Lorne spent the next four hours giving the real deal on the demonic political and criminal situations in Southern California as he understood them. Where they hang out, who celebrity-wise was really a demon or part-demon, who needed the most help against the bad ones, and other helpful stuff. Xander and Dawn, with the occasion follow-up by Jenny, resulted in many gaps being filled in, and a couple of vampires let slip for a few rounds of blood (the good stuff) that it was either the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or a City Councilman for sure as the one they were seeking out in the supernatural power structure of the Hell Mouth. Occasionally, for a few repeat songs, more food and drink would show up, including to those willing to provide desired information.
Xander woke the next morning in a very strange place, with a warm female body leaning against him. 'Clothes on me? Check. Clothes on whoever she is? Check. Able to get up and out from around her? Hmmm, check.' Xander smiled as he opened his eyes and slowly shifted out from under Dawn, slipping a large throw pillow under her as a replacement. He remembered they'd called Joyce and told her they would be staying over at Jenny's place, and would come by around mid-morning. Looking at the clock as he entered the kitchen and surveyed the available groceries, he began to cook breakfast, chopping up some of the veggies about to decline, and refigure them as omelet ingredients. The sounds and smells of his efforts drew the attention of the womenfolk a few minutes later, Jenny in a tight black silk knee-length robe, and Dawn in just an oversized t-shirt and shorts borrowed from Jenny. Yawning, they both sat down as the strong coffee finished brewing. Dawn smiled and play-whined.
"I want fancy coffee, Xa-a-ander," she painfully poked at him, "At least foam." He smirked shook his head and came back in a moment, placing plates before them. He proceeded to shake the half and half almost into butter then let the cold froth ooze out of the carton's opening to add 'foam' to their coffees, then reached over and squirted thin lines of chocolate syrup in a swirl atop.
"There, now you can pay me triple for your coffee," he smirked as he sat, "Not including gratuity." Dawn smirked, and a little more awake as she began eating she drew on her experiences to purr.
"You have two young women in almost nothing eating breakfast with you and that's not reward enough," she softly and sultrily stage-whispered. He actually started to blush as the three of them broke out in laughter and dug heartily into their food.
After dropping off Dawn at her mother's house, Jenny and Xander drove over to the Library. They found Giles and Willow talking, and Willow petting Phil the Groundhog. Xander noted anew how attractive she was, needing only to dress with a little more confidence to seal his fate. It was just his luck to be surrounded by attractive young women and to know by picking only one of them, he could hurt the others. And with his feelings for Buffy dimmed for the last several months (you can only deal with 'Lady Buffy' so many times before you want to flee in terror), the more attainable gals were driving him crazy.
"Hello, Rupert," the techno-pagan greeted her almost-boyfriend, "You missed the most amazing thing I've seen in my life, all the Hell Mouth stuff included." She smirked, looking at Xander as she sat down.
"O-Oh, and what could compare to a chaos mage turning everybody into their costumes?" Giles asked, then realized how he'd known to stop Ethan's madness.
"Oh, how about Dawn and Xander as Karla DeVito and Meatloaf in a demon karaoke bar singing Paradise by the Dashboard Light, and Bat Out of Hell before the spell stopped, then going another two hours keeping it up, adding in Hendrix, Grace Slick and more Meatloaf. Fyarl demons and Polgarans joining them atop tables and chairs, and the owner telling them that their decisions will determine if the universe will continue?" Willow and Giles stared wide-eyed at Xander, who smiled without comment.
"I-I suppose you win, but I need to know how Xander a-and I guess Dawn, knew to leave me a letter about when to deal with the owner of the costume shop?"
"I'm seven months into a temporal loop, in which every day starts at two-thirty yesterday and goes until the same time today," Xander replied, "And Dawnie somehow joined the ride a couple months ago."
"I knew I'd regret asking," the librarian sighed, "Have you made any progress on getting yourself out of it?"
"Some, but it was more from a theoretical scientific analysis of the situation, than the supernatural," Xander replied maturely, "And while I know it started because I dressed as a 'day-repeater' I suspect that between the way Phil got out of it and whatever weirdness Drusilla seemed to go on about, we'll be able to fix this."
"Who's Drusilla, Xander?" Willow asked.
"Oh, she's a seer driven mad by Angelus and then turned," Xander replied, "She's mentally broken but still seems to do the seeing thing. Her main voice in the head, Miss Edith, told her that I'll send Dru away and Miss Edith will see the day when I accept things. And I'm not the most-acceptant guy right now, I admit."
