Lindsey talks to Connor about Darla. Gwen has some fun with Angelus. Dru takes on Fred, Gunn and Wes. And Buffy decides to take Dawn with her on patrol.
Connor races desperately for the hotel. He's running pretty fast for a human, but much slower than he can move when he's healthy. Each breath causes stabbing pain in his ribs. Every now and then he glances backwards to make sure she's not in sight. He makes it to the hotel and dashes for the elevators. One of them is closing. He dives forward, sliding along the marble floor, and getting his right hand in between the doors. They open. He stands up, walks in and runs the card Lindsey gave him through the reader. The light comes on for the 20th floor. He looks out and sees that Dru has entered the hotel. She is bounding towards the elevator. The doors close and the elevator goes up when she is just 15 feet away. Connor leans against the back wall and tries to catch his breath. Three business people are staring at the horribly battered young man. They move to the other side of the elevator and decide to stay out of whatever is going on.
Upstairs, Fred uses a yellow highlighter to draw a Spiral of Archimedes on top of the demon's skull.
WES: Please don't write on the severed head.
FRED: It's a pattern. Begins in the center and goes outwards. Only these characters matter. The rest are purely decorative. It might be a story.
WES: You've deciphered their code?
FRED: No. I just figured out the mathematical pattern. I don't know what any of these symbols mean, but I know which ones mean something.
Wesley looks closely at the head.
WES: The hands appear to explain who he is. I suppose the head might reveal how he got that way. The rest of the symbols might have some magical or mystical significance, even in isolation.
FRED: What have you made out from the symbols on the hands?
WES: Simple agricultural motifs. Appears they might call themselves Reapers. Instead of chopping down corn stalks, they're chopping down Slayers. Conforms with their choice of weaponry.
GUNN: Not to be cold, but is this our problem?
FAITH: He means, is it my problem? Cause we already got enough of our own battles to fight.
WES: The Bringers made one attempt on Faith when she arrived in town, and they haven't attacked her since. This Reaper has also made one attempt. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say they won't be back. The targets in Sunnydale are far more plentiful and, with the exception of Buffy, softer. We'll analyze this evidence and help Rupert out in our free time, but we can't allow it to distract us from our more immediate worries.
GUNN: In other words, don't forget about Angelus.
LORNE: No chance of that happening anytime soon.
LINDSEY: How do you guys wanna handle Angelus tonight?
GWEN: I vote for playing it safe.
FAITH: Everyone sticks together.
FRED: After last night, I don't think any of us wants to fight him alone.
Connor stumbles through the door and falls on his face. Everyone turns to look at him and gasps.
CONNOR: Angelus came to my place. I jumped out the window. But I took him with me.
FAITH: Omigod. How bad are you hurt?
CONNOR: About as bad as my dad is. [he chuckles twice] Right now, Lorne could beat him up. I think he went home. Dru tracked me here. She's downstairs.
LINDSEY: Lorne, the cameras.
Lorne checks out several monitors. They've patched into the hotel security system to see if their enemies are in the building.
LORNE: No sign of tall, dark and crazy.
Wesley rewinds the tapes a few minutes, then fast-forwards.
WES: I see Connor enter. About 15 seconds later I see Drusilla enter. She leaves ten seconds after that.
Faith takes off Connor's shirt and checks for injuries and broken bones. He has several large bruises on his chest, ribs and back. Faith pokes one of the bruises.
CONNOR: Ow!
FAITH: You may have broken some ribs.
CONNOR: They fix themselves pretty quick. [he looks at everyone around him] Thanks for, you know, being worried. But I'm fine, now that I'm safe. I'll heal on my own. I can stay here tonight, right?
LINDSEY: Absolutely. We have a couple empty suites. Do want some ice?
CONNOR: No thanks.
WES: So what happened?
CONNOR: He came over. We talked for a little bit. He said a few things about Dawn that bothered me. I told him to leave. He said "Make me." So I did. Then we fought on the street, beat each other up.
GUNN: You saying you fought Angelus to a stalemate?
CONNOR: We had nothing left. So we stopped. [lies on his back and smiles] I showed him.
FRED: We shoulda done the de-invite spell at your place. I'm so sorry, Connor.
