synopsis: The officers pulls Buffy off Kendra, confirming that she's
dead and pulls Buffy into the hall. She notices Xander, but the officer
won't let her see him. The troll comes in and tells the officer that
Buffy is probably responsible for the trouble, but she's not in the mood
to play ball: "you stupid little troll, you have no idea." The officer
tries to arrest her, but she knocks him out and escapes, as the troll watches,
shocked. The other officer puts out an APB
Buffy comes into the hospital, and finds Xander. As she asks about the others, some officers come and he pulls her into overly protective hug. She jokes "that was about equal parts protecting me and copping a feel, right?" but Xander isn't joking. "What is it," Buffy asks, and Xander brings her in to see Willow, lying in a hospital bed. Buffy thinks Angel found out about the curse. Xander tells her it's head trauma, and she could wake up but the longer she's out the worse it is. Xander goes to call Oz, and Cordelia comes in, embracing Xander. Buffy makes sure she's okay, and Cordelia says "I ran. I think I made it through three counties before I realized no one was chasing me. Not too brave." Xander asks about Giles, but no one knows where he is.
Meanwhile, Giles wakes up to Angel, who, when asked what he wants, says "I want to torture you. I used to love it, it's been a long time. I mean, the last time I tortured somebody, they didn't even have chain saws." He then tells Giles that he can't wake up Acathla and says he thinks Giles can help him, but "honestly, I sort of hope you don't, ‘cause I really want to torture you."
Joyce denies to the detective (the one from Ted) that Buffy could have had anything to do with Kendra's murder, but the detective tells her to call him when she finds her. Joyce is clearly worried.
Buffy goes to Giles house, but finds only Whistler, who tells her he needs a "date to the prom." Buffy doesn't think it's funny, and says "I've had a really bad day. If you have information then I'm grateful for it, if you're gonna crack jokes, I'm going to pull out your rib cage and wear it as a hat." Whistler gets serious, and asks Buffy what she's prepared to give up. When Buffy asks why he doesn't help her since she's "sick and tired of doing it all by myself", he says that in the end, "you're all you've got." Buffy storms out, while Whistler shouts "the sword itself isn't enough. You've got to be ready, you've got to know how to use it.
As Buffy walks away, a cops sees her and tries to arrest her, but a black boot comes out of nowhere and saves her. The man knocks out the cop, and steps into the light: it's Spike. "Hello, cutie," he says.
Buffy begins to attack Spike, but he throws out the white flag. He tells her he wants to stop Angel, but she obviously doesn't believe her. Spike tells her that he has Giles, and that he wants to save the world. She asks him "okay, you do remember you're a vampire talk." He tells her that destroying the world is just tough guy talk. "The truth is, I like this world. You've got dog racing, Manchester United, and you've got people. Billions of people walking around like happy meals with legs. It's all right here. In the world. But then someone comes along with a vision, with a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Good-bye Piccadilly, farewell Lester bloody square."
Buffy wonders why he comes to her, and Spike tells her he wants Dru back. She is pissed, and says "I lost a friend tonight. I may lose more, the whole earth may be sucked into hell, and you want my help because you're girlfriends a big ho? Let me take this opportunity to not care." But Spike points out that neither one can do it alone, and they have no other allies. Buffy decided to hear him out.
Xander and Cordelia hold vigil by Willow's bed, and Cordelia leaves to give him some coffee. Xander takes her hand. "Look, C'mon, Will. Look, you don't have any choice here. You've got to wake up. I need you Will. I mean, how am I going to pass trig, you know, and who am I going to call every night and talk about everything we all day. You're my best friend. You've always...I love you." She responds, but responds to Oz, who is just coming in. Xander is a little upset that she responded to Oz, but is more happy that she's awake, and goes to get a doctor. Oz goes to Willow to comfort her.
Angelus tells Giles that he's impressed with how well he's holding up. He's "never better," Giles says, and Angelus says "now, tell me when it hurts..."
Buffy and Spike meet Joyce as they walk to her house. Joyce is worried, and Spike is shocked that she doesn't know. When questioned, Buffy covers, saying "I'm in a–a band. A rock band with Spike here." Spike goes along, saying "I sing." But a vampire attacks them, and between the two of them, Spike and Buffy kill it, and Spike confirms that it's Angel's probably watching one of the two of them. Joyce demands to know what it going on, and finally Buffy is forced to tell her (after a quick glance at Spike): "Mom...I'm a vampire slayer."
