Pop's Pumpkin Patch shouldn't have been so active. Buffy only came here to pick up a pumpkin for her mom so they could make a nice quaint Jack O'Lantern for the front porch. Not enough of those in southern California. After that, she would get to her date with Angel at the Bronze. Then, of course, a vampire had shown up, and she had to deal with that. She went flying back through the air, colliding with a plywood sign counting down the days to Halloween. Seeing the vampire coming toward her, she grabbed a squash lying on the ground behind her and threw it at him, hitting him in the forehead. She followed it up with a pumpkin. The vampire staggered back a few steps. Buffy hopped back to her feet, pulled a stake out of her shirt and launched it at him. He grabbed the scarecrow and pulled it over in front of him so the stake impaled it instead. He shoved it aside and came at her with a roundhouse kick.

They started fighting hand-to-hand. A few hits later, the first vampire knocked Buffy into the hay wagon. She held onto the side of the wagon and kicked the vampire to the ground. She turned around with her back to the wagon and grabbed the railing as the vampire got back up. She raised her legs and grabbed the vampire's head in a scissor hold. She twisted her body and flipped him over sideways onto the ground. Stepping away from the wagon, she spied the sign and then looked down at the vampire. He tried to grab her legs, so she jumped over him and somersaulted to the countdown sign. She pulled it out of the ground and swung it at his legs as he came for her, knocking them out from under him. She raised the sign and jammed the end of the signpost into his chest. The vampire satisfyingly burst into ashes.

Relieved to have that done, Buffy left the sign stuck in the ground at its new location and walked out of the pumpkin patch. She grabbed a decent-sized pumpkin on her way out and made for the small shack where she could use the money her mom had given her for it. Thankfully, it was turned away from the crazy that had just happened. Hopefully, the owner wouldn't correctly surmise that she'd had a hand in all that. She needed to drop off the pumpkin at home and make it to her date with Angel.

Angel sat absently at the Bronze, watching a waitress pick up a tray of cappuccino and cupcakes. God, this was boring. He'd been waiting a long time now for Buffy to show up. He didn't care for being out in public. He preferred to be at home in his apartment brooding, or taking a midnight stroll looking over Sunnydale brooding, or… Maybe he needed to cut down on the brooding. He was actually brooding right this second.

He eyed a huge spider web and other Halloween decorations adorn the staircase behind him. They'd done the place up for the spookiest holiday of the year. He never really had a problem with Halloween, but he couldn't be bothered to find it even vaguely amusing anymore after so many years.

He heard footsteps coming his way, but they didn't sound like Buffy's, so he didn't look up. Then, a familiar voice. "I know. Is the Bronze so not happening? Or what?" He looked up in surprise as Cordelia Chase set down her drink and sat next to him.

"Oh. Hi," he replied, snapping out of his brooding.

"Hi!" she said brightly.

Realizing she might be trying to flirt with him again, he cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for Buffy."

"Great! I'm supposed to be meeting Devon, but he's nowhere to be seen. It's like he thinks being in a band gives him an obligation to flake." Angel smiled at the joke despite himself. She beamed. "Well, his loss is your incredible gain!"

She switched gears and started talking about Devon's car. He didn't pay attention to how long she talked – a common occurrence when interacting with Cordelia, he would learn with time. At least he had someone to talk to while he waited for Buffy to show up. He zoned in and out of the story, smiling and laughing at the appropriate times.

"So I told Devon, 'You call that leather interior? My Barbie Dream Car had nicer seats!'"

He chuckled at that. She was so animated, he couldn't help but be amused. His eyes drifted to the door yet again, only this time, he saw Buffy – a little disheveled and turning to leave. Acting quickly, he got to his feet to chase after her. "Buffy? Buffy!" he called.

Buffy turned back around, her expression riddled with embarrassment. "Hi! I'm…"

"Late," he finished for her.

"Rough day at the office."

Angel reached up to her hair and pulled out a piece of straw. "So I see."

That only made her feel worse. "Hey, it's a look. A seasonal look," she faltered.

As if by magic, Cordelia appeared behind Angel to smirk at Buffy. "Love the hair. It just screams street urchin." She turned and headed for the bar.

Buffy forced a smile. "Know what? I need to go…," the smile fell, "put a bag over my head."

She turned to go again, but Angel gently grabbed her arm. "Don't listen to her. Please. You look fine."

"You're sweet," she sighed. "A terrible liar, but sweet."

"I thought we had…"

"A date. So did I. But who am I kidding? Dates are things normal girls have. Girls who have time to think about nail polish and facials. You know what I think about? Ambush tactics. Beheading. Not exactly the stuff dreams are made of." She turned again and went out the door.

He let her go this time. Clearly, there would be no consoling her right now.

"Cappuccino?" He looked beside himself and saw Cordelia holding a cup out to him, looking very triumphant. He stared at the door again. Why had he left his apartment two years ago?

The next day at school, Buffy had showered and done her hair nicely, so she felt a little bit better. She didn't want to face Angel yet after her mini-meltdown last night. She hoped by the time the school day was over, she would have come up with a decent enough explanation. Sure, the truth would be perfectly acceptable, but she didn't need him thinking she flew off the handle over everything. Not that she flew off the handle, she told herself. She'd had a stressful moment and venting was a totally natural response to… Okay, maybe she was overthinking this. Deep breaths, stay focused and get through the day.

She walked with her friends down the hall and spotted Snyder at the intersection grabbing some random girl and shoving a clipboard in her face. "Hey!" she exclaimed.

"You're volunteering," he told her bluntly, holding out the clipboard and pen to her.

"But I have to get to class!"

Snyder didn't care. He just shrugged and forced her to sign up.

"I see our beloved Principal Ferret is running the volunteer safety program for Halloween this year," Jesse murmured.

"Note his interesting take on the volunteer concept," added Xander.

As the newer student of the four, Buffy asked for exposition. "What's the deal?"

"Oh, a bunch of little kids need people to take them trick-or-treating," explained Xander as Willow opened her locker. "Sign up and get your own pack of sugar-hyped little runts for the night."

Buffy grimaced. "Yikes. I'll stick to vampires." But then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she spun around to face her least favorite principal.

"Miss Summers. Just the juvenile delinquent I've been looking for. Halloween must be a big night for you. Tossing eggs, keying cars, bobbing for apples, one pathetic cry for help after another."

Jesse leaned in, an inquisitive look on his face. "That's an oddly specific list, Principal, sir. Are you experienced in the Delinquent Arts?"

Snyder's eyes widened indignantly, but he didn't answer the question as he guided Buffy to the sign-up table. Jesse followed close behind, with Willow and Xander following while maintaining a safe distance. "I think you would be better suited to spending Halloween with more responsibilities," he told her.

"Gosh, I'd love to sign up, but I recently developed carpal tunnel syndrome, and can tragically no longer hold a flashlight."

Snyder held up the clipboard and pen. "The program starts at four, the children have to be back at six."

Reluctantly, Buffy grabbed the pen and clipboard and signed herself up. It didn't help that Xander looked terribly amused at her predicament. When she finished, Snyder turned around and gave Jesse a fierce look. "McNally, I think – "

But Jesse abruptly snatched the clipboard and pen from his hands. "I happily volunteer, dearest Principal, sir," he said as he cheerfully signed his name on the line. "I'm sure I'll be an excellent role model to the little tykes." He handed the clipboard back.

Snyder looked rattled at the very idea, but he couldn't back out now. He thrust the clipboard at Willow and Xander, much to their dismay as they took the pens and started signing.

Buffy bit back a smile. Somehow, Snyder didn't instill much fear in Jesse. In fact, he seemed to bring out the taller boy's wicked side. He was just disrespectful enough to get a good burn on the unpleasant man, and yet not enough to land himself in serious trouble. She wondered if his grades were good enough for that.

With her friends now in hell with her, Snyder took the clipboard. "Wear a costume. It's mandatory," he snapped, and he started to walk away, only to nearly run into Amy Madison.

"Oh, hi!" she said brightly to the others, looking oddly embarrassed to have been seen.

"Oh good," Snyder said in a tight voice. "Another volunteer." He held up the clipboard to her.

Amy eyed it for a second, then looked at the others before smiling a little and signing her name. "Happy to. I appreciate the opportunity."

Snyder eyed her suspiciously, looked back at Buffy, then skulked away down the hall.

"You 'appreciate the opportunity'?" Xander repeated in disbelief. "Do you realize you just signed away your Halloween?"

"I think we all just did," Willow said sadly, sporting a full-on thousand yard stare as she contemplated babysitting several kids.

"Well, I'll be among friends," Amy smiled, looking between them. "We'll all suffer together, right?"

"Sound attitude," Jesse grinned. "Glad we could count on you."

Amy blushed a little and gripped her books a little tighter. "Right, well, I'll see you guys then!" she said, scurrying away.

Buffy watched her retreating form. "She's looking well. Haven't seen her in a while."

"I see her sometimes," said Jesse. "After what happened with her 'witchy' mom, she's been trying to get out in the world more."

"Good for her," said Xander. "Back to the fact that we're screwed?"

Buffy sighed heavily as she led them down the hall. "The friends that suffer together stay together?" she tried to say optimistically.

"I can't believe this. We have to get dressed up and the whole deal?"

"Snyder said costumes were mandatory," Willow said dismally.

"Great," grunted Buffy. "I was gonna stay in and veg. The one night a year things are supposed to be quiet for me."

Xander looked surprised as they came into the student lounge. "Halloween quiet? Oh, I figured it'd be a big old vamp scare-apalooza."

"Not according to Giles. He swears that tomorrow night is, like, dead for the undead," she said as she and Willow sat on the couch. "They stay in."

