" I'm Faith." " I'd say there was a new slayer in town." "She's unstable, Buffy." "Faith, no." " You killed a man," " I don't care," "No one can stop the Ascension, Mayor's got it wired, B," "He built this town for demons to feed on." "Come Graduation Day, he's gettin' paid." " Open your present." " This is a thing of beauty, boss," "No." "Faith?" "I'm leaving - after the Ascension." "You don't wanna be with me?" "I don't." "I can't believe you're breaking up with me." "OK." "Thanks a lot." "I can't believe this loser look." "I lobbied so hard for the teal." "No one ever listens to me." "Lone fashionable wolf." "I like the maroon." "It has more dignity." "Dignity?" "You?" "In relation to clothes?" "I'm awash in a sea of confusion." "I just wanna look respectable in this." "Considering I'm probably gonna die in it." " Excuse me?" " I'm telling ya." "I woke up the other day with this feeling in my gut." "I just know:" "there is no way I'm getting out of this school alive." "Wow." "You've really mastered the power of positive giving up." "I've been lucky too many times." "My number's comin' up." "And I was short." "One more rotation, and I'm shipping' stateside." " You know what I mean?" " Seldom, if ever." "Bye." "We'll keep in touch." " Willow, will you sign my yearbook?" " Yeah." "You have to sign mine, too." "You know, I really wish we'd got to know each other better." " Me, too." " I mean, you're so smart." " I always wanted to be like that." " Thanks." "You're so sweet." " I hope we don't lose touch." " No." "We'll hang out." " Bye." " Bye." " Oh, I'm gonna miss her." " Don't you hate her?" "Yes, with a fiery vengeance." "She picked on me for ten years." "The vacuous tramp." "It's like a sickness, Buffy." "I'm just missing everything." " I miss PE." " I think it's contagious." "The whole senior class has turned into the sixties, or what I imagine the sixties would have been like, without the war and the hairy armpits." " You don't feel it?" " No, I don't." "I mean, I guess I'll miss stuff, but I just don't get the whole graduation thing." "You get a piece of paper, and nothing changes." "I don't even think I'm gonna go." "Oh, trusty soda machine." "I push you for root beer, you give me Coke." "What do you mean, not go?" "Why not?" "Ascension." "Mayor becoming a demon, snacking upon populace." " I was planning on fighting him." " You can't do both?" "Both what?" "Go to graduation, and fight the Mayor." "The Mayor?" "What, you guys didn't hear?" " Hear what?" " Who our commencement speaker is." " Siegfried?" " No." " Roy?" "One of the tigers?" " No." "Come out of the fantasy, Will." "I don't believe this." "Lends credence to my "I'm gonna die" theorem, doesn't it?" "Mayor at graduation." "100 helpless kids to feed on." "You got any other surprises for us?" "Just a moment." " Hi." "I'm looking for Professor Worth." " That's me." "But I should ask you to come back during office hours." " Students generally..." " I'm not from the college." "I work for Mayor Wilkins." "I'm Faith." "Well, come in." "Please." "I was so surprised when he called." "I didn't expect a politician to be interested in my research." " He's a big fan, Professor." " Lester's fine." "Are we alone here, Lester?" "Well, yes." "Lifelong bachelor." " I like my space." " I hear that." "You wanna turn and face the wall, Lester?" " What are you doing?" " I'll make it quick." "Put that away." " I'll scream." " Who wouldn't?" " Please." " Sorry, friend." "Boss wants you dead." " Why?" " You know, I never thought to ask." "And everything went smoothly with Mr Worth?" "Not if you're Mr Worth." "Well, that's swell." "You know how I feel about loose ends." "And the big day is so close, you can smell the excitement in the air." "Say, are you ever coming out of there?" " I don't know." " Come on." "Wow." "Aren't you a vision!" "I feel wicked stupid in this." "You look lovely." "Perfect for the Ascension." "Any boys that manage to survive will be lining up to ask you out." "It just isn't me, though." "Not you?" "Let me tell you something." "Nobody knows what you are." "Not even you, Little Miss Seen It All." "The Ascension isn't just my day." "It's yours, too." "Your day to blossom, show the world what a powerful girl you are." "When I think of what you've done, what I know you will do..." "No father could be prouder." " I hope I don't let you down." " Impossible." "Now, come on." "Change back into your street clothes." "I'll buy you an icy." " Hey, Rosenberg." " Hey, Percy." "Check it out." "History final." " B minus." "That's great." " I'm a scholar." "I'm, like, a scholar." " Congratulations." " Hey, listen." "Thank you." "I mean, for helping me." "Being so patient." "And also for not kicking my ass like you did in the Bronze." "You know, Percy, that was actually for your own good." "I know, I know." " Hey." " Hey." " History's important, you