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Well, given the rather somber closing note of the season finale, I figure a light fic is in order. Okay, gang, try this for size. A visit to the gentler times of season two, pre-Angelus. Kirayoshi Disclaimers; I don't own them, Fox, Mutant Enemy and Joss own them. Promise guys, I'll have them home before midnight, none the worse for wear(although they may have something new to think about...) Oh, and the Warrior and the Bard belong to Paramount, Renaissance and Sam Raimi. Author's note; I apologize in advance to Shadow for 'borrowing' a title from her stories. I know you have a Willow/Faith Xena crossover out called 'Warrior...Slayer' but this is the only title I could think of. Spoilers; The second season ep, Halloween. Archives; let me know first. Jim_D_Means@xxxxxxxxxxx Feedback; yes please! Summary; A slightly askew version of "Halloween"; remember when Willow looked at eighteenth century Buffy and commented, "She couldn't have dressed like Xena!" Well... Warrior ... Slayer ... Hacker By Kirayoshi ======== "C'mon, Wills!" Buffy had to physically drag the shy young computer hacker into the costume shop, and Willow had hoped that she would fade into the background. But Buffy was a force of nature as she pulled Willow along in her wake, browsing the racks of costumes. Mr. Snyder, principal at Sunnydale High School and Buffy's most tenacious non-vampiric enemy, had 'volunteered' Buffy and her friends into babysitting some juvenile trick-or-treaters that night, and Buffy needed a costume. And she had decided that Halloween would be the perfect opportunity to coax Willow out of her shell. "C'mon, Wills," she tried to convince her best friend. "You're missing the whole point of Halloween." "Free candy?" Willow asked innocently enough. "It's come as you aren't night," explained the Slayer. "A perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild without no repercussions." "Uh...I don't get wild," she said meekly. "Wild on me equals spaz." Buffy roamed the racks for her costume, not certain what she wanted to be this Halloween. She had considered something more traditional, something like an eighteenth century lady of refinement, something straight out of a Jane Austin novel. Especially since she caught Cordy chatting up with Angel, her Angel, at the Bronze earlier. That just made her blood boil and her vision mist red. She could be just as alluring as Cordy, without putting in half the effort! She could put on the dog for Angel, and that undead Lothario would be putty in her hands. But if he could be turned by Cordy, she found herself thinking, why should I put in any effort to win him back? The more that she thought about it, the less her original plan of impressing Angel made sense. Why the hell should she give any effort to raising Deadboy's temperature? The more she considered Angel's seeming indifference, the more she realized that she didn't want to be the kind of woman who would have appealed to Angel when he was alive. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to be a warrior. She wanted to be... As her thoughts continued along these lines, she glanced at the rack, her eye caught by light reflecting off of silverplate. She noticed the leather corset, trimmed with silver swirls along the breastplate and torso, thick leather straps with metalwork trim at the shoulders. The skirt of thick leather strips hanging above the knees. The high black leather boots. The familiar trademarks of a heroine, one familiar to Buffy's heart, one of her favorite guilty pleasures every Saturday afternoon. That's it, she decided. She wanted to be Xena. She excused herself from Willow briefly, took the costume to the proprietor and asked, "How much to rent this one?" "Oh, the Xena," the gentleman replied in a slightly British accent. Buffy wondered if this guy might know Giles, but dismissed it. There had to be enough people in England that not everyone there knew each other. "A very popular choice," he continued. "But we over-ordered on those this year, so I can let you have it for fifteen dollars tonight. It comes with an accessory package as well; gauntlets, sword, bullwhip and that razor edged flying disc of hers, what was that cursed thing called?" "A chakram," supplied Buffy. "Bless you," he answered absently. "Oh, chakram, that was it. I'm not that up on my popular culture, I suppose." He bent low to Buffy, and added in a stage whisper, "That red haired girl, is she with you?" "Willow?" Buffy asked. "Yeah, she's with me." The proprietor answered, "I also have a matching costume for her, if you're interested." He explained his suggestion to Buffy, who grinned evilly at the thought. Oh yes, she thought as she admired the redhead's subtle but still pleasant curves. She would make a terrific Gabrielle. "Willow," Buffy announced, "call off the hounds, I've got the perfect costumes for us..." ======== Willow cursed herself again for what must have been the hundredth time. How could she have let Buffy convince her to wear this--this bikini? 