Now that "Carry that Weight" has become even longer than "Straight Outta Quor Toth," I have decided to split it up. "The Longest Day" immediately follows the end of "Straight Outta Quor Toth. Except for this first chapter, all the chapters in this story occur on the same Saturday. First, Willow defeats Cordy while Faith, Connor, Lindsey and Angel's friends fight Angelus, Drusilla and their vampire gang. After Willow restores Angel's soul, Angel and Spike stumble into an adventure in an Amazon dimension where they are mistaken for gods, unwittingly turn Buffy into a cult figure and provoke tens of thousands to go to war in order to decide whether Spike or Angel is the most powerful. They have to find a way to excise themselves from this world they've turned topsy turvy. And of course each of them wants to win. Especially for the small group of men and women who look up to them as idols and even father figures.
Originally, this was the final chapter of "Straight Outta Quor Toth." I have decided that it works better as a prologue to "The Longest Day." Among other things, it introduces Mayor Estella Santos, a possible love interest for Giles and someone who will play a role in the fight against the First Evil.
In addition to the main gymnasium, rebuilt Sunnydale high has a wrestling room about sixty feet square. During the school day, the Potentials can use that space to train. Buffy and Giles watch Kennedy lead them.
BUFFY: It's better than the basement. I'll give you that.
GILES: I hope the gawking young men don't become a distraction.
BUFFY: What gawking young men?
Giles points to the double-doors between the room and the hallway. Three or four guys have their faces up against the glass, looking in.
GILES: Apparently, the boy's locker room is down the hall. Which means every male in this school passes by here on their way to and from gym class.
BUFFY: One good thing about training in the library — I never had an audience. Which reminds me — whatever happened to the secret identity? Okay, a few people knew who I was. But it's not like I put on a show everyday for the entire student body.
GILES: We're hardly doing that.
BUFFY: Right now it's more of a peep show for a few guys at a time.
A woman enters. She 5'7", wears a black business suit and skirt and has brown eyes and medium-length black hair.
STELLA: I hope everything's to your liking. [she holds out her hand] Estella Santos. Nice to meet you, Rupert Giles.
He shakes her hand. Buffy has no idea who this woman is.
GILES: You wouldn't happen to be related to Vincente Santos?
STELLA: Vince is my brother.
GILES: Do you also work for the school district?
STELLA: No. I'm the mayor.
Giles and especially Buffy are freaked out and start inching away.
BUFFY: Well, uh, I suppose someone had to replace him.
STELLA: Don't mean to boast, but I did break a lot of new ground in this town. First hispanic mayor. First woman mayor. First human mayor. First mayor who's not conspiring against the citizens of this town.
BUFFY: You knew what he was?
STELLA: My family always knew Richard Wilkins was a demon. We were here before Sunnydale was Sunnydale.
GILES: Vincente never mentioned this.
STELLA: He's not much for storytelling. This room's pretty noisy. Would you mind going outside to talk, Mr. Giles?
GILES: Please. Call me Rupert.
STELLA: Call me Stella.
They smile at each other and walk out of the room. They stroll along the grass outside.
GILES: 1806. That's quite early.
STELLA: First non-mission settlers. Vince and I are the seventh generation.
GILES: Your ancestors must have witnesses all sorts of terrifying phenomena.
STELLA: It wasn't as bad as you'd think. When there were fewer people, there were also fewer demons. For a time, it was just a few farms. Maybe ten families in the whole area. We had a 3,000 acre ranch. When you're in the middle of nowhere, you stay inside at night. Sometimes vampires would kill a few of the sheep and cattle. But you know what's great for keeping vampires away? Dobermans — with crosses tied around their necks. Three of them leap at a vampire, he goes somewhere else to feed. The demons and the people developed an understanding. As long as there were only a couple of us and a few of them, everyone could co-exist. There's a family legend that when the Americans conquered California, a hundred soldiers tried to remove the Mexican residents and settle the land themselves. My family told the demons that the armed men camping in the nearby hills were demon fighters, and they scared them away. Which was how we kept all of our land. I don't know if that really happened. What I do know is that the Anglo population was tiny until Richard Wilkins appeared. After that everything changed.
GILES: How long was it before your family realized he was a demon?
STELLA: About twenty years. But they knew from the start that he had power over the other demons. Their attacks became more frequent. But they weren't random. They only targeted his political enemies. Scared them out of town. He went after our flocks and herds to try to force us to sell our land.
GILES: But your family stood up to him?
STELLA: My family adapted. They sold off 2000 acres, invested in an irrigation system and grew lemons on the remaining thousand. Something the demons wouldn't care to eat. By the time I was born we'd sold all the land to developers and gotten out of farming. But we always kept plugging away as the lonely opposition. Though it's incredibly frustrating when you can't use your opponent's main weakness against him.
GILES: Hard to literally accuse your political opponent of being demon. Though you'd figure others would notice that he didn't age.
