"Not expecting anyone, are we?" "Willow said she was gonna be at the science library all night." "Is that right?" " Apparently not." " We got trouble." " What is it?" " I was in the rec room." "It came in the window." " Vampire?" " Vampires don't breathe fire." " I should call for backup." " No time." "We have to make this fast." "I have better things to do tonight than kill." "Surprise." "Surprise." "Guess you won't be killing anything tonight." "Don't be so sure." "This is a lively space." "It's like an activity room we had at public school." "I..." "One time I got up to a bit of a prank with the dartboard." " I'm bored." "Let's eat." " Anya, we've talked about this." "I'm sorry." "That was rude." "Please continue your story." "Hopefully it involves treacle and a headmaster." " Go and eat." " OK." "Giles." "Hi." "Havin' a good time?" "Yes, yes." "There's a lot of new faces here, aren't there?" "Yeah." "Mostly kids from the dorm." "A couple of Riley's friends." " Hi, Giles." " Buffy." " Happy birthday." " Thank you." " 19." "It's hard to believe." " There's someone I want you to meet." "This is Riley Finn." " My boyfriend." " Very nice to meet you, Mr Giles." "Did you help plan this?" "It was quite a surprise." "The first of many." " Been dating long?" " Giles was the librarian at my high school." "Ah." "I've seen the library." "It's gone downhill since you left." "I'm embarrassed to say that I actually miss it at times." " So, you're retired?" " I'm sorry?" "Or, you're working somewhere else now?" "Well, not..." "I'm sort of between projects right now." "It's a personal..." "Oh!" "Oh, look." "Giles has no cake." "Oh, here." "Here, I'll get you a piece." "He's just nervous." "But this is so nice." "Having everyone together for my birthday." "Of course, you could smash my toes with a hammer and it would still be the bestest Buffy birthday bash in a while." "Right." "Actually, Willow and Xander did all the planning." "I'm not sure I would've gone with a surprise party." "You know, you have enough things jumping out at you in the dark." "Professor Walsh says adrenaline is like exercise, but without the exorbitant gym fees." " Very witty." " You should meet her." "She's absolutely the smartest person I've ever met." "Perhaps we should've invited Professor Walsh." "Oh, no." "I mean, she's, like, 40." "She's got better things to do than hang out with kids." "Here you go, sir." "You own nothing." "This shouldn't be taking so long." "Hang on." "Let a fella get organised." "That's my radio." "And you're what?" "Shocked and disappointed?" "I'm evil." " So what kind of place are you looking for?" " I don't know." "Maybe a crypt." "Some place, you know, dark and dank." " But not as dark and dank as this." " It's pretty depressing, isn't it?" "I've known corpses with a fresher smell." "In fact, I've been one." "That's it." "Let's go." "Wait." "I wanna give you something for your new place." "That's my lamp." "A gift is traditional." "I've read about it." "That's among friends." "With bitter enemies, we don't give them my lamp." "It's not gonna have electricity anyway." "It's a crypt, remember?" "What about running water?" "A fridge to keep your blood fresh?" " No." " Oh." "Well, that's gotta suck." " You should just get a hotel room." " Demon Girl's got a point." "I need fresh blood." "If I had a few bob for a room with an honour bar..." "Out." "Before I get the Slayer over here to kick your ass out." "Don't know why she didn't come." "Say goodbye, shed a few tears..." "Well, she has an appointment with someone who's actually still scary." "So, the Slayer." "Yeah." "That's me." " We thought you were a myth." " Well, you were myth-taken." "And to think, all that time you were sitting in my class." "Well, most of those times." "I always knew you could do better than a B minus." "Now I understand your energies were directed to the same place as ours, in fact." "It's only our methods that differ." "We use the latest in scientific technology and state-of-the-art weaponry, and you, if I understand correctly, poke them with a sharp stick." " Oh, it's more effective than it sounds." " Oh, I'm quite sure of that." "As I'm just as sure we can learn much from each other." "I'm working on getting you clearance for the Initiative." "I think you'll find the results of our operation most impressive." "Agent Finn here alone has killed or captured..." "How many is it?" "17. 