Chapter 2
Buffy took her troop of trick-or-treaters into the dusk, followed by Willow and Xander with their respective groups. Buffy shuddered as they past more dressed up monsters, something deep inside her itched at the mockery of the supernatural.
The unsuspecting Slayer watched as her group went from house to house, collecting their bounties. They even collected new toothbrushes. Something felt strange, though. The hair on the back of Buffy’s neck rose with apprehension as a cool wind traveled down the street.
She watched with interest as the atmosphere changed around her. The little goblins and monsters that she was watching changed before her eyes. Their costumes turned from plastic and vinyl into skin, their masks fading into their faces, turning into the macabre.
Buffy watched as the ghouls turned on each other and their care takers, fighting for dominance and she wanted to participate. Violent lust boiled underneath her skin, prickling into her consciousness.
The smell of horror over powering her senses.
Her body quaked with restraint as her eyes shifted from left to right, the night crisper than before. Buffy inhaled, earthly scents hitting her olfactory glands. The taste of copper was heavy on her tongue as her tongue bled from tiny wounds. She felt her body move forward, as if something else was controlling her actions. Her head tilted to the side, hundreds of pounding rhythms echoed in her ear drums, each separate and distinct.
She watched as a green creature walk across the street, a weapon cradled to his shoulder. A soldier, a predator just like her, only tonight he was her prey. She watched as his weapon fired bullets across the road, barely missing some of the changed creatures.
Buffy hid in the shadows, her eyes following the militiaman. A ghostly form ran up to him, speaking to him as if a real ghost could. Buffy decided it must be magic. No self respecting ghost would walk in that way or talk to a mortal.
She watched as her prey turned on the ghost, leaving his back unprotected. She licked her lips, her mouth watering with lust for the kill. She heard their weird conversation, the changed Slayer focused on her prey, dismissing the ghost. He turned away, moving toward her, perfect. The closer he got to her, the more of a surprise attack she could launch.
The ghost ran past him, blocking his movement. She listened to their inane babble, barely paying attention to more than the proximity to her. The ghost again hopped in front of the soldier, she ordered him not to use his weapon.
Suddenly the ghosts eyes fell onto Buffy, “We just need to find, Buffy!”
Quickly, Buffy’s face changed as she stood up from her hiding place as the ghost and her prey neared. “Buffy, are you okay?
She watched as the monster that the soldier tried to kill before snuck up on them. Her prey raised his weapon and took aim as they neared, “This could be a situation.”
“Buffy, what do we do?” The ghost asked.
Silently, Buffy smiled and let her face change. She reveled in the shocked gasp of the ghost and soldier as her teeth glinted in the moonlight. “Run,” she whispered, “It makes your blood taste all that much sweeter.”
~*~*~
Willow and soldier-Xander ran down the road, nearing Revello. She heard the low growl of Vampire Buffy behind them, stalking them with out memory.
“She’s not Buffy!” Willow muttered.
“Who’s Buffy?” soldier-Xander asked.
“We’re friends,” Willow huffed.
“Lady, doesn’t seem like we are too friendly right now. In fact, she seems hostile.”
“Yeah, thanks for pointing that out, I didn’t notice that before.” Willow sneered. “How are we supposed to get through this without a Slayer?”
“What’s a Slayer?” Xander asked as a monster popped out from behind a tree. Quickly solider-Xander hit the fang-bearing monster with the butt of his weapon as he passed.
“Buffy… was,” Willow replied, losing her breath fast.
“And you’re a ghost.”
“Yes, now let’s get inside!” Willow yelled.
Soldier-Xander took a moment to look at the ghost next to him, “I just want you to know that I’m taking a lot on faith here. Where do we go?”
Muttering to herself, “Where’s the closest? We can go to a friend’s.” With a shout, she told soldier-Xander directions to Buffy’s house.
Xander threw open Buffy’s kitchen door and stepped in. Quickly he scanned the room with his rifle, “All clear!”
Willow entered through the wall, “Hello? Mrs. Summers?” She listened for a response, “Good she’s gone.”
Willow heard Vampire Buffy growl at the injustice of the house’s protection of the mortal. Watching the Vampire carefully, soldier-Xander closed the door.
“Where are we?” he asked.
“Buffy’s, now we just need to…” Willow trailed off when she heard loud banging on the front door.
Soldier-Xander walked over to the wood door, ready to open it when Willow yelled, “Don’t open it!”
“Could be a civilian”
“Or a mini demon!” Willow answered. Thinking of her demonic friend she muttered, “Why couldn’t she have dressed up like Xena?”
Soldier-Xander looked out one of the small windows in the door and moved away as an ugly fist broke through and reached for him. He raised his weapon through the door.
“Not a civilian!” Willow yelled.
“Affirmative,” Soldier-Xander answered as he aimed his gun through the door.
“Hey! What did we say?” Willow walked up to him.
She winced as the sound of bullets hit her ears and then glared at Xander as he rolled away from the door, “Big noise scare monster, remember?”