CONNOR: I'm not.
GWEN: I'm gonna go check out Angelus's pad, see how he is.
GUNN: What about the barrier? If his other vamps find you, you can't fight back.
GWEN: I'm good at breaking-and-entering without getting caught.
Connor turns his head and sees Gwen.
CONNOR: Who are you?
GWEN: Gwen Raiden. We met once before. Right after you fell out of your apartment window. I must be jinxed or something.
CONNOR: You were there when the Beast made the sun disappear?
GWEN: Like I said, it sucks to be you when I'm around.
CONNOR: It hurts, but it doesn't suck, and it's not your fault.
GWEN: You sure you don't want to go the hospital, just to be safe?
CONNOR: I bend, but I don't break. [sly half-smile]
GWEN: Fair enough. I did once see you land on your face after a six-story fall and not lose consciousness.
CONNOR: I'm freaky that way.
Gwen smiles.
GWEN: So am I. But in a different way. I'm electric.
Connor looks a little confused. Then a little worried.
CONNOR: Like a human taser?
GWEN: I can do a lot more than shock.
FRED: She can also awe.
LORNE: Sorry to distract from this bonding of the differently abled, but the dead woman's back.
They see Dru on the monitor. Faith, Wes, Gunn and Fred head down.
GWEN: I'm gonna slip out the back and beat the old lady home.
CONNOR: Nice meeting you.
GWEN: You too, champ.
She leaves. Connor smiles. She didn't mean it in the strictly "Champion" sense of the word, but that's how Connor takes it.
CONNOR: So where's my room?
LINDSEY: At the end of the hall. I'll take you there. You need help?
CONNOR: Nah.
Connor struggles to his feet and limps out into the hallway. Lorne looks on the monitors and notices Dru has left the building. Faith, Wes, Gunn and Fred run through the lobby and stand outside the hotel on the sidewalk.
GUNN: Where'd she go?
FRED: Not to be negative, are we walkin' into an ambush?
They hear a woman screaming to their right. Faith rushes off in that direction. The others follow.
WES: Technically this would be running into an ambush. But my intuition is that she's working alone.
Two blocks down the road, in an alley behind a store, Faith finds the corpse of a young woman who's been bitten. The others soon catch up. They look around nervously.
GUNN: Would this be the moment we get bum-rushed?
They ready themselves for the attack. On the roof of the store stands Drusilla. She throws down a brick, which smashes into the top of Faith's head and knocks her out. Dru jumps down to the street and looks at — from right to left — Gunn, Fred and Wes.
DRU: How noice of you to accept my invitation. Hope you enjoy the party.
Charles throws a right cross, which Dru dodges. She knocks him down with a right jab and floors Fred with a left uppercut. Wesley connects with a right hook to her face. She blocks his left jab with her right hand and grips his throat with left hand.
DRU: Naught quite as darling as the other Watcher.
Wesley grabs her left wrist with both hands, trying to break free. He manages to kick her in the stomach with his right foot. She lets go of his neck, punches him in the nose with her right wrist and smiles.
DRU: But a wee bit feistier.
Gunn hits her in the face with a left hook. She kicks him in the stomach. Fred gets between Dru and Gunn, grabs her round the waist and drives her backwards. It takes Dru a few seconds to pry Fred off of her and throw her to the ground. By that time, Wes and Gunn are right in front of her. Charles nails her with a right uppercut to the chin. Wes lands a left jab to her nose. Dru hits Gunn with the back of her right hand and Wes with the back of her left, knocking them back a few feet and allowing Dru to escape. The three of them catch their breath and grimace from their wounds.
FRED: I liked Darla a lot better. Even when she wanted to kill me.
Faith gets up and rubs her head.
FAITH: What the hell did I just miss?
The bathroom in Connor's suite has a jacuzzi. He's never seen one before. After taking a shower, he tries it out and finds it very relaxing.
LINDSEY: I don't know if that's the right thing for you to do. Soaking in hot water when you're bruised and swollen only makes it worse.
CONNOR: Feels like it's helping me heal.
LINDSEY: You're the super hero. Whatever floats your boat.
CONNOR: How long did you say it would be before the food gets here?