11 vampires, 6 demons." "I mean, that's 17." " What about you?" " Me?" "How many hostiles would you say you've slain?" ""Third new moon after the 900th Feast of Delthrox."" "Oh, crap." "No, we can't wait for her, Willow." "The demon Prince Barvain is going to rise tonight." "Well, where is she, exactly?" "Those were my best stories." "And I didn't tell you the "Buffy breaks her butt" stories." "But you killed the..." "You did the thing with that..." "You drowned." "And the snake?" "Not to mention the daily slayage of..." "It's no big, really." "Hey, who wants ice cream?" "Buffy..." "When I saw you stop the world from, you know, ending," "I just assumed that was a big week for you." "Turns out I suddenly find myself needing to know the plural of apocalypse." "Look, if you'd been fighting since you were 15, you'd have a hefty résumé too." " 15?" " I know, wow." "The point is that we have different amounts of experience, you know." "Plus, I do have that preternatural slayer-strength deal." "I've seen." "Don't get me wrong." "Girls I grew up with could hold their own." "But..." "Well, I'm not even sure I could take you." "That all depends on your meaning." "Yeah?" "Professor Walsh, I presume." "You're hard to find." "These halls are quite the labyrinth." "I felt like Theseus and the Minotaur in the labyrinth." "Can I help you with something, Mr...?" "Giles." "Rupert." "I'm looking for Buffy Summers." "I'm a friend of hers." "And I was her high-school librarian." "I'm sorry, Buffy's not here." "But, if I see her..." "Buffy's been very influenced by your course." "She quotes you quite often." "Sometimes she sounds a bit like an introductory textbook herself." "I don't lecture from the textbook." "But I'm glad she's inspired by the material." "She's bright." "All she's really been lacking is encouragement in the academic setting." "Erm, I think it's best if... if we let a young person find their own strengths." "If you lead a child by the hand, then they'll never find their own footing." "And if it's true about hiking, ergo it must be true about life." "Well, that's not..." "I'm just saying Buffy is a..." "Well, she's not the typical student." "Once you get to know her, she's a very unique girl." " I hope you're not going to push her." " I think I do know her." " And I have found her to be a unique woman." " Woman." "Of course." " She's self-reliant, independent..." " Exactly." "Which is not always a good thing." "I think it can be unhealthy to take on adult roles too early." "What I suspect I'm seeing is a reaction to the absence of a male role model." " Absence?" " Buffy clearly lacks a strong father figure." "I'm sorry, I have things to do." "I'll tell Buffy her friend was looking for her." "This prince-demon guy was supposed to rise at sunset, so aren't we, like, late?" "Well, if I hadn't had to search for Ms Summers and battle that harridan..." " And if you hadn't gotten lost afterwards..." " I'll just take care of it myself." "I've vanquished a few demons in my day." "Course, we may be entirely too late - demon on the loose, carnage everywhere..." "Your better demons will clean up after themselves." "I don't understand." "There should be ruptured earth and broken stone." "Oh, well, apparently it hasn't happened yet." "A bit of luck." "Or..." "You know what I bet?" "I bet the Initiative took care of it." " Who?" " Oh, Riley and his guys." "Probably all over it." "Yeah." "It has that too-neat look." "They must've cleaned up the place." "What?" "Oh, they raid hot spots - areas of otherworldly energy." "They must've picked this place up days ago." "Stop, both of you." "What..." "What are you talking about?" "What's the Initiative?" "What on earth does it have to do with Buffy's new boyfriend?" "You know." "I'm sure you know." "Riley's one of the commandos." "What?" "Well, that's marvellous, isn't it?" "I've spent weeks trying to get a single scrap of information about our mysterious demon collectors, and no one bothers to tell me Buffy's dating one of them?" " Who else knows?" " No one." "No one else knows this." "Anya, and that's it." " And Spike." " Spike?" " Spike knew?" " Only the basic stuff." "You know, that Riley is a commando and Professor Walsh is in charge..." "Professor Walsh?" "That fishwife?" "You know, she's actually not that