Your suggestion this time for going out for ice cream went down a lot better. Everyone talked and relaxed, and when you split up it was a good hour later with the tension of the day cleared away. You had successfully helped the group unwind and feel safe after the crazy cult incident. It wasn't perfect, but the success buoyed you up the entire way back home.
With Halloween coming up you found yourself doing your best to make plans. Whatever costume you put together had to be as cheap as possible with your funds. Most of your friends thankfully had better funds than you did. Buffy was currently completely mooning over Angel, which had you shifting uncomfortably. Angel being further integrated into the group helped, but the vampire still pinged you as a threat to keep a close eye on. Angel revealed that he planned to spend Halloween out of the way, which immediately had Buffy wanting to also take the night off. Giles was agreeable with that, as Halloween was supposed to be quiet supernatural wise. Of course, this was the Hellmouth. Rules were bent or outright broken here.
You went as a group down to Ethan's costume shop and started browsing through it all. Buffy was of course drawn to the more elegant gowns, clearly dreaming of impressing Angel with her outfit. You dug around for a while before you found a couple cheap pieces you could use for a detective costume. You would have loved to go as Batman, but you just couldn't afford anything Batman. There were pieces you could maybe use for a Batman mask, but you were afraid the magic might be keyed to a different character you didn't know. At least a magnifying glass and Sherlock style hat was relatively cheap, just five bucks. More than you had wanted to spend, but it would be worth it if you got the skills you wanted.
You had talked Marcie into trying out a Fantastic Four costume, in the hopes that dressing as Invisible Girl would give her a measure of control over her abilities. It wasn't guaranteed, but it was something that allowed her to be included somewhat in your plans for trick or treating, and that was always something you tried to keep in mind. Willow was more tricky. Her shyness had her usually going as a bedsheet ghost, something simple that completely covered her up. Buffy would want to push for something more adventurous, but you knew that the best way to get Willow actually dressed was picking something that was still fairly modest.
You tried to encourage Willow by telling her all about how cool the Scarlet Witch was, and how she already had red hair for it. Buffy however shot it down as comic geek stuff, and Willow was swayed to go as a more classical witch. Well, it was still something magical, if not what you had hoped for. And there was a good chance that the costume would in fact help with Willow's powers.
>>>>
The detective immediately knew that something was wrong as he came into awareness of the world around him. People were screaming and fighting. His first impulse was to say that it was a celebration gone wrong. City wide celebrations occasionally deteriorated into riots after all. But there was something very wrong with the people around them. Something about their costumes that simply pinged the detective as not being right.
He watched for a couple minutes before he placed the difference. Somehow, in some way, some of the costumes were real. It looked like people had been celebrating Halloween, and somehow actual monsters had become mixed up with everything. He had no explanation for how such a thing was possible, but he at least could do his best to try and get the innocents out of the way.
The detective wasn't the only one doing so. There were others mixed in who were doing their best to fight back against the tide of monsters. And not all of the monsters were non human. The detective kept a close eye out as he brought a group to a house. A teen flickered out of invisibility and drove off a devil before creating some type of barriers that she used to drive fights apart. A witch cackled as she cursed others, adding to the chaos with her spells.
He was kept busy for hours this way, fighting through the monsters. He was surprised when what he had mistaken as a man grabbed him and turned out to in fact be a vampire. He did his best to hit weak points and escape, but it didn't work as he was dragged away. The detective watched with a calculating gaze as he was brought before a dark goth princess vampire. She smiled softly at him as she swayed in her dress. "Even clouded this one still sees," she murmured.
"A good gift for you then? Still not sure what you want with him," the vampire said.
"His dancing dodges blades, I want him to dance for us," she said.
"He will," the vampire promised. The detective thought he was going to be forced immediately, but the female vampire drew away her lover with a giggle. He started to work on escaping, waiting for an opening to run.
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You jolted as the night fell away. This was not supposed to happen. You had thought you were safe for Halloween. Vampires don't go out in it. Spike did try to go after Buffy, but that had been a rather half hearted attempt. You hadn't expected that it would turn to you. Drusilla beamed as she looked at you. "He's awake."
"Finally," Spike said. He grinned at you. "So, pet, you're going to help with whatever my lovely dark princess asks for. Got it?"
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