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Episode Summary
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy demands Spike tell he loves her, Spike questions her love, Buffy puts an end to their relationship, Xander and Anya announce their engagement, Xander goes “missing” from the wedding, Anya reveals she’s gone vengeance, Spike attempts to rape Buffy, Warren’s shooting spree, Willow going dark and killing Warren, Willow’s final battle and Xander stopping her with love, Spike getting his soul back, Willow talking to Giles about him helping her, Halfrek tells Anya something big is coming, Principal Wood opens Sunnydale High, Buffy gets offered a job, Buffy finds Spike in the basement.
Frankfurt, Germany. A woman is running outside of a dance club. She is dressed semi-goth- punk, with combat boots, pierced nose, and bright red-streaked hair. Two hooded figures are in pursuit. Up and down the side of a building, through hallways and down rainspouts, the chase continues.
Just as she starts to relax, the hooded figures pull her inside a side room. A brief struggle ensues, but they gain the upper hand and stab her with ornate daggers. Leaving quickly, her head turns towards the camera, her eyes turn black, and she says in an echo-y voice
“From beneath, it devours…” Buffy awakes in her room, startled by a bad dream. Dawn is there at her bedside.
Buffy tells of seeing a girl in the dream and repeats “From beneath you, it devours…” she then gets this blank expression on her face and goes towards the night-time window, musing how there are others like the girl out there, and they’re going to die.
Out on a Sunnydale street, the ground starts to shake as a large burrow mound appears, moving down the center of the street, tearing up the road.
Opening Credits: lots of new scenes, obviously, but no new casting. In the basement of Sunnydale High, Spike is muttering… talking to himself, speaking to a rat. He is definitely not in his right mind, acting paranoid, saying it’s not the right time.
His hair is still longer with roots. Just then the ground starts to shake, with pipes and the building’s foundations trembling. Spike clutches his head, begging for it to stop. Dawn is smiling from the back seat of Xander’s car.
Xander is driving her and Buffy to school as Dawn goes on about how cool it is that Buffy has a job there, but upon further analysis while mentioning that they’ll be at school together, “you understand you can not talk to me, look at me, or hang out with any of my friends, right?”
Buffy assures her she’ll keep her distance. Xander then starts talking about teen problems, especially with the school on the hellmouth, and he makes Buffy smile by saying the kids are lucky to have both a friend and a Slayer helping them out. Dawn questions Xander’s liking school.
Xander says it was good, only because he was dating then. Talk of him dating is then mentioned, but he says he just doesn’t feel it yet. They turn the talk to Anya and question if he’s seen her lately?
He mentions he’s bumped into her at the Bronze a few times, probably looking for women who wish scorn. “That’s where I go to get my scorn on…” Muses Buffy.
Dawn says the two of them should really stop with the dating demons thing, but then Buffy kindly reminds her about her smooches with teen vampire last Halloween. Principal Wood introduces Buffy to her office (more like an open cubicle) and talks to her about her job.
He explains that she’s not supposed to counsel, but more just listen and talk to the students. Buffy’s eyes light up with an idea “Can I give detention?” (yes, Wood gives her permission). More talk about how to handle the students, with Principal Wood telling a lame old joke.
“There’s only three things these kids understand: the boot, the bat, and the bastinada…” He chuckles, she doesn’t. He is embarassed at the joke’s telling, but Buffy gives a dictionary definition of what a bastinada is (some sort of wooden rod?).
Buffy then questions why she got this job in the first place, not having any college degree, and only commenting on her sparkling personality and her excellent work at the Double Meat Palace (to which Principal Wood mentions he’s a vegetarian).
Principal Wood simply says he needs someone who understands the students. Two teens who are obviously busted come in and Wood gets called away. Buffy calls after him, saying she’ll just look around the place and get acquainted.
“Basement: No student access” reads the sign on the door as Buffy goes downstairs, calling out for Spike. In Westbury, England, Willow sits in a doorway overlooking the countryside, sitting on a packed suitcase. Giles comes up, saying her taxi is there and waiting.
Willow expresses severe doubt about going back, wondering if she’s ready. She thinks it might be better if she stays, to which Giles agrees it might be, but he questions why exactly she’s scared.
Willow starts mentioning the Hellmouth and how it’s teeth are now showing, doubting she’ll be able to be a “bigger badass” than whatever is coming? Then she wonders if she’ll go all veiny and homicidal again… But Giles knows she’s just worried about her friends taking her back.
Giles says no matter how much time goes by, there is no way of knowing whether they’ll take her back or not. “Trust yourself, and the others might follow” he says as they head off towards the taxi.
On a nighttime Sunnydale street, a woman walks her dog, who stops behind her to do his business. Suddenly a “crunch” is heard, and the woman looks back to see the leash’s end dropping down into a hole in the pavement, no dog in sight.
Then the leash goes taunt, and the woman starts being pulled towards the hole. At the hole’s mouth, something bursts up from the pavement in front of her.
The woman runs down the street, out of breath, and runs smack dab into Xander “um… hello?” he says. “… and whatever it was, it was big… and strong…” The woman talks to Buffy, Dawn, and Xander in the Summers living room.
Buffy bandages the woman’s hand as the woman says they probably think she’s nuts. “We’ve seen things too, Nancy” says Buffy. Xander makes a bad joke about her dog and is instantly embarrassed.
Dawn asks what it sounded like, to which Nancy says it rumbles like when an Earthquake is going to start. Buffy muses “from beneath you it devours…” but then shakes it off, giving Dawn a glance.
Dawn then asks if they should round up the gang, but Xander motions around “This is the gang.” Buffy re- assures Nancy that everything will be all right. “What you need is help… fortunately, you’ve got me” says Spike, who has appeared in the hallway.
His hair is back to it’s normal length and color, and he wears… erm… “normal” clothes. Buffy is, needless to say, shocked. Commercial break: Say! You looking for a low-cost, high gas mileage SUV which is above all in safety and comfort? Me too… “Buffy” Spike nods.
Tension in the room is now very thick. Buffy notes how Spike looks different. Nancy asks who he is, to which Xander says it’s Buffy’s “ex.” Spike says he doesn’t want to be there, but he kinda has to be, and after a threat from Xander to be escorted out, he says he’ll be quick.
Spike then explains that he just needs to talk to Buffy for a moment, and admits that he was out of his head in the school basement before, but he’s better now. Dawn approaches Buffy, questioning her on why she didn’t say she saw Spike in the basement.
Buffy says now’s not the time, she’ll talk about it later. Dawn says “fine, whatever” and says it’s usually when it’s only convenient for Buffy to talk about it, which Xander agrees with. Spike starts to defend Buffy, but Xander tells him to shut up. Buffy and Spike walk out.
In the hall, Buffy says “Do not start this by saying you’re sorry.” “I didn’t come here to atone” says Spike. He simply says that he knows something big and bad is brewing, and while he doesn’t know what it is, he is there to simply help.
Buffy doesn’t like it, but she admits that something is up, and keeps him behind after he almost dismisses himself. Back in the family room, Buffy takes charge and tells them they’re going to split up, with Spike and her looking for the monster, and Xander taking Nancy home.
Nancy asks Xander “Is your girlfriend always this commanding?” Xander nervously laughs, saying that she’s a girl, and a friend, but not his girlfriend (Dawn calls to Xander and motions to her mouth, saying “a little drool..”).
Xander then expresses concern about Buffy going with Spike to check out the scene, saying that Spike did try to rape her. Buffy says that she stopped him before, she can do it again.
Dawn stays behind, trying to sound cool by saying she’s command central and everyone should check in, but she knows she just has to do her homework. As they leave, Dawn then calls Spike and questions whether he sleeps. Alone with her, Spike says yes.
Dawn says she knows that she can’t take Spike in a fight, even with the chip in his head, but if he touches Buffy, he’ll wake up on fire. Her look is dead serious and very cold. Outside, approaching a hole in the pavement, Spike is calm, talkative, somewhat friendly.
Watching Spike clear away debris from the hole, Buffy asks him what happened? Spike lies to her, telling her that his weirdness from before was the spooks in the basement getting inside his head.
They were apparently more powerful than he thought, making him see and do things… Spike then asks why Buffy didn’t mention to the others their meeting in the basement. Buffy said she didn’t know, probably was hoping he was some sort of mirage.
Asking if she’ll hold the flashlight, Buffy briefly touches his hand and she has a flashback to the attempted rape. She pulls away uncomfortable, then says that them working together is not going to be a way for them to get back together. Spike says it’s not, and understands her being skittish.
Buffy says that he tried to rape her. Spike says he can’t apologize, but can only say that he’s changed. Buffy agrees, but says that she doesn’t know what he’s changed into. She questions his motives and knows there’s something he’s not telling her.
Spike says there is, but they’re not best friends, so he’s not telling. Rising up from the hole, Spike says there’s nothing there but dirt and slime. Entering Nancy’s home, Xander and her do the light awkward banter thing.
She thanks him, then says it doesn’t sound right with everything he has done for her. She then asks if she can give him a call sometime. “To check in?” he questions. “No, actually I’m hitting on you.” she answers. As he says yes and she turns, saying goodnight, the ground starts to shake.
“Ah, Nancy, i just got a swell idea… RUN!” they both race down the hallway, with the floor bursting up behind them in a line. They reach some stairs and a landing where they are seemingly safe.
At the foot of the stares, a giant worm like thing roars at them, opening its mouth (if you’ve seen Tremors, it’s like one of those worms without the inner tentacles.). The worm disappears and Nancy catches her breath, saying that Ronny would love this.
Xander questions who Ronny is. She says Ronny is her ex, and he was trouble. Xander asks if he was the type of guy who would raise a demon, motioning to the floor. Nancy says that he was just an abusive bastard and wouldn’t leave, always hovering.
Nancy then talks of helplessness, and says she wished that it would stop. The word “wish” triggers something in Xander… At the Bronze, Anya is having drinks with a woman who is complaining about her boyfriend. “And you know what I wish?” the woman asks.
“God do I want to.” answers Anya, smiling. Commercial Break: Quality Dartboard bullseyes at low, affordable rates! If you are looking for the bullseye of a dartboard, then Greg’s Bullseyes are the ones to get! “You were saying?” Anya asks.
The woman goes on about how she’d like her boyfriend to be spineless, but never says the word ‘wish’. Anya starts to explain to her that she can help if she’ll only… “Oh, penis…” Anya’s face goes frowney upon seeing Xander, Buffy, Spike, and Nancy walk up.
Anya then suggests the woman go and get drinks for them, then complains to the arrived group, saying she’s working. Xander asks Nancy if Anya is the one she talked to, to which Nancy says yes. Buffy gently lays a sword down on the table and all are none too happy to see “Venence Anya.”
Xander asks if Anya turned Nancy’s ex into a worm monster. Anya admits yes. Nancy is wondering how it’s possible her ex was turned into a worm, and Anya says that it’s a “You wish it, I dish it” scenario and doesn’t see the problem, “he had it coming” or so Nancy said.
Anya doesn’t see the big deal, but Buffy tells her that this “worm” burst up through pavement and ate a dog. “oh, puppy!” Anya says, and Xander is shocked that she acts more concerned about the dog than people being in danger.
Nancy asks who Anya is, to which Xander admits it’s his Ex. Anya gets mad and starts to storm off, but Spike marches over and pushes her back down into her chair. She throws his hands off her “Spike! You don’t get to go there again…” “I’ve already forgotten about our little time together.”
Spike says coldly. Nancy questions, thinking that Anya was Xander’s ex. Spike says they had a little fling. Nancy then questions about Spike and Buffy. They both say it was over, quick. “Is there anyone here who hasn’t slept together???” Nancy asks.
Xander and Spike glance at each other, then turn away awkwardly. Buffy gets back to the point, telling Anya this wasn’t any small worm, it was huge! Spike says it was a Sluggoth demon, and asks Anya for confirmation. Anya admits to it, saying she liked to embellish a little bit.
Xander tells her to Un-embellish and turn him back. “Bite me, Harris. I have rules to work with.” Anya says coldly, then gets disgusted, saying they won’t understand because they’re all so human. Spike says “I’m not. I’m a demon, just like yourself.”
Spike gets up in her face and starts to give orders, but Anya starts looking at Spike in wonder. “Oh my god” she says repeatedly and questions how he did it. Spike starts to back away nervously as Anya presses him, asking him “How did you do it?”
Buffy watches this with confusion as Spike tries to get away from the pressing Anya, telling her to shut up. He cocks back his arm and punches Anya.
Nancy sees the weirdness and makes a hasty retreat as Spike punches a grounded Anya again, but Anya kicks Spike, sending him flying across the room, landing on a pool table. Rising up in demon face, Anya says “I am SO gonna kick your ass.”
Spike gets up and is ready for a fight, starting after Anya, but Buffy pulls him aside, trying to stop him. He spins around towards her and is now in his game face. Rock-ish fight music starts as Buffy punches Spike hard. He punches back, and the fight begins.
Spike comments “Hey, I guess this would be first contact since you know when…” Buffy punches him again.
Spike gets up again and is starting to lose it. Spike says to her that he really hasn’t changed, smiling wickedly in her direction, but Xander calls out to Buffy, saying that Nancy took off and out there alone, she’s worm bait.
Buffy tells Xander to talk to Anya and try and reverse the spell while Buffy goes after Nancy. Spike wonders where everyone is going? Nancy walks down a side alley when the ground starts to tremble again.
The pavement crumbles up behind her and starts chasing her, winding a path wherever she runs. Pounding on doors, looking for an escape, she calls for help and eventually runs and jumps on a fire escape. The rumbling briefly stops, but then starts again as she climbs.
The fire escape starts to give as the worm is apparently battering the underside of the building! From a rooftop, Buffy sees all and runs to the rescue, with Spike trailing behind in full sprint. “What do you want me to do?” Anya asks? “Reverse the spell.” Xander orders.
Anya says he doesn’t understand, it’s not that easy. She can, but her bosses are on her case, and she doesn’t wanna get them mad. Xander snidely comments that they’re her new friends.
She says she had friends, and co-worker… acquaintances and bridesmaids and everything, but something screwed it up. “What could that be, Xander?” she jokingly questions him.
Xander asks her if she thinks it’s his fault, to which she says none of this would have happened if he wouldn’t have left her at the altar. Xander doesn’t stand for it this time, saying that sooner or later that excuse just doesn’t work.
Climbing up the failing fire escape, the ladder gives way, JUST as Buffy swings into the rescue on a rope (cable? tow-line?). They swing and drop into some soft garbage nearby, then both get up. The rumbling has stopped… for a second.
The worm suddenly bursts up almost beneath them and Buffy stands back, wondering how to fight such a big monster with no weapon. Spike rushes in from behind her with a long metal pole and whaps the worm, saying “you’ve had your turn, love.
Leave the real battles to the demons, yes? That’s right, big bad’s back, and looking for a little death!” Spike takes the pole and holds it like a spear, then lunges at the worm. Just then, the worm morphs into a human male, Robby.
Spike can’t stop in time and stabs Robby in the upper right shoulder. Spike howls in pain, clutching his head. Commercial break: Windex makes it SHINE! Spike looks in horror at what he’s done. “Sorry…” and pulls the pole out. Buffy rushes to Robby’s aid, pulling out her cell phone and dialing 911.
