"One night, after supper, the lead dog turned up a snowshoe rabbit, the dog lay down low to the race, his body flashing forward, leap by leap," "He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the wombs of time." "The rabbit could not..." "OK, maybe we should try a less stimulating passage." " Private Harris reporting for Oz watch." " Xander." "Oh, good." "Oh!" "Call of the Wild, Aren't we reading the Cliffs Notes to this for English?" "Some of us are." "Anyway, it'll help you stay awake." "It's good and very wolfy." "It seems to soothe the savage beast." "Except for the parts about rabbits." " Rabbits?" " It seems to make him a little overexcited." "OK, now he's had his two o'clock feeding, and, after sunrise, if he forgets where his clothes are, they're on the file cabinet in his cage." "I put those towels up for privacy." "No worries." "I can handle the Oz full monty." "I mean, not "handle" handle, like, hands to flesh "handle"." "OK, it's not for you." "It's for me, because I'm still getting used to half a monty." "Oh, good." "Half?" "You and Oz?" " Which half?" " Wouldn't you like to know!" "He's more manageable tonight and on the third night." "Tomorrow night, the full moon, that's when he's a real woofer." "But in case there's trouble - there won't be, but if..." "Sleepy time." "Gotcha." "Thanks again for this." "I wouldn't have asked, but I have this test." "No big." "You can count on me." "I got my coffee, magazines." "Figured I'd read, maybe run the stairs over there a little bit." "I'm good." "Bye." "Nice place." "D'you ever catch kids doin' the dirty out here?" "No." "There's a smooch spot up by the woods." "That's usually where kids go." "Yeah?" "Bet you and Scott have been up there kicking the gearshift." " Hardly." "We've only been on a few dates." " But you like him." "And when you think about him, you get that good down-low tickle, right?" "Yeah, I guess." " How low?" " You tell me." "How about not?" "But he is nice and... he's funny." "And quite a muffin." "Blueberry, that crunchy-munchy stuff on top." "But my most favourite thing so far is that he doesn't seem to be any kind of hell beast." "All men are beasts, Buffy." "OK." "I was hoping to not get that cynical till I was at least 40." "It's not cynical, it's realistic." "Every guy from Manimal down to "Mr I Loved the English Patient" has beast in him." "And I don't care how sensitive they act." "They're all still just in it for the chase." "I don't think that's true, that every guy is in it only for the chase." " I know." "It is an awful generalisation." " Hey, Buffy!" "That's what I stopped you for, basically." "Hey." "OK." "Hey." " Howdy, Debbie." " Hi, Oz." "You're not doing jazz band this year?" "Can't take the pressure." "It's not the music that's hard, it's the marching." " We have a marching jazz band?" " Since the best jazz is improvisational, we'd be going off in all directions, banging into floats." "It's scary." " He's just being Oz." " Pretty much full time." " Those are pretty flowers." " Pete brought them for me." "Yeah." "I'm sure Scott does that kind of stuff for you too, Buffy." "Well, we're not up to flowers." "Are we up to flowers?" "Did I miss flowers?" "No, we're pre-posy." "Definitely." "What time is it?" " Oh, I have to go see Mr Platt today." " Platt, the school counsellor?" "To convince him I'm Little Miss Stable so I can stay." "Platt creeps me out." "I'd quit going, but I'm flunking senior bio and my teacher says I have "success issues"." "Senior bio?" "I kinda aced that final." "And how did you do that?" "Oh, right, you showed up." " If you want my notes, they're yours." " That'd be great." "We'd better go." " I'll see you?" " Yeah." "We have to recheck every possible exit avenue." "It's a waste of time." "I was here all night." "Right." "It's good to see you." "No need to panic." " Just a thought: poker, not your game." " What's the deal, Giles?" "Now, bear in mind most likely there is no deal." "But, if there was a deal, then it would concern murder last night." " A male student was found in the woods." " Which student?" " Jeff Walken." " Jeff?" "He was..." " I