Cordelia Chase glared daggers at Xander Harris as he tried to speak to her, but she wasn't having any of it. It didn't matter if Willow Rosenberg used a lust spell on Xander not because she was in love with him, if that was the case then Cordelia would understand as Xander Harris was so easy to love and was the only boy who had the wit and the comebacks to keep up with her. The brunette kept a strong front and act like she didn't care as she was once again with the Cordettes who she left to be with someone below her standards.
Oz finally clued up about his girlfriend, he loved Willow with all his heart and to find out that he wasn't enough for her shattered him cutting him deep, he wanted to put all the blame on Xander but the Werewolf knew deep in his heart that Willow's interest had always been on Xander as he was her ideal of the perfect man in her eyes. Deep in his gut, Oz knew that a spell or charm was put on Xander in some form, it was more than suspicious that Xander who only had eyes for his girlfriend suddenly and quite quickly was attracted and lusted after the redhead when the only interest he has shown to Willow was friendship.
Ever since Willow gave Angel back his soul she believed she was in control of her magic and didn't need to be pacified like a child as she could handle powerful magic, but the problem with his theory is that he had no proof of this. Cordelia smirked at the pain in Willow's eyes to see that her boyfriend wouldn't speak to her after she tried to put another spell on Xander to de-lust him which caused all the anguish in the first place. No matter how many times she said to herself that she was over Xander and that she could do better than him, another part of her wanted to jump back into Xander's arms and never let go. However, she couldn't go back to Xander now, not without wondering if her boyfriend was thinking of her or thinking about Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg or some random girl.
Sighing to herself headed to her Locker to put her books away and leave Sunnydale High School for another day when she turned around to see the strange highschooler that had been following her around named Anya Jenkins, she didn't know the Weirdo and wanted it that way but she said the magic words telling her she knew how it felt to be cheated on and just wanted to help her.
Cordelia Chase wasn't in the mood, but this girl was ready to listen to her instead of telling her to move on and go on a date with some random guy to get over her heart being crushed. Through the afternoon Cordelia was cursing Xander's name as Anya smirked inwardly rubbing her hands in glee waiting for the heartbroken and scorned woman to make her wish. "You know what, if there was no Xander I wouldn't have had my... reputation ripped to shreds of being the Queen Bee and the redhaired bitch wouldn't have used a lust spell to take my man. You know sometimes I wished that Xander Lavelle Harris never existed and maybe I could get on with my life."
There was a twisted smile on Anya's face shifted to her Vengeance Demon form as she wrapped her Talisman around Cordelia's arm and her cold echoing voice granted her wish, Cordelia didn't want to believe it till she turned her head to see Xander walking out of the school and the look on horror on the boy's face to see that his hands were transparent. Turning towards Cordelia Chase who had the similar look, the Cheerleader tried to pull her hand free desperately watching the pain and anguish on Xander's face to see him fade away till there was nothing left but the Brunette's memories. Cordelia Chase pleaded with Anya Jenkins to bring back Xander as angry as she was she didn't want to wish the Dork gone, the Vengeance Demon mocked pitied the human woman as she used a transportation spell to get the girl's bedroom. "Sleep Miss Chase and when you wake up Xander Lavelle Harris would be nothing but a forgotten memory."
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The Powers That Be watched on the sidelines of the Slayer's White Knight disappearing from existence, they couldn't interfere with the rules of D'hoffryn and as Master of all Vengence Demons and to end the spell Anyanka would have to lose her source of power or die to counteract the wish. However the Oracles adored Anyanka's inventive punishments of cheating men and it would be a shame to waste such talent, the problem was breaking the spell but bend the rule as they say. The only way to save Xander was to go to change his form and in his place, Alexandra Leanne Harris or Xan for short was born, best friend to Willow Rosenberg and Buffy Summers.
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Angel and Alexandra Harris would never see eye to eye as the girl hated his guts and he felt the same way about her, but they had one thing in common and that was the love they felt towards the Slayer. As much as Angel hated Alexandra or Xan to her best friends the Vampire with a Soul had to admire the girl's guts, Willow is a sweet girl but can be naive especially when it came to Buffy's love life shouting at a Master Vampire over not going on a date with her best friend and really didn't see the big picture.