LINDSEY: Room service here usually takes 15 to 20 minutes. I'll get it for you.
CONNOR: Thanks. Do you have a phone?
LINDSEY: I actually think there's one in the bathroom.
Connor looks around.
CONNOR: You're right. Cool.
At Buffy's house, Dawn and Giles are in the dining room, using magnifying glasses to look at the pictures of the demon's head and hands.
GILES: Something about plowing. The ones who clear the ground, prepare the earth for what's to come.
DAWN: I think these are harvest symbols. I'd call the demons Harvesters. Also, I think it says they came from the earth, or were made out of the earth, or maybe inside the earth. Like a Golem. But an evil Golem, built by the First to destroy its enemies.
The phone in the kitchen rings.
GILES: Hopefully that's Wesley.
BUFFY: Hello.
CONNOR: Hi. Is Dawn there?
BUFFY: Hello Connor.
CONNOR: Wait. There's something I wanna say to you.
BUFFY: And what would that be?
CONNOR: Thank you.
BUFFY: Oh. I wasn't expecting that. And what are you thanking me for?
CONNOR: I know about how you protected Dawn, even when killing her would solve all your problems and save the world. How you died so she could live. I owe her a lot, so that means I owe you a lot. You died to save the woman I love, the woman I belong with.
BUFFY: Don't mention it. Seriously.
It's as if Connor thinks Buffy saved Dawn so she could be his girlfriend.
CONNOR: Makes me even sorrier I tried to kill you. I know you're a good person who does really good things. You know, a Champion, whatever. I just don't want you to hate me and be mad at me cause I did something really stupid. And I promise I won't do it again.
BUFFY: Well aren't we setting the bar high? You're forgiven. Just hold your end of the bargain and we'll be, well, you know —
CONNOR: Five by five?
Buffy shudders. Talk about a wiggins-worthy development.
BUFFY: You must have met Faith. Good thing neither of you is evil anymore. Real good thing. Thanks for the heartfelt and surreal apology. Can you hold one second?
Buffy walks into the dining room.
BUFFY: It's Connor.
Dawn looks excited.
DAWN: I'll take it in my room.
She runs upstairs. When she picks up the phone, Buffy hangs up.
XANDER: Were you just talking to Connor?
BUFFY: He did most of the talking. That boy's view of the world sure is quirky.
XANDER: To put it mildly. He came by my construction site yesterday to chat. Though first he threatened to impale me. [Buffy looks very worried] Because of what happened with me and Cordy. [Buffy looks like she understands] He seems well-intentioned. Which is good, cause I'd hate to see him when he's not.
DAWN: Connor?
CONNOR: Hello lover.
Lindsey hears this, and it sends a chill up his spine. He closes the bathroom door and turns on the television so he won't hear any more Darla-isms. Dawn laughs.
DAWN: Miss me already?
CONNOR: Oh yeah. I saw my dad. We got into a fight.
DAWN: Are you hurt?
CONNOR: I'm hurt all over. But so is Angelus. I stood up to him.
DAWN: You didn't back down, so he beat you up?
CONNOR: And I beat him up.
DAWN: You're not lying to me to make yourself look better?
CONNOR: When have I ever lied to you?
DAWN: Connor . . .
CONNOR: Okay, that one time. But not since then, cause I love you.
DAWN: Are you safe?
CONNOR: Yeah.
DAWN: How bad are you hurt?
CONNOR: I should be fine tomorrow. But it's not the same without you here, making the pain go away. When you're around, nothing hurts.
DAWN: Ohhh. I miss you too.
BUFFY: How do we handle this new thing?
GILES: We don't play it safe, because that's never been an option. If we stay in the house, our enemies can burst in and attack us at any moment. If you take the Potentials on patrol, they can be attacked out in the open. You can't protect all of them from every danger. They have to learn to protect themselves. And they have, to a certain degree. They've learned to work together. They've learned to overcome some of their initial fears. Vampires and Bringers no longer intimidate them.
BUFFY: I meant, what are we doing tonight?
GILES: I was getting to that. You perform your usual patrol. Spike can do his usual tagging along. I've noticed in the papers reports about two suspicious deaths this week in the southeast section of town.
