In the temple, all is silent. Everyone stands in the almost pitch black temple just staring at the pile of ash where Avachius used to be. No one knows what to say. Is there anything to say? Buffy, Faith and the girls can still feel the power's presence even though they can't see it anymore.
Buffy asks expectantly, "Willow?"
Willow's eyes are closed and she's breathing hard. She relaxes some and says, "It's okay. We're good. It's over."
Everyone can feel the stability of the Earth. It's safe again. Avachius's ash is suddenly caught up in what looks like a tornado. It sucks up towards the ceiling and disappears.
After another moment, Sam, with a self-satisfied grin says, "So. Chinese?"
In China Wok, the gang sits around a large table, drinking and eating.
"Here's to saving the world!" says Chloe as the gang toasts to their victory.
Everyone is essentially jovial but there's uneasiness because of Trista being missing.
"So, what should we do?" asks Sam after a moment, "Should we, like, form a search party?"
"Not yet," begins Buffy, "She might be fine. If she's okay, then she'll come back to hotel."
"And if she's not?" says Spike in a harsher tone than intended.
"She's a Slayer. She'll be okay," says Faith as she chews through her tempura chicken.
"Hey, did you guys see the part where I stabbed him?"
"Yes, Andrew," they all say in unison.
"Well, I do have to say we did do a bloody good job," says Giles.
"Here, here!" says Sam as he takes a swig of his root beer.

Still in the back room, Trista's sprawled out on the ground, her eyes glossy and lifeless. Suddenly, she gasps for air as she springs to life. She starts coughing, and she looks around frantically trying to remember where she is.
"Spike," she remembers, "I have to get to Spike."
She rises and goes towards the door before something stops her. She turns around to see a previously unnoticed young girl of about sixteen gagged and bound in the far corner, whimpering. She cautiously walks over to her, and when she gets about three feet from her, she gets on her knees and crawls. She brushes hair out of the crying girl's face like a child that just found a stray puppy.
"Are you scared?" asks Trista.
The girl nods and Trista nods understandingly. Trista pulls the gag down around the girl's neck. The girl gasps, "Thank you."
Up until now, she has seemed like the same old Trista, warm and heroic. But something dies in her. Her eyes go cold and she asks the girl nonchalantly, "Sweetie, are you a screamer?"
Startled, the girl asks, "What?"
Trista just smiles at her and then morphs into vamp face. She digs her teeth into the girl's neck. The girl goes rigid and gasps and whimpers in pain, but this only makes Trista tighten her grasp. There is a sickening crack as Trista's grip crushes the girl's arm. The girl screams in pain. Trista lets go of the girl, satisfied. She looks down at the girl and smiles. She brushes hair out of her face again and says, "There, there, sweetie. I know how hard it is to be a teenager and feel like you're all alone. But it'll pass. Or you'll die. Whichever."
Trista licks her fingers and rises to find the man of forty that she met last night, we'll call him Damian. Damian is very intrigued by Trista. He can see, as any could, the amazing, grotesque beauty that Trista now possesses. She's almost hypnotic.
"You're awake."
"I am," says Trista stiffly.
"You found your breakfast. That's good. Come with me. I want you to meet my men."
Trista and Damian move out to the alley behind the bookstore and into a demon bar via the back door. He takes her by the hand and leads her up to the second floor. They go down a tight and dimly lit hallway to the VIP room. Everyone here is dead or undead. They play pool and poker, feed, shoot up; it's a vampire junkie's dream. Damian introduces Trista to them. They all generally greet her and then go about their business.
Damian leads Trista to a sofa and sits, pulling her close to him. He whispers in her ear affectionately as he runs his hand up her thigh, "You know, after what I've done for you, you owe me the farm. Metaphorically speaking, of course."
Trista thrusts her palm, into his chest, sending him flying. She stands and without taking her eyes of Damian, punches through the wall closest to her, and pulls out a wooden stud. She easily breaks it in half, making a piece have a jagged edge, and says, "Well, you know, there's that saying," she continues as she walks towards him with her makeshift stake and bats the vamps that try to attack her away like flies, "The one says that eventually, the student must kill the teacher," she flings the makeshift stake at him and it hits home. He dusts and Trista says to the ash, "I wonder if that was supposed to be metaphorical too," she turns to everyone in the room and says, "You all work for me now. Objections? Complaints?"
Everyone stands absolutely still, not wanting to upset the new boss. Trista smiles sweetly and says, "Good."