knew him." " I'm afraid he was terribly mauled." "Now, much as I hate to think it, it could be the handiwork of... of..." " Me." " "Wolf' you, not "you" you." "But it's not." "Not "wolf' you, not "you" you." "The room was secured, the gate was locked and the window unbreakable and... open." "Oh, God." "Not to freak." "I rested my eyes now and then." "That's all." "How long, exactly, did you rest your eyes for?" "A little now, a little then." "But I never heard Oz leave and he was here in the morning when I... when I..." " Woke up!" " You could put it that way, Mr Technical." "Oh, God." "Two o'clock." "Miss Summers." "Buffy Summers, reporting for sanity." "Look, I know that I have to do this, and I'll cooperate and I'll look at your ink blots, but I don't want to talk about my life or my childhood, or anything for that matter." "And I don't want to be friends here." "We're not gonna be friends." "You have friends already." "I hope." "I mean, friends are a good thing." "They like you, agree with you, tell you what you want to hear." "It's not what you need." "What you need is a trained, not too crazy professional, who will always give you his honest opinion." "Which I offer you." "Have a seat." ""Not too crazy."" "Those are your credentials?" "Look, Buffy, any person..." "grown-up, shrink, Pope... any person who claims to be totally sane is either lying or not very bright." "I mean, everyone has problems." "Everybody has demons, right?" "I gotta say I'm with you on that." "Excellent." "So the hope I bring you is:" "demons can be fought, people can change, you can change." "Now, your turn." "Let's start with why you ran away." "That's a long story." " Bore me." " You know, I'm really over it." "I'm moving on, I feel good, I'm even dating someone new." "All good things." "But still, you're..." "you're bringing me in at the end of the movie." "I was dating someone." "It ended badly." "My mom and I were fighting and I... kinda freaked." "Tell me more about this guy, the "bad ending" guy." "He was my first..." "I loved him." " And then he..." " Changed?" " Yeah." " He got mean?" " Yes." " And you didn't stop loving him." "Look, lots of people lose themselves in love." "It's no shame." "They write songs about it." "The hitch is, you can't stay lost." "And sooner or later you have to get back to yourself." "And if you can't?" "If you can't, well, love becomes your master, and you're just its dog." " I'm afraid to ask." " Oz ate someone last night." " He did not." " Oz does not eat people." "It's more werewolf play." "I bat you around a bit, like a cat toy." "I have harmless wolf fun." "Is it Oz's fault that people get cut to ribbons?" "And maybe then he'll take a little nibble and..." " I'm not helping, am I?" " No." " Oz may have got out of his cage last night." " Maybe there's another werewolf." "Perhaps." "But perhaps it's something else entirely." "It's OK." "We'll work together and we'll figure this out." "Yes, Buffy, you... you patrol the woods." "The others, check out the morgue." "Right." "We can see if it's a werewolf kill or not." "But what about Oz?" "Well, I have some research materials at home I need to look at." "We could ask Faith to watch over him." "You're having a slayer watch me?" "Well, good, we're not over reacting." "OK." "You know that things where you bail in the middle of an upsetting conversation?" "I have to do that." "It's kinda dramatic, I know, but sometimes it's a necessary guy thing." "And I want you to... do the guy thing, but..." "Oz?" "Get away from the cage." "What?" "It's gonna happen soon." "Get away from me." "Oh, God." "Here, hold this." "We're doin' crime." "Don't sneak up during crime." "God, have a..." "OK." "Scarred for life." "Oh, God." "Willow, how can you stand it?" "Yeah, this guy is pretty barf-worthy." "Can't we be elsewhere?" "Like, is Oz cleared or what, huh?" "I'm not sure." "There are a lot of incised wounds, but they could be from anything." "Anything with big sharp teeth and vicious..." "D'you want to go back to the car and wait?" "No." "God, I'm just saying..." "Almost done." "Let me just get a few stray hairs." "They