Fool For Love

(Cemetery – Night)
(All is quiet. Suddenly Buffy knocks a Vampire dressed in rocker clothes to the ground.)
Buffy: You know, it's probably none of my business but I just gotta ask... (The vampire lunges at her and she backhands it.) You smell this bad when you were alive? (She kicks the vampire into a headstone.) 'Cause if it's a post-mortem thing, then boy, is my face red... (She flips him over the headstone and whips out a stake.) But just so you know, the fast-growing field of personal grooming has come a long way since you became a vampire.
(Buffy somersaults over the headstone, stake raised and ready to strike. But the vampire seizes her arm as she lands, spins her around and plunges the stake into Buffy's abdomen. Her eyes go wide with shock and pain as she looks down at the stake protruding from her body. She grips the shaft and, with a gasp of pain, pulls it out. Her sweater is soaked with her blood. Buffy turns and flees, trying to escape the vampire. Her wound slows her, however, and she casts terrified glances over her shoulder. Suddenly, the vampire leaps in front of her and she stops with a gasp, looking around desperately for an escape route.)
Rocker Vampire: You're going? But you were having so much fun a minute ago!
(Buffy brings the stake up but the creature easily knocks it from her grasp and tosses her against a nearby crypt. She doubles over in pain as the vampire picks up her stake and approaches with a predatory grin. As the vampire raises the stake for the killing blow, he's suddenly tackled to the ground by Riley. He rains blows down on the demon and takes out a taser but the vampire knocks it from his hand before he can use it and takes off across the graveyard. Riley is about to give chase when he notices Buffy's obvious distress and rushes to her aid.)
Riley: Buffy! What happened?
(She holds up her bloody hands, then collapses in arms, unconscious.)

(Summers Residence – Buffy’s Room – Day)
(Riley is applying first aid and dressing Buffy's wound.)
Buffy: I can't believe I passed out. Do you think I'm a total wuss now?
Riley: Oh, yeah. I like a girl who can play a few hard sets of tennis with a major stab wound.
Buffy: You said it wasn't that bad.
Riley: I said I've seen worse. There's a difference.
Buffy: Well, at least no major organs got kebabed.
Riley: I still think you need to see a real doctor.
Buffy: That would put me in a real hospital which would get my real mom real freaked out. I can't do it. Don't worry. Accelerated healing powers come with the Slayer package. And the boyfriend who comes complete with combat medical training? That's just a Buffy Summers bonus.
Riley: So tell me about the bad guy- or guys. What do you think they were?
Buffy: Vampire.
Riley: How many?
Buffy: One.
Riley: (surprised) So... what? He was like a super-vampire or something?
Buffy: No, he was the regular kind. He just beat me.
Riley: That ever happen before?
Buffy: I'm in the best physical shape of my life. I mean, if you're asking how it happened, I don't- (The door flies open and Dawn runs in.) Dawn!
Dawn: Sorry to interrupt the sex-capades. I just wanted to tell you that Mom's coming.
(Riley hides the bandages and tape just as Joyce enters the room.)
Joyce: Hi, Riley.
Riley: Hey, Mrs. Summers. How're you feeling?
Joyce: I'm fine, bordering on chipper and tomorrow planning on being obnoxious.
Riley: (smiles) Glad to hear it.
Joyce: Buffy, when you have a minute I'd like to go over the grocery list for next week.
Buffy: You got it.
Joyce: (re: alcohol) Are you disinfecting something?
Buffy: Huh? Oh, uh-
Dawn: Mine! Some nail polish experiments are doomed before they even begin.
Joyce: But you keep pushing the envelope, honey.
(Joyce smiles and leaves, closing the bedroom door behind her.)
Dawn: (smiles; to Buffy) Did I just pull a Slayer-related Mom cover-up thing? Come on, who's the man?
Buffy: You are. A very short, annoying man. (Stung, Dawn's smile fades.) If I show you something, you promise you won't tell?
(Dawn crosses her heart and Buffy lifts her shirt to reveal the bandaged stab wound. Dawn is awed.)
Dawn: Oh, cool! (off Buffy's look) I mean, gross!
Buffy: And Mom cannot know. Okay? You'll help me with the household stuff?
Dawn: Oh, sure. I save your butt and you dump all your chores on me. (off Buffy's look) I got it. You're covered. We're good. Just lucky it's not bikini season.
(Buffy smiles and strokes Dawn's hair.)
Riley: So Dawn takes household duty. I'll take tonight's patrol.
Buffy: By yourself?
Riley: Just a sweep.
Buffy: Do me a favor? Will you take the gang along with?
Riley: Okay. I will patrol with the group tonight.
Dawn: When do I get to patrol?
Buffy: Not until you're never.

