[Darla convinces Connor to kill Buffy. Elijah meets Spike circa 1979 and discovers what it means to live on a Hellmouth. Plus, Cordy uses magic to do some serious damage to Willow. And you know Willow won't let Cordelia get away with something like that.]

Darla wears a long, white sleeveless dress.

DARLA: It's been so long. You've grown into such a handsome, strong young man. I'm so proud of you. You've given me the only true joy I've ever known.

CONNOR: I love you mom. I always will.

DARLA: And I'll never stop loving you. Never stop watching over you, keeping you safe. And keeping the people you love safe.

CONNOR: I know. You helped me watch over Holtz. That's how I knew you were good.

DARLA: Your father will soon be good again. He loves you. Just like I do. And he'll need you, just like I do.

CONNOR: Other people need me more.

DARLA: Yes, I've noticed. My son's finally got a girlfriend.

CONNOR: Stop it mom. [he blushes]

DARLA: I like her. Dawn's a wonderful girl. Her heart will always belong to you. Just like mine does. But someone wants to keep her away from you.

CONNOR: Buffy. Is she the danger you came to warn me about?

Darla's always come to warn Connor about an imminent danger or comfort him when he's scared and confused.

DARLA: Yes son. Buffy hates you. She hates the fact that you exist. It pains her just to look at you. Because you destroyed her dream.

CONNOR: How did I do that?

DARLA: By being born. She hates you for just being born.

On the back of the couch appears Buffy's old high school notebook. Connor can clearly see where Buffy wrote "Buffy n Angel 4 eva." He looks distressed.

DARLA: This was Buffy's dream. Her only dream. To be with Angel. If Buffy got her wish, Angel would have stayed here. With her. And you never could have been born.

CONNOR: That's true. I never thought about it like that before.

DARLA: She has. And she still wants to be with Angel. But that can never happen so long as you're around. Angel would never abandon you. And Buffy could never accept you. She looks at you, and she sees me, and she's jealous. Jealous because the Higher Powers chose me instead of her. Jealous because she can never bear his child.

Connor hears Buffy's disembodied voice in his head: "I loved Angel, and I would have done anything to be with him."

CONNOR: She would kill me, so she could have my dad. Is she going to kill me?

DARLA: Buffy will kill anything that tries to get between her and Angel. Even human beings. This wouldn't be the first time she's tried.

Reference to when she stabbed Faith. Darla's assertion is factually true, but distorted by the omission of context.

CONNOR: Buffy's a murderer?

DARLA: She tried to be. But she failed. Her victim only ended up in a coma for nine months. She was strong, like you. She was a Slayer. And yet she lost. When Angel is involved, Buffy turns into an animal. She tears anything that stands in her way to shreds.

CONNOR: Why did dad love her?

DARLA: Because the Higher Powers introduced her to him when he was alone and without hope. Angel has always needed a strong woman to look after him.

CONNOR: Like you.

DARLA: Like me. They chose the Slayer, who at that time happened to be Buffy. She inspired him to fight evil. But there was a tragic flaw. He became dependent on her. He can't resist her. He knows this. That's why Angel had to leave, to start his own life free from Buffy's presence. Buffy allowed him to do this because she thought that no matter where Angel was his heart would always belong to her.

CONNOR: Does she have him under a spell?

DARLA: The feelings are real, but they're not part of the real world.

CONNOR: I don't understand what that means.

DARLA: Buffy and Angel created a fantasy world where they can go whenever they're together. They do it to escape their problems. It's like a drug. She's an addiction. When he's with Buffy, Angel feels happy. But he's not a leader. He's not a champion. He's just hers. All he cares about is making her happy. He becomes nothing. When he gets his soul back, Angel will come here to see Buffy. And he'll become trapped. You're the only one who can save him.

CONNOR: I'm not a killer.

DARLA: You're a warrior. A champion. Just like your father. Think of all the lives Angel will save if he doesn't become Buffy's toy again. Think of all the lives you'll save by taking hers.

CONNOR: I don't want another person's blood on my hands.

DARLA: You'll be doing Buffy a favor. When I was pregnant with you, Buffy died. She went to Heaven. She was happy there. Happier than she ever was on earth. Her soul was finally at peace. But she was brought back to life. She didn't want to return. It hurt her more than you can imagine. All she wants is to go back to Heaven. She's earned it. She belongs there. She'll thank you.

CONNOR: I can't do that to Dawn. I can't kill Dawn's sister.

