"Maggie sends me down into the sewers with a blasto gun." " The next thing I know, it's raining monsters." " Hallelujah." "And then this gate slams down behind me, and I try to use the gun but it goes "phtt"." "You're saying that Maggie Walsh set you up?" "That's exactly what I'm saying." "She sent me on a one-way recon." "Gotta hand it to you, Goldilocks." "You do have bleeding tragic taste in men." "I got a cousin married to a regurgitating Frovalox demon that's got better instincts." "What does my taste in men have to do with it?" "Was Riley knitting bootees for your offspring while Maggie was stringing you up?" "You guys think Riley had something to do with this?" "Probably not." "But we'd be remiss if we didn't think of all the possibilities." "Right." "Remiss." "No." "No." "Maggie made sure that he was nowhere around when she sent me on this "make Buffy dead" assignment." "And plus, Riley?" "He seems like he wouldn't tell a little white lie, let alone a whole bunch of big, dirty ones." "That's why they call it the secret forces." "Cos they kinda keep the whole lying thing to themselves." "All I know is that Maggie has it in for me." "Which means the Initiative has it in for me." "The mad scientist isn't too keen on the fact that the Scooby gang knows that the Initiative is up to no good." "Which brings us back to the "not safe for any of us" concept." "What could have happened to make Professor Walsh want to kill you?" "I don't know." "She wasn't keen on the fact that I was asking a lot of questions, that's for sure." " You were getting too close to something." " Clearly." "Although one can only imagine what she'd be so desperate to hide." "OK, everybody grab a weapon." "We've gotta move." "And storm the Initiative?" "Yeah, let's take on those suckers." " I was thinking more that we'd hide." " Thank God." "Buffy, I think perhaps we should talk about this." "We need to relocate some place we're less likely to be found." "We need a plan." " My place?" " The Initiative guys know how close we are." "They'll check the places that you hang out." "What about your basement?" "The guys haven't seen us together much, and there's room." " Plus, mirror ball." " Cool." " Come and boogie at Xander's hideaway." " Yes." "Come boogie." "Absolutely not." "I will not squat in that dank hole." "What?" "It was good enough for me but you're above it all?" "Precisely." "Besides, I don't see why we can't stay right where we are." "I think it's very unlikely those Initiative boys are gonna come round here to look for..." "Buffy." "God, Buffy." "Are you OK?" " What happened?" " You know?" "I know something went down." "Tell me." "Maggie tried to kill me." "It didn't work, but they're all upset anyway." "OK, listen." "I need you to go over everything." "Step by step." " There has to be some kind of mistake." " There was no mistake." " How do you know something happened?" " I was on a mission." "But I came back and..." "I'm not sure." "Look, let's just keep our heads and notjump to any..." "What?" " That's Hostile 17." " No." "I'm just a friend of Xander's." "Bugger it." "I'm your guy." "This is Spike." "He's..." "It's a really long story." "But he's not bad any more." "What am I?" "A bleeding' broken record?" "I'm bad." "It's just..." "I can't bite any more." "Thanks to you wankers." "We've been looking for him but you've known where he's been all along?" " It's not like that." " What is it like?" "What's he doing here?" "Leaving you swabs to your dramatics, thanks." "I've got my stories on the telly for that." "By the by, if you're trying to kill her..." "Buffy, what is this?" "You're hiding an HST?" "Why don't you back off and let her ask the questions?" "Your boss just tried to make monster food outta her." "I didn't see much." "I wasn't there." "All I know is Professor Walsh told me you were dead." "But then I saw you on the monitors..." "This isn't Professor Walsh." "There must be something making her act this way." "Something" " I don't know - controlling her." "We think Buffy may have been becoming too inquisitive, that she was getting close to something that Professor Walsh was trying to hide." " Any idea what that might be?" " What about 314?" "Maybe that's it." "Maybe she was trying to test you." "What if it was only a drill?" "Then why did she tell you I was dead?" "Riley, it wasn't a test." "See, I've heard rumours that the Initiative isn't all that we've been told, that secretly they're working towards some darker purpose." " Something that might harm us all." " No." "That's not what happens there." " Riley." " I would know." "No one is sure." "We're just trying to sort it out." " I'll sort it out on my own." " Riley." "No." "Just..." "I'm sorry." "What am I?" "You're a monster." "I thought so." " What are you?" " Me?" "I'm a boy." "A boy." " How do you work?" " I don't know, I just do." "What's that for?" "Dr Walsh?" "Adam?" " That would never happen." " Well, no, Buff." "That's