BUFFY: That's way out in the boonies.
GILES: Exactly. Hardly a normal feeding spot for vampires. Unless they live there. The bodies were discovered within a quarter-mile of a an abandoned barn. I suspect one or two vampires is nesting there. I plan to drive the girls out there, have them kill the vampires, and then return home. Simple search-and-destroy. Allows them to get some practice without exposing them to our enemies for very long.
BUFFY: That does sound safer than having them walking the streets or roaming the cemeteries.
Buffy goes upstairs. Dawn's hung up the phone and is lying on her bed, smiling, thinking of Connor.
BUFFY: I think it's time you took me up on my offer. I also think it's time I took you up on yours.
Dawn looks confused.
From outside, Gwen can see sees a light on at the Hyperion. She also sees the silhouette of a figure about Angelus's size. He has his back turned to the window as he takes off his shirt and drops it on a chair. She comes in through the window and sees the bruises on his back.
GWEN: Your boy wasn't lying. He really give as good as he got.
Angelus turns around.
ANGELUS: Can't stay away from me, can you?
Gwen's dressed in black. She takes off her two short black gloves. He walks towards her. She smiles and moves counter-clockwise and circles round so she's facing the window.
GWEN: You know the saying: If it feels good . . .
She puts both hands on his chest and shocks him for five seconds. He cries out in pain and lies down on his bed, writhing in agony.
GWEN: Must be because the living have a much lower pain threshold than the dead.
ANGELUS: How badly do you want me to kill you? Cause right now, you're practically begging for it.
GWEN: After your inspired performance last night, I couldn't resist the chance to kick you while you're down. Metaphorically.
As he tries to get up off the bed, she puts her fingers on his chest once more and gives him another good five seconds of juice. He grimaces and growls, trying his best not to show how torturous the 15 seconds after she lets go really are. Gwen puts her gloves back on.
GWEN: I thought I couldn't hurt you in here? Maybe the barrier thinks I'm helping you. The sadist in you must understand the bitter irony. Nice kid, by the way. Angel would be proud.
She slips out the window and gets away. Angelus lies there, alone and frustrated.
When the food comes, Connor gets out of the jacuzzi and puts on one of the thick hotel bath robes. He sits down and eats. Lindsey decides it's time to come clean.
LINDSEY: Connor, I knew Darla. When she was human.
Connor swallows the food and pauses for a few seconds.
CONNOR: What was my mother like?
LINDSEY: Confused. After what she'd been through, how could she not be confused? And scared. But also strong. Elegant. Graceful.
CONNOR: She was very beautiful.
LINDSEY: How would you know what she looks like? Did your dad show you pictures?
CONNOR: I've seen her in dreams. Did you love her?
Lindsey takes a little while to answer this question. He worries Connor would find the truth disturbing and unsettling. It's always hard to tell someone you had the hots for their mom.
LINDSEY: Yes. I l did love her.
Connor smiles. This surprises Lindsey.
CONNOR: Good. Nice to know someone else cared about her.
This puts Lindsey in an entirely different bind, since he used and exploited Darla.
LINDSEY: Connor, your mother was brought back to life by some evil people. Evil people I happened to work for at the time. They didn't care about her. I wasn't supposed to. It was business. But I did. They made her so she would die a few months after coming back to life. And of course before that happened they had her turned back into a vampire. Your mother was the reason I switched sides. She woke up my conscience. Darla was a good woman without any choices. [pauses] Except for you. You were her one choice. The human Darla I knew would have been proud to give something back to the world, something that would live on after her.
CONNOR: Sometimes I wonder what she'd say to me.
LINDSEY: [chuckles] Probably tell you to be nice to your father. When he has a soul. Your mother knew he was a good guy. So do I, on account of the fact that when I was a bad guy he caused me and a lot of other bad guys all sorts of problems. Also, he's the only family you got.
CONNOR: You say that like it's a good thing.
LINDSEY: He's the only one who has to love you when you screw up and misbehave, or bury him at the bottom of the ocean. Always nice to have people you can go to no matter what.
