"OH GOD... OH GOD..." repeated a young Sunnydale police officer as he sighted down his drawn sidearm that pointed to the other end of the residential street. Standing behind the supposed safety of his open cruiser door, the cop swallowed nervously and tried to take enough deep breaths to calm his rattled nerves. His aim wavered as it centered on the glowing, winged figure half a block down the street. The policeman shook as he watched the frightening figure sweep its radiant weapon through the tiny body of a costumed child.
"Get back in the car so we can get the hell out of here," his much older and more experienced partner ordered to the horrified rookie.
"But the call and the trick or treaters..." his clueless counterpart tried to argue.
"Get in the damn car or I will leave you here," warned the older man as he shifted the cruiser from park into reverse. The veteran officer had been in Sunnydale for over ten years. He knew the score and wasn't about to get out of the vehicle in the face of weirdness if he could avoid it. The conscious-torn rookie glanced nervously between his partner and the chaos in the street. Officer Cain was a new hire fresh from the academy who the new police chief had hired within the last few weeks. It was the first time he had been called on to do more than direct traffic for an accident or interview someone after a burglary. He hadn't even been out on a domestic dispute call yet. Despite his stellar achievements at the academy, Cain was ill prepared for life on the Hellmouth. For the first time, he realized there might have been some merit to being issued a bottle of holy water and a cross along with his sidearm, taser, and nightstick but he wasn't about to admit it aloud.
"Get in," his partner ordered one more time.
"But..."
"Fuck it," the older officer replied while he glanced in his rear view mirror as he prepared to pull out without doing anything. His foot had barely touched the gas when he slammed the brake pedal. Beside him, Cain had jumped clear of the suddenly moving car door. The rookie tripped on the edge of the curb and landed on his hip on the grass near the sidewalk. His sidearm amazingly remained in his hand but his uniform took a scuffing. The rookie regained his feet while cussing at his new partner.
Behind the patrol car, the white cruiser belonging to the Chief of Police slid into place and blocked the other cop's attempted retreat. The older officer cussed under his breath before snapping the keys in the ignition after slamming the gearshift into park. The veteran sighed deeply and resigned himself to leaving the safety of his vehicle. It was far from where he wanted to be this evening. For a moment, the older officer really missed the previous Police Chief. He hadn't cared one whit about protecting the populous. He just wanted to collect his paycheck and keep in the mayor's good graces. Unlike Ricci, he hadn't expected his officers to actually face the scary stuff. With a deep and worried sigh, the veteran officer forced his bulk from behind the wheel and onto the nightmare filled street.
He joined Ricci and Cain who were glancing around the residential neighborhood. He unsnapped his holster on his sidearm as he watched the slowly approaching figure that glowed with some sort of unexplainable energy.
"Oh Lord," Ricci muttered before crossing himself as he finally caught a good look of the warrior of light cutting through the swarm of tiny demons that surrounded her like a pack of wild dogs on a fresh kill. His eyes widened for only a moment before he took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders.
"Ames, I need you to find Rupert Giles. Take my cruiser. Check the Sunnydale School library first but if you can't find him there, see if you can locate his home through the DMV or school registry. Just find him and bring him here. Now!" he ordered to the veteran police officer who he had noticed attempting to flee the scene when he arrived.
Antonio glanced once at the pale faced rookie standing beside him. Despite the young man's obvious fear, the Chief decided he would rather have the newbie at his back than the veteran officer. Cain still had the desire to protect and serve. He just didn't have the right tools for doing it in Sunnydale yet. It was one of the reasons he had jumped at the chance to hire the kid. Mentally, Ricci decided to move up his timeline for introducing the Hellmouth basic training program he was hoping to implement for all police personnel. It would help ensure he kept officers like Cain on the force.
"Cain," Ricci instructed as the sounds of his cruiser's wheels skidded on the asphalt as Officer Ames hopefully fled the area in search of the aforementioned high school librarian and not just fled away from the danger. He heard the rookie swallow before the young man darted his eyes from the glowing battle to his supervisor. Antonio noticed Cain's tight grip on his firearm and shaken complexion. Silently, the Chief hoped he sent the right man away from the situation.
"Put up your weapon, man," the Chief instructed firmly and stressed it again when the young officer stammered a denial.