All the meanwhile Spike is muttering to himself. Spike goes over the edge again and has lost it. Buffy and Nancy look on as Spike mutters nonsense words. Buffy yells at him to take it somewhere else, but he fires back, saying it’s not that easy.
He then turns away as if talking to someone else “what the HELL are you screaming about? I can hear you! There’s no need to SHOOOOUUUUT!!!” He laughs manically, then says he gets it.. Spike then says that “this” is all just beginning.
He crouches near Buffy and looks her straight in the eye “The real headliner’s coming and when he hits the stage, all of this will come tumbling in death and screaming, horror and bloodshed.” He points towards the ground “And from beneath you, it devours.”
Spike sprints off into the night as Xander and Anya run up. Nancy looks coldly at Anya “You… you did this… what are you?” she says and then takes off herself. Anya looks sad as Buffy takes off too, telling Xander to look after the wounded Robby.
Xander asks Anya if she knows she did the right thing, then says that she reversed the spell, which took guts. He comments that things could have gotten a lot worse. “Oh, it will be…” says Anya. Walking through a cemetery, Buffy sees a small light in the windows of an old church.
She goes to investigate, opening up the door and walks amongst the empty pews. “It didn’t work…” Spike startles Buffy, who spins to see him shirtless. He tosses the shirt to the ground “It didn’t work… the costume…” “No more mind games, Spike” Buffy says.
“No more mind games… no more mind…” Spike responds. Buffy asks him what happened, reaching for his scarred chest. He backs away, telling her not to touch him. He is very out of it, quite disturbed, nervous, not clear.
He mentions he was looking for the “spark” and rambles on, then almost matter of factly, says “Flesh? Am I flesh to you? Feed on flesh… my flesh. Nothing else, not a spark.
Fine. Flesh then… solid through, get it hard, service the girl.” He starts to unzip his pants when grabs his hands, trying to stop him. He grabs her throat, but then she throws him a few feet and sends him crashing into some pews.
He zips back up “right then, girl doesn’t want to be serviced, because there is no spark.” “Spike, have you completely lost your mind?” Buffy asks, looking worried/curious/confused. “Well, yes, where have you been all night?” Spike answers.
Buffy says she’s there, she’s listening, and asks what happened once and for all. Spike says he tried to find “it”, the “spark” that would make all the pieces fit.
He gets paranoid and talks to her from the shadows. “I dreamed of killing you.” he says calmly, which prompts Buffy to pick up a splintered piece of pew as a stake. He talks as if he wanted her to be dead because he cared for her, then says “Angel should have warned me…. it’s here, in me, all the time… the spark.”
Buffy’s face searches for words. “I wanted to give you what you deserved, and I got it. they put the spark in me, and now all it does is burn.” “Your Soul…” Buffy says. “Bit worse for a lack of use.” Spike answers. Buffy now knows Spike has his soul back, and asks her if it’s what she wanted?
He comments that everyone is in here (clutches his head), including “him”, and everyone is now telling him to go to hell. Buffy questions why he would do it. His words come fourth, almost as if scripture (it might be actual bible text, I’m unsure).
Buffy watches in stunned silence as he approaches a large cross at the front of the church. “Can we rest now, Buffy?” he asks as he leans and hugs the cross with his bare chest, his skin starting to smoke at it’s touch. “Can we rest?” Grr… arrgh….
Shooting Scripts
Teaser
FADE IN:
EXT. GERMANY – NIGHT
A deserted TOWN SQUARE. Modern, fairly urban – tattered German text posters for local rock bands
cling to brick walls. We hear the wail of POLICE SIRENS as a lone unmarked car splashes through the
square, its headlights casting stark shadows.
The car passes. We hold on a young (fifteen-ish) PUNK GIRL. Pressed up against a brick wall, behind
some garbage cans, just barely out of sight. And despite her leather jacket, nose rings and pink hair
- she looks terrified.
FADE IN SUBTITLE: FRANKFURT
The girl scans the square.
We see her P.O.V. The square is empty. Summoning her courage, the girl emerges from her hiding
place and walks quickly across, looking over her shoulder.
She keeps walking, her clattering footsteps the only sound echoing in the square. We see how young
and innocent her face is, illuminated by street lamps. Then slowly, suspicious, she stops walking …
But the sound of footsteps keeps coming.
The girl does not turn back. Instead, looking straight ahead, she sees the nightmarish image of two
SHADOWS cast upon the wall before her. Looming large – and running her way. She gasps – and
RUNS. She’s fast.
ANGLE ON: A homeless DRUNK, nursing his bottle of cheap booze in a paper bag, nearly gets run
over by the fleeing girl.
DRUNK
(German)
Hey! Was die Holle Sie
denken Sie sind …
DRUNK
(translation)
Hey! what the hell you
think you’re …
But he stops himself short as two ROBED FIGURES, not fully seen, run after the girl. The drunk
stares, frightened.
ANGLE ON: An ALLEY. The girl turns a corner, fast. The men in robes follow fast behind.
The girl stops. She’s got moves – or at least, a strong instinct for survival.
She grabs the first robed man as he rounds the corner, yanks his arm hard up behind him, and sends
him SMASHING face-first into the second robed man.
They hit the ground. She turns to run – but one of the robed figures REACHES OUT from where he
lies – and just manages to snag Punk Girl’s ankle.
Running, she trips and FALLS – hard on the pavement, splashing painfully into a shallow puddle. She
turns, quickly, looking up to see:
The two robed figures are now standing, looming above her and they pull from within their robes
CEREMONIAL DAGGERS.
Her eyes go wide with fear – she holds up her thin white hand to protect herself – and we go over to
the brick wall behind her to see SHADOWS –
A sickening shadow play of the robed figures STABBING into the girl again and again without mercy.
When, as suddenly as it started – it stops. The shadow figures stand upright, looking down.
Coming off the shadows, we move in on the girl’s dead face. And even though she is clearly dead,
flecks of blood freckle her cheeks, her mouth opens and an incongruously DEEP VOICE echoes out of
her:
GIRL
From beneath you, it devours …
AND CUT TO:
INT. BUFFY’S (FORMERLY JOYCE’S) ROOM – NIGHT
DAWN. Looking directly at us, yelling to be heard:
DAWN
Buffy – Buffy – BUFFY!
We reveal that we are now in Buffy’s bedroom. BUFFY sits upright in bed, sheets still around her, as
Dawn, gripping her by the shoulders, tries to get her attention.
Buffy slowly re-orients herself, “sees” Dawn.
BUFFY
I heard screaming.
DAWN
That was you.
BUFFY
And … there was a girl.
DAWN
That would be me.
BUFFY
No, it was …
DAWN
… Just a dream.
(beat)
It was just a dream, right?
They exchange a look.
BUFFY
Vision, maybe.
DAWN
That explains the screaming. And I’m
guessing we can rule out any visions
involving winning the lottery …
BUFFY
“From beneath you, it devours.”
That’s all she could say. And then
they …
(beat)
There’s more like her, Dawn.
Somewhere. Out there.
Buffy rises, looks out her window.
BUFFY (cont’d)
And they’re qonna die.
Dawn joins Buffy by the window, also looking out, but while Buffy stares into space, Dawn can’t see
any danger. So Dawn shuts the window.
DAWN
Okay! Vision break. It’s all too
cryptic to figure out in one night
anyway. Let’s go downstairs and I’ll
make you a nice cup of tea.
BUFFY
I hate tea.
DAWN
Me, too. It’s the gesture. Come on.
Dawn leads Buffy out of the bedroom, talking as she goes.
DAWN (cont’d)
You know we can never tell Giles
about the tea thing, right? I think
he’d like, crack in half or
something …
But Buffy pauses, turns back, looking out the window.
BUFFY
(to herself)
“From beneath you …”
She shakes it off, unable to figure it out, and follows Dawn out the door
EXT. SUBURBAN STREET – NIGHT
Outside, at night, we move down through the trees to find a quiet suburban Sunnydale street.
Establishing. Not a car in sight. When we hear a deep rumbling sound. Growing louder, coming this
way …
We see, beneath the earth, something BIG (not the something itself, but the wake it leaves behind it)
- BURROWING its way through the soft grassy ground, displacing earth and grass as it plows along.
It reaches the sidewalk and keeps going – SMASHING its way through the asphalt, sending cement
buckling. Whatever it is it is seemingly unstoppable, heading our way.
With a horrible gurgling roar, it descends back down into the earth and disappears, leaving only the
path of destruction and the quiet night behind …
BLACK OUT.
END OF TEASER
Act One
INT. SCHOOL BASEMENT – DAY
Moving along the condensation-dripping walls of the dank Sunnydale High basement, we come upon
- a RAT. And we hear:
SPIKE (O.S.)
No no no no no no no …
We see SPIKE come into frame, eyeing the rat hungrily, stalking … Spike’s looked better. Bags under
his eyes (which stare wildly) hair grown-out and crazy in all directions, clothes smudged and dirty. He
wants that rat.
SPIKE
Now is not the time, you know it, I
know it, making them understand – a
totally different matter.
He’s getting closer, moving stealthily, ready to pounce…
SPIKE (cont’d)
No manners, is the problem, proper
breeding, respect for etiquette, all
of it lacking…
He slows, looking around…
SPIKE (cont’d)
All of it lost on ’em …
And he stops rambling for a second, hearing something coming. And he becomes, just for a split-
second, totally coherent.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Bye-bye, lunchtime.
The rumbling continues, growing louder, coming this way.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Not the time. Not hardly ready…
The rumbling grows even louder. Pipes shudder and shake.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Stop.
Spike winces in agony as the sound grows. He looks beneath him, stepping as if on a hot surface,
trying to avoid the ground, but of course unable to. He stops, pleads with someone who is not there.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Please, mum. Begging now, make it
stop. Make it … God …
Spike drops to his knees, in pain, still clutching the side of his head. He wraps his arms around his
skull, trying in vain to block out the noise, but cannot. He wails …
SPIKE (cont’d)
Aaaahh… nnggh…
And Spike’s pain rises along with the rumbling. Everything in the cramped basement space is shaking
now, like an earthquake is coming. Spike raises his head and SCREAMS out loud to the heavens
above, his voice almost matching the rising roar in volume as we cut to…
SPIKE (cont’d)
AaaaaaaAAAAARHHHH!!!
DAWN (O.S.)
Could you die?
EXT. STREET – DAY
We see Xander, dressed like a grown-up (jacket and coolly loose-fitting tie) driving Buffy (shotgun)
and Dawn (backseat) to school.
DAWN
‘Cause, seriously, just speaking for
all the people who are me in the car?
We’re very excited.
BUFFY
Well, I’m glad for all of you then.
DAWN
It’s just so cool. You’re coming to
school with me! You’ll be like,
right there, the whole time.
(beat)
You understand you can never talk to
me, look at me, or hang out anywhere
near my friends, right?
BUFFY
You’ve been very specific.
XANDER
I forgot high school’s unwritten
rules of hallway etiquette. Of
course, no one ever explained them to
me, they’d just stuff me in a locker
’til I drew my own conclusions.
DAWN
I don’t mean to sound all “Cordelia
Chase Part Two” about it…
XANDER
Appreciated…
DAWN
It’s just, I don’t want my big sister
humiliating me five days a week.
BUFFY
Three. Three days a week. I’m only
doing this community counseling gig
part time, so if you want to be
embarrassed Tuesdays and Thursdays?
You’re on your own, Missy.
XANDER
But if you’re looking for a tutor?
(raising his hand)
Years in the field. Just saying.
BUFFY
I doubt you’ll see me at all,
assuming I even half-understand my
fuzzy job description …
DAWN
It’s not fuzzy. You’re what, dealing
with “troubled” kids?
XANDER
At a spanking new Hellmouth High.
Please. Outside of drugs, violence,
unwanted pregnancy and the unleashed
hordes of Armageddon that come
pouring out the school’s foundation
every now and then … what kind of
“trouble” could these kids have?
BUFFY
(unsure)
Guess I’ll find out.
XANDER
You’re sounding a little less than
Gung-ho about the job, there, Buff.
BUFFY
Huh? Oh, it’s not the job of it,
it’s … anyone else find it a little
weird that Principal Wood just –
hired me? Just like that?
DAWN
Just like what?
XANDER
Guy gives you a job… not exactly a
thrilling tale of horror.
BUFFY
Just seems, I don’t know … convenient.
XANDER
Maybe. Doesn’t make it bad. Those
kids got damn lucky, having a Slayer
and a friend on campus there for ’em.
Hope they appreciate it.
(beat)
I know I did.
A moment passes between Buffy and Xander – she looks to him, struck by the sincere compliment.
He keeps driving.
XANDER (cont’d)
(nostalgic)
Days gone by, huh?
DAWN
(to Xander)
I thought you hated Sunnydale.
XANDER
Yes and no. With a heavy emphasis on
the yes, but at least I was dating
then.
BUFFY
You could be dating now.
DAWN
Yeah, you’re a guy with a car and a
job and a tie.
BUFFY
All hard to resist.
XANDER
(shrugs, “yeah, but”)
I dunno what’s not clicking for me
right now.
BUFFY
Well, that thing with Anya…
XANDER
The leaving her at the altar thing?
BUFFY
Yeah, that one. That’s not something
you just bounce right back from.
XANDER
Sure it is. She bounced back to
being a Vengeance Demon and I bounced
back to being a dateless nerd.
DAWN
Do you guys talk at all?
XANDER
I’ve seen her at The Bronze a couple
times… guess there’s a lot of
scorned women there making Vengeance
wishes on their exes.
BUFFY
That’s where I go to get my
scorn on…
DAWN
You guys should really ease up with
the whole “dating demons” thing.
BUFFY
Hello, you were the one having the
Smooch-athon with teen-vampire last
Halloween.
DAWN
See, this is why I don’t want
you talking to my friends.
INT. BUFFY’S OFFICE – DAY
PRINCIPAL WOOD walking out from behind Buffy’s spanking-new DESK, situated in the middle of her
NEW OFFICE (A glass partitioned semi-cubicle fitted into an alcove off the main section of the
Principal’s Office; it has a full view through the glass of the hallway outside, and the STUDENTS
passing through it on their way to class). The Principal is in mid- orientation …
PRINCIPAL WOOD
We’ll sort of feel our way along.
Some students will be sent to you and
I’m hoping others will start to come
on their own.
BUFFY
What if they don’t? Should I panic?
PRINCIPAL WOOD
You might be surprised, Buffy.
You’re the youngest and, uh …
(re: his own tie)
… least stuffy member of this
faculty. I think the students’ll
want to talk to you, and when they
do, don’t evaluate them, just listen.
They need to know they have someone
here who’s on their side.
BUFFY
Can I give detention?
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Okay by me. A little authority can
be a wonderful thing. Just remember
that while you’re here to help,
you’re not their friend. Trust me
, open that door, these students will
eat you alive.
BUFFY
You heard about Principal Flutie,
right?
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Hmm?
BUFFY
Forget it.
A beat, then.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Okay, then. I think that’s pretty
much it; you got your phone, your
desk, and I’ve imparted all the
wisdom I can for one morning.
BUFFY
And for that, I thank you.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Oh, there’ll be more. Everything
happens on a case by case basis
around here anyway, and I’ve got bags
more wisdom stashed away in my office.
He turns to go.
BUFFY
Right. I’ll just … come to you
with questions when they come to me
with questions.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Great. Relax, there’s only three
things these kids understand: the
boot, the bat, and the bastinada.
