See Part One for Disclaimer and details. Greetings to you, my faithful readers and reviewers, and welcome to the latest chapter of the story! First off - thank you, Bill, for the latest plug concerning this story. 'Tis most appreciated! Now, a lot of people have asked, given the last few lines of the previous chapter, whether or not Xander is going to become a vampire in this fanfic. Mea culpa – all I meant was that Xander will take Spike's place as the outsider of the group, as seen in the later seasons of the show. Seriously, would I make the guy into an evil creature of the night that eventually turns every girl on the show into a member of his harem? No, don't answer that; one, it would mean that I'm getting far too predictable in my storylines, and two, it would give people ideas, and I truly suck at writing smut...
Part Five: Reunion
City Hall, Sunnydale
October 27th, 1997
Mayor Richard Wilkins the Third (and the Second, and the First) leaned back in his chair within his private office, as he studied the report in his hands.
Like the members of the recently defunct Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity, Richard was a demon worshipper. Unlike those frat boys, however, Wilkins had sold his soul for eternal youth during the previous century – and he'd set up Sunnydale as a vampire and demon paradise during the early 1900's, as part of his evil plan to eventually achieve Ascension.
A ritual to shed his human form and become a pure demon – one of the Old Ones themselves, who had been banished from this reality long ago, and whom the Master had tried to bring back both this year and during 1937.
( It's almost a shame I couldn't let that old buzzard go through with his plan to open up the Hellmouth and destroy the world, ) Richard thought with a sigh. ( Not to mention being unable to tell that collection of white hats that without my covert help, there'd be Hell on Earth right now. Oh well, all good things in time – there's only another eighteen months or so to go before the big A-day, after all. )
"Mayor Wilkins, your eleven o'clock appointment is here," the tinny voice of his secretary came through Richard's intercom. Even though it was nearly midnight instead of lunchtime, like it would have been at almost any other City Hall. But then, nearly all of Richard's most important constituents conducted their business after sundown, and so it behooved the Mayor to work ridiculously long hours – even though he didn't actually live at City Hall, like some people suspected.
"That's fine, Carol. Show them in," Wilkins said back through the intercom before standing up from his chair.
"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," the bespectacled vampire known as Dalton said to the Mayor, as he, the Anointed One and a blonde female vampire – the same one that had previously been destined to steal a book called the du Lac manuscript from Giles in a few weeks' time – stepped into the office.
"Well, it's always a pleasure for me to meet with the residents of my town," Wilkins said charmingly.
"YOUR town?" the female vampire said with a sneer on her face. "This is OUR town, human!"
"Well, now, little lady, it seems to me we have a slight difference of opinion here," Wilkins said, his smile not flickering even for an instant. "Ignis."
The vampiress immediately screamed in pain, having burst into flames thanks to the Mayor's minor fire spell. Her arms flailing about, the soulless demon quickly disintegrated into ashes as the Mayor watched the spectacle with only academic interest.
"Now, where were we? Ah yes, I was just welcoming you into my personal domain," Wilkins resumed the conversation as if nothing untoward had happened. "So, what can I do for you gentlemen this evening?"
"It, uh, it's come to our attention that you're the power behind the scenes here in Sunnydale," Dalton said rather nervously, darting an eye in the direction of the dust particles that had been his fellow vampire. "Thus, we were wondering if some sort of accommodation could be reached. Apparently, you met with the Master sixty years ago..."
"And the poor fellow just wouldn't listen to me, when I warned him not to try to open that pesky Hellmouth. Good gosh, it took engineering an earthquake for me to stop that infernal old genius dead in his tracks," Wilkins reminisced. "I tell you, the clean-up ordeal afterwards was just utterly horrendous as well! Icky germs all over the place, completely unsanitary."
"I see," Dalton replied, quickly sending a look towards the Anointed One. "But, uh, if we could focus back on the here and now..."
"Of course, of course," Richard smiled in a chipper sort of way, before deciding to sit down in his chair. "Well, as you might know, I try to keep things as orderly as possible here in Sunnydale. The police and other city officials take their orders from me; they always have, and always will. That's why I think it's possible for us to set up some sort of live and let live arrangement, at least for the short term-"
"No."