Xander smiled. "Those wacky vampires! That's why I love 'em! They just keep you guessing!" He put his satchel down on the table across from Jesse and headed over to the soda vending machine. He put in his coins and hit a button. Nothing. Annoyed, he hit another one. Still nothing. He hit the machine in the front and on the side. This dumb thing…

Speaking of dumb things, Larry came up to him and put his hand on Xander's shoulder. "Harris!" he barked.

Jumping, Xander spun around nervously. "Hey, Lar. You're lookin' Cro-Mag as usual. What can I do you for?"

Larry tilted his head back towards the girls on the couch talking to Jesse. "You and Buffy, you're just friends, right?"

Xander smiled. "I like to think of it less as a friendship and more as a solid foundation for future bliss."

"So, she's not your girlfriend?"

"Alas, no."

Larry looked over at Buffy as he walked around Xander. "Do you think she'd go out with me?" he asked, turning to face Xander again.

Xander didn't like where this was going. "Well, Lar, that's a tough question to… No. Not a chance."

Larry grinned sleazily. "Why not? I heard some guys say she was fast."

"I hope you mean 'like the wind'."

"Yeah, you know what I mean."

Indeed, he did. His sense of humor depleted, he grabbed Larry's lapels. "That's my friend that you're talkin' about!"

Amused by the outburst, Larry drew himself to his full hugeness. "Oh, yeah? Well, what're you gonna do about it?"

No turning back now. "I'm gonna do what any man would do about it: somethin' damn manly."

Larry smiled and laughed. He knocked Xander's hands away and grabbed him by the shirt with his right hand. He balled his left hand into a fist and drew back for a punch.

Then, out of nowhere, Buffy grabbed his wrist, pulled it behind his back and slammed his head into the vending machine so hard that a can of soda rolled into the slot. "Get gone," she hissed. Thankfully, Larry suddenly lost interest in asking her out and scurried away. Buffy glanced down and spotted the soda. "Ooh! Diet!" She grabbed it and started heading back to the couch where Willow and Jesse sat.

Xander looked incredulous. "Do you know what you just did?"

"Saved you a dollar?"

"No, but Larry was about to pummel me!"

Buffy shrugged, thinking he was grateful. "Oh, that? Forget about it!" she said, heading back to the table.

"Oh, I'll forget about it," Xander snapped, following her. "In maybe fifteen, twenty years when my rep for being a sissy man finally fades!"

Finally noticing his frustration, Buffy stopped and faced him. "Xander, don't you think you're…"

"A black eye heals, Buffy," he interrupted, "but cowardice has an unlimited shelf life. Oh, thanks! Thanks a lot for your help." He grabbed his bag from the table and walked off in a huff.

Buffy moaned and sat back down with Willow. Jesse looked awkward as he got up from his chair, slinging his own bag over his shoulder. "Sorry. Guy thing. I'll talk to him," he assured her before chasing after his friend.

Grateful, Buffy slumped deeper into the couch. "I think I just violated the guy code big time."

"Poor Xander," Willow said forlornly. "Boys are so fragile. Speaking of, how was your date last night?"

Oh good, another unpleasant thing to think about. "Misfire. I was late due to unscheduled slayage. Showed up looking trashed."

"Was he mad?"

"Actually, he was pretty unmad. Which probably had something to do with the fact that Cordelia was drooling in his cappuccino."

"Oh, Buffy. Angel would never fall for her act," Willow scoffed.

"You mean that 'actually showing up, wearing a stunning outfit, embracing personal hygiene' act?"

"You know what I mean. Uh, she's not his type."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't know what his type is. I've known him less than a year, and if you haven't noticed, he's not exactly one to overshare."

"True. It's too bad we can't sneak a look at the Watcher diaries and read up on Angel. I'm sure it's full of fun facts to know and tell."

"Yeah. It's too bad. That stuff is private."

"Also Giles keeps them in his office. In his personal files."

"Most importantly, it would be wrong."

The two girls looked at each other.

Willow and Buffy looked in through the round door window to the library. No sign of Giles. Giving each other a look, Buffy quietly opened the door and went in. She looked back at Willow, who gave her encouragement. The door closed, and Willow looked in through the glass.

Buffy quietly made her way up to the counter and looked around again for Giles. Satisfied that he was not there, she headed for his office. In, out, no one gets hurt.

"Buffy!" Startled, she spun around and saw him in the cage getting some old books. "Excellent!"

Well, it certainly didn't feel excellent. "Nothing! Hi!" she yelped.

Giles stepped out into the open, putting some books away. "Yes, I just wanted to talk to you about tomorrow night. As it should be, uh, calm, you might work on some new battle techniques."

Buffy's mind raced. While it would be easy to carry a conversation with her Watcher – she knew him pretty well at this point – she needed a new plan. "You're beginning to scare me, Giles. You need to have some fun." She waved to Willow to come in as he looked down at his books. Willow shook her head fearfully and mouthed 'no'. Giles looked up, and Buffy pulled her hand back and pretended she was scratching her head. "You know, there's this place you can go, right, and you sit in the dark, and there are these moving pictures, right, and the pictures tell a story."

Giles looked unamused. "Yes, yes, ha, ha, very droll," he replied, not noticing Willow quietly coming in. "I'll have you know that I have very, uh, many relaxing hobbies."

Buffy grinned – he made this too easy. "Such as?"

"Well, um…" He paused to think, and Buffy mouthed to Willow that she needed to get on with it. "I enjoy cross-referencing," he said at last.

"Do you stuff your own shirts, or do you send them out?" She saw him start to pick up the stack to take into his office, so she grabbed a book and walked around him to draw his view away from his office door. "So! How come Halloween is such a big yawner? I mean, do the demons just hate how commercial it's become?" she asked, leaving through the book.

Setting the stack down, Giles started to reply. "Um, it's interesting, ac…," he started before his expression changed. "Not, I suspect, to you," he finished, taking the book from her. "What is it you're after?"

Willow froze at the office door. Were they busted?

Buffy tried to sound put upon. "Of course, it's of interest to me! I'm the Slayer. I need to know these things. You can't keep me in the dark any longer." She could see Willow opening the door and slipping inside. Giles grabbed the stack of books again and started to turn to his office. "Look at me when I talk to you!"

Giles actually looked annoyed now. "I really don't have time for these games."

Buffy said the first thing that popped into her head. "Ms. Calendar said you were a babe." She saw Willow look back again, but this time, she gave Buffy a look and shook her head.

His annoyance replaced with intrigue, Giles set the books back down. "She said what?"

Buffy winced. She hadn't wanted to resort to that, but she needed that trump card. "Well, she said that you were a… h-hunk of burning… something or other. So," she let out a shaky breath, feeling lower than low, "whaddaya think of that?"

Giles took a breath of his own. "Uh, I… I don't, um, uh… A burning hunk of what?"

Buffy made a face. "Look. You know how disgusting it is for me to even contemplate you grownups having smoochies," she said truthfully, seeing Willow come out of the office with a diary, "but I think you should go for it."

"Buffy, I appreciate your interest, but…"

Willow hurried past the counter.

"But I've overstepped my bounds," Buffy said quickly, watching her run out the door. "It's none of my business, you know. What was I thinking? My God! Shame, shame. I gotta go." She quickly hurried for the door.

She could hear him remark to himself, "A babe…? I can live with that…" Ugh.

In the relative safety of the girls' bathroom, Buffy and Willow sat on the sinks and looked at a drawing of a noble woman with a tiny waist wearing a billowy gown. "Man, look at her," Buffy murmured.

"Who is she?" asked Willow, looking at the details.

"It doesn't say, but the entry is dated 1775."

Willow did the math in nothing flat. "Angel was eighteen. And still human."

"So that's the kinda girl he hung around? She's pretty coiffed."

"She looks like a noble woman or something. Which means being beautiful is sort of her job."

"And clearly this girl was a workaholic. I'll never be like this."

"C'mon! She's not that pretty. I mean, look at her. She's got a funny… uh, waist. Look how tiny that is."

"Thank you," sighed Buffy sarcastically. "Now I feel better."

"No," Willow insisted feebly. "She's like a freak. A circus freak. Yuk."

Buffy gazed at the woman wistfully. "Musta been wonderful. Put on some fantabulous gown and go to a ball like a princess, and have horses and servants, and yet more gowns."

"Yeah. Still, I think I prefer being able to vote." Buffy raised her brows, and Willow smiled awkwardly. "Or I will when I can."

The door suddenly swung open, and Cordelia entered the bathroom and went to the mirror. "So, Buffy," she said, her voice already dripping with smugness. "You ran off last night and left poor little Angel all by his lonesome. But I did everything I could to comfort him."

"I'll bet," grunted Buffy.

Getting out her blush, Cordelia continued as she applied some to her cheeks. "So, what's his story anyway? I mean, I never see him around."

"Not during the day, anyway," said Willow.

Cordelia made a face. "Oh, please. Don't tell me he still lives at home. Like, he has to wait for his dad to get back before he can take the car?"

Buffy looked at her incredulously. With the other girl now constantly hanging around them whenever they had a crisis, she thought for sure Cordelia knew about Angel's undead status. "Cordelia, I think his parents have been dead for a couple of hundred years."

"Oh, good," said Cordelia, the lip gloss now being applied. She stopped when she realized how insensitive that sounded. "I mean…," she started before the full sentence really impacted on her. "What?"

"Angel's a vampire. I thought you knew."

She didn't look like she bought it as she went back to the mirror. "Oh, he's a vampire," she said, putting away the lip gloss. "Of course! But the cuddly kind. Like a Care Bear with fangs?"