Buffy and Dawn are standing over a fresh grave. They hear noises below them. The vampire is rising. Its right hand shoots up out of the soil. Dawn reaches down and takes the vampire's right wrist in her left hand. She helps pull him up to the surface. The vampire's feet are now on solid ground. Still a little disoriented from clawing his way out of a coffin, the vampire isn't precisely sure who this woman is or what she is doing. Dawn extends her right hand. She shakes his right hand with both of her hands, as if she is warmly introducing herself.
DAWN: Welcome to your new life. It's a pleasure to meet you.
In Dawn's right hand is a wooden stake. As Dawn shakes the vampire's hand, they are both holding this stake. Dawn thrusts both her hands towards the vampire's heart.
DAWN: I'm sure the pleasure is all mine.
The vampire turns to dust. Buffy is rather shocked by Dawn's fearless and glib approach. Dawn notices this. She tries to explain.
DAWN: Sometimes it's fun to kill them with kindness.
BUFFY: Did Connor teach you that move?
DAWN: [laughs] Of course not. Connor's not into kindness. At least when it comes to vampires. With me, of course, he's so way beyond kind. Yesterday afternoon we watched the sun set over the ocean. We stood there, and he held me, and it felt like everything was perfect, but it could only get better.
They start walking.
BUFFY: That's love for ya.
DAWN: You used the four-letter L-word for me and Connor. Does this mean you've moved from denial to acceptance?
BUFFY: No one can deny that you two have outlandishly strong feelings for one-another. That's what worries me. The more you love him, the more it will hurt when it ends.
DAWN: That just shows how little you understand about us. It's not over. It's never going to be over. Why would you even say that?
BUFFY: Because it always ends.
She picks up a rock, throws it into the air, and watches it fall to the ground.
BUFFY: What goes up must come down.
DAWN: Love doesn't work that way. The Laws of Gravity don't apply.
BUFFY: When has it not worked that way? Hasn't every relationship you've ever known about failed in the end? It's the way of the world. As much as you love him, as much as he loves you, something always gets in the way.
DAWN: That's not true. What about - ? No. But what about - ? [she looks worried after thinking about the love lives of her family and friends] You're right. Oh God, you're right.
BUFFY: I don't want to see you risk everything on happily ever after. Cause if you lose it can ruin your life.
DAWN: You think I'm too naive to know that? I worry about this every second we're apart. At school today, I was thinking about Slayers. They can keep up with Connor. Maybe in the future he'd meet one he really liked. She could always fight at his side, even when things were too dangerous for me to take part. The boys do always seem to go for Slayers. Maybe she could relate to him better than me, on account of the super powers. Then I remembered that Faith is in Los Angeles. [Dawn's eyes narrow] She could be with him this very moment. We know how Faith operates. She tried to steal all your boyfriends. Maybe she'd try to steal mine.
BUFFY: Faith's dating someone.
DAWN: She is? Who? Wesley!? Please don't say Wesley, because that's like a teacher dating his student.
BUFFY: It's not Wesley.
DAWN: So she's not on the prowl for once. That's good. Means I don't have to sneak up on Faith when she's sleeping and hit her over the head with a baseball bat.
BUFFY: Maybe Connor's influence on you hasn't been entirely positive.
DAWN: I'm still a little upset about what happened the last time I saw her. Knocking me unconscious, hog-tying and gagging me, then hiding me in the corner of the basement. After she switched bodies with you she left me there. I think it was three hours before mom found me.
BUFFY: Mom told me you were at Janice's when Faith held her hostage.
DAWN: She didn't want you to feel guilty about not saving me, even though I never blamed you. There was nothing you could have done.
BUFFY: Don't worry. If Connor ever dumps you for another girl, I'll beat him into a coma.
DAWN: That's supposed to make me feel better?
BUFFY: Just restating what you already knew: No one gets away with hurting my sister. I'll break every bone in his body, and when those instantly heal, I'll break them again. And if Angel tries to stop me — no, he knows better than to get in my way when I'm mad.
DAWN: It's not that I don't trust him. But he's 18, and really, really hot, and he might come across a lot of beautiful, exotic women in LA, maybe some of them with super powers. There could be temptations. I'm sure the women will just be throwing themselves at him.