"Those are civilians, Cain," Ricci stated as he swept his arm towards two huddled figures of costumed children left in the wake of the glowing, winged warrior. Both policemen shuddered as another child was ripped asunder from his costumed demon self leaving the demon to burn into fiery dust while the child fell to the ground in a sobbing mess. "They are your priority. Grab them and put them safely in the back of your cruiser."
It only took a few seconds for the young cop to understand his objective.
"Grab the kids. Got it, Chief," the rookie confirmed as he watched the older man pull an expandable baton from his belt. The rookie swallowed the question of what the chief was going to do while he was ferrying traumatized kid. His eyes rounded as he watched his boss move purposefully towards the frightening fight.
With a deft snap of his arm backwards, Ricci extended his ASP Talon and stalked towards the glowing figure and the ever shrinking band of miniature demons snapping at her form. He pulled a police communicator from his belt and issued a call for additional back up to their location before returning the radio to its place. Gathering his nerve, the Chief called out a familiar greeting to the glowing figure as he cautiously approached the bizarre battle. He was only mildly surprised that the Archangel did not respond to his words. Even if the winged warrior had recognized him, it would not have had time to divert attention from the current battle.
Tiny ghouls and gremlins with razor sharp claws screeched and swiped at the glowing holy warrior who in turn danced and blocked their attempts to eviscerate her. Most of its exposed tunic skirt hung in tatters and both its bracers and chest plate were scarred from vicious attacks. A myriad of bloody scratches and bruises covered the legs and arms of the white winged being but it fought without a thought for the injuries.
The Archangel blocked another blow with its armored left forearm while it's sword swiped through yet another pint-sized opponent.
"Buffy!" Ricci called in warning as he utilized his extended baton to swipe the feet out from under a scabby green demon with gleaming teeth and huge yellow horns that had moved to attack her unprotected side while she was dealing with another little pest. The not quite Buffy creature turned and skewered the fallen creature without a word spoken to the police officer. It simply turned and cleaved the final two little demons from their human child shells. With a few gentle flap of wings, the warrior hovered over the fallen children and landed a few feet beyond them. Continuing to search for more evil and chaos to dispatch, the being walked arrogantly away from the cluster of returned children.
Antonio glanced at the cowering kids surrounding him and determined that they were unharmed physically and only appeared to be scared. He reached down and picked up a child he estimated to be about four years old who was whimpering and shaking with fear. Turning, he thrust the kid into the arms of the rookie officer who had just returned from plopping the first two children in his cruiser.
"Look after them," the Chief demanded before he turned and raced after the slowly walking winged figure.
Cain nodded to the back of his boss before he scooped another child into his free arm and started the trek back to the police car which he opted to then move closer so he could shift the traumatized kids into the vehicle more efficiently. In the distance, he could hear other sirens approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief but vowed that he was going to look for a new position somewhere far from Sunnydale.
As he loaded his most recent charges into his vehicle, he saw Chief Ricci finally reach the side of the scary warrior who had subdued whatever was going on with the costumed trick or treaters. The rookie hoped his boss would be safe and not end up disemboweled by the fierce fighter. He offered a quiet prayer as he returned his attention to his current task of loading the fussing and frightened kids into the safety of his cruiser.
Rupert Giles leaned on the tall card catalog cabinet as he sorted through white cards that someone had decided to rearrange as part of a Halloween prank on the librarian. As far as tricks go, it wasn't very creative compared to the hijinks he performed in his misspent youth but it had succeeded in annoying him all the same. The stoic Brit was not appreciating the extra work of returning the cards to their proper Dewey Decimal System order. It was especially annoying since he was supposed to be meeting Jenny for dinner. Since it was part of his employment, he didn't feel right leaving for his date before he was finished correcting the disorder but he would certainly have preferred dining and flirting over indexing.
Giles frowned and lifted his head as his attention drifted from the misplaced cards. In the distance, sirens and screams shattered the stillness of the normally quiet darkness. Inside the protective layers of walls and dampening clusters of books, the far off sounds barely registered. They tickled the periphery of his senses but didn't truly slip into his forethought. Giles shook his head with a slightly confused frown then returned his attention to his work.
"GILES!"
Cordelia's scream pierced the quiet as she slammed open the swinging doors at the main library entrance. Frightened by the unexpected and deafening interruption, Rupert jumped and scattered the cards into even further disarray.
"MR. GILES! MR. GILES!" echoed another less familiar voice filled with equal urgency.
Holding his hand over his rapidly beating heart, the librarian immediately turned to the invading teens.