(Cemetery – Night)
(Riley moves stealthily among the headstones, ducking from shadow to shadow. He pauses behind a large marble slab and raises his arm, fist closed, and pumps it up and down twice before moving further into the cemetery. Willow, Xander, and Anya follow about twenty yards behind him, munching potato chips and making no effort to conceal themselves.)
Xander: (to Willow) What's with the hand move? Does that like mean something?
Willow: It's code. I think it breaks down to "choo-choo". (She mimics pulling a train whistle.)
Anya: It means to follow him. That, or wait here for him.
(They watch Riley's covert movements for a moment, then Willow turns to Xander.)
Willow: Ask.
Xander: (yells) Hey, Riley! What's the (hand gesture) all about?
Riley: (exasperated) It means yell real loud so the vampires who don't know we're coming will have a sporting chance.
Xander: (to Willow) See, now he's all mean and sarcastic.
Willow: That's because you were doing all the yelling, Mr. Stealthy-Pants.
Anya: (to Riley) It's their fault.
Riley: Guys, I'm thinking if we split up, we could cover more ground. Tell you what? I'll take the cemeteries, you guys get the Bronze.
Anya: Are we not being covert enough?
Xander: We're sorry!
Willow: Sorry.
Xander: We'll be sneakier. Promise.
(He munches loudly on a handful of chips.)
Riley: Okay. Just ditch the chips and watch my back.
Willow: Done.
(She reaches into the bag and grabs a handful of chips herself before setting the bag down. Riley moves off into the cemetery again.)
Xander: (to Anya) You know what he's like? He's like a cat. You know, a big jungle cat. How come I'm not like that? It's just so cool.
Willow: (munching) I think you're cool.

(The Magic Box – Night)
(The reading table is piled high with books. Giles and Buffy are into some deep research.)
Giles: Here's another one. Early 18th Century Slayer.
(Buffy closes her book with a sigh and sets it on the stack.)
Buffy: Good. Let's hope she'll be more helpful than this last one.
Giles: Why? What does it say?
Buffy: Same as all the others. Slayer called... blah, blah... great protector... blah, blah... scary battles... blah, blah... oops! She's dead. Where are the details?
Giles: Details? Well, it says this Slayer forged her own weapons.
(He hands the book to Buffy.)
Buffy: Gotta love a gal with an anvil. But where are the details of the Slayer's last battle? You know, what made that fight special? Why did she lose?
Giles: You didn't lose last night, Buffy. You just-
Buffy: Got really close. I slipped up, Giles. I've been training harder than ever and still I... (beat) And there's nothing in any of these books to help me understand why. I mean... look, I realize that every Slayer comes with an expiration mark on the package. But I want mine to be a long time from now. Like a Cheeto. If there were just a few good descriptions of what took out the other Slayers, maybe it would help me to understand my mistake, to keep it from happening again.
Giles: Yes, well, the problem is after a final battle, it's difficult to get any... well, the Slayer's not... she's rather...
Buffy: It's okay to use the D-word, Giles.
Giles: Dead. And hence not very forthcoming.
Buffy: Why didn't the Watchers keep fuller accounts of it? The journals just stop.
Giles: Well, I suppose if they're anything like me, they just find the whole subject too-
Buffy: Unseemly? Damn. Love ya but you Watchers are such prigs sometimes.
Giles: Painful... I was going to say. (Buffy and Giles share a meaningful look.) But you're right. Accounts of the final battles would be very helpful. But there's no one left to tell the tales. (Buffy has a sudden revelation.) What?

(Spike’s Crypt)
(Buffy shoves Spike against the wall and holds him there.)
Spike: Ow! (beat) Wait. Not ow. You feeling all right, Slayer? This stuff usually hurts.
(Buffy spins him around to face her.)
Buffy: Don't even start, Spike.
Spike: What do you want?
Buffy: Slayers. You killed two of them.
Spike: (wary) I did.
Buffy: You're gonna show me how.