(beat)
Bad joke. It’s the “bastinada.” No
one ever knows what that thing is.
BUFFY
Wooden rod they use to smack the
soles of your feet in Turkish
prisons, but if you use the right
wood, it makes an awesome billy club.
Long pause as Principal Wood looks at Buffy like she’s grown a second head. Then he smiles.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
Think you’re qonna fit in just fine.
Is there something else?
BUFFY
Just one thing. I was curious, and
don’t think I’m not grateful or
anything, but … why is it exactly
I …
PRINCIPAL WOOD
… Have this job?
BUFFY
I still haven’t finished college.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
I know.
BUFFY
So was it my sparkling personality,
or maybe you’ve just enjoyed my work
at the Double Meat Palace …
PRINCIPAL WOOD
I’m a vegetarian.
(beat)
The students need someone who
understands them; I need someone who
understands students. Why?
Something about you I don’t know –
and maybe should?
He awaits an answer. Buffy’s taken aback – but recovers, smiling.
BUFFY
Nothing I can think of.
TWO KIDS and a TEACHER enter the office area. The Teacher looks weary. The boys look like they’ve
been fighting.
PRINCIPAL WOOD
If you’ll excuse me. First catch of
the day. Be in my office if you need
me.
BUFFY
Thanks. I’m gonna look around, get
to know the place… Make sure it’s
all…
She trails off as he enters his office with the two boys, shutting the door behind him.
BUFFY (cont’d)
… all schoollike.
A beat, then her expression hardens. She heads out.
INT. SCHOOL BASEMENT (SPIKE’S LIVING AREA) – DAY
Back in the basement. The door to Spike’s small living area slowly opens. Buffy enters, slowly,
cautiously, looking around.
We see Buffy’s P.O.V. It’s dark and dank and drippy. Plenty of places to hide; plenty of places from
which someone could jump out at her.
Buffy walks all the way in as the door begins to slowly close behind her, unnoticed. That is, until it
CLOSES with a loud echo. Buffy lumps a bit, but shakes it off.
She keeps exploring the dank space. Looks around.
BUFFY
Spike?
But the place is completely empty. Not a single trace of Spike. Buffy stands alone in it, confused…
As we hear a small, panting sound …
EXT. SUBURBAN STREET – NIGHT
And cut to a panting little SHIH-TZU DOG, padding along the suburban sidewalked street, being
walked by its owner, an attractive young woman named NANCY.
NANCY
Rocky! Come on, baby, do your
business, I want to get home.
The dog keeps trotting away on its RETRACTABLE LEASH, looking for a spot to pee. Nancy sighs.
NANCY (cont’d)
Come on, baby …
(to herself)
I coulda gotten a cat, but no …
We see the dog trot out to the end of its leash.
See Nancy standing alone, waiting …
There is a small, almost imperceptible JERK on the leash line as we hear a small “yip” from the dog’s
direction.
And Nancy looks over …
And we see her P.O.V.: The leash line ends, not with a cute little puppy on the other end, but instead,
sticking in a hole in the ground. Just stuck there. An odd tableau.
Nancy doesn’t move, just watches, a bit struck by the strangeness of this vision …
When BOOM! Nancy gets suddenly and violently JERKED off her feet by a mighty TUG on the end of
the leash line.
She hits the sidewalk in a full-body dive, hard.
From the ground, Nancy looks up – just as she gets PULLED along the sidewalk, hard and fast,
painfully.
Nancy’s P.O.V.: She is getting pulled toward a CRACKED HOLE IN THE SIDEWALK, where the leash is
getting sucked in, faster and faster, momentum building.
Nancy tries, but cannot get her hand un-stuck from the plastic leash holder as she keeps getting
dragged forward …
She gets pulled closer to the hole in the ground when suddenly SOMETHING ERUPTS from out of the
sidewalk pavement. We hear a horrible ROAR.
We do not see the creature, but Nancy does. She SCREAMS, crawling back as fast as she can,
managing to remove her bloodied hand from the leash holder just in time.
And she gets up. Pauses in horror to hear the sounds of BONES CRUNCHING beneath the ground.
That’s enough for her – she turns and RUNS –
And SCREAMS again, having just run into …
Xander.
XANDER
Uh … Hello.
And we cut to:
INT. BUFFY’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Nancy, looking traumatized, her hand bandaged, holds a steaming cup of tea as she sits on Buffy’s
couch. She’s mid- story.
NANCY
… And whatever it was, it was big.
And strong. Stronger than… I mean
I don’t know how it’s possible. You
hear things, in this town, living in
Sunnydale, but no one actually
believes them – you’d have to be
crazy, and …
(beat)
…And you all think I’m crazy,
don’t you?
We see she is talking to Xander, Buffy and Dawn.
XANDER
I don’t.
BUFFY
We’ve seen things too, Nancy.
DAWN
We’re probably the only ones in
Sunnydale who would believe you.
XANDER
And we’re gonna do something about
this. It’s your lucky night.
Considering, you know, your dog just
got all ate up and stuff.
(beat)
Can I freshen up that tea for ya?
NANCY
No, I’m good.
He gives her an understanding nod. Then when she looks away, mock-smacks his own forehead.
DAWN
So you say this thing just came up
out of the ground? No signs, or
warning of any kind?
NANCY
Just this kind of rumbling sound.
You know, like before an earthquake?
BUFFY
“… From beneath you it devours.”
NANCY
What?
BUFFY
Nothing.
DAWN
Nothing good …
XANDER
It’s sounding monster-ific, all
right.
DAWN
Round up the gang?
XANDER
Good thinking. Except …
(gesturing)
This is the gang
BUFFY
Just us. Right.
XANDER
(shrugs)
About as assembled as the Avengers
can be these days.
Buffy nods, turns to Nancy.
BUFFY
We’re going to get into this. And if
your dog’s alive, we’ll find him. I
promise. The only thing we need …
And Buffy is cut off by a suave off-screen voice that’s vaguely familiar, even if the tone is not.
SPIKE (O.S.)
What you need is help.
Buffy, Xander and Dawn all look to see:
SPIKE. Standing in the living room by the French doors, having entered unnoticed.
He’s looking cool, calm and collected. Well dressed, hair neat and platinum once again, well-groomed
in a mod-ish kind of way, and not incidentally, looking on the studly side.
Not even a little bit crazy. Just the opposite, It’s totally together Spike.
SPIKE
Fortunately … you’ve got me.
And off Buffy’s stunned reaction, we blackout.
END OF ACT ONE
Act Two
INT. BUFFY’S LIVING ROOM – CONTINUING
Right where we left off: Off Buffy’s face. She’s looking right into the eyes of Spike, who’s standing in
the doorway.
SPIKE
Buffy.
BUFFY
Spike.
ANGLE ON: Xander, Dawn and Nancy looking on.
NANCY
Who is that?
DAWN
He’s… it’s Buffy’s…
XANDER
Ex.
NANCY
And somehow I’m getting it’s more
complicated than that.
XANDER
Always is.
Xander rises to stand closer to Spike, “protecting” Buffy.
BUFFY
(to Spike)
You’ve changed.
SPIKE
I have.
BUFFY
Nice clothes. Better hair. And not
so much with the crazy, I like it.
She stares hard, arms folded.
BUFFY (cont’d)
Now what do you want?
SPIKE
Easy. If you think I like putting
myself here, surrounded by people who
don’t particularly like me.
He makes eye contact with the glaring Xander.
SPIRE (cont’d)
… You’d be wrong.
XANDER
If you’re uncomfortable, we could
make you leave.
SPIKE
I’ll be quick.
(to Buffy)
We need to talk. Want to do that
here, or privately?
XANDER
I’m thinking here – in the company of
good friends and pointy weapons.
Buffy looks back to Dawn and Nancy on the couch …
BUFFY
You said something about “quick?”
SPIKE
I did. For a start and for the
record – last you saw me, I was a
mess – out of my head – admitted.
Last week, living in the school
basement … well you saw me.
Dawn comes over.
DAWN
(to Buffy)
You did?
XANDER
Damn it, Buffy
BUFFY
Wait. Guys. Yes, I saw Spike …
I just …
DAWN
What – forgot to mention it?
BUFFY
Things in that basement were insane.
I saved your life. We’ll discuss
this later.
Xander and Dawn exchange looks. Then look to Buffy.
DAWN
Sure.
XANDER
Whatever you want.
DAWN
Right, ’cause that seems to be the
only time you let us in, Buffy.
Whenever you want.
SPIKE
Now, in fairness to Buffy…
XANDER
Shut up, Spike.
BUFFY
Guys. Give us a minute.
Buffy pulls Spike aside, out of the living room and into the foyer where they speak closely, a bit more
intense. Xander and Dawn return to Nancy.
BUFFY (cont’d)
Don’t start out by saying you’re
sorry.
SPIKE
I didn’t come to atone.
BUFFY
Then what the hell do you want?
SPIKE
Only to help you.
BUPFY
Help me what?
SPIKE
I was kinda hoping you’d tell me.
You’re the Slayer. Connected to
visions, the long line of worthies.
Riqht? I’m just a guy with his ear
to the ground, but even I can feel
it: something’s coming.
Buffy shifts, eyeing Spike hard, but paying attention.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Don’t know what, exactly, but
something’s brewing and it’s so big,
ugly and damned, it makes you and me
look like little bitty puzzle pieces.
If I’m wrong – say so. Lovely. No
hard feeling. I go out that door and
you can lock it behind me with any
spell you like. So.
(beat)
Am I wrong?
Buffy regards him a long time.
BUFFY
Everything about you is wrong, Spike.
Spike nods, taking it in. Without a word, he turns to go.
BUFFY (cont’d)
But something is coming.
SPIKE
You’re gonna need help.
BUFFY
Since when did you become the
champion of the people?
SPIKE
I didn’t. I’m just a guy who can
lend a hand, if you let me.
(beat)
Ball’s in your court, Slayer.
Spike awaits her response. And off Buffy’s uncertainty, we cut to:
EXT. ENGLAND – DAY
WILLOW is seated in the doorway of the old stone house we saw in episode one. Coat on, bags
packed. Giles joins her.
GILES
Your cab is here.
WILLOW
I know.
She doesn’t move. Pause.
GILES
And in keeping with quaint old
British tradition, you’ll now be
expected to get in it.
WILLOW
I don’t think I can, Giles. I’m not
done here.
Again, the horn honks.
GILES
That’s your fear talking.
WILLOW
Yes! My fear’s a big obnoxious
blabbermouth – and you’re the one who
keeps telling me to trust my
instincts.
GILES
True.
WILLOW
So? Shouldn’t we be listening? I
don’t want to go back home just so I
can screw up again. Why don’t I
stay? Not forever, just long enough
to, I dunno, make my fear shut up a
little, maybe.
GILES
It’s possible, but …
The taxi’s horn honks. Giles motions for the taxi to wait.
GILES (cont’d)
Try to be very specific. What is it,
exactly, you’re afraid of?
WILLOW
Ho. Well. For starters? How about
the Hellmouth’s getting all rumbly
again and now I know it’s got teeth
and are those literal teeth ’cause I
don’t know if I can handle it, and
what if I can handle it? Does that
mean I have to be a bigger, badder
badass than the source of all
badness? What if I have to give up
all this control stuff and go all
veiny and homicidal and what if …
GILES
(quietly)
… They don’t take you back?
WILLOW
A-huh?
GILES
Willow. We could remain another two
years here, training and practicing,
learning to hone your powers. And
still, you’d be no way of knowing for
sure if the friends you left behind
are still your friends at all.
Beat as Willow really takes this in.
WILLOW
Well … sure. I mean you put it
that way – duh.
GILES
I would offer some guarantee you’ll
be welcomed back in Sunnydale with
open arms. But I can’t. You may not
be wanted. But you will be needed.
WILLOW
(small)
That all you got?
GILES
For the moment, yes.
WILLOW
Okay. Guess I’d better …
GILES
Trust yourself. And the others might
follow.
INT. BUFFY’S LIVING ROOM – NIGHT
Buffy stands in the center of the living room, issuing orders.
BUFFY
(as she works)
We’re gonna split. Two pairs.
Whatever this creature is, it’s
burrowing through solid ground. That
means a kind of strength and power we
don’t usually deal with. But we may
have to yet used to, now that the
Hellmouth’s getting all perky.
Nancy pulls Xander aside.
NANCY
Shouldn’t we call the police?
XANDER
And tell them what?
Pause.
NANCY
I’ll stop interrupting.
SPIKE
(to Nancy)
This thing came from underground, yes?
Nancy nods.
SPIKE (cont’d)
And took your dog. Which means it
could have been lured. By scent,
rhythm of motion … what’s your
dog’s name?
NANCY
Rocky.
SPIKE
Comes when called?
NANCY
Always does. Or, did …
Spike nods re-assuringly. Nancy smiles at Spike. No one else does. Buffy continues:
BUFFY
Xander. Take Nancy home. Drive,
don’t walk and try not to stop ’til
you get there.
XANDER
Understood.
NANCY
(to Xander)
Is your girlfriend always this …
commanding?
XANDER
Who – Buffy? Oh, she’s not … I
mean, she’s a girl, and a friend, but
she’s not my …
DAWN
Xander?
Xander looks to Dawn. She indicates he’s got something at the corner of his mouth.
DAWN (cont’d)
Little drool?
BUFFY
Spike and I’ll check out the site of
the attack.
XANDER
O-kay …
Xander takes Buffy aside, speaking privately.
XANDER (cont’d)
Buffy, in the biggest way, I am not
loving this plan. I’m not loving
Spike. He …
(hushed, intense)
He tried to rape you.
BUFFY
And failed. I know I can take him.
Xander hesitates, wanting to say more, but stops himself off Buffy’s look. Conversation ended.
BUFFY (cont’d)
Let’s patrol. Xander’s taking Nancy home.
DAWN
I’m command central. Everybody
checks in with me.
(beat)
Okay, I’ll be here doing homework,
but still the other thing sounds
cooler.
BUFFY
Let’s head out.
SPIKE
Righty-o, then.
They get up to go. Dawn motions to Spike.
DAWN
Spike?
Dawn stops Spike at the door on his way out. Takes him aside.
DAWN (cont’d)
You sleep, right?
He looks quizzical. Strange question.
DAWN (cont’d)
You, Vampires. You sleep.
SPIKE
(smiles)
Yeah. What’s your point, nibblet?
DAWN
Well, I couldn’t take you in a fight
or anything, even with that chip in
your head. But you do sleep. And if
you hurt my sister, at all, if you
touch her — you’re gonna wake up on
fire.
Spike starts to reply. Dawn’s glare continues, unbroken. Spike gets it
EXT. SUBURBAN STREET – NIGHT
A flashlight’s beam crawls along a stretch of sidewalk. We see BUFFY and Spike walking along the
Sunnydale street (the site of the attack on Nancy’s dog). Spike walks ahead of Buffy, looking all
business. Buffy straggles a few paces behind, holding herself, looking unsure – vulnerable.
SPIKE
You’re awfully quiet.
BUFFY
I wouldn’t know what to say.
SPIKE
Fine with me. I was more than half
expecting to get an earful anyway and
when exactly’d your sister get
unbelievably scary?
She stops, staring at him. He stops too.
BUFFY
What are you doing?
SPIKE
What? Told you once. Straight up.
I’m here to help. And that’s all.
(beat)
Think this here’s our spot?