bad once you get..." "So, the demon's probably a little late." " We'll just, you know..." " Oh, forget it." "Go on, you two clear off." "I'll stay a little longerjust in case." "You sure?" "Cos we could stay." "No." "Go." "Who am I kidding?" "Nothing is going to happen." "I wouldn't say that." "I wouldn't say that at all." "In fact, Ripper, old mate, I'd say something rather interesting was about to hap..." " Did someone...?" " Oh, bugger." "I thought you'd gone." "Ethan Rayne." "You have no idea how much thrashing you is going to improve my day." "No." "No, wait." "Hang on." "You can beat the crap out of me." "Go ahead, I can't stop you." "Or you can listen to what I have to say." "Find out what's going on." " What are you talking about?" " Something bad's happening." "For both of us." " Bad for you." " No, no, no." "You have to listen." "You're going to need time to prepare." "Brilliant." " Isn't this more fun than kicking my arse?" " No." "Oh." "Well, it's more fun for me." "Just tell me what you want to tell me." "Oh, so cross." "We used to be friends, Ripper." "When did all that fall apart?" "About the same time you started to worship chaos." "Oh, religious intolerance." "Sad, that." "I mean, just look at the Irish Troubles." "Oh, hang on, I'll tell ya." "There's something happening in the dark worlds." "It's all whispers and rumours out there, but only one thing's coming through clear, that something's harming demons." "And it's not the Slayer." " Know anything about it?" " What are they saying?" "Oh, you know demons." "It's all exaggeration and blank verse." ""Pain as bright as steel", things like that." "They're scared." "There's something called "314" that's got 'em scared most of all." "The kind of scared that turns to angry." "I know we're not particularly fond of each other, Rupert, but we are a couple of old mystics." "This new outfit, it's blundering into places it doesn't belong." "It's throwing the worlds out of balance." "And that's way beyond chaos, mate." "We're headed, quite literally, for one hell of a fight." "Are you holding back?" "Are you?" "Maybe a little." "Maybe a little too." " I'll go all out if you will." " Are you sure?" "Here we go." "Riley." "Are you hurt?" "I..." " I don't think so." " I'm so sorry." "I didn't mean to..." "It's fine." "I'm good." "D'you know what gets me?" "This is what gets me." "20 years I've been fighting demons." "Maggie Walsh and her nancy ninja boys come in, and six months later the demons are pissing themselves with fear." "They never even noticed me." " Who's Maggie Walsh?" " Oh, she's awful." "She said I was an absent male role model." "Absent, my arse." "I'm twice the man she is." "You know, you're really very attractive." "Here's my... my name and number." "You give me a call, and I'll show you a good time." " Yeah, thanks." " We've gotta face it, we've changed." "Well, not you." "You're still sadistic and self-centred." " Here's to me." " The world has passed us by." "Someone snuck in and left this couple of clapped-out has-beens in our place." "I mean, this Initiative..." "Their methods may be causing problems, but they're getting the job done." "What am I?" "I'm an unemployed librarian with a tendency to get knocked on the head." "Well, you won't have to worry about that any more, mate." "When you went to the loo, I slipped poison in your drink." "You'll be dead in an hour." "Just kidding." " I'm gonna feel like hell in the morning." " Relax." "Enjoy the night." "We're still a couple of sorcerers." "The night is still our time." " Time of magic." " To magic." "I'm glad you wanted to get together." "I know it's late." "I..." "Thanks." "I was happy you called." " We'll start out slow." " OK." " Willow?" " Yeah." "Start out slow doing what?" "We're gonna float the rose, then use the magics to pluck the petals off, one at a time." "It's a test of synchronicity." "Our minds have to be perfectly attuned to work as a single delicate implement." "Cool." "And it should be very pretty." "It worked." "Now for the hard part." "The petals." "What the heck was that?" "I don't know, but the petals are off." "I knew I'd feel like hell in the morning." "Wha...?" "What?" "No." "Damn." "Ethan." "Oh." "And I liked that shirt." "I like pancakes cos they're stackable." "Ooh, and waffles, cos you can put things in the little holes if you wanted