"In every generation there is a chosen one." "She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness." "She is the slayer." "No!" "No." "Yes." "It's time to get up for school." " Mom?" " Are you all right?" "No." "Yeah." "I'm..." "I'm fine." "Oh... school." "Great." "You want to go to school?" " Sure." "Why not?" " OK." "Good day to buy that lottery ticket." "I spoke with your father." " He's coming, right?" " You're on for this weekend." "Good." "So do you see your dad a lot?" "Not a whole lot." "He's still in L.A." "He only comes down for weekends sometimes." "When did they get divorced?" "Well, it wasn't finalized till last year, but they were separated before that." "It must have been harsh." "Yeah." "That's the word you're looking for." "I mean, they were really good about it around me, anyway, but still." "My parents don't even bicker." "Sometimes they glare." "Do you know why your folks split up?" "I didn't ask." "They just stopped getting along." "I'm sure I was a big help, though, with all the slaying and everything." "I was in so much trouble." "I was a big mess." "I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with him leaving." "No." "And he still comes down on weekends." "Sometimes." "Hello?" "Dufus." "You're in my light." "Wendell, what is wrong with you?" "Don't you know that she is the center of the universe and the rest of us merely revolve around her?" "Why don't you revolve yourselves out of my light?" "Wendell was in Cordelia's light." "I'm so ashamed." "Why is she so Evita-like?" "I think it's the hair." "It weighs heavy on the cerebral cortex." "Hey, guys, was there any homework?" "We're doing active listening today." "Cool." "What's active listening?" "That would be the homework." "Chapter 5:" "Active listening." "Where you put on your big ears and really focus on the other person." "Ms. Tishler demonstrated it yesterday." "With you." "She was wearing that tight sweater?" "Oh, the midnight-blue angora." "See, I was listening." "All right." "Take your seats." "In a moment, we will choose partners and practice what we read about in chapter 5." "Good, Xander, that's the spirit." "Before we do, let's review." "Isaacson's research led him to conclude that one of our most fundamental needs after food and shelter is to be heard." "Wendell, would you read the first 2 paragraphs on page 78, where Isaacson describes the rapid improvement active listening brought to some special needs clients." "Please!" "Get them off of me!" "Help!" "Get them off of me!" "Help me!" " Please help me!" "Please!" " Sorry about that." "Please help me!" "Fear is a wonderful thing." "It is the most powerful force in the human world, not love, not hate." "Fear." "When you were a mortal boy, what did you fear?" "Monsters." "We are defined by the things we fear." "This symbol, these 2 planks of wood, it confounds me, suffuses me with mortal dread." "But fear is in the mind." "Like pain, it can be controlled." "If I can face my fear, it cannot master me." "Something is happening above, something new." "A powerful psychic force." "Do you feel it?" "I feel change." "Change." "Yes." "For the worse." "You're awfully quiet this morning." "I didn't sleep well." "I'll say." "I came in to check on you twice." "You were yelling in your sleep." "Do you know what you were dreaming?" "Not really." "Oh, no." "My bag!" "I packed it for the weekend, and I forgot it." "You and your dad can swing by the house and get your bag." "It's not an international crisis." "OK." "Yeah." "I just had meant to bring it." "He's picking me up here, right, at 3:30?" "Honey, are you worried your father isn't going to show?" "No." "Not really." "Should I be?" "Of course not." "I just..." "I know it's a hard situation." "You just have to remember that your father adores you." "No more than I do, by the way." "Good-bye." "Have a great day." "Thanks." "Buffy!" "We've been looking for you." "We have?" "About the spiders, did you talk to Giles about..." "Oh, the spiders." "Willow's been kind of..." "What's the word I'm looking for?" "Insane about what happened yesterday." "I don't like spiders, OK?" "Their furry bodies and their sticky webs." "And what do they need all those legs for anyway?" "I'll tell you." "For crawling across your face in the middle of the night." "Eew!" "How do they not ruffle you?" "I'm sorry." "I'm unruffled by spiders." "Now, if a bunch