Becoming

Part 1
A town square in Galway, Ireland, 1753. The camera looks straight down from above onto the cobblestones. A lone rider on his horse passes underneath, and the camera follows them past a well as Angelus narrates.

Angelus: There's moments in your life that make you, that set the course of who you're gonna be. Sometimes they're little, subtle moments. Sometimes... they're not. I'll show you what I mean.

The horseman continues past a tavern on the far side of the square. The door opens, and a young drunk Angel and his drunk friend are thrown out.

Angel: (with an Irish accent) We'll be back when we've found a bit more cash money! Keep the girls warm!

The tavern proprietor slams the door shut, and Angel pounds on it a couple of times.

Angel's friend: (moans) Let's go.

Angel staggers back over to him and puts his arm around him. They begin to walk with a definite sway in their step.

Angel: Come on. We'll sneak in and take some of me father's silver. He'll never miss it. He eats with his hands, the pig.

His friend is too drunk to go on, and faints dead away, falling out of Angel's arm to the pavement. Angel looks down at him.

Angel: Ah. Why don't you rest right here.

He takes a look around and spots a noble lady in a fancy period dress standing in an alley beyond an archway. The woman gives a slight backward glance to be sure she has his attention, and starts to walk further into the alley, disappearing around a corner from Angel's view. He follows her.

Cut to the alley. The woman continues her slow pace and looks up when Angel comes through the archway and begins to speak. As she gets closer to the camera it becomes clear that the woman is Darla. Her long curly blonde hair is very nicely coiffed.

Angel: So, I'd ask myself... What's a lady of your station doing alone in an alley with the reputation that this one has?

Darla: (still facing away) Maybe she's lonely.

Angel: In that case, I'd offer myself as escort to protect you from harm and to while away the dull hours.

Darla: You're very gracious.

Angel: Hm. It's often been said.

Darla: (turns to face him) Are you certain you're up to the challenge?

Angel: (approaches her) Milady, you'll find that with the exception of an honest day's work, there's no challenge I'm not prepared to face.

He stops in front of her and looks into her eyes.

Angel: Oh... But you're a pretty thing. Where are you from?

Darla: (smiles) Around. Everywhere.

Angel: I never been anywhere myself. Always wanted to see the world, but...

Darla: I could show you. (smiles)

Angel: Could you, then?

Darla: Things you've never seen, never even heard of.

Angel: Sounds exciting.

Darla: It is. And frightening.

Angel: I'm not afraid. Show me. Show me your world.

Darla: (closes her eyes) Close your eyes.

Angel follows her example. The camera follows her hand as she puts it on his shoulder, and continues up to show her face vamped out. She smiles, lets out a low growl and opens wide as she leans in to bite him. When he feels the pain his eyes open wide, and he gasps. He can't keep steady, and sinks to his knees. Darla lets go of her bite, revealing his bloody neck, and stands up straight. She lifts her hand to her chest and draws a sharp fingernail across the skin above her breasts, allowing blood to trickle out. She grabs him by the back of the neck and pulls him in to her bosom so that his lips fall directly onto the cut, forcing him to taste of her blood. He puts his arms around her and drinks.

Cut to the cemetery in Sunnydale, 1998. Angelus walks through carefully and quietly while watching Buffy fight a pair of vampires nearby. He sees her kick one and then the other, and then continues on to a better vantage point. One of the vampires rushes Buffy, and she flips him over onto his back.

Buffy: Nice try.

The other one comes at her again with a swing. She ducks it and punches him in the face, in the gut and again in the face. He falls to the ground, dazed. The first one comes at her again with a kick, but she blocks it with her arm, backhand punches him in the face, jabs him in the gut and grabs his arm, twisting it up high and forcing him to his knees in pain. Angelus looks on from behind a tree and smiles. The second vampire gets back up and rushes her. Without letting go of the first one she cleanly jams her stake into the other one's chest, and he crumbles into ashes. Angelus can't help but snicker. Buffy turns her attention back to the one she's holding and punches him in the face, making him roll away.

Buffy: I want you to get a message to Angel for me. Tell him I'm done waiting. I'm taking the fight to him.

Angelus smiles as he listens.

Buffy: You got that? Need me to write it down for you?

The vampire gets up and charges her. She grabs him and pulls him around and down to the ground, and immediately plunges her stake home. He bursts into ashes.

Buffy: Alright, I'll tell him myself.

She gets up and walks over behind a gravestone, where she reaches down to help someone up.

Xander: (moans) I'm good. Don't worry about me. (rubs his neck)

Buffy: You know, you don't have to patrol with me.

Xander: (indicates the pile of ash) I had that guy under control until he resorted to fisticuffs. (cranes his neck) Oh! What is that, um... five vampires in three nights?

Buffy: Yep. But no Angel.

Xander: Are you, uh, really that anxious to come up against him?

Buffy: I want it over with.

Xander: (nods) I hear that.

Buffy: Oh, we better go. (exhales) I haven't even started studying for finals yet. (starts to go)

Xander: (joins her) Oh, yeah, finals! Why didn't you let me die?

Buffy: Ah, look on the bright side. It'll all be over soon.

They leave the cemetery under the watchful eyes of Angelus.

Angelus: Yes, my love. It will.

He smirks and turns to leave the other way.

Opening credits roll. Buffy's theme plays.

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 1 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

The research lab at the Sunnydale Museum of Natural History. The camera pans across a large rectangular chunk of rock over to a technician. She is carefully cleaning off a section of the rock. She lets a jet of compressed air blow away some dust. A moment later she lets another jet go, and then reaches up with a brush and runs it across the rock. Dr. Doug Perren, one of the museum curators, comes over to check her progress.

Doug: Careful, now. (points) Concentrate in this area. (watches her work a moment) There you go.

The door opens behind him, and he turns to see Giles come in.

Giles: Hello?

Doug: (comes to greet him) Rupert Giles?

Giles: Yes.

Doug: Doug Perren. (shakes his hand) Thanks for coming.

Giles: Oh, not at all. It's... flattered to be asked.

Doug: I spoke with Lou Tabor at the Washington Institute, and he told me we had the best authority on obscure relics right here in Sunnydale.

Giles: Oh... (laughs) He may have, uh, exaggerated a little. (sees the obelisk) Ah, is this the...

Doug: This is our baby. (they approach it) Construction workers dug it up outside of town. Don't have a clue what it is. Any ideas?

Giles: (touches and looks at the rock) A few. None I'd care to share until I can verify. (notices the runes on it) You have, uh, carbon dated it? (inspects the writings)

Doug: The results'll be back in a couple of days. I'll go out on a limb and say old.

Giles: (smirks) Um, yes, it, it certainly... (picks up a jar and a scraper) predates any, uh... settlements we've read about. (points) Um, may, may I?

Doug: Yeah. Sure.

Giles leans in and begins to scrape at the corner of the obelisk, catching the debris in the jar. He digs into an apparent groove. A few scrapes later he stops and taps the scraper clean on the jar.

Giles: I assume you've, uh, you haven't tried to open it.

Doug: Open it?

He leans over to see what Giles has discovered.

Doug: Ah, I'll be damned. I figured it was solid. What do you think is in there?

Giles: (staring intently) I don't know.

Doug: Well... I guess we won't know until we open it up.

Giles: (considers) Yes, but could I ask, um... would you wait? I, uh... I'd like to work on translating the text. It-it-it might give us an indication of... what we'll find inside.

Doug: You don't want to be surprised?

Giles: A-as a rule, no.

Doug: Alright. You're the expert. But I'm pretty damn curious, though.

Giles: (removes his glasses) Yes. Yes, so am I.

Cut to the cafeteria at Sunnydale High. The camera focuses on two fish sticks that Xander is holding, one with a toothpick stuck through the middle. He plays with them like puppets, moving the one with the toothpick around.

Xander: Tell Angel I'm gonna kill him! No, wait. I'm gonna kill you!

He starts to repeatedly stab the toothpick into the other fish stick. The camera pulls back and up to his face.

Xander: Die! Die! Die!

He makes an anguished face and lets the fish stick fall.

Xander: Aah! (makes a thudding noise) (squeals) Mother! (smiles)

Cordelia: Is that it?

Xander: Yeah. That's it. (chuckles) Scene! (grins)

Cut to Willow, Oz and Buffy at the opposite side of the table. Willow is sitting on Oz's lap.

Buffy: That's exactly how it happened.

Oz: Well, I thought it was riveting. Uh, I was a little unclear about some of the themes.

Buffy: The theme is Angel's too much of a coward to take me on face-to- face.

Xander: (still playing with the fish sticks) And the other theme was 'Buy American', but it, uh, got kind of buried.

Willow: (to Buffy) Do you think you're ready to fight Angel?

Buffy: I wish people would stop asking me that. Yes, I'm ready. I'm also willing and able. Just the one test I might actually pass.

Willow: Don't say that! You're gonna pass everything. I will get you through this semester if I have to sweat blood.

Xander: Do you think you're likely to? 'Cause I'd like to be elsewhere.

Willow: It was only metaphor blood.

Oz: I think you'd sweat cute blood.

Willow: (gives Oz a smile) (to Buffy) Sixth period, after my computer class, we'll rock on chemistry.

Buffy: Ready to rock.

Cordelia: Boy, Willow, you've really got the teaching bug: taking over computer class, tutoring...

Willow: (smiles widely) I love it. I really do.

Cordelia: I think it's great to do that before you go out and fail in the real world. That way you're not falling back on something. You're falling... well, forward.

Xander: (rolls his eyes) And almost sixty-five percent of that was actual compliment. Is that a personal best?

Cordelia: Gee, Xander, what are you gonna teach when you fail in life? Advanced loser-being?

Xander: I will teach... (with a French accent) zee Language of Love! (reaches for her)

Cordelia: (fights him off) Don't touch me! You have fish hands!

Snyder comes into the cafeteria behind them.

Xander: Come, let me caress you!

Cordelia: Stop it!

Xander: Let me in!

Cordelia: No! (laughs) Don't!

Snyder: That's enough of that. (to Willow) And you! Are we having a chair shortage?

Willow: I didn't read anything about... Oh. (slides off of Oz's lap and into her chair) I get it.

Snyder: These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom.

Buffy: Yeah! Where they teach lunch.

Snyder: (glares at her) Just give me a reason to kick you out, Summers. Just give me a reason. (walks off)

Cordelia: How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu?

Buffy: Sums it up.

Cordelia: Don't you think?

Willow: (smiles) (to Buffy) Do you wanna come by my house tonight and study, too?

Buffy: Maybe. I-I do have to patrol.

Willow: Again? Do you really expect Angel to turn up tonight?

Buffy: No, I don't expect him to. But that's usually when he does.

Cut to an abbey in London, 1860. Cut inside the nave. Monks are chanting. Drusilla walks behind the pews toward the confession booths. Before going in she faces the altar, kneels and crosses herself. She looks up briefly before getting back to her feet and going into one of the booths. As she steps in through the curtain an arm juts out of the adjacent one where the priest waits, and muffled noises and struggling can be heard. The arm gets pulled back in as quickly as it appeared. Cut inside the confessional. Drusilla sits down and pulls the scarf from her head.

Drusilla: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

In the next booth Angelus is caught by surprise, and drops the dead priest.

Drusilla: It's been two days since my last confession. (waits for an answer) Father?

Angelus: (goes along with it) That's not very long.

Drusilla: (with a trembling voice) Oh, Father, I'm so afraid.

Angelus: The Lord is very forgiving. Tell me your sins.

Drusilla: I had... (breathes deeply) I've been seeing again, Father. Yesterday, the men were going to work in the mine. I had... (shakes) a terrible fright. (draws a frightened breath) My stomach all (draws another) tied up, and I saw this horrible... crash. (calms a bit) My mummy said to keep my peace, it didn't mean nothing. But this morning... they had a cave-in. Two men died.

Angelus: Go on.

Drusilla: Me mum says... I'm cursed. (exhales) My seeing things is an affront to the Lord, (inhales sharply) that only he's supposed to see anything before it happens. (inhales, sobs) But I don't mean to, Father, I swear! (inhales) I swear! (begins to cry) I try to be pure in his sight. (sobs) I don't want to be an evil thing.

Angelus: Oh, hush, child. The Lord has a plan for all creatures. Even a Devil child like you.

Drusilla: (taken aback) A Devil?

Angelus: Yes! You're a spawn of Satan. All the Hail Marys in the world aren't going to help. The Lord will use you and smite you down. He's like that.

Drusilla: (frightened) What can I do?

Angelus: Fulfill his plan, child. Be evil. Just give in.

Drusilla: No! (sobs) I want to be good. (sobs) I want to be pure.

Angelus: We all do, at first. The world doesn't work that way.