The abrupt, one-word answer from Collin both startled Dalton and completely wiped the smile from Richard's face. "Excuse me, young man?" the Mayor demanded.
"I said no," the Anointed One calmly, the little boy vampire staring Wilkins directly in the eye. "There will be no 'live and let live' arrangement, as you put it."
"Well, now, that's unfortunate," Wilkins said regretfully. "Because if you're not going to play ball, well – I'm afraid this interview is over. And so are you, in a manner of speaking."
"No," Collin said in the same calm manner that was beginning to annoy the Mayor.
"What do you mean, no?" Richard demanded.
"Exactly what I said, Mr. Wilkins. Do you know what your problem is? You're just like everyone else. You underestimate me because of my physical form," Collin replied, suddenly going into his vampire face like Dalton.
"Oh, I hardly think so," Richard smirked. "Ignis!"
Unfortunately, this time the spell failed to work; because by now City Hall had been invaded by the vampires loyal to the Anointed One, and one of Collin's minions was chanting a Babylonian anti-magic protection spell outside the office – the same one Anyanka would have used in another timeline, to briefly halt the rampage of an evil black-haired Willow Rosenberg.
"What the heck is going on here-?" Wilkins started to glare at his undead constituents.
Richard's eyes then widened his disbelief, as the Anointed One withdrew a simple dagger from behind his back. Thanks to his superhuman vampire strength and speed, the soulless demon in the body of a prepubescent boy was able to let fly and penetrate the Mayor's right eye with the weapon, all the way to the hilt of the blade.
Just like that. No posturing, no speeches, just a quick economical movement and problem solved for the Anointed One.
As all his planning and sacrifices for a century went down the drain, the last thing that went through Richard's head – other than that dagger – was to wonder how the dickens that little shrimp had ever gotten the better of him...
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
October 29th, 1997
The death of the Mayor was big news, oddly enough, in a town where both kids and adults were murdered every night by Sunnydale's 'gang problem'.
Both above ground and below, various individuals were talking about the very public killing at City Hall the other night. In the demon community, it was widely acknowledged that the Anointed One was making a significant power play, declaring himself the master vampire of the Hellmouth; in the human community, it was hoped that the former Deputy Mayor, Allan Finch, would be able to put an end to all the 'gang violence' that plagued the town.
Here at Sunnydale High, the gossip surrounding the death of Richard Wilkins was the most likely reason why the arrival of one Alexander Harris to Sunnydale had generated so little interest amongst his peers.
( School is school anywhere you go, I guess. Man, I can't believe how much I hate this place already, ) Xander mused to himself as he walked up the steps to the high school's front doors for his first day. ( Ah well, at least Halloween's coming up soon; it's only gonna be a half-day of school on Friday. And hopefully, Rory will be too busy unpacking all his stuffed animals to want to go out trick-or-treating... )
A short distance away Buffy and Jesse were walking along, enjoying the sunshine. "So, Buffy my bestest bud, what's new?" McNally asked with a jovial air.
"According to Giles, it was definitely a vamp attack on City Hall the other night. Lots of people with bite marks, and the papers are spinning the usual story about 'wild animal attacks' as well as the murder," Buffy snorted.
"Ouch," Jesse winced. "Well, I guess it's not like they could print the truth, huh?"
"Guess not. Still, I could do with thinking about something else for a change," Buffy said wistfully.
Right on cue, Willow joined her two best friends. "Hey, did you two hear the latest? There's a new boy in school, someone just transferred here from LA..."
"Huh, how 'bout that?" Jesse smiled, sending a glance towards the Slayer. "Buffy, y'know, it wasn't all that long ago how YOU were the new arrival in Sunnydale. How's it feel knowing that someone else has finally taken that honor from you?"
"I'm pretty relaxed about it, actually," Buffy smiled back at her friend. "So, Will, did you happen to catch a name?"
"No, but – ooh, there he is!" Willow pointed towards Xander in the distance. "Y'know, he's kinda cute..."
"Cute? Willow, please. Remember last year, the boy who turned out to be a demon that you contacted on the Internet? Something which is a big, fat, no-no for us impressionable teens?" Jesse tsk'ed, referring to the Scooby Gang's encounter with the creature called Moloch the Corrupter.
"Well, it beats dating an oversized preying mantis, or-or a life-draining mummy girl," Willow retorted.
