Trick or Treat (Part One)

It began like any other Hallowe'en.. except of course, they had to explain the whole thing to Redy.. the dressing up and getting candies. Redy, being Redy, preferred the idea of nibbling on candles. Buffy thought this could lead to a whole lot of dark Jack O'Lanterns this year. "Dark" as it turned out, wasn't quite a strong enough word....

I. Somewhere a voice was chanting...

"The world that denies thee, thou inhabit, the peace that ignores me, thou corrupt, Chaos I remain as ever thy faithful degenerate son.... ...Come appear and show to us that which is infinite power, the mask transforms itself into flesh and blood... Janus take the day!"

II. Alice in Wonderland/Buffy ran out of the Magic Box, screaming her head off. The store was full of weapons. She ran down the street past hovering giant pumpkins, only to be confronted by another Buffy.... this one with green skin, dress in black, with a tall, pointed Witch's hat.

"You!" demanded Wicked Witch of the West/Buffy, "Bring me my shoes!" She recognized the other girl and thought maybe this was the elusive Dorothy.

Alice/Buffy backed off. "I don't have them!" she cried.

"Where did you put them?"

Kaezin, who had been observing the two Slayers, interrupted, "um...Buffy?"

Alice/Buffy turned to the friendly demon and asked, "Who's Buffy?"

Kaezin muttered a mild curse.

"I... I'm Alice ... and ... I don't know why I'm here," she turned to the Witch, "And I don't have your slippers."

"Alice. Of course," said Kaezin with a sudden understanding.

"Alice, eh?" Witch/Buffy struggled with her rage, "And your telling me that you didn't drop house on my sister?"

"No! I... I just fell asleep and woke up in this place... "

Witch/Buffy frowned and fumed inwardly.

"I just... I just want to find my sister and get out of here... wherever here is..." continued Alice/Buffy.

"I must find the girl who took my ruby slippers.." said Witch/Buffy, to no one in particular.

"Well... besides being red... what do they look like?" asked the girl.

"They are ruby red and never-you-mind! You just want them for yourself!" spat the Witch, a storm shaping in her eyes.

Alice/Buffy shook her head, "No! No I don't. I just figured I could help is all."

Kaezin felt obliged to add, "...and they're not my color."

III. The trio made their way through the cemetery. Despite the possession, the two Buffys had decided to join forces to find the Witch's ruby slippers and Alice's missing sister. Kaezin, fully aware of what was going on, joined them, and, as always, protecting and guiding.

Wicked Witch/Buffy paused and looked carefully at the path. "These bricks..they are the wrong color..." she said. They should be yellow, she thought.

"Yup," replied Kaezin. "Best watch your step too."

The three moved cautiously through the mist.

Alice/Buffy noticed the large metal structure ahead - the tower built by Glory's minions, "I know that place!"

Witch/Buffy squinted at the tower. "That place? Yes..." She felt a stirring of a memory too. The more she looked at the tower, the more she felt drawn towards it.

Alice/Buffy continued, "Well, you know... that thing. I've seen it before."

The group made their way across the broken and cracked ground to the base of the tower. After some deliberation they made a slow and uneasy ascent, until the two Buffys stood at the beginning of the platform that led to the place

Alice/Buffy spoke, "I... I don't like this."

Witch/Buffy said nothing but her mind was spinning. A house had dropped on her sister. The ruby slippers were stolen. But her sister, her sister was here.... drops of ruby red blood and this vortex had opened... the vortex whirled just off the edge of the platform. She was drawn even closer.

Kaezin interrupted, "Careful. There is water in that."

Witch/Buffy recoiled. "Water!!"

Kaezin continued, "Take you straight to the lake."

Witch/Buffy backed away.

Kaezin made a suggestion, "Let's look for your sister and the shoes someplace else."

The Buffys both nodded and the little group returned to the ground.

IV. Xena/Faith attacked the demonic floating pumpkin with vigor and aggression. Wicked Witch/Buffy stood by and watched. Despite the confines of the sewer tunnel, the warrior woman moved with innate skill and power, destroying the monster in a series of strategic blows. Witch/Buffy was impressed and found herself taking a liking to this one.

"What was that?" demanded Xena/Faith.

"It was a beastly spirit," explained Witch/Buffy.

"One of yours?" asked Xena/Faith.

"No, no," replied Witch/Buffy, "I prefer birds and monkeys."

Xena/Faith sheathed her sword. "Fair enough... so tell me what's going on around here... I should be somewhere else but I'm not."

Witch/Buffy proceeded to tell her about the missing slippers, Alice, and Kaezin the 'ogre smelling of barley and hops'.

Xena/Faith wondered out loud, "Who made those slippers... really good material... ruby .... must have been a creation of the god. But which one? Hephaestus? Seems like his work... god of arts and crafts."

"Can you call this god?" asked Witch/Buffy.

"Not from this area unless he is listening. He has a temple."

The pair could here sounds of fighting from the surface as another demon pumpkin attacked. Instinctively the two Slayers, possessed as they were, headed for the conflict.

V. After fighting a few more demon pumpkins, Xena/Faith and Witch/Buffy, now joined by a younger Faith, determined to discover the source of the chaos. Witch/Buffy had entered a trance and saw the image of a god with two faces. Eager to discover the name of this being, they went to the school library.

The doors of the library were open and in their path stood a man in tan clothes and a brown cloak. His manner projected both power and serenity.

"You in the library!" exclaimed the Witch, "Stand aside!"

Jedi Master/Xander Harris was undisturbed. "Sorry, I'm wondering what this place is."

Young Faith scoffed, "It's another kinda hell." Without a costume, this Faith was acting normally.

"Hell?" asked Jedi/Xander.

"Don't you know what hell is?" replied Young Faith .

Another Buffy entered the library from the book stacks. Without a costume, she too was free from possession. "Hey guys, what's up? Loving the costumes by the way"

"We are searching for the name of a god and I don't have time for trifles," declared Witch/Buffy. "I must consult the books..." And she headed into Giles' office.

Buffy eyed Witch/Buffy's shoes and held back a burst of laughter. She surveyed the rest of the group. "Whoah," she remarked, "Who's the Xander, but only much cooler-in an even geekier way look-alike?"

"Yes," said Jedi/Xander, "I am a Jedi knight and roam on a planet called Coruscant."

"Planet?" asked Xena/Faith

Young Faith rolled her eyes.

Xena/Faith took charge, "Okay...all...my guess is this is a time portal."

"Time portal? Hmm," pondered Jedi/Xander.

"Something....someone...a man put us here with a spell...I'm guessing dark magic?" Xena/Faith, a natural leader, looked around, "Yes? Agree anyone?"

"I smell magic here," confirmed Witch/Buffy having returned from the librarian's office, "All around."

"It's possible," added Jedi/Xander.

Young Faith looked at the Witch, "You can smell magic?"

"Dark magic?" asked Jedi/Xander.

"Yes... dark, light, beige...all kinds and colours."

"Do you guys hear that?" asked Young Faith."I heard another pumpkin."

The group moved out of the library just as a floating demon pumpkin crashed into the hallway. It's evil laugh flooded the school.