of Nazis crawled all over my face..." "That was pretty intense." "Thank you." "Well, the Hellmouth, the center of mystical convergence, supernatural monsters:" "Been there." " A little blasé there, aren't you?" " Not worried." "If there's something bad out there, we'll find, you'll slay, we'll party." "Thanks for having confidence in me." "You da man, Buff." "OK, but we're still caring about the spiders here." "Let's not forget the spiders." "Well, Giles said he was going to look it up." "Giles?" "Maybe he's in the faculty room." "Hey, Giles... wakey wakey." "I was in the stacks and... got lost." "Did you find any theories on spiders coming out of books?" "Big, hairy, crawly..." "It's funny if you're me." "I couldn't find anything particularly illuminating." "I think perhaps you'd best have a chat with Wendell himself." "OK." "If he can still talk." "Hey, Wendell, how are you?" "Huh?" "You OK?" "Good talking to you, man." "Do you guys want something?" "We just thought you might want to talk about what happened." "You know, yesterday, with the spiders?" "I don't know what to say." "There's nothing to say." "You saw 200 insects." "You gonzoed." "Anybody would've." "They're not insects." "They're arachnids." "They're from the Middle East?" "Spiders are arachnids." "They have eight legs." "Insects only have six." "Why does everyone make that mistake?" "Don't know." "Has anything like this ever happened before?" "When?" "Lots of times." "Ew, you must hate spiders more than I do." "I don't hate spiders." "I love them." "They hate me." "I hope you studied for the history test." "What history test?" "The one we're having in fourth period right now." "There's a history test?" "Nobody told me there's a history test." "I haven't..." "I..." "OK, I'll catch up with you guys later." "What do you mean, you "love spiders"?" "It is platonic, right?" "I had the best collection in the tri-county area." "I had browns and tarantulas and black widows." "Then my folks shipped me off to wilderness camp." "All my brother had to do was maintain their habitats." "Instead, he left their heat lamp on for a week." "When I came home, they were all dead." "That's when the nightmares started." "The nightmares?" "It's always the same." "I'm sitting in the classroom." "The teacher asks me to read something." "I open up my book, and there they are." "They're coming after me." "God, can you blame them after what I did?" "And that's how it happens every time?" "Yesterday in class, I thought I'd just nodded off again, but then everyone else started screaming, too." "You don't know where class is, do you?" "Hardly a shocker." "You've cut History just about every time we've had it." "Well, I was there the first day, I think." "It's in here." "I haven't been to class, read any assignments." " How am I gonna pass this test?" " Blind luck?" "At least I know my name." "Well, they both have detention, which is completely unfair since Sean started it." "Anyway, it means we can't do the movie." "I'm gonna take a... break." "You shouldn't go in there." "Lucky 19." "No!" "I think they said room 3016." "Do you know the girl?" "To say hi to." "Laura's nice enough." "Nobody saw who attacked her?" "I was rather hoping that Laura did." " Hey, Laura." " Hi." "I hope we're not intruding." "That's OK." "I don't want to be left alone." "I understand." "We're anxious to make sure this doesn't happen again." "Can you tell us what happened?" "I was in the basement." "I went down for a smoke." "There was... someone there." "Someone you knew?" "I've never seen anything like it." "It?" "Can you describe it?" "Hey, that's OK." "Don't worry about it." "Yes." "You..." "You..." "You just rest now." "But if you remember anything, you can tell us, even if it may seem weird." "She needs her rest now." "Lucky 19." "I'm sorry?" "It's what he said right before." "He said, "Lucky 19."" "That's weird, right?" "Yes." "Yes, it is." "Feel better." "Take care." "Doctor, is she going to be all right?" "You family?" "Friends." "She'll recover." "She's got a couple of shattered bones, a little internal bleeding." "She got off pretty easy." "Easy?" "Have you looked up the word lately?" "Well, the first one's still in a coma." "The first what?" "The first victim." "Found him a week ago." "Exact same m.o. As the girl, only he's in worse shape." "If he doesn't wake up soon..." "Somebody's got to stop this