Alexandra Harris on the other hand could see what others didn't and even the Watcher stood on the sidelines because of a prophecy that the Slayer would die at the hands of the Master, Harris wouldn't have it as she stormed into Angel's home with a cross in her hand and told him as much as she hated him her best friend saw him as a person and if Angel truly loved Buffy then he would help save her.
"You love her?" asked Angel trying so hard not to snap the girl's neck. The Vampire could still see the fire and determination in Alexandra's eyes as she challenged him about his own love for Buffy Summers. "Do you? I'm not seeing it myself so get up from that damn chair and prove me wrong."
The reason Angel hated Xan was not because of her smart mouth, it was because he could hear Angelus in the back of his mind thinking of ways to shut that girl up by shoving his dick down her throat and putting in her place. Okay, he would be lying if he didn't find Alexandra Harris attractive with her delicious curves that he favoured and rounded hips, breasts that were the perfect handful that was not too big and not small. What Angel liked were Alexandra's long legs and pert bottom, Xan was indeed a beautiful young woman with her long dark curls and expressive eyes like melted chocolate that were framed with long lashes that any girl would envy. The Vampire with a soul was attracted to the physical side of the brunette, but his heart belonged to Buffy Summers and as long as Xan Harris hated him the easier it was to keep his distance.
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Buffy Summers couldn't put up with Angel and her best friend Xan arguing and snide comments each other, Xan had her reason why she hated Angel even more since Soul Boy offered her neck to a Vampire named Spike and not once did he apologise. It was too much for Buffy and even Giles told the girl to grow up with her petty insults, if only they knew that Angel nearly got her killed. Xan Harris knew in her gut that her best friend would twist it around and blame her and G-Man would take his Slayer's side, as much as Xan loved Buffy she was blind when it came to Brood Boy and Willow wanting to keep the peace would try to convince her that she was in the wrong like when she was seven and pushed Harmony Kendall in the mud for calling her Willow a Poopy Head.
There was only one other choice and Alexandra Leanne Harris decided to bury the hatchet and would love to embed it into Soul Boy's skull but if this Leech was what her Buffy shaped friend wanted then she would extend the olive branch.
It was a surprise for Angel to see the annoying brunette that the Slayer called her friend standing outside his home, carefully looking over the girl's shoulder to see if she was armed and became suspicious when the girl politely asked if she could come in. Xan was fidgety and practically hopping from foot to foot, rolling his eyes Angel stepped to one side and invited the brat inside offering her some Kool-Aid, which shocked Alexandra as she stuttered out yes as long as one of the glasses wasn't used for drinking his blood. Angel tightly smiled and headed to the kitchen area to prepare the drinks and came in seconds later with two tall glasses.
Sitting down in his chair as Xan sat on the sofa taking a sip of her drink before Angel demanded what she wanted with him, sighing Xan put her Kool-Aid down and bluntly said she didn't want to argue anymore with him as Buffy didn't need them at each other's throats. "I don't like you and I pretty much think of you like Vampire, but saying this Buffy thinks of you as a real person and for her, I would put my differences aside. I'm not saying we'll be buds and playing pool any time soon, but we should keep a civil tongue around each other." Concluded Alexandra as she raised her hand to Angel to shake his, Angel reluctantly took Xan's hand and agreed to disagree as they talked about their differences.
Checking the time Xan gasped to see it was six-thirty and was supposed to be at the Library for seven, grabbing her backpack Xan ran for the door stating that Willow was going to kill her if she was late again. Smiling she waved her goodbyes and ran hoping she would make it on time. Angel was dumbstruck that Xan was being nice, but it was kind of nice and she did have a beautiful and contagious smile that you couldn't help but smile back.
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After that visit Xan Harris was true to her word and always kept a civil tongue around Angel, Willow knew the reasons why Xan offered friendship and agreed with her friend that it would be easier for Buffy and her Watcher if there wasn't a sparring match between the pair. Buffy Summer also noticed the difference and it was quite a relief, but through the weeks Buffy's relief turned into jealousy when Angel was more relaxed and even smiled when around her best friend. Willow tried to explain that Angel and Xan were just friends and even Xan tried to explain that Angel was a friend, not a close one but still a friend either way.
Buffy wasn't convinced and while Giles was on an errand with Xan to collect some books, Buffy and her redheaded friend snuck in and sneaked a peek at the Watcher's Diaries needing to know what attracted Angel. The two girls found an entry of when Angel was first turned, Buffy was fascinated that Angel was interested in girls in flowing gowns and corsets with hair coiffed in curls.