(The Bronze)
(Spike and Buffy sit at a corner table. Spike greedily drains a mug of beer while Buffy stoically watches.)
Spike: You know, there quite a few American beers that are highly underrated. This unfortunately is not one of them.
Buffy: Update, Spike. We're not here to discuss the fine choice of hops. It's about two Slayers: one in China during the Boxer Rebellion, one in New York. (She holds up a wad of cash and snatches it back as he tries to grab for it.) Both got killed by you. Tell the tale, you get the cash.
Spike: Right. You want to learn all about how I bested the Slayers and you want to learn fast. Right, then. We fought. I won. The end. Pay up.
Buffy: That's not what I-
Spike: What did you want, eh? A quick demo? A blow-for-blow description you can map out and memorize? It's not about the moves, love. And since I agreed to your little proposition, we can do this my way. Wings.
Buffy: What?
Spike: Spicy buffalo wings. Order me up a plate. I'm feelin' peckish.
(Buffy sighs and turns to signal a waitress.)
Buffy: Excuse me-
(The movement aggravates her injury and she winces in pain.)
Spike: As I thought. Some nasty thing got a taste of you.
Buffy: Don't get all excited. I'm fine.
Spike: Oh, right. Stuck in a dark corner with a creature you loathe, diggin' up past uglies, 'cause you're fine.
Buffy: Just tell me what I want to know.
Spike: I told you. No one's narrating on an empty stomach here.
(Buffy shakes her head in exasperation.)
Buffy: Were you born this big a pain in the ass?
Spike: What can I tell you, baby? I've always been bad.

(London – 1880)
(Victorian Parlor – Night)
(A very different Spike is sitting and composing poetry off in the corner of a dinner party. The spirited laughter of the party-goers can be heard in the background. Spike's hair is long and unruly and he's dressed as a proper gentleman, complete with tie and reading spectacles. He's awkward and bookish- none of the confident swagger we're used to.)
Spike: (to himself) Luminous... oh, no, no, no. Irradiant's better.
(A waiter approaches and holds out a tray.)
Waiter: Care for an hors d'oeuvre, sir?
Spike: Oh, quickly! I'm the very spirit of vexation. What's another word for "gleaming"? It's a perfectly perfect word as many words go but the bother is nothing rhymes, you see.
(The waiter smiles patronizingly and moves off into the crowd. Spike's eyes are drawn to Cecily, young woman just entering the party.)
Spike: Cecily...
(He turns back to his poem with renewed purpose and jots down several more lines, then gets up and moves through the crowd toward her.)

(Sitting Room)
(A group of young Aristocrats- a woman and her two male companions- are gathered, discussing current events.)
Aristocrat1: I mean to point out that it's something of a mystery and the police should keep an open mind.
(One of the men turns to Spike as he passes by.)
Aristocrat2: (to Spike) Ah, William! Favor us with your opinion. What do you make of this rash of disappearances sweeping through our town? Animals or thieves?
Spike: (haughty) I prefer not to think of such dark, ugly business at all. That's what the police are for. (looks at Cecily) I prefer placing my energies into creating things of beauty.
(The third aristocrat snatches the poem from Spike's hands.)
Aristocrat3: I see. Well, don't withhold, William.
Aristocrat1: Rescue us from a dreary topic.
Spike: (to Aristocrat #3) Careful. The inks are still wet. Please, it's not finished.
Aristocrat3: Don't be shy. (reads) "My heart expands/'tis grown a bulge in it/inspired by your beauty, effulgent." (laughs) Effulgent?
(Everyone laughs, mocking Spike. Uncomfortable, Cecily glances at Spike and walks off. Spike shoots Aristocrat #3 a sour look, snatches back his poem, and follows her.)
Aristocrat2: And that's actually one of his better compositions.
Aristocrat1: Have you heard? They call him William the Bloody because of his bloody awful poetry!
Aristocrat3: It suits him. I'd rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff!

(Parlor)
(Spike approaches Cecily who is sitting on a sofa, away from the main party, and looking out the window.)
Spike: Cecily?
(She turns and sighs when she sees him.)
Cecily: Oh. Leave me alone.
Spike: (re: other guests) Oh, they're vulgarians. They're not like you and I.
Cecily: You and I? I'm going to ask you a very personal question and I demand an honest answer. Do you understand? (Spike nods.) Your poetry, it's... they're... not written about me, are they?
Spike: They're about how I feel.
Cecily: Yes, but are they about me?
Spike: Every syllable.
Cecily: Oh, God!
Spike: Oh, I know... it's sudden and... please, if they're no good, they're only words but... the feeling behind them... I love you, Cecily.
Cecily: Please stop!
Spike: I know I'm a bad poet but I'm a good man and all I ask is that... that you try to see me-
Cecily: I do see you. That's the problem. You're nothing to me, William. You're beneath me.
(She stands and walks off, leaving Spike devastated and alone.)

