Summary For "Never Leave Me"

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Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: (missed first half due to technical glitchy-thing.) Spike asks Buffy for help, Buffy talks with Willow about keeping Spike close, Giles discovers dead girl, dead man, then is attacked.

Still reparing the damage from Dawn's horrific encounter, Xander repairs windows as Anya, Dawn, and Willow straighten up. Dawn is trying to understand why they're keeping Spike around, which Willow says it's complicated. Anya pipes up, wondering why they don't just stake him, with him being evil and all, it's what they do. She looks to Xander for agreement, but Xander simply comments "I've got a house to put back together." Anya says "Fine, you guys all keep your heads buried in the sand, but I think we all have to be prepared for the fact that William the Bloody is back."

Black, heavy boots walk down a night-time street. The image slowly pans up, showing a familure long, leather duster flowing on around a meanacing form. Finally light hits the face and we find it's... Andrew! He walks nervously as Warren opps up from behind, wondering how he's feeling. Andrew nervously says "good." Warren tries to set Andrews mind on the job at hand, but Andrew wants to walk around and look cool in the coat. Andrew then complains about Johnathan's death not "working" and wondering why he has to do all the wet work. Warren says it's necessary because he can't yet take corporeal form and had Andrew prove it by having him pass his hand through Warren's chest. "Pretty cool, huh? I'm like Obi Wan!" Says Warren, grinning. "or Patric Swazey" smirks Andrew. Warren says that he needs Andrew's help, and Andrew starts to worry, saying he doesn't think he can kill anyone again. Warren then morphs into Johnathan, who tells him to stop worrying about it. Andrew asks Johnathan if his death hurt much? Johnathan says it really wasn't that bad, after some innitial pain. Andrew shows doubt and apologizes, but johnathan says it was his own fault, being small, not having much blood, and being anemic. Johnathan then says that Andrew doesn't have to worry, they can work around Andrew not being able to kill anyone else.

"We're gonna get to the bottom of this, we just can't take any chances." says Buffy as she ties Spike's hands to a chair. He sits, not struggling, in her bedroom, letting himself be tied down, even telling Buffy that she has to make the bonds tighter, commenting that if he gets free, someone's gonna die.

Opening Credits: Nothing new.

Principal Wood sits at his desk, facing two uncaring teens who had apparently defaced a wall somewhere. The Principal threatens suspension and marks on their permanent records, or they can repaint the wall. The two teen boys easily say suspend us, which Wood rolls his eyes at. He then admits the the boys that the whole "permanent records" thing is pretty much a sham, and that doing the paperwork for suspension is a big pain for him, so instead, he's just going to call up the Police. Given that choice, the boys "willingly" agree to repaint the wall. A knock is heard, and Wood meets Dawn, who stopped in to inform him that Buffy won't be in at work today, she's been up all night vomiting, and vomiting again, and again, and then again. Wood says they'll muddle on without her, which Dawn smiles and goes off.

"I need to find him as soon as possible" says a stern voiced Buffy on the phone to Quentin Travers. She is trying to locate Giles, but Quentin downplays Giles' importance, saying he doesn't keep track of the man. Buffy asks that they look for him, which Quentin says they'll try. He hangs up the phone and turns to address a board-type meeting, saying "The girl knows nothing, and we need to find Rupert Giles, as soon as possible."

Spike sits in a darkened room, still tied to a chair. He is shaking, going through a sort of "withdrawl" from human blood. Buffy comes in and sits quietly, asking if there's anything she can do. Spike says she should probably go. He turns his head, morphs into his game face while Buffy reaches for something, and he turns to attack her, straining against the bonds. She backs up, slowly backing out of the room.

Outside of the bedroom, Buffy tells Willow that Spike isn't doing very well and they need to get him some blood. Willow asks if they should kill Anya. Buffy thinks for a moment, then says no, they need to ween him off human blood. Willow offers to go and get some animal blood, if only to get out of the house and away from Xander's "tool talk" of proper tool maintenance. Willow then asks Buffy how she's doing in there. Buffy answers Spike is not doing well. Willow says she meant how BUFFY is doing in there. Buffy simply says she's doing ok.