"Hey, I did not date Ms. French! She asked me over to her house, and I was just a pawn in her diabolically clever scheme for some guy to fertilize her eggs. And Ampata tricked me. She tricked all of us! I didn't know what she was when I..." Jesse trailed off, finally noticing that Buffy wasn't with him and Willow anymore. "Buff? Buffy?"
"Oh my God," Miss Summers said thickly, still staring at the door through which Xander had disappeared into a few moments ago. "What's HE doing here?"
"Buffy?" Willow asked, looking worried as her best friend plopped down onto a nearby bench. "Buffy, what's wrong?"
"The new guy, I know him. He used to go to my old high school in LA. His name's Alexander Harris," Buffy said with an odd sound in her voice. "We first met in kindergarten, actually. Kinda like you and Jesse, Will."
"Really? Well, that's great!" Willow started to babble enthusiastically. "You guys can hang out, it'll be like old times! Oh, is he boyfriend material by any chance? 'Cause if he is, maybe he can help you get over that whole 'all men are scum' thing, on account of I still think-"
"Willow? Xander wouldn't date me if I was the last woman on Earth. He has every right to hate me after what I did to him," Buffy had a very guilty look on her face as she cut her friend off mid-speech.
"Buffy, what are ya talkin' about?" Jesse asked, looking concerned.
"Uh, there was a time before I became the Slayer – well, I, I wasn't exactly a very nice person. No, let's not sugarcoat it; I was the Cordelia Chase of Hemery High," Buffy confessed, looking more than a little blame-worthy.
"Oh, Buffy, I'm sure you weren't that bad-" Willow automatically refused to believe it.
"Willow? Pretty much everything Cordelia did to you over the years, I did it to Xander – despite the fact that he was my best friend when we were in elementary school," Buffy continued to confess painfully.
"What?" Willow said aghast at the same time Jesse asked in confusion, "Why?"
"Why? Why does any popular girl do things like that to the school geeks and outcasts?" Buffy asked rhetorically, glancing away guiltily. Her voice was filled with regret as she continued, "It was different at first, you know how little kids are; money and status don't mean much. But my family was relatively wealthy, and he didn't have anyone apart from his struggling taxidermist uncle, and unfortunately..."
Buffy shrugged weakly. "As we got older, we grew apart so much that I – in ninth grade, my girl friends and I humiliated Xander in front of the entire school.
"And it wasn't for revenge, or anything like that," the Slayer shamefully admitted. "I did it just 'cause I could." At the look of disbelief from her friends, Buffy again looked away to keep from meeting their eyes. "It took me becoming the Slayer and losing my own popularity to realize just how much of a selfish bitch I was, back then."
Willow and Jesse both stared in horrified incredulity, seeing the sad and pensive expression on their friend's face before Buffy got up and headed for the school building. The two Slayerettes followed in numb shock, still finding it practically impossible to believe that their spiritual leader could have had such a dark side in the years before they'd known her.
The Bronze, Sunnydale
Later that night
Cordelia Chase was on the prowl within the popular teen hangout this evening, because her current boyfriend Devon MacLeish hadn't shown up for their date on time. Walking around her domain, Queen C spotted Lance Brooks not far away, as well as that letterman jacket of his. ( That's odd. Why is it every time I see that guy, I get crazy butterflies in my stomach if he's wearing that jacket of his – but if he isn't, it's like so what, blah-blah-blippity-blah? )
Cordelia was about to investigate further, when she caught sight of the new boy in town sitting alone at a table.
( Hmm, ) the cheerleader thought to herself, checking Xander out. ( Not bad. He'll never be a male supermodel or anything, but he does have that wholesome boy-next-door look working for him. Full lips, big brown eyes, decent cheekbones – what the hell! I'm bored nearly out of my brain here... )
"Hi! I'm Cordelia Chase. And you are?" Cordy came up to Xander's table and gave him her patented megawatt smile.
Xander looked surprised that Cordelia was actually talking to him; he didn't have much experience hanging with a hot-looking babe like her. So he looked around and said, "You're talking to me, right?"
"Well, duh! Do you see anyone else at this table?" Cordelia raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at him.
"Right. Sorry. I'm Alexander Harris, but my friends call me Xander," Harris introduced himself politely as Cordelia sat down opposite him.