"Ms. Chase..." the librarian searched his mind for a moment for the identity of the second teen who he had only met once. "Ms. Emerson. Whatever is the matter?"
Cordy grabbed hold of the fatigue covered arm still outside the library and dragged the wary and clueless soldier into the room. Cordelia shoved the not quite Xander fellow towards the confused yet concerned ex-Watcher. Gile's eyes widened in fright as he watched the entrance doors shut behind the unexpected teens only to have the not quite Willow slip through the swinging yet solid obstacle without a pause. His heart lurched at the implications.
"Fix him," Ms. Chase demanded imperiously as she waved her hand towards her spell-ridden classmate.
"OH! And her too," Anya added hopefully as she waved enthusiastically towards the redheaded cheerleader who could currently pass unhindered through walls.
"Fix? Um..."
The watcher inventoried the appearances of the four students. He quickly averted his eyes from the slinky cat costume Cordelia sported and turned his attention to Anya. Unlike the other brunette's provocative attire, Anya's fuzzy bunny costume was cute and definitely rated acceptable for a younger audience. Giles observed Xander standing warily near the circulation counter. The soldier's hands grasped what could only be a real weapon in a manner indicative of a familiarity that the young man would not normally possess. The ex-Watcher frowned slightly. Turning from the fatigued youth, he reached forward and passed his hand through Willow' shoulder.
"Fascinating," he muttered as he flipped his hand through the faux cheerleader's body one more time.
"Like, stop with the non-touchies, you old perv," the en-spelled junior whined in a voice as unlike her normally excited tone as her attire differed from her childish norm. Her pitch would have given an unhappy Harmony Kendell a lesson on fussing and she held the undisputed crown for whining at Sunnydale High. Grumpily, the fake cheerleader crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the librarian.
Aghast at Not Quite Willow's interpretation of him, Giles took an immediate step back. He began to stutter an apology as he pulled off his glasses and swung his eye wear in a small, agitated circle.
"Oh, just knock it off," Cordelia ordered both the ex-Watcher and the ex-nerd in annoyance. "This isn't helping."
The redhead turned and glared at the girl in the cat costume. Queen C returned the amateur's disdainful expression with the one she perfected years ago.
Not Quite Xander glanced between the two facing off girls and shook his head.
"Can we get back to the addressing of whatever is wrong outside?" he prompted. "I need to find my unit before I'm listed as AWOL."
Giles shifted his attention from the glaring girls to the soldier. Although momentarily horrified at Willow's incorporeal state, the strange situation pricked the arcane scholar's natural curiosity. He began questioning the young man on his memories and purpose. He then asked the same questions of the cheerleader. It was soon determined that neither had any idea how they came to be in Sunnydale and that they had no memory of what they were doing immediately prior to appearing on the street during trick or treat. They did seem to have very specific understanding of their manufactured personal history which were reflected in their appearance. Xander was now an accomplished soldier and Willow was a vapid Valley Girl. The librarian once more removed his glasses and tapped the one ear piece against his chin as he considered the utterly amazing spell.
"And you said that the children who were trick or treating were also affected?" He questioned the two unaffected students.
"Some of them," Anya volunteered.
"Yeah," Cordelia confirmed. "Some of them changed and some of them didn't."
"Do you think it might have been a curse specifically on those children and teens participating on Safety Night?"
Anya shrugged.
"What about Buffy? Have you seen her?"
Again, Anya shrugged.
"Well, wouldn't she be here if she was unaffected?" Cordelia suggested. "I mean, where else would she come for answers about the weird and wacky? I mean, if she was her normal un-normal self, she would be here with Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber instead of us, right?"
Xander whipped around to address Cordy's snide comment.
"Look lady, I took a lot on faith here and followed you here because you seemed to have some idea of what was going on, but you really need to ease up on the insults before I decide you are part of the problem instead of part of the solution to this weirdness."
"Um, perhaps we should concentrate on reversing the spell instead of spatting with each other?" Anya offered evenly as she glanced at the arguing teens as well as the still fuming cheerleader who had yet to offer anything of merit.
Embarrassed at needing the obvious prompting to action, Giles moved around his circulation desk and squatted behind the high wooden unit. He pulled a few books from the lowest shelf before standing and addressing the room. Giles flipped through one spell book as he mumbled about whether a generic reversal spell would be beneficial. When he found an example, he tapped the page as he mentally inventoried his currently available spell components. The librarian realized that he would not have the right ingredients for even a simple reversal spell yet alone one of the more complex ones which he suspected would be needed to counter such a powerful spell.