could be from the attacker." " Great." "So we got everything we need?" " Yep, that's it." "OK, a little too much excitement for the Willster here." " It doesn't look good for Oz, does it?" " It really doesn't." "This guy was ripped apart by a big wild animal." "Oh, Buffy." "Are you OK?" "What are you doing here?" "Bleeding internally, but I'll live." "God, I'm sorry." "I guess I didn't hear ya." "Figured as much." "Ow, again." "Actually, I came to give you the rest of the night off." "Get out of jail free, huh?" "How come?" "I couldn't sleep." "Figured I'd cram for my French test." "That's cool." "I was going crazy here, but I can get in a few stakings before sunrise." "Knock yourself out." "Not literally, though." "Yeah." "Later." "Hey." "Hello." "Boy, Faith and her nutty books." "Exploring Demon Dimensions and Mystery of Acathla," "Yeah, and she still listens to heavy metal." "Ricky-ticky." "Buffy?" "What if..." "I told you that..." "I had a dream about Angel, and it brought up some questions?" "I'd say it was to be expected." "It must have been some dream." "I didn't think you knew what a card index was for." "I dreamt that he came back." "Of course." "After Jenny was killed," "I had dreams that she was still alive, that I saved her." "This was vivid." "Really vivid." "Three dimensional, Sensurround, the hills are alive." " Do you believe it was a prophecy?" " No." "I don't know." "I..." "I guess it just... it made me wonder." "Is there a chance, even, it could happen?" "There's no record of anyone returning from the demon dimension once the gate was closed." "I can't imagine how it could happen or why." "Let's just pretend for a second that..." "Angel somehow found his way back to Sunnydale." "What would he be like?" "I really can't say." "From what is known about the dimension, it would suggest a world of brutal torment, and time moves quite differently there, so..." "I remember." "So he would have been down there for hundreds of years." "Yes." "Of torture." "It would take someone of extraordinary will and character to survive that, and retain any semblance of self." "Most likely he'd be a monster." "A lost cause." "Maybe." "Maybe not." "From my experience, there are two types of monster." "The first can be redeemed, or, more importantly, wants to be redeemed." "And the second type?" "The second is void of humanity." "He cannot respond to reason or love." " I thought Faith was on duty." " Oh, hey." "Change of plans." "Glazed or cake?" "It's fun to watch them make them." "They use this spritzy thing and drop the batter..." "Couldn't sleep, huh?" "I've been to Mister Donut since the TV did that snowy thing." "How come you're the wakey girl?" "This time it's not your boyfriend who's the cold-blooded..." "Jelly donut?" " Everything all right?" " Yeah, uh..." " What happened with the body?" " Anyone?" "They're yummy delicious." "Well, come on." "Was it werewolf?" " Was it a vampire?" " It wasn't conclusive." "How can it not be conclusive?" "Was he bit?" " Let her finish, Buffy." " No, it's just..." "I'm sorry." "Buffy, over here." " Hey." " Hey, uh, I can't..." "I can't back you on that lunch." "Nutritional demerits." "My stomach doesn't want hard food today." "But there's fruit in it." "Those are marshmallows." "Oh." "I'm really out of it today." "I didn't sleep well last night." "Don't tell Mr Platt you have insomnia." "He'll make you start a dream journal." "Like a Barbie thing? "How come Ken hasn't come around since he got that earring?"" "I never did it." "He's a quack." "I kinda liked him." "Really?" "I guess he's kinda funny and stuff." "It's just, sometimes I just don't like the things he says." "Oh, he definitely marched to the beat of his own drummer." "Actually, he makes his own drums." "My mom says that therapy can be helpful." "But your mom has the wattage of a Zippo lighter." "I hope you realise I don't know these people." "I thought you would like me better if I had friends, so I hired them." "So..." "I, uh..." "I wanted to tell you that you look great today." "But now I want to raise that to amazing because you didn't sleep well." "That's really