Episode 7.2 "Death and Taxes"

Written by: L.E. Lamkin

Under cover of darkness, a teenaged boy and girl slip through an empty window and into the nearly completed brand new Sunnydale High. The building has been rebuilt over the exact same place the old one was, missing only a few windows and some loose floors. They're both nervous, and worried they'll be caught. The boy assures the girl they'll be fine. "Welcome to the Hellmouth", anyone?

After finding a place where they can go at it, the two teens start making out, oblivious to everything around them. Including a dark, ominous looking strand of black smoke that slowly begins to seep out of different areas of exposed ground where the floors haven't been laid down yet. The black tendrils continue to snake closer to the teens, and the girl suddenly pulls away, commenting that it's just gotten so much colder. The boy begins to assure her once again that everything is okay, but before he can finish, the evil-looking black smoke shoots into the boy's back, causing him to cry out in pain. Then, an instant later, he drops to the floor – dead. The girl can only scream.

The next morning, Buffy and Dawn sit side-by-side in a boring, non-descript office, much like the one in the bank in last season's "Flooded". Dawn complains that the guy that was helping them has been gone for "like, ever". Buffy tells her that their insurance settlement will be worth the wait. Dawn says she'll miss the house, and Buffy agrees. But she's pretty surprised the place even lasted this long. Next second, the insurance office worker returns, holding a small slip of paper. He explains to the girls that because before their mother died, she had purchased very good house insurance, and because they are no longer with the dependant who bought the insurance and lost everything in the fire, their claim will be that much larger. He shows Buffy the slip, with the amount of her claim on it. Her eyes widen, and Dawn murmurs, "That's a lot of zeros." Needless to say, the sisters are shocked.

After leaving the office, Buffy and Dawn stop by the high school to visit Xander and share with him the good news. However, the mood is pretty grim on campus, and Xander explains to Buffy that a dead teenager was found inside the school this morning. No apparent marks, just…a cold, dead body.

~

Buffy: "The school hasn't even opened yet, and already it's a death magnet. Boy, this was a great idea. Let's rebuild the school! Carry on the tradition! Blah, blah, blah."

~

She has no idea how right she is. Xander tells the girls that they're on a tight schedule. He and his crew have been working very hard to get Sunnydale High back into shape again, but Xander thinks maybe they should take the day off. Inside the school, one of Xander's crew members, a guy around their age, is diligently working on setting a new window into its place. Like the night before, that same dark mist begins floating up from out of the ground, slowly coiling up and around the worker's body, until it tightens around his throat, strangling him to death. The window falls and shatters into a million little jagged pieces.

Immediately, Xander, Buffy and Dawn are on the scene, and they see the dead worker. Dawn is morbidly interested, and wants to take a closer look, but Buffy tells her stay away. She and Xander share a quick glance. They're both thinking the same thing: something fishy is going on.

Later that day, the trio are waiting in the airport lounge we saw in "Bargaining" last year. Buffy mentions that Giles called her a little earlier and that their plane should be landing fairly soon. Dawn seems a little apprehensive about Willow's return, but Buffy tells her that she's still the same person.

~

Buffy: "Willow went through a lot of hell. Pure and simple. And it's never easy for people to deal when things happen like that. Anybody remember my little escapade to L.A. a few years back?"

Xander: "Not to mention your serious lack in judgment of character."

Buffy: "What is that supposed to mean?"

Xander: "Nothing. It's just that most people wouldn't let themselves get down and dirty with an evil thing like…"

Buffy: "Don't say his name, Xander. Please."

~

Just like in the premiere, Anya appears at just the wrong time, and manages to overhear Xander's comment about Spike.

~

Anya: "Most people, huh? Does that include me?"

Xander: "Would you stop doing that? With the random appearances and whatnot? It's more than a little creepy."

~

Anya brushes Xander off, and explains that she also received a call from Giles, and came to greet him back into the homeland. She goes on to say that even though she's a demon now, she still did make several ties to the mortal world as her short stint as a human, and has a place for Giles because he was her former employer. She adds, "You know, before Buffy and Willow did their whole number on the shop." Buffy tries to defend herself, but at that moment, Giles and Willow are suddenly amongst them, excitedly announcing their presence. Warm hugs and greetings are exchanged by all, and after the initial excitement of everyone being once again reunited, a sort of awkward silence falls over them all.

~

Willow: "So…what's new with you guys?"

Buffy: "Well, actually, there's sort of a lot we should talk about. It's sort of hard to explain. A…a few big things happened recently, and…well, I'm not really sure what's going to happen now."

Dawn: "Some crazed demon burned down our house, and now we've got like, a ton of money we can spend on whatever we want."

Buffy: "Apparently it wasn't really that hard to explain."

~

It's obvious that everyone has a lot of catching up to do. Xander offers that they all go back to his place to go over everything. Giles tells them all that he's got quite a bit of news to share himself. As they all walk out of the airport, an unseen duo of men dressed in conservative suits look on, watching the group very, very closely.