(London Street – Night)
(Spike staggers down the street in tears, ripping up his poems as he goes. He bumps into a passerby and drops the pages.)
Spike: Watch where you're going!
(He gathers up the torn sheets and makes his way toward a nearby alleyway.)

(Alley)
(Spike is sitting on a bale of hay and finishing the job of destroying his poetry. He looks up at the sound of a woman's voice to find Drusilla standing serenely in the dark alley with him.)
Drusilla: And I wonder... what possible catastrophe came crashing down from heaven and brought this dashing stranger to tears?
Spike: Nothing. I wish to be alone.
Drusilla: Oh, I see you. A man surrounded by fools who cannot see his strength, his vision, his glory. (beat) That and burning baby fish swimming all around your head.
(Spike backs away from her, nervous.)
Spike: That's quite close enough. I've heard tales of London pickpockets. You'll not be getting my purse, I tell you.
Drusilla: (smiles) Don't need a purse. (She points to his heart and head in succession.) Your wealth lies here... and here. In the spirit and... imagination. You walk in worlds the others can't begin to imagine.
Spike: Oh, yes! I mean, no. I mean... mother's expecting me.
(Drusilla opens the collar of his shirt.)
Drusilla: I see what you want. Something glowing and glistening. Something... effulgent.
Spike: Effulgent.
Drusilla: Do you want it?
Spike: Oh, yes! (touches her chest) God, yes.
(Drusilla looks down for a moment as her face changes and her fangs descend. Spike reacts, more confused than afraid. She pulls back his shirt collar and buries her fangs in his neck. Spike cries out in pain but his cries quickly turn to moans of pleasure as Drusilla ends his human existence.)

(Sunnydale Cemetery – Present – Night)
(Riley, Willow, Anya and Xander are crouched behind headstones as the Rocker Vampire who staked Buffy makes his way through the graveyard. Riley sees him first.)
Riley: Guys...
Xander: What you got?
Riley: That's him. Let's go.
(The vampire slips into a crypt as the four of them cautiously approach. Boisterous laughter can be heard coming from inside. Riley motions for the others to stay put as he steals up to the crypt entrance and peers inside. He sees the Rocker Vampire with four others and backs off, frustrated. He returns to the others.)
Xander: It sounds like a party in there.
Riley: Forget about crashing. There's too many of them. We'll come back at daybreak when they're asleep and we're better armed. It's okay. We can kill them just as dead in the morning.

(The Bronze)
(Buffy and Spike are shooting pool as Spike relates his story.)
Buffy: So you traded up on the food chain. Then what?
Spike: No, please. Don't make it sound like something you'd flip past on the Discovery Channel. Becoming a vampire is a profound and powerful experience. I could feel this new strength coursing through me. Getting killed made me feel alive for the very first time. I was through living by society's rules. Decided to make a few of my own. Of course, in order to do that... I had to get myself a gang.