"We should go see if we can find Buffy," he suggested as he grabbed a pen and paper to start a list of needed items.
"Bad idea," Angel stated firmly as he stepped from the library stacks. The vampire limped down the steps with his one arm tucked tight against his chest in hopes of easing the pain in his ribs.
Xander's gun immediately shifted to take aim at the unexpected visitor and Willow squeaked in fright. Cordelia offered the newcomer a brilliant smile which Angel seemed to ignore while he hobbled towards the flustered group. Anya glanced at the newcomer with interest since she had not yet met him while Giles offered the vampire a pinched frown.
"You don't think finding Buffy is a priority?" Giles indignantly demanded as he tapped his pen on the short list he was creating. Given the way the souled vampire felt about the Slayer, Rupert could not imaging him not thinking Buffy's location would be at the top of the list of needs to address.
"Not unless you have a death wish," the vampire countered.
"Nonsense, Buffy would never hurt us."
"Yeah, well Buffy seems to have taken a vacation," Angel replied as he shifted position and grimaced in discomfort. "Whatever she is now is making a point of destroying everything in her path. She's a winged, glowing ball of destruction."
"Good Lord," Giles murmured fearfully as his pen clattered onto the desk top.
"Well, that's good to know," Anya commented.
Four sets of horrified eyes shifted to glare at the strangely enthusiastic brunette.
"It's good that the Slayer is rampaging through Sunnydale?" Angel questioned in utter disbelief.
"Well, obviously not," Anya countered with a pinched expression on her face that conveyed her annoyance at the tall man's lack of understanding. The pretty ex-demon crossed her arms over her chest and returned the glares of disgust. "But it does give us another clue."
When only Giles seemed to understand the importance of the comment, Anya continued with a tone that showed her amazement at their distinct lack of common sense.
"With the spell? You know, the whole chaotic mystical thing affecting the city? If it is affecting Buffy then we know it isn't related to the trick or treat event sponsored by the school cause, you know, the troll guy isn't allowed to pressure Buffy into helping out anymore."
"So what is the commonality among those affected?" speculated Giles as he smiled proudly at Ms. Emerson and her keen observation. He hoped the teen might have more insight into the situation.
"Location?" offered the fatigued military man from his position on the fringe of the group. He was still uncomfortable with the strange group. As a good soldier though, he was willing to follow their lead since they seemed to have at least a clue about the situation that so confused him. Lacking a real chain of command at the moment forced him to look elsewhere to fill the need for proper direction.
Both Cordy and Anya shook their heads.
"No. There were folks affected everywhere we went but there were also kids who were not affected in the same places," replied Cordelia.
"How about ingestion?" Angel suggested hopefully. He wanted to feel like he was contributing to the solution too.
Cordy and Anya glanced at each other and shrugged.
"So it could have been something they ate," Giles stated as he wrote the possibility on another sheet of paper. "Perhaps some candy from a warlock or witch?"
"But Buffy wasn't trick or treating," Anya repeated.
"Well, then what does the all important Buffy have in common with everyone else," snipped the red haired cheerleader who was feeling ignored. She did not like the sensation. It went against everything she felt that she deserved in life.
The four occupants of the library who were unaffected by the chaos spell exchange apprehensive looks. Angel shrugged slightly and winced in pain as the movement reminded him of his previous beating.
"I haven't exactly been the most welcome person in Buffy's life as of late," the vampire softly admitted.
Giles nodded softly in understanding if not in sympathy. Cordy reached out and patted the vampire on his arm in an attempt at showing how concerned she was for his well-being.
"Well, Buffy's life has been a bit overwhelming lately. With the dying and all," Cordelia offered as she rested her hand on Angel's arm. "If you are feeling neglected, I am sure others would be happy to offer you a warmer welcome," she added with a flirtatious smile.
The vampire appeared uncomfortable for a moment. He wasn't sure how to respond to the brunette's attempt at flirting and so he just stood there and glanced nervously at the others while hoping for a reprieve. Relief came from the other costumed teen.
"COSTUMES!" Anya suddenly squealed in excitement.
Everyone in the room jumped. Soldier boy's rifle flipped towards the girl and her outburst. The ghost-like Willow fell through the wall and had to pass back into the room when she regained control of her startled body.
