelia rolled her eyes. She gave Angel a long-suffering look.
"She and obviously Paige have got this thing where they think—oh, forget it," Cordelia told him. Then, in her most patronizing tone, she said sweetly to Paige and Buffy, "It's okay. Angel is . . . a good vampire. He'd never hurt you."
Buffy faltered. "He—really?"
"Absolutely." Cordelia might have been soothing a dim-witted child. "Angel is our friend."
Paige and Buffy looked timidly at Angel, still not convinced. As Angel went over to Xander, Xander finished Larry off with a headbutt and two swift punches.
Larry hit the ground, out cold.
For a minute, Xander stared down at him. Then he turned to Angel with a puzzled frown.
"It's strange," Xander said, "but beating up that pirate gave me a weird sense of closure."
"Guys!" Willow shouted.
As the group turned expectantly, they saw Willow coming toward them at a dead run. Angel moved forward, already sensing that things were about to get worse.
"Willow—"
"You guys gotta get inside," Willow said breathlessly.
She pointed behind her, to a cluster of shadowy figures that was making its way in their direction. Angel recognized Spike at once. The others seemed to be an odd asssortment of both child-sized and grownup monsters.
Xander took control. "We need to triage."
"This way." Angel pointed. "Find an open warehouse."
Xander gallantly rounded up the females. "Ladies, we're on the move."
Everyone took off except Buffy and Paige.
In their weakened condition and torn, heavy dresses, it was all they could do to even stand up.
With one smooth movement Angel swept Buffy into his arms as Xander swept Paige into his. Their bodies were small and fragile against Angel and Xander, and Angel could sense the sisters overwhelming fear. This was a side of Buffy and Paige he'd never seen before.
A dependent side. A helpless side.
A side that would most certainly get themselves killed.
They had to get to safety.
As Xander, Cordelia, and Angel rounded the corner of an alley, Angel shifted Buffy in his arms and motioned to a warehouse door a short distance away.
"Over here!" he shouted.
Together they slid the door open and dashed inside, just as Spike and his minions appeared behind them. With only seconds to spare, they wrestled the door shut again, then looked around frantically for some sort of barricade. Old crates and broken furniture were stacked against one wall. Xander handed Paige of to Cordelia and then immediately started moving stuff against the door, he yelled over to Angel.
"Check and see if there are any other ways in!"
Angel was ready for action. "Just stay here," he told Buffy, handing her off to Cordelia as we;;.
Cordelia rolled her eyes as Paige and Buffy fell into her arms. "Fabu. More clinging."
But the barricade wasn't working.
Xander jumped back as something jerked at the warehouse door. He could see demonic hands punching through it now, tearing it apart.
The door jerked again.
And then it began to slide.
The makeshift barricade flew everywhere. Xander and Angel fell back, retreating with the others as the warehouse door came completely open.
Spike stepped inside, smiling triumphantly at his loyal followers.
Across town Ethan Rayne was smiling, too, even though his bloody face was plastered to the floor.
"And you said 'Rupert the Ripper' was long gone," he taunted.
Giles stood over him calmly. It was a frightening calm, a lethal calm.
Slowly and deliberately he wiped his fingers clean on a white handkerchief.
"How do I stop the spell?" he asked again.
Ethan began to laugh. "Say pretty ple—" he began, but Giles aimed a savage kick at his side, leaving him gasping for breath. "Janus," Ethan finally managed. "Break the statue."
Immediately Giles grabbed it and threw it against the wall. And then, as the statue shattered into pieces, he turned back again to Ethan.
For a long, long while Giles gazed down at the floor.
He was alone in the room now.
Ethan had disappeared.
As Giles and Ethan were having their standoff, Spike was enjoying one of his own.
Angel and Xander were pinned now, held at bay by Spike's minions, and though the two of them fought to free themselves, no one could help Buffy or Paige now.
"Look at the two of you," Spike murmured softly. He moved toward Paige and Buffy as they backed away, his pacing slow and stealthy, his look deceptively kind. He could see how absolutely petrified they were, their eyes desperate and full of tears. Excitement raged through him—the thrill of the hunt, of the kill.
"Shaking," he whispered to the sisters. "Terrified. Alone. Lost little lambs."
Spike smiled. Then he struck both Buffy and Paige savagely across the face.
"I love it," he said.
"Buffy! Paige!" Angel tried to throw off his guards, but they only held him tighter. He watched helplessly as Spike gripped Buffy's head with one hand and her arm with the other, as he bent her slowly backward, as he leaned in toward her neck.
Paige and Buffy were sobbing. Spike's fangs gleamed in the pale, pale light . . .
Without warning, Xander broke free. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed his gun and scrambled to his feet, Cordelia and Willow crowding in close behind him.
"Now that guy," Willow pointed at Spike, "you can shoot!"
