Chapter Three: Dressing up

Ethan's Costume Shop

The store was full of mothers and their kids looking for Halloween costumes as Buffy approached the counter. Buffy picked up a plastic pumpkin on display and starts when it suddenly lit up and screamed. Quickly putting it back on the counter she turned as Willow came over to her. "What'd you get?" She asked Willow.

"A time honoured classic!" Willow said as she held up a ghost costume.

Buffy looked at the costume in Willow's hand and asked "Okay Will, can I give you a little friendly advice?"

Willow moved the costume around as she said "It's not spooky enough?"

"It's just... you're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding.

You're missing the whole point of Halloween." Buffy said.

Willow smiled and said "Free candy?"

"It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to

get sexy and wild with no repercussions." Buffy explained.

Willow had a look of mild panic on her face as she said "Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You've got it in you." Buffy said forcefully.

"Hey, Xander!" Willow exclaimed in relief as she spotted Xander enter the shop. "What'd you get?" she added as he came up to them.

Xander pulled a toy military rifle out of his bag and held it up for Willow

and Buffy to see. "That's not a costume." Buffy stated.

Xander gave Buffy a look, then turned to Willow. "I got fatigues from

an Army surplus at home. Call me the Two-Dollar Costume King, baby!" he said as he smiled at her.

"Hey, look, Xander..." Buffy's voice trails off as she's distracted by a costume. Staring at it in wonder, she slowly walks towards it.

"Hello! This is me your ignoring here." Xander complained.

"I'm sorry, it's just... Look at this." Buffy said in distraction as she walked over to a mannequin dressed in a blue frock coat and white breaches.

Willow had a look of recognition on her face as she said softly "It's amazing."

Ethan noticed her looking at the costume and came over to them. "Please, let me." he said as took the costume off it's dressmaker's mannequin.

"Oh, i-it's..." Buffy whispered as she passed her fingers of the raised anchors embossed on the brass buttons of the coat.

"Magnificent. Yes, I know... There." Ethan said as he held it up to her in a mirror. "My. Meet the courageous captain of a sailing ship. I think we found a match. Don't you?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, I-I'm sorry. There's no way I could ever afford this." Buffy stuttered as she looked at Ethan.

Ethan waved a hand in dismissal as he said "Oh, nonsense. I feel quite moved to make you a deal you can't refuse."

Buffy looking back into the mirror, takes the dress from Ethan and shares a knowing smile with Willow.

Ethan hid a smirk as he hurried over to a dark haired girl gazing at a frilly, bright red, billowy 18th-century gown. "Ah, the hidden princess. It's definitely you my dear."

**********

Spike's warehouse

"Here it comes." Spike said as he watched Buffy in a fight captured on video. "Rewind that. Let's see that again." he ordered. One of Spike's vampire minions rewound the tape as Spike strolled around to another monitor. "She's tricky. Her two friends distract some of them so she doesn't have to fight them all at the same time." Spike said, chuckling.

"Miss Edith needs her tea." Drusilla said, coming from another room.

"C'mere, poodle." Spike said as he held out his hand to her.

Drusilla took his hand. "Do you love my insides? The parts you can't see?" she asked.

"Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet. That's why I've got to study this Slayer." Spike said smiling at her. "Once I know her I can kill her. And once I kill her you can have your run of Sunnyhell. Get strong again." he added.

"Don't worry. Everything's switching. Outside to inside." Drusilla breathed at Spike's neck "It makes her friends weak. Just as the snake man arrives as well."

"Really? Did my pet have a vision?" Spike asked.

Drusilla eyes lost focus as she said "Do you know what I miss? Leeches."

"Come on, talk to Daddy. This thing that makes the Slayer weak? When is it?" Spike asked.

Drusilla looked at Spike and said "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Halloween. Nothing happens on Halloween." Spike said.

Drusilla smiled dreamily as she said "They've come to change it all. Something new. The magic man and the Snake."

**********

Back room of Ethan's Costume Shop

Ethan came through the curtain and knelt before his statue of Janus. Pressing his hands together, he winced in pain. When he pulled them apart, wounds gaped open in his palms, and blood flowed freely from them. "The world that denies thee, thou inhabit." He recited.