Nope, she wasn't buying it. "It's true," insisted Willow.

Cordelia closed her purse and stepped over to them. "You know what I think?" she asked, snottily crossing her arms. "I just think you're trying to scare me off 'cause you're afraid of the competition. Look, Buffy, you may be hot stuff when it comes to demonology or whatever, but when it comes to dating, I'm the Slayer." She walked out. Both girls were glad to be rid of her.

The costume shop was musty and run-down, but it was stocked with every kind of costume imaginable. Several mothers walked around with their kids, looking for Halloween costumes.

Not really sharing the enthusiasm, Buffy wandered away from the costumes and briefly handled a plastic pumpkin, only for it to suddenly light up and scream. She quickly put it back on the counter, relieved to see Willow approaching with something. "What'd you get?" she asked.

Willow looked pleased with herself. "A time-honored classic!" she exclaimed. She held up… a white sheet ghost costume, complete with eye holes, a ghostly smile and the word BOO stenciled on it.

Buffy stared blankly. "Okay, Will, can I give you a little friendly advice?"

Willow's smile faltered. "It's not spooky enough?"

"It's just… you're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding. You're missing the whole point of Halloween."

"Free candy?"

"It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions."

Willow's eyes widened in alarm at the very idea. "Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You've got it in you."

But before Buffy could continue, Willow looked past her – almost relieved – and spotted someone. "Hey, guys!" Buffy followed her gaze and spotted Xander and Jesse waltzing in, the former carrying a bag while the latter looked around at the costumes curiously.

"What'd you get?" Willow asked, eyeing the bag.

Xander pulled a toy military rifle out of his bag and held it up for Willow to see.

"That's not a costume," remarked Buffy.

Xander gave her a look, then turned to Willow. Great – he was still mad. "I got fatigues from an Army surplus at home. Call me the Two-Dollar Costume King, baby!" Jesse, however, gave him a nudge in the ribs and indicated with his forehead to address Buffy. Not unlike one of the kids in the room, Xander sighed petulantly. "So… I may slightly kind of… overreacted at school when you… totally emasculated me – ow!" Jesse nudged him again, his expression not even changing from its nonplussed look.

A tiny bit amused, Buffy approached him, getting up alongside. "Xander, I promise, from now on, I'll let you get pummeled." For extra measure, she put her chin on his shoulder and did some serious pouting.

Xander rolled his eyes, but he couldn't stay mad when she did that. "Thank you," he conceded, getting a smile from her. "Okay, y'know, actually I think I could've t…" But he trailed off as something distracted Buffy – a costume. She slowly started walking over to it. "Hello! That was our touching reconciliation moment there."

She kept walking over to a frilly, red, billowy eighteenth-century gown. "I'm sorry, it's just… Look at this."

Willow looked similarly awestruck by it. "It's amazing."

Xander shrugged. "Too bulky. I prefer my women in spandex."

Jesse nodded in agreement. "Ah, the fabric that makes all butts look fantastic. Maybe even mine."

The shopkeeper had noticed her looking at the dress and came over to them. "Please, let me," he said politely, taking the dress off of its dressmaker's mannequin.

Buffy fumbled as she tried to get him to stop. "Oh, i-it's…"

"Magnificent," the shopkeeper smiled. "Yes, I know. There." He held it up to her in a nearby mirror. "My," he remarked, laying on the salesman charm. "Meet the hidden princess. I think we found a match. Don't you?"

Buffy looked at him, flattered but alarmed. "Oh, uh, I-I'm sorry. There's no way I could ever afford this."

"Oh, nonsense," he scoffed. "I feel quite moved to make you a deal you can't refuse."

She looked back into the mirror, taking the dress from him and smiling dreamily as she held it up to her chin. This might be just what she needed for Angel.

Spike sat in the warehouse, bathed in the blue light of the wall of televisions he observed. He was watching a video recording of Buffy's battle in the pumpkin patch. He'd had a second vampire on the scene filming the whole thing. God, he loved how far technology had come that he could properly study a Slayer's moves like this.

"Here it comes." He watched carefully, pacing back and forth. "Rewind that. Let's see that again." The vampire in charge of the camera rewound the tape as Spike strolled around to another monitor. "She's tricky. Baby likes to play."

He watched as Buffy staked the vampire with the sign replays, and he lit up at the sight.

"You see that?" he said delightedly. "The way she stakes him with that thing? That's what's called 'resourceful'. Rewind it again." He watched the footage like a rabid football fan. He loved a creative Slayer. She had such spirit he hadn't seen in years. God, he was glad he came here.

He heard footsteps to his left and turned to see Drusilla coming in from the other room, carrying one of her dolls. "Miss Edith needs her tea."

Spike welcomed her in, but he kept watching the footage. "C'mere, poodle," he said gently, holding a hand out to her.

Drusilla took his hand with a spacey smile. "Do you love my insides? The parts you can't see?"

Spike smiled briefly at her. "Eyeballs to entrails, my sweet," he assured her. "That's why I've got to study this Slayer. Once I know her, I can kill her. And once I kill her, you can have your run of Sunnyhell. Get strong again."

Drusilla's smile took on a malevolent air that he adored as she came in closer to him for an embrace. "Don't worry. Everything's switching. Outside to inside." She breathed into his neck. "It makes her weak."

Spike looked surprised. "Really? Did my pet have a vision?"

But she started to lose focus again. "Do you know what I miss? Leeches."

Gently prodding her, Spike turned her to face him. "Come on, talk to Daddy. This thing that makes the Slayer weak? When is it?"

"Tomorrow."

Spike frowned. That couldn't be right, could it? "Tomorrow's Halloween. Nothing happens on Halloween."

Drusilla's smile widened. "Someone's come to change it all. Someone new."

Spike nodded thoughtfully as he took her in his arms again. He'd just have to keep his eyes and ears open. Dru's visions weren't perfect, or even literal most of the time, but she'd been right often enough that he would take it seriously. Someone new, eh? Who could that be?

In the back room of the costume shop, the shopkeeper came through the curtain and knelt before his statue of Janus. He pressed his hands together and winced in pain – he always hated this bit. When he pulled them apart, there were wounds in his palms, and blood flowed freely from them.

"The world that denies thee, thou inhabit," he murmured. "He dabbed the blood from his left hand with his right middle finger and smeared it over his right eyelid. "The peace that ignores thee…," he continued, dabbing the blood from his right hand with his left middle finger and smearing it over his left eyelid, "… thou corrupt."

He dabbed the blood from his left hand with his right middle finger again and smeared a cross on his forehead.

"Chaos," he finished, gazing at the statue before him. "I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son."

The next day, Buffy stood in her room, admiring her costume in front of her full-length mirror. She also had a brunette wig on, the hair elegantly piled up like a dollop of chocolate whipped cream. She looked absolutely stunning, if she did say so herself. She put on the second of a pair of earrings while she heard Willow call out from the bathroom.

"Where're you meeting Angel?"

"Here. After trick-or-treating. Mom's gonna be out."

"Does he know about your costume?"

"Nope," grinned Buffy. "Call it a blast from his past. I'll show him I can coif with the best of 'em." She turned to the still-closed bathroom door. "Okay, Willow, come out. You can't hide in there all night."

"O-okay," Willow stammered, "but, but promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

Willow opened the door and came out wearing boots, a short, black leather skirt and a long-sleeved, V-necked, midriff-baring top. She looked drop dead gorgeous and totally uncomfortable, quickly stepping over to her ghost sheet and picking it up.

"Wow!" Buffy smiled. "You're a dish!" Willow tried to hide herself with the sheet, but Buffy took it from her and tossed it aside. "I mean, really."

Willow covered herself with her arms. "But this just isn't me."

"And that's the point," Buffy insisted, walking around her to show her the mirror. "Look, Halloween is the night that not you is you, but not you. Y'know?" Then, she heard the doorbell ring downstairs. "Oh! That's Jesse and Xander. Are you ready?"

Willow nodded nervously, still trying to cover herself. "Yeah. Okay."

"Cool! I can't wait for the boys to go non-verbal when they see you!"

Buffy scurried down the stairs, managing not to trip in her fancy dress on the way, and she opened the door to find Xander and Jesse in costume. Xander had a low-rent army costume, complete with ripped camouflage pants and jacket, a tank tee, aviator sunglasses and his plastic gun. Jesse, on the other hand, wore a long cloak that almost reached his feet – jeez, he was tall! – and a long wavy gray beard around his chin, and a tall blue pointed hat covered in stars and crescent moons.

Xander entered, saluting coolly as he did so. "Private Harris, reporting for…" He trailed off as he took in Buffy's costume. "Buffy! Lady of Buffdom, Duchess of Buffonia, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!"

Buffy curtsied playfully. "Thank you, kind sir." She eyed Jesse. "And you are… Gandalf?"

Jesse snorted. "Remember The Sorcerer's Apprentice from Fantasia?" he asked.

Buffy frowned. "Then… shouldn't you have the mouse ears, too?"

"Please," he playfully scoffed. "Mickey was a poser. I'm going as the actual Sorcerer. Look – I've been practicing my intense penetrating glare all day." He widened his eyes, looked down his nose and raised an eyebrow, but Buffy looked unimpressed.

"Less intimidating, and more…" She searched for the right word.

"Constipated," finished Xander flatly.

Jesse swatted him, but they were interrupted by footsteps coming down the stairs. Buffy lit up. "But wait till you see…" She cut herself off when she saw a white sheet ghost with the word 'BOO!' written on it coming towards them. "Casper," she finished.

Xander nodded politely at her. "Hey, Will! That's… a fine 'boo' you got there."

"Better watch yourself, though. You're not supposed to wear white after Labor Day," added Jesse.