We reveal they’ve come upon a patch of sidewalk that looks like it’s been exploded outward from the
ground up.
BUFFY
How’d you guess.
They move forward. Buffy takes her flashlight and points it downward into the burst-open patch of
pavement. Spike looks within.
SPIKE
Don’t fancy sticking my head in that.
BUFFY
But if something bites it off, that
will be a clue.
Spike looks back at her. Right. He leans in, investigating the gaping hole as they speak.
BUFFY (cont’d)
So, what happened to you?
Spike’s P.O.V.: beneath the ruble, there lies a large, dark HOLE, sporadically illuminated by the
flashlight. No telling how deep it goes.
SPIKE
You saw yourself. Those ghostly
types down in the school basement got
in my head. Made me flat-out, bug-
shagging crazy. And I’m not exactly
bragging about it, but they were
… stronger than I was. Made me see
things. Do things.
And Spike suddenly stops, turns back to Buffy, genuinely curious:
SPIKE (cont’d)
And how come you didn’t tell anyone
you saw me?
BUFFY
Dunno. I guess … I was partly
hoping you were some kind of mirage.
SPIKE
Sorry to disappoint.
BUFFY
Not your fault.
SPIKE
Hold the lantern closer, would you?
But she does not move.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Buffy?
BUFFY
Spike, I can’t. I can’t do this. I
can’t … I don’t know what this is.
I don’t know what you want.
SPIKE
(sighs)
At the moment, I want a little more
visibility. Fair?
He reaches out for the flashlight. Buffy hands it to him, and in that moment their hands TOUCH. And
the second that happens, we FLASH TO:
FLASHBACK (STOCK) Season Six, Episode Eighteen – in the bathroom, quick-cuts of Spike as he
attempts to RAPE BUFFY.
As quickly as it started, we FLASH BACK TO:
Buffy STARING at Spike, still holding her flashlight. Spike looks back to her. Knows something’s
wrong. Long pause. Neither moves nor speaks awhile.
BUFFY
This isn’t … our working together’s
not going to get us back together.
If that’s what you want.
SPIKE
It’s not. Look. I can’t blame you
for being all skittish.
BUFFY
“Skittish?” That’s not a word I’d
use for it. You tried to rape me.
(small)
I don’t have the words.
Spike addresses Buffy directly.
SPIKE
Neither do I. I can’t say “sorry”
and I can’t use “forgive me.” All I
can tell you, Buffy, is I’ve changed.
BUFFY
I believe you.
SPIKE
Well, that’s something.
BUFFY
I just don’t know what you’ve changed
into. You come back to town, you
make with the big surprises –
twice – and I don’t know what your
game is, Spike, but I know – there’s
something you’re not telling me.
SPIKE
You’re right.
That stops her.
SPIKE (cont’d)
There is. But we’re not best friends
anymore, so too bad for me – I’m not
sharing.
He steps away from the site, standing, wiping his hands on his pant legs.
SPIKE (cont’d)
We’ve been through things. The end
of the world and back. I can be
useful, because honestly? I’ve got
nothing better to do. Make use of me
if you want.
(beat)
And there’s nothing here. Bit of
slime, mounds of displaced dirt and
such. Whatever our beastie is –
he’s gone.
Spike walks past Buffy She stands immobile, her face sad and unsure what to do with Spike …
INT. APARTMENT ENTRANCE – NIGHT
Nancy opens the front door to her apartment complex, leading Xander into the main hallway. They
are in mid-conversation.
(PRODUCTION NOTE: This is the main apartment entrance, a small hallway with apartment doors on
each side, and a stairway at the end of this hall).
NANCY
… still kinda hard to believe this
is happening, even with this town’s
reputation for, you know, unexplained
weirdness.
XANDER
Right, “Sunnydale: come for the food,
stay for the dismemberment.”
NANCY
There’s good food?
Xander smiles. They hesitate. A little spark-age growing between them …
NANCY (cont’d)
Well … thanks.
(beat)
And that’s a couple levels of
lameness right there, isn’t it? Me
saying “thanks,” after all you’ve
done tonight …
XANDER
Well you could slip me a twenty, but
then I’d have to act all offended.
NANCY
Got it. So, you think I might,
instead, give you a call sometime?
XANDER
Just to check in.
NANCY
No, I’m actually hitting on you.
XANDER
Even better. I’m very listed.
NANCY
And I’m very pushy, so that works
out, then.
They have that awkward shuffle people have when they’re not ready to hug yet, then Nancy turns to
go.
NANCY (cont’d)
Night.
He watches her take a step – then stop – just as a RUMBLING sound grows, becoming louder…
XANDER
Uh, Nancy …?
The hallway lights FLICKER.
XANDER (cont’d)
I just got a swell idea.
And just then, the glass in the door behind Xander SHATTERS as the rumbling grows deafeningly
loud. The wood of the doorframe SPLINTERS and the floor beneath them buckles – furrowing in a
deadly straight line heading their way.
Something is plowing through the ground – chasing them.
XANDER (cont’d)
Run.
Xander grabs hold of Nancy and together they RUN the length of the floor, heading for the stairs. The
tiled floor buckles as something big BURROWS its way toward them, a subterranean ROAR growing
as it comes.
They run fast – it burrows faster. Tiles buckle and crack as the wave rushes toward them.
Xander gets to the STAIRS and pushes Nancy up the first few steps, following right behind her. The
burrowing creature BURSTS UP through the hallway floor – and we get our first good look at it.
It’s a giant, eyeless, overgrown WORM CREATURE (all mouth, teeth, and very little else) with
multiple rows of razor sharp teeth. It rears up out of the ground, and lunges, getting close to Nancy.
She SCREAMS.
But the creature cannot follow up the steps or rise up any further out of the ground – with a bone-
rattling roar of fury and desperation, it disappears back into the floor.
And slowly, silence returns. Xander and Nancy, both breathless and freaked out, check each other.
XANDER (cont’d)
You okay?
Nancy cries, unable to handle this.
XANDER (cont’d)
Dumb question. Are you injured? You
hurt?
NANCY
I … no, I don’t think so. It’s
just, I don’t think I can take any
more of this …
XANDER
(nods)
Two attacks in one night – I’m
thinking it’s more than just
coincidence.
NANCY
Sure. Why not? Monster, trying to
kill me … that was really the only
thing missing to make my life perfect.
(beat, sighing)
Ronnie’d love this, boy …
XANDER
Right. Who’s Ronnie?
NANCY
Oh, only a psycho ex-boyfriend I
spent the last few weeks getting rid
of. Phtt, I almost prefer the
monster. He was … trouble.
XANDER
Uh-huh. And, just curious here, was
this Ronnie guy a “borrow money” kind
of trouble, or more of a “raising
demon” trouble kind of guy?
They both look out to the shattered hallway floor.
NANCY
Ronnie? He couldn’t – I mean, he was
just… He was an abusive bastard, is
the catchy headline. And he’d just
show up, even after…
(beat, numbed)
You know the feeling when your ex is
constantly ruining every part of your
life and it just doesn’t stop?
XANDER
Yes.
NANCY
And you yet so tired of being
helpless, all you can do is just …
wish it could all stop?
XANDER
“Wish?”
Xander closes his eyes and sighs …
NANCY
But then I realized, it’s my life,
not his, why’d I ever let him …
XANDER
Nancy – I’m sorry – can we go back a
second? When you wished, was that
like wishing on a star, or did you
actually wish to a friend that
something bad would happen?
Off Nancy’s confused look, we cut to:
INT. BRONZE – NIGHT
ANYA, sitting in the bronze, sipping on a straw and listening with great interest as a YOUNG WOMAN
talks non-stop …
YOUNG WOMAN
… and it’s not the fact he cheated
on me, it’s the way he cheated, you
know? I mean, we could have talked,
I could have handled it …
ANYA
Uh-huh. Uh-huh. I get it. Go
on …
YOUNG WOMAN
You know what he is? He’s spineless.
That’s it. He’s like this spineless
little pig.
(beat)
You know what I wish?
ANYA
God, do I want to.
She sips greedily on her straw, awaiting the answer …
Looks like the Vengeance Demon is back in business.
END OF ACT TWO
Act Three
INT. BRONZE – CONTINUING
Where we left off: close on Anya as she drinks her drink and nods her head, listening to the young
woman – just as the Young Woman gets jostled by a PASSERBY, distracting her:
ANYA
… You were saying.
YOUNG WOMAN
I want more quesadillas?
ANYA
Before that.
YOUNG WOMAN
A margarita?
ANYA
After that.
YOUNG WOMAN
Oh. Yeah! God, my boyfriend’s
spineless. He should just, you know,
just be spineless. For real.
ANYA
No spine. Got it. I can do that.
YOUNG WOMAN
(huh)
What do you mean?
ANYA
Well, honey, what I’m driving us
towards here is, sometimes, don’t you
just wish that …
The Young Woman looks confused as Anya interrupts herself seeing she is now surrounded by
Xander, Buffy, Spike and Nancy.
ANYA (cont’d)
Oh, penis.
XANDER
(to Nancy)
This the one you talked to?
ANYA
(to Young Woman)
Tell you what: let’s put a pin in it,
go get yourself a beverage and we’ll
pick it up in a few. ‘Kay?
Confused, the Young Woman walks away, leaving the annoyed Anya to be surrounded by her former
friends.
ANYA (cont’d)
You guys – I’m working here.
BUFFY
We noticed.
SPIKE
It’s why we’re here.
XANDER
Yeah, did you turn this nice lady’s
ex into a giant worm monster?
Long pause.
ANYA
Yes.
NANCY
No way – are you saying that … that
thing was Ronnie?
ANYA
Hey, you wish it, I dish it. I
thought we were clear on this.
Didn’t think you were gonna turn
all narc on me.
BUFFY
You wished your ex was a worm.
NANCY
We were just talking.
XANDER
Anya has a way of making things
happen.
ANYA
I had a quota, the guy had it coming,
what’s the big?
NANCY
I think I’m gonna be sick.
BUFFY
Anya, that thing you created burst
through solid pavement and ate her
dog.
ANYA
Aww. Puppy …
XANDER
Wait. That gets your sad noise?
People’s lives are in danger and you
give it up for the shih-tzu?
ANYA
You never understood me, Xander.
NANCY
Xander, who is this woman?
XANDER
Anya? She’s … Anya.
(small)
My ex.
NANCY
Oh.
ANYA
Hey, nobody’s bragging here.
Spike grabs Anya’s wrist, roughly.
ANYA (cont’d)
Ow! Hands off the merchandise – you
don’t get to go there again, Spike.
SPIKE
Please – I’ve already forgotten our
little together time.
NANCY
I thought you were Xander’s ex-
girl friend.
ANYA
I am.
NANCY
But you and Spike …?
ANYA
We had a thing.
SPIKE
Didn’t last.
NANCY
(to Spike)
But weren’t you Buffy’s …
SPIKE
Briefly.
BUFFY
Never serious.
NANCY
Are there any of you who haven’t
slept with each other?
Spike and Xander barely glance at one another.
ANYA
Well at least we’re all bipeds, which
is more than you can say for Ronnie
the worm boy.
BUFFY
Can we all just focus a minute?
Anya. This Ronnie? He’s not a worm.
Worms are like, this big. They’re
fish bait. That thing …
SPIKE
Was a Sluggoth Demon.
(to Anya)
Am I right?
ANYA
Maybe.
NANCY
But – I never wished for that. I
don’t even know what a …
whatchamacallit demon is.
SPIKE
Sluggoth Demon. Very large, very
nasty, natural predators who died out
around the Crusades.
ANYA
Same phylum, it’s not cheating. I
just embellished.
XANDER
Well you can unembellished now.
ANYA
Bite me, Harris. I have rules to
work with. Vengeance Demon codes of
conduct you’ll never understand
’cause you’re still all so … human.
Spike gets deadly calm.
SPIKE
I’m not. Demon like yourself, Anya
. Now you turn this spell around like
a good little Vengeance Demon, or I
… what?
As Spike speaks, Anya’s jaw nearly drops. She looks at him like he’s some object of fascination.
ANYA
Oh my God …
SPIKE
What are you staring at?
But Anya can’t stop staring at Spike.
ANYA
Oh my God …
SPIKE
Right – let’s go.
Spike rises, but Anya holds his arm.
ANYA
How did you do it … ?
BUFFY
Spike. What’s she talking about?
ANYA
I can see you …
SPIKE
Nothing. Let’s go. Got some worm
hunting to do …
ANYA
How did you do it?
SPIKE
Shut up.
ANYA
It shouldn’t be possible …
SPIKE
Shut your mouth, you.
ANYA
How did you get …
SPIKE
I said you shut UP!
And Spike, unable to free himself from Anya, hauls off and PUNCHES her in the face. Anya goes down
hard, up-ending the table, crashing on the floor.
Spike wastes no time taking full advantage – he leaps upon the prone Anya and shockingly RAINS
BLOWS down upon her. Really wailing.
Anya BACKHANDS Spike off her and rises to her feet – in full DEMON FACE. Breathing heavily, pissed
off.
Spike crashes into the pool table, gets his bearings, grins.
And (unseen by the others) Nancy freaks – physically recoiling from the violence, she turns and
splits, bumping into some Bronzers on her way out, not stopping …
SPIKE (cont’d)
(to Anya)
Right, bitch. Round and round we …
But before Spike can lunge at Anya, Buffy grabs Spike by the collar and yanks him back, hard. He
whips his head round to face her directly – and we see he’s now in full VAMP FACE.
BUFFY
You haven’t changed, Spike.
He shoves her. She punches him. He punches her back. And Buffy goes nuts. She launches a left-
right-hook combination and punctuates it with a roundhouse kick to the head. As she does so, Spike
SPEAKS, almost smiling:
SPIKE
Ooh, working out some issues, are we?
Guess this’d be first contact since
you-know-when … up for another
round in the balcony, then?
Enough. Buffy hits Spike hard enough to send him down hard. Spike gets to his feet, all piss and
swagger, facing Buffy and wiping the blood from his mouth.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Right you are, Love. I haven’t
changed, Not a lick.
He saunters forward, daring Buffy to hit him.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Not a slap, not a tickle, not one
juicy bit. I’m the same, baby, head
to toe, the man you loved and hated,
slept with and moaned over. And
watching your face trying to figure
me out was absolutely delicious.
He’s gotten close enough. Buffy backhands him with a closed fist, whipping his head sideways. And
he comes right back.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Love the taste.
Angle on Xander, who’s scanning the Bronze …
XANDER
Buffy …
BUFFY
Not now, Xander.
XANDER
Nancy.
Buffy stops.
XANDER (cont’d)
She’s gone. And out there alone,
she’s worm bait.
BUFFY
(realizing)
I’ll go find her. You work on
Anya – get her to reverse that spell.
Buffy exits. Spike follows after.
SPIKE
Is that it?!? A little touchy-feely
and then you’re off to the batpoles?
Anya, back in human face, watches Spike, appalled. Xander stands beside her. Spike saunters past,
styling …
SPIKE (cont’d)
Well what the hell? I want to play,
too …
He grabs a drink off a nearby table without looking, downs it, grins at Anya – and rushes out,
following Buffy.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Beautiful night.
He goes. Xander watches him go, turns back to Anya.
XANDER
Anya, we …
ANYA
… Have nothing to talk about.
EXT. MAIN STREET SUNNYDALE – NIGHT
We see Nancy, walking quickly down a Sunnydale street alone, obviously upset.