Drusilla: Father... I beg you... Please... Please, help me.

Angelus: Very well. Ten Our Fathers and an Act of Contrition. Does that sound good?

Drusilla: (relieved) Yes. (exhales) Yes, Father. Thank you.

Angelus: The pleasure was mine. And my child... (raises his hand to the lattice between them)

Drusilla: Yes?

Angelus: (stares at her) God is watching you.

Cut to the atrium at Angelus' mansion, 1998. Drusilla comes down the stairs to the garden below. There Spike sits in his wheelchair and reads the newspaper.

Spike: Nice walk, pet?

Drusilla: (holds her tummy as though sick) I met an old man. Didn't like him. He got stuck in my teeth. (licks her fingers) (faces Spike) But then the Moon started whispering to me... (closes her eyes and leans her head back) All sorts of dreadful things.

Angelus walks into the Garden behind Spike.

Angelus: Well, what did it say?

Spike: Oh. Look who's awake.

Angelus bumps Spike's head with his fist as he walks past him.

Angelus: What did the Moon tell you? (walks around Dru) Did you have a vision? Is something coming?

Drusilla: Oh, yeah. (whispers) Something terrible. Psst, psst, psst, psst, psst, psst...

Angelus: Where?

Drusilla: At the museum. A tomb... (smiles) with a surprise inside.

Angelus: (holds his hand up to her head) You can see all that in your head?

Spike: No, you ninny. She read it in the morning paper. (hands over the paper)

Angelus: (takes the paper and looks) Oh, my.

The headline of the Sunnydale Press reads 'Mysterious Obelisk Unearthed'. The article's subtitle reads 'Excavators Discover Ancient Artifact'.

Drusilla: That's what's been whispering to me. Sh.

Angelus: Oh, yeah. (to Drusilla) Don't worry, though. Soon it'll stop. (to Spike) Soon it'll scream.

He smiles over at Spike. Drusilla waves her head around open-mouthed and playfully snaps at Angelus' cheek.

Cut to the computer science classroom after school. Willow is tutoring Buffy in chemistry. Buffy gives up in frustration and slaps down her pencil.

Buffy: Waah! This doesn't make any sense. (pouts at Willow)

Willow: Well, sure it does. See... (takes the paper and looks) Oh, no, this doesn't make any sense.

Buffy: (shrugs) It's senseless. (plays with her pencil)

Willow: (encouragingly) It is, but at least you know that, so you're learning. (looks at the problem more closely)

Buffy: Yay me. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. I mean, when in the real world am I ever gonna need chemistry or history or math or the English language?

Willow: (shoots Buffy a glance) Okay. I see your problem.

Buffy: I'm a moron?

Willow: (gives Buffy a look) Will you stop that? You're not stupid! You've just had a lot on your mind. You can learn this real easily, but if you're just gonna give up, then don't waste my time.

Buffy: (impressed) Wow. You really *are* a good teacher. (smiles)

Willow: Okay. Look at this. A covalent bond, which means these two atoms are linked by this...

Buffy puts her pencil down on her open book, and it rolls off of the desk and into the space between it and the filing cabinet next to it.

Buffy: Ohh! (moans) Hold that thought.

She reaches down and in with her fingers, and pulls the pencil out. In the process she bumps the disk with the pencil so it now leans against the desk instead of the cabinet.

Buffy: (sits back up) Okay. I'm Learn Girl.

Willow: Okay. (points to the paper) So, see here...

Buffy: (has an epiphany) Deja vu.

Willow: Really?

Buffy: Yeah. I have this perfect memory of the pencil and...

She drops the pencil onto her book again. It rolls off of the desk again, falls and hits the disk. She looks over into the space and sees the disk. She reaches down again for it and her pencil.

Buffy: Oh, hey. (pulls up the disk and pencil) You dropped this.

She hands the unlabeled yellow disk to Willow, who looks at it curiously.

Willow: It's not mine. It might be something of Ms. Calendar's.

She inserts the disk into her laptop's floppy drive.

Buffy: This feels kinda morbid.

Willow: (smiles at Buffy) I've gone through most of her files already.

Buffy: Does that make it *less* morbid or you *really* morbid?

The program on the disk starts up, and the Rumanian text scrolls into the left-hand window.

Willow: (sighs) I had to, to teach her class.

The translation program's percent complete window appears, and the bar begins to zip across the screen.

Buffy: Relax, Will. I was making with the funny.

They both watch as the bar reaches the far side. It disappears, and the English translation scrolls into the right-hand window.

Buffy: (looks closely) Does that say 'restoration'? (keeps reading)

Willow: It's one of her spells, I think. (looks at Buffy) Ms. Calendar wasn't a practicing witch, but she did dabble...

Buffy: (interrupts) Willow... (keeps reading)

Willow looks back at the screen and begins reading more. She quickly realizes what they've found.

Willow: Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, boy.

The camera closes in on Buffy. She has stopped reading, and just looks stunned.

A wood in Rumania, 1898. Angelus runs through the trees, panting in his desperation to reach a gypsy camp. Cut to the camp. The camera pans across the dead body of the young Kalderash Gypsy girl that Angelus has recently killed. She is on a table dressed in white and lying on an intricately patterned quilt with candles burning around the perimeter. Members of the clan are laying rose petals on her. The camera continues to pan over to the Elder Woman sitting beneath a tent canopy and chanting over an Orb of Thesulah surrounded by candles within a sacred circle. Angelus continues running through the woods as she chants.

Elder Woman: Nici mort, nici de-al fiintei, Te invoc, spirit al trecerii. Reda trupului ce separa omul de animal!

Translation: Neither dead, nor of the living, I invoke you, spirit of the passing. Return to the body what distinguishes Man from the beast!

Angelus breaks through the trees into the clearing of the camp. He trips and falls by the great bonfire raging near the center of the camp.

Elder Woman: Asa sa fie.

Translation: So it shall be.

He gets to his hands and knees and looks over at the Elder Woman, still chanting. Cut to the Elder Woman.

Elder Woman: Utrespur aceastui.

Translation: Restore this one.

The glowing Orb suddenly gets very bright for an instant, and then goes dark. Cut to Angelus. His eyes grow bright for a moment, then return to normal, his soul now restored. An elder man of the clan steps up to him as he sits back on his ankles.

Gypsy Man: It hurts, yes? Good. It will hurt more.

Angel: (confused) Where am I? (pants hard)

Gypsy Man: You don't remember... everything you've done for a hundred years. In a moment, you will. The face of everyone you killed... our daughter's face... they will haunt you, and you will know what true suffering is.

Angel: (still not understanding) Killed? I, I don't...

Slowly the memories come back to him: all the people in Budapest after the earthquake that he and Darla killed for their blood; all the people he's turned into demons; the gypsy girl that proved to be his downfall.

Angel: No...

He looks down away from the man and begins to sob.

Angel: No... No... No...

He bends down to the ground in sorrow and grief.

Cut to the library at Sunnydale High School, 1998. Xander and Cordelia are sitting at the table. Giles walks up to Buffy and Willow.

Giles: What are you saying?

Buffy: The curse. (holds out a printout) This is it.

Willow: Looks like Ms. Calendar was trying to replicate the original curse. To restore Angel's soul again.

Giles: (takes the printout, stares at it) She said it couldn't be done.

Buffy: Well, she tried anyway. And it looks like it might have worked.

Xander: So he killed her... before she could tell anyone about it. What a prince, huh? (looks away)

Cordelia: This is good, right? I mean, we can curse him again.

Buffy paces, thinking.

Giles: Um, well, this, um... certainly points the way, but... the ritual itself requires a greater knowledge of the black arts than I, I, I can claim.

Willow: Well, I've been going through her files and, and researching the black arts, for fun, or educational fun, and I may be able to work this.

Giles: (very concerned) W-Willow... channeling... such potent magicks through yourself, it could open a door that you may not be able to close.

Buffy: I don't want you putting yourself in any danger, Will.

Willow: And I don't want danger. Big 'no' to danger, but I may be the best person to do this.

Xander: Hi! For those of you who have just tuned in, (gets up) everyone here is a crazy person. (walks to the end of the table) So this spell might restore Angel's humanity? Well, here's an interesting angle. (harshly) Who cares?

Buffy: I care.

Xander: (not surprised) Is that right.

Giles: Let's not lose our perspective here, Xander.

Willow looks at Xander, disbelieving what she's hearing from him.

Xander: (standing his ground) I'm Perspective Guy. Angel's a killer.

Willow: Xander...

Buffy: It's not that simple.

Xander: (disgusted) What? All is forgiven? I can't believe you people!

Cordelia: (gets up) Xander has a point.

Xander: (to Cordelia, in a raised voice) You know, just for once, I wish you'd support me, and I realize right now that you were, and I'm embarrassed, so I'm gonna get back to the point, (to the others) which is that Angel needs to die.

Giles: Curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish.

Xander: Yeah? Well, Jenny's dead.

Giles: (approaches Xander angrily) Don't you *ever* speak of her in that tone again!

Xander: (yells back) Can't you hear what I'm saying?

They begin to argue heatedly. Buffy rushes over and gets between them.

Buffy: Stop it! Stop it!

They all shut up and glare at each other for a moment. Buffy turns away and goes over to Willow, very upset. Giles paces away, also very upset.

Willow: (quietly) What do you wanna do?

Buffy: (sighs) (quietly) I-I don't know. What happened to Angel wasn't his fault.

Xander: Yeah, but what happened to Ms. Calendar is.

Buffy and Willow stare at him in disbelief.

Xander: (very coldly) You can paint this any way you want. But the way I see it is that you wanna forget all about Ms. Calendar's murder so you can get your boyfriend back.

Buffy refuses to listen to any more of this, and walks out of the library. Willow and Giles just stare at Xander in surprise and shock. He walks back to his chair at the table.

Cut to the museum research lab. Dr. Perren is going over his notes when he hears some whispering coming from behind him. He turns around to look, but no one's there.

Doug: Hello?

He gets up and slowly walks over to the obelisk. The whispering gets louder as he nears it. He reaches up to the runes on the face of the rock and touches them. The whispering seems to be coming from inside. He places his hand flat on the face of the rock and stares up at it in amazement. Suddenly Drusilla wraps her hand around his mouth from behind and pulls his head back to expose his neck. She leans in and bites him hard as he struggles to get away. Behind her Angelus and two other vampires approach the obelisk.

Angelus: I'll have one of these to go.

The two vampires walk around the rock with some rope and tools to haul it away.

Angelus: Dru...

She jerks her head up from her victim and turns her eyes toward him, growling and smiling a most evil smile.

Angelus: Save me some.

Cut to Buffy's room at home. She piles a bunch of stakes and crosses into her bag while talking on the phone with Willow.

Buffy: Well, I'll do a couple of sweeps, and then I'll stop by. (listens) Yeah, Xander was pretty much being a... Willow! Where did you learn that word? My God. You kiss your mother with that mouth?

She goes over to her desk while listening to Willow talk some more. She grabs a couple more stakes from the top left drawer.

Buffy: I don't know. I don't know what I wanna do.

At the bottom of the drawer she sees the claddagh ring that Angel gave her, and stares at it sadly for a moment. She reaches in for it and holds it gently with her fingers, remembering.

Buffy: I'll, I'll see you in a little while, okay?

She turns off the phone and sets it down. She holds the ring with both hands again and gazes at the design: two hands for friendship, a crown for loyalty and a heart for love.

Cut to the park. Buffy walks through on patrol and heads into some bushes. She stops and jerks her head aside when she hears something snap. Slowly she takes a few more steps to investigate. She hears another sound behind her, and spins around to look. Nothing. Again she takes a couple of steps. Suddenly Kendra comes out of the bushes to stand right behind her. Buffy instantly pivots around with her fist held up, ready to punch. She stays herself when she recognizes the other girl.

Buffy: (exhales) You know, polite people call before they jump out of the bushes and attack you.

Kendra: (in her accent) Just wanted to test your reflexes.

Buffy: How about testing my face-punching? 'Cause I think you'll find it's improved.

Kendra: I was on my way to your house. Saw you walking. Couldn't help meself.

Buffy: (smiles) Which begs the question, and don't think I'm not glad to see you, but, why are you here? (Kendra starts to answer) Oh, wait. No, let me guess. Your watcher informed you (imitating her accent) dat a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale.

Kendra: Dat's about it.

Buffy: Great. So, you have any idea what this dark power is?

Cut to the main hall in Angelus' mansion. He and Drusilla walk in across the marble floor to where Spike is sitting in his wheelchair, staring at the obelisk set in front of the huge fireplace.

Spike: (hears them coming) It's a big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big.