why they call 'em cartoons, not documentaries." "Must we have the noise?" "My head is splitting." "Look who's Cranky Bear in the morning." "Yes, I can't imagine why I didn't sleep well in my beach ball." "Every time you moved, it made squeaky noises." "It was irritating." "Really?" "I'm surprised you could hear it over your Wagnerian snoring." "OK, you guys, could we not, please?" "Everything's screwed up enough without you two doing scenes from my parents' marriage." " Sorry." " Sorry." "Thank you." "It'll be OK, Buffy." "Riley's just confused, that's all." "I don't know." "Itjust seems like things could get heavier." "His whole world's falling apart." "And after everything you've been through with Angel." "You know, you really should get yourself a boring boyfriend." "Like Xander." " You can't have Xander." " That was the idea." "Riley was supposed to be Mr Joe Guy." "We were gonna do dumb things, like hold hands through the daisies going "tra-la-la"." "Poor Buffy." "Your life resists all things average." "So dump him." "But you can't have Xander." "I'll try and remember that." "It's too late, anyway." "I'm already at the "I hurt when he hurts, I smile when he smiles" stage." " I hate that part." " I'll just have to make it work." "Turn on the TV." "Now." "Sunnydale is still reeling from news of the crime." "A source in the coroner's office tells us that the boy was stabbed with what looks like some kind of large skewer, and his body was then mutilated." "Police have not named a suspect, and the killer is still at large." "The Polgara demon had a skewer in its arm." "That's the one Maggie insisted we bring back alive." " She must have sent it after you." " And it got distracted." "God." "Buffy, it's not your fault." "How could you know?" "She's right." "You mustn't blame yourself." "I'm not going to." "I'm going to the crime scene to see what I can find out." "Research the Polgara demon." "I wanna know where it is." "I am going to make him pay for taking that kid's life." "I'll make him die in ways he can't even imagine." "That would have sounded more commanding if I wasn't wearing my yummy sushi pyjamas." "Where you been all night?" "Well, congratulations." "I see you and Buffy have finally gotten past the shy phase." "I wasn't with Buffy." "I needed to be alone." "Think some things through." " What things?" " Hey, you guys." "This is mighty ominous." "What's up, man?" " Professor Walsh tried to have Buffy killed." " What?" "Did Buffy tell you that?" " I mean, do you have any proof?" " I saw enough to know it's true." "I don't get it." "Why?" "Buffy thinks that she's getting too close, that Professor Walsh has some secret." "I can see Buffy getting on Walsh's bad side." "She puts her nose where it doesn't belong." " What?" " She's a pain. "Why this?" and "Why that?"" " She should die because of that?" " I don't know." "Maybe Professor Walsh found out that Buffy was up to something bad." "Why does it bug you that I hang with her?" "Cos she's a better soldier than you?" " She's using you to infiltrate our operations." " You're saying she's a spy?" "You're crazy." "Riley, think about it." "The professor's not stupid." "If she tried to kill Buffy, maybe Buffy needed killing." "Guys." "Not now, Private." "What is it?" "Professor Walsh is dead." "Look at that wound." "She's been staked, wouldn't you say, brother?" " What?" " Only one person who could do that." "You better not be saying what I think you're saying." "The Polgara demon has a skewer..." " That's your girlfriend's MO." " That's a serious accusation." " Ready to deal with the consequences?" " Bring 'em on." "That supernatural freak has blinded you." "Stand back, man." "Show some respect." "Listen, everybody's upset, but arguing isn't gonna help anything." "And it's certainly not what Professor Walsh would want." " No, sir." " All right." "Good." "Now, Washington is sending in a team to do an internal investigation." " I've been told we have to wait for their word." " Wait?" "This has to be the work of the Polgara demon." "Probably." "Looks like last night the Polgara escaped through tunnel 72." " It's out loose?" " I'm afraid so." " Then we go after it." " My orders from Washington are for a total lockdown until they arrive." "I'm sorry." "Now, return to your quarters." "There's nothing you can do here." "Listen, Angleman can talk all he wants, but I'm still in charge till the brass gets here." "I say we got a demon to hunt." "Now suit up for armed patrol." "And by that I mean loaded guns." "Target practice is over." "We're going for blood." "Let's go." "Let's move." "Quick to one side." "Establish a perimeter." "Somebody's been stayin' here." "What do you think, a homeless guy?" "Could be." "Or a squatter of the demon variety." "Not the Polgara." "Who cares?" "I see a demon, it dies." "It's warm." "Damn." "Animals." "Buffy." "Look, I'm sorry about earlier." "I know that everyone came on