STELLA: People live here 10, 15, 20 years. Raise their kids and leave. There's very little in the way of collective civic memory. The worst part was how he won the tight races. Always resorted to nativism. Keep the Mexicans out. Keep the Chinese out. Keep the Okies out. Keep the blacks out. All the while he's letting the demons in. Course, Dick did keep taxes low by supplementing the general fund with demon tribute. When I took over, I had to raise property taxes to cover the lost tribute, and the people screamed bloody murder. Most likely it'll get me voted out this November. Scary thing is, if the people knew the truth, I bet at least half of them would vote for less taxes and more demons.
GILES: You certainly don't talk like a politician.
STELLA: I don't sound like this when I'm on-the-record. On the record, vampires and demons don't exist.
GILES: Never underestimate the human instinct for willful blindness.
STELLA: Something we learned from your Council. To us, you were the blind ones. We petitioned close to 50 years before they did something. To be honest, Vince and I used to call you "Señor Better-Late-than-Never." It wasn't meant as a slap at you, per se —
GILES: I, myself, have often been frustrated by the organization's intransigence. How did your family learn about the Council of Watchers in the first place?
STELLA: When things started to get real bad in the early fifties, my grandfather tried to hire demon fighters. But this town was too hot for any of them to touch. One of them said only a Slayer would think of working here. Grandpa found out what a Slayer was and tried to get one. He put together studies proving Sunnydale was the world leader in all things deadly and paranormal. They condescendingly told us pushy Americanos that they knew all about the Hellmouth and would act when the time was right. Course, they didn't know everything. Didn't even know Dick was a demon. Threw away all the intell we gave them on him.
GILES: Did you know in advance about the Ascension?
STELLA: Seems we knew everything but that. It was so out of character for Dick. A century of planning, of careful political stewardship and community-building, all for an afternoon of binge eating? Part of me felt let down by the crudeness of the gesture. I had come to expect something more cunning and cerebral from him. I suppose a Freudian would say it was a manifestation of repressed sexual desire, what with him turning into a giant snake and all.
The two of them talk some more before heading back into the training room. Buffy and the Potentials are getting lunch. Estella picks up one of Giles's foils.
GILES: You fence?
STELLA: Varsity at Stanford. Epee. Been almost 20 years since I've done this seriously. Probably could take you.
GILES: Is that a challenge?
STELLA: You brought two of these things in here. Obviously you were hoping someone would take you up on the offer.Then again, I've never fenced in a skirt. Or high heels. [takes off her heels so that she's barefoot]
GILES: No point making excuses for losing before we've even started.
STELLA: Just lulling you into a false sense of security.
They get in position and begin. Giles goes on the attack. Estella parries his thrusts as she backs up. She briefly goes on the attack, causing Giles to retreat. He catches her off-balance and counter-attacks. She backs up to avoid a hit. Giles comes close to making contact, but he gets over-confident and she parries one particularly aggressive thrust, then quickly gets her foils' point against his collarbone. Giles rests his foil at his side and catches his breath.
GILES: Well-played. Though I shouldn't have made so many careless blunders. Two out of three?
Fred, Gunn and Wesley walk towards Cordy's building.
FRED: I still would feel safer if at least one of us had a weapon.
WES: That would only give her an excuse to attack.
GUNN: It's just too damn obvious to be a trap. And taking us out on a downtown sidewalk in the middle of the day? That ain't her style.
They stop in front of the building and wait for two minutes, anxiously glancing around and checking their watches. Cordy comes out and stands in front of them. She looks distraught. And pregnant. This is the first time they've seen her since she freed Angelus and killed Lilah. It looks like she's gone from the first to the third trimester in a matter of weeks.
CORDY: I miss you guys. I miss . . . people. If I have to do this alone, then I won't do it at all.
Cordy pulls her right hand out from behind her back and shows then Angel's soul.
CORDY: You want this more than I do.
Cordy chucks it high in the air and over their heads. Fred, Gunn and Wes turn around, look up and give chase, running over pedestrians as they try to reach the vessel before it hits the ground. Gunn, who gets out ahead of the other two, leaps through the air and makes a diving catch. He holds the fragile vessel carefully in his hands as the others look at it. Cordelia snaps her fingers. The glass vessel shatters. Gunn, Fred and Wes grab their eyes. Cordy laughs as she walks back into her building. The mystical properties of the container caused it to disintegrate before it tore through their flesh. But Cordy liked seeing them terrified. To her it was a great practical joke. And the best part was yet to come. She still had to tell Angelus the news.
Giles sticks Estella with the point of his foil. His blazer and vest are off, his tie is loosened and his shirt is sweaty. Estella has also taken off her blazer, wearing only her skirt and black sleeveless blouse.
ESTELLA: Two-out-of-three. You win.
Giles drops his foil and puts his hands on his knees.
GILES: You were certainly a more-than-worthy adversary.
STELLA: Maybe next time we can both be dressed for the occasion.
They both catch their breath as Buffy and the Potentials come back from lunch. They see that Giles and this women are panting, sweating and putting their clothes back on.
STELLA: So you're the young women who saves the world. Giles has told me a lot about you.
KENNEDY: He's told us nothing about you.