"Cool. So you're from LA, right? I heard in the caf today how there was a new boy transferring from there," Cordelia said as she settled into her seat, making sure her designer dress didn't have any wrinkles. "And that's you, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Funny thing, though, I was actually born right here in Sunnydale," Xander said musingly. "My uncle and I used to come to this town once a year to visit my parents' graves, but as of two days ago, we're based here full-time."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry about your mom and dad," Cordelia said, even though she couldn't help thinking that the uncle had to be completely insane for ever deciding to move back to this hellhole town.
"Thanks, but I lost my parents when I was three. It's not like I ever really knew them," Xander said with a small shrug. He knew he couldn't mention details of what he'd learned during that meeting in the desert last week.
"Right. So, is the Bronze totally not happening tonight or what?" Cordelia changed the subject, gesturing around at the club.
Xander motioned his head towards the Halloween decorations. "I guess business is kinda slow around All Hallow's Eve."
"Tell me about it. Last year? I dressed up as Morticia Addams for the Bronze Halloween party. BIG mistake! Not as big as Jesse and Willow dressing up as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, though," Cordelia curled her lip slightly.
"These Jesse and Willow people, are they your friends?" Xander asked politely.
"No way," Cordelia shook her head at once. "They're just...two kids at school that I happen to know." Miss Chase almost said "a couple of loser geeks", but for some reason she didn't want to come off as an unfeeling bitch to this guy and just managed to catch herself at the last moment.
"Right. So, are you planning to dress up again for Halloween this year?" Xander asked in that polite, interested tone.
"You bet! There are a couple of Halloween parties I'm planning to attend on Friday night, and costumes are mandatory," Cordy nodded.
"I see. Mind if I ask what you're dressing up as?" Harris inquired.
"It's a custom-designed cat costume, actually." Cordelia saw Xander's expression and immediately demanded, "What?"
"It's really not my place to say, I mean – we just met 'n all," Xander said with a small shrug. But after seeing her look he went on, "Fine, just my opinion? You have the face and body of a Greek goddess, so you should dress the part. Well, not necessarily a goddess, I mean – just something that'll make every guy in this town drool at the sight of you," Xander shrugged again.
Cordelia was both flattered and insulted at the same time, but she never got the chance to say anything because Devon finally showed up and Xander quickly excused himself from their presence.
As her boyfriend guided her over to his band known as 'Dingoes Ate My Baby', Cordelia thought to herself, ( Something that'll make every guy drool at the sight of me? Hmmm, I kinda like the sound of that! What the heck, I'll go shopping again tomorrow for a new costume. And if Partytown doesn't have what I'm looking for, I can always try that new place, Ethan's or whatever it's called... )
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
October 30th, 1997
As Jesse McNally left her Computer Science classroom, Jenny Calendar couldn't help smiling. She thought to herself, ( That boy and his hormones, I swear – it's not enough for him to lust after the head cheerleader and that cursed vampire, now he's started sniffing after me as well? It's amazing how he hasn't fallen heads over heels for Buffy and Willow, too! )
The reason Jesse had been in here, though, was to talk to the female teacher about ideas for a Halloween costume; since early this morning he, Buffy and Willow had been shanghaied into the annual safety escort program by the school commandant, Principal Snyder. Jenny had told him it might be worthwhile to consider a group theme, given how close those three teenagers were, and when pressed, the technopagan woman had mentioned that Giles owned a big sombrero hat...
Jesse had subsequently departed with a big smirk on his face. Getting the feeling that she simply didn't want to know, Jenny turned her mind to her undercover mission here in Sunnydale – to keep an eye on Darla, to make sure the curse cast by her ancestors still held.
( Either she puts on a good show of appearances, or else that vampire simply doesn't care anymore about all the people she killed over the centuries, ) Jenny thought to herself. ( Darla certainly doesn't seem to act too miserable every time I've seen her, anyway. Perhaps I should mention that in my next letter to Uncle Enyos – as well as the appearance of that Harris boy. )
Jenny frowned as she thought of the latest addition to the ranks of the Sunnydale High School student body. Despite the outward appearance of normality, to her mind there was something...odd about him. The undercover gypsy couldn't quite put her finger on what it was, but Jenny was nonetheless willing to bet that Xander wasn't going to be one of the typical herd members on campus around here – that his arrival in Sunnydale was going to herald the start of something new on the Hellmouth.