DARLA: Dawn in NOT Buffy's sister! You know that, Connor! She was tricked into believing Buffy was her sister. False memories. False history. Buffy WAS Dawn's protector. That was why Dawn was sent to her. Buffy's done her job. Dawn doesn't need her anymore.

CONNOR: She has me. I'm her protector now.

DARLA: You will be when you've sent Buffy to Heaven. Think of all the good you'll be doing. Angel will be free. Dawn will be with you forever. Buffy will bask in God's glow for the rest of eternity. Everyone wins.

CONNOR: Buffy's tough. Even tougher than my father. I might fail.

DARLA: And if you don't try she will kill you tomorrow night. She will enslave Angel. Dawn will lose the one person she belongs with in this world. I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you, son. But you're a man now. People depend on you. You can't let them down. And I know you won't.

CONNOR: How do you know that? Because you can see the future?

DARLA: Because I'm your mother. Because I've always had faith in you. It was a miracle that you survived Quor Toth. It was a miracle that you were even born. Compared to what you've had to overcome, this will be easy. I love you Connor. Don't let your mother down. You never have before.

CONNOR: I love you too, mom.

Darla disappears. Connor sits on the couch for a while, trying to think this through. He never planned on killing Buffy. But his mother had never steered him wrong in the past.

Elijah walks down into the basement and turns on the light. He has just finished an 80 minute Chemistry lab, and needs a quick nicotine fix. He pulls out two cigarettes, put them both in his mouth, and lights them. He takes a long drag on both of them, takes them out of his mouth – one in each hand –and exhales through his nostrils.

ELIJAH: Oh yeah. That's better.

He takes a puff on the one in his left hand, then puts the one in his right hand between his lips. He smokes that one while he carries the other cigarette between his left index and middle fingers. He walks around the basement, and spots a yellowed newspaper on the floor. He picks it up.

ELIJAH: NME? 1979? Sid Vicious in custody for the murder of . . .

He looks at his left hand and sees that the cigarette he was holding has vanished. He hears footsteps behind him. Elijah turns around and sees Spike. His hair is shaggier than it currently is. He wears a metal chain around his neck, a torn "I Hate Pink Floyd" t-shirt with a safety pin in it, black boots and blue jeans torn at the knees. Spike is smoking what appears to be Elijah's cigarette. Elijah drops the paper. The other cigarette dangles limply from his lips as he stands there in shock. Spike paces back and forth in front of him, occasionally looking the dumbfounded Elijah right in the eyes as he talks and rambles on at a breakneck pace.

SPIKE: Speaking through his attorney, Mister Vicious claimed that when he passed out, Nancy Spungen was alive, and that when he regained conscious he found her dead on the floor with a stab wound IN HER NECK. And nobody believed him. Why should they? Sid was violent. He was seen arguing with Nancy, publicly threatening to kill her. The bloke had means, motive, opportunity. But he was telling the bloody truth! I saw the whole thing. Hell, it was my idea. We walked in. They're drugged out of their bleeding minds. Not that they used their minds to begin with. Dru bites Nancy. I'm supposed to bite Sid. But I have second thoughts. The wanker had just taken every drug he could shoot, smoke and swallow. I didn't want that junk in my system. Heroin and ludes and tranquilizers and mescaline and who knows what else. Dru didn't mind. Doesn't effect her. She was loopy to begin with. Besides, by then Sid was a walking suicide. I knew he'd be dead in a couple months. And in the meantime, why not have a little fun framing him for murder? Ah, the Chelsea Hotel. I remember it well. Public accommodations, unlimited access. Though I never killed anyone in there who had talent. And somehow I get called the one without a soul. Dan Fogelberg, Christopher bloody Cross, Barry BLEEDING MANILOW – they're the soulless monsters!

Spike vanishes. Elijah doesn't quite know what to make of all this. He takes another drag on his cigarette.

ELIJAH: Last time I pull two all-nighters in a row. That was some hallucination. Stay up all night listening to the Buzzcocks, Husker Du and Black Flag – and this is what happens. Which way did I come in? Everything's so damn monotonous down here.

He wonders around lost for about 30 seconds.

ELIJAH: I better hurry or I'll be late for gym. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't hurry.

Four dead people with hideous wounds walk towards him, muttering about how he's disturbed their resting place, how he's intruding where he doesn't belong. Elijah sprints the other way until he runs into someone.

CARLOS: Yo! Watch out.

ELIJAH: You're . . . you're not one of them?

CARLOS: One of who?

Elijah takes a few deep breaths. He is sure this will sound crazy.

ELIJAH: I don't wanna sound all Haley Joel, but I think I just saw dead people.