Andrew and Warren stand over something, with a knife in Andrew's hand. Warren tells him to "cut her deep, cut her quick, it'll be over with before you know it." "What if she squeals?" Andrew asks as the camera pans down to show the victim: a small pig! "Babe 2, a Pig in the City was really overrated" Andrew says, trying to convince himself he can kill the pig, as Warren tries to pump him up, saying he is Conan-like, he is Andrew, it's kill or be killed! "That'll do, pig!" yells Andrew as he dives after the pig with the knife... and misses. The chase begins, with Warren saying he has to corner it. Andrew dives, again and again, never hitting the mark, but hitting the floor and everything else. Finally the pig runs off down the school basement's corridor as Warren comments "That's the worst attempted pig slaughtering i've ever seen." Andrew says he's not very good at stabbing, and wonders if there's some other way they can get blood.

"Number 87" says the butcher at his butcher shop. That's Andrew's number, and the boy goes to nervously give his order: "I'd like 12 pork chops, 2 pounds of sausage, 8quartsofpigsblood, 3 steaks, a halibut, and some toothpaste..." The Butcher looks confused for a moment, then informs Andrew they don't sell Toothpaste. The Butcher goes off to get the order as Andrew goes to look at some steak sauce on the counter.

Moments later, Andrew hands the butcher money and takes a full to the brim paper bag in his arms. Just as he turns to leave, he bumps into Willow! The bag falls and the packets of pigs blood spill out. Andrew looks at her in horror, and Willow looks at him in shock.

Commercial break: Stop on in at Sam the Butcher's Butcher shop! We're here for all your blood sacrificial needs! Now, on sale: wolverine plasma!

Willow chases Andrew out of the shop, saying "come back here!" Andrew stops around the corner, 'Don't kill me!" Willow says she's not gonna kill him. "Don't torcher me and send me to an eternal pain dimension!" Andrew then pleads with Willow, saying he didn't kill Tara, it was Warren, and he was aiming at Buffy anyways. Willow looks a little pissed, saying that's not helping. He then says she got her revenge by Warren's death, they're even. Willow gets upset, wondering if Andrew thinks she got some sort of satisfaction by what she did. Andrew can see that she doesn't, then panics, asking not to hurt him and saying he's not evil, he's good, he does good things now. "Then, why do you need lots and lots of blood?" Willow asks. Andrew thinks a moment, then changes his mind "I am bad, i'm bad, I'm evil, but I'm protected by powerful forces, forces you can't even begin to imagine, little girl. If you harm me, you shall know the wrath of he that is darkness and terror. Your blood will boil and you shall know true suffering. Stand down, she-witch, your defeat is at hand..." "Shut your mouth..." says Willow as she shoves the geek into the wall. Willow then gets up in Andrew's face, saying she is a very powerful "She-Witch" "I am Willow... i am death. If you dare defy me, i shall call down my fury, wreak fresh vengence, and make your worst fears come through. OK?"

Bursting in the front door of the Summers home, Willow forcably presents Andrew to Xander, Dawn, and Anya. Xander rolls his eyes, saying this can't be good. He asks Andrew what he's doing back in town, but Andrew is defiant "You'll get nothing outta me, CARPENTER." Xander says "we'll see..."

Upstairs in a bedroom (Dawns? Willows?), Anya strips off the leather coat as Andrew yells to be careful, it's expensive. She grinds it under her foot just to spite him as Xander ties Andrew to a chair, same manner as Spike is bound. Xander then threatens Andrew, trying to "act" like he's an interrogator, rough but... not really. Xander asks him what he was doing with all the blood. "I fell in love with a beautiful vampire girl down in Mexico and now we're trying to make a go of it on the straight and narrow and put our lives back together here in Sunnydale." Anya then gets up in Andrew's face, saying this isn't a game. She is pissed, and backhands Andrew, to Xanders surprise. Xander asks Anya if they can step outside for a moment, have a talk?

Buffy holds something before her in her bedroom. it's a bag of pig's blood, which Spike, in game face, hungrily sucks at.

Xander enters another room with Anya in tow. The door is closed and then Anya smiles. The two talk of how they were playing good cop/bad cop and how Anya may have gotten a little carried away with the slap, but things are going well. Xander thinks Andrew will be "signing in no time." They're going to let him "stew" for a little bit, then start up again. Just then Buffy enters and Anya asks the "status" of her guy. Buffy says he's not talking yet. Buffy asks the same, and both Anya and Xander use a bunch of lame detective speak to describe that Andrews about to crack.