"S-So what you're saying is that it will require you to be, be happy with yourself, the whole world or some such and time will cease to loop in on itself?" Giles mused aloud, "But that doesn't really account for Dawn, does it?"
"Maybe she's the key to my accepting the whole thing?" Xander responded, "I was pretty much sipping beer and bowling with demons and bikers when Dawn joined the Resets. I had over ten thousand years of pretty rough memories that weighed me down, and even though we're gathering intel and killing the bad guys now, I'm really running on momentum. Last night was good, if a bit strange."
"Good Lord! How are you coping?" the Watcher asked.
"I'm letting Dawnie have a little lee-way with some of the costumes," he replied with mock-disbelief at himself and rolled his eyes, "And we sometimes take time off to train in the skills we pick up and go kill things."
"Well, I suppose that makes sense, but if you can, please start researching ways of breaking the loop," Rupert directed, "After all, the universe is somewhat important."
Xander explained many of the abilities and skills he now possessed, and the small group discussed with surprise honesty on Xander's part, his life and the things he'd need to compensate for inadequacies that he perceives in himself. Powers, a background of personal power, training by experts, a life of recognized service, emancipation from his parents were all discussed. Then based on Xander's perceptions of various figures, they discussed possible mental 'fits' with such figures, and Xander soon had a list, in some case even an order of incremental wearing of the costumes to fill things in, while recognizing they'd all need to help him making it all a reality after the Reset was ended. He'd already let Dawn know he was going to emphasize the phase he was entering in, liking their forays into the seediness of the bars and the rough edge that provided a change of pace from the same Helloween they'd gone through.
The Reset went off as usual, Xander finding himself in the Library, but this time he'd felt something 'click' at the edge of his mind. He made his regular strafing of money, car keys and headed out the door. Dawn and he had decided on a couple of loops apart, with her getting in some time with her mom and some of her own friends again to keep grounded. Xander made a quick transfer in funds from an illicit account and then phoned in the purchases of five classic cars he'd noted as being up for sale in Los Angeles. He told them that he'd agree to three hundred-fifty thousand if delivered in two hours to Jenny Calendar at Sunnydale High School. He also made sure to leave money in his account.
Xander left Giles' keys, drove to Ethan's and got down to business.
"Can I help you again, young man?" the annoyed chaos mage asked. "I'm just about to close."
"Yeah, man," Xander began, "I'm supposed to go to a costume party later with a bunch of classic car crazies and a few teachers at school, and I thought I'd go as someone from their generation. I got a list here and my friend Giles helped me make sure it was authentic enough."
"Rupert Giles?" the shopkeeper asked, suddenly interested.
"Yeah, and his girlfriend's actually going as Cathy, my character's love interest," Xander smirked, "I figured I'd intellectually tweak the Brit. Oh, I need an extra overcoat and sword, a friend is going as an Immortal. Oh, do you take debit?"
"Well…" the shopkeeper feigned a tired grimace, and handed over the debit unit, "I suppose I can find something…it's a shame you don't have the car."
"Ah, but I do," Xander smirked again, "And I figured I'd be taking her for a good long ride later."
'Maybe not just the car young man,' the shopkeeper smirked as he went in back to juice up the magic on these costumes, 'Ripper might not just be losing a Slayer tonight.'
Fifteen minutes later, with four hundred cash in his wallet and dressed appropriately, Xander smiled as he double-checked to make sure the 'official' paperwork and fake money had been left in the costume as he'd hoped. He headed out to Giles' car and headed down the street to the ATM, stopped at the store for two hundred dollars in candy on his debit card, then drove back to the school by four o'clock.
"Harris!" Snyder screamed out at him, "You're almost late. Here are your kids." Willow and Buffy watched as Xander whispered something into the troll's ear, then shook hands slowly. "I understand, Mr. Harris, schoolwork comes first. And I'll have Mr. Giles take the children out." Xander handed the extra coat and sword to the frustrating man, who left for the Library right away.
"What did you say to him Xander?" Willow, Buffy nodding in confusion.
"I offered him three hundred dollars and told him I wanted to be excused for school reasons or I'd leak his 'extra funding sources' to the press."
"What extra sources?" Buffy asked.