Angelus: Spike, boy, you never did learn your history.

Spike: Let's have a lesson, then.

Angelus: Acathla the demon came forth to swallow the world. (strolls to the obelisk) He was killed by a virtuous knight who pierced the demon's heart before he could draw a breath to perform the act. Acathla turned to stone, as demons sometimes do, and was buried (turns to face Spike) where neither man nor demon would want to look. (starts away from the obelisk) Unless of course they're putting up low-rent housing. Boys...

The two vampires reach up with crowbars and pry open the tomb. The lid crashes to the floor, stirring up plenty of dust. Inside is a tall, horned, stockily built stone demon with a sword protruding from the right side of its chest. Upon seeing him Drusilla closes her eyes, raises her hands to the sides of her head and begins to sway it back and forth.

Drusilla: He fills my head. I can't hear anything else.

Spike: Let me guess. Someone pulls out the sword...

Angelus: Someone worthy...

Spike: Mm. The demon wakes up, and wackiness ensues.

Drusilla: (opens her eyes, lowers her arms) He will swallow the world.

Angelus: And every creature living on this planet will go to Hell.

He walks up to Acathla for a closer look, and turns to face the others.

Angelus: My friends... we're about to make history... end. (smiles evilly)

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 3 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

The library. Giles comes out of his office into the main room where Buffy and Kendra are waiting at the table. Willow is behind the counter, researching in a book.

Giles: I've been on the phone to the museum. The artifact in question is missing, and the curator has been murdered. Vampires. (leans on the table)

Buffy: And you're sure this was the tomb of Alfalfa?

Giles: Acathla. And yes, the information provided by Kendra's Watcher seems conclusive.

He straightens back up. Willow walks out from behind the counter.

Willow: Okay, somebody explain the whole 'he will suck the world into Hell' thing, because that's the part I'm not loving.

Giles: Well, the, uh, (puts on his glasses) the Demon Universe exists in a dimension separate from our own. (sits on the table) With one breath, Acathla will create a vortex, a-a kind of, um... whirlpool that will pull everything on Earth into that dimension, where any non-demon life will suffer horrible and... eternal torment.

Buffy: So that would be the literal kind of 'sucked into Hell'. (smiles nervously) Neat. (frowns, turns to Willow) Willow, I think you should try the curse.

Kendra: I tend to side with your friend Xander on this one. Angel should be eliminated.

Buffy: Oh, I'll fight him. I'll kill him if I have to. But if I don't get there in time, or if I lose, then Willow might be our only hope.

Willow: (taken aback) I don't *wanna* be our only hope! Uh, I crumble under pressure! Let's have another hope.

Kendra: We have. (pulls a sword from her bag) Blessed by the knight who first slew the demon. (Giles looks at the sword, intrigued) If all else fails, this might stop it. I tink.

Giles: (approaches) Ooh. May I? May I? (takes the sword from Kendra) Thank you. Well, l-let's, uh, hope all else doesn't fail. (to Willow) Um, how close are you to f-figuring out the ritual of the curse?

Willow: (goes to her pack) I need about a day, and... (picks up some papers and reads) an 'Orb of Thesulah'? Whatever that is.

Giles: (hands the sword back to Kendra) Spirit vault for rituals of the undead. (heads toward his office) I've got one. (embarrassed) I-I've been using it as a... paperweight. (disappears into his office)

Willow: (to Buffy) This means I can't help you study for tomorrow's final.

Buffy: Ah, I'll wing it. Of course, if we go to Hell by then, I won't have to take 'em. (worried) Or maybe I'll be taking them forever.

Giles: (comes back with the Orb) Angel has a ritual of his own to perform before he can remove the sword and awaken Acathla. With any luck, it should take some time.

Buffy stares at the Orb as Giles hands it to Willow.

Cut to Angelus' mansion. Spike paces in his room. He hears Drusilla coming.

Drusilla: Spike?

He quickly gets back into his chair. Drusilla comes through the curtain into the room.

Drusilla: Spike, my sweet! The fun's about to begin.

He wheels himself out of the room and heads for the main hall.

Cut to the main hall before the obelisk. The two vampires drag in a young man, barefoot and bare-chested with his hands tied behind his back. They drop him to the floor before Spike, Angelus and Drusilla.

Angelus: (comes toward the young man) I will drink... the blood will wash in me, over me, and I will be cleansed. I will be worthy to free Acathla. (looks at Spike) Bear witness... (looks at Drusilla) as I ascend... (looks ahead and morphs into his game face) as I become.

He grabs the man by the hair and lifts him up, holding his head at an angle to expose his neck. He roars and bites the young man hard and fast on the neck. He drinks deeply, brings up his hand to brush it against the man's wound and then lets him fall to the floor dead. He looks at the blood on his hand. He lowers it and starts to walk slowly toward Acathla.

Angelus: Everything that I am, everything that I have done, has led me here.

Cut to Manhattan, 1996. A bum steps up to a trashcan and begins to go through it. A man walks past him and on down the street. Having found nothing, the bum makes his way into an alley with slow, labored steps. A boy runs past him with a package and disappears further down the alley. The bum, tired and weak, staggers into a concrete post at the side of the alley and stops. He coughs and rolls around to lean with his back against the post, and it's Angel, tired, filthy and unkempt. He just breathes for a moment, and then smells something. He searches the alley with his eyes and spots a rat scampering across to the other side. He takes a couple of unsteady steps, brushes the hair from his face and begins to stalk the rat. It reaches the other side and disappears into a pile of trashcans and bags. Angel dives after it, scattering the cans and bags noisily, but loses the rat. A man comes into the alley behind him. Angel rolls over to sit and flails his arms at the trashcans in anger over missing the rat. The man comes up to him.

Whistler: God, are you disgusting.

Angel calms down a bit and looks around himself.

Whistler: This is really an unforgettable smell. This is the stench of death you're giving off here. And the look says, uh... Crazy Homeless Guy. It's not good.

Angel: (angrily) Get away from me.

Whistler: What are you gonna do, bite me? (gasps and jumps back) Horrors! A vampire!

Angel looks at him in surprise.

Whistler: Ah, but you wouldn't bite me on account of your poor, tortured soul. It's so sad, a vampire with a soul. It's so poignant.

Angel: (confused) Who are you?

Whistler: Let's take a walk.

Cut to a ways down the street. The two of them walk along the sidewalk for a few paces and then turn into the street to cross to the hotdog stand on the other side. Angel isn't paying any attention to the traffic, so Whistler grabs his arm to stop him.

Whistler: What are you eating? (they continue across) Like, a rat once a month?

Angel strays and almost walks into another car. Whistler grabs him again and pulls him back in time.

Whistler: Hey! (car honks, they continue) Look, you're skin and bones here! Butcher shops are throwing away more blood in a day than you could stand. Good blood. (they reach the far side) You lived in the world a little bit, you'd know that.

Angel: I wanna know who you are. (stops)

Whistler: (stops and faces him) And I wanna know who *you* are.

Angel: You already do.

Whistler: Not yet. But I'm looking to find out. 'Cause you could go either way here.

Angel: I don't understand you.

Whistler: Nobody understands me. That's my curse. (chuckles)

He steps over to the street vendor and pulls out some cash.

Whistler: Dog me. Mustard.

He watches the vendor get out the hotdog and squirt on some mustard.

Whistler: (to Angel) My name's Whistler.

Vendor: Here you go.

Whistler: (takes the dog) Thanks. (hands over a bill, turns to Angel) Anyway, lately it is. (takes a bite) Mm.

Angel: (looks down) You're not a vampire.

Whistler: A demon... technically. I mean, I'm not a bad guy. Not all demons are dedicated to the destruction of all life.

Angel: (looks at him) Whadaya mean, I can go either way?

Whistler: I mean that you can become an even more useless rodent than you already are, or you can become someone. A person. Someone to be counted.

Angel: I just wanna be left alone. (starts away)

Whistler: Well, yeah, you've been left alone for, what, ninety years already. (Angel turns back) And what a package you are. The Stink Guy!

Angel: What do you want from me?

Whistler: I want you to see something.

He gives Angel an intense look. Angel just looks at him.

Whistler: We'd have to leave now. You see, and then you tell me what you wanna do.

Angel: Where is it?

Cut to Hemery High School in Los Angeles, 1996. School is over for the day, and the students come streaming out. An old, rusted Chevy Impala with its windows spray-painted black pulls up on the far side of the street. The driver's window lowers, and Angel squints out into the daylight, careful to remain in shadow. He looks over at the building and sees Buffy come down the steps with three of her friends.

Buffy: So I'm like, 'Dad, do you want me to go to the dance in an outfit I've already worn? Why do you hate me?'

Girl#1: Is Tyler taking you?

Buffy: Where were you when I got over Tyler? He's of the past. (Angel watches her) Tyler would have to crawl on his hands and knees to get me to go to the dance with him. Which, actually, he's supposed to do after practice, so I'm gonna wait.

Girl#1: Okay. See ya later.

Girl#2: Bye!

Buffy: (waves to Girl#1) Call me!

Girl#1: Okay!

Buffy: (waves to Girl#2) Call me! (waves to Girl#3) Call me!

Girl#3: I will!

Buffy climbs back up a few steps and looks around. She takes off her jacket and sits down to wait for Tyler. She lays the jacket across her legs and idly looks around again. A man in a black suit approaches her. He is her first Watcher, who has finally found her.

Watcher: Buffy Summers?

Buffy: (looks at him) Yeah? (smiles) Hi! (confused) What?

Watcher: I need to speak with you.

Buffy: (worried) You're not from Bullock's, are you? 'Cause I-I meant to pay for that lipstick.

Watcher: There isn't much time. You must come with me. Your destiny awaits.

Buffy: (confused, shakes her head) I don't have a destiny. (nods) I'm destiny-free, really.

Watcher: (seriously) Yes, you have. You are the Chosen One. You alone can stop them.

Buffy: Who?

Watcher: The vampires.

Buffy: (considers for a moment) Huh?

Cut to a cemetery. Buffy lands flat on her back.

Buffy: Oof!

A vampire props himself over her, growling menacingly. She is very frightened, and looks around frantically for what to do. Angel watches from behind some gravestones. Buffy spots her stake, but can't reach it, so she just gets her hands underneath the vampire and pushes him off. He flies off of her and lands hard on his back.

Buffy: Oh, God...

She rolls onto her hands and knees and scrambles on all fours to retrieve her stake.

Buffy: Oh, God... Oh... Oh, God... Unh!

She grabs the stake and quickly gets to her feet. She looks at it, unsure of what to do next. The vampire gets up and lunges at her. Reflexively she grabs him, sidesteps him and sends him flipping over to the ground again, dazed. She looks at the vampire, amazed by what she just did. She glances back at the Watcher, down at her stake and then makes her move to dispatch the vampire. She quickly gets to her knees, raises the stake above her head and plunges it into him, but gets him in the gut instead of the chest.

Buffy: Oh! Not the heart!

Angel watches, concerned. Buffy plunges the stake into the vampire again, and this time hits her mark. An instant later the vampire bursts into ashes. Buffy is caught by surprise, and she screams and jumps back, landing on her butt. She just stares at the ashes on the grass in wide- eyed shock. Behind her the Watcher steps up.

Watcher: You see? You see your power?

Buffy isn't at all sure she wants to see. Angel continues to watch.

Cut to Buffy's house in L.A. The camera looks into her room from outside. Buffy comes in with her mother close behind.

Joyce: Why didn't you call?

Buffy: (faces her mom) I'm sorry. I-I didn't know it was so late. Tyler and I were talking.

Joyce: (exhales) That boy is irresponsible.

Buffy: No, mom. It's not his fault. (takes off her jacket)

Joyce: You know we worry, that's all.

They look at each other for a moment, and Joyce shrugs.

Joyce: Dinner's in ten minutes. (leaves)

Buffy: (whispers) Yeah.

She goes through the other door into her bathroom. The camera pans from the bedroom window over to the bathroom window. She turns on the water to wash up from the cemetery. Her parents talk in the hall, and she can hear as it escalates into an argument.

Hank: Did she say where she was?

Joyce: She was with Tyler.

Hank: I don't want her seeing him anymore, period!

Angel looks in at her from outside.

Joyce: You're overreacting, dear.

Buffy looks at herself in the mirror sadly. The tears begin to come.

Hank: Don't do that! Don't talk to me like I'm a kid!

Joyce: I don't! Just forget it!

Angel continues to watch and listen.

Hank: Just because you can't discipline her, I have to be the ogre!

Buffy keeps on staring into the mirror.

Joyce: I am not having this conversation again! Alright?

Buffy looks down and tries hard not to cry.

Cut to the sewers. Angel arrives where Whistler is waiting for him.