This was going to be perfect as next week was Halloween and this would be a perfect time to dress up in eighteenth Century garment and found the most beautiful dress that was just for her from a new store that had just opened. While Buffy was buying the dress Xan found an old brown backpack and gun holsters that attached to the leg it also a grappling hook, Xan checked the price and found them to be cheap for just three dollars, happy Xan headed to the counter to pay and now they had to find something for Willow who wasn't sure she wanted to dress up.
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Instead of enjoying their Halloween, the three girls had to take children out to Trick or Treat all thanks to Principal Synder, Xan found a pair of brown shorts that she didn't know she had in the back of her wardrobe and a blue tank top. Happily, Xan got dressed and plaited her hair and headed to Buffy's where the blonde was giving Willow a makeover; Xan wanted to see the new Willow Rosenberg and was disappointed to see her best friend with a sheet with the word 'BOO!' written on it, Buffy was more than disappointed as Willow was supposed to strut her stuff instead just covers herself.
Entering Sunnydale High the three friends entered the Library where Giles was shelving the books, the elder man looked up when he heard the door open to see the girls he saw as his own children standing there in their costumes, He knew what Buffy and Willow's costumes were but was stumped when it came to Xan. Harris just giggled as she did a pose with a gun in each hand and with a terrible posh English Accent. "My name is Lara Croft, but you Professor Von Croy will know me as Tomb Raider." Giles clearly not impressed with the girl's fake British accent pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Quite, since it's All Hallows Eve there won't be much Demon Activity I strongly suggest keeping a sharp eye out all the same."
Xan just smiled as she looked over to her friends, who were trying to keep a straight face as the three friends greeted by young children, all excited that they were going Trick or Treating with older kids and feeling like grown-up instead of going with their parents. upon seeing Xan's costume they wanted pictures taken with their favourite Game Character but felt really uncomfortable with fully grown men thinking it was a-okay to wrap their arm around her and one of the dads had grabbed her ass. Xan put her foot down literally crushing the man's foot making him yelp as Principal Synder walk over asking if there was a problem, the man just took a look at Tomb Raider with a glare on her face knowing that if he complained then he had to explain himself- instead the angry father said nothing and hobbled away. "Pervert," whispered Xan to herself taking a deep breath before turning her attentions to the group of children with a bright smile on her face as she gave them advice and tips into getting more candy into their bags and buckets.
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It was the night with respecting Vampires and Demons stayed indoors while the Herd of Happy Meals ran amock, that is for one William the Bloody also known as Spike. The Slayer of Slayers, he would have killed his third Slayer and would have succeeded if it hadn't been for that woman with a Fire Axe demanding him to leave her daughter alone- had to give respect for a woman like that but the Slayer wasn't the one he was thinking about. Spike couldn't take his mind of the girl who was gifted to him from his Grandsire with a soul who was more of a wet blanket than a real vampire. 'Well she was one pretty little Pressie... what the bloody 'ell am I thinkin ere, Dru's my all, My Dark Plum and all I'm 'ere for are for that Nancy Poof to fix her.'
Spike couldn't deny that the girl was pretty and with the right clothes would be gorgeous;- the bleached blonde's mind came to reality when he heard Dru's childlike giggles and whatever his Sire was thinking can be done the next day as no Demon in the right mind was going out especially on Halloween. That was when Drusilla twirled around dancing to the music only she could hear and Spike lovingly smile at his Princess as he pulled her into his arms in a simple dance listening to Miss Edith's secrets that Spike found more than interested.
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Children excitedly walked door to door filling their bags with treats and using tricks that Xan told them got extra, Mrs May Lee was just admiring the costumes when she let a blood-curdling scream when instead of children stood little evil creatures. Xan Harris was about to walk over to see what was going on but stopped in her tracks when her best friend Willow collapsed on the porch of Mr De'Laney and his partner Hank Parker. Before Xan could stop her other best friend Buffy from running away into the danger of Sunnydale in fright, the brunette felt a strange vibration go through her body and feel herself being pushed into the back of her mind and standing there in confusion was Lara Croft who was on in the Tomb of Qualopec, on the mountains of Peru for one of the missing pieces of the Atlantean Scion.
