Summary: Yet another Halloween fic. With demons.

Disclaimer: I own... hmm. I own nothing. The bank owns any money I make, at the moment. The concepts building 1001Keys do not belong to me, most probably.

Feedback: Why not? It helps me write more and better...

Pre-fic Comments:

This part has the filename of btvs.au.16.16.txt. Note the repetition :)

No one responded to my comment about writing parts in exchange for shortfics where I specify the cross, so I'll continue writing whatever I feel like writing.

Sorry that this part doesn't have Xander in all of it. I figured that y'all might wanna know what else goes on in this fic.

* * *

Ford sat at his table at the Sunset Club, trying to think past the terrific pain in his skull.

That girl at Buffy's new school had had slitted eyes. That girl had been extremely defensive, and did not appear adventurous enough to buy custom contact lenses. They just weren't in fashion at the moment, and therefore out of character for her, from what he had observed.

What was her name? Ah, yes. 'Cordelia'. Cordelia had also appeared far more repulsed by the other girl's perfume, far more than the ghastly smell of it should have warranted.

Super senses, slitted eyes, and she could walk around in sunlight. Perhaps he didn't have to forfeit the daytime.

* * *

Cordelia brushed her hair, smiling. Her father had bought her a new shirt, today. She was rather looking forwards to wearing it to school tomorrow.

Then a man in a black tracksuit burst into her room. The asshole had a balaclava over his head, so she couldn't recognise him. But, for some reason, he seemed familiar. Something about the smell of him, dead flowers...

"Ouch!," Cordelia snapped, or tried to. The stranger had put her in a lock, or hold of some sort while she was daydreaming about his scent! True, she now had some funky kind of strength, but she didn't know how to use it! It was Summer's job to save her from this kinda stuff!

Her and the Slayer were gonna have /words/ when she met up with her tomorrow.

"Mfff mff, mffmff!"

"Give me a moment," the man said, voice intentionally harsh and high pitched.

He drew out a slim knife. Cordelia stiffened for a moment, then tried to get out of the hold even more. He slid it across her right forearm, watching in fascination as the clean cut seemed to draw itself closed right behind the slowly moving knife.

Cordelia /hated/ this! She had to get away from this /freak!/

"Bite me," the man commanded, baring a forearm and shoving it under her suddenly released mouth. Queen C complied, trying to hurt him. As the man involuntarily winced, she took advantage of that to throw him onto the floor. The man grew a couple feet in height, as golden fur sprouted on the man's bare skin, black spots of fur scattered through the gold. Rosettes of black fur could be seen, where the black track pants did not meet his sweater, and his face and the front fur of his body was pale gold, almost white. The puncture wounds from where Cordelia had bit him healed smoothly, until there was no indication that the arm had been hurt at all.

"It's gone...," the man whispered, dropping the harsh whisper.

"What, brainiac?," Cordelia snapped. "The insides of your skull? I'm calling nine one one on you!"

"The pain's gone," the man continued, staring at his hands until Cordelia's taunting got through to him.

"... and you're gonna be locked up for a million years, and I'll drop by every now and again and make fun of you," she finished up.

He jumped through the open window, running with newly-gained unusual speed.

"Get back here!," Cordelia roared, gaining a couple feet height and fur herself as she shook a fist at the fleeing stranger in anger. "Get back here so I can hurt you!"

* * *

"Buffy!," Ford called out as he spotted her, Xander, and Willow across the courtyard at SunnyD High.

"Ford," Buffy returned cordially.

"I had a great time last night," Ford said conversationally. "Best time, ever!"

"Well, you're standing in daylight, so that's a plus," Xander joked. Willow winced slightly under her wide-brimmed hat, at that comment.

"I'm glad," Buffy said, arms crossed under her breasts confrontationally.

"Do you wanna go out tonight? Celebration?," Ford asked.

"Not busy," Buffy allowed.

"Oook. Me Buffy. Slay good," Xander joked, throwing in a few more orang-utan-ish 'ooks' after that.

Ford laughed at that.

"Oh my God!," a familiar voice exclaimed from behind Ford. His face paled as he recognised it. "It was YOU! They are gonna throw your ass in JAIL and throw away the key!"

"Cordelia?," Xander asked. "What's this vamp-lover done?"

The socialite queen scowled deeply at the newcomer to Sunnydale. If looks could kill, Ford would be six feet under. "He invaded my home and cut me!"

"You don't understand!," Ford protested.

"Try us," Buffy said. Her arms remained crossed. "Go on, we'd love to know all about your little vampire-club and what you do to girls."

Ford pulled a jar of pills out of a pocket, looking at them thoughtfully. He then threw them to the Scoobies. "Recognise these?"

"Nope," Xander shrugged, passing them to Willow.

"Omigoddess!," Willow gasped. "They only give these out... to... cancer..."

Ford nodded. "In six months, I would have died. It would have been bald, and shrivelled, and stunk to high heaven, and wouldn't have even looked like me!"

Cordelia wavered at this. "That's no excuse! You don't go invading people's houses, Frankenstein! Summers, you're supposed to protect us from creeps like this!"

"Hang on," Xander interrupted. "Does this mean he's got a major shaving problem now?"

Ford grinned madly, pointing at his slitted eyes.

Buffy looked at Ford thoughtfully. "We're friends, Ford. But please, stay away from Sunnydale. There're too many vampires and demons around here for you to test your new mojo."

The boy looked at the Slayer sadly. "But..."

"Do you know just how close you came to losing your soul?!," Buffy yelled, finally blowing up.

"But--"

"NO! Ford, get out of town!," Buffy yelled.

Her old friend from Hemery High turned, hurt, and left the school grounds.

"Harsh," Willow said.

Buffy looked up. Her eyes were suspiciously liquid. "I... I don't want him to get hurt if I lose control..."

* * *

Post-fic Comments

Different, no?