Xander raised the machine gun. He aimed at Spike, tensed, and squeezed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
As Xander stared down at his weapon, he saw that he was holding only a toy—a small plastic gun.
His mouth gaped open. "What the—"
Around the room, Spike's minions were suddenly changing, too—not hideous henchmen any longer, but a very scared assortment of high-school kids and little trick-or-treaters. As Spike gazed at them in slow realization, he suddenly glanced down at his hand.
He was still holding Buffy's wig.
Only Buffy's head wasn't in it.
He glanced up again. Right into Buffy and Paige's smiling faces.
"Hi, honey," Buffy said. "we're home."
Spike never had a chance. As all the rage and frustration of the sisters last defenseless hours came flooding through them, Buffy and Paige both let loose on him with a brutal series of kicks and punches.
Spike sprawled to the ground. Buffy yanked him back to his feet.
"You know what?" Paige said cheerfully. "It's good to be us."
Again the sisters let loose on him, throwing him viciously into the wall. Spike grabbed an iron bar, trying to fend the sisters off, but Buffy wrenched it away from him. Beating him mercilessly, they stood back and watched as he collapsed once more to the ground.
Spike lay there, stunned. Then, after several seconds, he staggered drunkenly to his feet and took off.
An unsettling peace descended at last, broken only by the frightened crying of several bewildered children. As Buffy and Paige stood there, Xander, Cordelia, and Angel all moved toward the sisters, shocked but alive.
"Hey, Buff … Paige," Xander greeted her. "Welcome back."
Buffy smiled at him. "Yeah. You, too."
"You guys remember what happened?" Cordelia regarded them incredulously.
"It was way creepy." Paige frowned. "Like I was there, but I couldn't get out."
Nodding emphatically, Cordelia turned to Angel. "I know the feeling. This outfit is totally skintight."
But she could see that Angel wasn't listening to a word she said. He was totally focused on Buffy.
"You okay?" Angel asked Buffy quietly.
"How about you?" Xander asked Paige.
Paige and Buffy stared back into Xander and Angel's eyes—those those eyes they both loved so much.
"Yeah," the sisters smiled.
Angel took Buffy's arm and guided her outside, leaving Cordelia to stare after them as Xander and Paige passionately kissed.
"Hello?" Cordelia's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Itfelt like I was talking. Mylips were moving—"
"Give it up, Cordy," said Paige as she and Xander broke apart. "You're never going to get between Angel and Buffy."
Considering this, Cordelia turned back to the dazed little group of trick-or-treaters.
"I guess we should get them back to their parents," she said.
"Yeah. It seems like everybody is—" Xander broke off, his eyes going anxiously around the room. "Where's Willow?"
Paige smiled. "Hopefully, she's alright. Since her costume was a ghost, hopefully she is alive again."
Paige and Buffy came out of the bathroom. Dressed in comfortable sweatpants and tank top, they looked like themselves again as they paused just outside the door to their room. After everything Buffy had agreed that Paige didn't have to leave the house to give her time alone with Angel. So Paige had asked Xander over and he was sitting in the living room getting a movie ready for him and Paige to watch.
"Thanks, Buffy," said Paige.
"You're welcome," said Buffy. "Tell Xander thanks, too."
"I will," said Paige as she started down the hall and went down the stairs into the living room. She stood there looking at Xander and smiled. "Taa-daa." Paige struck a pose. "Just little old twentieth-century me."
Xander smiled as Paige crossed the room and sat down next to him. He gazed searchingly into her face.
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine, Xander," said Paige.
He hesitated a moment. He'd come close to losing her tonight, and he fought back the urge to pull her into his arms, to never let her go.
"I still don't get it, Paige," he said at last. "Why'd you buy the dress? I understand Buffy because of Angel, right?"
"At first it was just a beautiful dress," said Paige. "I thought I might get it just you know to have. Then you said you preferred your women in spandex and well…"
Xander's eyes lowered. So he had been at fault. "Sorry," he said.
"Hey," said Paige. "I proved my point though. When you saw me in that dress."
"Yeah," said Xander. "You were even more beautiful. It's a shame the dress got destroyed. I would have loved to see you in it again."
Paige smiled, "Oh btw, Buffy told me to tell you thanks. You know for being…"
"She's welcome," said Xander. "It seems even my alter ego wanted to protect you and her."
He leaned in towards Paige. Their lips almost touching, and Paige could feel the faint stirring of his breath against her cheek.
And as Xander's lips closed over hers, Paige surrendered to his long, deep, passionate kiss.
Author's Note: I changed the date of the drawing in the Watcher's Diary from 1775 to 1745 because it was later established that Angel was born in 1727. Willow's line of him being 18 in 1775, and still human, would not have been correct as later established. He was turned in 1753 at 26 years of age. In 1775 he would not have been 18 but 48 if he had still been human by that time.