After Larry had attacked him, Xander was no longer in the mood for Helloween. Sure, he went to the shop with Buffy and the Willster, but he had no desire to buy a costume. At least not an aggressive one. Larry had been drafted by Snyder as well and if he appeared in an aggressive costume, the Quaterback would see it as an invite to bash some more of his ribs.
Xander winched. Two ribs were still smarting and would continue so for the next few days.
He looked through the cheaper costumes until his eyes stopped on one rather simple costume. It was nothing much, but if he tweaked it a bit here and there, added some make-up, wig and beard, he would have the most original costume of all. And anyway, in a town like Sunnydale, this costume could be the best protection ever.
Willow and Buffy had been quite disturbed by the choice of his costume, but after the first rag had decided to accept it and move on. As Xander had suspected, Larry had left him completly alone. He smiled. Maybe this was not so bad at all.
When Willow found Xander after Ethan's spell had affected anyone who was wearing one of his costumes, she found him sitting on a bench, with a large circle of some of the strangest listeners she'd ever seen. There where countless types of children turned demons, but also one or two real demons and a few regular humans.
Xander turned to her and smiled and for the first time since she'd found herself a ghost, Willow felt like everything would be allright. The man, that was currently inhabiting Xander's body, gestured with one punctured hand for her to join the circle, before he started telling a simple story about a rich woman, a poor widow and the worth of their sacrifices.