Outside 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale
October 31st, 1997
"I cannot believe you actually talked Willow and me into wearing these...these outfits," Buffy grumbled to Jesse, as she and her pals waved goodbye to the Slayer's mother Joyce at the front door and the trio started walking in the general direction of the school. They still had plenty of time to get there; the safety program wasn't due to start until four p.m.
"What's the dire? These guys were cool movie stars," Jesse said with a manic grin, adjusting his sombrero.
"The Three Amigos?" Willow asked, staring at the gaudy black mariachi costumes she and the others were wearing. "Jesse, that movie was about three silent film stars who were mistaken for real heroes by a small Mexican village! And they got fired from their jobs in Hollywood, before that actually happened!"
"I know, but they still came out on top by the end of the movie! So, anyway, who do you guys want to be? I call Chevy Chase's character, Dusty Bottoms," the male teenager said with another wide grin.
"Ugh. Well, I guess I'll be Steve Martin's character – Lucky Day," Buffy sighed.
"Then I guess I'm Ned Nederlander, you know – the guy played by Martin Short," Willow mused. "Even though it feels kinda weird for me to dress up as a guy..."
"Technicalities," Jesse brushed that aside. "Besides, those three were best buddies in the movie – just like I am with you guys. We really are the Three Amigos of Sunnydale!"
Buffy and Willow couldn't help giggling at that, unable to deny that it was true enough. Their laughter was cut short, however, as a red BMW with the vanity plate 'QUEEN C' screeched to a halt on the street beside them.
The three friends then saw Cordelia stare at them and say, "Oh. My. God. Your costumes!"
"You like 'em?" Jesse asked as the Chase girl got out of her car, then he automatically lost at least twenty IQ points as a result of seeing Cordelia's costume. "Uh, you look..." he trailed off, unable to say anything – given that he was trying not to drool all over the sidewalk.
"What?" Miss Chase glared at him. "What do I look like?"
"Like, like utter perfection?" Jesse stuttered.
The brunette ignored the compliment, accepting it as nothing more than the simple truth. "Geez, you three can't be serious about escorting those sugar-hyped little brats around Sunnydale dressed like THAT! McNally, I honestly thought it'd be impossible for you to sink even lower into the realm of Loserville and drag these two down with you, but here I stand corrected," Cordelia said with a disgusted look on her face.
"The outfits aren't that bad," Buffy defended her choice of costume, even if her heart obviously wasn't in it.
"Yeah, Cordelia, I mean look at you – what are you dressed up as?" Willow asked Cordy, taking in her outfit. "I thought you were going to be a leopard or something this year?"
"I happen to be dressed as an ancient Greek noblewoman," Cordelia said haughtily, even though Ethan Rayne – the owner and proprietor of Ethan's Costume Shop – had explained to her how the costume was actually what had been worn by the female known as the Oracle of Delphi. Such details had been irrelevant to Miss Chase, then and there – even though they shouldn't have been.
"Right. So was there a reason you stopped by, or was it just so you could harp on us for our fashion crimes, 'Officer Chase'?" Buffy sniped grouchily at the self-appointed fashion police-girl.
"I have an errand to run, if you must know!" Cordy walked away, knocked on the front door of a nearby house and spoke with Mrs. Kalish, before heading back to her car. "Well, I'm outta here. Have fun with your kiddy escort duty later tonight," Cordelia smirked at the three friends, as she got back into her car and roared off down the street.
"Yeah, we better get a move on – or Snyder'll have us in detention until we're all wrinkly," Buffy sighed, resigning herself to an upcoming evening of stultifying boredom.
"You think we're gonna see Darla tonight on the streets?" Jesse wondered, as the three teens got moving.
"Oh, I doubt it," Willow shook her head.
"Yeah, Giles said that tonight is like dead for the undead. They all stay indoors or something," Buffy mentioned absently.
"Well, then, there goes my plan for impressing her with my manliness this evening...ouch!" Jesse yelped, as two female hands slapped him upside the head. "Ladies, please! Don't sample the merchandise like that – oww!" McNally yelped even louder, as Willow and Buffy became more and more annoyed with him with every passing second.
Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
A while later
Buffy was standing conspicuously alone, the other students giving her plenty of space. Not just because of her choice of costume, but because she had a reputation for starting fights and being freakishly strong; even if no one apart from the Scooby Gang knew that she was the Slayer.
Well, almost no one.
"Hello, Summers. Long time no see."
Buffy whirled around to see Xander standing there. Her former friend was dressed in Army fatigues, and held a toy military rifle in his hands. The Chosen One made an educated guess, and correctly concluded that Harris had been drafted by Snyder for the escort duty thing as well.
To Buffy's eye, he looked good; Xander had gained some inches in height and he had also put on a few pounds in all the right places, ever since she had been booted out of Hemery. ( My God, but what a difference a year makes... )
"Xander, I...oh, sorry. I know you don't like being called that," Buffy said, lowering her eyes to the floor.
"You can call me that if you want," Xander shrugged, which instantly made Buffy dart her eyes up in shock. "Seriously, these days I don't mind. Your little nickname has kinda grown on me over the past two years, truth be told."
"Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Xander Harris?" Buffy demanded, before her brain could catch up with her mouth. "No, wait, I didn't mean it like that..."
"Yes you did. Still, right now, I don't care. I've been hoping for the chance to talk to you, ever since I learned you were a student here," Harris said, looking around to make sure there was no one within earshot.
"You want to talk to me? About what? How much you hate me? How awful I acted towards you back in LA?" the blonde girl demanded, not sure what the hell was going on here.
"We can talk about all that as well if you want, but actually – I was hoping to speak to you about the whole Vampire Slayer thing," Xander said, trying not to let the past influence him right now.
"What?" Buffy felt as if someone had just sucker-punched her right in the stomach. "What are you...?"
"I know that you're the Slayer, Summers. That night you burned down the gym in LA, I saw you fighting the vampires. I did some research later on, and after watching you flip Andy Johnson flat on his back that day for touching your butt? It wasn't exactly hard to put two and two together," Xander said bluntly.
"You..." Buffy wheezed in shock, staring at Harris as if he'd grown another head.
"I haven't mentioned it to anybody, if that's what you're worried about. Well, apart from my mom last week," Xander clarified his previous statement.
"I, I thought your mother died when you were, like, three or something," Buffy stammered, abruptly recalling that piece of trivia from the dim, ancient past.
"She did. Funny thing, though, how you can summon someone's ghost that way," Xander said slowly, before he noticed Principal Snyder heading their way with four prepubescents in tow. The balding little troll was someone he wanted to avoid after that unpleasant 'welcome' on his first day here, so Harris decided to cut the current conversation short.
"As soon as this escort thing tonight is over? We'll talk," Xander promised the Slayer, before walking away.
In a daze, Buffy accepted her collection of little kids from the scowling principal, even though her thoughts were still focused on the boy she had once called her best friend...and who now knew her big secret.
Abandoned warehouse, Sunnydale
Not long before sundown
The Anointed One sat upon his throne, listening to the reports of his minions before abruptly dismissing them. Things had been hectic ever since the demise of Mayor Wilkins, and listening to the offers of various alliances from various 'people' did tend to wear thin on his patience.
Collin then summoned Lucius and Dalton to make sure that everyone was present and accounted for; the Master had impressed upon his protégé how important it was to follow the tradition of staying indoors during this particular night. The night when the veil between worlds was supposed to be at its thinnest.
There was a reason why nothing ever happened during Halloween as far as the supernatural community was concerned, after all.
Ethan's Costume Shop, Sunnydale
A while later
In the back room of the establishment, the shopowner prepared to incant a spell before a two-headed statue. Because he had magically cursed all the costumes in his store such that everyone would become whoever or whatever they'd dressed up as tonight. The reason for this was that Ethan Rayne was a chaos worshipper; and tonight's little stunt was designed to unleash chaos upon the living Earth, to honor the Roman god of chaos known as Janus.
Ethan began chanting in Latin, his voice carrying a sense of power and magic underneath the words. / Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come, appear and show to us that which is infinite power. The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night! /
Outside the costume shop, a cold wind started to blow as invisible magical energy began to crackle throughout the town.
Ethan raised his head and said with cold amusement, "Showtime."
TBC...