pretty strong." "And the Spike thing isn't as tweaked as it looked." "OK, maybe it is, but there's an explanation that almost makes sense." "Hello?" "I'm apologising here." "And I think that's pretty big of me, considering I'm the one who was almost made a demon sandwich." "This is the part where you throw me a bone." "Maggie's dead." "Happy now?" "How can you ask me that?" "Of course I'm not happy." "What happened?" " That's classified." " Classifi..." "The Polgara." "It got her and escaped, didn't it?" "I'm gonna find it." "I'm gonna find it and destroy it." "And then you can stop asking me how happy all this death makes me." "Howdy." "I just got your message a minute ago." "I was in class, but I was about to call you." "I had so much fun the other night." "Those spells." "Yeah, that was nice." "I hope you don't think that I just come over for the spells and everything." "I mean, I really like just talking and hanging out with you and stuff." "I know that." "But you wanna do a spell." "Yeah." "But only because it's really important." "There's this..." "No, you don't have to explain." "I don't mind." "Really." "I've been thinking about that last spell we did all day." "You have?" "Well, this one should be really fun, too." "We conjure the goddess Thespia to help us locate demonic energy in the area." " It shouldn't be too tricky." " The goddess Thespia?" " Are you sure we're ready for that?" " You and me?" "This is beneath us." "OK, if you say so." " You're killin' me here." " Missed you, too." "The joint's jumpin'." "You know." "I'm making some changes with my life." "I'm getting away from my old image." " As a double-dealing snitch?" " You think I'm blowing smoke, but after those apocalypse demons nearly did me in, I had a spiritual experience." "That's swell, but have you heard anything about a Polgara demon doing some killings?" "See, that's the thing." "I don't talk behind people's backs no more." "And I'm bringing some class to the joint." "It's Willy's Place." "Brings in a better clientele." "I got one of those deep fryers." "These demons just go crazy for chicken fingers." "If they see me dealing with you, I'm just the same Willy, working both sides of the street." " I'm gonna have to punch you." " Just once, and it don't have to hurt." " Not yet." "I haven't touched you." " Sorry." "Right." "Right." "Go ahead." "Wait." "No." "I can't talk to you..." "What have you heard about the Polgara?" "Heard there was one around a week or two back." "Word was you got him, you and those army guys." " And that was the last you heard?" " Yeah." "As far as I know, he's off the streets." "What about those army guys?" "You heard anything about 314?" "What are you doing here?" "Following me?" "You told me you were tracking the Polgara demon." "I thought I'd help." "But now I see you're not hunting demons, you're socialising with them - again." "I thought you were supposed to be killing these things, not buying them drinks." "Smooth, Officer Riley." "They teach you those undercover moves in Special Forces?" " I'm serious." "What are you doing here?" " Just cooling' her dog, like the rest of us." " Why don't you sit down, relax?" " I want you to tell me." "Who are you?" "How about some chicken fingers on the house?" " Shut up." " I'm just saying..." "I said shut up." "Or maybe you'd like to go back to the lab with me." "I'm sure the coats would love to classify a... whatever you are." "Leave him alone, Riley." "He's human." " So he's human." " You're shaking." "He just harbours demons." "Which makes him a good guy like you?" " The truth, Buffy." "Now." " You have it." "You are just too screwed up because of what happened to Walsh to see it." "Let go." "Hold it." "You." "No leaving till I say so." "Got it?" "We got new rules here." "No killing." "Right, except the rules don't seem to apply much these days, do they?" "Like if I shot you right now, I don't know if I'd have a corpse on my hands" " or one pissed-off vampire." " Riley." "I mean, who do you believe?" "First it sounds like lies, then it sounds like truth." "Riley." "What's happening to me?" "Riley, why don't you lie down?" "You'll be more comfortable." "Stop it." "I can't." "It's like something's crawling inside." "No." "You're hurting yourself." "Come here." "OK." "I thought I knew, but I don't." "I don't know anything." " You're sick." "Once you get some rest..." " No." "Buffy..." "I don't know anything." "I don't know which team I'm on." "Who the bad guys are." "Maybe I'm the bad guy." "Maybe I'm the thing you should kill." "No." "Don't you even think that." "OK, listen to me." "You're sick." "You just need to get some sleep." "Please." "Lie down for me." "Come on." "You're gonna be OK." " How is he?" " This isn'tjust grief making him act this way." "Something's affecting him physically and it's getting worse." " You think Walsh did something to him?" " I don't know, but I'm ready to find out." " Tough, with