“Got it!” Willow replied then gasped as she heard a loud, feminine scream from inside.
Soldier-Xander looked outside and muttered, “Damn it!”
Willow watched as he opened the door and stepped out. Willow bit her bottom lip as she paced in the living room.
~*~*~
Soldier-Xander saw a hairy beast attacking a strange looking woman in a cat costume, screaming, “Somebody help me!” She screamed again, her voice sounding hoarse from misuse. She kicked the beast and turned around towards soldier-Xander. “Xander, help me!”
Looking at the beast on the ground, he grabbed her arm and pushed her closer to the house, “Come inside!”
Willow watched as soldier-Xander and Cordelia ran up the sidewalk and burst through the front door. “Cordelia!”
“Wait a… what’s going on?” Cordelia asked.
“Okay, your name is Cordelia, you’re not a cat, you’re in high school, and we’re your friends, well, sort of,” Willow explained quickly.
“That’s nice, Willow. And you went mental when?” Cordelia snidely said. She looked around the Summers’ house, wondering how she gets pulled into these nightmares.
“You know us?” Willow replied, confused.
“Yeah, lucky me, what’s with the name game?”
“A lot’s going on,” Willow replied cryptically.
“No kidding. I was just attacked by Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy. Look at my costume!” She picked at her torn sleeve, “Do you really think that Partytown’s gonna give me my deposit back? Not on the likely.”
Soldier-Xander listened to the cat woman and took his short off to wrap around her shoulders, “Here.”
“Thanks,” Cordelia muttered, confused at Xander’s behavior.
“Okay, you guys stay here while I get some help. If something tries to get in, just fight it off.” Willow commanded.
“Who died and made her the boss?” Cordelia asked as Willow walked through the wall behind her.
~*~*~
Spike strolled down the road with his minions, watching as several monsters chased people in the street.
“Well! This is just... neat!” Spike smiled through his vampiric visage. He could smell death and destruction in the air. It smelled so sweet. The fight with Drusilla and the subsequent out of control fire was almost forgotten. It was time to find the Slayer and take her out of his system. Maybe a little torture was in order.
~*~*~
Soldier-Xander carried a dining room chair to the front window and spoke to Cordelia, “You! Check upstairs. Make sure everything’s locked up.”
As Cordelia followed his instruction, soldier-Xander secured the chair under the dining room table that currently covered the window. He heard a low murmur of growls and grunts from the other side, knowing that the ghost’s ‘friend’ was outside, sniffing around for a weak point.
He glanced around the room and spotted a picture on the floor, “Whoa!”
Soldier-Xander looked at the picture of a fully corporeal ghost-Willow, a non-vampire-Buffy, and himself. “She must be right. We must have some kind of amnesia.”
Cordelia walked down the stairs, “What?”
“That ghostly girl, she said something about amnesia, here.”
Cordelia looked at the picture and rolled her eyes, “Yeah, you the freak, and the blonde freak are friends, so?”
“It’s just,” soldier-Xander paused. “I ain’t got a clue about this. Don’t remember being friends.”
“You are,” Cordelia lifted her head in the air. “The Three Freak-a-teers and I can’t believe you sucked me into this craziness.”
Angel walked in from the kitchen, “Oh Good! You guys are alright. It’s total chaos out there.” He scanned the room, noting that something wasn’t right inside either.
Sodier-Xander pointed his weapon at Angel while Cordelia posed seductively for him.
“State your name!” Soldier-Xander stepped into front of Cordelia.
~*~*~
Willow walked through the library wall, startling Giles as he looked through a card catalog.
“Jeez!” Giles yelped.
“Hi,” Willow said quietly. Her semi opaque form was hovering in the air.
“Uh, ah.” Giles was at a loss for words as Willow floated through the card catalog.
“We have a problem,” Willow said.
~*~*~
“Okay,” Angel towered over soldier-Xander. “Somebody wanna fill me in?”
“Do you live here?” Soldier-Xander asked as he gripped his weapon tighter.
“No, and you know that. I'm lost here.” Angel felt something primal inside of him, deeper than Angelus start to stir. Something was changing the balance of the world. He felt the creatures suddenly form in the night air, taking form out of children; he felt them as he approached the house.
“He doesn’t know who he is, everyone's turned into a monster, it's a whole big thing.” Cordelia supplied from behind Xander. “How are you?”
The lights flicker, revealing a vamped out Buffy pressed against the living room glass. “Oh my god!” Cordelia screamed at her first sight of Vampire-Buffy. The beast snarled and then pushed herself off the window, only to disappear in the night.
“Buffy?” Angel asked quietly, his body itching to go to her. She was what called to him, beckoned him.
“You,” soldier-Xander pointed at Angel, “Go secure the kitchen. Catwoman, you’re with me.”
Confused and strangely aroused at the sight of a Vampire-Buffy, Angel headed for the kitchen, hoping that he could exit and find her.
TBC....