Willow confirms to Buffy that she's okay, and is sorry the curse didn't work. She says that she knows about Giles, but isn't specific.
Meanwhile, Joyce and Spike sit on the couch in awkward silence.
Buffy tells Xander that she's gonna attack at dawn, and that she's covered for backup.
Joyce asks Spike if they've met, and he says "you hit me with an ax one time. Remember, get the hell away from my daughter?" Joyce responds with "oh," and, completely lost for words, says "so, do you live here in town?"
Finally, Buffy comes in. Joyce inquires after Willow, and gets the details from Spike. "You let me and Dru skip town, I help you kill Angel." Buffy doesn't want to let Dru go, since she killed Kendra, but Spike insists. "Dru bagged a slayer? She didn't tell me. Good for her. Though not, I suppose, from your perspective."
Joyce is relieved that Buffy didn't kill Kendra, and while Spike and Buffy debate Joyce keeps making sure that Buffy is really a slayer. Buffy ignores her mom and finally accepts Spike's deal, and when he leaves Joyce wants to call the cops. Buffy doesn't want to involve them, since they'll be killed, and Joyce demands an explanation. Not having time, Buffy tells her to have another drink, but Joyce will have none of it. Throwing her glass into the sink, she tells Buffy "you don't get to just dump something like this on me and pretend it's nothing." Buffy says she doesn't have time, but Joyce says "I'm tired of I don't have time or you wouldn't understand. I'm your mother and you will make time to explain yourself." "I told you. I'm a vampire slayer." "Well I just don't accept that." Buffy finally confronts her mother with the truth. "Open your eyes, mom. What do you think has been going on for the past two years, the fights, the weird occurrences? How many times have you washed blood out of my clothes and you still haven't figured it out?" Joyce insists that "it stops now." "No, it doesn't stop. It never stops. Do you think I chose to be like this? Do you have any idea how lonely it is? How dangerous? I would love to be upstairs watching tv or gossiping about boys, or god, even studying. But I have to save the world. Again." "No this is insane, Buffy you need help." "I'm not crazy. What I need is for you to chill. I have to go." "No, I'm not letting you out of this house." "You can't stop me." "Oh yes I can..." Joyce moves to block Buffy, but Buffy throws her aside like she wasn't there into the counter, knocking dishes to the ground. Buffy goes to leave, but Joyce says "if you walk out of this house don't even think about coming back." Buffy looks at her for a minute, and then leaves, not even bothering to shut the door. Joyce just sinks her head into her hands.
Cordelia paces nervously, and Willow wants to try the curse again, but Xander and Cordelia are against it. Oz doesn't understand what's going on, "okay, I pretty much missed out on some stuff, didn't I, because this is all making the kind of sense that's...not." Willow says that she has her resolve face on, and is going to do it. She sends Cordy and Oz to the library with the promise that Cordy will explain everything, and sends Xander to tell Buffy. Xander still objects, but listens to her.
Angelus is getting annoyed with Giles, who still holds out. Angelus says he'll stop the pain if Giles tells him what he needs to know, and Giles says "in order to be worthy you must perform the ritual...in a tutu. Pillock." Angelus wants the chainsaw, but Spike objects. "Keep out of this, sit and spin." Spike uses logic to stall for time, saying "if you have your way with him, you'll never get to destroy the world, and I don't fancy spending the next month trying to get librarian out of the carpet. There are other ways." He calls Drusilla over, and lets her give it a try.
Buffy goes to retrieve the sword, and the troll comes in. "You do know this is a crime scene. But then, this is a criminal. So that pretty much works out." When Buffy defends herself, he doesn't care, saying the police of Sunnydale are deeply stupid, (at last, someone came out and says it!) And that whatever else, she's proven to be too much of a liability and expels her. "These are moments you want to savor. You wish time would stop so you could live them over and over again. You're expelled." His triumphant grin fades away when Buffy pulls a sword on him, but she just walks on by... "You never ever had a single date in High School, did you?" Snyder calls the mayor and tells him he's got "good news."
Dru wipes Giles head, trying to make him more comfortable, and then hypnotizes him, so that he no longer sees Dru, he sees Jenny Calendar (actually Robia LaMorte!) Jenny tells Giles she wants to help him, so they can finally be together, and "have the things we never got to have, never got to feel." She asks him what he wants her to do, and he says they have to get Angel away from Acathla. When Jenny says "Angel himself," he finally blurts out the secret–Angelus must use his own blood on his hand, not a sacrifice. They begin to kiss, and suddenly we see Juliet Landau instead of Robia.