BUFFY: Let's not get carried away. [she doesn't see Connor as a major hottie.]
DAWN: It's not a huge worry. Connor was with other women before me. He knows the difference between having sex and making love. [Buffy cringes] My big fear is that something happens and Connor gets killed. I guess usually Angel can help protect him. But right now Angel wants to hurt him. Then there's Drusilla.
Two vampires, Luther and Martin, walk down the forested hill overlooking the cemetery.
LUTHER: Did we miss the rising?
MARTIN: Looks like the Slayer beat us to him. Wasn't gonna risk my life to save a sire anyway.
LUTHER: Who's with the Slayer?
MARTIN: Not sure. Bet we can kill her.
LUTHER: You wanna take on the Slayer?
MARTIN: No, dumbass. The other one.
LUTHER: That would mean taking on the Slayer, dumbass.
MARTIN: I think we can kill the girl and make a clean getaway. One of us keeps the Slayer occupied. The other one makes the kill. Should take all of, what, five seconds? I assume the Slayer cares about the innocent she's with. First instinct would be to check on her. She does that, realizes the girl is dead, and we slip away.
LUTHER: Wouldn't she comes after us?
MARTIN: We wait in a good spot to ambush her. She won't be thinking straight. Grief, guilt, all those stupid human tricks. Tell you what. I'll do the hard part. You can handle the fun part.
DAWN: He lives in a very dangerous world. Any second, something can come out of nowhere and attack him.
Martin leaps out in front of Buffy and growls.
MARTIN: Die, Slayer!
He likes mugging it up to distract her. Buffy lands a right jab to his face. He moves back out of the way of a left kick. She goes in and lands a right kick to his stomach and left and right punches to his face. He grabs her and tosses Buffy on her back. Dawn watches. Luther grabs Dawn from behind and, throws her thirty feet to his left. Dawn screams. Buffy looks and sees Dawn 45 feet to her right. While she's distracted, Martin kicks her in the face. She goes down. He stands 15 feet away, right between Buffy and Dawn. She tosses her stake at Martin. He catches it right in front of his heart.
MARTIN: Does that ever work? Or did you just want to play catch?
He flings the stake high in the air and it sails well over Buffy's head.
Dawn rises to her feet. Her back is against the front side of a mausoleum. She picks up flower pot that's by the door and smashes it over Luther's head. Then she kicks him in the chest, knocking Luther backwards. He wasn't expecting her to put up much of a fight. Luther charges in and grabs Dawn's shoulders. He shoves her back into the wall of the mausoleum. She head-butts him in the nose. He lets go and grabs his nose.
LUTHER: Hey! That hurt.
Luther knocks Dawn down with a right hook. He goes to kick her, but Dawn rolls to the side and tries to get behind Luther. He throws a left roundhouse kick. Dawn ducks and kicks him in the chin with her right foot, knocking him into the wall. She pulls out her stake. Luther looks shocked. But he has the presence of mind to grab Dawn's right arm and spin her round so her back slams into the mausoleum. Luther tries a right cross. Dawn ducks, and his fist goes through the granite. Dawn slams the palm of her right hand into Luther's nose, knocking his head away from hers. She follows this with two right jabs and a left jab. Luther's still smarting from his fist going through the stone, and doesn't block these blows. He steps back 15 feet and grabs his nose, which is bleeding.
Buffy frantically tries to bypass Martin and get to Dawn, but she can't get around him, and getting through him would take too long. Instead, she starts running to her left, putting her on Martin's right. Then she hops on top of a headstone, leaps off it with her left foot and lands a flying right kick to Martin's head, knocking him down. She races to Dawn's rescue. The increasingly frustrated Luther goes in for another attack. Dawn puts her hands up to protect her face. Luther lands left and right punches to Dawn's stomach. Buffy comes at Luther from his left side and tackles him. Buffy pins him on his back, punches him twice with her left fist and pulls out her backup stake in her right hand. Martin rips a stone urn off someone's tombstone and breaks it over Buffy's skull. She didn't notice him sneaking up from behind. He pulls her off of Luther, who gets to his feet. Martin and Luther are now between Buffy and Dawn. Both vampires are looking at Buffy. Dawn comes up and kicks Martin in the head with her right foot.