"I'll tell you later, Buff, but right now I have to go see Ms. Calendar about something before she heads home," Xander replied, then quickly removed Willow's sheet, "Willow, I'm not worthy of you, but we'll talk sometime soon, okay? Oh, if something weird happens, Giles is going to be with you so please keep an eye on him alright? And distribute this pile of candy to your kids as starter candy. Oh, and at six o'clock, open this envelope."
Five minutes later, he was walking into Ms. Calendar's room as she was finally getting ready to leave.
"Hey Gypsy Princess, in one hour you'll be in for the ride of your life if you help me out," Xander flirted excessively, letting a bit of the Methos and the Vic Deakins out to play. Dressed in a suit with a camel hair overcoat and old police-issue revolver, he handed her a boxed costume.
"I'm not sure how to respond to that," the hot teacher replied, the gypsy reference countering the overt flirtation in his statement, "And what's this?"
"That is a costume that matches mine, a period piece if you will, and in another forty or fifty minutes I'm having a dream car delivered. You're the only adult I trust to sign for it legally and be willing to go driving in it with me."
"And if I refuse?"
"Why would you refuse?"
"What was the gypsy line about?"
"You mean the allusion to your being here to keep an eye on Angelus?"
"How do you know about that?"
"What part are you talking about?" he replied as he brought up a connection to his bank account.
"The part of my being part of the clan that cursed him?"
"Not the other part?"
"You mean the making sure he remains unhappy to keep the curse in place?"
"You mean the curse I haven't figured out how it gets broken?"
"That one."
"Actually, I wasn't going to say anything to anybody, I was asking you to go driving with me, and Gypsy Princess was meant as a term of endearment."
"And if I refuse to…date you?"
"It isn't a date, and I'm not trying to blackmail you."
"How can I believe you?"
"Because if I wanted to compel you, I would just show you my bank account, and tell you the car is a mint-condition GT500E," he responded, waving at the screen. She clicked the mouse and determined the large balance was legit.
"How?"
"It used to Pablo Escobar's, and it's been forgotten by everybody but me."
"That's dangerous, Alexander."
"It's who I've really become, Janna."
"You seem to be more serious than usual."
"In the last seven months, my life has changed dramatically, I'm a serious guy now, and I wanted to have fun with someone closer to my mental and emotional age."
"Is that flattery?"
"Truth, Janna, truth, all I wanted was to drive through the night, maybe to Vegas or Tijuana, or the Bay Area, then come back tomorrow some time."
"That's all?"
"I was thinking that dinner, breakfast, and the occasional stop for coffee in an all-night diner might break up it up a bit."
"What's with the costumes?"
"Mood."
Mood? I'm almost afraid to ask."
"Ambiance, then. Clothes that fit the car and the driving. Though if you get drunk and really think this coat and old suit are sexy then feel free to attack me while we're having pie in San Diego or at Binion's Horseshoe."
"Just a drive?"
"When was the last time you let go and just dropped everything for a while?"
"Years, you?"
"Never, really, that's why I'm asking someone who can appreciate it to go with me?"
"What about Rupert?"
"I paid Snyder to have him take my place with kiddy duty." Jenny laughed at this revelation.
"How much?"
"A couple hundred?"
"A couple hundred just so you could go driving with me?"
"If you put it that way I should probably give Snyder a couple thousand since just being with you for a few moments is worth it?"
"Now you're laying it thick…"
"You better hurry up and say 'yes' to the drive or I'll have to keep it up?"
"I don't think you're capable of it, but I'm so not going to get into it with you young man."
"Then why don't you get ready, the car'll be delivered soon."
Barstow, California, 6:35 PM
Frank and Cathy pulled into the diner at the truck stop.
"Frank?" she said as she took her head off his shoulder.
"Yeah, hon?" the young-looking police lieutenant responded.
"I don't really care all that much if for some reason we end up looking like this, as long as we're together, Mr. Bullitt."
"I feel the same way, Mrs. Bullitt," he responded as they kissed quickly and parted to get out of the car at this truck stop. Holding hands they walked into the eating establishment as the spell wore off and Jenny faltered.
"You okay, hon?" the waitress about to seat them asked, "The freshenin' room is back and to the right if you need it." Jenny nodded and headed that way as Xander sat down in a booth. A few minutes later she came back out, looking disturbed but less pale. A quiet minute after that, the waitress came over to take their orders and left.