Kennedy looks a little disturbed. Buffy looks plenty disturbed as Giles buttons up his vest and Estella slips back into her high heels and puts on her jacket.
BUFFY: I thought you two just met?
GILES: About 45 minutes ago, to be exact.
RONA: Damn.
AMANDA: Gross.
Estella wipes the sweat off her forehead and goes to meet the girls. They look very uncomfortable around her.
GILES: Girls, I'd like you to meet Estella Santos. She's the Mayor of Sunnydale. Sorry about our disheveled appearance. We were just fencing.
He holds up to two foils.
MOLLY: Oh. Silly us. We thought —
BUFFY: You . . . had to fight off some sort of demon.
STELLA: It's an honor to meet you, Buffy.
BUFFY: That's very, sweet, of you. I never get tired of hearing that. Probably because so few people say it to me.
GILES: Estella's family had been the sworn enemies of Mayor Wilkins since he founded this town. Her brother Vincente is Superintendent of Schools. He got me the job as school Librarian. He's also the person who worked out this training arrangement.
BUFFY: Nice to know we have friends in high places. How come I didn't know about these connections sooner?
GILES: And why did Vincente never mention that he had a younger sister?
STELLA: You know how big brothers are. He probably feared you might be my type. Well, work beckons me back to City Hall. Nice meeting all of you.
Estella leaves. The Potentials look at Giles and smirk.
GILES: So. How was lunch?
KENNEDY: Looks like everyone's hooking up these days.
GILES: I don't know what you're talking about.
MOLLY: Mister GIles has a girlfriend!
GILES: Nonsense. Stella and I are merely friends.
AMANDA: Then why did you fight with her?
GILES: We did no such thing.
ROSE: You went at each other with weapons.
RONA: That's foreplay.
Giles's cell phone rings.
ROSE: Saved by the bell.
GILES: Hello. Wesley? Can you repeat that? Yes, that would be very big news. [looks at Buffy] I should take this outside.
FADILA: Did anyone else feel weird in the cafeteria?
BUFFY: You mean because you don't go to school here?
FADILA: I mean because of the way all the boys were looking at us.
AMANDA: It did feel strange.
FADILA: Like we were, I dunno, popular or something.
ARIELLA: Do they know who we are, why we're here?
BUFFY: Look, if you're wigged out by the attention, we can always go home. Or train here only after school.
MOLLY: Are you bloody mad? This is tops.
ROSE: Guys dig girls who kick ass. And we're not even Slayers. Buffy, you must have been the most popular girl in your high school.
BUFFY: Actually, yes I was. Before I became a Slayer.
RONA: I don't understand. They liked you more when you weren't a hero?
BUFFY: It's not like they knew what I was. I did maintain a semi-secret identity. Plus, training and patrolling took a big bite out of my social life. The popular kids made fun of me and thought I was a freak. Until they were in danger. Then they'd run to me for help, and I'd save their lives, and afterwards they'd still think I was a freak but make fun of me somewhat less.
AMANDA: If they disrespected me like that, I woulda just let them die. Or beat them up until they treated me respect. How much of a jerk do you hafta be not to act nice to someone who saved your life?
BUFFY: Good question. Too bad the person who could answer it isn't around. [pause] No. it's a good thing Cordy's not in town. Which reminds me. It's time to train with weapons. Each of you grab a sharp shiny thing and pair off.
They practice attacking and defending with swords and axes. Buffy walks around giving them pointers and correcting bad habits. She knows they must be ready for the Reapers. The guys at school have heard something was happening in the wrestling gym, so more of them came to the door to gawk. One of them runs off to fetch Preston.
DUNCAN: Dude, ya gotta see this.
He takes Preston down to the gym and nudges a few guys aside so they can get close to the door.
DUNCAN: Isn't that your girlfriend?
PRESTON: It is. I thought she had Spanish this period.
DUNCAN: Why is the guidance counselor teaching self-defense? And who are those girls, anyway?
PRESTON: They're like all new in town. Amanda hangs with them. Dude. Get Clarence. That's the girl he was with the other night.
Keith heard the rumors, and he cut class to see if Molly was there. He pushed and shoved and bullied the boys in front of him out of the way. Then he saw Molly crossing swords with Rona.
KEITH: Clarke was right.
PRESTON: Right about what?
KEITH: Dawn's sister really is forming a gang. I didn't think the school allowed the faculty to do that. I tell ya, this town just keeps getter weirder and weirder.
PRESTON: I'm not complaining.
KEITH: I probably should say hi to Molly. I'd be a jerk if I didn't.
Keith and Preston pull and the doors open outward. The crush of bodies pushes Keith and Preston inside before closing the doors on everyone else. The two guys stumble inside. The girls notice.
BUFFY: What are you doing in here?
Molly smiles and waves at Keith.
AMANDA: Hey there Preston.
BUFFY: Shouldn't you boys be in class?
PRESTON: Shouldn't Amanda be in class?
BUFFY: She has an excuse.
KEITH: And that excuse would be - ?
BUFFY: None of your business.