Trista looks around and sees a girl vamp sitting in the corner, playing poker. She's pretty in a slutty Queen of the Damned kind of way.
"You," Trista says, "Come with me."
Down the hall and two doors from the party room is a bedroom. It's clearly nicer than any other room here but it's still ratty. The wallpaper is pealing, it's dusty and there are holes in the sheets. Trista stands going through an armoire full of women's clothes. She addresses the girl vamp, Clarissa, behind her, "You do know that this place is not even suitable for rats."
Clarissa, being slightly intimidated, nods only slightly and says, "Yeah. Damian liked to keep a low profile."
"Well that's crap. We're gonna have to find some better digs," she throws a shirt and says, "Ah! Who do I have to freaking kill to get some decent clothes!"
"Sorry." Trista shrugs, "No worries." She pulls out a white wife beater and a black plaid skirt. She smiles and says, "This works." She changes into it and grabs a leather coat. She goes to leave, calling behind her, "I'll be back."

Willow's ready to do the locator spell. She looks up at Buffy, who nods at her. Willow nods back and begins. The map of New York begins to swell. Willow looks at it and says, "That's not supposed to happen." The map then bursts into flames; the flames are swept up and compressed into energy. The energy attacks Willow. It goes into her ears, her eye sockets, her mouth, her nose. She screams as she is thrown backwards.
"Willow!" yells Buffy as she and Giles rush to her.
"It's, it's, oh goddess, a counter spell."
"What does that mean?" asks Sam.
"It means someone doesn't want her to be found," says Giles gravely.
"What do we do!" says Chloe. She's really worried and is starting to fidgit. She pulls out a cigarette but can barley hold it steady enough to light it. Spike grabs her lighter and lights it for her.
"Thanks."
Faith motions Chloe to throw her cigarettes to her and says, "Hey." Chloe tosses them to her and she lights one. She tosses them to Spike but he's already lit on of his own. He tosses them back to Chloe. Buffy crinkles her nose, but then, very seriously, "We look. We find her."
Sam rises, "I second that."
After taking a long drag Chloe says as she exhales, "Yeah. Yeah. Let's go."
Buffy turns to Giles, "Giles?"
"Well, I suppose what would be best is to check the magic shops, book stores—"
"Bars," adds Chloe.
"Why would she be in a bar?" asks Spike incredulously.
Chloe shrugs. It was just a thought.
"Better not rule it out, though. Okay, get into teams. Will, you're with me and Giles. Faith go with Chloe and Andrew and Sam, make sure you get these girls on a bus back home."
"What? But I want to help," says Hannah.
"Girls, you are on a schedule. You have to be home in order to pack for your flight to London," says Giles.
The girls nod compliantly. Buffy continues, "We'll meet up at that Chinese restaurant." Everyone nods and begins to move out. Spike, not having anything assigned says, "Buffy…"
She turns, realizing her mistake and says, without making eye contact, "Just stay here. Incase she comes back."
Willow and Buffy check a back alley of a magic shop while Giles talks to the shop keeper. Willow says as Buffy checks a small puddle of blood on the ground, "I talked to Xander."
"Not human," she mumbles to herself before she looks up at Willow, "Yeah? How's he doing?"
"Good. He, uh, decided to take the trip. To London. In the spring."
"Wow. The whole gang'll be together again."
Willow smiles, slightly nostalgic, and says, "Yeah."
Giles walks out, buttoning up his coat and says, "Nothing."

Spike has been smoking like a chimney, there are butts of cigarettes all over the room. He glances at the phone, but then, in a fit of misplace anger, picks it up and, with a snarl, throws the phone against the wall, causing it to shatter.
"That's hotel property. There'll probably be a bill you'll have to skip out of for it," says Trista as she walks in, doing an award winning impersonation of her alive self. She smiles warmly at him.
"Trista! Where the hell have you been!"
Trista shrugs. She walks deeper into the room and half grabs the pack of cigarettes but catches herself before Spike notices.
"The Scoobies are out looking for you. Why didn't you show?"
"Why do you care?"
Spike is confused by her tone. "We were worried."
"Not my problem."
"Care to enlighten me on what the hell your problem is?"
"Nothing! I just, I couldn't handle it, alright! I freaked out so I went shopping, bought myself a new outfit and took a walk," she says in a controlled yet annoyed voice.
"You could've called me."
