Sunnydale, October 30th 1997

Buffy and Willow had gone looking for Halloween costumes while - curiously enough - Xander did the same, but on his own.

He looked around the store, Ethan's Costume Shop, aiming to find something cheap. He was thinking of going as a soldier, but the soldier costumes were either gone or too expensive for him for him to buy. { Thanks a lot for running my fatigues at home, drunken useless parents... }

Also, all the toy machine guns were sold out. { What the heck. Maybe I could go as a cowboy? } Xander thought to himself.

Frowning, Xander found a toy revolver in the cheap bin. Not far away, he also found a typical gunslinger outfit; a cowboy hat, shirt, pants and even boots. The entire cowboy costume was black. { Whatever, guess I found something to dress up as for Halloween this year. }

Ethan Rayne smiled evilly to himself. { Ah, good. The Slayer's friend has found the Gunslinger costume. } Ethan walked up to his latest customer and said, "How may I help you?"

"Uh, how much is the cowboy costume?" Xander indicated the black outfit.

Ethan smirked. "I'd say you're in luck, we're having a sale today. I'm willing to rent you the outfit for, say, ten dollars?"

Xander couldn't believe his luck. Still, by this point in his life, he knew better than just take such an offer at face value. "Not sure if I can afford that."

"If you buy the set with the boots, I'll let it go for twenty dollars. I'll even throw in a gun holster for free?" Ethan smiled smarmily.

"DEAL!"

Moments later, Xander left the Halloween costume store with his new purchase. He went home and hid it in his closet - hoping and praying his drunken excuses for parents didn't find the outfit before tomorrow. The following afternoon, Xander left his house and headed to Buffy's place to meet Willow and her there. He knocked at the door, and Mrs. Summers quickly opened up.

"Hello, Xander. Buffy and Willow should down any moment," Buffy's mom smiled at him.

"Thanks, Mrs. Summers." He made his way inside and waited a few moments, before Buffy came downstairs dressed in a 18th century dress. "Looking good, Buff."

"Thanks, Xander. Great cowboy costume," the love of his life grinned at him.

Xander did his best to repress the fact that Buffy didn't feel the same way about him that he did about her. "Is Willow done? You know how the troll will be if we're late..."

"Yeah, she should be down any second. And I gotta tell you..."

At that moment, Willow finally came down the stairs. Buffy sighed, seeing Willow with a white sheet over her head. "...she's right here."

"Going as Casper, Willow?" Xander joked. "Same as you've done the last six years, huh?"

That remark was enough for Buffy to put her foot down. "Willow, I spent ages trying to - oh, please, just take off that stupid chain rattler outfit!" the Slayer ordered with a frown on her face.

Willow rolled her eyes under the sheet. "Fine, sheesh..."

She took off the white sheet and put it on a nearby chair. Xander's eyes nearly bulged out as he saw Willow was dressed like a rock 'n roll groupie. { I never saw Willow wear something like that before. She looks... hot, } he thought to himself in amazement. { Don't say anything lame, dude. Heck, don't say anything at all. Odds are with uncomfortable as Will is looking, you'll just get her mad at you! }

Xander looked at his wrist before remembering he wasn't wearing a watch. "We should go, before the troll gives us detention during the weekend."

"I can give you kids a ride to school," Mrs. Summers offered politely.

Both Xander and Willow thanked Buffy's mom and they all got into the Summers jeep.

Elsewhere, the bad guy started chuckling to himself. { Everything is going as planned, } Jareth thought to himself.

Back in Sunnydale, Ethan had just started setting up the chaos spell, as Mrs. Summers dropped the three teens off at the school.

"I'll be working late at the gallery, Buffy. Don't be too late arriving home tonight, okay?" Joyce asked her daughter.

"No problem, mom."

Buffy, Willow and Xander wave goodbye as the Summers-mobile took off. A few minutes later, the teenage trio walked through the main hall of the school to pick up their kids and take them trick or treating.

But unfortunately, they ran into the troll himself along the way - Principal H. R. Snyder.

"You three made it on time. I was about to give out weekend detentions for showing up late. Now get going, and take the little brats trick or treating." With that said, the high school fuhrer left.

"What a dick," Xander snorted to himself.

"You can say that again." Buffy sighed, before the three friends split up.

Roughly ninety minutes or so later that night, Ethan cast the chaos spell on everyone wearing a cursed costume. "Showtime..."

Jareth watched the human residents of Sunnydale be attacked by people that had become their Halloween costumes. He noted with interest how Xander had become the robot Gunslinger from the Westworld theme park...

The black-clad android started firing his revolver at people both wearing costumes and not wearing costumes. It was enough to give the demon ideas...

"Xander!" Willow yelled, but the Gunslinger just opened fire at the ghost. "Wha - no! Stop shooting!"

"What are you?" the Gunslinger, pausing for a moment.

"I'm Willow, of course! You -" The Gunslinger abruptly stuck his arm through her non-corporeal body. "Hey! Cut that out, mister, it's not funny!"

"Typical saloon girl, even if you are dressed somewhat oddly. You are of no interest to me," the Gunslinger snorted, before walking away in search for new targets. Willow would have followed him, but then she realized...

"BUFFY!"

Later that night, the Gunslinger encountered Larry Blaisdell the pirate. He was about to attack Buffy, when the Gunslinger fired his revolver at the pirate's hand. The robot was unsure why his targeting systems didn't let him aim for the brain instead, but there was no time to contemplate that as the Gunslinger opened fire.

The sword dropped to the ground. Buffy pushed the surprised pirate away, and frantically tried to escape...