DAWN: Leave my sister alone.
BUFFY: Hey!! I'm supposed to say that!
MARTIN: She's alive! Luther, why is this one still alive!? I gave you plenty of time. Are you bleeding? Did she beat you up. I don't believe this.
Martin shakes his head. Buffy raises her hand.
BUFFY: Excuse me. Can we save the rehash for after?
Buffy knocks Martin down with a flying right kick. Luther leaps at Dawn. Buffy tackles him to the ground. The two of them get up, and Buffy hits him with a right cross and a left roundhouse kick. Luther is now 15 feet to Dawn's left, with Buffy between Luther and Dawn. She looks down at Luther.
BUFFY: You get the hell away from my sister. See Dawn, that's how it's done.
Martin comes at Buffy from her right, grabs her head and smashes it into the metal gate of the mausoleum. The gate opens and Buffy falls inside. Martin follows.
DAWN: Buffy!
Dawn is left alone. She can't find Luther. He's jumped up onto the roof of the mausoleum, seven feet off the ground. Dawn crouches down, looking for another weapon. She picks up a fist-sized rock in her right hand and holds her stake in her left hand. Dawn looks around nervously. Luther jumps down and lands in front of her. She screams.
LUTHER: Boo.
He laughs. Dawn remembers the rock. She swings her right arm and bludgeons Luther in the left temple. Dazed by the blow, he falls on his back, thinking that one hurt a lot more than any of her other punches. Dawn bends down and stakes him.
Inside the dark mausoleum, the vampire can see better than Buffy. Martin picks her up and tosses her into the rear wall. He tries to slide the lid of a sarcophagus into her midsection. Buffy moves to her left. She's now in the back corner to Martin's right. He closes in and cuts her off. They trade left jabs.
BUFFY: That was dumb.
He lands a right cross. Buffy grabs Luther and throws him into the open sarcophagus behind him. She runs back outside. Dawn has just staked Luther.
DAWN: You get yours?
Martin storms out of the mausoleum and tackles Buffy. She throws him off her and stands up.
DAWN: You haven't finished him off yet? What's taking so long?
MARTIN: Luther? Hey Luther? [he sees Dawn] Aw man, this is messed.
Buffy lands a right kick to his face. She blocks his right hook and lands a right hook, a left cross and a right uppercut, knocking him down. Buffy pulls out her stake in her right hand and throws it straight down at Martin, like a spear. It pierces his heart.
BUFFY: See. That does work.
He turns to dust. Dawn catches her breath. Buffy goes over to make sure she's not hurt.
BUFFY: Maybe we should get you home.
DAWN: I'm fine. Were they targeting me?
BUFFY: Think so. [smiles] Guess they chose to pick on the wrong girl.
DAWN: I told you I could fight.
BUFFY: I already knew you could. I know how tough you are. One good thing about about Connor is that he also knows.
A vampire walks through the woods and comes out into the clearing near the clearing at the edge of the graveyard.
CALVIN: Martin? Luther? It's Calvin. Sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?
Buffy hears him and looks towards the forest. Calvin sees her and looks scared.
CALVIN: Uh oh.
Calvin turns and runs. Buffy gives chase. He runs 50 yards then climbs up into a tree, hoping she'll miss him. She doesn't see him climb up the tree, but she does notice that she no longer hears feet pounding the ground. She stops and looks around. One of the branches is bobbing up and down about a foot. Just a little, but it's enough to give Calvin away. She leaps up and grabs the branch, which is 15 feet in the air. The branch breaks and Calvin tumbles to the ground. Buffy lands on her feet. She kicks Calvin in the head with her left foot as he tries to get up. He rolls twice and stands. Buffy ripped a six-foot long branch from a nearby tree, and she runs it through Calvin.
BUFFY: Vampire, forests: not a good combination.
He turns to dust. Dawn runs up to Buffy.
BUFFY: Ready to go?
DAWN: I do have homework. I've dusted two. Now you've got two. Sounds like a good hunt. [Buffy gives her a concerned look. Dawn smirks.] Sorry. Patrol.
NEXT: Kelly gets physical with Spike.