Clarence enters.
RONA: Hey Clarence.
CLARENCE: Hi Rona.
RONA: Sorry I didn't call. I was pretty busy last night. [vampires, Bringers, a burning barn, a high-speed car chase, Reapers]
BUFFY: We really need shades over these windows. And where's Giles? Look, I'm sorry, but you boys have to leave.
MOLLY: No they don't.
BUFFY: You know these guys? Oh God. Are these your boyfriends?
PRESTON, CLARENCE and KEITH: [together] Yes.
MOLLY: Cool.
RONA: Alright.
Rona and Clarence and Molly and Keith look at each and smile.
BUFFY: This is not gonna work.
Amanda whispers in Buffy's ear.
AMANDA: They've seen us slay vampires.
Buffy thinks this over. It would be hypocritical of her to completely deny them a social life. On the other hand, the numbers of helpless hangers-on had to be kept to a minimum.
BUFFY: You three can come back when school gets out.
KEITH: Cool. Thanks Miss Summers.
BUFFY: What did you call me?
She's glaring at him and holding a mace. Keith backs up against the wall. He doesn't quite understand.
KEITH: I'm Sorry. Is it Mrs. Summers? [some of the Potentials laugh] Ms.? Just trying to be polite. You're like a teacher, right?
Buffy doesn't like being treated like she's middle age. And she's heard that Keith can be obnoxious. But as he stands there, frightened, she realizes he really was just trying too hard to be polite.
BUFFY: Just call me Buffy.
KEITH: Okay. See ya. Catch you later, Molly.
Molly waves as he leaves with the others.
MOLLY: Just because you're the Slayer doesn't mean you can bully my boyfriend around whenever you bloody well feel like it.
Giles is off in another hallway talking with Wesley, who is in the command center with Fred and Gunn. Fred's cell phone rings.
WILLOW: I'll be there in the morning.
FRED: You know? Who told you?
WILLOW: Cordelia. She engaged me in an extended telepathic conversation in the middle of my Political Theory seminar. Very embarrassing. One minute, I'm contrasting Rawls and Bentham. Next thing I know I'm mentally out of the class for 20 minutes.
FRED: What did she say?
WILLOW: In a nutshell, she's itching for a fight. When you're evil, nothing feels worse than inactivity.
Wes, Fred and Gunn are both in the same room. Gunn's trying to contact the others.
FRED: Willow, can you hold one second? Charles, don't bother. Lindsey and Faith took Connor out to lunch. And Lorne said he had an important meeting with some high and mighties.
Lorne is in the luxury apartment of the Transuding Furies. The three sisters are floating in front of him.
LORNE: Then it's agreed. You'll do the Bronze.
FURIES: Mmmmmmmm, Angelus. Mmmm, William.
LORNE: Who's William?
FURIES: Mmmmmmmm, Angel. Mmmm, Spike.
LORNE: Oh. Ewww. Ladies, those two fellas are NOT a package deal.
The Furies look at each other and giggle.
ANGELUS: You're bluffing.
CORDY: Tell me that tomorrow when you have a soul and your skank's been flayed. [smiles] I wonder how Dru would look skinless.
ANGELUS: If you're not bluffing, then you're a complete fool.
Cordy starts to walk towards the door.
CORDY: If I were you, I would show a little more respect to the only woman who can save you.
Cordy walks out.
DRU: She's not lying. That's why you can't trust her.
ANGELUS: I know. And I don't trust her. But she's set it up so I can't lose and she can't win.
DRU: Am I forgiven?
ANGELUS: Aren't you always?
DRU: You never can stay mad at blood for too long.
GUNN: Angelus is protected as long as he's at the hotel.
FRED: Both physically and metaphysically.
WES: Unless Willow performs the spell from inside the hotel.
GUNN: Which will be a problem since it's crawling with vamps and we can't touch em.
FRED: Willow's sure she can take down that forcefield.
GUNN: But then she's gotta get by Cordy. Which is why Cordy set the whole thing up.
WES: I recall that the two of them didn't got along when they were in high school. I can't help but wonder if this is an adolescent spat blown up to terrifyingly absurd proportions.
FRED: I think there's a whole lot more to this than petty rivalry. Willow's the one person who can restore Angel's soul. Cordy knows that. She might have known Willow was close to liberating Angel's soul. She knew this fight was coming, so she decided to have it on her terms.
GUNN: But why tell your enemy what she has to do to win?
FRED: Because Cordy's really, really overconfident.
WES: Doesn't she have a right to be?
GUNN: Okay. I know we all noticed, but no one's said a word about it. How did Cordy get pregnant?
FRED: Since coming back, the only person she's slept with is Connor. [looks queasy] Oh God.
WES: That was five months ago. She appears to be eight months along.
GUNN: Anyone else thinkin' demon spawn?
Lorne has just entered.
LORNE: You guys talking about Connor? Has the lovesick chipmunk gone bad again? If so, I'm outta here faster than Suge Knight at a Crips convention.
FRED: Cordy's pregnant.