Buffy just stared at Willow in complete disappointment. She knew getting the other girl out of her comfort zone would be difficult, but sometimes, it felt like all Will wanted to do was hide and talk about how miserable she was. She couldn't see the other girl's expression under the sheet, but she could see from the eyes that she looked miserable. Shaking her head, she herded everyone out the door. They had work to do.

At the school, they right away saw lots of children arriving in costume to be taken trick-or-treating. They all looked so happy and excited to be going out and getting free candy that the team forgot to be annoyed at their lack of time off and enjoyed entertaining the kids.

As they broke off to pick up their assigned kids, Jesse glanced across the hall and spotted Amy coming towards him dressed as a french girl, complete with white shirt with thin black vertical stripes, a red kerchief around her neck, a red skirt and a matching red beret on her head. She smiled when she saw him. "Hi, Jesse!"

Jesse whistled appreciatively at her costume. "Zut alors!" he exclaimed. "Magnifique! Très bien!" He paused, then shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah, that's all I got. Looking very sharp, Ms Madison."

She curtseyed a little. "Thanks! And you're looking very… Moses?"

"Sorcerer," he corrected, tapping his hat with his finger. "The guy at the costume shop said it was a match made in heaven."

Snyder soon stepped out of his office and began assigning everyone to their groups and giving the costumed teenagers clipboards. He brought a handful of children to Buffy, all in costumes – one even came as a vampire, much to her amusement.

"This is your group, Summers," grunted Synder. "No need to speak to them. The last thing they need is your influence. Just bring them back in one piece and I won't expel you."

As he started to walk away, Buffy bent down to smile at the kids. "Hi," she said pleasantly.

Snyder stopped and pointed a warning finger at her. "Ah, ah!"

Rolling her eyes, Buffy straightened back up, and he mercifully exited the scene.

Xander, meanwhile, waited patiently for his own kids to be brought to him. He heard footsteps approaching, and he winced when he saw Larry approaching dressed as a pirate. Well, sort of – the costume looked even cheaper than Xander's, with baggy shorts, a t-shirt, an eyepatch and a plastic sword. How the hell did anyone trust this lummox with children?

"Where's your bodyguard, Harris?" Larry mocked as he passed. "Curling her hair?" He jumped at Xander, making him flinch. He laughed in his face and continued.

Xander glared after him. He briefly aimed his plastic rifle at his departing form, but he stopped himself. He would remain a pacifist – plastic or otherwise.

Oz unloaded a few books into his locker while also holding his guitar. They had a gig tonight, and he needed to make sure he'd put all his things away so he could play with a clear head. Not that he had much trouble playing with a messy head, but he enjoyed it more. He shut his locker and hefted the guitar case when he heard someone coming. "Oz! Oz!"

Cordelia came into the hall wearing a tight-fitting catsuit, walking up to him with the most annoyed expression he had seen on her all day. "Hey, Cordelia. Jeez, you're like a great big cat."

She looked at him like he was thick. "It's my costume. Are you guys playing tonight?"

"Yeah, at the Shelter Club," he confirmed.

"Is Mr 'I'm the lead singer I'm so great I don't have to show up for a date or even call' gonna be there?"

Ah – so that was her damage. "Yeah, y'know, he's just going by 'Devon' now."

"Well, you can tell him that I don't care, and that I didn't even mention it. And that I didn't even see you. So that's just fine."

Oz nodded, furrowing his brow at having only somewhat followed her. "So, what do I tell him?"

"Nothing!" she snapped, exasperated. "Jeez! Get with the program." She walked off in a huff, her tail bobbing up and down behind her through the door.

Oz shook his head. Why couldn't he meet a nice girl like that? He turned around and bumped right into someone wearing a ghost sheet. "Oh! I'm sorry."

"Sorry," the ghost said back in a clearly female voice.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry."

"Sorry." A little embarrassed, he managed to stop apologizing and allow her to pass. Whoever that had been, she had a nice voice, albeit a little sad-sounding.

Xander paced in front of his charges – all lined up and standing at attention while he gave them instructions. "Okay, on sleazing extra candy: tears are key. Tears will normally get you the double-bagger. You can also try the old 'you missed me' routine, but it's risky. Only go there for chocolate. Understood?"

They all nodded their heads, looking very excited.

"Okay, troops." He turned and faced down the hall. The kids followed his lead. "Let's move out."

They marched down the hall in formation. He passed Jesse coming the other way with his own group of kids and saw that each of them held a roll of toilet paper, Jesse included.

Xander eyed them all with concern. "You're not really gonna…?"

"Nah," Jesse chuckled as they rounded a corner. "But I saw Snyder watching me from his office, so this'll keep 'im up all night." They passed a nearby utility closet, and he opened the door, allowing the kids to toss their toilet paper inside before continuing. "Good job, kids," he told them. "We'll stop at the gas station for one full-size candy bar each, as agreed."

Despite having been forced to volunteer, Buffy had to admit this didn't suck royally. The kids actually behaved themselves and were very sweet. Being out here, guiding them from house to house, enjoying their delight as they got candy and waved to other kids as they compared their hauls – it made her very nostalgic, and nostalgia could make anything seem half-decent.

She crossed paths with her friends a few times. Xander and Jesse looked like they had come around to enjoying it, too. Willow, she couldn't read with that sheet over her head, but she assumed she must be having a good time, too. She was still a little annoyed at her for wearing a ghost sheet over her sexy outfit, but in hindsight, that outfit probably wouldn't have gone over well with the parents. In either case, she decided just to forget about Willow for now and entertain the kids.

Buffy crouched down to see what her kids got. They looked a little sullen. "What did Mrs. Davis give you?" They all pulled out toothbrushes. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "She must be stopped," she said almost seriously. "Let's hit one more house," she decided as she got up. "We still have a few more minutes before I need to get you back."

In the back room of the costume shop, dressed in his hooded robe, the shopkeeper weaved a spell in Latin. "Janus, evoco vestram animam. Exaudi meam causam. Carpe noctem pro consilio vestro. Veni, appare et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas."

Willow managed to forget for a while that she'd let herself get talked into a trashy outfit and followed her charges along the porch to the door of another house. "C'mon, guys," she said encouragingly. All had gone well so far. Just a couple more houses, and they could call it a night. One of the kids, wearing a green monster mask on his head, rang the bell and stepped back.

An old lady, who Willow knew to be Mrs Parker, answered the door. The kid with the mask pulled it down over his face. "Trick-or-treat!"

Mrs Parker gushed. "Oh, my goodness, aren't you adorable!"

As she fumbled with a candy bucket, Willow felt a gust of wind blow around her sheet, and for a moment, she thought something didn't feel right. She remained focused on the kids though, figuring it was just her once again having a negative reaction having a bare midriff under this ghost sheet.

Mrs Parker looked dismayed as she found the candy bucket empty. "Oh, dear! Am I all out?" she said apologetically. "I'm sorry, mister monster," she said, bending down. "Maybe I…" She was interrupted when the kid in the green mask suddenly grabbed her by the neck and started choking her.

Alarmed, Willow reached out to intervene while the other kids screamed and ran away. "No! Let her go!"

A flash of red appeared beside her, and the kid in the red demon costume attacked the boy in the green monster mask, allowing Mrs Parker to get free. Without wasting a moment, she retreated to her house and slammed the door while the two monsters fought on her front step.

"Stop! What're you doing?!" Willow shouted, trying to separate them. "Stop! Hey!"

But when she really got a good look at them, she realized something very wrong – the kids were no longer kids. Somehow, they'd become the costumes they wore. The monster and the demon continued to fight each other, hissing and growling before tumbling off the step into the yard.

Willow moved to chase them, but then, she began to feel very weak. She staggered a bit, her hands going to her throat. "Ohmigod!" she gasped out. "Can't breathe…!" She collapsed to the ground, down and out. Everything went black.

Mercifully, this only lasted for a few seconds – or maybe longer, since she couldn't process time in that way. Her vision returned, and she felt fine. Relieved, she slowly got to her feet, staggering a bit in her sexy boots. Then, she looked down. She could see her sexy boots, and also her entire sexy outfit. She almost went to cover herself with the discarded ghost sheet when she saw someone was wearing it on the ground.

It was her. She was still wearing it.

And her boots were partially obscured by her dead body. "Ohmigod!" she panicked. "I'm a real ghost!"

Nearby, she heard an automatic rifle being fired, making her jump. "Xander?" she called out. Maybe his toy gun just had super-realistic sound effects. Kids toys today, she hopefully griped. She ran out into the street and found him pretty quickly, still in his soldier get up, but with his back to her. "Xander!"

He spun around and pointed his great big M-16 at her, making her yelp.

"It's me, Willow!"

Xander glared impassively at her. "I don't know any Willow."

"Xander, quite messing around! This is no time for jokes!"

But his body language looked nothing like her oldest friend's. He stood ramrod straight and scanned the area with his eyes while keeping his gun level – like a lifelong career soldier. "What the hell's going on here?" he demanded.

"You don't know me?"

Apparently deciding she wasn't a threat, Xander started to move off. "Lady, I suggest you find cover," he said, starting past her.

"No, wait!" Willow hurried to get in front of him, only for him to walk right through her. It gave Willow a strange feeling – and she kind of enjoyed it. "Oooh!" she cried.

Xander, however, looked freaked, and quickly turned around to point his weapon at her again. "What are you?!"

Willow held up her hand to placate him. "Xander, listen to me. I'm on your side, I swear! Something crazy is happening. I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween, and now I am a ghost. And you were supposed to be a soldier, and now I… guess you're a real soldier."

