"I don't understand why I can't find him!" Giles growled. He was scowling and the notecards in his hand, shuffling through them angrily, occasionally glancing up at the alphabetized drawers.

"What was it again?" I asked, looking up from my book. It was a rather over-detailed history of a novice demon-hunter's travels and encounters. At the moment the writer was giving an enthusiastic retelling of how he categorized and stored the entrails of a succubi for further study. A worthy cause, perhaps but…I now knew far more than I ever needed to know about a succubi's digestive tract.

"Nuru." Giles repeated. "He should be here with the rest of them, but…" he sighed in exasperation.

I frowned, and walked over to his side. One glance told me the problem.

"You're such a man," I smiled. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well I can't really deny that statement." He stammered. I giggled and pointed at the drawers of cataloguing cards.

"You're looking in the male Hunter section," I told him, "Nuru is a gender-neutral name. It can be female as well. Try there."

Giles flushed, muttered something about how he was about to do that anyway, and went over to the opposite cataloguing case.

As he started rifling through the drawer marked NA-NU, I winced and groaned at the sound of sirens. They'd been going almost constantly for the past twenty minutes, and now it seemed there were even more.

I frowned.

More?

I lifted my head and listened. There was something else besides the sirens. It was a bit hard to discern between the two, but it was there: Screaming.

"Giles…" I said, "I think something's wrong."

He looked over at me, and started to ask a question when we were interrupted by Willow.

Who came in through the wall.

Both Giles and I jumped in alarm and I took a step back while Giles promptly let his notecards go flying.

"Willow?" I demanded, instantly on the alert. What if this was a phantom? A demon taking the guise of Willow? Although I wasn't sure I'd heard of a demon that could walk through walls. But surely there's been one somewhere. Just about everything has existed at some point or another, I do believe.

"What are you?" I snapped, moving to stand between whatever it was and Giles.

"Uh, hi?" Willow, or her doppleganger, said.

Well it certainly sounded like her.

"H-Hi." Giles stammered at her. He laughed weakly and I felt him move up behind me to get a better look.

"If you're Willow, prove it." I told her.

She blinked at me in confusion and then looked back at the wall.

"Oh, that," she said, "right, okay, uh…I have an essay due on Tuesday, you're writing it for me, and you're on the sixth point so it'll be done by Monday." She rattled off.

I hesitated. Then nodded.

"All right." I said, and then immediately started to panic.

"What happened?!" I demanded, "How are you walking through walls? Where's Buffy? Where's Xander? Why are people screaming outside?"

"Okay, uh, if I can remember everything you just asked: My costume turned me into a real ghost, so Buffy's an actual 18th century damsel and Xander's an actual soldier, and everyone else turned into a monster or into their costume too, so…that's what the screaming is about." Willow took a deep breath after prattling so quickly.

"So," she added, "help?"

I looked at Giles.

"It's Halloween." He said blankly.

"I know." I told him.

"Nothing ever happens on Halloween!"

"I know!" I sighed.

"But this time something did," I added, "now start searching for curses. Something's gone awry."

Both Giles and I started grabbing books on curses, witchcraft, and enchantings, while Willow followed us.

"When exactly did this happen?" I asked.

"Just a little while ago. Maybe an hour?"

I frowned.

"It's not even midnight yet." I said.

"Do things usually happen at midnight?" Willow asked.

"Well, yes and no," I answered, "everyone thinks it makes something extra happen. And sometimes if the stars are in certain alignments there might be an extra kick to a spell, but that's more to do with energy and gravitational pull. Mostly people just think midnight is supposed to be a magical time, so it gets used a great deal. But it's mostly nonsense now. Back in the day midnight had power, certainly. It's waned over the years but people's beliefs don't, so that alone give it a certain power. So like I said, yes and no."

I plopped down my stack of books and flipped one open for Willow while I started pouring over my own volume as quickly as I could.

"I don't even know what I'm looking for!" Willow moaned. "Plus I can't turn the page."

"All right," Giles sighed, "so, everyone has physically as well as mentally become whatever it was they were dressed as?" he repeated. Willow nodded at him, and for the first time Giles seemed to notice what Willow was wearing. She'd lost the sheet, presumably when she became a ghost.

I'm a bit surprised he hadn't noticed before.