Buffy enters the room again and ask Spike if he's better. Spike says yes, and then comments that he doesn't remember anything. Buffy chalks it up to withdrawl, but Spike says not that, he means all the deaths he's caused. He admits he's been out of it, losing time a lot, waking up in strange places. Buffy asks when his chip stopped working. "I wasn't aware that it had, you know... not till now." he answers. He says things have been wonky for him ever since he got back his soul. Buffy then asks him how he got his soul back. "Saw a man about a girl" he starts out. He tells that he went across the world to make a deal with a demon, with a price (the trials). He then says it was tough, but he's found other things just as worse. Buffy asks what he means. "Meaning i've come to redefine the terms pain and suffering ever since I fell in love with you." Buffy looks at him in shock, wondering how he could say that, but he says he just killed a bunch of people, being polite isn't really important anymore. She now thinks she knows what it's about, him feeling sorry for himself, "I'm feeling honest with myself. you used me. you told me that of course. I never understood it of course, not until now. You hated yourself, and you took it out on me."

"You figured that out just now?" Buffy asks.

"The soul's not about moonbeams and pennywistles, love. it's about self loathing. i get it. I had to travel around the world, but I get it now. i understand you now. i understand the violence inside."

"William the Bloody now has insight into violence?"

"As bad as i was, as evil and as wreched as I was, i never truly hated myself back then. not like i do now." Spike says.

"How's your face?" asks Xander as he enters Andrew's room and sets down a glass of water, starts to untie him. He asks if Andrew's thirsty and offers him the water. Andrew takes it hesitently and drinks, saying that Anya's psycho. Xander agrees, saying she's a Vengence demon. "This one time i saw her having sex with Spike" Andrew says innocently. Xander swiftly changes the subject, saying that Anya's killed more people than smallpox "Does smallpox still kill people?" Andrew asks again innocently. Xander starts to tell Andrew about one of her "Victims", a guy who incurred her wrath, and she made him suffer real slow by first stopping his heart, then replaced it with darkness, then allowed him to live his life like that, visiting friends and going to work, but empty. Andrew doesn't quite seem shocked, so Xander adds that she then tore out his intestines, rubbed them in his face, and took pictures. NOW Andrew's frightened. Xander says that the girls are looking for someone to blame for all the bad things that have been happening. Andrew says he didn't do anything. "You lying son of a bitch!" says Anya from the other side of the door. She barges in and rushes Andrew, wrestling him to the ground. Xander drags her off of him, but then she spins and SLUGS Xander in the face. She then, out of sight of Andrew, apologizes to a shocked Xander, then turns to rough up Andrew some more.

Buffy hears Andrew's "ow ow owwww" from across the hall and excuses herself from Spike's presence. As the door closes behind her, we see morphy-spike behind the door. Morphy is dissapointed in Spike, saying they've got a problem.

Buffy pops in to ask if everything's ok with Xander's group. Xander clutches his jaw in pain as Anya straddles Andrew. She looks up "yeah, everythings fine." Buffy turns back towards Spikes room but as she nears the door, she hears him talking to someone within. Then he starts singing lightly (the same folk tune from Sleepers). Buffy enters the room cautiously, looking around, and she asks Spike who he's talking to. Spike acts odd, as if nothings wrong, saying he was just talking and singing to keep himself company, then he asks Buffy calmly how she is?"

Anya has Andrew cornered up against a wall as she threatens him for information "Believe me, i'd love to keep hitting you."

Spike tries to assure Buffy that he's ok, saying that he's probably just hungry, and asks her for more blood. She turns to the dresser to get more as we see Spike go into game face once again. He snarls and howls, then easily busts up the chair that he was tied to. Buffy rushes him but he takes her out with one punch, sending her sprawling into a corner. He turns away from her and charges a wall...

"We needed more blood to activate the seal of Danzathar" says Andrew to Anya just before hands burst through the wall behind him. Spike punches a large hole in the wall and drags Andrew through, then cranks Andrew's head back and starts to sink his vamp teeth into the geek.