"You expect me to believe that?"

A little monster appeared across the street, growling at them. Xander pointed his gun at it, and it immediately ran away. Willow jumped in front of him. "No! No gun! That's still a little kid in there!"

"Step out of the way!" he snapped.

"No gun! That's an order!" she shouted angrily. To her relief, he lowered the rifle.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, and they both turned to see Jesse walking up to them in his Sorcerer outfit, his eyes wide and kinda angry-looking, but his posture totally calm, as if they weren't in total chaos right now.

"Jesse!" she cried, running over. "Are you still you?!"

"What the hell is this guy supposed to be?" Xander demanded, not raising his weapon but still very suspicious of the newcomer.

"Well, he was dressed as a sorcerer for Halloween, so I guess maybe he's a…" Willow trailed off and looked at Jesse, who still looked at her with those big fierce eyes. Had Jesse always been this intimidating? "Are you a sorcerer?" she asked awkwardly.

Jesse responded by holding his hands out like he was parting the Red Sea, but instead of doing that, he raised a few of the small monsters into the air. Willow watched in amazement as the little guys ran in place, their little legs kicking helplessly.

"Oh wow," she murmured.

Apparently satisfied to have demonstrated his power, he gently lowered the monsters back to the ground, and they all resumed their chaos as if nothing happened.

It was enough to make Xander raise his weapon again. "What the hell are you?!" he shouted.

Jesse, however, simply walked through Willow – giving her that giddy feeling again – and gave Xander his fierce look. He didn't look awkward or weird. He looked like he could split the world open with a snap of his fingers, and taking care of some random soldier would take even less effort.

Xander lowered his weapon, intimidated but not ready to show it. "Why don't you say anything?" he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

Willow came around to get a better look, and she eyed the pointy hat on his head. She wondered… But then, she saw movement coming towards her, and she turned to see… "Buffy!"

Everyone turned to see Buffy running up, her huge gown swaying as she stumbled unsteadily up to them. Willow hurried across the street to meet her halfway, with Xander and Jesse following.

"Buffy! Are you okay?"

All were interrupted by the monster Xander had pointed his gun at earlier, heading straight for them, with a new friend alongside him.

Xander shouldered his M-16 again and took aim. "This could be a situation."

Jesse stood beside him, his stance not a fighting one, but he raised his powerful eyebrow and gave a slight nod to show he agreed.

Willow stood behind them, trying to be brave. "Buffy, what do we do?" She heard a thud on the pavement, and she turned to find Buffy had fallen in a dead faint.

Without a moment to lose, Willow managed to get Jesse to help her move Buffy off the street and towards a tree in someone's yard. Xander covered them by firing off a couple dozen rounds into the sky over the monsters, managing to scare them off

It didn't take long for their friend to revive. "Buffy, are you alright?" Willow asked gently.

Buffy looked up at them, bleary-eyed. "What?"

"Are you hurt?" asked Xander.

She didn't answer. "Buffy, are you hurt?" Willow repeated.

Buffy sat up, confused. "Buffy?"

Willow looked at the boys, realizing. "She's not Buffy."

Both boys looked confused. "Who's Buffy?" asked Xander.

"Oh, this is fun," grumbled Willow. As the guys helped Buffy to her feet, she asked her, "What year is this?"

"1775, I believe," Buffy replied, her tone light but confused, starting to hyperventilate. "I- I don't understand. Who are you?"

"We're friends."

That didn't seem to reassure her. "F-friends of whom? Y-your dress… Everything is strange! How did I come to be here?"

"Breathe, okay, breathe. You're gonna faint again." She looked to the boys again helplessly. "How are we supposed to get through this without the Slayer?"

Both boys just stared blankly again. "What's a Slayer?"

Frustrating Willow even further, a monster came around the tree behind Buffy and roared, fangs bared and claws raised to attack. Buffy screamed and backed off. Xander jumped in and whacked the monster across the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking it down and out.

"I suggest we get inside before we come across anything…," he started.

Buffy cut him off, screaming. "A DEMON! A DEMON!" She hid behind Xander as a sport utility vehicle came driving down the street with its headlights on.

"That's not a demon. It's a car," Willow explained patiently.

"What does it want?" Buffy whimpered.

Xander looked incredulously between them. "Is this woman insane?"

"She's never seen a car."

"She's never seen a car?"

Willow sighed heavily. "She's from the past."

"And you're a ghost." He pointed at Jesse, who still glared fiercely at them. "And he's a mute sorcerer?"

"Yes! Now let's get inside."

Xander still looked disbelieving but complied with her orders. "I just want you to know that I'm taking a lot on faith here. Where do we go?"

The nearest house was Buffy's, so Willow led the way there. Buffy kept freaking out and complaining, gripping Xander's arm as they went, while Jesse managed to allay any approaching creatures with his magic. They would start to run in their direction, only to randomly lose interest and go the other way. Maybe he'd altered their perception for the time being, or maybe he just made the four of them smell really rank to everyone else.

When they arrived at the house, they came in the back door. Xander opened it and scanned the room. "All clear!" The four of them hustled inside, and he shut the door behind them.

Willow called out into the house. "Hello? Mrs. Summers?" She got no response. "Good, she's gone." Buffy's mom was the last person they needed to know about this.

"Where are we?" Buffy asked, looking around the kitchen in wonder.

"Your place," replied Willow. "Now we just need to…" They heard a banging at the front door. Xander instinctively went to investigate. "Don't open it!"

"Could be a civilian," said Xander sternly.

"Or a mini demon!" He quieted at that, and he simply set about checking the windows. Jesse followed him, not really contributing but still looking bizarrely intense.

Then, Buffy spoke up behind her. "This… this could be me."

Willow turned and saw her amnesiac friend had found a picture on a table and picked it up. It was of her wearing a spaghetti strap top. "It is you. Buffy, can't you remember at all?"

"No!" she cried. "I don't understand any of this!" She stammered briefly as she put the picture back down, almost scared of it. "Uh, uh, th... This is some other girl! I would never wear this – that low apparel, and I don't like this place, and I don't like you, and I just wanna go home!"

God, how had Angel ever lived around women like this? "You are home!" This only made Buffy start crying. Willow sighed despairingly to Jesse. "She couldn't have dressed up like Xena?"

Xander scanned the outside through one of the small windows in the door. He moved away just as a monster punched through the glass and reached for him. It pulled its hand back as Xander raised his M-16.

"Not a civilian!" exclaimed Willow.

"Affirmative!" Xander agreed. He took aim through the broken portal.

Willow ran to stop him. "Hey! What did we say?!" she snapped, but Jesse held up an arm between them that feasibly, she could've just walked through, but she stopped at his stern look.

Xander let loose a volley of bullets. Everyone winced at the noise. Buffy bowed her head and covered her ears in alarm. Xander rolled away from the door when he finished his burst. "Big noise scare monster, remember?"

Willow nodded. "Got it."

Then, they could hear two women screaming outside. Xander looked out again. "Damn it!" he exclaimed. He motioned to Jesse. "Keep a lookout," he ordered. Jesse barely had time to nod in response before opening the door and going out to rescue whomever, pulling the door closed behind him.

Buffy ran up to Willow. "Surely he'll not desert us!"

Willow just shook her head, so totally done with all this. "Whatever," she sighed, heading into the living room. She needed some space.

The screams turned out to belong to Cordelia and Amy. The two had managed to escape their kids-turned-demons, but then they got caught up running away from a sasquatch together. Fortunately for them, Xan the Soldier Man managed to rescue them, and they returned to the Summers residence out of breath, their costumes a bit torn and thoroughly confused when they saw Buffy as an aristocrat, Jesse as a long-bearded sorcerer and Willow as the – in her own words – the skankiest ghost not haunting the docks.

Cordelia found her voice first. "What's going on?" she demanded.

Willow took a breath. She had to do this all over again. "Okay, your name is Cordelia, you're not a cat, you're in high school, and we're your friends. Well, sort of."

"That's nice, Willow," she snapped. "And you went mental when?"

"You know us?"

"Yeah. Lucky me. What's with the name game?"

Willow looked at the other girl. "And Amy? You're… not an actual French girl, I hope?"

Amy shook her head. "No…," she said slowly, "but that'd be handy. I'd totally ace that French exam next week." She held up her torn sleeve. "Dang. I worked hard on this, y'know? Took me two weeks to sew."

Cordelia's eyebrows raised. "You made this yourself? Wow, I really thought you got ripped off somewhere, but if that's homemade, it's pretty decent." She held up her own costume damage for all to say. "I was just attacked by Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy. Look at my costume! Do you really think that Party Town's gonna give me my deposit back? Not on the likely!" She grimaced as she discovered another tear down her side.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Xander took his shirt off and put it around her shoulders. "Here."

The girls in the room took a moment to appreciate his pumped, tattoo covered biceps. "Thanks," Cordelia murmured, almost blushing.

With more people around, that meant they could better defend themselves. Willow, therefore, made a decision. "Okay. You guys stay here while I get some help. If something tries to get in, just fight it off."

The others nodded in agreement, but Buffy looked disturbed at the very idea. "Well, i-it's not our place to fight. Uh, surely some men will protect us."

Cordelia looked seriously disturbed. "What's that riff?" she demanded.

"It's like amnesia, okay?" Willow said quickly as she started to go. "They don't know who they are. Just sit tight."

Cordelia scoffed. "Who died and made her the boss?"

Everyone else watched as Willow walked through the wall behind Cordelia. Buffy stared in wide-eyed amazement.

"Holy cow," murmured Amy.