NANCY
Freaks. Why do I always surround
myself with …
But she trails off, hearing a slowly growing RUMBLING sound, coming from behind her. Nancy slows,
stops – turns.
NANCY (cont’d)
Oh, God …
We see what she sees: far down the street, some tarmac erupts, and a line burrows itself in her
direction, coming this way and gaining speed.
NANCY (cont’d)
Oh, God …
Nancy turns and RUNS. She crosses the empty night street, making her way to a STORE.
Its door closed, she makes it to the door, grabs the handle and TUGS with all her might. Locked.
The burrowing line is coming right toward her. And a subterranean ROAR can be heard as well,
growing …
Nancy bolts from the door, running to the other side of the street, searching for another way out. She
gets to another store’s door – and the burrowing line CHANGES DIRECTION, following her.
She tries the second door, locked.
NANCY (cont’d)
Help! Somebody HELP ME!
She spots a FIRE ESCAPE LADDER. Bolts for it. The street buckles behind her, hot on her heels.
Nancy makes it to the fire escape ladder and begins to climb.
The burrowing creature below her disappears beneath the pavement. Nancy, holding onto the
ladder’s rungs, closes her eyes and breathes a sigh of relief …
When – BOOM! – the entire building SHUDDERS under some terrible impact. Nancy looks down to see
the store is being RAMMED from below – and the ladder’s rivets screwing it into the side of the
building begin to shake loose …
NANCY (cont’d)
HELP ME!
EXT. ROOFTOPS – NIGHT
Buffy runs along the rooftops at night, trailing the straight line of destruction in the street below her.
We follow along with her as she runs from rooftop to rooftop.
She passes out of frame, eyes filled with purpose.
And Spike (no longer in Vamp-Face) enters behind her, unseen by BUFFY, following, having fun,
playing like a black cat in the night …
XANDER (O.S.)
You know this has to stop.
INT BRONZE – NIGHT
We pick up Xander and Anya, the two of them having found a more or less secluded section of the
Bronze to talk.
ANYA
Don’t think you can tell me what to
do, Xander. You’re not a part of my
life anymore, remember?
XANDER
Acutely.
ANYA
So why are you here? Let me cast my
Vengeance. Do I come to where you
work and slap the … wrench thing
out of your hands?
XANDER
I’m trying to save your life.
ANYA
How’s that work?
XANDER
Think about the career choice you’re
making here, Anya. You’re getting
people killed.
This clearly affects Anya, but she steels herself:
ANYA
Not my problem.
XANDER
Well it’s gonna be. Forget right and
wrong – what you’re doing is demonic.
ANYA
Uh, yeah. We’re not called Vengeance
People …
XANDER
And Buffy’s the Slayer. You’re a
Demon. You kill people – how long
you think it’s gonna be before
she has to do her job?
ANYA
Buffy wouldn’t slay … me.
XANDER
Not if you stop now.
Beat. Xander lets Anya sit with it.
ANYA
What do you want me to do?
XANDER
Reverse the spell.
ANYA
It’s not that easy, Xander!
XANDER
You can do it.
ANYA
Sure, the spell part. But what about
afterwards? What about me? I’m in
enough trouble as it is. Halfrek’s
all over my case, D’Hoffryn is not
pleased with my work and you don’t
want to see him unhappy, trust me …
XANDER
Nice friends you got.
ANYA
Nice friends I had. Chums, co-
workers, bridesmaids … oh I had the
whole package until something fell
apart, now what could that be, Xander?
XANDER
You saying this is my fault?
ANYA
All I’m saying is, none of this
happened until you dumped me at the
altar.
XANDER
And sooner or later, Anya, that
excuse just stops working.
He’s right and she knows it. It doesn’t make her comfortable. And on her face we cut to:
EXT. STREETS – NIGHT
Nancy clings to the ladder as best she can as the building continues to shudder. One last BOOM!
sends the entire side of the building rocking and Nancy loses her grip.
Screaming, Nancy FALLS.
The pavement below her BURSTS OPEN and we get a FULL VIEW of the Sluggoth Demon as it RIPS
out from beneath the pavement.
Its giant hole of a mouth opens, revealing its multiple rows of teeth. Nancy screams – just as BUFFY
appears, swinging on a telephone line, spewing sparks out of its ripped-off end.
Buffy CATCHES Nancy, Errol Flynn-style.
Together, the two of them swing back up, out of harm’s way, when Buffy lets the sputtering cable go
before they ground themselves …
They land hard, Buffy absorbing most of the impact.
Before Nancy can fully recover, Buffy springs to her feet, turns, and rushes.
Buffy rushes the demon, which BURSTS AGAIN from out of the pavement. It SNAPS at Buffy. She
leaps back, its massive jaws just missing her.
The monster pulls under the ground, lightning fast, then BURSTS UP and SNAPS again.
Again, Buffy’s a split-second too fast for it. She prepares to lunge again when SPIKE appears beside
her, looking all rough and tumble, breaking off a piece of storefront grating.
SPIKE
You’ve had you’re turn, luv.
Spike HITS the Demon with the pipe, using it as a bat.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Leave the real violence to the demons, yeah?
Spike rears back with the piece of pipe like a makeshift spear …
SPIKE (cont’d)
That’s right! Big bad’s back, and
looking for a little DEATH-
Buffy and Nancy watch as Spike RAMS the pipe forward, into the Demon’s body …
Just as the Demon TRANSFORMS – back into the form of a human being. A man. RONNIE. Mid-
twenties. Filthy, naked, and confused.
And Spike, unable to stop his momentum, STABS the helpless man STRAIGHT THROUGH his upper
chest (through the SHOULDER area, not through the heart – painful not mortal).
Ronnie screams.
Spike recoils in horrible chip-induced AGONY.
And on Spike’s horrified, screaming, pain-wracked face in that instant, we blackout.
END OF ACT THREE
Act Four
EXT. STREETS – CONTINUING
Where we left off. Spike’s looking horrified – standing face to face with the naked man (Ronnie) he’s
just stabbed through. Neither moves nor speaks a moment. Impossible to tell who’s more shocked.
Spike speaks, barely a whisper:
SPIKE
I’m sorry.
And the quiet is ripped apart as Spike, a dumb child-like look on his face, PULLS the pipe out of
Ronnie’s shoulder.
RONNIE
AaaAAH!
Ronnie collapses in agony to the street. Spike doesn’t move, he just looks down, bloody pipe in hand.
SPIKE
Right. Wrong. Wrong maneuver, not
hardly helpful. Christ, please help
me.
He turns to Buffy, screams insanely loud:
SPIKE (cont’d)
HELP ME!
Buffy pushes past Spike, pulling off her coat and pressing on her cell phone simultaneously
BUFFY
You’re not the one who needs it.
He’s going into shock …
Buffy drapes her coat over Ronnie’s now-shuddering figure, dials 911.
BUFFY (cont’d)
(into phone)
I need an ambulance. Someone’s been
stabbed. Corner of Third and
Fairview.
(to Ronnie)
Help is coming. Try not to move.
She looks up to Spike. He’s a mess. Near tears, pressing his fist to his mouth, taking small steps
back and forth but going nowhere, mumbling …
SPIKE
Too much pain and damage, up close,
right inside me. All the way, deep, deep
inside me …
BUFFY
Spike! Whatever you’re doing …
SPIKE
Get AWAY!
He steps back from Buffy, bats away at the night air with his hands, as if repelling something
invisible.
BUFFY
Do it somewhere else. I’m through
with this.
SPIKE
Oh, Lucky Girl. Call it quits, now
there’s an option. If only it were
so easy, if only, if only and …
(to no one)
… What the hell are you screaming
about? I can hear you, no need to
SHOUT!!!
This last syllable, the word “shout,” extends itself into a high-pitched expression of pain and anguish,
nearly bringing Spike to his knees.
BUFFY watches, confused and unsure, still tending the victim.
And suddenly, Spike is back on his feet, laughing.
SPIKE (cont’d)
I get it, joke’s on me, lotsa larfs.
Bring the wife and kiddies, come and
see the show, ’cause it’s gonna be a
circus.
He struts madly, swinging the bloody pipe like he’s Gene Kelly with an umbrella …
SPIKE (cont’d)
With fire eaters, hoops and garters,
elephants and BLOOD.
(sad, coherent:)
Gallons. Oceans. Thundering
rainstorms of blood and death, waste
and filth, it will, I promise, never
ever stop and I’ll be awake and
alive, eyes wide bloody open feeling
every pinprick. This?
He leans in to Buffy, nearly whispering, pointing to Ronnie.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Just the beginning, love. A warm up
act. The headliner’s really coming
and when that band hits the stage,
all this … ALL THIS … will come
tumbling in death and screaming and
horror and bloodshed.
He points, knowingly.
SPIKE (cont’d)
From beneath you it devours.
Buffy stops tending to Ronnie and stares, shocked.
SPIKE (cont’d)
From … beneath …
And again, the tears well up in his eyes. He stops, staring at Buffy. She looks back at him with
something like sympathy.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Poor Rocky.
Then, crying, he turns on his heels and takes off into the night, building up to a RUN. Buffy, stunned,
watches him go. Behind her, Anya and Xander come running up, survey the scene before them.
Nancy stands off to the side, by a storefront, watching …
XANDER
Buffy.
NANCY
You.
(to Anya)
You did this.
(beat)
What are you?
Confused and disgusted, Nancy backs away from the scene. Xander instantly moves to Buffy’s side,
helping and commenting:
XANDER
She’s not calling me.
Anya looks at the nearly-dying man on the ground. The sound of an AMBULANCE SIREN comes
closer.
BUFFY
Stay with him. Make sure he gets
help.
XANDER
Where are you going?
Without answering, Buffy turns and leaves, following Spike’s direction. Xander and Anya tend to
Ronnie.
XANDER (cont’d)
(to Anya)
You do know you did the right thing
here.
ANYA
(re: Ronnie)
Tell him that.
XANDER
You reversed the spell. Took some
guts. And I know this is bad – but
it could be worse.
Anya looks up to the sky as if looking for something to appear.
ANYA
Oh. It will be.
Xander looks to her, but she offers no explanation as the sound of the ambulance siren grows louder
…
EXT. CEMETERY – NIGHT
A CEMETERY. It’s dark, long shadows cast from headstones. Buffy comes running into the cemetery,
stops.
She looks around, searching.
But the place is empty. Buffy turns to go, then stops. She looks back to the sole source of light
casting these long headstone shadows …
Buffy’s P.O.V.: We see, at the far end of the graveyard, a solitary CHURCH. A single light comes from
within.
Buffy stares at it a moment, some kind of peace coming over her. Then she walks toward the church
…
INT. CHURCH – NIGHT
Twin heavy doors swing slowly open and Buffy enters the church. She hears the sound of sobbing.
She walks in, cautiously, drawing a stake.
Buffy’s P.O.V.: We see a figure, its back to us, sitting in one of the pews, rocking gently back and
forth.
Buffy approaches. It is Spike, sitting alone, looking as lost and frightened as he can. He speaks softly
and sanely.
SPIKE
I figured it out. Took awhile, yeah,
but … I think the real problem
is …
He looks to Buffy, eyes wide, vulnerable,
SPIKE (cont’d)
I was once this really nice guy.
Buffy remains cautious, keeping her distance.
BUFFY
So that’s the problem.
SPIKE
I think.
BUFFY
Got news, Spike. You’re not that
nice.
Spike laughs, quietly, enjoying the irony of a good joke.
SPIKE
Yeah. I’ve been … well come on,
Let’s face it, been a one-man
slaughterhouse, last hundred years.
Raping. Murdering. And for what?
(heat)
Kicks.
He stands in the pew, bows his head in reverence.
SPIKE (cont’d)
William the Bloody awful poet,
skipping down the lane … good boy,
bad boy, all the sodding same.
You like it? Wrote that one myself.
He rolls his head around slowly, up to the ceiling, staring.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Is it hot enough in here to burn all
your mortal sins away?
And suddenly, vampire-fast, he stands straight up.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Or am I just crazy?
He laughs, steps from the pew, into the aisle.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Stuffy. Stuffed. Full, packed,
sorry mate, no room, out you go,
we’re packed to the bloody brim,
standing room only and no room for
that. We. Are. Full.
Buffy steps back, giving him a wide berth. Spike lurches forward, up the church aisle, zig-zagging left
and right, but always moving forward.
SPIKE (cont’d)
Full of sin. Full of guilt. Full of
hate and love and loss and feeling.
Full of it, quite frankly and it’s
been so long.
(laughs)
Since we felt anything here. Rusty
switchboard, sparked to life, bound
to be more’n a few sharp shocks.
Buffy slowly following behind, never losing grip on that stake, and watching …
SPIKE (cont’d)
Right? RIGHT?!? Shh. Quiet.
Church. His house. Place of clasped
hands, reverent hymns, and massive
raw amounts of BEGGING. On your
knees, boy. Beg him. BEG HIM …
And we see where Spike is heading: at the head of the altar, there stands a large, carved-stone
CRUCIFIX.
SPIKE (cont’d)
… for forgiveness.
BUFFY
Spike …
SPIKE
Buffy. I can’t sleep. Can’t think.
There’s voices and darkness and
blindness and pain and help me, I
I…
He keeps walking, slowly, up the aisle. Gets to the altar’s steps and keeps going … straight to the
cross.
BUFFY
You have a soul.
Spike stops at the cross. Responds without looking back.
SPIKE
I do indeed.
He wearily lets his head rest upon the stone crucifix. And STEAM rises from where his flesh makes
contact. He grimaces, but does not scream.
SPIKE (cont’d)
And it’s killing me.
He reaches out and HUGS the crucifix with both arms. Steam rises from his palms.
SPIKE (cont’d)
God …
He releases the cross, slowly pulling back and turning to Buffy
SPIKE (cont’d)
God hates me. You hate me. I hate
myself more than ever.
Buffy wants to step forward but does not.
BUFFY
But why’d you do it …?
SPIKE
You know why. I got my soul back …
He keeps turning, now facing Buffy, barely able to stand on his feet, wobbling a bit – and holding his
arms out wide.
SPIKE (cont’d)
… So I could be the kind of …
(laughs)
… Person … you could care for,
the man you would come to … the man
you could love.
Spike GRINS through bloody teeth. The burn marks stand out fresh upon his forehead and palms. He
looks like death, and any second he’s going to collapse.
And still, it’s like something terribly sad is actually, deep down funny – and only he gets the joke.
He walks toward Buffy. Staggering gently. Eyeing the stake she still holds in her hand. He’s drawn to
it – and to her.
SPIKE (cont’d)
I was the enemy, then I was nothing,
and now I’m God’s garbage, not even
a joke, less than, less than, less
than all His creatures combined so
tell me, dear Buffy …
Buffy lets him approach, unmoving, but not letting go of that stake, either.
He barely makes it to her – and SLAMS straight down, to his KNEES. And opens his arms wide.
SPIKE (cont’d)
How ya like me now?
Buffy’s mind goes a long way trying to come up with the answer, but her mouth cannot speak and
we:
BLACK OUT.
END OF SHOW
Transcripts
REVIEW:
GILES (V.O.)
Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1 INT. SPIKE’S CRYPT – NIGHT
Buffy enters Spike’s crypt, walking purposefully.
SPIKE
If I’d’ve known you were coming, I’d’ve baked a cake.