Maggie's deadness and all." " She must have kept records somewhere." "About Riley, about 314, about all of it." "And she wasn't the only person that knew what she was up to." " So what's the plan?" " Giles, Anya, keep researching." "Xander, you and I are going undercover." "Remember before?" "No Xander." "Not in a boyfriend way or a "lead him to a certain death" way." " He's the only one with military experience." " It's not like he was in the Nam." " He was GI Joe for one night." " It's OK, Anya." "I've backed up Buffy before." "Can't you do something else to help them?" "Like Xerox hand-outs or something?" "I'll be careful." "Promise." "How do you plan to get into the Initiative?" "I'm sure their security system's impenetrable." "I have my clearance." "I'm hoping she didn't have time to revoke it." "Well, as for the whereabouts of this Polgara demon, I'm afraid we've not turned up much." " No reports since its original capture." " Then we'll just have to keep looking." "So, the square is Sunnydale?" "Right." "It's like a map." "We both take different parts of the potion, and when we do the incantation, we both blow it onto the square at the exact same time." " But how does it work?" " Well, that's the cool part." "When the potion mixes and Thespia's called, it creates this mist over the parts where the demons are." "It even makes different colours for different breeds." "Wow." "You ready?" "Let's do it." "Thespia, we walk in shadow." "Walk in blindness." "You are the protector of the night." "Thespia, goddess, ruler of all darkness, we implore you, open a window to the world of the underbeing." "With your knowledge, may we go in safety." "With your grace, may we speak of your benevolence." "Or not." " Seems pretty quiet." " Usually is this time of..." "Buff, maybe you should check the look later." " What'd you do that for?" " Sorry." "I'm the only one that can pass the retinal scan." " I don't wanna see that." " Retinal scan, Xander." "Well, we'll know in a few seconds if my clearance is still good." "Or if we're about die at the hands of 50 military goons." "Retinal scan recorded." "Summers, Buffy." "Why am I not entirely comforted by the arrival of the man-sized microwave?" "Holy moly." "I know." "I totally get it now." "Can I have sex with Riley, too?" " Pretend to make out with me." " What are you talking about?" "Well, I... you know, in the movies, the guy and the girl have to hide." "Please." "Could you possibly draw more attention to us?" "This is the Initiative." "Military guys and scientists do not make out with each other." "Maybe that's what's wrong with the world." "Ever think about that?" "I totally failed." "It wasn't even like the spell went wrong." "Itjust wouldn't." "If it's any consolation, we haven't fared much better here." " Really?" "Is Riley OK?" " Well, he's asleep." "Finally." "But he doesn't look good." "And the research is troubling as well." "I mean, this demon we're after seems highly atypical for a Polgara." "This child it killed was mutilated." "There's no recorded cases of a Polgara having done that." "Also the Polgara have to eat every two hours." "With the low IQ, you have a demon who's not exactly low-profile." "So how has he been hiding out in Sunnydale for two days without anyone seeing him?" "Exactly." " Riley." " Where's Buffy?" "She went out." "Can I get you something?" " Just tell me where she is." " You're not well, Riley." "You need to rest." "Did she find the Polgara?" "Is that it?" " No, we're still looking, but..." " But what?" "She went to find out what's making you sick." "I'm not sick." "You're telling me she went to the Initiative?" " Riley, she's just trying to help you." " She doesn't belong there." "Riley, listen..." " Stand away from the stairs." " No." "You're gonna get Buffy killed." "You all right?" "How many of the men are still out?" "The longer they go without their meds..." " Everyone's off their schedules." " It's dangerous." "I don't wanna think about the damage our guys could do in withdrawal." "They won't understand what's happening to them." "They don't know they've been getting meds in their food, so we'd better get them in here." "We've located all but a few." "The last ones were in bad shape, but we stabilised them." "But Finn wasn't one of them, right?" "Find him." "He's the one I care about." " He's too important to the work to lose now." " Indeed." "Double shot of O neg, 'keep." "Make it the good stuff." "I don't want no freakin' orang-utan." "Got ya." "Been a pisser of a day." "Those army blokes are on the tear." "They ran me outta my place." "And all over town." "Yeah, what's up?" "Keep me posted." "I'll be in records." "I don't generally like to kill humans, but I've learned it pays to be flexible." " I was wondering when you'd turn up." " Darn." "So this isn't a surprise?" "Now, you can tell me what you did to Riley and after that we can take a tour of room 314." "Somebody's coming, you