to." "You should always have a new boyfriend." "You're so much fun right now." "Hey, I didn't hear you come in last night." "Where were you?" "The chem lab, by myself." "I was trying this new spell, floating a rose, when all of a sudden, zing, zing, zing." "Like, all around the room." "It was like a rose-based missile." " Yikes." " I know." "I think there's something out there." "I felt this presence, this dark-magics energy blocking the spell." "It's new." "Someone else doing magics?" "Maybe." "If so, it's someone pretty powerful." "Mm." "I'll tell Giles about it." "Or maybe I'll tell Maggie." "She seemed interested in the mystical side of the demon-hunting biz." "Tell Giles." "He's feeling a little hurt right now." "How come you never told him about Riley bein' a commando?" "Did." " I didn't?" " He says no." "He's feeling neglected and out-of-the-Ioop-y." "Well, I mean, I didn't at first because Riley said not to, and..." "And then, miaow, cat out of the bag, and I guess I just forgot that he didn't know." "I'll make it up to him when I see him." "Tomorrow." "I'm spending today with Riley." "Oh, yeah, I forgot - that's what you always do on the days when the earth rotates." "It's just going so well right now." "I think." "I hope." "I sort of kicked him across the room last night." "Um, that's not good." "We were sparring and he said not to hold back." "And he's a little dented." "But he said he was OK with it." "And I think he's OK with it." " Do you think he's OK with it?" " I'm sure he is." "I mean, if he's not, you know, you had to do it." "He's right." "You can't walk around pretending you're less than you are." " It wouldn't be right for you to hold back." " Right." " What?" " I held back a little." "Still asleep?" "It's 10.30 in the morning." "Xander?" "Xander, wake up." " Mom?" " No, it's not Mom." "Now, when you look at me, you may be a little alarmed." "But there's no need." "It's me, Giles." "Now, Ethan has turned me into a demon, and I need your help." "Hello." "Yes, it's me." "Xander, listen." "Don't you understand me?" "Demon." "Demon." "Please, don't you understand?" "No." "No, don't." "Xander, calm down." "No, just..." "Ow." "You're just a little overwrought." "Ow." "That's right." "Run for your life." " I'm sorry." " Call 911." "Bloody humans." "So it had pointy things." "What kind of pointy things?" "The pointy kind." "And tufty ears." "And maybe a saucepan-shaped bruise." "Giles will know what it was." "Giles?" "Looks like Xander wasn't the only one to get a visit." " He's not upstairs." " Oh, God, Giles." "OK." "There's a demon and Giles is gone." "But it doesn't mean that he's hurt." "I mean, there's no blood anywhere, so maybe the demon just took him somewhere." "I think it ate him up." "Well." "What do I spy with my little eye?" "A demon." "That would be..." "Oh, right." "The things I can kill." "Spike." "Wonderful." "The perfect end to a perfect day." " Giles?" " Go on, then." "Let's get on with the fighting." " You understand me." " Of course I understand you." " I'm speaking English?" " No, you're speaking Fyarl." "I speak Fyarl." "And, by the way, why the hell are you suddenly a Fyarl demon?" "You just come over all demony this morning?" "As a matter of fact, I did." "Thanks to Ethan Rayne." "You have to help me find him." "He must undo this, and then he needs a good being killed." "And I'm supposed to just help you out of the evilness of my heart?" "You help me and I..." "I don't kill you." "Oh, tremendously convincing." "Try it again without the stutter." "Money." "I could pay you money." "Oh." "I like money." "How much?" "$100?" "$100?" "You'll have to do a lot better than that." " 200." " Fine." "Right, then." "What's first?" "I tell the Slayer what you've gotten yourself into?" "No." "When I find Ethan I can clear all this up without Buffy ever having to find out." "OK, that's a giant vulture." "I'd have mentioned if it was a giant vulture." "Buffy, even if we figure out what kind of demon got Giles, how are we gonna find it?" "We'll figure it out." "Oh." "This one has tufty ears." "What was that?" " Buffy." " Riley." "What are you doing here?" "There were 911 calls from a couple of different places." "Including here." " You get 911 calls?" " We have a tap into the system." "It flags things with possible nonhuman causes." "We check 'em out." " What are you