BUFFY
Tell me you love me.
SPIKE
I love you.
BUFFY
Tell me you want me.
SPIKE
I always want you.
They lie down together kissing.
Cut to:
2 INT. SPIKE’S BOUDOIR – NIGHT
Buffy and Spike are lying naked under Persian rugs post coitus.
SPIKE
Do you even like me?
Cut to:
3 INT. SPIKE’S BOUDOIR – DAY
Fully clothed now, standing in a charred bedroom, Buffy talks to Spike.
BUFFY
It’s over.
SPIKE
I’ve memorized this tune, luv.
BUFFY
I’m using you… and it’s killing me.
Cut to:
4 INT. MAGIC BOX – NIGHT
It’s Halloween, and all the Scoobies are at the Magic Box celebrating.
XANDER
We’re getting married.
WILLOW (V.O.)
Congratulations.
Cut to:
5 INT. CHURCH – DAY
Talking to her bridesmaids and still wearing her wedding gown, Anya can’t believe what she’s hearing.
ANYA
Xander’s missing? What do you mean Xander’s missing!
Cut to:
6 EXT. STREET IN SUNNYDALE – DAY
Xander is walking through the streets of Sunnydale in his tuxedo in the rain.
Cut to:
7 INT. D’HOFFRIN’S LAIR – NIGHT
Anya’s still wearing her wedding dress and has been crying for hours. She’s not crying now, but instead
looking forlorn, hurt and helpless.
D’HOFFRIN
When you were a vengeance demon, you crushed men like him.
Cut to:
8 INT. XANDER’S APARTMENT – NIGHT
Xander is pleading with Anya, who is looking out the window with her arms crossed.
XANDER
I wish we could just go back to the way things were before.
Anya’s face changes to show that she is a vengeance demon again.
ANYA
And I wish you were never born.
Cut to:
9 INT. BATHROOM IN BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Spike has Buffy pinned to the ground. She struggles against him wearing her bathrobe.
SPIKE
I’m gonna make you feel it.
BUFFY
Ah! Stop!
Spike leans on the sink, looking horrified at his attempted rape of Buffy. She is standing, clutching her robe to
her body, looking angry and disgusted.
BUFFY
Ask me again why I could never love you.
Cut to:
10 EXT. BUFFY’S BACKYARD – DAY
Warren shoots at Buffy, who is in her backyard with Xander. Meanwhile, while running away, Warren
fires a random shot that goes through the upstairs window into Willow and Tara’s bedroom.
Cut to:
11 INT. WILLOW AND TARA’S BEDROOM – DAY
Tara is shot and falls to the floor. Blood spatters Willow’s shirt.
WILLOW
Tara? Oh, God!
Willow is grief-stricken. She is holding Tara’s dead body, and when she looks up to heaven, her eyes turn red
and black with dark magic because of her anger.
Cut to:
12 EXT. WOODS SOMEWHERE IN SUNNYDALE – NIGHT
Warren is strung up between a pair of trees. He is tied at four points, splayed out like the famous DaVinci
diagram. Warren calls for help.
WARREN
Somebody!
Willow, in full dark magic splendor (black hair, black eyes), motions her hand toward Warren, and with a twist
of her wrist, removes his skin. Warren screams in agony.
Cut to:
13 EXT. DARK TEMPLE ON PACIFIC COAST CLIFF – DAY
Willow is using her powers to activate a trigger at the temple that will end the world. Xander interferes,
and hugs her as she sobs.
XANDER
I love you.
Cut to:
14 INT. CAVE SOMEWHERE IN AFRICA – NIGHT
Spike is exhausted and beaten, but demands his prize nontheless.
SPIKE
Make me what I was.
DEMON
We will return your soul.
Spike screams.
Cut to:
15 EXT. ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE – DAY
WILLOW
When you brought me here, I thought it was to kill me. Instead, you go all Dumbledore on me.
GILES
Do you want to be punished?
WILLOW
I killed people, Giles.
GILES
I’ve not forgotten.
Cut to:
16 INT. COFFEE SHOP – DAY
Halfrek and Anya are having coffee together.
HALFREK
Something’s rising. Something older than the old ones, and everybody’s tail is twitching. This is a bad time to be
a good guy.
Cut to:
17 EXT. NEW SUNNYDALE HIGH SCHOOL – DAY
Zoomed in on a large pair of scissors. A man is using them to cut a huge red ribbon. Pan out to a press
conference and grand opening ceremony with reporters and city officials standing around.
PRINCIPAL
It is my great pleasure and privilege to announce the official opening—on the very ground that it first stood
upon—of the brand new Sunnydale High!
Cut to:
18 INT. HALLWAY AT SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Buffy is talking to Principal Wood.
BUFFY
Are you asking me to be a counselor?
Cut to:
19 INT. BASEMENT SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Buffy jumps down into the basement from a hole in the bathroom floor (see episode 7×01 “Lessons”).
Buffy found Spike in a room all by himself. His his hair is dishelveled and long, his shirt is open, and his
chest is scratched up. She reaches toward his wounds.
BUFFY
Spike? What did you do?
Spike’s acting crazy, rambling and making no sense.
SPIKE
This is my home. I belong here. Always been here. Cheers for stopping by.
BUFFY
I’ll get back to you.
Fade to black.
END OF TEASER
The Start Of Episode
PROLOGUE
20 EXT. NIGHTCLUB – NIGHT
Loud techno music is playing. A bright blue neon sign is pointing to the club, that reads “Tatoo
Nachtlocal.” Zoom down to street level, where a sign points to “Parkplatz.” We see a car driving toward
the building.
TITLE CARD: Frankfurt, Germany
Zoom back up to the third floor where we can see through the glass hallway. Zoom inside.
21 INT. PARKING GARAGE – NIGHT
A girl is running and looks scared. She has hot pink hair with black bangs at her forehead, a nose ring,
and a metal collar. She’s wearing all black, with a skeleton shirt, long pants, a leather jacket and boots.
She goes through an interior door and jumps down to the next level. Two people are chasing her. They
look suspiciously like the robed men from episode 7×01 “Lessons”. We can’t see any details of their
bodies, just the hooded cloaks that completely cover them. She runs out through an exterior door and
proceeds to scale down the building. Finally, she thinks she’s safe when she goes through a doorway to the
outside near a crowd of club patrons, but she is pushed back inside by her pursuers. They close the door
behind them and start to fight with her. She is knocked to the ground, lying on her back. Finally, one of
the robed people pulls out a curved silver dagger and tries to stab her, but she blocks his move. The other
robed person also has a dagger though and stabs her. She winces, and the men resheath their daggers and
leave. After the girl appears dead, she turns her head to look directly in the camera and speaks in a low,
unnatural sounding voice.
GERMAN GIRL
From beneath you, it devours.
Cut to:
22 INT. BUFFY’S BEDROOM IN BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Buffy screams.
BUFFY (O.S.)
Ah!
Dawn is sitting beside Buffy, leaning over her, trying to wake her up.
DAWN
Buffy! Buffy! Buffy!
BUFFY
I heard screaming.
DAWN
That was you.
BUFFY
There was a girl.
DAWN
That would be me.
BUFFY
Uh, no. It was…
DAWN
Just a dream. It was just a dream, right?
BUFFY
From beneath you, it devours. That’s what she said, and then they… There’s more like her, Dawn. Out there
somewhere.
Buffy and Dawn get up off the bed and go to look out the window, frowning sadly.
BUFFY
And they’re gonna die.
Zoom out the window to the street.
Cut to:
23 EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET – NIGHT
We see grass and hear rumbling noises coming from underground. The force is progressing along a path,
like it’s caused by something specific that is moving purposefully underground. Shrubs are shaking and a
birdbath falls over. Then the sidewalk is pushed up from underneath, cracking. A curvy line is cut down
the street.
Opening credits and title sequence.
ACT I.
24 INT. BASEMENT SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Water is dripping down the walls, like in a typical basement. Zoom to cute rat sitting on boxes in
foreground. The rat squeaks. Zoom to background, crouched behind some boxes, Spike is stalking the
rat, crawling slowly toward it between the boxes.
SPIKE
No, no, no, no, no, no. Now is not the time. You know it. I know it. But making them understand… is a totally
different matter. No manners is the problem. Proper breeding. Lack of etiquette. All of it lacking. All of it lost
on them.
There’s a rumbling sound, then the ground starts to shake. Spike stands and looks around alarmed.
SPIKE
Not the time. Not hardly ready.
He starts to wince.
SPIKE
Stop. Please, mum! Begging now! Make it stop! Oh, God!
Spike holds his hands over his ears trying to block out the sounds. He screams in agony.
SPIKE
Ooh! Aaahhhh!
Cut to:
25 INT. XANDER’S CAR – DAY
Dawn is in the backseat of Xander’s four-door sedan. Xander’s driving, and Buffy is the passenger.
Xander is driving Buffy and Dawn to school.
DAWN
Could you die? ‘Cause, seriously, speaking for everybody who are me in the car right now, we’re very excited.
BUFFY
Well, I’m glad for all of you then.
DAWN
I mean, it’s just so cool. You’re coming to school with me. You’ll be, like, there the whole time. (pauses) You
understand you cannot talk to me, look at me, or hang out with any of my friends, right?
BUFFY
Look, I doubt we’ll be seeing each other, assuming I even half-understand my fuzzy job description.
DAWN
It’s not fuzzy. You’re, what, dealing with troubled kids?
XANDER
At a spanking new Hellmouth High. Please. Outside of drugs and violence and the unwanted pregnancy, and,
uh, unleashing of hordes of Armageddon that comes pouring out of the school’s foundation every now and then,
what trouble could these kids have?
BUFFY
Guess I’ll find out.
XANDER
Those kids are damn lucky having a slayer and a friend on campus there for ’em. I hope they appreciate it. I
know I did. (pauses) Days gone by, huh?
DAWN
I thought you hated Sunnydale.
XANDER
Yes, and no, with an emphasis on the yes. But, at least then I was dating.
BUFFY
You could be dating now.
XANDER
Yeah. Um, I don’t know what’s not clicking for me right now.
BUFFY
Well, there’s that thing with Anya.
XANDER
That leaving her at the altar thing?
BUFFY
Yeah, that one. That’s not something you bounce right back from.
XANDER
Sure it is. She bounced back to being a vengeance demon, and I bounced back to being a dateless nerd.
DAWN
Do you guys talk at all?
XANDER
I’ve seen her at the Bronze a couple of times. I guess there’s a lot of scorned women there, making vengeance
wishes on their exes.
BUFFY
(Southern accent) I know that’s where I go to get my scorn on.
DAWN
You guys need to really to ease up with the whole dating demons thing.
BUFFY
Uh, hello, I’m sorry. Wasn’t that you having the smooch-a-thon with teen vampire last Halloween?
DAWN
See, this is why I don’t want you talking to my friends. (sighs) Oh.
Cut to:
26 INT. BUFFY’S OFFICE AT SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Principal Wood is showing her around on her first day at work. Buffy has a cubicle near a hallway
window. They enter the office area from the hallway.
PRINCIPAL
We’ll sort of feel our way around. Some students will be sent to you, and others, I’m hoping, will start to come
in on their own.
BUFFY
What if they don’t? Should I panic?
PRINCIPAL
You’ll be surprised, Buffy. You’re the youngest, and, uh, least stuffy member of this faculty. I think the students
are gonna want to come in and talk to you. And when they do, don’t evaluate them. Just listen. They need to feel
like there’s someone around here who actually understands them.
While Buffy looks out the window nearest her cubicle, she gets an exciting idea.
BUFFY
Can I give detention?
PRINCIPAL
OK by me. A little authority can be a wonderful thing. Just remember that while you are here to help, you’re not
here to be their friend. Trust me, you open that door, and these students will eat you alive.
BUFFY
You heard about Principal Flutie, right?
PRINCIPAL
Hmm?
BUFFY
Forget it.
Buffy sits down at her desk and starts to get situated.
PRINCIPAL
OK then. And, Buffy, relax. There’s only three things these kids understand: the boot, the bat, and the bastinada.
(chuckles)
Buffy doesn’t laugh, but instead gives him a blank stare.
PRINCIPAL
It’s the… it’s a… it’s a bad joke. It’s the bastinada. No one ever knows what that thing is.
BUFFY
Wooden rod to slap the soles of the feet in Turkish prisons, but if made with the correct wood makes an
awesome Billy club.
PRINCIPAL
I think you’re gonna fit in just fine. Is there something else?
BUFFY
Um, yeah. Uh, just one more thing. (stands) I was, uh, just curious, you know, uh—not that I’m not grateful or
anything. But, uh, I guess I was wondering why I—
PRINCIPAL
Have this job?
BUFFY
I still haven’t finished college.
PRINCIPAL
I know.
BUFFY
Was it my sparkling personality? Or maybe you enjoyed my work at the Doublemeat Palace?
PRINCIPAL
I’m a vegetarian. These students need someone around here who understands them, and I need someone who
understands these students. Why? Is there something about you that I don’t know that maybe I should?
BUFFY
Nothing I can think of.
PRINCIPAL
Oh, if you’ll excuse me. First catch of the day. I’ll be in my office if you need me.
BUFFY
Thanks. I’m just gonna have a look around. Get to know the place. Make sure it’s all… school-like.
Cut to:
27 INT. HALLWAY SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Shot of the basement access door with a sign that says “Basement / No Student Access.”
Cut to:
28 INT. BASEMENT SUNNYDALE HIGH – DAY
Buffy is walking around in the dark empty basement looking for someone. She calls out to see if he is
there.
BUFFY
Spike?
She hears rats squeaking. There’s a noise. A metal door shuts. She calls out again to see who was there.
BUFFY
Spike?
Still no answer.
Cut to:
29 INT. MANOR IN ENGLISH COUNTRYSIDE – DAY
Willow is sitting on a suitcase in an exterior doorway, talking to Giles who walks up the interior hallway
toward her and leans with one arm on the doorjamb over her head. They are both facing the same
direction, looking out at the countryside.
TITLE CARD: Westbury, England
GILES
The taxi’s here.
WILLOW
I know.
GILES
And in keeping with a quaint old Birtish tradition, you would now be expected to get into it.
WILLOW
I don’t know if I can. Giles, I’m not done here.
Walks around to talk to her face-to-face, leans on the opposite doorjamb.
GILES
That’s your fear talking.
WILLOW
Yes, and my fear’s a big, obnoxious blabbermouth. You’re the one that keeps telling me to trust my instincts.
GILES
True.
WILLOW
So, shouldn’t we be listening? I don’t want to go back home just so I can screw up again. I Why don’t I stay? Not
forever. Just long enough to, I don’t know, make my fear shut up a little, maybe?
Taxi honks. Giles steps outside and waves to acknowledge it. He faces Willow again.
GILES
It’s possible, but… Try to be very specific. What exactly are you afraid of?
WILLOW
Well, for starters, how ’bout the hellmouth’s getting all rumbly again. And now I know it’s got teeth. And are
those literal teeth, ’cause I don’t know if I can handle it. And what if I can handle it? Does that mean I have to be
a bigger, badder badass than the source of all badness? And what if I give up all this control stuff and I go all
veiny and homicidal again? And what if—
GILES
They won’t take you back?
WILLOW
Uh-huh.
GILES
Willow, we could spend another two years here training and practicing and learning to hone your powers and
still there’d be no way of knowing for sure that the friends you left behind you are still your friends.