CARLOS: I thought they avoided this part of the basement.

ELIJAH: What!!? You've seen them?

CARLOS: Come on up.

They both run up the stairs into the hallway, where Kit is standing, waiting for Carlos. Kit and Elijah are shocked to see each other.

KIT: What are you doing here?

ELIJAH: Running. From something down there.

KIT: Carlos, what happened?

ELIJAH: You two know each other?

CARLOS: I was gonna ask you the same question.

KIT: This is Elijah. We're going out . . . on Wednesday.

CARLOS: Really! Hey, nice to meet you. I'm Carlos.

KIT: Did he see dead people?

ELIJAH: You've seen them too?

KIT: That's how we met and became friends. Same with Dawn.

ELIJAH: Is there like a whole basement social scene I haven't heard about?

CARLOS: Just a few people. Wrong place, right time. Gotta be careful down there. Stay near the stairs. Don't wander. When did you get together with Kit?

ELIJAH: We met last night.

CARLOS: How'd I miss this?

KIT: It was right after you went off with Denise.

CARLOS: Guess spring really is the season for romance. What year are you?

ELIJAH: Senior. Are you telling me that I just saw what I thought I just saw. That that stuff was real? How can that be real? People don't appear and then vanish in the blink of an eye.

CARLOS: Are you new to this town?

ELIJAH: I've lived here since I was seven.

CARLOS: And you never wondered about all the mysterious deaths?

ELIJAH: Young people die. High risk behavior. I assumed it was drugs. A heroin epidemic.

KIT: Interesting analogy.

ELIJAH: For what?

KIT: Vampires.

Dawn told Kit and Carlos about them so they would be careful when they went out at night. After their experiences that first day of school, Kit and Carlos were very receptive to the paranormal. Elijah is still a skeptic. He laughs for a few seconds.

ELIJAH: You're joking, right? This is all some brilliant practical joke you put together to impress me. Isn't it, Kit?

Kit takes hold of hit right hand and looks him in the eyes sincerely.

KIT: I'm not joking.

ELIJAH: Vampires. You mean like in the movies?

CARLOS: Without the capes. Or so I've heard.

ELIJAH: But, but, I didn't see a vampire. That was something else.

KIT: There's a lotta something else's in this town.

ELIJAH: Whoa. Now I wish it really was heroin. Then that drug dealer I saw last night wasn't a drug dealer? He was a vampire? He killed those people?

KIT: Quite possibly.

CARLOS: I'm surprised you haven't noticed all the odd things that go on in this school. Remember the two-day riot?

ELIJAH: I remember my chemistry teacher leaving the gas on after he turned extinguished the bunsen burners, and when he lit them again the ceiling caught on fire, and I ran out of class, and I heard Econ and English were cancelled, so I left. The next day the radio said school was out because of a broken water main. There was a riot? And there are vampires out killing people and nobody notices? How can you keep a lid on stuff like that?

KIT: You should talk to Buffy Summers.

ELIJAH: Who?

KIT: The guidance counselor. The young one who started this year. She's really cool.

CARLOS: And she kicks ass. When we were downstairs, she saved our lives. Buffy's someone you want around when you're in trouble.

ELIJAH: What is she, a guidance counselor slash security guard?

KIT: She does the ass-kicking for free. You really should talk to her. She knows a lot more about this stuff than we do.

ELIJAH: Somehow knowing that there's a lot more to know is not terribly comforting. Boy, does gym sound fun right about now.

Elijah rushes off.

Its 10 am. Willow, Anya, Xander and Giles are in the dining room. Willow sits at the far end of the table with her magic paraphernalia carefully laid out before her. Giles stands across the table from her. Xander stands to Willow's right. Anya stands to Giles's left.

XANDER: Shouldn't we wait for Buffy to come home?

ANYA: How could she help?

XANDER: I just thought she would want to be here.

GILES: You have the proper text? And all the materials? I thought Angelus destroyed your Orb of Thessala last night.

WILLOW: I have like six of them.

ANYA: They're very cheap to mass-produce. Vessels for a priceless object, made in Malaysia for pennies on the dollar. Isn't it wonderful what the industrial age has done for the magic business?

GILES: Wonderful wasn't quite the word I had in mind. These aren't made by gypsies?

ANYA: Sure they are. And a big fat man brings you presents each Christmas on his flying sleigh. You've been buying overpriced third world knock-off relics for most of your adult life. So worldly, yet so naive.

WILLOW: People, I'm ready.