"Why? Because you're such a caring prince? You would've been too busy mooning over Buffy to care about me. You probably stared at her the whole way. Imagining all the nasty things you could do to her while she's sleeping."
Spike snaps. He backhands her, hard. She touches her bleeding lip and laughs. He punches her again, sending her against the wall. He walks up to her and grabs a handful of her hair and pulls it to the side harshly, causing her head to tilt to the side. She has an inquisitive look in her eyes as she makes eye contact with him.
Without warning, he pulls her towards him and kisses her very deeply. He lets go of her hair and wraps his hands around her waist, pulling her closer. Her coat opens as her left leg lifts and wraps around his waist. She grabs the back of his neck with her left hand and tangles the fingers of her right hand in his hair on the back of his head. She helps him remove his coat. It drops to the floor.
On the bed, Spike, now naked, takes off Trista's skirt. They kiss with a frenzied passion. Trista flips him over, now on top. She digs three of her nails into his chest. He groans with pain, which causes Trista to smile. Without breaking eye contact, she licks the blood off of his chest. She lifts herself up and begins to ride him.
Faith, Chloe and Andrew enter a dark magic shop. The gothic shopkeeper seems to recognize them when they walk in. They approach her. Faith is about to speak when Andrew bursts out with, "Listen, missy! We want answers and we want them now!"
Faith pushes him and says to Chloe, "Keep the chimp occupied, would you?" Chloe takes Andrew to the back. Faith turns to the shopkeeper and says, "We're looking for a girl. She's small, blonde, maybe five foot three, kinda hot, good frame, works out."
"Nope. Haven't seen her."
"Liar," says a man leaning against the wall.
Faith turns to him warily and says, "Got something to say?"
"I'm guessing you're looking for Trista."
Chloe and Andrew walk quietly towards them. Chloe says hopefully, "You know where she is?"
"She's dead."
"Oh my god," says Chloe as her eyes well up with tears. She turns away and Andrew puts a comforting arm around her.
Faith eyes him stonily and says, "She walkin' around?"
"Bouncy as a cheerleader."
Chloe's confused and says, "But-- what?
"Where did she go?" asks Faith in a harsh tone.
The man smiles at her and shrugs. She lunges at him and slams him up against the wall, cracking the plaster. "Where. Did. She. Go!"
"To see some guy!"
"Spike," says Faith, alarmed.
Faith lets go of the man and rushes out. Chloe and Andrew rush out behind her.
"What's going on?" asks Chloe.
"She'll kill him. She'll kill him and then kill whoever comes in the room."
"She's gonna kill Spike!" asks Andrew, starting to freak out.
Spike is standing alone in the room. His shirt is on but unbuttoned. He buckles his belt and looks up as Faith and Chloe and Andrew burst into the room.
"Die, hell bitch!" screams Andrew.
"Spike!" yells Faith but then sees that he's alone. She relaxes.
"Was, was Trista here?" asks Chloe, very shaky.
"Yeah," says Spike contemptuously as he starts to button his shirt.
"And you guys…?"
Spike sets his jaw and says, "What do you think?"
"Oh, god!" says Andrew, disgusted but recovers with a nonchalant, "Oh?"
"Spike--" begins Faith.
"She was dead. She was a vampire. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's not that weird but, you know," says Andrew.
Spike tenses, grabs his coat and storms out of the room, nearly taking the door off the hinges. Chloe calls after him, "It's your fault! You couldn't have known!"
"No," begins Faith, "He's a vamp. He knew."

Spike, walking down the street, growls and screams angrily and starts kicking the crap out of a public mailbox. He demolishes it and is about to turn on a random person when Faith grabs him and pulls him into an alley. Spike falls and breaks down, his anger and violence gone. He just sits there. Faith kneels down in front of him and says, "Why'd you do it?"
Spike looks up at her and after a long moment, he says, "I didn't want her to be dead."
"So you tried to screw her back to life? I bet you're pretty good in the sack but damn--"
"No. That's not it. I just thought, I don't know what I was thinking."
"You wanted to cancel out an impossible move with another. Maybe it'd all go away."
Spike looks her in the eye and says sincerely, "Yeah."
"Do you love her?"
"No."
"Are you ready to kill her?"
Trista walks down the crowded street, grinning wickedly and extremely proud of herself. She's beautiful, powerful, and about to be out of control. This makes her smile. The game is about to begin and she can't wait.
"No."