guy." "Somebody will." "Listen, I'm not afraid of him." "Hey, if he wants to fight, then I'm taking him down." "I'm not backing off of this." "This is about honor." "I'll break his neck." "I'm just saying Wendell had a dream, and then that exact thing happened." "Which is a fair wiggins, I admit, but do you think that ties in with Laura?" "I don't know." "Maybe she dreamed about getting beat up." "We should ask Buffy when she gets back from the hospital." "There's my little baby!" "Mom, what are you doing here?" "Mom!" "How's my little pookie?" "Mom, please don't kiss me in front of the guys." "It's embarrassing, Mom!" "You cute little rascal." "Thanks, but, Mom..." "It must be a coincidence." "Wendell finds a spider's nest." "We all wig because he dreamt about spiders." "So it may not be connected." "If there is a connection," "It doesn't sound like anything..." "What?" "Xander, what happened to your..." "I don't know." "I was... dressed a minute ago." "It's a dream." "It's gotta be a dream." "Ow!" "Wake up." "Ow!" "Gotta wake up." "This can't be happening." "This can't be." "What's the word?" "I've got back issues of the papers." "I'm trying to do some research." " Did you find anything?" " I don't know." "You don't know if you didn't find anything?" "Having a problem." "What is it?" "I can't read." "What do you mean?" "You can read, like, 3 languages." "Five, actually, on a normal day, but the words here don't make any sense." "Gibberish." "That's him." "Who?" "The kid I've been seeing around school." ""12-year-old Billy Palmer was found beaten and unconscious after his Kiddie League game Saturday." "Doctors describe his condition as critical."" "When was this published?" "Last week." "It says he's in a coma in intensive care..." "This is the boy from the hospital!" "The first victim?" "You've seen him around the school?" "Yeah." "First when the spiders got Wendell, and then when I didn't know a thing on the history test." "I thought it was weird, seeing this kid around, but I forgot about it." "The boy's been in a coma for a week." "How can this be possible?" "What am I, Knowledge Girl now?" "Explanations are your terrain." "Well... there's astral projection." "The theory that while one sleeps, one has another body, an astral body which can travel through time and space." "Billy's in a coma, and that's like sleep, right?" "In a manner of speaking, only one doesn't always wake from a coma." "Could I be seeing Billy's asteroid body?" "Astral body, and I don't know." "As usual, one doesn't have an inordinate amount of information to work with." "Lucky 19." "There you are!" "I've been looking everywhere." "Why aren't you in class?" "Dad, what are you doing here?" "You're not supposed to pick me up till after school." "Is something wrong?" "Well, I need to talk to you." "Something is wrong." "Is it Mom?" "No, no." "It's not your mother." "She's fine." "Could I speak with you for a moment, privately?" "Sure." "Yeah." "I'm sorry." "Dad, this is Mr. Giles, the librarian." "This is my dad Hank Summers." " My pleasure." " Likewise." "I'll be back." "I came early because there's something I've needed to tell you... about your mother and me, why we split up." "Well, you always told me it..." "I know we always said it was because we'd grown too far apart." "Yeah." "Isn't that true?" "Well, come on, honey." "Let's..." "Let's sit down." "You're old enough now to know the truth." " Was there someone else?" " No." "No." "It was nothing like that." "Then what was it?" "It was you." "Me?" "Having you, raising you, seeing you every day." "I mean, do you have any idea what that's like?" "What?" "You don't even see what's right in front of your face, do you?" "Oh, well." "Big surprise there." "All you ever think about is yourself." "You get in trouble." "You embarrass us with all the crazy stunts you pull." " Do I have to go on?" " No." "Please don't." "You're sullen and rude, and you're not nearly as bright as I thought you were going to be." "I mean, Buffy, let's be honest." "Could you stand to live in the same house with a daughter like that?" "Why are you saying these things?" "Because they're true." "That's the least we owe one another." "You know, I don't think it's very mature, getting all blubbery when I'm just trying to be honest." "Speaking of which, I don't really get anything out of these weekends with you." "So what do you say we