know." "They've already seen you on the security monitors." "Monitors are nonfunctional at this time, sir." " Went down about ten minutes ago." " What?" "I didn't do that." "Thank God for small favours and we'll worry about details later." "Finn, take this girl to the stockade immediately." "Riley, he can tell us what we need to know." "Maggie wanted me dead, didn't she?" "She did." "But understand, the Initiative has no interest in eliminating the Slayer." " It was her own vendetta." " Why?" "Spell it out for me." " I feel a "dumb blonde" attack coming on." " I don't know." "Well, think harder." "It was the project." "Project?" "314." "It..." " It escaped." " That's enough." "You're making her sound like some psychopath." "She wasn't like that." " She was a brilliant woman." " She was." "It's not..." "She tried to help people." "This is the way you want them to remember her?" " Walsh was feeding you drugs." " You're doing this to me." " This all started because of you." " Just listen." " I am trying to help you get to the truth." " You want truth?" "Then tell me." " What did you do to her, Buffy?" " Stop it." "I didn't do anything." "Riley, stop." "This isn't about us." "Everything that we need to know is here." "We just need to find out what was in 314." "Me." "I've been thinking about the world." "I wanted to see it." "Learn it." "I saw the inside of that boy and it was beautiful." "But it didn't tell me about the world." "Itjust made me feel." "So now I want to learn about me." "Why I feel." "What I am." "So I came home." "I'm a kinematically redundant, biomechanical demonoid, designed by Maggie Walsh." "She called me Adam and I called her Mother." "Adam, Maggie would want you to stand down." "Yes." "But I seem to have a design flaw." "In addition to organic material, I'm equipped with GP2D11 infrared detectors, a harmonic decelerator, plus DC servo." "She pieced you together from parts of other demons." "And man." "And machine." "Which tells me what I am, but not who I am." "Mother wrote things down." "Hard data, but also her feelings." "That's how I learned that I have ajob here." "And that she loved me." "She wasn't your mother." "And she didn't love you." " Is that really the issue?" " She made you because she was a scientist." "Riley." "Riley Finn." "Stop." "Those files..." " Mother created you, too." " Maggie is not my mother." " I have a mother." "A real..." " A birth mother, yes." "But after you met Maggie, she was the one who shaped your basic operating system." "She taught you how to think, how to feel." "She fed you chemicals to make you stronger." "Your mind and body." "She said that you and I were her favourite children." "Her art." "That makes us brothers." "Family." "No." "I'm not like you." "That's pain, isn't it?" "Why?" "Because your feeding schedule, the chemicals, have been interrupted?" "Or do you miss her?" "Tell me." " I'll kill you." " You won't." " You haven't been programmed to." " I cannot be programmed." "I'm a man." "It's here." "The plan she had for us." "What happens." " How it ends." " No." " Do you want to hear?" " No." "Doctor." "Thank you." "This has been very interesting." "Back away from the door!" "Riley, are you OK?" "Secure the room." "We got a demon in here." "It escaped through that vent." "It's not the Polgara." "It looks sort of half man." " Right, and you just happened to be here." " She's telling the truth." "I saw it." "It killed Angleman." "Go." "Now." "Yes, sir." " He needs to go to a hospital." " We'll take it from here." " I'm going with him." " A military hospital." " No." " Back off." "We take care of our own around here, understand?" "Buffy." "Escort them out." "Buffy." "What did you expect, Spike?" "A welcome party?" "Word's out." "You've been making war on the demon world." " War?" " With the Slayer." "You kill other demons, and the rest of us don't hold with that." "Still, if I see you around here again, I'll be inclined to break that code." "Do you understand?" "No word from Riley?" "Nothing." "The Initiative probably has him locked in some medical ward." "I can't get near him until I have a better plan than just storming in and getting us all shot." "Yeah, you might wanna work the kinks out of that one." "What am I gonna do?" "He needs me and I can't get near him." "You'll find a way." "I can't spend all of my energy going after the Initiative." "Not while Adam's out there." "He's really that big of a threat?" "I could barely fight him." "It was like Maggie designed him to be the ultimate warrior." "He's smart and fast." "He gave the commando guys the slip with no problem." "There's gotta be a flaw." "I think the part where he's pure evil and kills randomly was an oversight." "I never should have let them take Riley." "I need to be with him." " I'm sure he's OK." " There's no way he can be." "Everything he's ever believed in has been taken away or..." "He's alone." "He has nothing to hold on to."