Whistler: She's gonna have it tough, that Slayer. She's just a kid. The world's full of big, bad things.

Angel: I wanna help her. (Whistler looks at him) I want... I wanna become someone.

Whistler: God, jeez, look at you. She must be prettier than the last Slayer. (Angel looks away) This isn't gonna be easy. The more you live in this world, the more you see how apart from it you really are. (sternly) And this is dangerous work. Right now, you couldn't go three rounds with a fruit fly!

Angel: (with resolve) I wanna learn from you.

Whistler: Alright.

Angel: But I don't wanna dress like you. (starts to leave)

Whistler: (follows) Again, you're annoying me. You're lucky we need you on our side.

Cut to Angelus' mansion, 1998. He approaches Acathla, still vamped out.

Angelus: I have strayed, I have been lost. But Acathla redeems me. With this act, we will be free.

He grabs the hilt of the sword with both hands. A blindingly bright light emanates from it. Drusilla smiles and bathes herself in it. Angelus begins to shake with the power of the sword.

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 4 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

In the main hall of Angelus' mansion. He holds onto the sword tightly, trying to draw it out of Acathla. It won't budge, and a moment later a bright red flame bursts from the sword, throwing Angelus back and onto the floor.

Spike: (sing-song) Someone wasn't worthy.

Angelus: (scrambles to his feet) Damn it!

Drusilla: (freaks out) This is so... disappointing! (moans)

Angelus: (paces angrily) There must be something I missed. The incantations, the blood... I don't know!

Spike tries hard to suppress a snicker, hiding his mouth with his hand.

Drusilla: (whining) What are we going to do?

Angelus: (menacingly) What we always do in a time of trouble: turn to an old friend.

Hope returns to Drusilla's eyes.

Angelus: (viciously) We'll have our Armageddon. I swear!

He grabs a vase from a shelf and heaves it at the far wall, smashing it into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Cut to class the next day. Willow, Buffy, Xander, Cordelia and the rest of the class are taking one of their final exams. Everyone is intent on it. Buffy looks up and glances around briefly, then turns her attention back on her paper.

Cut to the hall. There are very few students. A mysterious figure with a shawl over its head walks slowly toward the room where the team is taking their test. The camera follows. The few students who pass don't take any notice.

Cut back to the class. Everyone is concentrating on the test, and no one notices as the vampire comes in and pulls the shawl away from its face.

Vampire: Tonight... Sundown... (everyone looks up) At the graveyard...

Teacher: (gets up) Excuse me...

Exposed now to the daylight, the vampire begins to smoke.

Vampire: You will come to him. (takes the shawl off) You will come to him or more will die.

She points at Buffy and ignites. Buffy watches, taken aback by the vampire's direct approach at delivering her message.

Vampire: Tonight!

The students scream, jump out of their chairs and begin to run from the room. Cordelia and Xander also jump up, but don't run. Buffy remains calmly in her seat.

Vampire: His hour is at hand!

She combusts in a flash of flame and smoke. Buffy just stares at the empty space before her.

Cut to the library. Xander, Cordelia and Willow are researching at the table. Kendra approaches with her sheathed sword. The camera pulls back to show Giles and Buffy up on the mezzanine.

Buffy: She said more would die. I have to go.

Kendra: Den I should go wit you.

Buffy: (faces Kendra) No. I need you here just in case. (heads for the stairs) I can take care of myself. And look, (comes down) as long as Angel's fighting me, then he can't do this end-of-the-world ritual thingy, and that's a good. (reaches the table) Will, what do you think?

Willow: (looks over her research) I just want to cross-check...

Buffy: We don't have time. If this is gonna work, it has to work now.

Willow: Okay. Then I need maybe half an hour once we're all set up.

Giles: (looks at the shelves) Which means you just have to hold Angel off. Don't let him close on you. (pulls out a book) If the curse succeeds, you'll, you'll know.

He tosses the book down to Xander. Xander checks the title, and hands it to Willow.

Cordelia: Why don't you just wait here to find out if it worked, see if he phones you?

Buffy: I can't risk him killing any more people. I better go. (starts out)

Xander: Be careful.

Buffy: (looks back) I will. (starts out again.)

Kendra: Here...

She grabs a stake from the table. Buffy stops and looks back. Kendra goes over to her and holds up the twisted but very sharp stake.

Kendra: In case de curse does not succeed, dis is my lucky stake. I have killed many vampires wit it. I call it Mr. Pointy.

Buffy: You named your stake?

Kendra: (a bit embarrassed) Yes.

Buffy: (smiles) Remind me to get you a stuffed animal.

She accepts the stake from Kendra and looks it over.

Buffy: Thanks.

Kendra: (exhales) Watch your back.

Buffy leaves the library.

Cut to the cemetery. Buffy walks through, watching all around as she goes. Angelus walks out from behind a small mausoleum.

Angelus: Hello, lover. I wasn't sure you'd come.

Buffy: After your immolation-o-gram? Come on, I had to show. Shouldn't you be out destroying the world right now, pulling the sword out of Al Franken or whatever his name is?

Angelus: There's time enough. I wanted to say goodbye first. You are the one thing in this dimension I will miss.

Buffy: This is a beautiful moment we're having. Can we please fight?

Angelus: I didn't come here to fight.

Buffy: (raises her eyebrows) No?

Angelus: Gosh, I was hoping we could get back together. What do you think? Do we have a shot? (gets a look from Buffy) Alright. We'll fight.

He rushes at her.

Cut to the library. Willow is sitting cross-legged on the table. Before her is the Orb of Thesulah within a sacred circle and surrounded by candles, bones and stones. Willow casts some stones. She looks at them and then gives Giles a nod. He opens a book and reads the Latin text.

Giles: Quod perditum est, invenietur.

Translation: What is lost, return.

Cordelia swirls incense into the air while Xander watches.

Willow: 'Not dead nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum I call...'

Cut to the graveyard. Buffy ducks a punch from Angelus and comes up behind him. He spins around to block her return swing. He blocks another jab from her, and punches her in the face. He follows up with a left hook, and Buffy loses her balance and nearly falls down. Angelus grabs her by the back of her coat and throws her over onto the grounds. She rolls away and onto her back, and looks up at him.

Buffy: Come on, Willow.

She swiftly gets back to her feet to continue fighting.

Cut to the library. Kendra guards the main doors.

Willow: 'Let him know the pain of humanity, gods. Reach your wizened hands to me. Give me the sword...'

Suddenly a vampire comes out from the stacks and attacks Xander from behind. The main doors fly open, and Kendra spins around to defend as two more vampires walk in. Giles points to the steps and yells at the girls as a fourth vampire appears from the stacks.

Giles: Get out! Go!

Willow and Cordelia make for the stairs. Kendra punches the first of the two vampires to reach her. The fourth one jumps over the mezzanine railing and lands on Giles' back, knocking him into the table. Cordelia and Willow run up the stairs and see Xander elbow the vampire on his back, knocking the demon into a bookcase. Having punched down the one vampire, Kendra grabs the other and shoves her into the wall. The first one gets up and rushes in to fight. Willow runs around behind the stacks to try to escape. Cordelia is frozen in fright. Giles grabs a vase from the table and smashes it over his attacker's head. Xander's assailant rushes him again, but Xander sidesteps him. He spins around, grabs Xander and shoves him into a bookcase. The one down below hops up onto the table, runs across it and leaps over the railing above. Willow sees him coming, and hides behind a bookcase. The vampire doesn't stop and just pushes the case over onto Willow. She falls to the floor, and the books and case land on top of her, knocking her out. The vampire Kendra is fighting ducks her swing. Xander's opponent grabs his arm, loops his own around it tightly and pulls down, breaking it. Xander yells out in pain. Kendra ducks a roundhouse kick from her enemy and blocks several swings. Xander grabs his tormenter's hair and smashes his head down on the railing. Below Giles ducks a swing and punches the vampire in the gut. Kendra lands two punches in the face of her attacker. Giles pounds his assailant on the back, but he just roars and spins around with a punch to Giles' face, knocking him out. Xander picks the dazed vampire up and shoves him into the other one going at Cordelia, knocking him down.

Xander: Go!

He grabs his broken arm and winces in pain. Cordelia screams and runs out through the stacks. Xander watches Kendra's opponent punch her in the face, but Kendra ducks and backs into her and comes up holding back the vampire's head. She plunges her stake into her heart, and she bursts into ashes. Xander winces again in pain. Willow lies prone under the fallen bookcase. Kendra looks around for her next target. She sees the one going for Giles, and rushes over to pull him off. She shoves him around to the floor. He tries to get up, but she just punches him back down. He tries again, and she grabs him and throws him through the window into Giles' office. Just then another one tackles her from the side.

Cut to the cemetery. Buffy punches Angelus, but he takes it in stride. She swings again, but he grabs her arm and holds on tight. She swings with the other one, but he grabs it, too, and then pushes her away.

Angelus: Jeez, is it me, or is your heart not in this?

Buffy pulls out Kendra's stake.

Angelus: Maybe I'll just go home, destroy the world.

Buffy: Well, I think Mr. Pointy'll have something to say about that. Come on. Let's finish this. You and me.

Angelus: (chuckles) Y-you never learn, do you? This wasn't about you. This was never about you. (chuckles)

She realizes the trap was set for the others, and begins to run.

Angelus: (smiles) And you fall for it every single time!

Cut to the library. A vampire punches Kendra, and she stumbles, but regains her footing. Up in the stacks the other one comes at Xander and punches him in the face, knocking him out. Below Kendra is hit by a roundhouse kick, and falls. The library doors swing open, and Drusilla walks in. The vampire tries to kick Kendra, but she blocks it and swings out with her leg, tripping him, and gets back to her feet to face the other two, the one that came down from above, the other one now back out of Giles' office. The third one is up again also, and they close in on her, but before any more fighting can ensue Drusilla claps her hands.

Drusilla: Enough.

She bids Kendra come hither with her waving fingers. The other three just back off. Kendra faces Drusilla, ready to fight. Drusilla walks around her and goads her on. Kendra kicks at her, but Drusilla blocks her easily, as well as two follow-up swings. She punches Kendra and sends her spinning to the floor.

Cut to a street. Buffy runs like mad to get to the school.

Cut to the library. Drusilla ducks a kick from Kendra and grabs her by the arms. She swings her around and shoves her away. Kendra comes back at her again with a kick to the gut, and Drusilla doubles over for an instant. Kendra lunges at her, but Drusilla grabs her by the throat and forces her back against the counter, gripping hard and choking her.

Drusilla: Look at me, Dearie.

She waves two extended fingers before Kendra's eyes and begins to hypnotize her.

Drusilla: Be... in my eyes. Be... in me.

She lets go, and Kendra is completely under her spell. She sways back and forth a bit, and Kendra follows her every move to stay in contact with her eyes. Drusilla backs away slightly, lowering her arms and never losing eye contact.

Cut to the park. Buffy races through, leaping a bench as she runs.

Cut to the library. Kendra continues to sway with Drusilla. Drusilla extends out the fingers of her right hand at her side. She smiles evilly as she swings her hand up and slices Kendra's neck with her sharp nails. Kendra grabs at her neck as it begins to bleed heavily, and collapses to the floor. Drusilla watches her fall, and turns to look down at her.

Drusilla: Night-night.

She kisses the air above her and turns to her accomplices.

Drusilla: Let's get what we came for, dears.

Two of them grab an unconscious Giles by the arms and drag him from the library. Drusilla and the third vampire follow them out.

Cut outside. Buffy runs across the school grounds. Cut into the halls. Buffy throws open the door and rushes in. As she rounds a corner the scene slows. Buffy runs down the hall in slow motion as Whistler narrates over the scene.

Whistler: Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments.

Buffy barges into the library and stops.

Whistler: No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does.

She looks around at the damage, and then sees Kendra lying on the floor. She runs to her, still in slow motion, and skids down next to her on her knees. She sees that she's gone, and takes her hand.

Whistler: So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come. You can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are.

Buffy reaches up to Kendra's face with her other hand and strokes it gently. Behind her a police officer raises his gun at her.

Officer: Freeze!

Buffy looks back at him, seemingly caught red-handed.

Whistler: You'll see what I mean.

Part 2
The library at Sunnydale High School. Buffy is crouched over Kendra after finding her dead. Behind her a police officer comes in and aims his gun at her.

Officer#1: Freeze! (Buffy faces him) Put your hands up. Back away from the girl slowly.

Another officer comes in behind the first, gun drawn and surveying the scene. Buffy slowly gets to her feet and raises her hands.

Buffy: Look, I didn't do anything.

Officer#1: Do it! Now!

The second officer holsters her gun and crouches down to feel for Kendra's pulse, but can't find one.

