Summary: NC17; Adaptation of S2 Halloween: Buffy goes back and exchanges her Victorian dress for something a bit different.
Warning: Character Death, Violence, NC17 for sexual situations & language
Spoilers: S2 up to Halloween
Pairing: Spike/Buffy


Killer Instinct


a/n: I took the transcript of the Halloween and adapted it for my own purposes. I used straight quotes and descriptions from said transcript. Transcript found at Mostly Dead things. This includes the Latin translations.

Also, this isn’t my normal fluffy romance… not so much fluff. Darker tale.

~*~*~
Chapter 1

Ethan Rayne

He used to wonder what people would say about him when he was gone. Not anymore. He had a higher purpose.

Pandemonium.

The universe was built on it.

Everything thrived on it.

Dimensions and physics catered to it.

He stepped in a darkened room and kneeled. His head lifted towards the white bust of Janus, god of gates, creator of all things. Janus would understand him, two sides of the same coin. Ethan winced as his hands joined together, his skin prickling in protest. He felt the warm liquid pool on the surface of his skin. Sacrifice.

“The world that denies thee, thou inhabit,” Ethan chanted. He felt energy swirl around the statue. The transformation had begun. Carefully he dabbed his right middle finger on his left palm and brought it up to his right eye, smearing his sacrifice onto his body.

“The peace that ignores thee,” he continued and brought his left middle finger to his right palm and then smeared his blood on his left eyelid. “Thou corrupt,” he whispered.

He painted a blood cross on his forehead, “Chaos. I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son.” He bowed in front of the twisted bust. The macabre face of woman and man, life and death, chaos and order.

“Janus, evoco vestram animam. Exaudi meam causam. Carpe noctem pro consilio vestro. Veni, appare et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas,” his voice chanted. Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come, appear and show to us that which is infinite power.

He felt the bite of his zipper against his erection, being bad felt so good. “Persona se corpum et sanguium commutandum est. Vestra sancta praesentia concrescet viscera. Janus! Sume noctem!” The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!

A cool wind whipped across the land, inhabiting all that had been enchanted, all that was left to enchant. He stood up, prepared to take care of his body’s reaction to corruption. As he adjusted his girth, he smiled broadly. “Showtime!”

Ethan stepped out of the back room, rubbing his right hand on his trousers when he looked up, startled. The Slayer was back, the dress she bought still in its plastic wrapping. “Ms. Summers!”

“Oh, hey!” she lay the dress on the counter, “I really can’t afford this, I need to change costumes.” She prayed the shopkeeper would let her return the dress. It wasn’t that she didn’t think it was beautiful, it was beyond beautiful. But, it wasn’t her. She could never be that sophisticated, be lady-like. She wasn’t wired that way anymore.

“That’s not possible,” Ethan said, “No returns.”

“Please,” she pleaded. “My mom will kill me if she knew I spent this much on a Halloween costume.” Ethan stood still; his plan wouldn’t work if she returned the dress. It would be so nice to watch a defenseless Slayer in a world of ghouls and goblins.

She scanned the shop, noticing that quite a few of the costumes were taken, only plastic masks and vinyl costume sets remained. “I’m sorry, Ms. Summers, I cannot take any returns this close to Halloween.”

“Please,” she whined and stomped her foot, almost inciting Ethan to drop his cover and snicker at the girl. “How about an exchange?”

“An exchange?” Ethan asked.

“Yeah,” she looked around the store at the different costumes, “See,” she grabbed a plastic bag near the register. “This would be better.”

Ethan looked into her hand, his stomach coiled tightly with delight, “I think that I can make an exception, but only for you, Ms. Summers.”

“Thank you!” she jumped up and down, her young body bouncing with mirth. He voided the previous credit card charge and accepted cash payment from her. Ethan watched the young Slayer leave the store, an evil smile lighting his face. Her new costume was still part of the enchantment; all he had to wait for was night to fall. What a lovely town, holding his enemy and his ward.

What a lovely town.

~*~*~

“Where is it?” Spike roared at his minion. His vampiric face turned unnaturally red with anger.

“We,” the minion audibly swallowed, “don’t know. It was here, a moment ago, but it’s gone.”

“Well, find it!” Spike yelled. Raged bubbled up inside of him, the useless minions had lost the tape of the Slayer. He wanted to rip them apart, destroy them, but knew he couldn’t because he would never find the tape again.

“Yes, Master,” the minion scurried out of the room, intent on finding the missing tape.

“Bad doggie,” Drusilla whimpered from the doorway, her right hand was braced against the door jam. She was wearing a long crème nightgown, flowing from her shoulders to the floor.

“Drusilla,” Spike purred, his rage disappearing at the appearance of his Dark Princess. “What are you doing out of bed?”

“Grr,” she snapped her teeth together, “playing with the little girl when he should be playing with me.”

“What’s this about?” Spike tilted his head in curiosity. “Dru, did you do something?”

“Bad doggie, Miss Edith told me what you did.” Drusilla glided closer to Spike, her eyes invoking his intention. “Shhh, something’s coming, my sweet.”

Spike wrapped his arm around her, holding her body to his, “Dru, tell me, did you take the tape?”

“She’s floating around us,” Drusilla whispered, her lips forming a pout.

“Who?” Spike growled as he licked her neck. “Tell me, Dru.”

“The little warrioress, she’s going to change, I feel it.”

“Change? What’s this about? Someone get their good day?”

Drusilla giggled, “No, my Spike, she’s different, shifting, can you feel it?”

“Dru, did you take my tape?” Spike growled as he shook his precious cargo, his mind trying to figure out her meaning.

Drusilla tore her body away and hissed, “Disgusting! She’s floating around you.”

“Drusilla,” Spike calmly chided, “Did you take the bloody tape?”