sweet." "Uh, and I wish I didn't have to, but I just remembered that I do, so, uh..." " I'll see you later." " Yeah." "Check out Scotty liking the manic-depressive chick." "Angel?" "Do you understand me?" "Debbie, come on." "Just for a minute." " I can't." "I have to meet a friend." " So you'll be late, but happy." " No, no." "Let's stay here." " Relax." "What's wrong with you today?" "What is that?" " Nothing." "Kiss me." " No." "Debbie, you did not drink that, did you?" "Drink it?" "You know I didn't." "Debbie, what's going on?" "Two o'clock, Buffy Summers, right?" "Wait." "Don't turn around." "And don't say anything." "Just listen." "And that's..." "that's your thing, right?" "There's something going on." "This story's probably gonna convince you that I'm loony-bin material, but... there's nobody else that I can talk to." "Not Willow and... not Giles." "Nobody." "They... if they found out, they'd freak on me, or they'd do something and..." "I need help." "I just..." "I need to talk to someone." "I'm so scared." "It's this guy." "He..." "He's come back." "So, the bottle just jumped out of the cabinet and spilled on its own?" "Of course not." "I was tying to get rid of it." " You were trying to get rid of it?" " To help you." "You know how you get." "You think this has anything to do with how I get?" " Well, when you drink it..." " When I drink it, nothing, Debbie... nothing." "I don't need this any more, OK?" "I am way, way past that now." "You see?" "You see?" "No more." "You could pour out everything I made and it wouldn't help." "And you wanna know why?" "You wanna know why?" "Because all it takes now is you, Debbie." "You and your stupid, grating voice." "You're the reason I started the formulas in the first place." "To be the man you wanted." "And you pay me back how?" " By whoring around with other guys?" " No, I don't!" "I don't even look!" "Is that something your shrink taught you, Debbie, huh?" "Huh?" "To share?" "To communicate?" "To piss me off?" "Guess what?" "Even he's not going to listen to your pathetic ramblings any more." "I am all you've got now, Debbie." "Do you hear me?" "I am all you've got!" "Oh, my God." "Debbie." "Listen." "You know you shouldn't make me mad." "Huh?" "You know what happens." "Debbie, please." "Are you all right?" "It's OK." "It's OK." "This creature is especially brutal." "The phrase coined by the coroner when describing Platt was "puréed"." "But he confirmed Platt was killed shortly before Buffy found him." " Which means he was killed during the day." " Yes!" "Sorry." "I got..." "I've just been..." "It's horrible." "Horrible." "It's OK, Will." "We're all glad Oz is off the hook." "Indeed." "Shouldn't he be here by now?" "Sunset's at 5:30." "Sorry I'm late." "Did you bring the notes?" "Yeah." "Um.." " You OK?" " What?" "Oh, yeah." "I'm such a klutz." "I..." "Fell down?" "Hit your... eye?" "Doorknob." "I... thanks." "If you wanna talk..." " Thanks again for the notes." " Yeah." "Our task now is to determine what sort of killer." "Clearly we're looking for a depraved, sadistic animal." "Present." "I may be a cold-blooded donut, but my timing is impeccable." "But you aren't." "It-it's a killer-in-the-day monster." "A hundred percent for sure." " OK." " I wish we had time to celebrate properly." "However, we have two victims." "Jeff Walken and now Platt." "Maybe there's something they had in common." "Missing internal organs." " Besides that." " Debbie." "Well, victim number one, Jeff?" " He was in jazz band." "They horsed around." " They were screwing?" "I don't think so, but he hid her music comp book once." "Debbie knew Platt." "She was seeing him, and way vocal about not having love for the guy." "Add this and stir." "I just saw Debbie sporting a nasty black eye." "OK, so pretend Debbie wanted Platt dead." "Maybe he fought back." "No." "Platt was dead in an instant." "He didn't even drop his cigarette." "Now, what if Pete's the one doling out the punishment?" " We should find them immediately." " Debbie was in the quad." "We'll split up." "Faith, you and I team." "Willow, stick with Buffy." "And I'll... go lock myself in the