Commercial Break: I'm a spoiler whore! I go to get more! I stop by Tensai's Spoiler slayer, for news and fun and gore! (that's gore as in gross, not as in Al)

Andrew screams and struggles but Spike has him overpowered. Buffy gets up from behind Spike, grabs him, and throws him off of Andrew, sending Spike into a wall and crumpling confused to the ground. Buffy checks Andrew, seeing if he's ok as Anya and Xander rush in. All three look at Spike, who can only see blurred images of the four people from his POV, but can also see a smirking morphy spike looking at him from a distance. Buffy gets up, walks over, and kicks Spike into unconsousness.

Buffy and the others are in the living room, at night. Buffy talks of how strange it was that Spike just pushed her aside and charged at the wall. Anya and Xander come from down stairs, having taken care of "what's his name" and having to had tied him down to stop him from scratching at his bandages. Xander asks what happens and Buffy says she doesn't know, explaining that she and Spike were having a 'normal' conversation and then after she went to talk to the two of them, when she came back, he was different. She heard him talking to someone and singing. She remembers him talking about a song in the cellar from before also, and says that when he heard it he became another person. Xander gets the idea that it's a "trigger", a brain washer term. He explains that's how the military makes sleeper agents, to get them to attack or do something when they are triggered to do so. "is this left over from your days in the army?" Willow asks. "No, this is left over from every Army movie I've ever seen." he answers. Xander says they've all been seeing ghosts lately, and wonders if Spike's ghosts have figured out a way to not only haunt him but control him. Buffy agrees, saying he's been seeing stuff ever since he got his soul back. She then asks how they "holster" the trigger? Xander says they usually complete their task and then either kill themselves or steal a submarine. Buffy starts taking charge, telling Dawn and Willow to start looking, doing research on ghosts, spirits, anything that could possibly do something like this.

Still nighttime, Principal Wood leaves his office for the day. He walks silently down the corridor, briefcase in hand, heading out, but hesitates when he passes the basement door. He doubles back and opens it, heading downstairs. He walks in the basement hallways, knowing exactly where he's going. He opens up the door to Spike's former lair and enters to find Johnathan's body laying on the seal of Danzathar. He... isn't too surprised or upset.

Buffy walks into her basement and up to Spike, who is now chained to the wall in cuffs. She gets some water and a towel and starts mopping up the blood from his chin and mouth and he wakes. "Did i hurt anybody?" "You took a good bite outt of Andrew" she answers. "Who?" Spike tells her that he doesn't remember and he doesn't know why, but Buffy says it's ok, they think they've got it figured out. She says something is playing him and some ghost or demon has figured out how to control him, and she tells about Xander's trigger theory. Spike then looks Buffy square in the eye and says that she has to kill him. Spike says she doesn't know what he's truly capable of. Buffy says she knows, but Spike continues, saying she doesn't really know. "Do you know how much blood you can drink from a girl before she'll die? You see, the trick is to drink just enough, to know how to damage them just enough so thatt they'll still cry when you... 'cause it's not worth it when they don't cry." Buffy says it's not his fault, he didn't do it, but he says it's too late, he's already done it before. He says, practically orders her to kill him before he gets out. Spike then asks her if she's ever wondered why she doesn't kill him. She says he's helped save lives and protect people, he's helped, but Spike says "don't do that... don't rationalize this into some nobel act. We both know the trutth of it. You like me to hurt you. You need the pain we cause you, you need the hate. you needed to be the slayer."

Buffy gets defensive, saying he doesn't understand, he's wrong in thinking that, she doesn't think that way. She tells him he's alive because she saw him change, she saw his penance. Spike argues back but Buffy says that he saw the monster inside and he fought back. he fought everything to be a better man and he won. She sees it, and she tells him she believes in him...

Just then the lights go out. Windows suddenly burst open! The Robed figures have arrived, crashing in through upstairs and downstairs windows and ready for attack! They advance on Xander and Anya (knocking them out quickly... of course...), Dawn, and Willow!

Commercial Break: Windex makes it SHINE!

In the light of his headlights, Principal Wood digs a hole calmly, almost without care. He grabs Johnathan's body and pulls it in, then begins to bury it in the night air.

The big battle starts, with Willow taking on one figure (and getting knocked out) and Dawn the other. It is here where we see Dawn is quite the little fighter! Buffy joins another one in battle, coming from downstairs. She easily handles one with some sort of staff weapon, but then another attacks her from behind. The figure then charges upstairs and Buffy pursues.

Dawn fights with the robed figure, kicking, side stepping, and eventually throwing him over her head from her back and into a wall.