LORNE: Oh. [looks shocked] This is when I'd turn white if my pigmentation allowed for it. Jeepers creepers. Poor kiddo.
GUNN: Pregnant as in about to burst.
LORNE: As in mystical. So she's carrying some hideous demon. That's good. [everyone looks shocked] You'd rather it be an actual child? Something we couldn't kill? Something Connor and Cordy would have to raise? That's the last thing he needs right now.
CONNOR: What is?
Lorne, Wes, Gunn and Fred gasp.
FRED: Y-y-you're back.
Faith and Lindsey enter.
WES: How was lunch?
CONNOR: Awesome.
LINDSEY: Never seen anyone eat $400 worth of food. Okay, it was at Spago's. But still.
FAITH: Never seen a chef come out of the kitchen and thank a customer before.
CONNOR: What were you guys saying about me?
Lorne, Wes, Gunn and Fred look at each other. None of them wants to be the bringer of bad news.
FRED: Connor, I really don't know how to tell you this. We saw Cordelia. And she looked . . . well — different.
CONNOR: I know. She's huge. I saw her yesterday.
GUNN: Did she tell you?
CONNOR: That she's pregnant? She said it was mine. Maybe it is. Don't care. She tricked me. I don't owe her nothing.
FAITH: Cordy's carrying Connor's baby!? Damn. This really is a soap opera.
Lindsey just stands there in silence, his hands in his pockets, trying to fathom the idea that Angel could be a grandfather, or that Connor could be a father less than one-and-a-half years after being born.
WES: Did we forget to mention that Cordelia released Angel's soul into the either, and Willow will be here tomorrow morning to restore it?
GUNN: And for that to happen, she has to break down the protection spell at the hotel and we gotta go in and kill all of Angelus's vamps.
CONNOR: Cool. Gwen said I could hang at her place. You guys can come over if you want.
Connor leaves. Everyone's quiet for a few seconds.
LINDSEY: Does anyone else think Connor took all of that way too well?
Giles has the Potentials meditating.
GILES: Focus on the crystal. Become one with the energy. Concentrate. Let nothing distract you.
Giles and Buffy are quiet. There's some Brian Eno-esque ambient music on the stereo. The girls seem to be entering a trance-like state. Then the bell rings. They all are startled and look around.
GILES: Bloody hell. I'm sorry. We'll continue in a few. [to Buffy] I thought the school day was done. It's 2:45.
BUFFY: They start classes a half-hour later than when I went here. Too many parents complaining about how tough it was getting their kids to the bus stop by quarter of seven.
GILES: At least we'll be distraction-free for the rest of the afternoon.
Preston and Clarence enter. They notice the lights are off and the girls are sitting on mats.
CLARENCE: Did we interrupt nap time or something?
GILES: Very funny. You interrupted something you cannot possibly understand. I was under the impression that wrestling season was over and we'd have the room to ourselves.
PRESTON: Do we look like wrestlers?
KEITH: No, you look like gawky basketball players. I'm the one who made it to the regional finals. Room's yours, coach. We're just here to watch.
GILES: I don't know what gave you the absurd notion that this is a spectator's sport, but —
ARIELLA: Buffy. She's the one who gave them that absurd notion.
Giles looks at Buffy like she's out of her mind.
BUFFY: It's not absurd. Okay, it is, but not as absurd as you think. Only their boyfriends are allowed in.
GILES: Boyfriends? Whose boyfriends? And just when did this happen?
CLARENCE: Never seen a coach care so much about his players' lives.
GILES: Please stop calling me that. I am not a coach.
BUFFY: Actually Giles, if you look at it from their prospective, you kind of are a "coach," the girls are "players," and this a "practice."
Giles realizes this makes for a reasonable cover story.
Dawn, Elijah and Kit walk in with Eric and Prashant tagging along.
DAWN: Okay, I know we're not supposed to bring people around, but these are really nice guys, they said they knew you, and they just wanted to say hi, and . . . they're not the only ones. What's going on here?
GILES: I've been asking the same question.
MADARI: Hi Prashant.
PRASHANT: Hey Madari. Great to see you again.
ROSE: Eric!
ERIC: How's it going, Rose?
Giles is overwhelmed by the sudden explosion of dating among his Potentials.
GILES: Just so I know, who here does not have a boyfriend?
Chao-Ahn, Ariella, Fadila and Izora raise their hands. So does Buffy, sheepishly, as well as Kennedy, who's smirking.
ERIC: Wait a minute. Boyfriend?
ROSE: If you don't want to, that's okay. I mean, we can take things slow.
ERIC: No. I mean, I'd really like to. That is if you would.
ROSE: Okay. [they both look at each other and smile]
Prashant walks over to Madari.
PRASHANT: Um, I have to go to a Model UN meeting. I'll come by after, if you're still around. Anyway, I forgot to give you my number the other night. Catch you later.
As he backs away, they look into each other's eyes and smile. She gives Prashant a little wave as he leaves.
DAWN: Can someone answer my question?
GILES: For reasons I still can't quite fathom, Buffy decided that the girls' boyfriends could watch them train.