One of the strange creatures was about to attack her and Lara pulled out her guns ready to shoot them when a voice screamed at her not to shoot as the demon was a child; "What is going on here and where exactly am I?" The girl named Willow explained that she wasn't the real Lara Croft and was only dressed as her and also that she was in a Small Town in California called Sunnydale.
Lara had been in worse situations and could handle being in the centre of the Hellmouth, but right now she and the strange girl had to stick together and look for someone named Buffy 'Who in their right mind would name their child Buffy, well in Rome or this case Bloody Hell.' thought Xan/Lara as she followed Ghost Girl while running from the danger.
Buffy/Lady Elizabeth ran into an Alley after running away from a vampire who killed another vampire so he could eat her himself, sighing with relief that she was safe when she was confronted by Larry who was dressed as a pirate, she was screaming for help and thought no one was going to help her as the leering pirate was about to lift her dress and petticoats, when out of nowhere a dark-haired woman who looked like she was wearing her undergarments grabbed him and sent him flying into the trashcan with a high kick to the jaw; like a coward Larry, the Pirate wasn't going to stand around when that woman could hit like a man and staggered to his feet and ran into the darkness.
It wasn't Ladylike for a woman like Miss Croft and knew from her accent that she was upper class, but a lady in Lara's stature should be waiting for Suiters for her father introduced her to. Xan/Lara rolled her eyes clearly not impressed Buffy soon forgot the rules of etiquette when the vampire that she was running from came barreling around the corner and Lady Elizabeth hid behind the woman who saved her.
Angel couldn't believe that Buffy could run out from the safety of a building, she took one look at his demon as he staked the stray vampire wondering why she was cowering instead of fighting or help to barricade the doors. While looking for 18th Century Buffy the Souled Vampire could sense Spike was near and knew that if he didn't find the Slayer soon Buffy was going to die, upon finding Buffy he spotted Willow in her ghost form and the amazing sight of Xan's long legs in brown shorts and blue tank top pointing a gun to his head. "No xa... Lara, that's Angel and he's a friend, just put the gun down so no one can get any owies."
Buffy was shaking like a leaf and kept gripping the back of Xan top telling her that Angel was a vampire and that she had to kill him, Angel tried to hide the hurt behind his mask but wasn't quick enough to hide it from Xan. "Right now we are all in danger and the more muscle we have the better, Willow you said something about one Mr Giles. Go to him and see what you can find," Xan then turned her attention towards Angel. "Angel if that is your name. Since you know a lot about this town you can help me find somewhere secure with as Lady Chatterbury over here is no help." Concluded Xan slapped him on the back like a fellow soldier before going towards Buffy with a gentle smile on her face. "We can't stay out here in the open like sitting ducks, Willow said that Angel is a friend then I will take her word for it when she said Angel won't hurt you." Turning towards Angel Xan/Lara smiled in reassurance before turning back to Buffy. "And I believe he won't hurt you," Buffy reluctantly agreed as she held Lara's hand in comfort as the Souled Vampire walked behind the two women staring at the brunette's ass in those tight shorts.
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Spike was enjoying the chaos as children were running amok in their demon forms and the Bleached Vampire was in his element, all he wanted was to kill his third Slayer and maybe torture the Magnificent Poof till he agreed to cure Dru, ever since Prague and coming to this Hell Spike's life had been turned upside down and it all started when walked into the Bronze and saw her long neck tilted back as she laughed dancing goofily with her friends without a care in the world. Spike had one goal in mind and that was to save his Princess as she was all he cared about. If Dru was in full health she would have enjoyed the Hell surrounding her, in the short time in leaving the abandoned Warehouse by the Docks Spike had recruited vicious looking creature that smelled more human than Demon purring and joyfully growls with the thoughts of the feast that the Master Vampire promised them as long as he got the Slayer.
As Spike was having his fun Willow phase through the Library wall freaking Giles out seeing the redhead walk through the wall asking him for help; Giles was ready to research when he stopped in his tracks when he heard the name Ethan and the Costume Shop that recently opened. Rupert Giles calmly cleaned the lenses of his glasses and a chill went down Willow's spine when she heard the Watcher coldly told the redhead to go back to her friends while he would scope the shop, Willow wasn't going to argue with the elder man as she ran back to as Ripper came to the surface ready to face his past and get rid of the Chaos Mage once and for all.