cage." "It's tricky covering a fresh shiner like that." " You know what works?" " What?" "Don't get hit." "What's going on?" "I'll bet the farm you know." " You're wrong." "I don't know anything." " You wanna play "I have a secret"?" "Fine." "But people are dying here." "It... it's not his fault." " He's not himself when he gets like this." " You mean Pete?" "It's me." "I make him crazy." "He just does what he does because he loves me too much." "Weren't Mr Platt and Jeff murdered by an animal?" "Pete's not like other guys, is he, Debbie?" " I have got to go." " You have to talk to us." " We can't help you until you do." " I didn't ask for your help." "When are you going to?" "If Pete kills you, it'll pretty much be too late." "Debbie, we're running out of time." " Where can we find him?" " I don't know." " You're lying." " What if I am?" "What are you going to do?" "Wrong question." "Look at yourself." "Why are you protecting him?" "Anybody who really loved you couldn't do this to you." "Won't they take him someplace?" "Probably." "I could never do that to him." "I miss everything." "Great." "So, while you two live out your Grimm fairy-tale, two people are dead." "Who's gonna be next?" "Since when do you touch my girl?" "Pete, this is kind of a bad time." "Well, I guess you didn't think about that when you put the moves on Debbie." "We talked, yeah." "But it was move-free." "About this cage?" "When that sun sets..." "You won't be alive to see it." "I'm serious." "Something's gonna happen that you probably won't believe." "Or you might." "He does love me." "He does love me." "This is useless." "We have to go." "I have to find Pete." "He does love me." "He does love me." " I think we broke her." " He does love me." "He does love me." "I think she was broken before this." "Did you kiss that whore?" "Huh?" "Did she like it?" "Time's up." "Rules change." "What was that?" "Get the dart gun!" "Hey, watch out!" " Oh, sorry." " Oh, right." "Bloody priceless." " You get the wolf." " Got it." "Pete!" "You're all right!" "God!" "You're all right." "She almost shot you." "Did you see?" "I stopped her." "You have to leave." "Get out of Sunnydale." "She knows." "How did she know, Debbie?" "Did you run your big mouth?" "No." "She just knew." "It seemed like she just knew." " So you filled in the blank." " No!" "No!" "But what did I expect from a screw-up like you?" "I didn't." "Pete?" " You're nothing but a waste of space." " No!" "Oh, God." "Where's the gun?" "Where's the gun?" "!" "Get off her!" "Get the gun!" "Get the gun!" "Hurry!" "All the same!" "You're all the same!" "Buffy?" "Buffy." "It's all over school, what happened with Debbie and Pete." "Except for the "Pete was a monster" part." "A freshman told me that Pete had eight café mochas and just lost it." "It's better than the oestrogen theory - taking his mother's birth-control pills." "He didn't?" "Pete was a monster?" "Where have I been?" "In your special place, which is why I adore you." "So what's the true story?" "What happened?" "We got hold of Pete's lab books and stuff, and Mr Science was doing a Jekyll-Hyde deal." "He was afraid Debbie would leave him, so he mixed this potion to become más macho." "After a while, he didn't need the potion to turn into a bad guy." "He did it fine on his own." "So he wasn't under the influence of anything?" "Just himself." "I'll see you guys later." "Great." "Now I'm gonna be stuck with serious thoughts all day." "I don't know what to say that's not gonna sound stupid or obvious." "I've been friends with them both since before we started school." "Is there anything I can do?" "Thanks." "I'm gonna be OK." "It's just that you never really know what's going on inside somebody." "I mean, you think..." "if you care about them." "But you never really do." "Night came on, and a full moon rose high over the trees, lighting the land till it lay bathed in ghostly day," "And the strain of the primitive remained alive and active," "Faithfulness and devotion, things born of fire and roof, were his;" "yet he retained his wildness and wiliness," "And from the depths of the forest, a call still sounded,"