KIT: But only their boyfriends?
BUFFY: Yes.
ELIJAH: Shotgun dating. I like it.
DAWN: They're finally getting Scooby privileges. This should be interesting. I just came by to tell you that I'm going out with Kit and Eli, but I'll be home by six. No sneaking off to Los Angeles. I promise.
ELIJAH: Why would we drive all the way the LA? Connor said he was meeting us halfway. [Dawn punches Eli in the ribs] Oww. Can't anyone take a joke around here? [he looks at Buffy. She's not amused] It was a joke. I swear. [chuckles] Meet halfway on a 90-mile trip. Who could take that seriously?
Well, Buffy could, for one. Dawn hadn't told Kit or Elijah about Buffy's relationship with Connor's father. Dawn gives Elijah a nasty look as they leave the room.
ELIJAH: I don't get why you're mad at me. You're the one who brought it up.
As they walk down the hall, they meet up with Willow.
WILLOW: Hey guys. Buffy and Giles are around here, right?
KIT: They're in the wrestling gym.
WILLOW: Which is around here, right? I'm not familiar with this school.
ELIJAH: Just keep going. Second door on the right. The room where everyone's kung fu fighting.
WILLOW: How's the new arrangement working out for them?
DAWN: Pretty good, from what I saw. The Potentials have groupies.
WILLOW: And to think, I used to be the only one.
Willow walks towards the room as Dawn, Kit and Elijah walk out to Eli's car in the parking lot.
Buffy's teaching the girls how to fight an armed opponent when you are unarmed. She tells Kennedy to attack her with a sword. Kennedy at first declines. Buffy insists. The boys, who are sitting against the wall, are more than a little shocked.
ERIC: What kind of "team" are they?
KEITH: Does it matter?
He's flirting with Molly, who stands 30 feet away with the other Potentials. She starts to flirt back. Giles walks up to Molly.
GILES: [whispers] If they prove to be a distraction, I will force the young men to leave.
Molly stops flirting. Rose has started flirting with Eric. Molly taps her on the shoulder and whispers a warning in Rose's ear. She stops flirting with Eric. Kennedy comes at Buffy with the sword. She avoids it, but doesn't take Kennedy down.
BUFFY: Don't hold back.
KENNEDY: I'm not.
BUFFY: Yes you are.
KENNEDY: You want me to try to kill you with this thing?
BUFFY: You wouldn't be the first. [it's the sword Buffy tried to kill Anya with, and which Anya briefly tried to kill Buffy with.]
Kennedy swings for Buffy's neck. Buffy ducks. She slashes for Buffy's right hamstring. Buffy does a back flip and kicks Kennedy in the chin. The boys gasp.
FADILA: Uh, Buffy, we can't do that.
BUFFY: Sorry. Let's try it again.
Kennedy tries to stab Buffy in the stomach. Buffy steps to her left to avoid the blow. She puts her right foot behind Kennedy's left leg and pushes Kennedy to the ground. As Kennedy falls, she takes her left hand off the sword's handle. Buffy grabs Kennedy's right wrist, flips her so she's face down, pulls Kennedy's right arm behind her back and takes the weapon. She flips Kennedy so once again she's on her back, and puts the point of the sword to her neck.
WILLOW: Finish that thought and you'll be very sorry.
Buffy turns around. Kennedy gets up.
KENNEDY: It's okay. Just training.
WILLOW: I know. Just joking. [looks at the guys] So this is the fan club. Giles, did you tell Buffy?
BUFFY: Tell me what?
GILES: I was going to wait until the training session was over.
WILLOW: Maybe we should take this outside. It'll only take a minute.
Willow, Buffy and Giles leave. Kennedy has the Potentials pair off. In each pair, one person has a weapon and the other one doesn't. Chao-Ahn is paired with Izora, Fadila with Kennedy, Molly with Rona, Amanda with Ariella, and Rose with Madari. The boys are somewhat in awe.
ERIC: Those things she can do. I had no idea.
PRESTON: I know. Pretty cool, huh?
ERIC: More hot than cool.
KEITH: Looks like Molly's giving your girl some problems.
CLARENCE: Cause she's the one with the weapon, dumbass. Once your girl drops that sword, my Rona's gonna take her down.
ERIC: Did you see that kick? Rose just flew at her! Too bad Prashant's not here to see my girl knock his girl on her ass.
Dawn wasn't quite right. The boys aren't Slayer groupies. They're Slayer cheerleaders.
That night, Angel's friends rest up for the big fight and discuss tactics.
FAITH: When you took me to see Angel's crib today, I noticed two things: it's huge, and it's got lots of windows. We make them come after us. If the odds get long, we slip into a room and open the windows. You're the ones who lived there. Tell me if I'm blowing smoke.
GUNN: They'll just wait us out in the basement.
FAITH: They're vampires. They hunt. They never wait. We go in two groups. First group is me, Connor and Lindsey. Second group is Gunn Wes and Fred. You guys go low. We'll go high. If they come up, we kill them and go down to help you. If they don't, we just go straight down to help you. Lorne stays with Willow. You guys said he'll make a good alarm if she has any problems.