"Ah, yes, we have established that something has affected some of the costumed children," Giles stammered as he too tried to calm his thumping heart.
"No..." the bunny-clad girl replied. "Costumes are something they have in common."
Cordy frowned.
"But we're in costumes and we weren't affected."
Anya agreed but then countered with the explanation that Buffy, Xander and Willow got their costumes at Ethan's Costume Shop. She conveyed the short exchange they had in front of the store to the others and smiled triumphantly. In her mind, it was the obvious answer. When no one offered immediate praise, her grin faded.
"But you bought your costume at Ethan's," Cordy argued.
"Yes. So?"
"So... how come you aren't making with the hippity hops and twitchy nose?"
Giles suddenly broke into a grin.
"Because she is a magic null," the occult scholar explained. He was suddenly thrilled that pieces of the mystery might be filling in their missing slots. "Ms. Emerson seems to have been the victim of a mystical accident and as such, she is unable to be affected by any type of spells. None at all. Therefore, if the costume shop is the common point, she would not be, as you said, hippity hopped anyway even if she did purchase her bunny suit at the same place as the affected children."
"Then we should reconnoiter this shop, right?" not exactly Xander offered.
Giles nodded in agreement.
Everyone seemed excited to have a direction of possible resolution and so they moved towards the library exit. The mismatched collection only reached as far as the dimly lit school hallway before they were once more interrupted. This time, a Sunnydale police officer approached them asking for the high school librarian. Mr. Giles stepped forward. Once officer Ames requested his assistance with the current problem, the ex-Watcher agreed but explained that he needed to make a quick stop on the way. The officer frowned while stressing that the chief requested that he bring him back right away.
"It's an emergency," Ames stressed as he shuffled the librarian towards the school exit.
"Yes, well, this stop might give us the answer about what is happening and how to address your emergency," Giles offered as vaguely as possible when the group left the building. He didn't want to over-explain the supernatural aspect since the librarian wasn't sure how much the newest police chief had shared with his force. The ex-Watcher hoped to avoid sharing too much with the older officer and causing even more issues down the line. Instead, he fell silent as the group exited the school building. The police chief's car sat right by the entrance. It was parked in the fire lane with the lights flashing blue and white against the building.
Ames reluctantly agreed to the costume shop stop, but he refused to take everyone with them. Granted, he could not have fit the entire Scooby group in his borrowed car even if he wanted to take them. After a quick intervention of common sense, Giles insisted on the soldier's company so that they would know if any of their actions broke the spell. In addition, he had been impressed with Ms. Emerson's observations about the nature of the spell. He hoped that she might notice something useful when they reached the possible source of the chaotic Halloween danger. Once more, Ames reluctantly agreed but pressured the three civilians to hurry into his vehicle.
Cordy latched onto Angel's arm and offered to have him safely escort her and the still cursed Willow home. Giles just waved at the teen in the kitty costume. He was already moving onto thoughts about possible outcomes for their trip to Ethan's. No one seemed to notice the slightly panicked and definitely uncomfortable expression on Angel's face as the police car pulled from the curb.
A short while later, Ames angled the police vehicle across the road to park illegally in front of the darkened costume shop. The headlights illuminated the shop through the large display window. When Ames reluctantly moved to exit the car, Giles requested he remain behind so the car could remain running and ready for immediate departure once they had investigated the possible lead.
The veteran officer glanced both ways down the empty street and happily nodded in agreement. He watched the librarian, cursed soldier and bunny-clad girl slip into the darkened shop before hitting the lock mechanism on the doors for his cruiser. His hand rested on his sidearm as he continued to scan the deserted street.
Inside the shop, Giles led the way through the almost empty space. They skirted almost cleared displays and clothing racks until they reached the entrance to the back room. Giles pushed aside a fall of flowered curtains to reveal the darkened room where Ethan had been previously worshiping his chaotic god.
"Oh boy," Anya chirped as she brushed past the still librarian. "That's Janus."
"Huh, who?" the soldier questioned as he too entered the room.
"Mystical Roman god," Giles offered in explanation.
Anya nodded sagely.
"Hmm, he held reign over doorways, right?" Anya added.
Giles smiled encouragingly and nodded.
"He was worshiped as the god of transition. Change and difference. This statue shows his duality. It represents the division of self. Male and female. Light and dark..."
"Chunky and creamy style," interrupted the store owner, Ethan as he stepped into the faint light from the front of the store. "No, sorry, that is peanut butter."