Andrew looks worried as he looks and sees a hooded figure entering his room. Only... no hood! We finally see the figure: bald, with scarred out eyes. He pulls out two curved daggers from his belt and advances on Andrew, who's tied up on the bed, but as he goes to stab, Buffy pushes him from behind. A few swings and blows are exchanged, with Buffy eventtually throwing him off into a wall. But another appears from behind to attack.

Dawn gets up slowly, shaken. She looks down at the robed figure and slowly approaches, holding a quarterstaff at the ready. But of course, being Dawn, she stands too close and the figure takes her down with a foot sweep. The figure is over her and pulls a knife, ready to strike, just as a large THUNK is heard. The robed dude falls unconscous, with Xander standing behind holding a large pipe-stick-thing.

Upstairs, Buffy battles on as Andrew has freed himself. Andrew tries to head out of the door in the heat of the fight, but Buffy grabs him and uses him as a weapon, throwing Andrew into first one robed dude, then another. Finally grabbing two daggers from the figures, Buffy stabs one who approches from her left, the other from her right. The two robed dudes fall dead as Xander comes upstairs to help. Buffy says "Dawn!" But Xander says she's ok, then he wonders if that's it, he thought he saw more of them. Buffy wonders about Spike and they both race out...

... and down to the basement to find empty chains. Spike is gone.

The first aid kit is brought out by Willow as Dawn and Anya sit on the couch, in pain and shock. Xander and Buffy walk in, and Xander comments that the robed guys were fast, and organized. Buffy says they were after Spike all along. Buffy then goes over to one of the dead figures and looks at the face. "I know these guys... I've seen them before. We are being haunted. This isn't some demon. it's all the same thing. Spike's ghosts, the people you guys saw... from beneath us. It's all the same thing. I know what we're up against: the First.

At Watchers Headquarters, Quenten Travers walks through a messed up room. Papers and books lay scattered everwhere as Watcher-workers clean up the mess. One of them informs him that they've lost contact with various parts of the world and that they've been hit hard, with casualties reporting. Another says they're crippled, but Quentin says it's all right, they are strong, and still in control of their fate. He then starts a strong motivational speech, saying that the First Evil has declared war on their institution, and the first attack was most effective, but he believes it's time they strike back. He demands confirmations on all remaining operatives worldwide, tactical alerts, and to begin to move out. They are planning a trip to the Hellmouth. He turns to address those who stand around him, proudly, strongly saying "My friends, these are the times that define us. Proverbs 24:6 "For by wise counsel, you shall wage your war..."

Then, the building blows up. BOOM! Fire! Flame! (actually, kinda quick, but yeah, they're toast).

Very sinister eyes are seen. They are Spikes, or rather Morphy-Spikes. They look at something that is being bound with leather straps. A shot of a weapons rack is seen. Naked (or at least topless), Spike is strapped spread eagle onto some sort of pentacle rigging by robed figures as Morphy-Spike watches with glee. One of the figures then takes a sharp, nasty looking blade and cuts (off screen) something on Spike, which makes him groan in pain. Morphy-Spike talks to Spike, telling him that he's the one who screwed up and couldn't do his job, so now he's the one who gets to "do the honors." Morphy-Spike then morphs into Buffy, who still smiles "I have to admit, I'm glad it worked out this way. i was going to bleed Andrew, but you look better with your shirt off."

Cranking of gears and chains is heard as Spike slowly rises up and is inverted, faceing down towards the ground. "I think it's about time we brought some athority to our presence. Now, Spike, do you wanna see what a REAL vampire looks like?" Morphy-Buffy says as Spike is now suspended in air, blood dripping easily from varous wounds on his body, each drawn in mystic ruine patters. His blood falls onto the seal of Danzathar, which suddenly springs to life with the blood's touch. The corners of the seal start to glow, and each of the pentacle's points fold up slowly, forming a pyramid which slowly sinks into the ground. The the remaining five sections of the seal slowly sink into the ground also. Morphy-Buffy watches with a smile as something starts to rise up out of the new hole. A sickly , black, skelital clawed hand reaches up. Then and arm and body are seen, dressed in a black fabric. It is a truly disgusting vampiric image that slowly rises from the Earth, far more hideous than anything else we've seen. (think the vampire from "nosferatu"). He growls evilly and raises his hands in the air in celebration.

Grrr... Arrrg...

The End