Spike had only stepped outside to see what all the crazy noises were about. He hadn't expected to see people fleeing in terror from several monsters. The closer he got to the Slayer's neighborhood, the more chaotic it got. Car alarms going off, scattered candy and plastic buckets in the street, and a bunch of little demons running around.

"Well!" he exclaimed, taking in the chaos like a kid on Christmas. "This is just… neat!"

Xander and Jesse set to work setting furniture in front of the dining room windows to ensure monsters couldn't force their way in. Jesse had used his magic to repair the damage quickly, but Xander insisted on taking extra precautions. Jesse seemed to go along with it amiably enough, despite still looking fiercely at everyone in the room.

"Is it just me," Cordelia whispered to Amy, "or are the guys hot all of a sudden?"

Amy didn't answer. She was too busy gazing at them.

Xander, however, addressed Cordelia. "You! Check upstairs. Make sure everything's locked up." She nodded and headed up to check the windows.

Buffy had been extremely unhelpful during this whole thing – like any sensible noblewoman. "Surely there's somewhere we can go. A safe haven."

Xander shook his head. "Lady said stay put."

"You would take orders from a woman? A-are you feeble in some way?"

"Ma'am, in the Army we have a saying: sit down and shut the…" He trailed off when he saw Jesse holding something. He went to look, and he saw it to be a framed photo of… the four of them. "Whoa!" He stood alongside Jesse, and they alternated between looking at how chummy they looked in the photo and how far apart they looked right now. "She must be right. We must have some kind of amnesia."

Buffy looked disgusted. "I don't know what that is, but I'm certain I don't have it. I bathe quite often!"

Xander showed her the photo. "How do you explain this?"

She looked at the photo, her displeasure only growing. "I don't! I was brought up a proper lady. I wasn't meant to understand things. I'm just meant to look pretty, and then someone nice will marry me. Possibly a Baron."

"You guys are best friends," Amy said suddenly, walking towards them. They all turned to look at her, and she continued. "The four of you – you saved my life once. It's kind of your thing, saving people."

Xander and Jesse regarded her thoughtfully, but Buffy looked disgusted. "Endanger myself deliberately for some peasants? I'd sooner die," she huffed.

Amy rolled her eyes. "I know that's the costume talking, so I'll let that one go."

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened, and Angel came storming in. He looked relieved when he saw them all. "Oh, good! You guys are alright. It's total chaos out there."

"Who are you?" asked Buffy, Xander and – because she hadn't met him yet – Amy. Jesse just looked at him inquisitively.

Giles had decided to have a quiet night in the library. He'd hoped he and Buffy could go over battle techniques, but once she explained that the resident rodent had forced her and the others into trick-or-treating with a bunch of children, he knew that would be hopeless. He decided to do something for himself instead – cross-referencings. Mentioning it to her earlier had really put him in the mood for it.

He was just going through a stack of cards he pulled from the card catalog when he could hear yelling and sirens outside. He looked up, curious what could be happening. Halloween was usually very quiet in the demon world, so maybe he wouldn't need to get involved.

But then, Willow came in, giving him a fright. Normally, that wouldn't startle him, but she was wearing a very revealing outfit that took him off guard – and also, she entered literally through the wall. He jumped in complete surprise, letting the cards fly all over the place.

"Hi," she said, a little embarrassed.

Giles took a moment to calm down a bit. He gathered his thoughts, collected himself and uttered, "Huh."

Angel looked at everyone in the house, all of them looking back at him with cautious curiosity. He'd been hoping to talk to Buffy about their failed date, but all the weird stuff going on tonight took precedent. Now he had Buffy in a gown, Xander in an Army getup, Jesse in a long beard and pointy hat, and another girl he'd never seen before dressed in a French outfit. Definitely 'of the weird', as Buffy would say. "Okay, somebody wanna fill me in?" he asked, looking at the four of them.

Xander eyed him, holding his rifle cautiously. "Do you live here?"

Angel frowned. "No, and you know that. Buffy," he said, making her jump. "I'm lost here. You… What's up with your hair?"

He heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and he braced himself for Mrs Summers – but it was Cordelia in a disheveled sexy cat outfit. "They don't know who they are, everyone's turned into a monster, it's a whole big thing." She smiled prettily at him. "How are you?" Before he could answer, the lights suddenly went out, and Buffy clutched Cordelia in uncharacteristic fright. "Do you mind?" Cordelia asked snottily, getting her to let go of her.

Xander, to Angel's surprise, took charge. "You take the princess and secure the kitchen," he ordered. "Beardy-Weirdy – you and the French Lady double check the windows. Catwoman, you're with me." Even more surprisingly, everyone nodded in acceptance and did what he said, Jesse and the French girl splitting off to check the windows while Cordelia followed him into the living room.

Buffy, however, remained put. "But I don't wanna go with you!" she complained to Angel as he took her arm. "I- I like the man with the musket!"

Angel ignored her. Right away, he could tell this wasn't his Buffy. "C'mon."

"Do you have a musket?"

They entered the kitchen, and right away, Angel saw the open door – the door he definitely hadn't left open. He quietly moved toward it as he looked around for an intruder. Reaching out tentatively, he gently pushed it shut. The moment he finished doing that, the basement door burst open.

Buffy gave a yelp as a vampire tried to start clawing at her. She tried to push the door closed on him, but she didn't have the strength of a Slayer anymore and couldn't manage it. Angel grabbed the vampire and wrestled him to the floor. How had this guy gotten in without an invite? That broke so many rules! With no time to really think about it, he shouted to Buffy. "A stake!"

"A what?"

"Get me a stake!" He heard her shoes squeaking as she looked around, and he could hear her grab something. "Hurry up!" He turned to look at what's keeping her, not realizing that he'd instinctively switched to his game face during the fight.

Buffy, however, did notice and screamed at the top of her lungs before she ran for the kitchen door.

"Buffy, no!" he shouted, but she yanked it open and ran out into the night.

The vampire in his grasp started thrashing and hissing at him clumsily, and Angel thought for a moment that he would have to deal with this himself. Then, he felt a rush of wind around him, and he fell off the other vampire as the guy suddenly lifted into the air. Confused, he looked to the living room doorway and saw Jesse – with the most intense stare he had ever seen on the kid – holding out one hand, articulating his fingers as he kept the vampire prisoner.

Xander appeared beside him, aiming his rifle at the vampire, while Cordelia and Amy hovered behind them. "What've we got here?" he demanded.

Before Angel could answer, the girl in the French outfit spoke up. "Wait, I know that guy! That's Jeff from Geometry! He was one of the escorts tonight! He dressed as a vampire!"

Angel looked up at the floating vampire as it flailed frantically. So that's how the guy got in without an invite – he wasn't really a vampire. Probably shouldn't kill him then. "Can we put him somewhere else until we change him back?" he asked hopefully.

Jesse raised an eyebrow, but he held out his other hand and snapped his fingers at the kitchen door. It swung open wide enough that he could catapult the vampire outside, where it landed in the backyard. Definitely rattled, it turned and fled into the night.

Great, thought Angel. Now he just had to inform them that he'd accidentally scared Buffy off.

Giles, now in the loop, got a stack of old papers from the library cage. Blowing the dust off of them, he came back out to where Willow looked at a book. "I don't even know what I'm looking for," she complained. "Plus, I can't turn the page."

He could certainly understand her frustration. "Well, alright," he said, setting the papers on the table. "Let's review. Um, so everybody became, uh, whatever they were masquerading as."

"Right. Xander was a soldier, Jesse was a sorcerer and Buffy was an eighteenth-century girl."

Giles nodded along, straightening his glasses as he took in her less-than-usual attire. "And, uh, your costume?"

"I'm a ghost!" Willow exclaimed, as if it were painfully obvious.

"Yes. Um… the ghost of what, exactly?"

Willow covered her bare midriff with her arms again, feeling insulted. "Well, this is nothing. You should see what Cordelia was wearing! A unitard with cat things, like ears and stuff."

Giles' eyes widened. "Good heavens. Uh, she became an actual feline?"

Indignation now being replaced with dawning realization, Willow's tone softened. "No! She was the same old Cordelia. Just in a cat costume."

"She didn't change."

"No. Neither did Amy. She was dressed as a French girl, but she didn't speak a lick of French or eat a croissant or anything!" She paced a little around the table. "Hold on… Partytown. Cordelia told us she got her outfit from Partytown – and Amy said she made her costume herself!"

Finally, they were getting somewhere. "And everyone who changed," said Giles, "they acquired their costumes where?"

"We all got ours at a new place. Ethan's."

Giles stopped short. No, he thought. It couldn't be…

Amy followed the others out onto the street. She had now been properly – if hurriedly – introduced to Angel as Buffy's heroic vampire boyfriend(?) as they ran out the door to find her. The team of five ran together for a while, but they couldn't see her anywhere. How could they lose someone in a dress that huge?

Xander had his rifle raised and ready. "Are you sure she came this way?"

"No," Angel replied shortly.

Cordelia couldn't figure out what all the fuss was about. "She'll be okay."

"Buffy would be okay," Angel told her. "Whoever she is now, she's helpless."

"With this many of us in one group, we're not covering enough ground," Xander said decisively. He gestured with his head to Jesse and Amy. "You two – check in that direction. The rest of you – with me. We'll reconvene here in one hour."

Jesse, as usual, didn't speak, but he nodded his head in agreement. Good enough for her, Amy decided, and she saluted before leading him down the alley.

Behind a tree, Spike overheard the conversation. He grinned in amusement as the Harris boy ordered Captain Forehead around. He could tell it rankled the old man's fangs. Still, he'd heard all he needed to hear. He turned to the child monsters standing behind him. He'd managed to gather some up with promises of mischief and trouble to cause. "Do you hear that, my friends?"