(Yorkshire, England – 1880 – Coal Mine – Day) (Angelus has Spike by the throat and is choking him. Darla and Drusilla stand just behind Angelus watching the fight.) Angelus: Perhaps it's my advancing years that makes me so forgetful, William. Remind me. Why don't we kill you? Spike: (chokes) ...ike. Angelus: What's that? (He releases Spike in disgust.) Spike: It's Spike now. You'd do well to remember it, mate. Angelus: I'm not your mate. And when did you start talking like that? Darla: (to Spike) Look, we barely got out of London alive because of you. Everywhere we go, it's the same story and now- Angelus: You've got me and my women hiding in the luxury of a mine shaft, all because William the Bloody likes the attention. This is not a reputation we need. (Spike takes a deep swig from a wine bottle.) Spike: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I sully our good name? We're vampires. Angelus: All the more reason to use a certain amount of finesse. Spike: Bollocks! That stuff's for the frilly cuffs-and-collars crowd. I'll take a good brawl any day. (Angelus approaches Spike menacingly.) Angelus: And every time you do, we become the hunted. Darla: (sing-song; to Drusilla) I think our boys are going to fight. (Drusilla claps her hands giddily.) Drusilla: The King of Cups expects a picnic! But this is not his birthday. (Darla looks at Drusilla like she's crazy.) Darla: Good point... Spike: (to Angelus) Yeah, you know what I prefer to being hunted? Getting caught. Angelus: That's a brilliant strategy really... pure cunning. Spike: Sod off! (laughs) Come on. When was the last time you unleashed it? All out fight in a mob, back against the wall, nothing but fists and fangs? Don't you ever get tired of fights you know you're going to win? Angelus: No. A real kill. A good kill. It takes pure artistry. Without that, we're just animals. Spike: Poofter! (Angelus shoves Spike and the fight is on. Angelus snaps a metal rod in half, lifts Spike up and slams him down on his back, raising the makeshift stake. Spike stops it inches from his heart and smiles up at Angelus.) Now you're gettin' it! (Angelus drops the rod and backs off.) Angelus: You can't keep this up forever. If I can't teach you, maybe someday an angry crowd will. That... or the Slayer. (Spike sits up, suddenly interested.) Spike: What's a Slayer?

(The Bronze – Present) (Back to the pool game. Buffy listens while Spike tells his tale.) Spike: After that, I was obsessed. I mean, to most vampires, the Slayer was the subject of cold sweat and frightened whispers. But I never hid. Hell, I sought her out. I mean, if you're looking for fun, there's death, there's glory and sod all else, right? (shrugs) I was young. Buffy: So how'd you kill her? (Spike moves behind Buffy.) Spike: Funny you should ask. (His hand whips out and takes her by the neck. She instinctually reacts, bringing the pool cue up as a weapon but Spike holds her at bay.) Lesson the first: a Slayer must always reach for her weapon. (His face shifts as the demon in him comes forward.) I've already got mine. (He shakes his head and his face returns to normal. After a moment, he releases Buffy's neck and takes the pool cue from her. He walks over to the table and lines up a shot.) A good thing, too. Become a vampire, you've got nothing to fear. Nothing but one girl. That's you, honey. Back then... it was her.

(China – 1900 – Boxer Rebellion) (Temple – Night) (Spike is fighting a young Chinese girl. She is very adept at martial arts and very good with a sword. She kicks Spike back and whips her sword at his head. He ducks but not quite quick enough. The blade splits the skin over his left eyebrow and blood runs down his face. Spike is enjoying himself immensely.)

(Chinese Village) (Fires burn as panicked villagers flee in every direction, their belongings and farm animals in tow. Explosions can be heard not too far distant.)

(Temple) (Spike dodges another blow from the Slayer's sword.) Spike: Just like I pictured it. This good for you? (The Slayer charges him, sword whickering through the air in a deadly blur. Spike dodges every swing and viciously backhands the girl, breaking her grip on the sword. The Slayer goes hand-to-hand with Spike, landing several kicks and punches to his head, serving only to further enrage the vampire. He beats her back but begins to lose ground again. The Slayer backs him up against a support column and pins him there, her foot to his throat. She raises a stake, poised to strike the killing blow, when an explosion outside blasts part of the temple wall inward, the concussion breaking her hold on Spike. Spike goes on the offensive, knocking the stake from her hand. As the Slayer bends to retrieve it, Spike seizes her arm and wrenches it up behind her back. He pulls the hapless girl to him and sinks his fangs deep into her neck. The Slayer gasps in pain as her life drains away. Spike turns the dying girl toward him. She speaks to him in Chinese.) Slayer: (subtitle) Tell my mother I'm sorry... Spike: I'm sorry, love, I don't speak Chinese. (She dies and Spike throws her to the ground. Panting heavily, he licks his lips with pleasure.) A fella could get used to this. (As Spike stares down at the Slayer’s limp body, Drusilla walks into the temple.) Drusilla: Oh, Spike, look at the wonderful mess you've made. That's a Slayer you've done in. Naughty... wicked... Spike. (She holds out her hand and Spike approaches, lust in his eyes. He grabs Drusilla up in his arms and looks into her eyes.) Spike: You ever hear them saying the blood of a Slayer is a powerful aphrodisiac? (She looks at him, wanton hunger in her eyes.) Here, now... have a taste. (He holds his blood-covered finger up and she seductively sucks on it, moaning with pleasure. Spike grins and picks her up, pushing her against the wall and kissing her passionately. She eagerly responds, pulling at his clothes as they sink to the floor in each other's embrace.)