"And you're a ghost?" he asked. She nodded again and he chuckled awkwardly, taking off his glasses.

"A ghost of…what, exactly?" he queried. I nudged him with my elbow.

"Well," Willow began defensively, "you should have seen Cordelia! Her outfit was like a leotard, with…cat things…and ears and…everything!"

"So Cordelia became a feline?" I blinked at Willow. That might be harder to fix. And also that was rather an impressive thing to pull off. Condensing a person's mass is not a simple thing to do, even with magic. Mass has to go somewhere, after all.

"No," Willow answered, frowning, "actually. She was the same old Cordelia, just in a cat costume."

I looked at Giles. Enchanted costumes, perhaps? But that meant…

"Then it must be the costumes that came from a specific source," I murmured, and Giles nodded, hurriedly putting his glasses back on.

"The costumes," he addressed Willow, "where did they come from?"

"Wait a minute," Willow said, thinking, "it was a new place. Cordelia got hers from the old place, Party Town. We got ours from…uh…a place called Ethan's?"

Giles and I looked at each other.

He held my gaze for a moment, and I saw something odd in his eyes. Recognition?

"We need to get to Ethan's right away," Giles finally said, "that must be the source. Willow, lead the way."

The store seemed deserted when we finally arrived, and it looks fairly unassuming as well. Costumes were hung up or tossed about the store in a sort of organized chaos. Willow walked behind Giles and me as we entered.

Giles went first, back stiff, eyes alert. I warily sniffed the air.

There were many human scents, of course, but something else, too. Something much more sinister.

"Careful." I murmured to Giles as he started to move past me. I frowned at the back of the store, where the supply room must be.

"Something's off here," I told him when he turned to look at me, "dark energy. Dark magic, most likely. Watch for traps, just in case."

He nodded mutely, and followed me as I moved towards the back of the store, eyes roving around to try and spot any unpleasant surprises. Giles kept looking around the store as well, but I got the feeling he was looking for someone, not something.

"Hello?" he called, "Anyone home?"

I would have reprimanded him, but if anyone was here and meant us harm they already had time to get prepared since the bell above the door had rung when we came in. They had to know we were here even if Giles hadn't have called out.

I hesitated as I caught sight of a faint glow beyond the curtains to the backroom.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up like a dog's hackles, and I found myself growling in warning.

"Giles." I said. I heard him move towards me, so I walked towards the source of the glow. I spotted it soon enough: It looked like a sculpture's two-faced head, with glowing green eyes. It was just sitting in the middle of the floor, unattended.

Now that we were this close to it, I recognized the statue.

"Janus." Both Giles and I said at the same time.

"Roman mythical god." Giles supplied in an aside to Willow.

"So, what does this mean?" Willow asked. I glanced back at them and saw Giles looking around warily, and with a hint of apprehension. That wasn't unusual, but…I'm not sure how to describe it, but something about him had altered on our way to the shop. Indeed it may have even started when he heard the name of it.

Something was going on.

"Primarily," Giles answered, "it means a division of self."

"Janus is the god of beginnings, endings, and transitions." I told her, "He's supposed to have two faces, looking to the past and to the future. He's the god of actions, to put it simply. He's the initiator. He causes things to start, change, and end."

"He's opposites combined." Giles added.

"Male and female, light and dark." I told her, and then felt a stirring in the air.

I spun back around with a warning snarl as a figure emerged from the shadows.

"Chunky and creamy." He said sarcastically. "Oh, no, sorry. That's peanut-butter."

I growled again and moved between him and my two friends. He blinked in surprise at me, and I realized I must have lowered my fangs.

"Well," the man said, chuckling over my head at Giles, "found a new pet, have you? This one looks like she bites, too."

"Willow," Giles said, voice tight and hard, "get out of here, now."

"But-" she began to protest.

"Now!" Giles snapped.

The man took a casual step towards us and I took one towards him in answer, growling again. He blanched a little, but tried to look nonchalant as he took a step back again.

"Hello, Ethan." Giles all but whispered behind me.

I frowned, but kept my eyes on the man, Ethan.

Giles knew him?

"Hello, Ripper." Ethan answered, grinning sardonically.

"What?" he asked after a long pause, "No hug?"

"Giles," I murmured, "who is he?"

I heard Giles sigh.