The monsters nodded and growled. At least they spoke English.

"Somewhere out here is the tenderest meat you've ever tasted, and all we have to do is find her first!"

Buffy looked around, trying to decide what to do. She lifted her skirt a bit and started to walk. She turned around to look behind her and took a few steps backward. When she turned back around, Larry – now a real pirate, mind you – startled her. He smiled widely at her, showing his rotten black teeth. "Pretty, pretty!" he snarled lecherously. Buffy immediately tried to run away, and the pirate gave chase.

Thankfully, Ethan's Costume Shop wasn't too far into town, so walking there didn't take a super long time. The lights were mostly off, but Giles could see a few on in the back room. He tried the door, and it opened easily. He didn't know if that was a good sign or not. Sharing an uneasy glance with Willow, they walked in.

"Hello! Anyone home?" he called out.

Then, Willow whispered to him. "Giles…"

He followed her gaze and saw the curtain to the back room partially open. They slowly went in and saw a golden statue. On one side, a beautiful woman, and on the other side, a gnarled hideous-looking man. The eyes glowed green as they approached.

Giles recognized it immediately. "Janus. Roman mythical god."

"What does this mean?" Willow asked.

"Primarily the division of self. Male and female, light and dark."

"Chunky and creamy," a third British voice added. "Oh, no, sorry, that's peanut butter."

His heart rate picked up as he turned. So it was him. How the hell had he found him after all the years?

Ethan Rayne grinned sinisterly in the shadows, older than he remembered but still very much the man from his youth. He leaned against the doorway, hands in his pockets and a smarmy look about him, like he really thought he was the smartest person in the room.

"Willow, get out of here, now," he said as calmly as he could, not taking his eyes off the other man.

"But…"

"Now!"

Startled by his abrupt tone, Willow turned and bolted from the room, not even noticing that she didn't need the door and just phased right through into the night. He didn't like yelling at her, but it was for her own safety.

"Hello, Ethan."

"Hello, Ripper."

Amy and Jesse walked together in the cool night air. She hadn't planned to be out this late. She hoped her dad would be understanding. She knew Snyder would not be understanding, but she had a feeling he wouldn't be singling her out for the mayhem caused tonight.

Jesse didn't say a word the entire time they walked. She hated that. Why did being a sorcerer mean he remained silent? Didn't make for decent conversation.

They came into an area full of shops along the sidewalks. She usually liked this part of town, with all the shop fronts usually open and people milling around. Tonight, though, it looked eerie, like something might jump out at any moment and attack them. Every shadow seemed to contain something her imagination could conjure up.

Still, Jesse's company helped ease her fears. Even if he couldn't talk, he could at least magic whatever dangers they faced away. She glanced up at him. Even with the huge beard, he didn't look half bad.

Then, they both came to a halt as they spotted movement coming running out of a shop that had the sign Ethan's on the front. To her surprise, she could see it was Willow, running at full speed in the opposite direction as them. Unencumbered by mass, she could run much faster than normal.

"Willow!" she called out, but the other girl was already disappearing into the shadows, out of earshot. She thought about running after her, but to her surprise, Jesse broke off from her and started walking towards the shop instead. Seeing as he wasn't moving nearly as fast as Willow, Amy decided to follow him instead.

Buffy backed away from Larry the Pirate – even in her eighteenth century brain, she could figure out what this brute wanted. She turned to run, but tripped and fell. Her gown billowed out around her like a clothing mushroom cloud. Larry grabbed her as she tried to get up and shoved her against a crate. He pushed her hair away from her frightened face and moved in to kiss her.

Then, like a great big awesome hero, Xander came running and tackled Larry down to the pavement. He got up and pulled the larger guy up and into the door of a nearby warehouse. He punched him in the face and gut before Larry pushed him off and into the opposite alley wall, punching him right back in the gut. Xander responded by grabbing Larry's arm and pulling it behind his back, forcing him to bend over, and kneed him in the stomach.

Cordelia arrived during the fight, finding Buffy still on the ground. "Buffy! Are you okay?" Buffy looked up and saw Angel right behind Cordelia. She yelped in terror and cowered behind a box. "What's your deal? Take a pill!"

Buffy pointed at Angel fearfully. "He's a vampire!"

Cordelia rolled her eyes and addressed Angel. "She's got this thing where she thinks…," she started, but she was too exasperated for explanations. "Uhhh, forget it." She knelt down next to Buffy behind the box. "It's okay," she said patiently. "Angel is a good vampire. He would never hurt you."

Uncertain, Buffy slowly stood up. "Really?"

"Absolutely. He's our friend."

They watched the man in question as Angel headed over to Xander fighting Larry, giving him a solid punch that sent him into a pile of trash and a stack of boxes. Several boxes fell off of the top and onto the pirate, knocking him out cold.

Satisfied to have the job done, Xander dusted his hands and rejoined the others. "It's strange, but beating up that pirate gave me a weird sense of closure."

Then, proving the universe really would never give any of them a chance to catch their breath, Willow came running down the alley from the other end, her eyes alight with fear. "Guys! Guys, you gotta get inside!"

She pointed back the way she came, and they all looked to see Spike walking toward them, flanked by four child-sized and two grown-up sized monsters. They looked ready for a fight – a fight that, right now, they didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hell of winning without Buffy.

"We need a triage!" Xander ordered.

Angel pointed the other way. "This way! Find an open warehouse."

Nodding in agreement, Xander turned and picked up his rifle. "Ladies, we're on the move!" He quickly headed down the alley, Cordelia and Willow following him. Buffy tried to follow, but her huge dress made running difficult, so Angel lifted her up and carried her away.

Giles glared at Ethan as they squared off in the back room. "What? No hug?" Ethan grinned. "Aren't you pleased to see your old mate, Rupert?"

After all these years, the man still got off on pathos. "I'm just surprised I didn't guess it was you. This Halloween stunt stinks of Ethan Rayne."

Ethan took it as a compliment, of course. "Yes, it does, doesn't it? Don't wish to blow my own trumpet, but it's genius. The very embodiment of 'be careful what you wish for'."

"It's sick, brutal, and it harms the innocent."

Ethan's smile became a sneer. "Oh, and we all know that you are the champion of innocents and all things pure and good, Rupert. It's quite a little act you've got going here, old man."

Giles kept his tone even. "It's no act. It's who I am."

"'Who you are'? The Watcher, sniveling, tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer and her kin? I think not. I know who you are, Rupert, and I know what you're capable of." Then, his expression became thoughtfully amused as he realized something. "But they don't, do they? They have no idea where you come from."

He didn't have time for this. He needed this over for their sakes. "Break the spell, Ethan. Then leave this place and never come back."

And didn't that suggestion just terribly amuse Ethan? "Why should I? What's in the bargain for me?"

Giles took a step towards him. "You get to live."

"Oh, Rupert, you're scaring me – ACK!"

Before Giles could even lay a hand on him, Ethan's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open, all traces of smugness gone. His hands flew to his throat, and his head tilted back as he… started to rise into the air?

Very confused, Giles tried to intervene, but he noticed Ethan's eyes looking past him. He turned to look, and to his shock, he saw a man in a scraggly beard and pointed sorcerer's hat in the doorway with his arm outstretched while a girl in a French outfit clung to his arm. For a moment, he had no idea what was happening, but then, he remembered Willow mentioning a girl in a French costume – Amy – while someone else in a sorcerer's…

His eyes widened. "Jesse?!"

But Jesse gave no signs of recognition. He held out his hand, using his newfound magical abilities to strangle Ethan, keeping his feet off the ground to prevent him from trying to run. As attack plans went, Giles had to admit it had its merits.

Angel, still carrying Buffy, got ahead of the others and found an open warehouse. "Over here!" he shouted.

Xander pushed the door aside, and they all hurried in as Spike and his gang of monsters rounded the corner and closed in on them. He slid the door closed again with only seconds to spare. He started grabbing whatever furniture he could find to barricade it. "Check if there are any other ways in!" he ordered.

Still finding it odd that Xander was giving him effective orders, Angel set Buffy back down on her feet next to Cordelia. "Just stay here," he told her before running off to help secure the building.

Buffy clutched Cordelia again, much to her annoyance. "Faboo. More clinging," she grumbled.

Xander held the door with all his strength, and for a moment, it seemed as though he would succeed. Then, something jerked at the door, and a demonic hand started to punch through it, tearing it apart. It jerked again, and then, it started to slide open, sending the barricade everywhere.

Xander and Angel stepped back, retreating as the warehouse door opened completely, and in walked Spike, followed by his loyal Halloween minions.

Ethan gasped and choked as Jesse used his magic to lift the man higher towards the ceiling, his windpipe getting crushed in the process. While Giles had no sympathy for the man who had caused all this trouble, he didn't want Jesse to be the one to kill him. He didn't know what the young man would think once his mind returned to normal.

"Jesse, please!" he said loudly. "You can stop now!"

Jesse's face had the most intense expression he had ever seen. The usually casual and relaxed boy he knew looked ancient and fierce, like he had the power to do anything he wanted and crush anyone who dared to stop him.

And that someone would be Giles. "Jesse!" he barked, with the same intensity he'd used to send Willow away minutes earlier. "Put him down! Now!"

Jesse's piercing gaze diverted to him, still not putting down Ethan yet. Giles refused to be intimidated, glaring right back at him. For a few tense seconds, it looked like a standoff, but then… Jesse nodded and lowered his arm abruptly, causing Ethan to come crashing down on the hard floor.

Giles nodded, his expression still stern but grateful. "Thank you." He turned to Ethan's crumpled form as the other man coughed and wheezed, trying to force himself back up, but he clearly needed a minute. "Apologies, Ethan, for the interruption, but then, of course, I assume you sold him the costume." He smirked a little. "Be careful what you wish for."