(Chinese Village) (Houses burn brightly as the terrified villagers flee the looters. Spike and Drusilla walk arm-in-arm through the violence, smiling and whispering to each other. They meet Darla and Angel, the four of them forming an incongruous picture of calm amid the panic and terrified screams around them.) Darla: So where have you two been? Drusilla: (to Spike) May I tell? Spike: No need to be humble. Drusilla: (to Darla) My little Spike just killed himself a Slayer. (Angel looks him up and down, his face expressionless.) Angel: Congratulations. I guess that makes you one of us. Spike: Don't be so glum, mate! The way you tell it, one Slayer snuffs it, another one rises. I figure there's a new Chosen One getting all chosen as we speak. I tell you what... when and if this new bird does show up, I'll give you first crack at her. (Drusilla's attention is suddenly drawn to something behind Angel.) Drusilla: I smell fear. Angel: Yeah, this whole place reeks of it. (Drusilla sinks into Spike's arms, ecstatic.) Drusilla: It's intoxicating! (Angel takes Darla by the arm.) Angel: Let's get out of here. This rebellion's starting to bore me. (Spike and Drusilla revel in the misery around them, laughing in each other's arms, before following Angel and Darla into the night.)

(The Bronze – Present) Spike: That was the best night of my life. (Spike and Buffy are still at the pool table. Buffy's face is neutral, expressionless, at Spike's casual description of the death of a Slayer.) And I've had some sweet ones. (off her look) What are you looking at? Buffy: (disgusted) You got off on it. Spike: Well, yeah. I suppose you're telling me you don't? (laughs) How many of my kind reckon you've done? Buffy: Not enough. Spike: (nods) And we just keep coming. But you can kill a hundred, a thousand, a thousand thousand and the enemies of Hell besides and all we need is for one of us- just one- sooner or later to have the thing we're all hoping for. Buffy: And that would be what? (Spike leans in close and whispers in her ear.) Spike: One... good... day. (Buffy pushes him away from her and he laughs.) Hey! You asked and I'm tellin'. The problem with you, Summers, is you've gotten so good, you're starting to think you're immortal. Buffy: Not really. I just know I can handle myself. Spike: Oh? Then how do you explain this? (He reaches out and punches Buffy in her wound. Both Buffy and Spike cry out in pain as Buffy doubles over and Spike's chip lights his brain on fire.) Buffy: (gasping) So that's it? Lesson over? Spike: Not even close. Come on. (He picks up a pool cue and heads outside.)

(Sunnydale Cemetery – Night) (Riley strides purposefully through the mist-shrouded trees toward the crypt where the vampires are still partying. The Rocker Vampire is regaling his companions with his tale of fighting and besting a Slayer.) Rocker Vampire: (o.s.) Killed with her own weapon! (He holds up Buffy's stake for the others to see.) They ought to put this in a museum! (The door bangs open and Riley walks confidently in.) Riley: You know what they put in museums? Mostly dead things. (The Rocker Vampire leaps up and charges Riley. He easily blocks the demon's blows and seizes its arm, giving it a violent twist. The vampire's arm breaks with a snap and the stake drops from its hand into Riley's. Without hesitation, Riley slams it into the vampire's chest. As the dust settles to the floor, Riley takes out an incendiary grenade and pulls the pin. The handle flips up and Riley holds it for a beat, letting the fuse burn down. Then he sets it on the ground in front of the stunned vampires and runs out the crypt door. Riley dashes into the trees as the crypt explodes from within.)