"The peace that ignores thee,..." he said, dabbing the blood from his left hand with his right middle finger and smearing it over his right eyelid. Switching hands, he dabbed the blood from his right hand with his left middle finger and smeared it over his left eyelid. "...thou corrupt." He continued.

Dabbing the blood from his left hand with his right middle finger again he smeared a cross onto his forehead. "Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son." He finished reciting.

**********

High Street, Sunnydale

Setesh scowled at the costumed children as he drove slowly down the street. He had been having second thoughts about staying in this new host's body. One of the reasons he had situated in compound in such a sparsely occupied area was because strangers would be more noticeable. Now that decision could backfire on him. He was sure the agents of the Tok'ra he had encountered would find it easy to find out his host's name. He had been so intent on escaping this world, that he had overlooked something while sifting through his host's memories. Simon Greeley's memories showed that he had stayed overnight at the motel in the nearby town. Setesh was sure that the Tok'ra agents, and their human servants, would find it easy to track him once they had his new host's name.

Pulling over to the side of the road to think. He would have to acquire a new host, and quickly. Looking around him, he began to smile. There would be lots of screams and shouts going on tonight. One more scream would go unnoticed. Even one filled with real terror.

**********

Buffy's room

Buffy stands in front of her long mirror wearing her frock coat and a long, black wig. She's putting a single gold earrings through her right ear after pulling on a pair of sneakers. As Buffy turns to inspect the white cotton breaches that hug her legs, Willow calls from bathroom "Where're you meeting Angel?"

"Here. After trick-or-treating. Mom's gonna be out." Buffy answered

"Does he know about your costume?" Willow asks.

"Nope. Call it a blast from his past. I'll show him I can coif with the best of 'em." Buffy said, turning to bathroom door. "Okay, Willow, come out. You can't hide in there all night." she adds.

"O-okay, but, but promise you won't laugh?" Willow asked nervously.

"I promise." Buffy answered.

Willow opened the door and came out wearing boots, a short, black leather skirt and a burgundy, long-sleeved, V-necked, midriff-baring top. Nervous and uncomfortable, Willow quickly stepped over to her ghost sheet and picked it up.

Buffy smiled. "Wow! You're a dish!" she exclaimed as Willow tried to hide herself with the sheet. "I mean, really." Buffy added as she took the sheet from her and tossed it aside.

"But this just isn't me." Willow said as she covered herself with her arms.

Buffy walked around Willow to show her the mirror "And that's the point. Look, Halloween is the night that not you, is You, but not, You. Y'know?" Tilting her head to one side, Buffy looked at Willow. "There's something missing." She stated. Grinning mischievously, Buffy pulled something from a small shopping bag and stepped behind Willow.

Willow gasped as Buffy quickly fastened a leather collar around her neck. "Buffy! what are you doing?" Willow exclaimed as she lifted a hand to the collar.

"Well, you have to follow the theme tonight Willow." Buffy explained. "If I'm gonna be Colleen. Then you have to be Aimee." Buffy added.

"B-but... but..." Willow stammered as the front doorbell rang.

Buffy dragged a protesting Willow downstairs. Pausing in front of the door, she showed Willow a metal tag the size of a silver dollar with the name Aimee written on it. "You said you'd help me. Y'know to show Angel that modern girls are just as interesting as those he knew in the past." Hiding some more writing on the back with her thumb, quickly fastened it to the front of the collar as she added "You promised."

Willow swallowed nervously. "Yeah. O-o-okay." she said.

"Cool! I can't wait for the boys to go non-verbal when they see you!" Buffy said as she opened the door.

Xander enters saluting with his toy rifle in his hand. "Gunnery sergeant Harris reporting for..." Xander pauses as he gets a good look at Buffy. "Buffy! Leader of Buffdom, Captain of the good ship Buffonia, I am in awe! That's what a real power suit should look like!"

Buffy bowed. "Thank you, gunny." she said. As Xander saluted, she added "But wait till you see..." She stepped to one side revealing Willow. "...Aimee, the slave girl."

Willow stood there looking vulnerable, and incredibly sexy. "Hi." She whispered.

Xander just stared at her with his mouth open. Buffy, grinning smugly, waved them towards the door. "Come on, time to pick up those kids from school."