"An old friend." He practically spat the words.

"A friend no longer?" I queried.

"Just so."

"Oh, you wound me, Rupert!" Ethan exclaimed, moving slowly away from us to start fiddling with a costume. I moved closer, just to be safe.

"You aren't pleased to see your old mate?" Ethan continued.

"I'm only surprised I didn't guess it was you." Giles answered, coming up behind me. He was keeping me between him and Ethan, but I no longer felt confident that it was to protect himself as it was to protect Ethan from him.

There was a hot anger pouring off of Giles, I could feel it.

"This whole stunt stinks of Ethan Rayne." Giles added.

"Yes it does, doesn't it?" Ethan chuckled. "Not to blow my own trumpet but it's genius. The very embodiment of 'Be careful what you wish for'."

"These children did not wish to become monsters. Their only wish for tonight was to have a little fun, you idiot. They're just younglings." I growled at him.

"It's sick." Giles said coldly. "Brutal. And as Margery said, it harms the innocent."

"Oh and we all know you're the champion of the innocent and all things good and pure, Rupert." Ethan purred. He turned slowly and smirked at Giles, ignoring me completely for the moment.

"It's quite a good act you've got going here, old man." Ethan growled at him, his smirk slipping.

"It's no act," Giles answered, "it's who I am."

"Who you are?" Ethan snapped. His eyes flicked down to me. "Does this thing know what you are?" he tilted his head at me, "Has he told you about the Good Old Days?"

I frowned, a coldness seeping into me.

"Has he fooled you?" he asked me, "The Watcher? Sniveling tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer and her kin?" he laughed harshly. "Don't tell me he has. Don't tell me you haven't at least suspected something more from him."

"Stop it, Ethan." Giles snapped.

"I know what you're capable of." Ethan barked back. He pointed at me. "Does it? Have you played your part so well you can fool monsters, now?"

I swallowed, but stayed focused on Ethan.

He was trying to rattle me, make me lose my nerve, start questioning things that didn't need to be questioned. Or did they?

What was he talking about? Why call Giles 'Ripper'? Why this sudden coldness and ferocity I'd never seen in Rupert before?

It wouldn't have been the first time a human had lied to me about their intentions. But…had he ever actually lied? Or just omitted to tell me certain things about himself? Things I had never thought to ask? But what sort of things?

"Rupert?" I murmured.

"I'm here." He assured me, and I felt his hand touch my arm, very softly.

"Oh she has no idea, does she?" Ethan laughed, "She has no idea where you come from?"

"Break the spell, Ethan." Giles growled, suddenly moving past me and all but looming over Ethan as he approached. "Then leave this place and never come back."

I blinked at Giles, everything in a turmoil in my mind.

What was happening?

"Why should I?" Ethan demanded, "What's in the bargain for me?"

"You get to live." Giles answered softly, and I saw his shoulders tense. That wasn't like him. That wasn't like Giles at all.

"Oh, Rupert," Ethan purred sarcastically, "you're scaring-"

He never got the chance to finish his sentence.

Suddenly Giles lashed out, driving his fist into Ethan's stomach, doubling him over with a choked sound as the air left his lungs. Giles brought his knee up into Ethan's jaw, snapping his head back up, his teeth clacking against each other hard enough to rattle his skull. He fell onto his side with a startled, pained cry.

Giles stood over him, face emotionless.

"Rupert?" I asked, my voice suddenly faltering.

This wasn't like him at all. It scared me.

Make me face a monster, and I will, because I know what's driving a monster. But make me face a friend I'm no longer sure I know?

That's what terrifies me.

"It's all right." He said, but his voice sounded distant, not like Giles. It was someone else. Ripper.

"Giles," I said, moving towards him, but he held up his hand.

"Leave him to me." He told me, and when he looked up at me, his eyes were shards of icy fury. I clenched my jaw, and swallowed hard.

"Giles, we're speaking about this later." I told him.

"Later." He agreed. "Let me work, Margery."

I glanced down at Ethan. He didn't look nearly as confidant as he had a moment ago.

"Give me time." Giles said. I frowned, but slowly backed out of the room, letting the curtains over the doorway fall as I did. I didn't want to see what Giles, Ripper, was about to do. I didn't want to know what he could do. Not like this.

Not like this.