(The Bronze – Alley) (Buffy squares off with Spike.) Buffy: Give it to me. (Spike lashes out at her and she easily ducks his blows, then wraps her hand around his throat, pinning him against a chain-link fence. Spike smiles and laughs.) What? Spike: Lesson the second: ask the right questions. You want to know how I beat 'em? (Buffy releases him and steps back.) The question isn't "How'd I win?". The question is "Why'd they lose?". Buffy: What's the difference? (Spike lunges at her, the pool cue aimed at her throat. Spike stops it inches from her skin. Buffy never even flinches.) Spike: There's a big difference, love. (Buffy kicks the cue from his hands.) Buffy: How'd you kill the second one? Spike: Hmm? A bit like this. (He sends a series of punches at her but Buffy easily ducks them all.) Buffy: That didn't hurt? Spike: I knew I couldn't touch you. If there's no intent to hurt you, then that chip they shoved up my brain never activates. If, on the other hand... (His face changes and he lunges at her but he's brought up short by a crippling brain seizure.) See, now that hurt. Buffy: Yeah? This hurt too? (She gut-punches him, then pounds him to the ground.) How'd you kill 'em, Spike? (He jumps up and attacks but Buffy flips him over onto the ground again, whips out a stake and lands on top of him. Spike seizes her wrist before she can plunge it into his chest.) Spike: You're not ready to know. Buffy: I'm ready. Spike: Okay, then. Went like this. (Spike flips Buffy up and off him.)

(New York City – 1977 – Subway Car – Night) (A young black woman in dark leather lands hard on the floor of the train and rolls to her feet. Spike, looking very much like Billy Idol, squares off with the Slayer and throws a punch. The car is empty, save for the two combatants.) (We flip back and forth from the fight on the subway car and Buffy and Spike outside the Bronze.) (As Spike fights the Slayer in the past, he also fights Buffy in the present, the battles mirroring each other across time. Spike feels no pain from the chip, indicating the fight with Buffy is more demonstration than anything else.) Spike: (to Buffy) The first was all business but the second, she had a touch of your style. (He and the Slayer trade blows. This Slayer does indeed fight much like Buffy. She runs Spike headfirst into the train car's window, smashing it. Spike looses a cry of delight and attacks again.) She was cunning, resourceful... oh, did I mention? Hot. I could have danced all night with that one. Buffy: You think we're dancing? Spike: That's all we've ever done. (Spike breaks one of the subway car's hand rails and wields it as a weapon.) Spike: (v.o.) And the thing about the dance is, you never get to stop. (Spike flips the pool cue up and spins it like the hand rail.) Spike: (to Buffy) Every day you wake up, it's the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die? (He brings the pool cue down in a vicious arc and Buffy counter-attacks, enraged. Spike cracks the Slayer across the face with the metal rail, sending her reeling to the floor and pounds her repeatedly with it.) Spike: (v.o.) Death is on your heels, baby, and sooner or later it's gonna catch you. (Spike brings the rail down for another blow but the Slayer catches it and slams it back into his face.) Spike: (to Buffy) And part of you wants it... not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it. (Buffy has heard enough. She backhands Spike across the face.) (On the subway, Spike falls to the floor and the Slayer jumps on his chest, straddling him. She pounds him repeatedly in the face as the train car's lights go out. When they come back on, the Slayer is on her back with Spike straddling her, his hands around her throat.) Spike: Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. (Buffy stares at him, her face a blank mask.)(The Slayer struggles beneath Spike.) That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know: What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. Every Slayer... has a death wish. (Spike grips the Slayer's head between his hands and twists violently, snapping her neck and killing her.) Spike: (to Buffy) Even you. (Spike stands up and faces Buffy.) (In the subway, he walks to the end of the car and pulls the emergency cord. As the train grinds to a halt, he returns to the dead Slayer and pulls off her black leather coat.) Spike: The only reason you've lasted as long as you have is you've got ties to the world... your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here but you're just putting off the inevitable. (Spike shrugs into the Slayer's coat.) Spike: Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second- the second- that happens...

(The Bronze) (Spike claps his hands together inches from Buffy's face.) Spike: You know I'll be there. I'll slip in... have myself a real good day. (He stares intently into Buffy's eyes, then steps back.) Here endeth the lesson. I just wonder if you'll like it as much as she did. Buffy: (cold) Get out of my sight. Now. Spike: Oh... did I scare ya? You're the Slayer. Do something about it. Hit me. Come on. One good swing. You know you want to. Buffy: I mean it. Spike: So do I. Give it me good, Buffy. Do it! (The tension is rising between them.) Buffy: Spike... (His passion aroused, Spike leans in to kiss her. She backs away in horror.) What the hell are you doing? Spike: (He grabs Buffy by the arms, his words coming in a breathless pant.) Come on. I can feel it, Slayer. You know you want to dance. Buffy: Say it's true. Say I do want to. (She shoves him to the ground and looks down at him with disgust.) It wouldn't be you, Spike. It would never be you. (She tosses the wad of cash at him contemptuously.) You're beneath me. (Buffy turns and walks off into the night, leaving Spike alone in the dark alley. He begins to gather up the money, stifling a sob. As Buffy's words ring down through the years, he becomes the same spurned and awkward young man he once was. Her words have hurt him more than her blows ever have. He closes his eyes in anguish, takes a deep breath, and when he looks up again, only murderous hate remains.)