"I figure we'll be in Vegas in three or four hours, unless you'd rather go to Laughlin?" he remarked as they sipped their coffees.
"Um, shouldn't we be thinking of heading back to Sunnydale after what happened?"
"Why? Nothing happened. Let's keep driving."
"Did you know this would happen?"
"I was hoping it wouldn't, but when it happened I knew nothing, you know, would happen."
"I'm having trust issues here, Frank, I mean Alexander."
"If I wanted more than the drive, we'd have flown to Vegas and you'd be slapping my face right now and screaming."
"Why didn't you tell me about the magic?"
"Like I said, I hoped the magic wouldn't follow us, and you'd've wanted to stay in Sunnydale when I needed to et out."
"And why would that be wrong?"
"Okay, short version is I'm time-looping and have been doing the Sunnydale on Halloween for months now. I've dressed as many different people, some of them real, some of them as characters from well-known movies and television shows. As a result, I'm potentially one of the most dangerous humans you'll ever meet. I really just wanted a relatively normal night away, and what I told you before is the truth. Just the drive and the road trip, hon, nothing but friendship. Though if I ever feel half of what Frank felt for Cathy, I'll count myself lucky and hope it's someone at least half as smart as you."
"Oh, Alexander, I'm sure everything will be fine," she sighed as four men flashing yellow eyes grabbed a young well-dressed couple and put the hurt on two bodyguard types. She looked at Xander, who reached for his gun after tossing cash on the table, "I guess I jinxed us."
Sunnydale High School Library, 9:00 PM
Giles, Buffy, Angel, Cordelia and Willow were just entering the Library after an extensive search for Jenny and Xander when the telephone rang.
"Sunnydale High School Library, Rupert Giles speaking."
"Jenny! W-Where are you? Is Xander with you?"
"Las Vegas!"
"Where!"
"Good Lord!"
"You're sure you're okay?"
"What happened!"
"Good Lord!"
"A-are you sure?"
"When does it get in? Eightish? When did Xander get a car?"
"A what!"
"Good Lord, no wonder you're already there."
"How many police!"
"And they're releasing you?"
"My Lord."
"Y-Yes, we'll see you at the airport at eight or so."
"Yes, yes, tell Xander we'll go to brunch. Bye."
The others looked up from the table with concern. Buffy was the first to break the silence as Giles frowned in concentration.
"Okay, Giles, spill," the Slayer pressed.
"Apparently Xander and Ms. Calendar are at a wedding chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a very long and dangerous car chase."
"Wedding Chapel? Car Chase? That's only three and a half hours for a six hour drive!" The girls called out in surprise."
"I-I don't think they got married, but apparently some vampires grabbed some people while Jenny and Xander were having dinner in Barstow…"
"Barstow!"
"Y-yes, apparently their costumes were Frank and Cathy Bullitt from the Steve McQueen movie."
"That would explain the driving, staying alive and the good lords…" Angel interrupted with a small smile.
"Why's that?" Willow asked. The girls all looked confused as the men sighed.
"Don't you watch any movies made before the nineties?" Giles sighed, Angel coming to his rescue.
"Bullitt was a movie that had one of the greatest car chases of all time in it…in San Francisco. If Xander dressed up as Frank Bullitt, an Interstate chase would be nothing."
Jenny placed the receiver back on the cradle as she looked up at the sea of flashing lights surrounding her, competing on an equal basis with the casino lights. Xander's hand was being shaken by a well-suited man who'd just gotten out of a helicopter and hugged the girl that had been grabbed along with her fiancée back in Barstow. With two Nevada State Highway patrolmen protecting her as she walked over to the happy group, she found herself introduced to the Governor of Nevada.
"And I want both of you to know I'm extremely grateful for both of you saving my little girl and my future son-in-law," the man emphasized, looking at the Sheriff of Clark County.
"No actual accidents on the highway were attributable to you, and we've talked to the other Sheriff's Departments, so no speeding tickets or charges this time," the law enforcement official stressed, "Just…ninety-five verbal warnings from the various jurisdictions to not repeat it." The Sheriff paused, and then asked, "Mr. Harris, after driving at speeds approaching two hundred miles per hour, did you really turn over control of your vehicle, climb out the window and at a speed exceeding eighty miles per hour jump into the back of a 'runaway' convertible and bring it under control?"
"Um, yes?" the youth replied.
"Please don't drive in my county for at least the next few years, okay?'
"I'll try…"