Buggs Buffy
At first Tara ducked into the costume shop just to hide amongst the crowds, but when she saw Donald's truck rattle by through the window she started to think a costume might not be such a bad idea. She browsed amongst the racks, most had already been stripped bare from the Halloween day rush. They were out of the ghost and monster costumes totally and most of the things left over wouldn't cover her face or hide her shape.
"You look a little lost my dear," a man with a rich accent purred by her ear and she flinched away, hands rubbing at her arms for comfort.
"Oh, I-I-I…" she stammered.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Ethan," he gestured expansively to the shop around them. "Proprietor extraordinaire."
Tara swallowed and managed to squeak out a small hello. Ethan was an older man, maybe the same age as her father, but still a little handsome and he smiled at her gently.
"I sense you require a costume," he winked. "I have a few special ones near the back that might interest you, on sale to close out the day."
"T-thank you," Tara said as he led her to a slightly closed off area that didn't look quite as ransacked.
The costumes here were on stands and obviously better made than anything sold on the rails near the front. Tara's eyes immediately drew towards a complete rabbit costume, complete with some kind of sport clothing and a fitted head with an exaggerated pout. It was like a mascot outfit and it would definitely hide her from Donald.
"Uh, the, the rabbit? H-how much?" she asked.
"For you dear?" Ethan grinned and gave her an up and down look that Tara pretended not to notice. "Let's call it a rental at just twenty dollars, and you can return it in a week."
It was cheap and Tara was desperate. The Ethan guy seemed weird but if she wanted to lay low on her way to the bus station then bunny mascot it was.
"Can I put it on now?"
As costumes went, this was… well, it was pretty lame. Xander thought to himself as he peered through the eyeholes of the bunny head. A soldier, that's what he'd planned for, that's what he got the gun for. And then he came home yesterday and his mom, who never did anything for him, was standing at the door with a smile on her face and a giant rabbit costume in her hand.
"Just like the one I made for you when you were eight!" she'd announced and Xander knew there was no way she was going to let him leave the house in anything else.
He sat heavily onto his bed then jumped up cursing, he'd forgotten the tail and man, that had nearly been shoved up somewhere uncomfortable. Sometimes Xander really just wished he could be someone else. Whatever, all he had to do was make it through a couple of hours with a pack of children and then came the sweet, sweet candy coma.
When he saw Willow at Buffy's house Xander had the comfort of knowing he wasn't the only one with an unbelievably uncool costume, though Buffy in a corset was a memory he'd be taking out to review every few months. Once they made it to school he dumped the bunny head on and held up his gun, Halloween was a battle and he would lead his troops to victory despite the suit.
"Okay," he commanded, and then realised they couldn't hear him through the head. After a brief struggle to detach it he coughed and started again. "Okay! On sleazing extra candy: tears are key. Tears will normally get you the double-bagger. You can also try the old 'you missed me' routine, but it's risky. Only go there for chocolate. Understood?"
The crew of kids in front of him nodded in union and Xander snapped to attention.
"Okay my crew of little hoppers, let's go!"
He snagged his map from Principal Snyder, who deserved a house covered in toilet paper if anyone did, and marched the children out into the streets. There were just a few hours of collection time, but Xander already knew the best houses to led them too. He was getting at least one full sized chocolate bar tonight, guaranteed.
Tara adjusted the heavy headpiece of her costume as it slipped and felt a bead of sweat roll disgustingly down her back. Getting changed at the costume shop might have been the right choice to keep Donald at bay, but she wished she'd known just how far away the bus station was.
The owner, Ethan, had chased her out pretty quickly once she was dressed. She'd been one of the last people in the store and she couldn't tell if it was her imagination or not but she was sure she could smell something like incense drifting from the back room.
It was dark now and she paused slightly to catch her breath and slipped a hand under her mask to push the wet hair dripping into her eyes out of the way.
"Almost there, just… keep going," she muttered to herself.
At least there were a lot of people in costumes on the streets so she didn't have to feel like any more of a freak than she already was, with the demon blood and all.
A sudden breeze blew hard around her, in the distance she heard screaming and a car crashed and then she blinked… and everything was just fine.
"Well, hello gorgeous," Tara stroked down her fluffy curves and check the bounce of her ears. Perfect, from the tip of her tail to flop of blonde hair into her eyes.
Some weird bozo with red skin and a messed up face growled at her from across the road, Tara raised a considering eyebrow. Fella looked all kinds of wrong, but she was a girl who could look after herself. When it lunged at her she hopped into the air and landed on the back of its head in a smooth pirouette, sending the monster face first into a wall.
"Well that's gotta sting," she winced as it slid down and collapsed in a heap. "And let that be a lesson to you, why don't ya."
The town was practically crawling with creeps, she shuddered as some huge hairy thing tried to swipe at her from under a car and kicked it very firmly between the eyes. It yowled and skittered down a storm drain.
"Disgusting… maybe I should wash this foot?" Tara examined her carefully manicured toes for dirt. "Nope, clean as a whistle."
She giggled to herself and strolled on, she'd been going somewhere… but it seemed a whole lot of fun here. Minus that pack of raging beast slathering on the far end of the street.
"Huh, time to run I guess," she purred and turned tail, springing between cars. "Catch me if you can!"
Around the corner was a whole new street of hell, but Tara spotted something, or should she say someone, familiar. It was a grey and white rabbit, with a gun in his hands firing down on another group of beastly creatures.