“Yes, yes. I took the precious tape. It snapped and crackled and popped. She’s all around you; make you nothing more than ashes.”

“You did what?”

“What did you want me to do?” Drusilla continued. “She’s everywhere. She’s at the cemetery; she’s with Daddy; she’s here and there and everywhere! No birdies for me, she says! I want my birdies! And, now she wants you too!”

“I have that tape so I can kill her, poodle.” Spike gritted his teeth.

“No, no, I see her. She’s here,” Drusilla pointed at his head and then trailed her fingers down his head and torso, “and here.” She stepped away, “I fear that I’m losing you.”

“Never,” Spike said vehemently.

“You obsess...”

“To kill her,” Spike interrupted her. “I watch her; I study her to kill her.”

“No,” Drusilla denied, her memory fresh with visions of the future, “You won’t, not now, not when our reality shifts.”

“I will always love you,” Spike spoke sincerely.

“I know, Spike,” She stepped away. “I’m tired.” Drusilla walked to the doorway and paused to whisper, “But you’ll love her more.”

~*~*~

Buffy walked out of the costume shop with a smile on her face. She laughed at herself as she headed home with the plastic shopping bag in her firm grasp. Ironic. She knew that Giles thought this holiday and its celebrations silly and he would think of her as silly for dressing up like this. She could just hear the stern lecture about her sacred duties and her destiny. What a poor excuse of a Slayer she was, definitely not a handbook girl, and definitely not someone to follow the rules.

She saw Cordelia talking to her group of airhead followers and moved across the street, she didn’t want to talk to them and she certainly didn’t want to talk to Cordelia. Her obsession with Angel was getting on Buffy’s nerves. Every time Buffy saw them together it was like a slap in the face, if Cordelia only believed her about Angel.

Buffy and Willow were talking in the bathroom when Cordelia walked in, “So, Buffy, you ran off last night and left poor little Angel all by his lonesome. But I did everything I could to comfort him.”

Buffy rolled her eyes, “I’ll bet.”

Cordelia looked into the mirror and took out her blush, “So, what's his story anyway? I mean… I never see him around.”

Willow snickered and added, “Not during the day, anyway.”

“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?” Cordelia sounded disgusted as she put her makeup away.

“Cordelia, I think his parents have been dead for a couple of hundred years,” Buffy said slowly as she exchanged glances with Willow.

“Oh, good. I mean,” Cordelia paused, her mind processing what Buffy just said, “What?

Slowly, Buffy answered, “Angel's a vampire. I thought you knew.”

Cordelia looked in the mirror, her mind reeling, “Oh, he's a vampire. Of course! But the cuddly kind. Like a Care Bear with fangs?”

Willow saw that Cordelia didn’t believe Buffy, “It's true.”

”You know what I think? 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.”

Buffy watched as Cordelia walked out and waited for the door to close, “You mean the layer.”

Willow snickered, “Buffy!”

“What? I heard this kid say it in class.”

It wouldn’t be so bad, Buffy thought as she ducked into a little shop. It wouldn’t be so bad if Cordelia didn’t cut her down at every step. Between hair, fashion and choice of friends Cordelia constantly berated her. Buffy couldn’t help but think that in another time, in another life, things would be different.

~*~*~

Buffy stood in front of the mirror while she fastened hoop earrings onto her ears. She appraised her image in a short blue clinging dress. She wore heels and lots of makeup. Definitely a good costume. She walked over to her dresser and picked up the package that she bought from the costume shop.

Willow called through the bathroom door, “Where're you meeting Angel?”

“Here. After trick-or-treating. Mom's going to be out,” Buffy stuffed a pair of plastic teeth into her mouth.

“Does he know about your costume?”

“Nope.” Buffy spoke around the fake teeth and fangs. She smiled into the mirror. “But I think he’ll like.”

Buffy turned towards the bathroom door, “Okay, Willow come out. You can't hide in there all night.”

“Okay, but, but promise you won't laugh?”

“I promise,” she spoke clearer this time, she was getting used to the teeth. As Willow opened the door, Buffy’s eyes bulged.

Willow stood uncomfortably in the room, not used to showing so much skin. Her black skirt barely brushed the middle of her thighs and the long-sleeved burgundy mid-drift top left little to the imagination. Quickly, Willow picked up a white sheet, clutching it to her body.

“Wow, you’re a dish!” Willow tried wrapping the sheet around herself, but Buffy yanked it away. “I mean, really.”

Willow’s arms covered her midriff as she looked into the mirror, “But this just isn't me.”

“And that's the point,” Buffy reminded her and smiled, showing off her teeth, as she walked around Willow. “Look, Halloween is the night that not you is you, but not you. You know?”

The girls stopped appraising themselves when the doorbell rang “Oh! That's Xander. Are you ready?” Buffy asked.

Willow nervously looked for something to cover her body with, anything to cover her skin, “Yeah. Okay.”

“Cool! I can't wait for the boys to go non-verbal when they see you!” Buffy headed down the stair to the front door. Willow grabbed her costume and followed her friend.

Buffy opened the door for Xander, dressed in military garb. “Private Harris reporting for…” He looked at Buffy in her costume, “Buffy! Wow! I love the teeth!”

Buffy laughed and shook her head, “Thanks, but wait till you see...”

Xander turned toward the stairs when he heard Willow’s footsteps.

“Hi,” Willow’s meek voice was hidden by the large white sheet with ‘Boo’ written on the front.

“Casper.” Buffy finished lamely.

“Hey, Will! That's a fine boo you got there,” Xander said. Buffy shook her head, too bad Willow didn’t have her self esteem things would be different.

a/n: Reviews are my friends. I hope you enjoyed it. Remember: Darker Vamp Buffy tale... do not read the rest if you don't want to read Vamp!Buffy.