(Spike’s Crypt) (Spike throws open an old trunk and starts searching through the contents. HARMONY looks at him with concern.) Harmony: Spike, what are you doing? Spike: (to himself) Beneath me... I'll show her. (He takes out a double-barreled shotgun, cracks the breech and loads two rounds.) Put her six bloody feet beneath me. Hasn't got a death wish? Bitch won't need one. Harmony: Okay, I'm trying to be supportive here so don't drive a stake through my heart like last time, but you can't kill Buffy. She's the Slayer. She is so gonna kick your ass. Spike: I've got two barrels here that'll prove you wrong. Harmony: I knew you'd take this personally. You are so sensitive! How are you going to kill her? Think! The second you even point that thing at her, you're gonna be all ahhh! (She holds her hand to her head in mock pain.) And then you'll get bitch-slapped up and down Main Street unless she's had enough and just stakes you! Spike: Sure, it'll hurt like hell for about two hours... (He grabs Harmony by the neck and twists. She gasps in pain.) But she'll be dead just a little longer than that. (He tosses Harmony aside and runs out.) Harmony: Fine! But don't come crying to me when you fail. You couldn't kill her before you got the chip. You had plenty of chances!

(South America – 1998 – Tavern) (Drusilla and Spike are arguing.) Drusilla: Why can't you kill her? Spike: You're the one who keeps bringing her up! I haven't said a word about the bloody Slayer since we left California. She's on the other side of the planet, Dru! Drusilla: But you're lying! I can still see her floating all around you, laughing. Why? Why won't you push her away? Spike: But I did, pet. I did it for you. You keep punishing me. Carrying on with creatures like this. (Pull back to reveal the Chaos Demon that Spike mentioned back in ‘Lover’s Walk’ standing nearby, holding a beer. He's tall with antlers that drip and ooze.) Chaos Demon: Okay, you guys obviously have a thing going on here. Drusilla: I have to find my pleasures, Spike. You taste like ashes. Spike: (re: demon) So this is my fault now? Chaos Demon: (to Spike) I didn't know she was seeing somebody. (off Spike's look) I should take off. Spike: Yeah, why don't you do that? (The demon blows a kiss to Drusilla, then walks off.) Drusilla: You can't blame the ghoul, Spike. You're all covered with her. I look at you... all I see is the Slayer.

(Summers Residence – Present Day) (Buffy enters to find her mother packing a suitcase.) Buffy: Hey, I put together that grocery list for you. Joyce: Oh, great. Thanks, hon. Buffy: Are you okay? Joyce: I'm fine. Have you seen my conditioner? Buffy: Did you look under the sink? (Joyce realizes that's where it is and goes to retrieve it.) Where are you going? Joyce: Oh, I was hoping to put this off but... you know the nothing that I've been dealing with the last couple of weeks? It might not be nothing. Buffy: What is it? Joyce: I'm staying overnight at the hospital for observation. I'm getting a CAT scan. (Buffy doesn't know what to say. Joyce is quick to reassure her.) It's only one night and they say even if there is something, it's still very early if they didn't see it before. I'm going to be fine. (Buffy puts on a brave smile for her mother's sake.) Buffy: I know you will.

(Back Porch) (The back door opens and Buffy walks out and sits down on the back steps. She is terrified for her mother, her eyes brimming with tears. She puts her head in her lap and sobs uncontrollably. Spike watches her from the bushes, then moves forward, striding purposefully toward her, gun at his side. He raises the gun and cocks it. Buffy looks up at the sound, her face wet with tears.) Buffy: What do you want now? (Spike is about to pull the trigger when he sees her tears and through them, her pain. His rage vanishes in an instant.) Spike: What's wrong? Buffy: I don't want to talk about it. (Spike lowers the gun.) Spike: Is there something I can do? (Buffy says nothing, the reality of her mother's situation hitting her like a steel weight, overcoming her. Spike sits down next to her and tentatively pats her back, trying to comfort her. She lets him. Pull back on the two of them, sitting together, side by side.)


Season Five Guide