know." " No, I totally get that now." "And I got the grades, and I'm graduating tomorrow." "I can forget all this crap." "Well, after graduation, he may not have the chance to forget it all." "I'm just trying to keep things light." "But things aren't light." "I mean, it's bad enough we have to fight the Mayor." "I don't want him eating Percy and the whole class." "We have to find a spell or something to stop the Ascension." "Then we will." "Thank you for joining us, Mr Harris." "Look, I realise you've all finished your finals and you're ready to move on." "But you haven't graduated yet." "This is still a class, and everyone will participate." "Mr Harris, would you care to begin?" " E," " No." "There's no E," "They always go for the E," " Next..." " Hi." " Steven." " Hey." " L ?" " So I was wondering..." "Maybe if you're free this weekend, maybe we could do some entertaining thing." "Would that be you telling me about the men you destroyed in your demon days?" "Cos pencil me in." "Well, we could do something else you like." "We could... watch sports of some kind." " I don't know." " Men like sports." "I'm sure of it." "Yes." "Men like sports." "Men watch the action movie." "They eat of the beef, and enjoy to look at the bosoms." "A thousand years, and that's all you've learned?" "Hey, I'm trying, OK?" "You don't need to take my head off." "I'm sorry." "Look..." "I don't even know if I'm gonna make it to next weekend." "Tell you what, I survive the Ascension, then maybe you and I could do some sports-related..." "What?" " Faith." " You're sure?" "It's one of her pieces." "I recognise the brushwork." ""Brutally stabbed." "Lester Worth, visiting professor of geology."" "There's nothing in here that bellows "motive"." "Random killing, perhaps?" "Fit of rage?" "Everybody does seem to be going a bit mad, and Faith has something of a head start." "Doesn't read." "I think it's homework." " The Mayor wanted him out of the way." " Which leads to the question "How come?"" "I'm gonna destroy the entire city, but I kill harmless Lester first?" "Tying up loose ends?" "Lester had something, or knew something." "And I wanna know too." "The Mayor's trying to hide." "I say we go seek." "By attempting to keep a valuable clue from us, the Mayor may have inadvertently led us right to it." "What page are you on, Wes?" "Cos we already got there." "Yes." "Well..." "You will go tonight, look over his apartment." "Anything of note, report back here." "I just love it when you take charge, you man, you." "That..." "Was that a yes?" " I'm having trouble keeping track." " I'll go." "Be careful." "If Faith should show up..." "I don't think she'll show." "Been there, killed that." "She's not much for follow-up." "Nonetheless, keep watch." "Faith has you at a disadvantage, Buffy." "Cos I'm not crazy, or cos I don't kill people?" "Both, actually." "I hear you." "I can't kill her, fun as it may sound." "I can make her cry uncle, though, and I mean to." "Don't let your feelings about Faith interfere with your work." "Stopping Faith is my work." "Take a beat to love this energy." "Faith is a footnote." "Our priority is stopping the Ascension." "Easier said than done, Monarchy Boy." "If you don't have something constructive to add..." "You guys wanna know about the Ascension?" "Well, meet the only living person who's ever been to one." "About 800 years ago in the valleys above the Urals, there was a sorcerer there who achieved Ascension." "He became the embodiment of the demon Lohesh." "I was there cursing a shepherd who'd been unfaithful." " His wife had wished that all his sheep..." " Could we cut back to the chase?" "Sorry." "Lohesh was..." "It... it decimated the village within hours." "Maybe three people got out." "I've seen some horrible things." "I've been the cause of most of them, actually, but this..." "I'm sorry." "Lohesh was a four-winged soul killer." "Am I right?" "I was given to understand that they're not that fierce." " Of all the demons we've faced..." " You've never seen a demon." "Excuse me." "Killing them professionally four years running." "All the demons that walk the Earth are tainted, are human hybrids like vampires." "The Ascension means that a human becomes pure demon." "They're different." " Different?" " How?" "Well, for one thing, they're bigger." "The kids are here, the parents off to the side there." "We'll go up, they'll play the processional, and then you'll give the address." " It all looks wonderful." " As long as nobody makes any trouble." "Stop worrying." "Just make sure the kids show up." "Anybody who doesn't feel like coming, they'll just have to live without a diploma." " They'll be here, sir." " Call me Richard." "You've done a great job here." "I know things are, well, different here in Sunnydale." "We've seen all sorts of things." "What's important is that we keep it under control." " And