doin' here?" " This is Giles' apartment." "He's missing." " The calls." "Did anyone see what did it?" " Negative." "No." "Neighbours just heard, you know, growling and things breaking." " Sounded like a struggle." " Poor Giles." "We'll get him back." " What are you workin' on?" " We have stuff." "Pictures." "We have nothing." "I'll help." "The whole Initiative." "We'll do whatever you need." "Thanks." "I just wish I knew what I needed." "I keep thinking "Let's ask Giles." Then I remember." "He'd be great right now." "He'd find himself in a second." "Nobody is cooler in a crisis." "If you can't find third gear, don't try for third gear." "I'm doin' my best." "I don't know if I'm drivin' this thing or wearing' it." "It's perfectly serviceable." "Funny hearing a Fyarl demon say "serviceable"." "Had a couple of 'em working for me once." "They're more: "Like to crush." "Crush now?"" "Strong, though." "You won't meet ajar you can't open for the rest of your life." " What was that?" "Did you growl?" " No." "Listen, about this Fyarl demon." "Do I have special powers?" "Like setting things on fire with my sizzling eye beams?" "Well, you got the mucus thing." "What?" "Mucus?" "Paralysing mucus." "Shoots out through the nose." "Sets up fast." "Hard as rock." "Pretty good in a fight." " Are you making this up?" " Maybe." "But, hey, if you feel a sneeze comin' on, you warn me." "Turn here." " Downshift." "Downshift." " Calm down, will you?" "I'm not sure I can." "I feel like I'm changing." "Fine with me." "So long as you pay me." "I don't like this feeling." "A sort of mindless need to destroy." "This anger." "Rage." "Good times." "Go with it." "No." "It's fun." "I can't do it." "Do it for me." "Oh, let yourself go." "I refuse to become a monster because I look like a monster." "I have a soul." "I have a conscience." "I am a human being." "Oh, stop the car." "Right, let's go, then." "That's the thing that attacked me." "A Fyarl demon." "Sort of a foot-soldier type, works for other demons lots of the time." "Very strong..." "And, hey, mucus." "Mucus?" "Agent Finn." "Go ahead." " How do I kill it?" " Silver." "A weapon made of silver." "Yes." "I understand." "The demon attacked Professor Walsh." "It got out of a small, grey car." "A Citroen." "It stole Giles' car." " Why would a demon steal a car?" " Why would a demon steal that car?" "A demon that steals a car has a reason." "A purpose." "But it doesn't sound like these Fyarl demons are really big independent thinkers." "So, Will, the spells that are going wrong, could they be caused by someone using magics to control a demon?" "Making this Fyarl demon attack Giles?" "Yeah." "Yes, that would draw in a lot of dark energy." "OK." "Willow, Xander, stay here." "Whoever it is may call and ask for a ransom." "Give 'em anything they want." " You got it." " Riley, we're going to the magic shop." "Something silver..." "A letter opener?" "It's not very sharp." "Then I'll have to put some muscle behind it." "Two of them." "English, like me." "But older, less attractive." " One of them gave you his number." " I threw it out." "I mean, I took one look and saw he was staying at that rat-trap." "No, thanks." "Which rat-trap?" "The one by the highway." "The Sunnydale Motor Inn." "Thank you." "OK." "Credit-card slips, sales receipts..." "Help me look." " You shouldn't have done that to the door." " I do not have time to play by the rules." "I have a master key." "It opens every shop on Main Street." "Well, next time, absolutely." "I don't know what I'm lookin' for." "I do." "Ethan Rayne." " Who's that?" " Professional bad guy." "He's gotta be the guy that made the demon attack Giles." " Command, are you there?" " What are you doing?" "It's Finn." "I need a search." "Local hotel registrations matching the name Ethan Rayne." "R-a-y-n-e." "Call me back." " You can do that?" " It'll take a couple of minutes." "Get in the car." "I'm ready to go." "Buffy." "Earlier, when I talked to Professor Walsh, she gave me very specific orders." "Yeah?" "She said when we located the demon, I..." "I'm not supposed to bring you along." "What are you doing?" " I'm going to the car." " I can't take you with me." "You're not taking me with you." "I am going and I am letting you come along." "Buffy, it's not your call." "This is a military operation now." "Then call out the troops." "Because