just don't do them anymore?" "I sure thought you'd turn out differently." "Red alert." "Where's Buffy?" "She just stepped out." "Her father came by." "He needed to talk to her." "Where are your other clothes?" "Don't I wish I had the answer to that question." "Xander kind of found himself in front of our class not wearing much of anything." "Except my underwear." "Yeah." "It was really..." "Bad." " It was a bad thing." " "Bad thing"?" " I was naked. "Bad thing" doesn't cover it." " Everyone staring." "I would hate to have everyone paying attention to me like that." "With nudity!" "It was a total nightmare." "Well, yes, Xander." "It's your nightmare." "Except the part with me waking up going, "It's all a dream."" " It happened." " Like it happened to Wendell." "That thing with the spiders." "Wendell had a recurring dream about that." "I dreamt that I got lost in the stacks, and I..." "I couldn't read..." "Of course!" "Our dreams are coming true." "Dreams?" "That would be a musical comedy version of this." "Nightmares." "Our nightmares are coming true." "So why is this happening?" "Billy." "Well, that explanation was shorter than usual." "It's Billy." " Who's Billy?" " A boy in the local hospital." "He was beaten." "He's in a coma." "Somehow I think he's crossed over from the nightmare world he's trapped in." "And he brought the nightmare world with him." "Thanks a bunch, Billy." "How could he do that?" "Things like that are easier when you live on a Hellmouth." "Well, we have to stop it." "And soon, or else everyone in Sunnydale's going to be facing their own worst nightmares." "Oh, my God." "I don't understand." "This can't be happening." "I was just at the salon." "Oh, my God." "Billy?" "Are you Billy Palmer?" "I'm Billy." "Why are you here?" "Did something bad happen to you after your game?" "Something bad?" "I..." "I don't remember." "Do you remember playing baseball?" "Yeah." "I play second base." "Are you Lucky 19?" "That's what he calls me." "Who?" "The ugly man." "He wants to kill me." "He hurt that girl." " Why does he want to kill you?" " He's..." "Billy, it's OK." "What?" "Just tell me." "He's here!" "Buffy doesn't know this is happening, and given the sort of thing she tends to dream about, it's imperative that we find her." "It'll be faster if we split up to look for her." "Good idea." "Faster... but not really safer." "Billy." "I'm sorry." "I can't help it." " Who is he?" " He's the ugly man." "He's too strong." "I can't fight him." "We have to find my friends." "They can help us." " We have to hide." " No." "He'll find us." "Yes, but we have to hide." "That's how it happens." "We hide, and then he comes." "No!" "What are you doing?" "No!" "You don't understand!" "I don't want to go!" "I'm not even on the chess team." "I swear I'm not." "Willow." "Willow." "Buffy?" "Hello?" "Buffy?" "I'm not afraid." "You'd think I'd be afraid, but I'm not." "All right!" "Someone else's loss is my chocolatey goodness." "This is my lucky day." "I was sure this led to the library." "They're just playing." "What is it?" "What's bothering you?" "Baseball." "When you lose, it's bad." "Did you lose your game last week?" "It was my fault." "Why was it your fault?" "I missed a ball when I should've caught it." "You missed one ball and the whole game was your fault?" "What, you were the only one playing?" "There wasn't 8 other kids on your team?" "He said it was my fault." "Who said?" "Billy, did he hurt you after the game?" "Can we go another way to find your friends?" "Sure." "OK." "OK." "We can go around the cafeteria." "Bad idea." "This way." "Come on." "What just happened?" "Is this where your friends are?" "No, it's not." "Man, I thought you weren't gonna show." "Aldo is beside himself." "Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present two of the world's greatest singers..." "I hope you're warmed up." "It's an ugly crowd out there tonight." "All the reviewers showed up." "All the way from Firenze, Italy, the one and only Aldo Gianfranco and all the way from Sunnydale, California, the world's finest soprano Willow Rosenberg!" "But..." "I didn't learn the words." "My turn?" "I love these bars." "A chocolate Hurricane?" "These are the best." "I haven't had one of these since my..." "Sixth..." "Birthday." "I don't see the ugly man." "I also don't know where the sun and the rest of the world went." "Look at this." "I guess we're gonna bury somebody." "I wonder who died." "Nobody died." "What's the fun of burying someone if they're already dead?" "You..." "So... this is the slayer." "You're prettier than the last one." "This isn't real." "You can't be free." "You still don't understand, do you?" "I am free because you fear it." "Because you fear it, the world is crumbling." "Your nightmares are made flesh." "You have little Billy to thank for that." "This is a dream." "A dream is a wish your heart makes." "This is real life." "Come on, slayer." "What are you afraid of?" "Help!" "Help me!" "How about being buried alive?" "Please don't go!" "Please!