that's what you've done." " I believe in order." "Sunnydale owes you a debt." "It will be repaid." "Yes, sir." "We'll mark that invoice "Paid in full"." "It doesn't sound like Lohesh." "The rituals are all different." " I wish that was a relief." " What's goin' on?" "How come Evil Girl's in the mix?" "Anya witnessed an Ascension." "OK, then." "What about the spiders?" "The Mayor had a box of spiders that he had to eat." "Or the box of..." "I wanna say "gravlax"?" " Gavrok." " It doesn't ring a bell." "Well, there must be something that would be helpful." "So..." "This is the inner sanctum." "Faith tells me this is where you folks like to hang out, concoct your little schemes." "It's just nice to see that some young people are still interested in reading in this modern era." "So, what are kids reading nowadays?" ""The beast will walk upon the earth, and darkness will follow."" ""The several races of man will be as one in their terror and destruction."" "That's kinda sweet." "Different races coming together." "You never get even a little tired of hearing yourself speak, do you?" "That's one spunky little girl you've raised." "I'm gonna eat her." "Whoa." "Well, now, that was a little thoughtless." "Violent outbursts like that?" "In front of the children?" "You know, Mr Giles, they look to you to see how to behave." "Get out." "I smell fear." "That's smart." "But some of your deaths will be quick, if that's worth anything." "Well..." "See you all at graduation." "You don't wanna miss my commencement address." "It's gonna be one heck of a speech." "Anya, wait." "Where are you goin'?" "Anywhere." "If there's a lunar shuttle going up anytime soon, I'm on it." "We need you here." "You might be able to help." "Or I might be able to live." "You can't stop the Ascension, Xander." "You were right the first time." "The only thing any sane person can do now is run." " What's her saga?" " She's freakin'." " About what?" " The Mayor is gonna kill us all." " Are you gonna go to fifth period?" " I might skip it." "Yeah." "Me, too." "Buffy, I'm home." "Do you wanna go to a..." "What are you doing?" "You're running away again?" " And you're taking my clothes." " Mom, I need you to leave town." "Tonight." " Buffy, I'd miss your graduation." " Yeah, that's sort of the idea." " I wouldn't dream of it." " Graduation is a pointless ceremony where you sit around till someone hands you a piece of paper that says you graduated." "And maroon does nothing for my complexion, so don't argue, OK?" "What, is some terrible demon going to attack the school?" "I see." "You know, Buffy, looking back at everything that's happened..." " I should have sent you to a different school." " Just promise me you'll be far away." "I am not leaving you to face an awful monster." "If I go, you go with me." " You know that I can't." " Well, then, I can't either." " I know sometimes you wish I were different." " Buffy, no." "I wished I could be a lot of things for you." "A great student, a star athlete, remotely normal." "I'm not." "But there is something I do better than anybody else in the world." "I'm gonna fight this thing." "But I can't do it and worry about you." " Buffy, I just can't..." " You stay, you'll get me killed." "You have to trust me on this." "Can you do that?" "This is so frustrating." " Nothin' useful?" " No, it's great." "If we want to make farms invisible or communicate with shrimp," "I've got the goods right here." "Our lives are different than other people's." "Who am I kidding?" "I'm not gonna find a spell to stop the Ascension." "I'm no witch." "I can't even change poor Amy back to a person." "But you got the swinging Habitrail goin'." "I think Amy's in a good place emotionally." " Oz." " What?" "Could you just pretend to care about what's happening, please?" " You think I don't care?" " I think we could be dead in two days' time, and you're being ironic detachment guy." " Would it help if I panic?" " Yes." "It'd be swell." "Panic is a thing people can share in times of crisis, and everything's really scary now, and I don't know what's gonna happen." "And there's things you're supposed to get to do after high school, and I was looking forward to doing them, and we're probably just gonna die." "And I'd like to feel that maybe you would..." " What are you doin'?" " Panicking." "Stealthy!" "Not my best entrance." "I think they were mopping' in the halls." "What are you doing here?" "I checked in with Giles." "He asked me to back you up." " He's afraid I'll run into Faith." " And you're not?" "It's gonna happen sooner or later." "What's that?" "A report." "Excavation of some old lava bed." "The guy was a volcano-ologist or something." "Anything that connects him to the Mayor?" "I looked through it, but all I understood were the commas." "I'll bring it to Giles, see if he can do better." "Let me give you a hand." "Thank