Officer#2: This one's dead.

Officer#1: What about up there? (nods toward the mezzanine)

Buffy and Officer#2 look up at the stacks and see Xander lying unconscious on the floor behind the railing.

Buffy: Xander...

She starts to go to him, but Officer#2 grabs her and pushes her back.

Officer#2: Get her out of here!

Buffy: Wait! Just see if he's okay! Please!

The second officer hands her off to the first, and then goes to check on Xander. Buffy offers no resistance, and lets herself be led out. Officer#2 crouches down by Xander to check him out.

Cut to the hall outside the library. Officer#1 leads Buffy out.

Buffy: Please. You don't understand.

Officer#1: You'd do well to keep your mouth shut, missy.

They turn down the hall and see Snyder coming down followed by two more officers.

Buffy: But I didn't *do* anything.

Snyder: Why do I find that so very hard to believe?

Officer#1: (to the other officers) In there. (to Snyder) You know this girl?

Snyder: Buffy Summers. If there's trouble, she's behind it.

Buffy: (angrily) You stupid little troll. You have *no* idea!

Snyder: Attitude problem. Serious.

Buffy: (faces the officer) Look, I just wanna know if my friends are okay.

Officer#1: All right, that's enough.

He spins her back around and gets out his handcuffs.

Officer#1: You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and...

Buffy glances over her shoulder, and without warning backhand punches the officer in the face. He grunts in pain and stumbles backward into the lockers. She grabs him by the neck and pushes his head down, flipping him over onto his back. Snyder takes a shocked step back. He is too stunned by what he just saw her do to move, and just lets her run down the hall without even looking. Officer#2 comes out of the library and sees her partner on the floor and Buffy running away. She raises her gun and takes aim at Buffy.

Officer#2: Stop!

Now Snyder turns around to see Buffy running away, but he's still too shook up to have the sense to get out of the officer's way.

Officer#2: Get down!

Buffy looks back and turns down an adjacent hall, and the officer takes a shot. The bullet shatters the window of the hall door. The other two officers come out of the library, guns drawn and ready, and she waves them in Buffy's direction. They run in pursuit. She grabs the radio mic at her shoulder and puts out a bulletin on Buffy.

Officer#2: All units, we have a fugitive on foot at the high school. Homicide suspect. Female, blond, approximately sixteen years old. Suspect is *very* dangerous.

Opening credits roll. Buffy's theme plays.

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 1 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

The hall outside the Emergency Room at Sunnydale General Hospital. Buffy comes into the hall wearing a wool cap and a long, dark coat. She averts her eyes from the doctors and nurses. On the wall she finds a slot with a few patient histories and checks the names on them. There are none she's interested in. She continues slowly down the hall, avoiding the eyes of a passing doctor. She checks another series of slots for names on paperwork, but finds nothing. Further down the hall she turns down the left passageway. Behinds her Xander walks up and touches her on the back. She gasps and spins around, but is very relieved to see him standing there.

Buffy: Xander! (hugs him tightly) Ohhh...

He hugs her back, and they hold each other for a long moment, then Buffy lets go.

Buffy: I was so worried, I didn't know if you were okay. The cops were...

Xander: Yeah, I, I heard them chase you out. I was just coming out of it. (holds up his arm in a cast) Souvenir.

Buffy: Well, what about the others?

Xander sees two police officers come into the hall behind her.

Buffy: Are they okay?

He grabs her in another tight hug. Buffy goes along with it, but wonders what's up. When she glimpses the cops she hides her face in Xander's shoulder while they head down the hall in the direction that she came in. When the police have gone they separate again.

Buffy: Okay. That was about equal parts protecting me and copping a feel, right? (smiles)

Xander doesn't smile back. He turns his face down looking sad and very worried.

Buffy: What is it?

Cut to Willow lying unconscious in a hospital bed. She has a bandaged cut on her forehead and a black eye, but otherwise seems unhurt. The camera pans up from her face to Buffy and Xander standing next to the bed.

Xander: The doctor said it was head trauma. She can wake up at any time, but, um... the longer it lasts, the... less likely it is.

Buffy: I never should've let her try to do that curse. Angel must've known.

She reaches up to Willow's face and brushes back a few stray hairs.

Buffy: Where are her parents?

Xander: With relatives in Phoenix. I gave them a call. They're... they're getting on a plane back.

Buffy: Does Oz know?

Xander: (realizes his omission) Oh, man. Um... I didn't even think. Um... I'll call him.

Buffy hears some footsteps behind her and turns quickly to see who it is. Xander looks over his shoulder, too, and they see Cordelia come in. He goes over to her.

Xander: Hey.

Cordelia: (whispers) Hey.

They kiss and hold each other close.

Cordelia: (sighs) How is she? (they separate and look at Willow) The doctor told me that...

Xander: Yeah. We're, uh... still waiting.

Buffy: You okay?

Cordelia: I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized nobody was chasing me. Not too brave.

Buffy: It was the right thing to do.

Xander: Did Giles keep up with you?

Cordelia: I didn't see Giles.

Buffy: You mean he's not in the hospital?

Xander: No.

Buffy gives them a very concerned stare.

Cut to Angelus' mansion. Giles is lying on the floor. Angelus lies on the floor facing him and waiting for him to regain consciousness.

Giles: Mm... (stirs a bit and exhales) Ohhh... (lifts his head)

Angelus: Hi, Rupert. I wasn't sure you were gonna wake up. You had me worried. (hops to his feet)

Giles: (standing up slowly) What do you want?

Angelus: I wanna torture you. I used to love it, and it's been a *long* time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even *have* chainsaws.

He strolls past Giles over to Acathla. Giles turns to watch him and sees the stone demon with the sword protruding from its chest. Angelus notices Giles' stare.

Angelus: Oh, yeah. Acathla. He's an even harder guy to wake up than you are. I mean, I performed the rituals, said all the right phrases... blood on my hand. Got nothing. Big doughnut hole for my troubles. I figure you know the ritual. You're pretty up on these things. You could probably... tell me what I'm doing wrong. (approaches Giles) But honestly, I sorta hope you don't... (stops in front of him) 'Cause I
 * really* wanna torture you. (stares evilly)

Cut to the Summers house. A police officer comes down the stairs to where Detective Stein is questioning Joyce and goes to stand next to him.

Joyce: No. I-i-it's impossible. There... there's been some terrible mistake.

Det. Stein: And you have no idea where your daughter is.

Joyce: She said she was going to her friend Willow's house. (shakes her head) Maybe she slept over.

Det. Stein: Is that Willow Rosenberg?

Joyce: Yes.

Det. Stein: (to the officer) Second victim.

Joyce: (confused) What?

Det. Stein: Your daughter has a history of violence. Doesn't she, Ms. Summers?

He nods for the officer to leave the house, and he goes.

Joyce: Well...

Det. Stein: (smugly) You call us. (pulls out his wallet) Okay? (digs out a card) If she decides to stop by. (hands Joyce the card) Be best if she just comes in.

He exits the house leaving Joyce very worried and confused.

Cut to Giles' apartment. The door is ajar, so Buffy just comes right in.

Buffy: Giles! Giles!

She looks around, but doesn't see him. Behind her Whistler comes down the stairs from the loft.

Whistler: I don't think he's here.

Buffy: (pivots around to face him) Who are you?

Whistler: Whistler.

Buffy: What are you doing here?

Whistler: (reaches the base of the stairs) I'm waiting for you.

Buffy: Why?

Whistler: 'Cause I-I-I need a date to the prom.

Buffy is *not* in the mood for jokes right now, so she takes the two steps over to him, grabs him by the throat and shoves him up against the wall.

Buffy: I have had a *really* bad day, okay? If you have information worth hearing, then I am grateful for it. If you're gonna crack jokes, then I'm gonna pull out your ribcage and wear it as a hat. (lets go)

Whistler: Hello to the imagery! Very nice. (seriously) It wasn't supposed to go down like this. (moves away from the wall) Nobody saw you coming. I figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to smoochies... now he's a creep again. Now, what are you gonna do? W-what are you prepared to do?
 * stop* Acathla, not to bring him forth. Then you two made with the

Buffy: Whatever I have to.

Whistler: Maybe I should ask, what are you prepared to give up?

Buffy: (exhales) You don't have anything useful to tell me, do you? What are you, just some immortal demon sent down to even the score between good and evil?

Whistler: (impressed) Wow. Good guess. (grins)

Buffy: (steps up to him) Well, why don't you try getting off your immortal ass and fighting evil once in a while? 'Cause I'm sick and tired of doing it myself.

Whistler: In the end, you're always by yourself. You're all you've got. That's the point.

Buffy: (disgusted) Spare me. (starts to leave)

Whistler: The sword isn't enough. You gotta be ready. (raises his voice) You gotta know how to use it!

She goes out the door and slams it behind her.

Cut to the park. Buffy walks through it with her head down. A car drives by. She steps into the street and watches as the car goes. When she turns back she sees a police car coming, but doesn't run, instead hoping that the officer won't notice her. He does, though, and turns on his lightbar and lets the siren give a brief loud tone. He pulls the car aside, stops and gets out. Buffy ignores him and keeps walking right past the front of the vehicle. The officer draws his gun.

Officer#3: Hold right there! (slams his door)

Buffy spins around to face him.

Officer#3: Put your hands on your head! Do it!

She stares at his gun, frightened, and begins to raise her hands. Suddenly the gun gets kicked out of the officer's hands. He gets kicked in the face and in the shin, then grabbed and thrown onto the hood of his car, where he lies unconscious. His attacker faces a surprised Buffy.

Spike: Hello, cutie. (smiles)

In the park. Spike takes a step toward Buffy, and she immediately decks him twice in the face. He grabs her by the shoulders to restrain her, but she brings her knee up into his gut.

Spike: Now, you hold on a second!

He gives her a good shove away from himself. She reaches into her coat and pulls out a stake. Spike jumps back and holds up his hands in surrender.

Spike: Hey! White flag here. I quit.

Buffy: Let me clear this up for you. We're mortal enemies. We don't get time-outs.

Spike: You want to go around, pet, I'll have a gay old time of it. You want to stop Angel... we're gonna have to play this a bit differently.

Buffy: (still holding the stake) What are you talking about?

Spike: I'm talking about your ex, pet. I'm talking about putting him in the bloody ground.

Buffy: (chuckles) This has gotta be the *lamest* trick (lowers her stake) you guys have ever thought up.

Spike: He's got your Watcher. Right now, he's probably torturing him.

Buffy: What do you want?

Spike: I told you. I want to stop Angel. (snickers) I want to save the world.

Buffy: Okay. You do remember that you're a vampire, right?

Spike: We like to talk big. (indicates himself) Vampires do. 'I'm going to destroy the world.' (looks at the officer) That's just tough guy talk. (steps over to the car) Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. (sits on the hood) The truth is, I like this world. (pulls the cigarette pack from the officer's shirt pocket) You've got... dog racing, Manchester United. (pulls one out and drops the pack on the officer) And you've got people. (exhales) Billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It's all right here. (lights the cigarette and takes a drag) But then someone comes along with a vision. With a real... (exhales) passion for destruction. (takes another drag and looks at Buffy) Angel could pull it off. Goodbye, Picadilly. Farewell, Leicester Bloody Square. You know what I'm saying?

Buffy: (nods) Okay, fine. You're not down with Angel. Why would you ever come to me?

Spike: (stands and takes another drag, but doesn't look at her) I want Dru back. I want it like it was before he came back. The way she acts around him...

Buffy: You're pathetic.

He punches her in the face. She punches him right back.

Buffy: I lost a friend tonight!

Spike: I wasn't in on that raiding party.

Buffy: And I may lose more! The whole earth may be sucked into Hell, and you want my help 'cause your girlfriend's a big ho? Well, let me take this opportunity to *not* care.

Spike: I can't fight them both alone, and neither can you!

Buffy punches him hard in the jaw, making him flinch. He straightens back up and feels his jaw, checking for blood.

Buffy: I hate you.

Spike: And I'm all you've got.

The police officer begins to stir on the hood of the car.

Buffy: (looks down briefly) All right. Talk.

Spike: (turns to the officer) I'm just gonna kill this guy.

Buffy clears her throat loudly. Spike faces her.

Spike: Oh, right.

Buffy: (raises her eyebrows at him) Let's get inside.

They leave as the police officer begins to wake up and feel his head.

Cut to Willow's room at the hospital. She is still unconscious. Xander is sitting in a chair and watching her while Cordelia stands.

Cordelia: Do you want some coffee?

Xander: I don't wanna leave. She might, uh...

Cordelia: I'll get it.

Xander: (looks up at her) Thanks.