Ethan continued to cough, but he looked up at Giles with amusement. "And you said 'Rupert the Ripper' was long gone. Took your sweet time stopping him…"

"How do I stop the spell?"

"Say 'pretty please'."

Before Giles could do anything, however, he noticed movement ahead of him, and he looked up to see Amy standing by the statue of Janus on the pedestal, its eyes still glowing green. "Allow me," she said calmly, picking it up.

Ethan glared at her. "You don't know what you're doing. You don't understand the Black Magic."

Amy smirked. "My mom was a witch," she replied simply before taking the statue over her head and slamming it onto the floor, smashing it into little bitty pieces.

Angel tried to get past the little minions that kept running at him, but they continued to hold him at bay – too far from Buffy to protect her. Xander was pinned against the wall by the taller minions, struggling with all his might to get free. Cordelia cowered in the corner with Willow, who could only look on helplessly as she couldn't physically intervene.

That just left Spike, grinning at the cowering form of Buffy on the table. "Look at you," he said softly, almost kindly. "Shaking, terrified. Alone. Lost little lamb." He smiled at her tearful face and slapped her hard. "I love it."

"Buffy!" Angel shouted, trying to get past, but these annoying little demons had too much energy, and they came from seemingly every direction.

Spike gripped Buffy's brown hair with one hand and her arm with the other. He started to lean in.

Xander broke free at last, managing to grab his rifle as he ran towards Spike. Willow came up alongside, nodding eagerly. "Now that guy, you can shoot!" Apparently glad to hear that, he raised his machine gun and aimed it at Spike – but when he squeezed the trigger, nothing happened. They both stared at the gun and saw it had reverted to its original plastic form.

"What the…?" Xander asked, sounding a little more like his usual self.

Spike looked up at the commotion and saw things had changed. His army of minions had changed back into scared little trick-or-treaters, along with two high school students. Realizing what this meant, he felt the brown hair in his hand. It was a wig – and, disappointingly, her head wasn't in it.

Buffy sat up, smiling pleasantly in her usual blonde hair. "Hi, Honey. I'm home." And she let loose on him. All the pent-up rage and frustration from her last defenseless hours came pouring out in a series of brutal kicks and punches that sent him to the ground. She lifted him back to his feet, still smiling cheerfully. "You know what? It's good to be me." She continued to go ballistic on him until he finally got away. No longer with an army, he knew he was outnumbered and fled to fight another day.

Looking better than she had all night, Buffy moved closer to the others. Xander smiled brightly at her. "Hey, Buff. Welcome back."

"Yeah," she smiled back. "You, too."

Cordelia looked between them. "You guys remember what happened?"

"It was way creepy," Xander confirmed. "Like I was there, but I couldn't get out."

"I know the feeling," she replied, but she was eyeing Angel as she spoke. "This outfit is totally skin-tight…"

But Angel wasn't listening, remaining focused on Buffy. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she replied, already forgetting the other people in the room.

He took her by the arm, and they moved off, leaving Xander and Cordelia behind – the latter looking utterly disbelieving she'd been snubbed like that. "Hello? It felt like I was talking. My lips were moving…!"

Xander shook his head, almost smiling at her. "Give it up, Cordy. You're never going to get between those two. Believe me. I know."

Huffing petulantly, Cordelia turned – and came face-to-face with a bunch of dazed trick-or-treaters. "I guess we should get them back to their parents."

"Yeah," Xander agreed, a little miffed Buffy had ditched them to handle that task themselves. "It seems like everybody is…" He trailed off, looking around. "Where's Willow?"

Willow awoke with a light snort. At first, she couldn't see a thing, but then, she realized it was because of her ghost sheet. She removed it quickly as she got back to her feet. She was still in Mrs Parker's front yard. She winced at the memory. She wondered if the old lady had even seen the dead ghost girl at all this evening. Still, she took a deep intake of breath. She was alive again, and it felt gosh darn good.

She considered the sheet, contemplating whether to put it back on or not. She really should. It was chilly, and there were kids around, and she really ought to try and find the ones she'd been entrusted to.

But then, a wicked smile crossed her lips, and she tossed the sheet aside, not caring if Mrs Parker found it or not. She walked off into the night. It's not like anyone's really watching, she thought to herself.

. . .

Oz was just coming back from his gig. It had gone almost completely well, although their drummer had gone a little overboard with the drum solo and almost sent his crash cymbal… well, crashing into someone when he hit it too hard. Whatever. These things happened, and that's the chance you take with live performances.

He stopped when he saw a girl in a halter top and miniskirt walking down the street not too far from him. He did a double take at her – it was the eskimo girl. She was heading off into the night, and he still had to get home, but he watched her walk by until she'd disappeared from sight. He still gazed after her, utterly enchanted.

"Who is that girl?" he murmured with a smile.

Jesse had quickly ditched the sorcerer's outfit – he'd thankfully had his normal clothes on underneath – and now went back to his usual laidback expression, completely beard-free, while Amy gazed at him with a seemingly newfound appreciation. In fact, an impartial third party might've thought she looked downright enamored of him.

"Thanks so much for putting up with Silent Movie me all night," Jesse said gratefully, patting Amy on the shoulder.

"But why didn't you talk all night?" Amy inquired. "Why did being a sorcerer make you mute?"

"Well, I was the Sorcerer from Fantasia," he explained, "and you remember how there's no dialogue in that movie…?"

Comprehension dawned, and Amy smiled. "Ohhhhh," she said. "Well, you handled your power very responsibly for the evening. You were very…," she paused to come up with an adequate word, " … 'wow'."

Smiling bashfully, Jesse turned and spotted Giles still in the doorway, staring out into the street. Ethan had done a runner within seconds of Amy smashing the statue, and although they'd won the day, the Watcher had been quiet. Swallowing, Jesse shared a concerned look with Amy before walking up alongside him. The older man regarded him briefly before returning his gaze to the empty street. While the Sorcerer character had been able to intimidate people with just a look all night, the only person it hadn't been able to stand up to was Rupert Giles.

Taking a deep breath, Jesse finally spoke. "So… 'Ripper'," he said calmly.

Giles looked up at the name, and again, Jesse could see that fierceness in his eyes. It scared him, but he also remembered that this was still Giles. Whatever he'd done in his past, he could trust him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered, already knowing the answer would be 'no'. "Or… would you rather just forget this night ever happened and move on?" Giles continued to glare at him, and Jesse took that as his answer, nodding in acceptance. "We never saw you," he said simply. He looked back into the shop. "Come on, Amy. We have some trick-or-treaters to round up."

Amy nodded in agreement. She simply patted Giles on the arm as she passed and gave him a smile before they set off into the night. Jesse didn't notice her gaze at him adoringly as they went.

Finally out of that cumbersome dress, Buffy switched into a pair of shorts and a big t-shirt. She looked at herself in the mirror as she recalled the events that followed. They'd reunited with Willow not long after, wearing her sexy outfit, which had somewhat delighted Buffy, but she still sent her home to change before the kids saw her. They also reunited with Jesse and Amy, who were pretty mum on where they'd been, but Jesse's eyes looked nice and playful again, so she took that as a win. Amy giggled and blushed a lot in his presence – what was that about?

But now, with all the kids safely returned home, she would deal with the consequences at school on November 1st. Considering everything, she doubted she'd be in serious trouble, no matter how hard Snyder tried.

Content, she stepped out into her bedroom, where Angel sat waiting on her bed. "Taa-daa," she said, posing a little in her post-costume frumpiness. "Just little old twentieth century me."

Angel regarded her as she sat down next to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll live," she replied.

They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds before he finally broke. "I don't get it Buffy. Why did you think I'd like you better dressed that way?"

Buffy hung her head. "I… I just wanted to be a real girl, for once. The kind of fancy girl you liked when you were my age." She looked up, only to see him shaking his head with an amused smile. Dang it – did she get it wrong again? "What?"

"I hated the girls back then," he explained, almost laughing. "Especially the noblewomen."

"You did?"

"They were just incredibly dull. Simpering morons, the lot of them. I always wished I could meet someone… exciting. Interesting."

She began to smile. "Really. Interesting, like how?" she asked playfully.

Angel smiled again, clearly aware she was baiting him. "You know how."

Buffy nodded. "Still, I've had a hard day and you should tell me," she said as they moved closer together.

"I should," he agreed.

"Oh, definitely…"

And he did, non-verbally, for a good part of the next hour. She only thought about smugly rubbing it in Cordelia's face once or twice the whole time.

The sun shined down on Giles as he walked up the sidewalk towards the costume shop. He could already see it in the distance. Not a lot of foot traffic today. He'd walked all the way from the high school, and the kids had brought him up to speed on their adventures last night. Willow had questioned him about Ethan, of course, but Giles simply told her that the 'shopkeeper' had been behind the whole thing, and he'd managed to defeat him without giving anything away.

Jesse hadn't contradicted him. He'd raised an eyebrow, but not the fierce one he'd had the night before. He didn't say a word of what happened to his friends, and as far as he knew, Amy had remained 'mum' as well. After going the whole day with no one questioning him, he decided that he would trust them not to question him.

He made it into the shop. All the costumes were gone, the racks all empty. He stepped further inside and checked the back room, but he found no one. Even the shattered statue had been swept up. At least Ethan had the good sense to get well gone.

Then, he spotted something on the counter – a card. He observed the three words written on it.

Be seeing you!

Tearing it up and throwing it in the bin, he walked back out into daylight and headed for home. He would be looking over his shoulder for quite a while.