WILLOW
Well, sure. I mean, if you put it that way, duh.
GILES
I’d love to offer you some guarantee that you’d be welcomed back to Sunnydale with open arms, but I can’t. You
may not be wanted, but you will be needed.
WILLOW
That all you got?
GILES
For the moment, yes.
WILLOW
OK. I guess I’d better…
Willow stands. Giles picks up her suitcase and opens an umbrella.
GILES
Trust yourself, and the others might follow.
They walk out to the taxi.
Cut to:
30 EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET – NIGHT
Zoomed in on a Yorkie puppy on a string. It is being walked by its owner, who’s holding its leash and a
plastic grocery bag. The dog stops walking to smell something on the concrete sidewalk. There’s some
random rocks and gravel strewn on that part of the sidewalk. The dog growls and makes sounds of
displeasure at whatever it smells.
NANCY
Rocky, come on, do your business so I can go home.
Rocky growls.
NANCY
Could’ve gotten a cat, but no.
Rocky growls, then winces and yelps. Nancy turns to look, but a hole has suddenly appeared and Rocky has
disappeared into it. She is still holding onto his leash, and as a result she falls to the ground and is pulled along
the sidewalk toward the hole as the leash is pulled further into it. When her head is almost to the tiny hole
where the dog disappeared, a large piece of the sidewalk comes up in her face, broken and pushed up from
underground by something unseen. Then a monster rises from the ground in front of her. She gets up and runs
away as fast as she can, screaming, but bumps into Xander who is out for an evening stroll.
NANCY
Ahh!
XANDER
Uh, hello?
Cut to:
31 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Sitting between Xander and Dawn, Nancy is sitting on the sofa talking to Buffy.
NANCY
And whatever it was, it was big and strong. Stronger than…. I mean, I don’t know how it’s possible. You hear
thing in this town, living here in Sunnydale, but nobody actually believes them. You know, you’d have to be
crazy, and… You guys think that I’m crazy, don’t you?
XANDER
(scoffs) I don’t.
BUFFY
We’ve seen things, too, Nancy.
XANDER
(macho) And we’re going to take care of this. It’s your lucky night… considering, you know, your dog just got
all ate up and stuff… (caught himself) Hey, can I freshen up your tea?
NANCY
No, that’s OK. Thanks.
Xander is trying to impress this girl, but is frustrated at how stupid he’s acting around her. He shakes his head
in disgust.
DAWN
So, you say this thing just came up out of the ground without any warnings or signs or anything?
NANCY
Just this kind of rumbling, you know, like just before an earthquake.
BUFFY
From beneath you, it devours.
NANCY
What?
BUFFY
Nothing.
DAWN
Nothing good.
XANDER
Sounding monster-ific, all right.
DAWN
Should we round up the gang?
XANDER
Good thinking, except… this is the gang.
BUFFY
Look, Nancy, we’re going to get into this. And I promise you, if your dog is alive, we’re going to find him. The
only thing that I need is a little—
From the foyer, just outside the living room, a voice interrupts her.
SPIKE
What you need is help. Fortunately, you’ve got me.
Buffy looks shocked to see Spike here in her house, in front of her friends. Standing next to the French doors, he
is looking quite stylish, with his combed bleached hair slicked straight back again, and wearing new clothes.
He’s seeming quite confident and lucid, quite the opposite of how we last saw him in the basement.
Fade to black.
ACT II.
32 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Resume. Buffy is staring, slack-jawed, at Spike. He nods “hello” to her.
SPIKE
Buffy.
BUFFY
Spike.
Buffy gets up, walks across the room away from Spike, and looks out the window. She’s trying to gain her
composure.
NANCY
Who is that?
DAWN
He’s… it’s Buffy’s…
XANDER
Ex.
NANCY
And I’m thinking it’s a little more complicated than just that.
XANDER
Always is.
Buffy has gotten herself together and turns around to face Spike. Her voice is cool and emotionless.
BUFFY
You’ve changed.
SPIKE
I have.
BUFFY
New clothing. Better hair. Not so much with the crazy. I like it. Now what do you want?
SPIKE
Easy. If you think I like putting myself here, surrounded by people who don’t particularly like me, you’d be
wrong.
Xander stands up and speaks aggressively at Spike.
XANDER
If you’re uncomfortable, we can make you leave.
SPIKE
I’ll be quick. (to Buffy) We need to talk. Want to do that here, or privately?
XANDER
I’m thinking here, in the company of good friends and pointy weapons.
Nancy seems taken aback by all the tension in the room.
BUFFY
You said something about quick?
SPIKE
I did. Before I start, and for the record, the last you saw me, I was a mess—out of my head, admitted. Last
week, living in the school basement, well, you saw me.
Dawn looks disapprovingly from Spike to Buffy, and walks toward her. Xander is also looking shocked.
DAWN
You did?
BUFFY
Guys, just a second, OK. Yes, I saw Spike. I just didn’t—
DAWN
What? You just forgot to mention it?
BUFFY
Things were insane in the basement. I saved your life. We can discuss this later.
DAWN
Sure.
XANDER
(tenderly) Whatever you want.
DAWN
Right. ‘Cause that seems to be the only time you let us in, Buffy. Whenever you want.
SPIKE
Now, in fairness to Buffy—
XANDER
(shouting) Shut up, Spike!
Nancy again looks uncomfortable at being there for this scene.
BUFFY
(sighs). OK, guys. Give us a second.
Spike turns toward the foyer again, and Buffy follows.
Cut to:
33 INT. FOYER AT BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
They talk near the front door.
BUFFY
Do not start by saying you’re sorry.
SPIKE
I didn’t come here to atone.
BUFFY
Then what the hell do you want?
SPIKE
I’m here to help you.
BUFFY
Help me what?
SPIKE
I was hoping you’d tell me. You’re the slayer. (Buffy crosses her arms over her chest.) Connected to the visions.
Long line of worthies, right? I’m just a guy with his ear to the ground, and even I can feel it. Something’s
coming. I don’t know what exactly, but something’s brewing. And it’s so big, ugly and damned it makes you and
me look like little bitty puzzle pieces. I mean, if I’m wrong, say so. Lovely. No hard feelings. I’ll go out that
door and you can lock it behind me with any spell you like. So, am I wrong?
BUFFY
Everything about you is wrong, Spike.
Spike takes this as his cue to leave and begins toward the door. He stops when Buffy continues.
BUFFY
But something is coming.
SPIKE
You’re gonna need some help.
BUFFY
Since when did you become the champion of the people?
SPIKE
I didn’t. I’m just a guy who can lend a hand, if you’ll let me. Ball’s in your court, slayer.
Cut to:
34 INT. LIVING ROOM AT BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Everyone who was there before is still in the living room, except now they’re standing. Buffy comes into
the room, giving orders and ready to go. She’s putting on her jacket.
BUFFY
OK, we’re gonna split. Two pairs. Whatever this creature is, it’s burrowing through solid ground. That means a
strength and power that we don’t usually deal with, but we may have to get used to now that the hellmouth is
getting all perky.
Buffy opens the weapons chest.
NANCY
(whispering to Xander) Shouldn’t we call the police, or something?
XANDER
And tell them…?
NANCY
I’ll stop interrupting.
BUFFY
Xander, take Nancy home. Drive, don’t walk, and try not to stop ’til you get there.
NANCY
(to Xander) Is your girlfriend always this… commanding?
XANDER
Who? Buffy? Oh, no, no, no, no, no. See, uh, I mean, she’s a girl, and she’s a friend, but she’s not my girlfriend.
DAWN
Xander…
Xander turns to face Dawn. She gestures casually, brushing a finger on the side of her mouth.
DAWN
…a little drool.
He turns back to face Nancy and smiles a nervous laugh. Buffy is holding a large dagger and a flashlight.
BUFFY
Spike and I will check out the scene.
XANDER
OK, in the biggest way, I am not loving this plan. (to Buffy) I am not loving Spike. (whispering) He tried to
rape you.
BUFFY
And he failed. I know I can take him. Xander, take Nancy home. Spike and I will patrol.
DAWN
I’m command central, so everybody check in with me. OK, I’ll be here doing my homework, but the other one
sounded cooler.
BUFFY
(to Dawn) Be safe. (to Spike) Let’s go.
SPIKE
Righty-o, then.
Buffy leaves the room. Spike starts to follow, and passes Dawn, who speaks to him with a serious cold glare.
DAWN
Spike. You sleep, right? You. Vampires. You sleep.
SPIKE
Yeah. What’s your point, niblet?
DAWN
Well, I can’t take you in a fight or anything, even with a chip in your head. But you do sleep. If you hurt my
sister at all… touch her… you’re gonna wake up on fire.
Cut to:
35 EXT. NEIGHBORHOOD STREET – NIGHT
Buffy and Spike are patrolling, looking for the location where Nancy’s dog was abducted. They are
talking without a lot of eye contact.
SPIKE
You’re awfully quiet.
BUFFY
Wouldn’t know what to say.
SPIKE
Fine with me. I was more half-expecting to get an earful anyway. And when exactly did your sister get
unbelievably scary?
Buffy stops walking.
BUFFY
What are you doing?
Spike turns to look her in the eye.
SPIKE
What? I told you once, straight up, I’m here to help, and that’s all.
Spike changes the subject and turns to look away from her at the broken sidewalk.
SPIKE
Think this here is our spot?
BUFFY
How’d you guess?
SPIKE
I don’t fancy sticking my head in there.
BUFFY
Well, if something bites it off, that’d be a clue.
Spike looks at her and concedes to investigate the broken sidewalk further. He bends down on one knee with the
flashlight in hand to look inside the hole.
BUFFY
So, what happened to you?
Spike’s still all business, talking while looking around for clues.
SPIKE
When you saw me. Those ghostly types in the school basement got in my head. Made me flat-out, bug-shaggin’
crazy. And I’m not exactly braggin’ about it, but they were stronger than I was. Made me see things, do things.
He stops investigating, and looks her in the eyes.
SPIKE
And how come you never told anyone that you saw me?
BUFFY
I don’t know. I guess I was partly hoping you were some kind of mirage.
SPIKE
Sorry to disappoint.
BUFFY
Not your fault.
SPIKE
Hold the torch, would you?
He’s holding the flashlight toward her, but his hand and fingers are covering the shaft of the light in such a way
that she can’t take it from him without touching him. She takes it from him, and when they touch, she has
agonizing flashbacks of screaming and struggling during the attempted rape attack he made on her back in
episode 6×19 “Seeing Red”. Buffy is revolted; Spike is concerned.
BUFFY
Look, this… us working together—it’s not a way for us to get back together, if that’s what you want.
SPIKE
It’s not. Look, I can’t blame you for being all skittish.
BUFFY
Skittish? That’s not a word I would use for it. You tried to rape me. I don’t have the words.
SPIKE
Neither do I. I can’t say sorry. Can’t use forgive me. All I can say is: Buffy, I’ve changed.
BUFFY
I believe you.
SPIKE
Well, that’s something.
BUFFY
I just don’t know what you’ve changed into. You come back to town. You make with the big surprises. Twice. I
don’t know what your game is, Spike, but I know there’s something you’re not telling me.
SPIKE
You’re right. There is. (stands) But we’re not best friends anymore, so too bad for me. I’m not sharing. We’ve
been through things. The end of the world and back. I can be useful ’cause, honestly, I’ve got nothing better to
do. Make use of me if you want. (gesturing to the sidewalk)And there’s nothing here. Just a bit of slime.
Mounds of displaced dirt and such. Whatever our beastie is, he’s gone.
Spike walks off alone, back down the street in the direction from which they came.
Cut to:
36 INT. NANCY’S BUILDING – NIGHT
Xander is walking Nancy to the front door of her building. She unlocks it, and they enter.
NANCY
Boy, I still can’t believe this is happening. I mean even with this town’s reputation for, you know, unexplained
weirdness.
XANDER
(chuckles) Right. Sunnydale: come for the food, stay for the dismemberment.
NANCY
There’s good food? Well… Thanks. (clears throat) And that’s a couple of levels of lameness right there, me
saying “thanks” after everything you’ve done for me tonight.
XANDER
Well, you could slip me a twenty, but then I’d have to act all offended.
NANCY
Got it. So, um, you think I might instead give you a call sometime?
XANDER
Just to check in?
NANCY
No, actually, I’m hitting on you.
XANDER
Even better. I’m very listed.
NANCY
And I’m really pushy, so that works out well, then. Good night.
XANDER
Uh, Nancy…
The ground is rumbling and shaking.
XANDER
I just got a swell idea… run!
The glass in the front door shatters in toward them. Nancy screams. They run further into the building down the
hallway. Floor tiles are shattering and bursting up from the ground behind them as they flee. Finally, they go up
some stairs at the end of the hallway and fall to the ground. The monster bursts forth from the floor in front of
the stairs. It’s a long, pink, cylindrical, and slightly phallic-shaped creature with four jaws full of sharp, pointy
teeth. It’s roaring and screeching and its jaws are snapping as it lunges for Xander and Nancy. They wait it out
together, and finally, it retreats into the ground.
XANDER
You OK?
NANCY
I just…
XANDER
Dumb question. Are you injured? Are you hurt?
NANCY
I don’t think so. I just—I don’t think I can take any more of this.
XANDER
Two attacks in the same night. I’m starting to think it’s not coincidence.
NANCY
Oh, sure. Why not? A monster trying to kill me. It’s just the thing that was missing to make my life absolutely
perfect. Uhh! Ronnie would love this. Boy!
XANDER
Right. Who’s Ronnie?
NANCY
Oh, um, only my psycho ex-boyfriend that I’ve been trying to get rid of for the past few weeks. I almost prefer
the monster. Ronnie was, um… trouble.
XANDER
Uh-huh. And I’m just curious. Was this Ronnie guy a borrowing money kind of trouble or was he a raising
demon trouble kind of guy?
NANCY
Ronnie? He couldn’t. He just… “he was an abusive bastard” is the catchy headline. And he’d just show up, even
after… you know the feeling that you get when your ex is constantly ruining every part of your life, and it just
doesn’t stop?
XANDER
Yes.
NANCY
And you get so tired of feeling helpless that all you can do is just wish that it would stop?
XANDER
Wish?
Cut to:
37 INT. BRONZE NIGHT CLUB – NIGHT
Anya, stirring her mixed drink, is sharing a table with a young woman she met at the club.
YOUNG WOMAN
And it’s not the fact that he cheated, it’s the way he cheated, you know? I mean, we could have talked. I could
have handled it.
ANYA
Uh-huh. Uh-huh, I get it. Go on.
YOUNG WOMAN
You know what he is? He’s spineless. Yeah, that’s it. He’s—he’s like this spineless little pig. And you know what
I wish?
ANYA
God, do I want to.
Fade to black.
ACT III.
38 INT. BRONZE NIGHT CLUB – NIGHT
Resume.
ANYA
You were saying…
YOUNG WOMAN
Um, I want more quesadillas.
ANYA
Before that.
YOUNG WOMAN
A margarita.
ANYA
After that.
YOUNG WOMAN
Oh, yeah. God, my boyfriend’s spineless, and he should just—you know, he should just be spineless for real.
ANYA
No spine. Got it. I can do that.
YOUNG WOMAN
What do you mean?
ANYA
See, honey, what I’m driving us towards here is sometimes, don’t you just wish that— Oh, penis!