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "Let me out of here!" "Please!" "No!" "Please, no!" "Oh, please, no!" " Did you find Buffy?" " I had to sing." "Very bad, to sing." " Come on, let's find the others." " What happened to you?" "Remember my sixth birthday party?" "Yeah, when the clown chased you and you got so scared that you went..." "No sign of Buffy?" "You were a lousy clown." "Your balloon animals were pathetic." "Everyone can make a giraffe." "I feel good." "I feel liberated." "You seem to be the only one." "Things are getting worse." "In a few hours, reality will fold completely into the realm of nightmares." " What do we do?" " Try and wake Billy." " We can't leave without Buffy." " Agreed." "But who knows where she might have gone." "Excuse me." "When did they put a cemetery in across the street?" "And when did they make it night over there?" "Whose nightmare is this?" "It's mine." "I failed... in my duty to protect you." "I should've been more..." "cautious, taken more time to train you." "But you were so gifted." "And the evil was so great." "I'm sorry." "Buffy?" "Thought I was dead." "Buffy, your face." "Oh, God." " Buffy." " Don't look at me." "You never told me you dreamt of becoming a vampire." "This isn't a dream." "No." "No, it's not." "But there's a chance we can make it go away." "This all comes from Billy." "If we can wake him up, the nightmares will stop and reality will shift back into place." "But we must do it now." "I need you to hold together long enough to help us." "Can you do that?" "Yeah." "I think I can." "Thank you." "Well, we better hurry... 'cause I'm getting hungry." "That is a... joke, right?" "Are you sure everything will go back once he's awake?" "Oh, positive." "Well, how do we wake Billy up?" "What if we can't?" "Willow, do shut up." "Doctor, is the boy Billy still here?" "My hands." "What now?" "Billy!" "Billy!" "That won't work." "Billy." "Billy, you have to wake up." "No, I told her." "I have to hide." "Why?" " From what?" " From him." "Man, what do we do?" "I think I know." "Whatever it is, it better be soon." "I'm glad you showed up." "You see, I'm having a really bad day." "Lucky 19." "Scary." "I'll tell you something, though." "There are a lot scarier things than you." "And I'm one of them." "Is he dead?" "Come here, Billy." "But I don't..." "You have to do the rest." "What are they doing?" "I get it." "No more hiding." "Hey, he's waking up." "I had the strangest dream." "And you were in it... and you..." "Who are you people?" "Let's get a doctor." "Billy's got company." "I'm his Kiddie League coach." "I come by here every day just hoping against hope that he's gonna wake up soon." "He's my Lucky 19." "So, how is he?" "He's awake." "What?" "You blamed him for losing the game." "So you caught up with him afterwards, didn't you?" " What are you talking about?" " You said it was my fault that we lost." "It wasn't my fault." "There's eight other players on the team." "You know that." "Nice going." "I can't believe a Kiddie League coach would do something like that." "Well, you obviously haven't played Kiddie League." "I'm surprised it wasn't one of the parents." "I'm just glad he's behind bars where he belongs." "But that was kind of heroic, Xander, grabbing him and all." "I just did what anybody else would've..." "I mean, if you want to label it heroic..." "Hi!" "Have a killer weekend, guys." "Hi, sweetheart." "It's so good to see you." "How was your day?" "You know, the usual." " Personal question?" " Yeah, shoot." "When Buffy was a vampire, you weren't still, like, attracted to her, were you?" "Willow, how can you..." "I mean, that's really bent." "She was... grotesque." "Still dug her, huh?" "I'm sick." "I need help." "Don't I know it."