LORNE: No fighting, just screaming. I can swing that.
Gwen enters.
WES: Did you get in?
GWEN: In, around, up and down. Word of advice: give the Hyperion an exorcism before you move back in there. Or at the very least, a serious steam cleaning. Caligula would be shocked by what those vamps have been doing in there. So here's what you're gonna be looking at . . .
Giles gets off the phone. He looks very upset.
BUFFY: What's wrong?
GILES: That was Marcel. He said that two days ago Robson left for Bulgaria to rescue another Potential. Today the police in Varna found his body. He had been hacked to pieces.
BUFFY: I'm sorry. What about the Potential?
GILES: No word about a dead girl. But he wasn't the only one. In the last few days, others have killed in Japan, Australia, Pakistan, Paraguay. The Reapers are waiting for the Watchers to come to the girls, and then they're killing the Watchers but not bothering with the Potentials.
BUFFY: That doesn't make sense. I thought it's the Potential Slayers the First Evil is after.
GILES: These girls don't know they are Potential Slayers. The First wants to keep it that way. Then they'll never come here, and you can't protect them.
BUFFY: We think there's 20. We've found five. That means the other 15 are probably still spread out across the world. We need to find the four that are in town and take them out before they get backup. [Buffy grabs Giles's ax] We got Reaper guts. Willow, can you use this to do a locator spell?
WILLOW: Probably. But not tonight. I'm saving my strength.
BUFFY: Fair enough. You need it to fight Cordy, since she's suddenly super-powerful. I still can't get my mind around that.
WILLOW: Don't laugh about it. You don't know how easy it would have been for her to kill you and everyone in this house.
She means Cordy could have sicked the Beast on them.
BUFFY: I mean, you're also super-powerful. And you're acting like you're intimidated by her.
WILLOW: I have a healthy and hopefully life-preserving respect for her abilities.
GILES: You realize she's set a trap and you're walking straight into it.
WILLOW: You know of another way to get the job done?
Angelus and Drusilla look at three people who are bound-and-gagged.
DRU: I can't decide. Who would you eat first?
ANGELUS: Whoever's in our orchestra box. You still like that game?
DRU: Someone's in a playful mood.
ANGELUS: Berlioz can have that effect on me. [Dru smiles and her face lights up] Symphonie Fantastique. With dancers.
DRU: You and your ballerinas. [he spins her around] But what about the bloody-haired girl?
ANGELUS: Our enemies will be asleep at the switch. Let's have some fun.
DRU: My sweet Angelus, awlways putting play before work.
ANGELUS: Baby, life's nothing but play.
Willow and Kennedy lie in bed.
WILLOW: What's wrong, sweetie? I thought I was the worrywart in this relationship.
KENNEDY: I'm scared.
WILLOW: Don't be. I'm just going to do a favor for a couple of friends. Sure, the favor involves me fighting the most powerful person in the planet. But I was once the most powerful person on the planet. So I know how fragile that power is. I know how to take it out of her. I'm not going to fight Cordy and Angel. I'm going to save them.
Kennedy takes Willow's hand and places it on her stomach, running it over the scar where Drusilla cut her.
KENNEDY: I know how far you'll go to save people. That's why I'm afraid. I'm not scared of what she'll do to you. I'm scared of what you'll do to yourself.
Dawn and Connor sit on their beds and talk on the phone.
DAWN: Be careful. I remember what happened the last time you fought Drusilla.
CONNOR: I haven't forgotten. But I'll be okay. This time I have help.
DAWN: This time you have a Slayer. Stick with Faith. She's good at beating up and killing things. By the way, how are you, uh, getting along with her, Connor?
CONNOR: Great. She's amazing. And fun. Faith's really cool. I like hanging out with her and Gwen.
DAWN: Gwen? Who's that?
CONNOR: Someone who helps us. She's real nice to me. They both are.
Dawn's a little worried.
DAWN: So I guess you've, uh, made some new friends. Some new female friends.
CONNOR: What should we name our children?
DAWN: What was that?
CONNOR: Like, what would you want to name our son?
DAWN: Our, our what? Connor, what the hell are you talking about?
CONNOR: You haven't thought about our future?
DAWN: Well, yes. But not that far into the distant, remote future. It's just, well, see, why are you bringing this up? I mean, this is sudden and bizarre even by your standards.
CONNOR: Don't you wanna have a family?
DAWN: I guess. Maybe 10, 15 years from now. But not right now. For God's sakes, I haven't even finished high school. Then there's college. And getting a job, and, Connor, I don't think you completely understand how things work in this world.
CONNOR: But you want to be with me when you do those things, right?
DAWN: Well, yeah.
CONNOR: And you love me.
DAWN: Of course I do.
CONNOR: So isn't that how it works? You find the person you belong with, get married, have a family.
DAWN: A long time from now. A very long time from now.
CONNOR: I know. It's just nice to think about.