They clasp hands briefly, and Cordelia goes to get some coffee. Xander looks at Willow again, deep in thought. He leans over to the bed and gently takes her hand in his.

Xander: Come on, Will. Look, you don't have a choice here. You gotta wake up. I need you, Will. I mean, how am I gonna pass trig, you know? (chuckles) And who am I gonna call every night... and talk about everything we did all day? You're my best friend. You've always...

He looks at her for a long moment, looks away for an instant and then at her again, struggling with his emotions.

Xander: I love you.

Her face twitches and her hand gives his a squeeze. Xander's eyes widen in hope.

Xander: Willow?

She takes a few breaths before responding, with her eyes still closed.

Willow: (whispers) Oz? (speaks) Oz?

Xander leans away, taken aback. Oz hears her as he walks into the room.

Oz: I'm here.

Xander: (looks back at Oz) She's just starting to wake up.

He gets up to let Oz go to her. Oz takes her hand and leans over the bed. Willow still has her eyes closed.

Oz: Hey, baby.

Willow: (weakly) Hi.

Xander: I'm gonna go get a doctor. (leaves)

Oz: How you feelin'?

Willow: (weakly, eyes still closed) My head... feels big. Is it big?

Oz: No. It's head size.

He leans over her face and gently kisses her on the forehead. He leans back to look at her and strokes her hair with his other hand. She opens her eyes tentatively.

Willow: (whispers) Uh... is everybody else okay?

Cut to Angelus' mansion. The camera shows Giles in a chair with his hands bound behind his back and bleeding from rope burns. The camera pans up his arms and over his shoulder to Angelus, sitting in a chair and watching Giles as he cleans his glasses. He breathes on the lenses, polishes them clean and inspects his work.

Angelus: Rupert, buddy... I'm here to tell you, I'm impressed. (chuckles)

He drops the cleaning cloth, gets up and goes over to Giles.

Angelus: Hey. Uh... (slides on the glasses) How you holdin' up?

Giles: (looks up at him weakly) Never... better.

Angelus: Glad to hear it. (kneels next to him) Now... (Giles breathes painfully) Tell me when it hurts. (smirks)

Cut to Buffy's street. She and Spike eye each other as they head up the walk to her house. Just then Joyce pulls up in her Jeep and sees them from her open window.

Joyce: Buffy?!

Buffy gives her a glance, but goes right back to watching Spike.

Joyce: (stops the car) Where have you been? (gets out) Are you okay? (runs over) The police were here! I've been looking for you!

Buffy: Mom, let's, let's go inside, and I can explain.

Joyce: (hysterical) Who is this man? (to Spike) Who are you? (to Buffy) Are you okay?

Buffy: Mom! I'm-I'm okay.

Joyce: Buffy, terrible things have happened. What were you doing?

Spike: What, your mum doesn't know?

Buffy glares at Spike.

Joyce: (to Spike) Know what?

Buffy: (faces her mom) That I'm, uh... in a band. A-a rock band with Spike here. (shoots Spike a look)

Spike: Right. She plays the, the triangle.

Buffy: Drums.

Spike: Drums, yeah. She's, uh, hell on the old skins, you know.

Joyce: (unconvinced) Hmm. And, uh, what do you do?

Spike: Well, I sing.

Buffy: You know what? Why don't we go inside, and, and we can talk about this. (nods)

She starts toward the door, and Spike follows.

Joyce: I'm, I'm not sure how I feel about this.

Buffy turns around to face her. Suddenly a vampire rushes across the porch, pushes Buffy and Spike aside and jumps down the steps at Joyce, ready to fight. She screams and does some fast backpedaling. Buffy grabs him by the shoulders from behind and forces him around to face Spike. She pulls out a stake while Spike gives him a series of punches to the face. Spike's last blow sends the vampire spinning around and staggering away. Buffy thrusts the stake into his chest, and he instantly crumbles to ash. Joyce just stares in shock. Spike steps down from the porch and looks at the pile of ash.

Spike: One of Angel's boys.

Buffy: Yeah, probably watching me. Or you.

Spike: Yeah. He won't get a chance to tattle on us now.

Joyce: (utterly confused) Buffy... what... is going on?

Buffy looks at her mother for a moment, exchanges a look with Spike and realizes that it's time. She steps up to her mom and looks up at her, hoping against hope for understanding.

Buffy: Mom... I'm a Vampire Slayer.

Joyce just blinks her eyes, raises her brows and shakes her head in complete dismay.

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 3 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

Willow's room at the hospital. Oz brings her a bowl of Jell-O. She's sitting up and on the phone with Buffy. She takes the bowl from Oz with a smile, sets it down on her lap and begins to play with the spoon. Oz pulls up a chair and sits down.

Willow: I'm okay, Buffy, really. I mean, I don't feel good, but... I'm awake, and I know my name and who's President and how many fingers, so they don't think my brain got mushed at all.

Buffy: (cut to her in her kitchen) Thank God. So sorry I can't be there.

Willow: I know. (cut to her) I'm sorry I didn't get to cure Angel.

Buffy: Don't be. It just (cut to her) wasn't meant to be. I know I'm never gonna get him back the way he was. It just makes it easier.

Willow: (cut to her) I guess. Any luck finding Giles?

Buffy: (cut to her) Yep. I got a lucky break.

Willow: What?

Buffy: You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Cut to their living room. Joyce sits nervously on the couch with the toes of her shoes turned in. Spike is sitting in an adjacent wicker chair. Uncomfortable silence reigns. Spike looks around the room. Joyce lifts her glass, takes a sip of her drink and winces at its strength. Spike looks down at his lap, lets out a long, bored breath and folds his hands. Cut to Buffy on the phone in the kitchen.

Buffy: Xander. Angel and the others are holed up outside town. You remember that funky-looking mansion you showed me that time?

Cut to him sitting on Willow's bed. Behind him she eats her Jell-O. Oz looks through a magazine.

Xander: (into the phone) On Crawford Street. Sure. That makes sense. What's the drill?

Buffy: (cut to her) I'm gonna hit it come daybreak.

Xander: (cut to him) You'll need backup.

Buffy: No. (cut to her) You stay there. I'm covered.

Xander: (cut to him) Do you, um... do you think Giles is still alive?

Buffy: (cut to her) I think he is. I just wish he was here to tell me what to do.

Cut to the living room. The silence is deafening. Spike looks around some more. Then Joyce has a spark of recognition on her face and looks over at Spike.

Joyce: Have we met?

Spike: (faces her) Um... you hit me with an ax one time. Remember? (makes an ax-holding gesture) Uh, 'get the hell away from my daughter.' (lowers his arms)

Joyce: Oh.

She lets out a little chuckle. Spike sighs with boredom.

Joyce: So, do you, uh, live here in town?

Buffy walks into the room with her arms crossed. They both get up.

Joyce: I-is Willow all right?

Buffy: Yeah. She's fine. (to Spike) All right, talk. What's the deal?

Spike: Simple. You let me and Dru skip town, I help you kill Angel.

Joyce: (confused) Angel? Your boyfriend?

Buffy: (to Spike) Forget about Drusilla. She doesn't walk.

Spike: There's no deal without Dru.

Buffy: She killed Kendra.

Spike: (surprised) Dru bagged a Slayer? (chuckles) She didn't tell me! (to Joyce, smiling) Hey, good for her! (gets a look from Buffy and loses the smile) Though not from your perspective, I suppose.

Buffy: (with contempt) I can't believe I invited you into my house.

Joyce: (relieved) So you didn't kill that girl.

Buffy: Of course not.

Joyce: Did she explode like that man out there?

Buffy: She was a Slayer, Mom.

Joyce: Like what you are.

Buffy gives her a thin smile and a nod.

Spike: Look. (pulls Buffy aside) This deal works for me one way. Full stop. Me and Dru for Angel.

Joyce: (still confused) Honey, a-are you sure you're a Vampire Slayer?

Spike: I'll take her out of the country. You'll never hear from us again, I *bloody* well hope.

Buffy: (ignores her mother) Fine. Get back to the mansion. Make sure Giles is all right.

Joyce: I-I mean, have you tried *not* being a Slayer?

They both look at her.

Buffy: Mom!

Spike sighs in exasperation of Joyce.

Buffy: (to Spike) Be ready to back me up when I make my move.

He walks around her toward the door.

Buffy: If Giles dies... (Spike stops and faces her) she dies.

He gives her a final stare and heads out the door.

Joyce: (trying to make sense of it) It's because you didn't have a strong father figure, isn't it?

Buffy: It's just fate, Mom. I'm the Slayer. Accept it.

Joyce: We should call the police. (heads for the kitchen)

Buffy: No. We're not calling the police.

Joyce: (stops and faces her daughter, smiling) Well, now that we know that you're innocent, it's...

Buffy: What? You thought I was guilty? Jeez, feelin' the love in *this* room!

Joyce: No, I didn't think that. It's just... now we have proof.

Buffy: (exasperated) We have my word, Mom. Not proof.

Joyce: (heads for the kitchen again) Look, I am sure that they will understand.

Buffy: (follows closely) Get them involved, you'll get them killed.

Joyce: Well, you're not gonna hurt them, are you?

Buffy: I'm a Slayer, not a postal worker.

Her mother picks up the phone, and Buffy slaps her hand onto the switch hook.

Buffy: Cops can't fight demons. (takes the phone from her mom) I have to do it. (puts the phone back in its cradle)

Joyce: (demanding) Do what? Buffy, what is happening?

Buffy: (doesn't want to deal) Just have another drink.

She turns away from her mother and starts to walk off. Joyce throws her glass aside in anger, and it breaks on the floor.

Joyce: Don't you talk to me that way! (Buffy stops in her tracks) You don't get to just dump something like this on me and pretend it's nothing!

Buffy: (looks at her) I'm sorry, Mom, but I don't have time for this. (starts for the door again, but stops)

Joyce: No! I am tired of 'I don't have time' or-or 'you wouldn't understand.' (Buffy faces her) I am your mother, and you will *make* time to explain yourself.

Buffy: I told you. I'm a Vampire Slayer.

Joyce: (haughtily) Well, I just don't accept that!

Buffy: (steps closer) Open your eyes, Mom. What do you think has been going on for the past two years? The fights, the weird occurrences. How many times have you washed blood out of my clothing, and you still haven't figured it out?

Joyce: (raises her voice angrily) Well, it stops now!

Buffy: (raises her voice also) No, it doesn't stop! It *never* stops! Do-do you think I chose to be like this? Do you have any idea how lonely it is, how dangerous? I would *love* to be upstairs watching TV or gossiping about boys or... God, even studying! But I have to save the world... again.

Joyce: No. This is insane. (takes Buffy by the shoulders) Buffy, you need help.

Buffy: (throws off her mom's arms) I'm *not* crazy! What I need is for you to chill. I *have* to go!

Joyce: (shakes her head) No. I am not letting you out of this house.

Buffy: You can't stop me.

Joyce: (grabs her) Oh yes I...

Buffy shoves her back into the island, making her knock over several things. She heads for the door, opens it and steps out.

Joyce: (angrily) You walk out of this house, don't even *think* about coming back!

Buffy just gives her a long stare and leaves. Joyce sighs, having failed once again at communicating with her daughter. She turns around and leans on the island with her head in her hands.

Cut to Willow's hospital room. Willow is sitting up in her bed with Oz in the chair next to her. Xander is sitting on the far side of the room.

Cordelia: (paces) So Buffy's going for the big showdown, huh? Wish we could help. (to Xander) You know, without dying.

Xander: I don't see how.

Willow: I wanna try again.

Oz: Try what?

Willow: The curse. We never got to finish it. Maybe we *can* restore Angel's soul.

Xander: I don't like it. You're talking about messing with powerful magic, and you're weak.

Willow: I'm okay.

Xander: You don't look okay. (to Cordelia) Does she?

Cordelia: You should listen to him. The hair, it's so flat, and the lips...

Xander: (to Cordelia) Could we stay on topic here, honey?

Cordelia: What?

Xander: (to Willow) Look, it's not a good idea.

Willow: There's no use arguing with me. Do you see my resolve face? (gives them her resolve face) You've seen it before. You know what it means. This can help Buffy. If we turn Angel back soon enough, we can stop him from ever awakening Acathla.

Oz: (gets up) Okay, I pretty much missed out on some stuff, didn't I? Because this is all making a kind of sense that's... not.

Willow: (to Oz) Go with Cordy to the library and get my things. She'll fill you in.

Oz: Sure. (kisses her hand) I'll drive.

He walks out of the room with Cordelia close behind. Xander gets up.

Willow: Xander, go to Buffy. Tell her what we're doing. Maybe she can stall.

Xander: But I...

Willow: (points to herself) Resolve face.

