"Xander, what are you supposed to be?" Buffy asked, arching a thin pale eyebrow upwards.
"You're supposed to figure it out, Buff." The boy responded, slightly embarrassed by his costume. He was wearing a khaki shirt, buttoned up the front with a small collar and two shirt pockets. His shorts reached almost to his knees, and they were khaki too. Black socks and brown hiking boots completed the outfit.
Buffy shook her head, an expression of complete puzzlement on her face. "Sorry, Xan. No clue here."
"Don't worry about it, Buffster. You'll figure it out." The brunette grinned.
Across town, Ethan finished his spell.
Angel finally located Buffy amongst the crowd of mini-demons, vampires, and numerous victims. Rolling his eyes, he saw the blonde screaming helplessly as a vampire stalked her. Suddenly, before he could do anything to rescue her, a dark-headed form dressed in khaki shorts and shirt flew through the air to land on the vampires back. Angel winced in sympathy as the pair crashed to the ground in a meaty thud. Now that has got to hurt, he thought.
"Crikey! This one's in a bad mood!" The dark-haired form said, wrapping his legs around the vampires waist and tightening his arms around the vampires' neck. The vampire itself was struggling to regain its feet, despite the load clinging precariously to its back.
Angels' jaw dropped in amazement as he saw the man in the light as the vampire finally gained his feet. It was Xander.
"Cor! Isn't he a beauty?" Xander flashed a grin at the still shrieking Slayer. The vampire snarled in fury as he reached over his shoulders to try and grab the youth who kept tightening his hold.
"Get off me!" The vampire spat out, spinning in a circle and having his hands batted away by the young man on his back.
Angel couldn't believe it. What in the hell was the kid thinking?
"Now, don't try this at home. This is very dangerous." The youth calmly informed the frightened blonde girl. "I'm going to try and calm him down so that we can capture him without hurting him. Once we get him tied up, we'll relocate him to his natural environment."
"What are you talking about, you crazy lunatic!" The vampire screamed, arching his body as he tried to throw the youth off. "Get off me!"
Xander started to hum gently as he lifted one hand to softly pet the vampires' hair. "I want to stroke his pelt gently and distract him until I can get him the cage. It's very important to keep the animal calm while we're transporting him so that he doesn't hurt himself." He whispered.
The vampire spun quickly in one direction before stopping and going the other way. "Let go! Let go!" He screamed, twisting violently around.
"Um, Xander?" Angel said as he raised a finger skywards. "What are you doing?"
The struggling vampire finally managed to grab a hand full of khaki shirt. Without pause, the youth was snatched off the vampires' back and slammed into the ground.
"Ugh! That's going to leave a mark!" The youth muttered, trying to uncross his eyes.
Angel moved in fast, but before he could do anything, the strange vampire who had just freed himself took off running, muttering to himself. "Sure, have a little fun on the Hellmouth, he said. You'll have a blast, he said. I'm getting the hell out of here! Crazy people jumping on your back while you're trying to hunt!"
"You okay, Xander?" Angel asked over his shoulder, giving Buffy his complete attention. The girl seemed to be alright, although she appeared very frightened.
Behind him, Xander climbed slowly to his feet and turned around. His eyes landed on the dark vampire kneeling before the Slayer. "Crikey! What a beauty!" He whispered as his eyes lit up in glee. Without further thought, the boy launched himself through the air, aiming towards Angels' back.