DAWN: It is, if you mean nice in a terrifying way. Terrifying, but also sorta sweet. I had no idea you took our love so deadly seriously.
CONNOR: I think we'll have great kids. They'll be smart and beautiful and tough, like you.
DAWN: And powerful and noble and handsome, like you. Okay. Stop. Rewind. I can't believe we're actually having this conversation. I'm glad you're committed to this relationship. But seeing how we met last week, can you hold off on the wedding plans? There's a fine line between committed and creepy.
CONNOR: I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that I missed you, that I was thinking about you.
DAWN: You've succeeded in making that crystal clear. You really think about our future like that?
CONNOR: Don't you think about our future?
DAWN: Yeah. I think about visiting you this summer. And, sometimes in the back of my mind I toy with the idea of maybe going to college in LA so we can be together. But that's kind of about it. Mostly I hope we'll both be alive in a month or two. We don't do much long-term planning in this house. Too many worries about short-term survival. But if I do make it out of this town alive, maybe I'll start daydreaming about us being Mr. and Mrs., do you have a last name?
CONNOR: I don't think we have those in my family.
DAWN: They never call you anything other than Connor?
CONNOR: Sometimes they call me the Destroyer.
DAWN: Mr. and Mrs. Destroyer. [she smiles] I like that. Speaking of family, be nice to Angel. When he gets his soul back. Promise me you'll give him a chance this time.
CONNOR: I promise.
When she gets off the phone, Dawn goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She sees Buffy in the upstairs hallway.
DAWN: By the way, Buffy, that thing I told you about de-inviting Angel — cancel it. I was overreacting. It was wrong to blame him.
BUFFY: No. You were right to blame him. But you're also right to forgive him. Don't think I know many people who would be big enough to do that so quickly. Hope some of your maturity rubbed off on Connor.
Angelus and Drusilla swagger into the lobby of the hotel where Lindsey and the others are staying. They're smiling and laughing. Angelus is in a tuxedo and Dru has on a black evening gown.
ANGELUS: That really hit the spot.
DRU: The ballerina, or the cellist?
ANGELUS: I meant the symphony about a man losing his soul. A celebration of the triumph over the human spirit. Let's do some celebrating of our own.
DRU: Here?
ANGELUS: Where better?
They get in the elevator. The other couple in there pushes the button for the eighth floor. They push the button for the 19th.
ANGELUS: Dru, honey, how do you think the acoustics are in here?
DRU: Perfect for screaming.
ANGELUS: I'm not sure about that. Let's find out.
They go bumpy. The two people scream and shriek as they are killed. Angelus and Dru dump their bodies out on the eighth floor and continue up to the 19th, which is just below their enemies. Angelus wants to send them a message. They walk down the hall. Angelus kicks open a door, they enter the room and slaughter a family.
Lindsey and Faith are lying in bed.
LINDSEY: You're usually feel better afterwards. I mean, that's the whole idea. Still worried about tomorrow?
FAITH: Tomorrow doesn't worry me. It's what comes after tomorrow.
LINDSEY: I know. I'll miss you too, Faith.
FAITH: Lindsey, that's not what I meant.
LINDSEY: There goes whatever's left of my ego.
FAITH: You're missin' the big picture, Linz. There's a bunch of girls down in Sunnydale waiting for me to die.
LINDSEY: That's not true.
FAITH: Like hell it's not. Buffy's training them for a job opening that only comes when I croak.
LINDSEY: They're only with Buffy because they need her to protect them. It has nothing to do with you.
FAITH: I'm sure that's how Buffy and Giles see it. Deep down, they want some fairy tale where I make it and all those girls still become Slayers and no one ever has to die. But that ain't the real world. You can't get a new Slayer without the old one dying. They're can't be a happy ending for us. That's why it was such a kick. When you're living on borrowed time, and each night could be your last, you go wild 24-7 and don't have a care in the world. No fear, no responsibilities, no hassles. You're free.
LINDSEY: Can't be too much fun when you got nothing to live for.
FAITH: I didn't plan on living long enough to ever figure that one out for myself. That's the comedy. The tragedy is my number's coming up just when I start feelin' like I don't wanna go.
LINDSEY: Then don't.
FAITH: Not going anywhere yet.
She kisses Lindsey and rolls on top of him.
It's 3 am. Angelus looks out the window in his bedroom at the Hyperion. Drusilla lies on the bed, happy and satisfied.
DRU: They won't come till the birds start their singing.
ANGELUS: I know, baby. I'm not thinking of them. I'm thinking beyond them.
DRU: By this toim tomorrow, you'll have your darling boy back.
He turns around, walks back to the bed and sits down on it.
ANGELUS: I want to see Connor's eyes light up when he sinks his teeth into his first kill. I'm so excited. I just can't wait.
DRU: Loik a boy on Christmas morning.
She puts her right hand on his face and her left hand on his chest. He gets on top of her. Dru smiles and moans.
DRU: Your presents will be here soon enough.
NEXT: Dark Willow fights Demon Cordy, and neither of them holds back. But first, Willow tries a little magic on Gwen.