Clem is sitting in Spike's crypt, lounging in the old armchair, watching T.V., when suddenly the crypt's door flies open, and Spike rushes in. He looks strange, like we've never seen him before. His gaze is distant, and he can't seem to focus very well. It seems being back in Sunnydale is a bit hard on him. Clem tells Spike several times how surprised he is to see Spike back. He didn't expect him to ever return, especially after what happened between him and Buffy. Spike goes nearly mental at just the mention of the Slayer's name.

~

Spike: "She's in my blood, now. In my veins. She makes me want to live, and damn it, I'm not even bloody worth it! I can't even be the same way I was before. I did so much…so much carnage, so much blood. And I loved it. I loved it! And now all I feel is sick and queasy and like I could die…"

Clem: "Clearly you're dealing with some issues."

~

Spike continues to hint at his new development in almost insane ramblings. Clem finally quietly deduces that Spike is different now. He has a soul. Clem says he can sense it, that it must be "a demon thing". Just from hearing the "s" word, Spike goes absolutely mental again. Tears of what seem to be pain and anguish roll down his cheeks, and he continues to scream unintelligibly. He screams for Clem to just leave, to just leave and never come back. Clem tries to comfort the vampire, but Spike converts into his vampire face and tells him his chip doesn't hold him back from hurting demons. Clem gets the hint and ske-daddles, leaving Spike all alone. With an angry, desperate cry, he picks up the T.V., still quietly rumbling, and throws it into the far wall of the crypt, and it crashes into hundreds of pieces.

The vibe in Xander's apartment is sketchy at best. Everyone is gathered in the living room area, and it's clear that this is where everyone will be sleeping for at least a time, except of course for Anya, who looks extremely uncomfortable to be there. As Buffy brings Giles and Willow up to speed about the current events in Sunnydale, Anya fidgets and altogether looks as if she wants to leave, but somehow feels compelled to stay. As if she's familiar with it. Giles explains to everyone that as part of his return to Sunnydale, he is to watch over Willow's reintegration into life, and to take on a new position as one of the head curators at the Sunnydale Museum.

~

Buffy: "The Council can just…take over places like that?"

Giles: "Their influence spreads quite far, and they have the ability to offer quite provocative incentives for working with them. The Council has also placed several of their officials at the museum as well, to help with things."

Buffy: "And to meddle where things should be meddle-free?"

~

Clearly, although the Watcher's Council and the Slayer have reunited in the fight against the forces of darkness, Buffy still isn't too hot-to-trot to be working very closely with the usually stuffy and narrow-minded Englishmen. However Giles insists that they will only be there to help him monitor Willow's progression, and to help make sure things don't spiral out of control in Sunnydale like they did several months before. A sort of precation of sorts. Still, it's obvious Buffy doesn't like the new set-up, but she doesn't say anything more.

Buffy and Willow have decided to take a walk. Both have a lot to talk about with eachother, and it seems there is so much that's been left unsaid. Willow left almost immediately for England after the near-apocalypse, and they'd barely spoken to each other since then, barring a couple of short telephone calls. As the two friends wander the streets of Sunnydale, they talk about their feelings.

~

Buffy: "So how've you been feeling? You okay?"

Willow: "I've been feeling…stable. Giles spent so much time with me, helping me learn how to cope. I…I don't think I would've made it without him. No, I know I wouldn't have. It was…it was so hard, Buffy. It took me most of the time just getting it through my head that I could even come back from what I did. It reminded me of…I felt like I had turned into…Faith or something."

Buffy: "No. This was different. Someone you love was taken from you. You did what you thought you should at the time. Maybe it was wrong, maybe it was right. But it's over now. And you're home. Where you belong."

~

Just like at the airport, we see several figures standing inconspicuously in different places on the same street as Buffy and Willow, watching them very closely. Someone is keeping tabs on the Slayer and her friends. But are they friends or foe? Or something completely different?

Meanwhile, the dark force that has already claimed two lives is spreading out farther and farther into town, able to leave the confines of the high school where it once originated from. It's growing stronger and stronger. The wisps of black smoke begin showing up everywhere in town. A young woman walking down the street is suddenly on the sidewalk, not moving. A delivery truck driver struggles with the wheel, and flies over a bridge. A group of young kids playing baseball watch as the pitcher looses his breath and seems to have an asthma attack. People are dying all over the place. And it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.

The next morning, Buffy strides into the Sunnydale museum, holding a folded up newspaper in her hand. The place seems to be empty, and there isn't much set up. Clearly the place is in the midst of being renovated and changed around. The Slayer wanders into the back of the building, and finally finds Giles and Willow going over some paperwork in a back office/lab area. Buffy claims that the new place is pretty nice. Willow admits she thinks it's very cool. She's excited to get to work so exclusively with all kinds of ancient artifacts and books. Buffy deadpans that they've always been working with ancient artifacts and books.

~

Willow: "Well, now, they're official ancient artifacts and books."

~

Buffy slams the newspaper down in front of Giles, saying that while the "official" business might be great, they have other work to do. The headline in the paper reads: "Mysteriously Large Amount of Deaths Stump Sunnydale Officials". She brings up the deaths of two others on the high school's campus from yesterday, and that she knows something is up.

~

Giles: "It could very well have been the work of nature doing what nature does. Sometimes there are natural causes of death that we cannot stop or avoid."