Surprise and a bit of horror flitted across Giles face as he recognized the man.
"Hello, Ethan," the ex-Watcher greeted.
The store keeper grinned in return.
"Hello, Ripper."
"You obviously know this guy," Anya stated calmly before prompting the librarian to move the interigation along.
Rayne laughed.
"Oh yes, Ripper certainly knows me," the other man stressed with a particular emphasis on the know. "The stories I could tell you."
He grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
"Would scandalize your sweet innocent self," he added.
Anya crossed her arms and appeared unimpressed.
"I doubt it," she charged.
Ethan smirked but dismissed what he thought was misplaced bravado. Instead, he turned his attention back to his friend and tried to draw him into the conversation. Thinly veiled threats and well placed jibes passed between the two Brits until Giles finally lost his temper and demanded that his former friend fix the problem. When Rayne refused, he never expected Giles to knock him to the ground with a single blow to the jaw.
"Nice form," the soldier complimented and Anya squeaked a similar note of impression.
After a number of additional prompts compliments of Rupert's foot, Ethan finally offered the solution to break the spell. He admitted that breaking the statue would shatter the casting. Turning from his long ago friend, Giles lifted the bust of Janus above his head and hurled it with all his strength against the floor. The bunny-clad girl and the soldier held their breath as it arched to the ground.
The two faced statue shattered across the cleared space.
The soldier stumbled for a moment and his weapon shifted from real to plastic.
Anya made a soft coo as she was impressed with the thorough destruction of the statue.
Giles glanced at Xander and sighed in relief.
All three shared a smile before turning back towards the place where Ethan had been laying. Unfortunately, the chaos sorcerer was gone. He had wisely fled in the moments of distraction.
A few blocks away, not quite Willow disappeared from where she was following Angel and Cordelia. She closed her eyes for a moment and opened them to find herself in the area where they were trick or treating. She scrambled from the ground and hurried to pull off her ghost costume. Nervously, she glanced around the street and contemplated putting the sheet back over her head to better cover her body. Willow snorted to herself. She had just spent the last couple hours as a ghosty cheerleader. She still had the memories of the confidence and attitude. Calling on those feelings, the redhead balled her ghost sheet up and tucked it under her arm. She started down the street only to be stopped when a zebra-stripped van pulled along the side of the road.
Oz reached over and pushed open the door and offered her a ride. With a confident grin, Willow hopped into the seat and offered her thanks. Oz just smiled softly and nodded. As he pulled back onto the street, he wondered if it might almost be time to add that redhead to the Dingo's groupie list.
Across town, the glowing sword disappeared from Buffy's hand. She staggered a couple steps as her wings no longer supported her and she dropped a foot to the ground. Behind her, Ricci reached forward and offered her a helping hand as the other officers who had joined the strange rescue mission took a deep breath of relief.
"Buffy?" the police chief called gently as his hand grasp the teen's elbow.
The Slayer turned and nodded.
"You okay now?"
Buffy grinned.
"Yeah... a bit creeped out but fine."
"Do you know what happened?" Antonio questioned.
"Well, I was inside but not really in control," she whispered so that none of the other officers would hear.
"I think I could really use a minute though," she admitted as she took a couple steps and sat on the curb. Ricci joined her and together they watched the other officers collect the no longer enchanted children and start the process of returning them where they belong.
"You were amazing tonight," her companion complimented. "Scary, but amazing."
Buffy snorted.
"It wasn't right though," Buffy stated as she reached behind her and pulled off her wings. It took a few minutes to free herself from the feathered accessory and she savored the moments of peace. Finally free, she sat them beside her and then wrapped her arms around her bent knees. "I had all this glorious purpose but it felt so empty."
Ricci hummed in encouragement.
"All that power," the Slayer muttered with a shudder. "All that power but no compassion. No warmth. Nothing but driving purpose to rid the world of the evil that defied the archangel's God."
"Don't you already kinda do that?" Ricci offered.
Buffy shook her head.
"It's not the same," she stated. She suddenly let go of her knees and sat up straight.
"It's not the same," she repeated as a smile filled her face with the first bit of delight her companion had ever seen her express.
"I'm more than the mission," she stated with a voice filled with wonder. "More than the calling. More than just the Slayer."
"Of course you are," Antonio stated with a bit of confusion. "You're Buffy."