'Costume' didn't even cover it, she thought, scandalized as she looked at herself in the mirror. Barely enough fabric to cover my body! Not that I'd need much, with a body like mine-- She found herself appraising the pale tan leather top and skirt, complimented by calf-colored boots, this time with a more charitable eye. Actually, it doesn't hang to badly on me. Kinda accentuates the positive. And it kinda feels sexy wearing something with a bare midriff for once in her life. She shifted her body from one leg to another, admiring how the comfortable leather halter clung to her body, how sensual it made her feel. Man, Buffy was right, I'm gonna knock them out tonight. Once we send the kids back home and find a nice Halloween party, I'm gonna attract guys like flies to honey! And then what? I can't talk to a guy, I can barely emit vowel sounds around Xander, for Pete's sake! Ogodogodogod! I can't go out like this, I can't let people see me like this! XANDER! NO! Not gonna see me like this! Not gonna happen, not gonna... Quickly she grabbed a ratty old sheet from her wardrobe and found a pair of scissors. "Okay, Willow, come out," Buffy called from the other side of the door. "You can't hide in there all night." "O-okay," she stammered, "but promise you won't laugh?" "Promise." With that word of assurance, Willow stepped gingerly out of the door, and showed her Gabrielle costume. "Wow!" Buffy breathed, "You're a dish... I mean, really!" Willow still didn't feel comfortable in the skimpy costume, but felt a strange sense of pride that her best friend found her sexy. "But it's not me," Willow complained. "And that's the point," Buffy answered, smiling. "Look, Halloween is the night when not you is you, but not you. Y'know?" Before Buffy could consider the nonsensical sentence she just constructed, she heard the doorbell ring. "Oh, that's Xander. Are you ready?" "Yeah," Willow stuttered nervously. "O-o-okay." "Cool!" Buffy said, grinning hugely. "I can't wait for the boys to go non-verbal when they see you!" She rushed down the stairs to open the door, leaving a petrified Willow to adjust her ghost sheet. ======== Xander waited impatiently for Buffy to open the door, so he could get on with the business of scamming free candy. For once, he actually was glad that Snydley Whiplash had coerced him into doing something. If there was one thing that Xander Harris was good at, it was scamming candy. That, and cheap costumes. He had to admit to himself that the He perked up his ears when he heard the door unlatch, and declared, "Private Harris, reporting for--" but was stopped short at the sight that awaited him when the door opened. Buffy Summers, dressed in black leather, the skirt of thick leather strips reaching barely to her thighs, the metal trimmed breastplate, the black riding boots, the familiar trappings of Xander's favorite TV fantasy come to life. "Battle on, Buffy!" he announced as he took in the stunning site. "Buffena, Warrior Buffster, I am in awe! I completely renounce spandex!" Buffy turned a neat pirouette and bowed to Xander. "Thank you kind sir," she replied, "but wait until you see--" A pale, amorphous sheet drifted sullenly down the stairs, the word "Boo" scrawled on it in Magic Marker. "Casper." Buffy held her head low, feeling sorry for her best friend. Inwardly, she cursed Cordelia and her sheep for doing such a thorough number on Willow's self esteem over the last few years. As she and her friends left for the high school, Buffy swore that she would do all in her power to restore Willow's faith in herself, in her power as a human, and in her own self-view. ======== "Okay, on sleazing extra candy:" Xander was informing his group of trick-or-treaters, "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? .....Okay, troops.... Let's move out." He and his 'troops' were on their way, while Buffy and Willow escorted their band of gremlins. Stoping long enough to scowl at Mr. Snyder behind his back, Buffy led her group to the first available brightly-lit street. As the evening was winding down, Buffy asked her kids, "What did Mrs. Davis give you?" Upon seeing the toothbrushes that the woman in question had provided, Buffy grimaced and said, "She must be stopped." She decided to try one or two more houses before calling it a night. It was getting close to time for the youngsters to return home anyway, and she wanted to party with Angel and her friends. ======== In a dark chamber, a dark man sat alone in his dark thoughts. He had prayed to his gods of chaos, and now prepared his final incantation; "Janus, evoco vestram animam. Exaudi meam causam. Carpe noctem pro consilio vestro. Veni, appare et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas." 