Xander: (gives in) Be careful. (leaves)

Cut to Angelus' mansion. Giles is still tied to his chair, and hangs his head weakly.

Angelus: You know, I can stop the pain. You've been very brave... (puts his hand on Giles' shoulder) but it's over. (walks behind him) You've given enough. (leans down to Giles' ear) Now let me make it stop.

Giles: (panting and shaking with pain) Please!

Angelus: (kneels to face him) Just tell me what I need to know.

Giles: (weakly) In order... to be worthy...

Angelus: (whispers) Yeah?

Giles: (weakly) You must perform the ritual... in a tutu.

Angelus glares at him. Giles doesn't back down.

Giles: Pillock!

Angelus: (stands up) All right. Someone get the chainsaw.

Spike: (wheels himself in) Now, now, don't let's lose our temper.

Angelus: Keep out of it, sit 'n' spin.

Spike: Look, you cut him up, you'll never get your answers.

Angelus: Since when did *you* become so levelheaded?

Spike: Right about the time you became so pig-headed. You have your way with him, you'll never get to destroy the world. And I don't fancy spending the next month trying to get librarian out of the carpet. There are other ways.

Angelus: Enlighten me.

Spike: Hmm. (behind himself) Drusilla? Sweetheart?

She comes in behind him and walks up to them.

Spike: Do you want to play a game?

She puts her arm on his shoulder, and they both look over at Angelus.

Cut to the library. The main area is cordoned off with yellow crime scene tape. Buffy walks in and just grabs and pulls down the tape. As she heads toward the table she looks down at the chalk outline of Kendra on the floor and passes it slowly, careful not to step on it. When she reaches the table she looks for a moment at the Orb, candles and other things that were used in the attempt at cursing Angelus. Then she reaches under the table, pulls out Kendra's large duffel bag and sets it on the table. As she goes through it Snyder comes into the library.

Snyder: You do know this is a crime scene, don't you? (Buffy looks up at him approaching) But then... you're a criminal, so that pretty much works out. (stops)

Buffy: You know I didn't do it. The police will figure it out.

Snyder: In case you haven't noticed, the police of Sunnydale are Whatever they find, you've proved too much of a liability for this school. (takes a breath) These are the moments you want to savor. You wish time would stop so that you could live them over and over again. (smiles smugly) You're expelled.
 * deeply* stupid. (takes a few steps closer) It doesn't matter anyway.

Buffy reaches into the bag and pulls out the sword blessed by the knight who first slew Acathla. She holds it up and turns it in her hand. Snyder looks at it, at her and gulps. Buffy gazes at the polished blade.

Buffy: You never ever got a single date in high school, (turns her eyes to him) did you?

Snyder: Your point being?

She starts out of the library and leans the blade into his face as she passes him. He bends back nervously and watches her go. This time she makes no attempt to avoid the chalk markings on the floor. Snyder pulls out his cell phone and dials. He checks to make sure she's gone and holds the phone up to his ear.

Snyder: It's Snyder. (smiles) Tell the Mayor I have good news.

Cut to Angelus' mansion. Drusilla kneels behind Giles, patting the sweat from his forehead.

Drusilla: Is that better? (pats more) Hmm? (pulls away the cloth) Poor thing. (runs her finger down his cheek) Let's see what's inside.

She runs her hand up the back of Giles' head and over the top. She closes her eyes and concentrates on reading his thoughts. It doesn't take long for her to discover something useful. She gasps and removes her hand.

Drusilla: (into Giles' ear) Of course.

She stands up and goes around to his other side and holds up two fingers to hypnotize him.

Drusilla: Look at me.

Giles turns his head weakly to look away, trying to resist. She comes around the rest of the way in front of him, waving her fingers.

Drusilla: Mm-mm-mm-mm.

Finally Giles can no longer resist and looks at her. She waves her fingers around some more and draws them in toward her own eyes.

Drusilla: Be... in me.

In his weakened state Giles quickly falls under her spell. She looks into his eyes and smiles.

Drusilla: Hmm. See with your heart.

She covers his eyes with her hand, and when she takes it away he sees Jenny kneeling before him. At first he can't believe it, but then accepts it.

Giles: (smiles) Jenny! I thought I'd lost you.

Dru/Jenny: (quietly) Shh. I'll never leave you.

Giles: (tries to get up) We have to get out of here.

Dru/Jenny: (calms him) No-no-no-no-no. Slowly.

She brushes her hand over his temple, down his cheek and over his lips.

Giles: It can't be you. (stares into her eyes)

Dru/Jenny: Did you tell Angel? About the ritual?

Giles: (breathing erratically) No. (desperately) We have to get... him away from Acathla.

Dru/Jenny: Why? Is he close to figuring it out?

Giles: (nods, anxious to go) Later.

Dru/Jenny: (imploringly) Tell me what to do.

Giles looks at her, helpless and confused.

Dru/Jenny: It's all right. We'll be together... finally. We'll have everything we never got to have... Never got to feel... Just tell me what to do.

Giles: (desperately) We have to get Angel away from Acathla.

Dru/Jenny: Angel himself? He's the key?

Giles: (weakly) H-h-his, his blood... H-he mustn't...

Dru/Jenny: Shh. (kisses him) Mm.

They kiss passionately. The camera pulls over to Giles' face. When it pans back he's kissing Drusilla. The camera continues to pan over to Angelus and Spike as they watch, pleased with the result.

Angelus: Blood. Of course. The blood on my hands must be my own. I am the key that will open up the door. My blood. My life. (considers) Okay. Kill him. (turns to go)

Spike: Uh, but what if he's lying?

Angelus: Yeah. Good point. Alright, don't kill him. (leans down to Spike) You know, I kinda like having you watch my back. It's kinda like old times. (chuckles)

They both look over at Drusilla, still kissing Giles.

Spike: Uh, Drusilla...

She keeps kissing him.

Angelus: Honey...

Spike: We are finished here, ducks.

She stops and looks back at them sheepishly.

Drusilla: Sorry. (smiles evilly) I was in the moment.

Giles opens his eyes and realizes that he's been tricked.

Cut to Giles' apartment. Whistler walks into the kitchen and looks around. He spots a bottle of sherry and takes a sniff, but then sees that it's empty. He puts it back down and keeps looking around. Buffy comes in and sees him there. He goes over to check out the refrigerator.

Buffy: Whistler. What did you mean, the sword isn't enough?

Whistler: (finds a bottle of beer) You know, raiding an Englishman's fridge is like dating a nun. You're never gonna get the good stuff.

Buffy: Tell me how to use it.

Whistler: (takes a swig and looks back at Buffy) Angel's the key. (closes the fridge) His blood will open the door to Hell. Acathla opens his big mouth, creates a vortex. Then only Angel's blood will close it. One blow will send 'em both back to Hell. But I strongly suggest that you get there before that happens, 'cause the faster you kill Angel, the easier it's gonna be on you.

Buffy: Don't worry about me.

Whistler: It's all on the line here, kid.

Buffy: I can deal. (sadly) I got nothing left to lose. (leaves)

Whistler: Wrong, kid. You got one more thing.

16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC) Part 4 16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)16:19, February 25, 2017 (UTC)

Outside Angelus' mansion. The camera pans along its dark facade. Cut to the street. Buffy walks toward the mansion at a determined pace with the sword wrapped in a cloth. Suddenly Xander comes running out of the bushes on the hillside and jumps into the street in front of her. She startles and takes a reflexive step back.

Buffy: Xander!

Xander: Cavalry's here. Cavalry's a frightened guy with a rock, (holds up a large rock) but it's here.

Buffy holds up a stake. He tosses the rock aside and takes it from her.

Xander: That's better.

Buffy: You're not here to fight. (starts walking) You get Giles out, and you run like hell, understood? I can't protect you. (pulls off and discards the cloth) I'm gonna be too busy killing.

Xander: (looks at the sword) Now, that's a new look for you.

Buffy: It's a present for Angel.

Xander: Willow. (stops) Uh, she told me to tell you...

Buffy: Tell me what?

Xander: (pauses to think) Kick his ass.

Without a word she continues walking. Xander hesitates a moment and then follows.

Cut inside the main hall of the mansion. Spike in his wheelchair, Angelus and Drusilla stand at one end near the large fireplace. The camera pans along the other side behind Acathla and the two other vampires standing on either side. Angelus begins the ritual.

Angelus: Acathla... Mundatus sum... pro te necavi. Sanguinem meum... pro te effundam... (steps slowly toward Acathla) quo me dignum... esse demonstrem.

Translation: Acathla... I am cleansed... here before you. My blood... flowing before you... (steps slowly toward Acathla) makes me worthy... as I demonstrate.

Cut to Willow's hospital room. Cordelia and Oz are back with the Orb and the candles, and they have everything set up on the tray table over the bed: the Orb surrounded by the candles within a sacred circle. Cordelia stands on one side and waves burning herbs and incense over the Orb. Oz stands on the other side with an open Latin book. Willow sits up in her bed holding the printout of the Rumanian curse. The camera looks down from above and closes in on them.

Willow: Are we ready?

Cordelia: Stinky herbs are a go.

Oz: Did I mention I didn't take Latin?

Willow: Y-you don't have to understand it. You just have to say it. I hope.

Oz: Right.

Cut to Angelus' mansion. The camera pans past Acathla's face and the vampire standing next to him.

Angelus: Now, Acathla...

Cut to Angelus. Drusilla hands him a knife.

Angelus: You will be free.

He draws the blade across the palm of his hand and winces in pain, but doesn't take his stare off of the demon. He drops the knife.

Angelus: And so will we all.

Cut to the other vampire. The camera pans around him to show Buffy coming in quietly behind him. She raises her sword and decapitates him with a single swing. He crumbles to ash as his head falls to the floor. Drusilla and Angelus turn their heads to look. Buffy meets their gazes.

Buffy: Hello, lover.

Angelus: (bored) I don't have time for you.

Buffy: You don't have a lot of time *left*.

Angelus: Coming on kind of strong, don't you think? You're playing some deep odds here. Do you really think you can take us all on?

Buffy: No. I don't.

Spike gets up out of his wheelchair behind Angelus with a determined look on his face and whips him hard across the back with an andiron. Angelus cries out in pain and collapses to the floor. Drusilla twists her head to look at Spike. He continues to whale on Angelus as hard as he can. Buffy starts for Drusilla, but the first vampire attacks her. She spins around to face him, but he punches her and she falls to the floor. She trips him when he comes at her again and maneuvers to her feet, ready to fight. He comes at her again with a series of punches, all of which she easily blocks. Spike keeps pounding on Angelus.

Spike: Painful, isn't it?

He keeps swinging the andiron. Drusilla begins to freak, and jumps on Spike, taking him down to the floor with her. Buffy's assailant backhand punches her in the face, and she goes staggering into a chair by the wall. She quickly recovers to block another swing, brings her knee up into his gut and kicks him in the face, knocking him to the floor. She spies a pile of broken wood fragments and goes to it. The vampire gets to his feet just as Xander comes into the room and surprises him with a punch. Buffy picks up a suitable piece of scrap wood and gets back into the fight. Xander backs off to go look for Giles. The vampire ducks a roundhouse kick and blocks another kick. Spike and Drusilla get up from the floor and face each other off.

Spike: I don't want to hurt you, baby.

She grabs him by the throat and shoves him into the wall. He slaps her arm aside and punches her in the face.

Spike: Doesn't mean I won't.

Cut to the hospital room. Willow casts her stones and gives Oz his cue. Cordelia keeps waving the burning herbs and incense.

Oz: Quod perditum est, invenietur.

Translation: What is lost, return.

Willow: Not dead... nor not of the living. Spirits of the interregnum, I call.

Cut to the mansion. Xander pushes aside a curtain to another room and finds Giles still tied to a chair.

Xander: Giles!

Giles' head is tilted back, and he is very weak.

Xander: Giles!

Giles lifts his head slowly. Xander crouches behind the chair and begins to untie the ropes.

Giles: Xander?

Xander: Can you walk?

Giles: You're not real.

Xander: Sure, I'm real.

Giles: It's a trick. They get inside my head, make me see things I want.

Xander has untied the ropes and goes around to look into Giles' face.

Xander: Then why would they make you see me?

Giles: (considers) You're right. Let's go.

He groans as Xander gets under his arm and helps him out of the chair.

Xander: Come on.