you, but I can take it from here." " It's all right." "I'll walk you there." " Look, I don't need an escort." "I'm a big girl, with superpowers, remember?" "I don't need you crowding me." " I didn't think I was." " No, of course you don't." "You just show up at the prom and then you disappear into the ozone." "For all I know, you left town." "Are you mad at me for being around too much, or not enough?" " Duh!" "Yes." " Which?" " What?" " I don't get you." "No, you don't." "Not any more." "Are you just making this harder to make this easier on yourself?" "Could we stop with the brain-teasers?" " I just wish it was over." "Done." " It's not that simple." "Once the Mayor..." "I know." "World in peril and we have to work together." "This is my last office romance, I'll tell you that." " You want me out of your face?" " Isn't it even a little hard for you?" "How can you ask me that?" "Just cos I'm not acting like a brat..." " It's nice to know what you think of me." " What do you expect me to say?" "I can't do this any more." "I can't have you in my life when I'm trying to move on." "Angel." "Missed the heart." "Meant to." " There." " OK, ready?" " Yeah." " On three." " One..." " I knew you were gonna do that." " Not too much blood here." " I heal fast." "I should be all right." " I'm just glad Faith's such a suck shot." " Are we sure it was her?" "Well, I've narrowed down my list of one suspect." " Fascinating." " What?" "It seems our Mr Worth headed an expedition in Kauai, digging through old lava beds near a dormant volcano." " I'm not fascinated yet." " He found something underneath." "A carcass, buried by an eruption." " A carcass?" " A very large one." "Mr Worth posits that it might be some heretofore undiscovered dinosaur." " A demon?" " The Mayor would want to keep that secret." "If it's the same kind of demon he's turning into and it's dead, it means he's only impervious to harm until the Ascension." "In this demon form, he could be killed." "Great." "So all we need is a million tons of burning lava." "We're saved." "Well, it's a start, anyway." "OK, you have been a real klutz today." "You need to..." "Damn." " We'll have to run some tests." " My shoulder's numb." " You're burning up." " It's poison." "I can feel it." "Call the others." "Get them here." "We need to move him to the safety of his own bed before the sun comes up." " Will you be able to find out what this is?" " The Council has all known toxins on file." " I'll contact them immediately." " Thanks." "You're gonna be OK." "I feel different." "You know?" "I guess that makes sense." "Do you feel different?" "Oh, no, you've already..." "Probably no big change for you." "It... it was nice." "Was it nice?" "Should this be a quiet moment?" "I know exactly what you mean." "Which part?" "Everything feels different." "Hello?" "We gotta go." " He's dropped, boss." " Applause, applause." "Right in the back." "He pitches over and Buffy's freakin', looking around all panicked." "That should keep her occupied for a spell." " What next?" " The ritual of Gavrok." "I have to ingest several of the inhabitants of this box." " Ingest?" " Eat." " You're wicked gross." " Well, you don't have to watch." "Just go home, take it easy." "It's a big day tomorrow." "You gotta give me something to do." "Don't you need anyone dead?" "Or maimed?" " I can settle for maimed." " You little firecracker." "My mom used to call me that." "When I was little." "I was always runnin' around..." "Tomorrow." "The Ascension and all that." "Am I gonna get to fight?" "If everything goes smoothly, you won't have to." " But how often do things go smoothly?" " So you'll still need me in there." "Always." "When I was a kid, a couple of miles outside of Boston there was this quarry." "All the kids used to swim there and jump off the rocks." "And there was this one rock, like, 40 feet up." "I was the only one that would jump off it." "All the older kids were too scared." "Not you, though." "No." "I could do it easy." "Get some rest." "Good luck with your spiders there." "They should have this at the magic shop." "I can run a trace analysis, see if it's a mystical poison." " I'm a little short on cash." " Just tell 'em it's for me." "Right." "Xander?" "What are you doin' here?" "I thought you'd be in Aruba by now." "Hey, I'm packed." "My car's right outside." "I just..." "I..." "I had to..." "What?" "You could come with me." "Come with you?" "You mean that?" "Why not?" "We could just get in the car and drive and..." "No one would miss us." "We could take turns driving, keep each other awake." "You're going to die if you stay here." "I guess I might." "When I think that something could happen to you, it feels bad inside." "Like I might vomit." " Welcome to the world of romance." " It's horrible." "No wonder I used to get so much work." "Well, I'm sorry I give you barfy feelings." "Come