Buffy: "Giles a bunch normal, healthy people don't just drop dead because of natural causes on the same day. Something evil is out there. We've gotta...gotta find it, gotta stop it!"

Giles: "I appreciate that you've become so dedicated to the cause, but perhaps maybe you're help isn't needed here. The Slayer is only needed for…for supernatural crises."

Buffy: "Giles, how often do people die in this town when there isn't a supernatural crisis involved?"

Giles: "Well….well…Point taken."

~

Willow accesses some demon databases with her laptop, and soon comes up with a match on possible culprits. She thinks it's possible they might be dealing with an ancient force called "El Muerte", which translates into "death". It's a never-ending force that's been around forever. Buffy wonders why it's going way extracurricular with its normal activities. Giles suggests that perhaps the Hellmouth has been fueling its power, making it all the more likely to take more lives than it already has planned. The deaths began at the high school, which is where the Hellmouth is, but now its power seems to have spread all over town. Buffy thinks it's a logical explanation. Come sundown, she plans to hit the school, where it all started, and see if she can seek "El Muerte" out, and find a way to stop its crazed killing rampage.

~

Giles: "Buffy…you can't stop death. It's impossible."

Buffy: "I may not be able to stop it. But I can slow it down."

~

Giles thinks that with all the energy of the Hellmouth lending El Muerte power, it is likely to adapt a sort of physical form. Buffy remarks that that's all for the best. She's ready to kick some evil ass. Willow tells her to be careful. They already lost Buffy once, and she couldn't handle losing her again.

~

Buffy: "Don't worry. I might fall for the same trick twice, but I'm not going for it a third time anytime soon."

~

The sun has set, and Spike is wandering Sunnydale, very lost in his thoughts. As he walks down the street, he is accosted by blinding, painful images that scream through his mind as quick as lightning flashes. He sees him and Drusilla wracking havoc throughout Europe. The Slayers he killed during the Boxer Rebellion and in New York City. His attempted rape of Buffy in her bathroom. He shakes them off, and finds himself standing where Buffy's house used to be. He becomes clearly worried. Has something truly terrible happened to Buffy while he was away? Not much longer, he reaches the Magic Box. It too is destroyed and in ruins. Worry turns to fear. Spike takes off running.

At the same time, Buffy is just reaching the high school's campus. She sneaks into the building, much like the kids did in the beginning of the episode. She silently walks the halls, totally alert, all of her Slayer senses set on high. It's clear that she's primed for battle. In the same hallway that the first kid died in, Buffy slowly comes to a stop, noticing something in the air. That same old black mist arrives, and coils up into the air before Buffy. Then, it takes form. Like the garish nightmare-inducing Grim Reaper, it has a flowing, ethereal black robe, with a hood hiding its face, except for two burning red eyes.

~

Buffy: "Nice look you got there. But the whole clad-in-darkness bit? It's pretty much tired."

~

The battle begins. Buffy tries her best to take El Muerte on, but she can't really do much to it. It's not solid enough for her to truly fight, but her Slayer strength is enough to keep it at bay. But she can only fight for so long. Outside the high school, Spike has finally found Buffy. He looks relieved to see her, and to see that she's still alive, but then he sees that she's fighting for her life, literally. Death has started to wrap around Buffy's legs, snaking up her entire body. It's going to strangle her!

Spike leaps through the window, and knocks Death off of the Slayer. Buffy falls back, trying to get her breath back. Spike squares off face-to-face with El Muerte. Buffy sees Spike and becomes paralyzed by shock. Spike demands that Death take him, not Buffy. It's him he wants, he's the stronger one. So crazed El Muerte is, and hungry for more death, it doesn't realize Spike is already dead. It shoots right into Spike's chest for the killing blow, and the vampire almost has a look of happiness on his face.

He falls to the floor, spasming in pain. But then…nothing. El Muerte is gone. The fact that Spike was already dead and couldn't be killed by its power, El Muerte is presumably sent back to where it belongs, having being stopped. Spike slumps back to the ground, almost disappointed that he's still alive. Buffy can only look on in quiet surprise, unable to speak.

~

Spike: "Guess it didn't sit too well with somebody already dead, eh? Can't imagine something like that sitting too well with anything, matter of fact. Just doesn't sit right, doesn't sit right at all…"

~

Before she gets a chance to collect herself, Spike picks himself up off the ground and dashes away into the darkness, leaving Buffy all alone.

A little bit later, after the battle with El Muerte, Buffy is all alone at the ruins of her old home. She stumbles along amidst the rubble, and comes across a badly charred wooden trunk. The one Xander and Anya presented to her as a birthday gift last year. She kneels before it, surprised it even survived the fire. She opens the trunk, and inside, barely affected by the horrible flames – is Spike's black leather duster, the one that was left at her house before he fled from Sunnydale.

With a confused, slightly pained look on her face, Buffy pulls the duster out of the trunk, and pulls it close against her chest, looking as if she has no idea what is going on anymore in her world.

** Check out Episode 7.3: Sunrise, coming soon! (The first episode written by Finn Mac Cool so far!) **