"Need a hand?" she bounced over, tripping an ogre looking thing into the path of one of its little minions.
The grey rabbit turned, his ears perking up and his mouth falling open.
"Holy smokes! Marry me!"
She giggled and held out a hand. "Lo- uh, I mean Tara Rabbit. It's nice to meet you."
"Xander Bunny," he planted a warm kiss on the back of her hand. "And you just leave this to me, doll face."
Tara felt a blaze of anger. Doll face? Doll face?! She'd show him!
When the pack of beasts she'd teased came bounding over, Tara shoved Xander out of the way and snagged the gun from his confused hands. "No, you leave it to me, bunny butt."
She took aim and was just about to fire when a human girl jumped in her path. "No! No guns There's a kid in there!"
Tara swung the gun up onto her shoulder. "You okay honey? There's no kids here."
"They-they changed, please! My name is Willow, listen to me. I'm on your side, I swear! Something crazy is happening. I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween, a-and now I am a ghost. And Xander? He was dressed as a bunny and-and I guess you were too! Everyone has changed into their costumes and a lot of them are little kids!"
"Listen lady," Xander chipped in. "I'm a bunny through and through just ask- uh oh!"
He paused, staring over Tara's shoulder. She turned and looked up, then her eyes just kept going up until she saw a fur covered creature as big as a tree towering over her. Tara shrieked and hopped between its legs as it swung for her.
"Hey ugly!" Xander shouted at it and shot a wink to Tara. "Can I interest you in tax advice? Just a dollar ninety nine to consult."
He slung a length of rope to Tara as he back towards too cars, still talking at a mile a minute. She nodded and crept to the space, quickly securing each end to form tight trip wire.
"How about a good clean shave?" Xander offered, and pulled out a jar of shaving foam that he sprayed in the beast's face.
It roared in anger and ran at him, half blind, Xander hoped easily over the rope and watched with Tara as the creatures ankles caught.
"Timber!" he shouted and the creature slowly collapsed forward, flattening a couple of short little monster as it fell. Tara clapped in appreciation and Xander took a bow.
"And for my next trick, I'll make it disappear," he said and flung a cloth of the body before pulling it back to reveal empty space. "Tada!"
"I've never met a magician before," Tara smiled and walked her fingers up Xander's chest. "Got any other tricks up your sleeves."
"I-I-I-" Xander stammered and his fur began to flush red from the bottom of his feet all the way up to the tips of his ears. "Abracadabra!"
A pile of carrots dropped from his pocket and Tara looked down at them with a raised eyebrow. Xander gave half a nervous grin and shrugged.
"Carrot?"
"Buffy!" the girl, Willow, dodged past them without even a thank you and ran towards another human girl who was wandering with a lost look on her face. "Buffy will know what to do!"
Tara and Xander shared a puzzled look.
"Uh huh," Tara said and Xander passed a carrot to her.
"Don't mind if I do," Tara took the vegetable and nibbled on it daintily as they strolled over.
"Buffy, what should we do?" Willow asked the girl. All she got back was a crazy eyed stare and then this 'Buffy' dropped into a dead faint. "Not good! Not good at all!"
More and more monsters were gathering on the sidewalk around them.
"Think it might be time to blow this pop-sickle stand," Xander said. A stick of dynamite appeared in his hand and he tossed it to Tara, she already had a baseball bat out ready and knocked it over the heads of the transformed kids.
"And it looks short… but no, it's a home run!" he crowed as an explosion rocked them, throwing the creatures into disarray. "Come on toots, I'll get the little lady and we'll head for the hills!"
"No, uh, I think we can get into the Summers house, Buffy has stuff there… weapons and-and things that could help!" Willow replied as Xander began to lift Buffy.
Suddenly she moaned and blinked.
"Buffy!" Willow crouched next to her. "Buffy are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The girl just looked puzzled and Tara sighed. "She ain't Buffy anymore."
"Buffy, what year is it?" Willow tried asking.
""1775, I believe." Buffy finally replied, voice confused. "I-I don't understand. Who are you?"
"We're friends." Willow reassured her.
"F-friends of whom? Y-your dress... those…these creatures…Everything is strange! How did I come to be here?" she shouted.
"Does she mean us, or them?" Tara jabbed a thumb over her shoulder at the slow re-gathering of monsters.
"Breathe, okay, breathe. You're gonna faint again." Willow tried to calm her down and turned towards Tara and Xander. "How are we supposed to get through this without the Slayer?"
"Uhhhhh, carrots?" Xander replied and Willow rolled her eyes.
"No!" she helped Buffy to her feet. "Let's just… get to Buffy's house!"
"Sure thing, doc," Xander chirped. "And we'll be riiiiiiight back."
He grabbed Tara round the neck and pulled her over into a whisper conversation.
"So here's how I see it," he explained. "You're a gorgeous lady rabbit, I'm a gorgeous guy rabbit. We go with the crazy humans, then I take you to Vegas, we get married and live happily ever after. You in?"
Tara elbowed him in the gut and walked away, hips swinging. "In your dreams bub."
"Come on ladies, let's leave him here for monster food," she said.
"Uh, I-I think we should go," Willow muttered and began to guide Buffy along the street.
"Wait for me!" Xander scrambled after them and dodged a kick Tara aimed at his side. "You know I always hear love hurts."
Tara fluffed her ears and ignored him. Men, always just had one thing on their minds.