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Cordelia Chase was being well chased through Sunnydale by little demons that were once children and she couldn't tell the difference between the brats except they wanted to eat her, what was worse was that she had lost sight of Harmony and was now tagging along with the Losers Club and the Zeppo Girl was in charge. Well, Cordelia wasn't going to argue with G.I. Jane when she was the one with weapons and with Buffy out of action together.
The Cat Girl had to roll her eyes when Willow told her what she already knew, her attentions then went to Angel as she outrageously flirting with the vampire but that didn't last long as demons in every shape and size crowded the pair and Lara/Xan was getting more than pissed off with Ghost Willow for intervening in defending herself and the people she was protecting by telling her not to kill but quickly demanded her to kill the bleached haired man. Grabbing her guns she was about to shoot Spike when she was surrounded and held back with Angel who was trying to get to Buffy as Cordelia was screaming for the creatures not to rip the costume she was wearing as it was a rental, Spike smirked as his attentions turned to the brunette as his snarl turned into a leer as his eyes took in the curves of Xan Harris. There was a change of plan as he told the little demons to take Xan/Lara Croft away saying he was taking his Sire's generous gift with him, but first, he was going to snag his third Slayer.
Spike was sure Angel would do anything to save the Slayer, but he fought harder and he pleaded with Spike to take him instead of the girl. "Like hell, you bloody will," roared Xan as she kicked one of the creatures away and grabbed her gun ready to pull the trigger...
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Ethan Rayne was feeding on the Chaos for the God of mischief, Janus so he could free himself from the Demon he, Ripper and their friends summoned over twenty years ago or even shield himself till he could find another spell to send Eyghon the Sleepwalker back to which it came. That spell to summon Eyghon would have been so simple if it wasn't for Randall leaving the bloody circle running for the door; that night was the same night that Rupert Giles (Ripper) left when he and Rayne saw two of their friends being dragged into Hell. It was there that Giles got his wake up call and dedicated himself to his Research and became a Watcher in exchange for having his slate cleaned by his father and the Council.
Rayne could sense Ripper was near and smiled remembering the good times with dark spells, drugs, girls and the occasional boy, however his smirk dropped when Rupert Giles only wanted was for him to release everyone from the spell he placed on everyone in town. Ethan Rayne expected the threat, but he was more than surprised when that threat became physical as he was beaten and he was sure that Ripper had broken a rib. Once again Giles demanded how to break the spell, Rayne pointed at the bust of Janus as he spat out blood- without a second glance Rupert Giles picked up the bust and could feel the energy running through him as he raised his arms over his head smashing the bust to pieces- once the bust of Janus was destroyed Giles turned his attention back to Ethan Rayne and found he had disappeared.
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Xan Harris came looked confused as wondered why she was aiming a plastic gun at a Master Vampire like Spike, she could understand if it was a Water Gun filled with Holy Water. As scared as she was there was no chance she was letting the children get hurt putting them behind her who were crying for their parents. Spike turned his back on the shaking Lady Slayer ignoring the warning growls from his Grandsire to stay back, just as Spike was about to grab Xan when they heard the welcoming quirky comeback from Buffy as she and Spike fought. Once again spike was defeated as he ran back with his tail between his legs.
Yet again Cordelia Chase was flirting with the Souled Vampire as he completely ignored her in favour of Xan Harris who was oblivious to it all as her attention was on the kids, but soon turned towards Buffy as he asked her why she was dressed like one of the ladies from his own time when he was a young Scallywag before he was turned. Didn't Buffy realise that he hated those memories and the way he was before he became a soulless demon, Buffy Summers explained to Angel that she wanted to catch his eye and the best way was to read up on it and with Willow's help the snuck the Watchers Diaries to find out what attracted him? Before Angel could tell the Slayer that his feelings weren't towards her but belonged to someone else when out of the blue Xan Harris called for Buffy asking for her help in getting the children safely back to the School and the whereabouts of their best friend Willow.
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Willow Rosenberg on the other hand was on the other side of Town in the Cul-de-sac re-entering her body, gasping the redhead pulled off the sheet from off her head and sighed with relief that she was once again incorporeal form. Needing to get back home and to Sunnydale High hoping everyone was all right; she was about to put the sheet back into place but decided against it as she threw it to one side and walked back to school not noticing the young man behind the wheel of his van with a look of awe on his face asking himself. "Who is that girl?"
End of Part One