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. "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! He smiled. Chaos would walk abroad tonight. "Showtime!" ======== A lady offering candy to a child was shocked as the child turned into a monster before her eyes. The beast snarled and grabbed her throat. Willow restrained the beast, but other monsters were attacking innocents, and each other. Windows were breaking, objects were being thrown, and madness was overtaking the street. Willow tried to figure out what was going on, but staggered, strangling, unable to breath. She collapsed on the ground, and when she stood again, she looked around, only to see the body in the ghost sheet at her feet. Her body was translucent, and clad only in the Gabrielle costume. "Ohmigod! I'm a real ghost!" The sound of automatic gunfire caught her attention. She found Xander with his gun in hand, shooting at retreating monsters. "Xander?" She ran out into the street and came up behind him. "Xander!" He spun on his heel, his M-16 pointed at her. Willow tried to calm her friend, saying, "It's me, Willow!" Xander stared at her blankly. "I don't know any Willow," he barked at her. "Xander, quit messing around," Willow said impatiently. "This is no time for jokes." "What the hell's going on here?" Xander shouted. "You don't know me?" Willow asked desperately as she tried to find some sense of recognition in her friend's face. Xander lifted the rifle, saying to Willow, "Lady, I suggest you find cover." As he walked past her, Willow jumped in front of him, shouting, "No, wait!" Xander only walked through her, which stunned them both. Xander turned around and pointed his weapon at her again. "What are you?" Willow fought the trembling in her voice as she implored the soldier in front of her; "Xander, listen to me. I'm on your side, I swear! Something crazy is happening. I was dressed as a ghost for Halloween, a-and now I am a ghost. And you were supposed to be a soldier, and now I, I-I guess you're a real soldier." "You expect me to believe that?" the soldier that was once Xander barked at her. A monster suddenly ran across the street, growling. Xander too aim at it, causing it to run away. Willow jumped in front of Xander, shouting, "No! No guns! That's still a little kid in there!" "Step out of the way!" ordered Xander. Willow decided to play along with the soldier identity. "No guns!" she declared sternly. "That's an order!" Accepting her commanding voice, Xander lowered the rifle. Willow then looked around, thinking aloud, "We just need to find..." She saw her target across the street. "Buffy!" She ran toward Buffy, with Xander in pursuit. Buffy looked distracted, disoriented. Willow called out to her, "Buffy! Are you okay?" Suddenly, the monster that had rushed them earlier was back, with a friend, both roaroing and snarling as they approached. Xander shouldered his M-16 again and took aim. "This could be a situation," he muttered. "Buffy, what do we do?" Willow asked plaintively. If there was any one person who could help in this situation, it was Buffy Summers. Buffy crouched briefly, before launching herself over Willow and Xander's heads, into the fray. "IYIYIYIYIYI!" she shouted, as she attacked the monsters, dispatching them quickly. "Buff-uh, Xena!" Willow shouted. "Don't kill them, they're kids inside those masks!" The warrior princess turned briefly to Willow and shouted, "Don't just stand there, Gabrielle, pick a dance partner!" She executed a backflip off of one monster's chest, and watched as the others ran for their lives, away from the warrior. Xander relaxed his aim, and looked on at the fighter with respect. Here was someone he could trust to guard his six. Willow looked again at her friend, and was amazed at the transformation; her normally blond hair was now jet black, and her face was now that of actress Lucy Lawless, in full Xena mode. Within the face of Xena, however, Buffy's hazel-blue eyes remained. "Uh, Xena, are you okay?" "I'm fine now, Gab," she answered as the last of the beasts dispersed. "How about you?" She made a move to pat 'Gabrielle' on her arm, but her hand passed through her like lake water. Her mouth pursed in shock, and her eyes began to brim with tears, while a spark of rage flared within them, bright and terrible to behold. "By the Gods," she whispered. "No, no, no!" She stepped back, reeling as though struck. She spun around and screamed, "ARES! CALLISTO! Whoever is responsible for this, I swear by all creation I will have my vengeance on what you've done to my Gabrielle!" She ran away from the spectre of her closest companion, faster than Willow could hope to follow. "No! Xena!" she shouted after the enraged warrior, but to no avail. In a flash, 'Xena' was gone. Willow folded her arms in disgust at the current situation. "This is fun!" As the distraught warrior ran, her grief over her lost companion blinding her, she didn't notice a blond haired young looking punk who eyed her hungrily. He could smell the Slayer under the leather, and sensed that she was not herself. He then looked at the large collection of monsters that milled around in the streets, and smiled ferally. "Well," Spike commented, "this is--neat." Download NeoPlanet at http://www.neoplanet.com |