Disclaimer: I do not own anything, it all belongs to other people, but I can still dream, can I?

A 34th story in my Halloween short story series. Different answers to the challenge:

'what if Xander dressed as something different for Halloween'.

Authors Note: Behold, the dreaded UnDead Bunny. Even worse than the energyzer bunny. It rises again and again and again and...

The Unseen One

Simone of the Zordiak

He looked into the mirror one last time. It was not the greatest costume, but it would do. At first he had wanted to go as a soldier, but then, when he had taken the last gun from the bargain bin, he had seen the little boy with the big teary eyes and the wobbly lip, that had looked at the gun so longingly and with a small sigh, he had given it to him. So now he couldn't go a soldier. Instead he had improvised a bit. A few odds and ends from the costume shop and some other items he had scourged together and he had to admit that this costume might even be better than the soldier thing he had had in mind. At least this costume was fitting for Halloween.

o-o-o-

Willow found herself in a bit of a dilemma. First, she was a ghost. She couldn't touch anything or anyone and her body was laying on the porch of old Miss Kessler's house, dead. Secondly, there were lots of small demons and other monsters running around, that had been little children. And thirdly and most important at the moment, there was a tall, pale man dressed in regal black, who was holding her arm and she couldn't get free. Did she already mentioned that he seemed to be very annoyed to find her here? No? Well, he was. Add to that the fact that he was holding her arm, her very incorporeal arm hard enough that she swore she was developing bruises and you could see that, no, Willow did not have a nice evening.

o-o-o-

She shouldn't be here. He glared at the redhead spirit he had caught. Actually, he himself had no idea where he was and how he had come to this place... the last memories he had were of himself... dying? Impossible! Without him the entire system would come crashing down!

And yet, as he looked around, trying to find some hints, some familiarity around him, he only noticed how strange everything was, and how chaotic.

So, maybe he had died, but then he had to find the answer to the question how and why he was seemingly back among the living.

And maybe the shade of the girl could shed some light into this situation.

Using his powers felt a bit strange, like he had gotten terribly rusty and out of practice, but it was the only way to get his answers. There was something strange about the girl-shade and with shock he noticed that the spirit was still tied to her body! How was that possible? Impatiently he dragged the girl with him, following the humming string that connected her to her mortal flesh.

He found her body, covered with a sheet laying on the porch in front of a mortal home. The sheet was enspelled, dividing the soul from the mortal flesh, but the body was still alive. And the spell was not only on the sheet. He could feel the magic penetrating everything around him, it was even on a part of himself. As he took a closer look at the spell (not really his speciality, but unfortunately he couldn't call his aunt to help him) he found out some more details of the spell. It was an enchantment of chaos, partly creating the spirits that possessed the wearers (if the costume was of someone or something unreal) partly calling them from the æther. He himself had been called from the æther, a dead god given the body of the one who had worn his costume. Something not unlike a possession, but with much more consequences for the one who had chosen to impersonate him. Dead or not, he was a God and as such, far beyond all mortal capability. But before he made any decision, he needed more information. With a look of uttermost concentration he reached out for the girls shade and accessed her memory.

The information hit him like a sledgehammer. The hellmouth, demons, magic, death. Shocked he released the spirit. So much damage, he couldn't believe that it had gotten so much out of hand. No doubt that he was needed here.

He grabbed the girls sheet and twisted the magic imbued inside of it. The shade flickered, vanished and the girl sat up, grasping for air. She was back where she belonged, good. Now her displaced shade would not irritate him anymore.

Now he had to find a way to clean up this mess that had accumulated since his untimely death, but he had the feeling that that would take more time than this spell would give him. So he had to find a way to stay beyond the duration of the spell. And yet he had to think about the mortal who's body he was possessing. If his assumption was correct, the boy's soul was only temporary suppressed and would surface as soon as the spell was broken.

The was only one way to find out.

o-o-o-

Giles had a headache, a huge, monstrous beast of a headache. Despite everything he knew and had been taught, last Halloween night had been an indescribable disaster. And it would have been even worse, if not for the strange man, that had appeared and helped them.

The same stranger that was now standing in the library, waiting for him.

The man was tall, taller than him and clothed in flowing, uniform, black, which added to his aura of being untouchable. His skin was so pale that it seemed almost translucent, a stark contrast against the blackness of his hair and the deep brown of his eyes.

And he radiated so much power that Giles was scared. Scared for his life and praying mentally that this man was not an enemy Buffy would have to face. He knew she would loose.

"Yes, she would."

The voice was soft and rather deep, gentle sounding, but Giles had no illusion that it couldn't be hard and commanding as well. That man (?) was used to have his orders obeyed.

And he had just read his mind.

"Yes, I did. It saves time and prevents many misunderstandings. And time is something I don't have very much right now. I just came, because one of your wards freed me, yesterday, at great personal cost. He will not return."

There was only one person that fit the description.

"Xander!"

"Yes."

"Xander is, Xander is dead?"

"No, he isn't. But to allow me to reassemble myself permanently from the æther, I had to merge with the spirit of a living being. I asked and he gave me his permission. Alexander is a part of me now, but I am very old and his influence on my personality small. And yet, he still exist."

"And why should I believe you? Why would he do something like this?"

"Because I am much needed in this days and time. Believe me."

He turned around to leave.

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"Who are you? And why do you think you are so needed that a seventeen year old boy would sacrifice his life for you?"

He smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"Who I am and what I am doing is almost the same question. People tend to confuse my name and my duty all the time. I have been given many names over the years, but the most common one is 'Rich One'. The mortals feared to speak my name, since they believed it would draw my attention, a fear that I could never truly understand. But I don't have time for this right now. There is so much damage, that I need to repair. Should you really need my help, call on the Unseen One and if I think your call has merit, I shall help."

And with these words he simply vanished.

Giles starred in disbelief at the spot his visitor had just vanished from. Then he mentally rewound and analysed the conversation and paled to a chalky white as he realised just who Xander had become a part of.

o-o-o-

Three Years Later

She was too strong for them. They had found a way to beat Spike and Dru, had managed to stop the plans of the mayor and had defeated the strange Frankenstein-monster the military had created. But Glorificius was a Hellgod and nothing they could do was good enough to stop her.

Giles knew that they had only one chance left.

He bowed his head and requested HIS help.

And HE came, once more clothed completely in black, but this time he held a long, two-pronged staff in his hands.

The other members of the slayer-team starred at him in undisguised astonishment.

"Watcher," he greeted the one that had asked for his help.

Giles didn't look up.

"Lord Hades," he replied.

Willow fainted.

End