They light their candles and get in position. Willow recites the incantation. The Orb lights up. She becomes temporarily possessed and starts speaking Latin. It's all just like before. She looks upwards and finishes speaking. The Orb turns black. Willow keeps speaking. Xander and Giles become worried. Giles can understand what she's saying, and he doesn't like the sound of it. Willow's eyes turn blood-red. Actual blood starts flowing from beneath her fingernails. Black veins appear on her face and neck.

XANDER: This is wrong. Something's very wrong!

GILES: I think she's being possessed.

XANDER: Possessed by what?

ANYA: Angel's soul!?

GILES: No. We have to stop this.

Willow stands up. Fire shoots out of her mouth, forcing Giles, Xander and Anya to leap away from Willow and hit the deck. Blood starts trickling out of Willow's ears and nostrils. Her eyes turn purple. She screams. Winds swirl around the dining room, blowing out the candles and knocking all the magic paraphernalia – save the blackened orb – to the ground. Giles tries to reach Willow, but a bolt of energy shoots out from her left palm and knocks him down. Cuts appear on Willow's arms and shoulders. Finally, Xander leaps towards the table and smashes the orb with his left fist. The chaos ends. Willow falls to the ground.

In Los Angeles, Cordy sits on her bed, looking into the vessel containing Angel's soul. In her mind, while the spell was in progress, she could see everything that happened in Buffy's dining room. Cordy is laughing. This has made her day.

The Potentials, who were outside training, hear the commotion. Kennedy rushes into the dining room.

KENNEDY: Willow!! What happened to Willow!?

GILES: She tried to restore Angel's soul. Something went wrong.

Kennedy kneels at Willow's side and tries to comfort her.

KENNEDY: Willow? Honey? Are you alright. Can you speak? It's me.

Willow opens her eyes. She looks around at Kennedy, Giles, Xander and Anya. Her voice is weak but determined.

WILLOW: How did she fool me? How did SHE fool ME?

GILES: Who?

WILLOW: Cordy.

XANDER: Excuse me?

WILLOW: Angel's soul isn't in the ether.

ANYA: If the soul wasn't there for the taking, how could you start the spell to begin with?

WILLOW: A glammer! She tricked me with a goddam glammer! Never in my life have I been so humiliated. Outsmarted by Cordelia!! I can't believe this is happening.

GILES: You're telling me that from 90 miles away Cordelia tapped into your spell and invaded your body?

WILLOW: My God you're right! She was inside me, hurting me, bleeding me –

ANYA: Making you breathe fire?

XANDER: Cordy's that powerful?

GILES: You heard about the rain of fire.

XANDER: That's right – heard. It's a whole lot different when you see it up close.

KENNEDY: You need to rest. I'll take you upstairs.

WILLOW: I need to prepare. The game's changed. She wants a fight, I'll give her one.

Willow stands up, then almost falls down again. Kennedy props her right shoulder, and Xander her left. Her nose is still bleeding. There's blood in her mouth. Her arms are cut, and her fingernails are bloody. Her eyes look vacant and blank.

WILLOW: And by prepare, I mean rest. At least for now.

KENNEDY: Let's get you into bed. I'll bring up some tea.

Giles and Anya are left to pick up the wreckage.

ANYA: I'm very worried.

GILES: As am I. We now know Cordelia can come after us.

ANYA: No. I'm worried about Willow.

GILES: She'll recover. You know how strong she is.

ANYA: That's why I'm worried. Did you hear what she said? Willow declared war on Cordelia. Were already at war with the First. Which means as of now we're fighting a two-front war. We're Germany! Willow said she is going to go bad and try to overpower Cordelia.

GILES: That's not what she said. Willow's going to outsmart her. Cordelia is very powerful, but not very knowledgeable.

ANYA: She said fight. She's mad. Cordy hurt her and wounded her pride. Willow wants vengeance.

GILES: Willow has grown as a person and as a wiccan. She is more mature than that now.

ANYA: I hope you're right. But if the world ends unexpectedly, don't say I didn't warn you.

Connor walks down to the docks. He kicks open the door of a warehouse. The sun shines in down the middle of the long, narrow shed. The vampires inside cower along the walls. The see Connor enter, the light behind him creating an impressive silhouette effect. Most of the vampires are terrified. Their leader isn't.

ZACK: Well now. Look what we have here. Vampire junior.

The other vampires relax and laugh.

LANCE: You wanna kill us, or hang out with us? Try to get back to your roots.

More snickering. Connor looks serene.

CONNOR: I want Buffy dead. And I think you can help me with that.