Angelus is elated, and tells Spike to kill him. Spike covers, saying "what if he's lying?" and Angelus decides not to kill him. Then they notice Dru is still kissing Giles. "Uh...Drusilla," Spike says. "Honey?" says Angelus, with no more response. "We are finished here, ducks," Spike says, and Dru breaks away. "Sorry. I was in the moment." Giles opens his eyes, horrified at what he's done.
Buffy comes back to Whistler and demands to know how to use the sword. Whistler says that Angel's blood will open the door, and Angel's blood will close it. He's worried she can't do it, but she says "I can deal. I've got nothing left to lose," and walks out. "Wrong kid, you've got one more thing," he says to himself.
As the sun rises, Buffy makes her way to the mansion. Xander shows up, sporting a rock, and Buffy gives him a stake, and says "get Giles out and you run like hell. I can't protect you. I'll be too busy killing." She brandishes the sword, saying "it's a present for Angel." Xander almost tells her about the curse, but, seeing her determination to kill him, just says "kick his ass."
Angelus begins the ritual.
Willow begins the curse with Oz and Cordelia
Angelus continues the curse, and Buffy decapitates one of the vamps. Angel is annoyed, and asks "do you really think you can take us all on?" Buffy says no, and Spike rises from the chair behind Angel and proceeds to beat him with a tire iron. "Painful, isn't it." Mad, Dru leaps onto Spike, while Buffy kills the other guard. Dru confronts Spike, and Spike says "I don't want to hurt you, baby." Dru grabs his neck ala Kendra, but Spike punches her out and says "doesn't mean I won't."
Willow continues to work the curse.
Xander goes into free Giles, but Giles thinks it's another trick, "they get inside my head, make me see things I want." "Then why would they make you see me?" asks Xander, and the two leave.
As Dru and Spike have it out, a dazed Angelus rises and pulls out the sword. Dru is distracted, and Spike gets her in a sleeper hold.
Willow continues the curse, but she's losing strength.
Buffy and Angelus begin to sword fight, but Angelus has the uppers hand and injures her.
Willow is too weak to go on, but suddenly she starts talking in tongues, freaking out Oz and Cordy.
Angelus forces Buffy into the garden, overwhelming her.
Cut to Acathla.
Spike knocks out Dru, and picks her up, carrying her out. He sees the battle in the garden, where Angelus has Buffy backed into a corner. "God, he's gonna kill her," he says, actually concerned, but then shrugs and leaves with Dru.
Angelus has Buffy on the ground, sans her sword. He advances. "That's everything. No weapons, no friends, no hope. Take all that away, and what's left?" Buffy shuts her eyes, and gulps, terrified, awaiting the inevitable coup de grace. Angelus thrusts his sword into her face–and Buffy catches the blade. Her eyes open, and with steel determination replacing the fear she simply says "me."
She pushes the hilt back into Angelus' face, jumps up, kicks him, and picks up her sword all in the same fluid motion. She attacks with a renewed zeal that Angelus cannot match, and she drives him back.
Spike's car crashes out of the garage, and as he drives out of Sunnydale he pulls the unconscious Drusilla close to him.
Angelus flies back into the mansion, and Buffy drives him back to the statue. He loses his sword.
Willow continues the curse, still speaking in tongues, and the table with the orb begins to shake. Willow's eyes and face are steeled with determination.
Buffy drops Angelus to his knees with a kick, directly in front of Acathla.
Willow finishes the curse, and the orb glows same as it did in part 1. Willow slumps slightly as the presence leaves her body.
As Buffy is about to destroy Angelus, he is suddenly wracked with pain–his eyes glow, and he is Angel again. He gets to his feet, confused. Buffy stares on in shock. Angel is concerned over her injury, but doesn't remember anything. They embrace, Buffy cries, and notices Acathla come to life behind them.
They kiss, and Buffy tells him that she loves him. He tells her he loves her to, and she says "close your eyes," which he does. They kiss one last time, and then Buffy pulls away and stabs the sword into his chest. Angel looks at her in confusion, calling her name one last time, reaching out for her. But Buffy can only watch as lights and energy surround Angel, and then the vortex closes, and Angel is gone, leaving only the dormant Acathla, sword sticking out of it, same as before. Finally, Buffy's face takes on a look of complete anguish, and she breaks into tears.
*** "The winter here is cold, and bitter.
It's chilled us to the bone.
I haven't seen the sun for weeks,
Too long, too far from home."