nothing less is gonna stop me." "This demon did something to Giles, and I'm gonna kill it." " How are you feelin', mate?" " Like snapping necks until everyone's dead." "Now that sounds like a Fyarl demon." "Good for you." " Hey, picked up a tail." " Yes." "Just a little one." "It hurts when I sit." "I mean someone's following us." "Humvee." "Military." " Well, speed up." "Lose them." " I've got it floored." "Why'd you buy this car?" "Do something." "If they catch us, we'll both end up in a lab." "It's getting closer." " And it's got a friend." " Damn." "Oh, sure." "Dismantle the getaway car." "That'll scare 'em." "Slow down." "I'll jump out." "They'll follow you." "Hold on." "These commandos are after me too." "Maybe I want you around to split their attention." "I'll pay you another $100." "Giles?" "Now, it..." "Calm down." "It's OK." "Good Giles." "No." "No." "Don't kill me." "No." "Don't kill me." "Giles..." "I can't undo you if you kill me." "You've gotta stop it." "It killed Ripper and now it's trying to get me." "Don't let him go." "What did you do to him?" "What did you do?" "You just try and stop me, you stupid jarheads." "You're only gonna make him angry." " This is for Giles." " For me?" "Oh, God." "Giles?" "Oh, God." "Giles." "Giles." "I'm..." "I'm so sorry." "Please don't die." "Actually, I feel quite well." "Except for the rage." "I think he's OK." "Is this thing real silver?" "I've really got to learn to just do the damage and get out of town." "It's the "stay and gloat" - gets me every time." "You OK?" "Oh, embarrassed, mostly." "Ethan's wardrobe's not helping any." "How did you know it was me?" "Your eyes." "You're the only person in the world that can look that annoyed with me." "This gonna go on much longer?" "I'd rather like to be going." " And why would I let you go?" " Well, maybe because you have no choice." "I'm human." "You can't kill me." "What's a slayer gonna do to me?" "The US military is taking you into custody, pending a determination of your status." " We'll take it from here." " Let's go." "Move it." "They'll take Mr Rayne to a secret detention facility in the Nevada desert." "I'm sure he'll be rehabilitated in no time." "If you don't mind, I'm just gonna go and watch them manhandle him into a vehicle." " Thanks." " I told you I'd help." "You did." "If I'd gotten here any later, and if Giles had killed Ethan," "I never would've gotten him back." "You'd find some other way." "You're really strong." "Like, Spider-Man strong." "Yeah." "But I don't stick to stuff." "But, yeah." "And you're in charge." "You're, like, make the plan, execute the plan..." "No one giving' you orders." "I'm the Slayer." "I like it." "Yeah?" "But give me another week to get ready and I'll take you down." "Nice phone." "Yes." "Fabulous technology." "See, if anyone has any information I need to know, they can simply tell me about it through this ingenious speaking tube." " I'm very excited." " I am sorry, Giles." "I really thought I'd told you about Riley and the Initiative." "And I know that it doesn't help." "Look, I promise it won't happen again." "I will tell you everything." "Buffy, I don't want to ask you to betray any confidences," " and I certainly don't want to interfere..." " Uh-oh." "You have but-face." "You look like you're gonna say "but"." "But this Initiative." "I'm a little concerned." "Ethan's not exactly a reliable source, but I'm not sure that he's wrong about them." "I'm not dating the Initiative." "I'm dating Riley." " He's a good guy." " And I believe that." "But he's part of something that we don't really understand." "Are you saying this because you don't like Riley's boss?" "No." "No, I'm not saying that at all." "Though I do hate her quite a lot." "But I want you to have your personal life, but keep your eyes open." "Make sure you know what you're getting into." "So she walks in and the rules just suddenly break?" "Pretty much." "Be careful with her." "She reacts on instinct." "There's no discipline there." "Her Ioyalties are uncertain." "You won't be disappointed in her." "She's good at what she does." " And she is the truest soul I've ever known." " Oh, no." "Oh, no." "Spontaneous poetic exclamations." "Lord, spare me college boys in love." "I'm just saying she'll work out." "You'll be proud of her." "You want to know what I think?" "I think you're probably right."