Beneath You
(Frankfurt, Germany – Nightclub)
(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. Zoom back up to the third floor where we can see through the glass hallway. Zoom inside.)
(Parking Garage)
(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 7x01 "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.
(Sunnydale – Summers Residence – Night)
(Buffy screams. 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. (She and Dawn get up off the bed and go to look out the window, frowning sadly.) And they're gonna die.
(Residential Street)
(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.)
(Sunnydale High School – Basement)
(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.) Not the time. Not hardly ready. (He starts to wince.) 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.) Ooh! Aaahhhh!
(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.
(Sunnydale High – Principal’s Office)
(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 Wood: 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 Wood: 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 Wood: 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 Wood: Hmm?
Buffy: Forget it.
(Buffy sits down at her desk and starts to get situated.)
Principal Wood: OK then. And, Buffy, relax. There's only three things these kids understand: the boot, the bat, and the bastinada. (He chuckles. Buffy doesn't laugh, but instead gives him a blank stare.) 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 Wood: 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 Wood: Have this job?
Buffy: I still haven't finished college.
Principal Wood: I know.
Buffy: Was it my sparkling personality? Or maybe you enjoyed my work at the Doublemeat Palace?
Principal Wood: 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 Wood: 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.
(Hallway)
(Shot of the basement access door with a sign that says "Basement / No Student Access.")
(Basement)
(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.) Spike?
(Still no answer.)
(Westbury, England – 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.)
Giles: The taxi's here.
Willow: I know.
Giles: And in keeping with a quaint old British tradition, you would now be expected to get into it.
Willow: I don't know if I can. Giles, I'm not done here.
(She 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 bad ass 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.)
(Sunnydale – Residential 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.) 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?
(Summers Residence – Living Room)
(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. 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.)
(Foyer)
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.) 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.
(Living Room)
(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.) ...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. (Everyone turns to look at her.) 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.
(Residential Street)
(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. (He changes the subject and turns to look away from her at the broken sidewalk.) 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.) 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.) 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 the episode "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.)
(Nancy’s Apartment Building)
(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.) 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 okay?
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?
(The Bronze)
(Anya, stirring her mixed drink, is sharing a table with a young woman she met at the club.)
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.
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. You were saying...
Woman: Um, I want more quesadillas.
Anya: Before that.
Woman: A margarita.
Anya: After that.
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.
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.) 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.)
(Downtown Street)
(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.) Oh, God. Oh, God. (She tries to get into a building, but it's locked.) 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.) Oh, help me! Help me!
(Buffy sees her from the rooftop and runs to her. Spike is also running along the rooftops behind Buffy.)
(The Bronze)
(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.
(Downtown Street)
(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.) 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.)
Ronnie: Ow!
Spike: (sincerely) I'm sorry. (He 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.) Right. Wrong. All wrong. Wrong maneuver. Not hardly helpful. (Nancy walks over to Ronnie.) 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.) 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.) 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.
(Cemetery)
(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.)
(Chapel)
(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 the episode "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) 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.) 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. (He walks toward the 6-foot-tall crucifix altarpiece at the front of the chapel. Sounds like he's quoting something.) She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved. (He’s standing only a foot away from the crucifix, staring at it.) So everything's OK, right? (He sighs and 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.) 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.)
Season Seven Guide