The teen grinned and stood up. She brushed off her behind and watched with interest as Giles, Xander and Anya clamored out of Ricci's police cruiser after it pulled to a stop near their resting place along the curb.
"Yeah... I'm Buffy," she stated almost happily as she turned to greet her worried friends.
"You look awful, Janice," Quinton Travers stated as he took his large pile of messages from his decidedly pale and shaking personal assistant. "You really should just go home. I can have one of the trainees cover the phones."
Janice nodded thankfully at the head of the Watcher's Council as he stepped through the dark mahogany door into his opulent office. She felt particularly retched today and suspected she had picked up whatever illness was running rampant through the Council offices. The middle-aged assistant had barely pulled herself out of bed this morning. She had vomited every bit of her limited breakfast and her head was currently pounding a calypso beat that would inspire David Rudder to sing. The woman hadn't even contemplated trying to eat lunch.
Unlike all of the accounting department and most of the secretarial pool, Janice had felt guilty staying home. She firmly believed that she held one of the most important positions in the Council even if she never directly interacted with field watchers or their Slayers. She controlled all the flow of information to Traver's office. She was the insulation that allowed the Head of the Council to make the difficult decisions. No amount of stomach cramping or fever was keeping her from at least attempting to fulfill her duties.
Quinton stepped back out of his office while Janice was digging in her bottom desk drawer for her purse and keys. He was holding his pile of messages which he had quickly scanned. He was disappointed to not find anything from the head of the finance division.
"Did you hear from Miles in accounting about the Sinclair account discrepancy?"
Janice glanced at her boss and attempted to focus on his face. The gentleman's face wavered in her vision until she was seeing a number of them.
"Miles' wife called him out sick yesterday and today," Janice replied in a raspy voice as she moved her right hand from the desk to clasp at her chest. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breath and she found herself panting to try to catch her missing breath.
"Janice?" Quinton questioned in concern as he watched his assistant teeter in her seat. The Head of the Watcher's Council never made it in time to catch Janice as she toppled to the floor. Instead, he was left grabbing air and then the phone to call an ambulance for his now unconscious assistant.
Mayor Wilkins lifted the most recent report that his deputy mayor had just dropped into his in box centered perfectly on the left hand corner of his large desk. The suit clad gentlemen opened the yellow colored folder that signified that it dealt with the police department. The mayor had a strict color system for all his work. No matter what the topic: utilities, fire services, EMS services, community outreach, budget, education, the politician had a color to correlate with it. Everything that passed over his desk had to fit properly into its place.
Richard smiled softly and chuckled as he read the report from the newly appointed Chief of Police.
"Hallucinogenic laced costumes purchased from the costume shop, Ethan's, a new shop on Maple Court opened within the last six weeks by an out of town proprietor," the Mayor read aloud with a tone of impressed amusement. "Good explanation," he muttered to himself before skimming the rest of the paperwork. The politician made a mental note of the name Ethan Rayne for possible future reference. It never hurt to keep on top of new resources and given that this Rayne fellow obviously had power worth note given the fiasco he perpetrated the previous evening, Wilkins intended to find out more about the escaped mischief maker.
Smiling happily, Richard called to his deputy mayor. The small, fidgety man stepped into the office immediately to find out what his well mannered leader required.
"I need you to contact the Sunnydale press. We need to make a statement in support of the excellent work done on Halloween night by the police force. Stress how their timely intervention assured the safety of all the community's children and that everyone should be thankful for their brave protection. Make a point of stressing their prompt response to the unexpected and despicable prank perpetrated by Mr. Rayne. See if you can find a picture of the gentleman also. Have them publish it along with the notice to contact the police department if he is seen."
Allen Finch promised to complete the request promptly before hurrying from the room.
Mayor Wilkins leaned back on his leather chair and drummed his fingers gently on the top of the fantastical yet well crafted report.
"Oh, I do believe I promoted the right man for the job," he congratulated himself with a pleased grin before setting aside the police report and pulling forth a green folder from his in box in order to tackle the newest zoning update. The mayor shook his head. Some fools were attempting to gain the right to use one of the defunct factories in the industrial district for a nightclub. With a flourish, he signed approval for the zoning release. The way he figured, whoever the idiots were seeking to lease the building would be long gone by the time the board even thought to look at the decision. After all, the proposed site was in the heart of the seedy underbelly of Sunnydale.
"Hope they realize just how lively the very un-lively night life is around here," he chuckled before moving onto the next bit of business.