Sees that Xander has walked in with Nancy, Buffy, and Spike in tow.
XANDER
(to Nancy) Is this the one you talked to?
Nancy nods.
ANYA
(to young woman) I tell you what—why don’t we put a pin in it? Why don’t you get yourself a drink, and we’ll
pick it up in a few, OK?
Buffy, Spike, Xander and Nancy crowd around Anya’s table while the other girl leaves.
ANYA
You guys, I am working here.
BUFFY
We noticed.
SPIKE
That’s why we’re here.
XANDER
Riiiight. Did you turn this nice lady’s ex into a giant worm-monster?
ANYA
(laughs) Yes.
NANCY
No way. Are you saying that thing was Ronnie?
ANYA
You wish it, I dish it. I thought we were clear on this. I didn’t think you were going to go all narc on me.
BUFFY
You wished your ex was a worm?
NANCY
Well, we were just talking.
XANDER
Anya has a way of making things happen.
ANYA
I had a quota; the guy had it coming. What’s the big?
NANCY
I think I’m gonna be sick.
BUFFY
Anya, that thing you created burst through solid pavement and ate her dog.
ANYA
(squeaks) Ooh, puppy!
XANDER
Wait, that gets your sad noise? People’s lives are in danger, and you give it up for the Yorkie?
ANYA
You never understood me, Xander.
NANCY
Xander, who is this woman?
XANDER
Anya, she’s, um, Anya. My ex.
NANCY
Oh.
ANYA
Hey, nobody’s bragging here.
Anya gets up from the table and starts to walk off. Spike steps up to her to stop her from leaving by grabbing her
upper arms.
SPIKE
Ah, ah, ah…
ANYA
Hey, hands off the merchandise. Spike, you don’t get to go there again.
SPIKE
Please. I’ve already forgotten about our little time together.
NANCY
I thought you were Xander’s ex-girlfriend.
ANYA
I am.
NANCY
But you and Spike…
ANYA
Had a thing.
SPIKE
Didn’t last.
NANCY
But weren’t you Buffy—
SPIKE
Briefly.
BUFFY
Never serious.
NANCY
Is there anyone here that hasn’t slept together?
Xander and Spike exchange a glance and then look away from each other too quickly. Spike rolls his eyes.
ANYA
Look, at least we’re all bipeds, which is more than I can say for Ronnie, the worm boy.
BUFFY
OK, guys, can we focus here for just a second? Anya, this is Ronnie. OK? He wasn’t a worm. (gestures three
inches with her thumb and forefinger) Worms are like this big. (gesturing with her hands apart) This thing was
like —
SPIKE
Sluggoth demon. Am I right?
ANYA
(sighs, rolls eyes) Maybe.
NANCY
Wait, I didn’t wish for that. I mean, I don’t even know what this whatchamacallit demon thing is.
SPIKE
Sluggoth demon. It’s a very large, very nasty, natural predator who died around the crusades.
ANYA
Same phylum. It’s not cheating, I just embellished.
XANDER
Well, you can un-embellish now.
ANYA
Bite me, Harris. I have rules to work with. Vengeance demon codes of conduct. But you’ll never understand
’cause you’re all still so… human.
Spike steps up to Anya and gets in her face.
SPIKE
I’m not. Demon, just like yourself, Anya. Now, you’re gonna turn the spell around like a good little vengeance
demon or I—- what?
Anya stares into Spike’s eyes with a look of astonishment.
ANYA
Oh, my God!
SPIKE
What are you staring at?
ANYA
Oh, my God!
SPIKE
Right. Let’s go.
Spike tries to walk away, but Anya grabs hold of his forearm.
ANYA
How did you do it?
BUFFY
Spike, what is she talking about?
ANYA
I can see you.
SPIKE
Nothing. Let’s go. Got some worm hunting to do.
Spike tries again to leave, but Anya is being insistent.
ANYA
How did you do it?
SPIKE
Shut up.
ANYA
You shouldn’t be allowed to.
SPIKE
Shut your mouth!
ANYA
I mean, how did you get it?
SPIKE
I said you shut up!
Spike punches Anya in the face with his free arm. She falls to the floor. Nancy leaves. Anya kicks Spike across
the room. He lands on the pool table. When she gets back up again, she is in demon face. Spike is not.
ANYA
I am so gonna kick your ass.
Spike gets up off the pool table, fully ready to engage Anya in a fight.
SPIKE
Right, bitch. Round and round we—
But Buffy cuts him off by grabbing his arm and turning him to face her. He is in demon face now.
BUFFY
You haven’t changed, Spike.
Buffy punches him in the face. He punches back. They continue to fight. Buffy is angry, and Spike is being an
ass, goading her. He’s not fighting back anymore.
SPIKE
Working out some personal issues, are we? (Buffy punches and kicks him). Hey, I guess this would be first
contact since, uh, you know when. Ooh, up for another round up on the balcony, then? (She hits him again, and
he lands on the floor; he laughs) Right you are, luv. I haven’t changed. Not a lick. (He’s in her face now.) And
watching your face trying to figure me out was absolutely delicious.
XANDER
Buffy!
BUFFY
Not now, Xander.
XANDER
Nancy. She’s gone. And out there all alone, she’s worm bait.
BUFFY
I’ll go find her. Stay with Anya. Get her to reverse that spell.
SPIKE
Hey, is that it? A little touchy-feely, and then you’re off to the bat poles?
Buffy leaves the Bronze.
Cut to:
39 EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT
Nancy is walking home from the Bronze alone on a deserted street.
NANCY
Freaks. Why do I always surround myself with freaks?
She hears a rumbling from behind her. The worm demon has found her and is closing in. The street behind her
is rupturing from underneath, the asphalt is crumbling. It’s getting closer now.
NANCY
Oh, God. Oh, God.
She tries to get into a building, but it’s locked.
NANCY
Help! Somebody help me!
She climbs the fire escape ladder, she looks down, and the rumbling stops. She’s relieved and tries to catch her
breath. Then the building starts to shake, and the ladder starts to fall off the brick building it’s attached to.
Nancy screams.
NANCY
Oh, help me! Help me!
Buffy sees her from the rooftop and runs to her. Spike is also running along the rooftops behind Buffy.
Cut to:
40 INT. BRONZE NIGHT CLUB – NIGHT
Xander is talking to Anya.
ANYA
What do you want me to do?
XANDER
Reverse the spell.
ANYA
It’s not that easy, Xander.
XANDER
You can do it.
ANYA
Yeah, sure, the spell part. What about me? I’m in enough trouble as it is. Halfrek’s all over my case. D’Hoffrin is
not pleased with my work. You don’t want to see him angry. Trust me.
XANDER
Nice friends you got.
ANYA
Nice friends I had. Chums. Coworkers. Bridesmaids. Oh, I had the whole package until something fell apart.
What could that be, Xander?
XANDER
You saying this was my fault?
ANYA
All I’m saying is none of this happened until you dumped me at the altar.
XANDER
And sooner or later, Anya, that excuse just stops working.
Cut to:
41 EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT
Nancy is still trying to climb the ladder. The worm demon makes another bang against the building’s
foundation, and Nancy falls off. Buffy swings in from the rooftops on a rope, catches Nancy, and lets go
when they are over a cushioned place to land (flattened cardboard boxes). They are on the ground now.
They walk around to assess the situation, but the worm demon comes up out of the ground next to Buffy.
She’s about to attack it when Spike lands behind her and rips a pipe off the wall.
SPIKE
You’ve had your turn, luv. Leave the real violence to the demons, yeah?
He rears back with the pipe in hand and beats the worm demon with it.
SPIKE
That’s right. Big bad’s back, and looking for a little death!
Then he steps back dramatically, holding the pipe like a deadly spear and plunges it into the worm demon right
as it turns back into the naked, vulnerable human, Ronnie. Ronnie and Spike scream. Spike clutches his head,
and then has a look of horror on his face realizing what he has inadvertently done.
Fade to black.
ACT IV.
42 EXT. CITY STREET – NIGHT
Resume.
RONNIE
Ow!
SPIKE
(sincerely) I’m sorry.
Spike cocks his head and removes the spear from Ronnie. Buffy runs to Ronnie’s aid with a blanket. Spike holds
the spear with both hands and looks at it, talking to himself.
SPIKE
Right. Wrong. All wrong. Wrong maneuver. Not hardly helpful.
Nancy walks over to Ronnie.
SPIKE
God, please help me. (screaming, to Buffy) Help me!
BUFFY
You’re not the one who needs help. He’s going into shock.
Buffy dials 9-1-1 while Spike mumbles under his breath.
SPIKE
No. No. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. (more inaudible
rambling) …inside me all the way.
BUFFY
(into phone) Yeah, I need an ambulance. Someone’s been stabbed. (pause) Oh, God, uh, corner of Third and
Fairview. (to Ronnie) OK, help is coming. Try not to move.
Spike taps his chest.
SPIKE
Deep, deep, deep inside me.
BUFFY
Look, Spike, whatever you’re doing—
SPIKE
(addressing someone who’s not there) Get away. Get. Uhh—
BUFFY
Do it somewhere else. I am through with this.
SPIKE
Oh, oh, lucky girl. Call it quits. Now, there’s an option. If only it were so easy. If only— If only— If only—
(addressing someone who’s not there) What the hell are you screaming about? I can hear you. No need to
(screams) SHOUT!
While saying shout, Spike’s voice and face change into a scream of agony; he’s bends over in pain. He stands up
and laughs, still holding the pipe.
SPIKE
I get it. The joke’s on me. Lots of laughs. (twirling the pipe slowly, like a baton) Yeah. Hey, bring the wife and
kiddies. Come see the show ’cause it’s going to be a circus. This… (walks toward Buffy and kneels in front of
her) just the beginning, luv. A warm-up act. The real headliner’s coming, and when that band hits the stage, all
of this… (stands up and gestures to the buildings around them) all this… will come tumbling in death and
screaming, horror and bloodshed. (points to Ronnie) From beneath you, it devours. From beneath… (starts to
cry, and looks away) Poor Rocky.
Spike is all choked up. At first, he’s crying but then starts to gag. He runs away down the alley, leaving Buffy
there with Ronnie and Nancy. Xander comes running to them, and Anya is following, sauntering slowly.
XANDER
Buffy!
NANCY
You. You did this. What are you?
Nancy sighs and walks away. Buffy takes off her jacket and folds it up into a pillow that she puts under Ronnie’s
head.
XANDER
She’s not calling me.
Buffy stands and hands Xander her cell phone.
BUFFY
OK. Help is on the way. Look after him.
Buffy runs off down the alley after Spike.
XANDER
Where you goin’?
Anya, frowning, steps toward Ronnie.
XANDER
You did the right thing here.
ANYA
Tell him that.
XANDER
You reversed the spell. It took guts. I know this is bad, but it could be worse.
ANYA
Oh, it will be.
Cut to:
43 EXT. CEMETERY – NIGHT
Buffy is walking through a moonlit cemetery alone, looking around for Spike. She sees the chapel, with
lanterns lighting the front door. She heads toward it.
Cut to:
44 INT. CHAPEL AT CEMETERY – NIGHT
An oval painting on the wall is lit with moonlight streaming into the small chapel. It appears to be a
medieval painting of Mary holding baby Jesus and standing in front of a fringed white drape. Zoom
down to Buffy walking through the front door. The chapel is set up with a dozen wooden pews arranged
on either side of a central aisle. There is a large, simple, gothic crucifix at the front of the chapel that can
be seen by looking directly down the central aisle. Buffy looks around. There are three stained glass
arched windows on each sidewall of the chapel. She walks forward and jumps when Spike speaks to her
from the shadows behind her.
SPIKE
Hello.
BUFFY
What the hell are you—?
Spike is bare-chested, holding his shirt out to her.
SPIKE
It didn’t work. Costume. Didn’t help. Couldn’t hide.
BUFFY
No more mind games, Spike.
Spike is looking down at the ground even though he is standing right in front of her.
SPIKE
No more mind games. No more mind.
Buffy reaches for his chest, where the scars seen in episode 7×01 “Lessons” are healing.
BUFFY
Tell me what happened to you.
Spike flinches, recoils violently, and looks her into her eyes.
SPIKE
Hey, hey, hey! No touching. Am I flesh? Am I flesh to you? Feed on flesh. My flesh. Nothing else. Not a spark.
(nods) Oh, fine. Flesh then. Solid through. (starts unzipping his pants) Get it hard; service the girl.
Buffy is disgusted and smacks his hands away from his pants.
BUFFY
Stop it!
Spike reflexively reaches up and grabs her by the throat. Buffy grabs his shoulder and throws him across the
room. Spike lands on top of some pews, breaking them into pieces. He sits up a little, propped on his elbows
behind him.
SPIKE
Right. Girl doesn’t want to be serviced. Because there’s no spark. Ain’t we in a soddin’ engine?
Spike’s looking around the room. Buffy walks over to him.
BUFFY
Spike, have you completely lost your mind?
SPIKE
(lucidly) Well, yes. Where’ve you been all night?
BUFFY
You thought you would just come back here and… be with me?
SPIKE
First time for everything.
BUFFY
This is all you get. I’m listening. Tell me what happened.
SPIKE
I tried to find it, of course.
BUFFY
Find what?
SPIKE
The spark. The missing… the piece that fit. That would make me fit. Because you didn’t want… (starts to cry)
God, I can’t… Not with you looking.
Spike stands and walks away to a nearby window. He stands there, mostly in shadow, his body directed away
from her. He looks back over his shoulder at her.
SPIKE
I dreamed of killing you.
Keeping an eye on him, Buffy bends down to pick up a large splinter from the broken pews at her feet to use as a
stake, if necessary. Spike starts pacing.
SPIKE
I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak, thinking of you, holding myself, and spilling
useless buckets of salt over your… ending? Angel—he should’ve warned me. He makes a good show of
forgetting, but it’s here, in me, all the time. (walks around toward her from behind) The spark. I wanted to give
you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.
Buffy’s face shows shock, disbelief and, finally, comprehension.
BUFFY
Your soul.
SPIKE
(laughs) Bit worse for lack of use.
Buffy turns to face him.
BUFFY
You got your soul back. How?
SPIKE
It’s what you wanted, right? (looking at the ceiling) It’s what you wanted, right? (presses his fingers to his
temples, looks down, and walks toward the altar). And—and now everybody’s in here, talking. Everything I
did…everyone I— and him… and it… the other, the thing beneath—beneath you. It’s here too. Everybody. They
all just tell me go… go… (looks back over his shoulder to Buffy) to hell.
BUFFY
Why? Why would you do that—
SPIKE
Buffy, shame on you. Why does a man do what he mustn’t? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who
would nev— (looks away) to be a kind of man.
Spike walks toward the 6-foot-tall crucifix altarpiece at the front of the chapel. Sounds like he’s quoting
something.
SPIKE
She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved.
Spike’s standing only a foot away from the crucifix, staring at it.
SPIKE
So everything’s OK, right? (sighs)
Spike embraces the crucifix, resting one arm over each side of the cross bar, and resting his head in the corner
of the vertex. His body is sizzling and smoke is rising from where it touches the cross.
SPIKE
Can—can we rest now? Buffy…can we rest?
A close-up of Buffy’s face shows that she is crying now. From where she stands, Spike’s exhausted body hanging
limply on the cross resembles Jesus (except the view is of Spike’s back).
Cut to:
Closing credits.
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