They make their way though the main hall as fast as they can and out the door. Buffy and the vampire continue to fight. Drusilla swipes at Spike with her hand and leaves four parallel scratches across his cheek. She follows up with a punch that knocks him to the floor. Angelus wakes up and groans in pain. He rubs his eyes and looks up at Acathla. He gets to his feet and goes over to the demon. Buffy is still fighting the vampire. She blocks a kick from him, punches him, spins around and punches again, and he falls onto his back. Buffy quickly follows him down with her stake and jams it into his chest. He bursts into ashes. Behind her Angelus takes the last few steps to Acathla and grabs the sword stuck in his chest by the hilt with his bloody hand. A blindingly bright light emanates from it, and Buffy looks up from her kill in time to witness Angelus pulling the sword from the demon's heart. With a few telltale sparks the light is suddenly gone. Angelus whips the sword around in his hand and holds it up to look at it. Buffy scrambles to get her own sword. Drusilla looks up from her fight and gazes at Acathla with a smile.

Drusilla: Oh... Here he comes.

Spike comes up behind her and grabs her around the throat with his arm, choking her.

Cut to the hospital. Willow continues her chant, but starts to feel weak.

Willow: Gods, bind him. Cast his heart from the... evil... realm.

Cut to the mansion. Buffy holds up her sword and faces off with Angelus. He holds his own ready to fight her also.

Angelus: You almost made it, Buff.

Buffy: It's not over yet.

Angelus: My boy Acathla here is about to wake up. You're going to Hell.

Buffy: Save me a seat.

She thrusts at him with her sword, but he parries and swings around with a thrust of his own, which she also parries. They clash blades several times, and Buffy ducks a wide arcing swing from him. They face off again and trade one thrust and parry after another. Angelus tries another arcing swing from above, but she easily ducks and sidesteps out of the way. They face off again in front of Acathla and trade a few more blows. Angelus tries a swing from above a third time, and again Buffy ducks it and escapes to the side. She jumps up on a low table and swings at him again. He parries, and swings at her legs. She jumps up and over his blade and lands on the floor. He tries for her legs again, but she blocks his attempt with her blade. Again they trade several swings, and Angelus tries a wide swing again, and this time cuts her superficially on the arm. He tries to take advantage of her distraction and comes at her with his sword held high, intending to swing from above, but she drops to the floor and rolls out of the way, so he only manages to smash a bowl on a table behind her. Buffy kicks his legs out from under him and scrambles back up. He turns to face her still on his knees and swings three times in rapid succession, all of which she parries. He swings a fourth time, and this time Buffy knocks his sword into the table with her parry and pins it there. He backhand punches her in the face, and she spins away. He pulls the sword from the table and swings it hard at her. She blocks it with hers, and kicks him in the gut, making him double over. She jumps over him into the clear, and raises her sword to continue the fight. He thrusts, and she parries. Then he kicks her in her sword arm, and she stumbles back a step.

Cut to the hospital. Willow gets weaker as she chants and breathes heavily.

Willow: Return. (pants) I call on... (pants)

Oz: (worried) Willow?

Cordelia: (worried) Are you okay?

Without warning Willow's head snaps back and she looks up with her eyes wide open. Her head snaps back down and her eyes stare into the Orb. She begins to chant steadily in Rumanian as though possessed.

Willow: Te implor, Doamne, nu ignora aceasta rugaminte.

Translation: I implore you, Lord, do not ignore this request.

Oz: (to Cordelia) Is this a good thing?

Willow: Nici mort, nici al fiintei...

Translation: Neither dead, nor of the living...

Cordelia: (freaked out) Hey, speak English!

Willow: Lasa orbita sa fie vasul care-i va transporta, sufletul la el.

Translation: Let this Orb be the vessel that will carry his soul to him.

Cut to Angelus' mansion. The fight has moved out into the atrium. Buffy hits the ground and scrambles back to her feet as Angelus slowly advances. She thrusts, and he parries. She spins around and swings at him, and he blocks her. Her sword bounces off of his and falls with the tip onto the low wall of a planting bed. Angelus stomps on the blade before she can raise it again and knocks it from her grip. He spins around and elbows her in the face, knocking her back into a stone table, which collapses and falls with her.

Cut to Acathla. Deep thundering growls and noises come from him as he begins to wake.

Cut to Spike choking Drusilla. She begins to lose consciousness and slumps over in his arms.

Spike: Sorry, baby. Wish there was another way.

When she begins to fall he catches her, lifts her into his arms and starts to carry her out. On the way he passes the doorway to the atrium and glances outside. When he sees them he stops to take a better look. Buffy is backing up against the wall without her sword while Angelus slowly and deliberately advances on her holding his.

Spike: God, he's gonna kill her.

He watches for another moment, then shrugs and heads for the garage with Drusilla.

Cut to the atrium. Angelus plays with his sword, idly pointing it at Buffy. She looks up at him, frightened.

Angelus: Now that's everything, huh? No weapons... No friends... No hope.

Buffy closes her eyes and steels herself for whatever's coming.

Angelus: Take all that away... and what's left?

He draws the sword back and thrusts it directly at her face. With lightning-fast reflexes she swings up with both arms and catches the blade between the palms of her hands. She opens her eyes and meets his.

Buffy: Me.

She shoves the blade away from her, and the hilt of the sword hits Angelus in the face. He staggers back, and she hops to her feet and kicks him in the chest. He stumbles back even more, and she reaches down and picks up her sword. She swings it around and thrusts at him, but he manages to parry. They exchange several blows, blocking each other. Buffy spins around and swings her sword down at him from above. He holds up his own to block, but she hits it hard and he falls to one knee. She swings again, and he blocks. She spins around with a roundhouse kick to his side, and he collapses to the ground.

Cut outside the garage. Spike smashes through the door with his car. The windows are all painted black. He screeches into the street and guns it. Cut into the car. Drusilla is lying unconscious in the passenger's seat. Spike concentrates on the road and whips around a corner. When heading straight again he looks over at her. He reaches around her neck and pulls her over to him, and holds her close as he keeps driving with only one hand on the wheel.

Cut to the mansion. Buffy kicks Angelus, and he comes flying in through the door, hits the floor and rolls to a stop. Before he can get all the way back to his feet Buffy leaps in and swings her sword at him. He almost misses parrying her blow, and he steps back to get his footing. They exchange a few more swings. Angelus misses a block and gets sliced on his hand.

Cut to the hospital. The table lurches hard. The camera pans around Willow and closes in on her face.

Willow: Asa sa fie! Asa sa fie! Acum!

Translation: So it shall be! So it shall be! Now!

Cut to the mansion. Angelus has dropped his sword and holds his cut. Buffy does a high kick to his face, and he falls backward into Acathla and lands on his knees before her.

Cut to the hospital.

Willow: Acum!

Translation: Now!

The Orb glows brightly for a brief moment and goes dark. Willow suddenly relaxes, and looks around blankly.

Cut to the mansion. Buffy raises her sword to dispatch Angelus, but stays herself when he suddenly gasps loudly and groans in pain. She sees his eyes glow bright red for an instant and go back dark. He looks up at her, but quickly collapses to the floor, crying. Buffy stares down at him, but still holds her sword raised behind her. Angel raises himself back up, his eyes heavy with tears, and looks into her eyes.

Angel: (softly) Buffy? (sobs) What's going on?

She just looks at him, confused but not yet ready to lower the sword. He looks around a bit and gets to his feet.

Angel: Where are we? I-I don't remember.

Finally Buffy realizes that the curse has worked, and she slowly lowers her sword.

Buffy: (softly) Angel?

Angel: (sees her wound) You're hurt.

She looks down at her wound and feels his gentle touch on her arm. She ignores her cut, looks back up at him and steps closer. He embraces her tightly.

Angel: Oh, Buffy... God.

She still isn't completely sure that it's true, but accepts the hug.

Angel: I... I feel like I haven't seen you in months.

Finally she accepts it, closes her eyes and breathes out a deep sigh.

Angel: Oh, my God, everything's so muddled. I...

He holds her even more closely.

Angel: Oh...

He sighs deeply and kisses her on the shoulder.

Angel: Oh, Buffy...

She cries into his shoulder and hugs him back. Behind him Acathla lets out a low rumble. Buffy opens her eyes and stares in shock as Acathla's face contorts. His brows angle down, his eyes glow red, his mouth opens grotesquely and the swirling vortex to Hell opens, small at first, but growing steadily in size and emanating a deep, red glow. Buffy lets go of Angel and looks up into his face.

Angel: (confused) What's happening?

Buffy: (whispers reassuringly) Shh. Don't worry about it.

She brushes her fingers over his lips and across his cheek. She lays her hand on his cheek and kisses him softly. He returns the kiss, and it becomes more passionate. Behind them the vortex has grown to about five feet (1.5 m) across and continues to get larger. Buffy breaks off the kiss and looks deeply into Angel's eyes.

Buffy: (whispers) I love you.

Angel: (whispers) I love you.

She touches his lips with her fingers again.

Buffy: Close your eyes.

She nods reassuringly, and he closes his eyes. She tries hard not to start crying, and kisses him again gently. She steps back, draws back her sword and thrusts it into his chest. His eyes whip open in surprise and pain, and a bright light emanates from the sword. She steps away from him. He reaches out to her and looks down at the sword thrust completely through him. He looks at her imploringly, completely bewildered by this turn of events. She can only stare at the sword protruding from his chest, and slowly steps further back.

Angel: Buffy...

Behind him the power of the sword begins to swirl into the vortex. Buffy steps further back, still looking only at the sword in his chest and not into his face. The vortex has enlarged to about twelve feet (3.5 m) across, and the two energies begin to interact. Angel still holds out his hand to Buffy. When the vortex finally meets him it suddenly closes into Acathla's mouth without so much as a spark, taking him with it. Buffy stares at the stone demon for a long moment, a light of awareness dawning in her eyes as she truly realizes what she has done, what she has lost. She begins to sob, her heart breaking. In the background "Full of Grace", by Sarah McLachlan, begins to play over the scene.

Lyrics: The winter here is cold...

Dissolve to Buffy's street. She walks across it toward her house.

Lyrics: ...and bitter / It's chilled us to the bone / We haven't seen the sun for weeks / Too long, too far from home

She looks at the neighboring houses, then back at hers. Cut into the house. Joyce climbs the steps and looks down the hall at Buffy's door.

Lyrics: I feel just like I'm sinking

Joyce: Buffy?

Lyrics: And I claw for solid ground

She walks to Buffy's room and looks in. The windows are open, and some of her daughter's things are strewn on the bed. She steps in and looks around.

Lyrics: I'm pulled down by the undertow

She sees a note on the bed among a bunch of clothes.

Lyrics: I never thought I could feel so low

She picks up the note and reads.

Lyrics: And, oh, darkness / I feel like letting go

She begins to cry as she reads and sits down on the bed.

Lyrics: If all of the strength and all of the courage / Come and lift me from this place

Cut to Sunnydale High School. Xander and Giles walk up to Oz pushing Willow in a wheelchair with Cordelia at their side. Giles' walk is a bit unsteady.

Lyrics: I know I can love you much better than this / Full of grace

Giles: Willow, are you sure you should be out of bed?

Willow: Look who's talking.

Giles: (smiles) Yes.

Cordelia: Any word?

Xander: You guys haven't seen her either?

Willow: No.

Oz: But we know the world didn't end, 'cause... (looks around) check it out.

Giles: (takes off his glasses and squints) Well, we, uh... we went back to the mansion. I-it was empty, um... and Acathla was, was... dormant.

Willow: I think the spell worked. I felt something go through me.

Cordelia: Plus the Orb did that cool glow thing.

Xander: Well, maybe it wasn't in time. Maybe she had to kill him before the cure could work.

Oz: Well, then, she'd wanna be alone, I guess.

Willow: Or maybe Angel *was* saved, and they want to be alone together.

Giles: Perhaps.

Cordelia: Well, she's gotta show up sooner or later. We still have school.

Willow: Yeah. (looks around for her) She'll be here in a while.

Lyrics: Where everything we said and did / Hurts us all the more

They all turn and head into the school.

Lyrics: It's just that we stayed too long / In the same old sickly skin

Cut to Buffy looking at the school from behind a tree. She watches them as they go in.

Lyrics: I'm pulled down by the undertow / I never thought I could feel so low

The camera pans around her to her face, looking sadly at the school. A light breeze sweeps her hair back.

Lyrics: And, oh, darkness / I feel like letting go

She turns around and walks away down the street without looking back.

Lyrics: If all of the strength and all of the courage / Come and lift me from this place

Dissolve to the inside of a bus. Buffy's reflection is visible in the window as it drives by her house.

Lyrics: I know I can love you much better than this / Full of grace

Buffy looks out the window calmly as the bus drives on.

Cut to a two-lane road leading out of town. The bus passes under the camera on its way.

Lyrics: I know I can love you much better than this

The camera pans down to a sign that reads:

NOW LEAVING SUNNYDALE come back soon!

Lyrics: It's better this way