with me." " I can't." " Why not?" " I got friends on the line." " So?" "That humanity thing's a work in progress, isn't it?" "Are you really gonna be that much help to them?" "You'll probably just get in the way." " Your stock's plummeting' here, sweetheart." " Fine." "You know what?" "I hope you die." "Aren't we gonna kiss?" "It'll be OK." "You'll be OK." "Did you reach the Council?" "Yes." "They..." "They couldn't help." "Couldn't?" "Wouldn't." "It's not Council policy to cure vampires." " Under special circum..." " Not under any circumstances." " I did try to convince them." " Try again." "They're very firm." "We're talking about laws which have existed longer than civilisation." "I'm talking about watching my lover die." "I don't have a clue what you're talking about, and I don't care." "Buffy, we'll find a cure." " The Council's orders are to concentrate..." " Orders?" "I don't think I'm gonna be taking any more orders." "Not from you, not from them." "You can't turn your back on the Council." "They're in England." "I don't think they can tell which way my back is facing." "Giles, talk to her." "I have nothing to say right now." "Go back to your Council and tell them until the next slayer comes along, they can close up shop." "I'm not working for them any more." "Don't you see what's happening?" "Faith poisoned Angel to distract you, to keep you out of the Mayor's way." "And it's working." "We need a strategy," "I have a strategy." "You're not in it." "This is mutiny." "I like to think of it as graduation." "I can't stay here." "I'll go see if I can help the others." " Of course." " You'll watch him?" "I'll call if there's any change." "Buffy..." "You don't know what you're doing." "Get a job." "Finding the poison wasn't that hard." "It's a mystical compound." "The Latin name translates roughly to "Killer of the Dead"." "Used on vampires." "And the cure?" "There aren't a lot of instances of it being cured." " But there are some." " One or two." "Pretty vague accounts." "How is he?" " Hold it." " You got somethin'?" " I'm not sure." " Be sure." "OK. "Killer of the Dead"." "That's our boy, and here's a vamp that walked away from it." "Does it talk about the cure?" "Damn." " Nothing?" " No, it's in here, but..." "Wait. "Completely reversed the effects."" "What?" "Come on, guys." "The suspense is killing Angel." "The only way to cure this thing is to drain the blood of a slayer." " Good." " Good?" "What did I miss?" "No, it's perfect." "Angel needs to drain a slayer, then I'll bring him one." "Buffy, if Angel drains Faith's blood, it'll kill her." "Not if she's already dead." "A leasing agreement, not in her name." "If the Mayor's putting her up, it might be in his." " Maybe he's charging it to the city." " Cross-reference realty with municipal funds." " You wanna drive?" " Sorry." "Someone should take over for Giles after a while, watch Angel." "I don't mean to play devil's advocate, but are you up to this?" "It's time." "We're talking to the death." "I can't play kid games any more." "This is how she wants it." " I just don't wanna lose you." " I won't get hurt." "That's not what I mean." "Just get me an address." "I got it." "Thought I'd stop by." " Is he dead yet?" " He's not gonna die." "It was a good try, though." "Your plan?" "The Mayor got me the poison." "He said it was wicked painful." " There's a cure." " Damn." "What is it?" "Your blood." "As justice goes, it's not unpoetic, don't you think?" "Come to get me?" "You're gonna feed me to Angel?" " You know you're not gonna take me alive." " Not a problem." "Well, look at you." "All dressed up in big sister's clothes." "You told me I was just like you." "That I was holding it in." "Ready to cut loose?" " Try me." " OK, then." "Give us a kiss." "You're not getting tired, are you?" "I'm just starting to feel it." "Stick around." "Buffy..." "Right." "Right." " Something about the demon?" " Villagers near the volcano make reference to the legend of Olukai." "It might be a bastardisation of "Olvikan"." " Who's Olvikan?" " I know it's a demon." "I might have a picture." "It's a good thing no one ever wanted to check these books out, huh?" " Yes, it's very convenient." " Come on, Olvikan." "We're gonna need a bigger boat." "My God, what a feeling." "The power of these creatures." "It suffuses my being." "I can feel the changes begin." "My organs are shifting, merging, making ready for the Ascension." "Plus these babies are high in fibre." "And why become a demon if you're not regular?" "Am I right?" "We don't knock during dark rituals?" "Sir, there may be trouble." "At Faith's." "What's the matter?" "All that killing and you're afraid to die?" " That's mine." " Well, you're about to get it back." "Man, I'm gonna miss this." "You did it." "You killed me." "Still won't help your boy, though." "You shoulda been there, B." "Quite a ride."